It is said that for the yogic practitioner, day and night are reversed when compared to the vast majority of human beings. This statement has many possible implications that can be explored. “Day” and “Night” are representative of opposite concepts, different ways of seeing and reacting to situations, and different viewpoints as to what is the real significance and purpose of life, with all the consequences that result from these opposite viewpoints.
On the simplest and most external level, we frequently find that the yogic practitioner prefers quietude, a contemplative atmosphere, and inward focus, while most people seek external stimulation, entertainment, outward forms of enjoyment.
Again, most people accept their beliefs about life from their religion’s teachings, without necessarily trying to gain a direct experience of the Divine, while the yogic practitioner eschews external dogma in favor of experience.
The yogi sees a pattern and meaning to the universal creation and the life that abounds in the world, and recognises the oneness of this entire manifestation. Most people, on the other hand, experience their lives as separate and fragmented from the larger creation, and look upon life as something of a battle to survive in a potentially hostile world.
There are of course many different ways that the yogi sees things in an opposite way to that of the vast majority of humanity, which can be explored systematically forthwith.
Sri Aurobindo writes in his epic poem, Savitri: a Legend and a Symbol: “A vision lightened on the viewless heights, A wisdom illumined from the voiceless depths: A deeper interpretation greatened Truth, A grand reversal of the Night and Day; All the world’s values changed heightening life’s aim; A wiser word, a larger thought came in Than what the slow labour of human mind can bring. A secret sense awoke that could perceive A Presence and a Greatness everywhere. The universe was not now this senseless whirl Borne round inert on an immense machine; It cast away its grandiose lifeless front, A mechanism no more or work of Chance, But a living movement of the body of God.”
Sri Aurobindo and the Mother, Growing Within: The Psychology of Inner Development, Chapter IX Reversal of Consciousness: The New Birth, pg. 164
Santosh has been studying Sri Aurobindo's writings since 1971 and has a daily blog at http://sriaurobindostudies.wordpress.com and podcast at https://anchor.fm/santosh-krinsky He is author of 17 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.