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'.
The discontinuation of the record for about two months marks a time when the Yoga was slowly proceeding against a strong obstruction in the physical consciousness. At no time did this obstruction amount to a gap in the process of the Yoga, a complete discontinuity (of more than hours) or a relapse in the old manner. It was not an arrest, but a retardation of the rate of the progress, and due principally to the necessity of an assimilation of steps rapidly taken, a dealing with intellectual remnants and an action on the last serious assault of the unrepentant and unconvinced environing opposition. There was a quickening at the end of May and the first six days of June has each been marked by a great particular step in advance; today there is a rapid but sure general advance, the result of the more or less covert or impeded work of April-May and its weakening of the obstacles.
Position.
Samata, complete, both positive and negative or rather active and passive. There only remains an inequality in the active ananda and an occasional proffer of doubt and depression which does not take any body in the chitta (effleure seulement pendant le quart d'un second). The doubt is only about the body and the karma and is falling away from the fixity of the ҫraddha.
Shakti. Complete, but awaiting for its fuller activities the perfection of the vijnana and the shârira and Brahma-darshana. The most sensible progress has been in the two weak parts, the tertiary dasya and ҫraddha. The Ishwara is now felt in all the activities of the Shakti, though not with an entire completeness because there
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is still an intrusive action of the ganas. The tertiary dasya has replaced the earlier stages, but it is of two kinds, dasya to the ganas moving the Prakriti, and dasya to the Ishwara controlling, moving and embodying himself in the Shakti. The ҫraddha in the Bhagavan is complete and in the power of the Shakti to the extent of the will to accomplish of the Ishwara. The personal Shakti is felt to be insufficient, but it is becoming one with the sufficient universal Shakti. Faith in the sharira and karma is qualified only by the doubt as to the prolongation of the life and the extent of the karma. The first is only a strong external suggestion getting its strength from the abnormal persistence of the digestive roga; the second is a real restriction of the ҫraddha, but it is rather questioning now than negative. The ishwaribhava is still qualified in intensity and fullness.
Vijnana. The conversion of the thought, jnana, to the vijnana form is now complete. The base is still the revelatory intuition, but the representative logis[tis] has penetrated the major part of its action and the interpretative often intervenes and prepares the normality of the highest logistis. Telepathies are now idealised and of a great but not always perfect correctness. Telepathic tapas is now vijnanamaya. The decisive T² at present emerges from the idealised telepathies (mental perceptions of event, force, tendency and possibility) and the idealised telepathic (old mental) tapas. At times there is the independent T² of the supreme logistis. Telepathies are now a part of trikaldrishti and amount to a drishti of the present, and often imply or hold in their action the drishti of the immediate future. At the same time none of these things have an absolute perfection, and decisive tapas is not as yet very strong, organised or effective. Prakamya of feeling and sensation is strong, but incomplete and intermittent; prakamya of thought intermittent and feeble. Vyapti is more effective. Action and knowledge at a distance is still unorganised and imperfectly effective. Rupa is still obstructed in the physical akasha, but confirmed in a primary type stability; vishaya not yet restored to action; samadhi firmly idealised, but limited by fantasy, instability and nidra. There is still great incoherence in the sushupta swapna lipi.
Sharira progresses in the Ananda which after some intermission varied by an unstable but more spontaneous recurrence is
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recovering continuity dependent on smarana, but this continuity is now for the most part spontaneous and has not to be maintained, though sometimes assisted, by tapas. The fragmentary rogas persist and cannot yet be totally expelled from the system, but the action of the Tapas on them is growing stronger. Only the central rogas are obstinate in possession, the rest only in persistent recurrence. The digestive fluctuates between almost complete intermission and a virulent, but now much less vehemently effective recurrence. There is no visible action of utthapana or saundarya.
Brahma. All is now fixed in the vijnana brahma darshana with an occasional emergence of the undertone of intuitive manasa which is [immediately]1 penetrated by and taken up into vijnana. In the V.B. [Vijnana Brahma] Ananda is organising itself, vijnana Ananda informed with the Ahaituka and manifesting in its own kind the Prema and Kama Ananda darshana. These two in the vision of the object are now vijnanamaya (fusion of intuitive + higher logistis or only the latter), in the subject, the chitta, twofold without sufficient fusion of the two simultaneous forms, but the higher logistis is growing on the chitta..
Samadhi. The pressure of afternoon nidra as shown in today's samadhi and prepared by the last few days' progress no longer alters the character of the swapna, nor does it amount to entire obscuration of the drashtâ, but only to a weight on the clarity of the visual consciousness. Sushupta swapna lipi is still the circumstance most affected and, as always, by incoherence due to suppression and to mixture of different lipis. At night nidra is still powerful to prevent samadhi
Vijnana. The invading environmental suggestions are now being steadily appropriated to the vijnana. Trikaldrishti of actuality has been trained to the vijnanamaya correctness, the same movement is being applied to the trikaldrishti of the possibilities that press on the actuality to modify or alter the event in the making. At present there is much environmental suggestion full of error, not of fact of tendency, but of its event-making incidence.
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Rupa advances against a strong obstruction. Vishaya revives in gandha, but there is still the obstruction.
Sharira Ananda. Continuity is growing, but still subject to the old causes of discontinuance. These however have much less reality of persistence than on the last occasion. Tivra shows a tendency to fix itself and is now vijnanamaya with an idealised intuitive mental undertone. Vishayananda is revelatory vijnanamaya. Raudra also is vijnanamaya, and vaidyuta. The physical ananda continues in antardarshi and in the lighter swapna, but is there subject to cessation or intermittence.
After a long indulgence of the environmental invasion, the final conversion of the assured ideality to the interpretative logistical vijnana has commenced and immediately taken a considerable extension. All concentrated thought and thought-speech has begun to be fixedly of that character, as also the T². This is being effected not by select movements and a gradual extension, but with an initially instantaneous generality and rapidity in a crowded activity of thought-suggestions.
The Rupa is beginning to press down again the barrier of obstruction. The developed forms are still only of an initial stability, the ghana and ghana developed either that or of a primary or secondary, the crude of a primary, secondary or sometimes tertiary stability. The tendency in the latter is to long stability.
The lipi is fixing itself in freely in the interpretative vijnana; all former movements of the kind were only initial and preparatory; this is the last and definite movement.
Ananda powerful and persistent all the morning. More intense and often very intense with smarana; when mind occupied either suppressed with predisposition of the body to it, or half-suppressed or present with a lesser insistence. Often the mind occupied, but with a part of the physical consciousness fully aware of the intense Ananda. More firmness of continuous pervasion; for a long time the inner physical fibres penetrated and possessed by the Ananda. Result in the afternoon intenser A [Ananda] with the smarana; body
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full of the predisposition even in forgetfulness. The automatic and the forced cessation are being eliminated from the system, only the oblivious and the sleep cessation remain as effective obstacles.
The samadhi in the afternoon almost got rid of lipi incoherence. The interpretative vijnana took firm hold on thought speech and thought perception in the antardarshi. Nidra obscurity almost nonexistent, nidra weight of inclusion is still there.
In the evening and at night a laxity of the Shakti and some interruption, not complete, of the results acquired in the daytime.
The laxity continued during the morning.
Samadhi in the afternoon directed to farther idealisation of the swapna, removal of fantasy, lipi incoherence, instability and fragmentariness of rupa, shabda etc. There is a detailed initial but not yet quite definite or organised progress.
The thought in the afternoon normalised interpretative vijnana in the revelatory and representative consciousness-substance. This movement extended to tapas and trikaldrishti. Indefinite thought from the environment is not yet always of the perfect logistis. A highest logistis has for some time been present in the interpretative and other form or substance. It is now beginning to prepare to take full possession. This will be the end of the logistic movement, the completion of the vijnana reason.
Ananda of the interpretative fashion acclimatised in the body. Physical Ananda is now of three moulds, interpretative, revelatory and as a survival the inspirational and (rarely, almost never) other lower kind[s] of vijnana.
For the first time developed or rather perfect rupa of the secondary-tertiary stability. As yet the longer stabilities except in the crude rupa are still isolated or else a rather frequent exception. The initial predominates when there is rapidity and frequency of the crude and developed rupa.
The thought since yesterday has begun to be attended with physical Ananda confined to the head region (where the K A has been till now exceptional, the ordinary pervasion being in the rest
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of the body) and the brain-stuff, but this now tends to become normal and to join itself to the Ananda in the rest of the body.
The Ananda Darshana now tends to be the infinite shuddha Ananda taking up all the rest, but still on the vijnana level. The old mental shuddha ananta Ananda recurs in the first movement as a coating to the vijnana Ananda, but changes easily to the vijnana shuddha Ananta.
The possibilities are now entirely normalised in the interpretative trikaldrishti, the authentic decisive is beginning to disengage itself more clearly, but has often a telepathic character from above which while fulfilling itself in the eventual actuality, remains without any certitude for the reason. An irruption still occasionally takes place of the lesser telepathic idealities which shows that the whole process of conversion is not yet completed. The thought and other prakamya vyapti is still of the lower inefficient and in the case of the thought initial and fragmentary character. Thought intention and thought substance are more easily accurate than pure thought perception.
Today the Yoga is more hampered than on any day since the beginning of the fresh stream of progress. The principal advance has been in the T², where the telepathies of actuality have been raised to the highest power of the logistis and those of modifying possibility strongly confirmed in the interpretative vijnana. Occasionally the tertiary or decisive vijnana acts, but where it does not pressure on the possibility by Tapas brings a confusion of unreliable certitudes.
Rupa in the ghana etc is hesitating between initial and primary stabilities.
The samadhi was more obstructed by nidra, though not of an obscure nature.
Ananda is obstructed and only constant in smarana, though the full intensity is not present.
In the afternoon a change. The T² manifested separately an action of the highest logistic vijnana not at all dependent on the idealised telepathic perception. Rupa began to stress the stabilities
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and arrived at a normal primary varying from the first point beyond the initial to a point tending to the secondary stability; the crude stability became again secondary and tertiary rather than primary and secondary. Ananda recovered intensity and pervasion with a strong cerebral action.
Progress on the same lines. Tapas and Trik. are now being organised so as not to be in conflict. Tapas is taking its right place as telepathies have done; the union of decisive Tapas and trik. certitude is not yet effected.
Trikaldrishti pursues its organisation, but while the actualities grow constantly in power and certainty, the unrealised possibilities and decisive certitudes are not yet in the complete higher vijnanamaya development. There are still excessive stresses on possibility. At the same time the higher certitudes are becoming more frequent and more positive to the reason
Rupa is increasing tertiary stability in the ghana and developed crude, and attempting to bring in the secondary in the other rupas. Lipi now has frequent tertiary stability in the Akasha. There is also an incipient movement towards variety of Rupa
Ananda already settled in the intenser sa-smarana, though always feeble and interrupted from the evening, is fixing automatical constancy, so that after oblivion there is no need of mental smarana, the body keeping the memory whether of continuous but unnoted or of suppressed but still implicitly present Ananda.
The base of vijnanamaya organisation is being laid in the decisive T², and prepared in the prakamya-vyapti of thought intention: it is already strong as regards sensational tendency and impulse.
Rupa has now definitely begun secondary stability of ghana and developed rupas, but mostly still in the side-seen images, those that stand direct before the eye are less vivid and less stable. Primary stability is still the ordinary movement, but now it is less fugitive, less inclined to the initial and more to the secondary duration.
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There is now a constancy of the penetrative more physical Ananda contained in the sthula fibres; the ananda of the sukshma body affecting the sthula alternates or sometimes coexists with it.
Samadhi at first of the same kind oppressed by a light unobscure nidra; afterwards strong organisation of thought speech and perception of the highest logistis in all stages of antardarshi and swapna, strong sharira Ananda continuous except in sushupta swapna, lipi perfect except in sushupta, but there no longer fantastically incoherent, other incidents not well organised except rupa (landscapes) clear, tejomaya, but insufficiently stable.
There is a larger right vijnana of possibilities and telepathic relative certitudes and the decisive telepathic trikaldrishti of precise detail (only of the immediate future) is beginning to found itself, as yet imperfectly, on a larger basis.
Tertiary stability is now very common in crude rupa; primary and secondary prevail in the rest under the direct gaze, but tertiary has begun to appear in side images and promises even in the direct images.
There is more frequent cerebral and thought Ananda. The Ananda still fluctuates and the Ananda without smarana fails still to fix itself with a final possession.
Each of the three siddhis which are being rapidly pushed forward has taken a farther step in advance.
The decisive trikaldrishti certitudes are beginning to become near, actual and sure in telepathic trikaldrishtis of the immediate future, filling them as a first step to their replacement.
The rupa is increasing tertiary stabilities; initial tertiaries have come repeatedly in the direct image and final tertiary has made its appearance in the side images. Both are now common in the crude.
Ananda is deepening its insistent frequency and intensity in spite of interruption by oblivion. It is depressed in the late afternoon, evening and night, but for the last three days the shakti has
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been working on this depression and yesterday there was strong Ananda after a prolonged depression in the late afternoon, some in the evening and some, but rejected by the will in the body at night. Today it promises to be throughout continuous by recurrence.
Ananda deepens steadily, but the obstruction of forgetfulness at the periodic time still remains operative.
Rupa has now established the first tertiary stabilities; the more prolonged are still occasional only.
Trikaldrishti also is gradually confirming in the telepathic figure.
Samadhi in the afternoon is now idealised in all its parts, but weak in the incidents, except in scene and event in scene which are attaining to a perfect stability. The organisation for utility is not yet ready to commence.
The Tapas which was held back in favour of the trikaldrishti is now being definitely taken up for perfection. At first there was the increased but uncertain effectivity of tapas and a renewal of the difficulty of discord between the telepathic form of the two siddhis, then the same difficulty in tapas as in trikaldrishti between the telepathic and the definitive. Finally, an initial fusion has been effected between trikaldrishti and tapas.
Rupa is trying to develop perfect stability; there is the potentiality, but not yet the actual presence.
Ananda has hitherto fluctuated between periods of intensity and periods of depression. Formerly the latter used to last for long periods, now there is only comparative depression on alternate days and fluctuation in the day itself,—greater strength in the morning, less with much interruption in the afternoon and evening, at night cessation or only occasional presence. The depression on alternate days is being eliminated. The continuity in the morning is every day greater and tends to conquer the oblivion; even when writing the body retains except in great absorption of the thought-mind the physical Ananda.
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The ananta Ananda of the darshana has now definitely entered and for the present fixed itself in the vijnana form corresponding to that attained in the rest of the chaitanya.
The T² for a time was confused by an irruption of incertitudes from outside attended by an extension of relative certitudes in the revelatory and interpretative telepathies. Subsequently the supreme logistis reappeared and began to organise certitude of detail, circumstance and succession.
Rupa is now making prolonged tertiary and perfect stability the normal thing in crude of all kinds and beginning to develop it in crude developed and crude ghana. In side images they are becoming very frequent, though they do not yet predominate. The attempt to extend them to direct images of the full ghana and developed kinds is obstinately obstructed in the physical akasha. The long existing tendency to snatch away the rupa as soon as possible after appearance, even if it is [in its] nature perfectly stable, is the obstacle to be eliminated.
Ananda has fixed itself with a more basic firmness in the cerebral possession and the physical ananda of thought-speech and thought-possession which was till now only a faint preshadowing, has become definite and universal. The recurrence of asiddha thought and of interruptions of possession is however still persistent, though less powerful than before. Most of the conditions of perfect Ananda (except, mainly, the downward current and the fusion of the five anandas, though the latter has made some progress) is now accomplished in the basis.
Ananda persisted in the daily period of relaxation, in the afternoon, evening and at night. The automatic tendency to relaxation is therefore now ended; only that created by oblivion and the oblivion itself have to be conquered.
Preoccupation with a work and a tendency in the siddhi of going slightly backward, eg in the rupa towards primary and secondary stability, in the Ananda of interruption by oblivion (but not of laxity as the result of interruption, only a certain potentiality of relaxation remains), in the T² of revelatory rather than highest logistic action.
The continuous steady rapidity of the siddhi upset today by a revolutionary attempt to substitute at once the srauta for the logistic vijnana. This was attended and frustrated by an invasion of asiddhi such as had not occurred for some months past including even an attack on the samata.
Insistent suggestion of asamata—amounting to duhkha in the prana and impatience in the buddhi—in the physical consciousness, not radical but strongly disturbing the outer physical fibres. This duhkha is now mingled with ananda when it enters the system and cannot preserve its pure character. Its recurrence however is a retardatory phenomenon foreign to the new settled course of the sadhana. Suggestion also, but less violent of asraddha, amounting in effect not to radical asraddha but to disbelief in the method, absence of the feeling of a possessing guidance by the Ishwara—that is felt as before behind a veil or only at the summit,—and a sense of the possibility of postponement of siddhi. At the same time it is felt that a greater siddhi is preparing.
An Ananda of a much greater potentiality of continuity, pervasion, largeness and intensity felt on the vijnana summit and descending into the sukshma body, but this is unable to make itself except at intervals intimate to the system. Meanwhile the constant possession of the sthula body by the revelatory has been taken away and that body is empty except of a greater tendency of response. The sukshma body is visited by a more continuous Ananda less affected, except at first by want of smarana or attention, more pervasive from above, more naturally intense, affecting the sthula without being established in it or possessing it, but not yet organised nor having a firm close hold even of the subtle body. It is at once more continuous and less intimately continuous. All the old asiddhis are suggested, including the dependence on posture. The struggle has not yet been determined in the sense of the greater organised siddhi.
The jnana etc are affected in a similar direction. The system is invaded by a vague and confused idealised mentality which is turned to an imperfect revelatory ideality when it enters the system and its surrounding atmosphere. The vijnana thought and T² occur, but do not closely hold the system as for a long time they have been doing. There is nothing left but to await the issue of the struggle.
Ananda during the time set apart for the samadhi insistent on possession of the sthula body, but a possession by penetration, not a reawakening of the hold on the sthula fibres.
The period of laxity was to some extent restored today, not entirely, for there was a frequent recurrence of Ananda, but as a result of smarana. In the evening the Ananda of the sthula body was brought back to a certain extent, but without the firm hold and sure intensity that had seemed fixed in finality. The Ananda in the sukshma body was for a time made constant, the ananda of thought universalised and intensified; these took on the form of the representative, interpretative and highest logistis. All this had to be done by a certain force of Tapas and therefore cannot be considered as a final siddhi.
The bodily consciousness became during the same time first revelatory representative and representative, then representative interpretative and interpretative, then the highest logistic vijnana. All this was done from above and cannot yet be considered final.
Attack of asamata eliminated, but sraddha not yet normal.
The morning was a period of laxity. None of the siddhis are yet final.
The representative mould of the bodily consciousness now predominates, but is not yet fixed in security. It is sometimes drawn back and the revelatory takes its place. There is not the sure pratistha
Afternoon—last night's Ananda again in action.
The sadhana is settling down again to a movement analogous to the past movements but on a higher scale, that is to say,
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greater developments are being foreshadowed and initiated which have to be gradually attained against the [persistence]2 of old lesser sufficiencies and insufficiencies.
Seven new movements are indicated of which four have begun to realise themselves in an initial action.
Thought is manifesting a highest logistic movement which is ready to change into the srauta vijnana. The lower thought still persists in the form no longer of a revelatory but an inspirational intuitional thought-action. Its insufficiency is recognised and it is condemned but does not cease from persistence
Trikaldrishti is effecting the same movement hampered by the inferior idealised telepathies
The Shakti in the body has left the fixed revelatory form and has manifested for a while inspirational, interpretative and a highest logistis ready for the srauta. Actually, however, there is a pressure of inspirational intuitive which veils the actuality of this higher movement.
There is the same phenomenon in the physical Ananda in the psychic body. There are fluctuations in all these movements, sometimes the siddhi holding the system, sometimes the asiddhi.
The environmental siege affects the lower movements with avoidable error and gives force of persistence to the asiddhi.
The same conditions as yesterday, but there is a stronger force of the Siddhi.
Tapas is effecting the same movement as trikaldrishti.
The government of the Devatas is giving place to the direct government by the Ishwara, but there is not yet the constant presence
The intervening days have been subject to difficulties in the Sadhana, the persistence of old forms of the ideality, the siege of the environment and some invasion of stuff of the intuitive mentality.
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Today the new siddhis are reasserting themselves with a greater power and especially the free all-occupying action of the highest logistic ideality in its highest degree in thought, trikaldrishti-tapas, lipi, script etc. It is also attempting to occupy the physical system and replace the intuitive vijnana. As yet there is still a persistent intervention of the other forms, a laxity of the tapas intervening which tends to restore them and a great difficulty in the physical system.
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