[The dear fellow ignores the significance of the trikaldristi that the Master had acquired. Sri Aurobindo could have easily observed his father's condition at the time of death. The Master wasn't some aging thoughtless fool dying of kidney failure. Re: Is it Imbroglio or Falsification?
by Angiras on Sat 27 Jun 2009 06:50 AM IST Profile Permanent Link Reply]
[Introduction Issues Yoga, religion, and fundamentalism in the Integral Yoga community
On Darshan day, for instance, there are huge crowds filing through the samadhi at the Sri Aurobindo Ashram. Also, many of us do regard Mother and Sri Aurobindo as direct incarnations of the Divine, and we do have altars with photos of Mother and Sri Aurobindo in our homes.
So, quick digression — is it wrong to be religious in this way, that is to feel a devotion to Mother and Sri Aurobindo? I’d say no, for various reasons. For those who have a strong faith, this type of devotion may bring deep, first-hand spiritual experience beyond mentality which is not superficial. Not all people need to approach the Divine through the mind; bhakti is an effective way to open to the inner consciousness — and that’s not religion, that’s yoga.
Opening remarks by Lynda Lester for a panel discussion at AUM 2007 on fundamentalist tendencies in the Integral Yoga community. IY Fundamentalism]
[Introduction Standpoints Concerning The Lives of Sri Aurobindo
I have read so many books about Sri Aurobindo, so many books full of devotion, so many that exalted him as the avatar; indeed, I have held him to be the avatar from the moment I started Integral Yoga, and have never had a moment's doubt. This certitude goes far beyond mental belief; numerous times I have palpably experienced him as the Ishwara, pranamed to him, been ravished by his divinity. Which is to say, I am permeated by love and adoration for Sri Aurobindo, and doing his yoga is the meaning and purpose of my life... What this book gives is a closer look at divine incarnation in its developmental aspects... What all this shows is that even for the avatar, yoga means facing challenges and unknowns, conquering obstacles, and going forward with faith and perseverance -- sometimes against tremendous odds and apparent impossibilities. Sri Aurobindo wasn't born free from imperfection; he had a human nature. The purpose of his yoga is transformation of human nature; he was his own first guinea pig. Because it worked for him, we know it can work for us. In my mind, this one of the things that Peter's book illustrates: there is hope for us humans; we can succeed in the yoga. Sri Aurobindo has been there, done that, and proved it's possible. We don't have to feel bad that we struggle, that it's difficult to take the proper course of action, that we don't know what's going to happen — Sri Aurobindo went through the kind of trials and ordeals we face every day, and he conquered. Seeing how he evolved, step by tiny step, from humanhood to superhumanhood, seems to me to be most wonderful; a breadcrumb trail of how Sri Aurobindo's outer nature changed. Originally posted as a comment by Lynda Lester on Debashish Banerji's Stand wrt The Lives of Sri Aurobindo. IY Fundamentalism]
Lynda Lester writes persuasively. If "we do have altars with photos of Mother and Sri Aurobindo in our homes," and if "the idea that Sri Aurobindo was the avatar and brought the truth to earth has been repeated so consistently for so long that it has become a strong mental formation, even a doctrine," then it surely is a religion. That Sri Aurobindo "was his own first guinea pig" and "evolved, step by tiny step, from humanhood to superhumanhood," is simply a fetish for the Western mind. [TNM]
No comments:
Post a Comment