There are two aspects of yoga. One is the theoretical aspect of it. Here we read and reflect and understand the goal of yoga, the various fundamental principles that work behind the processes it uses, the foundations on which it stands. During this phase, one can read about different paths or else different approaches to the same path. This is especially so with regard to Sri Aurobindo’s Yoga that moves along many different lines of nature together until all are taken up one day and turned into a single flame of aspiration. This is an exploratory phase when one is learning about the path which interests one or else because the goal or the Master draws one to undertake the journey.
Then comes the practice of yoga, its practical side. In a certain sense when one is doing this, the journey has already begun. The mind is getting enamoured with the teachings while the heart is being drawn towards the Master of the Yoga. Then, slowly or suddenly one begins to have an inner clarity, a strong feeling or an inner conviction, a faith and a call as if what was stirring inside through the initial process is ready to hatch. It is then that one can say that one is initiated into the yoga and begins to walk the path, either with slow and shaky feet or else with a firm and swift stride depending upon one’s unique past and unique constitution.
As to the theoretical side of the Integral Yoga one of the best books are The Synthesis of Yoga. Still simpler and direct are the Letters on Yoga and of course The Mother with Letters on the Mother. For those who are little more intellectually inclined these books, especially The Synthesis is a sheer delight. But the reading may be a bit difficult for many. Besides one will have to read closely and pick up the practical elements which are embedded in the freely flowing Ganges that his writings are. However if one has decided to take up this path, then it is best to read the Mother’s writings.
There are of course many other books related to the past heritage of India, especially books such as the Essays on the Gita that are so helpful to lay the firm ground for the Yoga, The Secret of the Vedas, the Upanishads which give us a glimpse into our vast inheritance and rich spiritual treasures. There are also The Renaissance of India as well as Early Cultural Writings and Karmayogin which provide us with the spiritual vision to see and understand India. The same holds true of his Bengali Writings. Then there is the yoga of the world as revealed through The Human Cycle and The Ideal of Human Unity. The volume with Collected poems and Plays is a sheer delight. Finally we have the two companion volumes that not only reveal to us about Sri Aurobindo and the Mother but give us the main keys to the Yoga. These two volumes are Sri Aurobindo on Himself and Sri Aurobindo on the Mother.
Chronologically we can segregate Sri Aurobindo’s writings into three main periods. There are the pre-Pondicherry writings mainly on India as its focus. Then there is the Arya which contain what are known as the Major Works. These writings are characterized by a vast impersonality as if the sun of truth was pouring its brightest rays upon earth shedding its grandiose splendour upon the mountain peaks. Most of these are not easy to read since they were as if written for the creative joy of releasing certain idea-forces into the mental atmosphere. One needs to make some effort to climb a little into the higher mental regions to have the real glimpse. Another special aspect of these writings is that they move as if from one giant peak to another to cover the entire Himalayan range. Finally there are those that come later after 1926. These are mostly letters though also poems and some later writings, last essays in fact written for the ashram school bulletin with regard to the body and its transformation. These, especially the letters are direct, simple and personal.
It is best to start from these Letters because of two main reasons. First of course they are short, easy to read, personal and touch upon almost every aspect of life and yoga. They are also thematically arranged which makes it quite comprehensive. They were written with the purpose of guiding the seekers and touch upon every aspect of it.
There is of course ‘Savitri’ which is beyond compare and is a yoga in its own right. It is a single complete book which gives the entire spectrum of the yoga in a most comprehensive manner. However being a sublime poetry some find it bit difficult to connect whereas others find it the most natural book to dip into. One has to feel for oneself but for one who wants to pursue this yoga reading of Savitri can be considered as a must at some point. It is the most direct help one can receive as far as books are concerned.
Then there are the Mother’s writings. The Mother’s writings being conversational in nature are far more easy to grasp and carry the same intrinsic value as far as the yoga is concerned. They are much more practice oriented and address a wide range of humanity from a five year old to ninety five. These can be however categorized into the following. There are her writings that can be considered as pre 1956 and those post 1956. In the first category the writings reveal to us various aspects of the Integral Yoga whereas post 1956 including the 13 volumes of the Agenda are more focused on the Supramental transformation. There are of course few stand alone volumes notably, ‘Conversations with the Mother 1929 – 1931’ which is part of Her Collected works Volume 3. It is a most comprehensive book that gives us the broad background of the Integral yoga and its practice in a single volume. Then there is a single volume on education wherein we have some remarkable essays in the first section related to Yoga and its practice. Finally there is the ‘Prayers and Meditations’ of the Mother which awaken in us the psychic feeling and attitude to walk the path. If one is not much intellectually oriented or well grounded in English it is best to start with the Mother’s writings. Here is what the Mother has written with regard to their writings.
“Question: Sweet Mother, how should one read your books and the books of Sri Aurobindo so that they might enter into our consciousness instead of being understood only by the mind?
The Mother: To read my books is not difficult because they are written in the simplest language, almost the spoken language. To draw profit from them, it is enough to read with attention and concentration and an attitude of inner goodwill with the desire to receive and to live what is taught.
To read what Sri Aurobindo writes is more difficult because the expression is highly intellectual and the language is much more literary and philosophic. The brain needs a preparation to be able truly to understand and generally a preparation takes time, unless one is specially gifted with an innate intuitive faculty.
In any case, I advise always to read a little at a time, keeping the mind as tranquil as one can, without making an effort to understand, but keeping the head as silent as possible, and letting the force contained in what one reads enter deep within.
This force received in the calm and the silence will do its work of light and, if needed, will create in the brain the necessary cells for the understanding. Thus, when one re-reads the same thing some months later, one perceives that the thought expressed has become much more clear and close, and even sometimes altogether familiar.
It is preferable to read regularly, a little every day, and at a fixed hour if possible; this facilitates the brain-receptivity.
Question: What is the true method for studying Sri Aurobindo’s works?
The Mother: The true method is to read a little at a time, with concentration, keeping the mind as silent as possible, without actively trying to understand, but turned upwards, in silence, and aspiring for the light. Understanding will come little by little.
And later, in one or two years, you will read the same thing again and then you will know that the first contact had been vague and incomplete, and that true understanding comes later, after having tried to put it into practice.
It is not by books that Sri Aurobindo ought to be studied but by subjects—what he has said on the Divine, on Unity, on religion, on evolution, on education, on self-perfection, on supermind, etc., etc.”
There is a third option and it is to read some collections of letters which provide a good foundation for the new entrant. These include books such as Elements of Yoga, Basis of Yoga, Lights on Yoga, More Lights on Yoga, The Sunlit Path, Integral Yoga and quite a few thematically dedicated issues of the All India Magazine.
A fourth set of writings are independent compilations of the Mother’s letters exchanged with few disciples such as White Roses, Supreme, Benedictions of the Grace, Luminous Notes among others.
Finally we have the writings that mainly comprise of their life which is itself very inspiring and uplifting and reveal to us aspects of the Integral yoga in real time. Though written by disciples, some of them are truly a must read including Twelve Years with Sri Aurobindo, The Adventure of Consciousness, Beyond Man, Sri Aurobindo, His Life Unique, the Mother’s Chronicles.
Start with what comes naturally as very often in these things mental rules do not help much. There is an intuitive guidance that helps us and one is very often led to the book or the site depending upon one’s inner need and thirst.
