Dawn, as the master-poet suggests, is a symbol. Ordinarily, that is to say, materially, physically, it is the herald of a new day. However, it is also a symbol of hope, the advent of light and illumination, at once physical and psychological as well as spiritual. It reveals to the downcast that however thick the night may be, the day is sure to arrive. However dense our ignorance may be, the awakening is sure to come one day. The Vedic seers saw in the dawn the twin symbol of luminous force and the felicity that such an inner illumination brings.
It may be useful to remember that Savitri is very much a Veda in its own right, not only in its use of Vedic imagery but also and more importantly, the poet here is a creator of living truths. He expresses what he has seen in his soul-vision and experienced as his soul-state. The words, therefore, become a mantra: they are not just expressions of intellectual abstractions but carry within them the state of consciousness of the poet himself and can impart to those, who are open and ready, something of that high spiritual state that the master-poet embodied and has poured out through a body of words. It can awaken in us the lost memory of previous spiritual efforts of mankind and kindle in us the aspiration towards the future. Thus seen, it not only ranks as sublime poetry, but also as spiritual, mystic poetry, a revelatory poem to be received with subtle intelligence and an inner ear tuned to mystic truths.
Sri Aurobindo seems to use this ancient symbol in an even more powerful way by linking the dawn of spiritual illumination to the waking up of Savitri on this fateful day, when she must confront the mystery and enigma of death and take on the challenge of the night of human ignorance and the harsh law that binds all life to doom. Savitri, the emanation of the Divine Mother, is the harbinger of the new dawn that she must establish upon earth.
Of course, the dawn being described here is also and at once the dawn of the fateful day when Satyavan is destined to die. It is also the dawn of a new Hope and Light and Power upon earth that Savitri is destined to bring about. However, as we proceed through the magical lines, we also notice that there is not one but many successive dawns that have followed previously. Each time a civilisation is plunged into darkness, dawn comes to rescue it out of the state of fall. With it comes a rapid recovery of all that was lost and a renewed attempt to fill this world with Light and Truth and Bliss that hides behind the veils of ignorance.
The Book of Beginnings starts from the beginning of creation itself. Through images of a slow transition from night to dawn, Sri Aurobindo reveals to us the story of creation. The master artist fills these images with suggestions of previous, successive dawns and the past attempts of mankind to bring light into the earthly darkness. The physical light becomes a symbol of inner illumination dispelling the ignorance of earth-nature and the night a symbol of the swoon and state of unconsciousness into which creation is plunged.
But the world is not ready. The earth-nature has strong inbuilt resistances to a divine change. Hence the divine Breath, the Glory and the Grace withdraw. Man’s mind and his material consciousness reject the Grace and prefer his old accustomed ways.
Yet something is done and slowly the Light grows and the material response feels the uplifting touch, even if for a while. A yearning is born and a Presence is felt towards which man’s soul begins to respond, even though his entire being is not yet prepared.
This is the story so far of all divine descents. The Light of a higher consciousness that is brought down to earth by beings from a higher plane is soon turned into a fixed and rigid formula, a mechanical and soulless routine of ritual acts.
It is against this cosmic background that Sri Aurobindo, the master-poet, now introduces us to Savitri, the Divine Mother’s incarnation born in human time and wearing a mortal cloak.
Savitri has come to change this scheme of things. Having given us a background of the epic, the master-poet introduces us to the divine personality, the main protagonist of the epic of the human soul, the incarnate dawn, Savitri.
Opening Remarks | Canto One: The Symbol Dawn
Dawn, as the master-poet suggests, is a symbol. Ordinarily, that is to say, materially, physically, it is the herald of a new day. However, it is also a symbol of hope, the advent of light and illumination, at once physical and psychological as well as spiritual. It reveals to the downcast that however thick the night may be, the day is sure to arrive. However dense our ignorance may be, the awakening is sure to come one day. The Vedic seers saw in the dawn the twin symbol of luminous force and the felicity that such an inner illumination brings.
It may be useful to remember that Savitri is very much a Veda in its own right, not only in its use of Vedic imagery but also and more importantly, the poet here is a creator of living truths. He expresses what he has seen in his soul-vision and experienced as his soul-state. The words, therefore, become a mantra: they are not just expressions of intellectual abstractions but carry within them the state of consciousness of the poet himself and can impart to those, who are open and ready, something of that high spiritual state that the master-poet embodied and has poured out through a body of words. It can awaken in us the lost memory of previous spiritual efforts of mankind and kindle in us the aspiration towards the future. Thus seen, it not only ranks as sublime poetry, but also as spiritual, mystic poetry, a revelatory poem to be received with subtle intelligence and an inner ear tuned to mystic truths.
Sri Aurobindo seems to use this ancient symbol in an even more powerful way by linking the dawn of spiritual illumination to the waking up of Savitri on this fateful day, when she must confront the mystery and enigma of death and take on the challenge of the night of human ignorance and the harsh law that binds all life to doom. Savitri, the emanation of the Divine Mother, is the harbinger of the new dawn that she must establish upon earth.
Of course, the dawn being described here is also and at once the dawn of the fateful day when Satyavan is destined to die. It is also the dawn of a new Hope and Light and Power upon earth that Savitri is destined to bring about. However, as we proceed through the magical lines, we also notice that there is not one but many successive dawns that have followed previously. Each time a civilisation is plunged into darkness, dawn comes to rescue it out of the state of fall. With it comes a rapid recovery of all that was lost and a renewed attempt to fill this world with Light and Truth and Bliss that hides behind the veils of ignorance.
The Book of Beginnings starts from the beginning of creation itself. Through images of a slow transition from night to dawn, Sri Aurobindo reveals to us the story of creation. The master artist fills these images with suggestions of previous, successive dawns and the past attempts of mankind to bring light into the earthly darkness. The physical light becomes a symbol of inner illumination dispelling the ignorance of earth-nature and the night a symbol of the swoon and state of unconsciousness into which creation is plunged.
But the world is not ready. The earth-nature has strong inbuilt resistances to a divine change. Hence the divine Breath, the Glory and the Grace withdraw. Man’s mind and his material consciousness reject the Grace and prefer his old accustomed ways.
Yet something is done and slowly the Light grows and the material response feels the uplifting touch, even if for a while. A yearning is born and a Presence is felt towards which man’s soul begins to respond, even though his entire being is not yet prepared.
This is the story so far of all divine descents. The Light of a higher consciousness that is brought down to earth by beings from a higher plane is soon turned into a fixed and rigid formula, a mechanical and soulless routine of ritual acts.
It is against this cosmic background that Sri Aurobindo, the master-poet, now introduces us to Savitri, the Divine Mother’s incarnation born in human time and wearing a mortal cloak.
Savitri has come to change this scheme of things. Having given us a background of the epic, the master-poet introduces us to the divine personality, the main protagonist of the epic of the human soul, the incarnate dawn, Savitri.