Supermind (Integral thought)
Encyclopedia
Supermind in Sri Aurobindo
's philosophy refers to the infinite unitary truth-consciousness or truth-idea simultaneously transcendent
and immanent to planes of matter
, life
, and mind
. Supermind is the dynamic form of satcitananda (being-consciousness-bliss), and the necessary conduit, mediator
or linkage
between satcitananda and the manifest creation. (Life Divine Book I, ch.14-16)
Another way of looking at Supermind is a plane of perfect knowledge that has the full, integral truth of anything. It is a plane that Man can rise to above his current limited mentality so he too can have perfect understanding of a matter that enters his mind seemingly out of nowhere through revelations of that truth.
A third way of looking at Supermind is not only the means of creation, but a force and power that is leaning down on the earth's consciousness, and which we can open to in order to transform the various aspects of our being, as well as instantly or very rapidly set right the conditions of life, creating sudden good fortune ("instantaneous miraculousness") for the person opening to it.
Ultimately Sri Aurobindo envisions a new race of humans who through an opening to the supramental power and knowledge have been transformed in all planes of their being, mental, vital, and spiritual, ushering in what he calls the Gnostic, supramental individual who will be the basis of a new divine life on earth.
In supermind, one perceives the object of knowledge directly, which Sri Aurobindo calls 'knowledge by identity.'
Supramental perception also implies a supramental Will for its effectuation in life; i.e. the power for it to become real as a manifest, living reality. E.g. if you know a thing directly through supramental perception, there is also a power for it to manifest quickly and suddenly from seemingly out of nowhere. Sri Aurobindo refers to this power of sudden manifestation through supramental perception an opening "instantaneous miraculousness."
Finally, through Supramental perception, one perceives the true nature of existence. One sees what Sri Aurobindo calls (in his opus 'The Life Divine' and elsewhere] the ‘omnipresent Reality,’ which is in essence the Divine Origin extended to all planes of life. When one has supramental perception one sees that all things – physical matter, vital life, and mental thought are various forms of the divine Reality. One also perceive how each and every individual thing in life – large or small, positive or negative, liked or dislike – plays a role in the unfolding of existence. This is what Sri Aurobindo says is 'to see the Wonder,’ which one can only perceive when one has risen beyond limited mentality to supramental perception.
is to actualise the Supermind within one's being ("Supramentalisation"). This would constitute a divinisation of matter itself or a realisation of its inherent primordial propensity, and usher in a completely new, 'divine
' way of existing. (Life Divine Book II, ch.26-28). This involves bringing down the Supramental consciousness to transform the entire being, and ultimately to the divinisation of the material world
. Supramentalisation requires both a spiritual and a psychic transformation.
Sri Aurobindo believed that most yoga
s and religion
s were concerned with 'ascent', a striving to ascend beyond the body and beyond time into a formless and timeless absolute or transcendent self. He wrote that the 'old systems' arrived at an 'infinite empty Negation or an infinite equally vacant Affirmation'. He introduced the imperative for and the process by which the supramental (beyond or other than mental) consciousness would 'descend', to firmly establish itself in Earthly life.
, announced, "The manifestation of the Supramental upon earth is no more a promise but a living fact, a reality. It is at work here, and one day will come when the most blind, the most unconscious, even the most unwilling shall be obliged to recognize it."
On January 1, 1969, the Mother (at age 90) announced the 'arrival' of the 'superman consciousness' – 'the intermediary between man and the supramental being'.
's philosophy refers to the supramental state of divinised
human
ity, which (as described in the final chapters of The Life Divine) will emerge as a spirit
-oriented future existence.
In this highest form of social or collective life, the domination of the ordinary mind — of surface preoccupation, of partial knowledge, as well as the lower physical and vital life is replaced with a mind and life dominated by the spirit.
The divinised or gnostic being is described as living a spiritual existence
in an integral
way; integral in his own being, and integral and one with the world around him. He has integrated and elevated the physical
, vital/emotional
, and mental plane
s of his existence to its greatest heights and fulfillment by finding the spirit within himself and applying and elevating these planes of life with the spiritual. He also discovers that the spirit is everywhere in the world and in every other person, eliminating the separation between himself and life and himself and others around him. In other words he is whole and integrated individually and universally.
In addition to integrating the planes and sublevels
of one's being (individualization), and becoming one with others and the world (universalization), the individuals who will be the harbingers of this divine life will also be united with the transcendent Divine. These individuals will have found the transcendent spirit within, the spiritual force, God, the Divine in the cosmos, and feel, know, act with complete reference to its divine force, power, knowledge, and bliss.
In this context a number of individuals, integrated individually, universally, and transcendently, can work together, near or apart, aware or unaware of one another, to create a new common life, superior to the present individual and common existence. A critical mass of such "gnostic individuals" could create the foundation of a new social life and order; a divine life on earth.
The purpose of this divine life would be a greater unity, mutuality, and harmony.
In this state the current vital and mental constructions of life would be replaced by gnostic individuals who live beyond the vicissitudes of human thought and the push and pull of the forces of Nature. Humanity in the current age does not have the depth of inner knowledge to understand the infinite forces that are involved in the emerging world. His limiting mind-sense and the limiting mind-sense of the collective hasn't the integral vision and knowledge and force of action to deal with the evolving society. We have created a civilization which has become too big for our limited mental capacities and understanding and our limiting ego, which narrows the truth to our own needs and desires. The current unfolding and limited blossoming of life on earth is bound by the limiting vital animal and passion nature, and the narrow opening to the full truth which is the human mind.
A life of unity, mutuality, and harmony alone, emerging from individuals who are in integral relationship with themselves, others, and the transcendent spirit, can deal with the overwhelming needs of the collective life. The gnostic beings would help establish this integral, unifying gnostic consciousness on earth, which would provide a far greater power and knowledge than man now has for understanding and acting on the needs of the emerging collective. The one rule of this divine life would be the self expression of the spirit, of the divine, in all aspects of life.
ary philosophies of Sri Aurobindo and Pierre Teilhard de Chardin
(see e.g. Zaehner 1971, Feys 1973, Sethna 1973, 1981, Bruteau 1974, Chetany 1978, Brookman 1988). Both describe a progression from inanimate matter through life and mind to a future consummation and Divinisation of humanity and the Earth as Supermind at Omega Point
/God-Omega. Neither seems to have been aware of the other's work.
A scientific
basis for Pierre Teilhard de Chardin's and Sri Aurobindo's panentheistic
Omega point philosophies was provided in 1994 by the physicist
Frank J. Tipler
's promulgation of his Omega Point
Theory.
Sri Aurobindo
Sri Aurobindo , born Aurobindo Ghosh or Ghose , was an Indian nationalist, freedom fighter, philosopher, yogi, guru, and poet. He joined the Indian movement for freedom from British rule and for a duration became one of its most important leaders, before developing his own vision of human progress...
's philosophy refers to the infinite unitary truth-consciousness or truth-idea simultaneously transcendent
Transcendence (philosophy)
In philosophy, the adjective transcendental and the noun transcendence convey the basic ground concept from the word's literal meaning , of climbing or going beyond, albeit with varying connotations in its different historical and cultural stages...
and immanent to planes of matter
Matter
Matter is a general term for the substance of which all physical objects consist. Typically, matter includes atoms and other particles which have mass. A common way of defining matter is as anything that has mass and occupies volume...
, life
Life
Life is a characteristic that distinguishes objects that have signaling and self-sustaining processes from those that do not, either because such functions have ceased , or else because they lack such functions and are classified as inanimate...
, and mind
Mind
The concept of mind is understood in many different ways by many different traditions, ranging from panpsychism and animism to traditional and organized religious views, as well as secular and materialist philosophies. Most agree that minds are constituted by conscious experience and intelligent...
. Supermind is the dynamic form of satcitananda (being-consciousness-bliss), and the necessary conduit, mediator
Mediator
Mediator may refer to:*A neutral party who assists in negotiations and conflict resolution, the process being known as mediation*Mediator variable in statistics*The Mediator pattern in computer science...
or linkage
Linkage
Linkage generally means "the manner or style of being united", and can refer to:*Genetic linkage, the tendency of certain genes to be inherited together*Flux linkage, the total flux passing through a surface formed by a closed conducting loop...
between satcitananda and the manifest creation. (Life Divine Book I, ch.14-16)
Introduction
By 'Supermind,' Sri Aurobindo means several things. For one, it a plane that resides between the 'upper hemisphere' of pure being and consciousness, and the 'lower hemisphere; of life in the universe (mind, life, and matter). This plane is what enables the Real Ideas of the Supreme to manifest as forms of that force in creation. So in that sense, Supermind is the power that enables creation; that divides the Force into the forms, forces, and powers, seen and unseen experienced in the universe.Another way of looking at Supermind is a plane of perfect knowledge that has the full, integral truth of anything. It is a plane that Man can rise to above his current limited mentality so he too can have perfect understanding of a matter that enters his mind seemingly out of nowhere through revelations of that truth.
A third way of looking at Supermind is not only the means of creation, but a force and power that is leaning down on the earth's consciousness, and which we can open to in order to transform the various aspects of our being, as well as instantly or very rapidly set right the conditions of life, creating sudden good fortune ("instantaneous miraculousness") for the person opening to it.
Ultimately Sri Aurobindo envisions a new race of humans who through an opening to the supramental power and knowledge have been transformed in all planes of their being, mental, vital, and spiritual, ushering in what he calls the Gnostic, supramental individual who will be the basis of a new divine life on earth.
Supramental Perception
When one rises above mind, even illumination, intuition, and revelation of understanding, one has the experience of supramental perception. In supermind one has the experience of the total realization/ideation of an object of knowledge without thought, as it simply is there in the mind anew. Supramental perception involves a totality of knowing, as opposed to the very partial, limited perception of mind that knows but one side of a matter. In supramental perception, one understands any issues from its many sides; as well as its essence, totality, and wholeness. Any thing know is perceived in harmony and relation to other things; almost the opposite of mind which guards its own limited opinion, not seeing its thought in relation to others concerning an object of knowledgeIn supermind, one perceives the object of knowledge directly, which Sri Aurobindo calls 'knowledge by identity.'
Supramental perception also implies a supramental Will for its effectuation in life; i.e. the power for it to become real as a manifest, living reality. E.g. if you know a thing directly through supramental perception, there is also a power for it to manifest quickly and suddenly from seemingly out of nowhere. Sri Aurobindo refers to this power of sudden manifestation through supramental perception an opening "instantaneous miraculousness."
Finally, through Supramental perception, one perceives the true nature of existence. One sees what Sri Aurobindo calls (in his opus 'The Life Divine' and elsewhere] the ‘omnipresent Reality,’ which is in essence the Divine Origin extended to all planes of life. When one has supramental perception one sees that all things – physical matter, vital life, and mental thought are various forms of the divine Reality. One also perceive how each and every individual thing in life – large or small, positive or negative, liked or dislike – plays a role in the unfolding of existence. This is what Sri Aurobindo says is 'to see the Wonder,’ which one can only perceive when one has risen beyond limited mentality to supramental perception.
Supramentalisation
The objective and final stage of integral yogaIntegral yoga
In the teachings of Sri Aurobindo, Integral yoga refers to the process of the union of all the parts of one's being with the Divine, and the transmutation of all of their jarring elements into a harmonious state of higher divine consciousness and existence.Sri...
is to actualise the Supermind within one's being ("Supramentalisation"). This would constitute a divinisation of matter itself or a realisation of its inherent primordial propensity, and usher in a completely new, 'divine
Divinity
Divinity and divine are broadly applied but loosely defined terms, used variously within different faiths and belief systems — and even by different individuals within a given faith — to refer to some transcendent or transcendental power or deity, or its attributes or manifestations in...
' way of existing. (Life Divine Book II, ch.26-28). This involves bringing down the Supramental consciousness to transform the entire being, and ultimately to the divinisation of the material world
Material world
Material world may refer to:* Nature.* Material World, a Canadian television sitcom in the 1980s.* Material World, a BBC Radio 4 science programme.* Material World: A Global Family Portrait, a 1994 photo essay by Peter Menzel....
. Supramentalisation requires both a spiritual and a psychic transformation.
Sri Aurobindo believed that most yoga
Yoga
Yoga is a physical, mental, and spiritual discipline, originating in ancient India. The goal of yoga, or of the person practicing yoga, is the attainment of a state of perfect spiritual insight and tranquility while meditating on Supersoul...
s and religion
Religion
Religion is a collection of cultural systems, belief systems, and worldviews that establishes symbols that relate humanity to spirituality and, sometimes, to moral values. Many religions have narratives, symbols, traditions and sacred histories that are intended to give meaning to life or to...
s were concerned with 'ascent', a striving to ascend beyond the body and beyond time into a formless and timeless absolute or transcendent self. He wrote that the 'old systems' arrived at an 'infinite empty Negation or an infinite equally vacant Affirmation'. He introduced the imperative for and the process by which the supramental (beyond or other than mental) consciousness would 'descend', to firmly establish itself in Earthly life.
The supramental transformation
The supramental transformation means the birth of a new individual fully formed by the supramental power, the same power that enabled the universe to be created in the first place from out of a Divine Source. Such individuals would be the forerunners of a new truth-consciousness based supra-humanity. Among their capacities are: a total oneness and identity with the environment and with others; total integral knowledge replacing our essential ignorance, i.e. knowledge by identity; a unification of knowledge and will (what one knows is automatically created, what is willed is fully known in its truth); the Force of creation reunited with the Consciousness; and a complete unity of the Individual, Universal, and Transcendent purpose expressed through the person. Also, all aspects of division and ignorance of consciousness at the vital and mental levels would be overcome, replaced with a unity of consciousness at every plane, and even the physical body transformed and divinised. A new supramental species would then emerge, living a supramental, gnostic, divine life on earth. (The Life Divine book II ch.27-28)The Supramental Descent
On February 29, 1956, Sri Aurobindo's co-worker the MotherMirra Alfassa
-Early life:Mirra Alfassa was born in Paris in 1878, of a Turkish Jewish father, Maurice, and an Egyptian Jewish mother, Mathilde. She had an elder brother named Matteo. The family migrated to France the year before she was born. For the first eight years of her life she lived at 62 boulevard...
, announced, "The manifestation of the Supramental upon earth is no more a promise but a living fact, a reality. It is at work here, and one day will come when the most blind, the most unconscious, even the most unwilling shall be obliged to recognize it."
On January 1, 1969, the Mother (at age 90) announced the 'arrival' of the 'superman consciousness' – 'the intermediary between man and the supramental being'.
Time in the Context of Supramental consciousness
Sri Aurobindo wrote that whereas the mind is unable to establish a "truth relation between the timeless and things in time", supramental consciousness is "founded upon the supreme consciousness of the timeless Infinite, but has too the secret of the deployment of the infinite Energy in time." The last chapter of his book The Synthesis of Yoga, called 'Towards a Supramental Vision of Time', discusses the matter of time in terms of the evolution of a trikaladristi or 'knowledge of the three times'. "This unified and infinite time consciousness and this vision and knowledge are the possession of the supramental being..."The Gnostic Being
The Gnostic Being in Sri AurobindoSri Aurobindo
Sri Aurobindo , born Aurobindo Ghosh or Ghose , was an Indian nationalist, freedom fighter, philosopher, yogi, guru, and poet. He joined the Indian movement for freedom from British rule and for a duration became one of its most important leaders, before developing his own vision of human progress...
's philosophy refers to the supramental state of divinised
Divinization
Divinization or deification is the "making divine", the "deification" of an earthly entity, individual, group, or activity.In Christian theology, divinization is the transforming effect of divine grace....
human
Human
Humans are the only living species in the Homo genus...
ity, which (as described in the final chapters of The Life Divine) will emerge as a spirit
Spirit
The English word spirit has many differing meanings and connotations, most of them relating to a non-corporeal substance contrasted with the material body.The spirit of a living thing usually refers to or explains its consciousness.The notions of a person's "spirit" and "soul" often also overlap,...
-oriented future existence.
In this highest form of social or collective life, the domination of the ordinary mind — of surface preoccupation, of partial knowledge, as well as the lower physical and vital life is replaced with a mind and life dominated by the spirit.
The divinised or gnostic being is described as living a spiritual existence
Spirituality
Spirituality can refer to an ultimate or an alleged immaterial reality; an inner path enabling a person to discover the essence of his/her being; or the “deepest values and meanings by which people live.” Spiritual practices, including meditation, prayer and contemplation, are intended to develop...
in an integral
Integral thought
Integral is a term applied to a wide-ranging set of developments in philosophy, psychology, spirituality, and many other areas regarding a comprehensive synthesizing transdisciplinary framework or multidimensional perspective to a given field...
way; integral in his own being, and integral and one with the world around him. He has integrated and elevated the physical
Physical plane
The physical plane , physical world, or physical universe, in emanationist metaphysics such as are found in Neoplatonism, Hermeticism, Hinduism and Theosophy, refers to the visible reality of space and time, energy and matter: the physical universe in Occultism and esoteric cosmology is the lowest...
, vital/emotional
Astral plane
The astral plane, also called the astral world, is a plane of existence postulated by classical , medieval, oriental and esoteric philosophies and mystery religions...
, and mental plane
Mental plane
The mental plane, or world of thought, in Hermeticism, Theosophical, Rosicrucian, Aurobindonian, and New Age thought refers to the macrocosmic or universal plane or reality that is made up purely of thought or mindstuff...
s of his existence to its greatest heights and fulfillment by finding the spirit within himself and applying and elevating these planes of life with the spiritual. He also discovers that the spirit is everywhere in the world and in every other person, eliminating the separation between himself and life and himself and others around him. In other words he is whole and integrated individually and universally.
- "To be in the being of all and to include all in one's being, to be conscious of the consciousness of all, to be integrated in force with the universal force, to carry all action and experience in oneself and feel it as one's own action and experience, to feel all selves as one's own self, to feel all delight of being as one's own delight of being is a necessary condition of the integral divine living."
- — Sri Aurobindo, The Life Divine
In addition to integrating the planes and sublevels
Subtle body
A subtle body is one of a series of psycho-spiritual constituents of living beings, according to various esoteric, occult, and mystical teachings...
of one's being (individualization), and becoming one with others and the world (universalization), the individuals who will be the harbingers of this divine life will also be united with the transcendent Divine. These individuals will have found the transcendent spirit within, the spiritual force, God, the Divine in the cosmos, and feel, know, act with complete reference to its divine force, power, knowledge, and bliss.
In this context a number of individuals, integrated individually, universally, and transcendently, can work together, near or apart, aware or unaware of one another, to create a new common life, superior to the present individual and common existence. A critical mass of such "gnostic individuals" could create the foundation of a new social life and order; a divine life on earth.
The purpose of this divine life would be a greater unity, mutuality, and harmony.
- "...a greater identity of being and consciousness between individual and individual unified in their spiritual substance, feeling themselves to be self and self of one self-existence, acting in a greater unitarian force of knowledge, a greater power of being. There must be an inner and direct mutual knowledge, based upon a consciousness of oneness and identity, a consciousness of each other's being, thought, feeling, inner and outer movements...."
- ---Sri Aurobindo, The Life Divine
In this state the current vital and mental constructions of life would be replaced by gnostic individuals who live beyond the vicissitudes of human thought and the push and pull of the forces of Nature. Humanity in the current age does not have the depth of inner knowledge to understand the infinite forces that are involved in the emerging world. His limiting mind-sense and the limiting mind-sense of the collective hasn't the integral vision and knowledge and force of action to deal with the evolving society. We have created a civilization which has become too big for our limited mental capacities and understanding and our limiting ego, which narrows the truth to our own needs and desires. The current unfolding and limited blossoming of life on earth is bound by the limiting vital animal and passion nature, and the narrow opening to the full truth which is the human mind.
A life of unity, mutuality, and harmony alone, emerging from individuals who are in integral relationship with themselves, others, and the transcendent spirit, can deal with the overwhelming needs of the collective life. The gnostic beings would help establish this integral, unifying gnostic consciousness on earth, which would provide a far greater power and knowledge than man now has for understanding and acting on the needs of the emerging collective. The one rule of this divine life would be the self expression of the spirit, of the divine, in all aspects of life.
- "..an existence without the reactions of success and frustration, vital joy and grief, peril and passion, pleasure and pain, the vicissitudes and uncertainties of fate and struggle and battle and endeavor, a joy of novelty and surprise and creation projecting itself into the unknown... The gnostic manifestation of life would be more full and fruitful and its interest more vivid than the creative interest of the Ignorance; it would be a greater and happier constant miracle."
- — Sri Aurobindo, The Life Divine
Supermind and Omega Point
Beginning with the Catholic theologian R.C. Zaehner, a number of scholars have pointed out parallels between the respective spiritual evolutionSpiritual evolution
Spiritual evolution is the philosophical, theological, esoteric or spiritual idea that nature and human beings and/or human culture evolve, extending from the established cosmological pattern or ascent, or in accordance with certain pre-established potentials...
ary philosophies of Sri Aurobindo and Pierre Teilhard de Chardin
Pierre Teilhard de Chardin
Pierre Teilhard de Chardin SJ was a French philosopher and Jesuit priest who trained as a paleontologist and geologist and took part in the discovery of both Piltdown Man and Peking Man. Teilhard conceived the idea of the Omega Point and developed Vladimir Vernadsky's concept of Noosphere...
(see e.g. Zaehner 1971, Feys 1973, Sethna 1973, 1981, Bruteau 1974, Chetany 1978, Brookman 1988). Both describe a progression from inanimate matter through life and mind to a future consummation and Divinisation of humanity and the Earth as Supermind at Omega Point
Omega point
Omega Point is a term coined by the French Jesuit Pierre Teilhard de Chardin to describe a maximum level of complexity and consciousness towards which he believed the universe was evolving....
/God-Omega. Neither seems to have been aware of the other's work.
A scientific
Science
Science is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe...
basis for Pierre Teilhard de Chardin's and Sri Aurobindo's panentheistic
Panentheism
Panentheism is a belief system which posits that God exists, interpenetrates every part of nature and timelessly extends beyond it...
Omega point philosophies was provided in 1994 by the physicist
Physicist
A physicist is a scientist who studies or practices physics. Physicists study a wide range of physical phenomena in many branches of physics spanning all length scales: from sub-atomic particles of which all ordinary matter is made to the behavior of the material Universe as a whole...
Frank J. Tipler
Frank J. Tipler
Frank Jennings Tipler is a mathematical physicist and cosmologist, holding a joint appointment in the Departments of Mathematics and Physics at Tulane University. Tipler has authored books and papers on the Omega Point, which he claims is a mechanism for the resurrection of the dead. It has been...
's promulgation of his Omega Point
Omega point
Omega Point is a term coined by the French Jesuit Pierre Teilhard de Chardin to describe a maximum level of complexity and consciousness towards which he believed the universe was evolving....
Theory.
Quote
- ‘The aim of supramental Yoga is to change into this supreme Truth-consciousness, but this truth is something beyond mind and this consciousness is far above the highest mind-consciousness. For truth of mind is always relative, uncertain and partial, but this greater Truth is preemptory and whole. Truth of mind is a representation, always an inadequate, most often a misleading representation, and even when most accurate, only a reflection, Truth's shadow and not its body. Mind does not live in the Truth or possess but only seeks after it and grasps at best some threads from its robe; the supermind lives in Truth and [is] its native substance, form and expression; it has not to seek after it, but possesses it always automatically and is what it possesses. This is the very heart of the difference.
- 'The change that is effected by the transition from mind to supermind is not only a revolution in knowledge or in our power for knowledge. If it is [to] be complete and stable, it must be a divine transmutation of our will too, our emotions, our sensations, all our power of life and its forces, in the end even of the very substance and functioning of our body. Then only can it be said that the supermind is there upon earth, rooted in its very earth-substance and embodied in a new race of divinised creatures.
- 'Supermind at its highest reach is the divine Gnosis, the Wisdom-Power-Light-Bliss of God by which the Divine knows and upholds and governs and enjoys the universe.'
- -– Sri Aurobindo
External links
- The Nature of Supermind, by Sri Aurobindo - an essay originally published in July 1920 and currently in the public domainPublic domainWorks are in the public domain if the intellectual property rights have expired, if the intellectual property rights are forfeited, or if they are not covered by intellectual property rights at all...
.