The six final labours of Heracles concern the most advanced stages of the spiritual journey. Accomplished out of the Pelopponese, they symbolize the end of the process of purification and liberation.
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Héracles on Olympus – Louvre Museum
A voice cried, “Go where none have gone!
Dig deeper, deeper yet
Till thou reach the grim foundation stone
And knock at the keyless gate. »
Sri Aurobindo – A God’s Labour
The first six Labours of Heracles described the conditions necessary to the first liberation, named “spiritual liberation” by Sri Aurobindo, that is to say a cessation of the spirit’s subjection (understood here as including the planes above the logical mind) to the mixed, ignorant movements of the lower nature.
Mainly defined by the two first labours – the Nemean Lion and the Lernaean Hydra – this spiritual liberation consists of a liberation from the ego (the will of self-assertion) and from desire, of which the root is a vital lust stemming from a deformation of life energy due to ignorance and to a halt in the evolution in union.
The next four Labours of this first group specified certain requirements or necessities for this liberation of the spirit.
with the Ceryneian Hind, an aspiration and purification of the intuition from what interferes with it, for the purpose of integrity and consecration.
with the Erymanthian Boar, the necessary rejection of the most uncouth impulsions and movements of our nature.
with the cleaning up of Augeas’ Stables, the renouncement to «the benefits» of the first experiences on the path.
finally, with the Stymphalian Birds, the ability to discern the confusion of the planes (mental and vital) and the obtainment of a certain control over our mental movements.
These first six Labours take place in the Peloponnese, on either side of Argos for the two first Labours, in Arcadia located South of Achaea in the central area of the Peloponnesus, or on its borders for the four next ones.
The next six Labours take us away from the Peloponnesus, adressing more precisely the rather advanced seekers who at least received a first response to their aspiration from the Invisible, in the form of a temporary opening of the mind or of the psychic (illumination or psychic opening), or both simultaneously.
This first contact enables the entrance into what is usually called in Western mystic «the unitive stage» following those of «purification» and «illumination». The seeker must deepen his being’s purification upon entering this unitive life. He is then driven by his «inner guide» (the «Psychic Being» or the Master of yoga) rather than by the will of his outer being, at least when it comes to the major orientations in his life
If entering the path confronted him to a first purification, called «night of the senses» in this mystic, he could find himself confronted to a second night, that «of the spirit». The duration of these nights, their requirements and their intensity are obviously different for each individual, and probably proportionate to the intensity of the experiences. This second night brings the seeker into contacting a place of silence and peace deep inside the being, which corresponds to a surrender of the outer being and eventually to the end of psychological suffering. It is around this place that the seeker will progressively reunite all the parts of his being, in order to make his inner fire grow.
Nevertheless, Sri Aurobindo did not dwell on these different nights nor did he encourage addressing them, preferring to indicate that all seekers meet periods of darkness and dryness throughout the yoga. As the very principle of it is an ascent followed by an integration, it is obvious that any progression towards light implies descending into the corresponding shadow. The first night corresponds to a lack of interest for wordly affairs and ordinary pleasures, just like the second one, who will dive into what seems like a radical abandonment of the Divine support (which can go as far as the loss of intellectual functions), are only specific formulations of these periods of integration.
Some ancient masters also marked this important step by the conclusion of the elimination of the most common errors in asceticism, which is the object of Theseus’ preliminary labours. Indeed, for them, the Cretan Bull which Heracles had to bring back during the seventh Labour was the same one that Theseus had to tame in Marathon as he just arrived in Athens after «correcting» many mistakes on the way, before even tackling the Minotaur.
Let us recall that after his victo