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The
supramental world exists in a permanent way, and I am there permanently in a supramental
body. I had proof of this today when my earthly consciousness went there and
consciously remained there between two and three o’clock in the
afternoon: I now know that for the two worlds to join in a constant and
conscious relationship what is missing is an intermediate zone between the
existing physical world and the supramental world as it exists. This zone has
yet to be built, both in the individual consciousness and in the objective
world, and it is being built. When formerly I used to speak of the new world
that is being created, I was speaking of this intermediate zone. And
similarly, when I am on ‘this’ side—that is, in the realm
of the physical consciousness—and I see the supramental power, the
supramental light and substance constantly permeating matter, I am seeing and
participating in the construction of this zone.
I found
myself upon an immense ship, which is the symbolic representation of the
place where this work is being carried out. This ship, as big as a city, is
thoroughly organized, and it had certainly already been functioning for quite
some time, for its organization was fully developed. It is the place where
people destined for the supramental life are being trained. These people (or
at least a part of their being) had already undergone a supramental
transformation because the ship itself and all that was aboard was neither
material nor subtle-physical, neither vital nor mental: it was a supramental
substance. This substance itself was of the most material supramental, the supramental
substance nearest the physical world, the first to manifest. The light was a
blend of red and gold, forming a uniform substance of luminous orange.
Everything was like that—the light was like that, the people were like
that—everything had this color, in varying shades, however, which
enabled things to be distinguished from one another. The overall impression
was of a shadowless world: there were shades, but
no shadows. The atmosphere was full of joy, calm, order; everything worked
smoothly and silently. At the same time, I could see all the details of the
education, the training in all domains by which the people on board were
being prepared.
This
immense ship had just arrived at the shore of the supramental world, and a
first batch of people destined to become the future inhabitants of the
supramental world were about to disembark. Everything was arranged for this
first landing. A certain number of very tall beings were posted on the wharf.
They were not human beings and never before had they been men. Nor were they
permanent inhabitants of the supramental world. They had been delegated from
above and posted there to control and supervise the landing. I was in charge
of all this since the beginning and throughout. I myself had prepared all the
groups. I was standing on the bridge of the ship, calling the groups forward
one by one and having them disembark on the shore. The tall beings posted
there seemed to be reviewing those who were disembarking, allowing those who
were ready to go ashore and sending back those who were not and who had to
continue their training aboard the ship. While standing there watching
everyone, that part of my consciousness coming from here became extremely
interested: it wanted to see, to identify all the people, to see how they had
changed and to find out who had been taken immediately as well as those who
had to remain and continue their training. After awhile, as I was observing,
I began to feel pulled backwards and that my body was being awakened by a
consciousness or a person from here—and in my consciousness, I
protested: ‘No, no, not yet! Not yet! I want to see who’s there!’
I was watching all this and noting it with intense interest … It went
on like that until, suddenly, the clock here began striking three, which
violently jerked me back. There was the sensation of a sudden fall into my
body. I came back with a shock, but since I had been called back very
suddenly, all my memory was still intact. I remained quiet and still until I
could bring back the whole experience and preserve it.
The nature
of objects on this ship was not that which we know upon earth; for example,
the clothes were not made of cloth, and this thing that resembled cloth was
not manufactured—it was a part of the body, made of the same substance
that took on different forms. It had a kind of plasticity. When a change had
to be made, it was done not by artificial and outer means but by an inner
working, by a working of the consciousness that gave the substance its form
or appearance. Life created its own forms. There was ONE SINGLE substance in
all things; it changed the nature of its vibration according to the needs or
uses.
Those who
were sent back for more training were not of a uniform color; their bodies
seemed to have patches of a grayish opacity, a substance resembling the earth
substance. They were dull, as though they had not been wholly permeated by
the light or wholly transformed. They were not like this all over, but in
places.
The tall
beings on the shore were not of the same color, at least they did not have
this orange tint; they were paler, more transparent. Except for a part of
their bodies, only the outline of their forms could be seen. They were very
tall, they did not seem to have a skeletal structure, and they could take on
any form according to their needs. Only from their waists to their feet did
they have a permanent density, which was not felt in the rest of their body.
Their color was much more pallid and contained very little red, it verged
rather on gold or even white. The parts of whitish light were translucid;
they were not absolutely transparent, but less dense, more subtle than the
orange substance.
Just as I
was called back, when I was saying, ‘Not yet … ,’ I had a quick
glimpse of myself, of my form in the supramental world. I was a mixture of
what these tall beings were and the beings aboard the ship. The top part of
myself, especially my head, was a mere silhouette of a whitish color with an
orange fringe. The more it approached the feet, the more the color resembled
that of the people on the ship, or in other words, orange; the more it went
up towards the top, the more translucid and white it was, and the red faded.
The head was only a silhouette with a brilliant sun at its center; from it
issued rays of light which were the action of the will.
As for the
people I saw aboard ship, I recognized them all. Some were here in the
Ashram, some came from elsewhere, but I knew them as well. I saw everyone,
but as I realized that I would not remember everyone when I came back, I
decided not to give any names. Besides, it is unnecessary. Three or four
faces were very clearly visible, and when I saw them, I understood the
feeling that I have had here, on earth, while looking into their eyes: there
was such an extraordinary joy … On the whole, the people were young;
there were very few children, and their ages were around fourteen or fifteen,
but certainly not below ten or twelve (I did not stay long enough to see all
the details). There were no very old people, with the exception of a few.
Most of the people who had gone ashore were of a middle age—again,
except for a few. Several times before this experience, certain individual
cases had already been examined at a place where people capable of being
supramentalized are examined; I had then had a few surprises which I had
noted—I even told some people. But those whom I disembarked today I saw
very distinctly. They were of a middle age, neither young children nor
elderly people, with only a few rare exceptions, and this quite corresponded
to what I expected. I decided not to say anything, not to give any names. As
I did not stay until the end, it would be impossible for me to draw an exact
picture, for it was neither absolutely clear nor complete. I do not want to
say things to some and not say them to others.
What I can
say is that the criterion or the judgment was based EXCLUSIVELY on the
substance constituting the people—whether they belonged completely to
the supramental world or not, whether they were made of this very special
substance. The criterion adopted was neither moral nor psychological. It is
likely that their bodily substance was the result of an inner law or an inner
movement which, at that time, was not in question. At least it is quite clear
that the values are different.
When I
came back, along with the memory of the experience, I knew that the
supramental world was permanent, that my presence there is permanent, and
that only a missing link is needed to allow the consciousness and the
substance to connect—and it is this link that is being built. At that
time, my impression (an impression which remained rather long, almost the
whole day) was of an extreme relativity—no, not exactly that, but an
impression that the relationship between this world and the other completely
changes the criterion by which things are to be evaluated or judged. This
criterion had nothing mental about it, and it gave the strange inner feeling
that so many things we consider good or bad are not really so. It was very
clear that everything depended upon the capacity of things and upon their
ability to express the supramental world or be in relationship with it. It
was so completely different, at times even so opposite to our ordinary way of
looking at things! I recall one little thing that we usually consider bad …
actually how funny it was to see that it is something excellent! And other
things that we consider important were really quite unimportant there!
Whether it was like this or like that made no difference. What is very
obvious is that our appreciation of what is divine or not divine is
incorrect. I even laughed at certain things … Our usual feeling about
what is anti-divine seems artificial, based upon something untrue, unliving (besides, what we call life here appeared
lifeless in comparison with that world); in any event, this feeling should be
based upon our relationship between the two worlds and according to whether
things make this relationship easier or more difficult. This would thus
completely change our evaluation of what brings us nearer to the Divine or
what takes us away from Him. With people, too, I saw that what helps them or
prevents them from becoming supramental is very different from what our
ordinary moral notions imagine. I felt just how … ridiculous we are.
In
ordinary life, EVERYTHING is artificial. Depending upon the chance of your
birth or circumstances, you have a more or less high position or a more or
less comfortable life, not because it is the spontaneous, natural and sincere
expression of your way of being and of your inner need, but because the
fortuity of life’s circumstances has placed you in contact with these
things. An absolutely worthless man may be in a very high position, and a man
who might have marvelous capacities of creation and organization may find
himself toiling in a quite limited and inferior position, whereas he would be
a wholly useful individual if the world were sincere.
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