The Upanishads
God is the ONE, creation is the Many.
The Rishis know the One and all of us know the Many. How did the One become the
Many or how did the One create the Many is a question that is not answered. The
Upanishads ask us, 'Who can ask the One that question?' Yes, Sri Aurobindo says,
no one has the right to question the One. In His book Upanishads where HE
explains the Absolute, Maya, Parabrahman as the Upanishads laid down, he raised
the above question and answered that we do not have the right to ask that
question.
In The Life Divine where He explains the Theory of creation,
not according to the Upanishads, but according to his own spiritual vision, He
raises the same question and gives a philosophical explanation. The explanation
is a long theoretical exposition. Its essence can be briefly stated. The
Infinite ONE seeking delight in Self-discovery hid Himself and emerged out of
it. He says it was done by Self-conception, Self-limitation and
Self-absorption.
My interest here is not so much the philosophy of it but
whether it has a practical extension in life. Yes, it has. Man's existence and
his social life are based on the same truths, which in essence makes him master
of his own life, even as God is the Master of creation. Man is now NOT a master
of his life. He has acquired greater and greater mastery over Nature and lives
more comfortably than before. But it is not yet full mastery. Sri Aurobindo's
theory gives him a knowledge of that full mastery conquering death and disease.
I would like to confine myself to its application to daily domestic or business
life. The theory offers us complete mastery, but we can certainly be satisfied
with greater mastery than we enjoy now. It means solving our problems and
availing of opportunities that present themselves to us. Such a mastery is a
near approach to Luck.