The Supramental Sense and Substance, pp. 328-329

Opening remarks
Now Sri Aurobindo goes on to reveal the nature of supramental substance and the senses in that world of Truth and Harmony and Delight.

Matter is the Spirit’s density
There Matter is the Spirit’s firm density,
An artistry of glad outwardness of self,
A treasure-house of lasting images
Where sense can build a world of pure delight:
The home of a perpetual happiness,
It lodged the hours as in a pleasant inn.

Matter is the condition for the manifestation of the formless Spirit. It is not an independent reality as if anything could be independent of the primal Cause and Source. This truth of the grand reconciliation between Spirit and Matter as One Reality is found in the Supermind. It is the Spirit that has become Matter by a progressive condensation. Matter and material world is the outermost body of the Spirit. In the Supermind the senses were instruments of pure delight and built lasting images of Truth with the supramental substance. Thus the home of perpetual joy was built where moments were lodged in the delight of eternity. All the apparent opposites were reconciled in the supramental life.

Outlets of the soul
The senses there were outlets of the soul;
Even the youngest child-thought of the mind
Incarnated some touch of highest things.

The senses there were means for the soul to enter into contact and relation with what was outside. It was the birthplace of thought incarnating some touch of highest things.

Resonant harp of self
There substance was a resonant harp of self,
A net for the constant lightnings of the spirit,
A magnet power of love’s intensity
Whose yearning throb and adoration’s cry
Drew God’s approaches close, sweet, wonderful.

There substance is resonant harp of self responding perfectly to the touches of the Spirit. It received the constant outpourings of the spirit’s lightnings and magnet power of love’s intensity whose yearning throb and adoration drew the ways of God close making everything sweet and wonderful.

Solidity a mass of heavenly make
Its solidity was a mass of heavenly make;
Its fixity and sweet permanence of charm
Made a bright pedestal for felicity.

The supramental substance is at once plastic to the spirit’s touch as well as solid and strong. It is not prone to decay and carries a permanence of charm, a bright pedestal and base for felicity.

Bodies woven by a divine sense
Its bodies woven by a divine sense
Prolonged the nearness of soul’s clasp with soul;
Its warm play of external sight and touch
Reflected the glow and thrill of the heart’s joy,
Mind’s climbing brilliant thoughts, the spirit’s bliss;
Life’s rapture kept for ever its flame and cry.

The supramental bodies are woven by a divine sense that prolonged the nearness and clasp of soul with soul. Its warm play of external sight and touch reflected the glow and thrill of the heart’s joy as a transparent mantle of light. Mind’s climbing brilliant thoughts, the spirit’s bliss and life’s rapture kept forever its flame and cry.

Matter plastic to spiritual light
All that now passes lived immortal there
In the proud beauty and fine harmony
Of Matter plastic to spiritual light.

Death is not there since matter adapts and follows perfectly the constant becoming of the Spirit. The beauty of those forms stayed forever as matter was perfectly plastic to the Spirit and hence not subject to any decay.

Eternity’s transparent robe
Its ordered hours proclaimed the eternal Law;
Vision reposed on a safety of deathless forms;
Time was Eternity’s transparent robe.

Each moment was the spontaneous unfolding of the law of Truth and vision looked out on deathless forms. Time itself was Eternity’s transparent robe.

Beaches of the sea of infinity
An architect hewing out self’s living rock,
Phenomenon built Reality’s summer-house
On the beaches of the sea of Infinity.

There all phenomenon was real as it did not distort Reality. The Divine architect built all things from the One Self on the shores of Infinity.

Closing Remarks
Thus we see that the Supramental world is not just something ethereal but divinely real. It is concrete and material as well but built out of a matter that is completely transparent and luminous and plastic to the Spirit.