Study Notes
PARAGRAPH 10
The true soul secret in us — subliminal, we have said, but the word is misleading, for this presence is not situated below the threshold of waking mind, but rather burns in the temple of the inmost heart behind the thick screen of an ignorant mind, life and body, not subliminal but behind the veil, — this veiled psychic entity is the flame of the Godhead always alight within us, inextinguishable even by that dense unconsciousness of any spiritual self within which obscures our outward nature. It is a flame born out of the Divine and, luminous inhabitant of the Ignorance, grows in it till it is able to turn it towards the Knowledge. It is the concealed Witness and Control, the hidden Guide, the Daemon of Socrates, the inner light or inner voice of the mystic. It is that which endures and is imperishable in us from birth to birth, untouched by death, decay or corruption, an indestructible spark of the Divine.
EXPLANATION
We have seen that the true soul in us is subliminal. Sri Aurobindo says we should not be misled by this word. Because the presence of true soul is not situated below our waking mind as the term suggests. Rather our true soul burns in the temple of the inmost heart. It is present behind the thick screen of our ignorant body, mind and life. It is not subliminal but behind the veil of our instrumental Nature.
This veiled psychic entity is the flame of the Godhead, the mystic flame of the Veda. It is always burning within us. It cannot be extinguished even by that dense unconsciousness which obscures our outer nature (Here Sri Aurobindo refers to our unconsciousness of any spiritual self within us which makes our outer- self ignorant). It is a flame borne out of the Divine. It is a light that dwells in our Ignorance and grows in it till our Ignorance turns into Knowledge.
It is our concealed Witness (Purusha) and Control – a Divine sanctioner to all our actions. It is a Guide that leads all our actions from behind. (Sri Aurobindo mentions here that the psychic being is like ‘the Daemon of Socrates’ – the Greek philosopher often mentioned that he was guided by a daemon, a kind of divine spirit that takes form of an inner voice). It is the inner light or inner voice of the mystic.
It is that which gives us endurance to face hardships. It is that which does not die in us from birth to birth. It is not affected by death, decay or corruption. It is the indestructible spark of the Divine.
Not the unborn Self or Atman, for the Self even in presiding over the existence of the individual is aware always of its universality and transcendence, it is yet its deputy in the forms of Nature, the individual soul, caitya purusa, supporting mind, life and body, standing behind the mental, the vital, the subtle-physical being in us and watching and profiting by their development and experience. These other person-powers in man, these beings of his being, are also veiled in their true entity, but they put forward temporary personalities which compose our outer individuality and whose combined superficial action and appearance of status we call ourselves: this inmost entity also, taking form in us as the psychic Person, puts forward a psychic personality which changes, grows, develops from life to life; for this is the traveller between birth and death and between death and birth, our nature parts are only its manifold and changing vesture.
EXPLANATION
It is not the unborn Self or Atman. The Self (Jeevatman) presides over (watches over) the existence, the birth and death of the individual. Yet It is always open to the Universal and Transcendent. The psychic being, caitya purusha is the deputy of the Self in the forms of Nature supporting mind, life and body. It stands behind the mental, vital and the subtle-physical being in us. The psychic being watches over their actions and profits by the development and experience of the body, mind and life.
The other person-powers in man, the beings of his being (inner mental-mental purusha, inner vital – vital purusha and inner physical- physical purusha) are also veiled in their true entity. But they put forward temporary personalities which constitute our outer individuality (outer mind, outer vital and outer physical). We call their combined superficial action and appearance of status as ourselves.
The inmost entity in us takes from as the psychic Person (the true being). It puts forward the psychic personality (outer nature) which changes, grows, develops from life to life. The psychic entity stays, it grows but it does not change from moment to moment as the psychic personality does. The psychic personality is that which is evolving. Because this is the traveller between birth and death and between death and birth. The parts of our nature (our body, mind and life) are only its various and changing dress.
The psychic being can at first exercise only a concealed and partial and indirect action through the mind, the life and the body, since it is these parts of Nature that have to be developed as its instruments of self-expression, and it is long confined by their evolution. Missioned to lead man in the Ignorance towards the light of the Divine Consciousness, it takes the essence of all experience in the Ignorance to form a nucleus of soul-growth in the nature; the rest it turns into material for the future growth of the instruments which it has to use until they are ready to be a luminous instrumentation of the Divine. It is this secret psychic entity which is the true original Conscience in us deeper than the constructed and conventional conscience of the moralist, for it is this which points always towards Truth and Right and Beauty, towards Love and Harmony and all that is a divine possibility in us, and persists till these things become the major need of our nature. It is the psychic personality in us that flowers as the saint, the sage, the seer; when it reaches its full strength, it turns the being towards the Knowledge of Self and the Divine, towards the supreme Truth, the supreme Good, the supreme Beauty, Love and Bliss, the divine heights and largenesses, and opens us to the touch of spiritual sympathy, universality, oneness.
EXPLANATION
The action of the psychic being is at first, concealed, partial and indirect through our body, life and mind. Because only these parts of Nature (body, mind and life) have to be developed as its (of psychic being) instruments of self-expression. Psychic being is not able to express itself fully through its instruments (our body, mind and life) because it is long restricted by their evolution. Because, some people may not have a well-developed body, mind and life.
The mission of the psychic being is to lead man in the Ignorance towards the light of the Divine Consciousness. Therefore, it takes the essence of all experience in the Ignorance (of body, mind and life) to form a nucleus of soul-growth in nature. It uses the rest (other than what it considers essence of experience) as material for future growth of the instruments. Because the psychic being has to make use of body, mind and life for its expression until they are transformed into luminous instruments of the Divine.
It is this secret psychic entity which is the true original Conscience in us. It is deeper than the constructed (artificial) and conventional conscience as it is called by the moralist. It is the psychic element in man which always points towards Truth and Right and Beauty and Love and Harmony and all that is divine possibility in us. Till we feel that these qualities become the major need of our nature psychic being persists.
It is the psychic personality in man that flowers as saint, the sage, the seer. When the psychic being fully develops it turns the being towards the Knowledge (of Oneness), of Self and the Divine, the supreme Truth, the supreme Good, the supreme Beauty, Love and Bliss. It takes the being to the divine heights and largenesses and opens us to the touch of spiritual sympathy, universality and oneness.