Understanding Symbols

This site intends to shed some light on the symbols and concepts from Greek mythology used by Sri Aurobindo in the poem Savitri.

It may be useful to recall that Sri Aurobindo had a perfect command of the so-called Classics which traditionally refers to the study of Classical Greek and Roman literature and their respective original languages, Ancient Greek and Latin.

Sri Aurobindo had read Greek texts in the original and even composed poetry in Ancient Greek, since poetry was a major subject of his interest in his young age.

In addition, there is no doubt that Sri Aurobindo understood the hidden meaning of Greek mythology and its symbolism. In 1909 he said: “A moment’s illumination in Alipore jail opened my vision and since then I have understood with the intuitive perception and vision.” And then he began writing a poem of nearly 5000 lines, Ilion, which deals with the events of the last day of the Trojan War, long before he started writing Savitri.

Sri Aurobindo thus saw the need to revive the interest in the great epics of Greek antiquity as they can inform us of the spiritual journey, its trials and pitfalls, and the forces that contribute to it.

The great spiritual traditions have left us stories which, although coloured by their cultural and historical context, reflect the same fundamental experiences and truths.

These Truths, which Sri Aurobindo confirmed through his own experiences, are expressed in all his work.

Some symbols and images are exclusive to the Greeks, such as the Chimera. Some symbols, such as Thunder, appear in other mythologies.

Greek mythology also extensively borrowed symbols from various traditions. The image of the Sphinx came from the Egyptian tradition. From the Vedas came the solar cows, symbol of luminous states coming from the consciousness-light of Truth of the supramental; the bull, the symbol of the power of realisation of the luminous mind; and the horse, the symbol of strength, particularly of the vital force, and sometimes of the energy of spiritual effort.

Sri Aurobindo’s references come mainly from the texts of the most ancient Greek poets Homer and Hesiod, and from the Bibliotheca of Pseudo-Apollodorus which is the best compilation of the ancient time at our disposal, much more rarely from the texts of Virgil and Ovid.

In the following study, the myths have not been related or only in a simplified version. For more details, the reader should refer to Claude de Warren’s web site

The reader is assumed to have some knowledge of Sri Aurobindo’s works and the terms he used, in particular:

  • The seven planes of the mind up to the overmind and that of the supramental.

  • The dual fundamental process of Yoga and human evolution, which is ascent/integration or ascent/purification-liberation

  • Sri Aurobindo’s definition of the realms of supraconsciousness, subconsciousness, unconsciousness and nescience.

  • The threefold psychic, spiritual and supramental transformations.

  • The difference between realisations that are the result of a mastery of the lower planes imposed from above and the effective transformation of these planes.

In this site, Claude de Warren lists and explains all the Greek symbols he identified in Savitri.