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The Need for the Power of Discernment in the Spiritual Sadhana · Sri Aurobindo Studies

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  There are many powers at work in the world.
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  Physical powers, vital powers, mental powers, spiritual powers.
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  They are native to their own sphere, but in many cases they
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  are active here in our world, trying to assert themselves and
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  thrive here. Many of these powers are
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  conscious and act with intentionality.
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  Some support the development of consciousness and represent the
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  spiritual forces that are beneficent, helpful and
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  compassionate. Others oppose this development
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  and try to either maintain a status quo within which they
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  have considerable influence or destroy the work of those
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  seeking to move the evolution forward.
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  This poses a unique challenge for the spiritual seeker.
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  Powers descend into the seeker and they may in some cases take
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  on the appearance of forces of light or progress, while they
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  may actually be hostile or contrary forces.
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  In the modern world of artificial intelligence, the
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  Internet, Photoshop we learn to be careful, even suspicious of
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  whatever is presented before us so we can avoid being scammed or
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  subjected to what are called deep fakes.
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  Jr. Ark Tolkien in his epic tale The
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  Lord of the Rings makes a statement that quote all that is
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  gold does not glitter. End Quote.
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  Which is a corollary to the well known proverb that all the
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  glitters is not gold. The spiritual seeker needs to
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  exercise a similar discernment when it comes to the powers that
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  seek to influence and act upon them and through him.
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  Many seekers, particularly novices on the path, confused
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  the concept of surrender to the divine power with the absence of
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  any form of discernment, believing that everything that
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  comes to him must be what he is intended to receive.
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  In his book, The Mother, Sri Aurobindo distinguishes active
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  effort from a misplaced reliance on the Divine doing everything
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  for him. Quote Note that a Temasek
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  surrender, refusing to fulfill the conditions and calling on
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  God to do everything and save one all the trouble and struggle
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  is a deception and does not lead to freedom and perfection.
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  End Quote. He expands with a warning.
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  Quote If you open yourself on one side or in one part to the
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  truth, and on another side are constantly opening the gates to
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  hostile forces, it is vain to expect that divine grace will
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  abide with you. End Quote.
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  The seeker eventually must find a way to distinguish the true
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  divine force and those that represent something other.
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  This discernment comes from the psychic being's inner sense of
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  rightness as it experiences the energy and potential
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  consequences, powers that bring any kind of rajasic desire,
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  ambition or grasping where those that lull 1 into indolence and
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  dullness are to be rejected. Sri Orobindo writes quote.
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  It is dangerous to think of giving up all barrier of
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  discrimination and defence against what is trying to
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  descend upon you. Have you thought what this would
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  mean? If what is descending is
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  something not in consonance with the Divine Truth, perhaps even
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  adverse? An adverse power would ask no
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  better condition for getting control over the seeker.
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  It is only the Mother's force and the Divine Truth that one
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  should admit without barriers. And even there, one must keep
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  the power of discernment in order to detect anything false
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  that comes masquerading as the Mother's Force and the Divine
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  Truth, and keep too, the power of rejection that will throw
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  away all mixture. Keep faith in your spiritual
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  destiny, draw back from error, and open more of the psychic
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  being to the direct guidance of the Mother's light and power.
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  If the central will is sincere, each recognition of a mistake
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  can become a stepping stone to a truer movement and a higher
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  progress. End Quote.
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  Reference. Srioro Bindo, Faces of Yoga,
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  Chapter 4 Desire food Sex page 73.