The Science of Living To know oneself and to control oneself  An aimless life is always a miserable life.  Every one of you should have an aim. But do not forget that on the quality of your aim will depend the quality of your life. Your aim should be high and wide, generous and disinterested; this will make your life precious to yourself and to others. But whatever your ideal, it cannot be perfectly realised unless you have realised perfection in yourself. To work for your perfection, the first step is to become conscious of yourself, of the different parts of your being and their respective activities. You must learn to distinguish these diff

 to me. Please tell me, how can I take interest in the things to which I am not drawn? There are a lot of things that we need to know, not because we find them specially interesting but because they are useful and even indispensable; mathematics is one of them. It is only when we have a strong background of knowledge that we can face life successfully.   History and geography can only become interesting to minds that are eager to know the earth on which they live. Before one can take an interest in these two subjects, one must widen the horizons of one's thirst for knowledge as well as one's field of consciousness. How can mathematics, history or

* THE MOTHER - 1969

Education The education of a human being should begin at birth and continue throughout his life.  Indeed, if we want this education to have its maximum result, it should begin even before birth; in this case it is the mother herself who proceeds with this education by means of a twofold action: first, upon herself for her own improvement, and secondly, upon the child whom she is forming physically. For it is certain that the nature of the child to be born depends very much upon the mother who forms it, upon her aspiration and will as well as upon the material surroundings in which she lives. To see that her thoughts are always beautiful and pure, her feelings always noble and f

-58_Mother's-Action-in-a-Class-of-Aged-07 to 09.htm children themselves. She explained:} The tree is life that aspires and grows. The sun is the light of Truth. It is not the cold light of reason that helps life to grow and blossom, it is the warm and life-giving light of Truth; it is the sun, when it pours its joyful rays on the world. (The teacher introduced activities such as doing odd jobs, gardening, making a zoo out of cardboard, ob- serving a chrysalis, etc. The children enjoyed these activities but afterwards were reluctant to go on from there to do more “scholastic” work.}   A good beginning. It will evolve quite naturally towards more intellectual activ

The Fear of Death and the Four Methods of Conquering It Generally speaking, perhaps the greatest obstacle in the way of man's progress is fear, a fear that is many-sided, multiform, self-contradictory, illogical, unreasoning and often unreasonable. Of all fears the most subtle and the most tenacious is the fear of death. It is deeply rooted in the subconscient and it is not easy to dislodge. It is obviously made up of several interwoven elements: the spirit of conservatism and the concern for self-preservation so as to ensure the continuity of consciousness, the recoil before the unknown, the uneasiness caused by the unexpected and the unforeseeable, and perhaps, behi

I cannot say they are wrong. All the teachers who give lessons to a certain group of students should agree among themselves to allot the work so that the students are not overworked and can enjoy a rest and a relaxation that are  indispensable. This collective preparation must be ready before I can give any useful advice. As for the subjects, it is indispensable to choose those which coincide with their personal experience so as to encourage introspection, observation and analysis of personal impressions.  December 1959 *   (A teacher of mathematics asked whether he should strictly adhere to the policy at that time, that children below the age of

 Physical Education   Of all the domains of human consciousness, the physical is the one most completely governed by method, order, discipline, process. The lack of plasticity and receptivity in matter has to be replaced by a detailed organisation that is both precise and comprehensive. In this organisation, one must not forget the interdependence and interpenetration of all the domains of the being. However, even a mental or vital impulse, to express itself physically, must submit to an exact process. That is why all education of the body, if it is to be effective, must be rigorous and detailed, far-sighted and methodical. This will be translated into habits; the body i

II SRI AUROBINDO ASHRAM DEPARTMENT OF PHYSICAL EDUCATION Founded in May 1945, the Sri Aurobindo Ashram Depart- ment of Physical Education organises the physical education pro- gramme for the students and teachers of the Centre of Education and for the members of the Ashram. Its activities are coordinated and supervised by a group of instructors called captains, who give training in athletics (track and field events), aquatics, gym- nastics, games, combative sports and asanas. The yearly sched- ule is divided into four seasons: during the first three, there is a period of training followed by competitions; at the end of the year, partic

Youth Youth does not depend on the small number of years one has lived, but on the capacity to grow and progress. To grow is to increase one's potentialities, one's capacities; to progress is to make constantly more perfect the capacities that one already possesses. Old age does not come from a great number of years but from the incapacity or the refusal to continue to grow and progress. I have known old people of twenty and young people of seventy. As soon as one wants to settle down in life and reap the benefits of one's past efforts, as soon as one thinks that one has done what one had to do and accomplished what one had to accomplish, in short, as soon as one ceases to progress, to a