Study Notes
PARAGRAPH 9
If we suppose this soul to take its poise, its centre in the consciousness of the individual Divine living and acting in distinct relation with the “others”, still it will have in the foundation of its consciousness the entire unity from which all emerges and it will have in the background of that consciousness the extended and the modified unity and to any of these it will be capable of returning and of contemplating from them its individuality.
EXPLANATION
Let us presume that the divine soul takes its position, its centre in the consciousness of the individual Divine; it is living and acting in distinct relation with the “others”. In other words though it may live in multiplicity the foundation of its consciousness will be based on unity. It is the unity from which all emerges. Even in that multiplicity there is an extended and modified unity. Even in individuality it would be capable of returning to unity. Unity would be the fundamental aspect.
In the Veda all these poises are asserted of the gods. In essence the gods are one existence which the sages call by different names; but in their action founded in and proceeding from the large Truth and Right Agni or another is said to be all the other gods, he is the One that becomes all; at the same time he is said to contain all the gods in himself as the nave of a wheel contains the spokes, he is the One that contains all; and yet as Agni he is described as a separate deity, one who helps all the others, exceeds them in force and knowledge, yet is inferior to them in cosmic position and is employed by them as messenger, priest and worker,—the creator of the world and father, he is yet the son born of our works, he is, that is to say, the original and the manifested indwelling Self or Divine, the One that inhabits all.
EXPLANATION
Veda describes all the gods taking these different poises. Gods are called by sages in different names though they are one existence. Their action is founded in and proceeding from large Truth and Right Agni. He is the One that becomes all Gods. As the hub of the wheel contains all the spokes, he is the One that contains all the gods.
And yet he is a separate God as in Veda Agni is described as a separate deity. He is the one who helps all the others and is more than them in force and knowledge. Yet he is inferior to them in cosmic position. He is employed by them as messenger, priest and worker. He is the creator of the world and father and yet he is the son born of our works. He is the original and manifested indwelling Self or divine.
(All existences in the One Self and one Self in all existences – these are two distinct things. Our existence in the one Self gives us the feeling and the experience of oneness in spite of apparent variations. And one Self being in all existences, pervading all existences, justifies our experience of the truth of each individual in the universe.
Sri Aurobindo illustrates this truth by citations from the Veda. There it is said: There is One Existence, the wise ones name it in various ways. The Gods are the becomings of One Existence; that corresponds to the first status of the Self becoming all existences. And then they take up different Gods, for instance God Agni, the mystic flame; this God is celebrated as containing all the Gods behind him, within him; this corresponds to the truth of all existences in the Self. Agni is the Truth, all other truths are inherent in it.
And yet in another context, he is the summoner of the Gods, messenger of the Gods, he is mouth of the Gods and he is the son of man, everywhere he has his own individuality. Now these cosmic truths are strewn as it were in a number of hymns emphasising this triple character of the Truth in manifestation.
One God is not in conflict with Other Gods. Now that truth which obtains in the higher planes is intended to be actualised even on earth where each one has to arrive at a stage of culmination when there will be no conflict among each of the myriad and each one is directly related to God- Shri M.P.Pandit – Talks on The Life Divine, p. 110)
PARAGRAPH 10
All the relations of the divine soul with God or its supreme Self and with its other selves in other forms will be determined by this comprehensive self-knowledge. These relations will be relations of being, of consciousness and knowledge, of will and force, of love and delight. Infinite in their potentiality of variation, they need exclude no possible relation of soul with soul that is compatible with the preservation of the inalienable sense of unity in spite of every phenomenon of difference. Thus in its relations of enjoyment the divine soul will have the delight of all its own experience in itself; it will have the delight of all its experience of relation with others as a communion with other selves in other forms created for a varied play in the universe; it will have too the delight of the experiences of its other selves as if they were its own—as indeed they really are.
EXPLANATION
Comprehensive self-knowledge will be the basis of all relations of the divine soul with God or its supreme Self and with other selves in other forms. These relations will be relations of Existence, Consciousness, Knowledge, will and force and love and delight – all aspects of Sachchidananda. They have the potential for infinite variation. Here there is no exclusion of relation of soul with soul. Such a relation will have the nature of preserving the inalienable sense of unity in spite of the apparent difference.
How will it enjoy delight in its relations with other selves and forms?
It will enjoy the delight as the experience of its own delight in itself. This delight will be the means of communion with other forms created for the varied play in the universe. The delight experienced by other forms in them again will be felt by the divine soul as if they were its own. Because it is comprehensive. There is no experience that remains outside of it.
And all this capacity it will have because it will be aware of its own experiences, of its relations with others and of the experiences of others and their relations with itself as all the joy or Ananda of the One, the supreme Self, its own self, differentiated by its separate habitation of all these forms comprehended in its own being but still one in difference. Because this unity is the basis of all its experience, it will be free from the discords of our divided consciousness, divided by ignorance and a separatist egoism; all these selves and their relations will play consciously into each other’s hands; they will part and melt into each other as the numberless notes of an eternal harmony.
EXPLANATION
How does the divine soul have this capacity mutual self-awareness of all experiences in its relations with others?
Because it will be aware of its own experiences; it will be aware of its relations with others; it will be aware of the experiences of others and their relations with itself as the Ananda of One. This One is the supreme Self, its own self. It is only differentiated by its separate dwelling in all these forms. This separateness is comprehended (all-included) in its own being, still they are one in difference.
Here unity is the basis of all its experience. Hence, it will be free from the discords of our divided consciousness. This division is caused by our ignorance and separate egoism.
There is conscious play which is mutual in these selves and their relations with the divine soul. They will part and melt into each other as ever harmonious musical notes.
PARAGRAPH 11
And the same rule will apply to the relations of its being, knowledge, will with the being, knowledge and will of others. For all its experience and delight will be the play of a self-blissful conscious force of being in which, by obedience to this truth of unity, will cannot be at strife with knowledge nor either of them with delight. Nor will the knowledge, will and delight of one soul clash with the knowledge, will and delight of another, because by their awareness of their unity what is clash and strife and discord in our divided being will be there the meeting, entwining and mutual interplay of the different notes of one infinite harmony.
EXPLANATION
We know that divine soul represents the aspects of Sat-chit-ananda – Existence, Consciousness and Bliss. In its relations with others in its aspects of being (Sat), knowledge (Chit) and will (Chit Shakti) it is guided by the same rule of unity. Here all its experience and delight will be the play of a self-blissful conscious force of being (Chit-Shakti of Sat). Governed by the truth of unity will cannot be in conflict with knowledge. Neither the will nor the knowledge can be in conflict with delight. Also knowledge, will and delight of one soul will not be in conflict with knowledge, will and delight of another soul.
They are aware of their unity. Because of this awareness, what is clash, discord and conflict in our divided being will be for the divine soul meeting and merging of each other. It will be like a mutual interplay of the harmonious musical notes.
PARAGRAPH 12
In its relations with its supreme Self, with God, the divine soul will have this sense of the oneness of the transcendent and universal Divine with its own being. It will enjoy that oneness of God with itself in its own individuality and with its other selves in the universality.
EXPLANATION
The divine soul in its relations with its supreme Self will have the sense of oneness of the transcendent as well as the universal Divine with its own being. In its individuality it enjoys the oneness of god with itself. In its universality with its other selves also it enjoys the oneness of God.
Its relations of knowledge will be the play of the divine omniscience, for God is Knowledge, and what is ignorance with us will be there only the holding back of knowledge in the repose of conscious self-awareness so that certain forms of that self-awareness may be brought forward into activity of Light.
EXPLANATION
God is knowledge. Therefore, divine soul in its relations of knowledge, will be the play of divine omniscience. For us ignorance means lack of knowledge. For the divine soul it is the holding back of knowledge in its repose (state of rest) of conscious self-awareness. The knowledge is held back in order to bring forward certain forms of self-awareness into activity of Light.
Its relations of will will be there the play of the divine omnipotence, for God is Force, Will and Power, and what with us is weakness and incapacity will be the holding back of will in tranquil concentrated force so that certain forms of divine conscious-force may realise themselves brought forward into form of Power.
EXPLANATION
The relations of will (force) of the divine soul will be the play of the divine omnipotence. Because God is Force, Will and Power. We call absence of strength as our weakness and incapacity.
For the divine soul weakness will be the holding back of will in peaceful concentrated force. It is held back in order to bring forward certain forms of divine conscious-force into form of Power.
Its relations of love and delight will be the play of the divine ecstasy, for God is Love and Delight, and what with us would be denial of love and delight will be the holding back of joy in the still sea of Bliss so that certain forms of divine union and enjoyment may be brought in front in an active upwelling of waves of the Bliss.
EXPLANATION
The divine soul in its relations of love and delight will be the play of the divine ecstasy. Because God is Love and Delight. For us denial of love and delight means sorrow.
For the divine soul it is the holding back of joy in the still sea of Bliss. It is held back in order to bring in front certain forms of divine union and enjoyment in active rising up of waves of Bliss.
So also all its becoming will be formation of the divine being in response to these activities and what is with us cessation, death, annihilation will be only rest, transition or holding back of the joyous creative Maya in the eternal being of Sachchidananda.
EXPLANATION
The divine soul in its becoming will be response of the divine being to these activities. For us death means stopping of activities and dissolution of body. Whereas for divine soul it is the rest and transition. It is the holding back of the joyous creative Maya in the eternal being of Sachchidananda.
At the same time this oneness will not preclude relations of the divine soul with God, with its supreme Self, founded on the joy of difference separating itself from unity to enjoy that unity otherwise; it will not annul the possibility of any of those exquisite forms of God-enjoyment which are the highest rapture of the God-lover in his clasp of the Divine.
EXPLANATION
The oneness of the divine soul with its other selves in the universality will not prevent its relations with God – its supreme Self. Separating itself from unity it enjoys that unity in difference. It is founded on the joy of difference. Yet it will not nullify the possibility of beautiful forms of God-enjoyment. That is the intense pleasure God-lover enjoys in his clasp of the Divine.