Questions asked to The Mother & Sri Aurobindo Archives

Are you conscious of the energies you receive and those you spend?

September 18, 2026

One is more or less conscious of the energy one spends, especially when one wastes it too much! It is a question here of the

Poverty

September 11, 2026

It is a world which has emerged from the Inconscient and these things [poverty and misery] are results of the imperfect working of the human

Selfishness and Unselfishness

September 4, 2026

Selfishness and the reaction of unselfishness of which you speak are both of them things that have to be put aside—both are obstacles or movements

Is not an increasing effort of meditation needed and is it not true that the more hours you meditate the greater progress you make?

August 28, 2026

The number of hours spent in meditation is no proof of spiritual progress. It is a proof of your progress when you no longer have

In the case of some persons who turn to the Divine it happens that every material prop or everything they are fond of is removed from their life. And if they love someone, he also is taken away.

August 22, 2026

It is a thing that does not happen to all. It happens to those that are called. Whatever difference there is between the West and

Vice and Virtue

August 14, 2026

Vice and virtue have nothing to do with darkness or light, truth and falsehood. The spiritual man rises above vice and virtue, he does not

Life on Other Planets

August 7, 2026

As for the other question, there is no reason to suppose that there is not life in any part of the material cosmic system except

When the consciousness has attained to supramental joys, does it no longer take interest in the things of the mind?

July 31, 2026

The supramental does not take interest in mental things in the same way as the mind. It takes its own interest in all the movements

Will a time come when the hostile forces will be there no longer?

July 24, 2026

When their presence in the world is no more of any use, they will disappear. Their action is used as a testing process, so that

Straightforwardness

July 17, 2026

Straightforwardness means simply to be honest with oneself and with the Divine and not to be crooked in one’s ways. Self-justification is unwillingness to recognise

What is the place of training or discipline in surrender? If one surrenders, can he not be without discipline? Does not discipline sometimes hamper?

July 10, 2026

Maybe. But a distinction must be made between a method of development or discipline and a willed action. Discipline is different; I am speaking of

“If we are to attempt an integral Yoga, it will be as well to start with an idea of the Divine that is itself integral. There should be an aspiration in the heart wide enough for a realisation without any narrow limits. Not only should we avoid a sectarian religious outlook, but also all one-sided philosophical conceptions which try to shut up the Ineffable in a restricting mental formula.” – Sri Aurobindo, The Synthesis of Yoga, SABCL, Vol. 20, p. 76 […]

July 10, 2026

Everyone forms an idea of the Divine for himself according to his personal taste, his possibilities of understanding, his mental preferences, and even his desires.

Earnestness

July 3, 2026

In the major part of your being you are very much in earnest. But of course there are always parts or rather parts of parts

When we are concentrated in mental movements or intellectual pursuits, why do we sometimes forget or lose touch with the Divine?

June 26, 2026

You lose it because your consciousness is still divided. The Divine has not settled into your mind; you are not wholly consecrated to the Divine

What is the nature of dreamless sleep?

June 19, 2026

Generally, when you have what you call dreamless sleep, it is one of two things; either you do not remember what you dreamt or you

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