One dreamed and saw a gland write Hamlet, drink
    At the Mermaid, capture immortality;
A committee of hormones on the Aegean’s brink
    Composed the Iliad and the Odyssey.

A thyroid, meditating almost nude
   Under the Bo-tree, saw the eternal Light
And, rising from its mighty solitude,
   Spoke of the Wheel and eightfold Path all right.

A brain by a disordered stomach driven
   Thundered through Europe, conquered, ruled and fell,
From St Helena went, perhaps, to Heaven.
   Thus wagged on the surreal world, until

A scientist played with atoms and blew out
The universe before God had time to shout.

People generally talk about Aurobindo and his surreal science and want to relate to the use of humor, but the matter too cannot be fully accepted what the sage has to say about it with regard to science. The greatest flaw of Aurobindo is his philosophies making us believe, supposed to be propositions drawing us closer to. All his philosophies lead unto Him which is but one side of the thought, one side of the story and a sage will have his way thus, rather than scientifically. Aurobindo is intellectual, but not romantically colorful. Aurobindo’s poetry is pragmatic and hypocritical, His poetry was born out of a transfusion of logic and intellect. We need science and scientists too rather than superstitious artists. But apart from that there is food for the soul as and when we take it up for discussion Aurobindo’s A Dream of Surreal Science.

Surreal science, we do not know if Aurobindo’s poetry is a surreal affair here or that science is. The poem is not about science, but about art and science both. Perhaps the poet keeps relating to the working of the rational and irrational mind.

Let us see what the poet says here in A Dream of Surreal Science. What does the word surreal mean and why is it science surreal? We understand it not. The poet says that it is but gland which has produced Hamlet as Shakespeare used to take at the Mermaid Tavern. Something did it inspire Shakespeare as for Hamlet lying in his consciousness. Shakespeare’s abnormal gland had been perhaps the source of abnormal Hamlet. Hormones helped in producing the Iliad and the Odyssey and we thought in terms of the Trojan War, Dr. Faustus’ Helen and his flying kiss. What sort of brain his was? 

A thyroid meditating under the Bo-tree saw the eternal light and rising from solitude talked of the Wheel and the Eight-fold Path as shown by him. The thyroid, had we? We do not. Is it not humorously a representation of the Bodhi Tree, the Halo or the Hand raised out of Meditational Bliss and Enlightenment?

A brain with a disordered stomach thundered through Europe, conquered and fell, from St. Helena to beyond, all this is the story of surreal world. What did he do after all disrupting it all? Where did he move away from Helena? Had it been it that he had dreamt about it? What did the Napoleonic wars give to at all? A man with stomach problems Napoleon, how could he ruffle humanity?

Scientists went about playing with atoms, splitting and blowing out the universe as they seemed to be clutching unless God intercepted it. Should atoms be for peace or war? Whatever do you, everything has a limit of it.

Last but not the least, how is the Aurobindian beards of the sage?