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214. The Upanishads

God is the ONE, creation is the Many. The Rishis know the One and all of us know the Many. How did the One become the Many or how did the One create the Many is a question that is not answered. The Upanishads ask us, 'Who can ask the One that question?' Yes, Sri Aurobindo says, no one has the right to question the One. In His book Upanishads where HE explains the Absolute, Maya, Parabrahman as the Upanishads laid down, he raised the above question and answered that we do not have the right to ask that question.

In The Life Divine where He explains the Theory of creation, not according to the Upanishads, but according to his own spiritual vision, He raises the same question and gives a philosophical explanation. The explanation is a long theoretical exposition. Its essence can be briefly stated. The Infinite ONE seeking delight in Self-discovery hid Himself and emerged out of it. He says it was done by Self-conception, Self-limitation and Self-absorption.

My interest here is not so much the philosophy of it but whether it has a practical extension in life. Yes, it has. Man's existence and his social life are based on the same truths which in essence makes him master of his own life, even as God is the Master of creation. Man is now NOT a master of his life. He has acquired greater and greater mastery over Nature and lives more comfortably than before. But it is not yet full mastery. Sri Aurobindo's theory gives him a knowledge of that full mastery conquering death and disease. I would like to confine myself to its application to daily domestic or business life. The theory offers us complete mastery but we can certainly be satisfied with greater mastery than we enjoy now. It means solving our problems and availing of opportunities that present themselves to us. Such a mastery is a near approach to Luck.

 

 



story | by Dr. Radut