Signs Indicating the Coming Forward of the Psychic Being
Seekers often ask the question (or some version of it): “How can I know that the psychic being contact is taking place and is real?” The external being is not generally familiar with the psychic being and its mode of relation to the mind, life and body; and there is a considerable opportunity for those who begin to have some kind of spiritual experiences to either doubt the authenticity of those experiences, the significance of those experiences, or to worry about the periods when the experiences have been withdrawn for a time, shorter or longer.
There are actually some very clear and identifiable markers that show the psychic being is active, whether or not there are ‘headline’ experiences occurring at any point in time. This is based in the differing nature and characteristic qualities of the various aspects of the being, in relation to the qualities that the psychic being brings forward when it is activated. By examining the changing characteristics of the being over time, and reviewing the way one responds to circumstances, the seeker can identify the action of the psychic being in his life. Some people are born with these qualities, but for most, they may come forward in the course of life, particularly after a ‘life-changing’ experience of some sort. There is the case of Danion Brinkley, who was a mercenary soldier who, after being struck by lightning and declared clinically dead, returned to life and realized he had a new mission in his life, so he started an organization called Compassion in Action (CIA) to provide caring and compassionate care for people in hospice. His life took a 180 degree turn.
Each part of the being has its own unique qualities, and when they show up or predominate they identify which part of the being is in front and most active. The physical body has its needs and its physical development and actions. The vital being has its desires, wants and ambitions, and its use of power to control, dominate or project its influence. The mental being shows powers of observation, categorization, analysis and reasoning.
The psychic being has the unique qualities of compassion and gratitude, as the Mother describes here, as well as other qualities such as aspiration, consecration, goodwill and an unconditioned sense of joy, or bliss. There are other qualities as well but these seem to be the ones most frequently cited when people describe changes in their attitude towards their lives, their surroundings and their relationships. In each case, they may be diluted somewhat by the action of the other elements of the being. The purer the quality expresses itself, the more clearly the presence of the psychic being can be seen. Aspiration that joins with vanity, or joy that is conditioned by achieving or acquiring something, are clearly diluted forms of the pure psychic quality.
If one looks back across one’s life, it is frequently the case that some of these qualities have arisen over time and one could not imagine acting today as one did in earlier times. This is a clear view of the psychic viewpoint.
The Mother notes:
“Compassion and gratitude are essentially psychic virtues. They appear in the consciousness only when the psychic being takes part in active life.
“The vital and the physical experience them as weaknesses, for they curb the free expression of their impulses, which are based on the power of strength.
“As always, the mind, when insufficiently educated, is the accomplice of the vital being and the slave of the physical nature, whose laws, so overpowering in their half-conscious mechanism, it does not fully understand. When the mind awakens to the awareness of the first psychic movements, it distorts them in its ignorance and changes compassion into pity or at best into charity, and gratitude into the wish to repay, followed, little by little, by the capacity to recognise and admire.
“It is only when the psychic consciousness is all-powerful in the being that compassion for all that needs help, in whatever domain, and gratitude for all that manifests the divine presence and grace, in whatever form, are expressed in all their original and luminous purity, without mixing compassion with any trace of condescension or gratitude with any sense of inferiority.”
reference: Sri Aurobindo and the Mother, The Psychic Being — Soul: Its Nature, Mission and Evolution, Section 6 More Lights on the Psychic Being, pp. 178-179
Excellent. Thank you very much. Gratitude to the great masters, Sri Aurobindo and The Mother.
ReplyDeleteThe Mother once was asked what as the clearest sign not just of the psychic coming forward, but of having established a stable psychic awakening. She said it was very simple - one always feels completely immersed in the Divine presence, all pervading, with an underlying equanimity and delight.
ReplyDeleteAnd Sri Aurobindo has stated quite clearly the surest sign of the awakening to the Self - a shift of identity from the personality to the all pervading impersonal consciousness (or "awareness" - whatever word you like to use)
These are very simple, to me, the challenging question (has it been addressed in writings or presentations outside that of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother) is what keeps us from stable awakening of the Soul and Self?
it is the various mental, vital, physical formations with which we identify. So then how do we establish a permanent awakening? Simple. The Mother told us in Her essay, "Two Parallel Movements" - a lifetime of consecration (we all know that one - offer everything) And (the one we rarely hear about in IY presentations..) a recognition of the DETAILS of the distorted mental, vital, physical consciousness.
I have a question: There is an immense wealth of details about this kind of recognition of mental/vital/physical deficits, distortions, through Sri Aurobindo's writings, particularly the letters, and throughout the writings and recorded conversions of the Mother.
Yet, I've gone through all of the writings of M Pandit, Nolini, Pavitra, skimmed through thousands of online IY videos, and to date, I've never found a clear outline of these two movements apart from Mother and Sri Aurobindo's writings, yet for sadhana, for bringing forward the psychic being and realizing the Self, this seems the single most important feature of sadhana.
is anyone aware of this being dealt with somewhere, with the kind of simplicity we see, for example, in Mother's writings on education?
Wonderful to explore this question. It’s also interesting to see the central place of compassion in Buddhism, while the concept of the psychic being seems to be absent from its tradition.
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