BIBLIOGRAPHY Works of Sri Aurobindo I. INDIAN CULTURE First Published The Foundations of Indian Culture, 'Arya', Dec. 1918 Jan. 1921 1953 On the Veda, 'Arya', August 1914 -July 1916 1956 Hymns to the Mystic Fire 1946 Isha Upanishad (Sanskrit text with English translation and notes) 'Arya', August 1914 - May 1915 1921 Eight Upanishads (Sanskrit text with English translation and notes) 1953 Kena Upanishad (Sanskrit text with English translation and notes)

Introduction Sri Aurobindo was born on the 15th August 1872 at Calcutta. At an early age of seven, he was taken along with his elder brothers to England for education, since his father wanted him to have no Indian influence in the shaping of his outlook and personality. And yet, even though Sri Aurobindo assimilated in himself richly the best of the European culture, he returned to India in 1893 with a burning aspiration to work for the liberation of India from foreign rule. While in England, Sri Aurobindo passed the I.C.S. Examination, and yet he felt no call for it; so he got himself disqualified by remaining absent from the riding test. The Gaekwar of Baroda happened

1 Sri Aurobindo It is well known that Sri Aurobindo had a thorough Western education, and he had a period of agnostic denial. But from the moment he looked at yogic phenomena, he could never take the attitude of doubt and disbelief which was for so long fashionable in Europe. Abnormal, otherwise supraphysical experiences and powers, occult or yogic, always seemed to him something perfectly natural and credible. It was after a long stay in India at Baroda that Sri Aurobindo turned decisively to Yoga in 1904. He had, however, a few spiritual experiences even in his pre-yogic period. The first was in London, in 1892, the year of his departure from E

2 The Mother The Mother (Mirra Alfassa) was born in Paris on the 21st February, 1878. Her mother was Egyptian and her father was Turkish—both of them were perfect materialists. As a result, although she had inner experiences, including that of the divine Presence, right from her childhood, she was in her external life an atheist until she entered into adulthood. In her early years, she had a good grounding in music (piano), painting and higher mathematics. At the same time, she used to have spontaneous experiences including those of coming out of her body to discover inner realities without understanding what they really meant. Let us note a few of the

APPENDIX I.1 Cosmic Consciousness I have wrapped the wide world in my wider self And Time and Space my spirit's seeing are. I am the god and demon, ghost and elf, I am the wind's speed and the blazing star. All Nature is the nursling of my care, I am its struggle and the eternal rest; The world's joy thrilling runs through me, I bear The sorrow of millions in my lonely breast. I have learned a close identity with all, Yet am by nothing bound that I become; Carrying in me the universe's call I mount to my imperishable home. I pass beyond Time and life on measureless wings, Yet still am one

INDEX Absolute, Impersonal, 75 Dead or alive, 156 Adventure, 109, 113 Death, 134, l60, 186-9, 206, 211, 212, 213, 220, 261 Adwaita, 7 Descent, 33, 76, 78, 146-7 Alipore jail, 11, 12 Descent of the Supermind, 85, 87 Arya, 2, 56, 67 Divine body, 95-6, l63 Ascent, 33, 76, 78 Divine, integral, 71, 75 Ashta Siddhi, 17-8, 241-3 Dying, new way of, l68 Auroville, 3, 178-9 Bengladesh, 214 Education, revolutionary experiments in, 94 Baroda, 1, 5, 6, 9 Ego, 9,10,86,208-9,251,253,261 Bengal, 1 Equality, 269-70 Body consciousness, impersonalisation of, 160-3

7 Towards the Transformed Body A momentous stage was reached. An irreversible stage was reached. The whole work, the real work of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother, was to open up the consciousness of the cells by fixing the supramental consciousness in the body-consciousness. This work was done; the rest was a secondary consequence. As Mother said: 'It must be "worked out" as one says, it has to be realised in all details, but the change IS DONE—the change is done.... The physical is CAPABLE of receiving the Superior Light, the Truth, the true consciousness and to ma-ni-fest it.' Again, as Mother said: 'Still one must struggle, one must have

PART TWO Concept of the Synthesis of Yoga The synthesis of yoga presupposes the existence of partial or specialised systems of yoga, each leading to partial or specialised results or accomplishments. A synthesis can be a combination, and there have been in the history of yoga several ways of combination. An indiscriminating combination en bloc would not be a synthesis, but confusion. A successive practice of different systems of yoga may result in some kind of synthesis. Sometimes, for example, the practice of Hatha Yoga is followed by the practice of Raja Yoga. Or, as in the life of Sri Ramakrishna Paramhamsa, we find a powerful example, even a unique example, of a colossal

Preface Yoga is a science, since it relies upon experiences and verification of experiences by strict methods of application and rediscovery. The knowledge acquired by yoga can thus be regarded as verifiable and repeatable authentic knowledge, which is always open to the possibility of expansion of knowledge, — confirmation of knowledge gained in the past and discovery of new knowledge. This book aims at showing that the new synthesis of yoga that has been developed by Sri Aurobindo and the Mother is not a culmination of the past yogic effort and aim and, that it is based upon new yogic knowledge of the meaning and aim of life. The past yogic effort is, indeed,

This book is addressed to all young people who, I urge will study and respond to the following message of Sri Aurobindo: "It is the young who must be the builders of the new world, — not those who accept the competitive individualism, the capitalism or the materialistic communism of the West as India’s future ideal, nor those who are enslaved to old religious formulas and cannot believe in the acceptance and transformation of life by the spirit, but all those who are free in mind and heart to accept a completer truth and labour for a greater ideal. They must be men who will dedicate themselves not to the past