{"id":3757,"date":"2013-07-13T01:51:02","date_gmt":"2013-07-13T01:51:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/localhost\/?p=3757"},"modified":"2013-07-13T01:51:02","modified_gmt":"2013-07-13T01:51:02","slug":"07-the-central-process-vol-02-second-series-1949","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/01-works-of-sri-aurobindo\/02-other-editions\/letters-of-sri-aurobindo\/02-second-series-1949\/07-the-central-process-vol-02-second-series-1949","title":{"rendered":"-07_The Central Process.htm"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n\n\n
\n

\nSECTION FIVE<\/font><\/p>\n

\n THE CENTRAL PROCESS <\/font><\/p>\n

\nAND <\/font><\/p>\n

\nFUNDAMENTAL REALISATIONS FOR INTEGRAL YOGA<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\n

\n

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

\nI. PSYCHIC CONVERSION <\/font><\/p>\n

\n
\nThe Path<\/i><\/font>
\n<\/font><\/b><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\nYOU know the three things on which the realisation has to be based:
\n<\/font><\/p>\n

\n(1) on a rising to a station above the mind and
\non the opening out of the cosmic consciousness; <\/font><\/p>\n

\n(2) on the psychic opening; and <\/font><\/p>\n

\n(3) on the descent of the higher consciousness with
\nits peace, light, force, knowledge, Ananda etc. into all
\nthe planes of the being down to the most physical. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nAll this has to be done by the working of the
\nMother’s force aided by your aspiration, devotion
\nand surrender. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nThat is the Path. The rest is a matter of the
\nworking out of these things for which you have to
\nhave faith in the Mother’s working. <\/font><\/p>\n

\n30-10-1934 <\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage – 89 <\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\n
\nThe Three Fundamental Realisations<\/i> <\/font><\/p>\n

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

\n <\/p>\n

\nTHE fundamental realisations of this Yoga are: <\/font><\/p>\n

\n1. The psychic change so that a complete devotion
\ncan be the main motive of the heart and the
\nruler of thought, life and action in constant union
\nwith the Mother and in her Presence. <\/font><\/p>\n

\n2. The descent of the Peace, Power, Light, etc.
\nof the Higher Consciousness through the head
\nand heart into the whole being, occupying the
\nVery cells of the body. <\/font><\/p>\n

\n3. The perception of the One and Divine infinitely everywhere, the Mother everywhere and
\nliving in that infinite consciousness. <\/font><\/p>\n

\n17-9-1936 <\/font><\/p>\n

\n
\nPsychic Transformation<\/i><\/font>
\n<\/font><\/b><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\nTHE psychic is the first of two transformations
\nnecessary; if you have the psychic transformation
\nit facilitates immensely the other, i.e., the transformation of the ordinary human into the higher spiritual
\nconsciousness\u2014otherwise one is likely to have either
\na slow and dull or exciting but perilous journey…. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage – 90 . <\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\nI have never said anything about a "transformation of the psychic"; I have always written about
\na "psychic transformation" of the nature, which
\nis a very different matter. I have sometimes written of it as a psychicisation of the nature. The psychic is in the evolution, part of the human being,
\nits divine part\u2014so a psychicisation will not carry
\none beyond the present evolution but will make the
\nbeing ready to respond to all that comes from the
\nDivine or Higher Nature and unwilling to respond
\nto the Asura, Rakshasa, Pishacha or Animal in  the being or to any resistance of the lower nature
\nwhich stands in the way of the divine change. <\/font><\/p>\n

\n
\nThe Psychic Being<\/i> <\/font><\/p>\n

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

\n <\/p>\n

\nIT appears X supposed that by the psychic being
\nI meant the enlightened ego. But people do not understand what I mean by the psychic being, because
\nthe word psychic has been used in English to mean
\nanything of the inner mental, inner vital or inner
\nphysical or anything abnormal or occult or even
\nthe more subtle movements of the outer being, all
\nin a jumble; also occult phenomena are often called
\npsychic. The distinction between these different <\/font><\/p>\n

\n. Page – 91 <\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\nparts of the being is unknown. Even in India the
\nold knowledge of the Upanishads in which they
\nare distinguished has been lost. The Jivatman,
\nthe psychic being (Purusha Antaratman), the Manomaya Purusha, the Pranamaya Purusha are all
\nconfused together. <\/font><\/p>\n

\n1-6-1937 <\/font><\/p>\n

\n
\nPsychic Being, Antahkarana and Ahambhava<\/i> <\/font><\/p>\n

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

\n <\/p>\n

\nI DO not know what is exactly meant by this
\nphrase\u2014it is too vague and limited for a description of the psychic. Antahkarana<\/i> usually means the
\nmind and vital as opposed to the body\u2014the body
\nbeing the outer instrument and manah-prana,<\/i> the inner
\ninstrument of the soul. By psychic I mean something
\ndifferent from a purified mind and vital. A purified
\nmind and vital are the result of the action of the
\nawakened and liberated psychic being but it is not
\nitself the psychic. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nAgain, it depends on what is meant by Ahambhava.
\n<\/i>But the psychic is not a bhava.<\/i> It is a Purusha.
\nAhambhava<\/i> is a formation of Prakriti, it is not a being <\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage – 92 . <\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\nor a Purusha. Ahambhava,<\/i> can disappear and yet
\nthe Purusha will be there. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nBy liberated psychic being I mean that it is no
\nlonger obliged to express itself under the conditions
\nof the obscure and ignorant instruments, from
\nbehind a veil, but is able to come forward,
\ncontrol and change the action of mind and life
\nand body. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nIf it is perhaps sometimes spoken of as purified
\nand perfected, what must be meant is the psychic
\naction in the mind, vital and the physical instruments. A purified inner being does not mean a
\npurified psychic, but a purified inner mental, vital
\nand physical. The epithets I used for the psychic
\nwere "awakened and liberated". <\/font><\/p>\n

\nSpiritual individuality is rather a vague term and
\nmight be variously interpreted. I have written
\nabout the psychic being that the psychic is the soul
\nor spark of the Divine Fire supporting the individual
\nevolution on the earth and the psychic being is the
\nsoul-consciousness developing itself or rather its
\nmanifestation from life to life with the mind, vital
\nand body as its instruments until all is ready for
\nthe union with the Divine. I don’t know that I
\ncan add anything to that. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage – 93 <\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\n
\nSoul-Spark and Psychic Being<\/i> <\/font><\/p>\n

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

\n <\/p>\n

\nTHE soul is described as a spark of the Divine
\nFire in life and matter, that is an image. It has
\nnot been described as a spark of consciousness. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nThere is mental, vital, physical consciousness\u2014-
\ndifferent from the psychic. The psychic being and
\nconsciousness are not identical. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nWhen the soul or "spark of the Divine
\nFire" begins to develop a psychic individuality,
\nthat psychic individuality is called the psychic
\nbeing. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nThe soul or spark is there before the development
\nof an organised vital and mind. The soul is something of the Divine that descends into the evolution
\nas a divine Principle within it to support the evolution of the individual out of the Ignorance into the
\nLight. It develops in the course of the evolution a
\npsychic individual or soul individuality which grows
\nfrom life to life, using the evolving mind, vital and
\nbody as its instruments. It is the soul that is
\nimmortal while the rest disintegrates; it passes
\nfrom life to life carrying its experience in essence
\nand the continuity of the evolution of the individual.<\/font><\/p>\n

\nIt is the whole consciousness, mental, vital,
\nphysical also, that has to rise and join the higher <\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage – 94 . <\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\nconsciousness and, once the joining is made, the
\nhigher has to descend into them. The psychic is
\nbehind all that and supports it. <\/font><\/p>\n

\n10-9-1937 <\/font><\/p>\n

\n
\nPsychic Fire and Psychic Being<\/i> <\/font><\/p>\n

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

\n <\/p>\n

\nTHE psychic fire is the fire of aspiration, purification
\nand Tapasya which comes from the psychic being.
\nIt is not the psychic being, but a power of the
\npsychic being. The psychic being is a Purusha, not
\na flame\u2014the psychic fire is not the being, it is something proper to it. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nMay, 1935 <\/font><\/p>\n

\n
\nPsychic Being and Centres<\/i> <\/font><\/p>\n

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

\n <\/p>\n

\nTHE psychic being (which is the soul) does not make
\ncentres for itself in the Adhar. The centres are
\nthere. The psychic being can take control of the
\ncentres that are already there\u2014the heart and the <\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage – 95 <\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\nnavel centre and the two below the navel. Also the
\nmind and vital are not abolished\u2014they are brought
\nunder the psychic influence and psychicised, or
\nthey are occupied by the higher consciousness from
\nabove and transformed into its instruments. <\/font><\/p>\n

\n3-8-1934 <\/font><\/p>\n

\nCall of the Soul<\/i> <\/font><\/p>\n

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

\n <\/p>\n

\nWHAT you write is quite accurate about the true
\nsoul, the psychic being. But people mean different
\nthings when they speak of the soul. Sometimes it
\nis what I have called in the Arya<\/i> the desire-soul,
\n\u2014that is the vital with its mixed aspirations, desires,
\nhungers of all kinds good and bad, its emotions,
\nfiner and grosser, or sensational urges crossed by
\nthe mind’s idealisings and psychic stresses. But
\nsometimes it is also the mind and vital under the
\nstress of a psychic urge. The psychic, so long as it
\nis veiled, must express itself through the mind and
\nvital and its aspirations are mixed and coloured
\nthere by the vital and mental stuff. Thus the veiled
\npsychic urge may express itself in the mind by a
\nhunger in the thought for the knowledge of the <\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage – 96 . <\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\nDivine, what the Europeans call the intellectual
\nlove of God. In the vital it may express itself as a
\nhunger or hankering after the Divine. <\/b> It can bring
\nmuch suffering .because of the nature of the vital,
\nits unquiet passions, desires, ardours, troubled emotions, cloudings, depressions, despairs. Nevertheless
\nall cannot approach, at least cannot at once approach the Divine in the pure psychic way\u2014the
\nmental and vital approaches are often necessary
\nbeginnings and better from the spiritual point of
\nview than unsensitiveness to the Divine. It is in
\nboth cases a call of the soul, the soul’s urge\u2014it only
\ntakes a form or colour due to the stress of the mind
\nor vital nature. <\/font><\/p>\n

\n27-5-1936 <\/font><\/p>\n

\n
\nPsychic Push<\/i> <\/font><\/p>\n

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

\n <\/p>\n

\nTHE push to drown oneself in the Divine is very
\nrare. It is usually a mental idea, a vital urge or
\nsome quite inadequate reason that starts the thing
\n\u2014or else no reason at all. The only reality is the
\noccult psychic push behind of which the surface
\nconsciousness is not aware or else hardly aware. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage – 97 <\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\n
\nIdealistic Notion, Religious Belief and
\nSpiritual Light<\/i> <\/font><\/p>\n

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

\n <\/p>\n

\nAN idealistic notion or religious belief or
\nemotion is something quite different from getting
\nspiritual light. An idealistic notion might turn you
\ntowards getting spiritual light, but it is not the
\nlight itself. It is true however that "the spirit
\nbloweth where it listeth" and that we can get an
\nemotional impulse or touch or mental realisation
\nof spiritual things from almost any circumstance.,
\nas Bilwamangal got it from the words of his courtesan mistress. Obviously, it happens because something
\nis ready somewhere,\u2014if you like, the psychic being
\nwaiting for its chance and taking some opportunity
\nin mind, vital or heart to knock open a window
\nsomewhere. <\/font><\/p>\n

\n27-10-1935 <\/font><\/p>\n

\n
\nBest Means for Psychic Awakening<\/i> <\/font><\/p>\n

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

\n <\/p>\n

\nASPIRATION<\/font>, constant and sincere, and the will to
\n"turn to the Divine alone are the best means to bring
\nforward the psychic. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage – 98 <\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\n
\nImportance of Psychic Change of Nature<\/i> <\/font><\/p>\n

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

\n <\/p>\n

\nI HAVE read your account of your sadhana. There
\nis nothing to say, I think,\u2014for it is all right\u2014 except that the most important thing for you is to
\ndevelop the psychic fire in the heart and the aspiration for the psychic being to come forward as the
\nleader of the sadhana. When the psychic does so,
\nit will show you the "undetected ego-knots" of
\nwhich you speak and loosen them or burn them in
\n\/the psychic fire. This psychic development and the psychic change of mind, vital and physical
\nconsciousness is of the utmost importance because
\nit makes safe and easy the descent of the higher
\nconsciousness and the spiritual transformation with-
\nout which the supramental must always remain
\njar distant. Powers etc. have their place, but a very
\nminor one so long as this is not done. <\/font><\/p>\n

\n28-2-1937 <\/font><\/p>\n

\n
\nSoul’s Action in Yoga<\/i> <\/font><\/p>\n

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

\n <\/p>\n

\nYou are describing the action of the ordinary existence, not the Yoga. Yoga is a seeking (not a mental <\/font><\/p>\n

Page – 99 <\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\nsearching), it is not experimenting in contraries
\nand contradictories. It is the mind that does that and .the mind that analyses.
\nThe soul does not search, analyse, experiment\u2014it seeks, feels, experiences. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nThe only grain of truth in your statement is that
\nthe Yoga is very usually a series of ups and downs
\ntill you get to a certain height. But there is a quite
\ndifferent reason for that\u2014not the vagaries of the
\nsoul. On the contrary, when the psychic being gets
\nin front and becomes master, there comes in
\na fundamentally smooth action and although
\nthere are difficulties and undulations of movement,
\nthese are no longer of an abrupt or dramatic
\ncharacter. <\/font><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\n
\nPsychic Awakening and Conversion\u2014
\nComing of Desires<\/i> <\/font><\/p>\n

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

\n <\/p>\n

\nTHE psychic being is always there, but is not felt
\nbecause it is covered up by the mind and vital; when it is no longer covered up, it is then said to
\nbe awake. When it is awake, it begins to take hold
\nof the rest of the being, to influence it and change
\nit so that all may become the true expression of the
\ninner soul. <\/b> It is this change that is called the inner <\/font><\/p>\n

Page – 100<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\nconversion. There can be no conversion without
\nthe awakening of the psychic being, 
\n<\/font><\/p>\n

\nIt is not necessary that there should be any particular strong desire at the time of the experience.
\nWhat you describe is the general experience that all
\nthe ordinary vital movements are foreign to the; true being and come from outside. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nThe desires come from outside, enter the subconscious vital and rise to the surface. It is only -when they rise to the surface and the mind becomes aware of them, that people become conscious; of the desire. It seems to them to be their own because they feel it thus rising from the vital into the
\nmind and do not know that it came from outside.
\nWhat belongs to the vital is not the desire itself,
\nbut the habit of responding to the desires that come into it from universal Prakriti. <\/font><\/p>\n

\n19-4-1930 <\/font><\/p>\n

\n
\nAction of the Psychic and True Vital Being<\/i> <\/font><\/p>\n

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

\n <\/p>\n

\nIT is your psychic being which came in front,
\nprobably, or else it is the true vital being in you
\nwhich was able to come in front because you took <\/font><\/p>\n

\n. Page – 101 <\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\nthe psychic attitude. When the psychic being comes
\nin front, there is an automatic perception of the true
\nand untrue, the divine and the undivine, the spiritual right and wrong of things, and the false vital
\nand mental movements and attacks are immediately
\nexposed and fall away and can do nothing; gradually the vital and physical as well as the mind
\nget full of this psychic light and truth and sound
\nfeeling and purity, and such violent attacks as you
\nhave are impossible. When the true vital being
\ncomes forward, it is something wide and strong and
\ncalm, an unmoved and powerful warrior for the
\nDivine and the Truth, repelling all enemies, bringing in a true strength and force, and opening
\nthe vital to the greater consciousness above.
\n<\/b>It <\/b>has to be seen which of the two it is you feel
\nwithin. <\/font><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\n
\nSoul and Nature<\/i> <\/font><\/b><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\nTHE soul is the witness, upholder, master, experiencer, but it is master only in theory, in fact it is not
\nmaster so long as it consents to the Ignorance. For
\nthat is a general consent which implies that the
\nPrakriti gambols about with the Purusha and <\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage – 102 <\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\ndoes pretty well what she likes with him. When
\nhe wants to get back his mastery, make the theoretical practical, he needs a lot of tapasya to
\ndo it,… <\/font><\/p>\n

\nThe psychic has always been veiled, consenting
\nto the play of the mind, vital and physical, experiencing everything through them in the ignorant vital,
\nmental and physical way. How then can it be that
\nthey are bound to change at once when it just
\ntakes the trouble to whisper or say, "Let there be
\nLight"? They have a tremendous negating power
\nand can refuse and do refuse point-blank. The
\nmind resists with an obstinate persistency in argument and a constant confusion of ideas, the vital
\nwith a fury of bad will aided by the mind’s obliging
\nreasonings on its side, the physical resists with an
\nobstinate inertia and crass fidelity to old habit, and
\nwhen they have done, the general Nature comes
\nin and says, "What, you are going to get free from
\nme so early? Not, if I know it," and it besieges and
\nthrows back the old nature on you again and
\nagain as long as it can. Yet you say it is the soul
\nthat wants all this ‘fun’ and goes off laughing and
\nprancing to get some more!…. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage – 103 <\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\n
\nSudden Psychic Opening<\/i> <\/font><\/p>\n

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

\n <\/p>\n

\nIT is very evident that D has had a sudden opening
\nto spiritual experience\u2014a surprisingly sudden
\nopening, one would think, but it happens often in that
\nway, especially if there is a sceptical mind outside; and a soul ready for experience within. In such
\ncases also it comes often after a blow such as his
\nbrother’s illness, but I think there was already a
\nturning of the mind which prepared it. This sudden and persistent visualisation also shows that
\nthere is a faculty within that has broken the gates
\nwhich shut it in\u2014the faculty of supraphysical
\nvision. The coming up of the word "consecration"
\nis also a familiar phenomenon of these experiences
\n\u2014it is what I call the voice of the psychic, an intimation from his own soul to the mind as to what
\nit wants him to do. Now he has to accept it, for the
\nassent of the nature, of the outward man to the
\ninner voice, is necessary so that it may be effective.
\nHe is standing at the turning-point and has been
\ngiven an indication of the new road his inner being,
\nthe Antaratman, wants him to follow\u2014but, as I
\nsay, the assent of his mind and vital is necessary.
\nIf he can decide to consecrate, he must make the
\nsankalpa<\/i> of consecration, offer himself to the Divine
\nand call for the help and the guidance. If he is not <\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage – 104 <\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\nable to do that at once, let him wait and see, but
\nkeeping himself open, as it were, to the continuation
\nand development of the experience that has begun,
\ntill it becomes definitely imperative to his own
\nfeeling. He will receive help and, if he becomes
\nconscious of it, then there can be no further question\u2014it will be easy for him to proceed on the way, <\/font><\/p>\n

\n8-11-1936 <\/font><\/p>\n

\n
\nPsychic Experiences and Psychic Modification
\n<\/i>: of Mature<\/i> <\/font><\/p>\n

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

\n <\/p>\n

\nIT was certainly an experience of great value; a
\npsychic experience par excellence. "A feeling of
\nvelvety softness within\u2014an ineffable plasticity within" is a psychic experience and can be nothing
\nelse. It means a modification of the substance of
\nthe consciousness especially in the vital-emotional
\npart, and such a modification prolonged or repeated
\ntill it became permanent would mean a great
\nstep in what I call the psychic transformation of
\nthe being. It is just these modifications in the inner
\nsubstance that make transformation possible. Further, it was a modification that made a beginning<\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage – .105 <\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\nof Knowledge possible\u2014for by Knowledge we mean
\nin Yoga not thought or ideas about spiritual things
\nbut psychic understanding from within and spiritual illumination from above. Therefore the first
\nresult was this feeling of yours that "there was no
\nignominy in not understanding it all and that the
\ntrue understanding would come only when one realised that one was completely impotent." This was
\nitself a beginning of understanding\u2014a psychic
\nunderstanding, something felt within which sheds
\na light or brings up a spiritual truth that mere
\nthinking would not have given, also a truth that
\nis effective in bringing both the enlightenment and
\nsolace you needed, for what the psychic being brings
\nwith it always is light and happiness, an inner
\nunderstanding and relief and solace.<\/font><\/p>\n

\nAnother very promising aspect of this experience
\nis that it came as an immediate response to an appeal
\nto the Divine. You asked for the understanding and
\nthe way out and at once Krishna showed you both\u2014
\nthe way out was the change of the consciousness
\nwithin, the plasticity which makes the knowledge
\npossible and also the understanding of the condition
\nof mind and vital in which the true knowledge or
\npower of knowledge could come. For the inner
\nknowledge comes from within and above (whether from the Divine in the heart or from the Self above) <\/font><\/p>\n

Page – 106 . <\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\nand for it to come, the pride of the mind and vital
\nin
\nthe surface mental ideas and their insistence on them
\nmust go. One must know that one is ignorant before
\none can begin to know. This shows that I am not
\nwrong in pressing for the psychic opening as the
\nonly way out. For as the psychic opens, such responses and much more also become common and
\nthe inner change also proceeds by which they are
\nmade possible. <\/font><\/p>\n

\n31-5-1936 <\/font><\/p>\n

\n
\nConsequences of Psychic Opening<\/i> <\/font><\/p>\n

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

\n <\/p>\n

\nWHEN the psychic being awakens, you grow conscious
\nof your own soul; you know your self. And you no
\nlonger commit the mistake of identifying yourself
\nwith the mental or with the vital being. You do not
\nmistake them for the soul. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nSecondly, when awakened, the psychic being
\ngives true bhakti for God or for the Guru. That bhakti
\nis quite different from mental or vital bhakti. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nIn the mind one may have admiration or appreciation for the intellectual greatness of the man\u2014or
\nGuru, but it is merely mental; it does not carry the <\/font><\/p>\n

\n. Page -107 <\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\nmatter very far. <\/b> Of course there is no harm in
\nhaving that also. But by itself it does not open the
\nwhole of the inner being; it only establishes a mental contact. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nThe vital bhakti demands and demands. It imposes its own conditions. It surrenders itself to God,
\nbut conditionally. It says to God, "You are so great,
\nI worship you, and now satisfy my this desire or that
\nambition, make me great, make me a great sadhak, a great Yogin, etc."<\/font><\/p>\n

\nThe unillumined mind also surrenders to the
\nTruth, but makes its own conditions. It says to the
\nTruth, "Satisfy my judgment and my opinion"; it demands the Truth to cast itself in the mind’s own forms. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nThe vital being also insists on the Truth to throw itself into its own movement of force. The vital
\nbeing pulls at the Higher Power and pulls and pulls
\nat the vital being of the Guru. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nBoth of them (the mental and the vital) have
\ngot an arri\u00e8re-pensee<\/i> (mental reservation) in their surrender. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nBut the psychic being and its bhakti are not like that. Because it is in direct communication with
\nthe Divinity behind, it is capable of true bhakti.
\nPsychic bhakti does not make any demand, makes
\n-no reservation. It is satisfied with its own existence. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage – 108 . <\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\nThe psychic being knows how to obey the Truth
\nin the right way. It gives itself up truly to God or <\/i>to the Guru, and because it can give itself up truly, therefore it can also receive truly. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nThirdly, when the psychic being comes to the surface, it feels sad when the mental or the vital being 
\nis making a fool of itself. That sadness is purity
\noffended. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nWhen the mind is playing its own game or when
\nthe vital being is carried away by its own impulses,.
\nit is the psychic being which says, "I don’t want
\nthese things; what am I here for after all? I
\nam here for the Truth, I am not here for these
\nthings." <\/font><\/p>\n

\nPsychic sadness is again different from mental
\ndissatisfaction or vital sadness or physical depression. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nIf the psychic being is strong, it makes itself felt
\non the mental or the vital being, and forces them\u2014
\ncompels them\u2014to change. But if it is weak, the other
\nparts take advantage of it and use the psychic sadness to their own advantage. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nIn some cases the psychic being comes up to the
\nsurface and upsets the mental or the vital being and
\nthrows everything into disorder. But if the mind
\nor the vital being is stronger than the psychic, then
\n<\/i>it casts only an occasional influence and gradually retires behind. All its cry is in the wilderness; <\/font><\/p>\n

Page – 109 <\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\nand the mental or the vital being goes on in its own round. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nLastly, the psychic being refuses to be deceived by appearances. It is not carried away by falsehood.
\nIt refuses to be depressed by falsehood\u2014nor does
\nit exaggerate the truth. For example, even if everything around says, "There is no God", the psychic
\nbeing refuses to believe in it. It says, "I know, and I know because I feel." <\/font><\/p>\n

\nAnd because it knows the thing behind, it is not
\ndeceived by appearances. It immediately feels the Force. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nAlso, when the psychic being is awakened, it throws out all the dross from the emotional being and makes
\nit free from sentimentalism or the lower play of emotionalism. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nBut it does not carry in it the dryness of the mind or the exaggeration of the vital feelings. It gives
\nthe just touch to each emotion. <\/font><\/p>\n

\n23-3-1926 <\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage – 110 <\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\nII. ASCENT TO HIGHER CONSCIOUSNESS <\/font><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\n
\nThe Upward Opening<\/i><\/font><\/b><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\nI MAY say that the opening upwards, the ascent into
\nthe Light and the subsequent descent into the ordinary consciousness and normal human life is very
\ncommon as the first decisive experience in the practice of Yoga and may very well happen even without
\nthe practice of Yoga in those who are destined for
\nthe spiritual change, especially if there is a dissatisfaction somewhere with the ordinary life and a seeking for something more, greater or better. <\/b> It comes often exactly in the way that she describes
\nand the cessation of the experience and the descent: also come in the same way. This first experience may be followed by a very long time during which
\nthere is no repetition of it or any subsequent experience. If there is a constant practice of Yoga, the
\ninterval need not be so long; but even so, it is often
\nlong enough. The descent is inevitable because it
\nis not the whole being that has risen up but only
\nsomething within, and all the rest of the nature is
\nunprepared, absorbed in or attached to ordinary
\nlife and governed by movements that are not in. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage – 111<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\nconsonance with the Light. Still, the something
\nwithin is something central in the being and therefore the experience is in a way definitive and decisive,
\nFor it comes as a decisive intimation of the spiritual
\ndestiny and an indication of what must be reached
\nsome time in the life. Once it has been there, something is bound to happen which will open the way,
\ndetermine the right knowledge and the right attitude
\nenabling one to proceed on the way and bring a
\nhelping influence. After that, the work of clearing
\naway the obstacles that prevent the return to the
\nLight and the ascension of the whole being and, what
\nis equally important, the descent of the Light into
\nthe whole being, can be begun and progress towards
\ncompletion. It may take long or be rapid, that depends on the inner push and also on outer circum-
\nstances but the inner aspiration and endeavour count
\nmore than the circumstances which can accommodate
\nthemselves to the inner need if that is very strong.
\nThe moment has come for her and the necessary
\naspiration and knowledge and the influence that
\ncan help her. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage – <\/font>112<\/font>
\n<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\n
\nThe Upward Movement<\/i> <\/font><\/p>\n

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

\n <\/p>\n

\nTHE ascent or the upward movement takes place
\nwhen there is a sufficient aspiration from the being,
\ni.e., from the various mental, vital and physical
\nplanes. Each in turn ascends above the mind to the
\nplace where it meets the supramental and can then
\nreceive the origination of all its movements from
\nabove. The higher descends when you have a receptive quietude in the various planes of your being
\nprepared to receive it. In either case, whether
\nin aspiring upward to rise to the higher or in remaining passive and open to receive the higher, an
\nentire calmness in the different parts of the being is
\nthe true condition. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nIf you do not have the necessary force in a quiet
\naspiration or will and if you find that a certain.
\namount of effort will help you to rise upward, you
\nmay go on using it as a temporary means, until there
\nis the natural openness in which a silent call or a
\nsimple effortless will is sufficient to induce the action
\nof the Higher Shakti. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage -113 <\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\n
\nAscent to the Higher Consciousness<\/i> <\/font><\/p>\n

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

\n <\/p>\n

\nTHERE is something in you that has become aware
\nof the higher consciousness and gone up there
\nabove the head where the ordinary consciousness
\nand the higher planes meet. That has to be developed till the whole source of the consciousness
\nis there and all the rest directed from there\u2014with,
\nat the same time, a liberation of the psychic so that
\nit may support the action from above in the mind,
\nthe vital and in the physical parts. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nIt is the Atman, the spiritual being above the
\nmind\u2014the first experience of it is a silence and calm
\n(which one perceives afterwards to be infinite and
\neternal), untouched by the movements of mind
\nand life and body. The higher consciousness
\nlives always in touch with the Self\u2014the lower
\nis separated from it by the activities of the
\nIgnorance. <\/font><\/p>\n

\n27-10-1933 <\/font><\/p>\n

\n
\nRising of the Kundalini<\/i> <\/font><\/p>\n

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

\n <\/p>\n

\nTHE force which you felt must evidently have been
\na rising of the Kundalini ascending to join the <\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage – 114<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\nForce above and bring down the energy needed to
\nease the depression and then again rising to enforce the connection between the Above and the lower centres. The seeming expansion of the head is due
\nto the joining of the mind with the consciousness of the Self or Divine above. That consciousness is
\nwide and illimitable and, when one rises into it, the
\nindividual consciousness also breaks its limits and
\nfeels wide and illimitable. At such times one often
\nfeels as if there were no head and no body but all
\nwere a wide self and its consciousness, or else the
\nhead or the body is only a circumstance in that.
\nThe body or the physical mind is sometimes
\nstartled or alarmed at these experiences because
\nthey are abnormal to it; but there is no ground for
\nalarm,\u2014these are usual experiences in the Yoga. <\/font><\/p>\n

\n16-4-1936 <\/font><\/p>\n

\n
\nSubtle Barrier to Ascent<\/i> <\/font><\/p>\n

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

\n <\/p>\n

\nWIDENESS is a sign of the extension of consciousness
\nout of the ordinary limits\u2014whiteness of the wideness means that it is the pure consciousness one is
\nfeeling, unless it is white light or luminous light <\/font><\/p>\n

Page – 115 <\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\nwhich indicates the Mother’s, consciousness there
\nor some influence of it. The subtle barrier you felt
\nmust have been the same thing that prevents your
\nascent from the heart and from it your going beyond
\ninto the regions above. There is always a sort of a lid
\nthere and it is only when that is opened or disappears that one can go freely above. One can be aware of; "unseen wideness" but one is not a self there until
\nthat is done. <\/font><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\n
\nSahasrara and Ajnachakra<\/i> <\/font><\/p>\n

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

\n(1); <\/font><\/p>\n

\nTHE crown is the place of passage between the
\nbody-consciousness with all it contains of mind and
\nlife and the higher being above the body. It is
\nthere that the two consciousnesses begin to meet. <\/font><\/p>\n

\n14-4-1934 <\/font><\/p>\n

\n(2) <\/font><\/p>\n

\nThe thousand-petalled lotus is above the head.
\nIt is the seventh and highest centre. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage – 116<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\nUsually those who take the centres in the body
\nonly, count six centres, the sahasrara<\/i> being
\nexcluded. <\/font><\/p>\n

\n13-4-1934 <\/font><\/p>\n

\n(3) <\/font><\/p>\n

\nThe centre at the crown must be part of the
\nsahasradala,<\/i> the centre of communication direct
\nbetween the individual being and the infinite
\nConsciousness above. There is not supposed to be
\nany other main centre of dynamism between that
\nand the ajnachakra.<\/i> But there can be many
\nnerve-centres in various parts of the body, apart
\nfrom the six or rather seven main centres. <\/font><\/p>\n

\n7-12-1936 <\/font><\/p>\n

\n(4)<\/font><\/p>\n

\nIn the forehead between the eyes but a little
\nabove is the ajnachakra,<\/i> the centre of the inner will,
\nalso of the inner vision, the dynamic mind, etc.
\n(This is not the ordinary outer mental will and
\nsight, but something more powerful, belonging to
\nthe inner being.) When this centre opens and the<\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage – 117 <\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\nForce there is active, then there is the opening of
\na greater will, power of decision, formation, effectiveness, beyond what the ordinary mind can
\nachieve. <\/font><\/p>\n

\n17-3-1933 <\/font><\/p>\n

\n
\nExperience of the Higher Peace and Force<\/i><\/font>
\n<\/font><\/p>\n

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

\n <\/p>\n

\nTHESE are the ordinary normal experiences of the
\nsadhana when there is an opening from above
\nthe contact with the peace of the Brahman, Self or
\nDivine and the contact with the higher Power,
\nthe Power of the Mother. He does not know what
\nthey are, quite naturally, but feels very correctly
\nand his description is quite accurate. "How beautiful, calm and still all seems\u2014as if in water there
\nwere not even a wave. But it is not Nothingness.
\nI feel a Presence steeped in life but absolutely
\nsilent and quiet in meditation,"\u2014there could hardly
\nbe a better description of this experience\u2014the
\nexperience of the peace and silence of the Divine
\nor of the Divine itself in its own essential peace
\nand silence. Also what he feels about the Force
\nis quite correct, "something from above the mani- <\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage – 118 <\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\ntested creation (mind\u2014matter), a Force behind that
\nis distinct from that which gives rise to emotions,
\nanger, lust which are all purified and transformed
\ngradually", in other words, the Divine or Spiritual
\nForce, other than the cosmic vital which supports
\nthe ordinary embodied .consciousness; that is also
\nvery clear. I suppose it is only a contact yet, but
\na very true and vivid contact if it gives rise to so
\nvivid and true a feeling. It looks as if he were
\ngoing to make a very good beginning. <\/font><\/p>\n

\n1-2-1936 <\/font><\/p>\n

\n
\nExperience of Cosmic Self-\u2014Static and Dynamic<\/i> <\/font><\/p>\n

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

\n <\/p>\n

\nTHE experiences were all right\u2014but they give only
\none side of the Divine Truth, that which one attains
\nthrough the higher mind\u2014the other side is what
\none attains through the heart. Above the higher
\nmind these two truths become one. If one realises
\nthe silent Atman above, there is no danger, but there
\nis also no transformation, only moksha, nirvana.<\/i> If one
\nrealises the cosmic self, dynamic and active, then one
\nrealises all as the Self, all as myself, that self as the
\nDivine, etc. This is all true; but the danger is of the <\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage – 119<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\nego catching hold of "my" in that conception of
\n"all is myself". For this "myself" is not my personal
\nself but everybody’s self as well as mine. The way to get rid of any such danger is to remember that
\nthis Divine is also the Mother, that the personal
\n"I" is a child of the Mother with whom I am one,
\nyet different, her child, servant, instrument. I have
\nsaid that you should not stop realising the Self as
\nthe cosmic consciousness, but should at the same
\ntime remember that all this is the Mother. <\/font><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\n
\nAdvantage of Self-Realisation preceding Cosmic
\nConsciousness<\/i> <\/font><\/p>\n

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

\n <\/p>\n

\nLIBERATION is the first necessity, to live in the peace,
\nsilence, purity, freedom of the self. Along with
\nthat or afterwards if one wakens to the cosmic consciousness, then one can be free, yet one with all
\nthings. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nTo have the cosmic consciousness without liberation is possible, but then there is no freedom
\nanywhere in the being from the lower nature and
\none may become in one’s extended consciousness
\nthe playground of all kinds of forces without being
\nable to be either free or master. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage – 120<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\nOn the other hand, if there has been Self-realisation, there is one part of the being that remains
\nuntouched amid the play of the cosmic forces 
\nwhile if the peace and purity of the self has been
\nestablished in the whole inner consciousness, then
\nthe outer touches of the lower nature can’t come in
\nor overpower. This is the advantage of Self-realisation preceding the cosmic consciousness and,
\nsupporting it. <\/font><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\n
\nThe Witness Purusha<\/i> <\/font><\/p>\n

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

\n <\/p>\n

\nTHE consciousness you speak of would be described
\nin the Gita as the witness Purusha. The Purusha or
\nbasic consciousness is the true being or at least, in
\nwhatever plane it manifests, represents the true being.
\nBut in the ordinary nature of man it is covered up
\nby the ego and the ignorant play of the Prakriti and
\nremains veiled behind as the unseen Witness supporting the play of the Ignorance. When it emerges, you
\nfeel it as a consciousness behind, calm, central, unidentified with the play which depends upon it.
\n<\/b>It <\/b>gay be covered over, but it is always there. The <\/font><\/p>\n

\n. Page – 121 <\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\nemergence of the Purusha is the beginning of liberation. But it can also become slowly the Master-
\nslowly because the whole habit of the ego and the
\nplay of the lower forces is against that. Still it can
\ndictate what higher play is to replace the lower movement and then there is the
\nprocess of that replacement, the higher coming, the lower struggling to
\nremain and push away the higher movement. You
\nsay rightly that the offering to the Divine shortens
\nthe whole thing and is ‘more effective, but usually it
\ncannot be done completely at once owing to the past
\nhabit and the two methods continue together until
\nthe complete surrender is possible. <\/font><\/p>\n

\n31-5-1933<\/font><\/p>\n

\n
\nThe Witness and the Player<\/i> <\/font><\/p>\n

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

\n <\/p>\n

\nAs for the spectator and the coils of the dragon, it
\nis the Chino-Japanese image for the world-force
\nextending itself in the course of the universe and this
\nexpresses the attitude of the witness seeing it all and
\nobserving in its unfolding the unrolling of the play of
\nthe Divine Lila. It is this attitude that gives the
\ngreatest calm, peace, samata<\/i> in face of the riddle of <\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage – 122<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\nthe cosmic workings. It is not meant that action and
\nmovement are not accepted but they are accepted as
\nthe Divine Working which is leading to ends which
\nthe mind may not always see at once, but the soul
\ndivines through all the supreme purpose and the
\nhidden guidance. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nOf course, there is afterwards an experience in
\nwhich the two sides of the Divine Whole, the Witness
\nand the Player blend together; but this poise of the
\nspectator comes first and leads to that fuller experience. It gives the balance, the calm, the increasing
\nunderstanding of soul and life and their deeper significances without which the full supramental experience cannot come. <\/font><\/p>\n

\n30-12-1932 <\/font><\/p>\n

\n
\nCosmic Spirit mid Cosmic Force<\/i> <\/font><\/p>\n

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

\n <\/p>\n

\nTHERE is this much truth that the Cosmic Force
\nworks out everything and the Cosmic Spirit (Virat
\nPurusha) supports her action. The Cosmic Force is
\na Power that works under the conditions of the Ignorance\u2014it appears as the lower nature and the lower
\nnature makes you do wrong things. The Divine
\nallows the play of these forces so long as you do not <\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage – 123<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\nyourself want anything better. But if you are a
\nsadhak, then you do not accept the play of the lower
\nnature, you turn to the Divine Mother instead, and
\nask her to work through you instead of the lower
\nnature. It is only when you have turned entirely in
\nevery part of your being to the Divine Mother and
\nto her alone that the Divine will do all actions
\nthrough you. <\/font><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\n
\nThree Steps to the Supreme Realisation<\/i> <\/font><\/p>\n

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

\n <\/p>\n

\nIT refers to a certain stage when the consciousness
\nis sometimes in activity and when not in activity is
\nwithdrawn in itself. Afterwards comes a stage when
\nthe Sachchidananda condition is there in work also.
\nThere is a still further stage when both are, as it
\nwere, one, but that is the Supramental. The two
\nstates are the Silent Brahman and the Active
\nBrahman and they can alternate (1st stage), coexist
\n(2nd stage), fuse (3rd stage)…. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nCertainly it (highest realisation, Sachchidananda)
\nis realisable in works. Good Lord! How could the
\nintegral Yoga exist, if it were not?…. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage – 124<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\n
\nLiberation of Consciousness and Instruments<\/i> <\/font><\/p>\n

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

\n <\/p>\n

\nWHAT you feel is the normal condition when the
\nliberation takes place. The work of the senses etc.
\ngoes on as before, but the consciousness is different,
\nso that one feels not only the sense of liberation,
\nseparation, etc., but that one is living in quite another
\nworld than that of the ordinary mind, life or senses. It is another consciousness with another knowledge
\nand way of looking at things that begins. Afterwards
\nas this consciousness takes possession of the instruments, there is a harmony of it with the sense and
\nlife; but these too become different, with a changed
\noutlook, seeing the world no more as before but as  if made of another substance with another significance.
\n<\/font><\/p>\n

\n.12-12-1936 <\/font><\/p>\n

\nY<\/font><\/i>ogic Concentration and Relaxation<\/i> <\/font><\/p>\n

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

\n <\/p>\n

\nTHERE are two different states, that which the consciousness takes in concentration and that which it
\ntakes in relaxation\u2014the latter is the ordinary consciousness (ordinary for the sadhak though not <\/font><\/p>\n

\n. Page – 125<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\nperhaps the ordinary consciousness of the average
\nman), the former is what he is attaining to by Tapas of concentration in sadhana. To go into the Akshara
\nand witness experiences from there is easy for the sadhak who has got so far. He can also concentrate
\nand maintain the unification of the main aspects of
\nhis being, although with more difficulty\u2014but a
\nrelaxation there brings him back to the relaxed
\nordinary consciousness. It is only when what is
\ngained by sadhana becomes normal to the ordinary consciousness that this can be avoided. In proportion as this is done, it becomes possible not only to
\nexperience the truth subjectively, but make it manifest in action.<\/font><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\n
\nOverhead Planes<\/i> <\/font><\/p>\n

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

\n <\/p>\n

\nTHE Self governs the diversity of its creation by its
\nunity on all the planes from the Higher Mind upwards on which the realisation of the One is the
\nnatural basis of consciousness. But as one goes upward, the view changes, the power of consciousness
\nchanges, the Light becomes ever more intense and
\npotent. Although the static realisation of Infinity
\nand Eternity and the Timeless One remains the <\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage – 126<\/font>
\n<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\nsame, the vision of the workings of the One becomes
\never wider and is attended with a greater instrumentality of Force and a more comprehensive grasp of
\nwhat has to be known and done. All possible forms
\nand constructions of things become more and more
\nvisible, put in their proper place, utilisable. Moreover, what is thought-knowledge in the Higher Mind
\nbecomes illumination in the Illumined Mind and
\ndirect intimate vision in the Intuition. But the
\nIntuition sees in flashes and combines through a
\nconstant play of light\u2014through revelations, inspirations, intuitions, swift
\ndiscriminations. The Overmind sees calmly, steadily, in great masses and large
\nextensions of space and time and relation, globally; it creates and acts in the same way\u2014it is the world
\nof the great Gods, the divine Creators. Only, each
\ncreates in his own way; he sees all but sees all from
\nhis own viewpoint. There is riot the absolute supramental harmony and certitude. These, inadequately
\nexpressed, are some of the differences. I speak, of
\ncourse, of these planes in themselves\u2014when acting
\nin the human consciousness they are necessarily
\nmuch diminished in their working by having to
\ndepend on the human instrumentation of mind, vital and physical. Only when these are quieted,
\nthey get a fuller force and reveal more their
\ncharacter. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage – 127 <\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\nThought the Paraclete<\/b>*<\/i><\/font><\/p>\n

\n(1)<\/font><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\nAs thought rises in the scale, it ceases to be intellectual,
\nbecomes illumined, then intuitive, then overmental and finally disappears seeking the last
\nBeyond. The poem (Thought the Paraclete) does
\n<\/i>not express any philosophical thought, however; it is simply a perception of
\na certain movement, that is all.  <\/font><\/p>\n

\n"Pale blue" is the colour of the higher ranges of
\nmind up to the intuition. Above it, it begins to
\nbecome golden with the supramental Light. <\/font><\/p>\n

\n14-1-1935 <\/font><\/p>\n

\n(2) <\/font><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\nThought is not the giver of Knowledge but the
\n"mediator" between the Inconscient and the Superconscient. It compels the world born from the
\nInconscient to reach for a Knowledge other than the
\ninstinctive vital or merely empirical, for the Knowledge that itself exceeds thought; it calls for that <\/font><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\n* A poem by Sri Aurobindo, vide<\/i> "Colleted Poems and Plays."
\n<\/font> <\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage -128 <\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\nsuperconscient Knowledge and prepares the consciousness here to receive it. It rises itself into the
\nhigher realms and even in disappearing into the
\nsupramental and Ananda levels is transformed into
\nsomething that will bring down their powers into
\nthe silent self which its cessation leaves behind it. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nGold-red is the colour of the Supramental in the
\nphysical\u2014the poem describes Thought in the stage
\nwhen it is undergoing transformation and is about
\nto ascend into the Infinite above and disappear into
\nit. The ‘flame-word rune’ is the Word of the higher
\nInspiration, Intuition, Revelation which is the highest attainment of Thought. <\/font><\/p>\n

\n30-12-1936 <\/font><\/p>\n

\n
\nMental Overwind to Supermind<\/i> <\/font><\/p>\n

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

\n <\/p>\n

\nTHERE are many stages in the transition from mental
\novermind to supramentalised overmind and then
\nfrom that to supramental overmind and from there
\nto Supermind. Do not be in a hurry to say, "This is
\nthe last highest overmind." <\/font><\/p>\n

\nFebruary, 1934 <\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage – 129<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\n
\nSupramental Overmind<\/i> <\/font><\/p>\n

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

\n <\/p>\n

\nSUPRAMENTAL overmind is still overmind\u2014not a
\npart of the true Supermind. One cannot get into the
\ntrue Supermind (except in some kind of trance
\nor Samadhi) unless one has first objectivised the
\novermind Truth in life, speech, action, external
\nknowledge and not only experienced it in meditation
\nand inner experience. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nFebruary, 1934 <\/font><\/p>\n

\n
\nOvermind Power on Lower Planes<\/i> <\/font><\/p>\n

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

\n <\/p>\n

\nOVERMIND experience comes when one rises to the
\novermind plane and sees things as they are on that
\nplane or as they look to the consciousness which sees
\nthe other planes from the overmind view. When one
\nis in the mind, life or physical plane, then it is the
\novermind Influence that comes down and modifies
\nthe mind, life or physical workings in greater or less
\ndegree according to the possibilities or the thing to
\nbe done at the moment. It is not the sole power as
\nit is in its own plane but works under mental, vital or
\nphysical conditions. Its power is more subjective
\nthan objective\u2014it is easy for it to change Our view <\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage – 130<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\nand experience of the object and our knowledge
\nabout it, but not so easy for it to change the object
\nor its nature or circumstances or the outward state
\nof things in that plane. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nOctober, 1933 <\/font><\/p>\n

\n
\nMental and Overmental Intuition<\/i> <\/font><\/p>\n

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

\n <\/p>\n

\nMENTAL intuitive knowledge catches directly some
\naspect of the truth but without any completeness or
\ncertitude and the intuition is easily mixed with ordinary mental stuff that may be erroneous; in application it may easily be a half-truth or be so misinterpreted and misapplied as to become an error. Also,
\nthe mind easily imitates the intuition in such a way
\nthat it is difficult to distinguish between a true or a
\nfalse intuition. That is the reason why men of
\nintellect distrust the mental intuition and say that it
\ncannot be accepted or followed unless it is tested
\na and confirmed by the intellect. What comes from the
\novermind intuition has a light, a certitude, an effective force of Truth in it that the mental intuition at
\nits best even has not.<\/font><\/p>\n

\n9-7-1933 <\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage – 131<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\nIII. DESCENT AND TRANSFORMATION<\/b> <\/font><\/p>\n

\n
\nThe Descent<\/i><\/font>
\n<\/font><\/b><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\nTHE descent is that of the powers of the higher consciousness which is above the head. It usually
\ndescends from centre to centre till it has occupied the
\nwhole being. But at the beginning the action is very
\nvariable. It is only when the Peace from above has
\nnot only descended but established itself in the whole
\nsystem that there is a continuous action. The descent
\ncomes in order to transform the consciousness but
\nthe transformation takes time. It is not done all in
\na moment. <\/font><\/p>\n

\n11-8-1934 <\/font><\/p>\n

\n
\nPurpose of Descent<\/i> <\/font><\/p>\n

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

\nTHE Force descends for two things: <\/font><\/p>\n

\n(1) To transform the nature. <\/font><\/p>\n

\n(2) To carry on the work through the instrument.
\n<\/font><\/p>\n

\nAt first one is not conscious of either working, <\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage – 132<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\nafterwards one becomes conscious of the Force working but not of how it works. Finally, one becomes
\nconscious entirely and in detail. <\/font><\/p>\n

\n19-5-1934 <\/font><\/p>\n

\n
\nDescent of the Mothers Overhead Force<\/i> <\/font>
\n<\/b><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\nWHAT you feel streaming down must be the Mother’s
\noverhead Force. It flows usually from above the head
\nand works at first in the mind centres (head and
\nneck) and afterwards goes down into the chest and
\nheart and then through the movement of the whole
\nbody. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nIt is the effect of this working which you must be
\nfeeling in the head up to the shoulders. The Force
\nthat comes down from above is the one that works
\nto transform the, consciousness into that of a
\nhigher spiritual being. Before that the Mother’s Force
\nworks in the psychic, mental, vital and the physical
\nplane itself to support, purify and psychically change the consciousness. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage – 133<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\n
\nDescent from Above<\/i> <\/font><\/b><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\nIT is the universal experience of sadhaks that force
\nor consciousness or Ananda like this first comes from
\nabove\u2014or around\u2014and presses on or surrounds
\nthe head, then it pierces the skull as it were and fills
\nfirst the brain and forehead and then the whole head
\nand descends occupying each centre till the whole
\nsystem is full and replete. Of course there are, or can
\nbe, preliminary rushes occupying the whole body for
\na time or some part of the system most open and
\nleast resistant to the influence. <\/font><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\n
\nThe Quiet Flow and Big Descents,<\/i> <\/font><\/b><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\nTHE quiet flow is necessary for permeating the lower
\nparts. The big descents open the way and bring
\nconstant reinforcement and the culminating force at
\nthe end\u2014but the quiet flow is also needed. <\/font><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\n
\nDescent of Peace and Force<\/i> <\/font><\/b><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\nSOME have this swaying of the body when the Peace
\nor the Force begins to descend upon it, as it facilitates <\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage – 134<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\nfor if the reception. The swaying ceases usually when
\nthe body is accustomed to assimilate the descent. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nThe peace comes fully at the meditation time because the Mother’s concentration at that time brings
\ndown the power of the higher consciousness and one
\ncan receive it if one is able to do so. Once it begins
\nto come, it usually increases its force along with the
\nreceptivity of the sadhak until it can come at all
\ntimes and under all conditions and stay longer and
\nlonger till it is stable. The sadhak on his side has to
\nkeep his consciousness as quiet and still as possible to
\nreceive it. The Peace, Power, Light, Ananda of the
\nhigher spiritual consciousness are there in all veiled
\nabove. A certain opening upwards is needed for it to
\ndescend\u2014the quietude of the mind and a certain
\nwide concentrated passivity to the descending influence are the best conditions for the descent. <\/font><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\n
\nDescent of Knowledge from Overhead Planes<\/i> <\/font>
\n<\/b><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\nTHE knowledge comes from above like the light and
\npeace and everything else. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nAs the consciousness progresses, it comes from a
\nhigher and higher level. First it is the higher illumined mind that predominates, then the intuitive,<\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage – 135<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\nnext the overmind, lastly the supermind; but the
\nwhole consciousness has to be sufficiently transformed
\nbefore the supramental Knowledge can begin to come. <\/font><\/p>\n

\n15-10-1934 <\/font><\/p>\n

\n
\nDescent of Light<\/i><\/font>
\n<\/font><\/b><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\nTHERE are special forces of the Light and there is a
\nplay of them according to needs but the Light in
\nitself can be lived in as much as one can live in Peace
\nor Ananda. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nAs Peace and Ananda can pour through the whole
\nsystem and finally stabilise themselves so that they
\nare in the body, and the body and the whole being
\nare in them\u2014one might almost say, are that, are
\nthe Peace and Ananda\u2014so it can be with Light.
\nIt can pour into the body, make every cell luminous,
\nfix itself and surround on all sides in one luminous
\nmass of Light. <\/font><\/p>\n

\n18-10-1934 <\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage – 136<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\n
\nApproach of Higher Consciousness to the Subconscient<\/i> <\/font>
\n<\/b><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\nIT is the approach of the higher consciousness to the
\nsubconscient through the psychic and vital which
\nare the connecting links. Without the vital the action
\nwould not be complete, without the psychic it would
\nnot be possible. <\/font><\/p>\n

\n18-5-1934 <\/font><\/p>\n

\n
\nInitial Opening and Full Descent<\/i> <\/font><\/b><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\nTHE opening of the vital mind (or any part) does not
\nmean that the vital mind is absolutely open or wholly
\nconverted so that there shall never again be any darkness or ignorance or error
\nor resistance or anything else but the consciousness there. It only means
\nthat the higher consciousness is able to come down
\nthere and work and establish something of itself in
\nthat part. Each plane, one after the other, has to
\nopen initially in that way down to the physical. So
\nlong as this initial opening is not made in all the parts,
\nthere can be no complete and final descent of the
\nhigher consciousness anywhere. If the nervous being
\nand other physical parts are not open, even the <\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage – 137<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\nthinking mind cannot be finally open, for it can be
\naffected by resistance, darkness, etc. from below. If
\nthe vital mind is open, that does not mean that it is
\nopen so wholly that it is already divine and is not
\nfeeling pride or other wrong movements. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nAs for the nervous being, it is part of the physical
\nconsciousness, below the physical mind and not
\nabove it\u2014the nerves are part of the body. <\/font><\/p>\n

\n18-6-1934 <\/font><\/p>\n

\n
\nCondition of Complete Change<\/i> <\/font><\/b><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\nWITH the opening there must be the full self-giving
\nto what comes down which is the condition of complete change. It is the last stage that is the real difficulty and it is there that everybody stumbles about
\ntill if is overcome. <\/font><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\n
\nResults of the Descent of Higher Consciousness
\nin the Body<\/i> <\/font><\/b><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\nTHESE are some of the effects of the descent of the
\nhigher Consciousness into the most physical. It <\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage – 138<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\nbrings light, consciousness, force, Ananda into the
\ncells and all the physical movements. The body
\nbecomes conscious and vigilant and performs
\nthe right movements, obeying the higher will or else automatically by the force
\nof the consciousness that has come into it. It becomes more possible
\nto control the functions of the body and set right
\nanything that is wrong, to deal with illness and
\npain, etc. A greater control comes over the actions of the body and even over
\nhappenings to it from outside, e.g., minimising of accidents and small mishaps. The body becomes a more effective instrument
\nfor work. It becomes possible to minimise fatigue.
\nPeace, happiness, strength, lightness come in the
\nwhole physical system. These are the more obvious
\nand normal results which grow as the consciousness
\ngrows but there are as many others that are possible.
\nThere is also the unity with the earth-consciousness,
\nthe constant sense of the Divine in the physical, etc… <\/font><\/p>\n

\nIt is, of course, not easy to make the physical
\nentirely conscious in this way\u2014for it is the seat of
\nunconsciousness and obscurity and inertia\u2014but a
\npartial and sufficiently effective introduction of the
\nhigher Consciousness can be established as a basis
\nand the rest of the ground conquered as its force
\nincreases on the body. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage – 139<\/font><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

SECTION FIVE  THE CENTRAL PROCESS AND FUNDAMENTAL REALISATIONS FOR INTEGRAL YOGA I. PSYCHIC CONVERSION The Path   YOU know the three things on which the…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[99],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3757","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-02-second-series-1949","wpcat-99-id"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3757","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3757"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3757\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3757"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3757"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3757"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}