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.
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.”
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.