423. Realities of Life

Life Response is a concept created based on the Realities of Life. Man grows wise learning of those realities. Their laws are inexorable. No one can overcome them. The Gods can modify their malignancy, but cannot cancel them. The theory of karma is based on it. Life is not final. Mind is greater than life. So, they said even karma can be overcome by mental illumination. The progress of the West is mainly due to their reliance on Mind disregarding the subtle realities of life. When Man subjects himself to life, he becomes superstitious. Relying on the Mind, superstition recedes and rationality precedes. Spirit is greater than Mind. The evolving Spirit - the Psychic Being - is still greater. The Rishi is not bound by karma as he often reaches the Spirit is his dhyana. The evolving Spirit can not only cancel karma but when it comes to stay transforms the misfortune into good fortune, disease into health, stupidity into intelligence even genius.

Realities of life are of two kinds. One is positive and the other negative. In the book The Mother Sri Aurobindo lists thirty negative traits to be rejected. For each negative characteristic there is a corresponding positive characteristic. Each one of them is exclusive in its significance. Of the positive traits one thing stands out. It is generosity. The Mother defines meanness as the attitude of asking another to do what we cannot. We can construct a definition of generosity based on it. To give another man, without his asking, what he cannot accomplish by his best efforts can be defined as generosity. Even that generosity when it is tinged with ego is impermissible or at least will be a lever for him to hurt you. The opposite of generosity is meanness.

We can also say that jealousy is another opposite. An analysis of life may lead many to the conclusion that jealousy is the only reality of life. A proverb says one can escape a stone that hits, but not the LOOK of jealousy. I have noticed with curiosity and with much amusement a man who owned four cars being jealous of a neighbour who received a visitor in a car. For a long time, it intrigued me until I witnessed an event where the efforts of a multi-millionaire to prevent another person successfully seeking an alliance of a millionaire. What seems to be true is more than one's own progress, to prevent the least little progress of anyone around is of psychological importance. From then onwards I see that as the one ultimate reality of Life.