Law of Karma

Author(s): Nirmala Jha
Publisher: Capital Pubishing House Delhi

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Philosophy of Sri Aurobindo
Lastly, we have to establish it on the basis of metaphysical as well as spiritual ground. Human mind is always busy in the questions like, what happens to a man when he dies? Does the destruction of the body imply the extinction of entire personality? Does the soul survive after death? etc. etc. All the ancient systein; of Indian Philosophy have tried to answer these questions by admitting the reality of rebirth. The usual interpretation is that the soul has a separate existence, which exists even after the destruction of the body itself.
Sri Aurobindo rejects the old religious idea of the Law of Karma as determining rebirth. His doctrine is based on certain postulates. Firstly, “that which has no end must necessarily have had no beginning."'42 If the soul is not immortal, the law of transmigration is broken. Moreover, an immortal soul cannot be the product of mortal matter though - by its descent into the matter, it may transfer some of its spiritual qualities to it. Secondly, every stage in development presupposes a past. Hence, the personality of the soul presupposes a previous birth for its development. Thirdly, if personality is a result of the mental, vital or physical heredity, then the soul must be a detached something. Now, while real and immortal, the soul should also be eternal. Rebirth presupposes a static as well as dynamic soul, or else, it is meaningless. Thus rebirth is a necessary corollary in the Philosophy of Sri Aurobindo.
For Sri Aurobindo, evolution is not only spiritual but also individual. Though the original creative power is neither matter, nor life, nor mind, it is obviously some consciousness. It must be a power of spirit. When life first evolves in Matter, it is bound to death; so also when mind first evolves, it is mitter-bound and life-bound. This also shows that neither Mind, nor Matter, nor Life, is the original creative Energy. Therefore, we must seek for something higher than these, in some deeper Reality.
But it does not mean that individual is a mere auxiliary product of the play of consciousness in the body. He is the medium through which the spirit discloses its being. Behind all the changes of our personality, there is a person, a real