'Arise - transcend thyself.
Thou art man & the whole nature of man is
to become more than himself'
Sri Aurobindo wan an Indian yogi and philosopher.
Early Life and Education
Born as Aravinda Akroyd Ghose in 1872, Sri Aurobindo was encouraged to receive an English education by his father. He studied at a convent in Darjeeling, England, and later studied Greek, Latin, English poetry, and literature at St. Paul's School. He passed the scholarship exams to get into King's College, and studied there for two years. He then returned to India with a sense that he did not want to serve Britain.
While in Baroda, India, Sri Aurobindo worked for the state service and spent his free time learning Sanskrit, Hindi and Bengali, as he was unable to learn these things while studying in England. He later taught French at Baroda College, and had a reputation for being unconventional in his approach to teaching. After being promoted to Vice Principal, he published his first book of poetry, called The Rishi.
Sri Aurobindo and Politics
Aurobindo took an interest in Indian resistance against British rule and aided groups with such a political agenda. He wrote about politics in a weekly publication in Baroda called the Induprakash.
He also frequented Bengal and hoped to establish resistance groups in that area. He established a secret revolutionary organization in Calcutta called Anushilan Samiti (Self-Culture Association) in 1902, after getting married in Bengal in 1901.
His stand as a firm Indian nationalist was established when he was arrested, and later acquitted, for writing subversive material in Bande Mataram. He was also arrested for housing revolutionist meetings at his home, which connected him to the Alipore Bomb Case. The attack followed the partitioning of Bengal, which created uproar among Indians against the British rule. Aurobindo was acquitted after a year.
Sri Aurobindo also inspired a number of radicals revolutionaries such as Jatin Banerjee, Bagha Jatin, and Surendranath.
Spirituality and Writings
Aurobindo gradually moved away from politics and became more spiritually focused.
Aurobindo had begun practicing yoga meditation and exercises while in Baroda. He had practiced yoga about five hours everyday by 1904. While he was involved in congress, he was unable to truly dedicate himself to the practice, which is why he needed help from a yogi.
During his meditations while awaiting his trial in prison, he claims to have been visited by Swami Vivekananda, who had trained him in the ways of yoga. He envisioned inmates, officers and lawyers as various forms of the god-like figure Krishna.
He moved to Pondicherry in 1910, and practiced yoga intensely for four years. His move followed a personal consultation with yogi Vishnu Bhaskar Lele a few years prior.
In 1914, Aurobindo became an extremely prolific writer. Within the next six years, he authored The Synthesis of Yoga, The Life Divine, The Ideal of Human Unity, and several other works. He later revised some of this work before it was published. He wrote thousands of letters to his disciples and made numerous comments on their notes. Throughout the final years of his life, he wrote Savitri, which is an epic, spiritual, blank verse poem of 24,000 lines or so.
He analyzed Indian culture and civilization in a book called Renaissance in India.
His Thinking
Aurobindo taught the processes of what he called involution and evolution. His theory of involution involved a timeless and spaceless energy, the omnipresent reality called Brahman, which developed consciousness, knowledge and will. This energy became the source of the created universe.
According to him, evolution is the gradual emergence of matter, life and the mind out of the conscious energy that he calls the Inconscient. It begins with matter becoming complex and life emerging from complex matter. From complex life, emerges the mind, which develops into complex reasoning and thoughts. When all of humankind reaches higher levels of spiritual consciousness together in the final stage of "supramentalisation," a new universal consciousness will connect with Sachchidananda, which is infinite existence, consciousness, and bliss. We will be a new species on the earth.
Aurobindo used yoga to help people develop the discipline to connect with Brahman, their true Self and reality. This type of yoga is called Integral Yoga, and the goal is to transform the mind, body and life into the true Self; this is to connect with the Divine.
There are three stages of individual transformation, according to Aurobindo: psychic, spiritual, and supramental transformation.
The psychic transformation involves an individual discovering his or her Psychic Being, which understands the unity of creation. Also called the Evolving soul, the Psychic Being evolves beyond the limits of consciousness and time, and connects with transcendent reality and spiritual force.
Spiritual transformation occurs after one has found their Psychic Being, and now learns through intuition and revelation rather than intense thought. The final and most radical change is the Supramental transformation, in which the mind, body, heart and emotions have all been transformed.
Aurobindo also believed that society as a collective could achieve this supramental transformation, creating a divine existence of spiritually evolved human life.
Sri Aurobindo and the Vedas
Sri Aurobindo interpreted the Vedas, the ancient Hindu scriptures. He believed in the hidden spiritual meaning within the Vedas, and was able to bring meaning to otherwise misunderstood symbolism. He believed that the goal of the Vedas was to join consciousness with the Divine.
Influence
Sri Aurobindo had many followers in India during his lifetime, and many people studied and commented on his work after it was published. Satprem, who wrote about him, released works that inspired Karlheinz Stockhausen, a German composer.
Aurobindo indirectly influenced the human potential movement in the 1960s, which were inspired by Michael Murphy's writings, which were the result of Aurobindo's influence. New Age writer Andrew Harvey, cultural historian William Irwin Thompson and American philosopher have all been greatly influenced by Aurobindo.
Sri Aurobindo not only played a role in Indian independence, but also inspired many people to evolve spiritually and use yoga as a means to connecting with the Divine. His philosophy and spiritual beliefs still resonate among those who read his work today.
