Root Formula of Integral Yoga

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“…the spirit breaks through all formulas to find its self…”
Sri Aurobindo
CWSA-22/The Life Divine-1038

  Here are twelve powerful Savitri-formulas (expressed as concise spiritual principles distilled from the epic) that closely support this truth:

1. The Soul Exceeds Every Law
The spirit is greater than the law that governs its present state.
“The impossible God’s sign of things to be.
But few can look beyond the present state”
Savitri-52
"The spirit in a finite ignorant world 
Must rescue so its prisoned consciousness"
Savitri-140
Evolution advances because consciousness is not imprisoned in its current formulation.
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2. The Infinite cannot be enclosed.
No creed, symbol, or thought can contain the Eternal.
“The doors of God they have locked with keys of creed
And shut out by the Law his tireless Grace.”
Savitri-225
Every Spiritual formulation is a temporary doorway, not the final dwelling.
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3. Truth is a Living Revelation
What was once revelation becomes a stepping-stone to a greater revelation.
“I make even sin and error stepping-stones
And all experience a long march towards Light.”
Savitri-515
The Spirit continually renews its expression.
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4. The Soul is called beyond its Achievement
Every summit reached reveals a higher summit.
“It left known summits for the unknown peaks:”
Savitri-277

5. Death guards the threshold of Transformation
What appears as an end conceals a greater becoming.
“Our death is made a passage to new worlds.”
Savitri-194
“He has need of death to find a greater life.”
Savitri-337
“Death is our road to immortality.”
Savitri-424

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6. Love Transcends Cosmic Necessity
Divine Love can alter the decrees of Fate.
“The soul is the watchful builder of its fate”
Savitri-184
“A touch can alter the fixed front of Fate.”
Savitri-256
"And woke in it the Force that alters Fate.” 
Savitri-665

7. The Divine is More Than Its Manifestations
The Form reveals the Formless but cannot exhaust it.
“The virgin forms through which the Formless shines,”
Savitri-327
"A Magician’s formulas have made Matter’s laws
And while they last, all things by them are bound;
But the spirit’s consent is needed for each act
And Freedom walks in the same pace with Law.
All here can change if the Magician choose."
Savitri-457

8. Consciousness evolves beyond Mind
Mind is a bridge, not the destination.
“A blank pure consciousness had replaced the mind.”
Savitri-545
The spirit presses toward supramental and Divine Consciousness.
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9. The Impossible is Nature's Future
Today's impossibility is tomorrow's realised truth.
“All once impossible deemed could now become”
Savitri-84
“Yet by her skill the impossible has been done:”
Savitri-177

10. God seeks Ever-New Expressions
The Eternal endlessly recreates Himself in Time.
“An endless Truth she endlessly unfolds;”
Savitri-178
No single formula can permanently express the Infinite Divine.
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11. Life transcends its Accomplishment
"The life that wins its aim asks greater aims, "
Savitri-200
The perpetual self-exceeding is the nature of evolutionary consciousness.
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12. Life finds fulfilment in the Divine
“Assailed, surprised in the fortress of her self,
Conquered by her own unexpected king (the Divine),”     
Savitri-87
"A captive Life wedded her conqueror. (Supreme Lord)"
(Savitri-125)
"The soul that can live alone with itself meets God;"
Savitri-460
"Yet still, a captive in her golden hands,"
Savitri-723
Interpretation:
Life appears bound by Nature, ignorance, desire, and circumstance, yet its secret destiny is union with the Supreme Lord. The Spirit breaks through the formula of bondage and discovers its eternal oneness with the Divine.
 
            Every achieved truth, law, creed, power, realisation, and form is a temporary expression of the Eternal; therefore the Spirit continually exceeds all formulations in order to manifest a greater truth of its infinite Self.         

The Root Formula of Integral Yoga

            Perfection is the objective of Divine Life. All problems of Perfections are essentially the problems of existence. Imperfection is the constitution of this existence. A Sadhaka’s quest for perfection begins by becoming aware of his present law of imperfection and by keeping full account of it. The perfection he aspires is neither a mundane perfection of outward and social change, nor moderate perfection of gross will to live and temperate indulgence of mental and vital satisfaction of desire, nor an ascetic perfection of trampling down the life instinct and ethical austerity, nor a religious perfection of acceptance of common religious ideal, a brotherhood of saints and a kingdom of heaven on earth but an integral Divine perfection of ‘the divine government of the will in life.’¹ ‘It is only by increasing that (self) control through detachment of lower suggestions’¹ of physical and vital mind,… only by developing and accumulating soul-power, only by ‘the possession of the being, consciousness, delight, power of the Self’¹ that he can reach this integral Perfection. 

1)        ‘For all problems of existence are essentially the problems of Harmony,’² Sangati. All problems are the creation of mental Ignorance and they could not exist with the evolution of Knowledge. An individual limited in ego isolated from its environment feels no longer in unity and harmony with his Self, with God, with universe and with all around him. The secret of harmony is to be in accord with his natural members and surrounding by becoming one with his highest Self, by becoming one with oneself and all beings. All problems would move harmoniously to their right solution if the life-energy could be made to obey their right action offered by Divine Will instead of imposing its own yoke on our existence.

2)        All problems of Harmony are essentially the problems of Dharma, preliminarily obedience to the right law of existence, the law of self-discipline of written truth and ultimately spontaneous and automatic obedience to the Psychic, Spiritual and Gnostic Law dictated from within and above.

3)        All problems of Dharma are the problems of discrimination, preliminarily right discernment of truth from falsehood, vivek and ultimately swift Supramental discernment, Samjnana.

4)        All problems of right Discernment are the problems of Sraddha, preliminarily centralised faith and ultimately integral faith, which is again the outcome of Nistha, great sincerity.​

            The Gita speaks ‘he who has faith attains knowledge that can discern Truth and Falsehood, Divine and Undivine, Knowledge and Ignorance’, sraddhavan labhate jnanam.³ Right discernment, vivek, will lead one towards the fulfilment of the law of the Soul, Dharma. It is the law of the Psychic, Spiritual and Supramental being that leads one to total harmony and all the problems of existence are resolved from its root. It is from asraddha, doubt and asuya, fault finding, bivranti, the wrong discernment is born, which leads one to adharma, the deceptive law of mind, life and body, is the root cause of disharmony, asangati, from which all the problems of existence are aggravated.
 
            This paper proposes some provisional psycho-physical exercises on faith, Sraddha, which is meant for educating one to begin, repeat subsequently and end each day with the revival of highest aspiration of the Soul, towards the God, Light, Freedom, Bliss and Immortality. The two imperfections, the skeptical doubt, samsaya, which always turns its back on our Spiritual possibilities and the constant carping of the narrow uncreative intellect, asuya, which paralyses our collective living, must however be conquered for the Divine perfection by systematic development of sraddha.
 
1: The first indispensable faith is, “The Divine exists within, above and around me and my meeting with Him cannot fail. I want to meet, see²⁴ and adore Him alone within first and then in all creatures and in the Transcendence.” The first Mantra in strengthening our contact with the Divine, "I want only You."²¹
 
2: The second indispensable faith is, “There is nothing worth living in my life without Him and He is the only source of all my emotion, thought and action.” The second Mantra in strengthening our contact with the Divine, "I love the Supreme Lord alone."²²
 
3: The third indispensable faith is, “He has taken my total responsibility and His sure guidance and protection is present throughout in spite of many dangers, difficulties and failures.” The Mantra of Divine protection is, "Only were safe who kept God in their hearts" (Savitri-211) (Jivatma's union with Paramatma) or "Hast thou not taken my heart to treasure it In the secure environment of thy breast?" (Savitri-719) (Jivatma's union with Para-prakriti.)
 
4: The fourth indispensable faith is, “He responds to my every call and even to my most external emotional call.” The Mantra to receive the Divine call is, "Or who forbid his kiss on the sleeping soul?" Savitri-649
 
5: The fifth indispensable faith is, “What the Divine wills for me or decides for me is the best; He leads me in the shortest possible path towards the largest development and ultimate goal.” The Mantra of Karma Yoga is, "Only for good the secret Will can work." Savitri-424
 
6: The sixth indispensable faith is, “He is all Love, all Ananda, all Beauty, all Peace, all Knowledge, all Light and He is ready to pour these faculties when called upon.” The Divine Love is identified as the most powerful Divine attribute to transform Nature. The Mantra of purification is, "He (Divine Love) is still the godhead by which all can change." Savitri-397
 
7: The seventh indispensable faith is, “Divine is All and by His entire descent all the problems of existence can be resolved instantly. But for such a descent to be practicable we have to enlarge the purity of subtle and causal body indefinitely.” We have to confront Death with the aid of this Mantra, "He (Divine Love) shall remake thy universe, O Death.” Savitri-592
 
           In addition to it we can practice remembering some specialised form of faith or dispensable dynamic faith to remould some of our finest faculty. Once the indispensable faith establishes the Spiritual base, the practice of dispensable faith helps to integrate it.
 
1: The first dispensable faith is, “Since I want only the Divine, my success is sure, I have only to walk forward in all confidence and His own Hand will be there secretly leading me to Him by His own way and at His own time.”⁴
 
2: When doubt, depression, tamas and insincerity predominates over the nature then the mantra of repetition is, “Never mind, my aspiration will come back again. Meanwhile I know that The Mother is with me even when I do not feel Her, She will carry me through even the darkest period.”⁵
 
3: To all suggestions of impurity, unfitness and Spiritual fall repeat the mantra, “I am a child of Immortality chosen by the Divine; I have but to be true to myself and Him--the victory is sure; even if I fell, I would rise again.”⁶
 
4: The rajasic and sattwic egoism are eliminated by concentration of the following mantra, “A Divine Power works in this mind and body and it is the same that works in all men and in the animal, in the plant and in the metal, in conscious and living things and in things apparently inconscient and inanimate.”⁷
 
5: To all suggestions of death, disease and accident repeat the mantra, “No part of my being support or dwell upon the disease of the body. All disease, accident and death are perfect illusion and non-existent to the true consciousness of the body.”
 
6: Always we must adhere to the injunction of the Gita, “Yoga must be continually practiced without yielding to any discouragement by difficulty or failure until the bliss of Nirvana is secured.”⁸ Every thought and impulse has to be reminded in the language of the Kena Upanishad, “That is the Divine Brahman and not this which men here cherish and adore.”⁹
 
7: The seventh dispensable faith is, “A wise impersonality, a quiescent equality, a universality which sees all things as the manifestations of the Divine, the one Existence, is not angry, troubled, impatient with the way of things or on the other hand excited, over-eager and precipitate, but sees that the law must be obeyed and the pace of time respected, observes and understands with sympathy the actuality of things and beings, but looks also behind the present appearance to their inner significances and forward to the unrolling of their divine possibilities, is the first thing demanded of those who would do works as the perfect instruments of the Divine.”¹⁰
 
8: The eighth dispensable faith is, always we must repeat to the doubting intellect the promise of the Master of the Gita, “I will surely deliver you from all sin and evil; do not grieve.”¹¹ Or the promise of Savitri, “Oh, surely one day He shall come to our cry, one day He shall create our life anew and utter the magic formula of peace and bring perfection to the scheme of things. One day He shall descend to life and earth, leaving the secrecy of eternal doors, into a world that cries to Him for help, and bring the truth that sees the spirit free, the joy that is the baptism of soul, the strength that is the outstretched arm of Love. One day He shall lift His beauty’s dreadful veil, impose delight on the world’s beating heart and bare His secret body of light and bliss.”¹²
           
             Once the centralised faith is established in the Divine, which ‘see only the Divine and seek only after the Divine,’¹³ replacing the earlier ordinary faith which concentrate on ‘development and satisfaction and interests in the old externalised order of things,’¹³ then an individual’s higher Spiritual life is decreed. Then this faith has to be integralised through Psycho-physical exercise as stated above followed by Spiritual union of Ishwara and Ishwari and Supramental union of Brahman and Maya. Once the faith is integralised then an individual’s Supramental destiny is decreed. After the centralised faith is established in the Divine, then the centralising thought shuns its former dividing nature and retains its power of Truth and Oneness and once the faith is integralised, then the reconciling wisdom is activated which harmonises all the inarticulate murmur and disjointed mutterings of the Inconscient and unite Matter and Spirit.

 
To continue the root formula again:
5)        All problems of Sraddha are the problems of Nistha, Sincerity, preliminarily exclusive sincerity and ultimately integral sincerity. Apara Prakriti’s concentration around Purusha is defined as exclusive sincerity. This concentration extended between Shakti and Ishwara and between Maya and Brahman lead towards integral sincerity. 
 
6)        All problems of Sincerity are the problem of concentration, samyama, preliminarily exclusive concentration and ultimately Integral Concentration.
 
             Integral Yoga proposes to enforce upon ‘the whole of life and not merely on a part of life’¹⁹ a concentration of inner spiritual change followed by an outer transformation which is not merely many-fold mental effort, annulment of ego, strong renunciation, but evolution of higher concentration beyond exclusive concentration of mind. Integral Yoga proposes seven-fold concentrations in ascending order.
            Concentration is defined as ‘the bringing to its full intensity and the mastered and self-directed employment of that energy of being in us for a definite end.’¹⁴ To renounce all types of earthly enjoyments is the general condition of increase in concentration power, samyama.
 
First Exclusive Concentration:
            The First exclusive Concentration is one form of the self-gathering of the power of Tapas, which is defined as the complete absorption in the objective world by an entire separation from the true Self. A seeker of Truth utilises the faculty of first exclusive concentration towards calling down the spaceless Infinity to the limited space of his surrounding world.
 
Second Exclusive Concentration:
            Then there is development of second exclusive concentration, which is defined as to preoccupy and limit oneself with the mental knowledge of the present which is hurriedly changing from moment to moment in a helpless succession of events, forms, phenomena and actions, oblivious of the successive past and future happenings except that of memory that holds little and vague inference of future; through this concentration the objective experience of the ever-changing present environment is realised through a superficial movement of consciousness. A Sadhaka utilises this second exclusive concentration towards calling down the Timeless Eternity to the slipping moments.
 
Third Exclusive Concentration:
            And then, the third exclusive concentration or reverse movement of exclusive concentration, which is defined as the complete absorption in the objective means or instruments in finding the subjective Being or concentrates exclusively on the concealed inner being by quieting the frontal active prakriti and subjective experience of the ever-modified mental states of its personality.
 
Fourth Exclusive Concentration:
This concentration is the outcome of fusion of the above three exclusive concentrations. This is a concentration of separative active consciousness in a separative movement and this takes place not in the true self, but in the untransformed active Prakriti. In this concentration, the present moment is utilised in linking the subjective Time with the objective Space, or in this concentration, self-concentration and self-expansion are reconciled.
 
Essential Concentration:
The second instrument of swift Psychic evolution in Ignorance is the development of Essential Concentration, which is defined as the entire self-absorption in the essence of its own Psychic being through deeper self-oblivion of outward things. This concentration gives one the capacity to move consciousness from the Nether Inconscient Sheath to the highest Bliss Sheath.
 
Multiple Concentrations: 
The third instrument of swifter Spiritual evolution in Knowledge is the development of Multiple Concentration, the method of the totalizing or global overmental awareness, which is defined as a greater concentration or self-absorption in the universalised Self for greater world action. This concentration reconciles all the planes of consciousness from the nether Inconscient Sheath to the highest Bliss Sheath.
 
All-inclusive Integral Concentration:
The last instrument of swiftest Supramental Evolution is the development of Integral Concentration, which is capable of an integral, comprehensive, multiple, infinite self-concentration. It is further defined as entire absorption in the three poises of Self or a triune realisation; (1) that is Self is in all things which is the basis of our individuality in the universal, (2) all things are within the Self which is the basis of our oneness in difference and (3) all things are made up of the stuff of Self which is the basis of our oneness with all. This concentration purifies, transforms, and perfects all the multiple planes of the ten Sheaths in large scale.

To continue again the root formula:

7)        All problems of Concentration are the problem of Surrender, Yajna, preliminarily exclusive Self-consecration and ultimately Integral Self-Consecration. ‘The effective fullness of our concentration on the one thing needful to the exclusion of all else will be the measure of our self-consecration to the One who is alone desirable.’¹⁵ With the increase of concentration, the consecration becomes absolute.
           
            Surrender is defined as Prakriti’s submission to Purusha. Concentration is born when this submission causes Prakriti to merge with Purusha. Prakriti’s concentration around the Purusha is defined as Sincerity. The Gita defines Sraddha as the original nature of Purusha, Sraddhamayayo Purusha.¹⁶ So the reverse movement of sincerity or Purusha leaning to embrace Prakriti is defined as Sraddha or Purusha pouring its aspect of Love, Ananda, Peace, Silence, Force and Wisdom on Prakriti is defined as Sraddha.
           
            Integral Yoga recommends two types of surrender, one Vedantic¹⁷ and the other Vedic; the former makes us one by identity in our inmost Being and the latter makes us one in our Becomings by resemblance to the Divine in our nature.
 
            In Vedantic sacrifice, Prakriti is silenced so that the Purusha, the Psychic being, ascends and merges with the Ishwara, Spiritual being and subsequently Ishwara merges with the Brahman, Supramental being. This ascension of Consciousness causes the divine Force, Shakti, Maya, to descend into the lower nature of mind, life and body. In The Synthesis of Yoga more importance is given to Vedantic sacrifice; it is fully developed through Karma, Jnana and Bhakti Yoga and hints little about Vedic sacrifice.   
           
            In Vedic sacrifice, Prakriti is agitated to create a rift in either of the lower mind such as the physical mind, sensory mind, emotional mind, intellectual mind etc or Prakriti surrenders to Shakti, or the power of Ishwara. As a result, higher Consciousness or Shakti first descends to successive layers of mind, life and body. As a result, the Prakriti is silenced and experiences the ascent of Consciousness through Purusha’s union with Ishwara and subsequently union with Brahman. In The Mother book, more importance is given to Vedic Sacrifice, Prakriti Yajna¹⁸ than the Vedantic sacrifice, Purusha Yajna and in Savitri both the exercises are widely explored.
 
            So, the Vedantic sacrifice is identified as an indispensable exercise supported by still more powerful dispensable Vedic sacrifice. What the Vedantic Sadhaka achieves that of change of nature through trance, Samadhi, subtle physical dream and Superconscient sleep; the same state a Vedic Sadhaka arrives through waking trance. The true waking Consciousness is defined as withdrawal from subjective consciousness, objective consciousness and massed causal consciousness and entry into superconscience superior to all consciousness. Waking union, the Vedic Sadhaka will experience, is defined as the individual Purusha enlarging its active experience to the highest state of Turiya.
           
            Through consecration, one experiences static Divine union known of ascent of Consciousness and dynamic Divine union known as the descent of consciousness. Submission of finite dynamic consciousness, three gunas, to infinite static consciousness, Purusha, Ishwara and Brahman is defined as (Vedantic) surrender. And repetition of this submission of untransformed Prakriti to infinite dynamic consciousness, Shakti, Maya, is defined as (Vedic) surrender.   ​

To continue the root formula again:
 
8)        All the problem of consecration is the problem of equality, samata. This equality is of six types: Titiksa, endurance, Udasinata, indifference and Nati, submission to the will of God, sama rasa, equal sap of nectar, sama bhoga, equal enjoyment and sama ananda, equal delight.
 
9)        All problem of equality is the problem of renunciation. In integral Yoga, renunciation²³ is identified as the complete rejection of attachment, desire, duality, ego, initiation of work, and the three gunas. Equality helps to realise complete detachment/rejection of the lower nature and the discovery of the absolute movement of Divine Light, Power and Ananda, which are indispensable for Divine perfection.  
 
            Through the increase of renunciation, tyaga, of ill will or physical mind, intellect or sattwic mind and emotion or vital mind, one finds equality, samata, of triple Yoga; through prolongation of equality one finds peace, shanti, through prolongation of peace one finds Spiritual ease and happiness, sukha, through prolongation of happiness one discovers the exceeding joy and laughter of the Soul, hasya, atma prasada, which is identified as the natural state of a fulfilled man.

Recapitulation:
           
            So, by renunciation one arrives at equality; by samata one arrives at the consecration of Self and Nature. Or ‘An inner renunciation of personal desire leads to equality, accomplishes our total surrender to the Divine, supports a delivery from dividing ego which brings us oneness.’²⁰ By practice of consecration, one experiences Divine union, as a result, concentration and purity grow, each helping the victory of the other till eternal calmness is established. Purification of buddhi is also possible by detachment/rejection of the lower Nature. Concentration subsequently gives birth to sincerity; again, sincerity gives birth to Sraddha. Sraddha acts as a pivot for the perfection of instrumental nature and obedience to the Divine Law, Dharma. Obedience to the norms of integral Yoga or obedience to Psychic, Spiritual and Supramental Law harmonises all the problems of existence. Total harmony is the condition of perfection of Divine Life which is attained by total union with the Divine, union with Indwelling, Over-dwelling and Transcendent Divine. Integral Yoga or integral Evolution promises triple perfection of divine life. They are fullness of Being, fullness of Consciousness and fullness of Life.
 
            Consciousness is the central Truth of Divine Life, which is a self-aware force of existence extended from the Inconscient Sheath to the Bliss Sheath. By movement of Consciousness, fullness of Being, fullness of Consciousness and fullness of life can be attained. This movement bridges the gulf between multiple subtle sheaths or planes of Consciousness. Harmony is the inherent Nature of infinite Divine Consciousness and disharmony or limited harmony is the nature of the finite Consciousness of the three gunas. The Law that descends from Psychic, Spiritual and Supramental Consciousness is known as Dharma or Soul-saving Truth. The Law that enters the human vessel from tamasic and rajasic mind and from the surrounding world is known as Adharma or Soul slaying truth. Vedantic Sraddha is the pouring down of Divine attributes of infinite Static consciousness into finite dynamic Consciousness of three gunas through Purusha Yajna or Vedantic sacrifice. Vedic Sraddha is the pouring down of Divine attributes of infinite Dynamic Consciousness into the finite dynamic consciousness of the three gunas by Prakriti Yajna or Vedic sacrifice. Sincerity is the concentration of finite dynamic Consciousness of the three gunas around the Psychic being. Exclusive concentration is a concentration of separative mental active consciousness absorbed in part knowledge or a part action of the being and excluding the rest from its awareness. Submission of finite dynamic consciousness to infinite static Consciousness is defined as (Vedantic) surrender. Submission of finite dynamic consciousness to infinite dynamic consciousness is defined as (Vedic) surrender. Equality is gained when the Consciousness goes beyond the finite consciousness of the three gunas. Renunciation is the rejection of finite dynamic consciousness represented by the three gunas of apara-prakriti.
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OM TAT SAT