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Mental
education
In
order to increase the suppleness and comprehensiveness of
his mind, one should see not only that he studies many varied
topics, but above all that a single subject is approached
in various ways, so that the child understands in a practical
manner that there are many ways of facing the same intellectual
problem, of considering it and solving it. This will remove
all rigidity from his brain and at the same time it will
make his thinking richer and more supple and prepare it
for a more complex and comprehensive synthesis. In this
way also the child will be imbued with the sense of the
extreme relativity of mental learning and, little by little,
an aspiration for a truer source of knowledge will awaken
in him.
Indeed,
as the child grows older and progresses in his studies,
his mind too ripens and becomes more and more capable of
forming general ideas, and with them almost always comes
a need for certitude, for a knowledge that is stable enough
to form the basis of a mental construction which will permit
all the diverse and scattered and often contradictory ideas
accumulated in his brain to be organised and put in order.
This ordering is indeed very necessary if one is to avoid
chaos in one's thoughts. All contradictions can be transformed
into complements, but for that one must discover the higher
idea that will have the power to bring them harmoniously
together. It is always good to consider every problem from
all possible standpoints so as to avoid partiality and exclusiveness;
but if the thought is to be active and creative, it must,
in every case, be the natural and logical synthesis of all
the points of view adopted. And if you want to make the
totality of your thoughts into a dynamic and constructive
force, you must also take great care as to the choice of
the central idea of your mental synthesis; for upon that
will depend the value of this synthesis. The higher and
larger the central idea and the more universal it is, rising
above time and space, the more numerous and the more complex
will be the ideas, notions and thoughts which it will be
able to organise and harmonise.
It
goes without saying that this work of organisation cannot
be done once and for all. The mind, if it is to keep its
vigour and youth, must progress constantly, revise its notions
in the light of new knowledge, enlarge its frame-work to
include fresh notions and constantly reclassify and reorganise
its thoughts, so that each of them may find its true place
in relation to the others and the whole remain harmonious
and orderly.
All
that has just been said concerns the speculative mind, the
mind that learns. But learning is only one aspect of mental
activity; the other, which is at least equally important,
is the constructive faculty, the capacity to form and thus
prepare action. This very important part of mental activity
has rarely been the subject of any special study or discipline.
Only those who want, for some reason, to exercise a strict
control over their mental activities think of observing
and disciplining this faculty of formation; and as soon
as they try it, they have to face difficulties so great
that they appear almost insurmountable.
And
yet control over this formative activity of the mind is
one of the most important aspects of self-education; one
can say that without it no mental mastery is possible. As
far as study is concerned, all ideas are acceptable and
should be included in the synthesis, whose very function
is to become more and more rich and complex; but where action
is concerned, it is just the opposite. The ideas that ate
accepted for translation into action should be strictly
controlled and only those that agree with the general trend
of the central idea forming the basis of the mental synthesis
should be permitted to express themselves in action. This
means that every thought entering the mental consciousness
should be set before the central idea; if it finds a logical
place among the thoughts already grouped, it will be admitted
into the synthesis; if not, it will be rejected so that
it can have no influence on the action. This work of mental
purification should be done very regularly in order to secure
a complete control over one's actions.
For
this purpose, it is good to set apart some time every day
when one can quietly go over one's thoughts and put one's
synthesis in order. Once the habit is acquired, you can
maintain control over your thoughts even during work and
action, allowing only those which are useful for what you
are doing to come to the surface. Particularly, if you have
continued to cultivate the power of concentration and attention,
only the thoughts that are needed will be allowed to enter
the active external consciousness and they then become all
the more dynamic and effective. And if, in the intensity
of concentration, it becomes necessary not to think at all,
all mental vibration can be stilled and an almost total
silence secured. In this silence one can gradually open
to the higher regions of the mind and learn to record the
inspirations that come from there.
But
even before reaching this point, silence in itself is supremely
useful, because in most people who have a somewhat developed
and active mind, the mind is never at rest. During the day,
its activity is kept under a certain control, but at night,
during the sleep of the body, the control of the waking
state is almost completely removed and the mind indulges
in activities which are sometimes excessive and often incoherent.
This creates a great stress which leads to fatigue and the
diminution of the intellectual faculties.
The
fact is that like all the other parts of the human being,
the mind too needs rest and it will not have this rest unless
we know how to provide it. The art of resting one's mind
is something to be acquired. Changing one's mental activity
is certainly one way of resting; but the greatest possible
rest is silence. And as far as the mental faculties are
concerned a few minutes passed in the calm of silence are
a more effective rest than hours of sleep.
When
one has learned to silence the mind at will and to concentrate
it in receptive silence, then there will be no problem that
cannot be solved, no mental difficulty whose solution cannot
be found. When it is agitated, thought becomes confused
and impotent; in an attentive tranquility, the light can
manifest itself and open up new horizons to man's capacity.
November
1951
- The Mother
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