Study Notes
PARAGRAPH 14
This elimination is possible because pain and pleasure themselves are currents, one imperfect, the other perverse, but still currents of the delight of existence. The reason for this imperfection and this perversion is the self-division of the being in his consciousness by measuring and limiting Maya and in consequence an egoistic and piecemeal instead of a universal reception of contacts by the individual. For the universal soul all things and all contacts of things carry in them an essence of delight best described by the Sanskrit aesthetic term, rasa, which means at once sap or essence of a thing and its taste.
EXPLANATION
Elimination of suffering is possible. Because pain is the imperfect current and pleasure is the perverse current of the delight of existence. Why this imperfection and perversion should happen? The Being (the Divine) which is One becomes Many in manifestation by self-dividing Itself. This self-division in his consciousness happens by the measuring and limiting Maya. (Maya, in its original sense of the term, is that which measures the immeasurable, limits the illimitable). As a consequence, the reception of contacts of the world by individual becomes egoistic and piecemeal instead of universal and wholistic.
For the universal soul all things and all contacts contain the essence of delight in them. This delight is aesthetically described in Sanskrit as rasa. Rasa means at once the sap and essence of thing and its taste.
It is because we do not seek the essence of the thing in its contact with us, but look only to the manner in which it affects our desires and fears, our cravings and shrinkings that grief and pain, imperfect and transient pleasure or indifference, that is to say, blank inability to seize the essence, are the forms taken by the Rasa. If we could be entirely disinterested in mind and heart and impose that detachment on the nervous being, the progressive elimination of these imperfect and perverse forms of Rasa would be possible and the true essential taste of the inalienable delight of existence in all its variations would be within our reach.
EXPLANATION
We do not seek the essence of the thing, the rasa when we are in contact with it. We only see, from an angle how a particular thing will affect our desires and fears; our longing to possess something and our shrinking from things we dislike. We are unable to seize the essence of things. Because of this, the Rasa in things has taken the imperfect and perverse forms of grief and pain, temporary pleasure or a neutral state of indifference
We must be fully disinterested in our mind and heart. This sense of detachment must be imposed by on our nervous being. Only then the imperfect and perverse forms of Rasa can be progressively eliminated. Then, it will be possible for us to sense the true and essential taste of the inalienable(inseparable) delight of existence in all is variations. This means we will be able to sense the delight whether in pain or pleasure, in success or failure, in all experiences whether good or bad.
We attain to something of this capacity for variable but universal delight in the aesthetic reception of things as represented by Art and Poetry, so that we enjoy there the Rasa or taste of the sorrowful, the terrible, even the horrible or repellent**; and the reason is because we are detached, disinterested, not thinking of ourselves or of self-defence (jugupsa), but only of the thing and its essence.
(**So termed in Sanskrit Rhetoric, the karuna, bhayanaka and bibhatsa Rasas)
EXPLANATION
We enjoy this universal (present in all things) and variable (changing from low to high) delight in aesthetic reception of things in Art & Poetry. We enjoy the Rasa of sorrowful, the terrible, even the horrible or the repellent characters and events described in Art & Poetry. We read poetry, we witness a drama, a play on the stage, we can enjoy even the tragedy, the pathos.
Why we are able to enjoy this Rasa because we are detached and our ego is not involved. Here we need not take a self-defensive attitude and shrink from the experience as compared to our real-life situations. We are able to take an objective view and participate in the universal enjoyment of the sap of things.
Certainly, this aesthetic reception of contacts is not a precise image or reflection of the pure delight which is supramental and supra-aesthetic; for the latter would eliminate sorrow, terror, horror and disgust with their cause while the former admits them: but it represents partially and imperfectly one stage of the progressive delight of the universal Soul in things in its manifestation and it admits us in one part of our nature to that detachment from egoistic sensation and that universal attitude through which the one Soul sees harmony and beauty where we divided beings experience rather chaos and discord.
EXPLANATION
Sri Aurobindo says this aesthetic reception of contacts is not a true reflection of pure delight. The pure delight is supramental (beyond mind) and supra-aesthetic (beyond the sense of beauty). The pure delight would eliminate sorrow, terror, horror and disgust and their causes while the aesthetic approach admits them.
But the aesthetic reception of contacts represents partially and imperfectly one stage of the progressive delight of the universal Soul in things. Yet it serves a purpose. It makes a part of our nature to detach from egoistic sensation. That is, a part of us is liberated from the grip of ego. It makes us to take a universal attitude through which the one Soul sees harmony and beauty. Otherwise, we as divided beings (because of our ego) experience only chaos and discord.
The full liberation can come to us only by a similar liberation in all our parts, the universal aesthesis, the universal standpoint of knowledge, the universal detachment from all things and yet sympathy with all in our nervous and emotional being.
EXPLANATION
The aesthetic reception of contacts liberates only a part of our nature from our egoistic sensation. Whereas, the full liberation can come by a similar liberation in all our parts. It can come only by a universal perception of things instead of individual-egoistic perception, universal stand point of knowledge instead of individual-egoistic stand point, universal detachment from all things instead of detachment in one part of our self. Yet with this detachment we will still have sympathy with all in our nervous and emotional being. This detachment does not mean indifference to all.