Reason was needed to rescue the world from its infra-rational animal stage. But now its hour is getting over. It must be replaced by a greater Light and hence we see a collapse of values established by Reason and its daughter modern Science.
Reason builds systems of knowledge based on its observation, analysis and inference. But sooner or later a new discovery is made that completely upsets what it had known turning it all into a fresh ignorance.
Step by step in a most logical way Sri Aurobindo reveals us the paradox of Science and the limitation of Reason to give us a true understanding of ‘Reality’.
Though Reason is presently the highest mental faculty available to man, it has several limitations. It fails when it makes claims to discovery of Truth.
The mind, by its very nature can see things in bits and parts. It knows a little but much more escapes its vision. Though useful in its place, Reason must slowly give way to higher modes of knowledge through which we can comprehend the Whole.
With the advent of Reason man’s thought strives to understand the secret law of things. It is this search that gives birth to science and Philosophy. Science too becomes a religion when she regards her discoveries as absolute truths.
Reason is an imperfect light even though right now it is thought to be the highest. Until greater ways of knowledge open their doors this imperfect light illumines the field of human experience.
This mind is an adventurer and an explorer. It is easily drawn towards the unknown and is also quick at weaving fantasy and imagination. This adventurer mind breaks into unknown domains by trying out the seemingly impossible.
The spell of physical mind tied down to convention and routine is broken by the emergence of the dynamic vital mind in man. This mind is hungry for innovation and change.
Each power of nature, each of its layers serves a certain purpose. The conservative spirit fixes things into a pattern but the same spirit becomes an obstacle when it is the hour of change
The physical mind, by its very nature is conservative. It is limited in its scope of understanding and action. It prefers stability over change. It lacks innovation and prefers to continue the old ways of life.
The little mind is stratified in three layers. The first of these is closely tied to earth and the body. It is what develops into the physical mind whose field is largely what the senses determine.
The birth of Mind upon our earth marks a transition from the unconsciously driven animal to a self-conscious being. This transition begins with the advent of mind and the stirrings of a mental consciousness in the human brain.
This power that we term as imagination is actually a portion of the formative power of Maya. It is given to man to escape from the trap of the senses and the mind tied to their imperfect and incomplete data.