Sri Aurobindo

Letters of Sri Aurobindo

Volume 3. 1936-37

Fragment ID: 18698

1936-37

In Y’s case, was there any descent of the higher Force which got mixed up or degraded by his lower nature and brought about the madness?

There was no descent of Force at all – such results do not come from a descent of the higher Force – they are attacks from the Asuric vital forces.

It appears that he had a great spiritual ambition which was beyond his powers and he seems to have been indulging in practices such as not sleeping against which he had been warned as well as others (not allowed) which can put one into contact with the vital beings and lead to lunacy.

I am not aware of any “development” of the mental etc. on their own planes; the development takes place on earth. The mental and other planes are not evolutionary. The one who dies here is assisted in his passage to the psychic world and helped in his future evolution towards the Divine.

Depression and Despair