Sri Aurobindo's diary of his yogic practice between 1909 and 1927.
Sri Aurobindo's diary of his yogic practice between 1909 and 1927. This two-volume record of sadhana contains fairly regular entries between 1912 and 1920 and a few entries in 1909, 1911 and 1927. It also contains related materials Sri Aurobindo wrote about his practice of yoga during this period, including descriptions of the seven 'chatusthayas' (groups of four elements), which are the basis of the yoga of the 'Record'.
After a long interval, mainly end of December and January, devoted to poetry, there has been during February a steady Yogic activity.
Results.
(1) Siddhi of first chatusthaya finally complete. Momentary touches of asamata in asiddhi alone remain, but are being rapidly replaced by ananda, which is now not only the passive, but the active Brahmabhava occupying the whole conscious being.
(2) Second chatusthaya finally completed though still not quite perfect in devibhava (aishwaryabodha, attahasya). Dasya absolute except for some remnant of the habit of responsible effort in the will.
(3) Ananda Brahman complete. Brahmachatusthaya only now needs filling in; the uttama and the akshara are complete. The view of things, creatures etc as well as the sense of the containing Akasha is the Ananda view; = suddha, chidghana (vijnana), prema, kama. Some more perfect confirmation is all that is needed.
(4) Suddhi, mukti, bhukti complete except so far as they depend on the remainder of the unfinished siddhi. Subjectively they may be considered as complete; only the physical remains.
(5) Krishna Kali firmly established, but it has to be more developed.
(6) Vijnana is at last taking firm possession not only of Jnana, but of the telepathic mind. This movement is as complete today as it can be without the development of ideal T². T³ has reached a certain relative completeness—not satisfactory—and is making towards the satisfactory completeness and perfection which will turn it finally into T². Thought telepathy is still weak and all is obstinately obstructed. Rupasiddhi and Samadhi are successfully
Page 1021
obstructed and get little play; what there is, is fragmentary and unsatisfactory.
(7) Physical Ananda is developing (ahaituka) against obstruction. Ahaituka kama promises to fix itself. Sahaituka tivra is well advanced, and only imperfect by a remnant of the habit of interruption when rapid continuous excitation takes place, but this interruption no longer amounts to a suspension, much less a relapse. The rest is slowly pushing its advance, but not yet with any large effect. Arogya is still in the struggle. Saundarya and utthapana still obstructed from manifestation except in details.
T³ is definitely turning itself into vijnana. The final step must be to turn the intelligent mind from the recipient and judge which it is now into a channel, so that the ideality will no longer send its messages into the lower mind, but work in itself for itself, with itself as its own observer and judge. This is now being undertaken.
Hitherto it is the active activity of the intelligent mind which has had to be eliminated by a long progression of advances and relapses; now it is the passive activity which must also go. It is only in the tapas that the active activity still makes any noteworthy attempt to persist.
Lipi is now entirely idealised. It is attempting to stabilise perfectly its spontaneous legibilities. This stability is becoming more and more frequent, pronounced and ample; but when the tapas is not applied, the old confusion, indistinctness and evanescence still tend to predominate. The truth of the lipi is now continually being justified by results.
Trikaldrishti proper is developing (until now all has been really intelligent and telepathic); but all is being arranged first in the lower intuitional vijnana, not in the higher revelatory and inspirational ideality.
In physical siddhi Kamananda is progressing rapidly. Today for the first time there was settled unmoving ahaituka kamananda pervading the whole body, somasya hradah. This was at first only in the sitting posture,—owing to old habit it could not at first take hold while walking. But this also was confirmed in the afternoon;
Page 1022
but here there was a greater tendency to movement. Movement of ahaituka k. [kamananda] was established in the evening. All this depends still on smarana; but it tends to be constant and even when interrupted returns immediately at the call of smarana. The effect of the opposition is slight and transient. Sahaituka occurs now most frequently as a wave in the ahaituka.
Some action of rupasiddhi. The old forms are beginning to recur
Full force of constant ahaituka kamananda, standing. The only defect now is the dependence on smarana. In the afternoon full ahaituka k. lying, in antardarshi, over the borders of samadhi, united with thought.
Lipi increases in legibility and stability in antardarshi, where confusion was formerly the law. It is noticeable that as the samadhi gets deeper, vividness and stability increase.
The interpretation of the lipi is now being done entirely by the vijnana; but definite trikaldrishti with time, circumstance etc is still to seek, except as regards the sadhana.
In T³ there has been today a throw back to the intellectuality which is still attempting to judge what it receives and even indirectly to determine.
More old rupas tend to revive. Some weak hints of vishaya returning
The movement is now to get rid of the intellectual element altogether and allow only the intuitive vijnana to act.
Intense ahaituka ananda not dependent on smarana.
Script is now perfectly idealised, following in the footsteps of the vani.
Asmarana k. is now established; it is interrupted by exclusive thought-concentration, but is found again at once still in possession or else recovered at once, usually of itself without need of smarana, when the exclusive concentration ceases. This has now to be confirmed in complete continuity. It remains (1) to get rid of the interruption noted above, (2) to increase the intensities.
Page 1023
The lipi has reached a certain relative perfection of combined legibility[,] spontaneity and stability: but the old imperfect type still recurs where tapas is not applied. The sadhana has now to eliminate (1) confused or indistinct lipi; (2) incomplete expression. This done the rest is a matter of intensity of inspirational and revelatory speech, which is already beginning to become common.
Vijnana thought is now inspirational and revelatory as well as intuitional, but chiefly in the intuitional form.
The rule is established that there shall be first knowledge, then tapas in accordance with the will, reversing the former order in which tapas came first and then it was questioned whether it should be fulfilled.
Confusion is being got rid of in the lipi; indistinctness remains. It is only in the imperfect lipis that these things exist, but even there confusion is rapidly disappearing. The habit of intuitional interpretation, especially of suggestive lipi where it is most difficult, is being confirmed. In express lipi it is becoming the rule.
Rupasiddhi is manifesting the perfect as well as the developed forms; but for the former the old defects persist, (1) side manifestation, (2) want of stability, (3) want of variety—for it is almost entirely in the type form, though with variety in that narrow limit.
Continuity and intensity of ahaituka k. increase, but not yet sufficiently to conquer the interruption of exclusive forgetfulness.
Tapas on the mental plane is being abandoned; trikaldrishti also must be abandoned. It is finally seen even by the intelligence that there can be here no absolute certainty of foresight or result, since it is the play of partial, conflicting and mutually self-adjusting tendencies, forces, ideas, impulses. The telepathy of these things and the understanding of them is becoming wider, subtler, more accurate, though far yet from being perfect and complete. Meanwhile T³ is suspended. T² is postponed.
The hostile powers are attempting, as they are no longer able to prevent directly the continuity of the a. k. [ahaituka kamananda], to
Page 1024
turn it into a neutral vishaya with extremities of acuteness turning to discomfort, so that this may be a cause for its discontinuance. But the effect has been only temporary.
Variety is returning to the rupa, but only, as before, in the crude forms.
Samadhi after a long time recovered its activity. The ideal lipi chatusthaya is founded; vangmaya thought is freely active on all four states of the mentality; ideal perceptive thought has initiated itself in the three inner states as well as the one outer. The rest is still mental only; but there was the seed today for reading, narrative, dialogue. Rupa was active only in the vague chhayamaya. All this was done in a rush, by the exclusion, almost though not quite complete, of sleep. Henceforth sushupti must mean the Yogic sleep of the mind with wakefulness of the vijnana.
Lipi is advancing continuously and rapidly. It has become all intuitional lipi to the exclusion of the telepathic ideality—though prediction of material events may be an exception. It is becoming distinct in an orderly completeness, and now fluid in a legible and spontaneous legibility. This has not yet been universalised, but it is becoming a general rule.
Both sahaituka and ahaituka raudrananda are advancing. The burning touch is entirely anandamaya, except when it is so continued as to be intolerable, but even then in certain forms and up to a certain degree, a high degree, it remains anandamaya. There are signs of a similar progression, not yet so far advanced in the mârana—
Five forms of raudra—karshana, apakarshana, prakarshana, apikarshana, sankarshana
Strong relapse in T² still persists. Relapse means now stress, the attempt of the intelligence to attach certainty to the results of mental telepathy and tapas
Lipi is now seated in the antardarshi and bahirdarshi; but in the former it has still to conquer a natural tendency to instability, in the latter the large though now less insistent recurrence of the old imperfections.
Page 1025
Great strength of intuitional light in all the instruments of thought; imperfect only in T²
For the last two days ahaituka k. much subjected to violent suppression to its minimum point and easily interrupted, sahaituka obstructed. Smarana can always restore the former to action and generally but not always to intensity. It is mainly while walking that the adverse movement takes place. Nevertheless the intensity is increasing both in force and in general level and in power of sustained continuity. The habit of interruption is the one real difficulty in ahaituka k.
In rupa perfectly developed and perfect forms now show, especially the former, a certain power of stability, but they arise from long tratak on the living object as their excuse or starting-point, though not their real cause, and they are confined to the type form, chiefly in the three varieties most commonly watched.
A clear ideal (intuitional) trikaldrishti is now acting, but it has to be firmly distinguished from the less certain vision of the mental and pranic superplanes which sometimes come in its place and sometimes are mixed with it. Moreover it is isolated and gives only the general result without time, place or circumstance of intermediate event. Tapas siddhi is still manasic, but has greatly increased in force for general, and even though much less, for particular result. The power varies from 10° or 20° to 60°. A higher force is rare, except in moving objects, where it sometimes reaches 80°
Unity of Trikaldrishti (telepathic and intuitional) and tapas has been roughly accomplished. The siddhi is now attempting to get rid of the confusion which periodically overtakes the T² thought, owing to revival of intelligential turmoil and false stress.
Ahaituka k. is again continuous, ordinarily with a certain intensity.. the periods of exclusive forgetfulness find it still in the body; therefore it must be considered to have been there all along in a suppressed state.
In Samadhi the effects of yesterday were carried a little farther, in antardarshi and swapna of the lighter kind. Lipi especially made great progress to an easy, spontaneous and unsupported perfection
Page 1026
which it realised, but cannot always maintain against the old faults of confused manifestation, instability and vagueness and dimness. Some initial ideality and coherence was manifested in reading, dialogue and narrative, but none of them were well sustained. Tejomaya rupa in chhayamaya atmosphere, but evanescent. Some stability in some chhayamaya rupas, but not of long duration.
In afternoon work.
Spontaneous variety in crude rupa greater than ever before, but all in the crude crude. Perfect stability only in two or three type forms, but an initial stability is striving to fix itself in the others. The rupas are not yet always complete or perfect.
Vangmaya, vani, script suddenly taken up in full by the Ishwara.
Inspirational ideality begins in the lipi and is already as common as the intuitional. Lipi begins to justify its trikaldrishti—eg with regard to the situation in Roumania, viz that the principle had already been settled, to yield after a little velleity of resistance. It is notable that the telepathic interpretation of the situation was correct. The perfect lipi with well developed stability is becoming more normal.
The style of the thought vangmaya is becoming more and more illumined and inspirational.
The intuitional lipi is oftenest perfect with difficulty,—it has not except at its best an immediate stability, legibility, spontaneity; the inspirational has it normally; the slower manifestation is exceptional to it. It is even sometimes instantaneously perfect as if in the flash. It is now however taking up the intuitional lipi.
Free manifestation of chhayamaya rupa in swapna-samadhi at night; stable forms, scenes, etc, continuous action. Even in one case the supreme stability of vivid scene, but with a certain chanchalya of motion in the scene and appearing and disappearing of figures. Strong stability of reading in one case. It is to be noted that the old habitual difficulty of quadruped forms seems to have been overcome in all fields; wherever this has happened, there has come as a sign, as previously predicted in the lipi, the form of the Antelope.
Page 1027
For some time lipi kaushalya has been tending to develop: clear fiery and jyotirmaya lipi in antardarshi. In bahirdarshi tejomaya is common and dhumramaya occurs; varnamaya is rare and not varied in hue.
The intelligence is being pushed aside as the judge and recipient; it still persists, but is being dominated. It is the intuitive mind that is taking its place, while in the thought etc it is mostly the ideality itself that is the judge and recipient.
Lipi trikaldrishti is now being constantly fulfilled.
After taking up telepathies into the intuitive mind and observing there all the relative uncertain certainties of the mental, vital and physical planes, so as to give them their right incidence and root out false stress,—a rapid summing up of the movement of the last few days,—the intuitional trikaldrishti has founded itself. The intellectual action with regard to T³ is now only a habit-survival which must progressively be discouraged and eliminated.
In samadhi large masses of reading and a persistent attempt to decipher, but only brief clauses or phrases decipherable, separate or in the mass. These however, are becoming more common. Development is also proceeding in the other deficient parts.
The union of T² is becoming closer, but there is strong resistance to the development of the intuitional ideality. It is, however, progressing.
Full variety in crude rupa. The tendency to clear completeness and stability does not yet fix itself; and all is done against great obstruction.
Inspirational ideality entirely takes the place of intuitional in the vangmaya and establishes itself in the perceptive thought; only the lower telepathic thought is intuitional. The trikaldrishti is also now inspirational and tends to increase, but is still imitated and hampered in its development by false inspirational certainties of the mental, pranic and physical planes. This in the midst of a violent attack of the old intelligence.
Page 1028
Samadhi advances greatly. Long coherent narrative and reading and to a less extent dialogue, but still infirm and floating; the dream element predominates. Lipi is becoming more and more perfect in the antardarshi.
Some attempt to recover activity in the vishaya; still much obstructed as also rupa.
Shadow of athumia still prevents perfect continuity of the first chatusthaya, though it is unable to persist successfully. Purely in reference to siddhi and asiddhi.
Intuitional lipi of the inspirational type is giving way before the pure inspirational which is more perfect in substance and form. The inspired lipi has at its highest an element of direct revelatory sight
T² has been considerably extended, but there is still much that has to be taken up before it can be secure or complete in its extension.
Sahaituka Kama Ananda has for some time been reduced almost to nil, and ahaituka depressed so as only to be active on condition of attentive smarana and intense by tapas smarana. Ahaituka is now recovering its vina-smarana activity suspended only by exclusive concentration, and its intensity. Vaidyuta has been showing occasionally signs of development.
Perfect development of narrative and reading in Samadhi, coherent, long-continued and initially idealised. The old incoherence intervened only at the end and very slightly from time to time. Dialogue also, but on a lesser scale, yet with the same essential qualities. Long continuity is frequent in rupa of swapna samadhi but stability is rare, except sometimes a troubled and recurrent stability. Chhayamaya reigns. In antardarshi lipi alone is really active. Rupa is obstructed more even than in the jagrat.
Rupa and vishaya fail to advance beyond their former bounds, except that the type touches are frequently stable and long-continued and the general touch is coming out from sukshma just over the borders of sthula. The sthula effect of feeling is partly there, though the touch remains sukshma
Page 1029
Great force of delight in raudrananda even when pain is strongly present. There are exceptions.
Farther elimination of the attempt to decide things by intelligential telepathy. As a result the inspirational thought and T² are growing stronger.
Vishaya is resuming development, touch on the lines already indicated, taste and sight resuming their old gains, but hearing and smell are still obstructed, the first almost entirely, the latter partially.
Kamananda varies between the sasmarana and vinasmarana; the first is still more usual. Sahaituka is slowly recovering.
Brief attack (10 minutes) of the old form of asiddhi modified.
The inspirational ideality has completely taken up the lipi, the perceptive thought, the vangmaya: even the intuitional thought or lipi is inspirational in its substance and manner. Only the T² and the phantasy still admit the intellectual thought. In the former however both telepathy and tapas are becoming inspirational. Interpretation of lipi is following the same course.
Great play of rupa in the evening of all kinds, but imperfect except in crude and in the rest only when seen indirectly or sadhara (sthapatya) etc or in type forms. Stability is yet unattained and variety in the perfect forms is only promising to develop.
Sudden lipi perfect in form is becoming frequent.
The inspirational ideality continues to enlarge, in spite of a turmoil of recurrent intellectuality assailing the system from outside.
Idealising of samadhi continues. Long continuity of successive event increases in rupa, but stability is still only recurrent, except up to a certain point. There is much obstruction. In vishaya and rupa there are only small isolated gains; the obstruction prevents a secure basis being founded.
Page 1030
Shanti resisted all attacks today, sraddha faltered for a while. Dasya is deepening. Once hasya and sraddha are perfectly established, only the secure intensity of the chandibhava of devi will remain in the first two chatusthayas to be secured against all attack or temporary relapse. Dehashakti is however still subject to superficial failure; at bottom it remains.
T² is now successfully taking up all the old T³, this time with a certainty of rapid finality. The attempt to decide by other means than the inspirational vijnana, whether by knowledge or will, is not entirely eliminated, but is now far advanced, and prevails only in moments of forgetfulness. As yet it is only to the extent of the old T³ which was far from complete that this success obtains, but it is extending itself to the whole range of possible intelligent thought and will, to complete the brihat satyam ritam. Beyond that, however, there is the highest T², absolute, which has yet to manifest.
The defects in the strength of I and II [first and second chatusthayas] are being rapidly dealt with, except in dehashakti.
Raudrananda is raised to a high degree, but not yet absolute. Above a certain point, the first impression is pain, though ananda immediately intervenes and takes possession. In subsequent effects pain mingles, but the tendency is for ananda to prevail. The general receptive attitude of the physical being is anandamaya and this is rapidly prevailing.
The intelligence has not only lost, but renounced its right to judge; but it is still involuntarily the recipient in the lower mental system and even by habit in the thought, except when the latter acts as if by a sort of force in the inspirational ideality. The ideal action has not yet become natural to the whole being. The result was a temporary inability to act subjectively, a sunk quietude. No disturbance of samata, nor of dasya, but some of sraddha
Rupasiddhi continues to prepare its advance. Intermittent recurrence of variety in the crude is the only siddhi as yet well established.
Page 1031
The inspirational ideality has suddenly become natural to the system, especially in thought of all kinds. The defect lies still in vyapti which comes to the emotion, intelligence or vital feeling, and in decisive trikaldrishti which is sometimes ideal, sometimes mental. But this is being rapidly remedied.
Physical siddhi has for some time been left to itself and does not advance. It maintains itself, but with difficulty and lapses. Vina smarana Ananda especially has lost its hold and comes only intermittently after sasmarana.
Page 1032
Home
Sri Aurobindo
Books
Share your feedback. Help us improve. Or ask a question.