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To Become a Conscious Instrument of the Divine Action · Sri Aurobindo Studies

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  In the Bhagavad Gita, Sri Krishna explains to Arjuna at
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  some length the process of the Universal Manifestation and how
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  individuals are essentially driven by their nature in
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  relation to the larger forces of the manifestation itself to act
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  in certain ways. For most of these individuals,
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  the action takes place as a result of the forces of the
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  external vital nature. They are essentially subject to
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  the machinery of nature through the operation of the three
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  gunas. At a certain stage, as the power
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  of reflection and self-awareness develops, the individual begins
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  to refine his action in closer alignment to the pressure of the
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  divine Force, yet still very much without conscious awareness
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  of his role and how the Force is working upon him.
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  Sri Krishna reveals deeper truths to Arjuna so that Arjuna
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  can become a willing, conscious, and active instrument in the
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  work that Sri Krishna puts before him.
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  He points out that all of the warriors are already destined to
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  die regardless of Arjuna's action, and he reveals to Arjuna
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  a view of the Universal Being that is directing this action.
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  He explains to Arjuna that now that he knows the truth of
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  things, he should undertake to do what he feels is right.
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  He thus solicits Arjuna's conscious, willing adherence to
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  the action, rather than simply pressing him into action
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  unconsciously. As the spiritual sadhana
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  progresses, the seeker may go through various stages of
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  increasing consciousness of the purpose of the Universal
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  Creation and his role in that process.
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  In his book The Mother, Sri Aurobindo outlines various
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  relations that the seeker may successively gain as he becomes
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  more conscious of his psychic being and his connection to the
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  spiritual truth of his existence.
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  Chapter 5 is dedicated to the question of a seeker becoming a
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  true doer of divine works with an ever increasing inner
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  awareness and consciousness. The Mother notes quote.
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  It seems to me impossible to escape from this necessity of
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  organizing the being around the Central Presence if one wants to
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  be and is to be a conscious instrument of the Divine Force.
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  You may be moved, pushed into action and used as unconscious
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  instruments by the Divine Force if you have a minimum of
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  goodwill and sincerity. But to become a conscious
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  instrument capable of identification and conscious
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  willed movements, you must have this inner organization.
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  Otherwise you will always be running into a chaos somewhere,
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  a confusion somewhere, or an obscurity, an unconsciousness
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  somewhere. And naturally your action, even
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  though guided exclusively by the Divine, will not have the
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  perfection of expression it has when one has acquired a
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  conscious organization around this divine center.
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  It is an assiduous task which may be done at any time and
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  under any circumstances, for you carry within yourself all the
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  elements of the problem. You don't need anything from
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  outside, no outer aid to do this work, but it requires great
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  perseverance, a sort of tenacity.
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  For very often it happens that there are bad creases in the
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  being, habits which come from all sorts of causes, which may
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  come from atavistic malformation, or also from
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  education, or from the environment you have lived in,
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  or from many other causes. And these bad creases you try to
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  smooth out, but they wrinkle up again, and then you must begin
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  the work over again many, many, many a time without getting
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  discouraged before the final result is obtained.
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  But nothing and nobody can prevent you from doing it, nor
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  any circumstance for you carry within yourself the problem and
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  the solution. End Quote Reference Sri
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  Aurobindo and the Mother Powers within, Chapter 20, The Psychic,
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  pages 156 to 157.