Latest / Sri Aurobindo Studies / Addressing the Tendency to Overlook One's Defects

Transcript

Addressing the Tendency to Overlook One's Defects · Sri Aurobindo Studies

• 0:00
  The vital nature in particular has a strong hold over the
• 0:04
  mentality. It uses this hold to find ways
• 0:07
  for the mind to justify various things that the vital desires.
• 0:12
  In many cases this occurs through a process of deflection
• 0:16
  and in others through a process of development of excuses and
• 0:21
  justifications. This process takes place whether
• 0:25
  one is living and acting in the world or attempting to develop a
• 0:29
  spiritual life through the practice of any particular
• 0:32
  discipline. Our focus here is obviously
• 0:36
  toward the implementation by a spiritual seeker of
• 0:40
  methodologies to systematically become awake to and then to find
• 0:44
  ways to overcome various actions that distract from the yogic
• 0:50
  process. This can even occur in the
• 0:53
  adoption of various yogic practices.
• 0:56
  For instance, there are certain yogic paths that try to overcome
• 1:01
  attachment through spiritualize and uplifting normal drives of
• 1:05
  the vital nature. Thus, we see advertised
• 1:09
  practices of tantric sex, which while there may be cases where
• 1:14
  such a practice actually suits a specific seeker and helps him
• 1:18
  achieve, the result, in many cases we have seen actually
• 1:23
  becomes a justification for indulging in sex, thereby
• 1:27
  effectively distracting the seeker from the process of
• 1:30
  transcending the desire nature and shifting the focus to the
• 1:35
  divine standpoint. Justifications can be developed
• 1:40
  for almost anything. Once a devotee was visiting a
• 1:44
  Vedanta centre in the USA and was invited to join the monks
• 1:48
  there for dinner. After dinner they serve popcorn.
• 1:52
  Innocuous indulgence, but they went on a long explanation about
• 1:57
  the spiritual benefits of popcorn and how it can help to
• 2:01
  lead to liberation in the Vedantic tradition.
• 2:05
  Methinks they do protest too much.
• 2:08
  To paraphrase the poet, if we take the standpoint that the
• 2:13
  spiritual seeker needs to shift his focus from the fulfillment
• 2:16
  of the desires and objectives of the external world in favor of a
• 2:21
  focus on spiritual practice and realization and a perfection and
• 2:26
  transformation of the nature to become true instruments of that
• 2:31
  divine action in the world, we can quickly appreciate that all
• 2:36
  habits of the physical, vital and mental nature need to be
• 2:41
  reviewed and either abandoned or modified to allow the refocusing
• 2:47
  and transformation effort to progress.
• 2:51
  Triorbindo writes Quote, but that not recognizing one's
• 2:56
  defects is a very common human weakness, although it ought not
• 3:02
  to exist in a sodak whose progress depends largely on his
• 3:06
  recognizing what has to be changed in him.
• 3:10
  Not that the recognition by itself is sufficient, but it is
• 3:14
  a necessary element. It is, of course, a kind of
• 3:18
  pride or vanity which considers this necessary for strength and
• 3:22
  standing. Not only will they not recognize
• 3:25
  it before others, but they hide their defects from themselves,
• 3:31
  or even, if obliged to look at it with one eye, look away from
• 3:35
  it with the other. Or they weave a veil of words
• 3:39
  and excuses and justifications, trying to make it something
• 3:43
  other than it really is. To recognize one's weaknesses
• 3:48
  and false movements and draw back from them is the way
• 3:52
  towards liberation. End Quote.
• 3:56
  Reference Sri Aurobindo and the Mother Looking from within,
• 4:00
  Chapter 2. Looking at Oneself and Others,
• 4:04
  pages 38 to 39.