To Be Conscious

When we reflect upon what we really know about our existence, our lives, our purpose, the forces at work in the world and in us, the influences to which we are being subjected constantly, and the way we respond to these influences without conscious awareness, it becomes clear that we act out of a primary status of ignorance.

In The Life Divine, Sri Aurobindo devotes an entire chapter to what he calls the sevenfold ignorance. This ignorance encompasses virtually every aspect of our lives. We think we know what we are doing, we believe we are in control of our lives and our decisions, and we take pride in our success in terms of various exte
al results we obtain through the knowledge we apply. Yet our knowledge represents almost an infinitesimal part of the vast and complex universal creation of which we are a small element.

We can make a start. A recognition of our ignorance is the first step. A next step is to take the standpoint of the witness of our nature. From that standpoint we observe forces entering us and we observe our reactions to them. We may also begin reflecting on the influences that have shaped who we are in our exte
al personality, our family and peers, our education, our culture, our society and its values, our religious training, and then further, we can begin to deconstruct the instincts and habits that pre-date even our human existence, things we share due to the underlying animal nature with the beings in the animal kingdom. We may begin to reflect on our past, our present and the trajectory that is creating our future. We may take stock of the environment and how it impacts what we do. We may consider the pressures that are exerted upon us as we try to make our way in the world and confront the obstacles, detours and failures that stand in our path.

We generally believe that we are a unified whole, a being with a specific standpoint. With close observation we begin to see that we are actually something of a blend of a physical being with its powers, needs and limitations, a vital being with its ambitions, desires, wants and reactions, a mental being that believes it is in control even when it is being manipulated and moved by the vital to support its desires, as well as a psychic being that tries to express and keep us connected to the Divine Truth of existence, and a spiritual being that is aware of the connection and tries to shift the standpoint to the Divine, away from this conglomeration we call ourselves. These different beings within us pull us in different directions and may not always agree with each other, leading to internal conflict, less than complete focus or power of action, and various forms of breakdown and disturbance when the action of one part undermines the basic stabilty of another part.

At a certain point, during our observation, we can begin to distinguish those elements and forces that support our true spiritual nature, that enhance the light, harmony, and understanding from those that are destructive, which try to undermine us, and which work to distract us and leave us wallowing in the pit of despair at the meaninglessness, the superficiality or the waste that consumes most of our lives.

The practice of yoga can aid the seeker in making the transition from ignorance to knowledge, from darkness to light. It is frequently said that day for the ordinary man is night for the enlightened soul, while night for the ordinary man is day for the yogi. This epitomises the difference in standpoint and understanding that arises as the practice deepens and the individual matures in his understanding.

The Mother writes: “To be conscious, first of all. We are conscious of only an insignificant portion of our being; for the most part we are unconscious. It is this unconsciousness that keeps us down to our unregenerate nature and prevents change and transformation in it. It is through unconsciousness that the undivine forces enter into us and make us their slaves. You are to be conscious of yourself, you must awake to your nature and movements, you must know why and how you do things or feel or think them; you must understand your motives and impulses, the forces, hidden and apparent, that move you; in fact, you must as it were, take to pieces the entire machinery of your being. Once you are conscious, it means that you can distinguish and sift things, you can see which are the forces that pull you down and which help you on. And when you know the right from the wrong, the true from the false, the divine from the undivine, you are to act strictly up to your knowledge; that is to say, resolutely reject one and accept the other. The duality will present itself at every step and at every step you will have to make your choice. You will have to be patient and persistent and vigilant — ‘sleepless’, as the adepts say….”

Sri Aurobindo and the Mother, Looking from Within, Chapter 5, Attitudes on the Path, pp. 143-144