Heehs gives us back Aurobindo Ghose as a political figure, as a prolific writer, and as a religious teacher

The Lives of Sri Aurobindo. A new biography by Peter Heehs
by Rich on Fri 01 Feb 2008 06:37 PM PST Permanent Link

From what I have read of Peter's work it resists the fossilized interpretations which have become a feature of Sri Aurobindo scholarship since his passing in 1950. These works read as if they were written in that much earlier time, often trying to imitate the stylistic expressions of the Master and place him in a superhuman context. The result of this is that they shed precious little light on the complex phenomena that was Sri Aurobindo's by reducing him to a merely religious figure. From what I have read of Peter's work his style seems fittingly critical and contemporary as it seeks to understand its subject from a variety of perspectives. I have not seen this new work but is synopsis leads me to believe that he is continuing to follow his past successes. rc

From Amazon: Editorial Reviews Review
"The Lives of Sri Aurobindo easily constitutes the most comprehensive, thorough, and balanced study of Aurobindo Ghose's life and thought to date. Heehs's remarkable access to archival sources both at the ashram itself and in numerous other archives around the world establishes this text as the definitive study of Aurobindo's immense output in all of its genres and modes. Heehs's text humanizes and problematizes an historical figure whose complexity has been more or less lost to us via hagiography, piety, and now Hindutva apologetics. In some very real sense, Heehs gives us back Aurobindo Ghose as a political figure, as a prolific writer, and as a religious teacher -- all in all, a remarkable accomplishment. His writing is clear, uncluttered, precise, and in places even quite beautiful. There are few scholarly texts that I can say I genuinely enjoyed reading, but this is one of them." -- Jeffrey J. Kripal, author of Esalen: American and the Religion of No Religion

"Poet, philosopher, visionary, and spiritual teacher, Sri Aurobindo has at last received the scholarly biography he deserves -- and we need." -- Robert McDermott, author of The Essential Aurobindo

"Here are the details in a biography of the great man that is not only reliable but transparent in letting its sources speak. Throughout we hear the voices of Aurobindoand his contemporaries. Peter Heehs has expanded his work in SRI AUROBINDO: A BRIEF BIOGRAPHY (1989) and THE BOMB OF BENGAL (1993) to present a full picture. Among the five lives -- son, scholar, revolutionary, yogin-philosopher, and guide -- the last is where Heehs is the most original. He tells a story that needs all the background of the previous episodes to explain the ending, which is the mourning of India as reported in the Indian press in 1950 when Aurobindo died, elegantly summarized by Heehs. Heehs has written the definitive biography to date and a superb introduction to the life and thought of Sri Aurobindo. " -- Stephen Phillips, professor of philosophy and Asian studies, University of Texas at Austin Book Description

Since his death in 1950, Sri Aurobindo Ghose has been known primarily as a yogi and a philosopher of spiritual evolution who was nominated for the Nobel Prize in peace and literature. However, the years Aurobindo spent in yogic retirement were preceded by nearly four decades of rich public and intellectual work. Biographers usually focus solely on Aurobindo's life as a politician or sage, but he was also a scholar, a revolutionary, a poet, a philosopher, a social and cultural theorist, and the inspiration for an experiment in communal living.

Peter Heehs, one of the founders of the Sri Aurobindo Ashram Archives, is the first to relate all aspects of Aurobindo's life. Consulting rare primary sources, Heehs describes Aurobindo's role in the freedom movement and in the framing of modern Indian spirituality. He examines the thinker's literary, cultural, and sociological writings and the Sanskrit, Bengali, English, and French literature that influenced them, and he finds the foundations of Aurobindo's yoga practice in the spiritual leader's diaries and unpublished letters. Heehs's biography is a sensitive, honest portrait of a life that also offers some surprising revelations concerning twentieth-century Indian history. Print Article Posted to: Main Page INTEGRAL YOGA PUBLICATIONS Post a comment

The Lives of Sri Aurobindo (Hardcover) by Peter Heehs (Author) List Price: $45.00