Sri Aurobindo's Philosophy And Yoga - Some Aspects

Direct Approach To Sri Aurobindo

Some one has very pertinently remarked that Sri Aurobindo is the only Master who has left nothing for his disciples to say and and that is perfectly true. If we took note of the various writings of Sri Aurobindo, from his daily letters to the ashramites to the highest flights of his imagination in poetry, literature and philosophy, we cannot but be impressed by the stupendous work he has left for posterity covering every field of human thought and activity with the only exception of finance and economics. Yoga, philosophy and spirituality are his forte but there is hardly any field of human relations, society, politics, education, arts, science and literature where he has not some grand observation to make in his own unique and masterly way. From the inconscient beginning of man to his superconscient destiny, there is nothing in the whole process of evolution, material as well as spiritual, which has escaped his pen. Then, his writings are meant for all classes of men, from the struggling neophyte to those who are far advanced intellectually. There is nothing hazy or obscure in what he writes. It may be that the true spirit of his philosophy and mystic poetry will be unintelligible to all except the initiates, but there is scope for all for a clear intellectual comprehension. His approaches are many sided and suited to different tastes and capacities of understanding. There is the intellectual, the emotional and the imaginative approach. He teaches as much through the abstract as through the concrete realities of life. He reaches all either through the intellect or the heart. His letters

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meant for practical guidance of the disciples in their spiritual endeavour are as simple, clear and lucid as possible.

Those therefore that in the pride of their intellect think that they will be able to convey the message of Sri Aurobindo to others by their learned exegesis, must be labouring under some kind of self-deception. Each has his own way of understanding the Master, for that ho imposition of one's own understanding on others is called for. As one progresses on the spiritual way, his understanding also becomes more and more clear till he is ready for realisation of the truth. After all, it is realisation that counts in spiritual life. A high development of mere intellect is not the aim of yoga. All knowledge is within ourselves ; only it has to be called out from the depths. The Master's own writings are alone sufficient to give the needed word or help, for his words carry the mantra which no other's writings can. To write learned and elaborate commentaries on the Master's yoga and philosophy is comparatively easy ;' to transform one's own consciousness and nature In the light of his teaching is much more difficult. When the sun rises, do we need to strike a match or candle-stick to show that it is the sun ? No, it is self-evident and self-luminous. So are the writings of Sri Aurobindo. They require no commentators to throw light on them. That can only be done as a sort of intellectual gymnastics for the writers.

One must have the divine's command and the divine commission to do the divine's work, then only his voice will carry the needed weight. In the Parliament of Religions held at Chicago there were many representatives of the different religions of the world

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but who has heard of their names and what about their learned papers read out so eloquently at the time? Only Vivekananda survives and that is because he had the divine commission and was an orator by divine right while the others were not. In India, during the last seventy-five years or so, we have had a number of commentaries on the Gita written by many eminent men in different fields of life but without any or much spiritual background. The result is all these commentaries have disappeared leaving to posterity only the work of Sri Aurobindo and it is obvious that he alone had the divine commission to write the commentary while the others had not. Sri Aurobindo must have anticipated events : that is why he had left nothing unsaid or unwritten, specially about his own yoga and philosophy.

Whoever is too great must lonely live.

Adored he walks in mighty solitude;

Vain is his labour to create his kins,

His only comrade is the Strength within.

Thus was it for a while with Savitri,

All worshipped marvelling ly, none dared to claim.

Her mind sat high pouring its golden beams,

Apart in herself until her hour of fate.

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