April 24, 2026
The Nature of Vital Emotions
reference: Sri Aurobindo and the Mother, The Psychic Being — Soul: Its Nature, Mission and Evolution, Section 1 Meaning and Nature of the Psychic Being, pp. 39-40This episode is also available as a blog post at https://sriaurobindostudies.wordpress.com/2026/04/22/the-nature-of-vital-emotions/
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#Sri Aurobindo #The Mother #Dr. Dalal #yoga #integral yoga #spirituality #soul #psychic being #vital emotions #Shakespeare #Romeo and Juliet #Pericles, Prince of Tyre
1
00:00:00,320 --> 00:00:03,640
The vast majority of the
responses we categorize as
2
00:00:03,640 --> 00:00:07,040
emotions come from the external,
vital nature.
3
00:00:08,000 --> 00:00:11,760
The vital being has a strong
tendency to the expression of
4
00:00:11,760 --> 00:00:15,840
rajas, which can bring forward
strong, powerful actions,
5
00:00:16,239 --> 00:00:19,840
violent and passionate emotions,
and eventually, when it
6
00:00:19,840 --> 00:00:24,600
retreats, a fall into tamas,
which can lead to depression,
7
00:00:24,880 --> 00:00:28,600
despair, weakness and
uncertainty in the being.
8
00:00:29,760 --> 00:00:33,880
The concept of romantic love and
the extremes it can lead to have
9
00:00:33,880 --> 00:00:37,520
been documented widely in the
work of authors and playwrights.
10
00:00:38,520 --> 00:00:42,000
William Shakespeare catalogued
the vital emotions throughout
11
00:00:42,000 --> 00:00:45,920
his body of writings, including
the famous play Romeo and
12
00:00:45,920 --> 00:00:50,080
Juliet, where two young people
experienced an intense feeling
13
00:00:50,080 --> 00:00:54,080
of emotional love but were
separated by the mutual
14
00:00:54,080 --> 00:00:56,160
hostility between their
families.
15
00:00:57,120 --> 00:01:02,040
They eventually overcame this
separation to find fulfilment in
16
00:01:02,040 --> 00:01:05,800
their passionate, romantic love
for one another, but at a
17
00:01:05,800 --> 00:01:11,160
certain point, Romeo was forced
to flee the town and Juliet was
18
00:01:11,160 --> 00:01:13,800
directed to marry someone she
could not accept.
19
00:01:14,480 --> 00:01:19,120
A priest stepped in, provided a
drug that feigned death, and
20
00:01:19,120 --> 00:01:22,200
instead of a wedding, her family
conducted a funeral.
21
00:01:22,960 --> 00:01:26,800
Meanwhile, Romeo returned
without knowing what happened,
22
00:01:27,280 --> 00:01:31,040
discovered the apparently dead
body of Juliet, and killed
23
00:01:31,040 --> 00:01:33,800
himself in the despair that
seized him.
24
00:01:34,720 --> 00:01:38,640
When Juliet revived from the
artificial death, she saw the
25
00:01:38,640 --> 00:01:43,640
dead body of Romeo and committed
suicide to join him after death.
26
00:01:44,960 --> 00:01:48,360
What clearer picture of the
vital emotional being and its
27
00:01:48,360 --> 00:01:53,040
reactions can we find?
Shakespeare illuminates the
28
00:01:53,040 --> 00:01:55,960
theme of vital passions and
their effects throughout his
29
00:01:55,960 --> 00:02:02,160
plays such as Othello, Macbeth,
Hamlet, King Lear and many more.
30
00:02:03,280 --> 00:02:08,280
In one of his plays, Pericles,
Prince of Tyre, Shakespeare
31
00:02:08,280 --> 00:02:12,320
attempts to distinguish passion,
lust and vital expressions of
32
00:02:12,320 --> 00:02:16,760
love from a deeper, pure
expression, which appears to be
33
00:02:16,760 --> 00:02:20,800
his sole attempt at an approach
to what the mother identifies as
34
00:02:20,800 --> 00:02:24,920
psychic love.
He was limited by the language
35
00:02:24,960 --> 00:02:28,920
and the conceptions of his time,
trying to describe something
36
00:02:28,920 --> 00:02:33,560
that was, to say the least, an
unusual emotional framework.
37
00:02:34,880 --> 00:02:38,600
Whether he succeeded or not, we
can leave to each reader.
38
00:02:39,840 --> 00:02:44,000
Pericles daughter Marina was
kidnapped and sold into slavery
39
00:02:44,000 --> 00:02:47,360
in a brothel.
She maintained her virginal
40
00:02:47,360 --> 00:02:52,320
status by the strength of her
purity and aspirations and her
41
00:02:52,320 --> 00:02:56,600
ability to reach deeper into the
potential clients sent to her
42
00:02:57,040 --> 00:02:59,880
than just satisfying their
lustful feelings.
43
00:03:00,720 --> 00:03:03,680
The play has long been
undervalued simply because it
44
00:03:03,680 --> 00:03:07,240
does not follow the popular and
easily recognized patterns of
45
00:03:07,240 --> 00:03:11,400
the vital nature and its
emotional reactions, but tries
46
00:03:11,400 --> 00:03:15,720
to reach a deeper source, the
mother writes.
47
00:03:15,880 --> 00:03:20,520
Quote Vital emotions are of an
altogether different nature.
48
00:03:20,880 --> 00:03:24,680
They are very clear, very
precise, you can express them
49
00:03:24,680 --> 00:03:28,240
very distinctly.
They are violent, they usually
50
00:03:28,240 --> 00:03:33,280
fill you with an intensity, A
restlessness, sometimes a great
51
00:03:33,280 --> 00:03:37,040
satisfaction, and then the
opposite comes with the same
52
00:03:37,040 --> 00:03:40,960
force.
And so people, many people think
53
00:03:41,480 --> 00:03:43,680
we have mentioned this several
times already.
54
00:03:44,080 --> 00:03:47,520
Some people imagine they
experience love only when it is
55
00:03:47,520 --> 00:03:51,600
like that, when love is in the
vital, when it comes with all
56
00:03:51,600 --> 00:03:55,840
the movements of the vital, all
this intensity, this violence,
57
00:03:56,000 --> 00:03:59,520
this precision, this glamour,
this brightness.
58
00:04:00,280 --> 00:04:04,440
And when that is absent, they
say, oh, this is not love.
59
00:04:05,640 --> 00:04:10,200
And yet that is exactly how love
gets distorted already.
60
00:04:10,200 --> 00:04:14,200
It is no longer love, it is
beginning to be passion, and
61
00:04:14,200 --> 00:04:17,480
this is an almost universal
error among human beings.
62
00:04:18,399 --> 00:04:23,080
Some people are full of a very
pure, very high, very selfless
63
00:04:23,080 --> 00:04:27,840
psychic love, and yet they know
nothing about it and think they
64
00:04:27,840 --> 00:04:32,360
are cold, dry and without love
because this admixture of vital
65
00:04:32,360 --> 00:04:37,880
vibration is absent for them.
Love begins and ends with this
66
00:04:37,880 --> 00:04:42,200
vibration, and it is something
highly unstable which has
67
00:04:42,200 --> 00:04:45,640
movements and reactions and
violences of all kinds.
68
00:04:46,680 --> 00:04:50,560
In depression, as in
satisfaction, love is something
69
00:04:50,560 --> 00:04:54,680
very ephemeral for these people.
They have minutes of love in
70
00:04:54,680 --> 00:04:57,960
their lives.
It may last for a few hours, and
71
00:04:57,960 --> 00:05:01,760
then it becomes dull and flat
again, and they imagine that
72
00:05:01,760 --> 00:05:04,720
love has deserted them.
End Quote.
73
00:05:05,880 --> 00:05:10,920
Reference Sri Rogindo and the
Mother, The psychic being soul,
74
00:05:11,120 --> 00:05:13,360
its nature, Mission and
evolution.
75
00:05:13,720 --> 00:05:16,440
Section 1.
Meaning and Nature of the
76
00:05:16,440 --> 00:05:19,640
Psychic Being, pages 39 to 40.
00:00:00,320 --> 00:00:03,640
The vast majority of the
responses we categorize as
2
00:00:03,640 --> 00:00:07,040
emotions come from the external,
vital nature.
3
00:00:08,000 --> 00:00:11,760
The vital being has a strong
tendency to the expression of
4
00:00:11,760 --> 00:00:15,840
rajas, which can bring forward
strong, powerful actions,
5
00:00:16,239 --> 00:00:19,840
violent and passionate emotions,
and eventually, when it
6
00:00:19,840 --> 00:00:24,600
retreats, a fall into tamas,
which can lead to depression,
7
00:00:24,880 --> 00:00:28,600
despair, weakness and
uncertainty in the being.
8
00:00:29,760 --> 00:00:33,880
The concept of romantic love and
the extremes it can lead to have
9
00:00:33,880 --> 00:00:37,520
been documented widely in the
work of authors and playwrights.
10
00:00:38,520 --> 00:00:42,000
William Shakespeare catalogued
the vital emotions throughout
11
00:00:42,000 --> 00:00:45,920
his body of writings, including
the famous play Romeo and
12
00:00:45,920 --> 00:00:50,080
Juliet, where two young people
experienced an intense feeling
13
00:00:50,080 --> 00:00:54,080
of emotional love but were
separated by the mutual
14
00:00:54,080 --> 00:00:56,160
hostility between their
families.
15
00:00:57,120 --> 00:01:02,040
They eventually overcame this
separation to find fulfilment in
16
00:01:02,040 --> 00:01:05,800
their passionate, romantic love
for one another, but at a
17
00:01:05,800 --> 00:01:11,160
certain point, Romeo was forced
to flee the town and Juliet was
18
00:01:11,160 --> 00:01:13,800
directed to marry someone she
could not accept.
19
00:01:14,480 --> 00:01:19,120
A priest stepped in, provided a
drug that feigned death, and
20
00:01:19,120 --> 00:01:22,200
instead of a wedding, her family
conducted a funeral.
21
00:01:22,960 --> 00:01:26,800
Meanwhile, Romeo returned
without knowing what happened,
22
00:01:27,280 --> 00:01:31,040
discovered the apparently dead
body of Juliet, and killed
23
00:01:31,040 --> 00:01:33,800
himself in the despair that
seized him.
24
00:01:34,720 --> 00:01:38,640
When Juliet revived from the
artificial death, she saw the
25
00:01:38,640 --> 00:01:43,640
dead body of Romeo and committed
suicide to join him after death.
26
00:01:44,960 --> 00:01:48,360
What clearer picture of the
vital emotional being and its
27
00:01:48,360 --> 00:01:53,040
reactions can we find?
Shakespeare illuminates the
28
00:01:53,040 --> 00:01:55,960
theme of vital passions and
their effects throughout his
29
00:01:55,960 --> 00:02:02,160
plays such as Othello, Macbeth,
Hamlet, King Lear and many more.
30
00:02:03,280 --> 00:02:08,280
In one of his plays, Pericles,
Prince of Tyre, Shakespeare
31
00:02:08,280 --> 00:02:12,320
attempts to distinguish passion,
lust and vital expressions of
32
00:02:12,320 --> 00:02:16,760
love from a deeper, pure
expression, which appears to be
33
00:02:16,760 --> 00:02:20,800
his sole attempt at an approach
to what the mother identifies as
34
00:02:20,800 --> 00:02:24,920
psychic love.
He was limited by the language
35
00:02:24,960 --> 00:02:28,920
and the conceptions of his time,
trying to describe something
36
00:02:28,920 --> 00:02:33,560
that was, to say the least, an
unusual emotional framework.
37
00:02:34,880 --> 00:02:38,600
Whether he succeeded or not, we
can leave to each reader.
38
00:02:39,840 --> 00:02:44,000
Pericles daughter Marina was
kidnapped and sold into slavery
39
00:02:44,000 --> 00:02:47,360
in a brothel.
She maintained her virginal
40
00:02:47,360 --> 00:02:52,320
status by the strength of her
purity and aspirations and her
41
00:02:52,320 --> 00:02:56,600
ability to reach deeper into the
potential clients sent to her
42
00:02:57,040 --> 00:02:59,880
than just satisfying their
lustful feelings.
43
00:03:00,720 --> 00:03:03,680
The play has long been
undervalued simply because it
44
00:03:03,680 --> 00:03:07,240
does not follow the popular and
easily recognized patterns of
45
00:03:07,240 --> 00:03:11,400
the vital nature and its
emotional reactions, but tries
46
00:03:11,400 --> 00:03:15,720
to reach a deeper source, the
mother writes.
47
00:03:15,880 --> 00:03:20,520
Quote Vital emotions are of an
altogether different nature.
48
00:03:20,880 --> 00:03:24,680
They are very clear, very
precise, you can express them
49
00:03:24,680 --> 00:03:28,240
very distinctly.
They are violent, they usually
50
00:03:28,240 --> 00:03:33,280
fill you with an intensity, A
restlessness, sometimes a great
51
00:03:33,280 --> 00:03:37,040
satisfaction, and then the
opposite comes with the same
52
00:03:37,040 --> 00:03:40,960
force.
And so people, many people think
53
00:03:41,480 --> 00:03:43,680
we have mentioned this several
times already.
54
00:03:44,080 --> 00:03:47,520
Some people imagine they
experience love only when it is
55
00:03:47,520 --> 00:03:51,600
like that, when love is in the
vital, when it comes with all
56
00:03:51,600 --> 00:03:55,840
the movements of the vital, all
this intensity, this violence,
57
00:03:56,000 --> 00:03:59,520
this precision, this glamour,
this brightness.
58
00:04:00,280 --> 00:04:04,440
And when that is absent, they
say, oh, this is not love.
59
00:04:05,640 --> 00:04:10,200
And yet that is exactly how love
gets distorted already.
60
00:04:10,200 --> 00:04:14,200
It is no longer love, it is
beginning to be passion, and
61
00:04:14,200 --> 00:04:17,480
this is an almost universal
error among human beings.
62
00:04:18,399 --> 00:04:23,080
Some people are full of a very
pure, very high, very selfless
63
00:04:23,080 --> 00:04:27,840
psychic love, and yet they know
nothing about it and think they
64
00:04:27,840 --> 00:04:32,360
are cold, dry and without love
because this admixture of vital
65
00:04:32,360 --> 00:04:37,880
vibration is absent for them.
Love begins and ends with this
66
00:04:37,880 --> 00:04:42,200
vibration, and it is something
highly unstable which has
67
00:04:42,200 --> 00:04:45,640
movements and reactions and
violences of all kinds.
68
00:04:46,680 --> 00:04:50,560
In depression, as in
satisfaction, love is something
69
00:04:50,560 --> 00:04:54,680
very ephemeral for these people.
They have minutes of love in
70
00:04:54,680 --> 00:04:57,960
their lives.
It may last for a few hours, and
71
00:04:57,960 --> 00:05:01,760
then it becomes dull and flat
again, and they imagine that
72
00:05:01,760 --> 00:05:04,720
love has deserted them.
End Quote.
73
00:05:05,880 --> 00:05:10,920
Reference Sri Rogindo and the
Mother, The psychic being soul,
74
00:05:11,120 --> 00:05:13,360
its nature, Mission and
evolution.
75
00:05:13,720 --> 00:05:16,440
Section 1.
Meaning and Nature of the
76
00:05:16,440 --> 00:05:19,640
Psychic Being, pages 39 to 40.
