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Savitri is Sri Aurobindo's major poetic work, an epic in blank-verse of about 24,000 lines in which a tale from the Mahabharata becomes a symbol of the human soul's spiritual quest and destiny.
"The tale of Satyavan and Savitri", Sri Aurobindo noted, "is recited in the Mahabharata as a story of conjugal love conquering death". Sri Aurobindo has widened the original legend and turned it into a symbol in which the soul of man, represented by Satyavan, is delivered from the grip of death and ignorance through the love and power of the Divine Mother, incarnated upon earth as Savitri.
Sri Aurobindo worked on this poem for more than thirty years. When a disciple asked why he kept rewriting it, he replied: "That is very simple. I used Savitri as a means of ascension. I began it on a certain mental level, each time I could reach a higher level I rewrote it from that level. . . In fact Savitri has not been regarded by me as a poem to be written and finished, but as a field of experimentation to see how far poetry could be written from one's own yogic consciousness and how that could be made creative."
The Mother considered Savitri to be "the supreme revelation of Sri Aurobindo's vision" and called it "that marvellous prophetic poem which will be humanity's guide towards its future realisation."
This book contains Sri Aurobindo's final translation and analysis of the Isha Upanishad. In his definitive commentary on this important Vedantic scripture, he presents its central idea, which is a reconciliation and harmony of fundamental opposites, and shows how in its verses one can discover the resolution of such "pairs of opposites" such as God and Nature, renunciation and enjoyment, action and freedom, the active and inactive Brahman, and works and knowledge.
The three philosophical essays in this book were first published in the monthly review Arya in 1915 and 1918. In the title essay "Evolution" Sri Aurobindo deconstructs the materialistic theory of evolution, which had been the keynote of nineteenth century thought. He shows how advanced thinking was moving towards the perception of evolution "by a superconscient Knowledge which reveals things in Matter, Life and Mind out of the unfathomable Inconscient from which they rise". The other essays are titled "The Inconscient" and "Materialism".
The writings of Sri Aurobindo collected in this book were originally composed in answer to questions raised by disciples and others interested in the integral Yoga. They touch on problems often raised in relation to spiritual truth and experiences, such as the reason for this creation's disharmony full of division and ego, the nature of doubt and faith, and the discernment of different planes and movements in the sadhana.
The three essays collected in this book were originally published in the monthly review Arya between April and August 1915. In the title essay Sri Aurobindo examines the ideal of the superman and defines it as a "certain divine and harmonious absolute of all that is essential in man". The other essays are an exploration of the concepts of fate and free-will and their impact on a man's temperament and inner being, and a meditation on the way to achieve "the delight of works" through self-knowledge and self-offering.
Sri Aurobindo wrote these eight essays, his last prose writings, in 1949 and 1950 for publication in the quarterly Bulletin of Physical Education (at present called the Bulletin of Sri Aurobindo International Centre of Education). They reveal a vision which includes the perfection of the body as an instrument of the action of the spirit, the nature and structure of a divine body and the conditions and operations of its life on earth, the manifestation of a supramental truth-consciousness as the basis for a divine life upon earth, and the creation of a new humanity possessed of a mind of light.
This book is a selection of eighty-five aphorisms on God, Man, and Nature that capture in powerful language and images some essential truths and principles of human experience and the spiritual path. They were first published in the monthly review Arya.
Extract
Providence is not only that which saves me from the shipwreck in which everybody else has foundered. Providence is also that which, while all others are saved, snatches away my last plank of safety and drowns me in the solitary ocean.
—Sri Aurobindo
In this collection of 156 extracts from letters to disciples, Sri Aurobindo explains the central principles and practices of his integral Yoga and sheds light on problems that confront the spiritual seeker. The extracts are organised under headings such as calm, peace, and equality; faith, aspiration, and surrender; desire, food, and sex; and the physical consciousness, the subconscient, sleep and dreams, and illness.
This book is a compilation of Sri Aurobindo's replies to elementary questions about yoga raised by a disciple during the years 1933 to 1936. It was first published in 1953 and reissued in 1956. In 1991 the text was reproduced as the first part of "Commentaries on Elements of Yoga" by the Mother. Elements of Yoga is now being issued independently again in a second edition. Subjects include sincerity, surrender, love, transformation, etc.
This book contains extracts from letters written by Sri Aurobindo to his disciples. In the letters he explains his teaching and method of spiritual practice and addresses some of the difficulties and problems that the disciples were encountering. The extracts are arranged in sections that deal with subjects such as the goal and aim of the Yoga, the planes and parts of the being, the principle and practice of surrender and opening to the influence of the Divine, and the value of work in bringing the results of one's inner progress to the external nature and life.
These inspirational essays by Sri Aurobindo form a powerful statement of the true attitude to be taken by a sadhak of the Integral Yoga: one of a complete and dynamic surrender to the Mother. They describe the triple movement of aspiration, rejection, and surrender, the conditions for a true faith and sincerity, the irresistible power of the Divine Mother's grace, the need to reconquer the money-force for the Mother's work, and the joy of a perfect instrumentality through selfless work, surmounting the demands of the ego. The final piece describes the four great powers and personalities of the Divine Mother.
Less than a month after his acquittal from the charges brought against him in the Alipore Bomb Trial (May 1908–May 1909), Sri Aurobindo delivered this speech in Uttarpara, West Bengal. It was the first public pronouncement of the spiritual experiences he had while in the Alipore jail. A text of the speech was published two days later in a Calcutta newspaper; Sri Aurobindo revised this text and published it in his own weekly journal the Karmayogin.
In this series of his analytical essays first published in 1909 in the Karmayogin, a weekly journal edited by Sri Aurobindo, he addressed the need to create a centre of thought and knowledge in India which would revolutionise the mind of the nation. This called for a new education system that would revive the main psychological principles on which ancient India based its scheme of education, but with a more modern organisation.
Written in 1909 in Bengali, this short prose piece invokes Mother Durga to make herself manifest in India, giving her sons and daughters the courage, strength, and knowledge to fight the powers of darkness that keep her in bondage. Included is the Mother's message: "For those who love India and wish to work for her greatness."
In the course of this essay, first published serially in the weekly review Karmayogin in 1909–1910, Sri Aurobindo says that "between them music, art and poetry are a perfect education for the soul; they make and keep its movements purified, self-controlled, deep and harmonious." He then examines the aesthetic, intellectual or educative, and spiritual uses of art, and affirms the role of art in the evolution of a people and its value in the education and life of a nation.
First published serially in the monthly review Arya between August and November 1918, these essays examine the spirit behind the Indian social and cultural resurgence that had begun a few decades earlier. Sri Aurobindo describes the ancient spirit and characteristic soul of India as having an ingrained spirituality, an enormous vitality and prolific creativity, and a strong intellectuality which sought the inner truth and law of each activity. He envisions a rebirth of this spirit in a new body of energy and in a new form, suffusing all aspects of Indian life – art, poetry, politics, science – indeed, all forms of human activity.
In response to a request from All India Radio, Sri Aurobindo gave a message to mark 15 August 1947, the day of India's independence. This message to his countrymen spoke of five dreams that he had worked for, and which he now saw on the way to fulfilment. The realisation of these dreams would mark the beginning of a new age, not only for India but for the entire world, "for the political, social, cultural and spiritual future of humanity".
Sri Aurobindo's account of his experiences as an undertrial prisoner in Alipore Jail, Calcutta. Arrested for conspiracy in May 1908, Sri Aurobindo spent one full year in jail while the British Government, in a protracted trial, tried to implicate him in various revolutionary activities. Acquitted and released in May 1909, he wrote a series of articles in Bengali in the journal Suprabhat describing his life in prison and the courtroom. Translated by late professor Sisir Kumar Ghosh of Santiniketan, these articles form the main text of this book.
Several briefer pieces are also included in the book: three essays in which Sri Aurobindo discusses the noble character of the young revolutionaries imprisoned with him: a poem, "Invitation", which he wrote in Alipore Jail, and a speech at Uttarpara in which he disclosed for the first time some of the spiritual experiences he had in jail.
This book contains the original Sanskrit text of the Bhagavad Gita, a translation partly by Sri Aurobindo, and commentary drawn entirely from Essays on the Gita, Sri Aurobindo's principal work on this important scripture. The editor, Anilbaran Roy, was an early disciple of Sri Aurobindo, and prepared the commentary with the permission of Sri Aurobindo. While introducing the first edition of the book in 1938 the editor wrote, "The Gita is a great synthesis of Aryan spiritual culture and Sri Aurobindo's luminous exposition of it…sets out its inner significances in a way that brings them home to the modern mind." This new edition has been brought out after a long time.
A compilation of letters written by Sri Aurobindo to disciples during the 1930s, this book presents the major aspects of his spiritual teaching. The first parts deal with the psychological and philosophical foundations of his teaching and relate them to other systems of yoga and philosophy. The next sections deal with the method of practice, starting with the bases of yoga and continuing with the different types of sadhana, descriptions of experiences and realisations, the triple transformation that defines the essence of the yoga, and the difficulties in transforming the nature. A glossary of the terminology used by Sri Aurobindo completes the volume.
Comprising passages from Sri Aurobindo’s speeches, newspaper editorials, and writings on his political life, this book highlights his leadership of the Nationalist movement from 1905 to 1910, when he claimed complete independence from British rule as the primary step towards the resurgence of India on all fronts of national life. It reveals the development of his political thought to secure India’s freedom, his vision of a free and united India working for the progress of human unity, and his belief in her role as a spiritual leader of the world.
From December 1925 to November 1926 Philippe Barbier Saint Hilaire, later known as Pavitra, held regular private conversations with Sri Aurobindo that centred on the practice of Yoga and Pavitra's own sadhana. This book is a record of these conversations and some he had with the Mother toward the end of that year. It also includes several of the evening talks, in which Sri Aurobindo conversed informally with a small group of disciples, on such subjects as science and occultism which especially interested Pavitra. The book's introduction is a talk given in 1964 by Pavitra in which he recounts his early life experiences and the events which led him to come to Pondicherry.
Translated from the original French, the 313 prayers and meditations in this book are a record of the Mother's early spiritual life, written, in her own words, during years of intensive yogic discipline". Most of the diary entries she selected for publication were from the period between 1912 and 1917. In an introductory note she says she intended them to serve as a spiritual guide for seekers aspiring to consecrate themselves to self-mastery and a complete surrender to and union with the Divine. Several of the translations were done by Sri Aurobindo and some others by disciples were revised by him.
"Ce livre a été composé avec les extraits d'un journal écrit durant des années de discipline yoguique intensive. Il peut servir de guide spirituel à trois catégories principales de chercheurs: ceux qui ont entrepris la conquête de soi, ceux qui veulent trouver la voie menant vers le Divin, ceux qui aspirent à se consacrer de plus en plus à l'oeuvre Divine."
— La Mère
The sixty-four prayers and meditations included in this book constitute about a fifth of the complete collection. They provide a glimpse of the Mother's early spiritual life. When first published in English in 1941, the Mother wrote that they were "meant for those who aspire for an utter consecration to the Divine". Several of the prayers were translated from the original French by Sri Aurobindo and some other translations by disciples were revised by him.
This book contains the early writings and talks of the Mother from the period before 1920, the year she finally settled in Pondicherry. It includes stories, talks, and reflections written between 1893 and 1913 in Paris, nine essays written for a small group of spiritual seekers there, talks entitled "On Thought", "Charity", and "The Divinity Within", and several letters and essays written in Japan.
During her stay in Japan from 1916 to 1920 the Mother translated and adapted some stories written by F. J. Gould. Her versions, written in French and first published as Belles Histoires, later appeared in an English translation as Tales of All Times. According to the Mother's note, "these stories were written for children to discover themselves and follow a path of right and beauty."
The first section of this book includes conversations which the Mother held in English during 1929 with a small group of disciples, who meditated with her and then asked her questions on the nature and process of yoga. Fifteen of these were sent to Sri Aurobindo, who revised them for publication. The conversations of 1930 and 1931, also in English, form the second section of the book and cover such topics as the difficulties in yoga, the psychic presence and the psychic being, knowledge by unity with the Divine, and the supramental realisation.
This book contains a translation of the Dhammapada and the Mother 's commentaries on this important Buddhist scripture. During her classes at the Ashram Playground in 1957–58, she read from a French translation of the text and explained some of the essential truths expounded by the Buddha in these verses, such as the control and mastery of the mind and the need for constant awareness and a central sincerity on the spiritual path. Her purpose, as she told the class, was to teach them mental control.
This book contains conversations of the Mother with members of the Sri Aurobindo Ashram and the students of the Ashram's school. For most of this period the Mother answered questions about some of her essays on education and her conversations of 1929, which deal with various aspects of spiritual life. Towards the end she discussed some letters of Sri Aurobindo and his small book The Mother.
This book records talks and conversations the Mother had with members of the Sri Aurobindo Ashram and students of the Ashram school. They include comments on her essays on education and on three short works of Sri Aurobindo: Elements of Yoga, The Mother, and Bases of Yoga.
The Mother's commentaries on the aphorisms of Sri Aurobindo on works, knowledge, and devotion, explaining their meaning and showing among other things how Sri Aurobindo's apparent startling disregard for conventional morality is a means to emphasise how spiritual matters cannot be judged with the ethical mind.
Between 1957 and 1973 the Mother spoke frequently with one of her disciples about the experiences she was having at the time. Selected portions of these tape-recorded conversations were published with the Mother's approval between 1965 and 1973 in the Bulletin of the Sri Aurobindo International Centre of Education. They appeared under the titles "Notes on the Way" and "À Propos" in their original French and in English translation, and were subsequently published in one volume Notes on the Way. They are a record of her observations on the progress of the yoga of transformation.
This book is a collection of articles, messages, letters, and conversations of the Mother that touches on subjects like an educational discipline aimed at developing all the principal faculties of the individual, the various aspects of the teaching method known as the free progress system followed at the Sri Aurobindo International Centre of Education, and the fundamentals of physical education, including the disciplines and attitudes helpful to developing a strong, healthy, and conscious body. Also included are three dramas written for the annual dramatic performance day.
This book consists primarily of brief written statements by the Mother about Sri Aurobindo, herself, the Sri Aurobindo Ashram, Auroville, India and nations other than India. Written over a period of nearly sixty years (1914-1973), the statements are compiled from her notes, messages and correspondence. The volume also includes several conversations.
In this correspondence with fourteen persons, disciples living in the Ashram and students of the Ashram school, the Mother answered general questions about life and Yoga.
Written in 1912, this inspiring piece encourages the spiritual seeker to discover within himself the realisation that each particle of matter contains a divine spark, that each being carries within him the transcendent love that can lift his consciousness to the heights. Its message of hope and solace has special relevance to those who are assailed by difficulties on the path.
Extract
You who weep, you who suffer, you who tremble, not daring to foresee the term of your ills, the issue of your pangs, behold! There is no night without daybreak, when darkness is thickest dawn is ready; there is no fog that the Sun does not dissipate, no cloud that it does not gild, no tear that it does not one day dry, no storm after which its bow of triumph does not lift up its rays, no snow that it does not melt, no winter that it does not change into radiant spring.
—The Mother
This book of selections from the writings and talks of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother presents their insights into the causes and cure of illness. It examines the mechanism of illness primarily from a psychological point of view, taking into account the whole of our being including much that is beyond the range of our normal awareness. It explores how the hidden causes of physical disorders can be uprooted by discovering and utilising one's inner power and participating consciously in the accelerated evolutionary process known as Integral Yoga. The book is divided into four parts: "Psychological Causes of Illness", "Cure by Inner Means", "Cure by Spiritual Force", and "Medicine and Healing"
As expounded in all ancient traditions and as is increasingly being rediscovered by modern medical research, the physical body is the gross material expression of a more subtle body. The body is surrounded by a nervous envelope through which disease must first penetrate before affecting the physical body. This book spells out in the words of the Mother the secret inner causes of health and disease. The methods of mastering the body's functioning in the light of a deeper knowledge of the subtler levels influencing the physical are expressed in direct, lucid language.
This book is a collection of short written statements taken from the notes, letters, and messages of the Mother. They deal with man's relationship with the divine, the aims and conditions for a spiritual way of life, and the spiritual seeker's relations with others and with the world. They also touch on the weaknesses of human nature and the difficulties encountered in pursuing the path of yoga, and show the right attitude to be taken in the face of life's problems.
In this book, which is a collection of brief passages mostly from conversations with disciples and students at the Sri Aurobindo International Centre of Education, the Mother invites her listeners and readers to answer the call of adventure by courageously taking the path of spiritual self-perfection and transformation. The excerpts are arranged thematically to present the Mother's guidance to the seeker, showing the way through shadows and stumbles to a sunlit path through such topics as how to control one's thoughts, breaking the hard shell of the ego, the absolute necessity of a perfect sincerity, the right attitude to take when faced with even the most mundane affairs of life, the nature of dynamic meditation, and the liberation of a complete surrender to the Divine.
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.
The selections in this compilation provide an overview of the meaning, nature, and processes of inner development. These include the first awakening of consciousness, the basic requisites and initial stages of inner growth, the individual means and methods to grow in consciousness, some of the difficulties and pitfalls along the way, and the eventual new birth into a spiritual life that comes from a reversal of consciousness. The focus of the book is inner growth as an experiential process based on certain universal psychological elements and principles, and its purpose is to help seekers understand and recognise the processes and experiences of inner development and foster its growth in their lives.
The unpredictability of our moods, impulses, and emotions and the apparent randomness of happenings in our external lives are primarily due to the play of hidden forces at work in the world, forces of which we are almost totally unaware. This book is a compilation from the works of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother on these hidden forces and how they influence our thoughts, feelings, and actions and determine the course of events in life.
A state of positive mental health is more than the absence of marked psychological disturbances such as fear, anxiety, depression, insecurity, restlessness, anger, or jealousy. It connotes the presence of certain positive characteristics which impart a sense of psychological well-being, such as peace, inner security, confidence, and a sense of self-mastery. This book presents some of the principles and methods of Sri Aurobindo's integral yoga for overcoming psychological disturbances and for attaining positive mental health.
All of the many approaches for the attainment of self-mastery and inner growth involve the cultivation of certain attitudes related to inner or psychological states from which we look at and react to everything in life. This book deals with such basic attitudes in the light of Sri Aurobindo's Yoga.
Sri Aurobindo's oft-quoted statement, "Yoga is nothing but practical psychology", provides the pivotal inspiration for this compilation. The book presents the Yoga as essentially a process of inner psychological work aimed at the transformation of consciousness. It discusses in detail the various planes and parts of the being and how they are to be harmonised and unified around the soul.
This book deals with the dynamic inner faculties inherent in man, though more or less dormant or undeveloped. Two types of latent powers are distinguished: those that have not yet evolved or may not even be suspected, such as clairvoyance, telepathy, and other occult powers; and those that we already possess but use most often in a quite rudimentary form, such as the powers of thought, imagination, will, concentration, and intuition. These selections from the writings of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother throw light on the nature of these "powers within" so that we may learn to use them more consciously, deliberately, and beneficially.
The selections in this compilation deal with the meaning and nature of the psychic being, its role and action in the awakening to the inner life, and its influence on the afterlife and the process of rebirth. Many of the extracts clarify the difference between the soul in its purely essential form and the psychic being, which is the soul in its evolutionary, individualised form. The process of psychic growth and development and the central role of the psychic being in the individual's sadhana are some of the key concepts in Sri Aurobindo's Integral Yoga and are given prominence in this compilation, which is aimed mainly at the general reader.
The Mother said, "You can become conscious of your nights and your sleep just as you are conscious of your days. It is a matter of inner development and discipline of consciousness." This book contains guidance for making sleep more conscious, thereby replacing subconscient dreams with conscious experiences. The ultimate goal is to transform sleep into a state of yogic repose, a state in which one can enter into the inner worlds and act there as in the physical world.
Among the essays included here is the series "A System of National Education", first published in the journal Karmayogin in 1910, in which Sri Aurobindo introduces certain general principles of a sound system of teaching. Also included are two articles written in 1949 on the importance of physical education and the perfection of the body as an essential component for the eventual divinisation of material life. Selections from the Mother's writings include essays on physical, vital, mental, and psychic and spiritual education.
A biography suitable for young as well as mature readers, this book was written by a disciple who carried on a long and varied correspondence with Sri Aurobindo and who then later served as Sri Aurobindo's literary secretary. He has culled interesting anecdotes and experiences from his correspondence and from the talks which Sri Aurobindo had with his attendants between 1938 and 1950 to give a unique flavour and an intimate feel to this book.
Sri Aurobindo's personal attendant Nirodbaran was privileged to serve his spiritual master for twelve years. In this memoir Nirod-da tells us what this time was like, drawing an absorbing account of the life he observed within Sri Aurobindo’s room. We read about the Master’s daily routine, his relation with the Mother and those who attended him, and some striking features of his personality—his natural reserve, his profound calm, his unshakeable equanimity and his delightful sense of humour. The author has managed to bring out Sri Aurobindo's human side and at the same time his majesty and greatness.
Thanks to Nirod, we have a revelation of an altogether unknown side of what Sri Aurobindo was.
—The Mother
Sri Aurobindo e la Madre sono espressione di una sola e stessa coscienza. E’ ciò che emerge da quanto loro stessi hanno scritto o dichiarato in varie occasioni per spiegare ai discepoli il significato della loro incarnazione congiunta, evento unico e straordinario in questa manifestazione terrestre.
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