Sri Aurobindo's Philosophy And Yoga - Some Aspects

The Divine Being - Spirit And Matter

I had earlier written something of the nature of the Divine Being and His manifestations in myriads names and forms which constitute our Universe. Now, the mystery is how and why should the One Divine be manifested or manifest Himself into the 'Many instead of remaining the unchanging and infinite One.

We are aware of the Universe of Matter, Life and Mind which is cognisable by our senses and reason. The immaterial or the Spiritual is known to us only indirectly by faith or authority. All our spiritual experience has owed the reality of the Spirit or Atman as the One, Infinite, Eternal and Unchanging. We have to accept this discovery of the Rishis, Sages, Saints, Seers, Mystics, Yogis, Prophets and Avatars of Gods till we can ourselves realise the Atman. It is no use denying a thing simply because we do not know of its existence. We must exalt ourselves by our own efforts to know whether there is a thing like the spirit, self, soul or the Atman.

Now taken on the authority of the realised souls like those mentioned above, we see there are two principles active on the earth : (i) Spirit or the Atman (ii) Matter at the other end. Now, if the Divine is one, how has He become the Many, if He is the Spirit how or why has He become Matter ? This brings the principle of the Evolution 'to the fore. The Spirit is involved in Matter and what is involved must in course of time evolve. Matter and Spirit are then not different, two distinct and separate entities having nothing in common in between them. Apparently so, though not really. Spirit is the Soul and Reality of Matter

Page 72

and Matter the name and form of the Spirit. In any case, Matter to us seems so very different and opposed to the Spirit which is immaterial that unless there are gradations, levels and planes leading from the One to the other, it is difficult to believe that Matter and Spirit are one.

These gradations, levels and degrees are found in consciousness which is the nature of the Sat-Ghat-Ananda (the Divine) connecting the one with the other. The Spirit which is all consciousness chose to be all Unconsciousness or Inconscient for the delight of the play or Lila of Self-discovery in its extreme opposites. Thus, Substance (Sat) becomes Matter ; Chit (Consciousness) becomes Unconsciousness in extreme Ignorance and Ananda (Bliss) becomes Insensitiveness or Nirananda and Suffering and Sorrow.

Now the nature of Sat-Chit-Ananda is Consciousness and the nature of Consciousness is Power, Force and that again is pure and unalloyed Bliss. When the one Divine plunges into the Inconscient. and Ananda a Bliss becomes insensitiveness, then begin sorrow and suffering of the living creatures as they emerge from the creation of Matter. He apparently loses Himself in the Force of His own creative consciousness. Gradually, on the principle of evolution, consciousness has to emerge out of its involution in the Unconsciousness or the Inconscient. From this sea of inconscience, emerges only Matter—inconscient Matter ; then it emerges into life as in plants and vegetables and then into the undeveloped Mind of the animals and lastly into the developed intelligence of Man. But mind is still left in the Domain of the Ignorance—it has become partially self-aware. That partial self-awareness has

Page 73

to ascend still to the Supramental conciousness which is the Truth-conciousness of the Spirit or the Atman. Mind is only an intermediate stage of conciousness rising out of the total inconscience and ending with the Supramental conciousness which is the final emergence of the Truth-conscious spirit from its involution in Matter.

This in a nut-shell is the whole history of the evolution of consciousness which is the theme of Sri Aurobindo's Life Divine. It is difficult to understand at first but persistent study will bring »"$ne the Light of Truth and Knowledge.

Darwin has in his "Origin of Species" dwelt at length only on the evolution of the form—insect, worms, reptiles, amphibious creatures like frogs and tortoise, then higher and higher types of animal formation till developed (mentally) like cows, horses, cats, dogs, monkeys come into being ending with the appearance of Man. But what really is worth noticing in this evolution is the evolution of conciousness from the in-conscient Matter to the manifestation of the Supramental Truth-consciousness in man which is the final aim and end of this terrestrial Life.

Page 74