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(a) A disharmony between the different planes of consciousness is the norm
for the Mind, Life and Body are usually at variance with one another. This
disharmony is inevitable as it ‘has been created by the evolution itself in its
three successive formations of Matter, Life and Mind, each with its own law
of working’ (The Life Divine, pg.228). The Mind might demand a greater
support from Life but Life might not be able to supply the requisite vitality
or can be constrained by limitations imposed by the Body. It is just like that
one fine day a subject might be inspired to work for a long time but the
Body can rebel with a headache or a subject who is in deep emotional
bondage with another may have mental doubts about the relation. Or that
one wanted to spend a jolly evening with friends and music but the Mind
had inhibitions with some of the guests or that the Body could not support
the vitality. The Mind might impose physical austerities and restrict life’s
cravings to enforce an ascetic discipline but Life can also rebel with an
upsurge of its vital demands. ‘The Mind is at war with both (Life & Body):
sometimes it helps the Life against the Body, sometimes restrains the vital
urge and seeks to protect the corporeal frame from life’s desires, passions
and over-driving energies; it also seeks to possess the Life and turn its
energy to the mind’s own ends, to the utmost joys of the mind’s own
activity, to the satisfaction of mental, aesthetic, emotional aims and their
fulfilment in human existence; and the Life too finds itself enslaved and misused and is in frequent insurrection against the ignorant half-wise tyrant
seated above it. This is the war of our members which the mind cannot
satisfactorily resolve…’ (Ibid, pg.228-229).
The perpetual war between Life, Mind and Body gets accentuated because
the mental ego who tries to mediate between the three is skewed in its
action and cannot effectuate a harmony, it can only effectuate adjustments
and compromises or else get out of the problem by favoring an ascetic
solution. It is impossible for the limited mental ego to deal with the
unlimited demands of the being. The Mind finds that it can never cope with
the aspiration for immortality in a mortal life and body. The true solution is
beyond the ambit of the Mind – it lies in finding ‘the principle beyond Mind
of which Immortality is the law and in conquering by it the mortality of our
existence’ (Ibid, pg.229)
(b) There is a more fundamental disharmony which is that each plane of
consciousness has an in-built contradiction within itself, each is divided
within itself. ‘Not only is there a division between the mental, the vital and
the physical being, but each of them is also divided against itself (Ibid).
Each embodied plane of consciousness is projected in the manifestation by
a soul-principle or Purusha proper to that plane. The soul-principle itself is a
delegate from eternity and as such has a source beyond the manifestation
but the projected plane lies in the manifestation limited by space and time.
Thus the unlimited capacity of the soul-principle cannot be reflected or
pursued by the embodied plane that is limited in the manifestation. The
physical plane which is projected by the physical Purusha (Annamaya
Purusha) always falls short of its expectations. It is likewise with the Vital
Purusha (Pranamoya Purusha) and the Mental Purusha (Manomoya
Purusha). ‘For the soul is the inner consciousness which aspires to its own
complete self-realisation and therefore always exceeds the individual
formation of the moment, and the Force which has taken its poise in the
formation is always pushed by its soul to that which is abnormal to the
poise, transcendent of it; thus constantly pushed it has much trouble in
answering’ (Ibid).
The external being thus finds it strenuous to meet the demands of the triple
soul. As a result it becomes ‘distracted and driven to set instinct against
instinct, impulse against impulse, emotion against emotion, idea against idea ,
satisfying this, denying that, then repenting and returning on what it has done,
adjusting, compensating, readjusting ad infinitum, but not arriving at any
principle of unity’ (Ibid, pg.229-230).
Things are complicated by the fact that even in the projected mental plane,
there is no consonance between knowledge and will. One may have a
theoretical knowledge but lack the effectuating power. Or else a strong will
power may not be backed by a sound wisdom. It is only in the Supermind
that there is a conscious unity of all diversities; ‘there alone will and
knowledge are equal and in perfect harmony; there alone Consciousness
and Force arrive at their divine equation’ (Ibid.pg.230).
Date of Update:
20-Dec-18
- By Dr. Soumitra Basu
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