NEW PUBLICATIONS

The book, a transcription of the author’s talks, covers Chapters Four, Five, and Six of The Yoga of Divine Works. In Chapter Four, he explains that Sri Aurobindo uses the word sacrifice as it refers to the sacrifice of the Divine, the consciousness of the Divine that has descended to become this material universe in order that it may hasten the perfection of the creation. Dr Reddy discusses at length the Purusha/Prakriti duality and the trifecta of a sacrifice of works, of love and adoration, and of knowledge. Chapters Five and Six address the crucial question of what kind of work should be taken up during the preparation and purification of our beings and emphasises that only the growing influence of the psychic being can give meaning to all our life, our works, and knowledge.

The book, a transcription of the author’s talks, covers the last seven chapters of The Yoga of Divine Works. Some of the concepts discussed include the need to found one’s action as a doer of works on the living sense of an increasing consciousness of all existence as one, and the necessity to rid oneself of egoistic activity and act in self-consecration, in complete equality. The next step is the stance of the impersonal witness that maintains a position behind the action of the three gunas and looks beyond the working of Nature to the unveiling of the Transcendent Divine as the true Master of works in this creation. Only there can the being exist pure and free. In a long chapter on “The Divine Work” the author brings to our attention the nature of the work after a sadhak has established the perfect equality and lives in the knowledge of the Master of works.

In these talks delivered in 2007 and 2008, the author examines Chapters Eight, Nine, and Ten of Sri Aurobindo’s Essays on the Gita. The first two chapters, “Sankhya and Yoga” and “Sankhya Yoga and Vedanta” deal with philosophic and metaphysical subjects. The author points out that the Gita’s foundation is Vedantic; it is primarily a practical system of yoga. In the first of these chapters, Sri Aurobindo brings clarity to the differences between Sankhya, Yoga, and the Gita and in the second he delivers a synthesis of Sankhya, Yoga, and Vedanta. In Chapter Ten, “The Yoga of the Intelligent Will”, the author comments on Sri Aurobindo’s understanding of the deep truth of the Gita. Sri Krishna’s yoga will free Arjuna from his fears, from all bondage of the soul to its works. Commanding Arjuna to offer his thoughts, his love and adoration, and his sacrifice to Him, he reveals the message of the Gita: the act of surrender is the surest, safest path to the Divine.

This volume contains a transcription of short, informal talks by Dr Ananda Reddy on Sri Aurobindo’s thoughts on Sri Krishna and the Bhagavad Gita. The book is divided into three sections, each one dealing with Sri Aurobindo’s reading of a facet of Sri Krishna’s personality or his philosophy: Vasudeva Krishna, Jnaneshwara Krishna, and Yogeshwara Krishna. The author picks out for discussion Sri Aurobindo’s reading of Krishna’s personality as Vasudeva (Section One), the latter’s Yoga of Knowledge (Section Two), and the concluding section on Krishna as the archetypal Yogi (Section Three).
Specifically, Section One has mostly to do with the epiphany as recounted in the Gita; the chapters in Section Two deal with the mysteries of birth, death, rebirth and the nature of the soul, and karma. The concluding section orients the reader to the significance of this text for modern times.

This new, expanded edition of Nama-Japa in the Yoga of Transformation, by Sri Ramkrishna Das, explains what nama-japa in the Integral Yoga means, and elucidates on its practice. The author highlights the Mother and the use of her name in nama-japa, describing how she herself found nama-japa indispensable for the transformation of her body. Part II, about the same number of pages as the original edition, is drawn from a sadhak’s diary maintained during the last ten years of Ramkrishna’s life. It features more questions and answers concerning nama-japa in the practice of Sri Aurobindo’s Integral Yoga and also includes a few personal anecdotes and experiences that highlight Ramkrishna’s personality and the nature of his sadhana.

Both a personal memoir and a partial history of Auroville’s early years, this book comprises mostly messages and letters between the Mother and Frederick regarding his sadhana and his purpose and place in Auroville. It is also a record of his revelatory dreams, inner experiences, moments of crisis and surrender, and efforts to be a true soldier in his work for the Mother. Detailed histories and meditative soliloquies combine to create a story of how one soul came to the Mother and remained to help build the community of Auroville.

Hindi translation of Psychic Education

        This workbook is in two parts. The first, "Self-Preparation", is "to help all those who want to take the first steps in integrating spirituality in every day life" and for those "who would like to intensify the search for the psychic being". The second part, primarily though not exclusively for teachers, deals with the theme of Integral Education – education "centred around the soul, as distinct from holistic education where the soul is just one of the areas of concentration." Numerous exercises are included, based on those the Mother herself gave during her question-and-answer sessions. Worksheets and checklists to assist and assess one's progress are provided.

Bengali translation of More Lights on Yoga

        This book contains extracts from letters from Sri Aurobindo to his disciples, written mostly during the 1930s. In the course of replying to their questions, he laid out the basic elements of his system of integral Yoga. The extracts are arranged in sections that address such subjects as the goal and aim of the Yoga, the planes and parts of the being, the bases and conditions of sadhana, faith, and love, bhakti, and emotion.

This book is a translation of Part Two (Sections One, Two and Three) of Essays Divine and Human.

This book is a translation of Sri Aurobindopanishad and Sapta Chatusthaya from Record of Yoga - I with commentaries by Pradnya Sukhatankar

Tamil translation of The Supreme

        These conversations with the Mother were noted down from memory by Mona Sarkar. They were originally held in French, and took place in the late 1960s. The contents include, among others, "Mother – The Supreme", "The Mother's Voice", "The Mother's Feet" and "The Luminous Gaze of the Supreme". As expressed in the introductory note, "In spite of the human incapacity to convey the true value of Her words, ... these talks, it has been felt, reflect Her Light and Her Force; they bring something of Her Presence." The book contains numerous photographs of the Mother.

Tamil translation of Flame of Love

        This book is a collection of vivid memories of two Ashramites: Motiba (Champaklal's aunt) and Bansidhar (Champaklal's brother). Both joined the Ashram in its early days, the mid-1920s, and had the privilege of personally serving Sri Aurobindo and the Mother. In addition to the fond recollections by those who knew them well, there are the reminiscences of Motiba and Bansidhar themselves, who shared some events of their early lives in the Ashram, and close to a dozen photographs depicting them over the years.