Sri Aurobindo

The Hour of God

and other writings

Part One. The Hour of God

Certitudes

In the deep there is a greater deep, in the heights a greater height. Sooner shall man arrive at the borders of infinity than at the fullness of his own being. For that being is infinity, is God.

I aspire to infinite force, infinite knowledge, infinite bliss. Can I attain it ? Yes, but the nature of infinity is that it has no end. Say not therefore that I attain it. I become it. Only so can man attain God by becoming God.

But before attaining he can enter into relations with Him. To enter into relations with God is Yoga, the supreme object and the noblest utility. There are relations within the compass of the humanity we have developed. These are called prayer, worship, adoration, sacrifice, thought, faith, science, philosophy. There are other relations beyond our developed capacity, but within the compass of the humanity we have yet to develop. Those are the relations that are attained by the various practices we usually call Yoga.

We may not know Him as God, we may know Him as Nature, our Higher Self, Infinity, some ineffable Goal. It was so that Buddha approached Him; so approaches Him the rigid Adwaitin. He is accessible even to the Atheist. To the Materialist He disguises Himself in matter. For the Nihilist He waits ambushed in the bosom of Annihilation.

Ye yathā mām prapadyante tānstathaiva bhajāmyaham.