AT THE FEET OF THE MOTHER
Ask Alok da

Alok da, At the very beginning of Savitri, Sri Aurobindo depicts this state of being where the self longs to reach its end in the vacant nought because it fears to face the tardy process of life and mortality. ๐Ÿ“–๐Ÿค”๐ŸŒปโœจ[…]

Is this similar to what Western psychology calls the death drive, since life always has a certain state of friction and tension, and there is a tendency within men to reach a tensionless state of inorganic matter? Is this also the cause of mass movements where one can dissolve their stress and effort of having an individuality? Many amusements men devise for themselves, be it drinking, sex, or entertainment seems to me connected to this phenomenon, how often people say that they go to movies because they want to be relieved of the “stress” of life. Is procrastination also related to this, because facing the thing that needs to be done also triggers stress and tension, so we just postpone the task indefinitely?

Death wish or thanatos, is simply the urge to escape from the effort due to the extreme action of tamas. It creates great resistance to change, to express, to manifest.ย 

The other things you speak of are the action of unbridled rajas due to the life energy that is let loose and is unregulated. Mass movements are invariably due to the vital contagion that has a great sway over the masses. Only those with a developed mind and a clear psychic discernment can avoid this unbridled play of rajasic forces.

Affectionately,

Alok Daย 

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