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The Spiritual Seeker and the Material World · Sri Aurobindo Studies

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  One of the habits that is built up over many millennia among
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  spiritual practitioners is the ingrained idea that matter and
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  spirit are essentially irreconcilable and that in order
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  to pursue the spiritual life, one must be willing to give up
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  and abandoned the material life. Material life and a focus on it
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  is seen as a distraction from the one pointed effort needed to
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  achieve spiritual liberation. The focus has been placed on the
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  concept one without a second to illustrate the need for focus.
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  And it is true that if a spiritual seeker is fixated on
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  the external material world, its objects and opportunities, as a
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  goal or objective in and of itself, it is difficult, if not
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  impossible, to make progress in the spiritual quest.
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  Srioro Bindo and the Mother, recognizing this need at the
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  same time, have set before us a different objective and a
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  different means of realization. They add to the concept of 1
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  without a second the other great dictum of the ancient sages.
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  All this is the Brahman. Their objective is to bring
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  about the liberation of the consciousness from the
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  boundaries set by the body, life, mind, complex, not for
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  escape, but to aid in the transformation of life through
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  the infusion of the spiritual consciousness into the very
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  depths of matter and the material consciousness.
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  In their view, action in the world and interaction with other
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  beings and the very material substance is not to be
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  abandoned, rather the action is to be infused with spiritual
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  force so that matter can take on the spiritual energy and radiate
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  it. In his epic poem Savitri, a
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  Legend and a symbol, Srioro Bindo makes this clear when he
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  states quote and matter shall reveal the spirit's face.
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  End Quote. It is from this standpoint the
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  Trior Bindo takes up our way of handling material things without
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  becoming lost in the material world.
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  We can bring down the spiritual consciousness and treat matter
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  as one with the spirit. Treat it as the manifestation of
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  consciousness that it is. Respect it and act in relation
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  to material objects so as to aid in their transformation and
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  transfiguration as visible expressions of the spirit,
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  Sriorgindo notes quote. It is very true that physical
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  things have a consciousness within them which feels and
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  responds to care and is sensitive to careless touch and
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  rough handling. To know or feel that and learn
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  to be careful of them is a great progress of consciousness.
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  The rough handling and careless breaking or waste and misuse of
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  physical things is a denial of the yogic consciousness and a
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  great hindrance to the bringing down of the Divine truth to the
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  material plane. End Quote.
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  Reference Sri Aurobindo and the Mother, Looking from Within,
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  Chapter 3, Action and Work, pages 68 to 69.