The Propagandist Spirit (28-11-12)  In all the lakhs of ochre-clad Sannyasins, how many are perfect ? It is the few attainments and the many approximations that justify an ideal. Sri Aurobindo (Thoughts and Aphorisms-104)   The Propagandist Spirit If you arrive at the conception of the world as the expression of the Divine in all His complexity, then the necessity for complexity and diversity has to be recognised, and it becomes impossible for you to want to make others think and feel as you do. Each one should have his own way of thinking, feeling and reaction; why do you want others to do as you do and be like you? And even granting that your truth is greater than theirs,... th

Keep Faith (15-08-12) God is great, says the Mahomedan. Yes, He is so great that He can afford to be weak, whenever that too is necessary. Sri Aurobindo (Thoughts and Aphorisms-53) Keep Faith [We must have] faith that always what is the best happens. We may for the moment not consider it as the best because we are ignorant and also blind, because we do not see the consequence of things and what will happen later. But we must keep the faith that it is like that, if we rely on the Divine, if we give Him the full charge of ourselves, if we let Him decide everything for us, well, we must know that it is always what is best for us which happens. This is an absolute fact. To the extent to whi

The Yoga of the Intelligent Will and Desires (May 2012) The Yoga of the Intelligent Will and Desires ……… It is not an external asceticism, the physical renunciation of the objects of sense that I am teaching, suggests Krishna immediately to avoid a misunderstanding which is likely at once to arise. Not the renunciation of the Sankhyas or the austerities of the rigid ascetic with his fasts, his maceration of the body, his attempt to abstain even from food; that is not the self-discipline or the abstinence which I mean, for I speak of an inner withdrawal, a renunciation of desire. The embodied soul, having a body, has to support it normally by food for its normal physical action; by abstentio

Yogic Equality --- What Equality Means (17-06-12) Yogic Equality --- What Equality Means December 5, 1912 IN Peace and Silence the Eternal manifests: allow nothing to disturb you and the Eternal will manifest; have perfect equality in face of all and the Eternal will be there......Yes, we should not put too much intensity, too much effort into our seeking for Thee; the effort and intensity become a veil in front of Thee: we must not desire to see Thee, for that is still a mental agitation which obscures Thy Eternal Presence; it is in the most complete Peace, Serenity and Equality that all is Thou even as Thou art all, and the least vibration in this perfectly pure and calm atmosphere is an o

How to grow in Equality (15-07-12) How to grow in Equality …….. The first business of the sadhaka is to see whether he has the perfect equality, how far he has gone in this direction or else where is the flaw, and to exercise steadily his will on his nature or invite the will of the Purusha to get rid of the defect and its causes. There are four things that he must have; first, equality in the most concrete practical sense of the word, samatā, freedom from mental, vital, physical preferences, an even acceptance of all God's workings within and around him; secondly, a firm peace and absence of all disturbance and trouble, śānti; thirdly, a positive inner spiritual happiness and spiritual ease

The Yoga of the Intelligent Will and Desires (May 2012) The Yoga of the Intelligent Will and Desires ……… It is not an external asceticism, the physical renunciation of the objects of sense that I am teaching, suggests Krishna immediately to avoid a misunderstanding which is likely at once to arise. Not the renunciation of the Sankhyas or the austerities of the rigid ascetic with his fasts, his maceration of the body, his attempt to abstain even from food; that is not the self-discipline or the abstinence which I mean, for I speak of an inner withdrawal, a renunciation of desire. The embodied soul, having a body, has to support it normally by food for its normal physical action; by abstentio

Forget Thyself (04-11-12) Forget Thyself If thou wouldst a little loosen the vast chain, Draw back from the world that the Idea has made, Thy mind's selection from the Infinite, Thy senses' gloss on the Infinitesimal's dance, Then shalt thou know how the great bondage came. Banish all thought from thee and be God's void. Then shalt thou uncover the Unknowable And the Superconscient conscious grow on thy tops; Infinity's vision through thy gaze shall pierce, Thou shalt look into the eyes of the Unknown; Find the hid Truth in things seen null and false, Behind things known discover Mystery's rear. Thou shalt be one with God's bare reality And the miraculous world he has become And the d

One Needs Education (13-06-12) There are four very great events in history,the siege of Troy, the life and crucifixion of Christ, the exile of Krishna in Brindavun and the colloquy with Arjuna on the field of Kurukshetra. The siege of Troy created Hellas, the exile in Brindavun created devotional religion, (for before there was only meditation and worship,) Christ from his cross humanised Europe, the colloquy at Kurukshetra will yet liberate humanity. Yet it is said that none of these four events ever happened. Sri Aurobindo (Thoughts and Aphorisms-41)   One Needs Education If a child were not taught how to live, he could not live, he wouldn’t know how to do anything…. Even the most

The Body Needs Activity (22-02-12) There are two allied powers in man; knowledge and wisdom. Knowledge is so much of the truth seen in a distorted medium as the mind arrives at by groping, wisdom what the eye of divine vision sees in the spirit. Sri Aurobindo (Thoughts and Aphorisms-01) The Body Needs Activity The body needs activity: if you keep it inactive, it will begin to revolt by becoming sick and so on. It needs an activity, it really needs an activity like planting flowers, building a house, something really material. You must feel it. Some people do exercises, some ride bicycles, there are countless activities…. Each one can find the activity which suits his temperament, his n

Give Up Desire (24-10-12) Give Up Desire The Buddha has said that there is a greater joy in overcoming a desire than in satisfying it. It is an experience everybody can have and one that is truly very very interesting….. There is a kind of inner communion with the psychic being which takes place when one willingly gives up a desire, and because of this one feels a much greater joy than if he had satisfied his desire. Besides, most usually, almost without exception, when one satisfies a desire it always leaves a bitter taste somewhere. There is not one satisfied desire which does not give a kind of bitterness; as when one has eaten too sugary a sweet it fills your mouth with bitterness.