Our Physical, Vital and Mental Sheathes Are Impacted by Energetic Forces in a Constant State of Interchange

We tend to live with an illusion of the separateness of our individual being from all others. We treat the physical body as a distinct, self-standing unit that is free and independent, has its own integrity and is essentially isolated in its separateness. This however is not quite the actuality of our situation.

Instead of being a protected island in the world, our body is actually more of a permeable membrane, taking in energy, vibrational patterns, as well as physical air, food and drink, and releasing back out again physical waste from our breathing mechanism, sweat, and excretions of food and drink wastes, etc. In addition to the physical interchange, we also send out vibrations and energies so that the process is a two-way interchange, all the time.

Kirlian photography has shown evidence of an energy body surrounding our physical body, which many call the ‘aura’. This energy body is the first line of defense against suggestions of illness for instance. When it is strong and whole, it can help to withstand physical, vital and even mental influences. At the same time, if there is any receptivity to the vibration, it takes up that energetic force and carries it inward to be accepted by the individual and have its impact awaken within, in many cases without the individual knowing how it came about.

If we focus for a moment on the vibrational patterns, we can see that the interchange means that we can be subject to the feelings, emotions, willings of others. Many people report feeling “drained” after meeting a certain individual or spending time in a certain environment. Others feel enthused, energized in other places. We can see crowds of people align their energies through identification with the speaker, or the team or the cheer-squad. All of this evidences a receptivity to the vibrations and an active intake of them, whether unconsciously or consciously, as the case may be.

Thought forms and exercises of silent will power have a similar impact on the mental ‘stuff’ of our nature. We can sometimes enter a research facility or a library and feel the concentrated mental energy that is active in that space. Those who attend lectures by spiritual leaders frequently remark on the intensity of the atmosphere as the concentration in the air impacts their own mental awareness.

A disciple asks: What is the nature of these influences from outside? Could you give us an explanation of their working?

The Mother writes: “Naturally, these influences are of very diverse kinds. They may be studied from a psychological point of view or from an almost mechanical standpoint, the one usually translating the other, that is, the mechanical phenomenon occurs as a sort of result of the psychological one.”

“In very few people, and even in the very best at very rare moments in life, does the will of the being express that deep inner, higher truth.”

(After a silence Mother continues:) “The individual consciousness extends far beyond the body; we have seen that even the subtle physical which is yet material compared with the vital being and in certain conditions almost visible, extends at times considerably beyond the visible limits of the physical body. This subtle physical is constituted of active vibrations which enter into contact or mingle with the vibrations of the subtle physical of others, and this reciprocal contact gives rise to influences — naturally the most powerful vibrations get the better of the others. For example, as I have already told you several times, if you have a thought, this thought clothes itself in subtle vibrations and becomes an entity which travels and moves about in the earth-atmosphere in order to realise itself as best it can, and because it is one among millions, naturally there is a multiple and involved interaction as a result of which things don’t take place in such a simple and schematic fashion.”

“What you call yourself, the individual being enclosed within the limits of your present consciousness, is constantly penetrated by vibrations of this kind, coming from outside and very often presenting themselves in the form of suggestions, in the sense that, apart from a few exceptions, the action takes place first in the mental field, then becomes vital, then physical. I want to make it clear that it is not a question of the pure mind here, but of the physical mind; for in the physical consciousness itself there is a mental activity, a vital activity and a purely material activity, and all that takes place in your physical consciousness, in your body consciousness and bodily activity, penetrates first in the form of vibrations of a mental nature, and so in the form of suggestions. Most of the time these suggestions enter you without your being in the least conscious of them; they go in, awaken some sort of response in you, then spring up in your consciousness as though they were your own thought, your own will, your own impulse; but it is only because you are unconscious of the process of their penetration.”

“These suggestions are very numerous, manifold, varied, with natures which are very, very different from each other, but they may be classified into three principal orders. First — and they are hardly perceptible to the ordinary consciousness; they become perceptible only to those who have already reflected much, observed much, deeply studied their own being — they are what could be called collective suggestions.”

Sri Aurobindo and the Mother, The Hidden Forces of Life, Ch. 3 Hidden Forces Around, pp. 56-58

Distinguishing Will From Willings

The integral yoga, which involves a deep understanding of the normal psychology of the human being, as well as the impact of the descent of the higher spiritual force to manifest the Divine Will in the manifestation, has to develop its own terminology and specific definitions so as to ensure clear communication and understanding. One such instance of this is distinguishing between ‘will’ and ‘willing’. Will, as a concept, is reserved for the expression of the higher intention in the manifestation. Willing is what arises as a result of pressures on the body-life-mind through its interactions in the world.

We tend not to distinguish these two normally as they enter us subliminally and arise as if from within ourselves, and we thus call them our ‘will’ in action. A close consideration, however, can aid us in seeing both the source and the nature of the various impulsions upon which we act and react.

The Mother notes: “I have another question about what I told you the other day, when we discussed the distinction between will and ‘willings’. I told you that ‘willings’ — what Sri Aurobindo calls ‘willings’ — are movements arising not from a higher consciousness coming down into the being and expressing itself in action, but from impulses or influences from outside. We reserved the word will to express what in the individual consciousness is the expression of an order or impulse coming from the truth of the being, from the truth of the individual — his true being, his true self, you understand. That we call will. And all the impulses, actions, movements arising in the being which are not that, we said were willings. And I told you in fact that without knowing it or at times even knowing it, you are moved by influences coming from outside which enter in without your even being aware of them and arouse in you what you call the ‘will’ that a certain thing may happen or another may not, etc.”

Sri Aurobindo and the Mother, The Hidden Forces of Life, Ch. 3 Hidden Forces Around, pp. 55-56

Developing Will-Power

When we are interested in something we naturally focus on that to the exclusion of other distractions. Time passes and we do not notice it. Things that would ordinarily engage our attention are disregarded. This power of ‘one pointed’ concentration is however elusive when it arises just out of natural interest. If we try to engage this power of concentration in other aspects of our lives, we find it is not so easy. The primary issue is one of distraction, and again, the distractions arise through various parts of the being seeking their own interests and forms of fulfillment.

What is true for the power of concentration is also true for the exercise of the will. The major issue in forming and maintaining a will to accomplish something, to do something or to avoid doing something is the issue of distraction, of having multiple different objects before us that move our attention away from the specific act of will. For the most part, this is due to the diverse nature of the different parts of the being and their various forms of fulfillment in their ordinary state. Thus, the body may seek rest or food, the vital may be trying to fulfill some type of desire, the mind may be interested in some subject other than the one that is the subject of the will. 

As long as these various aims and objectives are active and move the being in one direction or another, in some cases quite randomly and inconsistently, we cannot implement a will, even if, in our central being, we are awake to the aspiration and want to consecrate our being to the divine intention. In order to accomplish this we must then find a way to obtain the consent and adherence of all the parts of the being around this central aspiration.

The Mother notes: ”To learn how to will is a very important thing. And to will truly, you must unify your being. In fact, to be a being, one must first unify oneself. If one is pulled by absolutely opposite tendencies, if one spends three-fourths of his life without being conscious of himself and the reasons why he does things, is one a real being? One does not exist. One is a mass of influences, movements, forces, actions, reactions, but one is not a being. One begins to become a being when he begins to have a will. And one can’t have a will unless he is unified.”

“And when you have a will, you will be able to say, say to the Divine: ’I want what You want.’ But not before that. Because in order to want what the Divine wants, you must have a will, otherwise you can will nothing at all. You would like to . You would like it very much. You would very much like to want what the Divine wants to do. You don’t possess a will to give to Him and to put at His service. Something like that, gelatinous, like jelly-fish… there… a mass of good wills — and I am considering the better side of things and forgetting the bad wills — a mass of good wills, half-conscious and fluctuating.”

Sri Aurobindo and the Mother, Our Many Selves: Practical Yogic Psychology, Chapter 6, Some Answers and Explanations, pp. 197-198