Sri Aurobindo

Letters on Himself and the Ashram

The Complete Works of Sri Aurobindo. Volume 35

Remarks on the Current State of the Sadhana, 1931 – 1947

1935 [43]

Well sir, what about your brand new {{0}}formula?[[See the letter of 16 August 1935 on page 344. — Ed.]] How has it worked out? Are you still stuck up in the middle? Judging from my own experience this Darshan [24 November 1935], it is hard to say.

My formula is working out rapidly, but it has nothing to do with any Darshan descent. It is my private and particular descent, if you like, and that’s enough for me at present. The tail of the supermind is descending, descending, descending. It is only the tail at present, but where the tail can pass, the rest will follow.

After so much expectation everything seemed so quiet. Already it seems as if the Darshan passed away long ago!

Quiet was all I wanted — there were so many alarums and excursions. Just before that it looked as if the 24th would be a day of mud, whirlpools and tempests (in certain quarters of course). However all quieted down by magic — and everything was peaceful, peaceful.

I hope others felt the Force, the Descent. Some say there was a descent; others say no.

How do they know either of them? Personal experience? Then it was a personal descent or a personal non-descent. No General de Bono yet.

Some say there was so much resistance that Sri Aurobindo could not do much in spite of himself.

Didn’t try, sir, so that’s bosh. The attempt to bring a great general descent having only produced a great ascent of subconscient mud, I had given up that as I already told you. At present I am only busy with transformation of overmind (down to the subconscient) into supermind; when that is over, I shall see if I can beat everyone with the tail of the supermind or not. At present I am only trying to prevent people from making hysterical subconscient asses of themselves, so that I may not be too much disturbed in my operations — not yet with too much success.

25 November 1935