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 | Constantin V. Boundas - 2007 - 740 pages In expanding the concept of liberation to a social vision, Aurobindo significantly departs from the individualistic approach to liberation of classical philosophy and of what he calls the 'Olympian egoism' of Goethe and the 'Titanic egoism' of Nietzsche... Columbia companion to twentieth-century philosophies - Page 651 |
https://selforum.blogspot.com/2010/07/sri-aurobindo-expands-concept-of.html
650 Indian Philosophy
Rohit Dalvi
Sri Aurobindo (1872–1950)
Aurobindo Ghose, who began his career as a nationalist struggling against British rule, followed Swami Vivekananda in that his thought represents a rethinking and redeployment of classical Indian philosophy, especially the tradition of the nondualistic interpretation of the Vedas and the Gita. Aurobindo departs from Sankara’s interpretation of Vedanta. His system, unlike Sankara’s, does not consider the empirical world to be illusory. He ‘finds a place for the history of mankind within Advaita and proposes a new kind of yoga adapted not to the goal of an individual’s own liberation but to the (collective) goal of elevating mankind to a higher form of consciousness (‘‘supermind’’)’ (Mohanty 2001: 71).
Philosophy for Aurobindo is the search for the truth behind appearances, and religion makes ‘the truth dynamic in the soul of man’ (Aurobindo 1973: 177). Unlike Vivekananda or Gandhi, who were more interested in the ramifications of their thought for moral, social, and political reform within the context of the nationalist struggle, Aurobindo, especially after his ‘retirement’ from political life, adopted a more systematic approach. His system, designed to lead one to the Life Divine, remains firmly within the soteriological mode of doing philosophy. For Aurobindo, philosophy that is not invigorated with religiosity is ‘barren’ in that it can never translate into practice.
The intricate relationship between national aspirations to freedom from British rule and the classical tradition is evident in the role attributed to the tradition in the nationalist struggle and its significance for India and the world. In his address on the occasion of Indian independence, Aurobindo writes:
For I have always held that India was arising, not to serve her own material interests only . . . and certainly not like others to acquire domination of other peoples, but to live for God and the world as a helper and leader of the whole human race’ (Aurobindo 1964: 41).
According to him, India’s gift to humanity is the ‘spiritual knowledge’ that will enable a ‘spiritualization of life,’ as humanity moves to overcome the divisions of race and ethnicity. Aurobindo reframes the question of liberation in a way reminiscent of Nietzsche. The human being is a ‘transitional being’ because in Man the potential to acheive a ‘divine supermanhood’ can be found. Mind – the ‘ignorant seeker of truth’ – can ascend to a state of consciousness, which is ‘supramental.’ This state of gnosis is an eternal possession of Truth and is free from the fetters of ‘material consciousness.’ The atman or soul, which Vedantic philosophy makes the centerpiece of its program of spiritual development, Aurobindo understands as a possibility rather than something which is effectively present in human beings.
Realizing this possibility does not require mental effort; it is only with the stillness or ‘immobility’ of the mind that the ‘superconscient’ Truth can be attained. Awakening to the supermind entails a complete transformation of the human being. Aurobindo believes that the transition to it is the next evolutionary step that will be prompted by the ‘intention of inner spirit and the logic of Nature’s process.’ The danger exists that ‘inner luminosity’ can become warped, concealed, and distorted by the ‘dense outer coating’ of the body or of the ‘constructed personality.’ In keeping with the traditional liberatory program of nondualistic Vedanta, Aurobindo writes:
Cease inwardly from thought and word, be motionless within you, look upward into the light and outward into the vast cosmic consciousness that is around you. Be more and more one with the brightness and the vastness. Then will truth dawn on you from above and will flow in you from all around. (Aurobindo 1973: 60)
A theory of evolutionary progress is pivotal in Aurobindo’s system and is conceived as ‘Nature’s ascent.’ As opposed to the Western idea of evolution, which Aurobindo thinks theorizes a ‘process of formation,’ his concept of evolution is an ‘explanation of our being.’ This concept is developed under the assumption that there is ‘one original eternal substance of which all things are the forms and one original eternal energy of which all movement of action and consequence is the variation’ (Aurobindo 1973: 63).
Like Vivekananda, Aurobindo accepts the monistic premise: evolution which leads to an eventual development beyond the Mind can occur because the ‘infinite Spirit’ lies hidden – ‘involuted’ in material nature. In fact Aurobindo describes evolution as ‘a growing of the Self in Material nature to the conscious possession of its own spiritual being’ (Aurobindo 1973: 72). The evolutionary goal, as he outlines it, is to become ‘conscient in the superconscient’ allowing our being to be lit by ‘another light of knowledge.’ The ‘field of being’ thus ‘enlightened’ Aurobindo equates with a ‘divine birth’ – the telos toward which all of one’s previous births are laborious steps. He writes: ‘All this evolution is a growing of the Self in material nature to the conscious possession of its own spiritual being (Aurobindo 1973: 72).
Aurobindo believes that a ‘spiritual age’ will arise through the agency of individuals and that a new ‘self-creation of the Mind’ will become evident. These individuals can then lead the masses toward the goal, although the ‘following’ is likely to be ‘very imperfect and confused’ (Aurobindo 1973: 188). Difficulties surrounding this advent can be overcome if society is prepared to accept and understand the message of exemplary individuals. The preconditions for this preparedness are shown in the development of the arts and sciences which ‘thin the walls between soul and matter.’
Religion will have shed the ‘weight of dead matter’ and revived itself ‘in the fountain of the Spirit.’ Aurobindo’s utopic society will have shed ‘external compulsions’ because its members will be following the lead of the inner ‘divine compulsion.’
In expanding the concept of liberation to a social vision, Aurobindo significantly departs from the individualistic approach to liberation of classical philosophy and of what he calls the ‘Olympian egoism’ of Goethe and the ‘Titanic egoism’ of Nietzsche. His own ‘Integral Advaita,’ in its acceptance of an immanent-transcendent Absolute (Brahman), is a critique of the nondualism of Sankara, which has dominated modern Indian philosophy.
Evolutionary, Spiritual Conceptions of Life - Sri Aurobindo, ... - Page 33 Dr. phil. Michael Leicht - 2008 - 52 pages
Aurobindo, on the other hand, is convinced that this world is to realise God in-this-world. And keeping the Advaita Vedanta background of Atman is Brahman in mind, it might be not such a bad idea. ...
What Is Hinduism?: Modern Adventures Into a Profound Global Faith - Page 134 Editors of Hinduism Today - 2007 - 416 pages
The promise made by Sri Aurobindo, on the other hand, regarding the ultimate destiny of the human race was far more stupendous than that held out by Marx. Howsoever vague and inchoate my vision might have been at that time, ...
https://selforum.blogspot.com/2010/06/sri-aurobindo-on-other-hand-held-that.html
Sri Aurobindo's teaching entails putting aside the inert and life-shunning quietism, illusionism, asceticism and monasticism
https://selforum.blogspot.com/2010/06/sri-aurobindos-teaching-entails-putting.html
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