Study Notes
PARAGRAPH 4
Its consciousness would not be shut out from any part of the infinite truth, nor limited by any poise or status that it might assume in its relations with others, nor condemned to any loss of self-knowledge by its acceptance of a purely phenomenal individuality and the play of practical differentiation. It would in its self-experience live eternally in the presence of the Absolute. To us the Absolute is only an intellectual conception of indefinable existence. The intellect tells us simply that there is a Brahman higher than the highest,2 an Unknowable that knows itself in other fashion than that of our knowledge; but the intellect cannot bring us into its presence. The divine soul living in the Truth of things would, on the contrary, always have the conscious sense of itself as a manifestation of the Absolute.
2paratpara.
EXPLANATION
What would be the nature of consciousness of the Divine Soul? It would not be shut out from any part of the infinite truth. It would not be limited by any poise or status it assumes in its relations with others. When it accepts a purely phenomenal individuality there would be no loss of self-knowledge. So is the case when it accepts the play of practical differentiation in multiplicity.
In its self-experience it would live eternally in the presence of the Absolute. We conceive the Absolute as an indefinable existence only by our intellect. We know by our intellect that there is a Brahman higher than the highest (paratpara). We know that the Unknowable is something that knows itself in other way than by our knowledge. But the intellect cannot bring us into contact with its presence. On the contrary the Divine soul is always conscious of the fact that it is a manifestation of Absolute.
Its immutable existence it would be aware of as the original “self-form”3 of that Transcendent,—Sachchidananda; its play of conscious being it would be aware of as manifestation of That in forms of Sachchidananda. In its every state or act of knowledge it would be aware of the Unknowable cognising itself by a form of variable self-knowledge; in its every state or act of power, will or force aware of the Transcendence possessing itself by a form of conscious power of being and knowledge; in its every state or act of delight, joy or love aware of the Transcendence embracing itself by a form of conscious self-enjoyment.
3svarupa.
EXPLANATION
It would be aware of its immutable existence as the original self-form (svarupa) of that Transcendent – Sachchidananda. It would be aware of its play of conscious being as manifestation of That in forms of Sachchidananda. In its every act of knowledge it would be aware of the Unknowable knowing itself by a form of variable self-knowledge. In its every act of power, will or force it would be aware of the conscious power of being and knowledge of the Transcendence. In its every state or act of delight or joy it would be aware of the Transcendence embracing itself by a form of conscious self-enjoyment. In short, in its existence, consciousness, force and delight it is fully aware that it is an extension of Sachchidananda.
This presence of the Absolute would not be with it as an experience occasionally glimpsed or finally arrived at and held with difficulty or as an addition, acquisition or culmination superimposed on its ordinary state of being: it would be the very foundation of its being both in the unity and the differentiation; it would be present to it in all its knowing, willing, doing, enjoying; it would be absent neither from its timeless self nor from any moment of Time, neither from its spaceless being nor from any determination of its extended existence, neither from its unconditioned purity beyond all cause and circumstance nor from any relation of circumstance, condition and causality. This constant presence of the Absolute would be the basis of its infinite freedom and delight, ensure its security in the play and provide the root and sap and essence of its divine being.
EXPLANATION
This presence of the Absolute would be the very foundation of its being both in unity and the differentiation. It would not be an occasional experience held with difficulty. Nor is it a super-imposed one on its ordinary state of being. It would be present both in its timeless self and in all moments of Time. Both in its spaceless being and in its extension in space it would be present. It would be present both in its relationless state beyond all cause and circumstance and in its relations to circumstance, condition and causality. The constant presence of the Absolute would be the basis of its infinite freedom and delight. It ensures its security in the play and provides the essence of its divine being.
PARAGRAPH 5
Moreover such a divine soul would live simultaneously in the two terms of the eternal existence of Sachchidananda, the two inseparable poles of the self-unfolding of the Absolute which we call the One and the Many. All being does really so live; but to our divided self-awareness there is an incompatibility, a gulf between the two driving us towards a choice, to dwell either in the multiplicity exiled from the direct and entire consciousness of the One or in the unity repellent of the consciousness of the Many. But the divine soul would not be enslaved to this divorce and duality. It would be aware in itself at once of the infinite self-concentration and the infinite self-extension and diffusion.
EXPLANATION
The One and the Many are the two terms of the eternal existence of Sachchidananda. They are the two inseparable poles of the manifestation of the Absolute. The Divine soul would live simultaneously in the One and the Many.
Sri Aurobindo says, all being does really live in the One and the Many. Since our human mentality is divided we find the incompatibility between the One and the Many. The gulf between the two terms drives us to make a choice. To live in the multiplicity removed from the totality of the consciousness of the One or to live in the unity turning away from the consciousness of the Many.
But the divine soul would not be bound by this duality. It would be aware in itself of the infinite self-concentration (unity) and the infinite self-extension (multiplicity) at the same time.
It would be aware simultaneously of the One in its Unitarian consciousness holding the innumerable multiplicity in itself as if potential, unexpressed and therefore to our mental experience of that state non-existent, and of the One in its extended consciousness holding the multiplicity thrown out and active as the play of its own conscious being, will and delight. It would equally be aware of the Many ever drawing down to themselves the One that is the eternal source and reality of their existence and of the Many ever mounting up attracted to the One that is the eternal culmination and blissful justification of all their play of difference. This vast view of things is the mould of the Truth-Consciousness, the foundation of the large Truth and Right hymned by the Vedic seers; this unity of all these terms of opposition is the real Adwaita, the supreme comprehending word of the knowledge of the Unknowable.
EXPLANATION
The divine soul in its view of things is the mould of the Truth-Consciousness. It has the foundation of Vastness (Brihat), Truth (Satyam) and Right (Ritam) as mentioned in our Vedic hymns.
The divine soul is in the awareness of the consciousness of the One and the Many at the same time. The consciousness of the One holds the innumerable multiplicity in itself. It is held as a potential without expression. But our mind experiences this state of oneness as non-existent.
The divine soul is aware of the multiplicity as the extended consciousness of the One. Multiplicity is the active play of the conscious being of One, its will and delight. It is the Many that draw the One to them because One is their eternal source and reality of their existence. The Many, on the other hand, always rise up and are attracted to the One. Many becoming One, is the culmination and the blissful justification of their play of difference.
The real Adwaita is the unity of the opposing terms of the One and the Many. It is the supreme comprehending (including everything) word. This word represents the knowledge of the Unknowable.
(The first characteristic of a divine Soul in the supermind is that it is in the presence of the Absolute; the divine Soul has come out of the Absolute on its journey but it is always in the proximity, feeling the presence of the Absolute around it. Second, it finds itself between the one behind or above it and the Many that in front or below. Still, though it is between the One and the Many, it is in the presence of the Absolute, it never loses its unity with the One and Sri Aurobindo points out that is real Monism, because there is no sense of illusion or imposition there, it is a natural and spontaneous unity with the One that the Soul experiences – Shri M.P.Pandit: Talks on The Life Divine, p. 109).
PARAGRAPH 6
The divine soul will be aware of all variation of being, consciousness, will and delight as the outflowing, the extension, the diffusion of that self-concentrated Unity developing itself, not into difference and division, but into another, an extended form of infinite oneness. It will itself always be concentrated in oneness in the essence of its being, always manifested in variation in the extension of its being.
EXPLANATION
The Oneness (of Sachchidananda) is the primal state. All variations originate from Oneness finally resulting in multiplicity. There is the outflowing, extension and spreading of the self-concentrated Unity. As it happens there is variation of being (existence), consciousness, will (force) and delight (Ananda). The divine soul will be aware of all the variations.
In this process the self-concentrated Unity develops itself not into difference and division but into an extended form of infinite oneness. It will be concentrated in oneness in the essence of its being. Yet it will be always manifested in variation in the extension of its being. They are like waves on the ocean. Waves are nothing but extensions of the ocean.
All that takes form in itself will be the manifested potentialities of the One, the Word or Name vibrating out of the nameless Silence, the Form realising the formless essence, the active Will or Power proceeding out of the tranquil Force, the ray of self-cognition gleaming out from the sun of timeless self-awareness, the wave of becoming rising up into shape of self-conscious existence out of the eternally self-conscious Being, the joy and love welling for ever out of the eternal still Delight. It will be the Absolute biune in its self-unfolding, and each relativity in it will be absolute to itself because aware of itself as the Absolute manifested but without that ignorance which excludes other relativities as alien to its being or less complete than itself.
EXPLANATION
What is manifestation? It is manifestation of the potentialities of the One. Everything that is contained potentially in the Absolute (the One) manifests itself.
The Word or Name vibrates out of the nameless Silence. The Form realises the formless essence. The active Will or Power proceeds out of the tranquil (calm) Force. Self-awareness emerges as a ray in time from the sun of timeless self-awareness. The eternally self-conscious Being in its becoming takes the shape of self-conscious existence. The joy and love spring forever out of the eternal still Delight.
In all the above it is the Absolute in its twin nature unfolds itself. Each relative movement from the Absolute is absolute to itself. Because each relative is aware of itself as the manifestation of Absolute. At the same time each relative is not ignorant of the other relatives. It does not exclude them. It does not consider them as outside of itself or less complete than itself.
Thus the divine Soul would consider all variations as extensions of the One, the Absolute. It would not consider the variations as different from the One.