Having applied the standards of modern critical theory, it may sound fruitless to account for biographical details of writer in interpreting his work as the biographical details either hold no importance or have nothing to do with the work of art in the sense that once a work of art is born, it looses its connection with the creator. Moreover, even in the moment of creation, the author remains detached from his creation. However, there are some exceptions to this. It has been observed that the biographical details are of immense help in partly making sense of what the concerned author has encoded.

Between 1927 and 1950, Sri Aurobindo--one of the foremost Indian philosophersof the 20th century--perfected a new kind of spiritual practice he called the"Integral Yoga." This volume brings together a comprehensive selection of SriAurobindo's letters pertaining to the practice of this discipline.

This valuable book provides a complete manual for the study and practice of Raja Yoga, the path of concentration and meditation. This new edition of these timeless teachings is a treasure to be read and referred to again and again by seekers treading the spiritual path. The classic Sutras (thought-threads), at least 4,000 years old, cover the yogic teachings on ethics, meditation, and physical postures, and provide directions for dealing with situations in daily life. The Sutras are presented here in the purest form, with the original Sanskrit and with translation, transliteration, and commentary by Sri Swami Satchidananda, one of the most respected and revered contemporary Yoga masters. In this classic context, Sri Swamiji offers practical advice based on his own experience for mastering the mind and achieving physical, mental and emotional harmony.

Since 1980, Shraddhavan has been teaching English in Auroville through close readings of Sri Aurobindo’s revelatory epic Savitri: a legend and a symbol. In August 1998 these classes were resumed at Savitri Bhavan, with a growing number of students, including young Tamil teacher-trainees from the Arul Vazhi School located in Promesse, Auroville. These classes were given the name ‘The English of Savitri’ and they concluded in May of 2009 as this group reached the end of the poem. This book is based on the transcripts of a new series of classes given by Shraddhavan between August 2009 and October 2010, which have been edited for conciseness and clarity, while aiming to preserve some of the informal atmosphere of the course. Edited transcripts of these classes began to be published serially in the Bhavan’s journal of Study Notes on Savitri, ‘Invocation’, from issue 32 onwards, since it was felt that they may be of interest to a wider audiance. They are now being published in book form in several volumes by Yukta Prakashan publishers of Vadodara. This suggested the idea of collecting the original English articles into a book form as well. This is the first such volume, covering all the five cantos of Book One of the poem, ‘The Book of Beginnings’.

In this epic spiritual poem, Sri Aurobindo reveals his vision of mankind's destiny within the universal evolution. He sets forth the optimistic view that life on earth has a purpose, and he places our travail within the context of this purpose: to participate in the evolution of consciousness that represents the secret thread behind life on Earth.

Sri Aurobindo wrote these eight essays, his last prose writings, in 1949 and 1950 for publication in the quarterly Bulletin of Physical Education (at present called the Bulletin of Sri Aurobindo International Centre of Education). They reveal a vision which includes the perfection of the body as an instrument of the action of the spirit, the nature and structure of a divine body and the conditions and operations of its life on earth, the manifestation of a supramental truth-consciousness as the basis for a divine life upon earth, and the creation of a new humanity possessed of a mind of light.

This book brings to focus one of the prominent 20th century Indian thinkers, Sri Aurobindo, by providing an overview of his philosophy on life and yoga, and by elucidating his thought in the context of contemporary society. This text is unique in approaching Sri Aurobindo as a problem solver and from a conflict resolution perspective, the latter being the author’s expertise. Sri Aurobindo’s contributions such as Ideal of Human Unity, Integral Yoga, Life Divine and his poetic vision as embodied in his epic poem, Savitri, are explored in-depth. The book explores these ideas to seek possible solutions to the current predicaments of human life and society. This monograph attracts not only students and researchers in the fields of philosophy, religion, yoga, political science, international politics, Indian thought, and conflict resolution, but also general interest readers.

The present compilation is an attempt to bring together in one volume the manifold teaching pertaining to the psychic being which are to be found in the numerous works of Sri Aurobindo and The Mother. The selections deal with the nature of the psychic being, shedding the light of Sri Aurobindo and The Mother on the inner constitution of the human being and on various related questions such as the process of inner growth, the afterlife, and rebirth.

The sayings in this book deal mainly with the integral spiritual life envisaged by the Mother- its aims, its conditions and certain aspects of its method of practice.