The Lives of Sri Aurobindo

Description

Since his death in 1950, Sri Aurobindo Ghose has been known primarily as a yogi and a philosopher of spiritual evolution who was nominated for the Nobel Prize in peace and literature. But the years Aurobindo spent in yogic retirement were preceded by nearly four decades of rich public and intellectual work. Biographers usually focus solely on Aurobindo's life as a politician or sage, but he was also a scholar, a revolutionary, a poet, a philosopher, a social and cultural theorist, and the inspiration for an experiment in communal living. Peter Heehs, one of the founders of the Sri Aurobindo Ashram Archives, is the first to relate all the aspects of Aurobindo's life in its entirety. Consulting rare primary sources, Heehs describes the leader's role in the freedom movement and in the framing of modern Indian spirituality. He examines the thinker's literary, cultural, and sociological writings and the Sanskrit, Bengali, English, and French literature that influenced them, and he finds the foundations of Aurobindo's yoga practice in his diaries and unpublished letters. Heehs's biography is a sensitive, honest portrait of a life that also provides surprising insights into twentieth-century Indian history. Contents Illustrations Preface Acknowledgments Note on Proper Names Part One: Son 1. Early Years in India Bengal, 1872–1879 Aurobindo Acroyd In the Shadow of the Himalayas Part Two: Scholar 2. Growing up English England, 1879–1893 A Very Promising Boy A Man and a Gentleman Transitions 3. Encountering India Baroda, 1893–1906 Mr. Ghose Professor Ghose Domestic Virtues Revolution and Recreation Secretary to the Crown Principal Ghose Taking Leave Part Three: Revolutionary 4. Into the Fray Calcutta, 1906–1908 A Negligible Factor Bande Mataram Passive and Active Resistance Center Stage Silence and Action Revolution, Bare and Grim 5. In Jail and After Bengal, 1908–1910 A Rude Awakening In Courtroom and Jail The High Court of History Karmayogin Departure Chandernagore Photos Part Four: Yogi and Philosopher 6. A Laboratory Experiment Pondicherry, 1910–1915 In French India A Seed Plot Life and Yoga Annus Mirabilis War and Sadhana 7. The Major Works Pondicherry, 1914–1920 Linking the Future to the Past A Divine Life A New System of Yoga Spirituality and Society Poetry of the Past and Future Part Five: Guide 8. The Ascent to Supermind Pondicherry, 1915–1926 Pictures of a Yogic Life Endings and Beginnings Silence and Shakti Rue de la Marine 9. An Active Retirement Pondicherry, 1927–1950 Sri Aurobindo and the Mother The Ashram A Period of Expansion The Tail of the Supermind The Impact of Events Final Flowering Epilogue Notes Bibliography Index