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M O N T H LY A R C H I V E S : D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 4

The Inner Guide and Master Of the

Integral Yoga
Posted on December 31, 2014

Sri Aurobindo clarifies for us the living Guidance that leads the seeker through
the transitions and transformations that take place in the course of the yogic
practice. As the supreme Shastra of the integral Yoga is the eternal Veda secret
in the heart of every man, so its supreme Guide and Teacher is the inner Guide,
the World-Teacher, jagad-guru, secret within us. It is he who destroys our
darkness by the resplendent light of his knowledge; that light becomes within us
the increasing glory of his own self-revelation. he discloses progressively in us
his own nature of freedom, bliss, love, power, immortal being. He sets above us
his divine example as our ideal and transforms the lower existence into a
reflection of that which it contemplates. By the inpouring of his own influence
and presence into us he enables the individual being to attain to identity with
the universal and transcendent.
From this description it becomes clear that the inner Guide is not the voice of
reason, of desire, of conscience, or of the social and moral training that has
been inculcated in us through the societys norms and institutions. It is
important to reflect on this, to avoid the pitfalls that can arise from accepting
the justifications that surround the egos appropriation of the various drives and
desires that arise within the being on an unceasing basis.

The issue of finding and following the true Guidance is one that all paths of Yoga
try to address, whether through requiring adherence to certain rules of conduct,
avoidance of various temptations and situations, or through coming under the
control of an institutional programme or a recognised outer teacher or guru. In
Raja Yoga, for instance, the preliminary practices of yama and niyama are set
forth as essential in order to bring calm to the outer being and bring a sense of
control and distance from the rising up of the forces of desire. There is a concern
that without these practices as the foundation, the rising up of forces within the
being through the practice of Yoga would lead to potential disaster, the inability
of the vessel to hold the divine Energy.
The voice of the divine Guidance must be found within. For most, to begin with,
it is like a gentle prompting, or a feeling of knowing what one is called upon to
do. For many, it is a very quiet voice that does not have the insistence of the
vital impulsions of desire, and does not argue as the mind of reason or intellect
may be prone to do.
When we reflect deeply on Sri Aurobindos description, we are struck by the selfevident nature of the guidance. The predominant characteristics are light,
overwhelming clarity and an ever-widening and heightening sense of increasing
knowledge, and the impact this has on our entire being and action. A result will
be the transition away from the bondage to the ego and the outer life of desire,
and an increasing sense of Oneness with the entire existence, as well as a
transcendence that takes us beyond these forms and forces.
Sri Aurobindo, The Synthesis of Yoga, Part One: The Yoga of Divine Works,
Chapter 1, The Four Aids, pg. 55
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The Practical Necessity For the Three

Stages Of Development of Integral Yoga
Posted on December 30, 2014

In our usual goal-oriented approach to action, it is tempting to try to leap over

the earlier stages and settle oneself in the final status that results from the
practice of the integral Yoga. This is particularly true for those who have strong
development of the mental capacities, as they take the acceptance of the
thought in the mind as representing the actual result in the rest of the being.
The action of the three Gunas in the lower Nature continues and ensures that
various movements will be either clouded by delusion or darkness, desire or
fear, or the assurance of rightness, all of which actually count as obstacles to
the complete realisation of the results of the yogic practice in the entire being.
The human instrument is also quite complex, and just because we think
something, it does not mean that at the level of physical or vital reaction or
response, that thought is effective and being carried out without deformation.
These issues lead Sri Aurobindo to conclude that the seeker should be prepared
to follow through diligently and systematically on the three stages and give the
changes that occur time to ripen and take firm hold of the entire being.
It will not do, it cannot be safe or effective to begin with the last and highest
alone. It would not be the right course, either, to leap prematurely from one to
another. For even if from the beginning we recognise in mind and heart the
Supreme, there are elements of the nature which long prevent the recognition
from becoming realisation.
And even if realisation has begun, it may be dangerous to imagine or to assume
too soon that we are altogether in the hands of the Supreme or acting as his
instrument. That assumption may introduce a calamitous falsity; it may produce
a helpless inertia or, magnifying the movements of the ego with the Divine
Name, it may disastrously distort and ruin the whole course of the Yoga.
Once the process of aspiration has begun, the next phase involves taking up
each movement of the mind, heart, vital being and physical body and
overcoming the resistance and obstructions they put up: The mental energies,

the hearts emotions, the vital desires, the very physical being have to be
compelled into the right attitude or trained to admit and answer to the right
influences. It is only then, only when this has been truly done, that the surrender
of the lower to the higher can be effected, because the sacrifice has become
acceptable.
The personal will of the Sadhaka has first to seize on the egoistic energies and
turn them towards the light and the right; once turned, he has still to train them
to recognise that always, always to accept, always to follow that. Once that
step has been mainly accomplished, the egoistic personality still remains in
evidence, but can begin to respond to the demands of the higher Force in the
actions carried out. At the end of the progress, with the progressive
disappearance of egoism and impurity and ignorance, this last separation is
removed; all in the individual becomes the divine working.
Sri Aurobindo, The Synthesis of Yoga, Part One: The Yoga of Divine Works,
Chapter 1, The Four Aids, pp. 53-55
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The Ego-Consciousness and the Divine

Consciousness In Yoga
Posted on December 29, 2014

As human beings, we act starting from a state of consciousness which treats the
individual as the center of the universe. The thoughts, ideas, impulsions and
actions we undertake we treat as originating with us, and we call them our
own. Thus, in the first stage of the integral Yoga, when personal effort is
called for, we are essentially starting from this standpoint and continuing to
appropriate the efforts to ourselves.
Sri Aurobindo clarifies that this personal effort is a product of the illusion thus
created by the status of the ego-consciousness. Always indeed it is the higher
Power that acts. Our sense of personal effort and aspiration comes from the
attempt of the egoistic mind to identify itself in a wrong and imperfect way with
the workings of the divine Force. It persists in applying to experience on a
supernormal plane the ordinary terms of mentality which it applies to its normal
experiences in the world.
At a certain stage as the awareness grows and the transition to a divine
standpoint takes hold, we recognize this truth: Enlightenment brings to us the
knowledge that the ego is only an instrument; we begin to perceive and feel that
these things are our own in the sense that they belong to our supreme and
integral Self, one with the Transcendent, not to the instrumental ego. Our
limitations and distortions are our contribution to the working; the true power in
it is the Divines.
The second stage, in which we see the action of the Divine undertaking the Yoga
comes through this recognition: When the human ego realises that its will is a
tool, its wisdom ignorance and childishness, its power an infants groping, its
virtue a pretentious impurity, and learns to trust itself to that which transcends
it, that is its salvation.
The assertion of our independence and free will is also an illusion of the egoconsciousness: The apparent freedom and self-assertion of our personal being
to which we are so profoundly attached, conceal a most pitiable subjection to a
thousand suggestions, impulsions, forces which we have made extraneous to
our little person. Our ego, boasting of freedom, is at every moment the slave,
toy and puppet of countless beings, powers, forces, influences in universal
Nature.
True freedom comes about when the ego surrenders its hold and we assume the
Divine standpoint and allow that greater consciousness and will to act through
us as an occasion or nexus of the universal action it has undertaken.

Sri Aurobindo, The Synthesis of Yoga, Part One: The Yoga of Divine Works,
Chapter 1, The Four Aids, pg. 53
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The Three Stages of the Integral Yoga

Posted on December 28, 2014

Sri Aurobindo identifies three stages that occur in the process of the integral
Yoga in the seeker. These are not precisely delineated levels, but will tend to
flow into one another and to some degree overlap or interleave each other. The
first step is the turning of the aspiration towards the Divine in one form or
another, and through one or another aspect or power of the being. This stage
involves the personal effort of the seeker working to establish contact with the
Divine Truth. Once the contact has been firmly established, there is an inflowing
of knowledge, will, emotion and force from the Divine, filling the being,
transforming the reactions and the responses, providing insight and a power of
effective action. The third stage uses the transformed instrument to reach out
and place that power into action as part of the transforming action of the world.
The personal effort is necessary during the first stage to seek and establish a
solid relation to the Divine: So long as the contact with the Divine is not in
some considerable degree established, so long as there is not some measure of

sustained identity, the element of personal effort must normally

predominate.
As the seeker begins to move more into the second stage, the personal effort
gives way to the Divine response: But in proportion as this contact establishes
itself, the Sadhaka must become conscious that a force other than his own, a
force transcending his egoistic endeavor and capacity, is at work in him and to
this Power he learns progressively to submit himself and delivers up to it the
charge of his Yoga. In the end his own will and force become one with the higher
Power; he merges them in the divine Will and its transcendent and universe
Force. He finds it thenceforward presiding over the necessary transformation of
his mental, vital and physical being with an impartial wisdom and provident
effectivity of which the eager and interested ego is not capable.
At this point the being is ready to act as a nexus for Divine action in the world:
It is when this identification and this self-merging are complete that the divine
centre in the world is ready. Purified, liberated, plastic, illumined, it can begin to
serve as a means for the direct action of a supreme Power in the larger Yoga of
humanity or superhumanity, of the earths spiritual progression or its
transformation.
Sri Aurobindo, The Synthesis of Yoga, Part One: The Yoga of Divine Works,
Chapter 1, The Four Aids, pp. 52-53
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Personal Effort In the Integral Yoga

Posted on December 27, 2014

The normal human life is characterized by action motivated primarily by the

vital drives of desire and fear, attraction and repulsion. There is very little, if
any, room in that life for turning the being toward the Divine and focusing on the
effort needed to overcome the force of desire and the limitations of the egoconsciousness. It takes a conscious turning of the focus toward the Divine by the
individual to start the path of developing a yogic life. This may come about
through a variety of causes, including disappointment of desire, a recognition of
the emptiness and transitory nature of the fruits of action in the world, an
ambition to gain some kind of religious or occult power, or a philosophical
understanding that ripens over time. There is even an instance where it
happened that a thief, in attempting to hide from the authorities, took on the
robes and actions of the spiritual seeker as a Sannyasin, and over time, began
to have experiences that transformed his life into one of true spirituality!
Once the turn takes place, however, the next step required is the personal effort
of the seeker. While it is true, ultimately, that the ego-personality is something
of a fictional construct, and that personal effort eventually must be overcome,
it is also true that the seeker starts from that point and an effort in the direction
of the spiritual realisation is the impetus required to break out of the orbit of the
egoistic round.
Sri Aurobindo describes this personal effort: The first determining element of
the Siddhi is, therefore, the intensity of the turning, the force which directs the
soul inward. The power of aspiration of the heart, the force of the will, the
concentration of the mind, the perseverance and determination of the applied
energy are the measure of that intensity. The ideal Sadhaka should be able to
say in the Biblical phrase, My zeal for the Lord has eaten me up. It is this zeal
for the Lord, utsaha, the zeal of the whole nature for its divine results, the
hearts eagerness for the attainment of the Divine,that devours the ego and
breaks up the limitations of its petty and narrow mould for the full and wide
reception of that which it seeks, that which, being universal, exceeds and, being
transcendent, surpasses even the largest and highest individual self and
nature.
Sri Aurobindo, The Synthesis of Yoga, Part One: The Yoga of Divine Works,
Chapter 1, The Four Aids, pp. 51-52
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The Need For Freedom To Develop New

Approaches In the Integral Yoga
Posted on December 26, 2014

The Integral Yoga represents a re-envisioning of the goal of the yogic endeavor
when viewed from the light of the traditional paths of Yoga. Traditionally, the
seeker practiced a particular sadhana and focused on achieving a specific goal,
usually one that took the individual away from the active life and endeavor in
the world. Those paths were suited, therefore, to a fixed and defined
methodology. The Integral Yoga, inasmuch as it attempts to not only achieve
liberation for the individual, but also to bring about a complete transformation of
consciousness in the world, must necessarily attempt new things and thus,
requires the freedom to experiment, to formulate in a new way, and to take up
lines of action and issues normally eschewed by the more traditional paths.
Sri Aurobindo speaks to this point: An absolute liberty of experience and of the
restatement of knowledge in new terms and new combinations is the condition
of its self-formation. Seeking to embrace all life in itself, it is in the position not
of a pilgrim following the highroad to his destination, but, to that extent at least,
of a path-finder hewing his way through a virgin forest.
By this Yoga we not only seek the Infinite, but we call upon the Infinite to unfold
himself in human life. Therefore the Shastra of our Yoga must provide for an
infinite liberty in the receptive human soul. A free adaptability in the manner
and type of the individuals acceptance of the Universal and Transcendent into
himself is the riht condition for the full spiritual life in man.

one may say that the perfection of the integral Yoga will come when each
man is able to follow his own path of Yoga, pursuing the development of his own
nature in its upsurging towards that which transcends the nature. For freedom is
the final law and the last consummation.
Clearly, the idea of taking up every aspect, every movement, every energy and
every power within ones life, re-directing them, and transforming their action, is
a daunting concept. If applied without proper focus and inner sincerity, it can
easily lead to a loose and undisciplined view that, rather than following a
narrower but more sure path, simply gets confused and misguided, with hidden
springs of desire telling the mind what it wants to hear to justify a lack of effort
and the untransformed life of desire-filled action. Freedom is not a recipe for
license, but for a more intense effort and sincerity.
Sri Aurobindo, The Synthesis of Yoga, Part One: The Yoga of Divine Works,
Chapter 1, The Four Aids, pp. 50-51
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Systems and Methods in the Practice

of Yoga

Posted on December 25, 2014

Yoga is very much an application of practical psychological knowledge and

techniques. The various paths of yoga have each developed an extensive body
of knowledge which has been codified into systematic treatment so that
someone taking up the practices of a particular path can apply the methods of
that path and achieve the desired results over time. Some of the paths, such as
Raja Yoga, are well known for their systematic treatment, particularly the
organized approach taken by Patanjali. But in reality, whether it is Hatha Yoga or
Raja Yoga, or one of the other paths, such as the triple path of Knowledge, Love
and Works, experience and long-practice has led to the development of codified
methodologies.
Sri Aurobindo describes the situation: Each path has its Shastra, either written
or traditional, passing from mouth to mouth through a long line of Teachers. In
India a great authority, a high reverence even is ordinarily attached to the
written or traditional teaching. All the lines of the Yoga are supposed to be fixed
and the Teacher who has received the Shastra by tradition and realised it in
practice guides the disciple along the immemorial tracks.
This approach provides a relatively straightforward way for the Sadhaka to take
up a practice and achieve the result specified. In its essence, however, it has the
limitation of any established framework of knowledge, namely, that it tends to
restrain or hold back new developments or practices through its naturally
conservative tendency.
Sri Aurobindo acknowledges the benefits of this scientific codification of the
practices and methods of yoga, but at the same time he makes it clear that
there must still be room for free development and experimentation to continue.
The general knowledge on which the Yoga depends is fixed, but the order, the
succession, the devices, the forms must be allowed to vary; for the needs and
particular impulsions of the individual nature have to be satisfied even while the
general truths remain firm and constant.
Sri Aurobindo, The Synthesis of Yoga, Part One: The Yoga of Divine Works,
Chapter 1, The Four Aids, pp. 49-50
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