Addressing the Fallacy of an Individual Perfection in the Absence of Collective Progress

We start from the ego-consciousness and we treat ourselves, from that standpoint, as independent, separate and “walled off” from all other beings, interacting with them from our insulated status. When we then turn to spiritual growth and development from this standpoint, we start by looking at it as something that the individual can “accomplish” regardless of the status of the rest of humanity or the world as a whole. As long as we remain active in the world, we are inevitably part of the vital interchange that takes place and we receive vibrations from all those around us, and we send out vibrations similarly to others. There is no way to avoid this.

The ascetic approach seeks to minimize this interchange, focus the entire being on liberation and involves essentially an attempt to disconnect the individual from the rest of human existence. Even this turns out to be fallacious. No matter how isolated one seeks to be, when the ascetic takes up the begging bowl to go into society he is involving himself in that interchange. Even if he lives entirely secluded, he still carries with him the samskaras of his birth and past lifetimes, as well as the basic subtle energetic connection to all life around him. Even at a considerable distance, the impacts from the vital interchange in the world still reach him. It may be possible to take this interchange down to a bare minimum and thereby undertake to eventually drop the body and liberate the spirit from the body, but this is not part of what may be called “mastery” but rather, a form of “avoidance”. There is a role to play for the sannyasin, the ascetic, following his spiritual path with one-pointed concentration, of course, and we can honor their commitment to the quest. In a world steeped in materialism and a fixation with the purely external, the sannyasin provides a needed balance.

An individual may make considerable progress within the framework of current possibilities, of course. There have always been individuals who have focused their lives on spiritual development and who have become great seers, rishis, sages, yogis or spiritual leaders. And there may be exceptions to the general rule, particularly in the case of individuals who have taken birth for the express purpose of ushering in a focus on the next phase of development, a process which has been called avatarhood by some spiritual paths. Generally, however, their focus is on the “next step” so they are based within the current capacity and framework of the society even if out on the upper edge of that capacity.

Complete mastery can only come when the seeker is able to handle all of the vital interactions and process them in a way that maintains his spiritual focus regardless. That is one of the core messages we find in the Bhagavad Gita. Avoidance of the role in society is not the answer to achieve mastery. Rather, “yoga is skill in works”, and other similar statements make it clear the road to mastery lies through the interactions and not through avoidance.

This brings us then to the relationship between individual progress and the general status of human progress. The individual may lead the way, but without some amount of preparation and general development, progress eventually reaches a point of stagnation or standstill. Sri Aurobindo refers to a process of “ascent” and “integration” where the ascent brings the connection to the spiritual force that is evolving and the integration brings it down into the life and makes it real at the level of human existence. This process works both for the individual sadhana and for the general process of evolution of the society.

The general progress creates a more receptive field within which the individual can grow and develop. There is a greater readiness, there is less general opposition or friction, and as the general capacity grows, the individual can use that as a platform for his further progress. As the individual grows, his influence back into the society helps the society achieve a further status of readiness and preparation for its own development.

The ‘hundredth monkey” phenomenon that has been widely described represents this interactive process of the individual leading the way, influencing others and eventually creating a new capacity within the society, which presumably opens the door to next steps available to the individuals who are aspiring toward greater progress.

A disciple asks: “Does an individual mastery over desire suffice or is a general, collective mastery necessary?”

The Mother notes: “Ah! there we are…. Is it possible to attain a total personal transformation without there being at least a correspondence in the collectivity?… This does not seem possible to me. There is such an interdependence between the individual and the collectivity that, unless one does what the ascetics have preached, that is, escapes from the world, goes out of it completely, leaves it where it is and runs away selfishly leaving all the work to others, unless one does that…. And even so I have my doubts. Is it possible to accomplish a total transformation of one’s being so long as the collectivity has not reached at least a certain degree of transformation? I don’t think so. Human nature remains what it is — one can attain a great change of consciousness, that yes, one can purify one’s consciousness, but the total conquest, the material transformation depends definitely to a large extent, on a certain degree of progress in the collectivity. Buddha said with reason that as long as you have in you a vibration of desire, this vibration will spread in the world and all those who are ready to receive it will receive it. In the same way, if you have in you the least receptivity to a vibration of desire, you will be open to all the vibrations of desire which circulate constantly in the world.”

Sri Aurobindo and the Mother, The Hidden Forces of Life, Ch.8 Life — A Mass of Vibrations, pg. 186