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The Sri Aurobindo Ashram was founded by Sri Aurobindo on the 24 November 1926 (Siddhi Day). At the time there were no more than 24 disciples in the Ashram.[1] In December of that year, Sri Aurobindo decided to withdraw from public view, and appointed his co-worker Mirra Alfassa, thenceforth known as The Mother in charge of the ashram.
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In the early history of the ashram there was a regular routine. At 6:15 every morning The Mother appeared on the ashram balcony to initiate the day with her blessings. Sadhaks (spiritual aspirants), who got up at 3AM, finished their own meditations and a good portion of the day’s work, and then assembled under the balcony to receive her blessings.[2]
As the ashram grew, many departments sprang up: the office, library, dining room, press, workshops, playground, art gallery, dispensary, farms, dairies, flower gardens, guest houses, legal department, audit department, and many others, too. The heads of the departments met The Mother in the morning and took her blessings and orders. Again at 10 a.m. she used to meet all the sadhaks individually. Once again, in the evening at 5:30 PM, she conducted meditation and met each sadhak once more.
In addition, four times a year she used to give public Darshans (a spiritual gathering where the guru bestows blessings) at which a few thousand devotees gathered and received her Grace.
Today, the ashram is a large institution in the downtown area of Pondicherry. It provides many charitable benefits to the area, including free medical facilities and a publishing house. It also includes the School for Perfect Eyesight, a centre promoting the use of the controversial Bates method that claims to improve and restore vision without the use of glasses.
The ashram's effects spring up across the town: local businesses include the "Sri Aurobindo Autocare Services," "Cottage Industries" and "Sri Aurobindo Handmade Paper." among others. Most famously, the alternative community Auroville (pop. 1800) sits outside the town.[3]
A complete method of Yoga that would transform human nature to divine life. In Sri Aurobindo's system, the highest aim is the being of one, without the renunciation of life in the world. Such a fulfillment of the consciousness, the urge for perfection, must not be confined to few individuals but must extend to the masses, leading to a new type of being that is "eternal, self-existing, and inalienable".
Sri Aurobindo lays the foundation of his inquiry by focusing on the contradiction between the mundane human existence and the human desire to acquire a divine perfection in life. By introducing the category of evolution, he wants to resolve the paradox of the human being's delimited consciousness and his desire to be identical with a divine form.
Apart from study of Sri Aurobindo's and The Mother's books, there are no specific disciplines recommended, but rather the practice of Integral Yoga means that every sadhak should follow whatever spiritual techniques they feel guided to.
Anyone can join at any time. There's no method, no period and no training as such. It's the only self-practice to reach the higher mind, eternal state and the continuous help will be sourced only from Divine and no one else.
Sri Aurobindo's teachings have influenced not just Indian thought, but also is established throughout the West, thanks to books and regional centers. It is also a contributing element in Integral philosophy.
The following is a partial list of journals published by the Sri Aurobindo Ashram or groups connected with. Many of Sri Aurobindo's unpublished letters, articles, poems and so on first appeared in them.
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