Philosophers like Aurobindo have great appeal for escapists. They say that collective evolution is
possible. The divine will descend and everyone will become enlightened. But to me that is not
possible. And even if it appears possible, it is not worthwhile. If you become enlightened without
your own individual effort, then that enlightenment is not worth having. It will not give you the ecstasy
that crowns the effort. It will just be taken for granted – like your eyes, your hands, your breathing
system. These are great blessings, but no one really values them, cherishes them.
One day you can also be born with enlightenment, just as Aurobindo promises. It will be valueless.
You will have much, but because it has come to you without effort, without toil, it will mean nothing to
you; its significance will be lost. Conscious effort is necessary. The achievement is not as significant
as the effort itself. Effort gives it its meaning, struggle gives it its significance.
As I see it, enlightenment that comes collectively, unconsciously, as a gift from the divine, is not
only impossible but also meaningless. You must struggle for enlightenment. Through struggle, you
create the capacity to see and feel and hold on to the bliss that comes.
Unconscious evolution ends with man and conscious evolution – revolution – begins. But conscious
evolution does not necessarily begin in any particular man. It begins only if you choose it to begin.
If you do not choose it – as most people do not – you will be in a very tense condition. And presentday
humanity is like this: nowhere to go, nothing to be achieved. Nothing can be achieved now
without conscious effort. You cannot go back to a state of unconsciousness. The door has closed;
the bridge has been broken.
The Psychology of the Esoteric
