We are here to learn (04-03-12) When I see others suffer, I feel that I am unfortunate, but the wisdom that is not mine, sees the good that is coming and approves Sri Aurobindo (Thoughts and Aphorisms-26) We are here to learn Essentially there is but one single true reason for living: it is to know oneself. We are here to learn- to learn what we are, why we are here, and what we have to do. And if we don’t know that, our life is altogether empty- for ourselves and for others. And so, generally, it is better to begin early for there is much to learn. If one wants to learn about life as it is, the world as it is, and then really know the why and how of life, one can begin when very

Education (19-09-12) When Wisdom comes, her first lesson is, "There is no such thing as knowledge; there are only aperçus of the Infinite Deity." Sri Aurobindo (Thoughts and Aphorisms-73) Education Usually all education, all culture, all refinement of the senses and the being is one of the best ways of curing instincts, desires, passions. To eliminate these things does not cure them; to cultivate, intellectualise, refine them, this is the surest means of curing. To give the greatest possible development for progress and growth, to acquire a certain sense of harmony and exactness of perception, this is a part of the culture of the being, of the education of the being…. Education

Death, Desire and Incapacity (16-12-12) Death, Desire and Incapacity In the beginning all was covered by Hunger that is Death; that made or itself Mind so that it might attain topo ssession of self. rihadaranyaka Upanishad. This is the Power discovered by the mortal that has the multitude of its desires so that it may sustain all things; it takes the taste of all foods and builds a house for the being. Rig Veda. …..Life is universal Force working so as to create, energise, maintain and modify, even to the extent of dissolving and reconstructing, substantial forms with mutual play and interchange of an overtly or secretly conscious energy as its fundamental character. In the mater

To listen to some devout people, one would imagine that God never laughs; Heine was nearer the mark when he found in Him the divine Aristophanes. Sri Aurobindo (Thoughts and Aphorisms-80)   Act Without Any Desire To choose without preference and execute without desire is the great difficulty at the very root of the development of true consciousness and self-control. To choose in this sense means to see what is true and bring it into existence; and to choose thus, without the least personal bias for any thing, any person, action, circumstance, is exactly what is most difficult for an ordinary human being. Yet one must learn to act without any preference,

Pay Attention (18-01-12) What men call knowledge, is the resoned acceptance of false appearances. Wisdom looks behind the veil and sees. Sri Aurobindo (Thoughts and Aphorisms-7) Pay Attention If one does not pay attention, things slide very easily into a hole: one takes a false step, then slips and suddenly bumps against the bottom of the hole. Then one asks oneself, “But how did this come about? What happened?” Simply a false step: you did not take care, you allowed that part of the being to draw you into its own field; because you did not pull it out of its way, did not compel it to follow you, it now drags you back instead. If one wants to lead the spiritual life, one must not be th

Illness and Yoga (05-03-12) Illness and Yoga What are physical ailments? Are they attacks by the hostile forces from outside? There are two factors that have to be considered in the matter. There is what comes from outside and there is what comes from your inner condition. Your inner condition becomes a cause of illness when there is a resistance or revolt in it or when there is some part in you that does not respond to the protection; or even there may be something there that almost willingly and willfully calls in the adverse forces. It is enough if there is a slight movement of this kind in you; the hostile forces are at once upon you and their attack takes often the form of illness. B

Keep the will firm (25-03-12)  One called Napoleon a tyrant and imperial cut-throat; but I saw God armed striding through Europe. Sri Aurobindo (Thoughts and Aphorisms-29)   Keep the will firm What is the way to establish unity and homogeneity in our being? Keep the will firm. Treat the recalcitrant parts as disobedient children. Act upon them constantly and patiently. Convince them of their error. In the depths of your consciousness is the psychic being, the temple of the Divine within you. This is the centre round which should come about the unification of all these divergent parts, all these contradictory movements of your being. Once you have got the consciousness of the p

One Dreams of Miracles (06-06-12) Sometimes one is led to think that only those things really matter which have never happened; for beside them most historic achievements seem almost pale and ineffective. Sri Aurobindo (Thoughts and Aphorisms-40) One Dreams of Miracles One dreams of miracles when one is young, one wants all wickedness to disappear, everything to be always luminous, beautiful, happy, one likes stories which end happily…… Children should be taught, “Yes, this is what you must try to realise and not only is it possible but it is certain if you come in contact with the part in you which is capable of doing this thing. This is what should guide your life, organise it, make you

Control Your Impulses (07-03-12) That which men term a hallucination is the reflection in the mind and senses of that which is beyond our ordinary mental and sensory perceptions. Superstition arises from the mind's wrong understanding of these reflections. There is no other hallucination. Sri Aurobindo (Thoughts and Aphorisms-16) Control Your Impulses From the time you are quite young, the work of your educators is to teach you to control your impulses and obey only those which are in conformity with the laws under which you live or with the ideal you wish to follow or the customs of the environment in which you are. The value of this mental construction which will govern your impulses

The Sacrifice (18-03-12) The Sacrifice ...... This, in short, is the demand made on us, that we should turn our whole life into a conscious sacrifice. Every moment and every movement of our being is to be resolved into a continuous and a devoted self-giving to the Eternal. All our actions, not less the smallest and most ordinary and trifling than the greatest and most uncommon and noble, must be performed as consecrated acts. Our individualised nature must live in the single consciousness of an inner and outer movement dedicated to Something that is beyond us and greater than our ego. No matter what the gift or to whom it is presented by us, there must be a consciousness in the act that we