Most importantly, being in your presence really facilitates me in deepening my bond with Shri Maa. Also dada, because you were already occupied in answering so many diverse questions, I couldn’t put forth some of my queries regarding the Gita.
I wanted to understand the yoga of the Intelligent Will (Buddhi Yoga), it has been deeply emphasised by Sri Aurobindo and even Sri Krishna throughout the text. I have a modest understanding of Karma, Jnana and Bhakti yoga in the Gita. But when it comes to Buddhi Yoga, I don’t understand what it really is and how one should practice it in daily life.
In the image of the Gita, buddhi is like the charioteer that holds the reins of the Mind or, if you use a modern image, buddhi is the driver holding the steering wheel of the mind. If the driver is too distracted, at the mercy of every sense stimulus, he is likely to loose his destination goal as well as the way. Therefore, the Gita advices that the Buddhi should always be turned within and upwards, focused on our true goal rather than at the mercy of each and every impulse. By the persistent practice of the Buddhi Yoga, the mind itself slowly gets detached from the outer world and is no more at the mercy of the senses. This basic self-mastery is naturally indispensable for keeping full focus on the spiritual goal. Here is a passage from the Mother giving us a good practical method for achieving this state.
‘
Stepping Back
*
Most of you live on the surface of your being, exposed to the touch of external influences. You live almost projected, as it were, outside your own body, and when you meet some unpleasant being similarly projected you get upset. The whole trouble arises out of your not being accustomed to stepping back. You must always step back into yourselfโlearn to go deep withinโstep back and you will be safe. Do not lend yourself to the superficial forces which move in the outside world. Even if you are in a hurry to do something, step back for a while and you will discover to your surprise how much sooner and with what greater success your work can be done. If someone is angry with you, do not be caught in his vibrations but simply step back and his anger, finding no support or response, will vanish. Always keep your peace, resist all temptation to lose it. Never decide anything without stepping back, never speak a word without stepping back, never throw yourself into action without stepping back. All that belongs to the ordinary world is impermanent and fugitive, so there is nothing in it worth getting upset about. What is lasting, eternal, immortal and infiniteโthat indeed is worth having, worth conquering, worth possessing. It is Divine Light, Divine Love, Divine Lifeโit is also Supreme Peace, Perfect Joy and All-Mastery upon earth with the Complete Manifestation as the crowning. When you get the sense of the relativity of things, then whatever happens you can step back and look; you can remain quiet and call on the Divine Force and wait for an answer. Then you will know exactly what to do. Remember, therefore, that you cannot receive the answer before you are very peaceful. Practice that inner peace, make at least a small beginning and go on in your practice until it becomes a habit with you.’
(Ref. https://incarnateword.in/cwm/03/stepping-back)
Affectionately,
Alok Da
