Chapter 1Miscellaneous Notes, c. 1914
Book 7. Appendix: Material from Disciples’ Notebooks
[1]
Parabrahman: Asad Atman Sad Atman Sat
Satyaloka
Mahakarana Chit
Tapoloka
Mahatapas Ananda
Janaloka
Mahabuddhi Karana
Maharloka
Vijnanam Sukshma
Swarloka
Chandraloka
Buddhi
Swarga
Manas
Bhuvar
Prana, chitta Sthula
Bhu
Annam Sukshma:
Atman Sat
Satyam
Chit
Tapas
Ananda
Mahabuddhi Karana in Sukshma
Manasbuddhi
Higher buddhi or
Intuitive Reason
Reason Understanding
manas in the buddhi Sukshma proper
Manas
Sensational mind
Chitta Sthula in Sukshma
Sukshma prana Annamaya Karana:
Atman Parardha in Karana
Satyam Tapas Mahabuddhi Karanam
Satyadarshanam
Seer, Rishi or Drashta
Satyakalpana
Prophet, Poet
Satyavadanam
Philosopher Sukshma in Karana
Indriyam
Perception of all kinds
Bhava
Feeling Sthula in Karana
Bhoga
Prana
Karma
Anna Ananda Swabhava
Mahabuddhi: (1) Anantyam
Anantagunam (2) Nirgunam
Sukha (shanti)
Pravritti Nivritti H
Jnanam Realisation
of the Infinite (3) Trigunatitam (4) Sagunam i.e. Aparardha Swabhava
Traigunyamayi Prakriti Sattwa Rajas Tamas Tapas:
Tattwas: (1) Purusha
(1) Prajna
(1) Parameshwara (2) Prakriti
(2) Hiranyagarbha
(2) Shakti
(3) Virat t
OM Satyam:
Manifest Atma:
A. (1) Anirdeshyam (2) Vasudeva and Shaktis B. The Four:
(1) Mahavira (2) Balarama (3) Pradyumna (4) Aniruddha and their Shaktis 1. Brahmana Mahavira
Jnanam,
Maheshwari
Mahima 2. Kshatriya Balarama
Force (Viryam),
Mahakali
Raudryam 3. Vaishya Pradyumna
Love (Prema),
Mahalakshmi
Danam 4. Shudra Aniruddha
Desire (Kama),
Mahasaraswati
Worldly Reason Atma: Mahakarana
Satya
Sat
Sankalpa
Prajna Mahatapas
Tapas
Chit or
Will
Virat
Shakti (Will)
Parardha Mahabuddhi
Jana
Ananda Swabhava Hiranya-
garbha Karana
Mahas Vijnana Satyam
Prajna Sukshma
Swar
Antah-
Vikalpa
karana
Hiranya- Sukshma-Sthula Bhuvar Prana
Vasana
garbha
Aparardha Sthula
Bhu
Anna
Sanghata
Virat [The first piece on this page was revised by Sri Aurobindo; the next two pieces were written by him.]
Kaivalyananda
Satya
Sat-kosha
Prakasha
Shiva Chidananda
Tapas
Tapas-kosha
Agni (Fire)
Agni Shuddhananda
Jana
Ananda-kosha
Vidyut
Prajapati Chidghanananda
Vijnana
Vijnana-kosha
Jyoti
Surya Ahaitukananda
Manas
Manah-kosha
Tejas
Chandra Premananda
Chitta
Prana-kosha
Dhuma
Vayu Kamananda
Deha
Anna-kosha
Chhaya
Prithivi Kamananda A
1. Maithunananda 2. Vishayananda
Sense-objects
3. Tivrananda
Thrill
4. Raudrananda
Pain
5. Vaidyutananda
Electric Pashu (Vanara)
Bodily life
Prana
Play, Eating, Sleep
& Deha Pisacha
Jnana of
K
Curiosity, Science
bodily life Pramatha
Ananda of
Manas
Aesthetic
bodily life Rakshasa Yaksha
Tapas of do
Egoism, Prana Asura Gandharva Buddhi
Intellect, Feeling Deva etc.
Karana
Knowledge, Joy,
Surrender Siddhadeva
Ananda Siddhasura
Tapas Siddha Purusha
Satya
[2]
Parabrahman:
Asad Atman Non-being Sad Atman Being
H
Both the same; Asad Atman containing the negation of universe; Sad [Atman] containing the potentiality of universe Mahakarana
Satyaloka
Sat
K (cause of all causes) Mahatapas
Tapoloka
Chit
Supreme (supreme force)
principle Mahajana
Janaloka
Ananda (productive principle) Mahabuddhi or Karana
Maharloka
Vijnanam Antahkaran or Sukshma
Swarloka i.e. inner instrument
Chandraloka
Buddhi
Swarga
Manas
Bhuvar
Prana, chitta Karan or Sthula
Bhu
Annam i.e. outer instrument Sukshma:
Atman
?
Sat
Satyam Sukshma
Chit
Tapas
Ananda
Jana Karana in Sukshma or divya ketu
Divine
Higher Buddhi or Intuitive Reason
perception
B
Reason Understanding
Lower
manas in the buddhi
Buddhi Sukshma proper
Manas
Sensational mind Manas Chitta or Emotional mind
Chitta
Passive consciousness or Passive
memory Sthula in Sukshma
Sukshma prana
Mental vitality or purely
nervous mind
?
Sthula prana
Vitality or Physical Sthula
nervous system
Annamaya
Physical substance Vijnana or Karana:
Atman
?
Satyam Vijnanamaya
Tapas Jana
?
Higher Karana
B
Satyadarshanam
(i.e. drishti, shruti)
Lower Karana
(i.e. siddha buddhi Karana proper
and viveka*)
Satyakalpana
Lower Shruti
Satyavadanam
Lower Viveka
>
Satya Indriyam
Perception of all kinds Sukshma in Karana
Satya Bhoga
Feeling
>
Satya Bhoga
Prana Sthula in Karana
Satya Karma
Anna Ananda Swabhava: Nivritti
Pravritti Nirgunam
(1) Anantyam or Anantagunam (2) Trigunatitam (3) Traigunyamaya Swabhava
(i) Sattwa
prakasha
(ii) Rajas
pravritti
(iii) Tamas
shama * Viveka is not conscience but true judgment between higher and lower, true and false, right and wrong. [The last six words were added by Sri Aurobindo in his own hand.]
Tapas:
Tattwas:
Purusha
?
(1) Prajna
Prakriti or
(2) Hiranyagarbha
or Ishwara
(3) Virat
Shakti
t
OM Satyam: Anirdeshyam Krishna
(Mahamaya) (1) Mahavira
Brahmana Jnanam,
(Maheshwari)
Mahima (2) Balarama
Kshatriya
Viryam,
(Mahakali)
Raudryam (3) Pradyumna
Vaishya
Prema, Danam
(Mahalakshmi) (4) Aniruddha
Shudra
Kama, karma,
(Mahasaraswati)
vishaya buddhi
[3]
Tat Asat Sat
H Purusha and Prakriti Tat is the unknowable Brahman of which you cannot say that it exists or does not exist because it cannot be defined as that which we know or understand by the idea of existence. Therefore it is not Sat. At the same time it is not Asat or non-existent because it contains existence in itself. By Asat or non-being we mean something beyond which is a contradiction of existence. It is generally considered as a sort of nothingness because it is nothing that we call existence. There is nothing in it that we can perceive or realise as something. Tat contains both Sat and Asat; but it is neither of them. By Sat we mean pure existence not limited by qualities, infinite and eternal and unchanging, which is at the same time the source and foundation of all the worlds and the whole universe.
Sat Purusha and Prakriti Brahman representing itself in the universe as the stable, by immutable Existence (Sat), is Purusha, God, Spirit; representing [itself] as the motional by its power of active Consciousness (Chit) [it] is Nature, Force or World-Principle (Prakriti, Shakti, Maya). The play of these two principles is the life of the universe. Prakriti [is] executive Nature as opposed to Purusha, which is the Soul governing, taking cognizance of and enjoying the works of Prakriti; Shakti [is] the self-existent, self-cognitive Power of the Lord (Ishwara, Deva, Purusha), which expresses itself in the workings of Prakriti.
[4]
Divine
Human Sat
Annam Chit-Tapas
Prana Ananda
Manas-Chitta Vijnana
Buddhi Ishwara
Aham
Seven Planes ?
Sat Chit-Tapas Ananda Vijnana
?
Manas-Chitta Prana Annam Sat is essence of being, pure, infinite and undivided. Chit-Tapas is pure energy of consciousness, free in its rest or action, sovereign in its will. Ananda is Beatitude, the bliss of pure conscious existence and energy.
Vijnana
Supra-mental knowledge
is the Causal Idea which, by supporting and secretly guiding the confused activities of Mind, Life and Body ensures and compels the right arrangement of the Universe. Buddhi is the lower divided intelligence as opposed to Vijnana. Manas-is the life of sensations and emotions which are at chitta the mercy of the outward touches of life and matter and their positive or negative reactions, joy and grief, pleasure and pain. Prana is the hampered dynamic energies which, feeding upon physical substances, are dependent on and limited by their sustenance; also [it] is the lower or vital energy. Annam is the divisible being which founds itself on the constant changeableness of physical substance.
Sat Immortality, pure essence Chit-Tapas Free rest or free action Sovereignty of will Ananda Pure bliss Vijnana Revelation Inspiration Intuition Discrimination Buddhi Perception Imagination Reasoning Judgment Manas- Sattwic
Science, philosophy, thought (intellectual) Chitta
1. Aesthetic
sense of beauty art, poetry, sculpture
2. Religious and moral
virtuous, holy, good Prana Rajasic
desire, emotion, passion Annam Tamasic
food, money, physical health, play Pravritti Nature’s tendency or impulse to action Nivritti Withdrawing from that tendency or impulse to action Buddhi
Vijnana Perception
Revelation = Pratyaksha or Drishti Imagination
Inspiration = Sruti Reason
>
Intuition Judgment
Smriti
Discrimination = Viveka
[5]
The Chakras Above the head
Sahasradala
Jnanam Between the eyes
Ajnachakra
Drishti In the throat
Vishuddha
Vak In the heart
Anahata
Feeling, sensation, etc. In the navel
Manipura
Instincts Above the linga
Swadhishthana
Kama (desire)
Muladhara
The movement of pranas in the body There are five pranas, viz: prana, apana, samana, vyana and udana. The movement of the prana is from the top of the body to the navel, apana from Muladhara to the navel. Prana and apana meet together near the navel and create samana. The movement of vyana is in the whole body. While samana creates bhuta from the foods, vyana distributes it into the body. The movement of udana is from the navel to the head. Its work is to carry the virya (tejas) to the head. The movement of udana is different to the Yogin. Then its movement is from the Muladhara (from where it carries the virya to the crown of the head and turn[s] it [into]1 ojas) to the crown of the head.
The colours Violet religion, ideality, spirituality Yellow intellect, perception, activity and flexibility of mind Orange psychical power Black darkness, inertia, melancholy, pessimism, timidity, etc. Grey despondency and dullness Red activity; or if a deep angry colour, anger; or if scarlet, lust; if rose, love. White purity, strength, etc. Green beneficency, unselfishness, readiness to serve without respect to one’s own desire or ambition. Dull green bad qualities of prana, jealousy etc. Blue Spirituality more of the Bhakti type Flaming golden yellow
Vijnana
[6]
Objects of Yoga To put it in a word, the object of Yoga is God or the Divine or the Supreme whatever our conception of these things may be. There are minor objects of Yoga which are merely parts or separate aspects of the general object. We are composed of being, consciousness, energy and delight represented to us as life, knowledge, force and power, emotion, sensation and desire. The object of Yoga is to turn all these things towards God. Therefore to become one with God, to be Divine and live a Divine Life is the first object of Yoga. The second is to know God in Himself and in ourselves and in everything. The third is to make ourselves one with the Divine Will and to do in our life a Divine Work by means of the Divine Power using us as an instrument. The fourth object is to enjoy God in all beings, in all things and in all that happens. Since the Life is to be Divine there must be siddhi or Perfection of the Being. The difference between the Divine Being and Divine Life and ours is that we are in the limited ego, confined to our own physical and mental experiences while that is beyond ego infinite eternal and all-embracing. Therefore we have to get rid of the Ego in order to be Divine. Ego persists because of three things; first because we think we are the body; secondly because of desire; and thirdly because of the mental idea that I am a separate being existing in my own mind and body independently of everything and everybody else. We have therefore to know ourselves, to realise that we are not the body, nor the Prana, nor the mind and to find out our real Self. That is called Atmajnana. Secondly we have to get rid of the idea of ourselves and others as separate being to realise everything as one Brahman or one Purusha or Ishwara manifesting himself in different names and forms. This Self and the Brahman or Ishwara are the same. We have to know what it is, how it manifests itself in the world and beings that we see. All this we have to realise in our experience and not merely know by the intellect. We have to realise It as Sachchidananda and to become that ourselves. Thirdly we have to get rid of desire and replace it by the Ananda of Sachchidananda. After that in order to live and act in the world we have to act as mere instruments so the Divine Force which we must realise as the sole Power which acts in the world and we must get rid of the idea that actions are ours or that the fruit of the action belongs to us personally. The only work we have to do in the world is to perfect ourselves, carry out whatever the Divine Power wills that we should do and so far as possible help others to perfect themselves and help the life of humanity to become Divine.
[7]
Methods of Yoga
(Reproduction from memory)2 The first two things necessary for the practice of Yoga [are]3 Will and Abhyasa. In the course of Yoga these two things give helping hands to the perfection of the being unto the very end. Slowly and steadily, whether conscious or unconscious to the being itself, they are 2 Oral remarks by Sri Aurobindo recorded from memory by a disciple. Much of the wording clearly is not Sri Aurobindo’s.
Ed.
performing their functions in the onward march of human evolution. Be we unconscious of them, it will take a pretty long time to attain to that perfection. But once we are conscious, then we become the Will itself. Consciously we can quicken the progress. This method gives rise to individual perfected beings. As before, they will not see glimpses of the Light of Truth. They will ever be seeing the Eternal Truth. They will turn the darkness around them and in them, into Light. Hitherto, we should have felt a certain amount of difficulty in putting into Abhyasa what we have willed. Now there will be no more putting into Abhyasa but simply we will be seeing the march of progress without the least idea of strain felt by us. So first let us will in order to be not weak and unconscious but strong and conscious. Then there will be no more difficulty. Until then we have to practise Yoga by two important means by means of Purusha and by means of Prakriti. Means of Purusha:
An ordinary man thinks he desires, he feels and so on. But what we are to do is to separate ourselves from desire, feeling etc. Whenever desire comes, we must realise that we are not desiring but only realise it as the coming and going of Desire. So also with the feeling, thinking etc. For instance, when [a] certain anguish comes, an ordinary man thinks and feels that he is lost and so on. He weeps bitterly and reduces himself to a mere crawling worm. We have to think that that anguish is a kind of action or reaction, going on in the heart. Anguish cannot affect me. I am the unsullied Self; it cannot touch me. Means of Prakriti:
Whenever the thinking part of man is active, we notice very clearly that the work is going on in a place somewhere above the forehead. The action is centred in the heart, when the feelings are awake in him. In both the cases, the self takes the heart and mind for its theatre of action. In the one case, we are those thoughts and in the other, we are those feelings. Putting this in plain words, our actions proceed either from the heart or from the mind, while the actions of the animals proceed from the senses. We see the vast difference between an animal and a man. So if man transfers his centre of heart and mind, to that of a higher one, think how grand the God-man would be! That centre according to the psychology of the Hindus is Vijnana. This is just above the crown of [the] head. This is known as Sahasradala or the place where the Shakti is situated. From this seat of activity, all actions emanate. Therefore the first Sadhana is not to feel ourselves either in the heart or in the mind but there just above the crown of [the] head. By these two means, we separate ourselves from body, life and mind. On account of this, misery cannot affect us and we will be above happiness and misery. Apart from all these, the main thing we effect thereby is, we will be in a position henceforward, to become one with the Brahman and to realise that everything is Brahman and everything is only one of the several forms, names and colours etc., of that one Vast Brahman. Whenever we see people walking along the road, we will no more see them as several different beings but as several forms of one vast undivided Brahman. As [a] rose is the manifestation of form, colour, odour so the Brahman is the manifestation of so many things we perceive by the senses and think by the mind etc. Along with these, we must put into practice one after the other what we are going to see hereafter as the Sapta Chatusthayas. They are namely Samata, Shakti, Vijnana, Sharira, Karma, Brahman and Siddhi Chatusthayas. Chatusthayas means four divisions. These seven Chatusthayas have been arranged in their natural and logical order. But it is not required of you to get them in practice in this given order. One may begin with a chatusthaya which [one] finds to be easier and in this way he is expected to practise. Why they are arranged in this way, how we are to effect them in us, when we will have success, all will be known to us when we finish writing and sincerely practise.