Page 17 - NAMAH-Apr-2021

Namah Viewing and treating others as the Divine

different parts of our psychological make-up, relations with others
our senses and perceptions, our emotions,
our thoughts and strivings and will. All of Sri Aurobindo indicates that there is a part
these affect our relations with others. Let us of our being which can stand back from this
consider more practically how desires infect swirl of vital energy of desire and its pursuit
our relations with other people. People are and observe it in a disinterested way, as if
constantly doing things or saying things that it were looking at something outside the
may be consistent or inconsistent with our window. This is called the Witness Purussa and
desires. As a result, we tend to be attracted it can completely detach itself from the outer
to those people who satisfy or support our play of the nature. He asks us to look within
desires, and avoid those who do not. This ourselves and find it because it is always
tends to further increase the desires and keep there watching this play of the nature, and
us in their grip while it leads to the avoidance identity ourselves with it rather than with
of people who might otherwise be helpful for the outward play of the nature and its desires
our inner growth. But since we cannot always and ceaseless activity. This is easiest to do
avoid those people who may go against our in meditation, but it can be progressively
desires, we then tend to react emotionally brought out more and more into daily life as
to their words and deeds and therefore well. We see that this is very much consistent
experience various negative emotions such with the idea we have stressed so far about
as anger or fear or disappointment. We may centring ourselves within and acting always
also react physically and retaliate in words from this inner centre. Whenever we lose this
or deeds, further aggravating the situation inner poise, the only thing to do is to get it
which may lead to greater discord and more back as soon as we can. With practice and
unpleasant feelings. In short, we tend to persistence we can gradually establish this
get caught in swirls or repetitive negative inner poise in our inner being.
thoughts, feelings and actions, and as a result
fail to remain centred within, in our inner Another radical way of overcoming desire
being, where alone we can find a poise of is to fervently and frequently ask the Divine
calm and peace and a sure guidance for our Mother to help us do it. Sri Aurobindo says
mind, vital energies, and physical actions. that this is the main secret of the Yoga, to
get the Divine Force to do it for us. To do
Therefore, in order to relate to others in the this we must have faith in the Mother, in
true way, in the divine way, it is necessary the Divine Force, that it can accomplish this
to get rid of desire. This is of course difficult in us. Logically it should be able to do it,
and takes time. It is perhaps impossible ifwe since it is the Divine Force that is behind
simply attempt to suppress our desires in a all forces in the universe. Normally this
kind of piecemeal fashion as they come up. faith in the Divine is deficient and we tend
Sri Aurobindo proposes methods for a more to rely on our own efforts, which we can
radical break with the vibration or energy of see usually has very poor or slow results.
desire itself, not simply with its objects. There is a kind of fog that settles over us
and obscures the presence of the Divine
Yogic methods for establishing positive Force from us. This obscurity is in part a

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