{"id":3758,"date":"2013-07-13T01:51:02","date_gmt":"2013-07-13T01:51:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/localhost\/?p=3758"},"modified":"2013-07-13T01:51:02","modified_gmt":"2013-07-13T01:51:02","slug":"11-divine-grace-personal-effort-and-gurus-help-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\/11-divine-grace-personal-effort-and-gurus-help-vol-02-second-series-1949","title":{"rendered":"-11_Divine Grace Personal Effort and Gurus Help.htm"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n\n\n
\n

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

\nDIVINE GRACE PERSONAL EFFORT AND GURU’S
\nHELP<\/font><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\nThree Possibilities in Sadhana<\/i> <\/font><\/p>\n

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

\n <\/p>\n

\nTHERE are three main possibilities for the
\n\u2014 sadhak\u2014(1) To wait on the Grace and rely
\non the Divine, (2) To do everything himself like
\nthe Adwaitin and the Buddhist, (3) To take the
\nmiddle path, go forward by aspiration and rejection
\netc. helped by the Force. <\/font><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\n
\nDivine Grace, Divine Compassion and
\nCosmic Law<\/i> <\/font><\/p>\n

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

\n <\/p>\n

\nI SHOULD like to say something about the Divine
\nGrace\u2014for you seem to think it should be something like a Divine Reason acting upon lines not
\nvery different from those of human intelligence.
\nBut it is not that. Also it is not a universal Divine
\nCompassion either, acting impartially on all who
\napproach it and acceding to all prayers. It does
\nnot select the righteous and reject the sinner. The
\nDivine Grace came to aid the persecutor (Saul
\nof Tarsus), it came to St. Augustine the profligate, <\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage – 255<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\nto Jagai and Madhai of infamous fame, to Bilwamangal and many others whose conversion might
\nwell scandalise the puritanism of the human moral
\nintelligence, but it can come to the righteous also\u2014
\ncuring them of their self-righteousness and leading
\nto a purer consciousness beyond these things. It
\nis a power that is superior to any rule, even to
\nthe Cosmic Law\u2014for all spiritual seers have distinguished between the Law and Grace. Yet it is,
\nnot indiscriminate\u2014only it has a discrimination.
\nof its own which sees things and persons and the
\nright times and seasons with another vision than.
\nthat of the Mind or any other normal Power. A
\nstate of Grace is prepared in the individual often
\nbehind thick veils by means not calculable by the
\nmind and when the state of Grace comes, then the
\nGrace itself acts. There are these three powers: (1) The Cosmic Law, of Karma or what else; (2) the Divine Compassion acting on as many as
\nit can reach through the nets of the Law and giving
\nthem their chance; (3) the Divine Grace which
\nacts more incalculably but also more irresistibly
\nthan the others. The only question is whether there
\nis something behind all the anomalies of life which
\ncan respond to the call and open itself with whatever
\ndifficulty till it is ready for the illumination of the
\nDivine Grace\u2014and that something must be not <\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage – <\/font>256<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\na mental and vital movement but an inner somewhat which can well be seen by the inner eye. If
\nit is there and when it becomes active in front, then
\nthe Compassion can act, though the full action of
\nthe Grace may still wait attending the decisive
\ndecision or change; for this may be postponed to
\na future hour, because some portion or element
\n\u00abof the being may still come between, something
\nthat is not yet ready to receive. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nBut why allow anything to come in the way between you and the Divine, any idea, any incident?
\n.When you are in full aspiration and joy, let nothing
\ncount, nothing be of any importance except the
\nDivine and your aspiration. If one wants the
\nDivine quickly, absolutely, entirely, that must be
\nthe spirit of approach, absolute, all-engrossing,
\nmaking that the one point with which nothing else must interfere. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nWhat value have mental ideas about the Divine,
\nideas about what he should be, how he should act,
\nhow he should not act\u2014they can only come in the
\nway. Only the Divine himself matters. When your
\nconsciousness embraces the Divine, then you can
\nknow what the Divine is; not before. Krishna is
\nKrishna, one does not care what he did or did not
\ndo: only to see him, meet him, feel the Light, the
\nPresence, the Love and Ananda is what matters. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage – 257 <\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\nSo it is always for the spiritual aspiration\u2014-it is the
\nlaw of the spiritual life. <\/font><\/p>\n

\n8-5-1934 <\/font><\/p>\n

\n
\nThe Truth of Divine Grace<\/i> <\/font><\/b><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\nTHERE can be no doubt about the Divine Grace.
\nIt is perfectly true also that if a man is sincere, he
\nwill reach the Divine. But it does not follow that
\nhe will reach immediately, easily and without delay.
\nYour error is there, to fix for God a term, five years,
\nsix years, and doubt because the effect is not yet
\nthere. A man may be centrally sincere and yet there
\nmay be many things that have to be changed in him
\nbefore realisation can begin. His sincerity must enable
\nhim to persevere always\u2014for it is a longing for the
\nDivine that nothing can quench, neither delay nor
\ndisappointment nor difficulty nor anything else. <\/font><\/p>\n

\n26-12-1934 <\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage – 258]<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\n
\nThe Mothers Help and Grace<\/i> <\/font><\/p>\n

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

\n <\/p>\n

\nTHE Mother’s help is always there for those who are
\nwilling to receive it. But you must be conscious of .your vital nature, and the vital must consent to
\nchange. It is no use merely observing that it is
\nunwilling and that, when thwarted, it creates
\ndepression in you. Always the vital nature is not at
\nfirst willing and always when it is thwarted or asked
\nto change, it creates this depression by its revolt or refusal of consent. You have to insist till it recognises
\nthe truth and is willing to be transformed and to
\naccept the Mother’s help and Grace. If the mind is
\nsincere and the psychic aspiration complete and true,
\nthe vital can always be made to change. <\/font><\/p>\n

\n15-7-1932 <\/font><\/p>\n

\n
\nFaith in the Victory of Divine Grace<\/i> <\/font><\/p>\n

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

\n <\/p>\n

\nYou must throw all that away. Such depression
\ncan make you shut to what Mother is giving you.
\nThere is absolutely no good reason for such an
\nattitude. The existence of difficulties is a known
\nthing in Yoga. That is no reason for questioning the
\nfinal victory or the effectuality of the Divine Grace. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage – 259<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\nAction of Divine Grace<\/i> <\/font><\/p>\n

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

\n <\/p>\n

\n"THE ordinary action of the Divine is a constant
\nintervention within the actual law of things"\u2014that
\nmay or may not be but is not usually called the
\nDivine Grace. The Divine Grace is something not
\ncalculable, not bound by anything the intellect
\ncan fix as a condition,\u2014though ordinarily some
\ncall, aspiration, intensity of the psychic being
\ncan awaken it, yet it acts sometimes without any
\napparent cause even of that kind. <\/font><\/p>\n

\n1-6-1933 <\/font><\/p>\n

\n
\nWorking of Grace<\/i> <\/font><\/p>\n

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

\n <\/p>\n

\nIT is not indispensable that the Grace should work
\nin a way that the human mind can understand,
\nit generally doesn’t: it works in its own "mysterious"
\nway. At first usually it works behind the veil,
\npreparing things, not manifesting. Afterwards it
\nmay manifest, but the sadhak does not understand
\nvery well what is happening; finally, when he is
\ncapable of it, he both feels and understands or at
\nleast begins to do so. Some feel and understand <\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage – 260<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\nfrom the first or very early; but that is not the
\nordinary case. <\/font><\/p>\n

\n28-12-1934 <\/font><\/p>\n

\nStrength\u2014Sincerity\u2014Grace<\/i> <\/font><\/p>\n

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

\n <\/p>\n

\nTHERE is nothing unintelligible in what I say about strength and Grace. Strength has a value for spiritual realisation, but to say that it can be done by strength only and by no other means is a violent
\nt exaggeration. Grace is not an invention, it is a fact
\nof spiritual experience. Many who would be considered as mere nothings by the wise and strong have
\nattained by Grace. Illiterate, without mental power
\nor training, without strength of character and will,
\nthey have yet aspired and suddenly or rapidly grown
\ninto spiritual realisation, because they had faith or
\nbecause they were sincere. I do not see why these
\nfacts which are facts of spiritual history and of quite ordinary spiritual experience should be discussed
\nand denied and argued as if they were mere matters
\nof speculation. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nStrength, if it is spiritual, is a power for spiritual
\nrealisation; a greater power is sincerity; a greatest <\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage – <\/font>261<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\npower of all is Grace. I have said times without
\nnumber that if a man is sincere, he will go through
\nin spite of long delay and overwhelming difficulties.
\nI have repeatedly spoken of the Divine Grace. I
\nhave referred any number of times to the line of
\nthe Gita: <\/font><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\n"I will deliver you from all sin and evil,
\ndo not grieve."*<\/font><\/p>\n

\n27- l<\/i> 2-1934 <\/font><\/p>\n

\n
\nTapasya and Grace<\/i> <\/font><\/p>\n

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

\n <\/p>\n

\nWHAT Brahmananda says about tapasya is, of course,
\ntrue. If one is not prepared for labour and tapasya,
\ncontrol of the mind and vital, one cannot demand
\nbig spiritual gains\u2014for the mind and vital will always find tricks and excuses for prolonging their own
\nreign, imposing their likes and dislikes and staving
\noff the day when they will have to become obedient
\ninstruments and open channels of the soul and
\nspirit. Grace may sometimes bring undeserved or <\/font><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\n* aham team sarvapāpebhyo moksayisyami mā swah.,<\/i> <\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage – 262<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\napparently undeserved fruits, but one can’t demand
\nGrace as a right and privilege\u2014for then it would
\nnot be Grace. As you have seen, one can’t claim that
\none has only to shout and the answer must come.
\nBesides, I have always seen that there has been
\nreally a long unobserved preparation before the
\nGrace intervenes, and also, after it has intervened,
\none has still to put in a good deal of work to keep
\nand develop what one has got\u2014-as it is in all other things until there is the complete siddhi. Then of
\ncourse labour finishes and one is in assured possession. So tapasya of one kind and another is not
\navoidable. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nYou are right again about the imaginary obstacles …. It is why we always express depreciation
\nof mental constructions and vital formations\u2014
\nbecause they are the defence-works mind and vital throw up against their capture
\nby the Divine. However, the first thing is to become conscious of all that
\nas you have now become,\u2014the secret is to be firm
\nin knocking it all down and making a tabula rasa,
\n<\/i>a foundation of calm, peace, happy openness for the
\ntrue building. <\/font><\/p>\n

\n3-11-1935 <\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage – 263<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\n
\nReliance and Effort<\/i><\/font>
\n<\/font><\/p>\n

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

\n <\/p>\n

\nONE must rely on the Divine and yet do some
\nenabling sadhana\u2014the Divine gives the fruit not
\nby the measure of the sadhana but by the measure
\nof the soul’s sincerity and its aspiration. (I mean
\nby soul’s sincerity its yearning after the Divine and
\nits aspiration towards the higher life.) Also, worrying
\ndoes no good\u2014"I shall be this, I shall be that, what
\nshall I be?" Say: "I am ready to be not what I
\nwant but what the Divine wants me to be,"’\u2014all the
\nrest should go on that base. <\/font><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\n
\nEffort and Passivity<\/i> <\/font><\/p>\n

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

\n <\/p>\n

\nWELL, that is the idea in Yoga\u2014that by a right
\npassivity one opens oneself to something greater than
\none’s limited self, and effort is only useful for getting
\nthat condition. Even in the ordinary life the individual is only an instrument in the hands of a universal Energy, though his ego takes the credit of all he
\ndoes. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage – 264 <\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\n
\nAction of Spiritual Force\u2014-Guru’s Help<\/i> <\/font><\/p>\n

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

\n <\/p>\n

\nTHE action of the Force does not exclude tapasya,
\nconcentration and the need of sadhana. Its action
\nrather comes as an answer or a help to these things.
\nIt is true that it sometimes acts without them; it
\nvery often makes a response in those who have not
\nprepared themselves and do not seem to be ready,
\nBut it does not always or usually act like that, nor
\nis it a sort of magic that acts in the void or Without
\nany process. Nor is it a machine that acts in the
\nsame way on everybody or in all conditions
\nand circumstances; it is not a physical but a
\nspiritual Force and its action cannot be reduced
\nto rules.<\/font><\/p>\n

\nAbout the limitation of the power of the Guru to
\nthat of a teacher who shows the way but cannot
\nhelp or guide, that is the conception of certain paths
\nof Yoga such as the pure Adwaitin and the Buddhist
\nwhich say that you must rely upon yourself and that
\nno one can help you; but even the pure Adwaitin
\ndoes in fact rely upon the Guru and the chief mantra
\nof Buddhism insists on sharanam<\/i> to Buddha. For
\nether paths of sadhana, especially those which, like
\nthe Gita, accept the reality of the individual soul
\nas an "eternal portion" of the Divine or which
\nbelieve that Bhagawan and the bhakta are both real, <\/font><\/p>\n

\n. Page – 265<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\nthe help of the Guru has always been relied upon
\nas an indispensable aid. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nI don’t understand the objection to the validity
\nof Vivekananda’s experience: it was exactly the
\nrealisation which is described in the Upanishads as
\na supreme experience of the Self. It is not a fact
\nthat an experience gained in samadhi cannot be
\nprolonged into the waking state. <\/font><\/p>\n

\n28-5-1945 <\/font><\/p>\n

\n
\nHelp of the Impersonal Brahman<\/i> <\/font><\/p>\n

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

\n <\/p>\n

\nYou speak of the Impersonal as if it were a Person.
\nThe Impersonal is not He, it is It. How can an It
\nguide or help? The Impersonal Brahman is inactive,
\naloof, indifferent, not concerned with what happens
\nin the universe. Buddha’s Permanent is the same.
\nWhatever impersonal Truth or Light there is, you
\nhave to find it, use it, do what you can with it. It
\ndoes not trouble itself to hunt after you. It is the
\nBuddhist idea that you must do everything for yourself..,. <\/font><\/p>\n

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

\nPage – 266<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\n
\nNeed of Guru<\/i> <\/font><\/p>\n

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

\n <\/p>\n

\nYES, it is a defect in the vital, a lack of will to
\ndiscipline. One has to learn from the master and act
\naccording to his instructions because the master; knows the subject and how it is to be learnt\u2014just
\nas in spiritual things one has to follow a Guru who
\nhas the knowledge and knows the way. If one learns
\nall by oneself, the chances are that one will learn
\nall wrong. What is the use of a freedom to leanr
\nwrongly? <\/b> Of course, if the pupil is more intelligent
\nthan the master, he will learn more than the master, just as a great spiritual capacity may arrive at
\nrealisation which the Guru has not\u2014but even so the
\ncontrol and discipline in the early stages is indispensable. <\/font><\/p>\n

\n22-12-1933 <\/font><\/p>\n

\n
\nFidelity to Gum\u2014Faith and Belief<\/i><\/font>
\n<\/font><\/p>\n

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

\n <\/p>\n

\nALL true Gurus are the same, the one Guru, because
\nall are the one Divine. That is a fundamental and
\nuniversal truth. But there is also a truth of difference; the Divine dwells in different personalities
\n<\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage – 267<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\nwith different minds, teachings, influences so that
\nhe may lead different disciples with their special
\nneed, character, destiny by different ways to the
\nrealisation. Because all Gurus are the same Divine,
\nit does not follow that the disciple does well if he
\nleaves the one meant for him to follow another.
\nFidelity to the Guru is demanded of every disciple, according to the Indian tradition. "All are the
\nsame" is a spiritual truth, but you cannot, convert it
\nindiscriminately into action; you cannot deal with all persons in the same way because they are the
\none Brahman: if one did, the result pragmatically
\nwould be an awful mess. It is a rigid mental logic that makes the difficulty but in spiritual matters
\nmental logic easily blunders; intuition, faith, a
\nplastic spiritual reason are here the only guides. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nAs for faith, faith in the spiritual sense is not a
\nmental belief which can waver and change. It can
\nwear that form in the mind, but that belief is not
\nthe faith itself, it is only the external form. Just as
\nthe body, the external form, can change but the
\nspirit remains the same, so it is here. Faith is a certitude in the soul which
\ndoes not depend on reasoning, on this or that mental idea, on circumstances, on this or that passing condition of the mind or the
\nvital or the body. It may be hidden, eclipsed, may even seem to be quenched, but it appears again after <\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage – 268<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\nthe storm or the eclipse; it is seen burning still in the
\nsoul when one has thought that it was extinguished
\nfor ever. The mind may be a shifting sea of doubts and yet that faith may be there within and, if so, it
\nwill keep even the doubt-racked mind in the way so
\nthat it goes on in spite of itself towards its destined
\ngoal. Faith is a spiritual certitude of the spiritual,
\nthe divine, the soul’s ideal, something that clings to
\nthat even when it is not fulfilled in life, even when the immediate facts or the persistent circumstances
\nseem to deny it. This is a common experience in
\nthe life of the human being; if it were not so, man
\nwould be the plaything of a changing mind or a sport.
\nof circumstances. <\/font><\/p>\n

\n8-10-1945 <\/font><\/p>\n

\n
\nModern Mind and Yoga\u2014Defects of the
\nHuman Gum<\/i> <\/font><\/p>\n

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

\n <\/p>\n

\nIt does not strike me that K’s letters are
\nadmirable 
\nas an aper\u00e7u<\/i> of current thoughts and general tendencies; it was rather
\nhis power to withdraw so completely from these thoughts and tendencies and look
\nfrom a new (for him) and abiding source of <\/font><\/p>\n

Page – 269<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\nknowledge that impressed me as admirable. If he
\nhad remained interested and in touch with them, I
\ndo not suppose he would have done better with them
\nthan Remain Rolland or another. But he has gone
\nto the Yoga-view from them, the summit-view, and
\nit is the readiness with which he has been able to do
\nit that struck me. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nI would explain his progressing so far not by his
\nown superiority in the sense of a general fitness for
\nYoga as by the quickness and completeness with
\nwhich he has taken inwardly the attitude of the
\nBhakta and the disciple. That is a rare achievement
\nfor a modern mind, be he European or ‘educated’
\nIndian, for the modern mind is analytic, dubitative,
\ninstinctively ‘independent’ even when it wants to be
\notherwise; it Fields itself back and hesitates in front
\nof the Light and Influence that comes to it; it does
\nnot plunge into it with a simple directness, crying,
\n"Here I am, ready to throw from me all that was
\nmyself or seemed to be, if so I can enter into Thee; remake my consciousness into the Truth in Thy way,
\nthe way of the Divine." There is something in us
\nthat is ready for it, but there is this element that intervenes and makes a curtain of non-receptivity; I know
\nby my own experience with myself and others how
\nlong it can make a road that could never, perhaps
\nfor us who seek the entire truth, have been short and <\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage – <\/font>270<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\neasy. But still, we might have spared many wanderings and standstills and recoils and detours. All
\nthe more I admire the ease with which K seems to
\nhave surmounted this formidable obstacle. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nI do not know if his Guru falls short in any respect,
\nbut with the attitude he has taken, the deficiencies,
\nif any, do not matter. It is not the human defects of the Guru that can stand in the way when there is
\nthe psychic opening, confidence and surrender. The
\nGuru is the channel or the representative or the
\nmanifestation of the Divine, according to the measure
\nof his personality or his attainment; but whatever
\nhe is, it is to the Divine that one opens in opening to
\nhim; and if something is determined by the power of
\nthe channel, more is determined by the inherent
\nand intrinsic attitude of the receiving consciousness,
\nan element that comes out in the surface mind as
\nsimple trust or direct unconditional self-giving, and
\nonce that is there, the essential things can be gained
\neven from one who seems to others than the disciple
\nan inferior spiritual source, and the rest will grow up in the sadhak of itself by the Grace of the Divine,
\neven if the human being in the Guru cannot give it.
\nIt is this that K appears to have done perhaps from
\nthe first; but in most nowadays this attitude seems
\nto come with difficulty after much hesitation and
\ntrouble. In my own case I owe the first decisive turn <\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage – <\/font>271<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\nof my inner life to one who was infinitely inferior to
\nme in intellect, education, capacity and by no means
\nspiritually perfect or supreme; but having seen a
\npower behind him and decided to turn there for help,
\nI gave myself entirely into his hands and followed
\nwith an automatic passivity the guidance. He himself was astonished and said to others that he had
\nnever met anyone before who could surrender himself so absolutely and without reserve or question to
\nthe guidance of the helper. The result was a series
\nof transmuting experiences of such a radical character
\nthat he was unable to follow and had to tell me to
\n<\/i>give myself up in future to the Guide within, with
\nthe same completeness of surrender as I had shown,
\nto the human channel. I give this example to show
\nhow these things work; it is not in the calculated way
\nthe human reason wants to lay down, but by a more
\nmysterious and greater law. <\/font><\/p>\n

\n23-3-1932 <\/font><\/p>\n

\n
\nImperfections in the Guru<\/i> <\/font><\/p>\n

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

\n <\/p>\n

\nONE can have a guru inferior in spiritual capacity
\n(to oneself or to other gurus) carrying in him many <\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage – <\/font>2?2<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\nhuman imperfections and yet, if you have the faith,
\nthe bhakti, the right spiritual stuff, you can contact
\nthe Divine through him, attain to spiritual experiences, to spiritual realisation, even before the guru
\nhimself. Mark the "If", for that proviso is necessary; it is not every disciple who can do that with every
\nguru. From a humbug you can get nothing but his
\nhumbuggery. He must have something in him which
\nmakes the contact With the Divine possible, something which works even if he is not in his outer mind
\nquite conscious of its action. If there is nothing at all
\nspiritual in him, he is not a guru, only a pseudo.
\nUndoubtedly there can be considerable differences
\nof spiritual realisation between one guru and
\nanother; but much depends on the inner relation
\nbetween guru and shishya.<\/i> One can go to a very great; spiritual man and get nothing or only a little front
\nhim; one can go to a man of less spiritual capacity
\nand get all he has to give\u2014and more. The causes
\nof this disparity are various and subtle; I need not
\nexpand on them here. It differs with each man. I
\nbelieve the guru is always ready to give what can be
\ngiven, if the disciple can receive. If he refuses to
\nreceive or behaves inwardly or outwardly in such a
\nway as to make reception impossible or if he is not
\nsincere or takes up the wrong attitude, then things
\nbecome: difficult, But if one is sincere and faithful <\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage – 273 <\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\nand has the right attitude and if the guru is a true
\nguru, then after whatever time, it will come. <\/font><\/p>\n

\n9-5-1943 <\/font><\/p>\n

\n
\nSpiritual Realisation
\nand Perfection of Outer Mature<\/i> <\/font><\/p>\n

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

\n <\/p>\n

\nTHE Yogi arrives at a sort of division in his being
\nin which the inner Purusha, fixed and calm, looks
\nat the perturbations of the outer man as one looks
\nat the passions of an unreasonable child; that once
\nfixed, he can proceed afterwards to control the outer
\nman also; but a complete control of the outer man
\nneeds a long and arduous tapasya. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nBut even from a siddha Yogi you cannot always
\nexpect a perfect perfection; there are many who
\ndo not even care for the perfection of the outer
\nnature which cannot be held as a disproof of their
\nrealisation and experience. If you so regard it, you
\nhave to rule out of court the greater number of
\nYogis of the past and the Rishis of the old time also. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nI own that the ideal of my Yoga is different, but
\nI cannot bind by it other spiritual men and their
\nachievements and discipline. My own ideal is transformation <\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage – 274<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\nof the outer nature, perfection as perfect as it can be. But you cannot say that those who
\nhave not achieved it or did not care to achieve it had no spirituality. Beautiful conduct\u2014not politeness which is an outer thing, however valuable\u2014-but
\nI beauty founded upon a spiritual realisation of unity and harmony projected into life, is certainly part of the perfect harmony. <\/font><\/p>\n

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

\n
\nPerfection on the Spiritual Path<\/i> <\/font><\/p>\n

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

\n <\/p>\n

\nBUT when on earth were politeness and good society
\nmanners considered as a part or a test of spiritual
\nexperience or true yogic siddhi? It is no more a
\ntest than the capacity of dancing well or dressing  nicely. Just as there are very good and kind men
\nwho are boorish and rude in their manners, so
\nthere may be very spiritual men (I mean here by
\nspiritual men those who have had deep spiritual
\nexperiences) who have no grasp over physical life
\nor action (many intellectuals too, by the way, are
\nlike that) and are not at all careful about their
\nmanners. I suppose I myself am accused of rude <\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage – 275<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\nand arrogant behaviour because I refuse to see
\npeople, do not answer letters, and a host of other misdemeanours. I have heard of a famous recluse
\nwho threw stones at anybody coming to his retreat
\nbecause he did not want disciples and found no
\nother way of warding off the flood of candidates.
\nI at least would hesitate to pronounce that such, people had no spiritual life
\nor experience. Certainly,
\nI prefer that sadhaks should be reasonably considerate towards each other, but that is for the
\nrule of collective life and harmony, not as a siddhi of
\nthe Yoga or an indispensable sign of inner experience. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nYou write as if the moment one had any kind of spiritual experience or realisation, one must at
\nonce become a perfect person without defects or
\nweaknesses. That is to make a demand which it
\nis impossible to satisfy and it is to ignore the fact
\nthat spiritual life is a growth and not a sudden and
\ninexplicable miracle. No sadhak can be judged as
\nif he were already a siddha Yogi, least of all those
\nwho have only travelled a quarter or less of a very
\nlong path. Even great Yogis do not claim perfection and you cannot say that because they are not
\nabsolutely perfect, therefore their spirituality is
\nfalse or of no use to the world. There are, besides
\nall kinds of spiritual men: some who are content
\nwith spiritual experience and do not seek after an <\/font><\/p>\n

\n.Page – 276<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\noutward perfection or progress, some who are saints,
\nothers who do not seek after sainthood, others who are content to live in the
\ncosmic consciousness in
\ntouch or union with the All but allowing all kinds
\nof forces to fly through them, e.g. in the typical
\ndescription of the Paramhansa. The ideal I put
\nbefore our Yoga is one thing but it does not bind
\nall spiritual life and endeavour. The spiritual life
\nis not a thing that can be formulated in a rigid. definition or bound by a fixed
\nmental rule; it is a
\nvast field of evolution, an immense kingdom potentially larger than the other kingdoms below it,
\nwith a hundred provinces, a thousand types, stages,
\nforms, paths, variations of the spiritual ideal,
\ndegrees of spiritual advancement. It is from the,
\nbasis of this truth that things regarding spirituality
\nand its seekers must be judged, if they are to be judged with knowledge. It is
\nonly by so understanding it that one can understand it truly, either
\nin its past or in its future or put in their place the
\nspiritual men of the past and the present or relate
\nthe different ideals, stages, etc. thrown up in the
\nspiritual evolution of the human being. <\/font><\/p>\n

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

\nPage – 277<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\n
\nEssence of Surrender<\/i> <\/font><\/b><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\nTHE essence of surrender is to accept whole-heartedly
\nthe influence and the guidance when the joy and
\npeace come down, to accept them without question or cavil and let them grow; when the Force
\nis felt at work, to let it without opposition, when the Knowledge is given, to
\nreceive and follow it, when the Will is revealed, to make oneself its
\ninstrument. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nThe Divine can lead, he does not drive. There
\nis an internal freedom permitted to every mental
\nbeing called ‘man’ to assent or not to assent to
\nthe Divine leading: how else can any real spiritual
\nevolution be done? <\/font><\/p>\n

\n13-5-1933 <\/font><\/p>\n

\n
\nFreedom in Yoga<\/i> <\/font><\/b><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\nEACH person has his own freedom of choice up to
\na certain point\u2014unless he makes the full surrender
\n\u2014and as he uses the freedom, has to take the
\nspiritual or other consequences. The help can only
\nbe offered, not imposed. Silence, absence of frank. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage – 278<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\nconfession, means a desire in the vital to go its own
\nway. When there is no longer concealment, when
\nthere is the physical self-opening to the Divine,
\nthen the Divine can intervene. <\/font><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\n
\nConfession to Guru<\/i> . <\/font><\/b><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\nWHEN one takes sincerely to surrender, nothing
\nmust be concealed that is of any importance for
\nthe life of the sadhana. Confession helps to purge
\nthe consciousness of hampering elements and it
\nclears the inner air and makes for a closer and more
\nintimate and effective relation between the Guru
\nand the disciple. <\/font><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\n
\nEgoistic and Psychic Shyness<\/i> <\/font><\/b><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\nAs for shyness, there are two kinds: one is egoistic,
\nbeing ashamed of expressing the Truth or showing
\nallegiance to it in ways which would not be understood by others, the other is a certain reserve, an <\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage – 279<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\nunwillingness to expose one’s deeper feelings to
\nthe gaze of others, the wish to keep sacred and secret
\nthe relations of love with the Divine\u2014that is a
\npsychic feeling. <\/font><\/p>\n

\n16-3-1933 <\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage – 280<\/font><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

SECTION NINE DIVINE GRACE PERSONAL EFFORT AND GURU’S HELP   Three Possibilities in Sadhana   THERE are three main possibilities for the \u2014 sadhak\u2014(1) To…<\/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-3758","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\/3758","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=3758"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3758\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3758"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3758"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3758"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}