Aurobindo, Sri
March 13, 2008 by Earthpages.ca
Aurobindo, Sri (formerly Aurobindo Ghose, 1872-1950) British-educated Indian freedom fighter and nationalist (regarded by British colonialists as a terrorist) who turned philosopher and mystic.
Aurobindo took the bellicose message of the Bhagavad Gita - that Arjuna must fight to fulfil his apparently holy duty - very seriously.
Sri Aurobindo constructed explosive bombs in a Calcutta home while resisting the British in India.
Placed in jail, he began a difficult spiritual path, culminating in his unique views and the founding of an ashram at the French settlement of Pondicherry, India.
His “integral yoga” aims to infuse what he believes is the highest “supramental” level of reality into the lowest, physical and “subconcient” level of physical existence.
Aurobindo apparently mysically foresaw his future spiritual partner, the French woman Mirra Alfassa, while she was residing in France, and well before she arrived in India, where she was renamed “The Mother.”
After establishing the ashram in Pondicherry, Aurobindo became increasingly in need of solitary meditation and eventually stopped appearing before gathered disciples (darshan).
He translated and wrote extensively on Hindu scriptures, expounded his ideas in works like The Life Divine and composed poetry such as Savitri.
Unlike Plato, Aurobindo believed that poetry is the best medium for communicating spiritual ideas.
In The Riddle of this World he tried to answer central religious problems (such as the existence of evil) and wrote about several different types of evil beings (asuras) whose sole intent apparently is to torment, confuse and detain those on a spiritual quest towards the allegedly highest, supramental level of awareness.
Aurobindo says an intermediary state, a midpoint between mundane imperfect and sacred true knowledge, exists in which
“one may go astray…follow false voices…that ends in spiritual disaster.”
These voices arise from the imperfect guidance of
“little Gods…[or from] the well-known danger of actually hostile beings whose sole purpose is to create confusion, falsehood, corruption”
(Aurobindo Ghose, The Riddle of This World, Calcutta: Arya Publishing House, 1933, pp. 56-57).
Aurobindo claims to have been divinely provided with funds for his spiritual duty but added that the Lord has a “maddening habit” of waiting until the last moment before providing for one’s needs.
He also believed that he helped the Allies win WW-II by virtue of his meditative intercession.
The ashram book publisher, Sabda, prints and binds Aurobindo’s writings.
Some of his contemporary followers reside in Auroville, an experimental town lying just outside of Pondicherry.
Lonely Planet’s TV host Justine Shapiro visited Auroville and seemed to imply that it was a haven for foreigners seeking enlightenment while exploiting local laborers.
On visiting the Sri Aurobindo ashram the author of this entry was asked to follow the Indian custom of removing one’s sandals at the entrance.
On returning to the ashram entrance at the end of his visit, he found that his sandals had disappeared.
Riding a bicycle barefoot back to his hotel made him realize the huge gulf existing in India between those who do and do not have shoes–perhaps the most important spiritual lesson learned that day. » Asura, Auroville, Clairaudience, Demons, Fallen Angels, Guru, Hinduism, Intercession, Jnana-yoga, Kabbala, Numinous, Pollution, Psychic Spies, Spiritual Attack, Underhill (Evelyn), Yoga
Image Source and Information:
Add to this, report errors, suggest edits or voice your opinion by posting a comment
