Sri Aurobindo

Letters of Sri Aurobindo

Volume 1

Letter ID: 409

Sri Aurobindo — Roy, Dilip Kumar

November 16, 1933

My poem – the duologue between Cloud and Earth – I send herewith. Please tell me the difference between allegory and symbolism so that I may classify this poem.

There is a difference between symbolism and allegory. Allegory is when a quality or other abstract thing is personalised – symbolism is when a living truth is given an image or figure – in mystic poetry a living truth is a living image or figure. Allegory is an intellectual form for nobody believes in the personalisation of the abstract quality, it is only a poetic device. Symbolism supposes that both the truth and the symbol are living powers.

In this duologue I have imagined the Earth and the Cloud as conscious sentient entities. True, I have made each the mouth-piece of my own feelings and intuitions, but while I expressed these I was struck by a profound inarticulate stirring within me which suggested to me that my attribution of consciousness to them was perhaps not entirely fanciful as physical science would, doubtless, opine. I mean, I felt as though the Earth too had a concrete sentient rhythm of its own and could aspire for the Descent of the Supramental (of which I have written in her own words) thereby preparing herself more and more to receive it. But what about the Cloud, and shall we say Fire? Is my feeling true that they also count as sentient entities?

Entirely true as far as the Earth is concerned and true not so much for the cloud as for the Cloud-Power or Cloud-Spirit. The Earth is a conscious being and the globe is the form in which it manifests – behind the Cloud or Fire etc. there are Fire and Cloud Spirits of which the action of cloud or fire is a manifestation. This is an ancient knowledge which Science began to pooh-pooh, but anyone who passes the physical barrier can find it out for himself.

While I wrote this duologue the similes and images all but poured into me! And I marvelled where they came from! Evidently not from the intellect, for I was myself sceptical or rather intellectually unconvinced of the validity of what I wrote and was, as it were made to write it all – propelled by my irresistible groping intuitions. Besides, the images and symbols etc. came to me intermittently as though by flashes, if you know what I mean. This preface is only to ask you about their origin, that is, to know where the images come from, as also to ascertain what value they have here. Has it merely a poetical, that is beauty-value or is there truth-value also? What I mean is this (and you will please tell me if I understand rightly?) that expression per se has a world of its own and value as well, so that an idea or an image beautifully expressed need not be true in the last analysis, and may live by virtue of its beauty-value even if what is represented as true may be miles away from the real reality. But nevertheless – (though this might sound as paradox, but then paradoxes are often true) – the shock of delight arising out of the creation of anything beautiful but unreal, may come from some region of Truth – living Truth, may it not be so?

There are truths and there are transcriptions of the truths. The transcriptions may be accurate or may be free and imaginative. The truth behind a poetic creation is there on some plane or other, supraphysical generally – and from there the image too comes. So there is a transcription partly contributed from there, partly by the external mind’s faculty of imagination. Poetic imagination in the external mind is satisfied with beauty of idea and image only and the Ananda of it, but there is something behind it which supplies the Truth. When Shelley made the spirits of Nature speak, he was using his imagination, but there was something behind in him which felt and knew and believed in the truth of the thing he was expressing. Symbolic poems always come from a mystic region – the allegorical may come from the intellect, but often the allegory itself rests on a concealed symbol and then there is a mystic element.

Anyway please tell me where does the inspiration of such allegorical poems come from as I know it is not from the intellect. But does it come from any mystic region?

Am I right in assuming that this poem is somewhat more mystic that any I have yet written?

Yes. I shall have to read it again in detail before I can tell you how far and in what way.

I am superminding the letter on the supramental.