Being Human (Guest Post)

I am very pleased to share today some of the photographic work of a talented, not-yet-18 young man. Pranav is a sensitive, introvert and quieter-than-his-(teen)age type of fellow, who sometimes uses poetry and prose to give an expression to his pondering, questioning and reflecting. On other occasions he relies on his camera.

Small animals, ocean and nature are some of Pranav’s favourite subjects to capture on camera. The photographs selected for this guest post tell a story that is best expressed via an excerpt featured here. A story about being human. The selected excerpt is from one of the ‘evening talks’ Sri Aurobindo used to have with a small group of his close disciples between 1923-26 and 1938-50. 

Featured at the end of the selected passage from Evening Talks is one of Pranav’s poems, something he penned a few weeks ago. It expresses a moment of deep aspiration he felt when he began to accept and ‘see’ some truths about life that had been hitherto repressed by the noise of the mind and heart. This poem too tells a story. A story of being human.   

I thank Pranav for allowing me to feature his photographs and poem on this blog. 

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Disciple: How is it that man is regarded as the highest being in creation?

Sri Aurobindo: It is the egoistic ignorance of man that makes him think so. He is high because there is in him the possibility of evolving a divine life.

You can say also that he is high because he has developed a mind and the mind gives him a chance of conscious evolution. But it does not necessarily follow that because man is a mental being he has used his mind for his evolution. 

Exactly because he has a mind, man has an infinite capacity to be devilish. He brings to the help of his devil a mind, and the devil himself can’t be so bad as man with his mind when he puts it at the service of his vital being.

Disciple: Infinite possibilities! Both ways divine and devilish!

Sri Aurobindo: It is the egoistic ignorance of man which makes him think he is the highest in creation.

Disciple: But then there is the great difference between man’s body and the animals.

Sri Aurobindo: That is all; and even that is not so much as you try to make it out to be.
After all, what is the difference between the animal body and the human?

If you see carefully, you will see you have discarded the tail, and instead of walking on four legs you have been using two, and the other two you have changed into hands. There have been slight but very important changes in the brain and some details here and there. You have cast off your fur and horns.

Disciple: Not all men! K. has a lot of fur yet (laughter)

Sri Aurobindo: You see, after all it is not so great a change in the physical as would create a gulf between animal and man!

No. All that is human nonsense! Man is great because he can open to something higher and can consciously go beyond the mind and live a divine life upon earth.

I’ll reach there

I’ll reach there, I’m certain of it.

There will come a day when I’ll be rid

of the need for passing pleasures.

A magical air I’ll breathe, potentiality

and life will flow through me.

Godlike I shall be.

I’ll reach there, I’m certain of it. 

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~~ Excerpt from Evening Talks with Sri Aurobindo, (recorded by A.B. Purani,  14-08-1926)

~~ All photographs and the poem, ‘I’ll reach there’ by Pranav.