For Sri Aurobindo, the ultimate social agency remained Spirit

Dealing with Modern Times Through Spirit By Adam Dietz

In his relation to modernity Aurobindo is a powerful thinker. He shows the many of the same tendencies that historically permeate the traditions of Hinduism: diligent commitment to the highest realms of human existence, a supreme all pervading Divinity within all creation, discipline in uniting with the Divinity, furthering the relationship of others to the Divinity through sympathy, and intense inner concentration upon the various realms of consciousness, these among many other similarities. However, Aurobindo becomes the exemplar of the Hindu tradition, an ambassador to modernity by expanding its ideas, refocusing the emphasis, while adhering to the tradition of welcoming new ideas innovations. Aurobindo incorporates evolution, secular materialism, social and political concern into the vast tradition. […]

For Aurobindo the ultimate act of social concern was immersion in spirit and the manifestation of spirit in all realms. In union with spirit, guided by spirit, one would naturally find the best course to take when confronted with strange and difficult modernization. For Aurobindo, the ultimate social agency remained Spirit, and the propagation of Spirit in others. This union with Spirit, Spiritual teaching and its manifestation was the One ultimate, incorruptible answer to all social concerns past, present and future. Posted by Adam Dietz at 5:35 AM

Integral Consciousness: Sri Aurobindo's Yoga and how Haridas Chaudhuri brought it to the West by Mark Kitchell (Director) | Format: DVD

Integral Consciousness is the story of a spiritual philosophy developed by one of the great sages of the 20th Century, Sri Aurobindo - and how his yoga was brought to the West by Dr. Haridas Chaudhuri.

The film includes a history of Integral Yoga, from Sri Aurobindo's origins as a revolutionary leader determined to free India from British rule, to his founding an ashram at Pondicherry and the beginnings of Auroville. 

The story also tells of Dr. Chaudhuri's twenty-five years in America, bringing together east and west. The film presents pivotal figures in America including Alan Watts and Michael Murphy, and recounts the birth of the California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS), the Esalen Institute, and the Cultural Integration Fellowship (CIF). 

The second part of the film is a concise explication of Integral Yoga and key concepts like the Psychic Being, the Supermind, and Conscious Evolution. Archival material of Dr. Chaudhuri is featured as well as interviews with highly regarded luminaries including Debashish Banerji, Hilary Anderson, Michael Murphy, Aster Patel, Brant Cortright and Rama Jyoti Vernon.

This 55-minute film is the result of a grassroots effort by alumni of CIIS and CIF who wanted to preserve the legacy of Dr. Haridas Chaudhuri and spread the word about integral yoga. Highly respected documentary filmmaker Mark Kitchell (Berkeley in the Sixties) was engaged to write and direct the project.

Integral Consciousness was shot in Pondicherry and Auroville, India, and in San Francisco, California. Portions of the film were nationally televised in the United States in April 2009. Proceeds from this film are helping to make a new film, now in production, featuring the evolution of consciousness and conscious evolution. 

This is the dawning of the Age of Integral Consciousness... And everyone should see this important and engaging film!

Entertaining and educational, April 23, 2010 By  JGarcia "JGarcia" (San Francisco, CA, USA) - See all my reviews

I really like this film... with sensitivity and maestry it unites interviews with great scholars on the history and philosophy of Integral Yoga by Sri Aurobindo. 

The film is entertaining and educational. It is extremely useful for those who are familiar with the subject and those who are curious about the spiritual ideas of Sri Aurobindo.