Study Notes
PARAGRAPH 6
Here in the material world everything is founded upon the formula of material substance. Sense, Life, Thought found themselves upon what the ancients called the Earth-Power, start from it, obey its laws, accommodate their workings to this fundamental principle, limit themselves by its possibilities and, if they would develop others, have even in that development to take account of the original formula, its purpose and its demand upon the divine evolution. The sense works through physical instruments, the life through a physical nerve-system and vital organs, the mind has to build its operations upon a corporeal basis and use a material instrumentation, even its pure mental workings have to take the data so derived as a field and as the stuff upon which it works.
EXPLANATION
In this physical world everything is founded upon the formula of material substance. Our Sense, Life and Thought are based on the power of the Matter (Earth-Power). Their workings start from Matter obeying its laws (Ignorance, Inertia, Division & Struggle). Their workings are arranged in such a way so as to accommodate this fundamental principle of Matter. They are limited in their functioning only to the extent possible within the limits of material principle. Here Matter is the dominant principle.
If our Sense, Life and Thought could develop other possibilities they do so taking into account of the original material formula, its purpose and its demand upon the divine evolution.
The sense works through physical instruments of our five senses. The life works through our physical nervous system and vital organs. The operations of our mind are based on the physical body and a material instrumentation (brain). The data gathered for the pure mental workings are also from the material field only; matter is the stuff upon which the mind works.
There is no necessity in the essential nature of mind, sense, life that they should be so limited: for the physical sense-organs are not the creators of sense-perceptions, but themselves the creation, the instruments and here a necessary convenience of the cosmic sense; the nervous system and vital organs are not the creators of life’s action and reaction, but themselves the creation, the instruments and here a necessary convenience of the cosmic Life-force; the brain is not the creator of thought, but itself the creation, the instrument and here a necessary convenience of the cosmic Mind.
EXPLANATION
In their essential nature there is no necessity for the mind, sense, life to be limited by material nature. Physical sense organs are not creators of sense-perceptions. But they are the creation, the instruments and here a necessary convenience of the cosmic sense.
The nervous system and vital organs are not the creators of life’s actions and reaction. But they are the creation, the instruments and here a necessary convenience of the cosmic Life force. The brain is not the creator of thought. But it is the creation, the instrument and here a necessary convenience of the cosmic Mind.
(Please refer Chapter X – Conscious Force – Para 8 – p.92:
“Materialism indeed insists that, whatever the extension of consciousness, it is a material phenomenon inseparable from our physical organs and not their utiliser but their result. This orthodox contention, however, is no longer able to hold the field against the tide of increasing knowledge. Its explanations are becoming more and more inadequate and strained. It is becoming always clearer that not only does the capacity of our total consciousness far exceed that of our organs, the senses, the nerves, the brain, but that even for our ordinary thought and consciousness these organs are only their habitual instruments and not their generators. Consciousness uses the brain which its upward strivings have produced, brain has not produced nor does it use the consciousness. There are even abnormal instances which go to prove that our organs are not entirely indispensable instruments,—that the heart-beats are not absolutely essential to life, any more than is breathing, nor the organised brain-cells to thought. Our physical organism no more causes or explains thought and consciousness than the construction of an engine causes or explains the motive-power of steam or electricity. The force is anterior, not the physical instrument.”)
The necessity then is not absolute, but teleological; it is the result of a divine cosmic Will in the material universe which intends to posit here a physical relation between sense and its object, establishes here a material formula and law of Conscious-Force and creates by it physical images of Conscious-Being to serve as the initial, dominating and determining fact of the world in which we live. It is not a fundamental law of being, but a constructive principle necessitated by the intention of the Spirit to evolve in a world of Matter.
EXPLANATION
The necessity of senses, vital organs and brain are felt more because of the purpose they serve; their necessity is not absolute. For example, if we could develop the capacity of perception through our subtle senses then our physical senses would no more be required. The divine cosmic will in the material universe intends to put forward a physical relation between sense and its object. It establishes here a material formula and law of Cosmic- Force. It creates by such a formula and law physical images of Conscious-Being (Sat)to serve as the initial, dominating and determining fact of the world in which we live. It is not a fundamental law of being. But it is a constructive principle necessary for the intention of the Spirit to evolve in this world of Matter.
PARAGRAPH 7
In the next grade of substance the initial, dominating, determining fact is no longer substantial form and force, but life and conscious desire. Therefore the world beyond this material plane must be a world based upon a conscious cosmic vital Energy, a force of vital seeking and a force of Desire and their self-expression and not upon an inconscient or subconscient will taking the form of a material force and energy.
EXPLANATION
The first grade of substance is Matter. The next grade of substance is Life-Force. In this grade the initial, dominating, determining fact is life and conscious desire. It is no longer the substantial form and force as is predominant in Matter.
Therefore, the world beyond the Matter is a world based upon a conscious cosmic vital Energy, a force of vital seeking and a force of Desire and their self-expression. The world of Life is not based upon an inconscient or subconscient will taking the form of a material force and energy.
All the forms, bodies, forces, life-movements, sense-movements, thought-movements, developments, culminations, self-fulfilments of that world must be dominated and determined by this initial fact of Conscious-Life to which Matter and Mind must subject themselves, must start from that, base themselves upon that, be limited or enlarged by its laws, powers, capacities, limitations; and if Mind there seeks to develop yet higher possibilities, still it must then too take account of the original vital formula of desire-force, its purpose and its demand upon the divine manifestation.
EXPLANATION
All the forms, bodies and all movements of that world must be dominated and determined by this initial fact of Conscious-Life. Matter and Mind must subject themselves to this Conscious-Life. They must start from that and base themselves upon that. They must be limited or enlarged by its laws, powers, capacities, limitations.
When Mind seeks to develop yet higher possibilities, still it must then also take account of the original vital formula of desire-force, its purpose and its demand upon the divine manifestation.
PARAGRAPH 8
So too with the higher gradations. The next in the series must be governed by the dominating and determining factor of Mind. Substance there must be subtle and flexible enough to assume the shapes directly imposed upon it by Mind, to obey its operations, to subordinate itself to its demand for self-expression and self-fulfilment. The relations of sense and substance too must have a corresponding subtlety and flexibility and must be determined, not by the relations of physical organ with physical object, but of Mind with the subtler substance upon which it works. The life of such a world would be the servant of Mind in a sense of which our weak mental operations and our limited, coarse and rebellious vital faculties can have no adequate conception.
EXPLANATION
The next higher gradation to the gradation of Life is gradation of Mind. Here the dominating and determining factor is Mind. The Mind imposes shapes directly on the substance. The substance must be subtle and flexible enough to assume the shapes formed by Mind, to obey its operations. Here the substance subordinates itself to the demand of the Mind for self-expression and self-fulfilment.
Here the relations of sense and substance is not based on grossness and rigidity as found in the gradation of matter. In the gradation of Mind the relations of sense and substance also must have a corresponding subtlety and flexibility. Here they are not determined by the relations of physical organ with physical object. But they are determined by the relation of Mind with the subtler substance upon which it works.
The Life of such a world would be servant of Mind. Such a Life cannot be adequately conceived by our present weak mental operations and our limited, ill-developed, rebellious vital faculties.
There Mind dominates as the original formula, its purpose prevails, its demand overrides all others in the law of the divine manifestation. At a yet higher reach Supermind—or, intermediately, principles touched by it—or, still higher, a pure Bliss, a pure Conscious Power or pure Being replace Mind as the dominant principle, and we enter into those ranges of cosmic existence which to the old Vedic seers were the worlds of illuminated divine existence and the foundation of what they termed Immortality and which later Indian religions imaged in figures like the Brahmaloka or Goloka, some supreme self-expression of the Being as Spirit in which the soul liberated into its highest perfection possesses the infinity and beatitude of the eternal Godhead.
EXPLANATION
There the Mind dominates as the original principle. The Mind’s purpose prevails over all others in the law of divine manifestation. At a yet higher level Supermind or at the intermediate level the principles touched by the Supermind replace Mind as the dominant principle.
At a still higher level pure Being, a pure Conscious Power, a pure Bliss (Sat-chit-ananda) replace Mind as the dominant principle. We enter into the worlds of illuminated divine existence and foundation of Immortality as described by the old Vedic seers. These were imaged in figures like the Brahmaloka or Goloka by the later Indian religions. They symbolise some supreme expression of the Being as Spirit; here the soul liberated into its highest perfection possesses the infinity and beatitude (Bliss) of the eternal Godhead.
PARAGRAPH 9
The principle which underlies this continually ascending experience and vision uplifted beyond the material formulation of things is that all cosmic existence is a complex harmony and does not finish with the limited range of consciousness in which the ordinary human mind and life are content to be imprisoned. Being, consciousness, force, substance descend and ascend a many-runged ladder on each step of which being has a vaster self-extension, consciousness a wider sense of its own range and largeness and joy, force a greater intensity and a more rapid and blissful capacity, substance gives a more subtle, plastic, buoyant and flexible rendering of its primal reality. For the more subtle is also the more powerful,—one might say, the more truly concrete; it is less bound than the gross, it has a greater permanence in its being along with a greater potentiality, plasticity and range in its becoming. Each plateau of the hill of being gives to our widening experience a higher plane of our consciousness and a richer world for our existence.
EXPLANATION
All cosmic existence is a complex harmony of many planes. It does not finish with the limited range of consciousness (Matter, Life and Mind) in which ordinary human mind and life are content to be imprisoned. This is the principle behind this continually ascending experience and vision uplifted beyond this material world known to us.
There is a many runged ladder on which Being, consciousness, force, substance descend and ascend. On each step the being has a vaster self-extension; the consciousness has a wider sense of its own range and largeness and joy; force has a greater intensity and a more rapid and blissful capacity; the primal reality of substance becomes more subtle, plastic, buoyant and flexible.
When the substance becomes more subtle it becomes more powerful and more concrete; it is less bounded to form than the gross matter; it has a greater permanence in its being; in its becoming it has a greater potentiality, plasticity and range. For example, at the human level, our emotions which are of subtle nature, are much stronger than the attachment to gross material things.
The ascending series of substance is like a hill. As we rise higher our experience widens. With each plateau we rise to a higher plane of our consciousness and a richer world for our existence.
PARAGRAPH 10
But how does this ascending series affect the possibilities of our material existence? It would not affect them at all if each plane of consciousness, each world of existence, each grade of substance, each degree of cosmic force were cut off entirely from that which precedes and that which follows it. But the opposite is the truth; the manifestation of the Spirit is a complex weft and in the design and pattern of one principle all the others enter as elements of the spiritual whole.
EXPLANATION
Does the material world have any relation with this ascending series of substance? Do they affect the possibilities of our material existence? In other words, do they have any practical importance in our material world?
They would make no importance to us if all the planes, grades and worlds remain unconnected and stand alone in themselves. But, each plane of consciousness, each world of existence, each grade of substance, each degree of cosmic force is not cut off from that which precedes and that which follows it. Therefore, the ascending series of substance does affect the possibilities our material world. Because, in reality, the world is the differentiated Oneness.
The manifestation of the Spirit is a complex weft (cross-wise threads in a loom). In the design and pattern of one principle all the others are contained as the elements of the spiritual whole. Because the Spirit is One which manifests as Many. Each part contains the whole.