Coming Face to Face With, and Overcoming, the Failures, Limitations and Sins of One's Past Life in the Spiritual Quest

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When an individual takes up the
spiritual quest, he tends to

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accept certain principles of
action which by definition

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contradict the values,
principles and life actions of

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his past experience.
In many cases this causes a

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considerable amount of doubt and
concern as he tries to overlay

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his present value set on to the
past and judge the past based on

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his present understanding.
Of course, in every person's

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past there are numerous actions
which can be called up before

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the mind's eye which do not meet
this test.

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As long as we remain immersed in
the ego consciousness, we can

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become despondent, fearful and
deeply depressed by the results

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of this review.
There are times during the

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spiritual growth that the force
of the higher consciousness

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opens up embedded memories,
particularly when it is the time

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for hidden movements
encapsulated in the

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subconscious, in the very cells
to be raised up and addressed.

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In some cases, these past
memories, embodying instincts,

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habits, training, and wilful
acts, try to recreate themselves

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in the present, overwhelming the
individual with these

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recrudescences, making the
seeker feel unworthy or unfit

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for the spiritual quest.
It is clear that in the long

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span of the evolution of
consciousness from that of

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matter through the development
of life and the expression of

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mind, each individual soul has
undergone innumerable lifetimes

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of experience, been immersed in
lives that were necessary for

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the formative experience, and
aligned with the time and the

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circumstance when it occurred.
It is also true that as the

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individual takes a new birth, he
has to redevelop and undergo

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countless experiences in
childhood and in his youth that

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are very much influenced by the
atmosphere within which he is

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being raised, the society and
its values, and the education

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and training he receives.
For much of this time he is not

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separated as the conscious
witness of the nature and thus

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more or less becomes what he
experiences.

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Once the spiritual Force awakens
in him, he begins to consciously

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choose his path forward and his
values, life, focus, and actions

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take on this new direction.
The past experience then becomes

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not a hindrance to his
development, but a basis for the

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development of knowledge and
wisdom to guide the choices for

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the future.
In this light, there are

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examples of individuals whose
past, if evaluated on the basis

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of their later spiritual
realizations, would be found

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sorely wanting.
Most people do not have active

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memories in their current
lifetime that can equal those

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that individuals such as
Milarepa, who, driven by a

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desire for revenge, called down
a devastating, destructive and

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lethal hailstorm on the village
where he had grown up, and in

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particular on his aunt and uncle
who had stolen his patrimony and

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driven his mother and sister
into desperate straits.

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Yet Milarepa used the impetus of
his remorse, once he awakened to

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the magnitude of his actions to
achieve liberation in one

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lifetime.
The Christian tradition tells of

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an individual, Saul of Tarsus,
who was persecuting Christians.

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He had an experience on the road
to Damascus, where he was going

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to carry out further
persecutions that transformed

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him into a devotee and believer
who went on to change his life

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entirely into that of a devout
Christian.

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Similarly, we have the
contemporary story of Danny and

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Brinkley, who was declared
clinically dead after being

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struck by lightning, but who
returned with an entirely new

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understanding and focus.
His past was that of a hired

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mercenary killer.
His future was one of bringing

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light and developing compassion
in action.

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A program to train people in
providing Hospice care.

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Fiora Binda describes the path
that takes the seeker through

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all the struggles in his palm.
A God's labor quote.

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I have been digging deep and
long.

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Mid A horror of felth and mire.
A bed for the Golden River Song,

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a home for the deathless fire.
End Quote.

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In Savitri, a legend and a
symbol, he recounts quote.

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But when God's messenger comes
to help the world and lead the

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soul of earth to higher things,
he too must carry the yoke he

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came to unloose.
He too must bear the pang that

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he would heal, exempt and
unafflicted by earth's fate.

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How shall he cure the ills he
never felt?

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He covers the world's agony with
his calm, but though to the

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outward eye no sign appears, and
peace is given to our torn human

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hearts, the struggle is there
and paid the unseen price.

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The fire, the strife, the
wrestle are within.

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He carries the suffering world
in his own breast.

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Its sins weigh on his thoughts.
Its grief is his Earth's ancient

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load lies heavy on his soul
knight, and its powers beleaguer

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his tardy steps.
The Titan adversary's clutch he

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bears.
His March is a battle and a

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pilgrimage.
End Quote, the mother observes.

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Quote.
And finally, lest you get

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discouraged by your own faults,
the Damapata gives you this

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solacing image.
The purest Lily can spring out

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of a heap of rubbish by the
wayside.

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That is to say, there is nothing
so rotten that it cannot give

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birth to the purest realization.
Whatever may be the past,

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whenever may be the fault
committed, whatever the

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ignorance in which one might
have lived, one carries deep

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within oneself the supreme
purity which can translate

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itself into a wonderful
realization.

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The whole point is to think of
that, to concentrate on that and

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not be concerned with all the
difficulties and obstacles and

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hindrances.
Concentrate exclusively on what

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you want to be.
Forget as entirely as possible

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what you do not want to be.
End Quote.

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Reference Sri Aurobindo and the
Mother, Looking from Within,

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Chapter 4, Ordeals and
Difficulties, pages 89 to 90.