Conscious Powers of Light and Darkness Oppose One Another in the External World We Inhabit

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Everywhere we look, whether in
material nature or in the vital

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or mental domains, we see a play
of forces, attraction and

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repulsion, centrifugal and
centripetal force, positive and

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negative, dark and light, et
cetera.

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It appears to be a core
principle of the creation to

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utilize these opposing forces to
create the dynamic needed for a

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progressive evolution of
consciousness.

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Opposition appears to strengthen
the forces of growth.

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We find that trees and plants
subjected to somewhat strong

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winds, for instance, tend to
root themselves more firmly.

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What is not so obvious to us is
the conscious intentionality

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behind the operation of these
forces.

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This is mainly due to our
limited viewpoint that treats

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what we cannot directly see and
understand as simply a

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mechanism, rather than the
actions and resultant impacts of

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conscious entities making
conscious choices.

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We may experience various
negative consequences in the

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world.
We may become angry, enraged,

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lustful, or otherwise extremely
passionate, and we simply treat

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this as a response to events
that occur without specific

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conscious causation.
We can see, and in fact often do

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learn about manipulation that
takes place among human society

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to pressure people into
responding or acting in a

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certain manner.
This is done through creation of

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fear, desire, pressure of
various sorts, Appeals to

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vanity, offers of fame, power,
wealth, or sex, and through

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false or misleading information.
Rumor and gossip are also

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powerful means of dissemination,
of implied meaning that 'cause

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people to respond in very
predictable ways.

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Generally, the pressure tends to
create specific types of

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responses based on the guna that
is predominant in the situation.

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It should not surprise us, then,
that it is possible, indeed

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likely, that beings who operate
on another plane, such as the

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Vital plane, would work to
manipulate our responses for

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their own benefit or enjoyment.
Since most people have little

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direct experience with beings on
these other planes, they tend to

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disregard this potential source
of what they experience in the

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outer world.
That is, however, like saying

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that because we cannot see it,
electricity has no impact.

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There are individuals who have
had direct experience of vital

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beings and their interactions in
the human world, and they report

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what could be expected based on
what others see occurring in the

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outer world.
In other words, just as

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electricity has a cause and an
effect, so too do the vital or

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mental beings and their action
have cause and effect.

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We see in all the great
religious traditions and even in

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the great literature of the
world, an individual or multiple

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individuals having such
relations and interactions.

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Jesus was tempted by the devil.
Buddha was confronted by Mara.

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Moses had direct interaction
with God to free the Israelites

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from Egyptian slavery and to
lead his people to Palestine and

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to establish the 10 Commandments
to be followed by them.

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Zoroastrianism described the
conflict between light and

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darkness.
The Rig Veda told of the hiding

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of the light and the need to
liberate it from the control of

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the forces of darkness.
Hamlet was visited by the ghost

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of his father, who drove him to
action of revenge.

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Richard, the third of England,
was visited by the spirits of

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those he had wronged in his
ascent to the throne.

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Brutus had an experience just
prior to a decisive battle that

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evidenced the action of vital
powers to undermine his

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confidence.
The piranhas are filled with

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stories relating the interaction
of various gods with human

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individuals to accomplish some
purpose in the world.

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All of these forces are seen to
act with conscious intention and

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to act upon situations, events,
circumstances, and individuals

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in the external world we inhabit
and within which we live and

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act.
Sri Aurobindo observes, quote

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There are forces, and subliminal
experience seems to show that

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there are superphysical beings
embodying those forces that are

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attached in their root nature to
ignorance, to darkness of

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consciousness, to misuse of
force, to perversity, of

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delight, to all the causes and
consequences of the things that

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we call evil.
These powers, beings, or forces

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are active to impose their
adverse constructions upon

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terrestrial creatures eager to
maintain their reign.

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In the manifestation they oppose
the increase of light and truth

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and good, and still more are
antagonistic to the progress of

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the soul towards a divine
consciousness and divine

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existence.
It is this feature of existence

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that we see figured in the
tradition of the conflict

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between the powers of light and
darkness, good and evil, cosmic

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harmony and cosmic anarchy.
A tradition universal in ancient

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myth and in religion in common
to all systems of occult

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knowledge.
End Quote.

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Reference Sri Aurobindo and the
Mother, The Hidden Forces of

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Life, Chapter 4, Cosmic and
Universal Forces, pages 86 to

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87.