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Educating and Uplifting the Vital Nature: Part 3 Methods and Techniques · Sri Aurobindo Studies

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  One of the prevalent ideas about managing the vital nature has
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  been the idea that punishment in some form or other is
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  beneficial. Spanking of children, for
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  example, has been a common method of educating them.
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  It is a form of conditioning that administers a negative
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  consequence to a specific behavior that the parent or
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  other authorized authority figure wants to eliminate.
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  Modern psychological research indicates that in fact this
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  method is not the best approach to what is actually vital
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  education. Children subjected to spanking
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  may either lose their independent initiative or may
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  react with rebellion, withdrawal, or undertake
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  bullying in what is known as the pecking order.
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  Response conditioning is a frequently utilized methodology
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  which relies on what is known in Western psychology as either
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  classical, Pavlovian or operant conditioning.
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  In these methods, the concept is to either deliver a reward or a
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  shock when the individual being conditioned either does what the
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  operator wishes or not. Variations of these methods
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  include development of optimal cycles of reward versus non
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  reward to gain the highest compliance.
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  While these methods may seem to work in the short term, they
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  have less value over the longer term as they rely on a fixed
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  response to a fixed stimulus and thus minimize the flexibility
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  and independence of the vital nature and thereby limit the
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  potential to respond to new circumstances or situations.
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  The key to vital education and motivation is to inform,
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  educate, inspire and uplift the vital nature, not try to shape
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  it through either suppression techniques or short term reward
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  motivations. If the vital accepts the ideal,
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  the rationale, the progress and the motive, it will
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  wholeheartedly engage all its powers and energies to see them
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  accomplished. Of course, this process must
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  take into account the nature of the individual and the stage in
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  the life cycle of that individual so that the education
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  being provided is appropriate for that individual situation.
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  This happens somewhat naturally as the being develops and
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  matures and the higher chakras begin to open and exert their
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  influence. The lower chakras are very much
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  focused on individual, physical and vital existence and they
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  tend to emphasize short term needs rather than larger
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  motives. As one moves into the heart
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  chakra, the throat chakra and the higher chakras centered in
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  the region of the brain and above, new motivations begin to
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  replace those that are more self-centered by nature.
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  This leads many to believe that they should actively work to
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  open the chakras from below through activation of what is
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  known as the Kundalini energy. This approach, however, as has
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  been pointed out by Shrioro Bindo, has its drawbacks as it
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  can lead to the expression of powers that are not fully
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  understood nor guided. The Integral Yoga of Sri
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  Aurogindo focuses instead on opening from above, having a
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  higher consciousness than exert its influence and open the lower
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  chakras successively, while at the same time guiding, directing
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  and managing their energies. This developed a process of
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  leadership rather than domination, which encourages the
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  vital to grow and express itself, but guides it to ever
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  higher forms of expression and understanding.
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  Focusing the vital on uplifting energies and activities can
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  shift its fulfillment away from the expressions found in the
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  lower chakras and help to understand and mitigate moods,
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  short term impulsions or imbalances.
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  Encouraging sentiments like compassion, goodwill, gratitude,
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  forgiveness, non injury to others, et cetera, helps to
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  refine and uplift the action of the vital nature.
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  As it experiences the positive energetic flow that results from
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  this type of development, the vital will naturally begin to
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  seek its fulfilment in these areas.
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  Supportive activities such as devotional practices, chanting
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  or singing, as well as frequenting of locales that
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  encourage the higher movements of the vital nature are also
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  frequently found to be beneficial.
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  The different energy, for instance, between a nightclub or
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  bar and a spiritual center can certainly be experienced.
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  Guiding the vital nature toward positive development and
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  relationships thus aids in the long term growth and maturation
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  of the vital. Force feeding, however, is
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  generally not helpful and leads the vital to turn away or reject
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  the environment in which it is being placed, so it must be
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  something natural and appropriate for the individual
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  involved. The vital responds best to
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  leadership and example. The guidance therefore should
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  conform to what is being expected and follow this
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  approach in the way the guidance is provided.
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  It is not about what is said to the vital but how the
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  communication takes place and how it fits with the concept.
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  There are stories both in the West and the East, which
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  illustrate how example can bring about radical change to the
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  vital being of an individual. In his novel Les Miserables,
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  Victor Hugo describes a man who stole a loaf of bread to feed
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  his sister's family. He was caught and sent to the
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  galleys where he was brutalized over a number of years.
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  Eventually he was freed from the galleys and one night he stayed
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  at the abode of a Bishop in a village church who took him in,
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  fed him, and gave him a place to stay for the night.
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  However, when he left in the morning, he stole some silver
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  plate that the pastor had used to feed him.
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  He was caught and returned by the local Constabulary, and when
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  asked, the Bishop indicated that he had gifted those items to the
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  man as well as some silver candlesticks.
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  He was then let go. The compassion and humanity of
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  the Bishop struck this individual to the core and he
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  became a changed man, went to another town, became a
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  businessman who helped provide real gainful employment to the
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  townspeople, and generally worked for the betterment of his
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  community. Eventually another man was
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  caught and accused of being him, the former galley slave who had
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  committed a petty theft. After his release, although he
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  repented of his action, but rather than let the innocent man
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  suffer, he gave witness at the risk of his own liberty.
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  Thereafter, he was hounded incessantly until eventually he
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  had the police inspector under his control and took compassion
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  on him, let him go at the risk that he would be arrested again.
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  In India, there are several tales about individuals who may
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  have been thieves who either went to an ashram to hide from
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  the authorities or who went there to steal.
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  But in either case, by pretending to be disciples and
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  students, they actually began to experience the deeper truth of
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  existence and gave up the life of thievery and became sages in
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  their own right. Thus, the action of the psychic
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  being and the developed mind can take a longer view, can
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  appreciate the struggles of the vital nature and exercise
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  patient, consistent, supportive goodwill towards the development
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  process. It is particularly helpful if a
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  living example can provide positive influence to the
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  individual along the way. If one practices this approach
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  over time, 1 can look back and see how much progress has been
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  made in making the vital nature the essential, respected partner
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  in the spiritual development and transformation process that it
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  should be and is the mother writes quote.
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  So then take great care of it, treat it with great
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  consideration, but never submit to it, for it will drag you into
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  all kinds of troublesome and untoward experiments, and if you
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  succeed in convincing it in some way or other, then you will
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  advance with giant strides on the path.
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  End Quote. Reference Sri Aurobindo and the
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  Mother Powers within Chapter 17, The Vital, page 135.