Sri Aurobindo's - 'The Life Divine' - The Human Aspiration - Chapter I - The Human Aspiration - Track 1204
For a long time we have evaded the questions about God, Light, Freedom, Immortality. Ultimately humanity has produced a nuclear bomb. By denying God, Light, Freedom, Immortality in the free time humanity has produce a bomb. And now you find not only one bomb but hundreds and thousands of bombs already in stock. And we know that sometime some foolish men can come in control of these bombs and can trigger them off. The whole humanity can be destroyed. And today's question before humanity is: Can we prevent such a man coming to power? The power to open this stock-pile and throw the bombs on humanity. What is the guarantee? How could you prevent it? It is a very immediate question. Without knowing, we are sitting on a volcano. Supposing there is a volcano. You don't know there is a volcano. You are sitting nicely having a good excursion. You have a dance party, you have an eating party, you have all fun and joy without realizing there is a volcano burning and can erupt suddenly and your whole party may be destroyed. We are in that condition today. We are sitting today on a volcano, because the bombs are already there, not that we are going to manufacture them tomorrow. They are already manufactured. They are only stocked. Is there any solution? We are now in search of an immediate solution. Is there any solution by which we can prevent some mad men coming to power? It is not difficult to come to power these days. If you have a lot of money, and today you can get a lot of money also, it is not very difficult. All those who are in power today know how easy it is to get money. And they are amassing money. If you have a sufficient amount of money you can come to the top of power, it is not difficult, it is not impossible. Now that being the case if one of these people who come to power becomes mad and he has got the key to open the stock of bombs the whole of humanity can be destroyed tomorrow, instantaneously.
Therefore humanity is today asking for immediate solution. The only solution could be in wisdom. Madness can be cured only by wisdom. Is it possible to inject wisdom into humanity? This is the question. So that such mad people will not come to power. Or even that the madman can be cured of his madness if wisdom can be given. But if you say, you refuse to believe that there is another method, then you remain where you are, the crisis remains constantly, you will not be able to cure the problem. Therefore Sri Aurobindo says that even though attempts have been made to stop your questionings, even if they have said: "don't make further enquiries, there is no such a possibility at all". Such evasions are never permanent in their effects. Mankind returns knocking the doors of questioning to find out other means of knowledge and in search of immediate solutions. They want these now; there is no waiting for it, they want a solution now.
That is what Sri Aurobindo says: "Mankind returns from them with a more vehement impulse of inquiry or a more violent hunger for an immediate solution." Immediate solution. "By that hunger mysticism profits…" Let us define the word mysticism. Mysticism means search or enquiry beyond what is now known, into that which is mysterious, that which is secret, that which is unknown, into the depths, so as to bring out that which is mysterious, that which is spiritual, that which is secret. That is the meaning of mysticism, when you return with hunger, as a result of it, mysticisms profits. The search into the secret, into the unknown, into the mystic reality, the spiritual reality, that search, profits. Large numbers of people then begins to search for God, once again. And new religions flower. There is so much revolt against the old religions, because they are found to be insufficient and new religions begin to flower. That is the condition of today. You will find today how many new religions are arising in the world. Old religions are reviving, new religions are springing forth because mankind has found something terrible and it wants immediate solution.
"By that hunger mysticism profits and new religions arise to replace the old that have been destroyed or stripped of significance by a scepticism…" The old religions have been doubted, but doubt, scepticism which itself could not satisfy. Even the state of doubt is not satisfying; therefore scepticism is also thrown out. Why scepticism could not satisfy? Because although its business is enquiry it was unwilling sufficiently to enquire. Bertrand Russell whose business was enquiry refuses to enquire. Very literally, openly, "we refuse to believe." So although his business was to enquire, he should ask: "All right! We cannot find the solution to the present problems then let us enquire further". But no! His business is to enquire but he is not prepared to enquire. Therefore even that kind of scepticism will be thrown away, old religions will be thrown away; even doubt will be thrown away. And then the real mysticism will prosper.
"The attempt to deny or stifle a truth because it is yet obscure in its outward workings and too often represented by obscurantist superstition or a crude faith, is itself a kind of obscurantism. The will to escape from a cosmic necessity because it is arduous, difficult to justify by immediate tangible results, slow in regulating its operations, must turn out eventually to have been no acceptance of the truth of Nature but a revolt against the secret, mightier will of the great Mother."