Higher
Consciousness-Oriented Works
Higher Consciousness Attitude toward Work
The higher consciousness
attitude toward work is to rise above likes and dislikes, relate to
work, do not express your personality but express your duty, do it
without expecting results, do it without any attachment to the work
itself. (MSS, with modifications)
On Service
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Service means to remove the Egoistic
Preference.
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Service means to act only after
removing our Anger, Irritation and Ambition.
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Real Service means to Surrender the
Preferences, Pressures, Urge.
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Service is to relate to all other
people like we relate to someone we adore.
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Service is to serve everyone around
us.
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Service is not to think of the
Results or Rewards.
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Service is to ask for nothing.
Expect nothing.
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Service is to serve according to the
highest values like values of Harmony and Truthfulness
in our motives and actions.
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Self-Giving and Goodwill is the
Essence of Service.
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Service is to help another person
accomplish more and ask for nothing in return
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Service is to
take responsibility
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True Service is the Aspiration to
transform our Ignorance and Incapacities to Perfection.
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The greatest Service is to Aspire
for our own Self-Perfection.
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Service is to see that Everything
happening around us is for our Progress.
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Service expresses through joy and
cheerfulness.
Power of
Service
The quality of our
service will reflect in the results.
At each point
we improve our psychological condition of service, the more
life results will reflect it.
High
Consciousness/Spiritually-Oriented Work
1. Work done by us
must be flawless and perfect in execution and result.
2. Human
relationships must be pleasant and sweet.
3. Hold
yourself responsible for any shortcoming in the work executed by you
even if others are there in the work.
4. Even for the
errors of others, we must accept the responsibility.
5. Work
executed with highest intelligence will have a 100% component of
ignorance.
6. The
blatant mistakes, errors witnessed in the work of others are really
not errors or mistakes.
7. Such
blatant errors are really aspects of perfection inversely
understood.
8. We
witness an event and understand it as a blatant wrong, crime or sin.
We are the eye witness of it. We hear the proceedings ourselves
first hand. Having instituted an inquiry, we arrive at an
irrevocable conclusion that it is a sin, crime and wrong. Still, it
is not so for the sadhak. The sadhak must know it is good, laudable
and a virtue that is service. One must have the intuition to know
that sin as this virtue.
9. One
of the following attributes when made perfect carries the combined
power of the above 8 items when fully consecrated.
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Gratitude that thrills the body
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Ideal sense of duty
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Loyalty that lays down life
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Spiritual devotion that fills the heart
with moved emotion
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The daily acts saturated with spirit of
service
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Perfect honesty
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Sweet words that rise softly
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Adorable spiritual humility
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Purity that excels conscience
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Gentle emotions that are incapable of
complaining
If one has all these attributes, he will be
able to do yoga. (MSS)
Purity, Transparency to Let a New
Great Work Express
-I just had an image in my mind of a new great work coming to us. It
moves through our consciousness. Our purity, intensity, et al determine
how it moves through. If we match its intent with right consciousness,
it moves on through nicely, manifesting as intended.
-(MSS responds): Everything depends on our transparency to let it
express without adding personality to the mix.
-One approach occurs to me: Watching life responding around us will give
us clues as we go about our business. All the signs will be there to see
how we are relating to the developing work. We just have to sincerely
observe and learn from what is being taught. ( Inner discipline is the
other side.)
Harmony
Untitled
If you examine any work, any field of endeavor, one can
see that problems can be resolved by bringing about greater
coordination, cooperation, and collaboration; by bringing differing
values and attitudes into the same line among the participants. This
is true of social entities, between people, even within the
individual person.
Untitled
Make harmony a permanent personal value that you believe
in and practice. Over the next few days and weeks notice points of
conflict that appear in your work and life and seek to implement a
higher truth, or point of view, or action in each situation that can
harmonize the opposing ideas, conflicts between people, and other
forms of opposition.
In Harmony with,
Not Disturbing the Equilibrium of Objects and the Environment
-He
who runs through his work, living in harmony with his environment
will not suffer from it. The environment offends, when MAN disturbs
its equilibrium.
-To a skilled
workman, his tools are sacred. Those tools do not offend the workman
as they are his extended fingers. Men who treat the tools as objects
often cut their fingers.
It is the
experience in coconut gardens that nuts do not fall on the men who
tend the trees. Not even the heavy leaves of the trees hurt men
living there. It is a rule of life. Objects are alive. They receive
the attention of the men who water the fields, use the tools, clean
the weeds, etc. Material objects are grateful to the attention they
receive and take care NOT to hurt the men.
One of the workers had a severely shaking head. On questioning him,
it was discovered that he was employed to clear a coconut garden of
its trees so that the land could be converted into plots. No wonder
the coconut fell on his head and it was shaking since then. Material
objects do not hurt us if we do not hurt them. (MSS, arrangement
modified somewhat)
See Work from Other's Point of
View
that Generates Harmony
To approach a work from another man's point of view is a
powerful principle for success in life and work. To approach it from
our own point of view only will generate conflicts and produce low
results. To approach the same from another man's point of view is
generative of harmony, producing maximum results.
Teamwork
Teamwork is physical. At the next level,
is an attitude of cooperation with others.
(MSS)
Consecrating Work
On Consecration
Any work can be accomplished if it is consecrated the moment it rises in
the mind. (MSS)
Organization, the
Force, and Efficiency of Results
Organizing a work or an endeavor one level higher than its current
status, creates substantial improvements of results relative to that
effort. E.g. the likelihood of success of an activity may be doubled or
more. That is the power of organization. Opening to the Divine Force
however opens enables infinite possibilities, where productivity
and success can be 10, 100, a 1000 times to infinity greater. It also
enables the decent of one or more spiritual properties into the
atmosphere of the work, such as Truth, Knowledge, Power, Peace, Oneness,
and Delight. This is the power of Spiritual Organization, a super
organizing mechanism; an instrument of the Divine Force.
Leave Results to Divine
To do at each moment the best we can and leave
the result to the Divine's decision, is the surest way to peace,
happiness, strength, progress and final perfection. (The Mother)
Consecrating a Work
Before you undertake any major
activity, open yourself to the Force. Ask that its Light and Power come
into the work or activity you are about to embark on. Later on, when you
consider the progress you have made, you are likely to be astonished at
the wondrous results that came your way. That is indicative of the vast
power of the Spirit in our lives.
Results of
Consecration
Consecration is available to the spiritual man or the
householder
[i.e. 'a family man']. You may be somewhere in between like
most of us. Practice this technique before undertaking anything
important. Simply open to the Force before the activity. Karmayogi
says "For one who wants to move to Spirit, it is important that any
work is done by consecration rather than merely accomplishing it."
We know that consecration will
bring positive response from life. It will show at the level of
the work one does. E.g. for the writer who uses his mind the
response is often subtle, such as the descent of an important
new idea. For a vital work, it can bring sudden new sales,
money, or even close friendship and love. For the physical
worker, it can end a pain that prevents him from lifting, or the
discovery of a new work technique that accomplishes.
Consecration for
Spirit-based Individual
For one who wants to move to the Spirit, it is important that any
work is done by consecration rather than merely accomplishing it.
(MSS)
Organization, the
Force, and Efficiency of Results
Organizing a work or an endeavor one level higher than its current
status, creates substantial improvements of results relative to that
effort. E.g. the likelihood of success of an activity may be doubled
or more. That is the power of organization. Opening to the Divine
Force however opens enables infinite
possibilities, where productivity and success can be 10, 100, a 1000
times to infinity greater. It also enables the decent of one or more
spiritual properties into the atmosphere of the work, such as Truth,
Knowledge, Power, Peace, Oneness, and Delight. This is the power of
Spiritual Organization, a super organizing mechanism; an instrument
of the Divine Force.
Consecrating Work for Sake of Divine
By consecration Man eliminates his ego, sacrifices his
works to the Lord. The thought of working for the Lord and only the
Lord makes the thought universal and powerful. Therefore, the
universal energies are at his command. (MSS)
Concentration of Spirit in Work
Spiritual concentration in meditation takes you to celestial regions
of light and peace, resulting in an inner elevation. Consecration,
too, develops higher spiritual consciousness. This higher
consciousness is not confined to meditation. It is expressed in
work. Doing the work, whatever it is, without losing the inner
elevation attained in meditation, or doing the work so perfectly
that the inner concentration develops to this level is consecration
or invoking the Spirit in work. (MSS, modified)
Spirit Doing Work
in Consecration, not Mind
When we know that it is not the Mind that does the work, but it is
the Spirit, that knowledge enables the Mind to detach itself from
the work and direct it to the Divine inside. The knowledge that the
Divine does the work and not the mind makes it possible. It is
consecration. (MSS, slightly altered)
The Spiritual Efficiency of Results
When one opens to the Force, to the Spirit, one brings about
attributes of spiritual efficiency, which include:
-- infinite accomplishment (in terms of money, power, energy, results)
-- space and time are abridged (results come instantly, from any
distance)
-- results come out of nothing (work can be accomplished without
working; the material (physical thing) can be created without source
materials)
-- through the smallest initiative can come the largest result (from a
small gesture, initiative can come infinite results, benefit),
because one taps into the infinite potential of the spirit behind the
thing
-- one derives spiritual benefits, beyond
mental, vital, physical benefits (deep calm and peace, great joy, bliss,
connection to infinite powers, energies, and where one enters the realm
of a new type of individual, the supramental existence)
--
results are only positive (there are no negative results; there
is no failure).
On Spiritual Service and Consecrated
Effort
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Spiritual service is to Aspire inwardly and not Outwardly.
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Sincere decision not to take initiative till
the Divine acts.
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Consecration is the basis of Service
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Consecration is to make what we do as sacred
by keeping the Divine as the Central Reference.
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Consecration Generates joy.
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The Outer Life is the Expression of
Inner-Consciousness.
Surrender
Instead of us doing the work and relying on our own talents, if we
allow the Divine to bring out our talents in that work, the end
result is seen in the beginning itself. This is surrender. [MSS,
slightly modified.]
How
Surrender Accomplishes a Work Instantaneously
through Pure
Mind and Soul
-Creation is along the line Absolute
--
Sat -- Supermind -- Mind -- Life -- Matter.
-As we are in the plane of Mind,
accomplishment effectuates itself accomplishing through causality.
-Surrender enables us to withdraw from
thought and then Mind.
-It is capable of withdrawing further
until the I becomes the Soul and the evolving soul, the Psychic
Being.
-Moving thus, one moves from Time to
Supramental Time -- the simultaneous integrality of Time Eternity and
Timeless Eternity. I call it the third dimension of Time.
-When Mind becomes
Pure, it accomplishes its work which needs to reach the act of the
body, instantaneously. (MSS)
Initiating,
Tending to a Work vs. Allowing it to Blossom on its Own through the
Force
Work must be attended to, not left to
itself. Any work left to itself is sure to be spoiled. Man is
greater than the drifting Time. Man has risen above life and
conquered it. He has in him an expertise which no one on earth other
than MAN himself enjoys. He must bring himself to bear upon the
situation, let his personality impact on the work at hand. Then it
turns out to be a good work.
This is no great wisdom, but simple common knowledge as it is a
daily occurrence.
In this sense, Man is an achiever, as he has skill. There are other
times, of course, rarely when we do witness a work rising to great
proportions which we are incapable of when we leave it to itself,
not meddle into it by our human interference. This happens when the
hour is great and carries the work in its hands of benevolence.
At such moments, we say, "None of these things were on the agenda.
It all happened by itself. Had I planned, I would not have thought
of it on this scale as it was nowhere on my mind.'' There are people
of luck. There are lucky periods which are determined to raise our
lives high. We generally resist such moves successfully. Should we
choose not to interfere, or should we find ourselves helpless to
stop the movement of affairs, life ushers us into luck.
Such a thing happens to ALL who are in touch with this Force I speak
of invariably. Even outside this Force, such a MOMENT comes to all
those people who are pious in the real sense of the word, who are
optimistic, who are good-natured, in the right sense of the word.
Anyone can recall a few incidents in their own lives or experience.
(MSS)
The Wisdom of the
Bhagavad-Gita
The Gita declares we should not be attached to the fruits of our
work.
Descent of Grace and Readiness Complete
If one prepares himself for any work, the moment the
readiness is complete, the work moves towards him (Grace always
meets the aspiration with a field of expression).
(MSS)
Rewards, Grace,
Supergrace
Rewards of work coming to us is luck. Greater rewards than the work
deserves coming to us is Grace. There is a further stage called
Supergrace.
Rewards go to the right man. Grace acts occasionally.
Supergrace is a rare incident on divine occasions. Then rewards that
are not your due or your due ten years later or rewards that should
go to the entire organisation come to you as if you were the chosen
receptacle for all the grace in the atmosphere. (MSS, extracted)
Spirit-Oriented Works
(for the sake of the Divine)
Spiritual-oriented Works
To do a work as a means of growth in consciousness, not
ego's sake, is the highest spiritual orientation.
Work as Self-offering to the
Divine
The ultimate poise of doing a work is as
a self-offering to the Divine.
Work For the Sake of
the Divine
Self-dedication does not depend on the
particular work you do, but on the
spirit in which all work, of whatever kind it may be, is
done.
Any work done well and carefully as a sacrifice to the Divine,
without desire or egoism, with
equality of mind and calm tranquility in good
or bad fortune, for the sake of the
Divine and not for the sake of any
personal gain, reward or result, with the consciousness that
it is the Divine Power to which
all work belongs, is a means of self-dedication
through Karma. (Sri Aurobindo)
The Human Path vs. the Gita's Path to Success
Question:
I have a question which has bothered me for a long
time. Is there a contradiction between the way human achievement is
depicted in your articles and the way the Bhagavad Gita advices? The
Gita says do your work and do not think about results since desire is
the starting point of all miseries. On the other hand, you say desire
for a result, organize it, and work for it, which will attract it. These
words worked for me, but now I am in a dilemma.
Answer:
You have raised a very important distinction.
The answer is that it depends on what we want --
human success or success that has the spiritual element. If we want
human success, then the power of organized intention will produce the
results. The energies are focused and intensified, which aligns
with positive conditions that bring us powerful results, even in the
form of life response, i.e. sudden good fortune.
If you want to do what the Divine wants, then you
follow the Gita's method. Here the intention originates in the Divine
itself, not in the normal human self. Or, we can say it originates in
the Higher Self or Soul, whereas the human method originates in a lower
or reduced self. The Gita's path is a life of self-surrender to the
Divine. Some are ready for this method. The majority are not.
Otherwise, follow the normal human process, except I
would add two caveats. First, do the intended work with the best of
attitudes, avoiding negative ones like doubt, fear, limitation, contempt
for others, etc. Second, apply high human values to the goals and
details of your plan -- such as tolerance, self-givingness, honesty,
etc. -- depending on which ones are most meaningful to you. As a result,
great success will move in your direction. In addition, if you so
choose, this more fully developed human approach can become a bridge to
the Higher Path of the Gita.
The (Traditional) Triple Path
of Yoga -- of Knowledge, of Works, of Devotion
The Way of Knowledge
We live a social life. There is a soul-life of
which we have no knowledge. The soul life has three versions, one of
which is the mental soul-life of the human being. Reason is a tool
of knowledge. Mind has the capacity of vision. Knowledge can go to
God with a single-minded devotion. For that, the knowledge needs to
be purified. The purified knowledge acquires force when
concentrated. So purified and concentrated, mind reaches
God-knowledge when so directed. It matures into God-vision. Thus,
Mind knows God, sees God. In the end, it becomes God.
This is the way knowledge
[Jnana]
reaches God.
Of the three paths of works, devotion and knowledge, jnanamarga is
one. One rule of life is what one man can achieve, any other man can
also achieve. Its miraculous spiritual extension is what the
greatest man has accomplished, the smallest too can. Any one part of
the Being, when perfected, can discover God.
The Way of Works
The other is the path of works. What does the work,
[karma] is the will of Man. Will is
the force part of knowledge. The chosen instrument of the path of
works [karmayoga]
is the human WILL. The Will is the doer of works. Life is made up of
works of all descriptions, small and big, important and unimportant.
We work to build up our life.
In the end, our life becomes 'us'. It actually means we build up our
ego. It is the ego of the doer, the vital ego. All yogas are in
essence a reversal of consciousness. It means MAN who was building
up his ego, now should drastically change and build up the
God-consciousness in him.
The method for that is known as sacrifice. The yogi sacrifices all
his works to the Divine. Life itself becomes an OFFERING. This too
needs purification. One needs to concentrate on the Will that does
the work. Further, a discipline is called for. This discipline
subjects the human Will to the WILL of the Divine. It is a means to
forge a unity of the soul of man with the Master of the Universe.
This is the path of works.
The Way of Devotion
By an exactly similar path, the heart expands its human
emotion, sublimates it into divine emotion with a view to achieving
unity with the Soul of All-souls. This path is known as
devotion [bhaktimarga].
In its crown it is seen as swoon. The
emotions of the heart have the power to pervade the entire body with
their amrita and send the devotee into an
oblivious self-forgetfulness in the Touch of the Divine
[Laya].
Such a union has the power to neutralise poison administered to the
follower [devotee],
as it did in the case of Mira. Andal, who sang her devotion in the
poems of Pasuram, was in love with Krishna
[incarnated symbol of the Divine]. To her, Krishna was a
living being. The gopis of Brindavan enjoyed that nectar of
devotion. Radha was its peak and symbol. Radha was Devotion. Her
life was Devotion, her existence too was such.
(MSS, somewhat modified)
