Many times we feel our endeavours are misplaced or come to naught when faced with a conflict between the Divine and our relationships with others. At such times, we may even lose faith in our goal and force ourselves to choose one or the other. Sri Aurobindo answers such a dilemma faced by a sadhak, giving us just the reassurance that we may need.
Question: Do personal relations stand in the way of our search for the Divine?
You came because your soul was moved to seek the Divine. That some part of your vital has strong attachments to the people you left behind, is a fact, but it does not make your soul’s seeking unreal. If the presence and persistence of vital difficulties were to prove that a sadhak is unfit and has no chance, then only one or two in the Ashram—and perhaps not even they—would survive the test. The feeling of dryness and not being able to aspire is also no proof. Every sadhak gets periods and even long periods of such emptiness. I could point to some who are considered among the most “advanced” sadhaks and yet are not free altogether from the family instinct. It is therefore quite unreasonable to be upset because these reactions still linger in you. These reactions come and go, but the need of the soul is permanent, even when covered up and silent and will always stay and re-emerge.
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The spiritual destiny always stands – it may be delayed or seem to be lost for a time, but it is never abolished.
