Practicality is part of the spiritual program and discipline

Re: India’s Independence and the Spiritual Destiny: Part Y Mirror of Tomorrow
by narendra on Wed 14 Oct 2009 03:09 PM IST Profile Permanent Link

From Mother's and Sri Aurobindo's writings we can identify following three significant lines of progress which Nature will pursue for India: 1. Schooling in Practicality. 2. Unification of Indian sub continent. 3. Freedom from falsehood of asceticism and rise of true spirituality.

Whether one movement will be independent and completely precede the other or they would mutually collaborate would depend on the precedent conditions necessary for these movements to reach their logical fulfillment. Logically it is practical for Indian sub continent to stop infighting and establish a loose confederation so maybe to that extent it is incumbent for States to become practical. In case States don't consciously choose such a line then maybe circumstances will force confederation by such political and regional instability and insecurity that the countries are forced to form a confederation as the only option for survival. Indians are unlikely to make a conscious effort to train themselves in practicality unless either forced by circumstances or they are seized by some spiritual movement like Sri Aurobindo's and the Mother's where practicality is part of the spiritual program and discipline. Reply

by narendra on Wed 14 Oct 2009 03:45 PM IST Profile Permanent Link

The IT and the dot com revolution in India may not have much value for Indian cutting edge excellence directly but has an immense value to its service in empowerment of the middle class of India and for wealth accumulation. The huge capital accumulation which IT has achieved and the business opportunities that internet and IT provide without the stifling controls of government have fired the entrepreneurial spark among Indians. I am very hopeful that this spirit of enterprise is going to drive India into realms of innovation and excellence if it stays free of government controls. It would be absolutely fantastic if this spirit of enterprise enters into rural areas and helps towards micro level empowerment.

Unless our national self-determination does not translate on the micro level to individual dignity of life, full opportunities for freely determining one's future's possibilities and freedom of self-expression and responsible citizenship the Nation will not progress. India's progress since independence has been slow on this account. Under the conditions of democratic political setup and Indian complexity of demography a decisive resolve and achievement of micro level empowerment by the government does not appear to be probable. Instead non-government initiative appears to be more likely to drive this movement. There are some shining individual examples of such work in water harvesting, education, small-scale enterprises and agriculture. There are some great possibilities in some government schemes like NREGA which can build village assets by using village labour to empower at the village level and if this can move out of its current road-fixation into water reservoirs, community assets and services etc it will be a big boost to India. There are some signs of enlargement of scope of Panchayats also which is very desirable. Up until now Panchayats were being used only for executing last mile of development work in the villages but now there is limited participation in the planning phase of development works. Hopefully villages can become long-term viable and self-supporting communities. Andhra Pradesh has made tremendous progress in this direction.

In general there are many obstacles to rural progress like the soical-complexes, lack of dignity of labour, irresponsibility towards community assets, illiteracy, poverty, lack of innovative and informed approach towards agriculture, depleting water resources, tamasic dependence on government and lack of self-application to their problems. Reply

by narendra on Thu 15 Oct 2009 02:22 AM IST Profile Permanent Link
India's loss of contact with its psychic happened by the systematic "cut off from the roots" policy of British as is suggested by Mother in the below quote. [...] Reply

We really have to come out of the falsehood of Gandhi's example

Re: India’s Independence and the Spiritual Destiny: Part Y Mirror of Tomorrow by narendra on Tue 13 Oct 2009 09:03 PM IST Profile Permanent Link

1. One of the greatest falsehoods afflicting India is the mistaking of Gandhi's asceticism with India's spirituality. This falsehood not only resides in the western perception of India but afflicts most Indians as well. A direct progeny of Gandhi's brand of asceticism was the idea of appeasement of Muslims. Partition of India is the living symbol of this falsehood. So we really have to come out of the falsehood of Gandhi's example to be that of spiritual accomplishment from which to draw inspiration.

The Mother in her conversations has identified the partition of India as the biggest obstacle in its fulfilment of its spiritual destiny and agreed absolutely that hypocrisy of "Gandhi's India" has to go. [...]

2. [...] This recognition by Indian Government of India's spiritual genius and mission "as a leader in the ways of the spirit and a friend and helper of all the peoples" within the very fabric of our constitution is critical and most essential so that Indian government can plan all their action, focus, education, institutions, structures and policy accordingly. This official conversion will go a long way in reorienting India back on its path of the sphere of activity that it derives its deepest delight, its highest rapture and fire this nation to its original vitality. (Maybe an essay on Indian Constitution specially focussing on Preamble could be taken up here.) [...]

3. India should really start a sincere and thorough reflection on its last 60 years to evaluate itself as to how it measures up to the opportunity it had and the reasons which hindered its true and optimal progress. This process of audit of national life is essential to come to the point where we can really reorient ourselves. [...]

4. India's spiritual effort failed to consummate in supramental realisation and the alternative solution of Nirvana became the only option. Consequently the life of this nation was sucked dry of dynamic delight by the ascetic conditions of spiritual life. India was weakened to a point to suffer conquests and then cultural exile inflicted by the evil genius of Thomas Babington Macaulay who institutionalised "cutting India from its roots" as a state policy. Finally India suffered the Falsehood of asceticism and freely chose after Independence to indirectly continue the policy of "cutting India from its roots".

So here we are rootless people trying to find roots in America! Incidentally Mother had seriously wondered the possibility of American occupation of India as one of the lines whereby the world can move towards its spiritual destiny with the lesson of 'practicality' for India to be learnt but then she thought it to be too painful for India and too time consuming. So maybe the kind of cultural colonisation by America of India that we see today could be a means of accomplishing the lessons that are supposed to be learnt without the side effects! [...]

5. The issue regarding the lack of Indian accomplishments in Science, Sports, Academics etc. through Indianness is very telling about our loss of roots. And we cannot just will those achievements. Indian soul has a certain uniqueness and it supports by provisioning a certain unique rasa of life, a special joy in activities. This apparently is sought in giving expression to spiritual realities.

• But how can a true body and mind of Indian scientist find its very deep joy in a science which has no mention of spirit?
• A sportsman any delight in mastering body without the conscious spiritual impulse?
• A poet brood find delight in spiritless externalities where his mind and body are limited in its possibilities of pure sensual rasas but crave for spiritual touch?
• Without this essential element of training in Indian-soul-environment how can any perfection be achieved in an Indian way by an Indian?

I am inclined to believe that for such achievements to come through regularly on a national level the conditions of an Indian soul environment are necessary. The fields of expression have really opened up with so many new platforms- for example where earlier there were just paintings now we have in addition cartoons, comics (where Word is also part of the picture), motion-comics, movies etc- and it is only expanding. With internet whole new possibilities of expression and training have opened up. Maybe we will see mini Indian ecology systems coming up where Indian training is possible for different fields but for that lot of pioneers have to do a lot of work. [...] Reply

We read the exact year and month of Sri Aurobindo's return to this earth

A comment has been posted in reference to an article titled: The birth of the Avatar
Comment posted by: Robert E. Wilkinson
date 7 October 2009 20:20 Comment permalink:

Of course there are signs as well as a large body of objective evidence which allows the Avatar to have his mission confirmed not by the sentimental, emotional and subjective experiences of his devotees, but rather the Cosmos becomes his credentials. God supports His supreme Realizer by the cosmic harmonies of His universal manifestation, the script written in his very body. Indeed if this is veritably the Supramental Manifestation, which is the ultimate reconciliation of Spirit and Matter, that ‘spirit’ must unveil itself unquestionably in the workings of the material kingdom which is the extension of its own truth-essence. This Vedic Divine Measure was the very essence of the Mother’s original plan for her Temple and its sacred dimensions contained the entire story of these sacred incarnations written in the language of Supramental Time. For those with eyes to see, one may observe all of the significant dates of the Supramental Creation recorded for all time in the Globe and Pedestal.

At the top of the Pedestal, which is to bear Sri Aurobindo's symbol, we find the date: 1950, the very year which Sri Aurobindo left his body. The exact center of the Pedestal and the "Power Point" of the entire Matrimandir, which happens to also coincide with the center of the lotus of his symbol when constructed properly... is 1956, the year of the Supramental manifestation. At the base of the Pedestal, the center of the room where horizontal diameter meets verticle axis in the center of the Mother's symbol carved in stone, we read the exact year and month of Sri Aurobindo's return to this earth. Every single dimension of this miracle of sacred architecture has been described in irrefutable detail by Thea - Patrizia Norelli-Bachelet in her numerous books and articles. But these as we know have been systematically rejected by the powers that rule in Auroville and the Ashram and banned from the official list of titles.

So one would have to say no, it is not the modern mind, the modern age which draws a thick veil over the intuitive faculty of ours prevents seeing such signs. It is the mental ego of the instrument that refuses to see even when shown preferring instead to arrogantly assert its own authority on matters far beyond its abilities. And what is the result? Men who talk and sleep. For how can one possibly present a true interpretation of Savitri when one has missed its central theme… the rebirth of Sri Aurobindo exactly as he predicted.

A comment has been posted in reference to an article titled: The birth of the Avatar Comment posted by: Vikas
date 7 October 2009 21:00 Comment permalink: "....but rather the Cosmos becomes his credentials. God supports His supreme Realizer by the cosmic harmonies of His universal manifestation, the script written in his very body.".

Interesting thought and nicely expressed....