Life Divine - The complete work of Sri Aurobindo

I just found the complete Life Divine Book online

It is the greatest work of Sri Aurobindo's LIfe...

http://www.sriaurobindoashram.info/Works/worksofsriaurobindo/The Life Divine/index.htm

Enjoy

 

Thanks HH. You can find links to many other of Sri Aurobindo's works here, along with some by the Mother and various disciples. Also a complete chronological listing of all his works.


http://intyoga.online.fr/

Good luck with 'The Life Divine' - it is a truly awesome piece of work.
Here is another link with some advice from Sweet Mother on reading Sri Aurobindo.

http://www.sriaurobindosociety.org.in/sadhana.htm

 

Just to add to that.

'The Life Divine' is, as you say. regarded as Sri Aurobondo's greatest work. I wouldn't disagree with that, other than to say some regard 'Savitri' as his magnum opus. However, Savitri is difficult to understand without some knowledge of Sri A's system.

What I would say is that 'Life Divine' is mainly a book of philosophy and metaphysics. There is very little in it in the way of practical advice for doing the Yoga. It is an essential read though, and perhaps one of the greatest works of philosophy ever produced. Definitely a good place to begin.

There are other works in which Sri A gives more on the practical Yoga side of things - 'Synthesis of Yoga', 'Letters on Yoga' and 'The Mother' being just 3 such.

 

Thanks for the links BBB

I have hours to read and
hours to read before I go to sleep.

 

HH...great link, appreciate it.

I read some of this work when much younger and have become reacquainted with Sri A through some recent reading.

 

It's difficult to advise people on Sri Aurobindo's works. He wrote a great deal, and covered a huge range of areas, from Yoga and spirituality through poetry, literary criticism, sociological works - a very wide spectrum.

I don't know of any book which is a very satisfactory introduction to his work. There are a few, but two I've read which are good, although not perfect, are:
'Sri Aurobindo and the Mother' by Kireet Joshi, and 'Sri Aurobindo or the Adventure of Consciousness' by Satprem.

Ultimatately, in practical terms, the essence of Sri Aurobindo's teaching is to turn to the inner consciousness, to turn to the Divine, to seek the Divine consciousness. All else stems from that. But in the case of Sri A, what does stem from it is quite a lot. Ultimately, the transformation of all earthly and limited existence into the Life Divine.

 

Sri Aurobindo at his desk.

 

He looks like one of those old, lovable grandfathers...you know the kind that have hours of stories if you want to listen...and have a little mysterious twinkle in their eye as they tell you....and perhaps a little lesson to indirectly teach you...heheh...at least that's the impression that this picture gives me...

 

BBB I think you have posted an image of Rabindranath tagore by mistake
Rabindranath Tagore was a literary giant himself

Rabindranath Tagore seen above with Einstein


This is a photo of Sri Aurobindo...


http://www.cosmicharmony.com/Sp/Aurobndo/Aurobndo.htm

The above link briefly explains and tells us about this great man and his theories.

 

Hmmm...now based on those two pictures...I think Tagore is more the grandfather I was thinking of......hmmm...

 

I was reading that right now

Whats your take on Satprem ?

I did come across many books written by him but hesitated to buy
them for I was not sure of his calibre and how he has gone about interpreting
Sri Aurobindo's teachings ?

 

Yup... Tagore even won a noble prize in literature
You should read his books if you ever get the chance

I have great repect for this man

 

I have read many pieces of his poetry (actually some of it should be in the Spiritual poetry thread)....it is very beautiful....I would rank it up there with some of my favourite poetry.

 

Dear HH,

I am unsure of that pic - I did suspect it was Tagore, but the site from which I got it said it was Sri Aurobindo. It surprised me a bit, as I know for a fact that Sri A kept himself hidden away from cameras, and all the pics of him in old age were evidently taken in one sitting in 1950.


As for Satprem - he became the close confidante of Sweet Mother for many years up to her departure. He held regular meetings with Mother which were taped, and which were later edited by Satprem to form 'Mother's Agenda'. A record of Mother's experience from the late 50's up to her death.
He was born in France in the 20's, worked for the French resistance in world war II, was arrested by the Gestapo and thrown into a NAZI concentration camp, the experience of which naturally enough affected him deeply. After the war, he went to India, spent some time as a homeless wndering sanyasi, worked briefly for the French administration in Pondicherry, where he met Sri Aurobindo and the Mother.
After a year of travels in S.America, he returned to the Ashram.

After Mother's departure, there was some difference of opinion between Satprem and Sujita, who was one of Mother's close attendants, and the Ashram authorities. The same thing happened when Sri A died in 1950 - afterwards, some prominent devotees, such as Dilip Kumar Roy left.
In the case of Satprem he founded his 'Institute for Evolutionary Research', partly as an imprint to publish both the 'Agenda' and his own writings.
Satprem seems to provoke strong dislike from some followers of Sri A.

Satprem

I've read his trilogy 'Mother' as well as 'Adventure of Consciousness'. I found them interesting works. Satprem though challenges orthodoxy in any form. He seeks to push the evolutionary boundaries. To those who are focused on 'Hinduism' his approach may seem to go too far perhaps.
Overall, I find him an interesting writer - he has a certain energy and a high degree of enlightenmemt I feel. But I do have a few reservations about his approach. He comes over as an immesnsely likeable personality though. And one who is saying things which are quite revolutionary.

I feel that with Sri Aurobindo's works, it's much better to look at the originals rather than rely on other's interpretations. Also, I advise extreme caution with opinions and interpretations as expressed on some websites. I have come across things which are profoundly wrong and misleading.

blessings.

 

Who is Aurobindo??? I know he is a saint of some sort, but a little history would be greatly appreciated.

 

A brief sketch of his life can be found here

http://www.miraura.org/bio/sketch-a.html

 

"A Seer-Poet to the poets, a divine Philosopher to mankind, a Master Yogi to his worshippers, an Avatar to his disciples-who is he? Sri Aurobindo.

Sri Aurobindo's Yoga is an ambrosial consciousness with infinite possibilities; it is a never-tiring march, a decisive and everlasting victory of Truth.
The keynote of Sri Aurobindo's Integral Yoga is evolution - evolution of consciousness in and through Matter. There is no shadow of doubt that Matter and Spirit are one. Spirit, when it is fast asleep, is Matter; Matter, when it is fully awakened, is Spirit.
Integral Yoga is founded on an all-fulfilling experience which is anything but speculation and reasoning. An Integral Yogi is he who has seen all the phases of existence and whose very life is full of variegated experiences and realisations.
A marvel-idealism and a highly practical divinity are housed in Sri Aurobindo. His are the experiences that may serve as humanity's royal road to a life worth living, a life of the Spirit, the Life Divine."

- Excerpt from 'Mother India's Lighthouse' by Sri Chinmoy.

 

This may help to give a brief overview of the general trend of Sri Aurobindo's teachings.

THE TEACHING OF SRI AUROBINDO
by Sri Aurobindo Himself

The teaching of Sri Aurobindo starts from that of the ancient sages of India that behind the appearances of the universe there is the Reality of a Being and Consciousness, a Self of things, one and eternal. All beings are united in that One Self and Spirit but divided by a certain separativity of consciousness, an ignorance of their true Self and Reality in the mind, life and body. It is possible by a certain psychological discipline to remove this veil of separative consciousness and become aware of the true Self, the Divinity within us and all.

Sri Aurobindo's teaching states that this One Being and Consciousness is involved here in Matter. Evolution is the process by which it liberates itself: consciousness appears in what seems to be inconscient and once having appeared is self-impelled to grow higher and at the same time to enlarge and develop towards a greater and greater perfection. Life is the first step of this release of consciousness; mind is the second; but the evolution does not finish with mind, it awaits a release into something greater, a consciousness which is spiritual and supramental. The next step of the evolution must be towards the development of Supermind and Spirit as the dominant power in the conscious being. For only then will the involved Divinity in things release itself entirely and it become possible for life to manifest perfection.

But while the former steps in evolution were taken by Nature without a conscious will in the plant and animal life, in man Nature becomes able to evolve by a conscious will in the instrument. It is not, however, by the mental will in man that this can be wholly done, for the mind goes only to a certain point and after that can only move in a circle. A conversion has to been made, a turning of the consciousness by which mind has to change into the higher principle.

This method is to be found through the ancient psychological discipline and practice of Yoga. In the past, it has been attempted by a drawing away from the world and a disappearance into the height of the Self or Spirit. Sri Aurobindo teaches that a descent of the higher principle is possible which will not merely release the spiritual Self out of the world, but release it in the world, replace the mind's ignorance or its very limited knowledge by a supramental Truth-Consciousness which will be a sufficient instrument of the inner Self and make it possible for a human being to find himself dynamically as well as inwardly and grow out of his still animal humanity into a diviner race. The psychological discipline of Yoga can be used to that end by opening all the parts of the being to a conversion or transformation through the descent and working of the higher still concealed supramental principle.

This, however, cannot be done at once or in a short time or by any rapid or miraculous transformation. Many steps have to be taken by the seeker before the supramental descent is possible. Man lives mostly in his surface mind, life and body, but there is an inner being within him with greater possibilities to which he has to awake - for it is only a very restricted influence from it that he receives now and that pushes him to a constant pursuit of a greater beauty, harmony, power and knowledge.

The first process of Yoga is therefore to open the ranges of this inner being and to live from there outward, governing his outward life by an inner light and force. In doing so he discovers in himself his true soul which is not this outer mixture of mental, vital and physical elements but something of the Reality beyond them, a spark from the one Divine Fire. He has to learn to live in his soul and purify and orientate by its drive towards the Truth the rest of the nature.

There can follow afterwards an opening upward and descent of a higher principle of the Being. But even then it is not at once the full supramental Light and Force. For there are several ranges of consciousness between the ordinary human mind and the supramental Truth-Consciousness. These intervening ranges have to be opened up and their power brought down into the mind, life and body. Only afterwards can the full power of the Truth-Consciousness work in the nature.

The process of this self-discipline or sadhana is therefore long and difficult, but even a little of it is so much gained because it makes the ultimate release and perfection more possible.

There are many things belonging to older systems that are necessary on the way - an opening of the mind to a greater wideness and to the sense of the Self and the Infinite, an emergence into what has been called the cosmic consciousness, mastery over the desires and passions; an outward asceticism is not essential, but the conquest of desire and attachment and a control over the body and its needs, greeds and instincts are indispensable.

There is a combination of the principles of the old systems, the way of knowledge through the mind's discernment between Reality and the appearance, the heart's way of devotion, love and surrender and the way of works turning the will away from motives of self-interest to the Truth and the service of a greater Reality than the ego. For the whole being has to be trained so that it can respond and be transformed when it is possible for that greater Light and Force to work in the nature.

In this discipline the inspiration of the Master and, in the difficult stages, his control and his presence are indispensable - for it would be impossible otherwise to go through it without much stumbling and error which would prevent all chance of success. The Master is one who has risen to a higher consciousness and being and he is often regarded as its manifestation or representative. He not only helps by his teaching and still more by his influence and example but by a power to communicate his own experience to others.

This is Sri Aurobindo's teaching and method of practice. It is not his object to develop any one religion or to amalgamate the older religions or to found any new religion - for any of these things would lead away from his central purpose.

The one aim of his Yoga is an inner self-development by which each one who follows it can in time discover the One Self in all and evolve a higher consciousness than the mental, a spiritual and supramental consciousness which will transform and divinise human nature.