REFLECTIONS ON THE IEP - PSYCHIC EDUCATION

Our soul from its mysterious chamber acts;
Its influence pressing on our heart and mind
Pushes them to exceed their mortal selves.
It seeks for Good and Beauty and for God;
We see beyond self’s walls our limitless self,
We gaze through our world’s glass at half-seen vasts,
We hunt for the Truth behind apparent things.

- Savitri (Book Seven, canto two)

These seven beautiful lines from Sri Aurobindo’s Savitri unlock the mystery of the Psychic being, which the Mother repeatedly said we must discover and bring to the front. This "light that shines in the center of the being" acts from its mysterious chamber, and its influence on our heart and mind pushes them to go beyond the mortal self by which we are imprisoned. It seeks for "Good and Beauty and for God" and makes us break the wall of our limited self to discover the "limitless self" that we are.

As the Mother said, the education of our physical, vital and mental concerns itself with our human faculties, but with the psychic we learn of our true purpose of life. We find in the children this spark very much alive: in the child the "true thing is the divine Presence" and this is apparent in their actions and words, which are very spontaneous.

As part of this important part of Integral Education we make them aware of flowers, coming in contact with the beauty and psychic qualities through which they discover these things in themselves. By opening to flowers and being in contact with their pure beauty and delight we contact that beauty and delight within us.

It is our ardent prayer to Mother that the children embark on the discovery of this spark and let it rule their lives so that "The rest is done for you". Many are the paths leading to this wonderful discovery, each one has to find the path best suited to them. With intense aspiration and an ardent will to do this, the door is wide open for all who wish to embark on this journey.

- Sudha

Mother on Psychic Education

We give the name "psychic" to the psychological centre of our being, the seat within us of the highest truth of our existence, that which can know this truth of our existence, that which can know this truth and set it in movement. It is therefore of capital importance to become conscious of its presence in us, to concentrate on this presence until it becomes a living fact for us and we can identify with it. The Mother

Is identification with the psychic the same thing as the psychic coming in front?

That is the first step in the identification, and then, once you can keep this identification, the psychic governs the rest of the nature and life. It becomes the master of existence. So this is what we mean by psychic coming in front. It is that which governs, directs, even organises the life, organises the consciousness, the different parts of the being. When this happens, the work goes very fast. Very fast, well... relatively, very fast.

(Questions and Answers 1954, Collected Works of the Mother Vol.6, P. 334)