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In the evolutionary hierarchy, it is not enough to rise to the heights by dropping out our dynamic parts and live a blissful life though that can be done. Our whole being must rise in an integral transformation into the spiritual consciousness. For that a mere heightening to a new principle is not enough, it has to be complemented by a widening into a larger field where the new principle may have sufficient field for its emergence in divine splendour. This action will involve a taking up of the lower into the higher values. Our mental, vital and physical life would not be destroyed but would become more perfect and powerful in that divine change which would not be possible in their unspirtualised condition.
Constitutional ignorance
Thus evolution is not only heightening but also widening and integralisation and is a growth out of the sevenfold ignorance into the integral knowledge. The basic ignorance is the constitutional ignorance. It manifests into a manifold ignorance where we are unaware of the true nature of our becoming, limited by the plane we inhabit and the present predominant principle of our nature. At present we inhabit the plane of Matter and the present predominant principle is the mental intelligence with the sense-mind that depends upon Matter. Consequently, the preoccupation of mental intelligence working through the sense-mind and with life as has been worked out in a compromise between life and matter is the stamp of constitutional Ignorance. This "natural materialism or materialised vitalism" (Ibid, pg.757) is a form of self-restriction that is initially needed but ultimately needs to be outgrown towards a real progress. After all, our ignorance is not entire but a limitation of consciousness restricted by purely material existence that results in a falsifying knowledge which needs to be outgrown.
Mental being
The preoccupation with material life is an initial requisite but that alone is not sufficient. Even though physical Science triumphs by widening of physical objective knowledge, it can give us comfort but not happiness and fullness of being. At the next step we have to enter into a freer play of our mental existence because our expressive nature depends upon mind and not matter. This growth into our mental being is the first transitional movement towards more perfection and freedom. It does not liberate the soul but prepares the first climbing out of Ignorance.
The human being is characteristically a mental being but initially is a mentalised animal, preoccupied first with his body's demands and then with the impulses and desires of life. As one grows up in evolution and assumes a distinct selfhood and a taste of independence, one gradually gets free from the irrational demands of the body and life and grows up in stature. "On one side, mind by its emancipation controls and illumines the life and physicality; on the other, the purely mental aims, occupations, pursuits of knowledge begin to get a value". (Ibid, pg.759) The mind gets increasingly subtler while the vital and the physical are made instruments of reason and an enlightened will, ethical values and aesthetic traits. Such an accomplishment makes the race a truly humanistic race.
Morality
Such a perception of life influenced Greek thinkers and enriched Hellenic culture but over time, this perception was lost. Spirituality was relegated to morality which had to persevere against the demands of a dominant vital urge. Finally, the moral values, deprived of spiritual backing became ineffective. On the other hand, the vital urge assisted by a great development of physical intelligence became the main motivation and preoccupation of the race. A certain type of knowledge and efficiency increased at the cost of spiritual bankruptcy.
Spiritual being
Our usual mind does not carry the full effulgence of consciousness but at best is a "qualified half-light". (Ibid, pg.760) Even the ordinary mind which relies on rational science does not know the full ranges of our physical consciousness. We are not merely embodied minds but are spiritual beings too. There is a spiritual principle and a spiritual nature to which we have to heighten and widen infinitely and into that take up our lower life to use it for greater potentials. We have to have an integral development of the whole life and the full ranges of being so that we can overcome the constitutional ignorance and change into our true being and becoming. Beyond our imperfect mental instrumentation, we carry other exalted powers native to our spiritual nature. They can also become instruments of our own enlarged nature. We have to develop them to progress integrally so as to conquer Ignorance.
Psychological ignorance
The conquest of the constitutional ignorance is incomplete without the conquest of psychological ignorance for the two are linked. Our psychological ignorance is related to our limited self-knowledge with which we assess our superficial being which again is limited to our conscient waking self. This part of the being represents an automatic continuity of formless or half formulated movements held together by an active surface memory and interpreted by our sensory perception and reason. But actually it is held and supported by an occult existence of a secret being without which the superficial being could not have existed or acted. Our usual superficial consciousness is limited and imperfect and moves in restricted circles except those rare moments where intimations from our secret being are available to us. But these occasional visitations fail to enlarge us beyond our usual capacities. We have to enlarge our repertoire of experience. We have to draw freely from ranges that are yet subliminal or secretly intraconscient and circumconscient or else superconscient to us. Not only that, we have to enter these higher or deeper parts of ourselves by a deliberate plunge of disciplined penetration. We must start living within and "act from the inner depths and from a soul that has become sovereign over the nature." (Ibid, pg.762)
Date of Update:
30-Jan-26
- By Dr. Soumitra Basu
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