One who has not controlled his own self and has not conquered his own defects, cannot expect to conquer and control the forces of the world. It is by practising self-conquest that we learn how to conquer the world.
As long as we have not removed our imperfections and transformed our instruments, our work in the world is bound to be full of mistakes and failures. The intuitions we receive from above will be confused by the wanderings of our mind; the impulses we receive from Thy will, Mother, will be distorted by our egoistic desires and attachments; and though Thy divine force descends into us, through our own obstruction and rigidity it may lead to disasters instead of victory. So we must not meddle with the affairs of the world, until by practice and discipline we have made ourselves free, pure and plastic instruments of the divine will; we must confine ourselves only to such work under Thy direct guidance, Mother, as will serve to mould and transform us.
Before we venture to work upon the world, we have plenty of work and more to do within ourselves. We can easily recognise the false and lower movements in us, and can constantly invoke Thy will and force and light, Mother, in order to correct and transform them. It is thus that we can practise our union with Thee and steadily turn ourselves into perfect instruments in Thy hands for the victorious performance of Thy will in the world. It is by practising self-control under Thy guidance and help, Mother, that we learn how to conquer the world.
