Sri Aurobindo's - 'The Life Divine' - The Human Aspiration - Chapter I - The Human Aspiration - Track 504

Sri Aurobindo says that these limitations Nature wants to break, break in such a way that you don't need to seek knowledge, you already possess knowledge automatically. As easily as when you open your eyes and you see things, automatically. Similarly, a time must come when you say: "I want to learn The Life Divine" you just open the book and all the knowledge is in your mind. Today, people will simply laugh and say this is impossible. But this is what Sri Aurobindo says we have to develop in this very body, in this animal consciousness; a knowledge which is not sought after, a consciousness no longer seeking but possessed of Truth and Light. Again this word Truth is a very important one. Our present seeking of knowledge is a process of what is called trial and error. You try, then error is committed, you learn from the error, try to eliminate it and gradually build up a knowledge which is without error. And that too with many questionings when you ask: Is it really verified, hundred times verified, are we absolutely sure. Even then there are many questions. Whereas here, Sri Aurobindo speaks of a capacity of knowledge in which truth is automatic, there will be no error at all possible. A state of consciousness -- in which error can't enter. Human mind simply refuses to accept such a possibility. Is it ever possible to have a state of consciousness in which you just say, "I want to know"and knowledge comes to you, on the spot.

Once Mother was asked, when she has gone to see the sports ground of the Ashram - and they were complaining "We want to make a swimming pool but we don't know where the water is", and suddenly someone felt, let us ask the Mother. So the question was asked "Where to find the water?" And immediately the Mother said "Here where I am standing." And they dug and there was water. There was no seeking of knowledge. It is one of the good examples where you can have physical proof. When the question was asked it was not as if she looked and sat down and said, now let me think - nothing of that kind - on the spot, she said "Here where I am standing there is water here."

For example, how has The Life Divine been written? It is not through thinking, sitting down on the armchair for hours and hours and saying what will the first sentence be and the second sentence, is there harmony or not, is it a contradiction or not. Sri Aurobindo said that he uses to sit before the typewriter and with the complete silence of the mind he used just to type directly. It was not seeking and finding and all that sort of thing at all, the whole book is a direct knowledge. And not only one book, he wrote seven books in this manner, simultaneously. It is a marvel of consciousness. Seven books written, at the same time simultaneously. And books such as 'The Life Divine', 'The Synthesis of Yoga', 'The Secret of the Veda', 'Essays on the Gita', 'The Foundations of Indian Culture', 'The Ideal of Human Unity', 'The Human Cycle', 'The Future Poetry'. Imagine each book, and these books written from such quietude. The sea of knowledge pouring itself down, not seeking knowledge, but knowledge itself pouring down -- as it were. And you can see how difficult it is to write two sentences. I don't think even if you try for fifty years to write two sentences of this kind you will be able to write like this.

This is our present human consciousness. But it is in this consciousness that Sri Aurobindo says, such a consciousness can be born. And that will be the real marvel, the highest marvel of consciousness. So he says: "…there her ultimate miracle would be an animal consciousness no longer seeking but possessed of Truth and Light…", and then a farther capacity which is even more amazing "…with the practical omnipotence" - it is a very great word, practical omnipotence. Wherever there is knowledge there is power. All knowledge is power, if you have a knowledge which does not seek, but which possesses already, Truth and Light, the power is automatic. It will flow automatically. So, "with the practical omnipotence", practical means that all practical men will be satisfied. All those who say: we are practical, will be satisfied with this capacity. It is not only knowledge of theories and of the heavens but a practical knowledge of everything in the world, every detail. One of the things that struck all of us who used to go to the Mother was the practical omnipotence of the Mother. It is a fact seen in daily life. It was not as if you had to tell the Mother what Deepti had written to her. She may allow you to read out the letter of Deepti, but you can be sure that she knew already what was in Deepti's letter. So that sometimes when you said: "Mother I want to read out to you" and she had no time she said " Allright, you give this answer to her." Already the answer was given to her. That means she was allowing you to read a letter only as a kind of courtesy, just to give you a chance to speak to her, to tell her, to put a problem to her. But for her it was omnipotence, it was not only a question of answering a question but doing it immediately.

Once I had a tremendous pain over here (abdomen), excruciating pain. I was taken to Jipmer. I was 32 years old at that time. And the doctors could not at all find what was the reason of this pain? Ultimately they decided to make surgery over this portion of the body just to find out what is wrong. This is called diagnostic surgery. They knew nothing as to what was wrong, just to find out what was wrong they said we should have surgery. Before they did it I sent word to the Mother. I had a big problem at that time, so I sent this proposal to the Mother and also the problem. The problem was: this was 12 of August 1971, and there was going to be a very big assembly of people in Delhi and I was asked to speak to that assembly on 15 of August. And I was here in the bed with an excruciating pain. There was a tremendous pressure, a telegram had already come that I must immediately go to Delhi to address this assembly, my name was printed on the programme. This pain had come so suddenly I had not answered immediately. So I sent a word to the Mother: "I have excruciating pain. Doctors want to do diagnostic surgery and I have to attend a program in Delhi. Tell me what answer I should give." Mother said: "If you have faith come out of the hospital at once - this was her answer to me - and prepare to go to Delhi." It was amazing. When I told the doctors that I wanted to go out of the hospital they said: "Look we will not allow you to go out. You will die at once." So I said: "I want to die but let me come out of the hospital." Mother had said: "You come out of the hospital", it was finished, over. I came out of the hospital. They took my signature over a document that "…on his own will he has decided to come out of the hospital when we have advised him not to go out." And then they said alright you may go out but don't fly, because if you fly you will die in the airplane. I went from the hospital straight to the Mother and she asked "where is the pain". So I said "Here Mother, it is an excruciating pain". She put her hand here (abdomen region) and it was like cotton, absolutely smooth, no pain at all. It was gone. The next day I flew to Delhi, I gave the lecture; I stayed for a few days and came back. This is a fact.

This is called practical omnipotence. This was a practical fact, there was a pain, you cannot think that there was no pain. It was excruciating pain and doctors were not able to see where the pain came from. But this incident is one of the important facts in my life. I am still standing before you. Doctors told me that if I flew I would die. And it did not happen, I just went there and I gave a very good lecture at that time and I came back after sometime. So here, this is one example of practical omnipotence.