A companion volume to Overman: The Intermediary between the Human and the Supramental Being by the same author, Patterns of the Present is a profound, enjoyable read on the present situation of mankind and the world it lives in. On the threshold of the new millennium, countless pages have been written on the meaning of our world and its possible development. The conclusion in most cases was depressing-man would become an automaton in a sci-fi world. The author puts the present situation of humanity in the perspective of the evolutionary vision of Sri Aurobindo and The Mother.The result is a positive interpretation of the global situation. The meaning of history, the globalisation of our planet, the values represented by East and West, their meeting and reciprocal fertilisation, the future evolution of mankind---all these topics and more are presented here in a fresh, often surprising perspective