{"id":983,"date":"2013-07-13T01:31:44","date_gmt":"2013-07-13T01:31:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/localhost\/?p=983"},"modified":"2013-07-13T01:31:44","modified_gmt":"2013-07-13T01:31:44","slug":"45-the-higher-and-the-lower-knowledge-vol-20-the-synthesis-of-yoga-volume-20","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/01-works-of-sri-aurobindo\/01-sabcl\/20-the-synthesis-of-yoga-volume-20\/45-the-higher-and-the-lower-knowledge-vol-20-the-synthesis-of-yoga-volume-20","title":{"rendered":"-45_The Higher and the Lower Knowledge.htm"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n
\n
\n


\nChapter XXV<\/span><\/font><\/b> <\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

\n <\/font><\/span>The Higher and the Lower Knowledge<\/span><\/font><\/b> <\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n


\nW<\/font><\/span><\/b>E
\nHAVE<\/span><\/font> now completed our view of the path of
\nKnowledge and seen to what it leads. First, the end of Yoga of Knowledge is
\nGod-possession, it is to possess God and be possessed by him through
\nconsciousness, through identification, through reflection of the divine Reality.
\nBut not merely in some abstraction away from our present existence, but here
\nalso; therefore to possess the Divine in himself, the Divine in the world, the
\nDivine within, the Divine in all things and all beings. It is to possess oneness
\nwith God and through that to possess also oneness with the universal, with the
\ncosmos and all existences; therefore to possess the infinite diversity also in
\nthe oneness, but on the basis of oneness and not on the basis of division. It is
\nto possess God in his personality and his impersonality; in his purity free from
\nqualities and in his infinite qualities; in time and beyond time; in his action
\nand in his silence; in the finite and in the infinite. It is to possess him not
\nonly in pure self, but in all self; not only in self, but in Nature; not only in
\nspirit, but in supermind<\/span>,
\nmind, life and body; to possess him with the spirit, with the mind, with the
\nvital and the physical consciousness; and it is again for all these to be
\npossessed by him, so that our whole being is one with him, full of him,
\ngoverned and driven by him. It is, since God is oneness, for our physical
\nconsciousness to be one with the soul and the nature of the material universe;
\nfor our life, to be one with all life; for our mind, to be one with the
\nuniversal mind; for our spirit, to be identified with the universal spirit. It
\nis to merge in him in the absolute and find him in all relations.<\/span><\/p>\n

Secondly, it
\nis to put on the divine being and the divine nature. And since God is
\nSachchidananda, it is to raise our being into the divine being, our
\nconsciousness into the divine consciousness, our energy into the divine energy,
\nour delight
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

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\n

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of existence into the
\ndivine delight of being. And it is not only to lift ourselves into this higher
\nconsciousness, but to widen into it in all our being, because it is to be found
\non all the planes of our existence and in all our members, so that our mental,
\nvital, physical existence shall become full of the divine nature. Our
\nintelligent mentality is to become a play of the divine knowledge-will, our
\nmental soul-life a play of the divine love and delight, our vitality a play of
\nthe divine life, our physical being a mould of the divine substance. This God-action
\nin us is to be realised by an opening of ourselves to the divine gnosis and
\ndivine Ananda and, in its fullness, by an ascent into and a permanent dwelling
\nin the gnosis and the Ananda. For though we live physically on the material
\nplane and in normal outward-going life the mind and soul are preoccupied with
\nmaterial existence, this externality of our being is not a binding limitation.
\nWe can raise our internal consciousness from plane to plane of the relations of
\nPurusha with Prakriti, and even become, instead of the mental being dominated
\nby the physical soul and nature, the gnostic being or the bliss-self and assume
\nthe gnostic or the bliss nature. And by this raising of the inner life we can
\ntransform our whole outward-going existence; instead of a life dominated by
\nmatter we shall then have a life dominated by spirit with all its circumstances
\nmoulded and determined by the purity of being, the consciousness infinite even in
\nthe finite, the divine energy, the divine joy and bliss of the spirit.<\/span><\/p>\n

This is the
\ngoal; we have seen also what are the essentials of the method. But here we have
\nfirst to consider briefly one side of the question of method which we have
\nhitherto left untouched. In the system of an integral Yoga the principle must be
\nthat all life is a part of the Yoga; but the knowledge which we have been
\ndescribing seems to be not the knowledge of what is ordinarily understood as
\nlife, but of something behind life. There are two kinds of knowledge, that
\nwhich seeks to understand the apparent phenomenon of existence externally, by
\nan approach from outside, through the intellect, \u2013 this is the lower knowledge,
\nthe knowledge of the apparent world; secondly, the knowledge which seeks to
\nknow the truth of existence <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage
\n\u2013 491<\/span><\/p>\n

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\n

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from within, in its
\nsource and reality, by spiritual realisation. Ordinarily, a sharp distinction
\nis drawn between the two, and it is supposed that when we get to the higher
\nknowledge, the God-knowledge, then the rest, the world-knowledge, becomes of no
\nconcern to us: but in reality they are two sides of one seeking. All knowledge
\nis ultimately the knowledge of God, through himself, through Nature, through
\nher works. Mankind has first to seek this knowledge through the external life;
\nfor until its mentality is sufficiently developed, spiritual knowledge is not
\nreally possible, and in proportion as it is developed, the possibilities of
\nspiritual knowledge become richer and fuller.<\/span><\/p>\n

Science, art,
\nphilosophy, ethics, psychology, the knowledge of man and his past, action
\nitself are means by which we arrive at the knowledge of the workings of God
\nthrough Nature and through life. At first it is the workings of life and forms of
\nNature which occupy us, but as we go deeper and deeper and get a completer view
\nand experience, each of these lines brings us face to face with God. Science at
\nits limits, even physical Science, is compelled to perceive in the end the
\ninfinite, the universal, the spirit, the divine intelligence and will in the
\nmaterial universe. Still more easily must this be the end with the psychic
\nsciences which deal with the operations of higher and subtler planes and powers
\nof our being and come into contact with the beings and the phenomena of the
\nworlds behind which are unseen, not sensible by our physical organs, but ascertainable
\nby the subtle mind and senses. Art leads to the same end; the aesthetic human
\nbeing intensely preoccupied with Nature through aesthetic emotion must in the
\nend arrive at spiritual emotion and perceive not only the infinite life, but the
\ninfinite presence within her; preoccupied with beauty in the life of man he
\nmust in the end come to see the divine, the universal, the spiritual in
\nhumanity. Philosophy dealing with the principles of things must come to
\nperceive the Principle of all these principles and investigate its nature,
\nattributes and essential workings. So ethics must eventually perceive that the
\nlaw of good which it seeks is the law of God and depends on the being and
\nnature of the Master of the law. Psychology leads from the study of mind and
\nthe soul in living beings to the perception of the
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage
\n\u2013 492<\/span><\/p>\n

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\n

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one soul and one mind in
\nall things and beings. The history and study of man like the history and study
\nof Nature lead towards the perception of the eternal and universal Power and
\nBeing whose thought and will work out through the cosmic and human evolution.
\nAction itself forces us into contact with the divine Power which works through,
\nuses, overrules our actions. The intellect begins to perceive and understand,
\nthe emotions to feel and desire and revere, the will to turn itself to the
\nservice of the Divine without whom Nature and man cannot exist or move and by conscious
\nknowledge of whom alone we can arrive at our highest possibilities.<\/span><\/p>\n

It is here
\nthat Yoga steps in. It begins by using knowledge, emotion and action for the
\npossession of the Divine. For Yoga is the conscious and perfect seeking of
\nunion with the Divine towards which all the rest was an ignorant and imperfect
\nmoving and seeking. At first, then, Yoga separates itself from the action and
\nmethod of the lower knowledge. For while this lower knowledge approaches God
\nindirectly from outside and never enters his secret dwelling-place, Yoga calls us
\nwithin and approaches him directly; while that seeks him through the intellect
\nand becomes conscious of him from behind a veil, Yoga seeks him through
\nrealisation, lifts the veil and gets the full vision; where that only feels the
\npresence and the influence, Yoga enters into the presence and fills itself with
\nthe influence; where that is only aware of the workings and through them gets
\nsome glimpse of the Reality, Yoga identifies our inner being with the Reality
\nand sees from that the workings. Therefore the methods of Yoga are different
\nfrom the methods of the lower knowledge. <\/span><\/p>\n

The method of
\nYoga in knowledge must always be a turning of the eye inward and, so far as it
\nlooks upon outer things, a penetrating of the surface appearances to get at the
\none eternal reality within them. The lower knowledge is preoccupied with the
\nappearances and workings; it is the first necessity of the higher to get away
\nfrom them to the Reality of which they are the appearances and the Being and
\nPower of conscious existence of which they are the workings. It does this by
\nthree movements each necessary to each other, by each of which the others
\nbecome complete, \u2013 purification, concentration, identification. <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage
\n\u2013 493<\/span><\/p>\n

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\n

<\/span><\/div>\n

      The object of
\npurification is to make the whole mental being a clear mirror in which the
\ndivine reality can be reflected, a clear vessel and an unobstructing channel
\ninto which the divine presence and through which the divine influence can be
\npoured, a subtilised<\/span> stuff which the divine nature
\ncan take possession of, new-shape and use to divine issues. For the mental
\nbeing at present reflects only the confusions created by the mental and
\nphysical view of the world, is a channel only for the disorders of the ignorant
\nlower nature and full of obstructions and impurities which prevent the higher
\nfrom acting; therefore the whole shape of our being is deformed and imperfect, indocile<\/span> to the highest influences and turned in its action
\nto ignorant and inferior utilities. It reflects even the world falsely; it is
\nincapable of reflecting the Divine.<\/span><\/p>\n

Concentration
\nis necessary, first, to turn the whole will and mind from the discursive
\ndivagation natural to them, following a dispersed movement of the thoughts,
\nrunning after many-branching desires, led away in the track of the senses and
\nthe outward mental response to phenomena: we have to fix the will and the
\nthought on the eternal and real behind all, and this demands an immense effort,
\na one-pointed concentration. Secondly, it is necessary in order to break down
\nthe veil which is erected by our ordinary mentality between ourselves and the
\ntruth; for outer knowledge can be picked up by the way, by ordinary attention
\nand reception, but the inner, hidden and higher truth can only be seized by an
\nabsolute concentration of the mind on its object, an absolute concentration of
\nthe will to attain it and, once attained, to hold it habitually and securely
\nunite oneself with it. For identification is the condition of complete
\nknowledge and possession; it is the intense result of a habitual purified
\nreflecting of the reality and an entire concentration on it; and it is
\nnecessary in order to break down entirely that division and separation of
\nourselves from the divine being and the eternal reality which is the normal
\ncondition of our unregenerated ignorant mentality. <\/span><\/p>\n

None of these
\nthings can be done by the methods of the lower knowledge. It is true that here
\nalso they have a preparing action, but up to a certain point and to a certain
\ndegree of inten<\/span>–<\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage
\n\u2013 494<\/span><\/p>\n

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\n

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sity<\/span><\/span> only, and it
\nis where their action ceases that the action of Yoga takes up our growth into
\nthe Divine and finds the means to complete it. All pursuit of knowledge, if not
\nvitiated by a too earthward tendency, tends to refine, to subtilise<\/span>,
\nto purify the being. In proportion as we become more mental, we attain to a
\nsubtler action of our whole nature which becomes more apt to reflect and
\nreceive higher thoughts, a purer will, a less physical truth, more inward
\ninfluences. The power of ethical knowledge and the ethical habit of thought and
\nwill to purify is obvious. Philosophy not only purifies the reason and
\npredisposes it to the contact of the universal and the infinite, but tends to
\nstabilise the nature and create the tranquillity of the sage; and tranquillity
\nis a sign of increasing self-mastery and purity. The preoccupation with
\nuniversal beauty even in its aesthetic forms has an intense power for refining
\nand subtilising<\/span> the nature, and at its highest it is
\na great force for purification. Even the scientific habit of mind and the
\ndisinterested preoccupation with cosmic law and truth not only refine the reasoning
\nand observing faculty, but have, when not counteracted by other tendencies, a
\nsteadying, elevating and purifying influence on the mind and moral nature which
\nhas not been sufficiently noticed.<\/span><\/p>\n

The
\nconcentration of the mind and the training of the will towards the reception of
\nthe truth and living in the truth is also an evident result, a perpetual
\nnecessity of these pursuits; and at the end or in their highest intensities
\nthey may and do lead first to an intellectual, then to a reflective perception
\nof the divine Reality which may culminate in a sort of preliminary identification
\nwith it. But all this cannot go beyond a certain point. The systematic
\npurification of the whole being for an integral reflection and taking in of the
\ndivine reality can only be done by the special methods of Yoga. Its absolute concentration
\nhas to take the place of the dispersed concentrations of the lower knowledge;
\nthe vague and ineffective identification which is all the lower knowledge can
\nbring, has to be replaced by the complete, intimate, imperative and living
\nunion which Yoga brings.<\/span><\/p>\n

Nevertheless,
\nYoga does not either in its path or in its attainment exclude and throw away
\nthe forms of the lower
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage
\n\u2013 495<\/span><\/p>\n

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\n

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knowledge, except when
\nit takes the shape of an extreme asceticism or a mysticism altogether
\nintolerant of this other divine mystery of the world-existence. It separates
\nitself from them by the intensity, largeness and height of its objective and
\nthe specialisation of its methods to suit its aim; but it not only starts from
\nthem, but for a certain part of the way carries them with it and uses them as
\nauxiliaries. Thus it is evident how largely ethical thought and practice, \u2013 not
\nso much external as internal conduct, \u2013 enter into the preparatory method of
\nYoga, into its aim at purity. Again the whole method of Yoga is psychological;
\nit might almost be termed the consummate practice of a perfect psychological
\nknowledge. The data of philosophy are the supports from which it begins in the
\nrealisation of God through the principles of his being; only it carries the
\nintelligent understanding which is all philosophy gives, into an intensity
\nwhich carries it beyond thought into vision and beyond understanding into
\nrealisation and possession; what philosophy leaves abstract and remote, it
\nbrings into a living nearness and spiritual concreteness. The aesthetic and
\nemotional mind and aesthetic forms are used by Yoga as a support for
\nconcentration even in the Yoga of knowledge and are, sublimated, the whole
\nmeans of the Yoga of love and delight, as life and action, sublimated, are the
\nwhole means of the Yoga of works. Contemplation of God in Nature, contemplation
\nand service of God in man and in the life of man and of the world in its past,
\npresent and future, are equally elements of which the Yoga of knowledge can
\nmake use to complete the realisation of God in all things. Only, all is
\ndirected to the one aim, directed towards God, filled with the idea of the
\ndivine, infinite, universal existence so that the outward-going, sensuous, pragmatical<\/span> preoccupation of the lower knowledge with
\nphenomena and forms is replaced by the one divine preoccupation. After
\nattainment the same character remains. The Yogin continues to know and see God
\nin the finite and be a channel of God-consciousness and God-action in the
\nworld; therefore the knowledge of the world and the enlarging and uplifting of
\nall that appertains to life comes within his scope. Only, in all he sees God,
\nsees the supreme reality, and his motive of work is to help mankind towards the
\nknowledge
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage
\n\u2013 496<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

<\/span><\/div>\n

\nof God and the
\npossession of the supreme reality. He sees God through the data of science, God
\nthrough the conclusions of philosophy, God through the forms of Beauty and the
\nforms of Good, God in all the activities of life, God in the past of the world
\nand its effects, in the present and its tendencies, in the future and its great
\nprogression. Into any or all of these he can bring his illumined vision and his
\nliberated power of the spirit. The lower knowledge has been the step from which
\nhe has risen to the higher; the higher illumines for him the lower and makes it
\npart of itself, even if only its lower fringe and most external radiation. <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage
\n\u2013 497<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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