Sri Aurobindo means Teaching Boat-farer to the World. The greatest Indian philosopher, moralist, and educator who ever lived was born at the small state of Tamilnadu on the Indian subcontinent. He was called by the name Sri Aurobindo because that is the name of the city where he lived, and also because he used to go to school there – which was called Dambwa colony. Sri Aurobindo served his term as Governor of Assam (aboratively pronounced’SARO DAO MAH’), and from this position he travelled extensively all over India and established many colleges and institutions.
In fact, it was while he was in Pondicherry that he began to think and write about philosophy, especially as it pertains to religion and spirituality. Born in a family where religion plays a dominant role in daily life, Sri Aurobindo came to see the world less than a spiritual quest but as a practical and pragmatic way of doing things. Consequently, his teachings, in the main, are aimed at providing people with an idea of the deeper meaning in their lives, as well as a practical outlook on life through the lens of metaphysics, logic, and dialectics. Because of this, his works are greatly sought after in both the academia and the country.
Sri Aurobindo’s main thesis is that true enlightenment and spiritualisation exist in the midst of ignorance, and he therefore examines both extremes: worldly or material, spiritual or delusive. He holds that the former is the expression of the latter, that the former is the reflection of the latter. Sri Aurobindo maintains that the greatest obstacle to spiritualisation is the mental obstruction which arises when man’s thinking is dominated by the desire for material gain. The only method to get beyond desire is to realise the divine soul, to liberate the inner self from its bondage to the body, mind and world. Through this he claims to provide a path through which the aspiring yogi can reach the transcendental state of Oneness.
It is perhaps for this reason that Sri Aurobindo develops his argument by first describing the limitations that arise in our thought and then showing how by overcoming these we can enter the supermind. As he puts it: ‘The consciousness of the whole world is but a reflection of the soul’, so everything existing has a soul. By achieving spiritualisation, the soul leaves the physical world and transcends this world into the Beyond. This is the reason for the existence of the world of spirit – the superscious mind. However, the soul cannot achieve full liberation until it is raised above the base world of material existence, in which it remains in partial awareness with all its defects.’
Although Sri Aurobindo never describes the superconscious mind, his arguments on the subject have a strong logicalistic flavor. At the mental level he speaks of the individuation process as being a series of stages, each culminating in the ultimate union with the Oneness. Each stage is conditioned by the previous and the later are conditioned by the former. Sri Aurobindo says that the mind cannot attain full freedom until it has transcended the threefold discrimination of ignorance, fear and ignorance again, with Oneness the ultimate goal. He therefore recommends meditation on the Mother Goddess, to prepare the mind for this union.
Sri Aurobindo’s most important work is the Anuloma Sutras, which translates literally into eternity folds. Each infinity is composed of innumerable tiny divisions called radians. These names correspond to the chakras of the ancients and are further subdivided into asanas or postures. The nadis are further subdivided into kalas, or parts of the body, where the various organs or systems of the body are situated. Finally, we have the base or such. This refers to the initial stage of our spiritual development.
In his Anuloma Sutras, Sri Aurobindo defines the nature of the consciousness itself, the self, and the individual person. He says that the self is immortal and indestructible, for ‘there is no body, nor the mind, nor will.’ Everything, both the phenomenal world and the inner world, are but the reflection of the superconscious mind which is the source from where all knowledge and understanding come. Sri Aurobindo claims that the method of discovering the truth lies in unearthing the divinity within ourselves, and not in striving to transcend the consciousness and reach Nirvana.
As he teaches us in his various instructions, Sri Aurobindo draws us out of the threefold suffering, through a process of spiritualisation, in which we go from the initial contact with the spiritual world to the last liberation from it. He maintains that on this way lies the ultimate reward – spiritual freedom. On this route, there will be no death. Sri Aurobindo’s intermediate zone is the station of spiritual evolution, the spiritual consciousness, the state from which the individual can rise to the perception of truth. According to him, this is the aim of human life, for to live perfectly is to be liberated from the threefold suffering.