The Triple Transformation of the Consciousness

People have opinions and argue about what the best way to carry out religious or spiritual practices happens to be. Some believe in various forms of austerities, some concentration, some meditation, some prayer, some devotional service, some selfless work. Some take vows of poverty. Others follow strict dietary routines. Still others have a fixed prayer schedule or a daily meditation practice. The paths are endless, and the adherents frequently believe their way is the ‘best’ way and in many cases, the proselytise or try to convert others to their faith, belief system or methodology.

As we take up the spiritual focus, however we came to it, we can see that each method, each path, each discipline focuses on one of the elements of our human nature. The further we go, and the longer we practice, we begin to see that if our goal is not escape from the world, but transformation of life in the world, eventually, each and every aspect of human life needs to be taken up and transformed. Thus, we gain the humility to understand that each path, each practice, each method has its time and its place in the larger objective before us, and we begin to appreciate the insights we can learn from those who follow different paths than what we are doing at that moment.

Sri Aurobindo makes it clear that the yogic path is not one of argument or opinion, but one of experience. Just as he outlined three stages in the development, he then provides insight to the focus and experience for the embodiment of the transformation anticipated by each stage, in what he calls the ‘triple transformation’. The 3 steps of the triple transformation, as outlined in The Life Divine, are described hereafter.

Sri Aurobindo notes: “There are a thousand ways of approaching and realising the Divine and each way has its own experiences which have their own truth and stand really on a basis one in essence but complex in aspects, common to all but not expressed in the same way by all. There is not much use in discussing these variations; the important thing is to follow one’s own way well and thoroughly. In this yoga, one can realise the psychic being as a portion of the Divine seated in the heart with the Divine supporting it there — this psychic being takes charge of the sadhana and turns the whole being to the Truth, the Divine, with results in the mind, the vital and the physical consciousness which I need not go into here — that is the first transformation. We realise next the one Self, Brahman, Divine, first above the body, life, mind and not only within the heart supporting them — above and free and unattached as the static Self in all and dynamic too as the active Divine Being and Power, Ishwara-Shakti, containing the world and prevading it as well as transcending it, manifesting all cosmic aspects. But what is most important for us is that it manifests as a transcending Light, Knowledge, Power, Purity, Peace, Ananda of which we become aware and which descends into the being and progressively replaces the ordinary consciousness itself by its own movements — that is the second transformation. We realise also the consciousness itself as moving upward, ascending through many planes, physical, vital, mental, overmental to the supramental and Ananda planes. This is nothing new; it is stated in the Taittiriya Upanishad that there are five Purushas, the physical, the vital, the mental, the Truth Purusha (supramental) and the Bliss Purusha; it says that one has to draw the physical self into the vital self, the vital into the mental, the mental into the Truth self, the Truth self into the Bliss self and so attain perfection. But in this yoga we become aware not only of this taking up but of a pouring down of the power of the higher Self, so that there comes in the possibility of a descent of the supramental Self and Nature to dominate and change our present nature and turn it from nature of Ignorance into nature of Truth-Knowledge (and through the supramental into nature of Ananda) — this is the third or supramental transformation. It does not always go in this order, for with many the spiritual descent begins first in an imperfect way before the psychic is in front and in charge, but the psychic development has to be attained before a perfect and unhampered spiritual descent can take place, and the last or supramental change is impossible so long as the two first have not become full and complete. That’s the whole matter put as briefly as possible.”

reference: Sri Aurobindo and the Mother, The Psychic Being — Soul: Its Nature, Mission and Evolution, Section 4 The Psychic Being and Sadhana, pp. 102-103