Readings in Our Many Selves: Practical Yogic Psychology

Book excerpt: Who are we? Why are we alive? What are we here to do? What is the meaning and significance of our lives? These questions nag at us at times in our everyday lives until finally we take them up and try to unravel the mystery of our existence and the existence of the universal creation. Sri Aurobindo and the Mother have taken up these questions and provided a way of understanding and a method for progress in finding and applying the solutions we find. They do so by showing us the complex and multiple different ‘selves’ that make up what we believe to be a unified external personality. In fact, we are not so simple, and not so unified in our being. There are conflicting drives and forces at work which create internal conflict and, in many cases, defeat us in the achievement of our highest goals and aspirations. By understanding this complex makeup of our being, we are able to find a path to liberation from this bondage without at the same time, having to totally abandon all action in the world. Our Many Selves: Practical Yogic Psychology, compiled by Dr. A.S. Dalal from the writings of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother, is an extremely useful text to aid us in the process of self-discovery and self-actualization. It is a benefit to spiritual seekers regardless of the specific path followed, as it is not based on any particular religious or philosophical dogma. At the same time, the deeper understanding provided by this text can aid even those who are not actively and consciously practicing yoga for the sake of self-knowledge or self-realization, as it will help each individual work through the pressures, the internal debates, and inner conflicts that frequently impact the individual's ability to act and succeed in their intended goals, even when they are purely based on fulfilling the external personality. If we can understand the forces that bring us to feeding addictions, procrastinating, living an unhealthy and imbalanced lifestyle, sabotaging our relations with others, then we can begin to achieve a more harmonious and successful life however we choose to define success. Dr. Dala states: “This book is meant to bear out Sri Aurobindo’s oft-quoted statement, ‘Yoga is nothing but practical psychology.’ Generally, yoga is viewed as made up of certain set practices and certain rules and norms pertaining to one’s outer life. In contrast to this view Our Many Selves… present Yoga as consisting essentially in inner psychological work aimed at the transformation of consciousness.”