Latest / Sri Aurobindo Studies / Aspiration and Prayer

Transcript

Aspiration and Prayer · Sri Aurobindo Studies

• 0:01
  Many people confuse aspiration with prayer, they are however,
• 0:07
  actually two different things and while they may support one
• 0:11
  another, when they align, it is not necessary that aspiration
• 0:16
  lead to prayer. Aspiration refers to the inner
• 0:20
  State of Consciousness that arises from the psychic being in
• 0:25
  a spontaneous movement of directed focus on some form of
• 0:29
  growth development or realization aspiration does not
• 0:34
  require belief in a supreme deity.
• 0:37
  Although again, it may coincide with such a belief prayer.
• 0:43
  On the other hand requires belief in some being person or
• 0:48
  entity to which one offers the prayer in most cases, prayer is
• 0:54
  connected to the ego, particularly when it is asking
• 0:58
  for some specific result. Prayer may be formulated in such
• 1:03
  a way to minimize the ego involvement, but by its very
• 1:07
  nature, the individual is creating by prayer, a
• 1:11
  relationship to a greater being and asking for some type of
• 1:16
  result to occur. A disciple asks, what is the
• 1:21
  difference between prayer and aspiration?
• 1:25
  The mother replies. Quote prayer is a much more
• 1:29
  external thing generally about a precise fact.
• 1:34
  And always formulated for it is the formula that makes the
• 1:38
  prayer. One may have an aspiration and
• 1:42
  transcribe it as a prayer, but aspiration goes beyond prayer in
• 1:47
  every way. It is much closer and much more
• 1:50
  as it were self forgetful living only in the thing.
• 1:54
  One wants to be or do and the offering of all that one wants
• 1:59
  to do to the divine to be clearer.
• 2:04
  We may say that prayer is always formulated in words, but the
• 2:08
  words may have different values according to the state in which
• 2:12
  they are formulated. Prayer is a formulated thing and
• 2:16
  one may Aspire, but it is difficult to pray without
• 2:21
  praying to someone. For instance, those who have a
• 2:25
  conception of the Universe from which they have more, or less
• 2:28
  driven out. The idea of the Divine, there
• 2:31
  are many people of this kind, this idea, troubles them, the
• 2:35
  idea that there is someone who knows all can do everything and
• 2:40
  who is so formidable e greater than they that there can be no.
• 2:44
  Comparison. That's a bit Troublesome for
• 2:47
  their, a more appropriate. So they try to make a world
• 2:51
  without the divine These people evidently cannot pray for to
• 2:57
  whom, would they pray unless they pray to themselves?
• 3:00
  Which is not the custom, but one can Aspire for something without
• 3:05
  having any faith in the Divine. There are people who do not
• 3:09
  believe in the existence of a God, but who have faith in
• 3:12
  progress, they have the idea that the world is in constant
• 3:16
  progress and that this progress will go on indefinitely without
• 3:21
  stopping towards an Ever greater.
• 3:23
  Your betterment. Well, these people can have a
• 3:27
  very great aspiration for progress, and they don't even
• 3:31
  need any idea of a Divine existence for that aspiration,
• 3:37
  necessarily implies the faith, but not necessarily faith in the
• 3:42
  Divine being whilst prayer cannot exist.
• 3:46
  If it is not addressed to a Divine being And pray to what
• 3:51
  one does not pray to something that has no personality.
• 3:55
  When praise to someone who can hear us.
• 3:58
  If there is nobody to hear us. How could one pray?
• 4:02
  Hence, if one prays this means that even when one doesn't
• 4:06
  acknowledge it, when has faith in somebody infinitely, higher
• 4:10
  than us infinitely, more powerful, who can change our
• 4:15
  destiny, and change as also, if one prays.
• 4:19
  So as to be heard that is the essential difference in quote,
• 4:24
  reference SRI aurobindo, and the mother growing within the
• 4:29
  psychology of inner development. Chapter 3.
• 4:32
  Growth of Consciousness. Basic requisites Pages, 36 to 37