Study Notes
PARAGRAPH 10
The third difficulty is the division between force and consciousness in the evolutionary existence. There is, first, the division which has been created by the evolution itself in its three successive formations of Matter, Life and Mind, each with its own law of working. The Life is at war with the body; it attempts to force it to satisfy life’s desires, impulses, satisfactions and demands from its limited capacity what could only be possible to an immortal and divine body; and the body, enslaved and tyrannised over, suffers and is in constant dumb revolt against the demands made upon it by the Life. The Mind is at war with both: sometimes it helps the Life against the Body, sometimes restrains the vital urge and seeks to protect the corporeal frame from life’s desires, passions and over-driving energies; it also seeks to possess the Life and turn its energy to the mind’s own ends, to the utmost joys of the mind’s own activity, to the satisfaction of mental, aesthetic, emotional aims and their fulfilment in human existence; and the Life too finds itself enslaved and misused and is in frequent insurrection against the ignorant, half-wise tyrant seated above it.
EXPLANATION
The third difficulty is the division between the force and consciousness in the evolutionary existence. In man there is a big gap between his knowledge, his awareness and his will. He may have knowledge but not have the will to do it. He knows something is wrong but he may not have the will to stop doing it. Or he may have the will but not the knowledge to do it.
At the level of matter, it is the force that dominates. The consciousness evolves in the formation of Life and Mind. There is division created by the evolution itself in body (matter), mind and life. Each has its own law of working.
Life is at war with the body. Life forces body to satisfy its vital desires, impulses and satisfactions. All these things it demands from the limited capacity of the body. Only an immortal and divine body could satisfy such demands. The body is being made a slave of Life, subjected to its tyranny and undergoes suffering. It revolts against Life.
The Mind is at war with both Life and Body. Sometimes it helps the Life against Body. Sometimes it restraints the vital urge of Life and protects the body from Life’s desires and passions. Sometimes it uses Life to its own ends – to fulfil its satisfactions, aesthetic and emotional aims.
Life too finds itself being made a slave and misused and is in revolt against the half-wise tyrant (Mind) seated above it.
This is the war of our members which the mind cannot satisfactorily resolve because it has to deal with a problem insoluble to it, the aspiration of an immortal being in a mortal life and body. It can only arrive at a long succession of compromises or end in an abandonment of the problem either by submission with the materialist to the mortality of our apparent being or with the ascetic and the religionist by the rejection and condemnation of the earthly life and withdrawal to happier and easier fields of existence. But the true solution lies in finding the principle beyond Mind of which Immortality is the law and in conquering by it the mortality of our existence.
EXPLANATION
This is the war between our Body, Mind and Life which our Mind cannot satisfactorily solve. Because Mind is incapable of solving it. Mind cannot fulfil the aspiration of an immortal being in a mortal life and body.
Mind can only arrive at a long succession of compromises. It can abandon this problem by taking two stances. It can submit itself to the contention of the materialist that our body, being made of matter, is subject to destruction. Or it can submit itself to the ascetic and religionist view that one can withdraw to happier and easier fields of existence by condemning and rejecting this earthly life.
The true solution lies in principle beyond Mind that is Supermind. Only Supermind can conquer the mortality of our existence.
PARAGRAPH 11
But there is also that fundamental division within between force of Nature and the conscious being which is the original cause of this incapacity. Not only is there a division between the mental, the vital and the physical being, but each of them is also divided against itself. The capacity of the body is less than the capacity of the instinctive soul or conscious being, the physical Purusha within it, the capacity of the vital force less than the capacity of the impulsive soul, the vital conscious being or Purusha within it, the capacity of the mental energy less than the capacity of the intellectual and emotional soul, the mental Purusha within it. For the soul is the inner consciousness which aspires to its own complete self-realisation and therefore always exceeds the individual formation of the moment, and the Force which has taken its poise in the formation is always pushed by its soul to that which is abnormal to the poise, transcendent of it; thus constantly pushed it has much trouble in answering, more in evolving from the present to a greater capacity.
EXPLANATION
The original cause of this incapacity of our body, mind and life to cope with the demands of each other, is the fundamental division within between force of Nature (Prakriti) and the conscious being (Purusha). Apart from the division between body, mind and life there is division within each of them.
There is instinctive soul or conscious being, the physical purusha within the body. The body’s capacity is less than the capacity of the conscious soul within it.
There is impulsive soul, the vital conscious being or Purusha within the vital force. The capacity of the vital force is less than the capacity of the vital conscious being within it.
There is the intellectual and emotional soul, the mental purusha within the mental energy. The capacity of the mental energy is less than the mental Purusha within it.
The soul is the inner consciousness which always aspires for its own complete self-realisation. Therefore, it always exceeds the individual formation of the moment. The Force which has taken its poise in the formation is always pushed by its soul. It is pushed to that which is abnormal to that poise and transcendent (beyond) of it. Since it is thus constantly pushed it has much trouble in responding to the demand; at the same time, it is evolving more from the present to greater capacity.
In trying to fulfil the demands of this triple soul it is distracted and driven to set instinct against instinct, impulse against impulse, emotion against emotion, idea against idea, satisfying this, denying that, then repenting and returning on what it has done, adjusting, compensating, readjusting ad infinitum, but not arriving at any principle of unity. And in the mind again the conscious-power that should harmonise and unite is not only limited in its knowledge and in its will, but the knowledge and the will are disparate and often at discord. The principle of unity is above in the supermind: for there alone is the conscious unity of all diversities; there alone will and knowledge are equal and in perfect harmony; there alone Consciousness and Force arrive at their divine equation.
EXPLANATION
The force is trying to fulfil the demands of this triple soul. While doing so, it is distracted and driven to set instinct against instinct, emotion against emotion, idea against idea, satisfy one and deny the other. Then it repents and returns on what it has done. It goes on adjusting, compensating, readjusting without end but not arriving at any principle of unity.
In the mind the conscious power should harmonise and unite. But here also, it is not only limited in its knowledge and in its will but the knowledge and the will are divided and not in agreement.
The principle of unity is above in the Supermind. There only, there is conscious unity of all diversities. There the will and knowledge are equal and in perfect harmony. There only Consciousness and Force arrive at their divine equation (Sachchidananda).