How wonderfully Sri Aurobindo has analysed the evolution of creation! In the journal Arya, he wrote for month after month, and year after year, a series of articles on divine life; any truth-seeking man gets absorbed in reading them as a new domain of knowledge opens up in the inner vision of the reader, as though all the mysteries of creation open up. No other philosopher has analysed in such a detailed and beautiful way the riddles of creation. One is amazed at his deep vision, infinite scholarship and, also, his wonderful intellect.
He has analysed the complex philosophical hypotheses that are at once so lucid and so appropriate for the modern time. One is wonderstruck at his clear reasoning and interpretations. He has specially analysed materialism, because in the modern age the appeal of materialism can be said to be worldwide. Like an idealistic philosopher he has not tried to dismiss materialism; he has identified its self. He has explained that matter is another manifestation of Brahman, that is, in matter the Brahman consciousness exists hidden and veiled. He has revealed with irrefutable reasoning that there would be no solution to the world’s problems simply by rejecting this world as a dream and illusion (maya). The way the world appears before our eyes is also encompassed in the Brahman consciousness; what we see of the world in our consciousness may be incomplete or fragmented but not illusory or false. Accepting the all-encompassing and omnipresent Brahman, there is no way but to identify His true relations with the visible world, even from the philosophical viewpoint.
The materialistic scientists too have realised that what we call matter is actually a state of energy. But the scientist’s outlook is normally confined to material power and force. He is enthusiastic to ascertain the nature of its movement. He is not curious to identify the relation of this power with that of the life force and the force of mind. For this reason, the scientist’s world is isolated as he is eager to divide the world into many parts and analyse each of them; not many scientists are eager to identify the mutual relationship amongst each of these parts. His aim is to acquire knowledge by this analysis. The world of philosophers of Mayavad88 (illusionary theory) is also isolated and unreal, for they do not want to give any importance to the visible world; for them the only truth is Brahman—the indefinable (अबाङ्मनसोगोचरम्ब्रह्म).
With the development of knowledge it is gradually becoming evident that the material power is not the only power. Of course, what we call material power is not something to be ignored; it does not originate as the simple caprice of Nature. Science has the proof that there is blossoming of consciousness in matter. Slowly, level after level, this consciousness had its upward movement and its transformations. The great scientist Sir Jagadish Chandra Bose has revealed that what we call inert metal too has sensitive vibrations, feels heat and cold, the power of attraction and repulsion. This is so refined that this can only be observed through very sensitive instruments. Jagadish Chandra has also shown that this consciousness of matter has manifested more in plants as awareness. With the help of his wonderful instrument, the Crescograph, Jagadish Chandra has also observed rhythmic play among plants, and there is even an indication of blossoming of the mental faculty. When the discovery of Jagadish Chandra was first published, Sri Aurobindo discussed it in a beautifully written article in the Arya. He has mentioned this discovery in his magnum opus Life Divine specifically to explain the evolution of consciousness.
This consciousness has gradually developed amidst living beings as life force, by surpassing the torpor of matter manifesting itself in myriad forms in life. Gradually, it has become conscious as mental power. In man, the consciousness is awake, and possesses self-knowledge. In man, the soul and the personality have blossomed. In the living world man alone is self-conscious whereas life in the lower strata is the plaything of nature. But is he completely conscious of the Self, master of his desires, and a God-lover? Is he not in some way a plaything of nature? So long as man does not develop the consciousness of Self, it cannot be claimed that he is not a slave of nature. The movement of man’s life is controlled by some of the traits that nature has given him and the condition in which nature has created him. For this reason the Gita says, प्रकृतियान्तिभूतानिनिग्रहःकिम्करिष्यति (All living entities are controlled by their own nature. What can repression accomplish?) Yet, there have been people who have reached that level of consciousness where ignorance, incompleteness or defilement of nature exist no more. At that level, it is total knowledge, complete power and total illumination. Through the evolution of consciousness man can attain this level and power that renders this evolution as the power of yoga. The same power that is ignorance at the lower consciousness is completely self-established at the higher—it is called Paraprakrit (the Supreme Nature). This duality of nature has been mentioned by Lord Krishna in Gita (द्वेमेप्रकिति).
Apparently, in the practical life we cannot realise the fragmented or partial soul; in the same way we cannot understand the variety of play of the conscious force. We forget about the continuous play of the conscious force in the various forms of creation. If we attain the knowledge of the higher plane, then we feel the knowledge of the lower is without substance and is illusory. We do not want to admit that the power in the higher plane, which is fully conscious and active, has, in its outward manifestation in the lower strata, taken the form of ignorance and is finally inactive. This is the descent of the Sachchidananda (in simple terms: Truth, Consciousness and Beauty). His wonderful way of selfrealisation may not be easy to realise. If we have the wisdom to comprehend the riddles of the universe, we may realise that the Supreme Consciousness has lost itself in the ignorance, only to be manifested through multifarious forms of beauty and wonder play. However, in each atom of the universe profoundly present is the same Sachchidananda—He who cannot become self-oblivious. Even though He is all pervasive, there is no estrangement of Self. Thus, we can experience the omnipresence behind the incompleteness, the play of the infinite in the finite—which poet Tagore has expressed through a beautiful song, which says, “... amidst the finite, thou art infinite”. When the yogis, saints and the seekers attain this anandalok (the blissful world), they realise that all is creation of ananda; everything is the vibration of this Divine delight. The yogi perceives not merely ananda, he realises an infinite and universal consciousness, which is sometimes veiled, partially developed or at times integrally manifested.
Man commonly observes everything with a partial view that creates conflicts. If man takes matter as the basis, then other than material power he has no interest or concern towards any other power. On the other hand, if he aspires for the attainment of total consciousness, he wants to disregard matter altogether. Is not man’s life itself proof of a harmony of various forces? The marvel and beauty of matter, life and mind are manifested in man—it may be said that life is manifested upon matter and the mind is developed on the bosom of matter! The adhara (base) of the matter is not destroyed when the life is developed on it; the mind desires a completion upon the matter so that it can enjoy the rasa of matter and life in total. For this reason the manifestation of the Supramental is possible on the body of the matter.
Sri Aurobindo has beautifully explained that life and mind are veiled in matter and even the Supramental exists. The glimpse of Supramental is present in every atom. Brahman has not only taken the wrap of matter; in that wrap itself, the consciousness and the ananda (delight) of Brahman exist in concealment. This is the marvel of manifestation of Brahman. But while taking this garb of concealment there is no distortion of His Being. If that was so, then evolution would not have been possible. Man would have remained forever a partial being and could not have even imagined the “integral”. Because of this partial outlook, we think only of the outward form and appearance as total and true. Being materialistic, we fail to recognise the intelligence behind nature’s creation. Did the materialistic philosophers not earlier say that the thought process comes out of the brain just as the bile is secreted from the liver?
The higher consciousness has got veiled in the lower consciousness; become to some extent also into self-forgetfulness, but has not lost itself completely. That is why the wonders of play also take the upward course. As Sri Aurobindo says, from the level of life, the life force evolved and manifested in matter; from the plane of mind the force of mind evolved and manifested in life as mind. In this way, in the course of creation, from the plane of Supramental, the Supramental force will evolve and be created in the mind of man. This is the riddle of authority of Brahman. If Brahman did not have this authority, then He would have been effaced in this world and there would have been no trace of His Supreme Consciousness or the Transcendental Being. The world would have been merely mechanical without His Being and Consciousness. Without this Brahman authority, He might not have freed Himself from the darkness of ignorance. Before the creation, He was, as described by Sri Aurobindo in the poem “Who”:89
When darkness was blind and engulfed within darkness,
He was seated within it immense and alone.
(the last lines of the poem)
He would have remained like that, dissolved either in matter or in nothingness; the marvel of world-variety would not have been created, the play of life would not have been seen, the “mindful-man” would not be there, man’s imaginative world would not have been created, and man would not be dreaming of completeness. God has not only expressed His Self in the creation, not only did He support the creation, He is expressing a thousandfold the riches in it, and showing the “Divine Play”.
However, the totality of knowledge is incomplete unless the realisation of the Supreme Soul, which is above all creation and beyond all perception, is attained. He who will exist when nothing is there, for Him Sri Aurobindo has written in his poem, “The Vedantin’s Prayer”:90
Spirit Supreme
Who musest in the silence of the heart,
Eternal gleam,
Thou only Art!
Ah, wherefore with this darkness am I veiled
My sunlit part.
True, once that supreme abode is reached the human soul does not want to return to this divisive world of commotion and conflict. For this reason the yogi in the euphoric state stays away from society as he is engrossed in his own soul’s delight. God’s all-pervading power is such that in whatsoever manner man yearns for Him with his partial self, he gets Him in the same mode. As we read in the epic, with the blessings of Lord Mahadeva, Ravana, the king of Rakshasas, became so powerful! In the scripture, in reference to demon Vritrasura, Lord Brahma told the distressed gods,
बिष्बृक्षोहापिसम्बर्ध्यस्वम्च्छेद्त्तृमसाम्प्रतम (Even if a poisonous tree nurtured (by me) personally, to cut it off (is) unbefitting). Again man can become through his sadhana one with the indestructible Brahman and even to become absorbed in the great void is not altogether strange. This state of being so absorbed can be expressed through the words of Swami Vivekanada’s composition. He says, “...not the sun, not the light, nor the beautiful moon...”. It is a state where there is no sun, no moon; one only gets absorbed in the void, the nihil.
A Mayavadi (a philosopher of doctrine of maya) realising the glory and exaltedness of this euphoric state, proclaimed loud the unreality (illusionary nature) of the universe. When a man has a deep and profound experience then he does not want to value the previous innate sacred knowledge. A radical transformation of his nature takes place. Mr. Smythe, who partook in the Everest expedition,91 became so overwhelmed at the sight of the snow-clad Himalaya’s grandeur and great silence that he decided not to live in society after his return to his country. He lived self-absorbed in solitude on the Island of Hebrides in the west of Scotland.
But the lover of humanity, Sri Aurobindo, by no means wanted to separate himself from the world. He could not agree that this world is only a mirage. The foundation of his sadhana and knowledge is the realisation of the saints of Upanishad, i.e. “Brahman is Absolute” (सर्वम् खल्विदम). That is why he meticulously, for over seven years, analysed in the Arya the riddles of creation and the mysteries of mankind. He took the incomprehensible Sachchidananda as the foundation and showed that the entire creation is not only embraced in Him, He is in the very atom and molecule of it. Over the aeons, He (Sachchidananda) is untiringly, through limitless evolution, manifesting in man, His complete Self. In this evolution the ego of the man is merely a plane, a level, a prelude to authority, a precondition for realisation of complete self, complete consciousness, profoundly the partial-soul (Mamaivansha). When developing himself in creation, man receives the protection of the Total, the Absolute, and the Integral; only then does he realise the Divine. At the inception of the Supreme Consciousness the transformation of the part (the partial-self) takes place not only in the inner but also in the exterior, because then the exterior becomes the complete manifestation of the inner-self. As long as the man remains confined within the mental prejudices he cannot realise the Integral. If he attains a higher state but if the knowledge of the Absolute does not grow in him, even then he cannot realise the riddles of creation. The course of evolution mystifies him. For this reason, Sri Aurobindo says, “The incomplete pride of man’s mind makes a sharp distinction and wants to call all else untruth and leap at once to the highest truth whatever it may be—but that is an ambitious and arrogant error.”92
For this reason many saints and sanyasins criticise family life and consequently the family man thinks that he is a poor soul, very trivial, a being in hell—how would he get deliverance? So he prays, “O Lord Madhusudana (another name of Narayana), pray give me shelter at Thy Feet” and other similar appeals. And there is no dearth of persons posing as the deliverer! To dispel this mentality of our country, Swami Vivekananda had given the mantra “Soham, Soham” (I am He, I am He) and said, “Let the Lion of Vedanta roar”, so that every individual can perceive that he is one-soul with the Divine.
In the course of transformation of the human society, two movements are observed, that is, the craving and ascetic refrain. In every nation, the development of these two movements has taken place. But unless there is a synthesis of these two there is no harmony in life. If man singularly takes recourse to desire then life’s movement is downward. Again if the man or the society takes refuge wholly in asceticism, it becomes averse to reality. It creates incompleteness in the mind of man and that man becomes disinclined to fulfil the worldly life. As a result, the personal life becomes disharmonious; howsoever much he may achieve the taste of liberation he is deprived of the taste of the nectar of creation. Even he might think that this creation of the universe is a great mistake of God. On the other hand, if man can envision everything as Brahman then the wisdom of the universal soul arises in him. He may then be able to realise the transcendent soul of Brahman and also the all-pervasiveness of Brahman in the course of creation. He realises that an integral consciousness is in “playful delight” from higher to lower level of creation. The power of the higher is not only reflected in the lower, it is latently active, thus helpful in the transformation of the lower.
Even then questions arise in the mind of man as to why there is so much sorrow, pain, ignorance and evil in this world. Man can forget the present in the radiance of idealism, he can dream and remain absorbed dreaming of heaven but how can he avoid the harsh reality? Man can, with patience or bitterness or taking recourse to indifference, put up with the cruelty of the world, still his mind cannot be satisfied unless there is an understanding of a solution to this problem. He asks why and how Sachchidananda adapted in this ignorance, misery and impermanence. How in the infinite, the finite has come; why in the integral whole, the incomplete partial has come? Sri Aurobindo himself in the Life Divine has raised these questions and presented their answers with marvellous reasoning. Later, a scholar disciple of his asked him these eternal questions. The solution that Sri Aurobindo offered is now available as a book titled The Riddle of this World.93 Any inquisitive mind will be amazed reading this book.
Sri Aurobindo says the reason for the manifestation of Brahman in this world is the inspiration to gain experience—an experience for the evolution of the Unknown. The One, who is self-created, eternal, complete, immutable, and infinite, is He who has descended into the ignorance to savour the mutable.
Unless He descends, how could the Infinite be perceived as finite; how could the space, time and person be evolved? But this manifestation is not a single phase, it is created over various levels of consciousness and the transformation of consciousness takes place. The absolute consciousness is transformed into partial consciousness, space and time. Thus, gradually, whatever was subtle is transformed into gross—the outward manifestation of Brahman.
Thus, the Supreme Consciousness remained absorbed in savouring its manifestation into the partial consciousness. But if the manifestation of this descent has begun where would it end and who would determine its completion? Who would say, thus far and no farther? Brahman is Infinite; His manifestation is also infinite and eternal. The Absolute Consciousness transformed into partial consciousness, into the unconscious, and finally into nescient ignorance. However, in the unconscious, the Consciousness is veiled and asleep. In the investigation of the atom, modern science has found a peculiar state whose position and properties follow no standard rule [the author might have had in mind the Quantum Theory and Principle of Uncertainty], as if the particles (atoms) are in perpetual dance. This shows that the infiniteness, the endless movements, numerous creation of forms, and immeasurable power in matter can bring about total destruction as we have seen in nuclear explosions. The Brahman too has no beginning or end beyond this universe as also in His manifestation in the matter’s world.
Again we have seen how this dormant and veiled consciousness in its higher evolution develops itself into vital and mental consciousness. Even today the mystery of this transformation has not been revealed completely; it is still in the realm of scientific research. Nevertheless, how from matter, the blossoming of life takes place has been observed by the scientists. Even in this transition of transformation what a marvel of beauty there is! It is still more a wonderful spectacle how in the inert matter the vibration of life springs up, how in the play of life the mind casts its light. And finally the complete manifestation of intellect dawns over matter, the light of knowledge blooms in matter’s world and the human soul is manifested.
Man is the symbol of this expedition of Brahman for the Unknown. On one hand, man follows the natural course of life i.e. building family, society, and nation, and on the other hand, he ignores the normal life in search of the unknown, the knowledge, and the Rasa (the refined enjoyment of life). If the earthly comfort and pleasure were the only yearning of man, then for the thirst of knowledge he would not have rushed to seek the experience of the unknown mystery of the impassable mountains. One wonders, where is the limit of this seeking? On one hand so many scholars, so many scientists have devoted their lives in revealing the mysteries of the outward expressions of matter and life; on the other hand, in seeking the Divine, the human consciousness, the human soul, and the Universal Soul, so many saints, yogis, sanyasins, philosophers and scholars have ignored their worldly lives. To know the mysteries of life what an earnest eagerness in man! In this practical age of science so many scientists have devoted their lives to analysing what is the consciousness, in knowing the subconscious, and the unconscious. There is no satisfaction in man’s thirst for knowledge, no end to the search for the mysteries of the unknown.
This seeking mind is the sign of human civilisation. Because, with this intelligence, man has mastered the deep mysteries of nature, made life prosperous and powerful, which could render wonders in life. But man has not remained satisfied with this much—without controlling the mysteries of the universe how would his knowledge be completed? That is why from the dawn of civilisation, man has searched for the higher, sought to find the source of power, peace, bliss and completeness. He has got the indication of the Supreme Consciousness and the signs of the Supreme Soul. He has found the means for the union with this consciousness as in his heart, he has awakened the love for the Divine and the Bhakti. This has given man the knowledge of the subtle, of reasoning, and the intelligence beyond the senses i.e. not only the consciousness in the awakened state but also in the dream state and in slumber. This has given the partial life the concept of the Complete, in the finite the signs of the Infinite. It has given the incomplete the ability to become Total, and shown man the path to reach the Divine.
In this way, the Complete Consciousness which had unfolded itself amidst unconsciousness and ignorance, has also found the source for self-liberation through various strata. Sri Aurobindo calls this “the double ladder of consciousness” i.e., the Consciousness descending and ascending. The Supreme expressing Himself and savouring the finite, incomplete, creating the variety of divine play in them, gaining experience and again awakening in the incomplete (that is the adhara of man) the glory of the Complete, Infinite and Eternal. To transform the lower nature and to cast the light of the higher over the lower is the earthly glory of the Supreme.
Just as the tree lies dormant inside the seed, similarly, the Eternal Soul lies hidden within the universal creation. As the tree develops at the appropriate time and place, similarly the manifestation of the Soul takes place through various stages of universal creation. Man is the centre of this higher evolution. For this reason Lord Sri Krishna has said, “ममैवांशः”. In man itself, there is possibility of harmonising the higher and the lower. The symbol of the evolution of the lower nature is man. However, in his intelligence and heart blossoms the higher nature, the Supreme Consciousness. For this reason the worldly situation cannot overwhelm man as he can, amidst the difficulties of life, sing the glory of the Spirit.