Integral Yoga sits upon a massive infrastructure of philosophy and sociology

Understanding the multifaceted philosophy of The Mother and Sri Aurobindo is a process that needs immense time and tenacity. Apart from their own writings, there are certain other works without reading which it is not easy to appreciate the overall message. Two outstanding gems in this context are:

• The Meeting of the East and the West in Sri Aurobindo's Philosophy by S.K. Maitra, and
• Sri Aurobindo and Karl Marx: Integral Sociology and Dialectical Sociology by D.P. Chattopadhyaya.

It is always hazardous to pin down any particular opinion on the basis of a single book or aphorism of Sri Aurobindo although many derive a sort of adolescent glee from such deceptive enterprise. For some others an anti-Western bias provides an insulated chamber and a cozy quilt of complacency to not to bother about any Hegel or Schlegel.

In the teachings of The Mother and Sri Aurobindo the question of the East and the West has been fully reconciled. If we find any contradiction, it is because we are insufficiently devoted to their words. Integral Yoga sits upon a massive infrastructure of philosophy as well as sociological insights. Not a slew of Asanas alone, but an intricately woven web of attitudes is the right reflection of an informed practitioner. [TNM]