The Higher Divinisation stages of Transformation
Beyond Overmind Divinisation, and as the culmination of all previous stages, is the ultimate Cosmic Transformation, or what Sri Aurobindo calls Supramentalisation. This involves the global transformation, perfection, and Divinization of the Earth consciousness, including life on Earth and even inanimate matter, which itself is transformed and Enlightened, while still retaining its qualities of solidity and stability. So this is nothing like Gnostic, Theosophical, New Paradigm, New Age, and Secular Integral ideas of the Earth dissolving into Spirit.
Rather, the Earth and all beings on Her remain physical and embodied; they continue to evolve, but in a perfected manner, as "light to greater light" in Sri Aurobindo's phrase. This is either derived from, or independently formulated in parallel with Seventh-day Adventism - see "The truth of God is progressive; it is always onward, going from strength to greater strength, from light to greater light." Signs, May 26, 1890. quoted in 
The National Sunday Law Dilemma for Seventh-day Adventists See also the reference to from "glory to glory" (greater light to greater light) (Second Corinthians 3:18) - cited Shema Yisrael - Teaching. This parallelism between Sri Aurobindo and both Jewish and Gentile Christianity is intriguing; I have often thought that Sri Aurobindo is in these respects much closer to (the original spirit of) Christianity than to Hinduism. And of course there is the strong connection with Eastern (especially Russian) Orthodox Christianity, which like Sri Aurobindo has a strongly developed sense of God as the Supreme Mother (Sophia). And of course Teilhard de Chardin, whose evolutionary theology also has much in common with Sri Aurobindo, albeit not as profound, and with no concept of the Divinisation of matter itself - also comes from a Christian tradition (in this instance Jesuit)
But none of these other Sri Aurobindo and the Mother in their profound accounts of this state, because they are the ones who worked out the Supramental transformation in the laboratory of their own bodies. There would seem to be, then, at least four or five further stages of transformation and Divinisation here:
- Supramentalized Overmind. Here there is full Supramentalisation at the level of the subtle being and above, but only a partial transformation at the material and intraphysical (Subconscient) level. This state, of sublime realisation would seem to have been attained by the greatest siddhis and yogis, including Swami Ramalingam (Triple Deathless Body), Sri Aurobindo and the Mother. In itself it is not enough to transmute the world, hence Sri Aurobindo in his correspondence referred to the "tail of the Supermind" or the supramentalisation of the descended Overmind (see Heehs,. Lives of Sri Aurobindo, pp.351, 374-5) This state continues into the Overman stage. Possibly other great beings like the historical and cosmic Jesus may have approached this stage too.
- Overman - "Overman" or the transitional state between Overmind and Supermind. This was described by the Mother as the "Superman". The meaning is lost in Satprem's interpretation, or perhaps just the translation, but is recovered in Georges Van Vrekhem's out of print book Overman : The Intermediary Between The Human And The Supramental Being. See also Overman: The Transitional Being. InSri Aurobindo's terminology this is called "the Mind of Light". In the account by T.R. Thulasiram Arut Perum Jyothi and Deathless Body this would be the Vast Grace-Light or "Superman Consciousness". It seems that the Mother attained this state, see the above cited and linked to, "Overman" essay.
- Gnostic Being - early complete Supramentalization; the Supramental Truth Cobnsciousness is fully established. Supramentalisation is no longer at the individual level, but now a Collective and so presumably an evolutionary transformation. Sri Aurobindo gives a description of the Gnostic Being in the penultimate chapter of The Life Divine
- Supramental Being - complete Supramentalization - a more mature state of Supramental Realisation. The difference between the Supramental Being and the Superman (Overman) is that the Supramental Being will have a complete Supramental Body (I'm not sure where the Gnostic being fits in here, perhaps a partially Supramentalised body?).
- Higher Supramentalization - leading to Sachchidananda in evolving physical form.
As for the actual details here, these can barely be imagined, although fascinating hints can be found in The Life Divine and The Agenda. Some comments are quotes are given in Beyond Man by Barindranath Chaki, an essay on Sri Aurobindo and the Mother and the coming Supramental world. The distinction between the Gnostic Being and Supramental Being, and the nature of the Supramental Divine world, is given by Sri Aurobindo in the last two chapters of The Life Divine (e.g. p.973, 10th ed. 1977). The nature of Individual Supramentalization, and of the "Overman" or "Superman Consciousness" - which have to be attained before the more advanced stages described by Sri Aurobindo can be realised - are described in the Agenda and the above cited books of Thulasiram and Van Vrekhem, as well as in the essay Into the New Body by Barindranath Chaki. For more extensive quotes and experiences by the Mother (compiled from the Agenda) see Notebook on Evolution (anon. maybe edited by Luc Venet - pdf document).
.
images not loading? | error messages? | broken links? | suggestions? | criticism?
contact me
page by
M.Alan Kazlev
page uploaded 25 November 2009, last modified 27 February 2011
