Distinguishing and Addressing Undivine and Antidivine Forces

There is a real difference in motivation and intention between what may be considered to be ignorant responses, and those that are malignant. Seekers face a difficulty or some resistance in the exte
al nature constantly. For the most part, this resistance is due to the long embedded habits and instincts and trained responses embedded in the mental, vital and physical nature. The limitations of these parts of the being and their past evolutionary status can be deemed to be ignorant, in the sense that they simply have not learned, nor incorporated the higher powers of the evolutionary stage in the process of manifesting within the earth-life.

The vital nature, however, craves drama! Even spiritual seekers are capable of dramatic hyperbole and overstatement, and the attention that this draws for them. Thus, they may claim an attack of hostile forces is underway, giving them also an excuse to justify their failure to address needed transformational change.

It is true that forces that oppose the spiritual transformation and the manifestation of the supramental force may try to intervene and derail the efforts, as they have a vested interest in maintaining the status quo and their own power. Yet, this is much more of a rare occurrence, compared to the normal obfuscations and obsruvctions of the unreformed human nature.

Even if there is an attack of forces hostile to the spiritual endeavour, the seeker’s response should take into account the fact that these forces purposely act to provoke and then feed off of the vital and emotional reactions. Thus, the need for establishing calm, peace and equality as the first foundation of the yogic effort, coupled with aspiration and consecration of the being to tune the attention toward the Divine rather than towards whatever obstacles may try to intervene, with or without active hostile intention.

Sri Aurobindo observes: “The lower nature is ignorant and undivine, not in itself hostile but shut to the Light and Truth. The hostile forces are antidivine, not merely undivine; they make use of the lower nature, pervert it, fill it with distorted movements and by that means influence man and even try to enter and possess or at least entirely control him.”

“Free yourself from all exaggerated self-depreciation and the habit of getting depressed by the sense of sin, difficulty or failure. These feelings do not really help, on the contrary, they are an immense obstacle and hamper the progress. They belong to the religious, not to the Yogic mentality. The Yogin should look on all defects of the nature as movements of the lower Prakriti common to all and reject them calmly, firmly and persistently with full confidence in the Divine Power — without weakness or depression or negligence and without excitement, impatience or violence.”

Sri Aurobindo, Bases of Yoga, Chapter 3, In Difficulty, pp. 42-43