{"id":1123,"date":"2013-07-13T01:32:43","date_gmt":"2013-07-13T01:32:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/localhost\/?p=1123"},"modified":"2013-07-13T01:32:43","modified_gmt":"2013-07-13T01:32:43","slug":"03-the-object-of-integral-yoga-vol-23-letters-on-yoga-volume-23","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/01-works-of-sri-aurobindo\/01-sabcl\/23-letters-on-yoga-volume-23\/03-the-object-of-integral-yoga-vol-23-letters-on-yoga-volume-23","title":{"rendered":"-03_The Object of Integral Yoga.htm"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n
\n
\n

\nPART\u2013 II<\/b><\/font><\/p>\n


\nS<\/font>ECTION <\/font>
\nO<\/font>NE<\/font><\/b> <\/font><\/p>\n


\nThe Object of Integral Yoga<\/span><\/font> <\/font><\/p>\n

\n    
\n<\/font><\/b><\/p>\n


\n            <\/b>
\n<\/font>T<\/font><\/b>HE<\/font>
\nobject of the yoga is to enter into and be possessed by the Divine Presence and
\nConsciousness, to love the Divine for the Divine’s sake alone, to be tuned in
\nour nature into the nature of the Divine, and in our will and works and life to
\nbe the instrument of the Divine. \u00a0<\/span>Its
\nobject is not to be a great yogi or a Superman (although that may come) or to
\ngrab at the Divine for the sake of the ego’s power, pride or pleasure. It is
\nnot for Moksha though liberation comes by it and all else may come, but these
\nmust not be our objects. The Divine alone is our object.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n⁂<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

To come to this yoga merely with
\nthe idea of being a superman would be an act of vital egoism which would defeat
\nits own object. Those who put this object in the front of their preoccupations
\ninvariably come to grief, spiritually and otherwise. The aim of this yoga is,
\nfirst, to enter into the divine consciousness by merging into it the separative
\nego (incidentally, in doing so one finds one’s true individual self which is
\nnot the limited, vain and selfish human ego but a portion of the Divine) and, secondly,
\nto bring down the supramental consciousness on earth to transform mind, life
\nand body. All else can be only a result of these two aims, not the primary
\nobject of the yoga.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n⁂<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

You must get out of certain wrong
\nideas that you seem to have about yoga, for these are dangerous and ought to be
\nthrown away by every sadhak: .<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

1. The object of
\nyoga is not to become \u201clike\u201d Sri Aurobindo or the Mother. Those who cherish
\nthis idea easily come to the further idea that they can become their equals and
\neven greater. This is only to feed the ego.<\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 503<\/span><\/p>\n

\n
\n<\/div>\n

            2. The object of
\nyoga is not to get power or to be more powerful than others or to have great
\nsiddhis or to do great or wonderful or miraculous things.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

3. The object of
\nyoga is not to be a great yogi or a superman. This is an egoistic way of taking
\nthe yoga and can lead to no good; avoid it altogether.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

4. To talk about
\nthe supramental and think of bringing it down in yourself is the most dangerous
\nof all. It may bring an entire megalomania and loss of balance. What the sadhak
\nhas to seek is the full opening to the Divine, the psychic change of his
\nconsciousness, the spiritual change. Of that change of consciousness,
\nselflessness, desirelessness, humility, bhakti, surrender, calm, equality,
\npeace, quiet sincerity are necessary constituents. Until he has the psychic and
\nspiritual change, to think of being supramental is an absurdity and an arrogant
\nabsurdity. <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

All these
\negoistic ideas, if indulged, can only aggrandise the ego, spoil the sadhana and
\nlead to serious spiritual dangers. They should be rejected altogether.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n⁂<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Of course you can [do yoga without
\nbeing great]. There is no need of being great. On the contrary humility is the
\nfirst necessity, for one who has ego and pride cannot realise the Highest.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n⁂<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

As for the book itself, I am
\nunfortunately ignorant of the Telugu language and cannot read the original, but
\nfrom the account given in English I have formed some idea of the substance. I
\ngather that it is in the main a statement and justification of the Purna Yoga
\nand of my message; I believe you have rightly stated the two main elements of
\nit \u2013 first, the acceptance of the world as a manifestation of the Divine Power,
\nnot its rejection as a mistake or an illusion, and, secondly, the character of
\nthis manifestation as a spiritual evolution with yoga as a means for the
\ntransformation of mind, life and body into instruments of a spiritual and
\nsupramental perfection. The universe is not only a material <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 504<\/span><\/p>\n

\n
\n<\/div>\n

but a spiritual fact, life not
\nonly a play of forces or a mental experience, but a field for the evolution of
\nthe concealed spirit. Human life will receive its fulfilment and transformation
\ninto something beyond itself only when this truth is seized and made the motive
\nforce of our existence and the means of its effective realisation discovered.
\nThe means of realisation is to be found in an integral yoga, a union in all
\nparts of our being with the Divine and a consequent transmutation of all their
\nnow jarring elements into the harmony of a higher divine consciousness and
\nexistence. <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n⁂<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The way of yoga followed here has
\na different purpose from others, \u2013 or its aim is not only to rise out of the
\nordinary ignorant world-consciousness into the divine consciousness, but to
\nbring the supramental power of that divine consciousness down into the
\nignorance of mind, life and body, to transform them, to manifest the Divine
\nhere and create a divine life in Matter. This is an exceedingly difficult aim
\nand difficult yoga; to many or most it will seem impossible. All the
\nestablished forces of the ordinary ignorant world-consciousness are opposed to
\nit and deny it and try to prevent it, and the sadhak will find his own mind,
\nlife and body full of the most obstinate impediments to its realisation. If you
\ncan accept the ideal whole-heartedly, face all the difficulties, leave the past
\nand its ties behind you and are ready to give up everything and risk everything
\nfor this divine possibility, then only can you hope to discover by experience
\nthe Truth behind it. <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The sadhana of
\nthis yoga does not proceed through any set mental teaching or prescribed forms
\nof meditation, Mantras or others, but by aspiration, by a self-concentration
\ninwards or upwards, by self-opening to an Influence, to the Divine Power above
\nus and its workings, to the Divine Presence in the heart and by the rejection
\nof all that is foreign to these things. It is only by faith, aspiration and
\nsurrender that this self-opening can come.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n⁂<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 505<\/span><\/p>\n

\n
\n<\/div>\n

You have apparently a call and
\nmay be fit for yoga; but there are different paths and each has a different aim
\nand end before it. It is common to all the paths to conquer the desires, to put
\naside the ordinary relations of life, and to try to pass from uncertainty to
\neverlasting certitude. One may also try to conquer dream and sleep, thirst and
\nhunger etc. But it is no part of my yoga to have nothing to do with the world
\nor with life or to kill the senses or entirely inhibit their action. It is the object
\nof my yoga to transform life by bringing down into it the Light, Power and
\nBliss of the divine Truth and its dynamic certitudes. This yoga is not a yoga
\nof world-shunning asceticism, but of divine life. Your object on the other hand
\ncan only be gained by entering into Samadhi and ceasing in it from all
\nconnection with world-existence.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n⁂<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

It is not indispensable to be an
\nascetic \u2013 it is enough if one can learn to live within in the inner being
\ninstead of on the surface, discover the soul or true individuality which is
\nveiled by the surface mind and life forces and open the being to the superconscient
\nReality. But in this one cannot succeed unless one is wholly sincere and
\none-pointed in the effort.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

As to the second
\nquestion, participation in Sri Aurobindo’s mission depends on capacity to do a
\ndifficult yoga or on a call to devote oneself to that ideal without thought of
\nthe claims of the ego or the vital desires; otherwise it is better not to think\n<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n⁂<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Yes, unless the external nature
\nis transformed, one may go as high as possible and have the largest experiences
\n\u2013 but the external mind remains an instrument of Ignorance.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n⁂<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

It is always possible to have
\nrealisations of a kind on the mental-spiritual plane even if the vital is still
\nimpure. There is a sort of separation of the mental Purusha and Prakriti which
\nresults in a<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 506<\/span><\/p>\n

\n
\n<\/div>\n

knowledge that has no transforming
\neffect on the life. But the theory of these yogis is that one has to know the
\nSelf; life and what one does in life do not matter. Have you not read of the
\nyogi who came with his concubine and Ramakrishna asked\u00a0 <\/span>him, \u201cWhy do you live like that?\u201d He answered,
\n\u201cAll is Maya, so it does not matter what I do so long as I know the Brahman.\u201d
\nIt is true Ramakrishna replied, \u201cI spit on your Vedanta\u201d, but logically the
\nyogi had a case \u2013 or if all life and action are Maya and only the silent
\nBrahman is real \u2013 well! <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n⁂<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

In the Brahmic condition one
\nfeels the self to be untouched and pure but the nature remains imperfect. The
\nordinary Sannyasin does not care about that, because it is not his object to
\nperfect the nature, but to separate himself from it.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n⁂<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Peace is a necessary basis but
\npeace is not sufficient. Peace if it is strong and permanent can liberate the
\ninner being which can become a calm and unmoved witness of the external
\nmovements. That is the liberation of the Sannyasin. In some cases it can liberate
\nthe external also, throwing the old nature out into the environmental
\nconsciousness, but even this is liberation, not transformation.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n⁂<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

They [the ancient yogas] aimed at
\nrealisation and did not care about divinisation, except the Tantric and some
\nothers. The aim however even in these was rather to become saints and siddhas
\nthan anything else.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n⁂<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The plane makes a considerable
\ndifference in the power and luminosity and completeness etc. of the experience.
\nA mental realisation is very different from an overmental or supramental
\nalthough the Truth realised may be the same. So also to know <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 507<\/span><\/p>\n

\n
\n<\/div>\n

Matter as the Brahman has a very
\ndifferent result from knowing Life, Mind, Supermind or Ananda as the Brahman.
\nIf realising the Divine through the Mind was just the same as realising him on
\nhigher planes, there would be no meaning in this yoga at all \u2013 there would be
\nno need of ascending to supermind or bringing supermind down.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n⁂<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

To be in full union with the
\nDivine is the final aim. When one has some kind of constant union, one can be
\ncalled a yogi, but the union has to be made complete. There are yogis who have
\nonly the union on the spiritual plane, others who are united in mind and heart,
\nothers in the vital also. In our yoga our aim is to be united too in the
\nphysical consciousness and on the supramental plane.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n⁂<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

But why should they [the yogis of
\nthe traditional paths] feel any pressure [of the descent of the supermind] when
\nthey are satisfied with the realisation they have? They live in the spiritual
\nmind and the nature of the mind is to separate \u2013 here to separate some high
\naspect or state of the Divine and seek that to the exclusion of all else. All
\nthe spiritual philosophies and schools of yoga do that. If they go beyond, it
\nis to the Absolute \u2013 and mind cannot conceive of the Absolute except as something
\ninconceivable, neti<\/i> neti<\/i>. Moreover for getting samadhi they
\nconcentrate on one single idea and what they reach is that which is represented
\nby that idea \u2013 the samadhi is in its nature an exclusive concentration on that.
\nSo why should it open them to anything else? There are only a few who are
\nsufficiently plastic to escape from this self-limitation of the sadhana \u2013 what
\nthey experience is that there is no end to the realisation, when you get to one
\npeak, you find another beyond it. In order to see more than this one has to get
\ninto conscious waking touch with the supramental or at least get a glimpse of it
\n\u2013 and that means passing beyond spiritual mind. <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n⁂<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 508<\/span><\/p>\n

\n
\n<\/div>\n

It is the very principle of this
\nyoga that only by the supramentalisation of the consciousness which means
\nrising above mind to supermind and the descent of the supermind into the nature
\ncan the final transformation be made. So if nobody can rise above mind to
\nsupermind or obtain the descent of the supermind, then logically this yoga
\nbecomes impossible. Every being is in essence one with the Divine and in his
\nindividual being a portion of the Divine, so there is no insuperable bar to his
\nbecoming supramental. It is no doubt impossible for the human nature being
\nmental in its basis to overcome the Ignorance and rise to or obtain the descent
\nof the supermind by its own unaided effort, but by surrender to the Divine it
\ncan be done. One brings it down into the earth Nature through his own
\nconsciousness and so opens the way for the others, but the change has to be
\nrepeated in each consciousness to become individually effective.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n⁂<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The aim of the yoga is to open
\nthe consciousness to the Divine and to live in the inner consciousness more and
\nmore while acting from it on the external life, to bring the inmost psychic
\ninto the front and by the power of the psychic to purify and change the being
\nso that it may become ready for transformation and be in union with the Divine
\nKnowledge, Will and Love. Secondly, to develop the yogic consciousness, i.e.,
\nto universalise the being in all the planes, become aware of the\u00a0 <\/span>cosmic being and cosmic forces and be in
\nunion with the Divine on all the planes up to the overmind. Thirdly, to come
\ninto contact with the transcendent Divine beyond the overmind through the
\nsupramental consciousness, supramentalise the consciousness and the nature and
\nmake oneself an instrument for the realisation of the dynamic Divine Truth and its
\ntransforming descent into the earth-nature.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n⁂<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The Divine has three aspects for
\nus:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

1. It is the
\nCosmic Self and Spirit that is in and behind all things and beings, from which
\nand in which all is manifested in <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 509<\/span><\/p>\n

\n
\n<\/div>\n

the universe\u2014although it is now a
\nmanifestation in the Ignorance.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

2. It is the
\nSpirit and Master of our own being within us whom we have to serve and learn to
\nexpress his will in all our movements so that we may grow out of the Ignorance
\ninto the Light.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

3. The Divine is
\ntranscendent Being and Spirit, all bliss and light and divine knowledge and
\npower, and towards that highest divine existence and its Light we have to rise
\nand bring down the reality of it more and more into our consciousness and life.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

In the ordinary
\nNature we live in the Ignorance and do not know the Divine. The forces of the
\nordinary Nature are undivine forces because they weave a veil of ego and desire
\nand unconsciousness which conceals the Divine from us. To get into the higher
\nand deeper consciousness which knows and lives luminously in the Divine, we
\nhave to get rid of the forces of the lower nature and open to the action of the
\nDivine Shakti which will transform our consciousness into that of the Divine
\nNature.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

This is the
\nconception of the Divine from which we have to start \u2013 the realisation of its
\ntruth can only come with the opening of the consciousness and its change.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n⁂<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The distinction between the
\nTranscendental, the Cosmic, the Individual Divine is not my invention, nor is
\nit native to India or to Asia \u2013 It is, on the contrary, a recognised European
\nteaching current in the esoteric tradition of the Catholic Church where it is
\nthe authorised explanation of the Trinity, \u2013 Father, Son and Holy Ghost \u2013 and
\nit is very well-known to European mystic experience. In essence it exists in
\nall spiritual disciplines that recognise the omnipresence of the Divine \u2013 In
\nIndian Vedantic experience and in Mahomedan yoga (not only the Sufi, but other
\nschools also) \u2013 the Mahomedans even speak of not two or three but many levels
\nof the Divine until one reaches the Supreme. As for the idea in itself, surely
\nthere is a difference between the individual, the cosmos in space and time, and
\nsomething that exceeds this cosmic formula or any cosmic formula. There is a
\ncosmic <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 510<\/span><\/p>\n

\n
\n<\/div>\n

consciousness experienced by many
\nwhich is quite different in its scope and action from the individual
\nconsciousness, and if there is a consciousness beyond the cosmic, infinite and
\nessentially eternal, not merely extended in Time, that also must be different
\nfrom these two. And if the Divine is or manifests Himself in these three, is it
\nnot conceivable that in aspect, in His working, He may differentiate Himself so
\nmuch that we are driven, if we are not to confound all truth of experience, if
\nwe are not to limit ourselves to a mere static experience of something
\nindefinable, to speak of a triple aspect of the Divine? <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

In the practice
\nof yoga there is a great dynamic difference in one’s way of dealing with these
\nthree possible realisations. If I realise only the Divine as that, not my
\npersonal self, which yet moves secretly all my personal being and which I can bring
\nforward out of the veil, or if I build up the image of that Godhead in my
\nmembers, it is a realisation but a limited one. If it is the Cosmic Godhead
\nthat I realise, losing in it all personal self, that is a very wide
\nrealisation, but I become a mere channel of the universal Power and there is no
\npersonal or divinely individual consummation for me. If I shoot up to the transcendental
\nrealisation only, I lose both myself and the world in the transcendental
\nAbsolute. If, on the other hand, my aim is none of these things by itself, but
\nto realise and also to manifest the Divine in the world, bringing down for the
\npurpose a yet unmanifested Power, \u2013 such as the supermind, \u2013 a harmonisation of
\nall three becomes imperative. I have to bring it down, and from where shall I
\nbring it down \u2013 since it is not yet manifested in the cosmic formula \u2013 if not
\nfrom the unmanifest Transcendence, which I must reach and realise? I have to
\nbring it into the cosmic formula and, if so, I must realise the cosmic Divine
\nand become conscious of the cosmic self and the cosmic forces. But I have to
\nembody it here, \u2013 otherwise it is left as an influence only and not a thing
\nfixed in the physical world, and it is through the Divine in the individual
\nalone that this can be done.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

These are
\nelements in the dynamics of spiritual experience and I am obliged to admit them
\nif a divine work has to be done. <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n⁂<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 511<\/span><\/p>\n

\n
\n<\/div>\n

Obviously to seek the Divine only
\nfor what one can get out of Him is not the proper attitude; but if it were
\nabsolutely forbidden to \u00a0<\/span>seek Him for
\nthese things, most people in the world would not turn towards Him at all. I
\nsuppose therefore it is allowed so that they may make a beginning \u2013 if they
\nhave faith, they may get what they ask for and think it a good thing to go on
\nand then one day they may suddenly stumble upon the idea that this is after all
\nnot quite the one thing to do and that there are better ways and a better
\nspirit in which one can approach the Divine. If they do not get what they want
\nand still come to the Divine and trust in Him, well, that shows they are
\ngetting ready. Let us look at it as a sort of infants’ school for the unready. But
\nof course that is not the spiritual life, it is only a sort of elementary
\nreligious approach. For the spiritual life to give and not to demand is the
\nrule. The sadhak, however, can ask for the Divine Force to aid him in keeping
\nhis health or recovering it if he does that as part of his sadhana so that his
\nbody may be able and fit for the spiritual life and a capable instrument for
\nthe Divine Work.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n⁂<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Let us first put aside the quite
\nforeign consideration of what we would do if the union with the Divine brought
\neternal joylessness, Nirananda or torture. Such a thing does not exist and to
\ndrag it in only clouds the issue. The Divine is Anandamaya and one can seek him
\nfor the Ananda he gives; but he has also in him many other things and one may
\nseek him for any of them, for peace, for liberation, for knowledge, for power,
\nfor anything else of which one may feel the pull or the impulse. It is quite
\npossible for someone to say: \u201cLet me have Power from the Divine and do His work
\nor His Will and I am satisfied, even if the use of Power entails suffering
\nalso.\u201d It is possible to shun bliss as a thing too tremendous or ecstatic and
\nask only or rather for peace, for liberation, for Nirvana. You speak of
\nself-fulfilment, \u2013 one may regard the Supreme not as the Divine but as one’s
\nhighest Self and seek fulfilment of one’s being in that highest Self; but one
\nneed not envisage it as a self of bliss, ecstasy, Ananda \u2013 one may envisage it
\nas a self of freedom, <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 512<\/span><\/p>\n

\n
\n<\/div>\n

vastness, knowledge,
\ntranquillity, strength, calm, perfection \u2013 perhaps too calm for a ripple of
\nanything so disturbing as joy to enter. So even if it is for something to be
\ngained that one approaches the Divine, it is not a fact that one can approach
\nHim or seek union only for the sake of Ananda and nothing else. <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

That involves
\nsomething which throws all your reasoning out of gear. For these are aspects of
\nthe Divine Nature, powers of it, states of his being, \u2013 but the Divine Himself
\nis something absolute, someone self-existent, not limited by his aspects, \u2013 wonderful
\nand ineffable, not existing by them, but they existing because of Him. It
\nfollows that if he attracts by his aspects, all the more he can attract by his
\nvery absolute selfness which is sweeter, mightier, profounder than any aspect. His
\npeace, rapture, light, freedom, beauty are marvellous and ineffable, because he
\nis himself magically, mysteriously, transcendently marvellous and ineffable. He
\ncan then be sought after for his wonderful and ineffable self and not only for the
\nsake of one aspect or another of his. The only thing needed for that is, first,
\nto arrive at a point when the psychic being feels this pull of the Divine in
\nhimself and, secondly, to arrive at the point when the mind, vital and each
\nthing else begins to feel too that that was what it was wanting and the surface
\nhunt after Ananda or what else was only an excuse for drawing the nature
\ntowards that supreme magnet. <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Your argument
\nthat because we know the union with the Divine will bring Ananda, therefore it
\nmust be for the Ananda that we seek the union, is not true and has no force.
\nOne who loves a queen may know that if she returns his love it will\u00a0 <\/span>bring him power, position, riches and yet it
\nneed not be for the power, position, riches that he seeks her love. He may love
\nher for herself and could love her equally if she were not a queen; he might
\nhave no hope of any return whatever and yet love her, adore her, live for her,
\ndie for her simply because she is she. That has happened and men have loved
\nwomen\u00a0 <\/span>without any hope of enjoyment or
\nresult, loved steadily, passionately after age has come and beauty has gone.
\nPatriots do not love their country only when she is rich, powerful, great and
\nhas much to give them; love for country has been most ardent, passionate,
\nabsolute when the country was poor, degraded, miserable, having nothing to <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 513<\/span><\/p>\n

\n
\n<\/div>\n

give but loss, wounds, torture,
\nimprisonment, death as the wages of her service; yet even knowing that they
\nwould never see her free, men have lived, served and died for her \u2013 for her own
\nsake, not for what she could give. Men have loved Truth for her own sake and
\nfor what they could seek or find of her, accepted poverty, persecution, death
\nitself; they have been content even to seek for her always, not finding, and
\nyet never given up the search. That means what? That man, country, Truth and
\nother things besides can be loved for their own sake and not for anything else,
\nnot for any circumstance or attendant quality or resulting enjoyment, but for
\nsomething absolute that is either in them or behind their appearance and circumstance.
\nThe Divine is more than a man or woman, a stretch of land or a creed, opinion,
\ndiscovery or principle. He is the Person beyond all persons, the Home and
\nCountry of all souls, the Truth of which truths are only imperfect figures. And
\ncan He then not be loved and sought for his own sake, as and more than these
\nhave been by men even in their lesser selves and nature? <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

What your
\nreasoning ignores is that which is absolute or tends towards the absolute in man
\nand his seeking as well as in the Divine \u2013 something not to be explained by
\nmental reasoning or vital motive. A motive, but a motive of the soul, not of vital
\ndesire; a reason not of the mind, but of the self and spirit. An asking too,
\nbut the asking that is the soul’s inherent aspiration, not a vital longing.
\nThat is what comes up when there is the sheer self-giving, when \u201cI seek you for
\nthis, I seek you for that\u201d changes to a sheer \u201cI seek you for you.\u201d It is that
\nmarvellous and ineffable absolute in the Divine that X means when he says, \u201cNot
\nknowledge nor this nor that, but Krishna.\u201d The pull of
\nthat is indeed a categorical imperative, the self in us drawn to the Divine
\nbecause of the imperative call of the greater Self, the soul ineffably drawn
\ntowards the object of its adoration because it cannot be otherwise, because it
\nis it and He is He. That is all about it. I have written all that only to
\nexplain what we mean when we speak of seeking the Divine for himself and not
\nfor anything else \u2013 o far as it is explicable. Explicable or not, it is one of
\nthe most dominant facts of spiritual experience. The will to self-giving <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 514<\/span><\/p>\n

\n
\n<\/div>\n

is only an expression of
\nthis fact. But this does not mean that I object to your asking for Ananda. Ask
\nfor that by all means, so long as to ask for it is a need of any part of your
\nbeing \u2013 for these are the things that lead towards the Divine so long as the
\nabsolute inner call that is there all the time does not push itself to the
\nsurface. But it was really that that has drawn from the \u00a0<\/span>beginning and is there behind \u2013 it is the
\ncategorical spiritual imperative, the absolute need of the soul for the Divine.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n⁂<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I am not saying
\nthat there is to be no Ananda. The self-giving itself is a profound Ananda and
\nwhat it brings, carries in its wake an inexpressible Ananda \u2013 and it is brought
\nby this method sooner than by any other, so that one can say almost, \u201cA
\nself-less self-giving is the best policy.\u201d Only one does not do it out of
\npolicy. Ananda is the result, but it is done not for the result, but for the
\nself-giving itself and for the Divine himself \u2013 a subtle distinction, it may
\nseem to the mind, but very real.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

It was not my intention to say
\nthat it was wrong to aspire for the Ananda. What I wanted to point out was the
\ncondition for the permanent possession of the Ananda (intimations, visits, down-rushes
\nof it one can have before); the essential condition for it is a change of
\nconsciousness, the coming of peace, light, etc., all that brings about the
\ntransition from the normal to the spiritualised nature. And that being so, it
\nis better to make this change of consciousness the first object of the sadhana.
\nOn the other hand, to press for the constant Ananda immediately in a
\nconsciousness which is not yet able to retain it, still more to substitute for
\nit lesser (vital) joys and pleasures may very well stop the flow of these
\nspiritualised experiences which make the continuous ecstasy essentially
\npossible. But I certainly never intended to say that the Ananda was not to be attained
\nor to insist on your moving towards a nirānanda<\/i>
\n(joyless) Brahman. On the contrary, I said that Ananda was the crown of the
\nyoga, which surely means that it was a part of the highest siddhi<\/i>.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Whatever one
\nwants sincerely and persistently from the Divine, the Divine is sure to give.
\nIf then you want Ananda and <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 515<\/span><\/p>\n

\n
\n<\/div>\n

go on wanting, you will surely
\nhave it in the end. The only question is what is to be the chief power in your
\nseeking, a vital demand or a psychic aspiration manifesting through the heart
\nand communicating itself to the mental and vital and physical consciousness.
\nThe latter is the greatest power and makes the shortest way \u2013 and besides one
\nhas to come that way sooner or later.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n⁂<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

To find the Divine is indeed the
\nfirst reason for seeking the spiritual Truth and the spiritual life; it is the
\none thing indispensable and all the rest is nothing without it. The Divine once
\nfound, to manifest Him, \u2013 that is, first of all to transform one’s own limited
\nconsciousness into the Divine Consciousness, to live in the infinite Peace,
\nLight, Love, Strength, Bliss, to become that in one’s essential nature and, as
\na consequence, to be its vessel, channel, instrument in one’s active nature. To
\nbring into activity the principle of oneness on the material plane or to work
\nfor humanity is a mental mistranslation of the Truth \u2013 these things cannot be
\nthe first true object of spiritual seeking. We must find the Self, the Divine,
\nthen only can we know what is the work the Self or the Divine demands from us.
\nUntil then our life and action can only be a help or means towards finding the
\nDivine and it ought not to have any other purpose. As we grow in the inner
\nconsciousness, or as the spiritual Truth of the Divine grows in us, our life
\nand action must indeed more and more flow from that, be one with that. But to
\ndecide beforehand by our limited mental conceptions what they must be is to
\nhamper the growth of the spiritual Truth within. As that grows we shall feel
\nthe Divine Light and Truth, the Divine Power and Force, the Divine Purity and
\nPeace working within us, dealing with our actions as well as our consciousness,
\nmaking use of them to reshape us into the Divine Image, removing the dross,
\nsubstituting the pure gold of the Spirit. Only when the Divine Presence is
\nthere in us always and the consciousness transformed, can we have the right to
\nsay that we are ready to manifest the Divine on the material plane. To hold up
\na mental ideal or principle and impose that <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 516<\/span><\/p>\n

\n
\n<\/div>\n

on the inner working brings the
\ndanger of limiting ourselves to a mental realisation or of impeding or even
\nfalsifying by a halfway formation the true growth into the full communion and
\nunion with the Divine and the free and intimate outflowing of His will in our
\nlife. This is a mistake of orientation to which the mind of today is especially
\nprone. It is far better to approach the Divine for the Peace or Light or Bliss
\nthat the realisation of Him gives than to bring in these minor things which can
\ndivert us from the one thing needful. The divinisation of the material life
\nalso as well as the inner life is part of what we see as the Divine Plan, but
\nit can only be fulfilled by an outflowing of the inner realisation, something
\nthat grows from within outwards, not by the working out of a mental principle. <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

You have asked
\nwhat is the discipline to be followed in order to convert the mental seeking
\ninto a living spiritual experience. The first necessity is the practice of
\nconcentration of your consciousness within yourself. The ordinary human mind
\nhas an activity on the surface which veils the real Self. But there is another,
\na hidden consciousness within behind the\u00a0
\n<\/span>surface one in which we can become aware of the real Self and of a
\nlarger deeper truth of nature, can realise the Self and liberate and transform
\nthe nature. To quiet the surface mind and begin to live within is the object of
\nthis concentration. Of this true consciousness other than the superficial there
\nare two main centres, one in the heart (not the physical heart, but the cardiac
\ncentre in the middle of the chest), one in the head. The concentration in the
\nheart opens within and by following this inward opening and going deep one
\nbecomes aware of the soul or psychic being, the divine element in the
\nindividual. This being unveiled begins to come forward, to govern the nature,
\nto turn it and all its movements towards the Truth, towards the Divine, and to
\ncall down into it all that is above. It brings the consciousness of the
\nPresence, the dedication of the being to the Highest and invites the descent
\ninto our nature of a greater Force and Consciousness which is waiting above us.
\nTo concentrate in the heart centre with the offering of oneself to the Divine
\nand the aspiration for this inward opening and for the Presence in the heart is
\nthe first way and, if it can be done, the natural beginning; for its result <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 517<\/span><\/p>\n

\n
\n<\/div>\n

once obtained makes the spiritual
\npath far more easy and safe than if one begins the other way.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

That other way
\nis the concentration in the head, in the mental centre. This, if it brings
\nabout the silence of the surface mind, opens up an inner, larger, deeper mind
\nwithin which is more capable of receiving spiritual experience and spiritual knowledge.
\nBut once concentrated here one must open the silent mental consciousness upward
\nto all that is above mind. After a time one feels the consciousness rising
\nupward and in the end it rises beyond the lid which has so long kept it tied in
\nthe body and finds a centre above the head where it is liberated into the
\nInfinite. There it begins to come into contact with the universal Self, the
\nDivine Peace, Light, Power, Knowledge, Bliss, to enter into that and become
\nthat, to feel the descent of these things into the nature. To concentrate in
\nthe head with the aspiration for quietude in the mind and the realisation of the
\nSelf and Divine above is the second way of concentration. It is important,
\nhowever, to remember that the concentration of the consciousness in the head is
\nonly a preparation for its rising to the centre above; otherwise, one may get
\nshut up in one’s own mind and its experiences or at best attain only to a
\nreflection of the Truth above instead of rising into the spiritual transcendence
\nto live there. For some the mental concentration is easier, for some the
\nconcentration in the heart centre; some are capable of doing both alternately \u2013
\nbut to begin with the heart centre, if one can do it, is the more desirable. <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The other side
\nof discipline is with regard to the activities of the nature, of the mind, of
\nthe life-self or vital, of the physical being. Here the principle is to accord
\nthe nature with the inner realisation so that one may not be divided into two discordant
\nparts. There are here several disciplines or processes possible. One is to
\noffer all the activities to the Divine and call for the inner guidance and the
\ntaking up of one’s nature by a Higher Power. If there is the inward
\nsoul-opening, if the psychic being comes forward, then there is no great
\ndifficulty \u2013 there comes with it a psychic discrimination, a constant intimation,
\nfinally a governance which discloses and quietly and patiently removes all
\nimperfections, brings the right mental and vital movements and <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 518<\/span><\/p>\n

\n
\n<\/div>\n

reshapes the physical
\nconsciousness also. Another method is to stand back detached from the movements
\nof the mind, life, physical being, to regard their activities as only a
\nhabitual formation of general Nature in the individual imposed on us by past workings,
\nnot as any part of our real being; in proportion as one succeeds in this,
\nbecomes detached, sees mind and its activities as not oneself, life and its
\nactivities as not oneself, the body and its activities as not oneself, one
\nbecomes aware of an inner Being within us \u2013 Inner mental, inner vital, inner
\nphysical \u2013 silent, calm, unbound, unattached which reflects the true Self above
\nand can be its direct representative; from this inner silent Being proceeds a
\nrejection of all that is to be rejected, an acceptance only of what can be kept
\nand transformed, an inmost Will to perfection or a call to the Divine Power to
\ndo at each step what is necessary for the change of the Nature. It can also
\nopen mind, life and body to the inmost psychic entity and its guiding influence
\nor its direct guidance. In most cases these two methods emerge and work together
\nand finally fuse into one. But one can begin with either, the one that one
\nfeels most natural and easy to follow. <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Finally, in all
\ndifficulties where personal effort is hampered, the help of the Teacher can
\nintervene and bring about what is needed for the realisation or for the
\nimmediate step that is necessary.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n⁂<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

This yoga demands a total
\ndedication of the life to the aspiration for the discovery and embodiment of
\nthe Divine Truth and to nothing else whatever. To divide your life between the
\nDivine and some outward aim and activity that has nothing to do with the search
\nfor the Truth is inadmissible. The least thing of that kind would make success
\nin the yoga impossible.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

You must go
\ninside yourself and enter into a complete dedication to the spiritual life. All
\nclinging to mental preferences must fall away from you, all insistence on vital
\naims and interests and attachments must be put away, all egoistic clinging to family,
\nfriends, country must disappear if you want to succeed in yoga. Whatever has to
\ncome as outgoing energy or action, must proceed <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 519<\/span><\/p>\n

\n
\n<\/div>\n

from the Truth once discovered
\nand not from the lower mental or vital motives, from the Divine Will and not
\nfrom personal choice or the preferences of the ego.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n⁂<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

It is a universally accepted
\nprinciple of the spiritual endeavour that one must be prepared to sacrifice
\neverything without reserve in order to reach the Divine through a spiritualised
\nconsciousness. If self-development on the mental, vital and physical plane is
\nhis aim that is another matter \u2013 that life is the life of the ego with the soul
\nkept behind undeveloped or half-developed. But for the spiritual seeker the
\nonly development he seeks is the development of the psychic and spiritual consciousness
\nand that too only because it is necessary to reach and to serve the Divine, not
\nfor its own sake. Whatever mental, vital, physical development or use of
\nfaculties can be made a part of the spiritual life and an instrumentation for
\nthe Divine can be kept on condition of surrender of them for transformation and
\nrestatement on the spiritual basis. But they must not be kept for their own
\nsake or for the sake of the ego or considered as one’s own possession or used
\nfor one’s own purpose but only for the sake of the Divine. <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

As for James’
\nstatement it is of course true except in so far as the politician can indulge
\nin other things as hobbies for his leisure hours, but if he wants to succeed as
\na politician he must give his best energies to politics. Conversely if Shakespeare
\nor Newton had spent part of their
\nenergies in politics they would not have been able to reach such heights in poetry
\nand in science or even if they had they would have done much less. The main
\nenergies have to be concentrated on one thing; the others can only be minor
\npursuits at leisure or for distraction or interests rather than pursuits useful
\nfor keeping up a general culture.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n⁂<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

All depends on the aim of the
\nlife. To one whose aim is to discover and possess the highest spiritual truth
\nand the divine life, I do not think a University post can count for much, nor
\ndo I <\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 520<\/span><\/p>\n

\n
\n<\/div>\n

see that there can be any
\npractical connection between them. It might be different if the aim were the
\nlife of a writer and thinker on the intellectual level only, without any higher
\nflight or deeper seeking. I do not see that your unwillingness to commit
\nyourself to this kind of work is due to any weakness. It is rather that only a
\nsmall part of your nature, and that not the deepest or strongest part would be
\nsatisfied with it or with the atmosphere in which it would have to be done. <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

In these matters
\nit is not the thinking mind but the vital being \u2013 the life-force and the
\ndesire-nature, or some part of it at least \u2013 that usually determines men’s
\naction and their choice, when it is not some outward necessity or pressure that
\ncompels or mainly influences the decision. The mind is only an interpreting,
\njustifying and devising agent. By your taking up the sadhana this part of your
\nvital being has had a pressure put upon it from above and within, which has
\ndiscouraged its old turn of desires and tendencies, its past grooves, those
\nwhich would have decided its direction before; this vital has, as its often one
\nfirst result, fallen silent and neutral. It is no longer strongly moved towards
\nthe ordinary life; it has not yet received from or through the psychic centre
\nand the higher mental will a sufficient illumination and impulse to take up a
\nnew vital movement and run vigorously on the road to a new life. That is the
\nreason for the listlessness of which you speak and the mistiness of the future.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n⁂<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

If your soul always aspires for
\nthe transformation, then that is what you have to follow after. To seek the
\nDivine or rather some aspect of the Divine \u2013 for one cannot entirely realise
\nthe Divine if there is no transformation \u2013 may be enough for some, but not for
\nthose whose soul’s aspiration is for the entire divine change.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n⁂<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

At X’s conscientious hesitations
\nbetween Krishna and Shiva and Shakti I could not help
\nindulging in a smile. If a man is attracted by one form or two forms of the
\nDivine, it is all right, <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 521<\/span><\/p>\n

\n
\n<\/div>\n

but if he is drawn to several at
\na time he need not torment himself over it. A man of some development has
\nnecessarily several sides in his nature and it is quite natural that different
\naspects should draw or govern different personalities in him: he can accept
\nthem all and harmonise them in the One Divine and the One Adya Shakti of whom
\nall are the manifestations. <\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 522<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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