Study Notes
PARAGRAPH 16
Overmind, then, gives us no final and positive solution; it Is in a supramental cognition beyond it that we are left to seek for an answer. A Supramental Truth-consciousness is at once the self-awareness of the Infinite and Eternal and a power of self-determination inherent in that self-awareness; the first is its foundation and status, the second is its power of being, the dynamis of its self-existence. All that a timeless eternity of self-awareness sees in itself as truth of being, the conscious power of its being manifests in Time-eternity.
EXPLANATION
We have seen in the earlier paragraph that at the level of Overmind we find a recurring division between the pure silent self without feature or qualities and the mighty potentiality of a determinative knowledge-power. We find a division between the Unmanifest and the manifest. Therefore, Overmind does not give us a final and positive solution. Sri Aurobindo says, only in a supramental knowledge beyond we have to seek for an answer.
The Supramental Truth-consciousness is at once the self-awareness of the Infinite and a power of self-determination (power of creation out of itself) inherent in that self-awareness. First is the foundation and status. Second is its power of being. Here there is no division between the two.
The self-awareness of the Infinite exists in a timeless eternity. What it sees in itself as truth of being (Sat) is manifested by the conscious power of its being (Chit-shakti) in Time-eternity. That is, the timeless eternity manifests in Time-eternity through its Power. What is Indeterminable becomes a cosmic determination.
To Supermind therefore the Supreme is not a rigid Indeterminable, an all-negating Absolute; an infinite of being complete to itself in its own immutable purity of existence, its sole power a pure consciousness able only to dwell on the being’s changeless eternity, on the immobile delight of its sheer self-existence, is not the whole Reality.
EXPLANATION
To Supermind the Infinite existence and its Power are not two different things; the Supreme is not viewed as a rigid Indeterminable, an all-negating Absolute.
Sri Aurobindo says an Infinite of being cannot be complete to itself in its own immutable purity of existence alone. It is both Immutable (unchanging) and mutable (changing). Its sole power cannot dwell only in its changeless eternity, only on its immobile delight of self-existence. It has to manifest in mutable forms. The whole Reality exists both in its dynamic and static aspects.
The Infinite of Being must also be an Infinite of Power; containing in itself an eternal repose and quiescence, it must also be capable of an eternal action and creation: but this too must be an action in itself, a creation out of its own self eternal and infinite, since there could be nothing else out of which it could create; any basis of creation seeming to be other than itself must be still really in itself and of itself and could not be something foreign to its existence.
EXPLANATION
The Supreme is the Infinite of Being. It must also be an Infinite of Power. It contains in itself an eternal rest and inactivity. It must also be capable of an eternal action and creation. This action takes place in itself. The creation is made out of its own self which is eternal and infinite.
The creation can happen from nothing else than Itself. If any basis of creation is seeming to be other than itself, it must still really be in itself and of itself. The creation could not be foreign to its existence. Therefore whatever created out of Brahman cannot be other than Brahman.
An infinite Power cannot be solely a Force resting in a pure inactive sameness, an immutable quiescence; it must have in it endless powers of its being and energy: an infinite Consciousness must hold within it endless truths of its own self-awareness. These in action would appear to our cognition as aspects of its being, to our spiritual sense as powers and movements of its dynamis, to our aesthesis as instruments and formulations of its delight of existence.
EXPLANATION
The Supreme Being is an infinite Power. Such a Power cannot remain in an inactive, unchanging state. Its nature being infinite it must have in it endless powers of its being and energy. It is an infinite Consciousness and therefore it must hold within it endless truths of its own self-awareness.
These endless powers and truths in action would appear to our knowledge as aspects of its being. To our spiritual sense they would appear as powers and movements of its potentiality. To our senses they would appear as instruments and formulations of its delight of existence.
Creation would then be a self-manifestation: it would be an ordered deploying of the infinite possibilities of the Infinite. But every possibility implies a truth of being behind it, a reality in the Existent; for without that supporting truth there could not be any possibles. In manifestation a fundamental reality of the Existent would appear to our cognition as a fundamental spiritual aspect of the Divine Absolute; out of it would emerge all its possible manifestations, its innate dynamisms: these again must create or rather bring out of a non-manifest latency their own significant forms, expressive powers, native processes; their own being would develop their own becoming, svarupa, svabhava.
EXPLANATION
The creation we see in this universe would then be a self-manifestation. The Infinite has infinite possibilities. Creation is an ordered deploying of the infinite possibilities. Every possibility has an implied truth of being behind it. It has a reality in the Existent (The Divine Reality that exists). This means there is a supporting Truth behind every possibility that is manifested.
The fundamental reality of the Divine Existent when it manifests would appear to our understanding as a fundamental spiritual aspect of the Divine Absolute. For example we may perceive the Sat aspect or the Chit-shakti aspect or Ananda aspect. From this fundamental aspect would emerge all its possible manifestations, its innate dynamisms. In this process what are present in their latent, non-manifest state also find expression in their significant forms, expressive powers and native processes. Here their own being would develop their own becoming. What is brought out is their svarupa, svabhava.
This then would be the complete process of creation: but in our mind we do not see the complete process, we see only possibilities that determine themselves into actualities and, though we infer or conjecture, we are not sure of a necessity, a predetermining truth, an imperative behind them which capacitates the possibilities, decides the actualities. Our mind is an observer of actuals, an inventor or discoverer of possibilities, but not a seer of the occult imperatives that necessitate the movements and forms of a creation: for in the front of universal existence there are only forces determining results by some balance of the meeting of their powers; the original Determinant or determinants, if it or they exist, are veiled from us by our ignorance.
EXPLANATION
This would be the complete process of creation. But we do not see the complete process in our mind. What we see only are the possibilities realising into actualities. We observe the process and from that we draw our inference. Or we draw our conclusion based on guesswork. We do not see the compelling factors behind them which enable the possibilities and decide the actualites.
Our mind is only an observer of actuals that apparently take place in this world. It invents or discovers the possibilities. But our mind is not endowed with the insight to see the occult imperatives (hidden necessities) that necessitates the movements and forms of creation.
Because what we see in the front of universal existence are only forces determining the results with their interplay of powers. But the original Determinant or determinants (Creator or Originator of movement) are veiled from us by our ignorance.
But to the supramental Truth-Consciousness these imperatives would be apparent, would be the very stuff of its seeing and experience: in the supramental creative process the imperatives, the nexus of possibilities, the resultant actualities would be a single whole, an indivisible movement; the possibilities and actualities would carry in themselves the inevitability of their originating imperative,— all their results, all their creation would be the body of the Truth which they manifest in predetermined significant forms and powers of the All-Existence.
EXPLANATION
But to the supramental Truth-Consciousness the imperatives (that which necessitate all movements) would be apparent. It is no longer hidden from its view. It would be the very stuff of its seeing and experience.
In our mind we see something happening in the world. But the cause, the process and the result appear to us as disjointed parts and we are unable to connect them together. But in the supramental creative process the things that necessitates a movement, the link between the possibilities, the resultant actualites would be a single whole, an indivisible movement.
Here what is originally willed will be carried in the possibilities and realised as actualities. All their results, all their creation would be the body of Truth. They manifest this Truth in predetermined significant forms and powers of the All-Existence.