Integral yoga , sometimes also called supramental yoga , is the yoga -based philosophy and practice of Sri Aurobindo and The Mother ( Mirra Alfassa ). Central to Integral yoga is the idea that Spirit manifests itself in a process of involution , meanwhile forgetting its origins. The reverse process of evolution is driven toward a complete manifestation of spirit.
51-591: The Matrimandir is an edifice of spiritual significance for practitioners of integral yoga , in the centre of Auroville established by the Mother of the Sri Aurobindo Ashram . It is called Soul of the City ( French : L'âme de la ville ) and is situated in a large open space called Peace . The Matrimandir took 37 years to build, from the laying of the foundation stone at sunrise on 21 February 1971 -
102-403: A tantric liturgy or liturgical manual, that is, the instructions to carry out a certain practice. The historian N. Bhattacharyya provides a working definition of the benefits of sādhanā as follows: [R]eligious sādhanā , which both prevents an excess of worldliness and molds the mind and disposition ( bhāva ) into a form which develops the knowledge of dispassion and non-attachment . Sādhanā
153-560: A grand program called sapta chatushtaya (seven quadrates) to aid this evolution. Spirit or satchitananda is the Absolute, the source of all that exists. It is the One, having three aspects: Sat (truth), Citta (consciousness, awareness), and ananda (bliss, happiness). Involution is the extension of Spirit, the Absolute , to create a universe of separate forms. Being manifests itself as
204-528: A greater influence, taking on the role of spiritual Guide. Central Being refers to the transcendent and eternal spirit , as opposed to the incarnate and evolving Soul , which he calls the Psychic Being . Sometimes it refers to both of them together as the essential spiritual core of the being. The Central Being "presides over the different births one after the other but is itself unborn" (ibid p. 269). This transcendent Central Being or Spirit
255-487: A multiplicity of forms, meanwhile becoming lost in the inconscience of matter. The first manifestation of Spirit in the process of involution is as Satchitananda , and then as Supermind, the intermediate link between the higher (Spirit) and lower (matter, life, and mind) nature. According to Aurobindo the world is a differentiated unity. It is a manifold oneness, that generates an infinite variety of lifeforms and substances. The lifeforms and substances are stretched out on
306-451: A set of habits. This crystallised set of habits becomes one's personality. This is normally believed to be "self". The appearance of stable personality is given by constant repetition and recurrence of the same vibrations and formations. According to Aurobindo, humans face three basic problems: The fundamental cause of falsehood, error and evil is Ignorance. Ignorance is a self-limiting knowledge, which arises with exclusive concentration in
357-445: A single field. According to Aurobindo, human notion of good, bad & evil are uncertain and relative. Unlike other Yoga practices Integral yoga does not propose any kind of physical asanas, breathing techniques or external movements. It is more psychological in nature, with internal reflection and self analysis & correction as main tools of development. The main practices or approaches are divided into The limitations of
408-628: A transformation of the outer nature. This transformation of the outer being or ego by the Psychic is called Psychicisation; it is one of the three necessary stages in the realisation of the Supramental consciousness. This Psychic transformation is the decisive movement that enables a never-ending progress in life, through the power of connecting to one's inner spirit or Divine Essence. The Psychic begins its evolution completely veiled and hidden, but grows through successive lifetimes, and gradually exerts
459-575: A wide range, from physical matter to a pure form of spiritual being, akin to the five koshas or sheaths, where the subject becomes fully aware of itself as spirit: Above Mind proper lie various higher levels of Mind, which ascend toward Spirit. Through evolution Spirit rediscovered itself as Spirit. Evolution follows a developmental trajectory from the original inconscience of matter into life, to mind, and then to spiritualized mind, culminating in The Supermind or Truth Consciousness. Evolution
510-454: Is teleological , since the developing entity contains within itself already the totality toward which it develops. It is not a mechanistic or deterministic teleology, but a "manifestation of all the possibilities inherent in the total movement." The goal of Integral yoga is to become aware of the Divine, to integrate the physical, mental and spiritual aspects of ourselves, and to manifest
561-563: Is a means whereby bondage becomes liberation. B. K. S. Iyengar (1993: p. 22), in his English translation of and commentary to the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali , defines sādhanā in relation to abhyāsa and kriyā : Sādhanā is a discipline undertaken in the pursuit of a goal. Abhyāsa is repeated practice performed with observation and reflection. Kriyā , or action, also implies perfect execution with study and investigation. Therefore, sādhanā , abhyāsa , and kriyā all mean one and
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#1732800792208612-675: Is also designated as the Jiva or Jivatman , although the meaning of these terms in Sri Aurobindo's philosophy differs greatly from that of much of conventional Vedanta (especially Advaita Vedanta ) The levels of being ascend from the inconscient to the Supermind. Inconscient Matter is the lowest level of involution. Spirit is still present in the inconscient: "The Inconscient is the Superconscient's sleep." The Inconscient
663-612: Is also the instrument of the Superconsciousness which has created the Universe. According to Satprem, the Inconscient lies at the bottom of the physical subconscient, and "life emerged ... at the border between the material inconscient and the physical consciousness ... in our body. The physical, vital and mental levels of being contain both a subconscient and a subtle or subliminal part. The subconscient parts are
714-623: Is also transitional between the surface or Outer Being and the Psychic or Inmost Being. By doing yoga practice ( sadhana ), the inner consciousness is being opened, and life turns away from the outward to the inward. The inner consciousness becomes more real than the outer consciousness, and becomes a peace, happiness and closeness to the Divine. The Psychic Being is Sri Aurobindo's term for the Personal Evolving Soul (the Higher Mind, Illumined Mind, Intuition and Overmind),
765-593: Is an ego -transcending spiritual practice . It includes a variety of disciplines in Hindu , Buddhist and Jain traditions that are followed in order to achieve various spiritual or ritual objectives. Sadhana is done for attaining detachment from worldly things, which can be a goal of a sadhu . Karma yoga , bhakti yoga and jnana yoga can also be described as sadhana; constant efforts to achieve maximum level of perfection in all streams of day-to-day life can be described as Sadhana. Sādhanā can also refer to
816-417: Is partly a creation of the inconscient or subconscient. According to The Mother, the ordinary, false consciousness, which is common to material body-consciousness, is derived from the subconscient and the inconscient. According to Aurobindo, the outer being depends on the subconscient, which hinders the spiritual progress. Only by living in the inner being can this obstacle be overcome. According to Sharma,
867-437: Is the dynamic form of Sachchidananda (Being-Consciousness-Bliss), and the necessary mediator or link between the transcendent Sacchidananda and the creation. Humans are stuck between matter and Spirit, due to the habits of personality and partial awareness, which arise from Ignorance. Humans are accustomed to respond to certain vibrations more than other. These customs develop into one's desire, pain, feelings, which are all
918-537: Is the goal of yoga, for which Kriyāyoga is necessary as a first step for a sādhaka. There are three aspects of Kriyāyoga: Vachaspati Mishra , an influential commentator on the Yoga Sutras , notes that these three aspects of Kriyāyoga are necessary in order to purify the mind, making it more sāttvic than rājasic or tāmasic . Such purity of the mind allows one to then cultivate practice ( abhyāsa ) and dispassion ( vairāgya ), which are prerequisites for achieving
969-544: Is the realisation of the Supermind , or Supramental consciousness, and the resulting transformation of the entire being. Psychicisation and spiritualisation serve as necessary prerequisites for the Supramentalisation of the entire being. The supramental transformation is the final stage in the integral yoga, enabling the birth of a new individual, fully formed by the supramental power. Such individuals would be
1020-481: Is the subtle, higher counterpart of the subconscient. According to Sharma, "it has an inner mind, an inner vital being, and an inner subtle physical being, wider than man's consciousness." It can directly experience the Universal, and "it is the source of inspirations, intuitions, ideas, will ... as well as ... telepathy [and] clearvoyance." The gross body commonly referred to in yoga constitutes mainly of two parts
1071-488: Is to attain some level of spiritual realization, which can be either enlightenment , pure love of God (prema), liberation ( moksha ) from the cycle of birth and death ( saṃsāra ), or a particular goal such as the blessings of a deity as in the Bhakti traditions. Sādhanā can involve meditation , chanting of mantra sometimes with the help of prayer beads , puja to a deity, yajña , and in very rare cases mortification of
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#17328007922081122-516: The psychic being , the psychic personality or Divine Soul , in the core of one's being. The Divine Soul serves as a spiritual Guide in the yoga, and enables one to transform the outer being . It may also help avoid the dangers of the spiritual path. There is an intermediate zone , a dangerous and misleading transitional spiritual and pseudospiritual region between the ordinary consciousness and true spiritual realisation. Psychisiation consists of three methods. In "consecration" one opens oneself to
1173-405: The "Mental" faculties. In addition to the individual Vital faculty, Sri Aurobindo refers to a Vital Plane or Vital world, which would seem to be partly equivalent to the astral plane of popular occultism and New Age thought. Mind proper is the conceptual and cognitive mind , the manakosha. Mind is a subordinate process of the Supermind. It is the intermediary stage between the Divine and
1224-951: The Divine Soul that the sadhak can avoid the pitfalls of the spiritual path. As a result of the Psychicisation, light, peace, and power descend into the body, transforming all of its parts, physical, vital, and mental. This is the Spiritual transformation, or Spiritualisation, the concretisation of the larger spiritual consciousness. Aurobindo asserted that spiritual aspirants may pass through an intermediate zone where experiences of force, inspiration, illumination, light, joy, expansion, power, and freedom from normal limits are possible. These can become associated with personal aspirations, ambitions, notions of spiritual fulfilment and yogic siddhi, and even be falsely interpreted as full spiritual realisation. One can pass through this zone, and
1275-399: The Divine at earth. According to Sri Aurobindo, all life is Yoga, while Yoga as a sadhana is a methodised effort towards self-perfection, which brings to expression the latent, hidden potentialities of being. Success in this effort unifies the human individual with the universal and transcendental Existence. Integral yoga reunites "the infinite in the finite, the timeless in the temporal and
1326-588: The Force before engaging in an activity. "Moving to the Depths" (or "concentration") is a movement away from the surface existence to a deeper existence within. "Surrender" means offering all one's work, one's life to the Divine Force and Intent. Guided by the evolving divine soul within, the sadhak moves away from ego, ignorance, finiteness, and the limitations of the outer being . It is thanks to this guidance by
1377-799: The Mental on his reading of the Taittiriya Upanishad , the mental being (or perhaps just the Mental Purusha) is the mano-maya-atma – the self made of mind ( manas ). For Sri Aurobindo, Mind or the Mental being is not simple and uniform, but consists itself of various strata and subdivisions, which act at different levels of being. These various faculties are described or variously referred to, usually in obliquely or in passing, in some of his books, including Savitri , which has poetic references to many types of Mind. In his letters answering questions from disciples, Sri Aurobindo summarises
1428-491: The Mother's 93rd birthday - to its completion in May 2008. It is in the form of a huge sphere surrounded by twelve petals. The Geodesic dome is covered by golden discs and reflects sunlight, which gives the structure its characteristic radiance. Inside the central dome is a meditation hall known as the inner chamber - this contains the largest optically-perfect glass globe in the world. The Matrimandir, and its surrounding gardens in
1479-508: The Subconscient. The Subtle physical is Sri Aurobindo 's term for a subtler aspect of the physical nature. This has many qualities not found in the gross physical nature. In The Agenda , The Mother often refers to it. It might be compared to the etheric body and plane , or even the astral body and plane . The term "subtle physical" is used to distinguish it from gross ( sthula ) or outer material physical. The Vital level of
1530-615: The Yoga Sūtras describe different disciplines of practice, the qualities or aspects of which vary according to the development of intelligence and refinement of consciousness of each sādhaka. In the Yoga Sutras II.1, Patañjali and his commentators write that the Kriyāyoga (action-oriented type of yoga) is to be undertaken by those whose mind is not already fixed. The fixing or "stilling of the changing states of mind" ( Yoga Sutras I.2)
1581-413: The associated spiritual dangers, without harm by perceiving its real nature, and seeing through the misleading experiences. Those who go astray in it may end in a spiritual disaster, or may remain stuck there and adopt some half-truth as the whole truth, or become an instrument of lesser powers of these transitional planes. According to Aurobindo, this happens to many sadhaks and yogis. Supramentalisation
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1632-401: The being refers to the life force , but also to the various passions, desires, feelings, emotions, affects, compulsions, and likes and dislikes. These strongly determine human motivation and action through desire and enthusiasm. Unlike Western psychology , in which mind, emotions, instincts, and consciousness are all lumped together, Sri Aurobindo strongly distinguishes between the "Vital" and
1683-577: The central Peace Area, is open to the public by appointment. The four main pillars that support the structure of Matrimandir, and carry the Inner Chamber, have been set at the four main directions of the compass. These four pillars are symbolic of the four aspects of the mother as described by Sri Aurobindo , and are named after these four aspects. Four great Aspects of the Mother, four of her leading Powers and Personalities have stood in front in her guidance of this Universe and in her dealings with
1734-476: The characteristics of the various levels of Mind. Above mind proper lie various higher individual levels of mind, namely the Higher Mind, Illumined Mind, Intuitive Mind and Overmind, which ascend toward the Spirit, and provide a higher and more inclusive vision of reality: Supermind is the infinite unitary Truth Consciousness or Truth-Idea beyond the three lower planes of Matter , Life , and Mind . Supermind
1785-414: The flesh or tantric practices such as performing one's particular sādhanā within a cremation ground. Traditionally in some Hindu and Buddhist traditions in order to embark on a specific path of sādhanā, a guru may be required to give the necessary instructions. This approach is typified by some Tantric traditions, in which initiation by a guru is sometimes identified as a specific stage of sādhanā. On
1836-463: The forerunners of a new supra-humanity, grounded in truth-consciousness. All aspects of division and ignorance of consciousness, at the vital and mental levels, would be overcome, and replaced with a unity of consciousness at every plane. And even the physical body transformed and divinised. A new supramental species would then emerge, living a supramental, gnostic, divine life on earth. Aurobindo describes several results and different stages depicting
1887-522: The material Inconscient. Integral Yoga involves going beyond this surface consciousness to the larger life of the Inner Being, which is more open to spiritual realisation. The Inner Being, or Subliminal, includes the inner realms or aspects of the physical, vital and mental being. They have a larger, subtler, freer consciousness than that of the everyday consciousness. Its realisation is essential for any higher spiritual realisation. The Inner Being
1938-486: The material physical body (anna kosha ) and the nervous system normally refer to as vital vehicle (Prana kosha) in Integral yoga. The Physical level refers to both the physical body and the body's consciousness . The body is just as conscious as the vital and mental parts of the being, only it is a different type of consciousness. The Physical not only shades upwards to higher ontological levels, but also downwards into
1989-464: The mundane life. It works by measuring and dividing reality, and has lost sight of the Divine. It is the seat of ignorance, yet it is still capable of an upward ascent toward the Divine. Unlike Western psychology, in which mind and consciousness are considered the same, Sri Aurobindo strongly distinguishes between the "Mental" and the "Vital" (emotional) faculties, as well as between Mind and pure Consciousness. Sri Aurobindo in part bases his concept of
2040-399: The other hand, individual renunciates may develop their own spiritual practice without participating in organized groups. The Yoga Sutras has 196 sūtras with ideas and wisdom that a sādhaka can take for a path towards self-realization. B. K. S. Iyengar (1993: p. 3) notes that: Kriyāyoga gives us the practical disciplines needed to scale the spiritual heights.....the four padas of
2091-479: The present being can be overcome by the Triple transformation, the process in which the lower nature is transformed into the divine nature. It consists of the inward psychicisation by which the sadhak gets in contact with the inner divine principle or Psychic Being; the spiritual transformation or spiritualisation; and the Supramentalisation of the entire being. Psychicisation is a turn inward , so that one realises
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2142-465: The principle of Divine spirit in every individual. The Psychic is the "Innermost Being", the permanent being in us that stands behind and supports the physical, vital and mental principles. It "uses mind, life and body as its instruments," undergoing their fate yet also transcending them. In Integral Yoga the goal is to move inward and discover the Psychic Being, which then can bring about
2193-416: The relationship of sādhanā to mandala thus: [E]xternal ritual and internal sādhanā form an indistinguishable whole, and this unity finds its most pregnant expression in the form of the mandala, the sacred enclosure consisting of concentric squares and circles drawn on the ground and representing that adamantine plane of being on which the aspirant to Buddhahood wishes to establish himself. The unfolding of
2244-597: The same thing. A sādhaka , or practitioner, is one who skillfully applies...mind and intelligence in practice towards a spiritual goal. The term sādhanā means "methodical discipline to attain desired knowledge or goal". Sadhana is also done for attaining detachment from worldly things, which itself can be the goal. A person undertaking such a practice is known in Sanskrit as a sādhu (female sādhvi ), sādhaka (female sādhakā ) or yogi (Tibetan pawo ; feminine yogini or dakini , Tibetan khandroma ). The goal of sādhanā
2295-662: The spontaneous love of Krishna's close companions. This form of devotion, while potentially reducing the emphasis on ritual practices, still involves the worship of Krishna's image. In Vajrayāna Buddhism and the Nalanda tradition, there are fifteen major tantric sādhanās : All of these are available in Tibetan form, many are available in Chinese and some are still extant in ancient Sanskrit manuscripts. Kværne (1975: p. 164) in his extended discussion of sahajā , treats
2346-563: The stages of development in integral yoga, called together the sapta chatushtaya , "seven quadrates." It consists of:. Aurobindo had a strong influence on Ken Wilber 's integral theory of spiritual development . Wilber's Causal and Ultimate stages closely resemble Aurobindo's higher mental stages, but Wilber lumps together levels of Being, types of Being and developmental stages. Sadhana Traditional Sādhanā ( Sanskrit : साधना ; Tibetan : སྒྲུབ་ཐབས་ , THL : druptap ; Chinese : 修行 ; pinyin : xiūxíng )
2397-400: The stilling of the mind. In Vaishnavism , bhakti , or devotional practice, is categorized into two types: the practice itself ( sadhana ) and the perfectional state of that practice ( siddhi ). Jiva Goswami uses the terms sadhana - bhakti (bhakti as the means) and sadhya - bhakti ( bhakti as the end). Chaitanya Vaishnavas engage in raganuga-sadhana , a meditative practice emulating
2448-453: The subconscient is "the inconscient in the process of becoming conscient." It is a submerged part of the personality without waking consciousness, but which does receive impressions, and influences the conscious mind. According to Sharma, it includes the unconscious mind which is described by psychologists like Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung, though it includes much more than the unconscious of ( Freudian ) psychology. The subtle or subliminal
2499-405: The submerged parts. It contains "obstinate samskaras , impressions, associations, fixed notions, habitual reactions formed by the past." According to Satprem, there are several levels of the subconscient, corresponding with the different levels of our being: a mental subconscient, a vital subconscient, and a physical subconscient, down to the material Inconscient. According to Aurobindo, the body
2550-572: The terrestrial play This article about an Indian building or structure is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Integral yoga According to Sri Aurobindo, the current status of human evolution is an intermediate stage in the evolution of being, which is on its way to the unfolding of the spirit, and the self-revelation of divinity in all things. Yoga is a rapid and concentrated evolution of being, which can take effect in one life-time, while unassisted natural evolution would take many centuries or many births. Aurobindo suggests
2601-513: The transcendent with the immanent. Sri Aurobindo discerns three types of being: the Outer being, the Inner being, and the Psychic Being. The Outer Being includes the physical, vital and mental levels of Being, which characterises our everyday consciousness and experience. This includes several levels of the subconscient: a mental subconscient, a vital subconscient, and a physical subconscient, down to
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