Integral Yoga and Mass Movements

There are several paths of yoga and each one has to choose freely following the internal feeling of the Call of the Divine, the aspects towards which one is naturally drawn and the core aspiration to reach the Goal one is seeking. Yoga is a means, a method, a tool, and each yoga leads us towards one or the other aspect of the Divine. Rarely does a person venture into the totality of the Divine, samagram mam, as the Gita puts it. Even more rare is the aspiration for not just some inner contact or glimpse but a completest possible union with the Divine, not only in one’s soul but also the heart and mind and will and even the very body. Rarer even is the urge to love the Divine for the sake of the Divine and to live to serve Him and know Him and consecrate one’s life to Him.

It is these rare aspirations that draws the soul to Sri Aurobindo and the Mother apart from the ahaituki or unconditional Grace due to some bhakti or deep connection in previous lives. To simply join a movement merely increases numbers and often creates a slow overall decline in the organisation and the institutions built around the Founder. Propaganda for conversion is not only inadvisable because it draws all kinds of people who are far from ready for the path but also because it is dangerous over a period of time. Generally the spirit that inspired such movements escapes leaving behind an empty shell and a seat of power once sanctified by the Divine Glory. It turns into an institution where money and politics and ambitions and greed begin to rule turning the whole thing into a farcical facade.

The history of religions, especially Islam and Christianity are a living testimony to this sad truth. Sri Aurobindo and the Mother do not want this to happen. They have not come here to create any religion, new or old but to open a way for the future for those who are ready and feel the call and the need within. A mass movement, whether local or global is not part of Their Agenda. It is enough if a certain number of human beings feel of themselves the need to change and no more continue with the old ways of life. These few pioneers will be enough to tilt the balance of forces upon earth in favour of the intended Divine Manifestation which is what will eventually save earth and humanity. The rest is drama and tamasha, to use a Hindi expression that goes well with much that happens in the name of new age spirituality.