July 12, 2024
Transitioning from the View of a Body With a Soul, to a Soul With a Body
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YouTube reference: Sri Aurobindo and the Mother, The Hidden Forces of Life, Ch.6 Hidden Worlds and Evolutionary Forces, pp.147-148 This episode is also available as a blog post at https://sriaurobindostudies.wordpress.com/2024/07/07/transitioning-from-the-view-of-a-body-with-a-soul-to-a-soul-with-a-body/
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
00:00:01,960 --> 00:00:05,760
The primary standpoint for most
people is that they are a
2
00:00:05,760 --> 00:00:11,800
physical body endowed with life,
mind and potentially in their
3
00:00:11,800 --> 00:00:15,520
minds, a soul.
Everything starts from the
4
00:00:15,520 --> 00:00:18,920
primacy of the body and its
centrality in their view of
5
00:00:18,920 --> 00:00:22,360
their lives.
This makes the purpose of life
6
00:00:22,440 --> 00:00:27,120
one of survival and procreation,
with vital enjoyments and mental
7
00:00:27,120 --> 00:00:32,040
preoccupations as possible ways
to enjoy the sojourn in the
8
00:00:32,040 --> 00:00:35,320
body.
For a relatively small
9
00:00:35,320 --> 00:00:39,400
percentage of people there comes
a call to a spiritual awakening.
10
00:00:40,160 --> 00:00:43,720
For these individuals, the urge
of the soul asserts itself to
11
00:00:43,720 --> 00:00:47,960
begin to examine the meaning of
life, the significance of their
12
00:00:47,960 --> 00:00:53,200
specific life, and eventually
there comes about a reversal of
13
00:00:53,200 --> 00:00:58,280
consciousness where the body is
no longer the centre and cause,
14
00:00:58,520 --> 00:01:02,280
but rather is taken up and
occupied by the soul.
15
00:01:03,200 --> 00:01:07,320
The image of an individual
changing his clothes then comes
16
00:01:07,320 --> 00:01:11,640
into the picture as a metaphor
for the soul taking up a body
17
00:01:11,640 --> 00:01:16,120
and using it for the soul's
purpose, then discarding it and
18
00:01:16,120 --> 00:01:20,480
moving to another body and life
suitable for the next stage of
19
00:01:20,480 --> 00:01:25,320
the soul's growth.
We wonder how and why such an
20
00:01:25,320 --> 00:01:28,400
urge arises.
This is where we can get
21
00:01:28,400 --> 00:01:33,000
intimations of pressure from the
native domains of life, mind and
22
00:01:33,000 --> 00:01:38,040
spirit to grow and develop the
latent powers that have involved
23
00:01:38,280 --> 00:01:42,560
in the material world.
As the spiritual force gains
24
00:01:42,560 --> 00:01:47,120
more ascendancy, the individual
finds that he may lose interest
25
00:01:47,120 --> 00:01:50,360
in the external life and its
activities and potential
26
00:01:50,360 --> 00:01:55,200
rewards, and he begins to
explore his inner life and being
27
00:01:55,280 --> 00:01:59,880
in a very intense way.
He may feel that the outer life
28
00:01:59,880 --> 00:02:05,680
is something of an illusion or a
distraction, or simply a prior
29
00:02:05,680 --> 00:02:09,639
focus that is no longer relevant
to the deeper concerns that
30
00:02:09,639 --> 00:02:12,920
arise.
It is not a matter of
31
00:02:12,920 --> 00:02:16,680
intellectual thought, but rather
this seeking is something that
32
00:02:16,680 --> 00:02:21,040
goes much deeper, touches an
aspiration for something more,
33
00:02:21,320 --> 00:02:25,880
some meaning, some relevance,
some answers to the puzzle that
34
00:02:25,880 --> 00:02:30,680
is our existence, whether we
call it a seeking for God or a
35
00:02:30,680 --> 00:02:35,840
seeking for our true self, or we
call it a seeking for liberation
36
00:02:36,360 --> 00:02:41,000
from the outer life.
Just as a child grows and leaves
37
00:02:41,000 --> 00:02:45,440
behind his preoccupations and
his toys of his youth, so the
38
00:02:45,440 --> 00:02:50,040
human individual, as he grows
inwardly, leaves behind the
39
00:02:50,040 --> 00:02:54,760
vital and mental preoccupations
that demanded his focus prior to
40
00:02:54,760 --> 00:03:00,320
that awakening soul aspiration.
This then begins his larger
41
00:03:00,320 --> 00:03:04,320
existence based on the
centrality of his soul and his
42
00:03:04,320 --> 00:03:10,040
entire viewpoint about life, its
purpose and significance and his
43
00:03:10,040 --> 00:03:14,800
role in the world undergoes a
radical shift of focus.
44
00:03:16,200 --> 00:03:18,280
Sri Aurobindo observes.
Quote.
45
00:03:19,080 --> 00:03:22,960
A secret, continuous action of
the higher powers and principles
46
00:03:22,960 --> 00:03:26,360
from their own planes upon
terrestrial being and nature,
47
00:03:26,760 --> 00:03:30,760
through the subliminal self,
which is itself a projection
48
00:03:30,760 --> 00:03:35,360
from those planes into the world
born of the inconscience, must
49
00:03:35,360 --> 00:03:37,520
have an effect and a
significance.
50
00:03:38,160 --> 00:03:42,240
Its first effect has been the
liberation of life and mind out
51
00:03:42,240 --> 00:03:45,400
of matter.
Its last effect has been to
52
00:03:45,400 --> 00:03:48,960
assist the emergence of a
spiritual consciousness, a
53
00:03:48,960 --> 00:03:53,480
spiritual will and spiritual
sense of existence in the
54
00:03:53,480 --> 00:03:58,640
terrestrial beings, so that he
is no longer preoccupied solely
55
00:03:58,640 --> 00:04:03,160
with his outermost life or with
that and mental pursuits and
56
00:04:03,160 --> 00:04:07,560
interests, but has learned to
look within, to discover his
57
00:04:07,560 --> 00:04:13,040
inner being, his spiritual self,
to aspire to overpass earth and
58
00:04:13,040 --> 00:04:17,079
her limitations.
As he grows more and more
59
00:04:17,079 --> 00:04:22,440
inward, his boundaries, mental,
vital, spiritual, begin to
60
00:04:22,440 --> 00:04:26,240
broaden.
The bonds that held life, mind,
61
00:04:26,240 --> 00:04:30,160
soul, to their first limitations
loosen or snap.
62
00:04:31,080 --> 00:04:34,640
And man, the mental being,
begins to have a glimpse of a
63
00:04:34,640 --> 00:04:39,440
larger Kingdom of self and
world, closed to the first earth
64
00:04:39,440 --> 00:04:43,280
life.
No doubt, so long as he lives
65
00:04:43,280 --> 00:04:46,800
mainly on his surface, he can
only build a sort of
66
00:04:46,800 --> 00:04:52,000
superstructure, ideal and
imaginative and ideative, upon
67
00:04:52,000 --> 00:04:54,680
the ground of his normal narrow
existence.
68
00:04:55,680 --> 00:04:59,080
But if he makes the inward
movement which his own highest
69
00:04:59,080 --> 00:05:02,920
vision has held up before him as
his greatest spiritual
70
00:05:02,920 --> 00:05:09,040
necessity, then he will find
there in his inner being a
71
00:05:09,040 --> 00:05:12,200
larger consciousness, a larger
life.
72
00:05:13,160 --> 00:05:18,320
An action from within and an
action from above can overcome
73
00:05:18,320 --> 00:05:23,360
the predominance of the material
formula, diminish and finally
74
00:05:23,360 --> 00:05:27,720
put an end to the power of the
in conscience, reverse the order
75
00:05:27,720 --> 00:05:31,800
of the consciousness, substitute
the spirit for matter as his
76
00:05:31,800 --> 00:05:36,840
conscious foundation of being,
and liberate its higher power to
77
00:05:36,840 --> 00:05:39,760
their complete and
characteristic expression in the
78
00:05:39,760 --> 00:05:42,720
life of the soul embodied in
nature.
79
00:05:43,760 --> 00:05:48,920
End Quote Reference Shriorobindo
and the Mother, The Hidden
80
00:05:48,920 --> 00:05:54,040
Forces of Life, Chapter 6 Hidden
Worlds and Evolutionary Forces,
81
00:05:54,440 --> 00:05:57,000
pages 147 to 148.
00:00:01,960 --> 00:00:05,760
The primary standpoint for most
people is that they are a
2
00:00:05,760 --> 00:00:11,800
physical body endowed with life,
mind and potentially in their
3
00:00:11,800 --> 00:00:15,520
minds, a soul.
Everything starts from the
4
00:00:15,520 --> 00:00:18,920
primacy of the body and its
centrality in their view of
5
00:00:18,920 --> 00:00:22,360
their lives.
This makes the purpose of life
6
00:00:22,440 --> 00:00:27,120
one of survival and procreation,
with vital enjoyments and mental
7
00:00:27,120 --> 00:00:32,040
preoccupations as possible ways
to enjoy the sojourn in the
8
00:00:32,040 --> 00:00:35,320
body.
For a relatively small
9
00:00:35,320 --> 00:00:39,400
percentage of people there comes
a call to a spiritual awakening.
10
00:00:40,160 --> 00:00:43,720
For these individuals, the urge
of the soul asserts itself to
11
00:00:43,720 --> 00:00:47,960
begin to examine the meaning of
life, the significance of their
12
00:00:47,960 --> 00:00:53,200
specific life, and eventually
there comes about a reversal of
13
00:00:53,200 --> 00:00:58,280
consciousness where the body is
no longer the centre and cause,
14
00:00:58,520 --> 00:01:02,280
but rather is taken up and
occupied by the soul.
15
00:01:03,200 --> 00:01:07,320
The image of an individual
changing his clothes then comes
16
00:01:07,320 --> 00:01:11,640
into the picture as a metaphor
for the soul taking up a body
17
00:01:11,640 --> 00:01:16,120
and using it for the soul's
purpose, then discarding it and
18
00:01:16,120 --> 00:01:20,480
moving to another body and life
suitable for the next stage of
19
00:01:20,480 --> 00:01:25,320
the soul's growth.
We wonder how and why such an
20
00:01:25,320 --> 00:01:28,400
urge arises.
This is where we can get
21
00:01:28,400 --> 00:01:33,000
intimations of pressure from the
native domains of life, mind and
22
00:01:33,000 --> 00:01:38,040
spirit to grow and develop the
latent powers that have involved
23
00:01:38,280 --> 00:01:42,560
in the material world.
As the spiritual force gains
24
00:01:42,560 --> 00:01:47,120
more ascendancy, the individual
finds that he may lose interest
25
00:01:47,120 --> 00:01:50,360
in the external life and its
activities and potential
26
00:01:50,360 --> 00:01:55,200
rewards, and he begins to
explore his inner life and being
27
00:01:55,280 --> 00:01:59,880
in a very intense way.
He may feel that the outer life
28
00:01:59,880 --> 00:02:05,680
is something of an illusion or a
distraction, or simply a prior
29
00:02:05,680 --> 00:02:09,639
focus that is no longer relevant
to the deeper concerns that
30
00:02:09,639 --> 00:02:12,920
arise.
It is not a matter of
31
00:02:12,920 --> 00:02:16,680
intellectual thought, but rather
this seeking is something that
32
00:02:16,680 --> 00:02:21,040
goes much deeper, touches an
aspiration for something more,
33
00:02:21,320 --> 00:02:25,880
some meaning, some relevance,
some answers to the puzzle that
34
00:02:25,880 --> 00:02:30,680
is our existence, whether we
call it a seeking for God or a
35
00:02:30,680 --> 00:02:35,840
seeking for our true self, or we
call it a seeking for liberation
36
00:02:36,360 --> 00:02:41,000
from the outer life.
Just as a child grows and leaves
37
00:02:41,000 --> 00:02:45,440
behind his preoccupations and
his toys of his youth, so the
38
00:02:45,440 --> 00:02:50,040
human individual, as he grows
inwardly, leaves behind the
39
00:02:50,040 --> 00:02:54,760
vital and mental preoccupations
that demanded his focus prior to
40
00:02:54,760 --> 00:03:00,320
that awakening soul aspiration.
This then begins his larger
41
00:03:00,320 --> 00:03:04,320
existence based on the
centrality of his soul and his
42
00:03:04,320 --> 00:03:10,040
entire viewpoint about life, its
purpose and significance and his
43
00:03:10,040 --> 00:03:14,800
role in the world undergoes a
radical shift of focus.
44
00:03:16,200 --> 00:03:18,280
Sri Aurobindo observes.
Quote.
45
00:03:19,080 --> 00:03:22,960
A secret, continuous action of
the higher powers and principles
46
00:03:22,960 --> 00:03:26,360
from their own planes upon
terrestrial being and nature,
47
00:03:26,760 --> 00:03:30,760
through the subliminal self,
which is itself a projection
48
00:03:30,760 --> 00:03:35,360
from those planes into the world
born of the inconscience, must
49
00:03:35,360 --> 00:03:37,520
have an effect and a
significance.
50
00:03:38,160 --> 00:03:42,240
Its first effect has been the
liberation of life and mind out
51
00:03:42,240 --> 00:03:45,400
of matter.
Its last effect has been to
52
00:03:45,400 --> 00:03:48,960
assist the emergence of a
spiritual consciousness, a
53
00:03:48,960 --> 00:03:53,480
spiritual will and spiritual
sense of existence in the
54
00:03:53,480 --> 00:03:58,640
terrestrial beings, so that he
is no longer preoccupied solely
55
00:03:58,640 --> 00:04:03,160
with his outermost life or with
that and mental pursuits and
56
00:04:03,160 --> 00:04:07,560
interests, but has learned to
look within, to discover his
57
00:04:07,560 --> 00:04:13,040
inner being, his spiritual self,
to aspire to overpass earth and
58
00:04:13,040 --> 00:04:17,079
her limitations.
As he grows more and more
59
00:04:17,079 --> 00:04:22,440
inward, his boundaries, mental,
vital, spiritual, begin to
60
00:04:22,440 --> 00:04:26,240
broaden.
The bonds that held life, mind,
61
00:04:26,240 --> 00:04:30,160
soul, to their first limitations
loosen or snap.
62
00:04:31,080 --> 00:04:34,640
And man, the mental being,
begins to have a glimpse of a
63
00:04:34,640 --> 00:04:39,440
larger Kingdom of self and
world, closed to the first earth
64
00:04:39,440 --> 00:04:43,280
life.
No doubt, so long as he lives
65
00:04:43,280 --> 00:04:46,800
mainly on his surface, he can
only build a sort of
66
00:04:46,800 --> 00:04:52,000
superstructure, ideal and
imaginative and ideative, upon
67
00:04:52,000 --> 00:04:54,680
the ground of his normal narrow
existence.
68
00:04:55,680 --> 00:04:59,080
But if he makes the inward
movement which his own highest
69
00:04:59,080 --> 00:05:02,920
vision has held up before him as
his greatest spiritual
70
00:05:02,920 --> 00:05:09,040
necessity, then he will find
there in his inner being a
71
00:05:09,040 --> 00:05:12,200
larger consciousness, a larger
life.
72
00:05:13,160 --> 00:05:18,320
An action from within and an
action from above can overcome
73
00:05:18,320 --> 00:05:23,360
the predominance of the material
formula, diminish and finally
74
00:05:23,360 --> 00:05:27,720
put an end to the power of the
in conscience, reverse the order
75
00:05:27,720 --> 00:05:31,800
of the consciousness, substitute
the spirit for matter as his
76
00:05:31,800 --> 00:05:36,840
conscious foundation of being,
and liberate its higher power to
77
00:05:36,840 --> 00:05:39,760
their complete and
characteristic expression in the
78
00:05:39,760 --> 00:05:42,720
life of the soul embodied in
nature.
79
00:05:43,760 --> 00:05:48,920
End Quote Reference Shriorobindo
and the Mother, The Hidden
80
00:05:48,920 --> 00:05:54,040
Forces of Life, Chapter 6 Hidden
Worlds and Evolutionary Forces,
81
00:05:54,440 --> 00:05:57,000
pages 147 to 148.