Having lived in Auroville in the early days from 1970-71, I feel I can speak on this subject as I have lived this spirit and philosophy myself. I can speak about the philosophy of human unity as given by Sri Aurobindo combining of with the experience that I had in Auroville. Recently one of the Prof. of the Ashram gave a talk on the ideal of human unity in a university. At the end of the talk, a student who was a lecturer in the department asked a question as to why you do you need to talk so much about human unity since I feel that it already exists. Isn’t it? The question looked a little silly apparently at that time but giving it a thought you would see that it has a deeper meaning. Human Unity is in fact a truth of our existence. The only issue is that we have yet to realise it consciously otherwise it preexists. It wasn’t there, we couldn’t have dreamt or talked or attempted it. So in a way human unity is a fact of this terrestrial creation as we understand from our ancient Indian philosophy and that of Sri Aurobindo. It says that there is only one single consciousness of the supreme. What we see as this multiplicity – call it by any name, individuals, nations, countries, creed, groups, nationalities are different expressions of that supreme consciousness of that divine or in India we call that consciousness Sachchidananda. This truth was realised in the Vedic times who always realised a oneness behind this multiplicity of creation. Because of this truth, people in the ancient time spoke of the Satya yoga, the golden age. In the western philosophy too, they talk of the Satarnian age, when the Greeks and the Romans had talked about the golden age. This kind of a dream of a golden age is quite common to all the cultures on the earth, be it China, Japan, East or West. Somewhere this is part of the psychic of human nature which has been given a name and shape by each culture. We do not know haw far it was true if such on age was there at all. Sri Aurobindo writes here “it was an age of sincere being and free unity when the sans of heaven were leaders of human life and mind and the law of god was written not in ineffective books but the tablets of man’s heart. “This is more or less capturing the spirit of the golden age, sincere people, human unity, no external pressure, only the inner law guided each individual being.

But we can if such an age existed at all. But Sri Aurobindo is not really interested in historicity of such age. Many have written about many wonderful qualities of that age. But was it all that good, so uniformly good or with certain defects. What is important is that this past dream was based upon some deep subconscient wish that once upon a time man was in heaven. In the Bible too we see how Adam Eve were driven out from the garden of Eden to the earth. It was a kind of fall. This fall from eternity to time, from heaven to earth is there pretty much in the subconscient of human nature and Sri Aurobindo says that it is this subconscient memory or experience that is there in man aspiring to take shape towards the second coming. He speaks of this subconscient psychology stating that man wants to get back tot he spirit of that age because of his subconscient memory. Getting back to that old radiance in his dream of a great Satyayuga.

In the West we’ve talked of the second coming and the city of god. In India we talk about the Dashavatara, of whom the 10th Avatara is yet to come. Now all this is not just dreams and fancies. They have a basis in the subconscient memory of humanity. Therefore, Sri Aurobindo says that it is important for man to look forward and realise the spirit of that great ancient period, the sum and substance of which, on, the social level is a perfected human society. This is where Sri Aurobindo gives us the genesis of the thought of human unity.

Now looking at it from the point of yoga, lit is consider if we have ever wandered as to why we call it human unity. We take it for granted that we must have unity but unity with what? You may think of unity amongst human beings. But exclusive unity among human beings not possible. There is a great depth in this phrase called ‘human unity’. Why do we not talk about animal or plant unity? It is because human unity has a unique possibility of writing the entire creation with the supreme. This is the sole prerogative only given to man to unite not only among themselves but unite this whole earth – consciousness with the supreme. This is his mission. It is not for the animal or the plant world to do this work. If you understand this possibility in man, then you will see the secret of human unity too in him. It is such that it is only in writing with the supreme that the humanity can unite within itself. Again, it cannot be exclusive to the humankind alone as we have to take into consideration the whole of the earth consciousness. Therefore, it is a vast subject, however much one may come together in groups of nations or civilization, true unity can be realized only after writing with the supreme divine. This is the inner secret.

First, I’ll deal with the outer form regarding what humanity has already achieved while pursuing this goal in the part. I’ll very briefly point out a few turning points in human attempts Sri Aurobindo analysis in “Human Cycle” and ”The Ideal of Human Unity” that this innate dream of man to unite had several expression. Centuries back, first there was this expression attempted through political empires – example –as experimented by the human empire.

You all know about this. But this experiment of Roman empire failed not only because of external pressures, but because of the same reason that it had only the body, the external form but missed the inner psychological unity. Then came the British empire with its conquest of nations. It is not that they were failures, but through then nature has achieved one very important mission, that of spreading each others culture, connecting one with the other. These empires did their role but still this experiment was with drawn after a period of time, once their role was role was over. We know this part of history. Again there was an attempt of racial unification that was given a wonderful line when there was pan – slavism, panarabianism when people wanted to unite racially. That too did not last long. Then we had experiments on the basis of religions like pan – Islamism and before this pan – christiandam? So, Sri Aurobindo would analyse all these as experiments by nature – political, racial, religions and more recently class – the prolatariat. Each of these attempts succeeded in spreading culture and values quite extensively. But the resentment experiment by nature was that of a Federal grouping where the first attempt was with commonwealth if nations when the British empire was withdrawn. It was a good experiment that lasted quite long. Now we have the European mian in our times. This is only to make you aware that the nature is always trying to play with different kinds of unification but as something has been missing in all these, she had to dismantle all in a row. The brightest thing that happened recently were in the beginning of the 18th century which Sri Aurobindo called as the intellectual religion of humanity. That was a very positive step, regarded by Sri Aurobindo apart from the rest of empires in any name or form. The most important one was the religion of humanity which be categorically names as the intellectual religion of humanity. This was based on the principle that man must be sacred to man regardless of all distinctions of race, creed, colour, nationality, status political or social advancement. This was the fundamental basis when man because the ideal of worship. He became the most important thing in every field. In all of these race or colour or nationally, man became the centre of all attention more than the Gods. Out of this we had great philosophies of humanitarism where religion gave great support to it to flourish.

 Then this philosophy, as Sri Aurobindo said, culminated in the great mantra of the French revolution – Liberty, Equality and Fraternity. This, he says, is in fact, the flowering of the consciousness of intellectual religion of man.

Many nations took up one quality, which was liberty. Some nations look up equality. Till now there have been many experiments in these two qualities. We know that they because political ideals in the name of democracy and socialist communism. These were the two political dogmas. Nations took up these two philosophies to experiment till the last. We have seen that apart from certain benefits that reached mankind, the philosophy of communism failed, so to say. Sri Aurobindo in his analysis almost saw a logical end to it even though save think that he predicted it 70 years or so earlier. He saw its end naturally. His logical analysis on all different levels, social and individual, psychological, political etc is so fascinating to see as if we can see the future in time. He thought that that communism had to end because the kind of equality they believe in is an unreal equality. This external form of equality as we have seen in the communist countries is a misrepresentation of true equality. Opportunity should be given to all and it was to be an equal basis, but the main power lay with the centre. So, it took away the most important factor of equality. As equality was emphasized at the cost of liberty, it could not sustain for long. Equality has to be well balanced with freedom because freedom is main birth right. This of course has a deep philosophy. Sri Aurobindo say in the Life Divine that man is limited God. God has delimited himself, self limited himself in man as his creation. Man is aware of this and therefore all the time psychologically and subconsciently be is trying to break this limitation and reach a greater freedom. So freedom is not a political freedom or wishing to do what he/she wants to do. It is a deep spiritual necessity in man to have freedom to which we have given different names in religion, polities, ethics and morality. It we suppress that, it will not succeed.

Now let us take up those countries who took up liberty as their philosophy and, called themselves as democratic countries, were they successful? They do emphasise upon the freedom of the individual, but without the principle of equality. There is an absolute hierarchy of rich, richer, poor, poorer which is a serious imbalance again. Sri Aurobindo has hard criticism against democracy because basically he says that the politicians of the day do not represent the hopes and aspirations of the people. They represent invariably the worst in man, his pettiness, selfishness, egoism, self-deception and corruption and pretense. The governance is run by the clash of selfish interest, moneyed classes, business houses who have no sympathy with the masses. So you can now judge the pathetic condition of democracy. It such people is our representation, then would we like to be governed by the worst in men or best in men. This is exactly the condition of Indian leaders almost without exception currently in our times. This is where the collapse of democracy is predicted too. Especially, Sri Aurobindo says that democracy is most unsuitable for India. To know as to (as a form of government) what should be the new pattern of government, we must read the two books of social philosophy by Sri Aurobindo that I mentioned earlier.

Moving further Sri Aurobindo analysis that these countries of democracy or socialism or communism evolved into great nations in the beginning but at a point they became hardened, self-centred and centricated (?). They left no room to grow. It was then that nature brought forth the world wars. In nature there is always a movement toward the higher and greater. A unit which starts just as family and a clan grows into village and city stated and state to a nations, likewise nature always wants to move on to a vaster unity. So when there was this constriction of nationhood, nature always wants to move on to a vaster unity. So when there was this constriction of nationhood, nature brought forth these world wars, says Sri Aurobindo, in order to break up the constriction of this solid nation ego. Before it became too solidified nature as though loosened up the national boundaries and national consciousness. It was as if it wanted to tell mankind it was high time it united and looked forward to the next step in evolution.

 There too it experimented with the League of Nations after the First World War. After the second war we had a better unity in the United Nations. It is not important to see haw far these bodies are successful but the very fact that the League of Nations was the outcome of the first war is important. It is because nature wanted us to come together, think together, work together instead of getting shelled up in nationhood. The United Nations is not truly serving the purpose it was created for. It has become a political body. Sri Aurobindo has even shown the ways to correct its ways. But till now it was the past.

Sri Aurobindo further analyses that beyond this UNO, there are several possibilities. I find him marvellous in these analyses. He never gives us one single angle of thought which is a commendable effort. Out of the many possibilities he thinks that something will emerge which we can perhaps call a ‘world state’. Here is a short paragraph describing what a world state would be.

“Ultimate………existence.’

So you can see here that on the external, political frame world unity, he envisages a world state that will have federation of nations. He has told us the defects of a confederacy and then he goes into great details of what this world state should be like its judiciary, its executive, its army, its police, included the education. He has given us a full framework of this state. But than as we had started in the beginning, we should remember that no external form can last without the indispensable inner factor of a psychological unity. It is not possible for the simple reason that all that the world state way hope to bring about, peace, economic well-being, general security, combination for general social, cultural social activities can progress, are not sufficient in themselves to create a human unity that would have long survival on exist permanently. So, he says that ‘peace and security we desire at present because we do not have them in sufficiency but we must remember that man has also within him a need for combat adventure, struggle, almost require these for his growth and healthy living. That instinct would be largely suppressed by a universal peace and a flat security and it might rise up successfully against suppression. Economic well-being by itself cannot permanently satisfy and the price paid for it might be so heavy as to diminish its appeal and value.

 This is very stunning because both peace and, security will satisfy man, nor even an economic well-being. Of course when we read these, we these, we remember the recent incident in the west and my experience we says that we pay too much of a price to keep ourselves going. We understand now that economic well being will not necessarily bring inner joy and peace. As Sri Aurobindo says the sense of adventure and combat or struggle have not yet been transformed. These may came up in the form of Taliban or any other name – it doesn’t matter.

 So rulers this inner being of man is changed, it is all insufficient. (He gives the example of what happened recently in the USA) To move inwards is the spiritual religion of humanity. Intellectual region of humanity brought forth a lot of values and good thing yet in sufficient to change man. Therefore the only factor that can sustain all these unifying efforts is a spiritual religion of mankind. Meanwhile let us not forget the great emphasis on matter, one major development that has brought mankind together. This is materialism itself. It has brought us close to each other as we all know that today the world has become a global village. This sense of unification on the material level has been the contribution materialism. We already feel close to the people of USA, Europe, sitting on our tables while sending and receiving messages in seconds, conversing with them over the computers. In the light of Sri Aurobindo, we already get a taste of what human unity could be like when matter becomes one. There is a story in our Upanishads called Bhriguvallika (or in Bhriguvallika) in which a student asks his spiritual master the definition of the supreme Brahman” Tell me about Him! The master tells him to go and mediate to find out for himself what is the Supreme like. The disciple meditates for 12 years and returns to say that matter is the supreme Brahman, be realises. She master agreed with him but again’ told me to go back and meditate upon Brahman once more. Again after 12 more years the disciple returns to say to the master that the supreme is the prana, the life energy in all. The master again agreed to say that he found out a greater secret but yet again he sent him back to discover that mind was the supreme which was indeed the third reality. Yet that was not complete. The fourth time when he returned to say that the discovered silence to be the supreme Brahman, the master was happy to see the disciple had reached the highest status of Brahman.

 This is to tell us that each of these levels belong to that of the supreme. Matter is one such level, so what science has done today for mankind is that it has revealed Brahman in matter that matter united is the form of divine unity. On this level we are mited. It has spread over uniformly over this earth. But Sri Aurobindo tells us not to get stuck on this reality, truth. It is a truth but there are yet higher levels of truth. The intellectual religion of humanity is a mind born child of the philosophers.

 But beyond the mind there is a higher spiritual level and this religion of man is on that spiritual level and that is the only measure that can sustain true human unity. I’ll read out a definition, brief and condensed, a religion of humanity means the grousing realisation that there is a secret spirit, a divine reality in which we are all one, that humanity is its highest present vehicle on earth, that the human race and the human being are the means by which it will progressively reveal itself here. By its growth within us, oneness with our follow men will become the leading principle of all our life. Not merely a principle of co-operation but a deeper brotherhood, a real and an inner sense of unity and equality and a common life.” This is the essence of a spiritual religion. First and foremost we realise, as the Upanishad master had told us that beyond the reality of matter, life and mind, there is a higher being. We may not have realised it yet but as the disciple was asked to meditate for 12 years which has symbolic importance rather that numerical, we too have to meditate or make an attempt to discover this higher truth that exists beyond all our present experience. We cannot reject it only because we haven’t as yet experienced it. To most of all of us all that our senses can register is the only touch. Whatever is beyond this ken of experience is dubious and doubtful. This is where mind bring about this block or obstacle. Therefore Sri Aurobindo says that humanity is its highest present vehicle on earth, but the divine will not stop with this mankind alone and it’ll move in. He will reveal greater truths. On that greater consciousness mankind will see a greater common human unity. This will be the realisation of the third principle of the great mantra – liberty, – equality and fraternity given to us. Fraternity has not yet been tried at all. No country has yet taken up fraternity on its political ideal. Sri Aurobindo says that deep down it has to be the ideal of India. So he has pointed out the weaknesses of the democratic system in India which is an absolute failure for India’s temperament and background. We have also seen that fraternity and spiritual religion of man are synonyms and indeed, for that reason the Mother told someone that this fraternity will be born in India. Because of India already having in its soil the innate spiritual essence and qualities that Auroville has been built here and not anywhere else. It is because this third principle belongs to the future, Auroville has to be rooted to India as it has a specific and an important role to play regarding the future of humanity altogether.

 It is a long way. It may take decades to arrive at such a conscious formation of spiritual reality. Sri Aurobindo gives us the essential characteristics of this spiritualized society about which I’d like to draw your attention in Auroville as it dreams to become a spiritual society. It is a city that earth needs and a city of human unity which is nothing short of spirituality. The three creeds of spirituality as mentioned by Sri Aurobindo are god, freedom and unity. This is a special message for all of no who want to dedicate their lives to Auroville. The mantra on the intellectual level was liberty, equality and fraternity. But out future mantra will be god, freedom and unity. God is the first necessity.

 It is only in the God – consciousness that we get real freedom and in uniting with Him that we get the human unity. So long as we do not have the godward consciousness as the pivot of our life, all the various kinds of experiments cannot success. Therefore, Sri Aurobindo says that a spiritualised society shall have god as its pivot instead of ego that has been ruling us from ages immemorial. The axis has to be turned from ago to god. To the extent we reach this godward consciousness, we’ll experience the true freedom that we seek for. God is at the head of the triangle as if with liberty and unity being the rest. Unless we achieve that god-consciousness, we cannot achieve the other two in its true form.

 It is interesting to see through history that all the prior attempts were made toward this unity in me way or another. This is because it is embedded in the very subconscient of our human race. Sri Aurobindo takes us now to a stage that was prior to that of our creation. He says that the central truth of evolution is a drive towards unity. He speaks of involution and evolution. Involution is the process of this creation. If we do not understand this process then many things become miracle for us which is a tablet in religion, an opium used by religion. To erase this attitude, Sri Aurobindo takes support of absolute rationalism. He doesn’t believe is mesmerising our faith and belief. So like a scientist in the laboratory, he puts before us the entire process. Then it is up to us to believe it take it or, put it side or reject it. Essence of this process of involution is multiplicity in oneness. One supreme divine, call it Brahman or Sachchidananda becomes this multiple in the universe. This is the crux. Other details are metaphysical and not necessary to know at this point. And the crux of evolution is unity in diversity or multiplicity. This diversity of human creation is moving towards that unity that is the process of evolution. So, involution is oneness to manyness and evolution in manyness to oneness. Now we know that nature has been attempting this unification since ages. It is toward this effort that we’ve to recognise the importance of Auroville as to how the Mother has given to Auroville this role of writing this immortal human aspiration to a single focussed centre called Auroville here. Certainly there could be such centres anywhere in the world. In fact Auroville is just a beginning of such focussed aspiration towards a large unity. The Mother envisages many such centres in future even though this is the beginning. It is as though she has gathered together all those few from several countries who were looking forward to such an attempt. In this future spiritualist society, there are two conditions that have to be followed to hasten a desired outcome. One is the individuals who are able to recreate themselves in the image of their spirit and the group or the group body. It is not easy for the individuals to recreate themselves in the image of their spirit. It is than that the group body receives what the individuals have discovered and created. The issue that is notable here in that these two movements have to be simultaneous. Until now we’ve had great individuals aspiring liberty, freedom, equality, salvation immortal spirit. We have also had wonderful group likes monasteries, little ashramas, cloisters of retreat, small centres of light. But they were all spaced out in time. Now Sri Aurobindo sees that they have to come simultaneously which is one of the major function of Auroville. We are all coming here to create that spiritual centre, that group body. But simultaneously there has got to be the individuals too. It cannot be just the body without the soul. Individuals are the souls and the group body is the physical. Simultaneously they must exist together. In the Ashram too we have had great individuals who had reached the supramental consciousness. Done great tapsaya and recreated themselves in the image of their spirit. But the Mother needed perhaps the group body for which she created this last international body of Auroville. This new supramental consciousness is not happy with just few here and there in different parts of the world. The very essence of the supramental consciousness is humanity itself.

 Supermind requires the entire humanity as its footstool. All the other religions could have been satisfied with nations or creeds as their footstools, but Supermind needs a body like Auroville representing humanity as a vast international platform which is a world body. There is no compromise on this. We may not be able to do much at this point of time, Mother in Sri Aurobindo do envisage several layers of evolution in times to come. Let us look forward to this lofty ideal even though it may take us years to reach there.

 If we don’t start it today this foundation of Auroville, we can not reach that wonderful supramental done tomorrow. Our contribution is here and now. All the problems and struggle in Auroville should not deter anyone keeping in view the promised future that it fulfils for humanity tomorrow. This is the foundation of a supramental city, the very foundation of supramental consciousness upon earth. It is not a retreat that one should hope for coming away from the polluted bustle of cities like New York or Tokyo. One has to be prepared for a greater challenge here, a more intense inner battle. I am an idealist and following an ideal in its true image is a battle for me. This great ideal that was created with the very creation of man’s consciousness itself is linked up with you and me. There is same thing special that each one of us has to do. Sri Aurobindo would say that the most fundamental attempt of each one of us here is to rise beyond our ego. Ego was the helper till the level of man’s evolution in mind. When man has to travel beyond mind ego proves to be a bar. Here in Auroville this has to be our very first attempt as it is unavoidable and uncompromisable. It is not impassible to achieve it. Sri Aurobindo has given a full-scale method in integral yoga. But then there is a short cut to it too. Truth cannot be avoided. This short cut is to surrender to the Divine. It may be difficult but there is no other way. Surrender is the essence of this yoga. I’ll read out a beautiful passage from Sri Aurobindo – “All must be done for the divine. All must be directed towards the Divine. “That’s the meaning of surrender. Western mind becomes reactionary when we talk about surrender. We are not giving up any thing, not sacrificing. It is just that we have to live god ward, looking towards the divine. “Nothing must be attempted for ourselves as a separate existence, nothing done for others, whether neighbors, friends, family, country or mankind or other creatures merely because they are connected with our personal life and thought and sentiment or because the ego takes the preferential interest in their welfare. In this way of doing and seeing, all life and al work because only a daily dynamic worship and service of the Divine in this unbounded temple of his own vast cosmic existence.”

 So, this is the dynamic worship of the supreme in his own vast cosmic existence. We are not asked to reject anything. All we have to do is direct everything we do towards Him. Each of our acts and thoughts and feelings when directed to the divine paves the way for the shortest way to realise one’s deeper psychic being or the soul. In another place he says that the essential character of this psychic consciousness is love and unity. Again we get connected with human unity in the way that the more we move towards our psychic being, the move we reach out towards human unity. “The divine love which so emerges, will be more potent for the perfectibility of life and a more real instrument than the ineffective mental ideal of brotherhood can ever be. It is this panned out into acts that could alone create a harmony in the world and a true unity between all creatures.”

 So, you see, how this entire philosophy and ideal, evolutionary *** is there focussed in our own being. It is like touching my psychic being, I am touch the whole universe. This is what Mother says that touching a certain point in our body we can touch the points on the earth surface itself.

 On spiritual consciousness our body itself can became focussed matter. Touching the psychic one can touch the unity of the whole mankind. I may not know you by name or nationality. But I shall be one with you when I know my own truth, my soul. It is interesting to read this

Question

            Mother, what is the right way of achieving lasting world unity?

 Mother – To realise the consciousness of the one. In another place she said – “If you want peace upon earth, first establish peace in your heart. If you want union in the world, first unify the different parts of your won being. “Therefore, Sri Aurobindo ideal is not something that belongs to a far off future or something that we cannot achieve. This is same thing close to our hearts. This moment which he termed as the hour of god is the most appropriate time, says the Mother, for us to connect ourselves with our psychic being. In is because they have brought down that supramental power which can rapidly lead us to our goal if only we asked for it. Till now it was very hard like swimming against the current. But now the whole supramental force is with us, helping us. They have now made our yoga much easier. And it is because of this force that the world unity will soon become a reality. Soon doesn’t necessarily denote time, but it is same thing that is decreed. The Mother says that because of Sri Aurobindo work in the subtle physical since 1950, the very concept of the ideal of human unity has become much more acceptable to the world. Today all of us here, coming from so many directions have been unconsciously  or consciously touched by Sri Aurobindo because that consciousness of world unity is his personal dream. In his message of 15th August 1947, he talked about his five dreams of which this was one. He said that he was working for that.

 Friends, this aspiration for human unity represented by Auroville is first to be realised in all of us individually. Therefore this entire cosmic aspiration of evolution is squeezed into my single psychic being as it is relentlessly working towards this goal.

 The path is open to each one of us. Therefore Auroville is a city that future needs. Without this city the future of humanity will be a question mark. Therefore coming to Auroville is coming for a self transformation. Unless and until we are ready for this self-transformation, we should not take up this experiment. Then we could be where we are and contribute our little self to the divine work which is pervading everywhere here, in Auroville, it is a cauldron of forces that work. Here if we are not very firmly stuck to our single –minded goal, we may be pulvarised.  I am only talking about the inner battle. General difficulties and problems are the part of every distance everywhere. But what do we need to fear when the leader of this venture are the avators themselves! The Mother to Sri Aurobindo.