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The Need for Patience and Perseverance to Bring About Evolutionary Change of Consciousness · Sri Aurobindo Studies

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  It is essential for the spiritual seeker to maintain his
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  view of the long term objectives and the time frames of the
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  evolution of consciousness in nature in order for him to avoid
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  becoming overly anxious about specific setbacks or delays in
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  completing transforming the external physical consciousness.
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  When an individual takes up the practice of yoga, he begins to
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  observe the defects and limitations of the existing
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  formulation of not only his own external being, but of the
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  external life in general. If he does not take the path of
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  abandonment of that life, the path of the ascetic, but chooses
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  instead the integral path of unification of spirit and matter
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  and the transformation rather than the abandonment of the
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  external life, he finds that the entire structure of the mental
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  life, the vital life and the physical life needs to change.
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  Looking back at the history of the evolution of consciousness
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  provides needed context for the daily setbacks and difficulties.
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  Evolution of a next stage of consciousness in the world takes
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  place not overnight, but over time frames that far exceed our
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  short human life experience. The development of life out of
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  matter took millions of years. Similarly, the development of
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  mind out of life itself took a long time, although this
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  occurred somewhat faster in geological time than the prior
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  stage. We are now at a threshold of the
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  evolution of the next phase of consciousness, a stage which
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  takes awareness beyond the mind, which Riorobindo calls the
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  supermental consciousness. This phase may proceed more
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  quickly than the prior stages if we look at the evolutionary
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  process, but that does not mean that all the existing
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  formulations, habits, instincts, reactions and responses change
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  overnight just because a seeker wants it to happen.
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  It is with this perspective that the seeker needs to both carry
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  out the concentration and focus needed while at the same time
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  maintaining the patience and understanding of the lengthy
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  process involved and the persistent efforts needed
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  constantly to help shepherd these changes along.
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  The process is necessarily one with day-to-day failure acting
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  as the stepping stone to the eventual success given the
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  nature of the process, the embedded resistance and
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  conservative principle, and the time nature requires to fix
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  definitive changes into the prior evolved principles so that
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  they can operate in the new environment brought about by the
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  newly evolved powers. Sri Robindo notes quote.
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  These variations in the consciousness during the day are
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  a thing that is common to almost everybody in the Sadhna.
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  The principle of oscillation, relaxation, relapse to a normal
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  or a past lower condition from a higher state that is experienced
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  but not yet perfectly stable, becomes very strong and marked
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  when the working of the sadhna is in the physical
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  consciousness. For there is an inertia in the
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  physical nature that does not easily allow the intensity
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  natural to the higher consciousness to remain
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  constant. The physical is always sinking
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  back to something more ordinary. The higher consciousness and its
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  force have to work long and come again and again before they can
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  become constant and normal in the physical nature.
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  Do not be disturbed or discouraged by these variations
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  or this delay, however long and tedious.
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  Remain careful only to be quiet always with an inner quietude
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  and as open as possible to the higher power, not allowing any
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  really adverse condition to get hold of you.
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  If there is no adverse wave, then the rest is only a
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  persistence of imperfections which all have an abundance.
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  That imperfection and persistence the force must work
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  out and eliminate, but for the elimination time is needed.
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  End Quote reference Trioro Window Bases of yoga, Chapter 5.
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  Physical consciousness, subconscient sleep and dream
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  illness. Page 85.