The Synthesis of Yoga - Super school Auroville - The Synthesis of Yoga 1302

And when you make the effort Sri Aurobindo says there are three stages. The first effort is to be in the process of reversal so that you can transcend this wall which has been built by the ego so that the consciousness which is vibrating here, becomes able to exceed itself and identify itself with the source of the power. It is called effort at self-transcendence and identity with the Supreme self. In this entire process, effort is needed. Constantly we go back to this wall, constantly we fall and constantly we have to lift ourselves to transcend our little ego and to identify with the Self. This is the first long stage. It is a very long stage. During this stage if you make a false statement: “The Divine will do”, Sri Aurobindo says, “Do not remain under the illusion that the Divine will do yoga for you.” The Divine demands from you but does not impose himself upon you. That is because the ego believes that it is the doer. So long as it believes that it is the doer there is a resistance so the Divine power even if it wants will be broken. That is the meaning of the divine demanding but not imposing. It tells you the real truth but as long as this false idea remains active, operative, under conviction you are asked to make an effort to transcend yourself and to arrive at identity with the Supreme Self, the Transcendental and Universal Self. This is the first stage.

The second stage is that you receive the power directly, not through the knots, not through the blockage. To receive the power of the Divine so that this power is able to work unaffected by this wall. And all the instruments of your being are transformed. Our egoistic consciousness is a complex web; it is like a spider’s web, there are many threads interwoven. There is the web of the body, life and mind. These are the three instruments and the egoistic thread is interwoven into all these three. Everywhere there is an egoistic thread, egoistic consciousness which is resisting. I told you there are three things which are happening all the time: diminution of the power, resistance to the power and the perpetuity of the wall. This power which comes directly more and more once you establish a contact with the Self, with the Divine; once you establish identity with it the force which is flowing all the time is now received and transforms the mind, life and body. This also is a very-very long process.

And the third stage is when all these walls are broken and instead of ego there remains only jivatma now. The ego is gone only jivatma remains. And the very nature of jivatma is a constant self-surrender, automatic, not laboured, an automatic self-surrender to the Supreme. It is the beloved friend of the Divine, constantly dependent upon the Divine, a happy companion to the Divine. And then a Divine centre is created so that it works in the world as a free channel of the Divine, unobstructed channel of the Divine through whom the Divine force is spread in the world.

These are the three stages. The first stage is an effort to transcend, the diminution of the power of the Divine, the resistance to the Divine power and the walls, which have been created by the ego, are broken. This is the first stage and here we have to make a tremendous effort. Only then this notion will be cancelled in the psychological condition. This strong belief will be annulled. First is the contact, then the identity. When this happens, or as you move more and more toward the contact and the identity, more and more you realise that you are not the doer, there will be hardly any effort left. The more you attain, a time comes when you just will and the result is accomplished because the walls are not there and the Supreme power is at work automatically. A major portion of our life or yoga is the long space of effort. Therefore we should never arrogate to ourselves the right to say: “I will now make no effort. If the Divine wants it he will do it.” It is a false and proud reaction to the great truth that the Divine is the doer. We should not be deluded; we should always make an effort. Effort is our prerogative you might say, it is a privilege -- we have to make an effort. The more and more we reach this point of contact and identity the force will always work itself out. You will see automatically that you have given yourself to this power and the power goes on working. And when you become the Divine centre automatically you will not feel that you are the doer, it is he who is doing automatically. There is no effort there.

Now let us read this paragraph because it is very important. It applies to every one of us. We are all disciples and we are all instruments. This paragraph summarises the role of the disciple, what we have to do from our side.

“The process of the integral Yoga has three stages, not indeed sharply distinguished or separate, but in a certain measure successive. There must be, first, the effort towards at least an initial and enabling self-transcendence and contact with the Divine; next, the reception of that which transcends, that with which we have gained communion, into ourselves for the transformation of our whole conscious being; last, the utilisation of our transformed humanity as a divine centre in the world.” These are the three stages. We shall repeat it because these three stages have to be remembered. It is a key for all Integral Yoga. Whenever you want to judge how far you have progressed you take these three statements and see where you stand. And largely you will find that you are in the first stage because it is only when the question does not arise in your mind that you know it is already transcended. As long as there is a question you are still in the first stage.

“There must be, first, the effort towards at least an initial and enabling self-transcendence and contact with the Divine; next, the reception of that which transcends, that with which we have gained communion, into ourselves for the transformation of our whole conscious being; last, the utilisation of our transformed humanity as a divine centre in the world.” I will not proceed further because I want that this is established. I shall read once more again in a different way.

There must be first, what? The effort towards at least an initial and enabling self-transcendence and contact with the Divine; next, what is next? The reception of that which transcends, reception of God, in other words that with which we have gained communion, you have begun to talk to God; because of the context we are now unable to speak to him, into ourselves for what purposes? For the transformation of our whole conscious being; this is the second step, last, what is the last stage? The utilisation of our transformed humanity as a divine centre in the world. First to go up, allow what is above into ourselves and then third to become a divine centre in the world.