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Sri
Aurobindo was christened Arabinda Ghosh in Calcutta in 1872. He
was the author of 30 volumes of philosophy, poetry, political essays
and spiritual discourse. Mirra Alfassa, his spiritual collaborator
(known in India as the Mother), left a 13 volume Agenda on her
experiences in the body consciousness, as well as 12 volumes of
collected conversations and writings.
Sri
Aurobindo became a leader in Indian politics and was a primary
spokesman for independence from British occupation. He wrote numerous
articles in an attempt to awaken the masses who had been subjugated
for some 200 years. The British imprisoned him in 1908 for sedition,
but he was acquitted after one year. While in prison he had profound
spiritual experiences, and shortly after his release an inner command
told him to leave political life and go to South India.
In
1926, Sri Aurobindo had a decisive experience which he called
Descent of the Overmind, and he went into seclusion in order to
manifest the supermind or supramental consciousness which he said was
the next stage in the evolution of consciousness. This truth
consciousness is a direct manifestation of the transcendent and is
devoid of any duality. The advent of the supermind will bring about
in humanity as radical a leap as the evolution of animal to man. Sri
Aurobindo wrote extensively on this subject and what its effect will
be on the physical body.
The
Sri Aurobindo Ashram developed an extensive educational program
in the 1940s with a strong emphasis on integrality. After Sri
Aurobindo's passing in 1950, the Mother carried on both the inner
work of transformation and the outer work of the Ashram.
A
primary premise of the teaching is that nothing can be taught; the
knowledge can only be evoked from within. A great deal of freedom of
choice is also promoted for the student in his/her studies.
Integral
yoga places emphasis on the outer being as well as the
inner-mental, emotional and physical. The integral educational system
does likewise. Each individual is comprised of a mass of conflicting
thoughts, emotions, desires, feelings, impulses, etc. The individual
must first become conscious of these happenings within and learn to
distinguish their source. One of the goals of integral yoga is to
achieve a quiet mind and peaceful emotional or vital being, and to
maintain a strong, healthy and flexible body so that it may be able
to receive and contain the descending spiritual forces.
Everyone
has an inner divine presence called the soul or psychic
being, which in integral yoga must come forward from behind the veil
and have a direct influence on one's mental, vital and physical
being. This is in effect a reorganization of the individual from a
mass of conflicts to an integrated being that is reborn to a life of
the spirit. The mental, vital and physical transformation cannot
occur without this foundation of a receptive being. This dynamic in
turn provides for further progress in cosmic and supramental
consciousness.
Auroville,
an international experimental township, was inspired by
the evolutionary vision of Sri Aurobindo and founded by the Mother in
1968. Auroville was created for people from all parts of the world to
live together and explore cultural, educational, scientific,
spiritual and other pursuits. Representatives from 124 nations and
all the states of India attended the inaugural ceremony. Located on
the southeast coast of India in the state of Tamil Nadu, Auroville
consists of about 50 different settlements spread out over 2,600
acres within a 20 square mile circle. The population currently
numbers more than 700 people from 25 different nations.
Unlike
most other educational systems, integral yoga places a strong
emphasis on the body--for it too is to play a vital part in spiritual
transformation.
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