The invisible Force producing tangible results
both inward and outward is the whole meaning of the Yogic consciousness. Your
question about Yoga bringing merely a feeling of Power without any result was
really very strange. Who would be satisfied with such a meaningless
hallucination and call it Power? If we had not had thousands of experiences
showing that the Power within could alter the mind, develop its powers, add new
ones, bring in new ranges of knowledge, master the vital movements, change the
character, influence men and things, control the conditions and functionings of
the body, work as a concrete dynamic Force on other forces, modify
events, etc., etc., we would not speak of it as we do. Moreover, it is not only
in its results but in its movements that the Force is tangible and
concrete. When I speak of feeling Force of Power, I do not mean
simply having a vague sense of it, but feeling it concretely and consequently
being able to direct it, manipulate it, watch its movement, be conscious of its
mass and intensity and in the same way of that of other, perhaps opposing
forces; all these things are possible and usual by the development of Yoga.
It is not, unless it is supramental Force,
a Power that acts without conditions and limits. The conditions and limits
under which Yoga or Sadhana has to be worked out are not arbitrary or
capricious; they arise from the nature of things. These including the will,
receptivity, assent, self-opening and surrender of the Sadhak have to be
respected by the Yoga-force, unless it receives a sanction from the Supreme to
override everything and get something done, but that sanction is sparingly
given. It is only if the supramental Power came fully down, not merely sent its
influences through the Overmind, that things could be very radically directed
towards that object — for then the sanction would not be rare. For the Law of
the Truth would be at work, not constantly balanced by the law of the
Ignorance.
Still the Yoga-force is always tangible and
concrete in the way I have described and has tangible results. But it
is invisible — not like a blow given or the rush of a motor car
knocking somebody down which the physical senses can at once perceive. How is
the mere physical mind to know that it is there and working? By its results?
But how can it know that the results were that of the Yogic force and
not of something else? One of two things it must be. Either it must allow the
consciousness to go inside, to become aware of inner things, to believe in the
experience of the invisible and the supraphysical, and then by
experience, by the opening of new capacities, it becomes conscious of these
forces and can see, follow and use their workings, just as the Scientist uses
the unseen forces of Nature. Or one must have faith and watch and open oneself
and then it will begin to see how things happen, it will notice that when the Force was
called in, there began after a time to be a result, then repetitions, more
repetitions, more clear andtangible results, increasing frequency,
increasing consistency of results, a feeling and awareness of the Force at
work — until the experience becomes daily, regular, normal, complete. These are
the two main methods, one internal, working from in outward, the other external,
working from outside and calling the inner force out till it
penetrates and is visible in the exterior consciousness. But neither can be
done if one insists always on the extrovert attitude, the external concrete
only and refuses to join to it the internal concrete — or if the physical mind
at every step raises a dance of doubts which refuses to allow the nascent
experience to develop. Even the Scientist carrying on a new experiment would
never succeed if he allowed his mind to behave in that way.
- Sri
Aurobindo
(SABCL,
Vol 26, pp. 197-199)
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