Six Pillars: Introductions to the Works of Sri Aurobindo - Softcover

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1584200928 ISBN 13: 9781584200925

Publisher: Lindisfarne Books, 2012

Synopsis

Readers interested in Sri Aurobindo's life, poetry, philosophical thought, or spiritual practice can now find a great many resources to help them gain a deeper insight into this towering figure of twentieth-century India-one of the great triad that consists of Rabindranath Tagore, Mahatma Gandhi, and Sri Aurobindo. Given the large amount of literature now in existence, to wrestle with Sri Aurobindo's works and vision can take a lifetime. The question will always be, where to start to discover the measure of this man? How to begin to comprehend something of the great arc of life and spirit experienced by this extraordinary seer, thinker, poet, and mystic? These essays on the significance of Sri Aurobindo's six major works provide an excellent starting point for retracing his spiritual vision. They help us in so many ways to understand what he saw with such strength and conviction: how the historical evolution of cosmos, life, and history form one grand synthesis and symphonic whole.  Aurobindo, the revolutionary turned yogi, was a puzzle to his contemporaries and remained one to later generations. This is probably still true today. But puzzles are there to be solved. These essays can help to do that. They dissolve some of the enigmas that surround Sri Aurobindo, even though not answering all our questions. They provide much substance for thought and further discussion, and invite us to gain a deeper familiarity with one of the great minds of modern India, whose inspiring spiritual message can transform one's life and help to change the world. -Ursula King from the Foreword

About this title

About the Authors

Sri Aurobindo (born Aurobindo Ghose, 1872 - 1950) was an Indian philosopher, yoga guru, maharishi, poet, and Indian nationalist. He was also a newspaper journalist and editor of newspapers. He became an influential leader of the Indian movement for independence from British colonial rule before becoming a spiritual reformer and introducing his views of human progress and spiritual evolution. At Pondicherry, Sri Aurobindo developed a spiritual practice he called Integral Yoga. His major literary works are The Life Divine, on philosophical aspect of Integral Yoga; Synthesis of Yoga, on principles and methods of Integral Yoga; and Savitri, an epic poem.

Robert McDermott, Ph.D., is president emeritus and chair of the Philosophy, Cosmology, and Consciousness Program at the California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS). His publications include Radhakrishnan (1970); The Essential Aurobindo (1974, 1987); The Essential Steiner (1984); (with Rudolf Steiner) The Bhagavad Gita and the West (2009); and The New Essential Steiner (2009). He has also published on William James, Josiah Royce, M. K. Gandhi, the evolution of consciousness, and American thought. His administrative service includes president of the New York Center for Anthroposophy; president of the Rudolf Steiner [summer] Institute; chair of the board of Sunbridge College (New York) and of Rudolf Steiner College (California). He was a member of the council of the Anthroposophical Society in America (1996-2004). He is the founding chair of the board of the Sophia Project, an anthroposophic home in Oakland, California, for mothers and children at risk of homelessness. He is a Lindisfarne fellow, a Fetzer mentor, and a member of the Esalen Corportion.

Ursula King is Professor Emerita of Theology and Religious Studies, University of Bristol, England, where she held the Chair in Theology and Religious Studies from 1989 until 2002, after teaching for many years at the University of Leeds, in London and in India, where she lived from 1965 until 1970. She was founder and director of the Centre for Comparative Studies in Religion and Gender, University of Bristol (1996-2002).

Edition details

• Publisher: Lindisfarne Books
• Publication date: 2012
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1584200928
• ISBN 13: 9781584200925
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 2
• Number of pages: 216
• Editor: McDermott Robert