Aug. 18, 2024
No Man Is an Island
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YouTube reference: Sri Aurobindo and the Mother, The Hidden Forces of Life, Ch.8 Life — A Mass of Vibrations, pp. 184-185 This episode is also available as a blog post at https://sriaurobindostudies.wordpress.com/2024/08/13/no-man-is-an-island/
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
00:00:01,280 --> 00:00:05,160
We are rarely conscious of the
constant interchange taking
2
00:00:05,160 --> 00:00:07,160
place on the vital level of our
being.
3
00:00:08,280 --> 00:00:12,480
Vital vibrations are constantly
active in the world, and all
4
00:00:12,480 --> 00:00:16,400
beings wind up being exposed to
them and absorbing them.
5
00:00:17,440 --> 00:00:20,920
Those who live in more isolated
locations tend to have less
6
00:00:20,920 --> 00:00:25,680
direct and intense exposure
simply because many of these
7
00:00:25,680 --> 00:00:30,400
vital forces are weak or tend to
disperse over time and distance
8
00:00:31,040 --> 00:00:35,240
or lose their intensity.
Those who live in the midst of
9
00:00:35,240 --> 00:00:38,840
dense urban environments are
subjected to all manner of vital
10
00:00:38,840 --> 00:00:43,000
forces that are constantly
active and which bombard them
11
00:00:43,000 --> 00:00:47,320
from all sides.
Fleeting desires, short lived
12
00:00:47,320 --> 00:00:51,760
emotions tend to dissipate yet
have their immediate impact.
13
00:00:52,640 --> 00:00:55,960
If an individual who is
subjected to these vital forces
14
00:00:55,960 --> 00:01:01,360
actively responds and begins to
vibrate responsibly, then the
15
00:01:01,360 --> 00:01:05,480
vital force is perpetuated and
even potentially enhanced.
16
00:01:06,440 --> 00:01:10,840
If an individual is aware and is
able to tamp down on the action
17
00:01:10,840 --> 00:01:15,400
of that force, then its
vibratory pattern is muted and
18
00:01:15,400 --> 00:01:20,120
eventually it subsides.
We can understand the action of
19
00:01:20,120 --> 00:01:23,360
vital forces on living beings
when we look at the principle of
20
00:01:23,360 --> 00:01:26,560
the sitar.
This musical instrument has
21
00:01:26,560 --> 00:01:30,640
master strings and sympathetic
strings which vibrate when the
22
00:01:30,640 --> 00:01:34,720
master string is played.
Strong action of the master
23
00:01:34,720 --> 00:01:38,000
string can therefore set the
sympathetic strings fully into
24
00:01:38,000 --> 00:01:41,840
motion, while light action of
the master string has a very
25
00:01:41,840 --> 00:01:45,320
transitory effect on the
sympathetic strings.
26
00:01:46,520 --> 00:01:50,760
The salient features of vital
forces, then, are the intensity,
27
00:01:51,160 --> 00:01:56,360
the proximity, the focus, and
the receptivity status of those
28
00:01:56,360 --> 00:02:00,560
who feel that vibration.
An extremely strong force,
29
00:02:01,000 --> 00:02:05,600
focused and directed, can impact
individuals who even live in
30
00:02:05,600 --> 00:02:10,120
isolation, while a weak force
may tend to be counteracted,
31
00:02:10,520 --> 00:02:15,760
modified or is dispersed amidst
the myriad of vital forces
32
00:02:15,760 --> 00:02:18,840
always being received and
transmitted by all living
33
00:02:18,840 --> 00:02:24,240
beings, the Mother writes.
Quote You live vitally in the
34
00:02:24,240 --> 00:02:27,000
vital world, with all the
currents of vital force
35
00:02:27,000 --> 00:02:31,920
entering, going out, joining and
opposing each other, quarreling
36
00:02:31,920 --> 00:02:34,040
and intermingling in your
consciousness.
37
00:02:34,600 --> 00:02:37,960
And even if you have made a
personal effort to purify your
38
00:02:37,960 --> 00:02:42,400
vital consciousness, to master
in it the desire being and the
39
00:02:42,400 --> 00:02:46,280
little human ego, you are
constantly under a sort of
40
00:02:46,280 --> 00:02:50,920
obligation to absorb all the
contrary vibrations which come
41
00:02:50,920 --> 00:02:55,360
from those with whom you live. 1
can't shut oneself up in an
42
00:02:55,360 --> 00:02:58,920
ivory tower.
It is yet more difficult vitally
43
00:02:58,920 --> 00:03:02,840
than physically, and one takes
in all sorts of things.
44
00:03:03,520 --> 00:03:08,600
And unless one is constantly
wide awake, constantly on one's
45
00:03:08,600 --> 00:03:13,760
guard, and has a quite an
efficient control over all that
46
00:03:13,760 --> 00:03:17,920
enters, so as not to admit in
one's consciousness unwanted
47
00:03:17,920 --> 00:03:21,880
elements, one catches the
constant contagion of all
48
00:03:21,880 --> 00:03:26,360
desires, all the lower
movements, all the small obscure
49
00:03:26,360 --> 00:03:31,320
reactions, all the unwanted
vibrations which come to us from
50
00:03:31,320 --> 00:03:33,840
those around us.
End Quote.
51
00:03:34,920 --> 00:03:39,200
Reference Sri Aurobindo and the
Mother, The Hidden Forces of
52
00:03:39,200 --> 00:03:45,640
Life, Chapter Eight, Life, A
Mass of Vibrations, pages 184 to
53
00:03:45,640 --> 00:03:46,680
185.
00:00:01,280 --> 00:00:05,160
We are rarely conscious of the
constant interchange taking
2
00:00:05,160 --> 00:00:07,160
place on the vital level of our
being.
3
00:00:08,280 --> 00:00:12,480
Vital vibrations are constantly
active in the world, and all
4
00:00:12,480 --> 00:00:16,400
beings wind up being exposed to
them and absorbing them.
5
00:00:17,440 --> 00:00:20,920
Those who live in more isolated
locations tend to have less
6
00:00:20,920 --> 00:00:25,680
direct and intense exposure
simply because many of these
7
00:00:25,680 --> 00:00:30,400
vital forces are weak or tend to
disperse over time and distance
8
00:00:31,040 --> 00:00:35,240
or lose their intensity.
Those who live in the midst of
9
00:00:35,240 --> 00:00:38,840
dense urban environments are
subjected to all manner of vital
10
00:00:38,840 --> 00:00:43,000
forces that are constantly
active and which bombard them
11
00:00:43,000 --> 00:00:47,320
from all sides.
Fleeting desires, short lived
12
00:00:47,320 --> 00:00:51,760
emotions tend to dissipate yet
have their immediate impact.
13
00:00:52,640 --> 00:00:55,960
If an individual who is
subjected to these vital forces
14
00:00:55,960 --> 00:01:01,360
actively responds and begins to
vibrate responsibly, then the
15
00:01:01,360 --> 00:01:05,480
vital force is perpetuated and
even potentially enhanced.
16
00:01:06,440 --> 00:01:10,840
If an individual is aware and is
able to tamp down on the action
17
00:01:10,840 --> 00:01:15,400
of that force, then its
vibratory pattern is muted and
18
00:01:15,400 --> 00:01:20,120
eventually it subsides.
We can understand the action of
19
00:01:20,120 --> 00:01:23,360
vital forces on living beings
when we look at the principle of
20
00:01:23,360 --> 00:01:26,560
the sitar.
This musical instrument has
21
00:01:26,560 --> 00:01:30,640
master strings and sympathetic
strings which vibrate when the
22
00:01:30,640 --> 00:01:34,720
master string is played.
Strong action of the master
23
00:01:34,720 --> 00:01:38,000
string can therefore set the
sympathetic strings fully into
24
00:01:38,000 --> 00:01:41,840
motion, while light action of
the master string has a very
25
00:01:41,840 --> 00:01:45,320
transitory effect on the
sympathetic strings.
26
00:01:46,520 --> 00:01:50,760
The salient features of vital
forces, then, are the intensity,
27
00:01:51,160 --> 00:01:56,360
the proximity, the focus, and
the receptivity status of those
28
00:01:56,360 --> 00:02:00,560
who feel that vibration.
An extremely strong force,
29
00:02:01,000 --> 00:02:05,600
focused and directed, can impact
individuals who even live in
30
00:02:05,600 --> 00:02:10,120
isolation, while a weak force
may tend to be counteracted,
31
00:02:10,520 --> 00:02:15,760
modified or is dispersed amidst
the myriad of vital forces
32
00:02:15,760 --> 00:02:18,840
always being received and
transmitted by all living
33
00:02:18,840 --> 00:02:24,240
beings, the Mother writes.
Quote You live vitally in the
34
00:02:24,240 --> 00:02:27,000
vital world, with all the
currents of vital force
35
00:02:27,000 --> 00:02:31,920
entering, going out, joining and
opposing each other, quarreling
36
00:02:31,920 --> 00:02:34,040
and intermingling in your
consciousness.
37
00:02:34,600 --> 00:02:37,960
And even if you have made a
personal effort to purify your
38
00:02:37,960 --> 00:02:42,400
vital consciousness, to master
in it the desire being and the
39
00:02:42,400 --> 00:02:46,280
little human ego, you are
constantly under a sort of
40
00:02:46,280 --> 00:02:50,920
obligation to absorb all the
contrary vibrations which come
41
00:02:50,920 --> 00:02:55,360
from those with whom you live. 1
can't shut oneself up in an
42
00:02:55,360 --> 00:02:58,920
ivory tower.
It is yet more difficult vitally
43
00:02:58,920 --> 00:03:02,840
than physically, and one takes
in all sorts of things.
44
00:03:03,520 --> 00:03:08,600
And unless one is constantly
wide awake, constantly on one's
45
00:03:08,600 --> 00:03:13,760
guard, and has a quite an
efficient control over all that
46
00:03:13,760 --> 00:03:17,920
enters, so as not to admit in
one's consciousness unwanted
47
00:03:17,920 --> 00:03:21,880
elements, one catches the
constant contagion of all
48
00:03:21,880 --> 00:03:26,360
desires, all the lower
movements, all the small obscure
49
00:03:26,360 --> 00:03:31,320
reactions, all the unwanted
vibrations which come to us from
50
00:03:31,320 --> 00:03:33,840
those around us.
End Quote.
51
00:03:34,920 --> 00:03:39,200
Reference Sri Aurobindo and the
Mother, The Hidden Forces of
52
00:03:39,200 --> 00:03:45,640
Life, Chapter Eight, Life, A
Mass of Vibrations, pages 184 to
53
00:03:45,640 --> 00:03:46,680
185.