Apart from talking to him personally, I have the purest form of
information available in that I can read the work of Sri Aurobindo in its
original language, English, and it is thus not suffering from the possible
drawbacks of translations and interpretations. In performing this task I am
accepting the social responsibility of presenting and to a degree interpreting
the work of Sri Aurobindo. It is therefore my human abilities or lack thereof
that will determine the degree of my success. It will be coloured by the depth
of the dialogue we can have and by my ability to understand his mystical
existential reality… This cosmology of Sri Aurobindo is not totally unique but
is embedded in a vast historical movement. It is similar to for instance the
approaches of Plotinus and Vivekananda… Was Vivekananda in fact original? In
fact, was Plotinus original? … I use the framework of Whitehead for the
scholarly inquiry into Sri Aurobindo's philosophy. Where relevant, the thoughts
of Bergson and James regarding different states of consciousness, especially
intuition, are touched upon… Sri Aurobindo, in exploring the realities of
evolution of both the mental and the intuitive faculties, arrives at a parallel
solution to that of Bergson… It is clear that both Aurobindo and Bergson accept
and acknowledge the importance of the different aspects of consciousness,
especially as utilised in the intellectual and the intuitive faculties.
A number of mystic philosophers developed cosmologies along strikingly
similar lines to that of Sri Aurobindo. Parmenides, Plotinus, Nicholas of
Cusanus, Jacob Böhme and Giordano Bruno immediately come to mind… The
similarities between the views of Bruno and the thinking of Sri Aurobindo is
not so obvious as far as the structure of his cosmology is concerned, but the
terms and meanings that are utilised are very similar… I experience a
similarity in the teachings and in the way in which Parmenides and Sri
Aurobindo teaches. Both deal with absolute truth, both illuminate their subject
with a transcendental enthusiasm and both successfully reach beyond the words
that they have to use. Parmenides wrote his truth in verse, millennia ago.
Whatever the source of this truth; thought, inspiration, incubation or a
Goddess, to this day it awes us… These views of Parmenides relate to the views
of Sri Aurobindo regarding the existence of a supramental original absolute and
a subsequent yet timeless relative creation… What becomes clear in reading The Life Divine is his intense passion
in expressing his thoughts and insights, and his apparent unconcern for acceptance.
He writes in a complex way with the intention of conveying his message… We are
furthermore presented with the problem of "Truth for whom". From what
I have read it appears that Sri Aurobindo seems to write in order to explain
and not to convert… The departure point of Sri Aurobindo in his cosmology is
not man but the totality of what is. He produced a magnificent and
comprehensive panoramic cosmology starting at the very beginning of
nothingness, describing a process that eventually incorporated humanity on a
very short leg of the overall journey. This is not the journey of humanity, it
is the journey of infinity to itself. Wherever man is and whatever he does
always has this return journey as telos…
The cosmology of Sri Aurobindo is
arguably one of the most complete I have encountered; he views evolution from a
very broad canvas. He holds that Life is already involved in Matter and therefore
Life should be able to evolve out of material elements. In essence, Matter is a
form of veiled Life, Life a form of veiled Consciousness, … but to me it seems virtually impossible to ignore
what he says. Literally every facet of our normal knowledge about what is, is
turned upside down and is reinterpreted in a radical way… Sri Aurobindo, in
page after page in his various books, paints pictures that strive to transcend
this limitedness of our humanity… Sri Aurobindo presented us with a spectrum of
our cosmic potential and the assurance that that potential can be realised. In
the process he moved beyond what we normally understand and can comprehend.
In writing books and in teaching his students, it is obvious that Sri
Aurobindo wanted his knowledge to be passed on to succeeding generations of
evolving humanity… On the face of it this seems to be a religious undertaking.
This is not what he intended, Sri Aurobindo decided against the creation of a
new religion. In teaching his techniques he made a decision not to form a new
religion because it seems that he was not enamoured with the way in which
religions tended to become dogmatised and formalised, even during the life of
the founder… Should therefore his philosophy not be viewed as a religion? Are
we perhaps dealing with a meta-religion, where the intentions are sublime and
noble yet doomed to failure in achieving its high aspirations? Perhaps the
reality is, as is the case with all other religions, that with some exceptional
individuals he will achieve his high esoteric aspirations, but the mass of his
followers will be identical to the mass of the adherents of any of the other
religions, operating mainly on a superficial level… He did not teach
emotionalism or blind acceptance of dogma, but he has made statements that
indicate that he is of the conviction that whatever shape or form of either
knowledge or inspiration one experiences, should be verified by the intellect
and by common sense. But he also contended that, regardless of the merit that
the intellect has, it has its limitations… The true reality of what is cannot
be understood by analytical means: analysis of what is will destroy the
wholeness and create duality.
Here we are not looking at a new religion. But there are still
perplexing questions about Sri Aurobindo in this regard. As already mentioned,
he stated that he did not wish to establish a new religion. How do his students
or followers respond to this wish? What have they made of his philosophy? Has
it been changed into a cult and should his every dictate be followed slavishly?
Is he viewed as an avatar, not necessarily in name but in fact? Or is he
considered a great thinker or perhaps a combination of all three these
possibilities? If his disciples follow his philosophy to the letter, either at
present or in the future, would that be wrong? The reason for this question is,
if they do not operate in this way, can the positive results envisaged by Sri
Aurobindo be guaranteed because now it is not a Sri Aurobindo philosophy but
the disciple philosophy that is relevant and determinative. Further, if he is
to be followed slavishly, can original and thinking minds tolerate such a
restrictive environment? As in all religions and philosophical groupings, there
are certain latitudes that are operative. The teacher did not cover everything
and what he did cover was set out in words which immediately brings into
question exactly what his teachings were. Always the teacher speaks from his
level and always the student hear from his. Certainly we can see his words but
we only see the surface: to what degree can disciples see the depth? … I would
argue that his philosophy is comprehensive, profound and of great potential
value for humanity… Potentially, it can supply a holistic evolutionary roadmap
for humanity to move beyond the problematic physical, spiritual and
environmental reality it finds itself in. [THE
RELIGIOUS PHILOSOPHY OF CONSCIOUSNESS OF SRI AUROBINDO by Andries Gustav
Barnard, NOVEMBER 2005]
I have long been an admirer of Aurobindo's poetic work, and had some
notes on a paper regarding some problems in Aurobindo's poetry and also his
theories of time and race… I remain very critical of Aurobindo as a cultural
theorist; some of the stuff I have written about on Hegel applies directly to
Aurobindo and by extension Wilber, and yes, I did this intentionally. ~Daniel
Gustav Anderson (between 30 April and 26 May 2009).
Update: October 7, 2013
Since the higher knowledge is not an intellectual or mental accomplishment, it cannot be achieved by study, reading, or acquiring of facts and practical skills or capabilities. These things may be part of preliminary steps to prepare the mind and the nature. The Kena Upanishad provides an extensive exposition of the paradox of knowledge: “That which is unexpressed by the word, that by which the word is expressed, know That to be the Brahman and not this which men follow after here. That which thinks not by the mind, that by which the mind is thought, know That to be the Brahman and not this which men follow after here.” (part 1, v. 4-5)
Indian psychology and contemporary research: Part III Posted on October 3, 2013 by Don Salmon The Indo-Tibetan tradition contains many sublime descriptions of knowledge by identity – particularly in the writings of Tibetan Buddhists and the great 11th century Kashmiri philosopher Abhinavagupta. Building upon this tradition, Sri Aurobindo gives some hints as to how intuitive knowledge may contribute to a radically new understanding of matter. Sri Aurobindo’s comments are offered here as scientific hypotheses to be tested.
Traditional Roots of Sri Aurobindo's Integral Yoga - Debashish Banerji, INTEGRAL REVIEW, September 2013 Vol. 9, No. 3. Abstract: Sri Aurobindo’s teachings on Integral Yoga are couched in a universal and
impersonal language, and could be considered an early input to contemporary
transpersonal psychology. Yet, while he was writing his principal works in English, he
was also keeping a diary of his experiences and understandings in a personal patois that
hybridized English and Sanskrit. A hermeneutic perusal of this text, The Record of Yoga,
published by the Sri Aurobindo Ashram, uncovers the semiotics of Indian yoga traditions,
showing how Sri Aurobindo utilizes and furthers their discourse, and where he introduces
new elements which may be considered “modern.”
A New Creation on Earth: Death and Transformation in the Yoga of Mother Mirra Alfassa - Stephen Lerner Julich, INTEGRAL REVIEW, September 2013 Vol. 9, No. 3. Abstract: Focused mainly on her discussions of the psychic being and death, it is argued that the Mother remained rooted in her original Western Occult training, and can best be understood if this training, under the guidance of Western Kabbalist and Hermeticist Max Théon, is seen, not as of merely passing interest, but as integral to her development. [bit.ly/17s4VhA]
Tweets Peter Heehs @peterheehs 5 Oct Situating Sri Aurobindo: reader with excellent essays by Bose, Chimni & others and intros by me released by OUP India http://bit.ly/GF9tXA - @gchikermane Hope you like it. You should find many of the essays interesting, e.g. Hartz on Savitri and Chimni on internationalism.
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