Page 10 - NAMAH-Jan-2020

Namah Vol. 27, Issue 4, 15th January 2020

phenomenon, we need to appreciate the meta- Thus, at every moment, reason has to make a
psychology of reason. conscious choice to move towards Truth. This
indicates that “in the principle of reason itself
A pre-existent truth there is the assertion of a Transcendence (4).”

In Chapter VII of The life Divine, Sri Aurobindo Problems of reason
deals with the meta-psychology of reason.
The meta-psychological perspective has to
Reason is supposed to be a faculty that is deal with two problems of reason:
logical, unbiased, error-free and engaged
in the disinterested pursuit of Truth. But a. Despite the element of Transcendence that
who decides what Truth is? Who decides exists in reason and leads man to ‘positive’
what Falsehood is? Or else who decides constructs of Truth, Reason also succumbs
what is a greater Truth or a lesser truth? to the stark practical reality that contradicts
Why do we prefer honesty to dishonesty, man’s highest ideals. Man’s idea of Truth is
life over homicide, and peace over discord? “an absolute of all that is positive to his own
If Reason has to choose, how does it arrive concepts and desirable to its own instinctive
at an error-free choice? If Reason is unbiased aspiration, — Knowledge without its negative
and disinterested, how can it vouchsafe for shadow of error, Bliss without its negation
certain values, declaring them to be positive in experience of suffering, Power without its
and impose it on our being? denial by incapacity, purity and plenitude
of being without the opposite sense of defect
The interesting thing is that certain objectives and limitation (5).” But the practical reality
are equally valid to the spiritual aspirant as is just the opposite of what our highest
well as to the atheist — both would reject ideals envisage. The world as we perceive it
dishonesty, discord, disease, death — both appears to be the denial or contradiction of
would vouchsafe for honesty, peace, health our absolutist ideals. Therefore, reason has to
and life! There is unanimity in whatever is constantly make a compromise, opting for “a
considered ‘positive’ to life. conditioned, limited and precarious knowledge,
happiness, power and good (6).”
This means that the human being’s concept
of whatever is positive already pre-exists b. Reason works through doubts and inhibitions
somewhere in consciousness. Sri Aurobindo and lacks the spontaneous, uninhibited quality
describes that there is a positive, pre-existent possessed by non-rational faculties like emotion.
truth (3). Reason moves towards this Truth It is as if reason lacks the instinctive certitude
by elimination of error, progressing through that emotion per se possesses. Sri Aurobindo
the dualities of ‘right’ knowledge and ‘wrong’ explains that this happens because emotions
knowledge. (‘Right’ knowledge is that which like happiness have an implicit, in-built element
moves towards the unitary principle, ’wrong of faith:
’knowledge is that which is ‘exclusive’ but
unable to shift from the multiplicity to the “If our reason has not the same instinctive
unitary poise of Reality). certitude with regard to the other aspirations

10