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VI<p align=center style="line-height: 150%; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0">
&nbsp;<p align=center style="line-height: 150%; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0">
<font face="Times New Roman" size="4">LIBERTY</font><font size="4"> AND 
SELF-CONTROL</font><p align=justify style="line-height: 150%; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0">
&nbsp;<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0" align="justify">
<font face="Times New Roman">We are a larger assembly here today — we have increased
in number.... Now, we all want to be good boys and good
girls, is it not? Nobody wants to be a bad boy or a bad
girl; but the problem is how to be a good boy or girl and
how not to be a bad boy or girl. In what does goodness
consist? You all know the fine gesture that Mother taught
us once. Gesture means a physical movement — here a physical movement to control 
yourself; control, self-control is a very important, a very necessary item of our
life. So the Mother once said: supposing you are very
angry and you are inclined to give a blow to your comrade,
then, the Mother's advice is, instead of stretching your
hand towards your friend to give him a blow, put it in
your pocket; that is a fine gesture and it brings you a fine result: you feel a 
kind of release, a joy and peace, something new and fresh comes into you. Your anger is gone,
you are almost a new person. That is the lesson Mother
taught us in the matter of controlling ourselves. Usually
we are moved by our impulses and passions particularly
towards wrong things, then what you need is to check
yourself, to control yourself. You must note that this
control you are taught is self-control, that is to say, it is a
thing not forced upon you, you are not compelled to do it.</font><p style="line-height: 150%; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0" align="center">
<font face="Times New Roman" size=2>Page- 41</font><hr align="justify">

			<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0" align="justify">
<font face="Times New Roman">You do it because of your own will, because you like to do
it, because it is a fine gesture that attracts you. Usually
the control is imposed upon you, out of fear of punishment,
because of inconvenient or unpleasant results that might
follow your loss of control. So instead of an outsider
ruling you, you rule yourself voluntarily. The Mother
adds also, illustrating the point: to train, that is to say, to
control a wild horse what you do is to put a bridle in its
mouth and hold it and check it. That is good for an animal who does not know what he is; for a man, he can do
better: he can put the bridle himself in his own mouth,
that is what controlling oneself is. It means as a human
being you have been given freedom; it is given so that you
may choose yourself what is to be done and what is not to
be done. Instead of being forced to do the right thing you
are given the alternatives either to do the right or do the
wrong, to choose between the two and choose the right
thing of your free will.</font>

<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0; text-indent:25px" align="justify">
<font face="Times New Roman">Here in the Ashram, the Mother has said very many
times, you have been given almost infinite freedom.
There are of course certain rules and regulations; naturally when you live in society and have common
work to do, there must be some rules and regulations.
But the beauty here is that even if you break a role,
even a very important rule, you are not punished.
In other words, the choice is left to you, you have
broken the rule, you yourself find that you have
broken the rule and then you try and rectify yourself, do</font>
<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0" align="center">
<font face="Times New Roman" size=2>Page- 42</font><hr align="justify">

			<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0" align="justify">
<font face="Times New Roman">the right thing. That is the true function of freedom — it
is not freedom to do anything you like but to discipline
yourself, to follow the right of one's own free will. A
discipline here is not inflicted upon you, you are not
ordered to do one thing and not to do another under pain
of punishment, but you find the truth by yourself and for
yourself and you do it yourself, and you have the joy,
the pleasure of doing the right thing and the happiness
of growing, maturing in your consciousness. You have infinite freedom here so 
that you may grow in your consciousness infinitely.</font>

<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0; text-indent:25px" align="justify">
<font face="Times New Roman">I was speaking of self-control, self-discipline in your
inner being, that is to say, with regard to your desires and
impulses and feelings. It is however the same discipline
as you follow with regard to your body in the playground.
Physical education means nothing else than controlling
and disciplining the body. You control and discipline the body through physical 
exercises and these mean controlled and guided movements. You have to make these
movements in a regular, persistent, ordered and a neat
way, it is the way to make your body strong and beautiful.
As by means of this physical discipline you secure a strong
and beautiful body, even so by the inner discipline, by
controlling your passions and impulsions you build an
inner body strong and beautiful. Yes, even like a physical body you have a subtle body, a body as it were
within this material frame. It is not, however, for that
reason, something vague and imprecise, on the contrary, </font>&nbsp;<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0" align="center">
<font face="Times New Roman" size=2>Page- 43</font><hr align="justify">

			<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0" align="justify">
<font face="Times New Roman">it is very concrete and has a definite shape. As I said, by
controlled and directed movements you make this outer
body strong and beautiful, the inner body also in the same
way through controlled and directed inner movements
can be made strong and beautiful. In properly doing the
physical exercises, you know, two things are needed: first
of all, doing the physical movements according to the
rules, in other words, exercising the muscles in a given
manner, and then along with it relaxation. Relaxation and
exercise should alternate. Relaxation restores the muscles,
brings repose to the system and serves as a kind of basic
support. In the field of the inner discipline, this relaxation
corresponds to what I have called freedom. And the
muscular exercises correspond to the exercise of your will
and consciousness in regard to the inner body.</font>

<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0; text-indent:25px" align="justify">
<font face="Times New Roman">The building up of the inner beautiful body has a great
influence upon the building of the physical body, it adds
something, it gives a feeling of inherent capacity, firmness
and charm even to the physical frame.</font>

<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0; text-indent:25px" align="justify">
<font face="Times New Roman">Many find it difficult at the outset to make the right
movement even in the matter of physical exercises. What
is needed is will and persistence. More difficult, much
more difficult it is to make the right inner movement, there
also what is needed is will and persistence. Sometimes in
the matter of inner discipline which means doing the right
thing, you say, &quot;If I know the right thing to do, then I can
do it, to do the right thing I must know the right thing.
If I do not know the right thing, how can I do it?&quot; In</font>
			<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0" align="center">
<font face="Times New Roman" size=2>Page- 44</font><hr align="justify">

			<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0" align="justify">
<font face="Times New Roman">the same way many exclaim: &quot;How to find God, how to
see God? I do not know what God is. Then how can I
try to find Him?&quot; They say: &quot;First you must see God,
then you can believe.&quot; In fact this is not true. The truth
is the other way round. The Mother says, &quot;If you are
sincere, absolutely sincere and you take the resolution that
you will do the right thing whatever happens, then surely
the right thing will reveal itself to you.&quot; But the basic
condition is that. Your resolve must be there, to do the
right whenever it presents itself to you whatever the cost.
Indeed you are not, a human being is not so obscure and
inert as the appearance shows. There is a soul in everyone, there is a light 
within you which always points to the right.&nbsp;
Only you are absent-minded, you do not care to look
around and be on the alert. If you care, truly want to
see the light, you will see it there before you. You must be
ready to recognise it. It all depends upon your will, your
good will, your inner sincerity. The inner sincerity will
show you your path, the next step you are to take and you
will know more and more as you advance. But if you
hesitate, if you have in the background of your mind as it
usually happens, the feeling that even if you see the right
thing you may not do it, you may not be prepared to face
too much difficulty or opposition in the execution. The
very wavering thought that you may not do it will obscure
your path and the light will not be there. You have to
believe, believe blindly, for you know what you believe in
is not anything wrong or mistaken, for your urge is to</font>
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<font face="Times New Roman" size=2>Page- 45</font><hr align="justify">

			<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0" align="justify">
<font face="Times New Roman">welcome the truth, a sincere readiness to welcome the
truth when it comes, this will bring forward the truth and
if you proceed, proceed in this way, welcoming the light
every time it comes, disregarding all other pulls and distractions, your welcoming becomes easier and warmer and
the light grows brighter and brighter. By your faith and trust you increase the 
power of your discrimination, increase the force of your character, increase the influence
of a growing light upon your nature and your inner being;</font>

<font face="Times New Roman">your true person in you grows in stature, grows in
strength and beauty.</font>

<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0; text-indent:25px" align="justify">
<font face="Times New Roman">In this path there is another line for 
growth and development which is of considerable importance as you will see.
You are here — or for that matter anywhere in society —
not alone but you live together with others. You study
together, play together, work together. You have friends,
comrades, companions, you are in a group, in a company.
Now it is of great importance to have the right company,
you must have good companions, good comrades, good
friends. That will help you in ways more than one. In
this connection I can do nothing better than just to read
out what the Mother says on the subject. She says: usually
in your ignorance and simplicity, foolish simplicity, you
choose convenient friends, that is to say, those who praise
you, flatter you, who do not contradict you even if you go
the wrong way, even they encourage you in doing the
wrong thing in order to be friendly with you. Such friends
are dangerous, dangerous to yourself and dangerous to</font>
			<font face="Times New Roman">your so-called friends too. Here is the text of the Mother's
words:</font>
			<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0" align="center">
<font face="Times New Roman" size=2>Page- 46</font><hr align="justify">

			<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0; margin-left:25px" align="justify">
<font face="Times New Roman">C'est cela qui doit etre a la base de l'attitude que 1'on est
en droit d'attendre d'un veritable ami: il ne doit pas
vouloir que vous lui ressembliez, mais que vous soyez,
au contraire, tel que vous etes.</font>

<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0; margin-left:25px" align="justify">
<font face="Times New Roman">Et j'avais ecrit: &quot;Notre meilleur ami est celui qui nous
aime dans Ie meilleur de nous-memes.&quot; D'une facon un
peu plus positive, je dirai: celui qui vous encourage a
descendre au niveau Ie plus bas de vous-meme, qui vous
pousse a faire des sottises avec lui, ou a devenir vicieux
avec lui, ou qui vous approuve dans tout ce que vous
avez de vilain, celui-la n'est pas votre ami. Et pourtant,
tres souvent, beaucoup trop souvent, on fait son ami de
celui avec lequel on n'est pas gene quand on est au-dessous de soi-meme. On s'associe avec ceux qui cou-
rent au lieu d'aller a 1'ecole et qui vont voler des fruits
dans les jardins, avec ceux qui se moquent de leurs pro-
fesseurs et qui font toutes sortes de choses vilaines; c'est
pourquoi j'ai dit: &quot;Ceux-la ne sont pas vos bons amis.&quot;
Mais enfin, ce sont les amis les plus confortables, parce
qu'ils ne vous donnent jamais 1'impression que vous
etes en faute. Tandis qu'a celui qui viendrait vous dire:</font>

<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0; margin-left:25px" align="justify">
<font face="Times New Roman">&quot;Dis donc, au lieu d'aller courir, a ne rien faire, ou a
faire des betises, si tu venais en classe, tu crois que ce ne serait pas mieux?&quot;—a celui-la, generalement, on repond: &quot;Tu m'embetes, tu n'es pas mon ami.&quot;</font>
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<font face="Times New Roman" size=2>Page- 47</font><hr align="justify">

<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0" align="justify">
<font face="Times New Roman"><b>&nbsp;</b>.... II faut considerer comme son meilleur ami celui qui
se refuse a participer a une action mauvaise ou laide,
celui qui vous encourage a resister aux tentations infe-
rieures; celui-la, c'est 1'arni.</font>

<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0; margin-left:25px" align="justify">
<font face="Times New Roman">C'est avec lui qu'il faut vous associer et non avec celui
qui fortifie vos mauvais penchants et participe a vos
mauvaises actions.<sup><font size="2">1</font></sup></font>

<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0" align="justify">
&nbsp;<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0" align="justify">
&nbsp;<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0; text-indent:25px" align="justify">
<font face="Times New Roman"><sup>1</sup><i> <font size="2">Bulletin of Sri Aurobindo International Centre 
of Education:</font></i><font size="2"> Aug.
1961. Pp. 38-41.</font></font><font size="2"> </font>

<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0; text-indent:25px" align="justify">
<font size="2" face="Times New Roman">&quot;That should be the basis of the attitude which one has the right to
expect from a true friend: he must not wish that you should be like
him, but that you should be, on the contrary, what you are.</font><font size="2">
</font>

<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0; text-indent:25px" align="justify">
<font size="2" face="Times New Roman">And I wrote, &quot;Our best friend is he who loves us in our best part.&quot;
In a more positive way, I would say: he who encourages you to descend
to the lowest level in you, who drives you to do stupid things with him
or become vicious along with him or approves all that is vile in you is
not your friend. And yet, very often, much too often, you make a
friend of him with whom you do not feel uneasy when you are below
your own self. You associate with those who run about instead of
going to school, who would steal fruits from gardens, those who poke
fun at their teachers and who do all sorts of nasty things. That is why
I said, &quot;Such people are not your good friends&quot;. But they are the
friends who are very comfortable, because they never give you the
impression that you are in the wrong. Whereas if one comes and tells
you, &quot;I say, instead of roaming about doing nothing or doing stupid
things, why not go to your class, don't you think it would be better ?&quot;
To such a person you would generally reply, &quot;you are troublesome,
you are not my friend.&quot;</font><font size="2"> </font>

<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0; text-indent:25px" align="justify">
<font size="2" face="Times New Roman">... One should regard him only as his best friend who refuses to take
part in a bad or ugly act, who encourages you to resist all lower temptations. He is indeed your friend.</font><font size="2">
</font>

<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0; margin-left:25px" align="justify">
<font size="2" face="Times New Roman">It is with him that you should associate and not with one who strenthens your bad propensities and takes part in your bad actions.&quot;</font><font size="2">
</font>
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<font face="Times New Roman" size=2>Page- 48</font><hr align="justify">

			<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0" align="justify">
<font face="Times New Roman">And the Mother adds :</font>

			<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0" align="justify">
&nbsp;<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0; margin-left:25px" align="justify">
<font face="Times New Roman">Au fond, on ne devrait prendre pour amis que des gens
plus sages que soi-meme, des gens dont la compagnie
vous ennoblit et vous aide a vous surmonter, a progresser, a agir mieux et a voir plus clair. Et finalement. Ie
meilleur ami que 1'on puisse avoir, n'est-ce point Ie
Divin? Ie Divin a qui 1'on peut tout dire, tout reveler,
parce que c'est la qu'est la source de toute misericorde,
de tout pouvoir d'effacer 1'erreur quand elle ne se reproduit plus, qui peut ouvrir la route vers la realisation
veritable; Ie Divin qui peut tout comprendre, tout guerir, qui vous aide sur Ie chemin a ne pas faiblir, ne pas
broncher, ne pas tomber et qui vous mene tout droit au
but. C'est Lui, 1'ami vrai, 1'ami des bons et des mauvais
jours, celui qui ne fait jamais defaut. Quand on 1'appelle
sincerement, II est toujours la pour vous guider, pour
vous soutenir et pour vous aimer de la vraie facon.<sup><font size="2">1</font></sup></font>

			<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0; text-indent:25px" align="justify">
&nbsp;<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0; text-indent:25px" align="justify">
<font size="2" face="Times New Roman"><sup>1</sup> &quot;In reality, you should take as friends only those persons who are
wiser than you, whose company ennobles you, helps you to transcend
yourself, to progress, to act better and see clearer. And finally, the best
friend that one can have, is it not the Divine! the Divine to whom one
can say everything, disclose everything, because here is the source of
all kindness, of the power that effaces every error when it is no longer
repeated, which can open the path to the true realisation; the Divine
who can understand everything, cure everything, who helps you on
the way not to waver, not to falter, not to fall down and who leads you
straight to the goal. He is the true friend, the friend in good and bad
days, who never fails you. When you call him sincerely, he is always
there to guide you, to sustain you and love you in the true way.&quot;
<i>{Ibid.)</i></font><font size="2"> </font>
<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0" align="center">
<font face="Times New Roman" size=2>Page- 49</font><hr align="justify">

			<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0; text-indent:25px" align="justify">
<font face="Times New Roman">So you see, the best friend that you can have, the Mother
says, is the Divine Himself, that is to say, the Mother
Herself. You can find no other friend so friendly, so loving
and so lovable. Do not think she is too great for you, she
is very far and you are very small. It is not true. She can
be, she can make herself as small as yourself to be with
you: because she is you.</font>

<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0; text-indent:25px" align="justify">
<font face="Times New Roman">I will tell you here a personal story. When we were
together with Sri Aurobindo, long long ago, we were
almost as young as you are, not quite though, only a
few years older: we had then like you, infinite freedom, we
did almost whatever we liked, went wherever it pleased us
to go, we did not care much for food or dress or luxuries
but we liked pleasant picnics, and along with that of
course a little bit of study: but studying not any imposed
lessons, studying whatever we liked, whatever we chose to
read. Then one day, years after, Sri Aurobindo told us —
we were at that time only four or five in number — he told
us, somewhat seriously, he was seldom serious or grave
with us, he had always his smile — &quot;You have so forgotten
yourselves, you do not think even of what you have come
here for (because we had all left our family, even our
country and all worldly considerations); to be with
you, to be one of you, I have made myself very small,
I have cut myself so to say to your size to walk with
you, to be on the same level. Even then you cannot follow,
I seem to be still too far from you. That won't do. Now
you must try to run and come up to me. I cannot make</font>
<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0" align="center">
<font face="Times New Roman" size=2>Page- 50</font><hr align="justify">

<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0" align="justify">
<font face="Times New Roman">myself still smaller. I have made myself sufficiently
small.&quot;</font>

<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0; text-indent:25px" align="justify">
<font face="Times New Roman">I may remind you here of what Sri Krishna did in this
line, something very similar. Sri Krishna, the Divine,
became a very ordinary playmate of cowherd-boys and
village maids and was one of them and with them, almost
with no apparent difference. The Divine not merely as
the Master, the Guru, the leader or the captain but as a
loving playmate and comrade is a very extraordinary
Indian conception of the Divine. Arjuna in his loving
tenderness for his friend Krishna almost forgot to respect
him and honour him, he could only embrace him. But one
day revelation came to him as to who his intimate friend
and comrade really was: he was dumb-founded and full
of contrition and repentance for his past lapses. I may tell
you Arjuna's state of mind in his own words — as stated
in the Gita:</font>

<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0" align="justify">
&nbsp;<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0; margin-left:25px" align="justify">
<font face="Times New Roman">&quot;For whatsoever I have spoken to Thee in rash vehemence, thinking of Thee only as my human friend and
companion, '0 Krishna, 0 Yadava, 0 Comrade,' not
knowing this Thy greatness, in negligent error or in
love, and for whatsoever disrespect was shown by me to
Thee in jest, at play, on the couch and the seat and in the
banquet, alone or in Thy presence, 0 faultless One, I
pray forgiveness from Thee, the Immeasurable.&quot;<sup>1</sup></font>

			<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0; margin-left:25px" align="justify">
&nbsp;<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0; margin-left:25px" align="justify">
<font face="Arial" size="2"><sup>1</sup> </font>
<font face="Times New Roman" size="2"> <i>The Gita:</i> XI. 41-2</font>
<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0" align="center">
<font face="Times New Roman" size=2>Page- 51</font><hr align="justify">

			<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0; text-indent:25px" align="justify">
<font face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;However what I wanted to say is, the Mother is truly
your mother and as truly your friend and comrade. She
loves you as no one else can love. She answers to your love
as no one else can. And she teaches you how to love. Even
if you are full of errors and mistakes, it does not matter,
she takes you as you are, you can be quite free and open to
her, she is there to understand you, to help you. She is
not there to scold you or find fault with or criticise you.
If you are not able to correct yourself, you have simply to look to her, she 
will do what is needful for you. I have always spoken to you of a body beautiful, an inner body
beautiful and an outer body beautiful — any wrong
thought or feeling or act leaves a stain, a scar upon your
inner body, you are to see that the stain goes away and the
body resume its glow, you are not always able to do it with
your own will and effort because you do not know how to
do it, but only try not to repeat the error and take your
shelter in the Mother's presence, in her arms. The stain
disfigures your inner beauty, you have to pray and appeal
to her: with her healing touch she will remove all stain and
disfiguring mark. It is an experience that some of you must
have had in some way or other, must have felt in dream at
least, the loving embrace of the Mother. You have to live
in it, live it even in your waking hours. Be sincere and ask
for it, your wish will be granted.</font>
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<font face="Times New Roman" size=2>Page- 52</font><hr>
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