ऋतश्री, the True Beauty – Simplicity

For this edition of ऋतश्री we take up the theme Simplicity. The Mother once said: “Spirituality is supreme simplicity. ” (CWM, 14:151)

And yet we keep on complicating it all. Why? Because we lack true spontaneity, true sincerity. And because we allow the extremely limited capacity of this instrument called mind which is ever-busy dividing, classifying, organising, compartmentalising and judging to rob us of the simplicity and spontaneity. But it is not the crude spontaneity of the lowest impulse or the empty simplicity of the rudimentary undeveloped mind which we need to go back to. It is the divine spontaneity which is a sincere expression of the truth and the divine simplicity which contains everything in it that is the goal of an aspirant on the sunlit path. Because in such simplicity is found the supreme harmony – within and without.

~ Beloo

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“To express Harmony, of all things Simplicity is the best.”

~ The Mother (CWM, 14: 151)

“Sri Aurobindo’s answer is always the same: Be simple, be simple, very simple.

“And I know what he means: to deny entry to regimenting, organizing, prescriptive, judgmental thought—he wants none of all that. What he calls being simple is a joyous spontaneity; in action, in expression, in movement, in life—be simple, be simple, be simple. A joyous spontaneity. To rediscover in evolution that condition he calls divine, which was a spontaneous and happy condition. He wants us to rediscover that. And for days now he has been here telling me (and the same goes for your work): Be simple, be simple, be simple. And in his simplicity was a luminous joy.

“A joyous spontaneity.

“What’s terrible is this organizing mind. It’s terrible! It has us so convinced that we can’t do without it that it’s very difficult to resist. Indeed, it has convinced all humanity. The whole so-called elite of humanity has been convinced that nothing worthwhile can be achieved without this mental organizing power.

“But Sri Aurobindo wants us to have the same simple joy as a blossoming rose: Be simple, be simple, be simple. And when I hear it or see it, it’s like a rivulet of golden light, like a fragrant garden—all, all, all is open. Be simple.“

~ The Mother (Agenda, 2: 330-331)

“One must be spontaneous in order to be divine. One must be perfectly simple in order to be spontaneous. One must be absolutely sincere in order to be perfectly simple. To be absolutely sincere is not to have any division, any contradiction in one’s being.”

~ The Mother (CWM 8: 283)

“Candid simplicity in the vital: one of the most difficult qualities for the vital to acquire.”

~ The Mother (CWM 14:355)

“If you want to be able to practise the Yoga here, you must throw them from you and learn quietude, desirelessness, simplicity and surrender. It is these you must get first; other things can come afterwards—for this is the only true foundation of the sadhana.”

~ Sri Aurobindo (CWSA 29: 139)

“You know, we are surrounded by complications, but there is always a place where it all opens out simple and straight—this is a fact of my experience. You go around in circles, seeking, working at it, and you feel stuck; then something in the inner attitude gives way, and all of a sudden it opens out—quite simply.”

~ The Mother (Agenda, 2: 329)

“As soon as all effort disappears from a manifestation, it becomes very simple, with the simplicity of a flower opening, manifesting its beauty and spreading its fragrance without clamour or vehement gesture. And in this simplicity lies the greatest power, the power which is least mixed and least gives rise to harmful reactions. The power of the vital should be mistrusted, it is a tempter on the path of the work, and there is always a risk of falling into its trap, for it gives you the taste of immediate results; and, in our first eagerness to do the work well, we let ourselves be carried away to make use of this power. But very soon it deflects all our action from the right course and introduces a seed of illusion and death into what we do.
Simplicity, simplicity! How sweet is the purity of Thy Presence!…”

~ The Mother (CWM 01:17)

“The true attitude is neither to be an ascetic nor to indulge in desire. The true attitude is to take in all simplicity what I give, to be perfectly satisfied with it and neither to ask for more nor to refuse what is given. This is the true example to give, the one that can help the others towards a better understanding of their duties as sadhaks.

“Remain my child, simple, quiet and content, and all will be all right.”

~ The Mother (CWM 14: 47)

“Above all the complications of the so-called human wisdom stands the luminous simplicity of the Divine’s Grace, ready to act if we allow It to do so.”

~ The Mother (CWM 15: 186), Darshan message for 21 February 1965

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See previous parts in this series: