SRI AUROBINDO

GHOSE

Aurobindo Ghose, better known as Sri Aurobindo is a

great scholar, a national leader and a spiritual guru.

Early Life
Aurobindo Ghose was born on August 15, 1872 to Krishna Dhun Ghose, and his wife
Swarnalotta Devi in Kolkata (Bengal Presidency), India. His father, who was an Assistant
Surgeon in Rangapur, Bengal, was an ardent fan of the British
culture so he encouraged his children to learn English and study in
schools where his children would be exposed to Christianity. He was
sent to Loreto House boarding school with his male siblings in
Darjeeling, the hub of British Culture in India.Aurobindo’s
inclinations to social reforms and evolutions can be attributed to his
great-grandfather’s close involvement in the Brahmo Samaj
religious reform Movement At a tender age of seven he was sent to
England and stayed there for fourteen years. Starting from St. Pauls
School (1884), he attained scholarship and made it to King’s College,
Cambridge (1890). It was at university that the young Aurobindo
became increasingly interested in the fledgeling Indian
independence movement. Given a chance to enter the civil service,
Aurobindo deliberately failed as he didn’t want to work for the
British Empire.

As a Teacher
Upon graduating he decided to return to India where he took up a position as a teacher with
the royal family of Baroda (Gaekwad). It was also on returning to India that Aurobindo
recounts his first most significant spiritual experience. He was fluent with many foreign
languages but less familiar with Indian culture. He spent twelve years in Baroda serving as a
teacher, secretary to the Maharaja of Gaekwad and the Vice Principal of Baroda College
thereby becoming more familiar with his mother tongue and Indian traditions.
As a Freedom Fighter
It was only after staying in India for twelve
long years that Aurobindo could
understand the harm that the British rule
had done to the Indian civilization and he
slowly and gradually started showing
interest in politics and hence he deeply
became more deeply connected with the
Indian independence movement.
Aurobindo was one of the first Indian
leaders to openly call for complete Indian
independence; at the time, the Indian
Congress wanted only a partial independence. His initial political activism involved emphasis
on the urgency of demanding total freedom from the British government. While in the
services of the Baroda administration, he contributed articles to ‘Indu Prakash’ and covertly
got in touch with resistance groups in Bengal and Madhya Pradesh. He finally moved to
Kolkata in the year 1906 after the announcement of the partition of Bengal. Publicly,
Aurobindo supported non-co-operation and passive resistance to the British rule but in
private he was involved in secret revolutionary activities and helped build the revolutionary
atmosphere in the country. In Bengal, he got in touch with revolutionaries and inspired young
revolutionaries such as Bagha Jatin, Jatin Banerjee and Surendranath Tagore. He was also
instrumental in the formation of several youth clubs including the Anushilan Samiti. In 1906,
he participated in the Indian National Congress annual session, which was headed by
Dadabhai Naoroji. He helped in building the fourfold objectives of the national movement -
Swaraj, Swadesh, Boycott and national education. He started a daily newspaper Bande
Mataram in 1907. In 1907, the congress split due to a showdown between moderates and
extremists. Aurobindo sided with extremists and supported Bal Gangadhar Tilak. After this,
he travelled extensively across Pune, Baroda and Bombay to educate people and get support
for national movement. In 1908 Aurobindo was implicated in the Alipore bomb plot in which
two people died. As a consequence, Aurobindo was ed whilst awaiting trial. In prison,
Aurobindo underwent a profound and life-changing spiritual experience. He began to
meditate very deeply and inwardly received spiritual instruction from Swami
Vivekananda and Sri Krishna. From the depths of the British prison, Aurobindo saw that
Brahmin or God pervaded the entire world. There was nothing that was separated from the
existence of God. Even in the worst criminal, Aurobindo saw at heart – God or Vasudev.
Post his release in 1909, he started new publications - Karmayogin (English) and Dharma
(Bengali). While in Alipore jail, he slowly realized that he was not destined to lead the freedom
struggle and gradually diverted to mystical and philosophical way of life thereby initiating this
new journey of spiritual awakening. In April 1910, Aurobindo Ghoseh secretly moved to
Pondicherry (which was then a French Colony) to start a new life. In Pondicherry, Sri
Aurobindo set himself on a path of spiritual learning and evolution by practicing secluded
yoga continuously for four years which he termed as ‘Integral Yoga’. He proposed the
importance of spiritual practices in human transformation into a divine entity.
Politics to Spiritualism
During his spiritual transformation, Sri Aurobindo received an inner command to give up
politics and devote his life to spirituality and the descent of a new spiritual consciousness. He
also received an inner guarantee that he would be fully acquitted in his forthcoming trial. Due
to the tireless efforts of C.R.Das, Aurobindo was acquitted and was free to leave. However,
the British were still very suspicious, and so Aurobindo decided to move to the French
province of Pondicherry where he began to practise meditation and spiritual disciplines. In
Pondicherry, he also began to attract a small group of spiritual seekers who wished to follow
Sri Aurobindo as a Guru. After settling in Pondicherry, he dedicated himself to his spiritual
and philosophical pursuits. In 1914, he
started a monthly philosophical
magazine ‘Arya’. A couple of years later,
a French mystic by the name of Mirra
Richards (b. Alfassa) came to visit
Pondicherry. Sri Aurobindo saw in her a
kindred spirit. Later he would say himself
and the Mother (Mirra Richards) were
one soul in two bodies. After the Mother
settled in the ashram in 1920, the
organisation of the Ashram was left in
her hands whilst Sri Aurobindo
increasingly retreated to give him more time for meditation and writing. Slowly and gradually
Sri Aurobindo began to attract followers and the number kept increasing, resulting in the
formation of Sri Aurobindo Ashram in 1926. Apart from yoga and spirituality, he also wrote
about the Indian culture, Vedas and society through The Foundations of Indian Culture, The
Secret of the Veda, The Human Cycle etc. Sri Aurobindo had a flair for poetry even at the time
he was settled in England. His poetic inclinations revived in 1930s and took shape of a great
piece of literature, Savitri: a poem of 24000 lines and purely resting on spirituality. He was
nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature (1943) and Nobel Prize for Peace (1950) for his
innumerable contributions in the field of poetry, spiritualism and philosophical literature.
Sri Aurobindo was a prolific writer writing some of the most detailed and comprehensive
discourses on spiritual evolution. Sri Aurobindo said that his inspiration to write came from
his inner pilot, from a higher source. Sri Aurobindo wrote extensively, in particular, he spent
many hours patiently replying to the questions and problems of his disciples. Even on the
smallest detail, Sri Aurobindo would reply with great care, attention and often good humour.
It is interesting to note that Sri Aurobindo often refused to write for prestigious newspapers
and journals, he frequently turned down requests to return to leadership of the Indian
independence movement. Sri Aurobindo was also a Seer Poet of the highest order. His epic
Savitri is a testimony to his own spiritual sadhana. For over 20 years he continually refined
and amended this mantric poetic output. It became one of the most powerful testimonies of
his spiritual consciousness.
The Ashram
He started his journey in Pondicherry with a few followers, but that increased rapidly and
ultimately led to the establishment of Sri Aurobindo Ashram in 1926. After the establishment
of the Ashram, he began using Sri before his name, meaning sacred in Sanskrit. The
foundation of the Ashram was laid with the help of Mirra Richard (a French national and the
spiritual collaborator of Aurobindo Ghoseh) who came to Pondicherry in 1914. Mirra Richard
d took charge of the management of Ashram after he went into seclusion in 1926. She began
to be known as ‘The Mother’ and was considered and equal to Aurobindo in spiritual wisdom
and knowledge.
The Ashram is not a quiet place of retreat
but a vibrant centre of life in a modern
urban setting. The dynamic character of
the community reflects the life-affirming
aim of Sri Aurobindo's Yoga. Work as an
offering to the Divine is an essential
aspect of the Yoga, and all Ashramites do
a certain amount of productive work
each day in one or another of the
Ashram's departments.
In the sadhana or spiritual discipline at
the Ashram, there are no obligatory
practices, no rituals, no compulsory
meditations or systematic instructions in Yoga. Sadhaks are left free to determine the course
and pace of their sadhana in accordance with their own natures. But the general principle of
the sadhana is the same for all: there must be a surrender to the Divine and an opening to
the Divine Force so that it may work to transform one's being.
The Ashram is located in the eastern part of Pondicherry. Ashramites live and work in a large
number of buildings spread throughout the area. The focus of community life is the Ashram
main building, usually called simply "the Ashram", which consists of an interconnected block
of houses, including those in which Sri Aurobindo and the Mother lived for most of their lives.
At its centre, in a tree-shaded courtyard, lies the Samadhi, a white-marble shrine where their
bodies are laid to rest.
The Ashram provides its members with all they need for a decent and healthy life. Various
departments have been organised to look after the basic requirements of food, clothing and
shelter, as well as medical care. There are also libraries for study and facilities for a variety of
cultural pursuits. The Ashram is administered by the Sri Aurobindo Ashram Trust.
Unlike other institutions of its kind, the Sri Aurobindo Ashram does not follow the tradition of
a Guru succeeding as the spiritual head of the ashram. In fact, as the Mother herself once
stated, Sri Aurobindo is still amongst us. Their works, which comprise several printed volumes,
act as guide and inspiration to the sadhaks.
The Conclusion

Sri Aurobindo left his body on 5 December 1950. Around 60,000 people attended to see his
body resting peacefully. Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, and the President Rajendra
Prasad praised him for his contribution to Yogic philosophy and the independence movement.
The goal of Sri Aurobindo was not merely the liberation of the individual from the chain that
fetters him and realization of the self, but to work out the will of the Divine in the world, to
effect a spiritual transformation and to bring down the divine nature and a divine life into the
mental, vital and physical nature and life of humanity.

“Hidden nature is secret God.”

Made By - Prathamesh Joshi(504009), Pratik Kalaskar(504010), Mitank Kapadia(504011),

Parag Khanzode(504012), Vaibhav Kute(504013), Amey Laghate(504014), Aditya
Lankey(504015), Rohan Manjrekar(504016).