Integral yoga

The Integral Yoga of Aurobindo Ghose by (gen. Aurobindo and Sri Aurobindo, 1872-1950 ) is a yoga path, which converts the spiritual philosophy of Indian Yogis in practice. Aurobindo has him at the beginning of the 20th century. developed and published in the form of consecutive papers in the journal Arya, he published during the years 1914-1921. The Integral Yoga are distinguished according to Aurobindo must of the same name Swami Satchidananda yoga (1914-2002), the this coined in the second half of the 20th century and made known, especially in the United States.

Term

It is not a form of yoga exercises with defined as in Hatha Yoga or Raja Yoga. Essential as asanas after Aurobindo complete surrender, in which the practitioner or sadhak all his actions, words and thoughts dedicated to the Divine. This yoga is called integral because the traditional disciplines Jnana Yoga, Karma Yoga and Bhakti Yoga are linked together, as Aurobindo describes it in the synthesis of yoga. But he was integral also because he does not reject the world or wants to overcome, but it seeks to penetrate to the divine.

Destination and route

The goal of Integral Yoga is a progressive union with the Divine and, with them, the growing revelation in all areas of human life.

" In the truth and the power of the mind grow into and to be by the direct action of that power a right stream bed through which that can express himself, a man's life in God and a divine life of the spirit in humanity - that is therefore, the principle and the whole goal of an integral yoga of self-perfection. "

According to Aurobindo, it is not enough if the soul ascends and unites with the Divine, or the spirit rises in Nirvana. A climb to the Divine alone can not be the goal; a descent of the divine in the world must follow. But so that the world could be transformed, no steps of the path may be skipped. Only those who walk the steps of the entire head, so all parts of the personality consciously turning to the Divine, can again return the way and bring the Divine into the world. Traditional methods of yoga practice can be used during Sadhana of Integral Yoga, but ultimately, only the Divine itself effect the conversion.

The triple conversion is the psychic transformation in which everything is through the psychic being in connection with God, spiritual transformation, in which everything is sunk by the cosmic consciousness in God, and finally the supramental transformation, in which everything Gnostic in the Divine Consciousness is supramentalized. Only with the latter could complete the transformation of body, life and mind begin.

The triple effort of man, which initiates this conversion and support, is the pursuit of the divine without preconditions, rejecting ideas, preferences and pride and devotion to the Divine that needs to happen without conditions and without personal gain. Ultimately, can effect this conversion only the Divine itself, which presupposes a receding of the individual.

Parts of our nature

For this, all parts of our nature must be transformed and permeated by the divine Shakti. The essence of parts, an outer and an inner region is distinguished:

• Higher mental levels: see Table

While mental, vital and physical impulses mingle in their outer aspects, they are separated according to Aurobindo in their inner, true aspects. To perform this separation has in common the integral yoga with the classical yoga. Affairs, true mental, vital and physique are by Aurobindo in direct communication with the interior essence ( Antaratman ) and are sometimes confused with it. The central character, the Jivatman, is regarded as beyond birth and death. He is said to be eternal, true essence of the individual.

Levels of consciousness

In Aurobindo's stage model, there are still below the Supermind various mental levels:

• The normal Mental: this is the starting point, the think tank of the people. Man has the ongoing flow of thoughts and associations, the mental prison leave to ascend to higher spiritual levels.
• The higher Mental: this is the spirit of the philosophers and thinkers. Here you will find abstract, higher thinking, a thinking which, however, is still divided into fragments. Only occasionally one finds lightning higher insights here.
• The enlightened Mental: assumes the higher mental peace and tranquility, this leads to increasing mental clarity. The only occasional insights become a steady stream of light that grows into the flood to a brilliant invasion. This can manifest itself in various ways, in the artistic creativity of a poet or musician, the findings of a scientist, or simply in religious knowledge and dedication. Aurobindo himself was a poet ( his greatest work was Savitri ), and he promoted poetry and art among his pupils.
• The intuitive Mental: here comes the clarity and insight directly from the silence, right, like lightning, and without the mental translation that even in enlightened Mental plays a role. It is no longer a stream coming from the outside, up and down into a single unit. The seeker tries to express his findings less poetic, but preserves the calmness and inner clarity.
• The Overmind ( Overmind ): here the consciousness is a mass of stable light, which leads to an unbroken universal vision; awareness not seen here, point by point, in a single glance you can see a large expanse of time and space. He is full of lights and forces. He delivers millions of deities, each creating its own world with the force. But from here begins the separation of different aspects of truth. The Overmind acts and develops spontaneously. It has partly supramental nature and leads towards this.

• The Supramental ( Supermind ): the supramental vision is a global vision. While the Overmind brings together all aspects of fragmented perceptions of the mind into a single beam, this beam but ends up in only one point and one sees everything under this one aspect; it is universal and uniform, because it excludes other viewpoints or simply angliedert. The Supramental other hand, sees everything in a single vision that connects all the rays without contradiction, while the angle of each thing looks - a rounded vision that does not end in a central point, but in a myriad of things: a single of countless glance .. ( Savitri ) It represents the dynamic form of Sat -Chit - Ananda and is intended to connect the divine in new ways with his creation.

Chakras or centers

The central concepts in Aurobindo's yogic psychology can be set to the traditional chakra system of Tantra in relationship. However, Aurobindo's yoga differs in that his path - something generalized - developed from the top down the chakras slowly, and not from the bottom up, as in the classical Kundalini Yoga. The divine power descends through the lid in the Sahasrara, and then transforms the vessel, the human body, which is an image of cosmic powers as in Tantra. Other aspects are the disappearance of the ego, the growth of the psychic being and the entrustment of the person to the divine action.

The Mental Transformation

After Aurobindo 's soul is ( the psychic being ) behind the personality of man. It is the carrier of life, body, and Mental. In "normal" people endures their decisions and intervenes only rarely. But the psychic being has within himself the ability to transform the nature of a person and where previously there was darkness, to bring brightness and clarity where previously was confusion, to bring insight and understanding, where previously was falsehood to bring truth and justice. The psychic being is even able to protect the body from diseases and dangers. The psychic influences the consciousness of the background here, but you have to step out of the ordinary into consciousness out in the innermost being, to find it, and you have to make ruler over the consciousness of it should be. This is to be done, is one of the main goals of yoga. It is therefore the task of Sadhak to bring the forces of the body, the vital and mental under the spiritual influence and more and more to respond gradually to the psychic being. The psychic being knows the path to the divine, hears its reputation and is able mind, heart and body to lead to it. This must be done in a constant process until the contact with the divine is stable and the Spiritual transformation begins.

The Spiritual Transformation

If the person has broken through the closure of the mind once, he looks the infinity above him, felt an eternal present, an infinity of consciousness and bliss, a boundless light, boundless self, an eternal divinity. When he returns from this ascent, he is aware of; but it lacks a conscious cognitive distinction and a clear version of the experience. This is according to Aurobindo in mind that these experiences are aware of the human mind and only a series of experiences to the human mind allow in what was previously aware of being aware. Then an experience and knowledge begins the higher levels of being. For the full spiritual transformation is a constant ascent from the lower to the higher consciousness is necessary and effective, continuous descent of the higher into the lower nature. No limit can be set this revolution, since by its nature it is the invasion of the infinite.

The Supramental transformation

But Aurobindo also notes that the human mind can reflect the infinite, can go up in the same, to accept his instructions and they can run it on its own way; but it can not itself be the direct and perfect instrument of the infinite mind. This requires an awareness that is above the mental, human consciousness. Aurobindo calls this the supramental consciousness. And notes that the evolution must move towards on this supramental consciousness to allow a divine life on earth.

The significance of the fact

Sri Aurobindo calls a being active for the Ishvara, the Lord of creation, in the world in his Yoga. A complete withdrawal from world affairs is given by him only as a temporary option. His ideas of being active are similar to those of Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita. The deed is done without adhering to the success and in perfect serenity. It is the act does not take place as a satisfaction of the ego, but are offered as an offering to the Lord of the world. In order to achieve this goal, the forces of the ego must be overcome by Aurobindo and the will of the people gradually come into line with the will of the divine Shakti. In a final step, the actions of the sadhak should express entirely to the divine will.

References and notes

The source evidence also refer to the primary and secondary literature of the people article and are therefore listed in abbreviated form.

Primary literature

Here only those works Aurobindo are listed which have the Integral Yoga to content. Other works of Aurobindo on other topics are listed in the literature review of the article on Aurobindo Ghose.

• The Synthesis of Yoga, publishing Hinder Deelmann, Glad Bach ( 2nd ed. ) 1976, ISBN 3-87348-082-4
• The Life Divine 3 volumes, total 1213 pages ISBN 3-87348-141-3, ISBN 3-87348-144-8 Vol 1, Vol 2 ISBN 3-87348-145-6, Vol 3 ISBN 3-87348 - 146-4
• Letters on Yoga - Integral Yoga and Other Ways, Volume 1, trans. v. Elisabeth Beck. Sri Aurobindo Ashram, Pondicherry 1977, ISBN 978-81-7058-111-6 ( Auslief. edition and Savitri Sri Aurobindo Society)
• Letters on Yoga - The Sadhana, vol 2, trans. v. E. Beck, ibid 1979, ISBN 978-81-7058-145-1
• Letters on Yoga - experience and achievement, Vol 3, trans. v. E.Beck, ibid 1981, ISBN 978-81-7058-413-1
• Letters on Yoga - Conversion, Vol 4, trans. v. E. Beck, ibid 1983, ISBN 978-81-7058-569-5
• Light on Yoga, (published by Hinder Deelmann ) 1980, ISBN 3-87348-136-7

Secondary literature

• Klaus J. Bracker: Veda and living Logos - anthroposophy and Integral Yoga in the discourse. Publisher Mayer Info3, 2014 ISBN. 978-395779-009-5. Synopsis of related motifs the Integral Yoga and the anthroposophical spirituality.
• Morwenna Donnelly: The creation of Divine Life - An Introduction to the Integral Yoga of Sri Aurobindo, Tower Publishing, Bietigheim 1973, ISBN 3-7999-0163-9. ( Ausliefg. Mirapuri publisher) Very light and easy to read, catchy presentation of the key points of the concepts Aurobindo Ghose. The band leaves all further -reaching considerations other publications. The strength of this volume lies in the immediate intelligibility of new terms at Aurobindo.
• Pandit, M. P.: The practice of integral yoga. A guide to holistic spirituality. Dt. Übers: Kathrin Dannenbauer, Auroville 2008 ( Auslief.: edition and Savitri Sri Aurobindo Society), or the ISBN
• Rainer Püschel: self-transformation - Integral Yoga by Sri Aurobindo and esoteric Christianity, Hinder Deelmann, Glad Bach 2006 ( 2nd edition ), ISBN 978-3-87348-109-1
• Satprem: Sri Aurobindo or the Adventure of Consciousness, OWBarth Publishing 1982, ISBN 3-87041-229-1, and reprint 2003, Hinder & Deelmann, ISBN 3-87348-147-2. Basic, easy to read, biographical scale introduction by a former ashram member and confidant of Mirra Alfassa. The statements of objectives and goals Aurobindo Ghose and Mirra Alfassa learn interpretive aids of the author; five b / w photo portraits.