Reflections on the Mystical Experiences in Sri Aurobindo’s Poems

Indian English Literature

Term Paper

Reflections on the Mystical Experiences in Sri Aurobindo’s Poems

Submitted by,

Aruna Vimalan,

Sem II, English,

School of Letters.

 “The spirit shall look out through matter’s gaze.

    And matter shall reveal the spirits face.”

          (Savitri: A Legend and a Symbol, Book XI: The Book of Everlasting Day, Canto I.)

Mysticism is a broad term signifying an arc of concerns rather than a specific set of beliefs. It is concerned with the nature of the Absolute. It is the quest for and the union with the Absolute. For the religious minded, it is the search for God; to the lover, it is the quest for the beloved; for the artist it is the quest for beauty; to the scholar it is the quest for knowledge.

Mysticism has strong roots in India. The study of mystic literature is a tedious process, therefore, owing to the vast production. Many poets identify themselves more as spiritual leaders or teachers. They are lesser known as poets and many have their works not compiled and published. There are others like Tagore, Aurobindo and Puran Singh who have found their position in Indian English poetry, or world literature itself. Mystic poetry fails to come to the fore in the study of Indian English poetry because it has often been equated to religious literature.

All religious and spiritual writings cannot be listed under the title mystical literature as not every paranormal experience can be called mystical. Mystical literature, especially poetry arises from a sense of self realization and compassion. It appeals to the senses. Mystical poetry is usually simple and readable. It is neither naïve nor obscure. Its purpose is to challenge the intellect. While many religious texts are prejudiced and self righteous, mystic literature is open and searches for the Absolute, free from intolerance and prejudices. Mystic poetry culminates in a radiance of joy.

The first Indian English poet who shows any significant mystical leanings was Nabokishen Ghose (1837-1918), who wrote under the pseudonym Ram Sharma. He was succeeded by Sri Aurobindo, Swamy Ananda Acharya, Puran Singh, Mohan Singh and others. Many spiritual leaders like Swamy Vivekananda, Paramahamsa Yogananda and Jiddu Krishnamurti have composed poetry. They seldom entered the mainstream of Indian English poetry. There poetry was limited to the circle of their followers or disciples.

Sri Aurobindo (1872-1950) was both a spiritual leader and a poet. Indeed, he was a multifaceted genius: a politician, a social reformer, a teacher, a philosopher, and a poet. He had played a significant role in the country’s struggle for independence. Aurobindo dedicated his life for the noble cause of making the world a better place for his fellow human beings. He attempted to rebuild people’s consciousness through his poetry, introducing his visions on human progress and spiritual evolution. He continued writing poetry even after entirely moving away from material world to embrace the life of an ascetic. He continued to write and rewrite Savitri, his magnum opus, until the last days of his life.

Sri Aurobindo was one of the most illustrious exponents of mystic consciousness in Indian poetry in English. He possessed a mystic consciousness the reinforced his aesthetic experiences. Mystic consciousness is evident from his early lyrics that describe God as a vision and experience. His early poetry was published in the collections Songs of Myrtilla (1895) and Urvasie (1896). Aurobindo was influenced by the philosophical visions in the Vedas and the Upanishads. His philosophy seems to be a modernized vision of the Taittiriya Upanishad. He says that man should transcend the conscious level and realize the super conscious level through yoga. This can be attained through internal surrender through total dedication to the Super Mind or God.

Aurobindo’s mystic experiences find their best expression in his epic poem of 24,000 lines, Savitri. His magnum opus shows his profound knowledge in the Vedas and the Upanishads. Like Dante and Milton, Sri Aurobindo produced an epic of universal significance. Although most of his action is internalized and subjective, it is a beautiful retelling of the timeless story of Satyavan and Savitri, originally found in the Mahabharata.

Aurobindo’s poetry aims to bridge the present and the future. That is the physical life and the divine life. He is a prophet of life divine. His affinity with the Vedic values that are preserved in the Indian tradition is found in his poetry. In Aurobindo’s own words,

What the Vedic poets meant by the mantra was an inspired and revealed seeing and visioned thinking attended by a realization, to use the ponderous but necessary modern world, of some in the most truth of God and Self and man and nature and cosmos and life and thing and thought and experience and deed. It was a thinking that came on the wings of a great soul rhythm. (Sri Aurobindo, The Future Poetry. P. 280.)

According to Aurobindo, art or poetry should liberate man towards the pure delight, paramananda. Poetry for him was a means, a medium of communication between the divine and the individual. Spiritual intensity is a hallmark of the mystical poetry of Aurobindo.  ‘Revelations’ is regarded as the best example of a poem of spiritual intensity. Here the poet sees ‘someone’ jumping from the rocks. He feels as if the presence of God, Vision of God leaps behind the rocks and passes him like the wind. By the time he tries to understand the vision, it vanishes. The poet-seer finds oneness with this mysterious entity which he identifies as the Divine.

Aurobindo opines that mystical elements begin in eternity and ends in eternity. The true origin of mysticism is the soul, which is one’s inner self. He integrated life and the spirit, visualizing the transformation of the self through the experience of the power of the Absolute. Sri Aurobindo also found the presence of God in the discarded and the discredited, in the sinners and the criminals. He developed his mystical philosophy in the evolution of human consciousness. To him, mysticism is knowing, becoming and being. His philosophy can be seen reflected in his life and works.