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Fragment ID: 6452

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Sri Aurobindo — Ghose, Barindra Kumar

December 30, 1922

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To Barindra Kumar Ghose [4]1

30th December 1922
Arya Office
Pondicherry

Dear Barin,

First about Krishnashashi. I do not think you are quite right about him at least in the idea that he is responsible for the recent undesirable manifestations at your place. He is evidently what is called a psychic sensitive and one of a very high, though not perhaps the first order. It is not his fault, I think, that things went wrong recently. These sensitives require a constant protection and guidance from someone who has both power on the psychic and vital plane and knowledge of the science of these planes. There is none such among you. Especially when he is in certain psychic conditions such as those into which he has recently entered, he needs absolutely this protection. He cannot then possibly protect himself because the very nature of these conditions is an absolute passivity and openness to the psychic and psycho-vital influences. It is useless to ask him at that time to exercise his judgment or his power of rejection. For that would immediately make the condition itself impossible. If the psychic and psycho-vital influences are of the right kind, all is well and very remarkable results can be obtained. If they are bad the condition becomes dangerous. The only way to secure the exclusion of the bad influences is for someone else with psychic power to keep a wall of protection round him at the time. The sort of trance in which the breath diminishes, the tongue goes in, the body is curved upward and psycho-physical movements begin in the body is one which I know perfectly well and there is nothing essentially wrong about it. It may be brought about by a very high influence and equally by a bad one, or being brought about by the former, it can be misused or attacked by the latter. If there had been a protection about him exercised by one who had knowledge and confidence in his own psychic and vital force, the untoward influence evidenced by the cries, grimaces, etc. would not have come in to spoil this stage. Let me add that these are not forces of our lower universal but an intervention from a foreign and hostile vital world.

In the present circumstances the proper line for Krishnashashi is to postpone this kind of psychic development, I mean the later ones – especially those of a physical character. He must understand the character of his higher psychic experiences. These, including the voice, are not direct from the supra-mental but psychic and intuitive on the whole mental plane from the higher mind downwards. That is no reason to belittle them. Only in the transcription in his mind there is a mixture of his own mental and other suggestions which is almost inevitable at the beginning. He should now without interrupting his higher psychic development give more attention to a self-controlled meditation and mental enlargement. In one letter he speaks of interrupting the reading of “Arya” from the fear of growing too intellectual. This was an erroneous suggestion of his own mind. Let him by all means read and study these things. Of course in this kind of mental enlargement and self-controlled meditation there are dangers and likelihood of mistakes as in all the rest of Yoga. But I think it is what he needs at the present stage. The progress would be slow but it is likely to be more safe, and he can resume the full psychic development when the necessary conditions can be provided. He should also turn his will towards mental and vital purification. There is often much misunderstanding about passivity and self-surrender. It does not mean that there should not remain in the earlier stages any kind of choice, self-control or will towards certain things which are seen to be needed rather than others. Only they must be subject to a confidence and free openness to a higher guidance, which will respond to this choice and will in us if the choice and will are right and sincere.

Next with regard to the hostile manifestations which I observe to be of a very low vital and physico-vital character. I may observe that although there is a real force behind them many of them are not of a real character, that is to say, the faces seen and touches felt were not, in all cases, of real vital beings but only forms suggested and created out of the stuff of your own surrounding vital atmosphere and can easily be dismissed by refusing to accept their reality or to admit their formation. It may be that some particular person in your group opened the way for them but they need not necessarily have had such a personal cause. The real cause may have been the coming together in meditation of so many yet undeveloped people carrying with them a very mixed atmosphere. When that happens or even when there is a general meditation, a chakra, hostile forces are attracted and try to break in. There ought to be someone in the group who during the meditation protects the circle. If the meditation is of a psychic character the protection must be psychic on the vital plane. Mirra’s experience is that the protection must take the form of a white light constantly kept round the circle. But even this is not enough as the forces will attack constantly and try to find a gap in the protection; there must therefore be round the white light a covering of dense purple light sufficiently opaque for these beings not to be able to see through it. It is not sufficient to have this light in the mental or psychic levels. It must be brought down into the vital and fill it, because it is in the vital that there is the attack. Further, nobody must go out of his body during the meditation (I mean the vital being must not go out, the mental can always do it) or psychically out of the circle. But there is one thing that must be noticed. That if the manifestations occur in spite of all there must be no fear in the minds of those who become aware of them. It is by creating fear through terrible forms and menaces that the hostile beings prevent the Sadhaka from crossing over the threshold between the physical and vital world and it is also by creating fear and alarm that they are able to break in on the vital being of the body. Courage and unalterable confidence are the first necessity of the Sadhaka.

I observe that in your Calcutta centre the Sadhana seems to have taken a different turn from that in the Krishnagore centre. It seems to be marked by an immediate opening and rapid development of the psychical consciousness and psychical phenomena. This turn has great possibilities but also by itself great dangers. In the complete Sadhana there are two powers necessary, the masculine, Purusha or Ishwara power coming down in knowledge, light, calm, strength, wide consciousness from above and the feminine, Nature or Ishwari power opening in receptivity, passivity, psychic sensibility, the responsiveness on all the planes of the being from below. The first by itself tends to be predominantly mental or mentalised intuitive and afterwards mentalised supramental. It is slow in action but sure and safe, only there is often a difficulty of opening up the separate psychic, vital and physical being to the illumination and change. The second by itself is rapid, sensitive, full of extraordinary and striking experiences but apt in the absence of psychic or occult powers to be chaotic, uneven and open to many dangers. It is when both are present and act upon each other in the being that the Sadhana is likely to be most perfect.

I think you should insist in your Calcutta centre on attention being given to what I call the Purusha side, that is to say, a basis of deep calm, strength, equality, wide consciousness and purity in the mental being, and as the vital and physical open, also in the vital and physical being. If that is attended to and successfully developed the play of the psychic, vital and physical experiences will be more steady, ordered and safe.

As to the three photographs you have sent I give you Mirra’s comments in inverted commas with my additions afterwards.

1. Kanai

“An extremely interesting head, highly psychic personality but he must be careful about the physical as this type is likely to burn up the body in the intensity of its psychic developments.”

The basis of calm, strength and purity brought down into the physical consciousness without any hasty trepidations or unhealthy vibrations will secure the physical safety and is here very indispensable.

2. Girin

“An intellectual and philosophic temperament but there is something heavy below.”

I think that the heaviness is in the vital being and the physical mind and may cause considerable obstruction but if these two can be cleared and illuminated there may be behind a fund of conservative energy and steadiness which will be useful.

3. Jagat Prasanna

“Very dull. I don’t know whether anything can be given to him.”

I seem to find behind the eyes a psychic capacity of a very low kind and in the bodily vitality something dark and impure which may be a mediumistic element for the lower psycho-vital forces. If he sat in the circle or meditated in the house that might explain the irruption of undesirable phenomena. This is my impression about the man. But I am not quite sure. If he is to do any Yoga it should rather be of the old kind and especially a discipline of self-purification. Passivity of any kind in his case would be dangerous.

One or two things I should add suggested by your remarks on Krishnashashi. All should understand that the true direct supramental does not come at the beginning but much later on in the Sadhana. First the opening up and illumination of the mental, vital and physical beings; secondly, the making intuitive of the mind, through will etc. and development of the hidden soul consciousness progressively replacing the surface consciousness; thirdly, the supramentalising of the changed mental, vital and physical beings and finally the descent of the true supramental and the rising into the supramental plane.

This is the natural order of the Yoga. These stages may overlap and intermix, there may be many variations, but the last two can only come in an advanced state of the progress. Of course the Supramental Divine guides this Yoga throughout but it is first through many intermediary planes; and it cannot easily be said of anything that comes in the earlier periods that it is the direct or full supramental. To think so when it is not so may well be a hindrance to progress.

As to what you say about an unhinged and unsound element in Krishnashashi, this is a probable explanation. The nature of this kind of psychic sensitives is complex and is full of many delicate springs easily touched from behind the veil; hence the sensitiveness; but also easily twisted owing to their very delicacy. Something may have been thus twisted in his nature. In that case great care must be taken. It must be found out what it is and the thing be put right without any too rough handling.

I shall write to you separately about Arun’s money and Sarojini.

Aurobindo.

 

1 Krishnashashi, a young man from Chittagong, became a member of the Bhawanipore centre, but soon began to experience serious difficulties. This is the first of several letters written by Sri Aurobindo in connection with his case. (There is also a letter written directly to Krishnashashi. See below.) In the present letter he also transmitted to Barin the evaluations of Mirra (the Mother) of three candidates whose photographs had been submitted.

This letter is preserved only in the form of handwritten, typed or printed copies. Whenever possible, the editors have collated several copies of each letter in order to produce an accurate text. - Ed.

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2 Champaklal’s Treasures, 2008 ed.: in idea

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3 Champaklal’s Treasures, 2008 ed.: manifestation

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4 Champaklal’s Treasures, 2008 ed.: called psychic

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5 Champaklal’s Treasures, 2008 ed.: these

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6 Champaklal’s Treasures, 2008 ed.: these protections

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7 Champaklal’s Treasures, 2008 ed.: of

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8 Champaklal’s Treasures, 2008 ed.: psychic-vital

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9 Champaklal’s Treasures, 2008 ed.: influence

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10 Champaklal’s Treasures, 2008 ed.: is one curved

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11 Champaklal’s Treasures, 2008 ed.: upwards

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12 Champaklal’s Treasures, 2008 ed.: There

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13 Champaklal’s Treasures, 2008 ed.: We

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14 Champaklal’s Treasures, 2008 ed.: from fear

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15 Champaklal’s Treasures, 2008 ed.: think what

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16 Champaklal’s Treasures, 2008 ed.: is at

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17 Champaklal’s Treasures, 2008 ed.: choices

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18 Champaklal’s Treasures, 2008 ed.: his

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19 Champaklal’s Treasures, 2008 ed.: is general

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20 Champaklal’s Treasures, 2008 ed.: that protection

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21 Champaklal’s Treasures, 2008 ed.: this in

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22 Champaklal’s Treasures, 2008 ed.: in

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23 Champaklal’s Treasures, 2008 ed.: is attack

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24 Champaklal’s Treasures, 2008 ed.: Sadhaks

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25 Champaklal’s Treasures, 2008 ed.: danger

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26 Champaklal’s Treasures, 2008 ed.: receptivity, the responsiveness

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27 Champaklal’s Treasures, 2008 ed.: be perfect

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28 Champaklal’s Treasures, 2008 ed.: vital physical

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29 Champaklal’s Treasures, 2008 ed.: opens

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30 Champaklal’s Treasures, 2008 ed.: with additions

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31 Champaklal’s Treasures, 2008 ed.: trepidations unhealthy

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32 Champaklal’s Treasures, 2008 ed.: the vitality

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33 Champaklal’s Treasures, 2008 ed.: something impure

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34 Champaklal’s Treasures, 2008 ed.: be mediumistic

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35 Champaklal’s Treasures, 2008 ed.: interruption

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36 Champaklal’s Treasures, 2008 ed.: of the undesirable

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37 Champaklal’s Treasures, 2008 ed.: be rather

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38 Champaklal’s Treasures, 2008 ed.: remark

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39 Champaklal’s Treasures, 2008 ed.: the right

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40 Champaklal’s Treasures, 2008 ed.: and the development

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41 These words are absent in Champaklal’s Treasures, 2008 ed.

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42 Champaklal’s Treasures, 2008 ed.: and rising

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43 Champaklal’s Treasures, 2008 ed.: intermediate

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44 Champaklal’s Treasures, 2008 ed.: be easily

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45 Champaklal’s Treasures, 2008 ed.: sensitiveness

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