expects it, he has a vague idea; he is expecting in some sense the advent of the superman, while, certainly, the apes did not expect the birth of man, they had never thought of it — for the good reason that they probably don’t think much. But man has thought of it and awaits it, so it will go faster. But faster means still thousands of years probably. We shall speak about it again after a few thousand years!
(CWM 8, pp. 127–8)

After the Event

We need not be disappointed by this time-period of the manifestation of the Supermind, if we read the Mother’s account of what happened in the Playground of the Ashram, immediately after the divine event took place. She has commented upon how despite the stupendous outpour everyone meditating at the Playground was sitting up quietly and perfectly unconscious of the miracle.

When the force came down in the Playground and on this earth there was nobody anywhere who had received it or knew about it. They were quietly lost as usual in their cosy meditations. Perhaps when the Playground lights were switched on they all jumped up as usual wanting to leave the premises like on any other day. So the Mother wondered: “… how is it that all of you were so unfamiliar with this Force that when it came you didn’t even feel it?”(CWM 8, p. 132)

Inner Preparation Needed

To this question she replied:

People who are inwardly ready, who are open and in contact with higher forces, people who have had a more or less direct personal contact with the supramental Light and Consciousness are able to feel the difference in the earth-atmosphere.
(CWM 8, p. 128)
… Only the like can know the like, only the supramental Consciousness in an individual can perceive this Supermind acting in the earth-atmosphere. Those who, for some reason or other, have developed this perception, can see it. But those who are not even conscious of the inner being — just slightly within — and who would be quite at a loss to say what their soul is like, these certainly are not ready to perceive the difference in the earth-atmosphere. They still have a long way to go for that. (CWM 8, p. 128)

That is to say, it is indispensable to have had the previous contact with the supramental light and if they have not had its touch how could they have recognised it? Just as the sweetness of sugar cannot be explained but felt or known only by direct experience, when the Supermind came nobody could understand it. No one had the idea of its expansion of consciousness, its tremendous power. People did not have it anywhere upon earth, so obviously none here or elsewhere could understand the descent of the Supermind. As it is said, our lamps have not been kept trimmed to receive the Truth-Consciousness, and may be because of this reason there is no apparent effort to bring the Supermind into our lives.

But let us hasten to add that there were some who were ready and they did recognise the manifestation of the force and light:

Sri Aurobindo had even described it as the necessary process: a certain number of people who, through their inner effort and aspiration, enter into contact with this Force. That was what we used to call the ascent to the Supermind … But it was indispensable to have had a previous contact: if they had not touched it, how could they have recognised it?