The interpretation of Vijyana by Sri Aurobindo in the Bhagwat Gita is also the same as that of Sri Ramakrishna. Did he use the same term for different things in different commentaries? Or is he right in suggesting that Sri Ramakrishna had the realisation of the Supermind, which doesn’t seem to be the case from the Letters on Yoga?
The idea of the Supermind has been there since the Vedas. Apart from being a logical necessity, it must have been glimpsed from afar, from the planes of the Intuitive Mind through the veil of the Overmind. To take an example, we all knew that the moon exists, but none had gone there. Or to take another example, we knew that the sun exists, but no one had found a way to tap its tremendous power for the good of the earthly life. These two Letters of Sri Aurobindo explain this well.
‘The idea of the supermind, the Truth-Consciousness is there in the Rig Veda according to Sri Aurobindo’s interpretation and in one or two passages of the Upanishads, but in the Upanishads it is there only in seed in the conception of the being of knowledge, vijñānamaya puruṣa, exceeding the mental, vital and physical being; in the Rig Veda the idea is there but in principle only, it is not developed and even the principle of it has disappeared from the Hindu tradition.’
(Ref. https://incarnateword.in/cwsa/29/the-yoga-of-the-bhagavad-gita#p14)
And in another letter (below) written to his brother Barin in 1920, he reveals.
‘After fifteen years I am only now rising into the lowest of the three levels of the Supermind and trying to draw up into it all the lower activities. But when the process is complete, there is not the least doubt that God through me will give this supramental perfection to others with less difficulty. Then my real work will begin.’
(Ref. https://incarnateword.in/cwsa/09/letters-to-barin#p7)
In other words, seeing the Supermind through a translucent veil as well as knowing it through the intuitive mind has been done. Sri Aurobindo himself knew about it thus. But to ascend to it, enter into it, organise its workings within himself, work towards establishing it upon earth as the new evolutionary power and finally, prepare humanity to receive and undergo the supramental transformation were all the further work given to Sri Aurobindo. One also has to note the difference between knowing and realising. I may intuitively know that God exists, I may even have glimpses of God in different aspects of His totality and yet, I may not have realised God and, even if realised, may not be able to give the same realisation to others.
Affectionately,
Alok Da
