"....There is a still lower stage of the Mental in the Vital which merely expresses the vital stuff without subjecting it to any play of intelligence. It is through this mental vital that the vital passons, impulses [and] desires rise up and get into the Buddhi and either cloud or distort it.. "
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The following further quotes of Sri Aurobindo are from the "Divine Plan" website (no longer online)
"The mental vital gives a mental expression by thought, speech or otherwise to the emotions, desires, passions, sensations and other movements of the vital being. "
"There are two movements necessary to be connected with the dynamic power of the higher consciousness and with the Divine Force acting through it for a great and luminous purpose. One is upward; the vital rises to join with the higher consciousness and steeps itself in the light and in the impulsion of the higher force: the other is downward; the vital remains silent, tranquillised, pure, empty of the ordinary movements, waiting, till the dynamic power from above descends into it, changes it to its true self and informs its movements with knowledge as well as power. "
Its thoughts were kneaded by the shocks of sense;
It captured not the spirit in the form,
It entered not the heart of what it saw;
It looked not for the power behind the act,
It studied not the hidden motive in things
Nor strove to find the meaning of it all.
The following (from Growth Online - Our Human Makeup is a summary of this aspect of being as presented in Sri Aurobindo's teachings:
Level #, Level, Level Definition, Function, Expression, Works, Historical |
4
MENTAL VITAL (The
mental part of the vital plane, Vital Mind, Master of life) Overview This is where emotions (of the previous level, level5) are processed into emotional thought, the emotions' perception of knowledge. It is where our attitudes, life intelligence, and higher emotions lie. It is the center of our vital skills. Function Knowledge of the vital. Emotions' perception of knowledge. Direction and organization of vital energies. Vital perception, vital skill, five senses, speech, attitudes, life intelligence, higher emotions. Processes emotions into emotional thought. Charges decisions with emotion. Monitor of attitudes and emotions. At the service of life goals (rather than one's own ends). Expressions Attitude, social norms, conduct, and conscience. Traits Generosity, loyalty, cunning, shrewdness, insight, penetration, alertness, resourcefulness, arrogant, devotion, distrustful, paranoid, rudeness, selfishness, shamelessness, stinginess, stubbornness, tolerance, intolerance, vengeful Skills -- public speaking, leadership Works Politician, public leaders, novelist, businessperson, entrepreneur |
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