Guidance from Sri Aurobindo - Volume 1

Higher and Lower Worlds

The year 1933

      How was man involved on the earth in in-conscient Matter — with the divinity behind him?

      The question is itself rather involved. Man has evolved from Matter — or rather Nature has worked first the plant, then the animal, then Man in a regular succession out of Matter. What is involved is not Man, but mind and life and spirit. "Involved" means that they are there even though there seems to be no mental activity (as in the tree) and no mental or vital activity (as in the stone); as the evolution goes on the involved life appears and begins to organise itself and the plants appear and then the animals; next mind, first in the animal, and then man appears.

      What is meant by the Divine Consciousness?

      By the Divine Consciousness we mean the spiritual consciousness to which the Divine alone exists, because all is the Divine and by which one passes beyond the ignorance and the lower nature into unity with the Divine and the Divine Nature.

       Here in the ignorance we are not aware of the Divine and we obey the lower Nature.

Page 1

      What are the forces at work in the cosmos?

      There are the higher forces of the Divine Nature— the forces of Light, Truth, Divine Power, Peace, Ananda — there are the forces of the lower nature which belong either to a lower truth or to ignorance and error— there are also the hostile forces whose whole aim is to maintain the reign of Darkness, Falsehood, Death and Suffering as the law of life.

      Are there hostile forces in every plane of our being?

      The main strength of the hostile forces is in the vital — but there are some in the lower ranges of mind and smaller beings and forces in the subtle physical also.

      Why are certain forces called hostile and why have they worked against the Divine?

       Because they wanted their own way which is the way of the Ignorance.

      What is their final aim?

       To follow their nature, possess the world and prevent the Light from possessing it.

       You said, "It is through the Cosmic Shakti that the Divine creates." Has the Cosmic Shakti any-thing to do with the hostile forces?

       She has to do with everything in this world, good, bad or indifferent.

       If the Cosmic Shakti has come from the Divine, why is the world such as to allow the hostile forces to reign in it?

Page 2

      It is the nature of this world because it is an evolutionary world moving out of the Inconscient into the full consciousness of the Divine.

      Is it not the Cosmic Shakti's work to reach the Divine through all her evolutionary forms?

      The Cosmic Shakti maintains the cosmos. To reach the Divine is the ultimate, not the immediate object.

      It is said that everything is already arranged by the Divine, even one's future. Can't one change anything if one wants?

      If it is arranged by the Divine how can one's wanting change it? If it is merely a result of the play of forces which seems inevitable, then one can change it by the will, if the will is supported by the Divine.

      Is every movement, even the future, planned by Nature?

      In Nature it is by the play of forces that the result is determined.

      In the ultimate vision of things, can it not be said that the Divine arranges and plans all future occurrences of one's life and their exact time also?

      It is not mentally arranged by the Divine — the word plan is a mere metaphor. But the Divine sees what arises out of the movement of being and there is Foresight and a Sanction above.

      Does the Divine Power work in us at all times, even though we may be unconscious of it?

Page 3

      It does not work directly at all times; very often it allows the Nature to work.

      What is the cause of impurity in our understanding?

       Ignorance and ego.

      I am very eager to get out of the movements of the Ignorance and put the consciousness into touch with the Mother. How to achieve what I want?

      There is no way except to open to the higher con-sciousness so that it may descend and open to the Mother.

       I am speaking of the higher planes of mind which are always more luminous than the ordinary mental.

      How is it that the vital beings allow Gods to remain on their plane?

      The vital plane is not one world but many.

      In which of the worlds do the divine vital beings stay?

      There are worlds of the vital Gods, they stay there.

      How has the vital world which can have even its own Gods got distorted in us?

      Everything in the exterior being is distorted by the Ignorance — if it were not distorted it would not be the Ignorance.

      If there are Divine Forces in all the planes, why do we not feel them acting in us during the hostile attacks?

      If you are sufficiently awakened to them and call them in, they will act.

Page 4

      What effect has fear regarding the hostile forces?

      If you are afraid of the hostile forces when they try to come, you expose yourself to their power.

      How do the hostile forces manage to time their attacks on us accurately and put into our minds formations which attract us?

      They find elements of the construction in your mind — and they are always on the watch and can take action immediately. 

      How is it that they know so much more than we do? Is their knowledge very vast?

      No. They are not physical beings, so they can be aware of things directly to a great extent — that is all.

      Can the planes above the mind, but below the Supermind, be influenced by the hostile forces?

      No — but the hostile forces can use the forces sent down from them if they get mixed with the mind or the vital.

      When one lives in the higher consciousness, will the lower nature still act in us, doing the same things in the same way as now?

      No, it will be the higher Nature, provided the body also lives in the higher consciousness.

      What brings about death? Is it the hostile forces?

      It is the decay of the body or illness or violence or accident. The last three are special attacks of the hostile forces. The other is the pressure of the lower nature.

Page 5

      What is the function of the karana sarira, the causal body?

      It originates from behind the veil.

      Will the karana sarira ever come forward, tearing the veil?

      Yes, if the consciousness develops so much that the superconscient overmind and supermind cease to be superconscient.

     You once said: "In the true consciousness things appear differently from what they do now." Were you referring to the supramental consciousness?

      In any true consciousness, intuition or spiritual or overmental or supramental.

     Something in me, when I have made a mistake, goes on shouting. "Why have you done this? Why have you done this?" Is it the lower Nature?

      Yes, — it is the lower mind that does like that. The higher mind would simply recognise the mistake and correct it.

       Is the higher mind a part of the intellect—the higher part?

      The higher mind is a thing in itself above the intellect. — It is only when something of its power comes down and is modified in the lower mind substance that it acts as part of the intellect.

      Are the inner mind and higher mind and Over-mind separative like our individual minds? How are we to get into the Overmind?

       No, they are more universal. You cannot reach the

Page 6

overmind so long as you are bound to the separative consciousness

      When one lives in a separative consciousness, what is one's relation with the universal consciousness?

      One receives from it and returns things to it without being conscious of the process or of the source of what one receives.

      Are the Brahman and the Universal Consciousness one and the same?

      The universal consciousness is the universal Brahman — in it you see everything as one.

      Is not the human being in his true reality superior even to the Supermind?

      What is the true reality of a human being — and how is it different from the true reality of any other being? The true reality of all is the Divine.

      Is not the Supermind one instrument of man for realising the Divine upon earth?

      Realising means what? You mean manifesting, I suppose. Anyone can realise the Divine, in the sense of being conscious of the Divine.

      Man is a mental being in a body — how can he have command of the Supermind which is above mind? Even Overmind is far above him.

      When one becomes one with the Divine, what exactly is the function of the Supermind?

      One can become one with the Divine on the mental plane. The Supermind is necessary for manifesting the Divine on earth.

Page 7