Sri Aurobindo at 150: An Integral Vision of Evolution, Human Unity, and Peace

165 Pages·2023·2.807 MB·English

by  Debidatta A. Mahapatra

Sophia Studies in Cross-cultural Philosophy
of Traditions and Cultures 40
Debidatta A. Mahapatra
Sri Aurobindo
at 150
An Integral Vision of Evolution, Human
Unity, and Peace
Sophia Studies in Cross-cultural Philosophy
of Traditions and Cultures
Volume 40
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Debidatta A. Mahapatra
Sri Aurobindo at 150
An Integral Vision of Evolution, Human
Unity, and Peace
Debidatta A. Mahapatra
Department of Political Science
Florida State College at Jacksonville
Jacksonville, FL, USA
ISSN 2211-1107 ISSN 2211-1115 (electronic)
Sophia Studies in Cross-cultural Philosophy of Traditions and Cultures
ISBN 978-3-031-21807-1 ISBN 978-3-031-21808-8 (eBook)
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-21808-8
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Preface
My goal in this book is not to write another biography of the Yogi and philosopher
Sri Aurobindo (1872–1950). While examining the ideas of this influential twentieth-
century thinker, who turns 150 this year, my aim in this book is to examine how his
ideas help us understand problems of our times and explore pathways for their reso-
lution. In this interdisciplinary study, I draw from the disciplines of politics, phi-
losophy, history, and conflict resolution in the spirit of the integrality of knowledge.
Sri Aurobindo’s ideas appropriately fit into the category of integral knowledge, and
his integral yoga presents a wider picture of life and society, various phases of their
evolution towards unity and enduring peace.
Another task I undertake in this book is to contest the argument that Sri
Aurobindo’s ideas are too abstract, hence not worthy of gainful pursuit. I demon-
strate that his ideas such as integral yoga, ideal of human unity, and life divine are
not only academic subjects of study but also enabling codes that illuminate our
understanding of complex problems of life and call for individual and collective
praxis to address those problems in an integral, evolutionary, light. His words “All
life is Yoga” present a holistic picture of life and encourage us to reconceptualize
individual and collective activities as part of yoga, not as conventionally understood
as physical fitness or mental calm, but as active and conscious, all-embracing,
enduring praxis towards harmonious and peaceful organization of life and society.
The charge of mysticism may make sense if we approach Sri Aurobindo from a pure
materialist point of view. His ideas transcend materialism even while accepting it as
a component of his integral vision in which “Spirit shall look out through Matter’s
gaze” and “Matter shall reveal the Spirit’s face.” I argue in this book that Sri
Aurobindo is one of the most optimistic thinkers as, even while acknowledging the
seemingly eternal persistence of challenges in individual and collective living, he
presents before us a plan of action arising out of his integral vision for a harmonious
and peaceful future.
As my goal in this book is to explore Sri Aurobindo’s ideas in light of the devel-
opments of the twenty-first century, I find such an exercise difficult as there is scarce
literature on this subject. There is abundant literature on his life, yoga, and philoso-
phy, but literature focusing on contemporary relevance of his ideas is scarce.
v
vi Preface
Thinkers like Sri Aurobindo do not belong to the past, to be studied just as a matter
of academic interest. There are elements in his ideas that transcend his times and are
relevant to the contemporary world. I have, hence, undertaken in this project the
task to look into his ideas as if he is one among us, examining the problems and
offering solutions to those problems here and now. The questions that guide the
main arguments of the book are – How is Sri Aurobindo relevant in the twenty-first
century? How is he relevant to a discussion on issues including, but not limited to,
political polarization, violence, and interstate conflicts?
My pedagogical location at the intersection of political philosophy, politics, and
conflict resolution facilitated this project. As I worked on the intersectionality of
these disciplines and drew from my expertise, I found the exercise quite rewarding.
My study of Sri Aurobindo and his philosophy for the last two decades and my
expertise in international politics and conflict resolution helped me adopt an inter-
disciplinary approach to bring Sri Aurobindo to reflect on the developments of our
times. I conducted field studies in different parts of the world, and in the process
learned immensely not only from a policy-making perspective but also from a philo-
sophical perspective. I believe policy making must have a philosophical component
and philosophy must have an application component. Philosophy, implying love for
wisdom, must not be confined to ivory towers; it must play a role in igniting in indi-
viduals love for wisdom and praxis. I argue that this book is not just for coffee-table
discussion or classroom assignments; it provides a framework for a reassessment of
our thinking and action from an integral perspective. It will be beneficial not only
for university professors or doctoral students in the areas of philosophy, politics,
history, and conflict resolution but also for policy makers to reexamine their frame-
works and for general readers interested in life, yoga, and philosophy of this crucial
thinker.
One note about the writing style in the book: I have deliberately avoided diacriti-
cal marks in the English transliteration of Sanskrit terms to make the reading sim-
ple. As the book is intended not only for academic scholars but also for policy
makers and general readers, I have tried to present the ideas of Sri Aurobindo in an
accessible way.
The list of individuals who deserve my thanks is indeed lengthy. Hence, I may
miss names, even though all of them will remain in my heart and be remembered
gratefully for their help and support. I am thankful to all who, directly or indirectly,
illuminated my understanding of Sri Aurobindo’s philosophy and helped me,
through discussions, classroom debates, or even roadside chat, in obtaining a closer
understanding of the Yogi and philosopher and in giving this project a concrete
shape. I must thank my students, as discussions with them helped me appreciate the
importance of this project. The classroom is one of the best places to learn, and as a
teacher, I learn from my students; hence, they deserve my first thank you. I am
grateful to Maa, Bapa, Mummy, Papa, siblings, sisters-in-law, and brothers-in-law
for their love, encouragement, and support. I am thankful to my friends, Richard
Grego, Miguel Rodrigues, Subhas Tiwari, and Martha Orton as interactions with
them benefited this research. I am grateful to Seema, my wonderful friend and wife,
for all her help and support in this project. She has been kind enough, as always, to
Preface vii
give me enough space and time to dedicate to this research. I am also thankful to my
11-year-old son, Asim, who, despite his busy schedule of exploring ants, butterflies,
birds, turtles, snakes, and everything that catches his attention, would lovingly drag
me to some of his projects, and those were some of the best moments and restful
distractions from this project. Last but not least, I am thankful to Sowmya Thodur
and Christopher Coughlin of Springer Nature for patiently working with me to give
the project a more refined shape.
Contents
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1 The Making of Sri Aurobindo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
2 Integral Vision . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
3 Ideal of Human Unity and Conflict Resolution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
4 Organization of the Book . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
All Life Is Yoga . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
1 Evolutionary Yoga . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
2 Brahman: Relative and Absolute, Matter and Spirit, Manifest
and Unmanifest, and Beyond . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
3 Supermind and Superman: Sachchidananda . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
4 Savitri: A Journey and a Call . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
5 Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Ideal of Human Unity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
1 The Vision . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
2 The Evolutionary Thesis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
3 Nationalism, National Ego, and Nation-Soul . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
3.1 Means at Arriving at Human Unity; Mechanical Means
Won’t Work 76
3.2 Auroville as a Model of Human Unity 78
4 Ideal of Human Unity and Global Governance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
5 Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
Integral Conflict Resolution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
1 A Brief Survey of the Discipline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
2 An Integral Approach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
3 An Integral Perspective on Indian Freedom Struggle
and Select International Developments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
ix
x Contents
4 Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130
Sri Aurobindo in the Twenty-First Century . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
1 ‘Inner War Without Escape’ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
2 Integral Yoga Calls for Individual and Collective Praxis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139
3 Reflection on Select Issues by Applying the Integral Perspective . . . . . . . 141
4 Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153