Every action upon earth, in its execution and its consequences, is necessarily mixed because such is the nature of terrestrial life. There is a darkness of Ignorance that hangs over and around everything but there is also a point of Light that shines at the core of everyone and everything. It is this Light of the Divine Presence that is the source of hope in all beings.
The flower called “Hope” by the Mother is a small star-shaped flower that grows upon a creeper. Violet-blue with five petals it has a white core. It is so symbolic for like the star there is hope even in the thick of night of a light that is there and working and reaching out to us to guide ad illumine our path. Also as in the flower, there shines a little point of Light in every human being, in fact in every element of creation and it is this that brings Hope.
Even in the thick of night, there is hope and we must become willing optimists to see that side. On the contrary, pessimists see only the dark side of things. This optimism does not come from outer circumstances that often look dismal but from the sense of the Divine Presence in all things and beings. This is the work of Grace to keep uplifting us out of the morass of darkness and ignorance in which we are caught. But we have to from our side open to the Grace and that is what needs so much effort and is the main thrust of yogic endeavours.
The present talk touches upon some of the aspects of this hope that we must always carry under all circumstances however dismal they may appear to be.
Words of the Mother
IT is Thy Presence in every being, O divine Master of love, that makes it possible for every man, even the most cruel, to be open to pity and even the most vile to respect, almost despite himself, honour and justice. It is Thou who, beyond all conventions and prejudices, illuminest with a special light, divine and pure, all that we are and all that we do, and makest us see clearly the difference between what we actually are and what we could be. Thou art the impassable barrier set up against the excess of evil, darkness and ill-will; Thou art the living hope in every heart of all possible and future perfections. To Thee all the fervour of my adoration. Thou art the gateway within reach of our conception leading to unsuspected and inconceivable splendours, splendours which will be revealed to us progressively.
Prayers and Meditations: January 29, 1914
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O LORD, my one aspiration is to know Thee and serve Thee better every day. What do outer circumstances matter? They seem to me each day more vain and illusory, and I take less and less interest in what is going to happen to us in the outer life; but more and more am I intensely interested in the one thing which seems important to me: to know Thee better in order to serve Thee better. All outer events must converge upon this goal and this goal alone; and for that all depends upon the attitude we have towards them. To seek Thee constantly in all things, to want to manifest Thee ever better in every circumstance, in this attitude lies supreme Peace, perfect serenity, true contentment. In it life blossoms, widens, expands so magnificently in such majestic waves that no storm can any longer disturb it. O Lord, Thou art our safeguard, our only happiness, Thou art our resplendent light, our pure love, our hope and our strength. Thou art our life, the reality of our being!
In a reverent and joyful adoration I bow to Thee.
Prayers and Meditations: March 12, 1914
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Never say, “So-and-so does not do this”, “So-and-so does something else”, “That one does what he should not do” all this is not your concern. You have been put upon earth, in a physical body, with a definite aim, which is to make this body as conscious as possible, make it the most perfect and most conscious instrument of the Divine. He has given you a certain amount of substance and of matter in all the domains mental, vital and physical in proportion to what He expects from you, and all the circumstances around you are also in proportion to what He expects of you, and those who tell you, “My life is terrible, I lead the most miserable life in the world”, are donkeys! Everyone has a life appropriate to his total development, everyone has experiences which help him in his total development, and everyone has difficulties which help him in his total realisation. If you look at yourself carefully, you will see that one always carries in oneself the opposite of the virtue one has to realise (I use “virtue” in its widest and highest sense). You have a special aim, a special mission, a special realisation which is your very own, each one individually, and you carry in yourself all the obstacles necessary to make your realisation perfect. Always you will see that within you the shadow and the light are equal: you have an ability, you have also the negation of this ability. But if you discover a very black hole, a thick shadow, be sure there is somewhere in you a great light. It is up to you to know how to use the one to realise the other.
This is a fact very little spoken about, but one of capital importance. And if you observe carefully you will see that it is always thus with everyone. This leads us to statements which are paradoxical but absolutely true; for instance, that the greatest thief can be the most honest man (this is not to encourage you to steal, of course!) and the greatest liar can be the most truthful person. So, do not despair if you find in yourself the greatest weakness, for perhaps it is the sign of the greatest divine strength. Do not say, “I am like that, I can’t be otherwise.” It is not true. You are “like that” because, precisely, you ought to be the opposite. And all your difficulties are there just so that you may learn to transform them into the truth they are hiding. Once you have understood this, many worries come to an end and you are very happy, very happy. If one finds one has very black holes, one says, “This shows I can rise very high”, if the abyss is very deep, “I can climb very high.” It is the same from the universal point of view; to use the Hindu terminology so familiar to you, it is the greatest Asuras who are the greatest beings of Light. And the day these Asuras are converted, they will be the supreme beings of the creation. This is not to encourage you to be asuric, you know, but it is like that – this will widen your minds a little and help you to free yourself from those ideas of opposing good and evil, for if you abide in that category, there is no hope.
Questions and Answers: February 17, 1951
