{"id":2640,"date":"2013-07-13T01:42:56","date_gmt":"2013-07-13T01:42:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/localhost\/?p=2640"},"modified":"2013-07-13T01:42:56","modified_gmt":"2013-07-13T01:42:56","slug":"18-the-higher-planes-of-mind-vol-28-letters-on-yoga-i","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/01-works-of-sri-aurobindo\/03-cwsa\/28-letters-on-yoga-i\/18-the-higher-planes-of-mind-vol-28-letters-on-yoga-i","title":{"rendered":"-18_The Higher Planes of Mind.htm"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n\n\n
\n

\nChapter Four<\/b><\/font><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\nThe Higher Planes of Mind
\n<\/font><\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\nThe Higher Planes and Higher Consciousness
\n<\/a> <\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The higher planes are the higher mind, illumined, intuitive, over
\nmind, supermind. The psychic, mind, vital, physical belong to the ordinary manifestation. <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

* <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

The planes and the body are not the same. Above the head
\nare seen all the planes from the overmind down to the higher mind, but this is only a correlation in the consciousness
\n\t\u2014not
\nan actual location in space. <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

* <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

The spiritual mind is a mind which, in its fullness, is aware of the Self, reflecting the Divine, seeing and understanding the nature of
\nthe Self and its relations with the manifestation, living in that or in contact with it, calm, wide and awake to higher knowledge,
\nnot perturbed by the play of the Forces. When it gets its full liberated movement, its central station is very usually felt above
\nthe head, though its influence can extend downward through all the being and outward through space. <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

* <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

It [higher consciousness<\/i>] means the larger spiritual conscious
\nness which contains all these things [cosmic consciousness, intuitive consciousness, other planes of consciousness between<\/i>
\nIntuition and mind<\/i>] in possibility and once it is there can develop them in their due place or order. <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

* <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

The planes below [the Supermind, from the Overmind to the<\/i>
\nHigher Mind<\/i>] are of the spiritual consciousness but when there   <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

\n\t\t\tPage <\/font>\u2013 158<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\n<p align="left" style="line-height: 150%; 159<\/i> <\/p>\n

is a dynamic action from them, it is always a mixed action, not an action of pure knowledge but of knowledge subduing itself
\nto the rule of the Ignorance, the cosmic necessity in a world of Ignorance. If their action was that of the full Knowledge, there
\nwould be no need of any supramental descent. <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

* <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

The higher consciousness is a concentrated consciousness, concentrated in the Divine Unity and in the working out of the
\nDivine Will, not dispersed and rushing about after this or that mental idea or vital desire or physical need as is the ordinary
\nhuman consciousness \u2014also not invaded by a hundred haphazard thoughts, feelings and impulses, but master of itself, centred
\nand harmonious. <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\nThe Plane of Intuition
\n<\/a>
\n<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Intuition sees the truth of things by a direct inner contact, not like the ordinary mental intelligence by seeking and reaching out
\nfor indirect contacts through the senses etc. But the limitation of the Intuition as compared with the Supermind is that it sees
\nthings by flashes, point by point, not as a whole. Also in coming into the mind it gets mixed with the mental movement and forms
\na kind of intuitive-mind activity which is not the pure truth, but something in between the higher Truth and the mental seeking.
\nIt can lead the consciousness through a sort of transitional stage and that is practically its function. <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

* <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

Intuition is in direct contact with the higher Truth but not in
\nan integral contact. It gets the Truth in flashes and turns these flashes of Truth-perception into intuitions
\n\t\u2014intuitive ideas. The
\nideas of the true Intuition are always correct so far as they go \u2014but when intuition is diluted in the ordinary mind stuff, its
\ntruth gets mixed with error. <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

* <\/p>\n

\n  <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tPage <\/font>\u2013 159<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\n

Intuitivising [of the being<\/i>] is not sufficient to prevent a drop [in consciousness<\/i>]; if it is complete (and it is not complete until
\nnot only the mind, but the vital and physical are intuitivised) it can make you understand and be conscious of all the processes
\nin you and around but it does not necessarily make you entire master of the reactions. For that Knowledge is not enough
\n\u2014a
\ncertain Knowledge-Will (knowledge and will fused together) or Consciousness-Power is needed. <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

* <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

One can get intuitions
\n\t\u2014communications from there [the intuitive plane<\/i>] even while the ego exists \u2014but to live in the wideness of the Intuition is not possible with the limitation of the ego. <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

* <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

The Intuition is the first plane on which there is a real opening
\nto the full possibility of realisation \u2014it is through it that one goes farther \u2014first to Overmind and then to Supermind. <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

* <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

It [the individual Self<\/i>] is not specially related [to intuition<\/i>]
\n\t\u2014
\nintuition is the highest power the embodied individual can reach without universalising itself; when it universalises itself it is then
\npossible for it to come in contact with overmind. If by the individual Self is meant the Jivatman, it can be on any plane of
\nconsciousness. <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

* <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

By the intuitive self I meant the intuitive being, that part which belongs to the intuitive plane or is in connection with it. The
\nintuition is one of the higher planes of consciousness between the human thinking mind and the supramental plane. <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

* <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

The difference between intuition and thought is very much like
\nthat between seeing a thing and badgering one’s brains to find out what the thing can possibly be like. Intuition is truth-sight.
\n   <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tPage <\/font>\u2013
\n\t\t\t160<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\n<p align="left" style="line-height: 150%; 161<\/i> <\/p>\n

The thing seen may not be the truth? Well, in that case it will at least be one of its hundred tails or at least a hair from one
\nof the tails. The very first step in the supramental change is to transform all operations of consciousness from the ordinary
\nmental to the intuitive, only then is there any hope of proceeding farther, \u2014not to, but towards the supramental. <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\nThe Plane of Intuition and the Intuitive Mind<\/a><\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Intuition proper is true in itself (when not interpreted or altered
\nby mind), although fragmentary \u2014intuitive mind is mixed with mind and therefore not infallible because the truth intuition gives
\nmay be mixed or imperfectly put by mind. <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

* <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

There is the Intuition and below it there is the intuitive mind which may have several degrees or layers. Also there is a partial
\npower of intuition in ordinary mind itself, in the vital, in the physical consciousness, in the material itself. <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

* <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

To live in the Intuitive it is necessary first to have the opening
\ninto the cosmic consciousness and to live first in the higher and the illumined Mind, seeing everything from there. To receive
\nconstantly the intuition from above, that is not necessary \u2014it is sufficient to have the sense of the One everywhere and to get
\ninto contact with things and people through the inner mind and senses more than with the outer mind and senses
\n\t\u2014for the latter
\nmeet only the surface of things and are not intuitive. <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

* <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

The intuitive “mind” does not get the touch direct <\/i>from the supramental. Above it is the Overmind
\n\u2014in which there is a
\nhigher and greater intuition and above that are the supermind ranges. <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

* <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tPage <\/font>\u2013
\n\t\t\t161<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\n

The intuitive mind is a level of consciousness which is touched by the light of higher truths and receives them vividly and conveys
\nthem to the consciousness below. <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

* <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

I do not think it can be said that there are separate strata in the intuitive for purity, strength and beauty. These are separate
\npowers of the Divine, not separate strata. But of course they can be arranged by the Mind in that way for some organised
\npurpose. <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\nYogic Intuition and Ordinary Intuitions<\/a><\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Some people have a faculty of receiving impressions about others which is not by any means infallible, but often turns out to be
\nright. That is one thing and the Yogic intuition by which one directly knows or feels what is in a man, his capacities, character,
\ntemperament, is another. The first may be a help for developing the other, but it is not the same thing. The Yogic faculty has to
\nbe and it can be complete only with a great development of the inner consciousness. <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

* <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

To have the true intuition one must get rid of the mind’s self-will
\nand the vital’s also, their preferences, fancies, fantasies, strong insistences, and eliminate the mental and vital ego’s pressure
\nwhich sets the consciousness to work in the service of its own claims and desires. Otherwise these things will come in with
\nforce and claim to be intuitions, inspirations and the rest of it. Or if any intuitions come, they can be twisted and spoiled by
\nthe mixture of these forces of the Ignorance. <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

* <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

It [intuition<\/i>] is the power of knowing any truth or fact directly without reasoning or sense-proof, by a spontaneous right
\nperception. <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

* <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tPage <\/font>\u2013
\n\t\t\t162<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\n<p align="left" style="line-height: 150%; 163<\/i> <\/p>\n

As for intuition
\n\u2014well! One has to make a distinction \u2014if one can \u2014between a pure intuition and a mixed one. A pure intuition carries in it a truth, even if it is only a fragment or point of truth, and can be trusted. A mixed one carries in it some
\nsuggestion of truth which gets coated with mental matter \u2014here one has to use discrimination and separate the true suggestion
\nfrom the less reliable mental matter. Intuition and discrimination must always go together so long as one mixes in the mental plane
\n\u2014and for some time after. <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

* <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

Mental intuitive knowledge catches directly some aspect of a truth but without any completeness or certitude and the intuition is easily mixed with ordinary mental stuff that may be erroneous; in application it may easily be a half truth or be so
\nmisinterpreted and misapplied as to become an error. Also, the mind easily imitates the intuition in such a way that it is difficult
\nto distinguish between a true or a false intuition. That is the reason why men of intellect distrust the mental intuition and
\nsay that it cannot be accepted or followed unless it is tested and confirmed by the intellect. What comes from the overmind
\nintuition has a light, a certitude, an effective force of Truth in it that the mental intuition at its best even has not. <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

* <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

Yes,1 but it does not necessarily <\/i>come from the original source
\n\t\u2014the plane of Intuition. There are mental, vital, subtle physical intuitions as well as intuitions from the higher and the illumined
\nMind. <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\nPowers of the Intuitive Consciousness<\/a><\/b><\/p>\n

\n <\/b><\/p>\n

Revelation is a part of the intuitive consciousness. <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

* <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n   
\n1 The correspondent asked: “Is the knowledge got by the Samyama of Rajayoga of the<\/i>
\nsame kind as one would get by Intuition? Is the source of the knowledge not the same?<\/i>
\n\u2014Ed.<\/i>  <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tPage <\/font>\u2013
\n\t\t\t163<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\n

There is a discrimination [in the intuitive consciousness<\/i>] that is not intellectual
\n\u2014a direct perception. <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

* <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

No, the world of Knowledge is composed of several planes. It is
\nfrom one of them that inspiration comes. <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\nThe Illumined Mind
\n<\/a>
\n<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Intuition is above illumined Mind
\n\u2014which is simply higher Mind raised to a great luminosity and more open to modified
\nforms of intuition and inspiration. <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

* <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

The substance of knowledge is the same [in the higher mind<\/i> and the illumined mind<\/i>], but the higher mind gives only the
\nsubstance and form of knowledge in thought and word \u2014in the illumined mind there begins to be a peculiar light and energy
\nand ananda of knowledge which grows as one rises higher in the scale or else as the knowledge comes from a higher and
\nhigher source. This light etc. are still rather diluted and diffused in the illumined mind; it becomes more and more intense, clearly
\ndefined, dynamic and effective on the higher planes, so much so as to change always the character and power of the knowledge. <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\nThe Higher Mind
\n<\/a><\/b> <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The higher mind is a thing in itself above the intellect. It is only
\nwhen something of its power comes down and is modified in the lower mind substance that it acts as part of the intellect. <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

* <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

It depends on what is meant by the higher buddhi
\n\t\u2014whether
\nyou use the word to mean the higher part of the intellect or the higher Mind. The higher Mind in itself on its own level knows,
\nbut when it is involved in the ordinary human intelligence and works under limitations, it often does not know
\n\t\u2014or it has the
\n   <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tPage <\/font>\u2013
\n\t\t\t164<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\n<p align="left" style="line-height: 150%; 165<\/i> <\/p>\n

idea merely that it must be so but has not the consciousness of its separate existence. The intellect can rise above its ordinary
\nmovements and feel itself as a separate power no longer working under the limitations of the vital and physical mind and the
\nsenses. It then begins to reflect something of the action of the higher mind but without the full freedom and greater light and
\ntruth of the higher mind.  
\n<p align="left" style="line-height: 150%; 165<\/i> <\/p>\n

 <p align="left" style="line-height: 150%; 165<\/i> <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tPage <\/font>\u2013
\n\t\t\t165<\/font><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Chapter Four   The Higher Planes of Mind   The Higher Planes and Higher Consciousness   The higher planes are the higher mind, illumined, intuitive,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[53],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2640","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-28-letters-on-yoga-i","wpcat-53-id"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2640","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2640"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2640\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2640"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2640"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2640"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}