{"id":3739,"date":"2013-07-13T01:50:54","date_gmt":"2013-07-13T01:50:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/localhost\/?p=3739"},"modified":"2013-07-13T01:50:54","modified_gmt":"2013-07-13T01:50:54","slug":"05-the-central-aim-and-discipline-of-yoga-vol-01-first-series-1947","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/01-works-of-sri-aurobindo\/02-other-editions\/letters-of-sri-aurobindo\/01-first-series-1947\/05-the-central-aim-and-discipline-of-yoga-vol-01-first-series-1947","title":{"rendered":"-05_The Central Aim and Discipline of Yoga.htm"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n\n\n
\n

\n
\nIII<\/font><\/b><\/p>\n

\n
\nYoga; <\/font>
\n<\/b><\/p>\n

\n
\nIts Principle and Process<\/font><\/b><\/p>\n

\n\t <\/div>\n

\n
\nThe Central Aim and Discipline of Yoga <\/font>
\n<\/b><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\nTO find the Divine is indeed the first reason for
\nseeking the spiritual Truth and the spiritual
\nlife; it is the one thing indispensable and all the rest is
\nnothing without it. The Divine once found, to manifest
\nHim,\u2014that is, first of all to transform one’s own
\nlimited consciousness into the Divine Consciousness,
\nto live in the infinite Peace, Light, Love, Strength,
\nBliss, to become that in one’s essential nature and, as
\na consequence, to be its vessel, channel, instrument
\nin one’s active nature. To bring into activity the
\nprinciple of oneness on the material plane or to work
\nfor humanity is a mental mistranslation of the Truth\u2014
\nthese things cannot be the first or true object of spiritual
\nseeking. We must find the Self, the Divine, then
\nonly can we know what is the work the Self or the
\nDivine demands from us. Until then our life and
\naction can only be a help or means towards finding the
\nDivine and it ought not to have any other purpose.
\nAs we grow in the inner consciousness, or as the spiritual
\nTruth of the Divine grows in us, our life and
\naction must indeed more and more flow from that,<\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage – 71<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\nbe one with that. But to decide beforehand by our
\nlimited mental conceptions what they must be is to
\n.hamper the growth of the spiritual Truth within. As
\nthat grows we shall feel the Divine Light and Truth,
\nthe Divine Power and Force, the Divine Purity and
\nPeace working within us, dealing with our actions
\nas well as our consciousness, making use of them
\nto reshape us into the Divine Image, removing the dross, substituting the pure gold of the Spirit. Only
\nwhen the Divine Presence is there in us always and
\nthe consciousness transformed, can we have the
\nright to say that we are ready to manifest the Divine on the material plane. To hold up a mental ideal
\nor principle and impose that on the inner working
\nbrings the danger of limiting ourselves to a mental
\nrealisation or of impeding or even falsifying by a
\nhalf-way formation the true growth into the full communion and union with the Divine and the free
\nand<\/i> intimate outflowing of His will in our life. This
\nis a mistake of orientation to which the mind of today
\nis especially prone. It is far better to approach
\nthe Divine for the Peace or Light or Bliss that the
\nrealisation of Him gives than to bring in these minor
\nthings which can divert us from the one thing needful.
\nThe divinisation of the material life also as well as
\nthe inner life is part of what we see as the Divine
\nPlan, but it can only be fulfilled by an outflowing
\nof the inner realisation, something that grows from
\nwithin outwards, not by the working out of a mental
\nprinciple. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage – 72<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\nYou have asked what is the discipline to be followed
\nin order to convert the mental seeking into
\na living spiritual experience. The first necessity is
\nthe practice of concentration of your consciousness
\nwithin yourself. The ordinary human mind has an
\nactivity on the surface which veils the real Self. But
\nthere is another, a hidden consciousness within behind
\nthe surface one in which we can become aware
\nof the real Self and of a larger, deeper truth of nature,
\ncan realise the Self and liberate and transform the.
\nnature. To quiet the surface mind and begin to live
\nwithin is the object of this concentration. Of this
\ntrue consciousness other than the superficial there
\nare two main centres, one in the heart (not the physical
\nheart, but the cardiac centre in the middle of
\nthe chest), one in the head. The concentration in
\nthe heart opens within and by following this inward
\nopening and going deep one becomes aware of the
\nsoul or psychic being, the divine element in the.
\nindividual. This being unveiled begins to come forward,
\nto govern the nature, to turn it and all its
\nmovements towards the Truth, towards the Divine,
\nand to call down into it all that is above. It brings
\nthe consciousness of the Presence, the dedication of
\nthe being to the Highest and invites the descent
\ninto our nature of a greater Force and Consciousness
\nwhich is waiting above us. To concentrate in the
\nheart centre with the offering of oneself to the Divine
\nand the aspiration for this inward opening and for
\nthe Presence in the heart is the first way and, if it <\/font><\/p>\n

\n

Page – 73<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\ncan be done, the natural beginning; for its result
\nonce obtained makes the spiritual path far more easy
\nand safe than if one begins the other way. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nThat other way is the concentration in the head,
\nin the mental centre. This, if it brings about the
\nsilence of the surface mind, opens up an inner, larger,
\ndeeper mind within which is more capable of receiving
\nspiritual experience and spiritual knowledge. But once
\nconcentrated here one must open the silent mental
\nconsciousness upward to all that is above mind.
\nAfter a time one feels the consciousness rising upward
\nand in the end it rises beyond the lid which has so
\nlong kept it tied in the body and finds a centre above
\nthe head where it is liberated into the Infinite. There
\nit begins to come into contact with the universal
\nSelf, the Divine Peace, Light, Power, Knowledge,
\nBliss, to enter into that and become that, to feel
\nthe descent of these things into the nature. To concentrate
\nin the head with the aspiration for quietude
\nin the mind and the realisation of the Self and Divine
\nabove is the second way of concentration. It is
\nimportant, however, to remember that the concentration
\nof the consciousness in the head is only a preparation
\nfor its rising to the centre’ above; otherwise one
\nmay get shut up in one’s own mind and its experiences
\nor at best attain only to a reflection of the Truth
\nabove instead of rising into the spiritual transcendence
\nto live there. For some the mental concentration is
\neasier, for some the concentration in the heart centre; some are capable of doing both alternately\u2014but to <\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage – 74<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\nbegin with the heart centre, if one can do it, is the more desirable. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nThe other side of discipline is with regard to the
\nactivities of the nature, of the mind, of the life-self
\nor vital, of the physical being. Here the principle
\nis to accord the nature with the inner realisation so
\nthat one may not be divided into two discordant
\nparts. There are here several disciplines or processes
\npossible. One is to offer all the activities to the Divine
\nand call for the inner guidance and the taking up of
\none’s nature by a Higher Power. If there is the
\ninward soul-opening, if the psychic being comes
\nforward, then there is no great difficulty\u2014there
\ncomes with it a psychic discrimination, a constant
\nintimation, finally a governance which discloses and
\nquietly and patiently removes all imperfections,
\nbrings the right mental and vital movements and
\nreshapes the physical consciousness also. Another
\nmethod is to stand back detached from the movements
\nof the mind, life, physical being, to regard their
\nactivities as only a habitual formation of general
\nNature in the individual imposed on us by past
\nworkings, not as any part of our real being; in proportion
\nas one succeeds in this, becomes detached, sees
\nmind and its activities as not oneself, life and its
\nactivities as not oneself, the body and its activities
\nas not oneself, one becomes aware of an inner Being
\nwithin us\u2014inner mental, inner vital, inner physical-
\nsilent, calm, unbound, unattached which reflects the
\ntrue Self above and can be its direct representative; <\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage – 75<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\nfrom this inner silent Being proceeds a rejection of all
\nthat is to be rejected, an acceptance only of what
\ncan be kept and transformed, an inmost will to perfection
\nor a call to the Divine Power to do at each
\nstep what is necessary for the change of the Nature.
\nIt can also open mind, life and body to the inmost
\npsychic entity and its guiding influence or its direct
\nguidance. In most cases these two methods emerge
\nand work together and finally fuse into one. But one
\ncan begin with either, the one that one feels most
\nnatural and easy to follow. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nFinally, in all difficulties where personal effort is
\nhampered the help of the Teacher can intervene and
\nbring about what is needed for the realisation or
\nfor the immediate step that is necessary. <\/font><\/p>\n

\n7-9-1936 <\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage – 76<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\n
\nThe Central Process of the Integral Yoga<\/a>
\n<\/b>
\n<\/font><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\nIF one wanted the Divine, the Divine himself would take up the purifying of the heart and
\ndevelop the sadhana and give the necessary experiences;
\nit can and does happen in that way if one
\nhas trust and confidence in the Divine and the will
\nto surrender. For such a taking up involves one’s
\nputting oneself in the hands of the Divine rather
\nthan relying on one’s own efforts alone and this
\nimplies one’s putting one’s trust and confidence in the
\nthe Divine and a progressive self-giving. It is in
\nfact the principle of sadhana that I myself followed
\nand it is the central process of Yoga as I envisage it.
\nIt is, I suppose, what Sri Ramakrishna meant by the
\nmethod of the baby cat in his image. But all cannot
\nfollow that at once; it takes time for them to arrive at
\nit\u2014it grows most when the mind and vital fall
\nquiet. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nWhat I mean by surrender is this inner surrender of
\nthe mind and vital. There is, of course, the outer
\nsurrender also: the giving up of all that is found to
\nconflict with the spirit or need of the sadhana, the <\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage – 77<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\noffering, the obedience to the guidance of the Divine,
\nwhether directly, if one has reached that stage, or
\nthrough the psychic or to the guidance of the Guru.
\nI may say that prayopaveshana<\/i> (fasting for a long time)
\nhas not anything to do with surrender: it is a form of
\ntapasya of a very austere and in my opinion very
\nexcessive kind, often dangerous. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nThe core of the inner surrender is trust and confidence
\nin the Divine. One takes the attitude: "I
\nwant the Divine and nothing else. I want to give
\nmyself entirely to him and since my soul wants that,
\nit cannot be but that I shall meet and realise him. I
\nask nothing but that and his action in me to bring me
\nto him, his action secret or open, veiled or manifest.
\nI do not insist on my own time and way, let him do all
\nin his own time and way; I shall believe in him, accept
\nhis will, aspire steadily for his light and presence
\nand joy, go through all difficulties and delays, relying
\non him and never giving up. Let my mind be quiet  and trust him and let him open it to his light; let my
\nvital be quiet and turn to him alone and let him open
\nit to his calm and joy. All for him and myself for him. Whatever happens I will keep to this aspiration
\nand self-giving and go on in perfect reliance that it will be done." <\/font><\/p>\n

\nThat is the attitude into which one must-grow; for certainly it cannot be made perfect at once-
\nmental and vital movements come across\u2014but if one
\nkeeps the will to it, it will grow in the being. The
\nrest is a matter of obedience to the guidance when it <\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage – 78<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\nmakes itself manifest, not allowing one’s mental and
\nvital movements to interfere. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nIt is not my intention to say that this way is the
\nonly way and sadhana cannot be done otherwise\u2014
\nthere are so many others by which one can approach
\nthe Divine. But this is the only one I know by which
\nthe taking up of sadhana by the Divine becomes a
\nsensible fact before the preparation of the nature is
\ndone. In other methods the Divine action may be
\nfelt from time to time, but it remains mostly behind
\nthe veil till all is ready. In some sadhanas the divine
\naction is not recognised: all must be done by tapasya.
\nIn most there is a mixing of the two; the tapasya
\nfinally calling the direct help and intervention. The
\nidea and experience of the Divine doing all belong to
\nthe Yoga based on surrender. But whatever way is
\nfollowed, the one thing to be done is to be faithful and
\ngo on to the end. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nAll can be done by the Divine,\u2014the heart and
\nnature purified, the inner consciousness awakened,
\nthe veils removed,\u2014if one gives oneself to the Divine
\nwith trust and confidence and even if one cannot do
\nso fully at once, yet the more one does so, the more
\nthe inner help and guidance comes and the experience
\nof the Divine grows within. If the questioning mind
\nbecomes less active and humility and the will to surrender
\ngrow, this ought to be perfectly possible. No
\nother strength and tapasya are then needed, but this
\nalone. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage – 79<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\n
\nDivine for Divine’s Sake<\/a> <\/font>
\n<\/b><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\nLET us first put aside the quite foreign consideration
\nof what we would do if the union with
\nthe Divine brought eternal joylessness, Nirananda or
\ntorture. Such a thing does not exist and to drag it
\nin only clouds the issue. The Divine is Anandamaya
\nand one can seek him for the Ananda he gives, but he
\nhas also in him many other things and one may seek
\nhim for any of them, for peace, for liberation, for
\nknowledge, for power, for anything else of which one
\nmay feel the pull or the impulse. It is quite possible
\nfor someone to say: "Let me have Power from the
\nDivine and do His work or His Will and I am satisfied,
\neven if the use of Power entails suffering also."
\nIt is possible to shun bliss as a thing too tremendous
\nor ecstatic and ask only or rather for peace, for
\nliberation, for Nirvana. You speak of self-fulfilment, \u2014one may regard the Supreme not as the Divine
\nbut as one’s highest Self and seek fulfilment of one’s
\nbeing in that highest Self; but one need not envisage
\nit as a self of bliss, ecstasy, Ananda\u2014one may
\nenvisage it as a self of freedom, vastness, knowledge,<\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage – 80<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\ntranquillity, strength, calm, perfection\u2014perhaps too.
\ncalm for a ripple of anything so disturbing as joy
\nto enter. So even if it is for something to be
\ngained that one approaches the Divine, it is
\nnot a fact that one can approach Him or seek
\nunion only for the sake of Ananda and nothing
\nelse. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nThat involves something which throws all your
\nreasoning out of gear. For these are aspects of the
\nDivine Nature, powers of it, states of his being,\u2014
\nbut the Divine Himself is something absolute,
\nsomeone self-existent, not limited by his aspects,\u2014
\nwonderful and ineffable, not existing by them, but
\nthey existing because of Him. It follows that if he
\nattracts by his aspects, all the more he can attract
\nby his very absolute selfness which is sweeter,
\nmightier, profounder than any aspect. His peace,
\nrapture, light, freedom, beauty are marvellous and
\nineffable, because he is himself magically, mysteriously,
\ntranscendently marvellous and ineffable. He
\ncan then be sought after for his wonderful and
\nineffable self and not only for the sake of one aspect
\nor another of his. The only thing needed for that is,
\nfirst, to arrive at a point when the psychic being
\nfeels this pull of the Divine in himself and, secondly,
\nto arrive at the point when the mind, vital and each
\nthing else begins to feel too that that was what it
\nwas wanting and the surface hunt after Ananda or
\nwhat else was only an excuse for drawing the nature
\ntowards that supreme magnet. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage – 81<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\nYour argument that because we know the union
\nwith the Divine will bring Ananda, therefore it must
\nbe for the Ananda that we seek the union, is not
\ntrue and has no force. One who loves a queen may
\nknow that if she returns his love it will bring him
\npower, position, riches and yet it need not be for
\nthe power, position, riches that he seeks her love.
\nHe may love her for herself and could love her equally
\nif she were not a queen; he might have no hope of
\nany return whatever and yet love her, adore her, live
\nfor her, die for her simply because she is she. That
\nhas happened and men have loved women without
\nany hope of enjoyment or result, loved steadily,
\npassionately after age has come and beauty has gone.
\nPatriots do not love their country only when she is
\nrich, powerful, great and has much to give them,
\nlove for country has been most ardent, passionate,
\nabsolute when the country was poor, degraded,
\nmiserable, having nothing to give but loss, wounds,
\ntorture, imprisonment, death as the wages of her
\nservice; yet even knowing that they would never see
\nher free, men have lived, served and died for her\u2014
\nfor her own sake, not for what she could give. Men
\nhave loved Truth for her own sake and for what they
\ncould seek or find of her, accepted poverty, persecution, death itself; they have been content even to
\nseek for her always, not finding, and yet never given
\nup the search. That means what? That man, country,
\nTruth and other things besides can be loved for their
\nown sake and not for anything else, not for any <\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage – 82<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\ncircumstance or attendant quality or resulting enjoyment,
\nbut for something absolute that is either in
\nthem or behind their appearance and circumstance.
\nThe Divine is more than a man or woman, a stretch
\nof land or a creed, opinion^ discovery or principle.
\nHe is the Person beyond all persons, the Home and
\nCountry of all souls, the Truth of which truths are
\nonly imperfect figures. And can He then not be
\nloved and sought for his own sake, as and more than
\n¦¦these have been by men even in their lesser selves and nature? <\/font><\/p>\n

\nWhat your reasoning ignores is that which is
\nabsolute or tends towards the absolute in man and his seeking as well as in the Divine\u2014something not to be explained by mental reasoning or vital motive.
\nA motive, but a motive of the soul, not of vital desire; a reason not of the mind, but of the self and spirit.
\nAn asking too, but the asking that is the soul’s
\ninherent aspiration, not a vital longing. That is what
\ncomes up when there is the sheer self-giving, when
\n"I seek you for this, I seek you for that" changes
\nto a sheer "I seek you for you." It is that marvellous
\nand ineffable absolute in the Divine that X means
\nwhen he says "Not knowledge nor this nor that, but
\nKrishna." The pull of that is indeed a categorical
\nimperative, the self in us drawn to the Divine because
\nof the imperative call of the greater Self, the soul
\nineffably drawn towards the object of its adoration,
\nbecause it cannot be otherwise, because it is it and
\nHe is He. That is all about it. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage – 83<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\nI have written all that only to explain what we
\nmean when we speak of seeking the Divine for
\nhimself and not for anything else\u2014so far as it is
\nexplicable. Explicable or not, it is one of the most
\ndominant facts of spiritual experience. The will to
\nself-giving is only an expression of this fact. But this
\ndoes not mean that I object to your asking for Ananda.
\nAsk for that by all means, so long as to ask for it is
\na need of any part of your being\u2014for these are the
\nthings that lead towards the Divine so long as the
\nabsolute inner call that is there all the time does
\nnot push itself to the surface. But it was really that
\nthat has drawn from the beginning and is there
\nbehind\u2014it is the categorical spiritual imperative, the
\nabsolute need of the soul for the Divine. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nI am not saying that there is to be no Ananda. The
\nself-giving itself is a profound Ananda and what it
\nbrings, carries in its wake an inexpressible Ananda\u2014
\nand it is brought by this method sooner than by any
\nother, so that one can say almost, "A self-less self-giving is the best policy." Only one does not do it
\nout of policy. Ananda is the result, but it is done not
\nfor the result, but for the self-giving itself and for the
\nDivine himself\u2014a subtle distinction, it may seem to
\nthe mind, but very real. <\/font><\/p>\n

\n29-10-1935 <\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage – 84<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\n
\n
\nThe First Object and the Chief
\nPower of Sadhana <\/a> <\/font>
\n<\/b><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\nI<\/font><\/b>T<\/b> was not my intention to say that it was wrong to aspire for the Ananda. What I wanted to point
\nout was the condition for the permanent possession of
\nthe Ananda (intimations, visits, downrushes of it one
\ncan have before); the essential condition for it is a
\nchange of consciousness, the coming of peace, light,
\netc., all that brings about the transition from the
\nnormal to the spiritualised nature. And that being so,
\nit is better to make this change of consciousness the
\nfirst object of the sadhana. On the other hand, to
\npress for the constant Ananda immediately in a consciousness
\nwhich is not yet able to retain it, still more
\nto substitute for it lesser (vital) joys and pleasures
\nmay very well stop the flow of these spiritualised
\nexperiences which make the continuous ecstasy
\nessentially possible. But I certainly never intended to
\nsay that the Ananda was not to be attained or to
\ninsist on your moving towards a nirananda<\/i> (joyless)
\nBrahman. <\/b> On the contrary, I said that Ananda
\nwas the crown of the Yoga, which surely means that <\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage – 85<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\nit was a part of the highest siddhi.<\/i> <\/font><\/p>\n

\nWhatever one wants sincerely and persistently from
\nthe Divine, the Divine is sure to give. If then you want
\nAnanda and go on wanting, you will surely have it
\nin the end. The only question is what is to be the
\nchief power in your seeking, a vital demand or a psychic
\naspiration manifesting through the heart and communicating 
\nitself to the mental and vital and physical
\nconsciousness. The latter is the greatest power and
\nmakes the shortest way\u2014and besides one has to come
\nthat way sooner or later. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage – 86<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\nYoga and Humanity<\/a>
\n<\/b>
\n<\/font><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\nTHE idea of usefulness to humanity is the old.
\nconfusion due to second-hand ideas imported
\nfrom the West. Obviously, to be "useful" to humanity
\nthere is no need of Yoga; everyone who leads the
\nhuman life is useful to humanity in one way or another. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nYoga is directed towards God, not towards man. If
\na divine supramental consciousness and power can be
\n:brought down and established in the material world,
\nthat obviously would mean an immense change for
\nthe earth including humanity and its life. But the
\neffect on humanity would only be one result of the
\nchange; it cannot be the object of the sadhana. The
\nobject of the sadhana can only be to live in the divine
\nconsciousness and to manifest it in life. <\/font><\/p>\n

\n26-7-1929 <\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage – 87<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\nOur Conception of the Divine<\/a>
\n<\/b>
\n<\/font><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\nTHE Divine has three aspects for us : <\/font><\/p>\n

\n1. It is the Cosmic Self and Spirit that is in and
\nbehind all things and beings, from which and in
\nwhich all is manifested in the universe\u2014although it
\nis now a manifestation in the Ignorance.<\/font><\/p>\n

\n2. It is the Spirit and Master of our own being within
\nus whom we have to serve and learn to express his
\nwill in all our movements so that we may grow out
\nof the Ignorance into the Light. <\/font><\/p>\n

\n3. The Divine is transcendent Being and Spirit, all
\nbliss and light and divine knowledge and power, and
\ntowards that highest divine existence and its Light
\nwe have to rise and bring down the reality of it more
\nand more into our consciousness and life. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nIn the ordinary nature we live in the Ignorance
\nand do not know the Divine. The forces of the ordinary
\nNature are undivine Forces because they weave a veil
\nof ego and desire and unconsciousness which conceals
\nthe Divine from us. To get into the higher and deeper
\nconsciousness which knows and lives consciously in the <\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage – 88<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\nDivine, we have to get rid of the forces of the lower
\nnature and open to the action of the Divine Shakti
\nwhich will transform our consciousness into that of
\nthe Divine Nature. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nThis is the conception of the Divine from which
\nwe have to start\u2014the realisation of its truth can
\nonly come with the opening of the consciousness and
\nits change. <\/font><\/p>\n

\n13-6-1933 <\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage – 89<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\n
\nThe Spiritual, the Religious and
\nthe Ordinary Human Life<\/a> <\/b>
\n<\/font><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\nTHE spiritual life {adhyatma jivan),<\/i> the religious
\nlife (dharma jivan)<\/i> and the ordinary
\nhuman life of which morality is a part are three
\nquite different things and one must know which
\none desires and not confuse the three together.
\nThe ordinary life is that of the average human
\nconsciousness separated from its own true self and
\nfrom the Divine and led by the common habits of
\nthe mind, life and body which are the laws of the
\nIgnorance. The religious life is a movement of the same
\nignorant human consciousness, turning or trying to
\nturn away from the earth towards the Divine but as yet
\nwithout knowledge and led by the dogmatic tenets and
\nrules of some sect or creed which claims to have found
\nthe way out of the bonds of the earth-consciousness
\ninto some beatific Beyond. The religious life may be
\nthe first approach to the spiritual, but very often it is
\nonly a turning about in a round of rites, ceremonies
\nand practices or set ideas and forms without any
\nissue. The spiritual life, on the contrary, proceeds. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage – 90<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\ndirectly by a change of consciousness, a change from
\nthe ordinary consciousness, ignorant and separated
\nfrom its true self and from God, to a greater consciousness
\nin which one finds one’s true being and comes
\nfirst into direct and living contact and then into union
\nwith the Divine. For the spiritual seeker this change of
\nconsciousness is the one thing he seeks and nothing
\nelse matters. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nMorality is a part of the ordinary life, it is an
\nattempt to govern the outward conduct by certain
\nmental rules or to form the character by these rules in
\nthe image of a certain mental ideal. The spiritual life
\ngoes beyond the mind; it enters into the deeper consciousness
\nof the Spirit and acts out of the truth of the
\nSpirit. As for the question about the ethical life and
\nthe need to realise God, it depends on what is meant
\nby fulfilment of the objects of life. If an entry into the
\nspiritual consciousness is part of it, then mere morality
\nwill not give it to you. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nPolitics as such has nothing to do with the
\nspiritual
\nlife. If the spiritual man does anything for his country,
\nit is in order to do the will of the Divine and as part
\nof a divinely appointed work and not from any other
\ncommon human motive. In none of his acts does he
\nproceed from the common mental and vital motives
\nwhich move ordinary men but acts out of the truth of
\nthe Spirit and from an inner command of which he
\nknows the source. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nThe kind of worship (puja)<\/i> spoken of in the letter
\nbelongs to the religious life. It can, if rightly done<\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage – 91<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\nin the deepest religious spirit, prepare the mind and
\nheart to some extent but no more. But if worship is
\ndone as a part of meditation or with a true aspiration to
\nthe spiritual reality and the spiritual consciousness and
\nwith the yearning for contact and union with the
\nDivine, then it can be spiritually effective. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nIf you have a sincere aspiration to the spiritual
\nchange in your heart and soul, then you will find the
\nway and the Guide. A mere mental seeking and questioning
\nare not enough to open the doors of the
\nSpirit. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage – 92<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\nMental Ideas and Yoga<\/a>
\n<\/b>
\n<\/font><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\nYOGA is not a thing of ideas but of inner
\nspiritual
\nexperience. Merely to be attracted to any set of
\nrealigious or spiritual ideas does not bring with it any
\nrcalisation. Yoga means a change of consciousness; a mere mental activity will not bring a change of consciousness,
\nit can only bring a change of mind. And if
\nyour mind is sufficiently mobile, it will go on changing
\nfrom one thing to another till the end without
\narriving at any sure way or any spiritual harbour. The
\nmind can think and doubt and question and accept
\nand withdraw its acceptance, make formations and
\nunmake them, pass decisions and revoke them, judging
\nalways on the surface and by surface indications and
\ntherefore never coming to any deep and firm experience
\nof Truth, but by itself it can do no more. There are
\nonly three ways by which it can make itself a channel
\nor instrument of Truth. Either it must fall silent in the
\nSelf and give room for a wider and greater consciousness;
\nor it must make itself passive to an inner Light
\nand allow that Light to use it as a means of expression; or else it must itself change from the questioning
\n<\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage – 93<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\nintellectual superficial mind it now is to an intuitive
\nintelligence, a mind of vision fit for the direct perception
\nof the divine Truth. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nIf you want to do anything in the path of Yoga,
\nyou must fix once for all what way you mean to follow.
\nIt is no use setting your face towards the future and
\nthen always looking back towards the past; in this way
\nyou will arrive nowhere. If you are tied to your past,
\nreturn to it and follow the way you then choose; but
\nif you choose this way instead, you must give yourself
\nto it single-mindedly and not look back at every
\nmoment. <\/font><\/p>\n

\n11-5-1931 <\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage – 94<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\nYoga and Action<\/a>
\n<\/b>
\n<\/font><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\nALL this insistence upon action is absurd if one has not the light by which to act. "Yoga must
\ninclude life and not exclude it" does not mean that we
\nare bound to accept life as it is with all its stumbling
\nignorance and misery and the obscure confusion of
\nhuman will and reason and impulse and instinct which
\nit expresses. The advocates of action think that by
\nhuman intellect and energy making an always new
\nrush, everything can be put right; the present state of
\nthe world after a development of the intellect and a stupendous output of energy
\nfor which there is no historical parallel is a signal proof of the emptiness of
\nthe illusion under which they labour. Yoga takes the
\nstand that it is only by a change of consciousness that
\nthe true basis of life can be discovered; from within
\noutward is indeed the rule. But within does not mean
\nsome quarter inch behind the surface. One must go
\ndeep and find the soul, the self, the Divine Reality
\nwithin us and only then can life become a true expression of what we can be instead of a blind and always
\nrepeated confused blur of the inadequate and imperfect <\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage – 95<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\nthing we were. The choice is between remaining in the
\nold jumble and groping about in the (hope of stumbling
\non some discovery or standing back and seeking the
\nLight within till we discover and can build the Godhead within and without us. <\/font><\/p>\n

\n16-6-1932 <\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage – 96<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\nDivinisation of Life<\/a>
\n<\/b>
\n<\/font><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\nI SEND you the promised letter today; you will see that it is less a reply to the exact terms of
\nyour letter than a "defence of the gospel of divinisation of life" against the strictures and the incomprehensions of the mentality (or more often the vitality)
\nthat either misunderstands or shrinks from it\u2014or
\nperhaps misunderstands because it shrinks, and
\nshrinks too because it misunderstands both my method
\nand my object. It is not a complete defence, but only
\nraises or answers a main point here and there. The
\nrest will come hereafter. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nBut all language is open to misunderstanding, so
\nI had better in sending on the letter make or try to
\nmake certain things clear. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nAlthough I have laid stress on things divine in
\nanswer to an excessive (because contrary) insistence
\non things human, it must not be understood that I
\nreject every thing human,\u2014human love or worship
\nor any helpful form of human approach as part of
\nthe Yoga. I have never done so, otherwise the Ashram
\ncould not be in existence. The sadhakas who enter the <\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage – 97<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\nYoga are human beings and if they were not allowed
\na human approach at the beginning and long after,
\nthey would not be able to start the Yoga or would
\nnot be able to continue it. The discussion arises only
\nbecause the word "human" is used in practice, not
\nonly as identical with the human vital (and the outward mind), but with certain forms of human vital
\nego-nature. But the human vital has many other
\nthings in it and is full of excellent material. All that
\nis asked by the Yoga is that this material should be
\nutilised in the right way and with the right spiritual
\nattitude and also, that the human approach to the
\nDivine should not be constantly turned into a human
\nrevolt and reproach against it. And that too we ask
\nonly for the success of the approach itself and of
\nthe human being who is making it. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nDivinisation itself does not mean the destruction
\nof the human elements; it means taking them up,
\nshowing them the way to their own perfection, raising
\nthem by purification and perfection to their full
\npower and Ananda and that means the raising of
\nthe whole of earthly life to its full power and Ananda. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nIf there were not a resistance in vital human nature,
\na pressure of forces adverse to the change, forces
\nwhich delight in imperfection and even in perversion,
\nthis change would effect itself without difficulty by a
\nnatural and painless flowering\u2014as, for example, your
\nown powers of poetry and music have flowered out
\nhere with rapidity and ease under the light and rain
\nof a spiritual and psychic influence\u2014because everything<\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage – 98 <\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\nin you desired that change and your vital was
\nwilling to recognise imperfections, to throw away
\nany wrong attitude\u2014e.g. the desire for mere fame,
\nand to be dedicated and perfect. Divinisation of life
\nmeans, in fact, a greater art of life; for the present
\nart of life produced by ego and ignorance is something
\ncomparatively mean, crude and imperfect (like the
\nlower forms of art, music and literature which are
\nyet more attractive to the ordinary human mind
\nand vital), and it is by a spiritual and psychic opening
\nand refinement that it has to reach its true perfection.
\nThis can only be done by its being steeped in the
\ndivine Light and Flame in which its material will
\nbe stripped of all heavy dross and turned into the
\ntrue metal. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nUnfortunately, there is<\/i> the resistance, a very
\nobscure and obstinate resistence. That necessitates a
\nnegative element in the Yoga, an element of rejection
\nof things that stand in the way and\u2014pressure upon
\nthose forms that are crude and useless to disappear,
\non those that are useful but imperfect or have been
\nperverted to retain or to recover their true movement.
\nTo the vital this pressure is painful, first, because
\nit is obscure and does not understand and, secondly,
\nbecause there are parts of it that want to be left
\nto their crude motions and not to change. That is
\nwhy the intervention of a psychic attitude is so helpful. For the psychic has the happy confidence, the
\nready understanding and response, the spontaneous
\nsurrender; it knows that the touch of the Guru is <\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage – 99<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\nmeant to help and not to hurt, or, like Radha in
\nthe poem, that whatever the Beloved does is meant
\nto lead to the Divine Rapture. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nAt the same time, it is not from the negative
\npart of the movement that you have to judge the
\nYoga, but from its positive side; for the negative
\npart is temporary and transitional and will disappear,
\nthe positive alone counts for the ideal and for the
\nfuture. If you take conditions which belong to the
\nnegative side and to a transitional movement as the
\nlaw of the future and the indication of the character
\nof the Yoga, you will commit a serious misjudgement,
\na grave mistake. This Yoga is not a rejection of life
\nor of closeness and intimacy between the Divine and
\nthe sadhakas. Its ideal aims at the greatest closeness
\nand unity on the physical as well as the other planes,
\nat the most divine largeness and fullness and joy
\n<\/b>of
\n<\/b>life. <\/font><\/p>\n

\n14-1-1932 <\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage – 100<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\nVairagya in Yoga<\/a>
\n<\/b>
\n<\/font><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\nI HAVE objected in the past to vairagya of the ascetic kind and the tamasic kind.. .. The vairagya
\nof one who has tasted the world’s gifts or prizes
\nbut found them insufficient or tasteless and turns
\naway towards a higher ideal or the vairagya of one
\nwho has done his part in life’s battles but seen that
\nsomething greater is demanded of the soul, is perfectly helpful and a good gate to the Yoga…. By
\nascetic vairagya I mean that which denies life and
\nworld altogether and wants to disappear into the
\nIndefinable\u2014I object to it because my aim is to bring
\nthe Divine into life. But if one is satisfied with life
\nas it is, then there is no reason to seek to bring the
\nDivine into life. So vairagya in the sense of dissatisfaction with life as it is is perfectly admissible and
\neven in a certain sense indispensable for my yoga. <\/font><\/p>\n

\n4-5-1934 <\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage – 101<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\nThe Only Truth<\/a> <\/b>
\n<\/font><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\nIT is a lesson of life that always in this world everything fails a man\u2014only the Divine does
\nnot fail him, if he turns entirely to the Divine. It
\nis not because there is something bad in you that
\nblows fall on you\u2014blows fall on all human beings
\nbecause they are full of desire for things that cannot
\nlast and they lose them or, even if they get, it brings
\ndisappointment and cannot satisfy them. To turn to
\nthe Divine is the only truth in life. <\/font><\/p>\n

\n21-4-1933 <\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage – 102<\/font><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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