Living Words (Soul-Kindlers for the New Millennium)

The idea of this compilation was suggested by the experience which one has in reading certain passages from the works of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother, or listening to certain recorded talks of the Mother, particularly the latter because of the additional effect of the sound vibrations. These writings and talks are felt as speaking not so much to the mind as to the soul. The words do not just convey certain ideas but also induce a psychic or soul state of consciousness. They are living words which are alive and vibrant with a consciousness that is greater than that of the mind. The words have the ring of the spirit and are capable of kindling the spirit when one is in a receptive state. Passages contained in the previous compilations by the same Editor have generally not been included in this book.

The great majority of extracts contained in this book have been selected because of the quality described above. However, some passages have been included more for their relevance to the message of the book. The central message of the book is that evolution - which is a progressive unfoldment of the Spirit through progressively higher levels of consciousness - has reached a stage where the next leap of consciousness is preparing to take place, the leap from mind to that which is beyond mind - the Supermind.

Man the mental being is thus a transitional creature, to be superceded by one whom Sri Aurobindo calls the supramental being or the fully spiritual man. The New Age, heralding the coming of the supramental being, has now dawned.

To give an idea of the quickened pace of evolution, the Mother states that whereas the evolution of the human brain from the animal brain (and the consequent emergence of man from the animal) took nearly a million years, we may expect the supramental race to succeed the human race "in a few centuries". She added that this time-frame applies to the appearance of the supramental race. So far as individual transformation is concerned, "the time has come when some beings among the elite of humanity, who fulfil the conditions necessary for supramentalisation, will be able to transform their bodies with the help of the supramental Force, Consciousness and Light so as no longer to be animal-men but become supermen." The conditions necessary for spiritualisation and the path to be followed by the individual are stated in the last pages of this book (pp. 189 - 92).