The Practice of the Integral Yoga

VI

On Opening and Receptivity

When we look around or even study the spiritual history of mankind, we often find that some aspirants are progressing very fast in their sadhana while some others are registering a rather slow progress or, what is worse, even stagnating on the Path, although, apparently, all of them have the equal privilege of being close to the Divine and receiving his Grace. On noting this discrepancy we often feel tempted to impute a charge of partiality on the all-powerful Divine. We wonder why the Divine Shakti cannot make us progress equally when outwardly all of us fulfil the same conditions and religiously adhere to the same practices.

But there is no use throwing the blame on the Divine and charging him with the vice of bias and partiality as if he suffers from the same imperfections as ordinary human beings. No, the blame and responsibility lie entirely with us, with the state of our consciousness. Even if the Divine wants to give us more, he cannot do so because we are not sufficiently open to his action nor are we adequately receptive to his gifts. Sri Aurobindo once wrote to one of his close disciples:

"The fundamental principle and the whole method of the Integral Yoga is to open wide the consciousness to the divine Influence. Only those sadhakas who can sufficiently open themselves to the divine Power and Action and receive them in themselves, can cherish a hope for the ultimate realisation, not others."

Such being the capital importance of the allied virtues of opening and receptivity in the matter of building up a life of sadhana and spiritual fulfilment we have to pay a great attention to the acquisition of these twin aptitudes. For it is a fact that the divine Mother has been incessantly pouring on every sincere sadhaka of the Path her Love and Power and Knowledge and Grace but that is coming to nought because most of us have kept completely closed all the doors and windows of our consciousness with the notice hung up: "No entrance, please."

Our second disability is that the capacity of our reception is

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very much limited. We vainly hope to hold in our one-litre vessel the infinite downpour of the Divine's gifts.

The third failing we suffer from is that, even if we receive at times some knowledge, power, love and grace of the Divine, a major part of it we spill out from the ādhāra, the vessel of our consciousness: our retentive power is almost next to nothing.

The net result is that days and months and years pass by in our life without our gaining any spiritual benefit worth the name. For it is only the opening and receptivity which can make us ready to gather the treasures of spiritual experiences and realisations. Without these two prerequisites sufficiently developed, all our external efforts at "doing sadhana" will produce a very meagre result. On the other hand, if we can become sufficiently open and receptive in our inner consciousness, our sadhana cannot but proceed in an unimpeded way, garnering more and more of spiritual wealth. Two different sadhakas may have the same intensity of seeking but there may occur a gulf of difference between their attainments, simply because of the presence or absence of this essential aptitude of opening and receptivity.

A sadhaka of the Integral Yoga should never forget that as soon as he takes to the path of sadhana with even a moderate sincerity of purpose, he becomes immediately enveloped with an atmosphere of active divine Grace which presses upon his consciousness with all the bounty of its divine attributes. He can then so easily imbibe this light, and love and power and what not almost at every step, with each inhalation,- most spontaneously, without any conscious effort, if only he maintains himself in a state of constant openness and receptivity. But most of the sadhakas fail to do so. And therein lies the avoidable tragedy in many sadhakas' lives.

Yet it is not a fact that we do not know how to open ourselves or how to receive. For, although we do not open ourselves to the divine Influence, we keep ourselves all the time wide open to the intrusion and infiltration of all sorts of unspiritual adverse forces: we receive with facility and contentment all that hampers our progress in sadhana. This is the second tragedy striking down many sadhakas.

In order to avoid this double tragedy, every sadhaka of the

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Integral Yoga has to be constantly vigilant to cancel on the one hand any opening to the action of the wrong forces, and on the other to create a perfect unobstructed opening to all that is helpful to the sadhana.

About the barring of the first type of opening, we have sufficiently spoken in our chapter on rejection. And, how to develop in full the opening to the divine Influence will be the subject-matter of the present one.

Let us emphasise once again that without this unhindered opening to the spiritual forces any hope of advancing sufficiently in sadhana will prove futile and illusory. As Sri Aurobindo has reminded us:

"The aim of the sadhaka of the Integral Yoga is not to become a great Yogi or Sannyasi or Tapasvi but to bring about a total divine transformation of his life and consciousness. And this can be done only with the aid of a divine Power which is infinitely more potent and effective than the sadhaka's puny personal efforts. It is the height of folly and absurdity to think that one can attain to the realisation of the Integral Yoga through one's unassisted power of Tapasya: no human being can do that."

Instead, what the sadhaka has to do is to open himself integrally to the Divine Mother's Shakti and offer himself to the Divine without the slightest reserve or hesitation with the simple candour of an innocent child.

If one can effectively do that he will find that it is the Divine Mother herself who will start working in the sadhaka's adhara: all that is needed at each step of the Path either for the sadhana or for the siddhi will then be brought about by the Divine himself. And this is what Sri Aurobindo has pointed out as the central truth, the supreme secret, of the sadhana of transformation. "By remaining psychically open to the Mother, all that is necessary for work or Sadhana develops progressively, that is one of the chief secrets, the central secret of the Sadhana." (Sri Aurobindo, On the Mother, p. 121)

We have by now understood the greatness and the essentiality of the sadhaka' s openness to the Divine Action. But what is actu-

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ally meant by this openness of consciousness? How should a sadhaka know that he is in a state of opening? A few short extracts from Sri Aurobindo' s and the Mother's writings will make the position clear:

(1)"Openness is that state of consciousness, free and unresisting, in which the divine Light and Power can work in the sadhaka without encountering any obstruction." (The Mother)

(2)Openness to the Divine "is a state in which the sadhaka is conscious of the Divine Force working in him or of its results at least and does not obstruct its descent or its action by his own mental activities, vital restlessness or physical obscurity and inertia." (Sri Aurobindo, Letters on Yoga, p. 603)

(3)"Openness is a state of consciousness which keeps it turned to the Mother, free from other movements expecting and able to receive what may come from the Divine." (Ibid., p. 604)

(4)"Openness is the will to receive and to utilise for progress the force and influence; the constant aspiration to remain in touch with the Consciousness; the faith that the force and consciousness are always with you, around you, inside you and that you have only to let nothing stand in the way of your receiving them." (The Mother, Words of the Mother, M C W Vol. 14, p. 151)

So this is 'opening' and in our sadhana of the Integral Yoga this opening has to be effected along two different directions: an opening inward and an opening upward. In Sri Aurobindo' s words, "an opening inwards of the inner mind, vital, physical to the inmost part of us, the psychic, and an opening upwards to what is above the mind."

The necessity of this double opening can be easily understood if we remember that the superficial outward-looking life and existence that we normally function with is not our true real being. "The real self is not anywhere on the surface but deep within and far "above." (Sri Aurobindo)

It becomes then necessary that the sadhaka of our Path should open himself more and more inward till he establishes a direct contact with his psychic being; he has to, at the same time, open

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himself more and more upward till he discovers his highest spiritual Self.

What the sadhaka has to do next is to make the roads of communication with the psychic and the Self free from all clogging and impediments.

The third step the sadhaka has then to take is to seriously and persistently invoke the psychic and the Self so that they can respectively emerge and come to the front, and descend from above into the ādhāra of the sadhaka, and be dynamically operative there to transform it.

Well, such is the double opening the aspirant has to make. But are there any signs and symptoms by which the sadhaka can,dis-cern that his consciousness has been progressively opening day by day, or, on the contrary, it is more and more shutting up?

Yes, there are clear signs both positive and negative. About the negative signs, Sri Aurobindo has indicated:

"If it is found that the mind of the sadhaka remains shut up in its own ideas and preferences and because of that acts as an obstacle to the action of the divine Shakti in its ādhāra;

"if it is found that the vital being of the sadhaka is whirling in the vortex of its greeds and desires;

"if it is found that the physical being of the sadhaka has mortgaged itself to the inert movements and habits that normally activate it, and because of that is unwilling to admit within itself any action of the divine Light and Force;

"then understand that the sadhaka has not yet been able to be open." (Adapted.)

A few other baneful consequences of the lack of opening on the sadhaka's part are: restlessness; depression; loss of energy; mood of constant whining; dryness in life; diminution of faith and confidence; cynicism about any future fulfilment; etc. If any of these defects is chronically found in any sadhaka, he should pay heed and take immediate steps to remedy the situation.

Now, let us consider some of the positive signs of opening. Both Sri Aurobindo and the Mother have spoken about them. First

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let us listen to what Sri Aurobindo has to say about the matter:

"It can be easily understood whether any sadhaka has been able to open himself or not. If it is found that he is becoming day by day aware of the nearness of the Divine Mother; or that he is having some particular experience of the action of the Mother in him; or that he is having some concrete touches, however meagre, of divine calmness, equality, light, bliss, knowledge, power and wideness; then it can be assumed that the necessary opening has been growing in the sadhaka. It is the extent and intensity of these experiences which will indicate how open the sadhaka has been."

The Mother also has given a beautiful description of the state of openness on the sadhaka' s part. Here is a paraphrase of what she said:

"When you will find that everything around you has been tinged with a superbly beautiful colour; when you will feel that every moment and every experience of your life, happy or unhappy, is bringing a necessary lesson for your growth; when you will have the sensation that all load has been taken off your consciousness and you are flying in the blue expanse of the heavens of progress; when you will see that you are thrilling with a sense of sane optimism strong and joyous; above all when you will have the distinct experience that a divine consciousness is enveloping you always and everywhere and under all circumstances; then you can be sure that you have been open.'

But no sadhaka can expect to attain to such a state of perfect opening in the early period of his spiritual career. If he looks within himself with an observant eye, he will find there bristling about hundreds of serious defects and imperfections. With all these present is it not obvious that openness to the divine action is a far cry for him?

It may be a far cry; but for that the sadhaka should not get disheartened or give up all hope for a total opening. 'Rome was not built in a day' and this ideal perfect openness too has to be

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acquired by and by through a progressive development of sadhana.

Not only that. It may so happen that one part of the sadhaka' s being and consciousness is already quite open to the higher forces but some other part has continued to remain closed up and resistant. What to do in such a situation? Here is Sri Aurobindo' s advice to the sadhaka:

"The principle of total opening has to be accepted from the beginning. But in practice there must be a central opening in each part and a dominant aspiration and will in each part (not in the mind alone) to admit only the Mother's workings: the rest will then be progressively done."

Sri Aurobindo has said also that if a sadhaka cannot open himself immediately, he should at least keep up this constant aspiration that this opening be progressively effected. For if the sadhaka's aspiration is sincere, and if at the same time he is earnest in his sadhana of rejection of all that is in him opposed to this opening, then it is absolutely true that perfect opening is bound to come sooner or later. There is no doubt about it.

Now we come to the central issue of the present chapter. Is there any specific sadhana procedure by following which a sadhaka initially deficient in his openness can hope to arrive at a state of full opening? What are the conditions conducive to the building up of openness and what conditions are inimical to it?

Well, the principal obstacles to opening are the following moods and attitudes: (1) vanity and self-satisfaction; (2) doubts and hesitations; (3) complaining attitude; (4) deliberate gap between profession and practice; (5) insistent clamour of the mind's ideas and opinions and of the vital's desires and preferences; above all, the tendency of the ego-sense to occupy the central and front place in everything and dictate terms from there.

On the other hand, the particular attitudes that are helpful to the process of opening are: (1) an unvacillating and unquenchable upward aspiration; (2) an ambience of calm and quiet in one's consciousness not liable to be easily disturbed; (3) widening of the consciousness; (4) an uncompromising rejection of all that is in

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oneself opposed to the Divine and divine life; (5) an unshakable faith and trust in the Power and Love of the Divine Mother; (6) to keep the Divine always in one's thought under all situations of life; (7) an attitude of glad enthusiasm free from all excitement; (8) a spirit of self-surrender to the Divine, and its effective application in the form of a constant self-consecration to his Shakti; (9) a perfect humility in the spiritual sense of the term.

Let us discuss a little more in detail three or four of these beneficial attitudes. On the top of the list comes the virtue of genuine humility.

Every sadhaka should be able to address the Divine in the following way and affirm in all sincerity: "O Lord, without Thee I am nothing, I know nothing, and I can do nothing." This sort of humble feeling of self-insufficiency is very helpful for the openness of consciousness. To remain always acutely conscious of the great gulf between what I am now and what I can be and should be in future, is very conducive to the effectuation of opening. On the other hand, an attitude of tamasic laisser-faire such as: "I am quite all right; my days are passing reasonably smoothly; what else do I need?" — this sort of self-patting attitude and a mood of deluded self-contentment are completely detrimental to the opening of consciousness.

Next comes the essential element of aspiration. For the bringing about of a state of perfect opening of his consciousness, a sadhaka should keep burning in his heart an ardent fire of constant aspiration. This will make the Grace of the Divine Mother come down in his being and open wide all the closed nooks and corners of his nature. Sri Aurobindo has assured us:

"If there is a sincerity in the aspiration and a patient will to arrive at the higher consciousness in spite of the obstacles, then the opening in one form or another is sure to come." {Letters on Yoga, p. 605)

But while speaking about the necessity of aspiration we must remind that what the sadhaka has to do is only to aspire and pray, in an attitude of perfect tranquillity, and never be agitated or im-

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patient in his yearning. All impatience and tension and anxious expectancy will go counter to the state of opening.

After aspiration comes the highly positive qualities of faith and trust. The sadhaka has to grow into the following confidence:

"The Divine Mother is there always present near me, actually enveloping and pervading my consciousness. She loves me much more than I can love me myself, and that always and under all circumstances. She wills to do my good at all times; hence it cannot but be that she will give me all that is spiritually necessary for me — of course, under the necessary pre-condition that I should make myself ready for her gifts."

Such a spirit of unslackening faith and confidence in the action of the Divine Mother is greatly conducive to the opening of the sadhaka' s consciousness. The following brief formula given by Sri Aurobindo epitomises the whole position: "It is by confidence in the Mother that the opening needed will come when your consciousness is ready." (Letters on Yoga, p. 604)

After this faith and confidence comes the necessity of a unified will. "My life should be wholly governed by the Divine's Will and not in any way by my personal ego-shaped fancy. I shall not allow any alien influence to intrude into the field of my consciousness; there, the divine Influence alone will reign supreme." — Such a strong and unified resolution on the part of the sadhaka and, what is more important, its being put into effective practice, will lead to a very powerful opening. It is worth remembering in this connection the following words of the Mother:

"You find it difficult to open because you have not yet made the resolution to allow my will, and not your own, to govern your life. As soon as you have understood the need for this, everything will become easier."

Now comes the fourth pre-condition for a successful opening: the elimination of ego-insistence in all its forms. For, any mixing up of the ego's demands and desires with the life of sadhana will completely block the opening. A sadhaka has to come to the path of sadhana with the total transparency of motive. This should be

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for the Divine alone. Instead of that, if any aspirant seeks to satisfy his rakshasic hunger of desires, demands and ambitions, either openly or from behind the guises of apparently good intentions, while ostensibly following a 'spiritual' discipline, he is heading towards a precipice: his misguided folly will lead him to a disastrous fall and all his opening will be lost in a quagmire. Sri Aurobindo' s note of unequivocal warning uttered for the timely waking of the heedless sadhakas is worth recalling in this connection:

"If there is any kind of egoistic turn or insincerity of motive, if yoga is done under a pressure of vital demands, or partly or wholly to satisfy some spiritual or other ambition, pride, vanity or seeking for power, position or influence over others or with any push towards satisfying any vital desire with the help of the yogic force, then not much of opening is possible."

Concerning this dampening effect of an ego-centric attitude on the opening of one's consciousness, the Mother too has made it clear that if a sadhaka habitually comes under egoistic impulses, it becomes well-nigh impossible for him to acquire either the opening or the receptivity. He must free himself from the slavery of his ego and replace his present ego-centric attitude with a predominantly theoc-entric or God-oriented attitude. "Not 1 but you, O Divine; not for me but for you alone" — this should be the constant guiding principle of the life of a sadhaka.

And here comes the necessity of self-offering to the Divine and its possible effect upon the opening of consciousness. This has been the universally validated axiom of spiritual life that the act of self-surrender to the Divine is the best and most effective way of bringing about the necessary opening.

But a question may be raised here: "Psychologically speaking, what is exactly meant by this surrender to the Divine?" The answer may be given in Sri Aurobindo' s formulation:

"Surrender means to consecrate everything in oneself to the Divine, to offer all one is and has, not to insist on one's ideas.

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desires, habits, etc., but to allow the divine Truth to replace them by its knowledge, will and action everywhere." (Letters on Yoga, p. 603)

While speaking of the great contribution made in the life of sadhana by a genuine self-surrender to the Divine, Sri Aurobindo has written in his Essays on the Gita that once the true will of surrender becomes operative in the sadhaka' s consciousness, that by itself opens very soon all the doors and windows of the being and — what is more wonderful — makes possible in its turn the self-giving of the Divine himself in the sadhaka 's ādhāra. Then, the Light and Force of the Divine Shakti become active the sadhaka' s consciousness and remoulds him into a completely new being through a process of rapid transformation. As an ultimate attainment, the mind and the heart and the body of the sadhaka undergo a radical change and assume a divine nature. Sri Aurobindo concludes: "The will of self-giving forces away by its power the veil between God and man; it annuls every error and annihilates every obstacle." (p. 320)

So far for the 'opening' of consciousness. We have spoken about the essentiality of this openness in the life of sadhana, its very good consequences and the conditions to be fulfilled for the bringing about of this opening. Now a few words about its cognate virtue, 'receptivity'.

For a mere 'opening' is not sufficient. It is obvious that even if a sadhaka is open in his consciousness, if his receptive and retentive power remains limited, he will ultimately derive not much of spiritual benefit. For even if the Divine Mother pours aplenty in the sadhaka' s ādhāra her Light and Power and Love and Grace, much of it will be spilt and thus wasted in vain.

Hence it is very much necessary that a sadhaka should pay great attention to the augmentation of his power of receptivity and retentivity along with that of his openness.

Now how to increase one's receptivity? The answer is simple. For it can be briefly stated that all the specific conditions we have mentioned above as conducive to the act of opening or inimical to

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it are equally so in the case of receptivity. Thus, doubt and disbelief, revolt and depression, restlessness of the mind and heart, the calculating habit of the ego — all these moods and attitudes act against the increase in receptivity. On the other side, a quiet gladness in the heart, faith and courage and sincerity, one-pointed aspiration, a sense of great humility, and an unwavering trust and confidence in the Mother's Love and Power — all these are helpful for the building up of one's receptivity and retentively.

These are of course general statements. But along with the cultivation of these qualities and as a supplement to it, one can attend to a few processes of sadhana which can increase a hundredfold the sadhaka's receptivity. These sadhana can be formulated in the words of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother as follows. The formulations are quite self-explanatory and need no elucidation.

Formula One: "Lack of unification of the being creates difficulties in reception."

Formula Two: "It is with the widening of the consciousness that the receptivity increases."

Formula Three: "Relax and receive."

Formula Four: "The more you give, the more you receive."

Here ends our chapter on opening and receptivity.

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