The Miraculous Power of the Soul

A meeting with Amal Kiran, Pondicherry

by Craig Hamilton

Most People who are familiar with the work of Sri Aurobindo know him for either his comprehensive philosophy of Integral Yoga or his sweeping evolutionary vision for the further advancement of the human species. Indeed, it was the power of these ideas that first piqued our own interest in the great twentieth-century philosopher/sage last year, and which ultimately compelled us to profile him in our Spring/Summer 2002 issue, "The Future of God."

But in the course of our research for that article, we came upon another aspect of Sri Aurobindo´s teaching that not only seemed equally revolutionary but also seemed to have slipped through the cracks of most o the compilations of his work that have made their way West. It was during a visit to Sri Aurobindo Ashram in Pondicherry, India, that I learned about the miraculous power of what Sri Aurobindo called "the psychic being". Not to be confused with the various "psychic beings" offering to read our cards, auras, and crystals in the pages of local New Age directories, the psychic being Sri Aurobindo referred to was the "true self" or "inmost soul-being" within each of us (the word "psychic" in this case deriving from the Greek "psyche" or soul). Now, in a time when the tripartite influences of Buddhism, postmodernism, and neuroscience has rendered any notion of an enduring self little more than a quaint constructed fiction, it is perhaps not surprising that this particular aspect of Aurobindo´s teaching has been relatively ignored by the progressive West. But for Sri Aurobindo, this "true soul" was no fiction. It held the very key to our transformation.

Inside all of us, Sri Aurobindo explained, burns a "spark of the Divine", an "essential self" the very nature of which is spiritual and "which points always towards Truth, and Right, and Beauty, towards Love, and Harmony and all that is a divine possibility within us…" And although for most of us, the psychic being usually remains hidden "behind a veil" of ego, exerting its influence only occasionally when it is "brought to the front" and allowed to rule and guide the personality, an untold transformative power is unleashed. No longer in the inertial grip of the self-absorbed ego, the entire energy of the human being "can be turned towards the real aim of life, the supreme victory, the ascent into spiritual existence". To those who have spent significant time struggling in the trenches of transformation, the possibility of such a radical and fundamental shift of orientation may, on first hearing, sound too good to be true. But in the eyes of Sri Aurobindo and his spiritual confidante, the Mother, working to bring about this shift was nothing less than the cornerstone of the spiritual path. Indeed, in the light of the seemingly universal problems of narcissism and resistance to change that emerged as such important themes in our last issue, "Are You Ready to Change Now?" it seems that Sri Aurobindo´s emphasis on awakening the psychic being, with its promise to provide the ultimate remedy for both, is perhaps even more relevant today than it was in his time.

In the course of my visit to Sri Aurobindo Ashram last fall, I learned a great deal about the role this essential self plays in the teachings and practice of Integral Yoga. But it was only when I spoke with the man Sri Aurobindo named Amal Kiran, or "Clear Ray", that the profound significance of the psychic being truly came alive. Kiran, now ninety-eight, was one of Sri Aurobind´s earliest disciples, having arrived at the Ashram in 1927 at the age of twenty-three. An accomplished poet, philosopher, and cultural critic, he is known throughout India (by his birth name K.D. Sethna) for his more than forty published books and the fifty years he spent as founding editor of the monthly cultural review Mother India. But in speaking with him one morning at the Ashram nursing home where he now resides, what was even more striking than his penetrating intellect was the depth of presence and infectious lightness of being that emanated from him. In the course of the hour we spent together, Kiran´s passion for the awakening of the psychic being communicated as much as his words about the miraculous power of the soul to transform our humanity into a living expression of the Divine.

WIE: Both Sri Aurobindo and the Mother felt strongly that the most important step on the spiritual path is to "bring forward" what they called "the psychic being", or the authentic self. What is this "psychic being" and why is it so important for our transformation?

AMAL KIRAN: What Sri Aurobindo called the psychic being, or soul, is the innermost being that is encountered in the heart center. It is that consciousness that is in touch with or identical to man´s highest possibility. And in order for transformation to occur, that being, in all its qualities, has to come forth, come into the open.

WIE: What are its qualities?

AK: Self-existent bliss is one. You don´t depend for your happiness on this or that. It is a being whose very nature is bliss. It is a sort of outshoot or representation, a reflection or emanation of what is called the Ananda (spiritual bliss) being, the supreme Ananda, which is the final term of consciousness. Out of Ananda everything comes, says the Upanishad. And nothing could live were there is not the supreme atmosphere of Ananda, which we breathe whether we know it or not. So, the psychic being or soul has to awaken, come forth, possess the whole being and give itself to a still higher stage, which is to change the human being not only in his or her cells but also in his or her relation to the world. There is a line of demarcation we usually make between ourself and the world. That line must go. But it must go in favour of the inner being, not in favour of the common outer being. If you go through your psychic being, you are bound to reach the highest, ultimately. Because the psychic being is automatically aspiring all the time. You don´t have to egg it on. Its very nature is to go higher and higher. Spontaneously. Automatically. You see, this part of us, our innermost being, has its own spontaneous activity. Of course, you have to create the conditions for its manifestation. That is true. But once it is manifested, it goes on its own way, carrying it along.

WIE: How does one create the conditions for its manifestation?

AK: The outgoing of the consciousness has to be checked or changed. Something in us reaches forth to get something in life. That has to be modified. Some kind of mental control is required, at the beginning. Some sort of guidance of the being, not an imposition of rules and laws but some sort of a touch that puts you on the right track. This has to be developed. It is a whole process. And unless you go through at least some of it, you can´t even imagine what kind of thing it is. Something in the heart center will speak out all the time: "Do this, do that." Even with regard to the most ordinary things. Let´s say there are two paths by which you could reach the same end. Which path to choose? The psychic being will tell you, giving no reason. Just do this. And then you have to follow it, implicitly. And ultimately, you´ll know why it was done. It´s a very delicate kind of thing. And even the smallest thing will feel of some importance. But importance is not to be decided by your mind. It is not an easy path because our being runs in so many directions, and only one of them is the right one.

WIE: How can the aspirant begin to weed through the many conflicting directions of the psyche and find the right one?

AK: You have to aspire that the right guidance may be put into you by the Divine. From the very beginning, the Divine has to be an active factor. You have to call it to act in you, open you up. Merely mental choice will not help. Of course, it will help to some extent, but still, it is not THE thing. Although this is a very complicated affair, it has to be approached with an utmost simplicity in ourselves. "I want the Divine. I want the Divine. And let the Divine make me want the Divine in the Divine way." Inwardly an attitude like this must be held: "You are the guide. Guide me. Guide me. Please, help me." A kind of feeling of helplessness is the best help.

WIE: Both Sri Aurobindo and the Mother often said that surrender was the key to bringing forth the psychic being.

AK: Yes. This path has to be approached in a spirit of complete spiritual self-surrender. It is not an individual achievement, but a lending of oneself to what the Supreme Divine wants. And in the daily functions, remember the Divine and offer yourself to the Divine. And along that path of self-giving, it is the Divine who will decide how far you will go. So for us here at the Ashram, though theoretically we have the ideal of complete transformation and even change of the very flesh, we don´t just harp on that because that would be a kind of selfishness. It is just self-giving. One must approach the Divine with a spirit that says: "Whatever You want, do. Make me what You want me to be. And not what I might dream of being." The Yoga has to be in that spirit. To surrender and be carried toward the beyond is the secret of Sadhana (spiritual practice). And there the psychic being has a very, very important role to play because it is the only thing in us that without thought can surrender itself. But to find the psychic being is the job. Because it must be discovered. How to find it? What is it? Where is it? I used to beg the Mother to put her hands repeatedly on my chest. I said, "Open me up her. Open me up here." And she used to put her hand there. And when this opening finally happens, you have a tremendous overflowing of joy - joy and purity, too. You are in a different kind of dimension, you might say. There is a warmth and a glow in what we call the heart center, which is the true guide to us. How to feel it? How to be one with it? How to be taken up by it? It´s all an inner process. And you have to be very, very honest with yourself. Because we like to feel that we now have the highest guidance. But it may not be true. There has to be a humility, a willingness to be completely proved wrong. Because there is no end, I think. There is always a beyond to everything. Even the so-called highest thing will not be the terminus. The best thing is to follow the psychic being and surrender.