Preparing for the Miraculous

theodicy: “nature does not make mistakes” 221our self-limitation by egoism consequent on the ignoranceof our true Self, of Sachchidananda.” 13If one does not accept the reality of the spirit, considerationslike the above are impossible to accept from a materialisticviewpoint, but then an understanding of the problemof suffering and evil remains out of the question. If one acceptsthe reality of the spirit but has not realized the cosmicconsciousness, these considerations are not concretelycomprehensible. But if the fundamental Vedantic premisesand the Vedantic conception of the universe are acceptedor experienced as valid, the logical conclusion is inevitable.In Savitri, Sri Aurobindo has expressed the same pointof view as follows:Bliss is the secret stuff of all that lives,Even pain and grief are garbs of world-delight,It hides behind thy sorrow and thy cry.And he has the divine sage Narad say to Savitri’s royalparents:Where Ignorance is, there suffering too must come ...Pain was the first-born of the InconscienceWhich was thy body’s dumb original base ...Pain is the hammer of the gods to breakA dead resistance in the mortal’s heart ...Pain is the hand of Nature sculpturing menTo greatness ... 14“In Nature there are no errors”The first premise of Vedanta, its “integral affirmation,”is that all is That. “Brahman is the Alpha and the13 Id., pp. 107 ff.14 Sri Aurobindo: Savitri, pp. 454 and 443.