APPENDIX The following passages, extracted from Sri Aurobindo's epic, Savitri, are on topics related to the psychic being dealt with in this book — nature and function of the psychic, its action and influence, contact with the psychic, its growth, discovery of the psychic and its freedom, emergence of the psychic and psychic transformation. Page references pertain to the Sri Aurobindo Birth Centenary Library edition of the epic. This bodily appearance is not all; The form deceives, the person is a mask; Hid deep in man celestial powers can dwell. His fragile ship conveys through the sea of years An incognito of the Imperishable. A spirit that is a f

INTRODUCTION One of the most inspiring and ennobling concepts in the spiritual lore of the world is that of the psychic being. It provides a major key for understanding the significance and process of the evolution of consciousness, and offers a potent tool for the transformation of consciousness. The concept of the psychic thus ranks among the outstanding contributions made by yogic experience to psychological thought and spiritual practice. What is the Psychic? Sri Aurobindo, who uses the term "psychic" for what is popularly and often vaguely called the soul, distinguishes between the psychic principle, which is present in all things and creatures, and the ps

Section Five EMERGENCE OF THE PSYCHIC BEING Man is a mental being and the mind is the leader of his life and body; but this is a leader who is much led by his followers and has sometimes no other will than what they impose on him. Mind in spite of its power is often impotent before the inconscient and subconscient which obscure its clarity and carry it away on the tide of instinct or impulse; in spite of its clarity it is fooled by vital and emotional suggestions into giving sanction to ignorance and error, to wrong thought and to wrong action, or it is obliged to look on while the nature follows what it knows to be wrong, dangerous or evil. Even w

REFERENCES Passages in this book, serially numbered 1-127. have been extracted from the following volumes of the Sri Aurobindo Birth Centenary Library (1970-1973) and the Collected Works of the Mother (1972-1987) published by Sri Aurobindo Ashram, Pondicherry, Sri Aurobindo Birth Centenary Library (SABCL) Vol. Title 15 Social and Political Thought 19 The Life Divine -— Book Two Part Two 20 The Synthesis of Yoga — Parts One and Two 21 The Synthesis of Yoga — Parts Three and Four 22 Letters on Yoga — Part One 23 Letters on Yoga — Parts Two and Three 24 Letters on Yoga — Pa

PREFACE This book aims at three main objectives. First, it is meant to help one in becoming more conscious of what most human beings are almost entirely unconscious, namely, the action and influence of the soul in one's life. Secondly, the book seeks to describe and clarify various states of consciousness that pertain to experiences of the soul. These include the influence of the psychic, coming in contact or being in touch with the psychic, discovery of, identification with or awakening of the psychic, and the opening, coming forward or emergence of the psychic. Such a clarification provides a mental understanding that can be helpful not only in conceiving and distinguishin