Chapter Two   Specific Avatars and Vibhutis   The Ten Avatars as a Parable of Evolution   Avatarhood would have little meaning if it were not connected with the evolution. The Hindu procession of the ten Avatars is itself, as it were, a parable of evolution. First the Fish Avatar, then the amphibious animal between land and water, then the land animal, then the Man-Lion Avatar, bridging man and animal, then man as dwarf, small and undeveloped and physical but containing in himself the godhead and taking possession of existence, then the rajasic, sattwic, nirguna Avatars, leading the human development from the vital rajasic to the sattwic mental man and ag

Chapter Eight   The Physical Consciousness   The Physical Consciousness and Its Parts   The physical consciousness is that part which directly responds to physical things and physical Nature, sees the outer only as real, is occupied with it —not like the thinking mind with thought and knowledge, or like the vital with emotion, passion, subtler satisfaction of desire. If this part is obscure, then it is difficult to bring into it the consciousness of deeper or spiritual things, feelings etc. even when the mind or the vital are after these deeper things.   *   You ask whether the mind and vital do not come in the way as well as the

Chapter Six   The Mind   Mind in the Integral Yoga and in Other Indian Systems   The "Mind" in the ordinary use of the word covers indiscriminately the whole consciousness, for man is a mental being and mentalises everything; but in the language of this Yoga, the words mind and mental are used to connote specially the part of the nature which has to do with cognition and intelligence, with ideas, with mental or thought perceptions, the reactions of thought to things, with the truly mental movements and formations, mental vision and will etc. that are part of his intelligence. The vital has to be carefully distinguished from mind, even though it has a mind elem

Part Two   The Parts of the Being and the Planes of Consciousness       Section One   The Organisation of the Being     Chapter One   The Parts of the Being   Men Do Not Know Themselves   Men do not know themselves and have not learned to distinguish the different parts of their being; for these are usually lumped together by them as mind, because it is through a mentalised perception and understanding that they know or feel them; therefore they do not understand their own states and actions, or, if at all, then only on the surface. It is part of the foundation of Yoga to become conscious of

Chapter Four   The Self or Atman   The Self   It [the self] is being, not a being. By self is meant the conscious essential existence, one in all.   *   The self is the Divine itself in an essential aspect; it is not a portion. There is no meaning in the phrase "not even a portion" or "only an aspect". An aspect is not something inferior to a portion.   *   Do you not know what "essential" means? There is a difference between the essence of a thing which is always the same and its formations and developments which vary. There is, for instance, the essence of gold and there are the many forms which gold can ta

Section Two   Help and Guidance     Help from the Guide   Satsanga   It is a traditional belief that satsanga has great effect —  the nearness or the personal contact of a spiritual person is supposed to produce great benefit to those who are in his company. How is it then that your earliest companions here did not derive any benefit from your company?   I don't know that the theory of satsanga can be taken so rigorously as that. Company always has an effect, but it may be less or more or even for the most part nullified by things in the person's own consciousness or nature or by other a

The Terminology of His Writings   Spiritual and Supramental   Krishnaprem has always complained (and quite naturally) that it was difficult to get the right meaning of the "technical terms" used by you. . . . Of course a full expounding of the difference between Spiritualisation and Supramentalisation would fatten into a volume, but is it not possible just to indicate why the one is called partial transformation and the other complete transformation? Also in what way the supramental consciousness-force is not identical with the spiritual.   If spiritual and supramental were the same thing, then all the sages and devotees

Section Two   The Practice of Yoga in the Ashram and the Outside World       The Ashram and the Outside World   Pressure of the Environment   Is it possible that thoughts and suggestions come to sadhaks from people in the town who think about us in a critical or hostile way?   It is not only likely but certain that it happens. The pressure of the environment is always there and it becomes more effective for suggestion if there are any in the Asram itself who are accustomed to mix and receive freely the impacts of the people there. 20 May 1933   *   Some boys

General Remarks on the Sadhana of the 1930s   "A Far Greater Truth"   In a letter dated November 1928, you speak of "a far greater Truth than any yet realised on the earth". Does this mean that the realisation of the Divine which this world is witnessing at present in the person of Sri Aurobindo eclipses the Light of all the previous Divine Descents of which humanity is aware? Or, is it to be construed as meaning that Sri Aurobindo does not call himself the Avatar but the Divine, having realised the Divine on earth?   "A far greater Truth" has nothing to do with Avatarhood or anything of the kind. I meant by it the

Therapeutic Force and Healing   Spiritual Force and the Body   It is a pity that X could not write all this time. Formerly when she wrote often she used to get better after writing. It is also a pity that she has been told by the doctors that she is not going to live; even if it is true, such a thing should not be told unless in case of necessity (which does not exist in her case), for it takes away much of the power of resistance and diminishes what chances of cure and survival there were. X's physical destiny has always been against her but this is a thing that can be cancelled if one can have sufficient fai