... give up, unable to give up, unable to give up, unable to give up The comfortable beliefs of my outer being (2) My outer being, my outer being. I am unable to give up, unable to give up, unable to give up, unable to give up, My outer being, my outer being, my outer being. (2) By arranging circumstances the Mother alone draws my attention (2) Draws my attention ...
... your aspiration. The aspiration could not be realised if you remained bound by your external self, tied to the physical mind and its petty movements. It is not the outer being which is the source of this spiritual urge; the outer being has only undergone the inner drive from behind the veil. You saw in this experience whence it came. It is the inner psychic being in you that is the bhakta the seeker... experiences, most of the work being done in the subliminal behind the veil—until things are ready. When the time comes for the definite opening and removal of the purdah between the inner and the outer being, I think I can promise you that you will find your power of Yoga and yogic experience at least as unexpectedly complete as you, and others, have found your power for poetry —though necessarily its... what it implies—which I shall do. For the moment I will only say that it is a very decisive step towards the movement of which I spoke—the throwing down of the purdah between the inner and the outer being, which is the first crucial change in Yoga. August 11, 1931 I have started the letter, but I doubt if I shall be able to finish it tonight; therefore it will be better to answer at ...
... gloomy periods. To avoid them we must make our outer being love the Divine. But how to do it with a strong ego in front? The outer being has to learn to love in the psychic way without ego. If it loves in the egoistic vital way, then it only creates difficulties for itself and for the sadhana and for the Mother. The outer being too must love the Divine Mother. If the love... way of sadhana. A progress made by indulgence of this demand is an insecure progress which may any moment be thrown down by the same force that produced it. The struggle in the outer being has gone out of control. The mind is under the vital's influence. During such circumstances, as a strategy, is it not good to satisfy the desire for the time being? How is it you do ...
... INNER AND OUTER BEING You always speak about turning to the inner being, so I would like to know if there is nothing good in the outer being? Obviously the outer being cannot be all bad, but it is mixed and ignorant and full of ignorant movements. What has the inner being to do with Yoga or spiritual life? It is the outer being that has... that you can get rid of the obstruction or minimise it until the transformation of the outer being can be made complete. How did the tendency to inertia get into me and why did my nature accept it? It was because of the nature, because the tendency to tamas is there, the outer being is not yet sufficiently transformed. When the inertia rises you have to keep your inner... It is always the identification with the outer being that causes difficulties on the path. So long as the inner separation was there I travelled like a prince luxuriating in the Mother's Peace, Knowledge and Force. But when it was lost the same traveller turned into a vagabond. Is this not a fact? Yes, that is correct. The outer being is a means of expression only, not one's self ...
... developed man and thence into the perfect consciousness which is beyond the mental, into the supramental Consciousness and the supramental being.... 8 The Outer Being The three major divisions in the outer being consist of the mind (the mental), the life-self (the vital) and the body (the physical). Each of these parts has its own distinct type of consciousness, though in our... Individuality In our normal consciousness, as stated previously, we are not conscious of our true being; we are aware only of our outer being — body, life and mind — with which we identify our self. This identification of the true being with the outer being gives rise to an ego — physical, vital, and mental — which gives us the sense of I-ness, an individuality separate from the rest of the... vertical, "like a flight of steps". 5 The concentric system consists of the outer or surface being, the inner being, and supporting both of these, the inmost being or the psychic (Fig.l). The outer being and the inner being have three corresponding parts — mental, vital, physical. Thus "There are, we might say, two beings in us, one on the surface, our ordinary exterior mind, life, body consciousness ...
... descent was necessary, but in the inner being or if possible the whole being, the inner outflowing into the outer, not in the outer being to the exclusion of the inner. Page 35 My inner being lives mostly in the deeper experiences, my outer being in the ordinary consciousness. Are not 3 or 4 years of sadhana enough to fuse them into one? 3 or 4 years is not such... fixed in all inner parts that the separateness also becomes fixed and permanent. The outer being does not care for the sadhana unless it gets something by it which is to it pleasant or gratifying or satisfying -depression therefore comes easy to it. It is true that my outer being is always stronger than the inner. It was why the inner separation could not be dynamic and effective... become high according as they are turned to the outward forces of the Ignorance or towards the higher forces from above and the inner impulsion of the psychic. All forces can play there. It is the outer being that is fixed in a certain character, certain tendencies, certain movements. At present, when I meditate, in one part there is a high concentration while in another part ordinary thoughts ...
... When you come to the Divine, lean inwardly on the Divine and do not let other things affect you. Acting from Within on the Outer Being Detach yourself from the outer being; live in the inner; let the Force work from the inner being—it will change the outer being. It is on the surface that the transformation is done. One comes up to the surface with what one has gained in the depths... consciousness which is helpful to the work. What you say about the outer being is correct; it must change and manifest what is within in the inner nature. But for that one must have experiences in the inner nature and through these the power of the inner nature grows till it can influence wholly and possess the outer being. To change the outer consciousness entirely without developing this inner... that happens as the sadhana proceeds and must happen in order that one may have completely the knowledge of oneself and the true consciousness. These two parts are the inner being and the outer being. The outer being (mind, vital and physical) has now become capable of quietude and it sits in meditation in a free, happy, vacant quietude which is the first step towards the true consciousness. The inner ...
... waiting secretly behind the clamour and conflict raging in the outer being of man. India's greatness in the past arose, according to Sri Aurobindo, from her possession of the hidden Spirit by Yogic experience. The Spiritual Background, however, was not his whole objective. In India's finest hours the contact with the outer being was never lost. Sri Aurobindo sought for something more than... than a contact which, after a brief flash of illumination, Page 5 lets the outer being remain the half-lit and stumbling creature it normally is. As in the background, so too in the forefront there must always be the Spirit. His Yoga is integral, an all-round fulfilment of the Divine on this very earth and not in a remote paradise or a transcendental Nirvana. That is why Pondicherry, with ...
... elucidation in his description of the various parts of the being given below. Broadly speaking, Sri Aurobindo distinguishes four elements which make up the totality of man's being: the surface or outer being, the subconscient, the subliminal and the superconscient. In order to understand the nature of this fourfold constitution of the being, certain fundamental views of Sri Aurobindo's philosophy need... by evolution and the consciousness that has descended from above for involution. There is in it an inner mind, an inner vital being of ourselves, an inner or subtle-physical being larger than our outer being and nature. ... There is here a consciousness which has a power of direct contact with the universal unlike the mostly indirect contacts which our surface being maintains with the universe through... surface, our ordinary exterior mind, life, body consciousness, another behind the veil, an inner mind, an inner life, an inner physical consciousness constituting another or inner self." 30 The outer being is connected with the subliminal and, though unaware of it, receives from the subliminal its inspirations, intuitions, etc. As Sri Aurobindo states: "It (the subliminal] is, according to our ...
... the Divine and is thus the Ishwara of our Page 138 individual nature. Therefore the key to mastery over one's outer being and life lies in discovering the psychic and bringing it to the front. This is expressed in the following statements: "The outer being, left to itself, is not very responsible; it is most often the plaything of the forces of Nature. But the inner or higher being... implied in the last quotation, the state of mastery is preceded by the witness state of liberation in which one becomes a detached, unidentified observer, unaffected by whatever takes place in the outer being and external environment. This is one of the methods taught in yoga for gaining control over the mind. Thus, in a letter to a disciple, Sri Aurobindo advises: "Detach yourself from it [the habitual ...
... 1934 1934? I made no mistake at all. Your inner being is quite capable of Yoga and in your experiences there were plenty of proofs of it. It is your outer being that is making all the trouble and putting up a big fight against the inner destiny. But that hap- pens to many people who turn out very good Yogis in the end. So that is no ground whatever for your... on the ground that, whether justified or not, they are wrong and not wanted by the higher Truth and Light and Love we are seeking after. I suppose I have nothing much to learn about the outer being of this or that sadhak—even in the best it is faulty enough from the spiritual point of view. If insincerity means the unwillingness of some part of the being to live according to the highest light... and distorted shadow of his own ego or for some other distortions of the nature produced by a wrong egoistic misuse of the Yoga. A mere appearance of inability or obstruction of progress in the outer being, a covering of Page 205 the inner by the outer, even if it lasts for years, has no privative value, because that happens to a great number, perhaps to the majority of aspirants ...
... activity pass unnoticed. The more the psychic spreads in the outer being, the more all these things [ the mechanical activities of the subconscious mind ] fall quiet. That is the best way. Direct efforts to still the mind are a difficult method. Surface Thoughts and Imaginations That [ a state in which the outer being responds to surface thoughts while the inner being is "engrossed in... force does the work through the passive instrument. Concentration is necessary. By dhyana you awake the inner being; by concentration in life, in work, in the outer consciousness you make the outer being also fit to receive the Divine Light and Force. It is in the waking consciousness that all has to be realised. But that cannot be done without a full preparation in the inner being and it ...
... nt ], only the Supramental could do if it acted directly or some force fully supported by the Supramental, but that occurs rarely. Page 595 The Subconscient, the Inner Being and the Outer Being In our Yoga we mean by the subconscient that quite submerged part of our being in which there is no wakingly conscious and coherent thought, will or feeling or organised reaction, but which yet... more open to the Truth and in direct touch with the universal. The inner being does not depend on the subconscient, but the outer has depended on it for thousands of lives—that is why the outer being and physical consciousness's habit of response to the subconscient can be a formidable obstacle to the progress of the sadhana and is so with most. It keeps up the repetition of the old movements... only if you live wholly and dynamically in the inner being and feel the outer as a quite superficial thing that you can get rid of the obstruction or minimise it until the transformation of the outer being can be made complete. It [ a condition of obscurity ] is most probably something that has come from outside and covered. This happens at this stage when the working is in the physical and ...
... hment. 16 The Mother * Don't mix up the psychic being with the outer being. The psychic being may be perfect and the outer being may be idiotic. Don't confuse the two. They have nothing to do... unfortunately they have nothing to do with each other, most of the time. For the outer being is not at all conscious of the psychic being; but to the extent that it 4s conscious it ...
... spoke this or that! I take it as a great weakness. Page 79 That also is the usual movement of the vital when acting in its own nature. The vitality in my outer being has decreased much. What I could do in one day now needs three days! Is this due to a transition period for establishing a higher life in the outer nature? It depends on how you take it.... the Higher Consciousness into the lower being. The higher Force is not likely to come down into the vital independently of the rest of the system. You wrote once that the outer being cannot be changed without bringing down the higher consciousness first into the inner. Shall I have to wait then for the inner being to get the higher consciousness before this depression can go... perilously subject to hostile attacks, perhaps it would have been done by now. I distinguish the inertia in me as of two types. First there is the type which is always there in the outer being whether my consciousness goes above or below. Only removable by being transformed into shama, i.e. divine peace, quietude, stillness. The second type is a special surge which ...
... are gone for ever, but due to my separateness their reactions do not touch me. It is the true Yogic consciousness in which one feels that oneness and lives in it, not touched by the outer being and its inferior movements, but looking on them with a smile at their ignorance and smallness. It will become much more possible to deal with these outer things if that separateness is maintained... inner intoxication which kept me merged in her Peace and Silence all through. I noticed that most of the inner and higher parts, which ordinarily remain prominent, withdrew in a deep passivity; the outer being was then left to itself without any dynamic control. When this happened the inertia tried to take advantage by rising up. If the physical being has felt and assimilated the silence... is not enough. Now I must control that nature and govern it according to her Light; then only can there be a conquest. Let me then apply myself to this new movement for the further change of my outer being. I have become conscious that her cleansing Fire is there, capable of purifying and transforming the darkest material. The Mother, as the Divine Agni, has done something ...
... the inner being does not manifest or act, the outer being will never get transformed. If the inner being is safe, then there is no longer any struggle or overpowering [ of the outer being ] by inertia or depression or other fundamental difficulties. The rest can be done progressively and quietly, including the coming down of the Force. The outer being becomes merely a machinery or an instrumentation... inner being then one is aware of a consciousness which begins to spread into the universal and the external is only a surface movement thrown up by the universal forces. The Outer Being and Consciousness The outer being is a means of expression only, not one's self. One must not identify with it, for what it expresses is a personality formed by the old ignorant Nature. If not identified, one can... The Concentric System: Outer to Inner Letters on Yoga - I Chapter I The Outer Being and the Inner Being The Outer and the Inner Being and Consciousness There are always two different consciousnesses in the human being, one outward in which he ordinarily lives, the other in ward and concealed of which he knows nothing. When one does sadhana, the inner ...
... of Yogic force sleep often gets a tendency to change into the Yogic Swapna-samadhi. To enter the trance I always have to pass through a sleep-state. But the mind felt as if the outer being disappeared even without Page 187 needing to pass through a sleep-state, as was the normal process. Do you mean by the sleep state a state of dreaming sleep... also felt a new kind of energy, with a strength and intensity which I can only call spiritual. Good. Ordinarily it is said that samadhi does not bring any change in the outer being. But I think it is not so in the samadhi of our Yoga. There is no reason why samadhi should have no effect on the waking being. But why are some experiences received... this distinction between samadhi and trance correct? Trance also is samadhi but deep samadhi. Whatever is experienced in the waking state leaves its effect upon the outer being; does the samadhi-experience act in the same way? Not necessarily, but it helps to prepare the inner being. The samadhi sometimes leaves a strong after-effect and sometimes ...
... necessary if the pull of the ego or outer being and that of the soul have become too acute for solution otherwise or if the outer being insists on having its experience. 20 June 1935 Do you mean [in the preceding letter] that when we feel a strong push to leave, it would be best to make the experiment? Page 615 It is especially when the outer being rejects the Truth and insists on... restlessness) and that would have interfered wherever you might have been and on whatever path. To conquer this outer nature is the only way and that can be best done here, since the change of the outer being is here a part of the sadhana and you will receive the necessary help. 17 July 1937 Don't be with me as with X. You couldn't keep him here; forces took him away. Doubts! I repeat that... exhausted my vital attachments. I feel I am destined for the spiritual life and will take the final plunge very soon. Page 627 When there is so sharp a difference between the inner and the outer being, it is always the sadhak who has to make his choice. As for coming back, many who have gone out have come back, others have not—for in going out there is always the danger of entering into a current ...
... ordinary movements of my outer being and that I need not report to you about the negative side of my sadhana. But now that the lower nature has become active shall I resume writing about it? Yes, you can write. The other arrangement was for going on with the positive side of the sadhana and not paying an undue attention to the outer being. But if the outer being imposes attention like that... Yet to write is necessary. Page 215 THE INTELLECT AND ITS TRAINING What is the place of intellect with regard to the inner being and the outer being? Intellectual activities are not part of the inner being, the intellect is the outer mind. When does the intellect become an obstacle to the higher realisation? ... and lower vital. Nobody has a special knowledge from the beginning. Is the physical mind right in thinking that I should not write to you about the usual wrong reactions of the outer being? It may be better, provided that does not mean allowing the reactions to grow and get worse. Is it really the physical mind that says so? Is it then not true that ...
... their waking consciousness; and they never make any progress because they do not establish a relation between their deeper consciousness, the truth of their being, and their outer being. You see, they take off their outer being as though they were taking off a cloak, and they put it in a corner: "Come now, don't trouble me, keep quiet. You are a nuisance." And then they enter into contemplation, their... and then they come back, put on the cloak which of course has not changed—which perhaps is dirtier still than before—and they remain exactly as they were without any meditation. If you want the outer being to change, it is while remaining conscious of it that you should have the other experiences; and you must not lose contact with your ordinary outer consciousness if you want it to profit by the ... they flew into a rage, a fury, they abused everybody, they became more intolerable than if they had never meditated, than any ordinary person. This happened because they neglected making their outer being participate in their deeper life. They cut themselves into two, so there is a portion inside which progresses and a portion outside which becomes worse and worse, because it is completely neglected ...
... their waking consciousness; and they never make any progress because they do not establish a relation between their deeper consciousness, the truth of their being, and their outer being. You see, they take off their outer being as though they were taking off a cloak, and they put it in a corner: “Come now, don’t trouble me, keep quiet. You are a nuisance.” And then they enter into contemplation, their... and then they come back, put on the cloak which of course has not changed—which perhaps is dirtier still than before—and they remain exactly as they were without any meditation. If you want the outer being to change, it is while remaining conscious of it that you should have the other experiences; and you must not lose contact with your ordinary outer consciousness if you want it to profit by the ... they flew into a rage, a fury, they abused everybody, they became more intolerable than if they had never meditated, than any ordinary person. This happened because they neglected making their outer being participate in their deeper life. They cut themselves into two, so there is a portion inside which progresses and a portion outside which becomes worse and worse, because it is completely neglected ...
... formation of multiple selves or personalities, causing division, conflict, disharmony and disorganisation in our outer being. Harmonisation and unification of the outer being can be brought about only by discovering our inmost being – Chaitya Purusha or the psychic being—and organising the outer being around the psychic as its centre and governing principle. The aim of spiritual quest in the past has generally... of spiritual evolution beyond liberation consists in the transformation of the instruments of the spirit—mind, life and body—so as to establish the kingdom of the spirit on earth. It is when the outer being is unified and governed by the psychic being that the transformation of mind, life and body becomes possible. As Sri Aurobindo states: "The psychic being ... supports the mind, vital, body, ...
... to the lower personality. It is that which remains at the back and governs the personality. The psychic being is in direct communication with the truth, which it organises and transmits to the outer being. The central being cannot organise the truth: it is above all evolution. It is the psychic being which develops spiritually through the different personalities. It is then the central being... human way of establishing the communication with what is above, a straight line with the supramental truth. When the force will be established there and the central being come out, seize upon the outer being, it will effect the transformation. It will direct the force downwards, every-where, and effect the change. I am so tired of my mind. But these movements are not so important. They are... eyes. You feel it ? Yes. I have spoken about it several times. All depends on how much your outer consciousness is united with the inner. When you have overcome the difficulties of your outer being, you will pass through a progressive initiation. I shall show you, through the eyes, all that is there in the universe .... You will then see the exact place of all these things. You must get ...
... object—an idea, a sentiment, a material thing—without experiencing desire or refusal, without existing in relation to that object, the inner transparency which one then experiences can extend to the outer being, to the physical Page 15 body, and subtly lend it the meaning of its non-existence as an individual entity and its boundlessness as a conscious element of the Infinite. That, moreover... is like a change of code which takes place in some. Images permeate them, mingle with their ordinary mental activities and gradually replace them. They appear to be indestructible; whatever the outer being might do, they resist anything which would formerly have obscured the psyche. They come from the future and are instilled in the collective unconscious. And, as no movement of the individual external ...
... h has to come. When I look deep within myself, I seem to feel a thorough self-giving in general to the Mother and Sri Aurobindo, but evidently whatever is there is not fully translated into the outer being with its remnants of the Old Adam though they are not specially lingering on the look-out for any old (or even young) Eve. I hope it won't take too long for the ordinary consciousness to kindle ... wilderness of vain hours but as a meandering preparation for the straight Yogic path that lies ahead. Feel increasingly a standing back in wide detachment from the crisscross of reactions in your outer being - reactions that are sensitive personal responses to hurting touches from the world or else self-indulgent answers to tempting stimuli from it. With such a background of peaceful imper- Page ...
... Usually the sea is described as full of turmoil and agitation on the surface and the depths are said to be calm. You have reversed the scene. A happy swaying rhythm rather than unrest is your sea's outer being, a kind of calm that is sun-shot and a-glimmer. Below is the great unease, the ever-searching solitariness. Not that pleasure is absent, not that the thrill of beauty is lacking. The Divine is felt... with these lines which are themselves the end of a poem of mine. (4.7.1986) 1 quite understand your dichotomous condition - the inner being clear and calm and enveloped by the Mother, the outer being confused, hurt and restless. As long as the inner is not lost in the outer's turmoil, you are basically safe and the shore is in sight across the swirling surge. But a quicker home-coming is promised ...
... magnified and distorted shadow of his own ego or for some other distortion of the nature produced by a wrong egoistic misuse of the Yoga. A mere appearance of inability or obstruction of progress in the outer being, a covering of the inner by the outer, even if it lasts for years, has no probative value, because that happens to a great number, perhaps to the majority of aspirants to Yoga. The reason is that... matter of faith and an inner reliance upon the Divine. The peace born of this certitude carries one through all persistence or return of difficulties. Whatever resistance there is in the outer being will go, only it takes time. It is always best to take one's foundation on that certitude and remain quiet and steadfast with it in mind even Page 694 when one cannot react actively against ...
... to the law of the most material nature, moves very slowly. After some years, seventy or eighty, a hundred or two hundred,—and that is perhaps the maximum, the—dislocation is so serious that the outer being falls to pieces. The divergence between the demand and the answer, the increasing inability and irresponsiveness of the body, brings about the phenomenon of death. By Yoga the inner transformation... process in the creation is rendered more intense and rapid, but the pace of the outer transformation remains almost the same as in ordinary life. As a result, the disharmony between the inner and the outer being in one who is doing Yoga tends to be all the greater, unless precautions are taken and a protection secured that will help the body to follow the inner march as closely as possible. Even then it ...
... organisation of the being and its parts" 19 —a concentric system and a vertical system. The concentric system is like a series of rings or sheaths, consisting of the outer being, the inner being and the inmost being. The outer being and the inner being behind it constitute our phenomenal or instrumental being and are said to belong to Nature or Prakriti. They have three corresponding parts—physical ...
... must have taken possession of the field, must be the master of the house. Then, later, things can be arranged. There is only one way for the outer being. Let us take the physical being—the physical being, the poor little physical being, the outer being, which knows nothing, can do nothing by itself. Well, for it there is only one way of allowing the psychic being to manifest: with the candid warmth ...
... very important, even the outer attitude." What is the meaning of "outer aspiration" and "outer attitude"? What is the best outer attitude? Unless one practises yoga in the physical being (outer being), it remains ignorant—even its aspiration is ignorant and so is its goodwill; all its movements are ignorant and so they distort and disfigure the Divine Presence. That is why the yoga of the... Total means vertically in all the states of being, from the most material to the most subtle. Integral means horizontally in all the different and often contradictory parts which make up the outer being (physical, vital and mental). 4 December 1967 The fragrance of the flowers given by the Mother is often something extraordinary. Flowers are very receptive and they are happy when they ...
... more total and constant, it acts very strongly on your soul like an almost irresistible attraction. This is what happened in 1958. To conclude, "an easy and pleasant life" can only satisfy the outer being; but what answers in the physical being to the soul's influence needs for its flowering a life more in conformity with the soul's needs and "languishes" when it cannot find it. 3 December 1959... happy. The psychic being works with perseverance and ardour for the union to be made an accomplished fact, but it never complains and knows how to wait for the hour of realisation to come. The outer being, left to itself, is not very responsible; it is most often the plaything of the forces of Nature. But the inner or higher being, the deeper consciousness, is the master and builder of our destiny ...
... life of evil deeds and a base consciousness have an effect on the psychic being? Is there a possibility of its degradation? A base and evil life can only have the effect of separating the outer being more and more completely from the psychic being, which retires into the depths of the higher consciousness and sometimes even cuts off all relation with the body, which is then usually possessed... but then the disturbances of the latter become something superficial which are no more than an outer ripple, — until these under Page 31 the inner pressure fade and sink away and the outer being too remains calm, concentrated, unattackable. There is also the way of the psychic, — when the psychic being comes out in its inherent power, its consecration, adoration, love of the divine ...
... under the action of the gunas, then it is an understandable thing. All nature is Prakriti, not only the outer nature. The difference is between Purusha and Prakriti, not between inner and outer being. Purusha is the still, observing, supporting, creating consciousness. Prakriti is the dynamic side of the being. It is not the inner Purusha only that remains detached - the inner Purusha... found the possibility of a free (mukta) action would be false. The whole being Purusha-Prakriti becomes detached (having no desire or attachment) even in the action of the gunas. The outer being is also detached - the whole being is without desire or attachment and still action is possible. Action without desire is possible, action without attachment is possible, action without ego is possible ...
... It is clear that the contrary forces are using the remnants of the old Nagin to prevent the progress of the sadhana. So you have to change that. I see that the progress of the outer being is practically at a standstill. But what about the inner being? In my unaware-ness is it still rising up or has it fallen like the external being? I suppose it is neither — but is being... back to a right attitude in his sadhana — your Force using me as an instrument?" Are not the above suggestions stupid? You have often warned me that such ideas are formulated by the outer being and that they are usually inspired by a subtle delusion of the human ego. Why then do they still insist after my denials? Of course such suggestions are meant to wake the ego. I suppose ...
... is the indispensable starting-point. Through interiorisation and concentration one has to enter into conscious contact with one’s psychic being. This psychic being always has an influence on the outer being, but this influence is almost always occult, neither seen nor perceived nor felt, save on truly exceptional occasions. In order to strengthen the contact and assist, if possible, the development... apparatus for recording and transmission which is open to all the contacts and shocks coming from outside and responds to them by reactions of pleasure and pain which welcome or repel. This makes in our outer being a constant activity and noise which we are only partially aware of, because we are so accustomed to it. But if through meditation or concentration we turn inward or upward, we can bring down into ...
... consciousness has to grow in such a way that finally it occupies the outer being also and renders these things impossible. What I have written to you about these things and the attitude to be taken is the knowledge that we have and the truth of the human nature and of sadhana confirmed by our and by all spiritual experience. It is your outer being that has these reactions and not your inner nature. You have... have only to trust in the Mother and follow what I say and these difficulties will be worked out of the outer being and return no more; but patience is necessary because it takes time, not in you alone, but in all. Do not allow such thoughts as the idea "what is the use of spiritual experiences, since my nature is not changed" etc., for these are thoughts of the mind's ignorance. Recover the attitude ...
... s it means a mediocre being. But excuse me! Don't mix up the psychic being with the outer being. The psychic being may be perfect and the outer being may be idiotic. Don't confuse the two. They have nothing to do... unfortunately they have nothing to do with each other, most of the time. For the outer being is not at all conscious of the psychic being; but to the extent that it is conscious it ...
... behaviour is related to what in yogic psychology is called the outer being referred to above. Yogic psychology, on the other hand, is the science of consciousness which studies the totality of Being it manifests at various levels of consciousness, ranging from the lowest to the highest and from the outermost to the innermost. The outer being, which is what modern psychology mostly deals with, is all that... a partial or local truth, generalise it unduly and try to explain a whole field of Nature in its narrow terms -runs riot here. 9 What lies behind the superficial consciousness of the outer being has been referred to earlier as the inner being, often called the subliminal or inner consciousness. Regarding the subliminal, Sri Aurobindo states: Even in Europe the existence of something ...
... and civilisation distinguished, 274-75 and culture, 281 economic, 272-74 cf. Savage Being, central, see Central Being emotional, 63 inner, see Inner being outer, see Outer being parts and planes, 336-337, 348-49 physical, see physical, the psychic, see Psychic being structure and organisation of, 336-60 true, 91 vital, see Vital, the Body-consciousness... "blind faith", 203 central, 205 and doubt, 201 and experience, 202 and knowledge, 203-04 Frager, R., 390 Free will, 102-03 Frontal being, see Outer being Gita, 123fn, 65, 168 on meaning of Samadhi, 217 Gnosis, 142, 158 See also Supermind; Truth- Consciousness God, 138, 140 See also Divine, the; Ishwara Grof... See also Gnosis; Truth-Consciousness Page 425 Suppression, and rejection, 65-66 and objectivity, 175-79, 192-94 Surface being, see Outer being Sushupti ( su ṣ upti), see Sleep-State svapna, see Dream-State Tamas. 108, 39, 110-15 passim, changed into ś ama, 118 Tao, 9 Tart, Charles T., 315, 321 Telepathy ...
... the permission given does not exclude the possibility of the experiment ending badly. But the experiment becomes necessary if the pull of the ego or the outer being and that of the soul have become too acute for solution otherwise or if the outer being insists on having its experience. After our staying for so many years in the Ashram, how are these old difficulties surging up so powerfully... suppressing them. They are a part of life." Once a strong sexual push comes up, is it really better for one to go out and make an experiment? It is especially when the outer being rejects the Truth and Page 67 insists on having its own life and refuses the rule of the spiritual life that the experiment becomes inevitable. I have never said that it is ...
... as it were, of our sensations, and thoughts which, like living beings, come to us—from where?... most often we do not know—thoughts that we perceive mentally before they express themselves in our outer being as sensations. If you have observed yourselves even a little, you must have noticed that the contact with what is not yourselves is established first of all through the medium of your senses:... the truth, this is because we lack self-confidence. Does this surprise you?.. Yes, I repeat, we lack confidence, not in what we are at the present moment, not in our ephemeral and ever-changing outer being—this being always finds favour in our eyes—but we lack confidence in what we can become through effort, we have no faith in the integral and profound transformation which will be the work of our ...
... life there's not one person in a million who has a conscious contact with his psychic being, even momentarily. The psychic being may work from within, but so invisibly and unconsciously for the outer being that it is as though it did not exist. And in most cases, the immense majority, almost the totality of cases, it's as though it were asleep, not at all active, in a kind of torpor. It is only... Divine, saying, "I want to be yours", and the Divine has said, "Yes", the whole world cannot keep you from it. When the central being has made its surrender, the chief difficulty has disappeared. The outer being is like a crust. In ordinary people the crust is so hard and thick that they are not conscious of the Divine within them. If once, even for a moment only, the inner being has said, "I am here and ...
... effort. So long as you believe in personal effort, you must make a personal effort. There is one part of the being which is not at all conscious of being a part of the Divine. The whole of the outer being is convinced that it is something separate, independent and related only to itself. This part of the being must necessarily make a personal effort. It can't be told, "The Divine does the sadhana... At the time of publication of this talk, Mother made the following remark: "This is not true. This is not true for it is too categorical. One must not use the language of the outer being, for its language is altogether false, but things must be said in a form in which it can understand them—that is different. But to say things exactly takes a very long time; that is why Sri Aurobindo ...
... though shut up in a kind of hard shell, a prison, and that this is what prevents it from manifesting outwardly and entering into a conscious and constant relation with the outer consciousness, the outer being. One has altogether the feeling that it is as though enclosed in a box or in a prison with walls Page 266 which must be broken or a door which must be forced in order to be able to enter... life there's not one person in a million who has a conscious contact with his psychic being, even momentarily. The psychic being may work from within, but so invisibly and unconsciously for the outer being that it is as though it did not exist. And in most cases, the immense majority, almost the totality of cases, it's as though it were asleep, not at all active, in a kind of torpor. It is only ...
... Introduction Our Many Selves The Outer Being There are three main parts in the outer or surface being: the mind (the mental), the life-nature (the vital) and the body (the physical). Each part has its own distinct type of consciousness, though in our ordinary awareness we are unable to distinguish among the mental, vital and physical constituents of our... the physical consciousness. The latter includes also the physical mind and the physical vital which will be presently explained. Though separate and distinct, the three main divisions of the outer being just mentioned are interconnected and interact on one another, giving rise to distinguishable subdivisions in the main parts of the being. Thus besides the thinking mind (the mind proper), there ...
... consciousness of the outer being there is an inner or subliminal consciousness upon all the three levels—physical, vital, mental. Thus there is an inner mind, an inner vital and an inner physical. The inner mind is in touch with the universal mind, the inner vital with the universal life-forces, and the inner physical with the universal physical forces around us. Thus whereas the outer being knows things only ...
... is not enough; there must be too a descent of the Divine to transform all the energies of the mind, life and body. There is a stage in the transformation when the Power is pressing on the outer being, especially the vital, and bringing down the higher consciousness. But the natural movements of the vital (anger, restlessness and impatience) are frequently breaking out and disturbing the work... sadhaka sometimes simply leads a double inner life, divided between his spiritual experiences and his vital weaknesses to the end, making the most of his better part, making as little as may be of the outer being. But none of these methods will do for our purpose. If you want a true mastery and transformation of the vital movements, it can be done only on condition you allow your psychic being, the soul in ...
... It is the rule of the consciousness in this sadhana. A going up and up higher, though a part of the total necessary Page 417 movement, does not by itself have any effect on the outer being. It only divides the consciousness into two and its only logical outcome is Nirvana. I have always written that the descent is necessary to change the nature; ascent is useful to open the higher... entirely occupy the inner physical except at times—that was why the dynamic descent was necessary, but in the inner being or if possible the whole being, the inner outflowing into the outer, not in the outer being to the exclusion of the inner. In the physical consciousness the descent is the most important. Something of the subtle physical can always go up—but the external physical consciousness can ...
... complete self-knowledge when he is thus aware of living in two worlds, two consciousnesses at the same time, two parts of the same existence. At present he lives in the outer consciousness, the outer being and sees within the inner self—but he will go more and more inward, till the position is reversed and he lives within in this new inner consciousness, inner self and feels the outer as something... which is based on the insistent identification of oneself with the outer personality and its movements. It is that identification which is the keystone of the limitation and bondage from which the outer being suffers, preventing expansion, self-knowledge, spiritual freedom. But still the wall must not be prematurely broken down, because that may lead to a disruption or confusion or invasion of either ...
... difference in the outer consciousness. There are plenty of instances of sadhaks who have fine experiences in trance but the outer being remains as it was. It is necessary to bring out what is experienced and make it a power for transformation both of the inner and the outer being. But it can be done without going into Samadhi in the waking consciousness itself. Concentration of course is indispensable ...
... taken by this obscure part of your being that is unsound and an error. It is the instinctive (not mental) will in the outer being that is blind—the inner mind knows and understands and when it comes out it enlightens the rest so that all is clear. But the outer being readmits the darkness and confusion through a wrong movement of the vital or through an inert acceptance of the obscurity of the ...
... unusual receptivity in the body, then too they escape ... "In the ordinary life of man a progressive dislocation is the rule. ...After some years, ... the dislocation is so serious that the outer being falls to pieces.... The divergence between the demand and the answer, the increasing inability and irresponsiveness of the body, brings about the phenomenon of death. By Yoga the inner tran... in the creation is rendered more intense and rapid, but the pace of the outer transformation remains almost the same as in ordinary life. As a result, the disharmony between the inner and the outer being in one who is doing Yoga tends to be all the greater, unless precautions are taken and a protection secured that will help the body to follow the inner march as closely as possible." 2 ...
... transfiguration of our lower nature is a far cry if we would rely on the spiritual-mental powers alone. We may feel indeed our inner consciousness luminous and liberated and ecstatic, but our outer being and nature will still go on in their old unregenerate way, bringing in periods of dull obscurations and unwanted reactions due to the play of the gu ṇ as. "The power of divinely illumined mind... environment, sovereign in its commerce with world-nature." 1 But whether easy of fulfilment or not, this is what we have placed before us as our goal: an integral transformation of our outer being and nature as well as that of the inner one, entailing the divinisation of our waking physical existence and of the dynamic life of action. And as we have mentioned before, it is only the overt ...
... My consciousness is always at work, but you on your side must exert your will and make an effort. 28 May 1935 I feel that it is necessary to go into solitude—I am living only in my outer being. Certainly you are living mainly in your mind, vital and physical. A little concentration would do you no harm, but you must not overdo it. Page 99 Teach me how to make an effort... immediately in my effort. Because the outer ignorance is very stubborn and will yield only to a persistent effort. Why doesn't Your presence in me prevent me from misbehaving? Because the outer being—the one that misbehaves—is unaware of that presence or refuses to recognise it. I want the psychic consciousness with all my heart; I will pay any price for it. The only price to be paid ...
... and Realization is concretized in me. Once this solid base is acquired, it would be easier for me to resume my work and the struggle here for the true transformation of the outer being. But to want to transform this outer being without having fully illumined the inner being seems to me to be putting the cart before the horse , or at least condemning myself to a pitiless and endless battle in which ...
... starting-point. Through interiorisation and concentration one has to enter into conscious contact with one's psychic being. This psychic being always has an influence on the Page 221 outer being, but that influence is almost always occult, neither seen nor perceived nor felt, save on truly exceptional occasions. In order to strengthen the contact and aid, if possible, the development... apparatus for recording and transmission which is open to all the contacts and shocks coming from outside and responds to them by reactions of pleasure and pain which welcome or repel. This makes in our outer being a constant activity and noise that we are only partially aware of, because we are so accustomed to them. But if through meditation or concentration we turn inward or upward, we can bring down ...
... for me. As a matter of fact, I recalled that when we first met I had told him that everything was all right up to this point ( Mother indicates the region above the head ), but below that, in the outer being, I wanted to hasten the transformation, and things there were difficult to handle. When Sri Aurobindo was here, I never bothered about all this; I was constantly up above and I did what the Gita... leaving the instrument as it was because I knew that he would see to it. Actually, it was very different at that time because I was not even aware of any resistance or any difficulty in the outer being; it was automatic, the work was done automatically. Later on, when I had to do both things—what he had been doing as well as what I was doing—it became rather complicated and I realized there were ...
... number, as decided by the Mother, is 15 which also reduces itself to 1 +5=6, the number of what she has called "The New Creation", something which I am very much in need of in both my inner and outer being. The flower symbolising "New Creation" is the tuberose, a flower which used to be a favourite of mine before I knew my number was 15. But what the Mother considered to be my flower was the one she... face turned to the Mother's light, whatever work falls to our lot is more creative in terms of the spirituality Sri Aurobindo has revealed, for this spirituality aims at a radical change of the outer being and at a new wakeful world of interrelations. At first we may not remember the Mother all the time, but a self-consecration at the start of a work and a self-consecration at the end are sufficient ...
... predominates in one's consciousness depends upon the part of one's being with which one is most identified. Most human beings usually identify themselves predominantly with one or another part of the outer being - the body, or the vital (consisting of life energy, impulses, desires, feelings), or the mind. Each of these parts of the being has its own characteristic consciousness and attitudes. The physical... things, and an inclination towards ideals. All human beings are endowed with physical, vital and mental consciousness, and are therefore influenced by qualities of all the three parts of the outer being in different degrees. But in the majority of people, it is the Page 118 vital consciousness that is generally predominant, and exercises the strongest influence on their attitudes ...
... strong, the gulf separating the inner consciousness and the dynamic outer being so wide that to all outward appearances the seeker may "move about like a thing inert in the hands of Nature, jaḍavat, like a leaf in the wind, or otherwise [in] a state of pure happy and free irresponsibility of action, bālavat.... The outer being [may] live in a God-possessed frenzy careless of itself and the world ...
... difficulties but there will be no disquietude or dissatisfaction etc., etc. INERTIA ...It (inertia) was because of the nature, because the tendency to tamas is there: the outer being is not yet suffi-cently transformed. When the inertia rises you have to keep your inner being separate from it and perfectly calm and not to acquiesce in any nervousness or accept any suggestions... must be done. And always the aspiration firm and steady — not eager and excited — for the descent and the transformation of the whole nature must be preserved intact. When the outer being is so totally obscured how to keep an aspiration? One can always have an aspiration in the inner being, if the inner being keeps its separateness. This difficulty is due ...
... The inner voices give us a truth and a command. But books also can do that. The former must also bring the necessary force. Perhaps we don't get it because some veil between the inner and the outer being hinders it. The inner voice is a voice only - it may give direction, but not the force. A voice speaks, it does not act. There is a great difference between reading a book and receiving... herself. You have written: "But obviously the impersonal is not enough -for surrender to that may be limited in result to the inner experience without any transformation of the outer being." I do not understand. It is rather surprising that you should be unable to understand such a simple and familiar statement; for that has been always the whole reason of this Yoga that ...
... blinded by the tricks of the vital. To perfect our actions, feelings and thoughts, we have to teach the outer being first with the mind. We cannot wait idly for the psychic or higher consciousness to take up that work. Obviously the mind has to teach the outer being, so long as the psychic or the higher consciousness are not ready to take up the work. It is impossible ...
... Mother by itself? The inner being does not open except by sadhana, or by some psychic touch in the life. What goes on so long as it is shut up? It is the outer being that acts with as much of the inner influence as can filter through the closed centres. When the inner being is shut up, isn't there a psychic sadness and, as a result, depression... evening the consciousness was in such a state that I could not make out anything. Along with the inner quietude it experienced a condition never before felt. It remained quite indifferent to what the outer being did and it stood on its own as if waiting for something. It is some part of the inner being that has entered into quietude and separated itself from the external nature. ...
... fifteen years. SRI AUROBINDO: Have they the vision to see the inner progress? NIRODBARAN: But there should be some sign in the outer being. They say they are just as angry, jealous, egoistic as other people. SRI AUROBINDO: These things belong to the outer being and they are the last to change. That doesn't mean that there is no inner progress or experience. NIRODBARAN: Nothing should be visible ...
... important, even the outer attitude." What is the meaning of "outer aspiration" and "outer attitude"? What is the best outer attitude? Unless one practises Yoga in the physical being (outer being), it remains ignorant and even its aspiration is ignorant and so also is its goodwill; all its movements are ignorant and so they distort and disfigure the Divine Presence. That is why the... in all the states of the being, from the most material to the most subtle. Page 27 Integral means horizontally in all the different and often contradictory parts which make up the outer being (physical, vital and mental). 4.12.1967 When I contemplate Sri Aurobindo, sometimes it is Your image that appears, and when I concentrate on You, sometimes it is the image of Sri Aurobindo ...
... Yet even the great Yogis and Saints who have banished lustful desire have felt in the midst of their entire psychological release the limitations of their physical existence, a bounded sense of outer being and the transitoriness of the body. The deep-seated striving of Nature to get over these defects created that Page 66 leap in us towards the sex-embrace and the generative act. Sex ...
... transcendent tranquillity. Then alone can we reach most profoundly, most abundantly, the soul-power to unite with the Supreme Person in a blaze of devotion and delight and thus transmute all our outer being into God-gold. Your dream ends with the question: "I wonder why then we are not in the water." It is a question that faces us acutely at present. Our progress in Yoga towards the Mother depends ...
... and also greater than all is sought to be practised at every moment if possible. Always a guidance from beyond ourselves is prayed for and there is a definite endeavour to shift our poise from the outer being to the inmost — what in Christian mystical parlance is known as "the practice of the presence of God". We make no show of religiosity, we follow no ostentatious ritualism, but we try to live from ...
... with them. And we must also remember that no individual soul, big or small, is complete in his own individual evolution—all souls are parts of the same One, the Unique Divine. As in their human outer being they are aspects of ignorance, so are they in their inmost being the many aspects of the One in this multiplicity of the creation. The great ones, like Amritada, Pavitrada, Nolinida and many ...
... to the surface from subliminal depths and gets more and more intense but also visions and works out through all dangers and conflicts and setbacks some ideal perfection in both the inner and the outer being - this reading alone of the multi-coloured prolificity and productiveness revealed by evolutionary history can do justice to the facts. (ii) To buttress our vitalistic and finalistic ...
... The Mother's words give away part of that secret. As Aswapati climbs the World Stair, he experiences successively all the planes of consciousness that influence or impinge upon our own inner and outer being. These influences, for the most part undetected by our waking mental consciousness, are explored by Aswapati through the power of his Yoga. Their essence or their vibration as the Mother puts ...
... feelings, actions, has begun doing it already. In yoga we make the division complete, that is all. It is the inner mind—the mental Purusha—that can stand back as a witness and observe the outer being, which, as previously stated, is chiefly ruled by the viral nature (desires and emotions), and thereby arrive at detachment, freedom, and joy. As Sri Aurobindo states: ... the mental Purusha ...
... for in the purely intellectual field, the Western thinkers are as competent as any Eastern sage. It is the spiritual way, the road that leads beyond the intellectual levels, the passage from the outer being to the inmost Self, which has been lost by the over-intellectuality of the mind of Europe. Letters on Yoga, pp. 157-60 ...these great writings [the Upanishads] are not the record of ...
... few months before the departure may still have been with her when the Kaga Maru sailed through the Suez Canal, where the desert on both sides made it seem that they glided through sand: ‘In my outer being, my surface consciousness, I no longer have the least feeling of being in my own home and the owner of anything here: I am a stranger in a strange land … I am a visitor here as elsewhere, as everywhere ...
... compliments are surely no mere emotional responses, much less tactics of convenience. They reach deep down to some basic trait, particularly when that trait has sent a radiation of itself to the outer being either at a certain moment or during a certain period. However, they must never be regarded as an all-time blanket certificate for a perennial halo. There is a tendency in people to publicise ...
... energies which should be concentrated on psychic and spiritual unfolding and calling, if possible, the Supramental Consciousness into our inner being and letting it have a general influence on the outer being. 1 know that some people believe that they are undergoing the Supramental change in their bodies. A professor at Kuruk-shetra University insists that his body is being supramental-ised, starting ...
... new state going by means of a calm confidence in the Mother's power. This power is always at work but receptivity and faith not only increase its effect in general: they also draw it into the most outer being and sustain its lustrous streaming into all the various parts of our waking outwardness. Now for your "posers". The first is: "How to do the right thing in the right way at the right ...
... Usually the sea is described as full of turmoil and agitation on its surface and the depths are said to be calm. You have reversed the scene. A happy laughing movement rather than unrest is your sea's outer being, a kind of calm that is sun-shot and a-glimmer. Below is the great unease, the ever- Page 192 searching solitariness. Not that pleasure is absent, not that the thrill of beauty is ...
... to be caught with a certain vividness which brought a natural insight into their deepest selves and an understanding of the complexes of their personalities. The equanimity now permeated even the outer being and along with it went the touch on others without my getting disturbed, a kind of aerial touch spreading on all sides and carrying an intimacy which at the same time infused peace. Or rather it ...
... upgazing in its slumbering, sets the key-note of some concealed soul-reality, at once grand in the extreme and tender to the utmost, that has to be Page 111 awakened in the outer being — a fusion to be realised by us of "an angel of power" and "an angel of beauty". The whole is an unforgettable piece of symbolic verse and the translator Dilip Kumar Roy has risen fully to the occasion ...
... withdrawal of Grace. Yes, merely "seeming" to our stunned saddened eyes— For, Thy eternal glorious Promise we know. Thy undying Consciousness pervades all time, Only the beloved outer being is now laid low. Thou art still the Keeper of our souls, Of our very lives the Treasury— Those two fragile hands the Safety of our universe. Our inner citadel rests for ever in ...
... light and harmony, they become an aristocracy of wit, a sort of born paradoxicality and natural curiousness instead of the thrusting parvenu sort Page 105 that belongs to the outer being. Of course, the conceits of the metaphysicals are not complete upstarts: they often show blue blood, but the blue is not sheer. Something upstart also spoils a deal of Elizabethan poetry, as ...
... for in the purely intellectual field, the Western thinkers are as competent as any Eastern sage. It is the spiritual way, the road that leads beyond the intellectual levels, the passage from the outer being to the inmost Self, which has been lost by the over-intellectuality of the mind of Europe. In the extracts you have sent me from Bradley and Joachim, it is still the intellect thinking about what ...
... get into the greater Light and the Divine Union—to turn to the Divine alone, to put our trust there alone whether for ourselves or for others. Destiny in the rigid sense applies only to the outer being so long as it lives in the Ignorance. What we call destiny is only in fact the result of the present condition of the being and the nature and energies it has accumulated in the past acting on each ...
... of experience. But ordinarily this can be done freely only in the earlier stages before one is drawn inwards and kept there or in the later stages when one is fully conscious spiritually in the outer being also. It is simply a question of "spiritual tactics" not a hard and fast rule for all in all states and stages. Why did Sahana find it necessary to stop? Because she was losing hold of her ...
... being, because the word psychic has been used in English to mean anything of the inner mental, inner vital or inner physical or anything abnormal or occult or even the more subtle movements of the outer being, all in a jumble—also occult phenomena are often called psychic. The distinction between these different parts of the being is unknown. Even in India the old knowledge of the Upanishads in which ...
... is active there is no Purusha. When all is active, there is still the Purusha behind the active Nature and when all is quiescent there is still the Prakriti, but the Prakriti at rest. The outer being is also detached [ when a Yogi engages in detached action ]—the whole being is without desire or attachment and still action is possible. Action without desire is possible, action without attachment ...
... or the life-sense or even through the physical consciousness; if the inner doors are flung sufficiently open, the light from the sanctuary can suffuse the nearest and the farthest chambers of the outer being. The necessary turn or change can also be brought about by an occult descent of the spiritual force from above, in which the influx, the influence, the spiritual consequence is felt, but the higher ...
... by evolution and the consciousness that has descended from above for involution. There is in it an inner mind, an inner vital being of ourselves, an inner or subtle-physical being larger than our outer being and nature. This inner existence is the concealed origin of almost all in our surface self that is not a construction of the first inconscient World-Energy or a natural developed functioning of our ...
... religious motive. One type of the Bhakta, says the Gita, is the devotee who comes to the Divine as the giver of his wants, the giver of his good, the satisfier of the needs of his inner and his outer being. "I bring to my bhakta" says the Lord "his getting and his having of good, yogakṣemaṁ vahāmyaham ." The life of man is a life of wants and needs and therefore of desires, not only in his physical ...
... remaining undisturbed in the inner being even while the outer is superficially disturbed. This is a well-marked stage in the progress. Afterwards a force can be brought down strong enough to fill the outer being also with so strong a peace and clarity that the disturbances can no longer enter there. One may feel them still sometimes in the atmosphere but is no longer touched by them at all. As for ...
... what you have and let it grow, to live always in the psychic being, your true being. The psychic will then in due time awaken and turn to the Divine all the rest of the nature, so that even the outer being will feel itself in touch with the Divine and moved by the Divine in all it is and feels and does. If it is the sense of the presence that you have, then you are living in the consciousness ...
... and peace from above—an opening of the consciousness into wideness. Till it comes, keep yourself firm and do not allow these attacks to shake your basis. They [ hostile attacks on the outer being ] are felt as suggestions, or a touch on the surface mind, vital, physical or as movements in the atmosphere (the personal or the general environmental consciousness)—but for the inner being it is ...
... bad habits that still persist and never resume those that have ceased or been interrupted. Inner experiences are helpful to the mind and higher vital for change, but for the lower vital and the outer being a sadhana of self-discipline is indispensable. The external actions and the spirit in them must change—your external thoughts and actions must be for the Divine only. There must be self-restraint ...
... of your personal desires, but with being pulled out of these things and raised to your highest spiritual possibilities, so that you may become united with the Mother within and as a result in the outer being also. That cannot be done by satisfying your vital desires—to do so would only increase them and give you into the hands of the ignorance and restless confusion of the ordinary Nature. It can be ...
... year. May it bring to you growth in consciousness towards the Divine. 11 February 1944 My blessings on your birthday. May this be a year of more and more progress both in your inner and your outer being. 11 February 1945 Fidelity, devotion, self-giving, selfless work and service, constant aspiration are the simplest and most effective means by which the soul can be made ready and fit to be ...
... it was all these days in you, then it is not possible for the sadhak to revolt and go away; for if Page 369 he does, he leaves his soul behind him with the Mother and it is only the outer being that lives for a while elsewhere. But that is too painful a condition; one has either to come back or life becomes hardly worth living. But there is no danger of that for you, now you have understood ...
... movements. But do they really indulge them as ordinary people? Don't they even before they begin the practice of Yoga, remain conscious of their union with the Divine above even while satisfying their outer being? There is not necessarily any union above before the practice of Yoga. There is a connection of the consciousness with the veiled Divinity and an action out of that, but this is not dependent ...
... being, because the word psychic has been used in English to mean anything of the inner mental, inner vital or inner physical or anything abnormal or occult or even the more subtle movements of the outer being, all in a jumble; also occult phenomena are often called psychic. The distinction between these different parts of the being is unknown. Even in India the old knowledge of the Upanishads in which ...
... a letter, "A surrender by any means is good, but obviously the Impersonal is not enough, for surrender to that may be limited in result to the inner experience without any transformation of the outer being." 1 I do not understand. It is rather surprising that you should be unable to understand such a simple and familiar statement; for that has been always the whole reason of this Yoga that ...
... February Questions and Answers (1950-1951) 8 February 1951 "The outer being is like a crust. In ordinary people the crust is so hard and thick that they are not conscious of the Divine within them. If once, even for a moment only, the inner being has said, 'I am here and I am yours', then it is as though a bridge has been built and little by little ...
... Divine, saying, "I want to be yours", and the Divine has said, "Yes", the whole world cannot keep you from it. When the central being has made its surrender, the chief difficulty has disappeared. The outer being is like a crust. In ordinary people the crust is so hard and thick that they are not conscious of the Divine within them. If once, even for a moment only, the inner being has said, "I am here and ...
... and dry? I feel, I see my soul living deep within my being, and my soul sees Thee, recognises Thee and loves Thee in all things, in everything that is; it is fully conscious of this, and as the outer being is surrendered to it, it too is conscious; the mind knows and never forgets; the purified vital being no longer has any attractions and repulsions, and more and more does it taste of the joy of Thy ...
... life there's not one person in a million who has a conscious contact with his psychic being, even momentarily. The psychic being may work from within, but so invisibly and unconsciously for the outer being that it is as though it did not exist. And in most cases, the immense majority, almost the totality of cases, it's as though it were asleep, not at all active, in a kind of torpor. It is only ...
... mental, the inner vital, the inner physical consciousness. But it must be noted that this term “inner” is used in two different senses. Sometimes it denotes the consciousness behind the veil of the outer being, the mental or vital or physical within, which is in direct touch with the universal mind, the universal life forces, the universal physical forces. Sometimes, on the other hand, we mean an inmost ...
... young, I have seen many countries, done what I recommend to others; in every country I lived the life of that country in order to understand it well, and there is nothing which interested me in my outer being as much as learning. Well, now I still feel that I know nothing. There may occur in this world and in the human consciousness things which are beyond me! I don't understand how it can be possible ...
... conditions are arranged for it to be done. But, you see, there are all the possibilities for what happens after death. There are people who return in the psychic. You see, I have told you that the outer being is very rarely preserved; so we speak only of the psychic consciousness which, indeed, always persists. And then there are people for whom the psychic returns to the psychic domain to assimilate ...
... inner being may be independent of the physical form, conscious in itself and master of its own life. There are entire parts of the being which need this immobility and semi-consciousness of the outer being, of the body, in order to be able to live their own life, independently. Only, people don't know, they sleep because they sleep, as they eat, as they live—by a kind of instinct, a semi-conscious ...
... not one person in a million who has a conscious contact with his psychic being, even momentarily. The psychic being may work from within, but so invisibly and unconsciously for the outer being that it is as though it did not exist. And in most cases, the immense majority, almost the totality of cases, it's as though it were asleep, not at all active, in a kind of tor- ...
... by the lower Nature; but then the disturbances of the latter become something superficial which are no more than an outer ripple,—until these under the inner pressure fade and sink away and the outer being too remains calm, concentrated, unattackable. There is also the way of the psychic,—when the psychic being comes out in its inherent power, its consecration, adoration, love of the divine, self-giving ...
... life there’s not one person in a million who has a conscious contact with his psychic being, even momentarily. The psychic being may work from within, but so invisibly and unconsciously for the outer being that it is as though it did not exist. And in most cases, the immense majority, almost the totality of cases, it's as though it were asleep, not at all active, in a kind of torpor. It is only ...
... consciousness, and in the individual being is constituted by different distinguishable parts of the indivisible Being. The part of our nature of which we are normally conscious is our surface or outer being consisting of the body, the (surface) vital (related to life-energy and emotions, desires, passions, etc.), and the (surface) mind (having to do with cognition, intelligence, ideas, thought perceptions ...
... Divine. Sri Aurobindo Work as a test Yes, obviously, that is one great utility of work that it tests the nature and puts the sadhak in front of the defects of his outer being which might otherwise escape him Sri Aurobindo Become aware If you live closed up in yourself, without acting, you may live in a completely subjective illusion; the ...
... life there’s not one person in a million who has a conscious contact with his psychic being, even momentarily. The psychic being may work from within, but so invisibly and unconsciously for the outer being that it is as though it did not exist. And in most cases, the immense majority, almost the totality of cases, it’s as though it were asleep, not at all active, in a kind of torpor. It is only ...
... outer life of evil deeds and a base consciousness have an effect on the psychic being? Is there a possibility of its degradation? A base and evil life can only have the effect of separating the outer being more and more completely from the psychic being, which retires into the depths of the higher consciousness and sometimes even cuts off all relation with the body, which is then usually possessed ...
... conditions are arranged for it to be done. But, you see, there are all the possibilities, for what happens after death. There are people who return in the psychic. You see, I have told you that the outer being is very rarely preserved; so we speak only of the psychic consciousness which, indeed, always persists. And then there are people for whom the psychic returns to the psychic domain to assimilate ...
... the book aims at kindling an aspiration for a spiritual goal which goes beyond the discovery and freedom of the soul — one which envisages the governance of life and the transformation of one's outer being by the soul. This book is in a way an expansion on a previous compilation, The Psychic Being — Soul: Its Nature, Mission and Evolution, which dealt with the basic theoretical ...
... leave me very cold.I still do not feel at home here. I do not know what I should do. And time waits for no one. Please excuse me, but I feel tired of having to wage a constant war against my whole outer being. And, anyway, it seems too late now to begin at the beginning and teach myself to ask for a new ideal, the realisation of which seems none too near. That which the Divine has destined for each ...
... in the Hindu manner. All this without any comprehension in the little brain (I mean I really didn't know what I was doing or how I was doing it—nothing at all). I did it, and at the same time the outer being was asking, 'What is all this?!' I wrote the vision down (or perhaps that was later on) but I never spoke of it to anyone (one doesn't talk about such things, naturally). But my impression was ...
... I have nothing to do with that kind of thing. December 1964 Z's letter is enclosed regarding his wife. He hopes to receive a token of Thy Grace to take for her. Let her purify the outer being, and abolish the ego, by a complete and perfect consecration to the Supreme Divine, and the obstacle will be removed. Page 400 The adverse forces are allowed to act only in order to compel ...
... certainly not ready to perceive the difference in the earth atmosphere. They still have quite a way to go for that. Because, for those whose consciousness is more or less exclusively centered in the outer being—mental, vital and physical—things need to have an absurd or unexpected appearance to be noticeable. And then they call it a miracle. But we do not call a miracle the constant miracle of the forces ...
... do any sadhana, and as a matter of fact, as long as Sri Aurobindo was in his body, it was he who did the sadhana, and I received the effects. These effects were automatically established in the outer being, but he was the one doing it, not I—I was merely the bridge between his sadhana and the world. Only when he left his body was I forced to take up the sadhana myself; not only did I have to do what ...
... rest. So that's what I can tell you, that's all. But it was amusing, and I said, "Oh, you are so conscious you come and talk to me!" But then you weren't conscious! Which means that this [Satprem's outer being] isn't conscious, but the other was: you came and talked to me. I'm not conscious at all. That's strange. Sometimes, depending on the activities one has had, the kind of life one has lived ...
... Total means vertically in all the states of being, from the most material to the most subtle. Integral means horizontally in all the different and often contradictory parts which constitute the outer being, physical, vital and mental. The being organised around the psychic: the first stage of transformation. Mental opening: the first step of the mind towards transformation. Mental ...
... being may become independent of the physical form, conscious in its own right and master of its own life. There are entire parts of the being that need this immobility and semi-consciousness of the outer being, of the body, in order to be able to lead their own life independently. It is another school for another result, but it is still a school. If one wants to achieve the maximum possible progress ...
... escape from it by their psychic development, but the general mass will remain in the same state of misery. If only the inner consciousness is changed, won't some impurities still remain in the outer being? Yes, of course. That is the essential difference between our yoga and the old yogic disciplines which dealt only with the inner consciousness. The old beliefs used to say—and some people interpret ...
... truly a difficult time. I think we should be very, VERY TRANQUIL—very tranquil. ( Mother turns to one of the teachers and to all the teachers ) I will tell you my old mantra. It keeps the outer being very tranquil: OM, Namo, Bhagavateh.... Three words. To me they meant: OM: I implore the Supreme Lord. Namo: I obey Him. Bhagavateh: Make me divine. ( silence ) This, I found ...
... it is so new, so unexpected it's almost painful. Aah!... So I ask myself, "What?" And externally I see but one solution: externally—I repeat OM Namo Bhagavateh. Constantly—that's for the outer being. And inside... ( gesture, hands open in immobile contemplation )... ( silence ) ...an extraordinary silence. I think I've been in it for a few minutes, but sometimes it's an hour.... And the ...
... phantasm and it has not to be left at last by the ascending soul but to be transformed by the descending Spirit; the Inner Being's indestructibility and eternity are insufficient for me, the most outer being also must become a stuff that neither perishes nor remains a miserable victim to fate and chance and powers of darkness." Mention of the integral divinisation which is the aim of Sri ...
... connotes "body-slayer" without implying a human agency. Thus there may be, on the one hand, inner enemies who could hurt the inner being of the Rishi and, on the other hand, those who could destroy his outer being by an occult power. In that case the "mortal foe" employing "magic" would be the sort of supernatural demonic agency that can kill the body of the Rishi. But is it possible to equate "mortal" ...
... danger was thickest. On Saturday I had a dream that my complexion had become absolutely golden. Y cried, "Oh, how beautiful you have become!" Is it some inner beauty reflecting itself on the outer being? If Y and her compliment had not been in the dream, we might say so. But—If we give it a symbolic sense, (leaving Y out of account as a contribution from the vital) then it is a beautiful vision ...
... puzzled about the "going in". I do not remember having said anything about "going in". I believe I spoke of something "going on" behind the veil during the time of apparent sterility in the outer being. When you said "suddenly" did you mean that the maturity of power has come in fully in this poem? When I said suddenly I meant as I said, that it appears in these two bigger poems and was ...
... Jasavanta's room, Jasavanta's personal work was rather the ordinary superficial notion. I think that it was the inner being alone which acted during the work in Jasvanta's room; the outer being simply became its tool? That is correct. You wrote, "When doing this work you had the Force in you." But how is it that as soon as that particular action was over I lost the ...
... no means be our attitude to the body and bodily life. For the Integral Yoga has for its objective: (i)to make spiritual experiences real to the whole consciousness including that of the outer being; (ii)to establish the highest possible realisation in the waking state and make it endure there; (iii)not only to experience the Truth subjectively and in one's inner consciousness ...
... hearts and livest in all beings." With my blessings.* The Mother 11.2.45 My blessings on your birthday. May this be a year of more and more progress both in your inner and your outer being. Sri Aurobindo * Texts marked with an asterisk are translated from the original French. Page 15 Here is a prayer for 1945: "Lord, grant that I may be entirely and ...
... and All-Mastery. The more we loosen our love and attachment for the things of the ordinary world, the more will the rue love which is in the depths of our being shine forth and flood even our outer being. (3)Being caught by the overpowering tyranny of the present and being dazzled by the glittering shows of the moment we mostly ct as mesmerised creatures and remain quite oblivious of our ...
... explored and possessed by the Yogi: he goes into the profundities of being and scales the peaks above the mind, but after experiencing and realising them he must strive to bring their wonders into the outer being. So many answer to the query -’Whither are we going?’ - is: ‘We are going everywhere but in order to come back to Mother Earth and Page 31 transform her and fulfil the purpose for ...
... heart, of our faculties of cognition, affectation, and conation on the superficial layer or layers of our being of which alone we normally are aware. We are as it were caged into the prison of our outer being which constantly acts and reacts and which with difficulty happens to be pushed to be turned more and more inward. The more one turns inwards, the more one discovers potentialities and secrets of ...
... with the poetic being. "Personal resistance, mental ego" are phrases, for there must first be a poetic being, for an ego to resist. The poetic being is not burdened with an ego. It is the outer being which contributes that. Nishikanta started with a desire to write after reading about metre, but without any central idea. After an hour or so he felt a power descending, then the poem began ...
... bring in heroism, enthusiasm, intensity and total and passionate self-giving, not only of itself but of all my human nature. And that it would no longer remain a mere witness as now, and let the outer being act through it. The higher vital can be that. but only when the true vital manifests itself—always calm, strong, ready for any action of the higher Force. To express ...
... Being and Page 157 the Consciousness and the Power that contains the experience. At present my inner being wants to impose one simple and straight attitude on my outer being — "Accept heartily whatever the Divine Mother does." This indeed is a very essential thing to be realised if any real or lasting progress is to be achieved. Yes, it is essential. ...
... them, as sometimes happens. 1 Very well. When I suggested about drawing a line, I thought that it would be possible for me to impose a complete surrender on my outer being. For three days I have been trying to do it. The outer nature is losing all interest and joy in responding to the higher knowledge. It says: "What is the use of spending time in bringing ...
... 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. ...
... present I hear only two words, 'Mother' and 'psychic', like the word OM, surging out from the depths of my consciousness. In the external consciousness the tamas is still there. I suppose when the outer being is psychicised the tamas will be changed into peace. Yes, these experiences open the way towards that psychi-cisation of the being. Some deeper being is becoming ...
... course of sadhana and especially in the preliminary stages, some higher pressure brings in many experiences. Sometimes their influence is so great and powerful that their glow is felt even in the outer being. At times the same experience prolongs itself for days together. All this combined creates a strong and vivid impression that it is a state that has come to stay and not merely a passing experience ...
... should be our preparation to bring out the psychic from its veil? Aspiration for devotion, and refusal of egoistic movement. I feel as if something from inside presses my outer being constantly for a change. I suppose it is the pressure of the psychic. But why has the psychic to press thus? Your question has no meaning. If the psychic ...
... even though he has peace? If there is established peace in the inner being, they can arise but would trouble only the surface — not the inner peace. If there is established peace in the outer being too they will not at all arise in you. Page 128 It is said that when peace descends, a greater depression and inertia can also come. Is that right? There ...
... is always on help and uplift, not on difficulty and downfall. In the morning, I experience the effect of the Mother's light dynamically. It penetrates the inner as well as the outer being in an intense way. In the evening I feel nothing of the kind. There is only silence. Why so? In the evening the Mother brings down silence, but not the silence only — also the power ...
... the force coming in. Vibrations are either of a Force or a Presence. Is it possible for me now to remain centrally in the pure-existence and direct the actions of the outer being by the true consciousness? Page 141 No, it is not yet possible. The true consciousness must be there in the mind and vital before that is done and the true consciousness ...
... being, an inner passive part and an outer active part. The inner part becomes gradually a mere witness and the outer part a mere mechanical functioning. When the withdrawal is so complete that the outer being or the world has no effect upon the inner, does not raise any ripple in it by its touch or contiguity then is accomplished the real death. Then it is said the outer existence, the material life does ...
... are equally unperturbed and tranquil. In the beginning you make a general surrender or submission, in principle, as it were: it is in your inner being. It must be brought forth gradually in the outer being, carried out in all the details of life. That is how difficulties arise. You have made your offering, you say, even you have worked at it for a long time, worked hard, given much time and much will; ...
... through the physical consciousness; as Sri Aurobindo points out, if the inner doors are flung sufficiently open, the light from the sanctuary can suffuse the nearest and the farthest chambers of the outer being. A consciousness so touched may be so much uplifted that the being turns to an immediate union with the Self or with the Divine by departure from the evolution and, if that is sanctioned, no question ...
... Or can we say that they are not doing your yoga? Disciple : X. here likes ordering people about, he seems full of anger, egoism, etc. Sri Aurobindo : That changes last because the outer being is the last to change; it does not mean that there has been no progress within. Disciple : In Raman Maharshi's Ashram one feels at once the peace. Sri Aurobindo : Is there nobody ...
... could then separate my inner being, but not in the way Sri Aurobindo has indicated. I remember that the suffering of the body used to appear as something quite different, I could see that it was the outer being that suffered, the inner being was not involved, there was a division into two parts in the being. SRI AUROBINDO: It is that separation of the inner from the outer which has to come back and be ...
... difference: they were a single consciousness participating in the play of difference! Then about a fortnight later, she told Pavitra: When you have overcome the difficulties of your outer being, you will pass through a progressive initiation. I shall show you, through the eyes, all that is there in the universe.. .. You will then see the exact place of all these things. 35 Wasn't ...
... And so on 30 December, Mirra has a poignant meditation: "Why, O Lord," she cries, "does my heart seem to me to be so cold and dry?" Her soul is alive within and one with the Universal and the outer being too is conscious; her mind knows and never forgets the one Reality, and the purified vital has acquired equality, calm and joy. Only the heart's action is inadequate, not on a par with the rest ...
... neither anger nor any kind of reproach in Her look, just compassion! Gently laughing, She said, "Why are you crying? Your recitation was fine! While your inner being was having that experience, your outer being continued with the recitation. You did not make a single mistake in the recitation. You did well." What a solace I found in those words of the Mother, you cannot imagine and words are ...
... for, it brings at best "a borrowed light". All human efforts appeared transitory, vain, uncertain. He could see man's sphere as "...a small- ness trying to be great". And yet there is behind man's outer being the Eternal Spirit which is his Truth. For the Self of man, his real spiritual Self, is above nature, above fate. In order to realise this free Self and its greatness Aswapathy with- drew his ...
... banality and mediocrity, I am reminded of this line of "Savitri": "All can be done if the God-touch is there." As soon as one has a contact with the divine Consciousness, this mediocrity of the outer being becomes obvious, but the promise of Savitri is true and will be fulfilled. 28.10.1968 Perhaps now Your Grace will like to help me make the surrender of all my being in love and joy. ...
... in the Hindu manner. All this without any comprehension in the little brain (I mean I really didn’t know what I was doing or how I was doing it—nothing at all). I did it, and at the same time the outer being was asking, ‘What is all this?’ 28 What is quite interesting is that just at the beginning of 1904 Sri Aurobindo was starting his own conscious yoga, while Mirra, as for her, was setting out ...
... desireless or liberated action on which I found the possibility of a free (mukta) action would be false. The whole being, Purusha- Prakriti, becomes detached even in the action of the gunas. "The outer being is also detached—the whole being is without desire or attachment and still action is possible, action without desire is possible, action without attachment is possible, action without ego is possible ...
... Undated The experience you have is the experience of the true self. Untouched by grief and joy, desire, anxiety or trouble, vast and calm and full of peace, it observes the agitations of the outer being as one might the play of children. It is indeed the divine element in you. The more you can live in that, the firmer will be the foundation of the sadhana. In this self will come all the higher ...
... five thousand years, the world has never ceased fantasizing about saints and ascetics and "liberated yogis," who have not removed an atom of filth from our universal misery: They take off' their outer being as they would take off a coat and leave it in a comer: "All right, don’t bother me now; be quiet—you’re disturbing me!” Then they go into a contemplation (their "meditation," their "deep” experience) ...
... from this, circumstances need change nothing in the inward aim and concentrate your will and endeavour on the one thing to be done — the entire self-giving and self-dedication of your inner and outer being to the Divine alone. If you can adopt firmly the right inward attitude, it may even be easier so than by a strong compression on your outer movements with the wall of an outward rule for your main ...
... Then after a summer vacation. "This return, after three months of absence, to the house which is consecrated to Thee, O Lord, has been an occasion for two experiences. The first is that in my outer being, my surface consciousness, I have no longer any feeling that I am in my own house or the owner of anything at all... . "In the second place, the whole atmosphere of the house is charged with ...
... suggestions of despair or impatience. Give time for the Mother's force to act. 12 June 1937 Whatever difficulties still remain, be sure that they will be surmounted. There is no need for the outer being to be nervous—the Mother's Force and the devotion within you will be sufficient to overcome all that stands in the way. ...
... Page 462 but nothing precise about the movements of their mind and vital with the result that these remain pretty much as they were and there is no harmony between the inner and the outer being and as a result the inner also does not get its full or proper development. 17 June 1934 I feel no interest in sadhana or even in the outer work. Whatever help or protection you send stops ...
... October 7, 1913 This return after an absence of three months to the house which is consecrated to Thee, O Lord, has been the occasion of two experiences. The first is that in my outer being, my surface consciousness, I no longer have the least feeling of being in my own home and the owner of anything there: I am a stranger in a strange land, much more of a stranger here than in the ...
... Prayers and Meditations April 20, 1914 After having hoped so much, after having believed that my outer being was at last to become an instrument adapted to Thy purpose, after feeling hopeful that I would at last be delivered from this obscure and cumbersome "self", I feel I am as far from the goal as before, as ignorant, as egoistic as I was before this ...
... divine forces elude completely the laws of the material world: they are omnipresent, always at work to satisfy every receptivity, every sincere aspiration. So although it may be pleasant for our outer being to see his physical appearance or hear his voice, to dwell in his presence, we must truly tell ourselves that, inasmuch as it seems Page 114 indispensable to us, this shows that we are ...
... the time; but it is the psychic which organises his existence—only in what may be called the main lines, because for intervening in the details there would have to be a conscious union between the outer being, that is, the vital and physical being, and the psychic being, but usually this does not exist. So externally, in the details... for example, there was someone who in deep perplexity said to me, ...
... they don't come out, and who don't move; and then there is a dynamic realisation which transforms all your action, all your movements, all your way of being, your character. In the first case one's outer being remains the same, nothing changes, and usually it destroys all possibility of action, one can no longer do anything, one remains seated... In the second case, it changes everything, your character ...
... greedy children? Oh, good heave! Greedy, that's not a crime! There are greedy children. Perhaps they have a bad digestion and so always want to eat. They don't gain by what they eat. The whole outer being is full of difficulties of all kinds, in everybody—in children also. You could ask me with much more justification: "Why are there such cruel children?" That indeed is one of the most dreadful things ...
... The truth of the being, that is, the central raison d'etre of an existence. It is that, indeed, which organises circumstances so that the truth of the being may be expressed or the superficial outer being be led to turn round within not—find any support outside, for instance, and turn within to have a support; it finds the psychic support. "The body has a wonderful capacity of adaptation and endurance ...
... is an inner consciousness that is formed which need not be always thinking of the Mother because it is always conscious of her. 31 May 1933 Page 258 During mental activities my outer being never remembers the Mother. Please show me the way to remain conscious of her in the midst of intellectual pursuits. It can be done when you become the witness detached from the mental actions ...
... is the indispensable starting-point. Through interiorisation and concentration one has to enter into conscious contact with one's psychic being. This psychic being always has an influence on the outer being, but that influence is almost always occult, neither seen nor perceived nor felt, save on truly exceptional occasions. In order to strengthen the contact and aid, if possible, the development ...
... the time; but it is the psychic which organises his existence—only in what may be called the main lines, because for intervening in the details there would have to be a conscious union between the outer being, that is, the vital being and physical being, and the psychic being, but usually this does not exist. So externally, in the details... for example, there was someone who in deep perplexity said to ...
... realisation you have described, nothing ought to discourage you. It is true that even after one has the consciousness in the inner being, it is still difficult to bring out it or its results in the outer being and the life. But that is a difficulty which all have and it can be overcome by patient sadhana and time. One thing these realisations ought to remove from you—the idea of giving up the body. ...
... Page 233 now forget its habit of depression or sadness. Let the happiness come into it also. First the Mother organises the inner parts of the being; then she begins to work on the outer being. Does this mean that when the inner parts are brought under control, then she begins to work on the physical nature? It is the usual course, but some work is always being done in the inner parts ...
... greedy children? Oh, good heavens! Greedy, that's not a crime! There are greedy children. Perhaps they have a bad digestion and so always want to eat. They don't gain by what they eat. The whole outer being is full of difficulties of all kinds, in everybody—in children also. You could ask me with much more justification: "Why are there such cruel children?" That indeed is one of the most dreadful things ...
... outwardly expressed because it wants to take a psychic form, not a vital one. But as long as the outer mind and vital are not psychicised, it is not possible to have a psychic expression in the outer being all the time, but only for a few limited moments. Is this correct? Yes, but the vital's test is very foolish. If the sadhana goes on whether you see the Mother or not, that would rather show ...
... Divine, saying, “I want to be yours”, and the Divine has said, “Yes”, the whole world cannot keep you from it. When the central being has made its surrender, the chief difficulty has disappeared. The outer being is like a crust. In ordinary people the crust is so hard and thick that they are not conscious of the Divine within them. If once, even for a moment only, the inner being has said, “I am here and ...
... the time; but it is the psychic which organises his existence—only in what may be called the main lines, because for intervening in the details there would have to be a conscious union between the outer being, that is, the vital and physical being, and the psychic being, but usually this does not exist. So externally, in the details… for example, there was someone who in deep perplexity said to me, “Well ...
... Divine 15,22,86 essential conditions 79 function (work) of 24-25, 29 growth of 63-79 guidance by 12 and individuality 16 nature of 1 and the outer being 19 and Overmind 22, 26 untarnished xix, 1-2, See also the Psychic Psychicisation 101, 102 Psychic conversion 86, 88-89 Psychic entity (essence, existence, ...
... being may still come between, something that is not yet ready to receive. Sri Aurobindo Letters on Yoga - II: The Divine Grace and Guidance Destiny in the rigid sense applies only to the outer being so long as it lives in the Ignorance. What we call destiny is only in fact the result of the present condition of the being and the nature and energies it has accumulated in the past acting on each ...
... which aims at not only the liberation of the individual soul but also the transformation of earthly life, yoga implies not only union of the individual soul with the Divine but also the union of the outer being with the soul and the unification of one's being around the soul, for, according to Sri Aurobindo and the Mother, it is only through such a unification of one's being that the Divine can be made ...
... manifesting entirely the divine light. Behind the troubled appearance, behind the struggle and anguish of the conflict, the consciousness remains firm at its post; observing all the movements of the outer being, it intervenes only to rectify direction and position, so as not to allow the play to become too dramatic. This intervention is now firm and a little severe, now ironical, a call to order or a mockery ...
... gained or learnt. If you remain in an indrawn state of consciousness and do not apply materially the inner progress, a time will certainly come when you will not be able to move at all, for your outer being, unchanged, will be like a fetter pulling you back and hindering you from advancing. So, the most important point (what everybody says but only a few do) is to put into practice what you know. With ...
... process in the creation is rendered more intense and rapid, but the pace of the outer transformation remains almost the same as in ordinary life. As a result, the disharmony between the inner and the outer being in one who is doing Yoga tends to be all the greater, unless precautions are taken...." Questions and Answers 1929 ( 16 June ) What are these precautions? That depends upon people. ...
... this I am going to do, whatever happens", and even if you don't like it very much. But it is always there. I am sure that it is there even in the murderer before he kills, you understand, but his outer being makes such a lot of noise that it never even occurs to him to listen. But it is always there, always there. In every circumstance, there is in the depth of every being, just this little (one can't ...
... cannot come until one has gone beyond the stage of willings, that is, until the motive of action is the result not of a mere mental activity but of true knowledge. True knowledge acting in the outer being gives true power. This seems to be an explanation, the real explanation of that very familiar saying which is not understood in its essence but expresses a truth: "Where there's a will, there's ...
... of being wonderful or tremendous, but it is inexpressible and incomprehensible for you. That is the experience in its essence and its true power. Gradually, as the action is prolonged and the outer being begins to assimilate this action, there awakens a capacity of observation, first in the mental consciousness, and a kind of Page 341 objectivisation occurs: something in the mind looks ...
... certainly are not ready to perceive the difference in the earth-atmosphere. They still have a long way to go for that. Because, for those whose consciousness is more or less exclusively centred in the outer being―mental, vital and physical―things need to take on an absurd and unexpected appearance for them to be able to recognise them. Then they call them miracles. But the constant miracle of the intervention ...
... cannot be deceived. An imitation of spiritual life may delude people who still live in the mind, but those who have realised this reversal of consciousness in themselves, whose relation with the outer being is completely different, cannot be deceived and cannot make a mistake. It is these people the mental being does not understand. So long as one is in the mental consciousness, even the highest ...
... time; but it is the psychic which organises his existence — only in what may be called the main lines, because for intervening in the details there would have to be a conscious union between the outer being, that is, the vital and physical being, and the psychic being, but usually this does not exist. So externally, in the details... for example, there was someone who in deep perplexity said to me, ...
... thinkers are as competent as any Eastern sage. It is the spiritual way, the road that leads beyond the intellectual levels, the passage Page 20 from the outer being to the inmost Self, which has been lost by the over-intellectuality of the mind of Europe. In the extracts you have sent me from Bradley and Joachim ...
... bell-jar which it does not want to get rid of. Really, it is a difficult time. I think that we ought to be very quiet, very quiet, very quiet. I am going to tell you my old mantra; it keeps the outer being very quiet: OM NAMO BHAGAVATE. These three words. For me they meant: OM—I implore the Supreme Lord. NAMO—Obeisance to Him. BHAGAVATE—Make me divine. This is a translation of it ...
... enough; there must be also the will to seek after the Divine and courage and persistence in following the path. Fear is the first thing that must be thrown away and, secondly, the inertia of the outer being which has prevented him from responding to the call. The Light is the light of the Divine Consciousness. The aim of this Yoga is first to come into contact with this consciousness and then to ...
... certain measure of quietude—they get deep peace only when they are flooded with it from the inner being. The peace starts in the inner being—it is spiritual and psychic but it overflows the outer being—when it is there in the activity, it means either that the ordinary restless mind, vital, physical has been submerged by the flood of the inner peace or, at a more advanced stage, that they have ...
... Divine (such as the Asram work) one may any day be given to do. Yes, obviously, that is one great utility of work that it tests the nature and puts the sadhak in front of the defects of his outer being which might otherwise escape him. It will be better to do the work as a sadhana for getting rid of the defects rather than accept the defects as a reason for not doing the work. Instead of ...
... so poor and contrary in the end—that is what I mean by the ordinary vital love—that I want something purer and nobler and higher in the vital also for the movement towards the Divine. The outer being has to learn to love in the psychic way without ego. If it loves in the egoistic vital way, then it only creates difficulties for itself and for the sadhana and for the Mother. Yes, that is ...
... mental, the inner vital, the inner physical consciousness. But it must be noted that this term "inner" is used in two different senses. Sometimes it denotes the consciousness behind the veil of the outer being, the mental or vital or physical within, which is in direct touch with the universal mind, the universal life forces, the universal physical forces. Sometimes, on the other hand, we mean an inmost ...
... things besides, but this is the essential. It [ an experience reported by the correspondent ] is the true Yogic consciousness in which one feels the oneness and lives in it, not touched by the outer being and its inferior movements, but looking on them with a smile at their ignorance and smallness. It will become much more possible to deal with these outer things if that separateness is maintained ...
... is what we think to be ourselves, the whole of us, because living awake on the surface we are conscious of that only. But within, with a sort of wall of obscurity or oblivion between it and the outer being, there is an inner being, an inner mind, vital, physical and an inmost or psychic being of which we are not aware. We are only aware of what comes up from there to the surface and do not know its ...
... The experience you have is the experience of the true self. Untouched by grief and joy, desire, anxiety or trouble, vast and calm and full of peace, it observes the agitations of the outer being as one might the play of children. It is indeed the divine element in you. The more you can live in that, the firmer will be the foundation of the sadhana. In this self will come all the higher ...
... it is possible for the psychic being to come forward and rule the mind, life and body. The descent from above prepares the being, but unless the psychic acts fully it cannot change by itself the outer being, though one can have a settled inner peace, Page 386 freedom, light, not disturbed by the outer movements, but the outer movements will remain. It is only the combined action of the psychic ...
... by the lower Nature; but then the disturbances of the latter become something superficial which are no more than an outer ripple,—until these under the inner pressure fade and sink away and the outer being too remains calm, concentrated, unattackable. There is also the way of the psychic,—when the psychic being comes out in its inherent power, its consecration, adoration, love of the Divine, self-giving ...
... But that of course means an inactive life, physically incapable. It is what I meant by eternising the sciatica—and the inertia also. The inertia is there because there was always in your outer being a great force of tamas and it is this that is being used by the resistance. There was also a deficiency of steady will-power in the outer mind which makes it more difficult for the Force to come ...
... the thoughts spoken or silently suggested that are moving about the Asram and of which I have spoken, for these are a poison that will only bring discontent and depression. Depression The outer being does not care for the sadhana unless it gets something by it which is to it pleasant or gratifying or satisfying—depression therefore comes easy to it. That is how the depression works in ...
... this circumstance, you need change nothing in the inward aim and concentration of your will and endeavour on the one thing to be done—the entire self-giving and self-dedication of your inner and outer being to the Divine Page 179 alone. If you can adopt firmly the right inward attitude, it may even be easier than by an outward rule for your main guidance. I hope you will be able to ...
... clinging to its pleasure in smallness and darkness cries out against each touch that disturbs its soulless routine or its dull sloth or its torpid slumber. The unreserved surrender of your inner and outer being will bring this plasticity into all the parts of your nature; consciousness will Page 24 awaken everywhere in you by constant openness to the Wisdom and Light, the Force, the Harmony ...
... of the Divine Consciousness and the Mother's Presence? No doubt can remain if there is the realisation of the Divine Consciousness and the Mother's Presence. Imperfections may remain in the outer being, but they do not trouble the inner being and can be got rid of quietly. Page 176 In your letters you say always that the Mother has withdrawn from you and you think she does it d ...
... from these higher planes to meet the subconscience and it inherits the character of consciousness of its planes of origin with which it is intimately associated and in touch by kinship. In our outer being we are children of the Inconscience; our inner being makes us inheritors of the higher heights of mind and life and spirit: the more we open inwards, go inwards, live inwards, receive from within ...
... profound state of sheer self-oblivion or else an action driven irresponsibly by the life nature, an exalted enthusiasm of self-abandonment to the great world-energy in its vitalistic dance. The outer being lives in a God-possessed frenzy careless of itself and the world, unmattavat , or with an entire disregard whether of the conventions and proprieties of fitting human action or of the harmony and ...
... evolution of gnostic consciousness brings with it a transformation of our world-consciousness and world-action: for it takes up into the new power of awareness not only the inner existence but our outer being and our world-being; there is a remaking of both, an integration of them in the sense and power of the spiritual existence. There must come upon us in the change at once a reversal and rejection ...
... relation both to the demands of evolution and to those of the Aurobindonian Page 61 Yoga. Evolution implies in its spiritual meaning a fulfilment by divinisation of the inner and outer being on earth itself during a life-time. If, as you say in agreement with Sri Aurobindo, the Divine is involved in matter, the Divine must get evolved in matter itself, in embodied existence - and this ...
... difficulties and his good points and I am sure the Mother has given him some genuine spiritual experiences. But I am afraid they have gone to his head and have failed to touch with refining fire the outer being, the lower part of him to which the Mother's reference can be traced in the Agenda itself. And the Agenda has been turned by him into a powerful means of self-aggrandisement and self-adve ...
... He has just given a few examples of lines with undertones, lines with overtones, lines with both together and lines with neither. The last-named can be good poetry but in them the rhythm of the outer being is insistent and what impresses us is the admirable metrical music more than the play of an inner music moulding the metre. Of course the. inner music is always there: what we are considering is ...
... explored and possessed by the Yogi: he goes into the profundities of being and scales the peaks above the mind, but after experiencing and realising them he must strive to bring their wonders into the outer being. So my answer to the query -"Whither are we going"- is: "We are going everywhere but in order to come back to Mother Earth and transform her and fulfil the purpose for which we came." Page ...
... exhilaration: it also takes, for all the richer effect Shelley has on us, a firmer grip on flesh and blood with which it is subtly continuous; so that, by its effect, however vaguely, in even our outer being We feel that we are greater than we know. Shelley was like an exile from some Beyond against which the defects of the physical universe, in spite of that universe's shimmering ...
... body-consciousness, with the soul entering no domain of common death but a realm of trance where the human gets absorbed into the deific. Nirodbaran's poetry is full of the passing of the outer being into the Unknown that is like a death into a larger and richer life — a death Tranquil and luminous-whorled, as he puts it ...
... because of some repeated expressions, very pointedly the double movement of the Aurobindo-nian Yoga, the discovery of the "deep deathless being" and then the extension of the inner immortality to the outer being that has so long been accepted as a thrall to limitation and imperfection, mutability and death. The titles of the two poems are very significant. The one indicates that the Divine is a grand ...
... consciously. I helped him to 'go out'—but it was frightful!... When he dreamed, a part of his mind indeed remained conscious, active, and a kind of link remained between this active part and his outer being, so he remembered some of his dreams, but it was only a very partial phenomenon. To go out of your body means that you must gradually pass through ALL the states of being, if you are to do it sy ...
... body-consciousness, with the soul entering no domain of common death but a realm of trance where the human gets absorbed into the deific. Nirodbaran's poetry is full of the passing of the outer being into the Unknown that is like a death into a larger and richer life — a death Tranquil and luminous-whorled, as he puts it in Heaven-Ascent. He speaks also of ...
... real selves. Integral Education bridges the gulf between the different parts of the individual by giving them an equal scope of development systematically. Its first focus is on the training of the outer being (physical, vital and mental) - carried out in an environment that acknowledges, subtly calls forth and nurtures the inner being, the psychic and the spiritual in the child. Perfection of ...
... Amal said “Yes, Sri Aurobindo is too large to live within our hearts; we live within him!” Amal told me that the Mother said if someone came to her even once she did two things: she linked their outer being to their psychic being and the other was that she put out an emanation of herself to go with that person for all of their lifetime. That emanation would go out in accordance with the spiritual needs ...
... personality who has been Sri Aurobindo's co-worker. "Co-worker" — the word is apposite in a special sense, for it points to the importance of work in the Integral Yoga. It is by work that our outer being, with its manifold dynamic turns, can be dedicated to the Divine. Every kind of work, all life-activity, is embraced by the Integral Yoga. But it has to be offered to the Supreme, launched ...
... convinced that they were absolutely right in pointing out numberless things which seemed utterly true and real. I was over-credulous and hypersensitive—hence the conflict between my inner and my outer being. This acutely painful division often left me sullen and confused. Many a time prayers to the Mother arose from my aching heart, begging for her help. She wrote to me: I am giving and shall ...
... joy of the Divine's Presence in all your being. With love The Mother has disclosed in Vol. 12, [p. 447] about the old Mantra: I am going to tell you my old mantra; it keeps the outer being very quiet: OM NAMO BHAGAVATE . These three words—for me they meant: OM—I implore the Supreme Lord. NAMO—Obeisance to Him. BHAGAVATE—Make me divine. For me that has the power ...
... "'Total' means VERTICALLY in all the states of being from the most material to the most subtle. 'Integral' means HORIZONTALLY in all the various and often contradictory parts that make up the outer being (physical, vital and mental)." Page 398 ( Then Mother listens to the reading of more unpublished letters of Sri Aurobindo's: ) "How can I receive Sri Aurobindo's light in ...
... help. What does help is giving oneself up more and more to the baby-cat consciousness, so that the- feeling of being happily carried becomes intense and the small inner flame suffuses one's whole outer being and an ecstasy of self-surrender fills every limb. Why are you afraid of being swallowed by the sharp-toothed giant of "aloneness"? If you could really be alone you would, by a paradox, know ...
... Being. Also, one's individual and personal habits create an aura of their own. The consciousness has to be calm, clear, bright and has to express itself in a certain attitude and activity of the outer being, which must practise poise, orderliness, bodily care, regularity, balance of movement. Spontaneously the child will take in through its twinkling eyes the drama of life around it and by its sensitive ...
... accepted" your "request" "with a smile". It seems that he was your own soul which had been slightly separated from your inner state by the lurking anxiety about missing your train - the link with your outer being. The "smile" was a psychic signal, a reassurance that nothing was truly lost. Have I not spoken of your Page 317 "smiling face" as something most characteristic of you the sadhak ...
... Page 113 anywhere else, India has the greatest potentiality for the work of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother. This is the first reason. The second reason is that at present India's outer being is very deeply sunk in dirt and noise and stench reflecting a marked imperfection in life-style. Such an excessive condition calls out for a change. Hence the Divine's response by physically carrying ...
... terrible! He has a knack for demolishing everything. But it's wonderfully true. It immediately puts you in the atmosphere of the relativity of all those human conceptions. The trouble is that the outer being finds it hard to forget its habit of regarding material things as true, real, concrete: "This is concrete, you touch it, see it, feel it...." It's beginning to come. Page 27 I tell ...
... sidetracked what might have harmed the owner in some subtle occult way affecting her body. (In those days the inner movements tended very much to have repercussions in the outer being — a hypersensitive connection used to be there. For example, I once had a horrid crop of boils near my eyes and ears. The Mother reminded me of a certain acute desire I had allowed in myself a ...
... constantly keep this faith burning and do our best to let the rest of ourselves co-operate with the Mother-embraced soul. Thirdly, although we may not keenly realise the fact, we do have our outer being also protected when we have turned towards the Mother. Here we must think of all the bad things that might have happened but have not. Since they have not happened we think that they could not have ...
... vital, physical. It is not connected very much with the inner being except in a few — until one connects them together in the course of the sadhana. Letters on Yoga, p. 311 The outer being is a means of expression only, not one's self. One must not identify with it, for what it expresses is a personality formed by the old ignorant nature. If not identified one can change it so as ...
... of consciousness. Similarly, Eckhart does not speak of mastery in the Gita's sense of the term, which implies, besides freedom of the Purusha, the inner being, the liberation of Prakriti, the outer being, also. Page 143 × Rules or laws of action. ...
... that an Avatar must be a saint or a yogi. The Avatars can of course be married and satisfy the vital movements. But do they really indulge them as ordinary people? While satisfying their outer being do they not remain conscious of their union with the Divine above ? There is not necessarily any union above before the practice of yoga. There is a connection of the consciousness with the ...
... burning topic here. And the right answer would be the one with the best logic, considering what God's punishment is generally taken to be and that it should apply most to the inner rather than the outer being of man since it is the former which is primarily concerned in the free disobedience constituting man's sin against God. The punishment is clearly defined in the first few lines of the epic, when ...
... evolution and the consciousness that has descended from above for involution. There is in it an inner mind, an inner vital being of ourselves, an inner or subtle-physical being larger than our outer being and nature. This inner existence is the concealed origin of almost all in our surface self that is not a construction of the first inconscient World-Energy or a natural developed functioning of ...
... I am reminded of this line of Savitri: All can be done if the God-touch is there. 4 The Mother: As soon as one has a contact with the divine Consciousness, this mediocrity of the outer being becomes obvious, but the promise of Savitri is true and will be fulfilled. Aswapati was very fortunate. For him, Each day was a spiritual romance... Each happening was a deep experience ...
... more total and constant, it acts very strongly on your soul like an almost irresistible attraction. This is what happened in 58.. To conclude, "an easy and pleasant life" can only satisfy the outer being; but what answers in the physical being to the soul's influence need; for its flowering a life more in conformity with the soul's needs and "languishes" when it cannot find it. 3 December 1959 ...
... heart, of our faculties of cognition, affection, and conation on the superficial layer or layers of our being of which alone we normally are aware. We are, as it were, caged into the prison of our outer being which constantly acts and reacts and which with difficulty happens to be pushed to be turned more and more inward. The more one turns inwards, the more one discovers potentialities and secrets of ...
... will create this separation and keep the hostile forces at bay, these latter will be reduced in their action to a state as described by Sri Aurobindo below: "They [the hostile attacks on the outer being] are felt as suggestions, or a touch on the surface mind, vital, physical or as movements in the atmosphere (the personal or the general environmental consciousness) — but for the inner being it ...
... think learning si tar will be useful to me? Sri Aurobindo: I don't see much use in sitarring - but if you do! 40 (22)NB: In meditation, I had again a stillness of the inner and the outer being, but the body was gradually bending down as if I were in a light sleep. I could remember that you were there and others besides. Was that a state of sleep due to a full stomach? Sri Aurobindo: ...
... well-known, the Integral Yoga of Sri Aurobindo has for its objective among other things: (i)to make spiritual experiences real to the whole consciousness of man including that of his outer being; (ii)not only to experience the truth subjectively and in one's inner consciousness alone, but to manifest it even in full activity; (iii)an integral possession of the integrality ...
... Avatar must be a saint or a yogi. The Avatars can of course be married and satisfy the vital movements. But do they really indulge them as ordinary people? While satisfying their outer being do they not remain conscious of their union with the Divine above. There is not necessarily any union above before the practice of yoga. There is a connection of the consciousness with ...
... heights. The Mother's Force acts, of course, in all states and not in the work only. The question is: to what extent can we offer it a more or less total receptivity? In solitary meditation the outer being becomes vague to one and is either dormant or quiescent while the inner reigns supreme. In work, although the exterior self is predominant, the inner is there just behind it, if not with it supporting ...
... the constant remembrance? That is difficult. If you have the peace and silence undisturbed and the recollection, it is enough for a beginning. Usually it is the outer being that is talking. But it is rarely reasonable and it speaks a lot and of useless things. So I want my inner being to take the charge of speech. Yes. The speech must come from within ...
... of the highest spiritual siddhi. One can also act with the Rudrabhava, but without anger, though people may mistake it for anger. That is a higher stage. There there is no disturbance even in the outer being, only a mass of very calm, but intense divine force in action. A few Blessings—24th. Many April 23, 1935 Lack of interest and energy, disinclination to go to the hospital—this ...
... might be a collision or into a steamer for similar reasons and certainly you would never dare go in an aeroplane! January 2, 1935 In meditation, I had again a stillness of the inner and outer being, but the body was gradually bending down, as ill was in a light sleep. I could remember that you were there. Was that a state of sleep due to a full stomach? You were going into the inner co ...
... an inner passive part and an outer active part. The inner part becomes gradually a mere witness and the outer part a mere mechanical functioning. When the withdrawal is so complete that the outer being or the world has no effect upon the inner, does not raise any ripple in it by its touch or contiguity then is accomplished the real death. Then it is said the outer existence, the material life ...
... could heave a sigh of relief. We have left that stage far enough behind us now. We have in. fact reached the opposite end perhaps. We have taken a plunge outwards, identified ourselves with the outer being - a tendency against which the Upanishad has used a word of warning: parañci khani vyatrant, our senses have a natural pull towards the outer things. But this too was necessary and still is. We form ...
... equally unperturbed and tranquil. In the beginning you make a general surrender or submission, in principle, as it were: it is in your inner being. It must be brought forth gradually in the outer being, carried out in all the details of life. That is how difficulties arise. You have made your offering, you say, even you have worked at it for a long time, worked hard, given much time and much will; ...
... SRI AUROBINDO: Not necessarily. But it is the first step. NIRODBARAN: And what's the second? SRI AUROBINDO: To detach oneself from all these things. To think as if they belonged to the outer being or to someone else. As one goes on doing that, the Purusha or Soul gradually withdraws its sanction from the Prakriti or Nature, and the Prakriti loses its hold until finally a spiritual control ...
... the inner physical, the inner vital and the inner mental being. The psychic is the inmost being. NIRODBARAN: A has asked if the gains in the inner consciousness are not to be worked out in the outer being. SRI AUROBINDO: Yes, the ultimate aim is to transform the total being and nature. NIRODBARAN: A has requested me to convey his gratitude to you and the Mother. (Sri Aurobindo looked pleased ...
... This takes time, sometimes a lot of time. This opens first the inner centres and starts the work of harmonising one part with the other, of purifying them and making them more conscious. If the outer being does not intervene or does not impose itself, if it does not get agitated or does not demand, then the work is done quietly, the difficulties and the obstacles are turned into favourable movements ...
... information. Her answer was, 'Sri Aurobindo's eyes had gone very bad. He could not see people clearly. Of course he could contact the consciousness of whoever was before him but could not recognise the outer being and form. The moment he heard me, he began to smile.' "From these words I realise that the Grace was as much the Mother's as Sri Aurobindo's. For it was through the one that the other had come ...
... belong to another self. By the simple fact of setting out on the path, the yoga automatically awakens a whole range of latent faculties and invisible forces that far exceed the possibilities of our outer being and can do for us things that we are normally incapable of doing: One had to have the passage clear between the outer mind and something in the inner being... for they (the Yogic consciousness and ...
... going to get out of the endless chain of birth and death and birth again? As always, Sri Aurobindo's answer is pointed as well as reassuring: Destiny in the rigid sense applies only to the outer being so long as it lives in the Ignorance. What we call destiny is only in fact the result of the present condition of the being and the nature and energies it has accumulated in the past acting on each ...
... she records on 7 October 1913, two enriching experiences: This return ... to the house which is consecrated to Thee, O Lord, has been the occasion of two experiences. The first is that in my outer being, my surface consciousness, I no longer have the least feeling of being in my own home and the owner of anything there .... I am a visitor here as elsewhere, as everywhere, Thy messenger and Thy ...
... transfiguration of human nature is the result of the supramental transformation. It can be said that the psychic transformation liberates the inner and considerably refines and enlightens the outer being of man; the spiritual transformation universalises it, illumines it, within and without, and brings into it the native rhythm of the Infinite; and the supramental transformation integrates and ...
... by evolution and the consciousness that has descended from above for involution. There is in it an inner mind, an inner vital being of ourselves, an inner or subtle-physical being larger than our outer being and nature. This inner existence is the concealed origin of almost all in our surface self that is not a construction of the first inconscient world-energy or a natural developed functioning of our ...
... saying, 'I want to be yours,' and the Divine has said, 'Yes,' the whole world cannot keep you from it. When the central being has made its surrender., the chief difficulty has disappeared. The outer being is like a crust. In ordinary people the crust is so hard and thick that they are not conscious of the Divine within them. If once, even for a moment only, the inner being has said, 'I am here and ...
... original message in French.) Page 96 Page 97 11.2.45 My blessings on your birthday. May this be a year of more and more progress both in your inner and your outer being. SRI AUROBINDO Here is a prayer for 1945: "Lord, grant that 1 may be entirely and eternally faithful to Thee." With my blessings, THE MOTHER (Translated from the original ...
... then you can recognize him. Then it is not his human nature that will gude you. People mistake when they see a guru and judge him as quite an ordinary person like any other man. But his mind and outer being does not guide; it is the inner consciousness that guides. That is a truth very difficult for the modern mind to understand. Q: Didn't Sri Aurobindo say in his Synthesis of Yoga that it is ...
... "with pain and labour all creation comes." Pain is the hand of Nature sculpturing man "to greatness" and "an inspired labour chisels with heavenly cruelty an unwilling mould." Sometimes, when the outer being seems to suffer the inner spirit takes delight as it feels that suffering leads it to its goal. Besides, it is not only ordinary mortals who suffer pain, even the great spirits who come to "save ...
... .. as occasions of psychic self-training and the overcoming of things that in the matter of speech stand in the way of a complete harmony between the inner consciousness and the movement of the outer being.... Apart from that, the self-control that is desirable in these surroundings and in the midst of discussion would mean among other things: 1) Not to allow the impulse of speech to assert itself ...
... control over some aspects, at other times a sense of “lightening” in regard to other aspects — these keep alternating. SRI AUROBINDO: All these things are in fact things that had been left in the outer being, in the physical consciousness, though some were rejected by the higher parts and their persistence there or their remnants made the progress incomplete. Now they are rising up for dispersal and ...
... the force of aspiration, call it down. Keep calling, calling and praying to it. This prayerful attitude must go on. Let a deep aspiration rise from deep within your inmost being and come into the outer being and suffuse all your bodily movements. Let this aspiration flow in you, in the smallest atom and particle of your being. Let it flow... That is what I want. My child, this thing is within you (looking ...
... keep what you have and let it grow, to live always in the psychic being, your true being. The psychic will then in due time awake and turn to the Divine all the rest of the nature, so that even the outer being will feel itself in touch with the Divine and moved by the Divine in all it is and feels and does. (9.4.31) ...
... sincerely to do it seriously. Is this merely mental? SRI AUROBINDO: It is not a mental rule, but, as you say, an inner necessity, but something mental moves in your outer attitude, because in the outer being and in the subconscient vital there is still something which is not overcome. That may give your way of doing it a rigidity which they feel. That was what we wanted to say, not in the least that ...
... 1914 1914 Prayers and Meditations July 5, 1914 All that belongs to the outer, lower being which is still obscure, prostrates itself before Thee in a mute and fervent adoration, calling with all its strength Thy purifying action which will make it fit to manifest Thee fully. And in this adoration is found perfect silence and perfect beatitude. Thou ...
... remain always conscious of the need to progress at all levels and at all times. Remaining close to Her physical presence for long periods daily, brought out spontaneously the best in our inner and outer beings. By the time She had finished four of these lessons in the children’s French class, the Mother got busy preparing for the Darshan on 24th November. Then came the annual day of the School on 2nd ...
... wonder-workers in many respects but they were not miracle-mongers and they were perfectly honest and clear-headed. Moreover, their central job was to bring about a radical change in our inner and outer beings — a drawing forth of the hidden God-lit soul, the widening out of the mind into an infinite peace, the raising of the consciousness into realms of light overhead, the calling down of the spiritual... story of what followed. Here I may touch on a few points. There was a sudden plunge into the psychic consciousness, which in Yogic terminology is the consciousness of the deepest heart or the inmost being, a plunge which seemed a surprising metamorphosis of the terrible prolonged sinking feeling in the middle of the chest as if I were passing inexorably out of life. I was inwardly calling to Sri Aurobindo... my wife that there appeared to be not much hope of my survival. I believe it was the sustained intensity of my cry to my gurus that widely opened up the depths of Page 42 my being and took unexpected advantage of the sensation of the life-force falling as though abysmally away from the cardiac centre where, in the Upanishads' view, the whole complex of the living human c ...
... doubtful knowledge. In the transformed consciousness your starting-point is knowledge and you proceed from knowledge to knowledge. However, this is a beginning; for the outer consciousness, the various planes and parts of the outer active being are transformed slowly and gradually as a result of the inner transformation. There is a partial change of consciousness which makes you lose all interest in things... but a reversal of consciousness: the being turns inside out, as it were, and takes a completely different Page 80 position. In this reversed consciousness the being stands above life and things and deals with them from there; it is at the centre of everything and directs its action outwards from there. Whereas in the ordinary consciousness the being stands outside and below: from outside ...
... of evolving humanity are to be realised by Savitri, though only after a struggle. The struggle and the victory are the hard core of the drama of Savitri, the rest is epic scaffolding. The outer scaffolding being Page 129 concluded, Sri Aurobindo now turns to the nearer scaffolding, that is, Savitri's earlier story upto the dawn of the fateful day in her and in the world's history ...
... Under the influence of the Mother's divine force, our inner and outer beings were deeply touched and the programme itself had been rendered possible in a way that our ordinary human endeavour could never have been able to achieve. That is why today as I remember that descent of the Mother's extraordinary divine force, my whole being sings aloud: Victoire à la Douce Mère! Page 172... conviction and faith that when the Mother had assured me that I would dance on the final day, She would also make it happen. And yet, a slight spot of doubt also lurked somewhere in the being: would I be capable of being a worthy instrument of Her grace? The Rhythm Eternal has left an indelible mark on my life, a deeply rooted experience. The atmosphere created by Sri Aurobindo's lines from ... well-protected in my inner being, I returned home. Page 171 The following day when I went to see Nolini-da, I came to know that a proposal had been put forward to the Mother to have one additional show besides the one slated for the 5 th of May. And the Mother had agreed. After talking to Pranab-da, the Mother had asked Nolini-da to inform me about this show being fixed for the 7 th ...
... energy in work? How is the inner energy related to the outer energy? The first stage is when one works with the outer energy, but there is an inner consciousness supporting it which relies wholly on the Mother. The second is when there is an inner consciousness and force which uses the outer instruments—the outer energy Page 245 being quiescent or else a part only of the inner—while this... terms this deeper dedication can be expressed? One begins to feel a double consciousness, one an inner being within which is always dedicated, spontaneously and silently full of the devotion to the Mother or aware of her Force working or of her presence or all these together and another the outer through which the work is done. 1936 During work, the consciousness, however high it was before... the Divine's sake without thought of self that work becomes fully a sadhana and the internal and the external nature can arrive at a harmony. It makes it more possible for the inner being to take up and enlighten the outer action and grow conscious of the Mother's force behind it guiding it in its works. 3 January 1937 Should one try to put out the Mother's Force during work, if one is conscious ...
... doctor’s role in it unless he too is an occultist and helps the patient in an occult way? The greatest thing I learnt was that spiritual Force can cure diseases. Though I believed in it, my outer medical being probably lacked a total faith. Or else my doubting nature stood in the way and I had to put up with the Master constantly drilling my brain and pouring in more and more faith. Medical practice... Mother used to read the medical reports very carefully and follow the progress of the patients from day to day. Even at Pranam time her eyes would penetrate not only into the psychic being, but into the physical being as well and if something was wrong, she Page 27 would refer the case to us. Here is an instance in point: A sadhak had an innocent tumour on his neck. I advised an operation;... me to serve Sri Aurobindo in my capacity as a doctor. Could I not then affirm that to be a medical gent was my destiny? But the course it followed was a sinuous one. Let me recount what led to my being transferred to the Dispensary in an unexpected manner. One day when I was doing well in my timber-job, I wrote in an unguarded moment to Sri Aurobindo that my medical studies costing me Rs.20,000 had ...
... know what it is, so as to satisfy the intellect and the intuitional mind of its constant reality, to put our passive and, so far as we can manage it, our active, our inner immortal and even our outer mortal being into perfect harmony with it, grow into a necessity of our living. And to open ourselves to it is what we feel to be the one true happiness, to live into it the sole real perfection. Page... for the inspiration of all our inner and our outer acts, it will become the joy of the Divine pouring itself through us in light and love and power on life and all that lives. Sought Page 595 by the adoration and love of the soul, it reveals itself as the Godhead, we see in it the face of God and know the bliss of our Lover. Tuning our whole being to it, we grow into a happy perfection of... the ways of his being. It will find its acme in a perfect union of love and a perfect enjoyment of all the ways of the soul's intimacy with God. It may start from knowledge or it may start from works, but it will then turn knowledge into a joy of luminous union with the being of the Beloved and turn works into a joy of the active union of our being with the will and the power of being of the Beloved ...
... realize that, in dealing with the egoic self, one needs to go through the three stages spoken of by Sri Aurobindo: first and foremost, becoming inwardly free by being the impartial Witness of the movements in one's outer egoic being; secondly, being the Sanctioner, consenting only to what accords with one's true inner nature; thirdly, becoming the Master of all the movements of one's body, vital, and mind... one's daily life and to regard part of it, such as the routine acts and necessary chores of daily living, as belonging to one's outer or ordinary life, and meditation, consecrated work, and the like as constituting one's inner or spiritual life. Acts pertaining to the outer life are done with ordinary consciousness and are governed by physical, vital, and mental motives of ordinary consciousness. This... says, "When the calmness is there, all sorts of things may rise on the surface—they have not to be accepted, but simply looked at. In time the calmness will be so developed as to quell the vital and outer mind also and in that complete quietude the true perceptions will come." 7 Yet another related insight-—something that I have for long intellectually known but have not realized deeply enough—is ...
... formulable but has on our inner being an impact which thrills and illumines in an unforgettably subtle way. I remember a chorus in one of his dramas: the refrain is -"God has not appeared to the birds"- and it seems to mean that all creatures except man have a sort of fullness and finality and contentment because they are fixed types, as it were, in their outer conscious being and do not have man's restless... state - its truth or sincerity does not consist in whether its revelation agrees altogether with the poet's day-to-day outer life or even with the actual experience with which the poem began. That is the first thing to understand about art. If people want to measure one's outer life entirely by one's poetry and vice versa, they are going the wrong way about a most delicate business. It is their... works. It would be crass folly for anyone to charge a spiritual poem with being pretentious, should the poet not be a practising saint twenty-four hours of the day. A good poem stands by itself: Page 7 if it has inspiration it fulfils itself and is perfectly sincere. A poem's sincerity or "truth" lies in its being a faithful transcription of something fine in the heights and depths of ...
... above, and the outer conscious being [of Mother] wasn't concerned with anything further, knowing that it would only make things more complicated instead of helping them, and that the Force left to itself, directly under the supreme Impulsion, worked things out far better and far more accurately. But over these last months, there have come a will and a tendency to make the material being [of Mother] ... But in the midst of that fever I was entirely conscious; I had the fever people call delirium, and I saw what delirium is: there were hordes of beings from the most material vital rushing at me with such violence! It was a real battle against an army of beings from the lowest, most material and also most violent vital—they came in waves and I kept throwing them back (which probably people are unable... hoping he had decided to stay, but we were without news for about twenty-four hours, till suddenly we were told he had stopped breathing and was being given oxygen. And then he left. And I saw it so clearly: had he consented... (naturally, every being's soul is free, it is free to decide), had he consented to stay on, I would have had enough power to keep him, to maintain his body in a condition ...
... towards the Divine. Not content with the bliss of an absorbed union with the Supreme in the immobile depths of her being, she has laboured for long years and through unimaginable difficulties to extend the orbit of the union and its creative bliss down to her most outer physical being, so that from her soul to her body and its activities, all may be an uninterrupted expression of the Divine Page... which is immanent in all things to manifest itself "in the most outward forms of life, in every feeling, in every thought, in every act.” Her insistence has always been on the perfection of the most outer, the most physical part Page 374 of human nature. And we have the same ideal stressed time and again in the writings of Sri Aurobindo : "...Its (of his Yoga) aim is not only to rise... transfiguration of the physical being of man which is half embedded in the Subconscient and the Inconscient—a thing of obscure appetites and mechanical habits, stubborn in its refusal to admit light and order and any higher conscious force into itself, and no individual, however great he may be, is capable of completely transforming his physical being without there being a considerable change and modification ...
... towards the Divine. Not content with the bliss of an absorbed union with the Supreme in the immobile depths of her being, she has laboured for long years and through unimaginable difficulties to extend the orbit of the union and its creative bliss down to her most outer physical being, so that from her soul to her body and its activities, all may be an uninterrupted expression of the Divine Presence... which is immanent in all things to manifest itself "in the most outward forms of life, in every feeling, in every thought, in every act." Her insistence has always been on the perfection of the most outer, the most physical part of human nature. And we have the same ideal stressed time and again in the writings of Sri Aurobindo:"...Its (of his Yoga) aim is not only to rise out of the ordinary ignorant... of the physical being of man which is Page 50 half embedded in the Subconscient and the Inconscient —a thing of obscure appetites and mechanical habits, Stubborn in its refusal to admit light and order and any higher conscious force into itself; and no individual, however great he may be, is capable of completely transforming his physical being without there being a considerable ...
... dynamic by which average humanity is exceeded. In this idea there is a certain truth. The Avatar is at the same time the Vibhuti. This Krishna who in his divine inner being is the Godhead in a human form, is in his outer human being the leader of his age, the great man of the Vrishnis. This is from the point of view of the Nature, not of the soul. The Divine manifests himself through infinite qualities... Buddha in external humanity has for its inner truth the same manifestation of the eternal Avatar within in our own inner humanity. That which has been done in the outer human life of earth, may be repeated in the inner life of all human beings. This is the object of the incarnation, but what is the method? First, we have the rational or minimising view of Avatarhood which sees in it only an extraordinary... quality, it is his outflowing, in whatever form, of Knowledge, Energy, Love, Strength and the rest; personally, it is the mental form and the animate being in whom this power is achieved and does its great works. A pre-eminence in this inner and outer achievement, a greater power of divine quality, an effective energy is always the sign. The human vibhūti is the hero of the race's struggle towards ...
... anything he did - including his withdrawal from his body - must have had a close connection with that fundamental objective. Even in 1938, the Mother used to see the Supermind descending into the outer physical being of Sri Aurobindo, but it couldn't be fixed here for good. In the series of articles that he contributed to the Bulletin during 1949-50, he spoke of the Mind of Light, a limited or delegated... establishment of the supramental mode. But the issue is open yet, the climactic battle is yet to be fought, the final victory is yet to be won. Page 502 II When the casket bearing the outer vestiges of Sri Aurobindo, having been brought down from his room, was lowered into the prepared vault, that must have been the destined moment of the Mother's reawakening into her true role and the... of His Samadhi a thousand flames seem to be mounting up and, lodged in our soul, burning in an ever rejuvenating fire, while His Presence enveloping and merging with and radiating from the Mother's being and body is pervading the whole atmosphere. One can see His Presence, hear His foot-falls, His rhythmic voice, ever vigilant, devoid of the encumbrance of the physical body. 8 With Nirod's heart ...
... example, which the world needs. Fight stubbornly against all obstacles, outer or inner. This is the pearl without price which is proposed for thee to realise."¹ Even so far back as 1915, the Mother knew, not only in the depths of Her being, where She has been fully awake ever since Her early childhood, but in the outer physical being, that "Thy will is that from the heart of this heavy and obscure Matter... poise is closest and easiest of access to our physical being, whose transformation and conversion is the most important condition Page 99 of supramental manifestation. In the Integral Yoga no spiritual experience counts for much unless it is translated into the terms of the physical being, and rivetted and revealed in the outer nature and action. The Mother's physical Presence and contact... ecstasy, depriving me of all freedom to concentrate exclusively on Thee, Thou hast said to me, 'Work as an ordinary man in the midst of ordinary beings; learn to be nothing more than they are in all that is manifesting; associate with the integral way of their being; for, beyond all that they know, all that they are, thou carriest in thyself the torch of the integral splendour which does not waver, and by ...
... offered flowers and prostrated themselves at their feet. At darshan Sri Aurobindo had the opportunity of observing firsthand the inner state of his disciples, and of acting upon their inner and outer beings with his spiritual force. They, on their side, had the opportunity, to them most joyful, of seeing the embodied perfection towards which they aspired. Sri Aurobindo wrote a few letters to some... complete retirement, and rendered him available to those who had to attend on him. This opened out a long period of 12 years during which his retirement was modified owing to circumstances, inner and outer, that made it possible for him to have direct physical contacts with the world outside."¹ Because of the accident, the darshan of 24 November and also that of 21 February 1939 were not held. In... which already indicate the measure of her possibilities and the place she can take in the council of the nations. Page 234 "The third dream was a world-union forming the outer basis of a fairer, brighter and nobler life for all mankind. That unification of the human world is under way; there is an imperfect initiation organised but struggling against tremendous difficulties ...
... there was the descent of the Overmind into his physical being as well as the Mother's. Although the Supermind had been already present in the body by 1938 Page 223 in the sense that it had descended into the embodied complex of mental, vital and subtle-physical beings, it descended in 1938 into the outer physical being for the first time. What could not be done then was to... visions she manifested herself to several of her followers. But what was an ever-living Presence to the inner self was yet a mysteriously haunting Absence to the physical consciousness. It is this outer loss that has been counteracted in an indescribable way by the Birth Centenary. One feels irresistibly urged from with to say, "The Mother has taken birth again." It was as if a veil had been... process of undoing itself and remaking itself."² The possibility of having to follow this process became an actuality on 17 November 1973. But this is a way of speaking from the ordinary outer point of view. The Avatar of the Supermind cannot be said to be compelled to any course by a necessity of Nature. Whatever course is adopted is freely accepted: the Supramental Consciousness belong ...
... spent the previous three or four years. "The lives of the saints", writes William James, "are a history of successive renunciations of complication, one form of contact with the outer life being dropped after another, to save the purity of the inner tone." 23 Schopenhauer adds that,"the more a man belongs to posterity, in other words to humanity in general, the more of an alien is he... vacant forms in the impersonal universality of the Absolute Brahman." 18 During the next four months, Sri Aurobindo was simultaneously engaged in yoga and politics; a union of inner calm and hectic outer activity. May 1908 On 4 May 1908, Sri Aurobindo was arrested in connection with the Muzzaferpore outrage, and was later moved to Alipore, and placed in solitary confinement. ... 24 April—and receive his blessings. 23 November 1938 There was a relaxation in the rules relating to Sri Aurobindo's complete retirement, "owing to circumstances, inner and outer, that made it possible for him to have direct physical contacts with the world outside." 27 For the past twelve years he had maintained contact, even with his ashram inmates, only through letters. ...
... inner and outer development proceeded, a psychic and spiritual relation with one of these beings became more and more clear and frequent and, although she knew little of the Indian philosophies and religions at that time, she was led to call him Krishna and henceforth she was aware that it was with him, whom she knew she would meet some day, that the divine work was to be done. Being a painter... after the descent of the Overmind into the physical being of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother the greater aim seemed on the point of achievement. The Mother remarked in 1954 that even as far back as 1938 she used to see the Supermind appearing in Sri Aurobindo's body but what could not be done at that time was to fix it in the most outer physical being. The first fixing took place in circumstances... Aurobindo remarked later to a disciple. He said that he had never known what spiritual self-surrender could be until she had thrown her whole being at his feet. It was in 1914 too that she experienced an identification of even her most outer consciousness with the Universal Mother. She has written about this in her Prayers and Meditations. She has described there two successive ide ...
... of one's being, then upon discovering the Jivatman one may think of oneself as an Avatar, an embodiment of the One. Whereas the Jivatman presides over individual manifestation from above, its representative below in the manifestation — the psychic being — supports from within the evolution of the individual, standing behind and guiding the parts of the outer instrumental being — mental,... Nature and is at once a mental, vital and physical formation meant to aid in centralising and individualising the outer consciousness and action. When the true being is discovered, the utility of the ego is over.... 39 I suppose the ego came there first as a means of the outer consciousness individualising itself in the flux of Nature and, secondly, as an Page 382 ... the knots which keep us tied to the Ignorance. 33 Ego: Provisional Substitute for Self Ego implies the identification of our existence with outer self, the ignorance of our true self above and our psychic being within us. 34 In the Ignorance Nature centres the order of her psychological movements, not around the secret spiritual self, but around its substitute ...
... our outer nature-being, not a bondage inflicted on the ever-free spirit. There is therefore no reason to conclude from the limitations of perception and action that the movement is unreal or that the expression, formation or self-creation of the Spirit is unreal. It is a temporal order of reality, but it is still a reality of the Real, not something else. All that is in the kinesis, the movement, the... maintains substance of being in stable form of itself: but this stability is created, and the one permanent and self-existent status is that of the eternal Being whose Energy erected the forms. But we need not therefore conclude that the temporary forms are unreal; for the energy of the being is real and the forms made by it are forms of the being. In any case the status of the being and the eternal dynamis... made between being and existence, and it is supposed that being is real but existence or what manifests as such is unreal. But this can stand only if there is a rigid distinction, a cut and separation between the uncreated Eternal and created existences; the uncreated Being can then be taken as alone real. This conclusion does not follow if what exists is form of Being and substance of Being; it would ...
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