Page 18 - NAMAH-Jul-2019

Namah Vol. 27, Issue 2, 15th July 2019

and higher states of consciousness. inner being and we become conscious of an
aspiration that actively seeks what it inwardly
Birth of aspiration already is.

Concentration, mantra, atmosphere, etc. are This aspiration is like a fire that burns down the
but aids. A time comes when as a result of obscure layers and a warmth and sweetness
these things a fire is lit in the heart of the and light and longing that carries its own
human being, or rather the spark of Truth force, needing no other external method or
hidden within him, covered by layers and aid, are born in us. It is the infant divinity,
layers of obscurity, is suddenly lit up into the seed that breaks through the outer crust
a flame. This is accompanied with the birth of the ego-self, the blue-print of God within
of a conscious aspiration. Our initial vague us. It is with this birth that yoga truly begins.
seeking, attraction towards this or that path, All the rest, the methods used, the processes
the straining and groping and musings of the practised, the reading of books and dabbling
mind, an imperfect and hasty practice of this in philosophy are but preparations. Yoga
or that method, matures into some deeper begins with aspiration, proceeds by its growth
self within. One day this deeper self breaks and ends by it reaching and identifying with
down the barrier between our outer self and the object of its seeking.

Dr. Alok Pandey, an editor of NAMAH and a member of SAIIIHR, is a doctor practising at the
Sri Aurobindo Ashram.

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