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How to Recognise the Divine Will · Sri Aurobindo Studies

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  We get prompted inwardly to do something.
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  In some cases we have conflicting impulses or
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  reactions. We wonder how to distinguish the
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  divine will from all the other drives, motives, forces, and
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  options that confront us. Add to this the complications of
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  the vital nature in its attempts to justify and fulfill its
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  desires. Having the ability to convince
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  the mind about what it wants, we thus effectively paralyze the
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  mental understanding through this vital interaction.
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  Then we have the mind itself with its ideas, philosophies,
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  religious tenets, moral rules that tries to superimpose these
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  onto the being without reference to any higher power or source.
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  In some cases these rules lead to an awakening of what we call
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  the conscience, which is actually mainly just the
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  conflict between the vital nature and the mental rules that
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  have been drummed into us. There are several indicators of
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  the divine will within this framework.
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  The vital demands are generally loud and powerful, while the
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  voice of the psychic being is generally quiet and non
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  insistent. The framework of the mental
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  consciousness reveals itself as we are able to adopt the
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  standpoint of the witness consciousness as rigid and
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  limited, as opposed to taking a more wide and flexible approach.
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  And in each case, the physical vital mental being primarily
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  looks at things from its own ego standpoint and the benefit it
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  can accrue from whatever the proposed action turns out to be.
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  These are signs of the control, or at least the admixture of the
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  ego consciousness rather than the divine consciousness.
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  The Mother provides us a methodology for recognizing the
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  Divine will. It requires a separation of the
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  inner observer from the outer nature, and then the ability to
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  listen to the quiet voice of the psychic being, which channels
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  the divine intention and the absolute sincerity to follow
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  this guidance when it comes. The Mother observes.
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  Quote. How are we to know, you will
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  ask, when it is the Divine will that makes us act?
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  The Divine will is not difficult to recognize.
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  It is unmistakable. You can know it without being
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  very far on the path. Only you must listen to its
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  voice, the small voice that is here in the heart.
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  Once you are accustomed to listen, if you do anything that
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  is contrary to the Divine will, you feel an uneasiness.
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  If you persist on the wrong track, you get very much
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  disturbed. If, however, you give some
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  material excuses, the cause of your uneasiness, and proceed on
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  your way, you gradually lose the faculty of perception, and
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  finally you may go on doing all kinds of wrong and feel no
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  uneasiness. But if when once you feel the
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  least disturbance, you stop and ask of your inner self what is
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  the cause of this, then you do get the real answer and the
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  whole thing becomes quite clear. Do not try to give a material
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  excuse when you feel a little depression or a slight
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  uneasiness. When you stop and look about for
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  the reason, be absolutely straight and sincere.
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  At first, your mind will construct a very plausible and
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  beautiful explanation. Do not accept it, but look
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  beyond and ask what is it that is behind this movement?
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  Why am I doing this? Finally, you will discover
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  hidden in a corner, the little ripple, a slight wrong turn or
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  twist in your attitude that is caused the trouble or
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  disturbance. End Quote Reference Sri
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  Aurobindo and the Mother looking from Within, Chapter 5,
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  Attitudes on the Path, page 121.