Evolution [2]

A poem by Sri Aurobindo

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 sonnet  Circa 1934  Published posthumously  Different versions

Evolution

All is not finished in the Unseen's decree!
     A mind beyond our mind demands our ken;
A life of unimagined harmony
     Awaits, concealed, the grasp of unborn men.

The crude beginnings of the lifeless earth
     And mindless stirrings of the plant and tree
Prepared our thought; thought for a godlike birth
     Broadens the mould of our mortality.

A might no human will or force could gain,
     A knowledge seated in eternity,
A joy beyond our struggle and our pain
     Is this earth-hampered creature's destiny.

O Thou who climbest to mind from the dull stone,
Turn to the miracled summits yet unwon.

 sonnet  Circa 1934  Published posthumously  Different versions

Evolution - II

All is not finished in the unseen decree;
    A Mind beyond our mind demands our ken,
A life of unimagined harmony
    Awaits, concealed, the grasp of unborn men.

The crude beginnings of the lifeless earth,
    The mindless stirrings of the plant and tree
Prepared our thought; thought for a godlike birth
    Broadens the mould of our mortality.

A might no human will nor force can gain,
    A knowledge seated in eternity,
A bliss beyond our struggle and our pain
    Are the high pinnacles of our destiny.

O Thou who climb'dst to mind from the dull stone,
Face now the miracled summits still unwon.



Part VII : Pondicherry (Circa 1927-1947) > Sonnets from Manuscripts (Circa 1934-1947)   



How to read the color-coded changes below? 1. SABCL version : lines with any changes & specific changes 2. CWSA version : lines with any changes & specific changes

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  1. Sri-Aurobindo/books/collected-poems/evolution-ii.txt +10 -10
Sri-Aurobindo/books/collected-poems/evolution-ii.txt CHANGED
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1
- Evolution
2
- All is not finished in the Unseen's decree!
3
- A mind beyond our mind demands our ken;
1
+ Evolution - II
2
+ All is not finished in the unseen decree;
3
+ A Mind beyond our mind demands our ken,
4
4
  A life of unimagined harmony
5
5
  Awaits, concealed, the grasp of unborn men.
6
- The crude beginnings of the lifeless earth
7
- And mindless stirrings of the plant and tree
6
+ The crude beginnings of the lifeless earth,
7
+ The mindless stirrings of the plant and tree
8
8
  Prepared our thought; thought for a godlike birth
9
9
  Broadens the mould of our mortality.
10
- A might no human will or force could gain,
10
+ A might no human will nor force can gain,
11
11
  A knowledge seated in eternity,
12
- A joy beyond our struggle and our pain
13
- Is this earth-hampered creature's destiny.
14
- O Thou who climbest to mind from the dull stone,
15
- Turn to the miracled summits yet unwon.
12
+ A bliss beyond our struggle and our pain
13
+ Are the high pinnacles of our destiny.
14
+ O Thou who climb'dst to mind from the dull stone,
15
+ Face now the miracled summits still unwon.

NOTES FROM EDITOR

Circa 1934. Two handwritten manuscripts and one typed manuscript. The handwritten drafts were written around the same time as early drafts of “The Call of the Impossible”; the final typed versions of the two poems are also contemporaneous. The present sonnet has the same title as the one which forms a pair with “A Silver Call” (see “Evolution [1]” above). There is no textual relation between it and its namesake, but there is some between it and “The Silver Call”: its closing couplet was first used as the close of “The Silver Call” and its second and fourth lines are similar to the tenth and twelfth lines of “The Silver Call”.





< The Call of the Impossible
Selected Poems of Sri Aurobindo
Man the Mediator >



 sonnet  Published posthumously  Different versions  SABCL & CWSA  Only CWSA