智慧箴言：生日的意义，灵魂的新生

即便命运纠缠混乱

死亡与跌倒令人痛苦不堪

我们在生命中仍然感觉到

有一只伸出的手

就在我们身边 生生世世相伴

它始终为我们紧握着

一个必然的终极结果

没有任何意志可以夺走

也没有任何厄运可以改变

当人心开始冒险出生入死

承诺让我们挣扎的灵魂彰显神性

让我们有意识地戴上永生之冠

是谁塑造了这个世界？

祂永远是世界的主人

我们的错误是祂前进的脚步

我们生命的剧烈变迁

战争与辛劳时艰难的呼吸

我们的罪恶、悲伤与眼泪

在其中有祂在导航

祂的知识超越我们的无明

无论我们要承受什么样的表面波澜

无论我们是否罪恶滔天

无论我们此生命运如何

当我们什么也看不见

只能随波逐流 裹足不前

一个强大的带路人仍然引领着我们穿越这一切

在我们为这个超级分裂的世界服务之后

我们将享有与生俱来的权利

神圣的喜乐 与神合一

在“未知”的日历上定下一日

以纪念那荣耀的诞生

我们的灵魂将印证它为何走上这曲折多变的旅程

当下未有或遥不可及的一切都会来临

这些平静而遥远的力量终将发挥作用

坚定地准备好完成祂们注定的任务

永远智慧、慈悲的光明

等待着灵魂化身的召唤

去跨越和桥接无知的鸿沟

治愈生命的空虚与渴求

填满宇宙这无尽的深渊

                                                                              节选自室利·阿罗频多的灵性史诗《莎维翠》

母亲的话

母亲：你的生日是明天吗？

修行者：是的，母亲。

母亲：你多大了？

修行者：母亲，我26岁了。

母亲：你明天来见我，我会给你一个特别的生日礼物。我说的不是物质的礼物，比如给你一张生日贺卡或诸如此类的，而是某种……你明天就会知道的。你现在回家去吧！静静地让自己做好准备以接收这个礼物。

修行者：好的，母亲。

母亲：我的孩子，你知道“祝你生日快乐”究竟有什么意义吗？

修行者：母亲，我知道这是一句祝词，但我不知道您要告诉我它的特殊意义。

母亲：生日确实是人一生中一个特殊的日子。一年中，在像生日这样的日子里，至上神性降临我们的内在——或者，我们会与永恒面对面——我们的灵魂与永恒连结，并且，如果我们保持一点觉知，就能够感觉到祂就在我们的内在。如果我们在生日这一天精进一点，我们可以在如电光火石的一瞬间成就多生多世的修行。这就是我为什么这么重视生日——因为在这一天一个人能达到的境界真的是不可比拟。为此，我也在促使意识向上方敞开一些，让人有可能面对永恒。我的孩子，生日是一个非常特别的日子，因为这是做决定的日子，是一个人可以与至上意识合一的日子。因为，在生日这一天，至上圣神将我们提升至可能达到的最高意识场域，以促使我们的灵魂——它是那永恒火焰的一部分——体认它的来源并与之合一。

这一天的确是人生中的一次契机。你会非常敞开，能够吸纳给予你的一切。我可以做很多事情（以帮助你提升），这就是为什么生日这么重要。

在像生日这样的日子里，至上圣神亲自为我们打开一扇扇门。祂似乎在邀请我们重新点燃渴愿的火焰，让它烧得更旺。这是祂赐予我们的一个日子。我们通过自己的努力也能够成就修行，但过程会更加漫长、艰辛，不是那么容易。生日是人生中恩典降临的真正契机。

这种神秘现象总是在每年生日的这一天发生，而我们却并不知情。灵魂离开身体，一直上升，直到融入源头并吸收来自至上圣神的能量、光明与喜乐，然后下到身体里，有足够的能量过一整年。它一次又一次，年复一年地继续着。

*

问：人应该如何过生日？

母亲：……找到生活的目的。

母亲，1969年12月13日

*

问：今天是我的生日。我想从今天开始过更有灵性的生活，因此必须采取行动。请您告诉我必须做什么。

母亲：人不应该用头脑来决定必须做什么；它应该是在真诚、持续的渴愿中产生的一种自发行为。

母亲，1939年5月22日

*

问：除了纪念人的诞生之外，生日的意义是什么？要如何把握住这个机会？

母亲：由于受宇宙力量节律的影响，一个人在每年生日这一天会特别有接收力。

因此，可以利用这种接收力，下好决心并在全面发展的道路上取得新的进展。

母亲，1964年11月25日

*

时间的节律

[母亲阅读了室利·阿罗频多所著的《综合瑜伽论》中的“四个助益(The Four Aids)。然后，一个弟子提出了一个问题：]

问：亲爱的母亲，室利·阿罗频多在这句话中讲道：“最后一个工具是时间‘卡拉’；因为万事万物都有其行动周期和神圣运动的时期……”这里所说的“神圣运动的时期”是什么？

这因事而异。

每一活动、成就、运动都有各自不同的、一定的时间段。有无数个时间段相互纠缠在一起；但每一事物都受自身节律的调控。

你看，人们出于外在生活的便利将时间划分为年、月、周、天、小时、分钟、秒等。这是一种或多或少任意的节律划分，因为这是人为创造的，但它本身有一定的现实性，因为它尽可能与宇宙运动相应。比如，这就是为什么我们要庆祝生日：因为每个人的生命都有一定的节律——在每年生日时会再现与人出生时相似的场景。

你在观察时就会觉知到所有的运动都有一定的节律。比如，内在意识的运动规律：人理解事物的角度、个人的反应、进展的起落；相当有规律的周期性再现——有时前进，有时退缩；会遇到困难，也会得到帮助。不过，如果每个人都专注地观察，就会意识到自己的节律完全是独一无二的，跟邻居的节奏不一样。就像季节遵循一定的节律，在整体上够有规律，个人的生活也有类似季节的节律。当一个人专注地观察自己时，就会发现甚至会有规律地重复出现某些类似的情境。非常敏感的人甚至会注意到他们在一周的某些天或者一天中的某些时候做起事情来更加容易。有些人在特定的日期和时刻会遇到特定的困难；相反地，有些人在某些时刻会更有灵感。不过，每个人都必须通过观察自己去发现。当然，不要将它绝对化，这不是严格的规律。如果这种规律对你造成了困扰，你只需意志坚决一点就可以轻易地消除它。但是，如果这种规律对你有帮助，你就可以运用它。

每个事物都有自己的节律，所有这一切汇聚成了纵横交错、极为复杂的节律。其结果就是我们所看到的：似乎没有韵律可言——因为它太复杂了！

问：亲爱的母亲，我们可以如何运用它？

那么，我们现在说的是瑜伽。如果你观察到自身有规律地重复，比如，在一天中的某个时间段，在某些情境中你更容易专注或冥想，那么，你可以在这个时间段和这些情境中练习专注或冥想。

当然，你不要成为它的奴隶。你可以利用这种规律，但它一定不能成为必需条件，以至于如果过了特定的时间你就无法冥想。不过，如果它对你有帮助，你就顺应这种规律。这全靠观察。

如果你观察自己，就会意识到一年中某些时期的到来不仅是出于个人的节律，而更多的是因为更大范围的、自然的节律。有些时候，你在瑜伽修行上会遇到更多困难；相反地，有时你会感觉内在有更大的推动力，让自己在知识和意识上取得进展。从某种意义上说，这对你有帮助——如果你在某个特定的时间发现自己陷入特别的困境或者似乎停滞不前，你无需哀叹，你可以对自己说：“这有什么？这很平常嘛！这是因为我们都处在一年中的这个特殊时期。”你耐心地等待这段时间过去；或者尽力而为，但不要灰心丧气地说：“哎呀！瞧，我没有取得任何进步。”这可以帮助你变得更加有理性。

当然，你可以采取进一步的预防措施，让自己的内在不受这些外在因素的影响。但这要来的晚得多，当你开始有意识地做自己瑜伽修行的主人时就可以做到。之后就可以做到不受外界的影响。

母亲，1955年10月19日

Significance of Birthdays

Birth of the Soul

Sri Aurobindo

Even through the tangled anarchy called Fate

And through the bitterness of death and fall

An outstretched Hand is felt upon our lives.

It is near us in unnumbered bodies and births;

In its unslackening grasp it keeps for us safe

The one inevitable supreme result

No will can take away and no doom change,

The crown of conscious Immortality,

The godhead promised to our struggling souls

When first man’s heart dared death and suffered life.

One who has shaped this world is ever its lord:

Our errors are his steps upon the way;

He works through the fierce vicissitudes of our lives,

He works through the hard breath of battle and toil,

He works through our sins and sorrows and our tears,

His knowledge overrules our nescience;

Whatever the appearance we must bear,

Whatever our strong ills and present fate,

When nothing we can see but drift and bale,

A mighty Guidance leads us still through all.

After we have served this great divided world

God’s bliss and oneness are our inborn right.

A date is fixed in the calendar of the Unknown,

An anniversary of the Birth sublime:

Our soul shall justify its chequered walk,

All will come near that now is naught or far.

These calm and distant Mights shall act at last.

Immovably ready for their destined task,

The ever-wise compassionate Brilliances

Await the sound of the Incarnate’s voice

To leap and bridge the chasms of Ignorance

And heal the hollow yearning gulfs of Life

And fill the abyss that is the universe.

From Savitri

Words of the Mother

Significance of Birthdays

(A spoken comment of the Mother which was noted down from memory by the sadhak and later read to the Mother.)

It is your birthday tomorrow?

Sadhak: Yes, Mother.

How old will you be?

Sadhak: Twenty-six, Mother.

I shall see you tomorrow and give you something special. will see, I am not speaking of anything material—that, I shall give you a card and all that—but of something … You will see, tomorrow, now go home and prepare yourself quietly so that you may be ready to receive it.

Sadhak: Yes, Mother.

You know, my child, what “Bonne Fete” signifies, that is, the birthday we wish here?

Sadhak: Like that, I know what it means, Mother, but not the special significance You want to tell me.

Yes, it is truly a special day in one’s life. It is one of those days in the year when the Supreme descends into us—or when we are face to face with the Eternal—one of those days when our soul in contact with the Eternal and, if we remain a little conscious, we can feel His Presence within us. If we make a little effort on this day, we accomplish the work of many lives as in a lightning flash. That is why I give so much importance to the birthday—because what one in one day is truly something incomparable. And it is for this that I also work to open the consciousness a little towards what is above so that one may come before the Eternal. My child, it is a very very special day, for it is the day of decision, the day one can unite with the Supreme Consciousness. For the Lord lifts us on this day to the highest region possible so that our soul which is a portion of that Eternal Flame, may be united and identified with its Origin.

This day is truly an opportunity in life. One is so open and so receptive that one can assimilate all that is given. I can do many things, that is why it is important.

It is one of those days when the Lord Himself opens the doors wide for us. It is as though He were inviting us to rekindle more powerfully the flame of aspiration. It is one of those days which He gives us. We too, by our personal effort, could attain to this, but it would be long, hard and not so easy. And this—this is a real chance in life—the day of the Grace.

It is an occult phenomenon that occurs invariably, without our knowledge, on this particular day of the year. The soul leaves behind the body and journeys up and up till it merges into the Source in order to replenish itself and absorb from the Supreme Its Power, Light and Ananda and comes down charged for a whole year to pass. Then again and again … it continues like this year after year.

Q: How should one spend… one’s birthday?

…in finding out the purpose of life.

The Mother, 13 December 1969

Q: Today is my birthday. I want this day to be the beginning of a more spiritual life and therefore something has to be done. Please tell me what I must do.

It is not with the mind that one should decide what has to be done. It should be a spontaneous movement taking place in a sincere and constant aspiration.

The Mother, 22 May 1939

Q: What is the meaning of one’s birthday, apart from its commemorative character? How can one take advantage of this occasion?

Because of the rhythm of the universal forces, a person is supposed to have a special receptivity on his birthday each year.

He can therefore take advantage of this receptivity by making good resolutions and fresh progress on the path of his integral development.

The Mother, 25 November 1964

Rhythms of Time

[Mother reads from Sri Aurobindo’s The Synthesis of Yoga, “The Four Aids”. Then a sadhak asks a question:]

Q: Sweet Mother, here: “Last comes the instrumentality of Time, Kāla; for in all things there is a cycle of their action and a period of the divine movement….” What is this period of the divine movement?

For each thing it is different.

For each activity, each realisation, each movement, there is a definite period of time, which differs. There are countless periods of time which are entangled; but each thing is regulated by a kind of rhythm which is this thing’s own rhythm.

You see, for the facility of their outer existence, men have divided time more or less arbitrarily into years, months, weeks, days, hours, minutes, seconds, etc… it is a rhythm that’s more or less arbitrary, because it has been created by man, but it has in itself a certain reality, for it corresponds to universal movements… as far as possible. And that is why, by the way, we celebrate the birthday, for example: because there is a certain rhythm in each one’s existence which is established by this regular return of circumstances analogous to those in which he was born.

And all movements—when you observe them, you become aware that they have a certain rhythm—the movements of inner consciousness, for example, not only from the point of view of understanding but that of personal reactions, of the ups and downs in progress; of a fairly regular periodic return, at once of advancing and recoiling, of difficulties and of helps. But if each person is attentive he realises that his own rhythm is absolutely particular to him; it is not the same rhythm as his neighbour’s. But even as the seasons follow a certain rhythm, regular enough on the whole, so the individual life has its seasons. And when one studies oneself attentively, one finds out that there are even certain repetitions of analogous circumstances at regular intervals. Even, very sensitive people become aware that there are certain days of the week or certain hours of the day when they can do things more easily. Some of them have particular difficulties on particular days and at particular hours; some on the contrary have better inspirations at particular moments—but every one has to find this out in himself by observation. Naturally it is far from being absolute, it is not strict, and if it is troublesome, it can be eliminated very easily simply by a little effort of resolute will. But if it helps, one can make use of it.

And all this, each thing having its own rhythm, well, it makes an extremely complicated criss-crossing of rhythms, which results in what we see: something which seems to have none—because it is too complicated, it is too complex.

Q: How can we make use of it, Sweet Mother?

Well, if… let us say, you know… we are speaking of yoga… if you observe in yourself a certain repetition of conditions, for example, that at a particular hour, a certain time of day, in certain circumstances, it is easier for you to concentrate or meditate, well, you make use of that by doing it at that time.

Naturally, you must not become its slave; one can use it but it must not become a necessity so that if the hour has gone by one can’t meditate then. But if it is a good help, one uses the help; it’s all a matter of observation.

If you study yourself you can become aware that in the year certain periods come due not only to personal conditions but more general ones—conditions of Nature in general. There are times when you meet more difficulties in the sadhana; there are times, on the contrary, when you feel in yourself a greater push for the growth of knowledge and consciousness. This helps you in the sense that, if at a given time you find yourself in the midst of special difficulties or something that seems like a stoppage, instead of lamenting you tell yourself, “Why, it’s the usual time; it’s because we are at this particular time of the year.” And you wait with patience for the time to pass; or do what you can, but without being discouraged and saying, “Ah, look, I am not getting on, I am not making any progress.” It helps you to be reasonable.

And naturally one can take one more step and take precautions in such a way… inner precautions to be independent of these external influences. But this comes much later, when one begins to be the conscious master of one’s sadhana. That comes afterwards.

The Mother, 19 October 1955