Aspiration. When we observe sunflowers opening and turning toward the sun, we are witnessing a form of aspiration at a very basic level. When we strive to enhance our physical capacities, manifest and express beauty, work to achieve a more pure and powerful vital energy, develop our minds and hearts, we are experiencing aspiration at work in the various parts of our being.

When we reflect on what creates this flame of aspiration within each being, we can begin to understand the action of the psychic being, the executive power of the soul that works to prepare the consciousness, at each level, for the next step in its evolutionary development.

Whatever form the aspiration takes, however it manifests in the physical, vital or mental aspects of the being, it is due to the promptings of the psychic being, the secret ‘mystic fire’ deep within that secretly drives the evolutionary process. The psychic being does not try to overpower the external being; rather, it acts as a quiet influence. The development must take place naturally within each element of the being in order to be firmly fixed and stable and provide a basis for the next step in the process. Artificial pressure eventually fails and sets back the progress. Thus, we live our lives, struggle, enjoy and suffer, as we carry out, secretly, the aspiration that represents the influence of the psychic being.

Sri Aurobindo writes: “This is the function of the psychic — it has to work on each plane so as to help each to awaken to the true truth and the Divine Reality.”

A disciple asks: “Is it the psychic will which wants the being to be identified with the Divine?”

The Mother responds: “Yes, surely. It is the will of the psychic. It is also the very reason of its existence. It is for that it is there. For example, in the mind certain activities (and even at times in the physical and vital)… awaken to the influence of the psychic without even knowing it. That is why those parts adhere to it and begin to aspire also for the divine knowledge, the divine union, the relation with the Divine.”

reference: Sri Aurobindo and the Mother, The Psychic Being — Soul: Its Nature, Mission and Evolution, Section 2 Role, Function and Action of the Psychic, pg. 47

Author's Bio: 

Santosh has been studying Sri Aurobindo's writings since 1971 and has a daily blog at http://sriaurobindostudies.wordpress.com and podcast located at https://creators.spotify.com/pod/profile/santosh-krinsky/
He is author of 26 books and is editor-in-chief at Lotus Press. He is president of Institute for Wholistic Education, a non-profit focused on integrating spirituality into daily life.
Video presentations, interviews and podcast episodes are all available on the YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/@santoshkrinsky871
More information about Sri Aurobindo can be found at www.aurobindo.net
The US editions and links to e-book editions of Sri Aurobindo’s writings can be found at Lotus Press www.lotuspress.com