Sri Aurobindo-The Supramental Sage

 

Sri Aurobindo-The Supramental Sage

India got independence on 15 August 1947. On 15 August 2022, on the completion of 75 years, the Government of India has decided to celebrate this festival as a festival and the name of this festival is 'Azaadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav'. Many programs are being organized on this special occasion. This occasion holds special significance for all the citizens of India. On this occasion, every Indian should think that lakhs and thousands of people fought to liberate India and liberated India from foreign rule  which we know as political freedom. But the meaning of political freedom is meaningful when an Indian considers himself empowered socially and economically, as well as social, economic and political discrimination  does not hinder  in any way in national building.

A revolutionary  is specially remembered on this occasion. Because the person whom the British government considered the most dangerous man, his name was Aurobindo Ghosh and his birthday was on 15 August 1872. A high level committee has been constituted under the chairmanship of Hon'ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi  to celebrate the 150th birth anniversary of Sri Aurobindo in a befitting manner.

Sri Aurobindo was endowed with versatility personality. Not only he was a great yogi, Mantra seer, Rishi, Philosopher, Poet, writer but also a great patriot, freedom fighter and revolutionary :-

1 Uttaryogi Sri Aurobindo (Sri Aurobindo also known as Uttaryogi)

This name is given to Sri Aurobindo on the basis of the prophecy of the famous Tamil Yogi. Nagaijapta, the famous yogi of the south, predicted that after thirty years a Yogi from the North would come to the South and would practice complete yoga here in the South. He said three  'madness' as a symptom to identify that yogi. All three of them are found in the letters of Sri Aurobindo to his wife. Those three  madness  were  1- All their abilities are God's gift and this ability is only for the nation. 2- Search of God 3- The goal of making India independent.

2Revolutionary  Sri Aurobindo

Sri Aurobindo believed that the reconstruction of India i.e. mainly economic, social, political or whatever may be the directions of development  without complete self-government is not possible.  India  did not aspire to become an intellectual or all-knowing nation in all respects, but there was pressing need  to save India from being put to death as a nation. The choice was between life and death for the nation. Therefore, the demand for complete independence was strongly , openly and directly put forward   by Sri Aurobindo. Sri Aurobindo did not consider the country of India to be inert matter & only fields, fields, forests, mountains, rivers. He considered the country as Mother India. The British government considered Sri Aurobindo to be the most dangerous man in India. Sri Aurobindo's Doctrine of Passive Resistance propounds an important policy for achieving complete independence which gave a new direction to the freedom struggle of India.The plan of Sri Aurobindo's armed revolutionary is found in the 'Bhavani Mandir'.

Rabindranath Tagore wrote a poem on the occasion of Sri Aurobindo's arrest in the Vande Mataram case, and while defending the Alipore Bomb Conspiracy case, Deshbandhu CR Das said that after this dispute was settled, long after his(Sri Aurobindo) departure from this world. Sri Aurobindo will be revered as a poet of patriotism, a prophet of nationalism and a lover of humanity, and his voice would  continue to resonate and resonate not only in India but also across distant seas and countries.

3 Spiritual Nationalism

Sri Aurobindo sees the country as the manifestation of the collective soul, which is commanded to perform the assigned tasks according to the divine law. Spirituality for India, commercial energy for America, practical intelligence for England, lucid rationality for France, metaphysical intelligence for Germany, emotional ferocity for Russia, etc. needs to be developed for the welfare of mankind, for prosperity and progress.The essence is that Mother Earth is progressively expressing herself in the form of different nations. The creation of the United Nations should be seen as a step in the same direction as the world government.

4 Nation Education Policy

Sri Aurobindo's national education policy is based on holistic personality development, national thought and global vision. Sri Aurobindo writes in relation to the education policy that the living sentiment of the demand for national education does not want us to go back to Bhaskaracharya's mathematics and astrology or to adopt the Nalanda system of education. It is in the same way that the spirit of swadeshi does not go back to the chariot or bullock cart instead of rail or motor transport. It is the choice between the civilization brought from outside and the greater possibilities of the Indian mind and nature, not between the present and the past, between the present and the future, not going back to the fifth century.

5 Evolutionary Philosophy of Sri Aurobindo from Man to superman, mind to supermind and Swami Vivekanand

After spiritual experiences in Uttarpara jail and dialogue with Swami Vivekananda, Sri Aurobindo went to Pondicherry. Where the path of Integral yoga for transformation was shown to the world. The object of Integral yoga is the Divine Life, the Divine Body and the Divine World.As a matter of fact Integral Yoga of Sri Aurobindo includes transitional being , supramenal Consciousness and transformation. Sri Aurobindo does not consider Man as the final creation in the course of evolution. Sri Aurobindo writes that the course of evolution is not finished. Logic is not the last word and the reasoning animal is not the supreme creation of God.

Human has appeared from animal.In the same way, the superman will emerge from the human. This vision is very important for understanding Sri Aurobindo. Because Sri Aurobindo considers man to be a transitional being. Whereas the thinkers of the West consider man to be a rational being or satisfysing being .

6 Human Unity

Human unity has been the aspiration of mankind since time immemorial. In the modern period the expression of human unity appears in the motto of the French Revolution - Liberty, Equality and Fraternity. Sri Aurobindo says that Liberty, Equality and Fraternity could not be established in the world. Capitalism in the name of Liberty, Socialism and Communism in the name of Equality have been put to experiment . Sri Aurobindo says that fraternity has not yet been established anywhere in the world. The reason for this is that for fraternity there is a need for a spiritual revolution. And transformation of consciousness is necessary for spiritual revolution.

Auroville is an experiment to embody the spiritual transformation. Auroville's idea has been approved four times in the United Nations Assembly.

7 Five dreams of Sri Aurobindo in the message to All India Radio on 15-08-1947

Sri Aurobindo's speech of 15th August is relevant even today in which Sri Aurobindo tells about five resolutions 1- Opposing the Partition of India 2- Rise of Asia 3- Role of United Nations 4- Spiritual Gift of India to the world 5- In the course of evolution,important role of Yoga in which India's leading role will be expected.

8 Constituent Assembly remembering Sri Aurobindo

Taking inspiration from Sri Aurobindo's philosophy, vision  and literature, the role of India in the comity of nations  was discussed in the Constituent Assembly. Proceedings of the Constituent Assembly are available in 12 sections.In volume 7, 8, 9 and 11, we find references to the teachings of  Sri Aurobindo . Sri Aurobindo was remembered on 5 November 1948 on the subject of politics of India.

Similarly, the members of the Constituent Assembly, who witnessed World War I and II, was inspired by  Sri Aurobindo on 6 December 1948 to decide the role of India .Transformation of consciousness to solve global problems  as envisioned by Sri Aurobindo was considered  the only solution .Similarly Sri Aurobindo was inspiring Constituent Assembly  on 31st August 1949 that the West is looking towards India for the solution of global problems and Assembly  should guide India which has spiritual knowledge and  spiritual light   should guide the world. On 25 November 1949, the revolutionary aspect  of Sri Aurobindo was inspiring the Constituent Assembly.

9Expectation from Youth

Sri Aurobindo's expectation from independent India is that India should regain  spiritual knowledge, identify global problems and then present solutions to the problems on the basis of spiritual light and  knowledge to the world. Sri Aurobindo considers India to be the doctor of the world.Sri Aurobindo accepts India as Vishwaguru. Sri Aurobindo points to spirituality as the basis of India's creativity, vitality  and intellectualism. But at the same time he did not  consider poverty as a condition or necessity of spirituality. He considered poverty as the antithetical element of spirituality.

10 Literature - Divine Life, Savitri, Foundation  of Indian Culture, Essays on Geeta, Synthesis of Yoga, Letters of Sri Aurobindo, Human Cycle, Secret of Veda, Our Yoga and its Object,BandeMataram, etc

Surya Pratap Singh Rajawat

Secretary ,Sri Aurobindo Society Rajasthan