Sri Aurobindo
Sri Aurobindo (श्री अरविंदो, 1872–1950) was an Indian philosopher, yogi, and poet who developed the system of Integral Yoga and founded the Sri Aurobindo Ashram in Pondicherry. He is widely regarded as one of India’s greatest modern sages and spiritual thinkers.
Early life and political career
Born Aurobindo Ghose in Calcutta, he was educated in England — privately in Manchester, then at St Paul’s School, London, and King’s College, Cambridge (preparing for the Indian Civil Service). He returned to India in 1893, serving the Maharaja of Baroda in administrative and teaching posts, and became increasingly involved in nationalist politics in the Indian National Congress and the nascent revolutionary movement in Bengal. He was arrested in 1908 in connection with the Alipore bomb case and tried for treason.
During his year in jail, Aurobindo underwent a profound spiritual transformation. He experienced a series of mystical visions that redirected his life from politics to spirituality. Acquitted and released in 1909, he briefly continued political journalism before withdrawing to French-ruled Pondicherry in 1910, where he would remain for the rest of his life. In 1926, together with his spiritual collaborator **The Mother** (Mirra Alfassa), he founded the Sri Aurobindo Ashram.
Integral Yoga
Aurobindo’s Integral Yoga aims at the transformation of human consciousness through the descent of a higher spiritual force into the mind, life, and body. Unlike traditional yoga, which often seeks to escape the world, Integral Yoga embraces all aspects of life as vehicles for spiritual evolution.
He taught that humanity is in the process of evolving toward a higher consciousness — the Supramental — which will manifest as a new stage of human development. This evolutionary perspective distinguishes his teaching from most traditional Hindu philosophy.
Major works
The Life Divine is Aurobindo’s philosophical masterwork, presenting a comprehensive vision of reality and human evolution. Savitri, his epic poem, is considered one of the greatest spiritual works in English literature. Other important works include The Synthesis of Yoga, Essays on the Gita, and The Ideal of Human Unity.
Auroville and legacy
After Aurobindo’s death in 1950, his spiritual collaborator The Mother (Mirra Alfassa) continued the work and established Auroville (1968), an experimental international community in Tamil Nadu, which remains active today. Aurobindo’s teachings attract followers from around the world.
Verification notes
- Dates and biographical events follow the standard biography by A. B. Purani and the Sri Aurobindo Ashram archives.
- Audited against Wikipedia (September 2026).