Knowledge may become a barrier on the path of spiritual growth

Three of India's best holistic getaways Mid-Day
Pondicherry

The Union Territory of Pondicherry is known for its seaside retreats and secluded getaways that draw in seekers of tranquility from India and beyond. With its French-inspired architecture, sparse population and well-planned boulevard-like avenues, Pondicherry is ideal for any peace-seeker. 

Yoga and meditation classes are available to suit tourists of every kind. A thirty-minute drive away takes one to Auroville, the home of Sri Aurobindo. It is common to visit the Aurobindo Ashram for meditation The Samadhi of Aurbindo is flocked with followers. 

The library and the main building is accessible to those who have a gate pass from the bureau central. The Matri Mandir at Auroville is a famous meditation center in Pondicherry. There is a circular shaped meditation hall. A walk through this vast expanse of greenery gives the first-timer an all-round sense of serenity and peace. Yoga classes are conducted regularly by Yoga Acharyas. 

Several followers of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother (Frenchwoman Mirra Alfassa, disciple to Sri Aurobindo) have taken residence at Auroville and live and work in a self-sustainable work-life set up within Auroville. Several handicraft and small-scale industries operate from within the area. 

Auromira Yoga: OBSESSIVE COMPULSIVE SPIRITUALITY By Dr. Ramesh Bijlani

Spirituality is not the same as filling the head with spiritual facts. Spirituality may or may not be associated with mental knowledge; what is indispensable to spirituality is practice and experience. Knowledge may sometimes act as a trigger for spiritual progress by arousing the curiosity of the seeker. But if the focus remains on acquiring more and more knowledge at the mental level, knowledge may become a barrier on the path of spiritual growth in at least two ways. First, the person may start treating knowledge as a substitute for experience. Secondly, knowledge at the level of the intellect might make a person critical, less open, and distract him from genuine spiritual inquiry by directing the attention to too many irrelevant questions. As the Mother has said, “the mind is incapable of judging spiritual things… … in order to proceed on the path, it is absolutely indispensable to abstain from all mental opinion and reaction” (1). […]

The right approach is to take the experiences as an indicator of the immense love of the Divine. It is through Divine Grace rather than personal effort that the seeker has received some encouragement in the form of these experiences. To negotiate the long way to the summit also Divine Grace will be much more important than personal effort. The seeker may continue his efforts, and trust that the Divine will take care of his progress in Its way and Its time. Therefore, the dictum is to continue walking the path, and to continue seeking the guidance and grace of the Divine. The walk itself is blissful; why then be in a hurry to scale the summit? [Obsessive-compulsive spirituality by Dr Ramesh Bijlani | Integral ... By Sandeep]

Max Theon and Mirra Alfassa in an Aurobindo biography | History of ...

Peter Heehs has devoted decades to preservation and study of the legacy of Sri Aurobindo, and has resided at the Aurobindo Ashram for more almost thirty years. His website links to several reviews of the biography, and I can add nothing ...

Lives of Sri Aurobindo - page 253 from A critique of the book "The Lives of Sri Aurobindo" by Peter Heehs by Sandeep

In this short note, we cover another distortion in this book which no one seems to have caught. […] Did the Mother actually think Madame Theon's writing was deficient? [...]   

Rule of thumb while reading the book: Every negative remark in this book conceals a wealth of positive information.  One must be prepared to go back to the primary sources to uncover the distortions.

The objective and the subjective! Posted on December 4, 2010 by Divya

I came across this interesting passage from the book “The Varieties of Religious Experience” by Wiliam James. Here it is: […]

Time Posted on November 19, 2010 by Matthijs

Psychologically time is quite a strange phenomenon. St. Augustine famously said about it that he perfectly understood what time was … till someone asked him to explain.

Rhythmic battlefield

from Sunil sunilauro@gmail.com to tusarnmohapatra@gmail.com date 25 December 2010 09:06 subject For posting 'Happy Christmas' 

In silence the flame is born, in silence cuts in the ray from above and penetrates the soul and leaves its signature of the beyond. In silence is grasped the wonders of within, in silence are felt the realms deep within. In silence outpours the call for above and unites all that is here and part of that supreme. We are here to be obey the divine’s will, and make this field its rhythmic battlefield. Sway we not for we know the truth, come what may for we are children of the Lord. Let us pick up the sword of the divine warrior within and slash all the ignorance that binds our feet and strike the blow on all the hush hush of the born and plant the seeds of the unborn. 

Who will come and play and take seat in the ship and cast himself to the shores of the ever green, mortality is only a stage to prepare the deity within and love a channel to embrace the race in between. 

The Glorious kingdom awaits thee. Sunil 25th Dec. 2010

It will take time for the masses to understand Sri Aurobindo’s yoga

The Pioneer :: Home : Spiritual meet inaugurated RANCHI | Monday December 20, 2010 PNS

Governor MOH Farook on Sunday inaugurated the seminar on ‘Spiritual Discourse’ at Sri Aurobindo Ashram, Doranda. While addressing the seminar, Governor said, “I am delighted to be your midst today which has the feeling of home coming for me. I consider myself truly fortunate to have actually met the divine mother of Sri Aurobindo Ashram at Puducherry. I had the opportunity to come in contact with the Ashram and know the methodology of Integral Yoga followed there. I have tried to adhere yogic.

“Sri Aurobindo had been a freedom fighter and a master patriot who later became a master yogi, which is a unique phenomenon in human history with significance for the whole world. Although at the beginning of his life, his main objective was to liberate India from the foreign yoke, his real work started when he wrote - ‘Trust the Divine Power’,” the Governor said.

“Sri Aurobindo’s yoga is beyond religion. He disclosed to the mankind a new way of life which is wonderful and worth attempting but it will take time for the masses to understand because their mind-set is not yet ready for the yogic adventures. People are prone to follow ritualism. Sri Aurobindo’s contribution to humanity will be remembered by posterity for his discovery of yogic methods of following divine life without any need to renounce the worldly life,” he further added.

“I am pleased to see the serene atmosphere of Ashram Cottage. I hope this Society will be able to deliver good work to the State. My good wishes will always be with you,” the Governor concluded.

A Myth in Creation: Awais Aftab's Blog: A New Intellectual Journey
By Awais Aftab

In the past few days or so, I have been amazed and fascinated by my exposure to a mystical school of thought, the Integral Yoga of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother, and I am undergoing a significant intellectual change of perspective from ...

Intersection of old and new, East and West

60th death anniversary of Sri Aurobindo observed Hindustan Times Puducherry, Dec 5 PTI

Devotees from all over the country on Sunday paid homage to revolutionary-turned-spiritual leader Sri Aurobindo at his ashram here on the occasion of ...

Spiritual abodes explore emotive, engaging and experiential space Daily News & Analysis Sunday, Dec 5, 2010, 15:49 IST By Yatin Pandya

Matri mandir at auroville has been an epitome of contemporary space making for meditative purposes and spiritual pursuit. This deserves a special mention as it succeeds in doing so without any icon association, but largely on the quality of space. The gold foil fused panels provide the awe.

The ascent culminates in to mysterious chamber where top lit crystal provides the central focus for meditation, while the light radiated through internal reflection of the crystal pervades magically to offer enough darkness not to be distracted by anyone else's presence within the chamber, yet just about bright enough not to trip on any one.

The diffused and dimly lit up space renders the space limitless and mythical by dissolving boundaries of the enveloping surface. Timeless architecture trades on these dualities of time and space, of mind and matter, of the notions and reality, of the microcosm and the cosmos, of the 'conceptual' and 'perceptual'.

Sri Aurobindo and Mother - kireetjoshiarchives.com

Sri Aurobindo emerged in the first decade of the century as a revolutionary leader of the struggle for india's freedom, who electrified the nation through ... 

Sri Aurobindo: Hinduism and Modernity By Adam Dietz

The prominent philosophy of Sri Aurobindo was especially responsive to the new intersection of old and new, East and West. His clear vision of the role of the spiritual scholar emerged from a synthesis of this massive cultural ...

A Brief Description of 5th—9th December 1950 and some more ... By overmanfoundation
'The Mother then said Sri Aurobindo had lived so long in the Supramental Consciousness that it had come down into His body and made it shine with a golden light. But She added that one could not be sure how long the light would remain ...

Lecture by Prashant Khanna, Talk by Kittu Reddy

The Hindu : NATIONAL - NEW DELHI : In the capital today

Sri Aurobindo Ashram: Lecture series “The Life Divine” by Prashant Khanna, 10 a.m. to 11-15 a.m..

The Hindu : NATIONAL - TAMIL NADU : Coimbatore today

Sri Aurobindo Society: Talk by Kittu Reddy, Santiniketan, Race Course, 10 a.m..

Savitri Era - Oust Peter Heehs from Sri Aurobindo Ashram, Puducherry - It is a matter of great anguish for The Mother’s devotees that in the centenary year of Sri Aurobindo’s arrival in Puducherry, the Ashram is in a terribly ...

Sri Aurobindo Studies - The Knowledge of the Inconscience - Sri Aurobindo points out that the Inconscience carries within itself a type of Knowledge by Identity, but it is dark and functions as an automatic perfecti...

Mirror of Tomorrow - Sanatana Dharma LXXVII—The Supramental Sense by Sri Aurobindo - All the instruments, all the activities of the mind have their corresponding powers in the action of the supramental energy and are there exalted and tran...

Overman Foundation - Photographs of the Mother’s Last Journey- Dear Friends, On 20 November 1973 at 8. 20 a.m., the Mother’s physical body, which was kept in state since the early hours of 18 November, was put to rest ...

Integral Yoga of Sri Aurobindo & The Mother - Perception of Time changes with the concentration of consciousness - The whole, entire universe moves forward with fantastic speed and in perfect immobility. Words seem idiotic, but you can feel this - you can feel it, see i...

Posthuman Destinies - Headaches have themselves by Jerry Fodor - A review of Consciousness and Its Place in Nature: Does Physicalism Entail Panpsychism? by Galen Strawson "Consciousness is all the rage just now. It boast...

A critique of the book "The Lives of Sri Aurobindo" by Peter Heehs - Ashram Trust "does not approve" of TLOSA book! - "Sri Aurobindo Ashram Trust does not approve and has nothing to do with the book entitled 'The Lives of Sri Aurobindo' written by Peter Heehs" [The fo...

I reached Calcutta on November 17, 1973

From Paulette paulette@auroville.org.in to "Tusar N. Mohapatra" tusarnmohapatra@gmail.com date 18 November 2010 15:43 subject There is but That

Tusar, can you post the attachment? Thanks Paulette

There is but That

November 17 is for me the most important day of the year. It is the moment of truth. I was moved to see so many familiar faces queuing up to visit the Mother’s room. There were grown ups who, as children, used to play with my daughter; Ashramites with their hair growing grey and white; and all those anonymous ladies, without particular luster or fanfare, after twenty, thirty, even forty years still in their place, humbly serving the Divine. A sentence by the Mother came to mind: the greatest beings are the simplest ones.  How true!

All were in the same queue, – ashramites and laymen alike, Indians and Westerners, young and old, rich and poor, cultured and uncultured. In the eyes of the Guru, all are equal: devas and asuras, saints and sinners. The Guru is embracing each and all, the Grace flows freely for everyone, requiring but an open heart, and nothing more.

And I started remembering, thirty-seven years ago...  I reached Calcutta on November 17, 1973. The next morning, ‘by chance’, I came across the Sri Aurobindo Centre. I climbed the steep staircase; on the wall there was a picture of the Mother with just one sentence, stating that when one is aware of the whole world then only is one aware of the Divine. This struck me like a bolt of lightening. The general strike was over and I was on my way to the University to discuss events with students… I ended up there instead, where I was warmly welcomed by the people upstairs, nice and friendly… Suddenly everybody disappeared: they had just received news of the Mother’s passing. That photo of her, and the statement, were her last message. An adesha.

This is how I came to Pondicherry and the great adventure began. The sacred teaching was transmitted without words, absorbing the atmosphere of the early sadhaks like a sponge… I had no cycle, I walked; everything was a wonder to me. Minuscule flowers, tiny grasses peeping out from crevices. The unfathomable depths of meandering stains in all their hues on the walls of the houses or the sidewalk. Vintage buildings, mysterious and intriguing. The crows gathering for food. Even the dark blue-green dirty water stagnating at the edge of some streets, those years a frequent sight, had a mesmerizing quality, and the dark grey pigs, still roaming freely around, these too had their charm… Everything, absolutely everything was part of the same harmony and perfection, nothing was out of place. I could have spent the day in the street, stunned: wherever I turned I saw only Beauty, and Joy, and Love.

Never before had I perceived the world in its utmost perfection – not with that intensity and everlasting continuity. Yet I knew it was not ‘me’: I was just filtering as in a mirror what I absorbed via those sadhaks – some of them known to me, most others unknown –, having introjected their radiating presence. Every day I met the same people at the same place, at the same time, performing the same usual chores of ordinary life. It was precisely this repetition of the same happenings, day in and day out, that created the miracle. Never did I feel as happy as during my first months in Pondicherry. Happy with nothing more than the endless repetition, in a setting that never changed, surrounded by beings whose contagious bliss sprang from the same source – the inconspicuous nothingness of a microcosm as wide as the universe –, which created at every new day the miracle.

And I knew, without reading manuals, without attending classes (in 37 years I never attended any), that this is what an integral sadhana is about: to live the instant at the utmost, fully aware of the least infinitesimal detail, piercing as if through a laser the essence of beings and things. Then humans, animals, plants, flowers, inert matter unveil their intrinsic divinity, and there is only That, or by whatever name we choose to name It. And it can happen in Pondicherry, Rome or New York, in a forest as in the chaos of a metropolis: there is but That, the one reality.

Spiritual experiences succeeded one another, it was a torrential flow. But I never clung to any, aware that it was a beginning only, to hook me to the Path. Years later, when the external situation became increasingly difficult (not to mention now, in the midst of all this horror) what kept me going was the remembrance of what I had lived those early months, in an indissoluble continuum with the psychic being of those sadhaks. It was then revealed to me the truth of collective yoga. Flying as if pushed by the wind, soaring high – when surrounded by psychic presences; struggling for survival in a desert, in an hostile environment where the psychic being, trampled upon, recedes and whither.

Even more forceful than the samadhi states and some fundamental experiences I had over the years is the awareness that there is no need to pass into trances on top of Mount Kailash or in cave seclusion. Sacchidananda is in the instant, living by a consciousness that, as a microscope, detects the most infinitesimal detail of matter as sublime works of art, vibrates with the murmur of the wind, sparkles with the glittering of every surface of water, soars with the flight of birds, sucks nectar with the bee and the butterfly, and in every grain of sand sees but the infinite. And there are no words, and no teachings: there is only being, that moment of eternity, indissolubly one with each and all, where beings and things are intrinsically divine and all come from, and all return to the same Source. Sri Aurobindo and the Mother are That, and you and I, and the pig in the street, and the crow looking for food, and the beggar outside the Ganesh temple: there is but That.

In the everlasting awareness that I am you, and you are me, how can we kill each other, brother? Paulette

Sri Aurobindo Ashram, Delhi Branch: Talk by Bimal Mohanty

The Hindu : NATIONAL - NEW DELHI : In the capital today

Sri Aurobindo Ashram: Talk by Bimal Mohanty on `Spiritual approach to life', Sri Aurobindo Marg, 10 a.m. to 11-15 a.m..

The Hindu : Engagements: In Chennai Today

Sri Aurobindo Society: Meeting, 5, Smith Rd., Anna Salai, 10.30 a.m..
The Hindu : Engagements: In Coimbatore Today

6 hours ago - Sri Aurobindo Devotees Prayer Group: Prayers to Sri Annai, Sasibalika Vidya Mandir, Azad Road, R.S. Puram, 9.30 a.m.; Sri Annai Meditation Centre, W-26, ...

A flowery affair Calcutta Telegraph 

November 2 at Sri Aurobindo Bhavan, 8 Shakespeare Sarani; 6 pm: UK Mukhopadhyay will speak on How to do Meditation.

The Hindu : FEATURES / BOOK REVIEW : TAMIL

Sri Aurobindo Ghosh came there in 1910 and he was followed by patriots like Poet Subramania Bharati. Drawing from his vast and rich reservoir of personal ...

o u t a n d a b o u t ... By dnance

At the very center (Auroville's physical and soul center) there stands a beacon, a multi-hexagonal prism rising out of the earth. This is 'Matrimandir', literally 'Temple of the Mother'. According to Sri Aurobindo's teaching, ...

Savitri: the Light of the Supreme :: 100: The Secret Knowledge ... By RY Deshpande
Yet it is unfortunate that the author of The Lives of Sri Aurobindo considers Savitri a “fictional creation” and hence of no help to detail out the day-today events in the life of its author. Here is what we have on p. ...

Similarities between Sumerian Anki and Vedic Agni by Jean-Yves Lung from Integral Yoga of Sri Aurobindo & The Mother by Sandeep

A previous blog post on Kundalini examined whether the notion of Kundalini may have existed in ancient Greek and other cultures. In consonance with that theme, this article by Jean-Yves Lung probes the similarities between the Vedic god Agni and the Sumerian god Enki. Jean-Yves Lung is a teacher-researcher living in Auroville since 1993. He teaches French, History and Sanskrit. This article originally appeared in June 2009 issue of Ritam, a bi-annual journal published by Sri Aurobindo International Institute for Educaitional Research (SAIIER) Continue reading →

One Response to 2. Background & Intro Kamal says: November 12, 2010 at 4:39 pm

Well said! It is just a handful of people who have some personal problem or the other who are creating all this problem in the SA Ashram. And just because they have a computer at home and an internet connection they think that they are omnipotent. Many people are fedup with all their nonsense. It’s high time they stop!

Tusar N Mohapatra wrote... [When the facts change, I change my mind. What do you do, sir? - John Maynard Keynes]

How the truths could be applied to political and social life

The Hindu : Engagements : New Delhi : In the Capital Today Religion.

Sri Aurobindo Ashram: Lecture Series. “The Path of Surrender”, Sri Aurobindo Marg, 10 a.m. to 11-15 a.m..

The Hindu : Engagements : In Chennai Today

Sri Aurobindo Society: Meeting, 5, Smith Rd., Anna Salai, 10-30 a.m.. 

The Hindu : Engagements : In Coimbatore Today

Sri Aurobindo Devotees Prayer Group: Prayers to Sri Annai, Sasi Balika Vidya Mandir, Azad Road, RS Puram, 9.30 a.m.; Sri Annai meditation Centre, ...

The Lives of Sri Aurobindo Peter Heehs, 2008

“During the six and a half years of Arya’s existence, Aurobindo never strayed far from this fivefold project: to reinterpret the Indian tradition, to develop a metaphysics based on the truths of spirit and nature, to uncover the principles of yoga by which these truths could be experienced, to show how the same truths could be applied to political and social life, and to make them the basis of a spiritualized literature and art.” (p.263) 

Bande Mataram Early Political Writings Sri Aurobindo

"It has been said that democracy is based on the rights of man; it has been replied that it should rather take its stand on the duties of man; but both rights and duties are European ideas. Dharma is the Indian conception in which rights and duties lose the artificial antagonism created by a view of the world, which makes selfishness the root of action, and regain their deep and eternal unity. Dharma is the basis of democracy which Asia must recognize, for in this lies the distinction between the soul of Asia and the soul of Europe". (SABCL, Bande Mataram, Asiatic Democracy)

Nothing to prevent each line of Savitri from being thrown into dispute

The Hindu: Engagements: In Coimbatore Today Tuesday, Oct 19, 2010

Avinashilingam Deemed University for Women and Sri Aurobindo Society: Seminar, ' Essence of Indian Philosophical and Religious Heritage as envisaged by Mahatma Gandhi and Sri Aurobindo' Sri Aurobindo Society, Race Course, 9.30 a.m.

Savitri – A Soul for Any Age Written by Eloise & Miriam  Monday, 18 October 2010 07:06

It was a real pleasure to see children of Udavi School on Friday morning being excited about the theater play. Under the gentle guidance of versatile director Jill children proved to the audience that they can be great actors, beside expressing themselves in other language. The beauty of classical great poem Savitri lies also in that, that it can be told and expressed on many ways, and the time doesn't play significant role in it. Jill skillfully engaged the sited audience, mostly consisted of Udavi School children, to keep them alert and active as she gave them a role to play as well.

Summary of Savitri by Jyotipriya (Dr Judith Tyberg) | Integral ... by Sandeep
This is Jyotipriya's summary of Sri Aurobindo's epic poem Savitri. Jyotipriya aka Dr Judith Tyberg (1902-1980) was the founder and director of the Sri Aurobindo Center of Los Angeles. Savitri is an epic poem in blank verse of about ...

Learning is continuous. Your body is learning a...

Learning is continuous. Your body is learning all the time.2. Learning is total body learning.3. Learning does not teach lessons.4. Learn...

You might gain in one department…till each element...

You might gain in one department…till each element learns… Love is the most destructive emotion. Sufficient vibrations of love but no desire ...

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "You don't come to an Ashram to read the text":

The pompous nobodies on the editorial board are entitled to nothing. What they do is a service to the Divine and has NOTHING to do with RIGHTS and ENTITLEMENTS. Whoever came up with that statement was arrogating to himself/herself rights they did not possess. The Ashram has no business officially speculating on alternative readings of Savitri based solely on it's own grammatical/contextual/content-based/ etc. etc. mentation-based ignorance.

What the scribe heard is none of their business and shows a Titanic arrogance that would turn the whole Savitri topsy-turvy. What is there to prevent the same presumptuous brain from using the same logic to suggest alternative renderings of EACH LINE in Savitri? Nothing. There would be nothing to prevent each line of the Savitri from being thrown into dispute. While you can keep mocking Sunil based on totally irrelevant counts, we all know what he meant by eat the menu, your own words, howsoever grammatically correct betray an alarming lack of intelligence and mala-fide intentions against those who choose to question the integrity and correctness of those who question the integrity and correctness of the Savitri itself. Posted by Anonymous to Savitri Era Open Forum at 5:41 PM, October 20, 2010

(title unknown) from For The Turnstiles by DGA

Continuing on the theme of practice:

This is the full text of Aurobindo Ghose's best contribution to world culture, his epic poem Savitri. If you cannot find a hard copy of this text, use the online version and read it slowly and mindfully, with great care. Then watch what happens. …

[full disclosure: I amended the word "surprise" to "surmise," indicating this change with square brackets, on the assumption that the word "surprise" makes no sense in context and hence likely indicates a typographical error.]  9:27 PM 

Lecture on “Self-observation, a tool for self-awareness” by Prabhjot Kulkarni

The Hindu : Engagements - New Delhi : In the Capital Today

Sri Aurobindo Ashram: Lecture on “Self-observation, a tool for self-awareness” by Prabhjot Kulkarni, Sri Aurobindo Marg, 10 a.m. to 11-15 a.m..

The Hindu : Engagements : In Chennai Today

Sri Aurobindo Society: Meeting, 5, Smith Rd., Anna Salai, 10.30 a.m.. 

The Hindu : Engagements : In Coimbatore Today

Sri Aurobindo Devotees Prayer Group: Pushpanjali to Sri Annai, Sri Annai Meditation Centre, W2b, Kovaipudur, 4 p.m., Sasibalika Vidya Mandir, R.S. Puram, ...

Comment posted by Sandeep:

I have great respect for Satprem but I prefer not to get caught up in this exhilarating rhetoric of impending dooms and the need for magnificent revolutions of consciousness.   Satprem, like many social thinkers, conveys his anguish with such burning passion that it can cause great agitation and frustration within the heart regarding the state of the world.   In the spiritual path, one has to detach oneself a little from the pressures of the world; one has first learn to remain silent, go within and wait for some inspiration to decide which cause to take up.

I have reached a state where I have become a little indifferent to the dire problems of the world.  It's a passing phase, and there are many such phases, and if at some point things change and I sense the need to do something, then I shall certainly do so. 

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "They had mastered the forces of desire": 

The Divinity of Mother Sri Aurobindo is a fact to me because I have experienced it and continue to experience it first hand. And I am far from being the only one. I understand that it may not be a fact to you. But the rational thing would be to find out for yourself instead of limiting yourself to premature conclusions which see only the outer human expression but miss the Divine Consciousness behind it. If you do choose not to verify for yourself then that is your choice, but I am not beholden to deny my experience and painfully squeeze myself into your tiny little nutshell. Posted by Anonymous to Savitri Era Open Forum at 8:16 PM, October 16, 2010

(title unknown) from For The Turnstiles by DGA

Continuing on the theme of practice:

This is the full text of Aurobindo Ghose's best contribution to world culture, his epic poem Savitri. If you cannot find a hard copy of this text, use the online version and read it slowly and mindfully, with great care. Then watch what happens.

I do not consider myself a devotee

Former TOI journalist Ishubhai Dave passes away - The Times of India TNN, Oct 13, 2010, AHMEDABAD:

An era of Gandhian journalism in Saurashtra region came to an end with the sad demise of Ishubhai Dave, a renowned journalist and philosopher of his age on October 7. 

A staunch disciple of Sri Aurobindo and The Mother, Pondicherry Ashram, Pondicherry, he served the world of journalism in Gujarat for 65 years and worked as district correspondent for The Times Of India for 54 years. He also served All India Radio, Ahmedabad. 

Ishubhai, was the witness to the Diu independence as he covered the event as a journalist from UPI. He was felicitated by the then chief minister Dilipbhai Parikh in 1997 during the golden jubilee celebration of the fight for ARZI HUKUMAT.

Comment posted by Sandeep: Re: Peter Heehs’s The Lives of Sri Aurobindo—by Raman Reddy

Admittedly, there are devotees who are offended by the book but I do not consider myself a devotee.  My objection to the book rest solely on the fact that it contains lies and distortions.

Most of the people like you who appreciate the book are unaware of the distortions that Peter has induled in, and the primary sources that he has ignored.

Comment posted by auroman: Re: What is Nationalism?—by Sri Aurobindo

I wouldn't waste effort arguing with this Doctor Raghu.  He has to follow his Swadharma as a doctor and we have to live ours.   He is free to think what he wants about Sri Aurobindo, Heehs and other.  He can call us a cult and we don't object to it either.

I have been saying all along that people who read this book "Lives of Sri Aurobindo" would conclude that Sri Aurobindo died a failure and Dr Raghu's comments have revealed this precise issue.   Those who are inside the "cult" gush about the book because they read it from the prism of their own beliefs.  But for people outside the "cult", the occult realities behind the physical realities need to be explained thoroughly, otherwise they may draw the wrong conclusions.  If the biography is not going to discuss the occult realities, then it must also omit the physical realities.   Unfortunately, this historian is so anal-retentive that he doesn't know how to make such trade-offs.

Cloth-pieces from the Mother’s wardrobe

More Invaluable Treasures « Overman Foundation

Dear Friends of Overman Foundation,                                

You are all aware that we have received the Mother’s sari and blouse and a cloth-piece of Sri Aurobindo as gifts from two senior sadhikas of Sri Aurobindo Ashram, Pondicherry. Allow me to inform you that we have received more of such invaluable treasures. The treasures include objects used by the Mother and Sri Aurobindo and have been gifted to Overman Foundation by Shrimati Vasanti Rao. We have also been fortunate enough to get two cloth-pieces from the Mother’s wardrobe. 

      We take this opportunity to thank Shrimati Vasanti Rao as well as Shrimati Chum Ganguly and Shrimati Dolly Mutsuddi for gifting to us the cloth-piece of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother’s sari with a blouse respectively. 

      These treasures shall adorn the shrine of Overman Foundation and be brought out for public darshan on special occasions.  

      To have the darshan of the sacred treasures, please click on the following link: http://overmanfoundation.wordpress.com/2010/10/11/more-invaluable-treasures/      
With warm regards, Anurag Banerjee
Chairman, Overman Foundation.

Synthesis of Yoga is the greatest reading and transforming adventure I embarked so far

The Hindu : Engagements: New Delhi : In the Capital Today

Sri Aurobindo Ashram, Delhi Branch: Lecture by Bimal Mohanty on “Upnishadsara”, Sri Aurobindo Marg, 10 a.m. to 11-15 a.m.. 

The Hindu : Engagements : In Chennai Today

Sri Aurobindo Society: Meeting, 5, Smith Rd., Anna Salai, 10-30 a.m..

The Hindu : Tamil Nadu: Tiruchi News : Flower show draws huge crowd

TIRUCHI: A special exhibition on flowers marked the anniversary of Sri Aurobindo Society, Tiruchi Centre 20, here on Saturday. A total of 200 flowers collected from different parts of state were on display at the Seva Sangam in the city, attracting a large number of people.

The exhibition on flowers was organised in tune with the philosophy of Sri Aurobindo and Sri Mother of Sri Aurobindo Ashram in Puducherry. “Each flower signifies a specific property. For instance, the rose stands for surrender to the Almighty; tuberose stands for transformation of one's self; hibiscus for power so and so forth,” says Nirmala Natarajan and Tamizhvvel, office-bearers of the Tiruchi Centre 20.

Apart from flowers, an array of books and rare photographs on Sri Aurobindo and Sri Mother provided vital tips to the visitors about the life and philosophy of these spiritual leaders and their efforts in making the universe happy.

K. Vanniaperumal, City Commissioner of Police, inaugurated the exhibition. K. Sekarr, Principal, Chidambaram Pillai College for Women and Janakan, a writer, spoke on ‘Sri Annai – the Mahasakthi'.

M. Murugananda, co-ordinator, said a few flowers were brought in from Bangalore for the exhibition. The Hindu : TAMIL NADU : TIRUCHi today

The Hindu : Other States : Puducherry News : Puducherry's contribution to art, literature hailed

Subbaiah and Ansari Duraisamy, he said that the Union Territory also shielded many great freedom fighters such as Subramanya Bharathi and Sri Aurobindo. ...

Auronet - 12 Sep

The Practice of Sri Aurobindo's Yoga, led by Kittu Reddy at Savitri Bhavan, 5–6 pm .... Study of the Rig-veda in the light of Sri Aurobindo: The Hymns to ...

Drummer Boy Delhi Newsline

At present, however, she and her French companion and guitarist Nadaka live in Auroville near Puducherry, where they conduct chanting classes. ...

Partha: Life and Yoga - Sri Aurobindo By partha

Life and Yoga - Sri Aurobindo. There are two necessities of Nature's workings which seem always to intervene in the greater forms of human activity, whether they belong to our ordinary fields of movement or seek those exceptional ...

Alive & Awake… » The beauty of surrendering to the Divine

I am reading day and night in Sri Aurobindo “Synthesis of Yoga” – it's the greatest reading and transforming adventure I embarked so far in my life – it's pure bliss and rapture, almost every single page of his works. ...

“The Saint and the Sage: The Fiction of Raja Rao” – Part 1 – by ... by Richard Guzman
The idiom of the sage has been the language of the venerable Sankara, of Sri Aurobindo, and Gandhi, and is based on the central text of Hinduism, Tat tvam asi (Thou art that), which occurs in the second Upanishad, Chandogya. ...

“The Saint and the Sage: The Fiction of Raja Rao” – Part 2 2 Oct 2010

One may also sense in Govindan Nair's fearlessly free style something of the courage that animated Sri Aurobindo, and Gandhi, and so many of ...

Eng 4.6.6- Blavatsky – Transition to Greatness – COSMIC HISTORY ...

This book also emphasizes the continuity of the hermetic tradition in the past two centuries and includes biographical sketches of many esotericists such as Madame Blavatsky, Aleister Crowley, Dane Rudhyar, Sri Aurobindo, Alice Bailey, ...

Religion and Fanaticism | DigiPile by Fahad Khan
Such examples are Sri Krishna, Jesus Christ, Lord Buddha, Mahavir, Guru Nanak, Sri Ramakrishna, Sri Aurobindo, and many more. The list is unending; we encounter such great souls in every religion of every continent and in every era. ...

பகைவன் — M.P.Pandit « Balhanuman's Blog by BaalHanuman
Sri M. P. Pandit served as the personal secretary to the Mother at the Sri Aurobindo Ashram, and the Mother became the entire focus of his life. He studied the classical scriptures and living spiritual traditions of India, following in ...

Cult Education Forum :: Large Group Awareness Training, "Human ...

Chaudhuri had been a correspondent of Sri Aurobindo, who developed his own perspective and philosophy. He established the California Institute of Integral ...

The man who was Ram Lalla's 'next friend'
Times of India
For several years, Agarwal was the president of Aurobindo Society. The 'next friend' of Ram Lalla, Triloki Nath Pandey, said, "His (Agarwal's) mother Ram ...

On being truthful in speech | Integral Yoga of Sri Aurobindo & The ... by Sandeep
This is technically incorrect according to Sri Aurobindo; it is only the self-realized sage who is inwardly conscious of the occult Truth who is said to have the power of prophecy. Words uttered by enlightened sages are said to have the ...

Four Elements of Mental Function « Sri Aurobindo Studies

Sri Aurobindo describes the process of mentality: “We have in all functionings of the mentality four elements, the object of mental consciousness, ...

Mirror of Tomorrow :: Sanatana Dharma LXX— Srimad Bhagavatam by TN ...

Sri Aurobindo Ashram Trust does not Approve The Lives of Sri Aurobindo · Poetry Time: 25 September 2010—To be, or not to be ...

Savitri: the Light of the Supreme :: Main Page

Savitri—the supreme revelation of Sri Aurobindo's vision ... In Sri Aurobindo's Gayatri Mantra we have a phrase “Savitŗ, the Light of the Supreme, ...

francois gautier: Talk by francois gautier

When he reached India, he felt he had reached home and settled in the Sri Aurobindo Ashram, Pondichery, where he met the Mother and immersed himself in Sri Aurobindo’s writings, which will have a deep influence on him all throughout his life…

Sometimes outsiders can see and respond more effectively to situations where insiders may be oblivious or even complacent to ground realities. Well Francois Gautier is one such French journalist who has steadfastly stood up for ‘just’ Hindu causes. So, in effect, he can hardly be called an outsider coz he is more at home and current with what is happening and what needs to be done than most of us. Rather he is an anointed Hindu with passion to serve the cause of religion as well as protection of its ethos.

Francois is visiting Atlanta October 1 thru October 3 and Atlanta is giving him a civic reception with his captivating lecture covering topics of varied interest, namely:

1. How terrorism is affecting India and USA
2. Need for saving Hindu heritage and creating museum of  Indian history and Hindu holocaust in Pune
3. How and why Hindus in the US must help preserve and uplift India's image

Mother Mira Alfassa‎: Sri Aurobindo has come to announce to the worldthe beauty of the future that will be realized.He has come to bring not a hope but the certainty ofthe ... - More »

Should everyone start posting and talking about their experiences

The Greyscale Between Religion and Spirituality

Rick Lipschutz reflects on the continuum which stretches from religion to spirituality. Drawing on the Mother's distinction between spiritual realization, spiritual philosophy, occultism and religion and her perception of a complementarity in their workings, the author calls for a more integral understanding of the yoga and its stages and processes.

Govind has left a new comment on your post "Integral Yoga is an irreversible call that make yo...": 

The most beautiful post I have read so far on this forum, and perhaps the only one that is truly worth reading. Posted by Govind to Savitri Era Open Forum at 6:29 PM, September 29, 2010

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Manoj duo have turned Heehs Das": 

You have revealed the ugly force behind the book in your revelatory, and by far the best critique that there exists. True, eloquent and masterful are both your comments. Posted by Anonymous to Savitri Era at 12:37 PM, September 21, 2010

Tusar N Mohapatra has left a new comment on your post "Who earns money by selling Sri Aurobindo’s reputat...": 

[When the facts change, I change my mind. What do you do, sir? - John Maynard Keynes] Posted by Tusar N Mohapatra to Savitri Era at 6:03 AM, October 01, 2010

[Seven Dedicated Lives Sunayana Panda - Jul 2009, The Golden Path: Interviews with Disciples of Sri Aurobindo and The Mother from the Sri Aurobindo Ashram and Auroville Anie Nunnally - Jan 1, 2004, Breath of grace Madhav Pundalik Pandit, How they came to Sri Aurobindo and the Mother: Twenty-nine true stories of sadhaks and devotees Shyam Kumari] 

Should everyone start posting and talking about their experiences to be included in the spiritual club and be seen as a sadhak? It is also a fallacy to believe that integral yoga begins for everyone only after they come to av, more so that iy is possible only at av and the ashram. - intranet