The Development of Sri Aurobindo's Spiritual System and the Mother's Contribution to it

The Encyclopaedia Britannica in the Ashram Library describes Sri Aurobindo's work thus: "Opinions vary on the merit of his voluminous, extremely complex and sometimes chaotic literary output of philosophical pondering, poetry, plays, and other works." For the numerous followers of Sri Aurobindo this description of their Master does not mean much for they are moved less by intellectual concerns than by a direct spiritual appeal which the great Yogi exercised and still continues to exercise over them. Yet before dismissing the criticism of being "chaotic", it is worthwhile to ponder over the possible reasons for the uncharitable description.

     The concepts in any spiritual philosophy are bound to be experience-concepts for it is upon his spiritual experience that the philosopher bases his notion of Reality. The aspects through which Sri Aurobindo's Reality expresses itself are not mutually exclusive but shade off into each other. To the analytic mind this may well create an impression of chaos. Moreover Sri Aurobindo's spiritual system evolved over many years and was modified and expanded by him more than once to take into account fresh experience. Past viewpoints were sometimes abandoned outright in the light of a more comprehensive revelation. To an unsympathetic observer this may indicate chaos.

     There is thus a need for chronological research into the development of Sri Aurobindo's spiritual system in the light of which his works can be better understood. K.D. Sethna's book under review is a beginning in this direction. Sethna brings to his inquiry the intellectual rectitude of an impeccable scholar as well as the plastic mind of a sadhak centred in his psychic. The concept of the Supramental gnosis, which forms the cornerstone of Sri Aurobindo's spiritual system, has been variously interpreted in other systems. Sri Aurobindo points out the following, "Two opposite errors have to be avoided, two misconceptions that disfigure opposite sides of the truth of gnosis. One error of intellect-bounded thinkers takes vijñana as synonymous with the other Indian term buddhi and buddhi as synonymous with the reason, the discerning intellect, the logical intelligence. The systems that accept this significance, pass at once from a plane of pure intellect to a plane of pure spirit. No intermediate power is recognised, no diviner action of knowledge than the pure reason is admitted; the limited human means for fixing truth is taken for the highest possible dynamics of consciousness, its topmost force and original movement. An opposite error, a misconception of the mystics identifies vijñana with the consciousness of the Infinite free from all ideation or else ideation packed into one essence of thought, lost to other dynamic action in the single and invariable idea of the One. This is the caitanyaghana of the Upanishad and is one movement or rather one thread of the many-aspected movement of the gnosis. The gnosis, the Vijnana, is not only this concentrated consciousness of the infinite Essence; it is also and at the same time an infinite knowledge of the myriad play of the Infinite. It contains all ideation (not mental but supramental), but it is not limited by ideation, for it far exceeds all ideative movement. Nor is the gnostic ideation in its character an intellectual thinking; it is not what we call the reason, not a concentrated intelligence. For the reason is mental in its methods, mental in its acquisitions, mental in its basis, but the ideative method of the gnosis is self-luminous, supramental, its yield of thought-light spontaneous, not proceeding by acquisition, its thought-basis a rendering of conscious identities, not a translation of the impressions born of indirect contacts."

     But complete knowledge of this plane of consciousness did not come to Sri Aurobindo at once. In the first article, Sethna traces out the origins of the distinction between the Supermind and what came to be known as the Overmind. The Overmind was initially supposed to be an inferior sub-plane of the Gnosis itself. When Sri Aurobindo descended to the physical plane during the course of sadhana it was found that the Overmind-power was insufficient to transform the physical. Thus it was necessary to bring out in sharp focus the contrast between the Overmind and Supermind. With aid of numerous quotations and excerpts from Sri Aurobindo, Sethna takes the reader on a journey wherein the reader sees for himself that it is upon lived spiritual experience that Sri Aurobindo's system bases itself.

     In an early letter Sri Aurobindo has written that his characteristic mode of action was through the Illumined Mind whereas the Mother acted through the Illumined Psychic. In the beginning of the collective yogic adventure the stress was laid on opening the yogic centre at the crown of the head. As the sadhana descended to the lower planes and many more were admitted to Ashram life, it was found that the head centre was too difficult an opening for most sadhaks. It was then that increasing stress was laid on the Psychic opening. As the Mother took the centre stage of Ashram life and Sri Aurobindo retired to pursue his quest for the supramental descent, the sadhaks were encouraged to follow the Mother's Sunlit Path of happy reliance and glad submission to the Divine.

     Sri Aurobindo passed away in December 1950 and on his passing, The Mind of Light was realized by the Mother. With the passage of time the Mother added new details to Sri Aurobindo's spiritual system. She pointed out that one of the two ways towards the supermind would be a progressive diminishing of the animal in man through the creation of intermediate races between man and Superman. The other way would be the creation of a body through wholly supramental means. This is the theme of the second article.

     The third article has to do with a subtle point connected with the nomenclature of planes of consciousness. The gradation of Consciousness is continuous yet each peculiar poise of relation between purusha and prakriti defines a new plane. The matter is complicated by the fact that each plane contains as it were, the shades of all the other planes but subordinated to its particular character. Sethna explores the distinction between the Physical-Mind and the Mental-Physical and its various ramifications. He quotes Sri Aurobindo: "The physical mind is technically placed below the vital and yet it is a prolongation of the mind proper and one that can act in its own sphere by direct touch with the higher mental intelligence." Sri Aurobindo continues, "And there is too an obscure mind of the body, of the very cells...." Sethna rightly concludes that "the `body mind' to which the Mother alludes [in some of her talks] is to be specially regarded as additional to and not overlapping with the physical mind."

     The book ends with Sethna's answers to a series of questions posed by a well-meaning sadhak in the assumed role of advocatus diaboli. It is possible to differ with Sethna on minor points here and there, but by and large, throughout the book, Sethna's persuasive logic succeeds in carrying the reader along with him. This slim volume will, it is hoped, set the trend of similar research by other scholars. It is a must for those Aurobindonians who wish to add mental clarity to their devotion to the Gurus.

— Hemant Kapoor

Hemant is an M.Sc. in Chemistry from I.I.T., Kanpur. He is on the editorial team of the Mother India journal. His interests include poetry and philosophy.

November 2003