As long as we keep up a sort of compromise with our old self and our old life, we raise a great obstacle to the working of the higher force in us. Currents and influences constantly enter into us from the life of the race, which tend to keep us bound to the average level of humanity.
At the Feet of The Mother
Meditations by Anilbaran
The Mother made this selection from Anilbaran’s prayers offered to her. She termed the collection a “Spiritual Dictionary”. They were published as part of the book “Songs from the Soul” (Pondicherry, 1939, reprinted in 1946 and 1966).
The following quotation from “The Mother” by Sri Aurobindo was chosen by Anilbaran to open the book:
“Follow your soul and not your mind, your soul that answers to the Truth, not your mind that leaps at appearances; trust the Divine Power and she will free the godlike elements in you and shape all into an expression of Divine Nature.”
I have not to deny any of the real heeds and desires of my soul, but have to turn to Thee for their real fulfilment. I have only to discard the falsehood and pretence which hides my true self from me.
Always to follow Thee, to shape myself into Thy image, always to keep me full of Thyself, to lay my heart’s homage at Thy feet, that is my only tapasya, I know nothing else, I have no other rule or principle.
Thou art the sadhaka in me, Mother; Thou hast descended into me and assumed my bonds and limitations, so that Thou mayest conquer and transform them. I have only to surrender myself and with absolute confidence rely on Thee; everything else Thou wilt do for me.
Thou art seated in the heart of my heart, Mother; to keep my mind and heart and soul always turned towards Thyself is my only sadhana...
Seeking to aggrandise and glorify my ego, I have constantly brought worry and shame on myself; now all my egoistic pursuits are ended, I shall no more hanker after any work but shall allow Thy will to work in me
All the true and good and beautiful things in the world are but derivations and reflections from Thee, Mother; they are true with Thy truth, good with Thy goodness, beautiful with Thy beauty. Apart from Thee they are mere shadows, mere misleading appearances.
By submitting to Thee, Mother, I submit to my own highest self, and that is the true condition of freedom.
Thy grace and sweetness and beauty have filled my whole life with gladness. In allowing me to offer my love to Thee and lay my heart’s homage at Thy feet, Thou hast given me the surest means of purifying myself and preparing for the immortal joy of the divine life.
Subtle are the ways in which our nature plays false with us [...] We pretend to be what we are not; we really are what we pretend not to be. We know things to be wrong, yet somehow justify them to ourselves; we know things to be right, yet persuade ourselves against them.
When we feel disturbed by the opinions of others, to that extent our surrender is incomplete, and our dependence on the divine will imperfect. Those who have completely dedicated themselves will seek only the satisfaction of the Divine Mother, and disregard what the whole world may have to say of them.
How long shall I allow my temple to be defiled by those forces of darkness and falsehood? At my present rate of progress, I shall never be able to rid me of their evil influence completely. With my unaided strength, I shall never be able to conquer them finally. Come then, Mother, with Thy mighty violence smashing all obstacles in me, snapping all the chords of desire and attachment
... by real surrender we do not cease to be individuals, but become subtly identified with the Supreme Divine [...] We become one with the divine Mother, yet perfectly our own selves. This is the supreme mystery of existence.
Every individual is an infinity in himself, a concealed godhead, an eternal portion of the supreme Divine. Every jiva represents a particular phase, a particular mode of the cosmic play, and in and through every one the divine Mother is unfolding the infinite universe
The source of all true strength is the self; our body and mind are only channels for the manifestation of the inner force; yet we rely on our bodily and mental efforts for our work and thus waste our life in vain and fruitless labour.