Editing Sri Aurobindo (section)

== Philosophy ==
{{Main|Integral yoga}}

{| class="wikitable collapsible collapsed" style="float:right;"
|-
! colspan=6 | Sri Aurobindo's model of Being and [[Evolution (Sri Aurobindo)|Evolution]]{{sfn|Wilber|1980|p=263}}{{sfn|Sharma|1991}}

|-
| colspan="5" style="text-align:center;"| '''Levels of Being'''
| rowspan=2 | '''Development'''

|-
| style="text-align:center;"| '''Overall'''
| style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"| '''Outer Being'''
| style="text-align:center;"| '''Inner Being'''
| style="text-align:center;"| '''Psychic Being'''

|-
| Sri aurobindo-overall rowspan="2" style="text-align:center;"| Supermind
| Sri aurobindo-oip rowspan="2" colspan="4" style="text-align:center;"| [[Supermind (integral yoga)|Supermind]]
| Sri Aurobindo-Development                          | Gnostic Man

|-
| Sri Aurobindo-Development | Supra-mentalisation

|-
| Sri aurobindo-overall rowspan="5" style="text-align:center;"| Mind
| Sri aurobindo-outer rowspan="4"|
| Sri aurobindo-ip colspan="3" style="text-align:center;"| Overmind
| Aurobindo-Development rowspan=4          | Psychisation<br />and<br />Spiritualisation

|-
| aurobindo-ip colspan="3" style="text-align:center;"| Intuition

|-
| aurobindo-ip colspan="3" style="text-align:center;"| Illuminated Mind

|-
| aurobindo-ip colspan="3" style="text-align:center;"| Higher Mind

|-
| aurobindo-sub style="text-align:center;"| Subconscient<br />mind
| aurobindo-outer style="text-align:center;"| Mind proper
| aurobindo-i style="text-align:center;"| Subliminal<br />(inner) mind
| Aurobindo-P rowspan=3                             |
| aurobindo-d rowspan="3" style="text-align:center;"| Evolution

|-
| Aurobindo-Overall         | Vital
| Aurobindo-Sub             | Subconscient<br />Vital
| Aurobindo-Outer           | Vital
| aurobindo-inner| Subliminal<br />(inner) Vital

|-
| Aurobindo-Overall         | Physical
| Aurobindo-sub             | Subconscient<br />Physical
| Aurobindo-Outer           | Physical
| aurobindo-inner| Subl. (inner)<br />Physical

|-
| Aurobindo-Overall                     | Inconscient
| aurobindo-soip colspan="5" style="text-align:center;"| Inconscient
|}

=== Introduction ===
Sri Aurobindo's concept of the Integral Yoga system is described in his books, ''The Synthesis of Yoga'' and ''The Life Divine''.{{Sfnp|McDermott|1994|p=281|ps=}} ''The Life Divine'' is a compilation of essays published serially in ''Arya.''

Sri Aurobindo argues that divine ''[[Brahman]]'' manifests as empirical reality through ''[[līlā]],'' or divine play. Instead of positing that the world we experience is an illusion (''[[Maya (illusion)|māyā]]'')'','' Aurobindo argues that the world can evolve and become a new world with new species, far above the human species just as human species have evolved after the animal species. As such, he argued that the end goal of spiritual practice could not merely be a liberation from the world into Samadhi but would also be that of descent of the Divine into the world in order to transform it into a Divine existence. Thus, this constituted the purpose of Integral Yoga.<ref>Aurobindo, Sri. ''The Synthesis of Yoga.'' Lotus Press, 1996. P. 7-8</ref> Regarding the involution of consciousness in matter, he wrote that: "This descent, this sacrifice of the Purusha, the Divine Soul submitting itself to Force and Matter so that it may inform and illuminate them is the seed of redemption of this world of Inconscience and Ignorance."<ref>Aurobindo, Sri. ''The Synthesis of Yoga.'' Lotus Press, 1996. p. 106.</ref>

Sri Aurobindo believed that evolutionary theories merely describe the phenomenon of the emergence of life from matter but do not explain the reason behind it.<ref>Sri Aurobindo, ''The Life Divine'', p. 5.</ref> He asserts that life is already involved in matter, as all existence is a manifestation of Brahman.<ref>Sri Aurobindo, ''The Life Divine'', pp. 5, 8, 338–339.</ref> He argues that Nature has evolved life out of matter and mind out of life, and that this evolution has a purpose: to manifest the Supermind.<ref>Sri Aurobindo, ''The Life Divine'', pp. 5, 273, 690, 791.</ref> He noted that this evolutionary labour, a 'cosmic necessity', is arduous and often 'difficult to justify by immediate tangible results', leading some to seek an escape from it rather than fulfilling its aim.<ref>Sri Aurobindo, ''The Life Divine'', p. 7.</ref>

=== Supermind ===
{{Main|Supermind (integral yoga)}}

At the centre of Sri Aurobindo's metaphysical system is the Supermind, an intermediary power between the unmanifested Brahman and the manifested world.<ref>Sri Aurobindo, ''The Life Divine'', pp. 130, 137, 143.</ref> Sri Aurobindo asserts that the Supermind is not completely alien to us; Mind is identical with Supermind in essence and conceals it within itself as a potentiality.<ref>Sri Aurobindo, ''The Life Divine'', pp. 130–131.</ref> He clarifies that while he first used the word 'supermind' himself, the concept of a 'Truth-Consciousness' appears in the Vedas, where the Vedic Gods represent its powers.<ref>Sri Aurobindo, ''Letters on Himself and the Ashram'', p. 142; see also ''The Life Divine'', p. 133.</ref> In ''Letters on Yoga'', he declares: "By the Supermind is meant the full Truth-consciousness of the Divine Nature in which there can be no place for the principle of division and ignorance; it is always a full light and knowledge superior to all mental substance or mental movement."<ref>Sri Aurobindo, ''Letters on Yoga — I'', p. 146.</ref> Supermind is a bridge between Sachchidananda and the lower manifestation; it is only through the supramental power that mind, life, and body can be integrally transformed, as the realisation of Sachchidananda supports but does not transform the lower nature.<ref>Sri Aurobindo, ''Letters on Yoga — I'', p. 133.</ref> The descent of the Supermind is intended to create a supramental race upon earth.<ref>Sri Aurobindo, ''Letters on Yoga — I'', p. 279; ''The Life Divine'', p. 583.</ref>

=== Affinity with Western philosophy ===
In his writings, talks, and letters Sri Aurobindo has referred to several European philosophers with whose basic concepts he was familiar, commenting on their ideas and discussing the question of affinity to his own line of thought. Thus, he wrote a long essay on the Greek philosopher [[Heraclitus]]<ref>Complete Works of Sri Aurobindo (CWSA) vol. 13, ''Essays in Philosophy and Yoga'', Pondicherry, Sri Aurobindo Ashram 1995, pp. 215–58</ref> and mentioned especially [[Plato]], [[Plotinus]], [[Nietzsche]] and [[Bergson]] as thinkers in whom he was interested because of their more intuitive approach.{{sfn|Huchzermeyer|2016|ps= Ch. 2–4, 7 and 8}} On the other hand, he felt little attraction for the philosophy of [[Kant]] or [[Hegel]].<ref>CWSA vol. 36, ''Autobiographical Notes'', p. 112.</ref> Several studies<ref>One of the more comprehensive titles is: K.D. Sethna. ''The Spirituality of the Future. A Search apropos of R.C. Zaehner’s Study in Sri Aurobindo and Teilhard de Chardin.'' London 1981</ref> have shown a remarkable closeness to the evolutionary thought of [[Teilhard de Chardin]], whom he did not know, whereas the latter came to know of Sri Aurobindo at a late stage. After reading some chapters of ''The Life Divine'', he is reported to have said that Sri Aurobindo's vision of evolution was basically the same as his own, though stated for Asian readers.{{sfn|Huchzermeyer|2016|p=0127}}<ref>Sethna, K.D. (1981). ''The Spirituality of the Future. A Search apropos of R.C. Zaehner’s Study in Sri Aurobindo and Teilhard de Chardin.'' Fairleigh Dickinson University Press. p. 257. {{ISBN|978-1611470703}}.</ref>

Several scholars have discovered significant similarities in the thought of Sri Aurobindo and Hegel. Steve Odin has discussed this subject comprehensively in a comparative study.<ref>''Sri Aurobindo and Hegel on the Involution-Evolution of Absolute Spirit.'' Philosophy East and West, Vol. 31, No. 2 (Apr. 1981), pp. 179–191</ref> Odin writes that Sri Aurobindo "has appropriated Hegel’s notion of an Absolute Spirit and employed it to radically restructure the architectonic framework of the ancient Hindu Vedanta system in contemporary terms."<ref>Odin, p.179. (Sri Aurobindo himself denied to be influenced by Hegel. See A.B. Purani, ''Evening Talks with Sri Aurobindo.'' Pondicherry, Sri Aurobindo Ashram 2001, p. 106)</ref> In his analysis Odin arrives at the conclusion that "both philosophers similarly envision world creation as the progressive self-manifestation and evolutionary ascent of a universal consciousness in its journey toward Self-realization."<ref name="Odin, p. 186">Odin, p. 186</ref> He points out that in contrast to the deterministic and continuous dialectal unfolding of Absolute Reason by the mechanism of thesis-antithesis-synthesis or affirmation-negation-integration, "Sri Aurobindo argues for a creative, emergent mode of evolution."<ref name="Odin, p. 186"/> In his résumé Odin states that Sri Aurobindo has overcome the ahistorical world-vision of traditional Hinduism and presented a concept which allows for a genuine advance and novelty.<ref>Odin, p. 190</ref>

=== Importance of the Upanishads ===
Although Sri Aurobindo was familiar with the most important lines of thought in Western philosophy, he did not acknowledge their influence on his own writings.<ref>''Evening Talks with Sri Aurobindo'', p. 106</ref> He wrote that his philosophy "was formed first by the study of the [[Upanishads]] and the Gita … They were the basis of my first practice of Yoga." With the help of his readings he tried to move on to actual experience, "and it was on this experience that later on I founded my philosophy, not on ideas themselves."<ref>CWSA vol. 36, ''Autobiographical Writings'', p. 113</ref>

He assumes that the seers of the Upanishads had basically the same approach and gives some details of his vision of the past in a long passage in ''The Renaissance of India''. "The Upanishads have been the acknowledged source of numerous profound philosophies and religions", he writes. Even [[Buddhism]] with all its developments was only a "restatement" from a new standpoint and with fresh terms. And, furthermore, the ideas of the Upanishads "can be rediscovered in much of the thought of [[Pythagoras]] and Plato and form the profound part of [[Neo-platonism]] and [[Gnosticism]] ..." Finally, the larger part of German metaphysics "is little more in substance than an intellectual development of great realities more spiritually seen in this ancient teaching."<ref>CWSA, vol. 20, p. 330</ref> When once he was asked by a disciple whether Plato got some of his ideas from Indian books, he responded that though something of the philosophy of India got through "by means of Pythagoras and others", he assumed that Plato got most of his ideas from intuition.<ref>CWSA vol. 27, ''Letters on Poetry and Art'', p. 520.</ref>

Sri Aurobindo's indebtedness to the Indian tradition also becomes obvious through his placing a large number of quotations from the [[Rig Veda]], the [[Upanishads]] and the [[Bhagavadgita]] at the beginning of the chapters in ''The Life Divine'', showing the connection of his own thought to [[Veda]] and [[Vedanta]].{{sfn|Huchzermeyer|2016|p=10}}{{sfnp|Heehs|2008|p=276}}

The ''Isha Upanishad'' is considered to be one of the most important and more accessible writings of Sri Aurobindo.{{sfnp|Heehs|2008|p=267}} Before he published his final translation and analysis, he wrote ten incomplete commentaries.<ref>CWSA vol. 17, Publisher’s Note</ref> In a key passage he points out that the Brahman or Absolute is both the Stable and the Moving. "We must see it in eternal and immutable Spirit and in all the changing manifestations of universe and relativity."{{sfnp|Heehs|2008|p=267}}<ref>CWSA 17:30</ref> Sri Aurobindo's biographer K.R.S. Iyengar quotes R.S. Mugali as stating that Sri Aurobindo might have obtained in this Upanishad the thought-seed which later grew into ''The Life Divine''.<ref>K. R. Srinivasa Iyengar (1972) ''Sri Aurobindo – A Biography and a history.'' Pondicherry, Sri Aurobindo Ashram. p. 441.</ref>

=== Synthesis and integration ===
[[Sisir Kumar Maitra]], who was a leading exponent of Sri Aurobindo's Philosophy,{{sfn|Huchzermeyer|2016|p=85}} has referred to the issue of external influences and written that Sri Aurobindo does not mention names, but "as one reads his books one cannot fail to notice how thorough is his grasp of the great Western philosophers of the present age..." Although he is Indian one should not "underrate the influence of Western thought upon him. This influence is there, very clearly visible, but Sri Aurobindo... has not allowed himself to be dominated by it. He has made full use of Western thought, but he has made use of it for the purpose of building up his own system..."<ref>Maitra, S.K. (1988): ''The Meeting of the East and the West in Sri Aurobindo’s Philosophy.'' Pondicherry, Sri Aurobindo Ashram. p. 49. {{ISBN|978-8170580782}}</ref> Thus Maitra, like Steve Odin,{{sfn|Huchzermeyer|2016|p=78}} sees Sri Aurobindo not only in the tradition and context of Indian, but also Western philosophy and assumes he may have adopted some elements from the latter for his synthesis.

R. Puligandla supports this viewpoint in his book ''Fundamentals of Indian Philosophy''. He describes Sri Aurobindo's philosophy as "an original synthesis of the Indian and Western traditions." "He integrates in a unique fashion the great social, political and scientific achievements of the modern West with the ancient and profound spiritual insights of [[Hinduism]]. The vision that powers the life divine of Aurobindo is none other than the Upanishadic vision of the unity of all existence."<ref name=Puligandla>{{cite book|author=Ramakrishna Puligandla|title=Fundamentals of Indian Philosophy|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LJ_0OAAACAAJ|year=1997|publisher=D.K. Printworld|isbn=978-81-246-0087-0|pages=267–268|access-date=19 December 2018|archive-date=5 February 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240205053258/https://books.google.com/books?id=LJ_0OAAACAAJ|url-status=live}}</ref>

Puligandla also discusses Sri Aurobindo's critical position vis-à-vis [[Adi Shankara|Shankara]]<ref>For Sri Aurobindo’s critique, see, for instance, CWSA vol. 17, ''Isha Upanishad'', pp. 498–99. There he says that Shankara’s world-negative approach "has overshadowed for centuries the lives and souls of hundreds of millions of human beings." However, he also recognized him as "one of the mightiest of metaphysical intellects." (''Isha Upanishad'', p. 497)</ref> and his thesis that the latter's Vedanta is a world-negating philosophy, as it teaches that the world is unreal and illusory. From Puligandla's standpoint this is a misrepresentation of Shankara's position, which may have been caused by Sri Aurobindo's endeavour to synthesise Hindu and Western modes of thought, identifying Shankara's Mayavada with the subjective idealism of [[George Berkeley]].<ref name=Puligandla/>

However, Sri Aurobindo's critique of Shankara is supported by U. C. Dubey in his paper titled ''Integralism: The Distinctive Feature of Sri Aurobindo’s Philosophy.'' He points out that Sri Aurobindo's system presents an integral view of Reality where there is no opposition between the Absolute and its creative force, as they are actually one. Furthermore, he refers to Sri Aurobindo's conception of the supermind as the mediatory principle between the Absolute and the finite world and quotes S.K. Maitra stating that this conception "is the pivot round which the whole of Sri Aurobindo’s philosophy moves."<ref name=Dubey>U. C. Dubey (2007) "Integralism the distinctive feature of Sri Aurobindo's philosophy", pp. 25–27, Ch. 2 in ''Understanding Thoughts of Sri Aurobindo''. Indrani Sanyal and Krishna Roy (eds.). D K Printworld. New Delhi. {{ISBN|978-81-246-0402-1}}</ref>

Dubey proceeds to analyse the approach of the Shankarites and believes that they follow an inadequate kind of logic that does not do justice to the challenge of tackling the problem of the Absolute, which cannot be known by finite reason. With the help of the finite reason, he says, "we are bound to determine the nature of reality as one or many, being or becoming. But Sri Aurobindo's Integral Advaitism reconciles all apparently different aspects of Existence in an all-embracing unity of the Absolute." Next, Dubey explains that for Sri Aurobindo there is a higher reason, the "logic of the infinite" in which his integralism is rooted.<ref name=Dubey/>