Aurobindo Ghosh, born on August 15, 1872, in Calcutta, was a remarkable individual with a diverse range of talents. He was not only a yogi and seer but also a philosopher, poet, and Indian nationalist. Aurobindo advocated for a philosophy centered around the idea of divine life on earth through spiritual evolution. Unfortunately, he passed away on December 5, 1950, in Pondicherry.
About
- Aurobindo Ghosh was born in Calcutta on 15th August 1872.
- He was a yogi, seer, philosopher, poet, and Indian nationalist who propounded a philosophy of divine life on earth through spiritual evolution.
- He died on 5th December 1950 in Pondicherry. Aurobindo’s pragmatic strategies to get rid of British rule marked him as “The Prophet of Indian Nationalism”.
Education
- He started his education at a Christian convent school in Darjeeling.
- Later on, he went to the University of Cambridge, where he got really good at two classical languages and learned several modern European languages.
- In 1892, he took up different administrative roles in Baroda (Vadodara) and Calcutta (Kolkata).
- He also started diving into the world of Yoga and began learning Indian languages, including classical Sanskrit.
Indian Revolutionary Movement
- He jumped into the fight for India’s freedom from the British between 1902 and 1910.
- When Bengal was split in 1905, he quit his job in Baroda and joined the nationalist movement.
- He started a patriotic journal called Bande Mataram to spread radical ideas and revolutionary tactics instead of relying on mere requests.
- He faced British arrests three times — twice for sedition and once for allegedly plotting to “wage war.”
- In 1908, he was imprisoned in connection with the Alipore Bomb case.
- Two years later, he escaped British India and sought refuge in the French colony of Pondicherry (Puducherry).
- Once in Pondicherry, he shifted away from politics and delved into spiritual pursuits, evolving into a profound thinker, philosopher, and spiritual leader.
- In Pondicherry, he met Mirra Alfassa, and together, they developed “Integral Yoga.”
- Integral Yoga isn’t about escaping life; it’s about transforming life on Earth. The goal is not to avoid worldly existence but to bring about a profound change in our lives even as we continue to live in the midst of it.
Spirituality
- In Pondichéry he founded a community of spiritual seekers, which took shape as the Sri Aurobindo Ashram in 1926.
- He believed that the basic principles of matter, life, and mind would be succeeded through terrestrial evolution by the principle of supermind as an intermediate power between the two spheres of the infinite and the finite.
Literary Works
- An English newspaper called Bande Mataram (in 1905)
- Bases of Yoga
- Bhagavad Gita and Its Message
- The Future Evolution of Man
- Rebirth and Karma
- Savitri: A Legend and a Symbol
- Hour of God
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