The Synthesis of Yoga - Super school Auroville - The Synthesis of Yoga 102

And that is not enough: persistence. Constantly you have to make an effort, whether awake or in sleep, whether you are tired or you are in a great heat. In every state there should be a persistent effort and the minimum of the effort is the simplest thing: aspire. Aspiration is the minimum of the effort. You just aspire: “I want the Divine Life”. This is the aspiration. I simply want, “I want Divine Life”, go on saying this. Even when you are tired you simply say: “I want the Divine Life”. Even when you are not making an effort, does not matter, say simply: “I want Divine Life on the earth”. Persistent, all the time with one mantra: “I want the Divine Life on the earth.” This is called in Sanskrit Utsaha. Utsaha is actually enthusiasm. We should feel fired. Even when you don’t feel enthusiastic the only effort to make is: do not give way, do not fall down. And even if you fall down you will say: “Even fallen, I am God”. And you rise again and again and again. That is the second factor, knowledge of the truths, principles, powers and processes, which govern the realisation, supported by a persistent effort, a patient effort.

Then intervenes a third factor: “Uplifting our knowledge and effort into the domain of spiritual experience…” When your knowledge is increasing, even when your effort is increasing your life, is uplifting; you have lifted up your whole being. You have to imagine that we are in a pit and you are making a lot of effort to rise up from the pit. Then there is somebody who pulls you — this is a tremendous assurance, there is always somebody around you who is ready to pull you up. Only on one condition that you should put your hand upwards. That is, uplifting your effort there is somebody to pull you up. What is it that pulls you up? Three things: direct suggestion, example and influence of the teacher. There is always a teacher around you and he comes in time — always, be sure of that.

When Arjuna wanted a teacher he found right there that the charioteer was his teacher. When he came on the chariot to the battlefield he did not know that Sri Krishna who was the charioteer was going to teach him. He only knew that Sri Krishna would drive his chariot. He did not know that a crisis would come to him, that a big question will arise in his mind, but he found, when the question arose he had just to turn to his charioteer and there was the answer. This is one assurance in Yoga. Always, always, always a teacher stands near us. We may not be aware of him but when you rise with a question, when you uplift yourself you will find the teacher just near you and he will uplift you.

There are three ways of uplifting. Direct suggestion. If you read the Bhagavad Gita it is a story so you will know very easily how Sri Krishna gives a suggestion, orally, and then he gives his own example, and then he makes an influence by his presence. It is like mesmerism, ─ Charisma, he is so attractive, the Master is so attractive that he becomes irresistible. And you have to follow him, - that is the Master. So he gives you a suggestion, he gives an example of himself as to how he has attained, how he has embodied the realisation himself and then, he gives you such a power of attraction that you are uplifted. This is the third factor: the Teacher. In Sanskrit the word teacher is called guru. First is shastra, second is utsaha and third is the guru.

Now remains only the fourth factor. What is the fourth factor? Already Sri Aurobindo has given the fourth factor when he used the word: patient. Be patient. It is a question of time. Time is the fourth factor. “Last comes the instrumentality of Time...” The word time in Sanskrit is called kala. Why kala, why time? Sri Aurobindo explains: “…for in all things there is a cycle of their action and a period of the divine movement.” If you sow a seed in the soil, you have to wait for sometime before it sprouts. You cannot sow a seed and immediately it starts sprouting. It sprouts and then it gives flowers and then it gives fruits. It takes time. In everything there is a different time limit. Some things give immediate fruits while certain things take a long time. Everything has a rhythm. So you must know for everything how much time it will take. Accordingly you should move forward. The whole science of Time is to be understood by a yogi, by anyone who moves forward towards realization.

This is all that Sri Aurobindo says in the whole Chapter and in the whole book. In all the thirteen volumes of the Agenda also. These four things come again and again and again. If you know these five lines you know the secret of the whole yoga. All that we shall now do is a summary, a long summary, of these four elements.

Now to repeat, as I told you I’ll go back again and again and again. I shall read again.

“Yoga-siddhi, the perfection that comes from the practice of Yoga, can be best attained by the combined working of four great instruments. There is, first, the knowledge of the truths, principles, powers and processes that govern the realisation — shastra. Next comes a patient and persistent action on the lines laid down by this knowledge, the force of our personal effort — utsaha. There intervenes, third, uplifting our knowledge and effort into the domain of spiritual experience, the direct suggestion, example and influence of the Teacher — guru. Last comes the instrumentality of Time — kala; for in all things there is a cycle of their action and a period of the divine movement.”

Now we shall close the book and we shall come back again to it after a little while.