Sri Aurobindo

Letters of Sri Aurobindo

Volume 3

Letter ID: 808

Sri Aurobindo — Roy, Dilip Kumar

August 24, 1936

There is no reason to think that the movement of strength and purity was a make-believe. No, it was a real thing. But with these strong forward movements the vital enthusiasm often comes in with a triumphant “Now it is finished”, which is not quite justified, for “Now it will be soon finished” would be nearer to it. It is at these moments that the thrice-damned Censor comes in with a jog, raises up a still shaky bit of the nature and produces a result that is out of all proportion to the size of the little bit, just to show that it is not finished. I have had any number of times that experience myself. All this comes from the complexity and slowness of our evolutionary nature which Yoga quickens but not as a whole at one stroke. But in fact, as I said, these crises are out of all proportion to their cause in the nature. One must therefore not be discouraged, but see the exaggeration in the adversary’s successful negation as well as in the exaggeration in our own idea of a complete and definite victory already there.

That too explains Puranmal’s condition. His experiences are quite sound and have brought a considerable part of his nature into the Light, but the physical and nervous man (by nervous I mean vital-physical) was unrefined, hard and obscure, indulging in grossnesses of many kinds. It is that part of him which is still giving trouble because it is still not enough purified and has acquired sensitiveness at the cost of a nervous excitement caused by the crude elements not yet accepting to change.

Sahana is no longer working about the past events (only seeking for the inner causes of her stumble), so I don’t write about them either. She is recovered a little, enough to think of her taking to music again. We will see when she is quite all right.

Yes, that is the bother of these attachments – the reason why the Yogis were so down on them – the Vedantists especially with their insistence on the breaking of the heart-knots. They must have known from their own difficulties in the matter.

I am pondering over what to say and not to say about this spiritism – so many people find solace in it like Raihana. And yet well, it is a damnably mixed sort of thing and not safe. Tomorrow.