Opening Remarks
After introducing us to the workings of the mind, Sri Aurobindo now takes us into the Mind realm where Savitri enters through her soul depths.
Quiet country
Here was a quiet country of fixed mind,
Here life no more was all nor passion’s voice;
The cry of sense had sunk into a hush.
Unlike the realm of life that is ever restless and turbulent, the mind reigns the passions and the senses thereby creating a sort of mental quietude.
Soul nor spirit
Soul was not there nor spirit but mind alone;
Mind claimed to be the spirit and the soul.
One felt neither the ardour and divinising touch of the soul nor the uplifting wings of the spirit. It was Mind alone that reigned claiming to be the soul and the spirit.
Form of mind
The spirit saw itself as form of mind,
Lost itself in the glory of the thought,
A light that made invisible the sun.
The spirit involved in the mind saw itself there as a creation of the mind itself. It was lost in the form of thoughts whose brilliance hid the very Source of Light, the Divine.
Firm and settled space
Into a firm and settled space she came
Where all was still and all things kept their place.
It was a space where one felt settled with each thing kept in its place in an orderly way.
Each found
Each found what it had sought and knew its aim.
Each one in that realm felt that he knew what he was seeking and had found it too.
Finality
All had a final last stability.
All seemed to have the sense of a finality and the last ground of finding what they sought.
There one stood
There one stood forth who bore authority
On an important brow and held a rod;
Command was incarnate in his gesture and tone;
Tradition’s petrified wisdom carved his speech,
His sentences savoured the oracle.
There, in that domain, there appeared a being with some authority holding a rod symbol of a sceptre or a sign of governance through regimentation and authority. He had a high brow symbolising the mental ego. He was authoritative in gesture and tone, rigid and harsh though boasting of scriptural authority as a petrified wisdom. His sentences tried to convey the sense of an oracle.
Thought’s supreme finality
“Traveller or pilgrim of the inner world,
Fortunate art thou to reach our brilliant air
Flaming with thought’s supreme finality.
The mental being that Savitri encounters remarks or rather congratulates Savitri at having reached this brilliant atmosphere of the world of intellectuals and philosophers shining with the light of thought’s finality. He addresses Savitri as pilgrim of the inner world and considers her fortunate to reach this height which he takes as the final summit.
Live at peace
O aspirant to the perfect way of life,
Here find it; rest from search and live at peace.
This certitude, premature though it is, gives a sense of peace as the mind may well believe that its search for the perfect way of life has ended.
Home of cosmic certainty
Ours is the home of cosmic certainty.
He assures Savitri that she has arrived at the final destination, the home of cosmic certainty.
Here is the truth
Here is the truth, God’s harmony is here.
With his characteristic humour, Sri Aurobindo reveals that the mind’s knowledge is insufficient though those who have it through the agency of the intellect and reason falsely believe that they know the truth. It is the apex of Nature where one finds a kind of balance and equipoise which is mistaken for God’s harmony and truth.
Book of the elite
Register thy name in the book of the elite,
Admitted by the sanction of the few,
Adopt thy station of knowledge, thy post in mind,
Thy ticket of order draw in Life’s bureau
And praise thy fate that made thee one of ours.
The philosopher and sage bids Savitri to register her name among the elite who are rarely admitted after the approval of the intellectually eminent persons. Thence she can chose her own special area of mental interest and confirm her place in Life’s bureau and praise herself that fate has brought her in the company of the select lot.
Schemed by law
All here, docketed and tied, the mind can know,
All schemed by law that God permits to life.
All in the mental world, all that the mind can know, is well ordered and tied and given its place. All was bound by a scheme of thought and law and rule that God permits to creatures. It was a rule-bound world.
There is no beyond
This is the end and there is no beyond.
This is the end and there is nothing more to be known, believes the sage whom Savitri finds in the mental world.
Safety of the ultimate wall
Here is the safety of the ultimate wall,
Here is the clarity of the sword of Light,
Here is the victory of a single Truth,
Here burns the diamond of flawless bliss.
He says that here she will find the last wall of safety and the clarity of the discerning mind. Here she can find the one single highest Truth that burns as the diamond of flawless happiness.
A favourite
A favourite of Heaven and Nature live.”
He finally remarks rather confidently that she could live here as a favourite of Heaven and Nature, valued both human beings as well as the gods.
Closing Remarks
The beings who reach some kind of intellectual eminence live in a state of false certitudes and the illusion of knowledge.
