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pure and integrated mind, no progress in sadhana is possible.
Man's functions are of two kinds-outer and inner. It may be put differently by saying that on the basis of their instincts, men may be divided into two kinds-extroversive and introversive. Extraversion comes naturally, but introversion has to be cultivated through practice. To be an extravert, one does not have to do a thing, whereas to be an introvert, one is required to put in a good deal of effort. It is necessary for every spirituallyminded person to be introversive, but it is also very difficult. A man's sense-faculties and his mind are for ever turned outwards. These are so much taken up with the outer phenomena, as to have little leisure to turn back and look within. The more one tries to turn them inwards, the more fickle they grow. As long as fickleness subsists, there can be no introversion. And without introversion, a man can never know what is inherent in him. In the absence of such knowledge, he does not even realize that because of extraversion, his inner powers remain unawakened.
Q. It is important that a man should experience peace
and joy in his life. But this philosophy of introversion and extraversion is so very complex that a man finds himself bewildered and loses his peace of mind. How does it harm a man if his consciousness is turned outwards?
Ans. Extraversion, looking outwards, is the mother of
- all illusions. To a man caught in illusion, truth appears to be untruth, and falsehood appears to be truth. He experiences pleasure in the material world and for him only this world has any significance. He accepts sensual gratification as his goal. He is wholly engrossed
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