SOURCE: "Sri Aurobindo's Savitri: A Key to Integral Perfection," in Indian Readings in Commonwealth Literature, edited by G. S. Amur, and others, Sterling Publishers Private Limited, 1985, pp. 59-70.

Sri Aurobindo's Savitri is both a legend and a symbol. Through the legend he tries to convey the most ancient tradition of the realization of the Integral Self and through the symbol all the mystic processes connected thereto. The poem reveals a philosophical wisdom and mystical inspiration and promises the highest kind of life to those who are prepared to sacrifice a limited reward for the blessed promise of fullness.

Sri Aurobindo holds a distinctive view with regard to the place of poetry in the scheme of human evolution, echoed by Satyawan in Savitri. Satyawan gropes for the mystery with the lantern of thought. Its glimmerings light with the abstract word a half visible ground, and travelling yard by yard it maps a system of the self and God. He then turns to poetry to find its hints through beauty and art. But he discovers that the form cannot unveil the indwelling power. It only throws its symbols at our hearts. It evokes a mood of self, evokes a sign of all the brooding glory hidden in our sense.

There are always two dimensions to whatever a poet may try to communicate; the outward or instrumental and the inward or spiritual. The outward or instrumental elements, according to Sri Aurobindo, are at a lower level compared to the inward or spiritual.

Our consciousness is always externalised because we live most of the time in the external world. We look at things and happenings from the outer surface of our being. We can see and feel only the results on the material plane. Our senses have a very limited power and they can give us the knowledge of the material things. But Sri Aurobindo reveals in Savitri that,

Our larger being sits behind cryptic walls:
There are greatnesses hidden in our unseen parts
That wait their hour to step into life's front.

The key to integral perfection, according to Sri Aurobindo's Savitri, lies in turning our consciousness inward. There is a phenomenal determinism in the world of flux in which we dwell. The truth of this world is relative, while the absolute and transcendental truth is the truth of our inner soul.

Integral perfection is possible when we know our entire being. The senses, mind and intellect can know only a surface of our being, a small part of our being:

The larger part of our being lies hidden behind the frontal consciousness, behind the veil occult and known only by an occult knowledge.

[Letters on Yoga]

Our senses give us the knowledge of the things that are in the external world by directing our consciousness outward. In the same way we can know the things of the inner world which are higher worlds if we direct our consciousness inward and rise into the inner consciousness. We have to take an entirely reverse turn in our consciousness and go beyond the limitations of our physical senses to have the true knowledge of the absolute. There is a correspondence between the inner and the outer and the life within is the same as the life without. The concentration upon our body, life and mind and the realms beyond mind acquaints us with the cosmic character of the forces which govern these elements. Intensive concentration on our different inward elements gives our inward being a poise and a calm and a power to move these forces cosmically, making our soul the artist of our fate. Till then we are slaves of the Matter:

Here Matter seems to mould the body's life
And the soul follows where its nature drives;
Nature and Fate compel his free will's choice.
But greater spirits this balance can reverse
And make the soul the artist of its fate.

Sri Aurobindo here draws a distinction between the spirits who are eminently fit, those who are moderately fit and those who are misfit for the spiritual life. The spiritual call does not reach both spiritually fit and unfit alike. Even amongst the fit souls there are degrees of fitness. There are souls who are fit from their birth. They are of the finest type. They do not suffer from the earthly touch; they have their illumination with their nativity and birth. Savitri and Satyawan are such great souls. Then there are seekers after truth who are not in touch with the affairs of the world and those who are in touch with life and life's affairs. Both these types require preparation and have to pass through a period of discipline. It is a period of spiritual instruction and fellowship. The first type respond to the spiritual call immediately and pass into the life of contemplation and silence. The second type take time before they can be in everyway fit for spiritual realization. The way of life in the two cases will be different. The first will be the life of wise passiveness, insight and meditation; the second will be the life of active callings on the path of duty of a house-holder. A house-holder cannot renounce the duties at hand. He will have to pass through darkness and light and he will be finally moulded by life. Close concentration and devotion to the ideal is not possible unless he attains a freedom from the urges of life.

There is a third category of misfits who can never receive a call for spiritual life. Truth remains hidden from them because they are after shadows and appearances. They find what they seek. They are described at great length in the Seventh Book of Savitri:

But only reason and sense he feels as sure,
They only are his trusted witnesses.

There are also categories below even the level of misfits.

For instance, the man who indulges in evil for the sake of evil:

I was made for evil, evil is my lot;
Evil I must be and by evil live.

And the man who clings to his ignorant life:

But human mind clings to its ignorance,
And to its littleness the human heart,
And to its right to grief the earthly life.

The plan of integral perfection is revealed to Savitri by a mighty voice as she sat staring at the dumb tread of time, contemplating in the region above her brows, where will and knowledge meet. Thus contemplating, her body becomes rigid like a golden statue. But there is divine light lit within her. She is asked to—

Find out thy soul, recover thy hid self
In silence seek God's meaning in thy depths,
Then mortal nature change to the divine,
Open God's door, enter into his trance,
Cast thought from thee, that nimble ape of light:
In his tremendous hush stilling thy brain
His vast truth wake within and know and see.
Cast from thee sense that veils thy spirit's sight:
In the enormous emptiness of thy mind
Then shall see the eternal's body in the world
Know him in every voice heard by thy soul:
In the world's contact meet his single touch;
All things shall fold thee into his embrace.
Conquer thy heart's throbs, let thy heart beat in God:
Thy nature shall be the engine of his works,
Thy voice shall house the mightiness of his word:
Then shall thou harbour my force and conquer Death.

The various steps of the plan of integral perfection indicated in the above passage could be spelt out thus:

1. To find out our soul and to recover our hidden self.
2. To seek God's meaning in our inner deep worlds in silence.
3. To transform our mortal nature of triple qualities of Tamas, Raja and Satva to the divine nature.
4. To open in deep meditation God's door which is hidden in our inner realm.
5. To acquire a lasting peace by freeing our mind from every kind of thought.
6. To acquire the transcendental sight and knowledge by freeing our mind of the tyranny of senses and by awakening the inner vast truth.
7. To recognise the presence of God in all things—animate and inanimate—of the external world, thereby, making it possible to be deeply rooted in Bhakti even while engaged in mundane activities.
8. To banish all seekings, agitations, wishes and desires from the heart and to become an instrument of God's work.
9. The above sadhana will reveal the divine word and invest it with God's power. With this power it will be possible to conquer Death.

The divine could be recovered only by the divine. The divine has two aspects—one is static and the other is dynamic. The dynamic aspect of the divine and our soul in its pure form are identical. The soul could be found out if we receive the grace or if we receive spiritual knowledge or if we remain in the company of realised souls or if we read the works of realised souls. Savitri has an inexhaustible source of mystical inspiration to arouse our soul if we approach it in a spirit of receptivity. It has enormous possibilities to communicate Truth, Beauty, Light, Power, Knowledge, Wisdom and Consciousness which lead to integral perfection. The wonders of the Deep and the ecstasies of the Height begin to possess us if we open our being to its powerful inrushes. By concentrating on these inrushes, the blissful vibrations in our being, the hidden self can be recovered. The hidden self is static in its nature. This practice of concentration has been called Abhyas or spiritual practice by Patanjali: Abhyas—Vairagyabhyam tannirodhah. By practice of concentration, contemplation and meditation on the dynamic nature of Purusha in chittam, the material characteristic of mind-stuff is progressively renounced [Rammurti S. Mishra, The Text-book of Yoga Psychology].

To seek God's meaning in our inner deep worlds in silence, we have to follow a long drawn programme of meditation. This meditation will disclose to the seeker his cosmic past. It will reveal to him many worlds peopled with seeds of life and the human creature born in time. Also,

There are occult shadows, there are tenebrous Powers,
Inhabitants of life's ominous nether rooms,
A shadowy world's stupendous denizens.

The seeker will have to establish himself firmly in his soul. Firmly to keep attention with all its consciousness is called practice or Abhyasa. But this practice will get firmly grounded only when it has been cultivated for a long time, constantly, continuously and uninterruptedly with earnest attention. Which is produced by self-discipline, protected by ojas, chemical, bio-chemical and harmonal powers, and energized by self-confidence and self-scrutiny [Mishra, The Textbook of Yoga Psychology].

The inner worlds can be broadly divided into the world of inconscience, the world of ignorance and the world of superconscience:

Above us dwells a superconscient god
Hidden in the mystery of his own light:
Around us is a vast ignorance
Lit by the uncertain ray of human mind,
Below us sleeps the Inconscient dark and mute.

The poem reveals an adventurous journey in the inner realms. There is no place in it for the conventional ways of thinking about Truth. We have to free ourselves completely of the conventional notions and ideas of the sensuous experiences in poetry and be prepared to receive the blissful light which brings understanding. The poem will unfold the mysteries of silence if we turn our senses and mind inward. The poem will lead us to the highest beatitude which would free us from the limitations and solicitations of personality.

The poem gives an account of the journey from consciousness to higher consciousness till it reaches the highest point. The formless and shapeless agencies cast their influence on the course of this journey. They may be baneful or boonful and may either obstruct or help the seeker soul. The worlds through which the soul passes range from the subliminal to supramental. There are valleys of tears and smiles which the soul has to cross before it reaches the realm of supreme light. There he may meet spiritual federations which will help him in his effort to reach the goal. As the sadhana increases, the inner radiation of his spirit will become more intense. The transcendent wisdom will bring him a final release from the sense of individuality. He will increasingly feel the inward power and strength of his soul and its subtle spiritual attraction. The constant tension felt because of the apparent limitations of the soul will dissolve. As the soul is anxious to regain its original infinite nature, it will feel subtle attraction for itself. Led by this attraction it will successfully resist all other attractions and tendencies, and be absorbed in itself. The blessed peace that lies in the deep of the soul can be felt and realized when this centripetal movement of the soul itself goes on strengthening. The real tension in the soul which is due to its apparent finitude and its inherent infinitude will no longer be experienced. His heart will be made sufficiently pure and his being will be highly sensitive to the spiritual influences only by the silent contemplation of the dynamic soul. By this the soul will feel a natural attraction for the self and the sadhana will become effortless and natural. The greater inrushes of grace and knowledge will suddenly flood the inner chambers of his being with unexpected and unexperienced light. This experience will fill him with peace and plenitude and there will be no agitation in his mind or heart. All other experiences will vanish before the direct experiences of the soul. Since he will become free from all the tensions that are associated with other forms of life, life will appear to him in a different hue, with nobler melody, rhythm, joy and peace. He will discover in this peace God's meaning of life. This is the transcendental meaning:

Our greater self of knowledge waits for us,
A supreme light in the truth conscious vast:
It sees from summits beyond thinking mind,
It moves in a splendid air transcending life.

The transformation of the mortal nature into the divine is not possible unless 'the Immortal's golden door' is opened and the inner journey started:

As man disguised the cosmic greatness works
And finds the mystic inaccessible gate
And opens the Immortal's golden door.

In the scriptures there is a mention of two doors, the lower, guarded by the Serpent at the Muladhar Centre of the sushumna and an extremely narrow door in the thousand lotus centre in the crown.

The Serpent of threshold hissing rose.
The gate swung wide with a protesting jar,
The opponent powers withdrew their dreadful guard;
Her being entered into the inner worlds.

After the gate is opened the being starts to ascend to the higher centres. "These centres are sources of all the dynamic powers of our being. They form an ascending series from the lowest muladhar to the highest thousand-petalled lotus. According to the tantrics, there is the Serpent power at the lowest center Muladhar which sleeps in coils. The seeker has to arouse this power and take it through different centres to meet the Brahman in the thousand-petalled centre to liberate oneself into the Divine Being. These centres are closed or half-closed within us and have to be opened before their full power can be manifested in our physical nature: but once they are opened and completely active, no limit can be set to the development of their potencies and the total transformation to be possible" [M. P. Pandit, Dictionary of Sri Aurobindo's Yoga].

Out of Inconscient's soulless mindless Night
A flaming serpent rose released from sleep

The physical consciousness centre, called Muladhar, commands the physical consciousness and the subconscient and governs the physical down to the subconscient. After the Kundalini or the Serpent power wakes up, it stands erect and starts climbing on its way. It touches the centres with its flaming mouth and with its fiery kiss breaks their sleep. These centres after being kissed by the Serpent Power bloom surcharged with light and bliss. From the centre of the matter's base the Kundalini reaches the centre of the head and joins the Eternal space between these two centres. Then in each divine stronghold and Nature's Knot it holds together the mystic stream which joins the viewless summit of the crown with the unseen depths at the base.

When this Power comes to the second abdominal or Swadhishthan Centre, it controls the small vital movements, the little greeds, lusts, desires and the small sense movements. This is the centre of the lower vital.

After reaching the third centre, Manipur, which governs the larger vital, the seeker can control the larger life-forces, the passions and larger desire movements.

The fourth centre, Anahata, governs the emotions. After the Power touches this centre the seeker acquires power over his emotional and psychic forces.

The fifth centre, Vishudda, governs the expressive and externalising mind. When the Serpent power reaches this centre the seeker has control over his expression and all externalisation of the mind movements and mental forces.

The centre between the eyebrows, Ajnachakra, when touched by the Kundalini, the seeker can control his thoughts, will and vision. He acquires power over dynamic mind, will, vision and mental formation.

When the Power reaches the thousand Petalled centre, the seeker gets many occult powers by controlling the regions beyond mind.

As there is a correspondence between the inner and outer worlds and entities, the seeker with the passage of Kundalini through different centres, gets control not only over the powers of his being, but he can also control these powers in the cosmos.

All these centres are situated in the subtle body. In the other yogas like Hata yoga or Ashtang yoga these centres are opened from down upwards. But in Sri Aurobindo's yoga they are opened from up downward, though there is an ascent of the force from Muladhara in his yoga also.

The final union of the individual soul with the cosmic soul becomes possible when the final door is opened by the power and when it enters the mystic cave.

Onward she passed seeking the soul's mystic cave.

Then through a tunnel dug in the last rock, the individual soul comes out where shines a deathless sun.

In the last chamber on a golden seat
One sat whose shape no vision could define,
Only one felt the world's unattainable fount
A Power of which she was a straying force,
An invisible Beauty, goal of the world's desire,
A Sun of which all knowledge is a beam,
A Greatness without whom no life could be.

When the individual soul becomes one with this Cosmic Soul, the aspirant is endowed with transcendent wisdom.

After this experience the individual recognises the presence of his own self in every object of the world. Every animate and inanimate being becomes an extension of his own self. The bonds of individual finitude break down. The individual becomes infinite. This is the Bhuma state described in the Upanishads. At this stage the individual is fully liberated. After this stage he does his own Bhakti: Swa swarupanusandhanam bhaktiritya bhidhiyate. Among the set of means to bring about liberation, bhakti is the greatest says Shankaracharya. Continuous contemplation of one's essential nature is said to be bhakti [Shankaracharya, Vivekehudamani].

Individual liberation is not the goal of Sri Aurobindo's yoga. Sri Aurobindo aims at the integral perfection of the entire world. Also, he was not concerned with the other worlds for themselves. He clearly states the object of his yoga: "It is the object of my yoga to transform life by bringing down into it the Light, Power and Bliss of the Divine Truth and its dynamic certitudes. This yoga is not a yoga of world-shunning asceticism, but of divine life.… It aims at a change of life and existence, not as something subordinate or incidental, but as distinct and central object" [On Himself].

Sri Aurobindo was pained to see the downfall of the modern civilized world. He saw that the "civilized man lives outwardly the civilized life, possesses all its paraphernalia, but pulls the higher faculties down to the level of his senses, his sensations, his unenlightened emotions, his gross utilitarian practicality" [The Human Cycle]. He sincerely felt that "the mere participation in the benefits of civilization is not enough to raise a man into the mental life proper. The philistine is in fact the modem civilised barbarian, he is often the half-civilised physical and vital barbarian, by his unintelligent attachment to the life of the body, the life of the vital needs and impulses and the ideal of the merely domestic and economic human animal" [The Human Cycle].

Sri Aurobindo and the Mother through their effort wanted to establish the Divine consciousness on the earth to save the struggling world:

Even if the struggling world is left outside
One man's perfection still can save the world.
A camp of God is pitched in human time.

Savitri made her life a bridge between earth and heaven:

To aid a blind and suffering mortal race,
To open the light the eyes that could not see,
To bring down bliss into the heart of grief.

In the words of the Mother this dream has already been realised:

The manifestation of the Supramental upon earth is no longer a promise but a living fact, a reality. It is at work here, and one day will come when the most blind, the most unconscious, even the most unwilling shall be obliged to recognise it.

(The Mother's message on April 24, 1956)