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Conquering Fear, Doubt and Scepticism*

5 — If mankind only caught a glimpse of what infinite enjoyments, what perfect forces,
what luminous reaches of spontaneous knowledge, what wide calms of our being lie
waiting for us in the tracts which our animal evolution has not yet conquered, they
would leave all and never rest till they had gained these treasures. But the way is
narrow, the doors are hard to force, and fear, distrust and scepticism are there, sentinels
of Nature, to forbid the turning away of our feet from her ordinary pastures. 1

What Sri Aurobindo has written, the words [“caught a glimpse”] which have been
translated as entrevoyaient , means to see something in its totality, but for a very brief
2
moment. It is obvious that a constant vision of all these wonders would automatically
compel you to set out on the path. It is also certain that a little fragmentary glimpse is not
enough — it would not have enough weight to compel you to follow the path.

But if you had a total vision, however brief, you would not be able to resist the temptation
of making the effort needed to realise it. But, in fact, the total vision is exceptional, and
that is why Sri Aurobindo says to us: “If mankind only... “

To tell the truth, it very seldom happens that those who are ready, who are undoubtedly
meant for realisation, do not have, at a certain moment in their lives, even if only for a few
seconds, the experience of what this realisation is.

*Heading is provided by the Editor
1 Sri Aurobindo. Birth Centenary Library, Volume 17. Pondicherry: Sri Aurobindo Ashram Trust;
1971, p. 79.

2 In the French text of Thoughts and Aphorisms read by the Mother

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