Book Two: The Book of the Traveller of the Worlds

This Canto describes in great detail the three layers of the little Mind that has so far manifested upon earth. First of this to appear is the physical mind centered around the bodily existence, next - the vital Mind, and finally the rational Mind, the mind that uses Reason to discover truth of things.

Now we labour in the Night of ignorance, but this labour too is not vain, it prepares us to receive the Sun. This passage is prophetic of the Supramental Light that shall break upon earth bringing the rhythms and powers of a New Consciousness.

A deeper yearning now seizes the mind and reason. It is the yearning to discover what still is missed, the yearning to go beyond its limitations and its limits.

There are greater powers and possibilities awaiting their emergence. They are hidden in the folds of Light, are slow in reaching the Earth but powerfully transforming in their action.

The old world and its huge structures and institutions built with Reason are dying fast to give way and space to the new world order built on Intuition. This greater plan is now concealed to the eyes of common man but is glimpsed by the seer and sage and exceptional individuals.

Reason enters into its last and final curve, its last effort to perfect earth and humanity through science.

Reason was needed to rescue the world from its infra-rational animal stage. But now its hour is getting over. It must be replaced by a greater Light and hence we see a collapse of values established by Reason and its daughter modern Science.

Reason builds systems of knowledge based on its observation, analysis and inference. But sooner or later a new discovery is made that completely upsets what it had known turning it all into a fresh ignorance.

Step by step in a most logical way Sri Aurobindo reveals us the paradox of Science and the limitation of Reason to give us a true understanding of ‘Reality’.