Sri Aurobindo. We know him as a freedom fighter, or the poet, the writer, the literary genius, the philosopher, the Maha Purna Yogi, Master, Avatar. Having had glimpses into his life through one way or another, we cannot but admire this man, or Divine incarnate, however we approach him, this great poet, seer, yogi, avatar, all rolled into one. His multiple capacities and the place they occupy high above the highest rungs of all of human capabilities put together, invoke within us a sense of reverence for him and yet, something within stirs in an aspiration towards those very heights he scaled.
It is that time of the year again (if everyday is not an occasion for this preoccupation) to raise some questions and ponder over the reason for which he came. What is the place we have given to Sri Aurobindo and his works? Why have we been sucked into this circle? What has the opening been, the draw and our approach to the integral yoga that he practiced to perfection all his life?
For often, we fall prey to the tendency of not raising these questions now and then, letting pass an opportunity for engaging ourselves in the philosophy, which, Sri Aurobindo himself sums up with his oft quoted line, “All life is Yoga”. Behind this question, it appears that a huge gateway to self-inquiry lies. What is this Yoga? How is all life a Yoga? How more can it become a life of yoga? What characterizes this life dedicated to yoga? Is this the very meaning of Purna Yoga? In which case, what then is the meaning of “life”? What are all that it constitutes? To be aware of all of life must be a fundamental requirement in dedicating one’s life to Yoga, or to live all of life as a Yogi or to approach life as an experiment in order to steer it towards some kind of higher realization, well above and eventually beyond the ordinary life guided by nature, it appears. Then another question bordering the negative will also have to be faced. Is it utterly indispensable to view all life as Yoga? Why must one engage in this preoccupation at all? This line of questioning brings us face to face with the king- question, “What then is the purpose of one’s life?”, “Is there a purpose at all?” and, “If there is, how does one find out?”
These are just some upheavals that one may face on this occasion that marks Sri Aurobindo’s birth anniversary. Or it could well turn out to be an occasion that draws one into a deep inner contemplation, a contemplation upon his presence that a remembrance of his name and form and thought may evoke, and in that silence that could prevail, to offer ourselves to the difficult task that he initiated – transformation of our nature so that the hidden therein can awake and manifest and express himself in and through that nature.…and this brings us back to the point of all life being yoga. For it is only this living and giving, within oneself, that could very well aid that transformation. Like in any experiment, one just has to find out for oneself.
On this occasion of his birth anniversary, may each of us find some time to be with him within ourselves and let that connection provide the lead, wherever we may be, at whatever station, in this business of Yoga.
It is that time of the year again (if everyday is not an occasion for this preoccupation) to raise some questions and ponder over the reason for which he came. What is the place we have given to Sri Aurobindo and his works? Why have we been sucked into this circle? What has the opening been, the draw and our approach to the integral yoga that he practiced to perfection all his life?
For often, we fall prey to the tendency of not raising these questions now and then, letting pass an opportunity for engaging ourselves in the philosophy, which, Sri Aurobindo himself sums up with his oft quoted line, “All life is Yoga”. Behind this question, it appears that a huge gateway to self-inquiry lies. What is this Yoga? How is all life a Yoga? How more can it become a life of yoga? What characterizes this life dedicated to yoga? Is this the very meaning of Purna Yoga? In which case, what then is the meaning of “life”? What are all that it constitutes? To be aware of all of life must be a fundamental requirement in dedicating one’s life to Yoga, or to live all of life as a Yogi or to approach life as an experiment in order to steer it towards some kind of higher realization, well above and eventually beyond the ordinary life guided by nature, it appears. Then another question bordering the negative will also have to be faced. Is it utterly indispensable to view all life as Yoga? Why must one engage in this preoccupation at all? This line of questioning brings us face to face with the king- question, “What then is the purpose of one’s life?”, “Is there a purpose at all?” and, “If there is, how does one find out?”
These are just some upheavals that one may face on this occasion that marks Sri Aurobindo’s birth anniversary. Or it could well turn out to be an occasion that draws one into a deep inner contemplation, a contemplation upon his presence that a remembrance of his name and form and thought may evoke, and in that silence that could prevail, to offer ourselves to the difficult task that he initiated – transformation of our nature so that the hidden therein can awake and manifest and express himself in and through that nature.…and this brings us back to the point of all life being yoga. For it is only this living and giving, within oneself, that could very well aid that transformation. Like in any experiment, one just has to find out for oneself.
On this occasion of his birth anniversary, may each of us find some time to be with him within ourselves and let that connection provide the lead, wherever we may be, at whatever station, in this business of Yoga.
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