Working Consciousness

Sometimes there is an excess of inertia before and after the work, and yet an unruffled peace in the work. At other times there is a higher peace and silence before and after the work, but only inertia in the work. I cannot understand this at all.

You cannot understand because you regard the consciousness as a sort of clockwork which ought to go by rules. It is not like that at all. Both of these experiences are perfectly possible. Inertia before and after the work or a higher peace and silence before and after it need not at all determine the condition during work. It may but also it may not. All depends on the position taken by the consciousness or by different parts of it during the work itself.

You said you could not at all understand how it could be like that, the working consciousness getting peace when before and after there had been inertia and not getting it when before and after there had been peace and silence; this means that such a thing would not really be possible. I replied that it is quite possible as the movements of the consciousness are not subject to fixed rules and it depended on the state of things with regard to the working consciousness at the time of the experience. Now you want to put another rule! viz. that it must have developed so far as to be separated and have its own growth and development. The working consciousness is always a separate part of the being just as is the thinking mind, even before Yoga, but people are not conscious of it. By sadhana one becomes conscious of its separateness. But this does not ensure its having peace always. That depends on its condition at the time. It may have the peace today, not have had it yesterday, not have it tomorrow.

From your reply, now I understand that the working consciousness is always a separate part of the being. What I was trying to point out is this: formerly, when there was peace and silence practically all the time, my working consciousness remained under the influence of inertia in spite of my efforts to join it to the peace and silence. Now there is inertia throughout the day, but the working consciousness has a peace and inner silence. Is this change due to any new development centred only in the working consciousness?

No — the working is sometimes in the other parts, sometimes in the working consciousness, that is all.