Increasingly, the physical and spiritual sciences are approaching a point of convergence. A fundamental shift is taking place as more people begin to acknowledge that Consciousness creates Matter, not Matter that creates Consciousness. As this shift gains greater acceptance, it will foster a profound change in our understanding of life. Similarly, more people are seeking to move beyond doctrinal belief toward a recognition of the subtle spiritual laws that govern the universe. The laws of cause and effect and rebirth, the laws of generosity and interconnection, the laws that enable thought to manifest materially, the vast, untapped power of mind as well as the power of love, the existence of other dimensions of time and space, these are knowable – much like the law of gravity and other laws of physics – and when better understood will help the advancement of the human community.
The Rishis revealed the spiritual science that quickens human awakening, what we might call evolution. And now seems to be a moment when this quickening is much needed, not only for the survival of our species but for many life forms on earth. This was an area of great concern to Sri Aurobindo and the Mother, and one of the factors that led to the creation of Auroville. Can a community centered on the commitment to be in service to the Divine, one that begins to manifest human unity, facilitate human evolution or the awakening of consciousness?
It is said that the Divine sleeps in the mineral world, dreams in the plant realm, awakens is the animal form and knows itself to be awake in the human form. Is the next stage of evolution to know ourselves and all else as one with the Divinity? And how do we come to know and experience that Divinity? Having gained a sense of separate self, and taken that awareness to the extreme, are we now being called to transcend the illusion of separation?
This gathering will explore ways to bridge the laws that govern the physical and spiritual realms, as well as the different processes at work to aid and guide human evolution or awakening. We will come together in a series of discussions and reflections, with time for meditation and spiritual practice as we bring whatever wisdom we have gained to begin to envision the future, a blueprint for a more conscious human society.
It is deeply painful to watch our earth being battered by ecological decline, to witness what is happening to many animals and plant forms, and to know how much human suffering is being caused by greed, anger, human division, and a lack of understanding of the spiritual laws. Our hope is that this gathering can be one effort, one among so many, to shed light on the wisdom that was revealed to us so long ago by the ancient Rishis of India and brought to the modern world by Sri Aurobindo.
