In this interview Roy Posner, president of Growth Online, describes
what attracted him to the teaching of Sri Aurobindo, what Sri
Aurobindo's vision for the future for humanity is, and how we can use
his ideas in a practical way in our own lives.
PART I: First Contact
Welcome to the Growth Online interview series.
Thank you. I am happy to be here.
You have been involved with the eastern teachings of Sri Aurobindo for
many years. Is that right?
Yes, I have. But please allow me to correct you at the outset. Sri
Aurobindo's work is not really an eastern teaching. It is both a western
teaching and an eastern teaching, and yet it is neither. Actually, I
believe it transcends both.
Why is that?
As a young man Sri Aurobindo was educated at Cambridge in England, and as
his later writings reveal, was quite conversant with virtually aspects of
western literature, including its great fiction. He was also very well
versed in world history, and the social, religious, and spiritual
movements of the last ten thousand years. In his thought processes as well
as his writing style, he was a very modern thinker. He could jump from
analysis of the works of Freud and the latest forms of psychology, to a
critique of the works by DH Lawrence and Tolstoy; to a profound discussion
on how the emerging UN could influence the future of humanity. And yet he
could still explain the deepest aspect of spirit for the individual, and
to the underlying Divine forces that enabled the universe.
He had a staggering grasp of the main issues and developments in the world
of politics, science, history, literature, the social movements of the
time, and had a deep and broad understanding of the religious and
spiritual writings and teachings of the major, and even minor, religious
movements of the world.
He had an extraordinary English vocabulary, as expressed in his letters to
his disciples, and in his massive body of writings, that included works of
metaphysics, mystical poetry, and social and literary commentary. If it
weren't for the more metaphysical and spiritual topics, you would think
you were reading a contemporary writer or thinker who published in the
London Times. Of course, he also wrote spiritual philosophy and
metaphysics, which is not the typical fare of an English journalist. Yet,
even there he expressed himself with great precision, with impeccable
argument and logic, with beauty of language, almost unparalleled in the
history of man.
And yet on top of this vast knowledge of contemporary life, he became
perhaps the greatest spiritual figure of the last 100 years.
So did you get involved with his teachings?
Yes, I have been involved in these teachings for many years; since around
1973 or 1974. Like all of us at that time of great discovery, i.e. in the
turbulent and wondrous late 60s and early 70s, we were immersed in a sea
of change.
At the time a close friend of mine, was not only reading but was also
practicing the ideals set out in Sri Aurobindo's teachings. We grew up
together on the same street in Queens in New York City, played baseball on
the little league team my father managed, and knew one another in high
school. When I went off to college and returned home, I saw that not only
had he gotten involved in Aurobindo's teachings, but that it had deeply
affected him. He seemed to emanate an inner glow that I was not the only
one to recognize; a light that could only come from a person who was
connected to something deep and profound.
One day at my parent's home, after returning from college, my friend gave
me a copy of French author Satprem's book Adventure of Consciousness,
which was sort of the definitive introduction to Sri Aurobindo at the
time. It was a very inspiring and thrilling work to a young man of 23. The
book not only presented Satprem's impressions of Sri Aurobindo's
teachings, but also included pictures of Auroville, the international,
UN-sponsored spiritual community that was rising out of the red clay in
southern India near the former French enclave of Pondicherry. This was
very exciting to me at the time. It was here in Auroville that a part of
Sri Aurobindo's vision was being played out.
After a while I began to not only absorb Sri Aurobindo's ideas, but began
to feel a very real inner change within my own self; as a new spiritual
feeling began to well inside me, paralleling my rising interest in his
teachings.
So that was the decisive change for you?
Well there was another incident that also played a big part in my turning
to these ideas. At the time (in the mid-70s) there was a big interest in
alternate living communities. There was, for example, the development of
the new age community of Findhorn in Scotland; famous for its ability to
grow an astounding variety of the world's plants in a difficult soil. They
claimed they used spiritual means to enable this to occur; even using
fairies and elves!
Well, there was one particular gathering that was to have a huge impact on
my life. It was a big gathering at the vast St. John the Divine church in
upper Manhattan near Harlem in New York City to present to the public
three key new age communities -- Findhorn of Scotland, Lindisfarne on Long
Island, and Auroville of South India. I knew of all three; and of course
was most interested in Auroville, which was the international UN
sanctioned free spiritual city developed by Sri Aurobindo's spiritual
partner, known as "The Mother."
I walked into this immense church -- I believe it is the longest in the
world -- and climbed up to a high side balcony, where I watched the
presentation of the three communities. As I watched the narrated slideshow
on Auroville -- including the new the futuristic architecture, the
incredible gardens and trees that were emerging out of the terra cotta
clay soil, the latest environmental technologies that were being developed
there, -- I sensed a new world arising there, guided not by wealth or
status or survival, but on profound progressive spiritual values. The
entire city was to be an experiment in consciousness. It was
overwhelmingly inspiring for me. Some deep chord inside me was touched;
the world within me was changing.
I remember one thing in the presentation that really struck me was when
the speaker's statement that one of the NASA astronauts on one of his
orbits around the earth had seen an incredible light emanating from the
area around Auroville. This made me feel that there really was something
special going on there.
At the time, I was an aspiring magazine journalist who had hoped that by
covering the gathering, I could write an article on one or more of the
three spiritual communities for one of several new age and other cultural
issues that were coming into the fore back then. Instead, I came away
overwhelmed by the vibration I felt whenever Auroville or Sri Aurobindo or
The Mother was mentioned. However, instead of pursuing a career as a
journalist, I followed another path -- to follow the path of Sri Aurobindo
and the Mother, and to somehow find a practical work environment where I
could meld my efforts to those inner ideals.
So that was how your connection to Sri Aurobindo began?
Yes, that's where it began. First, my close friend who emanated the
vibration and introduced me to some of his works, including Satprem's
wondrous breakthrough introductory book on the life of Aurobindo, the
Mother, and Auroville. Then the gathering at St. John the Divine where I
saw and felt the spiritual power trying to be born in the new futuristic
township of Auroville. And finally and most importantly that sense
inside of something different, something profound and future-oriented that
began to well inside me. It was this presence that has guided my life
since.
But now that you had the inner feeling of the spirit, what vehicle did you
have to make it real; I mean in a practical way?
Well, that's the next part of the story; the decisive part.
(pause) A few years later, after going through a profound two-week
darkness from which I awoke from through a spiritual-type experience,
I moved out to California and came in contact with a group of individuals
in the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles who were taking the ideas of Sri
Aurobindo and applying them to practical, everyday areas of life. For
example, they started a business to distribute products from Auroville and
nearby Pondicherry, trying to apply Aurobindo's principles in the
activities of their work, whether it be going down to the port to pick up
goods, or selling out in the field, or keeping the accounting system up to
date. In all aspects, they were trying to apply his principles -- not just
business, but in Indian development, in literary thought, and others. When
I saw what they were doing, I very much wanted to get involved. It was the
fulfillment of a dream, to connect spirit with my practical working life.
So that was the next great turning point of my life. It was in 1976.
Applying Sri Aurobindo's ideas to all of the activities of work became the
focus of my life, and continues to be so today. After all, he did say that
all life is yoga; meaning that every bit of work we do is an opportunity
to apply spirit to it, to enable its infinite potential of life to emerge
through it. It was thus a dynamic, practical spirituality, which was just
what I was looking for.
So what happened next?
Well, that's the next part of the story; the final piece of the puzzle.
Well after a while, I moved back north to the San Francisco Bay Area,
where I felt more at home, and where I started my own distribution company
-- selling the goods that my friends were importing from India. I
continued to try to practice spiritual disciplines in my work. E.g. before
I would talk with the buyer at a store I was trying to sell to, I would
open myself to "the spiritual Force." The idea is that when you open to
that power, it takes over, enabling everything to go right, including
getting the sale! Some of the results were absolutely astounding, as life
would respond to my efforts in the most extraordinary way. Now only was
there a presence emerging within myself, but I saw how the spirit could be
applied to the practical details of life outside myself.
(pause) So now I had come full circle in my life. I had found my inner
calling; and it was supported by an outer work, in which I could apply the
power of the spirit. I was now in essence reborn into a new life; I had
gone passed through some great opening to a new way of living.
That's an inspiring story. It sounds like it was a time of great
adventure.
It was an overwhelming adventure. And it was taking place inwardly and
outwardly. Or as Satprem called his book on Sri Aurobindo, "Adventures in
Consciousness."
(pause) Now I have a different sort of question. I can understand why you
would be attracted to a spiritual genius like Sri Aurobindo, and feel that
kind of presence, but what were the ideas that appealed to you; to your
intellect? Or were you just led by the feelings, the presence, and the
experiences you had?
That's a very good question. Though many of us at the time were having all
sorts of inner and outer experiences, from drugs to gurus, which
definitely attracted our emotions and feelings, there was also the
intellectual aspects, the ideals and metaphysical teachings and philosophy
of Sri Aurobindo that had a great impact on me.
After all, I had just spent years at Syracuse University expanding my
intellect in areas such as history, science, psychology, and sociology.
Also, the world was also changing very rapidly around us in the mid-70s;
creating great intellectual ferment and change as well.
At the time, I had been reading many spiritual ideas and principles from
many authors, including Lao Tsu's Tao Te Ching (The Way of Life); Alan
Watts' synthesis of eastern and Western thought; books on comparative
religion, and the new, emerging spirituality. I began to move in circles
where all sorts of new, stimulating, fascinating ideas about society and
the future of humanity were available to me. Add into this fertile mix the
tumult or events of that time -- the winding down of the Vietnam war,
Nixon's impeachment, the upheaval in China, hippies taking to the roads in
the US, gurus popping up like poppies -- and it was an overwhelming time
of ferment and creative change.
Still there was no body of work, teaching that put all of these disparate
ideas and principles together for me. Something deep inside me was
missing; intellectually and spiritually. There was no world view, no
comprehensive understanding of life; only bits and pieces of the puzzle of
existence. However, when I came in contact with the teachings of Sri
Aurobindo, I felt all the loose threads binding together; all of these
rich ideas and principles coagulating into a comprehensive knowledge and
teaching that was pure, profound, deep, complex, yet crystal clear.
When I read Satprem's explanation in Adventures of Consciousness of Sri
Aurobindo's vision of the future, I finally discovered what I had been
subconsciously yearning for: the integral truth of existence: the roadmap
and pathway to our spiritual future. I had come upon the great vision of
the future that I had aspired for somewhere deep in my heart and mind.
Perhaps even more important was the fact that in reading Aurobindo's works
I felt a spiritual presence welling up inside me. Increasingly, I felt a
subtle something radiating from within. And yet what I felt was something
very different, unusual in a spiritual sense; infinitely creative,
undiscovered, visionary, and futuristic.
This was something very unexpected. This simultaneous feeling of the
spiritual presence, and that which had a sense of the future about it. It
must have been what my modern soul had yearned for.
It sounds like a great turning point in your life.
Yes it was. I had begun to come in contact with the very purpose of my
existence. Perhaps the individual soul in me had somehow come in contact
to its universal and transcendent purpose in life.
(pause) Well, I guess that would bring us to the subject at hand,
Aurobindo's vision of the future.
You mention Satprem's book Adventure of Consciousness as the starting
point, the work that first brought you in contact with Aurobindo's
teachings. What was it in the teachings that really got to you?
First, let me speak of Satprem, and his style of writing. To a young man
of 24 his prose were very exciting. Satprem as you may know was the main
disciple of the woman known as “The Mother. The Mother was really Sri
Aurobindo's great partner who worked with him to implement his vision for
a new, spirit-based Divine life on earth.
Satprem described in glowing, sometimes apocalyptic prose, how life on
earth in its current form had reached its limits. He suggested that
society had gone as far as it could go, in its old thinking, in its old
perceptions of what is real and true. Satprem felt that we couldn't go any
further without the society imploding on itself, which in many senses it
has. The world had now moved to the breaking point, with acute strain, due
mainly to its limited perceptions of the nature of reality and life. For
Satprem, Sri Aurobindo vision of a new existence, of a new spirit-based
humanity and divine life on earth was the way out. It was an entirely new
worldview; a new way of thinking, if you will.
I like using that term "new thinking." It's a term Gorbachav, one other
great hero of mine, had popularized. His country had gone to the
boundaries of its possibilities, and could obviously go no further.
Instead of testing them -- its old forms and limitations -- he gave up the
entire system, and opened the doors to infinite new freedoms and
possibilities.
In the same way, Sri Aurobindo gives us an opening to a world beyond the
spent boundaries of the old thinking; but of the entire human race.
Aurobindo gave us a vision of what a future society could be like if we
transcended our limited vital and mental views of existence; beyond the
stifling materialism of the West; beyond its physical, material, empirical
view of existence; beyond the religious dogmas of the world; beyond the
static view of life of the East; and embrace a dynamic spirituality; an
evolution of consciousness; a new way of experiencing life through the
power of the spiritual Force now readily available to all in the world.
Sri Aurobindo thus showed the way to a new human frontier of consciousness
and possibility. One that could generate vast outer results, but whose
cause was inner; due to one’s elevation of consciousness within.
The result would be the evolution of humanity; the transmutation of our
human nature into a super nature.
Naturally, this was very stimulating to me.
(pause) Sri Aurobindo's vision seems rather modern; unlike the traditional
spiritual views of existence.
Yes, very much so.
In fact, one of the things that made Sri Aurobindo's vision so compelling
to me was the belief that in all
activities, situations, circumstances in life one could bring in the
spiritual Force, and evoke the infinite, the miraculous from them. Whether
you were a businessperson, a writer, a politician, or a homemaker, it
didn't matter. Everyone and everything was to be included in this upward,
evolutionary movement.
In his view, one does not experience the Divine by retreating from the
world to some hermitage or otherwise separating ourselves from the daily
activities of life. Spirituality is to be brought into and expressed
through life; through every
act, circumstance, and situation, evoking the infinite potential within
it.
For Sri Aurobindo everything is part of this upward, evolutionary
movement. Everything is part of an unfolding of consciousness, which from
the perspective of the Supreme, from the supramental viewpoint is actually
a Divine unfolding.
(pause) The main problem of course was that we humans were profoundly
unaware of this evolutionary movement of life. So Sri Aurobindo comes
along to reveal to us what was unknown; to give us a vision of what was
possible. That as you may know is the great purpose of the Avatar: to
bring the world a vision of a new possibility that is ready to merge in
society. In his case, to reveal an ultimate possibility of a divine
existence beyond the current vital and mental life; one in which we could
evolve a new supernature -- overcoming all of the strife, suffering, pain,
ignorance, division, conflict and contradiction on earth; replacing it
with harmony, oneness, truth, wisdom, goodness, creativity, light, love,
beauty, delight, timelessness, and infinity.
(pause) He indicated that if we were to come to understand the Spirit that
is embedded, hidden, involved within us, and that exists as a Force to tap
into about us, we would actively participate in our own personal
evolution; in the evolution of our society; even the evolution of the
universe itself! That is, we could actively participate in the destiny of
the human race.
He repeatedly indicated that we could infuse the spiritual dimension into
all planes of our lives -- physical, vital, and mental, in order to uplift
all activities and circumstances, whether in our work, our families, our
business, or the social institutions we partake in.
So everything in life was to be included in this upward, evolutionary
movement! Nothing and no one was to be left out, denied. Even the
murderer, the dictator, and the promiscuous lover played a role in the
universal unfolding. That is because everyone and every thing can go one
step further that its current conditions to grow, develop, and evolve. The
consciousness and sprit can be evoked in each thing so that its infinite
potential involved, hidden in that thing could come out.
In this way, we move beyond the boundaries of what we perceive as
possible. We overcome the boundaries and difficulties of life that Satprem
had so passionately railed against.
Now we understood that the final frontier is not outside ourselves, but is
within.
That changed the whole dynamic of life; the equation of existence. That
opened the doors to infinite possibilities; to a new frontier, a new
world, a new future possibility.
PART II: A Vision and a Boon
You've expressed the events that led you to Sri Aurobindo, but was there
something in Aurobindo's thinking or a book of his that attracted you to
his path?
Yes, very much so. Both of these.
First of all I was taken by his use of extreme logic, and utter
rationality of thought. Something, by the way, that any serious western
thinker would envy.
Take his opus The Life Divine. In this book he attempts in the most
complex of metaphysical terms to systematically uncover the process by
which the universe came into being; as well as the nature of existence;
the purpose of existence in the universe; the means of individual
transformation; and the destiny of humanity as a whole. He takes us
through this extraordinary journey of discovery in an extremely rational
way.
By the way, at a further point, you realize that these metaphysical
expressions of the nature of existence are not mere speculation on his
part, but are real experience of his; the experiences of a spiritual
voyager non-parallel who had reached the summits of divine insight,
experience, and realization.
And yet what really inspires are the staggering conclusions he has come
to.
Which are ...
Which is that there is a future before us so utterly different than our
current existence, That there are cosmic forces and powers at work so
staggering, that we must give up our current views of life, dismantle
these intellectual underpinnings, and develop a new vocabulary
for a new,
divine, infinite-like existence.
Is that where this concept of Supermind that he is so identified with
comes in?
Yes, that is the ultimate instrument and force for change that he
discovered.
(pause) However before I go into that, I think I need to explain the goal
he envisioned; in particular, where he felt humanity was heading.
(pause) Sri Aurobindo's vision begins with the assertion that humans may
not be the final rung on the evolutionary scale. That we might witness the
emergence of a new species; one that is above and beyond the current
humanity. Or, perhaps we could say that it is the same human species, but
that has evolved to a new level that appears to be very different in
functioning, inwardly and outwardly, from the current human individual.
Different, emotionally, mentally, spiritually -- even physically!
He has developed this vision of a future humanity or a new human species,
depending on how you look at it, based on a logical, rational evaluation
of the past and a visionary projection of the future.
Among the topics he addressed head on in his evaluation and projection
are: what is the source of the universe? how did it come about? what is
its purpose? what is our purpose? to what degree has the universe and the
human race progressed to this point in time? what are our human
limitations? what is our human and spiritual potential? what would a
future spiritualized existence be like? and what is the evolutionary
possibility for the entire human race?
In this stupendous evaluation of existence, he traced an arc that reached
back to the original principle or source of things -- which he called the
Divine Reality -- , to the creation that emerged from that source; to our
present state and condition, to our psychological and spiritual potentials
in the not too distant future.
Perhaps what is most remarkable is how he systematically shows how the
past and the present conditions of Man inevitably lead to this new,
transformed, spirit-based status of humanity.
Finally, Sri Aurobindo also tells us how we can make that fantastic future
possibility occur.
And what is very appealing to me, is that this very different human future
he envisions can come about rather quickly, much of it even within our
lifetime, is we systematically follow the process he has outlined. In
other words, by knowing the steps in this evolutionary plan, we can
consciously follow it now and hasten its arrival.
Were there any indicators in the world, or that you experienced in your
own life that Sri Aurobindo's vision could come about?
(pause) Well, it was certainly very appealing in 1975 for a young man of
24 to see the gardens and futuristic small modern edifices rise in
Auroville
in India -- the City of Light the Mother envisioned that had arisen out of
the arid clay land there. It was even more interesting to learn of how
some inhabitants there were making an effort to create a new
spiritual-based existence -- at both the material and spiritual level.
That is, not only through the new pavilions, residences, gardens, and
forests they forged out of the barren land, but also through their own
individual experiments in personal growth and higher consciousness.
But what is Auroville actually?
I guess you can think of Auroville as a giant laboratory and experiment in
consciousness. Put a number of pioneer-oriented individuals in a community
where they could forge their own lifestyle, where money is no longer used,
and let them create a new world based not solely on physical and
technological values but on psychological and spiritual ones.
Also, don't tell them too specifically how to create the new world, or how
to conduct their lives, but let the experiment on their own and determine
what is the best way to make their way to this new Man, to the new species
that Sri Aurobindo and the Mother envisioned.
(pause) The only obligation on the Aurovillians was that they agree to
collaborate in building a new world based on a higher consciousness; on
spiritual, inner, psychological oriented values. If individuals from all
over the world could come and work together and build a new city, while
making the effort to change themselves inwardly, then the foundations of a
new human existence could be founded.
Of course I later found out that one did not have to live in Auroville to
undertake this experiment in consciousness. One could do it done anywhere
-- perhaps even better if you were outside of Auroville!
After all it is in the small moment and movements of our daily lives that
the right consciousness could be brought to bear, which would become the
first stepping stones to manifesting Sri Aurobindo's future vision. In
that sense, time and place is irrelevant; and what is relevant is the
deeper and higher consciousness we bring to any work or activity; which
means that is can occur anywhere, any place.
Life's individual moments and circumstances is the cloth out of which the
new world is to be woven. It is the attitude, awareness, and values we
bring to any act in any moment in time, and the way we make use of the
spiritual Force, that would build the bridge to this new world.
So this sounds like it requires a pioneering spirit; requiring individuals
to live a very different sort of lifestyle; not tied to the old social
mores.
Yes, it required a radical change from the traditional middle class
lifestyle. One that demanded a psychological and spiritual orientation.
One that could be a forerunner of a new human existence, a New Humanity.
(pause) By the way, speaking of a revolutionary lifestyle, did you know
that Sri Aurobindo was himself a revolutionary activist? In the early part
of the 20th century he worked for Indian independence, and engaged in
radical politics to try to loosen British colonial grip on India.
Also, since he was a revolutionary in those early days, the British were
very eager to have him captured; and did in fact have him arrested and
then incarcerated in the Alipore jail.
And yet it was there that he had the first great religious experience of
his life, where he reached complete mental peace and silence, which led
him to give up his revolutionary activities.
Moreover, to avoid the British authorities who were trying to hunt him
down, he retreated to the French enclave of Pondicherry, south of Madras
in South India, where he assembled a small group of followers. There he
began a massive effort to understand the nature of existence, and began to
write enormous tracts on metaphysics and yoga. At that point, he had begun
his own personal and spiritual transformation in earnest.
So what did Sri Aurobindo write about?
One of the themes he consistently addressed was the nature of the
evolution humans were going through. He described how we were slowly
evolving from a physical orientation focused on survival; to a vital life
of want, desire, interaction, and expansion; to a predominant mental
existence in which we perceive more of the truths of existence, and we
more consciously direct the course of our lives. Through education and
other opportunities to engage in purer, more logical thought, we are
slowly becoming more rational beings, even as our mentality is still
influenced by our physical and vital wants and desires.
Sri Aurobindo tells us in such works as The Life Divine and Synthesis of
Yoga, that we as a race are slowly moving from the inconscience, inertia,
and incapacity of the physical plane; the passions, irrationality,
attachments, and ego of the vital/emotional plane; to the knowledge,
perceptions, and insight of the mental plane; a process that has radically
accelerated in the last several generations. Are
there any contemporary examples of this?
Well, just look at the Internet. It is really a new, more complex form of
organization. And organization itself is a power of thought and mind. So
the power of mind is beginning to expand exponentially in the world
through this powerful technology.
And yet Sri Aurobindo believed that our ascendance to a logical, rational
mental being was just the starting point for something much greater --
what he referred to as domain of the Spirit. Just as the mental is for the
most part a vast leap beyond the vital/emotional, mostly animal nature of
the human being, the spiritual is a vast leap beyond the limits of a
mental orientation.
At the level of spirit, the mind expands from an essential Ignorance and
partial knowledge to an integral, many-sided truth of things through
experiences of light, vision, intuition, revelation, and supramental
perception. Through an opening to the Spirit, one discovers our true inner
nature, our True Self, which he called the Evolving Soul, which fosters
experiences of true oneness with others and with life; wile enables the
mind to expand to the spiritual experiences I just mentioned. Also, one
experiences the spirit by having a intimations of a transcendent, divine
Influence and Power; a spiritualized Force that one can open to that can
divinize life around us, while transforming all aspects of our being.
Thus, Sri Aurobindo envisioned that the human race had the capacity to
fully move beyond the passion and ego centricities of the vital plane;
could rise beyond, surface mind to true rational and logical mentality;
and the exceeds these and break through to the spiritual domain of Mind,
Heart, and Self.
In fact Sri Aurobindo believed that rising to the spiritual domain was our
ultimate destiny. He envisioned a future world where all activities would
be infused with the spirit, which would lead to our own perfection as well
as the perfection of life around us. If enough individuals were able to
rise to this higher consciousness, they would be forerunners of a New
Human Existence; one that would culminate in what he referred to as a
"Divine Life on Earth."
This is a very powerful and inspiring vision. (pause) And yet hasn't the
Spirit been there all along? Why hasn't the world embraced it all this
time?
Well there are two points to consider. First of all, though the spiritual
domain has been acknowledged for thousands of years, only a very few have
functioned from that profound poise. Even those who have risen to that
level have done so in a somewhat limited way, especially when you consider
the range of experiences, powers, and aspects of the Spirit.
Now however thousands of years after the Rishis of India connected with
the Absolute in their ecstatic experiences with the Divine Source, we too
are now are beginning to understand the vast complexity, richness, and
possibilities of the spiritual domain. As we garner the psychological and
spiritual experiences of a great variety of cultures; as we move away from
the limits of religion steeped in dogma and single lines of truth, we have
the opportunity to know the spiritual in its various aspects: as the
Silent Being and Witness behind All, as the Infinite Consciousness, as the
Lord of Creation, as Soul within; and so forth. We also have the freedom
and opportunity to experience from among the many spiritual qualities --
including that of peace, silence, oneness, knowledge, wisdom, truth,
creativity, delight, love, timelessness, and infinity.
It is important to note that Aurobindo has eloquently mapped out virtually
all of the domains of the Spirit, and has even uncovered new ones, such as
Supermind, i.e. Truth Consciousness, as well as the evolving soul within
us. He has done this all the while coaxing us to experience spirit in any
and all dimensions so that we can change our nature and evolve to
spiritual-oriented being.
(pause) The other point about the Spirit always being there is that the
spiritual plane is itself evolving! This is where Sri Aurobindo looms
large in the picture After tracing in The Life Divine the source of
the universe, what he calls the Absolute, and how the universe was created
and unfolded from out of It, including we humans, he uncovers something
that is unique in the history of consciousness. He has discovered in
essence a new aspect and quality of God.
What do you mean?
Well, he reveals that the Divine, God, Brahman, the One, whatever name you
give it or experience you have of it, would never have become the
universe, the creation if it weren't for a particular cosmic power. He
calls that power "Supermind," also known as "Truth Consciousness." This
supramental power is the force of the Infinite Divine that created the
Many, that is our universe, our world, us, out of the One, the Absolute,
infinite Omnipresent Reality.
In essence, 15 billion years go by, and a gentleman named Sri Aurobindo
has perhaps the deepest, most profound, and most varied inner experiences
any individual has ever had, and makes a great discovery. He has
discovered the very spring that activated the universe. Moreover, he tells
us that we too can discover and harness this Force and Power, make it a
tool in our lives, that will enable us to create infinitely as well.
Sri Aurobindo believed that if we discovered and utilized this Truth
Consciousness in our lives, then we could rise to a level of consciousness
and being that is unprecedented in human history. That we could call down
its power into our being to transform our mental consciousness, our
emotional/vital being, even the very cells of our bodies and our physical
makeup.
He then tells us if enough individuals made this decided, radical change
that we could witness the arrival of a new human species, with powers,
capacities, and experiences that are far beyond the current human; as
different from the current human as Man is from the animal.
But how did Sri Aurobindo know that this Force would have this effect? Was
it a philosophy, a mental construct, or something he knew was true?
Before he could broadcast his belief of the existence of the supramental,
truth consciousness and power, he had to see its effect in his own life.
In his own experiments Sri Aurobindo utilized this new power to see how it
functions. He began to understand its nature, how it must have played a
role in the creation of the universe from a divine Source, and how it can
be the lever through which individuals and humanity evolves itself into a
higher nature. He in fact spent much of his later years trying to "bring
down" this power into the world in a more fully formed way.
For example, he had discovered that this force would only have power
in the world if it was fully absorbed into the earth's atmosphere.
Therefore, along with his partner The Mother (Mira Alfassa), he worked
inwardly to bring about the descent of this Truth Consciousness, which he
called "Supermind," into the earthly realm. At one point in 1967
(seventeen years after Sri Aurobindo's passing), in the midst of the
student rebellions in Paris and elsewhere, the Mother one day announced
that the supramental truth consciousness and power had fully descended
into the earth consciousness, a breakthrough in spiritual history. The
result was that it was now beginning to effect peoples, governments, and
circumstance in untold ways. By the way, the Mother also indicated that
anyone born after that time was more fully under the influence of Its
power.
That is pretty startling stuff! On the other hand, was there anything a
little more practical, you know, for the average person, that he observed
about the workings of Supermind?
Yes. Fortunately along the way, he also discovered some unique and
practical functionings of this power. For example, take the idea of
accomplishing something in life. Normally when we want achieve a goal we
have to have knowledge about what we aim to accomplish, plus we also have
to have the corresponding will for it to come about out. One without the
other is not very effective. too often in life, we have the knowledge of
something, but not the will for its achievement; or the will, but not the
knowledge. To have both is a rare thing, but those who do will usually
succeed in the long run.
Well this new supramental functioning and power gives us both powers
simultaneously. When we are under Its supramental Influence, we have the
sudden, complete, integral knowledge of the thing or matter under
consideration -- such as the specifics of how to achieve it -- plus we
garner an inherent power for it to manifest as a real living thing in the
world!
We gain both powers simultaneously when we open to Supermind, to Its
Supramental power. This is not something humanity has never known before,
in any way, shape, or form! It is a new and unprecedented power in the
world.
Obviously this is something far beyond our current way of living, of
functioning. Presently when we want to accomplish anything, we need to
plan out what we want, develop a will and aspiration for it come about,
make the full, persevering effort; and then hope luck is on our side; not
knowing if in the end we will be successful.
Well, when we open to this supramental truth consciousness and power, we
garner the integral knowledge about the matter, even as it suddenly
manifests as a living reality in the world! The thing we hoped to
accomplish through considerable planning, time, and effort just happens on
it own; in totality; in a perfect perfection.
By opening to Supermind, the universe broadcasts into our Minds a total,
integral knowledge of the matter, while tending to manifesting it as a
living reality. What we hope to understand and accomplish, quickly or even
instantaneously, happens on its own.
That is the power of opening to that spiritual Force, to the supramental
power Sri Aurobindo had uncovered -- which, by the way, was the power that
enables the universe to emerge from a Divine Source.
To instantly bring total knowledge about a matter or object and its full
manifestation instantly or very rapidly is an overwhelming power of Life.
What can be more practical?!?
That's astonishing. It would obviously change life as we know it.
(pause) Could you fill us in on any other ways this power operates in the
world?
(pause) Well, there are new sorts of life perceptions and awareness that
we experience when we open ourselves to and are guided by the Supramental
power: by this descending spiritual Force.
Normally when we function in life we are focused on ourselves, and the
things outside ourselves are perceived as separate or different from
myself. However, when we open to this power on a regular basis, we begin
to forge an inner life; a witness consciousness, if you will, that looks
out on life and feels one, not separate from it. In other words, through
constant consecration of circumstance, we begin to connect with our Inner
Being, which can culminate with a bond with our True Self and Soul, what
Sri Aurobindo calls the Psychic being, the Evolving Soul
Stationed in that poise, we perceive less division between the world
outside ourselves and our selves. There is no sense of separation, which
causes us to look out on things from the poise of Ego, which is
separativeness and selfishness. Instead we feel a unity with the life
beyond our bodies, including a deeper bond with others, and a more
embracing and connection with life's circumstance; with the flow of
events.
In essence, through constant consecration, we forge an opening to our
Inner Being, which causes us to calmly look out on the world, and thereby
become One with all of it. This leads to harmonic feelings towards others,
to a life of less stress and turmoil, to a constant welling up of good
feelings and high energy, to deep insight and awareness of the nature and
flow of life, to making right decisions that lead to more perfect
outcomes, even attracting additional good fortune in the process.
Ultimately it creates high achievement, broader and deeper awareness, a
more elevated consciousness, and a deep happiness and joy in being alive.
Again, this would seem to create the possibility for a radical change in
the way we function in life; to how the world would operate.
Yes, if we learn how to open to the spiritual Force, we begin to live in
this astounding new way; a way that has no precedence in human history. As
a result, every problem could be solved. In fact, they can be solved
instantly through an intuitive knowledge capacity and also just occur on
its own spontaneously as a movement of life; a life response movement.
Also, through an opening to this Divine Power everything that happens
occurs at just the right moment. People appear on the scene just when they
are needed. Needed and necessary resources come out of nowhere. Actions
taken lead to startlingly creative and perfect outcomes. Life cooperates;
people and things are in sync. There is a perfect rhythm to life around
us; as well as inside in our own feelings, thoughts, and actions.
Essentially, the Force opens up the doors to infinite possibilities and
potentials. Things that we perceived as limited in scope -- whether
involving a mundane business transaction, a relatively innocuous
scientific matter, or whatever -- now blossoms in directions one could not
have imagined. The scope moves from the current finite to an unexpected
Infinite.
As a result of the Force's ability to bring out the infinite from the
finite, all notions of possibility are changed; of limits of quantity and
quality are altered. Also as a result of the "instantaneous
miraculousness" of the Force, of the action of the supramental power, our
perceptions of how space and time operate are turned on their head; and
our perceptions of the nature of cause and effect are completely altered,
as the old models of what can logically happen, and in what sequence
things can unfold are completely thrown overboard. And so on and so forth.
It kind of takes your breath away!
Yes it does.
(pause) Such an altered, infinite-like unfolding of life must obviously
have an effect on how much we can accomplish in life?
Yes, to say the least!
Through the causal action of the spiritual Force we can accomplish not at
twice our current level, but many more times; actually dozens, or
hundreds, thousands, infinitely times greater.
The Force forces the Infinite to emerge from the Finite.
Just as the Force was there in Creation, enabling an Infinite-like
universe to emerge from Its own Consciousness, so to it can act to create
infinite like possibilities to emerge from the current finites -- whether
material, sensational, vital, or mental.
(pause) Actually in every finite lies the potential of the Infinite; just
an enormous redwood huge tree can emerge from a tiny seed. That potential
in there, hidden, involved in every aspect of life -- from matter to
animated life to life forms, to plants, animals, and humans; in our
actions, feelings, and thoughts.
Across the spectrum of existence, on any plane -- whether in terms of
thought or action or physical manifestation -- the infinite can emerge.
Thus, from out a small truth can burst a plethora of truths related to
that matter that one does not perceive at first. Or from the smallest life
movement, lies the opportunity for vast results we would never have
imagined.
We all are aware of how a vast amount of energy can be released from the
bombardment of infinitely small particles. In the same way, the smallest
act can be an opening to the greatest possibility; especially when done
through the highest consciousness, or when we open to this spiritual Force
before engaging in it. The infinite potentials of life suddenly spring
forward. Life responds positively out of all proportion.
That same infinite potential is there in us; hidden, involved, ready to
come out. In that way, anyone can become a genius; anyone in the right
spirit can have a major impact on society; anyone can rise above his
current status and evolve and transform the mental, vital, and physical
aspects of his nature.
But what makes that possible?
It's because the Infinite Consciousness and Force, that is the source of
all, has buried Itself in all things, has plunged Itself into an
unconsciousness, and yet can be released in any form it inhabits.
We are capable of making contact with that Essence and bringing out that
hidden potential within us and with the life around us. It requires us to
know the laws of consciousness and make use of the methods that evoke the
infinite from that finite; that turn facts into an idea of genius; that
turns a small insignificant act into a startling result. When I change a
wanting attitude; when I apply the right personal value; when I take the
right action based on life conditions, the world around us suddenly
cooperates. The small thought turns into a Big Idea. The routine act turns
into a major benefit. The acute problem quickly resolved. The pain
suddenly ceases to ache; and so forth foe every aspect of life.
(pause) Fortunately, we do not have to do it all on our own. We can make
use of the descending Supramental Power to bring out that Infinite. Thus,
when we offer any circumstances to the spiritual Force, life responds with
astounding positive results, essentially replacing the current finite
condition with something so much greater.
Solutions to problems arrive from out of nowhere. Limits of success are
turned into limitless outcomes. Small mental perceptions turned into vast
lights of integral knowledge of Truth. And so forth
In essence, what Sri Aurobindo called the Truth Consciousness -- the
Supramental power -- releases the infinite possibilities from the current
finite. It brings forth the hidden, involved as potential Conscious Force
in a thing or matter; the seed I spoke of earlier; and brings it to the
surface of life so that things manifest a much wider potential.
This staggering, infinite-like Power that overcomes space, time, cause,
effect, and possibility, and evokes the infinite involved in the finite,
is what Sri Aurobindo uncovered for the world. He came to perceive this
Force and dedicated himself to bringing into life so individuals would
have access to it.
He came in contact with that Knowledge and Power, and worked to bring it
down into life. In 1956, through the startling inner efforts of the
Mother, that Truth Consciousness and Power descended fully into the
earth's atmosphere. Ever since, the world has subtly been under Its
influence. And ever since that Force is readily available to anyone who
opens to It an calls it into his of her life.
Many I know have been opening to that spiritual Force on a regular basis,
and are evoking astonishing "life response" results. Thousands of tiny or
large miracles are occurring in every facet of life: enabling vast
accomplishment, quickly overcoming huge challenges and problems; evoking
stunning insights about existence; resolving impossible conundrums;
overcoming illness and disease; and even solving huge problems for
society.
I understand that the Mother plays a significant role here.
Yes, she is the channel by which followers of the Force open to it. I.e.
these spiritual devotees open to the Mother and let Her be the conduit for
the Force to enter their lives. Invariably, a series of wonderful outcomes
follow.
Opening to the Divine Mother is the most direct and concentrated way to
gain access to this ultimate, Causal Power of the universe.
(pause) So this completely changes the equation of life. This ultimate
plane and power of Supramental Force is what Sri Aurobindo discovered and
worked on his entire life to call down into the earth's atmosphere.
So that's where we begin; by opening to this spiritual power?
(pause) Actually, he asks us first to Aspire for something higher in our
life; for a new consciousness, for ourselves and the world.
He also asks us to make a sincere effort to overcome parts of our limited
nature: our current mental, vital, and physical deficiencies. That is what
we might call "personal growth" today. He asked us to strive to overcome
our wanting attitudes, our fixed habits, our narrow beliefs, our movements
of ego and desire, and so forth. That is, recognize the deficiencies in
ourselves, and wherever we can, make the effort to overcome them. That is
a personal effort to bring about higher consciousness in our being, which
will in turn enable us to have a more positive relation with life. Through
our efforts of control and overcome our deficiencies, we take the first
steps away from the normal human nature of ignorance, suffering,
incapacity, and failure, and move to a higher status, consciousness, and
being.
And the spiritual power?
Yes, and finally he asks those who were sincere in their aspiration for a
higher life, make the effort to open themselves to the Supramental force
and power, and use it in their everyday lives: for any act they are going
to engage in, into the details of their work and businesses, for problems
they are having, for opportunities that have come their way, and so forth.
For example, if one opens to it just before an important meeting,
everything starts working right, people are friendly and cooperative, new
opportunities seem to arrive out of nowhere. It is too incredible to
believe, but that is precisely what happens when you open to the Mother's
Force before engaging in any activity.
And you have had this experience?
Yes, dozens if not hundreds of times.
(pause) What is interesting is then when we utilize this power the world
becomes completely different. We are instantly freed from the barriers of
life that Satprem railed against. By opening to that power we attract the
infinite into the current finite, while changing the rules of space and
time. Life cooperates from all quarters due to the consciousness and power
we have evoked.
(pause) Actually he asks us not just to open to this Power, but to
Surrender our very being to it. In other words, one level is to open to
the spiritual Force to bring us benefit or alleviate a problem; but a
further stage is to simply to Surrender to It, to the Divine Mother, so
that we are guided by Its Purpose and Intent. In that way, we become
instruments of the Divine Purpose. We sense what the Divine is asking of
us, and we are fully determined to act that way, do that work, move along
that Path on Its behalf.
So this force can help us in our own personal development, and even in
society's as well?
Yes, exactly.
And there's more.
While I have spoken of this power to evoke startling infinite-like results
in the world -- infinitely more accomplishment, success, happiness, and so
forth, for ourselves, for society -- there is also an even deeper purpose
that It serves for us. It helps us realize our destiny and purpose in
relation to the destiny and purpose of the cosmos itself.
What Do You Mean?
Well, according to Sri Aurobindo this universe emerged from a Divine
Source so that the forms, including us could have the Joy of discovery of
our true nature. That is precisely why the cosmos was created by the
Infinite consciousness in the first place: so that a multiplicity and
diversity of forces and forms, including we humans, could experience the
Delight and Bliss experienced by the Creator.
So when we open to this Supramental Truth Consciousness and the world is
dramatically altered around us, we feel an intense Delight and Joy of
being alive. That in turn fulfills the very reason and purpose the
Infinite Divine evolved a universe of forms from out of Itself: Delight.
Through the Supramental power we also become instruments of progress and
evolution. We fulfill the Intent of the Infinite Divine to have all of Its
Divine Aspects -- Peace, Oneness, Truth, Knowledge, Goodness, Creativity,
Beauty, Delight, Love, Timelessness, Infinity, etc. -- manifest in the
details of life. By opening to that Power we not only become human
instruments that realize that Divine Intent, but we discover our own
Destiny and Purpose in life.
(pause) That is a very powerful conception of life. But where would
we begin?
(pause) I think first we have to ask ourselves if we want to participate
in this journey; if we want to collaborate in this cosmic, yet very
personal process.
And if we did, what would we do next?
I think the first step is to have the aspiration to grow, develop, and
evolve as an individual. That is the minimum. It is what we normally call
"personal growth." We can even aspire for its more dramatic form --
personal evolution and transformation, for ourselves and the collectives
we are part of.
We can also collaborate in this Divine process by opening to and bringing
down this higher power, this Truth Consciousness, into the details of our
lives so that we can evoke good fortune for ourselves and life around us.
Better yet, we can call in that Power to change our wanting nature -- our
limited attitudes, opinions, actions, and beliefs; uplifting all aspects
of our being; and all limitations of consciousness around us. In that way
we can change our current limited nature into a new Supernature, filled
with the Light and Truth and Love of the Infinite Divine.
If a number of individuals collaborate in this endeavor, embark on this
divine path, we might see the emergence of a new humanity; one that us
filled with the light and powers of the Infinite Divine.
In the final analysis, it us Divine Life on earth that Sri Aurobindo has
offered humanity. It is an stunning yet infinitely practical Vision he has
offered the world.
"I saw them cross the twilight of an age,
(from the canto 'The Vision and the Boon,' from the 100,000 line epic poem
Savitri by Sri Aurobindo)
PART III: Making it Practical
So how do we start? How can an individual practically apply himself to
begin to achieve these results? To answer this let me begin with a story. I was working as a salesperson in the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles in the mid-70s. I was involved with a company called "Mere Cie" that was selling products from India, particularly from organizations dedicated to Sri Aurobindo and the Mother. Interestingly, the people at Mere Cie had dedicated themselves to applying Sri Aurobindo's ideas in the details of their daily work. I remember one time I sat in front of the owner of Mere Cie (Gary Jacobs, a friend of mine now for over 35 years) and he asked me to sell the one product that I most disliked to sell; a beautiful but expensive line of marbled scarves. Startled by his remark, I told him that nobody wanted to buy these things. At one level, he agreed, but he then added a remark that struck me to the very core of my being. He said that if I were to open myself to the Mother, to the spiritual Force before I entered the store or spoke with the buyer, I would open up the doors to sudden, unexpected success.
To be honest I did not follow his advice very well. I remained pretty much
unwilling to sell what I perceived to be hard-to-sell products, and more
importantly I only rarely took up his advice about opening to this
Higher Power before commencing a sale. Twenty five years later I use this technique often, and as a result continuously experience positive, even overwhelming results. For example, if before I lead a training session, I open to this Higher Power, at the end of the day I realize how smoothly things went; that life seemed to cooperate at every turn; that people seemed happier; that the atmosphere was buoyant and positive; that my students were stimulated and energized. So I practiced this technique of "consecration," i.e. opening to the spiritual Force before commencing any major activity, with startling life response results. By the way, this is a spiritual technique that anyone one can practice to evoke enormously positive outcomes. We can call in the spiritual Force before major activity, when a problem arises, when an opportunity presents itself, when we want to change some wanting aspect of our nature, or just to experience the calm and delight that invariably follows. If you experience the powerful results even once, you are likely hooked for life. You sense that there is more to life than what you may have come to believe. You feel a sense of deep gladness inside, even as you realize that you have the potential to harness an infinite-like power. Ultimately, you realize that from within you can become the Master of all Life. That is very encouraging. It would seem that we are not helpless victims of fate, but can be spiritual like beings who can control the outcomes of life! Exactly! (Pause) In any case, our ability to open to this power, which he referred to as the "Supramental Force" or "Mother's Force" is one of Sri Aurobindo's great revelations to the world. He showed us that trough this Cosmic Power we could shape the world in our highest image, and bring about a more harmonious, perfect, and divine life on earth.
(pause) So Sri Aurobindo mostly worked at the level of future possibility;
of what we could create from a higher view using this cosmic power.
It seems like he didn't like to focus much
on the past, or what
we humans are going through
now.
Well, though Sri Aurobindo wrote in great detail about this power and a
future humanity that would evolve into something greater in the light of
this power, he also wrote extensively on how humans are currently
evolving -- even if they never come in contact with spiritual powers, or are
being part of some kind of future spiritual destiny.
In books such as The Synthesis of Yoga and in his thousands of letters to
his followers he mapped out what human beings basically are made up of,
what our positive and negative qualities were within that makeup, and how
we can learn to shed those negative qualities, and learn to open to the
spiritual realm, the force, so that we can grow and evolve, which makes us
far more healthy, productive, happy people. I think for most people that
is enough! Being an instrument of universal creation and the cosmos is out
of the picture for most!
Fully accepting the majority of the tenets of Darwin and his evolutionary
scientific view, Sri Aurobindo was able to clearly show how matter, life,
and mind evolved on earth (and perhaps elsewhere) through the mineral,
plant, animal, and human form. What made his thinking unique in this areas
is that he went a step further back to trace the causes of our evolution,
of why there is positive and negative in the world, and how these positive
and negative attributes, these dualities in our bodies, our emotions, and
our thoughts led to our current conditions as human beings. He shows that
the limitations we have as humans today can be traced back to the creation
as duality, which manifest in duality in all aspects of our being -- in
our thoughts, emotions and feelings, sentiments, values, actions, and our
bodies.
For example, humans get sick, have illness, and ultimately die. This is
because of the limitations of our original nature. Likewise body is also
filled with inertia and "tamas," an Indian term related to inertia and
immovability. The body does not want to change and get out of its fixed
habits. This can be traced back to the original inconscience of matter
that we as plants, animals, and humans evolved out of.
The same is true for the vital realm that evolved out of the physical.
Although this vital is filled with energy and sensation that the purely
physical plane lacks, the vital/emotional plane is also filled with its
own ignorance, falsehoods, and incapacities. Because it evolved out of the
inconscient physical plane, it shares its negative qualities, but then
through its energies it manifest the negative qualities of the physical
plane in new, unique positive and negative way. Thus the vital expresses
the original ignorance and falsehood of the inconscience through desire,
passion, attachment, and ego.
Then out of the vital capacities came further powers of consciousness,
particularly in man, in the form of mind, our ability to think. The mental
plane, i.e. the brain and our thought processes also has the foundation of
the Inconscience of the physical and the weaknesses of the vital, carries
forth their falsehoods, and manifests new falsehoods in within the
thinking process and functioning. For example, Sri Aurobindo states that
the mind is an exclusionary organ. It accepts one thing over another
thing. That is it sees one truth and not the whole truth. Or, it is
attached to one idea over another because of the ego sense and attachments
of the vital. Or it perceives things within the limits of a rigid
causality, or it believes in things that are simply wrong or false.
I have put this all in a negative context to show the weakness of our
nature. The positive side can also be explained. The ultimate fulfillment
of the physical in perfect and beautiful, energy-filled forms; the
beautiful emotions and sentiments that are part of our vital nature; the
deepest understandings and perceptions of the mental realm. Together they
make life a joy; and in fact their existence in the first place is the
once again the very joy of the creator's delight. In fact at another level
Sri Aurobindo says that there is no negativity in the world. There is only
positive delight! This can however be understood at the most profound
Truth Consciousness level.
So what is most useful for most of us is that Sri Aurobindo concluded that
if we want to be better humans, we need to change our ignorant, false
nature, our incapacities, so that our truer nature. If we made this
effort, then surely we could function better in the world. Greater
accomplishment, more success, greater joy.
This is in essence why we created Growth Online to give a vision of what
we could become at a practical level, not the cosmic, although we address
these too. We developed a series of practical topics that can help any
individual not only overcome the limitation of his or her nature, but
create the conditions so that person can accomplish and achieve in life at
far greater levels than they are now accomplishing and achieving, and
where a person can be far happier and joyful than they are now. We try to
open the doors to achievement, infinite success, and infinite joy.
So another more limited though perhaps more practical vision Sri Aurobindo
gives us is that we can get out of our limitations to become fully
integrated beings. This in fact has been the focus of the entire New Age
movement for the last twenty five years. It has now dispersed far beyond
its original new age participants and has entered all aspects of society,
from business management, even to traditional religion. We can see if we
look closely that integral personal growth is a knowledge that has crept
into all aspects of life. In other words, the idea of personal growth,
development, evolution, a fundamental tenet of Sri Aurobindo (and of
course many others) is now in the mainstream. Twenty five years later a
far greater potential for achievement, success, joy, integration, and
wholeness is available to everyone, en masse. We have organized
consciousness into a discipline like math, science, cooking and cleaning.
It's up to use to utilize this knowledge in our daily lives.
So at the very least we can make the effort to "upgrade" ourselves, to use
the computer software vernacular. We can improve our capacities, i.e.
overcome our mental, vital, physical limitations, by overcoming our
negative attitudes and habits, by organizing ourselves better, by
upgrading our skills, by applying our personal values in all parts of our
lives, and in so many other ways. These approaches have the net effect of
helping us become more integral individuals; capable of accomplishing at
infinitely greater levels, and experiencing a joy that we would never have
known before.
Sri Aurobindo often spoke of the integration of the parts of our being so
that we could live more productive and happy lives. Why he has so much
credibility in this area is that he was able to trace the cause of our
incapacities all the way to the source of creation. He said that is out of
the creation came a world of ignorant, inconscient, divided forms, and
then traced this fact through the development of the three planes of human
existence, the physical, the vital/emotional, and the mental. Out of that
he could say that there was a way out; that we can make the effort to
overcome our limitations, which release the hidden potential that lies
just below the surface.
Beyond this we can go further. We can also learn to understand how life
really works. I said earlier that was the fun part. We can begin to
understand what's really happening in life, when people interact, when
life's circumstances and situations unfold, when there is a sudden life
response that comes out of nowhere in response to a changed attitude.
We can use this knowledge to begin to master life around us. So we can
learn to understand and harness these hidden patterns of life that are
constantly affecting the outcomes of all events and circumstances in
life.
Again at Growth Online we talk about the connection between the outer
events in life and our inner perceptions. We say that if we change certain
key negative perceptions, attitudes, reluctances, habits in our life, then
life instantly responds! We call this phenomenon "Life response,"
and is an incredible thing to experience. Experience it just once in your
life and your life can be changed forever. I change an attitude, and
someone suddenly calls me out of the blue with a big opportunity. I
overcome a reluctance, and suddenly money appears in the mail from out of
nowhere. There are endless examples.
And Life response is but of these types of type phenomenon, one hidden
pattern of life that we reveal, that defies our normal perceptions of the
world. In fact this is an area where The Mother's Service Society has done
tremendous research, and has uncovered many of these hidden patterns and
powers in life. Here at Growth Online we have brought these out for all to
read, so individuals can understand these forces at work, and make use of
them. The example I described earlier, the power of opening to a higher
power before commencing an event is another example.
In a similar vein one can begin to understand the hidden patterns and
factors that can lead to great accomplishment in life.
So an individual can at the highest level participate in the unfolding of
the spiritual destiny of the universe, or, if a little less ambitious(!),
can simply learn to make his being more whole by learning the fundamental
techniques of personal growth, including higher attitudes, more skills,
greater and more integral knowledge, more energy, more organization, and
other capacities to make them an a more integral person. One can also
learn the inner functionings in life, such as the Life Response and
Consecration techniques, which are magical experiences, and where one can
become the master of life. One can also learn, if so inclined, to
understand the nature of the Truth Consciousness and the destiny of world,
to collaborate in its unfolding. One can also embark on a journey of
transformation to find one's personal evolving soul, discover and open to
the descent of the Force and Light into our being to overcome and
transform our physical, vital, and mental nature, thus evolving into a new
spiritual-oriented being, culminating in the supramental transformation,
where we become the ultimate evolutionary individual.
So which path should we take? The road to take all depends on the
individual; what motivates them, and what they are looking for, seeking in
life.
What were you looking for?
For me as a young man, when I felt the possibility of a new type of man, a
new type of future, based on the spiritual change, it touched on my
idealism. But then seeing it in action in my life, when I saw these
magical powers at work in everyday life, it stimulated the emotions and
also made me comprehend the great possibilities of how these forces can be
used in one's work, in business, in society. However, interestingly
enough, it was not until I made the more mundane decision to change my
negative attitudes and habits and opinions, overcome my limitations of
will and inertia, that is, only when I made the effort to make myself a
more integrated personality, was I able to fully utilize this higher
knowledge and powers in my every day life. To be honest I am still a
complete amateur in this area! I wish I learned this all when I was 17.
For all of you younger people out there, you are blessed that this
knowledge is available to you now; that you can take it up now, when you
are young! I guarantee that once you experience the unbelievable magic,
miraculousness, and pleasure and joy and delight of this journey, then
your games and other diversion will begin to feel bland and empty. This is
the great adventure! The adventure of a lifetime!
So in the end Sri Aurobindo helped us understand our limitations, mapped
out a way to become a more integral person, revealed to us the unseen
spiritual forces at work in life, uncovered a force and consciousness that
enabled infinite possibilities, and ultimately revealed the destiny of
humanity and the universe. It is up to us to decide how we want to
collaborate in this possibility!
Thank you for sharing your knowledge and experiences with us. It certainly
gives us a lot to think about!
It was a pleasure. Thank you very much for inviting me.
Your Feedback:
For your feedback on this interview,
please click here. Related Topics:
|
