Question: Is it possible for us to be consciously aspiring and yet somehow not be aspiring in parts of the being that we are unconscious of?

Sri Chinmoy: It is quite possible. One part of your being can be consciously aspiring and another part can be totally unaspiring. It is like exercise. Suppose you always throw the shotput or javelin with your right hand. Because you ignore the left hand, the left hand remains weak. For this reason, it is always good to take exercise with both hands. But when there is a special competition, if at that time the right has more to offer, naturally you will use the right hand. Since it is a matter of only a few seconds, it is all right. But when you practise every day, you should take some exercise that uses both hands.

So here also, in your whole body — from the soles of your feet to the crown of your head — there should be aspiration. The aspiration-river must flow from top to bottom. Again, you have to know that there is the main portion, which is the heart. When you have to offer something to the world at large, or when you have to bring to the fore your best quality, at that time the cry of the heart, the aspiration of the heart, is of paramount importance. If you want your aspiration to be very concentrated, then the heart is the right place to go in which to aspire. But when you are aspiring normally, you can aspire in your entire being, in your entire existence.

It is quite possible to be aware of one thing and, at the same time, to be totally unaware of something else. If you take exercise with your right hand, your left hand remains unconscious. But it is you who are in a position to take exercise with both hands, right and left. Similarly, all the parts of your being can be given proper training. The physical can aspire, the vital can aspire, the mind can aspire, the heart can aspire — all at the same time. But sometimes you may be awakened, or ready to aspire, only in one part. Early in the morning, when you pray and meditate, it may be only your heart’s spiritual exercise. You may not read spiritual books at all; you may not be doing any mental exercise. Again, you may not be doing any selfless service on these planes. Then, you are unconscious of these. Or on the vital plane, perhaps, you are not trying to show kindness or generosity to everyone. Every plane has something different, something new, to offer. Again, the uniqueness of the different capacities or qualities of each plane must be unified and assimilated together. If you do not take spiritual exercise on a particular plane in the form of aspiration and dedication, then naturally you are unaware on that plane. Awareness comes only through constant inner exercise.

From:Sri Chinmoy,Flame-Waves, part 8, Agni Press, 1976
Sourced from https://srichinmoylibrary.com/fw_8