May 8, 2026
A Soul Using the External Instrumentation of Body, Life and Mind
reference: Sri Aurobindo and the Mother, The Psychic Being — Soul: Its Nature, Mission and Evolution, Section 2 Role, Function and Action of the Psychic, pp. 51-52This episode is also available as a blog post at https://sriaurobindostudies.wordpress.com/2026/05/06/a-soul-using-the-external-instrumentation-of-body-life-and-mind/
Video presentations, interviews and podcast episodes are allavailable on the YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/@santoshkrinsky871
More information about Sri Aurobindo can be found at www.aurobindo.net
The US editions and links to e-book editions of SriAurobindo’s writings can be found at Lotus Press www.lotuspress.com
#Sri Aurobindo #yoga #integral yoga #spirituality #soul #psychic being
1
00:00:01,040 --> 00:00:04,000
How do we see and interpret who
and what we are?
2
00:00:05,200 --> 00:00:07,920
Most people identify with the
physical body.
3
00:00:08,680 --> 00:00:10,600
The body is their essential
being.
4
00:00:11,680 --> 00:00:15,560
In many cases, they build up the
body, work to create an image
5
00:00:15,560 --> 00:00:19,800
that they project to others.
They judge themselves and others
6
00:00:19,800 --> 00:00:23,000
based on the form and presence
they develop for the body,
7
00:00:23,440 --> 00:00:28,040
whether it is a beautiful body,
a fit body or a trained body.
8
00:00:28,880 --> 00:00:33,240
Bodybuilding, dieting, beauty
treatments, makeup, expensive
9
00:00:33,240 --> 00:00:37,680
clothes, rare food and drinks
all represent a focus on the
10
00:00:37,680 --> 00:00:40,080
body as the central aspect of
the life.
11
00:00:41,480 --> 00:00:43,600
This also works in the other
direction.
12
00:00:44,080 --> 00:00:47,280
When people try to achieve the
idealized version that their
13
00:00:47,280 --> 00:00:52,560
society demands but are unable
to meet the criteria, they may
14
00:00:52,560 --> 00:00:56,880
fall into a form of depression
and actually undertake actions
15
00:00:56,880 --> 00:01:01,160
which undermine the ideal bodily
development in their culture.
16
00:01:02,920 --> 00:01:05,840
Others identify with the vital
force they project.
17
00:01:06,320 --> 00:01:09,360
They may seek power, wealth,
sex.
18
00:01:10,000 --> 00:01:13,040
They may measure themselves
according to their vital status
19
00:01:13,040 --> 00:01:17,760
and position in society.
In many cases, they flaunt their
20
00:01:17,760 --> 00:01:22,080
wealth or wield their power to
seem like they are at the head
21
00:01:22,080 --> 00:01:24,200
of the pecking order in the
society.
22
00:01:24,760 --> 00:01:28,760
By whatever means that society
tends to judge vital position.
23
00:01:29,920 --> 00:01:33,480
Those who have setbacks may
identify themselves as a victim
24
00:01:33,960 --> 00:01:37,520
and wear that badge as their
claim to being noticed.
25
00:01:38,960 --> 00:01:41,800
Still others identify with their
mental powers.
26
00:01:42,160 --> 00:01:46,800
They focus on their high IQ,
outstanding test scores, or
27
00:01:46,800 --> 00:01:51,120
specialized skills they have
developed in math, science,
28
00:01:51,280 --> 00:01:54,440
technology, or other fields that
require strong mental
29
00:01:54,440 --> 00:01:57,800
capacities.
They rate themselves highly in
30
00:01:57,800 --> 00:02:01,720
comparison to others who have
not focused on this particular
31
00:02:01,720 --> 00:02:05,880
form of development.
Those who cannot succeed as well
32
00:02:06,280 --> 00:02:10,600
may tend to internalize the
failure and fixate on their
33
00:02:10,600 --> 00:02:14,440
shortcomings.
Whether an individual focuses on
34
00:02:14,440 --> 00:02:19,000
one or more of these aspects,
the external ego personality
35
00:02:19,000 --> 00:02:22,480
takes on a persona related to
this outward person.
36
00:02:23,320 --> 00:02:26,520
This external focus tends to
consume the attention.
37
00:02:28,160 --> 00:02:32,720
Few are those who recognize that
they are not a body with a soul,
38
00:02:33,280 --> 00:02:39,440
but rather a soul using a body.
Ramana Maharshi, the sage of
39
00:02:39,440 --> 00:02:43,400
Arunachala, famously asked the
seeker to raise the question
40
00:02:43,400 --> 00:02:48,760
within himself, Who am I?
With the sense that eventually
41
00:02:48,760 --> 00:02:53,360
the seeker would come to realize
that he is not the body, not the
42
00:02:53,360 --> 00:02:59,520
life force, not the mind and not
the ego personality, but rather
43
00:03:00,000 --> 00:03:04,800
is an immortal being identified
with the Divine through the
44
00:03:04,800 --> 00:03:12,000
soul, hidden deep within.
The Bhagwad Gita states quote.
45
00:03:13,400 --> 00:03:17,120
The Lord, O Arjuna, is seated in
the heart of all beings, turning
46
00:03:17,120 --> 00:03:20,240
all beings mounted upon a
machine by his Maya.
47
00:03:20,760 --> 00:03:25,760
End Quote Reference Bhagwad Gita
and its Message, translated by
48
00:03:25,760 --> 00:03:30,040
Sri Aurobindo, Chapter 18, verse
61.
49
00:03:31,880 --> 00:03:35,120
When the seeker shifts his
standpoint from the external to
50
00:03:35,120 --> 00:03:39,240
the internal, he can begin to
consciously hear the voice of
51
00:03:39,240 --> 00:03:41,440
the soul and accept its
guidance.
52
00:03:42,160 --> 00:03:46,840
In the meantime, the soul waits
patiently as the external
53
00:03:46,840 --> 00:03:50,760
instruments develop and mature,
preparing themselves to
54
00:03:50,760 --> 00:03:55,200
eventually become powerful and
conscious instruments for the
55
00:03:55,200 --> 00:03:59,960
soul's purpose in the creation,
Sriorabhindu observes.
56
00:04:00,040 --> 00:04:05,080
Quote If the psychic entity had
been from the beginning unveiled
57
00:04:05,080 --> 00:04:08,720
and known to its ministers, not
a secluded king in a screen
58
00:04:08,720 --> 00:04:13,120
chamber, the human evolution
would have been a rapid soul out
59
00:04:13,120 --> 00:04:17,079
flowering, not the difficult
checkered and disfigured
60
00:04:17,079 --> 00:04:21,920
development it now is.
But the veil is thick, and we
61
00:04:21,920 --> 00:04:25,760
know not the secret light within
us, the light in the hidden
62
00:04:25,760 --> 00:04:28,560
crypt of the hearts innermost
sanctuary.
63
00:04:29,520 --> 00:04:34,120
Intimations rise to our surface
from the psyche, but our mind
64
00:04:34,120 --> 00:04:38,200
does not detect their source.
It takes them for its own
65
00:04:38,200 --> 00:04:43,320
activities, because before even
they come to the surface, they
66
00:04:43,320 --> 00:04:47,480
are clothed in mental substance.
Thus ignorant of their
67
00:04:47,480 --> 00:04:50,920
authority, it follows or does
not follow them according to its
68
00:04:50,920 --> 00:04:55,640
bent or turn at the moment.
If the mind obeys the urge of
69
00:04:55,640 --> 00:04:59,840
the vital ego, then there is
little chance of the psyche at
70
00:04:59,840 --> 00:05:03,960
all controlling the nature or
manifesting in us something of
71
00:05:03,960 --> 00:05:07,200
its secret spiritual stuff and
native movement.
72
00:05:08,240 --> 00:05:13,080
Or if the mind is overconfident
to act in its own smaller light,
73
00:05:13,520 --> 00:05:17,000
attached to its own judgement,
will and action of knowledge,
74
00:05:17,520 --> 00:05:22,360
then also the soul will remain
veiled and quiescent and wait
75
00:05:22,360 --> 00:05:24,640
for the mind's farther
evolution.
76
00:05:25,720 --> 00:05:31,080
For the psychic part within us
is there to support the natural
77
00:05:31,080 --> 00:05:34,160
evolution.
And the first natural evolution
78
00:05:34,160 --> 00:05:39,520
must be the development of body,
life and mind successively, and
79
00:05:39,520 --> 00:05:43,160
these must act each in its own
kind or together in their I'll
80
00:05:43,160 --> 00:05:47,360
assorted partnership in order to
grow and have experience and
81
00:05:47,360 --> 00:05:51,400
evolve.
The soul gathers the essence of
82
00:05:51,400 --> 00:05:55,920
all our mental, vital and bodily
experience and assimilates it
83
00:05:55,920 --> 00:05:58,920
for the farther evolution of our
existence in nature.
84
00:05:59,880 --> 00:06:04,040
But this action is a cult and
not obtruded on the surface.
85
00:06:04,960 --> 00:06:08,520
In the early material and vital
stages of the evolution of
86
00:06:08,520 --> 00:06:11,400
being.
There is indeed no consciousness
87
00:06:11,400 --> 00:06:14,640
of soul.
There are psychic activities,
88
00:06:15,120 --> 00:06:19,400
but the instrumentation, the
form of these activities, are
89
00:06:19,400 --> 00:06:23,200
vital and physical or mental
when the mind is active.
90
00:06:24,120 --> 00:06:28,480
For even the mind, so long as it
is primitive or is developed but
91
00:06:28,480 --> 00:06:34,080
still too external, does not
recognize their deeper
92
00:06:34,080 --> 00:06:37,560
character.
It is easy to regard ourselves
93
00:06:37,560 --> 00:06:41,360
as physical beings or beings of
life, or mental beings using
94
00:06:41,360 --> 00:06:45,240
life and body, and to ignore the
existence of the soul
95
00:06:45,240 --> 00:06:48,800
altogether.
For the only definite idea that
96
00:06:48,800 --> 00:06:51,760
we have of the soul is a
something that has survived the
97
00:06:51,760 --> 00:06:56,120
death of our bodies.
But what this is we do not know,
98
00:06:56,480 --> 00:07:00,960
because even if we are conscious
sometimes of its presence, we
99
00:07:00,960 --> 00:07:05,560
are not normally conscious of
its distinct reality, nor do we
100
00:07:05,560 --> 00:07:09,080
feel clearly its direct action
in our nature.
101
00:07:09,560 --> 00:07:13,760
End Quote.
Reference Sri Aurobindo and the
102
00:07:13,760 --> 00:07:16,360
Mother.
The psychic being soul, its
103
00:07:16,360 --> 00:07:19,520
nature, mission and evolution.
Section 2.
104
00:07:19,880 --> 00:07:22,160
Role, function and Action of the
Psychic.
105
00:07:22,600 --> 00:07:24,520
Pages 51 to 52.
00:00:01,040 --> 00:00:04,000
How do we see and interpret who
and what we are?
2
00:00:05,200 --> 00:00:07,920
Most people identify with the
physical body.
3
00:00:08,680 --> 00:00:10,600
The body is their essential
being.
4
00:00:11,680 --> 00:00:15,560
In many cases, they build up the
body, work to create an image
5
00:00:15,560 --> 00:00:19,800
that they project to others.
They judge themselves and others
6
00:00:19,800 --> 00:00:23,000
based on the form and presence
they develop for the body,
7
00:00:23,440 --> 00:00:28,040
whether it is a beautiful body,
a fit body or a trained body.
8
00:00:28,880 --> 00:00:33,240
Bodybuilding, dieting, beauty
treatments, makeup, expensive
9
00:00:33,240 --> 00:00:37,680
clothes, rare food and drinks
all represent a focus on the
10
00:00:37,680 --> 00:00:40,080
body as the central aspect of
the life.
11
00:00:41,480 --> 00:00:43,600
This also works in the other
direction.
12
00:00:44,080 --> 00:00:47,280
When people try to achieve the
idealized version that their
13
00:00:47,280 --> 00:00:52,560
society demands but are unable
to meet the criteria, they may
14
00:00:52,560 --> 00:00:56,880
fall into a form of depression
and actually undertake actions
15
00:00:56,880 --> 00:01:01,160
which undermine the ideal bodily
development in their culture.
16
00:01:02,920 --> 00:01:05,840
Others identify with the vital
force they project.
17
00:01:06,320 --> 00:01:09,360
They may seek power, wealth,
sex.
18
00:01:10,000 --> 00:01:13,040
They may measure themselves
according to their vital status
19
00:01:13,040 --> 00:01:17,760
and position in society.
In many cases, they flaunt their
20
00:01:17,760 --> 00:01:22,080
wealth or wield their power to
seem like they are at the head
21
00:01:22,080 --> 00:01:24,200
of the pecking order in the
society.
22
00:01:24,760 --> 00:01:28,760
By whatever means that society
tends to judge vital position.
23
00:01:29,920 --> 00:01:33,480
Those who have setbacks may
identify themselves as a victim
24
00:01:33,960 --> 00:01:37,520
and wear that badge as their
claim to being noticed.
25
00:01:38,960 --> 00:01:41,800
Still others identify with their
mental powers.
26
00:01:42,160 --> 00:01:46,800
They focus on their high IQ,
outstanding test scores, or
27
00:01:46,800 --> 00:01:51,120
specialized skills they have
developed in math, science,
28
00:01:51,280 --> 00:01:54,440
technology, or other fields that
require strong mental
29
00:01:54,440 --> 00:01:57,800
capacities.
They rate themselves highly in
30
00:01:57,800 --> 00:02:01,720
comparison to others who have
not focused on this particular
31
00:02:01,720 --> 00:02:05,880
form of development.
Those who cannot succeed as well
32
00:02:06,280 --> 00:02:10,600
may tend to internalize the
failure and fixate on their
33
00:02:10,600 --> 00:02:14,440
shortcomings.
Whether an individual focuses on
34
00:02:14,440 --> 00:02:19,000
one or more of these aspects,
the external ego personality
35
00:02:19,000 --> 00:02:22,480
takes on a persona related to
this outward person.
36
00:02:23,320 --> 00:02:26,520
This external focus tends to
consume the attention.
37
00:02:28,160 --> 00:02:32,720
Few are those who recognize that
they are not a body with a soul,
38
00:02:33,280 --> 00:02:39,440
but rather a soul using a body.
Ramana Maharshi, the sage of
39
00:02:39,440 --> 00:02:43,400
Arunachala, famously asked the
seeker to raise the question
40
00:02:43,400 --> 00:02:48,760
within himself, Who am I?
With the sense that eventually
41
00:02:48,760 --> 00:02:53,360
the seeker would come to realize
that he is not the body, not the
42
00:02:53,360 --> 00:02:59,520
life force, not the mind and not
the ego personality, but rather
43
00:03:00,000 --> 00:03:04,800
is an immortal being identified
with the Divine through the
44
00:03:04,800 --> 00:03:12,000
soul, hidden deep within.
The Bhagwad Gita states quote.
45
00:03:13,400 --> 00:03:17,120
The Lord, O Arjuna, is seated in
the heart of all beings, turning
46
00:03:17,120 --> 00:03:20,240
all beings mounted upon a
machine by his Maya.
47
00:03:20,760 --> 00:03:25,760
End Quote Reference Bhagwad Gita
and its Message, translated by
48
00:03:25,760 --> 00:03:30,040
Sri Aurobindo, Chapter 18, verse
61.
49
00:03:31,880 --> 00:03:35,120
When the seeker shifts his
standpoint from the external to
50
00:03:35,120 --> 00:03:39,240
the internal, he can begin to
consciously hear the voice of
51
00:03:39,240 --> 00:03:41,440
the soul and accept its
guidance.
52
00:03:42,160 --> 00:03:46,840
In the meantime, the soul waits
patiently as the external
53
00:03:46,840 --> 00:03:50,760
instruments develop and mature,
preparing themselves to
54
00:03:50,760 --> 00:03:55,200
eventually become powerful and
conscious instruments for the
55
00:03:55,200 --> 00:03:59,960
soul's purpose in the creation,
Sriorabhindu observes.
56
00:04:00,040 --> 00:04:05,080
Quote If the psychic entity had
been from the beginning unveiled
57
00:04:05,080 --> 00:04:08,720
and known to its ministers, not
a secluded king in a screen
58
00:04:08,720 --> 00:04:13,120
chamber, the human evolution
would have been a rapid soul out
59
00:04:13,120 --> 00:04:17,079
flowering, not the difficult
checkered and disfigured
60
00:04:17,079 --> 00:04:21,920
development it now is.
But the veil is thick, and we
61
00:04:21,920 --> 00:04:25,760
know not the secret light within
us, the light in the hidden
62
00:04:25,760 --> 00:04:28,560
crypt of the hearts innermost
sanctuary.
63
00:04:29,520 --> 00:04:34,120
Intimations rise to our surface
from the psyche, but our mind
64
00:04:34,120 --> 00:04:38,200
does not detect their source.
It takes them for its own
65
00:04:38,200 --> 00:04:43,320
activities, because before even
they come to the surface, they
66
00:04:43,320 --> 00:04:47,480
are clothed in mental substance.
Thus ignorant of their
67
00:04:47,480 --> 00:04:50,920
authority, it follows or does
not follow them according to its
68
00:04:50,920 --> 00:04:55,640
bent or turn at the moment.
If the mind obeys the urge of
69
00:04:55,640 --> 00:04:59,840
the vital ego, then there is
little chance of the psyche at
70
00:04:59,840 --> 00:05:03,960
all controlling the nature or
manifesting in us something of
71
00:05:03,960 --> 00:05:07,200
its secret spiritual stuff and
native movement.
72
00:05:08,240 --> 00:05:13,080
Or if the mind is overconfident
to act in its own smaller light,
73
00:05:13,520 --> 00:05:17,000
attached to its own judgement,
will and action of knowledge,
74
00:05:17,520 --> 00:05:22,360
then also the soul will remain
veiled and quiescent and wait
75
00:05:22,360 --> 00:05:24,640
for the mind's farther
evolution.
76
00:05:25,720 --> 00:05:31,080
For the psychic part within us
is there to support the natural
77
00:05:31,080 --> 00:05:34,160
evolution.
And the first natural evolution
78
00:05:34,160 --> 00:05:39,520
must be the development of body,
life and mind successively, and
79
00:05:39,520 --> 00:05:43,160
these must act each in its own
kind or together in their I'll
80
00:05:43,160 --> 00:05:47,360
assorted partnership in order to
grow and have experience and
81
00:05:47,360 --> 00:05:51,400
evolve.
The soul gathers the essence of
82
00:05:51,400 --> 00:05:55,920
all our mental, vital and bodily
experience and assimilates it
83
00:05:55,920 --> 00:05:58,920
for the farther evolution of our
existence in nature.
84
00:05:59,880 --> 00:06:04,040
But this action is a cult and
not obtruded on the surface.
85
00:06:04,960 --> 00:06:08,520
In the early material and vital
stages of the evolution of
86
00:06:08,520 --> 00:06:11,400
being.
There is indeed no consciousness
87
00:06:11,400 --> 00:06:14,640
of soul.
There are psychic activities,
88
00:06:15,120 --> 00:06:19,400
but the instrumentation, the
form of these activities, are
89
00:06:19,400 --> 00:06:23,200
vital and physical or mental
when the mind is active.
90
00:06:24,120 --> 00:06:28,480
For even the mind, so long as it
is primitive or is developed but
91
00:06:28,480 --> 00:06:34,080
still too external, does not
recognize their deeper
92
00:06:34,080 --> 00:06:37,560
character.
It is easy to regard ourselves
93
00:06:37,560 --> 00:06:41,360
as physical beings or beings of
life, or mental beings using
94
00:06:41,360 --> 00:06:45,240
life and body, and to ignore the
existence of the soul
95
00:06:45,240 --> 00:06:48,800
altogether.
For the only definite idea that
96
00:06:48,800 --> 00:06:51,760
we have of the soul is a
something that has survived the
97
00:06:51,760 --> 00:06:56,120
death of our bodies.
But what this is we do not know,
98
00:06:56,480 --> 00:07:00,960
because even if we are conscious
sometimes of its presence, we
99
00:07:00,960 --> 00:07:05,560
are not normally conscious of
its distinct reality, nor do we
100
00:07:05,560 --> 00:07:09,080
feel clearly its direct action
in our nature.
101
00:07:09,560 --> 00:07:13,760
End Quote.
Reference Sri Aurobindo and the
102
00:07:13,760 --> 00:07:16,360
Mother.
The psychic being soul, its
103
00:07:16,360 --> 00:07:19,520
nature, mission and evolution.
Section 2.
104
00:07:19,880 --> 00:07:22,160
Role, function and Action of the
Psychic.
105
00:07:22,600 --> 00:07:24,520
Pages 51 to 52.
