Nama-Japa

Chapter III

HARMONY IN COLLECTIVE WORK

Previously it has been said that by surrendering, the Supramental Force will transform the sadhak’s mind, life and body into the Divine Truth; then the sadhak will be completely free from sorrow and suffering, ignorance, old age, sickness and death. He will be guided by the Supramental Power. When some individuals have been transformed in this way, then they will be called Superman. During the process of evolution, at the time when the human race came into existence upon earth, animals continued to exist; similarly Superman will come into existence with the human race being on earth at the same time.

Since the Supramental Consciousness and the Supramental Race will be established on earth by this yoga, the transformation of the nature of the universe becomes inevitable. Since the transformation of the universal nature is bound to take place, the sadhana of this yoga is not personal but collective. For this reason, the goal of transformation is not possible by the sadhana of one individual. A large number of sadhaks are needed: study circles, ladies’ study circles, student-societies, relic centers and integral schools will be the media for spreading this yoga. Sadhaks will come together in these places to do work as sadhana and surrender it at the feet of The Mother. In this yoga, the establishment of all these organizations

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and their collective works is the inevitable sadhana in order to reach the goal. Despite the fact that sadhaks have different natures, harmony should be kept in collective works. This becomes the strong foundation or base for every individual sadhak in this yoga. If a sadhak can do this from the beginning of his sadhana, then he can easily hook his “elephantine ego” with just the help of a small iron instrument. [In India, the rider of an elephant controls this big animal only with a small iron hook.] By the Grace of the Divine Mother the arduous sadhana of transformation will be very easy for them. But since we have not understood the secret of this, we clash with each other and create mountain-like obstacles on the way of progress in our sadhana. If a sadhak, as soon as he enters the path of sadhana, makes a firm resolve to surrender himself at the feet of The Mother and repeats Her name, then by Her Grace he can understand the secret of it, and under any type of adverse circumstances, he will remain calm and quiet being busy with his sadhana.

CAUSES OF DISHARMONY

When the sadhak begins the sadhana, the essence and the nature of the mind, vital and body such as ego, selfishness, lust, anger, greed, attachment, ignorance etc. are not transformed. Complete transformation will take many years and at the beginning of his sadhana, the sadhak remains in the mental consciousness which is full of imperfections and defects. The mental consciousness has only half-knowledge. Since it does not have complete and perfect knowledge, each

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individual has a different nature and angle of vision. The same thing will be judged differently by each individual according to his own consciousness; and acording to his own ideas and judgement, the person will believe that he is right and that the judgements of others are wrong. Because of these differences in opinions and judgements, we cannot maintain harmony with one another.

Another reason for disharmony is that a person who remains in the mental consciousness decides what is right or wrong, just or unjust according to the standards of morality. He cannot understand correctly what is true and what is false, what is just and what is unjust, from the view-point of Truth. He is neither able to deal with another individual according to that person’s nature, nor is he able to keep up harmony. Such works which establish harmony and bring improvement to life are in reality true and just works, even if they be considered unjust from the social and moral point of view. Those actions and behavior that create divisions and become obstacles on the path of spiritual progress, are unjust. The sadhak cannot understand this secret without having the spiritual Truth-Consciousness.

For this reason controversies arise in the family, the society, the whole world and in spiritual organizations. Unless the sadhak has gone beyond the mental consciousness and judges every situation, thing or event from the spiritual viewpoint, until then, the way for controversy remains open in the spiritual path.

At the beginning of sadhana, the sadhak neither has spiritual vision, nor can he decide anything from the higher consciousness. The sadhak begins his sadhana and does collective work with all the imperfections and defects such

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as ego, selfishness, lust, anger, greed, ignorance, jealousy and hostility. If from the beginning, the sadhak surrenders himself at the feet of The Mother like a small child and repeats Her name, Ma, with firm determination, then by the Grace of The Mother as well by the power of Her name, his mind will be illumined; he can then understand that to do the Mother’s work is his sadhana. By working for The Mother, the Supramental Force and its influence will be spread in the world. In this way many more people will become conscious of the transforming Supramental Force and accept this yoga. By the working of the Supramental Force through the sadhaks, the dark adverse forces in the world will be transformed. This is because the mind, vital and body of the sadhak come from universal nature and remain linked with it. In proportion to the number of people who take refuge in the Supramental Shakti, the power of the adverse forces like ignorance, darkness and injustice will decline. The obstacles and hindrances on the sadhak’s path of sadhana will be less, proportionate to the decrease of the power of the adverse forces in the world.

For this reason, it is absolutly necessary to open study circles, centers for sadhana, integral schools, install relics and spread The Mother’s and Sri Aurobindo’s Idealism. When the sadhak understands this secret, he will give top-most priority to all these works as his sadhana for the realization of the aim and regard himself as a servant or an instrument or a dependent of The Mother, and he will remain on guard against the activities of the ego and selfishness.

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If the sadhak works with this mental attitude and

surrenders his work at the feet of The Mother, he gets an opportunity to reach a higher consciousness, going beyond the mental consciousness; and instead of considering a situation, event or thing from the mental-moral stand-point, he considers it from a spiritual point of view.

The work of the higher consciousness and the spiritual approach are as follows: If a person speaks or does something unfavorable or is insulting in any manner, then if by opposing this person one gets inside oneself the reactions of anger, jealousy, envy and enmity, which will create hindrances or obstacles in Mother’s organizations, then it is better to tolerate the person instead of opposing him.

In the same manner, if any situation or event or work is considered to be unjust or wrong according to the moral law, or if out of opposition, obstacles take place in Mother’s work and give rise within to ego, selfishness, anger, envy, jealousy, enmity and resistance (the work of the dark forces), then in such a situation, opposition will not be able to bring about the right solution; therefore in this case the sadhak should not oppose.

A person who does good works in the world by which the country and society are benefited, will have to face besides fame also insults and blame, obstacles and hindrances for the work he is doing. But in this death-bound world, as the Supramental Consciousness and the race of Superman are going to be established and this world will be turned into a Divine Heaven and will become free from all sorts of pain, injustice and falsehood, those sadhaks who

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take part in this great work and help to spread the Truth by working in Mother’s organizations, cannot at all escape all sorts of obstacles, hindrances, honor as well as dishonor. By keeping the aim in front without caring for pain and sorrow, honor and dishonor, the sadhak will advance towards the goal by surrendering and remaining in the protection of The Mother. One’s ego gets influenced by honor and dishonor, praise and blame. The ego is a great obstacle in sadhana or in the works for The Mother as a form of sadhana. To overcome honor, dishonor, praise, and blame means to overcome ego. If one can do this, one can make great progress in sadhana.

Those who do Mother’s work under the influence of ego and selfishness for name and fame, will do such work which will bring name and fame, and they will oppose all insults. This creates hindrances in Mother’s work. They do not get name and fame. Just as one cannot catch one’s shadow, similarly if one desires name and fame, one will not be able to get it; but if one does not want it, it follows one like a shadow.

In some sadhaks, the desire for name and fame is hidden in them at the beginning of sadhana. But if they have firm faith and dependence on The Mother, they can recognize the deception of ego and selfishness, and in spite of having the desire for name and fame and power within them, they do not put it into action. This means that they do not adopt any pretense or deceptive ways to acquire name, fame, power and position.

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THE MOTHER’S INSPIRATION FROM WITHIN

Those persons who have not joined The Mother’s organizations sincerely or who have remained outside the centers and have not given top-most priority in their lives to The Mother’s work as their sadhana, may apply various clever ways and tricks to bring the organization into their control in order to satisfy their own ego, power and convenience. If they cannot satisfy their self-interest and ego through this work, they do not hesitate to destroy the organization. One has to deal with such persons according to the situation. The best method is to receive The Mother’s inspiration from within and act accordingly. In spite of his ego, selfishness, lust, anger and other defects, if the sadhak does not put these into action and aspires to surrender them at the feet of The Mother and if in complicated situations he aspires with deep faith and confidence in The Mother to get inspiration from within, then he will certainly get inspiration and certain indications from Her. The more intense the aspiration and call, the sooner one will get inspiration from within. Even if the intensity of the aspiration is not so strong, if one wants and waits for The Mother’s inspiration, one will sooner or later receive it. Sadhaks should act according to this inspiration. At that time one should not encourage any thoughts or any other sources of help. If your are guided by your mind and take the help of others, to be successful in your work then The Mother’s inspiration from within will be obstructed. The inspiration which comes from within is true and free from all doubt. One does not doubt whether it has come from some other force.

If ego and selfishness are active in a person, he can

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get inspiration from within from an adverse force in disguise of The Mother; but if the sadhak like a small child takes refuge at the feet of The Mother and repeats Her name, Ma, the inspiration of the adverse forces cannot come. If they come, they will be clearly recognized.

The safest and most harmless way to practice this arduous integral yoga, is to surrender completely at the feet of The Mother. We have to do Her work most sincerely with complete dependence on Her. We have to do Nama-Japa always. If you do this much, The Mother will always save Her organizations. She helps the sadhak to reach his goal protecting him from all sorts of obstacles, hindrances and attacks of adverse forces.

ATTACKS IN THE PROCESS OF TRANSFORMATION

The aspiration of some sadhaks is intense right from the beginning of sadhana. Their Psychic Being awakens. The sadhak gets much joy in sadhana. When some time has passed in this condition, the Divine Power descends into the adhara (mind-vital-body), and it touches the latent, impure parts of the sadhak’s mind and vital for transformation. As soon as they get the touches of the Divine Power, then jealousy, envy, hatred, hostility, lust, anger, greed, attachment, depression, hopelessness, inertia, tamas, etc. come forward one by one to prevent the transformation and stand as a veil between the Psychic Being and the mind and vital. The adverse force uses

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them as instruments. At times, all these attack the sadhak from within, at other times through other persons or various events. If the sadhak is not conscious, he cannot recognize these attacks and he makes the other person or event the subject of his opposition and blame. In other words, he wants to resolve the matter by applying external means, convinced that the other person or event are the cause of all this. Or he thinks, “Such and such a person has done injustice to me.” He wants to oppose this by external means, and he may think: “It will be safer if I leave this place where such things are happening.” As long as the sadhak has such types of ideas and takes the help of such external means, the attack of the adverse force will continue to increase. If the sadhak does not become conscious, the adverse force may drag him away from the path of sadhana, at least for a certain length of time.

If the sadhak’s mind is enlightened by the Divine Power or the Psychic Being, he will not think that the place or person are the cause for the obstruction which he faces. He can clearly understand that: “as my own mind, vital and body are weak, I am encouraging all these outer attacks.” In other words, if someone speaks to the sadhak badly or roughly, justifiably or unjustifiably, then if his vital is strong and pure, it will not create turmoil within him. He realizes that: “these outer attacks have taken place to transform my weak parts, therefore the Divine Power did not prevent them” and thus remaining calm and quiet, he will try to prevent reactions from taking place within him and surrender the imperfect parts at the feet of The Mother. If one acts in this manner, the force of the attack of the enemies will decrease quickly, the sadhak’s faith in and

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dependence on The Mother’s Power will increase greatly, and he will surrender with enthusiasm.

Then The Mother’s Power descends and starts the work of transformation in the sadhak’s adhara (mind-vital-body). If the sadhak’s mind is enlightened by the Psychic Being and the Divine Power, he can easily understand the tricks of the anti-divine forces, and he can overcome the mental consciousness and ascend to the level of the higher consciousness.

On the path of sadhana, the adverse forces attack the sadhak in various ways. For example, many types of diseases may appear, or the sadhak may misunderstand the behavior of his friends as being that of enemies; sometimes this may also be true. At that time the sadhak finds darkness all around him, and for some time the sadhak my feel an aversion towards life and yoga. The sadhak then becomes confused because of depression, hopelessness, fear and restlessness; but if he has taken refuge in the name of The Mother, Ma, he can remain unshaken and remember Her name without being perturbed by the powerful attack. If one remembers The Mother’s name with much sincerity and faith, then The Mother’s Power will manifest itself within one minute. All kinds of darkness, depression and hopelessness disappear, and the sadhak’s faith and reliance on the Divine and the love and eagerness for Nama-Japa become

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more intense. He does not fear future attacks. Keeping faith and reliance on The Mother, the sadhak will joyfully march forward on the path of yoga despite the recurrence of obstacles and dangers. Surrender, and The Mother’s Nama-Japa become a strong and impenetrable armor for the sadhak protecting him from all sorts of obstacles and dangers from the beginning of sadhana.

The lower nature of the mind, vital and body: laziness, sleep, tamas, lust, anger, greed, attachment, ego, selfishness, jealousy, hostility, all these become hindrances on the path for the realization of the Divine, - which is the sadhak’s aim of life. From the beginning of creation, these forces have been working independently and continuously according to their own nature and quality. Due to the development of intelligence, man controls himself under certain circumstances to avoid being observed by others, but most people use their intelligence as instruments to secretly fulfill their undesirable actions without being seen by others. All these adverse forces do not want to change their nature and qualities and do not want to remain under the control of the higher Power. When the sadhak advances on the path of Divine Realization, these forces apply their full power to obstruct him and constantly try to pull the sadhak down using their strength, methods and tricks. When the asuric (demoniac) power gets an opportunity, it uses the lower nature of the sadhaks as its instrument and attacks the sadhak. Since these things are very powerful in human beings, all sadhaks of the old yoga separated the soul (jiva-atma) from the body, mind and vital and thus achieved Mukti (liberation), Nirvana (impersonal Divine),

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or Divine Realization. Since they found it to be impossible to have victory over all these adverse forces, they left them as they were.

In Sri Aurobindo’s yoga, the mind, vital and body and their nature and qualities will be transformed into Divine Principles, and as a result of this, this death-bound world will be turned into a Divine Heaven. Though up till now these powers were invincible, they cannot remain so before the Supramental Shakti. They will be transformed by the Supramental Power into Divine Light and Truth. None of these forces want to be transformed. Therefore they are always alert and active and try to continuously attack the sadhak in order to pull him down from the path which leads to his goal. They are much more powerful and tricky than the sadhak’s own power. It is impossible for the sadhak to confront them in this fight with his own strength. That is why the sadhaks of this yoga take refuge in The Mother’s Power from the beginning of the sadhana to the end and always repeat The Mother’s name, Ma, surrendering at Her feet. The sadhana for the sadhak is to surrender himself completely at The Mother ’s feet, remaining always conscious. The mind, vital and body will be transformed by the Supramental - that is The Mother’s Force. Therefore the sadhak should always remain conscious and without consenting to the adverse impulses and their actions on the mind, vital and body, he should surrender them at the feet of the Divine Shakti; then the Supramental Force will start the work of transformation.

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If the sadhak does not surrender willingly, the

Supramental Force will not forcibly transform him, but if the sadhak aspires for The Mother’s Power to help him to surrender, The Mother’s Force will help him and even keeps waiting to give this help. Sri Aurobindo has stated in the second chapter of His book The Mother:

“In yoga also it is the Divine who is the Sadhaka and the Sadhana; it is his Shakti with her light, power, knowledge, consciousness, Ananda, acting upon the Adhara and, when it is opened to her, pouring into it with these divine forces that makes the Sadhana possible. But so long as the lower nature is active the personal effort of the Sadhaka remains necessary.”³¹

Question: Sri Aurobindo has stated in many places in his books that only the Divine Shakti or the Supramental Mother’s Power can do the transformation of mind, vital and body of the sadhak. But the extract from the book The Mother which has been quoted above: “the Divine is the Sadhaka and the Sadhana” appears to be contradictory. What is the real meaning of it?

Answer: You can get the real meaning in the same chapter. If you read the whole chapter, you can clearly understand the meaning of it. It has been stated very clearly that “in this yoga the Divine is the Sadhaka and the Sadhana” because it is the Divine Shakti “with her light, power, knowledge, consciousness, Ananda, acting upon the Adhara and, when it is opened to her, pouring into it with these divine forces …”

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All these Divine Forces make the sadhana possible. This work of sadhana is being done by the Divine Force. Therefore Sri Aurobindo has said that in this yoga the Divine is the sadhaka and the sadhana.

Question: In this yoga mind, vital and body will be transformed. Therefore if you surrender the actions of the mind, vital and body, the Supramental Force will start the transforming work. A developed mind becomes ready for transformation. Is it correct to think that sadhaks should study?

Answer: If your idea was true, Sri Aurobindo, the founder of the integral yoga, would have first of all established many schools for different types of studies when he started the Ashram. Although Sri Aurobindo came to Pondicherry in 1910, the Ashram was only established by The Mother in 1926 after She had come here for the second time. She started the Ashram school in 1943 to give education to small children. Up till now no school has been started for sadhaks.

According to your words, if study is necessary for the development of the mind, then music, dance, art, architecture, painting, sculpture etc. must be required for the development of the vital. If the sadhak has to learn all these things, then he will take thousands of lives to reach his goal. This happens in the process of evolution. But in yoga we do not have to sprinkle water on each leaf of a tree, we pour the water at the root of the tree so that the whole tree remains alive; in the same way, if we surrender the mind, vital and body, they will be transformed into the principles of Truth and Light by the

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Supramental Power. Through transformation, the person will be united with the Divine Consciousness, and no deficiency or imperfection will remain in him. For this reason Sri Krishna has said in the Gita: “I am the Supreme Knowledge amongst all knowledge.” Nothing remains to be known if one has this Supreme Knowledge; therefore study is not essential for transformation. Only by Nama-Japa and surrender, the Supramental Force starts working. For this reason we have to aspire, do Nama-Japa and surrender in this yoga.

Question: It is said that the work should be surrendered; studying is also work. If we surrender our study, will this enable the Supramental Force to start the work of transformation?

Answer: If you think that studying means work, which should be surrendered to the Divine, then why do you not surrender the work which has been given to you. [This refers to sadhaks who live in the Ashram or in a center]. If you prefer to study, leaving or neglecting the work which you were given, then you are not keeping an equal attitude of sadhana for both these works. You have got your own liking and preference for studying, this personal interest is attachment and desire. It is clear that desire and Divine can never co-exist. If you have more interest in studying, neglect, slackness, dislike and disinterest will certainly come into your allotted work as obstacles. Disinterest in the Divine Work means that the sadhak will not have interest and intensity in Nama-Japa, aspiration and surrender for the realization of the Divine. One cannot have an equally strong interest in two things. If the organization suffers, it means that The Mother’s work

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is neglected since The Mother’s work is done through the organization. For this reason, to leave or neglect the work which has been given by the organization, in order to study, is certainly against sadhana.

If you do not neglect the allotted work in any way and also do not have the least attachment for studying and do not give much importance to it, then if one reads only some books as sadhana to realize the goal and surrenders this to The Mother, it is correct.

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