Mother or The Mutation Of Death - III

10: Victory over Death or in Death?

It is possible that it is our human sentimentality that makes us desire the transformation or glorious blooming of this old body. Evolution is not sentimental, and it has often proved that it lets intermediate species fall by the wayside or extinguish themselves, or perhaps subsist for a certain amount of time until all the elements capable of evolving have reached a higher level. And if the evolutionary goal is to form this new “innumerable” body, what would attach it to this old form once it has fulfilled its task? Sri Aurobindo had very well foreseen that humanity would not raise itself suddenly “as one mass,” to the supramental level, and that perhaps, for some centuries, the two levels would coexist side by side (probably in two worlds separated by a veil of unconsciousness or “death”) until the moment when all the absorbable elements cross the threshold, and from one body to another or century to century, all the species would slowly ascend the ladder of consciousness or remain in their stagnant but harmonious perfection. What one does not know is to what extent, perhaps formidable and unpredictable, the formation of this new body or of several new bodies endowed with this vibratory power⎯somewhat fantastic as it is the very power, in its purity, that animates atoms, this “innumerable powdering of gold” that moves freely in and through everything⎯will not change, upset or accelerate the present data of evolution, overthrowing on its way a number of perfectly scientific walls of impossibility. It is in fact what is in the process of happening. What is today insurmountable is perhaps a small breath of which only a smile will remain. But we are concerned with the transition, our transition, and we ask ourselves two things: first, why these physical animal cells, which have laboured so long, which have become conscious, which have ended up emitting their small signals of call or distress, formed a Mind of the cells like a vibration of prayer, of joy or pure love, tirelessly, a small nucleus of gold, a small scintillation of the innumerable golden scintillation of the universal substance and woven, spun this substance around themselves, why wouldn’t they impregnate all of the old body, change this old substance, impose another functioning on it and clarify this opacity—why would they decay? And firstly, if they are truly conscious, they cannot decay, only what is unconscious dies. Death is the very sign of unconsciousness. There is thus no “theoretical’ impossibility to the transformation of the old animal body, to an evolutionary continuity that would justify our long pain ever since thousands of cradles, human or non-human. This would be the “visible” proof.

What remains to be seen are the practical difficulties.

But there is our second question, which invisibly revolves around the first one. Everything revolves around this famous “visibility.” We cannot help looking or wanting to look at the next species with the eyes, understanding and sentimentality of the old species. If we were endowed with animal organs that allowed us to see this original substance, to visibly witness the formation of a new body within the old one, to watch it slowly take form, move independently and radiate its beauty and joy, in what way would we be attached to the old simulacrum, even if it was what allowed for the birth of this beauty? One sheds the old skin. The other is gloriously, visibly there But in fact we have these organs: the cells see, the cells know, and we have thousands and billions of cells; they are simply covered, veiled by the web of the physical Mind that superimposes its painful, sad reality, its old habit of suffering, being sick, dying, its innumerable grey illusion which envelops each gesture and each step of its fears, apprehensions, laws and legal catastrophes, like an octopus. It is the veil between the two worlds. It is truly the veil of death. So we say the “concrete,” real world is on one side and the impalpable, “invisible” world is on the other, a “subtle” world, though perhaps physical. But if the veil, that opaque periphery, wore down and fell, if our cells perceived reality, what would happen? Firstly, it is probable (without talking about outer upheavals) that a formidable desire for transformation would result in all our human bodies, as if they were breathing true air for once—they would no longer want to breathe any air but that. But there perhaps will be many who would find that air very unbearable for the thickness of filth that covers them. It is perhaps for this reason that the wearing thin of the veil is slow, merciful and chaotic. There are no chosen ones, mind you : all of evolution is chosen. And we always come back to those two worlds existing side by side, one within the other, two “humanities,” one might say, one slowly opening the eyes of its cells, slowly spinning a new body of beauty and joy, and the other, laggard, which by the sum total of its pains and chaos would also be led and compelled to look for something else, to want something else, to also open the little eyes of Matter in its cells. And when everything is at a homogeneous point, then there will no longer be “this side” and “that side”: it will all be the same side. The demarcation line is the death of a body. It is the point where the old Matter no longer follows the movement of the new Matter and does not manage to transform itself. So it sheds its skin and moves into the other. But it is the very phenomenon of Falsehood. The corpse is the residue-witness of Unconsciousness. It is the very sign of the veil. And one wonders if, as long as death is not conquered there, changed there, in its very nest of Falsehood, it will be possible to have a complete and real life, a true life on earth, entirely unveiled—because the very origin of the veil would remain there. What seems to us the last illusion, the ultimate simulacrum contains perhaps the very key to the last unveiling and perfect plenitude. One must really change the death of Matter, it is not sufficient to overleap it into another species. It is in the body that the veil that separates the two worlds must be destroyed.

And one morning, I saw Mother arrive with four verses of Savitri from “The debate of Love and Death”:

The great stars burn with my unceasing fire And life and death are both its fuel made.

Life only was my blind attempt to love:

Earth saw my struggle, heaven my victory.⁷⁸

And Mother had I know not what light in her eyes, as if She had received the message, touched the message : Savitri says, life and death are the fuel, then: In my blind attempt LIFE ONLY was my attempt to love. It’s not “Life was only”, but “Life only”: Because my attempt to love was blind, I limited it to life—but I won the victory in death [that is, in “heaven”]. It's very interesting.⁷⁹

Earth saw my struggle, heaven my victory.⁸⁰

“And yet,” I asked Mother, “Earth should see the victory, the victory should be on earth?”—Yes, but Savitri couldn’t win the victory on earth because she lacked “heaven”—she couldn’t win the victory in life because she lacked death and she had to conquer death in order to conquer life. That’s the idea. Unless we conquer Death, the victory isn’t won. Death must be vanquished, there must be no more death. That’s very clear.⁸¹

And then She added: According to what Sri Aurobindo says here, it is the principle of Love that is transformed into flame and finally into light. It isn’t the principle of Light that is transformed into flame when it materializes: it’s the flame that is transformed into light. The great stars give light because they burn; they burn because they are under the effect of Love. It is my experience of the “pulsations.” The last thing beyond light, beyond consciousness, beyond ... the last thing one reaches is Love. [That is, the supramental fire, that “golden onslaught.”] According to the experience, it’s the last thing to manifest now in its purity, and it is the one that has the transforming power. That’s what Sri Aurobindo appears to be saying here: the victory of Love seems to be the final victory. He said Savitri is “a Legend and a Symbol.” It’s he who made it a symbol. It's the story of the encounter of Savitri, the principle of Love, with Death; and it's over Death that she won the victory, not in life. She could not win the victory in life without winning the victory over Death. It's very interesting.⁸²

One does not jump over death.

Some years earlier, speaking of death one day in 1963, Mother had told me: It's as if it were THE question given me to resolve.⁸³

How was She going to resolve the problem?

The transformation of this physical, animal body is the very symbol of the victory over death. It is the very nest of Death.

Must one die to conquer death?

How can one win the victory in death and at the same time win it in a body? Or then one must die, traverse death in the body, and come back victorious. It is a mystery.

Mother clearly said: The victory IN death.

It might well be the “dangerous” mystery which She had been struggling with since 1970.

Perhaps she is still struggling with it. But death must be vanquished in a body.

When the veil has been lifted there, it will be lifted for all bodies.

Death must be vanquished, there must be no more death. That’s very clear.⁸⁴