Hostile Forces, the Law of Attraction and Progress in Spiritual Development

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There are powers at work in the
world that have a vested

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interest in maintaining the
status quo.

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They have control.
They have power.

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They can exult in their
predominance.

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They do not want to see their
power or influence wane or

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disappear.
On the contrary, they may seek

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further control and domination.
Thus, they treat any progressive

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development as a threat to their
situation and even in some

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cases, their very existence.
These powers act to hold back

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change and progress.
There are other vital powers

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that feed off of strong
emotional reactions and they

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consciously act to provoke
extreme reactions, whether for

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individuals in the form of
provoking anger, lust, greed,

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fear, etcetera, or on a larger
scale through promoting pain,

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suffering, fear through the
advent of wars, pandemics,

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etcetera.
These powers also have a vested

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interest in gaining and
maintaining control over human

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beings in order to harvest the
energies they are able to

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provoke.
These forces can be collectively

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termed as hostile forces.
The human vital nature likes to

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attribute delays, obstacles,
obstructions, et cetera, to

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these hostile forces, but in
most cases they are actually

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simply dealing with the embedded
habits and evolutionary stages

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that are common to all human
life, and in many cases to life

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in general as it has developed
through time.

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Once we set aside the basic
actions, drives, reactions that

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are part of the process of
transformation for which the

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spiritual aspirant is dedicated,
the actual intervention of truly

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hostile powers takes on a
smaller, although not

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insignificant role.
Particularly when there is a

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potential for enormous progress
in the evolution of

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consciousness, the action of
truly hostile forces can be seen

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as they feel threatened and see
their own interests put at risk.

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Srioro Bindo and the Mother face
just such an uprising of hostile

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forces with the rise of Nazism
and the worldwide conflagration

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known as World War 2, which
threatened to set back

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evolutionary progress for
decades, if not centuries.

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The question then arises as to
what the seeker can or should do

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about the hostile forces.
There's an occult truth that one

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attracts that upon which one
focuses.

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This is known in certain circles
as the Law of Attraction.

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A corollary to this law of
attraction is that fear attracts

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that which one fears.
Thus, fixation of 1's attention

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on the hostile forces and an
attempt to engage and fight

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directly with them is likely to
increase their action and the

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difficulties they bring with
them.

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That does not imply simply
leaving them to overwhelm the

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forces of progress and
development.

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Of course, a balance must be
found that starts with the core

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focus on the positive
developments that are in view.

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Aspiration, focus on the forces
that aid the development,

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Consecration to the larger
purpose are steps toward focus

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on and attracting the powers of
light and harmony that are then

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able to guide, protect, and
eventually defeat the powers of

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darkness.
It is not within the purview of

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the individual seeker to fight
with these vital forces and

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overcome them on the basis of
his own effort.

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The focus on the forces of light
and their intervention provides

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a solution.
Along the way the seeker gains a

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deeper understanding of how
various forces try to impede the

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progress and through the support
of the higher spiritual powers

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he is able to gain the power to
withstand the pressures and the

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manipulation that are employed
by forces hostile to the

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evolutionary progression.
Srioro Bindu observes quote.

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The hostile forces have a
certain self chosen function.

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It is to test the condition of
the individual, of the work of

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the earth itself, and their
readiness for the spiritual

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descent and fulfilment.
At every step of the journey

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they are there, attacking
furiously, criticizing,

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suggesting, imposing despondency
or inciting to revolt, raising

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unbelief, amassing difficulties.
No doubt they put a very

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exaggerated interpretation on
the rights given them by their

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function, making mountains even
out of what seems to us a

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molehill, a little trifling
false step or mistake, and they

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appear on the road and clap a
whole Himalaya as a barrier

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across it.
But this opposition has been

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permitted from of old, not
merely as a test or ordeal, but

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as a compulsion on us to seek a
greater strength, a more perfect

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self knowledge, an intenser
purity and force of aspiration,

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of faith that nothing can crush,
a more powerful descent of the

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Divine grace.
End Quote.

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Reference Sri Aurobindo, Basis
of Yoga, Chapter 3 in

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difficulty, pages 55 to 56.