12-10-2014
Aspiration
Life is a plane of movement. Movement implies progress as in a state of no progress there will be equilibrium and no movement. Movement is caused by energy which is released by aspiration.And the Gita lays down that anyone can become what he aspires for. We witness such aspiration from physical survival to Samadhi in moksha. Sri Aurobindo who opens the Book The Life Divine with the Chapter on Aspiration, raised it in the eyes of humanity to enjoy the delight God seeks. In the society that aspiration is seen for acquiring wealth which is in truth the aspiration for social status. Man who achieves has the way of allowing his achievement to possess himself. Man’s social achievements are many but Money is seen as the significant symbol.Fame is known to be the last infirmity of noble minds. Fame is the aspiration for one’s Mental attainments to be recognized by the society. It is to belong to the collective as a possessor. Man levels off at the point he allows himself to be possessed by his own achievement.
We also see the phenomenon that the transition from one state to another does not occur automatically. The aspiration to grow is not enough to cross from one plane to the other. Vital rises to the Mental. Even in the vital there are several stages. One can easily know the physical vital, the real vital – vital vital -- the Mental vital. In the configuration of human personality from one to nine there are 4, 5 and 6. Four is the vital Mind shrewd people possess. It is keen in the animal. No.6 is what makes affection attachment by the passion of physical force. Number 5 at the lowest belongs to an ideal servant – குறிப்பறிபவன்- and at the highest to the ideal hero, be it in war or life. A further height here is for the Vibhuti like Napoleon or Washington. All great artists fill this slot. Sri Aurobindo confines Himself to Spiritual Aspiration. He has offered the world the goal of delight God seeks in creation. Man’s greatest joys are mostly vital success as in the victory of an election or a family celebration where the Society expansively recognizes his achievement. It is what one Man enjoys within the limits of his own personality. Of course, with that basis, it can expand all over the world. Still the enjoyment is confined to one human personality.
Sri Aurobindo extends it in two ways. Horizontally he extends it from one to all. He goes on to include all animate objects. Of course, in the final analysis, inanimate objects are not excluded. Vertically it is raised from vital to Mind and Supermind, from joy to bliss as well as delight – a delight of all creation experiencing Sachchidananda’s bliss in all the objects. HE raises this question for the indomitable idealist and suggests a better way for him than the one that is daunting. He calls it the Supreme Victory. It is to know the powers and processes through which consciousness became the Superconscient. The question is where to begin? If I know where, how and what. It is obvious that one can only begin where he is. HIS method is consecration. Consecration is possible when one is threatened with total loss. Only such a concentration will move life by consecration.
Some ideas are self-evident. 1) If we cannot generate the intensity in concentration to aspire for the divine goal, at least we can reach a corresponding intensity in the work we do. It is to reach perfection in daily work, செய்வன திருந்தச் செய்; 2) Of course such a perfection can be subjected to consecration in its own level in the beginning to be raised later to its own ideal; 3) The list of twenty-seven items He wants us to delete is, of course, a must. Even one there, as suspicion or demand, will demand all our energies. That is inevitable. 4) Next comes the transition from one plane to the other. There is a resistance there as if the borders of one plane are sealed against the opening. It is so because the plane is in the gross physical and the next plane is its subtlety. It is, apart from all the other aspects, a transition from the gross to the subtle. In practice it is from objects to their value, a higher value, from mercenary utility to idealistic values. One enjoys family life for its comforts. At a higher level he must see the family values and uphold them. It happened to Mr. Bennet at the elopement. 5) Next comes the transition from the human to the divine. It is a shift from Sakthi, Viryam to deiva prakriti and Sraddha. Almost one comes to the goal of the Gita. The Gita advocates abandoning the faith in dharma – a mental belief endorsed by the aspiration of the Spirit. We believe in hundreds of things, medicine, Money, trust, law, etc. To raise oneself from law or Money is difficult but inevitable. It can be put in other words. The aspirant must come to a frame of Mind that accepts nothing in life that does not come from Mother. If one succeeds, it is a major departure. The more he conquers, the greater will be the resisting operation. It will be in life, the outer life. Life in the outer is not so difficult to conquer for this purpose as life in the inner. One can give up a desire and not seek it. To give it up in the inner Mind is not so easy. Moving from mental faculties to spiritual ones, it is still more difficult. For instance, one cannot shed desire as easily as a habit. Shedding thinking is more difficult than shedding desire. We have innumerable beliefs. Rituals are the first stumbling block. Rituals given up will rear their heads symbolically. The ritual of marriage given up will still demand the legal approval of registration.
Let us consider the Man who has moved away from all these and has met with a considerable amount of success. What is he to do when he faces corruption, the ways of many compromises in life? Having overcome them inside in the substance, not in the consciousness, he is sure to move ahead.The decision to give up those values of the society in one’s Mind is enough to overcome any obstacle posed by any big company or the government. The several ways in which the inner consciousness compromises is a wide field. As it is self-explanatory, no further explanation is needed. One hint can be given. Meeting with a refractory attitude outside, one can overcome it outside by giving it up inside. Better still, an inner transformation, if successful, will witness a burst of energy inside and changed circumstances outside. Simply put, “Do your honest best, SINCERELY.” All will be well and more than well.
There is no insurmountable obstacle.
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