The Ascent towards Supermind, Part II, Chapter XXVI - The Ascent towards Supermind 307

When this kind of consciousness develops the progression of the world occurs. When this does not happen, the old cycles go on repeating there is no progression. But when our consciousness really makes a choice, which is always possible for you to choose because it is always there – you make a choice and it will be different. Therefore, in the progression from our present level to the supermind this element becomes more and more prominent. This is also called a battle with destiny. In fact this the theme of the great epic Savitri – Satyavan must die, it was a compulsion and yet Savitri made the decision. She choose this shall not happen and as a result of the battle, she arrived at a point that even when the event took place, Satyavan died, but she could change that situation and make Satyavan alive. There was a destiny in which Satyavan was to die and that was end of the matter, whereas here she changed the whole situation and conquered the situation. This is what is called the mastery of the individual over fate.

The whole of the Vedic teaching is that you can change the fate there is no fatalism in the Vedic teaching. The fate is there as long as you choose it you are free to choose it. But you can also change it if you choose it. How to choose it and what is to be done that is the whole secret of the Veda. In the entire Veda the main subject is how to change the destiny, the fate. The true experience of the individual is when you exercise your true Free-Will. At any stage you make an effort to cling to the truth – it’s a choice to be made. Even when there is a compulsion on you, you just say that I really want to cling to the truth. This choice will make it possible. Mother had hung a small board just near her door, ‘cling to the truth’. That is the greatest message for every individual, you just decide to cling to the Truth, take a decision, all kinds of compulsions will be there in your life and you will be able to justify everything that happens and you can surely say that what happens had to happen. Still continue to say, it could have been better and next time you can do it better by taking a decision to cling to the truth. As you progress in this individuation, you make a distinction between the ego and the individual. Ego does not have this choice therefore, when you try to choose egoistically, you will always be the puppet of the circumstances.

It is only when you go deeper than the egoistic consciousness that you really find the possibility of changing, of doing otherwise, of realizing a alternative which was present, but which was impossible to realize and the more you bring it out the more you experience your true individuality and is greatly helped by the psychic consciousness. The psychic consciousness is a delegate of the Divine. It is a spark which has sprung from the divine fire itself. If you visualize Divine as fire, a huge fire then each one of us is a spark of that fire that fire is giving rise to sparks and each one of us is that spark. And that spark is a gift of the Divine to us. The individual who has now been covered by all kinds of compulsions that individual is helped by this boon. And each spark is actually in the image of your true individuality; your true individuality is ‘Jivatman’. This spark is your psychic entity and as it goes on expressing the Free-Will, it goes on changing your compulsion, more and more, newer and better alternatives begin to arise in your life. A new life is born and as that happens, psychic entity begins to develop as a psychic being, it grows into the image of the true individuality and this being goes on into our personality and thus it goes on creating greater and greater freedom. The original freedom of which I spoke begins to grow more and more in your life.

At the highest level of course there are thousands of alternatives, each one of which is equally best, but even at this level more and more alternatives of that kind begin to arise in your life. You become like a musician, who is a master of ten or twelve different instruments and he can play on all of them equally well and then he can only choose whether he wants to play this way, or that way, or that way and each one is as beautiful as the other one. Each piece of music that he will produce will be equally good, so this kind of possibility goes on increasing as psychisization takes place.

So, for your ascent to the supermind this entire process is a prerequisite. When it reaches its climax the true individual is uncovered that is only the spark under the shadow of ashes. Now he himself becomes the fire and melts or unites with the Supreme and therefore, partakes of the freedom that is in the Supreme because he is only the centration of this freedom, of that free spirit. So for him same possibilities arise as God possibilities and whatever he wills is willed by God and whatever God wills is willed by him, there is no conflict between the two. To reach this point the greatest instrument is progressive surrender, to come out of egoism and to enter into this consciousness the greatest method is that of surrender our present condition, egoistic condition. Let this egoism surrender knowing well its real position is the real puppet in the whole drama it is easier to surrender. When you know that you are only a puppet and this individual which is a spark is unable to convert our lower being and moves forward towards the Supreme making sacrifice of all the lower being into the Divine and purifies all that is below us in the lower consciousness and this has to be aided and this will be aided by the supreme freedom which is above and which will pour down. A descent from above and ascent from below by progressive surrender, − when there is a junction of the two, there will be a miraculous transformation. Unimaginable transformation takes place when the two unite. Merely effort from below is not enough – there can be a movement by your effort, something of the higher can be drawn into you, but that which is drawn into you will be modified by the lower. Only that which is brought down by your effort will be subject to this modification but that which descends on its own, the Supreme that will not be modified. All other levels of consciousness between Mind and Supermind can be modified, but Supermind is the greatest power which when it comes down on its own, it will not be subject to modification. It comes with the Supreme omnipotent power that’s the specialty of Supermind because it is the comprehensive power; it’s a power of complete freedom. This is the first condition of which Sri Aurobindo speaks, − for ascent from Mind to Supermind. This whole gamut of experience of individuality, where true individual becomes the master and the lower is offered to the Divine and the Supermind begins to descend in completion of it, this is one aspect of ascent to the Supermind.