The Life Divine

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The Life Divine. Sri Aurobindo's principal philosophical work in which he presents a theory of spiritual evolution, which will culminate in the transformation of the human being and the advent of a divine life upon earth.

Savitri. Sri Aurobindo's major poetic work, an epic in blank verse in which a legend from the Mahabharata becomes a symbol of the human soul's spiritual destiny.

The Synthesis of Yoga. Sri Aurobindo's principal work on yoga, an examination of the traditional systems of yoga and an explanation of his own method of Integral Yoga.

Letters on Yoga. Four volumes of letters to disciples in which Sri Aurobindo explains his teaching and method of spiritual practice and deals with problems that confront the seeker.

The Secret of the Veda. A study of the Rig-Veda and its mystic symbolism, with translations of selected hymns.

The Upanishads I-II. Sri Aurobindo's translations of and commentaries on the Isha, Kena and other Upanishads, as well as other Vedantic texts.

Essays on the Gita. An exposition of the spiritual philosophy and method of self-discipline of the Bhagavad Gita.

The Renaissance in India and Other Essays on Indian Culture.

An explanation of the value of Indian civilisation and culture, with essays on Indian spirituality, religion, art, literature and polity.

The Human Cycle - The Ideal of Human Unity - War and Self- Determination. Three works of social and political philosophy, dealing with (1) the evolution of human society, (2) the possibility of the unification of the human race, and (3) the problem of war and the self-determination of nations.

Sri Aurobindo was born in Calcutta on 15 August 1872. At the age of seven he was taken to England for his education. He studied at St. Paul's School, London, and at King's College, Cambridge. Returning to India in 1893, he worked for the next thirteen years in the Princely State of Baroda in the service of the Maharaja and as a professor in the state's college.

In 1906 Sri Aurobindo quit his post in Baroda and went to Calcutta, where he became one of the leaders of the Indian nationalist movement. As editor of the newspaper Bande Mataram, he put forward the idea of complete independence from Britain. Arrested three times for sedition or treason, he was released each time for lack of evidence.

Sri Aurobindo began the practice of Yoga in 1905. Within a few years he achieved several fundamental spiritual realisations. In 1910 he withdrew from politics and went to Pondicherry in French India in order to concentrate on his inner life and work. Over the next forty years, he developed a new spiritual path, the Integral Yoga, whose ultimate aim is the transformation of life by the power of a supramental conscious- ness. In 1926, with the help of his spiritual collaborator the Mother, he founded the Sri Aurobindo Ashram. His vision of life is presented in numerous works of prose and poetry, among the best known of which are The Life Divine, The Synthesis of Yoga, Essays on the Gita and Savitri. Sri Aurobindo passed away on 5 December 1950.