Sri Aurobindo's Philosophy of History

If one of the genres of the philosophy of history is the speculative enquiry into the human past considered as a whole, and with the aim of interpreting its meaning and to find direction from such study (A Dictionary of Philosophy, 2^nd Ed., Antony Flew), the author of this work is justified in seeing a philosophy of history in Aurobindonian literature. In his book, Sri Aurobindo’s Philosophy of History, Dr M.P. Ajith Kumar amply demonstrates that according to Sri Aurobindo man’s mental evolution, his aspiration for progress, has determined the progress of history thus far. This will naturally lead to compelling need for the unity of the human race as the next stage of evolution. Such a unity can only be made real if the highest shared ideal of humanity spiritualises itself and becomes the inner law of life.

This book is a scholar’s gift to the lay reader. Sri Aurobindo’s evolutionary theory of history is laid out in accessible language and is juxtaposed with those of thinkers from other cultures of the East and the West, but chiefly European philosophers of history. One only needs to look at the Bibliography of works by Sri Aurobindo and a host of writers on history and philosophy as well as newspapers and periodicals cited to convince oneself that this book is no mere re-presentation of Sri Aurobindo’s ideas, but an original work that draws on varied sources. Not only does the author meet his main objective of elucidating for us Sri Aurobindo’s thoughts on the philosophy of history, he also draws our attention to significant parallels to other important philosophers’ and historians’ views. Although he does not develop his review of the philosophy of history in chronological order, there is enough in his book to show his easy familiarity with theories of the philosophy of history from its beginnings down to our own times, and how Sri Aurobindo’s thoughts stand in such company.

Those unfamiliar with Sri Aurobindo’s life will find the short biography that comprises Chapter One of the book useful. Chapter Two, the ‘Cycle of History,’ serves to demonstrate the early influence of European thinkers on an Aurobindonian philosophy of history. Chapter Three takes up the discussion of the subject proper, delving into every aspect dealt with in The Human Cycle and The Ideal of Human Unity that has a bearing on Sri Aurobindo’s and other thinkers’ views on the philosophy of history. The fourth chapter discusses ‘culture’ and its concomitant term ‘civilisation’ at some length, laying bare the significance that Sri Aurobindo attached to these constructs, and how they fit with other philosophers’ explications of these terms. The fifth and last chapter emphasises the importance and relevance of Sri Aurobindo’s contribution to the philosophy of history by means of drawing parallels with like contributions from several European philosophers of history. Finally, an Epilogue skeletally relates Sri Aurobindo as a philosopher of history with his wider thought as a philosopher and his vision as a mystic. This Epilogue ends with a note that says:

Aurobindo was typical of [a catholic] culture and he found in the harmony of the occidental and oriental ideals the threshold towards the desirable development of civilization and human unity.… Hence the call of Sri Aurobindo to bring down to the world of mortals a life divine which is the only panacea for all the present ills.

The most striking reaction of the lay reader upon browsing through Dr. Kumar’s book is its compendium-like character; side-by-side with Sri Aurobindo’s thoughts on the philosophy of history is massed a list of brief treatments of the work by philosophers of history from other cultures, mainly European ones. And this is not only from those contemporaneous with Sri Aurobindo, but from ancient times to the present. So vast is the author’s attempt that the lay reader’s only grouse can be that too much is packed into too little a space, and that his organisation of his ideas seems to better serve the scholar rather than the book’s intended audience.

One hopes that a second, better-edited, edition will soon become available specifically for the casual reader. This could include a more structured treatment that sets Sri Aurobindo’s views side by side with those of other thinkers in a more systematic way, so that the reader is made aware of the significant contribution of Sri Aurobindo to the field of the philosophy of history. In the author’s own words, “History is to [Sri Aurobindo] the revealer of the truth, the path humanity treads towards this truth through the ages. However, Sri Aurobindo’s objectivism is not confined merely to the discovery of historical facts, but facts or truths about man himself. It is the discovery of man by man; it is the self-searching and self-discovery…which purifies and steels humanity in the final stage.”

—Sivakumar Elambooranan

Sivakumar was an academic philosopher who has now turned to writing. After living abroad for some years, he is now settled in his native Pondicherry, where he is associated with the Sri Aurobindo Ashram.

Reviewed in August 2023