Educating and Uplifting the Vital Nature: Part 3 Methods and Techniques

One of the prevalent ideas about managing the vital nature has been the idea that punishment in some form or other is beneficial. Spanking of children, for example has been a common method of ‘educating’ them. It is a form of conditioning that administers a negative consequence to a specific behavior that the parent (or other authorized authority figure) wants to eliminate. Modern psychological research indicates that, in fact, this method is not the best approach to what is actually vital education. Children subjected to spanking may either lose their independent initiative, or may react with rebellion, withdrawal, or undertake bullying in what is known as the ‘pecking order’ response.

Conditioning is a frequently utilized methodology which relies on what is known, in Western psychology, as either classical (Pavlovian) or operant conditioning. In these methods the concept is to either deliver a ‘reward’ or a ‘shock’ when the individual being conditioned either does what the operator wishes, or not. Variations of these methods include development of optimal cycles of reward versus non-reward to gain the highest compliance. While these methods may seem to work in the short-term, they have less value over the longer-term as they rely on a fixed response to a fixed stimulus and thus, minimize the flexibility and independence of the vital nature, and thereby limit the potential to respond to new circumstances or situations.

The key to vital education and motivation is to inform, educate, inspire and uplift the vital nature, not try to shape it through either suppression techniques or short-term reward motivations. If the vital accepts the ideal, the rationale, the progress and the motive, it will wholeheartedly engage all its powers and energies to see them accomplished. Of course, this process must take into account the nature of the individual, and the stage in the life cycle of that individual so that the education being provided is appropriate for that individual’s situation.

This happens somewhat naturally as the being develops and matures and the higher chakras begin to open and exert their influence. The lower chakras are very much focused on individual physical and vital existence, and they tend to emphasize short-term needs rather than larger motives. As one moves into the heart chakra, the throat chakra and the higher chakras centered in the region of the brain (and above) new motivations begin to replace those that are more self-centred by nature.

This leads many to believe that they should actively work to open the chakras from below through activation of what is known as the kundalini energy. This approach, however, as has been pointed out by Sri Aurobindo, has its drawbacks as it can lead to the expression of powers that are not fully understood nor guided. The integral yoga of Sri Aurobindo focuses instead on opening from above, having a higher consciousness then exert its influence and open the lower chakras successively while at the same time guiding, directing and managing their energies. This develops a process of leadership rather than domination which encourages the vital to grow and express itself, but guides it to ever-higher forms of expression and understanding.

Focusing the vital on uplifting energies and activities can shift its fulfillment away from the expressions found in the lower chakras and help to understand and mitigate moods, short-term impulsions or imbalances. Encouraging sentiments like compassion, goodwill, gratitude, forgiveness, non-injury to others, etc. helps to refine and uplift the action of the vital nature. As it experiences the positive energetic flow that results from this type of development, the vital will naturally begin to seek its fulfillment in these areas.

Supportive activities such as devotional practices, chanting or singing, as well as frequenting of locales that encourage the higher movements of the vital nature are also frequently found to be beneficial. The different energy, for instance, between a night club or bar and a spiritual center, can certainly be experienced. Guiding the vital nature toward positive development and relationships thus aids in the long-term growth and maturation of the vital. Force-feeding however is generally not helpful and leads the vital to turn away or reject the environment in which it is being placed. So it must be something natural and appropriate for the individual involved. The vital responds best to leadership and example. The guidance therefore should conform to what is being expected and follow this approach in the way the guidance is provided. It is not about what is ‘said’ to the vital, but how the communication take place and how it fits with the concept.

There are stories both in the West and the East which illustrate how example can bring about radical change to the vital being of an individual. In his novel Les Miserables, Victor Hugo describes a man who stole a loaf of bread to feed his sister’s family. He was caught and sent to the galleys where he was brutalized over a number of years. Eventually he was freed from the galleys and one night he stayed at the abode of a bishop in a village church, who took him in, fed him and gave him a place to stay for the night. However, when he left in the morning he stole some silver plate that the pastor had used to feed him. He was caught and returned by the local constabulary and when asked, the bishop indicated that he had gifted those items to the man, as well as some silver candlesticks. He was then let go. The compassion and humanity of the bishop struck this individual to the core and he became a changed man, went to another town, became a business man who helped provide real gainful employment to the townspeople and generally worked for the betterment of his community. Eventually another man was caught and accused of being him, the former galley slave (who had committed a petty theft after his release although he repented of his action), but rather than let the innocent man suffer, he gave witness at the risk of his own liberty. Thereafter he was hounded incessantly until eventually he had the police inspector under his control and took compassion on him, let him go, at the risk that he would be arrested again.

In India there are several tales about individuals who may have been thieves who either went to an Ashram to hide from the authorities, or who went there to steal, but in either case, by pretending to be disciples and students, they actually began to experience the deeper truth of existence and gave up the life of thievery and became sages in their own right.

Thus, the action of the psychic being and the developed mind can take a longer view, can appreciate the struggles of the vital nature and exercise patient, consistent, supportive good will towards the development process. It is particularly helpful if a living example can provide positive influence to the individual along the way. If one practices this approach, over time one can look back and see how much progress has been made in making the vital nature the essential, respected partner in the spiritual development and transformation process that it should be, and is.

The Mother writes: “So then, take great care of it. Treat it with great consideration but never submit to it. For it will drag you into all kinds of troublesome and untoward experiments; and if you succeed in convincing it in some way or other, then you will advance with giant strides on the path.”

Sri Aurobindo and the Mother, Powers Within, Chapter XVII The Vital, pg. 135