The Synthesis of Yoga - Super school Auroville - The Synthesis of Yoga 1303

Now Sri Aurobindo analyses the exact role of effort in all the three stages. “So long as the contact with the Divine is not in some considerable degree established, so long as there is not some measure of sustained identity, sayujya, the element of personal effort must normally predominate.” It is a long process and during that period personal effort must predominate. There must be a constant effort on our side, vigilance. “But in proportion as this contact establishes itself, the sadhaka must become conscious that a force other than his own, a force transcending his egoistic endeavour and capacity, is at work in him and to this Power he learns progressively to submit himself and delivers up to it the charge of his Yoga.” The more and more you are in contact with the Divine during your conversations with the Divine you always say: “Please take charge of my yoga.” You learn that actually he is doing everything so you admit, submit and accept it and give the charge of your yoga in his hands. And when he enters into the yoga then your personal effort diminishes, it is not very much needed. Provided this happens. Let us no delude ourselves that now the Divine has taken charge of our yoga. We should examine ourselves again and again and again ? has he really taken the charge? Till that time unless you are sure that the Divine himself tells you “Look now don’t worry. I have taken charge of you.” Then your effort diminishes more and more.

“In the end his own will and force become one with the higher Power; he merges them in the divine Will and its transcendent and universal Force. He finds it thenceforward presiding over the necessary transformation of his mental, vital and physical being with an impartial wisdom and provident effectivity of which the eager and interested ego is not capable. It is when this identification and this self-merging are complete that the divine centre in the world is ready. Purified, liberated, plastic, illumined, it can begin to serve as a means for the direct action of a supreme Power in the larger Yoga of humanity or superhumanity, of the earth's spiritual progression or its transformation.” There is a beautiful word in the Gita: muktasyakarma. It is a Sanskrit phrase which means action of the liberated. Karma means action, sya means of and mukta means liberated. He is therefore described by Sri Aurobindo as purified, liberated, plastic, illumined --four important words. This is the mark of the liberated man. During the process of yoga we have to try to attain to these four qualities: purification, liberation, plasticity, illumination. There are numerous stages of purification, liberation, plasticity and illumination. We have to keep this goal before us and only then we really begin to do what is called Divine’s work. There is among us a wrong use of this word. We often tell ourselves and the world that we are doing Divine’s work. Be careful in using this word. It is not an accurate term when we speak. To be able to do Divine’s work you must have these four qualities: purification, liberation, plasticity, illumination. Till that time you have no authority to say “I am doing Divine’s work.” If you say so it is a false statement.

Very often we say I am doing Mother’s work. Actually one disciple wrote to the Mother saying: “Mother’s, I want to do Mother’s work.” Mother said, that will take a long time. To really do Mother’s work is a long-long process. You have to reach this point. Before that you must do work for the Divine, as there is a difference between doing Divine’s work and to do work for the Divine. When you do the work for the Divine you are in the first stage. From here you are offering to the Divine, it is only the first stage. You are attempting to go in self-transcendence to contact and identify with the Divine. Then comes the second process of receiving the self into ourselves, into your body, life and mind to transform them. When this is accomplished then you can now be entitled, qualified to say, I am now doing Divine’s work. Muktasyakarma, you become liberated. You are no more subject to passions -- that is one important mark. The word passion is a very important word. To be passionate or to be under a passion is to be passive. Something is overpowering you. So much overpowering you that you are passive to it. You are like a slave to it. To be a slave to a feeling, to an emotion, so you cannot resist it at all. You are so passive to it that you allow it to manifest through you; you are bound to it. So long as passions work through you, you are bound, you are a slave. You are not liberated. To be liberated is to have no overpowering influence over you. Passions is a mark of being bound -- in bondage.

So, when you are purified, liberated, plastic, illumined then you begin to serve as a means for the direct action of the Supreme Power in the larger yoga of humanity or superhumanity. You really become a contributor; you are then the messenger of God, you are the prophet of God, the Son of God and then you can work in humanity as a free being unbound by any bonds and you contribute to the spiritual progression of humanity.

This is the paragraph that we had done last time. I have revised it because it is a very important paragraph. In a sense, we might say, the whole Integral Yoga is summarising in one paragraph here.

Question: What does ‘provident effectivity’ mean?

“… with an impartial wisdom and provident effectivity…” When you are working upon yourself egoistically, when you make an effort egoistically you are partial to yourself, you are favourable to yourself, you justify yourself, you are not able to see your own defects but when the Divine works in you then the Divine himself tells you: “Here you are wrong” and you are able to admit that here you are wrong. You look at yourself, as it were, like a scientist looking through microscope. You are no more trying to hide this corner of your being or that corner of your being; you are no more trying to justify this or to justify that. You don’t have any kind of excuse; it is very sharp, very powerful. You allow the Divine himself to work in you with the four powers of the Mother.