The Book of Beginnings starts from the beginning of creation itself. Through images of a slow transition from night to dawn Sri Aurobindo reveals to us the story of creation. The Master artist fills these images with suggestions of previous, successive dawns and the past attempts of mankind to bring Light into the Earthly darkness. The physical Light becomes a symbol of inner illumination dispelling the ignorance of earth-nature and the night a symbol of the swoon and state of unconsciousness in which creation is plunged.
But the world is not ready. The earth-nature has strong inbuilt resistances to a divine change. Hence the divine breath, the Glory and the Grace withdraws. Man’s mind and his material consciousness rejects the Grace and prefers his old accustomed ways.
Yet something is done and slowly the Light grows and the material response feels the uplifting touch even if for a while. A yearning is born and a Presence is felt towards which man’s soul begins to respond, even though his entire being is not yet prepared.
This is the story so far of all divine descents. The Light of a higher consciousness that is brought down to Earth by beings from a higher plane is soon turned into a fixed and rigid formula, a mechanical and soulless routine of ritual acts.
It is against this cosmic background that Sri Aurobindo, the Master-poet now introduces us to Savitri, the Divine Mother’s incarnation born in human time wearing a mortal cloak.
Savitri has come to change this scheme of things. Having given us a background of the epic, the Master-poet now prepares us to introduce the divine personality, the main protagonist of the epic of human soul, the incarnate Dawn, Savitri.
