Science, Culture and Integral Yoga

Sri Aurobindo's Integral Education in Contemporary Higher Education

Debashish — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 09:00:47 -0700

Sri Aurobindo envisaged the goal of human becoming as a transformed society and civilization based on the expressions of an integral consciousness. However, in keeping with the collective dimension of this goal, a transformed society was envisaged by him not merely as the end result of individual transformations, but as the dynamically transforming life-context or field which would allow and facilitate individual transformation. Seen from this standpoint, the social discipline of education, meant to “socialize,” “in-form” and inculcate the cultural, knowledge and epistemological skills of the social habitus for individual engagement takes on a changed meaning related to a new phenomenology, epistemology and teleology of human and social becoming. Integral Education then becomes a socially acknowledged and authorized praxis of the Integral Yoga or at least the pedagogical condition for its social possibility and collective transformation.

Though much has been written and several attempts at implementation made to formulate Integral Education as a form of child education, the higher educational possibilities and ramifications of Integral Education have remained largely untheorized. This paper is an attempt to think through some of these possibilties and implementations. Debashish Banerji is the educational coordinator of The University of Philosophical Research in Los Angeles.

Fundamentalism in Integral Yoga - New Website Announcement

Debashish — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 12:18:59 -0700

Dear SCIY readers,

Because Sraddhalu Ranade and Alok Pandey have been invited to the US for the AUM conference this year, we wish to place certain facts about them before those who may be considering support or sponsorship of these people or their projects. These facts concern their involvement in what we regard as promotion of religious fundamentalism, censorship, distortion of truth, and defiance of Ashram rules and authority carried out by Ranade and Pandey recently, so that you may assess any possible support for them.

To make people aware of the misleading activities of Ranade, Pandey, and others, and to increase awareness of an unfortunate growing trend among some who claim to be followers of Sri Aurobindo, a website has been started website, http://www.iyfundamentalism.info.

The Mother's war for the Truth against all conceptions of the truth

koantum — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 09:46:57 -0800

Were Truth to manifest in such a way as to be seen and understood by all, they would be terrified by the enormity of their ignorance and false interpretation...

An experience by the Mother: the basis and foundation of all materialism

koantum — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 18:41:13 -0800

These days, I don't know whether it has come to the last battle, but it has descended very deep into the cells' worst-lit realm: what still belongs most to the world of Unconsciousness and Inertia and is most foreign to the divine Presence. It is, so to say, the primal substance that was first used by Life, and it has a sort of inability to feel, to experience a reason for that life....

A fundamental error with altogether disastrous consequences

koantum — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 03:24:32 -0800

The Mother's Questions and Answers, 24 September 1958

To speak in words one must take not a step backwards but a step downwards, and the essential truth escapes.... And from this point of view no formulation is better than any other; the best of all is the one that helps each one to remember, that is, the way in which the intervention of the Grace has crystallised in the thought. Probably no two ways are identical, everyone must find his own.... The experience comes first, in this case, and it is only later, as a consequence and a memory that the formulation becomes clear.... The formulation may be more or less exact, that is of no importance, so long as one doesn’t make a dogma out of it. It is good for you, that is all that is needed. If you want to impose it on others, whatever it may be, even if it is perfect in itself, it becomes false.... The experience was true, complete in itself, convincing—for the one who had it. The formulation he made of it was excellent—for himself. But to want to impose it on others is a fundamental error which has altogether disastrous consequences, always, which always leads far, very far from the Truth.

The Mother addresses a materialist

koantum — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 06:08:37 -0800

It's much easier to answer out-and-out materialists who are convinced and sincere ("sincere" within the limit of their consciousness, that is) than to answer people who have a religion! Much easier.

Living Laboratories of the Life Divine by Debashish Banerji

Debashish — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 19:50:41 -0800

What is the post-human destiny to which we are called as humans in contemporary times? In this transcript of a talk given for the AUM conference in Los Angeles in 2003, Debashish Banerji compares Nietzsche's call for the Overman with that announced by Sri Aurobindo and the Mother to point to the similarities and differences. How can we pick our way through the maze of choices held up at this end-time of human becoming? Is it by remaining complacent or by using our wills or by surrender to a greater force than ours? And if so, what force - the vitalism of an unconscious Nature-force, the deceptive "universality" of the world market or an unpredictable future which calls our arduous attention? These and similar questions are posed and discussed in this article.

• Beyond Man by Georges Van Vrekhem

Ron — Tue, 21 Aug 2007 13:35:33 -0700

Originally published in Dutch, an English version of Beyond Man was brought out by HarperCollins in 1997. The present edition is an exact (and perhaps photographic) reprint. Some spelling mistakes have been set right. Ten years ago it was very refreshing to read Van Vrekhem’s child-like approach to Sri Aurobindo and the Mother. The same holds true today as we turn the pages steadily to learn about these two brilliances who brought back the Vedic spirit of exploration to our days with the promise that life on Earth can definitely be transformed into the life divine. ...

As an Aurobindonian poet wrote at that time: “A light is lit in everyone, and those/ emblazon the Living Flame.” The Aurobindonian yoga being a collective yoga, this conclusion is inevitable. Having listed the questions, Beyond Man signs off with the seal of faith: “The Great Change in evolution is happening around us and within us, whether we want it or not.” For a world caught in despair and defeatism, this is nectarean hope.

New Book: "The Mother," by Prema Nandakumar

Ron — Thu, 01 Mar 2007 15:30:05 -0800

SHE WAS born Mirra Alfassa in France in an affluent family, was drawn to Eastern religions, came to Pondicherry in 1914, met Sri Aurobindo and collaborated with him in the yoga of transformation. When Sri Aurobindo experienced a spiritual descent he withdrew into seclusion in 1926. From then onwards he concentrated on his yoga and writing of the epic, Savitri. Mirra Alfassa took over the day-to-day running of the Ashram and became the spiritual guide of the sadhaks who converged upon Pondicherry in search of illumination. Henceforth she came to be known as the Mother. When Sri Aurobindo entered mahasamadhi in 1950, she continued to inspire his disciples who were now spread all over the world. ...

Thousands to throng Aurobindo ashram on Wednesday

Ron — Tue, 20 Feb 2007 15:20:25 -0800

PUDUCHERRY: Thousands of people from across the country are expected to visit the Aurobindo ashram here on Wednesday on the 129th birth anniversary of its co-founder late Mirra Alfassa, better known as the ‘Mother’. - All necessary arrangements were being made for the convenience of the devotees who would throng the premises, ashram sources said here on Tuesday.

When Sri Aurobindo founded the ashram in November 1926, he entrusted its full material and spiritual charge to the Paris-born Alfassa. She became the leader of the community after Aurobindo’s death in 1950 and passed away in 1973. ...

Subjective Mental Experience and Genuine Experience; The Mental Fortress, by the Mother

Ron — Fri, 02 Feb 2007 12:50:49 -0800

The following is from a talk by the Mother, dated 22 June 1955. Here she makes some very interesting comments regarding the appearance of the chakras in meditation and so on. This is also related to the concept of the "mental fortress", the idea that we create a subjective mental image of Reality, which we mistake for Reality itself.

If one knows it beforehand, one makes a mental construction and risks greatly living in his mental construction, which is an illusion; because when the mind builds certain conditions and then they are realised, there are many chances of there being mostly pure mental construction which is not the experience itself but its image. So for all these truly spiritual experiences I think it is wiser to have them before knowing them. If one knows them, one imitates them, one doesn't have them, one imagines oneself having them; whereas if one knows nothing - how things are and how they ought to happen, what should happen and how it will come about - if one knows nothing about all this, then by keeping very still and making a kind of inner sorting out within one's being, one can suddenly have the experience, and then later knows what one has had. ...

The Two Irrefutable Signs that prove one is in relation with the Supermind, by the Mother

Ron — Fri, 02 Feb 2007 11:58:38 -0800

How might one know if one has contacted the Supramentalised Consciousness? What marks would this leave on the individual, in their own consciousness, in their relation to others, in their teachings? This is explained in this very important talk by the Mother in 1961:

I can tell you right away that there are two signs - two certain, infallible signs. I know them through personal experience, for they are two things that can ONLY come with the supramental consciousness; without it, one cannot possess them - no yogic effort, no discipline, no tapasya can give them to you, while they come almost automatically with the supramental consciousness. ...

The Physics of Sachchidananda, by Ulrich Mohrhoff (Philica)

Ron — Fri, 19 Jan 2007 14:07:22 -0800

A twenty-five centuries old paradigm has passed its expiry date. It is no longer appropriate to ask: what are the ultimate building blocks and how do they interact and combine? The right questions proceed from the assumption that what ultimately exists is a single, intrinsically ineffable Being. How does this manifest itself? How does it come to constitute an apparent multitude of objects? After treating you to the answers from contemporary physics, I turn to the deeper answers from Indian philosophy in general and Sri Aurobindo in particular. That intrinsically ineffable Being relates to its manifestation in a threefold manner: it is the substance that constitutes, the consciousness that contains, and an infinite Quality-Delight that expresses and experiences itself. By a multiple exclusive concentration it assumes, first, the aspect of a multitude of separate selves and, last, the aspect of a multitude of formless particles — the latter in order to set the stage for the Adventure of Evolution. I conclude by explaining why the laws of physics are essentially tautological: if you want to set the stage for evolution via a process that results in a multitude of formless particles, then these laws must have exactly the form that they do. ...

Mohrhoff, U. (2007). The Physics of Sachchidananda. PHILICA.COM Article number 73.

The Mother reading 'Savitri'

Ron — Wed, 10 Jan 2007 23:11:11 -0800

Thanks to RY Deshpande for this wonderful link!

Audio recordings of The Mother reading Savitri, compiled by Narad.

Cavaet: Listening to these recordings could change your life ...

The Vedic Vision and the Triple Transformation.

Vladimir — Fri, 22 Dec 2006 04:53:59 -0800

There are many myths in the Veda which describe the Beginning of Creation from different angles or stages. Some of them start with the description of the Supreme Person, Atman, Self (4), others - of the Impersonal Spirit, Brahman (5), some start from Nothingness or Darkness (6), which they call “night”, ratri-, or apas, apraketam salilam (7), “dark waters”, or sometimes as mrityu (8), “death”, etc., etc. They all refer to different stages of Creation, where Darkness or Nothingness was depicted as our beginning, but not as our Origin. We can easily reconcile these myths, knowing that Darkness was the result of the Fall of the Supreme Light, (Involution): ...

The Purusha Sukta - An Aurobindonian Interpretation, by RY Deshpande

Ron — Wed, 06 Dec 2006 11:51:34 -0800

RY Deshpande asked me to post this article for him:

Purusha Sukta in the Rig Veda (X: 90) celebrates famously the Sacrifice of the Purusha performed by the Gods, the Rishis and the Sadhyas, the accomplished celestial beings. All is established in the Sacrifice and therefore Sacrifice is the best means of achieving whatever has to be achieved, asserts a scriptural text. What did these sacrificers intend to achieve by performing the difficult sacrifice? the cosmic order, the possibility for growth, conquest, expansion, winning new grounds, making the law of the higher truth-existence operational in the universal functioning, instituting the dharma? Indeed, it was for that, and only by it could they themselves ascend to greater realms of immortality. It is in the Sacrifice of the Purusha, the Holocaust of the primal Being, Yajna of the Great Person that the incomparable deed was carried out. In an enterprising act, by making an offering of this Purusha himself, the Male who is the begetter of things in all the worlds was this Yajna completed. Its jubilation in the Rig Veda is a forceful triumph-song of the Creator poised for Cosmic Action,—“a profound composition,” as Sri Aurobindo says about it. ...

The Conversion of the Vital - The Mother

Ron — Sat, 17 Jun 2006 10:34:18 -0700

The vital is the fountain-head of life, the energy without which nothing can be accomplished. It is also the source of all our emotions, feelings, desires and impulses. Purified, it can become the perfect instrument for all we have to realise in the world. The Mother said that the training of the vital was the most important, the most indispensable of all forms of education. But she added, "it is seldom taken up in a comprehensive and methodical way." "There are several reasons for this," she said: First, human thinking is in a great confusion over what concerns this particular subject; secondly, the enterprise is very difficult and to be successful in it one must have endurance, endless persistence and an inflexible will." The sooner the importance of the vital is recognised, the better it is for the child. The education of the vital should proceed along three main lines: first, the training of the senses, then the development of the artistic faculties, and last and most important, the enlightenment of all the inner movements. This last step is certainly the most arduous one but it is indispensable if one wants to master one's own nature. To be sure the vital consciousness can be changed, and this change is at the heart of the inner adventure to which the Mother beckons us.

A Comprehensive Theory of Social Development (TMSS)

Ron — Wed, 07 Jun 2006 15:04:00 -0700
... This paper identifies the central principle of development and traces its expression in different fields and levels of social advancement. Development is a function of society’s capacity to organize human energies and productive resources to respond to opportunities and challenges. The paper traces the emergence of higher, more complex, more productive levels of social organization through the stages of nomadic hunting, rural agrarian, urban, commercial, industrial and post-industrial societies. It examines the process by which new activities are introduced by pioneers, imitated, resisted, accepted, organized, institutionalized and assimilated into the culture.

Organizational development takes place on a foundation of four levels of infrastructure – physical, social, mental and psychological. Four types of resources contribute to development, of which only the most material are inherently limited in nature. The productivity of resources increases enormously as the level of organization and input of knowledge rises. The theory identifies the human resource as the driving force and primary determinant of development. ...

The Mother's Service Society (TMSS)

Ron — Wed, 07 Jun 2006 14:42:01 -0700
The Mother's Service Society was founded in 1969 in Pondicherry, South India, with a view to studying the basic laws of human development based on the theory of creation propounded by Sri Aurobindo, the sage of Pondicherry, who declared that humanity is not the final goal of creation. Humankind will evolve beyond mind into Supramental being.

This web site includes numerous original essays written over a period of thirty years by members of the Society on a wide range of theoretical and applied subjects including development theory and strategy, economics, business management, literary criticism, science, education and spirituality in life.

"Sri Aurobindo's Teaching and Religion"

Ron — Thu, 15 Dec 2005 23:41:15 -0800
Many people say that the teaching of Sri Aurobindo is a new religion. Would you say that it is a religion?

The Mother:
People who say that are fools who don't even know what they are talking about. ...

"Yoga and Religion"

Ron — Thu, 15 Dec 2005 23:16:17 -0800
Sweet Mother, what is the difference between yoga and religion?

Ah! my child... it is as though you were asking me the difference between a dog and a cat!

The Great Adventure

Ron — Fri, 28 Oct 2005 18:21:51 -0700
There are people who love adventure. It is these I call, and I tell them this: I invite you to the great adventure." ...

"The Divine Mother and the Triple Status of the Supermind" by Debashish Banerji

Debashish — Wed, 26 Oct 2005 15:39:29 -0700
A transcript of the Guru Pershad Lecture given at the Sri Aurobindo Society Beach Office in Dec. 2004, this article links a key chapter in The Life Divine with the Mother.