SRI AUROBINDO

ESSAYS IN PHILOSOPHY AND YOGA

SHORTER WORKS — 1910-1950

Note on the Texts

ESSAYS IN PHILOSOPHY AND YOGA consists of short prose pieces written by Sri Aurobindo after May 1909 and published by him in journals or books or both before his passing in 1950. Most of them are on aspects of philosophy and yoga. Short prose pieces written between 1910 and 1950 but not published during Sri Aurobindo's lifetime are included in Essays Divine and Human, volume 12 of THE COMPLETE WORKS OF SRI AUROBINDO. Short prose writings published between 1910 and 1950 on certain specialised subjects – the Vedas, the Upanishads, Indian culture, political theory, education, poetics – are included in the volumes of THE COMPLETE WORKS dealing with those subjects.

Essays in Philosophy and Yoga is divided into five parts according to the date of writing and original place of publication of the constituent pieces: Part One, essays from the Karmayogin, 1909-10; Part Two, The Yoga and Its Objects, written around 1912; Part Three, writings from the Arya, 1914-21; Part Four, an essay from the Standard Bearer, 1920; Part Five, writings from the Bulletin of Physical Education, 1949-50.

Part One: Essays from the Karmayogin (1909-1910)

Sri Aurobindo was the editor of and principal writer for the Karmayogin, “A Weekly Review of National Religion, Literature, Science, Philosophy, &c.”, between June 1909 and February 1910. Most of the contents of the Karmayogin are published in volume 8 of THE COMPLETE WORKS OF SRI AUROBINDO. The fourteen pieces selected for inclusion in the present volume deal with philosophical and yogic subjects rather than with politics or literature. All but two of them were published in one or more of three booklets: The Ideal of the Karmayogin (c. 1918, 1919, 1921, 1927, 1937, 1945, 1950 and subsequently), Man – Slave or Free? (c. 1922 and subsequently) and The Need in Nationalism and Other Essays (1923).

The Ideal of the Karmayogin. Published in the first issue of the Karmayogin, 19 June 1909, and later in The Ideal of the Karmayogin.

Karmayoga. Published in the first issue of the Karmayogin, 19 June 1909, and later in The Ideal of the Karmayogin.

Man – Slave or Free? Published in the Karmayogin, 26 June 1909, and later in Man – Slave or Free? and The Need in Nationalism.

Yoga and Human Evolution. Published in the Karmayogin, 3 July 1909, and later in Man – Slave or Free?

Yoga and Hypnotism. Published in the Karmayogin, 17 July 1909, and later in Man – Slave or Free?

The Greatness of the Individual. Published in the Karmayogin, 24 July 1909, and later in The Ideal of the Karmayogin.

The Process of Evolution. Published in the Karmayogin, 18 September 1909, and later in The Ideal of the Karmayogin.

Stead and the Spirits. Published in the Karmayogin, 27 November 1909.

Stead and Maskelyne. Published in the Karmayogin, 1 January 1910.

Fate and Free-Will. Published in the Karmayogin, 29 January 1910, and later in Man – Slave or Free? and The Need in Nationalism.

The Three Purushas. Published in the Karmayogin, 12 February 1910, and later in The Ideal of the Karmayogin.

The Strength of Stillness. Published in the Karmayogin, 19 February 1910, and later in The Ideal of the Karmayogin.

The Principle of Evil. Published in the Karmayogin, 26 February 1910, and later in Man – Slave or Free? and The Need in Nationalism.

The Stress of the Hidden Spirit. Published in the Karmayogin, 26 February 1910, and later in The Ideal of the Karmayogin.

Part Two: The Yoga and Its Objects (CIRCA 1912)

The Yoga and Its Objects. This essay, which is mentioned in a letter written by Sri Aurobindo in 1912, was first published as a booklet in 1921 under the title “The Yoga and Its Object”. The title was changed to the present form in the second edition, issued in 1922. New editions were published in 1931, 1938, 1943, 1946, 1949 and subsequently. In 1934 Sri Aurobindo wrote that the booklet represented “an early stage” of his sadhana “and only a part of it is applicable to the Yoga as it has at present taken form after a lapse of more than twenty years”. The Appendix consists of explanations of certain words and phrases in the essay, written by Sri Aurobindo in June 1938 in answer to questions posed by a disciple.

Part Three: Writings from the Arya (1914-1921)

The monthly Arya, “a Review of pure philosophy”, was launched in August 1914 and ran until January 1921. Almost all its contents were written by Sri Aurobindo, particularly after the departure of his co-editors Paul Richard and Mirra Richard (the Mother) in February 1915. We reproduce here facsimiles of the front cover of the first issue of the Arya and the note printed inside the cover of every issue. This note undoubtedly was written by Sri Aurobindo.

Notes on the Arya

The “Arya's” Second Year. Published in the Arya in July 1915. The next month the same subject was dealt with in four paragraphs of the essay “Our Ideal” that were omitted when it was reprinted in the 1920 edition of Ideal and Progress. The omitted paragraphs are printed here as an appendix.

The “Arya's” Fourth Year. Published in the Arya in July 1918. Note that while the preceding piece was written just before the beginning of the Arya's second year, this one was written at the end of the fourth year of the journal.

On Ideals and Progress

First published in the Arya in 1915 and 1916, these five essays were issued together in 1920 under the title Ideal and Progress. This was the first of three collections of essays issued in 1920 and 1921 under the series title Ideal and Progress. New editions were published in 1922 (lightly revised), 1946 and subsequently. In 1951 and 1966 the book appeared under the editorial title Ideals and Progress. Another title, On Ideals and Progress, which appeared above the title of the first essay in 1920 and 1922, has been used as the title of this section in the present volume.

On Ideals. Published in the Arya in June 1916.

Yoga and Skill in Works. Published in the Arya in July 1916.

Conservation and Progress. Published in the Arya in May 1916.

The Conservative Mind and Eastern Progress. Published in the Arya in July 1916.

Our Ideal. Published in the Arya in August 1915. When this essay was included in Ideal and Progress in 1920, four paragraphs referring to the Arya were deleted: the original first paragraph and the fourth, third and second paragraphs from the end. The first sentence of the last paragraph was also deleted: “We shall develop our general thought in later numbers; at present we content ourselves with restating our ideal.” When Sri Aurobindo revised the second edition, he inserted a new sentence at this point: “What then shall be our ideal?” In the present edition, the four omitted paragraphs are reproduced as an appendix to “The ‘Arya's’ Second Year” (see above under “Notes on the Arya”).

The Superman

First published in the Arya in 1915, these three essays were issued together in 1920 under the title The Superman. This was the second collection of essays issued at that time under the series title Ideal and Progress. New editions were published in 1922 (lightly revised), 1944, 1950 and subsequently.

The Superman. Published in the Arya under the title “The Type of the Superman” in April 1915.

All-Will and Free-Will. Published in the Arya in March 1915.

The Delight of Works. Published in the Arya in August 1915.

Evolution

First published in the Arya in 1915 and 1918, these three essays were reprinted in 1920 or 1921 under the title Evolution. This was the third collection of essays issued at that time under the series title Ideal and Progress. New editions were published in 1923 (lightly revised), 1933, 1944, 1950 and subsequently.

Evolution. Published in the Arya in August 1915.

The Inconscient. Published in the Arya in September 1915.

Materialism. Published in the Arya in October 1918.

Thoughts and Glimpses

The first section, “Aphorisms”, was published in three instalments in the Arya in March, May and June 1915, the second, “Thoughts and Glimpses”, in two instalments in May 1916 and August 1917. Between 1920 and 1922 all the pieces were published as a booklet entitled Thoughts and Glimpses. New editions were published in 1923 (lightly revised), 1932, 1941, 1944, 1950 and subsequently.

Heraclitus

The chapters of this work first appeared in the Arya between December 1916 and June 1917. It began as an examination of Herakleitos by R. D. Ranade (Poona: Aryabhushana Press, 1916). Sri Aurobindo's Heraclitus was published as a book in 1941 (lightly revised), 1947 and subsequently.

The Problem of Rebirth

These sixteen essays were first published in the Arya between 1915 and 1921. Those comprising Section I appeared without a general title in two groups: November and December 1915, and March to December 1919. Those comprising Section II came out under the headings “The Lines of Karma” and “The Higher Lines of Karma” between August 1920 and January 1921.

Sometime during the 1920s, Sri Aurobindo collected and revised the sixteen essays with the intention of publishing them as a book to be entitled The Problem of Rebirth. The revision included the addition of three long passages: the last paragraph of “The Significance of Rebirth”, the last three paragraphs of “Involution and Evolution”, and the last three paragraphs of “Karma, Will and Consequence”. Most of the pages of the proposed book were set in type and a few copies – possibly proof copies – were printed, but the book was never published. The letter reprinted in Appendix II explains why. It may be noted that in this letter Sri Aurobindo referred to the collection of essays as “Rebirth and Karma”. The editors, who are responsible for the division into sections, use this phrase as the subtitle of Section I. (The same phrase was used as the title of the entire book in an edition published in the United States in 1991.)

The Problem of Rebirth was first published posthumously in 1952. The third edition of the book, published in 1978, incorporated some revisions made by Sri Aurobindo that had not been discovered when the earlier editions were printed.

Rebirth. Published in the Arya in November 1915.

The Reincarnating Soul. Published in the Arya in December 1915.

Rebirth, Evolution, Heredity. Published in the Arya in March 1919.

Rebirth and Soul Evolution. Published in the Arya in April 1919.

The Significance of Rebirth. Published in the Arya in May 1919.

The Ascending Unity. Published in the Arya in June 1919.

Involution and Evolution. Published in the Arya in July 1919.

Karma. Published in the Arya in August 1919.

Karma and Freedom. Published in the Arya in September 1919.

Karma, Will and Consequence. Published in the Arya in October 1919.

Rebirth and Karma. Published in the Arya in November 1919.

Karma and Justice. Published in the Arya in December 1919.

The Foundation. Published in the Arya in August 1920. The title of the essay was printed under the heading “The Lines of Karma”.

The Terrestrial Law. Published in the Arya in two instalments in September and October 1920. The title of the essay was printed under the heading “The Lines of Karma”.

Mind Nature and Law of Karma. Published in the Arya in two instalments in October and November/December 1920. The title of the essay was printed under the heading “The Lines of Karma”.

The Higher Lines of Karma. Published in two instalments in the last two issues of the Arya: November/December 1920 and January 1921. The second instalment was printed with the subheading “The Lines of Truth”. This subheading was deleted in the unreleased edition of The Problem of Rebirth.

Appendix I: The Tangle of Karma. This incomplete essay was written around 1927, presumably for inclusion with the other essays of The Problem of Rebirth.

Appendix II: A Clarification. Sri Aurobindo wrote this note on 25 December 1935 in reply to a question put by a disciple.

Other Writings from the Arya
The Question of the Month

These six pieces appeared under the heading “The Question of the Month” in the first six issues of the Arya, August 1914-January 1915. In 1941 the first three and the sixth pieces were published along with five reviews from the Arya under the title Views and Reviews. (These reviews are published in Early Cultural Writings, volume 1 of THE COMPLETE WORKS OF SRI AUROBINDO.) The titles of the pieces were added at that time. New editions of this book were brought out in 1946 and subsequently. In 1972 the fourth and fifth pieces were reprinted for the first time since 1914 in The Hour of God and Other Writings.

The Needed Synthesis. Published in the Arya in August 1914.

“Arya” – Its Significance. Published in the Arya in September 1914.

Meditation. Published in the Arya in October 1914.

Different Methods of Writing. Published in the Arya in November 1914. Editorial title. At the time View and Reviews was being planned, Sri Aurobindo wrote that this piece was “too slight for inclusion in a book”.

Occult Knowledge and the Hindu Scriptures. Published in the Arya in December 1914. Editorial title. In the Arya the following sentence preceded the question: “One of our Subscribers sends us the following Question:”.

The Universal Consciousness. Published in the Arya in January 1915. In the Arya the following sentence preceded the question: “One of our subscribers in Europe puts to us the following difficulty:–”.

The News of the Month

This brief-lived feature was halted after the second issue of the Arya, September 1914.

South Indian Vaishnava Poetry

Sri Aurobindo published these essays on Andal and Nammalwar, two of the alwars or Vaishnava devotional poets of Tamil Nadu, in the Arya in May and July 1915. In the same issues he published translations of some of their poems, which he executed with the help of the poet Subramania Bharati. The translations are published in Translations, volume 5 of THE COMPLETE WORKS OF SRI AUROBINDO.

Arguments to The Life Divine

Between February 1916 and April 1917 Sri Aurobindo wrote “arguments” for Chapters XIX to XXXIII of The Life Divine as they originally appeared in the Arya. The first argument was followed by this note:

In response to the desire of some of our subscribers we shall prefix henceforth a brief summary or argument to each chapter of the “Life Divine.”

The Life Divine was revised before publication as a book in 1939-40. At this time Sri Aurobindo renumbered Arya Chapters XXVIII to XXXIII as Book Two, Part I, Chapters VII, VIII, IX, XI, XV and XVII. In the revised text all the arguments published in the Arya were omitted.

In December 1940 Sri Aurobindo wrote an “Argument in Brief” and a “Shorter Synopsis” of the first chapter of The Life Divine, possibly to show how such summaries might be made. Around the same time he wrote a draft of an argument to most of Book One, Chapter XXIV. This contains some new turns of phrase and some explanatory material not found in the chapter itself (see especially the footnote). These three pieces are reproduced here from his manuscripts.

Part Four: From the Standard Bearer (1920)

The Standard Bearer was launched in August 1920 by the Prabartak Sangha of Chandernagore, a group then working under the inspiration of Sri Aurobindo. Sri Aurobindo wrote at least one article for this monthly journal. Some of his earlier writings (for example, “Hathayoga” and “Things Seen in Symbols”, included in Early Cultural Writings) were also published in the Standard Bearer.

Ourselves. This essay was written for publication in the first issue of the Standard Bearer, 15 August 1920. The editors have compared the sometimes defective text published in the journal with that of a manuscript draft.

Part Five: From the Bulletin of Physical Education (1949-1950)
The Supramental Manifestation upon Earth

These eight essays, Sri Aurobindo's last prose writings, first appeared in the quarterly Bulletin of Physical Education (at present called Bulletin of Sri Aurobindo International Centre of Education) in 1949 and 1950. Unable to write as a result of his failing eyesight, Sri Aurobindo dictated them to a secretary. The series was left unfinished on his passing in December 1950. It was published as a book in 1952 under the title The Supramental Manifestation upon Earth. (This title was provided or at least approved by the Mother.) The book has been reprinted several times. In 1953 and subsequently it was brought out in the United States under the title The Mind of Light.

Message. Published in the Bulletin in February 1949; dated 30 December 1948.

Perfection of the Body. Published in the Bulletin in April 1949; dated 23 March 1949.

The Divine Body. Published in the Bulletin in August 1949. Supermind and the Life Divine. Published in the Bulletin in November 1949.

Supermind and Humanity. Published in the Bulletin in February 1950; dated 13 January 1950.

Supermind in the Evolution. Published in the Bulletin in April 1950.

Mind of Light. Published in the Bulletin in August 1950.

Supermind and Mind of Light. Published in the Bulletin in November 1950.

The Present Edition

In 1971 most of the contents of the present volume were published in The Supramental Manifestation and Other Writings, volume 16 of the Sri Aurobindo Birth Centenary Library. A new, rearranged and slightly enlarged edition was brought out in 1989.

The present edition is the first to be published under the title Essays in Philosophy and Yoga. It contains all the contents of The Supramental Manifestation and Other Writings as well as some writings that appeared in other volumes of the Centenary Library. All the constituent pieces have been checked against the versions published by Sri Aurobindo in books and journals.

Publisher's Note

Essays in Philosophy and Yoga consists of short works in prose written by Sri Aurobindo between 1909 and 1950 and published during his lifetime. All but a few of them are concerned with aspects of spiritual philosophy, yoga, and related subjects. Short writings on the Veda, the Upanishads, Indian culture, political theory, education, and poetics have been placed in other volumes.

The title of the volume has been provided by the editors. It is adapted from the title of a proposed collection, “Essays in Yoga”, found in two of Sri Aurobindo's notebooks. Since 1971 most of the contents of the volume have appeared under the editorial title The Supramental Manifestation and Other Writings.

The contents are arranged in five chronological parts. Part One consists of essays published in the Karmayogin in 1909 and 1910, Part Two of a long essay written around 1912 and published in 1921, Part Three of essays and other pieces published in the monthly review Arya between 1914 and 1921, Part Four of an essay published in the Standard Bearer in 1920, and Part Five of a series of essays published in the Bulletin of Physical Education in 1949 and 1950.

Many of the essays in Part Three were revised slightly by the author and published in small books between 1920 and 1941. The editors have retained the titles and arrangement of most of those books.

The texts of the pieces have been checked against the texts published in journals and books during Sri Aurobindo's lifetime.