Dec. 28, 2025
Integral Yoga Method for Attaining Mastery Over the Force of Desire in the Lower Vital Nature
reference: Sri Aurobindo, Bases of Yoga, Chapter 4, Desire — Food — Sex, pg. 65This episode is also available as a blog post at https://sriaurobindostudies.wordpress.com/2025/12/26/integral-yoga-method-for-attaining-mastery-over-the-force-of-desire-in-the-lower-vital-nature/
Video presentations, interviews and podcast episodes are allavailable 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 SriAurobindo’s writings can be found at Lotus Press www.lotuspress.com
#Sri Aurobindo #yoga #integral yoga #spirituality #desires #fasting #vow of silence
1
00:00:00,720 --> 00:00:04,040
Humanity develops habits of
response that tend to become
2
00:00:04,040 --> 00:00:07,720
ingrained in almost all
approaches to any particular
3
00:00:07,720 --> 00:00:11,320
topic.
This is found to be especially
4
00:00:11,320 --> 00:00:14,440
true when it comes to the
question of religious dedication
5
00:00:14,800 --> 00:00:18,760
and spiritual aspiration.
The default response to
6
00:00:18,760 --> 00:00:23,600
religious or spiritual devotion
has been historically to give up
7
00:00:24,120 --> 00:00:29,400
abandoned the focus on life in
the material world, whether it
8
00:00:29,400 --> 00:00:34,960
is the renunciate or the monk,
or life in the desert, The Cave,
9
00:00:34,960 --> 00:00:38,400
the monastery, cloister, ashram
or Abbey.
10
00:00:39,320 --> 00:00:43,120
Humanity has created a fixed and
habitual way of addressing the
11
00:00:43,120 --> 00:00:48,400
issue to such a degree that this
approach is rarely, if ever,
12
00:00:48,400 --> 00:00:51,760
challenged.
This habit is based on the
13
00:00:51,760 --> 00:00:55,640
mindset that treats the physical
being as the basis and the
14
00:00:55,640 --> 00:00:58,720
development of mental,
religious, and spiritual
15
00:00:58,720 --> 00:01:02,760
impulses as a development that
seeks to transcend the physical
16
00:01:02,760 --> 00:01:06,000
body.
This has led to many experiments
17
00:01:06,000 --> 00:01:12,000
such as extreme fasting, vows of
silence, ascetic bareness, vows
18
00:01:12,000 --> 00:01:16,000
of poverty, and other ways of
making a clean break from the
19
00:01:16,000 --> 00:01:20,200
physical material life to one of
spiritual focus.
20
00:01:21,280 --> 00:01:24,560
People have experienced clear
benefits from these approaches,
21
00:01:25,040 --> 00:01:28,120
which has led to their becoming
embedded in the spiritual and
22
00:01:28,120 --> 00:01:30,320
religious development in the 1st
place.
23
00:01:31,880 --> 00:01:35,160
Fiora Bindo's approach
represents a different, more
24
00:01:35,160 --> 00:01:37,560
nuanced approach to these
issues.
25
00:01:38,000 --> 00:01:42,200
Inasmuch as he sets the
objective not as the abandonment
26
00:01:42,200 --> 00:01:47,400
of life but the upliftment and
transformation of life, the need
27
00:01:47,400 --> 00:01:49,960
for focus on the spiritual
effort remains.
28
00:01:50,560 --> 00:01:53,680
But all of these long standing
methods have to be looked at
29
00:01:53,680 --> 00:01:57,720
with a new understanding and
from a perspective based on
30
00:01:57,720 --> 00:02:01,560
transformation rather than
escape from the life of the
31
00:02:01,560 --> 00:02:06,120
world.
A devotee living a Triorubindo
32
00:02:06,120 --> 00:02:10,240
ashram some years ago recounted
an experiment he made for a
33
00:02:10,240 --> 00:02:14,000
period of time.
He determined to adopt A vow of
34
00:02:14,000 --> 00:02:18,640
silence to gain some control
over the force of speech and the
35
00:02:18,640 --> 00:02:22,760
energy that was dispersed in
idle talk on a day-to-day basis.
36
00:02:23,840 --> 00:02:27,080
He adopted carrying a notebook
and pen with him to respond to
37
00:02:27,080 --> 00:02:29,880
people.
The discipline helped keep him
38
00:02:29,880 --> 00:02:34,440
focused on the internal process.
Yet he felt that he needed to
39
00:02:34,440 --> 00:02:38,800
adapt the vow of silence to
allow him to carry out the tasks
40
00:02:39,120 --> 00:02:42,240
he was given as part of the
Ashram community.
41
00:02:43,200 --> 00:02:47,040
He thus adopted the process of
speaking to the extent it was
42
00:02:47,040 --> 00:02:51,840
directly related to the work he
was assigned, and then only the
43
00:02:51,840 --> 00:02:56,680
absolutely necessary speech,
while refraining from all social
44
00:02:56,680 --> 00:02:59,920
speech.
He carried on this experiment
45
00:02:59,920 --> 00:03:03,360
for a period of some months and
learned a great deal about the
46
00:03:03,360 --> 00:03:06,640
impulsion to speak and the
habitual patterns of
47
00:03:06,640 --> 00:03:11,040
interaction.
He also gained an insight about
48
00:03:11,040 --> 00:03:15,040
the use of the vow of silence
itself and how it would need to
49
00:03:15,040 --> 00:03:19,200
be modified for an individual
who did not want to cut the use
50
00:03:19,200 --> 00:03:23,760
of speech entirely.
Similar review could lead to a
51
00:03:23,760 --> 00:03:27,880
change from extreme fasting to a
careful understanding of the
52
00:03:27,880 --> 00:03:31,960
actual needs of the body and
life energy and a tailoring of
53
00:03:31,960 --> 00:03:34,400
the food intake to meet those
needs.
54
00:03:34,400 --> 00:03:38,840
Without indulgence in the
desires of the palate, the
55
00:03:38,840 --> 00:03:42,800
social habits of taking meals,
the cravings of the lower
56
00:03:42,800 --> 00:03:47,920
nature, or going to the extreme
of fixating so much on this
57
00:03:47,920 --> 00:03:52,440
process of understanding that it
becomes a distraction of its
58
00:03:52,440 --> 00:03:55,920
own.
Instead of avoidance of money
59
00:03:55,920 --> 00:04:00,080
and its power, the devotee could
accept money from the standpoint
60
00:04:00,080 --> 00:04:04,120
of the trustee who does not
assert ownership over the money.
61
00:04:04,760 --> 00:04:08,040
Money could flow to carry out
activities that enhance the
62
00:04:08,040 --> 00:04:12,640
well-being of people and the
balance of the environment, as
63
00:04:12,640 --> 00:04:18,000
well as bringing beauty, harmony
and enrichment to life without
64
00:04:18,000 --> 00:04:22,560
any sense of self aggrandizement
or individual ego satisfaction.
65
00:04:24,240 --> 00:04:27,680
All of these modified approaches
imply a more conscious and
66
00:04:27,680 --> 00:04:32,200
subtle approach to both
accomplish the objective and
67
00:04:32,200 --> 00:04:35,680
avoid creation of an excuse for
indulgence.
68
00:04:36,320 --> 00:04:39,840
The practitioner needs to be
inwardly awake and totally
69
00:04:39,840 --> 00:04:44,680
dedicated to the spiritual quest
to align himself with the Divine
70
00:04:44,680 --> 00:04:49,400
will rather than the promptings
of the ego personality,
71
00:04:51,240 --> 00:04:56,040
Sriorabindo writes.
Quote If you want to do yoga,
72
00:04:56,360 --> 00:05:00,160
you must take more and more in
all matters small or great, the
73
00:05:00,160 --> 00:05:05,000
yogic attitude in our path.
That attitude is not one of
74
00:05:05,000 --> 00:05:09,240
forceful suppression, but of
detachment and equality with
75
00:05:09,240 --> 00:05:15,080
regard to the objects of desire.
Forceful suppression, fasting
76
00:05:15,080 --> 00:05:18,720
comes under the head, stands on
the same level as free
77
00:05:18,720 --> 00:05:21,640
indulgence.
In both cases the desire
78
00:05:21,640 --> 00:05:24,640
remains.
In the one it is fed by
79
00:05:24,640 --> 00:05:30,200
indulgence, in the other it lies
latent and exasperated by
80
00:05:30,200 --> 00:05:34,200
suppression.
It is only when one stands back,
81
00:05:34,560 --> 00:05:39,080
separates oneself from the lower
vital, refusing to regard its
82
00:05:39,080 --> 00:05:43,920
desires and clamours as one's
own, and cultivates an entire
83
00:05:43,920 --> 00:05:48,160
equality and equanimity in the
consciousness with respect to
84
00:05:48,160 --> 00:05:51,800
them, that the lower vital
itself becomes gradually
85
00:05:51,800 --> 00:05:56,440
purified and itself also calm
and equal.
86
00:05:57,400 --> 00:06:02,880
Each wave of desire as it comes
must be observed as quietly and
87
00:06:02,880 --> 00:06:07,040
with as much unmoved detachment
as you would observe something
88
00:06:07,040 --> 00:06:13,360
going on outside you, and must
be allowed to pass rejected from
89
00:06:13,360 --> 00:06:17,880
the consciousness and the true
movement, the true Consciousness
90
00:06:18,480 --> 00:06:21,960
steadily put in its place.
End Quote.
91
00:06:23,160 --> 00:06:25,360
Reference.
Srioro Bindo.
92
00:06:25,440 --> 00:06:27,520
Bases of Yoga.
Chapter 4.
93
00:06:27,960 --> 00:06:32,160
Desire Food Sex page 65.
00:00:00,720 --> 00:00:04,040
Humanity develops habits of
response that tend to become
2
00:00:04,040 --> 00:00:07,720
ingrained in almost all
approaches to any particular
3
00:00:07,720 --> 00:00:11,320
topic.
This is found to be especially
4
00:00:11,320 --> 00:00:14,440
true when it comes to the
question of religious dedication
5
00:00:14,800 --> 00:00:18,760
and spiritual aspiration.
The default response to
6
00:00:18,760 --> 00:00:23,600
religious or spiritual devotion
has been historically to give up
7
00:00:24,120 --> 00:00:29,400
abandoned the focus on life in
the material world, whether it
8
00:00:29,400 --> 00:00:34,960
is the renunciate or the monk,
or life in the desert, The Cave,
9
00:00:34,960 --> 00:00:38,400
the monastery, cloister, ashram
or Abbey.
10
00:00:39,320 --> 00:00:43,120
Humanity has created a fixed and
habitual way of addressing the
11
00:00:43,120 --> 00:00:48,400
issue to such a degree that this
approach is rarely, if ever,
12
00:00:48,400 --> 00:00:51,760
challenged.
This habit is based on the
13
00:00:51,760 --> 00:00:55,640
mindset that treats the physical
being as the basis and the
14
00:00:55,640 --> 00:00:58,720
development of mental,
religious, and spiritual
15
00:00:58,720 --> 00:01:02,760
impulses as a development that
seeks to transcend the physical
16
00:01:02,760 --> 00:01:06,000
body.
This has led to many experiments
17
00:01:06,000 --> 00:01:12,000
such as extreme fasting, vows of
silence, ascetic bareness, vows
18
00:01:12,000 --> 00:01:16,000
of poverty, and other ways of
making a clean break from the
19
00:01:16,000 --> 00:01:20,200
physical material life to one of
spiritual focus.
20
00:01:21,280 --> 00:01:24,560
People have experienced clear
benefits from these approaches,
21
00:01:25,040 --> 00:01:28,120
which has led to their becoming
embedded in the spiritual and
22
00:01:28,120 --> 00:01:30,320
religious development in the 1st
place.
23
00:01:31,880 --> 00:01:35,160
Fiora Bindo's approach
represents a different, more
24
00:01:35,160 --> 00:01:37,560
nuanced approach to these
issues.
25
00:01:38,000 --> 00:01:42,200
Inasmuch as he sets the
objective not as the abandonment
26
00:01:42,200 --> 00:01:47,400
of life but the upliftment and
transformation of life, the need
27
00:01:47,400 --> 00:01:49,960
for focus on the spiritual
effort remains.
28
00:01:50,560 --> 00:01:53,680
But all of these long standing
methods have to be looked at
29
00:01:53,680 --> 00:01:57,720
with a new understanding and
from a perspective based on
30
00:01:57,720 --> 00:02:01,560
transformation rather than
escape from the life of the
31
00:02:01,560 --> 00:02:06,120
world.
A devotee living a Triorubindo
32
00:02:06,120 --> 00:02:10,240
ashram some years ago recounted
an experiment he made for a
33
00:02:10,240 --> 00:02:14,000
period of time.
He determined to adopt A vow of
34
00:02:14,000 --> 00:02:18,640
silence to gain some control
over the force of speech and the
35
00:02:18,640 --> 00:02:22,760
energy that was dispersed in
idle talk on a day-to-day basis.
36
00:02:23,840 --> 00:02:27,080
He adopted carrying a notebook
and pen with him to respond to
37
00:02:27,080 --> 00:02:29,880
people.
The discipline helped keep him
38
00:02:29,880 --> 00:02:34,440
focused on the internal process.
Yet he felt that he needed to
39
00:02:34,440 --> 00:02:38,800
adapt the vow of silence to
allow him to carry out the tasks
40
00:02:39,120 --> 00:02:42,240
he was given as part of the
Ashram community.
41
00:02:43,200 --> 00:02:47,040
He thus adopted the process of
speaking to the extent it was
42
00:02:47,040 --> 00:02:51,840
directly related to the work he
was assigned, and then only the
43
00:02:51,840 --> 00:02:56,680
absolutely necessary speech,
while refraining from all social
44
00:02:56,680 --> 00:02:59,920
speech.
He carried on this experiment
45
00:02:59,920 --> 00:03:03,360
for a period of some months and
learned a great deal about the
46
00:03:03,360 --> 00:03:06,640
impulsion to speak and the
habitual patterns of
47
00:03:06,640 --> 00:03:11,040
interaction.
He also gained an insight about
48
00:03:11,040 --> 00:03:15,040
the use of the vow of silence
itself and how it would need to
49
00:03:15,040 --> 00:03:19,200
be modified for an individual
who did not want to cut the use
50
00:03:19,200 --> 00:03:23,760
of speech entirely.
Similar review could lead to a
51
00:03:23,760 --> 00:03:27,880
change from extreme fasting to a
careful understanding of the
52
00:03:27,880 --> 00:03:31,960
actual needs of the body and
life energy and a tailoring of
53
00:03:31,960 --> 00:03:34,400
the food intake to meet those
needs.
54
00:03:34,400 --> 00:03:38,840
Without indulgence in the
desires of the palate, the
55
00:03:38,840 --> 00:03:42,800
social habits of taking meals,
the cravings of the lower
56
00:03:42,800 --> 00:03:47,920
nature, or going to the extreme
of fixating so much on this
57
00:03:47,920 --> 00:03:52,440
process of understanding that it
becomes a distraction of its
58
00:03:52,440 --> 00:03:55,920
own.
Instead of avoidance of money
59
00:03:55,920 --> 00:04:00,080
and its power, the devotee could
accept money from the standpoint
60
00:04:00,080 --> 00:04:04,120
of the trustee who does not
assert ownership over the money.
61
00:04:04,760 --> 00:04:08,040
Money could flow to carry out
activities that enhance the
62
00:04:08,040 --> 00:04:12,640
well-being of people and the
balance of the environment, as
63
00:04:12,640 --> 00:04:18,000
well as bringing beauty, harmony
and enrichment to life without
64
00:04:18,000 --> 00:04:22,560
any sense of self aggrandizement
or individual ego satisfaction.
65
00:04:24,240 --> 00:04:27,680
All of these modified approaches
imply a more conscious and
66
00:04:27,680 --> 00:04:32,200
subtle approach to both
accomplish the objective and
67
00:04:32,200 --> 00:04:35,680
avoid creation of an excuse for
indulgence.
68
00:04:36,320 --> 00:04:39,840
The practitioner needs to be
inwardly awake and totally
69
00:04:39,840 --> 00:04:44,680
dedicated to the spiritual quest
to align himself with the Divine
70
00:04:44,680 --> 00:04:49,400
will rather than the promptings
of the ego personality,
71
00:04:51,240 --> 00:04:56,040
Sriorabindo writes.
Quote If you want to do yoga,
72
00:04:56,360 --> 00:05:00,160
you must take more and more in
all matters small or great, the
73
00:05:00,160 --> 00:05:05,000
yogic attitude in our path.
That attitude is not one of
74
00:05:05,000 --> 00:05:09,240
forceful suppression, but of
detachment and equality with
75
00:05:09,240 --> 00:05:15,080
regard to the objects of desire.
Forceful suppression, fasting
76
00:05:15,080 --> 00:05:18,720
comes under the head, stands on
the same level as free
77
00:05:18,720 --> 00:05:21,640
indulgence.
In both cases the desire
78
00:05:21,640 --> 00:05:24,640
remains.
In the one it is fed by
79
00:05:24,640 --> 00:05:30,200
indulgence, in the other it lies
latent and exasperated by
80
00:05:30,200 --> 00:05:34,200
suppression.
It is only when one stands back,
81
00:05:34,560 --> 00:05:39,080
separates oneself from the lower
vital, refusing to regard its
82
00:05:39,080 --> 00:05:43,920
desires and clamours as one's
own, and cultivates an entire
83
00:05:43,920 --> 00:05:48,160
equality and equanimity in the
consciousness with respect to
84
00:05:48,160 --> 00:05:51,800
them, that the lower vital
itself becomes gradually
85
00:05:51,800 --> 00:05:56,440
purified and itself also calm
and equal.
86
00:05:57,400 --> 00:06:02,880
Each wave of desire as it comes
must be observed as quietly and
87
00:06:02,880 --> 00:06:07,040
with as much unmoved detachment
as you would observe something
88
00:06:07,040 --> 00:06:13,360
going on outside you, and must
be allowed to pass rejected from
89
00:06:13,360 --> 00:06:17,880
the consciousness and the true
movement, the true Consciousness
90
00:06:18,480 --> 00:06:21,960
steadily put in its place.
End Quote.
91
00:06:23,160 --> 00:06:25,360
Reference.
Srioro Bindo.
92
00:06:25,440 --> 00:06:27,520
Bases of Yoga.
Chapter 4.
93
00:06:27,960 --> 00:06:32,160
Desire Food Sex page 65.
