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A Journal of Material and Spiritual Researches in AurovilleSri Aurobindo International Institute for Educational Research
RitamVolume 5 Issue 2 December 2008
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RITAM
A bi-annual journal of material and spiritual
researces in AurovilleOur aim:
Tis is a journal under SAIIER connecting
te various units under its umbrella wit te
focus on education and oter related areas of
researc.
Te purpose is to create a space were we
express and sare our work in Auroville and
also invite oters to sare teir perceptions
wit a view to look at were we stand wit
reference to te ideal.
It will publis articles, interviews etc. wic
are relevant to te Carter of Auroville, bot
from people in Auroville as well as tose
from elsewere.
Tis journal is for bot Aurovilians as well
as oters wo are looking to Auroville for
pioneering work in many elds.
Te goal is to understand better te spirit of
Auroville and in tat context wat we aredoing and wat furter we can do.
Ritam
A Journal of Material and Spiritual Researches in Auroville
Sri Aurobindo International Instituteof Educational Research
Volume 5 Issue 2 December 2008
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2 December 2008
Dear readers,
We look forward to your suggestions and comments.
We would especially like to know whether you would
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enjoy this issue!
Editor
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2 December 2008
A hidden Bliss is at the root of things
A passage from Savitri
Sri Aurobindo
A secret air of pure felicity
Deep like a sappire eaven our spirits breate;
Our earts and bodies feel its obscure call,
Our senses grope for it and touc and lose.
If tis witdrew, te world would sink in te Void;
If tis were not, noting could move or live.
A idden Bliss is at te root of tings.
A mute Deligt regards Time's countless works:
To ouse God's joy in tings Space gave wide room,
To ouse God's joy in self our souls were born.
Tis universe an old encantment guards;
Its objects are carved cups of World-Deligt
Wose carmed wine is some deep soul's rapture-drink:
Te All-Wonderful as packed eaven wit is dreams,
he as made blank ancient Space is marvel-ouse;he spilled is spirit into Matter's signs:
His res of grandeur burn in the great sun,
he glides troug eaven simmering in te moon;
He is beauty carolling in the elds of sound;
he cants te stanzas of te odes of Wind;
he is silence watcing in te stars at nigt;
he wakes at dawn and calls from every boug,
Lies stunned in the stone and dreams in ower and tree.Even in tis labour and dolour of Ignorance,
On the hard perilous ground of difcult earth,
In spite of deat and evil circumstance
A will to live persists, a joy to be.
Savitri, p. 629-30
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RITAM 3
Psychic Education
The Mother
Every uman being carries idden witin
im te possibility of a greater consciousness
wic goes beyond te bounds of is present
life and enables im to sare in a iger and a
vaster life. Indeed, in all exceptional beings it
is always tis consciousness tat governs teir
lives and organizes bot te circumstances of
teir existence and teir individual reaction to
tese circumstances. Wat te uman mental
consciousness does not know and cannot do,
tis consciousness knows and does. It is like
a ligt tat sines at te centre of te being,
radiating troug te tick coverings of te
external consciousness. Some ave a vague
intimation of its presence; a good many cildren
are under its inuence, which shows itself very
distinctly at times in teir spontaneous actions
and even in teir words. Unfortunately, sinceparents most often do not know wat it is
and do not understand wat is appening in
teir cild, teir reaction to tese penomena is
not a good one and all teir education consists
in making te cild as unconscious as possible
in tis domain and concentrating all is
attention on external tings, tus accustoming
im to tink tat tey are te only ones tat
matter. It is true tat tis concentration on
external tings is very useful, provided tat itis done in te proper way. Te tree lines of
educationpysical, vital and mentaldeal
with that and could be dened as the means
of building up te personality, raising te
individual out of te amorpous subconscious
mass and making im a well-defined self-
conscious entity. Wit psycic education we
come to te problem of te true motive of
existence, te purpose of life on eart, te
discovery to wic tis life must lead and teresult of tat discovery: te consecration of
te individual to is eternal principle. ()To
sketc a general outline of psycic education,
we must give some idea, owever relative
it may be, of wat we mean by te psycic
being. One could say, for example, tat te
creation of an individual being is te result
of te projection, in time and space, of one
of te countless possibilities latent in te
supreme origin of all manifestation wic,
troug te medium of te one and universal
consciousness, takes concrete form in te
law or te trut of an individual and so, by a
progressive development, becomes is soul or
psycic being.
I must emphasise that what is stated briey here
does not claim to be a complete exposition of
te reality and does not exaust te subjectfarfrom it. It is only a very summary explanation
for a practical purpose, to serve as a basis
for te education wic we intend to consider
now.
It is troug tis psycic presence tat te
trut of an individual being comes into contact
wit im and te circumstances of is life.
In most cases te presence acts, so to say, from
beind te veil, unrecognised and unknown;but in some, it is perceptible and its action
recognisable and even, in a very few, te
presence becomes tangib le and it s action
fully effective. Tese go forward in life wit an
assurance and a certitude all teir own; tey are
masters of teir destiny. It is for te purpose of
obtaining tis mastery and becoming conscious
of te psycic presence tat psycic education
sould be practised. But for tat tere is
need of a special factor, te personal will.For till now, te discovery of te psycic
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4 December 2008
being and identication with it have not been
among te recognised subjects of education,
and although one can nd in special treatises
useful and practical ints on te subject, and
altoug in exceptional cases one may ave
te good fortune of meeting someone wo is
capable of sowing te way and giving te
elp tat is needed to follow it, most often te
attempt is left to ones own personal initiative.
Te discovery is a personal matter and a
great determination, a strong will and an
untiring perseverance are indispensable to
reac te goal. Eac one must, so to say, trace
out his own path through his own difculties.
Te goal is known to some extent, for most
of tose wo ave reaced it ave describedit more or less clearly. But te supreme value
of te discovery lies in its spontaneity, its
ingenuousness, and tat escapes all ordinary
mental laws. And tat is wy anyone wanting
to take up the adventure usually rst seeks out
some person wo as successfully undertaken it
and is able to sustain im and enligten im on
is way. Yet tere are some solitary travellers
and for tem a few general indications may
be useful.
Te starting-point is to seek in yourself tat
wic is independent of te body and te
circumstances of life, wic is not born of
te mental formation tat you ave been
given, te language you speak, te abits
and customs of te environment in wic
you live, te country were you are born
or te age to wic you belong. You must
nd, in the depths of your being, that whichcarries in it a sense of universality, limitless
expansion, unbroken continuity. Ten you
decentralise, extend and widen yourself; you
begin to live in all tings and in all beings;
te barriers separating individuals from eac
oter break down. You tink in teir tougts,
vibrate in teir sensations, feel in teir feelings,
live in te life of all. Wat seemed inert
suddenly becomes full of life, stones quicken,
plants feel and will and suffer, animals speakin a language more or less inarticulate, but
clear and expressive; everyting is animated
by a marvelous consciousness witout
time or limit. And tis is only one aspect
of te psycic realisation; tere are oters,
many oters. All elp you to go beyond
te barriers of your egoism, te walls of
your external personality, te impotence of
your reactions and te incapacity of your
will.
But, as I ave already said, te pat to tat
realisation is long and difcult, strewn with
snares and problems to be solved, wic
demand an unfailing determination. It is
like te explorers trek troug virgin forest
in quest of an unknown land, of some greatdiscovery. Te psycic being is also a great
discovery wic requires at least as muc
fortitude and endurance as te discovery of
new continents. A few simple words of advice
may be useful to one wo as resolved to
undertake it.
Te first and peraps te most important
point is tat te mind is incapable of judging
spiritual tings. All tose wo ave writtenon tis subject ave said so; but very few are
tose wo ave put it into practice. And yet,
in order to proceed on te pat, it is absolutely
indispensable to abstain from all mental
opinion and reaction.
Give up all personal seeking for comfort,
satisfaction, enjoyment or appiness. Be only
a burning fire for progress, take watever
comes to you as an aid to your progressand immediately make watever progress is
required.
Try to take pleasure in all you do, but never do
anyting for te sake of pleasure.
Never get excited, nervous or agitated. Remain
perfectly calm in te face of all circumstances.
And yet be always alert to discover wat
progress you still ave to make and lose notime in making it.
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RITAM 5
Never take pysical appenings at teir face
value. Tey are always a clumsy attempt to
express someting else, te true ting wic
escapes our supercial understanding.
Never complain of te beaviour of anyone,
unless you ave te power to cange in is
nature wat makes im act in tis way; and
if you ave te power, cange im instead of
complaining.
Watever you do, never forget te goal wic
you ave set before you. Tere is noting great
or small once you ave set out on tis great
discovery; all tings are equally important and
can eiter asten or delay its success. Tusbefore you eat, concentrate a few seconds in
te aspiration tat te food you are about to eat
may bring your body te substance it needs to
serve as a solid basis for your effort towards
te great discovery, and give it te energy for
persistence and perseverance in te effort.
Before you go to sleep, concentrate a few
seconds in te aspiration tat te sleep may
restore your fatigued nerves, bring calm andquietness to your brain so tat on waking you
may, wit renewed vigour, begin again your
journey on te pat of te great discovery.
Before you act, concentrate in te will tat
your action may elp or at least in no way
inder your marc forward towards te great
discovery.
Wen you speak, before te words come out
of your mout, concentrate just long enoug
to ceck your words and allow only tose tat
are absolutely necessary to pass, only tose tat
are not in any way armful to your progress on
te pat of te great discovery.
To sum up, never forget te purpose and goal
of your life. Te will for te great discovery
sould be always tere above you, above wat
you do and wat you are, like a uge bird of
ligt dominating all te movements of your
being.
Before te untiring persistence of your effort,
an inner door will suddenly open and youwill emerge into a dazzling splendour tat
will bring you te certitude of immortality,
te concrete experience tat you ave always
lived and always sall live, tat external forms
alone peris and tat tese forms are, in relation
to wat you are in reality, like clotes tat
are trown away wen worn out. Ten you
will stand erect, freed from all cains,
and instead of advancing laboriously under te
weigt of circumstances imposed upon youby Natu re , wic you ad to endure and
bear if you did not want to be crused by
tem, you will be able to walk on, straigt
and rm, conscious of your destiny, master of
your life.
(MCW 12:30-35)
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The Psychic Being and the sudden bursting of its veil
Te bursting of te Moters psycic being was
related to Satprem on 30 October 1962 and 15
April 1972. It appened in 1912, wen se was
34 years old. It was her rst contact.
To have it (just to give you an idea) took me a
year of exclusive concentration on nding that
within myself. ... I did nothing but that, thought ofnothing but that, wanted nothing but that. I was
entirely concentrated on that. I was in Paris, and
I did nothing else but that; when I walked down
the street, I was thinking only of that. ...
One day, as I was crossing the Boulevard Saint
Michel... suddenly, for no apparent reason I
was neither more concentrated nor anything else
poof! It opened. ...
That light, that dazzling light, that light and
immensity. ... That concrete reality, that intensity
beyond any possible physical intensity... ALONG
WITH the sense of the eternal Divine. ... It didnt
just last for hours, it lasted for months.
This sense has never left me for a minute. And
always, whenever I had a decision to make,
I would simply stop for a second and receive
the indication from there. ... My psychic beinggoverns me I am afraid of nothing... I have the
Divine there. (Moter touces er eart)
(Moters Agenda 30.11.62)
On several occasions, te Moter compared te
sudden identication with the psychic being to a
cicken coming out of te egg. Near te end of
er talk of 26 June 1957 se said:
One is shut up in a shell, and inside it something
is happening, like the chick in the egg .... And
it is only when all is ready that there comes the
capacity to pierce the shell and to be born into
the light of day. ...
I dont think one can go through gradually, I
dont think it is something which slowly wearsand wears away until one can see through it. I
havent had an instance of this so far. There is
rather a kind of accumulation of power inside,
an intensication of the need. ...
One is like an explosive that nothing can resist, and
one bursts out from ones prison in a blaze of light.
(CWM 9:136-37)
Many disciples remain under te impression tatbecoming aware of te psycic being is te result
of a long process wic as started before our
birt and may need some more rebirts. In 1955
te Moter stated:
In almost most cases, a very sustained effort is
neededto become aware of ones psychic being.
Usually it is considered that if one can do it in
thirty years one is very lucky thirty years of
sustained efforts, I say.(CWM 7:269)
But someting as definitely canged in te
world, as te Moter stated on 8t February 1973,
just tree monts before se stopped meeting
people, wen se invited some teacers of te
Ashram school to nd their psychic being and
to be united wit it. Se said:
1 Quotations are taken mainly from Collected Works of te Moter (CWM) and Sri Aurobindo Birt Centenary Library
(SABCL). Sri Aurobindos and Moters words are always in italics. Many tanks to A.S. Dalal for is compilation The
Psychic Beingwic was a starter for tis essay and a source for many quotations
In the light of Sri Aurobindos and Mothers philosophy,
and the words of some people who experienced it unexpectedly1
Alain Grandcolas
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RITAM 7
Usually, it takes a whole life, or sometimes, for
some people, it takes several lives. Here, in the
present conditions, it can be done in several
months.
(CWM 12:428)
An investigation into te subject as been
undertaken, by interviewing 37 people, 28
of wom ave been selected on account of
te psycic sweetness tey radiate. 15 of te
interviewees were identified as aving te
knowledge of teir psycic being. For 3 of tem
te knowledge ad always been tere, for 12
of tem te knowledge came troug a sudden
experience. Te initial awareness lasted from
some ours to a few days or monts. Ten itdisappeared and, for many, it came back several
times, for a certain period, no longer in a dramatic
way but in a soft and gradual manner. Ten it
could be easily recognised since te taste of te
psycic being was already known.
One assumption is tat tese new conditions
mentioned by te Moter ave been triggered
by te descent of te supramental manifestation
on 29 February 1956. Te Moter stated tat ontat evening, te supramental consciousness and
force and ligt descended into te eart. One year
later, she commemorated the rst anniversary
of tat event by saying: A new world has been
born. We wonder if one feature of te coming
new world may peraps be an acceleration of te
blossoming of te psycic being and its bursting
troug te veil, even witout a sustained effort
in tis life. Te results of tis very limited survey
seem to illustrate tis statement.
In the rst section an attempt is made to describe
several pases in te awareness of te psycic
being. Te second section describes wat as
appened to several interviewees at te moment
tey suddenly became aware of teir psycic
being. A tird section describes wat remained
wit tem afterwards. Te fourt section will
give some consolidated results of te small
survey wic as been conducted on te sudden
bursting of te veil for twelve people. A last
section igligts some metods recommended
for nding the psychic being.
I. HOW DO WE BECOME AWARE OF
THE PSYCHIC BEING?
For te clarity of te survey, it may be stated tat
tree levels of knowledge of te psycic being
are distinguised. It may manifest troug an
inuence, through a sudden identication, or just
as a touc. Sri Aurobindo writes:
The psychic being emerges slowly in most men,
even after taking up sadhana .One has to wait
till the necessary process has gone far enough
before it can burst its agelong veiland come in
front to control the nature [empasis added].
(SABCL 24:1098)
I.1. Usually the psychic being is felt as a
presence and an inuence.
In every one, even at the very beginning, this
spiritual presence is there.
(CWM 9:339)
In most people, te psycic being manifests itself
as an inuence, a presence in the heart region,
more or less living according to te aspiration, te
concentration and te rejection of te movements
wic contradict its expression witin oneself. Itsaction is felt indirectly.
Anybody concerned wit spiritual life perceives,
in tat region, some inner indication. Tose wo
are following Sri Aurobindos and te Moters
inner discipline will learn to give more importance
Note: Te survey refers to a Visitor, an Asramite or an Aurovilian, a status tey ad at te time of te appening.
An individual may be referred to as a Visitor, in spite of now being an Asramite. Te narration of most of te
experiences as been approved by te people concerned.
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to tat presence, wic will grow in teir inner
consciousness and wic will more and more
become a reference point for all teir actions, all
teir tougts, an indication of psycic approval
or disapproval of some beaviour.
For some, te psycic presence is so living
tat tey may wonder weter tey know teir
psycic being or not. At tis juncture, te answer
from te Moter is clear:
There are people who come and ask you: Am
I conscious of my psychic being? One can tell
them: This itself is the proof that you are not
because if you are, you can no longer ask this.
(CWM 6:366)
I.2. To know ones psychic being is usually
the result of a sudden and unexpected
happening.
As te Moter describes it:
We do not reach it little by little; it is not through
a little constant and regular effort. It is something
which arrives suddenly. It establishes itselfwithout knowing how, without knowing why, but
everything is changed. It cannot be expressed
because as soon as we try to explain with words,
it escapes you.
Te sudden experience of te psycic being is in
anoter dimension. Some features may be ineffable
because tere is no point of recognition as one
sadak puts it. It can be translated into words, but
only tose wo ave experienced it, wo avetasted it, may understand te description.
A visitor to te Asram will compare tis sudden
event to the ssure of an atom, in order to express
in an image tat someting unknown and very
powerful was idden under some surface lid. In
a similar way pysicists were in contact wit te
atom for a long time witout being aware tat
atomic energy existed. One day there was a ssion
of te atom, someting sudden, very powerful andemitting an energy of a different nature.
Te next section will narrate wat as appened
to some of te twelve persons wo ave described
tat sudden experience after wic tey state:
Now I know my psycic being. Te features of
te bursting are often very different, except for
two wic are common: a very deep untriggered
and unexpected joy, and te certitude of aving
come to know te psycic being.
I.3. A sudde n experienc e may also be
the result of touching some parts of
the being which are under a psychic
inuence, but it is not yet a contact with
the soul.
Some readers may wonder weter te intervieweenarrates a true contact wit te psycic being
or weter it is an experience of te inner
consciousness (inner pysical, inner vital, inner
mental) or an experience of te iger (spiritual)
consciousness. Tis question is valid, and it
explains wy tree of te interviewees wo ave
experienced some bursting wic tey link wit
an identication with their psychic being have
not been retained as a contact wit te psycic
being.
Te Moter comments on tis matter:
Very often, when one touches certain parts of the
mind which are under the psychic inuence and
full of light and the joy of that light, or when one
touches certain very pure and very high parts of
the emotive being which has the most generous,
most unselsh emotions, one has the impression
of being in contact with ones soul. But this is notthe true soul, it is not the soul in its very essence.
These are parts of the being under its inuence
and manifesting something of it. So very often
people enter into contact with these parts and this
gives them illuminations, great joy, revelations
and they feel they have found their soul... and
then it gets veiled and one wonders: How is it
that I touched my soul and now have fallen back
into that state of ignorance and inconscience?
But thats because one had not touched ones soul,one had touched those parts of the being which
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RITAM 9
are under the inuence of the soul and manifest
something of it.
(CWM 7:259)
It has to be noted that an identication with ones
psycic being is also usually followed by a loss
of tis contact:
It is quite a common phenomenon ... One may not
have the power of keeping it all the time, but one
can get it at will.
(CWM 6:33)
In analysing te contents of te interviews, some
errors of appreciation on te quality of te contact
wit te psycic being may ave occurred, butit is felt tat tey sould not alter te overall
observations of tis essay.
II. WHAT HAPPENS AT THAT INSTANT
WHEN THE PSYCHIC BEING BURSTS
SUDDENLY OUT OF ITS VEIL?
Anybody wo experiences a sudden contact wit
is psycic being as a personal, clear and living
memory of tat event.
This is an absolutely tangible experience,
something more concrete that the most concrete
object, more concrete than a blow on your head,
something more real than anything whatever
When people ask me how one may know whether
he is in contact with his psychic being it makes
me laugh; when it happens to you you can no
longer ask any questions.
(CWM 7:194)
II.1 One of the two common features for all
these sudden events is that it triggers
always a sudden great joy without
external cause
An Asramite wo was going to be operated on
experienced suddenly wat e perceived as te
opening of is psycic being; it was accompanied
by a joy of an intensity e ad never experiencedin is life. A lady in Europe wo was delivering
her rst child will speak of an explosion of joy,
a bursting of love and joy, witout cause, in
spite of te pain of te delivery. A visitor in te
Asram wo was reading a letter of Sri Aurobindo
suddenly experienced an identication lling the
wole body wit a great and pure joy.
All tese descriptions of te joy are part of a
global experience which has been identied as a
total or partial contact. Te Moter will describe
tis event:
It is an experience that gives a very concrete joy;
at the moment of identication onetruly feels a
very, very great joy.
(CWM 6:33)
Sri Aurobindo will even go furter:
It is true that nothing can give so much happiness
and joy.
(SABCL 24:1098)
II.2 The second common feature of this
sudden identication is that it brings
the certitude of knowing ones psychicbeing.
For two Asramites and one visitor, it was
immediately clear tat tey ad contacted
teir psycic being and could now state tat
tey know teir psycic being. For six
oter interviewees, teir intellectual knowledge
of te concept of te psycic being was not
sufficient and tey could not recognise it
immediately. One visitor to te Asram wasquite surprised by te experience since it
did not correspond to watever e ad read
on te psycic being before, no dazzling
ligt (e did not see any ligt) nor any
reversal of consciousness (tere was te
awareness of a new being, but no reversal!).
A European person who had just nished reading
The Adventure of Consciousness by Satprem
ad tat experience after wic e knew is
eart. It was quite concrete. It was sometinghe cannot dene: I know that I know it. Later
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on, e learned tat it was is psycic being.
Anoter lady in Europe could not recognise it
since se did not know of te existence of any
suc ting.
Amongst the fteen people who stated that they
know teir psycic being, for twelve of tem te
knowledge came after a sudden identication.
Tree of tem stated tey ave always been
conscious of teir psycic being and tey
became aware of tis fact wen tey read about
it:. One Indian visitor mentioned tat wen se
read about te psycic being, it was clear for er
tat it ad been always present and is always
tere. A foreigner wo came and stayed some
time in te Asram mentioned to te Moter tatfor er tat knowledge ad always been tere;
the Mother conrmed to her that it is true that
se ad never lost te psycic knowledge tat
se ad as a cild, a rare feat. An Asramite wo
came to Pondicerry wit er parents and was
brougt up in te Asram scool at te time te
Moter was closely supervising it, stated tat
er knowledge of te psycic being as always
been tere.
Several oter people are well aware of teir
psychic as an inuence but will answer negatively
wen asked if tey know teir psycic being.
II.3 The experience often brings the awareness
that the individual harbours something
immortal in him.
In fact, te living awareness tat our true self is
immortal and cannot die, is a sign of te qualityof te experience. Te Moter will say on 9 April
1958:
One has the feeling of having always been and of
being for eternity. That is when one has touched
the core of the soul.
(CWM 9:310)
A guest wo discovered is psycic being during
tat sudden appening states te irrefutableknowledge tat tis psycic being as always
been and precedes te birt of tis body. It
will always be and will not die wit tis body.
Nobody can ever dismiss tis certitude.
Te Asramite wo was preparing imself for
a surgery was afraid of te coming bypass,
but after te emergence e ad te strong
feeling tat is body was te robe of is eternal
psycic being and e was no longer afraid of
te operation. For tat future Aurovilian, deat
was no longer a concern. For tat visitor e
ad te feeling of aving always been and of
being always.
Very simply, te Moter will say:
The moment you are in contact with your psychic
being, you have the feeling of immortality,
of having always been and being always,
eternally.
(CWM 5:316)
The certitude of immortality, the concrete
experience that you have always lived and always
shall live, that external forms alone perish and
that these forms are, in relation to what you arein reality, like clothes that are thrown away when
worn out.
(CWM 12:35)
Tis feeling is so well described troug king
Aswapatis experience in Savitri.
He feels his substance of undying self
And loses his kinship to mortality.
(Savitrip. 23)
and also in Savitris own experience :
A being stood immortal in transience
Deathless dallying with momentary things.
(Savitrip. 526)
II.4 At the time of the bursting, some people
have the experience of becoming aware
of their true being
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RITAM 11
On July 1st 1970, te Moter will see wit open
eyes, te psycic being of Rijuta, an American
sadika. Se said:
It was clearly a being which was neither man
nor woman, having the combined characteristics
of both.
(CWM 11:238)
Yes, a being, which will be dened by the Mother
on 11.6.1958 as:
an organised entity, fully conscious of itself,
independent and having the power of asserting
itself and ruling the rest of the nature.
(CWM 9:339)
One visitor will say, wen e became aware of is
psycic being, tat e discovered tat tis being
was in fact imself, is real I. he started to talk in
te tird person, e, instead of using I, since te
one wo was speaking was te envelope of wat
he had identied as himself, the newly discovered
being. A Parisian lady, wo ardly knew about Sri
Aurobindo and te Moter knew wit certainty
tat er pysical body was not erself.
It is interesting to note ow Sri Aurobindo
describes te moment wen Savitri discovers er
soul, in Book Seven, Canto Five Te Finding of
the Soul. The rst section nishes with the line:
There suddenly she met her secret soul.
Te poem pauses wit one blank line and resumes
wit solemnity in te next line:
A being stood immortal in transience.
(Savitrip.526)
II.5 For several people, the bursting includes
the appearance or even a rushing-in of a
strong light.
Ligt is one of te spiritual experiences wic is
triggered by a descent, but it is also triggered byte bursting of te psycic.
An inner door will suddenly open and you will
emerge into a dazzling splendour.
(CWM 12: p.35)
An Aurovi l ian describes an ocean of
ligt, anoter saw a wite ligt wic was
owing everywhere, a third one describes a
strong wite ligt at te level of te eart.
An Asramite saw a red flame, as big as a
tumb, witin is eart, wic went towards
Sri Aurobindo and Moters potos, wic were
in full white light before him. But the ame
did not remain wit tem and came back to is
eart.
II.6 There may also be a sudden awarenessthat one has always been guided (by the
psychic or by the Mother or by something
undened.)
One Aurovilian said tat since tat time, e
as ad te feeling tat e as always been
guided, tat everyting is arranged. Anoter
Aurovilian will feel tat tere is a tread wit
an origin long before and tat te psycic being
is directing in spite of all obstacles. A visitorwill feel tat te psycic being indicates tat it
as always been tere to overlook circumstances
and noting can appen in te future witout its
sanction.
A visitor stated wit conviction tat te Moter
and his psychic being are one. It is conrmed by
tese words by Sri Aurobindo:
There is within you a psychic being which isdivine, directly a part of the Mother.
(SABCL 23:907)
Neverteless, it is wortwile noting tat,
during te time of te experience, few people
made an identication between the Mother of the
Sri Aurobindo Asram and teir psycic being.
II.7 There is also the feeling and certitude
that our psychic being cannot be touchedby hostile forces.
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A visitor wo became aware of is psycic being
inside imself suddenly got te strong conviction
tat ostile forces cannot touc tis being and
cannot inuence him as long as he has his psychic
being as a reference. This feeling is conrmed by
Sri Aurobindo wo writes:
[The psychic being] is the only part that cannot
be touched by the hostile forces and their
suggestions.
(SABCL 24:1098)
A person united wit is psycic being is, says
te Moter:
Almost if not totally free from external inuences;for, being conscious, when these influences
come, he sees them: those that seem to him
to harmonise with his inner development and
normal growth he accepts; those which are
opposed he refuses.
(CWM 6:108)
II.8 Often, it creates an increased conscious-
ness and awareness.
A visi tor wil l speak of an increased
consciousness, a feeling tat te purpose of life
is tis consciousness. Tis acute consciousness
makes everyting become more concrete and
living. An asramite will speak of a truer and
more vivid consciousness: e saw te world in
different way. Everyting ad a luminous glow
in it. Everyting was conscious and alive. he ad
a different relationsip wit all tings: uman
beings, animals and even plants.
his experience reminds us of wat te
Moter wrote for te February 1952 Bulletin
of te Sri Aurobindo International Centre of
Education:
What seemed inert suddenly becomes full of
life, stones quicken, plants feel and will and
suffer, animal speaks in a language more or less
inarticulate, but clear and expressive; everythingis animated by a marvellous consciousness
without time and limit. And this is only one aspect
of the psychic realisation.
(CWM 12:33)
II.9 Some powerful sensations are also
mentioned, varying from one person to
the other.
Wile describing te bursting of teir psycic
being, most will put te empasis on one or two
additional strong feelings or sensations wic are
often still vivid in teir memory.
For some it was a feeling of ricness wic
remained for some time, for tat visitor a feeling
of plenitude, for tat lady delivering a cild avery intense emotional moment and at te same
time a great stillness, it was bot togeter.
Several of tese attributes are interestingly
gatered togeter by te Moter in te following
description se gave on 9 April 1958 wile
describing te soul:
Something warm, quiet, rich in substance and
very still and very full, like a sweetness thatis the soul. A kind of plenitude which gives the
feeling of something complete.
(CWM 9:310)
Te word sweetness is added by te Moter
and it is true tat in all te people wo ave
been met who had this contact, a denite psychic
sweetness is now underlying teir general
beaviour.
II.10 A sudden contact with the psychic
being is one of the rare intense spiritual
experiences which may happen with open
eyes, in the midst of some activity.
Tis experience occurs wile alone or interacting
wit people, wit open eyes as well as closed
eyes, and will not disappear wen eyes are
being open. Usually, spiritual experiences are
characterised by a denite spiritual change inconsciousness, a specic sensation within the
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RITAM 13
body (peace, force, waves, current, electricity)
and/or a vision. As soon as te experiencer
moves, opens is eyes, returns outward, it
vanises quickly, wic is not te case wit te
psycic experience.
In our survey more tan alf of te sudden
emergences appened wit open eyes, sometimes
in te presence of oter people quite unaware of
te intense experience taking place. One moter
described tat se was delivering er cild, an
Asramite was feeling te tumb of a respected
person on is foreead, a visitor was alone
but reading a letter of Sri Aurobindo, a young
American visitor was receiving a erce look from
te Moter into is eart: her left eye appearedto begin to spin around as if it were a drill, and
se bored down into my deepest eart rigt down
to te level of my cest; one time, two times and
te tird time te obstruction ripped open. her
consciousness went rigt into my eart centre and
opened it. (Darshan, p.48)
III WHAT REMA INS AFTE R THE
SUDDEN EXPERIENCE OF THE
CONTACT WITH THE PSYCHICBEING?
Wenever somebody experiences a sudden
contact, e always as te feeling, at tat time,
tat te new state is permanent.
But it is difcult for a human being to keep up
a constant contact with his psychic. As soon as
he settles down and the freshness of the new
experience fades away, the old person comes backto the surface with all its habits, preferences, small
manias, shortcomings and misunderstandings,
(CWM 12:45)
Experience teaces us it is not permanent, tat
it may witdraw after a time wic may depend
on te initial intensity but also on our ability to
keep it.
Tat is wy it is very important to know tefragility of tis new state of being so tat, wen
it appens, proper steps are taken to nurture it as
long as possible and get te maximum psycic
nourisment. One visitor mentioned tat e
narrated in a diary is sensations and feelings
during te time tat te psycic was fully living,
and te description is ric and quite evocative.
It as elped, at a later stage, to relive its
vibration and some of te feelings and sensations
experienced during tat moment. Anoter
remembers tat tis state seems so normal at tat
time tat one does not tink it anyting strange
to write about! he was also wondering if tere
is not a risk of mentalising te experience and
tus diluting it.
III.1 How long did this experience remainedliving? How did it vanish?
More specically, how long does this experience
carry with it its own reality and force? (CWM
12:31) Wat is te duration of te various
sensations and feelings?
In an interesting manner, te consciousness
of te new psycic presence may last some
minutes, some ours, some days, some montsand even tree years for one of te people
interviewed, before getting clouded, (but it never
disappeared entirely). After te experience,
one usually lives wit it in a permanent manner
up to the time, one ne morning, we discover
tat it is not living any longer and we ave to
make a conscious concentration to become aware
of it.
A visitor to te Asram as spoken of severalemergences and dispersions on te same day,
feeling ow is ego was mentalising and
responsible for clouding it, but te original
sensation came back often. On te following
days, it was still a game of ide and seek, but less
living, up to te time it vanised.
A man living in Europe kept te experience quite
fres during tree to four days, in te midst of
multiple activities, including a football matc,te best of my life, in wic, instead of running
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after te ball, it was te ball wic was coming
to me!
For an Asramite, wo ad been prepared by
some spiritual discipline, te awareness of te
new state of being lasted several monts. Peace
emanated from im and was felt around and
reported to im. he tougt it would always
last but it faded gradually. One day, e became
unexpectedly aware tat it ad witdrawn. he
attributed it to a aw in his own sadhana, which
may also be a subjective explanation. But for
sure, e may still be able to connect wit it at will.
An elderly Asramite will even tell tat te
contact as taken place 100 times. Considering
the content of the meeting, we denitely believeim!
In all these cases, it is difcult to tell if it was
te circumstances wic were to be blamed
for te loss of te psycic consciousness, or if
te psycic consciousness was destined to fade
sooner or later.
III.2 Once the psychic nature is known, one
is in a better position to differentiatepsychic perceptions and vital/emotional
feelings.
Once a contact as been establised, once
te veil as been pierced, even sligtly, once
te taste of te psycic is known, it is always
possible, at will, witin some seconds, to feel
again that presence, that inuence, the quality
of tat vibration, te nature of tat substance.
One as gained a pretty sure way to recognisethe psychic inuence.
For a certain Aurovilian, te psycic as become
a permanent reference point. For one asramite, it
can be recognized since it as a different nature.
It can no longer be confused wit anyting else.
Tis perception as been expressed by several
oter people.
If one among you has had the experience, heknows in this way what comes from the Divine,
and necessarily he knows perforce all that
does not... It is only after this experience that one
knows, not before
(CWM 6:131-132)
III.3 After the identication, some are aware
of a reversal of consciousness
After a psycic contact, some people become
aware of a sudden reversal of consciousness. It
as to be noted tat suc a reversal may also be
triggered by some oter spiritual experiences.
Those who have experienced this reversal know
what I am speaking about; but if one hasnt, one
cant understand. (CWM 8:172)
Tis is wy we sall not try to describe it. Several
people ave acknowledged teir failed attempts
to sare te reversal of consciousness brougt
about by teir psycic experience. Unless it as
been tasted, it cannot be recognised.
An Aurovilian stated tat in 1972, e ad te
Moters darsan, and at te time of leaving, seopened er eyes and suddenly everyting turned
over. Anoter Aurovilian wo as experienced
tis reversal of consciousness explains it by
te fact tat life is being seen wit some oter
reference points.
III.4 The new knowledge and perception that
some part of us is immortal remains
permanent for most people.
Even if te living contact wit te psycic being
vanises, te perception of te immortality of tis
someting else remains wit everybody wo
as experienced it. Te relation wit deat as
canged. Te fear of deat is no longer tere.
One visitor in te Asram, some days after
suc a psycic experience, came down wit
a high unidentied fever. The Ashram doctor
was alarmed and te Moter was informed.Te visitor felt tat is consciousness was
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RITAM 15
witdrawing from is legs and arms, starting
from teir extremities, as if deat were invading
te body, going towards te eart. Wit interest
and even curiosity, and witout te least fear, e
remained concentrated in is living psycic being
wic, e knew, cannot die. he was wondering
wat would appen wen te numbness/deat
would reac is soul, wic cannot become
numb. But e lost consciousness. An our
later, e awakened. Tis experience illustrates
te vividness of tis sense of immortality and
its power, since e was in a position to look at
Deat as a witness.
Tere was an Asramite wo was fearful of a
life-endangering eart surgery, but e was nolonger worried after e got a contact wit is
psycic being and could ten go undisturbed to
te operating teatre.
III.5 A state of happiness without cause may
also remain quite long.
One sadak comments, During te period of
awareness of ones psycic being, wen one
is so full of appiness, we make very littlepersonal effort for progress since everyting is so
spontaneously beautiful. We accept any adverse
circumstance without ghting since such things
become secondary: noting really matters. he
considers tat it is Te Moter wo gives us
suc an effortless state of appiness to sow ow
beautiful life could be, and ten se witdraws
te experience so tat we can start te work of
transformation consciously.
An Aurovilian, during tat living psycic period,
was aware of a constant state of appiness, from
te time e awoke in te morning (kissing is
pillow to say tank you to te new day to come!).
Every our, e would remember ow appy e
was to reside in Auroville ... up to an overnigt
witdrawal!
III.6 There is the feeling that whatever we
experience is quite natural and must alsobe felt by those around us.
Tis is anoter unique feature of te psycic
experience. As long as te experience is living,
te one undergoing te experience feels tat
many people around im must ave or sare te
same feelings, must be experiencing te same
ting and be living wit it. It is as if we are close
to a tree with a lot of jasmine owers and we
breate teir perfume: we are convinced tat
oters also smell te same fragrance, altoug
tey do not.
In te same manner, wen we are in contact wit
our psycic being, wenever we meet somebody
wit some psycic sweetness, we tink tat e
is also living wit te inner perception of is
psycic being. Suc a feeling as been expressedby two visitors and one Asramite.
III.7 After that contact, does life become a
sunlit path?
Wit te new awareness, te new feelings and
sensations, everyting seems to contribute to
te transformation of our lives, so tat we get a
lasting state of joy. As seen from te beginning
of tis essay, it is partly true tat life may or maynot become a sunlit pat, but in any case life is
no longer te same.
Te Moter tells us tat we can know tat te
psycic is tere :
when one feels better within oneself, when
one is full of light, hope, goodwill, generosity,
compassion for the world, and sees life as a
eld of action, progress, realisation. Doesnt itmake a difference from the days when one is
bored, grumbling, when everything seems ugly,
unpleasant, wicked, when one loves nobody,
wants to break everything, gets angry, feels ill at
ease, without strength, without energy, without
any joy?
(CWM 6:6)
Does tis mean tat life as become a sunlit pat?
Not quite, since anoter feature of tis awakeningmust also be igligted.
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The more psychic one is, the more he is in
contradiction with the present state of the world ....
The development of the psychic being has a double
result, which is concomitant. That is, with the
development of the psychic being, the sensitivity
of the being grows. And with the growth of
sensitivity, there is also the growth of the capacity
for suffering; but there is the counterpart, that is,
to the extent to which one is in relation with the
psychic being, one faces the circumstances of life in
an altogether different way and with a kind of inner
freedom which makes one capable of withdrawing
from a circumstance and not feeling the shock in
the ordinary way. You can face the difculty of
outer things with calm, peace and a sufcient inner
knowledge not to be troubled. (CWM 7:21)
III.8 After that experience, does one become
a holy person?
Te above talk from te Moter gives te
answer! Te bursting of te psycic being is
a denite landmark in spiritual progress, but
all te cellular residues are still quite present
and living. Ones actions and reactions are stillvery often governed by instinct. Te psycic
presence is not permanent, even toug tere
is te possibility at any moment to feel it again
sometimes too late, after we ave reacted!
Actions and reactions take place before te
psycic being is consulted.
Even sometimes te being willingly follows te
ordinary nature rater tan te psycic indication.
For tose wo do not know teir psycic being,tis may look like a sacrilege or a waste of te
grace wic as been received. But tose wo
have tasted it, know how difcult it is to remain
constantly witin te psycic vibration.
III.9 How is a lost contact with the psychic
being renewed: as a bursting forth, or
progressively?
We ave not met (yet) anybody wo underwenttwo burstings! If we refer again to te image of
an egg atcing, it seems as if te sell can be
broken only once.
Te psycic being may ave come back in front
from time to time but no longer suddenly. It
as come back in a manner wic was neiter
perceivable nor dramatic and in suc a way tat
one discovers, one day, tat te psycic is again
quite present. In te same manner, we usually
discover one morning tat te psycic as
become less living.
An Aurovilian, wile concentrating on Sri
Aurobindo, became aware tat te psycic
presence ad come back. Since tat time, tat
is a period of eigt monts at te time of teinterview, te presence did not leave er.
A visitor wo experienced a sudden bursting of
is psycic being on January 2nd 1968, lost it
gradually but, lacking te proper knowledge, did
not identify ow it went away witin some monts.
he entered again, gradually, into te living psycic
presence on 9t September 1973; it lasted eigt
monts, up to 30t April 1974, on wic date e
did someting wic contradicted tis psycicpresence: te next morning it ad gone. Quite a
long time later, in December 2001, e discovered
one morning wile cycling tat te contact wit
te psycic being was again tere, but e lost it on
Marc 25t 2002 after a violent verbal abuse wic
sook is wole body: next morning, te living
awareness and plenitude ad vanised. Tese
dates are given to illustrate te fact tat te living
awareness of te psycic being is quite concrete:
it exists or it does not. Wat is permanent is tecapacity to contact it at will for reference.
IV. SO ME STATI ST IC S ON THE
SURVEY
Among tirty-seven people wit wom tis matter
was discussed, it as been found tat twelve of
tem came to know teir psycic being after a
sudden bursting of te veil an experience wic
can be differentiated from a psycicised igeremotion. Tere was no prepared questionnaire
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RITAM 17
but an open discussion. In spite of te limited
number of elements wic ave been produced,
it is possible to start to gater some features on
te bursting. According to te response to tis
essay, more meetings may take place and enric
te survey.
A. Features of the bursting
1.A sudden happening: all te 12 interviewees
could describe wit precision te circumstances,
place and time wen it occurred.
2. A great joy without cause: all te 12
interviewees ave described tis joy: maximum,
intense, overwelming, a bursting of joy, anexplosion of joy.
3. A ow of light: 4 interviewees out of 15 ave
seen muc wite ligt, a strong wite ligt, a red
ligt, an ocean of ligt.
4. A knowledge of something immortal within
oneself: 6 interviewees ave mentioned te new
knowledge and certitude of someting immortal
in tem.
5. A new individual entity within oneself: 4
people ave mentioned tatte psycic being as
been perceived as an individual entity, distinct
from te body.
6. Other sensations describedby more tan one
person were: an outstandingpeace, love, ricness,
plenitude, an increased consciousness, a feeling
of te divine in plants.
B. After-effects of the bursting
1. Disappearance: For most of te people
interviewed it was difcult to explain what has
appened between te bursting wic brougt a
psycic awareness and te moment wen tey
suddenly became aware it ad gone. From tose
wo were aware of reasons for te disappearance,
details were not asked altoug it is now felttat more could be sared.
2. The psychic area becomes a permanent
reference point: Even if te permanent
awareness of te psycic being as gone, it
is always possible to connect, at will, to te
psycic area wic as a special vibration. Six
interviewees mentioned tat tis area as become
a permanent point of reference.
3. Discrimination between emotional and
psychic feelings becomes easier: Tis was
mentioned by 6 people wo ave tasted te
psycic vibration.
4. Circumstances are arranging themselves:
tis was mentioned by 3 people
5. Sense of Immortality still alive? Yes for 6
persons.
Tis part of te interviews as been weak. Te
ve above features should have been presented
for appraisal and feed-back, but at tat time
it was not yet known wat would be relevant.
Some oter features ave been indicated ere
and tere, one or two times. Tis can be done
if it is decided to enric tis initial survey.For te next paragrap, information on te
circumstances of te bursting was easier to
gater, altoug tese ave not been collected
in an organised manner.
C. Circumstances of the bursting
1. In which year?: In te sixties (3), in te
seventies (2), in te eigties (2), in te nineties
(1), after 2000 (1). To be noted: 5 burstings outof 8 appened between 1965 and 1973.
2. At what age? Below 20(0), below 30 (5),
below 40 (3), below 50 (0), below 60 (1). It is
oped tat tis article will not trow people above
forty into a depression!
3. Contact with Sri Aurobindos and Mothers
writings beforehand? Yes (10). 7 out of 15 ad
seen te Moter before, 2 persons knew only teir
names, 1 person did not know Sri Aurobindos
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name (two weeks later e sees The Life Divine in a
booksop and purcases it because of te title!)
4. Inner discipline before the bursting: Serious
inner discipline (7), some spiritual discipline
(2), no discipline but a psycoterapy (1). Te
bursting is not limited to people wo ave done
a concentrated sadana. It as also appened to
people wo ave been taken by surprise and did
not know anyting about it, weter tey knew
te Moter and Sri Aurobindo or not.
5. Yearning for something else: A little for
one, very muc for all te oters. All te people
wo experienced te bursting were yearning for
someting else, were strongly aspiring for it,often witout knowing wat tey were aspiring
for.
6. In which psychological state? Only 2 were
in a depressed mood.
7. Being alone or in company: Alone (5), not
alone (3), wit te Moter (1). Not asked (3).
8. Where did it happen? In teir reading-room(2); just lying on te bed (1); in te Moters room
(1); on the operation theatre (1); in an ofce with
people (1); outside in nature wile meditating
(1); outside on a boulevard wile walking (1).
No places are privileged.
9. While doing what? Meditating (2);
doing pranayama (1); looking into te Moters
eyes (1); reading a letter of Sri Aurobindo
(1); musing on ones bed (1); lying almost
unconscious on ones bed (1); standing in
front of a revered person (1); delivering a
cild (1); walking in a boulevard (1): a total
kaleidoscope of situations. Altoug meditation
may be a useful tool, only one was engaged in
an organised meditation.
10. Any signs announcing this happening,
which was for everybody (one of) the most
important moment(s) of their life? Forerunnersigns have not been identied, if any. In other
words, any aspirant is a potential candidate for
te crack of te sell wic allows te psycic
being to come out.
11. More Indians or more foreigners? Among
te 12 people wo spoke of teir psycic bursting,
8 were foreigners and 4 were Indians. Among te
3 persons wo did not lose te psycic contact
since teir cildood, 2 were Indians and 1 a
foreigner. Among te 37 interviewees, 21 were
foreigners and 16 were Indians.
V. METHOD / PROCESS TO INITIATE
THE BURSTING OF THE PSYCHIC
BEING
At te end of tis study, is it possible torecommend any method / process to nd ones
psycic being, to identify wit it?
In The Science of Living, publised in 1950,
referring to the psychic being, the Mother denes
some gradation in te knowledge of te psycic
being, as four pases.
It is... of capital importance:
- to become conscious of its presence in us,- to concentrate on this presence,
- until it becomes a living fact for us,
- and we can identify ourselves with it.
(CWM 12:4)
Identication is the last phase.
We do not reach it little by little, it is not through
a little constant and regular effort. It is something
which arrives suddenly.
By wic metod can we experience it?
In various times and places many methods have
been prescribed for attaining this perception and
ultimately achieving this identication. Some
methods are psychological, some religious, some
even mechanical. In reality, everyone has to nd
the one which suits him best, and if one has an
ardent and steadfast aspiration, a persistent anddynamic will, one is sure to meet, in one way or
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RITAM 19
another outwardly through reading and study,
inwardly through concentration, meditation,
revelation and experience the help one needs
to reach the goal.
(CWM 12:4).
In fact te Moter igligts two common
psycological conditions, aspiration and will, and
considers tat te inner or outer tools are many
and each one must nd those tools which are the
most appropriate.
V.1 Practice of concentration is a basic tool
Sri Aurobindo wrote to somebody:
The rst necessity is the practice of concentration
of your consciousness within yourself ... The
concentration in the heart opens within and by
following this inward opening and going deep one
becomes aware of the soul or psychic being.
(SABCL No 23:517)
Anoter person received te following letter:
It is by concentration of whatever kindand theexperiences it brings that one opens and becomes
aware within and the new consciousness and
nature begins to grow and come out.
(SABCL No 23:907)
During one of te evening gaterings wit
te disciples, te Moter gives one practical
metod:
For those who have the power of concentratingwith images, they have one more facility. To sit
in meditation before a closed door, as though it
were a heavy door of bronze... and to pass to the
other side; the whole concentration, the whole
aspiration is gathered into a beam and pushes,
pushes, pushes against this door, and pushes
more and more with an increasing energy until
all of a sudden it bursts open and one enters. It
makes a very powerful impression. And so one
is as though plunged into the light and then onehas the full enjoyment of a sudden and radical
change of consciousness, with an illumination
that captures one entirely, and the feeling that
one is becoming another person. This is a very
concrete and very powerful way of entering into
contact with ones psychic being.
(CWM 7:268)
V.2 A strong craving for contact is a basic
psychological feature
Among te prime conditions tat elp to
discover ones psycic, it seems tat a strong
yearning, a strong aspiration is a very great
elp. Among all te people wo participated
in te above survey and spoke of teir sudden
psycic experience, all of tem ad a strongaspiration, as if it sucked te psycic being out
of its sell. It may also be said tat it makes it
grow and is a call to it wic accelerates te
moment wen it bursts.
Te Moter empasizes tis condition several
times. For example, on 8 June 1955:
If one intensies his aspiration, there is a moment
when the pressure is so great and the intensity ofthe question so strong that something turns over
in the consciousness.
(CWM No 7:193-94)
Also on 6 October, 1969:
To become conscious of the psychic being one
must want to do so, make ones mind as silent as
possible, and enter deep into the heart of ones
being, beyond sensations and thoughts. One mustform the habit of silent concentration and descent
into the depths of ones being.
(CWM 16:399)
V.3 Scrupulously following any psychic
indication received is a basic step in that
direction
According to Sri Aurobindo, in a letter to Dilip
Kumar Roy:
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This divine element in all living beings grows
in the consciousness by Godward experience,
gaining strength every time there is a higher
movement in us, and, nally, by the accumulation
of these deeper and higher movements, there is
developed a psychic individuality that which
we call usually the psychic being.
(SABCL 22:288).
In te same vein, an Aurovilian, speaking of
te psycic being, as made te analogy wit a
muscle wic develops wit te practice. In te
same manner, te psycic grows wenever tere
is a psycic movement.
Tis idea is corroborated by te Moter wense writes:
In order to strengthen the contact and aid, if
possible, the development of the conscious
psychic personality one should take great care,
each time one receives an indication from it, to
follow it very scrupulously and sincerely
(CWM 16:22)
V.4 Any other process / method?
Sri Aurobindo and te Moter ave basically
igligted tree metods: te practice of some
concentration, a development of te aspiration,
and an active obedience to indications received
from te psycic.
One Asramite as organised some one-week
residential worksops, witout leaving te
campus. Te focus on te psycic being was
outstanding, te teacing included some practical
exercises, te feeling of te psycic presence and
te aspiration for it must ave increased witin
eac participant, as well as some knowledge
to identify it. Unfortunately te return into te
normal life is too abrupt, even aggressive. It
may be advisable, during te second part of te
worksop, to return for some ours into ones
social and working environment in order to learn
ow to keep te concentration on te psycicspace in te midst of normal life.
EPILOGUE
A wider survey would certainly confirm but
also peraps contradict some of te remarks
and statements given above. Some readers may
like to sare teir own bursting experience, or
may ave reservations about certain statements,
or may like to add some additional ndings or
comments. Weter tis survey will be continuedand tis essay enlarged depends on te feedback
received from readers. Te writer of tis study
will be glad to answer eac e-mail on te topic
sent to [email protected].
Alain Grandcolas spent 6 years in te Asram and 2 years in Auroville
during te early seventies. he rejoined Auroville in 2000, being now an
executive of te Road Service.
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RITAM 21
Te world is a great game of ide and seek in
wic te real ides beind te apparent, spirit
beind matter. Te apparent masquerades as real,
te real is seen dimly as if it were an unsubstantial
sadow. Te grandeur of te visible universe and
its laws enslaves mens imaginations. Tis is a
migty macine, we cry, but it moves of its
own force and needs neiter guide nor maker;for its motion is eternal. Blinded by a alf trut
we fail to see tat, instead of a macine witout
a maker, tere is really only an existence and
no macine. Te hindus ave many images by
wic tey seek to convey teir knowledge of
te relation between God and te world, but te
idea of the machine does not gure largely among
them. It is a spider and his web, a re with many
sparks, a pool of salt water in wic every particle
is penetrated by te salt. Te world is a wakingdream, an embodied vision, a mass of knowledge
arranged in corporeal appearances expressing
so many ideas wic are eac only a part of one
uncanging trut. Everyting becomes, noting is
made. Everyting is put out from latency, noting
is brougt into existence. Only tat wic was,
can be, not tat wic was not. And tat wic is,
cannot peris; it can only lose itself. All is eternal
in te eternal spirit.
Wat was from of old? Te spirit. Wat is
alone? Te spirit. Wat sall be for ever? Te
spirit. All tat is in Space and Time, is he; and
watever tere may be beyond Space and Time,
tat too is he. Wy sould we tink so? Because
of te eternal and invariable unity wic gives
permanence to te variability of te many.
Te sum of matter never canges by increase
or diminution, altoug its component parts
are continually sifting; so is it wit te sumof energy in te world, so is it wit te spirit.
Matter is only so muc mobile energy vibrating
intensely into form. Energy is only so muc spirit
manifesting te motion tat we call energy. Spirit
is Force, Spirit Existence,matter and energy
are only motions in Spirit. Force and Existence
made one in Bliss, Saccidanandam, tis is te
eternal reality of tings. But tat Force is not
motion, it is Knowledge or Idea. Knowledge is tesource of motion, not motion of knowledge. Te
Spirit terefore is all, It is alone. Idea or Force,
Existence, Bliss are only its triune manifestations,
existence implying idea wic is force, force or
idea implying bliss.
Te Spirit manifest as Intelligence is te basis
of te world. Spirit as existence, Sat, is one; as
Intelligence it multiplies itself witout ceasing
to be one. We see tat tree and say here is amaterial ting; but if we ask ow te tree came
into existence, we ave to say, it grew or evolved
out of te seed. But growt or evolution is only
a term describing te sequence in a process. It
does not explain te origin or account for te
process itself. Wy sould te seed produce a
tree and not some oter form of existence? Te
answer is, because tat is its nature. But wy is
tat its nature? Wy sould it not be its nature to
produce some oter form of existence, or someoter kind of tree? Tat is te law, is te answer.
But wy is it te law? Te only answer is tat
it is so because it is so; tat it appens, wy no
man can say. In reality wen we speak of Law,
we speak of an idea; wen we speak of te nature
of a ting, we speak of an idea. Nowere can
we lay our ands on an object, a visible force, a
discernible momentum and say here is an entity
called Law or Nature. Te seed evolves a tree
because tree is te idea involved in te seed; it isa process of manifestation in form, not a creation.
The Stress of the Hidden Spirit
Sri Aurobindo
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If tere were no insistent idea, we sould ave
a world of cances and freaks, not a world of
lawtere would be no suc idea as te nature
of tings, if tere were not an originating and
ordering intelligence manifesting a particular idea
in forms. And te form varies, is born, perises;
te idea is eternal. Te form is te manifestation
or appearance, te idea is te trut. Te form is
penomenon, te idea is reality.
Terefore in all tings te hindu tinker sees te
stress of te idden spirit. We see it as Prajna,
te universal Intelligence, conscious in tings
unconscious, active in tings inert.
Te energy of Prajna is wat te Europeans callNature. Te tree does not and cannot sape itself,
te stress of te idden Intelligence sapes it. he
is in te seed of man and in tat little particle of
matter carries abit, caracter, types of emotion
into te unborn cild. Terefore eredity is true;
but if Prajna were not concealed in te seed,
eredity would be false, inexplicable, impossible.
We see te same stress in te mind, eart, body
of man. Because te idden spirit urges imself
on te body, stamps imself on it, expressesimself in it, te body expresses te individuality
of te man, te developing and conscious idea
or varying type wic is myself; terefore no
two faces, no two expressions, no two tumb
impressions even are entirely alike; every part
of te body in some way or oter expresses te
man. Te stress of te spirit sows itself in te
mind and eart; terefore men, families, nations
ave individuality, run into particular abits of
tougt and feeling, terefore also tey are bot
alike and dissimilar. Terefore men act and react,
not only pysically but spiritually, intellectually,
morally on eac oter, because tere is one self in
all creatures expressing itself in various idea and
forms variously suitable to te idea. Te stress of
te idden Spirit expresses itself again in events
and te majestic course of te world. Tis is te
Zeitgeist, tis is te purpose tat runs troug te
process of te centuries, te canges of te suns,
tis is tat wic makes evolution possible and
provides it wit a way, means and a goal. Tis
is he wo from years sempiternal at ordered
perfectly all tings.
Tis is te teacing of te Vedanta as we ave
it in its oldest form in te Upanisads. Adwaita,Visistadwaita, Dwaita are merely various
ways of looking at te relations of te One to
te Many, and none of tem as te rigt to
monopolise te name Vedanta. Adwaita is true,
because te Many are only manifestations of
te One. Visistadwaita is true because ideas
are eternal and aving manifested, must ave
manifested before and will manifest again,te
Many are eternal in te One, only tey are
sometimes manifest and sometimes unmanifest.Dwaita is true, because altoug from one point
of view te One and te Many are eternally and
essentially te same, yet, from anoter, te idea
in its manifestation is eternally different from
te Intelligence in wic it manifests. If Unity is
eternal and uncangeable, duality is persistently
recurrent. Te Spirit is infinite, illimitable,
eternal, and innite, illimitable, eternal is its stress
towards manifestation lling endless space with
innumerable existences.(CWSA 13:64)
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RITAM 23
In Need of Vedic Psychology
Jean-Yves Lung
During a recent seminar on Indian Psycology,
eld at Sri Aurobindos Asram (Pondicerry,
December 2004), several speakers ave presented
teir work as an attempt to validate Indian
psycology by means of Western psycology.
One may wonder wat would remain of it after
tis validating treatment, since te object as well
as te metods of researc are based on verydifferent paradigms, one relying on objective
measurement, te oter on subjective experience,
but if validation tere must be, it will be more
fruitful wen it is mutually done and te process
may as well go te oter way around: Indian
psycology validating te Western one. Only
on te basis of a real sense of mutuality does a
fruitful dialogue become possible. First of all we
must examine te radical difference of paradigm
between te two and ave a clear awareness ofit. Ten we will examine Freuds psycoanalysis
as well as academic psycology and try to
understand tem from te point of view of Vedic
psycology.
Te Western mind as evolved a process of
knowing tat is founded on te analytical
observation of wat appears objectively to te
mind and on processes of rational reasoning about
tem in order to discover teir underlying laws.Te Indian mind as evolved metods for going
beyond appearances and toucing directly te
underlying Real, not by reasoning on its probable
existence, but by experiencing and becoming it:
tat tvam asi(thou art That). The rst implies
a process of separation and objectivisation, te
second a process of unifying awareness and
identity. How can the rst approach validate the
second, wic by its nature eludes so muc its
grasp? It is generally understood tat wat issubjective is not scientic because it cannot be
validated objectively, quantitatively. But lets
look deeper into tis claim: All te Western
sciences ave gradually and inexorably become
more and more specialised and tecnical; in te
process, tey ave developed complex protocols
of research and specic concepts; as a result, only
the specialists of the same eld can understand
eac oter and validate or invalidate eac otersndings. Those who are not specialists can only
trust blindly or assume tat te work as been
done well and tat tey can trust its conclusions,
conclusions tat are never conclusive, as te Real
always escapes te limiting net te mind trows
on it in order to catc it. Terefore Science as
become an object of belief, wose edicts are
warranted by an establishment of the scientic
trut, loaded wit vested interests (position,
inuence, budgets, careers, money), as were theancient religions, warranted by an establisment
of priests wit vested interests. But wat would
you call a system you ave to believe in witout
any cance to know by yourself if it is true or not,
wose language is incompreensible except to te
initiated and wic condemns as eretic every
approac wic doesnt submit to it? I would
call it te establisment of ignorance, since it
systematically dispossesses men of an access to
knowledge tey can experience by temselves:tey can only become te initiated servants of a
system wic dominates tem for te sake of an
ofcial Scientic Truth never reached for good
but promising tat ere is te only way, and tat
one day, for sure, all will be known.
If we take te Indian approac to knowledge,
te picture is totally different: te realities it
explores can be experienced by eac one wo
as te will to know tem and, altoug teyare subjective by nature, te same results will
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always appear. If you train yourself to x your
tougts wen tey come in, you will observe
tat tey disappear; if you try to listen to te
underlying silence ten te mind will eventually
experience a sense of quietude, silence itself will
sometimes come and ll the mind. If you turn
your emotions to some lovable presence of wic
te eart as te intuition, watever te form it
can be Sri Krisna, Alla Jesus te experience
of someting adorable, a Presence wic exceeds
te form and yet is perceived troug te form,
will be experienced in te eart. If you renounce
te fruits of your works, you will experience tat
te will starts being liberated and becomes more
quiet, deliberate in its movements and terefore
more truly efcient. Each individual will have hisown way and pace in arriving at some results, but
te same results will tend to appen, invariably
te same along tese tree lines. Terefore te
validation is indenitely accessible and can be
repeated ad innitum by every one wo cooses
to make te effort for it. Te only conditions are
te sincerity of te aspiration, for te result of
our quest will depend on it, and perseverance.
Spiritual experience does not disclose itself
to a mere curiosity or intellectual enquiry, teresearcer as to engage imself in it witout
reservation if e wants to enter it. Tis said,
in te Indian way of knowing, tere is no trut
tat you cannot verify by yourself. And te
system is open to new experience, as well as to
a combination of several lines of experience. It
doesnt ask from you blind belief but the rst sign
of knowledge, wic is fait in te pat you ave
cosen, sincerity in your motivations, and self-
validation by experience. Ten, on wic side issuperstition? On wic side validation?
So it is with some condence that we can turn
now towards Indian psycology and its capacity
to validate or invalidate Western psycology.
Lets take for instance Freuds psycoanalysis.
I leave aside for te moment te teory it as
developed, to speak only on te clinical aspect,
te relation between te terapist and te
patient. We know tat te terapist is supposed
to be a silent listening presence, witout any
reactions or projections of is own, an attentive
witness. Ten it is observed tat tis attitude
has a liberating effect: the patient nally nds
te words to say some trut tat was idden
in im and all tat was oppressed, covered,
denied is liberated troug a process of spoken
elucidation. Wy, ow does suc a process
take place? From te Indian point of view we
recognize te enactment of tepurusha /prakriti
(soul and nature) relation. Te silent purusha
as a liberating effect on prakriti as soon asprakriti becomes aware of te presence of its
silent awareness. We can terefore identify te
analytical situation as a reection ofpurusha/
prakriti interaction, and understand ow it
works. Te fact tat te operating power is te
word as carrying or revealing a covered trut
will also be familiar to us: it is te word of
trut vocally expressed, satyamantra, wic
destroys all tat imprisons us, te instrument
of conquest of te Vedic risis over ignoranceand suffering1. So we can validate tis part of
Freuds psycoterapy, because we can explain
ow it operates, independently of is teories on
man and consciousness. Lets note tat te fact
tat it works witin te psycoanalytical context
doesnt prove te validity of Freuds teory,
for te relation between purusha and prakriti
is independent of any cultural or teoretical
context, it is truly a universal reality of mans
consciousness. But it conrms and illustratesIndian knowledge about it as well as about te
effective power of te word.
On te teoretical level, we will not be able to
validate Freuds interpretation of is practice,
for ere we observe te submission of reason to
1 See the signicant formulation of the rishis about the recovery of the radiant herds from the subconscient caves by
Briaspati: Thou hast crushed with thy stroke the mouthless Dividers who mar our self-expression, thou hast cloven themasunder in the gated city .2 I take Reason as a reection of thePurushas consciousness in te operations of te mind (Prakriti).
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RITAM 25
te object of its study, ofpurusha toprakriti2:
Freud presents himself as a scientic mind
studying te Inconscient. Terefore e is
Man dened as Reason, a Cartesian creature,
putting te world at a distance as an object to
be known. But at te end of is study, man
is redened as determined by blind impulses
and desire: te object of study as terefore
overcome the studying subject and redened
im in its proper terms. Tis overcoming of
purusha by prakriti will not be validated as
knowledge by Indian psycology, because
te knower as been trapped by te known.
From tis angle, it appears like a defeat of te
knower. Borrowing te allegoric language of
te Veda, we can make a suggestive parallelbetween Freuds researc and te legend of
Sarama and te lost cows: In some cave of te
subconscient, te radiating erds of knowledge,
wic ad risen on us wit Usha, te Dawn,
ave disappeared, robbed and idden by wat
in us is obscure, doesnt want to give itself, te
miser, the trafcker, the robber. Sarama, te
intuition faculty, nds the cave, and presents
erself as sent by Indra. Se is welcomed by
tepanis, the trafckers, who propose to makea pact witIndra. Se ten answers tatIndra
(te illumined mind) andBrhaspati (te soul-
word) will destroy tem and make tem vomit
their own speech. Ten tey propose to sare
wit er teir cows as wit a sister. Se answers
tat onlyIndra knows about sister and broter
(R.V., 10, 108). TenIndra,Brihaspati and te
Risis Angirasas, wit teir words of trut,
destroy te imprisoning caves and te radiant
erds are recovered. Now, wat appened wenFreud, took te same pat, some tousands of
years later? I would allegorically suggest tat
e discovered te same cave, was welcomed
by te same panis and gave quite a different
answer: Oh my friends, I am so happy to nd
you! Tanks to you I now know te reality
of mans secret soul: te Inconscient is is
ultimate Real, and I will go now all over te
world repeating to all and eac one idam eva
tvam asi (tis Id only you are). So did eand psycoanalysis became very successful
and wealty, teacing men tat escape from
impulse and desire is impossible, tat one can
only make it viable in ones life.
In te field of Western applied psycology,
dealing wit Prakriti rater tan wit te
liberating power ofPurusha, we will nd only
te study of processes and abit of reactions to
stimuli, te Self never appears. Psycological
qualities suc as sincerity, trutfulness,
courage, aspiration, etc, wic are so central
in te process of self-becoming, are not even
considered as worty of being studied, for ow
can you measure tem objectively? Man is
seen not in is capacity to free imself from
determinations but as dened by the sum ofteir interactions. Tis may lead to some form of
enligtened manipulation, not to self-discovery.
It seems even sometimes tat its results are
more immediately effective in te field of
advertisement, propaganda and disinformation
(if not of special