FOREWORD The two basic concepts of the Vedanta are the all-pervasive Divine — the Brahman — and the spark or reflection of this Divine within each being, specially human beings — the Atman, and joining these two — Yoga — is the well-established methodology to be found in our scriptures and in the teachings of realised seers and saints down through the millennia. Within this broad Brahman-Atman-Yoga framework, there are an infinite number of possibilities, theories and practices flowing from the essential pluralistic nature of Hinduism which accepts multiple paths to the Divine — ekam sad viprā bahudhā vadanti — as the Rigveda has it. Down through the ages, our sa

APPENDIX The following passages, extracted from Sri Aurobindo's epic, Savitri, are on topics related to the psychic being dealt with in this book — nature and function of the psychic, its action and influence, contact with the psychic, its growth, discovery of the psychic and its freedom, emergence of the psychic and psychic transformation. Page references pertain to the Sri Aurobindo Birth Centenary Library edition of the epic. This bodily appearance is not all; The form deceives, the person is a mask; Hid deep in man celestial powers can dwell. His fragile ship conveys through the sea of years An incognito of the Imperishable. A spirit that is a f

INTRODUCTION One of the most inspiring and ennobling concepts in the spiritual lore of the world is that of the psychic being. It provides a major key for understanding the significance and process of the evolution of consciousness, and offers a potent tool for the transformation of consciousness. The concept of the psychic thus ranks among the outstanding contributions made by yogic experience to psychological thought and spiritual practice. What is the Psychic? Sri Aurobindo, who uses the term "psychic" for what is popularly and often vaguely called the soul, distinguishes between the psychic principle, which is present in all things and creatures, and the ps

Section Five EMERGENCE OF THE PSYCHIC BEING Man is a mental being and the mind is the leader of his life and body; but this is a leader who is much led by his followers and has sometimes no other will than what they impose on him. Mind in spite of its power is often impotent before the inconscient and subconscient which obscure its clarity and carry it away on the tide of instinct or impulse; in spite of its clarity it is fooled by vital and emotional suggestions into giving sanction to ignorance and error, to wrong thought and to wrong action, or it is obliged to look on while the nature follows what it knows to be wrong, dangerous or evil. Even w

REFERENCES Passages in this book, serially numbered 1-127. have been extracted from the following volumes of the Sri Aurobindo Birth Centenary Library (1970-1973) and the Collected Works of the Mother (1972-1987) published by Sri Aurobindo Ashram, Pondicherry, Sri Aurobindo Birth Centenary Library (SABCL) Vol. Title 15 Social and Political Thought 19 The Life Divine -— Book Two Part Two 20 The Synthesis of Yoga — Parts One and Two 21 The Synthesis of Yoga — Parts Three and Four 22 Letters on Yoga — Part One 23 Letters on Yoga — Parts Two and Three 24 Letters on Yoga — Pa

PREFACE This book aims at three main objectives. First, it is meant to help one in becoming more conscious of what most human beings are almost entirely unconscious, namely, the action and influence of the soul in one's life. Secondly, the book seeks to describe and clarify various states of consciousness that pertain to experiences of the soul. These include the influence of the psychic, coming in contact or being in touch with the psychic, discovery of, identification with or awakening of the psychic, and the opening, coming forward or emergence of the psychic. Such a clarification provides a mental understanding that can be helpful not only in conceiving and distinguishin

Installing the Divine Mother in the Temple of Earth 1 Reminiscences of Nolini Kanta Gupta 2 The legend goes that as Agastya journeyed South, the Vindhya mountains bent low to give him passage, and that they have remained low ever since and would continue in that posture until the Rishi came back. In connection with this story about the Vedic Rishi Agastya, one is almost automatically reminded of the endeavour of Sri Aurobindo. Like Agastya he journeyed South and set up a permanent seat here to emanate a new Light — he was even known in these parts as Uttara Yogi, the Yogi of the North. In his lines of work and sadh

Journey: Towards The New And The Unknown Beyond the boundaries I have wrapped the wide world in my wider self And Time and Space my spirit's seeing are. . . . All Nature is the nursling of my care, I am the struggle and the eternal rest; The world's joy thrilling runs through me, I bear The sorrow of millions in my lonely breast. . . . I pass beyond Time and life on measureless wings, Yet still am one with born and unborn things. Sri Aurobindo A moment of transition: Impressions of Motilal Roy* Sri Aurobindo's sadhana at Chandernagore went on with intensity. He saw many visions on the su

-21_Inner_Fruit_of_the_Avatar^s_Coming.htm Inner Fruit of the Avatar's Coming The inner fruit of the Avatar's coming is gained by those who learn from it the true nature of the divine birth and the divine works and who, growing full of him in their consciousness and taking refuge in him with their whole being, manmāy mām upāśritāḥ, purified by the realising force of their knowledge and delivered from the lower nature, attain to the divine being and divine nature, madbhāvam. The Avatar comes to reveal the divine nature in man above this lower nature and to show what are the divine works, free, unegoistic, disinterested, impersonal, universal, full of the divine light, the divine power and the div

Savitri : A Bridge to the Future Flute of the Infinite: Savitri A sudden messenger from the all-seeing tops, Traversed the soundless corridors of his mind Bringing her rhythmic sense of hidden things. A music spoke transcending mortal speech. As if from a golden phial of the All-Bliss, A joy of light, a joy of sudden sight, A rapture of the thrilled undying Word Poured into his heart as into an empty cup, A repetition of God's first delight Creating in a young and virgin Time.... Spokesman of the silent seeings of the Supreme, She brought immortal words to mortal men.... All the gr