From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia [This article is about integral thought in philosophy and psychology. It is unrelated to the concept of an integral in calculus.]
Integral thought (also called the integral paradigm, the integral movement, the integral approach, or integralism) is comprised of those philosophies and teachings that seek a comprehensive understanding of humans and the universe by combining scientific and spiritual insights. According to the Integral Transformative Practice website, integral means "dealing with the body, mind, heart, and soul."
Integral thought is seen by proponents as going beyond rationalism and materialism. It attempts to introduce a more universal and holistic perspective or approach. Proponents view rationalism as subordinating, ignoring, and/or denying spirituality. Ken Wilber, one of the most prominent contemporary integral thinkers, begins by acknowledging and validating mystical experience, rather than denying its reality. As these experiences have occurred to humans in all cultures in all eras, integral theorists accept them as valuable and not pathological. Integral thinkers like Sri Aurobindo, Teilhard de Chardin, Wilber and others argue that both science and mysticism (or spirituality) are necessary for complete understanding of humans and the universe.
Sri Aurobindo and the Mother: Origin of the term "Integral"
The word "integral" was originally used by Sri Aurobindo and the Mother to describe the yoga they taught. Their integral yoga involves an integral divine transformation of the entire being, rather than the liberation of only of only a single faculty such as the intellect or the emotions or the body.
Sri Aurobindo (1872-1950) was a visionary yogi rather than a systematizer, and although he referred to "integral" only in the context of spiritual transformation, his writings influenced others who used the term "integral" in more philosophical or psychological contexts. Important teachings include: Evolution, Involution, the Integral psychology, the psychic being, Integral yoga, the Triple transformation, and the Supramental principle. Major works include: The Life Divine, The Synthesis of Yoga, and Savitri.
The Mother (1878-1973) was Sri Aurobindo's co-worker. She continued Sri Aurobindo's work of Integral Yoga and spiritual transformation after his passing, and founded Auroville, an international community dedicated to human unity, and based on their teachings. A record of some of her experiences have been collected by her disciple Satprem in a thirteen volume work called Mother's Agenda.
Integral thought - the Aurobindonian heritage: The following authors (listed in chronological order?) trace their intellectual heritage back to, or have in some measure been influenced by, Sri Aurobindo (and sometimes also the Mother)
Shishir Kumar Maitra (1887-?) was an academic philosopher who wrote widely on Sri Aurobindo and Western philosophy. His 1958 essay, "Sri Aurobindo and Spengler: Comparison between the Integral and the Pluralistic philosophy of History" in the 1958 symposium compendium, 'The Integral Philosophy of Sri Aurobindo.' introduces the concept of "Integral philosophy of History."
Nolini Kanta Gupta (1889 - 1983) was one of Sri Aurobindo's senior disciples, and wrote extensively on philosophy, mysticism, and spiritual evolution in the light of Sri Aurobindo and The Mother's teachings.
Anilbaran Roy - Another Sri Aurobindo's senior disciple. In his 1940 book, 'Sri Aurobindo and The New Age' published by John M. Watkins, London, he spoke of the emergence of Integral Harmony, while reviewing the just published, 'The Life Divine.'
Indra Sen (1903-1994), another disciple of Sri Aurobindo who, although little-known in the West, was the first to articulate integral psychology and integral philosophy, in the 1940s and 1950s. A compilation of his papers came out under the title,'Integral Psychology' in 1986.
Ram Shankar Misra (dates?) was a scholar of Indian religious and philosophical thought and author of The Integral Advaitism of Sri Aurobindo (publ. 1957), a philosophical commentary on Sri Aurobindo's work.
Haridas Chaudhuri (1913-1975), a Bengali philosopher, was a correspondent with Sri Aurobindo and founded the California Institute of Integral Studies. In the Chapter IX captioned, "The Vedanta as Integral Non-dualism" of his 1951 book, 'Sri Aurobindo: The Prophet of Life Divine' he described Sri Aurobindo's philosophy as 'purnadvaita-vada.' Author of the book, 'Philosophy of Integralism,' he later developed his own theory of Integral psychology. Wrote the Title paper and edited the 1958 symposium compendium, 'The Integral Philosophy of Sri Aurobindo' along with Frederic Spiegelberg.
Satischandra Chatterjee - Wrote an essay, "Mind and Supermind in Sri Aurobindo's Integralism" in the 1958 symposium compendium, 'The Integral Philosophy of Sri Aurobindo.'
K. D. Sethna (Amal Kiran) - Wrote an essay, "The Poet of Integralism" in the 1958 symposium compendium, 'The Integral Philosophy of Sri Aurobindo.'
Arabinda Basu - Wrote an essay, "The Integration of Spiritual Experience" in the 1958 symposium compendium, 'The Integral Philosophy of Sri Aurobindo.'
J. N. Mohanty - Wrote an essay, "Integralism and the Modern Philosophical Anthropology" in the 1958 symposium compendium, 'The Integral Philosophy of Sri Aurobindo.'
R.S. Srivastava - Wrote an essay, "The Integralist Theory of Evolution" in the 1958 symposium compendium, 'The Integral Philosophy of Sri Aurobindo.'
Rishabhchand - Wrote an essay, "The Philosophical Basis of Integral Yoga" in the 1958 symposium compendium, 'The Integral Philosophy of Sri Aurobindo.'
Pitirim A. Sorokin - Wrote an essay, "The Integral Yoga of Sri Aurobindo" in the 1958 symposium compendium, 'The Integral Philosophy of Sri Aurobindo.'
Jay R. McCullough - Wrote an essay, "The Integral Approach in Sri Aurobindo and Jacob Boehme" in the 1958 symposium compendium, 'The Integral Philosophy of Sri Aurobindo.'
Judith M. Tyberg (Jyotipriya) - Wrote an essay, "The Drama of Integral Self-Realization" in the 1958 symposium compendium, 'The Integral Philosophy of Sri Aurobindo.'
Ruth Reyna - Wrote an essay, "Integralism: A Philosophie Perennis" in the 1958 symposium compendium, 'The Integral Philosophy of Sri Aurobindo.'
Ernest Wood - Wrote an essay, "The Concept of Integral Unity" in the 1958 symposium compendium, 'The Integral Philosophy of Sri Aurobindo.'
Raymond F. Piper - Wrote an essay, "Cosmic Integration" in the 1958 symposium compendium, 'The Integral Philosophy of Sri Aurobindo.'
Ninian Smart - Wrote an essay, "Integral Knowledge and the Four Theories of Existnce" in the 1958 symposium compendium, 'The Integral Philosophy of Sri Aurobindo.'
Richard P. Marsh - Wrote an essay, "The Organismic Psychology of Andras Angyal in relation to Sri Aurobindo's philosophy of Integral Nondualism" in the 1958 symposium compendium, 'The Integral Philosophy of Sri Aurobindo.'
Michael Murphy (b. 1930), author of The Future of the Body, and with George Burr Leonard thee co-founders of the Human Potential Movement and of Integral Transformative Practice, and co-authors of The Life We Are Given. Murphy also co-founded the Esalen Institute in Big Sur, with Richard Price.
Patrizia Norelli-Bachelet (b. 1938), is the founder of the Aeon Center for Cosmology and the author of Integral Cosmology and the The Gnostic Circle. She is considered by her followers to be a direct continuation of the Integral Yoga of Sri Aurobindo and The Mother, although this claim is not recognized by any other followers of Sri Aurobindo and The Mother.
Robert A. McDermott is professor of philosophy and religion at the California Institute of Integral Studies, and has studied the work of Rudolph Steiner and Sri Aurobindo. One of his audiotapes is called "Sri Aurobindo, Rudolf Steiner and the Integral Ideal"
M. Alan Kazlev (b. 1958) has created an integral philosophy based on the writings of Sri Aurobindo, The Mother, Ken Wilber, and Michel Bauwens.
Brant Cortright is a clinical psychologist and author who practices an integral psychotherapy based on a synthesis of western depth psychology with eastern spiritual wisdom.
Dennis Hargiss coined the term "Integral phenomenology" to refer to the use of integral psychology for the study of mysticism and the sacred.
Bahman Shirazi of the California Institute of Integral Studies has further developed Integral Psychology along the lines pioneered by Haridas Chaudhuri.
D.P. Chattopadhyaya (Jr.) - Professor and also a Minister for a while, he authored the 1976 book, 'Sri Aurobindo and Karl Marx: Integral Sociology and Dialectical Sociology' introducing the term, "Integral Sociology."
World Union - A non-profit, non-political organisation founded on the 26th November 1958 in Puducherry, fired by the Third Dream of Sri Aurobindo; also publishes a quarterly journal with the same title. A. B. Patel was the driving force and for many years, M. P. Pandit was the leading light.
Nolini Kanta Gupta (1889 - 1983) was one of Sri Aurobindo's senior disciples, and wrote extensively on philosophy, mysticism, and spiritual evolution in the light of Sri Aurobindo and The Mother's teachings.
Anilbaran Roy - Another Sri Aurobindo's senior disciple. In his 1940 book, 'Sri Aurobindo and The New Age' published by John M. Watkins, London, he spoke of the emergence of Integral Harmony, while reviewing the just published, 'The Life Divine.'
Indra Sen (1903-1994), another disciple of Sri Aurobindo who, although little-known in the West, was the first to articulate integral psychology and integral philosophy, in the 1940s and 1950s. A compilation of his papers came out under the title,'Integral Psychology' in 1986.
Ram Shankar Misra (dates?) was a scholar of Indian religious and philosophical thought and author of The Integral Advaitism of Sri Aurobindo (publ. 1957), a philosophical commentary on Sri Aurobindo's work.
Haridas Chaudhuri (1913-1975), a Bengali philosopher, was a correspondent with Sri Aurobindo and founded the California Institute of Integral Studies. In the Chapter IX captioned, "The Vedanta as Integral Non-dualism" of his 1951 book, 'Sri Aurobindo: The Prophet of Life Divine' he described Sri Aurobindo's philosophy as 'purnadvaita-vada.' Author of the book, 'Philosophy of Integralism,' he later developed his own theory of Integral psychology. Wrote the Title paper and edited the 1958 symposium compendium, 'The Integral Philosophy of Sri Aurobindo' along with Frederic Spiegelberg.
Satischandra Chatterjee - Wrote an essay, "Mind and Supermind in Sri Aurobindo's Integralism" in the 1958 symposium compendium, 'The Integral Philosophy of Sri Aurobindo.'
K. D. Sethna (Amal Kiran) - Wrote an essay, "The Poet of Integralism" in the 1958 symposium compendium, 'The Integral Philosophy of Sri Aurobindo.'
Arabinda Basu - Wrote an essay, "The Integration of Spiritual Experience" in the 1958 symposium compendium, 'The Integral Philosophy of Sri Aurobindo.'
J. N. Mohanty - Wrote an essay, "Integralism and the Modern Philosophical Anthropology" in the 1958 symposium compendium, 'The Integral Philosophy of Sri Aurobindo.'
R.S. Srivastava - Wrote an essay, "The Integralist Theory of Evolution" in the 1958 symposium compendium, 'The Integral Philosophy of Sri Aurobindo.'
Rishabhchand - Wrote an essay, "The Philosophical Basis of Integral Yoga" in the 1958 symposium compendium, 'The Integral Philosophy of Sri Aurobindo.'
Pitirim A. Sorokin - Wrote an essay, "The Integral Yoga of Sri Aurobindo" in the 1958 symposium compendium, 'The Integral Philosophy of Sri Aurobindo.'
Jay R. McCullough - Wrote an essay, "The Integral Approach in Sri Aurobindo and Jacob Boehme" in the 1958 symposium compendium, 'The Integral Philosophy of Sri Aurobindo.'
Judith M. Tyberg (Jyotipriya) - Wrote an essay, "The Drama of Integral Self-Realization" in the 1958 symposium compendium, 'The Integral Philosophy of Sri Aurobindo.'
Ruth Reyna - Wrote an essay, "Integralism: A Philosophie Perennis" in the 1958 symposium compendium, 'The Integral Philosophy of Sri Aurobindo.'
Ernest Wood - Wrote an essay, "The Concept of Integral Unity" in the 1958 symposium compendium, 'The Integral Philosophy of Sri Aurobindo.'
Raymond F. Piper - Wrote an essay, "Cosmic Integration" in the 1958 symposium compendium, 'The Integral Philosophy of Sri Aurobindo.'
Ninian Smart - Wrote an essay, "Integral Knowledge and the Four Theories of Existnce" in the 1958 symposium compendium, 'The Integral Philosophy of Sri Aurobindo.'
Richard P. Marsh - Wrote an essay, "The Organismic Psychology of Andras Angyal in relation to Sri Aurobindo's philosophy of Integral Nondualism" in the 1958 symposium compendium, 'The Integral Philosophy of Sri Aurobindo.'
Michael Murphy (b. 1930), author of The Future of the Body, and with George Burr Leonard thee co-founders of the Human Potential Movement and of Integral Transformative Practice, and co-authors of The Life We Are Given. Murphy also co-founded the Esalen Institute in Big Sur, with Richard Price.
Patrizia Norelli-Bachelet (b. 1938), is the founder of the Aeon Center for Cosmology and the author of Integral Cosmology and the The Gnostic Circle. She is considered by her followers to be a direct continuation of the Integral Yoga of Sri Aurobindo and The Mother, although this claim is not recognized by any other followers of Sri Aurobindo and The Mother.
Robert A. McDermott is professor of philosophy and religion at the California Institute of Integral Studies, and has studied the work of Rudolph Steiner and Sri Aurobindo. One of his audiotapes is called "Sri Aurobindo, Rudolf Steiner and the Integral Ideal"
M. Alan Kazlev (b. 1958) has created an integral philosophy based on the writings of Sri Aurobindo, The Mother, Ken Wilber, and Michel Bauwens.
Brant Cortright is a clinical psychologist and author who practices an integral psychotherapy based on a synthesis of western depth psychology with eastern spiritual wisdom.
Dennis Hargiss coined the term "Integral phenomenology" to refer to the use of integral psychology for the study of mysticism and the sacred.
Bahman Shirazi of the California Institute of Integral Studies has further developed Integral Psychology along the lines pioneered by Haridas Chaudhuri.
D.P. Chattopadhyaya (Jr.) - Professor and also a Minister for a while, he authored the 1976 book, 'Sri Aurobindo and Karl Marx: Integral Sociology and Dialectical Sociology' introducing the term, "Integral Sociology."
World Union - A non-profit, non-political organisation founded on the 26th November 1958 in Puducherry, fired by the Third Dream of Sri Aurobindo; also publishes a quarterly journal with the same title. A. B. Patel was the driving force and for many years, M. P. Pandit was the leading light.
The New Life Education Trust Matrubhaban, Sri Aurobindo Marg, Cuttack - oversees a wide chain of Sri Aurobindo Integral Education Centres in Orissa, India. Most of these secondary schools are in rural areas set up with local initiative. Babaji Sri Ramakrushna Das and Prapatti, Kangali Charan Pati were the dominant inspiration.
Synthesis of the teachings of both Aurobindo and Wilber
(and usually also other thinkers as well)
Joseph Vrinte (b. 1949) is an integral philosopher and psychologist who has written several books bringing together Sri Aurobindo's yoga and psychology, Abraham Maslow, transpersonal psychology, and Ken Wilber's Integral philosophy.
Andrew Cohen (b. 1955) is an American guru and author of "evolutionary spirituality." He has been influenced by a number of evolutionary thinkers, including Sri Aurobindo, and is a friend of and collaborater with Ken Wilber.
Karen T. Litfin is a Professor of Political science at the University of Washington who has published a paper on an Integral Perspective on World Politics, drawing from the ideas of G.W.F. Hegel, Sri Aurobindo, Jean Gebser and Ken Wilber.
Andrew Cohen (b. 1955) is an American guru and author of "evolutionary spirituality." He has been influenced by a number of evolutionary thinkers, including Sri Aurobindo, and is a friend of and collaborater with Ken Wilber.
Karen T. Litfin is a Professor of Political science at the University of Washington who has published a paper on an Integral Perspective on World Politics, drawing from the ideas of G.W.F. Hegel, Sri Aurobindo, Jean Gebser and Ken Wilber.
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