Tuesday, March 23, 2010

One talks of big ontological matters which generally turn out to be captious

When we are confronted with the mysteries of the universe and the existence of life in it, we tend to create definitions that we use to convince ourselves that we understand them. We talk about “space-time” for instance and yet we do not really gain an understanding of what is going on. Rather, the definition shuts off further consideration in many cases. “Case closed.”
We see that Matter is actually Energy, and we see the process of atoms and atomic particles, joining together in various combinations that create forms of matter and on that basis, the entire world is built up. We can manipulate these atoms and atomic processes and believe thereby to have gained knowledge or mastery, but at no time have we really understood how or why they exist.
Mirror of Tomorrow :: RYD's sly and insidious Method of sowing ... By RY Deshpande 
Tusar Mohapatra, proprietor of the Savitri Era Blogs, has recently posted on his Savitri Era Open Forum a letter addressed to him by S Satheesh. His argument for making Satheesh’s letter public appears at Savitri Era. Here I’m reposting both for the ‘benefit’ of the readers of the Mirror of Tomorrow who, in the background of all the relevant posts on it, should be in a position to arrive at their own conclusions. I don’t need to defend myself which is a small trivial matter, as the whole stuff can be plainly dismissed being an outburst hastily published in the nature of sensational journalism. One need not attach any importance to it, nor to the people promoting it. It looks to me that there is no application of one’s mind to the simplest things, and yet one talks of big ontological matters which generally turn out to be captious and therefore inconsequential.
In the matter of Savitri-editing none of these things matter; no one matters, in the least Satheesh or Mohapatra or Deshpande or Hartz; but what matters is its text that came out during the yogi-poet’s time. It is in restoring that text that we should be all engaged, and it is towards that that we should make every possible effort.
mar8 seminar speech
books by Aurobindo and his collaborator, Mirra Alfassa, known as “the Mother”. They've been sitting on my table unread for a couple of weeks now and I ...
YouTube - Experience the magic of Auroville
queueNbarke - Matrimandir, Auroville, Pondicherry1733 viewsnitinbrk · Exploring Delhi on a tight budget
4:54. Add to queue. Added to ...
YouTube - Auroville, Integral Yoga and the Future of Mankind
Human evolution has reached a point of crisis in which there are only two possibilities left: a radical change in human nature, or the extinction of the ...
Sri Aurobindo's Five Dreams: Nation-Souls and the Triple ... By debbanerji
These and other questions are explored in this article, based on a talk given on
15th August 2008 at the Sri Aurobindo Ashram, New Delhi, by Debashish Banerji. The article is reproduced courtesy of the February 2010 issue of the journal Srinvantu, Kolkata, India. ... Today, the world is no longer politically colonized, but the forces of capital accumulation and the society it produces is no less with us today in and as our era of globalization. Nation Soul ... [My mother Surendra Nath Jauhar Spirit's Manifest Home: The Story of Sri Aurobindo Ashram Delhi Branch Makarand Paranjape]
The current issue By Shiva
In this issue of Auroville Today, we examine how well Auroville is doing on this front – assuming that a community which has human unity as its goal and invites participation from all people of goodwill would be in the forefront of this ...
Celebrating the Centenary of Sri Aurobindo's Arrival in Pondicherry. April 4, 1910 - 2010 
Mirror of Tomorrow :: 25: The Yoga of the Cells by the Mother by RY Deshpande
There is a human thought that has the conception that identification with the supreme Consciousness can come only by annulling the individual creation, but Sri Aurobindoprecisely has said that it is possible without abolishing the ...
Here is a remarkable extract from Sri Aurobindo's longish commentary on the Isha titled "the Life Divine" written before 1914. The highlighted passage where he anticipates something like genetic engineering is astounding! This can be seen as a perception of the "scientific process" offered by Sri Aurobindo: that of Mind invading vitalised matter.
Well under that criterion Sri Aurobindo’s theory of evolution ought to be the first to be discarded because it contains esoteric, abstract and abstruse concepts, consciousness being perhaps the least of them…
In any case I do not hold that to be of great significance in the Cosmic sweep of His spell-binding, heart-throbbing, soul-stirring substance and expression which never ceases to amaze, inspire, elevate and leave one soul-satiated with the deep gratitude and conviction that One who could write such profundities would surely have the power to bathe you in them.
The other way round is fairly obvious. But I am not sure that these discoveries have no value for the aspirant. They can provide the basis for a mental understanding that intuitively points and guides one to secret occult truths of matter life and mind. This is more so in the case of works like LD etc. I will soon be providing some examples as a response to an earlier dialogue but also as a general comment. 

Now there's no question that Sri Aurobindo rejected entirely the materialistic interpretation of evolution, and that his vision of spiritual evolution corrects, improves, and massively surpasses the scientific theory on all sides. But I don't see why one couldn't suggest he made use of this advance in human mental knowledge to provide some of the  instrumental material in his own expression of spiritual Knowledge and Truth.
really a great work done for Her dada.... but i have a doubt here....inspite that we "know" about the Psychic, its influences, and everything....we still hide it. sometimes even consciously. we know that all we have to do is offer ourselves to Her,… from ASPIRATION - Aspiration is a call to the Divine. — The Mother
If we “know” about the Psychic Being, we cannot hide it or its influence or its action upon us. If our “knowledge” is only a mental construction, then only we will act in a way following the mental habits and ways — then we may hide it, or forget it…
Aurora Mirabilis: Celebrating the Centenary of Sri Aurobindo's ...
[Savitri Era of those who adore, Om Sri Aurobindo & The Mother.] Director, Savitri Era Learning Forum. [SELF posits a model of counselling and communicative action as an instrument in order to stimulate the public sphere. ...
(a society registered under the Society Registration Act XXI of 1860). Registration No. 7696/49 of 1974 – 75, Cuttack. At/Po. RISIDA – 766031 . Dist. Kalahandi, Orissa. ALL INDIA RIVERO YOUTH CARNIVAL 2010. 10 - 14 JUNE 2010. INFORMATION SHEET .... “ all the participants will partake with discussions and at the end, the whole discussion will be synthesized in the light of The Mother and Sri Aurobindo. The youth are the messengers of strength and vitality. ...
All choice: The New Race 1 By Barindranath Chaki
Man, as said by Sri Aurobindo, is a transitional being. He has to prepare and mould himself through a Sadhana, so that the Divine Possibility realizes Itself. Evolution progresses in Time and the present human manifestation is only a ...
A glowing tribute to humanity The Hindu P. MARUDANAYAGAM
Countless are the philosophers and poets who have celebrated homo sapiens. To quote a few: “Numberless are the world's wonders, but none more wonderful than man” (Sophocles); “What a piece of work is man! How noble in reason! How infinite in faculties” (Shakespeare); “Earth is the chosen place of mightiest souls” (Sri Aurobindo).
There have also been glorious attempts at tracing the history of humanity from a refreshingly new perspective, as, for instance, by H.G.Wells ( Outline of History), Arnold Toynbee ( A Study of History), Will Durant ( The Story of Philosophy) and Stephen Hawking ( A Brief History of Time).
The treatment of the classic yoga, the post-classical period and the flowering of the tradition is interesting and informative. It also talks about tantric traditions and modern movements and scholars such as Sri Aurobindo. The author also provides a great framework and organizes all of this information in an easy and enjoyable read.
Sri Aurobindo represents a synthesis of the teachings of both the West and the East. Not content simply with dissolution into a transcendental, other-worldly God-consciousness, nor with conc ...
As I mentioned before, the avoidance of the Islamic world's interaction with globalization has been an unfortunate blindspot in integral studies. Ray Harris's essentialistic and essentializing noodlings on the subject do not amount to a positive contribution in this regard.
However, recent scholarship on Amadu Bamba and the Muridiyya can be another opportunity to reconsider and remedy this lacuna. Do we not see a kind of reinvigorated spirituality in response to the pushes, pulls, and disruptions of imperial capital in this case, as in the India of Aurobindo and Inayat Khan? This phenomenon is very much worth exploring as an archive of what might be called integral culture.
Here is something: I think Sam Harris is onto something with his claim that science is a useful method for coming to an examined, useful life. You may ask: is this not the same Sam Harris who has little regard for religion? Yes, same guy. His position should be taken seriously.
My definition of science differs a bit (think of Althusser on historical materialism), but I suggest a cognate position to Harris's in this thing
I would not argue that all religious behavior is unintelligent; I would argue that much of what passes as religious behavior or spirituality or the sacred under neoliberalism amounts to little more than ideology in the coercive sense, is wholly bullshit and profiting the producer of said bullshit and not the consumer, and should be checked and spat out by means of a rigorous critical and scientific practice. For all that, I think the world's wisdom traditions have much to offer in precisely such a rigorous critical practice (see Cutting Through Spiritual Materialism), for developing a sane pedagogy of skillful means (hi there Lotus Sutra), &c. 
It is a mistake to conflate "religion" and "snake oil." The two should be distinguished carefully, especially when they seem to coincide.
MUSIC, MUSIC AND MUSIC Written by Nadine   Monday, 22 March 2010
Today's news features a lot of musical program in and around Auroville this week. Listen to some entertaining and amazing excerpts from the wonderful event held last Friday in Visitor's Center by the Auroville Performing Arts, in order to support performing artists from Auroville. Also in the news: tomorrow's concert by Emergence in Bharat Nivas, the cultural event of the African Night on Friday at Visitor's Center, the Music Festival 2010 in Pondicherry and the performances by the Auroville Choir on Saturday and Sunday. So, keep your ears open this week! To download the news click here
Tuesday, 23 Mar
Ashtanga yoga daily class ::: Harmony (Auromodele/Petite Ferme) ::: Tue ::: 8:00 AM
9th "No More Pesticides"- Exhibition ::: open field opposite Solar Kitchen (except Tuesdays) ::: Tue ::: 2:00 PM
  L’avenir Exhibition Open – Galaxy Plan Evolution, Roger’s work & Planning ::: Town Hall ::: Tue ::: 9:00 AM
Women’s Day Celebrations in the Villages ::: various villages around Auroville ::: Tue ::: 10:00 AM
Emergence Live, Concert ::: Sri Aurobindo Auditorium, Bharat Nivas ::: Tue ::: 8:00 PM
Exhibition of Flower prints by Birgitta Volz ::: Aurodhan Art Gallery, 33, Rue Francois Martin, Kuruchikuppam, Pondicherry ::: Tue ::: 6:00 AM
Wednesday, 24 Mar
Ashtanga yoga daily class ::: Harmony (Auromodele/Petite Ferme) ::: Wed ::: 8:00 AM
Yoga & Sophrology with Sandra ::: Quiet Healing Center ::: Wed ::: 4:00 PM
9th "No More Pesticides"- Exhibition ::: open field opposite Solar Kitchen (except Tuesdays) ::: Wed ::: 2:00 PM
Insight Seminar: Economy and Organization of Auroville ::: Inside India Building in Auroshilpam (behind Auromode) ::: Wed ::: 10:30 AM
  L’avenir Exhibition Open – Galaxy Plan Evolution, Roger’s work & Planning ::: Town Hall ::: Wed ::: 9:00 AM
Women’s Day Celebrations in the Villages ::: various villages around Auroville ::: Wed ::: 10:00 AM
Exhibition of Flower prints by Birgitta Volz ::: Aurodhan Art Gallery, 33, Rue Francois Martin, Kuruchikuppam, Pondicherry ::: Wed ::: 6:00 AM

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