Highest Wisdom? Not a piece of Chicken

What Happens When Consciousness Meets Shakti?

Recently, I visited the Aurobindo Ashram in Pondicherry, and honestly, it was an experience. Not the kind of experience where you come back, post three aesthetic pictures, write “Peace” under them, and then immediately start fighting with someone in the WhatsApp group. No. Something about the place stayed with me.

There are also other things—some painful, some disturbing, and some deeply hurtful—that I am going to put forward in this blog. But I think they are necessary. Sometimes a thought hurts because it touches something we have been successfully avoiding for a very long time.

One of the ideas that remained with me was this: consciousness and Shakti have to come together so that there is life. And that is where my journey into Sri Aurobindo began.

Sri Aurobindo was not just another philosopher sitting somewhere and writing complicated sentences so that philosophy students like me could spend the next hundred years trying to understand what he actually meant. He was a revolutionary, a political thinker, a spiritual seeker, and a master of many subjects. He came to Pondicherry in 1910 to pursue sadhana. His philosophical vision was revolutionary, especially in the way he understood the human being and the future of humanity.

His great poetic work, Savitri, draws upon the story of Savitri and Satyavan. Through this story emerge questions about love, death, destiny, consciousness, and the possibility that the human journey is not yet complete. And perhaps that was the question that began troubling me: Who are we, really?

Because if we are only what we appear to be, then life is comparatively simple. Eat, sleep, study, work, argue with people on Instagram, pay bills, and die. But unfortunately, philosophy does not allow us to live that peacefully.

Sri Aurobindo's understanding of the human being is much deeper. The human being is not merely a body with a brain that occasionally overthinks at 2 a.m. We are beings with different planes and parts of our being. Consciousness, in the simplest sense, is awareness. But then there are emotions, thoughts, sensations, feelings, desires, and will. Sometimes one part of us wants to do something, another part says absolutely not, the third part starts crying, and the fourth part opens YouTube. And somehow, we call all of this having a personality.

But behind all these movements, there seems to be something else. Who is that someone else?

Sri Aurobindo speaks about different levels of our being—the outer being, the subliminal, the circumconscient, the inconscient, and the superconscient. The circumconscient can be understood as that consciousness which constantly interacts with what surrounds us. We are never completely isolated. What is around us affects us, and we affect what is around us. Every person, in some sense, has a circumstantial consciousness.

Then there is the subliminal—that which is deeper within us, beyond our ordinary outer consciousness. It can be understood as a meeting place of evolution and involution. The outer being is the consciousness that expresses itself outwardly. The superconscient points toward levels of consciousness above the ordinary mind, while the inconscient refers to what appears as darkness below.

And here comes something that fascinated me. Even darkness is not necessarily outside Brahman. Light and darkness may appear to us as opposites, but ultimately they are not two completely separate realities. Which is already enough to confuse a philosophy student. Because then you begin asking: if darkness too belongs somehow within reality, then what exactly is this world? What are we? And why are we all pretending to understand everything?

Sri Aurobindo's vision does not simply present God as standing outside creation and manufacturing the universe like someone running a cosmic factory. The question is: how can anything truly exist outside the Divine? Think of a spider. A spider does not go to a shop and buy material to create its web. It produces the web from itself. In a similar way, the world can be understood as a kind of web of the Divine.

God does not merely create something completely separate from Himself. The Divine becomes everything. Creation comes out of the Divine, using, in a sense, its own reality. And this brings us to the process of involution and evolution.

In involution, the Divine becomes increasingly involved and concealed. There is a process of delimitation. The Supreme Divine becomes matter. Great light becomes darkness. The Divine seems to become its opposite. But at the level of matter, another movement begins: evolution.

Matter evolves. Life emerges. Mind emerges. And now humanity stands at a point where evolution has reached the level of the mind. But according to Sri Aurobindo, the story does not end here.

The human being is not the final chapter.

And honestly, that thought is both exciting and terrifying. Because if evolution is still continuing, perhaps we are not yet what we are supposed to become. Perhaps humanity itself is still under construction. And judging by the present condition of the world, I would say the construction site is extremely messy.

Sri Aurobindo imagined the possibility of a higher stage of consciousness. Human beings, in this vision, could be surpassed by a new stage—a more conscious being, sometimes described through the idea of the superman or supramental consciousness. And then the question becomes: Are we ready to become something beyond what we are?

The notion is radical: everything is, in some way, connected with the Divine. But ignorance is strong. And the ego is even stronger. Perhaps one of the greatest problems of the human being is the constant belief that I am separate.

Separate from you. Separate from nature. Separate from society. Separate from God. And from that separation comes the great human invention called us versus them.

You are this. I am that. Your religion. My religion. Your caste. My caste. Your country. My country. Your ideology. My ideology. And then everyone is surprised when humanity starts behaving like a family WhatsApp group after someone sends a political message.

The ego creates separation, and separation creates conflict. The mind itself is limited, and essential knowledge becomes difficult because the mind divides reality into pieces in order to understand it. The vital is the life-force. The body itself is conscious. And the soul can be understood almost like a magnet that holds the being together.

Perhaps the more deeply the soul lives, the more the ego begins to reduce its unnecessary importance.

I also loved one image used to understand the human being: the image of a mango. The outer being is like the skin. The subliminal is like the flesh of the mango. The outer appearance is only the skin, while something deeper lies beneath it. And honestly, nobody buys a mango, throws away the fruit, and says, “Wow, what a beautiful skin.” We know where the real thing is.

Perhaps the same is true of us. We spend our entire lives polishing the outer skin—appearance, reputation, success, titles, positions, followers, institutions—and sometimes forget to ask: What is happening inside?

The human being can also be understood through Prakriti and Purusha. At the deepest level is the psychic being—the inmost being. In a general sense, we may relate it to the soul. Through rebirth, it takes new forms, and the realisation of the psychic being becomes a movement toward the realisation of God.

And suddenly, spirituality is no longer simply about escaping from life. It becomes a journey deeper into life.

Perhaps the real research is not always outside. Sometimes the greatest research is the in-search.

We keep researching the universe, planets, atoms, nanoparticles, artificial intelligence, and other galaxies. Which is wonderful. But sometimes I wonder whether we have spent enough time studying ourselves.

Especially in India.

We speak about India. We make predictions about India. We argue about India. We defend India. We criticise India. But have we actually studied the India we are talking about?

Otherwise, we begin producing opinions before understanding reality. And then our half-understood truth becomes somebody else's illusion. That is dangerous.

Whatever truth we are interested in must be studied to the core—not simply so that we can become experts and give speeches, but because we should not become the reason someone else begins living inside an illusion. Everything has its nature, and every reality deserves to be understood before it is judged.

One of Sri Aurobindo's dreams was the unity of India and Pakistan and the reunion of those who had become separated from what he saw as a deeper natural unity. I do not completely know what this idea has to do with me personally, but for some reason, it stayed with me.

Maybe because I have become tired of seeing unity discussed only when someone is giving a speech.

Unity looks beautiful on banners.

It becomes slightly more difficult when actual human beings are involved.

Another dream was India's role in Asian and human civilisation. India is a world in itself. You can travel a few hundred kilometres and suddenly the language changes, the food changes, the gods change, the politics changes, and people start telling you that the correct way to make tea is completely different. And somehow, all of us are still trying to live together.

Another dream was the unity of humanity. And this is where something inside me began shouting: Why are we fighting so much?

Religion after religion. Community after community. Group after group.

Stop this endless fight.

Remove this obsession with orthodoxy that sometimes forgets the human person.

Because sometimes I genuinely feel there is a difference between being religious and merely being trapped inside religion. The two are not necessarily the same thing.

We seem to be wired for unity. Yet somewhere along the way, the wiring began leaking.

Today we live in a selfie culture. Everything begins with the self: my photo, my achievement, my opinion, my followers, my life. But perhaps tomorrow we will need to learn how to live in a selfless culture.

Just imagine the irony. We have time to make a thirty-second video explaining how busy we are, but we do not have time to physically visit someone. We can send ten heart emojis, but sometimes we cannot sit with a person whose heart is actually breaking.

What a pity.

Technology has made communication easier, but it has not automatically made connection deeper.

Another dream was that India's spiritual gift to the world had already begun to unfold. And before Sri Aurobindo, there was Swami Vivekananda, who also spoke about India's spiritual responsibility and its encounter with the wider world.

Standing there, as a student of philosophy, I could genuinely feel the depth of these ideas. Because Sri Aurobindo is not simply giving us another theory. He is challenging us to ask: What if the mind that is trying to solve the problem is itself part of the problem?

Our minds deceive us because they limit us. We divide, categorise, compare, and create identities. Then we spend the rest of our lives protecting those identities as if God personally gave us the responsibility of maintaining the department.

The problem of us versus them cannot be solved simply by changing the labels. Perhaps it requires becoming less selfish. Perhaps the ego has to become smaller for humanity to become larger.

And then comes another question: What is development?

The West has achieved extraordinary material development. But perhaps development cannot be defined only in material terms. At the same time, spirituality cannot become an excuse for remaining materially underdeveloped.

We need both.

Spirituality should not deny material progress, and material progress should not destroy spiritual depth. Perhaps real growth happens when material development and spirituality remain in proportion.

Otherwise, we may become technologically advanced human beings who have absolutely no idea what to do with our own hearts.

Then comes the question of education. After the British education system, many of us were made to believe that we were failures. Perhaps, in some ways, we internalised that belief. We were educated, yes....but what exactly does it mean to be educated?

Can an educated person remain completely disconnected from society? Can someone possess degrees, qualifications, and knowledge, yet never learn how to understand another human being?

Maybe education itself needs to be defined correctly.

There is another thought that came to me. An ambulance is loud when it is far away. When it is approaching someone else's house, it is just a sound. But when it stops outside our own house, everything changes.

Suddenly, the sound is no longer noise.

It is fear.

It is reality.

It is personal.

Maybe the world will change when another person's ambulance begins to disturb us as much as our own.

Something has to change. The fight has to be against evil......but not for revenge. The struggle can be abstract and can take different forms. It can be intellectual, social, spiritual, political, or personal. It can be a struggle against ignorance, injustice, indifference, ego, and everything that slowly destroys human dignity.

But the point is simple: we cannot simply sit idle and expect the world to become better.

This visit to Pondicherry gave me the kind of exposure that I needed. Learning happens when we encounter something new, when we travel, when we listen, when we meet ideas that disturb us, and when we allow ourselves to be changed.

Otherwise, we can sit in one place forever, comfortably “thinking,” like we are trying to hatch eggs.

At some point, you have to get up and see the world.

Something has changed in me.....the way I think and the way I want to look at life. For some time, I simply want to become an observer. Not necessarily to run away, but to watch. To understand. To see what is happening outside and what is happening within me.

Because perhaps every person carries a responsibility to change something in society rather than merely sitting idle and complaining about it. At the same time, each one of us may also be called to reach the peak of our own inner consciousness.

And then, while I was thinking about all of this......the evolution of consciousness, the Divine, unity, ego, humanity, and the future......something else disturbed me deeply.

During the past few days, I was disturbed by the reported death of an entire family in Sambhaji Nagar. According to what I encountered, members of the family reportedly jumped from a cliff one after another, while others were just observing.

I honestly do not know what to say.

I cannot even feel close to what that family may have been experiencing. I cannot imagine that pain, and I do not want to pretend that I understand it.

But one thought came to me.

Maybe their son wanted to jump. Maybe when he did, he pulled his father along. And maybe—just maybe—after that moment, he regretted his decision. Maybe he wanted to go back home.

I do not know.

And perhaps that is what makes the thought so painful.

Because sometimes we imagine that a decision is a single moment, clear and final. But maybe inside a human being there are hundreds of conflicting moments. One part wanting to leave, another part wanting to stay. One part exhausted, another part still hoping.

And sometimes, perhaps, we never get to know which voice was louder.

Suddenly, all these grand philosophical ideas become very small before one human tragedy.

Maybe that is where philosophy must become humble.

Because what is the use of speaking about consciousness if we cannot recognise the suffering of a conscious person standing next to us? What is the use of speaking about Shakti if we cannot give strength to someone who feels that they have none left? What is the use of speaking about unity if someone feels so alone that they cannot see any connection with the world?

And what is the use of dreaming about the evolution of humanity if we cannot protect the humanity that already exists?

That is the question I am left with.

The Dream Is Not Complete Yet

Perhaps that is what I am taking back from Pondicherry. Sri Aurobindo's vision tells us that evolution is not over. The human being is not the final possibility. We can become more conscious, more aware, more connected, and perhaps more spiritually awake.

But that evolution cannot remain only inside books, ashrams, lectures, and philosophy classrooms.

It has to enter life.

It has to change the way we see another human being. The way we respond to suffering. The way we understand religion. The way we define development. The way we use our minds. The way we reduce our egos.

And perhaps most importantly, the way we choose unity.

Not uniformity.

Unity does not mean that everyone has to become the same. Perhaps unity means that we finally learn how to remain different without becoming enemies.

Maybe that is the evolution we need first.

Not a new species.

Not a superhuman with extraordinary powers.

Frankly, considering how we already use the powers we have, maybe we should first learn to handle the ordinary human ones.

Maybe evolution begins when I stop asking, “Why is that person different from me?” and begin asking, “What is it like to be that person?”

Maybe consciousness is not merely awareness of myself. Maybe it is also awareness of you.

Maybe Shakti is not simply power. Maybe it is the strength to act when consciousness makes us aware of what must be changed.

And perhaps that is where consciousness and Shakti finally meet:

To see.....and then to respond. To become aware.....and then to act. To understand....and then to love.

I returned from Pondicherry with more questions than answers. But perhaps that is not a bad thing. Sometimes an answer closes a door. A question keeps you walking.

And I am still walking.

Still observing.

Still trying to understand what is changing inside me.

Still trying to understand what India is, what humanity is, what religion is, what development is, and what consciousness is.

And above all:

What are we becoming?

Because if evolution is still continuing, then perhaps the most important question is not whether humanity will evolve.

Perhaps the real question is:

What direction are we evolving toward?

More conscious.....or more distracted?

More connected...or more isolated?

More spiritual....or merely more religious?

More developed.....or simply more comfortable?

More powerful....or more human?

And perhaps, before dreaming about becoming something beyond the human being, we should first ask ourselves one painful question:

Have we even learned how to be fully human yet?

Maybe that is where the real evolution begins.

                                                                                          Student of Philosophy - Rohan Brahmane