Aug. 11, 2024
Chance and Divine Order
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YouTube reference: Sri Aurobindo and the Mother, The Hidden Forces of Life, Ch.8 Life — A Mass of Vibrations, pp. 177-178 This episode is also available as a blog post at https://sriaurobindostudies.wordpress.com/2024/08/06/chance-and-divine-order/
Video presentations, interviews and podcast episodes are all available 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 Sri Aurobindo’s writings can be found at Lotus Press www.lotuspress.com
1
00:00:01,800 --> 00:00:06,280
We tend to interpret events from
our own ego standpoint as to
2
00:00:06,280 --> 00:00:10,320
whether they are good or bad,
without reflecting on or
3
00:00:10,320 --> 00:00:14,080
considering how they relate to a
larger picture and longer
4
00:00:14,080 --> 00:00:17,480
perspective.
This means we judge
5
00:00:17,480 --> 00:00:22,120
circumstances as if they occur
by chance, and we evaluate these
6
00:00:22,120 --> 00:00:25,600
things with the concepts of good
luck and bad luck.
7
00:00:26,320 --> 00:00:30,880
All of this, however, is both
inaccurate and extremely
8
00:00:30,880 --> 00:00:34,640
misleading.
When we shift away from a purely
9
00:00:34,640 --> 00:00:38,880
egocentric standpoint, we begin
to see that events do not
10
00:00:38,880 --> 00:00:43,080
necessarily happen because of
their impact on a specific
11
00:00:43,080 --> 00:00:49,440
individual, but rather we are
placed to experience events that
12
00:00:49,440 --> 00:00:53,280
have more general impacts and
energetic trajectories and
13
00:00:53,280 --> 00:00:56,520
impetus.
While we are under the primary
14
00:00:56,520 --> 00:01:00,600
impetus of the mental, vital and
physical planes of evolution,
15
00:01:01,240 --> 00:01:06,200
these tend to create waves and
counter waves, confusion, chaos
16
00:01:06,680 --> 00:01:12,000
and a lack of general harmony.
As higher powers intervene, such
17
00:01:12,000 --> 00:01:15,680
as would occur with a shift to
the divine standpoint away from
18
00:01:15,680 --> 00:01:20,400
the ego standpoint, we see what
may be called a divine order at
19
00:01:20,400 --> 00:01:24,800
work that uses all the temporary
expressions that look like
20
00:01:24,800 --> 00:01:28,600
disharmony at our level and
moves it towards a greater
21
00:01:28,600 --> 00:01:32,720
harmony as the higher insight
and understanding gain a more
22
00:01:32,720 --> 00:01:35,160
direct power of expression and
action.
23
00:01:36,720 --> 00:01:41,640
Sometimes something we evaluate
as good luck is really a bad
24
00:01:41,640 --> 00:01:43,880
thing for our evolutionary
progress.
25
00:01:44,680 --> 00:01:48,240
For instance, someone gets
$1,000,000 inheritance.
26
00:01:48,800 --> 00:01:52,760
If they treated properly, it may
be a positive influence in their
27
00:01:52,760 --> 00:01:55,800
lives.
But if they then determined to
28
00:01:55,800 --> 00:01:59,720
quit their jobs, change their
lifestyle to one of indulgence
29
00:01:59,720 --> 00:02:03,760
and luxury, and otherwise make
their lives about enjoyment
30
00:02:03,760 --> 00:02:07,760
rather than service, they may
soon find that they are
31
00:02:07,760 --> 00:02:11,320
suffering more intensely than
before they received that
32
00:02:11,320 --> 00:02:13,640
inheritance.
In fact.
33
00:02:14,080 --> 00:02:17,880
Reviews of results of massive
short term gain of wealth among
34
00:02:17,880 --> 00:02:22,720
lottery winners, celebrities or
sports stars tend to bear this
35
00:02:22,720 --> 00:02:28,320
out, and in many cases they wind
up poor and struggling after a
36
00:02:28,320 --> 00:02:32,440
brief run of spending beyond
their normal means.
37
00:02:34,120 --> 00:02:37,240
Chance is essentially an
interpretation from the narrow
38
00:02:37,240 --> 00:02:41,120
perspective of the individual
because it does not see the
39
00:02:41,120 --> 00:02:44,800
larger order and process of the
universal creation and its
40
00:02:44,800 --> 00:02:48,520
manifestation.
If one shifts the viewpoint
41
00:02:48,520 --> 00:02:52,760
outside of the ego standpoint to
the divine standpoint, there is
42
00:02:52,760 --> 00:02:57,000
no longer a question of chance
and one can no longer interpret
43
00:02:57,000 --> 00:03:01,640
events as good or bad luck.
Chance in that sense is
44
00:03:01,640 --> 00:03:08,600
disorderly because we there is a
play of forces that intervene in
45
00:03:08,600 --> 00:03:10,920
the evolutionary process over
time.
46
00:03:12,240 --> 00:03:15,880
It represents the operation of
free will within the larger
47
00:03:15,880 --> 00:03:19,120
context of a divine harmony and
order.
48
00:03:20,440 --> 00:03:24,720
The Mother notes in her
questions and Answers 1929 to 31
49
00:03:25,640 --> 00:03:28,520
quote.
Chance can only be the opposite
50
00:03:28,520 --> 00:03:31,800
of order and harmony.
There's only one true harmony
51
00:03:31,800 --> 00:03:36,080
and that is the Super mental,
the reign of truth, the
52
00:03:36,080 --> 00:03:40,160
expression of the Divine Law in
the Super mind.
53
00:03:40,160 --> 00:03:45,040
Therefore, chance has no place
but in the lower nature the
54
00:03:45,040 --> 00:03:48,840
supreme Truth is obscured, and
hence there is an absence of
55
00:03:48,840 --> 00:03:52,240
that divine unity of purpose and
action which alone can
56
00:03:52,240 --> 00:03:56,640
constitute order.
Lacking this unity, the domain
57
00:03:56,640 --> 00:03:59,800
of the lower nature is governed
by what we may call chance.
58
00:04:00,160 --> 00:04:04,680
That is to say, it is a field in
which various conflicting forces
59
00:04:04,680 --> 00:04:08,200
intermix, having no single
definite aim.
60
00:04:09,480 --> 00:04:14,120
End Quote.
A disciple asks if chance is the
61
00:04:14,120 --> 00:04:16,680
expression of disorder in the
lower worlds.
62
00:04:17,200 --> 00:04:20,519
Still there are happy chances
which are not necessarily the
63
00:04:20,519 --> 00:04:22,600
expression of a disorder, aren't
there?
64
00:04:23,800 --> 00:04:27,760
The mother replies quote happy
for whom?
65
00:04:28,720 --> 00:04:32,120
For generally, in this world as
we see it, what is happy for one
66
00:04:32,120 --> 00:04:36,000
is unhappy for another.
What is happy in one case is
67
00:04:36,040 --> 00:04:40,360
unhappy in another, and that too
is an expression of disorder.
68
00:04:41,160 --> 00:04:44,600
I don't say that necessarily it
is a chance occurrence which
69
00:04:44,600 --> 00:04:47,760
makes you unhappy.
I say that it does not
70
00:04:47,760 --> 00:04:51,400
correspond to the order of
truths, which is very different.
71
00:04:52,240 --> 00:04:55,080
One may be very happy in the
midst of disorder.
72
00:04:55,800 --> 00:04:59,120
There are many who are perfectly
satisfied with their disorder
73
00:04:59,120 --> 00:05:05,120
and would not like to change it.
End Quote Reference Srioro Bindu
74
00:05:05,120 --> 00:05:07,400
and the Mother.
The hidden forces of life.
75
00:05:07,840 --> 00:05:12,160
Chapter Eight.
Life a Mass of Vibrations, pages
76
00:05:12,160 --> 00:05:14,400
177 to 178.
00:00:01,800 --> 00:00:06,280
We tend to interpret events from
our own ego standpoint as to
2
00:00:06,280 --> 00:00:10,320
whether they are good or bad,
without reflecting on or
3
00:00:10,320 --> 00:00:14,080
considering how they relate to a
larger picture and longer
4
00:00:14,080 --> 00:00:17,480
perspective.
This means we judge
5
00:00:17,480 --> 00:00:22,120
circumstances as if they occur
by chance, and we evaluate these
6
00:00:22,120 --> 00:00:25,600
things with the concepts of good
luck and bad luck.
7
00:00:26,320 --> 00:00:30,880
All of this, however, is both
inaccurate and extremely
8
00:00:30,880 --> 00:00:34,640
misleading.
When we shift away from a purely
9
00:00:34,640 --> 00:00:38,880
egocentric standpoint, we begin
to see that events do not
10
00:00:38,880 --> 00:00:43,080
necessarily happen because of
their impact on a specific
11
00:00:43,080 --> 00:00:49,440
individual, but rather we are
placed to experience events that
12
00:00:49,440 --> 00:00:53,280
have more general impacts and
energetic trajectories and
13
00:00:53,280 --> 00:00:56,520
impetus.
While we are under the primary
14
00:00:56,520 --> 00:01:00,600
impetus of the mental, vital and
physical planes of evolution,
15
00:01:01,240 --> 00:01:06,200
these tend to create waves and
counter waves, confusion, chaos
16
00:01:06,680 --> 00:01:12,000
and a lack of general harmony.
As higher powers intervene, such
17
00:01:12,000 --> 00:01:15,680
as would occur with a shift to
the divine standpoint away from
18
00:01:15,680 --> 00:01:20,400
the ego standpoint, we see what
may be called a divine order at
19
00:01:20,400 --> 00:01:24,800
work that uses all the temporary
expressions that look like
20
00:01:24,800 --> 00:01:28,600
disharmony at our level and
moves it towards a greater
21
00:01:28,600 --> 00:01:32,720
harmony as the higher insight
and understanding gain a more
22
00:01:32,720 --> 00:01:35,160
direct power of expression and
action.
23
00:01:36,720 --> 00:01:41,640
Sometimes something we evaluate
as good luck is really a bad
24
00:01:41,640 --> 00:01:43,880
thing for our evolutionary
progress.
25
00:01:44,680 --> 00:01:48,240
For instance, someone gets
$1,000,000 inheritance.
26
00:01:48,800 --> 00:01:52,760
If they treated properly, it may
be a positive influence in their
27
00:01:52,760 --> 00:01:55,800
lives.
But if they then determined to
28
00:01:55,800 --> 00:01:59,720
quit their jobs, change their
lifestyle to one of indulgence
29
00:01:59,720 --> 00:02:03,760
and luxury, and otherwise make
their lives about enjoyment
30
00:02:03,760 --> 00:02:07,760
rather than service, they may
soon find that they are
31
00:02:07,760 --> 00:02:11,320
suffering more intensely than
before they received that
32
00:02:11,320 --> 00:02:13,640
inheritance.
In fact.
33
00:02:14,080 --> 00:02:17,880
Reviews of results of massive
short term gain of wealth among
34
00:02:17,880 --> 00:02:22,720
lottery winners, celebrities or
sports stars tend to bear this
35
00:02:22,720 --> 00:02:28,320
out, and in many cases they wind
up poor and struggling after a
36
00:02:28,320 --> 00:02:32,440
brief run of spending beyond
their normal means.
37
00:02:34,120 --> 00:02:37,240
Chance is essentially an
interpretation from the narrow
38
00:02:37,240 --> 00:02:41,120
perspective of the individual
because it does not see the
39
00:02:41,120 --> 00:02:44,800
larger order and process of the
universal creation and its
40
00:02:44,800 --> 00:02:48,520
manifestation.
If one shifts the viewpoint
41
00:02:48,520 --> 00:02:52,760
outside of the ego standpoint to
the divine standpoint, there is
42
00:02:52,760 --> 00:02:57,000
no longer a question of chance
and one can no longer interpret
43
00:02:57,000 --> 00:03:01,640
events as good or bad luck.
Chance in that sense is
44
00:03:01,640 --> 00:03:08,600
disorderly because we there is a
play of forces that intervene in
45
00:03:08,600 --> 00:03:10,920
the evolutionary process over
time.
46
00:03:12,240 --> 00:03:15,880
It represents the operation of
free will within the larger
47
00:03:15,880 --> 00:03:19,120
context of a divine harmony and
order.
48
00:03:20,440 --> 00:03:24,720
The Mother notes in her
questions and Answers 1929 to 31
49
00:03:25,640 --> 00:03:28,520
quote.
Chance can only be the opposite
50
00:03:28,520 --> 00:03:31,800
of order and harmony.
There's only one true harmony
51
00:03:31,800 --> 00:03:36,080
and that is the Super mental,
the reign of truth, the
52
00:03:36,080 --> 00:03:40,160
expression of the Divine Law in
the Super mind.
53
00:03:40,160 --> 00:03:45,040
Therefore, chance has no place
but in the lower nature the
54
00:03:45,040 --> 00:03:48,840
supreme Truth is obscured, and
hence there is an absence of
55
00:03:48,840 --> 00:03:52,240
that divine unity of purpose and
action which alone can
56
00:03:52,240 --> 00:03:56,640
constitute order.
Lacking this unity, the domain
57
00:03:56,640 --> 00:03:59,800
of the lower nature is governed
by what we may call chance.
58
00:04:00,160 --> 00:04:04,680
That is to say, it is a field in
which various conflicting forces
59
00:04:04,680 --> 00:04:08,200
intermix, having no single
definite aim.
60
00:04:09,480 --> 00:04:14,120
End Quote.
A disciple asks if chance is the
61
00:04:14,120 --> 00:04:16,680
expression of disorder in the
lower worlds.
62
00:04:17,200 --> 00:04:20,519
Still there are happy chances
which are not necessarily the
63
00:04:20,519 --> 00:04:22,600
expression of a disorder, aren't
there?
64
00:04:23,800 --> 00:04:27,760
The mother replies quote happy
for whom?
65
00:04:28,720 --> 00:04:32,120
For generally, in this world as
we see it, what is happy for one
66
00:04:32,120 --> 00:04:36,000
is unhappy for another.
What is happy in one case is
67
00:04:36,040 --> 00:04:40,360
unhappy in another, and that too
is an expression of disorder.
68
00:04:41,160 --> 00:04:44,600
I don't say that necessarily it
is a chance occurrence which
69
00:04:44,600 --> 00:04:47,760
makes you unhappy.
I say that it does not
70
00:04:47,760 --> 00:04:51,400
correspond to the order of
truths, which is very different.
71
00:04:52,240 --> 00:04:55,080
One may be very happy in the
midst of disorder.
72
00:04:55,800 --> 00:04:59,120
There are many who are perfectly
satisfied with their disorder
73
00:04:59,120 --> 00:05:05,120
and would not like to change it.
End Quote Reference Srioro Bindu
74
00:05:05,120 --> 00:05:07,400
and the Mother.
The hidden forces of life.
75
00:05:07,840 --> 00:05:12,160
Chapter Eight.
Life a Mass of Vibrations, pages
76
00:05:12,160 --> 00:05:14,400
177 to 178.