Mother's Agenda: April 25, 1961

The Sri Aurobindo Society people had ABSOLUTELY nothing to do with the spiritual life when they began.[...] But then, they began posing as ... almost as teachers! [...] It’s absurd.

... After this, I received the draft of the Sri Aurobindo Society’s brochure to be distributed among all disciples, all society members, in order to ‘encourage’ them. Well, that was the last straw! Oh, the most asinine propaganda! And plump in the middle of a bunch of other things (which had nothing to do with me), I come across this: ‘We have the great fortune to have the Mother among us, and we propose to be the intermediary for all who wish to come into direct contact with her’! They wanted to print this and distribute it, just like that! So I took my brightest red ink and wrote: ‘I do not accept this responsibility, you cannot make this promise.’ And that was that. I cut it....

Already, with all the people here.... (But I never told them they were my ‘disciples,’ I told them they were my children – and with children, to begin with, there’s no need to do everything they want!)...

The Sri Aurobindo Society people had ABSOLUTELY nothing to do with the spiritual life when they began; they didn’t at all present themselves as a ‘spiritual group’ – nothing of the kind; they were people of good will who volunteered to collect money to help the Ashram. So I said, ‘Very well, excellent’ and as long as it’s like that, I’m behind it. Leaflets can be handed out – whatever people like; it’s enough if their interest is aroused, if they know there is an Ashram and that it needs some help to go on. But that’s all. It has nothing to do with yoga or spiritual progress or anything of the kind – it was a strictly practical organization....

But then, they [the S.A.S. people] began posing as ... almost as teachers! Luckily, the draft of their brochure was brought to me. I said, ‘Nothing doing. If you want to talk to people, tell them what you like, it’s all the same to me, but I am not publishing this. What you have written about me is not to be printed and you are not to distribute it. I’m not in the picture. My name, the fact that I am president, is simply to give my guarantee that the money won’t go into the pockets of those who collect it but will be used for the Ashram, the running of the Ashram, and that’s all. And on this basis alone I give my guarantee. I am in no way going to help people imagine they are doing a yoga!’

It’s absurd.

The other day, I told N. (and I told him loud enough for everyone to hear): ‘We can dispense with a good half of the ashramites straight-away and not lose a single sadhak.’

Well, his jaw dropped! ... People imagine that by the simple fact of being here they become disciples and apprentice yogis! But it’s not true.