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Sri Aurobindo or the Adventure of Consciousness

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Sri Aurobindo was, in the opinion of many yogis, the greatest saint who was generally available to the public in modern times. (The caveat is because there are great souls who prefer to remain hidden.) Though his wisdom was vast and his discoveries in deep meditation greatly advanced our understanding of humanity's capabilities, his writings are so huge and dense, that comparitively few have understood the majesty of the man's philosophy. That is why Sat Prem's book is so valuable. You will never find a more succinct or readable tome on Aurobindo. It is the perfect introduction to the work of this great master, who deserves to be much better known in the West.

The writings of Aurobindo are enormous. As much as one might wish to bathe in the wisdom of this extraordinary man, the task is too much for most of due to the massive tomes we would confront. However, Satprem has magnificently synthesised the life work of Aurobindo. Not only has he accomplished this task well, but the subtelty, the depth of vision that Satprem manages to convey, says to me that he is himself someone who has great insight, has great life experience and spiritual maturity.

This book is does what all other books on spirituality and psychology fail to do: integrate the two. Too many seem to have fallen into the trap of looking for a 'nirvana' unrelated to what's going on around them or conversely plumbing the depths of their own thoughts and feelings or just conquering the outer material world. This book offers a positive prescription around both these dilemnas while resolving the seeming contradictions of 'meditation' and 'action in the world'.

Sri Aurobindo was, in the opinion of many yogis, the greatest saint who was generally available to the public in modern times. (The caveat is because there are great souls who prefer to remain hidden.) Though his wisdom was vast and his discoveries in deep meditation greatly advanced our understanding of humanity's capabilities, his writings are so huge and dense, that comparitively few have understood the majesty of the man's philosophy. That is why Sat Prem's book is so valuable. You will never find a more succinct or readable tome on Aurobindo. It is the perfect introduction to the work of this great master, who deserves to be much better known in the West.

This is the clearest book I have ever read about the meditation process. Satprim, a student of Sri Aurobindo, writes with such simplicity and clarity the deep insights Aurobindo, a genious of a mind ( could devour books at an alarming rate with a literal photographic memory) discovered through his own meditation practice.

This book is very important in my life. I first read it in 1970 when I was on a furious hunt for 'Truth', the meaning of life, etc. At that time I owned several books by Sri Aurobindo, including the "Life Divine". But they were all heavy, erudite tomes. Then I read Satprem's poetic, inspiring treatment of Aurobindo's life. I cannot describe here the ecstatic opening of consciousness that reading this book gave. It was as though every word was on fire. And the same with Aurobindo's book on "The Mother".
Sri Aurobindo (and the Mother), are Co-Avatars of the Supramental. But that's another story.

The author is a student of Aurobindo's and 'The Mother'. Aurobindo's experience and description have an uncommon breadth and depth to them. Where most disciplines stop (Nirvana) Aurobindo is just getting started. This book is well written in readable english. Satprem does a fine job of presenting some history of Sri Aurobindo as well as the core teachings of this rare individual.

I became interested in Sri Aurobindo after reading 'The Phenomenon of Man" by Pierre Teilhard de Chardin. It seemed important to me to look at the evolution of man from a continued spiritual viewpoint.
Understanding that Aurobondo's works are difficult for an untrained mind such as mine, I settled on starting with Satprem's discussion of Sri's integral yoga and the story of his life. I am grateful to have this book, for it presented Sri's work in understandable manner. I am not saying it was an easy book to read and understand, but it was manageable.
As for the content, all I can say is that the phrase "life changing" may be well overused, but it does apply here. I have just finished the book so it will take some time to absorb what I have read. However, it has given me the will to take on Sri's "The Life Divine", his most important work ( even though it may take me upwards of six months to read).
If you are interested in evolution and are on a spiritual path this book may take you in a new and exciting direction!

I first read this publication in college when I was writing a paper comparing Sri Aurobindo,Vivakanda and Krishnamurti. Sri Aurobindo and his Integral Yoga made the greatest impact on me. My original copy was extensively written on and I needed a new copy to read. Sri Aurobindo is part of the basis of Ken Wilber's work, another author I feel strongly about.