Sri Aurobindo
The yoga we practice is not for ourselves alone, but for the Divine; its aim is to work out the will of the Divine in the world, to effect a spiritual transformation and to bring down a divine nature and a divine life into the mental, vital and physical nature and life of humanity. Its object is not personal Mukti, although Mukti is a necessary condition of the yoga, but the liberation and transformation of the human being. It is not personal Ananda, but the bringing down of the divine Ananda -- Christ's kingdom of heaven, our Satyayuga -- upon the earth.
-- Sri Aurobindo
Sri Aurobindo (1872-1950) was born in Calcutta on 15 August, and educated at a christian convent in Darjeeling. At the age of seven, along with his two brothers, he was sent by his Anglophile father to England in order to receive a "British Education". Returning to his homeland at age 21, he worked for some years in the public service, while learning from scratch the languages and traditions of his own culture. He was prominent in the struggle for independence against the British, and spent a year in prison. Whilst in prison he had a vision of the Divine, which assured him that India would attain its independence and that he could leave the movement to devote himself to the spiritual task. He retreated to the French colony of Pondicherry, where he would be safe against the British, and set up an ashram. There he became an important philosopher, yogi, and teacher and developed he called Integral Yoga, the yoga of the whole being. He was joined by his co-worker and fellow Adept Mirra Alfassa, who later became known as The Mother. For the remainder of his life Sri Aurobindo worked tirelessly for the transformation of the world, the yoga of the earth. A prolific writer, he produced a total of twenty-nine volumes, including such classics of spirituality as Savitri, The Life Divine, and the Synthesis of Yoga. He spent many hours each day writing replies to letters from disciples, some of which were later collated and published.
Sri Aurobindo's teachings are interesting, indeed unique for a major Indian philosopher, in that he presents a very theosophical-anthroposophical cosmology, involving specific planes of existence, subtle psychic faculties, spiritual entities, and long processes of evolution. In a real sense he represents more the theosophical-gnostic stream in Indian guise, rather than a specifically Indian (Advaitan or Tantric) approach; the very real contributions of the latter notwithstanding. So if Western spiritul philosophy aquires an Indian-Tibetan flavour with Blavatskian Theosophy, India conversely aquires a Western (esoteric and exoteric) flavour with Aurobindo.
Of course, Theosophy itself
had a strong influence on Indian politics. Madam Blavatsky's successor Annie Besant was outspoken in her struggle on behalf of Indian independence (swaraj
or "self-rule") from the British; and Gandhi was chosen, educated,
and primed by Theosophical people in London. And the Vegetarian
Society he founded there was strongly Theosophcal.
Click for review
Savitri: A Legend and A Symbol
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Photo-montages
- selected words and images of Sri Aurobindo and The Mother
Sri
Aurobindo Ghose 1872 - 1950 - excellent page - includes bio
and lots of quotes and passages from his writtings.
Biography - Sri Aurobindo - a very good biography - other resources on Sri Aurobindo and the Mother are also available here.
Web-Server for Integral Yoga - presents various on-line texts pertaining to the Integral Yoga of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother. Excellent resource. Includes material in Russian and English
15 August Message by Sri Aurobindo on India's independence.
The Future Evolution of Man - Sri Aurobindo - includes chapters from The Life Divine, The Human Cycle and The Synthesis
of Yoga
Sri Aurobindo - wikipedia page
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