CHAPTER- I

INTRODUCTION

Chapter - I

Introduction

1. Introduction

“I can only repeat that he is the most dangerous man we have to

reckon with.” 1

-Minto Lord

“Long after this turmoil, this agitation ceases, long after he is dead

and gone, he will be looked upon as a poet of patriotism, as the

prophet of nationalism and the lover of humanity. Long after he is

dead and gone, his words will be echoed and re-echoed, not only in

India, but across distant seas and lands.”2

-Ranjan Chitta Das

Sri Aurobindo Ghosh was a huge personality and enormous man of his age group. He

was known and often compared as one of the greatest revolutionist and active workers

like Lokmanya Tilak. In the word of C. R. Das, Aurobindo is not only the great poet of

patriotism but prophet of nationalism and deep lover of humanity. He was against the

Western Culture and as per his thoughts; he believes that it was materialistic, selfish and

soul killing. He had a soft corner for India because he was an Indian and it became he has

deep love for India and her past was extreme. He was greatly inspired and influenced by

the writings of Bankimchandra Chatterji. From 1905 to 1910, Aurobindo was actively

participated in the fighting for India’s freedom against the British rule. During this period

the old Congress following the policy of mendicancy gave place to reverence and self-

reliance. Like a meteor, he blazed the sky of India’s great effort for freedom and like it he

disappeared in the quiet of ashram in Pondicherry. From this place he inspired

generations of India and tried his best to instill in them the confidence in India’s past. In

political beliefs, he followed the line of responsive cooperation advocated by Tilak. He

did not like Gandhiji’s approach to Khilafat Movement nor did he approve the approach

of separate electorates for Muslims. He however was supporting British in their war

against Nazism. He also had accepted Cripps mission and had advocated acceptance of

his proposals. He was glad and pleased at the transfer of power to India on 15th August

1947. On Aurobindo wrote by The Times Literary Supplement:

“He is completely an innovative in thinking who merges his sight of

West to the East. If someone is going to read and study Sri

Aurobindo’s writings, his knowledge definitely going to be enlarge. He

is a Indian Saint and Yogic Guru though he writes as he was standing

among the greatest works with some collection for his contemporary

writers.” 3

1.1 Importance of the Study

Sri Aurobindo Ghosh or Ghose was a revolutionary personality. Not only that but also

Indian nationalist freedom fighter, philosopher, yogi, guru and poet. He was most

important leaders in the Indian movement for freedom from British rule and for a

duration became one of its. He spent his whole life behind his own vision of human

progress and spiritual evolution. It is inevitable because it is at once the intention of the

inner spirit and the logic of nature’s process. Thus, Aurobindo had produced a dialectic

mode of solution not only for the individual but for all mankind and for whole universe.

1.2 Need of the Study

The present research projects is an interpretation and analysis of Sri Aurobindo’s

religious and spiritual philosophical views on different aspects of awareness, he was the

great follower of Indian mystic and religion. It explores the real basis why there is need

of consciousness as primary on the ground of actuality. The relationship of all people on

this world as a being, awareness and happiness is examined. The various levels of

awareness and consciousness expanded from its bottom line to most upper stage and

explained as understood and experienced by Aurobindo, all these investigated here. In

which, examined the nature, facts of lower and supreme level of consciousness, rality and

the Superamental being. It observes the real source and its truth, and the series of

awareness in his cosmology. And from supreme and hidden source, he received the real,

unique and true aspects of his thinking and philosophy. And the future of its time and

validity and significance are observed.

And for the work of this present research project, there are exploring very deeply with the

some historical facts and connection of Aurobindo with other great Indian personality,

writers such Rabindranath Tagore, Swami Vivekananda and with other Western mystic

scholars and approaches, and also with philosophical system and ancient Indian

sculptures like the Upanishads, the Buddha, the Brahma Sutra and Nagarjuna in a wider

ground of sense. This is a historical investigation, in which appealed a detailed account of

historical comprehensive in the formation of one person thinking named Sri Aurobindo.

1.3 Objectives

The chief objectives of the present research project about Sri Aurobindo’s works is about

to highlight the facts about Sri Aurobindo’s early life, education, various philosophy and

literary works. And also find out his position in Indian Renaissance with his religious and

spiritual thinking and philosophy on the ground of politics, as reformist. The major part

of Sri Aurobindo is his discipline for Internal Yoga, doing and practice of Yoga,

Aurobindo spent almost his entire life, so it is essential to acknowledge Sri Aurobindo’s

Spritual philosophy and practice of Integral Yoga. The present study also examine the

structure of Spirituality in his major works which include amongst others The Life

Divine, The Human Cycle, The Essay on the Geeta, Future Poetry, The Synthesis of

Yoga, Letters on Yoga and Savitri etc.

1.4 Limitation of the Study

Sri Aurobindo has immense contribution in the field of literature and he had given his

supreme excellence in writing and try to writing on all the parts and facts of entire world

literature in his highly philosophical sense and expression with his highly experienced

and experimental writings. So here, in the present research study selected a several,

important and unavoidable major contribution of Sri Aurobindo to analyse.

2. Early Life of Sri Aurobindo

On 15th August-1871, Sri Aurobindo was born in Calcutta (Bengal). He was born to Sri

Krishnadhan and Swarnalata’s house, a well reputed family in their village. Raj Narayan

Bose was a maternal grandfather of Sri Aurobindo. In Bengali literature, he was known

as a well known acknowledged leader and the famous writer in the Modern Review. He

was not only the maternal grandfather of Sri Aurobindo but also the grandfather of Indian

nationalism. In the words of Aurobindo’s Mother, he owes his rich divine life with

spiritual and valuable nature as well as his very higher literary capacity. When Aurobindo

was four years old, at that time he was sent to the Loretto Convent School at Darjeeling

to acquire well education and knowledge. In a very childhood age, as a boy, Aurobindo

received his early education in a public school in England. In that school, Aurobindo was

strappingly observed by his old headmaster of the school, he noted that Aurobindo was

the most richly endowed with intellectual capability and strong inner power. Because of

this observation, the headmaster decided to give scholarship to him and after that

Aurobindo went to King’s College at Cambridge where he distinguished himself as a

student of European classics. In 1890, he passed the Indian Civil Service Examination

with great credit in addition with good result. Failing to stand the required test in

horsemanship he was not permitted to enter the Covenantal Service of the Indian

Government. On that time, Aurobindo was a proficient and intellectual scholar in Greek.

He got high distinction in Latin language and also learnt French language. He picked up

some of German and Italian vocabulary to study the great writers work like as Goethe

and Dante in the original. He was also steeped in the teachings of our ancient Vedic

scriptures. Sri Aurobindo was a genius and spontaneous in history as well as poetry. He

became a scholar in specially English and Latin language and literature and in other. He

was stayed in England for 14th years with the genius and profound writer like Romain

Rolland. He was not only an outstanding writer in French literature but also the winner of

the Nobel Prize for literature in 1915. He wrote about Sri Aurobindo that he was one of

the superficial thinkers and writers of Modern India. The most complete synthesis

achieved up to the present between the genius and intellectuals of the West and the East.

At Baroda, Aurobindo joined a job in the state service. For the first time, he was started

working in the Survey and Settlements department then after he was moving to the

Department of Revenue in the same place and later on he joined as a Secretariat to

writing speeches for the Maharaja Gaekwad. In that time, Aurobindo got deeply engaged

with the study of Indian culture, he would like to teach himself the languages like

Sanskrit, Hindustani and Bengali. In England, he did not learn these languages during his

education, had withdrawn from him. Because of the lack of punctuality and promptness

in his work, it became resulting of the work from his pre-occupation with these other

pursuits. In Baroda, he recruited as a French Teacher and he was transferred to the

Baroda College as a teacher of French. In that college, where he became a very popular

and famous for his unconventional is teaching approach and method. Later on he was

promoted to the post of Vice-Principal at Baroda. It was the first time for him when he

published the collections of poetry named The Rishi from Baroda. Then after he started to

take interest in the India’s freedom fighting against the British rule and finally he was

actively participated in the fighting. He worked behind the scene as his position at the

state of Baroda barred him from over political activity. When he was travailing with the

aggressive states at that time he linked up the various groups in Bengal along with

Madhya Pradesh. During the time of fighting he established reputed contact with the

great and social persons like as Lokmanya Tilak and Sister Nivedita. As the part of

awareness, he arranged the Military Training with Jatin Banerjee in the Baroda District

Army. Among this Aurobindo inspired him to organize the distinctive resistance groups

in Bengal. He was heartily invited by K.G. Deshpande who was a friend of him from his

days in Cambridge as well as he was a leading in-charge of the weekly magazine named

‘Induprakash’. He inspired and motivated to Sri Aurobindo to write something about the

political situation of India. Aurobindo started writing a series of impassioned articles

under the title New Lamps for the Old pouring vitriol on the Congress for its moderate

policy. He wrote:

“Our actual enemy is not any force exterior to ourselves, but our own

crying weaknesses, our cowardice, our selfishness, our hypocrisy, our

purblind sentimentalism.” 4

The editors of the paper who gave suggestions to Aurobindo for write about cultural

theme as a substitute of Politics because the Congress which was practiced more mild and

moderate criticism reacted in a way, due to this opposition it created the wider negative

affection in the editors and they became frightened. On account of that opposition on

writing about cultural and political reverence, Aurobindo totally lost his interest in the

writing and because of this his series was discontinued by him. After returning to India,

he was started the job with the designation of the Vice-principal in the State college of

Baroda. He was greatly respected by the Maharaja of Baroda state. Aurobindo’s

scholarship dyed everyone’s attention and also his way for success and he was briefly

noticed by the public mostly to the educated people. The educated classes in Baroda State

loved him and he was exceedingly popular with the general public. One of his students,

named Sri K.M. Munshi, was inspired by Sri Aurobindo’s thoughts and philosophy and

he was highly admired and loved to Aurobindo. To the younger generation, Aurobindo

became a veritable and genuine god for them. They gave him a precious name to call him

and finally they started to call him as ‘Aru Da’, meaning ‘Elder brother Aurobindo’.

Later on Aurobindo was get married with an intelligent girl named Mrinalini Devi. There

were three strategies of Sri Aurobindo’s political ideas and activities.

1. There was the action with which he started a secret revolutionary propaganda and organization to prepare an armed insurrection.

2. There was a public propaganda intended to ignite the inspiration of an ideal of independence.

3. There was the organization of the people to carry on a public and united opposition and

undermining of the foreign rule.

Sri Aurobindo abstained from the political activity for the few years while the duration of

India’s freedom fighting. In that course work, he was deeply engaged as well as involved

in the surveillance in the conditions of the country so that he might be able to judge

naturalizes. With that result he except the writing of the articles in the Induprakash. As

his lieutenant, he sent to Jatin Banerjee at Bengal with accomplishment and action.

Aurobindo said that when he came to Baroda from England at that time he searched out

that what was the situation of congress at that juncture and he exactly formed the

contempt for it. Then he introduced with the political leaders like Deshpande, Tilak,

Madhavrao and other companion whom played dominant role in the political reverence.

Deshpande requested him to write something about the political matter in the

Induprakash. There he strongly criticized and emphasized by the congress for its

moderate policy. The articles were very slashing. Therefore, the great leader of

Maharashtra, M.G. Rande asked the proprietor of the paper not to publish such aggressive

and seditious articles which are written by Aurobindo on political issues and political

matter. Sri Aurobindo was strictly instructed by M.G. Rande that if he will write such

articles on political point of view at a time he might be arrested and such actions taken

against him like imprisoned. Sri Aurobindo approached by Deshpande with the surprised

news that he was requested to him and allowed him to write something less violent. He

began to write on philosophy of politics. Soon he got disgusted with it. This particular

series and writing on political philosophy arisen many political questions as well as the

political issues. Because of this situation, Aurobindo displayed his power for the first

time in front of the public. In the ‘Induprakash’, he showed a substitute and subtle power

of his thinking capacity for expression and mastery over the language, rare courage, utter

sincerity, burning patriotism and selfless character, all these seen in his series. Aurobindo

visited Bengal for the first time after his return from England in 1894. He met all his

relatives and close friends of him. At that time Aurobindo got changed in both inner and

outer side. His mother did not recognize him because his appearance was totally different

from before. Sri Aurobindo actively involved in Indian politics from 1902 to 1910.

During the first half of this period, he joined in the swadeshi movement and worked with

other co-workers in the beginnings of the faction. In August 1906, the National College

was established at Calcutta and in that institute Sri Aurobindo recruited as the principal of

the institutions. On 6th August, the declaration of the ‘Bande Mataram’ was unsuccessful.

There were many conjectures regarding the declaration of ‘Bande Mataram’ and how was

started and what connection Aurobindo had with it. Later on he gave his own explanation

and suggestion that it will be started by Bepin Pal. Finally in 1906, after the retirement of

Cruzan, Aurobindo started this with the help and participation of his nearest friends. The

‘Bande Mataram’ was declared prior to the nation, the programs of Boycott, ‘Swadesi’

national education and passive Resistance with the idea of forming parallel government.

On 13th October, the ‘Bande Mataram’ became a joint stock company in accordance with

Aurobindo’s suggestion. A brand of directors was appointed. But Sri Aurobindo was the

real and actual editor and he took the whole responsibility belonged to the board.

Therefore, the government could not prosecute one single individual. Whenever the

government found something wrong and objectionable, at that time someone could come

forward to accept the responsibility and send to jail if it obligatory. Thus Aurobindo, the

brain of the movement and also the manager of the revolution could escape imprisonment

and continue his work with his co-workers and colleague. In the ‘Bande Mataram’, the

articles were written so cleverly that they violated the spirit of the law. From October to

December 1906, he became the victim of serious illness and he stayed there with his

father-in-law named Bhupal Chandra Bose. On 4th November he had very high fever and

could not able to write his editorial article for the ‘Bande Mataram’. He recovered

partially at the end of the November, but had a relapse in December. So he went to

Deoghar for a change. On 26th December, he returned at Calcutta in order to attend the

congress session. Dadabhai Navroji was the president of this congress session at Calcutta.

For the first time, a resolution laying down independence as the goal of the congress

session was passed. During this session Aurobindo also introduced among the nationalist

leaders who attended the session were Tilak, Lajpatrai, Khaparde and Khare. It was

mainly due to Sri Aurobindo’s struggle in the reception committee and the working

committee that the resolution was passed. His resolution had to get the support of the

whole congress. So the meetings were held at the house of Subodh Mullick under the

leadership of Tilak. This support for the resolution was secured there. In getting this

support, Sri Aurobindo’s share was not insignificant. Other resolutions were added via

Swadeshi, Boycott, and national education with the main resolution of Swaraj. The

prominent leaders of Moderate school of politics named Sir Phirozshah Mehta, Gopal

Krishna Gokhale, Surendranata Banerjee were opposed the resolution. Dadabhai, the

president was indecisive in the beginning. However, when he found that there was a

strong support to the resolution from Bengal and from other parts of India, he accepted it

and got it accepted by all. Sri Aurobindo met Tagore once during these years at Tagore’s

house. He was invited for dinner. From 27th January 1907 to early April 1907, Sri

Aurobindo was at Deoghar. From 12th to 23rd April, he published his 9 series of articles

on passive resistance in the ‘Bande Mataram’. In this article he was written about the

clear distinction between non-violence and passive resistance. Bhupendeanath Dutt, a

brother of Vivekananda was sentenced for seditious material that appeared in ‘Yugantar’.

He wanted to defend the punishment. But Aurobindo said that it was an illogical for a

revolutionary to recognize a foreign court and it’s Jurisdiction. On 30th July 1907, there

was a search of the ‘Bande Mataram’ office and on 16th August, a prosecution was

instigated Sri Aurobindo was among the accused. There was a conference at Midnapore

and in that important conference; Mr. K.B. Dutt was elected as a president. Sri Aurobindo

was also elected as a coordinator in the conference. He arranged some systems and

circulars to pass resolution as well as he was supporting in the nationalists programme. In

nationalist elevation he won over the many moderate and judicious leaders. On 15th

December 1907, a public meeting was held in Beacon Square. Sri Aurobindo suggested a

resolution for supporting the nationalist programme. It was passed and was forwarded to

the Surat congress. The moderates and the nationalists began their efforts and struggle to

secure the majority for their side .Due to this they chose Surat to moderate as the venue.

They believe that is the correct venue and thought that it would be easy to secure a

majority there. Tilak, Kaparade and Khare were already participated from the side of

nationalist. In the meeting, Balaji Tekra was chosen as preside over the meetings by Sri

Aurobindo. In 1906, at last period, the Moderate leaders became doubtful about securing

a majority for their resolution but finally it was successfully passed by the congress at

Calcutta. The famous Alipore Bomb Case was became the turning as well as spinning

point in the political life of Sri Aurobindo. It is a precious situation where Aurobindo

faced with great strength. But in the result of that, as a part of an effort against it he was

an under trial prisoner in solitary confinement in the Alipore Central Jail for one year. In

this cell of the Alipore Jail, he dreamt about his future and the divine mission ordained

for him by God. Aurobindo was getting very bore and tired during the time of the

imprisonment. In the prison there was a lack of facilities like bad foodstuff, the

inadequate clothes, lack of light and free air, the strain of boredom and the creeping

solitariness of the gloomy cell. In the time of cell he decided to study over in leisure time

and after that he started to read some religious books and also started to follow the

spiritual thoughts. He utilized this period of incarceration for an intense study and

practice of the teachings of the Bhagavad-Gita. Chittaranjan Das defended Sri

Aurobindo. He was acquitted after a memorable experiment. According to Sri Aurobindo,

he believes that spirituality and yoga is the master key of the Indian mind. It is this

dominant inclination of India which gives character to all the expressions of her culture.

In fact, they have grown out of her inborn spiritual tendency of which her religion is a

natural out flowering.

3. Spiritual Life of Sri Aurobindo and Practice of Int egral Yoga

In 1904, Sri Aurobindo began his practice of yoga because he wanted to rich the way of

spirituality. Even before this, several experiences had come to him spontaneously and he

felt the inner power became the strong and also felt the power of spirituality. For

instance, there was the mental experience of atman or true self, the peaceful mental

experience. While reading the Upanishads in London in 1892, he had felt the same type

of experience. The next year a vast calm descended upon him and because of this

calmness surrounded him and remained for many months afterwards. In 1893, he had

achieved a vision of the Godhead surging up from within when he was met in danger of a

carriage accident. In 1903, he had the realization of the vacant which was felt by him

with Infinite thoughts while walking on the bridge of the ‘Takht-i-suleman’ at Kashmir,

In 1904. Sri Aurobindo began yoga with the assiduous practice of Pranayama.

Pranayama also considered as a part of yoga. It is the way for the yoga. At that time, he

met yogi Brahmananda and was greatly impressed by his spirituality and inner capacity.

On the other hand, he had not found guru or expert of yoga, whom teach him yoga until

January 1908. After that, he met the Maharashtrian yogi Vishnu Bhaskar Lele whom was

master in the yoga. He had whole knowledge regarding the yoga. Lele showed Sri

Aurobindo that how to establish complete silence of mind and how to control the thinking

of mind and immobility of consciousness and how to create concentration of mind.

Within three days, Sri Aurobindo succeeded in achieving this state of mind. Sometimes

he requires a lifetime of yoga to attain. The result was a series of Lasting and Massive

spiritual relations which opened to him the larger ways of yoga. He realized the

spirituality in the inner side of his body and also he was greatly impressed by this strong

interior power. Lele finally told Aurobindo to put himself entirely into the hands of the

Divine Power and open himself ahead of this Divine influence. This became the whole

foundation and principle of his sadhana. Sri Aurobindo and Lele parted ways after a two

month. At the same time The Mother came to India for the first time. The former

governor of Jammu and Kashmir and former Union minister named Jagmohan, writes in

The Asian Age about the vision outlined by Sri Aurobindo great thinker and philosopher,

a hundred years ago:

Sri Aurobindo makes it clear that Sanatan Dharma is designed to uplift the entire human

race and not merely the Hindus but for the whole society:

“What is this religion which we call Sanatan, eternal? It is the Hindu

religion only because the Hindu nation has kept it… But it is not

circumscribed by the confines of a single country. That which we call

the Hindu religion is really the eternal religion because it is the

universal religion which embraces all others.” 5

In 1908 and 1909, while Sri Aurobindo was under trial prisoner in the Alipore jail, he had

the constant and spiritual vision of the omnipresent Godhead because he was stayed with

the many of religious books which were based on the philosophical point of view. In the

jail, he spent much of his time reading the ‘Gita’ and ‘Upanishads’. During that time he

started to learn about the basic concept on concentration, meditation and practicing yoga.

Even in the courtroom, he remained absorbed in meditation which is known as the

conscious level of the mind. On account of this, he hardly attended little to the trial and

listened to the evidence. During this time his view of life as well as vision for the life was

fundamentally changed. He started to follow the way of spirituality. He had originally

taken up the idea of yoga to acquiring some spiritual force and energy and divine

guidance for his political work. However, his inner spiritual life and realization was

continually increasing in his magnitude and inner strength. It was working like as the

divine force. It assumed a larger place and took him up entirely life. His work became a

precious part and result of it.

Describing his experience yoga during the imprison, he notes;

“I did not think either of questioning the truth or the possibility, I

simply sat down and did it. In a moment my mind became silent as a

windless air on a high mountain summit and then I saw one thought

and then another coming in a concrete way from outside; I flung them

away before they could enter and take hold of the brain and in three

days I was free.” 6

Yoga and spiritual philosophy are founded by Sri Aurobindo, on four great realizations

which of them, two of these he had realized before his coming to Pondicherry in

1910.He had gained the first realization which was the silent, speak less and timeless

Brahman. While meditating with Lele in 1908, this realization disappeared after second

realization. It was hardly gained in Alipore Jail in 1908 or 1909. It was the immense

realization of the cosmic consciousness and the spiritual vision of the Divine Power. In

the learning of his meditations during the time of Jail, Sri Aurobindo was already on his

way to learn the other two realizations. It was one of the supreme realities with the static

and dynamic Brahman. The third and very important stage of realization was attained by

him in the path of realization in 1912. It took place when Sri Aurobindo experienced and

instead of it he started to acquire an Abiding realization and dwelling in Parabrahman

(the supreme reality). The process of rising up to the higher planes into the physical

consciousness was successfully continued by him on 24 November 1926. This effort was

crowned by the descent of the Godhead of the over mind. This descent was preparatory to

the descent of the supermind itself from 1920. Sri Aurobindo extremely worked on

spirituality to bring about the super mental descent of mind. In 1950, then he had to move

on ahead from this physical world and body rush its beginning.

When Aurobindo was free from Jail, he again started his political activities with a new

apparition and reason. It was necessary that India get complete freedom, if India has to

grow and become supreme. He affirmed in his words:

“India does not grow similar to other nation of this world, when she is

powerful and able to crush the feeble. She is growing to give force to

the eternal glow and becomes trusted among all over the other

countries. India always stands for the all humankind in her own self

who is very much superior”.7

Sri Aurobindo, then started two different articles in English language, named: the

‘Karmayogin’ and another one is ‘Dharma’ in his mother tongue language Bengali. But

at that time the atmosphere of politics was completely occupied buzz and rumors of a

looming capture. On that time, about Sri Aurobindo, in Lord Minto, British Government

had mentioned in clear words that

‘I can just represent it that Sri Aurobindo is the most hazardous

person we have to suppose with.’8

Sri Aurobindo then moved from Bengal to Chandranagar and then on 4th April, 1910 he

reached at Pondicherry to find out the spiritual way. He was not alone in this journey of

Pondicherry. There, he stayed with four or five companions with his companion at his

friend’s place in Pondicherry. Gradually, the number of members increased because of

his intellectual spirituality. After some time finally Sri Aurobindo established an Ashram

in the Pondicherry with the help of his companion and natives. An Ashram grew up

around him. Mira, a French lady and wife of Paul Richard, was imbued with the same

spiritual and philosophical ideal. With this similarity, she joined the Sri Aurobindo circle

in 1920. At that time Mira was known as “The Mother” and this name was heartily given

by Sri Aurobindo in his Ashram. She was addressed as the Mother and directed the

Ashram and the devotees. Every morning she used to stand herself on the balcony and it

is known as ‘Darshan’, for those devotees who eager for ‘Darshan’. She managed all and

every small part of thing of the Ashram and organization and also she was developed the

Ashram with the good willing. A national journal ‘Arya’ was started by the Ashram, a

spiritual journal in English language under the organization and supervision of Sri

Aurobindo companion Mira the Mother. In which Sri Aurobindo’s all famous and

significant works were chronicle wise published in every week in that journal. And after

almost six year of it publication it was stopped. Ashram was visited by Sr Rabindranath

Tagore and uttered words for Sri Aurobindo that:

“You have the sounded word and people are behind you to accept it

from you. India will going to converse throughout your sound and

voice to the humanity and world.” 9

3.1 Sri Aurobindo, The Mother & the Ashram

Sri Aurobindo chosen south India for his Krmabhumi and stayed at that one of place

named Pondicherry. And there are almost more than one thousand five hundred people in

the ashram. Those members were coming from round about fifty different countries for

the same purpose. They came together there and the same purpose is to make a life on the

path of progress and go to attain the self enrichment and its perfection and connectivity of

entire humanity of this world.

Calcutta is the birth place of Sri Aurobindo and because of his father he got all education

from the foreign country named England, he was one of the scholar from Cambridge and

also got the scholarship for the elevated education. He was joined with Indian politics

after return from England to his native country and started fighting against the oppressive

rule of Britisher in India. He was one of the well known freedom fighter and played an

active role in independence revolutionary movement.

During that movement he spent a year in jail on false charges. All through the time of

political period, Sri Aurobindo was exposed the powers and practices of Indian yoga and

integral education and further reading on Indian cultivate. He was not just interested in

his own spiritual realization and liberation from this material world, but he found that it is

necessary for all humankind on this earth and it is essential for entire human race to

sincerely follow this for peaceful life, and then he combined his inner activity with the

outer movement and acts upon yoga until in 1910. He once again received command of

another British attempt to imprison him. He secretly withdrew to the French Protectorate

in Pondicherry where he spent the last 40 years with them. His passion for freedom

fighting against the British rule became the unity of entire humanity and evolution in the

area of Spirituality on this earth. Major works of Sri Aurobindo published regularly 1914

to 1920 which includes various topics such as sociology, yoga, politics, poetry etc, these

entire published in monthly journal named ‘Arya’. And after some time, one lady from

France, Mira Richard, later known as The Mother, came and join Sri Aurobindo in his

spiritual journey in Pondicherry with his husband named Richard Paul to meet Sri

Aurobindo. She returned in 1920 at India to work with him and to organize the

community of seekers which was growing around him. With the help of the companions

and as the purpose of growing, she established an Ashram and later it became known as

the Sri Aurobindo Ashram.

From the outset Sri Aurobindo’s magnetism for yoga was as a potential means to improve

spiritual life in the world and this aim never left him. He proceeded to develop a

philosophical realization and discipline which had for its goal. It was not merely the

fulfillment or formality of a few isolated individuals but the uplifment of the whole

combined existence of mankind. Then he foreseen and performed job for the perfect of

entire human race a political union of all over world’s nations and a mystical unification

of entire humanity.

‘Yoga’ in Sanskrit, suggests the meaning of unity and union. The word ‘Unity’, suggests

the union between Spirituality and mystic power with human race. Sri Aurobindo and his

practice of Yoga contains two activities, first is about collection, of attention,

concentration, power and refinement and next is about desire, man always wants to know

his true identity and aware of his real status from the depth of his inner self. And in the

same way, man free his own self to the consciousness of Divine and its force and allow

himself to drawn in his own inner heart and complete his absence of spiritual journey.

When he get succeed in this procedure, he knows to make establish contact between his

own beings to the inner spiritual entity, and reached at the highest level of knowledge,

love. Pleasure and control and express it. With this procedure of his inner part, he grows

towards completeness and able and sustain his own self to influence other people and

outer world. In this performance the order emphasizes not only meditation and

consideration but on a completely vigorous emotional, physical, and psychological

existence, in where, all these basics and fundamentals can raise and develop into release

to the greatest religious and Divine power of valuable mysticism.

The care taker of Ashram had neglected to make another one of tinier group of follower

who are in own way of peaceful life and go far from external world. For them, this

concept depended on the philosophical thought, ‘All Life is Yoga’ . Human race and there

any movement and action has no ability to create ground for mystic knowledge and

growth of spirituality, it is only happens through one’s individual effort for awareness.

The Ashram turn out to be a active organization and establishment which reach all

through and incorporated with the bigger place, named Pondicherry in which it was

located and late than it was extensively enlarged. The ‘Yoga’ and its discipline depended

on the exclusivity of the individual person and the liberty of every one, make them to

chase their own path which completed severely distinct events and put practices a restrain

for utmost development. There is only wide course of action were agreed to complement

the stable individual awareness which was specified through The Mother and Sri

Aurobindo for the people who were just about them. And further, with the development

of the Ashram, vigorous action were started such as dairies, farming, poultry, laundry,

bakery, vast gardens for flower, foodstuff and garments services, manufacturing and

structure making, hand crafted things like paper and new cottage manufacturing, high

fashionable, advanced and qualitative furniture making etc.

From 1950, they also started Sri Aurobindo International Centre for Education and

students comes from different parts of all over the world for their graduation, there is

huge library of French, English, German and literature of India included, also opened

drama stage and theater, dance class, and gymnastic with full equipments and some other

program such as physical education etc. The Mother introduced the word for college as

‘Knowledge’. This type of education is a part of Integral education. The mother had left

from this world and passed away from her divine body on November 1973, at the time of

95 year old age. The ideas and concepts which were established by The Mother and Sri

Aurobindo are still present and not passed away with them. Their institution is same

today as it was left by The Mother and deteriorates into a faction of individuality

reverence and passes away with the transitory of creator.

They were strong in their decision that to set up a possible independent society of persons

where everyone frees to create and trail their life on the development of the divine life,

and at the same time everyone try to give contribution to the universal growth of the

society and for the superior community of humanity. The Mother with her best prudence,

started for future through creating a new place named ‘Auroville’ , it is structured to

expand on the testing started in the Ashram which expand it to grip a outer line of

worldly life. After the death of Sri Aurobindo, The Mother decided to build one spiritual

place with name of Sri Aurobindo. Finally, The Mother builds a village named

“Auroville” which is the most important place for the spiritual experience and integral

practice.

Auroville is located at Pondicherry and established in 1967, where students from

different countries came, and UNESCO approved it as the earliest and first international

city in the world. At present, almost 50,000 and more citizens in it, and there are about

four hundred inhabitants from twenty and more different nations existing and

functioning. The full town has been designed by architects from France, Italy, India and

Germany, and they build up to cover such essential zones Cultural, Business, Residential,

and Global, one of the important a huge agricultural strap nearby the city as growth of

center. The worldwide division will include pavilions and representing it to other nations

and civilization of the earth. Then one enormous sphere which is made of gold is build

there under the guidance of The Mother. This golden sphere is known as a Concentration

place for the peace of mind and spirituality for life. Now a day this golden sphere is

called ‘Matri Mandir’ for the memorization of the Mother.

Auroville has been created with the effort of The Mother, as a research on the unity of

humanity, there all person have liberty from oppression to ethical and communal

gathering and the basic requirement of working for their day to day life material and their

goods. No one has to follow any religion there, no any cash, funds used, no leadership,

possession, and any assets. All followers’ of that system works with supportive system.

And the main basis of it just to work for yourself and find out your inner being, the

central core of your existence, appearance and enthusiastically participate in that center

and expresses it in the outer world and work for other people.

The ‘Auroville’ Agreement interprets:

1. It belongs to nobody in fastidious. Auroville is for entire humanity as a

one or whole, if one has to stay and live in Auroville, he or she must be an

eager servitor of the Divine awareness.

2. It will be the situation where, there is no ending of education and

unstoppable growth and evolution and a adolescence on no account of

ages.

3. And it desires as the link between the future and the past. Receiving all

benefit of all discoveries from with no and inside, Auroville will bravely

bounce at future growth and consciousness.

4. It will be a place of matter objects and religious explores for a living

personification of a real human being and its unity.

In the world, there are some other places and group glowing far from the Ashram. And

there are various social groups, designed on the concept of Sri Aurobindo’s philosophy

and idea of the thought Human being and its unity, and ‘Entire Life is Yoga’ . So the

present society, established by The Mother and working for to extend the application and

practice of yoga to the various ground of monetary and communal growth, with this

project Mother extend Sri Aurobindo’s viewpoint of divine, religious development into

different regions of man’s intellectual and rational search.

3.2 Integral education for the growth of the soul

In the real and creative poet and active politician, also philosophers, Aurobindo spent 45

years from his 78 years old age in the following and live out with Yoga. He fully

developed the philosophy of insight with his entire affirmation, and discusses the real and

true affirms of this world and its stand pint with his own experienced philosophy. He was

through his spiritual awareness and dominion power; know the importance and

significance of Man and his concept on this world, and not only that but also his future,

destiny, and also about his race on this earth, which one can found in the educational

thought and philosophy of Sri Aurobindo. In his educational philosophy, he described it

in the sense of spiritual influence in education and discusses its scheme with the need of

spirituality in education and emphasize integral education and describes its importance in

the root of education for the growth of soul of India, and for future need and with the

magnitude of her inner eternal spirit.

India, according to Sri Aurobindo,

“India has always in all his man and in their soul, a piece of the

religious and spiritual enwrapped in body and mind, a spiritual

awareness demonstration in the universal personality and spirit and

its nature.”10

Sri Aurobindo, in his educational viewpoint endorsed the fundamental but generally

forgotten standard that

“it is with this guts, the vital and existing facts that we have to

complete, and further there is doubt is not about the traditional and

modernism, but between the superior potential possibilities of the

Indian intellect and nature and an imported communal society, and

not between the past and present but between the future and the

present”.11

For growing and a real and effective education, according to Sri Aurobindo, there are

three facts for the human being, the person in his natural and Supreme Being, the people,

nation, and entire individuality should be considered into description. With the

description of Aurobindo, for him, he pictured of education as a tool for the true and real

performing of the soul in the human earthly body and also cures the man and his soul for

spiritual existence and life. Sri Aurobindo’s philosophy of integral education suggest that

the person will create its one status of being and central entity the enlargement of the

spirit and its commands and possibilities for the nation which will stay original in vision

of the protection, growth and improvement of the spirit, country and its religious Dharma

and it elevate together into authority of the existence of life and uphill intellect and spirit

of humankind. It has no space that will lose view of man and his uppermost thing, rising,

growing and elevating of his human and divine being. So this concept, given by

Aurobindo, was so intensely original in the mode of real and supreme integral education.

The present delivered concept of education by Sri Aurobindo was powerfully innovative

in the means of the correct and breathing basic education. The term integral education is

visualized as a organic process of growth, and the way in a variety of senses which could

be urbanized and incorporated and is reliant upon inclination of every child, it is

described as a pace of evolution and rule of progress, that is inherent disposition

addressed ‘Swabhava’ and inner behavior as ‘Swadharma’. Sri Aurobindo’s concept of

Integral Education is provide facilities for number of faculties, subjects and different

knowledge, information and its combination, and important is to learn harmony in works,

and it is offered to the faculties that and so it could be used by every teacher and student,

and through this way a normal procedure of harmonious and pleasant growth could be

encouraged.

3.3 Sri Aurobindo on Mind (Antahkarna) as an Instrument

For Sri Aurobindo, Mind consists four different layers, as the different instrument.

“The first is ‘Citta’ which memorizes the memory, and distinguished

as a significant action of mind, it is the basis for all other layers. It is

nature of ‘Citta’ that automatically completely perform its task and

not required any practice for it. There is no smallest amount thing of

information and knowledge approaching inside its ground and it is

not fully saved, located and perfectly sealed in that estimable

container. It is performing part of mind and memory, a superior but

not completely grown task and it is in require of development,” 12

After this, ‘Manas’, considered as the sixth sense in Indian Philosophy and psychology, is

the next after ‘Citta’ layer. Its job is to capture pictures of outer world and transformed it

into sound, taste, sight and touch and then translated it again into feelings of attention. So

it is necessary that one can use six sense rightly otherwise its misuse is harmful for other

and that’s why it is trained under the proper guidance and direction for perfect and right

performance of it. In it, whatever support can be increased through the action of organs,

should be carefully working. For instance the hand should be skilled to repeat what the

eye watch, and the intellect senses.

‘Buddhi’, is the genuine stage and instrument of Mind, it is in the third layer and in other

words is the ‘Intellect’. For Aurobindo, Intellect as an part and organ collected some

groups of, set of purpose, separable into two major courses, the sense, purpose of the

right hand, the sense, purpose of the left hand.

“The purpose of both hand are combined, innovative and joined and

it is also observable and critical. The significant and analytical senses

discriminate, evaluate, organize, simplify, assume, gather, and

summarized. Both are the section of the rational reason. The people

from the right hand, understands, domination, moderator in their

own correct, clutch, seize and control, and also master of the

knowledge and the person from the left-hand, is its servant. On the

part of left hand, it is taped only knowledge of body. Both are

essential for complete human life and race.” 13

3.4 Sri Aurobindo on Physical and Moral Education

In search of influence of the combination values of the East and the West in the

contemporary philosophy of education, Sri Aurobindo insisted that a healthy body is a

necessary condition for intellectual or spiritual attainment. To make our body healthy

means we must have to take our food in the very prosperous way. In the Ashram, the

food which is serving by them is a part of the Indian tradition and it simply known as a

‘Satvik Ahar’. According to him physical education means not only the proper

functioning to the different organs of the human body but it is also essential for the

progress of power, stability, beauty and its sense. For Sri Aurobindo, ‘Beauty, in itself is

the ideal and objective world has to appreciate it. Sri Aurobindo said, on investigation of

people for completeness of being.

“The human body cannot be considered as left and put it aside, body s

the basis of all material world, and one can use it as tool. The ultimate

aim of body is to take it up as supreme complete as we take it up and

bring supremacy for it, that is the final stage and culture of physical

body. So, the physical body and its growth and consciousness is

always be a part of our goal. Body is an essential in itself, it requires

strength, health.”14

Sri Aurobindo mentioned that Mind and its evolution and education originated from the

sentimental and moral nature and from its completeness. He himself confessed that there

is a problem in implication of moral education and training, in the primary to University

level and system of education. He differentiate Mind from the Heart, to give order and

instruction to Mind is not order for Heart, both perform differently. Further, he illustrates

that moral and its document utilized for upper level of thinking, connected with artificial

and mechanical, and both are not working for good being. Then, he openly point out that

with the effort, and making boys religious and moral through religious and moral

teaching and books, is not appreciative and considered as arrogance and illusion. Because

Heart is not performing as Mind, and order of Mind never affects the Heart.

Sri Aurobindo conceived some kind of moral practice for society is:

“to make familiarize yourself to the real sentiments, the purest

connection, the best way of habits such as good sentimental, mental,

physical habits, and all performing in proper action and it basis which

urges him for his important behavior.” 15

For Moral growth and religious education in children, and attempt for it and make them

in to specific dress, some mould, make them serious for that path, it seems to be like a

heartless and insincere. The major part of it is that one can accept his own self and

becomes essential part of him which is the best, and the rest is of the facade. It is also

corrupt the human race if someone break and neglect moral and religious education and

it’s important. Sri Aurobindo, in moral teaching and education, stresses the significance

of proposal and denounces nuisance.

“The foremost instruction for moral education and teaching,

Aurobindo suggests, to say, request and encourage, but not to impose

and command. The best technique for moral training is to converse

and read the moral books daily.”16

‘Every boy should’, says Aurobindo,

“Therefore be given practical opportunity as well as intellectual and

support to expand all which is very good in the environment and in

the situation. It is depend on the behavior if he has harshness in

character, worst qualities, habits and birding call ‘Samsakara’ (way

of behavior), in mind and work, there should no need to treat him

harshly but support and encourage to come out of from that with ‘Raj

yoga’, technique for self discipline and control, refusal and

condemnation.” 17

Sri Aurobindo believed in encouraging the people to make them realize that bad habits

and traits is not sins and wrong thing but good for themselves if they take it as curable

and altered it with replacement of truth, selfishness, courage, meditation, sacrifice, moved

from hate to love and renunciation love instead of discouraging. Formless and indistinct

qualities may possibly cancel as faults. Sri Aurobindo believed about religious facts and

spirituality that it doesn’t matter if we don’t involve and get interests ourselves in it.

According to Aurobindo is of any value.

“Unless it is lived, and the exercise of ‘Sadhana’ variously in different

kinds, that is known as self preparation of spiritual exercise which is

the effective training for spiritual existing and sustaining. The

traditional and existing rituals, customs, reverence, prayer and

various ceremony is engraved through various Minds as an essential,

if it is not put on final stage, is a good support to divine evolution and

spiritual growth.” 18

3.5 The Psychic and Spiritual Education

Sri Aurobindo also speaks on not only of mentally education but also of psychical

education, but his real interest is in a still higher stage, which according to him is spiritual

or supra-mental education. This does not imply the extermination of the individual but his

enrichment through contact with the Absolute. The spiritual stage transcends the mental

and the psychic stage. The justification for psychic and spiritual education rests upon

three important considerations:

1) Education should provide to the individual a steady exploration of something

that is inmost in the psychological complexity of human consciousness;

2) The most important question of human life is to consider the aim of human life and the

aim of one’s own life and one’s own position and the role in the society; and this question

can best be answered only when the psychic and spiritual domains are explored and when

one is enabled to develop psychic and spiritual faculties of knowledge; and

3) The contemporary crisis of humanity has arisen because of the disbalancement between

the material advancement on the one hand and inadequate spiritual progression. If,

therefore, this crisis has to be met, development of psychical and spiritual consciousness

should be fostered.

Aurobindo tries to draw a distinction between psychical and spiritual in the following

terms. At the life of psychic life, the individual feels an uninterrupted continuity in the

world of forms and sees level as an immortal function in endless time and limitless space.

The spiritual consciousness goes beyond time and space and is identification with the

infinite and the eternal. Aurobindo is expressing the same idea when he says that in

psychic life selfishness must be discarded, but in the spiritual life there is no sense of the

separate self. Aurobindo insists that it is not annihilation of the individual but its

transformation which is the end of integral education. When man attains such education

there is total transformation of substance. He calls it supramental education as it will

work, not only upon the consciousness of individual beings, but upon the very substance

of which they are built and even upon the physical environment in which they live.

An unprecedented kind of experiment in education was launched by Sri Aurobindo and

the Mother, when in 1943, a school came to be established at Sri Aurobindo Ashram at

Pondicherry with merely 20 students on its rolls, soon it began to grow, and in 1951,

when the number of students had increased, and studies in Higher Education had to be

organized, it was expanded into Sri Aurobindo International University Centre. The

Centre was conceived as one of the best means of preparing humanity for future that

would be marked by the manifestation of a new light and power the supra-mental light

and power. It was launched so that the elite of the humanity may be made ready who

would be able to work for the progressive unification of the race and who at the same

time would be prepared to embody the new force descending upon the earth to transform

it. The Centre conducted a programmed of experimental research under the direct

guidance of the Mother, and it became a laboratory of education for tomorrow. The

educational doctrine of Sri Aurobindo is closely linked with his revolutionary vision of

human destiny which is reflected in his statement:

“They should be children of the past, possessors of the present,

creators of the future. The past is our foundation, the present our

material, the future our aim and summit.” 19

Aurobindo’s visionary mystic mind articulated a concept of life which was unique since

he conceived of it as a lavish and manifold opportunity given us to discover, realize,

express the Divine and accordingly, visualized a system of education which would help

expression of unrealized potentialities, in line with his concept of life. This called for a

creative vision and an extraordinary adventure. For him human destiny is an ascent

towards the supermind, towards realization of the Godhead and his philosophy of

education provides a forceful and resilient framework to accomplish this strong willed

goal.

4. A Critical Study of Sri Aurobindo’s Works

Sri Aurobindo's influence has been wide ranging in India, S. K. Maitra, Anilbaran Roy,

Haridas Chaudhuri, and D. P. Chattopadhyaya commented on Sri Aurobindo's work.

Writers on esotericism and traditional wisdom, such as Mircea Eliade, Paul Brunton, and

Rene Guenon, saw him as an authentic representative of the Indian spiritual tradition. Sri

Aurobindo's ideas about the further evolution of human capabilities influenced the

thinking of Michael Murphy and, indirectly, the human potential movement through

Murphy's writings. Ken Wilber, an American philosopher, has been strongly influenced

by Sri Aurobindo's thought. He integrated some of its wonderful key ideas with other

spiritual traditions and modern intellectual trends; Wilber's interpretation has been

strongly criticized by Rod Himself. Modern writer Andrew Harvey also looks to Sri

Aurobindo as a major brainwave. William Irwin Thompson, a cultural historian is also

heavily influenced by Sri Aurobindo and the Mother. The Sri Aurobindo Ashram was

organized and directed by the Mother. It continues to operate with slightly more than

2000 members of a spiritual community and a similar number of nonmembers who live

nearby and are associated with the Ashram's activities. The experimental international

city of Auroville, founded by the Mother and based on Sri Aurobindo's ideals, is located

about 10 km from the Ashram. It has approximately 2000 members from around the

world, and an international base of support groups called Auroville International. Sri

Aurobindo's earliest writings were poems that he penned as a student in England. This

literary interest continued during his thirteen-year stay at Baroda where he wrote a

number of poems and plays during the time of freedom fighting in India. His dramas and

short stories are presently published in two volumes entitled Collected Plays and his

poetic works in the volume Collected Poems; there is, in addition, Sri Aurobindo's major

poetic work, Savitri, an epic in blank-verse of about 24,000 lines. Sri Aurobindo first rose

to national prominence as a writer for his editorials and articles in Bande Mataram, a

Calcutta daily he edited between 1906 and 1908. A large number of other political and

cultural pieces appeared in two Calcutta week-lies in 1909 and 1910, the year in which

Sri Aurobindo retired from active politics in order to devote himself exclusively to the

practice of Yoga. In 1914, after four years of concentrated yoga at Pondicherry, Sri

Aurobindo launched a 64 pages monthly philosophical review, Arya, in which most of his

important works were serialized during the next six and a half years: his major works are

as under,

Sri Aurobindo’s major works dealt with yoga, philosophy, Vedas, Upanishads, Gita,

Indian culture, social and political thought, poetry and drama. Sri Aurobindo is a versatile

spiritual genius, who is not only a Master-Yogi with profound spiritual realizations, but

also a great scholar and thinker who wrote extensively on various topics ranging from

politics to yoga. His writings shine with a penetrating spiritual insight which brings out

the deeper, psychological and spiritual dimensions of the human, terrestrial and cosmic

life. Here we present a brief and synoptic overview of the contents of Sri Aurobindo’s

major works.

4.1 Life Divine

• The philosophical testament of Sri Aurobindo. But it is not the philosophical concept as it

is understood in the brief perception of West. It is an intellectual as well as deeper

resourceful formulation of the inner spiritual experiences and believes and realization of

which is expressed in a logical and conceptual format of Sri Aurobindo. As, In Life

Divine, The Mother points out that, expression is intellectual but the inspiration is

spiritual.

• The first parts of the book which is deal with the major problems and issues of modern,

ancient and Indian philosophy. It also deals with the various different types of religion

theories and aims of life or existence, individual and the universal, knowledge and

ignorance, the Vedanthic view of knowledge, realism, idealism and illusionism, problems

of evil, suffering and pain, karma and rebirth, concept of evolution, nature of

consciousness life, matter and mind, metaphysics of life and death, structure of the

cosmos and its creative sources.

• It was his own ideas and point of views, after presenting the theories and views of

various schools of philosophy lucidly as if, Sri Aurobindo elucidates his own integral

view, which brings out of the truth as well as the error in each school of philosophy and

reconciles them all in a comprehensive vision.

• Sri Aurobindo’s analysis of the quandary of evil and suffering which described by him is

one of the distinctive prominent features of the metaphysical portions of the ‘Life

Divine’. The problem of evil is characterized as one of the toughest problems of

philosophy. It was said that the worth of a philosopher can be measured by how he deals

with the crisis of evil. In religious thought it is believed that the question how can there

be so much pain? Both evil and suffering are created by a God in this unique universe

who is supposed to be omniscient, omnipotent and all-merciful had troubled the thinking

mind of the believer as well as the unbeliever. In Life Divine, Sri Aurobindo examines

the origin of evil, pain and suffering with a penetrating spiritual vision and offers an

explanation and a solution and curing, which is unique and most important in the

philosophical history.

• The other original contribution of Sri Aurobindo’s Life Divine to Indian philosophy is a

new interpretation of the theory of Karma. The concept of Karma and Rebirth is a central

idea of Indian and Eastern philosophy. This concept is mainly taken from the ‘Bhagvad

Geeta’ which is written by Lord Krishna. But most of the ancient and modern

interpretations of karma view it as a Moral Law upholding moral justice through a system

of punishment and they not only rewards but also believed that it is for sin and virtue. In

Life Divine, Sri Aurobindo takes a critical look at this rather simplistic view on theory of

karma and presents a deeper and wider vision of the law of karma as a mechanism for the

spiritual evolution of the human soul.

• The key concepts in Sri Aurobindo’s synthesis are the concept of supermind and the

concept of spiritual evolution or the evolution of consciousness.

• Sri Aurobindo provides a spiritual alternative to the Darwinian theory of evolution.

According to Sri Aurobindo, the source and essence of terrestrial evolution is

Consciousness. The theme-song of terrestrial evolution is Evolution of Consciousness

and not the evolution of Forms. Consciousness as it evolves and manifests more and

more of its potentialities, assumes a form appropriate to the stage of evolution or suitable

to its self-expression. Consciousness of the spirit has evolved Matter out of a pre-material

state of existence which Sri Aurobindo calls as the Inconscient and assumed the form of

matter and the material universal. The same Consciousness, progressing further, had

evolved vibrant life of the plant and the sensational mind of the animal, and from the

animal mind, the self-conscious thinking mind of Man. The Consciousness is moving

further on to evolve a supramental consciousness out of the mental being of man.

• In Sri Aurobindo’s philosophy Supermind is the creative consciousness of the Supreme

Divine and the guiding power behind the human and terrestrial evolution. In the evolution

of earth the supramental consciousness is the next and the future step in the march of

Nature after the initiation of Mind which gave birth to Man, the mental being. Just like a

mental consciousness and a race of mental being emerged out of the animal world, and

replaced or superseded the animal species, so also a supramental consciousness and a

race of supramental beings will emerge out of mental humanity, and become the leaders

of terrestrial evolution. So according to Sri Aurobindo, Man, the mental being, is not the

highest step in evolution. Man is only a transitional being. His destiny is to rise beyond

Mind and become the Superman.

• Until the initiation of Mind, the pre-human terrestrial evolution was affected by Nature

subconsciently, without the conscious participation from the outer forms of creation. But

with the advent of self-conscious mind in Man, we, who belong to the race of mental

beings, are given the chance and the faculties to participate consciously in the

evolutionary process of Nature and take the next step consciously towards our super-

manhood. This is at once a privilege and a responsibility. If we consent to the change we

as a human race will be transformed and rise beyond our mortal limitations and

imperfections of a mental humanity to the immortal bliss, perfection and harmony of the

supramental consciousness. But if we refuse to change, clinging obstinately to the

imperfections of our mortal humanity, we will be rejected as evolutionary failures and

Nature will move on further to create the supramental race by other occult or spiritual

means. So how much of and to what extent the present humanity will be transformed

depends on its receptivity to the evolutionary force.

• While the first parts of the book spell out the metaphysical aspects of Life Divine, the last

parts describe the mystical, yogic, spiritual and the prophetic dimensions of the divine

life on earth. In this last portion of the book, Sri Aurobindo first describes the nature and

process of the spiritual evolution in humanity and the methods by which Nature has

steered this higher evolution in man. He then, goes on to describe the path and nature of

the triple transformation which can be realized through integral yoga and the various

levels, layers, faculties of spiritual consciousness which lie hidden in human

consciousness, but realized only by a few great yogis, saints and sages. In the last two

chapters, Sri Aurobindo describes in detail the nature of the Life Divine, or in other

words, nature of the spiritual destiny waiting to be realized in man and earth at the end of

this cycle of evolution, if our human race consents to it.

4.2 Synthesis of Yoga

• The yogic testament of Sri Aurobindo and the Shasthra of Integral Yoga.

• This book, which begins with a cryptic and profound aphorism “All Life is Yoga”, spells

out the basic principles of the Integral Yoga of Sri Aurobindo.

• The first parts of the books present an evolutionary vision of Yoga. It explains the

significance of Yoga for human evolution, some of the fundamental and universal

psychological principles of yoga; the meaning of the central theme of the book “All Life

is Yoga”; the principles of the various paths, and systems of Indian Yoga, like Hatha

Yoga, Raja Yoga, Triune path of Knowledge, Works and Devotion, and the synthesis of

the Tantra; and finally comes the fundamental principles of Sri Aurobindo’s synthesis of

the Integral Yoga. The next three parts on the Yoga of Works, Knowledge and Devotion

explains the role and nature of this triune path in Integral Yoga. The last part of the book

on yoga of self-perfection describes the principles of a path which leads to an integral

spiritual perfection, which includes not only the liberation of soul, which is the aim of

traditional yoga, but also spiritual transformation of nature made of body, life and mind

and the perfection of all the faculties of Soul and Nature.

4.3 Human Cycle

• The social manifesto of Sri Aurobindo

• Initially titled as “Psychology of Social Development”, this book presents the social

philosophy of Sri Aurobindo. It throws a deep insight into the psychological and spiritual

dimensions of human history and the collective evolution of humanity. It traces the

psychological evolution of the human being through history from the symbolic and infra-

rational age of the earliest phases, and conventional civilizations of the later ages, rational

and individualistic age of the modern era, culminating in a prophetic vision of the

subjective and spiritual age of the future. In the last part of the book, Sri Aurobindo gives

a broad outline of the aims, principles and values of a spiritualized society of the future.

• This book examines many important topics related to history; sociology and culture like

for example the difference between barbarism and civilization, meaning of culture,

ethical and aesthetic cultures, role of reason, religion and art in the evolution human

society and the deeper evolutionary significance of some of the great civilizations like

Greece, Rome, India.

4.4 Human Unity

• Sri Aurobindo’s Vision of a unified humanity

• In this book, Sri Aurobindo examines the problem of human unity in various perspectives

and the methods adopted by Man and Nature in arriving at Unity like the economic,

social, political, administrative, militaristic, formations of Nations and Expires, and the

modern ideals and trends like UN, humanism, internationalism. After critical

examinations of all these methods and their limitations, Sri Aurobindo concludes that

though all these outer methods may be helpful in creating an external environment

favorable to unity, the true path to a lasting and stable unity lies in an inner realization of

the spiritual unity of mankind. And finally Sri Aurobindo proposes a spiritual religion of

humanity as the path towards this inner unity.

4.5 Foundations of Indian Culture and Renaissance in India

• Sri Aurobindo’s Vision of India

• The first book “Foundations of Indian Culture” was written as an answer to a harsh critic

of Indian culture. This book reveals with a deep and profound insight, the spiritual

foundations of Indian culture and the inward-focused spiritual genius of India. It bring

out with a luminous clarity the central vision of Indian culture and the fundamental

principles and values of the religion and spirituality, philosophy and literature, art and

architecture, society and politics of ancient Indian civilization and culture. The other

important theme of this book is an emphasis on rediscovering the essential and universal

values of Indian culture and rebuilding the Indian nation with the intrinsic spiritual

genius, Swadharma, of the Soul of India.

• In the second book, Renaissance in India, Sri Aurobindo provides a blue print for the

spiritual and cultural regeneration of India on the foundations of her own unique

Swadharma.

4.6 Essays on the Gita

• Sri Aurobindo’s Interpretation of Bhagavat Gita

• One of the most inspired works of Sri Aurobindo, this book explains in a lucid and soul-

stirring language the philosophical and spiritual synthesis of Bhagavat Gita.

• The book begins with a luminous exposition of the role of scriptures like Gita in the

spiritual evolution of humanity and goes on to explain the philosophy and yoga of the

Gita.

• In this book, Sri Aurobindo points out the confines of some of the ancient and modern

interpretations of Bhagavat Gita and reveals the deeper spiritual message of Gita and its

everlasting relevance for the spiritual development of the individual. A unique feature of

Sri Aurobindo’s interpretation of Gita is that the true message of the Gita is brought out

without trying to force the personal philosophy of the interpreter into it.

• The philosophical innovations of Gita like the triple ‘Purusha’ and the double ‘Prakriti’

and some of the important concept of ancient Indian thought which occurs in Gita like the

concept of sacrifice, ‘Purusha’ and ‘Prakrithi’, Triple Gunas, fourfold social order and the

Kshathriya tradition were explained by Sri Aurobindo with great clarity and depth of

insight, bringing out their deeper significance.

• But the most important part of the book is Sri Aurobindo’s luminous exposition of the

‘yogic’ synthesis of the Gita, the triune path of Love, Knowledge and Works and its

Gospel of Surrender. Sri Aurobindo brings out the balanced approach of Gita to the triune

path, making knowledge and works the foundation of love and devotion to God, Bhakti.

• The other unique feature of the book is a lucid exposition of the Indian concept of

Avatharhood. The concept of Avatharhood is a divine mystery which can perhaps be

understood fully only by spiritual intuition and faith. However, Sri Aurobindo, even

while emphasizing on the supra-rational mystery of Avatharhood, argues and explains

how the concept becomes a perfectly rational possibility when it is understood in the

framework of Indian Vedanthic philosophy.

4.7 Letters of Yoga (In Three Volumes)

• Sri Aurobindo’s letter to disciples on Yoga and related topics

• This is an indispensable book for seekers in the path of Integral yoga and education. They

are letters of guidance, instructions and clarifications given by a great spiritual master to

his disciples. This book deals with a variety of topics related to principles and practice of

yoga in general and integral yoga in particular and also many related topics.

• Some of the main themes discussed in this book are:

1. Basic requisites of the Path of Yoga like calm, equality

2. Principles and methods of practice of various paths of yoga like the Yoga of Meditation,

Knowledge, Works, Devotion

3. How to tackle the problems and difficulties which arise in the path of yoga like ego,

desire, sex, depression

4. Clarifications on the concepts of yogic psychology like planes and parts of the being,

consciousness, subconscious, tapas

5. Guidance on the spiritual transformation of the physical, vital and mental being

6. Other related themes like the difference between integral yoga and the traditional yogic

paths, process of karma and rebirth, spiritual evolution, concept of Avatharhood.

4.8 Savitri

• A major and foremost poetic work of Sri Aurobindo

• The concept of Savitri is taken from the great epic named Mahabharata

• Described by Sri Aurobindo as ‘A Legend and a Symbol’ Savitri is a recreation and a

creative transformation of the story of Satyavan and Savitri in Mahabharata

• In this poem, various symbols which are used for Savitri by Sri Aurobindo in the

different nouns

• The central theme of Satyavan-Savitri in Mahabharata story is the heroic and successful

attempt of Savitri to rescue her husband from the clutch of death. But in Sri Aurobindo’s

epic it becomes a symbol of the deliverance of soul of man from his mortal limitations.

Satyavan is the soul of humanity. Savitri is the Avatar of the Divine Mother who

descends to earth to deliver the soul of humanity from the clutch of Death. The God of

Death in Sri Aurobindo’s Savitri is not the traditional ‘Yama’ of Indian mythology, but a

symbol of all that constitutes the mortal life of man like ignorance, sorrow, suffering,

ego, desire, bondage, evil and death.

• But more important than the story, legend and symbol of Savitri is its pure spiritual

ambience made of Sri Aurobindo’s own spiritual experiences. Savitri contains direct

descriptions of Sri Aurobindo’s vast, varied, many sided and comprehensive spiritual

realizations. As the Mother points out “Savitri is an exact description – not literature, not

poetry (although the form is poetical) an exact description, step by step, paragraph by

paragraph, page by page, as I read, I relived it all. The realism of it is astounding.” So

Savitri is not merely poetry or literary creation. It contains a precise description of what

Sri Aurobindo saw, felt, experienced and realized in various levels of the cosmic and

transcendent consciousness of the spirit, from the lowest levels of subtle matter, worlds

of life and mind, various levels of the subliminal and spiritual mind ascending up to what

Sri Aurobindo calls the overmind which is the house of the great cosmic gods who rule

the world and finally the supramental consciousness of the Spirit, in which, eternal truth

is unveiled in its self-existent and self-luminous light. In Savitri Sri Aurobindo describes

every possible spiritual experiences of various spiritual traditions like the Vedanthic,

Buddhistic and Tantric and of various aspects of the Divine like impersonal, personal and

the super personal, static and the dynamic, transcendent, cosmic and the individual,

various aspects of the Divine Mother and many more.

• In the last Canto of Savitri, Sri Aurobindo presents a breath-taking vision of the future

destiny of man, of a perfected humanity, delivered from death, sorrow, ignorance and

suffering, transformed and fulfilled in the light of the spirit.

4.9 Future Poetry

• Sri Aurobindo’s vision of the future poetry

• In this book, after a detailed examination of the psychological evolution of English

poetry, Sri Aurobindo presents his own vision of the future poetry based on the Indian

religious concept of the Mantra. According to Sri Aurobindo, future poetry will be a

“Mantra of the Real”, which means it will be an spontaneous and inspired expression of a

vision, experience or realization of the deeper and inner realities of the soul and spirit in

Men, their Life or Nature.

• The other important feature of the book is that, it contains Sri Aurobindo’s critical

appreciation of some of the greatest poets in English literature like Shakespeare, Shelly,

Wordsworth, Milton, Byron, Yeats, and Walt Whitman. It shows main influence of the

Romantics poets.

• References

1. Sri Aurobindo, ‘Political and Social Thought’, Ashram, Sri Aurobindo, Pondicherry.

1972

2. Sri Aurobindo, ‘On Himself’, Ashram, Sri Aurobindo, Pondicherry, Edition of Centenary,

26 Vol., 1972a

3. Sri Aurobindo, ‘The Synthesis of Yoga’, Ashram, Sri Aurobindo, Pondicherry, Edition of

Centenary, 26 Vol., 1972b

4. Aurobindo Sri, ‘On Education’, Ashram, Sri Aurobindo, Pondicherry, Reprint: 1990.

5. H. Chaudhary, I ‘The Yogic Philosophy of Sri Aurobindo: Philosophy of West and East’,

22 Vol., 1990.5.14

6. M. Das, ‘Sri Aurobindo’, Sahitya Akademi, N. Delhi, 1977

7. M. Das, ‘Sri Aurobindo on Education’, N. Delhi, Teacher Education and National

Council. 1999

8. K. V. Gokak, ‘Sri Aurobindo: Indian Poet and Seer’, Published, Abhinav, New Delhi

1973

9. Peter, Heeh, ‘A Short Biography on Sri Aurobindo’, Publication, Oxford University

Press. 1989

10. Peter, Heeh, ‘The Essential Writing of Sri Aurobindo’, Publication, Oxford University

Press. 1998

11. K. Joshi, ‘Education for Personality Growth’, National Council of Eduction & Series of

Lecture Delivered at New Delhi, in National Institute of Research Educational Training,

22 Feb, 1975

12. K. Joshi, Sri Aurobindo, ‘Speech Delivered at Indian Technological Institution’, New

Delhi, 21st Nov. 1998.25

13. K. Joshi, ‘Philosophy and Yoga of Sri Aurobindo’, Speech Delivered, Rajendra Place,

Din Dayaal Upadhayaya Marg, N. Delhi, 23rd Nov. 1998.

14. K. Joshi, ‘An Experimental in Education for Future’, Speech Delivered at Indian

Technological Institution, N. Delhi, 22nd Nov. 1999.

15. K. Joshi, ‘Sri Aurobindo, The Experiential Basis of Integral Yoga, Philosophy East and

West’, Vol, 22.15.23

16. M. K. Raina, ‘Education of the Right and the Left’, Educational International Review,

Humburgh, 25th Vol, 8.19

17. M. K. Raina, ‘Most Dear to All The Muses’: Tagorean Mapping Networks of Enterprise.

A Critical Study, Creative Complexity, Research Journal Creativity, New Jersey, U.S.A,

Vol 10.154.172

18. Satprem, ‘Sri Aurobindo, The Adventure of Spiritual Consciousness’, Evolutionary

Research Institute of New York, 1984

19. Dr. I. Sen, ‘Integral Education’, Publication, Sri Aurobindo Ashram, International

University Center. 1952

20. P. A. Sorkin, ‘The Integral Yoga of Sri Aurobindo’, In: F. H. Spielberg, Chaudhary, Eds,

‘The Integral Philosophy of Sri Aurobindo’, Unwin and Allen. 1960

21. D. Tewari, ‘Auroville: An Experiment in Education’ Speech Delivered, Indian

Technological Institution, N. Delhi, 22nd Nov. 1998

22. G. V. Vrekhem, ‘Beyond Man’, New Delhi, Oxford University Press, London. 1999