Greetings Friends Its been a while since I posted in here... have been lurking around but had nothing much to say until now... Came across this website run by the Sri Aurobindo Centre of Advanced Research ( S.A.C.A.R ) http://theuniversityoftomorrow.org/ It is an online unversity specialising in the study of Sri Aurobindo's Philosophy I intend to do atleast one course in the coming days. Semesters start in mid feb I guess Hope some of you will join ... Other than that... On the personal front .... Been dabbling part time with some radical left organisations but it all seems to be headed nowhere.. Also I have started doing yoga... a little irregular but I can notice some progress... And Work... I have now begun to work fulltime. This is what keeps me busy nowadays. Would love to know what all you guys/gals have been upto ?
What do you hope to gain with this school? I have a rather dim view of people who attempt to follow dead masters and an even dimmer view of those who sell their words for money. You live in india. You have at your fingertips the wealth of living sages. Spend time with them. They would never charge you a penny. They will enrich your life while leaving your wallet untouched. x
Hi HH - Nice to hear from you and to see you are still interested in Sri Aurobindo! I would disregard xexon's comments about following a 'dead master' - Sri Aurobindo's philosophy is, so far as I can determine, quite unique, (the only philosopher I've encountered in 30 years with anything like a similar set of views is Teilhard DeChardin) and perhaps he's not actually as dead as all that! You certainly won't get the same thing from any other source, despite what others may tell you. How many of them have studied Sri A or have any understanding of what he was saying? It seems that as far as this forum goes, only myself and GD Kumar have any actual knowledge of what he said. From the fact that your were checking out the left, I'd intuit that you are a person who wants to see change in this world for the better. I don't think you'd be satisfied with a philosophy which is more about how to get out of this world than how it can be transformed. The work is complex, and I think a structured approach is probably quite a good idea for anyone not used to studying philosophy or some related area. I wish you all the best in this enterprise, and I'm sure you will learn a lot and it will help you to grow. On the personal level - I myself am ok - I have a lot going on at present, and I've had a busy and quite tumultuous year. I've had a period of doubts etc, which I'm glad to say is now behind me. Presently, I am feeling hopeful about the future. Altough I still have the greatest respect for Hindu philosophy in gen, and Sri A especially, I have been returning to my own roots in western culture, and to an extent in Christianity (of the mystical not the populist type), which I see as totally compatible with Sri A's ideas - perhaps more so than traditional vedanta etc. in some ways. In a way, Sri Aurobindo can give you a whole new box of tools - experience shows, and necessity dictates that different people will use them in different ways. Perhaps this is part of the process by which the new energy is being infused into everything everywhere and fixed... Love & peace, BBB. PS - Did you know that Satprem has passed on last year?
Sweet Mother - aged around 90. (Note her Impecable taste - that is a very nice kimono!) Try looking into Her eyes for a few moments - even in the photo
I also disagree with xexon. True masters never die. They may shed their body, the body dies, but the master was independent of the body and still is. You can always invoke the grace and blessings of the mahatmas of the past in your own heart. And I can tell you frmo very clear personal experience, you will definitely be rewarded with their guidance in life. After all, that is where the true master is - in the cave of the heart. apaarasatchidsukhavaari raasheh yasyormimaatram bhuvanam samastham guhaahitam tam ramanam gambhiram chintaviheenam hridichintayaami In my heart, free from all thoughts, I contemplate on the Guru Ramana, the joyous one, who is deep and still like the infinite ocean made of the waters of existence, consciousness and bliss. The entire universe of names and forms, coming and going, birth and death is like so many waves on its surface.
100% agreement. I too have had similar experiences. The big question in all this in my mind is 'what is death?' - do we really know? I think it may turn out to be something rather different from the way we usually concieve of it.
BBB Great to hear from... I did not know that Satprem had passed away Also I heard but cannot confirm that two news volumes of previously unreleased works of Sri Aurobindo are going to be released in the middle of this year... as part of the collected works series I am looking forward to that.. Cheers
Here's a link to a short video (not perfect quality in places) of Sweet Mother giving Darshan at the Pondicherry ashram. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5wPyEkQ3e6E&feature=related Other Sri Aurobindo related goodies on the page too.
