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The Darkness and the Light Within Each Individual · Sri Aurobindo Studies

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  Ancient Chinese philosophy, enunciated the concept of Yin
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  and Yang, which represent the Opposites that together form a
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  whole, and which are constantly interacting with one another
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  dynamically, the classical image shows a black spot in a white
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  background and a white spot in a black background bound together
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  in a circle and dynamically moving within that space.
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  It is a common idea. Light and dark are inextricably
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  related to one another and cannot exist without each other.
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  Our minds easily, extrapolate to this Viewpoint from our
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  perception of physical day and night the English author.
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  Charles, Dickens recognize this principle and in several of his
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  Works, he wove together. The darkness and the light.
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  His famous novel, A Tale of Two Cities begins with this
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  evocative. Imagery It was the best of
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  times, it was the worst of times.
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  It was the age of wisdom. It was the age of foolishness.
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  It was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity.
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  It was the season of light. It was the season of Darkness.
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  It was the spring of hope. It was the winter of Despair.
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  We had everything before us. We had nothing before us.
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  We were all going direct to heaven.
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  We were all going direct the other way.
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  In A Christmas Carol, Dickens applied.
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  This conception to the struggle between the dark and The Light
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  Within an individual. The protagonist Scrooge is seen
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  as a miserly bitter, businessman, misogynistic and
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  cruel in his dealings with others, as he sought for wealth
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  power, and what passed for success in his mind.
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  At a certain point, however, the deeper Soul Force within him
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  brought before his awareness in the shape of lucid dreams, the
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  aspiration of the Soul towards Harmony Goodwill compassion and
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  showed him the error of his at that time, present mode of life.
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  He awoke from the darkness within him and became a soul of
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  light and Goodwill spreading cheer and support to those
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  around him. Scrooge in one form or another
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  represents each human individual who has certain characteristics
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  that are dark and retrogressive. And at the same time, the
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  aspiration to overcome those negative traits through a growth
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  and evolutionary process. SRI aurobindo points out that it
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  is a process of nature to oppose extreme contradictions.
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  In order to distill out the needed progress, That's when,
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  when identifies a strong aspiration within oneself, it
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  provides a clue to the dark side that lies within and needs to be
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  dealt with. And similarly, one is feeling
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  overwhelmed by the negative traits that seemed to overpower
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  the nature that these are signs of the opportunity and the
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  mission of the soul. In this life, to solve these
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  particular issues and make progress both for oneself and
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  for Humanity as a whole. The mother observes quote, if
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  you look at yourself carefully, you will see that one always
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  carries in oneself. The opposite of The Virtue.
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  One has to realize I use virtue in its widest and highest sense.
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  You have a special aim, the special Mission Especial
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  realization, which is your very own, each one individually and
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  you carry in yourself all the obstacles necessary to make your
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  realization perfect. Always, you will see that within
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  you this Shadow and the light are equal.
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  You have an ability. You have also the negation of
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  this ability but if you discover a very black hole a thick
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  Shadow, be sure there is somewhere in you, a great light,
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  it is up to you to know how to use the one to realize the
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  other. This is a fact, very little
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  spoken about, but one of capital importance, and if You observe
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  carefully, you will see that it is always the US with everyone.
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  It's this leads us to statements, which are
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  paradoxical but absolutely true. For instance, that the greatest
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  Thief can be the most honest, man.
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  This is not doing urge you to steal, of course.
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  And the greatest liar can be the most truthful person.
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  So, do not despair. If you find Yourself the
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  greatest weakness for Perhaps it is the sign of the greatest
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  Divine strength. Do not say I am like that, I
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  can't be. Otherwise it is not true.
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  You are like that because precisely you ought to be the
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  opposite and all your difficulties.
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  Are there just that you may learn to transform them into the
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  truth? They are hiding and quote
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  reference SRI aurobindo in the mother living.
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  Within the yoga approach to psychological health and growth
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  exercises for growth and Mastery becoming aware of the Shadow
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  Pages 139 to 143.