Sri Aurobindo (Saga of a Great Indian Sage)

Sri Aurobindo is one of the most well known Indian personalities of the twentieth century. He was a freedom fighter, a yogi and a poet, he developed what has become known worldwide as integral Yoga. As a sage of great wisdom, he was twice nominated for the Nobel Prize.

In the present biography, his life is presented comprehensively in all of its aspects. The most important sources available today have been evaluated, among them his spiritual diary Rocord of Yoga, which was first published as a book in 2001. The author also takes readers on a journey through Sri Aurobindo’s maniford literary creations, introducing them in accessible language to magnificent prose works such as The Life Divine, The Synthesis of Yoga or Essays on the Gita and the epic savitri.

This volume also portrays with great insight and knowledge, this biography will be of great value to scholars, students and devotees interested in high-level integral studies. A careful documentation with numberless references facilitates further research into each respective subject. The large photo section contains many historical photos, as well as current images historical photos, as well as current images of the Sri Aurobindo Ashram and it surroundings.

Wilfried Huchzermeyer has studied Indology, Philosophy and Comarative Religion in Germany, the US and India. He completed his Sanskrit his Sanskrit studies at Pune University with a dissertation on the Mahabharata.

Between 1970 and 1985 he had many long stays at the Sri Aurobindo Ashram in Pondicherry. During this period he translated several major works of Sri Aurobindo, including the secret of the Veda and The Foundation of Indian culture.

In 1985 he wrote The Mother – A Short Biography, which became a very popular introduction, published in several languages. His Sanskrit-German reference books Yoga-Lexikon and Yoga Worterbuch have been widely recognized as standard works.

A long time ago while staying in the Sri Aurobindo Ashram, I happened to overhear a sadhak introducing a visitor on the basics of Integral Yoga after a while I caught the sentence, “Sri Aurobindo is Indian, but his viewpoint is Western.

This aphorism, enriched by a little play on words, outlines in an original way Sri Aurobindo’s spiritual philosophy. We envisage him standing firmly on the soil of Indian tradition, but enlarging his perspective with his dynamic and evolutionary approach and his full acceptance of life and matter. We would have to add that he has also rediscovered and revitalized some aspects of the Indian tradition, especially the ancient Vedic culture.

In his present’s biography, I intend to resent Sri Aurobindo’s life and works comprehensively and in detail, but none the less a selection had to be made in view of the voluminous material that is available. In this context, an important criterion was the assumed revere of the respective subjects for readers of our time. As for the interpretation, Sri Aurobindo has stated several has assumed relevance of the respective subjects for readers of our time. As for the interpretation, Sri Aurobindo has stated several times, it would be only myself who could speak of thing in my past, giving them their true form and significance. All the same, he has supposed researchers through a large number of clarifications regarding his life so that it does appear possible to write about him on a solid foundation.

All the references to Sri Aurobindo’s works are if not otherwise mentioned in the footnotes from the complete works of Sri Aurobindo whose pagination is only in some cases identical with the earlier standard edition of the Sri Aurobindo Ashram. Most titles of the complete works can be viewed on the Ashram website.

The Sri Aurobindo Ashram Trust has been kind enough to give permission to print the photo on the cover, and all the photos of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother. The same is the case with the photos of the Ashram, etc, unless specified otherwise in the captions.

In conclusion, I wish to thank all those who have helped in preparing this book through editing, proof-reading, photos and other contributions, and the Sri Aurobindo Ashram Trust for permission to quote from the Ashram literature and for the use of large number of photos made available with the kind support of the Ashram archives.

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