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A Journal of Material and Spiritual Researches in AurovilleSri Aurobindo International Institute for Educational Research

RitamVolume 5 Issue 2 December 2008


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RITAM

A bi-annual journal of material and spiritual

researces in AurovilleOur aim:

Tis is a journal under SAIIER connecting

te various units under its umbrella wit te

focus on education and oter related areas of

researc.

Te purpose is to create a space were we

express and sare our work in Auroville and

also invite oters to sare teir perceptions

wit a view to look at were we stand wit

reference to te ideal.

It will publis articles, interviews etc. wic

are relevant to te Carter of Auroville, bot

from people in Auroville as well as tose

from elsewere.

Tis journal is for bot Aurovilians as well

as oters wo are looking to Auroville for

pioneering work in many elds.

Te goal is to understand better te spirit of

Auroville and in tat context wat we aredoing and wat furter we can do.

Ritam

A Journal of Material and Spiritual Researches in Auroville

Sri Aurobindo International Instituteof Educational Research

Volume 5 Issue 2 December 2008


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2 December 2008

Dear readers,

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We would especially like to know whether you would

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Please email us at [email protected] with your

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enjoy this issue!

Editor

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entitle you to tax-relief.


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2 December 2008

A hidden Bliss is at the root of things

A passage from Savitri

Sri Aurobindo

A secret air of pure felicity

Deep like a sappire eaven our spirits breate;

Our earts and bodies feel its obscure call,

Our senses grope for it and touc and lose.

If tis witdrew, te world would sink in te Void;

If tis were not, noting could move or live.

A idden Bliss is at te root of tings.

A mute Deligt regards Time's countless works:

To ouse God's joy in tings Space gave wide room,

To ouse God's joy in self our souls were born.

Tis universe an old encantment guards;

Its objects are carved cups of World-Deligt

Wose carmed wine is some deep soul's rapture-drink:

Te All-Wonderful as packed eaven wit is dreams,

he as made blank ancient Space is marvel-ouse;he spilled is spirit into Matter's signs:

His res of grandeur burn in the great sun,

he glides troug eaven simmering in te moon;

He is beauty carolling in the elds of sound;

he cants te stanzas of te odes of Wind;

he is silence watcing in te stars at nigt;

he wakes at dawn and calls from every boug,

Lies stunned in the stone and dreams in ower and tree.Even in tis labour and dolour of Ignorance,

On the hard perilous ground of difcult earth,

In spite of deat and evil circumstance

A will to live persists, a joy to be.

Savitri, p. 629-30


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RITAM 3

Psychic Education

The Mother

Every uman being carries idden witin

im te possibility of a greater consciousness

wic goes beyond te bounds of is present

life and enables im to sare in a iger and a

vaster life. Indeed, in all exceptional beings it

is always tis consciousness tat governs teir

lives and organizes bot te circumstances of

teir existence and teir individual reaction to

tese circumstances. Wat te uman mental

consciousness does not know and cannot do,

tis consciousness knows and does. It is like

a ligt tat sines at te centre of te being,

radiating troug te tick coverings of te

external consciousness. Some ave a vague

intimation of its presence; a good many cildren

are under its inuence, which shows itself very

distinctly at times in teir spontaneous actions

and even in teir words. Unfortunately, sinceparents most often do not know wat it is

and do not understand wat is appening in

teir cild, teir reaction to tese penomena is

not a good one and all teir education consists

in making te cild as unconscious as possible

in tis domain and concentrating all is

attention on external tings, tus accustoming

im to tink tat tey are te only ones tat

matter. It is true tat tis concentration on

external tings is very useful, provided tat itis done in te proper way. Te tree lines of

educationpysical, vital and mentaldeal

with that and could be dened as the means

of building up te personality, raising te

individual out of te amorpous subconscious

mass and making im a well-defined self-

conscious entity. Wit psycic education we

come to te problem of te true motive of

existence, te purpose of life on eart, te

discovery to wic tis life must lead and teresult of tat discovery: te consecration of

te individual to is eternal principle. ()To

sketc a general outline of psycic education,

we must give some idea, owever relative

it may be, of wat we mean by te psycic

being. One could say, for example, tat te

creation of an individual being is te result

of te projection, in time and space, of one

of te countless possibilities latent in te

supreme origin of all manifestation wic,

troug te medium of te one and universal

consciousness, takes concrete form in te

law or te trut of an individual and so, by a

progressive development, becomes is soul or

psycic being.

I must emphasise that what is stated briey here

does not claim to be a complete exposition of

te reality and does not exaust te subjectfarfrom it. It is only a very summary explanation

for a practical purpose, to serve as a basis

for te education wic we intend to consider

now.

It is troug tis psycic presence tat te

trut of an individual being comes into contact

wit im and te circumstances of is life.

In most cases te presence acts, so to say, from

beind te veil, unrecognised and unknown;but in some, it is perceptible and its action

recognisable and even, in a very few, te

presence becomes tangib le and it s action

fully effective. Tese go forward in life wit an

assurance and a certitude all teir own; tey are

masters of teir destiny. It is for te purpose of

obtaining tis mastery and becoming conscious

of te psycic presence tat psycic education

sould be practised. But for tat tere is

need of a special factor, te personal will.For till now, te discovery of te psycic


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4 December 2008

being and identication with it have not been

among te recognised subjects of education,

and although one can nd in special treatises

useful and practical ints on te subject, and

altoug in exceptional cases one may ave

te good fortune of meeting someone wo is

capable of sowing te way and giving te

elp tat is needed to follow it, most often te

attempt is left to ones own personal initiative.

Te discovery is a personal matter and a

great determination, a strong will and an

untiring perseverance are indispensable to

reac te goal. Eac one must, so to say, trace

out his own path through his own difculties.

Te goal is known to some extent, for most

of tose wo ave reaced it ave describedit more or less clearly. But te supreme value

of te discovery lies in its spontaneity, its

ingenuousness, and tat escapes all ordinary

mental laws. And tat is wy anyone wanting

to take up the adventure usually rst seeks out

some person wo as successfully undertaken it

and is able to sustain im and enligten im on

is way. Yet tere are some solitary travellers

and for tem a few general indications may

be useful.

Te starting-point is to seek in yourself tat

wic is independent of te body and te

circumstances of life, wic is not born of

te mental formation tat you ave been

given, te language you speak, te abits

and customs of te environment in wic

you live, te country were you are born

or te age to wic you belong. You must

nd, in the depths of your being, that whichcarries in it a sense of universality, limitless

expansion, unbroken continuity. Ten you

decentralise, extend and widen yourself; you

begin to live in all tings and in all beings;

te barriers separating individuals from eac

oter break down. You tink in teir tougts,

vibrate in teir sensations, feel in teir feelings,

live in te life of all. Wat seemed inert

suddenly becomes full of life, stones quicken,

plants feel and will and suffer, animals speakin a language more or less inarticulate, but

clear and expressive; everyting is animated

by a marvelous consciousness witout

time or limit. And tis is only one aspect

of te psycic realisation; tere are oters,

many oters. All elp you to go beyond

te barriers of your egoism, te walls of

your external personality, te impotence of

your reactions and te incapacity of your

will.

But, as I ave already said, te pat to tat

realisation is long and difcult, strewn with

snares and problems to be solved, wic

demand an unfailing determination. It is

like te explorers trek troug virgin forest

in quest of an unknown land, of some greatdiscovery. Te psycic being is also a great

discovery wic requires at least as muc

fortitude and endurance as te discovery of

new continents. A few simple words of advice

may be useful to one wo as resolved to

undertake it.

Te first and peraps te most important

point is tat te mind is incapable of judging

spiritual tings. All tose wo ave writtenon tis subject ave said so; but very few are

tose wo ave put it into practice. And yet,

in order to proceed on te pat, it is absolutely

indispensable to abstain from all mental

opinion and reaction.

Give up all personal seeking for comfort,

satisfaction, enjoyment or appiness. Be only

a burning fire for progress, take watever

comes to you as an aid to your progressand immediately make watever progress is

required.

Try to take pleasure in all you do, but never do

anyting for te sake of pleasure.

Never get excited, nervous or agitated. Remain

perfectly calm in te face of all circumstances.

And yet be always alert to discover wat

progress you still ave to make and lose notime in making it.


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RITAM 5

Never take pysical appenings at teir face

value. Tey are always a clumsy attempt to

express someting else, te true ting wic

escapes our supercial understanding.

Never complain of te beaviour of anyone,

unless you ave te power to cange in is

nature wat makes im act in tis way; and

if you ave te power, cange im instead of

complaining.

Watever you do, never forget te goal wic

you ave set before you. Tere is noting great

or small once you ave set out on tis great

discovery; all tings are equally important and

can eiter asten or delay its success. Tusbefore you eat, concentrate a few seconds in

te aspiration tat te food you are about to eat

may bring your body te substance it needs to

serve as a solid basis for your effort towards

te great discovery, and give it te energy for

persistence and perseverance in te effort.

Before you go to sleep, concentrate a few

seconds in te aspiration tat te sleep may

restore your fatigued nerves, bring calm andquietness to your brain so tat on waking you

may, wit renewed vigour, begin again your

journey on te pat of te great discovery.

Before you act, concentrate in te will tat

your action may elp or at least in no way

inder your marc forward towards te great

discovery.

Wen you speak, before te words come out

of your mout, concentrate just long enoug

to ceck your words and allow only tose tat

are absolutely necessary to pass, only tose tat

are not in any way armful to your progress on

te pat of te great discovery.

To sum up, never forget te purpose and goal

of your life. Te will for te great discovery

sould be always tere above you, above wat

you do and wat you are, like a uge bird of

ligt dominating all te movements of your

being.

Before te untiring persistence of your effort,

an inner door will suddenly open and youwill emerge into a dazzling splendour tat

will bring you te certitude of immortality,

te concrete experience tat you ave always

lived and always sall live, tat external forms

alone peris and tat tese forms are, in relation

to wat you are in reality, like clotes tat

are trown away wen worn out. Ten you

will stand erect, freed from all cains,

and instead of advancing laboriously under te

weigt of circumstances imposed upon youby Natu re , wic you ad to endure and

bear if you did not want to be crused by

tem, you will be able to walk on, straigt

and rm, conscious of your destiny, master of

your life.

(MCW 12:30-35)


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6 December 2008

The Psychic Being and the sudden bursting of its veil

Te bursting of te Moters psycic being was

related to Satprem on 30 October 1962 and 15

April 1972. It appened in 1912, wen se was

34 years old. It was her rst contact.

To have it (just to give you an idea) took me a

year of exclusive concentration on nding that

within myself. ... I did nothing but that, thought ofnothing but that, wanted nothing but that. I was

entirely concentrated on that. I was in Paris, and

I did nothing else but that; when I walked down

the street, I was thinking only of that. ...

One day, as I was crossing the Boulevard Saint

Michel... suddenly, for no apparent reason I

was neither more concentrated nor anything else

poof! It opened. ...

That light, that dazzling light, that light and

immensity. ... That concrete reality, that intensity

beyond any possible physical intensity... ALONG

WITH the sense of the eternal Divine. ... It didnt

just last for hours, it lasted for months.

This sense has never left me for a minute. And

always, whenever I had a decision to make,

I would simply stop for a second and receive

the indication from there. ... My psychic beinggoverns me I am afraid of nothing... I have the

Divine there. (Moter touces er eart)

(Moters Agenda 30.11.62)

On several occasions, te Moter compared te

sudden identication with the psychic being to a

cicken coming out of te egg. Near te end of

er talk of 26 June 1957 se said:

One is shut up in a shell, and inside it something

is happening, like the chick in the egg .... And

it is only when all is ready that there comes the

capacity to pierce the shell and to be born into

the light of day. ...

I dont think one can go through gradually, I

dont think it is something which slowly wearsand wears away until one can see through it. I

havent had an instance of this so far. There is

rather a kind of accumulation of power inside,

an intensication of the need. ...

One is like an explosive that nothing can resist, and

one bursts out from ones prison in a blaze of light.

(CWM 9:136-37)

Many disciples remain under te impression tatbecoming aware of te psycic being is te result

of a long process wic as started before our

birt and may need some more rebirts. In 1955

te Moter stated:

In almost most cases, a very sustained effort is

neededto become aware of ones psychic being.

Usually it is considered that if one can do it in

thirty years one is very lucky thirty years of

sustained efforts, I say.(CWM 7:269)

But someting as definitely canged in te

world, as te Moter stated on 8t February 1973,

just tree monts before se stopped meeting

people, wen se invited some teacers of te

Ashram school to nd their psychic being and

to be united wit it. Se said:

1 Quotations are taken mainly from Collected Works of te Moter (CWM) and Sri Aurobindo Birt Centenary Library

(SABCL). Sri Aurobindos and Moters words are always in italics. Many tanks to A.S. Dalal for is compilation The

Psychic Beingwic was a starter for tis essay and a source for many quotations

In the light of Sri Aurobindos and Mothers philosophy,

and the words of some people who experienced it unexpectedly1

Alain Grandcolas


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RITAM 7

Usually, it takes a whole life, or sometimes, for

some people, it takes several lives. Here, in the

present conditions, it can be done in several

months.

(CWM 12:428)

An investigation into te subject as been

undertaken, by interviewing 37 people, 28

of wom ave been selected on account of

te psycic sweetness tey radiate. 15 of te

interviewees were identified as aving te

knowledge of teir psycic being. For 3 of tem

te knowledge ad always been tere, for 12

of tem te knowledge came troug a sudden

experience. Te initial awareness lasted from

some ours to a few days or monts. Ten itdisappeared and, for many, it came back several

times, for a certain period, no longer in a dramatic

way but in a soft and gradual manner. Ten it

could be easily recognised since te taste of te

psycic being was already known.

One assumption is tat tese new conditions

mentioned by te Moter ave been triggered

by te descent of te supramental manifestation

on 29 February 1956. Te Moter stated tat ontat evening, te supramental consciousness and

force and ligt descended into te eart. One year

later, she commemorated the rst anniversary

of tat event by saying: A new world has been

born. We wonder if one feature of te coming

new world may peraps be an acceleration of te

blossoming of te psycic being and its bursting

troug te veil, even witout a sustained effort

in tis life. Te results of tis very limited survey

seem to illustrate tis statement.

In the rst section an attempt is made to describe

several pases in te awareness of te psycic

being. Te second section describes wat as

appened to several interviewees at te moment

tey suddenly became aware of teir psycic

being. A tird section describes wat remained

wit tem afterwards. Te fourt section will

give some consolidated results of te small

survey wic as been conducted on te sudden

bursting of te veil for twelve people. A last

section igligts some metods recommended

for nding the psychic being.

I. HOW DO WE BECOME AWARE OF

THE PSYCHIC BEING?

For te clarity of te survey, it may be stated tat

tree levels of knowledge of te psycic being

are distinguised. It may manifest troug an

inuence, through a sudden identication, or just

as a touc. Sri Aurobindo writes:

The psychic being emerges slowly in most men,

even after taking up sadhana .One has to wait

till the necessary process has gone far enough

before it can burst its agelong veiland come in

front to control the nature [empasis added].

(SABCL 24:1098)

I.1. Usually the psychic being is felt as a

presence and an inuence.

In every one, even at the very beginning, this

spiritual presence is there.

(CWM 9:339)

In most people, te psycic being manifests itself

as an inuence, a presence in the heart region,

more or less living according to te aspiration, te

concentration and te rejection of te movements

wic contradict its expression witin oneself. Itsaction is felt indirectly.

Anybody concerned wit spiritual life perceives,

in tat region, some inner indication. Tose wo

are following Sri Aurobindos and te Moters

inner discipline will learn to give more importance

Note: Te survey refers to a Visitor, an Asramite or an Aurovilian, a status tey ad at te time of te appening.

An individual may be referred to as a Visitor, in spite of now being an Asramite. Te narration of most of te

experiences as been approved by te people concerned.


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8 December 2008

to tat presence, wic will grow in teir inner

consciousness and wic will more and more

become a reference point for all teir actions, all

teir tougts, an indication of psycic approval

or disapproval of some beaviour.

For some, te psycic presence is so living

tat tey may wonder weter tey know teir

psycic being or not. At tis juncture, te answer

from te Moter is clear:

There are people who come and ask you: Am

I conscious of my psychic being? One can tell

them: This itself is the proof that you are not

because if you are, you can no longer ask this.

(CWM 6:366)

I.2. To know ones psychic being is usually

the result of a sudden and unexpected

happening.

As te Moter describes it:

We do not reach it little by little; it is not through

a little constant and regular effort. It is something

which arrives suddenly. It establishes itselfwithout knowing how, without knowing why, but

everything is changed. It cannot be expressed

because as soon as we try to explain with words,

it escapes you.

Te sudden experience of te psycic being is in

anoter dimension. Some features may be ineffable

because tere is no point of recognition as one

sadak puts it. It can be translated into words, but

only tose wo ave experienced it, wo avetasted it, may understand te description.

A visitor to te Asram will compare tis sudden

event to the ssure of an atom, in order to express

in an image tat someting unknown and very

powerful was idden under some surface lid. In

a similar way pysicists were in contact wit te

atom for a long time witout being aware tat

atomic energy existed. One day there was a ssion

of te atom, someting sudden, very powerful andemitting an energy of a different nature.

Te next section will narrate wat as appened

to some of te twelve persons wo ave described

tat sudden experience after wic tey state:

Now I know my psycic being. Te features of

te bursting are often very different, except for

two wic are common: a very deep untriggered

and unexpected joy, and te certitude of aving

come to know te psycic being.

I.3. A sudde n experienc e may also be

the result of touching some parts of

the being which are under a psychic

inuence, but it is not yet a contact with

the soul.

Some readers may wonder weter te intervieweenarrates a true contact wit te psycic being

or weter it is an experience of te inner

consciousness (inner pysical, inner vital, inner

mental) or an experience of te iger (spiritual)

consciousness. Tis question is valid, and it

explains wy tree of te interviewees wo ave

experienced some bursting wic tey link wit

an identication with their psychic being have

not been retained as a contact wit te psycic

being.

Te Moter comments on tis matter:

Very often, when one touches certain parts of the

mind which are under the psychic inuence and

full of light and the joy of that light, or when one

touches certain very pure and very high parts of

the emotive being which has the most generous,

most unselsh emotions, one has the impression

of being in contact with ones soul. But this is notthe true soul, it is not the soul in its very essence.

These are parts of the being under its inuence

and manifesting something of it. So very often

people enter into contact with these parts and this

gives them illuminations, great joy, revelations

and they feel they have found their soul... and

then it gets veiled and one wonders: How is it

that I touched my soul and now have fallen back

into that state of ignorance and inconscience?

But thats because one had not touched ones soul,one had touched those parts of the being which


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RITAM 9

are under the inuence of the soul and manifest

something of it.

(CWM 7:259)

It has to be noted that an identication with ones

psycic being is also usually followed by a loss

of tis contact:

It is quite a common phenomenon ... One may not

have the power of keeping it all the time, but one

can get it at will.

(CWM 6:33)

In analysing te contents of te interviews, some

errors of appreciation on te quality of te contact

wit te psycic being may ave occurred, butit is felt tat tey sould not alter te overall

observations of tis essay.

II. WHAT HAPPENS AT THAT INSTANT

WHEN THE PSYCHIC BEING BURSTS

SUDDENLY OUT OF ITS VEIL?

Anybody wo experiences a sudden contact wit

is psycic being as a personal, clear and living

memory of tat event.

This is an absolutely tangible experience,

something more concrete that the most concrete

object, more concrete than a blow on your head,

something more real than anything whatever

When people ask me how one may know whether

he is in contact with his psychic being it makes

me laugh; when it happens to you you can no

longer ask any questions.

(CWM 7:194)

II.1 One of the two common features for all

these sudden events is that it triggers

always a sudden great joy without

external cause

An Asramite wo was going to be operated on

experienced suddenly wat e perceived as te

opening of is psycic being; it was accompanied

by a joy of an intensity e ad never experiencedin is life. A lady in Europe wo was delivering

her rst child will speak of an explosion of joy,

a bursting of love and joy, witout cause, in

spite of te pain of te delivery. A visitor in te

Asram wo was reading a letter of Sri Aurobindo

suddenly experienced an identication lling the

wole body wit a great and pure joy.

All tese descriptions of te joy are part of a

global experience which has been identied as a

total or partial contact. Te Moter will describe

tis event:

It is an experience that gives a very concrete joy;

at the moment of identication onetruly feels a

very, very great joy.

(CWM 6:33)

Sri Aurobindo will even go furter:

It is true that nothing can give so much happiness

and joy.

(SABCL 24:1098)

II.2 The second common feature of this

sudden identication is that it brings

the certitude of knowing ones psychicbeing.

For two Asramites and one visitor, it was

immediately clear tat tey ad contacted

teir psycic being and could now state tat

tey know teir psycic being. For six

oter interviewees, teir intellectual knowledge

of te concept of te psycic being was not

sufficient and tey could not recognise it

immediately. One visitor to te Asram wasquite surprised by te experience since it

did not correspond to watever e ad read

on te psycic being before, no dazzling

ligt (e did not see any ligt) nor any

reversal of consciousness (tere was te

awareness of a new being, but no reversal!).

A European person who had just nished reading

The Adventure of Consciousness by Satprem

ad tat experience after wic e knew is

eart. It was quite concrete. It was sometinghe cannot dene: I know that I know it. Later


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10 December 2008

on, e learned tat it was is psycic being.

Anoter lady in Europe could not recognise it

since se did not know of te existence of any

suc ting.

Amongst the fteen people who stated that they

know teir psycic being, for twelve of tem te

knowledge came after a sudden identication.

Tree of tem stated tey ave always been

conscious of teir psycic being and tey

became aware of tis fact wen tey read about

it:. One Indian visitor mentioned tat wen se

read about te psycic being, it was clear for er

tat it ad been always present and is always

tere. A foreigner wo came and stayed some

time in te Asram mentioned to te Moter tatfor er tat knowledge ad always been tere;

the Mother conrmed to her that it is true that

se ad never lost te psycic knowledge tat

se ad as a cild, a rare feat. An Asramite wo

came to Pondicerry wit er parents and was

brougt up in te Asram scool at te time te

Moter was closely supervising it, stated tat

er knowledge of te psycic being as always

been tere.

Several oter people are well aware of teir

psychic as an inuence but will answer negatively

wen asked if tey know teir psycic being.

II.3 The experience often brings the awareness

that the individual harbours something

immortal in him.

In fact, te living awareness tat our true self is

immortal and cannot die, is a sign of te qualityof te experience. Te Moter will say on 9 April

1958:

One has the feeling of having always been and of

being for eternity. That is when one has touched

the core of the soul.

(CWM 9:310)

A guest wo discovered is psycic being during

tat sudden appening states te irrefutableknowledge tat tis psycic being as always

been and precedes te birt of tis body. It

will always be and will not die wit tis body.

Nobody can ever dismiss tis certitude.

Te Asramite wo was preparing imself for

a surgery was afraid of te coming bypass,

but after te emergence e ad te strong

feeling tat is body was te robe of is eternal

psycic being and e was no longer afraid of

te operation. For tat future Aurovilian, deat

was no longer a concern. For tat visitor e

ad te feeling of aving always been and of

being always.

Very simply, te Moter will say:

The moment you are in contact with your psychic

being, you have the feeling of immortality,

of having always been and being always,

eternally.

(CWM 5:316)

The certitude of immortality, the concrete

experience that you have always lived and always

shall live, that external forms alone perish and

that these forms are, in relation to what you arein reality, like clothes that are thrown away when

worn out.

(CWM 12:35)

Tis feeling is so well described troug king

Aswapatis experience in Savitri.

He feels his substance of undying self

And loses his kinship to mortality.

(Savitrip. 23)

and also in Savitris own experience :

A being stood immortal in transience

Deathless dallying with momentary things.

(Savitrip. 526)

II.4 At the time of the bursting, some people

have the experience of becoming aware

of their true being


14/35

RITAM 11

On July 1st 1970, te Moter will see wit open

eyes, te psycic being of Rijuta, an American

sadika. Se said:

It was clearly a being which was neither man

nor woman, having the combined characteristics

of both.

(CWM 11:238)

Yes, a being, which will be dened by the Mother

on 11.6.1958 as:

an organised entity, fully conscious of itself,

independent and having the power of asserting

itself and ruling the rest of the nature.

(CWM 9:339)

One visitor will say, wen e became aware of is

psycic being, tat e discovered tat tis being

was in fact imself, is real I. he started to talk in

te tird person, e, instead of using I, since te

one wo was speaking was te envelope of wat

he had identied as himself, the newly discovered

being. A Parisian lady, wo ardly knew about Sri

Aurobindo and te Moter knew wit certainty

tat er pysical body was not erself.

It is interesting to note ow Sri Aurobindo

describes te moment wen Savitri discovers er

soul, in Book Seven, Canto Five Te Finding of

the Soul. The rst section nishes with the line:

There suddenly she met her secret soul.

Te poem pauses wit one blank line and resumes

wit solemnity in te next line:

A being stood immortal in transience.

(Savitrip.526)

II.5 For several people, the bursting includes

the appearance or even a rushing-in of a

strong light.

Ligt is one of te spiritual experiences wic is

triggered by a descent, but it is also triggered byte bursting of te psycic.

An inner door will suddenly open and you will

emerge into a dazzling splendour.

(CWM 12: p.35)

An Aurovi l ian describes an ocean of

ligt, anoter saw a wite ligt wic was

owing everywhere, a third one describes a

strong wite ligt at te level of te eart.

An Asramite saw a red flame, as big as a

tumb, witin is eart, wic went towards

Sri Aurobindo and Moters potos, wic were

in full white light before him. But the ame

did not remain wit tem and came back to is

eart.

II.6 There may also be a sudden awarenessthat one has always been guided (by the

psychic or by the Mother or by something

undened.)

One Aurovilian said tat since tat time, e

as ad te feeling tat e as always been

guided, tat everyting is arranged. Anoter

Aurovilian will feel tat tere is a tread wit

an origin long before and tat te psycic being

is directing in spite of all obstacles. A visitorwill feel tat te psycic being indicates tat it

as always been tere to overlook circumstances

and noting can appen in te future witout its

sanction.

A visitor stated wit conviction tat te Moter

and his psychic being are one. It is conrmed by

tese words by Sri Aurobindo:

There is within you a psychic being which isdivine, directly a part of the Mother.

(SABCL 23:907)

Neverteless, it is wortwile noting tat,

during te time of te experience, few people

made an identication between the Mother of the

Sri Aurobindo Asram and teir psycic being.

II.7 There is also the feeling and certitude

that our psychic being cannot be touchedby hostile forces.


15/35

12 December 2008

A visitor wo became aware of is psycic being

inside imself suddenly got te strong conviction

tat ostile forces cannot touc tis being and

cannot inuence him as long as he has his psychic

being as a reference. This feeling is conrmed by

Sri Aurobindo wo writes:

[The psychic being] is the only part that cannot

be touched by the hostile forces and their

suggestions.

(SABCL 24:1098)

A person united wit is psycic being is, says

te Moter:

Almost if not totally free from external inuences;for, being conscious, when these influences

come, he sees them: those that seem to him

to harmonise with his inner development and

normal growth he accepts; those which are

opposed he refuses.

(CWM 6:108)

II.8 Often, it creates an increased conscious-

ness and awareness.

A visi tor wil l speak of an increased

consciousness, a feeling tat te purpose of life

is tis consciousness. Tis acute consciousness

makes everyting become more concrete and

living. An asramite will speak of a truer and

more vivid consciousness: e saw te world in

different way. Everyting ad a luminous glow

in it. Everyting was conscious and alive. he ad

a different relationsip wit all tings: uman

beings, animals and even plants.

his experience reminds us of wat te

Moter wrote for te February 1952 Bulletin

of te Sri Aurobindo International Centre of

Education:

What seemed inert suddenly becomes full of

life, stones quicken, plants feel and will and

suffer, animal speaks in a language more or less

inarticulate, but clear and expressive; everythingis animated by a marvellous consciousness

without time and limit. And this is only one aspect

of the psychic realisation.

(CWM 12:33)

II.9 Some powerful sensations are also

mentioned, varying from one person to

the other.

Wile describing te bursting of teir psycic

being, most will put te empasis on one or two

additional strong feelings or sensations wic are

often still vivid in teir memory.

For some it was a feeling of ricness wic

remained for some time, for tat visitor a feeling

of plenitude, for tat lady delivering a cild avery intense emotional moment and at te same

time a great stillness, it was bot togeter.

Several of tese attributes are interestingly

gatered togeter by te Moter in te following

description se gave on 9 April 1958 wile

describing te soul:

Something warm, quiet, rich in substance and

very still and very full, like a sweetness thatis the soul. A kind of plenitude which gives the

feeling of something complete.

(CWM 9:310)

Te word sweetness is added by te Moter

and it is true tat in all te people wo ave

been met who had this contact, a denite psychic

sweetness is now underlying teir general

beaviour.

II.10 A sudden contact with the psychic

being is one of the rare intense spiritual

experiences which may happen with open

eyes, in the midst of some activity.

Tis experience occurs wile alone or interacting

wit people, wit open eyes as well as closed

eyes, and will not disappear wen eyes are

being open. Usually, spiritual experiences are

characterised by a denite spiritual change inconsciousness, a specic sensation within the


16/35

RITAM 13

body (peace, force, waves, current, electricity)

and/or a vision. As soon as te experiencer

moves, opens is eyes, returns outward, it

vanises quickly, wic is not te case wit te

psycic experience.

In our survey more tan alf of te sudden

emergences appened wit open eyes, sometimes

in te presence of oter people quite unaware of

te intense experience taking place. One moter

described tat se was delivering er cild, an

Asramite was feeling te tumb of a respected

person on is foreead, a visitor was alone

but reading a letter of Sri Aurobindo, a young

American visitor was receiving a erce look from

te Moter into is eart: her left eye appearedto begin to spin around as if it were a drill, and

se bored down into my deepest eart rigt down

to te level of my cest; one time, two times and

te tird time te obstruction ripped open. her

consciousness went rigt into my eart centre and

opened it. (Darshan, p.48)

III WHAT REMA INS AFTE R THE

SUDDEN EXPERIENCE OF THE

CONTACT WITH THE PSYCHICBEING?

Wenever somebody experiences a sudden

contact, e always as te feeling, at tat time,

tat te new state is permanent.

But it is difcult for a human being to keep up

a constant contact with his psychic. As soon as

he settles down and the freshness of the new

experience fades away, the old person comes backto the surface with all its habits, preferences, small

manias, shortcomings and misunderstandings,

(CWM 12:45)

Experience teaces us it is not permanent, tat

it may witdraw after a time wic may depend

on te initial intensity but also on our ability to

keep it.

Tat is wy it is very important to know tefragility of tis new state of being so tat, wen

it appens, proper steps are taken to nurture it as

long as possible and get te maximum psycic

nourisment. One visitor mentioned tat e

narrated in a diary is sensations and feelings

during te time tat te psycic was fully living,

and te description is ric and quite evocative.

It as elped, at a later stage, to relive its

vibration and some of te feelings and sensations

experienced during tat moment. Anoter

remembers tat tis state seems so normal at tat

time tat one does not tink it anyting strange

to write about! he was also wondering if tere

is not a risk of mentalising te experience and

tus diluting it.

III.1 How long did this experience remainedliving? How did it vanish?

More specically, how long does this experience

carry with it its own reality and force? (CWM

12:31) Wat is te duration of te various

sensations and feelings?

In an interesting manner, te consciousness

of te new psycic presence may last some

minutes, some ours, some days, some montsand even tree years for one of te people

interviewed, before getting clouded, (but it never

disappeared entirely). After te experience,

one usually lives wit it in a permanent manner

up to the time, one ne morning, we discover

tat it is not living any longer and we ave to

make a conscious concentration to become aware

of it.

A visitor to te Asram as spoken of severalemergences and dispersions on te same day,

feeling ow is ego was mentalising and

responsible for clouding it, but te original

sensation came back often. On te following

days, it was still a game of ide and seek, but less

living, up to te time it vanised.

A man living in Europe kept te experience quite

fres during tree to four days, in te midst of

multiple activities, including a football matc,te best of my life, in wic, instead of running


17/35

14 December 2008

after te ball, it was te ball wic was coming

to me!

For an Asramite, wo ad been prepared by

some spiritual discipline, te awareness of te

new state of being lasted several monts. Peace

emanated from im and was felt around and

reported to im. he tougt it would always

last but it faded gradually. One day, e became

unexpectedly aware tat it ad witdrawn. he

attributed it to a aw in his own sadhana, which

may also be a subjective explanation. But for

sure, e may still be able to connect wit it at will.

An elderly Asramite will even tell tat te

contact as taken place 100 times. Considering

the content of the meeting, we denitely believeim!

In all these cases, it is difcult to tell if it was

te circumstances wic were to be blamed

for te loss of te psycic consciousness, or if

te psycic consciousness was destined to fade

sooner or later.

III.2 Once the psychic nature is known, one

is in a better position to differentiatepsychic perceptions and vital/emotional

feelings.

Once a contact as been establised, once

te veil as been pierced, even sligtly, once

te taste of te psycic is known, it is always

possible, at will, witin some seconds, to feel

again that presence, that inuence, the quality

of tat vibration, te nature of tat substance.

One as gained a pretty sure way to recognisethe psychic inuence.

For a certain Aurovilian, te psycic as become

a permanent reference point. For one asramite, it

can be recognized since it as a different nature.

It can no longer be confused wit anyting else.

Tis perception as been expressed by several

oter people.

If one among you has had the experience, heknows in this way what comes from the Divine,

and necessarily he knows perforce all that

does not... It is only after this experience that one

knows, not before

(CWM 6:131-132)

III.3 After the identication, some are aware

of a reversal of consciousness

After a psycic contact, some people become

aware of a sudden reversal of consciousness. It

as to be noted tat suc a reversal may also be

triggered by some oter spiritual experiences.

Those who have experienced this reversal know

what I am speaking about; but if one hasnt, one

cant understand. (CWM 8:172)

Tis is wy we sall not try to describe it. Several

people ave acknowledged teir failed attempts

to sare te reversal of consciousness brougt

about by teir psycic experience. Unless it as

been tasted, it cannot be recognised.

An Aurovilian stated tat in 1972, e ad te

Moters darsan, and at te time of leaving, seopened er eyes and suddenly everyting turned

over. Anoter Aurovilian wo as experienced

tis reversal of consciousness explains it by

te fact tat life is being seen wit some oter

reference points.

III.4 The new knowledge and perception that

some part of us is immortal remains

permanent for most people.

Even if te living contact wit te psycic being

vanises, te perception of te immortality of tis

someting else remains wit everybody wo

as experienced it. Te relation wit deat as

canged. Te fear of deat is no longer tere.

One visitor in te Asram, some days after

suc a psycic experience, came down wit

a high unidentied fever. The Ashram doctor

was alarmed and te Moter was informed.Te visitor felt tat is consciousness was


18/35

RITAM 15

witdrawing from is legs and arms, starting

from teir extremities, as if deat were invading

te body, going towards te eart. Wit interest

and even curiosity, and witout te least fear, e

remained concentrated in is living psycic being

wic, e knew, cannot die. he was wondering

wat would appen wen te numbness/deat

would reac is soul, wic cannot become

numb. But e lost consciousness. An our

later, e awakened. Tis experience illustrates

te vividness of tis sense of immortality and

its power, since e was in a position to look at

Deat as a witness.

Tere was an Asramite wo was fearful of a

life-endangering eart surgery, but e was nolonger worried after e got a contact wit is

psycic being and could ten go undisturbed to

te operating teatre.

III.5 A state of happiness without cause may

also remain quite long.

One sadak comments, During te period of

awareness of ones psycic being, wen one

is so full of appiness, we make very littlepersonal effort for progress since everyting is so

spontaneously beautiful. We accept any adverse

circumstance without ghting since such things

become secondary: noting really matters. he

considers tat it is Te Moter wo gives us

suc an effortless state of appiness to sow ow

beautiful life could be, and ten se witdraws

te experience so tat we can start te work of

transformation consciously.

An Aurovilian, during tat living psycic period,

was aware of a constant state of appiness, from

te time e awoke in te morning (kissing is

pillow to say tank you to te new day to come!).

Every our, e would remember ow appy e

was to reside in Auroville ... up to an overnigt

witdrawal!

III.6 There is the feeling that whatever we

experience is quite natural and must alsobe felt by those around us.

Tis is anoter unique feature of te psycic

experience. As long as te experience is living,

te one undergoing te experience feels tat

many people around im must ave or sare te

same feelings, must be experiencing te same

ting and be living wit it. It is as if we are close

to a tree with a lot of jasmine owers and we

breate teir perfume: we are convinced tat

oters also smell te same fragrance, altoug

tey do not.

In te same manner, wen we are in contact wit

our psycic being, wenever we meet somebody

wit some psycic sweetness, we tink tat e

is also living wit te inner perception of is

psycic being. Suc a feeling as been expressedby two visitors and one Asramite.

III.7 After that contact, does life become a

sunlit path?

Wit te new awareness, te new feelings and

sensations, everyting seems to contribute to

te transformation of our lives, so tat we get a

lasting state of joy. As seen from te beginning

of tis essay, it is partly true tat life may or maynot become a sunlit pat, but in any case life is

no longer te same.

Te Moter tells us tat we can know tat te

psycic is tere :

when one feels better within oneself, when

one is full of light, hope, goodwill, generosity,

compassion for the world, and sees life as a

eld of action, progress, realisation. Doesnt itmake a difference from the days when one is

bored, grumbling, when everything seems ugly,

unpleasant, wicked, when one loves nobody,

wants to break everything, gets angry, feels ill at

ease, without strength, without energy, without

any joy?

(CWM 6:6)

Does tis mean tat life as become a sunlit pat?

Not quite, since anoter feature of tis awakeningmust also be igligted.


19/35

16 December 2008

The more psychic one is, the more he is in

contradiction with the present state of the world ....

The development of the psychic being has a double

result, which is concomitant. That is, with the

development of the psychic being, the sensitivity

of the being grows. And with the growth of

sensitivity, there is also the growth of the capacity

for suffering; but there is the counterpart, that is,

to the extent to which one is in relation with the

psychic being, one faces the circumstances of life in

an altogether different way and with a kind of inner

freedom which makes one capable of withdrawing

from a circumstance and not feeling the shock in

the ordinary way. You can face the difculty of

outer things with calm, peace and a sufcient inner

knowledge not to be troubled. (CWM 7:21)

III.8 After that experience, does one become

a holy person?

Te above talk from te Moter gives te

answer! Te bursting of te psycic being is

a denite landmark in spiritual progress, but

all te cellular residues are still quite present

and living. Ones actions and reactions are stillvery often governed by instinct. Te psycic

presence is not permanent, even toug tere

is te possibility at any moment to feel it again

sometimes too late, after we ave reacted!

Actions and reactions take place before te

psycic being is consulted.

Even sometimes te being willingly follows te

ordinary nature rater tan te psycic indication.

For tose wo do not know teir psycic being,tis may look like a sacrilege or a waste of te

grace wic as been received. But tose wo

have tasted it, know how difcult it is to remain

constantly witin te psycic vibration.

III.9 How is a lost contact with the psychic

being renewed: as a bursting forth, or

progressively?

We ave not met (yet) anybody wo underwenttwo burstings! If we refer again to te image of

an egg atcing, it seems as if te sell can be

broken only once.

Te psycic being may ave come back in front

from time to time but no longer suddenly. It

as come back in a manner wic was neiter

perceivable nor dramatic and in suc a way tat

one discovers, one day, tat te psycic is again

quite present. In te same manner, we usually

discover one morning tat te psycic as

become less living.

An Aurovilian, wile concentrating on Sri

Aurobindo, became aware tat te psycic

presence ad come back. Since tat time, tat

is a period of eigt monts at te time of teinterview, te presence did not leave er.

A visitor wo experienced a sudden bursting of

is psycic being on January 2nd 1968, lost it

gradually but, lacking te proper knowledge, did

not identify ow it went away witin some monts.

he entered again, gradually, into te living psycic

presence on 9t September 1973; it lasted eigt

monts, up to 30t April 1974, on wic date e

did someting wic contradicted tis psycicpresence: te next morning it ad gone. Quite a

long time later, in December 2001, e discovered

one morning wile cycling tat te contact wit

te psycic being was again tere, but e lost it on

Marc 25t 2002 after a violent verbal abuse wic

sook is wole body: next morning, te living

awareness and plenitude ad vanised. Tese

dates are given to illustrate te fact tat te living

awareness of te psycic being is quite concrete:

it exists or it does not. Wat is permanent is tecapacity to contact it at will for reference.

IV. SO ME STATI ST IC S ON THE

SURVEY

Among tirty-seven people wit wom tis matter

was discussed, it as been found tat twelve of

tem came to know teir psycic being after a

sudden bursting of te veil an experience wic

can be differentiated from a psycicised igeremotion. Tere was no prepared questionnaire


20/35

RITAM 17

but an open discussion. In spite of te limited

number of elements wic ave been produced,

it is possible to start to gater some features on

te bursting. According to te response to tis

essay, more meetings may take place and enric

te survey.

A. Features of the bursting

1.A sudden happening: all te 12 interviewees

could describe wit precision te circumstances,

place and time wen it occurred.

2. A great joy without cause: all te 12

interviewees ave described tis joy: maximum,

intense, overwelming, a bursting of joy, anexplosion of joy.

3. A ow of light: 4 interviewees out of 15 ave

seen muc wite ligt, a strong wite ligt, a red

ligt, an ocean of ligt.

4. A knowledge of something immortal within

oneself: 6 interviewees ave mentioned te new

knowledge and certitude of someting immortal

in tem.

5. A new individual entity within oneself: 4

people ave mentioned tatte psycic being as

been perceived as an individual entity, distinct

from te body.

6. Other sensations describedby more tan one

person were: an outstandingpeace, love, ricness,

plenitude, an increased consciousness, a feeling

of te divine in plants.

B. After-effects of the bursting

1. Disappearance: For most of te people

interviewed it was difcult to explain what has

appened between te bursting wic brougt a

psycic awareness and te moment wen tey

suddenly became aware it ad gone. From tose

wo were aware of reasons for te disappearance,

details were not asked altoug it is now felttat more could be sared.

2. The psychic area becomes a permanent

reference point: Even if te permanent

awareness of te psycic being as gone, it

is always possible to connect, at will, to te

psycic area wic as a special vibration. Six

interviewees mentioned tat tis area as become

a permanent point of reference.

3. Discrimination between emotional and

psychic feelings becomes easier: Tis was

mentioned by 6 people wo ave tasted te

psycic vibration.

4. Circumstances are arranging themselves:

tis was mentioned by 3 people

5. Sense of Immortality still alive? Yes for 6

persons.

Tis part of te interviews as been weak. Te

ve above features should have been presented

for appraisal and feed-back, but at tat time

it was not yet known wat would be relevant.

Some oter features ave been indicated ere

and tere, one or two times. Tis can be done

if it is decided to enric tis initial survey.For te next paragrap, information on te

circumstances of te bursting was easier to

gater, altoug tese ave not been collected

in an organised manner.

C. Circumstances of the bursting

1. In which year?: In te sixties (3), in te

seventies (2), in te eigties (2), in te nineties

(1), after 2000 (1). To be noted: 5 burstings outof 8 appened between 1965 and 1973.

2. At what age? Below 20(0), below 30 (5),

below 40 (3), below 50 (0), below 60 (1). It is

oped tat tis article will not trow people above

forty into a depression!

3. Contact with Sri Aurobindos and Mothers

writings beforehand? Yes (10). 7 out of 15 ad

seen te Moter before, 2 persons knew only teir

names, 1 person did not know Sri Aurobindos


21/35

18 December 2008

name (two weeks later e sees The Life Divine in a

booksop and purcases it because of te title!)

4. Inner discipline before the bursting: Serious

inner discipline (7), some spiritual discipline

(2), no discipline but a psycoterapy (1). Te

bursting is not limited to people wo ave done

a concentrated sadana. It as also appened to

people wo ave been taken by surprise and did

not know anyting about it, weter tey knew

te Moter and Sri Aurobindo or not.

5. Yearning for something else: A little for

one, very muc for all te oters. All te people

wo experienced te bursting were yearning for

someting else, were strongly aspiring for it,often witout knowing wat tey were aspiring

for.

6. In which psychological state? Only 2 were

in a depressed mood.

7. Being alone or in company: Alone (5), not

alone (3), wit te Moter (1). Not asked (3).

8. Where did it happen? In teir reading-room(2); just lying on te bed (1); in te Moters room

(1); on the operation theatre (1); in an ofce with

people (1); outside in nature wile meditating

(1); outside on a boulevard wile walking (1).

No places are privileged.

9. While doing what? Meditating (2);

doing pranayama (1); looking into te Moters

eyes (1); reading a letter of Sri Aurobindo

(1); musing on ones bed (1); lying almost

unconscious on ones bed (1); standing in

front of a revered person (1); delivering a

cild (1); walking in a boulevard (1): a total

kaleidoscope of situations. Altoug meditation

may be a useful tool, only one was engaged in

an organised meditation.

10. Any signs announcing this happening,

which was for everybody (one of) the most

important moment(s) of their life? Forerunnersigns have not been identied, if any. In other

words, any aspirant is a potential candidate for

te crack of te sell wic allows te psycic

being to come out.

11. More Indians or more foreigners? Among

te 12 people wo spoke of teir psycic bursting,

8 were foreigners and 4 were Indians. Among te

3 persons wo did not lose te psycic contact

since teir cildood, 2 were Indians and 1 a

foreigner. Among te 37 interviewees, 21 were

foreigners and 16 were Indians.

V. METHOD / PROCESS TO INITIATE

THE BURSTING OF THE PSYCHIC

BEING

At te end of tis study, is it possible torecommend any method / process to nd ones

psycic being, to identify wit it?

In The Science of Living, publised in 1950,

referring to the psychic being, the Mother denes

some gradation in te knowledge of te psycic

being, as four pases.

It is... of capital importance:

- to become conscious of its presence in us,- to concentrate on this presence,

- until it becomes a living fact for us,

- and we can identify ourselves with it.

(CWM 12:4)

Identication is the last phase.

We do not reach it little by little, it is not through

a little constant and regular effort. It is something

which arrives suddenly.

By wic metod can we experience it?

In various times and places many methods have

been prescribed for attaining this perception and

ultimately achieving this identication. Some

methods are psychological, some religious, some

even mechanical. In reality, everyone has to nd

the one which suits him best, and if one has an

ardent and steadfast aspiration, a persistent anddynamic will, one is sure to meet, in one way or


22/35

RITAM 19

another outwardly through reading and study,

inwardly through concentration, meditation,

revelation and experience the help one needs

to reach the goal.

(CWM 12:4).

In fact te Moter igligts two common

psycological conditions, aspiration and will, and

considers tat te inner or outer tools are many

and each one must nd those tools which are the

most appropriate.

V.1 Practice of concentration is a basic tool

Sri Aurobindo wrote to somebody:

The rst necessity is the practice of concentration

of your consciousness within yourself ... The

concentration in the heart opens within and by

following this inward opening and going deep one

becomes aware of the soul or psychic being.

(SABCL No 23:517)

Anoter person received te following letter:

It is by concentration of whatever kindand theexperiences it brings that one opens and becomes

aware within and the new consciousness and

nature begins to grow and come out.

(SABCL No 23:907)

During one of te evening gaterings wit

te disciples, te Moter gives one practical

metod:

For those who have the power of concentratingwith images, they have one more facility. To sit

in meditation before a closed door, as though it

were a heavy door of bronze... and to pass to the

other side; the whole concentration, the whole

aspiration is gathered into a beam and pushes,

pushes, pushes against this door, and pushes

more and more with an increasing energy until

all of a sudden it bursts open and one enters. It

makes a very powerful impression. And so one

is as though plunged into the light and then onehas the full enjoyment of a sudden and radical

change of consciousness, with an illumination

that captures one entirely, and the feeling that

one is becoming another person. This is a very

concrete and very powerful way of entering into

contact with ones psychic being.

(CWM 7:268)

V.2 A strong craving for contact is a basic

psychological feature

Among te prime conditions tat elp to

discover ones psycic, it seems tat a strong

yearning, a strong aspiration is a very great

elp. Among all te people wo participated

in te above survey and spoke of teir sudden

psycic experience, all of tem ad a strongaspiration, as if it sucked te psycic being out

of its sell. It may also be said tat it makes it

grow and is a call to it wic accelerates te

moment wen it bursts.

Te Moter empasizes tis condition several

times. For example, on 8 June 1955:

If one intensies his aspiration, there is a moment

when the pressure is so great and the intensity ofthe question so strong that something turns over

in the consciousness.

(CWM No 7:193-94)

Also on 6 October, 1969:

To become conscious of the psychic being one

must want to do so, make ones mind as silent as

possible, and enter deep into the heart of ones

being, beyond sensations and thoughts. One mustform the habit of silent concentration and descent

into the depths of ones being.

(CWM 16:399)

V.3 Scrupulously following any psychic

indication received is a basic step in that

direction

According to Sri Aurobindo, in a letter to Dilip

Kumar Roy:


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20 December 2008

This divine element in all living beings grows

in the consciousness by Godward experience,

gaining strength every time there is a higher

movement in us, and, nally, by the accumulation

of these deeper and higher movements, there is

developed a psychic individuality that which

we call usually the psychic being.

(SABCL 22:288).

In te same vein, an Aurovilian, speaking of

te psycic being, as made te analogy wit a

muscle wic develops wit te practice. In te

same manner, te psycic grows wenever tere

is a psycic movement.

Tis idea is corroborated by te Moter wense writes:

In order to strengthen the contact and aid, if

possible, the development of the conscious

psychic personality one should take great care,

each time one receives an indication from it, to

follow it very scrupulously and sincerely

(CWM 16:22)

V.4 Any other process / method?

Sri Aurobindo and te Moter ave basically

igligted tree metods: te practice of some

concentration, a development of te aspiration,

and an active obedience to indications received

from te psycic.

One Asramite as organised some one-week

residential worksops, witout leaving te

campus. Te focus on te psycic being was

outstanding, te teacing included some practical

exercises, te feeling of te psycic presence and

te aspiration for it must ave increased witin

eac participant, as well as some knowledge

to identify it. Unfortunately te return into te

normal life is too abrupt, even aggressive. It

may be advisable, during te second part of te

worksop, to return for some ours into ones

social and working environment in order to learn

ow to keep te concentration on te psycicspace in te midst of normal life.

EPILOGUE

A wider survey would certainly confirm but

also peraps contradict some of te remarks

and statements given above. Some readers may

like to sare teir own bursting experience, or

may ave reservations about certain statements,

or may like to add some additional ndings or

comments. Weter tis survey will be continuedand tis essay enlarged depends on te feedback

received from readers. Te writer of tis study

will be glad to answer eac e-mail on te topic

sent to [email protected].

Alain Grandcolas spent 6 years in te Asram and 2 years in Auroville

during te early seventies. he rejoined Auroville in 2000, being now an

executive of te Road Service.


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RITAM 21

Te world is a great game of ide and seek in

wic te real ides beind te apparent, spirit

beind matter. Te apparent masquerades as real,

te real is seen dimly as if it were an unsubstantial

sadow. Te grandeur of te visible universe and

its laws enslaves mens imaginations. Tis is a

migty macine, we cry, but it moves of its

own force and needs neiter guide nor maker;for its motion is eternal. Blinded by a alf trut

we fail to see tat, instead of a macine witout

a maker, tere is really only an existence and

no macine. Te hindus ave many images by

wic tey seek to convey teir knowledge of

te relation between God and te world, but te

idea of the machine does not gure largely among

them. It is a spider and his web, a re with many

sparks, a pool of salt water in wic every particle

is penetrated by te salt. Te world is a wakingdream, an embodied vision, a mass of knowledge

arranged in corporeal appearances expressing

so many ideas wic are eac only a part of one

uncanging trut. Everyting becomes, noting is

made. Everyting is put out from latency, noting

is brougt into existence. Only tat wic was,

can be, not tat wic was not. And tat wic is,

cannot peris; it can only lose itself. All is eternal

in te eternal spirit.

Wat was from of old? Te spirit. Wat is

alone? Te spirit. Wat sall be for ever? Te

spirit. All tat is in Space and Time, is he; and

watever tere may be beyond Space and Time,

tat too is he. Wy sould we tink so? Because

of te eternal and invariable unity wic gives

permanence to te variability of te many.

Te sum of matter never canges by increase

or diminution, altoug its component parts

are continually sifting; so is it wit te sumof energy in te world, so is it wit te spirit.

Matter is only so muc mobile energy vibrating

intensely into form. Energy is only so muc spirit

manifesting te motion tat we call energy. Spirit

is Force, Spirit Existence,matter and energy

are only motions in Spirit. Force and Existence

made one in Bliss, Saccidanandam, tis is te

eternal reality of tings. But tat Force is not

motion, it is Knowledge or Idea. Knowledge is tesource of motion, not motion of knowledge. Te

Spirit terefore is all, It is alone. Idea or Force,

Existence, Bliss are only its triune manifestations,

existence implying idea wic is force, force or

idea implying bliss.

Te Spirit manifest as Intelligence is te basis

of te world. Spirit as existence, Sat, is one; as

Intelligence it multiplies itself witout ceasing

to be one. We see tat tree and say here is amaterial ting; but if we ask ow te tree came

into existence, we ave to say, it grew or evolved

out of te seed. But growt or evolution is only

a term describing te sequence in a process. It

does not explain te origin or account for te

process itself. Wy sould te seed produce a

tree and not some oter form of existence? Te

answer is, because tat is its nature. But wy is

tat its nature? Wy sould it not be its nature to

produce some oter form of existence, or someoter kind of tree? Tat is te law, is te answer.

But wy is it te law? Te only answer is tat

it is so because it is so; tat it appens, wy no

man can say. In reality wen we speak of Law,

we speak of an idea; wen we speak of te nature

of a ting, we speak of an idea. Nowere can

we lay our ands on an object, a visible force, a

discernible momentum and say here is an entity

called Law or Nature. Te seed evolves a tree

because tree is te idea involved in te seed; it isa process of manifestation in form, not a creation.

The Stress of the Hidden Spirit

Sri Aurobindo


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22 December 2008

If tere were no insistent idea, we sould ave

a world of cances and freaks, not a world of

lawtere would be no suc idea as te nature

of tings, if tere were not an originating and

ordering intelligence manifesting a particular idea

in forms. And te form varies, is born, perises;

te idea is eternal. Te form is te manifestation

or appearance, te idea is te trut. Te form is

penomenon, te idea is reality.

Terefore in all tings te hindu tinker sees te

stress of te idden spirit. We see it as Prajna,

te universal Intelligence, conscious in tings

unconscious, active in tings inert.

Te energy of Prajna is wat te Europeans callNature. Te tree does not and cannot sape itself,

te stress of te idden Intelligence sapes it. he

is in te seed of man and in tat little particle of

matter carries abit, caracter, types of emotion

into te unborn cild. Terefore eredity is true;

but if Prajna were not concealed in te seed,

eredity would be false, inexplicable, impossible.

We see te same stress in te mind, eart, body

of man. Because te idden spirit urges imself

on te body, stamps imself on it, expressesimself in it, te body expresses te individuality

of te man, te developing and conscious idea

or varying type wic is myself; terefore no

two faces, no two expressions, no two tumb

impressions even are entirely alike; every part

of te body in some way or oter expresses te

man. Te stress of te spirit sows itself in te

mind and eart; terefore men, families, nations

ave individuality, run into particular abits of

tougt and feeling, terefore also tey are bot

alike and dissimilar. Terefore men act and react,

not only pysically but spiritually, intellectually,

morally on eac oter, because tere is one self in

all creatures expressing itself in various idea and

forms variously suitable to te idea. Te stress of

te idden Spirit expresses itself again in events

and te majestic course of te world. Tis is te

Zeitgeist, tis is te purpose tat runs troug te

process of te centuries, te canges of te suns,

tis is tat wic makes evolution possible and

provides it wit a way, means and a goal. Tis

is he wo from years sempiternal at ordered

perfectly all tings.

Tis is te teacing of te Vedanta as we ave

it in its oldest form in te Upanisads. Adwaita,Visistadwaita, Dwaita are merely various

ways of looking at te relations of te One to

te Many, and none of tem as te rigt to

monopolise te name Vedanta. Adwaita is true,

because te Many are only manifestations of

te One. Visistadwaita is true because ideas

are eternal and aving manifested, must ave

manifested before and will manifest again,te

Many are eternal in te One, only tey are

sometimes manifest and sometimes unmanifest.Dwaita is true, because altoug from one point

of view te One and te Many are eternally and

essentially te same, yet, from anoter, te idea

in its manifestation is eternally different from

te Intelligence in wic it manifests. If Unity is

eternal and uncangeable, duality is persistently

recurrent. Te Spirit is infinite, illimitable,

eternal, and innite, illimitable, eternal is its stress

towards manifestation lling endless space with

innumerable existences.(CWSA 13:64)


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RITAM 23

In Need of Vedic Psychology

Jean-Yves Lung

During a recent seminar on Indian Psycology,

eld at Sri Aurobindos Asram (Pondicerry,

December 2004), several speakers ave presented

teir work as an attempt to validate Indian

psycology by means of Western psycology.

One may wonder wat would remain of it after

tis validating treatment, since te object as well

as te metods of researc are based on verydifferent paradigms, one relying on objective

measurement, te oter on subjective experience,

but if validation tere must be, it will be more

fruitful wen it is mutually done and te process

may as well go te oter way around: Indian

psycology validating te Western one. Only

on te basis of a real sense of mutuality does a

fruitful dialogue become possible. First of all we

must examine te radical difference of paradigm

between te two and ave a clear awareness ofit. Ten we will examine Freuds psycoanalysis

as well as academic psycology and try to

understand tem from te point of view of Vedic

psycology.

Te Western mind as evolved a process of

knowing tat is founded on te analytical

observation of wat appears objectively to te

mind and on processes of rational reasoning about

tem in order to discover teir underlying laws.Te Indian mind as evolved metods for going

beyond appearances and toucing directly te

underlying Real, not by reasoning on its probable

existence, but by experiencing and becoming it:

tat tvam asi(thou art That). The rst implies

a process of separation and objectivisation, te

second a process of unifying awareness and

identity. How can the rst approach validate the

second, wic by its nature eludes so muc its

grasp? It is generally understood tat wat issubjective is not scientic because it cannot be

validated objectively, quantitatively. But lets

look deeper into tis claim: All te Western

sciences ave gradually and inexorably become

more and more specialised and tecnical; in te

process, tey ave developed complex protocols

of research and specic concepts; as a result, only

the specialists of the same eld can understand

eac oter and validate or invalidate eac otersndings. Those who are not specialists can only

trust blindly or assume tat te work as been

done well and tat tey can trust its conclusions,

conclusions tat are never conclusive, as te Real

always escapes te limiting net te mind trows

on it in order to catc it. Terefore Science as

become an object of belief, wose edicts are

warranted by an establishment of the scientic

trut, loaded wit vested interests (position,

inuence, budgets, careers, money), as were theancient religions, warranted by an establisment

of priests wit vested interests. But wat would

you call a system you ave to believe in witout

any cance to know by yourself if it is true or not,

wose language is incompreensible except to te

initiated and wic condemns as eretic every

approac wic doesnt submit to it? I would

call it te establisment of ignorance, since it

systematically dispossesses men of an access to

knowledge tey can experience by temselves:tey can only become te initiated servants of a

system wic dominates tem for te sake of an

ofcial Scientic Truth never reached for good

but promising tat ere is te only way, and tat

one day, for sure, all will be known.

If we take te Indian approac to knowledge,

te picture is totally different: te realities it

explores can be experienced by eac one wo

as te will to know tem and, altoug teyare subjective by nature, te same results will


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24 December 2008

always appear. If you train yourself to x your

tougts wen tey come in, you will observe

tat tey disappear; if you try to listen to te

underlying silence ten te mind will eventually

experience a sense of quietude, silence itself will

sometimes come and ll the mind. If you turn

your emotions to some lovable presence of wic

te eart as te intuition, watever te form it

can be Sri Krisna, Alla Jesus te experience

of someting adorable, a Presence wic exceeds

te form and yet is perceived troug te form,

will be experienced in te eart. If you renounce

te fruits of your works, you will experience tat

te will starts being liberated and becomes more

quiet, deliberate in its movements and terefore

more truly efcient. Each individual will have hisown way and pace in arriving at some results, but

te same results will tend to appen, invariably

te same along tese tree lines. Terefore te

validation is indenitely accessible and can be

repeated ad innitum by every one wo cooses

to make te effort for it. Te only conditions are

te sincerity of te aspiration, for te result of

our quest will depend on it, and perseverance.

Spiritual experience does not disclose itself

to a mere curiosity or intellectual enquiry, teresearcer as to engage imself in it witout

reservation if e wants to enter it. Tis said,

in te Indian way of knowing, tere is no trut

tat you cannot verify by yourself. And te

system is open to new experience, as well as to

a combination of several lines of experience. It

doesnt ask from you blind belief but the rst sign

of knowledge, wic is fait in te pat you ave

cosen, sincerity in your motivations, and self-

validation by experience. Ten, on wic side issuperstition? On wic side validation?

So it is with some condence that we can turn

now towards Indian psycology and its capacity

to validate or invalidate Western psycology.

Lets take for instance Freuds psycoanalysis.

I leave aside for te moment te teory it as

developed, to speak only on te clinical aspect,

te relation between te terapist and te

patient. We know tat te terapist is supposed

to be a silent listening presence, witout any

reactions or projections of is own, an attentive

witness. Ten it is observed tat tis attitude

has a liberating effect: the patient nally nds

te words to say some trut tat was idden

in im and all tat was oppressed, covered,

denied is liberated troug a process of spoken

elucidation. Wy, ow does suc a process

take place? From te Indian point of view we

recognize te enactment of tepurusha /prakriti

(soul and nature) relation. Te silent purusha

as a liberating effect on prakriti as soon asprakriti becomes aware of te presence of its

silent awareness. We can terefore identify te

analytical situation as a reection ofpurusha/

prakriti interaction, and understand ow it

works. Te fact tat te operating power is te

word as carrying or revealing a covered trut

will also be familiar to us: it is te word of

trut vocally expressed, satyamantra, wic

destroys all tat imprisons us, te instrument

of conquest of te Vedic risis over ignoranceand suffering1. So we can validate tis part of

Freuds psycoterapy, because we can explain

ow it operates, independently of is teories on

man and consciousness. Lets note tat te fact

tat it works witin te psycoanalytical context

doesnt prove te validity of Freuds teory,

for te relation between purusha and prakriti

is independent of any cultural or teoretical

context, it is truly a universal reality of mans

consciousness. But it conrms and illustratesIndian knowledge about it as well as about te

effective power of te word.

On te teoretical level, we will not be able to

validate Freuds interpretation of is practice,

for ere we observe te submission of reason to

1 See the signicant formulation of the rishis about the recovery of the radiant herds from the subconscient caves by

Briaspati: Thou hast crushed with thy stroke the mouthless Dividers who mar our self-expression, thou hast cloven themasunder in the gated city .2 I take Reason as a reection of thePurushas consciousness in te operations of te mind (Prakriti).


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RITAM 25

te object of its study, ofpurusha toprakriti2:

Freud presents himself as a scientic mind

studying te Inconscient. Terefore e is

Man dened as Reason, a Cartesian creature,

putting te world at a distance as an object to

be known. But at te end of is study, man

is redened as determined by blind impulses

and desire: te object of study as terefore

overcome the studying subject and redened

im in its proper terms. Tis overcoming of

purusha by prakriti will not be validated as

knowledge by Indian psycology, because

te knower as been trapped by te known.

From tis angle, it appears like a defeat of te

knower. Borrowing te allegoric language of

te Veda, we can make a suggestive parallelbetween Freuds researc and te legend of

Sarama and te lost cows: In some cave of te

subconscient, te radiating erds of knowledge,

wic ad risen on us wit Usha, te Dawn,

ave disappeared, robbed and idden by wat

in us is obscure, doesnt want to give itself, te

miser, the trafcker, the robber. Sarama, te

intuition faculty, nds the cave, and presents

erself as sent by Indra. Se is welcomed by

tepanis, the trafckers, who propose to makea pact witIndra. Se ten answers tatIndra

(te illumined mind) andBrhaspati (te soul-

word) will destroy tem and make tem vomit

their own speech. Ten tey propose to sare

wit er teir cows as wit a sister. Se answers

tat onlyIndra knows about sister and broter

(R.V., 10, 108). TenIndra,Brihaspati and te

Risis Angirasas, wit teir words of trut,

destroy te imprisoning caves and te radiant

erds are recovered. Now, wat appened wenFreud, took te same pat, some tousands of

years later? I would allegorically suggest tat

e discovered te same cave, was welcomed

by te same panis and gave quite a different

answer: Oh my friends, I am so happy to nd

you! Tanks to you I now know te reality

of mans secret soul: te Inconscient is is

ultimate Real, and I will go now all over te

world repeating to all and eac one idam eva

tvam asi (tis Id only you are). So did eand psycoanalysis became very successful

and wealty, teacing men tat escape from

impulse and desire is impossible, tat one can

only make it viable in ones life.

In te field of Western applied psycology,

dealing wit Prakriti rater tan wit te

liberating power ofPurusha, we will nd only

te study of processes and abit of reactions to

stimuli, te Self never appears. Psycological

qualities suc as sincerity, trutfulness,

courage, aspiration, etc, wic are so central

in te process of self-becoming, are not even

considered as worty of being studied, for ow

can you measure tem objectively? Man is

seen not in is capacity to free imself from

determinations but as dened by the sum ofteir interactions. Tis may lead to some form of

enligtened manipulation, not to self-discovery.

It seems even sometimes tat its results are

more immediately effective in te field of

advertisement, propaganda and disinformation

(if not of special

Ritam December 08

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