According to the author, though The Viziers of Bassora
was Sri Aurobindo's first play, written when he was in his twenties, it reflected in a nascent form the concept of evolution of man discussed years later in The Life Divine
. The author argues that it should not be read in isolation as a simple play. This book shows how the play anticipates The Life Divine, and thus helps trace the evolution of Sri Aurobindo's thought and...
was Sri Aurobindo's first play, written when he was in his twenties, it reflected in a nascent form the concept of evolution of man discussed years later in The Life Divine. The author argues that it should not be read in isolation as a simple play. This book shows how the play anticipates The Life Divine, and thus helps trace the evolution of Sri Aurobindo's thought and... Sri Aurobindo's The Life Divine hailed as the most outstanding spiritual philosophical work of our age is an integral view of all knowledge and philosophy as well as the revelation of the inevitable destiny of man's supermanhood. Ananda or Bliss is the soul and secret of all existence. The Spirit dwells in all and all is Spirit. Evolution is the progressive revelation of Spirit, the truth behind the succession of biological forms. Ultimately Matter and Spirit are one. The Life Divine is...
Dilip Kumar Roy The Dynamic Absolute
Dilip Kumar Roy The Dynamic Absolute
In his introduction to the book Dr. Arabinda Basu, a well known scholar and the Director, Sri Aurobindo Research Academy, Pondicherry writes: The Dynamic Absolute is a fair and accurate exposition of Sri Aurobindo's vision of Brahman and the consequent view of the world including his original conception of the destiny of man and mankind....students and teachers of philosophy will find this book a good and reliable introduction to the integral Adwaita of the mystic philosopher....
Philosophical essays inspired by Sri Aurobindo's theory of spiritual evolution and vision of the future, based on the sense of inevitability of man's passage to a new consciousness. The goals of science and mysticism, both determined by the same cosmic necessities, are reconciled.
Beginning with a literary survey of the terms image, symbol, and myth, this critical study of Sri Aurobindo’s poetry sets his unique use of these devices in the context of English poetic development. The author analyses Sri Aurobindo’s use of imagery and symbolism by examining in detail the entire range of his poetry. He concludes by placing Sri Aurobindo as one of the greatest symbolists of modern English poetry for the way he uses image, symbol and myth to represent not only past and...
Sri Aurobindo composed Love and Death
, a narrative poem in blank verse based on a theme from the Mahabharata, in 1899 while in Baroda
, a narrative poem in blank verse based on a theme from the Mahabharata, in 1899 while in Sri Aurobindo's poetry, written "for the future", offers a "rewarding investigation into the connections between philosophy and aesthetics, literature and culture, spirituality and divinity, consciousness and spirit...". More specifically, "Savitri as a work of art is a complex metaphor which conveys the 'real presence' of God." In this collection of essays the author attempts to reflect on the epic in new and challenging ways, relating them to "things now". He believes it...
In this book the author presents the mysticism of Sri Aurobindo as he has expounded it in his own inimitable style in the epic poem Savitri.
Rohit Mehta The Miracle of Descent In the words of the author:
Rohit Mehta The Miracle of Descent In the words of the author:
Sri Aurobindo's Integral Yoga is his original contribution to the complex subject of Yoga: it is not merely a synthesi of various system of Yoga, but is a distinct approach to the much-sought-after subject of Yoga in the present day.It has both its unique Philosophy and an intensely practical Psychology. The aim of this book is ... to serve as an introduction to all that Sri Aurobindo has written on the subject of...
K. D. Sethna The Development of Sri Aurobindo's Spiritual System and the Mother's Contribution to it
Articles on a wide variety of topics related to the integral yoga, the descent of the Overmind and the Supermind, and the advent of a new race.
This book is about the life and teaching of the Mother. It traces the growth of the Ashram and the Centre of Education, and the birth of Auroville. The personality of the Mother in its various aspects is effectively portrayed in a simple and intimate manner. On the Mother Divine was first published in 1968. This second edition has been brought up-to-date with the addition of new chapters.
Translated and revised from the original Oriya text, this book is a passionate argument for the effectiveness of nama-japa in Sri Aurobindo’s yoga. The author’s premise is that through all the difficulties and arduous trials of the yoga of transformation, the safest and least difficult path is that of complete surrender to the Mother, and that the most direct way to achieve such a surrender is by the constant repetition of the Mother’s name. In concise and affirming language, he...
Madhav Pandit settled in the Sri Aurobindo Ashram in 1939. He was closely associated with the Mother. He passed away in 1993. This is a transcript of a talk on his life and work.
The author's story of how he discovered the Ashram. As stated in the preface it is "wrung from the heart and is drenched in humour." My Mother Surendra Nath Jauhar had a long and intimate contact with the Mother from 1939 till she left her body. This book contains 101 anecdotes of his encounters with the Mother in which she is revealed in her multitudinous facets.
Nagin-bhai came to the Sri Aurobindo Ashram as a young boy in the 1930s. He had a regular correspondence with Sri Aurobindo regarding his sadhana, the role of Avatarhood, etc. Quoting from the introduction, `He always regarded the Mother and Sri Aurobindo, to put it in his own words, "like my own mother and father" and there is no doubt that it is they who were doing Yoga in him as his spiritual parents.' The author had regular conversations with Nagin-bhai from 1994 to 1997 when Nagin-bhai...
A presentation at the Parliament of the World's Religions held in Chicago , USA September 2, 1993 . The author harmonises the concepts of religion, idealism, morality and science and points the way to a dynamic spirituality that reconciles all.
V. Madhusudan Reddy Towards a Global Future: Agenda of the Third Millennium --- A New Curriculum for the Next Future
Presents a vision of the future, and shows how the pillars of human civilisation - philosophy, spirituality, education, literature, the fine arts, politics, economics, law and science - can evolve in the process of realising that vision.
Simple passages with a practical orientation on the subject. About the Authors: The Mother: Born in Paris France India
Simple passages with a practical orientation on the subject. About the Authors: The Mother: Born in Paris France India
Reprints from All India Magazine on a specific topic showing how Yoga can be practised in our daily lives. About the Authors: Born in Paris France India
Presents significant passages on the important but highly misunderstood subject of the role of women in today's world.
A guide to the many varied activities that take place in Auroville, the international township. It provides information on the following aspects of Auroville: Spiritual basis Internal organisation Services and working groups Commercial units Guest houses and visitor facilities Afforestation and renewable energy activities Village development activities International Centres abroad Immediate neighbourhood (the villages and Pondicherry) A map of the Auroville...
The first volume in the author's trilogy version of the Mahabharata, this novel is a subjective interpretation and retelling of the events leading to the great battle of Kurukshetra, the dramatic and psychological centrepiece of India
This research work is a challenge to the historical orthodoxy that believes in the dogma of an Aryan invasion of the Indian subcontinent around the middle of the second millennium B.C.. The author, with the help of the insight provided by Sri Aurobindo in this subject, has mustered a host of arguments archaeological, literary and linguistic, in order to establish his thesis that contrary to the belief of an Aryan invasion of a Dravidian country, the presence of Dravido-Aryanism or...
This monograph briefly introduces two major epic poems about the famous Trojan war. The Iliad was written by Homer a few centuries after the siege of Troy India Ilion . In both epics the main quality abundantly displayed is heroism but seeds of the other qualities can be seen.
Medhananda, a German disciple who served as the librarian of the Sri Aurobindo Library for many years, was also a researcher and interpreter of the symbols in ancient cultures. In this book he examines several myths, tales, and legends in the light of mystic experience. What he sees are not stories about nature gods or tribal histories of kings and warriors, but facts, events and powers of the inner life. For him Heracles is not the muscle-bound hunter and hero of Greek myth, but the seeker...
This book takes a close look at what lies behind the many ancient Egyptian figures and gods, with their strange animal heads and fantastic crowns. The author sees them as expressive symbols for psychological principles, archetypes, functions and structures of man's own complex being. The images are "all symbols for those yet unknown parts of ourselves we must meet and become acquainted with on the way to total self-awareness….all these symbols and images are always ourselves or parts of...
Medhananda The Pyramids and the Sphinx: as seen by the Ancient Egyptians in Hieroglyphic Inscriptions
The Pyramids and the Sphinx are viewed today as wonders of the world and have been studied from the religious, mythological, philosophical and even occult point of view. This book proposes that the pyramids may have been erected by the ancient Egyptians in an attempt to penetrate the secrets of their inner psychological structure, and the riddle of the Sphinx may be a mirror of unrevealed secrets in the human subconscious. The author examines these mysteries, these monuments to wisdom, as...
Equals One, or =1, was the journal edited by Medhananda from February 1965 onwards. This unusual publication, creative and wide-ranging, was a field for his widely-educated mind and curious spirit to express itself. His articles were often written under pen-names, each representing a different aspect of Medhananda, another mode of consciousness. Many of his contributions took the form of stories, full of illuminating humour, provocative viewpoints and symbols that both veil and...
Initiation: Spiritual Insights into Life, Art, and Psychology is a compilation of essays, travelogues, short stories, art criticism, and poems that revolve around the theme of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother's vision. The author gives personal reflections on his spiritual quest, impressions of travels in India and Greece, and critical reviews of the emerging field of spiritual/transpersonal psychology and consciousness studies. He also applies Sri Aurobindo's model of social evolution to...
Joseph Vrinte The Quest for the Inner Man: Transpersonal Psychotherapy and Integral Sadhana From the blurb:
The present work is basically an attempt to present in detail a clear reconstruction and systematic formulation of the theoretical and practical basis of the transpersonalist's and Sri Aurobindo's views on a new approach and image of man. In this comparative study the author has tried to clarify various psychological concepts from two different cultures and placed them in their respective context which underlies...
Dialogue has been since ancient times a method of teaching and writing. This book consists of an imaginary dialogue with Sri Aurobindo. The author would pen down his problems and queries and then search for the answers from the works of Sri Aurobindo which he would "invariably get in a direct way". The ensuing "dialogue" shows how pertinent Sri Aurobindo's writings still are today. The focus is on the socio-political thought of Sri Aurobindo.
This book expounds an integral approach to healing. The relationships between health and the psychic being, faith, yoga and culture are discussed in the light of Sri Aurobindo's teachings, as well as the impact of the different planes of human consciousness on health. Illustrative case studies and a glossary are included.
There are many realms of knowledge which are never taught to young students. The parents tell their children to concentrate on their studies without giving them any clue as to how exactly one concentrates. Similarly, they are never told of so many whys and hows of things: why they become ill, get angry, feel afraid; or the reasons for their boredom, depression and frustration, and how to overcome all these. "The finest present one can give to a child would be to teach him to know himself...
The premise of this book is that if the goal of man is to evolve into a higher being capable of manifesting a divine consciousness, then this ideal must move beyond the realm of individual yogic practices and be seriously and purposefully taken up by societies through the propagation of a new kind of education. Based on his own practice as a teacher and teacher educator, the author describes the characteristics of an integral teacher and an integral learning environment and how these differ,...
Based on a series of teacher-training workshops conducted across India, this book aims to introduce and orient parents and teachers to integral education: a new approach to learning and teaching, a new attitude and mindset that focuses on responding to each child’s unique needs and learning style. Chapters are organised: First, to reveal the foundations of this new approach Then, to provide strategies to help move from the old ways of teaching to the...
This book presents Sri Aurobindo's views on linguistics in general and on Sanskrit in particular. It compares Sri Aurobindo's approach to the problem of the origin of human speech with those of other philologists. Sri Aurobindo has extensively studied some of the word-families of Sanskrit to find out the original mind-impressions that the root-sounds have within them. Discovering these, he shows how Sanskrit has preserved the original primitive structure of language and the system of simple...
Uses a direct and simple approach drawing on the similarities between Sanskrit and modern Indian languages. Even beginners without any prior knowledge of Sanskrit will find this book most helpful as English has been used extensively to introduce the alphabet, indicate the pronunciation and as an aid to understand the text.
Narendra Speak Sanskrit the Easy Way (This book assumes familiarity with the Devanagari script)
The method introduced here for learning Sanskrit is natural, easy and effective. Extensive use of tables helps to simplify the grammatical complexities in a structural and scientific way. For all words, meanings are provided in English.
When first published in 1972 as "Sri Aurobindo in the First Decade of the Century", this book brought to light the then unknown private correspondence relating to Sri Aurobindo between Governor-General Lord Minto and Secretary of State for India Lord Morley, as well as the debate on Sri Aurobindo in the British parliament. Long out of print and now reissued, this book provides a unique insight into the politically active phase of Sri Aurobindo's life.
Swaraj is a multi-dimensional concept. It not only relates to political freedom, but also means autonomy and harmony in all spheres of life—political, economic, social, cultural, spiritual and moral. This book presents a spiritual and moral exposition of the concept of Swaraj as interpreted by great Indian thinkers like M. K. Gandhi, Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Sri Aurobindo, Raja Rammohun Roy, Rabindranath Tagore and Swami Vivekananda.
The book analyses the treatment of Bhagavadgita by three important thinkers to Modern India, Sri Aurobindo, Mahatma Gandhi and Radhakrishnan. Bhagavadgita is the essence of Indian philosophical and religious textual heritage, acceptable and intelligible to vast range of readers. Through out the ages saints and scholars have commented on it. Sri Aurobindo, Gandhi and Radhakrishnan have been chosen as representative thinkers of the 20th century. Sri Aurobindo was associated with the extremist...
The first of two articles in this booklet presents Sri Aurobindo's observations on the works of the Vedic Scholar Max Muller. The second is about Subhas Chandra Bose's "adoration" of Sri Aurobindo as a "spiritual Guru", and their perceptions on the contemporary political situation.
The philospohy of the Vedanta was an integral vision of life. In its view no area of human activity, including politics, can be fully understood without an insight into the source and goal of life itself. Sri Aurobindo wrote "All political ideals must have relation to the temperament and past history of the race. The genius of India is separate from that of any other race." This book presents the "New Ideal" advocated by Sri Aurobindo ninety years ago. Though the roots of the ideal are...
Samar Basu Man: Towards His Splendid Destiny: A Guide to the Study of Man in the Light of Sri Aurobindo From the preface:
We firmly believe that in the present darkest situation it is Sri Aurobindo's LIGHT that can guide bewildered humanity to find out the right way to progress. Hence this small volume in which are incorporated significant passages from Sri Aurobindo. This compilation, with linking notes by the editor, focusses on "The purpose of Man's appearance on Earth", his evolution and the "Emergence of a new humanity in a new world". Man, unquestionably, has reached...
Samar Basu The UNO, the World Government and the Ideal of World Union: As Envisioned by Sri Aurobindo
This book in the form of correspondence with an imaginary character, traces the evolution of various World bodies such as the League of Nations, the UNO and the Federal World Government. It analyses their shortcomings and failures and shows, in Sri Aurobindo's light, the steps that need to be taken at the global level to move closer towards the ideal of human unity.
This anthology of penetrating essays that explore and explain the avenues of thought laid out by Sri Aurobindo in his major writings offers to the reader a deep and wide look at philosophy, evolution, education, poetry and art, man and his relations, politics and the state, and yoga and psychology. The contributors are committed and serious scholars who feel that Sri Aurobindo’s thought offers the surest basis for understanding the past, present, and future dilemmas facing man. The book...
This book is "another effort to show how Sri Aurobindo may be studied with reference to the great Western writers, most of whom are romantics in a special sense." These short comparative essays "seek to clarify the Western tradition behind Sri Aurobindo who is returning again to the West, after a hundred years, not just through his philosophy, but also through his poetics...". The comparative studies cover a wide range of Western poets such as Blake, Wilde, Emerson, Poe, Baudelaire, Petrarch...
In Sri Aurobindo's words the Renaissance in Europe meant "above all everywhere, the discovery of beauty and joy in every energy of life". He also referred to it as "Hellenism returning with its strong sense of humanity and things human". From the Preface, "This study seeks to interpret the views of Sri Aurobindo on the renaissance, on Shakespeare and Marlowe in particular. My own thoughts on them have grown out of the clues offered by the Master." The chapter headings convey the themes...
The preface states: These short sketches and comments were first printed in `The Advent' as editorial notes. Though diverse in nature they go admirably together as a common inspiration and central vision bind them into a single whole.
Based on a talk given at Sri Aurobindo International Centre of Education on the occasion of Dr. Syama Prasad Mookerjee's birth centenary, this book highlights his major contributions to Indian education and politics. Later known as "the lion of the Parliament", Mookerjee was an ardent son of India who led a courageous crusade against the partition of Bengal. The Mother chose him as chairman of the Sri Aurobindo Memorial Convention in 1951, where he concluded his speech with a call for India...
Prof. Kittu Reddy History of India: A New Approach (Second Revised Edition, First Edition published in February 2003)
This book is an attempt to write the history of India from the subjective viewpoint, without in any way distracting from the external events. History, as it has generally been conceived and written in modern times, has limited itself to the outer narration and interpretation of events and ignored the psychological forces and factors that affect human life ... This book is an attempt to look at Indian history from the...
In this talk Dr. Nadkarni analyses the problem of Hindu-Muslim unity in the light of Sri Aurobindo's thought. Sri Aurobindo did not accept the division of the country as a politically settled fact. In his message on Inida's Independence day he clearly pronounced his views on this issue: "India is free but she has not achieved unity, only a fissured and broken freedom... But the old communal division into Hindu and Muslim seems to have hardened into the figure of a permanent political...
In this collection of six essays originally written as lectures for seminars and conferences, Mangesh Nadkarni examines some of the crucial problems facing India today from the spiritual perspective offered by Sri Aurobindo, who pointed out that what man is facing now is not just a social, political, economic, ecological or nuclear crisis but an evolutionary one. Man is a transitional being, and he must evolve from his current mental consciousness, which has proven incapable of solving these...
The first part of this book is a compilation from Sri Aurobindo bringing together his penetrating insights on democracy and secularism. These have a living relevance for the present and future of the political life of India and the world and can serve as a guiding star to politicians, statesmen and administrators. The second part is an essay by the editors, 'Religion, Humanism and Secularism', based on Sri Aurobindo's views.
In this account "the author puts the present situation of humanity in the perspective of the evolutionary vision of Sri Aurobindo and The Mother. The result is a positive interpretation of the global situation. The meaning of history, the globalisation of our planet, the values represented by East and West, their meeting and reciprocal fertilisation, the future evolution of mankind - all these topics and more are presented here ...". Sri Aurobindo spoke of three kinds of revolutions: The...
Barindra Kumar Ghosh, younger brother of Sri Aurobindo, was a leader of the revolutionary movement in Bengal. He spent ten years in prison in the Andamans, and later lived for six years in the Sri Aurobindo Ashram before settling in Bengal. He was involved in various literary activities in different languages, much of which has recently come to light. This booklet is a compilation of some of his articles on a variety of themes revolving around India, her destiny, and the evolution of...
A collection of short stories and reflections, striking for bringing out in humourous fashion the eternal human predicament of reconciling knowledge of and belief in an ideal, and its application in practice, often resulting in tragi-comic situations full of hypocrisy and embarassme
looks into global and local questions pertaining to individual morality and social ethos in the larger domain of man in relation to man, in relation to various domains of society and also in relation to nature/world/cosmos. A group of philosophers have presented a panorama of pluralistic Indian perspectives that include classical, traditional Vedic, contemporary and tribal viewpoints with the hope to ignite the spirit of better understanding of values. The result is a well-planned text for students of philosophy, sociology, anthropology and politics and an analytic and authentic reference for researchers with interest in these areas of thought. ny forward-looking reader with a wider interest may find this anthology to be quite useful. 
, joined the Survival conference for the first time in May 2006. On Wednesday morning Heehs followed Eric Weiss's overview of Aurobindo's cosmology with a presentation that first provided some brief background to different cultural views of reincarnation and then gave a nice overview of Aurobindo's own perspective on the topic.