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Aspiration and the Witness Consciousness · Sri Aurobindo Studies

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  When spiritual seekers attempt to implement the technique of
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  the separation of Purusha and Prakriti, they generally go
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  through a stage where they try to utilize the mind to observe.
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  The mind, however, is not the instrument for the actual shift
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  to the standpoint of the Purusha.
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  In fact, the mind is one of the elements that is to be observed
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  by the Purusha. The Shweta Ashwatara Upanishad
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  provides a clue. Quote 2 Winged birds cling about
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  a common tree. Comrades, yoke fellows.
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  One eats the sweet fruit of the tree, the other eats not, but
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  watches. The soul upon a common tree is
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  absorbed, and because he is not Lord, grieves and is bewildered,
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  but when he sees and cleaves to that other who is the Lord, he
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  knows that all is his greatness and his sorrow passes away from
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  him. End Quote.
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  The Upanishads translated by Sri Aurobindo Shweta Ashwatara
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  Upanishad, chapter 4, verses six to seven.
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  The external being, which includes body, life and mind,
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  need to be focused and concentrated on their effort to
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  succeed at their actions in the world.
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  They constitute the active instruments of the ego
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  personality and is It is this ego personality that takes pride
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  in the accomplishments and achievements it has to its
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  credit in the world. The shift of awareness to a more
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  inward state of observation may begin with the mind attempting
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  to do this, but the mind is focused on classifying,
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  analyzing, and judging, and thus it becomes a partisan in the
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  activities with pride and shame as two of the reactions it
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  develops. This is clearly not the
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  separation that Trioro Bindo describes when he speaks about
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  the Purusha standpoint and its pure observation of the external
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  nature without judgment and without taking any emotional
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  stance in regard to the actions of that external nature.
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  The stance of the Purusha is that of the true spiritual being
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  who is embodied in the external nature.
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  The psychic being, the true soul and the individual, is the
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  connecting link to this spiritual standpoint and it is
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  the aspiration of the psychic being that needs to be fully and
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  completely concentrated in its complete and undeviating focus.
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  The external being attempts to take the credit for the results
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  achieved by the psychic being and the mind and vital latch on
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  to the progress and can become proud or vain.
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  The more intense and pure the aspiration, the more it can
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  actually breakthrough the obstacles and resistances of the
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  outer nature and achieve oneness with the true spiritual being
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  who manifests through the individual and his ego
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  personality. The status that results is the
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  unity or oneness of the soul, the spirit and the act of
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  aspiration so that there is no separation or distinction that
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  can occur. A disciple asks, quote, Mother,
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  when we make an effort, there's something in us which becomes
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  very self satisfied and boastful and contented with this effort
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  and that spoils everything. Then how can we get rid of this?
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  End Quote. The mother answers.
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  Quote Ah, that's what looks on at what it is doing.
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  There's always someone who observes when one is doing
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  something. Now sometimes he becomes proud.
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  Obviously this takes away much strength from the effort.
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  I think it is that it is the habit of looking at oneself,
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  acting, looking at oneself, living.
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  It is necessary to observe oneself.
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  But I think it is still more necessary to try to be
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  absolutely sincere and spontaneous, very spontaneous in
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  what 1 does not always go on observing oneself, looking at
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  one, what one is doing, judging oneself, sometimes severely.
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  In fact, it is almost as bad as patting oneself with
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  satisfaction. The two are equally bad.
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  One should be so sincere in his aspiration that he does doesn't
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  even know he is aspiring that he becomes aspiration itself.
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  When this indeed can be realized, one truly attains to
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  an extraordinary power. One minute, one minute of this
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  and you can prepare years of realization.
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  When one is no longer a self, regarding being an ego, looking
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  at itself, acting, when one becomes the action itself, above
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  all in the aspiration, this truly is good.
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  When there is no longer a person who is aspiring, when it is an
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  aspiration which leaps up with a fully concentrated impulsion,
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  then truly it goes very far. Otherwise there is always mixed
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  up in a little vanity, a little self complacency, a little self
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  pity, also all kinds of little things which come and spoil
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  everything, but it is difficult. End Quote.
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  Reference Sri Aurobindo and the Mother Powers within Chapter 9,
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  Aspiration and Prayer, pages 90 to 91.