Why Spiritualize Education?

Education to be complete must have five principal aspects relating to the five principal activities of the human being: the physical, the vital, the mental, the psychic and the spiritual.

THE MOTHER

It is widely accepted, at least in principle, that education should address not just the mind but also the body. In practice, however, the body is generally neglected because ‘time is not enough to cover the syllabus’, and we do a rather poor job of educating even the mind. But even the best education of the body and the mind is still incomplete education. Complete education, or integral education, should address all parts of the being – not just the body and the mind, but also the spirit. This raises at least three questions: why that is necessary, how it can be done, and whether it can be done.

Why is it necessary?

Perfect education of the child’s body and the mind, if successful, will give us an adult who is physically fit, emotionally stable, and intellectually agile. Such an individual has the basic equipment necessary for becoming a good teacher, a good doctor, a good engineer, a good scientist, a good farmer, or a good manager. But it is exactly the same attributes that are necessary also for becoming a ‘good’ terrorist. Unless the terrorist is physically fit, emotionally stable, and intellectually agile, he will not be able to plan or execute a successful attack. After all, the body and the mind are mere instruments. Perfecting an instrument is never enough. A sharp knife can cut a fruit as well as the finger better than a blunt knife. Therefore our system of education should be designed not only to sharpen the body and the mind, but also to help the child learn how to put these sharpened instruments to good use. That is why education is incomplete if it addresses only the body and the mind; what completes it is the spiritual element.

How can it be done?

One way in which schools sometimes try to address the spiritual element is by including moral education as a subject. This is not the best approach for a variety of reasons. First, nobody, not even a child, likes to be told what to do, or what not to do. Secondly, any set of dos and don’ts is somewhat arbitrary – it cannot be valid for all times and at all places. Thirdly, even a comprehensive set of dos and don’ts is always incomplete because it cannot anticipate all the situations in which a person might have to take moral decisions. Finally, once moral education becomes a subject in the curriculum, the focus shifts from morality to clearing an examination. One of the best approaches is not to treat this aspect of education as an add-on, but as something that is woven into the system. Using the body-mind complex appropriately involves making choices. The best choice is based on the guidance that emanates from the deepest part of the being, which we may call the spiritual part of the being: Sri Aurobindo and the Mother have called it the psychic being. Making a choice based on the voice of the psychic being gives a sense of joy, and leads to lasting mental peace. Making a choice that is in conflict with this voice leads to a sense of guilt, a sense of uneasiness. Thus the psychic being is an in-built reward and punishment system. Making the child conscious of this in-built system is the crux of addressing ‘the spirit’ in school education. This is in marked contrast to the prevalent tendency to reward the child for doing the right thing, and even more commonly, to punish the child for doing the wrong thing. The message that this tendency sends is that the purpose of not doing what is wrong is to escape getting punished by the teacher or the parent, and in later life, by the law-enforcing agencies. In other words, one may do anything so long as nobody is watching. Even when nobody is watching, God is. The all-seeing God is within us, and that is why the person feels uneasy after doing something wrong. This is what the child has to learn to appreciate. And it is easy for the child to appreciate it because the psychic being is wide open in children. All it needs is the right environment. The right environment has a few components. First, everything good that the child does should be encouraged, be it lifting up a friend who has fallen in the playground, or sharing food with a classmate who has forgotten her lunchbox at home, or putting the right way up a struggling upside-down insect. Secondly, when a child has done something wrong – be it unintentional, accidental or deliberate – the child should be able to summon the courage to confess the mistake. This will happen only if the child is sure that confession will not invite punishment. An environment in which a fault confessed is not punished builds up the habit of speaking the truth. The aim in such a situation should be to lead the child towards appreciating the burden that the child felt till she had confessed, and the relief and joy that the confession brought. Last, but most important, the children should also see the teacher doing what she expects from them. What the teacher does has a much greater influence on the children than what she says.

Can it be done?

Doing what has been outlined above is an ideal that has been translated into reality. The Mother took charge of running Sri Aurobindo Ashram in Pondicherry in 1926, but at that time there were hardly any children in the Ashram. But in the early 1940s, enough children had entered to prompt the Mother to open a school for children in 1943. The school brought out the educationist in the Mother, and the above discussion gives a mere glimpse of the system of integral education that she established there. The school has grown into an institution that provides education from kindergarten to college level, and was named ‘Sri Aurobindo International Centre of Education’ by the Mother in 1959. The Centre has not only given a practical shape to the concept of integral education visualized by Sri Aurobindo and the Mother, but has also inspired a very large number of institutions all over the world, including The Mother’s International School and Mirambika in New Delhi. Integral education not only addresses all aspects of the being, but also facilitates the flowering of the full potential of the child.

……………………………………………………………………………………………

The Mother arrived in Pondicherry for the second time on 24 April 1920, and stayed there till she left her body in 1973.

Why Spiritualize Education?

Education to be complete must have five principal aspects relating to the five principal activities of the human being: the physical, the vital, the mental, the psychic and the spiritual.

THE MOTHER

It is widely accepted, at least in principle, that education should address not just the mind but also the body. In practice, however, the body is generally neglected because ‘time is not enough to cover the syllabus’, and we do a rather poor job of educating even the mind. But even the best education of the body and the mind is still incomplete education. Complete education, or integral education, should address all parts of the being – not just the body and the mind, but also the spirit. This raises at least three questions: why that is necessary, how it can be done, and whether it can be done.

Why is it necessary?

Perfect education of the child’s body and the mind, if successful, will give us an adult who is physically fit, emotionally stable, and intellectually agile. Such an individual has the basic equipment necessary for becoming a good teacher, a good doctor, a good engineer, a good scientist, a good farmer, or a good manager. But it is exactly the same attributes that are necessary also for becoming a ‘good’ terrorist. Unless the terrorist is physically fit, emotionally stable, and intellectually agile, he will not be able to plan or execute a successful attack. After all, the body and the mind are mere instruments. Perfecting an instrument is never enough. A sharp knife can cut a fruit as well as the finger better than a blunt knife. Therefore our system of education should be designed not only to sharpen the body and the mind, but also to help the child learn how to put these sharpened instruments to good use. That is why education is incomplete if it addresses only the body and the mind; what completes it is the spiritual element.

How can it be done?

One way in which schools sometimes try to address the spiritual element is by including moral education as a subject. This is not the best approach for a variety of reasons. First, nobody, not even a child, likes to be told what to do, or what not to do. Secondly, any set of dos and don’ts is somewhat arbitrary – it cannot be valid for all times and at all places. Thirdly, even a comprehensive set of dos and don’ts is always incomplete because it cannot anticipate all the situations in which a person might have to take moral decisions. Finally, once moral education becomes a subject in the curriculum, the focus shifts from morality to clearing an examination. One of the best approaches is not to treat this aspect of education as an add-on, but as something that is woven into the system. Using the body-mind complex appropriately involves making choices. The best choice is based on the guidance that emanates from the deepest part of the being, which we may call the spiritual part of the being: Sri Aurobindo and the Mother have called it the psychic being. Making a choice based on the voice of the psychic being gives a sense of joy, and leads to lasting mental peace. Making a choice that is in conflict with this voice leads to a sense of guilt, a sense of uneasiness. Thus the psychic being is an in-built reward and punishment system. Making the child conscious of this in-built system is the crux of addressing ‘the spirit’ in school education. This is in marked contrast to the prevalent tendency to reward the child for doing the right thing, and even more commonly, to punish the child for doing the wrong thing. The message that this tendency sends is that the purpose of not doing what is wrong is to escape getting punished by the teacher or the parent, and in later life, by the law-enforcing agencies. In other words, one may do anything so long as nobody is watching. Even when nobody is watching, God is. The all-seeing God is within us, and that is why the person feels uneasy after doing something wrong. This is what the child has to learn to appreciate. And it is easy for the child to appreciate it because the psychic being is wide open in children. All it needs is the right environment. The right environment has a few components. First, everything good that the child does should be encouraged, be it lifting up a friend who has fallen in the playground, or sharing food with a classmate who has forgotten her lunchbox at home, or putting the right way up a struggling upside-down insect. Secondly, when a child has done something wrong – be it unintentional, accidental or deliberate – the child should be able to summon the courage to confess the mistake. This will happen only if the child is sure that confession will not invite punishment. An environment in which a fault confessed is not punished builds up the habit of speaking the truth. The aim in such a situation should be to lead the child towards appreciating the burden that the child felt till she had confessed, and the relief and joy that the confession brought. Last, but most important, the children should also see the teacher doing what she expects from them. What the teacher does has a much greater influence on the children than what she says.

Can it be done?

Doing what has been outlined above is an ideal that has been translated into reality. The Mother took charge of running Sri Aurobindo Ashram in Pondicherry in 1926, but at that time there were hardly any children in the Ashram. But in the early 1940s, enough children had entered to prompt the Mother to open a school for children in 1943. The school brought out the educationist in the Mother, and the above discussion gives a mere glimpse of the system of integral education that she established there. The school has grown into an institution that provides education from kindergarten to college level, and was named ‘Sri Aurobindo International Centre of Education’ by the Mother in 1959. The Centre has not only given a practical shape to the concept of integral education visualized by Sri Aurobindo and the Mother, but has also inspired a very large number of institutions all over the world, including The Mother’s International School and Mirambika in New Delhi. Integral education not only addresses all aspects of the being, but also facilitates the flowering of the full potential of the child.

……………………………………………………………………………………………

The Mother arrived in Pondicherry for the second time on 24 April 1920, and stayed there till she left her body in 1973.

MUST WE DIE TO BE IN HEAVEN?

Heaven we have possessed, but not the earth; but the fullness of the Yoga is to make, in the formula of the veda, 'Heaven and Earth equal and one'

SRI AUROBINDO

The lead article in the 16 April 2012 issue of the Time magazine is ‘Heaven on Earth’. In this article, the author, Jon Meacham, has discussed the multiple interpretations that Christian scholars have been giving to the concept of heaven, and what the current trends are. The author has also made a passing reference to the concept of heaven in religions other than Christianity. The concept of heaven rests on a few basic foundations. First, the world in which we live is just one of the many worlds that exist. Secondly, there is a place called ‘heaven’ that is much better than the earth. Thirdly, our stay on earth is an episode in a much longer journey of the soul. Finally, in order to qualify to enter heaven, we must mend our ways on earth. In other words, earth is a school, and those who qualify with flying colours in the school enter the university called heaven. That, in fact, also explains the dualities that exist on earth. A mixture of good and evil, carrots and sticks, joys and sorrows, creates the right environment in a school designed to discipline unruly children. However, this raises a deeper question, and a refreshing possibility, that Sri Aurobindo envisaged a hundred years ago, and as Meacham tells us, some Christian scholars such as N.T. Wright have also emphasized recently. The question is whether the earth is forever destined to remain an inferior place, a battleground of good and evil? The possibility that this question suggests is that the earth can become a much better place so that heaven and earth become “equal and one”. Sri Aurobindo and the Mother have talked of this ideal not as a mere possibility but a certainty. This is the goal of which they laid the foundations; this is the goal that they set for humanity; this is the goal at which their yoga aims. What is expected of those who wish to contribute towards this goal? The basic requirements are a sincere, intense and patient aspiration for elevation of consciousness; rejection of all that takes us away from the goal; and surrender to the Divine. These three basic ingredients have far-reaching implications on how a person lives, the choices he makes in life, and the way he looks at events and circumstances of life. The life that the person lives is simple; the choices he makes are guided by love; and the way he looks at life is as an opportunity for spiritual growth. With a sufficient number of people living such a life, a day will come when the earth will have that critical mass of people who will be able to determine the plane of consciousness from which the affairs of our world are conducted. When the affairs of our world are conducted from a higher plane of consciousness, the earth will manifest the love, light and beauty that we associate with heaven. Thus, we do not have to die to go to heaven; we can create heaven right here on earth.

The Master Meets His Mission

Sri Aurobindo’s arrival in Pondicherry on 4 April 1910 marks the culmination of a long and tortuous preparation that was necessary in his outer life before he could settle down with the mission of his life. Sri Aurobindo was dispatched to England at the tender age of seven, so that he could continue there his studies which had begun in India at a school run by Irish nuns. He spent fourteen years in England, during which he gave evidence of his remarkable intellect. He acquired a thorough mastery over the English language and assimilated the Western culture. When he returned to India in 1893, he hardly knew his mother tongue. But interestingly, he had a romantic fascination for the Indian culture, and he was determined to work for the freedom of the country rather than reap the material benefits of his British education by serving a government that had enslaved his motherland. In 1893 began another 14-year period in his life, during which he taught English and French in a college in Baroda. But more importantly, during these 14 years, Sri Aurobindo educated himself in the Indian culture. He learnt Bangla and Sanskrit, read the ancient Indian scriptures in their original form in Sanskrit, and adopted a guru to learn yoga, ostensibly to acquire special powers that would help him gain freedom for the country. He astounded his guru by reaching within three days a state of eternal silence, which ordinary mortals find it impossible to attain in a lifetime. With fourteen years in the West, and fourteen years in the East, both spent in intensive study, discipline and introspection by one who had the intellectual capacity of a genius and the spiritual capacity of an avatar, Sri Aurobindo was poised for a leap. The leap was precipitated by the decision of the British government to partition Bengal. He quit Baroda and went to Bengal, and jumped full-time in the freedom struggle. Within a short time, he took the nation by storm, galvanized an army of young patriotic Indians, and shook the British empire. The British started looked for an excuse to arrest him. And, they found an excuse soon enough. In 1908, a bomb blast in Muzzafarpur killed two innocent British ladies. Following that, anybody who could be even remotely connected with the blast was rounded up. Among the forty-four persons arrested, one was Sri Aurobindo. Then began the one-year trial. Throughout the trial, Sri Aurobindo was in Alipur jail, sometimes in solitary confinement, sometimes with the other ordinary inmates, and sometimes with the others arrested in the bomb blast case. Based on some details revealed by Sri Aurobindo in his famous Uttarpara speech, in retrospect it is easy to see the Divine working out a plan during his one year in prison. During the first phase of solitary confinement, he realised that the imprisonment was meant to force him to give up his attachment to the freedom struggle. Secondly, during the same phase, the message of the Gita was revealed to him as was the universal presence of the Divine as Krishna. This removed all his doubts, and made him a devotee in the same way as seeing the viraat roopa of Krishna had made Arjuna a devotee. During the next phase, when he was kept with other inmates of the prison, he saw sparks of divinity even in these disfigured manifestations of the Divine. He saw the spiritual core of the nation soul of India, and discovered the identity of the people for whom he had to work. During the phase when he was kept with the others who had been accused in the bomb blast case, he realised that many young people, gifted with exceptional qualities of the head and heart, were available for participation in the freedom struggle. Hence he concluded that he was not indispensable for the country to get political freedom, and that his own mission possibly lay elsewhere. During the final phase of solitary confinement, he could once again go within, and seek from the Divine clear instructions about what was expected of him. The dialogue with the Divine made it clear to him that freedom of the country was a foregone conclusion, and could be achieved even without his participation. However, political freedom of India was only a milestone in a process of far-reaching implications for humanity. India was rising, and political freedom was a part of the rising. India was rising so that it could share with the world its spiritual heritage, which was acquiring greater significance as the limitations of science and technology in solving human problems and enhancing happiness were becoming more and more clear. An instrument of the Divine was needed to provide this message to the world, particularly the West, which was affected the most by the material prosperity and spiritual poverty generated by the industrial revolution. And, who could be better than Sri Aurobindo as that instrument – an intellectual giant who had 14 years of intelligent engagement with the West, and 14 years of self-study in the East, along with spiritual siddhis of the highest order. This rare instrument was too precious to be battered and bruised by the batons and bullets of the British police. Hence the divine intervention that forcibly pulled him out of the freedom struggle. What seemed to Sri Aurobindo initially an unwarranted interruption in his work concerned with the freedom struggle was the Divine’s way of revealing to him his true mission. Once the mission was revealed to him, the trial was over, and he was acquitted. How could anybody keep Sri Aurobindo in jail a day longer than was necessary for him to know what the Divine expected of him.

Now that Sri Aurobindo knew what the Divine expected of him, things moved fast. Although Sri Aurobindo’s mission had changed, he wielded enourmous influence on the youth of India, and to the government, he was a “marked” man. Sister Nivedita informed him about his imminent arrest and deportation. While many of Sri Aurobindo’s followers discussed what was the best way to protect him, as on a few previous crucial occasions, Sri Aurobindo received an inner command about what to do. The command this time was “Go to Chandernagore”, which was a French colony. He spent most of his time in Chandernagore in solitude. He reduced his contacts with the world to a bare minimum. He spent long periods in deep silent meditation. It was quite clear that he was making a rapid transition from outer conquests to inner masteries. His friends started making further plans for his safety because Chandernagore was dangerously close to Calcutta. One of the plans being actively considered was to send him to France. However, once again the decision was taken for him by an inner command, which told him to go to Pondicherry. His journey from Chandernagore to Pondicherry was planned carefully in meticulous detail. But the plan had some loopholes, which were either overlooked, or were unavoidable, and had the plan worked, he could have fallen in the traps laid by the British intelligence agents. It collapsed at many points due to human errors. What replaced the human plan at those points was obviously the divine plan, which is always successful. The net result was that Sri Aurobindo, and Bejoy Nag, arrived safely in Pondicherry on 4 April 1910. It was virtually a new version of the guards being put to sleep so that Krishna could be safely transported to Vrindavan.

With the arrival of Sri Aurobindo in Pondicherry in 1910 began a new chapter, the longest chapter, of his life. He was a highly accomplished instrument of the Divine, almost ready to embark on the task for which he had been chosen. But probably some finishing touches were still necessary, and these touches took four years of intense sadhana in solitude. Not much is known about the siddhis he attained during these four years. But it is obvious from the events that followed that by 1914, he was bursting at the seams with the word that he had to transmit to the world. The medium he adopted was the monthly journal Arya. Words powered out in a torrent, and flooded the Arya with gems on a variety of subjects – the Gita, the Vedas, the Upanishads, Yoga, spiritual philosophy, and a unique view of the past and an amazingly refreshing view of the future. Month after month, he wrote one article on each of these subjects in a prose that read like poetry. On one hand each article could stand on its own; on the other there was remarkable continuity in articles on a given subject from month to month. The result is that when, later on, articles were sorted out subject-wise and arranged in the same sequence as in the Arya, they read like a book. Most of Sri Aurobindo’s major works –The Secret of the Veda, The Upanishads, Essays on the Gita, The Synthesis of Yoga, The Life Divine, Foundations of Indian Culture, The Human Cycle, the Ideal of Human Unity, The Future Poetry, etc. – were written originally as articles in the Arya. These works, along with the three volumes of Letters on Yoga, and the epic poem Savitri, which he wrote later, remain unsurpassed to this day, in both quantity and quality, in the category of spiritual literature based on ancient Indian wisdom, the original of which was written in the English language. What Sri Aurobindo wrote in the Arya in seven years is itself more than what an average person can read in a lifetime, leave aside understand and realise. From 1926 through 1950, Sri Aurobindo was busy working towards the realisation of a goal which no spiritual master before him had set up – the goal of bringing down the Supramental Consciousness on earth. Sri Aurobindo carried this cross for 24 years, and finally chose to leave his body in order to facilitate his mission. He had told the Mother well in advance that for the Supramental descent, one of them had to go. When she replied that she was ready to go, he had insisted that he would go because her body was more suitable for enduring the ordeal of transformation. Sri Aurobindo left the body on 5 December 1950 at the age of seventy-eight. But he continued working towards the fulfillment of his mission. And, on 29 February 1956, soon after the Mother’s seventy-eighth birthday, during the collective meditation in the Ashram playground, the Mother heard Sri Aurobindo’s voice in English, “The time has come”. She shattered to pieces the golden door blocking the Supramental manifestation on earth, and “the Supramental Light and Force and Consciousness rushed down upon earth in an uninterrupted flow.” While the Mother’s observation was a major milestone in the evolution of consciousness on earth, there are miles to go. The human race is not fully prepared to receive the Supramental that has manifested in the earth atmosphere more than fifty years ago. Till we, as a race, are prepared to receive the Supramental, a select few will continue to aspire for and succeed in manifesting the Supramental Consciousness. When their number exceeds a critical mass, we can hope for a new race that will be to man what man is to an animal. These are exciting ideas that transport us to a new plane altogether, but coming back to the world we are familiar with, it is enough to aspire sincerely, reject ruthlessly, and surrender completely. The rest may be left to the Divine with relief and pleasure.

[Excerpts from an article first published in The Call Beyond (A periodical published by Sri Aurobindo Ashram – Delhi Branch) April 2010]

The Nones: a Growing Non-tribe

The articles and dogmas of a religion are mind-made things and, if you cling to them and shut yourself up in a code of life made out for you, you do not know and cannot know the truth of the Spirit that lies beyond all codes and dogmas.

– THE MOTHER

The lead article in the 12 March 2012 issue of the Time magazine is ‘10 Ideas That Are Changing Your Life’. One of these ‘ideas’, according to the writer, Amy Sullivan, is ‘The Rise of the Nones’. ‘The nones’ is the name that social scientists give to those who declare that they have no affiliation to any organized religion. The nones are the fastest-growing religious group in the U.S., and are currently estimated to form 16 percent of the American population. The nones have rejected organized religion but believe in God, engage in spiritual conversation and prayer, and participate in humanitarian work. This raises two questions: one, why they have rejected organized religion; and two, why they still feel the need to embrace spirituality.

Why the aversion to religion?

Religion is one of the finest products of the human mind. Its origins are in the yearning of man for knowing the Truth, and organizing his life in light of that Truth. The Truth can be known only by going deep within to a level higher than the mental. The reason is that the Truth is infinite, whereas thoughts and words are finite. Thoughts can deal effectively only with what can be measured, whereas the Truth is immeasurable. The mind trusts only what can be perceived by the senses, whereas senses can perceive only a part of the Reality. But, being mental constructs, religions have a tendency to gravitate to the mental level. That is why, although religions are rooted in spirituality, they settle down for visible symbols, rituals, and dogmas. The highest visible point of a religion is its ethical code. But the ethical code, which was ideal when the religion was founded at the place where it was founded, may lose some of its validity and vitality with change of time and place. That is one reason why the ethical codes of different religions may differ in detail. The result has been that religious conflicts based on ethical codes, and even more on symbols, rituals and dogmas, have created divisions among men instead of the unity that they were intended to foster (re, again; ligare, to connect). That explains the aversion of the modern man to organized religion, which has now led to a growing population of those who openly reject it.

Why spirituality still attracts?

The West initially rejected religion in favour of science. Like religion, science is also one of the finest products of the human mind. Like religion, science also seeks the truth, but only in the physical universe. In this sphere, mind has proven adequate to take man to dizzying heights. The heady feeling generated by the spectacular achievements of modern science in less than 500 years created the impression that science would solve all human problems. But when this expectation was not met, reason, the tool that had helped the growth of science, was pressed into service – the result was rationalistic secular humanism. Humanism did much to promote philanthropy and humanitarian activities, reduced the possibility of wars and created a strong wave against many of the crudities and cruelties that were permitted in the name of traditional religions or conventions. While humanism is an ideal against which there can be no good arguments, being a mental construct, it had to contend with the ego – both the individual egos, and the collective egos such as the national egos. The humanistic ideas might soften the expression of these egos, but true human unity based on love of man for man needs a spiritual base. Secondly, human beings have only incomplete and imperfect control on events and circumstances of life. Therefore, living a life based on rational ethical principles does not guarantee perpetual happiness. Peace can be shattered by completely unforeseen events that are impossible to control. In such situations, surrender to the Divine Will is a formula that is yet to be improved upon, irrational though it is. That is why rational humanism could not end human misery. Many other secular approaches have been tried – education, democracy, dictatorship, communism, socialism, etc. etc. – but each of these has failed to end human misery. The reason is that each of these institutions has been run by people who, at the present stage of human evolution, are primarily ego-driven personalities. Ego-driven personalities, as soon as they have the power to do so, will corner more than their share of resources for themselves, and will also justify it. Hence the way out is nothing short of a basic change in human nature, which is possible only through a change in the level of human consciousness. Raising the level of consciousness is what spirituality is all about. That is why, after so many rational approaches have been tried unsuccessfully that non-rational spirituality has re-surfaced as the last ray of hope. To use Sri Aurobindo’s inimitable terminology, everything that is non-rational is not necessarily infra-rational; it can also be supra-rational. That mankind will go through many failed experiments before working towards a psychological unity based on the divine essence that unites us all is something that Sri Aurobindo had visualized and foreseen in ‘The Ideal of Human Unity’ about a hundred years ago.

In short, what repels in religions are their dogmas and rituals. And what attracts in spirituality is that it does not throw out the baby with the bathwater. It gets rid of the dogmas and rituals, but retains faith in the One Supreme Consciousness that most of us are at least dimly aware of. Life lived in light of that faith is fulfilling, harmonious and peaceful. The One whom we continue to acknowledge remains our ultimate and infallible guide, protector and counselor. Thus, spirituality retains the core of religions but has no need for the shell that repels. The “nones” have rejected organized religion but believe in the Spirit of the Divine that unites all. Hence they cannot be considered an exclusive tribe; they are an all-inclusive non-tribe.

Spirituality is not necessarily exclusive; it can be and in its fullness must be all-inclusive.

– SRI AUROBINDO

A Mental View of the Supramental

Earth by this golden superfluity

Bore thinking man and more than man shall bear;

This higher scheme of being is our cause

And holds the key to our ascending fate;

It calls out of our dense mortality

The conscious spirit nursed in Matter’s house.

SRI AUROBINDO (In: Savitri Book 2, Canto 1, p. 99)

If there is one word that is unique to Sri Aurobindo’s spiritual philosophy, it is ‘supramental’. ‘Supramental’ refers to a level of consciousness, which is a significant milestone in the evolutionary process. When the all-knowing all-powerful chose to manifest as matter, it was an act of drastic self-limitation, or involution. In the process of involution, the Supreme Consciousness of the Divine did not disappear; it merely hid itself. Thus matter, which seems to lack consciousness, actually has the Supreme Consciousness in a dormant form, exactly as the plant lies dormant in the seed. The creation of matter was followed by evolution, which is the opposite of involution. The process of evolution may be viewed as a progressively better expression, or revelation, of the Supreme Consciousness hidden in matter. The first major milestone in evolution was the appearance of life on our planet. A little better expression of the Supreme Consciousness was achieved through the evolution of the mind. Structure kept pace with the evolution of consciousness. Mental consciousness expressed itself through the brain. As the mental consciousness became richer, the brain grew larger and more complex. It was as if the Master Craftsman kept coming up with better processors in its quest to improve the performance of its computers. Mental consciousness has reached its peak in human beings. But even human consciousness expresses only a very small fraction of the Supreme Consciousness of the Divine. However, looking at the trend of evolution so far, it is only to be expected that man will give way to a creature with a still higher level of consciousness. Human consciousness is not only higher than animal consciousness; it is also radically different in one respect. A human being can rise in consciousness during its lifetime, at least partly through his own efforts. Not only he can rise, he aspires to rise in consciousness. It is as if the evolutionary urge of the Divine, which has so far been worked out entirely by nature, has been planted in a corner of the human mind. That this is not fantasy has been shown by the phenomenal rise in consciousness that has been experienced by Yogis, Sufis and Mystics across religious and spiritual traditions. The highest level of expressed consciousness, as visualized by Sri Aurobindo and the Mother, is the Supramental consciousness. Between the ordinary human consciousness and the Supramental, there are many intermediate planes, viz. higher mind, illumined mind, intuitive mind, and over-mind. What do these planes signify in terms of our awareness? The ordinary human consciousness makes us perceive the world as a collection of separate objects and living beings. Plurality and differentiation are the hallmark of mental consciousness. The progressively higher levels of consciousness lead to a perception that the division, as ordinarily seen, is only part of the reality. Behind, above and beyond the reality characterized by division is a higher Reality characterized by unity. The perception of unity is rooted in the fact that the Supreme Consciousness inherent in all forms of manifestation – living and non-living – is identical; it is only the expressed fraction that is different. The highest level of consciousness expressed on earth till recently was the over-mind consciousness. Sri Aurobindo and the Mother’s goal was to bring the Supramental Consciousness down on earth. Their efforts bore fruit on 29 February 1956, exactly 56 years ago. It was on that day that the Mother saw the door guarding the Supramental, and She used her force to release it. What it means is that the earth’s atmosphere is now charged with supramental consciousness.

What are the practical implications of the descent of the Supramental on earth? It has created the possibility of the next milestone in the evolution of consciousness. Supramental consciousness will not be simply a much higher level of consciousness than any that our planet has seen; it will be a radically different kind of consciousness. According to Sri Aurobindo, the difference between the present mental consciousness and Supramental consciousness of the future will be much greater than that between animal consciousness and human consciousness. Therefore, it is difficult for us humans to visualize what the new consciousness will be like. But one thing seems clear. In contrast with mental consciousness which is rooted in division, Supramental consciousness will be rooted in oneness. Oneness implies collapse of the separative ego. Collapse of the separative ego implies elimination of selfishness and greed. That will be the ultimate solution to all human problems. That will be the beginning of a new world full of love, peace and joy. As Sri Aurobindo has said, “The power of love, of truth, of right will be there, not as a law mentally constructed but as the very substance and constitution of the nature…” The key to the new world order in the Supramental age will be a fundamental change in human nature. Now that the earth atmosphere is charged with the Supramental, we have the choice of waiting for the slow process of natural evolution to work out the next leap of consciousness, or to accelerate it through our efforts. The process of evolution can be accelerated by us because human beings have the capacity for rising in consciousness. If a sufficient number of persons work for raising their consciousness, they would also contribute to building up the critical mass of people that is necessary for influencing positively the way the world runs. Thus each of us can contribute to ushering in a new world order based on compassion, cooperation and contentment. As the Mother said, “The world is preparing for a big change. Will you help?”

The Proper Channel

The Proper Channel

A deep of compassion, a hushed sanctuary,

Her inward help unbarred a gate in heaven;

Love in her was wider than the universe,

The whole world could take refuge in her single heart.

Savitri, Book 1, Canto 2, p. 15.

The One who is invariably called The Mother in Aurobindonian institutions the world over was born Mirra Alfassa on 21 February 1878 in Paris. Although she had a contemplative disposition since childhood and had read the Gita in her youth, few would have imagined when she took walks in the Luxembourg Park in Paris, mingled with the artistic and literary circles of France, and studied occultism in Algeria that she would finally become the spiritual collaborator of Sri Aurobindo in Pondicherry (now called Puducherry) near the southern tip of India. But She and Sri Aurobindo must have known it, and they only had to wait for the right time for the two who were one to be brought geographically closer. When they met for the first time on 29 March 1914, there was instant recognition on both sides. But perhaps the right time had not yet come, and in less than a year Mirra went back, the apparent reason being that her husband was required in France to participate in the First World War. She came again on 24 April 1920, this time to stay in Pondicherry till she left her body in 1973. Soon after her second arrival in Pondicherry, She came to be called The Mother, a name that stuck because nothing else could have described her better. The first six years of her stay in Pondicherry were those of intense personal seeking of the Divine in solitude. However, this exclusive focus on inner work was interrupted after Sri Aurobindo went into seclusion on 24 November 1926. This was also the formal beginning of Sri Aurobindo Ashram, and right from its inception, Sri Aurobindo entrusted its full material and spiritual charge to the Mother.

Starting with just twenty-four disciples, it was under the care of the Mother that the Ashram grew and developed to house hundreds of seekers. As and when the need arose, she created different departments and a school, and set up systems, and into all these she brought the admirable Western traits of precision, punctuality, order and discipline. Perfection in outer work is an integral part of the life-affirming spiritual philosophy of Sri Aurobindo. Thus, the Mother gave a practical shape to Sri Aurobindo’s philosophy. As Sri Aurobindo has said, “All my realisations – Nirvana and others – would have remained theoretical, as it were, so far as the outer world was concerned. It is the Mother who showed the way to a practical form. Without her, no organized manifestation would have been possible.” Her vision of the Ashram was to create a place where spiritual seekers could pursue their highest aspirations without having to worry about basic physical needs such as food and shelter. And it was here that her maternal role was an asset to the inmates of the Ashram. Not only is there none better than a mother to take care of the physical needs of her children, on the spiritual quest also it is much more comfortable to have a mother who guides and protects than a teacher who instructs and evaluates. Spiritual quest is a seemingly endless journey, the requirements are stringent, and the seeker is a mere human riddled with weaknesses and failings (as goes a song: pankh hain komal, aankh hai dhundhlee; jaana hai saagar paar, i.e. the baby bird’s wings are weak and the vision is blurred, but its mission is to cross the ocean). Hence, it is very difficult to be the disciple of a guru; it is much easier to be her child. The Mother, with infinite maternal patience, answered all the questions of the seekers, even questions that were too simple, or simply silly. What the disciples saw in Her eyes was immense unconditional love, what they felt in Her lap was comfort of the carefree, and what they experienced under Her protection was abundant Grace. But above all, what the seeker seeks is communion with the Divine. It is the Divine to whom the seeker turns with all his aspirations. It is the Divine to whom the seeker turns over all his weaknesses for transformation. It is the Divine will to which the seekers surrenders his personal will. It is the Divine to whom the seeker can reveal all. It is the Divine to whom the seeker gives all. It is the Divine for whom the seeker does all. It is the Divine whom the seeker adores. Such communion is difficult to establish with the impersonal Divine. To the inmates of the Ashram, the Mother was the Divine in flesh and blood. And, what is even more significant is that her leaving the body has made no difference. To devotees all over the world, the Mother continues to be not only an indulgent all-providing mother but also the proper channel for communicating with the Divine.

You have only to aspire, to keep yourself open to the Mother, to reject all that is contrary to her will and to let her work in you – doing also all your work for her and in the faith that it is through her force that you can do it. If you remain open in this way, the knowledge and realisation will come to you in due course.

– Sri Aurobindo

BE A POST-IT-NOTE, NOT A POSTAGE STAMP

Only those who commune with the eternal essence within themselves and in all things can be eternally united.

– THE MOTHER

Attachments – be it to people or possessions – are rooted in ignorance. We get attached to people who are related to us by blood or marriage, and also to people whom we like because they are similar to us. Relationship is only a partial and superficial reality, and so is similarity. Deeper than the relationship to a few based on blood or marriage is the kinship to all based on the universal spirit of the Divine. Deeper than the similarity to a few based on language, race, colour, creed or opinions is the identity based on the One that resides in all. Being related to all sometimes seems like a high-sounding excuse for loving none. It is true that there are only a few people whom life brings in close contact with each of us. While I may feel a kinship with all, there is only a small sample of humanity available to me for showering my love and affection. Within this sample, to some I feel connected because of ties filial or superficial. Knowledge that goes deeper than the surface appearances should save me from the pitfall of getting attached to the few to whom I feel connected and becoming insensitive to the needs of others. The key is to feel concerned about all those who are around me without getting attached to any. It is attachment to a few that leads to concern for a few and indifference to the rest. Attachment is rooted in the separative ego, because when I feel attached to a few, the ‘I’ occupies centre-stage. Attachment also has built into it the pain of separation. If I am concerned but not attached, separation is easy because while each separation separates me from one set of people, it also brings me in contact with another set, to whom I feel equally close, about whom I am equally concerned, and on whom I can shower love and affection equally easily. I feel like a wave that is repeatedly merging with the ocean and re-emerging in contact with a new set of waves.

Attachment to possessions includes not only those that we use but also many that just belong to us. Attachment does not necessarily end with voluntary reduction in possessions. A hermit can be just as attached to his begging bowl as a householder to his furniture, or a scholar to his books. Attachment to possessions that ‘I’ think are ‘mine’, is due to the superficial reality of ‘I’ and ‘mine’ occupying centre-stage. Possessions are meant to be used and shared. They should be used with care and concern because matter is also a manifestation of the Divine. If I do not need them, they should be shared. But attachment is rooted in ignorance. The possessions are not mine; they have been given to me by the Divine. The possessions may be useful, but happiness does not reside in them. It is ignorance that breeds anxiety of anticipated loss, and pain of actual loss of possessions. Tena tyaktena bhunjitha, or renounce and enjoy, as says the Isha Upanishad. Apparently paradoxical, one can truly enjoy a possession only if it has been renounced within, which is the same as being not attached to it.

In short, we may be concerned about people and care for our possessions, but we should also be ready to give them up. We may stick to them, but only like the post-it-note that is always ready for an effortless separation. Attachment is like the postage stamp that so clings to the envelope that separation is both difficult and damaging.