Note on the Texts   Note on the Texts   LETTERS ON HIMSELF AND THE ASHRAM consists of letters written by Sri Aurobindo between 1926 and 1950 in which he referred to his life and works, his sadhana or practice of yoga, and the sadhana of members of his ashram. The letters have been selected and arranged by the editors in four parts dealing with four broad subject areas: (1) Sri Aurobindo's outer life, his writings, his contemporaries, and contemporary events; (2) his inner life before and after his arrival in Pondicherry; (3) his role as a spiritual leader and guide; and (4) his ashram and the sadhana practised there. A fifth part contains mantras and messages tha

The Realisation of 24 November 1926   Descent of the Overmind   Ever since I came here this time I have been experiencing a very intense atmosphere, a very strong pressure, similar in intensity and depth to what I felt in 1926 (months of October to December). It appears to me that the Supermind is about to descend a second time. Is this an entirely wrong feeling on my part or there is some truth in it, if not the full truth?   There is some truth in it —  but the descent in 1926 was rather of the Overmind, not of the Supermind proper. 21 August 1935   The Significance of the 24th November

Unusual Experiences and States of Consciousness   Visions of Unknown People   Yes, of course, I remember about Baroda Babu —  I can't say I remember him because I never saw him, at least in the flesh. What he probably means by the Supramental is the Above Mind —  what I now call Illumined Mind ­ Intuition ­ Overmind. I used to make that confusion myself at the beginning. There is not enough to go upon to say whether he really sees the Mother or an image of her is reflected in his own mind. But there is nothing extraordinary, much less impossible in seeing a person whom one has never seen —  you are thinking

Section Three   Some Aspects of the Sadhana in Pondicherry       Inner Vicissitudes and Difficulties   Undeterred by Difficulty   I suppose all spiritual or inner experiences can be denounced as merely subjective and delusive. But to the spiritual seeker even the smallest inner experience is a thing of value. I stand for the Truth I hold in me and I would still stand for it even if it had no chance whatever of outward fulfilment in this life. I should go on with it even if all here abandoned and repudiated me and denounced it to the world as a delusion and a folly. I have nev

Outer Life in Pondicherry 1910 - 1950   Meeting Paul Richard   I would like to know the mystery behind M. Paul Richard's meeting with Sri Aurobindo. I have heard that when he started for Pondicherry you [i.e. the Mother] gave him some signs or some questions to be solved by an Indian Yogi. And they were solved by Sri Aurobindo.   I don't think there was any mystery. He came for political purposes and enquired of Naidu or perhaps from Shankar Chettiar in whose house I was living whether there was any Indian Guru here and my name was mentioned and they brought him to see me. He showed me some signs employed in Indian, Egyptian and ot

Yoga Centres and Movements   Centres   We have the idea of concentrating our activities and joining ourselves more closely to the Pondicherry Ashram by starting a lodge someplace in Gujarat where we can meet at least once a month.   No "Lodge" or formal society; these methods are not suitable for this sadhana. If they like to meet or meditate together of their own accord and without starting any fixed association or propaganda, that is another matter.   *     You might write to Rangpur (to X or Y —  the one who wrote about the friction with Z, I don't remember which it was) that it is not at all

Miscellaneous Matters   This is a small selection from the many hundreds of letters that Sri Aurobindo wrote to his disciples on various matters relating to their outward lives.   Household Questions   What is the "divine life" and what are "petty things"? The divine life is not something lived on romantic heights with no reference to earth and its movements. The Yogic or spiritual attitude has to be applied to the small outward details of life as well as to inner experiences or high ideals on a large scale. You ought to know by this time that the Mother attaches a great importance to the true spirit in the organisation of

Guidance through Correspondence   Utility of Correspondence   It would be a great mistake for you to stop writing in the book;1 it is a means of direct and concrete contact with me and the help I can give you —  apart from that which I always send you at all times. It is an adverse suggestion and influence which wants you to stop writing, because it wishes to cut the connection established through the book so that you might find it more difficult to feel my help coming to you. It is absurd to break off because you are for the time being unsuccessful in keeping up an uninterrupted progress; the interruptions come, they hav

The Realisation of January 1908   General Remarks   It is not that there is anything peculiar to you in these difficulties; every sadhaka entering this Way has to get over similar impediments. It took me four years of inner striving to find a real Way, even though the Divine help was with me all the time, and even then it seemed to come by an accident; and it took me ten more years of intense Yoga under a supreme inner guidance to find the Way —  and that was because I had my past and the world's Past to assimilate and overpass before I could find and found the future. 5 May 1932   *     I think you

Remarks on Public Figures in India   Sayajirao Gaekwar   I find it strange that they have made the Gaekwar the President of the World Conference of Faiths. Is he a Hindu?   When I knew him the Gaekwar was a free-thinker without any religion; I don't know if he has altered his views since. Formally, he is of course a Hindu. 7 July 1936   *   I read the Gaekwar's speech at the World Conference of Faiths. It is full of commonplace ideas about brotherhood, fellowship and goodwill. These ideas seem to have become mere catch words and it is doubtful if they can be of an