The Spirit shall be the master of his world
Lurking no more in form’s obscurity
And Nature shall reverse her action’s rule,
The outward world disclose the Truth it veils;
All things shall manifest the covert God,
All shall reveal the Spirit’s light and might
And move to its destiny of felicity.
Even should a hostile force cling to its reign
And claim its right’s perpetual sovereignty
And man refuse his high spiritual fate,
Yet shall the secret Truth in things prevail.
For in the march of all-fulfilling Time
The hour must come of the Transcendent’s will:
All turns and winds towards his predestined ends
In Nature’s fixed inevitable course
Decreed since the beginning of the worlds
In the deep essence of created things:
Even there shall come as a high crown of all
The end of Death, the death of Ignorance.
But first high Truth must set her feet on earth
And man aspire to the Eternal’s light
And all his members feel the Spirit’s touch
And all his life obey an inner Force. [Savitri: 708]
Meanwhile amidst all this chaos and confusion the British decided to leave India, something that Sri Aurobindo had already foreseen. He knew that the world conditions would make it impossible for the British to continue and had urged the then Indian leaders to accept the Cripps proposal of a united India being given an independent Dominion status. It was practically freedom. But the leaders of those times lacking in vision as well as driven by ambition preferred a divided India over the Dominion status which would have ensured unity. The dawn of 15th August saw India born to independence on Sri Aurobindo’s 75th birthday. But the Asura though defeated had not yet given up. While the world and India were celebrating with violent clashes of the worst kind due to the religious divide,
Sri Aurobindo clearly saw that the division between India and Pakistan and the communal divide thereof could seriously weaken India and even frustrate its destiny. A united India was / is a spiritual necessity for the world. It is only a free and united India that could summon up its strength and use its inner and outer resources wisely and become a savior of mankind. Among his five dreams which was broadcast as a message on the 15th August from the All India Radio clearly stated that the partition must go and will go. The other dreams that he planted in the heart and soul of mankind were the resurgence and liberation of the people of Asia, a world union working towards a better, nobler, fairer world, the gift of India’s spirituality to the world and, the most challenging of all was a step in evolution of mankind to a higher, greater and larger consciousness which will be the radical solution to the problems that have vexed humanity since long.
Sometimes around the year 1948 he had decided for the supreme strategic sacrifice to clear the burden of darkness incurred by man. He spoke about it to the Mother and gave passing hints to the close disciples. But none could imagine or surmise its full import until the bringer of the Daylight became the pilgrim of the Night since thus alone could the Sun of Truth and Beauty and Light and Peace and Harmony and Power and Delight could fully emerge and the task be accomplished for which he had come. He hastened to complete what he and the Mother considered as his most important work and message enshrined in the epic poem Savitri. The last seal of completion of the mantric poem was put on around the 24th November 1950. On the 5th December 1950 a little past midnight, Sri Aurobindo had consciously withdrawn from his physical body. The world woke up on the day as if bereaved of its Heavenly Father but soon they realised that it was not death but a resurrection. Even in what seemed a physical death from the medical point of view there was the victory of the Light that came trailing behind Sri Aurobindo as he plunged into the Night for the last battle. His body remained aglow with the Supramental Light covering his maternal sheath with a golden hue that no force of disintegration could penetrate. It was witnessed by thousands who filed past him in silent adoration and gratitude. Some even wondered if the body that continued to seem so living may not come alive again. But Sri Aurobindo had given up the body consciously as a supreme strategic sacrifice to hasten the collective progress. The Mother revealed:
When I asked Him (December 8, 1950) to resuscitate his body, He clearly answered: “I have left this body purposely. I will not take it back. I shall manifest again in the first supramental body built in the supramental way. [CWM 13:9]
Having planted the dreams divine deep within the human soul and the earth nature, he saw that humanity is not yet ready to realize them. He had worked lifelong to establish these dreams and to prepare mankind for realizing these. Towards this end he had engaged in a tremendous tapasya to bring down and establish upon earth a new principle of consciousness that would be to the mind driven man as much higher than the mind is to the vital driven animal existence. But man habitually and naturally gravitates towards darkness and prefers his ignorance and falsehood and unconsciousness rather than making effort to move towards light and truth and higher consciousness. To annihilate this resistance deep down in mankind, Sri Aurobindo plunged himself into the den of darkness, the home of night. He gave the realization in his own body in a supreme strategic sacrifice to hasten the collective realization. On 5th December 1950, Sri Aurobindo withdrew from the range of mortal sight but not from earth. His physical body remained aglow with the Supramental Light for the next 111 hours showing no signs of decomposition or decay. As a result of his poornahuti, the supermind descended in matter through his physical body opening the doors to the complete victory over Death one day. The Light began to recede slowly and consequently his body that had held the Supramental Light for so long and was the first body given to this work was entered in the Samadhi, in the courtyard of the Sri Aurobindo Ashram. Giving voice to the gratitude felt by earth and nature, The Mother had these words inscribed on Sri Aurobindo’s Samadhi:
To Thee who hast been the material envelope of our Master, to Thee our infinite gratitude. Before Thee who hast done so much for us, who hast worked, struggled, suffered, hoped, endured so much, before Thee who hast willed all, attempted all, prepared, achieved all for us, before Thee we bow down and implore that we may never forget, even for a moment, all we owe to Thee. [CWM 13:7]
She has assured us that we must not be bewildered by appearances, and that Sri Aurobindo is in our midst as a dynamic Presence guiding us on the path of transformation, and that the work undertaken by him is going to end in a success. In her own words:
Never for an instant vacillate in the belief that the mighty work of change taken up by Sri Aurobindo is going to culminate in success. For that indeed is a fact: there is not a shadow of doubt as to the issue of the work we have in hand…. The transformation is going to be: nothing will ever stop it, nothing will frustrate the decree of the Omnipotent. Cast away all diffidence and weakness and resolve to endure bravely awhile before the great day arrives when the long battle turns into an everlasting victory. [CWM 13:21]
