The Supramental Manifestation

Appendix

Explanations given by Sri Aurobindo apropos of some passages in this book:

Page 417, line 2.

There is no need to put "the" before "quality"—in English that would alter the sense. Matter is not regarded in this passage as a quality of being perceived by sense; I don't think that would have any meaning. It is regarded as a result of a certain power and action of consciousness which presents forms of itself to sense perception and it is this quality of sense perceivedness, so to speak, that gives them the appearance of Matter, i.e. of a certain kind of substantiality inherent in themselves—but in fact they are not self-existent substantial objects but forms of consciousness. The point is that there is no such thing as the self-existent Matter posited by nineteenth century Science.

Pages 414 and 422.

Chitta is ordinarily used for the mental consciousness in general, thought, feeling, etc. taken together with a stress now on one side or another, sometimes on the feelings as in cittapramāthi, sometimes on the thought-mind—that is why I translated it on p. 414 (maccittaḥ) "heart and mind" in its wider sense. Chetas can be used in the same way, but it has a different shade of sense, properly speaking, and can include also the movements of the soul, covering the whole consciousness even; on page 422 I take it in its most general sense. The translation is not meant to be literal but to render the thought in the line in its fullness. Adhyātmacetasā practically amounts to what in English we would describe as a spiritual consciousness.

Page 431

Page 417.

("throw our arms around")

It is a figure meaning to comprehend in our consciousness with love and Ananda.

Page 421, lines 21, 23, 25.

Nature here means the parts of Prakriti in the human being: as it is the condition of the Prakriti that changes with shifting of the Gunas and it is this condition of the Prakriti that will become illumined by the transformation of sattva into jyoti.

Page 424.

(lokasaṅgrahārthāya—Does this mean present order?)

No. It is in a more general sense the maintenance of the world order which may be a developing, not necessarily a stationary one, an order spiritual, moral etc. and not merely a social order.

Page 432