Changes

<center>~</center> It is Imagine someone who, in some way or other, has heard of something like the Divine or has a fact personal feeling that when one has made an effort not to lose time on something of the waykind exists, any time lost becomes a suffering and one can find no pleasure begins to make all sorts of efforts: efforts of will, of discipline, efforts of any kind in it. And once you are in that stateconcentration, once all sorts of efforts to find this effort for progress and transformation becomes the most important thing in your lifeDivine, the thing to which you give constant thoughtdiscover what He is, then indeed you are on the way towards the eternal existence, the truth of your beingto become acquainted with Him and unite with Him. Then this person is doing yoga. <ref>http://incarnateword.in/cwm/0308/vigilance23-may-1956#p46 p4</ref>

...the first The effort must be to find demanded of the soul withinsadhak is that of aspiration, to unite with it rejection and allow it to govern one's lifesurrender.[Based on Aphorism 9 - What the soul sees and has experiencedIf these three are done, that it knows; the rest is appearance, prejudice and opinion] <ref>http://incarnateword.in/cwm/10/aphorism-9#p4</ref> <center>~</center> Imagine someone who, in some way or other, has heard to come of something like itself by the Divine or has a personal feeling that something grace of the kind exists, Mother and begins to make all sorts the working of efforts: efforts her force in you. But of will, the three the most important is surrender of discipline, efforts of concentration, all sorts of efforts to find this Divine, to discover what He which the first necessary form is, to become acquainted with Him trust and confidence and unite with Him. Then this person is doing yogapatience in difficulty. <ref>httphttps://incarnateword.in/cwmcwsa/0831/23resistances-sufferings-mayand-1956falls#p4p28</ref>

''Correct Effort means straining endeavour. There can be an action with a will in it in which there is no strain of effort. <ref>http://incarnateword.in/cwsa/29/concentration-and-meditation#p83</ref>''

==What Is Personal Effort?== "But so long as the lower nature is active the personal effort of the Sadhaka remains necessary." OutwardlyDo not make useless efforts for useless things, one believes in one's own personality and one's own effort. So long as you believe in personal effort, you must make a personal effort.There is one part of the being which is not at rather keep all conscious of being a part of the Divine. The whole energy of the outer being is convinced that it is something separate, independent your effort to conquer ignorance and related only to itselffree yourself from falsehood. This part of the being must necessarily make a personal effort. It That you can't be told, "The Divine does the sadhana for you", for it would never do anything, it would never be changedtoo much.<ref>httpshttp://incarnateword.in/cwm/0403/28the-awakened-one-aprilthe-1951buddha#p1,p3,p4p33 </ref>[Based on Mother’s Commentaries on the Dhammapada]

Whatever There may be an effort which is not at all selfish and is yet egoistic, because the way you followmoment it becomes personal it is egoistic—that means, personal effort it is always necessary till based on the moment of identificationego. At But this does not mean that moment all effort drops from you like a worn-out robeit is not generous, compassionate, you are another person: what was impossible unselfish nor that it is for narrow personal ends...It may be for you becomes not only possible but indispensablea very unselfish work. But so long as an ego is there it is egoistic. And so long as the sense of one's own personality is there, you cannot do otherwiseit is naturally something egoistic; it is founded on the presence of the ego. <ref>http://incarnateword.in/cwm/0407/1016-februarynovember-19511955#p19 p38</ref>

Personal effort "But so long as the lower nature is indispensable; without it nothing can be done. When active the personal effort is sincere of the help is always thereSadhaka remains necessary.<ref> http://incarnateword.in/cwm/14/steady-effort#p16</ref>"

<center>~</center> There may be an effort which is not at all selfish and is yet egoisticOutwardly, because the moment it becomes personal it is egoistic—that means, it is based on the ego. But this does not mean that it is not generous, compassionate, unselfish nor that it is for narrow personal ends...It may be for a very unselfish work. But so long as an ego is there it is egoistic. And so long as the sense of one believes in one's own personality is thereand one's own effort. So long as you believe in personal effort, it is naturally something egoistic; it is founded on the presence of the ego.<ref>http://incarnatewordyou must make a personal effort.in/cwm/07/16-november-1955#p38</ref> <center>~</center>

If there There is no personal effort, if one part of the being which is not at all conscious of being a part of the Divine. The whole of the sadhak outer being is too indolent convinced that it is something separate, independent and tamasic related only to tryitself. This part of the being must necessarily make a personal effort. It can't be told, why should "The Divine does the Grace act? sadhana for you", for it would never do anything, it would never be changed. <ref>httphttps://incarnateword.in/cwsacwm/3104/vigilance-resolution-will-and-the28-divineapril-help1951#p57p1,p3,p4</ref>

==Effort in Relation to Other QualitiesAspects==

It is very good that you made an effort, but you must not get discouraged so quickly, just because you fail to succeed immediately. On the contrary, you must persevere in your effort until you do succeed. <ref>httphttps://incarnateword.in/cwm/17/11-june-1935#p1 ,p2</ref>

<center>~</center> You must be sincere in your perseverance; then the things you cannot do today, you will one day be able to do, after regular and persistent efforts.<ref>http://incarnateword.in/cwm/17/4-january-1972#p1</ref>

There is a difference between the will and this feeling of tension, effort, of counting only on oneself, having recourse to oneself alone which personal effort means; this kind of tension, of something very acute and at times very painful; you count only on yourself and you have the feeling that if you do not make an effort every minute, all will be lost. That is personal effort.  But the will is something altogether different. It is the capacity to concentrate on everything one does, do it as best one can and not stop doing it unless once receives a very precise intimation that it is finished. <ref>httphttps://incarnateword.in/cwm/05/13-may-1953#p14 ,p15</ref>

As in everything else in the ascent of humanity, there is the necessity—especially at the beginning—of personal effort. It is possible that in some exceptional circumstances, for reasons which completely elude our intelligence, faith may come almost accidentally, quite unexpectedly, almost without ever having been solicited, but most frequently it is an answer to a yearning, a need, an aspiration, something in the being that is seeking and longing, even though not in a very conscious and systematic way. But in any case, when faith has been granted, when one has had this sudden inner illumination, in order to preserve it constantly in the active consciousness individual effort is altogether indispensable. One must ''hold '' on to one's faith, ''will '' one's faith; one must seek it, cultivate it, protect it. ..  Certainly a personal effort is needed to preserve one's faith, to let it grow within. Later—much later—one day, looking back, we may see that everything that happened, even what seemed to us the worst, was a Divine Grace to make us advance on the way; and then we become aware that the personal effort too was a grace. But before reaching that point, one has to advance much, to struggle much, sometimes even to suffer a great deal. To sit down in inert passivity and say, "If I am to have faith I shall have it, the Divine will give it to me", is an attitude of laziness, of unconsciousness and almost of bad-will.<ref>httphttps://incarnateword.in/cwm/09/9-july-1958#p5 ,p8,p9 </ref>

''Q. Mother, when we make an effort, there's something in us which becomes very self-satisfied and boastful and contented with this effort, and that spoils everything. Then how can we get rid of this?'' ''A.'' There is always someone who observes when one is doing something. Now sometimes, he becomes proud. Obviously, this takes away much strength from the effort. I think it is that: it is the habit of looking at oneself acting, looking at oneself living. It is necessary to observe oneself but I think it is still more necessary to try to be absolutely sincere and spontaneous, very spontaneous in what one does: not always to go on observing oneself, looking at what one is doing, judging oneself—sometimes severely. In fact it is almost as bad as patting oneself with satisfaction, the two are equally bad. One should be so sincere in his aspiration that he doesn't even know he is aspiring, that he becomes the aspiration itself. When this indeed can be realised, one truly attains to an extraordinary power.  One minute, one minute of this, and you can prepare years of realisation. When one is no longer a self-regarding being, an ego looking at itself acting, when one becomes the action itself, above all in the aspiration, this truly is good. When there is no longer a person who is aspiring, when it is an aspiration which leaps up with a fully concentrated impulsion, then truly it goes very far. Otherwise there is always mixed up in it a little vanity, a little self-complacency, a little self-pity also, all kinds of little things which come and spoil everything. But it is difficult.<ref>httphttps://incarnateword.in/cwm/06/17-november-1954#p5,p6,p7</ref>

===Surrender and EffortEfforts===

...if one wanted Surrender is the main power of the DivineYoga, but the Divine himself would take up surrender is bound to be progressive; a complete surrender is not possible in the purifying of the heart and develop the sadhana and give beginning, but only a will in the necessary experiences. I meant to say being for that completeness,—in fact it can and does happen in takes time; yet it is only when the surrender is complete that way if one has trust and confidence in the Divine and full flood of the sadhana is possible. Till then there must be the will to personal effort with an increasing reality of surrender. For such a taking up involves one's putting oneself One calls in the hands power of the Divine rather than trusting Shakti and once that begins to one's own efforts alone and come into the being, it implies one's putting one's trust and confidence in at first supports the personal endeavour, then progressively takes up the whole action, although the consent of the Divine and a progressive self-givingsadhak continues to be always necessary. It is As the Force works, it brings in fact the principle of sadhana different processes that I myself followed and it is are necessary for the central part sadhak, processes of knowledge, of Bhakti, of spiritualised action, of transformation of the Yoga as I envisage itnature. The idea that they cannot be combined is an error.<ref>http://incarnateword.in/cwsa/29/surrenderthe-central-processes-of-the-sadhana#p17p1</ref>

The absolute surrender must be not only an experience in meditation...if one wanted the Divine, but a fact governing all the life, all Divine himself would take up the purifying of the heart and develop the sadhana and give the thoughts, feelings, actionsnecessary experiences. Till then I meant to say that it can and does happen in that way if one has trust and confidence in the use of Divine and the will to surrender. For such a taking up involves one's own will and effort is necessary, but an effort putting oneself in which also there is the spirit hands of surrender, calling in the Force Divine rather than trusting to support one's own efforts alone and it implies one's putting one's trust and confidence in the will Divine and effort and undisturbed by success or failurea progressive self-giving. When the Force takes up It is in fact the principle of sadhana, then indeed effort may cease, but still there will be the necessity of that I myself followed and it is the constant assent central part of the being and a vigilance so that one may not admit a false Force at any pointYoga as I envisage it. <ref>http://incarnateword.in/cwsa/29/surrender#p31p17</ref>

...there are some people who start with The absolute surrender must be not only an experience in meditation, but a genuine and dynamic will for a total surrenderfact governing all the life, all the thoughts, feelings, actions. It is those who are governed by Till then the psychic or are governed by a clear and enlightened mental will which having once accepted surrender as the law use of the sadhana one's own will stand no nonsense about it and insists on the other parts of the being following its direction. Here there effort is still effortnecessary, but it an effort in which also there is so ready and spontaneous and has so much the sense spirit of a greater surrender, calling in the Force behind it that to support the sadhak hardly feels that he is making an will and effort at alland undisturbed by success or failure. In When the Force takes up the contrary case of a will in mind or vital to retain self-willsadhana, a reluctance to give up your independent movementthen indeed effort may cease, but still there must will be struggle and endeavour until the wall between necessity of the constant assent of the instrument in front being and the Divinity behind or above is broken. No rule can be laid down which applies without distinction to everybody—the variations in human nature are too great to be covered by a single trenchant rulevigilance so that one may not admit a false Force at any point. <ref>http://incarnateword.in/cwsa/29/surrender#p81p31</ref>

Surrender is the main power of the Yoga, but the surrender is bound to be progressive; ...there are some people who start with a genuine and dynamic will for a complete total surrender . It is not possible in those who are governed by the beginning, but only psychic or are governed by a clear and enlightened mental will in the being for that completeness,—in fact it takes time; yet it is only when the which having once accepted surrender is complete that as the full flood law of the sadhana is possible. Till then there must be will stand no nonsense about it and insists on the personal effort with an increasing reality other parts of surrender. One calls in the power of the Divine Shakti and once that begins to come into the beingfollowing its direction. Here there is still effort, but it at first supports the personal endeavour, then progressively takes up is so ready and spontaneous and has so much the whole action, although the consent sense of the sadhak continues to be always necessary. As the a greater Force works, behind it brings in the different processes that are necessary for the sadhak, processes of knowledge, of Bhakti, of spiritualised action, of transformation of the nature. The idea hardly feels that they cannot be combined he is making an error. <ref>http://incarnatewordeffort at all.in/cwsa/29/In the-central-processes-contrary case of-the-sadhana#p1</ref> ==Effort a will in the Evolutionary Process== But the human race is still weighted by a certain gravitation towards the physical, it obeys still the pull of our yet unconquered earth-matter; it is dominated by the brain-mind, the physical intelligence: thus held back by many ties, it hesitates before the indication or falls back before the too tense demand of the spiritual effort. It has, too, still a great capacity for sceptical folly, an immense indolence, an enormous intellectual and spiritual timidity and conservatism when called out of the grooves of habit: even the constant evidence of life itself that where it chooses vital to conquer it can conquer,—witness the miracles of that quite inferior power, physical Scienceretain self-will,—does not prevent it from doubting; it repels the new call and leaves the response to a few individuals. But that is not enough if the step forward is reluctance to be for humanity; for it is only if the race advances that, for it, the victories of the Spirit can be secure. For thengive up your independent movement, even if there is a lapse of Nature, a fall in her effort, the Spirit within, employing a secret memory,—sometimes represented on the lower side, that of downward gravitation, as an atavistic force in the race, but really the force of a persistent memory in Nature which can pull us either upward or downward,—will call it upward again and the next ascent will must be both easier struggle and more lasting, because of the past endeavour; for that endeavour and its impulse and its result cannot but remain stored in until the subconscious mind of humanity. Who can say what victories of wall between the kind may have been achieved instrument in our past cycles front and how near may be the next ascension? It Divinity behind or above is not indeed necessary or possible that the whole race should transform itself from mental into spiritual beings, but a general admission of the ideal, a widespread endeavour, a conscious concentration broken. No rule can be laid down which applies without distinction to everybody—the variations in human nature are needed to carry the stream of tendency too great to its definitive achievement. Otherwise what will be ultimately accomplished is an achievement covered by the few initiating a new order of beings, while humanity will have passed sentence of unfitness on itself and may fall back into an evolutionary decline or a stationary immobility; for it is the constant upward effort that has kept humanity alive and maintained for it its place in the front of creationsingle trenchant rule. <ref>http://incarnateword.in/cwsa/2229/the-evolutionary-process-ascent-and-integrationsurrender#p26 p81</ref>

...a man sits down to write a book, he makes an Personal effort which sets vibrating something in his brain to attract ideasis indispensable; well, suddenly, this man experiences joywithout it nothing can be done. It is quite certain that, whatever you do, even When the most material work, like sweeping a room or cooking, if you make the necessary personal effort to do this work to is sincere the maximum of your ability, you will feel joy, even if what you do help is against your naturealways there. <ref> http://incarnateword.in/cwm/0414/13steady-january-1951effort#p15 p16</ref>

It is only effort, in whatever domain it be—material effort, moral effort, intellectual effort—which creates in the being certain vibrations which enable you to get connected with universal vibrations; and it is this which gives joy.It is effort which pulls you out of inertia; it is effort which makes you receptive to the universal forces. And the one can't live without thing above all which spontaneously gives joy, even to those who do not practise yoga, who have no spiritual aspiration, who lead quite an ordinary life, is the exchange of forces with universal forces... ...a man sits down to write a book, he makes an effort which sets vibrating something in his brain to attract ideas; well, suddenly, this man experiences joy. It is quite certain that, whatever you do, even the most material work, like sweeping a room or cooking, if you make the necessary effort! If one were to refuse do this work to the maximum of your ability, you will feel joy, even if what you do is against your nature. When you want to realise something, you make any quite spontaneously the necessary effort; this concentrates your energies on the thing to be realised and that gives a meaning to your life. This compels you to a sort of organisation of yourself, one would a sort of concentration of your energies, because it is this that you wish to do and not even be able fifty other things which contradict it. And it is in this concentration, this intensity of the will, that lies the origin of joy. This gives you the power to stand on one's legs or walk or even eatreceive energies in exchange for those you spend. <ref>httphttps://incarnateword.in/cwm/0804/1213-septemberjanuary-19561951#p5p14,p15</ref>

''Q. An aim gives a meaning, a purpose to life, and this purpose implies an effort; and it is in effort that one finds joy?''

''A.'' Exactly. It is the effort which gives joy; a human being who does not know how to make an effort will never find joy. Those who are essentially lazy will never find joy—they do not have the strength to be joyful! It is effort which gives joy. Effort makes the being vibrate at a certain degree of tension which makes it possible for you to feel the joy. <ref>http://incarnateword.in/cwm/04/13-january-1951#p11 </ref>

Often when one has made an effort and progressed, one has the feeling of rising above himself into a purer, clearer, truer light and consciousness. But if .. one doesncan't keep this aspiration and is not definitively settled there, a very tiny thing is enough, a kind of physical disharmony, for example, or a meeting, a word exchanged or a movement made unconsciously, for live without effort! If one were to refuse to feel that something is falling; and one can no longer get hold of that height where one wasmake any effort, that light. So one has would not even be able to withdraw again, climb the slope, escape from the attraction from below. Sometimes it takes time; stand on one slides down very fast but usually climbs back with a certain difficulty's legs or walk or even eat. <ref>http://incarnateword.in/cwm/0708/3012-marchseptember-19551956#p20 p5</ref>

In the human mind there is a morbid and deplorable habit of doubt, argument, scepticismEffort well-directed breaks down all obstacles. This is where human effort must be put in: the refusal to admit them, the refusal to listen to them and still more the refusal to follow them. No game is more dangerous than playing mentally with doubt and scepticism. They are not only enemies, they are terrible pitfalls, and once one falls into them, it becomes tremendously difficult to pull oneself out.<ref>http://incarnateword.in/cwm/0914/9steady-july-1958effort#p6 p10 </ref>

For those who do Generally, the lower nature is always active. It is only when one has surrendered completely that it stops being active. When one is no longer in his lower consciousness, when one has made a total surrender, then the lower nature is no longer active. But so long as it is active, personal effort is necessary. In fact, so long as one is conscious of one's own self as a separate person, personal effort has to be made. It is only when the see of separation is lost, when one is not only completely surrendered, but completely fused in the Divine that there is no longer any need of personal effort. But so long as one feels that one is a separate being, one must make any a personal effort. This is what he calls the activity of the lower consciousness. <ref>https://incarnateword.in/cwm/06/14-july-1954#p14,—that absence p15</ref> ==To Get Out of Inertia== The period of no-effort is usually when the physical consciousness is uppermost—for the nature of that is inertia, to be moved by the higher forces or to be moved by the lower forces or any forces, but not to move itself a difficulty—they do not progress. One must still use one's effort if one can, but the great thing is to be able to call down the Force from above into the physical—otherwise to remain perfectly quiet and, undisturbed, expect its coming.<ref>http://incarnateword.in/cwsa/2931/surrenderdifficulties-of-the-physical-nature#p94p26</ref>

There It is a long stage of preparation necessary in order to arrive at the inner psychological condition in which the doors of experience can open and one can walk from vista to vista—though even then new gates may present themselves and refuse to open until all is ready. This period can be dry and desert-like unless one has the ardour of self-introspection and self-conquest and finds every step of the that effort and struggle interesting or unless one has or gets that secret of trust and self-giving which sees the hand of the Divine in every step of the path and even in the difficulty the grace or the guidance. The description of Yoga as "bitter like poison in the beginning" because of the difficulty I am asking for, a triumph over tamas and struggle "but in the end sweet as nectar" because of the joy of realisationlazy indifference.<ref>http://incarnateword.in/cwsacwm/3117/the-difficulties18-ofjuly-yoga1964#p10p5</ref>

There is one part of the being which is not at all conscious of being a part of the Divine. The whole of the outer being is convinced that it is something separate, independent and related only to itself. This part of .the being first effort must necessarily make a personal effort. It can't be told, "The Divine does to find the sadhana for you"soul within, for to unite with it would never do anything, and allow it would never be changedto govern one's life. When one speaks with somebody[Based on Aphorism 9 - What the soul sees and has experienced, one should use his languagethat it knows; the rest is appearance,shouldn't one?prejudice and opinion] <ref> http://incarnateword.in/cwm/0410/28-aprilaphorism-19519#p4 </ref>

In It is a fact, so long as that when one is conscious of one's own self as a separate person, personal has made an effort has not to be made. It is only when lose time on the see of separation is way, any time lost, when becomes a suffering and one is not only completely surrendered, but completely fused in the Divine that there is can find no longer pleasure of any need of personal effortkind in it. But so long as one feels And once you are in that one is a separate beingstate, one must make a personal once this effort. This is what he calls for progress and transformation becomes the most important thing in your life, the thing to which you give constant thought, then indeed you are on the way towards the eternal existence, the activity truth of the lower consciousnessyour being. <ref> http://incarnateword.in/cwm/0603/14-july-1954vigilance#p15 p46 </ref>

Generally, the lower nature is always active. It is only when one has surrendered completely with the sadhana and a very persistent effort that it stops being active. When one is no longer succeeds in having a conscious contact with his lower consciousnesspsychic being. Naturally, when one has made a total surrenderit is possible that there are exceptional cases—but this is truly exceptional, then and they are so few that they could be counted—where the lower nature psychic being is no longer active. But so long as it is activean entirely formed, liberated being, master of itself, personal effort is necessarywhich has chosen to return to earth in a human body in order to do its work. <ref> http://incarnateword.in/cwm/0607/1417-julyaugust-19541955#p14 p18</ref>

So long as there Each one of you should be able to get into touch with your own psychic being, it is not an inaccessible thing. Your psychic being is there precisely to put you in contact with the full presence and conscious working divine forces. And if you are in contact with your psychic being, you begin to feel, to have a kind of the higher Force, some amount perception of personal effort what Divine Love can be. it is indispensablenot like that. To do the sadhana for the sake If, through a sustained effort, a deep concentration, a great forgetfulness of the self, you succeed in coming into touch with your psychic being...you are in a state in which everything appears to you to be this Divine Love and not for one's own sake nothing else. And yet it is only a covering, but a covering of course a beautiful texture.... You must make an effort to come into touch with your psychic being, to become aware and free in the true attitudeconsciousness of your psychic being, and then, quite naturally, spontaneously, you will know what Divine Love is...<ref>httphttps://incarnateword.in/cwsacwm/2904/surrender24-march-1951#p91p25,p28</ref>

The period … a truly harmonious personality implies a conscious arrangement of no-effort is usually when the physical consciousness inner individualities. This arrangement may be effected spontaneously before birth, but that is uppermost—for the nature of that rare. The arrangement is inertiaachieved later, to be moved by the higher forces or to be moved by the lower forces or any forcesmeans of a discipline, but not a proper education. But to move itself. One succeed in this one must still use one's effort if one can, but the great thing is to be able to call down consciously take the Force from above into psychic being as the physical—otherwise to remain perfectly quiet centre andarrange, undisturbedharmonise the various individualities around it. True harmony, expect its cominginner organisation is the result of such a persistent effort. <ref>http://incarnateword.in/cwsacwm/3115/difficulties-of-the30-physicaldecember-nature1950#p26p14 </ref>

It A man who has no intellectual culture, if you give him some mixed ideas, just at random, to choose from, he will always choose the stupid ones; because, as Sri Aurobindo has told us, this is that a world of falsehood, of ignorance and an effort that I am asking foris needed, an aspiration; one must come in contact with one's inmost being—a conscious and luminous contact—if one is to distinguish the true from the false, the good influence from the bad. If you let yourself go, you sink into a triumph over tamas and lazy indifferencehole. <ref> http://incarnateword.in/cwm/1703/18-julythe-1964world#p5 p16</ref>

When you want to realise something, you ''Q. The effort one can make quite spontaneously the necessary effort; this concentrates your energies on the thing to can be realised and that gives a meaning to your lifeonly mental. This compels you What can one do to a sort of organisation of yourself, a sort of concentration of your energies, because make it spontaneous?'' ''A.'' I believe there is this that you wish to do and not fifty other things a vast difference between an effort for transformations which contradict it. And it is in this concentration, this intensity of the willprecisely, that lies comes from the origin psychic centre of joy. This gives you the power being and a kind of mental constructions to receive energies in exchange for those you spendobtain something.<ref>http://incarnateword.in/cwm/0406/1319-januarymay-19511954#p15 p34</ref>

==To Come in Touch with One’s Psychic BeingProgress==

As soon as we think of the result we begin to bargain and that takes away all sincerity from the effort. You must make an effort to come into touch with your psychic beingprogress because you feel within you the need, the ''imperative'' need to become aware make an effort and free progress; and this effort is the gift you offer to the Divine Consciousness in you, the Divine Consciousness in the consciousness Universe, it is your way of expressing your psychic beinggratitude, offering your self; and then, quite naturally, spontaneously, you whether this results in progress or not is of no importance. You will know what Divine Love progress when it isdecided that the time has come to progress and not because you desire it. <ref> http://incarnateword.in/cwm/0409/2423-marchapril-19511958#p28 p5 </ref>

It One has in his consciousness the feeling of rising above what is only with the sadhana obscure and ordinary and a very persistent effort that one succeeds in having a conscious contact with his psychic being. Naturallyunconscious, it of raising himself—because usually our head is possible on top and our head is more conscious than the rest of our body—and the impression that there are exceptional cases—but this is truly exceptionalabove him a greater consciousness. So when one makes an effort to progress, at the same time one makes an effort of ascent. Sometimes one has even symbolically the impression of climbing a mountain and they are so few wanting to reach the summit, that they could be counted—where the psychic being is an entirely formed, liberated beingas close as possible to the free expanses of the light, master of itself, which has chosen to return to earth in a human body in order to do its workwhat is purer. And in this case, even if the person one doesn't do the sadhana consciouslytake care, it is possible that the psychic being is powerful enough to establish a more or less conscious relation. But these cases arequite naturally, so to sayspontaneously, unique and are exceptions which confirm one slips back into the ruleordinary consciousness. <ref>http://incarnateword.in/cwm/07/1730-augustmarch-1955#p18</ref> =How to Make Efforts?= It is always better to make an effort in the right direction; even if one fails the effort bears some result and is never lost. <ref>http://incarnateword.in/cwsa/29/surrender#p93 </ref>

A man who has no intellectual culture, if you give him some mixed ideas, just at random, to choose from, he will always choose the stupid ones; because, as Sri Aurobindo has told us, this is If each one makes a world personal effort of falsehoodperfect sincerity, of ignorance uprightness and an effort is neededgood-will, an aspiration; one must come in contact with one's inmost being—a conscious and luminous contact—if one is to distinguish the true from best conditions for the false, the good influence from the bad. If you let yourself go, you sink into a holework will be realised. <ref> http://incarnateword.in/cwm/0315/the-worldmorality#p16 p5 </ref>

For this fire belongs to ...the psychic poise is necessary: the discrimination must develop which sees accurately what is the Divine Force, what is the element of personal effort, and one cannot command it always merely by what is brought in as a mixture from the mind's effortlower cosmic forces. The psychic has And until the transfer is complete, which always takes time, there must always be as a personal contribution, a constant consent to be fully liberated and that is what the true Force , a constant rejection of any lower mixture—that is working to make fully possiblevery important. <ref>http://incarnateword.in/cwsa/29/aspirationsurrender#p44p84</ref>

If you keep The effort should be to reject the wideness restlessness and calm as you are keeping it and also its suggestions altogether. These things come to everybody in the love for early stages of the Mother in the heartsadhana and are sometimes very persistent, then all is safe—for it means even later on they continue—but the double foundation sadhak rejects them and regards them as no part of the Yoga—the descent of the higher his true consciousness with its peaceor worthy to determine his action and life, but as untrue suggestions which he has to overcome. If that is always done, freedom they begin after a time to lose their force of invasion and security from above and the openness of the psychic which keeps all the effort or all the spontaneous movement turned towards the true goalbecome superficial things; finally they disappear.<ref>httphttps://incarnateword.in/cwsa/3029/the-psychic-and-spiritual-realisationsrejection?search=vital+effort#p10p8</ref>

It So long as there is not necessary to make an effort to bring your psychic being to the front; all that is necessary is a steady full presence and quiet aspiration; if that is there alwaysconscious working of the higher Force, all that some amount of personal effort is necessary to prepare indispensable. To do the sadhana for the result will be done by degrees and sake of the psychic being will come fully to the front when all is ready Divine and it not for one's own sake is time. It happens usually that much in of course the mental, vital and physical has to be prepared before it can happen. This preparation cannot fail to be hastened by your stay heretrue attitude.<ref>http://incarnateword.in/cwsa/3029/the-emergence-or-coming-forward-of-the-psychicsurrender#p31p91</ref>

As with everything in yoga, the effort for progress must be made for the love of the effort for progress. The more joy of effort, the psychic spreads aspiration for progress must be enough in themselves, quite independent of the outer beingresult. Everything one does in yoga must be done for the joy of doing it, and not in view of the more result one wants to obtain.... Indeed, in life, always, in all these things [, the mechanical activities of result does not belong to us. And if we want to keep the subconscious mind] fall quiet. That right attitude, we must act, feel, think, strive spontaneously, for that is what we must do, and not in view of the best way. Direct efforts result to still the mind are a difficult methodbe obtained.<ref>http://incarnateword.in/cwsacwm/2909/concentration23-andapril-meditation1958#p80p4 </ref>

''If one tries you wish to progress, if you make an effort to control yourself for instance, to overcome certain defects, weaknesses, imperfections, and if you expect to feel that one does not existget a more or less immediate result from your effort, your effort loses all sincerity, that it is the Divine who existsbecomes a bargaining. You say, "See! I am going to make an effort, is but that a way of getting out of the ego?''s because I want this in exchange for my effort." You are no longer spontaneous, no longer natural.

One does not exist? This—I donSo there are two things to remember. First, we are incapable of judging ''what''t know the result ought to be. If we put our trust in the Divine, if we say... if one we say, "Well now, I am going to give everything, everything, all I can succeed give, effort, concentration, and ''He'' will judge what has to be given in exchange or even whether anything should be given in exchange, and I do not know what the result should be." Before we transform anything by trying mentallyin ourselves, because are we quite sure of the direction, the way, the form that this is a kind of mental efforttransformation should take?—Not at all. So one makes mental constructions , it is only our imagination and does usually we greatly limit the result to be obtained and make it altogether petty, mean, superficial, relative. We do not achieve anything very muchknow what the result can truly be, what it ought to be. We know it later. NoWhen it comes, when the change takes place, then if we look back, what is necessary is something spontaneouswe say, intense"Ah! That's it, a flame burning that is what I was moving towards"—but we know it only later. Before that we only have vague imaginations which are quite superficial and childish in comparison with the true progress, the beingtrue transformation.So we say, a flame of first point: we have an aspiration, somethingbut we don't really know the true result we ought to obtain. <ref>http://incarnatewordOnly the Divine can know that.in/cwm/06/19-may-1954#p27 </ref>

And secondly, if we tell the Divine, "I am giving you my effort, but, you know, in exchange I must make progress, otherwise I won't give you anything at all!"—that is bargaining. <centerref>~http://incarnateword.in/cwm/09/23-april-1958#p6</centerref>

I believe there is a vast difference between an Remaining steady in our effort for transformations whichand quiet and firm in our determination, precisely, comes from we are sure to reach the psychic centre of the being and a kind of mental constructions to obtain somethinggoal.<ref>http://incarnateword.in/cwm/0614/19steady-may-1954effort#p34p8 </ref>

...the psychic poise is necessary: the discrimination must develop which sees accurately what is the Divine Force, what is the element of personal Be obstinate in your efforttowards progress, and what is brought in as a mixture from the lower cosmic forces. And until the transfer is complete, which always takes time, there must always be as a personal contribution, a constant consent to the true Force, a constant rejection of any lower mixture—that is very importantyour obstinacy will become useful.<ref>http://incarnateword.in/cwsacwm/2914/surrenderperseverance#p84p15</ref>

Each one of you should be able to get into touch with your own psychic being, it Our path is not an inaccessible thing. Your psychic being is there precisely to put you in contact with the divine forces. And if you are in contact with your psychic beingeasy, you begin to feel, to have a kind of perception of what Divine Love can be. it is not like thatdemands great courage and untiring endurance. If, through One must work hard and make a sustained great effort, a deep concentration, a great forgetfulness of self, you succeed in coming into touch with your psychic being...you quiet stability to obtain results which at times are in a state in which everything appears to you to be this Divine Love and nothing else. And yet it is only a covering, but a covering of a beautiful texturescarcely perceptible outwardly. <ref> http://incarnateword.in/cwm/0413/24leaving-marchthe-1951ashram#p25 p74 </ref>

=Efforts in the Different Planes of Being=To Progress ==Efforts in the Mental== The more the psychic spreads in the outer being, the more all these things [the mechanical activities of the subconscious mind] fall quiet. That is the best way. Direct efforts to still the mind are a difficult method.<ref>http://incarnateword.in/cwsa/29/concentration-and-meditation#p80</ref> ==Efforts in the Vital ==

As soon as we think of There must be something in the result we begin to bargain and vital itself that takes away all sincerity from the effort. You make an effort to progress because you feel within you the need, the imperative need to make an effort insists on its true aspiration and progress; and this effort is refuses even the gift you offer to vital consent or any vital pleasure in the Divine Consciousness in youwrong movements. If they come, the Divine Consciousness in the Universethey must feel their own fallen, it is your way of expressing your gratitudeignorant, offering your self; and whether this results in progress or not is of no importance. You will progress when it is decided that the time has come to progress and not because you desire itmerely material brute character. <ref>httphttps://incarnateword.in/cwmcwsa/0931/23difficulties-of-the-aprilphysical-1958nature#p5 p4</ref>

With sincerityEven in the body, for instance, when there is something like an attack, an accident, an illness trying to come in—something—an attack on the body, a body that is left to its natural spontaneity has an urge, make an effort aspiration, a spontaneous will to call for help. But as soon as the affair goes to the head, it takes the form of things to which one is accustomed: everything is spoilt. But if the body is seen in itself, just as it is, there is something which suddenly wakes up and calls for progresshelp, and with patiencesuch a faith, such an intensity, just as the tiny little baby calls its mamma, you know—or whoever is there, know how it says nothing if it cannot speak. But the body left to await itself without this kind of constant action of the result of your mind upon it... well, it has this: as soon as there is some disturbance, immediately it has an aspiration, a call, an effortto seek help, and this is very powerful. If nothing intervenes, it is very powerful. It is as though the cells themselves sprang up in an aspiration, a call.<ref>http://incarnateword.in/cwm/1406/patience19-may-1954#p12p41</ref>

...if you are always open to a new progressthe physical, the material itself—to insist on the Light, the true will there also. For that, a new improvementdo not indulge the desires, a new transformationthe wrong impulses, then you are eternally youngthe wrong brute feelings that come. But if you sit back satisfied with what has been accomplished, if you have Do not admit the feeling idea that you have reached your goal and you have nothing left to do but enjoy cannot refuse. Throw them out each time they come, out of the fruit of your efforts, then already more than half your body is in into the tomb: it is decrepitude and the true deathenvironmental consciousness till they can finally be pushed away from there also. <ref> httphttps://incarnateword.in/cwmcwsa/0331/olddifficulties-of-the-physical-agenature#p15 p5</ref>

==To Develop a Harmonious PersonalityGunas and Their Working==

… a truly harmonious personality implies a conscious arrangement The gunas affect every part of our natural being. They have indeed their strongest relative hold in the inner individualitiesthree different members of it, mind, life and body. This arrangement may be effected spontaneously before birthTamas, the principle of inertia, but that is rarestrongest in material nature and in our physical being. The arrangement action of this principle is of two kinds, inertia of force and inertia of knowledge… The principle of Rajas has its strongest hold on the vital nature. It is the Life within us that is achieved laterthe strongest kinetic motor power, but the life-power in earthly beings is possessed by means the force of a disciplinedesire, therefore Rajas turns always to action and desire; desire is the strongest human and animal initiator of most kinesis and action, a proper education. But predominant to succeed such an extent that many consider it the father of all action and even the originator of our being… The principle of Sattwa has its strongest hold in the mind; not so much in this one must consciously take the psychic being as lower parts of the mind which are dominated by the rajasic life-power, but mostly in the centre intelligence and arrange, harmonise the various individualities around itwill of the reason. True harmonyIntelligence, reason, inner organisation is rational will are moved by the result nature of such their predominant principle towards a constant effort of assimilation, assimilation by knowledge, assimilation by a power of understanding will, a persistent constant efforttowards equilibrium, some stability, rule, harmony of the conflicting elements of natural happening and experience. <ref> httphttps://incarnateword.in/cwmsabcl/1521/30the-liberation-of-decemberthe-1950nature#p14 p3</ref>

=How to Make Efforts?==Tamasic===

You look at where you want Tamasic action is that done with a confused, deluded and ignorant mind, in mechanical obedience to go the instincts, impulsions and put all your effort in unseeing ideas, without regarding the strength or capacity or the movement to go forward. How far you have gone is not your concern...The historians waste and loss of our blind misapplied effort will tell us—because perhaps we shall still be there—will tell us what we did, how we did it. For or the moment what is necessary is to do it; this is antecedent and consequence and right conditions of the only thing that mattersimpulse, effort or labour. <ref>http://incarnateword.in/cwmcwsa/0919/8the-gunas-mind-octoberand-1958works#p7p10</ref>

It Rajasic action is always better to make that which a man undertakes under the dominion of desire, with his eyes fixed on the work and its hoped-for fruit and nothing else, or with an effort egoistic sense of his own personality in the right direction; even if one fails the action, and it is done with inordinate effort bears some result , with a passionate labour, with a great heaving and is never loststraining of the personal will to get at the object of its desire.<ref>http://incarnateword.in/cwsa/2919/surrenderthe-gunas-mind-and-works#p93 p10</ref>

If each As soon as you enter the rajasic nature, you like effort. And at least the one advantage of rajasic people is that they are courageous, whereas tamasic people are cowards. It is the fear of effort which makes a personal one cowardly. For once you have started, once you have taken the decision and begun the effort , you are interested. It is exactly the same thing which is the cause of perfect sinceritysome not liking to learn their lessons, not wanting to listen to the teacher; it is tamasic, it is to be asleep, uprightness it avoids the effort which must be made in order to catch the thing and goodthen grasp it and keep it. It is half-willsomnolence. So it is the same thing physically, it is a somnolence of the best conditions for the work will be realisedbeing, an inertia.<ref> http://incarnateword.in/cwm/1507/morality26-january-1955#p5 p19 </ref>

If you wish to progress, if you make Sattwic action is that which a man does calmly in the clear light of reason and knowledge and with an impersonal sense of right or duty or the demand of an effort to control yourself for instanceideal, as the thing that ought to overcome certain defects, weaknesses, imperfections, and if you expect be done whatever may be the result to get a more himself in this world or less immediate result from your effortanother, your effort loses all sincerity, it becomes a bargaining. You saywork performed without attachment, "See! I am going to make an effortwithout liking or disliking for its spur or its drag, but that's because I want this in exchange for my effort." You are no longer spontaneousthe sole satisfaction of his reason and sense of right, no longer naturalof the lucid intelligence and the enlightened will and the pure disinterested mind and the high contented spirit. <ref>http://incarnateword.in/cwmcwsa/0919/23the-aprilgunas-mind-and-1958works#p6p10</ref>

<center>~<==Limitations/center>Roadblocks to Do Effort==

Our path is not easy===Ignorance, it demands great courage Tamas and untiring endurance. One must work hard and make a great effort with quiet stability to obtain results which at times are scarcely perceptible outwardly. <ref> http://incarnateword.in/cwm/13/leaving-the-ashram#p74</ref>Fears===

If each one makes ''A.'' Because the outer ignorance is very stubborn and will yield only to a personal persistent effort of perfect sincerity, uprightness and good-will, the best conditions for the work will be realised. <ref> http://incarnateword.in/cwm/1517/morality11-june-1935-1#p5 p6 </ref>

Be obstinate In the human mind there is a morbid and deplorable habit of doubt, argument, scepticism. ''This'' is where human effort must be put in your effort towards progress: the refusal to admit them, the refusal to listen to them and still more the refusal to follow them. No game is more dangerous than playing mentally with doubt and scepticism. They are not only enemies, they are terrible pitfalls, and your obstinacy will become usefulonce one falls into them, it becomes tremendously difficult to pull oneself out.<ref>http://incarnateword.in/cwm/1409/perseverance9-july-1958#p15 p6 </ref>

Effort .. there are … different planes of.. being.. which may not have any contact among themselves, and that one may very well-directed breaks down pass from one plane to the another, and live in a certain consciousness, leaving the other absolutely asleep. And moreover, even in activity, at different times different states of being enter into activity, and unless one takes the greatest care to unify them, put them all in harmony, one of them may pull from one side, another from the other, and a third pull from the third, and all obstaclesof them be in contradiction with one another. <ref>httphttps://incarnateword.in/cwm/1407/steady7-september-effort1955#p10p22</ref>

Remaining steady ''Q. Is “physical tamas” same as laziness? '' ''A'' Not quite. Of course, laziness is a kind of tamas, but in our effort and quiet and firm in our determinationlaziness there is an ill-will, we are sure a refusal to reach the goalmake an effort—while tamas is inertia: one wants to do something, but one can't. <ref>http://incarnateword.in/cwm/1404/steady28-april-effort1951#p8</ref>

And this great thingWell, when one doesn't want to rise from make an effort to correct oneself, one says, "Oh, it is impossible, I can't do it, I don't have the human into strength, I am not made of that stuff, I don't have the divine naturenecessary qualities, we can only I could never do by an it." It is absolute laziness, it is in order to avoid the required effort of Godward knowledge. When you are asked to make progress: "Oh, it is beyond my capacity, I am a poor creature, I can do nothing!" That's all. It is almost ill-will and adoration. To get back It is extreme laziness, a refusal to self-knowledge make any effort. One accepts all one's defects and incapacities in order not to have to make the knowledge of the real as distinct from the apparent relations of the soul with Naturenecessary effort to overcome them. One says, "I am like that, I can't be otherwise!" It is a refusal to know God and ourselves and let the world with a spiritual and no longer with divine Grace work in you. It is a physical or externalised experience, through the deepest truth justification of the inner soulyour own ill-consciousness..will. <ref>http://incarnateword.in/cwsacwm/1906/above4-theaugust-gunas1954#p4p9 </ref>

''In the inner life, why are there periods when one can no longer make a conscious effort, and if one enforces it, parts indolence of the nature revolt or else everything in the being seems will which does not want to become petrified; make a sustained effort becomes for a long period [''lies the mechanical repetition of past movementsdifficulty'']. What should be done It is like a person who moves slightly half a leg for a second and then wonders why he is not already a hundred miles away at the goal after making such times?''a gigantic effort. <ref>https://incarnateword.in/cwsa/31/vigilance-resolution-will-and-the-divine-help#p44</ref>

What is not mentioned here is ... from the inner point of view, from the nature point of view of the efforttrue life, we have fallen back terribly and that for it is the acquisition of a certain kind of effort which leads to the result described herefew ingenious mechanisms, which is either a revolt or a sort of—yes, petrifaction, trulyfew encouragements to physical laziness, something that becomes absolutely insensible and no longer responds at all to this effort. This happens when the effort is almost exclusively mental acquisition of instruments and quite arbitrary, in the sense gadgets that it does not at all take into account lessen the state effort of living, we have renounced the rest reality of the being; it inner life. It is that sense which has its own idea, its own will, been lost and without any consideration it needs an effort for you to think of learning the rest meaning of the beinglife, it imposes this will on the being as a whole. This is what usually brings about the revolt or the petrifaction. And the only thing to do is to make the mind quiet. And this is the time to make a movement purpose of self-givingexistence, full of peace, quietude, confidence. If one makes this movement of self-giving, of complete surrender to the divine Willgoal towards which we must advance, towards which all the tension arising from the effortlife advances, an effort which could be called premature whether you want it or unconsidered—all not. One step towards the tension arising from this goal, oh! it needs so much effort gives way. There is a relaxation in the beingto do that. And generally one thinks of it only when the progress one could outer circumstances are not make by this purely mental effort usually comes about almost automatically, by the very fact that one has relaxed in confidence and self-giving to the divine Will. pleasant <ref>http://incarnateword.in/cwm/0803/28-november-1956vigilance#p22</ref>

There was a concurrence And even if by discipline and effort you have liberated your mind and your vital of circumstances which seemed to you dull, boring, stupid apprehension and you were in their midst; well, if you get boredfear, it means that you yourself are as boring as the circumstances! And that is a clear proof that you are simply not in a state of progress. There is nothing more contrary difficult to convince the very reason of existence than this passing wave of boredombody. If you make a little effort within yourself at that time, if you tell yourself: "Wait a bit, what is it that I should learn? What does all that bring to me so that I may learn something? What progress should I make in overcoming myself? What is the weakness But that I too must overcome? What is the inertia that I must conquer?" If you say that to yourself, you will see the next minute you are no longer bored. You will immediately get interested and you will make progress! This is a commonplace of consciousnessbe done. <ref>http://incarnateword.in/cwm/0503/1319-may-19531929#p22 p19 </ref>

So there are two things to remember''Q. First, You said that because we are incapable of judging what the result ought to be. If we put our trust in the Divine, if we say... if we say, "Well now, I am going to give here and have everything, everything, all I can give, effort, concentration, and He will judge what has it seems very natural to be given in exchange or even whether anything should be given in exchange, and I do not know what the result should beus." Before we transform anything in ourselves, are we quite sure of the direction, the way, the form that this transformation should takeWhy doesn't effort also come naturally?—Not at all'' ''A. So, it '' It is only our imagination and usually we greatly limit because the result to be obtained and make it altogether petty, meanphysical nature in ordinary men is, superficialas Sri Aurobindo writes, relativerather tamasic. We do Naturally it does not know what make any effort. But the result can truly bevital makes an effort. Only, what it ought to bemakes the effort usually for its own satisfaction. We know Yet it lateris quite capable of making an effort because that is in its nature. When it comes In fact, when the change takes placeI can't say that you don't make any effort, then if we look backyou make a lot of effort for many things, we say, "Ah! That's when it, pleases you or when you have understood that it is what I was moving towards"—but we know it only later. Before that we only have vague imaginations which are quite superficial and childish in comparison with the true progress, the true transformationnecessary for one reason or another. <ref>http://incarnateword.in/cwm/0906/2315-aprildecember-19581954#p7p18 </ref>

There Nothing is a period, more or less prolongeddangerous than wanting to rest. It is in action, of internal in effort and struggle , in which the individual will has to reject march forward that repose must be found, the darkness and distortions true repose of complete trust in the lower nature and to put itself resolutely or vehemently on divine Grace, of the side absence of desires, of victory over egoism...In the divine Light. The mental energiesthick of action, in the heart's emotionsvery midst of the battle, the vital desireseffort, you will know the very physical being have to be compelled into the right attitude or trained to admit repose of infinity and answer to the right influenceseternity. <ref>http://incarnateword.in/cwsacwm/2309/the20-fourmarch-aids1957#p15p11</ref>

...one can consider ignorance the cause of all external bad things, all mental constructions, all material efforts are vain, futile, if they are not entirely consecrated to... Light But I think that one is cowardly because one is very tamasic and Force from above, fears having tomake an effort...Truth which is trying In order not to express itselfbe cowardly, that one must make an effort, begin by an effort, and afterwards it becomes very interesting. But the best thing is ready to make decisive progressthe effort to overcome this kind of flight out of oneself. Instead of facing the thing, one recoils, runs away, turns one's back and runs away. So For the only truly effective attitude initial effort is a perfectdifficult. And so, total, fervent giving of our being to That which what prevents you from making an effort is above us and which alone has the power to change everythinginert, ignorant nature. <ref> http://incarnateword.in/cwm/0907/2926-octoberjanuary-19581955#p13 p18 </ref>

As with everything in yoga, the effort for progress must be Often when one has made for the love of the an effort for progress. The joy of effort, the aspiration for progress must be enough in themselvesand progressed, quite independent of the result. Everything one does in yoga must be done for has the joy feeling of doing itrising above himself into a purer, clearer, truer light and not in view of the result one wants to obtain.... Indeed, in life, always, in all things, the result does not belong to usconsciousness. And But if we want to one doesn't keep the right attitudethis aspiration and is not definitively settled there, a very tiny thing is enough, we must acta kind of physical disharmony, feelfor example, thinkor a meeting, strive spontaneouslya word exchanged or a movement made unconsciously, for one to feel that something is what we must do, falling; and not in view one can no longer get hold of that height where one was, that light. So one has to withdraw again, climb the slope, escape from the result to be obtainedattraction from below. Sometimes it takes time; one slides down very fast but usually climbs back with a certain difficulty. <ref> http://incarnateword.in/cwm/0907/2330-aprilmarch-19581955#p4 p20 </ref>

==Efforts in the PhysicalOvercoming Limitations==

"The body has a wonderful capacity of adaptation and endurance. It is fit to do so many more things than Why, everything, everything one can usually imagine. If instead of the ignorant and despotic masters that govern itdoes in this place must be done in this spirit, it is ruled otherwise you do not even profit by the central truth of opportunity given to you, the being, one will be surprised at what it is capable of doingcircumstances given to you. Calm and quietI explained to you the other day, strong and poiseddidn't I, it will at every minute put forth that the effort that Consciousness is demanded of ithere, for it will have learnt penetrating all things and trying to find rest manifest in actionall movements? But if you, on your side, to recuperate through contact with tell yourself that the universal forces effort you are making, the energies progress you are making, you make in order to become more capable of receiving this Consciousness and of manifesting it spends consciously , the work will naturally be much better and use-fullymuch quicker." <ref> http://incarnateword.in/cwm/0506/164-decemberaugust-19531954#p27p25</ref>

Even in ''Q. In the body, for instanceinner life, why are there periods when there is something like an attack, an accident, an illness trying to come in—something—an attack on the body, one can no longer make a body that is left to its natural spontaneity has an urgeconscious effort, an aspirationand if one enforces it, a spontaneous will to call for help. But as soon as parts of the affair goes to the head, it takes the form of things to which one is accustomed: nature revolt or else everything is spoilt. But if the body is seen in itself, just as it is, there is something which suddenly wakes up and calls for help, and with such a faith, such an intensity, just as the tiny little baby calls its mamma, you know—or whoever is there, it says nothing if it cannot speak. But the body left being seems to itself without this kind of constant action of the mind upon it... well, it has this: as soon as there is some disturbance, immediately it has an aspiration, a call, an become petrified; effort to seek help, and this is very powerful. If nothing intervenes, it is very powerful. It is as though becomes the cells themselves sprang up in an aspiration, a callmechanical repetition of past movements. <ref>http://incarnateword.in/cwm/06/19-may-1954#p41</ref>What should be done at such times?''

==Limitations''A.'' What is not mentioned here is the nature of the effort, for it is a certain kind of effort which leads to the result described here, which is either a revolt or a sort of—yes, petrifaction, truly, something that becomes absolutely insensible and no longer responds at all to this effort. This happens when the effort is almost exclusively mental and quite arbitrary, in the sense that it does not at all take into account the state of the rest of the being; it has its own idea, its own will, and without any consideration for the rest of the being, it imposes this will on the being as a whole. This is what usually brings about the revolt or the petrifaction. And the only thing to do is to make the mind quiet. And this is the time to make a movement of self-giving, full of peace, quietude, confidence. If one makes this movement of self-giving, of complete surrender to the divine Will, all the tension arising from the effort, an effort which could be called premature or unconsidered—all the tension arising from this effort gives way. There is a relaxation in the being. And the progress one could not make by this purely mental effort usually comes about almost automatically, by the very fact that one has relaxed in confidence and self-giving to the divine Will. <ref>http:/Roadblocks to Do Effort==/incarnateword.in/cwm/08/28-november-1956#p22</ref>

===Ignorance, Tamas and Fears=== ''Please tell me why I don't succeed immediately in my effort.''<center>~</center>

Because There was a concurrence of circumstances which seemed to you dull, boring, stupid and you were in their midst; well, if you get bored, it means that you yourself are as boring as the outer ignorance circumstances! And that is a clear proof that you are simply not in a state of progress. There is nothing more contrary to the very stubborn reason of existence than this passing wave of boredom. If you make a little effort within yourself at that time, if you tell yourself: "Wait a bit, what is it that I should learn? What does all that bring to me so that I may learn something? What progress should I make in overcoming myself? What is the weakness that I must overcome? What is the inertia that I must conquer?" If you say that to yourself, you will see the next minute you are no longer bored. You will immediately get interested and you will yield only to make progress! This is a persistent effortcommonplace of consciousness. <ref> http://incarnateword.in/cwm/1705/11-june13-1935may-11953#p6 p22 </ref>

.. If there are … different planes is a sincerity in the aspiration and a patient will to arrive at the higher consciousness in spite ofall obstacles, then the opening in one form or another is sure to arrive.. being.. which But it may not have any contact among themselvestake a long or a short time according to the prepared or unprepared condition of the mind, heart and that body; so if one has not the necessary patience, the effort may very well pass from one plane be abandoned owing to the another, and live in a certain consciousness, leaving difficulty of the other absolutely asleepbeginning. And moreoverThere is no method in this Yoga except to concentrate, even preferably in activitythe heart, at different times different states and call the presence and power of the Mother to take up the being enter into activityand by the workings of her force transform the consciousness; one can concentrate also in the head or between the eyebrows, but for many this is a too difficult opening. When the mind falls quiet and the concentration becomes strong and unless one takes the greatest care to unify themaspiration intense, put them all in harmonythen there is a beginning of experience. The more the faith, the more rapid the result is likely to be. For the rest one of them may pull from must not depend on one side's own efforts only, another from but succeed in establishing a contact with the other, Divine and a third pull from receptivity to the third, Mother's Power and all of them be in contradiction with one anotherPresence. <ref> httpshttp://incarnateword.in/cwmcwsa/0729/7-september-1955opening#p22p9</ref>

Not quite. Of courseBut whatever you do, whatever the process you use, laziness is and even if you happen to have acquired in it a kind great skill and power, you must leave the result in the hands of tamasthe Divine. Always you may try, but in laziness there it is an ill-will, a refusal for the Divine to make an effort—while tamas is inertia: one wants give you the fruit of your effort or not to do somethinggive it. There your personal power stops...But whatever you ask for or whatever your effort, you must feel, even while trying your best, using knowledge or putting forth power, but one can'tthat the result depends upon the Divine Grace. <ref> http://incarnateword.in/cwm/0403/2823-apriljune-19511929#p8p15 </ref>

And even if by discipline and effort It is possible that at a certain moment something comes along to give you have liberated the impression that your mind and your vital effort has been appreciated, but the effort was not made in view of apprehension and fearthat; that is, it these promises are not made beforehand nor are they balanced by equivalent punishments. This is more difficult to convince not the bodypractice here. But Usually things are such, arranged in such a way, that too must the satisfaction of having done well seems to be donethe best of rewards and one punishes himself when he does badly, in the sense that one feels miserable and unhappy and ill at ease, and this is indeed the most concrete punishment he has. And so, all these movements, from the point of view of the inner spiritual growth, have an infinitely greater value than when they are the result of an outer rule. <ref> http://incarnateword.in/cwm/0306/1915-maydecember-19291954#p20 </ref> =What Is Effortlessness?= But a time comes when one feels the Presence and the Force constantly and more and more feels that that is doing everything—so that the worst difficulties cannot disturb this sense and personal effort is no longer necessary, hardly even possible. That is the sign of the full surrender of the nature into the hands of the Divine. <ref>http://incarnateword.in/cwsa/29/surrender#p19p73</ref>

... from Whatever be the inner point of viewway you follow, from personal effort is always necessary till the point moment of view of the true life, we have fallen back terribly and identification. At that for the acquisition of moment all effort drops from you like a few ingenious mechanismsworn-out robe, a few encouragements to physical laziness, the acquisition of instruments and gadgets that lessen the effort of livingyou are another person: what was impossible for you becomes not only possible but indispensable, we have renounced the reality of the inner lifeyou cannot do otherwise. <ref>http://incarnateword.in/cwm/0304/vigilance10-february-1951#p22p19 </ref>

It is At other times, one has the materialism impression of modern times that has turned spiritual making no effort into a hard struggle and a sacrifice, a painful renunciation but of feeling only the so-called joys presence of a consciousness due to which in many circumstances of daily lifea means of progress is found. One wonders then what effort is and what its value? What we call effort—isn't it too mental a movement? <ref>httphttps://incarnateword.in/cwm/0308/vigilance28-november-1956#p13p26</ref>

Desire often leads either to excess of effort, meaning often much labour Effort and a limited fruit, with strain, exhaustion and in case expenditure of difficulty or failure despondence, disbelief or revoltenergy are not necessarily the same thing; or else it leads to pulling down the force. That can be done, but except for best expenditure of energy is that which flows easily without effort at all—when the Yogically strong Inspiration or Force (any Force) works of itself and experienced, it is not always safe, though it may be often very effective; not safe, first, because it may lead to violent reactions or bring down contrary or wrong or mixed forces which the sadhak is not experienced enough to distinguish from mind and vital and even body are glowing instruments and the true onesForce flows out in an intense and happy working—an almost labourless labour. <ref>http://incarnateword.in/cwsa/29/the-divine-force-in-work#p37p10</ref>

WellThere are two possibilities, when one doesn't want to make an of purification by personal effort to correct oneself, one sayswhich takes a long time, "Oh, it is impossible, I can't do it, I don't have the strength, I am not made another by a direct intervention of that stuff, I don't have the necessary qualities, I could never do it." It is absolute laziness, it Divine Grace which is usually rapid in order to avoid its action. For the required effort. When you are asked to make progress: "Oh, latter there must be a complete surrender and self-giving and for that again usually it is beyond my capacity, I am necessary to have a poor creature, I mind that can do nothing!" That's all. It is almost ill-will. It is extreme laziness, a refusal to make any effort. One accepts all one's defects remain quite quiet and incapacities in order not to have to make allow the necessary effort Divine Force to overcome them. One says, "I am like thatact supporting it with its complete adhesion at every step, I can't be but otherwise!" It is a refusal to let the divine Grace work in you. It is a justification of your own ill-willremaining still and quiet. <ref> http://incarnateword.in/cwmcwsa/0629/4-august-1954surrender#p9p78</ref>

In ... when one is well prepared and the indolence of nature is ready, then the will which does not want to make last movement is like a sustained spontaneous blossoming—it's no longer an effort for a long period [lies the difficulty], it's an answer. It is like a person who moves slightly half a leg for a second truly divine action in the being: one is prepared and the moment has come, then wonders why he is not already a hundred miles away at the goal after making such a gigantic effortbud opens. <ref>http://incarnateword.in/cwsacwm/3108/vigilance18-resolution-will-and-the-divinejanuary-help1956#p43p25</ref>

It is because the physical nature … instead of being in ordinary men isa state of tension, as Sri Aurobindo writes, rather tamasic. Naturally it does not make any instead of making a tremendous effort. But to silence the vital makes an effort. Onlyinner machine and be able to concentrate your thought upon what you want, when you do it makes the quite simply, naturally, without effort usually , automatically, and you decide to meditate for its own satisfaction. Yet it some reason or other, what you want to see, learn or know remains in your consciousness and all the rest disappears as by a miracle; everything falls quiet in you, all your being becomes silent, your nerves are altogether soothed, your consciousness is quite capable of making wholly concentrated—naturally, spontaneously—and you enter with an effort because that is in its natureintense delight into a yet more intense contemplation. <ref> http://incarnateword.in/cwm/0604/1517-decemberfebruary-19541951#p18 p36 </ref>

Nothing Certainly there is more dangerous than wanting a moment in the course of the inner growth when far from having to rest. It is in action, in make an effortto concentrate, to become absorbed in the march forward that repose must be foundcontemplation and the seeking of the truth and its best expression—what the Buddhists call meditation—you feel, on the true repose contrary, a kind of complete trust relief, ease, rest, joy, and to have to come out of that in order to deal with things that are not essential, everything that may seem like a waste of time, becomes terribly painful. External activities get reduced to what is absolutely necessary, to those that are done as service to the divine GraceDivine. All that is futile, useless, precisely those things which seem like a waste of time and effort, all that, far from giving the absence of desiresleast satisfaction, creates a kind of victory over egoismdiscomfort and fatigue; you feel happy only when you are concentrated on your goal. <ref>http://incarnateword.in/cwm/0903/20-march-1957vigilance#p11p47 </ref>

And he [Sri Aurobindo] contrasts...one can consider ignorance "willings"—that is, all these superficial wills, often opposite and contradictory and without any lasting basis because they are founded on what he calls a "knowing" and not on knowledge—with the cause of all bad thingstrue will... But I think that one The word "will" is cowardly because one is very tamasic normally reserved to indicate what comes from the deeper being or the higher reality and fears having to make an effortwhat expresses in action the true knowledge which Sri Aurobindo has contrasted with knowings. In order not to be cowardlySo, one must make an effortwhen this will which expresses the true knowledge manifests in action, begin by an effort, and afterwards it becomes very interesting. But the best thing is to make manifests through the intervention of a deep and direct power which no longer requires any effort to overcome this kind of flight out of oneself. Instead of facing And that is why Sri Aurobindo says here that the thing, true power for action cannot come until one recoilshas gone beyond the stage of willings, runs awaythat is, turns one's back and runs away. For until the initial effort is difficult. And so, what prevents you from making an effort motive of action is the inert, ignorant nature. <ref>http://incarnatewordresult not of a mere mental activity but of true knowledge.in/cwm/07/26-january-1955#p18 </ref>

... true will carries in itself the force of truth which gives power—an invincible power. And so, when one expresses "willings", to be able to apply them in life and make them effective, some effort must come in—it is through personal effort that one progresses, and it is through effort that one imposes one's willings upon life to make it yield to their demands—but when they are no longer willings, when it is the true will expressing the true knowledge, effort is no longer required, for the power is omnipotent. <ref>http://incarnateword.in/cwm/08/21-november-1956#p14,p16</ref> ==Overcoming LimitationsRoadblocks to Effortlessness==

If there is I knew people who had truly made a sincerity in lot of progress, who were very close to the aspiration and a patient will to arrive at moment when one emerges into the higher consciousness in spite truth of all obstaclesthings, then the opening in one form or another is sure to arriveand who were held back... But it may take a long or a short time according Because this need to be the prepared or unprepared condition source of the mindaction, heart and body; so if one has not to have the necessary patience, merit of the effort may be abandoned owing to , this need is so deeply rooted that they cannot take the difficulty of the beginninglast step. Sometimes it takes years. One must not depend on oneIf they are told, "No, it isn's own efforts onlyt you, this energy which is in you, this will which is in you, but succeed this knowledge which is in establishing a contact with you, all this is the Divine and a receptivity to the Mother; it is not what you call yourself", this makes them so miserable that they can's Power and Presencet do anything any more. <ref>http://incarnateword.in/cwsacwm/2907/opening9-november-1955#p9p8 </ref>

You must try, you must make an effort yourself. To explain is simply to try to give a formula The feeling of resistance [to the mind which allows descent of the thing to Force] may be done without any the result of the effortat response. One has a fine explanation in his head and believes that it When there is enough for the thing to be realised. But if one does just a little—even very awkwardly—gradually one progresses, one does better and better. When one does it really well, one understands what one free flow there is doing, and one also knows how one has learnt to do it, by doing it step by step, by tryingneither effort nor resistance.<ref> http://incarnateword.in/cwmcwsa/0630/17descent-and-the-novemberlower-1954nature#p9p4</ref> =Efforts in Integral Yoga=

Persevere The development of the experience in its rapidity, its amplitude, the intensity and power of its results, depends primarily, in your the beginning of the path and long after, on the aspiration and personal effort, do not allow yourself of the sadhaka. The process of Yoga is a turning of the human soul from the egoistic state of consciousness absorbed in the outward appearances and attractions of things to be discouraged by setbacksa higher state in which the Transcendent and Universal can pour itself into the individual mould and transform it. This always happens in The first determining element of the siddhi is, therefore, the intensity of the turning, the force which directs the beginningsoul inward. But if you continue to fight without paying any attention to themThe power of aspiration of the heart, a day the force of the will come when , the concentration of the mind, the resistances give way perseverance and determination of the difficulties vanishapplied energy are the measure of that intensity. The ideal sadhaka should be able to say in the Biblical phrase, "My help zeal for the Lord has eaten me up." It is always with youthis zeal for the Lord,—''utsāha'', the zeal of the whole nature for its divine results, ''vyākulatā'', but you must learn to use the heart's eagerness for the attainment of the Divine,—that devours the ego and breaks up the limitations of its petty and narrow mould for the full and wide reception of that which it seeks, that which, being universal, exceeds and to rely on it rather than on your own resources, being transcendent, surpasses even the largest and highest individual self and nature. <ref>http://incarnateword.in/cwm/14/perseverance#p7</ref>

Correct EffortAlways indeed it is the higher Power that acts. Do not make useless efforts for useless things, rather keep all Our sense of personal effort and aspiration comes from the energy attempt of your effort the egoistic mind to conquer ignorance identify itself in a wrong and free yourself from falsehoodimperfect way with the workings of the divine Force. It persists in applying to experience on a supernormal plane the ordinary terms of mentality which it applies to its normal experiences in the world. That you can never do too muchIn the world we act with the sense of egoism; we claim the universal forces that work in us as our own; we claim as the effect of our personal will, wisdom, force, virtue the selective, formative, progressive action of the Transcendent in this frame of mind, life and body. <ref>http://incarnatewordEnlightenment brings to us the knowledge that the ego is only an instrument; we begin to perceive and feel that these things are our own in the sense that they belong to our supreme and integral Self, one with the Transcendent, not to the instrumental ego.Our limitations and distortions are our contribution to the working; the true power in/cwm/03/it is theDivine's. When the human ego realises that its will is a tool, its wisdom ignorance and childishness, its power an infant's groping, its virtue a pretentious impurity, and learns to trust itself to that which transcends it, that is its salvation. The apparent freedom and self-awakened-oneassertion of our personal being to which we are so profoundly attached, conceal a most pitiable subjection to a thousand suggestions, impulsions, forces which we have made extraneous to our little person. Our ego, boasting of freedom, is at every moment the slave, toy and puppet of countless beings, powers, forces, influences in universal Nature. The self-abnegation of the ego in theDivine is its self-buddha#p33 </ref>fulfilment; its surrender to that which transcends it is its liberation from bonds and limits and its perfect freedom.

But whatever you do, whatever The personal will of the process you use, and even if you happen sadhaka has first to have acquired in it a great skill seize on the egoistic energies and power, you must leave turn them towards the result in light and the hands of the Divineright; once turned, he has still to train them to recognise that always, always to accept, always to follow that. Always you may tryProgressing, he learns, but it is for still using the Divine personal will, personal effort, personal energies, to give you employ them as representatives of the fruit of your effort or not higher Power and in conscious obedience to give itthe higher Influence. There your Progressing yet farther, his will, effort, energy become no longer personal power stops..and separate, but activities of that higher Power and Influence at work in the individual.But whatever you ask for there is still a sort of gulf or whatever your effortdistance which necessitates an obscure process of transit, you must feelnot always accurate, sometimes even while trying your bestvery distorting, using knowledge or putting forth powerbetween the divine Origin and the emerging human current. At the end of the process, with the progressive disappearance of egoism and impurity and ignorance, that this last separation is removed; all in the result depends upon individual becomes the Divine Gracedivine working. <ref>httphttps://incarnateword.in/cwmcwsa/0323/23the-junefour-1929aids#p1,p12,p13,p14,p15 ,p16</ref>

It is possible that at a certain moment something comes along to give you the impression that your one's own effort has been appreciatedis necessary, but though one cannot do the sadhana by one's own effort was not made in view of that; that is, these promises are not made beforehand nor are they balanced by equivalent punishmentsalone. This The Mother's Force is not the practice here. Usually things are suchneeded, arranged in such a way, that but the satisfaction of having done well seems sadhak must open himself to be it, reject what opposes the best of rewards and one punishes himself when he does badlyForce, put his full sincerity, aspiration, in will power into the see that one feels miserable sadhana. It is only when all is open and unhappy and ill at ease, and this there is indeed the most concrete punishment he hasfull surrender that the Divine Power takes up the sadhana so entirely that personal effort is no longer necessary. And soBut that cannot happen at an early stage—one must go on opening oneself, all these movementsconsecrating oneself, from making the point of view of the inner spiritual growth, have an infinitely greater value than when they are the result of an outer rulesurrender till that later stage comes. <ref>httphttps://incarnateword.in/cwmcwsa/0632/15receptivity-and-openness-to-the-decembermothers-1954force#p20p23</ref>

But if one has within, besides the part that has given way The Yoga must start with an effort or at least a settled turn towards this total concentration. A constant and fallen, if somewhere one has a very ardent flame, if one is ready for anything, unfailing will of consecration of all possible suffering, all possible effort, all possible sacrifices ourselves to redress what one has donethe Supreme is demanded of us, in order an offering of our whole being and our many-chambered nature to climb back from the bottom Eternal who is the All. The effective fullness of our concentration on the abyss, one thing needful to find the path again, one can do it. This flame has exclusion of all else will be the power measure of our self-consecration to call the GraceOne who is alone desirable. And with But this exclusiveness will in the Grace there is end exclude nothing impossibleexcept the falsehood of our way of seeing the world and our will's ignorance. <ref>http://incarnatewordFor our concentration on the Eternal will be consummated by the mind when we see constantly the Divine in itself and the Divine in ourselves, but also the Divine in all things and beings and happenings.It will be consummated by the heart when all emotion is summed up in the love of the Divine,—of the Divine in/cwm/06/22-december-1954#p36 </ref> ==What Is Effortlessness?== But a time comes when one feels itself and for itself, but love too of the Presence Divine in all its beings and powers and personalities and forms in the Universe. It will be consummated by the Force constantly will when we feel and more receive always the divine impulsion and more feels accept that alone as our sole motive force; but this will mean that is doing everything—so that , having slain to the last rebellious straggler the wandering impulses of the worst difficulties cannot disturb this sense egoistic nature, we have universalised ourselves and personal effort can accept with a constant happy acceptance the one divine working in all things. This is no longer necessary, hardly even possiblethe first fundamental siddhi of the integral Yoga. <ref>httphttps://incarnateword.in/cwsa/2923/surrenderself-consecration#p73p23</ref>

The number of hours spent If you keep the wideness and calm as you are keeping it and also the love for the Mother in meditation the heart, then all is no proof safe—for it means the double foundation of spiritual progress. It is a proof the Yoga—the descent of the higher consciousness with its peace, freedom and security from above and the openness of your progress when you no longer have to make an effort to meditate. Then you have rather to make an the psychic which keeps all the effort to stop meditatingor all the spontaneous movement turned towards the true goal. <ref>http://incarnateword.in/cwmcwsa/0330/21the-aprilpsychic-and-spiritual-1929realisations#p27 p10</ref>

... when one Yoga is well prepared and in essence the nature is ready, then union of the last movement is like a spontaneous blossoming—it's no longer an effort, it's an answer. It is a truly divine action in soul with the immortal being: one is prepared and the moment has come, then the bud opens. <ref>http://incarnateword.in/cwm/08/18-january-1956#p25</ref> <center>~</center> And he [Sri Aurobindo] contrasts..."willings"—that is, all these superficial wills, often opposite and contradictory consciousness and without any lasting basis because they are founded on what he calls a "knowing" and not on knowledge—with the true will...The word "will" is normally reserved to indicate what comes from the deeper being or the higher reality and what expresses in action the true knowledge which Sri Aurobindo has contrasted with knowings. So, when this will which expresses delight of the true knowledge manifests in actionDivine, it manifests effected through the intervention human nature with a result of a deep and direct power which no longer requires any effort. And that is why Sri Aurobindo says here that development into the true power for action cannot come until one has gone beyond the stage divine nature of willingsbeing, whatever that ismay be, until the motive of action is the result not of a mere mental so far as we can conceive it in mind and realise it in spiritual activity but of true knowledge.... true will carries in itself the force Whatever we see of truth which gives power—an invincible power. And so, when one expresses "willings", to be able to apply them in life and make them effective, some effort must come in—it is through personal effort that one progresses, this Divine and it is through fix our concentrated effort that one imposes one's willings upon life to make it yield to their demands—but when they are no longer willings, when that we can become or grow into some kind of unity with it is or at the true will expressing the true knowledge, effort is no longer required, for the power is omnipotentlowest into tune and harmony with it. <ref>http://incarnateword.in/cwmcwsa/0824/21the-novemberdelight-1956of-the-divine#p14,p16p1</ref>

…instead In the first movement of being in a state of tensionself-preparation, instead the period of making a tremendous personal effort , the method we have to silence use is this concentration of the inner machine whole being on the Divine that it seeks and be able to concentrate your thought upon what you want, when you do it quite simplyas its corollary, this constant rejection, throwing out, naturally''katharsis'', without effortof all that is not the true Truth of the Divine. An entire consecration of all that we are, automaticallythink, feel and you decide do will be the result of this persistence. This consecration in its turn must culminate in an integral self-giving to meditate the Highest; for some reason or otherits crown and sign of completion is the whole nature's all-comprehending absolute surrender. In the second stage of the Yoga, transitional between the human and the divine working, there will supervene an increasing purified and vigilant passivity, what you want a more and more luminous divine response to seethe Divine Force, learn or know remains in your consciousness but not to any other; and there will be as a result the growing inrush of a great and conscious miraculous working from above. In the last period there is no effort at all , no set method, no fixed sadhana; the rest disappears as place of endeavour and tapasya will be taken by a miracle; everything falls quiet in younatural, all your being becomes silentsimple, your nerves powerful and happy disclosing of the flower of the Divine out of the bud of a purified and perfected terrestrial nature. These are altogether soothed, your consciousness is wholly concentrated—naturally, spontaneously—and you enter with an intense delight into a yet more intense contemplationthe natural successions of the action of the Yoga. <ref>http://incarnateword.in/cwmcwsa/0423/17-februaryself-1951consecration#p36 p26</ref>

Certainly there is For a moment time comes in the course of the inner growth spiritual development when far from having to make an we become aware that all our effort and action are only our mental and vital reactions to concentrate, to become absorbed in the contemplation silent and the seeking secret insistence of the truth a greater Presence in and around us. It is borne in upon us that all our Yoga, our aspiration and its best expression—what the Buddhists call meditation—you feelour endeavour are imperfect or narrow forms, on because disfigured or at least limited by the contrarymind's associations, a kind of reliefdemands, easeprejudgments, rest, joypredilections, mistranslations or half translations of a vaster truth. Our ideas and experiences and to have to come out efforts are mental images only of that in order to deal with greatest things that are not essentialwhich would be done more perfectly, directly, everything that may seem like a waste of timefreely, becomes terribly painful. External activities get reduced to what is absolutely necessarylargely, to those more in harmony with the universal and eternal will by that are done Power itself in us if we could only put ourselves passively as service to instruments in the Divinehands of a supreme and absolute strength and wisdom. All that That Power is not separate from us; it is futile, useless, precisely those things which seem like a waste our own self one with the self of all others and at the same time a transcendent Being and effortan immanent Person. Our existence, all thatour action taken up into this greatest Existence would be no longer, far from giving the least satisfactionas it seems to us now, creates individually our own in a kind mental separation. It would be the vast movement of discomfort an Infinity and fatiguean intimate ineffable Presence; you feel happy only when you are concentrated on your goalit would be the constant spontaneity of formation and expression in us of this deep universal self and this transcendent Spirit. <ref>http://incarnateword.in/cwmcwsa/0319/vigilancethe-supreme-secret#p47p20</ref>

Effort No sadhak can reach the supermind by his own efforts and expenditure of energy are not necessarily the same thing; the best expenditure of energy is that which flows easily without effort at all—when to do it by personal tapasya has been the Inspiration or Force (any Force) works source of itself and many mishaps. One has to go quietly stage by stage until the mind and vital being is ready and even body are glowing instruments and then it is only the Grace that can bring the Force flows out in an intense and happy working—an almost labourless labourreal supramental change. <ref>http://incarnateword.in/cwsa/2928/the-divine-force-insupramental-worktransformation#p10p15</ref>

There are two possibilitiesBut if through effort, through discipline, through progressive mastery, you surmount your ego and go beyond it, one even if only in the tiniest part of purification by personal effortyour being, which takes this acts like the opening of a long timesmall window somewhere, another and by a direct intervention of looking carefully through the window, you will be able to glimpse the Divine Grace which is usually rapid in its actionsupermind. For the latter there must be a complete surrender and self-giving and for And that again usually it is necessary to have a mind promise. When you glimpse it, you find it so beautiful that can remain quite quiet and allow you immediately want to get rid of all the Divine Force to act supporting it with its complete adhesion at every step, but otherwise remaining still and quietrest...of the ego!<ref>http://incarnateword.in/cwsacwm/2903/surrenderthe-ego#p78p25</ref>

===Roadblocks ''Q. Mother, this new force which is going to Effortlessness===act, will it act through individual effort or independently of it?''

I knew people who had truly made a lot ''A.'' Why this opposition? It acts independently of progressall individual effort, who were very close to as if automatically in the moment when one emerges into the truth of thingsworld, but it ''creates'' individual effort and who were held back''makes use'' of it... Because this need to be the source Individual effort is one of its means of the action, to have the merit of and perhaps the most powerful. If one thinks that individual effort, this need is so deeply rooted that they cannot take due to the last step. Sometimes it takes years. If they are told, "Noindividual, it isn't youis an illusion, this energy which but if the individual under the pretext that there is in youa universal action independent of himself refuses to make an individual effort, this will which is in youhe refuses to give his collaboration. The Force wants to use, this knowledge which is and does in you, all this fact use individual effort as one of the most powerful means at its disposal. It is the Divine; Force itself, it is not what you call yourself", this makes them so miserable that they canPower which ''is''t do anything any moreyour individual effort. <ref>httphttps://incarnateword.in/cwm/0709/92-novemberjanuary-19551957#p8p28,p29</ref>

The feeling of resistance [to the descent of the Force] may be the result of the effort at response. When there is the free flow there is neither effort nor resistance. <ref>http://incarnateword.in/cwsa/30/descent-and-the-lower-nature#p4</ref> ==Efforts in Integral Yoga== In the first movement of self-preparation''all ''external things, all mental constructions, all material efforts are vain, the period of personal effortfutile, the method we have if they are not entirely consecrated to use is this concentration of the whole being on the Divine that it seeks Light andForce from above, as its corollary, to this constant rejection, throwing out, katharsis, of all that is not the true Truth of the Divine. An entire consecration of all that we are, think, feel and do will be the result of this persistence. This consecration in its turn must culminate in an integral self-giving to the Highest; for its crown and sign of completion which is the whole nature's all-comprehending absolute surrender. In the second stage of the Yoga, transitional between the human and the divine working, there will supervene an increasing purified and vigilant passivity, a more and more luminous divine response trying to the Divine Forceexpress itself, but not that one is ready to any other; and there will be as a result the growing inrush of a great and conscious miraculous working from abovemake decisive progress. In So the last period there only truly effective attitude is no effort at all, no set method, no fixed sadhana; the place of endeavour and tapasya will be taken by a naturalperfect, simpletotal, powerful and happy disclosing fervent giving of the flower of the Divine out of the bud of a purified our being to That which is above us and perfected terrestrial nature. These are which alone has the natural successions of the action of the Yogapower to change everything. <ref>http://incarnateword.in/cwsacwm/2309/self29-october-consecration1958#p26p13 </ref>

The personal will of the sadhaka has first to seize on the egoistic energies and turn them towards the light Every movement in you which is false and the right;once turned, he has still to train them to recognise that always, always to accept, always to follow that. Progressing, he learns, still using the personal will, personal effort, personal energies, to employ them as representatives of the higher Power and in conscious obedience opposed to the higher Influence. Progressing yet farther, his will, effort, energy become no longer personal and separate, but activities of that higher Power and Influence at work in the individual. But there truth is still a sort of gulf or distance which necessitates an obscure process negation of transit, not always accurate, sometimes even very distorting, between the divine Origin and the emerging human currentlife. At Your small efforts have considerable results which you don't even have the end satisfaction of the processknowing, with the progressive disappearance of egoism but which are true and impurity have precisely an impersonal and ignorance, this last separation is removed; all in the individual becomes the divine workinggeneral effect. <ref>http://incarnateword.in/cwsacwm/2305/the8-fourapril-aids1953#p16p30</ref>

Yoga is in essence ... the union effort you could make individually, instead of the soul with the immortal being for only an individual progress, will spread, so to say, or have very important collective results. <ref>http://incarnateword.in/cwm/09/21-august-1957#p8</ref> If you were all yogis and consciousness did everything you do with your utmost effort and delight of the Divineto your utmost possibilities, effected through the human nature as well as you can do it and always with a result of development into the divine nature idea of beingdoing it better still, then, obviously, whatever that may there would beno need of competitions, prizes, rewards; but, so far as we can conceive it in mind Sri Aurobindo writes, little children cannot be expected to be yogis, and realise it in spiritual activityduring the period of preparation a stimulus is necessary for the most material consciousness to make an effort for progress.... Whatever we see of And this Divine and fix our concentrated effort upon it, that we can become or grow into some kind period of unity with it or at the lowest into tune and harmony with it. childhood may last for many years! <ref>httphttps://incarnateword.in/cwsacwm/2409/the1-delight-of-themay-divine1957#p1p7</ref>

No sadhak can reach the supermind by his own efforts It should be known and the effort we should not hesitate to do it by personal tapasya has been say openly that the source purpose of many mishaps. One has our school is to go quietly stage by stage until the being is ready discover and even then it is only encourage those in whom the Grace that can bring the real supramental change. <ref>http://incarnatewordneed for progress has become conscious enough to orient their life.in/cwsa/28/the-supramental-transformation#p15</ref>

==Gunas <center>~</center> If there is no personal effort, if the sadhak is too indolent and Their Working==tamasic to try, why should the Grace act? <ref>http://incarnateword.in/cwsa/31/vigilance-resolution-will-and-the-divine-help#p57</ref>

Tamasic action is that done with a confused, deluded and ignorant mind, in mechanical obedience to the instincts, impulsions and unseeing ideas, without regarding the strength or capacity or the waste and loss of blind misapplied effort or the antecedent and consequence and right conditions of the impulse, effort or labour. <refcenter>http://incarnateword.in/cwsa/19/the-gunas-mind-and-works#p10~</refcenter>

As soon as you enter the rajasic nature, you like effort. And at least the one advantage of rajasic people is that they are courageous, whereas tamasic people are cowards. <center>It is the fear of effort which makes one cowardly. For once you have startedleft to us to prove, once you have taken the decision by a sustained and begun the disciplined effort, you that we are interested. It is exactly the same thing which is the cause of some not liking to learn their lessons, not wanting to listen to the teacher; it is tamasic, it is to be asleep, it avoids the effort which must be made sincere in order to catch the thing our aspiration for a life more conscious and then grasp it and keep it. It is half-somnolence. So it is the same thing physically, it is a somnolence of the being, an inertiamore true. <ref> http://incarnateword.in/cwm/0712/26messages-for-januarythe-1955annual-re-opening-of-classes#p19 p4</ref> </center>