People with stiff thumbs will be self-willed people. There was a person whose thumb was supple. He used to bend his thumb backwards until the tip of the nail touched his wrist. He was one absolutely devoid of anything resembling a will.  Every part of the body, including the nails or hair signifies something of a man's character. Prominent cheek bones indicates independent decisions not easily influenced by others. A squint means unreliability. So also a crooked neck. Bushy eyebrows stand for intense analysis in the mind.

In the late 50's, newspapers began to publish news of 100% passes in SSLC. The headmaster of a famous school in Mayiladuthurai (then known as Mayavaram) said, "My school never got less than 100% for long. Now a days it gets into the news. In my school no student secures less than 60% in any subject. It is a different story with the schools that barely enter into the 100% pass qualification." Students graduating from famous colleges used to speak of their professors who attained fame even outside the country. They were the star performers.

The more prosperous the nation, the greater is the self-respect for the Individual. In poorer nations, the population is ignorant, illiterate, docile, submissive, and abject. People do not value themselves as something to be counted upon. Poor people are satisfied with poor meals, poor clothes, poor housing, etc. Times change. No longer is man content with one meal, one dhoti and no schooling for his children.  The middle class man now aspires for a good education for his children. The engineering course costs Rs. 95,000/- per year in the best of colleges.

The divine Mother has said that this is the hour when man will be vastly rewarded for a tiny effort, as this is the Hour of God. She also said that a small error equally brings a great loss. The atmosphere of the earth is no longer what it was but has become Spiritual. Penderel Moon, an ICS officer in 1947 perceived this truth in his administrative fashion and pronounced then that the human slaughter could have been largely avoided by a timely right action. In his own jurisdiction he did so. That was an opportunity to avoid catastrophes.

He was a young Christian student. His family met with untold hardship. His father lost his job, and his reputation. The family lost its status and was nowhere. A close friend of the boy belonged to a family who entirely relied on the Spirit. Neither the Christian boy nor his friend had heard of the Spirit.  Hardship and privation roused the boy. He worked hard, day and night led by one single determination - to rise in life. He succeeded. He became more than rich. The moment he hit the zenith of his worldly success, his doctor said he had to have a bypass surgery.

here are occasions when newcomers to a spiritual organisation see the Spirit constantly at work. What others find difficult to come by, the newcomer gets by simply calling MOTHER. His face acquires a shine that no inmate has. Life rises continuously, rarely even more than the seniors in the organisation. Seniority is not a rule Spirituality honours. Most people who rise fast also level off after sometime. Often a question, a doubt arises in the minds of the inmate, whether the Spirit we once adored is really not a Spirit?

When we go to new places or another country, we notice many things that are striking. A young man who returned from a tour of Kerala said that what was striking to him was the cleanliness. A French lady described the streets of Pondicherry as a public urinal. Kerala is always known for her cleanliness. People from Kerala personally keep themselves very clean. A Malayalee family came to Pondicherry for employment. The lady one day came out of the bathroom and found her watch missing, and her purse too was not found.

The human heart is selfish, mean, perverse, etc. There is another side. It is generous, benevolent, compassionate, magnanimous, capable of the highest affection and love, and can exhibit a vast sense of responsibility. Only that we rarely see the right side and too often the wrong side. When we hear of the greatness of a great soul we admire him, but it will not touch our emotions. To see the same high qualities in ordinary people is a revelation of the human nature to us.

Every time it is used the rubber stamp faithfully repeats its original words. The ACT is a structure very much like the composed words in the press or on the rubber stamp. It can only repeat. It can repeat only when the occasion arises. A rubber stamp does not reproduce its words unless someone cares to use it. The act is the form - rupa - of the swabhava. It varies its details to suit the changed circumstances but the character of the act remains. A student was selected for his professional course. He left his place the day before.

I know by experience that the talents of Indians are consummate. I am more than sure they cannot be bettered. Whether it is equally true of other countries or not, I have no personal knowledge. Indians are not organised; they won't honour a queue. Punctuality is an unknown virtue in Indian life. A long list of missing virtues can be made. All this is true, very true. But all this, in my opinion, is not due to incapacity, only unwillingness. I am unable to recollect any statement endorsing this idea from Sri Aurobindo or The Mother.