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When Sri Aurobindo states “all life is yoga”, he is speaking generally about the long, slow ‘yoga of nature’ which is taking place in the universe, leading to ever-greater stages of consciousness manifesting and transforming, successively, the previously manifested planes of awareness. This enormous process implies that all life is, indeed, part of that process and thus ‘all life is yoga’.
We tend to blame, accuse and punish a child for wild tendencies, without generally recognising that the child is the product of a number of factors, including samskaras from past lives, environmental influences, diet, pollution, celestial energies, societal expectations and acculturation, genetics, and parental energies which are the first and closest influence on the prenatal state. Once the child is born, all of the other factors take on a larger role, but the entire gestational period, from time of conception, exerts its influence on the developing child.
Through ambition or impatience, the spiritual seeker may try to rush the spiritual progress, and in many cases, this is attempted through various forms of overt or sublimated violence. The overt forms include various extreme penances or even self-punishment, while the sublimated forms may include internal reactions of self-doubt, suicidal thoughts, or inner turmoil of struggle. All of this, however, simply reinforces the focus on and strength of the ego-consciousness, and thus, does not achieve the intended result.
Sri Aurobindo cites the Vedic Rishi of Mandala X, Canto 129, verses 1-5 at the beginning of Chapter 25 of The Life Divine, titled The Knot of Matter: “Then existence was not nor non-existence, the mid-world was not nor the Ether nor what is beyond. What covered all? where was it? in whose refuge? what was that ocean dense and deep? Death was not nor immortality nor the knowledge of day and night. That One lived without breath by his self-law, there was nothing else nor aught beyond it. In the beginning Darkness was hidden by darkness, all this was an ocean of inconscience.
We observe the material world around us and as we study that world, we see the development of forms of ever-greater complexity and power of action and intelligence. Charles Darwin described the process of the evolution of forms in his book The Origin of Species. The cause and purpose, however, were never satisfactorily answered. This led to the debate between religion and science, with religion essentially holding that beings were created by God in their present forms and that the idea of evolution of forms was mistaken.
A teenager was observed as she was deeply absorbed in reading the famous novel by Alexandre Dumas, The Count of Monte Cristo. This novel spans some 1000 pages and encompasses themes of deep and abiding interest, but does so in a captivating story line. It so happened that this teenager was reading the book during an extended road trip across the USA including visits to national parks and the Hopi Reservation of the First Nations’ people.
While many people discount the value of imagination, pigeon-holing it into the realm of the creative arts, without much impact on their lives, an ever-expanding number of people are realizing the tremendous power that imagination holds in shaping one’s life and future. Pre-eminent geniuses such as Nikola Tesla and Albert Einstein touted the power of imagination as essential to the insights and developments they fostered in their work.
As consciousness develops in the seeker, it clearly brings with it changes in the way the seeker perceives and understands and reactions to events, situations, people, opportunities, etc. What is often forgotten is that it is not the extraordinary and massive experiences that effectuate long-term change, but more realistically, it is the day to day adjustments that come about through the steady process of consciousness growth.
There are many powers at work in the world, physical powers, vital powers, mental powers, spiritual powers. They are native to their own sphere, but in many cases they are active here in our world, trying to assert themselves and thrive here. Many of these powers are conscious and act with intentionality. Some support the development of consciousness and represent the spiritual forces that are beneficent, helpful and compassionate.
Subjectively we tend to believe that we make our own decisions and that we are exercising ‘free will’. What we do not generally do is recognise that there is an entire preceding set of ’causes’ which lead us to the present moment and the very type of choices we make. We may be extremely ‘predictable’ in the regularity of our decision process, or we may be highly unconventional and tend to take the ‘road less travelled’.
There is an impulse to share something that we find valuable in our own lives. This impulse is oftentimes harnessed by religious organizations or spiritual groups to become a method of proselytizing and conversion, and in some cases, it can become a situation filled with pressure on the individuals to bring in converts, and on converts to stay and become ever-more-deeply entwined in the community. What starts off as a joyful sharing of something unique and wonderful can get turned into a drive to control, accumulate and influence people.
There is a considerable amount of talk about being “born again” in the modern-day Christian tradition. When we explore what is meant, it seems like it is a matter of accepting in one’s heart a certain belief set central to the denomination that espouses this idea. There does not seem to be any experiential activity required, other than an acceptance of faith in the belief system.
There is considerable confusion about what exactly meditation is. This is compounded by the fact that there are numerous different techniques that are taught as meditation, ranging from practices that are called ‘mindfulness’ to those that include detailed visualisations Sri Aurobindo provides an overview of various practices that fall under the concept of dhyana, which is not precisely translated as ‘meditation’.
The ego-consciousness controls our viewpoint, how we respond to events and circumstances, and our relations with others. This is such an inherent and automatic framework of action, that we many times do not even notice or appreciate that it is there. When egoism becomes extreme, we can ‘see’ it, but when it hides under forms of selflessness, altruism, philanthropy or self-giving, we tend to believe that we have overcome the ego. Yet the ego remains in all these forms and until we appreciate that and address that fact, we remain locked within the framework of the ego.
Contagion is the transmission of something, whether physical, vital or mental energy/vibration, from one entity or being to another. On the physical plane, contagion is usually understood to be transmitted through the use of a physical medium, such as a ‘germ’, whether we call it a bacteria, or a virus, an amoeba or a spore. Whatever means of transmission occurs on the physical plan, the action communicates the power to develop a vibrational pattern in the target similar to that active in the original host. Thus, we see diseases take hold of individuals as a result of such transmissions.
It is difficult to both understand and appreciate the apparent regression from spiritual heights to a world in which the physical being and material focus reigns supreme and predominates in the entire world to an overwhelming degree. It is likely that the intellectual and then the spiritual development reached a point where it was too rarified and the generality of mankind was unable to adopt it, particularly as they struggled to survive and thrive in difficult exte al circumstances.
The individual in the surface ego-personality, measures everything that happens from his own unique individual perspective. This includes judgments based on perceived benefit to the individual. He wants to achieve certain results, obtain positive responses, and minimize or eliminate pain, suffering, disappointment and other signs that the ego is not getting what it needs or expects.
People are not generally consciously aware of the energy interchanges that take place to fuel their bodies and drive their live energies. They understand that they need to eat food as a form of ‘fuel’ for their energy, and they count ‘calories’ that are produced by various food sources. Clearly, the connection between matter (in the form of food) and energy (in the form of life action and biochemical processes) is recognised and accepted. We also recognise that Einstein’s famous equation about the convertibility of Matter and Energy in physics also holds true in the field of life.
Most people live their lives centered around the ego-personality and the exte al life. Their focus and actions are based in the needs, desires and gratifications that are put up by the body, the vital life-energy and the mind. They do not have a conscious relationship with the soul or the most inward being, the psychic being, and thus, they do not fall under the explicit direction or control of the soul or psychic being.
As we take up the next chapter in the Life Divine, Sri Aurobindo cites, in the headnotes, some revealing passages from the Rig Veda and the Upanishads to indicate the 7 types of Ignorance that needs to be overcome, and to point out the 7 forms of Knowledge required to achieve realisation. Before we begin the actual review of the chapter, therefore, it is useful to look at what the seers and sages of the Vedic scriptures had to say on this subject.
What we frequently fail to recognise is that much of the vital interaction and mental self-justification that supports it takes place more or less without active intervention or reflection by the mind. A vital desire or conce is prodded and the mind instantly jumps to self-justification without any real review of the facts, the circumstances or the balancing interests and other stakeholders in any situation. Afterwards, if challenged, the mind may develop an elaborate set of explanations and justifications, but this all tends to stem from an initial defensive reaction that occurs instantly.r
Western scientists tell us that the universe is always tending toward a state of lower energy and less organisation, a concept that call ‘entropy’. While this concept was developed and applied in the field of physics, particularly in the law of thermodynamics, it has been extended and claimed to apply throughout many levels of existence, and some even claim that it is so pervasive that eventually all of existence will reach a status of equilibrium in total dispersal, emptiness, and lack of cohesion.
The life-force represents the next evolutionary stage beyond physical Matter. It transforms material energy and channels it for development of perception, feeling, and interaction. It prepares the way for the advent of the subsequent evolutionary phase of the manifestation of Mind. When it first emerges its focus is on survival and growth primarily. Higher motivations, ideals, concepts, await the appearance of the mind. The vital force is clearly an instrumental force, not a causative one. In the absence of clear direction, it simply reaches out to grow, avoid pain and obtain nourishment.
In his epic poem Savitri: A Legend and a Symbol, Sri Aurobindo explores the vast field of human consciousness and development. Along the way he provides numerous references to hidden, latent powers within each of us, psychic powers, powers of mind, vital powers and powers of the physical being, powers latent and emergent, powers secret and powers revealed. Here are just a few of the references which can whet our appetite for the exploration of the powers that dwell within our own being, that can be discovered, revealed, released and developed in our lives:
Most people are skeptical about the concept of conscious universal forces. Even if they profess a belief in God, angels, demons, and other unseen powerful beings, they tend to reject the idea when it comes down to actual influence in their own actions, reactions and responses. There is an inherent belief in the freedom and independence of their decision-process. People do not like to admit that forces outside themselves, particularly conscious forces, are controlling in any way how they think, feel and respond.
Those who find their basis primarily in the mind tend to believe that their intellectual understanding of something represents something real and definitive and that their “knowing” means they “know” something. This is however, not quite accurate. For instance, one can read books and “know” about a particular activity or process but nevertheless be unable to fully comprehend all the subtlety or complexity that only becomes clear through experience and inner review. There is also the famous statement that reading about swimming does not mean one can swim when one enters the water.
Fear opens up pathways for whatever is feared to enter the being, as it creates a vibrational ‘link’ between the individual and the feared event or circumstance. Fear also opens holes int he vital envelope, or aura, that helps protect the individual from catching illnesses. We have all heard of instances where doctors wade into a contagious environment without fear and are able to remain healthy while treating innumerable sick individuals. Fear thus is part of the mechanism that spreads disease and can help create the development of pandemics.
We see a growing movement around the world of people leaving the religion into which they were born, and starting down a spiritual path of inner growth. A driving factor behind this change is the perception among these people that the religion has either lost any life-force that it may have had in the past, or else, it has become so rigid that it acts as a means of control rather than as a means of liberation. What has happened to religion? If we examine the roots of religion we find that it is founded, first and foremost, as a response to a lived experience.
How do we recognise the Divine manifesting through an individual human being? Arjuna poses a similar question in the Bhagavad Gita, when he asks how to recognise the enlightened man. How does he walk, how does he dress, what does he eat, how does he act? Sri Krishna reminds Arjuna that the realised soul cannot be recognised by outer forms, but only by the inner spiritual consciousness at work in the individual. The needs of the outer world change and the individual must act according to those needs.
The surface being, under the influence of the vital ego, loves to criticize others and ‘gossip’ about them. This is a method of ‘puffing up’ or inflating the ego by dragging down others. It also wastes considerable time and energy by focusing on what are for the most part superficial things in a superficial way.
Due to what we may call ‘observational bias’ we tend to attribute intention and motive to others that we ourselves have internally and project our internal response onto the other party, without knowing exactly what the cause of their action may be from their standpoint. Some of this is due to the mind ‘filling in’ information that is missing based on the facts it is able to perceive, something that occurs all the time and leads to both the ability to judge situations with little data, and the mistakes that can occur as a result of a ‘too prompt’ extrapolation.
The body has its own consciousness and much of its operation takes place without active mental intervention. However, there is also a serious interaction that takes place so that the mental power can influence, guide, train, direct and otherwise gain at least some control over certain aspects of the body consciousness. Physical training, whether in sports, military training or playing a musical instrument, typing, singing, dancing, art or sculpture, or development of other motor skills, represents one such area of mental intervention.
When Bram Stoker wrote his classic ‘horror’ tale, Dracula, he popularized and sensationalized an actual phenomenon of vital interchange that operates mostly unnoticed and not as sensationally as his tale implies. To put it in simple terms, ‘vampirism’ is the ability of someone to utilise the occult vital interchange to draw off energy from another individual, leaving the other person feeling weak, drained, exhausted or practically helpless and held under a type of spell to carry out the bidding of the person who is dominating their vital force.
We frequently hear people saying that this world is a world of opposites and one cannot have joy without sorrow, pleasure without pain. This is accepted basically as an axiom for living in the world. And it is true, that for virtually everyone there is a mixture of positive and negative vital experiences, pleasure and pain, and they always seem to contain the seed of the opposite within the depth of one or the other.
The exte al being wants to have a stable basis by which it can understand and act in the world. The tools that support this stable basis include habit, fixed tendencies, instincts, education, memory and even the way the mental processes work, comparing new impulses of the senses to past memory to create pattern recognition and fixed lines of action. Psychologists have even concluded that neural pathways are built that, through repetition, lead the understanding down well-wo ways of understanding and acting, and which tend to solidify the life into predictable responses.
How do we understand the term ‘love’ in the context of spiritual sadhana? We bring to the term a large number of impressions, ideas, and conceptions based on our cultural background, educational upbringing and socialization in our society. We have no direct experience, for the most part, of anything other than what we may call human love. Human love is a very mixed affair, including various needs, urges, desires, vital drives, lusts of the body and mental preconceptions about love that color our understanding.
Suggestions are not just directed at the mind; nor are they restricted in their impact on just the mind. We are used to the process of people making suggestions to us constantly about what we could, or should, do or how we could, or should, respond to a situation. We weigh these suggestions not solely with mental logic, but with emotional reactions, vital feelings and even, in some cases, physical responses.
As the seeker becomes more and more conscious he may experience reflections of his past actions which, in retrospect, were incorrect, inaccurate or false. This frequently brings feelings of regret and soul-searching. This is however an over-reaction to an increasing sense of awareness. It is good to appreciate, through the examination of past actions, those that were supportive of the aspiration and those that were not, particularly if this review helps refine the judgment of the seeker to avoid repeating mistakes of the past.
Ancient Chinese philosophy enunciated the concept of yin and yang, which represent the opposites that together form a whole, and which are constantly interacting with one another dynamically. The classical image shows a black spot in a white background and a white spot in a black background, bound together in a circle and dynamically moving within that space. It is a common idea that light and dark are inextricably related to one another and cannot exist without each other. Our minds easily extrapolate to this viewpoint from our perception of physical day and night.
If one looks at traditional paths of yogic practice in India, or similar practices around the world, regardless of the religious or spiritual background, one finds that the relationship betwee Guru and disciple is of supreme importance and consideration, and there is a specific lineage that develops from Master to Disciple, from generation to generation. Thus, there is always a head of the order or lineage who directs, guides and manages the processes within that line, and from there, individual Guru / disciple relations develop under that framework.
Many people are skeptical about the possibility of true change to human nature. This skepticism is supported by the long experience humanity has had in trying various ways of changing and overcoming habits, atavisms and what are considered to be the ‘natural’ forms of expression and action of the body, the life-force and the mind. Humanity has tried suppression, self-torture, extreme pressure exerted from outside or inwardly, as well as attempts at isolation and abandonment of active involvement in the exte al life.
When we examine the question of thought-forms, we recognise that people usually want to imply that a thought is able to turn into some kind of physical reality, purely through the power of thought. This, however, is one element of the question, but not the only element. Thought-forms have a variety of mechanisms for being created and effectuated.
The traditional Western approach to health and well-being sees the human body as under attack and health is a matter for defense and counter-attack against the causes of illness in the form of bacteria and viruses. In cases where the process of illness or deterioration of the capacities of the body which are not subject to resolution through pharmaceutical drugs, surgery is considered to be a primary option.
For those who have the power of visualisation and who are ready and willing to concentrate in this way, there can be tremendous progress in developing the relation to the psychic being. The mind transcribes the energetic relationships of the various parts of the being into different rooms and forms of energy and action, and thus, using the power of visualisation, the seeker can enter into a specific part of the being and relate to its action by moving through the visualisation process into the appropriate room or space involved.
We remain so fixated on the exte al surface being, that we fail to recognise the divinity within us. Just as we go through our daily lives in the light of the day and do not attend to our world’s connection to the vast galaxies and universe of which our world is a part, so also we do not consciously connect our soul with its divine being. We may separate a drop of water from the ocean, but that does not make it different from the ocean in its essence and nature.
Perhaps one of the biggest hurdles the Western mind needs to overcome in addressing the subtle powers of consciousness that either already are, or will be, coming forward as the next phase of evolution continues to work itself out, is the conflict between the drumbeat of “objectivity” as the watchword of science and reliable observation, and the need for an inner, necessarily subjective, exploration of consciousness and its actions which are not independently ‘verifiable’ and ‘reproducible’ along the lines that science believes is the only accurate way to understand and measure phenomena.
The true test of spiritual equanimity and balance is how one responds to adverse circumstances. It is relatively easy to be calm and peaceful when there is no exte al pressure and one is surrounded by a quiet and nourishing environment. It is quite another to remain focused, balanced and equal on the “battlefield”. Sri Krishna provided his guidance to Arjuna in the middle of the battlefield of Kurukshetra, as a great war was about to come to its climax in a battle that would pit cousins against cousins and force the protagonists to take up arms against beloved elders and respected teachers.
In The Life Divine, Sri Aurobindo describes several standpoints that highlight the relationship between human beings and the material world. The “refusal of the ascetic” simply rejects the material world and does not put any focus or interest in it. The “materialist denial” accepts the physical world as real and focuses on accumulation, development and use of material things in order to achieve some kind of satisfaction, happiness or enjoyment in life.
Spiritual aspirants frequently complain about the obstructions provided by the physical body. There is a need to eat, a need to sleep, the constant pressure of physical existence, the wear and tear of the aging process, the potential for illness or injury, and the eventual breakdown and dissolution of the body and the attendant needs of caring for and addressing the circumstances of the body. As they focus on the vital, mental and spiritual aspects of their existence, seekers frequently begrudge the role the body plays and the need to address its requirements.
As the seeker becomes more and more conscious he may experience reflections of his past actions which, in retrospect, were incorrect, inaccurate or false. This frequently brings feelings of regret and soul-searching. This is however an over-reaction to an increasing sense of awareness. It is good to appreciate, through the examination of past actions, those that were supportive of the aspiration and those that were not, particularly if this review helps refine the judgment of the seeker to avoid repeating mistakes of the past.