Dec. 2, 2025
Vital Impatience and a Hurried Effort Are Obstacles to the Transformation of the Human Instrument
reference: Sri Aurobindo, Bases of Yoga, Chapter 3, In Difficulty, pg. 49
This episode is also available as a blog post at https://sriaurobindostudies.wordpress.com/2025/11/30/vital-impatience-and-a-hurried-effort-are-obstacles-to-the-transformation-of-the-human-instrument/
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#Sri Aurobindo #yoga #integral yoga #human nature #transformation #vital ego
1
00:00:00,640 --> 00:00:05,640
The vital ego is impatient.
It wants to keep pressing on,
2
00:00:05,640 --> 00:00:10,440
regardless of the impact on the
body or the mind or even its own
3
00:00:10,440 --> 00:00:14,640
native energy.
It wants to get somewhere and
4
00:00:14,640 --> 00:00:19,560
begrudges the journey and the
time and the waypoints along the
5
00:00:19,560 --> 00:00:22,720
path.
It believes that haste will
6
00:00:22,720 --> 00:00:26,800
achieve the goal sooner, while
in fact it usually sets the
7
00:00:26,800 --> 00:00:32,000
achievement further away due to
the inevitable breakdowns and
8
00:00:32,000 --> 00:00:35,520
the very energy that is
circulating, which does not
9
00:00:35,520 --> 00:00:40,240
permit the divine force to act
in its own way and its own time
10
00:00:40,880 --> 00:00:45,760
to carry out the complex,
detailed and enormous task of
11
00:00:45,760 --> 00:00:51,080
transformation of human nature.
The human ego believes that it
12
00:00:51,080 --> 00:00:54,560
can understand and judge the
process and the steps along the
13
00:00:54,560 --> 00:00:59,400
way, and thereby undertake to
manage how things will proceed.
14
00:01:00,560 --> 00:01:04,400
Yet it does not have even the
remotest sense of everything
15
00:01:04,400 --> 00:01:08,520
that needs to be changed, or the
order in which the change needs
16
00:01:08,520 --> 00:01:12,720
to occur to move things steadily
onward without breakdowns or
17
00:01:12,720 --> 00:01:17,440
diversions, or the specific
areas of human nature that any
18
00:01:17,440 --> 00:01:22,720
aspirant is called upon to work
out at any point in time as a
19
00:01:22,720 --> 00:01:26,560
representative of the larger
pool of the human species.
20
00:01:28,160 --> 00:01:34,280
Sriorobindo notes quote, There
are always pauses of preparation
21
00:01:34,280 --> 00:01:36,720
and assimilation between two
movements.
22
00:01:37,440 --> 00:01:42,240
You must not regard these with
fretfulness or impatience, as if
23
00:01:42,240 --> 00:01:44,920
they were untoward geps in the
sadhna.
24
00:01:45,800 --> 00:01:50,040
Besides, the force rises
uplifting part of the nature on
25
00:01:50,040 --> 00:01:54,160
a higher level, and then comes
down to a lower layer to braise
26
00:01:54,160 --> 00:01:57,000
it.
This motion of ascent and
27
00:01:57,000 --> 00:02:01,240
descent is often extremely
trying, because the mind,
28
00:02:01,240 --> 00:02:05,120
partial to an ascent in a
straight line and the vital
29
00:02:05,160 --> 00:02:09,759
eager for rapid fulfillment,
cannot understand or follow the
30
00:02:09,759 --> 00:02:13,760
intricate movement, and are
apartment to be distressed by it
31
00:02:13,760 --> 00:02:17,080
or resent it.
But the transformation of the
32
00:02:17,080 --> 00:02:20,760
whole nature is not an easy
thing to accomplish, and the
33
00:02:20,760 --> 00:02:26,240
force that does it knows better
than our mental ignorance or our
34
00:02:26,240 --> 00:02:28,840
vital impatience.
End Quote.
35
00:02:29,720 --> 00:02:35,240
Reference Sri Aurobindo, Faces
of Yoga, Chapter 3 in
36
00:02:35,240 --> 00:02:37,800
difficulty, page 49.
00:00:00,640 --> 00:00:05,640
The vital ego is impatient.
It wants to keep pressing on,
2
00:00:05,640 --> 00:00:10,440
regardless of the impact on the
body or the mind or even its own
3
00:00:10,440 --> 00:00:14,640
native energy.
It wants to get somewhere and
4
00:00:14,640 --> 00:00:19,560
begrudges the journey and the
time and the waypoints along the
5
00:00:19,560 --> 00:00:22,720
path.
It believes that haste will
6
00:00:22,720 --> 00:00:26,800
achieve the goal sooner, while
in fact it usually sets the
7
00:00:26,800 --> 00:00:32,000
achievement further away due to
the inevitable breakdowns and
8
00:00:32,000 --> 00:00:35,520
the very energy that is
circulating, which does not
9
00:00:35,520 --> 00:00:40,240
permit the divine force to act
in its own way and its own time
10
00:00:40,880 --> 00:00:45,760
to carry out the complex,
detailed and enormous task of
11
00:00:45,760 --> 00:00:51,080
transformation of human nature.
The human ego believes that it
12
00:00:51,080 --> 00:00:54,560
can understand and judge the
process and the steps along the
13
00:00:54,560 --> 00:00:59,400
way, and thereby undertake to
manage how things will proceed.
14
00:01:00,560 --> 00:01:04,400
Yet it does not have even the
remotest sense of everything
15
00:01:04,400 --> 00:01:08,520
that needs to be changed, or the
order in which the change needs
16
00:01:08,520 --> 00:01:12,720
to occur to move things steadily
onward without breakdowns or
17
00:01:12,720 --> 00:01:17,440
diversions, or the specific
areas of human nature that any
18
00:01:17,440 --> 00:01:22,720
aspirant is called upon to work
out at any point in time as a
19
00:01:22,720 --> 00:01:26,560
representative of the larger
pool of the human species.
20
00:01:28,160 --> 00:01:34,280
Sriorobindo notes quote, There
are always pauses of preparation
21
00:01:34,280 --> 00:01:36,720
and assimilation between two
movements.
22
00:01:37,440 --> 00:01:42,240
You must not regard these with
fretfulness or impatience, as if
23
00:01:42,240 --> 00:01:44,920
they were untoward geps in the
sadhna.
24
00:01:45,800 --> 00:01:50,040
Besides, the force rises
uplifting part of the nature on
25
00:01:50,040 --> 00:01:54,160
a higher level, and then comes
down to a lower layer to braise
26
00:01:54,160 --> 00:01:57,000
it.
This motion of ascent and
27
00:01:57,000 --> 00:02:01,240
descent is often extremely
trying, because the mind,
28
00:02:01,240 --> 00:02:05,120
partial to an ascent in a
straight line and the vital
29
00:02:05,160 --> 00:02:09,759
eager for rapid fulfillment,
cannot understand or follow the
30
00:02:09,759 --> 00:02:13,760
intricate movement, and are
apartment to be distressed by it
31
00:02:13,760 --> 00:02:17,080
or resent it.
But the transformation of the
32
00:02:17,080 --> 00:02:20,760
whole nature is not an easy
thing to accomplish, and the
33
00:02:20,760 --> 00:02:26,240
force that does it knows better
than our mental ignorance or our
34
00:02:26,240 --> 00:02:28,840
vital impatience.
End Quote.
35
00:02:29,720 --> 00:02:35,240
Reference Sri Aurobindo, Faces
of Yoga, Chapter 3 in
36
00:02:35,240 --> 00:02:37,800
difficulty, page 49.
