06-17-2007, 09:51 PM
Bodhiji,
prANa-shakti or vital can be put to good use or bad use. Its support is needed to accomplish anything in life. Without its support life becomes listless, depressed etc. Even for spiritual accomplishments vital support is needed.
We all can discern that we have multiple individualities in us. Otherwise phrases like "what came over me" wouldn't be possible. We all know that at certain times we behave ways which seems so foreign to us at other times. This is because of the interplay of distinct individualities in us. Primarily we have to deal with 4 individualities: the physical (anna-maya), the vital (prANa-maya), the mental (mano-maya) and psychic/soul (kAraNa-sharIra).
When all these individualities are in accord we feel powered, wonderful etc. Otherwise we feel discord, distress, worries etc. This is because all these have their own concerns, their own ideas, agendas etc. Each wants to run the whole being its own way.
In normal human condition, physical is driven by the vital, and vital should be under control of mental, and all these under the psychic/soul. But in most people the vital/prANa is the most disturbed and disturbing. It is the most vehement and insistent on its own ideas. It can easily cloud the mind and throw it in confusion. Even when mental is strong and tries to wrest control the vital can give a nasty fight. And since vital controls the drive, the energy part of our being, it holds a trump card. If mental objects or insists too much, the vital can throw a fit, and refuse its sanction. When that happens we feel lethargic, devoid of energy, listless and depressed. All kinds of depression are caused by vital being's tantrums.
The soul or psychic-being in us, which is closest to divinity, as it is formed around the divine spark in each being, is our real individuality. This is the individuality that persists and develops through several lifetimes. The vital, physical and mental get dissolved at the end of each lifetime and are recreated at new birth, with some input from the soul, and the physical cicumstances, parents condition and education etc. In most people the soul or psychic being is undeveloped as a full scale individuality. Even where it is developed, it is more often like a child. It takes multiple lifetimes for this individuality to perfect itself to fully express the potential divinity in everyone.
Normally the psychic-being/soul is not in charge of our day to day life, vital or mental are. Only on rare occasions psychic being comes out forward and makes a choice for us, and we recall those moments as the "soulful" moments of our lives. But when the psychic-being/soul in us becomes active and takes its due position as the master of the house, then all other quarreling individualities like vital and mental quiet down. This is a great spiritual feat. Recall the imagery where Sri KrishNa (the soul) becomes the charioteer and guide, while Arjuna (mental & vital) follows it lead, and moves the chariot (physical) for spiritual battle, then victory becomes inevitable.
When the soul/psychic-being takes charge of the affairs, a tremendous harmony is established in the whole being. All the disturbances caused by the vital, mental and their quarrels cease. Sri Aurobindo calls this the "sunlit path", because spiritual practices become joyous when soul is in charge. But when one has to do them with vital/mental then those practices are hard, a tapasyA, and take long to fructify and one has to go through lot of troubles and difficulties. To make soul come forward and take charge of the whole being, one needs to first find it in oneself. This is most easily accomplished through devotion and the heart region is proper place in the body for this concentration. Recall here the "anguShTha-mAtra puruSho hiraNmayo" ( the golden being of the size of a thumb in the heart ) that upanishads talk about.
Vital-being has 5 parts:
(i) mental-vital: (in the throat to heart region) This is how the vital being makes contact with the mind, gives to its passions the body of thought and ideas, and also clouds or overpowers the mind through those thoughts and ideas.
(ii) emotional-vital : (in the heart region) This is how vital-being expresses its emotional feelings, such as emotional love, joy, sorrow, hatred etc. This is separate from the seat of unemotional pure love and Ananda that the soul is which is also located in the heart region but behind and deeper.
(iii) central-vital: (in the heart to navel region) This is the seat of stronger vital longings, such as ambition, pride, control, name-fame, fear, anger, attractions-repulsions, desires & passions etc. This is dynamic, sensational and passionate.
(iv) lower-vital: (below the navel) preoccupied with smaller desires and feelings, such as desire for food, physical comfort, sexual-desire, petty desires and likes and dislikes.
(v) Physical vital: ( The nervous envelope) This is how the vital-being makes contact with the physical body.
Higher vital is the name for the duo of mental-vital and emotional vital.
When the vital being is unregenerate, i.e. it is vehement in its own passions, desires, wants etc, then it is a great hindrance. But when it gets reformed and submits to soul, it becomes a great help, a great warrior on the spiritual path and indispensable for achieveing anything even in spiritual domain.
prANa-shakti or vital can be put to good use or bad use. Its support is needed to accomplish anything in life. Without its support life becomes listless, depressed etc. Even for spiritual accomplishments vital support is needed.
We all can discern that we have multiple individualities in us. Otherwise phrases like "what came over me" wouldn't be possible. We all know that at certain times we behave ways which seems so foreign to us at other times. This is because of the interplay of distinct individualities in us. Primarily we have to deal with 4 individualities: the physical (anna-maya), the vital (prANa-maya), the mental (mano-maya) and psychic/soul (kAraNa-sharIra).
When all these individualities are in accord we feel powered, wonderful etc. Otherwise we feel discord, distress, worries etc. This is because all these have their own concerns, their own ideas, agendas etc. Each wants to run the whole being its own way.
In normal human condition, physical is driven by the vital, and vital should be under control of mental, and all these under the psychic/soul. But in most people the vital/prANa is the most disturbed and disturbing. It is the most vehement and insistent on its own ideas. It can easily cloud the mind and throw it in confusion. Even when mental is strong and tries to wrest control the vital can give a nasty fight. And since vital controls the drive, the energy part of our being, it holds a trump card. If mental objects or insists too much, the vital can throw a fit, and refuse its sanction. When that happens we feel lethargic, devoid of energy, listless and depressed. All kinds of depression are caused by vital being's tantrums.
The soul or psychic-being in us, which is closest to divinity, as it is formed around the divine spark in each being, is our real individuality. This is the individuality that persists and develops through several lifetimes. The vital, physical and mental get dissolved at the end of each lifetime and are recreated at new birth, with some input from the soul, and the physical cicumstances, parents condition and education etc. In most people the soul or psychic being is undeveloped as a full scale individuality. Even where it is developed, it is more often like a child. It takes multiple lifetimes for this individuality to perfect itself to fully express the potential divinity in everyone.
Normally the psychic-being/soul is not in charge of our day to day life, vital or mental are. Only on rare occasions psychic being comes out forward and makes a choice for us, and we recall those moments as the "soulful" moments of our lives. But when the psychic-being/soul in us becomes active and takes its due position as the master of the house, then all other quarreling individualities like vital and mental quiet down. This is a great spiritual feat. Recall the imagery where Sri KrishNa (the soul) becomes the charioteer and guide, while Arjuna (mental & vital) follows it lead, and moves the chariot (physical) for spiritual battle, then victory becomes inevitable.
When the soul/psychic-being takes charge of the affairs, a tremendous harmony is established in the whole being. All the disturbances caused by the vital, mental and their quarrels cease. Sri Aurobindo calls this the "sunlit path", because spiritual practices become joyous when soul is in charge. But when one has to do them with vital/mental then those practices are hard, a tapasyA, and take long to fructify and one has to go through lot of troubles and difficulties. To make soul come forward and take charge of the whole being, one needs to first find it in oneself. This is most easily accomplished through devotion and the heart region is proper place in the body for this concentration. Recall here the "anguShTha-mAtra puruSho hiraNmayo" ( the golden being of the size of a thumb in the heart ) that upanishads talk about.
Vital-being has 5 parts:
(i) mental-vital: (in the throat to heart region) This is how the vital being makes contact with the mind, gives to its passions the body of thought and ideas, and also clouds or overpowers the mind through those thoughts and ideas.
(ii) emotional-vital : (in the heart region) This is how vital-being expresses its emotional feelings, such as emotional love, joy, sorrow, hatred etc. This is separate from the seat of unemotional pure love and Ananda that the soul is which is also located in the heart region but behind and deeper.
(iii) central-vital: (in the heart to navel region) This is the seat of stronger vital longings, such as ambition, pride, control, name-fame, fear, anger, attractions-repulsions, desires & passions etc. This is dynamic, sensational and passionate.
(iv) lower-vital: (below the navel) preoccupied with smaller desires and feelings, such as desire for food, physical comfort, sexual-desire, petty desires and likes and dislikes.
(v) Physical vital: ( The nervous envelope) This is how the vital-being makes contact with the physical body.
Higher vital is the name for the duo of mental-vital and emotional vital.
When the vital being is unregenerate, i.e. it is vehement in its own passions, desires, wants etc, then it is a great hindrance. But when it gets reformed and submits to soul, it becomes a great help, a great warrior on the spiritual path and indispensable for achieveing anything even in spiritual domain.