The First Aim of the Yoga: Receptivity to a Higher Spiritual Consciousness

Historically, much of the spiritual focus has been directed towards seeing through the illusory nature of the exte
al reality and shifting the awareness to a pure spiritual consciousness that is not involved in that exte
al reality. Regardless of terminology used, whether it is maya or samsara or something that represents a transitory field of experience that prepares us for heaven (or hell), ete
ity or some development beyond this world, possibly becoming energetic beings separated from physical substance, the dissolution of the ego-personality and the subsequent or consequent merging of that individuality into the universal consciousness turns out to be the primary direction.

There are of course also those who reject this idea entirely and seek to enhance and improve life in this world. They may treat this as some kind of random existence, or they may simply believe that the purpose of our lives is to gain experience, grow and enjoy the world given to us for our enjoyment.

Sri Aurobindo and the Mother look at the manifestation as an omnipresent reality such that the expressed consciousness is systematically evolving over time, and thus, there is both an individual progress and a transformation of the exte
al life as the individual progress impacts that exte
al reality.

In virtually every direction, however, we can see that an unstable, shifting and jumping mind, subject to the pressure of circumstances and the impulses and sensations that reach the awareness through the senses and the nerve channels, is not a suitable basis for achievement for whatever objective the individual seeks. Those who seek to focus on the exte
al reality, as also those who seek to achieve spiritual realisation or shift to a consciousness no longer involved in earthly matters, all need to achieve a certain quietude in the mind to reach their goal, whatever it may be.

In today’s world, we are constantly bombarded with sights, sounds, smells, sensations and pressures that constantly set the mind in motion. Many of these things spur immediate reactions within us, while others may trigger long-stored or embedded reactions that represent memory of the past, either of the individual or even the long-process of the evolutionary past that have carried through to maintain their responses in all of us. We thus have a real challenge before us to achieve a calm, quiet, peaceful mind.

In his lectures on Raja Yoga, Swami Vivekananda goes into considerable depth about the nature of mind, how to observe the mind, how to bring it to a state of quiescence, and how then to prepare it to both receive the higher spiritual forces and how to achieve any result for which the seeker is aiming through the concentration of samyama that is one element of the practice of Raja Yoga. He also describes the status of consciousness, called samadhi whereby the seeker is not responding actively to all the sensory provocations that otherwise are pressuring him.

All spiritual development is founded on the first step which is achieving this kind of quietude and distance from the impressions of the senses and the pressures of the outer existence. At first, a certain amount of separation may be needed to establish this basis, but eventually, for the integral yoga, it must become constant even while the individual is fully engaged in carrying out his actions and duties in the exte
al world.

Sri Aurobindo writes: “It is not possible to make a foundation in Yoga if the mind is restless. The first thing needed is quiet in the mind. Also to merge the personal consciousness is not the first aim of the Yoga: the first aim is to open it to a higher spiritual consciousness and for this also a quiet mind is the first need.”

Sri Aurobindo, Bases of Yoga, Chapter 1, Calm — Peace — Equality, pg. 1