June 4, 2024
Differences Between the Practice of Magic and Spiritual Action
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YouTube reference: Sri Aurobindo and the Mother, The Hidden Forces of Life, Ch. 5 Occult Forces, pp 105-106 This episode is also available as a blog post at https://sriaurobindostudies.wordpress.com/2024/05/31/differences-between-the-practice-of-magic-and-spiritual-action/
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
00:00:02,640 --> 00:00:06,440
It is an obvious fact that as
one grows and develops in the
2
00:00:06,440 --> 00:00:10,640
spiritual path, the
concentration of conscious force
3
00:00:11,160 --> 00:00:15,480
to Pussia will definitely
increase not only the spiritual
4
00:00:15,480 --> 00:00:19,440
development but also the powers
that the individual has
5
00:00:19,440 --> 00:00:23,520
available to accomplish action
in his life in the world.
6
00:00:24,640 --> 00:00:29,200
In the past, when spirituality
was bifurcated from the outer
7
00:00:29,200 --> 00:00:34,400
life, seekers were advised not
to utilize the various powers
8
00:00:34,400 --> 00:00:38,360
that arose.
There was a fear, not without
9
00:00:38,360 --> 00:00:42,440
some basis, that seekers would
become distracted and chase
10
00:00:42,440 --> 00:00:46,720
after the fruits of the worldly
life and thereby lose the needed
11
00:00:46,720 --> 00:00:49,640
focus and attention on the
spiritual path they were
12
00:00:49,640 --> 00:00:53,600
following.
For similar reasons, seekers
13
00:00:53,600 --> 00:00:57,760
were asked to take vows of
poverty, chastity, and humble
14
00:00:57,760 --> 00:01:02,160
subservience so as to keep them
tied to a fixed path without
15
00:01:02,160 --> 00:01:04,680
deviation due to the action of
desire.
16
00:01:05,680 --> 00:01:10,800
Of course, this disregarded the
idea of transforming the outer
17
00:01:10,800 --> 00:01:13,800
life into something that
expressed the spirit fully and
18
00:01:13,800 --> 00:01:16,920
completely, inwardly and
outwardly.
19
00:01:18,320 --> 00:01:21,360
For those seekers who recognize
that this is an artificial
20
00:01:21,360 --> 00:01:25,800
separation, a form of duality
that treated matter and spirit
21
00:01:25,800 --> 00:01:30,640
as opposites and antagonists to
one another, such a solution of
22
00:01:30,640 --> 00:01:35,560
abandonment of the outer life
turned out to be unsatisfactory.
23
00:01:36,520 --> 00:01:40,280
Transformation of the outer
life, however, necessarily
24
00:01:40,280 --> 00:01:43,680
involves deploying powers of
action that develop along the
25
00:01:43,680 --> 00:01:49,480
way as part of a natural
evolutionary process, albeit
26
00:01:49,760 --> 00:01:54,000
through an inward dedication and
discipline that did not fall
27
00:01:54,000 --> 00:02:03,320
prey to the promptings or
enticements of desire or the
28
00:02:03,320 --> 00:02:10,199
motives of gaining power, wealth
or sexual satisfaction, fame, or
29
00:02:10,280 --> 00:02:16,600
any kind of self aggrandizement.
We come then to the question of
30
00:02:16,600 --> 00:02:20,800
distinguishing the development
and exercise of power that stems
31
00:02:20,800 --> 00:02:24,440
from the spiritual growth, from
the practice of the forms of
32
00:02:24,440 --> 00:02:28,040
magic that represent an attempt
to gain results in the world
33
00:02:28,040 --> 00:02:32,480
through mental and vital means,
with a self seeking motive in
34
00:02:32,480 --> 00:02:36,840
the background.
Magic based in the use of
35
00:02:36,840 --> 00:02:42,200
specific words, forms, gestures
and strict adherence to a set
36
00:02:42,200 --> 00:02:46,120
methodology of invoking the
forces or entities that manifest
37
00:02:46,120 --> 00:02:51,320
the forces, always carries with
it both desire on the one side
38
00:02:52,080 --> 00:02:58,120
and fear on the other.
Goethe in Faust explores the
39
00:02:58,120 --> 00:03:01,920
experience of a man who
developed skills in all manner
40
00:03:01,920 --> 00:03:06,480
of Arts and Sciences and at one
point explored the field of
41
00:03:06,480 --> 00:03:10,520
magic.
He was able to invoke a being
42
00:03:10,520 --> 00:03:14,760
that was greater than he could
control and he re reacted with
43
00:03:14,760 --> 00:03:18,480
both awe and fear to the invoked
presence.
44
00:03:19,400 --> 00:03:22,560
He later was taken by the hand
through a life that tried to
45
00:03:22,560 --> 00:03:26,760
satisfy his every whim and
desire, which took advantage of
46
00:03:26,760 --> 00:03:31,000
his developed powers to 1st and
find enjoyment.
47
00:03:31,960 --> 00:03:35,320
He is said in the writing to be
guided by the devil who had made
48
00:03:35,320 --> 00:03:39,760
a wager with God that hit this
striving soul could be
49
00:03:39,760 --> 00:03:43,320
corrupted.
Eventually, however, he
50
00:03:43,320 --> 00:03:47,480
recognizes the limits of that
life and refuses to be satisfied
51
00:03:47,480 --> 00:03:52,040
with the fruits of a life of
fulfilled desire, and he was
52
00:03:52,040 --> 00:03:57,160
saved and protected.
The story illustrates to a great
53
00:03:57,160 --> 00:03:59,920
degree the difference between
the sterile and limited
54
00:03:59,920 --> 00:04:04,520
practices of magic and the
unlimited and spontaneous action
55
00:04:04,520 --> 00:04:09,360
of spiritual force in shaping a
life and a soul's destiny.
56
00:04:10,520 --> 00:04:14,880
Magic feeds on the vital
impulses of desire and fear and
57
00:04:14,880 --> 00:04:19,760
creates a type of magnetism that
attracts the forces that support
58
00:04:20,079 --> 00:04:24,400
and then feed upon the
individual's vital expression.
59
00:04:26,360 --> 00:04:31,320
The mother observes quote to act
in order to accomplish a work
60
00:04:31,320 --> 00:04:34,560
with the spontaneous powers of
spiritual realization.
61
00:04:35,280 --> 00:04:40,040
That is well understood, but one
may say that everybody does that
62
00:04:40,040 --> 00:04:43,280
because just the fact of
thinking means that you are
63
00:04:43,280 --> 00:04:47,040
acting invisibly and according
to the power of your thought,
64
00:04:47,040 --> 00:04:49,600
your action is more or less
widespread.
65
00:04:50,480 --> 00:04:54,520
But to use small magical
formulas to obtain a result is
66
00:04:54,520 --> 00:04:57,360
something that has no true
relation with the spiritual
67
00:04:57,360 --> 00:05:00,120
life.
From the spiritual point of
68
00:05:00,120 --> 00:05:06,120
view, it appears even surprising
that these things can always
69
00:05:06,120 --> 00:05:11,320
prove effective, because for
each case the need is different
70
00:05:11,960 --> 00:05:15,960
and how putting together certain
words and making certain signs
71
00:05:16,280 --> 00:05:19,240
can always have an effect seems
surprising.
72
00:05:20,800 --> 00:05:23,840
When one wants to act
spiritually and for some reason
73
00:05:23,840 --> 00:05:27,360
or other it is necessary, for
example, to formulate words.
74
00:05:27,920 --> 00:05:32,280
The words come spontaneously and
are exactly the words needed for
75
00:05:32,280 --> 00:05:36,800
the particular occasion, but
things written beforehand, which
76
00:05:36,800 --> 00:05:41,160
one repeats mechanically most of
the time, without even knowing
77
00:05:41,600 --> 00:05:44,280
what one is saying and why one
is saying it.
78
00:05:44,760 --> 00:05:48,560
It is difficult to see how this
can always work.
79
00:05:49,360 --> 00:05:53,600
There is bound to be a great
imprecision in the action, and
80
00:05:53,600 --> 00:05:58,360
one thing is certain, that this
same formula cannot have exactly
81
00:05:58,360 --> 00:06:03,320
the same effect, and that one
factor is indispensable for it
82
00:06:03,320 --> 00:06:05,520
to take effect.
Fear.
83
00:06:06,320 --> 00:06:10,240
The first thing is a kind of
fear, a fright created in the
84
00:06:10,240 --> 00:06:14,640
person against whom the magic is
done for.
85
00:06:15,160 --> 00:06:21,680
If he has No Fear, I am quite
sure that I cannot have any
86
00:06:21,680 --> 00:06:26,400
effect, or has so ridiculously
small an effect that it's not
87
00:06:26,400 --> 00:06:30,160
worth speaking about it.
What opens the door to the
88
00:06:30,160 --> 00:06:34,480
action of these forces is fear,
a kind of apprehension, the
89
00:06:34,480 --> 00:06:36,800
feeling that something is going
to happen.
90
00:06:37,440 --> 00:06:41,000
And it is these vibrations of
fear which put out certain
91
00:06:41,000 --> 00:06:45,720
forces from you, forces which
give these entities the power to
92
00:06:45,720 --> 00:06:47,920
act.
End Quote.
93
00:06:48,680 --> 00:06:53,200
Reference Sri Aurobindo and the
Mother, The Hidden Forces of
94
00:06:53,200 --> 00:06:57,120
Life, Chapter 5.
Occult Forces pages one O 5 to
95
00:06:57,120 --> 00:06:58,000
one O 6.
00:00:02,640 --> 00:00:06,440
It is an obvious fact that as
one grows and develops in the
2
00:00:06,440 --> 00:00:10,640
spiritual path, the
concentration of conscious force
3
00:00:11,160 --> 00:00:15,480
to Pussia will definitely
increase not only the spiritual
4
00:00:15,480 --> 00:00:19,440
development but also the powers
that the individual has
5
00:00:19,440 --> 00:00:23,520
available to accomplish action
in his life in the world.
6
00:00:24,640 --> 00:00:29,200
In the past, when spirituality
was bifurcated from the outer
7
00:00:29,200 --> 00:00:34,400
life, seekers were advised not
to utilize the various powers
8
00:00:34,400 --> 00:00:38,360
that arose.
There was a fear, not without
9
00:00:38,360 --> 00:00:42,440
some basis, that seekers would
become distracted and chase
10
00:00:42,440 --> 00:00:46,720
after the fruits of the worldly
life and thereby lose the needed
11
00:00:46,720 --> 00:00:49,640
focus and attention on the
spiritual path they were
12
00:00:49,640 --> 00:00:53,600
following.
For similar reasons, seekers
13
00:00:53,600 --> 00:00:57,760
were asked to take vows of
poverty, chastity, and humble
14
00:00:57,760 --> 00:01:02,160
subservience so as to keep them
tied to a fixed path without
15
00:01:02,160 --> 00:01:04,680
deviation due to the action of
desire.
16
00:01:05,680 --> 00:01:10,800
Of course, this disregarded the
idea of transforming the outer
17
00:01:10,800 --> 00:01:13,800
life into something that
expressed the spirit fully and
18
00:01:13,800 --> 00:01:16,920
completely, inwardly and
outwardly.
19
00:01:18,320 --> 00:01:21,360
For those seekers who recognize
that this is an artificial
20
00:01:21,360 --> 00:01:25,800
separation, a form of duality
that treated matter and spirit
21
00:01:25,800 --> 00:01:30,640
as opposites and antagonists to
one another, such a solution of
22
00:01:30,640 --> 00:01:35,560
abandonment of the outer life
turned out to be unsatisfactory.
23
00:01:36,520 --> 00:01:40,280
Transformation of the outer
life, however, necessarily
24
00:01:40,280 --> 00:01:43,680
involves deploying powers of
action that develop along the
25
00:01:43,680 --> 00:01:49,480
way as part of a natural
evolutionary process, albeit
26
00:01:49,760 --> 00:01:54,000
through an inward dedication and
discipline that did not fall
27
00:01:54,000 --> 00:02:03,320
prey to the promptings or
enticements of desire or the
28
00:02:03,320 --> 00:02:10,199
motives of gaining power, wealth
or sexual satisfaction, fame, or
29
00:02:10,280 --> 00:02:16,600
any kind of self aggrandizement.
We come then to the question of
30
00:02:16,600 --> 00:02:20,800
distinguishing the development
and exercise of power that stems
31
00:02:20,800 --> 00:02:24,440
from the spiritual growth, from
the practice of the forms of
32
00:02:24,440 --> 00:02:28,040
magic that represent an attempt
to gain results in the world
33
00:02:28,040 --> 00:02:32,480
through mental and vital means,
with a self seeking motive in
34
00:02:32,480 --> 00:02:36,840
the background.
Magic based in the use of
35
00:02:36,840 --> 00:02:42,200
specific words, forms, gestures
and strict adherence to a set
36
00:02:42,200 --> 00:02:46,120
methodology of invoking the
forces or entities that manifest
37
00:02:46,120 --> 00:02:51,320
the forces, always carries with
it both desire on the one side
38
00:02:52,080 --> 00:02:58,120
and fear on the other.
Goethe in Faust explores the
39
00:02:58,120 --> 00:03:01,920
experience of a man who
developed skills in all manner
40
00:03:01,920 --> 00:03:06,480
of Arts and Sciences and at one
point explored the field of
41
00:03:06,480 --> 00:03:10,520
magic.
He was able to invoke a being
42
00:03:10,520 --> 00:03:14,760
that was greater than he could
control and he re reacted with
43
00:03:14,760 --> 00:03:18,480
both awe and fear to the invoked
presence.
44
00:03:19,400 --> 00:03:22,560
He later was taken by the hand
through a life that tried to
45
00:03:22,560 --> 00:03:26,760
satisfy his every whim and
desire, which took advantage of
46
00:03:26,760 --> 00:03:31,000
his developed powers to 1st and
find enjoyment.
47
00:03:31,960 --> 00:03:35,320
He is said in the writing to be
guided by the devil who had made
48
00:03:35,320 --> 00:03:39,760
a wager with God that hit this
striving soul could be
49
00:03:39,760 --> 00:03:43,320
corrupted.
Eventually, however, he
50
00:03:43,320 --> 00:03:47,480
recognizes the limits of that
life and refuses to be satisfied
51
00:03:47,480 --> 00:03:52,040
with the fruits of a life of
fulfilled desire, and he was
52
00:03:52,040 --> 00:03:57,160
saved and protected.
The story illustrates to a great
53
00:03:57,160 --> 00:03:59,920
degree the difference between
the sterile and limited
54
00:03:59,920 --> 00:04:04,520
practices of magic and the
unlimited and spontaneous action
55
00:04:04,520 --> 00:04:09,360
of spiritual force in shaping a
life and a soul's destiny.
56
00:04:10,520 --> 00:04:14,880
Magic feeds on the vital
impulses of desire and fear and
57
00:04:14,880 --> 00:04:19,760
creates a type of magnetism that
attracts the forces that support
58
00:04:20,079 --> 00:04:24,400
and then feed upon the
individual's vital expression.
59
00:04:26,360 --> 00:04:31,320
The mother observes quote to act
in order to accomplish a work
60
00:04:31,320 --> 00:04:34,560
with the spontaneous powers of
spiritual realization.
61
00:04:35,280 --> 00:04:40,040
That is well understood, but one
may say that everybody does that
62
00:04:40,040 --> 00:04:43,280
because just the fact of
thinking means that you are
63
00:04:43,280 --> 00:04:47,040
acting invisibly and according
to the power of your thought,
64
00:04:47,040 --> 00:04:49,600
your action is more or less
widespread.
65
00:04:50,480 --> 00:04:54,520
But to use small magical
formulas to obtain a result is
66
00:04:54,520 --> 00:04:57,360
something that has no true
relation with the spiritual
67
00:04:57,360 --> 00:05:00,120
life.
From the spiritual point of
68
00:05:00,120 --> 00:05:06,120
view, it appears even surprising
that these things can always
69
00:05:06,120 --> 00:05:11,320
prove effective, because for
each case the need is different
70
00:05:11,960 --> 00:05:15,960
and how putting together certain
words and making certain signs
71
00:05:16,280 --> 00:05:19,240
can always have an effect seems
surprising.
72
00:05:20,800 --> 00:05:23,840
When one wants to act
spiritually and for some reason
73
00:05:23,840 --> 00:05:27,360
or other it is necessary, for
example, to formulate words.
74
00:05:27,920 --> 00:05:32,280
The words come spontaneously and
are exactly the words needed for
75
00:05:32,280 --> 00:05:36,800
the particular occasion, but
things written beforehand, which
76
00:05:36,800 --> 00:05:41,160
one repeats mechanically most of
the time, without even knowing
77
00:05:41,600 --> 00:05:44,280
what one is saying and why one
is saying it.
78
00:05:44,760 --> 00:05:48,560
It is difficult to see how this
can always work.
79
00:05:49,360 --> 00:05:53,600
There is bound to be a great
imprecision in the action, and
80
00:05:53,600 --> 00:05:58,360
one thing is certain, that this
same formula cannot have exactly
81
00:05:58,360 --> 00:06:03,320
the same effect, and that one
factor is indispensable for it
82
00:06:03,320 --> 00:06:05,520
to take effect.
Fear.
83
00:06:06,320 --> 00:06:10,240
The first thing is a kind of
fear, a fright created in the
84
00:06:10,240 --> 00:06:14,640
person against whom the magic is
done for.
85
00:06:15,160 --> 00:06:21,680
If he has No Fear, I am quite
sure that I cannot have any
86
00:06:21,680 --> 00:06:26,400
effect, or has so ridiculously
small an effect that it's not
87
00:06:26,400 --> 00:06:30,160
worth speaking about it.
What opens the door to the
88
00:06:30,160 --> 00:06:34,480
action of these forces is fear,
a kind of apprehension, the
89
00:06:34,480 --> 00:06:36,800
feeling that something is going
to happen.
90
00:06:37,440 --> 00:06:41,000
And it is these vibrations of
fear which put out certain
91
00:06:41,000 --> 00:06:45,720
forces from you, forces which
give these entities the power to
92
00:06:45,720 --> 00:06:47,920
act.
End Quote.
93
00:06:48,680 --> 00:06:53,200
Reference Sri Aurobindo and the
Mother, The Hidden Forces of
94
00:06:53,200 --> 00:06:57,120
Life, Chapter 5.
Occult Forces pages one O 5 to
95
00:06:57,120 --> 00:06:58,000
one O 6.