The Yoga of the Body Cells is the most fascinating element of Sri Aurobindo’s Supramental Yoga. Firstly it is something entirely new to the Earth. Even if there may have been some partial attempts in the past very little is known about it. At least there are no records left of any such attempt. It is also the final crowning movement of the Yoga given to earth and men by Sri Aurobindo. But indeed it is not something easy, even to conceive, let alone practice it. Can we collaborate in this process in some way? Sri Aurobindo and the Mother have left several hints and above all Their unfailing Help and Grace and Love are with all who sincerely aspire for the change. Here we share some of Her words regarding the physical transformation.
Words of the Mother
(In the same conversation of July 11, Mother said that to have the experience in its simple purity we mustn’t even know “where we are,” and yet “we want to see ourselves being, progressing, acting, to see ourselves….”)
That [the sense of an individual position, of being a particular being in a particular place, watching and feeling oneself being] really vanished with the last experience [of April 13]. Before, it used to get in my way a lot. I was always wondering how to get rid of it.
…We are faced with a strange enigma: a physical world WITHIN the physical world – another world, or the same one lived differently? A physical world where death no longer exists: one has died unto death. The world to come?… ]]
But this body is no longer MY body – it is A body.
July 14, 1962
* * *
I asked myself if for everybody the supramental process will always automatically involve a lot of physical suffering.
No, because I have a growing proof that those things I have mastered now, in the body, I have the power (I keep receiving letters and notes from here or there, from people here or there who have an illness) … it is beginning; so far it’s only a beginning, a very small beginning: the power to eliminate pain.
Will they have to go through all that suffering?
No! That Sri Aurobindo wrote very clearly: for all those who have faith and open themselves in surrender and faith, the work will be done automatically. As long as he was here, mon petit, all the thirty years I spent with him working, NOT ONCE did I have to make an effort for a transformation. Simply, whenever there was a difficulty, I repeated, My Lord, my Lord, my Lord … I just thought of him – hop! it went away. Physical pain: he annulled it. You know, some things that were hampering the body, some old habits that had come back, I only had to tell him: off they would go. And through me, he did the same for others. He always said that he and I did the Work (in fact, when he was here, it was he who did it; I only did the external work), that he and I did the Work, and that all that was asked from the others was faith and surrender, nothing more.
If they had trust and gave themselves in perfect trust, the Work was done automatically.
In your body’s cells, it is therefore a universal progress that is being made, it’s the earth that progresses.
Yes.
Ah, that day [April 13] the whole creation was colored waves, but not like the colors we have here, it was…. Ah, that day! …
For a good two hours it was absolutely…. The world, the whole creation seemed like a child at play, that’s how I related to it. And what play!
It was smiling, easy – VERY lovely, very easy.
It has never faded, it’s always there (gesture behind the head), and at any moment I can immerse myself in it all over again. But what a difference when, after THAT, you come back to an awareness of what is speaking, at least as tremendous a difference as with that “to die unto death.” Similarly, that “to die unto death” contained the full Power of THAT.[[Mother added: “This is what makes all the difference – the creative Power.” ]] It was clear and … stunningly powerful. And the same impression: easy, easy. There’s really no question of hard or easy – it’s spontaneous, NATURAL, and so smiling. And that “to die unto death” was filled with such JOY! Such joy…. I could almost have said, “It’s plain as day! Don’t you see how plain it is! But that’s it: we have only to die unto death, and that will be that!”
September 18, 1964
* * *
The only thing to do is not torment yourself and to say to the Lord (in all sincerity, of course), “It’s up to You. Rid me of this.” And it is very effective. Very effective. At times I have had old things like that dissolved in a flash; certain inveterate little habits – so stupid, but so ingrained you can’t get rid of them. Then, while doing japa or walking or meditating or whatever, suddenly the flame flares up and … (you have really had enough of it; it disgusts you, you want it to change, you really want the change) and you say to the Lord, “I can’t do it on my own.” (You very sincerely know you can’t do it; you have tried and tried and tried and have achieved exactly nothing – you can’t do it.) “Well then, I offer it to You – You do it.” Just like that. And all at once you see the thing fading away. It is simply wonderful.…
….And it’s the same thing: what’s needed is the path of vastness, widening, relaxation, ease, of BLOSSOMING in the vital – not so much a censorial vital as … as gentleness, a certain sweetness. The vital blossoming into beauty: sweetness and beauty. I don’t want to speak of “sentiments” because … oh, that lands us right in a quagmire! No, but … a sweetness and charm and beauty – but not there (in the head): here. And then rest – not a stiff and stony and stagnant rest, a rest within the undulation…. You let yourself float.
The art of letting oneself be carried by the Supreme, within Infinity.
But it is within the Infinity of the Becoming. And with none of the harshness, none of the shocks that are ordinarily experienced in life.
The art of letting oneself be carried by the Supreme (Mother clasps her hands together) within the Infinite Becoming.
Whatever comes from here (Mother touches her forehead, her face) … from here onwards it’s all harsh, dry, crumpled up – it’s violent, it’s aggressive. Even goodwill is aggressive, even affection, tenderness, attachment – all of that, it’s all terribly aggressive. Like the blows of a stick.
All mental life is harsh, actually.
That’s it, that’s what we must catch hold of – a sort of cadence, a wave movement, and it has such vastness, such power! It’s tremendous, really. And it doesn’t disrupt anything. It doesn’t displace anything, it doesn’t clash with anything. And it carries the universe in its undulatory movement – so smoothly!
But with a very simple movement, you can easily eliminate that from the consciousness; this movement can be formulated in an almost childlike way: “You alone, Lord, You alone can act…. You alone, Lord, You alone can act.” And then that easing off (it’s relaxation, actually): you just let yourself melt, let yourself melt. This (the head) keeps still, it doesn’t stir; you are wholly in the sensation, you let yourself melt. And … with a sense of boundlessness.
* * *
The body has been cradled by three Words….
Words that repeat themselves automatically, with no effort of will. This has become an automatic accompaniment. It is not so much the words in themselves as what they will represent and bring with them in their vibration…. I mean it would be quite inaccurate to say, “Only these Words are helpful,” no, not that. But they provide an accompaniment, an accompaniment of subtle, physical vibrations, which has built up a certain state or experience, a sort of association between the presence of those words and this movement of eternal Life, that undulating vibration.
In ordinary language, the vibration of the mantra is what helps the body to enter a certain state – but it is not particularly THIS mantra: it is the particular relationship established between a mantra (it has to be a true one, a mantra endowed with power) and the body. It surges up spontaneously: as soon as the body starts walking, it walks to the rhythm of those Words. And the rhythm of the Words quite naturally brings about a certain vibration, which in turn brings about the state.
But to say it’s these particular Words exclusively would be ridiculous. What counts is the sincerity of the aspiration, the exactness of the expression and the power; that is, the power that comes from the mantra being accepted. This is something very interesting: the mantra has been ACCEPTED by the supreme Power as an effective tool, and so it automatically contains a certain force and power….But it is a purely personal phenomenon (the expression is the same, but the vibrations are personal). A mantra leading one person straight to divine realization will leave another person cold and flat.
…It represents what you put into it – your aspiration, mon petit. No, to me it can represent only ONE thing…. I call it “the Supreme,” because you have to call it something, but that Something is the farthest limit of our aspiration, our aspiration in every sense, in all directions, on all occasions. Something that is the supreme summit of our aspiration, WHATEVER that aspiration may be, in whatever direction, in whatever realm – beyond, really beyond, Something beyond any form of activity.
For me, the most concrete approach to this is through the vibration of pure Love; not love for something, a love you give or receive, but Love in itself: Love. It is something self-existent. And it is certainly the most concrete approach for me.
May 31, 1962
Jun 2, 2015
