Let me no more act from attachment or desire or blind instinct, but respond only to impulses coming directly from Thee... I cannot escape from the bonds of this terrible mechanism unless Thou, in Thy Grace, lift me and take up my whole life into Thy divine being and consciousness.
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.”
Work is of value to us as a part of our sadhana only when it serves to bring us closer to Thee, Mother; otherwise, it is an obstacle, a waste of time and energy... As long as we are attached to our work .... it keeps us bound to the lower life, and obscures the Divine from our view.
I am weak, ignorant and impure, but I have dared to love Thee with all my heart and soul, and therein lies my hope. In Thy grace Thou wilt correct all my defects, raise me out of human manners and impurities and make me worthy of Thy divine love and affection. With all my faults I entrust myself entirely into Thy hands, Mother.
Thou art always there with outstretched hands, ever ready to help me, to protect me, to embrace me in Thy infinite love. If I do not turn towards Thee, that is solely my own weakness, my own fault. Yet Thou dost never forsake me, Mother, such is Thy grace and love; and therein lies my hope of salvation.
Words have a great creative power. When spoken in sincere faith and aspiration, they never go in vain. The words we speak to Thee, Mother Divine, in prayer, act as a great power for our inner transformation.
An obedience from hope of gain or reward, or from fear of loss or punishment, is of little use. We must consciously and willingly offer our obedience to Thee, Mother. Thus, we shall grow into Thy own self, and our obedience will be ultimately merged in a blissful harmony and identification with Thee.
Before we venture to work upon the world, we have plenty of work and more to do within ourselves. It is by practising self-control under Thy guidance and help, Mother, that we learn how to conquer the world.
It is not sufficient that in our inmost being we have an aspiration for the divine life; the superficial, the outermost parts also must aspire after perfection.
Our difficulties and obstacles are our great aids; they can always be utilised as stepping stones in our upward march, and they are often intended to be such by our Divine Friend and Guide, by the kind and graceful Mother.
Yoga is not merely thinking of Thee, Mother, with the mind, or bowing the head at Thy feet; these are certainly great aids and starting-points, but in themselves they cannot take us very far. We must fill our whole being with Thy living presence, we must constantly live in active and integral union with Thee — that will be Yoga in the real sense of the term.
We cannot ourselves change the nature of the different parts of our being, but we can make them consent to be changed... We cannot ourselves conquer the hostile forces, but we can resolutely refuse to invite them or tolerate them... When we shall fulfil these conditions, the highest Divine Grace will descend and conquering all our defects and obstacles will raise us to the life divine.
Aspiration is our only tapasya, aspiration is the only fire we are to keep burning in our heart at all times and under all circumstances. We need light no other fire, we need no other askesis or austerity.