Yoga of Synthesis: At the gateway of new Civilisation, Culture and Ideals of the Aquarian Age

  Having spent last three weeks of this year in Sri Aurobindo ashram and as the year 2023 comes to an end, let me recollect some of those small achievements of the year 2023 - 1. A precise concrete mathematical expression (Ray 5) for synthesis ! (one leg of formula was recognized by rigorous category theoretic quantum physicist Prof. Bob Coecke in 2019, yet he recommends me to give concrete applications of law of cause and effect. Let's see how it evolves as per the inner voice of ashram !) 2. Personal discovery of Savitri: Recovering lost symbolic meaning of the epic (of first subrace of the fifth rootrace) as a supreme revelation (a ray 4 and 6 expression of ageless wisdom) of Sri Aurobindo. (personally for me it was a soothing harmonizing experience; especially having too long experienced a fragmented view of a concrete mind) 3. Discovering new friends (from the other end of globe especially from Morya federation of our beloved Micheal D Robbins, molecular group of our beloved J...

"Earth’s grain that needs the sap of pleasure and tears Rejected the undying rapture’s boon: Offered to the daughter of infinity Her passion-flower of love and doom she gave." Sri Aurobindo writes that Earth's grain compared to a wood grain (lines marking the rise of sap or life-blood of a tree over a long period) needs sap of pleasure and tears or the duality of extreme passions to nourish itself. This is how the earth's life kingdoms have evolved over a long period of time as taught by Blavatsky and to quote from one of her (masters) letter:   "Earth is the battle ground of moral no less than of physical forces; and the boisterousness of animal passions under the stimulus of the rude energies of the lower group of etheric agents, always tends to quench spirituality. What else could one expect of men so nearly related to the lower kingdom from which they evolved? True also, our numbers are just now diminishing but this is because, as I have said, we are of the h...

 MISTAKEN NOTIONS on THE SECRET DOCTRINE [Lucifer, Vol. VI, No. 34, June, 1890, pp. 333-335] Ever since the publication of The Secret Doctrine students of Theosophy (outside the inner ring of Occult Sciences) have complained that the teachings contained in the work do not satisfy them. One, mentioning the lengthy and rabid abuse of it by an old, though really insignificant, if brutal, enemy, takes me to task for leaving a door open to such criticism by taking too little into account modern science and modern thought (!); another complains that my explanations are not complete; thus, he says:— "For the last ten years, I have been a close reader of theosophical literature. I have read and reread The Secret Doctrine and collated passages, and nothing is more disheartening than to find some of the best explanations on Occult points, just as they begin to grow a little lucid, marred by a reference to some exoteric philosophy or religion, which breaks up the train of reasoning and leave...

Affranchised from the respite of fatigue Once more the rumour of the speed of Life Pursued the cycles of her blinded quest. All sprang to their unvarying daily acts; The thousand peoples of the soil and tree Obeyed the unforeseeing instant’s urge, And, leader here with his uncertain mind, Alone who stares at the future’s covered face, Man lifted up the burden of his fate. Sri Aurobindo says: "Released from the breathing space momentarily offered by tiredness, again the gossip or whispering sound of the rush of Life chased the rounds of blindfold pursuit." Exhausted we rest or sleep at night and get a breather from daily activities of life. However after waking up we are once again released from that respite and the noisy rush of Life starts again.    The thousand peoples of soil and tree can be compared to the elemental kingdoms of Nature in theosophy (mineral, vegetable or plant and animal kingdom). Obeying their natural instinctive impulse they jump on with their invariant ...

 A few days back, one of my friends asked innocently "Who is Huta ?" The post gives a quick overview of Huta. The book "My Savitri Work with the Mother" by Huta D. Hindocha, presents a detailed account of how the Mother prepared and encouraged her to learn painting and helped her to create two series of paintings: the 472 pictures comprising Meditations on Savitri and the 116 pictures that accompanied the Mother's comments titled About Savitri. During their meetings, where the Mother revealed her visions for each painting by drawing sketches and explaining which colours should be used, the unique importance of Savitri and the Mother's own experiences connected to the poem come clearly into view. Few Quotes from the book - The Mother said to Huta: "I achieved in my tender age the highest occult truths. I have realised and seen all the visions set forth in Savitri. Actually I experienced the poem’s supreme revelations before I arrived in Pondicherry and b...

 Today we continue to contemplate on the remaining lines from Page 5 of the Symbol Dawn of Savitri.  "Here too the vision and prophetic gleam Lit into miracles common meaningless shapes; Then the divine afflatus, spent, withdrew, Unwanted, fading from the mortal’s range. A sacred yearning lingered in its trace, The worship of a Presence and a Power Too perfect to be held by death-bound hearts, The prescience of a marvellous birth to come." 'Here' stands for our ordinary human world where the vision and prophetic brief light of Goddess lit the ordinary shapes miraculously into divine meaning for few moments. But then the divine creative impulse or inspiration was spent and feeling unwanted withdrew and faded from the range of mortal men. Once gone it left behind a sacred yearning in the hearts of those later realized what had happened. The presence and Power of Divine Goddess was too perfect to be worshipped to be held steady by death-bound hearts of ordinary mortals. ...

 Today's post is very special as it is the mahasamadhi of one of my beloved gurus, Sri Aurobindo.  It is offered at the lotus feet of Sri Aurobindo and The Mother, H. P. Blavatsky, Alice Bailey, Alexander Grothendieck, Roerichs, Cedercrans and a few more with love and gratitude. Without them this expression would not have been possible as they taught true synthesis. It is the hour of God for some souls reminded by my beloved Swiss friend, a true disciple of Sri Aurobindo: "The Hour of God There are moments when the Spirit moves among men and the breath of the Lord is abroad upon the waters of our being; there are others when it retires and men are left to act in the strength or the weakness of their own egoism. The first are periods when even a little effort produces great results and changes destiny; the second are spaces of time when much labour goes to the making of a little result. It is true that the latter may prepare the former, may be the little smoke of sacrifice goin...

 "Here where our half-lit ignorance skirts the gulfs On the dumb bosom of the ambiguous earth, Here where one knows not even the step in front And Truth has her throne on the shadowy back of doubt, On this anguished and precarious field of toil Outspread beneath some large indifferent gaze, Impartial witness of our joy and bale, Our prostrate soil bore the awakening ray." - Savitri, a Legend and a Symbol, Book 1, Canto 1, Page 5. A theosophical meditative perspective: In these lines, Sri Aurobindo describes the current stage of evolution of the human race, on breasts of mother earth spinning in those dark gulfs, as ignorant or half-illumined. Theosophically, we are taught that in our Earth Scheme of Evolution, we are at present just past the middle point (that being the Fourth Chain, Fourth Round, Fourth Globe, Fourth Root-Race) into the Fifth Root-Race of the Fourth Globe. Thus human race as a whole is very little more than half way through its evolution. At this stage, we a...

Let us establish (as it is progressively revealed to my intuition from the ashram of synthesis) much more accurate concrete mathematical model of  synthesis (or harmony, brotherhood, unity, fusion etc) as taught and demonstrated by some of the initiates of the last two centuries (messengers of the World-Teacher) as follows: H.P. Blavatsky : A Synthesis of Philosophy, Religion and Science (The Secret Doctrine, Ageless Wisdom and Theosophy: an esoteric wisdom religion) (A Ray 1 and 2 impulse of synthesis) Djwal Khul and Alice Bailey : A Synthesis of the Seven Rays (The 24 synthetic Books on Esoteric Philosophy of Seven Rays) (A Ray 2 wisdom impulse of synthesis) Sri Aurobindo and The Mother : Integral and Synthesis of Yoga, Auroville - Experimental city of Synthesis (A Ray 4 and 6 artistic harmonizing impulse of synthesis) Nicholas and Helena Roerich and Vicente Beltran Anglada: Agni Yoga (A Ray 1,2,7 impulse fiery and magical impulse of synthesis) Alexander Grothendieck (with Saunde...

 "All grew a consecration and a rite. Air was a vibrant link between earth and heaven; The wide-winged hymn of a great priestly wind Arose and failed upon the altar hills; The high boughs prayed in a revealing sky." - Savitri, a Legend and a Symbol. A theosophical meditative perspective: Sri Aurobindo mystically says that the approach of radiant Goddess (theosophy teaches that, with Sanat Kumara came a group of other highly evolved Beings who are the outcome of the triple nature of the Planetary Logos. They embody the forces emanating from the head, heart, and throat centres, and They came in with Sanat Kumara to form focal points of planetary force for the helping of the divine plan for the self-conscious unfoldment of inconscient Earth) is making everything holy and devoted. The atmosphere is felt as a luminous link between the lower earthly inconscient and higher heavens. The wind rushes upon the hilly shrines and fluttering shoots offer their prayers to the eloquent skies...

 "Earth felt the Imperishable’s passage close: The waking ear of Nature heard her steps And wideness turned to her its limitless eye, And, scattered on sealed depths, her luminous smile Kindled to fire the silence of the worlds." - Savitri, a Legend and a Symbol.   A theosophical meditative perspective: These lines potray apprehension of the insconscient Earth (one of those non-sacred planets as we are taught in theosophy) as the approach of the immortal Goddess is sensed. Her wide infinte eyes and awakenend ears get attuned to the Goddess. The dazzling smile of Goddess, fires the deep shut quiet of Nature. Huta paints the smiling Goddess radiant with brilliant sparks illuminating the wide space also depicting Earth at the bottom. Image: Meditations on Savitri painting no. 12 depicting above lines from Book 1, Canto 1.

 "Once more a tread perturbed the vacant Vasts; Infinity’s centre, a Face of rapturous calm Parted the eternal lids that open heaven; A Form from far beatitudes seemed to near. Ambassadress twixt eternity and change, The omniscient Goddess leaned across the breadths That wrap the fated journeyings of the stars And saw the spaces ready for her feet. Once she half looked behind for her veiled sun, Then, thoughtful, went to her immortal work." Note that Sri Aurobindo has always portrays the Godhead or Logos as feminine a Goddess or Shakti (being on Rays 2,4,6 which are soft mystic theosophy rays). Once again a march of the Goddess begins to disturbs the boundless spaces of inconscient as her divine form approaches for her immortal mission. She sits at the centre (representation of the Central Spiritual Sun) of an measureless heavenly abode, with an ecstatic calm. An all-seeing emissary amid change and eternity, She leans across the Vast spaces enfolding the destiny of the celest...

 "An instant’s visitor the godhead shone. On life’s thin border awhile the Vision stood And bent over earth’s pondering forehead curve. Interpreting a recondite beauty and bliss In colour’s hieroglyphs of mystic sense, It wrote the lines of a significant myth Telling of a greatness of spiritual dawns, A brilliant code penned with the sky for page. Almost that day the epiphany was disclosed Of which our thoughts and hopes are signal flares; A lonely splendour from the invisible goal Almost was flung on the opaque Inane." A meditative, theosophical, synthetic perspective: In these verses, Sri Aurodindo portrays the Godhead (our Planetary Logos in theosophy) as a momentary visitor presenting a Divine Vision for the life evolving on the pondering earth's forehead curve. The blissful Vision is filled with an esoteric magical mystique. Through a beautiful coloured calligraphy, it is penning mythical verses in the skies, describing the advent of a grand spiritual dawn. The Visio...

 "A glamour from unreached transcendences Iridescent with the glory of the Unseen, A message from the unknown immortal Light Ablaze upon creation’s quivering edge, Dawn built her aura of magnificent hues And buried its seed of grandeur in the hours." An occult meditation with a theosophical perspective: In these lines, Sri Aurobindo renders a captivating mood of a magical Dawn. It has an allure of inaccessible supremacy and is glittering with Unseen glory. There appears to be a message from an eternal Light, on fire upon a shivering rim. A splendid atmosphere with glorious tones seems as if the Dawn has planted its seed of splendour that will sprout in hours into a majestic day. The painting attempts to reproduce that magical Dawn. As stated previously, a Dawn might refer to any general beginning, an illustration in theosophy being a manvantara (manu/Ray 1 + anatara/gap or distance) generally valid from a microcosm (atomic life) to a macrocosm (man, planet, solar system and s...

 "The darkness failed and slipped like a falling cloak From the reclining body of a god. Then through the pallid rift that seemed at first Hardly enough for a trickle from the suns, Outpoured the revelation and the flame. The brief perpetual sign recurred above." A theosophical meditation: Near the radiant leaning body of an Divine Avatar (God), the dark shadow of ignorance slides like a falling robe. The vanishing darkness initially is faint as if a drizzle but then comes a pouring of revelation through her Divine flame although it seems short-lived. In theosophy, it reminds us of those initiates that were sent forth in last two centuries starting with Blavatsky (amanuensis for M. and K.H.) when the first revelation and impulse was given while the second came forth through Alice Bailey (amanuensis for D.K.). Theosophists are told that a third is yet to come before the new age of Leo-Aquarius gets firmly established provided they play their parts in the Whole sufficiently. Hu...

 Why a theosophical meditation on Savitri provides a wonderful example of synthesis of philosophy with art ? In his own letter Sri Aurobindo, a synthesiser writes - "This is the real stumbling-block of mystic poetry and specially mystic poetry of this kind. The mystic feels real and present, even ever-present to his experience, intimate to his being, truths which to the ordinary reader are intellectual abstractions or metaphysical speculations. He is writing of experiences that are foreign to the ordinary mentality. Either they are unintelligible to it and in meeting them it flounders about as in an obscure abyss or it takes them as poetic fancies expressed in intellectually devised images. He uses words and images in order to convey to the mind some perception, some figure of that which is beyond thought. To the mystic there is no such thing as an abstraction. Everything which to the intellectual mind is abstract has a concreteness, substantiality which is more real than the sens...

 "All can be done if the god-touch is there. A hope stole in that hardly dared to be Amid the Night’s forlorn indifference. As if solicited in an alien world With timid and hazardous instinctive grace, Orphaned and driven out to seek a home, An errant marvel with no place to live, Into a far-off nook of heaven there came A slow miraculous gesture’s dim appeal. The persistent thrill of a transfiguring touch Persuaded the inert black quietude And beauty and wonder disturbed the fields of God." A Theosophical meditation: Sri Aurobindo says that when a man gets touched and motivated by the Divine Will (Ray 1) then every thing becomes possible for such a realized man. Theosophically such is an enlightened and intelligent purpose which is also cooperative, adjusting itself to Divine plan of Hierarchy and fits in with the purpose of the Planetary Logos. In the Dark Night with its pitiful and sad indifference and in an alien world, a Divine appeal seems like an marvellous straying or...

 "An unshaped consciousness desired light And a blank prescience yearned towards distant change. As if a childlike finger laid on a cheek Reminded of the endless need in things The heedless Mother of the universe, An infant longing clutched the sombre Vast. Insensibly somewhere a breach began: A long lone line of hesitating hue Like a vague smile tempting a desert heart Troubled the far rim of life’s obscure sleep." An unevolved and unshaped consciousness (Ray 2) is desirous of the light and has a foreknowledge of the distant goal of fulfilment (Ray 1 Divine purpose). At it current stage in evolution it is a like a longing infant who lays a finger on the cheek of a seemingly unmindful Divine mother as portrayed by Huta. The desert heart and obscure sleep of the matter is being breached by a tinge at the dawn. "Arrived from the other side of boundlessness An eye of deity peered through the dumb deeps; A scout in a reconnaissance from the sun, It seemed amid a heavy cosmic...

 We continue with next few lines and theosophical meditations on Savitri.  Most will doubt that Sri Aurobindo never hinted on any of the theosophical interpretation of his epic poem. However those whose synthetic faculty of intuition is waking up would relish the fact that occult visions of Vyasa and Sri Aurodindo are in harmony with those passages from "The Book of Dzyan" paraphrased by Blavatsky once again proving that "Truth is One". No doubt even though Sri Aurobindo denounced romanticism of the Masters by next generation of Theososphists in his time, his conversations recorded in the book "Talks with Sri Aurobindo Volume 1 by Nirodbaran" sheds light on his thoughts as noted below: DR. MANILAL: What do you think of Madame Blavatsky? SRI AUROBINDO: She was a remarkable woman. DR. MANILAL: Were you ever a freemason? SRI AUROBINDO: My eldest brother was. I gathered that there was nothing in it. But it certainly had something when it was first started. Hav...

IT WAS the hour before the Gods awake. Across the path of the divine Event The huge foreboding mind of Night, alone In her unlit temple of eternity, Lay stretched immobile upon Silence’ marge. Almost one felt, opaque, impenetrable, In the sombre symbol of her eyeless muse The abysm of the unbodied Infinite; A fathomless zero occupied the world.   The word "awake" indicates cycles (as in a day of activity and a night of rest repeatedly). In every cycle there is a creation and obscuration. The poem starts with a description of that darkest hour before the Dawn at which Lords of Creation will again come with their creative impluse to carry forward the evolution of conciousness. In India's temple-life for thousands of year it has been a religio-mythic tradition where around 3-4 am everyday the bells are rung to awaken the deites. Lying across the path of that Divine Event when these Lords will awake, is that Night which senses something terrible is going to end her rule. The ...

 Meditations on Savitri: Book 1: The Book of Beginnings,  Canto III: The Yoga of the Soul’s Release "Lifting the heavy curtain of the flesh He stood upon a threshold serpent-watched, And peered into gleaming endless corridors, Silent and listening in the silent heart For the coming of the new and the unknown." Meditative experience: The yogi (King Aswapati) rising through denser physical planes of flesh and matter now stands upon the threshold watched by the serpent (to me it appears as the Dweller or Guardian on the Threshold). He silently peers through the corridors of higher planes on which the evolutionary current will carry humanity and bring about the advent of new races (sixth and seventh as in The Secret Doctrine). "He gazed across the empty stillnesses And heard the footsteps of the undreamed Idea In the far avenues of the Beyond. He heard the secret Voice, the Word that knows, And saw the secret face that is our own." Meditative experience: These are the o...