The Life Divine [Hardcover]

Sri Aurobindo (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1, 2006

The Life Divine is a major philosophical work of Sri Aurobindo.Sri Aurobindo presents a theory of evolution,which will culminate in the transformation of the human being and the advent of a divine life upon earth. The Life Divine first appeared serially in the monthly review Arya.The first edition and the first Volume of this monumental work was published in 1939.New Editions in the shape of composite single volume appeared in several years and the present seventh edition has been checked against all editions published before 1950 and,when necessary,the author's manuscripts.

Editorial Reviews

Review

The book is based on the Philosophy of Sri Aurobindo.Here is a short write-up on this great Indian Yogi. Sri Arobindo) (15 August 1872 5 December 1950) was an Indian nationalist and freedom fighter, major Indian English poet, philosopher, and yogi.He joined the movement for India's freedom from British rule and for a duration (1905 10), became one of its most important leaders,before turning to developing his own vision and philosophy of human progress and spiritual evolution. The central theme of Sri Aurobindo's vision is the evolution of life into a "life divine". In his own words: "Man is a transitional being. He is not final. The step from man to superman is the next approaching achievement in the earth evolution. It is inevitable because it is at once the intention of the inner spirit and the logic of Nature's process". The principal writings of Sri Aurobindo include, in prose, The Life Divine, considered his single great work of metaphysics,The Synthesis of Yoga, Secrets of the Vedas, Essays on the Gita, The Human Cycle, The Ideal of Human Unity, Renaissance in India and other essays, Supramental Manifestation upon Earth, The Future Poetry, Thoughts and Aphorisms and several volumes of letters. In poetry, his principal work is "Savitri - a Legend and a Symbol" in blank verse.Most of these books are best sellers on amazon. --Wikipedia

About the Author

Sri Aurobindo (Aurobindo Ghose) (Bengali: Sri Ôrobindo) (15 August 1872 5 December 1950) was an Indian nationalist and freedom fighter, major Indian English poet, philosopher, and yogi.He joined the movement for India's freedom from British rule and for a duration (1905 10), became one of its most important leaders,before turning to developing his own vision and philosophy of human progress and spiritual evolution. The central theme of Sri Aurobindo's vision is the evolution of life into a "life divine". In his own words: "Man is a transitional being. He is not final. The step from man to superman is the next approaching achievement in the earth evolution. It is inevitable because it is at once the intention of the inner spirit and the logic of Nature's process". The principal writings of Sri Aurobindo include, in prose, The Life Divine, considered his single great work of metaphysics,The Synthesis of Yoga, Secrets of the Vedas, Essays on the Gita, The Human Cycle, The Ideal of Human Unity, Renaissance in India and other essays, Supramental Manifestation upon Earth, The Future Poetry, Thoughts and Aphorisms and several volumes of letters. In poetry, his principal work is Savitri - a Legend and a Symbol in blank verse.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 1130 pages
• Publisher: Sri Aurobindo Ashram/Pondichery/India; 7th edition (December 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 8170588456
• ISBN-13: 978-8170588450
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 1.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #938,323 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

60 of 60 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Look at yourself and the world from a different angle, October 10, 2005

By 

Yajnavalkya "Tim" (Hetfordshire, UK) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Life Divine (Paperback)

This is a difficult book to read. Let us be under no illusions about that. It is verbose, repetitive and massive in its scope: tackling virtually the entire gamut of issues that philosophy traditionally deals with. But by the time you have finished reading the book (it took me three months to finish)it would have transformed the way you live your life. You may not agree with Aurobindo, and in fact, he probably does not want you to blindly agree with him, he would much rather that you think things out for yourself; but one thing that he certainly does is to question the 'commonsense' view of the world: the view of the world that we build up using bits of unexamined,untested, received, 'truths'. Take just one such 'truth': We believe--or at least we have done so ever since Descartes--that Matter and Consciousness are two separate things. Aurobindo puts forward the suggestion that the two are actually one and the same entity, only they are in different states being: somewhat like Ice and Steam being different states of water. If we concede that matter may be a form of consciousness, only in an inert state, all sorts of consequences would follow: especially with regard to our attitudes towards the environment.
As I had said earlier, the scope of the book is massive. Its three parts can be roughly divided into Ontology (where he discusses the Nature of the Cosmos), Epistemology (where he discusses the nature of Knowledge (&Ignorance), and the problem of Evil--which he attributes to Ignorance: a consequence of Ahamkara or ego-centricism) and finally, in the last part, he provides a broad, general direction for living our lives in accordance with our revised view of the world (Ethics). However, the book is not tightly structured (If you are looking for a book like Wittgenstein's Tractatus you will find yourself truly frustrated) it is loose, repetitive, and disjointed. Possibly because it was originally written as a series of essays and published monthly in a magazine called the Arya (between 1914 to 1919). He must have had to repeat himself because his original audience would have forgotten a point that he would have made five years ago. But the cumulative effect of the repetitions is that his ideas have a tendency to gradually seep in and sink into your mind, rather than strike you as a sort of brilliant epiphany.
Aurobindo's philosphy is ultimately rooted in ancient Hindu Vedic thought. In the course of the book, Aurobindo tackles Marx, Darwin, Nietzche, Freud, Hegel, Feurbach, (plus a whole range of European philosophers) and his idea is to adapt their philosophy to the 'Truth' as expressed by the Seers of the ancient Vedas. Does he succeed in doing so? I don't know. That is for professional philosophers to decide. For me, the book has been a revelation, the scales have dropped from my eyes: I see things differently now. Hopefully, I will continue to do so for a while before the snares of living in a modern city finally engulf me once again. Haven't they said that we can't stand to face the truth for too long?

50 of 53 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Albert Einstein of human and cosmic consciousness, March 8, 2003

By 

"alliatus" (Toronto Ontario Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Life Divine (Paperback)

Sri Aurobindo, a contemporary of Sage Gandhi, helped to compliment Gandhi’s works and message to India and the World. Whilst Sri Gandhi preached non-violence and world peace, Sri Aurobindo also left his philosophy to serve humanity evolution. If Martin Buber were alive, I would recommend him to read it in addition to his own “I and Thou”.

I am indeed humbled by my rating. I can only say it is meant for sharing with patrons how dearly I treasure it, the rating is not meant to rate the sage Sri Aurobindo and his “Life Divine” --- for example, how does an elementary student rate Einstein’s works?

Starting from the very first page, I wonder how the written meta-materials could have originated from a homo sapiens mind. It seems to me, the wordings in written physical form is a limited tool employed, but was the best available for Sri Aurobindo at that time.
The work, originally a compilation of numerous contiguous articles, comprises 3 Parts:
Book 1 Part I Omnipresent reality and the universe
Book 2 Part I The infinite consciousness and the ignorance
Book 2 Part II Knowledge and the spiritual revolution

Occasionally he quotes, he mentions Names, it is not an extension of any sacred texts, be it Hinduism or others; it is not a set of spiritual practice based on mystical symbolism e.g. Kabbalah. They are simply words emancipating from the Author, like crystal clear waters flowing naturally in a steady moving stream, with calmness, serenity and vitality, glistening with cosmic light of jnana.

Last six chapters are the essence of the book, if you are intimidated by the volume size and really want to get something out of it with limited time constraint.

Reading a 1100+ pages fiction is already no easy matter. And more than 1100+ pages of philosophy writing requests your persistency, and requires your thinking and assimilation in each page. It is not an exaggeration if it takes you a lifetime to read. After you finish the book to its last page, you start over if you may want to recall the chapters all over.

43 of 46 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A book for all times, January 28, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Life Divine - U.S. edition (Hardcover)

When I read The Divine Life over 15 years ago it turned my faith around very profoundly,- it gave me Faith. I was a teenager and I thought I was an atheist! I am reading it again today and find the same eternal breath of inspiration in it which I found then. If we need a new Resurrection from the Godhead Shri Aurobindo and his message in The Life Divine are the highest representation for Modern Times.