AUROBINDO GHOSH

A great patriot, a revolutionary freedom fighter, a poet, an author, a linguist, a teacher, a yogi….Aurobindo Maharishi was all this and much more.

He was born on 15 August 1872 in Calcutta. His parents were Krishnadhana and Swarnalata Ghosh. He studied at a convent school in Darjeeling. Then did his further studies in England and returned after 14 years in 1893. He taught at Baroda and later at Calcutta. For him English was just like his own mother tongue. He had a great impact on his students with his high moral character, blending of East and West philosophy and his great patriotism.

Then he got involved in the freedom struggle. He identified more with the revolutionary ideas of Lokamanya Tilak. Aurobindo too believed in absolute autonomy and agreed that it was essential to fight for the freedom rights.

During the agitations against the partition of Bengal, he was one of the main revolutionary opposing the partition. Writing through his ‘Bande Mataram’ he spread awareness of activities of freedom struggle like, boycotting the foreign goods and using swadeshi. Several times he was jailed for his activities.

According to him, to gain the political freedom, spiritual awakening in the people was needed. With his inclination towards spiritualism, he retired from the politics and founded an Ashram at Pondicherry in 1926. He wished to bring an awakening in the new generation through Yoga, spiritualism and Vedanta.

Aurobindo wrote many books on spirituality, philosophy and Yoga, some of which are, The Life Divine, The Synthesis of Yoga, Essays Divine and Human, Savithri, The Human Cycle etc.

He died at Pondicherry on 5 December 1950. His Ashram ‘Auroville’ was looked after by his French disciple who was called ‘The Mother’.