Steps To Freedom And Mastery (Selections From The Works Of Sri Aurobindo And The Mother)

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The title of this book is likely to arouse some questions: What is meant by the terms "freedom" and "mastery" in the context of inner growth? What comes first-freedom or mastery? Or do freedom and mastery imply each other and go together?.

This book answers these questions by distinguishing different kinds of freedom and mastery.

Mastery of one's lower nature, which is ruled by desire, is the foremost condition of liberation, declares the Gita. And to get rid of desire, says the Gita, we must begin by drawing back the senses from the objects of desire- as the tortoise draws its limbs into the shell- instead of letting the senses rush out to seize and enjoy the objects of desire as they normally tend to do. Mastery in this sense must come before freedom. However, such a discipline, which involves the exercise of one's mental will-power, brings self-control rather than true self- mastery. When one exercises a mental self-control, it implies that one is still identified with one's lower nature; that is, one regards the lower nature as a part of one's own self; and one feels that this lower part of one's self needs to be controlled instead of being allowed to be the controller. True mastery, however, begins with detach- ment, which consists in a separation of one's true inner being (Purusha) from the outer being (Prakriti or Nature), which comprises the body, the vital and the mind. When one achieves detachment, one no longer regards the outer being as part of one's true being; the inner being becomes free from the disturbances arising from the imperfections of the outer being. The struggle of the mental will for controlling the lower nature of the outer being is replaced by a quiet rejection that comes from the inner will of the Purusha. But detachment is only the beginning of mastery.

**Contents and Sample Pages**