November 23, 2011 – Face Yourself

There are two works that are perfectly pleasing to God in his servant;
to sweep in silent adoration His temple-floors
and
to fight in the world’s battlefield for His divine consummation in humanity.

Sri Aurobindo

(Thoughts and Aphorisms 514)

Face Yourself

Every time you are afraid to face yourself and hide carefully from yourself what prevents you from advancing, well, it is as though you were building a wall on the way; later you must demolish it to pass on. It is better to do your task immediately, look yourself straight in the face, straight in the face, not try to sugar-coat the bitter pill. It is very bitter: all the weaknesses, uglinesses, all kinds of nasty little things which one has inside- there are, there are, there are, oh! lots of them. “What petty meanness, small stupidity, little vanity, ignorance, bad will is still there, hidden in the corner, preventing me from crossing the threshold, the threshold of this new discovery? Who is there in me, who is so small so mean and obstinate, hiding there like a worm in a fruit so that I may not be able to see it?” if you are sincere you find it; you always sugar-coat the pill. The sugar coating is a kind of what is called mental understanding of oneself. So one coats as thickly with sugar as possible in order to hide well from oneself what is there, the worm in the fruit.

The Mother

The Great Adventure: Page 362