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flowers
Their Spiritual significance
Photo Collection
Vital courage
Must be controlled to be helpful.
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Solanum melongena L. (Solanaceae)
Eggplant
Small purple star-shaped flower with a prominent yellow centre of five erect anthers; borne in few flowered cymes. An extremely prickly scandent subshrub.
var. insanum (L.) Prain
The vital has to be carefully distinguished from mind, even though it has a mind element transfused into it; the vital is the Life-nature made up of desires, sensations, feelings, passions, energies of action, will of desire, reactions of the desire-soul in man and of all that play of possessive and other related instincts, anger, fear, greed, lust, etc. , that belong to this field of the nature.
Sri Aurobindo
Sri Aurobindo. Sri Aurobindo Birth Centenary Library in 30 Volumes. - Volume 22. - Letters on Yoga.-P.1
The vital proper is the life-force acting in its own nature, impulses, emotions, feelings, desires, ambitions, etc. , having as their highest centre what we may call the outer heart of emotion, while there is an inner heart where are the higher or psychic feelings and sensibilities, the emotions or intuitive yearnings and impulses of the soul. The vital part of us is, of course, necessary to our completeness, but it is a true instrument only when its feelings and tendencies have been purified by the psychic touch and taken up and governed by the spiritual light and power.
Sri Aurobindo
Sri Aurobindo. Sri Aurobindo Birth Centenary Library in 30 Volumes. - Volume 22. - Letters on Yoga.-P.1
There are four parts of the vital being - first, the mental vital which gives a mental expression by thought, speech or otherwise to the emotions, desires, passions, sensations and other movements of the vital being; the emotional vital which is the seat of various feelings, such as love, joy, sorrow, hatred, and the rest; the central vital which is the seat of the stronger vital longings and reactions, e. g. ambition, pride, fear, love of fame, attractions and repulsions, desires and passions of various kinds and the field of many vital energies; last, the lower vital which is occupied with small desires and feelings, such as make the greater part of daily life, e. g. food desire, sexual desire, small likings, dislikings, vanity, quarrels, love of praise, anger at blame, little wishes of all kinds - and a numberless host of other things. Their respective seats are: (1) the region from the throat to the heart, (2) the heart (it is a double centre, belonging in front to the emotional and vital and behind to the psychic), (3) from the heart to the navel, (4) below the navel.
Sri Aurobindo
Sri Aurobindo. Sri Aurobindo Birth Centenary Library in 30 Volumes. - Volume 22. - Letters on Yoga.-P.1
When there is this death of desire and this calm equal wideness in the consciousness everywhere, that the true vital being within us comes out from the veil and reveals its own calm, intense and potent presence. For such is the true nature of the vital being, prānamaya purusa; it is a projection of the Divine Purusha into life, - tranquil, strong, luminous, many-energied, obedient to the Divine Will, egoless, yet or rather therefore capable of all action, achievement, highest or largest enterprise. The true Life-Force too reveals itself as no longer this troubled harassed divided striving surface energy, but a great and radiant Divine Power, full of peace and strength and bliss, a wide-wayed Angel of Life with its wings of Might enfolding the universe.
Sri Aurobindo
Sri Aurobindo. Sri Aurobindo Birth Centenary Library in 30 Volumes. - Volumes 20-21. - The Synthesis of Yoga
There is behind all the vital nature in man his true vital being concealed and immobile which is quite different from the surface vital nature. The surface vital is narrow, ignorant, limited, full of obscure desires, passions, cravings, revolts, pleasures and pains, transient joys and griefs, exultations and depressions. The true vital being, on the contrary, is wide, vast, calm, strong, without limitations, firm and immovable, capable of all power, all knowledge, all Ananda. It is moreover without ego, for it knows itself to be a projection and instrument of the Divine: it is the divine Warrior, pure and perfect; in it is an instrumental Force for all divine realisations.
Sri Aurobindo
Sri Aurobindo. Sri Aurobindo Birth Centenary Library in 30 Volumes. - Volume 22. - Letters on Yoga.-P.1
Bravery
That fear is an impurity, one of the greatest impurities, one of those which come most directly from the anti-divine forces which want to destroy the divine action on earth; and the first duty of those who really want to do yoga is to eliminate from their consciousness, with all the might, all the sincerity, all the endurance of which they are capable, even the shadow of a fear.
The Mother
The Mother. Collected Works of the Mother.- Volume 8. - Questions And Answers (1956)
When a man sees God in all things and himself in all beings, it is impossible for him to fear.
Sri Aurobindo
Sri Aurobindo. Isha Upanishad
Remember two things: never, never be afraid, and in all circumstances call for the right help to make your strength a hundredfold stronger.
The Mother
The Mother. Collected Works of the Mother.- Volume 3. - Questions and Answers (1929)
The Rajah of Almora, in order to repel some invaders who had raided his mountain country, enrolled a number of men in a new regiment and provided each one with a good sword.
"Forward, march!" commanded the Rajah.
Instantly the men unsheathed their swords with a great clang and flourished them with loud cries.
"What is this?" demanded the Rajah.
"Sire," they replied, "we want to be ready so that the enemy does not take us by surprise."
"You can be of no use to me, you nervous and excitable men," he told them. "Go home, all of you."
You will notice that the Rajah was not impressed by all this noise and waving of swords. He knew that true bravery needs no clamour and clash.
The Mother
The Mother. Collected Works of the Mother.- Volume 2. - The Path of Later On
True courage, in its deepest sense, is to be able to face everything, everything in life, from the smallest to the greatest things, from material things to those of the spirit, without a shudder, without physically... without the heart beginning to beat faster, without the nerves trembling or the slightest emotion in any part of the being. Face everything with a constant consciousness of the divine Presence, with a total self-giving to the Divine, and the whole being unified in this will; then one can go forward in life, can face anything whatever.
The Mother
The Mother. Collected Works of the Mother.- Volume 7. - Questions And Answers (1955)
Such, then, are some of the practical fruits of the realisation of God as the Self in all existences and the Brahman containing all existences. It raises us towards a perfect calm, resignation, peace and joy; a perfect love, charity and beneficence; a perfect courage, boldness and effectiveness of action; a divine equality to all men and things and equanimity towards all events and actions. And not only perfect, but free. We are not bound by these things we acquire. Our calm does not stay us from even the most colossal activity, for the calm is within us, of the soul and is not an activity in the jagat, in the movement. Our resignation is of the soul and does not mean acquiescence in defeat, but acceptance of it as a circumstance in the struggle towards a divine fulfilment; our peace and joy do not prevent us from understanding and sympathising with the trouble and grief of others; our love does not prevent an outward necessary sternness, our charity a just appreciation of men and motives nor does our beneficence hold back the sword when it is necessary that it should strike - for sometimes to strike is the highest beneficence, as those only can thoroughly realise who know that God is Rudra as well as Shiva, Chamunda Kali with the necklace of skulls no less than Durga, the protectress and Gauri, the wife and mother. Our courage does not bind itself by the ostentations of the fighter, but knows when flight and concealment are necessary, our boldness does not interfere with skill and prudence, nor our activity forbid us to rest and be passive. Finally our equality of soul leaves room to the other instruments to deal with each thing in the vyavahara according to its various dharma and utility, the law of its being and the law of its purpose.
These are the perfect results of the perfect realisation.
Sri Aurobindo
Sri Aurobindo. Isha Upanishad