Page 16 - NAMAH-Apr-2018

Namah Vol. 26, Issue 1, 24th April 2018

being, wholly attuned to and aligned with supermanhood (6).”
the highest divine principles, inhabiting a
unified, continuous self-awareness, having A meditative practice of stilling the mind,
shed all attachment to a personal ego, persona opening the heart, immersed in self-awareness
or mask. The gnostic being lives in an is one of a handful of powerful practices that
uninterrupted relationship with the ‘Trinity can be used as a compass on this psycho-
of Spirit’, understood in Hindu theology as spiritual quest. Arriving at these levels of
Sat (Existence), Cit (Consciousness-Force), evolution was not for Sri Aurobindo a product
Enanda (Bliss), loosely analogous to the of fervid imagination, but rather a real and
Christian concept of the Father, the Son inevitable destination; man’s potential made
and the Holy Ghost. In his gnostic state, manifest.
man’s indwelling conscious Self mirrors the
transcendental reality of the cosmic Spirit. It may be mentioned that the Integral Yoga
of Sri Aurobindo is not a yoga of meditation
“The gnosis is the effective principle of the Spirit, alone. It is an intense, all-comprehensive yoga
a highest dynamis of the spiritual existence. The where all the parts of the being engage in this
gnostic individual would be the consummation seeking and fulfilment by the touch of the
of the spiritual man; his whole way of being, higher planes. Such a discussion is however
thinking, living, acting would be governed by well beyond the scope of this article which is
the power of a vast universal spirituality. All concentrated on meditative practices.
the trinities of the Spirit would be real to his
self-awareness and realised in his inner life. All Conclusion
his existence would be fused into oneness with
the transcendent and universal Self and Spirit; In this work, we have investigated the various
all his action would originate from and obey benefits derived from meditation and its
the supreme Self and Spirit’s divine governance impact on our physical, mental and psycho-
of Nature (5).” spiritual transformation. Its benefits range
from increased concentration; improved
In the following quote, Sri Aurobindo’s health; emotional well-being; accessing
depiction of the gnostic man, possessed psychological blocks; touching the divinity
by a super-mental awareness, takes us to within; evolution in ego-moral development;
the farthest frontiers conceivable in man’s up to the entry into the highest levels of
evolution, up to this point in human history. spiritual/transpersonal states. Indeed,
its applications are vast; from practical to
“A life of gnostic beings carrying the evolution spiritual; from personal to transpersonal;
to a higher supramental status might fitly be from a method of self-improvement to a
characterised as a divine life; for it would be vehicle of self-transcendence. Whether in
a life in the Divine, a life of the beginnings our day-to-day experiences or in the depths
of a spiritual divine light and power and joy of deep meditation retreats, meditation assists
manifested in material Nature. That might be wherever it finds us, leading us to the next
described, since it surpasses the mental human rung of our personal evolution. And as
level, as a life of spiritual and supramental each drop of water comprises the totality

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