The Practice of the Integral Yoga

XII

THE PROBLEM OF RIGHT ACTION:

HOW TO RECOGNISE THE DIVINE WILL?

The Yoga of Sri Aurobindo aims at the perfect manifestation of the Divine in the field of earthly existence. A sadhaka of this path cannot therefore consider his sadhana fulfilled, simply when he has achieved union with the Divine in the profundities of his inner consciousness or on the heights of his being, leaving his outer nature imperfect and untransformed. An integrated and well-harmonised simultaneous realisation of divine Being and divine Becoming: such is the goal set before himself by the sadhaka of the Integral Yoga. It follows, therefore, that a perfect, integral and divine transformation of his whole nature including all the instruments of functioning forms an indispensable part of the sadhaka's programme. As Sri Aurobindo has pointed out:

"Life, not a remote silent or high-uplifted ecstatic Beyond — Life alone, is the field of our Yoga. The transformation of our superficial, narrow and fragmentary human way of thinking, seeing, feeling and being into a deep and wide spiritual consciousness and an integrated inner and outer existence and of our ordinary human living into the divine way of life must be its central purpose." (The Synthesis of Yoga, Cent Ed., p. 82)

Now, Nature in her dynamic movement is nothing but action. By action, of course, should not be meant only the outwardly [manifested activity conducted with the help of the organs of ac-tion. The word 'action' has a much wider connotation in yogic 'parlance. Any energising of consciousness is called an 'action'. Thus, every act of thinking, feeling, sensing and willing falls into the category of 'action'. And if we seek to transform our nature, we have to carefully attend to the half-fixed, half-fluid mass of our thoughts, perceptions, sensations, emotions, desires, enjoyments, and half-blind activities which are in the most part habitual, customary and self-repeating, and then convert the spirit and body of

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all our works, without exception, to the spiritual way of living. And here arises for the sadhaka of the Integral Yoga the difficult problem of action. For doing any action in any way dictated by the whims of the sadhaka will not do for him in his lift of sadhana. The Mother's words addressed to the sadhakas of the Path are categorical on tins point. Here, is what she has said again and again: "Pray to the Divine Grace to make you do always the right thing in the right way." (Words of the Mother, MCW Vol. 15, p. 243)

We find here two significant requirements: the right action and the right way of doing it. But the question is: How to judge the* rightness of an action and what is, after all, the right way of doing it?

The difficulty becomes compounded when we come across the following affirmation of the Mother: 'There is only one way of being right, but there are many ways of being wrong." (Ibid., p.' 242) The problem before the sadhaka is how to discover this unique way of doing the right thing. Should he follow the four rules (the aluminium rule, the silver rule, the golden rule and the platinum rule) to shape his actions in the right way while dealing with others in the course of his daily life? Let us recall the formulations of these four rules of conduct as given by Prof. Arohie J. Bahm (Philosophy, p. 323):

1.The Aluminium Rule: "Don't let others do to you what you wouldn't do to them."

2.The Silver Rule: "Don't do unto others what you would not have them do unto you."

3.The Golden Rule: "Do unto others as you would have others! do unto you."

4.The Platinum Rule: "Do unto others as others would have! us do unto them."

It is true that these four rules, distilled from the ethical experience of many cultures at different stages of development, work well' in most situations confronting an ordinary citizen. But a sadhaka's life, especially that of one who wants to put into practice the principles of the Yoga of Transformation as propounded by Sri Aurobindo,

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cannot be regulated by the mechanical application of copy-book rules however convenient these may prove to be for the guidance of normal men their conduct of ordinary affairs of the world. The sadhaka has to find out some inner law of conduct which will further his spiritual advancement. What that inner law is is what we shall presently discuss in the later part of our essay.

Another ticklish question that perplexes the sadhaka is as regards the comparative importance of the three different factors involved in any action whatsoever. These three factors are: (i) the intention, (ii) the means, and (iii) the consequence. Now, what Constitutes the Tightness of a specific action? Is it the Tightness of the intention? or that of the means employed to execute the act? or, perhaps, none of these two terms but rather the goodness of the consequences that ensue from the action?

But is it possible to put forward the view that any means good or bad may be used with impunity if it can be shown that the end is good and beneficial? Or is it asserted that it is absolutely essential for an act to be judged at all right, that it should proceed from a good motive and pass through the use of right means to consequences which are themselves good? But what about that case, then, where the intention of the agent is good and the means adopted are also right but, somehow, the results achieved are not as good as they should have been? We have to discuss these questions also and arrive at the right answers.

Indeed, the sadhaka of the Integral Path finds to his utter consternation that the 'Science of Right Action and Wrong Action' is very recondite and its subtlety is such that it is not easy to unravel it. And what is most disconcerting is that in this field of supreme practical importance, while proffering their dogmatic advices no two sages are found who do not differ among themselves (nāsau munir yasya ma tarn na bhinnam).

Thus the situation becomes curiouser and curiouser as we proceed with the task of tackling the problem of action. And the sadhaka of the Integral Yoga may be wondering if it is at all possible to carry out in practice the categorically stated instruction of the Mother that 'one should always do the right thing in the right way and at the right moment.'

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Nevertheless there must be a solution to this labyrinthine puzzle and we must now venture to set ourselves to the task of finding it out. But before that let us be clear in our mind about what a sadhaka of the Integral Yoga seeks to accomplish in his sadhana. For Sri Aurobindo has so forcefully reminded us:

"A Yoga of works, a union with the Divine in our will and j acts — and not only in knowledge and feeling — is... an indispensable, an inexpressibly important element of an integral Yoga. The! conversion of our thought and feeling without a corresponding con-1 Version of the spirit and body of our Works would be a maimed j achievement." (The Synthesis of Yoga, Cent. Ed., pp. 84-85)

Now this total 'conversion of the spirit and body of our works' can be successfully brought about only by the integral enthronement of the Divine in place of the ego in all the constituent limbs of our acts. But what are these limbs?

Well, any meaningful voluntary action possesses the seven following elements inherent in it:

(i) Who is initiating the action? (ii) What is the impulsion be-j hind? (iii) For what purpose is it being done? (iv) Who is executing the action? (v) With whose instrumentality is it being executed? (vi) How, in which spirit and manner, is it being done? and, finally, (vii) For whom, for whose benefit, is it being undertaken?

A moment's reflection and introspection will reveal to us the : surprising fact that, in the normal unregenerate consciousness of man, almost all acts, big or small, trivial or momentous, have the 'ego' of the worker installed as the sole governing factor dominating all the seven limbs referred to above. "I" and "mine" are the only possible answers to the seven questions that can be formulated in the case of any action. Of course, depending on the situation, this ego may be a gross or a subtle one, and have a compass large or small, but it is ego all the same.

Now, the task before the sadhaka is to banish altogether this ubiquitous ego and its protean progeny, desire. Instead, the Divine should be the consciously felt reality permeating all the seven limbs of every single act of the sadhaka. In the words of Sri Aurobindo:

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"But a time will come when you will... realise that the divine Shakti not only inspires and guides, but initiates and carries out your works; all your movements are originated by her, all your powers are hers, mind, fife and body are conscious and joyful instruments of her action, means for her play, moulds for her manifestation in the physical universe....

"The last stage of this perfection will come when you are com-pletely identified with the Divine Mother and feel yourself to be no longer another and separate being, instrument, servant or worker but truly a child and eternal portion of her consciousness and force." (The Mother, Cent. Ed., pp. 16, 17)

But this can only be the ultimate Siddhi; and the sadhaka has to traverse a long, long way before he can hope to approach this Goal. Sri Aurobindo has delineated the whole Path and all the successive steps of the Journey in Part One ("The Yoga of Divine Works") of his masterpiece, The Synthesis of Yoga. To attempt a summary of this way, even in the barest possible outline, is not possible here. Our present essay has a limited purpose. It deals with the state of a sadhaka who has no doubt resolved to realise in his life the whole goal of the Yoga but is otherwise a novice on the Path. He is sincere in his profession and seeks to do at every moment of his life the right action in the right way. And this too he knows that for a sadhaka of the Integral Yoga, at whatever stage of his progressive journey, the only action that can be considered to be genuinely right is* that which is in accord with the Divine's Hill at that moment: no other criterion can be applicable here.

But merely knowing this yardstick does not solve our problem. For the Divine's Will cannot be known for the mere asking. For that the sadhaka has to undergo some necessary psychological preparation and adequately fulfil certain preconditions. Now what this preparation and what are these conditions? It goes without saying that all that we have to say in answer is meant solely for those who sincerely want to lead a spiritual life; our words and recommendations have no validity nor any relevance in the case of others.

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Conditions for recognising the Divine's Will

First condition — The Divine and the spiritual life should occupy the place of prime importance in the sadhaka' s life. Everything else, however valued by other people, should be allotted a secondary and minor place and not possess any intrinsic importance. Everything in a sadhaka' s life should derive its value only in relation to its relevance to the pursuit of spiritual progress.

Second condition — The sadhaka should expect no egoistic return from his practice of Yoga or from his ardent seeking after the Divine. 'The Divine for the Divine's sake' should be the constant motto of his life. The vital self's craving for some desired! fruit of his actions should be entirely renounced by the sadhaka of the Path. Wealth, position, honour, victory, good fortune or any other fulfilment of desire, the accomplishment of some preferred idea or cherished will, or the satisfaction of some egoistic emotion, or even the so-claimed 'legitimate' expectation of peace and joy — none of these or similar things should be allowed to intrude' as motives behind any of the sadhaka' s actions. The "only object in action shall be to serve, to receive, to fulfil, to become a manifesting instrument of the Divine Shakti in her works." (Ibid., p. 15)

Third condition — All has to be done for the Divine, either directly if the sadhaka has reached that advanced stage of consciousness or, at least, indirectly through others. In the words of Sri Aurobindo, in any enterprise "whether undertaken for ourselves; for others or for the race, it will no longer be possible to stop short at the idea of the race, of ourselves or of others. The thing we are doing must be consciously offered as a sacrifice of works, not to these, but either through them or directly to the One Godhead..." (The Synthesis of Yoga, p. 103)

Fourth condition — "Remember and offer" is the Mantra the Mother has given to every sadhaka of the Integral Path. The sadhaka has to form the firm resolution of offering all his movements, outer and inner, to the Divine. But what exactly is meant by this 'offering' ? It means that all that the sadhaka does in course of his daily life should be done not with any egoistic or personal aim in view but solely "as a service and an offering, in order to become more

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conscious of the divine will and to give oneself more entirely to it, until one has made enough progress to know and feel that it is the Divine who acts in you, His force that animates you, and His will that supports you — not only a mental knowledge, but the sincerity of a state of consciousness and the power of a living experience. For that to be possible, all egoistic motives and all egoistic reactions must disappear." (M C W, Vol. 12, p. 391)

Fifth condition — The sadhaka of the Integral Yoga should not forget that in our sadhana the entire life of the individual even to its minutest details has to be spiritually transformed. So it will not do for the sadhaka to split his daily life into two distinctly different parts, one part devoted to sadhana while the other is divorced from the spirit of sadhana, nor should the sadhaka make any essential distinction between work and work so far as the necessity of their being offered to the Divine is concerned.

For one who wants to grow in spiritual perfection, there are no great actions and small actions, none that are spiritually unimportant.

Sixth condition — A sadhaka following the Path of the Yoga of Transformation should know that, much more than offering his actions, he should try to offer his state of consciousness to the Divine so that the Divine Shakti could mould it in her own way. Offering for transformation what one is is infinitely more important than offering what one does. In the words of the Mother, "if you truly want to receive the divine Light and transform yourself, it is your whole way of being you must offer..." (M C W, Vol. 4, p. 373)

Seventh condition — This is one of the most important conditions to fulfil: it is to change the whole basic attitude activating all the efforts of sadhana of the sadhaka. A sadhaka of the integral Path should do everything, including his sadhana and his seeking after divine union or divine manifestation, only because he feels that such is the Will of the Divine in him and not because of any other consideration high or low. The Mother was once asked by a disciple: "But why do we do this divine Work? It is surely to make ourselves..." The Mother abruptly stopped the questioner from proceeding further and retorted:

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"No, not at all. It is because that's the divine Will. It is not at all for a personal reason, it must not be that. It is because it's the divine Will and it's the divine Work. So long as a personal aspiration or desire, a selfish will, get mingled in it, it always creates a mixture and is not exactly an expression of the divine Will. The only thing which must count is the Divine, His Will, His manifestation, His expression. One is here for that, one is that, and nothing else." (M C W, Vol. 7, p. 191)

Eighth condition — To be aware of the Divine's Will, the sadhaka should resolve to act always under one sole motive, that of the impulsion coming from the divine Shakti. No other motive such as desire, self-interest, fear, fellow-feeling, emotional adhesion, preferential ideas, etc., should be allowed to set him into activity.

It is quite possible that in his early imperfect state of sadhana the sadhaka may not always be actually capable of carrying out this resolve in practice but that should at least be his constant and sincere aspiration. "O Divine, indicate to me your Will and I shall promptly and unreservedly follow it without any further calculation": such should be his constant prayer. Here is what the Mother prescribes in this connection:

"When one is perplexed, when one has to make a choice, when one doesn't know what the right thing to do is — you see, one has to choose among two or three or four possible decisions and doesn't know which is the right one, then one must put himself as far as possible in contact with his psychic being and the divine Presence in him, present the problem to this psychic consciousness and ask for the true light, the true decision, the one most in accordance with the divine Will, and try to listen and receive the inspiration." (M C W, Vol. 6, pp. 340-41)

When the sadhaka has tried to fulfil the eight above-mentioned conditions, he has created in him the requisite state of psychological

receptivity and can then reasonably expect to receive an intimation of the divine Will that is operative in him at that moment.

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But in the beginning he can receive just a vague intimation only and not the direct and full awareness of it; for, he has not yet reached the advanced state of a concrete spiritual experience of the Presence of either the Divine or the psychic being. That experience will surely come with the further advancement of his sadhana. But at this early stage of his spiritual life, the sadhaka can at best expect to receive just a sign of the divine Will and that too expressed through the medium of one of the conventional standards of conduct and principles of right action.

These principles and standards, vehicles of right action, may be for example, (i) the sadhaka' s sense of duty, (ii) his feeling for his fellow-creatures, (iii) his idea of what is for the good of others or the good of the world, (iv) the direction of one whom he has accepted as a human Master, (v) his sense of ideal ethic, etc. But it is clear that none of these standards or principles can satisfy the requirement of a spiritually advancing sadhaka. All these are, no doubt, good in their own places and should govern the different stages in the progressive growth of the individual. But they are after all relative in nature and cannot be binding on all men for all men irrespective of their evolutionary needs.

Thus, it cannot but be that a particular norm of conduct which is good at one time for a particular stage of development' will prove to be bad in other circumstances of growth. After all, as Sri Aurobindo has pointed out, "good is all that helps the individual and the world towards their divine fullness, and evil is all that retards or breaks up that increasing perfection." But since this perfection is progressive and evolutive in time, good and evil change their meanings and values with the passage of time. Hence is the warning of Sri Aurobindo:

'To form higher and higher temporary standards as long as they are needed is to serve the Divine in his world march; to erect rigidly an absolute standard is to attempt the erection of a barrier against the eternal waters in their outflow." (The Synthesis of Yoga, Cent. Ed., p. 180)

It follows, then, that a sadhaka of the Integral Yoga has to leave

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behind him all the makeshifts whose other name is 'temporary standards of conduct'. He will follow at all times one sole law, one sole principle: it is to accept all that comes from the Divine and only from the Divine, all that is sanctioned by the Divine's Will and only by that. As the Mother has reminded us, anyone aspiring to turn to the Divine must abandon all mental conceptions; the! only true attitude for him will be to be plastic and ready to obey the Divine Command whatever it may be. (M C W, Vol. 3, p. 54)

But this is not an easy task. The forward movement of the sadhaka is of the nature of an adventure into the unknown or the partly known regions of the Spirit. In his attempt at deciding on a right action to be done in the right way, the sadhaka has to forgo the safe and sure clues of conventional standards of conduct; in| stead, he has to be utterly sincere and arm himself with certain spiritual qualities. Otherwise he will fumble and stumble at even second step. Every sadhaka of our Path should recall with profit the following words of Sri Aurobindo:

"It is not possible to enter' utterly into the spiritual truth of the Eternal and Infinite if we have not the faith and courage to trail ourselves) into the hands of the Lord of all things and; the friend of all creatures and leave utterly behind us our mental limits and measures. At one moment we must plunge without hesitation reserve or fear or scruple into the ocean of the free, the infinite, the Absolute." (The Synthesis of Yoga, Cent. Ed., p. 197)

If any sadhaka can carry out in practice what Sri Aurobindo advises as to do in the above passage, he will not fail to discover a divine standard of action which will be at the same time the supreme spiritual law of his own true inner nature, svabhāva and svadharma, for the godhead in him is moving towards its own concealed perfection. This standard, free and flexible, as distinguished from all other man-made standards which, when turned into action, either waver on a flux of compromises or err by the partiality and the unelasticity of their structures, will be based only on the spontaneous freedom of the all-wise Will of the Divine. When the sadhaka reaches this state, — and such is the goal of the

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Integral Yoga, — the way he will choose his actions and the way he will do them will assume an altogether different character. In Sri Aurobindo 's words:

"The individual has nothing further to gain, no desire to fulfil; he has become a portion of the impersonality or the universal personality of the Eternal. No other object than the manifestation and play of the Divine Spirit in life and the maintenance and conduct of the world in its march towards the divine goal can move him to action. Mental ideas, opinions, constructions are his no more; for his mind has fallen' into silence, it is only a channel for the Light land Truth of the divine knowledge. Ideals are too narrow for the vastness of his spirit; it is the ocean of the Infinite that flows through him and moves him forever."( lbid., p. 198)

The discussion so far must have made it clear that the goal of our sadhana in the conduct of our actions is to arrive at a standardless state solely governed at every step by the omniscient spontaneity of the divine Wilt But for most of us — sadhakas taking the first tentative steps on the spiritual Path — this goal is still very, very far away. Yet it cannot be denied that the task even for the novice sadhaka is to do all acts in conformity with the Will of the Divine. What do we do then? How to come out of the impasse?

The Mother and Sri Aurobindo have both assured us that even in the state of ignorance, even when the sadhaka is not aware of die presence of his psychic being nor, for that matter, of the Will of the Divine, he can surely put himself in the hands of the Divine in such a way, in such a spirit of sincere self-giving and a total trust the divine guidance, that the Divine will intervened his life and guide him at every step along the right lines, albeit from behind the evil of outer ignorance of the sadhaka. After the passage of some months and years, when the sadhaka will cast a clairvoyant look at his past, he will discover to his happy surprise how he has been all the time 'infallibly led on his Path by an inscrutable supreme Wisdom. But for this to happen the sadhaka has to fulfil a number of essential preconditions and follow a certain proce-

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dure which is as follows:

(i)Before initiating any action the sadhaka has to be vigilant and carefully discourage all ego-promptings and desire-impulsions pushing him to some specific activity.

(ii)He has to invoke the Presence of the Divine Shakti, place himself in that ambience, and sincerely pray to the Mother Divine that he be rightly guided at this moment in the matter of the choice of the action.

(iii)He must seek to eliminate all preferences and antipathies as regards the possible indication of the anticipated course of action.

(iv)The sadhaka should try to silence all agitation in his mind and heart: all emotional effervescence as well as ideational excitement should be abated and calmed.

(v)The sadhaka should be fully attentive, and patiently wait for the first sign of the inspiration coming from the higher or the inner source.

(vi)If the sadhaka is really sincere in his asking for the divine directive and that too solely with the intent of carrying it out in practice without any reserve or hesitation, then,' he can reasonably] expect to receive the divine guidance in the propitious milieu of the mental and vital silence already created.

(vii)The indication from above or within may come in either of three different ways. (a) It may possibly come in the quiet mind as a sure knowledge as regards the course of action the sadhaka should follow at that moment, (b) Or, it may come in the emotional heart in the form of a sure feeling, and indicate to the sadhaka Which course of action will make him ultimately happy from the spiritual point of view, (c) Or, the guidance may come in the dynamic vital in the form of a clearly defined intense will pointing to the right action among all possible alternatives. It should be carefully noted that this urge of will will be felt by the sadhaka as something intense but altogether limpid, free from all turbidity and excitement. The slightest appearance of excitement or confusion should make the inspiration suspect in the sadhaka' s eyes.

(viii)After receiving the indication the sadhaka should pro-

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ceed to choose the action which should be in accordance with the best light available to him at that moment. And while being engaged in the execution of the act he should keep his personal will always offered to the Divine so that the supreme Consciousness can rectify its orientation as and when it deviates from the right path.

(ix)Now about the attitude that has to be maintained. The sadhaka should do all that he has to do only for the joy of doing the right thing as an offering to the Divine. No other motive should be allowed to intrude there. As the Mother advises: "You must not be anxious about the results; simply do a thing because you have seen that it is that which must be done: tell yourself, T am doing this because this is the thing to be done, and whatever may happen afterwards is not my concern.' " (M C W, Vol. 4, pp. 12-13)

(x)The sadhaka should remain always vigilant to receive and recognise even the slightest indication corning from the higher or the inner source, hinting that he should change his act or the way he has been doing it. This indication may come in the form of a quiet but very distinct sense of uneasiness which the sadhaka will feel in the depth of his heart. When it comes, the sadhaka has to immediately stop and ponder, and pray to the Divine Shakti for :the necessary guidance.

(xi)The sadhaka should never forget that it is not so much the outer form of action that matters but the spirit behind it. The Mother has often insisted upon this point. Here is a typical citation: "From the point of view of a spiritual life, it is not what you do that maters most, but the way in which it is done and the consciousness you put into it." (M C W, Vol. 14, p. 36) And about this right spirit and attitude Sri Aurobindo has this to say:

"The essential of the sacrifice of works must be there and the essential is the surrender of all desire for the fruit of our works, the renunciation of all attachment to the result for which yet we labour. For so long as we work with attachment to the result, the sacrifice is offered not to the Divine, but to our ego. We may think otherwise, but we are deceiving ourselves..." (The Synthesis of Yoga, Cent. Ed., pp. 209-10)

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(xii) A last point: The sadhaka should not forget that if one is sincere in his sadhana, for him everything in life can be utilised for the sake of progress, everything can be useful if one knows how to use it. "The important thing is never to lose sight of the ideal you want to realise and to make use of every circumstance for this purpose." (M C W, Vol. 12, p. 323)

A sadhaka of die Path of the Integral Yoga of self-transformation should keep the above twelve-point programme before his eyes and seek,; in all earnestness, to carry it out in practice for every single activity of his life. This will help him to advance step by step, through various stages of his progression, to the ultimate goal of divine self-fulfilment. What these stages are and how to solve the problem of action in each of these stages, has been succinctly and very beautifully described by Sri Aurobindo in a passage of The Synthesis of Yoga. This passage interrelates all the varying standards of conduct in a synthetic sweep of vision and places all the attempts of man to regulate his life and action in the right perspective.

"In the ordinary life a personal, social or traditional constructed rule, standard or ideal is the guide; once the spiritual journey has begun, this must be replaced by an inner and outer rule or way of living necessary for our self-discipline, liberation and perfection^ a way of living proper to the path we follow or enjoined by the spiritual guide and master, the Guru, or else dictated by a Guide within us. But in the last state of the soul's infinity and freedom all outward standards are replaced or laid aside and there is left only a spontaneous and integral obedience to the Divine with whom we are in union and an action spontaneously fulfilling the integral spiritual truth of our being and nature." (The Synthesis of Yoga, p. 261)

Herein lies the ultimate solution to the nagging problem of right action and the methodology of recognising the Divine's Will at every moment of the sadhaka' s life.

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