The New Consciousness

May 3, 1969

This Consciousness is very interesting. It has (smiling) ... it's not scorn, it's a sort of faraway indifference for all human ideas - all conventions, all principles, all moralities, it finds all of that ... absolutely grotesque. Now and then, it comes into contact with human ideas (Mother takes a surprised tone of voice): "Ooh! So that's what they think ..." It's amusing!
There are two things. Death, it doesn't at all understand what we mean by that, the importance we attach to it - but not at all. And then, money, to this consciousness, is buffoonery: this system of money, the invention of this system, which prevents you from doing anything unless you pull out a banknote, to it, really it's buffoonery. Strange, I suddenly realize that the psychic being (dominating gesture behind) ... the psychic being is almost like a witness, it's a witness to the whole evolution of things, and it KNOWS (it understands the deeper reasons, it knows how things are). It's in the body that this Consciousness is so active, and so, every time the body goes on with the little habits from the time when there was a mind and a vital, really it feels it as buffoonery. And the attitude with regard to money is like ... Death, food and money: this Consciousness feels those are the three "awesome" things in human life, that human life revolves around those three things-eating, (laughing) dying, and having money - and to it, the three are ... they are passing inventions which derive from a wholly transitory state that doesn't correspond to anything very deep or very permanent. That's its attitude. And then, it teaches the body to be otherwise.
It tolerates food, provided it doesn't take up too big a place and isn't too cumbersome or too important; it says, "Very well, that's the way you're built, too bad for you, you've got to eat." (Mother laughs)
And then, death ... Just yesterday (yesterday afternoon), I had an example. An accident took place, have you heard about it? [[A teenage girl drowned in the Ashram's swimming pool in the presence of her whole group. ]] They're really wondering how it happened. As for me, I INSTANTLY saw that there was in the girl a psychic will (which she wasn't conscious of: she only felt an unease), but there was a psychic will to die (why? I don't know, I haven't yet seen why). That was clear. <165>
And how everything was arranged to favor that, it's almost miraculous (you don't talk about it because people will say you're going mad if you call such a misfortune "miraculous"). But habitually, all those who go into the swimming pool have to put their name down when they go out (that's the rule). Yesterday, the man who kept the register had asked to go to Madras at 6, so he wasn't there and no one's name was noted down, and so they didn't know ... Things like that. She went to see the group's captain and told her, "I am tired, I don't feel well, I want to go"; the captain said, "Yes, yes, you can go." (Of course, it was foolish not to check that she had left; the captain was busy and just thought, "All right, she's leaving.") The girl was then at the shallow end of the pool - impossible to get drowned there, unless you do it quite deliberately (they found her at the other end). But the pool was full of people - nobody saw anything. You see, everything was arranged just to ... force her to die. [[Let us note that the girl's sister, who was very close to her, should have accompanied her to the swimming pool, but was away on that day And when the girl's body was taken to the hospital and put under an oxygen tent, after two minutes the oxygen was exhausted and there was none left in the whole hospital. ]] Every precaution is in place, and not one worked .... And as soon as they told me the news of the accident, as soon as I was told, I immediately looked, and I saw, in the place of her psychic, a peaceful will, like this (Mother stretches out her two arms in an immutable gesture). They were working hard: they worked for hours; first they took all the water out (they know how to do that), they drained the body of the water, then started working-tractions and all that to try to make her breathe again - they worked for hours (they were ready to work the whole night), they did all they could. And the psychic was like this (same gesture), that is, immutable, determined. But she didn't know [that she was going to die]: it came through her vital to reach her, and she felt quite ill at ease, she said, "Oh, I want to go out." So they told her, "Yes, that's right, you should go ...." And because she had said that, naturally no one was worried when they didn't see her (no one had put their names down, so they couldn't check); it's only when they found her clothes ... She had been under water for over an hour.
This Consciousness was so conscious of the movement in everyone, of every reaction, it was extraordinary! And it's this Consciousness that saw this, that showed me this: a psychic like this (same immutable gesture), like an irrevocable decision. And for this Consciousness, you understand, it's like someone who decides to move to a new house, or to a new room, or even to change clothes .... "Why do you make so much, so much fuss about that?" <166>
I haven't said any of this, because ... I haven't said anything to anyone.

(silence)

Last year, you remember, there was a boy who drowned at Gingee: [[It was three years ago, in a pond, during an outing. See Agenda VII of 17 December 1966. ]] that was with P. [the group's captain]; and this little one, it was with B., R's sister [also a captain]. So I looked: outwardly, they are vitally very strong and very egocentric, which would be the external, material reason that allows the accident to take place-that is, no intuition of other's needs or state: no contact, they're like this (gesture closed in on oneself), but with an inner solidity on which, the psychic was leaning, for both of them [the two captains].
The other one too [the boy who drowned in the pond] wanted to go, but in his case it was very interesting: I saw Sri Aurobindo come and fetch him under water, and Sri Aurobindo said, "He will be born in the family" (he came back in a child), "he will come back in the first child to be born in the family." And this girl, I don't know yet what will happen, but her psychic being WANTED to go (for some reason or other). [[See in addendum Mother's comments to a disciple regarding this "accident." ]]

(silence)

The strange thing is that when you see things with this Consciousness, the PERFECTION of the organization is so TREMENDOUS that you are ... you're almost terrified! Normally, when she went down to the bottom they should have noticed it immediately-they would have brought her up and it would have been over (they know very well how to do that, nothing would have happened).

(silence)

For this Consciousness, apart from a few individuals, human beings are weak. They are weak beings. Highly speculative, imaginative, very highly active in the mind, oh, tremendously active; that gives it a sense of ... oh-oh, what agitation! But like that, from the psychophysical standpoint, weak.
Since it began, I've told you several times about this sense of a FORCE, an absolutely unusual force (I am not the only one: all those who are in contact with this Consciousness say they feel a force ... an extraordinary force). And it's this Consciousness. But it has a different character: it's a force that sees things differently, wholly differently. <167>
So then, for instance, these two I mentioned [P. and his sister, the two captains], from a human standpoint, you would say they're really insensitive - it's because they're insensitive and too egocentric that the accident took place. In other words, a reproach. In this light, "Oh, these are good instruments, one can lean on them [[Let us note that P. and his sister are both very muscularly solid. ]] (solid gesture), they won't sag, they're strong enough for one to lean on them." And all that is shown to the body, which is really beginning ... (laughing) to know things no body had ever learned before - ever. And to see life quite differently It feels ... (laughing) you know, it feels stupid, that is, consciously it's in one way, and then out of atavism, out of construction, it's tied down in the other way. So it feels very silly, very silly But the Consciousness held it (with yesterday's event), it HELD it in its Consciousness like that, present, until it had really understood everything in detail, and once it had really understood, poff! the thing was gone, finished. So it understands that when something is held like that, it means there's something to understand, it has a lesson to learn, and when the lesson has been learned, when it has understood, seen clearly-once it has seen clearly and it's all simple and very clear - that's it, poff! it's gone, finished (gesture showing the Consciousness letting go of the body), as though the thing were quite taken away That was taking place at night, while I am not disturbed (the night hours are the only ones when I am not disturbed every minute; I can carry on with my work untroubled), and then I saw. And that night was so peaceful, but with such peace! ... It's ten rungs above the ordinary material "peace," completely You know, the peace of a psychic will so powerful (Mother stretches her arms in a sovereign gesture), so tranquil ... that all our emotions, our reactions, all that absolutely looks like childishness. But the body understands very well (since this Consciousness came it has begun to understand lots of things), it understands that all that [emotions, reactions] was a necessary path to prepare receptive instruments.
It's really interesting.
There are all the vibrations, the little tensions in beings, and this Consciousness shows (it shows very clearly) how that is the cause of disorganizations, illnesses, distortions ... that vibration of constant trepidation - a vibration of weakness.

(silence)

<168> There was one thing. This little one, they're going to cremate her now. So they came to me with a tray of flowers to show me the flowers they were going to place on her body And there [with the tray], there was something of the little one - a psychic embryo; it was there, and it made a slight movement ... suddenly, a movement of such a deep tenderness. She was like this (gesture in front of Mother, with the tray of flowers), I took a rose, and it was as though I gave it to her in her hand; I gave it and said, "Here, it's for you." And all that, all those vibrations, it was all luminous, lovely, and she (the conscious part in her) was so per-fect-ly happy! ...
How can you tell that to the parents? They would say, "You're crazy ..."
But that's the FACT, the plain fact: I saw Champaklal come with the tray of flowers, and it [the psychic embryo] was floating above, like that; so when I saw her, I took a rose and ... there was something so lovely, so luminous, like that (a very small thing, not a great force or anything), but so lovely, so luminous, so happy, with such a sense of repose ....
And how many times it must happen like that!
Mon petit, we don't know anything! Day after day after day, I am increasingly convinced that WE KNOW NOTHING. We think we know, we think ... and we know nothing. We are in the presence of hidden wonders that elude us completely because we're idiots. There.
But with this Consciousness, there is the why of everything: everyone's reaction, why he acts in that way, and ... And since it's been there, not once have I seen in this Consciousness a reproach-not once did it reproach anyone. It has explained everything in such a way that it becomes so luminous, so understanding as to make you wonder, "Why should one reproach anyone? ..." Oh, for it, moral notions are something ... something ultra-stupid. But I told it (I am still telling it) that they were necessary in the course of evolution to refine matter and open the way to certain forces: if people had been from the beginning wholly satisfied with themselves, they would never have progressed. But now, it's time to see-time to see.
The vast majority of humanity is unconscious (what I call unconscious, that is, without contact with the Consciousness, not CONSCIOUSLY in contact with Consciousness), the vast majority; but for one who is capable of being above circumstances with a clear and precise vision of the why and the how ... it's wonderful.
There.
It's what Sri Aurobindo wrote in Savitri: God grows up on earth -God grows-but man ... (laughing), the wise man talks and <169> sleeps ... and no one will notice it till the work is over. [[Savitri, I.IV.55. ]] That's how it is. And he knew it.

(silence)

Do you have any news? ... Nothing?

Do I have a contact with this Consciousness?

Do you ...?

Have a contact with this Consciousness?

(Mother opens her eyes wide) I never even asked myself the question! I took it for granted.

But I can't make out the difference: for me there's always "the force," so ... I can't tell the difference between forces.

No, but I ... Mind you, if I hadn't had that experience of January Is', when I felt it come - I felt it, saw it come, it was wholly concrete, like ... like someone coming into the room, you understand, that concrete. So that's what made me take notice, otherwise I would have found it to be the normal course of the development. But that experience alerted me; that, and the fact that three people felt it before I said anything, and those three people told me about it before I even said a word. They told me about it while asking me, "What has happened?" That's what I found interesting. But, for me, it was the same thing as for them, there was no difference; I told them there wasn't any difference in gradation - it wasn't that this Consciousness was more intimate with me than with you all: it's the same thing, it was like someone coming in. But a someone ... superlatively conscious. That's what caused me to note the fact; otherwise I would have taken it as the course of the development, like you.
And it did that thing ... (it was the first time it happened to me ...
You see, I was asked, "What is the condition one should be in to fully receive this Consciousness?" So I was here, sitting like this, and the person was sitting where you are (a little more to the side), and I saw with my open eyes the Consciousness (not this consciousness: the Supreme Consciousness) come down (gesture like a column of light before Mother) ... That, mon petit, it can't be described .... <170>
I was like this (eyes wide open), and I saw it come (same gesture like a column) and settle down on the wooden floor like that, about this size (gesture: about five feet wide). All the rest was as usual (Mother shows the furniture, her bed, which she could see as usual), and there was "that" which I saw with these very eyes. Then this Consciousness took my consciousness (revolving gesture starting from Mother's left side, going through the column of light in front of Mother, and returning on the right side): I didn't see anything [i.e., any shadow]. I wondered whether it had gone through the column (yet I FELT it while going through). And then, so I would understand clearly it took the consciousness of the person sitting there and made it go through [the column of light], and I saw a slight form, I saw a blue form in the place of the head .... That was a weakness. For a long while I saw, I looked, then it went away all of a sudden. You know, it's so independent of one's will, aspiration, movements of consciousness - of everything. And like this: visible for this body - on its scale, you understand. Fantastic!
This body was accustomed to having experiences under the psychic's influence, in its adoration for ... the Supreme Conscious Truth - in adoration. Its whole joy was there, it was fully satisfied. But since that time, it has had experiences - which the other parts of the being had IN THEIR OWN WAY, but now this way this physical way is so concrete! ... So concrete and tangible .... The body can say, "I have SEEN the Supreme Consciousness," like people in the past who said, "I have seen God." - This body doesn't believe in God ... it believes in something much better than God! (laughter)
There. Is that all? Do you have anything to ask?

No, Mother.

Nothing? ... Mon petit, I can tell you (I don't like to tell things that look like compliments or flattery, that's why I don't say anything, but since you've asked me ...). As a matter of fact, I feel that this Consciousness moves about in you without meeting obstacles. It's only materially: the physical needs a slight encouragement to let itself ... be kneaded, so to speak, so you may become physically really receptive - but in my case, my body can't say anything, because it too is like that: it has that same difficulty, a pain here, a pain there, this here, and that ... all the time small things that ... For them to disappear, it has to remember. It's the only thing, it's analogous to you. But the Consciousness moves about (Mother makes a wavy gesture, pointing to Satprem's body), I see it move <171> about, always unhindered - unhindered, like something natural. You understand, it's like something natural: it goes through like this (same wavy gesture), perfectly natural. So it's all right! (Mother laughs)

***

ADDENDUM

(Mother's comments, noted down from memory by a disciple, in English, about the teenage girls drowning in the swimming pool.)

P. spoke to the Mother in detail at 1:30 p.m. today about the findings of his inquiry of yesterday's incident. To that the Mother said:
"I can tell you about the result of 'my' inquiry - the inner inquiry. Last night I was busy all the time looking at this incident. I found that it was her soul that took this decision - she was not conscious - but her soul wanted to go ... to leave her body. From the facts that I gather from you it seems that there was not enough reason for her drowning - in spite of it her soul managed to leave her body.
"This fact was further supported when this morning Champaklal brought a dish of flowers to be burnt on her body. I saw a pretty little flame in the center of the dish. Generally I do not give any flowers on the dish; I send it as it is. But today I was specially interested, I took a rose and put it on the flame of the dish. The flame grew big and it was glowing wonderfully - it was very beautiful."