I do not see how it can be done without peace and silence, if it is the higher planes which are spoken of. Of course large mental and vital planes can be reached without it and in that passage there may be vibrations.

A few days back you wrote: "It happens sometimes when the force is flowing down from the Brahmarandhra." What does this Sanskrit word indicate?

The place at the top of the head (called crown of the head) which is supposed to be the part at which things ordinarily come in from above and go out. E.g. it is through this that the being in the sukshma deha (subtle physical) goes out at the time of death and also it is the passage of connec-

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tion (previous to opening) between the higher and the lower consciousness.

There are stories in the old scriptures, Puranas, that some great yogis were tempted by the Apsaras (fairies of other worlds). Then some of them left their yogic tapasya and even married them. Are these really facts or mere religious fables?

These things are possible but they do not usually happen — because it is difficult for beings of the subtle worlds to materialise to such an extent or for a long time. They prefer to act by influencing human beings, using them as instruments or taking possession of a human mind and body.

ASCENT AND DESCENT OF THE HIGHER

CONSCIOUSNESS-FORCE

Sometimes in my forehead I feel as if a burning spark has entered, though it remains within only for a while. What is this spark?

A spark of the higher dynamic force, I suppose.

Since early morning I have been receiving something from above through the forehead. It descends swiftly and power-fully.

It is the higher consciousness sending its force down into the inner mind centre.

In the morning my inner consciousness was lifted up above the head. There if found a plane which was filled with force — a force of great intensity and power. Even the air there was full of fiery vibrations. What was this experience?

It is the higher Force above which is always there waiting

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for its time of descent. As one feels the silence and wideness of the Self there, so one feels there a presence of a great Force — higher or Divine Force.

During the free reception I feel the descent passing through my head, forehead and inner vision centre.

It is the inner mind centres that have become open and conscious.

During a deep meditation, sometimes I feel a sweet and star-cool intense Force just above my head. At the same time I see my vital consciousness rising from its navel centre to that Force and drawing if down. It may be noted, however, that this whole movement needs a little effort (though not striving), otherwise the Force by itself does not descend.

Such an ascent and drawing down from above is often the preliminary to the spontaneous descent of that which is above.

Should I allow such an effort?

There is no harm at all in allowing it.

The effort to ascend and draw down the Mother's Force does not succeed every time. Still do you want me to go on developing this process till it becomes easy and natural for the Force to come down by itself even without my conscious call?

It does not matter if it fails at times. You have to persist until it becomes automatic.

The Mother's present Force is experienced as a piece of sweetmeat! How to believe in such a phenomena?

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Why not?

When it is too difficult to bring down the Force while remaining below and to remove the darkness that is there, I simply leave my external being and rise above.

That is good. The power of rising above at will is of great value.

The Mother has worked out something positive during yesterday's general meditation. The mechanical recurrence that used to take place even when part of myself entered into the self-realisation has now stopped altogether.

It is evident that something fundamental has been realised.

You wrote: "The higher vital can be like that (calm, strong, ready for the higher Force) but only when the true vital manifests itself." There seems to be no revolt or resistance from the vital. What then prevents my true vital from manifesting?

The things that you are realising more and more fundamentally are liberation, purification, peace and silence, self etc., the static side of the higher consciousness. The dynamic things are only beginning or preparing — the manifestation of the true vital is part of this dynamic realisation. There is no hurry — all will come in its time.

There is started today an easy soaring from plane to still higher plane of consciousness. It was a sweet and joyous flight.

That is good. It means the way open to higher and higher planes of consciousness.

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This particular movement I could not follow with full clarity: whether it was an ascent or a descent or both. First something huge came down through the head, filling my body with its light. Passing through the throat centre with a little difficulty it reached the chest. Simultaneously another movement also took place from the chest. It rose up to the seventh centre (sahasradala padma chakra on the head). The second movement was also full of intensity and supported by the vital, otherwise it would not have been experienced so clearly and at the same time. It would have been rather engulfed in the powerful descent.

It is the descent and responding ascent in the higher part of the being.

During the past seven days the Mother opened me to the first of the higher planes. Now a suggestion says that a preparation for the second plane is on. And I am passing through the intermediate zone, which lies between the two higher planes. Is that why the downward pull of the adverse forces is so strong and obstinate at present?

What do you mean exactly by the intermediate zone?

It is not likely that the attack is for preventing your rising above the higher Mind. It is rather probable that they want to prevent two things — first, your being permanently above in the Self and secondly the descent of the Force which should fill the Peace and Silence.

Some people say that between two planes there is an intermediate zone. As one passes through it the forces or beings of that region try their best to lure away and prevent the sadhak from entering the next upper plane.

Who are the people that say that? I have used the phrase

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in a quite different sense. Has anybody had experience of these intermediate zones?

How is it that at times the Force descends, but only a part of it, not its fullness?

That is always so at first. It prepares the completer descent.

If you kindly permit, I would prefer to station myself in the higher consciousness, from where I have been absent for quite a time, to be up there and associate myself with the Mother in her working out the change of my lower nature.

No objection — it is a very good thing to keep working in the higher consciousness. It is more effective than struggling all the time down below with the lower forces.

There are periods when there is no active or apparent movement of the sadhana for the entire being is at rest. During such a transitional period, I pulled up my human consciousness from below and united it with the self-existence above. By this method, it will carry back at least some peace and purity of the higher planes when it returns to earth.

It is an excellent method.

Now I have started using dynamic aspirations on the battlefield and find them very effective.

All along good so that there is nothing to say.

When I rise above and before I plunge myself into some higher development the mechanical mind pulls me down. It does it so secretly and cunningly that I become aware of it only when I dm already pulled down. It is due to this defect

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or weakness that I am not as yet able to take full advantage of my stay on the spiritual planes.

That is a thing that happens in the earlier stages. It can be got rid of by perseverance, the length of the higher condition increasing to the requisite degrees.

I draw your attention to some of the essential things I need at present: bhakti (devotion), love and joy.

All comes in its time. One has to go on quietly and steadily increasing the higher consciousness till it takes possession of the vital and physical parts.

There was just one moment, a single moment, when I experienced myself completely and throughout, as the divine Force itself. Is if not by such openings that tamas shall be conquered most easily and effectively?

Yes.

I am sorry, today I have not kept the distinction between what is truly of my self and what is of the lower vital.

The distinction must be kept not only clear but entire — for the least blurring of it gives the opportunity for the vital of the nature to pull out the consciousness from its higher state.

Now that the Mother's Power acts in me it will make me do what should be done. And it will also help me to avoid unnecessary things on the path. Is if not really so?

Yes.

While rising a little beyond the human mind I see and feel a direct and straight path. Its one end is at the seventh centre

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and the other high above, in fact so high up that I cannot see it but can have only an impression of it. This flight has many gradations.

It is the line of connection between the spiritual mind, through higher mind, illumined mind, intuition, overmind to the supramental.

For the last two days, my consciousness seems to soar much higher than the Higher Mind. Not only the inner but even the outer being feels elevated. Today especially I experienced as if the consciousness had crossed the Intuition plane. I cannot be quite certain about these flights unless I have your confirmation.

It may be, but it is comparatively easy to go high when the way is opened. The difficulty is to bring down the power of those states and that can be done only stage by stage.

Rising above, one rarely thinks of bringing anything down oneself For one always thinks it is enough if one can dwell there up above and whatever is to be brought down or worked out below in the lower planes will be accomplished by the Mother's Force alone.

If you can rise always, it can be done like that. But the inertia prevents that, then there must be a descent to remove the obstacle. The will for that must be there.

For many days I have been feeling a great Force above my head, but it is not coming down. That means there is some obstruction to its passage below. Do you want me to draw it down by my will?

The Force must come down, though probably it will do so by stages. The will has to invite it if not draw it. Also

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the Force has to be used, that is, something of it directed by the will against the obstacles. This training of the will to act in the yogic way is very important as a stage in the sadhana.

Your phrase, "the will has to invite it if not draw it" — does it mean I should rather invite the Force than draw it?

No, I did not ask you not to draw it. I meant, if one does not want to draw it, one must at least invite it by one's own will, not merely wait for it to come down.

The inertia, physical weakness, endless subconscient recurrences have covered up my sadhana again and made such a confusion that I don't know how to pull myself out of it.

By calling down the Descent, since the Ascent is impossible. At least that is how I dealt with the situation in my own case.

If it was the 'oscillation' which made a complete silence disappear, I can't understand it. Formerly such a silence could stay on for days together. Moreover, at that time my progress was less and not as stable as now.

The rush of the experience at the beginning is often very powerful, so powerful that the resisting elements remain quiescent — afterwards they rise up. The experience has then to be brought down and settled in these parts also.

In one place you say, "The experiences prepare the different parts of the being for loving in the right way." Somewhere else you write that the higher experiences leave the exterior nature as it is and that mere rising above or getting experiences brings no change in the lower vital, ego etc. Well?

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I am not speaking of mere rising above. The rising above has to be followed by the descent of the higher consciousness into the different parts of the being. That aided by the psychic development and aiding it changes the external nature.

In spite of the massive difficulties not only my inner being but even the outer mind are sure of a final victory.

Yes, of course. The obstruction can be only a temporary phase.

You might have noticed that during the last two days the higher consciousness has again been pressing immensely. The head and forehead remain under strong and keen pressures which are often unbearable.

That is simply the higher consciousness trying to come down.

I would like to know if my former experiences and living in the higher consciousness have brought about any fundamental change in my lower nature. At least at present my ego and physical vital are found to be practically the same as ever.

The action of the higher consciousness does not usually begin by changing the outer nature — it works on the inner being, prepares that and then goes outward. Before that whatever change is done in the outer nature has to be done by the psychic.

Do you think that I remained too much in the higher consciousness and in the yogic experiences ? That I really never thought enough of bringing all that down to change my human nature?

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Your tendency was to go up and to leave the higher consciousness to deal with the lower nature without any personal effort for that. That could have worked all right on two conditions: (1) that the peace and force would come down and occupy all down to the physical (2) that you succeeded in keeping the inner being unmoved by the outer nature. The physical failed to absorb the peace, inertia rose instead; force could not come down; the suggestions from the outer nature proved too strong for you and between these suggestions and the inertia they interrupted the sadhana.

Regarding the change of the physical nature, I never thought of doing it myself My impression was that such a herculean task could only be performed by the Mother's Force, while I maintained my station above. I always had a will for it but did not put myself to work at it.

One can remain in the higher consciousness and yet associate oneself with the change of the lower nature. No doubt it is the Mother's Force that will do what is necessary but the consent of the" sadhak, the association of his will with her action or at least of his witness vision is necessary also.

You left it [the ordinary nature] to be dealt with by the Force while you remained above — and if you could have remained above it would no doubt have been dealt with.

In the Yoga does the ascent take place first or the descent? I can sec that I was not wholly fixed on the higher plane.

There is no fixed rule in such things. With many the descent comes first and the ascension afterwards, with others it is the other way; with some the two processes go on to-

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gether. If one can fix oneself above so much the better. I have explained to you why it did not happen.

The Mother put her Force on a sadhak because he wanted to change something in his nature. Can she not do the same thing with me? I too wish to change my ego and vital.

I don't know to what you refer. Force is always put; its result depends on the cooperation of the sadhaka's nature.

I cannot understand whether or not my sadhana is really stopped. Could you kindly explain what is actually the matter?

'Stopped' is a relative term. It is not able to go further or even to complete the descent that was taking place, because the vital has not yet consented to the necessary change.

About the higher Force you wrote, "Let it come in." Does it mean that under the present circumstances of the sadhana I had better not draw the Force but leave it to its own choice?

I mean that you need not pull it down, but you should aid its entry by your full aspiration and assent.

Now if there is no harm can I resume drawing the Force?

You can do it.

Why are my peace and silence still so passive? Will they never become solid and dynamic?

It can only be so if Force comes down into the silence.

There is no fluttering in the being. The quietness reigns over the nature. Is this not the positive sign of the whole

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consciousness, down to the physical, turning towards the higher and making itself a calm vessel for the Mother's working?

Yes. But it must fix itself in the physical.

From 1.30 to 3.30 p.m. a powerful and unusual pressure seizes my head. Is it an indication of any victory over my lower nature?

If it becomes a dynamic descent, then yes.

In that case it is certain that there is a descent though I am not aware of it.

Yes.

Does the descent's becoming dynamic or passive depend on myself?

To a certain extent, not altogether.

What is the purpose of the dynamic descent?

The dynamic descent is for change.

The physical consciousness is too weak to hold the experience even for a short time. It gets fired. The mechanical mind takes advantage of this and rushes in. How to prevent such obstacles? It is really a pity that in spite of having the higher experiences before me I cant respond to them. What is the remedy?

No remedy except the possession of the physical by the higher consciousness and a consequent throwing outside of these things.

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Guidance from Sri Aurobindo - Volume 2

HIGHER PLANES OF CONSCIOUSNESS

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