The work of preparation for physical transformation is
essentially the work of transfer of power. It is now the material mind that has
to organize things. The Mother explains the difference between the physical
mind which is the mind of the physical personality formed by the body which is not the same as the mind of Matter: it is the
mind of the physical being and not the mind of Matter. The work of physical transformation in connected
with the mind of Matter. “It is this which is now being organised. It is that
which is important—for Sri Aurobindo had said that it was unorganisable and it
had only to be thrown out of existence. And I too had the same impression. But
when the action for transformation upon the cells is constant, this material
mind begins to be organised. It is this that is wonderful —it begins to be
organised. And as it is being organised, it learns to keep silent—that is most remarkable! It learns to keep quiet, keep silent and allow the supreme Force
to act without interfering.” When the mind of Matter opens to the supramental
light and force then there is the beginning of the transfer of power, of
physical transformation getting initiated. That is the Mind of Light, the very physical’s mind, of the
material mind opening to the light and force of Supermind. The Mother’s
yoga-tapasya had arrived at this point and was making a move towards its
further consolidation.
21 August
1965
Since the 15th there has been a whole work of
preparation for the transformation. What could one call it? ... a transfer of
power.
The cells, the whole material consciousness obeyed the
inner individual consciousness—most often the psychic or the mental (but the
mind has been silent since long). But now this material mind is busy organising
itself like the other or rather like all the others, like the mind in all the
states of being.
It is, as it were, a displacement of the directing
will. And there, materially, physically, it is something like a surprise; and a
need for identification with the new direction—that is a little difficult. It
is difficult also to explain. ... It is no more the same thing which makes you
act—“to act” means everything, to move, to walk, anything. It is no more the
same centre. And then, if through habit you try to cling to the old centre, oh!
it makes a great disorder and you must be very careful not to let the habit,
the old habit, express itself, manifest itself.
… for two days (two days continuously, I mean) there
was all the while an aspiration: “How will this new world be when it becomes
material here? How will this new world be?” And then that put me so much
“within” that I was... I was not distant, but there was a kind of a thick
blanket of haze between me and the world as it is. …
(Silence)
This morning, for example, several times, for some time
(I do not know how long, but not very short, a quarter of an hour, half an
hour, I do not know), the cells of the body, that is to say, the form of the
body, had the experience that to remain together or to be dissolved depends on
a certain attitude—an attitude or a will, something of both will and attitude. …
During—oh! it was long—the whole time between five o’clock and quarter to six,
it was like that.
That gives, at
the same time, the feeling of the unreality of life and of a reality which
one might call eternal: the feeling of death does not exist, it means nothing,
it is merely a choice. And the dislocation, which has no meaning, which has no
reason to be there, is a fantasy. …
Now that I have regained the ordinary consciousness, I
can express the thing; otherwise it would be difficult to express. And the
contrast or the opposition is painful, a suffering; both complain: the old has
the feeling that it swoons, and the new that it is not left quiet. When you are
in one or the other, it is all right, but when the two are together, it is not
very pleasant. And there is a kind of feeling of uncertainty. …
But this change of initiating power, ... this transfer
of power, has had upon me the effect of a unique experience, of something that
had never taken place before. Unhappily, that did not last long. But the
experience has left a kind of certitude in the body—it is less uncertain of the
future. It came to it, as if to tell it: “It will be like that.”
If that remains, it is evident immortality.
How do you
define this physical mind which was made the object of the transfer of power?
It is not the physical mind. It is long since the
physical mind has changed. ... It is the material mind—not even the material
mind: it is the mind of Matter. It is
the mental substance which belongs to Matter itself, to the cells. That is what
was once called the “spirit of the form”, when it was said that mummies kept
their body intact as long as the spirit of the form persisted. [1] It is that mind,
this wholly material mind. The other, the physical mind, was organised long
ago.
Then what is
the difference between this material mind and the physical mind?
The physical mind is the mind of the physical
personality formed by the body. It grows with the body, but it is not the mind of Matter: it is the mind of the
physical being. For example, it is this physical mind which gives the
character—the bodily character, the physical character—and which is in a large
measure formed by atavism and by education. All this is called the “physical mind”.
Yes, it is the result of atavism, of education and of the formation of the
body; it is what forms the physical character. For example, there are people
who are patient, people who are strong, etc.—physically I mean, not for vital
or mental reasons, but purely physically; you have a character. It is the
physical mind. And this is part of all integral yoga; you go through the discipline
of this physical mind. More than sixty years ago I did it.
But then, for
example, this mind which is spontaneously defeatist, having all sorts of fears,
apprehensions, always seeing the worst, repeating always the same things, is it
the physical mind or the material mind?
That is the most unconscious part of the physical mind
and that is the link joining the physical mind and this material substance. But
it is already an organised mind, you must understand. It is the most material
part touching the mind. ... How can one call this “mind”? You cannot even call
it the bodily mind—it is the mind of the cells, it is a cellular mind. This
cellular mind exists in animals, and even a little (very little, as a promise)
beginning in the plants—they respond to a mental action. They do respond. As
soon as Life manifests, there is already a promise of mind, of mental movement.
And in animals it is clear. Whereas this physical mind truly begins to exist
only in man. It is this which very little children already have; they already
have a physical mind; that is to say, two babies are not the same, their
reactions are not the same, there is already a difference. And it is this,
above all, which is given to you with the special form of your body, by atavism, and then fully developed by
education.
No, the physical mind, as soon as you take up an
integral yoga, must be dealt with; but this material mind, the cellular one, I
assure you, is altogether new, yes, altogether new.
It is the mind which was like an uncoordinated
substance, which was constantly active, but not organised (Mother makes a gesture of continuous trepidation). It is this which
is now being organised. It is that which is important—for Sri Aurobindo had
said that it was unorganisable and it had only to be thrown out of existence.
And I too had the same impression. But when the action for transformation upon
the cells is constant, this material mind begins to be organised. It is this
that is wonderful —it begins to be organised. And as it is being organised, it learns
to keep silent—that is most
remarkable! It learns to keep quiet, keep
silent and allow the supreme Force to act without interfering.
The greatest difficulty is in the nerves, because they
are so accustomed to the ordinary conscious will that when it stops and the
direct Action from the highest is asked for, they go mad, as it were. The other
day I had this experience, which lasted more than an hour, and it was
difficult; but this taught me many things—many. And all this is what can be
called the “transfer of power”; the former power withdraws; and then before the
body adapts itself to the new power, there is a period which is critical. As
all the cells are in a state of constant aspiration, it goes relatively
quickly, but all the same... the minutes are long.
But more and more there is a kind of certitude in the
cells that whatever happens is in view of this transformation and this transfer
of directing power. And even at the time when it is materially painful (not
even physically: materially painful), the cells keep this certitude. And then
they resist, they bear the suffering without depression, without being affected
in any way, with this certitude that it is to prepare for the transformation, the
process of transformation and of the transfer of directing power. As I said, it
is in the nerves that the experience is the most painful—naturally, because
they are the most sensitive cells, those that have the most acute sensation.
But they have a very considerable, very spontaneous, spontaneously strong
receptivity—without any effort—to the harmonious physical vibration (which is
very rare, but still it exists in some individuals). And this physical
vibration, what might be called a physical force,
a harmonious physical vibration (spontaneously harmonious, without the
necessity of a mental vibration, like the vibrations of a flower, for example;
there are physical vibrations like that, which carry in themselves a harmonious
force)—the nerves are extremely sensitive and receptive to this vibration,
which puts them right immediately.
It is very interesting, it explains much, explains many
things. A day will come when all this will be explained and put in its place.
It is not yet the time to reveal, but it is very interesting.
I have truly the impression that it is being organised,
the work has begun to be organised.
Naturally, one must carefully avoid allowing a mental organization
to intervene; that is why I do not try to explain too much; the mind would come
in and then it is no more that.
[1] In her talk of 10 March 1951, Mother said in
connection with the violation of tombs in