The Life Divine

Introduction

Aurobindo’s chief philosophical work first appeared in instalments in his monthly journal Arya from 1914 to 1919; a thoroughly revised and expanded version came out as a book in 1939–1940. It is a long prose treatise in English in two books, the second dealing with knowledge, ignorance and spiritual evolution. Aurobindo argues against both materialism and the view that the world is illusion: if spirit has involved itself in matter, then evolution is its gradual self-unfolding through life and mind towards a “supramental” consciousness. The book is the main theoretical basis of his integral yoga.

Connections

Builds on

• Brihadaranyaka Upanishadc. 700 BCE · Yajnavalkya

Criticizes

• Commentary on the Brahma Sutrasc. 730 · Adi Shankara