Author: Sri Aurobindo
Publisher: Sri Aurobindo Ashram
Year: 2011
Language: English
Pages: 859
ISBN/UPC (if available): 9788170589525
Description
In these letters, mostly written of his ashram and some to disciples living outside Pondicherry, Sri Aurobindo refers to his student years in England, his work as a teacher in Baroda, his political leadership in Bengal, and his life as a writer and Yogi in Pondicherry. He also comments on his formative spiritual experiences and the development of his integral Yoga. In the latter Part of the volume, he discusses the life and discipline followed in his ashram and offers advice to the disciples living and working there.
The letters cover a twenty-four year period from November 1926, when the Ashram was founded, to November 1950, shortly before his passing. (Letters written before November 1926 are published in the book Autobiographical Notes and Other Writings of Historical Interest.) Whenever possible, The Letters are framed contextually and historically by including the question or comment of the correspondent and the date of he letter.
Through these letters one gets unique glimpses of Sri Aurobindo’s Life and Work and Gains valuable insights into the method and practice of Integral Yoga.
Contents
PART ONE – REMARKS ON HIS LIFE AND WORKS AND ON
HIS CONTEMPORARIES AND CONTEMPORARY EVENTS
Section One - Reminiscences and Remarks on Events in His Outer Life
1. His Life and Attempts to Write about It
2. His Name
3. Life in England, 1879 – 1893
4. Life in Baroda, 1893 – 1906
5. Political Career, 1906 – 1910
6. Outer Life in Pondicherry, 1910 – 1950
Section Two - General Remarks on His Life
11. Remarks on His Life in Pondicherry after 1926
12. His Temperament and Character
13. Heredity, Past Lives, Astrology
Section Three - Remarks on Himself as a Writer and on His Writings
14. On Himself as a Writer
15. Writing for Publication
16. On His Published Prose Writings
17. The Terminology of His Writings
Section Four - Remarks on Contemporaries and on Contemporary Problems
18. Remarks on Spiritual Figures in India
19. Remarks on European Writers on Occultism
20. Remarks on Public Figures in India
21. Remarks on Public Figures in Europe
22. Remarks on Indian Affairs, 1930 – 1946
23. Remarks on the World Situation, 1933 – 1949
PART TWO - HIS SADHANA OR PRACTICE OF YOGA
Section One - Sadhana before Coming to Pondicherry in 1910
24. Ordinary Life and Yoga
25. Early Experiences
26. The Realisation of January 1908
27. Experiences in Alipur Jail, 1908 – 1909
Section Two - Sadhana in Pondicherry, 1910 – 1950
28. The Early Years in Pondicherry, 1910 – 1926
29. The Realisation of 24 November 1926
30. The Sadhana of 1927 – 1929
31. General Remarks on the Sadhana of the 1930s
32. The Supramental Yoga and Other Spiritual Paths
33. Remarks on the Current State of the Sadhana, 1931 – 1947
34. Section Three - Some Aspects of the Sadhana in Pondicherry
35. Inner Vicissitudes and Difficulties
36. Unusual Experiences and States of Consciousness
PART THREE - THE LEADER AND THE GUIDE
Section One - The Guru and the Avatar
37. The Guru
38. The Question of Avatarhood
Section Two - Help and Guidance
39. Help from the Guide
40. Guidance through Correspondence
41. Sri Aurobindo’s Force
42. Therapeutic Force and Healing
43. Lights, Visions, Dreams
44. Darshan
45. Contact with People Outside the Ashram
PART FOUR - THE PRACTICE OF YOGA IN THE ASHRAM AND OUTSIDE
Section One - The Practice of Yoga in the Ashram, 1926 – 1950
46. Entering Sri Aurobindo’s Path
47. Admission, Staying, Departure
48. The Ashram and Its Atmosphere
49. Sadhana in the Ashram
50. Discipline in the Ashram
51. Rules in the Life of the Ashram
52. The Ashram and Religion
53. Human Relations and the Ashram
54. Work in the Ashram
55. Life and Death in the Ashram
56. Miscellaneous Matters
57. Section Two - The Practice of Yoga in the Ashram and the Outside World
58. The Ashram and the Outside World
59. Yoga Centres and Movements
PART FIVE - MANTRAS AND MESSAGES
Section One – Mantras
60. On Mantras
61. Mantras Written by Sri Aurobindo
Section Two – Messages
62. Messages Written for Special Occasions
NOTE ON THE TEXTS