The Life Divine (Sri Aurobindo)

A grand review of man's evolutionary philosophy and psychology and a basis for conscious growth and evolution. It asks and answers questions about consciousness that most thinkers's have not even asked.

If you are like me and reading and spiritual development have gone hand in hand in your life, then it is possible I suppose to name a handful of books that really made difference; and I suppose it is possible, if push came to shove, perhaps to name just one book or one author that made a difference. It is also possible, that when you look at your life you see a book or an author that stands out at a given time as of paramount significance. For me, reading Emerson in my early 20s was one such author/book. Reading him, doors flung open that I didn't know existed, and I still read him at least once a year; essays like The Oversoul, Circles, and others are timeless, beautiful statements of spiritual understanding. Years of reading great books went by, but none seemed to strike the blows that Emerson effected on my consciousness. Then in my late 30s I was introduced to Jane Roberts and her Seth books, and once again my mind was lifted beyond its ordinary field of vision by the authenti... Read more

There are very few great spiritual classics that each century produces. The Life Divine is one of these great spiritual classics, one of the key spiritual studies of the twentieth center, perhaps of all time. There are few great mystics and enlightened masters who are able to express themselves in extensive philosophy and profound poetry. Sri Aurobindo was one of these, and the Life Divine is probably his magnum opus. The Life Divine is no mere call to a life of piety, asceticism or outward religious fervor. It is a call to bring the Divine as a force of higher consciousness into all that we are and do, both individually and as a species. The Life Divine unfolds a panoramic exploration of consciousness from the Absolute (Brahman), to the Cosmic Creator (Ishvara), to the individual soul (Jivatman), and all the realms of existence, manifest and unmanifest, known and unknown. There are few books that cover such an expanse and with such depth, direct knowledge and clarity. For those who w... Read more

Rating this book is like rating god for his creation-a joke of first order. This book is an eternal book, its language ancient, contemporary, futuristic and transcendant. the only way one can approach this book is in quiet contemplation and deep introspection. every thought, doubt and question that might have crossed the minds of humankind is addressed, explained. understanding this book is the puny first step. it needs to realised, acted, lived and revisited. that would be rare human who does not find this book has changed his/her life. one feels like annihilating oneself to greatness of this being.

This is a difficult book to read. Let us be under no illusions about that. It is verbose, repetitive and massive in its scope: tackling virtually the entire gamut of issues that philosophy traditionally deals with. But by the time you have finished reading the book (it took me three months to finish)it would have transformed the way you live your life. You may not agree with Aurobindo, and in fact, he probably does not want you to blindly agree with him, he would much rather that you think things out for yourself; but one thing that he certainly does is to question the 'commonsense' view of the world: the view of the world that we build up using bits of unexamined,untested, received, 'truths'. Take just one such 'truth': We believe--or at least we have done so ever since Descartes--that Matter and Consciousness are two separate things. Aurobindo puts forward the suggestion that the two are actually one and the same entity, only they are in different states being: somewhat like Ice and ... Read more