Thoughts and Aphorisms 27

27. God is a great and cruel Torturer because He loves. You do not understand this, because you have not seen and played with Krishna.   [Sri Aurobindo: Thoughts and Aphorisms]   According to Sri Aurobindo, The Divine has three aspects:  Transcendental, Universal and Individual. The Original Supreme, beyond all Manifestation, is the Transcendental aspect of the Divine. Pure Existence — to be more exact, Existence-Consciousness-Bliss i.e. Sat-Chit- Ananda  — is the Transcendental aspect. It is Existence by Itself and stands alone, though really It is beyond all manifestation and also includes all that is manifested.   In the Individual aspect, the Transcendental Divine links Himself with the Universal Manifestation. The Individual is the link between the Transcendental and the Universal.   All that is manifested is the expression and creation of the Universal aspect of the Divine. The Divine is immanently present in each particle, each atom the Universe manifested. The entire Manifestation is the Divine.   He sleeps in the atom and the burning star, He sleeps in man and god and beast and stone: Because he is there the Inconscient does its work, Because he is there the world forgets to die. He is the centre of the circle of God, He the circumference of Nature's run. [Savitri: Bk XI, Co I]   OOOOO   Krishna is the Immanent Divine, as said by The Mother. The entire Creation is His play, the play of the Eternal Divine, who is the Player along with all His playmates. He Himself is the Play, which is full of Joy and Love. He is the Expression of Ananda and Love of the Supreme. So, anyone who knows Krishna is His playmate and is one with Him. Krishna is the Symbol of the aspect of the Supreme Divine that stands for Joy and Love. Anyone who realizes the Divine, who reaches Truth beyond Mind, shall and can also realize that that he or she is a playmate of the Supreme Player.   To find and realize Krishna is to realize within us That which is always residing within us as the Inner Divine. To play with Krishna is to realize the Self. When one realizes the Divine, one finds oneself as a playmate of the Divine and one finds also that the world is only a play, a game — a Leela — of the Divine.   On earth, people find sufferings, woes, sorrows, pain and torture. So long as we limit ourselves with the ordinary consciousness, with the utterly limited observation and interest and attention, we find sufferings, we undergo pain and torture and sorrows. In our everyday life, we find this. Because of our ego, our attachments, our self-centered understanding and preferences, because of our limited involvements and limited scope, we face sorrows and unhappiness and failure, we undergo difficulties and sufferings. We then call the Divine the Torturer.   That is all because we live in Falsehood, because we live with a half-conscious existence. Hence, whatever may seem to our ordinary sense and understanding to be torture and a cruelty, that gets changed when one realizes the Divine; the pain and torture and cruelty are no more there — and there is only Joy, unlimited Joy, and then there is only the Love of the Divine, the unlimited Love. The question of cruelty and torture are no more there.   Even after the Divine Realization, one may transform or change one's external mode of consciousness and may keep in a part of his being and consciousness the ordinary perception and sense and understanding of the creation and the happenings. As long as one continues to live in and dwell with the ordinary consciousness, one may continue to find experience whatever may seem to be the cruelty and the torture.   But whenever one goes beyond Mind into the Higher Consciousness, one finds Joy and Love — for, one then sees the Goal and the Luminous Future and the Result intended by the Divine. And the Future and the Result and the Goal is one of Joy and Love — the elements of sufferings and sorrows ands pain are no more there, not to be there anymore. The New World of the Luminous Future is one of Joy and Bliss, of endless Ananda, of victory and success in journey towards the New Supramental Becoming.   We should then become playmates of the Divine. Life will then have a different meaning for us and give us Joy and Happiness and fulfillment and the real Progress. The Divine will no more appear to us to be a Torturer. We will find then the Divine of Joy and Love.   The Known released him from its limiting chain; He knocked at the doors of the Unknowable. Thence gazing with an immeasurable outlook One with self's inlook into its own pure vasts, He saw the splendour of the spirit's realms, The greatness and wonder of its boundless works, The power and passion leaping from its calm, The rapture of its movement and its rest, And its fire-sweet miracle of transcendent life, The million-pointing undivided grasp Of its vision of one same stupendous All, Its inexhaustible acts in a timeless Time, A space that is its own infinity. A glorious multiple of one radiant Self, Answering to joy with joy, to love with love, All there were moving mansions of God-bliss; Eternal and unique they lived the One. There forces are great outbursts of God's truth And objects are its pure spiritual shapes; Spirit no more is hid from its own view, All sentience is a sea of happiness And all creation is an act of light. [Savitri: Bk XI, Co I]   The Mother has given us a Ray of Hope:  "But a day will come when this apparent suffering will no longer be required to stimulate the advance and when progress can be more and more in harmony and delight."   Barindranath Chaki 29-12-2009 —     Please visit   ASPIRATION  The New Horizon  All choice  The New Platform  Barin Chaki

Thoughts and Aphorisms 26

26. Sir Philip Sidney said of the criminal led out to be hanged, "There, but for the grace of God, goes Sir Philip Sidney." Wiser, had he said, "There, by the grace of God, goes Sir Philip Sidney." [Sri Aurobindo: Thoughts and Aphorisms]   Sir Philip Sidney was a successful statesman and a poet, and yet he was a man of humility. He was famous for his humble nature. Once, when he saw a criminal when he was going to be hanged, he expressed: "There, but for the Grace of God, goes Sir Philips Sydney." As The Mother has interpreted, Sir Philip Sidney had expressed that he could have been at the place of the criminal to be hanged, but for the Grace of God, that did not so happen. What Sri Aurobindo states here, according to The Mother, is that Sir Philip Sidney would have been wiser, if he would have then said that by the Grace of God, he could have been the said criminal.   Sri Aurobindo is expressing here that whatever happens, it happens by the Grace of God. The Grace of God is behind all happenings, whether it seems to be beneficial or catastrophic. If some happening seems to be catastrophic, it will be then creating some opportunity in future which will prove to be beneficial; for, the World is marching ahead towards a Great Future, a luminous Future, which will definitely be an expression of Truth, Beauty, Goodness and Joy, of satyam-shivam-sundaram, of Ananda.    The Mother has inspired us: "Leaving the past far behind us, let us run towards a luminous future."   The Mother has further said: "For it is only our shortsightedness, our too limited perception and our misguided sensations that, for us, change into suffering what is a possibility and an opportunity for progress."   Some happening may appear to us to be cause of sufferings, but that may create for us some hope and possibility some opportunity for the better and greater Future, for progress towards the luminous Future towards the New World, the New Creation.   OOOOO   The humankind, which is evolving, is moving towards a Luminous Future, as The Mother says. And in the Luminous Future, the Supramental Consciousness shall reign over this Earth.   Nature shall live to manifest secret God, The Spirit shall take up the human play, This earthly life become the life divine. [Savitr: Bk XI, Co I]   Sri Aurobindo and The Mother came upon this Earth in order to lead us all to the next step of Evolution — from Man to Superman. To manifest the Supramental Consciousness and Force upon earth is the Divine Will and the purpose of Sri Aurobindo and The Mother — the Dual Power. The mortal human being will be transformed into the superman —into the supramental being.   The incarnate dual Power shall open God's door, Eternal supermind touch earthly Time. The superman shall wake in mortal man And manifest the hidden demigod Or grow into the God-Light and God-Force Revealing the secret deity in the cave. [Savitr: Bk XI, Co I]   Sri Aurobindo has expressed the purpose of Their coming as follows: To raise the world to God in deathless Light, To bring God down to the world on earth we came, To change the earthly life to life divine. [Savitr: Bk XI, Co I]   According to Sri Aurobindo, Earth is the chosen place of mightiest souls; Earth is the heroic spirit's battlefield,… [Savitr: Bk XI, Co I]   And Sri Aurobindo has also given us the call : Ascend, O soul, into thy timeless self; Choose destiny's curve and stamp thy will on Time. [Savitr: Bk XI, Co I].     Barindranath Chaki 26-12-2009 Please visit   ASPIRATION  The New Horizon  All choice  The New Platform  Barin Chaki

Thoughts and Aphorisms 25

Thoughts and Aphorisms 25   25. When I see others suffer, I feel that I am unfortunate, but the wisdom that is not mine, sees the good that is coming and approves.  [Sri Aurobindo: Thoughts and Aphorisms]   When others are suffering, one may feel that one is unfortunate, because one has to see and experience others' sufferings. That may be the example of a kind heart, where there is sympathy and feeling for others. But it does not have the touch of a Higher Wisdom. It is the Wisdom of the Supreme, which a person will have after he goes beyond Ignorance and has the Divine Realization. When one has this Wisdom, one can see the Past, the Present and the Future, as one is in touch with the Supreme Consciousness. And in that Wisdom, one finds that all that happens is for the Good, as the world is marching ahead towards Perfection. In this connection, The Mother has said that because of our shortsightedness, limited perceptions and misguided sensations, whatever is a possibility and an opportunity for progress gets changed into suffering. And when we cooperate with whatever is happening, there is no more of suffering. OOOOO Why do the humans suffer? Because, they have forgotten and lost their Divine origin. They have, individually and collectively, lost their contact and connection with the Supreme Consciousness, of which they are portions. They have lost their higher Consciousness and their capacities and capabilities, their Joy and Omniscience and Omnipotence. Indeed, they have a great Fall. Their happiness and joy are enslaved to the calls and needs of the flesh and the senses and the vital instincts and pulls — bereft of their conscious origin. They have succumbed to a life of division, difficulties, diseases and Death. They live by and following the dictates of "The Force that works by the light of Ignorance." [Savitri Bk II, Co IV]   If we look at the ordinary human behaviour, we find that the human being lives mainly with his body — a body that perishes.   A body that knew not its own soul within, There lived and longed, had wrath and joy and grief; A mind was there that met the objective world As if a stranger or enemy at its door: Its thoughts were kneaded by the shocks of sense; It captured not the spirit in the form, It entered not the heart of what it saw; It looked not for the power behind the act, It studied not the hidden motive in things Nor strove to find the meaning of it all. Beings were there who wore a human form; Absorbed they lived in the passion of the scene, But knew not who they were or why they lived: Content to breathe, to feel, to sense, to act, Life had for them no aim save Nature's joy And the stimulus and delight of outer things; Identified with the spirit's outward shell, They worked for the body's wants, they craved no more. [Savitri Bk II, Co IV] Though Mind is there in Man, he does not even has the proper use of it. He lives mainly by the vital impulses and the physical needs and the cravings. The human being is defined as a rational animal — but the animal nature is more prominent in him than the mental being.                                                                                                                                              An animal in the instinctive herd Pushed by life impulses, forced by common needs, Each in his own kind saw his ego's glass; All served the aim and action of the pack. Those like himself, by blood or custom kin, To him were parts of his life, his adjunct selves, His personal nebula's constituent stars, Satellite companions of his solar I. A master of his life's environment, A leader of a huddled human mass Herding for safety on a dangerous earth, He gathered them round him as if minor Powers To make a common front against the world, Or, weak and sole on an indifferent earth, As a fortress for his undefended heart, Or else to heal his body's loneliness. [Savitri Bk II, Co IV] Thus we find that Man lives mainly with the ignorant vital nature, confined to the flesh and the senses and the desires, making the least and limited use of mind and having almost no concern with the Soul within, with the psychic being. OOOOO Suffering will not be there, if we rise beyond the body and the senses and the unbridled vital nature. Man has to be conscious beyond the Life and and beyond the the Mind. He must understand what he is and what the World is moving towards. He must find the Soul within — he must unveil the Psychic Being within himself. And it is the Psychic Consciousness that will lead him on the true Way. Man has to understand the higher Goal he has to live for; he should be conscious of the Higher Evolutionary progress that the World is to make. Man must understand what he really is and what is his Task.                                                                                                                                              Thus man in his little house made of earth's dust Grew towards an unseen heaven of thought and dream Looking into the vast vistas of his mind On a small globe dotting infinity. At last climbing a long and narrow stair He stood alone on the high roof of things And saw the light of a spiritual sun. Aspiring he transcends his earthly self; He stands in the largeness of his soul new-born, Redeemed from encirclement by mortal things And moves in a pure free spiritual realm As in the rare breath of a stratosphere; A last end of far lines of divinity, He mounts by a frail thread to his high source; He reaches his fount of immortality, He calls the Godhead into his mortal life. [Savitri Bk VII, Co II]   To put an end to the Darkness and the Ignorance and the sufferings, the human being has to mould his / her life and existence with the Psychic Presence.   Earth must transform herself and equal Heaven Or Heaven descend into earth's mortal state. But for such vast spiritual change to be, Out of the mystic cavern in man's heart The heavenly Psyche must put off her veil And step into common nature's crowded rooms And stand uncovered in that nature's front And rule its thoughts and fill the body and life. [Savitri Bk VII, Co II]   Let us have a Hope that we shall change ourselves and change this World of ours, too.   A Will, a hope immense now seized his heart, And to discern the superhuman's form He raised his eyes to unseen spiritual heights, Aspiring to bring down a greater world. The glory he had glimpsed must be his home. ******** The Ideal must be Nature's common truth, The body illumined with the indwelling God, The heart and mind feel one with all that is, A conscious soul live in a conscious world. [Savitri, Bk I, Co V]   Let us, thus, start living with this grand and sublime Hope.   Barindranath Chaki 12-12-2009   [Simultaneously published in Selecta, All choice and ASPIRATION] Please visit ASPIRATION  The New Horizon  All choice  The New Platform  Barin Chaki

Sri Aurobindo is with us

To the ordinary human understanding and sight, Sri Aurobindo is said to have passed away on the 5th day of December 1950. Several persons have described this as the passing away of The Master— an Event that seemed to bring huge shadows of sorrows on the followers of The Master and The Mother. People in huge numbers paid their last respects to Him, till the 9th day of December 1950.   To men in general, it was only, or mainly, a departure, a passing away, as billions and billions of humans have passed away since the beginning of the human race.   However, indeed, it was a sacrifice — a sacrifice of the physical being of The Master, a sacrifice made by Himself, so that the Supramental Consciousness and Force may descend to the physical plane. The Supermind descended and the consequence was the Sacrifice of the physical being of Sri Aurobindo, mainly due to the lack of receptivity of the earth and the people.   The Mother said on 8th December 1950: The lack of receptivity of the earth and men is mostly responsible for the decision Sri Aurobindo has taken regarding his body. But one thing is certain: what has happened on the physical plane affects in no way the truth of his teaching. All that he has said is perfectly true and remains so. Time and the course of events will prove it abundantly.   The Mother has again said 29th December 1950: Our Lord has sacrificed himself totally for us … … He was not compelled to leave his body, he chose to do so for reasons so sublime that they are beyond the reach of human mentality … … And when we cannot understand, the only thing is to keep a respectful silence.   The Mother has also told that Sri Aurobindo is always present on earth for the progress and advancement of the Evolution — from Man to the Supramental Being.   On the 7th day of December 1950, She said: Lord, this morning Thou hast given me the assurance that Thou wouldst stay with us until Thy work is achieved, not only as a consciousness which guides and illumines but also as a dynamic Presence in action. In unmistaken terms Thou hast promised that all of Thyself would remain here and not leave the earth atmosphere until earth is transformed. Grant that we may be worthy of this Presence and henceforth everything in us be concentrated to the fulfilment of Thy sublime work.   Again on 18th January 1951, She said: We stand in the Presence of Him who has sacrificed His physical life in order to help more fully His Work of Transformation.   He is always with us, aware of what we are, of all our thoughts, of all our feelings and all our actions.   OOOOO   On His leaving of His Physical body, the Supramental Consciousness descended in the physical being of  The Mother — and then began the preparation for the Descent of the Supramental Consciousness on earth, which actually took place on 29th February 1956.   The purpose for which Sri Aurobindo came to Pondicherry was the Descent of the Supramental Consciousness on earth and make Supermind a part of the earthly nature, as Life and Mind are parts of nature on earth. Nature is evolutionary and as Life and Mind have manifested through an evolutionary process, so will Supermind manifest on earth. And that is the Work of Sri Aurobindo — a Total Transformation.   The Descent of Supermind had a requirement that there shall be an Ascent to the Supramental Plane. Only after the Ascent, the Task of the Supramental Descent was taken by The Master. Even in 1938, Supermind used to descend in the physical being of The Master. But It was not settled then in His physical Mind or in His physical being.   When Supermind descends into a human being, It creates a Mind of Light, a Pure Mind reflecting and radiating the Light and Consciousness and Force, as stated and explained by Sri Aurobindo in The Supramental Manifestation upon Earth.     The Mother said that "as soon as Sri Aurobindo withdrew from His body, what He called the Mind of Light got realized here." And the Mind of Light manifested in The Mother.   As soon as the Supramental Consciousness descended on Him, Sri Aurobindo left His body with a view to concentrate on His Work: The Supramental Manifestation on earth. The Work of the Supramental Manifestation intensified with the so-called passing away of Sri Aurobindo. And Sri Aurobindo's  physical Withdrawal was greatly successful when on the 29th February 1956, The Mother caused an uninterrupted flow of the Supramental Consciousness and Force upon earth.   The Work of The Mother and Sri Aurobindo is going on, led by Them.    The Mother has said on 15 April 1972 : The transition from man to the supramental being is accomplished through the superman. There may be a few superman - there are - who will actually make that transition. [Mother's Agenda, vol. 13]   The Mother differentiated between the Supramental Being and the Superman. The Supramental Being will have a Supramental Body.   Barindranath Chaki 05-12-2009 Please visit   ASPIRATION  The New Horizon  All choice  The New Platform  Barin Chaki

Beyond Man

Bengali singer Nochiketa sang a song : Manushgulō satyikaarer maanush hobe kobe ? Recently I happened to listen to it, though I heard it earlier also. The line quoted here means: When will the human beings be truly human? But it was seemingly a coincidence that I came across an essay by Arhata Osho, a friend of mine, bearing the title "Monkeys to Humanoids" which I have also published in my Blog The New Platform. Arhata says that human beings as yet have not become any different from the monkeys — in spite of the so-called progress made by science and technology or in spite of the civilized processes provided by religion and politics. Summarlily, I agree with him and also with the singer Nochiketa or the song writer Pritom. The question arises: Should we for ever be humanoids? Should humans continue monkeying always? The reply is — NO. But what is the Solution? How are we to progress ahead? We must transcend beyond the present stage, or we shall have to be surpassed by the Supernature. The coming of Sri Aurobindo and The Mother on earth amid us all the human beings was with the Divine Promise and Hope that we shall transcend ourselves. However, to fulfill the promise, we shall have to co-operate with this Evolutionary Purpose, which is also the Truth that we should know and understand. The Mother said Man is the creation of yesterday. Sri Aurobindo came to announce the creation of tomorrow: the coming of the supramental being. She further told us: Sri Aurobindo came upon earth to announce the manifestation of the supramental world and not merely did he announce this manifestation but embodied also in part the supramental force and showed by example what one must do to prepare oneself for manifesting it. The best thing we can do is to study all that he has told us and endeavor to follow his example and prepare ourselves for the new manifestation. OOOOO The human life is limited by Tamas — by ignorance, inertia, inconscience, falsehood, darkness, divisions, diseases and death. This has been so, since the beginning of Man's appearance on the earthly scene, since the Homo Neanderthal stepped on earth. However, he has been progressing and growing in spite of all his limitations. He lives with a Hope, with a Consciousness that has been facing and conquering ignorance and darkness, diseases and death, facing and conquering all his difficulties, problems and shortcomings. He has grown through the forest civilization to the civilizations of the Vedas, of the pyramids and the sphinx, of Harappa and Mohenjodaro, of Babylon , and has progressed from those moments to the One World civilization of the twenty-first century. It is also seen that Man has lived from the very beginning with some Faith and Belief in the Highest Consciousness and Force, That has been his Source and also his Help and Guide in his fighting against all his difficulties, trials and problems, in his progress and advancement. And this way he has grown with his culture and civilization, his science and philosophy, his search of truth, beauty and goodness, of satyam-shivam-sundaram, his search of and becoming in spirituality. Man, the mental being, is, according to Sri Aurobindo, a transitional being. The human history is a story of a constant change and growth. Whatever he is, is a temporary phase, because his arrival on earth is a promise of a better, higher and much more conscious existence on earth. There will be the advent of a being who will conquer ignorance and darkness and inertia, conquer all his divisions and mental barriers, conquer the so-called fate and uncertainties, conquer diseases and death. The present limitations will be broken, and man will progress towards The New Creation, walking on The New Way. He shall have to proceed ahead towards The New Race, failing which, he will have to face the Abyss. The Task before Man is to evolve into a higher being with a divinity manifested. This is the New Light given to us by Sri Aurobindo and The Mother. We ought to believe in human progress and evolution in order to make a progressive march towards The New World, towards a world of a Higher Consciousness and Force and Joy. Man has the inborn capacity to outgrow and master all his imperfections and darkness, and he ought to grow accordingly into a creative, constructive and divinized higher being. The human society should also grow accordingly and conquer all darkness within and without, surpassing all the artificial barriers — racial, religious, linguistic, political and others. Sri Aurobindo has given us the Hope: Nature shall live to manifest secret God, The Spirit shall take up the human play, The earthly life become the life divine. And thus said The Mother : Man is the creation of Yesterday. Sri Aurobindo came to announce the creation of tomorrow: the coming of the supramental being. This is our Task ahead, our true Goal: to prepare ourselves, to build ourselves for the advent of the New World , for our march towards the New Race, the New Humanity. OOOOO The Mother declared : A new world is born, The things that were promised are fulfilled. If we aspire and endeavour, if we live with the hope and the dream, surpassing our social divisions and differences based on castes, creeds, races, languages, states, religions and political ideas, and if we also accompany other aspirants, then we will proceed ahead in our march towards The New World, towards The New Race. Let us forget all our differences, all our divisions, and march ahead following The New Light. Sri Aurobindo has told that a time will come, when a mightier race, a supramental race, shall inhabit this earth — as early as we aspire and endeavour and be worthy of. We shall have to transmute and transform ourselves, so that we will grow into and cause the emergence of The New Race. Sri Aurobindo has said: Then shall the embodied being live as one Who is a thought, a will of the Divine, A mask or robe of his divinity, An instrument and partner of his Force, A point or line drawn in the infinite, A manifest of the Imperishable. The supermind shall be his nature's fount, The Eternal's truth shall mould his thoughts and acts, The Eternal's truth shall be his light and guide. All then shall change, a magic order come Overtopping this mechanical universe. A mightier race shall inhabit the mortal' mortal's world. OOOOO The mankind, along with the earth, is now in a great turmoil and chaos and disharmony. Everywhere, there is unrest and struggle and warfare and violence. In our journey as human beings so far, we have committed enormous mistakes and errors and follies. We, the human beings, have seen tremendous cruelties and massacres, we have engrossed ourselves in ignorance and dissipation, and as a consequence, we have most of the time found ourselves in darkness, with lots of sufferings and chaos and obscurity. The animal in Man has been very prominent and very much overpowering. The Real Man in him seems to be defeated and cornered and hidden. But there have always been some hope, some golden linings. Men have always tried to come out of this darkness, from this animal consciousness that they inherited from evolution. They have sought for Truth and Light and Love, for liberation from the bondage of death and diseases, of division and darkness. They have endeavored to bring joy and happiness amidst all sufferings and pains.   And there has always been the golden ray of Hope for men. At least some men have always burned the incense of Aspiration for progress, for all that is True, Good and Beautiful, all that is Divine, all that is from the Supreme. There has been some progress, some Hope, in spite of all regressive movements. And there has always been some Descent from the Supreme Consciousness and Being amid this humanity living in darkness. Hence, having collected all that is golden in our harvest so far, since the beginning of the human journey, we should march towards the New World . It is not that we will leave this world and go elsewhere to find another planet in search of the New World . Nor should we become sannyasins or recluses. We need not retire into some forests or mountains. We will change this world. We can see that this world, as it is now, is in an extremely bad state of affairs. Falsehood, hatred, selfishness, corruption, greed, deception, violence, cruelty, inhumanity, and hunger for power - these appear to be the ruling forces now. All the noble Ideals or Ideas that prevailed on earth and inspired many of our noble ancients or our forefathers, have, as it were, become obsolete. Look at history and the present day earth: ideologically, and in consciousness, men seem to have become pygmies. To someone, men are hyenas; to some other, they may be humanoids very close to monkeys. OOOOO We have been seeing destructions and wars throughout this earth: In India, in USA , in Afghanistan and Iraq , and earlier, elsewhere. There are terrorists and suicide-bombers. Armies or the armed prople are attacking and destroying here and there. The entire human society is sitting on a heap of bombs - atomic or non-atomic. In relationships, we can seldom find beauty and love and fellow-feeling. In arts and culture, vulgarity has almost ruined beauty. As we have known, this earth is an evolutionary field. Evolution is the history of life's manifestation on earth. This has been well said by Darwin . According to him, man is the consequence of this earthly evolution. But he did not proceed beyond the appearance of Homo Neanderthal. He was silent about evolution after the appearance of Man on earth, or about the purpose why man was evolved at all. His view was a scientific truth, within the material viewpoint of Science. As Sri Aurobindo has said, the time has come when evolution must surpass man. Man is not the perfect being, not the complete being. But he has the aspiration and dream for becoming perfect, for becoming complete. Evolution aims at ultimately manifesting That which is the Source of this Manifestation, the Supreme Existence-Consciousness-Bliss (in Sanskrit and other Indian languages called Sat-Chit-Ananda or Sachchidananda), the Divine. Out of Man shall manifest the Superman. Man has to become the Base, the Instrument for the Advent of the Superman. He has to grow into the Superman, and according to The Mother, the Supermen shall further grow into the Supramental beings, the Supramental Race. The purpose of the appearance of man must now be fulfilled, and man's surpassing himself will do that. Man has to collaborate with the new evolution, or the evolutionary forces will ignore him and go beyond him and find out its own means. OOOOO Since the coming of Man on the earthly scene, in course of Evolution, he (or she) has never stopped growing in culture and civilization, in general. But he has stilled not moved an inch, with a few exceptions, individually, of course. Man is still a fierce, enraged, jealous, lustful, greedy animal. But he will have to go beyond himself — towards a glorious future. Philosophers are there — thinkers. They have taken human thought to superb heights. But men have shut them up into books in the libraries or in the showcases. Religions are there, initiated by some of the greatest spiritual leaders, who represented the Supreme Divine. But the religions were used by the humans to cut the throats of each others, in the most anti-Divine manner. There is no doubt that religions were of great help to the mankind. They have surely shown paths to the mankind towards Perfection and re-creation of the human nature. But they have not succeeded to help the general mankind to surpass its animal nature — there are ample of examples in our present-day daily life. Sri Aurobindo has said: All religions have saved a number of souls but none yet has been able to spiritualize mankind. For that there is needed not cult and creed, but a sustained and all-comprehending effort at spiritual self-evolution. [India's Rebirth] In the name of religion, the people fight each other, and they are taking themselves farther away form the Divine, from spirituality. Sri Aurobindo has said: The end of a stage of evolution is usually marked by a powerful recrudescence of all that has to go out of evolution. No doubt, Science and logic stand guard against falsehood, superstition and ignorance. But Science discovers and finds only a partial aspect of the Truth. Reason and logic are not the only bases of Truth. And the integral seeker of the complete Truth, a true student of Philosophy realizes this. Sri Aurobindo has said in 'Thoughts and Aphorisms': Late, I learned that when reason died, then Wisdom was born; before that liberation, I had only knowledge. What men call knowledge, is the reasoned acceptance of false appearances. Wisdom looks behind and sees. Reason divides, fixes details and contrasts them; Wisdom unifies, marries contrasts in a single harmony. In fact, the last thing or the last stage will never come, as evolution will go on eternally, forever. But man has to proceed forward ahead, surpassing his present stage of incompleteness, imperfection. He has to know himself, strive towards Perfection and surpass himself. As it has been said earlier, the Superman shall emerge out of Man. Man has to surpass all the limits of mind and reason, scale newer and newer heights of Consciousness and ascend to Gnosis, the Supramental Consciousness, and then shall emerge on earth the supramental race. This is the Truth Sri Aurobindo has brought for us. We shall have to live for this Goal, this Truth. The Mother gave us the following message on the 1st January 1967 : Men, countries, continents! The choice is imperative: Truth or the abyss. Let us always remember that the choice is imperative. And that is the Destiny of this Earth. We have to live for the Future, to reach this Goal. The Mother told us also: Blessed are those who take a leap towards the Future. She advised us: Remain young. Never stop striving towards Perfection.   Further, She also told us: Man is the creation of yesterday. Sri Aurobindo came to announce the creation of tomorrow: the coming of the supramental being. Let us, therefore, march on towards the New Horizon, find the New Light, find the New Goal and the New Way and live for this New World . The Mother wrote on 25 September 1914 , addressing the Divine Mother: The Lord has willed and Thou dost execute: A new Light shall break upon the earth. A new world shall be born, And the things that were promised shall be fulfilled. Again, much later, She wrote, as the Divine Mother personified: Lord, Thou hast willed and I execute: A new Light breaks upon the earth. A new world is born, And the things that were promised are fulfilled. And actually, the New World is born, and we will have to bring it out physically, materially, in the real possibility. OOOOO Man can live in either in search of pleasure and enjoyment, or otherwise for a definite purpose, which may bring him more fulfillments, more joy. The higher the purpose, the greater is the joy and fulfillment. The higher the Consciousness one aspires for, and the wider one's consciousness, the more purposeful one's life is, the greater is one's joy. Man may orient his endeavor, his way of life, towards limited personal happiness and satisfaction, or towards a greater and wider Joy and fulfillment, along with others, for others, maybe, with the entire mankind, for the entire mankind, for higher values of Truth, Light, Wisdom, Beauty, Creativity, Goodness, Love, Wideness, Harmony and Peace, Total Well-being. We may sleep in darkness or remain half-asleep in twilight, or otherwise be in joyous contemplation in moonlight or start discovering our world in sunlight. It is as we may choose. Sri Aurobindo says: Unhappy is the man or the nation which, when, the divine moment arrives, is found sleeping or unprepared to use it, because the lamp has not been kept trimmed for the welcome and the ears are sealed to the call. But thrice woe to them who are strong and ready, yet waste the force or misuse the moment; for them is irreparable loss or a great destruction. The divine moment continues. We may say that the moment that began with Sri Aurobindo continues till the accomplishment of his work: evolution of Man beyond himself into a higher Consciousness, leading to the Advent of the Supramental Consciousness. When the divine moment continues, should we go on sleeping? Should we continue in meaningless circles? Should we not try to contribute to the Great Work, though our portions of contributions may appear to be small, very small? Barindranath Chaki 24-11-2009 Written by me on the occasion of the Siddhidivas [24-11-2009] and simultaneously posted in All choice and ASPIRATION. Barindranath Chaki   Please visit ASPIRATION  The New Horizon  All choice  The New Platform  Barin Chaki

Sri Aurobindo and Avatarhood 1

Sri Aurobindo and Avatarhood 1 Sri Aurobindo was the last Avatar in a human body. That is what The Mother has said. She has also said that Sri Aurobindo would return, but NOT in a human body — NOT in a body born as a human being or of a human being. And His return may even be as late as five hundred years from his departure. I have said earlier also that according to The Mother, Sri Aurobindo was an emanation of the Supreme. He was / is an Avatar of The Supreme. He came to transcend the Overmind consciousness and to cause the Descent of The Supramental Consciousness. He is beyond the Overmental Godheads. Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva are the trinity — three aspects of the Supreme. Just to represent one of them would mean that Sri Aurobindo's coming was partial. His process is synthetic and integral. He thus represented the Supreme integrally and entirely. And He came here on earth to manifest the Supramental Consciousness, not to repeat the Overmind Consciousness. Let us see what Sri Aurobindo speaks of two other Avatars, two other great Spiritual Personalities: What was Ramakrishna? God manifest in a human being; but behind there is God in His infinite impersonality and His universal Personality. And what was Vivekananda? A radiant glance from the eye of Shiva; but behind him is the divine gaze from which he came and Shiva himself and Brahma and Vishnu and OM all-exceeding. Similarly Sri Aurobindo, too, manifested the Supreme Divine in all His aspects, entirely, integrally behind Him. And His purpose was a completely new Thing: to transcend the human consciousness on earth towards a New Creation. Sri Aurobindo totally revolutionized the spiritual world, the spiritual traditions, the spiritual manifestations. The Transformation They have intended to bring in beyond the spiritual Transformation — it is the Supramental Transformation. He and The Mother have done something which nobody else have ever thought or attempted. So it is not a wise thing to shut up Sri Aurobindo and The Mother into some old systems. We cannot forcefully ask Sri Aurobindo to remain limited in an old concept of Dashavatara of Vishnu. The Mother has said: One who truly follows the path given by Sri Aurobindo, as soon as he begins to have the experience of this path, will find it impossible to confine his consciousness to the worship of any god or goddess or even of all of them together. Our purpose is to go ahead towards the Supramental Becoming and Progress. We are not here to confine ourselves to the old tradition, which is not correctly the Vedic tradition, but a tradition which grew much later than the Vedic period. We do not find all the Ten Avatars being mentioned in the Vedas. Further, it may be repeatedly mentioned what Sri Aurobindo said about the last three Avatars: Krishna, Buddha and Kalki depict the last three stages, the stages of the spiritual development – Krishna opens the possibility of overmind, Buddha tries to shoot beyond to the supreme liberation but that liberation is still negative, not returning upon earth to complete positively the evolution; Kalki is to correct this by bringing the Kingdom of the Divine upon earth, destroying the opposing Asura forces. These are the Words from Sri Aurobindo — and therefore these words make up one of the most confirmed proof that Sri Aurobindo himself is NOT among the Ten Avatars. Indeed, He is beyond the Ten Avatars. If the Words from Sri Aurobindo and The Mother are not presenting confirmed and solid proofs, then what else can? Words and books and chronicles from a person, who says that she follows Them but refutes and ignores what They have said and also presents them in a way that suits her, has no meaning and cannot stand against the Words of Sri Aurobindo and The Mother. OOOOO On 8th December 1950, after the departure of Sri Aurobindo, The Mother said: When I asked Him (December 8, 1950) to resuscitate his body, He clearly answered: "I left this body purposely. I will not take it back. I shall manifest again in the first supramental body built in the supramental way. Can anyone say that this message of The Mother has no strength in it as an evidence of the Fact that Sri Aurobindo IS not reborn in a human body, after His departure on the 5th December ? About the Return of Sri Aurobindo The Mother has further said as follows: "The return of Sri Aurobindo very soon is not likely. His going was connected with world conditions. If world-conditions had been such as could so soon change and be suitable for his presence amongst us, his going itself would have been unnecessary. "Also, the return cannot be in a startling miraculous manner. That would not be consistent with Sri Aurobindo's method and our work. A more probable way of return would be: the present occasional visions of Sri Aurobindo which some people see — the almost material appearance he now makes to some people at certain times — may increase; the manifestation may be more frequent and more general, until one day a permanent reappearance takes place. "One cannot fix the precise time of his return. It may even be five hundred years later. I can't say anything, since the knowledge has not come to me. I only say things when I get them. This much I have said: Sri Aurobindo will be the first to have the supramental body. "People keep asking me: 'When Sri Aurobindo comes back in a supramental body, will he need to eat or drink or do other usual things?' All these questions are silly.' "Sri Aurobindo's leaving the body makes no essential difference. Sri Aurobindo is after all a certain consciousness, the divine consciousness, and this consciousness was there even before the earth came. The question of his 'absence' has little meaning. "A world war may destroy the civilization, but it won't destroy the Divine's work. Sri Aurobindo once told me that he had so arranged things that nothing would interfere with his work." [Mother India, December 1974] OOOOO A handful of quotes from Sri Aurobindo and The Mother, I repeatedly say, is definitely more powerful and convincing that any endeavour to misrepresent facts regarding Sri Aurobindo and His Avatarhood or Return. To a true and sincere follower, there is nothing more convincing and forceful except what They have said. Today I have laid down, more clearly, more about Sri Aurobindo's Avatarhood and Return, what all Their true followers throughout the World DO definitely accept what The Mother and Sri Aurobindo have said in these matters. In presenting these sayings of The Mother and Sri Aurobindo, in saying that Sri Aurobindo is the Avatar of the Supreme, but not the Avatar of a particular aspect of the Supreme, in saying that Sri Aurobindo will never return in Human body, I have quoted authentic and forceful and highly convincing sayings of The Mother and Sri Aurobindo. I also hold that Sri Aurobindo has not been reborn as a human being of a human mother in a supramental body. And I have no vested interest in this matter. I only serve the Truth. And I am not pretending to be a follower of Sri Aurobindo. Sri Aurobindo and The Mother know the best what I am, and many of Their followers also know me. By using these words, none can stop me from telling the Truth, as said by The Mother and Sri Aurobindo. I refer to these points as these things are said about me by Lori Tompkins, a follower of Patrizia Norelli-Bachelet, in one of her articles in Circumsolatious**, in a very aggressively attacking way, challenging what I have written in an article of mine, Sri Aurobindo and Avatarhood, published on in All Choice and Sulekha* and in Savitri Era Open Forum of Tushar Mohapatra. In Sri Aurobindo and Avatarhood, I have said, in short, that Sri Aurobindo need not be one of Dasavatara of Vishnu. Because, He has never said so; The Mother, too, has never said so. Though He is not less in that level and in fact higher. Indeed, I said, following The Mother, that He is the Avatar of the Supreme. And I also said that Vishnu is only an aspect of the Supreme. Barindranath Chaki 22-10-2009 Simultaneously published in ASPIRATION, All Choice and Sulekha. Links of the articles referred to : *http://barinchaki.sulekha.com/blog/post/2008/06/sri-aurobindo-and-avatar-hood.htm **http://circumsolatious.blogspot.com/2009/10/sri-aurobindo-lotus-and-avatar.html