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Modern day civilization emphasizes some kind of exte al 'result' that can be measured. Most frequently this is tied to a monetary value, but the world also appreciates and honors, in some cases, those who do humanitarian work, those who lead countries or fight wars, those who create new products, services or methodologies. Scientists are frequently honored for their groundbreaking discoveries. Religious leaders are frequently appreciated for their moral leadership.

It is one thing to adopt, in one’s mind, the idea that since the Divine is doing the work, we need simply accept the idea and let things take their course. It is an entirely different thing if we actually want to accomplish the transformation needed to bring about a change in human nature based on evolutionary growth and development. There is a long debate about whether we have ‘free will’ or whether everything is determined by fate, or destiny, dependent origination or karmic consequence. The mind wants to have a simple solution that tends to be either ‘yes’ or ‘no’, ‘black’ or ‘white’.

When an individual takes up the spiritual quest, he tends to accept certain principles of action which, by definition, contradict the values, principles and life-actions of his past experience. In many cases this causes a considerable amount of doubt and conce as he tries to overlay his present value-set onto the past, and judge the past based on his present understanding. Of course, in every person's past there are numerous actions which can be called up before the mind's eye which do not meet this test.

Whether we term it divine Will, synchronicity, coherence, quantum entanglement, cause and effect, dependent origination, karma, or the law of attraction (or any other terminology), there remains a truth that the specific time, place and circumstance we occupy in the world is due to a stream of energy interacting with other streams in a coordinated pattern that carries out the intention of the universal manifestation.

We spent a considerable amount of our time rehashing events and actions that are past, analyzing them, worrying about whether we have done things correctly or not, and reflecting on how we might deal with similar events in the future in a better way. We recount what happened during our day to our close companions. If we reflect for a moment on how much time, energy and focus is spent in looking back at what we have recently done, not to speak of circumstances long in our past, we can easily understand the amount of time and energy spent is enormous.

The spiritual aspirant necessarily has to change the way things have been historically and habitually done in the world if he is to make progress and move beyond the limitations imposed by the body-life-mind complex and all the traditions, rituals, habits, fixed ideas and vital-emotional responses that make up the current state of human life and society.

There are implications for anyone accepting the mission to work toward the evolutionary change of human nature, speeded up by the yogic process. We think we should somehow have amazing spiritual experiences, and live in a world of peace, sunshine and joy. The reality is likely to be far different.

People have an inner ‘commentary’ and ‘sound track’ going on virtually constantly in their heads. The ‘sound track’ may be a piece of music they heard which keeps repeating in their minds, what is colloquially called an ‘ear worm’. It may also be something of far less enjoyment such as a constant ringing in the ears, tinnitus, that can drive people eventually to distraction, disrupt sleep and rest, and make the individual tired and irritable.

Successful people, in whatever field, tend to highlight their ability to keep going. They indicate that no matter how many times one falls, one must get up, or in the local vernacular, ‘keep on keeping on’. Reactiveness, an inability to hold one’s peace under provocation, is considered to be a sign of vital weakness. People who have cultivated vital strength tend to be able to bear much without expressions of anger, without lashing out, without crying or otherwise evidencing signs of distress.

There are many methods that have been tried to shift ideas, thoughts, motives and actions in the world. Some of these methods involve subtle, or not so subtle, use of various forms of propagandizing, proselytizing, sermonizing, or dominating others through use of covert or overt force, including brute physical force, vital force, economic force or mental force. There are also those who harness what we may call a religious force or a patriotic force or a force of ‘belonging’ to a particular group, at a broader level.

As long as an individual is rooted in his own ego-standpoint, he sees and interprets things from that standpoint and cannot, by definition, ‘see things as they are’ in the wider creation. There is the famous story of 5 different observers of a traffic accident, each one observing from a different standpoint. They came up with 5 different versions of what had happened.

Complete sincerity, inwardly and outwardly, is something that does not generally happen ove ight. There are too many habits, instncts and trained responses that control the way the exte al nature responds to expect that the mental, vital and physical elements of the being will not only accept the spiritual focus and aspiration, but be able to respond and integrate it into the actual events and circumstances of the outer life.

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A devotee by the name of Satyakama Jabala approached a respected Guru, in a story related in the Chhandogya Upanishad. He asked for teachings so he could achieve realisation on the spiritual path. The teacher asked him his name and family background, to which the young seeker replied that he did not know who his father was. The teacher was impressed with the truthfulness of the youth and gave him an opportunity.

The mind provides a filter to manage and control the vital forces to a certain degree. While it is not perfect, without it, an individual can become subject to whatever vital energy is active and rising up within him. At the same time, the mind acts as a limitation on the ability of the individual to shift the standpoint to the spiritual level of existence. Those who take up spiritual practices, thus, have to navigate the issue of how to move beyond the mind, while not simultaneously becoming a victim of the resurgence of vital energies no longer restrained by the mental control.

It is relatively easy to recognise that we are putting up a false front in our dealings with society. We greet people with a smile while in our minds, we may be having an opposite feeling about the person. We flatter people to get ahead in society, knowing that the flattery is not based on reality, but is meant to gain a certain position or end result. Similarly we mask our own feelings, intentions and thoughts in order to appear more successful, more important and more powerful than we really are.

We get prompted inwardly to do somethng. In some cases, we have conflicting impulses or reactions. We wonder how to distinguish the Divine Will from all of the other drives, motives, forces, and options that confront us. Add to this the complications of the vital nature, in i ts attempts to justify and fulfill its desires, having the ability to convince the mind about what it wants. We thus effectively paralyze the mental understanding through this vital interaction.

The human being receives vibrations from the universe. They are either accepted and allowed to act upon the individual, or rejected at some level of the being, with minimal impact other than the pressure on the sheath or aura that feels the vibration. If the vibration is accepted, it can not only effectuate changes in patterns of thoughts, emotions, feelings or physical sense of well-being, but it can be weakened or enhanced by the way the individual responds.

We tend to live under the illusion that we are one being and that what we think or feel represents ‘who we are’. We accept the idea that we are dedicated to a spiritual path, or we accept the sense of devotion that we feel as representing our surrender to the Divine Will. Yet, we have different aspects of our being that may not actually carry out this dedication or surrender in their day to day activities; rather, they may act from desire, or some egoistic impulsion.

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We tend to work from the outer to the inner consciousness. We treat the exte al world as more real and dominant to determine our physical body, our vital nature and our mental development. There is of course a certain amount of truth to this view, inasmuch as the outer and the inner are two sides of the same reality, inextricably intertwined and acting upon one another. What we tend to get wrong, however, is a failure to see that the gross forms of the exte al world are not the primary causal reality, but a result of subtler and more powerful levels of consciousness.

We frequently overlook the element of time in any inner review of progress toward spiritual fulfillment, surrender to the Divine, or any other aspect of our spiritual path. We want and expect instant results, and thus, when we once take up spiritual practice, we want it to be immediately fulfilled, and, indeed, we frequently overlook the weaknesses or failures of the exte al nature by simply believing that accepting the Divine in our hearts or minds means that we have accomplished the objective.

There was a young man who happened to be living at the same place during the 1970’s, who got into his head the idea that the Divine was watching out for him so he could not come to any harm. He walked out into traffic on a busy road and with cars honking and braking, he survived without a scratch. Was this a sign that, indeed, he needed not to worry about himself — that the Divine was looking out for him?

The physical body and the sense of separateness that it creates for us acts both as a limitation and as a protection from the action of the energies and forces that are constantly moving in the universal creation and setting up vibrational patterns to which we may respond. The physical body itself has developed an immune system to ward off various forces that try to invade and break down the body itself.

We seem to be always second guessing ourselves. Are we doing the sadhana in the right way? Is there another method or technique i should be employing? Why am I not seeing the results I expect and desire? Am I even cut out for doing sadhana? Maybe this was all just a big mistake and I should get on with my life, my career, my family and my enjoyment….

People who reside in communities adjacent to the beach regularly see visitors stretched out on the sand, ostensibly sleeping while ‘working on their tan’, in some cases for the entire stay of a vacation. When asked, these people indicate that they are taking a well-ea ed vacation and just want to have an opportunity to rest, shut down their mental faculties and absorb the sun’s rays.

In the exte al life we are trained to desire visible signs of forward movement, progress, constant development. We believe if we are not moving forward, then we must be retrogressing. We value action over quiet times. When we are relieved from action, such as during a vacation, or at the stage of retirement from the working life, we frequently find that there is a complete cessation from involvement in almost any form of activity.

The 3 Gunas, qualities of Nature, are active in all beings, including those who are undertaking an active process of spiritual development. The physical being is very much subject to the action of Tamas, generally, because of its dense and somewhat inert material characteristics. It thus may fall into a kind of torpor or inertia. This helps create the sense of dryness or dullness the being experiences during assimilation periods for the spiritual force.

The vital nature, in particular, is addicted to ‘drama’. It seeks attention and excitement. An added complication is that in modern society, with our fixation on all types of electronic stimulation, internet, mobile phones, radio, television, cinema, along with neon signs, blaring ads and loudspeakers, etc., we find that the nervous being and the vital nature are kept in a constant state of agitation. This type of energetic status makes it hard, if not virtually impossible, to open and be receptive to the higher forces that are trying to manifest.

Aspiration is frequently confused with a form of vital desire that ‘wants’ some kind of spiritual development, experience or result. Aspiration, however, originates in the psychic being, while desire stems from the vital being. The characteristics of the two are therefore dramatically different from one another.

If we examine the times and phases of our lives, we find that when things seem to be going smoothly forward and we feel great, we want to enjoy and appreciate the good times. We thus tend to slacken our efforts so that we can get the most out of the positive energies we are experiencing. This is a quite natural tendency, which tends to lull us into a state of quiescence. Real progress, on the other hand, involves focus and attention. In order to get a violin to make music, we need to put the strings under the right amount of tension. Too much and the strings will snap.

The three Gunas of Nature control the actions and reactions of the exte al nature and the response to the dualities that present themselves in Nature. As long as we remain fixated at the level of the surface personality, we remain subject to this action of the Gunas.

The vital nature wants to continue its old ways and achieve fulfillment of its desires. It is also very effective at finding ways to convince the mind to carry out its impulses and desires. When an individual takes up the spiritual path, the vital being does not get discouraged, it simply tries to find ways to carry on while paying ‘lip service’ to the spiritual seeking. One of the ways it does that is to latch onto the idea, true in an ultimate sense, that it is the Divine Force which is carrying out the sadhana.

Restlessness, impatience and disturbance of the vital nature are signs of weakness in the vital, an inability to hold the energy that is available to the vital. A strong vital nature will have the ability to remain calm and hold the energy without spilling it.

Someone says or does something we do not like or which we find offensive. They may do things to harm our reputation or our relationships, or they may affect our financial well being, possibly cheat us or interfere with our lives in some other way. The natural reaction is one of anger, even “righteous anger, ” In some cases we feel that our stomach knots up, we lose our peace of mind, we cannot sleep, or we experience other symptoms of anxiety or nervous tension.

Traditionally spiritual paths have developed guidelines and practices that are applied to everyone as set practices. Thus, some people wind up learning particular forms of meditation or concentration, devotion, or dedicated work, or they practice specific forms of hatha yoga, pranayama or other specialized approaches to gaining mastery over the various aspects of their being, the body, the life energy, the mind while developing the soul entity, the psychic being, and coming into contact with the higher planes of existence beyond the mind.

In the Bhagavad Gita, Arjuna asked Sri Krishna to place him between the two armies ready to engage in a civil war, with massive numbers of troops on each side, so that he could view the scene before the actual fighting started. At that moment he was struck by the magnitude of what was about to take place and indicated that he would not participate, that it was morally unsupportable, and it would be better if he were killed than if he would engage in killing respected elders, teachers, and relatives.

All consciousness, all energy, all material substance is essential one, although it takes different forms in the exte al surface consciousness. Vibrational patterns move across the universal creation and forms respond to them if they are able to vibrate within the range of the vibrations. Human beings can respond to vibrations within a particular limited range, which means the colors we see, the sounds we hear, are not the entire spectrum of color or sound.

For most people, the concept of ‘sincerity’ is connected with how they relate to other people, in an open, natural and honest way, without duplicity or hypocrisy. The idea that sincerity can relate to oneself and one’s inner life is something that spiritual aspirants grapple with. Sincerity is an essential quality for the spiritual seeker as it implies that the thoughts, emotions, vital responses and physical reactions align with the deepest aspiration. Without sincerity, the aspiration is basically thwarted, diverted or obstructed in the exte al being.

It is interesting that people are willing to believe the ‘secret’ of the law of attraction, spend time, energy and money trying to learn it, for the purpose of manifesting wealth, enjoyment and the powers available in the world, but they do not tend to apply the principle behind this ‘law of attraction’ to the focus, and actions, that take place in their inner lives.

It is a characteristic trait of the human ego-personality that we easily see faults and issues in others and in exte al circumstances, that we fail to see within ourselves. But how do we recognise something outside if we have no way to relate to it, if we do not produce the vibrational pattern within ourselves and interpret it?

The mental consciousness believes, first of all, that the particular viewpoint held by an individual is ‘correct’ and that other viewpoints are ‘wrong’. The vital nature wants to assert itself and gain dominance. The limited and linear framework of the normal human consciousness ensures that there will be disagreement, dispute and eventually a state of gridlock where opposing ideas contend with each other and no one is willing or able to ‘compromise’ because they hold their own view to be the correct one. We see this dynamic everywhere.

Whenever we try to understand something, we are met with various types of inherent biases that skew the determinations we make. Not only are our senses, our perceptions and our thoughts subject to various forms of filtering, but they are also skewed by our past experience, the fact that our minds “fill in” missing data based on what we expect to see, and we interpret everything through the filter of our memories, our emotional framework and our contextual relationship to what is being perceived.

During the 1980’s there were a number of scams carried out by US mail. An individual would receive a letter purporting to come from some high official in another country who had access to a large amount of money and needed a ‘partner’ to help take the funds out of the country and invest them in the USA under the control of the partner. The individual who received the mail laughed about how absurd the whole idea was, but an employee at the company was taken with the idea and was conce ed that it was just being thrown in the trash bin.

The ancient texts, such as the Upanishads or the Dhammapada, focus on distinguishing the true and ete al, from the transitory and illusory existence upon which most people spend their time and attention. Thus, the term ‘vigilance’ means something entirely different than what a person, awake in the exte al world, would take it to mean.

Many people believe that there is some kind of inexorable law of reward and punishment being doled out by God or some other all-powerful, all-observant being. In the West children are taught this lesson through the myth of Santa Claus, when they are encouraged to be “good” because Santa Claus is always watching and will only deliver desired gifts or rewards to good children.

If we reflect on the course of human life, it is easy to determine that we fixate upon different things at different stages of life. As a child, our desires tend to be centered around physical and vital satisfactions. We may desire a specific food, or a specific toy, or a specific form of entertainment. As we grow into later stages, the form our desires take will tend to change, and we may be interested in various types of games, competitive sports, intellectual pursuits of various sorts, etc.

Most people are skeptical about the concept of conscious universal forces. Even if they profess a belief in God, angels, demons, and other unseen powerful beings, they tend to reject the idea when it comes down to actual influence in their own actions, reactions and responses. There is an inherent belief in the freedom and independence of their decision-process. People do not like to admit that forces outside themselves, particularly conscious forces, are controlling in any way how they think, feel and respond.

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