Man the Enigma

A poem by Sri Aurobindo

The Human Enigma

A deep enigma is the soul of man.
His conscious life obeys the Inconscient's rule,
His need of joy is learned in sorrow's school;
His heart is a chaos and an empyrean.
His subtle ignorance borrows Wisdom's plan;
His mind is the Infinite's sharp and narrow tool.
He wades through mud to reach the Wonderful,
And does what Matter must or Spirit can.

All powers in his living's soil take root
Hoping to grow and dominate the earth.
This little creature mind that would be great
Is Nature's fool and Godhead's struggling birth,
A demigod and a demon and a brute,
The slave and the creator of his fate.

+ − CWSA > COLLECTED POEMS

sonnet 17 September 1939 Pub: 'Three Sonnets' Different versions

Man the Enigma

A deep enigma is the soul of man.
His conscious life obeys the Inconscient's rule,
His need of joy is learned in sorrow's school,
His heart is a chaos and an empyrean.
His subtle Ignorance borrows Wisdom's plan;
His mind is the Infinite's sharp and narrow tool.
He wades through mud to reach the Wonderful,
And does what Matter must or Spirit can.

All powers in his living's soil take root
And claim from him their place and struggling right:
His ignorant creature mind crawling towards light
Is Nature's fool and Godhead's candidate,
A demigod and a demon and a brute,
The slave and the creator of his fate.

Part VII : Pondicherry (Circa 1927-1947) > Three Sonnets

+ − DIFFERENCES BETWEEN SABCL & CWSA VERSIONS

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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Sri-Aurobindo/books/collected-poems/man-the-enigma.txt +6 -6

Sri-Aurobindo/books/collected-poems/man-the-enigma.txt CHANGED Viewed

@@ -1,15 +1,15 @@
-The Human Enigma
+Man the Enigma
 A deep enigma is the soul of man.
 His conscious life obeys the Inconscient's rule,
-His need of joy is learned in sorrow's school;
+His need of joy is learned in sorrow's school,
 His heart is a chaos and an empyrean.
-His subtle ignorance borrows Wisdom's plan;
+His subtle Ignorance borrows Wisdom's plan;
 His mind is the Infinite's sharp and narrow tool.
 He wades through mud to reach the Wonderful,
 And does what Matter must or Spirit can.
 All powers in his living's soil take root
-Hoping to grow and dominate the earth.
-This little creature mind that would be great
-Is Nature's fool and Godhead's struggling birth,
+And claim from him their place and struggling right:
+His ignorant creature mind crawling towards light
+Is Nature's fool and Godhead's candidate,
 A demigod and a demon and a brute,
 The slave and the creator of his fate.