Bhagavagd Gita - Session 35- Track 3502
In fact this is the subject matter of the 13th chapter of the Gita: kṣetra kṣetrajñayoga, “The field and the knower of the field”. So, you first of all take cognisance of what you are, where you are; observe it properly and then find out the best way of moving forward to attain the highest, and to reach that highest position from where the most effective divine action can take place. The knowledge of doing this is the knowledge of Yoga: to find out where you are; to determine the goal that you want to achieve, that goal being the supreme consciousness of Oneness, of Multiplicity, of all manifesting from the One, and the manifestation of the will of the Divine in this world, attainment of that knowledge, and then finding out the best means of ascending yourself towards attaining that. But when we say ‘hastening’, it does not mean that you break all the barriers at once as it were, which you cannot, even if you want to, but to wisely understand the law of graduality following which you will also discover the law of speed. There has to be a judicious rate of speed. For every individual the speed will differ. So one has to see at what speed one can achieve a constant equilibrium.
Therefore Sri Aurobindo says that you have to have two attitudes: one is that there is infinite time available to you for achieving your goal, lot of time available to you; no hurry at all on one side. On the other side, to aim at reaching a point where you can realise the goal here and now: two contrary attitudes. Now, to reconcile these two contrary attitudes, you take the following course of action: you move gradually, but while moving gradually you cultivate powers in you, more and more so as to arrive at a climax of development of powers, which when fully developed will give the capacity of realising on the spot. So a point will come in your development when wherever you will, it will happen on the spot. For then the time is cut as it were.
Even today for example, the fact that the world today has developed instruments by which time is cut. As we know that if you fly from Europe to America, you reach earlier than the time of your departure. So, this happens because, we have been able to cut the time, because the consciousness, the powers have been created which can realise on the spot what is to be realised. That is why it is very often said that if you have the blessings of the Lord, tatha astu it is said and it is realised on the spot. This is the real power of the Supreme, what is called the supramental power is this power: instant realisation of what is willed. Between the will and what is to be actualised there is no time left: the moment it is willed, it is realised.
So, the best means of doing anything in the world is to learn the law of graduality, to learn the law of patience therefore, to learn the lesson of developing powers: this is a very important condition. Not merely to say: ‘it will happen in its own time’. This is the message given by many people: “Don’t worry, at the right time right thing will happen”: that is not a correct statement, at least it is not a comprehensively correct statement. In due course also it will happen only if in the mean time you develop the powers. So, your immediate action should be towards development of capacities, faculties, powers, will, attitudes, states of consciousness: develop all these in certain directions.
What is the direction? As you move forward, you more and more realise ‘instantaneously’. The supramental powers are the powers by which, whatever is willed is realised on the spot. In the Supermind the time lag is not a burden or a barrier. It is at the lower levels that there are barriers of time movements. So, this is the reconciling truth: ‘Everything is happening in its own time’ is a truth, ‘The highest should happen now’: these two seems to be contradictory. It can be reconciled by accepting the law of graduality, which however does not look upon immediate need of developing the powers, but insist upon the development of necessary powers, but in a certain rhythm.
Even developing the powers cannot be done in a kind of a very vehement manner, which many Yogis try to do. They do twelve hours of Tapasya to get certain powers, which they can get, but it is a big burden also. So, one should not pull, as Sri Aurobindo says: “Do not pull”. But pulling, certainly some powers can come down, but then it has many defects, because your being may not be ready to receive that power. There is a small instance where young student in the ashram school in Pondicherry, he was taking part in a competition in sports and he prayed that he must do something tremendously magnificent and he pulled. He succeeded, but thereafter he became unbalanced psychologically: it is only one example, but it is what is happening everywhere even in ordinary life, there are many people who go on working, burning themselves, and they achieve a certain result but then at a great cost of the body to the development of faculties, and so on.