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<title>The Iron Chain*</title>

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<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:center;line-height:150%; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0"><b
style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'><font size="4">The Iron Chain*</font><o:p></o:p></b></p>
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<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify;line-height:150%;mso-pagination:
none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0'><i><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p></i></p>

<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify;line-height:150%;mso-pagination:
none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0'>How many of you have been
here since the beginning, I mean from the Kindergarten classes -
any?<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>&nbsp; </span>One, two, three, four... Oh, a good
many. Very creditable, very creditable indeed, that so many have continued so
long and passed through. This is really something creditable.</p>

<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify;text-indent:11.25pt;line-height:
150%;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0'>I
will tell you a story in this connection. A young man who was an aspirant, a
seeker of spiritual or religious life, once upon a time went to Gandhiji. He
wanted to remain there. He said, &quot;I am a seeker of spiritual life. I want
to remain with you.&quot; Gandhiji saw the person and accepted him. &quot;It is
all right, you may try,&quot; he said. He remained there sometime, pretty long
time, perhaps even more than a year. But at the end of the year he approached Gandhiji and said, &quot;Please permit me to go away from here. Somehow I feel
I cannot remain any longer.&quot; Then he came away, he came away, where do you
think? Here to the Ashram. The Ashram he liked very much and remained here, and
continued to remain. After some years Gandhiji thought of the young man.
&quot;Where is he? He was a nice man. Where is he gone?&quot; Then he learnt
that the young man was here in Sri Aurobindo Ashram. How many years?
&quot;Seven years!&quot; Gandhiji was astounded. &quot;How is it? I know the
young man. I knew he was a restless person, so uncertain about himself, about
his movements – he could not stick to one place or one occupation for long. And
he has been in Sri</p>

<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify;text-indent:11.25pt;line-height:
150%;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0'><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p></p>

<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify;text-indent:8.85pt;mso-line-height-alt:
9.8pt;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none; line-height:150%; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0'><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt'>* A Talk to the out-going
students of the Centre of Education (Sri Aurobindo Ashram) on 29-1O-1977.</span></p>
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<span
style='font-size:10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt;'>Page – 32 
<o:p>&nbsp;</o:p></span></p>

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<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify;line-height:150%;mso-pagination:
none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0'>Aurobindo Ashram for seven
years! It is a great credit to Sri Aurobindo Ashram being able to keep him so
long!&quot; And I may add: he is still here! So I may say those of you who have
continued to remain here may claim some credit for their performance, or does
the credit go to the Ashram?</p>

<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify;text-indent:10.05pt;line-height:
150%;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0'>I
have an idea. You have heard very much of the golden chain that the Mother puts
on whoever comes near her and touches her – an unbreakable eternal chain we all
knew and experienced, the golden chain with which she ties everyone whoever
comes in her embrace. Now I feel she has another chain also in her wallet –
handcuffs and fetters – with which she binds some people physically to her, to
her material Presence. She takes up the physical destiny also of the person.
The golden chain belongs of course to the soul that is eternal, beautiful and
glorious and all that: it is another matter. But even the very body, this
material carcase can belong equally to the Mother. With the golden chain you
are the beloved of the Mother, or her lover, but with the iron chain you become
a physical slave. Yes, I am trying to hint that those who have been here for
long years, many from their infancy, have earned a particular merit: from the
spiritual point of view this continuance, this continuity, I may add, is
itself something significant, it is an achievement. Even if you do not pass any
examination, that is, move up, promoted from class to class after a hard test,
instead, even if you simply glide through, pass along ambling and at <span
class=GramE>ease, that</span> is sufficient. There is something that remains,
something very valuable sticks to the consciousness – of which you may not be
aware now, but one day you are sure to know and recognise. So I congratulate
you all for your happy achievement which is indeed the sign of a signal grace
of <span class=GramE>Her</span>.</p>
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<p class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center;mso-pagination:none;
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<span
style='font-size:10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt;'>Page – 33 
<o:p>&nbsp;</o:p></span></p>

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