{"id":3744,"date":"2013-07-13T01:50:56","date_gmt":"2013-07-13T01:50:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/localhost\/?p=3744"},"modified":"2013-07-13T01:50:56","modified_gmt":"2013-07-13T01:50:56","slug":"08-realisations-and-experiences-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\/08-realisations-and-experiences-vol-01-first-series-1947","title":{"rendered":"-08_Realisations and Experiences.htm"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n\n\n
\n

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

\n <\/p>\n

\n
\nYogic Visions — Experiences — Realisations<\/font><\/b><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\nRealisations and Experiences <\/b>
\n<\/font><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\nI DON’T say that these experiences are always of no
\nvalue, but they are so mixed and confused that if
\none runs after them without any discrimination at all
\nthey end by either leading astray, sometimes tragically -astray, or by bringing one into a confused nowhere. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nThat does, not mean that all such experiences are
\nuseless or without value. There are those that are
\nsound as well those that are unsound; those that are
\nhelpful, in the true line, sometimes sign-posts, sometimes 
\nstages on the way to realisation, sometimes stuff
\nand material of the realisation. These naturally and
\nrightly one seeks for, calls, strives after, or at least one
\nopens oneself in the confident expectation that they
\nwill sooner or later arrive. Your own main experiences
\nmay have been few or not continuous, but I cannot
\nsay that they were not sound or unhelpful. I would
\nsay that it is better to have a few of these than a multitude 
\nof others. My only meaning in what I wrote
\nwas not to be impressed by mere wealth of experiences
\nor to think that that is sufficient to constitute a great sadhaka or that not to have this wealth is necessarily <\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage – 191<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\nan inferiority, a lamentable deprivation or a poverty
\nof the one thing desirable. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nThere are two classes of things that happen in
\nYoga, realisations and experiences. Realisations are
\nthe reception in the consciousness and the establishment 
\nthere of the fundamental truths of the Divine
\nof the Higher or Divine Nature, of the world-consciousness 
\nand the play of its forces, of one’s own self 
\nand real nature and the inner nature of things,
\nthe power of these things growing in one till they
\nare a part of one’s inner life and existence,\u2014as for
\ninstance, the realisation of the Divine Presence, the <\/i>Descent and settling of the higher Peace, Light,
\nForce, Ananda in the consciousness, their workings
\nthere, the realisation of the divine or spiritual love
\nthe perception of one’s own psychic being, the discovery 
\nof one’s own true mental being, true vital
\nbeing, true physical being, the realisation of the
\novermind or the Supramental consciousness, the clear
\nperception of the relation of all these things to our
\npresent inferior nature and their action on it to change
\nthat lower nature. The list of course might be
\ninfinitely longer. These things also are often called
\nexperiences when they only come in flashes, snatches
\nor rare visitations, they are spoken of as full realisations 
\nonly when they become very positive or frequent
\nor continuous or normal. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nThen there are experiences that help or lead
\ntowards the realisation of things spiritual or divine or
\nbring openings or progressions in the sadhana or<\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage – 192<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\nare supports on the way, \u2014experiences of a symbolic
\ncharacter, visions, contacts of one kind or another
\nwith the Divine or with the workings of higher Truth,
\nthings like the waking of the Kundalini, the opening
\nof the Chakras, messages, intuitions, openings of the
\ninner powers, etc. The one thing that one has to
\nbe careful about is to see that they are genuine and
\nsincere and that depends on one’s own sincerity\u2014
\nfor if one is not sincere, if one is more concerned
\nwith the ego or being a big Yogi or becoming a superman 
\nthan with meeting the Divine or getting the
\nDivine consciousness which enables one to live in
\nor with the Divine, then a flood of pseudos or mixtures 
\ncomes in, one is led into the mazes of the
\nintermediate zone or spins in the grooves of one’s
\nown formations. There is the truth of the whole
\nmatter. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nThen why does X say that one should not hunt
\nafter experiences but only love and seek the Divine?
\nIt simply means that you have not to make experiences
\nyour main aim, but the Divine only your aim, and
\nif you do that, you are more likely to get the true
\nhelpful experiences, and avoid the wrong ones. If one seeks mainly after
\nexperiences, his yoga may
\nbecome a mere self-indulgence in the lesser things
\nof mental, vital and subtle physical worlds or
\nin spiritual secondaries, or it may bring down a
\nturmoil or maelstorm of the mixed and the whole
\nor half-pseudo and stand between the soul and the
\nDivine. That is a very sound rule of sadhana. But<\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage – 193<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\nall these rules and statements must be taken with a
\nsense of measure and in their proper limits,\u2014it does
\nnot mean that one should not welcome helpful
\nexperiences or that they have no value. Also when a
\nsound line of experience opens, it is perfectly permissible  to follow it out, keeping always the central
\naim in view. All helpful or supporting contacts in
\ndream or vision, such as those you speak of, are to
\nbe welcomed and accepted. Experiences of the right
\nkind are a support and help towards the realisation; they are in every way acceptable. <\/font><\/p>\n

\n13-3-1934 <\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage – 154<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\nFeeling and Experience<\/a>
\n<\/b>
\n<\/font><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\nTHERE is no law that a feeling cannot be an experience; experiences are of all kinds
\nand take all forms in the consciousness. When
\nthe consciousness undergoes, sees or feels anything
\nspiritual or psychic or even occult that is an
\nexperience\u2014in the technical Yogic sense, for there
\nare of course all sorts of experiences that are not of
\nthat character. The feelings themselves are of many
\nkinds. The word feeling is often used for an emotion,
\nand there can be psychic or spiritual emotions which
\nare numbered among Yogic experiences, such as a wave
\nof shuddha bhakti<\/i> or the rising of love towards the
\nDivine. A feeling also means a perception of some
\nthing felt\u2014a perception in the vital or psychic or in the
\nessential substance of the consciousness. I find even
\noften a mental perception when it is very vivid
\ndescribed as a feeling. If you exclude all these
\nfeelings and kindred ones and say that they are
\nfeelings, not experiences, then there is very little
\nroom left for experiences at all. Feeling and vision
\n\u2022are the main forms of spiritual experience. One sees <\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage – 195<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\nand feels the Brahman everywhere, one feels a force
\nenter or go out from one, one feels or sees
\nthe presence of the Divine within or around one; one
\nfeels or sees the descent of Light; one feels the descent
\nof Peace or Ananda. Kick out all that on the ground
\nthat it is only a feeling, and you make a clean sweep of
\nmost of the things that we call experience. Again we
\nfeel a change in the substance of the consciousness or
\nthe state of consciousness. We feel ourselves spreading in wideness and the body
\nas a small thing in the wideness  (this can be seen also); we feel the
\nheart consciousness  being wide instead of narrow, soft instead of hard,.
\nillumined instead of obscure, the head consciousness
\nalso, the vital, even the physical; we feel thousands of
\nthings of all kinds and why. are we not to call them experience? Of course it is
\nan inner sight, an inner 
\nfeeling, subtle feeling, not material, like the feeling  <\/i>of a cold wind or a stone or any other object, but as
\nthe inner consciousness deepens it is not less vivid or
\nconcrete, it is even more so. <\/font><\/p>\n

\n1-6-1936 <\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage – 197<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\nValue of the Power of Vision<\/a>
\n<\/b>
\n<\/font><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\nVISIONS and experiences (especially experiences)
\nare all right; but you cannot expect every vision
\nto translate itself in a corresponding physical fact. Some do, the majority
\ndon’t, others belong to the supraphysical  entirely and indicate realities, possibilities or
\ntendencies that have their seat there. How far these will
\ninfluence the life or realise themselves in it or
\nwhether they will do so at all depends upon the nature
\nof the vision, the power in it, sometimes on the will or
\nthe formative power of the seer.
\n<\/font><\/p>\n

\nPeople value visions for one thing because they are
\none key (there are others) to contact with the other
\nworlds or with the inner worlds and all that is there
\nand these are regions of immense riches which far surpass  the physical plane as it is at present. One enters
\ninto a larger, freer self and a larger, more plastic world; of course individual visions only give a contact, not an
\nactual entrance, but the power of vision accompanied
\nwith the power of other subtle senses (hearing, touch,
\netc.) as it expands does give this entrance. These things
\nhave not the effect of a mere imagination (as a poet’s <\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage – 197<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\nor artist’s, though that can be strong enough) but if
\nfully followed out bring a constant growth of the being
\nand the consciousness and its richness of experience
\nand its scope. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nPeople also value the power of vision for a greater
\nreason than that: it can give a first contact with the
\nDivine in his forms and powers, it can be the opening
\nof a communion with the Divine, of the hearing of the
\nvoice that guides, of the Presence as well as the Image
\nin the heart, of many other things that bring what
\nman seeks through religion or Yoga. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nFurther, vision is of value because it is often a
\nfirst key to inner planes of one’s own being and one’s
\nown consciousness as distinguished from worlds or
\nplanes of the cosmic consciousness. Yoga-experience
\noften begins with some opening of the third eye in
\nthe forehead (the centre of vision in the brows) or
\nof some kind of beginning and extension of subtle
\nseeing which may seem unimportant at first but is
\nthe vestibule to deeper experience. Even when it is
\nnot that,\u2014for one can go to experience direct,\u2014it can come in afterwards as a
\npowerful aid to experience
\nit can be full of indications which help to self-
\nknowledge or knowledge of things or knowledge of
\npeople; it can be veridical and lead to prevision,
\npremonition and other openings of less importance
\nbut very useful to a Yogi. In short, vision is a great
\ninstrument though not absolutely indispensable. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nBut, as I have suggested, there are visions and
\nvisions, just as there are dreams and dreams, and one <\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage – 198<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\nhas to develop discrimination and a sense of values
\nand things and know how to understand and make
\nuse of these powers. But that is too big and intricate
\na matter to be pursued now. <\/font><\/p>\n

\n2-6-1935 <\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage – 199<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\nSupraphysical Vision<\/a>
\n<\/b>
\n<\/font><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\nNO, it was neither optical illusion nor hallucination nor coincidence nor auto-suggestion nor any
\nof the other ponderous and vacant polysyllables by
\nwhich physical science tries to explain away or
\nrather avoid explaining the scientifically inexplicable.
\nIn these matters the scientist is always doing what he
\nis always blaming the layman for doing when the latter lays down the law on
\nthings about which he is profoundly  ignorant without investigation or experiment,
\nwithout ascertained knowledge\u2014simply by evolving
\na theory or a priori<\/i> idea out of his own mind and
\nplastering it as a label on the unexplained phenomena. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nThere is, as I have told you, a whole range or many
\ninexhaustible ranges of sensory phenomena other
\nthan the outward physical which one can become
\nconscious of, see, hear, feel, smell, touch, mentally
\ncontact\u2014to use the new established Americanism
\n\u2014either in trance or sleep or an inward state miscalled  sleep or simply and easily in the waking state.
\nThis faculty of sensing supra-physical things internally <\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage – 200<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\nor externalising them, so to speak, so that they
\nbecome visible, audible, sensible to the outward eye,
\near, even touch, just as are gross physical objects,
\nthis power or gift is not a freak or an abnormality; it
\nis a universal faculty present in all human beings,
\nbut latent in most, in some rarely or intermittently
\nactive, occuring as if by accident in others, frequent
\nor normally active in a few. But just as anyone can,
\nwith some training, learn science and do things which
\nwould have seemed miracles to his forefathers, so
\nalmost anyone, if he wants, can with a little concentration  and training
\ndevelop the faculty of supraphysical  vision. When one starts Yoga, this power is often, though not invariably\u2014for some find it
\ndifficult\u2014one of the first to come out from its latent
\ncondition and manifest itself, most often without
\nany effort, intention or previous knowledge on the
\npart of the sadhaka. It comes more easily with the
\neyes shut than with the eyes open, but it does come
\nin both ways. The first sign of its opening in the
\nexternalised way is very often that seeing of "sparkles"
\nor small luminous dots, shapes, etc., which was your
\nfirst intr6duction to the matter; a second is, often
\nenough, most easily, round luminous objects like a
\nstar; seeing of colours is a third initial experience\u2014
\nbut they do not always come in that order. The
\nYogis in India very often in order to develop the
\npower use the method of tratak,<\/i> concentrating the
\nvision on a single point or object\u2014preferably a luminous  object. Your looking at the star was precisely <\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage – 201<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\nan exercise in tratak<\/i> and had the effect which any
\nYogi in India would have told you is normal. For
\nall this is not fancy or delusion, it is part of an occult
\nscience which has been practised throughout the
\nhistoric and pre-historic ages in all countries and it
\nhas always been known to be not merely auto-suggestive  or hallucinatory in its results, but, if one can
\nget the key, veridical and verifiable. Your scepticism
\nmay be natural in a "modern" man plunging into
\nthese things of the past, present and future\u2014natural
\nbut not justifiable, because very obviously inadequate
\nto the facts observed, but once you have seen, the
\nfirst thing you should do is to throw all this vapid
\npseudo-science behind you, this vain attempt to
\nstick physical explanations on supraphysical things,
\nand take the only rational course. Develop the power, get more and more
\nexperience, develop the consciousness  by which these things come; as the
\nconsciousness  develops, you will begin to understand
\nand get the intuition of the significance. Or if you
\nwant their science too, then learn and apply the occult science which can alone
\ndeal with supraphysical  phenomena. As for what showed itself to
\nyou, it was not mere curious phenomena, not even merely symbolic colour, but
\nthings that have a considerable  importance. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nDevelop this power of inner sense and all. that it
\nbrings you. These first seeings are only an outer
\nfringe\u2014behind lie whole worlds of experience which
\nfill what seems to the natural man the gap (your <\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage – 202<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\nRussell’s inner void) between the earth-consciousness
\nand the Eternal and Infinite. <\/font><\/p>\n

\n19-2-1932 <\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage – 203<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\n
\nThe Piercing of the Veil
\n<\/a> <\/font>
\n<\/b><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\nTHE piercing of the veil between the outer consciousness
\nand the inner being is one of the
\ncrucial movements in Yoga. For Yoga means union
\nwith the Divine, but it also means awaking first to
\nyour inner self and then to your higher self,\u2014a
\nmovement inward and a movement upward. It is,
\nin fact, only through the awakening and coming to
\nthe front of the inner being that you can get into
\nunion with the Divine. The outer physical man is
\nonly an instrumental personality, and by himself he
\ncannot arrive at this .union,\u2014he can only get
\noccasional touches, religious feelings, imperfect intimations.  And even these come not from the outer
\nconsciousness but from what is within us.
\n<\/font><\/p>\n

\nThere are two mutually complementary movements; in one the inner being comes to the front and
\nimpresses its own normal motions on the outer consciousness  to which they are unusual and abnormal; the other is to draw back from the outer consciousness,
\nto go inside into the inner planes, enter the world of
\nyour inner self and wake in the hidden parts of <\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage – 204<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\nyour being. When that plunge has once been taken,
\nyou are marked for the Yogic, the spiritual life and
\nnothing can efface the seal that has been put upon you. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nThis inward movement takes place in many different
\nways and there is sometimes a complex experience
\ncombining all the signs of the complete plunge. There
\nis a sense of going in or deep down, a feeling of the
\nmovement towards inner depths; there is often a
\nstillness, a pleasant numbness, a stiffness of the limbs. This is the sign of
\nthe consciousness retiring from the
\nbody inwards under the pressure of a force from above,
\n\u2014that pressure stabilising the body into an immobile
\nsupport of the inner life, in a kind of strong and still
\nspontaneous asana.<\/i> There is a feeling of waves Surging  up, mounting to the head, which brings an outer
\nunconsciousness and an inner waking. It is the ascending  of the lower consciousness in. the Adhara to meet
\nthe greater consciousness above. It is a movement
\nanalogous to that on which so much stress is laid in the
\nTantric process, the awakening of the Kundalini, the Energy coiled up and latent
\nin the body and its mounting through the spinal cord and the centres
\n(chakras)<\/i> and the Brahmarandhra to meet the Divine
\nabove. In our Yoga it is not a specialised process, but
\na spontaneous uprush of the whole lower consciousness
\nsometimes in currents or waves, sometimes in a less
\nconcrete motion, and on the other side a descent of
\nthe Divine Consciousness and its Force into the
\nbody. This descent is felt as a pouring in of calm and
\npeace, of force and power, of light, of joy and ecstasy<\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage – 205<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\nof wideness and freedom and knowledge, of a Divine
\nBeing or a Presence\u2014sometimes one of these, sometimes  several of them or all together. The movement
\nof ascension has different results; it may liberate the
\nconsciousness so that one feels no longer in the body,
\nbut above it or else spread in wideness with the body
\neither almost non-existent or only a point in one’s
\nfree expanse. It may enable the being or some part of
\nthe being to go out from the body and move elsewhere, and this action is usually accompanied by some kind of
\npartial samadhi<\/i> or else a complete trance. Or, it may result in
\nempowering the consciousness, no longer limited  by the body and the habits of the external nature, to
\nwithin, to enter the inner mental depths, the inner
\ngo vital, the inner (subtle) physical, the psychic, to
\nbecome aware of its inmost psychic self or its inner
\nmental, vital and subtle physical being and, it may be,
\nto move and live in the domains, the planes, the worlds
\nthat correspond to these parts of the nature. It is the
\nrepeated and constant ascent of the lower consciousness
\nthat enables the mind, the vital, the physical to come
\ninto touch with the higher planes up to the Supramental
\nand get impregnated with their light and power and
\ninfluence. And it is the repeated and constant descent
\nof the Divine Consciousness and its Force that is the
\nmeans for the transformation of the whole being and
\nthe whole nature. Once this descent becomes habitual,
\nthe Divine Force, the Power of the Mother, begins to
\nwork, no longer from above only or from behind the
\nveil, but consciously in the Adhara itself, and deals <\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage – 206<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\nwith its difficulties and possibilities and carries on
\nthe Yoga. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nLast comes the crossing of the border. It is not a
\nfalling asleep or a loss of consciousness, for the consciousness  is there all the time; only it shifts from
\nthe outer and physical, becomes closed to external
\nthings and recedes into the inner psychic and vital
\npart of the being. There it passes through many
\nexperiences and of these some can and should be felt
\nin the waking state also; for both movements are
\nnecessary, the coming out of the inner being to the
\nfront as well as the going in of the consciousness to
\nbecome aware of the inner self and nature. But for
\nmany purposes the ingoing movement is indispensable.
\nIts effect is to break or at least to open and pass the
\nbarrier between this outer instrumental consciousness
\nand that inner being which it very partially strives to
\nexpress, and to make possible in future a conscious
\nawareness of all the endless riches of possibility and
\nexperience and new being and new life that lie untapped
\nbehind the veil of this small and very blind and limited
\nmaterial personality which men erroneously think
\nto be the whole of themselves. It is the beginning and
\nconstant enlarging of this deeper and fuller and richer
\nawareness that is accomplished between the inward
\nplunge and the return from this inner world to the
\nwaking state. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nThe sadhaka must understand that these experiences
\nare not mere imaginations or dreams but
\n<\/b>actual <\/b>happenings, for even when, as often occurs, they are <\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage – 207<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\nformations only of a wrong or misleading or adverse
\nkind, they have still their power as formations and
\nmust be understood before they can be rejected and
\nabolished. Each inner experience is perfectly real in
\nits own way, although the values of different experiences  differ greatly, but it is real with the reality of
\nthe inner self and the inner planes. It is a mistake
\nto think that we live physically only, with the outer
\nmind and life. We are all the time living and acting
\non other planes of consciousness, meeting others
\nthere and acting upon them, and what we do and
\nfeel and think there, the forces we gather, the
\nresults we prepare have an incalculable importance
\nand effect, unknown to us, upon our outer life. Not
\nall of it comes through, and what comes through takes another form in the
\nphysical\u2014though sometimes  there is an exact correspondence; but this
\nlittle is at the basis of our outward existence. All
\nthat we become and do and bear in the physical life
\nis prepared behind the veil within us. It is therefore
\nof immense importance for a Yoga which aims at the
\ntransformation of life to grow conscious of what goes
\non within these domains, to be master there and be
\nable to feel, know and deal with the secret forces that
\ndetermine our destiny and our internal and external
\ngrowth or decline. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nIt is equally important for those who want that
\nunion with the Divine without which the transformation  is impossible. The aspiration could not be realised
\nif you remained bound by your external self, tied to<\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage – 208<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\nthe physical mind and its petty movements. It is
\n<\/i>not the outer being which is the source of the spiritual
\nurge; the outer being only undergoes the inner drive
\nfrom behind the veil. It is the inner psychic being in
\nyou that is the bhakta, the seeker after the union and
\nthe Ananda, and what is impossible for the outer
\nnature left to itself becomes perfectly possible when
\nthe barrier is down and the inner self in the front.
\nFor, the moment this comes strongly to the front or
\ndraws the consciousness powerfully into itself, peace,
\necstasy, freedom, wideness, the opening to light and
\na higher knowledge begin to become natural, spontaneous,  often immediate in their emergence. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nOnce the barrier breaks by the one movement or
\nthe other, you begin to find that all the processes and
\nmovements necessary to the Yoga are within your
\nreach and not as it seems in the outer mind difficult
\nor impossible. The inmost psychic self in you has
\nalready in it the Yogin and the bhakta and if it can
\nfully emerge and take the lead, the spiritual turn of
\nyour outward life is predestined and inevitable. In
\nthe initially successful sadhaka it has already built a
\ndeep inner life, Yogic and spiritual, which is veiled
\nonly because of some strong outward turn the education  and past activities have given to the thinking
\nmind and lower vital parts. It is precisely to correct
\nthis outward orientation and take away the veil that
\nhe has to practise more strenuously the Yoga. Once
\nthe inner being has manifested strongly whether by
\nthe inward-going or the outward-coming movement,<\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage – 209<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\nit is bound to renew its pressure, to clear the passage
\nand finally come by its kingdom. A beginning of this
\nkind is the indication of what is to happen on a greater
\nscale hereafter. <\/font><\/p>\n

\n5-9-1931 <\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage – 210<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\n
\n
\nThree Experiences of the Inner Being<\/a> <\/font>
\n<\/b><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

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

\n <\/p>\n

\nTHE three experiences of which you speak belong all to the same movement or the same stage
\nof your spiritual life: they are initial movements of
\nthe consciousness to become aware of your inner being which was veiled, as in most, by the outer
\nwaking self. There are, we might say, two beings
\nin us, one on the surface, our ordinary exterior mind,
\nlife, body consciousness, another behind the veil, an inner mind, an inner life,
\nand inner physical consciousness  constituting another or inner self. This
\ninner self once awake opens in its turn to our true
\nreal eternal self. It opens inwardly to the soul, called
\nin the language of this Yoga the psychic being which
\nsupports our successive births and at each birth
\nassumes a new mind, life and body. It opens above
\nto the Self or Spirit which is unborn and by conscious
\nrecovery of it we transcend the changing personality
\nand achieve freedom and full mastery over our nature. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nYou did quite right in first developing the sattwic
\nqualities and building up the inner meditative <\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage – 211<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\nquietude. It is possible by strenuous meditation or
\nby certain methods of tense endeavour to open doors
\non to the inner being or even break down some of
\nthe walls between the inner and outer self before finishing or even undertaking
\nthis preliminary self-discipline,  but it is not always wise to do it as that
\nmay lead to conditions of sadhana which may be
\nvery turbid, chaotic, beset with unnecessary dangers.
\nBy adopting the more patient course you have arrived
\nat a point at which the doors of the inner being have
\nbegun almost automatically to swing open. Now both
\nprocesses can go on side by side, but it is necessary
\nto keep the sattwic quietude, patience, vigilance,\u2014
\nto hurry nothing, to force nothing, not to be led
\naway by any strong lure or call of the intermediate
\nstage which is now beginning, before you are sure
\nthat it is the right call. For there are many vehement
\npulls from the forces of the inner planes which it
\nis not safe to follow. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nYour first experience is an opening into the inner
\nmental self\u2014the space between the eyebrows is the
\ncentre of the inner mind, vision, will and the blue
\nlight you saw was that of a higher mental plane, a
\nspiritual mind, one might say, which is above the
\nordinary human mental intelligence. An opening into
\nthis higher mind is usually accompanied by a silence
\nof the ordinary mental thought. Our thoughts are not
\nreally created within ourselves independently in the
\nsmall narrow thinking machine we call our mind; in fact
\nthey come to us from a vast mental space or ether <\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage – 212<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\neither as mind-waves or waves of mind-force that carry
\na significance which takes shape in our personal
\nmind or as thought-formations ready made which we
\nadopt and call ours. Our outer mind is blind to this
\nprocess of Nature; but by the awakening of the inner
\nmind we can become aware of it. What you saw was the receding of this constant mental invasion and
\nthe retreat of the thought-forms beyond the horizon
\nof the wide space of mental Nature. You felt this
\nhorizon to be in yourself somewhere, but evidently
\nit was in that larger self-space which even in its more
\nlimited field just between the eyebrows you felt to
\nbe bigger than the corresponding physical space. In
\nfact though the inner mind spaces have horizons,
\nthey stretch beyond those horizons\u2014inimitably. The
\ninner mind is something very wide projecting itself
\ninto the infinite and finally identifying itself with
\nthe infinity of universal Mind. When we break out
\nof the narrow limits of the external physical mind
\nwe begin to see inwardly and to feel this wideness,
\nin the end this universality and infinity of the mental
\nself-space. Thoughts are not the essence of mind-
\nbeing, they are only an activity of mental nature; if that activity ceases, what
\nappears then as a thought-free  existence that manifests in its place is not a blank
\nor void but something very real, substantial, concrete
\nwe may say\u2014a mental being that extends itself
\nwidely and can be its own field of existence silent or
\nactive as well as the Witness, Knower, Master of that
\nfield and its action. Some feel it first as a void, but <\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage – 213<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\nthat is because their observation is untrained and
\ninsufficient and loss of activity gives them the sense of
\nblank; an emptiness there is, but it is an emptiness
\nof the ordinary activities, not a blank of existence. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nThe recurrence of the experience of the receding
\naway of thoughts, the cessation of the thought-
\ngenerating mechanism and its replacement by the
\nmental self-space, is normal and as it should be; for this
\nsilence or at any rate the capacity for it has to grow
\nuntil one can have it at will or even established in an
\nautomatic permanence. For this silence of the ordinary  mind-mechanism is necessary in order that the
\nhigher mentality may manifest, descend, occupy by
\ndegrees the place of the present imperfect mentality
\nand transform the activities of the latter into its own fuller movements. The difficulty of its coming when
\nyou are at work is only at the beginning\u2014afterwards
\nwhen it is more settled one finds that one can carry
\non all the activities of life either in the pervading
\nsilence itself or at least with that as the support and
\nbackground. The silence remains behind and there
\nis the necessary action on the surface or the silence
\nis our wide self and somewhere in it an active Power
\ndoes the works of Nature without disturbing the
\nsilence. It is therefore quite right to suspend the work
\nwhile the visitation of the experience is there\u2014the
\ndevelopment of this inner silent consciousness is
\nsufficiently important to justify a brief interruption
\nor pause. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nIn the case of the other two experiences, on the <\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage – 214<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\ncontrary, it is otherwise. The dream-experience must
\nnot be allowed to take hold of the waking hours and
\npull the consciousness within; it must confine its
\noperation to the hours of sleep. So too there should
\nbe no push or pressure to break down the wall between; the inner self and the outer "I"\u2014the fusion must be,
\nallowed to take place by a developing inner action in; its own natural time. I shall explain why in another letter. <\/font><\/p>\n

\n5-4-1937 <\/font><\/p>\n

\nII<\/a><\/b> <\/font><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\nYour second experience is a first movement of
\nthe awakening of the inner being in sleep,
\nOrdinarily when one sleeps a complex phenomenon
\nhappens. The waking consciousness is no longer
\nthere, for all has been withdrawn within into the inner
\nrealms of which we are not aware when we are awake,
\nthough they exist; for then all that is put behind a
\nveil by the waking mind and nothing remains except
\nthe surface self and the outward world\u2014much as the
\nveil of the sunlight hides from us the vast worlds of
\nthe stars that are behind it. Sleep is a going inward
\nin which the surface self and the outside world are
\nput away from our sense and vision. But in ordinary sleep we do not become aware of the worlds within; the being seems submerged in a deep subconscience.
\nOn the surface of this subconscience floats an obscure
\nlayer in which dreams take place, as it seems to us, <\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage – 215<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\nbut, more correctly it may be said, are recorded.
\nWhen we go very deeply asleep, we have what appears
\nto us as a dreamless slumber; but in fact dreams are
\ngoing on, but they are either too deep down to reach
\nthe recording surface or are forgotten, all recollection
\nof their having existed even is wiped out in the transition  to the waking consciousness. Ordinary dreams
\nare for the most part or seem to be incoherent, because they are either woven by
\nthe subconscient out of deep-lying  impressions left in it by our past inner and
\nouter life, woven in a fantastic way which does not
\neasily yield any clue of meaning to the waking mind’s
\nremembrance, or are fragmentary records, mostly
\ndistorted, of experiences which are going on behind
\nthe veil of sleep\u2014very largely indeed these two elements  get mixed up together. For in fact a large part
\nof our consciousness in sleep does not get sunk into
\nthis subconscious state; it passes beyond the veil
\ninto other planes of being which are connected with
\nour own inner planes, planes of supraphysical existence,  worlds of a larger life, mind or psyche which
\nare there behind and whose influences come to us
\nwithout our knowledge. Occasionally we get a dream
\nfrom these planes, something more than a dream,\u2014 a dream experience which is a
\nrecord direct or symbolic  of what happens to us or around us there. As
\nthe inner consciousness grows by sadhana, these dream
\nexperiences increase in number, clearness, coherence,
\naccuracy and after some growth of experience and
\nconsciousness, we can, if we observe, come to understand <\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage – 216<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\nthem and their significance to our inner life.
\nEven we can by training become so conscious as to follow our own passage,
\nusually veiled to our awareness  and memory, through many realms and the
\nprocess of the return to the waking state. At a certain
\npitch of this inner wakefulness this kind of sleep,
\na sleep of experiences, can replace the ordinary
\nsubconscious slumber. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nIt is of course an inner being or consciousness or
\nsomething of the inner self that grows in this way,
\nnot as usually it is, behind the veil of sleep, but in
\nthe sleep itself. In the condition which you describe,
\nit is just becoming aware of sleep and dream and
\nobserving them\u2014but as yet nothing farther\u2014unless
\nthere is something in the nature of your dreams that
\nhas escaped you. But it is sufficiently awake for the
\nsurface consciousness to remember this state, that is
\nto say, to receive and keep the report of it even in
\nthe transition from the sleep to the waking state
\nwhich, usually abolishes by oblivion all but fragments
\nof the record of sleep happenings. You are right in
\nfeeling that the waking consciousness and this which
\nis awake in sleep are not the same\u2014they are different
\nparts of the being. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nWhen this growth of the inner sleep consciousness
\nbegins, there is often a pull to go inside and pursue
\nthe development even when there is no fatigue or
\nneed of sleep. Another cause aids this pull. It is
\nusually the vital part of the inner being that first
\nwakes in sleep and the first dream experiences (as <\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage – 217<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\nopposed to ordinary dreams) are usually in the great
\nmass experiences of the vital plane, a world of supraphysical  life, full of variety and interest, with many
\nprovinces, luminous or obscure, beautiful or perilous,
\noften extremely attractive, where we can get much
\nknowledge too both of our concealed parts of nature
\nand of things happening to us behind the veil and
\nof others which are of concern for the development
\nof our parts of nature. The vital being in us then
\nmay get very much attracted to this range of experience,  may want to live more in it and less in the
\nouter life. This would be the source of that wanting
\nto get back to something interesting and enthralling
\nwhich accompanies the desire to fall into sleep. But
\nthis must not be encouraged in waking hours, it
\nshould be kept for hours set apart for sleep where it
\ngets its natural field. Otherwise there may be an
\nunbalancing, a tendency to live more and too much
\nin the visions of the supraphysical realms and a decrease of the hold on outer
\nrealities. The knowledge,  the enlargement of our consciousness of these
\nfields of inner nature is very desirable, but it must
\nbe kept in its own place and limits. <\/font><\/p>\n

\n8-4-1937<\/font><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

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

 <\/p>\n

\nIn my last letter I had postponed the explanation
\nof your third experience. What you have felt <\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage – 218<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\nis indeed a touch of the Self, not the unborn Self
\nabove, the Atman of the Upanishads, for that is differently experienced through
\nthe silence of the
\nthinking mind, but the inner being, the psychic
\nsupporting the inner mental, vital, physical being, of
\nwhich I have spoken. A time must come for every
\nseeker of complete self-knowledge when he is thus
\naware of living in two worlds, two consciousnesses
\nat the same time, two parts of the same existence. At present he lives in the
\nouter self, but he will go
\nmore and more inward, till the position is reversed
\nand he lives within in this new inner consciousness,
\ninner self and feels the outer as something on the
\nsurface formed as an instrumental personality for the
\ninner’s self-expression in the material world. Then
\nfrom within a Power works on the outer to make it
\na conscious plastic instrument so that finally the
\ninner and the outer may become fused into one.
\nThe wall you feel is indeed the wall of the ego which
\nis based on the insistent identification of oneself
\nwith the outer personality and its movements. It is
\nthat identification which is the keystone of the limitation  and bondage from which the outer being
\nsuffers, preventing expansion, self-knowledge, spiritual  freedom. But still the wall must not be pre-
\nmaturely broken down, because that may lead to a
\ndisruption or confusion or invasion of either part by
\nthe movements of the two separated worlds before
\nthey are ready to harmonise. A certain separation is
\nnecessary for some time after <\/b> one has become aware <\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage – 219<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\nof these two parts of the being as existing together.
\nThe force of the Yoga must be given time to make
\nthe necessary adjustments and openings, and to take
\nthe being inward and then from this inward poise
\nto work on the outer nature. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nThis does not mean that one should not allow the
\nconsciousness to go inward so that as soon as possible
\nit should live in the inward world of being and see
\nall anew from there. That inward going is most
\ndesirable and necessary and that change of vision
\nalso. I mean only that all should be done by a natural
\nmovement without haste. The movement of going
\ninward may come rapidly, but even after that something of the wall of ego will be there and it will have
\nto be steadily and patiently taken down so that no
\nstone of it may abide. My warning against allowing
\nthe sleep world to encroach on the waking hours is
\nlimited to that alone and does not refer to the inward
\nmovement in waking concentration or ordinary waking
\nconsciousness. The waking movement carries us
\nfinally into the inner self and by that inner self we grow into contact with and
\nknowledge of the supra-physical  worlds, but this contact and knowledge need
\nnot and should not lead to an excessive preoccupation  with them or a subjection to their beings
\nand forces. In sleep we actually enter into these
\nworlds and there is the danger, if the attraction of
\nthe sleep consciousness is too great and encroaches on the waking consciousness, of this excessive
\npreoccupation and influence. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage – 220<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\nIt is quite true that an inner purity and sincerity,
\nin which one is motived only by the higher call, is one’s best safeguard against
\nthe lures of the intermediate  stage. It keeps one on the right track and
\nguards from deviation, until the psychic being is
\nfully awake and in front and, once that happens,
\nthere is no further danger. If in addition to this
\npurity and sincerity, there is a clear mind with a
\npower of discrimination, that increases the safety
\nin the earlier stages. I do not think I need or should
\nspecify too fully or exactly the forms the lure or pull
\nis likely to take. It may be better not to call up these
\nforces by an attention to them which may not be
\nnecessary, I do not suppose you are likely to be
\ndrawn away from the path by any of the greater
\nperilous attractions. As for the minor inconveniences
\nof the intermediate stage, they are not dangerous
\nand can easily be set right as one goes by the
\ngrowth of consciousness, discrimination and sure
\nexperience. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nAs I have said, the inward pull, the pull towards
\ngoing inward is not undesirable and need not be
\nresisted. At a particular stage it may be accompanied
\nby an abundance of visions due to the growth of the
\ninner sight which sees things belonging to all the
\nplanes of existence. That is a valuable power helpful
\nin the sadhana and should not be discouraged. But
\none must see and observe without attachment, keeping
\nalways the main object in front, realisation of the
\ninner Self and the Divine\u2014these things should only <\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage – 221<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\nbe regarded as incidental to the growth of
\nconsciousness  and helpful to it, not as objects in themselves
\nto be followed for their own sake. There should also
\nbe a discriminating mind which puts each thing in
\nits place and can pause to understand its field and
\nnature. There are some who become so eager after
\nthese subsidiary experiences that they begin to lose all sense of the true distinction and demarcation
\nbetween different fields of reality. All that takes place
\nin these experiences must not be taken as true\u2014one
\nhas to discriminate, see what is mental formation or
\nsubjective construction and what is true, what is only
\nsuggestion from the larger mental and vital planes or
\nwhat has reality only there and what is of value for
\nhelp or guidance in inner sadhana or outer life. <\/font><\/p>\n

\n16-4-1937 <\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage – 222<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\n
\nOpening of the Psychic and the Inner Being<\/a>
\n<\/b>
\n<\/font><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\nYOUR first experience was that of the opening of the psychic; you became aware of the psychic being
\nand its aspirations and experiences and of the external being in front, as two
\nseparate parts of your  consciousness. You were not able to keep this experience
\nbecause the vital was not purified and pulled you out
\ninto the ordinary external consciousness. Afterwards,
\nyou got back into the psychic and were at the same
\ntime able to see your ordinary vital nature, to become
\naware of its defects and to work by the power of the
\npsychic for its purification. I wrote to you at the
\nbeginning that this was the way for if the psychic
\nis awake and in front, it becomes easy to remain
\nconscious of the things that have to be changed in
\nthe external nature and it is comparatively easy too
\nto change them. But if the psychic gets veiled and
\nretires in the background, the outer nature left to
\nitself finds it difficult to remain conscious of its own
\nwrong movements and even with great effort cannot
\nsucceed in getting rid of- them. You can see yourself,
\nas in the matter of the food, that with the psychic <\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage – 223<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\nactive and awake the right attitude comes naturally
\nand whatever difficulty there was soon diminishes or
\neven disappears. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nI told you also at that time that there was a third
\npart of the nature, the inner being (inner mind,
\ninner vital, inner physical) of which you were not
\nyet aware, but which must also open in turn. It is
\nthis that has happened in your last experience. What
\nyou felt as a part of you, yourself but not your physical  self, rising to meet the higher consciousness
\nabove, was this inner being, it was your (inner)
\nhigher vital being which rose in that way to join the
\nhighest Self above\u2014and it was able to do so because
\nthe work of purifying the outer vital nature had
\nbegun in earnest. Each time there is a purification
\nof the outer nature, it becomes more possible for the
\ninner being to reveal itself, to become free and to
\nopen to the higher consciousness above. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nWhen this happens, several other things happen at
\nthe same time. First, one becomes aware of the
\nsilent Self above\u2014free, wide, without limits, pure, untroubled by the mental,
\nvital and physical movements,  empty of ego and limited personality,\u2014this
\nis what you have described in your letter. Secondly,
\nthe Divine Power descends through this silence and
\nfreedom of the Self and begins to work in the Adhara.
\nThis is what you felt as a pressure; its coming through
\nthe top of the head, the forehead and eyes and nose
\nmeant that it was working to open the mental centres
\n\u2014especially the two higher centres of thought and<\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage – 224<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\nwill and vision\u2014in the inner mental being. These two
\ncentres are called the thousand-petalled lotus and the
\najna chakra<\/i> between the eyebrows. Thirdly, by this
\nworking the inner parts of the being are opened and
\nfreed; you are liberated from the limitations of the ordinary personal mind,
\nvital and physical and become  aware of a wider consciousness in which you
\ncan be more capable of the needed transformation.
\nBut that is necessarily a matter of time and long
\nworking and you are only taking the first steps in
\nthis way. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nWhen one goes into the inner being, the tendency
\nis to go entirely inside and lose consciousness of the
\noutside world\u2014this is what people call Samadhi. But it is also necessary to be
\nable to have the same experiences  (of the Self, the workings in the inner
\nconsciousness, etc.) in the waking state. The best
\nrule for you will be to allow the entire going inside only when you are alone
\nand not likely to be disturbed,  and at other times to accustom yourself to have
\nthese experiences with the physical consciousness
\nawake and participating in them or at least aware of
\nthem. <\/font><\/p>\n

\n5-8-1931<\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage – 225<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\n
\nAwakening of the Kundalini
\n<\/a> <\/font>
\n<\/b><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\nTHE sensation in the spine and on both sides of it is a sign of the awakening of the Kundalini
\nPower. It is felt as a descending and an ascending
\ncurrent. There are two main nerve-channels for the
\ncurrents, one on each side of the central channel in the
\nspine. The descending current is the energy from the
\nabove coming down to touch the sleeping Power in the
\nlowest nerve-centre at the bottom of the spine; the
\nascending current is the release of the energy going
\nup from the awakened Kundalini. This movement as
\nit proceeds opens up the six centres of the subtle
\nnervous system and by the opening one escapes from
\nthe limitations of the surface consciousness bound to
\nthe gross body and great ranges of experiences proper
\nto the subliminal self, mental, vital, subtle physical
\nare shown to the sadhaka. When the Kundalini meets
\nthe higher Consciousness as it ascends through the
\nsummit of the head, there is an opening of the higher
\nsuperconscient reaches above the normal mind. It is
\nby ascending through these in our consciousness and
\nreceiving a descent of their energies that it is possible <\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage – 226<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\nultimately to reach the Supermind. This is the
\nmethod of the Tantra. In our Yoga it is not necessary  to go through the systematised method. It takes
\nplace spontaneously according to the need by the
\nforce of the aspiration. As soon as there is an opening
\nthe Divine Power descends and conducts the necessary  working, does what is needed, each thing in its
\ntime and the Yogic Consciousness begins to be born
\nin the sadhaka. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage – 227<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\nThe Division of Being<\/a>
\n<\/b>
\n<\/font><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\nTHE division of the being of which you speak is a necessary stage in the Yogic development and
\nexperience. One feels that there is a twofold being,
\nthe inner psychic which is the true one and the other,
\nthe outer human being which is instrumental for the
\noutward life. To live in the inner psychic being in
\nunion with the Divine while doing the outward work,
\nas you feel, is the first stage in Karmayoga. There
\nis nothing wrong in these experiences, they are
\nindispensable and normal at this stage. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nIf you feel no bridge between the two, it is
\npossibly because you are not yet conscious of what
\nconnects the two. There is an inner mental, an inner
\nvital, an inner physical which connects the psychic
\nand the external being. About this, however, you
\nneed not be anxious at present. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nThe important thing is to keep what you have
\nand let it grow, to live always in the psychic being,
\nyour true being. The psychic will, in due time,
\nawaken and turn to the Divine all the rest of the
\nnature, so that even the outer being will feel itself<\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage – 228<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\nin touch with the Divine and moved by the Divine
\nin all it is and feels and does. <\/font><\/p>\n

\n7-4-1931 <\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage – 229<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\nExperience of the True Self<\/a>
\n<\/b>
\n<\/font><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\nTHE experience you have is the experience of the true Self, untouched by grief and joy, desire,
\nanxiety or trouble; vast and calm and full of peace, it
\nobserves the agitations of the outer being as one might
\nthe play of children. It is indeed the divine element
\nin you. The more you can remain in that, the firmer
\nwill be the foundation of the sadhana. In this Self
\nwill come all the higher experiences, oneness with the
\nDivine, light, knowledge, strength, Ananda, the play
\nof the Mother’s higher forces. It does not always
\nbecome stable from the first, though for some it does; but the experience comes more and more frequently
\nand lasts more till it is no longer covered by the
\nordinary nature.<\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage – 230<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\nThe Solid Basis of Sadhana<\/a>
\n<\/b>
\n<\/font><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\nTO be full of peace, the heart quiet, not troubled by grief, not excited by joy is a very good
\ncondition. As for Ananda, it can come not only with
\nits fullest intensity but with a more enduring persistence  when the mind is at peace and the heart
\ndelivered from ordinary joy and sorrow. If the mind
\nand heart are restless, changeful, unquiet, Ananda of
\na kind may come, but it is mixed with vital excitement
\nand cannot abide. One must get peace and calm
\nfixed in the consciousness first, then there is a solid
\nbasis on which the Ananda can spread itself and in
\nits turn become an enduring part of the consciousness
\nand the nature.<\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage – 231<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\n
\nThe Double Foundation of Yoga<\/a><\/font><\/b><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\nIF you keep the wideness and calm and also the love for the Mother in the heart, then all is safe
\nfor it means the double foundation of the Yoga: the
\ndescent of the higher consciousness with its peace,
\nfreedom and serenity from above and the openness of
\nthe psychic which keeps all the effort or all the spontaneous  movement turned towards the true goal.
\n<\/font><\/p>\n

\n10-10-1934
\n<\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage – 232<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\n
\n The Silent Self
\n<\/a> <\/font><\/p>\n

<\/b><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\nIT must have been the descent of the higher
\nsilence, the silence of
\nthe Self or Atman. In 
\nthis silence one perceives, but the mind is not active, \u2014things are sensed, but
\nwithout any responsive connection  or vibration. The silent Self is there as a
\nseparate reality, not bound or involved in the activity
\nof Nature, aloof, detached and self-existent. Even if
\nthoughts come across this silence, they do not disturb
\nit; the Self is separate from the thinking mind also.
\nIn this connection the feeling "I think" is a survival
\nfrom the old consciousness, in the fall silence what
\none feels is "thought occurs in me"\u2014the identification
\nwith thoughts as well as with the perception of objects
\nceases. <\/font><\/p>\n

\n27-11-1935 <\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage – 233<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\nAscent into Nirvana and Return<\/a>
\n<\/b>
\n<\/font><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\nONCE the being or its different parts begin to
\n\u2014 ascend to the planes above, any part of the
\nbeing may do it, frontal or other. The samskar<\/i> that
\none cannot come back must be got rid of. One can
\nhave the experience of Nirvana at the summit of the mind or anywhere in those
\nplanes that are now superconscient  to the mind; the mind spiritualised by the
\nascent into Self has the sense of laya,<\/i> dissolution
\nof itself, its thoughts, movements, samskaras<\/i> into a
\nsuperconscient Silence and Infinity which it is unable
\nto grasp,\u2014the Unknowable. But this would bring or
\nlead to some form of Nirvana, only if one makes
\nNirvana the goal, if one is tied to the mind and
\naccepts its dissolution into the Infinite as one’s own
\ndissolution or if one has not the capacity to reorganise
\nexperience on a higher than the mental plane.
\nBut otherwise what was superconscient becomes
\nconscient, one begins to possess or else be
\nthe instrument of the dynamis of the higher
\nplanes and there is a movement, not of liberation  into Nirvana but of liberation and transformation. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage – 234<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\nHowever high one goes one can
\nalways return, unless one has the will not
\nto do so. <\/font><\/p>\n

\n29-10-1936 <\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage – 235<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\nDescent of Peace<\/a>
\n<\/b>
\n<\/font><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\nY0UR description of the solid cool block of peace pressing on the body and making it immobile
\nmakes it certain that it is what we call in this Yoga
\nthe descent of the higher consciousness. A deep,
\nintense or massive substance of peace and stillness is
\nvery commonly the first of its powers that descends
\nand many experience it in that way. At first it comes
\nand stays only during meditation or, without the
\nsense of physical inertness or immobility, a little while
\nlonger and afterwards is lost; but if the sadhana follows
\nits normal course, it comes more and more, lasting
\nlonger and in the end as an enduring deep peace and
\ninner stillness and release becomes a normal character
\nof the consciousness, the foundation indeed of a new
\nconsciousness, calm and liberated. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nYour idea of psychic is certainly a mental construction  which should be avoided. The psychic has
\nindeed the quality of peace\u2014but that is not its main
\ncharacter as it is of the Self or Atman. The psychic
\nis the Divine element in the individual being and its
\ncharacteristic power is to turn everything towards <\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage – 236<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\nlie Divine, to bring a fire of purification, aspiration,
\ndevotion, true light of discernment, feeling, will, action which transforms by degrees the whole nature.
\nQuietude, peace and silence in the heart and therefore
\nin the vital part of the being are necessary to reach the
\npsychic, to plunge in it, for the perturbations of the
\nvital nature, desire, emotion turned ego-wards or
\nworld-wards are the main part of the screen that
\nhides the soul from the nature. It is better therefore
\nto be free from the mental constructions when you
\ntake the plunge and to have only the sense of
\naspiration, of devotion, of self-giving to the Divine. <\/font><\/p>\n

\n24-2-1937 <\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage – 237<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\nNeed of Waking Realisation<\/a>
\n<\/b>
\n<\/font><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\nON the contrary it is in waking state that this realisation must come and endure in order to
\nbe a reality of the life. If experienced in trance it will
\nbe a superconscient state only for some part of the
\ninner being but not real to the whole consciousness.
\nExperience and trance have their utility for opening
\nthe being and preparing it but it is only when the
\nrealisation is constant in the waking state that it is
\ntruly possessed. Therefore in this Yoga much value
\nis given to the waking realisation and experience. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nTo work in the calm ever-widening consciousness m
\nat<\/i> once a sadhana and a siddhi. <\/font><\/p>\n

\n27-5-1937 <\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage – 238<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\nRight Attitude in Work<\/a>
\n<\/b>
\n<\/font><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\nWHAT happened is a thing that often happens, and taking your account of it, it reproduced in your
\ncase the usual stages. First, you sat down in prayer,\u2014 that means a call to the
\nAbove, if I may so express it.
\nNext came the necessary condition for the answer to the prayer to be
\neffective\u2014"little by little a sort of restfulness  came", in other words, the quietude of the
\nconsciousness which is necessary before the Power
\nthat has to act can act. Then the rush of the Force or
\nPower, "a flood of energy and sense of power and
\nglow", and the natural concentration of the being
\nin inspiration and expression, the action of the
\nPower. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nThe vital is the means of effectuation of the physical
\nplane, so its action and energy are necessary for all work; without it, if the
\nmind only drives without the cooperation  of the vital, there is hard and disagreeable
\nlabour and effort with results which are usually not at
\nall of the best kind. The ideal state for work is when
\nthere is a natural concentration of the consciousness
\nin the special energy, supported by an easeful rest and <\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage – 239<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\nquiescence of the consciousness as a whole. Distraction 
\nof the mind by other activities disturbs this balance  of ease and concentrated energy,\u2014fatigue also
\ndisturbs or destroys it. The first thing therefore that has to be done is to
\nbring back the supporting restfulness  and this is ordinarily done by cessation of
\nwork and repose. In the experience you had that
\nwas replaced by a restfulness that came from above in
\nanswer to your station of prayer and an energy that
\nalso came from above. It is the same principle as in
\nsadhana,\u2014the reason why we want people to make
\nthe consciousness quiet so that the higher peace may
\ncome in and on the basis of that peace a new Force
\nfrom above. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nIt is not effort that brought the inspiration. Inspiration  comes from above in answer to a state of
\nconcentration which is itself a call to it. Effort on
\nthe contrary fatigues the consciousness and therefore
\nis not favourable to the best work; the only thing is that
\nsometimes\u2014by no means always\u2014effort culminates in
\na pull for the inspiration which brings some answer,.
\nbut it is not usually so good and effective an inspiration
\nas that which comes when there is the easy and intense
\nconcentration of the energy in its work. Effort and
\nexpenditure of energy are not necessarily the same
\nthing,\u2014the best expenditure of energy is that
\nwhich flows easily without effort at all,\u2014when
\nthe inspiration or Force (any Force) works of
\nitself and the mind and vital and even body
\nare glowing instruments and the Force flows out <\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage – 240<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\nin an intense and happy working\u2014an almost
\nlabourless labour. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nMarch 1936 <\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage – 241<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\n
\nThe Farce and the Instrument
\n<\/a> <\/font>
\n<\/b><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\nAS you have opened yourself to the Force and made yourself a channel for the energy of work, it is
\nquite natural that when you want to do this work the
\nForce should flow and act in the way that is wanted or
\nthe way that is needed and for the effect that is needed.
\nWhen one has made oneself a channel, the Force is not
\nnecessarily bound by the limitations or disabilities of
\nthe instrument; it can disregard them and act in its own
\npower. In doing so it may use the human instrument
\nsimply as a medium and leave him as soon as the work is
\nfinished just what he was before, incapable in his ordinary  moments of doing such good work, but also it may
\nby its action set the instrument right, accustom it to the
\nnecessary intuitive knowledge and movement so that it
\ncan at will command the action of the Force. As for the
\ntechnique, there are two different things, the intellectual
\nknowledge which one applies and the intuitive cognition
\nwhich acts in its own right, even if it is not actually
\npossessed by the worker. Many poets for instance have
\nlittle knowledge of metrical or linguistic technique and
\ncannot explain how they write or what are the qualities<\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage – 242<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\nand elements of their success, but they write all the
\nsame things that are perfect in rhythm and language.
\nIntellectual knowledge of technique helps of course,
\nprovided one does not make of it a mere device or
\na rigid fetter. There are some arts that cannot be
\ndone well without technical knowledge, e. g. painting, <\/font><\/p>\n

\nsculpture. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nWhat you write is your own in the sense that you
\nhave been the instrument of its manifestation\u2014that is
\nso with every artist or worker, though of course for
\nsadhana it is necessary to recognise that the real Power
\nwas not yourself and you were simply the instrument
\non which it played its tune. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nThe Ananda of creation is not the pleasure of the ego
\nin having personally done well and being somebody,
\nthat is something extraneous which attaches itself to
\nthe joy of work and creation. The Ananda comes from the inrush of a greater
\nPower, the thrill of being possessed  and used by it, the avesh,<\/i> the exultation of the
\nuplifting of the consciousness, the illumination and
\nits greatened and heightened action and also the joy
\nof beauty, power or perfection that is being created.
\nHow far one feels it depends on the condition of
\nthe consciousness at the time, the temperament,
\nthe activity of the vital; the Yogi of course (or
\neven certain strong and calm minds) is not carried
\naway by the Ananda, he holds and watches it and
\nthere is no mere excitement mixed with the flow of it
\nthrough the mind, vital or body. Naturally the
\nAnanda of samarpana<\/i> or spiritual realisation or divine <\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage – 243<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\nlove is something far greater, but  the Ananda
\nof creation has its place.<\/font><\/p>\n

\n14-5-1963<\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage – 244<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\nJapa<\/a><\/font><\/b><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\nTHE japa<\/i> is usually successful only on one of two conditions\u2014if it is repeated with a sense of its
\nsignificance, a dwelling of something in the mind on the
\nnature, power, beauty, attraction of the Godhead it
\nsignifies and is to bring into the consciousness,\u2014that
\nis the mental way; or if it comes up from the heart
\nor rings in it with a certain sense or feeling of bhakti
\nmaking it alive,\u2014that is the emotional way. Either the
\nmind or the vital has to give it support or sustenance.
\nBut if it makes the mind dry and the vital restless, it
\nmust be missing that support and sustenance. There
\nis of course a third way, the reliance on the power of
\nthe mantra<\/i> or name in itself; but then one has to go
\non till that power has sufficiently impressed its vibration  on the inner being to make it at a given moment
\nsuddenly open to the Presence or the Touch. But
\nif there is a struggling or insistence for the result,
\nthen this effect which needs a quiet receptivity in the
\nmind is impeded. That is why I insisted so much on
\nmental quietude and on not too much straining or
\neffort, to give time to allow the psychic and the mind <\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage – 245<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\nto develop the necessary condition of receptivity\u2014a
\nreceptivity as natural as when one receives an inspiration f or poetry and music. It is also why I do not
\nwant you to discontinue your poetry\u2014it helps and
\ndoes not hinder the preparation because it is a means
\nof developing the right position of receptivity and
\nbringing out the bhakti which is there in the inner
\nbeing. To spend all the energy in japa<\/i> or meditation
\nis a strain which even those who are accustomed to
\nsuccessful meditation find it difficult to maintain\u2014
\nunless in periods when there is an uninterrupted
\nflow of experiences from above. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage – 246<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\nThe Mantra<\/a> <\/b>
\n<\/font><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\nOM is the mantra, the expressive sound-symbol of the Brahman Consciousness in its four
\ndomains from the Turiya to the external or material
\nplane. The function of a mantra is to create vibrations  in the inner consciousness that will prepare it
\nfor the realisation of what the mantra symbolises
\nand is supposed indeed to carry within itself. The
\nmantra Om should therefore lead towards the opening
\nof the consciousness to the sight and feeling of the
\nOne Consciousness in all material things, in the inner
\nbeing and in the supraphysical worlds, in the causal
\nplane above now superconscient to us and, finally,
\nthe supreme liberated transcendence above all cosmic
\nexistence. The last is usually the main preoccupation
\nwith those who use the mantra. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nIn this Yoga there is no fixed mantra, no stress is
\nlaid on mantras, although sadhakas can use one if
\nthey find it helpful or so long as they find it helpful. The stress is rather on
\nan aspiration in the consciousness  and a concentration of the mind, heart, will, all
\nthe being. If a mantra is found helpful for that, one <\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage – 247<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\nuses it. Om if rightly used (not mechanically) might
\nvery well help the opening upwards and outwards (cosmic consciousness) as well as the descent. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage – 248<\/font><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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