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Addressing Alternations in Spiritual Progress Over Time · Sri Aurobindo Studies

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  When milarepa approached marpa requesting Liberation in one
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  lifetime, he was haunted by the misdeeds.
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  He recognized in his own recent past and the harm, he had caused
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  many people, he had Justified the harm based on the misdeeds
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  of those individuals towards his family.
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  But eventually he understood that his own fate was on the
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  line instead of granting him the teachings marpa set him to work
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  with hard physical labor for an extended period of time.
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  What thoughts were going through Miller up his mind as he carried
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  out the seemingly. Meaningless back-breaking work.
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  He eventually broke down with a fit of Despair and felt like
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  there was no way he can go on any longer and it was only after
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  that occurred that the teachings were granted to him.
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  This illustrates just one of the various potential causes for an
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  apparently empty period for the spiritual Seeker.
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  When the youth, whose tale was told in the upanishads was given
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  several cattle and told by the teacher to take them into the
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  forest and create a massive herd of cattle in order to get the
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  teachings. You did not despair despite an
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  obviously long period of effort and physical privation.
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  And the need to overcome the difficulties of living in the
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  forest caring for and raising a large herd of of cattle and
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  learning how to deal with all the external circumstances that
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  could have sidetracked his effort.
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  Instead of meditation, he had to herd cows for years.
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  He clearly reached out for the teacher initially due to some
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  intense inward calling, which Drew him away from family
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  friends and the life in society. While most speakers do not have
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  such a pressure or such an intense background, that
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  motivates them to take up spiritual practice, they
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  nevertheless undergo periods of time where nothing is seemingly
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  taking place. And if this occurs after a
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  particularly fruitful time of opening and growth of
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  Consciousness, they feel the lack very acutely.
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  Spiritual Seekers who are various experiences all find
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  that at some point. The headline experience,
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  recedes, and they are left with dealing with the difficulties
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  and obstacles of their nature or the pressures placed by the
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  outer world with which they have to interact.
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  There are always significant reasons why these alternations
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  take place and SRI aurobindo describes several of them and
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  advises on the proper attitude to work ones.
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  Way through these difficult periods of time SRI aurobindo
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  observes, quote, the reason why there are these alternations of
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  which you complain is that the nature of the Consciousness is
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  like that. After a spell of wakefulness it
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  feels the need of a little sleep very often in the beginning.
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  The wakings our brief the sleeps long afterwards, it becomes more
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  equal and later on the Sleep periods are shorter and shorter.
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  Another cause of these alternations when one is
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  receiving is the Nature's need of closing up to a simile.
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  It can take perhaps a great deal, but while the experience
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  is going on, it cannot absorb properly.
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  What it brings so it closes down for a simulation.
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  A third cause comes in the period of transformation.
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  One part of the nature changes and one feels for a time as if
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  there had been a complete and permanent change but one is
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  disappointed to find it cease and a period of baroness or
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  lowered Consciousness follow this is because another part of
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  the Consciousness comes up for Change and a period of
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  preparation and veiled working follows which seems to be one of
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  unon latent or Worse. These things alarm disappoint or
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  perplex. The eagerness and impatience of
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  the Sadiq, but if one takes them quietly and knows how to use
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  them, or adopt, the right attitude, one can make these
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  unenlightened periods. Also, a part of the conscious
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  sadhna. And quote, reference SRI
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  aurobindo, and the mother growing within the psychology of
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  inner development. Chapter 6 growth of
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  Consciousness difficulties and pitfalls page 121