November 2019 SRI AUROBINDO SOCIETY VOL 33.11 Singapore NEWSLETTER Mind Part IV: The Psychic Mind Mental Love under the Psychic Influence The mind influenced by the psychic knows how to express its love for the Divine in magnificent terms. Rosa ‘Peace’ Rose Medium to large cream or yellow flower tinged with pink. A medium to large shrub. Earth must transform herself and equal Heaven Or Heaven descend into earth’s mortal state. But for such vast spiritual change to be, Out of the mystic cavern in man’s heart The heavenly Psyche must put off her veil And step into common nature’s crowded rooms And stand uncovered in that nature’s front And rule its thoughts and fill the body and life. Sri Aurobindo (Savitri Canto II)
Mind Part IV: Psychic Mind Sri Aurobindo Society, Singapore. November 2019. Guiding Light of the Month A considerable labour is needed to silence all these useless noises, to stop this wearisome train of images and to purify one’s mind of these thousand little nothings, so obstructing and worth- less. And it is so much time uselessly lost; it is a terrible wastage. … O Lord, Eternal Master, Thou shalt be the Teacher, the Inspirer; Thou wilt teach me what should be done, so that after an indispensable application of it to myself, I may make others also benefit from what Thou hast taught me. November 25, 1913 Prayers and Meditations, The Mother From the Editor’s Desk The theme for this month’s newsletter continues to centre feels and responds to that only or mainly” is a psychic around the mind. We take a glimpse at the Psychic Mind mind. This mind is formed by the predominant this time. We understand the 5 categories of the mind as “influence of the psychic being on the mental plane.” the physical, the vital, the mental, the psychic and the spiritual mind. We note that the main aim of Yoga is to Having understood a little of how the mind, the remove the shroud of darkness and obscurity, shadows psychic and the psychic mind are placed in this integral and ignorance in order to bring light into the mind and yoga, one can proceed on the next step, which is to enable it to perform its truest function according to a identify and experience these through personal Higher impulse or the Divine Will. In this issue, we come experience in our own lives or if these are still closer to that higher, essential, and substantial presence obscured, to find a way of clearing the obscurities and within us that can influence the mind, perfect it and use it proceed further in the discovery process. for the expression of its highest principle. The inclusions in this newsletter will give the reader a In understanding the Psychic Mind, we need to be clear deeper insight into the psychic mind and the various about two terms, the mind and the psychic. We have come some way with what the mind is – mind, in man, is only states in the becoming. The description of the Psychic being usually draws us irresistibly towards it for an energizing consciousness. It consists of the thinking something unknown and hidden deep within surges forward towards the slightest of suggestions beautiful mind, the dynamic mind, the externalising mind. It is such as what we conceive of the psychic. Let us the “sum of one’s thoughts, opinions, ideas, and values, prepare ourselves for this journey with an open mind and heart, armed with determination and patience. which guide conscious thinking, conceptualising and decision-makingprocesses…” (http://www.kheper.net/topics/Aurobindo/Mind.html). The Psychic, on the other hand, is “the seat of the Divine Consciousness, the Divine Self in the individual The month of December is another significant month being ….. directly under the influence of the Divine in the Aurobindonian calendar. 69 years ago, Sri Consciousness;….It is a world of harmony, and Aurobindo left his mortal sheath, on the 5th of everything moves in it from light to light and from December 1950. This anniversary of his passing progress to progress. It is a centre of light and truth and invites us to contemplate on his life and the reason for knowledge and beauty and harmony which the Divine which he took birth as well as the reason for which he Self in each of you creates by his presence, little by took upon himself the dissolution of his mortal sheath. little; it is influenced, formed and moved by the Divine On the Samadhi in Pondicherry Ashram, a permanent Consciousness of which it is a part and parcel.” What is inscription reminds us never to forget all we owe to then the Psychic Mind? Sri Aurobindo explains that the Him who existed to uplift the consciousness of the mind turned “towards the Divine and the Truth and human race. Before him, we bow down in reverence and remember all we owe to him. www.sriaurobindosociety.org.sg 2 Mind Part IV: Psychic Mind
Mind Part IV: Psychic Mind Sri Aurobindo Society, Singapore. November 2019. Savitri In this investiture of fleshly life A soul that is a spark of God survives And sometimes it breaks through the sordid screen And kindles a fire that makes us half-divine. Our soul from its mysterious chamber acts; Its influence pressing on our heart and mind Pushes them to exceed their mortal selves. It seeks for Good and Beauty and for God; We see beyond self’s walls our limitless self, We gaze through our world’s glass at half-seen vasts, We hunt for the Truth behind apparent things. Savitri, Sri Aurobindo Questions & Answers What exactly is the soul or psychic being? And what is meant by the evolution of the psychic being? What is its relation to the Supreme? The soul and the psychic being are not exactly the same thing, although their essence is the same. The soul is the divine spark that dwells at the centre of each being; it is identical with its Divine Origin; it is the divine in man. The psychic being is formed progressively around this divine centre, the soul, in the course of its innumerable lives in the terrestrial evolution, until the time comes when the psychic being, fully formed and wholly awakened, becomes the conscious sheath of the soul around which it is formed. And thus identified with the Divine, it becomes His perfect instrument in the world. - The Mother (The Psychic Being, Selections from the Works of Sri Aurobindo and The Mother, Sri Aurobindo Ashram, Pondicherry) * www.sriaurobindosociety.org.sg 3 Mind Part IV: Psychic Mind
Mind Part IV: Psychic Mind Sri Aurobindo Society, Singapore. November 2019. Sweet Mother, Does an outer life of evil deeds and a base consciousness have an effect on the psychic being? Is there a possibility of its degradation? A base and evil life can only have the effect of separating the outer being more and more completely from the psychic being, which retires into the depths of the higher consciousness and sometimes even cuts off all relation with the body, which is then usually possessed by an asuric or rakshasic being. The psychic being itself is above all possibility of degradation. (Written works of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother) The Psychic Mind or Mental Psychic The Psychic Mind is the Mind transformed by the Psychic Being (see Psychicisation). Sri Aurobindo made a couple of references to this in letters answering questions from disciples. These were reprinted in Letters on Yoga vol. I pp.324-5. When the mind is turned towards the Divine and the Truth and feels and responds to that only or mainly, it can be called a psychic mind - it is something formed by the influence of the psychic being on the mental plane. The spiritual mind is a mind which, in its fullness, is aware of the Self, reflecting the Divine, seeing and understanding the nature of the Self and its relations with the manifestation, living in that or in contact with it, calm, wide and awake to higher [p.325] knowledge, not per turbed by the play of the forces. When it gets its full liberated movement, its central station is very usually felt above the head, though its influence can extend downward through all the being and outward through space. Psychic mind and mental psychic are the same thing practically - when there is a movement of the mind in which the psychic influence predominates, it is called the psychic in the mind or the psychic mind. (http://www.kheper.net/topics/Aurobindo/Psychic_Mind.html) Psychic-Mental, Psychic-Vital, Psychic-Physical The soul and the life are two quite different powers. The soul is a spark of the Divine Spirit which supports the individual nature; mind, life, body are the instruments for the manifestation of the nature. In most men the soul is hidden and covered over by the action of the external nature; they mistake the vital being for the soul, because it is the vital which animates and moves the body. But this vital being is a thing made up of desires and executive forces, good and bad; it is the desire-soul, not the true thing. lt is when the true soul (psyche) comes forward and begins first to influence and then govern the actions of the instrumental nature that man begins to overcome vital desire and grow towards a divine nature. * The mental being within watches, observes and passes judgment on all that happens in you. The psychic does not watch and observe in this way like a witness, but it feels and knows spontaneously in a much more direct and luminous way, by the very purity of its own nature and www.sriaurobindosociety.org.sg 4 Mind Part IV: Psychic Mind
Mind Part IV: Psychic Mind Sri Aurobindo Society, Singapore. November 2019. the divine instinct within it, and so, whenever it comes to the front it reveals at once what are the right and what the wrong movements in your nature. * There is always a part of the mind, of the vital, of the body which is or can be influenced by the psychic; they can be called the psychic-mental, the psychic-vital, the psychic- physical. According to the personality or the degree of evolution of each person, this part can be small or large, weak or strong, covered up and inactive or prominent and in action. When it acts the movements of the mind, vital or physical accept the psychic motives or aims, partake of the nature of the psychic or follow its aims but with a modification in the manner which belongs to the mind, vital or physical. The psychic-vital seeks after the Divine, but it has a demand in its self-giving, desire, vital eagerness. The psychic has not, for the psychic has instead pure self-giving, aspiration, intensity of psychic fire. The psychic- vital is subject to pain and suffering, which there is not in the psychic. (Written works of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother) October - November Sunday Activities at the Centre - A glimpse 27th October- Meditation on “Savitri” Book One- Canto Two- The Issue Mr Ramadoss did the summarisation of the 17 pictures. Man’s mind is full of uncontrolled thought-activity without a moment’s respite. It has to be stilled for the steady gathering of all the faculties around the chosen Ideal. As this discipline progresses, the aspiring being gets into the needed poise of receptivity. It is in the supreme moments of crises that man often rises to undreamt of heights and shows capacities totally unexpected. The exterior construction which is centralised in the ego breaks open and the inmost soul comes forward to take command. The true vital being of courage and heroism, the true mental being of light, the true subtle-physical being of plasticity and endurance, are governed by the soul or psychic being. When Savitri took up the challenge of Death, she was not fighting for the life of Satyavan alone. She assumed the championship of all life in creation and asserted its claim against the onslaught of death. The world, indeed, did not know Savitri was struggling to affirm and establish the right of Life to Immortality in this world and for this world; all the same she prepared herself, summoned her inmost powers to aid and stood up to contest the claim of Death to rule the world for ever. A conscious frame was here, a self-born Force. Savitri was not a creature helplessly subjected to the operations of Time and Fate, at the mercy of every circumstance and impulsion that came by. She embodied a Consciousness and a Force that were not products of terrestrial workings but wholly independent of them. Her exterior was only a frame, a vibrant and wakeful frame, for the puissance that ensouled it. www.sriaurobindosociety.org.sg 5 Mind Part IV: Psychic Mind
Mind Part IV: Psychic Mind Sri Aurobindo Society, Singapore. November 2019. 3rd Nov – Readings from Dec 2006 AIM Magazine The passage selected for today’s reading was “The Divine Grace”. It can be summarised as follows: 1. In all circumstances including difficulties, the Divine Grace is always helping us to pull through 2. To receive the Divine Grace one must have not only have a great aspiration, but also humility and absolute trust in the Divine. 3. For the full force of the Grace to work, the sadhak must make himself ready. 4. When the Grace is received, one must continue to put in effort to keep and develop what one has received. 10th November- The Synthesis of Yoga by Sri Aurobindo Mr Rakesh took the lead reading passages from The Threefold Life The highest spiritual experience in the Man is to see the Lord who is ever existent and translates in every rhythm of His creation. For a man seeking spiritual life the material life looks full of illusion, so he seeks sanyasa to retreat into seclusion. But the spiritualised being’s task is to see in all dualities the Lord’s Truth, Beauty, Love and Delight and work for the upliftment of the society as a whole. The Threefold Life chapter concludes with the message that Nature in Her evolutionary process has Matter as Her basis, then Mind came which can connect to the Spirit, which is now veiled by outward coverings of vast physical and mental activities by Yogic way. That is the aim of the Synthesis of Yoga to help Mother Nature in Her seeking to bring Man kind to Higher evolution to find the Divine Truth in the material and mental workings. What Nature aims by slow evolution, Yoga effects for the individual by a rapid revolution. When there comes the harmony of Man, Nature and God, Satya yuga, the era of Truth is effected, that is Kritha yuga. 17th November - Darshan Day-The Mother’s Mahasamadhi Day This special day was observed with Morning and Evening meditation with Mother’s Organ Music. That was followed by the readings from Savitri by the members who attended. Darshan Day message was read: “Keep faith in your spiritual destiny, draw back from error and open more the psychic being to the direct guidance of the Mother’s Light and Power. If the central will is sincere, each recognition of a mistake can become a stepping stone to a truer movement and a higher progress.” -Sri Aurobindo On 17th November 1973, the Mother left her body. She was ninety-five. Many among her children were deeply shaken for the time being. But they realise now that she is always present amidst them. Both at home and abroad, the devotees see the Mother in their dreams. They feel her presence, listen to her message and get inspiration and instruction in their work. They firmly believe that the Mother will www.sriaurobindosociety.org.sg 6 Mind Part IV: Psychic Mind
Mind Part IV: Psychic Mind Sri Aurobindo Society, Singapore. November 2019. return in a new form. Meanwhile her mission is getting quietly fulfilled more and more. When Sri Aurobindo left his body the Mother said, \"Nothing has changed. All that Sri Aurobindo has said is true, time will prove it.\" On the Mother's withdrawal, her children are carrying on her work repeating the same dictum \"Nothing has changed.\" It is upon you, the young, that her hope rests. Nirodbaran: Sri Aurobindayan She was the single self of all these selves, She was in them and they were all in Her. - Jayalakshmi and Rama PROGRAMME FOR THE MONTH OF DECEMBER 2019 1 Dec 2019 8 AM Monthly Morning Walk * Sunday 6 PM AIM Magazine Reading and Discussion 5 Dec 2019 9 AM Thursday 7 PM Sri Aurobindo’s Mahasamadhi day 6 PM 5 Dec 2019 Sri Aurobindo’s Mahasamadhi day Thursday Thematic Study Circle Part I : 8 Dec 2019 The Human Cycle Sunday Thematic Study Circle Part II : 15 Dec 2019 6 PM The Human Cycle Sunday 4 PM Youth Programme www.sriaurobindosociety.org.sg 7 Mind Part IV: Psychic Mind
Mind Part IV: Psychic Mind Sri Aurobindo Society, Singapore. November 2019. 22 Dec 2019 6 PM Savitri Circle Sunday 29 Dec 2019 6 PM Documentary on Integral Yoga Sunday 31 Dec 2019 11.30 PM New Year’s Eve Meditation Tuesday * Please see below for details. December 2019 MORNING WALK – NO. 412 Date: Sunday, 1st December 2019 Time: 8:00 A.M. sharp for warm up exercise. Walk Venue: Coney Island Meeting Point: Car Park in Punggol Point Road. From here we shall walk to Coney Island Directions to A) MRT/ Bus: Reach Punggol MRT, Take Bus 84, Get down @ Punggol Road meeting point End Stop (Bus Stop ID: 65139) B) CAR: Via TPE, take Exit 10 to Punggol Way and Follow Punggol Way to Punggol Road to Punggol Point Road Contact No: Mr Ramanathan Sankaranarayanan (9138 5130) Hosts: Ritesh Thacker & Upali Aparajita, # 07-637, Block 259C, Compassvale Road, Singapore 543259 Host’s Residence is less than 400 metres from Sengkang MRT RSVP 90120151 (Ritesh), 85116426 (Upali). Note: All are encouraged to attend the Walk. Those, however, who are not able to join the Walk, the hosts would be very happy that they directly come and join in the brunch by 10:15 AM. Prayers and meditation will commence sharp at 10.30 A.M. All are requested to be punctual. PREVIEW OF FORTHCOMING SUNDAY MORNING WALKS www.sriaurobindosociety.org.sg 8 Mind Part IV: Psychic Mind
Mind Part IV: Psychic Mind Sri Aurobindo Society, Singapore. November 2019. WALK NO DATE PLACE HOST 413 05/01/20 Windsor Park Mr Kiran Krishnamurthy & Swati 414 02/02/20 415 01/03/20 East Coast Park Mrs Nisha Maheswary & Family Pasir Ris Mr Anand K Venkat & Family Along the Way… November Walk Review (walk no 411) As we entered Jurong Lake Park, we could spot many different varieties of flowers around us (eg. lime). The venue of our exercise was called ‘Clusia Cove’. After our exercise, we started walking towards a bridge. After walking for a bit we saw a monitor lizard. Anjali, Sophia, Deepika and I went off in a different direction and found ourselves playing in a playground with lots of interesting play equipment. There were swings, cool swinging see-saws, ziplines, trampolines and a rock climbing slide. Deepika found the swinging see-saws the best as she enjoyed going up and down and side to side. We also thoroughly enjoyed zipping on the ziplines. We pushed each other of the platform and played with it a countless number of times. Anjali and Sophia even tried to stand on the zipline seat! There were also hammocks and Sophia was engrossed in sleeping in it. Before we headed to the host’s house, we explored the ‘Community Garden Festival’. Over there we saw prize winning vegetables and fruits. We saw things like “the biggest pumpkin’’ and “the longest lady finger’’. After the walk we went to the host’s house and had a delicious feast. There were also lovely biscuits at the brunch. This month's walk was pretty great! - Ananya and Deepika Kiran Printed and Published by The Sri Aurobindo Society of Singapore 2A Starlight Road 01-07, Singapore 217755. Saurab: 86559940 or [email protected]; Sanjay: 98750767 or [email protected]; Email: [email protected] Visit our website at: www.sriaurobindosociety.org.sg www.sriaurobindosociety.org.sg 9 Mind Part IV: Psychic Mind
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