Chapter 27Anger and Violence · Violence
Book 5. Part Two: Sadhana on the Level of the Vital · Section Three: Vital Defects
An inner psychic or spiritual change is not brought about by violence. It is not a change of conduct that has to be done in the 2 The correspondent wrote that he grew angry when he read some false statements about Sri Aurobindo made by a journalist and that his anger relieved him of a slight depression. He was reminded of a remark made by Sri Ramakrishna: “The ripus (passions) too can help in the spiritual life provided you know the secret of the game: for instance, anger may help you if you turn it against all who are hostile to the Divine.” — Ed.
sadhak, but a change of soul and spirit governing the mind and vital and body instead of the mind and vital governing. Violence is the drastic contradiction of that; it makes mental egoism and vital passion and fury or else cruelty the rulers. Violence in ordinary Nature does not justify violence in a spiritual work.
* veloped in the Gita, in which the work done is the ordinary work of human life with only an inward change. There too the violence to be used is not a personal violence done from egoistic motives, but part of the ordered system of social life. Nothing can spiritually justify individual violence done in anger or passion or from any vital motive. In our Yoga our object is to rise higher than the ordinary life of man and in it violence has to be left aside altogether.
* All vital violence in speech or action is rajasic and unyogic. One must be master of oneself and controlled in speech and act.
* You must not accept everything; you should reject all suggestions of uncontrolled desire or anger. You must not allow any wrong force to get hold of your body and use it. It is not safe to accept these things and you should be very careful to reject them always.
It is necessary that there should be control and organisation, and these cannot come and get fixed if you accept uncontrolled desires, violent anger, confusion or extreme restlessness of mind, for all these are things that disorganise and destroy control.
Chapter Four