Faithfulness to the Light and the Divine Call

People have an inner ‘commentary’ and ‘sound track’ going on virtually constantly in their heads. The ‘sound track’ may be a piece of music they heard which keeps repeating in their minds, what is colloquially called an ‘ear worm’. It may also be something of far less enjoyment such as a constant ringing in the ears, tinnitus, that can drive people eventually to distraction, disrupt sleep and rest, and make the individual tired and irritable. With respect to the inner commentary or dialogue, there is an evaluation process that goes on for everything that occurs around one, there are judgments, reactions of anger, or jealousy, which are not necessarily expressed outwardly, but which are nevertheless sending thought-currents through the brain, perceptible to the mind. Sometimes these thought-currents begin to make suggestions for how one should act or what one should do. In some cases, the individual actually begins to listen to these suggestions and to act upon them. In other cases, the individual is able to recognise them as essentially reactive ‘traffic’ responsive to the impressions that the senses send to the brain, triggered due to these sensations, and can thus be dismissed as just the running of the brain.

For those who have taken up a spiritual sadhana, there is generally a time when they learn meditation or practice concentration, mindfulness or creation of ‘zen mind’ which is quiet, aware, receptive but non-reactive. They are encouraged to observe these thoughts but not to let them carry one’s attention off. This is a difficult process at first, made easier with regular practice.

The sadhak is not, thereby, immune to such thoughts or feelings running through his mind. Ideally he is able to distance himself from them and observe them without attachment or involvement. However, when there is some obstacle, weakness or failure, the thoughts come, whether in the form of self-doubt or a form of skepticism about the path or one’s ability to follow it, or in the divine aid. Just as with any other of these various processes, the sadhak is asked to distance himself from them. Sri Aurobindo adds another method to the tools available to the sadhak, in the form of ‘substitution’. When thoughts of failure or weakness arise, the sadhak is asked to replace them with thoughts of the longer-term trajectory, and the support of the Divine. One can recall Sri Aurobindo’s dictum that “He who chooses the Infinite, has been chosen by the Infinite.” When we remove the ego-personality from the center of this equation, we see that we need simply accept that the Divine has found a readiness in the individual and has chosen him for this path; thus, the success or failure is not in the individual’s hands, but in the grip of the Divine. This leads to an attitude of patience, perseverance based on aspiration and a sense of grateful receptivity.

Sri Aurobindo observes: “… the great need in all crises and attacks, — to refuse to listen to any suggestions, impulses, lures and to oppose to them all the call of the Truth, the imperative beckoning of the Light. In all doubts and depressions, to say, ‘I belong to the Divine, I cannot fail’; to all suggestions of impurity and unfitness, to reply, ‘I am a child of Immortality chosen by the Divine; I have but to be true to myself and to Him — the victory is sure; even if I fell, I would rise again’; to all impulses to… serve some smaller ideal, to reply, ‘This is the greatest, this is the Truth that alone can satisfy the soul within me; I will endure through all tests and tribulations to the very end of the divine journey’. This is what I mean by faithfulness to the Light and the Call.”

Sri Aurobindo and the Mother, Looking from Within, Chapter 4, Ordeals and Difficulties, pp..97-98