SRI AUROBINDO ~ THE MOTHER ~I – page – 1. THERE ARE TWO POWERS THAT ALONE CAN EFFECT IN THEIR CONJUNCTION THE GREAT AND DIFFICULT THING WHICH IS THE AIM OF OUR ENDEAVOUR, A FIXED AND UNFAILING ASPIRATION THAT CALLS FROM BELOW AND A SUPREME GRACE FROM ABOVE THAT ANSWERS. The statement is clear enough. From our end there has to be an aspiration. Aspiration is a seeking to grow, to get, to grow into a condition which we do not have, to get something we do not possess. Aspiration is a movement of our will. There are two adjectives used with the word “aspiration”: FIXED – it is not enough to have an aspiration today which may be replaced by another tomorrow. Often our aspiration goes on changing with our moods, with our circumstances, with the strength or weakness of our spirit. If we find an obstruction tomorrow in working out an aspiration, or if we find ourselves too weak to work it out, we are ready to dilute it and choose a lesser aspiration. But that way we show that we have no constancy in our will. Before we decide upon an aspiration we must have a clear view of our capacities, of our circumstances, of the help that is available, of what is practical under the circumstances and then fix an aspiration around which our life – movement is to be organized. And till it is achieved the aspiration must not be deflected from. That is the first condition. UNFAILING – The aspiration should never slacken, never flag. It should always be active and moving. It should not fall back at the first obstruction. It should persist and push on. It is not enough to have a passive, silent aspiration; it must be an aspiration that is alive and alert, THAT CALLS FROM BELOW, that constantly exerts a pull and draws from above. And above, A SUPREME GRACE THAT ANSWERS. No god or goddess or angel listening to our prayers can grant them. Due to the enormity of the task before us, it is only a supreme and all – fulfilling grace that should be called, for only the supreme Grace can answer such a call. And what is Grace? Grace is a spontaneous movement of Love from the Divine towards his creation. It follows no reason, no logic in the human sense. It flows where it chooseth. It does not pause to consider whether the recipient is virtuous or sinful, deserving or non deserving from the human point of view. Human deserts do not matter at all. The Grace flows according to its own choice. That is why in spiritual history we see instances where people who have not been particularly righteous according to the moral standards of the times, people who have been condemned as sinners suddenly becoming recipients of the Divine Grace. Why is this so? It is because they have within them a soul – force acquired in previous lives which make them worthy of the Grace. Sri Aurobindo explains that before the Grace can come, a state of Grace is to be built up. Slowly behind the veil whether the outer person is aware of it or not, the soul goes on building a condition which invokes the Grace, which is able to receive the impact of the Grace. If the outer being also puts in a conscious effort, so much the better. It seconds the inner effort; things are speeded up. But even without the outer effort, the state of Grace can be built up within a person. That is the mechanics of the functioning of the Grace. It has its own standards, its own causes and its own ways of functioning. Thus the effort of the human soul articulated in THE UNFAILING ASPIRATION FROM BELOW and THE SUPREME GRACE FROM ABOVE THAT ANSWERS are both indispensable and it is only when these two meet and work together that the difficult thing which is the aim of our endeavour can be effected. When Mother was asked which of the two – human effort or the Divine Grace – is more important, she replied that the two are really the two ends of one working. Both are necessary. Without effort the action of the Grace can be barren. Without Grace human effort may be ineffective. Both are necessary to achieve the end. ~ M.P.Pandit. – Heart of Sadhana – page 2,3,4
Posted on: Sat, 24 Jan 2015 07:24:36 +0000
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