Study Notes
PARAGRAPH 6
Mind, first, the chained and hampered sovereign of our human living. Mind in its essence is a consciousness which measures, limits, cuts out forms of things from the indivisible whole and contains them as if each were a separate integer. Even with what exists only as obvious parts and fractions, Mind establishes this fiction of its ordinary commerce that they are things with which it can deal separately and not merely as aspects of a whole. For, even when it knows that they are not things in themselves, it is obliged to deal with them as if they were things in themselves; otherwise it could not subject them to its own characteristic activity.
EXPLANATION
Mind, says Sri Aurobindo, is the chained and handicapped king of our human living. In its essence, Mind is a consciousness which measures, limits, cuts out forms of things from the indivisible whole. It contains those parts as if each were a separate integer (whole).
Now, Mind creates a ‘fiction’ of its ordinary commerce with these parts. Obviously what mind deals with are only the parts and fractions. Yet, Mind deals with the parts separately; not as aspects of a whole.
Mind knows that parts are not things in themselves. Yet it is forced to deal with them as if they were things in themselves. Otherwise it could not subject them to its own characteristic activity – division and analysis.
It is this essential characteristic of Mind which conditions the workings of all its operative powers, whether conception, perception, sensation or the dealings of creative thought. It conceives, perceives, senses things as if rigidly cut out from a background or a mass and employs them as fixed units of the material given to it for creation or possession. All its action and enjoyment deal thus with wholes that form part of a greater whole, and these subordinate wholes again are broken up into parts which are also treated as wholes for the particular purposes they serve.
EXPLANATION
The operative powers of the mind are conception (of ideas), perception (of things & events), sensation and creative thinking. Their workings are conditioned by this essential characteristic of Mind i.e. dealing with parts as if they are whole.
Mind conceives, perceives and senses things as if they are rigidly cut out from the mass or whole. It handles them as fixed units of material given to it for creation or possession.
All its action and enjoyment thus deal with the whole that form part of a greater whole. Mind again breaks this subordinate whole into further parts which are treated as wholes for the particular purpose they serve. In short, Mind deals only with the parts. It never deals with the whole.
Mind may divide, multiply, add, subtract, but it cannot get beyond the limits of this mathematics. If it goes beyond and tries to conceive a real whole, it loses itself in a foreign element; it falls from its own firm ground into the ocean of the intangible, into the abysms of the infinite where it can neither perceive, conceive, sense nor deal with its subject for creation and enjoyment. For if Mind appears sometimes to conceive, to perceive, to sense or to enjoy with possession the infinite, it is only in seeming and always in a figure of the infinite. What it does thus vaguely possess is simply a formless Vast and not the real spaceless infinite.
EXPLANATION
Mind cannot go beyond the limits of its mathematics of division, multiplication, addition and subtraction. If it goes beyond and tries to conceive a real whole it will lose itself in a foreign element. In its own ground it is firmly placed. Going beyond, it will fall from its own ground into the ocean of the intangible (subtle worlds). It will fall into the deep gulf of the infinite where it can neither perceive, conceive, sense nor function in its usual way.
Mind sometimes appears to conceive, to perceive, to sense or to enjoy with possession the infinite. But it is not in real possession of the infinite. What it really possesses is a formless Vast and not the real spaceless infinite.
The moment it tries to deal with that, to possess it, at once the inalienable tendency to delimitation comes in and the Mind finds itself again handling images, forms and words. Mind cannot possess the infinite, it can only suffer it or be possessed by it; it can only lie blissfully helpless under the luminous shadow of the Real cast down on it from planes of existence beyond its reach. The possession of the Infinite cannot come except by an ascent to those supramental planes, nor the knowledge of it except by an inert submission of Mind to the descending messages of the Truth-conscious Reality.
EXPLANATION
Mind is an instrument which can function only within limits. The moment it tries to possess the infinite its inborn tendency to bring everything within a limit comes in. Mind again comes back to its original nature of handling images, forms and words. But the infinite is beyond the images, forms and words.
Therefore, Mind cannot possess the infinite. It can only submit itself to the infinite. Or it can be possessed by the infinite.
It can only lie blissfully helpless under the luminous shadow of the Real. It can only reflect upon the infinite. The possession of the infinite cannot come except by ascending to supramental planes. Mind can get the knowledge of the infinite only by a passive submission to the descending messages of the Truth-conscious Reality.
PARAGRAPH 7
This essential faculty and the essential limitation that accompanies it are the truth of Mind and fix its real nature and action, svabhava and svadharma; here is the mark of the divine fiat assigning it its office in the complete instrumentation of the supreme Maya,—the office determined by that which it is in its very birth from the eternal self-conception of the Self-existent. That office is to translate always infinity into the terms of the finite, to measure off, limit, depiece. Actually it does this in our consciousness to the exclusion of all true sense of the Infinite; therefore Mind is the nodus of the great Ignorance, because it is that which originally divides and distributes, and it has even been mistaken for the cause of the universe and for the whole of the divine Maya.
EXPLANATION
We have seen in the previous paragraph that the Mind really cannot possess the infinite; even when it tries to deal with it, at once it brings the infinite into a limitation. These characteristics are the truth of Mind. They determine its real nature and action, svabhava and svadharma.
This functional role of the Mind is assigned to it by the Divine Maya. This (limiting) role of the Mind is the indication of the divine order in its selection of instruments of the supreme Maya. Sri Aurobindo says the Mind is conceived in its very birth from the Self-existent i.e. Sat of Sachchidananda. Therefore Mind is conceived to play a divinely ordained role.
The role of the Mind is always to translate infinite in terms of the finite; to measure off, to limit and to depiece (make whole into pieces). Mind does this limitation in our consciousness to the exclusion of all true sense of the infinite.
Therefore Mind is the cause, the centre of the great Ignorance. It originally divides and distributes. It is even mistaken for the cause of the universe. It is mistaken for the divine Maya which really created this universe.
But the divine Maya comprehends Vidya as well as Avidya, the Knowledge as well as the Ignorance. For it is obvious that since the finite is only an appearance of the Infinite, a result of its action, a play of its conception and cannot exist except by it, in it, with it as a background, itself form of that stuff and action of that force, there must be an original consciousness which contains and views both at the same time and is intimately conscious of all the relations of the one with the other. In that consciousness there is no ignorance, because the infinite is known and the finite is not separated from it as an independent reality; but still there is a subordinate process of delimitation,—otherwise no world could exist,—a process by which the ever dividing and reuniting consciousness of Mind, the ever divergent and convergent action of Life and the infinitely divided and self-aggregating substance of Matter come, all by one principle and original act, into phenomenal being.
EXPLANATION
We have seen in the earlier chapter that it is the power of the divine Maya (Supermind) that created the universe. Divine Maya comprehends (inclusive of) both Vidya and Avidya. Vidya is knowledge of Oneness and Avidya is ignorance of Oneness.
Finite is only the appearance of the Infinite. The finite is the result of the Infinite. The finite cannot exist except by Infinite, in it and with it as background. Finite is nothing but the stuff and action of the force of the Infinite. Then, there should be an original consciousness which contains and views both at the same time. It should be intimately conscious of all the relations of the finite with the Infinite.
In that consciousness there is no ignorance. Because the infinite is known and the finite is not separated from it as an independent reality. But still there is a subordinate process of delimitation (defining the limits). If there is not this process of delimitation the world would not have been created. Infinite would not have become the finite.
The consciousness of Mind ever divides and reunites; the action of Life is ever divergent (moving in different directions) and convergent (coming together); the substance of Matter is infinitely divided and self-aggregating (becoming one). All these actions come into phenomenal being only by the process of delimitation (of Infinite into finite). All this happens by one principle and original act. Otherwise, no individual being could be formed.
This subordinate process of the eternal Seer and Thinker, perfectly luminous, perfectly aware of Himself and all, knowing well what He does, conscious of the infinite in the finite which He is creating, may be called the divine Mind. And it is obvious that it must be a subordinate and not really a separate working of the Real-Idea, of the Supermind, and must operate through what we have described as the apprehending movement of the Truth-consciousness.
EXPLANATION
The limiting of Infinite into finite is the subordinate process of the eternal Seer and Thinker who is luminous and perfectly aware of Himself and all. He is conscious of the infinite in the finite he is creating. This subordinate process may be called the divine Mind which is aware of both finite and infinite at the same time.
It is therefore obvious that it must be a subordinate of the Supermind, the Real-Idea and not a separate working of it. It must operate through the apprehending movement of the Truth-consciousness.