“… With the supramental change, the very thing on which you insist, the possibility of the free physical meeting of the embodied Divine with the sadhak without conflict of forces and without undesirable reactions becomes possible, assured and free. That too is, I suppose, something aloof and undesirable? I could go on — for pages, but this is enough for the moment.” – What is meant by embodied Divine and Sadhak meeting? What is meant by the embodied Divine and Sadhak meeting? Please clarify when you get time.
[Bhakti Yoga and Vaishnavism: https://incarnateword.in/cwsa/29/bhakti-yoga-and-vaishnavism]
This is a letter written to Dilip Kumar Roy, who was into the traditional bhakti of Krishna. He wondered if the supramental could provide the kind of joy that one ordinarily finds through bhakti. Sri Aurobindo answers that not only will it do so, but so much more, including the experience of the joy and love and even union of the Divine Beloved in the very physical.
Yes, the embodied Divine means the Avatar. It does not have any type of physical relationship with the Divine Master, but the whole experience of it in the body without any kind of physical contact. It is known as Sarirananda. I know of some who have had the experience of it. It is a real, concrete union felt in the body, more real than what any physical intimacy can ever bring.
(Follow-up Question:)
Maybe some can experience this unity in a dream, but what you say is totally different. No bodily contact, even in dreams. It’s like, without touching the food, without smelling the food, without tasting the food, without even seeing the food, when one is terribly hungry, if one experiences the excellent taste of the food and feels the stomach full, a complete satisfaction, a fulfilled feeling, much more than real eating. Is it that way?
More than that, since the satisfaction through earthly things is through the lens of conditioning and limited bodily mechanisms. This is direct, undiluted, provided our body is ready and can bear.
(Follow-up Question:)
It’s the satisfaction that Sage Durvasa experienced when Sri Krishna ate Droupadi’s food in the forest. Am I Right?
Yes. 🌻
Affectionately,
Alok Da
