Daily Questions

We should develop the habit of reflection and discernment and pass every thought and feeling and action through that crucible and then accept or reject or modify them as per the conclusion of our highest reason, without justifying anything simply because we feel like doing it. It is our own highest thought that must decide.

Of course, the conclusions we draw should not be held rigidly since we are ourselves evolving and the things we deem right and wrong today may not be so to a more enlightened consciousness. Rights and wrongs are relative values and change as we grow and evolve through experience and as horizons widen and new light enters our sight. No mental conclusions should be held as rigid dogmas. They are at best a provisional scheme for us to navigate through life, at worst a prison of gold.

One should never do something that one is convinced about being wrong, even if the whole world says so. Otherwise, our will gets weakened and our consciousness begins to get obscure. If our family or anyone else says things we do not agree with it is good to discuss with them and if they still do not understand then leave them with their understanding. But that does not mean doing what we believe is not the right thing to do. One has to obey only the voice of one’s own inner truth or else of the Divine Guru or Master if one is blessed and fortunate to have a genuine one.

I would like to know as to what kind of evidence would you look for in the subjective psychological domain where you are dealing with states of consciousness that do not lend themselves to quantification and measurement. If it is a testimony of one’s own personal experience as in autoethnography, which is acceptable now, then there is enough evidence that states of consciousness exist that transcend the normal workings of the human mind. These states of consciousness and their objective effects have been the subject of studies all over the world since the sixties with promising results.

Secondly, there is enough empirical evidence that different forms of yoga help their individual practitioners in ways that we may not fully understand. Yogis speak about subtle laws and transactions of consciousness and energy that takes place behind our tangible observable behaviours observable by the senses as presently organised in the human body. However mysterious it may sound, it is not beyond the scope of logical possibility that there may be other and different types of sense organisation that may glimpse the forces behind the normal sense notations. Just as the animal senses the world differently, just as each human being brings his own perspective that colours the world as it reflects within his own consciousness, so too the yogi climbs beyond the limits of our ordinary perception and discovers realities behind and beyond our normal range.

Are they false evidence just because the average normal humanity does not experience it? Well, he would if he undertook the experiment that the yogi engages in, the experiment of transcending the human formula, of course if he fulfils the conditions of the particular yoga. This is only reasonable since every experiment needs certain conditions and even when all conditions. So, if we take it that direct experience is the only valid evidence in the psychological field then the only way to prove or ‘disprove’ would be to sincerely undertake the experiment and find it out for oneself. That at least is a fair enough requirement from a strictly scientific point of view. The fact that most yoga practitioners who sincerely undertake the yogic journey do experience some change in their consciousness, of varying degrees, which is why they continue to hold on. This is also the reason why yoga has never died unlike religions and belief systems since it is a science that asks us to engage and participate and not accept anything merely as a belief. Though it is unfair to use the methods used in physical sciences to the psychological operations, yet whatever scientific studies have been done till date using different paradigms have shown positive and promising results.

If all this is not evidence enough then I am not sure what exactly is meant by evidence. Yoga, unlike a belief system, is practicable, observable, with its results replicable. But the scientist has to undertake the journey first himself making his own inner field the laboratory of evolution through yoga. Most are not ready to undertake this journey and pass their judgments on a priori denials and ideological beliefs and under the spell of scientific dogmas like the adherents of any religion. Well naturally they do not find any evidence. The blind does not see the sun nor the ape understand the man though the two appear similar in certain ways. But their lack of vision and understanding is not a proof that either does not exist. As to majority, the beliefs of majority has often contradicted scientific evidence and there still people who believe that earth is flat. There are also people who combine an intuitive sense to fill in gaps of understanding and accept evolution as valid though the strictest scientific evidence may be missing like the missing links. Yet we do not discard it as fiction. So too with yoga.

We have the right to ignore the yogic knowledge provided we have put in our efforts in that direction to understand its processes through direct personal application. If not then both science and humility demand that we stay within the boundaries of our ignorance and leave others to follow their faith and see where it leads them. To each his own faith, whether it be a faith in science and its methods, a faith in yoga and its methods, or both.                 

Either way, one has to work through the difficulties of human nature and the challenges posed by the ego and desire self. There is no free lunch as the saying goes. So the law of evolution, sacrifice and mutual respect is as much required in love marriage as in an arranged one. The rush of vital attraction that unfortunately goes by the name of love does not last long and after it has served the purpose of drawing two people together, it usually retires into the background leaving them with their inner resources to work out the marriage. The advantage of ‘love marriage’ is that it allows variation by giving a wider option and hence Nature seems to prefer it now since it permits better chances of evolution. Arranged marriage, on the other hand poses less challenges as it allows the basic comfort zones to continue.  

The Source of all Power is the Spirit. It lends its energies to the mind, heart and bodily life. Now it is up to us (to an extent) to use this energy or power which is given to us by the Divine. When we use it rightly according to our genuine human needs turning the rest, towards progress (in different ways and along the lines of our nature) then these powers increase in us. If we turn them towards the Divine then they not only increase in quantity but begin to undergo a change in quality. This is the logic of spiritual evolution.

A reasonable moderate expenditure of energy for genuine human ends which includes sexual interchange for progeny and for a certain intimacy and physical union when two beings are truly in love keeps the normal balance of our human state. On the other hand indulgence and waste of energy for pleasure, relieving boredom in activities such as excessive sexual indulgence, gossiping, animated vital interchanges, partying and all the rest naturally drains the energy given to us for health, harmony and progress. What is worse is that we draw the deficit from very inferior sources through various forms of interchanges.

Some get completely caught in a vicious cycle or a web of dark forces that pulls them towards an Asuric and even demonic life. Even if one is saved from such extremes, an excess of any kind on the physical, vital and mental domain makes one prone to illnesses and loss of vitality with ensuing frequent fatigue that makes one vulnerable to various forms of psychological disorders such as Depression as well.

This is where the necessity of sexual control as well as other forms of control such as of speech, emotions and vital activities stands. It is not so much a moral as it is a scientific principle which is quite consistent with logic as well as common sense.

Q: Mother says that Savitri alone is enough to guide one on the path.  For a sadhak, how to understand the Mother’s words, how can reading Savitri help ?

Alokda: Savitri helps to grow in consciousness through the consciousness contained within the words. It is something similar to the action of a mantra. When we read Savitri we come in contact with the consciousness of Sri Aurobindo (the author) and the Mother (whose story is being primarily told). This contact starts acting upon us and changing us along the lines indicated in Savitri.

Self-respect is also a form of the ego. Most of the time it is a Sattwic ego though sometimes the Rajasic nature can also lay hold upon it. Like all other forms and movements of the Sattwic ego this has to be sacrificed only at the altar of the Divine. Once the psychic being comes out and the ego-self becomes soft enough under its influence that one no more feels insulted or at least one is able to brush it aside quickly as a line sketched on sand. A complete freedom from these feelings comes only when the ego-self is annulled and the Divine has taken its place.

This does not mean that one should let anyone insult us with impunity. Even when you are freed from the sense of insult and self-respect since we know that our identity is not this temporary mould of personality, we may yet sometimes admonish the person who is insulting us as it may be just the right thing to do for his progress. But whether we will respond or simply turn away in indifference will depend upon the moment’s truth.

Q: I heard different opinions about the Mother’s Agenda. Should a devotee read it?

A: The short answer is yes one should read the Agenda because it contains some very important aspects of Her life and work that one does not find elsewhere. However it is best to read it after one has read Her earlier works, at least the Conversations and Prayers and Meditations. The Agenda contains the aspect of sadhana during the physical transformation and portions of Her life as connected with this work. To read it prematurely (or as some do only) may give an erroneous impression of what the yoga is about.

Secondly should also remember that the Agenda contains quite a few remarks and impressions of Satprem to which the Mother responded in a certain contextual way. This contains Her remarks about some disciples about whom the Mother has said very different things at different times. Reading about them only through the Agenda gives a very skewed idea about them.

Thirdly, the last bit about the Mother’s physical withdrawal was written by Satprem in a state of personal anguish and anger and hence should not be taken as a gospel of Truth. He was not personally present during the last 6 months and the account of those present and intimately involved is different in many respects.

All in all it is a gold mine but with mixtures due to the very nature of the conversation, mainly with one particular disciple. One has to have the discernment to discard the mixture which is often not easy as it gets blended with the conversation or is prompted by the disciple with a clear motivated intention. If one can discern between the two and keep mainly to Her Yoga and Life as recounted in the Agenda then it is no doubt a very useful document. Though portions of the Agenda are published in Collected Works of the Mother Volume 10 and 11 which contains most of the important milestones, yet there are interesting links missing which one finds in the Agenda.

Q: Can someone who does not love God and hates him to some extent (because, obviously I can’t love someone who tortures my family and the world every moment and is egoistic & eccentric enough to do anything just to have HIS play irrespective of how much we suffer) find God?

A: Coming to your question of hating God, well one is free to do so. Hate is one form of relation we form with the world or with its Creator. Our faith, in this case that God is to be hated because He tortures, becomes the path for relating with Him. This too is a kind of faith (that God is a cruel torturer) and hence it opens the door to this kind of relationship. In other words our life and its events only tend to justify our faith in God as the cruel torturer since that is the term and condition. Everything then comes with this taint since that is needed for our progress. Through hate we remember Him and hence events and circumstances happen that keep justifying our hatred. It is the path that Asuric beings follow. The end of course is inevitable as everything eventually draws us to Him through the different routes that humanity follows. The route of hate and opposition to God is also a path but its journey is fraught with suffering and pain.

A better path is that instead of assuming that He likes to torture because one’s family members are in pain, one tries to understand its reasons. If we sincerely try to aspire for the knowledge of what God is doing with us then we do begin to understand His play. Unfortunately, very often we end up projecting our egoism and hatred / cruelty upon God and paint Him with our own consciousness. Knowing this subtle truth, the saints advise us to love God because when we love someone, we grow fast into the likeness of the one whom we love. As we grow into His likeness, we begin to truly understand how His Love works in creation even when the appearances are dark. Then the same situation appears differently and behind the torture and the pain we see the long arm of Love leaning over us holding and supporting us through it all.

It is only when we love and grow into the likeness of God that we can understand the mysterious play and the countless forces operating from behind as well as our own role in it. After all God cannot be held responsible for anything and everything that happens in our life. We are quick to take credits and even more quick to blame God. So if we are to blame Him for all the suffering in our life then we might as well as give Him credit for all the joy and good also and see in the sum balance whether the scale tilts towards the cruel torturer or the benevolent guide.

Black magic is a kind of occult knowledge which misuses the dark forces of the lower vital and subconscient domains. It is mostly used to harm or hurt people out of enmity or some such dark motive. It moves the mind to dark depressing thoughts and suggestions, or fills it with unknown fears. Its spell can create confusion and disturbances in the heart, restlessness, disorder and disintegration. Its most dangerous effect is loss of faith and hope as well as paralysis or perversion of will. By these means it creates a ground for the invasion of adverse forces that bring about various physical and mental illnesses including possession, seizures and madness or insanity. The doors are often opened through vanity and insincerities in nature, as well as through fear and weakness of will.

It does not mean that all can be attacked or affected by black magic even if it is consciously directed by someone to harm. In those endowed with faith, trust and dependence upon God, in those with a clear discerning intelligence, in those who have humility and a fundamental sincerity the effect of black magic is minimal or none. Those who remain sheltered and surrendered to the Divine and are in the habit of calling God’s Name are unaffected by it especially if they have a strong basis of equanimity and peace. In such persons the black magic does not work and often falls back upon the person who was trying to harm.