{"id":2678,"date":"2013-07-13T01:43:11","date_gmt":"2013-07-13T01:43:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/localhost\/?p=2678"},"modified":"2014-02-07T23:34:57","modified_gmt":"2014-02-08T07:34:57","slug":"12-the-concentric-system-outer-to-inner-vol-28-letters-on-yoga-i","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/01-works-of-sri-aurobindo\/03-cwsa\/28-letters-on-yoga-i\/12-the-concentric-system-outer-to-inner-vol-28-letters-on-yoga-i","title":{"rendered":"-12_The Concentric System Outer to Inner.htm"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n\n\n
\n

\n\tSection Two <\/font><\/b> <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n\tThe Concentric System:
\n <\/font><\/b> <\/p>\n

\n\t <\/p>\n

\n\tOuter to Inner
\n  <\/b><\/font><\/p>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

\n

\n\t   Chapter One <\/font> <\/b><\/p>\n

\n\t <\/p>\n

\n\tThe Outer Being
\n <\/font><\/b> <\/p>\n

\n\tand the Inner Being
\n <\/font><\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n\tThe Outer and the Inner Being and Consciousness
\n\t<\/a>
\n<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

There are always two different consciousnesses in the human being, one outward in which he ordinarily lives, the other in
\nward and concealed of which he knows nothing. When one does sadhana, the inner consciousness begins to open and one
\nis able to go inside and have all kinds of experiences there. As the sadhana progresses, one begins to live more and more in this
\ninner being and the outer becomes more and more superficial. At first the inner consciousness seems to be the dream and the outer
\nthe waking reality. Afterwards the inner consciousness becomes the reality and the outer is felt by many as a dream or delusion,
\nor else as something superficial and external. The inner consciousness begins to be a place of deep peace, light, happiness,
\nlove, closeness to the Divine or the presence of the Divine, the Mother. One is then aware of two consciousnesses, this inner
\none and the outer which has to be changed into its counterpart and instrument \u2014that also must become full of peace, light,
\nunion with the Divine. At present you are moving between the two and in this period all the feelings you have are quite natural.
\nYou need not be at all anxious about that, but wait for the full development of the inner consciousness in which you will be
\nable to live. <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

* <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

There is always a double nature in human beings, the inner (psychic and spiritual) which is in touch with the Divine; the
\nouter, mental, vital and physical, which has been brought up in the Ignorance and is full of defects, imperfections and impurities.
\nIt is for this reason that in sadhana things cannot be changed in a    <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tPage <\/font>\u2013
\n\t\t\t89<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\n

moment. The inner experience grows and extends and fills more and more of the nature, but till all is filled, the imperfections
\nremain somewhere. <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

* <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

It is a usual experience
\n\u2014to live within in one consciousness while the external being (mind, life, body) goes on of itself under the impulsion of the cosmic Force, doing quietly whatever is necessary to do. This is part of the Yogic consciousness and to
\nhave it means a very real and considerable advance on the path of Yoga. <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

* <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

You have been accustomed to feel your outer consciousness as if
\nit were yourself and so, when you are in your inner realisation, you feel as if you were not in this old accustomed self. As you
\ngrow in the sadhana, you must learn to live in this inner being and to feel the outer as something a little outside and this inner
\nbeing as your real self. <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

* <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

The inner parts in everybody remain vulgar or become high according as they are turned to the outward forces of the Ignorance
\nor towards the higher forces from above and the inner impulsion of the psychic. All forces can play there. It is the outer being
\nthat is fixed in a certain character, certain tendencies, certain movements. <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

* <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

The outer consciousness is shut up in the body limitation and
\nin the little bit of personal mind and sense dependent on the body \u2014it sees only the outward, sees only things. But the inner
\nconsciousness can see behind the thing, it is aware of the play of forces, personal or universal
\n\t\u2014for it is in conscious touch with
\nthe universal action. <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

* <\/p>\n

\n   <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tPage <\/font>\u2013
\n\t\t\t90<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\n

91<\/i> <\/p>\n

The outer consciousness is that which usually expresses itself in ordinary life. It is the external mental, vital, physical. It is not
\nconnected very much with the inner being except in a few \u2014until one connects them together in the course of the sadhana. <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

* <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

The exterior being is the physical which is connected in an ignorant way with the physical universe. It is this physical being which has developed an external mind and vital. The inner mind
\nand vital are on the contrary in direct contact with the universal mental and vital and their forces; the inner subtle physical can
\nalso be in direct touch with the cosmic forces of the physical universe. But the exterior being is not in direct touch with the
\nuniversal or cosmic \u2014only through the outer mind and senses. <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

* <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

It is the outer nature that is obscure and when it is at ease, feels no necessity of remembering the Mother
\n\u2014when the difficulty
\ncomes, then it feels the necessity and remembers. But the inner being is not like that. <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

* <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

The inner being is not usually unquiet but it can be quiet or
\nunquiet like the outer. <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n\tThe Inner, the Outer and the Process of Yoga<\/a><\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

It is only by virtue of the inner consciousness that the outer can awaken to the Divine Influence at all
\n\u2014it receives the inner urge
\neven when it is not aware whence it comes. <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

* <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

They [the inner mind and vital<\/i>] exercise an influence and send out their powers or suggestions which the outer sometimes carries out as best it can, sometimes does not follow. How much they work on the outer depends on how far the individual has an
\ninner life. E.g. the poet, musician, artist, thinker, live much from   <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tPage <\/font>\u2013
\n\t\t\t91<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\n

within
\n\u2014men of genius and those who try to live according to an ideal also. But there are plenty of people who have very little
\ninner life and are governed entirely by the forces of Nature. <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

* <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

As one gathers experience from life to life, mental or vital, the inner mind and vital also develop according to the use made of
\nour experiences and the extent to which they are utilised for the growth of the being. <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

* <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

You are mistaken in thinking that your external being alone is
\nlike that. Hardly anybody has the external being of a Yogi \u2014it is the inner being that has the Yogic turn
\n\t\u2014the external has to
\nbe converted and transformed. <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

* <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

If the inner being does not manifest or act, the outer being will never get transformed. <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

* <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

If the inner being is safe, then there is no longer any struggle
\nor overpowering [of the outer being<\/i>] by inertia or depression or other fundamental difficulties. The rest can be done progressively and quietly, including the coming down of the Force. The outer being becomes merely a machinery or an instrumentation
\nto be set right. It is not so easy to be entirely mukta <\/i>in the inner being. <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

* <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

When the inner being once thoroughly establishes its separate
\nness, even oceans of inertia cannot prevent it from keeping it. It is the first thing to be done in order to have a secure basis in the
\nYoga, to establish thoroughly this separateness. It comes most usually when the peace is thoroughly fixed in all inner parts,
\nthat the separateness also becomes fixed and permanent.   <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tPage <\/font>\u2013
\n\t\t\t92<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\n

93<\/i> <\/p>\n


\n\tThe Inner Being
\n\t<\/a>
\n\t<\/b><\/p>\n

93<\/i> <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The inner being is the inner mind, inner vital, inner physical
\nwith the psychic behind them. The [term<\/i>] higher being is used to denote the conscious self on planes higher than the ordinary
\nhuman consciousness. <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

* <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

Do you not know that the inner being means the inner mind, inner vital, inner physical with the psychic behind as the inmost?
\nHow can there be one centre for all that? <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

* <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

The inner being cannot be “located” above, it can only join with the above, penetrate it and be penetrated by it. If it were located
\nabove, then there would be no inner being.* <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The inner being has its own time which is sometimes slower, sometimes faster than the physical. <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n\tThe Inner Being, the Antaratma and the Atman
\n\t<\/a> <\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The word Antaratma is very vaguely used like the word soul
\nin English \u2014so used, it covers all the inner being, inner mind, inner vital, inner physical even, as well as the inmost being, the
\npsychic. <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

* <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

Our inner being is in touch with the universal mind, life, matter, a part of all that, but by that very fact it cannot be in possession
\nof liberation and peace. You are thinking probably of the Atman and confusing it with the inner being. <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n\tThe Inner Being and the Psychic Being<\/a><\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I did not mean by the inner being the psychic or inmost being.
\nIt is the psychic being that feels love, bhakti and union with the   <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tPage <\/font>\u2013
\n\t\t\t93<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\n

Mother. I was speaking of the inner mental, inner vital, inner physical; in order to reach the hidden seat of the psychic one
\nhas first to pass through these things. When one leaves the outer consciousness and goes inside, it is here that one enters
\n\u2014some
\nor most entering into the inner vital first, others into the inner mental or inner physical; the emotional vital is the most direct
\nroad, for the seat of the psychic is just behind the emotional in the heart centre. It is absolutely necessary for our purpose that one
\nshould become conscious in these inner regions, for if they are not awake, then the psychic being has no proper and sufficient
\ninstrumentation for its activities; it has then only the outer mind, outer vital and body for its means and these are too small and
\nnarrow and obscure. You as yet have been able only to enter the outskirts of the inner vital and are still insufficiently conscious
\nthere. By becoming more conscious there and going deeper one  <\/i>
\n <\/i> can reach the psychic \u2014the safe refuge, nirapad stanza<\/i>, of which
\nyou speak, and you will not be disturbed by the confused visions and experiences of the inner vital outskirts. <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

* <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

The psychic stands behind the inner mind, inner vital and inner
\nphysical and supports them all \u2014they are the inner, this the inmost being. <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

* <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

I do not know what you mean by its [the inner being’s<\/i>] being
\n“around” the psychic. It is obviously nearer to the psychic than the outer mind, vital or physical, but that does not ensure its
\nbeing open to the psychic only and not to other universal forces. <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

* <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

The psychic can have peace behind it
\n\u2014but the inner mind, vital and physical are not necessarily silent \u2014they are full of
\nmovements. It is the higher consciousness that has a basis of peace. <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

* <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tPage <\/font>\u2013
\n\t\t\t94<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\n\t<p align="left" style="line-height: 150%; 95<\/i> <\/p>\n

The psychic being is described in the Upanishads as no bigger than the size of one’s thumb! That of course is a symbolic image.
\nFor usually when one sees anybody’s psychic being in a form, it is bigger than that. As for the inner being, one feels it big because
\nthe true mental or the true vital or even the true physical being is much wider in consciousness than the external consciousness
\nwhich is limited by the body. If the external parts seem to occupy the whole consciousness, it is when one comes down into the
\nphysical and feels all the activities of Nature playing in it \u2014even the mental and vital movements are then felt through the
\nphysical and not as things of a separate plane. But when one lives in the inner being then one is aware of a consciousness
\nwhich begins to spread into the universal and the external is only a surface movement thrown up by the universal forces. <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n\tThe Outer Being and Consciousness
\n\t<\/a> <\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The outer being is a means of expression only, not one’s self. One
\nmust not identify with it, for what it expresses is a personality formed by the old ignorant Nature. If not identified, one can
\nchange it so as to express the true inner personality of the Light. <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

* <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

They [the outer mind, vital and body<\/i>] are small, but not unimportant in spite of their apparent insignificance
\n\u2014because they
\nare a necessary passage of transmission between the soul and the outer world. <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

* <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

You take the outer waking consciousness as if it were the real
\nperson or being and conclude that if it is not this but something else that has the realisation or abides in the realisation, then no
\none has it \u2014for there is no one here except this waking consciousness. That is the very error by which the ignorance lasts
\nand cannot be got rid of. The very first step in getting out of the ignorance is to accept the fact that this outer consciousness is not
\none’s soul, not oneself, not the real person, but only a temporary   <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tPage <\/font>\u2013 95<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\n

formation on the surface for the purposes of the surface play. The soul, the person is within, not on the surface
\n\u2014the outer
\npersonality is the person only in the first sense of the Latin word persona
\n<\/i>which meant originally a mask.
\n   <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tPage <\/font>\u2013
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