Sunday, July 17, 2011

Sri Aurobindo's mammoth contribution to modern Psychology

The ancient rishis and yogis realized, like their modern counterparts, that what ordinary people know about themselves is not worth much, but they did not shy away from the problem. Instead they analysed the causes for this human incapacity and then they set to work on methods to overcome these defects. They found that the two main problems were egoism, and a too naive reliance on what the senses make us believe.
Regarding the former, they found that the egoism expressed itself through desires, preferences and the natural “vested interests” we all have in the outcome of our self-observations. All such factors lead in their own way to distortions. What is more interesting is that they found that it is actually possible to remove these obstacles, and that this not only leads to greater clarity of thought, but also to a remarkable type of unconditional inner joy and effectiveness in action. The latter may be a surprise to those who have been brought up on the virtues of “ego-strength”, but there is convincing scientific evidence that the detachment furthered by yoga and meditation actually does lead to greater social effectiveness and life-satisfaction. An anecdotal but almost certainly historical support for this comes, besides, in the form of the life of the Buddha, a living example of selflessness, and yet, one of the most influential individuals who ever lived. …
Given the obvious treasures of psychological knowledge one can find alike in ancient scriptures like the Rg Veda, the Upanishads, and the works of modern yogis like Sri Aurobindo, it would be a great loss for humanity if modern Psychology chose to ignore this contribution. For the rishis developed something which mainstream psychology did not: a rigorous and effective method to develop detailed and reliable knowledge of the subjective domain. And this might well be the one thing humanity is presently most in need of. This entry was posted in Cognition & MethodologySociety. Bookmark the permalink.
Today we are publishing a unique collection of Sri Aurobindo’s letters to his wife which gives us a rare opportunity to peek in to the past of our Master, his early years of private life which reveals us something of his own personality in making or rather revealing of it out of ordinary human stuff.
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The central theme of Sri Aurobindo's vision[4] is the evolution of life into a “life divine”. In his own words: “Man is a transitional being. ...
Auronet Sunday 17 Jul
Meeting/2011-07-17 00:30 regular meeting
Class/2011-07-17 09:00 Sunday Group Meditation at Verite
Class/2011-07-17 16:00 Reading Savitri at Savitri Bhavan

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