The Hidden Forces of Life

Book excerpt: A retrospective review of the course of one's life is apt to reveal that most of the past events of one's life, including those which seemed to be the outcome of one's conscious choice, were unplanned and due to some unforeseen happenings or chance events such as meeting somebody, receiving a suggestion from somebody or somewhere, coming across a book, visiting a certain place, etc. A good deal of mystery and unpredictability also surrounds what happens to one's life internally from day to day or even from hour to hour—the alternation of moods, the upsurges of impulses, the kindling of emotions, etc. According to those who can see behind the external appearance of things, the key to such mystery behind the internal as well as external events and vicissitudes of our lives consists in the fact that all life is a play of hidden forces; we live and move in a world of forces of which we are almost totally unaware. This book is a compilation from the works of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother on the hidden forces of life which act on us influencing our thoughts, feelings and actions and determining the course of events in life.