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BOOK I

"The Human Aspiration"

(Book 1 Chapter I)

Introduction
Sri Aurobindo begins The Life Divine by describing the human aspiration in life, which is for perfection, truth, bliss, God, light, freedom, and immortality. He then goes on to say that it remains unfulfilled because of our divided nature.

He then explains the nature of how life unfolds in the cosmos, and its relationship to our divided nature. In particular, he explains how life in the universe unfolds through the slow and difficult methods of Nature, which progresses through contradictory opposites, which is the method that we too follow through our own divided nature. [E.g. we experience contradictory opposites of pleasure and pain; happiness and sadness; success and failure, which indicate the way we look at life and hence our divided nature. There is even a contradiction between who we are now and our inability to fulfill our human aspiration.*]

However, if we rise in consciousness, we can perceive a higher harmony beyond the contradictions, and can begin to move beyond our divided nature. Through that higher consciousness we begin to see that the contradictory opposites are in fact complements of one another. I.e. both sides serve a purpose in the unfolding of our lives. We thus develop a new perception of life, beyond the divided view and experience [of pleasure and pain, and other dualities], which provides a new foundation of consciousness, a unity of perception that allows us to begin to fulfill our human aspiration.

*[NOTE: Items in brown text, are commentary by this author. Items in dark blue text or black, are summations of Sri Aurobindo's thought in the chapter culled by this author.]

Here are the main points in greater detail:

The Human Aspiration that Remains Unfulfilled
The earliest preoccupation of Man, unaltered by all that has transpired since then, is the eternal aspiration for perfection, truth, and bliss; God, light, freedom, and immortality. They are actually the Divine in us, the seeds in us, each seeking its own fulfillment.

However, Man has lost the connection to his aspiration. He is separated from it, creating a duality between what he is and what he aspires to become. How then can he overcome this separation and fulfill his human aspiration?

One way, which is life's way, is through the slow course of Nature. (He now goes on to explain what Nature is, its method of progress, its limitations, and the overcoming of those limitations through higher consciousness.)

Nature's Progress through Contradictory Opposites
Nature is the movements and workings of life. Then how does Nature/life work; i.e. what are its methods? Nature moves between that which it is now and what it can be through the contradictions of opposites. Through the conflicts and interactions of opposing dualities comes a higher harmony and progress. As the higher harmony emerges, there is a further movement of opposites, which become higher opposites that in their less contradictory contradiction move to even higher harmonies. This process of Nature, however, is slow, meandering, difficult, and painful. It unfolds through the contradiction, not the harmony of opposites. This begins to explain Man's difficulties, his inability to live a harmonious life, his inability to fulfill his aspirations for God, light, freedom, and immortality -- except by the slow current movement of Nature.

[Through contradiction there is progress, albeit through the slow and difficult method of Nature.  One nation is in negotiation with another, but both sides balk. Each knows what the other does not. They eventually work their way to progress and resolution through Nature's slow and painful method. Through that conflict's resolution there is progress. Nature sets up these contradictions so that there can be further progress in life. This method of Nature thus brings out more complexity to the issue, that which has not been addressed, more details, and thus the potential for more progress, albeit through a slow and painful means. The movement of Nature thus slowly and painfully moves towards the fulfillment of the human aspiration, if at all.]

Man Overcomes Nature's Methods, Finds Spirit, Fulfilling His Deepest Aspirations
Man, however, through his higher consciousness -- by rising above mind to spiritual mind and above -- can break Nature's slow and difficult methods of progress through contradiction, and fulfill his human aspiration. In his higher consciousness, he actually sees beyond the contradiction, seeing the unity and purpose in it, between the parties, forces, or other elements that seem in opposition.

Man is thus a living laboratory to work out the difficulties of Nature by rising to spirit, the Divine in the world; to become spirit, the Divine; which will enable him to fulfill his eternal aspirations for God, light Bliss, Freedom, and Immortality. Man, by connecting to spirit, breaks Nature's slow and difficult method of contradictions, enabling higher harmonies to emerge through his Soul experience. [In essence, as man takes on this effort, it enables Soul (spirit-based progress) to replace Nature's difficult path of enabling progress through this speedier, more integral, harmonious process, he begins to fulfill the human aspiration he has been cut off from. (Otherwise, he will have to do so very slowly and painfully fulfilling though Nature's difficult course.) Through Man's spiritual progress, he fulfills his aspiration, which is in essence the Divine Intent in creation.]

[Sri Aurobindo here and elsewhere says that "all problems of life are problems of harmony." I.e. we can solve any problem by perceiving a higher harmony behind it. When we rise in consciousness, we perceive the harmony; we transcend the contradictions, the disharmonies that appears to us when we live in our lower consciousness, at the surface of life. (We overcome such disharmonies that exist between what we know we should do and want to do; between our mind wanting one thing, and our emotions another; between our ego and our soul; between matter and spirit, etc.) We can perceive the higher harmony from a deeper consciousness, through selflessness, humility, self-givingness, and being pleasant in all circumstances.]