Calm—Peace—Equality
Page-5
To
be able to receive the Divine Power and let it act through
you in the things of the outward life, there are three necessary
conditions:
(i)
Quietude, equality—not
to be disturbed by anything that happens, to keep the mind
still and firm, seeing the play of forces, but itself tranquil.
(ii) Absolute faith—faith
that what is for the best will happen, but also that if
one can make oneself a true instrument, the fruit will be
that which one’s will guided by the Divine Light sees
as the thing to be done—kartavyam karma.
(iii)
Receptivity—the power to receive the Divine
Force and to feel its presence and the presence of the Mother
in it and allow it to work, guiding one’s sight and
will and action. If this power and presence can be felt
and this plasticity made the habit of the consciousness
in action,—but plasticity to the Divine Force alone
without bringing in any foreign element,—the eventual
result is sure.
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Sri Aurobindo
Equality
is a very important part of this Yoga; it is necessary to
keep equality under pain and suffering—and that means
to endure firmly and calmly, not to be restless or troubled
or depressed or despondent, to go on with a steady faith
in the Divine Will. But equality does not include inert
acceptance. If, for instance, there is temporary failure
of some endeavour in the sadhana, one has to keep equality,
not to be troubled or despondent, but one has not to accept
the failure as an indication of the Divine Will and give
up the endeavour. You ought rather to find out the reason
and meaning of the failure and go forward in faith towards
victory. So with illness—you have not to be troubled,
shaken or restless, but you have not to accept illness as
the Divine Will, but rather look upon it as an imperfection
of the body to be got rid of as you try to get rid of vital
imperfections or mental errors.
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Sri Aurobindo
There
can be no firm foundation in sadhana without equality, samatä.
Whatever the unpleasantness of circumstances, however disagreeable
the conduct of others, you must learn to receive them with
a perfect calm and without any disturbing reaction. These
things are the test of equality. It is easy to be calm and
equal when things go well and people and circumstances are
pleasant; it is when they are the opposite that the completeness
of the calm, peace, equality can be tested, reinforced,
made perfect.
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Sri Aurobindo
What
happened to you shows what are the conditions of that state
in which the Divine Power takes the place of the ego and
directs the action, making the mind, life and body an instrument.
A receptive silence of the mind, an effacement of the mental
ego and reduction of the mental being to the position of
a witness, a close contact with the Divine Power and an
openness of the being to that one Influence and no other
are the conditions for becoming an instrument of the Divine,
moved by that and that only.
The
silence of the mind does not of itself bring in the supramental
consciousness; there are many states or planes or levels
of consciousness between the human mind and the Supermind.
The silence opens the mind and the rest of the being to
greater things, sometimes to the cosmic consciousness, sometimes
to the experience of the silent Self, sometimes to the presence
or power of the Divine, sometimes to a higher consciousness
than that of the human mind; the mind’s silence is
the most favourable condition for any of these things to
happen. In this Yoga it is the most favourable cognition
(not the only one) for the Divine Power to descend first
upon and then into the individual consciousness and there
do its work to transform that consciousness, giving it the
necessary experiences, altering all its outlook and movements,
leading it from stage to stage till it is ready for the
last (supramental) change.
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Sri Aurobindo
The
experience of this “solid block” feeling indicates
the descent of a solid strength and peace into the external
being—but into the vital-physical most. It is this
always that is the foundation, the sure basis into which
all else (Ananda, light, knowledge, Bhakti) can descend
in the future and stand on it or play safely. The numbness
was there in the other experience because the movement was
inward; but here the Yogashakti is coming outward
into the fully aware external nature,—as a first step
towards the establishment of the Yoga and its experience
there. So the numbness which was a sign of the consciousness
tending to draw back from the external parts is not there.
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Sri Aurobindo
