Prominent learnings during 1750-1950 CE--IX

The Divine Truth is greater than any religion or creed or scripture or idea or philosophy--- Sri Aurobindo

 Continuing my learning on Dharma, Ethical Living and spiritual wisdom from great Saints and philosophers of the period 1750-1950 CE, we shall now cover Sri Aurobindo Ghosh, an eminent Indian Philosopher, a great Yogi, Guru, Poet and a renowned spiritual reformer. Through" Integral Yoga", a method of spiritual practice developed by him, he wholeheartedly  worked for transformation of human life and human nature into a life divine, and contributed towards making the world a divine place to live.

" When mind is still, then truth gets her chance to be heard in the purity of silence." and " Our actual enemy is not any force exterior to ourselves. but our own crying weaknesses, our cowardice, our selfishness, our hypocrisy and our purblind sentimentalism." are two of such wisdom filled powerful messages of Sri Aurobindo focusing on self introspection,Yoga and ethical living in general.

Born Aurobindo Ghosh in the year 1872 in then Calcutta, he joined Indian Independence movement and was jailed for defying British rule. During his stay in Jail, he had mystical and spiritual experiences, directing him to leave politics and carry forward his spiritual insights. He founded Aurobindo Ashram Pondicheery in 1926 and worked with his spiritual collaborator Mirra Alfassa, a French lady, also called " The Mother".His literary works namely ' The Life Divine', "Synthesis of Yoga"," Savitri" as well as commentaries on Vedas, Upanishads, Bhagwat Gita and many more scriptures are shining examples of his profound wisdom and spiritual insights. For his commendable spiritual cum philosophical work and messages to the mankind, he was nominated for Noble prize in Literature in the year 1943 and also for Noble Peace Prize in the year 1950.

The vast canvas of knowledge of Sh Aurobindo from his literary scriptures is awesome and difficult to be put up in a small blog. However, I will try to put some of his key thoughts in three to four sub headings.

HINDU RELIGION & THE WORLD RELIGIONS

• That which we call the Hindu religion is really the Eternal Religion because it embraces all others.
• In the wider Hinduism, which is not a dogma or combination of dogmas, but a law of life, which rejects nothing but insists on testing and experiencing everything---- In this Hinduism, we find the basis of Future World Religion. This Santana Dharma has many scriptures-- Vedas, Vedantas, Gita, Upanishads, Darshanas, Purana's, Tantra's etc. At the same time it does not reject Bible or Koran. It believes in the ultimate goal of any religion, which is emancipation from the bondage of material nature and freedom from individual rebirth.
• If a religion is not universal, it can't be eternal. A narrow religion, a sectarian religion, an exclusive religion-- can live only for a limited time and a limited purpose.
• The world moves through an indispensable interregnum of free thought and materialism to a new synthesis of religious thought & experience, a new religious world life free from intolerance, yet full of faith & fervor, accepting all forms of religion because it has an unshakable faith in the ONE. The religion which embraces Science and Faith, Theism, Christianity, Mohammedanism and Buddhism & yet is none of these, is that to which the World Spirit moves.
• Each religion has helped mankind .PAGANISM ( a modern religious movement, having respect for mother earth and incorporating beliefs and practices from outside of main world religions) has helped mankind to visualize largeness and height of one's life, giving him many sided perfection. To expand the concept, Christianity gave him vision of divine love & Charity; Buddhism has shown him a noble way to be wiser, gentler and purer; Judaism & Islam how to be religiously faithful in action &  devoted to God; Hinduism has opened to him the largest & profoundest spiritual possibilities. A great thing would be done if all these God visions could embrace and cast themselves into each other, shunning away related intellectual dogmas and cult egoism.
• All religions have saved a number of souls, but yet none has been able to spiritualize mankind, mainly because of cult egoism and dogmas.

YOGA, INTEGRAL YOGA AND ITS OBJECTS AND PROCESSES 

• Yoga is a generic name for any discipline, by which one attempts to pass out of the limits of one's ordinary mental consciousness into a greater spiritual consciousness.
• Yoga is the exchange of egoistic for a universal or cosmic consciousness.
• Yoga is the passage of the human thinking animal towards the God consciousness, from which he has descended.
• Gita tells us that equality of soul & mind is Yoga and that this equality is the foundation of the Brahman state ( ब्रह्मस्तिथि ).
• Integral Yoga, a method of spiritual practice, leads to evolution of human life into a life divine on earth. It believes in spiritual realization that leads to transformation of a man's nature enabling a divine life. 
• Yoga is communion with God for knowledge, for love or work.The Yogin puts himself into direct relation with that which is omniscient & omnipotent within man & also without him. He is in tune with the infinite & becomes a channel for the strength of God to pour itself out upon the world, whether thru calm benevolence or active  beneficence. 
• The Yogin sees God in all things and events.He is the flood, He is the earthquake, He is death that leads to a higher life, He is pain that prepares us for a higher bliss. 
• The Yoga we practice is not for ourselves alone, but for the Divine; its aim is to work out the will of the Divine in the world; to effect a spiritual transformation & to bring down a divine nature & a divine life into the mental, vital and physical nature and life of Humanity. Its aim is liberation and transformation of the human being. It is not Personal Ananda, but bringing down of Divine Ananda on earth.
• The three processes of Yoga are--- ( a)-- The संकल्प  of आत्मसमर्पण  Put yourself with all your heart and all your strength into God's hands; make no conditions, ask for nothing ; ( b) Standing aside and watching the working of the Divine power in oneself. This working may be difficult and therefore faith is essential. Remember the words of Gita--" मच्चित्तः  सर्वद्गर्णी  मत्प्रसादात  तरिष्यसि। ie by giving thyself up in heart and mind to ME, thou shall cross over all hurdles & perils bu My Grace. (c)The vision of God everywhere and in all things, in all happenings, the surrender of fruits of action and action itself to God and the freedom thereby from ignorance, from अहंकार , from द्वंद , from desire, so that you are शुद्ध , मुक्त , full of Ananda, pure, free, perfect and blissful in your being.
•  Another quote from famous Gita shared by revered Aurobindo in this context is; " सर्वधर्माण परित्यज्य मामेकं शरणं व्रज ; अहं त्वा सर्वपापेभ्योः मोक्षयिष्यामि मा शच ie Abandon all dharma s and take refuge in Me alone; I will free you from all sins and evils; do not grieve.
• Yoga is skill in works, meaning thereby that it leads to transformation of mind and creation of a spiritual condition of universal equality and God union. By the skill of Yogin, it leads to perfect adaptation of the soul and its instruments to the rhythm of divine and universal spirit in a nature liberated from the shackles of egoism as well as limitations of the sense mind. 
• By practicing Yoga, as the state of being changes, the will and temperament gets modified. Yogin begins to subordinate his personal will to the sense of Supreme Will, which attract him upwards--- merging into universal and infinite. His temperament also gets delivered from all leash of straining & desire, from all urges of passion or pain of willful self delusion.

OTHER KEY PHILOSOPHICAL MESSAGES ON SPIRITUALITY FOR HUMANITY

• Spirituality is indeed the master key of the Indian mind; the sense of the infinite is native to it. Further, Gita is the greatest gospel of spiritual works, ever yet given to the human race.
• Live within, be not shaken by outward happenings. Arise, transcend thyself; Thou art man and the whole nature of man is to become more than himself.
• All existence is a manifestation of God. He who chooses the infinite has been chosen by the infinite.
• All thoughts, desires, conventions and attachments, which come from outside, must be ruthlessly pushed away. The inside must be made extremely calm and quiet; there should reign an upward aspiration--- a state of awaiting.
• All desires and egotism will have to be banished from the being. To be free from all egoistic motive, let us be careful of truth in speech & action; void of self- will and self-assertion; watchful in all things, in all situations.
• Sin and virtue are a game of resistance we play with God in His efforts to draw us towards perfection. Further, one who loves God finds the object of his love everywhere.
• Not in the state of unconsciousness, but in full awareness, when the higher power will descend into and direct us, then only the Yogic life will begin. For reaching this stage, one has to do intense Sadhna leading to total manifestation of divine in oneself.
• All can not reach in a single life, highest in this path; but all can go forward. As a man advances, he gets peace, strength and joy. Further, even a little of this Dharma, delivers a man or a nation out of great fear; Conveyed in a verse ," स्वल्पमप्यस्य  धर्मस्य त्रायते महतो भयात ". It conveys that Spirituality is not a thing divorced from life.
• There are two great factors in universe, Silence and Speech. Silence prepares, speech creates; Silence acts and Speech gives impulse to action; Silence compels, Speech persuades. It is the sovereign stillness which commands the harmony of life and is the calm of the Yogin. In this calm, right knowledge comes, which eventually becomes the infallible source of right action ( योगाः कर्मसु कौशलम ).
• There is no escaping from the belief that God exists. He is all. All proceeds from Him. All exists in Him.. He is all wise, for all knowledge is His. He is all love( सर्वमङ्गलम ). His is an infinite wisdom, ours is finite; His is perfect, ours underdeveloped; His is an infinite and all wise love, ours a finite and unwise love-- a love full of Maya. God's love looks beyond.
• Try to see oneness in all things. Become one in soul with all beings( सर्वभूतात्मा ). Become a center of the radiation of the divine state( ब्रह्मस्थिति ). It is not only in things animate but in things inanimate also that we must see Narayana , experience Shiva, throw our arms around Shakti. We must see Him in all events, actions, thoughts, feelings, in ourselves and others, throughout the world.
• Ideals are not truths, not realities, they are at most potentialities of future truth. Great executive personalities have usually been men of considerable idealism.
• When we have passed beyond enjoyments, then we shall have bliss; which also mean that we should go beyond individualizing to become real persons. Ego and Desires are actual bars in this realization.
• Man is God hiding himself from nature, so that he may possess her by struggle, insistence, violence and surprise. God is universal and transcendent.
• God and Man; World and Beyond World, become one when they know each other. Their division is the cause of ignorance and consequently suffering.
• The soul needs no proof of its rebirth, any more than it needs proof of its immortality.
• All birth is a progressive self-finding, a means of self realization. To grow in knowledge, in power, in delight, love and oneness, towards the infinite light, capacity and bliss of spiritual existence; to universalize ourselves till we are one with all being; and to exceed constantly our limited present self till it opens up fully to the transcendence in which the universal lives.
• Will, Karma and consequence are the three steps of the energy which move the universe. But Karma and Consequence are only the outcome of Will, which gives them their value and without it they would be nothing. And the Will of Man is the agent of Eternal. Man is a conscious soul of the Eternal. His soul, thought, will and action, are intimate with universal soul, thought , will and action.
• Karma and  Consequence draw their meaning from their value to the soul; they are steps by which it moves towards the perfection of its manifested nature.
• The pursuit of Truth may entail on me penalties and sufferings; the world may demand from me loss of outward happiness, good fortune or damage to my body. I must still follow truth. I must increase my inner strength & inner greatness and must not ask for quite irrelevant reward. Happiness or sorrow, good fortune or ill fortune are not my main concern, whether in this birth or in future; but my perfection and higher good of mankind, irrespective of sufferings and tribulation.
• In a broader sense, Dharma is ethical; it is the idea of moral laws. It, on its heights holds up the moral law in its own right & for its own sake, to human acceptance and observance. The larger idea of Dharma is indeed a conception of the true law of all energies and includes a conscience, a rectitude in all things, a right law of thought & knowledge, of aesthesis, of all other human activities & not limited to our ethical actions.

THE DIVINE LIFE

• Man also is God and it is thru his developing Manhood that he approaches the Godhead. Life also is the Divine, its progressive expansion is the self expression of the ब्रह्म , and to deny Life is to diminish the Godhead within us.
• When a man lives in the cosmic self, he necessarily embraces the life of the world and his attitude towards that world struggling upward from the egoistic state to the one of compassion, of love or of helpfulness. Even charity and altruism are often essentially egoistic in their immediate motive.
• A Divine life in a Divine body is the ideal that we envisage. Divine body is an evolution out of our human imperfection and ignorance into a greater truth of nature and spirit-- a transformation. 
• The Divine existence is pure and unlimited, it is SAT; whatever it puts forth in its limitless purity of self-awareness is truth of itself--- SATYA. The divine knowledge is knowledge of the Truth; the divine workings are words & ideas of the Truth; the divine will is power of the Truth. God is universal and infinite. His infinity is Supra-cosmic.
• A Divine Life upon earth can only come about by a spiritual change of our being--- a radical and fundamental change; an evolution or revolution of our nature. The embodied being have to rise above the domination of its veils of mind, life and body into the full consciousness and possession of its spiritual reality.
• The Super-Mind is in its very essence a Truth Consciousness, which is always free from ignorance. Super-mind is an eternal reality of the divine being & divine nature. The nature of Super-mind is always the same, a being of knowledge, proceeding from truth to truth and hence inevitable. Its manifestation of the Divine Life will also be inevitable, its own life on its own plane is Divine. The truth consciousness is a luminous many sided dynamic. In it, there can be a spiritual feeling, a spiritual sensation and a spiritual essentiality of substance that knows and reveals, that acts and manifests in an omniscience which is one with omnipotence.
• A new Humanity on earth means for us the development of a type or race of mental beings whose principle of mentality would be no longer a mind in the ignorance seeking for knowledge, but, a seeker after light not its natural possessor; open to light but not an inhabitant of light; not yet a perfected instrument; truth conscious and delivered out of the ignorance. It would be called a Mind of Light, a mind capable of living in the truth, capable of being truth conscious.

The world of spiritual and philosophical knowledge of revered Aurobindo and also his spiritual collaborator Mirra Allfassa ( The Mother) is boundless. The philosophical greatness and depth of revered Aurobindo can once again, be experienced in his marvel scripture SAVITRI----the story of conjugal love conquering death. Quoting one passage from  this scripture;

" He is the Maker & the world He made,

  He is the vision & He is the Seer,

  He is himself the actor & the act,

  He is himself the knower & the known,

  He is himself the dreamer & the dream."

 Humanity will  ever remain indebted to revered Aurobindo. In a small blog of mine, I have tried to share only a few key insights from his scriptures, literature and messages during his life time. Let me end the blog by a quote from revered Mother;

The only true freedom is the one obtained by union with the Divine. One can unite with the Divine only by mastering one's ego.