Latest / Sri Aurobindo Studies / The Limiting and Diluting Effect of the External Instruments on the Intimations of the Soul

Transcript

The Limiting and Diluting Effect of the External Instruments on the Intimations of the Soul · Sri Aurobindo Studies

• 0:01
  During the evolutionary development of the ascending
• 0:04
  powers of consciousness, the action of the soul is to provide
• 0:08
  an influence from behind, while the primary attention is fixated
• 0:13
  on the needed development of the powers of the external being,
• 0:17
  body, life and mind. This severely limits the direct
• 0:22
  action of the soul until everything is readied.
• 0:25
  There are, however, additional factors which both limit and
• 0:29
  distort the soul's action in the external being.
• 0:34
  One of these is the inability of the outer instruments to fully
• 0:37
  and completely express the soul's intimations in a pure and
• 0:41
  unmodified way. The outer instruments of body,
• 0:45
  life and mind act somewhat like a step down transformer that
• 0:50
  takes the potential high power energetic action of the soul,
• 0:54
  runs it through their limited capabilities, and without a
• 0:58
  clear recognition of the source of the soul's pressures, try to
• 1:03
  fit them into the natural inclinations of the respective
• 1:07
  instruments. This leads to a watering down
• 1:10
  effect of the soul's power to achieve its aims in the external
• 1:14
  nature, and even a distorting effect when, for instance, vital
• 1:20
  passions are substituted and palmed off as soul expressions.
• 1:25
  When the soul's pressure is Co opted to fulfil goals of the
• 1:29
  external ego personality, it is easy for the individual to lose
• 1:34
  the clarity of what actually constitutes the expression of
• 1:38
  the soul, Shriorobindo writes quote.
• 1:43
  But this psychic influence or action does not come up to the
• 1:47
  surface quite pure, or does not remain distinct in its purity.
• 1:52
  If it did, we would be able to distinguish clearly the sole
• 1:56
  element in US and follow consciously and fully.
• 2:00
  Its dictates an occult, mental and vital and subtle physical
• 2:04
  action, intervenes, mixes with it, tries to use it and turn it
• 2:09
  to its own prophet, dwarfs. Its divinity distorts or
• 2:14
  diminishes, its self-expression, even causes it to deviate and
• 2:20
  stumble, or stains it with the impurity, smallness, and error
• 2:25
  of mind, life, and body. After it reaches the surface
• 2:31
  thus alloyed and diminished, it is taken hold of by the surface
• 2:36
  nature in an obscure reception and ignorant formation, And
• 2:42
  there is, or can be by this cause a still further deviation
• 2:46
  and mixture. A twist is given, a wrong
• 2:50
  direction, is imparted, a wrong application, a wrong formation,
• 2:55
  an erroneous result of what is in itself pure stuff and action
• 2:59
  of our spiritual being. A formation of consciousness is
• 3:04
  accordingly made, which is a mixture of the psychic influence
• 3:08
  and its intimations, jumbled with mental ideas and opinions,
• 3:13
  vital desires and urges, habitual physical tendencies.
• 3:19
  They're coalesced too, with the obscured soul influence, the
• 3:23
  ignorant, the well-intentioned efforts of these external parts
• 3:27
  towards a higher direction, a mental ideation of a very mixed
• 3:31
  character, often obscure even in its idealism, sometimes even
• 3:37
  disastrously mistaken. A fervor and passion of the
• 3:42
  emotional being throwing up its spray and foam of feelings,
• 3:46
  sentiments, sentimentalisms, a dynamic enthusiasm of the life
• 3:51
  parts, eager responses of the physical, the thrills and
• 3:55
  excitements of nerve and body. All these influences coalesce in
• 4:02
  a composite formation which is frequently taken as the soul,
• 4:06
  and it's mixed and confused. Action for the soul Stir for a
• 4:10
  psychic development in action or a realized inner influence.
• 4:16
  The psychic entity is itself free from stain or mixture, but
• 4:21
  what comes up from it is not protected by that immunity.
• 4:25
  Therefore, this confusion becomes possible.
• 4:30
  End Quote Reference Sri Aurobindo and the Mother, The
• 4:34
  Hidden Forces of Life, Chapter 2, Hidden Forces within pages 47
• 4:41
  to 48.