Letters to my little smile

LETTERS TO CHANDULAL

Portraits of Chandulal by the Mother (1931)

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To Chandulal, the ever-smiling child, ( September 17, 1931)

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Sweet Mother, grant that we may simply be, now and forever, thy little children.

Patience

The capacity to wait steadily for the Realisation to come.

By his way of thinking, feeling, acting, each one emanates vibrations which constitute his own atmosphere and quite naturally attract vibrations of similar nature and quality.

So long as you are capable of giving somebody a beating you open the door to the possibility of being given a beating yourself.

Sin belongs to the world and not to yoga.

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Explain this sentence: the development of will is the foundation of all mastery.

..But I do not know how to develop the will. Will you give me the secret, Sweet Mother ?

Do you know how muscles are developed ? By exercise — it is the same thing.

I am proud of my fine son Chandulal because he is sincere.

To Chandulal '

Could you send a man now with some strong wire (about 4 to 5 yards) for the clothes-line which has again broken and needs replacing. We need it for tomorrow

morning.

Datta

This time I have done the work; but next time if you write in English I shall not do it: I think Mother approves of my wish.

Yes, I approve, but on your side, you would do well to write French a little more correctly. I have under- lined the mistakes.

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Dilip writes:

"There are three doors of which projecting pieces of pointed wood (impossible to explain) are wounding me constantly. Could Mother ask Chandulal to make them as innocent as is possible in yoga ?"

It would be good if you went to see what he is talking about.

M.F.D, (Chandulal),

If I am not mistaken, Shankar Rama's wife is cooking in her room. She is using a charcoal stove and needs a second one. I wonder what will happen to the poor room ? Is it not possible to arrange a special place for her cooking ? • You might go and see what can be done. But you must by no means put them to inconvenience. If the cooking cannot be shifted from the room, you must make all possible arrangements to minimise the mischief.

Remember to be kind and obliging.

I do not know if the brushes are being washed better than before, but an artist would say that they are not clean. They are sticky and that is what I have always observed with mineral petrol.

Krishnayya is complaining that cement dust falls in

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the cattle-feed when it is prepared on the verandah.

Perhaps it is that which makes the bullocks ill. One of these poor animals has become terribly thin. I saw it this morning.

You must see whether some better arrangement can be made.

It seems to me quite sufficiently big. They have no intention of using their bathroom as a ballroom, I suppose.

How is it that you have not spoken to me about the bakery kneading table for two days ? If it is not repaired immediately, we will have no bread to eat. The work must be done immediately.

Chandulal,

I have seen your chit for washing soap. You got the last one on the 22nd of March. This makes only 16 days, while a big cake of soap must last 30 days. It is quite evident that your coolie is stealing the soap, and I have no intention of providing him with washing soap. Some device must be found to check him;

words are of no use....

(This time I have sanctioned the soap.)

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Chandulal,

Shankar has started a new book; but it seems to me that he has not finished the previous one.

I do not see at all the need of changing the notebook every month. Will you see if indeed the previous book is finished or not, and act accordingly ?

In the future I will be obliged to ask for the finished notebook before I can sanction a new one. That is to say, each time that a notebook is to be renewed the used notebook must be sent up to me at the same time as the chit for-the new one.

Also, I do not see the need of leaving a blank page at the beginning.

I am not feeling comfortable about the dining room. It is not by merely saying: "nothing will happen" that an accident can be avoided. Your mental formation may be strong, but the contrary formation is at least as strong as yours — and we must never tempt the adverse forces.

I ask you to discard all obstinacy and to be perfectly sincere. Go and see with no preconceived idea....

Go and see honestly, carefully, all round the place; consider that thirty people or so, are taking their meals there and, if anything happened what a horrible thing it would be — and, with the sense of your full responsibility, come tomorrow morning, with a final and definite answer — I shall trust your word.

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P. S. Naturally I am not expecting you to go tonight but tomorrow morning.

December 14,1931

Always aspire for this unattainable perfection.

The perfection I demand is not at all unattainable.

July 15, 1932

TWO NOTES FROM SRI AUROBINDO

There is no "my concern" and "his concern". Everything is the Divine's "concern" — since all belongs to the Divine.

I would like to add two questions.

1. Why do people in the Ashram (budding supermen) get furious against anything merely because it is new and unfamiliar ? That is common and natural in animals; but human beings ought to have more open minds.

2. Why are they so ready to pass positive judgments on things about which they have insufficient knowledge ? It would be better if they could accustom themselves to wait and learn.

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0 to belong to Thee without any shadow and with- out any reservation! Long have I wished for this, but I have failed. Now will you give me the strength, 0 Sweet Mother ?

(Written in beautiful handwriting in capitals)

After such a well-written prayer, how can it be otherwise ?

July 16, 1932

At every minute all the unforeseen, the unexpected, the unknown is before us. What is the remedy ?

To be plastic and vigilant, attentive and alert— receptive.

July 18, 1932

By the way, I saw the painter sand-papering the "salon" table and was horrified ! He was rubbing violently and in every direction with one or the other hand, while looking at anything and everything except what he was doing; poor table, what treatment! ! I like better not to think of what will come out of so much unconsciousness and carelessness.

July 20, 1932

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A single drop of Thy 'divine love can transform this suffering into an ocean of joy!

May all the tears be wiped away, all suffering soothed, all agonies dispelled, and may calm serenity inhabit the hearts of men.

I am sad, have pity on me.

0 Thou who soothest all the sufferings and dispellest all ignorance, Thou Supreme healer, have pity on me.

Break this resistance that fills me with agony. Why, why this night... ?

Explanations I could give many; the how and the why can easily be described — but is it really necessary ? It is not that which heals. Healing comes not from the head but from the heart.

To understand is good, but to will is better.

Self-love is the great obstacle.

Divine Love is the great remedy.

July 20, 1932

Sleep, child, sleep, with the Sweet Mother in thy heart ! Awake, child, awake, with the Sweet Mother in thy heart!

July 21, 1932

What childishness it is to imagine oneself responsible for anything....

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Thou hast taken away all care.... Let me lie down at Thy feet, 0 Sweet Mother.

Most willingly.

July 23,1932

Love, 0 Divine Love, in a silence rich with possibilities I salute Thee.

(Mother continues the prayer)

I open myself to Thee and I would obey Thee in absolute faithfulness.

July 28, 1932

True nobility, true superiority lies in goodwill.

July 29, 1932

It is always better not to show too much of what I have written, as I do not deal with everybody in the same way, and what I can say to one I would not say to another.

July 30, 1932

You know how you looked? Like a true Yogi ( I

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mean your atmosphere). Now I understand why.

July 31,1932

It is adoration translating itself into work—it is thus all the more precious.

July 31,1932

I thirst for Thy consciousness, 0 Sweet Mother, I dissolve in Thee.

This thirst shall be quenched when this, "0 Sweet Mother, I dissolve in Thee", is psychologically realised.

August 2, 1932

The wrong attitude can be in the body consciousness itself (lack of faith or of receptivity) and then it is very difficult to detect as it does not correspond to any wrong thought or feeling; the body consciousness being most often, and in almost everyone, subconscious.

August 8, 1932

Is it good to talk about one's experiences ? No general rule can be made for this, each case is

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different. The important point is the attitude behind the talk. It is only what is said as a pure and sincere offering on the altar of Divine Truth that can have a real value.

August 6,1932

To Her I give myself unreservedly.

Yes, therein lies safety and joy !

August 6, 1932

This was to remove all possibility of a feeling of scolding or reproach in what I was saying, because there was nothing of the kind intended. I was giving expression to an amused observation about the ways of the world and how it cannot but misunderstand the ways of us who are seeking for the Truth-expression too sincerely to be easily understood by ordinary people.

It is this seeking which gives the impression of hesitation, uncertainty, unsuccessful attempts, etc....

August 10, 1932

Accept the ardent flame of my gratitude.

Yes, it is accepted with deep affection.

August 10, 1932

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