ego – for “human” means a vital animal ego mentalised by a little outward thought and knowledge. So long as one is satisfied with remaining that, one will remain human “even here” or anywhere.Sri Aurobindo
Letters of Sri Aurobindo
07. Transformation of the Vital
Fragment ID: 2942
A vital life, “a little higher than the animals” because of some play of mind, with death as its answer is all that human existence is as it is ordinarily envisaged. And yet there is an aspiration for something more,– but the religions take hold of it and canalise it into something pointless for life and things remain as they are. Only a few indeed get beyond this limit.
The “after all1” is indeed only an excuse. Nobody can become more than human if he refuses to make a sacrifice of his ego – for “human” means a vital animal ego mentalised by a little outward thought and knowledge. So long as one is satisfied with remaining that, one will remain human “even here” or anywhere.
1 “After all we are human – we have not become gods.”