The Lives of Sri Aurobindo

Erscheinungsjahr 2008
ISBN: 978-0-231-14098-0
Verlag: Columbia University Press

Buch, Englisch, 528 Seiten, Format (B × H): 163 mm x 233 mm, Gewicht: 839 g

Since his death in 1950, Sri Aurobindo Ghose has been known primarily as a yogi and a philosopher of spiritual evolution who was nominated for the Nobel Prize in peace and literature. But the years Aurobindo spent in yogic retirement were preceded by nearly four decades of rich public and intellectual work. Biographers usually focus solely on Aurobindo's life as a politician or sage, but he was also a scholar, a revolutionary, a poet, a philosopher, a social and cultural theorist, and the inspiration for an experiment in communal living.

Peter Heehs, one of the founders of the Sri Aurobindo Ashram Archives, is the first to relate all the aspects of Aurobindo's life in its entirety. Consulting rare primary sources, Heehs describes the leader's role in the freedom movement and in the framing of modern Indian spirituality. He examines the thinker's literary, cultural, and sociological writings and the Sanskrit, Bengali, English, and French literature that influenced them, and he finds the foundations of Aurobindo's yoga practice in his diaries and unpublished letters. Heehs's biography is a sensitive, honest portrait of a life that also provides surprising insights into twentieth-century Indian history.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Heehs, Peter

Fachgebiete

• Geisteswissenschaften Religionswissenschaft Religionswissenschaft Allgemein

Inhaltsverzeichnis

List of IllustrationsPrefaceAcknowledgmentsNote on Proper NamesPart One: Son1. Early Years in India: Bengal, 1872-1879Part Two: Scholar2. Growing up English: England, 1879-18933. Encountering India: Baroda, 1893-1910Part Three: Revolutionary4. Into the Fray: Calcutta, 1906-19085. In Jail and After: Bengal, 1908-1910Part Four: Yogi and Philosopher6. A Laboratory Experiment: Pondicherry, 1910-19157. The Major Works: Pondicherry, 1914-1920Part Five: Guide8. The Ascent to Supermind: Pondicherry, 1915-19269. An Active Retirement: Pondicherry, 1927-1950EpilogueNotesBibliographyIndex

Über Autor(innen)

Peter Heehs was born and educated in the United States but has lived in India since 1971. One of the founders of the Sri Aurobindo Ashram Archives, he is currently a member of the editorial board of the Complete Works of Sri Aurobindo, and has published many books and articles.