Sachchidananda 'The Life Divine' Book I,Ch.9, 10, 11, 12 - Track 403

All processes of formation imply a movement of energy. If there is a movement of energy even that movement of energy must be coming from the pure existent. And that pure existence which is stable which you have seen both from the point of causality and from the point of time and the same conclusion we can arrive by any another example, you take of quantity, or modality or anything or even from the point of space we always come back to this ground which is stable and which is above all quantity, all quality, all the forms of all space all time. And it is the ground from where all that we call time and space, quantity and quality, relations and modalities, all of them arise. Here there are two important statements have to be made that this ground which is stable must be one and it is indivisible. This is a farther proposition that we have to show that this reality, this stable is one and not many, it is one and indivisible.

Let us first apply our reasoning and let us go through the experience. How do we show that the stable ground of this multifarious movement is only one and then it is indivisible? This is the conclusion to which you arrive when you try to look at it from the point of reason. Supposing they were two then there must be relationship between the two because both of them exist as far as existence is concerned they must be united. Therefore, if they are two, they must be related. The moment there is relationship, it can be either be relationship of succession or relationship of cause and effect and cause and effect relationship can only end when there is one ground for it. So even if there are two we arrive at a conclusion that they must all be all ultimately going back to oneness. Now it must be indivisible because if they are divided, if anything is really divided then they become two but these two if they exist they agree into one common element of existence. Again they will have relationship between the two and the relationship can ultimately be explained only when you go back to the one ground reality so reality must be one and indivisible.

Now in experience, the Vedanta explains or it states, actually its affirmation is ekam eva adwitiyam – the Reality is one without a second. This is the experience also to be found that Reality is one without the second. It is also abhivaktam, the Bhagavad Gita says that it is abhivaktam. Although it may appear bhivaktam, although it appears divided, in the consciousness of time-succession and of duration there may be a sense of bhivaktam but in itself it is abhivaktam, it is indivisible. So even from the point of your experience, Reality is found to be one and indivisible.  

If Reality is one and indivisible, then a further consequence follows that movement of energy must be also in that Reality, there being only one Reality, so therefore, if movement of energy is there, it must also be there, it cannot come from elsewhere. There are no two elsewheres, if there were two realities you can say that movement of energy comes from one source and the stability from another source or another reality but it is only one Reality and if there is movement of energy it must be coming from that stable Reality. That is why we have the concept of Shiva and Kali. Shiva is stable and Kali is the movement but Shiva and Kali are one. Kali does not come out from somewhere else; Kali’s root is in Shiva.

Having answered this question, now the second question is – Is Shiva obliged by Kali to be in constant motion or Kali is under the control of Shiva so that whenever Shiva says stop, Kali will stop. What is the relationship between the two? Both are one, but movement of energy which moves out − is it under the control of Shiva or is it not under the control of Shiva. Now this question can be answered if we know whether this movement is conscious or unconscious. It is only consciousness which can determine control whenever you want control and no control whenever you do not want control. If it is purely mechanical and if it always in movement, it is not controllable, it is only if there is a consciousness that energy can obey the will of Shiva. If it is simply unconscious then to expect obedience from Shiva, from the ground reality is impossible. 

Whether the energy is ultimately conscious or not is now the central question to which we have arrive. And that is subject matter of Chapter No. X – Is energy, is force conscious, or unconscious. That is why the Chapter No. X is entitled ‘Conscious Force’, where Sri Aurobindo will show how rationally we find that force is consciousness and also how experientially, we find that force is consciousness both from point of the reason and from the point of experience you come to the same conclusion.

I have summarised before you the entirety of Chapter No. IX, there are two alternatives either we read together the entire Chapter No. IX or you will read at home according to your convenience, in which case we can proceed to Chapter X right now or we can halt here and we can read the entire Chapter IX rather rapidly. So that you can become familiar with what are the contents of Chapter IX and you will see in what way the summary that I have presented to you makes that chapter much more easy to follow.

I will read paragraph by paragraph and I will halt at every paragraph. If anyone wants to put a question one will be free but if there is no question, I would proceed to the next paragraph.

Page no. 71, is it alright. At the very beginning Sri Aurobindo cites from Chhandogaya Upanishad – one indivisible that is pure existence. This is from  experience. Now in this chapter there are three main steps.  One is the description of movement of energy that we see all around. Second step is to show that this energy, this movement is subordinate to stability and third, is the statement that the energy and existence are one and yet there is a relationship between the Existence and the Energy and that relationship will be dependent upon whether the energy is conscious or not and whether it is conscious or not is then left to the next chapter. These are three major steps in the whole statement of this chapter. Even in the description in the first part, we will find that there are three steps. In the first step, there are three are three steps. First a description of what we find when we come out of our egoistic preoccupation and look at the whole myriads of universes in the whole world. What is the impression that we get? Second is the description when we are egoistically preoccupied and thirdly, once again, when we are not so egoistically preoccupied in which we get a balance between our own position in that vastness. These are the three steps in this description.