Biography Category
Name :
Sri Aurobindo
Date :
Views :
544
Category :
Birth Date :
15/08/1872
Birth Place :
Calcutta.
Death Date :
9-Dec-50
Not Available
[b]Life Of Aurobindo[/b][br /]
[br /]
[i]SRI AUROBINDO DOES NOT BELONG TO THE PAST NOR TO HISTORY.[br /]
SRI AUROBINDO IS THE FUTURE ON THE WAY TO ITS REALIZATION.[/i][br /]
[br /]
Aurobind is the Bengali form of original Sanskrit word Arvind, which means Lotus. Aurobindo was born on August 15, 1872 in Calcutta’s Hoogly district of West Bengal in East India. The Ghosh family, in which he was born, belonged to Konnagar village. He was the third son of his father. His two elder brothers were Benoy Bhushan and Manmohan. Sarojini, his younger sister was extremely devoted to him. Birendra was the youngest brother, born in England, but returned to India with his mother and sister. His grandfather was closely associated with the Brahmo Samaj.[br /]
[br /]
Aurobindo’s mother, Swarnalata Devi was an educated lady, who could write stories and dramas, yet was also orthodox in her religious learning. She was popularly known as Rose of Rangpur due to her personal charm and cultured bearing. His father, Dr. Krishnadhan Ghosh was considered one of the most successful civil surgeons of those days. He was the first Indian from Bengal to go to Britain for education.[br /]
[br /]
Aurobindo, when five, was sent to Loretto Convent School run by an Irish nun, at Darjeeling, where the three brothers had only European boys as friends and companion for the school was only meant for Europeans. Dr. Krishnadhan Ghosh was highly impressed and influenced by the western education that he had had. He wanted his children to have the same.[br /]
[br /]
Therefore Dr. and Mrs. Krishnadhan took Aurobindo (at the age of 7) and his elder brothers to England. The kids were entrusted to an English family, the Drewetts in Manchester.[br /]
[br /]
Initially for five years, Aurobindo was privately coached at home by Mr. and Mrs. Drewett. Mr. Drewett provided a good ground for English and Latin, whereas Mrs. Drewett taught him history, geography and arithmetic. During that period Aurobindo read number of books on various subjects. He also started writing verses for the Fox family magazine. He grew up in entire ignorance of India, her people, her religion and her culture. It was ironical that even he was deprived of the emotional warmth and bodily contact of his parents during his childhood. Perhaps this was the reason why he was very impersonal in his dealings with others. Thus, he grew up in an emotional vacuum. He filled up this vacuum by delving into linguistic, literary and historical interests.[br /]
[br /]
Aurobindo was sent to the St. Paul School, London at the age of 12. His name was registered as Arvinda Ackroyd Ghosh. This was because his father Dr. K. D. Ghosh wanted to give him an English name. But Sri Aurobindo dropped ‘Ackroyd’ from his name before he left England and never used it again. There he learnt Greek. He was quick in mastering the Greek language to the extent that his Headmaster was taken aback. He studied in that school for five years.[br /]
[br /]
Most of his time was spent in studies of classics. Besides general reading he read English poetry, literature and fiction, French literature and European history. He also spent some time learning Italian, German and Spanish. He also attained distinction in literature and European history.[br /]
[br /]
His elder brother had quarreled with Mrs. Drewett. Therefore Benoy Bhushan and Sri Aurobindo shifted to South Kensington Liberal Club and occupied a room. There Mr. J. S. Cotton, a brother of Sir Henry Cotton, Lt. Governor of Bengal (for sometime) was the secretary. Benoy assisted him in his work. Manmohan went into lodging. During this period they had to suffer financial hardship. They only survived on a slice or two of bread and butter and a cup of tea. This was because his father couldn’t send money regularly. He states his frustration : "You will not understand me unless I tell a circumstance of my life which is unhappily both painful for me to reveal and for you to hear. I had no mother.[br /]
[br /]
She is insane. You may judge the horror of this, how I strove to snatch fearful love but only succeeded in hating and loathing and at last becoming cold. Crying for bread I was given a stone. My father was kind but stern and I never saw much of him. Thus, from childhood I was subjected to fits of gloom and despondence, which grew with my age."Coping with extreme hardships from childhood, Aurobindo somehow managed to survive. Ultimately he secured admission to the King’s College, Cambridge when he was 18. He got a senior classical scholarship worth £ 80 per year..[br /]
[br /]
During his college period he received all the prizes in one year for Greek and Latin verse etc. Classic studies was not only the interest of Aurobindo, but he was also interested in modern European history and literature. He made deep studies of those subjects.[br /]
[br /]
He appeared for the Indian Civil Service Examination in 1890. He passed it with credit and scored record marks in Greek and Latin. However, he avoided the departmental Riding Examination. He never felt like calling for I. C. S. and had wished to escape from that bondage. Thrice he was called for riding test and thrice he did not take the test deliberately. The authorities had come to know about his political activities regarding India’s independence. Therefore intentionally he failed, as he never wanted to serve the Britishers in India.[br /]
[br /]
But Aurobindo could achieve rare academic distinction at the age of just 20. He attained first class in the First Part of the Classical Tripos Examination. Moreover, he also mastered French and had enough familiarity with other continental languages like German and Italian. He was quite touchy about beauty in men and nature. Aurobindo detested cruelty and oppression since childhood. He always felt disgusted watching instances of cruelty among men.He was famous as poet and also active to some extent in the political field. He was initially member of the Indian Majlis at Cambridge. Later, he became the secretary of the Majlis. He delivered many speeches that stressed the need for India’s attainment of political independence.[br /]
[br /]
His father sent a clipping from the newspapers about the atrocity of the British Government in India. Due to the indirect influence of his father, he revolted against the Britishers, inspite of European upbringing and being oblivious of Indian languages and culture. His mother was totally Indian and his father every inch an Englishman. Both entertained noble ideals of patriotism and service of the poor. Dr. Ghosh had strong love for his country and strongly protested against the injustices of the British Government in India. He wrote about this to his son Aurobindo. This was his first lesson in patriotism from his father. This inspired his return to India. He arrived at Apollo Bunder Bombay (Mumbai) in February 1893. Unfortunately, his father died before he arrived in India, when a false message about Aurobindo’s death in shipwreck was given to him. Aurobindo finally arrived at Apollo Bunder. He wrote… "Since I set foot on Indian soil on the Apollo Bunder, I began to have spiritual experiences but these were not divorced from this world but an inner and infinite bearing on it."[br /]
[br /]
After arriving at Bombay, Aurobindo went to Baroda (now Vadodara). He joined the Baroda State Service on February 8, 1893. There he worked in the Survey Settlement Department, Stamp and Revenue Department and the Baroda State Secretariat.[br /]
[br /]
He learnt and mastered Bengali and Sanskrit, to enable him to go to the original sources of Indian philosophy. He read Ramayana and Mahabharata, also the poems of Bhratrihari, the dramas of Kalidas and Bhavabhuti etc.[br /]
[br /]
He also learnt the two official languages of Baroda State – Marathi and Gujarati. He drafted important letters for the Maharaja of Baroda, sometimes even drafting agreements. Later he worked, as a lecturer of French, at the Baroda College, and then became Professor of English. Very soon he was appointed as Vice-Principal of the college.[br /]
[br /]
Learning the various Indian languages created an opportunity for him of "drinking deep at the fountain-source of Indian culture and serving his country in various ways." The major part of his last years at Baroda was spent on leave and in silent political activity. In the second year of his stay at Baroda (in 1894), Sri Aurobindo again had another spiritual experience. It came just as unexpected as the first one he had at Apollo Bunder.He took active part in fighting against the Britishers for attaining India’s independence. For that he was arrested and kept in Alipur jail.[br /]
[br /]
experience in jail made him realize that "he had been instrumental in giving a spin to the wheel of revolution." He read Gita and Upanishad in Jail.He was freed after a year. His inner voice instructed him to give up the active political life and went away first to Chandrnagore then to Pondicherry.[br /]
[br /]
He visualized his own life mission as the task of dynamising the vast heritage of India. His goal was realized within a short span of four years by concentrating on Yoga. Aurobindo had described Pondicherry as his place of retreat, his cave of tapasya.[br /]
[br /]
He left the world on December 5, 1950. Only his creative ideas and a dynamic spiritual or superamental force remained. It was announced by the mother of Aurobindo Ashram that "he had given assurance of his continued activity from higher planes of consciousness until human evolution blossomed forth into a new era of enduring peace, harmony and uninterrupted progress through a superamental change of man’s collective consciousness". She further said, "Sri Aurobindo is present in our midst, and with all the power of his creative genius---- he presides over the formation of the University Center, which for years he considered as one of the best means for preparing the future humanity to receive the superamental light that will transform the elite of today into a new race manifesting upon earth the new light and force…" [br /]
[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
[i]SRI AUROBINDO DOES NOT BELONG TO THE PAST NOR TO HISTORY.[br /]
SRI AUROBINDO IS THE FUTURE ON THE WAY TO ITS REALIZATION.[/i][br /]
[br /]
Aurobind is the Bengali form of original Sanskrit word Arvind, which means Lotus. Aurobindo was born on August 15, 1872 in Calcutta’s Hoogly district of West Bengal in East India. The Ghosh family, in which he was born, belonged to Konnagar village. He was the third son of his father. His two elder brothers were Benoy Bhushan and Manmohan. Sarojini, his younger sister was extremely devoted to him. Birendra was the youngest brother, born in England, but returned to India with his mother and sister. His grandfather was closely associated with the Brahmo Samaj.[br /]
[br /]
Aurobindo’s mother, Swarnalata Devi was an educated lady, who could write stories and dramas, yet was also orthodox in her religious learning. She was popularly known as Rose of Rangpur due to her personal charm and cultured bearing. His father, Dr. Krishnadhan Ghosh was considered one of the most successful civil surgeons of those days. He was the first Indian from Bengal to go to Britain for education.[br /]
[br /]
Aurobindo, when five, was sent to Loretto Convent School run by an Irish nun, at Darjeeling, where the three brothers had only European boys as friends and companion for the school was only meant for Europeans. Dr. Krishnadhan Ghosh was highly impressed and influenced by the western education that he had had. He wanted his children to have the same.[br /]
[br /]
Therefore Dr. and Mrs. Krishnadhan took Aurobindo (at the age of 7) and his elder brothers to England. The kids were entrusted to an English family, the Drewetts in Manchester.[br /]
[br /]
Initially for five years, Aurobindo was privately coached at home by Mr. and Mrs. Drewett. Mr. Drewett provided a good ground for English and Latin, whereas Mrs. Drewett taught him history, geography and arithmetic. During that period Aurobindo read number of books on various subjects. He also started writing verses for the Fox family magazine. He grew up in entire ignorance of India, her people, her religion and her culture. It was ironical that even he was deprived of the emotional warmth and bodily contact of his parents during his childhood. Perhaps this was the reason why he was very impersonal in his dealings with others. Thus, he grew up in an emotional vacuum. He filled up this vacuum by delving into linguistic, literary and historical interests.[br /]
[br /]
Aurobindo was sent to the St. Paul School, London at the age of 12. His name was registered as Arvinda Ackroyd Ghosh. This was because his father Dr. K. D. Ghosh wanted to give him an English name. But Sri Aurobindo dropped ‘Ackroyd’ from his name before he left England and never used it again. There he learnt Greek. He was quick in mastering the Greek language to the extent that his Headmaster was taken aback. He studied in that school for five years.[br /]
[br /]
Most of his time was spent in studies of classics. Besides general reading he read English poetry, literature and fiction, French literature and European history. He also spent some time learning Italian, German and Spanish. He also attained distinction in literature and European history.[br /]
[br /]
His elder brother had quarreled with Mrs. Drewett. Therefore Benoy Bhushan and Sri Aurobindo shifted to South Kensington Liberal Club and occupied a room. There Mr. J. S. Cotton, a brother of Sir Henry Cotton, Lt. Governor of Bengal (for sometime) was the secretary. Benoy assisted him in his work. Manmohan went into lodging. During this period they had to suffer financial hardship. They only survived on a slice or two of bread and butter and a cup of tea. This was because his father couldn’t send money regularly. He states his frustration : "You will not understand me unless I tell a circumstance of my life which is unhappily both painful for me to reveal and for you to hear. I had no mother.[br /]
[br /]
She is insane. You may judge the horror of this, how I strove to snatch fearful love but only succeeded in hating and loathing and at last becoming cold. Crying for bread I was given a stone. My father was kind but stern and I never saw much of him. Thus, from childhood I was subjected to fits of gloom and despondence, which grew with my age."Coping with extreme hardships from childhood, Aurobindo somehow managed to survive. Ultimately he secured admission to the King’s College, Cambridge when he was 18. He got a senior classical scholarship worth £ 80 per year..[br /]
[br /]
During his college period he received all the prizes in one year for Greek and Latin verse etc. Classic studies was not only the interest of Aurobindo, but he was also interested in modern European history and literature. He made deep studies of those subjects.[br /]
[br /]
He appeared for the Indian Civil Service Examination in 1890. He passed it with credit and scored record marks in Greek and Latin. However, he avoided the departmental Riding Examination. He never felt like calling for I. C. S. and had wished to escape from that bondage. Thrice he was called for riding test and thrice he did not take the test deliberately. The authorities had come to know about his political activities regarding India’s independence. Therefore intentionally he failed, as he never wanted to serve the Britishers in India.[br /]
[br /]
But Aurobindo could achieve rare academic distinction at the age of just 20. He attained first class in the First Part of the Classical Tripos Examination. Moreover, he also mastered French and had enough familiarity with other continental languages like German and Italian. He was quite touchy about beauty in men and nature. Aurobindo detested cruelty and oppression since childhood. He always felt disgusted watching instances of cruelty among men.He was famous as poet and also active to some extent in the political field. He was initially member of the Indian Majlis at Cambridge. Later, he became the secretary of the Majlis. He delivered many speeches that stressed the need for India’s attainment of political independence.[br /]
[br /]
His father sent a clipping from the newspapers about the atrocity of the British Government in India. Due to the indirect influence of his father, he revolted against the Britishers, inspite of European upbringing and being oblivious of Indian languages and culture. His mother was totally Indian and his father every inch an Englishman. Both entertained noble ideals of patriotism and service of the poor. Dr. Ghosh had strong love for his country and strongly protested against the injustices of the British Government in India. He wrote about this to his son Aurobindo. This was his first lesson in patriotism from his father. This inspired his return to India. He arrived at Apollo Bunder Bombay (Mumbai) in February 1893. Unfortunately, his father died before he arrived in India, when a false message about Aurobindo’s death in shipwreck was given to him. Aurobindo finally arrived at Apollo Bunder. He wrote… "Since I set foot on Indian soil on the Apollo Bunder, I began to have spiritual experiences but these were not divorced from this world but an inner and infinite bearing on it."[br /]
[br /]
After arriving at Bombay, Aurobindo went to Baroda (now Vadodara). He joined the Baroda State Service on February 8, 1893. There he worked in the Survey Settlement Department, Stamp and Revenue Department and the Baroda State Secretariat.[br /]
[br /]
He learnt and mastered Bengali and Sanskrit, to enable him to go to the original sources of Indian philosophy. He read Ramayana and Mahabharata, also the poems of Bhratrihari, the dramas of Kalidas and Bhavabhuti etc.[br /]
[br /]
He also learnt the two official languages of Baroda State – Marathi and Gujarati. He drafted important letters for the Maharaja of Baroda, sometimes even drafting agreements. Later he worked, as a lecturer of French, at the Baroda College, and then became Professor of English. Very soon he was appointed as Vice-Principal of the college.[br /]
[br /]
Learning the various Indian languages created an opportunity for him of "drinking deep at the fountain-source of Indian culture and serving his country in various ways." The major part of his last years at Baroda was spent on leave and in silent political activity. In the second year of his stay at Baroda (in 1894), Sri Aurobindo again had another spiritual experience. It came just as unexpected as the first one he had at Apollo Bunder.He took active part in fighting against the Britishers for attaining India’s independence. For that he was arrested and kept in Alipur jail.[br /]
[br /]
experience in jail made him realize that "he had been instrumental in giving a spin to the wheel of revolution." He read Gita and Upanishad in Jail.He was freed after a year. His inner voice instructed him to give up the active political life and went away first to Chandrnagore then to Pondicherry.[br /]
[br /]
He visualized his own life mission as the task of dynamising the vast heritage of India. His goal was realized within a short span of four years by concentrating on Yoga. Aurobindo had described Pondicherry as his place of retreat, his cave of tapasya.[br /]
[br /]
He left the world on December 5, 1950. Only his creative ideas and a dynamic spiritual or superamental force remained. It was announced by the mother of Aurobindo Ashram that "he had given assurance of his continued activity from higher planes of consciousness until human evolution blossomed forth into a new era of enduring peace, harmony and uninterrupted progress through a superamental change of man’s collective consciousness". She further said, "Sri Aurobindo is present in our midst, and with all the power of his creative genius---- he presides over the formation of the University Center, which for years he considered as one of the best means for preparing the future humanity to receive the superamental light that will transform the elite of today into a new race manifesting upon earth the new light and force…" [br /]
[br /]
[br /]
"To write my biography is impossible…Not only in my case but in that of poets, philosophers and yogis…" said Sri Aurobindo. An attempt to write his biography and glimpses of his Yoga and spiritual experiences have been made though.[br /]
[br /]
Sri Aurobindo was a poet, freedom fighter and a Yogi. His poem Savitri is the longest poem in English literature. His yoga is unique, the aim being "the realization of human unity through the awakening in all and the manifestation by all of the inner Divinity, which is One…"[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
Sri Aurobindo was a poet, freedom fighter and a Yogi. His poem Savitri is the longest poem in English literature. His yoga is unique, the aim being "the realization of human unity through the awakening in all and the manifestation by all of the inner Divinity, which is One…"[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
• August 15, 1872[br /]
Born in Calcutta.[br /]
[br /]
• 1879[br /]
Sri Aurobindo left for England.[br /]
[br /]
• 1890[br /]
Entered King’s College, Cambridge.[br /]
[br /]
•1893[br /]
Returned to India and wrote first revolutionary article.[br /]
[br /]
• 1902[br /]
Sri Aurobindo began his revolutionary activities.[br /]
[br /]
• 1904[br /]
Began the practice of Yoga.[br /]
[br /]
• 1907[br /]
Sri Aurobindo met a Tantric Yogi V. Lele. Realization of mental silence and Nirvana.[br /]
[br /]
• May 2, 1908[br /]
Imprisonment of Sri Aurobindo for one year due to Alipore Bomb Conspiracy.[br /]
[br /]
• 1911[br /]
Beginning of Prayers and Meditation.[br /]
[br /]
• March 29, 1914[br /]
Sri Aurobindo met Mother.
[br /]
[br /]
• August 15, 1914[br /]
Arya’s first issue.[br /]
[br /]
• April 24, 1920[br /]
Mother arrived at Pondicherry.[br /]
[br /]
• 1921[br /]
End of Arya.[br /]
[br /]
• October 1922[br /]
Sri Aurobindo and Mother took up residence at 9 rue de la Marine, the present Ashram building.[br /]
[br /]
• November, 1926 [br /]
He retired into seclusion and official foundation of Ashram was laid down.[br /]
[br /]
• February 8, 1927[br /]
Sri Aurobindo moved to a room in the East Wing, never to leave the same.
[br /]
[br /]
• August 1935 [br /]
Sri Aurobindo’s Mathematical Formula.[br /]
[br /]
• October 1935[br /]
Announcement of Superamental Will explain itself.[br /]
[br /]
• December 2, 1943[br /]
Ashram school began.[br /]
[br /]
• November 10, 1950[br /]
End of revision of Savitri.[br /]
[br /]
• December 5, 1950[br /]
Sri Aurobindo left the world.[br /]
[br /]
• December 9, 1950[br /]
His body was placed in Samadhi.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
Born in Calcutta.[br /]
[br /]
• 1879[br /]
Sri Aurobindo left for England.[br /]
[br /]
• 1890[br /]
Entered King’s College, Cambridge.[br /]
[br /]
•1893[br /]
Returned to India and wrote first revolutionary article.[br /]
[br /]
• 1902[br /]
Sri Aurobindo began his revolutionary activities.[br /]
[br /]
• 1904[br /]
Began the practice of Yoga.[br /]
[br /]
• 1907[br /]
Sri Aurobindo met a Tantric Yogi V. Lele. Realization of mental silence and Nirvana.[br /]
[br /]
• May 2, 1908[br /]
Imprisonment of Sri Aurobindo for one year due to Alipore Bomb Conspiracy.[br /]
[br /]
• 1911[br /]
Beginning of Prayers and Meditation.[br /]
[br /]
• March 29, 1914[br /]
Sri Aurobindo met Mother.
[br /]
[br /]
• August 15, 1914[br /]
Arya’s first issue.[br /]
[br /]
• April 24, 1920[br /]
Mother arrived at Pondicherry.[br /]
[br /]
• 1921[br /]
End of Arya.[br /]
[br /]
• October 1922[br /]
Sri Aurobindo and Mother took up residence at 9 rue de la Marine, the present Ashram building.[br /]
[br /]
• November, 1926 [br /]
He retired into seclusion and official foundation of Ashram was laid down.[br /]
[br /]
• February 8, 1927[br /]
Sri Aurobindo moved to a room in the East Wing, never to leave the same.
[br /]
[br /]
• August 1935 [br /]
Sri Aurobindo’s Mathematical Formula.[br /]
[br /]
• October 1935[br /]
Announcement of Superamental Will explain itself.[br /]
[br /]
• December 2, 1943[br /]
Ashram school began.[br /]
[br /]
• November 10, 1950[br /]
End of revision of Savitri.[br /]
[br /]
• December 5, 1950[br /]
Sri Aurobindo left the world.[br /]
[br /]
• December 9, 1950[br /]
His body was placed in Samadhi.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
[b]PRINCIPLE OF THE INTEGRAL YOGA IN BRIEF[/b][br /]
[br /]
• [b]Some give their soul to the Divine[/b], some their life, some offer their work, some their money. A few consecrate all of themselves and all they have – soul, life, work, wealth; these are the true children of God. Others give nothing – these, whatever their position, power and riches, are for the Divine purpose valueless cyphers.[br /]
[br /]
• [b]Man is shut up at present in his surface individual consciousness[/b] and knows the world only through his outward mind and senses and by interpreting their contacts with the world. By Yoga there can open in him a consciousness which becomes one with that of the world; he becomes directly aware of a universal Being, universal states, universal Force and Power, universal Mind, Life, Matter and lives in conscious relations with these things. He is then said to have cosmic consciousness.[br /]
[br /]
• [b]Asceticism for its own sake is not the ideal of this Yoga[/b], but self-control in the vital and right order in the material are a very important part of it – and even an ascetic discipline is better for our purpose than a loose absence of true control. Mastery of the materiel implies in it the right and careful utilization of things and also self-control in their use. Forceful suppression (fasting also comes under the head) stands on the same level as free indulgence; in both cases, the desire remains: in the one it is fed by indulgence, in the other it lies latent and exasperated by suppression.[br /]
[br /]
• [b]The Sadhana of this Yoga does not proceed through any set mental teaching[/b] or prescribed forms of meditation, mantras or others, but by aspiration, by a self-concentration inwards or upwards, by self-opening to an Influence, to the Divine Power above us and its workings, to the Divine Presence in the heart and by the rejection of all that is foreign to these things. It is only by faith, aspiration and surrender that this self-opening can come.[br /]
[br /]
• [b]In this Yoga, one is supposed to go beyond every mental idealistic culture[/b]. Ideas and Ideals belong to the mind and are half-truths only; the mind too is, more often than not, satisfied with merely having an ideal, with the pleasure of idealizing while life remains always the same, untransformed or changed only a little and mostly in appearance. The spiritual seeker does not turn aside from the pursuit of realization to mere idealizing; not to idealize, but to realize the Divine Truth is always his aim, either beyond or in life also – and in the latter case it is necessary to transform mind and life, which cannot be done without surrender to the action of the Divine Force, the Mother.[br /]
[br /]
• [b]Religion in fact is not knowledge, but a faith and aspiration[/b]; it is justified indeed both by an imprecise intuitive knowledge of large spiritual truths and by the subjective experience of souls that have risen beyond the ordinary life, but in itself it only gives us the hope and faith by which we may be induced to aspire to the intimate possession of the hidden tracts and larger realities of the Spirit. That we turn always the few distinct truths and the symbols or the particular discipline of a religion into a hard and fast dogmas, is a sign that as yet we are only infants in the spiritual knowledge and are yet far from the science of the Infinite.[br /]
[br /]
• [b]Krishna is the Anandamaya :[/b] he supports the evolution through the overmind leading it towards the Ananda.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
• [b]Some give their soul to the Divine[/b], some their life, some offer their work, some their money. A few consecrate all of themselves and all they have – soul, life, work, wealth; these are the true children of God. Others give nothing – these, whatever their position, power and riches, are for the Divine purpose valueless cyphers.[br /]
[br /]
• [b]Man is shut up at present in his surface individual consciousness[/b] and knows the world only through his outward mind and senses and by interpreting their contacts with the world. By Yoga there can open in him a consciousness which becomes one with that of the world; he becomes directly aware of a universal Being, universal states, universal Force and Power, universal Mind, Life, Matter and lives in conscious relations with these things. He is then said to have cosmic consciousness.[br /]
[br /]
• [b]Asceticism for its own sake is not the ideal of this Yoga[/b], but self-control in the vital and right order in the material are a very important part of it – and even an ascetic discipline is better for our purpose than a loose absence of true control. Mastery of the materiel implies in it the right and careful utilization of things and also self-control in their use. Forceful suppression (fasting also comes under the head) stands on the same level as free indulgence; in both cases, the desire remains: in the one it is fed by indulgence, in the other it lies latent and exasperated by suppression.[br /]
[br /]
• [b]The Sadhana of this Yoga does not proceed through any set mental teaching[/b] or prescribed forms of meditation, mantras or others, but by aspiration, by a self-concentration inwards or upwards, by self-opening to an Influence, to the Divine Power above us and its workings, to the Divine Presence in the heart and by the rejection of all that is foreign to these things. It is only by faith, aspiration and surrender that this self-opening can come.[br /]
[br /]
• [b]In this Yoga, one is supposed to go beyond every mental idealistic culture[/b]. Ideas and Ideals belong to the mind and are half-truths only; the mind too is, more often than not, satisfied with merely having an ideal, with the pleasure of idealizing while life remains always the same, untransformed or changed only a little and mostly in appearance. The spiritual seeker does not turn aside from the pursuit of realization to mere idealizing; not to idealize, but to realize the Divine Truth is always his aim, either beyond or in life also – and in the latter case it is necessary to transform mind and life, which cannot be done without surrender to the action of the Divine Force, the Mother.[br /]
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• [b]Religion in fact is not knowledge, but a faith and aspiration[/b]; it is justified indeed both by an imprecise intuitive knowledge of large spiritual truths and by the subjective experience of souls that have risen beyond the ordinary life, but in itself it only gives us the hope and faith by which we may be induced to aspire to the intimate possession of the hidden tracts and larger realities of the Spirit. That we turn always the few distinct truths and the symbols or the particular discipline of a religion into a hard and fast dogmas, is a sign that as yet we are only infants in the spiritual knowledge and are yet far from the science of the Infinite.[br /]
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• [b]Krishna is the Anandamaya :[/b] he supports the evolution through the overmind leading it towards the Ananda.[br /]
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