Daily Questions

Q:How the Divine was borne, who made him?

Alokda: The question can be best framed as ‘what is the origin of the Origin?’ Because ultimately that is where the answer will lead us finally. Also, when we use the word born, we are limiting the possibility and the process. Even when human beings are born there is a whole process that seems almost magical as one cell multiplies and differentiates and specialises driven by unseen forces till a body is formed. But the physical body is a gross form. What about thought and feelings. How are they formed and born, we may ask and it will be no less a mystery. All that we can say is that thought emerges out of some state as a vibration that takes the form of sound and then word. But how does the first vibration or first stir of creation emerge?

There must be ‘Something’ from which all emerges including Time and Space and Thoughts and Forms. In Itself THAT (whatever It is) would be beyond Time and Space, beyond Form, beyond Thought. So, we can say that IT is neither this nor this. But since IT must be in everything and everyone, we can equally say that IT is this as well as this other thing. Thus, we have at least two statuses of the Source, – one is that which is beyond everything and hence cannot be known by any instrument including our thoughts and mind. It would then be simply an Unknowable and hence whatever we may say about how It was born or came into existence would be speculation. On the other hand, since IT is in everything including us we can find it by a reverse concentration taking the support of a representative Idea or Name or Form and by going beyond these discover and become one with It. By thus identifying with the Divine or the Source we can know It or Him or Her depending on the angle of our approach. But how That came into existence would still be a mystery since we have gone beyond Time and Space. All that we can say is that IT is, IT always was and always will be. In other words, it is an Eternal Infinite that is ever unchanging even though it is the basis of every change.

Thus far thought can go and no further. Beyond this we have to go within and through yoga discover and identify and know. All that we can say is that while the whole universe is Its birth that itself is unborn or self-born, Ajanma, Swayambhu.

Q: My parents went through physical suffering before death, but after death their bodies looked beautiful, what could be the significance of that?

Alokda: Suffering during the final days of departure acts sometimes as a catharsis of much that was held back during the lifetime. It is a very good way to exhaust the burden of certain karmas, a kind of Grace that releases many karmic knots that prevent the soul’s advance. Some souls even choose it deliberately to take a leap in the inner progress. The awakened soul takes it as a purifying ordeal and it is this soul state, this inner beatitude that gets reflected in the body as long as the cellular life continues to linger after the physical departure.

We should develop the habit of reflection and discernment and pass every thought and feeling and action through that crucible and then accept or reject or modify them as per the conclusion of our highest reason, without justifying anything simply because we feel like doing it. It is our own highest thought that must decide.

Of course, the conclusions we draw should not be held rigidly since we are ourselves evolving and the things we deem right and wrong today may not be so to a more enlightened consciousness. Rights and wrongs are relative values and change as we grow and evolve through experience and as horizons widen and new light enters our sight. No mental conclusions should be held as rigid dogmas. They are at best a provisional scheme for us to navigate through life, at worst a prison of gold.

One should never do something that one is convinced about being wrong, even if the whole world says so. Otherwise, our will gets weakened and our consciousness begins to get obscure. If our family or anyone else says things we do not agree with it is good to discuss with them and if they still do not understand then leave them with their understanding. But that does not mean doing what we believe is not the right thing to do. One has to obey only the voice of one’s own inner truth or else of the Divine Guru or Master if one is blessed and fortunate to have a genuine one.

I would like to know as to what kind of evidence would you look for in the subjective psychological domain where you are dealing with states of consciousness that do not lend themselves to quantification and measurement. If it is a testimony of one’s own personal experience as in autoethnography, which is acceptable now, then there is enough evidence that states of consciousness exist that transcend the normal workings of the human mind. These states of consciousness and their objective effects have been the subject of studies all over the world since the sixties with promising results.

Secondly, there is enough empirical evidence that different forms of yoga help their individual practitioners in ways that we may not fully understand. Yogis speak about subtle laws and transactions of consciousness and energy that takes place behind our tangible observable behaviours observable by the senses as presently organised in the human body. However mysterious it may sound, it is not beyond the scope of logical possibility that there may be other and different types of sense organisation that may glimpse the forces behind the normal sense notations. Just as the animal senses the world differently, just as each human being brings his own perspective that colours the world as it reflects within his own consciousness, so too the yogi climbs beyond the limits of our ordinary perception and discovers realities behind and beyond our normal range.

Are they false evidence just because the average normal humanity does not experience it? Well, he would if he undertook the experiment that the yogi engages in, the experiment of transcending the human formula, of course if he fulfils the conditions of the particular yoga. This is only reasonable since every experiment needs certain conditions and even when all conditions. So, if we take it that direct experience is the only valid evidence in the psychological field then the only way to prove or ‘disprove’ would be to sincerely undertake the experiment and find it out for oneself. That at least is a fair enough requirement from a strictly scientific point of view. The fact that most yoga practitioners who sincerely undertake the yogic journey do experience some change in their consciousness, of varying degrees, which is why they continue to hold on. This is also the reason why yoga has never died unlike religions and belief systems since it is a science that asks us to engage and participate and not accept anything merely as a belief. Though it is unfair to use the methods used in physical sciences to the psychological operations, yet whatever scientific studies have been done till date using different paradigms have shown positive and promising results.

If all this is not evidence enough then I am not sure what exactly is meant by evidence. Yoga, unlike a belief system, is practicable, observable, with its results replicable. But the scientist has to undertake the journey first himself making his own inner field the laboratory of evolution through yoga. Most are not ready to undertake this journey and pass their judgments on a priori denials and ideological beliefs and under the spell of scientific dogmas like the adherents of any religion. Well naturally they do not find any evidence. The blind does not see the sun nor the ape understand the man though the two appear similar in certain ways. But their lack of vision and understanding is not a proof that either does not exist. As to majority, the beliefs of majority has often contradicted scientific evidence and there still people who believe that earth is flat. There are also people who combine an intuitive sense to fill in gaps of understanding and accept evolution as valid though the strictest scientific evidence may be missing like the missing links. Yet we do not discard it as fiction. So too with yoga.

We have the right to ignore the yogic knowledge provided we have put in our efforts in that direction to understand its processes through direct personal application. If not then both science and humility demand that we stay within the boundaries of our ignorance and leave others to follow their faith and see where it leads them. To each his own faith, whether it be a faith in science and its methods, a faith in yoga and its methods, or both.                 

Either way, one has to work through the difficulties of human nature and the challenges posed by the ego and desire self. There is no free lunch as the saying goes. So the law of evolution, sacrifice and mutual respect is as much required in love marriage as in an arranged one. The rush of vital attraction that unfortunately goes by the name of love does not last long and after it has served the purpose of drawing two people together, it usually retires into the background leaving them with their inner resources to work out the marriage. The advantage of ‘love marriage’ is that it allows variation by giving a wider option and hence Nature seems to prefer it now since it permits better chances of evolution. Arranged marriage, on the other hand poses less challenges as it allows the basic comfort zones to continue.  

The Source of all Power is the Spirit. It lends its energies to the mind, heart and bodily life. Now it is up to us (to an extent) to use this energy or power which is given to us by the Divine. When we use it rightly according to our genuine human needs turning the rest, towards progress (in different ways and along the lines of our nature) then these powers increase in us. If we turn them towards the Divine then they not only increase in quantity but begin to undergo a change in quality. This is the logic of spiritual evolution.

A reasonable moderate expenditure of energy for genuine human ends which includes sexual interchange for progeny and for a certain intimacy and physical union when two beings are truly in love keeps the normal balance of our human state. On the other hand indulgence and waste of energy for pleasure, relieving boredom in activities such as excessive sexual indulgence, gossiping, animated vital interchanges, partying and all the rest naturally drains the energy given to us for health, harmony and progress. What is worse is that we draw the deficit from very inferior sources through various forms of interchanges.

Some get completely caught in a vicious cycle or a web of dark forces that pulls them towards an Asuric and even demonic life. Even if one is saved from such extremes, an excess of any kind on the physical, vital and mental domain makes one prone to illnesses and loss of vitality with ensuing frequent fatigue that makes one vulnerable to various forms of psychological disorders such as Depression as well.

This is where the necessity of sexual control as well as other forms of control such as of speech, emotions and vital activities stands. It is not so much a moral as it is a scientific principle which is quite consistent with logic as well as common sense.

Q: Can we read Savitri to get liberation from birth-death cycle or to attain Moksha, or is it exclusively for those who practice integral yoga and want transformation? Can we learn Savitri? Will it help ordinary seekers to realise self or is it too high for such persons?

ALOKDA: Everything is there in Savitri. It is not a book but a power. It is a living body of Truth, not a limited one-sided formula of Truth but the infinite Truth crammed in a book carrying the power to uplift us from peak to peak, summit to summits of glory and wisdom and power and bliss. It is a mantra of transformation and can there be any true transformation as long as our consciousness remains bound to the ignorance. Liberation is on the way to transformation. However the difference is that in this yoga it does not come in the traditional way by cutting oneself off from nature while leaving this field untouched. In this yoga the liberation comes by a progressive growth of consciousness, by discovering the secret psychic being within us and uniting with it, by an opening to the higher planes of consciousness through which one can glimpse the true Self. Savitri helps us to arrive at all these divine possibilities by helping the consciousness to grow by its contact. It is the living body of the dual consciousness of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother as one.

As to high and low it again depends on what we mean by it and what is our aspiration and demand from life. Nothing precious comes easily. So should one settle for the low because the price is high for that which is truly precious? Should not one rather strive in such a way as to reach the heights and pay the price needed for scaling the summits? Besides can man truly be happy for long with a low and fallen state? I do not think so. his very erect posture signified that he is destined climb high and move towards the future where his eyes are set to gaze. We are meant for those summits since we have come here from That, in fact we are That. All this Savitri not only reveals to us in unparalleled rhythms of beauty and light but also radiates from within its words the power that would change us towards the vision of the future that it embodies. It is thus not only a vision but also an action, not just wisdom but also the power to execute the wisdom contained within it. But most of all it is delight. To read Savitri is to be immersed in delight, the delight that has built the worlds, the all creative Ananda of the Divine.

Of course any one can read it but the degree of what one would receive will depend upon the individual receptivity and opening towards the truths it contains. This is true of everything. Even if the Divine is right in front of us we receive only according to what we really seek and aspire with sincerity. How the asuras practicing severe austerities end up only with an aggrandised ego whereas a child (Prahlad) born in a daitya kula yet endowed with a simple faith and devotion realises what is rare even for great yogis and tapaswis. So while Savitri is indeed a tremendous help, the most important of Sri Aurobindo’s as per his own saying and the Mother’s, in fact the whole of it is laden with the rhythm and force of the transforming power, yet we must be in a certain state of receptivity to progress through it. No doubt even if we read it mere mechanically yet the progress will take place but it is not the same thing as when we do so consciously and with a sincere aspiration to remould our present animal-human existence into the divine superhumanity of the future.

Self-respect is also a form of the ego. Most of the time it is a Sattwic ego though sometimes the Rajasic nature can also lay hold upon it. Like all other forms and movements of the Sattwic ego this has to be sacrificed only at the altar of the Divine. Once the psychic being comes out and the ego-self becomes soft enough under its influence that one no more feels insulted or at least one is able to brush it aside quickly as a line sketched on sand. A complete freedom from these feelings comes only when the ego-self is annulled and the Divine has taken its place.

This does not mean that one should let anyone insult us with impunity. Even when you are freed from the sense of insult and self-respect since we know that our identity is not this temporary mould of personality, we may yet sometimes admonish the person who is insulting us as it may be just the right thing to do for his progress. But whether we will respond or simply turn away in indifference will depend upon the moment’s truth.

Q: I heard different opinions about the Mother’s Agenda. Should a devotee read it?

A: The short answer is yes one should read the Agenda because it contains some very important aspects of Her life and work that one does not find elsewhere. However it is best to read it after one has read Her earlier works, at least the Conversations and Prayers and Meditations. The Agenda contains the aspect of sadhana during the physical transformation and portions of Her life as connected with this work. To read it prematurely (or as some do only) may give an erroneous impression of what the yoga is about.

Secondly should also remember that the Agenda contains quite a few remarks and impressions of Satprem to which the Mother responded in a certain contextual way. This contains Her remarks about some disciples about whom the Mother has said very different things at different times. Reading about them only through the Agenda gives a very skewed idea about them.

Thirdly, the last bit about the Mother’s physical withdrawal was written by Satprem in a state of personal anguish and anger and hence should not be taken as a gospel of Truth. He was not personally present during the last 6 months and the account of those present and intimately involved is different in many respects.

All in all it is a gold mine but with mixtures due to the very nature of the conversation, mainly with one particular disciple. One has to have the discernment to discard the mixture which is often not easy as it gets blended with the conversation or is prompted by the disciple with a clear motivated intention. If one can discern between the two and keep mainly to Her Yoga and Life as recounted in the Agenda then it is no doubt a very useful document. Though portions of the Agenda are published in Collected Works of the Mother Volume 10 and 11 which contains most of the important milestones, yet there are interesting links missing which one finds in the Agenda.