... the Gita, and in the Tantra. But Sri Aurobindo and the Mother go farther and determine a new integral aim of life''"1 which can be fulfilled by new methods of their integral yoga. Let us elucidate this important point in some detail. Page 123 Supra-terrestrial Theories of the Aim of Life The Vedic and Upanishadic experience has declared that Matter also is Spirit or Brahman; but... in its fullness. For then only there could be the Page 126 effective fulfillment of the cosmic aim of life, which insists on the utter fulfillment of cosmic activities or terrestrial activities. Sri Aurobindo points out that despite the dynamic aspect of the aim of life that we find in the entire system of the synthesis of yoga in the Upanishads, what is counseled to the soul... unity and light. Dimensions and distinctions remain but as figures for use, not a separative prison for the self-forgetting Spirit." viii The New Synthesis of Yoga and the New Integral Aim of Life The realization of the integral reality is the basic objective of the integral yoga, and to arrive at the supramental realization of the integral reality by the methods of the integral yoga ...
... (ii) Cosmic terrestrial aim of life Essay on Philosophy of Life in the Discovery of India by Jawaharlal Nehru Nehru (iii) Materialistic terrestrial aim of life A Free Man's Worship by Bertrand Russell (iv) Scientific terrestrial aim of life The World as I See It by Einstein (v) Supra terrestrial aim of life Bible (vi) Supra-cosmic... be centred around what is life and What is the aim of life. * Auroville has produced two books titled (i) The Aim of Life, and (ii) The Good Teacher and the Good Pupil. The four aims of life have been illustrated with the help of contents from the following books: Page 683 Aim Book (i) Integral aim of life Isha Upanishad and the drama written ... Supra-cosmic aim of life Dhammapada and Vivekacudamani by Samkaracharya *In the book, The Good Teacher and the Good Pupil, the authors have taken examples of good teachers and good pupils both from East and West so as to have ultimately a harmonious and universal philosophy of life. This also implies a philosophy of child-centred education, philosophy of life-long education and ...
... first set of questions is the second set of questions which relate to the aim of life. The moment we raise the question of aim of life, we begin to address ourselves to something that is central in our being, in our potentialities and in what we can become and can be fulfilled. No great character can be built where the aim of life remains a matter of doubt or tends to be neglected or retained for con... respect of this theme. Indeed, no prefixed aim of life should be proposed and no indoctrination or dogmatic assertions should be thrust upon on the mind and heart of the student. But the educational process should allow each student a process of exploration, experimentation and reflection as a result of which a mature decision is arrived at as to what aim of life one should pursue. It will then be seen... consideration or amusement in our hours of idleness or superficial leisure. Indeed, the theme of the aim of life should become a theme of exploration, and during the process of exploration one has to pass through periods of doubts, periods of long reflection, periods of experimentation and even of uncertainty. Educational process should provide both time and scope for this kind of exploration and every ...
... first set of questions is the second set of questions which relate to the aim of life. The moment we raise the question of aim of life, we begin to address ourselves to something that is central in our being, in our potentialities and in what we can become and can be fulfilled. No great character can be built where the aim of life remains a matter of doubt or tends to be neglected or retained for con... this theme. Indeed, no prefixed aim of life should be proposed and no indoctrination or dogmatic Page 432 assertions should be thrust upon the mind and heart of the student. But the educational process should allow each student a process of exploration, experimentation and reflection as a result of which a mature decision is arrived at as to what aim of life one should pursue. It will then... consideration or amusement in our hours of idleness or superficial leisure. Indeed, the theme of the aim of life should become a theme of exploration, and during the process of exploration one has to pass through periods of doubts, periods of long reflection, periods of experimentation and even of uncertainty. Educational process should provide both time and scope for this kind of exploration and every ...
... The Aim of Life The Aim Of Life An Exploration Isha Upanishad Introduction As one hears of the Upanishads, a distinctive image arises in the mind of a quest leading to the hermitages of teachers who have practised austerities and disciplines of various kinds and have realised in experience the highest states one can conceive... to the explanation of rituals — their significance, their symbolism and the meaning of their observance. We do not find in the Brahmanas anything directly related to our present concern with the aim of life. But towards the end of the age of the Brahmanas, there came about a revolt against ritualism and a new seeking, and a new quest arose. There was a feeling that truth cannot be a matter of ritualism... having only eighteen verses, and yet it is said to contain the quintessence of the entire quest expressed in the Upanishads. Moreover, it describes not only the nature of reality, but also the aim of life that seems to be implied by the very nature of the universe, and by the reality that is in the universe and in man. The Isha Upanishad can also be seen as a synthesis — a synthesis not only in regard ...
... integral personality is to examine life and to discover the highest possible aim of life. Historically, there have been three major aims of life. There is a view, first, that the aim of life is to prepare oneself for a life in another world, which is sometimes conceived as heaven or paradise. According to the second view, the aim of life is to seek liberation not only from the physical world but also from... and discords. Finally, it is man's failure to discover any durable meaning or aim of life that reduces him to become a plaything of the forces of degeneration, decay and destruction. An integrated man, in possession of himself and set in dynamic search of knowledge and power in service of the highest conceivable aim of life, can effortlessly become a potent instrument of harmonious relationships and... therefore to do the utmost that one can in the physical world, to improve its condition and to improve man's happiness or well-being or perfection in the physical world is the highest conceivable aim of life. This view has, again, several varieties such as materialistic, vitalistic, pragmatic and idealistic. It is easy to refrain from entering into the domain of discussion as to which of these aims of ...
... The Aim of Life The Aim of Life An Overview In the course of the history of human endeavour, there have emerged four main theories of the aim of life in accordance with four different conceptions of truth of existence. These may be called the supracosmic, the cosmic and terrestrial, the supraterrestrial or other-worldly, and the integral or synthetic or... form or only one of the temporary forms of the Becoming. Humanity and its welfare and progress during its persistence on earth provide the largest field and the natural limits for the terrestrial aim of life. Ill The supraterrestrial view The ... creation; a divine plan is working itself out through contradictions and perplexities. To discover the Divine Reality and to work for its full manifestation in physical life is the integral aim of life. All life must be accepted, but all life must be transformed by the highest divine light and power. ...
... is not guided by sound pedagogy. Two important themes, it is found, could be of very great help, if they are properly blended in the contents of education. One of them is the theme of the aim of life. The importance of this theme becomes evident when it is recognised that the central concern of the psychic being is to provide the necessary inspiration and guidance as to how life should be dealt... while there is not a single book in the world which can give its specific answer concerning any specific individual, great help can come if students are given access to those texts in which the aim of life or different aims of life are presented and discussed and if these texts are not presented in any prescriptive manner but as material for each individual's personal exploration. There have been,... Page 27 of integral perfection, both of the individual and of the society, or pursuit of the kingdom of God on the earth. While every individual should be free to choose his or her own aim of life, the choice can be greatly helped, if contents of education are so designed that every student has the possibility of being acquainted with the various goals that human beings have pursued along ...
... perseverance to the end of the work, for seriousness of purpose and inner joy and equality in all circumstances. 2. To remember the aim of life and to: (a) Review daily before retiring one's actions, thoughts, Page 93 feelings, in relation to the aim of life. (b) Try to harmonize thoughts, words, feelings and deeds so as to progress more in this direction. 3. To observe... Everyone needs to learn how to learn and how to continue to learn throughout life. Everyone needs to be a good pupil and a good teacher and everyone needs to develop the capacity to choose the right aim of life and to pursue that aim with determination and perseverance. Finally, everyone needs to have basic grounding to be able to ask: What is the mystery of this world and one's own place in it so as to... perception, and functions of the body. 2. Story of Arjuna at the beginning of the Mahabharata War to illustrate the above distinctions (other similar stories). 3. Determination of the aim of life: -The meaning of an ideal -Ideals of truth, beauty and goodness -Ideal of perfection 4. Study of great personalities: Jesus-Christ (a detailed study). 5. Listening to ...
... Association . 1 They asked, "Is the aim of life to be happy?..." So I replied: "That is just putting things topsy-turvy. "The aim of human life is to discover the Divine and to manifest it. Naturally, this discovery leads to happiness, but this happiness is a consequence, not an aim in itself. And it is this mistake of taking a mere consequence for the aim of life that has been the cause of most... What do they mean by "happiness"! Yes! Everyone thinks it's his or her personal little happiness, and that's the cause of the whole misery. They did put " to be happy ": "Is the aim of life to be happy?" ... That's AMAZING! And that's just what has distorted things, it's the source of everything. "Me, I am happy if I kill someone—so let me kill someone"! ( Mother laughs ) Yes, they... mean anything), anyway the need of satisfaction, of Ananda, but for it to be spontaneous...! Like that, effortless. No merit! It was quite natural. That's why that famous question [ "Is the aim of life to be happy?" ], for the body itself, it's such an obvious thing! If it were told, "You were born to be happy..." ( Mother stares in surprise ), it doesn't understand! ( Soon afterwards, for ...
... The Aim of Life Relentless Adventure and Ambition Introduction Alexander was born in 356 BC. His father, King Philip of Macedonia, had united Greece and had intended to free the Asiatic Greeks from Persian control. He also coveted the riches of the Persian Empire to pay for his professional army. At Philip's death, Alexander first quelled... the determining factor that made Alexander a conqueror of lands and men instead of an expert scholar or an illumined sage? Did Alexander ever ask himself, consciously and reflectively, what his aim of life should be? We do not know with any certainty. Considering, however, that he had access to wide fields of knowledge, such a question could hardly have escaped him. But even if he asked this question... He was verily a Prince of Air, ready to fly on the wings of time just to discover novelties and unexpected experiences. His ambitions were deep-seated and illimitable. In fact, it seems that his aim of life was determined by the pressure of his ambitions rather than by any rational system of thought or any ethical discipline. He was probably so prodigious that he found it difficult to contain his energy ...
... The Aim of Life The Mother The Ascent to Truth Introduction The Mother was born in Paris on February 21, 1878, in a very materialistic, upper middle class family. She completed a thorough education of music, painting and higher mathematics. A student of the French painter Gustave Moreau, she befriended the great Impressionist artists of the... given here. The Ascent to Truth, Page 299 provides an insight into various aims of life and their limitations. Towards the end of the play she indicates the secret of an integral aim of life and of the new world. In 1958, eight years after Sri Aurobindo' s departure, she in turn withdrew to her room to come to terms with the problem of evolution. From 1958 to 1973, she slowly... that brings together the people in this "Drama of Life" as Mother called it. It is not given to everyone to have an intense aspiration for a rather difficult search, but there are some whose aim of life is to constantly move forward and not to stop till they have arrived at their goal, whatever it may be. The characters in the play represent people of different backgrounds, interests and age groups; ...
... work and perseverance to the end of the work, for seriousness of purpose and inner joy and equality in all circumstances. To remember the aim of life and to: Review daily before retiring one's actions, thoughts, feelings, in relation to the aim of life. Try to harmonize thoughts, words, feelings and deeds so as to progress more in this direction. To observe in oneself and to practise... sensation, perception, and functions of the body. Story of Arjuna at the beginning of the Mahabharata War to illustrate the above distinctions (other similar stories). Determination of the aim of life: The meaning of an ideal Ideals of truth, beauty and goodness Ideal of perfection Page 48 Study of great personalities: Jesus Christ (a detailed study). ... life must be transformed. Works of knowledge Works of love Works of life-force Problems in accepting and transforming these works. Synthesis of the four main theories of the aim of life: Supracosmic Supraterrestrial Cosmic-terrestrial Integral Development of a vision of ideal perfection, individual and collective. Man's present condition and possibilities ...
... pursued at different epochs more or less exclusively. Some have pursued what may be called the Cosmic terrestrial aim of life the others the supraterrestrial aim of life, and some the supracosmic aim of life, and finally there is also a long tradition of pursuit of integral aim of life. Our aim in the book is to illustrate these fore aims and we have selected appropriate texts from some original... produced two books 'The Aim of life' and 'The Good Teacher' and 'the Good Pupil' and they can already be made a good vehicle of Teachers' Training in value education and they can also be recommended for tertiary education. We have there already a book not yet published, 'Mystry and Excellence of the Human Body'. It only awaits publication. If you examine 'The Aim of Life', we have studied the... example, to illustrate the integral aim of life, we have taken the text of the Isa Upanisad and also the text of a drama written by The Mother called the Ascent to Truth. For the Cosmic-terrestrial we have taken a text from Jawaharlal Nehru, his essay on Philosophy of Life in his Discovery of India. It is what may be called idealistic terrestrial aim of life. Then, we have Bertrand Russel, his ...
... The Knowledge and the Spiritual Evolution The Life Divine Chapter XVI The Integral Knowledge and the Aim of Life; Four Theories of Existence When all the desires that cling to the heart are loosed away from it, then the mortal becomes immortal, even here he possesses the Eternal. [Brihadaranyaka Upanishad. (IV. 4. 7.)](https://upanishads.org.... effectual sides and dynamic aspects but is unable to accept as sufficient for a total explanation of existence and the universe. For truth of knowledge must base truth of life and determine the aim of life; the evolutionary process itself is the development of a Truth of existence concealed here in an original Inconscience and brought out from it by an emerging Consciousness which rises from gradation... metaphysical knowledge, our view of the fundamental truth of the universe and the meaning of existence, should naturally be the determinant of our whole conception of life and attitude to it; the aim of life, as we conceive it, must be structured on that basis. Metaphysical philosophy is an attempt to fix the fundamental realities and principles of being as distinct from its processes and the phenomena ...
... e simplicity in its power, solely consecrated to the Divine . Life: Conversion of the Aim of Life from the Ego to the Divine: Instead of seeking one's own satisfaction, to have the service of the Divine as the aim of life . The Mother, Words of the Mother - II: The True Aim of Life Power: Power in the Service of the Future: Without haste, but sure of its success . ...
... entirely our outer nature of mind, life and body, and then this can be cast into soul image of what is true, right and beautiful, and in the end, the whole nature can be turned towards the real aim of life, the supreme victory. A transformation of the mind, life and body by the presence and the power of the psychic being is effected. This process may be rapid or tardy according to the resistance in... _______________________ 1. Sri Aurobindo, The Synthesis of Yoga, Vol.20 (Centenary Edition), p.55. 2. Ibid., p. 233 Page 57 programme of studies, and the discovery of the aim of life and the art of life. A great stress will fall upon each student's individual work, and there has to be subtlety in forming flexible groupings of the students. Our present structure of education... youthfulness, a constant prospective thrust towards New Future, and a happy thirst for continuous progress -- these will govern the atmosphere of New Education. (d) A search for the highest aim of life, a stress on the integral development of personality, and a living expression of the unity of mankind-- these will be the universal preoccupations of the teachers and students. 23. In New Education ...
... entirely our outer nature of mind, life and body, and then this can be cast into soul-image of what is true, right and beautiful, and in the -end, the whole nature can be turned towards the real aim of life, the supreme victory. A transformation of the mind, life and body by the presence and the power of the psychic being is effected. This process may be rapid or tardy according to the resistance... aspiration, experience of freedom, possibility of educating oneself, self-experimentation, discovery of the inner needs and their relation with the programmes of studies, and the discovery of the aim of life and the art of life. A great stress will fall upon each student's individual work, and there has to be subtlety in forming flexible groupings of the students. Our present structure... ever-fresh youthfulness, a constant prospective thrust towards New Future, and a happy thirst for continuous progress these will govern the atmosphere of New Education. (d) A search for the highest aim of life, a stress on the integral development of personality, and a living expression of the unity of mankind, — these will be the universal preoccupations of the teachers and students. Page 173 ...
... and discords. Finally, it is man's failure to discover any durable meaning or aim of life that reduces him to become a plaything of the forces of degeneration, decay and destruction. An integrated man, in possession of himself and set in dynamic search of knowledge and power in service of the highest conceivable aim of life, can effortlessly become a potent instrument of harmonious relationships and... personality is to examine life and to discover the highest possible aim of life. Page 22 Throughout the history of awakened thought, there has been a persistent questioning as to what is the aim of human life. Free from dogmas and fixed beliefs, an intellectual enquiry into the ultimate search for the aim of life must be carried out in the spirit of sincere exploration... unfettered... mind needs to reflect on these answers and arrive at its own conclusions. This should a journey of free exploration into the theme of the aim of life... In the course of history, there have emerged four main theories of the aim of life, in accordance with four different conceptions of the truth of existence. (The Supra Cosmic View) In the Supra Cosmic View the ...
... and the Gita, and in the Tantra. But Sri Aurobindo and the Mother go farther and determine a new integral aim of life 56 which can be fulfilled by new methods of their integral yoga. Let us elucidate this important point in some detail. Supra-terrestrial Theories of the Aim of Life The Vedic and Upanishadic experience has declared that Matter also is Spirit or Brahman; but , Sri... inconscience, can also manifest in its fullness. For then only there could be the effective fulfillment of the cosmic aim of life, which insists on the utter fulfillment of cosmic activities or terrestrial activities. Sri Aurobindo points out that despite the dynamic aspect of the aim of life that we find in the entire system of the synthesis of yoga in the Upanishads, what is counseled to the soul is... unity and light. Dimensions and distinctions remain but as figures for use, not a separative prison for the self-forgetting Spirit." 55 The New Synthesis of Yoga and the New Integral Aim of Life The realization of the integral reality is the basic objective of the integral yoga, and to arrive at the supramental realization of the integral reality by the methods of the integral yoga ...
... set of questions is the second set of questions which relate to the aim of life. The moment we raise the question of aim of life, we begin to address ourselves to something that is central in our being, in our potentialities and in what we can become and can be fulfilled. No great character can be built where the aim of life remains a matter of doubt or tends to be neglected or retained for ... respect of this theme. Indeed, no prefixed aim of life should be proposed and no indoctrination or dogmatic assertions should be thrust upon the mind and heart of the student. But the educational process should allow each student a process of exploration, experimentation and reflection as a result of which a mature decision is arrived at as to what aim of life one should pursue. It will then be seen... consideration or amusement in our hours of idleness or superficial leisure. Indeed, the theme of the aim of life should become a theme of exploration, and during the process of exploration one has to pass through periods of doubts, periods of long reflection, periods of experimentation and even of uncertainty. Educational process should provide both time and scope for this kind of exploration ...
... first set of questions is the second set of questions which relate to the aim of life. The moment we raise the question of aim of life, we begin to address ourselves to something that is central in our being, in our potentialities and in what we can become and can be fulfilled. No great character can be built where the aim of life remains a matter of doubt or tends to be neglected or retained for con... respect of this theme. Indeed, no prefixed aim of life should be proposed and no indoctrination or dogmatic assertions should be thrust upon on the mind and heart of the student. But the educational process should allow each student a process of exploration, experimentation and reflection as a result or which a mature decision is arrived at as to what aim of life one should pursue. It will then be seen... consideration or amusement in our hours of idleness or superficial leisure. Indeed, the theme of the aim of life should become a theme of exploration, and during the process of exploration one has to pass through periods of doubts, periods of long reflection, periods of experimentation and even of uncertainty. Educational process should provide both time and scope for this kind of exploration and every ...
... individual and from collectivity to collectivity. Pedagogy and Aim of Life The greatest educationists, who have played important roles in fashioning educational systems have, in their quest to develop ideal processes and structures of education, have found it necessary to understand the real meaning and aim of life, the real meaning and aim of culture, and the real meaning and aim of the... be stimulated. But all this is still sought to be managed within the narrow formula of mechanical and external systems of methodologies. At the root of this methodology is a certain view of the aim of life. According to this view, life is a struggle in which one is obliged to adjust with the present system of inequalities and competition, and a system in which one is required to find a place within... for a rainy day, and one can lead a certain length of life so as to merit a tolerable amount of pension, in the process of enjoying which, one can wait for a smooth transition to the grave. The aim of life, according to this view, is to live, to perform duties appropriate to one's own station of life, to struggle through competition, to enjoy possible comforts and to enjoy some kind of security and ...
... especially addressed to all those who have this responsibility. The material presented here is meant to encourage a free exploration into the theme of the aim of life. The texts have been selected from many important works related to the aim of life, in the spirit of collecting at random some flowers from a beautiful garden. The limitation of space does not permit us to include as many texts as we wish... The Aim of Life Preface There are states and states of consciousness; there are profundities and Widenesses; there are heights over heights. To discover them one has to enlarge and explore ever-widening possibilities of psychological experience. In the depths of the being we may begin to integrate the threads and complexities of what we are and can become. It is... is there, perhaps, rather than in books or preachings, that we may begin to perceive and live what precisely is our aim of life. Free from dogmas and fixed beliefs, in the purity of experience, we may hope to discover the answer to the all-important questions: what am I to do? What role do I have to play in the vast and mysterious universe? What is the best and highest goal that I should aim to realise ...
... October 1964 Page 4 The only thing worth living for is to serve the Divine. January 1966 Conversion of the aim of life from the ego to the Divine: instead of seeking one's own satisfaction, to have the service of the Divine as the aim of life. What you must know is exactly the thing you want to do in life. The time needed to learn it does not matter at all. For those who... Words of the Mother - II The True Aim of Life Why are we on earth? To find the Divine who is in each of us and in all things. Only one thing is important, it is to find the Divine. For each one and for the whole world anything becomes useful if it helps to find the Divine. Life is meant for seeking the Divine. Life is realised when... who wish to live according to Truth, there is always something to learn and some progress to make. 2 October 1969 The true aim of life is to find the Divine's Presence deep inside oneself and to surrender to It so that It takes the lead of the life, all the feelings and all the actions of the body. This gives a true and luminous aim to existence. 28 March 1970 Life has a purpose ...
... highest Page 167 glory and bliss can be attained. They have, therefore, advocated what can be called the supra-terrestrial aim of life. There are still others who seek the highest fulfilment in the world and on the earth. They advocate the terrestrial aim of life and there are several varieties of this aim, materialistic, vitalistic and idealistic. They find that the world in which we live is... heights that one needs to scale if one wants to look what lies behind and beyond the horizons which seem to be unending. The subject of value-education is directly related to the search of the aim of life. The best way to deal with this great theme is to avoid any dogmatic answer to the question as to what aim one should pursue in life but to initiate and conduct a process of exploration. Each student... If one explores the subject, we shall find that historically four aims have come to be discussed among all who had striven to reach the highest and the best. Some have arrived at the supracosmic aim of life, which does not find in the world any satisfying fulfilment. They have experienced some supreme and transcendent Reality and found in that experience and realisation something most substantial and ...
... perseverance to the end of the work, for seriousness of purpose and inner joy and equality in all circumstance. 2. To remember the aim of life and to: (a) Review daily before retiring one's actions, thoughts, feelings, in relation to the aim of life. (b) Try to harmonise thoughts, words, feelings and deeds to as to progress more in this direction. 3. To observe in oneself... perception, and functions of the body. 2. Story of Arjuna at the beginning of the Mahabharata War to illustrate the above distinctions (other similar stories) 3. Determination of the aim of life: The Meaning of an idea Ideals of truth, beauty and goodness Ideal of perfection 4. Study of great personalities: Jesus Christ (a detailed story). 5. Listening to... Works of knowledge Works of love Works of life-force Problems in accepting and transforming these works. 2. Synthesis of the four main theories of the aim of life: Page 238 Supracosmic Supraterrestrial Cosmic-terrestrial Integral 3. Development of a vision of ideal perfection, individual and collective. 4 ...
... questions of the aim of human life. Study of the aim of human life can be viewed under four headings: The supra-cosmic aim of life; The supra-terrestrial aim of life; . Cosmic-terrestrial aim of life; and Integral aim of life. Secondly, one could discuss the question of relativity and subjectivity of values and how values have changed from time ...
... Page 18 HOME ____________6 ____________ The Veda and Indian Culture The aim of life that the people are inspired to pursue determines the fundamental direction of their culture. From this point of view, it is necessary to examine what exactly was the aim of life proposed by the Veda and how it influenced-the direction of the Indian culture. According to one view... thou shalt not be negligent of the study and teaching of the highest Truth'. During the Vedic and Upanishadic periods, and even later, there was an emphasis on the pursuit of an integral aim of life, which determined the discipline of integral education. Both the material and spiritual poles of being had their place in this system. The ancient Sanskrit adage, shareeram adyam khalu dharma... which cannot be bound by any previously formulated law of Dharma. This is the inner meaning of spiritual liberation, or moksha, which is placed before the individual as the superior or supreme aim of life. Page 49 There was a period in Indian history when the insistence on Dharma and the insistence on spiritual liberation as the higher and highest motive of life was at its peak. Such ...
... progressing to its culmination and its close. This economic barbarism is essentially that of the vital man who mistakes the vital being for the self and accepts its satisfaction as the first aim of life. The characteristic of Life is desire and the instinct of possession. Just as the physical barbarian makes the excellence Page 272 of the body and the development of physical force... some radical defect in its system, a certain Page 283 proof that its idea of man and its method of development do not correspond to all the reality of the human being and to the aim of life which that reality imposes.... It may be suggested on the contrary and with some chance of knocking at the right door that the radical defect of all our systems is their deficient development ...
... for the race." 1 It has now become clear that the knowledge of the Spirit and the knowledge of Matter need to be blended and synthesized; supracosmic aim of life has to be enlarged by integrating with it the cosmic aim of life; the realizations of the Spirit have to be extended so as to cover the domain of Matter. And in doing so, all that is intermediate between Spirit and Matter has also ...
... possibility in us, and persists till these things become the major need of our nature... If the secret psychic person can come forward into the front... the whole nature can be turned towards the real aim of life, the supreme victory, the ascent into spiritual existence." 1 Mental Education In regard to mental education, the processes and methods can best be determined by under- standing... questions but they often remain unanswered. Why, for example, should one learn mathematics? What does really history teach us? What is the relationship between language and mathematics? What is the aim of life? There should be freedom to raise these questions and also enough time and readiness to answer them, even though they may not be a part of any prescribed syllabus. Another important point that ...
... New Evolution". Auroville has conducted various experiments in education, inspired and initiated by the Mother and published two important volumes of Educational research under the titles "The Aim of Life" and "The Good Teacher and The Good Pupil" which have received countrywide attention in India. IV Principles and methods of education advocated by Sri Aurobindo and the Mother have... questions but they often remain unanswered. Why, for example, should one learn mathematics? What does really history teach us? What is the relationship between language and mathematics? What is the aim of life? There should be freedom to raise these questions and also enough time and readiness to answer them, even though they may not be a part of any prescribed syllabus. Another important point that ...
... The Aim of Life Introduction Jesus Christ's 1 personality is indescribable. One cannot but be deeply attracted to this enigmatic, gentle, yet powerful figure. In the past, questions were raised as to whether his life is not mainly a fiction, a legend constructed around a much lesser personality. But today there seems to be a consensus that Jesus... Heaven ". By "Kingdom of Heaven "Jesus was in effect referring to the true "Kingdom of God", which is to be experienced in another dimension, the spiritual realm. According to Jesus' teaching, the aim of life is to discover the kingdom of God within oneself, and thus become worthy to be accepted into the kingdom of heaven after this life. And yet, we may ask, what is it that makes the Sermon on ...
... The Aim of Life Search for Utter Transcendence Introduction The Upanishad describes Reality as Sat, Being; but it also speaks of asat, Non- being, as the Ultimate from which Being appeared. This nothing, this Nihil, is seen as a "something" which is beyond positive comprehension. Just as pure Being is the affirmation of the Ultimate as the free... liberated into a state free from all affliction, a state of unshakable and perfectly unassailable peace. But, having reached this state, is there anything left to be done in this world? Is there any aim of life to be further pursued? As we have seen, the life of the Buddha shows clearly that the state of Nirvana and the state of activity need not be opposed to each other. For man, when liberated from desire ...
... be fostered. There are indeed certain enquiries which are not at present conducted in the curriculum of common schools, such as those that are designed to explore the meaning of life or aim of life, but if such programs can justifiably be proposed for common schools, and if such programs require seriousness and sincerity on part of teachers and students, are we to equate such requirement... and sincerity. For that reason, we do not need to build up different sorts of school community in which different sorts of initiations are provided. A curriculum relating to meaning of life or aim of life, and this program has to deal with exploration of aims of life which have been advocated by different religious and spiritual as also by materialists, vitalists, and idealists. But it cannot be ...
... 1970 Is the aim of life to be happy? 25 Is the aim of life to be happy? This is just putting things topsy-turvy. Page 311 The aim of human life is to discover the Divine and to manifest it. Naturally this discovery leads to happiness; but this happiness is a consequence, not an aim in itself. And it is this mistake of taking a mere consequence for aim of life that has been the ...
... The Aim of Life Search for Excellence and Perfection Introduction More than a century before Galileo, one man succeeded in overcoming the age-old distinction between the contemplative and active life, between science and craft, through a unique synthesis of scientific investigation and artistic expression. For his work in which he employed... laymen, civil servants and merchants. To the humanists, the ideal individual was one equipped with intellectual and practical skills, and viewed as the conscious mover of his own fate. To them, the aim of life was success and fulfilment in the world, not beyond it. This new image of man as an active individual striving rationally towards worldly success began to replace the medieval world-view which... that Leonardo was able to overcome this seeming contradiction and synthesize his vast talents, the results were so stupendous that they remain timeless inspirations in the search for an integral aim of life. Page 199 Auto-Portrait of Leonardo in old age Notes 1. Andrea del Verrocchio (1435-1488) was and outstanding and widely talented artist. He directed the most ...
... The Aim of Life King Narasimha (Mahabalipuram), photo O. Barot, Auroville Pursuit of Goodness (A Selection from Nitishatakam of Bhartrihari) Introduction Harmony, balance and equilibrium marked the ethos of Indian culture in ancient times, and indeed in varying degrees throughout the long and continuous history of India. From time... not to be baffled by the complex system of ethics that grew and tended to prevail in the Indian society. Dharma, artha, kama, and moksha, these four commonly understood words in the Indian aim of life have rich connotations, indicating that Indian ethics assigned due place to the pursuit of pleasure, kama, and of wealth or prosperity, artha, provided that they were adequately controlled and... dharma was allowed to be surpassed by an unconditional imperative emerging from unfettered search for spiritual freedom and liberation, moksha. It is against the background of this synthetic aim of life that we can understand how the great representatives of Indian culture came to embody and manifest tendencies towards richness of material life, on the one hand, and overarching detachment and r ...
... The Aim of Life Bertrand Russell A Free Man's Worship Introduction As mankind drew nearer the twentieth century, we find an atmosphere that called for total freedom of the mind and spirit. The age of religion seemed to be drawing to a close. Even the morality derived from religion seemed to be receding into the background. The achievements of... and impartiality, taking nothing for granted, assuming nothing on authority. But when all assumptions are withdrawn, is there any solid ground on which one can pose the question: What is the aim of life? One possible answer can be found in Bertrand Russell s essay, A Free Man's Worship. Bertrand Russell is considered Page 281 one of the most eminent modern mathematicians. He introduced... Worship. It is sometimes held that if one discards the belief in design or in the moral order of the universe or in the governance of the world by God, one is led to deny the basis for any aim of life except that of snatching transient happiness. "From dust we rise, to dust we return " — such would be the simplistic logic of a designless world. Bertrand Russell shows, however, that this ...
... the determining factor that made Alexander a conqueror of lands and men instead of an expert scholar or an illumined sage? Did Alexander ever ask himself, consciously and reflectively, what his aim of life should be? We do not know with any certainty. Considering, however, that he had access to wide fields of knowledge, such a question could hardly have escaped him. But even if he asked this question... He was verily a Prince of Air, ready to fly on the wings of time just to discover novelties and unexpected experiences. His ambitions were deep-seated and illimitable. In fact, it seems that his aim of life was determined by the pressure of his ambitions rather than by any rational system of thought or any ethical discipline. He was probably so prodigious that he found it difficult to contain his energy... was faced with a very difficult task in that respect. But the extraordinary profile of him painted for us by Plutarch may be very instructive when we ourselves are confronted with the quest of our aim of life. Page 15 ...
... The Aim of Life One of the first surah , or chapters, of the Koran in a manuscript produced in the 16th century Submission to the Will of the Supreme Introduction The Koran is a transcript of the messages revealed to the Prophet Muhammad by the Angel Gabriel. These revelations were supernaturally received, in states of trance, over a considerable... dating from about AD 610, and the last shortly before Muhammad's passing away in AD 632. The quintessence of Muhammad's teaching is that there is one God, who transcends the world, and that the aim of life is to commit oneself to Him and to submit to His will. The oneness and transcendence of God is stated again and again throughout the Koran. He is God; there is no god but He. ...
... slay me unarmed and unresisting. I will not fight."² If we analyze this argument, we shall find the following steps: In the first place, Arjuna argued that he would like to reject that aim of life which seeks enjoyment and happiness, or , in other words, the hedonistic aim. Page 9 Secondly, he declared that he would reject the aim which seeks to attain victory and rule and power... where Arjuna stands in the battlefield, that day has not yet come and the method of physical strife cannot yet be avoided. If humanity has to move forward for the eventual fulfillment of the highest aim of life in which the immortal Spirit will manifest fully, the present stage of physical strife has to be unavoidably accepted for the present, and Arjuna, given his background, his upbringing and his own ...
... sense experience. Not long ago, materialism held the central field of inquiry, and it had predominant influence over the seekers of Page 1 knowledge and persuaded them to limit the aim of life to a feverish effort of the individual to snatch what he may from a transient existence or to dispassionate and objectless service of the race and of the individual, knowing well that the latter... indefinitely expanded in course of time, questions such as those of the origin of the universe, mysteries and wonders of the universe, the paradoxes of the universe as also questions pertaining to the aim of life and those relating to fulfillment of the individual and the collectivity need not be raised, and even if raised, cannot be answered. It is also acknowledged that this conclusion and consequent attitude ...
... energy to be idle. Why, it is only for this I tolerate the wearisome activity of the previous twelve hours. Wilson —You are a living paradox. Is it not just like you to pervert indolence into the aim of life? Keshav —Why, what other aim can there be? Wilson —Duty, I presume. Keshav —I cannot consent to cherish an opinion until I realise the meaning of duty. Wilson —I suppose I have pledged ...
... their pride, these misguided souls delude themselves, persist in false and obstinate aims and pursue the fixed impure resolution of their longings. They imagine that desire and enjoyment are all the aim of life and in their inordinate and insatiable pursuit of it they are the prey of a devouring, a measurelessly unceasing care and thought and endeavour and anxiety till the moment of their death. Bound by ...
... striking originality and solitary greatness. A spiritual aspiration was the governing force of this culture, its core of thought, its ruling passion. Not only did it make spirituality the highest aim of life, but it even tried, as far as that could be done in the past conditions of the human race, to turn the whole of life towards spirituality. But since religion is in the human mind the first native ...
... now progressing to its culmination and its close. This economic barbarism is essentially that of the vital man who mistakes the vital being* for the self and accepts its satisfaction as the first aim of life---- To the natural unredeemed economic man beauty is a thing otiose or a nuisance, art and poetry a frivolity or an ostentation and a means of advertisement. His idea of civilisation is comfort ...
... behind the veil this outer nature of mind, life and body, then these can be cast into soul images of what is true, right and beautiful and in the end the whole nature can be turned towards the real aim of life, the supreme victory, the ascent into spiritual existence. 103 Sri Aurobindo * Page 94 When the psychic is in the front, the sadhana becomes natural and easy and it ...
... this unique Page 23 privilege of living here in the Ashram? Never forget where you are. Never forget where you are living and the true aim of life. Remember this at every moment and in all circumstances. In this way you will make the best use of your existence. The Mother Judgment Sweet Mother, When department heads or superiors ...
... material as well as new material. Reality and the Integral Knowledge XXXII XVI Chapter comprising revised Arya material as well as new material. The Integral Knowledge and the Aim of Life; Four Theories of Existence L XVII Revised form of a chapter originally published in the Arya . The Progress to Knowledge — God, Man and Nature XXXIII XVIII Revised form ...
... they are and grow instruments or media of a higher mode of consciousness. Perhaps ultimately the two differing ways of seeing "first and last things" depend on the old view that the whole aim of life and earth is to make us ready to go elsewhere to find our consummation, and the new view of Sri Aurobindo that there has to be not only an ascent into the Spirit but also a full descent of the Spirit ...
... and, long ingrained in it, deludes us with the appearance of a law. We can rise above transitory pleasure; we can get rid of the possibility of pain. Pleasure, therefore, cannot be the end & aim of life; for the true object and condition of Life is Ananda and Ananda is something in its nature one, unconditioned and infinite. If we make pleasure the object of life, then we also make pain the condition ...
... made a distinction between the real world and Page 198 the shadow world. And this distinction has held for all dreamers and aspirants as well as for philosophers and moralists. The aim of life has been visioned as the contact between the real world and the shadowy through an "imprisoned splendour", the "soul" which belongs to the former but has fallen into the latter and got trapped there ...
... stay so long as this part is not converted and insists on its own way of satisfaction. Letters on Yoga, p. 1294 Many men are not after happiness and do not believe it is the true aim of life. It is the physical vital that seeks after happiness, the bigger vital is ready to sacrifice it in order to satisfy its passions, search for power, ambition, fame or any other motive. If you say ...
... through this culture. But each depends on the other for its growth. Therefore in social orders and institutions every facility is given for man to develop and grow in readiness for the ultimate aim of life. Sri Aurobindo has explained the distinctive character of Indian Culture in his books: The Foundations of Indian Culture, The Renaissance in India, Essays on the Gita, The Synthesis of Yoga. ...
... laid down all that is required to enter into the realms of knowledge. "Yama makes a distinction between the good and the pleasant and points out that one who chooses the pleasant falls from the aim of life. It is the wise, he says, who chooses the good, and since Nachiketas had looked close at the objects of desire, at pleasant things and beautiful, and he had cast them from him, therefore, he had ...
... lived in reunion with the highest states of knowledge and consciousness. Let us state clearly Arjuna's arguments. In thee first place, Arjuna argued that he would like to reject that aim of life which seeks enjoyment and happiness. Secondly, he declared that he would reject the aim which seeks to attain victory and rule and power and government of men, — the aim that was described in ...
... , the youth finds himself often unable to make the necessary effort. Nonetheless, he continues to strive and struggle, and he calls out for help in his search. He sets out to discover the right aim of life, the right aim of education, and the evasive secret of learning and the ever-progressive means of fulfilment In brief, he is looking for a philosophy of education relevant to his needs and ...
... Teacher A Philosophy of Evolution for the Contemporary Man A Philosophy of Education for the Contemporary Youth Page 59 Edited by Kireet Joshi The Aim of Life The Good Teacher and the Good Pupil Mystery and Excellence of Human Body Gods and the World Crucifixion Uniting Men - Jean Monnet Joan ...
... Values that the moral being ought to seek are those of sincere goodwill and obedience to whatever one conceives to be the highest. In psychic education, the values to be sought after are those of the aim of life, the highest Page 623 evelopment of the individuality free from egoism and knowledge that guides the inmost and harmonious relationship between the individual and the cosmic, and f ...
... speaks: 1. 'One thing is the good and quite another thing is the pleasant, and both seize upon a man with different meanings. Of these who takes the good, it is well with him; he falls from the aim of life who chooses the pleasant. 2. The good and the pleasant come to a man and the thoughtful mind turns all around them and distinguishes. The wise chooses out the good from the pleasant, but the ...
... one, or can be fused into oneness. It has been suggested that among all educational activities, the most significant one is that of the search for definitions, for meaning, for the highest aim of life. This search is not limited to this subject or that, it does not begin at one stage and end at another. This search is, however, most essential; all syllabi of all subjects can help in this search; ...
... Education Teachers' Training Programme in the light of Value-oriented Education Innovations in Education Page 105 Edited by Kireet Joshi The Aim of Life The Good Teacher and the Good Pupil Mystery and Excellence of Human Body Parvati's Tapasya Nachiketas Taittiriya Upanishad Sri Rama ...
... Role of the Contemporary Teacher A Philosophy of Evolution for the Contemporary Man A Philosophy of Education for the Contemporary Youth Edited by Kireet Joshi The Aim of Life The Good Teacher and the Good Pupil Mystery and Excellence of Human Body Gods and the World Crucifixion Uniting Men - Jean Monnet Joan of Arc Nala and Damayanti ...
... The Aim of Life Shadows in the water. Photo: Carlos, Auroville Brahman is Real The world is a Lie Introduction Brahma satyam jaganmithya jivo brahmaiva naparah, "Brahman alone is real, the universe is unreal, and the individual soul is no other than the Brahman ": the call of the centuries that has held the soul of India in its spell. Some ...
... education is a preparation for life; and this is true, although it would be truer to say that all life is perpetual education. In any case, the quality and direction of education is dependent upon the aim of life that is conceived and attempted to be realized. It is in this context that we need to turn to the great teachers, the Rishis, Krishna, the Buddha, Christ, Socrates, and others who have attempted ...
... thou shalt not be negligent of the study and teaching of the highest Truth. " During the Vedic and Upanishadic periods, and even later, there was an emphasis on the pursuit of an integral aim of life, which determined the discipline of integral education. Both the material and spiritual poles of being had their place in this system. The ancient Sanskrit adage, Shareeram adyam khalu dharma sadhanam ...
... Arc The Crucifixion Nachiketas Socrates Sri Krishna in Brindavan Other titles published by SAIIER and Shubhra Ketu Foundation ______________________________ The Aim of Life The Good Teacher and the Good Pupil Mystery and Excellence of the Human Body Page 336 ...
... and the pleasant come to a man, and both are understood with different meanings. Of these two, whoever chooses the good, he is truly benefited; but he who chooses the pleasant, he falls from the aim of life. The good Page 25 and the pleasant come to a man and the thoughtful man deliberates upon them and distinguishes between the good and the pleasant. The wise chooses the good instead ...
... provide basic philosophy of Value-Oriented Education, and its second component would provide exploration in any of two or three allied themes (Annexure IV): (a) Explorations in― (1) Aim of Life; (2) Truth, None-Violence, Continence, Non-Stealing, NonCovetousness; (3) Secrets of Learning to grow towards Excellence; (4) Liberty, Equality, Fraternity; (5) Secrets ...
... National Agenda for Education Teachers' Training Programme in the light of Value-oriented Education Innovations in Education Edited by Kireet Joshi The Aim of Life The Good Teacher and the Good Pupil Mystery and Excellence of Human Body Gods and the World Crucifixion Uniting Men - Jean Monnet Joan of Arc ...
... and entirely our outer nature of mind, life and body, and these can be cast into soul images of what is true, right and beautiful, and in the end the whole nature can be turned towards the real aim of life, the supreme victory. A transformation of the mind, life and body by the presence and powers of the psychic being is effected. This process may be rapid or tardy according to the resistance in our ...
... programme of pre-service and in-service teachers' training which will lay a special emphasis on the theme of human enrichment that can be fostered by exploration of the following four themes: 1.The aim of life; 2.Teaching that aims at awakening and infusion of inspiration and enthusiasm to learn; 3.Care and health of the* physical body which can be vehicle of sustaining ideals of life {sari ...
... unarmed and unresisting. I will not fight." (1,32-46) If we analyze this argument, we shall find the following steps: In the first place, Arjuna argued that he would like to reject that aim of life which seeks enjoyment and happiness, or, in other words, the hedonistic aim; Secondly, he declared that he would reject the aim which seeks to attain victory and rule and power and government ...
... where Arjuna stands in the battlefield, that day has not yet come and the method of physical strife cannot yet be avoided. If humanity has to move forward for the eventual fulfillment of the highest aim of life in which the immortal Spirit will manifest fully, the present stage of physical strife has to be unavoidably accepted for the present, and Arjuna, given his background, his upbringing and his own ...
... Evolution for the Contemporary Man", "A Philosophy of the Role of the Contemporary Teacher", "Education for Personality Development", and "Sri Aurobindo and The Mother". He has also edited "The Aim of Life" and "The Good Teacher and the Good Pupil". He is currently the Honorary President of the Dharam Hinduja International Centre of Indie Research. He is also Honorary Chairman of the Value Eduaction ...
... National Agenda for Education Teachers 'Training Programme in the light of Value-oriented Education Edited by Kireet Joshi Teaching-Learning Material The Aim of Life The Good Teacher and the Good Pupil Mystery and Excellence of Human Body Gods and the World Crucifixion Uniting Men - Jean Monnet Joan of Arc ...
... not depends on the nature of our ideal. Self-control is only a particular means to a particular end. If the meaning of life is to live the life of nature, to possess power and influence – if the aim of life is to live in accordance with its impulses, then the question of self-control can never arise. In such a case the indulgence of the senses is the motive force. There are two approaches to life: ...
... When evil twinned with good on earthly soil. 228 With the sowing of this dragon seed, there, .. .first appeared the malady of mind, Its pang of thought, its quest for the aim of life. 229 Man had eaten the forbidden fruit, alas! No more for him the life in blessed ignorance and unfeeling matter; the free and simple ways, the guileless frankness, are lost forever. The ...
... none has tackled the problem of education in its integrality, 2. Such a deep reform of education can only bear its fruit? if there is a corresponding change and newness in the ideal and aim of life of society itself. It is vain to expect a genuine recognition of a new system of this kind, not to speak of its general acceptance, if society keeps to the old ruts and presses upon the educator ...
... age and immature and if we were not able to channelise the strength in the right lines towards the right goal then the consequences might not be happy. We used to have these thoughts: What is the aim of life? Its goal? What brings the highest fulfilment to man? What is the ideal society? And we often discussed them with our local politicians of various parties. But their words and ideas never satisfied ...
... can help a lot in developing body consciousness. The body must be kept in a perfectly balanced state - Physical Sat-Chit-Ananda. Page 327 8. Integral progress - this is the aim of life. It helps to keep one young; both inwardly and outwardly. 9. Ananda is our prime mover. It is the rejuvenator and must saturate our whole physical being. 10. Love which is the source ...
... 7.Physical education can help a lot in developing body consciousness. The body must be kept in a perfectly balanced state - Physical Sat-Chit-Ananda. 8.Integral progress - this is the aim of life. It helps to keep one young; both inwardly and outwardly. 9.Ananda is our prime mover. It is the rejuvenator and must saturate our whole physical being. 10.Love which is the source of Joy ...
... chain of ponderings or meditation that may in time comprehend a whole universe: A smile acts upon difficulties as the sun upon clouds - it disperses them. Happiness is not the aim of life. The aim of ordinary life is to carry out one's duty, the aim of spiritual life is to realise the Divine. To work for the Divine is to pray with the body. All was gold and gold ...
... lovable a nature! But he was, in the very grain of his being, a Mayavadin, regarding the world as Sankar regarded it-a real-unreal creation of Maya, from which a retreat into the Brahman was the only aim of life. His lecture on Maya, delivered in England, was the best of all his lectures. After his first experience of Samadhi, he came running to Sri Ramakrishna and begged him to let him remain in that state ...
... starts. If the marriage is for association for a work it is different, but it is so for only one in a million. Then it lasts. "Mother, at the time of marriage one has not even fixed the ideal or aim of life." "At that time", said Mother, "it is impulse...sexual impulse. At that time if you tell them something, they will not understand. Marriages arranged by parents have other conveniences, but ...
... speaks: 1) One thing is the good and quite another thing is the pleasant, and both seize upon a man with different meanings. Of these whoso takes the good, it is well with him; he falls from the aim of life who chooses the pleasant. श्रेयश्च प्रेयश्च मनुष्यमेतस्तौ संपरीत्य विविनक्ति धीरः । श्रेयो हि धीरोऽभि प्रेयसो वृणीते प्रेयो मन्दो योगक्षेमाद् वृणीते ॥२॥ 2) The good and the pleasant come ...
... The Aim of Spiritual Practice One view found both in Eckhart's teaching and Sri Aurobindo's yoga—a view that is a radical departure from that of Hinduism and Buddhism—pertains to the aim of life and the object of spiritual practice. All the various schools of Hinduism aim at liberation (Mukti or Moksha) from the bondage of the ego and the cycle of incarnation by the realization of the true ...
... nature of mind, life and body, then these can be cast into soul images of what is true, right and beautiful and in the end the whole nature can be turned towards Page 89 the real aim of life, the supreme victory, the ascent into spiritual existence. The Life Divine, p. 225-27 It is the very nature of the soul or the psychic being to turn towards the divine Truth as the ...
... Vedantic premise that “All is That,” he drew the ineluctable conclusion that the Earth and life on it also were That, that their essence and their meaning must be spiritual, and that therefore the aim of life and yoga could not be an egoistic escape into a Hereafter or a Nirvana, but that the aim of earthly existence had to be the evolutionary recovery of the Divine. As the Mother once said, Sri A ...
... apparently finite, temporal, non-divine. According to this voice, exclusive knowledge of the One is, in the final perspective, as much Ignorance as exclusive knowledge of the Many. The integral aim of life is manifestation (many-festa-tion?) of the Single, the Unitary, in a double awareness of both the Unique and the Multiple. So I wouldn't pour cold water altogether on your desire to be an expert ...
... perfectibility, its watchword is progress. The characteristic law of Spirit is self-existent perfection and immutable infinity. It possesses always and in its own right the immortality which is the aim of Life and the perfection which is the goal of Mind. The attainment of the eternal and the realisation of that which is the same in all things and beyond all things, equally blissful in universe and outside ...
... the lower vital, but it invades the emotion and the vital mind. A mistake [ to think that all men seek after happiness ]; many men are not after happiness and do not believe it is the true aim of life. It is the physical vital that seeks after happiness, the bigger vital is ready to sacrifice it in order to satisfy its passions, search for power, ambition, fame or any other motive. If you say ...
... now progressing to its culmination and its close. This economic barbarism is essentially that of the vital man who mistakes the vital being for the self and accepts its satisfaction as the first aim of life. The characteristic of Life is desire and the instinct of possession. Just as the physical barbarian makes the excellence of the body and the development of physical force, health and prowess his ...
... Divine; whether knowingly or unknowingly, it is to this end that Nature is working in him under the thick veil of her inner and outer processes. But the material or animal man is ignorant of the inner aim of life; he knows only its needs and its desires and he has necessarily no other guide to what is required of him than his own perception of need and his own stirrings and pointings of desire. To satisfy ...
... conceive, fix before it and pursue, is common ground to all thinking humanity, though it may be only the minority who concern themselves with this possibility as providing the one most important aim of life. But by some the ideal is conceived as a mundane change, by others as a religious conversion. The mundane perfection is sometimes conceived of as something outward, social, a thing of action, ...
... behind the veil this outer nature of mind, life and body, then these can be cast into soul images of what is true, right and beautiful and in the end the whole nature can be turned towards the real aim of life, the supreme victory, the ascent into spiritual existence. But it might seem then that by bringing this psychic entity, this true soul in us, into the front and giving it there the lead and rule ...
... a sure sign that there is some radical defect in its system, a certain proof that its idea of man and its method of development do not correspond to all the reality of the human being and to the aim of life which that reality imposes. There is then a radical defect somewhere in the process of human civilisation; but where is its seat and by what issue shall we come out of the perpetual cycle of failure ...
... Difficulties of the Path Letters on Yoga - IV Chapter I The Difficulties of Yoga Difficulties and the Aim of Life It is the lesson of life that always in this world everything fails a man—only the Divine does not fail him, if he turns entirely to the Divine. It is not because there is something bad in you that blows fall on you,—blows fall on all ...
... behind the veil this outer nature of mind, life and body, then these can be cast into soul images of what is true, right and beautiful and in the end the whole nature can be turned towards the real aim of life, the supreme victory, the ascent into spiritual existence. *The word "psychic" in our ordinary parlance is more often used in reference to this desire-soul than to the true psychic. It is used ...
... into inner silence, rest into contemplation and enjoyment into bliss. This generally recognised need for entertainment, slackening of effort and more or less long and total forgetfulness of the aim of life and the purpose of existence should not be considered as something altogether natural and indispensable, but as a weakness to which one yields because of lack of intensity in the aspiration, because ...
... nothing can satisfy and its demands are without limit. Two ideas which are very wide-spread, especially in the West, contribute towards making its domination more sovereign. One is that the chief aim of life is to be happy; the other that one is born with a certain character and that it is impossible to change it. The first idea is a childish deformation of a very profound truth: that all existence ...
... How can one make use of every moment of this unique privilege of living here in the Ashram? Never forget where you are. Page 310 Never forget where you are living and the true aim of life. Remember this at every moment and in all circumstances. In this way you will make the best use of your existence. Happy New Year for 1965. 30 December 1964 Sweet Mother, What is ...
... in oneself and thus increase the consciousness. 3 November 1968 Page 385 What should one do to reduce the range of the subconscient? To grow in consciousness is the very aim of life on earth. It is through the experience of successive lives that the range of the subconscient is gradually reduced. By yoga and the effort to find the Divine in oneself and in life, one hastens ...
... wasn't a..." (what's the word?) "an Eden where you can stay without doing anything and where your bread is buttered on both sides!" So I put as first condition (I wrote it in English): the sole aim of life is to dedicate oneself to the divine realization (I didn't put it in these terms, but that's the idea). You must first (you may deceive yourself, but that doesn't make any difference), first be convinced ...
... Socrates Sri Krishna in Brindavan Sri Rama The beloved and victorious Hero Other titles published by SAIIER and Shubhra Ketu Foundation ________________________________ The Aim of Life The Good Teacher and the Good Pupil Mystery and Excellence of the Human Body Page 102 Printed at Auroville Press Auroville, TN 2009 ...
... The Aim of Life Swami Vivekananda Have You seen God ? Introduction Described as "the soul of puissance if ever there was one, a very lion among men" he who came to be known the world over as Swami Vivekananda lived for only 39 years. He was born on January 12, 1863, and named Narendra Nath. His father Vishwanath Datta, was a well-known ...
... The Aim of Life The World As I See It Introduction The man who became a world-famous scientist during his own lifetime did not do well at school. Albert Einstein's teacher wrote that he "could not be expected to make a success of anything. " 1 In fact, he was late in learning to walk and did not speak fluently until he was nine. He later wrote ...
... The Aim of Life Radha and Krishna, by M.A.R. Chughtai, courtesy N.G.M.A, New Delhi Ecstasy of Divine Love Introduction If we study the lives of God-lovers, we find that love for God comes to them in many ways. It may come as an awakening to the beauty of the Lover, by the sight of an ideal face and image of Him, by his mysterious hints ...
... The Aim of Life Rene Descartes Proofs of the Existence of God and of the Human Soul Introduction Pursuit of truth is easily acknowledged to be an ideal for every thinking and living being. But what is truth and how can it be pursued? This has been debated through the centuries. What is claimed to be true by some is opposed by others. Some ...
... the Iliad — Sri Aurobindo and Ilion Catherine the Great Gods and the World joan of Arc The Crucifixion Other titles published by SAIIER and Shubhra Ketu Foundation The Aim of Life The Good Teacher and the Good Pupil Mystery and Excellence of the Human Body Printed at Auroville Press Auroville 605101 Tamil Nadu, India 2007 ...
... The Aim of Life Apology Introduction A stout man with a flat face, broad nose, thick lips, heavy beard, shabby clothes and an unduly large paunch, which he hoped to reduce by dancing this is how Socrates has been described. Not a very flattering description of the man commonly considered the founder of Western philosophy. Although far from the ...
... "One thing is the good and quite another thing is the pleasant, and both seize upon a man with different meanings. Of these who so takes the good, it is well with him; he falls from the aim of life who chooses the pleasant. "The good and the pleasant come to a man and the thoughtful mind turns all around them and distinguishes. The wise chooses out the good from the pleasant, but ...
... The Aim of Life Life's Philosophy Introduction Among the great leaders of India's renaissance, Jawaharlal Nehru stands out prominently. He was born at Allahabad on November 14, 1889. He was educated at home until the age of sixteen by English governesses and tutors. In 1905, he went to Harrow, one of England's leading schools, where he ...
... May our body become invincible like a rock. (Rig-Veda6.75.12) During the Vedic and the Upanishadic periods, and even later, there was an emphasis on the pursuit of an integral aim of life, which deter mined the discipline of integral education. Both the material and spiritual poles of the being had their place in this system. The ancient Sanskrit adage "Shariram adyam khalu dharma ...
... Sri Rama The beloved and victorious Hero Arguments for the Existence of God Taittiriya Upanishad Other titles published by SAIIER and Shubhra Ketu Foundation The Aim of Life The Good Teacher and the Good Pupil Mystery and Excellence of the Human Body Page 104 ...
... 1. "One thing is the good and quite another thing is the pleasant, and both seize upon a man with different meanings. Of these whoso takes the good, it is well with him; he falls from the aim of life who chooses the pleasant. 2. "The good and the pleasant come to a man and the thoughtful mind turns all around them and distinguishes. The wise chooses out the good from the pleasant, ...
... principle: seeking for Ananda, or happiness, if you like... [Sri Aurobindo drew an arrow indicating "happiness".] A mistake; many men are not after happiness and do not believe it is the true aim of life. It is the physical vital that seeks after happiness, the bigger vital is ready to sacrifice it in order to satisfy its passions, search for power, ambition, fame or any other motive. If you say ...
... NIRODBARAN: And provided they refuse to be a party to mutual destruction. SRI AUROBINDO: Does that mean that you go on being defeated till you are destroyed? If according to him peace is the aim of life, why fight at all, violently or non-violently? You can simply go on peacefully with love for—what is that fellow's name? PURANI: Virawalla? SRI AUROBINDO: Yes, with love in your heart for Virawalla ...
... that the moral being ought to seek are those of sincere goodwill and obedience to whatever one conceives to be the highest. In psychic education, the values to be sought after are those of the aim of life, the highest development of the individuality free from egoism and knowledge that guides the inmost and harmonious relationship between the individual and the cosmic, and fulfilment in the light ...
... for growth, experience of freedom, possibility of educating oneself, self-experimentation, discovery of the inner needs and their relation with the programmes of studies, and the discovery of the aim of life and the art of life — these are much more important, and the structure must provide for them. Page 86 In this system, each student is free to study any subject he or she chooses at any ...
... specialised education. The first subject is that of man and the environment, the second subject, which is closely related to the first, is that of man and evolution; and the third subject is that of the aim of life. As these areas are quite neglected, they require special consideration of educationists. Two final remarks need to be made. Page 112 We find that most of the books which are ...
... Everyone needs to learn how to learn and how to continue to learn throughout life. Everyone needs to be a good pupil and a good teacher and everyone needs to develop the capacity to choose the right aim of life and to pursue that aim with determination and perseverance. Finally, everyone needs to have basic grounding to be Page 38 able to ask: What is the mystery of this world and one's ...
... and the world (i) New cultural awakening (j) Science and spirituality Part II Achievements of Indian Culture 1. Religion and Spirituality: (a) The aim of life and paths of wisdom (b) Materialism, Asceticism and the Middle Path (c) Spirit of tolerance, assimilation and synthesis (d) True understanding of religions: Hinduism, Buddhism ...
... importance of the child; iii.Psychology of child development; iv.Philosophy for children; v.Stories and songs for children; vi.Aims of education and concept of excellence; vii.The aim of life; viii.Children's health, strength and physical excellence; ix.Science of self-knowledge and self-control; x.Extension services for the children in the society; xi.Philosophy of social ...
... (h)Great discoveries of ancient India and modern world; (i)Great inventions of ancient India and modern world; (j) What you need to know about your own body; (k) The theme of the Aim of Life. (5)Along with the Bal Bhavans, the university will also promote the development of an organization of "Little Children's Theatre" as a part of Bal Bhavan or even independently. (6)The Children's ...
... Values that the moral being ought to seek are those of sincere goodwill and obedience to whatever one conceives to be the highest. In psychic education, the values to be sought after are those of the aim of life, the highest development of the individuality free from egoism and knowledge that guides the inmost and harmonious relationship between the individual and the cosmic, and fulfilment in the light ...
... Arguments for the Existence of God Taittiriya Upanishad Selected Episodes from Raghuvarhsam of Kalidasa Other titles published by SAIIER and Shubhra Ketu Foundation The Aim of Life The Good Teacher and the Good Pupil Mystery and Excellence of the Human Body HOME ...
... Teacher A Philosophy of Evolution for the Contemporary Man A Philosophy of Education for the Contemporary Youth Edited by Kireet Joshi The Aim of Life The Good Teacher and the Good Pupil Mystery and Excellence of Human Body Gods and the World Crucifixion Uniting Men - Jean Monnet Joan of Arc Nala ...
... Role of the Contemporary Teacher A Philosophy of Evolution for the Contemporary Man A Philosophy of Education for the Contemporary Youth Edited by Kireet Joshi The Aim of Life The Good Teacher and the Good Pupil Mystery and Excellence of Human Body Gods and the World Crucifixion Uniting Men - Jean Monnet Joan of Arc Nala ...
... Socrates Sri Krishna in Brindavan Sri Rama The beloved and victorious Hero Taittiriya Upanishad Other titles published by SAIIER and Shubhra Ketu Foundation The Aim of Life The Good Teacher and the Good Pupil Mystery and Excellence of the Human Body Page 146 Printed at Auroville Press Auroville/TN 2009 ...
... serious and profound realms of thought and reflection. The question of existence of God is one of the few important questions that has to be confronted, since this question is related centrally to the aim of life. Page 11 The value that this monograph aims to nourish is that of illumination. This monograph aims to provide to the students those exercises of thought which open them to the universe ...
... highest expressions of truth, beauty and goodness); (c)Learning to learn or learning to know, learning to do, learning to co-operate, and learning to be; (d)Exploration of the highest aim of life, and exploration of human potentialities and exploration of the future in the context of the need of human survival and fulfillment of the highest aspirations of humanity. 3. Innovations ...
... Evolution for the Contemporary Man", "A Philosophy of the Role of the Contemporary Teacher", "Education for Personality Development", and "Sri Aurobindo and The Mother". He has also edited "The Aim of Life" and "The Good Teacher and the Good Pupil". He is currently the President of the Dharam Hinduja International Centre of Indie Research. He is also Honorary Chairman of the Value Education Centre ...
... life lived in reunion with the highest states of knowledge and consciousness. Let us state clearly Arjuna's arguments. In the first place, Arjuna argued that he would like to reject that aim of life which seeks enjoyment and happiness. Secondly, he declared that he would reject the aim which seeks to attain victory and rule and power and government of men, — the aim that was described in ...
... Yoga of Transformation •Supermind in the Integral Yoga •Integral Yoga and Evolutionary Mutation •Integral Yoga, Evolution and the Next Species Edited by Kireet Joshi •The Aim of Life •The Good Teacher and the Good pupil •Mystery and Excellence of the Human Body •Parvati's Tapasya •Nachiketas •Taittiriya Upanishad •Sri Rama •Sri Krishna in Vrindavan ...
... 38 •Supermind in the Integral Yoga •Integral Yoga and Evolutionary Mutation •Integral Yoga, Evolution and the Next Species Edited by Kireet Joshi •The Aim of Life •The Good Teacher and the Good pupil •Mystery and Excellence of the Human Body •Parvati's Tapasya •Nachiketas •Taittiriya Upanishad •Sri Rama •Sri Krishna ...
... synthesis of yoga that has been developed by Sri Aurobindo and the Mother is not a culmination of the past yogic effort and aim and, that it is based upon new yogic knowledge of the meaning and aim of life. The past yogic effort is, indeed, assimilated in the new synthesis and, the significance of the past yogic efforts can best be grasped in the light of the new synthesis of yoga which has come ...
... people of India to her great mission. He died on 11 September 1921. Bharati was inspired by the passion for freedom; indeed to him freedom was the very breath of his life. His whole aim of life was to kindle the same passion for freedom in fellow Indians and this he did through his great poetry. Today his is a household name among all the Tamil-speaking people of India and his very name ...
... y is the very essence and purpose of India's existence. Thus spirituality is the means and road to the Indian salvation. The true solution will come only when man accepts the spiritual aim of life, which fulfils itself in the fullness of life and man's being in the individual and the group. It will not proceed by a scornful neglect of the body, nor by an ascetic starving of the vital being ...
... being in man to finally identify himself with the pure spiritual consciousness that Page 165 exists beyond Mind. This, according to the Indian concept, is the ultimate aim of life. It is on this basis that the whole of Indian life is built. Her religion is an aspiration to the spiritual consciousness and its fruits; her philosophy formulates it; her art and literature ...
... the Role of the Contemporary Teacher A Philosophy of Evolution for the Contemporary Man A Philosophy of Education for the Contemporary Youth Edited by Kireet Joshi The Aim of Life The Good Teacher and the Good Pupil Mystery and Excellence of Human Body Gods and the World Crucifixion Uniting Men - Jean Monnet Joan of Arc Nala and Damayanti ...
... Teacher A Philosophy of Evolution for the Contemporary Man A Philosophy of Education for the Contemporary Youth Page 89 Edited by Kireet Joshi The Aim of Life The Good Teacher and the Good Pupil Mystery and Excellence of Human Body Gods and the World Crucifixion Uniting Men - Jean Monnet Joan of Arc ...
... highest of these levels, the one at which it aims is the supermind. Only when that can be brought down is a divine transformation possible in the earthconsciousness." 66 The New Integral Aim of Life: Yogic Accomplishment in Matter The integral aim that Sri Aurobindo came to formulate involves the realization of the divine consciousness in all its integrality, which can be possible only ...
... the Role of the Contemporary Teacher A Philosophy of Evolution for the Contemporary Man A Philosophy of Education for the Contemporary Youth Edited by Kireet Joshi The Aim of Life The Good Teacher and the Good Pupil Mystery and Excellence of Human Body Gods and the World Crucifixion Uniting Men Jean Monnet Joan of Arc Nala and Damayanti ...
... away; thus she was practically left to herself. At her uncle's house, she learnt hard lessons of life, and as she had no cousins or companions, she turned to deep reflections on the meaning and aim of life, which, in turn, fortified her devotion to Sri Krishna. At the age of nineteen, she was given in marriage to my father. Thus started a new chapter in her life. My father was born and brought ...
... and spiritual education; (c)Learning to learn or learning to know, learning to do, learning to co-operate, and learning to be; and Page 23 (d) Exploration of the highest aim of life, exploration ol human potentialities and exploration of the future in the context of the need of human survival and human or superhuman fulfillment. If these higher aims of education were ...
... Contemporary Teacher A Philosophy of Evolution for the Contemporary Man A Philosophy of- Education for the Contemporary Youth Page 111 Edited by Kireet Joshi The Aim of Life The Good Teacher and the Good Pupil Mystery and Excellence of Human Body Gods and the World Crucifixion Uniting Men - Jean Monnet Joan of Arc Nala and Damayanti ...
... beginning of conscious growth. But mere deliberation rather adds to the rigidity of the body. Still, it is a necessary stage in the growth of consciousness, a first step in that direction. The very aim of life is to grow in consciousness. We pass through life mostly in a state of ignorance and inconscience, under subjection to Nature. In place of that we have to become conscious, not only in a general ...
... each unit with a suitable industry that would create the finance for building up health, education and the economy of the country. But he had a small doubt. He did not know yet the ultimate aim of life towards which the organisation should be oriented. Pranab's family had had contacts with Sri Aurobindo Ashram since 1934. His uncle Charupada, visited the Ashram in 1936 and his father Dakshina ...
... revive his broken health and in a way brought about his own death. This is our country's history. Life is not for simple enjoyment. Life is for progressing in the divine Truth. That is the aim of life. Then, during the mediaeval times, in our Bengal, Ballal Sen began his sadhana to try and build society and make it progress. He tried to organise the collectivity and improve it qualitatively ...
... overcome with gloom!” And saying this the Mother burst out laughing! This man lost such an incredible opportunity just for the petty pleasure of food! And so all of us, we keep losing the real aim of life because we get caught in some petty pleasure or the other. The Mother is feeding us food that She has cooked but we refuse to take it. In a prayer from Prayers and Meditations the Mother says: ...
... relations are not understood and experienced by you another possible relation is that of friends. That is to say, you ought to live with your wife just as you would with a friend who has the same aim of life, without any other relation than that of friendship. You must remove the misunderstanding from your mind about your wife that she does not love you, etc. She has an aspiration for the yoga ...
... of perfection 696-7 Fear: the worst thing 713 descent of a Truth-power and the Hippie revolution 715, 720 aspiration for the divine life 717 basic requirements of the Path 719, 725 true aim of life 721, 824 people's demand for miracles 736 how to serve the Truth 739, 795, 807 use of LSD 742 lila and maya 743 gifted children born recently 746 (cf620-1, 567) strife in the world 747 ...
... provided by the Mother's letter of 1st January to Huta: "This year we salute the Advent of the Truth and aspire for the manifestation of the Eternal Love." And on 11 January: Yes, the. true aim of life is to unite with one's soul and to merge in the Supreme. So this will be done. 5 Truth, Truth - but what is Truth? Doesn't falsehood often cloak itself as Truth, and even seem to be the truer ...
... again... you find all of humanity unchanged! You find yourself unchanged, subject to hunger, cold, fear, conflicting thoughts rising from below. And then, then WHAT? Page 60 Is the aim of life really to... go and sit in some remote corner of the Himalayas and remain in contemplation until the end? Is that it? And what then? Towarnicki: Did you see any yogi performing feats? ...
... meticulously she worked with the children. We see the Mother working with the children, trying to instil into them the right values and attitudes and always aiming towards progress and a higher aim of life. She has time and again shown us that by regularity and discipline one can achieve everything without disturbing the routine activities of the day. *It is quite interesting to note the date on ...
... Centre of Education. Page 184 Education and the Aim of Human Life By Pavitra (P. B. Saint-Hilaire) Written in 1961 and revised by the author in 1967, this book offers a succinct analysis of the nexus between education and the aim of human life. Examining how education is linked to the aim of human life prevalent in any age, Pavitra sees the conception of progress, born... Education and the Aim of human life Bibliographical Note The first edition of Education and the Aim of Human Life, published in 1961, comprised only the first section of the present book. A revised version of that text was issued in the following year. The text of the third edition (1967) was enlarged considerably by the inclusion of two new sections:... and education was meant to serve that end. The modern age faces an evolutionary crisis in the apparent failure of scientific and industrial progress to bring perfection and harmony to all aspects of life. Pavitra shows how "with Sri Aurobindo, the past is luminously linked with the future" and" how this ideal has led the way to the dawn of a new age and the development of a new educational system to ...
... Part I — Recollections and Diary Notes Champaklal Speaks My Hand 1948-10-06 Mother saw my right hand when we were in her salon and said; “One aim in life. All lines are joined.” Then Mother examined my nails and said: “Dreamer; Writer; Poet.” Long back, when Lele had seen my right hand, he had pointed out the three main lines and said, “Very ...
... Education and the Aim of human life EDUCATION AND THE AIM OF HUMAN LIFE Publisher's Note This book is a study of the educational ideal of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother and of the educational method being developed at the Sri Aurobindo International Centre of Education. Its author, Pavitra, was the first director of the Centre of Education... has not touched the root of the problem. The object of this essay is 1. to show that the purpose of education at a given time is closely connected with the general conception of the aim of human life prevalent at that time; 2. to analyse the conception of progress as the main drive of the modern world, and to show that, as it is generally understood, it does not satisfy all the aspirations... Education. In the first section of the book he affirms the need of an "integral" education - one aimed at developing all the faculties of the human being, including the soul and spirit - and outlines the character of such an education. In the second section he explains the new system being attempted at the Centre of Education. In the third he summarises the educational theory and method of the Centre ...
... stopped taking rest and started drawing and painting flowers during resting time. But now that I have understood my mistake I beg your pardon. I do not want to displease you in any way. My only aim in life is to be what you want me to be. “Knowingly or unknowingly may I never do anything against Thy will” is my prayer, my sadhana, and my mantra. Of course you ought to have rested in the afternoon ...
... for the Luminous Future. Sri Aurobindo has written: The highest aim of the aesthetic being is to find the Divine through beauty; the highest Art is that which by an inspired use of significant and interpretative form unseals the door of the Spirit . Sri Aurobindo, The Human Cycle: The Spiritual Aim and Life ... new names were given to these places: `Eternal Bliss' to the area holding the Amphitheatre, and 'The Inner Life' to the Banyan tree. Nolini-da and Shyamsunder had approved of these names. Here they are written in the Mother's own hand: I thought these Names: "Eternal Bliss" and "Inner Life" could be engraved on white marble slabs and placed in their proper places. During this time I received ...
... instrumental centre, my mind into a channel for you to descend, my heart into your heart of pure fire and flame, my life into a pure and translucent substance for your handling, my body into a conscious vessel for holding what of you is meant for me; then, O Mother of Radiances, my aim in life now and hereafter will be fulfilled in the true and right and vast way. Aspiration wakes in me! Achieve in me all... like the coming in of light in dark caves. It fills, it illumines, it vibrates the multiple strings of life; it has found the contact with the forgotten achievements of the past to enable me to start the new ones of the future on the basis of the changing formations of the present. The currents of life well up to meet the descending rays of light from the upper heavens for transmutation base and the dark... that will live its eternal life. You have revealed to me a chamber alive and warm within the mind’s substanceless polar regions and there I can safely retire and find in you my refuge. The lower network of moving forces remains, but I feel your presence in its midst. The higher network of moving forces remains, and here you have stepped in also shedding a warmth of life that was not there before ...
... your hands. You will become the man you want to be and the higher your ideal and your aspiration, the higher will be your realisation, but you must keep a firm resolution and never forget your true aim in life. 2 April 1963 * To be young is to live in the future. To be young is to be always ready to give up what we are in order to become what we must be. To be young... happy and fruitful life. Above all, one must be convinced that the possibility of progress is unlimited. Progress is youth; one can be young at a hundred. 14 January 1972 * If the growth of consciousness were considered as the principal goal of life, many difficulties would find their solution. The best way to avoid growing old is to make progress the goal of our life. 18 January... but psychologically, to progress in regard to character, to cultivate our qualities and correct our defects, so that everything may be an opportunity to cure ourselves of ignorance and incapacity then life becomes tremendously interesting and worth living. 27 January 1972 * The child does not worry about his growth, he simply grows. * There is a great power in the simple ...
... . In my consciousness there is no antagonism between the two, on the contrary, they combine very well and complete one another. I know also that I can be of service to both equally, for my only aim in life is to give a concrete form to Sri Aurobindo's great teaching and in his teaching he reveals that all the nations are essentially one and meant to express the Divine Unity upon earth through an organised... The Mother The Mother Words of the Mother - I Outer Life A DECLARATION I want to mark this day by the expression of a long cherished wish; that of becoming an Indian citizen. From the first time I came to India—in 1914—I felt that India is my true country, the country of my soul and spirit. I had decided to realise this wish as soon as India would... February 1968 Do not ask questions about the details of the material existence of this body; they are in themselves of no interest and must not attract attention. Throughout all this life, knowingly or unknowingly, I have been what the Lord wanted me to be, I have done what the Lord wanted me to do. That alone matters. Page 45 While looking at the Samadhi: I do not ...
... of your external nature. Accept this divine possibility in you; have faith in your inner being and its spiritual destiny. Make its development as a portion of the Divine your aim in life, for a great and serious aim in life is a most powerful help towards getting rid of this kind of disturbing or disabling nervous weak- ness; it gives firmness, balance, a strong support to the whole being and a powerful... and persistent aim in life, then the path would be clear and your spiritual future not only a strong possibility but a certitude. It very often happens that when there is an exceptional power like this in the nature, there is found in the exterior being some contrary element which opens it to a quite opposite influence. It is this that makes the endeavour after a spiritual life so often a difficult... Chinmayi, There are two or three things that I think it necessary to say to you about your spiritual life and your difficulties. First, I should like you to get rid of the idea that that which causes difficulties is so much a part of yourself that a true inner life is impossible to you. The inner life is always possible if there is present in the nature however much covered over by other things, a ...
... which it is always difficult to come out and never without losing much of one's time and energy, if not much more and much worse. So do not worry; try now seriously to find out the meaning and the aim of your life and prepare yourself to carry it out thoroughly and sincerely. My help, love and blessings are with you. The Mother ...
... has stated: "What have you done about the practice of sadhana shown to you by Arvind- babuji? Free yourself, free yourself from pride and attachment, what a shallow life! Have you come for worldly enjoyment! What is your aim in life? Follow the straight path of faith. Never forget even for a moment the path shown to you by Arvindbabuji. You will never find a God so long as you do not have a keen desire... his simplicity and love. He is a perfect example of devotion, love, humility and service to the Divine. Our ardent prayer to the Divine Mother is for his long life rich with his devotion that would enlighten the paths of aspirants to a higher life. Our humble salutations to Champaklalji on his 89th birthday. Page xviii ... someone like Sri Ramakrishna. In his own words, his aspiration was "truly fulfilled in a number of ways." Sincere aspiration, even when not expressed in words, can evoke the Divine Grace. Champaklal's life is a Page xv shining example of this truth. When he first arrived in Pondicherry in April 1921, for a "Darshan" of Sri Aurobindo, Champaklal had noted his experiences in his ...
... the first thing that a little child is taught, it is the outer life. He is told that all that surrounds him, that is his life. He must take advantage of all the benefits, of the joy, in what is around him. But here, it is exactly the opposite. You are told that the only thing which exists is within yourself. It is the only aim of your life: to find the Divine. Page 79 ... will tell you a secret; if you follow it, it will help you very much in your life. Always act from your heart, and not from the head, and you will see that everything changes its perspective if you can put this into practice. It is a good lesson. This attitude will teach you... or reward you very much in your life. What, have you understood? Yes, Mother. But sometimes I cannot distinguish ...
... Education and the Aim of human life I The Purpose of Education The aim of education is always twofold: there is a collective aspect and there is an individual aspect. From the collectivity point of view, education is expected to turn the individual into a good citizen, i.e., into a person who has harmonious relations with the other members... themselves on education. But it is clear that the formulated requirements of any society, as far as education is concerned, depend on the aim of human life as it is conceived largely by the ruling class at the time. It may be general culture arid adornment of life - artists of all sorts will be encouraged and become the favourites of the princes. It may be military aggrandizement and adventure - then... people when they try to conjecture the kind of life that is awaiting them in society. For a few the prospect is bright; many will have to accommodate themselves to a life far different from their cherished dreams; almost all are anxiously looking for a principle of action that would at the same time satisfy their conscience and ensure the security of their life. It is often said that, as education ...
... of your external nature. Accept this divine possibility in you; have faith in your inner being and its spiritual destiny. Make its development as a portion of the Divine your aim in life,—for a great and serious aim in life is a most powerful help towards getting rid of this kind of disturbing or disabling nervous weakness; it gives firmness, balance, a strong support to the whole being and a powerful... settled and persistent aim in life, then the path would be clear and your spiritual future not only a strong possibility but a certitude. It very often happens that when there is an exceptional power like this in the nature, there is found in the exterior being some contrary element which opens it to a quite opposite influence. It is this that makes the endeavour after a spiritual life so often a difficult... the slow progress, despairing, desponding, declaring the Adhar unfit; calls from the old life will come; circumstances will be attracted which seem to justify it, suggestions will come from men and unseen powers pressing the sadhak away from the sadhana and pointing backward to the former life. And yet in that life he is not likely to get any real satisfaction. Your circumstances are not different ...
... their aim in life a comfortable and quiet living, with a family and children, Page 391 wanting the best in the best of possible worlds. That is a pretty low aim, in any case quite an ordinary one. There are those who seek the betterment of the whole of society or those who study to make new discoveries, like Mr. and Mrs. Curie, for example, who discovered radium. That is a higher aim. "D... introspection what is permanent, what is constant. That's all. "Your aim should be high and wide, generous and disinterested." On Education, CWM Vol. 12, p. 3 What does this mean? You are asking what that means! High?... For instance, there are those whose aim is to make a fortune, and there are those whose aim is to find a cure for a disease. That of making one's fortune is obviously... "Disinterested", that means what is not for one's own small personal profit, for one's personal pleasure, but solely for helping others. Naturally, the highest aim is to unite with the Divine and fulfil His work, but that, that's right at the top of the ladder. In this first chapter I took good care not to say anything of this kind, for I wrote it intentionally for everybody, even for those who have ...
... hands . You will become the man you want to be and the higher your ideal and your aspiration, the higher will be your realisation, but you must keep a firm resolution and never forget your true aim in life. 2 April 1963 To be young is to live in the future. To be young is to be always ready to give up what we are in order to become what we must be. To be young is never to accept the... For a happy and effective life, the essentials are sincerity, humility, perseverance and an insatiable thirst for progress. Above all, one must be convinced of a limitless possibility of progress. Progress is youth; at a hundred years of age one can be young. 14 January 1972 If the growth of consciousness were considered as the principal goal of life, many difficulties would find their... their solution. The best way of not becoming old is to make progress the goal of our life. 18 January 1972 Page 123 To know how to be reborn into a new life at every moment is the secret of eternal youth. One must learn always not only intellectually but also psychologically, one must progress in regard to character, one must cultivate the qualities and correct the defects; ...
... channel for you to descend, my heart into your heart of pure fire and flame, my life into a pure and translucent substance for your handling, my body into a conscious vessel for holding what of you is meant for me; then, O Mother of Radiances, my aim in life now and hereafter will be fulfilled in the true and right and vast way. Aspiration... total devotion, to scrupulously and faithfully execute what Mother wants. This is my aim. I do not worry at all about light or knowledge or even the widening of my consciousness. I am not a philosopher. A: I too have fixed these riches as my aim: absolute obedience, total devotion and to be the instrument of an effective realisation... and unconsciousness frighten me. C: I do not understand everything that you have said. I will do everything that sweet Mother will ask me to. One aim, that's all. A: To imagine you can do what sweet Mother wants you to do, to imagine you can act according to the will of sweet Mother is quite different ...
... G. K. Chesterton I 'The Symbol Dawn' Sri Aurobindo's chosen aim in life was to show earth-bound : mortals the path that leads to the Life Divine. It was to illustrate this passage to the earthly paradise that he wrote his epic Savitri, a masterpiece of sustained philosophical motivation and steeped... Woman inconscient waking up from her stupor and becoming slowly transformed into the superconscient goddess. Sri Aurobindo's aim in retelling the familiar story of Savitri is to show how the mind that at first partakes of the inconscience of the lowest depths or rungs of life, passes through successive stages of evolution, and at last attains the highest, the Superconscient. In the first canto itself... matter and the Superconscient Life Divine. The life-giving rays of the Sun turn the tiny seed buried in the pond into a bright pearly lotus. Savitri begins her life as an artless innocent princess born amidst wealth and comfort. Then she assumes the role of the Redeemer whose mission is to transform this meaningless mortal life into the purposeful Life Divine. "Savitri is represented ...
... Education and the Aim of human life Bibliography WORKS OF SRI AUROBINDO Sri Aurobindo Birth Centenary Library (SABCL). 30 vols. Pondicherry: Sri Aurobindo Ashram Press. Vol. 15. Social and Political Thought. 1971. Vol. 16. The Supramental Manifestation and Other Writings. 1971. Vol. 17. The Hour of God and Other Writings.... 1972. Vols. 18-19. The Life Divine. 1970. Vols. 22-23. Letters on Yoga. 1970. WORKS OF THE MOTHER The Mother's Collected Works (MCW). 17 vols. Pondicherry: Sri Aurobindo Ashram Press. Vol. 8. Questions and Answers 1956. 1977. Vol. 12. On Education. 1978. WORKS OF THE AUTHOR Sri Aurobindo and the Mother on Education. Pondicherry: Sri Aurobindo ... Ashram Press, 1990. Sri Aurobindo and the Mother on Love. Pondicherry: Sri Aurobindo Ashram Press, 1988. The Future Evolution of Man: The Divine Life upon Earth. Pondicherry: Sri Aurobindo Ashram Press, 1990. (The Future Evolution of Man contains extracts from the works of Sri Aurobindo, with a summary and notes by the compiler. The other two compilations contain extracts ...
... She tried to teach me to build and keep a constant contact with my psychic being, guiding me patiently through my difficulties and failures, and helping me constantly never to lose sight of the aim of my life and assuring me that Her divine compassion and Grace were always with me! ... that in silence and peace you may unite with this inner glory. “That day will then become the day of your new birth.” From that day onwards the practice continued. This was the period of my life in which I was passing through a difficult time. Through these meditations, the Mother patiently and affectionately guided me towards my inner goal. Many times She explained things to me verbally, but ...
... comforts to pursue, but the soul in us has nothing but a one-pointed tension towards the Divine, and a consuming passion for a union and communion with Him. It has no other interest and no other aim in life. Its love for God is, therefore, the purest and most disinterested, and supremely capable of bringing down the transforming light of divine Love upon earth. It is this psychic love that the sâdhaka... intensity till it unites with the divine Love and becomes a glowing focus of its transforming force. A life of psychic love is a life of unshakable peace and immeasurable bliss, because it is essentially a life lived in the Divine, beyond the motives of the ego and the goad of desires. It is a life of perfect self-fulfilment, because it is based on unreserved self-giving. Freedom, purity, peace, happiness... eternal and impersonal silence of self-extinction in the Brahman, an oblique mental movement, and argues an imperfect psychic awakening. A fully awakened psychic is an. eternal warrior, fighting life after life, if need be, for the transformation of Matter and the revelation of God's Light and Love upon earth. For a perfect illustration of this psychic love and its will and aspiration to divine service ...
... and achieve the proper balance of your mind and will. The object of your life depends upon your own choice and the way of attainment depends upon the nature of the objects. Also your position will be whatever you make it. What you have to do first is, to re-cover your health; then with a quiet mind to determine your aim in life according to your capacities and preference. It is not for me to make up... up your mind for you. I can only indicate to you what I myself think should be the proper aims and ideals. Apart from external things there are two possible inner ideals which a man can follow. The first is the highest ideal of ordinary human life and the other the divine ideal of Yoga. I must say in view of something you seem to have said to your father that it is not the object of the one to be... putting an almost insuperable obstacle in the way of your own mental and moral recovery and of your leading a useful life in the future. Secondly, it would be bringing an unmerited disgrace upon your father and family. Thirdly, it would mean, if it took any form, the ruin of the life of someone else, for if I understand rightly what you say, some other or others would be involved, and your suggestion ...
... achieve the proper balance of your mind and will. (4) The object of your life depends upon your own choice and the way of attainment depends upon the nature of the object. Also your position will be whatever you make it. What you have to do is, first of all, to recover your health; then, with a quiet mind to determine your aim in life according to your capacities and preferences. It is not for me to make... make up your mind for you. I can only indicate to you what I myself think should be the proper aims and ideals. Apart from external things there are two possible inner ideals which a man can follow. The first is the highest ideal of ordinary human life and the other the divine ideal of Yoga. I must say in view of something you seem to have said to your father that it is not the object of the one... being and its impulses. (2) Your position in human society is or can be that of many others who in their early life have committed excesses of various kinds and have afterwards achieved self-control Page 302 and taken their due place in life. If you [were] 1 not so ignorant of life, you would know that your case is not exceptional but on the contrary very common and that many have done these ...
... attenuated and subtilised version of the ego. Here is nothing to be ashamed of: far from it, here is something to be happy about. But we must guard ourselves against growing oblivious of the real aim in life. If one's altruistic act is not inwardly offered to God, if His Presence is not invoked to enter us and guide the philanthropic gesture correctly, if an endeavour at mystical communion at all... Mother or Sri Aurobindo. But all can make a beginning in the inner life. By the inner life I do not mean merely the practice of religion — going to Church or temple, saying prayers or doing puja. I do not here envisage even the adoption of the life of a priest or a sadhu. No doubt, a priest or a sadhu is nearer the inner life than the ordinary religious person, yet the critical threshold may... Aspects of Sri Aurobindo Our Destiny Human And Divine LETTER TO A LAY NUN Your account of your new life in Bihar is a bit of an eye-opener to us. Your own eyes too must have opened somewhat — but it must have been a good thing for all around you to receive so much of their fine blue in the midst of a rather grey existence ...
... channel for you to descend, my heart into your heart of pure fire and flame, my life into a pure and translucent substance for your handling, my body into a conscious vessel for holding what of you is meant for me; then, O Mother of Radiances, my aim in life now and hereafter will be fulfilled in the true and right and vast way. Aspiration... devotion, to scrupulously and faithfully execute what Mother wants. This is my aim. I do not worry at all about light or knowledge or even the widening of my consciousness. I am not a philosopher. A: I too have fixed these riches as my aim: absolute obedience, total devotion and to be the instrument of an effective ... and unconsciousness frighten me. C: I do not understand everything that you have said. I will do everything that sweet Mother will ask me to. One aim, that's all. A: To imagine you can do what sweet Mother wants you to do, to imagine you can act according to the will of sweet ...
... The most important quality that should be focussed upon is sincerity. It is the one quality which, if rightly cultivated, will necessarily enable the child to realize whatever aim he comes to conceive and pursue in his life. And around this central quality, we may conceive of certain groups of qualities that come into play at various stages of the psychological development of the child. There is, for... of education, when the learner has developed a will of his own to some extent and when he has basic intellectual and moral and aesthetic sensibilities enabling him to examine the basic values and aims of life. It is often asked if the role of the teacher includes anything more than that of teaching. At higher levels of education, it is universally recognized that the tasks of research and extension... the force of these tendencies but by refining them, by recombining them and by training them to achieve their maximum possible excellence. At the heart of his dealing with learners, the teacher will aim at leading them from near to far and from the known to the unknown by providing to them the required exercise of thought, imagination and experience. And, in doing so, the teacher will share his e ...
... deceptive. What is the aim of our education? I need not repeat here what has been fully explained in the part Education and the Aim of Human Life. Page 149 One sentence of The Mother sums it up: "We do not want brilliant students, we want living souls."¹ Let me only add that, in my opinion, the full acceptance of our new system will exclude the aim of assigning to the student... this way of living of the child into the collective life and work of the school, we have to construct a frame-work, to devise methods, to elaborate techniques. The principal aims of these methods and techniques are to co-ordinate the activities of the numerous teachers and students and safeguard the continuity of education throughout the school life. This casting into forms of the principles is... Education and the Aim of human life VIII Do We Need a New System of Education? The title given to these lectures, "Our New System of Education", is almost a misnomer, for what Sri Aurobindo has in view is not a system, if by this word is meant a set of rules, methods and techniques. What is the essence of our new education? For the ...
... for keeping up a general culture. All depends on the aim of the life. To one whose aim is to discover and possess the highest spiritual truth and the divine life, I do not think a University post can count for much, nor do I see that there can be any practical connection between them. It might be different if the aim were the life of a writer and thinker on the intellectual level only without... make things less slow and difficult than they actually are. Dedication to the Spiritual Life This Yoga demands a total dedication of the life to the aspiration for the discovery and embodiment of the Divine Truth and to nothing else whatever. To divide your life between the Divine and some outward aim and activity that has nothing to do with the search for the Truth is inadmissible. The least... prepared to sacrifice everything without reserve in order to reach the Divine through a spiritualised consciousness. If self-development on the mental, vital and physical plane is his aim that is another matter—that life is the life of the ego with the soul kept behind undeveloped or half developed. Page 15 But for the spiritual seeker the only development he seeks is the development of the psychic ...
... decree has placed us so that we may gain immortal life elsewhere when our term is finished. All religions have more or less shunned the world and life, and declared them impure, debased and incapable of regeneration. What our young men and women are truly looking for is to know the aims of their life - of human life in general, of their own life in particular - to find an ideal that can give a meaning... trend, which was invisible to them. One can really say that the life horizons of the majority of men in fifteenth-century Europe were almost unchanged from what they had been in Greece in the fifth century B.C. It cannot be denied that the Indian peasant of the beginning of this century was working under the same immediate aims of life, almost the same environment, as his ancestors three thousand years... its dharma, science has lost the power to help man to discover and fulfil the aim of his life. True, progress has been tremendous in the scientific and technological fields, resulting in a marked advance in the economic sphere and a raising of the standard of living. With the improvement in the conditions of life and labour, there was no doubt an amelioration in the social relations. But human ...
... from whom all have come and in whom all are. The Divine is that from which all comes, in which all lives, and to return to the truth of the Divine now clouded over by Ignorance is the soul's aim in life. In its supreme Truth, the Divine is absolute and infinite peace, consciousness, existence, power and Ananda. The Divine is everywhere on all the planes of consciousness seen by us in different... no personal or divinely individual consummation for me. If I shoot up to the transcendental realisation only, I lose both myself and the world in the transcendental Absolute. If on the other hand my aim is none of these things by itself, but to realise and also to manifest the Divine in the world, bringing down for the purpose a yet unmanifested Power,—such as the Supermind,—a harmonisation of all three... in the Ignorance we are not aware of the Divine and we obey the lower nature. Page 5 All that is true Truth is the direct expression in one way or another of the Divine Consciousness. Life is the dynamic expression of Consciousness-Force when thrown outward to realise itself in concrete harmonies of formation; Love is an intense self-expression of the soul of Ananda, and Light is what ...
... one's life is very interesting if one can look at it with detachment; it may even appear very comical. Th e comical part appears when this sadhak, like M. 1One of the early sadhaks who came to the Ashram in the thirties. He was almost the official photographer of the Ashram. He used to go out frequently, and had once been to see Shri Krishnashram. 2A sadhak is one whose aim in life... think that in this life, or others to come, I will find an answer to this problem. Perhaps it is because of this? [pointing to a quotation on the board which read: 'He who chooses the Infinite, Has been chosen by the Infinite' 12 ]. It is still a mystery, but its effect I can never forget. Whatever I am today, and hope to be in other lives, is due to Him. Whatever happens in my life always reminds me... me of His grace and compassion and has made me, for this life and for lives to come, an eternal servant of the Lord. I came here to the Ashram without any clear idea of what I wanted. Idid not have any spiritual seeking, yet I was lured by Him and was caught in His 'luminous net.' 13 Now whenever there is a black cloud in my life or if my feet tend to go astray, He holds me back. Whenever ...
... Education and the Aim of human life Notes and. Sources Bibliographical details about the sources listed below may be found in the Bibliography. The author's references to citations from the works of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother have been updated by the editors of his fifth edition. The new citations refer to the volumes of the Sri Aurobindo Birth... statements in French have been kept: in other words the translations used by the author have been retained. Epigraph. Sri Aurobindo, SABCL vol. 17, p. 205. EDUCATION AND THE AIM OF HUMAN LIFE. Introduction. No notes. I The Purpose of Education. No notes. II The Conception of Progress and the Present World Crisis. 1. I follow here Robert l. Heilbronner in... contains a good deal of provocative thought. See also Georges Hourdin, une Civilisation des loisirs, and the article of Bertrand de Jouvenel in Diogène. No. 33, jan-mars 1961. 8. Billy Graham, Life Magezine, 15 August 1960 9. See Sri Aurobindo, The Ideal of Human unity, Ch, XXXIV. "The Religion of humanity. 10.the Bible says "In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread." Compare ...
... movements of the ego and can only create obstacles to the union with the Divine. It is much better to remember that one is seeking for the Divine and make that the whole governing idea and aim of the life. It is that which pleases the Mother more than anything else; these jealousies and envies and competitions for her favour can only displease and distress her. 31 October 1935 The reason of ...
... can drag Himself down to bondage. Likewise, He has the capacity to free Himself from and rise above bondage. Man has the capacity to unravel the ravelled skein of life of which he himself is the cause. And that is the aim of his life's discipline. However, that knot was not woven in a day. Through aeons, owing to the pressure of the consequences of man's actions, it has become solidified and hard;... want and dissatisfaction in everything including God. Your denial of God is the first step towards God-realisation. One who finds fulfilment in the ordinary life and is content with and enamoured of it, one who needs nothing over and above life, is no better than a tree, a stone, an animal, a gorilla or a chimpanzee. Sulking, spite, denial, disrespect, constitute the first step. The second step is... Fitness for freedom has to be acquired. The essential requisite is yoga, arduous yoga. Fear not – the first step towards freedom is the consciousness of and revolt against subjection. If the ordinary life of the world is felt as the domain of a Non-God – if there be a God He cannot remain inside the wheel of this creation – if there be a Lord of this world-machine, then He must be a satanic god, a crippled ...
... when the learner has developed a will of his own to some extent and when he has basic intellectual and moral and aesthetic sensibilities enabling him to examine the basic values and aims of life. The fundamental aims of higher education include the pursuit of clarity of thought, search for perfection, irresistible will to realise "summum bonum" and higher humanistic, scientific and professional... individual life and in the collective life. It is only by embodying values within oneself that the teacher can really radiate values to students. While laying a great emphasis on the role of the teacher in respect of education for character development, it must be emphasised that education is a sub-system of society, and, therefore, the role of the society in stimulating and supporting aims of character... sports-person should also be treated as an integral part of education for character development. To fulfil the highest aims of education for character development, the aim that should be put forward before students of higher education is to learn to learn and to learn throughout life so as to arrive in due course a solid mass of knowledge that can illumine, by an incessant downpour of its sheer lustre ...
... married me, this kind of sorrow is inevitable for you. Occasional separations cannot be avoided, for, unlike the ordinary Bengali, I cannot make the happiness of family and relatives my primary aim in life. Under these circumstances, there is no way out for you except to consider my ideal as your ideal and find your happiness in the success of my appointed work.... If you find it absolutely impossible... understand," said Sri Aurobindo reflectively. "She had an admiration for Gokhale. I don't understand how a revolutionary could admire him. On one occasion she was much exercised over a threat to his life. She came to me and said: 'Mr. Ghose, is it one of your men who is doing this?' I said: 'No.' She was much relieved Page 393 and said: 'Then it must be a freelance.'" Till the... the Future' (Bande Mataram, 26.12 .1906). Page 395 secured the exclusion of questions of Boycott and National Education. Were the Bengal Moderates to be left behind? Not on your life !They set the stage for the second clash between the two parties which resulted in an open rupture. The District Congress Conference at Midnapore was held from December 7 to 9,1907. Surendranath ...
... the higher your ideal and your aspiration, the higher will be your realisation, but you must keep a firm resolution and never forget your true aim in life." (Ibid.) (11)"If the growth of consciousness were considered as the principal goal of life, many difficulties would find their solution." (Ibid., p. 123) (12)"Only those years that are passed uselessly make you grow old. ... or occultly hostile. The real purpose of this unique educational Centre is to help in the building up of a new humanity. The Integral Yoga of Sri Aurobindo and the life-long Tapasya of the Mother and Sri Aurobindo have for their central aim the transformation of ignorant, imperfect and all-suffering humanity into a race of divine men, and on a far lesser scale the goal set before SAICE, the Mother's... all circumstances, as genuine students of the Mother's Dream Institution. Do not consider SAICE as a replica, may be a brilliant one, of other conventional centres of learning. Never forget the unique aims and purpose that led to its establishment and put all your effort for their realisation. Now the passages from the Mother's writings which, we hope, will prevent you from being derailed from ...
... mass of constituting individuals an imperfect understanding and knowledge of the ideas, life-aims, life-motives which they have accepted, an imperfect power in their execution, an imperfect will to maintain them always unimpaired, to carry them out fully or to bring the life to a greater perfection." (The Life Divine, p. 1044) How exactly does it correspond to the actual psychological state... of our being and of world-being, it cannot perfect our nature and therefore cannot perfect our life." (The Life Divine, p. 1034, italics added) Without the perfection of our nature, no perfection of life is possible, and this is the root of the matter. All group-life including our Ashram life cannot be perfect so long as the constituent individuals remain fixed in what they are now. And what... .. All that is there is a chaos of clashing mental ideas, urges of individual and collective physical want and need, vital claims and desires, impulses of an ignorant life-push, hungers and calls for life satisfaction..." (The Life Divine, pp. 1034,1035,1054) And is this not what we meet with at times in our Ashram? And it cannot but be so. For most of us, the inmates of the Ashram, are in ...
... married me, this kind of sorrow is inevitable for you. Occasional separations cannot be avoided, for, unlike the ordinary Bengali, I cannot make the happiness of family and relatives my primary aim in life. Under these circumstances, there is no way Page 93 out for you except to consider my ideal as your ideal and find your happiness in the success of my appointed work. One thing... Life of Sri Aurobindo CHAPTER IV In Indian Politics In August 1906 the National College, at Calcutta was established, Sri Aurobindo joined the institution as its Principal. On 6 August the declaration of the Bande Mataram was filed. There are many conjectures about how the Bande Mataram was started, what Sri Aurobindo's connection with it was... Chhuku Khansama Lane, Calcutta. No definite arrangement was made for her expenses up to 20 December 1907. On 6 December, twelve miles from Kharagpur, near Narayangarh, an attempt was made on the life of Sir Andrew Frazer, the Governor of Bengal. A bomb was thrown at the train in which he was travelling. From 7 to 9 December there was a conference at Midnapore. Mr. K. B. Dutt, who was elected ...
... social and national life and it is these very aims that in the person of his kin and his race he is about to destroy. And then comes the cry of the emotions. These are they for whose sake life and happiness are desired, our "own people". Who would consent to slay these for the sake of all the earth, or even for the kingdom of the three worlds? What pleasure can there be in life, what happiness, what... first result is a violent sensational and physical crisis which produces a disgust of the action and its material objects and of life itself. He rejects the vital aim pursued by egoistic humanity in its action, —happiness and enjoyment; he rejects the vital aim of the Kshatriya, victory and rule and power and the government of men. What after all is this fight for justice when reduced... most elemental and simple possible; sensationally, the elemental feeling of horror, pity and disgust; vitally, the loss of attraction and faith in the recognised and familiar objects of action and aims of life; emotionally, the recoil of the ordinary feelings of social man, affection, reverence, desire of a common happiness and satisfaction, from a stern duty outraging them all; morally, the elementary ...
... nothing had happened. Now let me get back to my horses. They are not only the symbolic medium in which the soul has to fulfil its aim: "the Life Divine." To reach this fulfilment one has to note first how very human - or, as Nietzsche has said, "all-too-human" - life is. It has to be changed. The need to change it and the way to do so are the work the Avatar comes to show us. The Divine becomes human... their mystic hymns they meant the Life Force - and unless Sri Aurobindo's own Yoga is expressed in the terms of the Life Force it is not Aurobindonian at all. Did he not once write: "1 have no intention of giving my sanction to a new edition of the old fiasco"? What was the old fiasco? A fine illumined state within but in the world without, in the terms of the Life Force, the same blundering self-centred... Life-Poetry-Yoga (Vol 1) 18 Before I try to answer your questions let me quote them back to you so that my reply may have a better look of relevance. You write: "I do not wish to take up your time, but one thing I cannot stop myself from asking and that is: if we have Savitri with us, if we keep uttering Sri Aurobindo's and the Mother's names, if ...
... Choosing to do Yoga To do Sri Aurobindo's Yoga means to seek to transform oneself integrally, to have this single aim in one's life: that alone exists, nothing else. You feel it in yourself whether you want it or not. If you do not, you can have a life of good will, service, understanding; you can work in many other ways. But between that and doing Yoga there is a great difference... more understanding, know that you are growing up under exceptional conditions, try to live a life higher, nobler and truer than the ordinary life and let a little of this Consciousness, this light and this benevolence express itself in the world. * * It is not for a personal and egoistic aim that you seek perfection, it is for the sake of manifesting the Divine, it is to put all at the... the matter. For, on this level, on the spiritual level, too many people,—in fact, the majority of those who take up the spiritual life—do Yoga for personal reasons, all kinds of personal reasons: some because they are disgusted with Page 6 life, others because they are unhappy, some others because they wish to have more knowledge, others again because they want to be spiritually ...
... with you throughout your journey to help you to find the Divine—the only way to have lasting happiness. “I expect to see you again on your next birthday; pray for this grace which is the true aim of your life. “I ask only that you have faith and trust. I am curling myself up in your heart so that you will always find me there. “With love and blessings.” The Mother is also the Universal Mother... God’ burst forth, each of its lines containing six stresses. Like the Vedic mantra , this became a prayer for the blossoming of the Divine Rose on earth, its five petals blazoning Bliss, Light, Power, Life and Love. This was on thirty-first December, 1934. From the first of January 1935 the prayer must have begun to act. Even as the forces of Evil set up the Second World War, the roses of God bloomed ...
... and life with it and in it to find his unity with his fellows. This alters necessarily our whole normal view of things; even in preserving all the aims of human life, it will give them a different sense and direction. We aim at the health and vigour of the body; but with what object? For its own sake, will be the ordinary reply, because it is worth having; or else that we may have long life and... by this ideal. Clearly it does not signify that we shall regard earthly life as a temporal vanity, try to become all of us as soon as possible monastic ascetics, frame our social life into a preparation for the monastery or cavern or mountain-top or make of it a static life without any great progressive ideals but only some aim which has nothing to do with earth or the collective advance of the human... self, the source of unity and his attempt to arrive at some equation, some increasing approximation of the values of human life with the eternal and the divine values. Nor do we mean the exclusion of anything whatsoever from our scope, of any of the great aims of human life, any of the great problems of our modern world, any form of human activity, any general or inherent impulse or characteristic ...
... To do Sri Aurobindo's yoga is to want to transform oneself integrally, it is to have a single aim in life, such that nothing else exists any longer, that alone exists. And so one feels it clearly in oneself whether one wants it or not; but if one doesn't, one can still have a life of goodwill, a life of service, of understanding; one can labour for the Work to be accomplished more easily—all that—one... nature that it is in its principle and its working the contrary of the spiritual life. The spiritual life reveals the one essence in all, but reveals too its infinite diversity; it works for diversity in oneness and for perfection in that diversity. Morality lifts up one artificial standard contrary to the variety of life and the freedom of the spirit. Creating something mental, fixed and limited, it... Religion, Yoga Spirituality and Morality [There is a] great difference between spirituality and morality, two things that are constantly confused with each other. The spiritual life, the life of Yoga, has for its object to grow into the divine consciousness and for its result to purify, intensify, glorify and perfect what is in you. It makes you a power for manifesting of the Divine; ...
... Choosing to do Yoga To DO Sri Aurobindo's Yoga means to seek to transform oneself integrally, to have this single aim in one's life: that alone exists, nothing else. You feel it in yourself whether you want it or not. If you do not, you can live a life of goodwill, service, understanding; you can work in many other ways. But between that and doing Yoga there is a great difference.... meaning, be more understanding, know that you are growing up under exceptional conditions, try to live a life higher, nobler and truer than the ordinary life and let a little of this Consciousness, this light and this benevolence express itself in the world. It is not for a personal and egoistic aim that you seek perfection, it is for the sake of manifesting the Divine, it is to put all at the service... the truth of the matter. For, on this level, on the spiritual level, too many people, – in fact, the majority of those who take up the spiritual life – do Yoga for personal reasons, all kinds of personal reasons : some because they are disgusted with life, others because they are unhappy, some others because they wish to have more knowledge, others again because they want to be spiritually great, yet ...
... downpull (Savitri 2.4) "The life that wins its aims asks greater aims, The life that fails and dies must live again.... Till it has found itself it cannot cease." And he cannot halt or rest in a half-way house because (ibid 1.4): "We are sons of God and must be even as He: His human portion, we must grow divine, Our life is a paradox with God for key"... wrote to me in a letter, in 1934: "It is only divine love which can bear the burden I have Page 271 to bear, that all have to bear who have sacrificed everything else to the one aim of uplifting earth out of its darkness towards the Divine." It is this love — not the purely human love we humans know of, a blend of gold and alloy, but the inviolate love purged of its dross —... ng messages all easy to understand. I remember once he wrote to me years ago, in 1928: "Nobody except myself can write about my life because it has not been on the surface for man to see." Nevertheless, since then, a few notable biographers have written about his life as it has come within their purview and, within limits, they are good — that is, as far as they go. Only they do not — cannot — go ...
... whole life and being are an eternal Yoga with the Transcendent than whom there is nothing higher, with the Universal besides whom there is none else and nothing else. On him is concentred all his bhakti, ekabhaktiḥ , not on any partial godhead, rule or cult. This single devotion is his whole law of living and he has gone beyond all creeds of religious belief, rules of conduct, personal aims of life... disliking, icchā-dveṣa . He moves within the circle of the forms of Nature and has not the highest, not the transcendental and integral knowledge. Still by the constant upward aspiration in his ethical aim he in the end gets rid of the obscuration of sin which is the obscuration of rajasic desire and passion and acquires a purified nature capable of deliverance from the rule of the triple Maya. By virtue... even of personality, since its motive-power is the love and adoration of the individual soul, the Jiva, turned towards the supreme and universal Being. But from the standpoint of the Gita, where the aim is not inaction and immergence in the eternal Impersonal, but a union with the Purushottama through the integrality of our being, this objection cannot at all intervene. In this Yoga the soul escapes ...
... avoid becoming the slaves of the economic aim in life and losing the spiritual principle of our culture. Page 46 But, besides, these terms good and bad in this connection mean nothing definite, give us no help. If I must use them, where they can have only a relative significance, in a matter not of ethics, but of an interchange between life and life, I must first give them this general si... humanity, as a very important part of the psychological sense of social development, and again in this question of a particular people's life and culture in all its parts and manifestations. I have insisted that uniformity is not a real but a dead unity: uniformity kills life while real unity, if well founded, becomes vigorous and fruitful by a rich energy of variation. But the writer adds that the idea of... in the external field of life, of social and political liberty, equality, democracy. If I accept any of these ideas it is not because they are modern or European, which is in itself no recommendation, but because they are human, because they present fruitful view-points to the spirit, because they are things of the greatest importance in the future development of the life of man. What I mean by acceptance ...
... question can be raised as to why life should occur at all. The theory of the survival of the fittest does not carry us so far. Life has little survival value as compared with Matter from which it is supposed to have sprung. A rock survives for hundreds of millions of years, while even the oldest tree is only a few thousand years old. If survival was the aim of nature, life would never have appeared.¹¹... or life-force, or an upward drive that incites the whole species in a definite direction. The striving of the organism is a creative effort to which evolution is due.10 Herbert Spencer Among the alternative explanations of the evolutionary process, we may also refer to Herbert Spencer (1820-1903), Page 9 who questioned the assumption that life always came from life. He... Page 10 emergent evolution. According to him, when physical structure assumes a certain complexity, life 'emerges' as something new. When the physical structure alters in complexity, as it does when it produces a central nervous system, 'mind' emerges, and the gap between life and conscious behaviour is supposed to be covered. Alexander finds explanation of the evolutionary process in a ...
... Education and the Aim of human life V A Valuation of the New System We have already compared the traditional and the new systems on many points. Let us summarize our results to derive further conclusions. 1. At every moment the student is to some extent free to select the work he will do, i.e. , he himself has to organize his work. At times ...
... mirth and laughter and my letters in that style are only the natural outflow of my personality. I have never been "grim" in my life—that is the Stalin-Mussolini style, it is not mine; the only trait I share with the "grim" people is obstinacy in following out my aim in life, but I do it quietly and simply and have always done. Don't set up some gloomy imaginations and take them for the real Aurobindo... Remarks on His Life and Works and on His Contemporaries and Contemporary Events Remarks on His Life and Works and on His Contemporaries and Contemporary Events General Remarks on His Life Letters on Himself and the Ashram His Temperament and Character The Battle of Life But what strange ideas again—that I was born with a supramental temperament and... their base of permanence. 4 August 1934 The Burden of Love It is only divine love which can bear the burden I have to bear, that all have to bear who have sacrificed everything else to the one aim of uplifting earth out of its darkness towards the Divine. The Gallio-like "Je m'en fiche"-ism (I do not care) would not carry me one step; it would certainly not be divine. It is quite another thing ...
... high degree of perfection. And in our life, physical education is like a challenge to the tamas and the unconsciousness. Without it, life loses a great deal of its charm. It is indispensable for a harmonious and well-ordered life. But it has to be done with the true attitude and the conscious will to progress, to perfect oneself, to give an aim to one's life, to harmonise the different parts that... conscious of what is happening all around. Physical education is a concrete test from which you can learn, and learn quickly and at every moment what life is offering us. It is a direct means of acquiring experience in life. Not the life of a shirker, but the life of one who knows how to fight, one who knows how to stand on his feet, one who learns to overcome the difficulties. Physical education... respect of others. He is generous and fair towards others. What else do you need? If you can develop these qualities, it is already much for one life. Physical education strengthens the system, regulates life, brings a balance and a harmony in the daily life. Discipline and confidence are indispensable to develop the sporting faculties. It helps to sharpen one's senses and to develop the power of ...
... the psychic being. Page 179 The organisation of the vital being in view of a particular object or aim in ordinary life is common enough: the purpose is limited, the scope restricted. Great men of action have done it and one has to do it more or less to be successful in life. This, however, may be called organisation; it is not individualisation in the true sense, much less personalisation... Evolution and the Earthly Destiny III EDUCATION The Immortal Person THE whole purpose of man's life upon earth, it may be said, is to make an individuality of himself and to grow in that individuality and organise it perfectly. An ordinary man is a most disorganised entity and possesses no individual character. His mind is a conglomeration... sign of personal identity; and with the loss of the body, the whole personality seems to crumble down and disappear in the world-existence—the body particles get mixed into the world of matter, the life elements disperse in the vital world, the mental components disintegrate into the world of mind. In fact, this is what happens to the human person after death or would happen normally. Thus man ...
... and you want that; that's enough." You see, one may have a very good will, a life oriented towards a divine realisation, in any case, a kind of more or less superficial consecration to a divine work, and not do yoga. To do Sri Aurobindo's yoga is to want to transform oneself integrally, it is to have a single aim in life, such that nothing else exists any longer, that alone exists. And so one feels... this field, the spiritual field, there are far too many people (I could say even the majority of those who take to the spiritual life and do yoga), far too many of these who do it for personal reasons, all kinds of personal reasons: some because they are disgusted with life, others because they are unhappy, others still because they want to know more, others because they want to become spiritually great... feels it clearly in oneself whether one wants it or not; but if one doesn't, one can still have a life of goodwill, a life of service, of understanding; one can labour for the Work to be accomplished more easily—all that—one can do many things. But between this and doing yoga there is a great difference. And to do yoga you must want it consciously, you must know what it is, to begin with. You must ...
... gives him and the assigned or revealed aim of his life and conduct, raise himself towards the highest height that It demands of him in his life now or in his existence hereafter; if there is no such universal or supreme Spirit or Being, he must know what there is and how to lift himself to it out of his present imperfection and impotence. This approach is the aim of religion: its purpose is to link the... from it sometimes a creed or theology, sometimes its supporting spiritual philosophy,—the former, ordinarily, is the occidental method, the latter the oriental: but spiritual experience is the final aim and achievement of religion, its sky and summit. But also religion has sometimes banned occultism or reduced its own occult element to a minimum; it has pushed away the philosophic mind as a dry intellectual... creed and dogma, pietistic emotion and fervour and moral conduct; it has reduced to a minimum or dispensed with spiritual realisation and experience. Occultism has sometimes put forward a spiritual aim as its goal, and followed occult knowledge and experience as an approach to it, formulated some kind of mystic philosophy: but more often it has confined itself to occult knowledge and practice without ...
... psychic being. Page 297 The organisation of the vital. being in view of a particular object or aim in ordinary life is common enough: the purpose is limited, the scope restricted. Great men of action have done it and one has to do it more or less to be successful in life. This, however, may be called organisation; it is not individualisation in the true sense, much less personalisation... Collected Works of Nolini Kanta Gupta - Vol. 1 The Immortal Person THE whole purpose of man's life upon earth, it may be said, is to make an individuality of himself and to grow in that individuality and organise it perfectly. An ordinary man is a most disorganised entity and possesses no individual character. His mind is a conglomeration of thoughts... sign of personal identity; and with the loss of the body, the whole personality seems to crumble down and disappear in the world-existence – the body particles get mixed into the world of matter, the life elements disperse in the vital world, the mental components disintegrate into the world of mind. In fact, this is what happens to the human person after death or would happen normally. Thus man ...
... and will be with you throughout your journey to help you to find the Divine — the only way to have lasting happiness. I expect to see you on your birthday; pray for this grace which is the true aim of your life. I ask only that you have faith and trust. I am curling myself into your heart so that you may always find me there. With love and blessings. The following letters were written to... ask you to please make the effort necessary for this great progress to be achieved; it will open the door to transformation. My love and blessings are with you. August 1969 * * * In human life the cause of all difficulties, discords and moral sufferings, is the presence in each one of the ego with its desires, preferences and aversions. Even in a disinterested work which consists in helping... Ashram to do this work together with the help of Sri Aurobindo’s knowledge and force, in an attempt to create a community that is more harmonious, more united and consequently much more effective in life. As long as I was physically present among you, my presence was helping you to achieve this mastery over the ego, so it was not necessary for me to speak to you about it individually very often. ...
... has learned at all to have ideals. Finally, he does not use his freedom to arrive at a rational adjustment of his life with the life of others; his natural tendency is to enforce the aims of his life even at the expense of or, as it is euphemistically put, in competition with the life of others. There comes thus to be a wide gulf between the ideal and the first results of its practice. There is here... to its details, to its machinery and to the powers that drive the machine." Reason aims at replacing ruling classes by individualistic democracy "This reason which is to be universally applied, cannot be the reason of a ruling class; for in the present imperfection of the human race that always means in practice the fettering and misapplication of reason degraded into a servant of power... merely because it serves some purpose of life: it has to ask whether there are not greater and better purposes which can be best served by new institutions. There arises the necessity of a universal questioning and from that necessity arises the idea that society can only be perfected by the universal application of the rational intelligence to the whole of life, to its principle, Page 3 ...
... Education and the Aim of human life VII The task of the Educator 1. As I have already said, the first task of the teacher is to maintain the class environment well supplied with objects of interest suited to the varied grading of his students. He has to prepare the work-sheets - a considerable work - and the related documentation (photos, pictures... concede every demand of the student- When I say that he is not the one who has the knowledge and whose duty is to impart it to his students, I do not ""lean that he is devoid of knowledge, but that his aim is to teach the students how to liberate the knowledge that is within them. If he should not speak too much, it is because he is a source of information and not of knowledge and he must supply only the ...
... Education and the Aim of human life OUR NEW SYSTEM OF EDUCATION ( The Free Progress System ) A series of three lectures delivered by the means to the teachers Sri Aurobindo centre Of Education on September 24 and October 22, 1961. Page 83 I How the Child Educates Himself In Sri Aurobindo's The Human Cycle... Their aim is to satisfy an immediate and actual need of the child, not a future need as anticipated by the parent or teacher (pass an exam, get a good job, raise a family). The purpose of a child is always immediate: the satisfaction of an actual need, which is one of the forms taken by the deep fundamental urge in him to grow physically, emotionally and mentally. He does not paint with the aim of becoming... presence of a genuine education, leading to discovery and invention - discovery of the world around and of its meaning (for the child's mentality). invention of the usage he can put it to (for the child's aims and interests) - and it is a self education as it does not require lectures or books. An adult's intervention is in most cases not sought for, nor is it effective, as the adult's understanding is too ...
... independent of its fashioner, having its own life and tending to realise itself in the mental world―I don't mean that you see your formation with your physical eyes, but it exists in the mental world, it has its own particular independent existence. If you have made a formation with a definite aim, its whole life will tend to the realisation of this aim. Therefore, if you want to help someone at a... everywhere, one would begin living a life of exultation, of all-power, of infinite happiness. "And that would be the best possible collaboration in the divine Work." Page 255 Talk of 1 August 1956 ( p. 250 ) The first condition is not very easy to realise. It is the result of a conscious growth, a constant observation and perpetual experience in life. I have already told you this... not, whether we know it or not, towards the supreme goal, that is, union with the Divine, the awareness of the Godhead and union with Him. Then one lives in the Action and Presence of the Grace a life full of joy, of wonder, with the feeling of a marvellous strength, and at the same time with a trust so calm, so complete, that nothing can shake it any longer. Page 256 And when one is ...
... could have entered, for all his insight into complex character, the inner world of Aurobindonian reveries and realities in which we so closely meet in spite of being outwardly strangers. My aim in "Life - Poetry - Yoga" has been to write not just from book-knowledge but from the stuff of my own experience or, if you like, book-knowledge as felt on my own pulses. All the problems that come to me... ruled out. We don't have to regard it as inaction. There are occasions in the soul's life for rapt inwardness. But, by and large, to carry on, with the face turned to the Mother's light, whatever work falls to our lot is more creative in terms of the spirituality Sri Aurobindo has revealed, for this spirituality aims at a radical change of the outer being and at a new wakeful world of interrelations... without depression: this must be our motto. You have referred to "defeat" and later say: "That lurking sense of possible defeat - the question 'What will happen if I don't reach the highest I aim at?' - balks my efforts." It is the sincere attempt to surpass oneself that counts. If circumstances thwart your success, you must not think there has been a waste of effort and time. An inner development ...
... patriots for whom the youth had great respect. She told them once, "The good of your country should be your true aim... Think that the whole country is your country and your country needs work. Struggle for knowledge, for strength, for happiness and prosperity. Let all these be your aim in life. By no means, be found sleeping when the cry comes for battle." She fought for the ideal of a national education... intellectual society of London as a forward looking educationist. At that time she happened to read the life of the Buddha For three years Margaret studied his teachings with reverence. Yet her thirst for Light and Truth was not quenched. Then something happened that was to change her whole life. A "Hindu Yogi" had arrived in London. His name was Swami Vivekananda. In 1893 Vivekananda had gone... that sense of beauty and wonder which were awakened in Vyasa by his early surroundings. We ask whether this beautiful fairy-tale is the work of that stem and high poet with whom the actualities of life were everything and the flights of fancy counted for so little. Yet, if we look carefully, we shall see in the Nala abundant proof of the severe touch of Vyasa, just as in his share of the Mahabharata ...
... . In my consciousness there is no antagonism between the two, on the contrary, they combine very well and complete one another. I know also that I can be of service to both equally, for my only aim in life is to give a concrete form to Sri Aurobindo's great teaching and in his teaching * The de jure merger was effected on 16 August 1962, and is since being celebrated by the Government of Pondicherry... she made on 25 April 1954. In the middle part of his life, Sri Aurobindo had withdrawn from politics. He had also made it a rule that in his Ashram no one should engage in politics, because political practice was ordinarily "a low and ugly thing, wholly dominated by falsehood, deceit, injustice, misuse of power and violence". The Ashram had high aims and had to impose on its inmates difficult standards... ...My aim is to create a big family in which it will be possible for each one to fully develop his capacities and express them.... ...my idea is to build a kind of city accommodating at the outset about two thousand persons. It will be built according to the most modern plans, meeting all the most up-to-date requirements of hygiene and public health.... Nothing necessary for life will be ...
... Education and the Aim of human life VI The Evolution of a Class I shall now describe, on the basis of the very limited yet significant experience of this year, the response of students placed for the first time in a new class. They pass very distinctly through three stages: 1. A Stage of Adaptation: Some children understand immediately... his authority; it is definitely preferable to help the child to find out by himself the source of his difficulty and put him on the way to solve it by himself. That means that the teacher must always aim to bring the child face to face with his own problem and let him look for the inner guidance and help from The Mother'. Such talks do not come up often nor with every child, but even if they do... beauty of the soul that reaches the surface. The feeling that this experience (for it is truly an experience!) stirs up in the teacher is one of wonder and respect. It will surely mark the children's life, and the teacher's also, although all the children may not be equally conscious of what has happened. A new consciousness has emerged, and even if it recedes and disappears for a time, it will surely ...
... hundreds of millions of years, while even the oldest tree is only a few thousand years old. If survival was the aim of nature, life would never have appeared. Other significant philosophical theories have also come to be formulated. According to Samuel Alexander, the whole process of the universe is a historic growth from space-time. The original matrix is space-time. Time is the mind of space... Alfred North Whitehead (1861-1947) Page 53 According to Sri Aurobindo (1872-1950) evolution presupposes an involutionary process. If Life evolves in Matter, and Mind in Life, it must be because Life is involved in Matter and Mind in Life. The material Inconscience is the involved Super-conscience. Evolution is fundamentally a spiritual phenomenon. It is a phenomenon of an evolutionary... by a new method. According to Bergson, it is the inner urge, or life force, or an upward drive, that incites the whole species in a definite direction. The striving of the organism is the creative effort to which evolution is due. Page 49 The biological theory of evolution assumes that life always came from life. Herbert Spencer questioned this assumption and attempted to give ...
... The cure of their poverty does not lie in mere economic activities but lies in the pursuit of greater and higher ideals of creating bonds of unity, which are constituents of chief or principal aims of human life. On a higher level, if we take the problem of poverty at the global level, do we not see that this problem becomes more easily soluble if there grows in the world a greater and greater sense... ideal can be channelised in humanity is not easy to find. Education is often supposed to be the best strategy for the creation of cultural life; and if culture is to be the means of peace, then education has to play a most dominant role. Obviously, education that aims at providing information, education that limits the human mind to books and to the goal of passing examinations, cannot be adequate to meet... be a blockade. Take, for instance, the problem of poverty, - economic poverty. There is no doubt that elimination of poverty should be the primary aim, and it is easy to argue that elimination of poverty should take priority over all other aims and goals. But we see that if we are truly serious about the elimination of poverty, we cannot realise it without, at the same time, realising the ideal ...
... when the physical consciousness was the dominating principle everywhere. He appeared before such a world in all his rusticity, for he was to demonstrate by the very example of his own life that the highest aim of human life is to find God, to find him dwelling in the heart. "Know Him alone and give up all thought and speech and act that are of no Page 226 value." However great may be... of the Mother. The Mother herself is the Power of the Brahman. The dynamic Vedanta of Vivekananda, its application in life, is based on this foundation. Spirituality and life are not two separate things – spirituality should be established and made to flower and bloom in life itself. This great truth always inspired Vivekananda in all his activities. Before the advent of Sri Ramakrishna the word... word "religion" or "spirituality" used to convey an otherworldly pursuit to the aspirant and to the public as well. Wherever there was some real spiritual practice, the aim and the impulse naturally tended to illustrate the dictum that Brahman alone is the truth and the world an illusion. Sri Ramakrishna shook to its roots the then prevailing conception of illusionism when he made the great Vedantin Totapuri ...
... want to find your soul, to know it and obey it, remain here at any cost. If this is not the aim of your life and you are ready to live the life of the immense majority of men, you may certainly go back to your family. X wants to know whether she can take up this life or has to go for the ordinary life. The fact of her being here proves that there is an aspiration somewhere in her being and... your soul has Page 141 to pierce to make itself felt exteriorly, can in the least help you to get rid of the "clinging impediments". You are quite conscious of the aspiration and the aim of your soul; you are quite conscious of what your soul wants you and expects you to become. It is only some consequences of this present physical formation that stand in the way, and now, it is only... strength to overcome it, ask the people you know to find you a post (this is usually not too difficult for the young people going out from the Ashram) and go and face the ordinary life until you learn the true value of the life you would have left. One must have heroism to be a precursor; for, generally, men have faith only in what is already accomplished, evident, Page 142 visible, and ...
... Education and the Aim of human life III The Educational Environment The purpose of the school environment is to give to the child the stimuli that impel him to a self-educative activity. These stimuli are produced by the multiple objects that constitute the equipment of the class-room. In theory, they have to fulfil a double condition. Firstly... Mathematics Sciences History and Geography We shall now see how the work-sheet system applies to Page 111 each of these categories with only slight modifications. The aim of the documentation and scientific equipment is to help the child in the building up of his knowledge. This building up is achieved mostly through the work prescribed in the work-sheets. In the do... known facts. The part played by information in the process of learning becomes at times very important, but at the school level the child should never be crushed under its weight. Once again, the aim is not to make him mug up the information, but to teach him how and where to find information, so that he learns to use it for his own development and its various applications. There is one source ...
... and develops their force to prevail upon and lift up life into an air of higher nature. In other words he passes from the practical pursuit of a serviceable knowledge, morality, aesthesis, force of emotion and will-power,—serviceable for his vital aims, for life as it first is,—to an ideal pursuit of these things and the transformation of life into the image of his ideal. This he is unable indeed... and the simple naturalness of the true ethical mind and the flexibilities of life, tyrannising over but not transforming it, is not the higher perfection of our Page 417 nature. But still even here there is the feeling out after a great return to the output of moral energy, an attempt well worth making, if the aim can indeed so be accomplished, to build up by the insistence on a rigid obedience... law and high end of her energies. And at each stage she gives returns according to the development of the aim and consciousness of the being. At first there is the Page 425 return of skill and effectual intelligence—and her own need explains sufficiently why she gives the rewards of life not, as the ethical mind in us would have it, to the just, not chiefly to moral good, but to the skilful ...
... Education and the Aim of Human Life (4th imp. 1990) The Future Evolution of Man (3d ed., 4th imp. 1990) On the Mother Divine (1968) Towards Tomorrow (1989) Une Drole de Petite Fille [Mirra's childhood by her grand-daughter] (1982) Life in Sri Aurobindo Ashram (2d ed. 1968) Lotus Grove (1977) Stotra Samhita (1977) The Life of Sri Aurobindo (4th revised... Vol.14 Words of the Mother. Short written statements about Yoga and Life: Page 891 Man's relationship with the Divine, the path of Yoga, elements of Yoga, difficulties, human relationships, work, parts of the being. Vol.15 Words of the Mother. Short written statements, and conversations, about Yoga and life: The Gods, religion, war, wealth, government, progress, transformation... Glimpses. Vol.9 Questions and Answers 1957-58. Oral answers to questions about Sri Aurobindo's Thoughts and Glimpses, The Supramental Manifestation upon Earth and the last six chapters of The Life Divine. Vol.10 On Thoughts and Aphorisms. Commentaries, oral and written, on Sri Aurobindo's Thoughts and Aphorisms; given during 1958-70. Vol.11 Notes on the Way. Conversations ...
... Gita. What Krishna impresses upon Arjuna is the necessity of the battle of life; and in Arjuna's case at that point in time his battle of life is the war of Kurukshetra. To fully grasp this we must understand that ancient Indian civilization aimed to minimize the incidence and disaster of war. To achieve this aim it limited military obligation to the small class of Kshatriyas. The rest of the... social and national life and it is these very aims that in the person of his kin and his race he is about to destroy. And then comes the cry of the emotions. These are they for whose sake life and happiness are desired, our "own people". Who would consent to slay these for the sake of all the earth, or even for the kingdom of the three worlds? What pleasure can there be in life, what happiness, what... The first result is a violent sensational and physical crisis which produces a disgust of the action and its material objects and of life itself. He rejects the vital aim pursued by egoistic humanity in its action, — happiness and enjoyment; he rejects the vital aim of the Kshatriya, victory and rule and power and the government of men. What after all is this fight for justice when reduced to its practical ...
... properly governed either by the uneducated, who have no knowledge of the truth, or by those who are allowed to spend all their lives in purely intellectual pursuits? The uneducated have no single aim in life to which Page 126 all their actions, public and private, are to be directed; the intellectuals will take no practical action of their own accord, fancying themselves to be out of this... well-governed state to be possible, you must find for your future rulers some way of life they like better than government; for only then will you have government by the truly rich, those, that is, whose riches consist not of gold, but of the true happiness of a good and rational life. If you get, in public affairs, men whose life is impoverished and destitute of personal satisfactions, but who hope to snatch... Homer says, that he would far rather be 'a serf in the house of some landless man', 5 or indeed anything else in the world, than hold the opinions and live the life that they do?" "Yes," he replied, "he would prefer anything to a life like theirs." "Then what do you think would happen," I asked, "if he went back to sit in his old seat in the cave? Wouldn't his eyes be blinded by the darkness, ...
... mankind, not to recognise a real unity between man and man. For that essentially must be the aim of the religion of humanity, as it must be the earthly aim of all human religion, love, mutual recognition of human brotherhood, a living sense of human oneness and practice of human oneness in thought, feeling and life, the ideal which was expressed first some thousands of years ago in the ancient Vedic hymn... inner presence. The fundamental idea is that mankind is the godhead to be worshipped and served by man and that the respect, the service, the progress of the human being and human life are the chief duty and the chief aim of the human spirit. No other idol, neither the nation, the State, the family nor anything else ought to take its place; they are only worthy of respect so far as they are images of... though it is one of the chief modern idols, must not be allowed to make claims contrary to its ethical temperament and aim, for science is only valuable in so far as it helps and serves by knowledge and progress the religion of humanity. War, capital punishment, the taking of human life, cruelty of all kinds whether committed by the individual, the State or society, not only physical cruelty, but moral ...
... 1972) Page 280 Pandit-M.P. Reminiscences and Anecdotes of Sri Aurobindo (Ashram Press, 1966) Pavitra Education and the Aim of Human Life (Ashram Press, 1961) Purani, A.B Life of Sri Aurobindo (Ashram Press,1958) Sri Aurobindo in England (Ashram Press, 1956) Evenings Talks with Sri Aurobindo, 2 Vols. (Ashram Press,... 15 Social and Political Thought Volume 16 The Supramental Manifestation Volume 17 The Hour of God Volume 18 The Life Divine, Book One and Book Two, Part One Volume 19 The Life Divine, Book Two, Part Two Volume 20 The Synthesis of Yoga, Parts One and Two Volume 21 The Synthesis of Yoga, Parts Three and Four ... 'Arya', August 1918 - November 1918 1920 The Significance of Indian Art, 'Arya', 1918 -1921 1947 II. PHILOSOPHY AND SOCIOLOGY The Life Divine, 'Arya', August 1914 - January 1919 1939 Ideals and Progress, 'Arya', 1915 - 1916 1920 The Superman, 'Arya', March 1915 - August 1915 1920 Thoughts and Glimpses ...
... Page 217 antagonism between the two, on the contrary they combine very well and complete one another. I know also that I can be of service to both equally, for my only aim in life is to give a concrete form to Sri Aurobindo's great teaching and in his teaching he reveals that all the nations are essentially one and meant to express the Divine Unity upon earth through... certain points of evolution when there is an "involution"¹or turning-in of material existence upon itself, a concentration or convergence of energies. Thus a threshold is crossed from Pre-life to Life, from Life to Mind. And when this happens a new earth-layer is formed, first a "biosphere" and then a "noosphere". The next layer is now in the making: the scientific age of rapid communication and... uniqueness can be finely helpful to the balanced splendour of divine unity and divine diversity that, together with the ascent of earth to heaven and the descent of heaven to earth, is the complete aim of the spiritual consciousness. When we go back to the Vedas, the early Upanishads and in later times the Bhagavad Gita, we discover a large synthesising movement careful of all aspects and ...
... transfigured by the descent, the infusion of Light and Truth. All the ages and millennia of human life that have elapsed so far have prepared the advent of this new state , and now the time has come for its concrete and tangible realisation. That is the very essence of Sri Aurobindo's teaching, the aim of the group he has allowed to form around him, the purpose of his Ashram. For your second question... which it is always difficult to come out and never without losing much of one's time and energy, if not much more and much worse. So do not worry; try now seriously to find out the meaning and the aim of your life and prepare yourself to carry it out thoroughly and sincerely. Do not worry. It will pass. It is the vital's amour-propre that has received a fine knock on the face; it is vexed and... not in conformity with the Divine Work have been destroyed. For it is to the Divine Work that one must exclusively belong because it alone can, in our life, give us true happiness. What has happened was more or less expected. Each one in life acts according to his own nature, and those who are not steady in their faith cannot be steady in their love either. Surely I am not angry with you ...
... divine decree has placed us so that we may gain immortal life elsewhere when our term is finished. All religions have more or less shunned the world and life, and declared them impure, debased and incapable of regeneration. What our young men and women are truly looking for, is to know the aims of their life - of human life in general, of their own life in particular - to find an ideal that can give a meaning... Education and the Aim of human life Two Cardinal Points of Education A Collective Memorandum presented in 1965 to the Education Commission, Government of India, by P.B. Saint Hilaire (Pavitra), Director, Sri Aurobindo International Centre of Education, Pondicherry, on behalf of the Teachers of this Institution.* ""This Memorandum is an official... view of things the true purpose of education is not only to bring out of the child the best and the noblest that he is capable of, but also to endow him with an understanding of the true aim and significance of human life so as to provide him with a lasting source of inspiration when he enters and faces the world at the end of his academic training. This second point needs all the more attention nowadays ...
... To illumine the deep heart of self and things. A timeless knowledge it shall bring to Mind, Its aim to life, to Ignorance its close". He saw that above this human mind there was a region of bright Light from where two demons looked down on .the whole scene, one was "huge high-winged Life-Thought" and the other "A pure Thought-Mind". These two in their combination would make it possible for... voice The world is turned into a temple ground And all discloses the unknown Beloved." Then life becomes a rapture-offering full of bliss, carrying in it the secret divine grace and revealing even in life the working of immortal divine powers. Then the individual feels fulfilled in life. At its summit this realm touches the regions of this Immortals. On those immortal planes are all the... and joy made one". From this centre all finite life seemed to proceed and he saw that "A formless spirit became the soul of form". This was a plane "of sheer soul-stuff". There was no thought but knowledge was there by "a moved identity". There was a direct communication between consciousness and consciousness and life was not there present as life "but an impassioned force". It was a subtle and ...
... is a God and to make him manifest is the aim of divine life. That we can all do." 81 When man so manifests the divine, then his philosophy, art, science, ethics, social existence, and vital pursuits will be, "no longer an exercise of mind and life, carried in a circle, but a means for the discovery of a greater Truth behind mind and life and for the bringing of its power into our... spiritual experience...Experience and formulation of experience I consider as the true aim of philosophy. The rest is merely intellectual work and may be interesting but nothing more. 58 Sri Aurobindo's philosophical magnum opus is the luminous and voluminous treatise, The Life Divine, a jewel of a title, yet wonderfully apt to describe its total content. It grew out of his... clarity of the theory of Divine Evolution outlined in The Life Divine. Again, while Whitehead was a great system-maker (like Sri Aurobindo) and took (like him all knowledge for his province), his philosophy of organism is but a bloodless and loveless abstraction compared to Sri Aurobindo's philosophy of the Life Divine evolving from the life mundane as we know it. Gathering the threads of his argument ...
... the standard and aim of his life. We see too that the fourfold order of society is merely the concrete form of a spiritual truth which is itself independent of the form; it rests on the conception of right works as a rightly ordered Page 6 expression of the nature of the individual being through whom the work is done, that nature assigning him his line and scope in life according to his... synthesis of the Upanishads this later synthesis at once spiritual and intellectual avoids naturally every such rigid determination as would injure its universal Page 8 comprehensiveness. Its aim is precisely the opposite to that of the polemist commentators who found this Scripture established as one of the three highest Vedantic authorities and attempted to turn it into a weapon of offence... its thought, nor to place its philosophy in the history of metaphysical speculation, nor shall we deal with it in the manner of the analytical dialectician. We approach it for help and light and our aim must be to distinguish its essential and living message, that in it on which humanity has to seize for its perfection and its highest spiritual welfare. Page 11 ...
... cosmic godheads applied both to the inner and outer life of man; and they visualised human commerce with the divine, — with the gods behind whom was the one Spirit or Being, of which the gods were names and personalities and powers. Secondly, the Vedic Rishis looked upon the life of man as a thing of mixed truth and falsehood. They aimed at utilising life as a field of battle where we rise from mixed light... and the universe and the greater is his receptivity to the creative spiritual emotions. The Vedic poetics aims at becoming a vehicle of the voice of eternal things raising to a new significance and to a supremely satisfied joy in experience the events and emotions and transiences of life which can then be seen and sung as succession of signs, the changing of the steps of an eternal manifestation... Its object is to express the very self of man and the self of things and the self of Nature. And, finally, it aims at a creative and interpretative revelation of the infinite truth of existence and of the universal delight and beauty and of a greater spiritualised vision and power of life. All the Vedic poetry, whether in the Samhitas or in the Upanishads, provides ample fulfilment of these objectives ...
... course the full significance of the surrender comes out only when he is ready. Any work can be done as a field for the practice of the spirit of the Gita. The ordinary life consists in work for personal aim and satisfaction of desire under some mental or moral control, touched sometimes by a mental ideal. The Gita's Yoga consists in the offering of one's work as a sacrifice to the Divine... measure. The question is of aspiration to the Divine, whether that is your central aim in life, your inner need or not. Sadhana for oneself is another matter—one can take it up or leave it. The real sadhana is for the Divine—it is the soul's need and one cannot give it up even if in moments of despondency one thinks one can. Work here and work done in the world are of course not the same thing. The... dejected if difficulties or failure come—one still goes on doing what can be done, not sinking under the burden of life. To keep this equanimity and absence of reactions and from that calm ground to direct the Yoga-force on things and persons (not Page 243 for egoistic aims but for the work to be done) is the position of the Yogi. This is the right inner attitude, of equality—to ...
... Divine. Especially, a contact with the forces and beings of the astral (or, as we term it, the vital) plane is attended with great dangers. The beings of this plane are often hostile to the true aim of spiritual life and establish contact with the seeker and offer him powers and occult experiences only in order that they may lead him away from the spiritual path or else that they may establish their own... plane in contact with the astral Forces attended by a leaving of the body is not a spiritual aim but belongs to the province of occultism. It is not a part of the aim of Yoga. Also fasting is not permissible in the Asram, as its practice is more often harmful than helpful to the spiritual endeavour. This aim suggested to you seems to be part of a seeking for occult powers; such a seeking is looked... own control over him or take possession of him for their own purpose. Often, representing themselves as divine powers, they mislead, give erring suggestions and impulsions and pervert the inner life. Many are those who, attracted by these powers and beings of the vital plane, have ended in a definitive spiritual fall or in mental and physical perversion and disorder. One comes inevitably into contact ...
... dependent on higher poises by which they are supported; from those superior relations they derive their meaning and, therefore, by conscious union with them they can fulfil all their valid tendencies and aims. Life then becomes justified to us and no longer stultified by the possession of liberated self-knowledge. This larger integral knowledge and freedom liberates in the end and fulfils our whole existence... Yoga which we are pursuing has for end none of the ordinary aims of humanity. It neither accepts our earthly existence as it is, nor can be satisfied with some kind of moral perfection or religious ecstasy, with a heaven beyond or with some dissolution of our being by which we get satisfactorily done with the trouble of existence. Our aim becomes quite other; it is to live in the Divine, the Infinite... the effective principle of our inner possession of our being and of our right and ideal relations with the world. That is why we have had to insist first and foremost on oneness as the aim and in a way the whole aim of our Yoga of knowledge. But this unity works itself out everywhere and on every plane by an executive or practical truth of duality. The Eternal is the one infinite conscious Existence ...
... circumference of beneficent influence. There were discussions, talks, plans. Experience mingled with logic, the heart wrestled with the mind; and so the spiritual seekers groped towards an integral aim in life and integral means to achieve it. In the discussion with the young Russian revolutionary leader, the emerging ideas were the need to awaken a new "intelligence", to affirm an "integral right"... realms of ends and means - these were but a very small fraction of Mirra's life. Her life within comprised the imponderable infinitudes, her outside life was one of ceaseless striving, and a seamless web of purposive action; and there was also an equation between the two hemispheres of her existence, the life within and the life without. She was so uncannily practical, and she was also an ocean inly... was a hard thing to do, his soul rebelled against It: I who feel in my soul a wealth of tenderness and pity that seeks to relieve the miseries of mankind, I who became a doctor with the sole aim of fighting its ills and alleviating its sufferings, being forced by painful circumstances to take the bloodiest decisions. Although he had allowed himself to be pushed into the path of violence ...
... Life and Time in Savitri A fire shall come out of the infinitudes, A greater Gnosis shall regard the world Crossing out of some far omniscience On lustrous seas from the still rapt Alone To illumine the deep heart of self and things. A timeless knowledge it shall bring to Mind, Its aim to life, to Ignorance its close. 1 ... mere material possessions but one's attachment to the things or views one holds dear in life. The pearl that I seek in Savitri is its wisdom of life. I do not seek the critical appraisal of the terms life and time. I want to draw concrete lessons from life, reflect upon them and share them further. Life, quite simply, consists of the time-span between birth and death of man on earth. The... What is life? Is it a tragedy? Is happiness possible? These questions have engaged humanity from the beginning. Sri Aurobindo's Savitri is the story of Savitri's life. It is a metaphor for the life of man on earth. The more one gets steeped in it the more one becomes conscious of one's own life. Consciousness of life consists in the awareness one has of himself and the world, the choices ...
... 1918 he concluded the fourth year with the words: ‘We start from the idea that humanity is moving to a great change in its life which will even lead to a new life of the race — in all countries where men think, there is now in various forms that idea and that hope — and our aim has been to search for the spiritual, religious and other truth which can enlighten and guide the race in this movement and... freedom fighters, including the poet Subramania Bharati, found that a good idea, maybe under the delusion that in Africa they would have total freedom of movement, but without realizing that the aim of their life would lose its meaning in a place so far away from their motherland. At a meeting called to decide about the voluntary exile, Aurobindo Ghose refused categorically ‘to budge one inch’. Madame... ‘The Aryan is he who strives and overcomes all outside him and within him that stand opposed to human advance … Self-perfection is the aim of his self-conquest. Therefore what he conquers, he does not destroy, but ennobles and fulfils. He knows that the body, life and mind are given him in order to attain something higher than they; therefore they must be transcended and overcome, their limitations ...
... the individual Self in intimate relation with the Eternal is the aim of Hindu life, its religion, its polity, its ethics. Morality is not for its own sake, nor for the pleasures of virtue, nor for any reward here or in another life, nor for the sake of society; these Page 403 are false aims and false sanctions. Its true aim is a preparation and purification of the soul to fit it for the... Self of All; then is its aim of existence attained, then is its pilgrimage ended. This may be done by realising the Eternal in oneself by knowledge, by realising oneself in Him by Love as God the Beloved, or by realising Him as the Lord of all in His universe and all its creatures by works. This realisation is the true crown of any ethical system. For whether we hold the aim of morality to be the placing... religion. We may postpone till later Page 407 the question whether ethics can or cannot be satisfactorily based on a materialistic interpretation of the world and nonreligious sanctions and aims. A question of the first importance arises at once, how far does the Vedanta sanction the ordinary ideas of God as a Personal Active Being with definite qualities which is all the average religionist ...
... consciousness. And this evolution has a direction; it aims towards a progressive manifestation of the powers of consciousness. Matter, on the physical plane, pressed by the forces of the vital and mental planes, of those worlds of life and thought which along with the world of matter constitute our universe, has organized itself and produced life. Animate forms have developed progressively in the vegetable... than a certain distance; afterwards he flags and tires for want of a real self-finding, a satisfying aim for his action and progress. These three things do not make the sum of a complete manhood; they are means to an ulterior end and cannot be made for ever an aim in themselves. Add a rich emotional life governed by a well-ordered ethical standard, and still there is the savour of something left out,... Modern society has discovered a new principle of survival, progress, but the aim of that progress it has never discovered, - unless the aim is always more knowledge, more equipment, convenience and comfort, more enjoyment, a greater and still greater complexity of the social economy, a more and more cumbrously opulent life. But these things must lead in the end where the old led, for they are only the ...
... It means that is what men have mainly demanded of them—to be heir servants, nurses, cooks, children-bearers and rearers, ministers of their sex-desires etc. That has been their occupation, their aim in life and their natures have got adapted to their work. All that they have achieved else than that is by the way—in spite of the yoke said on them. And then man smiles a superior smile and says it was... a safe and easy path—what I say is that anyone who has the will to go through can go through. For the rest if you aim high, there is always the danger of a steep fall, if you misconduct your aeroplane. But the danger is for those who allow themselves to entertain a double being, aiming high but also indulging their lower outlook and hankerings. What else can you expect when people do that? You must... without poems? A briefless barrister? It was the uchchhwas 26 that extorted that exclamation from me. What is double being or double nature? Are both the same? Is it, as you say, aiming high and aiming low simultaneously? In that case I am afraid most of us have it more or less! Every man has a double nature except those who are born (not unborn) Asuras, Rakshasas, Pisachas 27 and ...
... this kind of sorrow (separation) is inevitable for you. Occasional separations cannot be avoided; for unlike the ordinary Bengali, I cannot make the happiness of the family and relatives my primary aim in life." Then in 1907 came his arrest and release. Mrinalini was at that time in Shillong living with her parents. In 1908, he writes from Calcutta: "I have not written to you for a long time. This is... posed earlier: Why did Sri Aurobindo marry? As far as I have understood his philosophy of life, he was from the beginning holding the view that life is not an illusion; he refused even to accept a yoga which rejected life. The wholeness, the integrality of the experience of life was his doctrine, not certainly life as we know it, but in its modified form, as he stated. And love through marriage playing... was a vain hope. In fact, her father wrote that he knew next to nothing about the married life of Mrinalini in Baroda. After Sri Aurobindo came to Bengal and during the stormy years that followed, Mrinalini had little or no opportunity of living a housewife's life in the quiet company of her husband. Her life during this period was one of continuous strain and suffering. She spent the greater part ...
... sprung. A rock survives for hundreds of millions of years, while even the oldest tree is only a few thousand years old. If survival was the aim of nature, life would never have appeared. Other significant philosophical theories have also come to be formulated. According to Samuel Alexander, the whole process of the universe is a historic growth from space-time. The original matrix is space-time... which is the vision of God as relevant for it. According to Sri Aurobindo (1872-1950), evolution presupposes an involutionary process. If Life evolves in Matter, and Mind in Life, it must be because Life is involved in Matter and Mind in Life. The material Inconscience is the involved Super-conscience. Evolution is fundamentally a spiritual phenomenon. It is a phenomenon of an evolutionary... it by a new method. According to Bergson, it is the inner urge, or life force, or an upward drive that incites the whole species in a definite direction. The striving of the organism is the creative effort to which evolution is due. The biological theory of evolution assumes that life always came from life. Herbert Spencer questioned this assumption and attempted to give a philosophical ...
... of our life here in its purely material aspect, but also of our mental and moral existence. It is self-evident that in the actual life of man intellectual, social, political, moral we can make no real step forward without a struggle, a battle between what exists and lives and what seeks to exist and live and between all that stand behind either. " 2 The materialist, even when he aims at the... equally for all and the recognition of the same soul, the same godhead in all human beings. When it strives for brotherhood, it is founding that equal freedom of self- development on a common aim, a common life, a unity of mind and feeling founded upon the recognition of this inner spiritual unity. These three things are in fact the nature of the soul; for freedom, equality, unity are the eternal attributes... to grow into self-perfection. This society would give to every individual not only the joy of work but also free leisure to grow inwardly, and lead a simple and beautiful life. Spirituality applied to social organisation would aim at realising the ideal law of social development. This ideal law would seek the harmony of the individual and the society. There is no better formulation of the ideal law ...
... spiritual life". The impurities to be purged are egoism and ignorance, intemperance and untruthfulness. Translating the surface moral code into the deeper spiritual, the Mother says: "In all truly spiritual teachings, morality as it is mentally conceived is out of place." Balance, moderation, truthfulness, sincerity, honesty- these are certainly necessary for those who aim at spiritual life, but these... withdrawal from life: These few words, "they pursue right desires", are a proof that the teaching of the Buddha, in its essence, did not turn away from the realisation upon earth, but only from what is false in the conception of the world and in activities as they are carried on in the world. Thus when he teaches that one must escape from life, it is not to escape from a life that would be the... will breathe every moment of your life and that means misery, constant uneasiness; it means ugliness that despairs of its own ugliness. Nor is anything to be gained by leaving the body, for there is no 'geographical' heaven or hell to repair to - and so the Mother says categorically: Expect nothing from death. Life is your salvation. It is in life that you must transform yourself. ...
... from outside. The basis is there, the rest will come. What I am aiming at is not a society like the present rooted in division. What I have in view is a Samgha [community] founded in the spirit and in the image of its oneness. It is with this idea that the name Deva Samgha has been given—the commune of those who want the divine life is the Deva Samgha. Such a Samgha will have to be established in... You write about the Deva Samgha and say, "I am not a god, I am only a piece of much hammered and tempered iron." No one is a God but in each man there is a God and to make Him manifest is the aim of divine life. That we can all do. I recognize that there are great and small adharas [vessels]. I do not accept, however, your description of yourself as accurate. Still whatever the nature of the vessel... God wants in man is to embody Himself here in the individual and in the community, to realize God in life. The old way of yoga failed to bring about the harmony or unity of Spirit and life: it instead dismissed the world as Maya [Illusion] or a transient Play. The result has been loss of life-power and the degeneration of India. As was said in the Gita, "These peoples Page 269 would ...
... shall. You write about the Deva-Sangha: I am not a God, I am only some much-hammered and refined iron. No one is God, but in each man there is a God and to make him manifest is the aim of divine life. That we can all do. I do not want hundreds of thousands of disciples. It will be enough if I can get a hundred complete men, empty of petty egoism, who will be instruments of God... conversation with him. The talk is somewhat long. I'll read out 132 a part here and a part 130The traditional path of yoga aims for liberation from the bondage of the lower narure into the ineffable silence and peace of the Supreme. But the aim of integral yoga is not liberation alone. It is the complete transformation of the lower nature, even of the body. It is not an escape into... prepared to go through trials and difficulties and hardships. Pain is necessary, knocks and shocks are good for the soul. See on the other hand the Kauravas. They have enjoyed a happy life, a life of ease, a life of comfort. To what end? It is all because of their mama (uncle) who brought ruin and multifarious he had with Sri Aurobindo within his own mind. 133 Book VI, Canto ...
... number of dissatisfied people are trying to find the purpose and goal of life. On the other hand, there are those who know and strive to help suffering humanity; they are guardians of the supreme knowledge which has been handed down from generation to generation and which serves as the basis of a method of self-development whose aim is to awaken man to the consciousness of what he truly is and what he... towards the growing perfection of your being. May your association be both noble and generous, noble in quality, generous in action. Be an example to the world and show all men of goodwill the true aim of human life. CLAIRVOYANT ( deeply moved ) You can be sure that we shall do our utmost to deserve the trust you have shown us and be worthy of your esteem. But I would like to hear from your own lips that... that does not prevent us both from feeling very isolated. Esteem and mutual concessions create a harmony that makes life more than merely bearable. But is that happiness? SCHOOLFRIEND For many people that might be happiness. SHE True, but sometimes I feel such an emptiness in my life! It may have been to fill this emptiness that I gave myself entirely and in all sincerity to that marvellous cause ...
... Sweet Mother, Write something for me that I can remember throughout the year. Our aim is to realise the perfection of our being and to change the human animal into the divine man. With my blessings. 5 July 1960 Page 355 Sweet Mother, If a soul has taken birth as a boy in one life, does it always remain a boy in future lives, or can it be born as a girl? Theories... and will be with you throughout your journey to help you to find the Divine—the only way to have lasting happiness. I expect to see you on your birthday; pray for this grace which is the true aim of your life. I ask only that you have faith and trust. I am putting myself into your heart so that you may always find me there. With love and blessings. Undated Page 374 ... becomes more active. 7 January 1972 All those students who want to learn how to succeed in life and make money are not wanted here. We want only those who want to live a higher life. The children have to decide whether they want to belong to the new life or to be "successful" and live an ordinary life. I think that some of the children will go away. 30 January 1972 Protect us from the ignorant ...
... activity would come within the purview of the Deva Sangha, "but we must give them a new life, a new form". At the root of it all would be a feeling of delight in everything, in the body as much as in the spirit .... No one is a god, but each man has a god within him. To manifest him is the aim of divine life." Sri Aurobindo concluded by saying that "I too am tying up my bundle. But I believe this... Okhata-Kobayashi groups at Kyoto had also their own merits. A still-sitting group of 5000 would be unbelievably silent, and even their breathing couldn't be heard. This impressive discipline had the aim of promoting physical as well as mental well-being, and perhaps of throwing open the windows to reveal the panorama of the Spirit's landscapes. But neither Zen nor still-sitting quite gave the answer... monks of successively drinking tea out of a bowl before the image of Bodhi Dharma, which laid the foundations of the tea ceremony. Although muted in its articulation, the tea ceremony also aimed at inducing serenity and purity through the process of sharing. It is not Page 194 In Japan, about 1918 unlikely that the muted charm and tested efficacy of the tea ceremony ...
... Education and the Aim of human life II The child has interest for an object when by that object he is capable of satisfying one of his needs. Hence the importance of knowing the needs of a child. As a growing being, the child has certain needs, quite a number of them, of various kinds - physical, affective, psychological, intellectual - and... teachers, to compulsion or pressure, physical or moral, that would defeat or hinder the aim we have in view. Curiously enough, there is a complementary aspect to the need for freedom; it is the need for security. By these words it is not meant that the child relishes a comfortable, monotonous and insipid life, devoid of thrill and adventure. The liking of children for risk and even danger is well... certain extent on age. They are true needs. Individual needs pertain to a child or to a period of his growth. They also may be true needs and have to be met. Their importance is considerable as their aim is often to Page 94 restore the balance or eliminate a gap or a lag in the child's development. It can be said that in our new educational system, except for needs that are visibly ...
... of the physical life as it is lived under the conditions of the present organisation of consciousness. What is proposed, therefore, is that the bodily life should undergo a great perfection and even an evolutionary mutation so that the material life of the body becomes fully transformed. Divine life in a divine body is thus proposed as the aim of the highest integral view of life. In the light... The soul's true life is in the heavens but it is bound to earth. In other words, man is an embodied soul partly of earth and partly of heaven; by a pure life, the heavenly part is increased and the earthly part diminished. Orphics believed that the soul might achieve eternal bliss or suffer eternal or temporary torment according to its way of life here on earth and that man should aim at becoming pure... perfection." Socratic Theme of Quest Socrates taught that the great problem of any human being lies in the question of how to live his life. Endowed with rationality, each man must decide what course his life shall take. Although mankind's common aim is a "good lifeˮ (eu-zen), there is no common agreement on what a "good lifeˮ is, or how to reach it. Socratesʼ answer to this question lies ...
... has learned at all to have ideals. Finally, he does not use his freedom to arrive at a rational adjustment of his life with the life of others; his natural tendency is to enforce the aims of his life even at the expense of or, as it is euphemistically put, in competition with the life of others. There comes thus to be a wide gulf between the ideal and the first results of its practice. There is here... even endure. Spaces of the earth may be left where a rational idealism can still survive. The terrible compression now exercised on the national mind and life may lead to an explosion from within or, on the other hand, having fulfilled its immediate aim may relax and give way in calmer times to a greater plasticity which will restore to the human mind or soul a more natural line of progress, a freer field... labour, his capacities, the education it gives him and its results, his mind, his knowledge, his individual life, his family life, the life of his children. Moreover, since his individual reason cannot be trusted to work out naturally a right and rational adjustment of his life with the life of others, it is for the reason of the whole community to arrange that too for him. Not the reasoning minds ...
... him and so long as his mental gaze is turned outwards, so long will man's life be subject to "incurable littleness". This action of the life-force is common to the insect, ape and man. The only difference is in the designs and details of the expression of life-force. Even if man succeeds in attaining the small aims of his life, his successes are in fact "failures of the soul". He remains tied to... there that planned, a will that strove, But for small aims within a narrow scope". It was the existence of a "...creature passionate only to survive, Fettered to puny thoughts with no wide range". Thus, even though Life had awakened to some of its potentialities, "It knew not the Immortal in its house". This life of man did not awaken to the vast possibilities of the... pose,—the spirit's sleep was stirred and "The Force concealed broke dumbly, slowly out". He found that "A life was born that followed Matter's law". It did not know its aim, its purpose, its fulfilment. Sense and thought make their appearance very slowly. There was in this manifestation of life-force not only an unseen will but a drive towards a new becoming and even there was the feeling of the ...
... conditions of life in the Asrama. 14 October 1928 Your letter this time is sufficiently explicit regarding your state of mind and your object in practising Yoga. You have apparently a call and may be fit for Yoga; but there are different paths and each has a different aim and end before it. It is common to all the paths to conquer the desires, to put aside the ordinary relations of life, and to try... 29 July 1927 Ask him to let me know more about himself. What is the nature or object of Yoga which he says is the aim of his life? Has he practised at all before? Page 553 What makes him turn to me? Does he know anything about my way of Yoga and its aims? I accept only those who are found capable of the Yoga practised here and who are either naturally drawn to this way or who... difficult, because the aim in every Yoga is to reach the Divine, to turn entirely towards the Divine and that means to turn away from the ordinary movements of the nature to something beyond it. But when one aspires with sincerity the strength is given that ends by surmounting the difficulties and reaching the goal. The Mother was speaking of sadhaks who had entered into the life and atmosphere of the ...
... great men. No written work. At levels 3-4, history and geography can very well be taught together. History will be limited to selected concrete aspects of human life, with the aim of bringing the students in touch with the life of races and nations at different times. The subjects may include, for instance, the history of human dwellings, dresses, food, agriculture, means of transportation, relations... Education and the Aim of human life IV The Class Work I shall not speak of the teaching of reading, writing and counting. This teaching is started in the Kindergarten and pursued during the first two years of the school. It is a subject which has received considerable attention outside and we freely use the Montessori and other similar methods... I shall just explain, we are led to reject entirely. 2. The teacher's aim is to train the ear of the students and their tongue if the talking is on both sides. This is an indispensable part of the teaching of languages and we do give it its due place here. 3. The aim is to supply a needed information. This aim is perfectly justified, but usually the need arises in one or a few students ...
... is to discover and bring to the material life the potencies and puissances of the Spirit through the agency of the subtler forces of the Mind, the Vital and the Physical. And Sri Aurobindo clinches the whole issue in the following passage: Its most important aim must be the discovery of the hidden truths and powers of the mind-force and the life-power and the greater forces of the concealed... an unconscionable length of time. As an aspirant to the full splendour of spiritual life, she was properly aware that she had to be on her guard against any promiscuous display of occultism with all its fascinating but side-tracking "miracles" of materialisation and the like, and her vision and her far aims never suffered the least obscuration. Like academic studies, sports and the arts of painting... painting and music, Mirra took occultism too in her easy stride; she made them all serve the cardinal aim of her life, but she didn't lose herself in them. *Years later, commenting on Emile Zola's description of a garden in La Faute de l'Abbé Mouret, the Mother remarked, "I have not read such a description anywhere else: so much wealth of splendour, harmony with Nature. When I went to the ...
... was about twelve, and the large aim of the members was to know themselves, to become master of themselves and seek new pathways to the future. Even more consciously than before, the seekers wished to give their discussions a purposive edge to think out means of bridging the gulf between aspiration and realisation, to achieve an integration of inner and outer life, and to set the individual securely... Which minds are nearest to me and what is my ideal work among them? - has a practical cast, but with spiritual implications. If inner illumination, integral transformation, is the main aim of individual life, this is to be sought, not as a self-sufficient end, but as a means to a further end - the transformation of the environment through radiation from these illumined centres of realisation... meeting was: What is the aim to be achieved, the work to be done? What are the means of achievement? Mirra's own answer was read out on 7 May 1912, and most of it was published in 1940 as Foreword to Words of the Mother. Mirra's vision peered steadily into the future of man's destiny, and also projected the role of man in hastening that destiny: The general aim to be attained is the advent ...
... cannot be left aside; for the body is the material basis, the body is the instrument we have to use … A total perfection is the ultimate aim which we set before us, for our ideal is the Divine Life which we wish to create here, the life of the Spirit fulfilled on earth, life accomplishing its own spiritual transformation even here on earth in the conditions of the material universe. That cannot be unless... intelligence is allowed to come into full flower. His most important contribution on this topic of education and its aims was, however, the series of articles requested from him by the Mother for publication in the Bulletin of Physical Education and dictated in the last months of his life. In educating the Ashram children, the Mother drew from her lifelong practical experience and still more from... . In my consciousness there is no antagonism between the two, on the contrary, they combine very well and complete one another. I know also that I can be of service to both equally, for my only aim in life is to give a concrete form to Sri Aurobindo’s great teaching, and in his teaching he reveals that all the nations are essentially one and meant to express the Divine Unity upon earth through an organized ...
... gives him and the assigned or revealed aim of his life and conduct, raise himself towards the highest height that It demands of him in his life now or in his existence hereafter; if there is no such universal or supreme Spirit or Being, he must know what there is and how to lift himself to it out of his present imperfection and impotence. This approach is the aim of religion: its purpose is to link the... themselves not overtly self-conscious and capable at best of a mechanical or sub-conscious will is another problem of opposites in which she has produced astonishing results and aims always at higher marvels; for there her ultimate miracle would be an animal consciousness no longer seeking but possessed of Truth and Light, with the practical omnipotence which would result from the possession of a direct... typical. The realm of religious being of man and the religious life is one, at which, "the intellectual reason gazes with the bewildered mind 1. Essay , Bk. IV. c.xvii. 4. Page 378 of a foreigner who hears a language of which the words and the spirit are unintelligible to him and sees everywhere forms of life and principles of thought and action which are absolutely strange ...
... times the whole stress has fallen on the life of the race, to search for a perfect society, and the right organisation and scientific mechanisation of the life of mankind as a whole. Under this circumstance, the individual now tends to be regarded only as a member of the collectivity, a unit of the race whose existence must be subordinated to the common aims and total interest of the organised ... equally for all and the recognition of the same soul, the same godhead in all human beings. When it strives for brotherhood, it is founding that equal freedom of self-development on a common aim, a common life, a unity of mind and feeling founded upon the recognition of this inner spiritual unity. These three things are in fact the nature of the soul; for freedom, equality, unity are the eternal attributes... sometimes held that the nation, the society, the community is a collective being, revealing its soul in its culture, power of life, ideals, institutions, or its ways of self-expression. In this context, the individual life has to cast itself in the social mould, serving the power of its life, consent only to exist as an instrument for the maintenance and efficient existence of the society. In a third ideal ...
... of delight. Q : Is this withdrawal a form of expression ? A : You can say so, if you like. What happens to the contact of life and how it is related to ultimate aim of self-expression, that is the problem. If the withdrawal is in keeping with the aim of self-expression, then it is a necessary condition. But ultimately the withdrawal will have to transform itself into an equal experience... ball-dance. Even in America when they meet, it is more to socialize. How do they run the church? let us have lotteries, let us do this, let us do that. Now what has that to do with the ultimate aim of religion life ? People need clubs and social meetings —why call it church ? Where you are seriously devoted to Page 127 activating the religious impulse, then it is all right. But why feel... scheme of human life brought about a lopsided view of life and its remedy in Buddhism. In this chapter, we might be able to put pain in its proper place in the economy of the universe; and also the possibility, not of avoiding pain, but if possible, of transforming it. Buddha thought that pain was one of the elements permanently connected with the cosmos, and inseparable from life. This chapter will ...
... sign that we really have the knowledge. For the same reason, to shape our practical life, our actions as far as may be in consonance with our intellectual notions of truth and right or with a successful pragmatic knowledge,—an ethical or a vital fulfilment,—is not and cannot be the ultimate aim of our life; our aim must be to grow into our true being, our being of Spirit, the being of the supreme and... manifestation; but even while that consummation is still difficult and distant, the true knowledge can be made subjectively real by a spiritual reflection or reception in mind-life-body Nature. But this spiritual truth and true aim of his being is not allowed to appear till late in his journey: for the early preparatory business of man in the evolutionary steps of Nature is to affirm, to make distinct... world-conquerors, had behind it this secret of Nature. But this is an efficiency of the outer life, and that life is not the highest or last term of our being. There is a mind in us, there is a soul and spirit, and our life has no true value if it has not in it a growing consciousness, a developing mind, and if life and mind are not an expression, an instrument, a means of liberation and fulfilment for the ...
... ultimate aim of the effort of life. At a still later stage, when there came about an immense development of the mundane intelligence and an emphatic stress of aesthetic, sensuous and hedonistic experience, there was a corresponding deepening of the intensities of psycho-religious experience. It may be said that every excess of emphasis on the splendour, richness, power and pleasures of life had its... most conscious and potent expression of the new spirituality has declared the aim not of individual salvation but of collective salvation. It has rejected the exclusive solution of the problems of human life in the attainment of world-negating spirit; it has rather affirmed the possibility of the highest spiritualising of life on the earth. The earliest preoccupation of India, as expressed in Veda... now draw illumination and power of regeneration. The new light does not advocate a mere revival or prolongation of the Puranic system but points to something which the Vedic seers saw as the aim of human life and which the Vedantic sages cast into the clear and immortal forms of the luminous revelation. And yet it is not to the Vedic forms that Hinduism is called upon to return. The great message of ...
... n extending to the giving up of the worldly life itself. This Yoga aims instead at a new and transformed life. But it insists inexorably on a complete throwing away of desire and attachment in the mind, life and body. Its aim is to refound life in the truth of the Spirit and for that purpose to transfer the roots of all we are and do from the mind, life and body to a greater consciousness above the... the calm wideness, strength, peace, life and ananda of the spiritual consciousness. 20 May 1927 To Date: 20.5.27 Chandulal, The first conditions of this Yoga are: (1) A complete sincerity and surrender in the being. The divine life and the transformation of the lower human into the higher divine nature must be made the sole aim of all the life. No attachments, desires or habits... and achieve the proper balance of your mind and will. The object of your life depends upon your own choice and the way of attainment depends upon the nature of the objects. Also your position will be whatever you make it. What you have to do first is, to recover your health; then with a quiet mind to determine your aim in life according to your capacities and preference. It is not for me to make up ...
... Guru so that the help may be more effectively there. 17 December 1932 About the correspondence, I would be indeed a brainless fool if I made it the central aim of my life to con an absurd mountain of letters and leave all higher aims aside! If I have given importance to the correspondence, it is because it was an effective instrument towards my central purpose—there are a large number of sadhaks... for the disciples, but there would be no room for any spiritual aim or endeavour. Page 460 Spiritual aims and methods are not easy or natural (e.g. as quarrelling, sex-indulgence, greed, indolence, acquiescence in all imperfections are easy and natural) and if people become disciples, they are supposed to follow spiritual aims and endeavours, however hard and above ordinary nature, and not... electron, can build up a world and, using "a tangle of ganglia", can make them the base here for the works of the Mind and Spirit in Matter, produce a Ramakrishna, or a Napoleon, or a Shakespeare. Is the life of a great poet, either, made up only of magnificent and important things? How many "trivial" things had to be dealt with and done before there could be produced a King Lear or a Hamlet ! Again, ...
... childhood. It also offered him a new method for expressing his general philosophy." Above all, Saint-Exupery had a great sense of the need for personal transformation. For him this was the true aim of human life. Based on Marcel Migeo, Saint-Exupery: A Biography (London: MacDonald, 1961) Page 452 ... training. For the first time, Saint-Exupery was out of his aristocratic milieu, leading a common life with the other pilots, most of whom stayed at the same small hotel. In this new life, he satisfied his need to associate with men he considered superior, men removed from the shabby futilities of ordinary life. "The aeroplane is a means of getting away from towns and their book-keeping and coming to grips... sensible man. So I lived my life alone, without anyone that I could really talk to, until I had an accident with my plane in the Desert of Sahara, six years ago. Something was broken Page 430' in my engine. And as I had with me neither mechanic nor any passengers, I set myself to attempt the difficult repairs all alone. It was a question of life or death for me: I had scarcely enough ...
... another is not an ideal solution. ... I am French by birth and early education, I am Indian by choice and predilection. In my consciousness there is no antagonism between the two... my only aim in life is to give a concrete form to Sri Aurobindo's great teaching and in his teaching he reveals that all the nations are essentially one and meant to express the Divine Unity upon earth through an organised... aggregate, have no reason to pull in different directions. The aim should rather be to establish "an ideal society in a propitious spot for the flowering of a new race, the race of the Sons of God". The Son of Man must strive to outgrow his limitations and become the Son of God, and human beings should learn to enact the collective life of a Divine Society. A double attempt at self-perfection is thus... Ashram said: My aim is to create a big family in which it will be possible for every one to fully develop his capacities and express them.... my idea is to build a kind of city accommodating at the outset about 2000 persons. It will be built according to the most modern plans, meeting all up-to-date requirements of hygiene and public health.... Nothing necessary for life will be forgotten.... ...
... shall do. You write about the deva sangha: "I am not a God, I am only some much hammered and refined iron". No one is a God but in each man there is a God and to make Him manifest is the aim of divine life. That we can all do. I recognise that there are great and small Adharas (vessels). I do not accept as accurate your description of yourself. Still whatever the nature of a vessel be, once the... 2nd. Complete consecration to that Truth in doing all the works for that Life. 3rd. Transformation. That means he must be able to remove to give up all motives other than that of the practice of Yoga even in the worldly pursuits. The possession of wealth is a great obstacle and it is also a supreme opportunity. In our aim of Yoga we have to conquer the world for the Divine and if we can bring... there. What God wants in man is to embody Himself here in the individual and the community, to realize God in life. The old way of Yoga would not make the harmony or union of the Spirit and life. It dismissed the world as Maya or a transient Lila. The result has been the loss of the power of life and degeneration of India. It is said in the Gita "These people would perish if I did not do works" and in ...
... my son, Śrī Rāma . Endowed with means or without resources, he is surely as good as a deity to you." (25) Perceiving her advice to be in consonance with righteous ness, which constituted her aim (in life), and joining her palms, Sītā replied to her mother in law as follows, standing in front of her: — (26) "I shall surely do all that your worthy self instructs me to do. I know how I should behave... sake, 0 auspicious one! Leading a regulated life and partaking of an austere fare, devoted to the service of your husband, bide time, longing for my return. (In this way) you will attain the highest object of your desire when I have duly returned, provided (of course) the emperor (the foremost of those upholding the cause of righteousness) retains his life." Spoken to in these words by Śrī Rāma... the forest. (8) Having heard the prophecy at my (parents') home from Brāhmanas able to interpret marks on the body I have ever cherished a longing for forest life, 0 highly powerful prince! (9) The truth of that prediction about forest life must be realized by me. I must accordingly accompany you, my husband, 0 beloved; it cannot be otherwise. (10) (I am sure) ,1 shall be permitted by you and shall ...
... courses through this body. When you are in such a state, full of spiritual consciousness, you can lead a married life, a life in the world. In all your works you find the expression of God's delight.... No one is a god but in each man there is a god and to make Him manifest is the aim of divine life. 6 The goal wasn't of course to be reached in a sudden or single leap; Sri Aurobindo had himself faced... in fact, include all human activity - and therefore politics too - in a complete spiritual life. From 1903 to 1910, he had actively involved himself in politics "with one aim and one alone, to get into the mind of the people a settled will for freedom and the necessity of a struggle to achieve it". That aim had largely been achieved already. Moderatism had first been forced into the defensive, and... frustration. The time had come to go deeper: "We must get to the true soul of India and in its image fashion all works." The consummation to be aimed at was not detestation of the world or minimisation of man, but delight of existence in living every moment of one's life, and maximisation of man to the level of the Divine: You must have delight in all things - in the Spirit as well as in the body ...
... gives him and the assigned or revealed aim of his life and conduct, raise himself towards the highest height that It demands of him in his life now or in his existence hereafter; if there is no such universal or supreme Spirit or Being, he must know what there is and how to lift himself to it out of his present imperfection and impotence. This approach is the aim of religion: its purpose is to link the... and, in parts, already visible. But if it is to fulfil itself, the true foundation, the true aim and direction, the necessary restrictions and precautions of this line of inquiry have to be rediscovered; its most important aim must be the discovery of the hidden truths and powers of the mind-force and the life-power and the greater forces of the concealed spirit. Occult science is, essentially, the science... general aim and principle was clear, it was admitted into the infinite variety of the general order. But this plasticity sought to support itself on a fixed religio social system, which it permeated with the principle of a graded working out of the human nature turned at its height towards a supreme spiritual endeavour; this social fixity, which was perhaps necessary at one time for unity of life if not ...
... activity, all life is Yoga. This does not mean, as is frequently misinterpreted, that everything can pass as yogic. It refers to the fact that the whole of Nature's evolution is secretly a slow and gradual preparation for the spiritual life. Thus every earthly activity has a divine purpose behind it. So the Mother and Sri Aurobindo accept the whole field of Nature as the field of Yoga, but they aim at transforming... one are the secret of all power, The Two who are one are the might and right in things. My purpose in this chapter is not to write about the Mother's life, for her life, like Sri Aurobindo's, has not been on the surface. And their outer life reflects in a very small measure what they are in their transcendental vastness. But I shall restrict myself to a small part of that reflection, as much of... the Shakti incarnate. Like Sri Aurobindo with regard to his massive correspondence, she could say, "If for nothing else, at least for my interminable activity, I should be called an Avatar!" My aim in drawing this picture of the Mother is not merely to demonstrate her dynamism. There have been quite a number of people in the world, Napoleon for example, who had a magnificent vital energy, but they ...
... opponents. The man was so remarkable that the will of the nation could have said, "This man and his life mean what I have in my heart and in my purpose." 41 With Tilak there was no difference between the aim and the strength of will that carried it into the domain of realisation. To this purity of aim and adamantine will were joined a capacity for sacrifice and a readiness to face suffering. It was... she needs must put up with them: This suffering is your inevitable lot... because, unlike ordinary Bengalis, I am unable to make the happiness of the relatives and of the family the main aim of my life. In these circumstances what is my Dharma is also your Dharma; and unless you consider the success of my mission as your happiness, there is no way out. Page 265 This was no unusual... finally, odds and ends of information passed for Knowledge, and wisdom and creative intelligence were lost in this fog of pseudo-knowledge. What National Education, in its primary inspiration, aimed at doing was to employ the mother-tongue wherever possible, restore "the use of the disused intellectual functions", and provide for "a richer and more real equipment of information, of the substance ...
... reposes on the agreement of the enlightened or interested elements in their mind, heart, life-sense, an assent to a composite body of common ideas, desires, vital satisfactions, aims of existence. But there is in the mass of constituting individuals an imperfect understanding and knowledge of the ideas, life-aims, life-motives which they have accepted, an imperfect power in their execution, an imperfect... growth into a greater consciousness and a greater life and that growth is part of the very aim of the spiritual being within us, this bar does not operate; for a growth of the being into supernature and its life in supernature cannot take place or cannot be complete without bringing with it a greater power of consciousness and a greater power of life and the spontaneous development of an instrumentation... If consciousness is the central secret, life is the outward indication, the effective power of being in Matter; for it is that which liberates consciousness and gives it its form or embodiment of force and its effectuation in material act. If some revelation or effectuation of itself in Matter is the ultimate aim of the evolving Being in its birth, life is the exterior and dynamic sign and index ...
... means of them our squalid earthly life of darkness, disorder and discontent. His life, as it unfolds before us, is a vivid demonstration of the invincible power of the spirit of man, rising above all bondage to ignorance and mortality, and vindicating its birthright to absolute, masterful freedom and infinite perfectibility, which is, precisely, the cardinal aim and aspiration of Science. Sri Aurobindo... let me tell you about the other matter. You must have realised by now that the person with whom your fate is linked is a very strange one. I don't have the same kind of mental outlook, the same aim in life, the same field of action as most men have in the modem time. With me all is different, all is uncommon. 37 You know what the common run of men think of extraordinary ideas, extraordinary ... half an hour every day, and to express your ardent will to Him in the form of a prayer. By and by, the mind will be prepared. Always pray to Him: "May I be of constant help to my husband in his life, his aim, and his endeavours for realising the Divine, and serve him as his instrument, and not stand in the way of his progress."' Your husband 23, Scott's Lane, Calcutta, February ...
... becomes conscious of the aim of one's life. Then these tendencies, sometimes quite opposed to the milieu, to heredity, take on their raison d'etre. Besides, it is only when one penetrates the depths of consciousness that one really becomes aware of the reason of things. And what is there behind you is your real Self, clothed with all the experiences of a terrestrial life.* * The following... ends. Not only the weak are their prey, but the strong can be so equally, for it is specially the strong they aim at. After HPB, there was A.B. In the beginning she simply followed the lines of HPB, then it was CWL who influenced her. She recognised him, however, at a certain moment of her life (the glamour he has put on me...), but as she had nothing of her own, she returned. And what is special about... importance to it. A positive experience is more important ; that is, 'either the deep calm or the light from above. And these will quite naturally remove the rest of this mechanical activity. You must aim at this. Is there a centre near the heart? No. All the centres are in a straight line. That which is called "the heart centre" is at the solar plexus. Manipura is behind the navel. They are ...
... on a passage in which I wrote that this Yoga was not like the old ones in that it aimed not at an ascent or passing beyond life but at a descent of the divine consciousness into life. Its aim is double —two movements fusing themselves into one—an ascending into divine consciousness and a transformation of earth life by the divine consciousness coming down here. All the old Yogas put the emphasis on... Brahmaloka, etc. for good and so getting rid of rebirth. My emphasis is on life here and its transformation and I put that as the aim at once of my Yoga and of the terrestrial manifestation. I am quite unaware that any of the old Yogas held this as the aim before them. Even Vaishnavism and Tantra are in the end otherworldly: mukti is the aim of their efforts and anything else could be only coincidental and... and laughter and my letters in. that style are only the natural out- flow of my personality-1 have never been "grim" in my life— that is the Stalin-Mussolini style, it is not mine: the only trait I share with the "grim" people is obstinacy in following out my aim in life but! do it quietly and simply and have always done. Don't set upon me gloomy imaginations and take them for the real Aurobindo ...
... I would be indeed a brainless ____________________ 1. One of Mother's Prayers and Meditations . Page 297 fool if I made it the central aim of my life to [?] an absurd mountain of letters and leave all higher aims aside! If I have given importance to the correspondence, it is because it was an effective instrument towards my central purpose—there are a large number of sadhaks... forms of life there are less potentialities for the self-expression of the Spirit than in others. And there are also gradations of consciousness which make a difference, if not in the aesthetic value or greatness of a work of art, yet in its contents-value. Homer makes beauty out of man's outward life and action and stops there. Shakespeare rises one step further and reveals to us a life-soul and... and life-forces and life-values to which Homer had no access. In Valmiki and Vyas there is the constant presence of great Idea-Forces and Ideals supporting life and its movements which were beyond the scope of Homer and Shakespeare. And beyond the Ideals and Idea-Forces even there are other presences, more inner or inmost realities, a soul behind things and beings, the spirit and its powers, which ...
... in nature each is a partial manifestation of the Supreme Being. "This being the aim of our yoga we want to return upon life and transform it. The old yogas failed to transform life because they did not go beyond mind. They used to catch at spiritual experiences with the mind but when they came to apply them to life they reduced them to a mental formula. For example, the mental experience of the... the Arya was not written from the intellect though it was written for it. The aim of the Arya as declared by Sri Aurobindo was: "... to feel out for the thought of the future, to help in shaping its foundations and to link it to the best and most vital thought of the past. . . . "The earth is a world of Life and Matter, but man is not a vegetable nor an animal; he is a spiritual and a thinking... which has accepted and even when it has long lived in the joy and peace and oneness. That, I suppose, is why the religions and philosophies have had so strong a leaning to the condemnation of Life and Matter and aimed at an escape instead of a victory. But the victory has to be won; the rebellious elements have to be redeemed and transformed, not rejected or excised. When the Unity has been well founded ...
... and human life into Divine Life 36. 34. From the Bande Mataram, 23.2.1908. 35. "The true aim of the nationalist movement is to restore the spiritual greatness of the nation by the essential preliminary of its political regeneration." From Bande Mataram. "Politics and Spirituality", 10.11.1907. 36. "We believe that it is to make Yoga the ideal of human life that India rises... both violent in tone - preached his lofty aim... 168. The Dedicated by Lizelle Reymond. Page 310 "...he was already known as the 'seer' Sri Aurobindo, although still involved in political life, and as yet not manifested to his future disciples on the spiritual path. For Nivedita he was the expression of life itself, the life of a new seed grown on the ancient soil of... political and economic, the cultural and moral freedom and greatness of his motherland; it embraced the whole world. Seen in this perspective, his whole life appears to be of one piece, a gradual, though at times sudden, unfolding of a single aim and purpose - the steady pursuit and accomplishment of a single mission. The official History of the Congress by Pattabhi Sitaramayya gives in figurative ...
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