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<p class="paracenter"><b>Section Five </b>
</p>
<p class="paracenter"></p>
<hr></p>
<p class="paracenter"><b>XIX
</b>
</p>
<p class="paracenter"></p>
<p class="paracenter"><b>PRAYERS AND MEDITATIONS OF THE 
MOTHER </b>
</p>
<p class="paracenter"></p>
<p class="paracenter">(I)
</p>
<p class="paracenter"></p>
<p class="para"> The 'Prayers and Meditations of 
the Mother'. It is Life Divine in song, it is Life Divine set to music—made 
sweet and lovely, near and dear to us—a thing of beauty and a joy for ever.
</p>
<br>
<p class="para"> To some the ideal has appeared 
aloof and afar, cold and forbidding. The ascent is difficult involving immense 
pains and tiresome efforts. It is meant for the high-souled ascetic, not for the 
weak earth-bound mortals. But here in the voice of the Mother we hear not the 
call for a hazardous climb to the bare cold wind-swept peak of the Himalayas but 
a warm invitation for a happy trek back to our own hearth and home. The voice of 
the Divine is the loving Mother's voice.
</p>
<br>
<p class="para"> The Prayers and Meditations of 
the Mother are a music, a music of the lyre—I say lyre, because there is a lyric 
beauty and poignancy in these utterances. And true lyricism means a direct and 
spontaneous outflowing of the soul's intimate experiences.
</p>
<br>
<p class="para"> This wonder-lyre has three 
strings, giving out a triple note or strain: there is a strain of philosophy, 
there is a strain of yoga and there is a strain of poetry. We may also call them 
values and say there is a philosophical, a yogic
</p>
<br><p class="pageno">Page-75</p>
<hr>
<p class="para">and a poetic value in these 
contemplations. The philosophical strain or value means that the things said are 
presented, explained to the intellect so that the human mind can seize them, 
understand them. The principles underlying the ideal, the fundamental ideas are 
elaborated in terms of reason and logical comprehension, although the 
subject-matter treated is in the last analysis beyond reason and logic. For 
example, here is true philosophy expressed in a philosophic manner as neatly as 
possible.—&quot;A quoi servirait l'homme s'il n'était pas fait pour jeter un pont 
entre Ce qui est éternellement, mais qui n'est pas mani-festé, et ce qui est 
manifesté, entre toutes les transcen-dances, toutes les splendeurs de la vie 
divine et toute l'obscure et douloureuse ignorance du monde matériel? L'homme 
est le lien entre ce qui doit être et ce qui est; il est la passerelle jetée sur 
l'abîme, il est le grand X en croix, le trait d'union quaternaire. Son domicile 
veritable, le siège effectif de sa conscience doit être dans le monde 
intermédiate au point de jonction des quatre bras de la croix, là où tout 
l'infini de l'impensable vient prendre forme precise pour être projeté dans 
l'innombrable manifestation...&quot;<sup>1</sup>
</p>
<br>
<p class="para"> <sup>1</sup> Of what use would be 
man if he was not made to throw a bridge between That which eternally is, but is 
not manifested, and that which is manifested; between all the transcendences, 
all the splendours of the divine life and all the obscure and sorrowful 
ignorance of the material world? Man is the intermediary between that which has 
to be and that which is; he is a bridge thrown over the abyss, he is the great X 
in the cross, the quaternary link. His true abode, the effective seat of his 
consciousness, should be in the intermediate world at the: 
<br>
</p><p class="pageno">Page-76</p>
<hr>
<p class="para">Or again
</p>
<br>
<p class="para"> — &quot;Que de degrés différents dans 
la conscience! II faudrait réserver ce mot pour ce qui, dans un être, est 
iUuminé par Ta présence, s'est identifié à Toi et participe à Ta Conscience 
absolue, ce qui est &quot;parfaitement éveillé&quot;, comme dit le Bouddha.<sup>1</sup>
</p>
<br>
<p class="para"> &quot;En dehors de cet état, il y a 
des degrés infinis de conscience descendant jusqu'à l'obscurité complète, la 
veritable inconscience qui peut être un domaine pas encore touché par la lumière 
de ton amour (ce qui paraît improbable dans la substance physique), ou bien ce 
qui est, pour une raison d'ignorance quelconque, hors de notre région 
individuelle de perception.&quot;<sup>2</sup>
</p>
<br>
<p class="para"> However, we note that the 
philosophical strain merges into the yogic, rather the yogic strain is already 
involved in the philosophical. Here is an obvious and clear expression of this 
strain:
</p>
<br>
<p class="para"> joining point of the four arms of 
the cross, where all the infinity of the Unknowable comes to take precise form 
for being projected into the multitudinous manifestation....
</p>
<p class="para"> <sup>1</sup> How many and 
different are the degrees of consciousness! This word should be reserved for 
that which, in a being, is illumined by Thy Presence, identifies itself with 
Thee and participates in Thy absolute Consciousness, for that which has 
knowledge, which is &quot;perfectly awakened&quot; as says the Buddha.
</p>
<p class="para"> 2 Outside this state, there are 
infinite degrees of consciousness descending down to the complete darkness, the 
veritable inconscience which may be a domain not yet touched by the light of Thy 
divine love (but that appears improbable in physical substance), or which is by 
reason of some ignorance, outside our individual region of perception. 
</p>
<p class="pageno">Page-77</p>
<hr>
<p class="para"> —&quot;II faudrait que chaque jour, 
chaque instant, soit l'occasion d'une consecration nouvelle et plus complète; et 
non pas une de ces consécrations enthousiastes et tré-pidantes, suractives, 
pleine de l'illusion de l'ceuvre, mais une consécration profonde et
silencieuse qui n'est pas<sup> </sup>forcément apparente, mais qui pénètre 
et transfigure toute action. Il faudrait que notre esprit paisible et solitaire 
repose toujours en Toi, et que de ce pur sommet il ait la perception exacte des 
réalités, de la Réalité unique et éternelle, derrière les instables et fugitives 
appa-rences.&quot;<sup>1</sup>
</p>
<br>
<p class="para"> We are given all the disciplines 
necessary for the growth of the spiritual life: the processes, the procedures 
that have to be followed—object-lessons are given even for the uninitiated and 
for the very beginner, as well as instructions for those who aim at the highest 
heights; thus:
</p>
<br>
<p class="para"> —&quot;Il est toujours bon de 
regarder de temps en temps en soi et de voir qu'on n'est et ne peut rien, mais 
il faut en suite tourner son regard vers Toi en sachant que Tues tout et que Tu 
peux tout.
</p>
<br>
<p class="para"> Tu es la vie de notre vie et 
</p>
<p class="para"> la lumière de notre être,
</p>
<br>
<p class="para"> <sup>1</sup> Each day, each 
moment, must be an occasion for a new and completer consecration; and not one of 
those enthusiastic and trepidant consecrations, overactive, full of the illusion 
of the work, but a profound and silent consecration which need not be apparent, 
but which penetrates and transfigures every action. Our mind, solitary and at 
peace, must rest always in Thee, and from this pure summit it must have the 
exact perception of realities, of the sole and eternal Reality, behind unstable 
fugitive appearances. 
<br>
</p><p class="pageno">Page-78</p>
<hr>
<p class="para"> Tu es le maître de nos 
destinées.&quot;<sup>1 </sup>
</p>
<br>
<p class="para">Indeed philosophy and yoga go hand in hand. Yoga is 
applied philosophy. What is at first mentally perceived and recognised, what is 
accepted by the reason is made active and dynamic in life.The character embodies 
the abstract and general principles, the vital energy executes them, that is 
yoga. Philosophy brings in the fight of consciousness, yoga the energy of 
consciousness. Here we have an expression of what may be called &quot;yogic 
philosophy&quot;.
</p>
<br>
<p class="para"> — &quot;Il faut à chaque moment 
secouer le passé com-me une poussière qui tombe, afin qu'elle ne salisse pas le 
chemin vierge qui, à chaque moment aussi, s'ouvre devant nous.&quot;<sup>2</sup>
</p>
<br>
<p class="para"> Once again we see emerging the 
third note, the note of poetry. In fact the Prayers and Meditations abound in 
the most beautiful poetry, what can be more beautiful, even more poetically 
beautiful than these cadences !
</p>
<br>
<p class="para"> — &quot;Ta voix est si modeste, si 
impartiale, si sublime de patience et de miséricorde qu'elle ne se fait entendre 
avec
</p>
<br>
<p class="para"> <sup>1</sup> It is always good to 
look within ourselves from time to time and see that we are nothing and can do 
nothing, but we must then turn our look towards Thee, knowing that Thou art all 
and that Thou canst do all.
</p>
<br>
<p class="para"> Thou art the life of our life and
</p>
<p class="para"> the light of our being, 
</p>
<p class="para">Thou art 
the master of our destiny. 
</p>
<br>
<p class="para"><sup> </sup>
<sup>2</sup> We must at each moment shake off the 
past like falling dust, so that it may not soil the virgin path which, also at 
each moment, opens before us.
<br>
</p><p class="pageno">Page-79</p>
<hr>
<p class="para">aucune autorité, aucune puissance 
de volonté, mais com-me une brise fraîche, douce et pure, comme un murmure 
cristallin qui donne la note d'harmonie dans le concert discordant. Settlement, 
pour celui qui sait écouter la note, respirer la brise, elle contient de tels 
trésors de beauté, un tel parfum de pure sérénité et de noble grandeur, que 
toutes les folles illusions s'évanouissent ou se transforment dans une joyeuse 
acceptation de la merveilleuse vérité entrevue.&quot;<sup>1</sup>
</p>
<br>
<p class="para"> Or more beautiful than the 
beautiful simplicity of these lines!
</p>
<br>
<p class="para"> —&quot;Comme une flamme qui brûle 
silencieusement, comme un parfum qui monte tout droit, sans vaciller, mon amour 
va vers Toi...&quot;<sup>2</sup>
</p>
<br>
<p class="para"> If one asks for a classical 
perfection, here is a line that is on a par with a Racinian verse—
</p>
<br>
<p class="para"> —&quot;Mon coeur s'est endormi 
jusqu'au tréfonds de l'être...&quot;<sup>3</sup>
</p>
<br>
<p class="para"> And here is a line flowing with 
all the milk and honey
</p>
<br>
<p class="para"> <sup>1</sup>Thy voice is so 
modest, impartial, sublime in its patience and its mercy that it does not make 
itself heard with any authority, any potency of will; it is like a cool, soft 
and pure breeze; it is like a crystalline murmur that imparts a note of harmony 
to a discordant concert. Only for him who knows how to listen to that note, how 
to breathe that breeze, it contains such a treasure of beauty and such a perfume 
of pure serenity and noble grandeur, that all extravagant illusions vanish or 
are transformed into a joyful acceptance of the marvellous truth that has been 
glimpsed. 
</p>
<p class="para"> <sup>2</sup>Like a flame that 
burns in silence, like a perfume that rises straight upward without wavering, my 
love goes to Thee...
</p>
<p class="para"> <sup>3</sup>My heart has fallen 
asleep, down to the very depths of my being.
</p>
<br><p class="pageno">Page-80</p>
<hr>
<p class="para">of the Romantic muse:—
</p>
<br>
<p class="para"> —&quot;Et les heures s'évanouissent 
comme des rêves in-vécus...&quot;<sup>1</sup> which possesses furthermore the magic 
of an indefinable mysticism so rare in the French language. The mystic element 
gives a special grace and flavour, a transcendent significance serving as an 
enveloping aura to the whole body of these Prayers and Meditations.
</p>
<br>
<p class="para"> One cannot, for example, but be 
bewitched by the mystic grandeur of this image:—
</p>
<br>
<p class="para"> —&quot;O Conscience immobile et 
sereine, Tu veilles aux confins du monde comme un sphinx d'éternité. Et 
pour-tant à certains Tu livres Ton secret.&quot;<sup>2</sup>
</p>
<br>
<p class="para"> In fact three notes blend 
together indissolubly and form what we call 'mantra'—even like the triple mystic 
syllable AUM.
</p>
<br>
<p class="para"> Once, in connection with 
Shakespeare, I said that a poet's language, which is in truth the poet himself, 
may be considered as consisting of unit vocables, syllables, that are as it were 
fundamental particles, even like the nuclear particles, each poet having his own 
type of particle, with its own charge and spin and vibrations. Shakespeare's, I 
said, is a particle of Life-energy, a packet of living blood-vibration, 
pulsating as it were, with real heart-beat. Likewise in Dante one feels it to be 
a packet of Tapas—of ascetic energy, a bare clear concentrated flame-wave of
</p>
<br>
<p class="para"> <sup>1</sup>And the hours pass 
like dreams unlived.
</p>
<p class="para"> <sup>2</sup>O serene and 
immobile Consciousness, Thou watchest on the boundaries of the world like a 
sphinx of eternity. And yet to some Thou givest out Thy secret. 
<br>
</p><p class="pageno">Page-81</p>
<hr>
<p class="para">consciousness, of thought-force. 
In the Prayers and Meditations the fundamental unit of expression seems to be a 
packet of gracious light—one seems to touch the very hem of Mahalakshmi.
</p>
<br>
<p class="para"> The voice in the Prayers and 
Meditations is Krishna's flute calling the souls imprisoned in their worldly 
household to come out into the wide green expanses of infinity, in the midst of 
the glorious herds of light, to play and enjoy in the company of the Lord of 
Delight.
</p>
<br>
<p class="paracenter">(2)
</p>
<br>
<p class="para"> We have spoken of the three notes 
or strains in the Prayers and Meditations. Apart from this triple theme which 
after all means mode or modulation in expression, there is a triplicity in 
depth. Along with the strains, there are strands. Besides the value or quality 
of the things, the thing itself is a composite reality containing different 
levels. It is not a single, unilateral, one-dimensional world, but it is 
multi-dimensional consisting of many worlds, one within another, all telescoped 
as it were, to form a single indivisible whole.
</p>
<br>
<p class="para"> Now these prayers—who prays? And 
to whom? These meditations—who meditates? And who is the object of the 
meditation? First of all there is the apparent obvious meaning, that is on the 
very surface. It is the Mother's own prayers offered to her own beloved Lord. It 
is her own personal aspiration, the preoccupation of the individual human being 
that she is. It is the secret
</p>
<p class="pageno">Page-82</p>
<hr>
<p class="para">story, the inner history of all 
that she desires, asks for, questions, all that she has experienced and realised 
and the farther more that she is to achieve, the revelations of a terrestrial 
creature of the particular name and form that she happens to possess. Thus for 
example, the very opening passage of these prayers:
</p>
<br>
<p class="para"> <sup>1</sup>&quot;Quoique tout mon 
être Te soit théoriquement con-sacré, ô Maître Sublime, qui est la vie, la 
lumière et l'amour de toute chose j'ai peine encore à appliquer cette 
consécration dans les détails. Il m'a fallu plusieurs semaines pour savoir que 
la raison de cette méditation écrite, sa légitimation, réside dans le fait de Te 
l'adresser quotidiennement. Ainsi je matérialiserai chaque jour un peu de la 
conversation que j'ai si fréquemment avec Toi; je Te ferai de mon mieux ma 
confession...&quot; (2.11.1912)
</p>
<br>
<p class="para"> But we notice immediately that 
these are not exclusively personal, absolutely individual assertions. While 
speaking of herself, spontaneously she seems to be speaking on behalf of all 
men. The words that she utters come as it were, from the lips of all mankind. 
She is the representative human being. She gives expression to all that man 
feels or might feel but is not able or does not
</p>
<br>
<p class="para"> <sup>1</sup> Although my whole 
being is in theory consecrated to Thee, O Sublime Master, who art the life, the 
light and the love in all things, I still find it hard to carry out this 
consecration in detail. It has taken, me several weeks to learn that the reason 
for this written meditation, its justification lies in the very fact of 
addressing it daily to Thee. In this way I shall put into material shape each 
day a little of the conversation I have so often with Thee; I shall make my 
confession to Thee as well as it may be... (2.11.1912)
<br>
</p><p class="pageno">Page-83</p>
<hr></p>
<p class="para">know how to express and 
articulate. Here is how she describes her function as a representative person—so 
beautifully, so poignantly:
</p>
<br>
<p class="para"> <sup>1</sup>&quot;Alors j'ai pensé à 
tous ceux qui veillaient sur le bateau pour assurer et protéger notre route, et 
avec reconnaissance, dans leur cœur, j'ai voulu faire naître et vivre Ta Paix; 
puis j'ai pensé à tous ceux qui, confiants et sans souci, dormaient du sommeil 
de l'inconscience, et avec solhcitude pour leurs misères, pitié pour leur 
souffrance latente s'éveillant en eux en même temps que leur réveil, j'ai voulu 
qu'un peu de Ta Paix habite leur cœur, et fasse
</p>
<br>
<p class="para"> <sup>1</sup> &quot;I then thought of 
all those who were watching over the ship to safeguard and protect our route, 
and in gratitude, I willed that Thy peace should be born and live in their 
hearts; then I thought of all those who, confident and carefree, slept the sleep 
of inconscience and, with solicitude for their miseries, pity for their latent 
suffering which would awake in them in their own waking, I willed that a little 
of Thy Peace might dwell in their hearts and bring to birth in them the life of 
the Spirit, the light which dispels ignorance. I then thought of the dwellers of 
this vast sea, visible and invisible, and I willed that over them might be 
extended Thy Peace. I thought next of those whom we had left far away and whose 
affection is with us, and with a great tenderness I willed for them Thy 
conscious and lasting Peace, the plenitude of Thy Peace proportioned to their 
capacity to receive it. Then I thought of all those to whom we are going, who 
are restless with childish preoccupations and fight for mean competitions of 
interest in ignorance and egoism; and ardently, in a great aspiration for them I 
asked for the plenary light of Thy Peace. I next thought of all those whom we 
know, of all those whom we do not know, of all the life that is working itself 
out, of all that has changed its form and all that is not yet in form, and for 
all that, and also for all of which I cannot think, for all that is present to 
my memory and for all that I forget, in a great ingathering and mute adoration, 
I implored Thy Peace.&quot; (10.3.1914) 
<br>
</p><p class="pageno">Page-84</p>
<hr>
<p class="para">naître en eux la vie de l'esprit, 
la lumière dissipant l'igno-rance. Puis j'ai pensé à tous les habitants de cette 
vaste mer, les visibles et les invisibles, et j'ai voulu que sur eux s'étende Ta 
Paix. Puis j'ai pensé à ceux que nous avions laissé au loin et dont l'affection 
nous accompagne, et avec une grande tendresse, pour eux j'ai voulu Ta Paix 
con-sciente et durable, la plénitude de Ta Paix proportionnée à leur capacité de 
la recevoir. Puis j'ai pensé à tous ceux vers qui nous allons, que des 
préoccupations enfantines agitent et qui se battent pour de mesquines 
compétitions d'intérêt dans l'ignorance et l'égoisme; et avec ardeur, dans une 
grande aspiration, pour eux, j'ai demandé la pleine lumière de Ta Paix. Puis 
j'ai pensé à tous ceux que nous connaissons, à tous ceux que nous ignorons, à 
toute la vie qui s'élabore, à tout ce qui a changé de forme, à tout ce qui n'est 
pas encore en forme, et pour tout cela, ainsi que pour tout ce à quoi je ne puis 
penser, pour tout ce qui est présent à ma mémoire et pour tout ce que j'oublie, 
dans un grand recueillement et une muette adoration, j'ai imploré Ta Paix.&quot; 
(10.3.1914) 
</p>
<br>
<p class="para"> Or again:
</p>
<br>
<p class="para"> <sup>1</sup>&quot;Ce que j'ai voulu 
pour eux, avec Ta volonté, aux moments où j'ai pu être en communion véritable 
avec
</p>
<br>
<p class="para"> <sup>1</sup> What i
willed for them, with Thy will, at the moments when
i  could be in a true communion with Thee, grant that they may have received it on the day when, striving to forget external contingencies, they turned towards their noblest thought, towards their best feelings.</p>
<p class="para"> May the supreme serenity of Thy 
sublime Presence awake in them. 
</p>
<p class="pararight"> (22.3.1914)
</p>
<p class="pageno">Page-85</p>
<hr>
<p class="para">Toi, permets qu'ils l'aient reÇu 
en ce jour où, tâchant d'oublier les contingences extérieures, ils se sont 
tournés vers leur pensée la plus noble, vers leur sentiment le meil-leur. Que la 
suprême sérénité de Ta sublime Présence s'éveille en eux.&quot; (22.3.1914)
</p>
<br>
<p class="para"> But the Mother is not merely a 
representative, she has become all men, the entire humanity itself. She has 
identified herself with each person in her being and consciousness, she is one 
with all, all are merged in her. Her voice utters the cry of the human 
collectivity. Mother's Prayers and Meditations are the prayers and meditations 
of man. Thus again:
</p>
<br>
<p class="para"> <sup>1</sup>&quot;...il m'a semblé que 
j'adoptais tous les habitants de ce bateau, que je les enveloppais tous dans un 
égal amour, et qu'ainsi en chacun d'eux quelque chose de Ta conscience 
s'éveillerait.&quot; (8.3.1914)
</p>
<br>
<p class="para"> She has so clearly and 
unequivocally expressed her oneness with all men. She mentions specially the 
miserable, the poor and afflicted mankind:
</p>
<br>
<p class="para"> <sup>2</sup>&quot;Lorsque j'étais 
enfant — vers l'âge de treize ans et pendant un an environ — tous les soirs dès 
que j'étais
</p>
<br>
<p class="para"> <sup>1</sup>...it seemed to me that </b>
i 
 adopted all the inhabitants of this ship, and enveloped them in an equal love, and that so in each one of them, something of Thy consciousness would  awake.
(8.3.1914)<p class="para">
<sup>
	2</sup>When 
	i  was a child--about the age of thirteen and for about a year—every night as soon as
i 
	 was in bed, it seemed to me that
	i  came out of my body and rose straight up above the house, then above the town, very high.
i 
	 saw myself then, clad in a magnificent golden robe, longer than myself; and as
i 
	 rose, that robe lengthened, spreading in a circle around me to form, as it were, an immense roof over the</div>
<p class="para">
<br> 
</p><p class="pageno">Page-86</p>
<hr>
<p class="para">couchée, il me semblait que je 
sortais de mon corps et que je m'élevais tout droit au-dessus de la maison, puis 
de la ville, très haut. Je me voyais alors vêtue d'une magnifique robe dorée, 
plus longue que moi; et à mesure que je mon-tais, cette robe s'allongeait en 
s'étendant circulairement autour de moi pour former comme un toit immense 
au-dessus de la ville. Alors je voyais de tous côtés sortir des hommes, des 
femmes, des enfants, des vieillards, des malades, des malheureux; ils 
s'assemblaient sous la robe étendue, implorant secours, racontant leurs misères, 
leurs souffrances, leurs peines. En réponse, la robe, souple et vivante, 
s'allongeait vers eux individuellement, et dés qu'ils l'avaient touchée, ils 
étaient consolés ou guéris, et ren-traient dans leurs corps plus heureux et plus 
forts qu'avant d'en être sortis.&quot; (22.2.1914)
</p>
<br>
<p class="para"> But her being and consciousness 
are not lmited to mankind alone. She has identified herself with even material 
objects, with all the small insignificant physical things which our earthly 
existence deals with. This is how she takes leave of the house where she had 
lived, and the things it had sheltered, on the eve of a long journey:
</p>
<br>
<p class="para"> <sup>1</sup> &quot;Je les remercie 
avec reconnaissance de tout le charme
</p>
<br>
<p class="para">
 town. Then I would see coming out 
from all sides, men, women, children, the old, the sick, the unhappy; they 
gathered under the outspread robe, imploring help, recounting their miseries, 
their sufferings, their pains. In reply, the robe, supple and living, stretched 
out to them individually, and as soon as they touched it, they were consoled or 
healed, and entered back into their body happier and stronger than they had ever 
been before coming out of it. (22.2.1914)</p>
<br>
<p class="para">
<sup>1</sup> I thank them with 
gratitude for all the charm they have been able
</p>
<p class="pageno">Page-87</p>
<hr>
<p class="para">qu'ils ont su dormer 
extérieurement à notre vie; je sou-haite que, s'il est dans leur destinée de 
passer pour plus ou moms longtemps en d'autres mains que les nôtres, ces mains 
leur soient douces et sachant tout le respect que l'on doit à ce que Ton divin 
Amour, Seigneur, a fait surgir de l'obscure inconscience du chaos.&quot; (3.3.1914)
</p>
<br>
<p class="para"> It is to be noted how even a 
material object is taken up, purified and transformed almost into a living being 
by the Mother's loving touch.
</p>
<br>
<p class="para"> The same feeling of unity and 
oneness extends to the dumb plant world also. It is a oneness not partial or 
vague but total and absolute:
</p>
<br>
<p class="para"> <sup>1</sup>&quot;Une grande 
concentration s'est emparée de moi et
</p>
<br>
<p class="para"> to impart from the outside to our 
life; I wish, if they are destined to pass for a long or a brief period into 
other hands than ours, that these hands may be gentle to them and may feel all 
the respect that is due to what Thy divine Love, O Lord, has made to emerge from 
the dark inconscience of chaos. (3.3.1914)
</p>
<p class="para"> <sup>1</sup> A deep concentration 
seized on me, and I perceived that I was identifying myself with a single 
cherry-blossom, then through it with all cherry-blossoms, and as I descended 
deeper in the consciousness, following a stream of bluish force, I became 
suddenly the cherry-tree itself, stretching towards the sky like so many arms 
its innumerable branches laden with their sacrifice of flowers. Then I heard 
distinctly this sentence: 
</p>
<p class="para"> Thus hast thou made thyself one 
with the soul of cherry-trees and so thou canst take note that it is the Divine 
who makes the offering of this flower-prayer to heaven. 
</p>
<p class="para"> When I had written it, all was 
effaced; but now the blood of the cherry-tree flows in my veins and with it 
flows an incomparable peace and force. What difference is there between the 
human body and the body of a tree? In truth there is none, the consciousness 
which animates them is identically the same. (7.4.1917)
<br> 
</p><p class="pageno">Page-88</p>
<hr>
<p class="para">je me suis aperÇue que je 
m'identifiais avec une fleur de cerisier; puis à travers cette fleur avec toutes 
les fleurs de cerisier; puis descendant plus profondément dans la conscience, en 
suivant un courant de force bleutée, je devins tout à coup le cerisier lui-même, 
dressant vers le del, comme autant de bras, ses innombrables branches chargees 
de leur offrande fleurie. J'entendis alors distinctement la phrase suivante:</p>
<br>
<p class="para"> &quot;Ainsi tu t'es unie à l'âme des 
cerisiers et tu as pu de la sorte constater que c'est le Divin qui fait au ciel 
l'of-frande de cette prière de fleurs.&quot; Lorsque je l'eus écrit, tout s'effaÇa; 
mais maintenant le sang du cerisier coule dans mes veines, et avec lui une paix 
et une force incom-parables; quelle difference y a-t-il entre le corps humain et 
le corps d'un arbre? Aucune vraiment, et la conscience qui les anime est bien 
identiquement la même.&quot; (7.4.1917)
</p>
<br>
<p class="para"> Indeed the Mother's voice is the 
voice of all men, all creatures, all beings, all things. She stands for the 
entire earth, not only so, she is the Earth itself; the total terrestrial being 
is embodied in her, earth's aspiration, and pain and yearning find utterance in 
her:
</p>
<br>
<p class="para"> <sup>1</sup>&quot;Le monde douloureux 
s'est agenouillé devant Toi, Seigneur, en muette supplication la matière 
torturée se
</p>
<br>
<p class="para"> <sup>1</sup> This sorrowful world 
kneels before Thee, O Lord, in mute supplication; this tortured Matter nestles 
at thy feet, its last, its sole refuge; and so imploring Thee, it adores Thee, 
Thee whom it neither knows nor understands! Its prayer rises like the cry of one 
in a last agony; that which is disappearing feels confusedly the possibility of 
living: again in Thee; the earth awaits Thy decree in a grandiose prostration.
</p>
<p class="pararight"> (7.II.1915)
</p>
<p class="pageno">Page-89</p>
<hr>
<p class="para">blottit à Tes pieds, son dernier, son unique refuge; et en T'implorant ainsi, elle T'adore, Toi qu'elle ne connaît ni ne comprend ! Sa prière s'élève comme le cri d'un ago-jiisant; ce qui disparaît sent confusément la possibilité de revivre en Toi; la terre attend Ton arrêt dans une prosternation grandiose...&quot; 
(7-11-1915)</p>
<br>
<p class="para">
This is the second status of the Mother's being, the first is the personal and individual, the second is this collective and universal being. But she is not merely the universe, she is the Mother of the universe. Hers is not merely earth's prayer, but the prayer of the Mother of the earth. It is not merely the prayer of the universe but the prayer of the Universal Mother to the Supreme Lord for the deliverance of the universe, for the re-creation of the earth—indeed, for the deliverance of herself for the re--creation of herself out of the present ignorant manifestation:
</p>
<br>
<p class="para">
<sup>1&quot;</sup> O Mère, douce Mère que je suis, Tu es à la fois ce qui détruit et ce qui érige.
</p>
<br>
<p class="para">
L'univers entier vit dans Ton sein de sa vie innombrable et Tu vis dans le moindre de ses atomes immensément.
</p>
<br>
<p class="para">
Et l'aspiration de Ton infinitude se tourne vers Cela qui n'est point manifesté, afin d'implorer toujours une
</p>
<br>
<p class="para">
<sup>1</sup> Mother, sweet Mother, who I am, Thou art at once the destroyer and the builder.</p>
<p class="para">
The whole universe lives in Thy breast with all its life innumerable and Thou livest in Thy immensity in the least of its atoms.
</p>
<p class="para">
And the aspiration of Thy infinitude turns towards That which is <i>not </i>manifested to cry to it for a manifestation ever more complete and more perfect. (31.8.1914)
</p>
<br><p class="pageno">Page-90</p>
<hr>
<p class="para">plus complète et plus parfaite manifestation.&quot; (31.8.1914) 
</p>
<br>
<p class="para">
<sup>1</sup>&quot;Je suis les bras puissants de Ta miséricorde. Je suis la vaste poitrine de Ton amour sans limites.... Les bras ont enveloppé la terre douloureuse et la pressent tendrement sur le cœur généreux; et lentement un baiser de suprême bénédiction est posé sur cet atome en conflit: le baiser de la Mère qui console et guérit...&quot; (11.8.1914) 
</p>
<br>
<p class="para">
<sup>2</sup>&quot;Toute la terre est dans nos bras comme un enfant malade qu'il faut guérir et pour lequel on a, à cause même de sa faiblesse, une tendresse toute spéciale.&quot; (14.10.1914)
</p>
<br>
<p class="para">
The triple status of the Mother, the individual, the collective and the transcendental (or, in other words, the personal, the universal and the supra-personal) has been condensed and epitomised in the magical note describing 1er first meeting with the Lord:
</p>
<br>
<p class="para">
<sup>3</sup>&quot;Peu importe qu'il y ait des milliers d'êtres plongés dans
</p>
<br>
<p class="para">
<sup>1</sup>I am Thy puissant arms of mercy. I am the vast bosom of Thy limitless love.... The arms have enfolded the sorrowful earth and tenderly press it to the generous heart; slowly a kiss of supreme bene-diction settles on this atom in conflict: the kiss of the Mother that consoles and heals. (11.8.1914)
</p>
<p class="para">
<sup>2</sup>All the earth is in our arms like a sick child who must be cured and for whom one has a special affection because of his very weakness.
</p>
<p class="para">
(14.10.1914) 
</p>
<p class="para">
<sup>3</sup>It matters not if there are hundreds of beings plunged in the densest ignorance. He whom we saw yesterday, is here on earth; His presence is enough to prove that a day shall come when darkness shall be transformed into light, when Thy reign shall be indeed established upon earth. (30.3.1914)
</p>
<br><p class="pageno">Page-91</p>
<hr>
<p class="para">la plus épaisse ignorance, Celui que nous avons vu hier est sur terre; sa présence suffit à prouver qu'un jour viendra où l'ombre sera transformée en lumière, et où effectivement, Ton règne sera instauré sur la terre.&quot;
</p>
<br>
<p class="pararight">
(30.3.1914)
</p>
<p class="pararight"></p>
<p class="para">
And the reality that Their manifestation upon earth has to establish, the supreme achievement of Their terrestrial existence is chanted, as it were, in these wonderfully mystic-Sibylline-lines:
</p>
<br>
<p class="para">
<sup>1</sup>&quot;La mort a passé vaste et solennelle et tout s'est tu religieusement durant son passage. Une beauté surhumaine a paru sur la terre. Quelque chose de plus merveilleux que la plus merveilleuse félicité fait pressentir sa Présence.&quot; (7.11.1915)
</p>
<br>
<p class="paracenter">(3)
</p>
<p class="paracenter"></p>
<p class="para">
I have spoken of the triple status, the three levels of her ascending reality, these are in view of her manifestation, of world-labour. There is however, yet another status beyond—beyond the beyond—it is the relation between the Supreme Lord and the Divine Mother in itself apart from their work, their purpose in manifestation, it is their own 'Lila' between themselves, exclusively their own.
</p>
<br>
<p class="para">
<sup>1</sup> Death has passed, vast and solemn, and all fell into a religious silence during its passage.
</p>
<p class="para">
A superhuman beauty has appeared on the earth. 
</p>
<p class="para">
Something more marvellous than the most marvellous bliss has made felt the impress of its Presence. (7.11.1915)
</p>
<br><p class="pageno">Page-92</p>
<hr>
<p class="para">The delight of this exclusively personal play behind and beyond the creation sheds a secret aroma in and through all this existence here and it is also the source of the hidden magic that these utterances of the Prayers and Medita-tations contain, it is to this status surpassing all wonder that Sri Aurobindo refers so wistfully and so sweetly in those famous opening lines, in 'God's Labour':
</p>
<br>
<p class="para">
I have gathered my dreams in a silver air</p>
<p class="para"> Between the gold and the blue
</p>
<p class="para">
And wrapped them softly and left them there
</p>
<p class="para"> My jewelled dreams of you.
</p>
<br>
<p class="para">
The delight of delights, the purest delight that exists up there in its self-sufficiency overflows, spills as it were, and a drop of that nectar of immortality is what constitutes these universes here below.
</p>
<br><p class="pageno">Page-93</p>
</p>
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	</table>
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