Daily Questions

There are statements such as ‘not a leaf moves without the Divine Will’. On the other hand, if we go by the traditional Karma theory then we are told that we have to bear the consequences of our choices. This is sort of a paradox. Surely if we truly believe that everything that happens is the expression of the Divine Will then there is nothing left for us to do. At the same time, we can easily assume in that case that a God or whatever being who manages the world by such an arbitrary will which creates so much chaos and evil is nothing less than a monster. It is perhaps due to the dark appearances in the world, due to things unfortunate and evil that man has created this paradox, on the one side a God who is All-good, All-wise and All-powerful who does everything that He can to make man and world a better place while, on the other hand there is this strange creature called man, who is responsible for all the misery and evil in the world presumably through his karmas. This too is not and cannot be a perfect explanation because the natural question then would be as to who created evil and this tendency in man to be trapped into the devious ways of ignorance? To resolve this paradox some have created two opposing powers, one good and another evil, and God though on the side of good is yet beyond both. This too cannot be a fully satisfactory thing. Others yet have simply rubbished the question by saying that all this good and evil is in the field of illusion. Just get out of it and you will realise that there is neither any good nor any evil, nor any world nor any self. Again, it leaves a big gap in our understanding because if such be the case then who is escaping what, – an illusory self from an illusory world? Surely, we have missed something. it is here that we see Sri Aurobindo and the Mother providing for us the missing piece of the puzzle.

The missing piece of the puzzle is that this is not a static finished world but a dynamic evolving world whose full evolution is far from over. In other words, we are drawing our conclusions prematurely even before the last Act of the epic of creation has unfolded. The purpose of this unfolding is to build a form that can manifest His Infinite Consciousness, Infinite Bliss, infinite Love, infinite Peace, infinite Knowledge and Power consciously and not unconsciously as we see now expressed in creation.  Man is precisely such a term or form upon which the Divine seeks to build His permanent Abode and thereby extend His empire and conquer this world which alone can make it a divinely perfect world. Even now the world has its own limited perfection but the moment man and the mind steps in we see that man becomes a partial creator at least. In truth he is being trained and tutored by the Creator to be like Him. He is an apprentice and the law of karma and everything else is a learning program of nature devised to evolve him into oneness with the Creator Himself.  He is being taught to align his will with the Divine Will, his mental knowledge with a supramental Wisdom, his limited powers with God’s infinite Power, his limited joys and sorrows into infinite Bliss, his limited capacity to love with an infinite Divine Love. He has entered the graduation program of nature rather than the spoon-feeding as in the kindergarten as with animals and plants.  Of course, some men still want to continue with the nursery stage out of laziness.  Others want to believe they are already better than God and have reached their utmost with the mind. Well, it is their choice.  But there are a handful who have an insatiable urge to grow and progress. It is these through which God will fulfill the grand plan.

Thus, we may say that man has an apparent free will. It is apparent in the sense that he cannot eventually overrule the Divine Will though he has the freedom to oppose or play at cross purposes with It. However, if he does so there is a natural corrective inbuilt in creation for a recoil that would bring him back. Or else through yoga he can align his mind, heart, life and even the body progressively to the Divine Will and thereby share His kingdom and divinity.

At one level the Mother’s work means this, – to do what She wants us to do, to be what She wants us to be since She represents and embodies the Divine Will in a human form. This makes it easier for us. When we join one of the lines of action that She directly initiated then it is like swimming with the evolutionary current She has released.  On the other hand, this may be another kind of illusion if we are meant by Her to be elsewhere and do something else. This dilemma cannot be perfectly resolved until we engage in yoga and start disinheriting the ego self and discover, identify with and live more and more with the psychic being. Until then all our ideas of whether we are doing the Mother’s Work or not will be provisional, surely better than engaging in purely selfish pursuits of life. Yet it is only as we get rid of self will and draw closer to our inmost soul that we can truly know what really is the Divine Will in us. Until then it is best to regard all schemes as provisional and strive to do our best in whatever we do, offering all our actions to Her, no more for the egoistic satisfaction of life but for a higher, nobler divine purpose.  When the time comes to know She will Herself reveal to us the place we must occupy in the universal concert.

The purpose of ego is to individualise our being until the soul is ready to step forward into the forefront of our evolution and give our consciousness to God. The ego is like the shell within which our true self is developing like the bird inside the egg. Any premature rupturing of the ego-shell before the inner being has become ripe and ready and mature for the true spiritual life more often than not leads to imbalances and disturbances making us plaything of dubious cosmic forces.

Paradoxical as it may seem, people with a developed individuality are much more ready for the true spiritual life than those who are weakly individualised and get easily swayed by opinions of others or live as conformists to the social demands and prevalent mass opinions. Society provides stability to the individual but often at the cost of evolution. It is the individuals who progress first and then the rest follows. So, individualising oneself taking help of the ego is the first step before one abandons it. Only one must take care to make the ego individuality more and more Sattwic, moved by dharma and an instrument for a larger selfless good rather than for blind self-affirmation directed towards selfish ends.

The ego is like the womb in which the baby is developing. When the time is ripe it ruptures and the baby soul is ready to walk towards the greater diviner goals that were not evident during a life of ignorance when it was covered inside the womb. It is not to be sacrificed at the altars of ignorant humanity as one does while in ignorance, but at the one true altar of the Divine and His conscious representative as the Guru or the Master. A soul that is ready recognises the Master who can lead it to the goal. Moreover, the genuine seekers are led by God even if they are surrounded by ignorant and self-serving Masters.

Certainly, there are limitations in the practice of karma yoga while one is living outside the Ashram. The mere maintenance of the framework of outer life and the needs and demands of the family life requires money and all that comes with it as a natural consequence. But though difficult it can surely be done and has been done through the centuries by kings and commoners alike who have been drawn to the karma yoga as the wide path to the Divine.

Whether Ashram or outside the fundamental principles remain the same, that is to do the action neither as a social duty and responsibility nor with an eye on the money and other rewards but solely as a means to serve the Divine through whatever activity falls as one’s share through the workings of fate. A state of inner remembrance and dedication of the action to the Divine within is equally important regardless of where one is doing it. No doubt it is easier if one lives surrounded by the Divine Presence and a space dedicated to the Divine and His manifestation. Outside one has to be even more careful that one is not driven by desires and ambition as the very nature of the Ashram life doesn’t provide this possibility. Equality, another fundamental requirement of karma yoga is equally important but in the outside life it becomes an imperative need since the world forces do not readily support the deeper and higher life and tend to constantly pull the sadhak in a whirlpool of the outer surface consciousness and social interchanges that sap away a lot of energy.

However, there is a recompense and it is this that while outside one tends to aspire more and conscious surrender comes naturally when one finds that one is surrounded by a life that is driven largely by desires and ambition. To a sadhak this brings a spontaneous detachment with life as it is in ignorance and thereby a greater aspiration for life as it should be. So, while it is true that the Ashram life does provide certain initial advantages and even an ongoing support for the spiritual impulsion, yet in the long run it is not so much the space that counts but the sincerity with which one pursues the spiritual aim. That has been the wisdom of the Ages and the Mother affirms the same.

Why be perplexed about it? It is a beautiful state to be in. To be simple implies to quieten the mind and the restless vital desires. It implies to be full of trust in Her Grace. It also implies surrender and faith. If one can do that sincerely then life blossoms beautifully.

There are different kinds of people who come to a centre and it is difficult to apply one single rule to all.

For example there are those who have heard the inner call and have decided to take up the path of Integral Yoga. It is best for them to follow what Sri Aurobindo and the Mother say without bringing in different influences which may or may not support this yoga. Of course this is not to be done in any sectarian spirit that regards mine as the only path or even mine as the best. The fidelity to one’s Master is recognised in all paths and for a valid inner reason. Unlike certain practical forms of knowledge where one can read from different books and also undertake study under different teachers and apply this knowledge in an eclectic way, the Master and disciple relationship in a spiritual discipline is much more than that. Most spiritual Masters, at least those of the stature of Sri Aurobindo and Sri Ramakrishna, work through silent spiritual and occult influence when a disciple has sincerely turned towards them and has been accepted. The disciple is then Their baby whom They mould not only through words and teaching but much more by pouring Their love and influence besides setting before the disciple Their divine example. Evidently these influences and forces that emanate from these Masters and their workings in the disciple is complex and may not always mix well. This is especially so in this yoga which unlike the yogas that lead towards liberation works towards the transformation of entire human nature and all its manifold fields of activity. In the yoga that looks upon the world eventually as Maya there is a lot of stress upon vairagya. One is taught to stay away from the touch of worldly forces such as money (kamini Kanchan) whereas in this yoga the stress is to learn to handle these forces divinely. Of course a detachment as complete as possible from the egoistic ignorant way is needed in both but the goals being different, in the traditional yogas one detaches to withdraw whereas in this yoga one detaches from the egoistic engagement but only to reengage divinely. One is also advised to look upon the body as a corpse and to dry up the senses but here the body is given its own due place and importance and the fullest realization of the yoga includes the bodily transformation. Even if it takes time as indeed it will, the attitude towards it has to be very different. It is a temple of the Lord, an instrument of the soul, a field for the play of divine energies, even one of the means for the divine forces to pour upon the world. Most of all this yoga demands a glad and free surrender to the Divine Mother in this present embodiment. One cannot be surrendering and offering one’s worship to other forms however divine they may be. Nothing wrong in appreciating the role of all these different Masters in the spiritual evolution or even taking a leaf out which may be helpful for our yoga at a certain stage. But this too has to be done with caution since these influences are strong and one may not even realise how one has been drawn away into another territory. Given these and other differences it is best not to mix influences.

Another reason for the confusion is because people often generally have a tendency to put things in a single category say under the rubric of Vedanta. But both Sri Aurobindo as well as Sri Ramakrishna have combined Vedanta and Tantra sadhana in actual practice though towards different goals. The Divine Mother in Sri Ramakrishna comes as the Supreme Liberator which of course She is. Who can go beyond the magic circle of Maya She has drawn around our souls but for Her Grace descending upon us as Mahamaya.  But in Sri Aurobindo’s Yoga She brings along with this the alchemist Energy, the transforming touch of the Divine Love that is beyond the Manifestation and the Unmanifest. In her present embodiment this transforming Power is given to Her. She has the mandate to change the scheme of things here and not any other form or aspect of the Divine Mother. No doubt Mother Kali is a great and tremendous Goddess who had a great role in Sri Aurobindo’s own yoga but Their yoga moved much further and the final charge of taking humanity across the perilous bridge has been given to the Divine Mother in Her present embodiment.  Her ways and methods are different, far wider and more complex for she is the Infinite MahaShakti who brings with Her the powers of all other forms and aspects of the Divine Mother but most of all the transforming power of Her Grace and Love.

Of course there will invariably be people of all kinds who will visit the centre. Many would not have even chosen about the path to follow even though something in them is drawn and attracted. They should be advised to read the writings of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother on different subjects. Obviously each one is anyways free to follow what they think is best and the centre is not a place to proselytize or convert people. However its central purpose of a centre should not be forgotten and its aim and atmosphere should be so much permeated by the Presence of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother that whoever enters the premises feels as if he has been taken in Their arms. As to what people do in their personal life and what they believe in and practice is up to each one. Each journey in that sense is unique and different and for this very reason it is important to recognize the uniqueness of aim and the path in a centre dedicated to Sri Aurobindo and the Mother without letting in all kinds of different mixture in its functioning.

Sri Aurobindo like all Avatars that proceeded him came from the same Divine Being who is concerned with the Divine Manifestation in creation. Supreme Sacchidanand of course but that poise of Sacchidanand that leans towards creation.

However each Avatar takes his own unique station from where he acts and pours the light and consciousness of that plane upon earth and men. Just as Lord Rama took his station in the illuminated mind and Sri Krishna in the Overland, Sri Aurobindo took his station in the Supermind though all come from the same One Divine Being.

As to others who go beyond the manifestation nothing can be said as they enter into the Impersonal Brahman.

These words were addressed to Mona da who was living here. But She has clearly said that Sri Aurobindo and Herself live in the heart of all who love them and respond to their prayers.  In a general way, the Immanent Divine dwells in every heart but He assumes the form through which we approach Him. Besides for the purposes of the play in Time He takes upon the form in which the Avatar descends to redeem mankind. These are the eternal truths that need to be always remembered. What She has spoken above is with regard to the Samadhi meaning thereby that He has taken that place as the physical ground just as in His room. It is His most concrete earthly abode. However He dwells permanently in the subtle physical and not tied to the material body acts with a much greater power and universality. The Sacred Relics carry His divine vibration that radiates around and touches and helps in the transformation of earth and men. But His Presence is everywhere and anyone with a little opening and faith can access and receive the needed help regardless of the place one lives at that moment.

It is very rare to acquire complete Silence which comes as a descent from Above. In a state of Silence there are not only no thoughts but no pravritti towards any action.

Quietude is much easier. It is a state where the thoughts and feelings flow smoothly and just that which is needed for the work at hand.  A deep quietude can prepare us to receive the Silence since not many can bear its impact. It suddenly takes away all the constructs that the mind has woven and until the New Knowledge starts pouring in, one may feel as if one has gone stupid without any urge to effort of any kind. Later everything comes but in a new way, a new knowledge and a new will starts the work of changing us.

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.