Readings In Integral Yoga Sri Aurobindos Teaching Method Of Practice

Sri Aurobindo calls us to what he terms an “adventure of consciousness”. Integral yoga was not intended to set forth a specific and rigid set of practices for everyone to follow; rather, it was developed to understand the specific needs of each individual at each stage of development and to employ those methods and practices that would best aid in the further progress for the individual seeker. It also was not targeted at abandoning life. The integral yoga first focuses on achieving the necessary liberation from the fixed habits of body, life and mind that create a framework around each person's life, and then, on bringing down into the being a higher status of consciousness and aiding its transformation of the being in all its aspects. The eventual objective of the integral yoga was to provide conscious support to the natural process of evolution of consciousness, and thereby speed up its advent. The book Integral Yoga: Sri Aurobindo's Teaching and Method of Practice was compiled and organised from among the thousands of letters on yoga that Sri Aurobindo wrote to disciples and others over a number of years. It outlines his philosophical outlook, the background and basis of the integral yoga, and delves into a vast array of details which aid the sincere seeker in understanding the inner workings of consciousness, and helps the seeker to work through the difficulties, obstacles and resistances of nature to truly bring about a transformation of consciousness in all parts of his being.

A compilation of letters written by Sri Aurobindo to disciples during the 1930s, this book presents the major aspects of his spiritual teaching. The first parts deal with the psychological and philosophical foundations of his teaching and relate them to other systems of yoga and philosophy. The next sections deal with the method of practice, starting with the bases of yoga and continuing with the different types of sadhana, descriptions of experiences and realisations, the triple transformation that defines the essence of the yoga, and the difficulties in transforming the nature. A glossary of the terminology used by Sri Aurobindo completes the volume.

Between 1927 and 1950, Sri Aurobindo--one of the foremost Indian philosophersof the 20th century--perfected a new kind of spiritual practice he called the"Integral Yoga." This volume brings together a comprehensive selection of SriAurobindo's letters pertaining to the practice of this discipline.

Santosh highlights key relevant points of Aurobindo's Essays on the Gita, explains them and reveals their depth and implications today. Each of his well-chosen selections and lucid comments constitutes a luminous doorway into the heart of the Gita. Santosh shows us how we should approach great teachings like those of Sri Aurobindo and make them relevant for our current search, helping to lift humanity into a new era of higher consciousness that is so desperately needed.

Who are we? Why are we alive? What are we here to do? What is the meaning and significance of our lives? These questions nag at us at times in our everyday lives until finally we take them up and try to unravel the mystery of our existence and the existence of the universal creation. Sri Aurobindo and the Mother have taken up these questions and provided a way of understanding and a method for progress in finding and applying the solutions we find. They do so by showing us the complex and multiple different ‘selves’ that make up what we believe to be a unified external personality. In fact, we are not so simple, and not so unified in our being. There are conflicting drives and forces at work which create internal conflict and, in many cases, defeat us in the achievement of our highest goals and aspirations. By understanding this complex makeup of our being, we are able to find a path to liberation from this bondage without at the same time, having to totally abandon all action in the world. Our Many Selves: Practical Yogic Psychology, compiled by Dr. A.S. Dalal from the writings of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother, is an extremely useful text to aid us in the process of self-discovery and self-actualization. It is a benefit to spiritual seekers regardless of the specific path followed, as it is not based on any particular religious or philosophical dogma. At the same time, the deeper understanding provided by this text can aid even those who are not actively and consciously practicing yoga for the sake of self-knowledge or self-realization, as it will help each individual work through the pressures, the internal debates, and inner conflicts that frequently impact the individual's ability to act and succeed in their intended goals, even when they are purely based on fulfilling the external personality. If we can understand the forces that bring us to feeding addictions, procrastinating, living an unhealthy and imbalanced lifestyle, sabotaging our relations with others, then we can begin to achieve a more harmonious and successful life however we choose to define success. Dr. Dala states: “This book is meant to bear out Sri Aurobindo’s oft-quoted statement, ‘Yoga is nothing but practical psychology.’ Generally, yoga is viewed as made up of certain set practices and certain rules and norms pertaining to one’s outer life. In contrast to this view Our Many Selves… present Yoga as consisting essentially in inner psychological work aimed at the transformation of consciousness.”

Bases of Yoga by Sri Aurobindo is a collection of 156 extracts from his letters to disciples, Sri Aurobindo explains the central principles and practices of his Integral Yoga.

Santosh Krinsky has endeavoured to make Sri Aurobindos teachings relevant and readable to the very different audience today, without compromising the essence of this teaching. The Synthesis of Yoga in four volumes of which this current book is the second, focusing on The Yoga of Knowledge. He clearly explains Aurobindos vision of Yoga in the world today and the many-sided approach that is needed to make it work in our daily lives.

Sri Aurobindo has provided what may be the most comprehensive, cogent, clear and balanced view of karma and rebirth available. Santosh Krinsky has taken the primary points of Sri Aurobindos understanding, explained and highlighted them for the modern reader to more easily understand. Anyone who appreciates the law of karma or entertains some possibility of rebirth or reincarnation would benefit from reading this book.

Contains: 1 ea Life Divine, Synthesis of Yoga, Essays on the Gita, Secret of the Veda, Savitri, The Mother, Rebirth & Karma, Bases of Yoga, Integral Yoga: Sri Aurobindo's Teaching & Method of Practice, Dictionary of Sri Aurobindo's Yoga, Hymns to the Mystic Fire, and Upanishads.