II—Shakti-chatustaya
Veeryam—[Adapted from 'Varnashrama'—an article published in Bengali Prabartak, Vol-1, Number-(2), Aswin 1322 B.S.), from the pen of Shree Motilal Roy dwelling on the gist of this `veerya' chapter of Shree Aurobindo's note record.] God is at once above quality and full of qualities. It is through His will that innumerable universes lapse into laya or annihilation in a single moment and through His will again innumerable new universes in air, fire, sky, nay in all the twenty-four tattwas or fundamental elements are lashed into creation. This Will is Prakriti or Nature-power. Prakriti is constituted with qualities. Though it has manifold qualities, one of such qualities is Veerya. It is this veerya which has manifested as the institution of Varnashram in Hindu society.
Veerya is inheld in the body of every living creature. Every living body again is constituted with five sheaths—annamaya (physical), pranamaya (vital), monomaya (mental), vijnanamaya (gnostic) and anandamaya (spiritual).
The quality of veerya has its hold on the first four koshas or sheaths. Man generally plays his part in the world through these four-sheath instruments. The play through the anandamaya or spiritual happens in the lives of rare persons alone. The swabhava-shakti or self-nature of Prakriti indwelling as veerya in the four-fold sheaths causes man to live and work as its play-instruments. Man has no hand in this working—he is a mere instrument. This veerya-quality inhering ever in the fourfold koshas, displays a divergence in its active manifestation in life. So, when Shakti presses upon a particular sheath of a living man with a special stress, special characteristics and activities, peculiar to that sheath find expression in that man's life and character.
This veerya-shakti manifesting with special stress in the vijnanamaya kosha outflows as the following qualitative characteristics displayed in his life-character:—thirst for knowledge, revelation of knowledge, light-energy known as brahmavarchas and steadiness of being. The Arya seers have denominated a man of such qualities in his life-vessel as the Brahmin.
A Brahmin has no passionate desire; he has no craving, no avarice, no propensity to enjoy. He has the passion to know. Purifying his desire-seed, he uplifts its urge. With such illumined upward urge, he endeavours to reach up and enter anandamaya kosha. This passion for knowledge is the principal quality in a Brahmin. Knowledge is of two kinds: para and apara—Para is Brahmavidya; apara is secular knowledge. A Brahmin would dissociate himself as much as possible from the gravitation of earthly nature and incessantly pursue the light of Brahma-knowledge. Involved within Brahmavidya, will reveal in him also all the learnings of the world. To a Brahmin the knowledge of the physical sciences or any other branches of terrestrial learning become an achieved possession. Brahman-knowledge attainable through hardest tapasya is possible only to the Brahmin. Undeterred by the alluring temptation of all mundane learning and fired with a unique aspiration and determination to know Brahma-vidya alone, he gives himself up to such sadhana alone.
Ordinarily man first acquires external knowledge of particular things, and afterwards dives deeper for its interior truth. A Brahmin sees first the inner essence of a thing, understands its inner nature and in that light judges and ascertains its outer manifestation. The expressive power of a Brahmin's knowledge wells up from within Brahma-varchas is a sort of light-energy. The divine knowledge of Brahmin inhering as a mighty power in his body-vessel, inspires him to manifest its light and power in the world. It is this brahmavarchas in a brahminic body that appears as the reflection of godly nature in him. Brahman and brahmin then become one. Therefore in Hindu society, to adore a brahmin is to worship the Parabrahma or the Supreme Brahman—through such worship is accomplished the adoration of the entire universe. A Brahmin is firm-footed in knowledge—no darkness of the ego can land a Brahmin in utter despair or dismay. Whatever heavenly treasure is earned by a Brahmin through his tapasya, he is not overwhelmed by it, but makes proper use of same. The steadfastness of a Brahmin is extra-ordinary; so a brahminic adhara or body-vessel is perfectly fit for expression of all the divine qualities.
Just below the vijnanamaya kosha is the place of the monomaya or mental sheath. Its manifestation in the human body leads to development of Kshatriya qualities.
Fearlessness, courage, aspiration for fame and self-estimation are the ornamental qualities of a Kshatriya. A Kshatriya is fearless and undaunted. Not a jot or tittle of fear shakes his mind. A Kshatriya calmly and patiently faces a thousand difficulties and dangers. No predicament or critical situation can over-whelm or overpower a Kshatriya. Such is the quality of abhoya in a Kshatriya.
The courage of a Kshatriya is uncommon. He is ever ready to do his duty. However thousand-fold a tirade of opposition may be raised by opponents in the way of a Kshatriya out to execute a determination, the latter is sure to trample such opposition under his foot by dint of his boundless courage and immeasurable dash of energy. There is nothing impossible to a Kshatriya. A Kshatriya is indomitable, unconquerable.
Whatever the cartload of dangers that a Kshatriya may carry over his head as a fearless hero, and however patiently he bears all troubles and difficulties with a smile on his face, his aim is to achieve his purpose. Victory, attainment and mastery are the signs of his bid for fame. He rushes forward to the battle-field to unfurl the flag of victory. He knows no defeat. The goddess of success anoints a Kshatriya with the crown of victory. No Kshatriya would accept defeat in the field of battle so long as the last drop of blood flows in his veins, even if beset with the heaviest afflictions. It is such impassionate desire for fame that adorns the Kshatriya character. In a Kshatriya, indwells the knowledge and steadfastness of the Brahmin, where-through he visualises the play of his divine qualities. it is through such an adhara that God manifests his Kshatriya-veerya.
Self-praise or self-estimation is an impure Kshatriya quality. When with the touch of knowledge, such estimation rises above the self into the Paramatman or Supreme Self, then the pride of the Kshatriya is transmuted into a divine power and it is through such a Kshatriya that God does great and noble deeds in the field of work.
Now, to the third sheath—the pranamaya kosha. With the manifestation of veeryam in this prana-kosha, these qualities come into play:—These are qualities of the Vaishya-Shakti. Give and take, skill in earning, urge for enjoyment—are its characteristic traits. To give and to take constitute the two principal functionings of a Vaishya. Like a lover, he no doubt reaches out his gifts of life to all, .but he also awaits to get back their value in return. If the Vaishya pours out his self-earnings for the benefit of others, in drawing back returns he would not hesitate to realise the same hundred-fold. He would give without let or hindrance, but has the skill to get in return its more than full value. A Vaishya's management, skill and productivity are all for the benefit of the people. His urge for conservation and distribution is no less joyous and- sincere than his urge for acquisition. The Vaishya feels his delight in creation and its preservation. He is endowed with an uncommon power for enjoyment. Vishnu-Shakti,—the preservative power manifests it-self in the Vaishya personality, while Rudra-Shakti resides in the Kshatriya and Shiva-Shakti in the Brahmin.
The last to deal with is the annamaya kosha. Desire, love, urge to serve and self-giving—are qualities, characteristic to the annamaya or physical sheath in man. It is God, who having descended step by step from the realm of subtle abstractions, has through His conscious powers created the annamaya kosha and displays His qualities as a Shudra in human life. In one sense therefore, it is the Shudra-Shakti which is the highest among the four powers—for it is the Shudra who has to sacrifice the most for the exercise of the divine play in man mostly and through his physical body.
But in the impure state, the Shudra has estranged himself from the triple sources of knowledge, puissance and skill and so he stands, mute and dumb, in life of society. He has to eliminate this dross of impurity. He has to re-awaken knowledge, puissance and skill in his inner being and then lay out all these in the service of God, of man and all creatures, Purifying his impure desire-seed, he has to raise it from the level of narrow selfish pursuit of happiness, and wake up the divine fervour of service in his annamaya human body. His innate spirit of love united with this divine fervour of self-less service will turn him into a consecrated instrument, self-devoted in the service of God and mankind.
In the Kali-yuga, the Shudra-Shakti is ahead of the four. The trend of this age has rendered us all Shudras in habit and thought. We have to follow and fulfil the law of love and service, so characteristic of the Shudra—after having purified ourselves from its dross of imperfection. The Brahmanya-shakti predominant in the Satya Yuga, the Kshatriya Shakti of the Treta Yuga and the Vaishya Shakti of the Dwapara, have all one by one dropped down from their high places—these have all broken down in the fabric of society. Empty pride and persistence in the old sense and ego-samskara would serve no purpose any longer. All have gone down into wreckage and ruin, but it is the Will of God that society has to be re-born in the new cycle. We are under world -circumstances and the law of evolution, all reduced to the actual state of Shudrahood. God has descended from the vijnanamaya down the staircase to the annamaya level of universal chaitanya or life-status. From this state of decline, we have to rise again to the state of re-ascension, awaiting for the new satya-yuga.
So let us now be up and doing—purifying and converting our lust or desire-passion through consecration to the Lord Shree Krishna, into the pure passion of love and selfless service. Let our self-bigoted love, through the process of patriotic and altruistic self-purification, be perfected into a mighty tide of universal brotherhood and divine unity. Let our urge for service extend and express itself to all the nations and peoples of the world through re-orientation of our cultural, social, economic and political life into a real international forum of spiritual life and relationship.
The four-fold veeryam or social qualities—revived in a reborn Varnashrama, according to the inner being and its law—the swabhava and swadharma—of our being and becoming—will usher a new age—with its new, freed and perfected human life and society.
Shakti—
Shakti is the perfection of the different parts of the system which enables them to do their work freely and perfectly. Deha-Shakti Mahatwa-bodhah, bala-slagha, laghuta, dharana-samarthyam, iti deha-shaktih.
—The body is the pratistha in this material universe; for the working out of the divine lila on earth, it is necessary that it should have specially the dharana-samarthyam or power of sustaining the full stream of force, of ananda, of widening knowledge and being which descends into mind and prana and the vital and bodily functions with the progress of the siddhi. If the body is unfit, the system is unable to hold these things perfectly. In extreme cases, the physical brain is so disturbed by the shock from above as to lead to madness, but this is only in entirely unfit and impure adharas or when Kali descends angrily and violently, avenging the attempt of the Asura to seize on her and force her to serve his foul, and impure desires. Ordinarily, the incapacity of the body, the nervous system and the physical brain shows itself in slowness of progress, in slight derangements and ailments, in unsteady hold of the siddhi which comes and slips away, works and is spilled out. Dharana-samarthya—comes by purification of the mind, prana and body; full siddhi depends upon full shuddhi.
Prana-sha—Purnata, prasannata, samata, bhoga-samarthyam, iti prana-shaktih. When in the physical sensations, we are conscious of a full and steady vital force which is clear and glad and bright and undisturbed by any mental or physical shock, then there is the siddhi of the prana, the vital or nervous system. Then we become fit for whatever Bhoga God imposes on the mind and body.
Chitta-shakti—
Snigdhata, tejashlagha, kalyana-sraddha, prema-samarthyam; iti Chitta-shaktih.
These are all the signs of Chitta-shuddhi and shakti of the chitta or emotional parts of the antah-karana. The 'wider and more universal the capacity for love, a love self-sufficient and undistubred by want or craving or disappointment and the more fixed the faith in God and the joy in all things as mangalam, the greater becomes the divine force in the chitta.
Buddhi-shakti
Visuddhata, praka,sha, vichitra-bodhah, jnanadharana: samarthyam, ieti buddhishaktih.
Manas and buddhi need not be considered separately as the elements of power apply both to the six-fold indriya and the thought-power in the mind. Their meaning is clear.
For the full sense of visuddhata, refer to the explanation of shuddhi in the seventh chatusthaya.
Chandibhawa‑Chandibhava is the force of Kali manifest in the' temperament (Daivi Prakriti).
(The detailed description of this power is deferred.)
Shraddha‑
Shraddha is necessary in two things:—
Shaktyam, Bhagawati, Cha, iti Shraddha.
There must be faith in the love and wisdom of God' fulfulling Himself through us, fulfilling the Yoga-siddhi, fulfilling our life-work, working out all for our good even when it is apparently veiled in evil; and there must be faith in the power of the Shakti manifested by Him in this adhara, to sustain, work out and fulfil the divine knowledge, power and joy in' the Yoga and in the life. Without shraddha, there is no shakti; imperfect shraddha means imperfect shakti. Imperfection may be either in the force of the faith or in its illumination. It is sufficient at first to have full force of the faith, for we cannot from the beginning of the Yoga, have full illumination. Then, however, we err or stumble, our force of faith will sustain us. When we cannot see, we shall know that God withholds the light, imposing on us. Error as a step towards knowledge, just as He imposes on us, defeats as a step towards victory.