Sri Aurobindo's diary of his yogic practice between 1909 and 1927.
Sri Aurobindo's diary of his yogic practice between 1909 and 1927. This two-volume record of sadhana contains fairly regular entries between 1912 and 1920 and a few entries in 1909, 1911 and 1927. It also contains related materials Sri Aurobindo wrote about his practice of yoga during this period, including descriptions of the seven 'chatusthayas' (groups of four elements), which are the basis of the yoga of the 'Record'.
OM TAT SAT
The highest interpretation hitherto made in human understanding and experience may thus be stated with the proviso that since it is human it must be incomplete.
TAT. That.
The Absolute Unmanifested—Parabrahman, Purushottama, Parameswara (holding in himself the Parâshakti and in her the All).
SAT. The Existent (I Am.)
The Absolute containing all the power of the manifestation. The Absolute is Parabrahman-Mahâmâyâ. The Absolute is Purushottama-Parâprakriti. The Absolute is Parameswara-Âdyâ (original) Parâshakti.
OM. The Word of Manifestation.
A The external manifestation (consciousness realised in the actual and concrete—seen by the human consciousness as the waking state.)
U The internal manifestation (intermediate—the inner, not the inmost being—consciousness realised in the inner potentialities and intermediate states between the inmost supramental and the external—seen by the human consciousness as the subliminal and associated with the dream state.)
M The inmost seed or condensed consciousness (the inmost supramental, glimpsed by the human consciousness as something superconscient, omniscient and omnipotent,
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and associated with the state of dreamless Sleep or full Trance.)
AUM Turiya, the Fourth; the pure Spirit beyond these three, Atman consciousness entering into Tat Sat and able to identify with it. Believed to be obtainable in its absoluteness only in absolute Trance—nirvikalpa samadhi.
All this (first in the Upanishads) is the viewpoint from the mental consciousness. It is incomplete because two things that are one have been left out, the Personal Manifestation and the name of the Mahashakti. The subsequent growth of spiritual knowledge has brought about a constant effort to add these missing elements.
When the hidden secret has been discovered and made effective, the human consciousness will be exceeded, the superconscient made conscient and the subconscient or inconscient which is the inevitable shadow of the superconscient filled with the true spiritual and supramental consciousness. The Trance, Dream and Waking States (all imperfect at present and either touched with obscurity or limited) become each completely conscious and the walls, gaps or reversals of consciousness that intervene between them are demolished.
Tat then will appear in its entire truth, the Supreme Absolute, One in Two, each entirely in the other and both one in an ineffable Existence, Consciousness and Ananda.
Sat is the eternal and infinite truth of Sachchidananda ready for manifestation. It is the One Existence, but the Two in One are there, each in each, each perfect in the other.
OM is the manifestation. The Mahashakti comes forth from the Supreme for creation. In the eternal manifestation the Two in One are evident to each other; their identity and union are foundation of the diversity of this play, and it is the possession of the truth that makes the manifestation stable & eternal.
In the temporal creation Sat seems to be separated from Chit and Ananda. Hence the play of the inconscience becomes possible and the creation of an Ignorance and an ignorant Maya. The ChitShakti has to reveal the Sat Purusha to herself and her creation
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and entirely to meet him and recover the true identity and union in the Ananda. She seems to be put out from him, but all the time she is in him and he in her. It is this concealed truth that has to become manifest and effective and its discovery is the secret of the new creation in which the superconscient and inconscient will become conscious and fill with the supreme Sacchidananda, One in Two and Two in One. Then the temporal manifestation will be recreated in the image of the Truth. It will be in harmony with the eternal manifestation, built by what comes down to it directly from the Eternal. For through the Ananda and the Supramental the eternal manifestation stands behind the temporal creation and secretly supports its involved and evolving movements.
The secret name of the Supreme Mahashakti signifies
For the Supreme is Ananda unifying Consciousness and Existence in the single Power (Shakti) of these things.
All is created by the Supreme Goddess, the Supreme and Original Mahashakti, all proceeds from her, all lives by her, all lives in her, even as she lives in all. All wisdom and knowledge are her wisdom and knowledge; all power is her power, all will and force her will and force, all action is her action, all movement her movement. All beings are portions of her power of existence.
Seven times seven are the planes of the Supreme Goddess, the steps of ascent and descent of the Divine Transcendent and Universal Adyashakti.
Above are the thrice seven supreme planes of Sat-Chit-Ananda, त्रिः सप्त परमा पदानि मातुः in between are the seven planes of the
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Divine Truth and Vastness, Mahad Brahma, सत्यमृतं बृहत्; below are the thrice seven steps of the ascent and descent into this evolutionary world of the earth existence.
These three gradations are successively Supermind or TruthMind, with its seven suns; Life with its seven Lotuses; Earth with its seven Jewel-Centres.
The seven Lotuses are the seven chakras of the Tantric tradition, descending and ascending from Mind (Sahasradala, Ajna[,] Vishuddha, Anahata) that takes up Life through Life in Force (Manipura, Swadhisthana) down to Life involved in Matter [(]Muladhara[)].
All these Life-Centres are in themselves centres of Truth in Life even as the seven Suns are each a flaming heart of Truth in luminous Divine-Mind-Existence; but these lotuses have been veiled, closed, shut into their own occult energies by the Ignorance. Hence the obscurity, falsehood, death, suffering of our existence.
The Jewel-Centres of the Earth-Mother are seven luminous jewel-hearts of Truth in Substance; but they have been imprisoned in darkness, fossilised in immobility, veiled, closed, shut into their own occult energies by the hardness, darkness and inertia of the material Inconscience.
To liberate all these powers by the luminous and flaming descent of the suns of the Supermind and the release of the eighth Sun of Truth hidden in the Earth, in the darkness of the Inconscience, in the cavern of Vala and his Panis, this is the first step towards the restoration of the Earth Mother to her own divinity and the earth-existence to its native light, truth, life and bliss of immaculate Ananda.
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The Seven Suns.
The Sun of Creative Origination (from the eternal vastnesses).
The double Sun of Light and Power (concentrating the movements emanated from the infinite Wisdom-Will.)
The Sun of the Word (organising the creation).
The Sun of Love, Bliss and Beauty (dynamising the descending harmonies)
The Sun of Soul-Power (aspiring, receiving, grasping, assimilating the creation; divided here into the mind and psyche, there unified in Soul-Mind, Brahman.)
The Sun of Life (dynamically externalising the creation).
The Sun of Everlasting Form (stabilising and containing the creation).
These are the seven powers of the Truth-Mind above the body.
The Sun of Truth, originating the supramental creation.
The double Sun of Supramental Light and Will, transmitting the Knowledge-Power that creates, founds and organises the supramental creation.
The Sun of the Word, expressing and arranging the supramental creation
The Sun of Love, Bliss and Beauty, vivifying and harmonising the supramental creation.
The Sun of supramental Force (Source of Life) dynamising the supramental creation.
The Sun of supramental Life-Radiances, (Power-Rays) canalising the dynamis and pouring it into forms.
The Sun of Supramental Form-Energy holding and embodying the supramental life and stabilising the creation.
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The Seven Suns of the Supermind
1) The Sun of Supramental Truth,—Knowledge-Power originating the supramental creation.
Descent into the Sahasradala.
2) The Sun of Supramental Light and Will-Power, transmitting the Knowledge Power as dynamic vision and command to create, found and organise the supramental creation.
Descent into the Ajna-chakra, the centre between the eyes.
3) The Sun of the Supramental Word, embodying the KnowledgePower, empowered to express and arrange the supramental creation
Descent into the Throat-Centre.
4) The Sun of supramental Love, Beauty and Bliss, releasing the Soul of the Knowledge-Power to vivify and harmonise the supramental creation.
Descent into the Heart-Lotus
5) The Sun of Supramental Force dynamised as a power and source of life to support the supramental creation
Descent into the navel centre
6) The Sun of Life-Radiances (Power-Rays) distributing the dynamis and pouring it into concrete formations.
Descent into the penultimate centre
7) The Sun of supramental Substance-Energy and Form-Energy empowered to embody the supramental life and stabilise the creation.
Descent into the Muladhara.
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The Seven Centres of the Life
1) The thousand-petalled Lotus—above the head with its base on the brain. Basis or support in Life-Mind for the Supramental; initiative centre of the illumined Mind.
2) The centre between the brows in the middle of the forehead. Will, vision, inner mental formation, active and dynamic Mind.
3) The centre in the throat. Speech, external mind, all external expression and formation.
4) The heart-lotus. Externally, the emotional mind, the vital mental: in the inner heart the psychic centre
5) The navel centre. The larger vital proper; life-force centre.
6) The centre intermediate between the navel and the Muladhara. The lower vital; it connects all the above centres with the physical
7) The last centre or Muladhara. Material support of the vital; initiation of the physical.
All below is the subconscient physical.
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