AT THE FEET OF THE MOTHER
Ask Alok da

I feel very insecure in relationships and friendships. I have a strong need to know every detail about my partner and friends—their actions, decisions, and daily activities. If they don’t share things with me, I tend to fight. I also get jealous when they talk to others. I struggle to understand their need for privacy. I want to learn how to deal with these insecurities and build healthier relationships🙄.

Insecurity in relationship arises if there is a certain degree of emotional dependency upon the friend or partner. There is a fear of losing the friendship and hence the mind tries to possess the person. This possessiveness leads next to a wish to control which obviously becomes counterproductive.

What one needs to understand is that, first and foremost this world is deeply interconnected and hence an exclusive friendship with one person is a near impossibility unless one lives in a place where there are no means of contact with anyone else. Secondly, an individualized person, especially strong personalities need space to navigate their life and do not like to be controlled by anyone. It is natural that if everything is shared the partner will have his or her views and a natural tendency to advice or comment on the choices one makes. This evidently creates friction because it is very unlikely that two people will think, feel, act in the same way. Even if there are affinities in certain areas, there is likely to be dissonances in other areas, especially if the personality is complex. Therefore sharing everything, idealistic though it sounds, leads often to misunderstandings. It is this subtle truth of human psychology that has inspired the Shakesperean adage ‘too much closeness breeds contempt’ and the sage advice of the Lebanese mystic ‘let there be spaces in your togetherness ‘.

In fact just as two trees growing too close may hamper each other’s growth so too an excessive closeness leads to a stunting of natural growth in another. It is only when two persons have develooed completely, grown to full maturity that they can share everything and laugh together freely without fear of being judged or criticised. That is very rare. Hence it is best not to insist on sharing everything if you want the friendship to remain healthy and last long.

Share this…

Related Posts

Dear Alok Da, I write with deep respect to navigate a personal dilemma as I seek to purify my bhakti in the flames of knowledge rather than rely on borrowed piety. While I fully embrace Sri Aurobindo’s vision, I struggle with praying to the Divine in human form when subtler, transcendent dimensions of that same reality exist, and I find opening to The Mother through mental instruction or tradition challenging from a distance. 😥🙏🏻🌼🍂[…]

There is nothing disrespectful about what you write. There are many seekers who start this way. The Mother herself has confirmed that generally seekers turn towards Sri Aurobindo, go through certain experiences before they come in contact with her. It is partly because of the consciousness being centered in the mind that this …

Read More >

Dear Sir, In Sri Aurobindo’s Letters on Yoga, he says, “The faith that goes to the Cosmic Divine is limited in the power of its action by the necessities of the play. To get entirely free from these limitations one must reach the Transcendent Divine.” – Is The Mother the Transcendent Divine and must we put our faith in her, or is there something else Sri Aurobindo is talking about? Please elaborate. 📖😊🙏🏻🌼

The Cosmic Divine is Sri Krishna, the Divine who works in the world through the agency of Time and the gods and operates according to the necessities of the play as it unfolds. Of course Sri Krishna is the Purushottama as …

Read More >

Dada, nowadays I feel a strong pressure that comes from my heart and spreads to every part of my body. It has extended to the sex part also. That pressure is very strong; it seems the pressure has consumed all parts of my being. It is also affecting my biological heart. That pressure gives a strong peace, the right direction, sincerity, and easily rejects the lower movement. 🙂❤️‍🔥🌸🌼

It is a true experience, the experience of the psychic coming forward and influencing mind, life and body as they function in the present lower nature. Yes it affects the organs as well, including the heart, brain and the …

Read More >
× Bonne Fete