NEW PUBLICATIONS

As the author explained in his 1990 preface, this book was originally written as a story in simple Bengali for children to understand the greatness of Sri Aurobindo. The story begins, as stories often do, with his childhood. Sri Aurobindo was educated primarily in England, and we have factual reports of his student life there. On his return to India, he called on his countrymen to look upon India as the Mother and to free her from foreign rule. Drawn inexorably into the national movement for political independence from Britain, he faced arrest and a yearlong imprisonment in Alipore Jail. His name cleared, he resumed his activities until he received an adesh to leave his political work and concentrate on the inner sadhana that God had commanded him to follow. The final chapters tell of the Mother’s arrival to join Sri Aurobindo in Pondicherry and collaborate in his great work of bringing down a new consciousness in the evolution of earthly life.

In this first volume of a series on members of the Sri Aurobindo Ashram who spoke or wrote about their contacts with the Mother, Anurag Banerjee presents the reminiscences of three early sadhaks: Udar Pinto, Mrityunjoy Mukherjee, and Lalita. These reminiscences capture intimate vignettes of their exchanges with the Mother, who may have given instructions for their work or guidance on their sadhana. For example, the Mother’s disciple Udar Pinto reports how the Mother explained to him that occult powers do not necessarily stem from a spiritual process although they often do so, as Yoga siddhis. She warns that such powers can also come from the Dark or Asuric Forces.
The compiler writes at length on the priceless reminiscences of these three disciples as pieces from which other sadhaks may profit.

Under this title, the editor has featured the essay by Jugal Kishore Mukherjee written and published in Mother India in 1999 but has also included two tributes to the author, as well as a different previously published article, written by Kishor Gandhi in 1953 that touches on the reason why Sri Aurobindo chose to leave his physical body in December, 1950.

Although both Jugal Mukherjee and Kishor Gandhi use the term ‘mystery’ in describing Sri Aurobindo’s withdrawal from the body, their essays are constructed on a logical analysis of the situation that led to Sri Aurobindo’s decision. The ‘mystery’ lay in the minds of the sadhaks who could not reconcile themselves to the change of circumstances. Relying liberally on Sri Aurobindo’s words about the goal of his Integral Yoga in addition to those of the Mother addressed on several occasions in the years following 1950, we have two attempts by dedicated practitioners of the Integral Yoga to demystify the conundrum.

In this book Rishabhchand expatiates on the teachings of the Mother relating to spiritual life and education. Though the author comments on passages from the Mother’s extensive writings on these topics, these chapters are not mere commentaries. He was a successful scholar and businessman before he joined the Ashram, and he particularly draws on his knowledge of matters pertaining to education during those days as well as his experience as a practitioner of the Integral Yoga of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother. A wide variety of themes on education are covered, such as mental, vital, physical, psychic and spiritual education. The last chapter of the book is titled ‘Books – Batteries of Forces’ in which he discusses the question of how books should be read. As far as spirituality is concerned, there are discussions on such topics as sincerity, surrender, and the like. Here again, much material is original even though it is based on the teachings of the Mother.

This book by Rishabhchand is a collection of writings on the works of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother, many of them sourced from such Ashram publications as Mother India. A wide range of topics are covered from ‘Salutation to Sri Aurobindo’ to ‘India and Communism’. Each chapter contains his views on the topics he discusses in an Aurobindonian light; even when he cites original material from the works of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother we see his pre-Ashram background as a successful scholar and businessman informing his views. One chapter carries the title of the book itself, ‘A New Light for a New Life’, one that gives us his take on what this means in the Indian context, viz., spiritual light.

Drawing from the author’s extensive repertoire of audio-video recordings on the works of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother, this volume is part of the series Savitri: Its Profound & Magnificent Significance, and comments on Book V through detailed reflections on Cantos I-III.

In this book, he unveils the spiritual depth behind Savitri and Satyavan’s destined meeting – not as a human romance, but as a cosmic union between divine and human love. Drawing on the Mother’s definition of love, the author interprets the relationship between Savitri and Satyavan as a symbol of transformation through divine love.

This two-volume set on the Bhagavad Gita published by the Sri Aurobindo Divine Life Trust is an elaboration on an earlier, one-volume treatment. It presents each verse of the original Sanskrit text along with its translation in English, drawn from Sri Aurobindo's Essays on the Gita. The slokas are followed by commentary compiled from the works of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother.

The new component in these volumes comprises interpretations of Sri Aurobindo’s commentary resulting from informal discussions between Chandra Prakash Khetan and members of the Divine Life Ashram, Jhunjhunu. These are interspersed throughout the text at relevant intervals and are demarcated between opening and closing symbols (‡) to distinguish them from the words of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother.

Appendices include extracts from Sri Aurobindo and the Mother on the secret of divine incarnations (volume one) and on the historicity and spiritual reality of Sri Krishna, and the Gita's teaching in the larger context of Sri Aurobindo's message (volume two).

This book includes basic, easily accessible information on Sri Aurobindo, the Mother, and their teaching, and on the Ashram, the Sri Aurobindo International Centre of Education, and Auroville. Arranged in nine chapters by the editors, the texts of the first four chapters were written by Sri Aurobindo, beginning with his life sketch. The remaining texts were written by the editors, based on the works of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother and other sources. Printed on art paper, the text is enhanced by full-page photographs of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother. Many of the colour photographs give a sense of the life and activities engaged in by the residents and students and exemplify one of the founding principles of the Ashram that “All life is Yoga”—a field of practice for the evolution of “a greater life of the spirit”.

Translation of Book I (The Book of Beginnings) of Savitri

Gujarati translation of Emergence of the Psychic

        This book aims primarily to help the reader become aware of the influence and action of the soul in life and then to describe and clarify the various states of consciousness that pertain to the experiences of the soul. The selections were chosen to provide the reader with a mental understanding and clarity that can help identify the movements and influences of the psychic being and grow more conscious of which factors are helpful and which harmful "in fostering the awareness of one's soul". Finally, it aims to light the way beyond the initial discovery of the psychic being to an aspiration for the complete transformation of the external being, leading to a life governed only by the soul. This book, an expansion on the editor's previous compilation The Psychic Being, deals more extensively with the practical aspects of the subject.