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The Seeker and the Influence of Vital Forces in Social Interchange · Sri Aurobindo Studies

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  It is common for spiritual aspirants to be advised to
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  isolate themselves, or at least limit their contact with others
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  in a social setting, with the ostensible reason to aid the
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  seeker in focusing on the spiritual effort and avoid
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  distraction and the possibility of being diverted or diluted in
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  the energy through vital forces affecting the life.
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  Many are told to cut off the influence of family and friends
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  for similar reasons. Some require devotees to avoid
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  any interaction with money as well, since it carries its own
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  occult power. All of this presupposes that
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  there is an enormous vital force at work through these contacts
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  that can work to minimize or destroy the seeker's efforts.
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  It is true that there can be a considerable impediment that
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  arises through both the external impacts and the subtle internal
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  operation of vital interchange that occurs.
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  It is not, however, as automatic and as serious as it seems.
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  When we learn about all the restrictions and separations.
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  There are multiple factors that can determine the actual impact.
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  First, there is the closeness of the bond between individuals,
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  with the bonds of family, loved ones and close friends having
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  potentially a greater impact due to the greater expected
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  receptivity the seeker would have to such influences.
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  Second, there is the intensity of the force that is trying to
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  act. Most social interactions have a
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  relatively weak force and thus tend to potentially create small
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  waves in the being without having the impact of a vital
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  tsunami. Third, there is the awareness
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  and receptivity of the seeker himself.
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  To the extent that he is focused, dedicated, and
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  conscious, even a powerful vital force can be held at Bay.
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  The seeker, therefore, should avoid fear of vital interaction
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  and exercise conscious awareness and a focused aspiration towards
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  achievement of the spiritual goals, and thereby not be too
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  concerned about the influences. When a strong or hostile
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  influence shows up, of course, it must then be seen and
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  resisted, but this is a much less common occurrence.
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  In fact, a good deal of the talk of isolation and separation is
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  intended to gain control over the individual by those in
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  charge of the cloister, monastery, ashram, or other type
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  of organization, rather than a real concern about the spiritual
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  impact of social interaction. And it must be noted that any
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  progress that depends entirely on isolation is put into
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  question when the individual eventually has to have
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  interactions, as there has been no opportunity to strengthen and
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  prepare the seeker for the forces at work in the world.
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  There are numerous anecdotal examples of dramatic failures
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  when the eventual confrontation with the world comes about in
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  the life of the seeker, who has not had the seasoning that comes
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  with learning about and addressing the impact of vital
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  influences and forces along the way.
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  Sri Aurobindo notes Quote It is not necessary to be so careful
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  as all that ordinary vital interchanges are of a slight
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  character. Nobody can take away another's
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  vital for the very good reason that if that happened, the
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  person from whom it was taken would die.
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  It is possible, of course, for one person to drain another's
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  vital forces so as to leave him limp or weak or dry, but it is
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  only the vampire kind that do that.
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  It is possible also for one to give out too much of one's vital
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  forces, so as to weaken oneself or exhaust of energy, a thing
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  which should not be done. It is only those who know how to
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  draw or can draw freely from the universal vital force and
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  replenish their life energies that can give out freely.
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  All of course draw to some extent, otherwise they would not
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  remain alive. For expenditure of vital energy
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  is always going on and one has to replace it.
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  But for the most the capacity for drawing is limited and the
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  capacity for giving without exhaustion is also limited.
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  But the ordinary movements of interchange are harmless,
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  provided they are kept within moderate limits.
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  End Quote Reference Shrioro, Bindo and the Mother, The Hidden
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  Forces of Life, Chapter One, Life Through the Eyes of the
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  Yogin, page 18.