“What thou art within, that outside thee thou shalt enjoy”; no machinery can rescue you from the law of your being.
Sri Aurobindo
What Thou Art Within
Topic: Spiritual Growth & Practice
This erring race of human beings dreams always of perfecting its environment by the machinery of government and society, but it is only by the perfection of the soul within that the outer environment can be perfected. “What thou art within, that outside thee thou shalt enjoy”; no machinery can rescue you from the law of your being. What then shall be our ideal? Unity for the human race by an inner oneness… the pouring of the power of the spirit into the physical and mental instrument, so that we shall exceed our present state as much as this exceeds the animal state from which science tells us we have issued.
Sri Aurobindo, born Aurobindo Ghose on August 15, 1872, was a prominent Indian philosopher, yogi, guru, poet, and nationalist. He was born in Kolkata, India, into an Anglophilic family, and was sent to England at the age of seven for a European-style education. Aurobindo emerged as a prolific writer, scholar, and a passionate advocate for Indian independence during his time in England and after his return to India. Yet, his life took a dramatic turn in 1908 when he was arrested for sedition, during which he experienced a series of mystical and spiritual experiences in jail. After his release from prison, he moved to Pondicherry, where he would spend the rest of his life in spiritual pursuits and developing his spiritual philosophy known as Integral Yoga.
The teachings of Gautama Buddha and his own spiritual experiences heavily influenced Sri Aurobindo's philosophy. Like the Buddha, Aurobindo was keen on understanding the nature of suffering and existence, but his philosophy went beyond the individual's liberation from suffering. His Integral Yoga sought a spiritual transformation of the entire world, an evolution of human consciousness into what he termed "Supramental Consciousness." Aurobindo believed in the divine potential of humanity and its ability to attain spiritual enlightenment. His teachings had a profound impact on his followers, advocating for a spiritual approach to life that involved active participation in the world rather than renunciation. He passed away on December 5, 1950, leaving a rich spiritual and philosophical legacy that continues to inspire and guide individuals on their spiritual journeys to this day, much like Gautama Buddha.
Wilson, Andrew, editor. World Scripture II. Universal Peace Federation, 2011, p. 983 [Sri Aurobindo, To Love Is to Know Me: The Bhagavad Gita for Daily Living; Sri Aurobindo's Teachings and Yoga, Next Future blog].
Sri Aurobindo
Theme: Spiritual Growth
Sri Aurobindo, To Love Is to Know Me: The Bhagavad Gita for Daily Living
Transformation of Human Consciousness
Transformation of Consciousness is the key to lasting social transformation: Machinery cannot bring the millennium
The source of all perfection as well as imperfection lies in human consciousness. The state of the Society is an exact reflection of the state of human consciousness “What thou art within, that outside thee thou shalt enjoy; no machinery can rescue thee from the law of thy being”. All the products of the human Mind like Science, Technology, Economics, Politics, Morality, Religion, Philosophy, Culture, failed to perfect society because they are not able to transform the nature and consciousness of Man. At worst, they have mechanized and brutalized man; at best they brought some refinement to the surface being of Man, while the deep subconscious roots of his ignorance, imperfection and suffering remained untouched. Sri Aurobindo never denied the immense utility of these mental pursuits of man in the preparation and education of human consciousness for its higher destiny; he never denied them as meaningless illusions like the traditional spiritualist. But he denies the cock-sure faith of the modern scientific and rational mind in these powers of the mind, that they can perfect Man and his Society. So the only sure path towards a lasting social transformation that Sri Aurobindo envisages is an inner psychological and spiritual discipline of consciousness, which will release and uplift the individual and collective consciousness of Man into a higher level of consciousness beyond Mind – an inherently Perfect and Integral Consciousness which can bring lasting peace, harmony, and fulfillment to human life.
—M.S. Srinivasan [M.S. Srinivasan, the Sri Aurobindo Society, The Next Future blog].
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