The quest of our ancient sages was to discover the divine through the subtle, the consciousness. But those great rishis who discovered the Divine in this way could not bring the fruit of their discovery to others; the great scriptures and knowledge notwithstanding!
[ In this context, you’d recall Hermann Hesse’s epic story ‘Siddhartha’ and the dialogue between Siddhartha and Lord Buddha. Siddhartha says to the venerable Buddha that ” You have reached the highest goal. You have found salvation. It has come to you through your own search, thoughts, meditations, realizations, tapasya and enlightenment. It has not come to you from teachings. ….(and similarly) your teachings do not contain the mystery of your experience and can not pass the experience to others! “]
Further, that Sri Aurobindo’s and Mother’s quest was such that the fruit of their tapasya could be brought to the whole humanity! Is that correct?
Now, my question:
Please correct me if I am wrong.
If I am correct, please guide me so that I can be part of and a beneficiary of Sri Aurobindo’s and Mother’s ongoing work.
The quest of Science is for Truth and Truth is indeed one of the aspects of the One Divine Reality. There are other aspects such as Love, Beauty, Peace, Ananda that are not the purview of Science but of Art, Music, Poetry.
No doubt all these different fields of Knowledge share their discoveries is its application, but not everyone can understand the truths or the principles behind them, or the intricate mathematical formulas that the scientist discovers. So there is a core that is accessible only to the few. The rest enjoy the fruits.
In spiritual seeking too, only a few are ready to rediscover the truths and principles of existence that the Rishis discover. That is why the yoga, or the path of this discovery was given only to the few initiates. The rest enjoyed the fruits, such as the laws and ways of life, called as Dharma, which was the practical application of the discoveries made by the Rishis.
However, since modern Science primarily deals with matter and the laws of matter, its limits are the laws of material existence, the Dharma of material life, so to speak.
Broadly, the field of application of the scientist was the outer material world, whereas that of the Rishis was primarily the inner psychological and subjective world. The meeting point between the two was missing, though attempts were made from both sides to bridge the gap.
It is here that Sri Aurobindo brings the needed synthesis and integration. He has found the reconciling truth between the material and the spiritual life, the way to integrate the two, even to master the physical world and the human body by higher spiritual means. This is another kind of fruit that he brings and shares with us. His yoga is meant to impact not just the inner subjective conditions of life but also the outer material. But that would be a different detailed discussion.
Affectionately,
Alok Da
