21: Scribbled Notes — The Whirling Dance of Earth
Savitri is coming back to Earth with the soul of Satyavan, she holding it close to her jubilant breast, holding like a bird. This is towards the end of Book Eleven of Savitri:
Down with a hurried swimming floating lapse
Through unseen worlds and bottomless spaces forced
Sank like a star the soul of Savitri. ||156.2||
Amidst a laughter of unearthly lyres
She heard around her nameless voices cry
Triumphing, an innumerable sound. ||156.3||
A choir of laughing winds to meet her came. ||156.4||
She bore the burden of infinity
And felt the stir of all ethereal space. ||156.5||
Pursuing her in her fall, implacably sweet,
A face was over her which seemed a youth’s,
Symbol of all the beauty eyes see not,
Crowned as with peacock plumes of gorgeous hue
Framing a sapphire, whose heart-disturbing smile
Insatiably attracted to delight,
Voluptuous to the embraces of her soul. ||156.6||
Changed in its shape, yet rapturously the same,
It grew a woman’s dark and beautiful
Like a mooned night with drifting star-gemmed clouds,
A shadowy glory and a stormy depth,
Turbulent in will and terrible in love. ||156.7||
Eyes in which Nature’s blind ecstatic life
Sprang from some spirit’s passionate content,
Missioned her to the whirling dance of earth. ||156.8||
Thrilled we could look into the various features the text is relevantly loaded with. There are tremendous fragrant easy felicities and marvels here even as Savitri, after receiving from the Supreme the boon of life divine upon earth, is coming back; the mission of life is accomplished in its full measure and content of wonder and joy. In that exultation all blindness of Nature is gone and there is the vision of the coming bright future, the reign of Krishna-and-Kali. There is the noble fulfilling sense of the Yogi-Poet being wholly contented in accomplishing the purpose for which he had come, his rich and splendorous soul being eternity’s delegate. (||5.11||)
The description “Nature’s blind ecstatic life missioned to whirling dance of earth” bears in it indicative spiritual significance that is of an unusual kind. Here is Nature operating with the inherent force and vitality but without any conscious awareness or with no deeply brooded intention. There is the instinctive energy that drives the processes of creation and evolution. Despite her blindness, of not being able to see the spiritual greatness, there is with Nature profound joy-and-rapture, indicating the “ecstatic” demeanour arising from the sheer act of existence and of creation, a great divine delight manifesting unconsciously. This ecstasy is not intellectual but it is inherently present deep in her soul. The phrase “missioned to whirling dance” implies a divine directive, the dance suggesting the dynamic, the rhythmic, the cyclical movements of life and conception in a superior vision though at the moment unknown.
There is the intense energy and ceaseless activity of the cosmos, reflecting the interplay of forces that sustain and promote the prospects of the universe. The “dance of earth” could refer to the terrestrial manifestation of this cosmic energy. It encompasses the spiralling cycles of life, death, and rebirth, as well as of the evolutionary journey of consciousness on earth. The earth becomes the stage, ādhāra, bhūmi, where this divine play unfolds and unfolds. It evokes a sense of beauty, rhythm, and purpose in the seemingly chaotic movements of Nature.
The entire description beautifully illustrates the interplay between the unconscious forces of Nature and the guiding hand of the Divine, emphasising the ultimate purpose of manifesting a divine life on earth. Teleology or not, this has to happen, in-built as it is in the very spirit of the creation. This tremendous felicity, this wonder, arises from the culmination of Savitri’s divine journey. Having traversed the depths of darkness and death she now returns to earth, not as a mere mortal but as a bearer of the Supreme’s boon — a promise of divine life on earth.
The Supreme’s Boon signifies the assurance that the divine will will manifest fully in the gross material world, transforming it into luminous realm of truth, beauty, bliss, harmony. The assurance is poised to become a fact of existence, because the necessary occult-yogic tapasyā has been put in. This moment is not just a personal victory for Savitri; it is a universal promise for all of humanity, symbolising the evolutionary leap towards . supramental existence.
Satyavan, the divine soul of aspiring humanity, is an individual and collective determination for truth and immortality upon earth. Savitri’s act of holding his thrilled enriched soul close to her breast is the intimate union of the divine feminine (Shakti) with the evolving divine soul. This union is the foundation for the transformation of earthly life, as the divine consciousness nurtures and uplifts the human spirit. It is not literature it is the Word of Realisation.
In this state of incredible exultation, Nature’s all blindness—symbolising ignorance and unconsciousness—is dispelled. In it Savitri perceives the bright future awaiting humanity, a future where the dynamic divine harmony and felicity reign. Krishna and Kali represent this vibrant balance of divine love and power, Krishna the blissful and Kali the transformative force to destroy ignorance paving the way for spirit’s reign and glory.
Sri Aurobindo as a Yogi-Poet sees and expresses profound satisfaction in this moment. It is the fulfilment of his spiritual vision and labour — the assurance that the divine plan for earth will be realised. This satisfaction is not merely personal; it cosmic-universal, reflecting joy of the Divine in the unfolding of its purpose for which is meant this creation.
The passage also calls us to consciously participate in this evolutionary process. This moment in Savitri is a celebration of the divine promise and the transformative power of love and grace. It invites us to share in the Yogi-Poet’s vision and to work toward manifesting that vision in our own lives and in the world around us.
Yet let us ask a bad insensitive question, a thoughtless and incisive one: Does not the poetry, particularly that of Book Eleven, amount to the poet’s unrestrained euphoria and zealous creative exultation? What is the solid dependable content in it?
Seeing it hurriedly hastily it may seem like an outpouring of poetic rapture, a moment of exalted emotion. However, Sri Aurobindo’s work is not merely an expression of personal sentiment or imaginative fancy. His poetry is rooted in profoundest spiritual experience and realisation. The “euphoria” here is not a fleeting emotional high but the expression of a deep, abiding truth perceived through spiritual vision and realisation. It is the joy of seeing the divine purpose unfolding and of the assurance of its eventual fulfilment. It is overflowing with Ananda Rasa, the rapid and dynamic Essence of highest Delight.
The content of Savitri is grounded in Sri Aurobindo’s own yogic realisations. The vision of a divine life on earth is not an abstract ideal but a reality he experienced and worked toward through his integral yoga, his yogic mission. The poem is a coherent philosophy of evolution, where consciousness progressively unfolds from matter to spirit. This evolutionary framework provides a solid foundation for understanding the transformative potential of life. The psychic being and supramental consciousness are central to Sri Aurobindo’s vision and work. These are not mere speculative concepts but are experiential realities that he and the Mother explored and documented extensively. That documentation has firmly got established here.
The transformation described in Savitri certainly is not of the nature of poetic imagery; it has practical implications for individual and collective life. The aspiration for higher consciousness, the cultivation of inner silence, and the surrender to the Divine are concrete steps towards realising this vision. While the language of Savitri is poetic, its content transcends personal emotion, personal emotions are nowhere there in him; in fact there is nothing like personal feeling or emotion in him. It speaks of and to universal truths about the nature of existence, the purpose of life, and the destiny of humanity as an aspect of unfolding evolution.
The “euphoria”, the exultation flowing from Ananda Rasa, is the natural outcome of perceiving these tremendous truths. It is the foundational joy, humanly speaking, of aligning with the divine will and witnessing the beauty and harmony inherent in creation.
The reign of Krishna-and-Kali symbolises the operative dynamics of divine love and power. This is not a fanciful idea but a profound insight into the forces that govern the universe. These Krishna-and-Kali archetypes expressed by Indian spirituality resonate with universal principles found in various traditions, such as the interplay of yin and yang or the dynamic between creation and destruction. The “solid content” lies in the assurance that the divine plan is not a distant dream but an unfolding reality. The descent of higher consciousness into matter, as described in Savitri, is a process that has already begun and is accessible to those who aspire for it. There is no question of blind faith of a gullible bhakta; it is a lived experience of the Yogi, of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother.
There is a call for participation coming from Savitri. Its vision, its evocation is not meant to be passively admired or worshipped or adulated or deified; it must be actively realised in the vigorous integrality of understanding and action and will. It is a call, it invites each individual to participate in the evolutionary process, to aspire for the higher spiritual consciousness. While the poetic language of Savitri may to a shallow observation evoke a sense of euphoria, its content is deeply rooted in spiritual truth and practical realisation. The joyous poem is a grand celebration of the divine potential inherent in life.
The featured image is a painting by Huta
Savitri Book 11 Canto 1 – The Eternal Day: The Soul’s Choice and the Supreme Consummation
Down with a hurried swimming floating lapse
Through unseen worlds and bottomless spaces forced
Sank like a star the soul of Savitri. ||156.2||
Down with| a hur|+ried swim|+ming float|+ing lapse|
Through un|+seen worlds| and bot|+tom+less spac|+es forced|
Sank like| a star| the soul| of Sa+|vi+tri.|
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