Sri Aurobindo

Letters of Sri Aurobindo

CWSA 35

Fragment ID: 8651

The Conquest of Death [2]

From whatever you have said in joke or in earnest, it logically follows that you are immortal. Because if you say that the Supramental can alone conquer death, one who has become that is evidently and consequently immortal. So if one is immortal or has conquered death, no poison or accident can affect him.

Your syllogism is:

“One who becomes supramental, can conquer death.

Sri Aurobindo has become supramental.

Sri Aurobindo has conquered death.”

1st premiss right; second premiss premature; conclusion at least premature and in any case excessive, for “can conquer” is turned into “has conquered” = is immortal. It is not easy, my dear doctor, to be a logician; the human reasoning animal is always making slight inaccuracies like that in his syllogisms which vitiate the whole reasoning. This might be correct:

“One who becomes wholly supramental conquers death.

Sri Aurobindo is becoming supramental.

Sri Aurobindo is conquering death.”

But between “is conquering” and “has conquered” is a big difference. It is all the difference between present and future, logical possibility and logical certitude.

I hope I haven’t made a rigid mental conclusion.

The premiss is false. I have never said that I am supramental – I have always said that I have achieved the overmind and am bringing down the supramental. That is a process and until the process is complete it cannot be said that “I am supramental”. Of course when I say “I” – I mean the instrument – not the Consciousness above or the Person behind which contain all things in them.

27 March 1935