Daily Questions

Q: Sir, please explain how Darwinian evolution theory is different from the evolution theory of Hinduism

ALOKDA: Darwin focused only on the outer aspect of evolution, that is to say the change of form leading to a new species. He did not quite understand the reason for this change though he did give his reasons as he thought could be the cause, foremost among them being the survival of the fittest. Later evolutionary biologists tried to provide their own understanding of the process based on the framework of genes. But still it remains a mystery as to how the grain of sand evolves into man through a series of apparently random processes and chance mutations. It is almost like saying that if one throws stones randomly it would end up some day in a strong and beautiful building. The chances of this happening are so rare that prominent biologists including Dr Watson and Crick of the gene discovery fame discarded the random mutation theory because of the extremely low mathematical probability. But instead of giving any valid answer he pushed it only one step backward by hypothesising that life was seeded here from another planet or elsewhere.

Now Indian thinkers knew about evolution as is evident in the story of dash avatar and the tantric literature that speaks of some 84 lakh different species through which the soul climbs to arrive at the human stage. Having thus arrived it can reach its maximum development by uniting with the Divine Origin discarding the form whose only purpose seems to have been to provide the scaffolding for the soul to develop from its seed state in the nescience to reach a state of awakening.
Vedanta also speaks of something similar. It focuses on the inner story of the soul evolving through various forms until it takes the human form and from there evolve or rather discover inwardly into its divine truth. As for the force leading to change of forms they termed it nature which operated intelligently because of the light of the Soul falling upon it.

This too leaves several gaps in our understanding especially as to why did the process start at all? Is there a purpose in all this long complicated play or is it all a purposeless drama unfolding in time? If the sole purpose is to go back to the Origin then why we got separated at all? Is human birth the last and final or there is more to him and something more than man is to come? Logically and intuitively it seems that it can’t be an abrupt close with an imperfect creature that man is.

It is here that Sri Aurobindo fills the gap between the material and the spiritual side of evolution. He takes up all the unanswered questions to which The Life Divine and Savitri are the most comprehensive answers.

Q: In my case, surrendering and devotion to lord Shiva comes to me more naturally. I know the base of this yoga is surrendering and opening to the Mother, but is there any problem if we surrender and open to our Ishta devatas instead, and since the divine is one, opening to the Mother?

ALOKDA: Each god comes into existence through a conscious self-limitation of the Supreme Divine. The Name and Form serve a certain function and purpose. Generally, the gods being fully conscious do not interfere with the function of other gods as it may create an imbalance in creation. Thus, if one seeks Moksha and Vairagya then Shiva is the power who destroys all illusion born of Ignorance.

Going beyond the gods is nothing new to Sanatan Dharma. This does not mean that it belittles the gods and their function in anyway. It simply means that one seeks to connect directly with the Supreme. Here however the goal is transformation of earth nature something that has never been done before. The power and the mandate for accomplishing this is with the Mother. Gods can help in their own way towards this but cannot accomplish this.

Surrender implies handing over oneself into the hands of the one to whom we surrender, opens us to the influence of the power embodied by the one at whose feet we surrender. Naturally, it has to be spontaneous and not under any outer compulsion. Generally, someone close to an ishta devata comes to the Mother because it is the ishta devata who knowing the true soul need or inner aspiration impels us towards the Mother.

Bhakti does not follow the norms of the mind and its list of do’s and don’ts. So do not worry. Follow the deepest instinct of your heart. You have been led to Sri Aurobindo by your ishta devata himself. Slowly your bhakti will deepen and grow into bhakti and surrender towards the Mother and Sri Aurobindo.

Alokda: The issue of helping humanity can be seen at various levels. In a certain sense we all help each other, knowingly or unknowingly, we take care of those close to us physically or emotionally, help those in distress, express our gratitude towards some others through some means of help we may render. Thus seen, the urge to help is one of the impulses that characterises the nobler side of our humanity. It is also a first corrective to our grosser forms of egoism and reminds us that we are neither isolated nor alone. It is the very basis of any society, including a spiritual commune. The mistake that we however make is to believe that this kind of help is akin to leading a spiritual life. Helping humanity is directed towards human beings whereas true spiritual life is directed towards the Divine. This is the first point of divergence. Of course, the former can be a preparation for the latter. An altruist sacrificing his life at the altar of humanity or an ideal is getting ready, in this life or another, to sacrifice his ego-self at the altar of divinity. Yet the two are not the same nor always simply one step away. People who help others may be quite satisfied with this activity and may not feel the urge to go deeper within themselves to at least see the motive-forces behind their urge to help. They may even feel puffed up by their ‘helpfulness’ especially when ego-self is fed with praise from others for their helpful nature. Others may be doing it for cruder motives such as securing a seat in some higher world through altruism, or to be remembered by others for their philanthropy. It is then simply a kind of ambition for name and fame which is obviously a big stumbling block towards true spiritual life.

Does it mean that a spiritual man should not be helpful or that he must remain absorbed in his narrow spiritual goal which may be just another kind of selfishness? Then what about the Gita’s famous dictum that a spiritual man is engaged ever in the good of all creatures, sarvabhutahiteratah? Well, it all depends upon the motive that drives one towards spirituality? There is no doubt a spirituality often tainted by the selfish urge to have experiences, or being regarded as some kind of a yogi or siddha or at best to merge into nirvana and be freed from the chaos and confusions of worldly life. But there is another kind of spiritual life epitomised in the life and teachings of Sri Krishna and Sri Aurobindo. According to this line of spiritual self-evolution we must first and foremost concentrate on one’s own spiritual progress which runs for a while parallel with all our human activities but the central motive must change. Thus, even while we may be seemingly engaged in helping others it should not be a service of human beings, Nara-Sewa, but a service of the Divine through this, Narayana-Sewa. Though seemingly a small inner change it makes a vast difference for the growing spiritual life within us. In the latter we remain inwardly detached to our action and slowly the sense of doership and ownership which are the natural offshoots of rajasic egoism pass away from us. Then our – helping others’ no more binds us. Nor are we moved to help merely by pity or with the sense of moral superiority or sense of righteousness but simply as a natural expression of the Divine impulsion within us. In fact, when we are in that state then the valuation of things changes and we may well recognise that distributing blankets to the poor may be simply encouraging tamas whereas fighting a battle as Arjuna did may be a great help to propel humanity forward. In fact even the same activity such a feeding the poor may stem from either a very human motive or else by a deep spiritual angst and compassion towards suffering humanity. Much depends upon the inner motive that drives us to action. That is the second important thing in yoga. From the spiritual point of view it is not the action but the force that drives us to act, the motive and the state of consciousness behind it that gives determines whether it is spiritual or not.

Finally, what is the highest help that we can render to humanity? Isn’t it the gift of Light and Hope and Peace, to bring them into contact with the spiritual forces that would pull one out of Ignorance? Distributing blankets or feeding the poor may help the body in a certain limited way but awakening someone to the need of a spiritual change is a help that endures the rub and change of time and extends beyond a single lifetime of this body. But how are we going to do it if we ourselves have not directed our energies sufficiently to gather these spiritual forces or surrendered enough to be Her luminous channel freed from the ego-sense of ‘me and my-ness’.

Q: My relatives complain that their life is not happy because my father didn’t perform religious ritual since he didn’t believe in them, and my mother is upset about all that. Is there any meaning in performing religious rituals these days?

ALOKDA: There are four types of rituals, and we can arrange them hierarchically in a graded manner.

The first kind of rituals, though the most common, are the mechanical rituals that people follow out of convention. To this also unconscious adherence there is often added some kind of fear of harm if the ritual is not done or a favour that the ritual is supposed to grant us if we observe it. Many of the fasts and common temple rituals are of this nature. Of course sometimes the element of faith and prayer comes in which gives it an uplifting feel. But most often it is done mechanically and hence hardly of any use other than giving us the illusion of being a religious person.

The second type of rituals are related to the occult vital worlds. These are special Pooja ceremonies wherein mainly entities and deities of the lower order are invoked. Even when sometimes the deity being invoked is regarded as some benevolent one, it is actually something else that comes because of the nature of the Pooja. These can be dangerous at times and they are best avoided for a seeker on the spiritual Path since sometimes one can come under the influence of these beings who may grant us wishes but start having a grip upon us because they have been given a foothold through the bait of desire.

The third type of rituals are largely individual and symbolic such as lighting a lamp or offering of flowers with the idea or aspiration that may darkness be dispelled from our life and may the flower of love and devotion and faith blossom within our heart. These are used in certain kind of tantric Pooja also and are generally good, provided we are doing it consciously with the meaning in our head and the feeling in our heart.

Finally, there are rituals or rather spontaneous gestures and bodily actions that are the expression of certain soul states within us. They arise naturally out of a great love or reverence for the Divine and flow outwards to include the bodily life in the aspiration that has already awakened in the our soul. These are the throwing of oneself at the Feet of the Divine or bowing down in a gesture of pranam to give oneself to the Lord and Master of our being. If done truly and with the real bhava they can be very powerful in moulding our spiritual life. They can hardly be called rituals though some may see it that way or even do it mechanically so to say.

Depends upon what we expect from his coming! The idea of Kalki Avatar is straight from the Vishnu Purana considered as few of the authentic puranas rich in occult significance. He is described as a lame warrior according to some texts who rides a white horse and slays the wrong doers by a sword thereby establishing a new Satya Yuga, a new era of spiritual progress. Though the predictions of a second coming are there in both Christianity and Buddhism (both were Avatars) it has been given its true divine sense by Sri Krishna in the Gita. The Gita does not dwell in the outer characteristics as much as it describes the inner work of the Avatar. He is characterised by his works which mainly consist of restoring the dharma, rescuing the doers of good, destroying the doers of evil, and finally, establishing dharma once again amongst the people. Through all these works he leads the collective march of mankind one step further towards its inevitable divine destiny. When we see in this light, then the details of Kalki’s life are clearly symbolic. To imagine that in this age of mankind someone would descend from heaven with a metal sword in hand and ride a white horse to destroy the evil doers is only to perpetuate a story whose true inner meaning will be lost and the Avatar pass by without even being noticed since we are looking at primarily outer physical things and missing the inner. The second coming is always the symbol of the Divine descending in a new form consistent with the Age and leading man according to the need of the hour, what is known as the Yuga Dharma.

When we look at the times we live in with the light that the Gita provides then we will be forced to conclude that the Avatar has come and gone back doing what he had to do. A clear look at the previous century shows us the great divide between the first and the second half. If we look at the figures around, we shall at the center of this change none else but Sri Aurobindo once again as the divine charioteer piloting humanity through the crisis of Nazism, Imperialism, Scientific Materialism, Communism which is like the distorted image of Vedantic Socialism. Among the first tasks that he undertook was to drive the British out of India. At the same time, he stood against Hitler’s Nazism and openly declared that he had put his spiritual force behind the allies seeing in the triad of Hitler, Stalin and Mussolini the Asuras of the Age. India the custodian and upholder of dharma has fallen low and its mighty current of spirituality was either broken into a mass of superstitions and rituals whose meanings had been lost or else begun to dwindle after the wonderful manifestation of Sri Ramakrishna and Swami Vivekananda. It was the moment of dense darkness which is what, dharmasya glani really means. Sri Aurobindo took up the work of restoration whose ground was prepared by the saint of Dakhineswar and the fiery patriot sage as mentioned above. Subsequently Sri Krishna himself handed over the baton of the coming Age to him in the Alipore jail. He gave a new key to the understanding of the Vedas and the Upanishads, laid down the larger lines along which India would attain freedom, stood against the Axis powers until they were defeated and destroyed, and eventually through his tremendous tapasya joined by the Mother’s Force (the white steed) he flashed the sword of Knowledge destroying darkness and opening the doors of man towards a new creation.

This is not to say that there were no other great figures during that period or there will not be other great human beings who will come thereafter. Also, it is not that everything has become wonderful and there are no more crisis for man to face and overcome. As long as humanity resists its divine destiny, he will experience the pressure and the push. But the decisive turn has been taken which becomes obvious only if we slightly enlarge our time to include the previous century and a little before that. Equally when we take a look at the great divine beings who manifested upon earth nowhere do we find this tremendous manifestation that serves at once as a divine example for humanity, reconciles the oppositions of Spirit and Matter with a synthetic spirituality, who by his Force single handedly stayed the wheels of the British Empire and reversed the fortunes of Hitler by his lone spiritual power. Nowhere do we find such a luminously powerful pen that rescued the Vedas from the shroud of obscurity as also gave the Yuga dharma and the Gospel for the New Age which he not only foresaw but for which he worked to establish firmly within the heart of man. There is in Sri Aurobindo a very clear taking up and summing up of the previous Avatars, notably Sri Krishna as well as an embodiment of the anguish of the Age. He changed this anguish into a conscious aspiration and promised a new a happier Age emerging through a change of consciousness within man leading to outside changes in his ways of life.

The Mother clearly said that ‘Sri Aurobindo is the last Avatar in a human body’ and one can simply bow down before her statement in humility and gratitude.

Question: Today somebody shared with me the following Mother’s message:
“To be aware of the liberation of your soul means that you are sufficiently conscious of your soul to feel that something deep in you is quite free, independent from people and circumstances, untouched by grief, displeasure or anger, always calm and with a quiet contentment. This feeling can come suddenly or progressively and can stay for more or less time—all depends on how much and how often your consciousness is in contact with your soul. The aim is that it should be constant, but this comes later on and little by little when all the parts of your being turn towards your soul instead of turning to the exterior, the physical consciousness and being caught in it. The best way to hasten this change is the habit of going within.”
Please explain how do we go within?

ALOKDA:
It comes with practice of interiorisation. What one has to do is to fix a suitable time and place for regular concentration. It is best if the time and place are constant. Of course it need not be rigid but it certainly helps since when we fix a time and place the forces of nature within and without are in a receptive state. A little quiet corner with an atmosphere of Her Presence through Her photograph, music, incense could be created. The seat should be neither too hard as to make one uncomfortable nor too soft to make one feel sleepy. For the same reasons a state of hunger or a state of having eaten too much are not advisable.

One could start the process by taking the help of thought or idea that breathes of divinity, a phrase or a mantra to start the inner connection. One could read Savitri or Her prayer to enter such a state gradually. Then one starts going within by concentrating upon Her Name or Image in the center of the chest (heart centre) or the head (anywhere on the crown area). Practice initially for the minutes bringing the mind back from its wanderings. Do it twice a day and later increase the time to 20 minutes and if possible thrice a day.

Persist despite resistance or absence of immediate result.

To truly succeed one has to do it as an act of love or with a heart with sincere aspiration. this is possible only if one loves the goal. Practice of equanimity and niskama karma (desireless action) is a great help to prepare the ground.

Mastery over one’s lower nature is no doubt indispensable for the yoga of transformation though certain yogas do not much insist on this. Some degree of mastery is of course important even otherwise in human life. Without it man remains a plaything of forces and a pawn in the hands of destiny. Normally, in ordinary life people use Reason for arriving at some ‘reasonable’ control over their nature. Though Reason itself belongs to the lower nature, yet it is its highest point, the highest for man for his present level of evolution. It is only reasonable therefore to start with this faculty given to man. The Gita also suggests this when it speaks of the discerning intellect, buddhi, which must be turned inward and upwards instead of outwards and downwards as in average humanity. By doing this, by shifting the center of our focus and goal we slowly begin to reorient our nature in such a way that it acts like a sieve that automatically filters out many undesirable movements in our being. The next thing is about practicing niskama karma of the Gita whereby one engages in works not for any personal profit, though that is bound to come, but as an offering and service to the Divine. These two things that are relatively easy take away the iron grip of lower nature making it supple and open the Higher Consciousness. Cultivating a sattwic temperament is also very helpful. 

Then one should create a field in which the storms of passion and the turbulence of rajasic nature will find it difficult arise or if they do arise they can be easily tackled. This can be done, first by regular practice of meditation, especially by invoking Peace, calm, quietude and a sincere practice of equanimity. At this stage Naam japa helps much by gradually merging the separate ego in the Greater Self of the Divine. If by Her Grace there is a gift of true bhakti then the task of melting the ego becomes easy since then one no more lives for oneself but for the Divine and His work. When one stops referring things to the ego and stops seeing the value of events from the point of view of the satisfactions of the ego then one is getting ready for its merger. By this stage the psychic being is almost invariably released from the prison house of lower nature and one feels now the division between one’s true inner self and the outer personality that is still moved by the lower nature, be it forces of tamasic, rajasic or sattwic nature, since even sattwa is a bondage and often one of the most difficult to go.

Along side this one has to, on the one hand try pushing the lower movements and impulse as much as one can with whatever limited will is at one’s disposal while developing this will at the same time. Or one can offer one’s will to the Divine Will with a sincere prayer to supplement it. One has to offer and expose these lower movements to Her Light and Grace with an aspiration to take them away. All this however does not happen in a day or two. It needs years and decades (for some movements at least) of persistent effort for this longed for clearing to happen. Therefore perseverance and endurance that is full of trust in the Grace and the eventual victory are most important. At the same time one should take care not to be too much preoccupied with the lower movements or rolling into guilt each time one succumbs of getting into despair and giving up attitude. the Adverse forces will find no better ground to enter in that state. Lower nature is still nature normal to man but adverse forces that enter through doors of guilt and depression are far worse. The real preoccupation should be with the positive side of the sadhana such as Peace and Light and Faith and Devotion and Wideness and the means of developing these and growing towards the Divine. The lower is left behind as we grow into the higher. This growth also gives us more clarity and power to overcome the forces of lower nature. But in the end the victory is certain. All that is needed is to keep moving, sometimes slowly and at other times fast. 

In the end it is important to remember that personal effort has its limits and nobody can change one’s nature by one’s own efforts. But with the Divine Grace there is truly nothing impossible. To open to Her Grace more and more is therefore the last and ultimate secret.

Very briefly Sanatana Dharma is a many-sided approach to the One Supreme Reality behind and within everything and, the ways to lead our life so that we can discover and manifest this Reality in our everyday life from the highest aims to the most mundane details of our existence.

Its fundamental truths are as follows.

1. There is One Supreme Reality that people call by different names. This is the truth of Vedanta.

2. There are many approaches to this Reality and as is the approach so is our experience of IT

3. There are many powers and aspects of this Reality since it is One and Infinite. These aspects and powers of the One are known as the gods.

4. This Supreme Reality transcends the creation as well as is Immanent in each particle of it

5. It is given to man to discover / uncover this Reality and becoming one with IT transform his earthly existence.

6. Creation is a progressive manifestation of this Reality that is the essence of everything and dwells in everything as its seed and core. This progressive manifestation is what we call as
evolution.

7. It is only by discovering and becoming one with this Reality that our life can find its true purpose and fulfilment.

8. This Reality is eternal, unchanging and universal (Sanatana) and does not depend upon anything though everything depends upon IT.

9. It has both static and dynamic aspects. Static IT reveals Itself as the Lord, Ishwara who is the Source and Witness of Creation. Dynamic IT reveals Itself as the Divine Mother (Shakti, Maya, Prakriti) that builds forms for the Lord to dwell in and endows everything with some quality or the other of the Lord (name). The creation therefore is not cut off from the Creator, rather He extends into each and every element of creation. The world is an objectivisation of the Divine. The static aspect is the Purusha of Vedanta. The dynamic aspect is the Shakti or Devi in the tantra.

10. This unfolding and manifesting of the Supreme Reality in creation, in the cosmos as well as the individual is a complex and many-sided process that involves a host of forces. Aligning with the unfolding in the right way is Dharma. Opposing this unfolding and resisting or trying to block or impede it is Adharma.

These are some of the fundamental truths of the Sanatana Dharma around which grew the way of life that we know today as the Hindu culture.

Q: Dr Alok, I think you are praising earth/ lower existence too much. Until the last person is relieved of pain, completely, utterly – until then it should not be done. Isn’t feeling disgust towards this world of misery and darkness the first condition for the yoga of transformation?

Alok da: There is a difference between earth and humanity. That is the first thing to understand if we are candidates for the yoga of transformation. To be disgusted with the very material is surely not the best of ways. Those who felt disgusted, – and there were quite a few, chose to escape. Disgust with earth and even humanity is to, in a way, condemn the Creator. Isn’t it much better, simpler and less judgmental to look at the way things are as a limitation due to the underlying principle of Inconscience rather than feel disgusted? It brings compassion, wisdom, and shows us the path to change.

If one is indulgently enjoying the world as most do, then it is idle to even think of transformation. The return to Earth is after having found the Truth. Savitri did not feel disgusted but felt the challenge of death and fate. She did not blame the darkness but found the way to flood it with Light

Of course if our nature is very crude then perhaps there is the utility of disgust and even temporary withdrawal from earthly life so that we can be reborn into the Spirit. But that is not the path recommended in general by Sri Aurobindo and the Mother, even while there is no harm in someone following the way of disgust if that suits someone or is a need of the moment.

Instead, both in their writings and in their own life, Sri Aurobindo and the Mother showed the sunlit way of the soul that progresses with faith and trust and joy and light and love knowing that His Beauty and Light and Love dwells in everything including that which we sometimes, in our pride or vanity, abhor and condescend.