Sri Aurobindo Or The Yogi Of The Life Divine 6th Part The place Of Supramental Consciousness, Light And Force In Sri Aurobindo’s Philosophy

Aju Mukhopadhyay

2 July 2008, 19:31

Continued From Part Five

The Urge for a Grand Synthetic Philosophy

From the beginning of the nineteenth century the leaders of Indian renaissance were eager to get a new philosophy of life which would bridge the gap between the lofty Godward journey of Indian philosophy, with its hued branches and singular aim of personal salvation from life at the end, and the materialistic Western philosophy which occupied itself in weaving the complex net of logic aiming at the physical, vital and mental progress as the main aim of life. Their sincere aspiration in search of a grand integration gave birth to Sri Aurobindo’s philosophy of the Life Divine which integrated the two ideas in a grand synthesis.

Sri Aurobindo said that a new path of spiritualism and integration of religions had begun with the birth of Sri Ramakrishna which was announced by his able disciple, Swami Vivekananda: “‘The going forth of Vivekananda marked out by the Master as the heroic soul destined to take the world between his two hands and change was the first visible sign to the world that India was awake not only to survive but to conquer.” 1

Sri Aurobindo the Inevitable Result

Beginning with them, the movement took proper shape in the hands of Sri Aurobindo, the true representative of the ancient Vedic age, who surpassed it with his new concepts of evolution of consciousness, triple transformation and establishment of the Supramental consciousness, light and force.

His philosophy is divine philosophy. The book he wrote is titled, The Life Divine, envisaging divine life for man, which he thought is inevitable in the long run and near at hand if man collaborates. This life is attainable with the help of supramental consciousness, light and force. Let us see what he meant by supramental consciousness and how it works.

The Supramental

Everything is Brahman, from the infinite, absolute, nameless being to the lowest worms on earth. This is divided into two: Para Brahman and Apara Prakriti. The Para Brahman is a unitary being with three aspects, sat, chit and ananda or existence, consciousness and bliss and Apara Prakriti in the lower nature has three grades: mental, vital and physical or manamaya, pranamaya and annamaya. The first three are inseparable but with the birth of the Super-mind, as an extension of sachchidananda, as its will, while its unity is maintained, its triune aspect is revealed. Through the comprehending, apprehending and projecting consciousness this triune status of the Brahman creates the phenomenal universe of names and forms; Nama and Rupa.

“A Principle of active Will and Knowledge superior to Mind and creatrix of the worlds is then the intermediary power and state of being between that self-possession of the One and this flux of the Many.” Sri Aurobindo explained at the beginning of chapter 14 of The Life Divine.

Super-mind has three states in its world-founding consciousness as the creator of the universe. In its primary states it is in unity, an extension of sachchidananda, all – comprehending, all -possessing, al l-constituting Vijnana. One and not many, it does not support the individual. If the reflection of this falls upon an individual, he becomes still, loses all individuality. It is the ideation and formation of the infinite.

In its second state, prajnana, the divine consciousness stands back as a sort of apprehending consciousness, seeming to distribute itself in names and forms. In each name and form it would realize itself as a stable conscious-self, following and supporting the individual play.

In its third state, sanjnana, the Supermind projects itself into the movement to be involved in the world-play. In the higher state unity is the dominant tune, variation being the play of the One. ‘It is a dualism in unity. It would only affirm the truth of the differentiating movement along with the truth of the stable unity, regarding them as the upper and lower poles of the same truth.’ Sri Aurobindo wrote in the chapter, “The Triple Status of Super-mind”, in Book-1 of The Life Divine.

Super-mind is an eternal reality of the divine being. It always exists in its own plane and possesses its own essential law of being. It is the alpha and omega of creation. Everything is created out of it. It has been called the Real-Idea, Rita Chit, by Sri Aurobindo. From the Brahman to the lowest inanimate object, everything is replete with the same consciousness, moving in continuum, in cycles through involution to evolution.

“The error is to make an unbridgeable gulf between God and man, Brahman and the world. That error elevates an actual and practical differentiation in being, consciousness and force into an essential division.” He said in the chapter titled, “The Supermind as Creator”, in The Life Divine.

In Gita we find Sri Krishna telling Arjuna (chapter 14, verse 3), “My womb is the Mahat Brahman; into that I cast the seed: thence spring all beings.” Gods of other religions too assert that they created the world. These stories of creation are said to be symbolic. But what Sri Aurobindo relates is based on his yogic experiences.

“This world is not really created by a blind force of Nature: even in the inconscient the presence of the supreme Truth is at work; there is a seeing Power behind it which acts infallibly and the steps of the Ignorance itself are guided even when they seem to stumble; for what we call the Ignorance is a cloaked Knowledge, a Knowledge at work in a body not its own but moving towards its own supreme self-discovery. This knowledge is the covert Super-mind which is the support of the creation and is leading all towards itself and guides behind this multitude of minds and creatures…. In this vast and apparently confused mass of existence there is a law, a one truth of being, a guiding and fulfilling purpose of the world-existence.” He wrote towards the end of the first chapter of his book, The Supramental Manifestation Upon Earth.

“Super-mind is the grade of existence beyond mind, life and Matter and, as mind, life and Matter have manifested on the earth, so too must Supe-rmind, in the inevitable course of things manifest in this world of Matter. In fact, a Super-mind is already here but it is involved, concealed behind this manifest mind, life and Matter…. It is only by the approach and arrival of the descending Super-mind that it can be liberated upon earth and reveal itself in the action of our material, vital and mental parts so that these lower powers can become portions of a total divinized activity of our whole being…. It is indeed so that life and mind involved in Matter have realized themselves here; for only what is involved can evolve, otherwise there could be no emergence….”

“A manifestation of the Super-mind and its Truth–Consciousness is then inevitable; it must happen in this world sooner or later. But it has two aspects, a descent from above, an ascent from below, a self-revelation of the Spirit, and evolution of Nature, an urge or nisus on her side to raise her lower parts by an evolutionary or revolutionary change, conversion or transformation into the divine reality and it may happen by a process and progress or by a rapid miracle.” He said in the chapter titled “Super-mind and the Life Divine” in The Supramental Manifestation Upon Earth.

“The nature of Super-mind is always the same, a being of knowledge, proceeding from truth to truth, creating or rather manifesting what has to be manifested by the power of a pre-existent knowledge, not by hazard but by a self-existent destiny in the being itself, a necessity of the thing in itself and therefore inevitable; its own life on its own plane is divine and, if Super-mind descends upon the earth, it will bring necessarily the divine life with it and establish it here.” 2

The author confirmed that Super-mind is not a higher status of mind. Mind is a part of the all-comprehensive consciousness but it is an instrument of analysis and synthesis, not of knowledge proper. In Super-mind knowledge, force and being are not self-divided. It is vast, beginning with and remaining in unity it expands as its peripheral activity. In Super-mind knowledge and idea are the same as the substance of fire and the burning light.

Sri Aurobindo said that after its establishment on its own sure foundation the evolution of Divine life here would be a progress in felicity, a march through light to ananda. It may change the law of evolution, its method and its arrangement. There will be a new mental being, enlightened in the radiance of the Super-mind, aspiring to climb consciously to receive and bear the descent of the divine light and power, to be the vessel of the divine life here.

To bring down the Super-mind Sri Aurobindo confined himself in a room for 24 years and did the austere sadhana. He gave up his body willingly to bring down the Supramental light and force into his body or earth consciousness, to usher in the divine life on earth. He left, giving Mother the charge to complete the work. It was done by her to the extent possible and on 29 February 1956 the supramental descent took place on earth’s atmosphere. It may be said to be the supramental manifestation. The gate was opened to facilitate all other efforts, help the other aspirants. Sri Aurobindo never expected that life on earth would be made divine overnight. To begin with, a few might be blessed by the Super-mind. Gradually, he said. a community of Gnostic beings would grow up.

The Sacrifice

Dr. Prabhat Kumar Sanyal, his attending physician, gave a vivid description of the supramental consciousness (Mind of Light) flooding and entwining Sri Aurobindo’s body after his passing. It is a description of the great sacrifice, as the Mother said, of the life of the Rishi, published in The Mother India, an ashram magazine, in its December 1991 issue, titled, “A Call From Pondicherry”.

“The Mother came back after Her usual attendance at the playground. She laid her garland at the foot of the bed, a thing which She did daily and stood watching Sri Aurobindo. She looked so grave and quiet that it almost distressed me. I went to the ante-room to wait for Her. She entered and I gave Her the report and told Her that Glucose had been given by Satya and we wanted to arrange for intravenous infusion, etc. She said quietly and firmly, “I told you this is not necessary. He has no interest in Himself. He is withdrawing.”

“We sat round His bed, wondering why He was losing interest in Himself; He, if He so desired, could certainly cure Himself as He had done on so many occasions, Nirod has seen Him curing the illnesses of others. But now at this crucial hour He had no interest in Himself! Was he going to sacrifice Himself?”

“At about 11 p.m. the Mother came into the room and helped Sri Aurobindo to drink half a cup of tomato juice. A strange phenomenon- a body which for the moment is in agony, unresponsive, labouring hard for breath, suddenly becomes quiet; a consciousness enters the body. He is awake and normal. He finishes the drink, then, as the consciousness withdraws, the body lapses back into the grip of agony.”

“At midnight the Mother came again into the room, looked intently for some time as if there was a silent exchange of thought between them; then She left.”

“At 1 a.m. (5th) She returned and again looked at the Lord and stood at the foot of the bed. There was no sign of agony, fear or anxiety on Her face. Not a thought, not a feeling could I fathom in Her expression. With Her eyes She asked me to go into the other room and She followed me in. She asked, “What do you think? Can I retire for one hour?” This is a significant hour: the Mother retires- her consciousness leaves Her body, none are to call or enter Her room then. This is imperative- I murmured, “Mother, this is beyond me.” She said, “Call me when the time comes.”

“I stood behind the Master and started stroking His hair which He always liked. Nirod and Champaklal sat by the side of the bed and caressed His feet. We were all quietly watching Him. We now knew that anything might happen, any time, only a miracle could save us and the world. I perceived a slight quiver in His body, almost imperceptible. He drew up His arms and put them on His chest, one overlapping the other- then all stopped. Death, the cruel death that was waiting so long- we had been keeping vigil for it- had descended on our Lord. I told Nirod to go and fetch the Mother. It was 1-20 a.m.”

“Almost immediately the Mother entered the room. She stood there, near the feet of Sri Aurobindo: Her hair had been undressed and was flowing about Her shoulders. Her look was so fierce that I could not face those eyes. With a piercing gaze She stood there. . . .”

“December 6th – I entered Sri Aurobindo’s room before dawn. The Mother and I had a look at Him: how wonderful, how beautiful He looked, with a golden hue. There were no sign of death as science had taught me, no evidence of the slightest discoloration or decomposition. The Mother whispered, “As long as the supramental light does not pass away, the body will not show any signs of decomposition, and it may be a day or it may take many more days.” I whispered to Her, “Where is the light you speak of- can I not see it?” I was then kneeling by Sri Aurobindo’s bed, by the Mother’s feet. She smiled at me and with infinite compassion put her hand on my head. There He was – with a luminous mantle of bluish golden hue around Him.”

“With the morning came the procession of people, taking a last glimpse of the Divine Master. The Mother said to me, “People do not know what a tremendous sacrifice He has made for the world. About a year ago, while I was discussing things I remarked that I felt like leaving this body of mine. He spoke out in a very firm tone, “No, this can never be. If necessary for this transformation I might go, you will have to fulfil our yoga of supramental descent and transformation.”

Let us now go to Sri Aurobindo, the forerunner and discoverer of supramental consciousness, who brought it down and made it creative on matter, on earth and hear him through some of his letters and writings on its source.

“What I received about the super-mind was a direct, not a derived knowledge given to me; it was only afterwards that I found certain confirmatory revelations in the Upanishad and Veda.’ He wrote in a letter on 11.9.1936. Earlier in another letter of 11.6.1936 he referred the name of Taittiriya Upanishad as one of the sources. The letter written on 26.7.1935 explains the subject- ‘At least I never heard of these things from others before I found them out in my own experience. The reason is that all Yogins when they went above the spiritual mind passed into Samadhi, which means that they made no attempt to be conscious in those higher planes- their aim being to pass away into the Superconscient and not to bring the Superconscient into the waking consciousness, which is that of my yoga.’

Further, in the chapter titled “The Super-mind as Creator” in The Life Divine, we get: “It is the cryptic verses of the veda that help us here; for they contain, though concealed, the gospel of the divine and immortal Super-mind and through the veil some illuminating flashes come to us. . .”

“The Gods, who are in their highest secret entity are powers of the Super-mind, born of it, seated in it as in their proper home, are in their knowledge “ truth conscious “ and in their action possessed of the “seer-will” . . .

That the words Super-mind and Supramental were coined by him was confirmed in a letter by him on 18.6.1967: “The words Super-mind and supramental were first used by me, but since then people have taken up and are using the word supramental for anything above mind.”

On 14.1.1931 he wrote to dispel the doubts of Dilip Kumar Roy: “The Supramental is not inconsistent with a full vital and physical manifestation: on the contrary, it carries in it the only possibility of the full fullness of the vital force and the physical life on earth. . . . All other yogas regard this life as an illusion or a passing phase; the supramental yoga alone regards it as a thing created by the Divine for a progressive manifestation and takes the fulfillment of the life and the body for its object.”

In a chapter titled An ascent towards supermind, he clarified the points dispelling all doubts, speculations and gossips: “As the summits of human mind are beyond animal perception, so the movements of Super-mind are beyond the ordinary human mental conception: it is only when we have already had experience of a higher intermediate consciousness that any terms attempting to describe supramental being could convey a true meaning to our intelligence. . . “

The same criterion may be applied to his spiritual epic Savitri and many of his other works. It is the realization at the personal level that helps man towards proper understanding of such subjects.

The Mother’s Work

After the passing away of Sri Aurobindo, supramental light and force entered into Mother’s body like a current with a friction. Sri Aurobindo advised her to bring down that consciousness into her body, into the earth atmosphere, to further the work of transformation of matter, the beginning of which was made by him. It was their joint project but Sri Aurobindo as the forerunner had chosen her, as he had felt that the body of Mirra Alfassa was the most suitable medium on earth for the work.

The supramental consciousness, light and force when descended and manifested on earth through the Mother on 29 February 1956, she was the only witness to it, though its vibration touched a few fortunate others. The scene was a collective meditation, as usual under the Mother’s leadership in the Ashram Playground, on a common Wednesday evening.

“This evening the Divine Presence, concrete and material, was there present amongst you. It had a form of living gold, bigger than the universe, and I was facing a huge and massive golden door which separated the world from the Divine.”

“As I looked at the door, I knew and willed in a single movement of consciousness, that “the time has come”, and lifting with both hands a mighty golden hammer I struck one blow, one single blow on the door and the door was shattered to pieces”

“Then the Supramental Light and Force and Consciousness rushed down upon earth in an uninterrupted flow.”

Mother recorded this in her note book on 29 February 1956 but the message was circulated on the first anniversary of the Supramental Day on the next leap year, on 29 February 1960.

Going back a few years we come to an incident which was the beginning of the grand beginning. Madam Mira Richard, as she was then called, met Sri Aurobindo for the first time on 29 March 1914. His presence gave birth to a deeper feeling in her, certitude about the spiritual fulfillment. She wrote on her diary on 25 September 1914 (Prayers and Meditations): “The Lord has willed and Thou dost execute: A new light shall break upon the earth./ A new world shall be born,/ And the things that were promised shall be fulfilled.”

A month after the descent of the supramental consciousness, on 29 March 1956, she revised her note to write:“Lord, Thou hast willed, and I execute:/A new light breaks upon the earth,/A new world is born./The things that were promised are fulfilled.’

The only work of the Mother was to complete the work of Sri Aurobindo. Whatever others she had created were of secondary importance. The only work was to transform her body and thereby the earth matter with the supramental consciousness, light and force. She was at it till the last drop of breath of her mortal body. She was garlanded with tremendous, unheard of experiences on the way, both painful and joyous. Let us look at a day’s experience as she recorded it.

“I had a unique experience. The supramental light entered my body directly. . . .This was for the first time. It came in through the feet. . . . A gold and red color, marvelous, warm, intense. And it rose and rose. . . so did the fever. . . . And all of a sudden, there was a second when I fainted. I found myself in another world. . . .” 3

A doubt cropped up in her; if she was to fail or if her mortal body would fail her to accomplish the job, she would construct a separate body in the subtle physical plane. She did it, made a body at the subtle physical level with the help of the supermind and took shelter in it after leaving her body so the work she did would not be ruined. In the meantime she had a vision about that body, the body of a supramental being.

“Well I saw my body! What it will be like. It’s quite good. A form that looked like our own body, but without sex, that is, neither man nor woman. It’s not such a different body, but so refined. . . I had a color . . . somewhat like Auroville’s color (orange), like that, but vibrant . . . not luminous, but with a sort of luminosity. And I was wide awake. I wasn’t asleep; it was not a dream.“4

Yes, it has been working. Despite all apparent destruction, ugliness and death, it may be said that the new consciousness with its light and force has been transforming the matter, even if at a snail’s space. Based on the inspiration from Sri Aurobindo and the Mother it may be said that a new world is growing up from inside. If you cannot hear it with the ears, hear it through the heart: The whole creation is whispering about love between men, about human unity and friendship, about the movement of the whole creation towards the Divine.

References:
1. Sri Aurobindo. Pondicherry; Sri Aurobindo Ashram. S.A.B.C.L. V.2. p.37
2.Sri Aurobindo. Supramental Manifestation upon Earth. Pondicherry; Sri Aurobindo Ashram. P.78
3. Satprem. The Mind of The Cells. Mysore; Mira Aditi. 1999. p.176
4. Satprem. The Mother or The Mutation of Death. Mysore; Mira Aditi. p.100

Continued In Part Seven

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