Sri
Aurobindo (August 15, 1872-December 5, 1950) was a great scholar,
mystical poet, yogi and an aggressive Indian nationalist. He was
actively involved in the politics of India. He is well known for his
incredible contribution in the freedom struggle of our country. He came
up with an entirely new system of spirituality. He called his pathway to
spirituality the 'integral yoga.
The basic objective of his teachings was to increase the level of
consciousness of people and make them aware about their true self. His
literary works include the writings on varied subjects like the Indian
culture, socio political development of the country, spirituality etc.
Well, in this article, we will provide you with the biography of Sri
Aurobindo. Read on to know the complete life history of Aurobindo Ghosh.
Life
Sri Aurobindo was born as the son of Dr K. D. Ghose and Swarnalata
Devi. Dr Ghose on the 15th of August in the year 1872 in Kolkata, India.
He was named Aurobindo Akroyd Ghose. His parents wanted his upbringing
to be in the European style. So, they got him enrolled in the Loreto
Convent School at Darjeeling.
When he was seven years old, he was sent to England for the completion
of education. He did his schooling from St. Paul's School in London and
graduation from King's College, Cambridge. Side by side, he learnt
several foreign languages like Greek, French, Italian German, Latin, and
Spanish. He came back to India when he was 21 years old.
At the time of partition of Bengal, during the period between
1905-1912, he leaded the group of Indian nationalists. Later, he became
the editor of a nationalist Bengali newspaper named Vande Mataram.
From politics to spirituality
As time passed by, Sri Aurobindo began losing interest in politics and
started concentrating on spirituality. He came across a yogi named
Vishnu Bhaskar Lele, who showed him the path of Hindu practice of yoga.
He went into the state of deep meditation for a period of four years in
Pondicherry. Then, he launched a 64 page monthly review "Arya".
In the year 1920, his close spiritual collaborator named Mirra Richard
joined him. She was more popularly known as 'The Mother'. It is in the
companionship of the Mother that Aurobindo Ghosh came up with the idea
of establishing an ashram in Auroville.
Sri Aurobindo Philosophy
Sri Aurobindo philosophy is based on the concept of 'reality of Being
and consciousness' amidst the big universe in which we live. The
philosophies of Aurobindo Ghosh were very simple and clear cut. He
taught people to become aware of their true self and feel the presence
of divinity lying within them. More
Sri Aurobindo Writings
The early writings of Aurobindo Ghosh consist of the poems that he
penned down when he was a student in England. He wrote quite a number of
plays and poems, during his thirteen years of stay in Baroda. If you
want to have a look at Sri Aurobindo works, you can check out the
volumes titled Collected Plays that contain the short stories and plays
written by him. His poetry is published in the volume Collected Poems.
More
Aurobindo Ashram
Founded in the year 1926, Sri Aurobindo ashram has witnessed tremendous
growth over the years. From a small group consisting of 124 disciples,
today, the Aurobindo ashram has more than 2000 members. Since it is
situated in the busy Pondicherry city of India, it is not a very
peaceful place. Infact, it can be said about the ashram that, it is a
very vibrant center that is always abuzz with activities. More