The Ascent towards Supermind, Part II, Chapter XXVI - The Ascent towards Supermind 107

So, something of this kind happens, is experienced that when you make a small movement of development of consciousness an influx takes place. Whitehead is not completely wrong in speaking of ingressive evolution. This was a discovery made long ago by the Vedic Rishis. In fact the reason why Whitehead has been able to speak of this ingression can be traced also to this fact that Whitehead was a great follower of Plato. Plato who lived 2000 years ago, Whitehead in 20th Century but he derived much of his philosophical wisdom from Plato. If you study Plato, you will find that basic ideas of Plato were taken from the Upanishads and Upanishads are derived from the Vedas. The Vedic discoveries are at the root even of this latest theory of evolution, which seems to come to us from far of lands.

What was the basic discovery of the Vedic Rishis? I have spoken earlier, but in this context, I will repeat. The Vedic seers discovered that there are three worlds, of which we are normally aware, which they called prithvi, antariksha and dhyau. Dhyau is heaven, antariksha is the atmosphere and prithvi is earth. These three words they are used symbolically that earth is the principle of Matter, antariksha is the principle of Life, and dhyau is the principle of Mind. So, they had discovered that there are three things of which we are quite normally aware – physical world, vital world, mental world; we see all the three interconnected here. We see a human being who is mental, vital and physical all the three intertwined.

But they discovered that there is a world where there is only life, there is another world where there is only mind and there is a world, where there is only physical like the present world in which we are living is basically physical. So, they had discovered the three worlds – the world of Matter, the world of Life and the world of Mind. But then they discovered a fourth world, this was regarded as one of the greatest discovery of the Vedic Rishis. A story is told in the Rig Veda that nine rishis were doing a lot of effort to go beyond limitations, whatever were the limitations they were trying to go beyond their limitations, as we are trying to go beyond our limitation. We make an effort, on and on, but they were not able to cross over the limitations. Then came a helper called Ayasya and he gave the help in such a way that whereas previously they were not able to sustain the effort beyond a certain period called nine periods, he was able to sustain the effort for ten periods. Therefore, without Ayasya they were called Navagwas with him were called Dashagwas and with that sustained effort of ten periods, they were able to break the limitations. Limitations of the mind plane and they discovered the fourth plane Turiyam Swid, the fourth world.

Turiyam means fourth and Swid means world and they discovered that the fourth world is full of light, automatic light. It is like discovering, one who have seen only night and one day they suddenly wakes up and the whole day there is light and no sign of fading light at all. Similar were the experience of these Rishis that mind is like the night and when they could break the limitations of the mind they arrived at a kind of world which was full of light, inextinguishable light. And they use this very word ‘ahaha’ ‘ah’ means the day, as we got ‘saptah’, seven days is called saptah. So they say, ‘ahaha’ we discovered, – the day which can never end, unending light, unending day. This was discovered; where there is continious light there can’t be obstruction. If there is no obstruction there can’t be an error, therefore, it was a world of Truth, where Truth was known automatically, you don’t have to make effort to find out the Truth. You don’t have to make an effort to expand yourself, expansion was automatic. There was no effort to rule out a wrong action, wrong action was impossible because all wrong action is because of error and falsehood. Where error and falsehood don’t exist, wrong action can’t exist. Where there is a constant perception of the truth and the right, all actions will be the right actions. So, they discovered the world of the Truth, the right and the vast. This is what they called Satyam, Ritam, Brihat, – these three great words that they tried to expound this knowledge that this world that was discovered was this world, and this was the capacity of consciousness. By developing consciousness they entered into a world, where the day does not set at all, it’s a constant daylight and you can remain there forever. They call it the home of immortality, the sun does not set there at all.

Having seen this world they declared that this is the place which is the highest goal of all of us. We are now discovering that we are all doing this labour for what? There is further intention to break this limitation to be able to live there. So, the Vedic realizations were the realizations of this plane which Sri Aurobindo says that very few people have gone there. It is the Vedic Rishis who have gone there but that consciousness is so different from our night that to describe it is very difficult for us. Sri Aurobindo speaks of the truth, the right and the vast in the last two lines of the first paragraph that is the description of the Veda, of the Supermind. So, they have discovered the Supermind and they had also given some kind of a hint as a result of which today we can again re-ascend. The process by which you can ascend in this supermind was somewhat explained by them but not fully.