The Right Attitude Turns Difficulties Into Opportunities for the Spiritual Aspirant

Particularly (but not exclusively) in the beginning of the spiritual sadhana, the seeker has to find a way to navigate through the countless obstacles, resistances and difficulties that arise as he tries to transition from a focus on the exte
al responses of the ego-personality and the embedded habits, instincts and trained responses that make up what he experiences on a day to day basis, to a new standpoint that can cut through the inevitable confusion and keep him focused on his spiritual practice.

Unless the seeker is able to establish the independent standpoint of the witness consciousness, or to shift his awareness to the psychic being, and from there evaluate the meaning of the obstacles and the methods for working through them, he may find himself surrounded by misunderstanding, confusion and doubt about the way forward. Traditionally, it was recognised that the guidance of an experienced teacher, a Guru, was needed to aid the seeker along the way.

In The Synthesis of Yoga, Sri Aurobindo identifies the true Guru as the “inner Guide … secret within us.” He reminds us that “it shall also be a sign of the teacher of the integral Yoga that he does not arrogate to himself Guruhood in a humanly vain and self-exalting spirit. His work, if he has one, is a trust from above, he himself a channel, a vessel or a representative. He is a man helping his brothers, a child leading children, a Light kindling other lights, an awakened Soul awakening other souls, at highest a Power or Presence of the Divine calling to him other powers of the Divine.” When the soul is ready, and the aspiration is strong, the inner Guide awakens and thereby can find whatever exte
al guidance or aid, any teacher or just various situations or circumstances, to advance the sadhana. Whether or not there is an exte
al Guru in the traditional sense, the seeker who is in contact with the inner Guide, and who steadfastly adheres to the guidance so provided, will be able to face and overcome the various difficulties along the way, in the course of time.

It is the objective of the integral Yoga to undertake a radical transformation of human life, our thoughts, our vital motivations, our responses and reactions, our very physical existence. All of the past formations turn out to be the opportunities for working out the details of these changes, and thus, instead of bemoaning failures or difficulties, the seeker can look upon them as the very essence of the work of transformation that may take lifetimes and the efforts of many individuals, each working on certain aspects, to fulfill.

Sri Aurobindo notes: “The attitude you have taken is the right one. It is this feeling and attitude which help you to overcome so rapidly the attacks that sometimes fall upon you and throw you out of the right consciousness. As you say, difficulties so taken become opportunities; the difficulty faced in the right spirit and conquered, one finds that an obstacle has disappeared, a first step forward has been taken. To question, to resist in some part of the being increases trouble and difficulties — that is why an unquestioning acceptance, an unfailing obedience to the directions of the Guru was laid down as indispensable in the old Indian Yogas — it was demanded not for the sake of the Guru, but for the sake of the Shishya.”

Sri Aurobindo, Bases of Yoga, Chapter 3, In Difficulty, pg.52