Sri Aurobindo

Context:

Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi paid homage to Sri Aurobindo, on the occasion of his birth anniversary

Sri Aurobindo:

Early Life & Education

Birth: 15th August 1872, Calcutta.
Educated in Darjeeling (Christian convent school) and later at the University of Cambridge.
Mastered several European languages (including Latin, Greek, French, German, Italian) and Indian languages (Sanskrit, Bengali, Hindi, Gujarati, Marathi).
Served in Baroda (Vadodara) State Service (1893–1906), first in administrative and later in teaching posts.

Role in Freedom Struggle

Joined the Indian revolutionary movement after the Partition of Bengal (1905).
BandeMataram (1906): English nationalist newspaper; advocated radical politics and swadeshi.
Advocated purna swaraj (complete independence) long before Congress officially adopted it in 1929.
Arrested in the Alipore Bomb Case (1908–09), but later acquitted.
Emphasized direct action and armed struggle over petitions or reforms.
Earned the title “Prophet of Indian Nationalism.”

Philosophical Contributions

Believed human evolution is not yet complete; the next stage is the Supramental evolution.
Philosophy focused on a synthesis of Eastern spirituality and Western rationalism.
Advocated a divine life on earth, combining material and spiritual progress.

Literary Works

BandeMataram (editorial writings in 1905–06).
The Life Divine – his magnum opus, explaining Integral Yoga and supramental evolution.
Savitri: A Legend and a Symbol – epic poem of nearly 24,000 lines (longest in English literature).
Essays on the Gita – reinterpretation of the Bhagavad Gita.
The Ideal of Human Unity – vision of global unity.
Bases of Yoga, Rebirth and Karma, The Hour of God, The Future Evolution of Man.

Legacy

Death: 5th December 1950, Pondicherry.
Recognized as a yogi, philosopher, nationalist, poet, and visionary.
Influenced Indian thought on nationalism, spirituality, and education.
His vision of a divine, transformed society remains relevant in modern discourse on sustainable and holistic development.
UNESCO celebrated his 150th birth anniversary in 2022 as an international commemoration.