Our surface awareness is basically the ‘tip of the iceberg’. Most of what takes place in our being occurs outside of the range of our active external perception of the senses and mental awareness. Even the interactions with the external reality we experience represent only a small fraction of the input we are receiving from that external reality. Our range of perception and understanding is limited on all sides within a very narrow framework; while forces factors and influences from outside this range wind up impacting us, we are simply blind to these forces and the ways in which they influence how we perceive, respond to and react to the world around us. Much of what actually moves us remains buried in subconscious memories, which can be triggered based on appropriate circumstances impinging upon us. It can be a sight, a scent, something we hear, or a location we visit that somehow triggers reactions that we had no clue were part of our being. We do not actually understand most of the impulsions that we nevertheless adopt as our own thoughts, feelings, emotions, ideas, concepts or directions.
Sri Aurobindo writes in his epic poem Savitri: a Legend and a Symbol:
“Only a little of us foresees its steps, Only a little has will and purposed pace. A vast subliminal is man’s measureless part, The dim subconscient is his cavern base.”
and “A portion of us lives in present Time, A secret mass in dim inconsciience gropes; Out of the inconscient and subliminal Arisen, we live in mind’s uncertain light And strive to know and master a dubious world Whose purpose and meaning are hidden from our sight. Above us dwells a superconscient god Hidden in the mystery of his own light; Around us is a vast of ignorance Lit by the uncertain ray of human mind, Below us sleeps the Inconscient dark and mute.” [Savitri: a Legend and a Symbol, Book Seven, Canto 2]
Sri Aurobindo and the Mother, The Hidden Forces of Life, Ch. 2 Hidden Forces Within, pg.28
Santosh has been studying Sri Aurobindo's writings since 1971 and has a daily blog at http://sriaurobindostudies.wordpress.com and podcast at https://anchor.fm/santosh-krinsky He is author of 20 books and is editor-in-chief at Lotus Press. He is president of Institute for Wholistic Education, a non-profit focused on integrating spirituality into daily life.
YouTube Channel www.youtube.com/@santoshkrinsky871
More information about Sri Aurobindo can be found at http://www.aurobindo.net
The US editions and links to e-book editions of Sri Aurobindo’s writings can be found at http://www.lotuspress.com