Conservative Bias and Progressive Action

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There is a conservative bias in
earthly existence that seeks to

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preserve established ways of
life as a means of providing an

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element of stability.
This principle helps to avoid

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the chaotic implications of
unrestricted change, thereby

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providing a basis and a certain
amount of certainty.

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This conservative bias is
enshrined in the functional

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methodology of each being.
As well as in the very formation

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of physical matter and the
relation of the elements of

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matter to one another at the
atomic level.

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In living beings it is distilled
out both as the functional

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organization of the being, but
also in higher level activities

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governed by instinct and habit.
It is enshrined in the laws of

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motion, such that a body at
rest.

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Tends to stay at rest, and thus
an input of energy is required

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to set anything in motion.
Similarly, a body in motion will

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have a certain momentum and
continue that motion until the

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energy decays or the resistance
increases.

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In a vacuum, such as in outer
space where there is virtually

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no resistance, bodies in motion
will tend to stay in motion.

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Until impacted by an external
body which can influence that

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motion which leads us to the
centripetal force drawing the

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Earth towards the sun and offset
by the centrifugal force of the

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Earth's own motion offsetting
that gravitational pull.

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All of this is intended to set
forth the basic conditions under

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which matter and life operate in
our world, and the need

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therefore.
For an extraordinary input of

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new energy to effectuate real
change in the existing order of

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things, the more complete or
radical the change required, up

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to a complete transformation of
the currently dominant mode of

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existence, the more focused
energy must be applied.

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This is essentially an operation
of a conservative principle

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maintaining a balance of the
status quo.

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And a progressive force which
attempts to bring about change,

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progress, transformation.
However it may be viewed or

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described, we see with the
evolution of consciousness that

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each succeeding principle brings
with it new powers that impact

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the formerly evolved principles,
and which operate under

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different rules of action.
This embeds in the manifestation

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a mechanism.
To bring about dramatic change

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while still ensuring that chaos
does not ensue from too fast or

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too untethered new line of
action.

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At a certain point it becomes
obvious that the status quo is

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actually harmful and needs to be
changed.

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And at this type of inflection
point, the powers of change are

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concentrated and begin to move
things in a new direction.

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Guided by a new principle of
understanding and action in the

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current world situation, we see
a status quo that is literally

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destroying life on the planet
Through what scientists are

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calling the 6th planetary die
off of species, we are beset by

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overuse of resources, excess of
waste and pollution, and

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increasing levels of toxicity in
the air, the land and the water.

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And by an unprecedented human
impact on climate change which

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is having catastrophic effect on
all life on the planet.

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In this circumstance, the
conservative principle is acting

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as an obstruction to the needed
change, while at the same time a

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next principle of consciousness,
termed by Sri Aurobindo, the

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Super mental consciousness.
It is bringing with it new

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powers to move the change
process along.

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It is this power that represents
the hope that we can overcome

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the overwhelming impact of past
decisions and actions, the

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Mother notes quote There is a
consciousness in the cells.

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It is what we call the body
consciousness, and it is wholly

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bound up with the body.
This consciousness has much

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difficulty in changing because
it is under the influence of the

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collective suggestion which is
absolutely opposed to the

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transformation.
So one has to struggle with this

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collective suggestion, not only
with the collective suggestion

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of the present, but with the
collective suggestion which

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belongs to the earth
consciousness as a whole, the

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terrestrial human consciousness.
Which goes back to the earliest

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formation of man that has to be
overcome before the cells can be

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spontaneously aware of the truth
of the eternity of matter.

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Of course, until now those who
have achieved this conscious

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transformation, who are aware of
the eternal and infinite life

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within themselves in the depths
of their being, must in order to

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preserve this consciousness.
Constantly refer back to their

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inner experience, return to
their inner contemplation, live

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in a sort of more or less
constant meditation.

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And when they come out of
meditation, their outer nature

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is pretty much what it was
before, and their way of

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thinking and reacting is not
very different unless they give

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up action altogether, but in
that case, the inner

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realization.
This transformation of the

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consciousness is helpful only
for the person who has achieved

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it, but it does not change the
condition of matter or earthly

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life in the least.
For this transformation to

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succeed, all human beings, even
all living beings as well as

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their material environment, must
be transformed.

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Otherwise things will remain as
they are.

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An individual experience cannot
change terrestrial life.

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This is the essential difference
between the old idea of

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transformation, that is, the
becoming conscious with the

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psychic being and the inner life
and transformation as we

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conceive it and speak of it not
only an individual or a group of

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individuals, or even all
individuals but life.

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The overall consciousness of
this more or less developed

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material life have to be
transformed.

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Without such a transformation,
we shall have the same misery,

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the same calamities and the same
atrocities in the world.

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A few individuals will escape
from it by their psychic

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development, but the general
mass will remain the same state

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of misery.
End Quote.

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Reference Sriorobindo and the
Mother Our Many Selves,

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Practical Yogic Psychology,
Chapter 2, Planes and Parts of

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the Being, pages 22 to 23.