Latest / Sri Aurobindo Studies / Development from Witness of the Nature to Master of the Nature

Transcript

Development from Witness of the Nature to Master of the Nature · Sri Aurobindo Studies

• 0:00
  Sankhya philosophy, also referenced in the Bhagavad Gita
• 0:05
  and certain Upanishads with respect to its understanding of
• 0:09
  the respective roles of the Purusha, the witness,
• 0:12
  consciousness and Prakruti. The act of nature provides A
• 0:17
  guiding light for those seeking liberation from bondage to the
• 0:21
  external world. One need only find a way to
• 0:24
  separate oneself from identification with the act of
• 0:28
  nature and position one's awareness in the Purusha, a
• 0:32
  shift of standpoint from the ego consciousness to the divine
• 0:36
  consciousness, in order to achieve liberation.
• 0:41
  Sri Aurobindo takes this one step farther.
• 0:44
  Once the Purusha has been identified as being the divine
• 0:48
  consciousness at work in the individual, it becomes clear
• 0:52
  that the stage of liberation is essentially the passive or
• 0:56
  negative aspect. There is an active positive
• 1:00
  aspect which asserts the mastery of the divine over the
• 1:04
  manifestation. This implies that once an
• 1:08
  individual has identified with the Purusha, he can gain control
• 1:12
  over its development and future lines of action.
• 1:17
  The passive identification is illustrated in the Mundaka
• 1:20
  Upanishad chapter 3, Section 1, verses 1 and 2 as translated by
• 1:26
  Sri Aurobindo. Quote Two birds beautiful of
• 1:32
  wing close companions cling to 1 common tree.
• 1:37
  Of the two, one eats the sweet fruit of the tree, the other
• 1:42
  eats not but watches his fellow. The soul is the bird that sits
• 1:48
  immersed on the one common tree, but because he is not lowered,
• 1:52
  he is bewildered and has sorrow. But when he sees that other who
• 1:57
  is the Lord and Beloved, he knows that all is his greatness
• 2:03
  and his sorrow passes away from him.
• 2:06
  End Quote. Once the identification is made
• 2:10
  that the observer is the Lord, the potential for mastery
• 2:14
  becomes clear and unequivocal. The process is not perfect or
• 2:20
  immediate for a variety of reasons.
• 2:23
  First, there is the deep and embedded connection to the ego
• 2:28
  consciousness and the active nature.
• 2:31
  As an individual assumes the witness status, he effectuates A
• 2:35
  separation from the external nature.
• 2:39
  If he attempts to guide, control or master that nature, there
• 2:44
  must be an unshakable and immovable status of that witness
• 2:48
  consciousness, or the seeker faces the risk of masking the
• 2:53
  involvement in the external life with the illusion of separation
• 2:58
  and mastery. It requires a very solid shift
• 3:01
  to the divine standpoint and a steadfast commitment to that
• 3:06
  when interacting with the nature to succeed in this endeavour.
• 3:11
  For most people, even achieving the first step, that of the
• 3:16
  immovable and uninvolved observer or witness, is a very
• 3:20
  considerable stage of progress. In other words, without true
• 3:25
  liberation, mastery is not possible.
• 3:30
  Shrioro Bindo notes quote The consciousness you speak of would
• 3:35
  be described in the Gita as the witness Purusha.
• 3:39
  The Purusha or basic consciousness is the true Being,
• 3:43
  or at least in whatever plane it manifests, represents the true
• 3:47
  Being. But in the ordinary nature of
• 3:50
  man it is covered up by the ego and the ignorant play of the
• 3:54
  procrity, and remains veiled behind as the unseen witness
• 3:58
  supporting the play of the ignorance.
• 4:01
  When it emerges, you feel it as a consciousness behind, calm,
• 4:07
  central, unidentified with the play which depends upon it.
• 4:12
  It may be covered over, but it is always there.
• 4:17
  The emergence of the purusha is the beginning of liberation, but
• 4:21
  it can also become slowly the master.
• 4:24
  Slowly, because the whole habit of the ego and the play of the
• 4:28
  lower forces is against that. Still it can dictate what higher
• 4:34
  play is, to replace the lower movement.
• 4:37
  And then there is the process of that replacement, the higher
• 4:41
  coming, the lower struggling to remain and push away the higher
• 4:46
  movement and quote Reference Sri Aurobindo and the Mother Looking
• 4:52
  from within, Chapter 5, Attitudes on the Path, pages 147
• 4:58
  to 148.