The right attitude for a Yogi

Q: If anything happens due to our negligence, can we call it sanctioned by the Divine?

I said, “If you neglect the chain of intermediate causes.”

Q: Could there not be some danger in that attitude? We may shirk our responsibility and lay it on the Divine,

I was speaking about the Bhakta. For the Bhakta whatever happens is for the best and he takes everything in that light. For the Yogi who has to conquer these things, they must come; otherwise what is there to be conquered? In Yoga difficulties are opportunities. No doubt, hostile forces are recognised as hostile, but from. a special standpoint. Ultimately all powers are from the Divine, assisting in the work. They throw difficulties at us in order to test the strength. It is the Divine that has created the opposition and sends you a defeat so that you may conquer hereafter. This is necessary in order to go beyond the ego’s sense of its own responsibility. At one time I experienced the hostile forces as gods trying to test my strength in sadhana. You act not for success but for the Divine, though that does not mean that you must not work for success. Is this confusing? That was what Arjuna complained to Krishna—that Krishna spoke in double words. He told Arjuna not to be eager for results but at the same time he said, “Fight and conquer.”

– Sri Aurobindo