Sri Aurobindo was not against religious practices

Reply Re: Sri Aurobindo and the Future of Humanity
by Rich on Thu 14 Aug 2008 08:41 AM PDT Profile Permanent Link

These letters actually confirm for me that my interpretations are correct. Lets not forget that these letters were written to specific people, perhaps to those who had the intellectual maturity to engage in these devotional practices and not confuse them with religiosity. Although we dont know who they were written to, we do know that they were disseminated to a larger audience

When these letter are disseminated to a wider audience and read by those who lack the intellectual maturity to both engage in these practices yet not confuse them with religiosity then they become problematic

Unfortunately, there are consequences and unintended consequences for every action, more unfortunate here is the fact that Sri Aurobindo did not foresee the consequences or unintended consequences that may be derived from the wider dissemination of these letters, or the continuation of those sectarian religious practices in the Ashram that would reduce his Integral Yoga to the practices of a new Religion .... rc

Reply Re: Sri Aurobindo and the Future of Humanity
by rakesh on Thu 14 Aug 2008 10:16 PM PDT Profile Permanent Link

There will be people always in a large organisation who will misinterpret the meaning due to lack of intellectual maturity. Everybody knows that.

It is also a lack of intellectual maturity if we link sectarian fundamental rhetoric to religious practises. One may use religious practises for growth of consciousness. That does not mean what whose who practise these indian devotional practises are fundamentalist as some of the Non-Ashramites would like to brand them. It all depends on the Individual(s) how they would like to associate with the practises. Do they want to use them for a means of inner growth or for other egoistic purposes?

Although we do not know to whom they have been written atleast we can get an idea that Sri Aurobindo was not against these practises. That is the most important thing we have to understand. The problems that may arise in the Ashram are natural to an organisation. Instead of blaming Sri Aurobindo or blaming others for publishing letters which have helped thousands of sadhaks worldwide we have to think how to fix problems in the organisation in a suitable way.

In the Synthesis of Yoga, Sri Aurobindo mentions that the Integral yoga takes the essense of Vaishnavism, vedanta, tantra, raja yoga and teachings of Gita. There is no integral yoga without the tenets of these philosophies and spiritual practises which may look religious to some people but unfortuantely they have not understood that these practises can be used for inner growth.

We do not know what are the sectarian practises in the Ashram and the New religion you talk about. If there are they should be eliminated by proper understanding of SA/M teachings. Reply