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One can advance towards perfection through any work
Extract from the booklet 'What I have learnt from the Mother' by Pranab Kumar Bhattacharya Man's aim is to move towards an integral perfection. Life is the field of action given to us for developing that integral perfection. And the path is the total surrender of our life and action. Sri Aurobindo's sadhana does not exclude the world. It is the integral transformation of the world by bringing down from the heights the Divine Consciousness. This is not possible solely by human endeavour. The human aspiration from below and the response from above: it is only in the union of these two that this work can be done. Man with his mind can determine his conduct in the practical, material life but then the very imperfection of man's earthly life can completely unsettle everything. No political ideology, no religious discipline, no philosophical system, no intellectual understanding, no ethical solution or scientific discovery can bring Page-142 about that perfection until man transforms his own nature. And once man's nature is transformed then every activity can be utilized for the work of integral perfection. But then the question arises; Should man just twiddle his thumbs until the transformation of his nature takes place? Not at all. He has first to be convinced of this truth in his mind and life. And then keeping this truth in full view he should develop himself in all the parts of his being, keep the flame of aspiration constantly burning within him and rely entirely on the Divine Grace. Man should determine his work according to his nature, capacity and inclination since it is work that helps us in manifesting our inner truth outside. Then it is important to try and turn oneself through one's work and one's work through oneself into something as beautiful as possible. There is no high and low in work. It is not work that makes man great or small. It is man who makes his work great or small. One can advance towards perfection through any work as long as that work is done with inner sincerity. At the very outset there is not much that needs to be changed in life from the outside. First one has to change one's attitude in life and then that takes care of the rest. One has to discover one's inner truth and then allow it as fully as possible to direct one's whole life. It is not an easy path. At every step there is risk and danger. At every step one's inner sincerity is put to test. But there is no other way. My personal experience in my own life through all these years has shown me that an invisible Power has guided me all along this path. And it is my innermost conviction that it is this same invisible Power that will continue to guide me till the very end of my life. Courtesy: Matru Bhaban, Cuttack Page-143 |