Mind to Supermind
Mind Consciousness
Sri Aurobindo decoded the mystery of universe and described that The entire manifestation is the gradation of consciousness from inconscient to Sat-Chit-Ananda without any gulf All these planes are connected and are mixed gradations. Supermind consciousness is the fundamental truth-consciousness, a dynamic aspect of Sachchidananda, that has created this lower creation. The Supramental consciousness contains the self-determining Truth of the Divine Consciousness. Below Supermind, there are different layers of consciousness and Mind itself has many layers.
There are many layers of mind below from the crown chakra of the head to the throat chakra.
Mind proper (Buddhi) is further subdivided into distinct categories – externalizing mind, Dynamic Mind, Thinking mind.
The mind also intersects with other layers – vital and physical planes. Sri Aurobindo distinguished mind consciousness based on this interaction with physical or vital.
Sense-mind is the intersection of mind with the physical
Emotional mind is intersection of the mind with vital
Mind Proper is the thought-mind.
Sri Aurobindo describes that the mind in essence is Consciousness that is capable of acquiring only limited knowledge as ignorance is the nature of the mind. It does not catch the ‘Integral whole’ as does the Supermind, the Truth Consciousness.
The Mind must evolve to Supermind. It is a passage and not a peak of evolution. It is only middle stage in the process of evolution and Mind has to ascend to Divine Consciousness by surrendering to Supramental domain to reach the level of Supermind.
He further describes that Mind has to first evolve to Higher Mind, then to Illumined Mind, Intuitive Mind, Overmind, and then to Supermind which is the path for Evolution and then Transformation.
Higher Mind
Higher mind is gradation above mind and its activity is dominated by thought. Higher mind has its origin in the Supermind. Sri Aurobindo calls it ‘luminous thought-mind’ and it is a mind of spirit-born conceptual knowledge.
The mind works with reason or logical intelligence and draws conclusions using premises. A higher mind is much more powerful, and its knowledge is a self-reveled eternal wisdom and not a knowledge acquired from extraneous sources using any senses.
Intuitive Mind
Illumined mind is the grade above the higher mind. It is a region of spiritual light with the clarity of spiritual intelligence that provides an intense glow, splendor, and illumination of the Supreme spirit. This light is primarily a spiritual manifestation of the divine reality that is at once illuminative and creative.
An illumined mind is much more powerful than a higher mind. With its dynamic inner force and power, it replaces the comparatively slow and deliberative process of the higher mind.
Illumined Mind
The intuitive mind has a higher form of intellect which makes it more powerful than illumined mind. It utilizes its intuitions, inspirations, its swift revelatory vision and its luminous insight and discrimination to make more truthful decisions and actions.
The intuitive mind does not proceed by thoughts but by visional concepts. It has a truth-vision, truth hearing, truth memory and direct truth discernment. An intuitive mind is more powerful than an illumined mind. And with intuitive vision it gets knowledge and clarity.
Over Mind
Overmind is the world of the cosmic gods governing our world so far. Overmind gods can be reached when one is in illumined consciousness. Those who reached there, were absolutely dazzled by the splendid vision of Overmind gods and considered them as ultimate Supreme Divine. However, Overmind is below Supermind, far below the True Supreme and above it there are more layers of higher consciousness.
Overmind is the abode of all those creative powers and deities worshiped by us. The cosmic Gods, the creative powers, are only in touch with Truth consciousness and represent in each of them, only an aspect of its glories. So, it is not the authentic home of the Truth.
Supermind
What is Supermind?
Supermind consciousness is the fundamental truth-consciousness. It is the plane below Sachchidananda.It is the dynamic aspect of the Supreme involved in the manifestation and creation of the universe. It is the Truth consciousness and with its knowledge and will, it can only transform the lower nature to divine life.
Supermind is a dynamic aspect and possesses active will and knowledge superior to mind. It is the creator of this world and the foundation of our present evolutionary existence. Supermind is Truth consciousness. It has self-knowledge and does not need to acquire knowledge from outside through any instrumentation. It possesses all knowledge by its own right.
Supermind is an intermediary power of ineffable Brahman and is a bridge between Brahman and individual evolutionary soul. Beyond Supermind is the Sat-Chit-Ananda (Sachchidananda), which is a supra-cosmic reality, an infinite existence with three essentialities – consciousness, bliss and self-delight.
Action of Supermind
Supermind is the living and acting power of the infinite, universal spirit and acts largely and totally in the individual as a conscious and self-knowing spiritual being.
Only Supermind takes part in manifestation and do the transformation. The action of the Supermind in the development is to manifest and organize the Supreme Divine consciousness.
Supermind will act on Individual and Nature consciously and with its own Truth knowledge.
Sense of Supermind
Supramental gives Awareness and Knowledge of knowing anything by the Supramental-Sense. Supermind is realm of subtle Consciousness. Supramental sense does not involve any physical organ for sensing and is the contact of that Consciousness with its objects.
Supramental bodies are woven by a divine sense connecting soul with soul. The supramental sight and touch reflect the glow and thrill of the heart’s joy as a transparent mantle of divine light spirit’s bliss.
Sri Aurobindo reveals in Integral yoga that the Supramental sense working is on the basis of four conscious actions – Ajnana, Samjnana, Prajñāna and Vijnana.
Supramental Sense action is a result of the extension and vibration of being and Consciousness in a Supra-ethereal Ether of light, Ether of power, Ether of bliss. The Supramental sense, is formed with infinite or universal substance and so it knows everything by the conscious being’s contact and substantial awareness of its own extended substance of self and everything in it -force, play and action,
Vijñāna
Vijñāna is ‘knowledge by identity’. On the supramental plane, one knows everything by being aware of it as part its own infinite Self. In Supramental domain, there is knowledge by identity, by embracing Consciousness, which is characteristic of the supramental energy that has into itself all truth and idea and object of knowledge and sees them at once in their essence, totality and parts or aspects.
Saṁjñāna
Saṁjñāna action of the supramental Consciousness farther accentuates the objectivity of the thing known. It puts away and then brings close to mind by a uniting contact. Saṁjñāna is created by contacting of existence, presences, things, forms, forces, activities. This contacting is done in the stuff of the supramental being and energy and not in divisions of matter or through the physical instruments.
Prajñāna
Prajnana does not go with knowledge by identity. Instead It is the supramental activity that stresses more on the objectivity of the thing known, by descending into the mind. There it forms the source of the peculiar nature of our mental knowledge and intelligence. Prajnana holds image of things as an object and enters into relations and possess it by apprehension and analytic and synthetic cognition.
Ajnana
Here Consciousness dwells on an image of things so as to govern and possess it in power.
Integral Yoga describes that Mind to Supermind is the journey necessary for Evolution and Transformation, which is aim of every human being.