Reply to Iran I Tea Although I read Aurobindo's Life Divine and Synthesis of Yoga, the real heart of his yoga appeared in his collection known as Letters on Yoga. This collection that gave me the first taste of yoga-bhakti with its “opening upwards to the Adya Shakti” (i.e. the Divine Mother). The idea being that She would then begin to guide one’s personal sadhana. In those collected letters there was much discussion about topics only found in certain Bhakti and Tantric texts. Aurobino generally didn’t talk much about those texts because “Tantra” was a dirty word in his day.
However, his first yoga teacher, Vishnu Bhaskar Lele, gave him a simple instruction that liberated his attachment to his mind and allowed unceasing, silent awareness to appear. It was an instruction based upon Samkhya-Yoga, although not in the Samkhya texts themselves. However, none of that alters the fact that Sri Aurobindo did not understand Shankara's subtle elucidation of the brahma-jñâna transmitted by the major Upanishads. For his part, MMY appeared to be very influenced by Swami Lakshmanjoo's Kashmiri Shaivism. Thus the Kashmiri theories of the causal transformations of Shiva/Shakti into the universe of duality appear in MMY’s Rig Bhasya as a "self-referral" causality. None of this is kevala advaita, although MMY didn't seem willing to say so. However, I would point out a few things you may be unaware of in these matters. No one on FFL quotes Shankara’s commentary on the Bhagavad-Gita because no one here has read it. MMY doesn’t refer to it, except maybe in one place (I don’t remember where). For Shankara’s part, he follows the Gita “as is” rather than artificially breaking it into three (3) parts. Instead he discusses the two nishta-s (not two paths but rather two different types of resolute-observance) – jñâna-yoga for the knowers (samkhyânâm) and karma-yoga for the practitioners of yoga (yoganâm). Bhakti does not constitute a separate observance in the Gita teaching because it is included and assumed as essential within these two nishta-s. Also, few here comprehend that Shankara points directly to “awareness” as the key. That is to say not some yogic “pure awareness” (as if awareness somehow becomes impure because thoughts defile the mind). Nor was he asserting awareness “beyond thinking, some yogic nirvikalpa samâdhi. Rather, following the Upanishads, he asserted the primacy of awareness “as-such”, the very awareness we have throughout waking, dreaming, deep sleep. Following the Upanishadic declaration of satyam-jñânam-anatam (real, knowingness, unending) any of these terms are interchangeable doorways to immediately recognize the mahavakya - “That I am”. So what is this “That”? Only Awareness - which is what we are … the rest is appearance … neither the same, nor different but rather an indivisible whole - also known more accurately as Brahman. This is why Shankara recommended nididhyasana: the contemplation of one's own nature by tracing back the radiance of awareness to it's root and dispelling the idea that we are just the body, senses, mind, intellect. So as a follow through, some catching-up is warranted. Thus, for those who might be interested (or not), here are some references: How To Attain Enlightenment (the vision of non-duality) by James Swartz (on Amazon). This is a funny title. But the book is an accurate account of Shankara teachings as transmitted by the traditional Advaita-Acharya, Swami Dayananada. Shankara’s commentary on the Bhagavad-Gîtâ, translated by Swami Gambhîrânanda, at Vedanta Press. Madhusûdana Saraswati’s annotation on the Bhagavad-Gîtâ called Gûdhârtha-Dîpikâ (also at Vedanta Press) which historically starts the interpretation lineage of using Patanjali to contextualize Advaita. However, Madhusûsana was both a consummate Kevala Advaitin (composing the famous but difficult Advaita-Siddhi) and a realized Krishna-bhaktin of intense devotion. In fact, his final views in the Advaita lineage are so complete that Shankara Advaitin-s no longer concern themselves with answering the objections of the various “schools of vendanta because Madhusûdana already has answered them. Welcome to the arena of examination. This is not Prairie Dog Vedanta. Iran I Tea sez: Wow, you read the Life Divine in 1966, that's really impressive, I wasn't even in puberty then. Maybe you should have done a re-read later on, it is difficult to imagine you could grasp the whole content then. Anyway, everybody has his own path. I first heard of Mirra Alfassa in 1973, when she died, and I had just started TM. You could have visited her still. But I have to agree with Richard, that Kevala Advaita of Shankara represents only a fraction of the Indian philosophies. Maybe Aurobindo misinterpreted Shankara to some extend, but then how about Ramanuja and all the other Vaishnava Acharyas? Didn't they study Shankara extensively? Also, basically all other, similar Indian systems of philosophy, like Shaiva Siddhanta of the south, Kashmir Shaivaism, and all the Tantras disagree with Shankara on the issue of Maya. So, Aurobindo is actually much closer to them, seeing Shakti, Mahamaya as a Divine creative force, much as Aurobindo defined it, only that he connected it with the idea of evolution. To say, I read Aurobindo in 1966, and I'm done with him, is not at all doing justice to him, you would actually also experience what he describes, in order to understand him. To me it seems that Maharishi makes quite a few allusions to Aurobinoen philosophy, in some of his more esoteric and advanced lectures, which usually not in the public domain. For example when he speaks of the realization of Shiva (the transcendent), Brahman, and finally the Divine Mother, going beyond the former two, and then adds, 'and there is no end to the Divine Mother'. Which shows the influence of tantra and shaktism in his system. He also probably borrowed some of Aurobindo's thoughts, when he spoke about the absolute body. There he is probably more near to siddha philosophy and Aurobindo, than to Kevala Advaita. So, I think Richard is quite right. Today is the first day of Navaratri. So cheers and Jai Guru Dev :-)
