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Namah Sri Aurobindo’s Comments on Western Psychology

invisible life-forces and obscure psychological collection of words from which a meaningful
forces. For these subtler powers have to be story of life may be assembled. It is being
admitted even in the physical evolutionary argued that a genetic deterministic paradigm
theory to account for natural selection; if the must give way to a new, more complex
occult or subconscious energy in some types regulatory paradigm.
answer to the need of the environment, in
others remains unresponsive and unable to Richard Strohman writes in The California
survive, this is clearly the sign of a varying life- Monthly (25):
energy and psychology, of a consciousness and
a force other than the physical at work making “If the announcements from the HGP (Human
for variation in Nature (23).” This indicates Genome Project) tell us anything, they tell
that a consciousness and force other than us we do not know how organisms make
the hereditary principle is also at work themselves.... While it does tell us much about
contributing to variations, refinements and our genome, it tells us little about who we
mutations in Nature. are and how we got that way.... We thought
the programme was in the genes, and then in
Sri Aurobindo’s line of thinking has a bearing the proteins encoded by genes. But knowing
for the interest in cloning experiments and all the individual proteins will not reveal a
the human genome project, “Even if it be programme... The programme location is the
discovered hereafter that under certain chemical cell as a whole, and the cell, through signalling
or other conditions Life makes its appearance, pathways, is connected to larger wholes and to
all that will be established by this co-incidence the external world.....
is that in certain physical circumstances Life
manifests, not that certain chemical conditions The real question for all of us is: who chooses,
are constituents of Life, are its elements or are and who decides the future of life?”
the evolutionary cause of a transformation
of inanimate into animate Matter. Here as Sri Aurobindo answered this existential
elsewhere each grade of being exists in itself question:
and by itself, is manifested according to its own
character by its own proper energy, and the “If it be asked, how then did all these
gradations above or below it are not origins various gradations and types of being come
and resultant sequences but only degrees in the into existence, it can be answered that,
continuous scale of earth-nature (24).” fundamentally, they were manifested in Matter
by the Consciousness-Force in it, by the power
Now, when the sequencing of the human of the Real-Idea building its own significant
genome has been probed thoroughly, it has forms and types for the indwelling Spirit’s
been found that genetics alone is not sufficient cosmic existence: the practical or physical
to explain life’s complexity. Even complex method might vary considerably in different
human diseases cannot be simplistically traced grades or stages, although a basic similarity of
to one or few major genes. It seems that line may be visible; the creative Power might
calling DNA the book of life is an exaggeration. use not one, but many processes or set many
Rather the DNA can be compared to a random processes to act together (26).”

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