Far too many Westerners turn to yoga in a grossly consumerist way

Commentaries on THE FUTURE REALIZATION: Stop Scapegoating Peter Heehs
Sri Aurobindo explained to us that the Divine is not only Transcendent ... As we know, Sri Aurobindo's work dealt exclusively with the Transcendent Plane. ... Since the Mother's departure in 1973 both Auroville and the Ashram have suffered and continue to experience the eroding effect of incompetent leadership. Instead of forming around a common Soul and a Supramental knowledge, which was the ...

Re: Sanatana Dharma XXI—Avatar and Grace by auroman on Tue 20 Oct 2009 07:04 PM IST Profile Permanent Link
Michael Murphy's case shows how people adapt Yoga to their own temperament and local culture. He emphasizes self-reliance instead of psychic surrender because that is how he was raised. He even extended the democratic culture to the famed and exquisitely intimate Esalen massage ("In Esalen massage the social differences between the giver and receiver is reduced. No white uniform as a symbol of authority. Esalen massage is often practiced as an exchange - alternating between who gives and receives - and is traditionally done in the nude....coverings are moved aside to permit long flowing "connecting" strokes that are among its hallmarks.")

Setting aside the genuine seekers, we can classify the rest into two categories. The first is those who use Yoga for sensual pleasures and improvement of their body image. They combine Hatha Yoga with spa, sauna, massage, trips to tropical resorts, herbals and aromatherapy.

The second category comprises the people who engage in philosophical sophistry. They take great joy in comparing various systems of thought to each other. The very thought of synthesizing this mind-boggling archaeology of epistemes (a la Foucault) in their brains brings them intense pleasure. They go on to write books with the title Integral this-and-that.

Re: Sanatana Dharma XXI—Avatar and Grace by paulette on Wed 21 Oct 2009 05:22 AM IST Profile Permanent Link This is a very realistic description, Auroman, of a quite widespread mentality. The West has produced saints who were spiritual giants but, like India, is loosing track of its roots. Father Bede Griffiths has discarded the body over a decade ago, so a confused Western mentality has lost even this pillar of Christian/Hindu spirituality. Instead of looking for their ancestral knowledge and spiritual heritage, far too many Westerners turn to yoga in a grossly consumerist way. Anything goes, in this New Age supermarket, and tourists flock to India using its spiritual legacy as one more commodity. Along with elephants and camel rides, don’t miss enlightenment! And, the latest fashion, transform the body and cells!

Mirror of Tomorrow :: 05: The Yoga of the Cells by the Mother
People are in a hurry and they want to pull it down to see the results immediately. But most of the time they pull down some small vital individuality who mocks at them and in the end makes them play the shabby fool. They fall into a pit. Unless there is a contact with the true Light, there cannot be safety in this matter. One must have the true experience.

To pull is always an egoistic movement. It is a deformation of aspiration. True aspiration consists in a giving, a self-giving, whereas to pull means to want for oneself. Even if in the mind you have a vaster ambition—the earth, the universe—that means nothing, these are mental activities. There are the different strata of humanity in relation to the supramental creation. But the effort for transformation, reduced to a small number, becomes a thing much more precious and much more powerful for the realisation. Those who have superior intelligence, a refined sense of things, they have a tendency of ridiculing others. This itself is a lack of culture, of refinement.

Savitri: the Light of the Supreme :: The Yoga of the Supreme: The ...
In this connection we may advantageously remember an early but very important hint given by Sri Aurobindo. In one of the footnotes to the Agni-hymn...

Epistemology of Perception Through Your Body:
1 Nov 2009 by Alan Davidson In this post, I will first survey perception (Pratyaksha) as outlined by Vedanta and then discuss how Sri Aurobindo augmented this theory in the light of his own supramental experiences. By giving new meaning to the four terms Vijnana, ...

2 Month Weekend Screen writing workshop by Sidharth Srinivasan
28 Oct 2009 by Inde Location: Sri Aurobindo Centre for Arts and Communication Street: Adhchini, Shaheed Jeetsingh Marg City/Town: New Delhi, India. Bookmark and Share. 2 Month Weekend Screen writing workshop by Sidharth Srinivasan ...

Trustees chose to ignore this issue and the reason for this ...
30 Oct 2009 Right from the beginning, this man has courted controversies, the aim of which has been to raise doubts about Sri Aurobindo's statements on his own life, his English, his works, his yoga, on the Mother and so on and so forth. ...

Alok Pandey's second letter to Peter Heehs
25 Oct 2009 by Raman Reddy The point is not whether the details of Sri Aurobindo's outer life are historically correct or not. The point is whether the image and the picture of Sri Aurobindo that you portray and must bring out (as any worthwhile biographer ...

Our Viewpoint of God and Creation Determines the View of Evil
28 Oct 2009 by sriaurobindostudies reference: Sri Aurobindo, The Life Divine, Chapter 11, Delight of Existence: The Problem. For more information on Sri Aurobindo visit our website at www.Aurobindo.net. For Sri Aurobindo's books, visit the US publisher Lotus Press ...

Sri Aurobindo Society, Singapore: Editorial
28 Oct 2009 by admin The Bhagavad Gita is held as such. It is revered as the rare 'scripture of liberation'. What this liberation is, who seeks it, who is the giver of liberation, who, the enjoyer, through what methods is this liberation procured and what . ...

Sacred Economics: Intention Attention
25 Oct 2009 by Pam -Sri Aurobindo This statement certainly gives us the opportunity to pause and reflect. “Money is ... indispensable to the fullness of the outer life.” What exactly does this mean? I don't think it means that money is what gives meaning ...

Personal Growth: Well Being Workshop 7th to 13th October 2009
25 Oct 2009 by JV I like to face the pictures of the Mother and Sri Aurobindo. The painting by Astreji adds to the ambience and reminds me of the aim of Auroville. All in all, it is a privilege and pleasure to have been offering Well being Workshops here ... Personal Growth: Rains, at last! By JV I started a concept called Integrated Communication and Information Technology Infrastructure (ICITI) for Auroville. I have been working on this now for 18 months and it has taken a concrete and firm shape. The concept and proposed ...

noaarts: Last day in Auroville By noaarts In Auroville, it is basically a strange version of probably what the state of Israel looked like when they were drying out swamps with an Indian feel and New Age sensibility. It is dirty and there are a lot of old hippies that have moved there or are visiting. There are a lot of Indians who have also moved there though I am unsure if they are in it for the potential financial or security of because of what Auroville stands for.

A Flower To Auroville Mother1 by Indira Renganathan Indian Lotus (Nelumbo nucifera) She's the heart of an elemental body Soft, soft and soft in healimg ...

Auroville the city of Dawn Answer to last quiz was Matri Mandir or Auroville in Pondicherry Four people could guess it correctly two were slightly off track Ram was not allowed to ...

Events Calendar Coming Events Aspiration Savitri: the Light of the Supreme Mirror of Tomorrow SCIY Recent Comments IYF SAOW Saaba A critique of the book by Peter Heehs Events - University of Human Unity Inputs may be mailed to tusarnmohapatra@gmail.com