The Unconverted Vital Nature Must Not Be Permitted to Divert the Psychic and Spiritual Force to Its Own Limited Satisfactions

There is a substantial and well-known danger of the vital nature taking advantage of the force that comes down through the psychic aspiration and using it to advance objectives of the vital rather than those that carry out the intended purpose of the Divine Power. There is a well known connection, for instance, between the opening of the heart centre and its emotions and the activation of the sexual impulse, when the being has not been sufficiently prepared and purified in its ability to receive and hold the higher force as it descends.

In Western psychology a similar phenomenon is known as ‘transference’ when a patient transfers his or her affections to the therapist. There are strict rules governing this type of relationship as the patient is in a vulnerable position and the doctor or counselor has a power and authority that, if misused, can lead to tragic results. Similarly, the relationship between doctors and patients, teachers and students, and employers and employees have shown that this type of imbalanced power dynamic combined with authority or respect, or even outright affection, can create serious difficulties. Steps have been taken to try to govern the misuse of this power dynamic.

For the spiritual practitioner, particularly for someone who holds a position of authority or is able to project a strong spiritual energy, there are similar dangers, but fewer actual societal controls available. Thus we see a number of examples of this type of misuse of the power by the vital nature to enjoy sexual relations or other types of vital satisfactions. In modern day society this issue is being taken up and through the use of lawsuits, criminal proceedings and simple exposure, some major systemic and group cases have been addressed. The problems however are not limited to large organizations and groups, but can break out even in a “one on one ‘ relationship, particularly if the perpetrator has a strong spiritual energy as well as a strong, but as yet, untransformed vital nature.

The vital power is dramatically enhanced by certain yogic practices, and thus, the risk of misuse is enormously accentuated. For this reason, the sadhak is counseled to not try to focus on pulling down the energy but to first prepare the being, the body, the nervous system, the vital power, the emotions and the mnd to hold the descent of the force without ‘spilling’ it and to keep the aspiration pure and focused to ensure that no part of the being can divert or in any way redirect the force to vital satisfaction.

Sri Aurobindo notes: “When the psychic puts its influence on the vital, the first thing you must be careful to avoid is any least mixture of a wrong vital movement with the psychic movement. Lust is the perversion or degradation which prevents love from establishing its reign; so when there is the movement of psychic love in the heart, lust or vital desire is the one thing that must not be allowed to come in — just as when strength comes down from above, personal ambition and pride have to be kept far away from it; for any mixture ot the perversion will corrupt the psychic or spiritual action and prevent a true fulfillment.”

Sri Aurobindo, Bases of Yoga, Chapter 4, Desire — Food — Sex, pg. 79