Addressing Obstacles, Weaknesses and Limitations Through the Connection with the Divine Power

There are so many obstacles and difficulties that confront the spiritual seeker, precisely because the work of transforming human nature in each element involves dealing with endless numbers of embedded habits, instincts, trained responses, etc. It is virtually a constant effort to address each and every one of these conce
s as they arise. Because the seeker generally starts from the standpoint of the ego, he tends to treat these things as personal failures or weaknesses, and he then tends to become fixated on addressing them with his own efforts, through exercise of willpower, or other means he has at his disposal.

He soon finds out, however, that these issues are larger and more deeply entrenched, being part of the general development of Nature in the world, than his own unaided effort can solve. The more he focuses on and fixates himself on these weaknesses, limitations and difficulties, the more they tend to overwhelm his efforts and he can quickly sink into a state of despair of ever finding the solution.

The solution lies, therefore, not in trying to accomplish the result using human powers, but through moving his focus away from this fixation, and shifting his attention to the Divine and his connection to the Divine. Through identification with the psychic being, he can get in touch with the deep aspiration, consecration, devotion, faith and dedication that links him to the Divine Power, which then can work in him to accomplish what he cannot do on his own.

Sri Aurobindo observes: "While the recognition of the Divine Power and the attunement of one's own nature to it cannot be done without the recognition of the imperfections in that nature, yet it is a wrong attitude to put too much stress either on them or on the difficulties they create, or to distrust the Divine working because of the difficulties one experiences, or to lay too continual an emphasis on the dark side of things. To do this increases the force of the difficulties, gives a greater right of continuance to the imperfections. I do not insist on a Coueistic optimism -- although excessive optimism is more helpful than excessive pessimism; that (Coueism) tends to cover up difficulties and there is, besides, always a measure to be observed in things. But there is no danger of your covering them up and deluding yourself with too bright an outlook; quite the contrary, you always lay stress too much on the shadows and by so doing thicken them and obstruct your outlets of escape into the Light. Faith, more faith! Faith in your possibilities, faith in the Power that is at work behind the veil, faith in the work that is to be done and the offered guidance."

"There cannot be any high endeavour, least of all in the spiritual field, which does not raise or encounter grave obstacles of a very persistent character. These are both internal and exte
al, and, although in the large they are fundamentally the same for all, there may be a great difference in the distribution of their stress or the outward form they take. But the one real difficulty is the attunement of the nature with the working of the Divine Light and Power. Get that solved and the others will either disappear or take a subordinate place; and even with those difficulties that are of a more general character, more lasting because they are inherent in the work of transformation, they will not weigh so heavily because the sense of the supporting Force and a greater power to follow its movements will be there."