III The Vrajvasis leave Gokula* One day, most handsome Śrī Krsna said to his brother, Balarāma, "My dear brother, I think it is not good to play in this forest any more. We, the cowherd boys, have spoiled the beauty of this forest by using it recklessly. There is no more grass left for the cows, and no more dry wood for cooking. Each and every tree in this forest has been used to its fullest extent. The density of the forest now appears thin, like the sky. We no longer find any pleasure while looking at the forest. There were many beautiful trees in and around the cowshed, the gates of which have round locks. But those trees are no more, because the fores

Part II On Puranic Literature A few extracts from Sri Aurobindo's "The Foundations of Indian Culture" The Puranas are essentially a true religious poetry, an art of aesthetic presentation of religious truth. All the bulk of the eighteen Puranas does not indeed take a high rank in this kind: there is much waste substance and not a little of dull and dreary matter, but on the whole the poetic method employed is justified by the richness and power of the creation. The earliest work is the best — with one exception at the end in a style which stands by itself and is unique. The Vishnu Purana for instance in spite of one or two desert

Part IV Sri Aurobindo on Integral Yoga of Divine Love (Some Extracts) The Way of Devotion Bhakti in itself is as wide as the heart-yearning of the soul for the Divine and as simple and straightforward as love and desire going straight towards their object. It cannot, therefore, be fixed down to any systematic method, cannot found itself on a psychological science like the Rajayoga, or a psychophysical like the Hathayoga, or start from a definite intellectual process like the ordinary method of the Jnanayoga. It may employ various means or supports, and man, havi

Editorial Note Sri Krishna's life, as it is narrated in the Puranas and in several other writings, reads like a legend or even like a myth. It is sometimes argued that Sri Krishna and his life have only a symbolical value. It has also been doubted whether Sri Krishna ever lived in any historical or prehistorical time. Even the Mahab-harata is viewed sometimes as fiction that could have been based on some historical facts. The great episode, which has been depicted in the Gita has come to be viewed by some interpreters as a parable or as an allegory of an inner battle of good and evil that constantly takes place within the human personality. Despite all this, Sri Krishn

23 Mandukya Upanishad MANDUKYA Upanishad is attributed to the Atharvaveda. It is extremely short, composed in prose, stated in terms, the meanings of which are not easy to understand. It begins by a positive statement regarding the Universe, which is described as the exposition of the mystic syllable, AUM. It says: "AUM is this imperishable word, AUM is the Universe and this is the exposition of AUM." It is then declared that AUM is the past, the present and the future. And, finally, it is declared that all else that may exist beyond the bounds of Time, that too is AUM. A further positive statement regarding the Universe is made next: "Al

2 Rigveda IN this brief introduction to the Veda, we may present a few verses from the Rigveda, which is the principal Veda. First, let us take the most famous verse known as the Gayatri mantra. Actually, all the mantras in the Veda, which are in the poetic meter Gayatri, are Gayatri mantras. There are many meters and the system of these meters constitutes an elaborate science, which is known as Chhanda Shastra. Among these meters, one is called Gayatri. Gayatri has three parts, each of eight syllables, or alternatively it has four parts, each of six syllables. The total number of syllables is 24. Among numerous Gayatri mantras in the Veda,

28 Spirituality, Science and Technology ONE of the central issue of today is that of the uses and misuses of Science and Technology, of Science and Values, of Science and Spirituality,—in brief, the issue of what Sri Aurobindo has called the denial of the materialist and the refusal of the ascetic. Fortunately, it can be said that humanity has over-passed the stage of naive materialism, which was based on the vicious circular argument that physical senses are the only means of knowledge, since this very statement cannot be established by means of physical senses. No more are we like the uninstructed stranger who on witnessing the

13 Upanishads THERE is a view that while the Vedas represented primitive mentality, the Upanishads indicate a state of mature thought and subtle philosophy. This view is in contradiction to what the Upanishads themselves declare about the Vedas. The Upanishads look upon the Vedas as their authority, and their own realisations are referred to the Vedic pronouncements for determining their veracity and authenticity. In the Indian tradition, Vedas are looked upon as the ultimate source of both Karmakanda and Jnanakanda. It is true, however, that in course of time, when the Vedic texts came to be utilised predominantly for ritualistic purposes (Karmakanda), the word Jnanakand

10 Brahmanas THE four Vedas constitute the basic texts of the Vedic knowledge. But in ancient times, several works were composed to elucidate or explain this difficult and secret knowledge. Of these, Brahmanas are most important. It has been said that Vedas consist of the mantras of the Vedas and the texts of the Brahmanas. The word Brahmana is to be distinguished from the word Brahmin. Whereas Brahmanas are literary compositions. Brahmins are members of the varna called Brahmana. The literary works known as Brahmanas are so called because they are commentaries on the mantras of the Veda. The total corpus of the basic Vedic literature is divided into four parts

4 Vedic Concept of the Ultimate Reality IN these introductory notes, we have seen briefly the universality of the Veda and its emphasis on Goodwill. We shall now consider here the real basis of this universality and the importance it attaches to Goodwill. The real basis is the Vedic vision of Oneness and unity of existence. This vision is the opposite of our normal perception of division and surpassing unconnectedness despite discontinuous connections and relations. The vision of oneness and unity is termed by the Veda as Knowledge, vidya; our normal experience of division is termed Ignorance, avidya. The aim of the Veda is to lead us