David Frawley

David Frawley (Pandit Vamadeva Sastri)

“David Frawley is one of the most important scholars of Ayurveda and Vedic Science today. I have great respect and admiration for his knowledge and the way he has expounded the ancient wisdom of the Vedas.” Deepak Chopra

“Frawley is an Indian in an American body. The ease with which he enters into the spiritual of the Indian tradition and renders its deeper concepts in terms of modern thought shows an unusual familiarity with this ancient wisdom.” M.P. Pandit, Secretary of Sri Aurobindo Ashram

“Certainly America’s most singular “practicing Hindu.”” Ashok Malik, India Today

“David Frawley is a formidable scholar of Vedanta and easily the best known Western Acharya of the Vedic wisdom.” Ashish Sharma, Indian Express, the Express Magazine

David Frawley (Pandit Vamadeva Shastri) is one of the few Westerners recognized in India as a Vedacharya or teacher of the ancient wisdom. He began his Vedic writings in 1979 under the guidance of M.P. Pandit, the secretary of the Sri Aurobindo Ashram. In 1991 under the auspices of the great Indian teacher, Avadhuta Shastri, he was named Vamadeva Shastri, after the great Vedic Rishi Vamadeva. In 1994 he was given the title of Pandit along with the Brahmachari Vishwanathji award in Mumbai for his knowledge of the Vedic teaching. Over the years Vamadeva has received many awards and honors for his work from throughout India.

In India, Vamadeva is recognized as a Vedacharya (Vedic teacher), a Vaidya (traditional Ayurvedic doctor), Jyotishi (Vedic astrologer), Puranic (Vedic historian) and Yogi. In India, his translations and interpretations of the ancient Vedic teachings have been given acclaim in both spiritual and scholarly circles. Vamadeva gives a great deal of time and attention to his India work and spends part of his year in India, engaged in various programs, teachings and travels.

In America, Vamadeva is known as a teacher of Ayurvedic medicine and of Vedic astrology (Jyotish) and has done pioneering work on both these subjects. He as been honored by many Ayurvedic groups, especially the National Ayurvedic Medical Association (NAMA), for which he is one of the four honorary advisors and received a lifetime achievement award in 2002. He has similarly been honored by Vedic astrology groups, and was the president of the American Council of Vedic Astrology (ACVA) from its origin in 1993 to 2003. In Sept. 2000, he was regarded as one of the 25 most influential Yoga teachers in America by the magazine Yoga Journal.

In Sept. of 2012, Vamadeva gave one of the two closing keynote speeches for the international conference that marked the opening of Sanchi University, near Bhopal India, which is scheduled to be the largest Buddhist university in South Asia, with a Vedic studies department as well. He has been asked to be a visiting professor for the future.

Vamadeva (David Frawley) presents Vedic knowledge in the Western world and in a lucid presentation recognized by the tradition itself. He has worked extensively teaching, writing, lecturing, conducting research and helping establish schools and associations in related Vedic fields over the last thirty years. He has studied and traveled widely gathering knowledge, working with Vedic teachers and groups in a non-sectarian manner.

Vamadeva sees his role as helping to revive Vedic knowledge in an interdisciplinary approach for the planetary age. He sees himself as a teacher and translator to help empower people to use Vedic systems to enhance their lives and aid in their own Self-realization. He regards Vedic wisdom as a tool for liberation of the spirit, not as a dogma to bind people or to take power over them. Vedic knowledge is a means of communing with the conscious universe and learning to embody it in our own life and perception.

You can find out more about his work by visiting his website at the American Institute of Vedic Studies.

The Writings of David Frawley

Ayurveda: Nature’s Medicine

by David Frawley and Dr. Subhash Ranade

368 pp Paper Back
ISBN: 0914955950
Ayurveda, Natures Medicine is an excellent introduction to the full field of Ayurvedic Medicine from diet and herbs to yoga and massage. It has a notable emphasis on practical self-care and daily life regimens that makes it helpful for everyone seeking health and wholeness. The book is an excellent primer for students beginning in the field and who wish to have a firm foundation to understand the entire system.

Ayurvedic Healing: A Comprehensive Guide

by David Frawley

468 pp Paper Back
ISBN: 0914955977
Ayurvedic Healing presents the Ayurvedic treatment of common diseases, covering over eighty different ailments from the common cold to cancer. It provides a full range of treatment methods including diet, herbs, oils, gems, mantra and meditation. The book also shows the appropriate life-style practices and daily health considerations for your unique mind-body type both as an aid to disease treatment and for disease prevention. This extraordinary book is a complete manual of Ayurvedic health care that offers the wisdom of this ancient system of mind-body medicine to the modern reader relative to our special health concerns today. The present edition is an expanded version of the original 1989 edition, covering additional diseases and adding new treatments.

A number of books are now available on Ayurvedic medicine, the traditional natural healing system of India. These are generally of an introductory nature. Ayurvedic Healing, on the contrary, explains Ayurvedic treatment from constitutional life-style regimens to the treatment of over a hundred diseases. This comprehensive book explains the Ayurvedic approach to all major common health problems including the common cold, constipation, digestive disorders, menstrual problems, hypertension, and arthritis. It also examines complex diseases like cancer and Aids, recommending the appropriate diet, herbs, oils, aromas, mantras and meditation as required. It contains an extensive introductory section outlining Ayurvedic health regimens for disease prevention, including a complete guide to Ayurvedic diet. Anyone interested in Ayurveda will find this book useful and want to have it as a reference guide for healthful living.

Ayurveda and Marma Therapy

by David Frawley, Dr. Subhash Ranade and Dr. Avinash Lele

 

268 PP Paper Back
ISBN: 0940985594
This is the first book on marma therapy published in the West. It clearly describes the 107 main marma points in location, properties and usage. It explains in detail how to treat them with many methods including massage, aromas, herbs and yoga practices. Ayurveda and Marma Therapy is an essential reference guide for all students of Yoga, Ayurveda, massage or natural healing.

Yoga and Ayurveda

360 pp Paper Back
ISBN: 0914955810
Yoga and Ayurveda together form a complete approach for optimal health, vitality and higher awareness. YOGA AND AYURVEDA reveals to us the secret powers of the body, breath, senses, mind and chakras. More importantly, it unfolds transformational methods to work on them through diet, herbs, asana, pranayama and meditation. This is the first book published in the West on these two extraordinary subjects and their interface. It has the power to change the lives of those who read and apply it.

Excerpt from Yoga and Ayurveda click here

Other Writings of David Frawley:

The Vedic Traditions:

Astrology of the Seers

304 pp Paper Back
ISBN: 0914955896
Vedic Astrology, also called Jyotish, is the traditional astrology of India and its profound spiritual culture. It possesses a precise predictive value as well as a deep interpretation of the movement of life, unfolding the secrets of karma and destiny. Astrology of the Seers, first published in 1990, is regarded as one of the classic modern books on Vedic astrology, covering all the main aspects of its philosophy, background and practice. The present edition has been thoroughly revised and updated.

Wisdom of the Ancient Seers

280 pp Paper Back
ISBN: 0910261369
“The Rig Veda is not only one of the oldest sacred scriptures of the world, but also one of the most misunderstood. Past scholarship has dismissed the hymns of the Rig Veda as being expressions of a primitive animistic mentality that only rarely rose to true spiritual and philosophical heights. David Frawley’s book demonstrates that this judgmental view is ill-founded. His fine renderings of select Vedic hymns bear witness to the fact that their composers were sages and seers–powerful poets who knew the art of symbolic and metaphoric communication. The Vedic hymns give us a unique glimpse not into a primitive mentality but a mentality and culture that revolved around the highest spirtiual values and visions. This is an important and riveting book, ushering in a new and sounder tradition of Vedic interpretation and scholarship.” Georg Feuerstein

Ayurvedic Herbalism:


The Yoga of Herbs: An Ayurvedic Guide to Herbal Medicine

by David Frawley and Dr. Vasant Lad

288 pp Paper Back
ISBN: 0941524248
For the first time, here is a detailed explanation and classification of herbs, using the ancient system of Ayurveda. More than 270 herbs are listed, with 108 herbs explained in detail. Included are many of the most commonly used western herbs with a profound Ayurvedic perspective. Important Chinese and special Ayurvedic herbs are introduced. Beautiful diagrams and charts, as well as detailed glossaries, appendices and index are included.

 


Yoga for Your Type:

An Ayurvedic Guide to Your Asana Practice

by David Frawley and Sandra Summerfield Kozak

296 pp os
ISBN: 091026130X
This is the first book that details how to choose Yoga asanas (Yoga poses) most appropriate for your unique body type according to the five thousand year old system of Ayurvedic medicine. These two systems of healing and energy management have long been regarded as effective methods of relieving stress, creating personal balance, eliminating ailments, and relieving chronic pain. Yoga for Your Type presents a fundamental understanding of both Yoga and Ayurveda and provides the information needed for you to balance your energy and feel healthy. “Editor’s Choice” Yoga Journal

Excerpt from Yoga for Your Type click here

Tantric Yoga and the Wisdom Goddesses


260 pp Paper Back
ISBN: 0910261393
“Tantric Yoga and the Wisdom Goddesses is an excellent introduction to the essence of Hindu Tantrism. The author discusses all the major concepts and offers valuable corrections for many existing misconceptions. He also introduces the reader to the core Tantric practices of meditation and mantra recitation, focusing on the ten Wisdom Goddesses” states Georg Feuerstein.

Tantra – perhaps the most popular and yet most misunderstood of the yogic teachings today – is a vast ocean of wisdom for enlightening the mind. It is not merely sex, with which most Westerners identify it, but an entire science of meditation.Tantric Yoga and the Wisdom Goddesses describes the deeper system of Tantra in its psychological and spiritual sophistication – unfolding the mysteries of life and death, being and non-being. It reveals Tantra as a profound methodology for reaching the highest states of consciousness. Tantric Yoga delineates one of the most important Tantric teachings – the Ten Wisdom Forms of the Goddess (Dasa Mahavidya) – on all levels from image worship to formless meditation practices, including mantras for each Goddess. It explains these great Goddesses in beautiful poetic and deep philosophical language, making them accessible archetypes to the modern mind. These ten forms are Kali, Tara, Sundari, Bhuvaneshvari, Bhairavi, Chinnamasta, Bagalamukhi, Dhumavati, Matangi, and Kamala. In a special section on the practice of Yoga, the book explains the subtle body, the chakras and their energy flows, and how these can be properly developed. For the first time in print in the West, it reveals the Ayurvedic system of inner transformation using the three principles of Prana, Tejas and Ojas, the spiritual energies of air, fire and water (Vata, Pitta and Kapha). It shows how we can develop these energies through outer and inner methods, including diet, herbs, gems, mantra and meditation. Tantric Yoga and the Wisdom Goddesses is based on unpublished teachings of the great yogi Vasishta Ganapati Muni, the foremost disciple of the great guru Ramana Maharshi. It follows the Tantric approach of Advaita Vedanta and South Indian Tantric traditions.

Robert Kleinman

Robert Kleinman

The constant throughout Robert Kleinman’s life has been a deep interest in the cosmos and the individual’s place in it. As he explains in his book, he was awakened to the wonders of the universe as a teenaged soldier during a spiritual experience on a WWII battlefield in France. After completing his Army service, Kleinman began a long trek towards the heart of the cosmos at NYU, where he completed undergraduate studies in mathematics and physics. To generate funds for further study, he served the country again as a meteorologist in the Air Force, taking a degree in that discipline from Pennsylvania State University. He then entered the doctoral program in philosophy and cosmology at Columbia University.

Kleinman explored the spiritual traditions of India under the guidance of Swami Nikhilananda at the Ramakrishna-Vivekananda Center in New York City. While a student at Columbia, he undertook years of Zen practice with the great Isshu Miura Roshi at the First Zen Institute of New York. Well-grounded in meditation, he encountered Sri Aurobindo’s poetry in a bookshop. The vast and integrative vision of Sri Aurobindo enlarged and reshaped Kleinman’s life and purpose.

In 1961, he accepted a teaching post at Pensacola Junior College in Florida. It seemed an ideal place to quietly polish his dissertation. As they came to know the depth of his integrity and scope of his knowledge, the college’s administration was so appreciative that they afforded him full freedom to develop a broader philosophy program. Thus, in the early 1960s, a college freshman could attend classes with Kleinman like “Theories of the Universe” and “Comparative Religion” in the wilds of northwest Florida. Compassionate to the core, he guided scores of students towards careers, assisted them in resolving life challenges, and opened them to self-discovery. His reputation grew, and Dr. Kleinman became the most respected intellect within hundreds of miles, who could speak authoritatively to wide sweeps of scientific, artistic, philosophic, and spiritual concerns.

It was not thinking, but realization that formed the core of his efforts. Kleinman’s deepening study and practice of Sri Aurobindo’s integral yoga led him to visit India with his wife, Jan, and two of their children in 1969-1970. Posted as professor for a year to the Sri Jagadguru Chandrasekhara Bharati Memorial College in Sringeri, South India, Kleinman and his family visited the Sri Aurobindo Ashram in Pondicherry for lengthy periods. There they grew close to the Mother and to several of the leading exponents of her spiritual community.

When he returned to the States, he developed more fully the philosophy and religion curriculum at the college and shared the richness of his perspective with an intimate circle of students and friends. Many went on to distinguished academic and business careers, but all traced their understanding of the universe and their poise in life to his influence.

Kleinman wrote a number of articles during his career for diverse journals. He sacrificed significant writing potential, though, when he accepted larger administrative responsibilities for the college as Chairman of the History, Languages, and Philosophy Department. Over the years, Kleinman was awarded grants to numerous conferences on cosmology and metaphysics by the National Science Foundation and the National Endowment for the Humanities. A larger picture of his academic achievements appears below in his Biographical Data.

After retirement in 1992, Bob and Jan Kleinman moved to Boulder, Colorado, where over a period of years they carefully honed his studies of the cosmos and eventually carved this book out of a larger tree of knowledge. It was brought to its final shape after they returned to a grateful Pensacola. The Four Faces of the Universe rejuvenates cosmology and carries it beyond the confines of astronomy. The reader senses not just the shape of this magnificent and growing universe, but the larger Being whom it manifests.

Vishnu Anantasayin

BIOGRAPHICAL DATA

Robert M. Kleinman

Born March 26, 1926 in Brooklyn, New York.

Attended New York University (B.A., Mathematics and Physics, 1951), Pennsylvania State University (B.S., Meteorology, 1954), and Columbia University (M.A., Ph.D., Philosophy, 1959, 1964).

Two tours of military service (U.S. Army, 1944-46; U.S. Air Force, 1953-57). Recipient of New York State Scholarship for Veterans, 1951-53). Professional meteorologist with the Air Weather Service (USAF), 1953-1957.

Lecturer in Philosophy at the University of Connecticut, Waterbury, CN, 1961. Taught philosophy, religion, cosmology, and interdisciplinary humanities at Pensacola Junior College, 1961-92. Professor of Philosophy and Chairman of the History, Languages, and Philosophy Department, 1988-92. Visiting Professor of Philosophy and Religion, the University of West Florida, Spring, 1969. Member of the Task Force on General Education, 1987. Recipient of the 1988 Academic Teaching Excellence Award. Member of the PJC Academy of Teaching Excellence. Retired in 1992. Professor Emeritus.

Awarded first sabbatical leave offered by PJC, Academic year 1969-70. Visiting Professor of Philosophy at the Sri Jagadguru Chandrasekhara Bharati Memorial College in Sringeri, South India, 1969-70. Offered a series of lectures on The Bhagavad Gita at the Nehru Memorial Library in Manipal, India, 1969.

Received a National Science Foundation Grant in 1973 to study contemporary scientific cosmology at Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA (seminar directed by Remo Ruffini of Princeton University).

Recipient of three National Endowment for the Humanities Grants: (1) “The Exact Sciences in Antiquity” (Asger Aaboe, at Yale University, 1982), (2) “The Great Chain of Being in World Perspective” (Huston Smith, at the Pacific School of Religion, Berkeley, CA, 1985), (3) “Metaphysics and the Modern World” (George Lucas, at the University of Santa Clara, Santa Clara, CA, l986).

Many articles published in philosophical journals and books in the U.S.A., Great Britain, and India. Most recent publications: (1) an article in Contemporary Philosophy: The Journal of the Institute for Advanced Philosophic Research, Mar/Apr, 1991, (2) a paper included in New Essays in the Philosophy of Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan(Ed. S.S. Rama Rao Pappu), Sri Satguru Publications, India Books Centre, Delhi, 1995, and (3) an article in The Advent: A Quarterly Devoted to the Exposition of Sri Aurobindo’s Vision of the Future, August, 2004.

Numerous papers presented at meetings of the Socratic Society (The University of West Florida), The Sri Aurobindo International Centre of Education, Mysore University, The American Academy of Religion, and The International Congress of Vedanta (Miami University, Oxford, OH).

Attended lectures in Vedanta philosophy given by Swami Nikhilananda at the Ramakrishna-Vivekananda Center in New York City, 1957-59.

Studied Buddhism with the Zen Master Isshu Miura Roshi at the First Zen Institute of America in New York City, 1959-61.

Participated in a seminar on “Sri Aurobindo and Teilhard de Chardin” organized by Lois Duncan at the Sri Aurobindo Center, Crescent Moon Ranch, Sedona, AZ (1969). Pursued further research on the works of Sri Aurobindo at the Sri Aurobindo Ashram in Pondicherry, India (1969-70).

Attended seminars given by the Tibetan Lama Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche at Naropa Institute in Boulder, CO (1974 and 1976). Took part in the “Seminar on the Sutras” at Mount Baldy Zen Center in California (directed by Joshu Sasaki Roshi in conjunction with the U.C.L.A. Extension Division), 1978, and a seminar on “Emptiness and Great Compassion,” conducted by Tenzin Gyatso, the Dalai Lama, at Harvard University, 1981.

Also attended a number of international conferences on philosophy: “Hegel and the Sciences,” sponsored by the Boston Colloquium for the Philosophy of Science, Boston University (1970), “Plotinus and Indian Philosophy, “at the Second International Congress of Neoplatonic Studies, Brock University, Ontario, Canada (1976), and “Einstein’s Century,” a Symposium at San Francisco State University focusing on the broader cultural impact of the life and work of Albert Einstein (l980). Did postgraduate study on Dante’s The Divine Comedy at the University of Colorado in Boulder (1994-5).

Traveled extensively in North America, Europe, Africa, and Asia, with periods of residence in France, Germany, Morocco, Great Britain, Thailand, and India. Did research on the life and work of the English poet William Wordsworth in the English Lake District (1971).

Past memberships in the American Philosophical Association, The American Academy of Religion, The Hermetic Academy, Pi Mu Epsilon (The National Mathematics Honors Society), and the American Meteorological Society.

©2006, 2007, 2008 Institute for Wholistic Education • Lotus Press *All Rights Reserved

Featured Title:

Four Faces of the Universe by Robert Kleinman

Four Faces of the Universe is an adventurous survey of a universe that is deeper than science can measure. It explores key perspectives by which we can gain insight into the cosmos – mythical, scientific, traditional and evolutionary – affirming what is valid in each. Its route takes us through the Stanzas of Dzyan, Einstein’s theories, quantum mechanics, the Hermetic Tradition and beyond. Along the way we meet great figures like Madame Blavatsky, Albert Einstein, Plato, Dante, and Sri Aurobindo, and we embrace the cosmos in works of art and imagination. A journey through the Four Faces suggests how we can find our place in the world and arrive at a soul-deep harmony in it.

352 pp Paper Back
ISBN: 0-940985-91-8 $19.95

The Magical Universe

The Mother

The Mother

The Mother was born in Paris as Mirra Alfassa in 1878. She studied art, music and occult sciences in her early life, guided by spiritual experience at a very early age. In 1914 she met Sri Aurobindo in Pondicherry, India and in 1920 she moved permanently to Pondicherry to join him as his spiritual collaborator. In 1926 she was formally given full charge over the Sri Aurobindo Ashram and the spiritual and material welfare of the disciples who had formed around Sri Aurobindo by that time. She contined to expand the scope of the work of integration of the inner and outer life with the founding of the International Centre of Education, a model school which puts into practice the integral education methods developed by her. In 1968 the Mother founded the international city of Auroville as a place for material and spiritual research for the future evolution of humanity in harmony with itself and its earthly environment.

The Mother’s writings are powerful, direct and decisive in their spiritual force and clarity.

Writings of the Mother:

Flowers and Their Messages:

309 pp Paper Back
ISBN: 094152468X

By entering into contact with the nature of a flower, its inner truth…one knows what it represents…if you are in contact with it, if you feel it, you can get an impression which may be translated as a thought. There is a kind of identification with the vibration, a perception of the quality that it represents…little by little there occurs a close approach between these vibrations, that are of the vital-emotional order, and the vibration of mental thought.

Commentaries on the Dhammapada

One of the ancient texts of the Pali Canon of Buddhism, the Dhammapada has a revered place among the noted scriptures of the world. It is quite special in its focus on the practical implementation of the Buddha’s teachings in daily life, through the examination and self-control of one’s thoughts, words and deeds. “Dhamma” is sometimes translated as “virtue”, but in its deeper sense it is the innate law of life.

“Pada” means “footstep” or path. The Dhammapada is not so much a religious text as a text of practical psychology for those wishing to undertake an inner, spiritual discipline to change their lives.

The Buddha broke out of the conventions of his time in order to speak to the condition of mankind and provide a path toward liberation from the wheel of birth, death and Karma, the chain of consequences. The Dhammapada encapsulates his basic teachings and provides guidelines for gaining insight and an understanding that goes beyond any single teaching or religion. One of the “great books” of humanity, the Dhammapada can provide benefit to seekers from any philosophic or religious or spiritual path with its timeless non-sectarian wisdom.

The present edition is especially valuable as it contains an English translation that is at once clean and concise, while also filled with a spiritual sense and meaning. This translation compares favourably with those that have appeared in the past from an intellectual standpoint, and it is certain to awaken in the reader a sense of the reverence and
spiritual aspiration that truly resides in the text.

The commentaries are by the Mother, who was the spiritual collaborator of Sri Aurobindo and the spiritual guide of the Sri Aurobindo Ashram for many years. After each Dhammapada chapter, she has added her own observations and insights to turn our focus towards the realizations in consciousness that the text implies. Her practical acumen and spiritual wisdom create a force for understanding that is missing from a purely academic commentary.

Other Major Titles:

Collected Works of the Mother

17 volume set

7100 pp Paper Back
ISBN: 0940985780

This 2nd edition of the Collected Works of the Mother in 17 volumes has been released to coincide with the 125th Birth Anniversary of the Mother. The Mother’s writings contain a powerful force of yogic action that can transform the seeker’s practice.

Prayers and Meditations:

380 pp Paper Back
ISBN: 9788170580522

This volume contains the prayers and meditations selected for publication by the Mother from her diaries of 1912 to 1919, and five prayers of a later period.

Health and Healing in Yoga:

351pp Paper Back
ISBN: 9788170580232

The extracts for this book have been selected from the writings and talks of the Mother. Most of the chapters begin with a series of short written statements arranged under the first title. The titles which follow are generally longer passages taken from talks; a few are from essays and messages

Audio:

Four Aspects of the Mother CD

58.58 min Audio CD

Sri Aurobindo’s powerful “Matri Upanishad” chapter 6 of The Mother, read by The Mother. The mantric force of the writing is accentuated by the power of The Mother’s reading.

Mother’s Agenda

Fascinating and powerful insights transcribed from talks between The Mother and Satprem

U.S. editions of The Mother’s writings now available:

Compilations from Sri Aurobindo and The Mother:

Back to Sri Aurobindo Information Page

Institute for Wholistic Education Home Page

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Compilations from the Writings of Sri Aurobindo and The Mother:

Living Words:

Soul-Kindlers for the New Millenium

198 pp Paper Back
ISBN: 0910261423

Inspiring selections from the works of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother dealing with spiritual growth towards a new consciousness beyond mind which has now manifested itself upon the earth, heralding the birth of a New World.

The Yoga of Sleep and Dreams:
The Night-School of Sadhana

144 pp Paper Back
ISBN: 0940985748

The Yoga of Sleep and Dreams: The Night-School of Sadhana The practice of yoga continues day and night. This book aids the seeker in becoming conscious and turning sleep and dreams into the opportunity for real and substantial progress on the path of yoga.

 

The Psychic Being
Soul: Its Nature, Mission and Evolution

223 pp Paper Back
ISBN: 0941524566

The present compilation is an attempt to bring together in one volume the manifold teachings 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.

 

Living Within
The Yoga Approach to Psychological Health and Growth

Western psychotherapy and the personal growth process has gained considerably from the experience acquired within Eastern traditions. Living Within makes it apparent that there is a great deal more to learn that is of both practical and theoretical value.

Indian imported editions of The Mother’s writings now available:

Sri Aurobindo’s Writings:

Sri Aurobindo was a prolific writer over a wide range of subjects including philosophy, yoga, poetry, human unity and much more. Most of his major works have been published in US editions by Lotus Press.

Outline of Sri Aurobindo’s Teaching

For details on many more titles open the PDF documents:

Sri Aurobindo’s Main Works PDF

Practical Spirituality PDF

Spiritual Wisdom of India PDF

PDF documents require Adobe Acrobat Reader

Lotus Press Sri Aurobindo and The Mother and related literature menu page providing a complete list of available US and Indian editions, including Sri Aurobindo, The Mother, compilations, Sri M P Pandit and books by other authors

Sri Aurobindo

Sri Aurobindo

“The most vital issue of the age is whether the future progress of humanity is to be governed by the modern economic and materialistic mind of the West or by a nobler pragmatism guided, uplifted and enlightened by spiritual culture and knowledge….” Sri Aurobindo

We are facing in today’s world an existential crisis. We are experiencing a major die-off of species, connected with human industrial development, consequent climate change, pollution of land, sea and air, chemicals that negatively impact genetics and basic health, and increasing inequality of resource allocation for an ever-growing world population. This leads to violence, conflict and mass migration events as well. The industrial revolution and its consequences are developments of human mental development. While we are now recognizing the vast unintended consequences of human industry, we find that we cannot reach any consensus due to conflicting views, ideas and opinions, combined with the admixture of desire, greed and short-sightedness. Traditional viewpoints and relationships are challenged and we see the rise of cultures across the world now interacting with one another on an unprecedented scale. People everywhere are questioning the ideas that have brought us to this crisis point.

Albert Einstein clearly understood the need of humanity to find another way: “We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.” It is thus time for a new way, a new evolution of consciousness. Sri Aurobindo reviewed the evolutionary development of consciousness as the secret meaning behind the outer development of forms from matter, to life and then to mind, eventually bringing us to the reflective, analytical and rational logical intellect that humanity signifies today. He pointed out that this evolution is not completed and a new level of consciousness, based not in fragmented thought and division into independent parts, but founded in unity and oneness as the basis and container of all the myriad forms and forces, must develop. It is this new level of consciousness, which he called “supramental” (above the mind) that has the capability of providing us the solutions we so desperately need to solve the existential crisis in today’s world.

This is not a matter of developing a new religion or a new philosophical direction. It is a matter of spiritual development and the practical application of the new consciousness to our life in the world.

Sri Aurobindo’s unique contribution to human potential and growth developed through his integration of Western and Eastern cultures. He brought the energy and vision of the West, with its focus on the perfection of the physical, material and mental areas of human life together with the spiritual development and philosophical directions developed over thousands of years in the East.

Sri Aurobindo honors the contribution of each of these divergent streams of human activity. His writings help us reconcile the apparent conflicts of two diverse societies and at the same time develop a new, wider, embracing viewpoint which vibrates with spiritual force, mental clarity and a heart of love and compassion for the efforts of humanity.

Sri Aurobindo has been considered one of the foremost philosophers of the 20th Century, but he was far more than just a philosopher. He was a political activist, a mystic, a spiritual leader, and a poet, a yogi and a teacher. Sri Aurobindo experienced the range of human activity and used that experience to communicate his insight in a way that we can appreciate and understand.

Outline of Sri Aurobindo’s Teaching

What others have to say about Sri Aurobindo:

“Sri Aurobindo’s yoga points the way toward the kind of transformative practice we need to realize our greatest potentials. No philosopher or contemplative of modern times has done more to reveal our possibilities for extraordinary life.” Michael Murphy, founder, Esalen Institute and author, The Future of the Body

“Sri Aurobindo (is) the foremost of Indian thinkers, who has realized the most complete synthesis between the genius of the West and of the East.” Romain Rolland, Nobel Laureate

“Aurobindo treatises are among the most important works of our time in philosophy, ethics and humanities. Sri Aurobindo himself (is) one of the greatest living sages of our time, and a most eminent moral leader.” Pitirim Sorokin, Harvard University

“A new type of thinker, one who combines in his vision the alacrity of the West with the illuminations of the East. To study his writings is to enlarge the boundaries of one’s knowledge.” London Times Literary Supplement.

“Sri Aurobindo is not only the most original philosopher of modern India–he was also an accomplished yogi who based his metaphysical vision on his own inner discoveries.” Stephen Phillips, Professor of Philosophy, University of Texas, Austin

“one of the great masters of spiritual synthesis.” Ram Dass

“Sri Aurobindo is one of the most important and influential spiritual figures of our time, whose work deserves to be better known.” Robert Johnson, author, He and She

“Sri Aurobindo serves humanity as a spiritual master who directs and sustains all seekers whose inner aspiration leads them to a yoga as wide and deep as life itself.” Robert McDermott, Former President, California Institute of Integral Studies

Sri Aurobindo’s Writings:

Sri Aurobindo was a prolific writer over a wide range of subjects including philosophy, yoga, poetry, human unity and much more. Most of his major works have been published in US editions by Lotus Press.

Annotations on Sri Aurobindo’s Books

Introductions to Sri Aurobindo:

Sri Aurobindo or The Adventure of Consciousness by Satprem

Satprem takes us along with him in a thorough and methodical exploration of Sri Aurobindo’s yoga. With him, we understand the virtues of mental silence, learn about the invisible gradations of consciousness above the mind, decipher the many beings and forces that inhabit us. All our unknown potentialities come alive before our eyes. Most importantly, we appeciate how these untapped possibilities within us relate to our daily life, how they can transform it from the inside, as it were, and how, ultimately, Sri Aurobindo’s experience leads to a divine rehabilitation of Matter. Sri Aurobindo, or the Adventure of Consciousness is one of the all-time bestselling introductions to the Integral Yoga of Sri Aurobindo, and is a work that has inspired many thousands of people with it’s lucid and engaging style and substance.

ISBN: 978-0-9387-1004-2 paperback 336 pp. $17.95

The Integral Yoga: Sri Aurobindo’s Teaching and Method of Practice

ISBN: 978-0-9415-2476-6 paperback 416 pp. $14.95

Institute for Wholistic Education Home Page

Updated 1/2/21

Gems from Sri Aurobindo:

“The earliest formula of Wisdom promises to be its last, — God, Light, Freedom, Immortality.”

“To hope for a true change of human life without a change of human nature is an irrational and unspiritual proposition.”

“As man moves towards spiritual freedom, he moves also towards spiritual oneness.”

“The Divine Truth is greater than any religion or creed or scripture or idea or philosophy.”

Sri M.P. Pandit

Sri M.P. Pandit

Sri M. P. Pandit served as the personal secretary to the Mother at the Sri Aurobindo Ashram, and the Mother became the entire focus of his life. He studied the classical scriptures and living spiritual traditions of India, following in the footsteps of Sri Aurobindo and Sri T.V. Kapaly Sastry. His writing career spanned six decades, publishing over 150 books and many articles on subjects as diverse as philosophy, spirituality, social and political thought, science, religion, mysticism and the classical texts themselves. At the same time he became a commentator on the teachings whose powerful insights went right to depths and essence of the meaning.

Readings in Savitri

Panditji held meditation sessions in the evening at his residence for many years. The sessions would generally start with a lecture, a reading or a guided meditation theme and descend into the depths of a deep silent Force. Many of these programs were tape recorded. We have the pleasure to share some of the Readings in Savitri with you here. The files listed below are all MP3 files which can be played in Windows Media Player or other MP3 compatible players on your computer. Because they are such large files (30 megabytes or more) do not attempt this without broadband service, and even then it can take some minutes for the files to download depending on the speed of your connection.

Savitri: A Legend and a Symbol by Sri Aurobindo is a great epic poem ranging more than 800 pages in blank verse and covering the entire history and evolution of consciousness. It takes the theme of love conquering death and the final triumph of the Spirit, and the transformation of life, utilizing the story of Savitri and Satyavan from the Mahabharata. Read more