Sri Aurobindo and the Integral Yoga

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Once again, welcome, Welcome to
the Cultural Integration

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Fellowship and thank you for
joining us this morning.

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We were founded in 1951 by
Doctor Haridas and Veena

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Choudhury at the center of
universal religion and spiritual

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practice.
And in keeping with the spirit

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of unity and diversity, we honor
the spiritual traditions of

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diverse cultures and religions.
Today's talk is titled Sherbindo

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and the Integral Yoga and it is
going to be presented by our own

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Santosh Krinsky.
Santosh has been studying

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Shorebindo's writings since 1971
and has a daily blog at

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shorebindostudies.wordpress.com
and podcast at Anchor dot FM

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slash Santosh Dash Krinsky.
The details are there in the

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announcement, so you know, just
look up these websites for the

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details.
Santosh resided at Sharvinda

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Ashram from spring 1973 through
winter 7/19/74.

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He's the author of 17 books and
is the editor in chief at Lotus

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Press.
He is the president of the

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Institute of Holistic Education,
a nonprofit focused on

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integrating spirituality into
daily life.

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He has spent more than 48 years
building and developing

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infrastructure for publishing,
distributing and educating about

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the spiritual path of Shivar
Bindu, as well as developing and

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guiding companies at the
forefront of publishing books

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and distributing books and
products to support the natural

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market as well as the
metaphysical market in North

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America.
For more information on the

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writings of Shivar Bindal and
the Mother, you can visit

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lotuspress.com, as well as visit
the daily blog postings that

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I've already given details of
and the web page at

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aurobindo.net.
Before I hand over the screen to

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Santosh, I want to read a poem
from Doctor Haidat Choudhury.

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It is titled Life and it is from
this collection The Rhythm of

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Truth.
Life is the self painting of the

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spirit on the canvas of time and
space, gradual unveiling of the

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infinite in nature's sweet
silent embrace on the limitless

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expanse of the ocean.
Life is the rising, soaring

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undulation on the bosom of the
absolute void.

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It is the outburst of joy
unallied in the heart of

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all-encompassing darkness.
It is the sure conquest of light

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in harness right in the myths of
chaotic disorder.

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It is the principle of harmony
and order.

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Life is the play of hide and
seek between spirit and nature.

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Spirit hiding in a deep dark
veil.

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Nature tries to discover.
As nature moves forward in

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pursuit of Spirit's hidden
treasure, life leaps forth into

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radiant glory in ever increasing
measure.

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Let's meditate on those words
for a couple of minutes.

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Welcome, Welcome back to the
Culture Integration Fellowships

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and touch over to you.
Namaste.

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I was asked to speak about
Shrioro Bindo and his yoga.

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And I thought how can I presume
to speak about Shrioro Bindo and

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his yoga?
And so it occurred to me that

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maybe I should let Trioro Bindo
speak for himself.

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And so today I propose to
provide some insights that

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Trioro Bindo has himself given
about his life and his yoga.

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And let Trioro Bindo say for
himself what it is he's here to

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do, how it is he's here to do
it, and what the significance of

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that is for the future, the
world, the evolution, and for

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those of us who find meaning and
significance in what trio

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Robindo has set before us.
In 1971, I left college abruptly

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based on a call that I received
and went to Europe.

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I didn't know why, I didn't know
the purpose.

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And I went there and I waited,
and I thought somehow it would

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be revealed to me.
And I met a philosopher there

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who was studying Rudolf Steiner
and Ostenski, and we had regular

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conversations.
And then one day he came to me

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and said, I've got an American
girlfriend who I bought this

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book for, and it's not her
personal interest.

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I thought you might be
interested.

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And he put in my hands.
Trioro Bindos, the Life Divine

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and I randomly opened the book.
It's 1000 pages or so.

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I randomly opened the book to
the chapter The Aim of Life 4

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Theories of Existence, and at
that moment, as I started

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reading, I realized that the
call I had received, the search

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I was involved in, was being
answered so clearly that it

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spoke to my deepest being.
I didn't need to question it, I

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didn't need to involve the
rational intellect.

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It simply spoke to me somewhere,
somehow.

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And then I started reading
through the book systematically,

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and I realized that Shrioro
Bindo provided a complete

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understanding of our human
condition.

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He starts with the human
aspiration.

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What is it that we, we human
beings, seek for?

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Why are we here?
What are we alive for?

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What is it that motivates and
moves us?

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And he said God, light, freedom,
immortality, and if we reflect

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on what human beings do, our
science, our philosophy, our

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religions, we're seeking for
those things.

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And then he goes on and he
describes One Direction, which

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he calls the materialist denial.
And he says, basically, those

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individuals who follow that
guidance believe that the

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reality is this material world
within which we live, and we're

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here to fulfill ourselves and
aggrandize our lives.

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And then he goes on to talk
about the refusal of the

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ascetic, the person who says no,
no, it's not this, it's not

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that.
It's something other, it's

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something not this external
material world.

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And he set forward the dilemma,
the contradictions that we all

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face in humanity.
Should we go for fulfilment of

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our external life, or should we
follow some spiritual or

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religious impulse and abandoned
the material life as an

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illusion, as meaningless?
And he answers that question in

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the next chapter.
Reality Omnipresent.

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He reconciles the two extremes
and shows that each one has a

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real meaning and significance,
and that we need to merge the

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aspiration of the West, the
materialist denial, with the

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aspiration of the East, the
refusal of the ascetic to create

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a new integral way of life on
earth.

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And that made so much sense to
me that I gave up all other

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forms of thought and seeking and
said, how can I be true and live

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this aspiration?
And in some 48 or 50 years since

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then, I still ask myself those
same questions because every day

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we're confronted with these
challenges.

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Now we see people and you know,
it's, it's the 150th birth

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anniversary of Shrioro Bindo
this year on August 15th.

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And we honor that.
And we're, as do devotees, we

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respect and pay homage to that.
And that's right and good.

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But it can't stop there, because
Shrioro Bindo has clearly

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indicated it's not about being
worshipped, it's not about

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having a religious fervor.
It's about people taking up and

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living and integrating the
spiritual seeking that Trior

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Bindo undertook.
Not as some unique example, but

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as someone who was a forerunner
on the path in 1935, Shrioro

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Bindo stated I had no urge
towards spirituality in me.

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I developed spirituality.
I was incapable of understanding

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metaphysics, but I developed
into a philosopher.

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I had no eye for painting.
I developed it through yoga.

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I transformed my nature from
what it was to what it was not.

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I did it in a special manner,
not by a miracle, and I did it

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to show what could be done and
how it could be done.

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I did not do it out of any
personal necessity of my own, or

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by a miracle without any
process.

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I say that if it is not so, then
my yoga is useless and my life

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was a mistake, a mere absurd
freak of nature without meaning

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or consequence.
You all seem to think it is a

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great compliment to me to say
that what I have done has no

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meaning for anybody except
myself.

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It is the most damaging
criticism of my work that could

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be made.
I also did not do it by myself.

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If you mean by myself as
Orobindo did, he did it with the

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help of Krishna and the divine
Shakti.

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I had help from embodied sources
also.

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My sodden is not a freak or a
monstrosity or a miracle done

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outside the laws of nature and
the conditions of life and

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consciousness on earth.
If I could do these things or if

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they could happen in my yoga, it
means that they can be done and

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that therefore these
developments and transformations

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are possible in the terrestrial
consciousness.

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What an incredible statement.
Sri Orobindo tells us.

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Don't just worship and forget.
Don't go to the Church of

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Orobindo on Sunday and forget
about it the rest of the week.

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Understand and take up the
methods that I've developed and

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practiced and integrated into my
life and become that which I am

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becoming.
If you respect, if you honor, if

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you believe in what you see in
me, that's rior obindo, then

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become that.
Don't satisfy yourself with

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worshipping from afar.
If that's all you can do, do it.

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That's fine, because it brings
you closer.

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But the reality is that if we're
going to transform human life on

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Earth, we need to become that.
We need to begin to change human

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nature one person at a time,
starting with ourselves.

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Trioro Bindo made it clear as he
gave us another indication.

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The quote is it is not Trioro
Bindo's object to develop anyone

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religion or to amalgamate the
older religions or to found any

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new religion, for any of these
things would lead away from his

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central purpose.
The one aim of his yoga is an

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inner self development by which
each one who follows it can in

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time discover the oneself in all
and evolve a higher

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consciousness than the mental, a
spiritual and super mental

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consciousness which will
transform and divine eyes human

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life.
So if we take Shriya Robindo at

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his word, if we believe what he
says, if we honor his vision,

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then it's pretty clear that we
need to turn our devotion into

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practice and begin to grapple
with all of the issues, all of

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the contradictions, all of the
struggles that the existing

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human nature that we all embody
puts up as a conservative

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resistance to the evolutionary
development and growth of

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consciousness.
That resistance is not bad.

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It's not wrong.
It's part of nature's process to

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ensure that there is a solid
step forward, that we don't just

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leap into an abyss of confusion
and conflicting ideas and vital

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impulses.
And so it's good that we have

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some amount of resistance within
ourselves that we can confront

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and challenge and say, is this
the way forward?

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Does it provide an integral
understanding?

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Does it provide a step towards
the new consciousness and the

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new human being, or possibly
beyond human being that's

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intended to evolve and carry
that next evolutionary stage of

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consciousness forward?
Sri Aurobindo was also very

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clear that he wasn't seeking
large numbers of devotees and

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didn't want to advertise what he
was doing.

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He'd rather have a smaller
number of people who were

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dedicated to actually practicing
this yoga, just as I guess Jesus

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chose his 12 disciples.
Sri Robindo basically said it's

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not quantity of people who adopt
this path, it's.

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The quality of the individuals
who are willing to put their

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lives on the line, he states.
I don't believe in advertisement

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except for books, etcetera, and
in propaganda except for

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politics and patent medicines.
But for serious work, it is a

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poison.
It means either a stunt or a

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boom.
And stunts and booms exhaust the

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thing they carry on their Crest
and leave it lifeless and broken

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high and dry on the shores of
nowhere.

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Or it means a movement.
A movement, in the case of a

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work like mine, means the
founding of a school or a sect,

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or some other damn nonsense.
It means that hundreds or

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thousands of useless people join
in and corrupt the work or

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reduce it to a pompous farce
from which the truth that was

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coming down recedes into secrecy
and silence.

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It is what has happened to the
religions, and it is the reason

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of their failure.
And, you know, I reflect on this

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virtually every day.
I'm in the book publishing

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business.
I published Riro Bindo's books

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in the United States.
And I, yes, I advertise them,

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but I'm, I'm very conscious that
I have to stay on this side of

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the line.
I can advertise the books, but

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not work to start a movement or
a religion or any other, as Riro

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Bindo puts it, damn nonsense.
So it's something that really is

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real to me and I know a lot of
devotees believe, honestly

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believe that getting more people
involved and going out and

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expanding the teachings and
bringing in lots of individuals

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is somehow a benefit.
And maybe in the broadest sense

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of the term, the texturing of
consciousness across the entire

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world Nuosphere.
It's not a bad idea.

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And so I am always encouraged
and I always support when the

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concepts, the ideas, the focus,
the direction that Srioro Bindo

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00:23:02,320 --> 00:23:08,680
points to is put forward in some
way, shape or form.

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Whether or not they mentioned
Srioro Bindo, I honor the energy

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00:23:18,360 --> 00:23:26,480
of the force of the concept and
don't worry about giving,

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00:23:27,280 --> 00:23:33,400
whether those people give credit
to Srioro Bindo because somehow,

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00:23:33,400 --> 00:23:39,480
somewhere the idea has touched
them at the universal level.

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00:23:39,800 --> 00:23:44,080
They don't know where it comes
from in many cases, but it's

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00:23:44,080 --> 00:23:49,760
true because it's changing the
mental understanding of

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00:23:49,760 --> 00:23:54,000
humanity.
We are different today at the

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00:23:54,000 --> 00:23:57,760
mental level than we were 50
years ago.

236
00:23:59,800 --> 00:24:04,880
We understand the oneness of
life more than we did 50 years

237
00:24:04,880 --> 00:24:09,120
ago.
We understand the symbiotic

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00:24:09,120 --> 00:24:14,320
nature of life.
We're more concerned about

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00:24:14,600 --> 00:24:20,760
achieving balance and harmony.
Obviously not everybody adopts

240
00:24:20,760 --> 00:24:28,360
this, but humanity as a whole
has made enormous progress from

241
00:24:28,360 --> 00:24:34,000
the days when a person's skin
color or gender or orientation

242
00:24:34,640 --> 00:24:40,800
meant total suppression,
slavery, beatings, death,

243
00:24:41,040 --> 00:24:47,400
poverty, to the to the time
today where awakened individuals

244
00:24:47,400 --> 00:24:55,960
across the world recognize that
things have to change if we as a

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00:24:55,960 --> 00:25:02,200
species are going to survive and
thrive on this planet and carry

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00:25:02,200 --> 00:25:08,120
things forward.
And that to me, is the best

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00:25:08,560 --> 00:25:15,920
homage that we can pay to Srioro
Bindo, that the concepts and

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00:25:15,920 --> 00:25:21,440
ideas he developed, put forward,
organized at such great length,

249
00:25:22,560 --> 00:25:31,440
are finding purchase in the
world secretly, occultly, but

250
00:25:31,760 --> 00:25:38,520
beginning to change the texture
and feeling of the consciousness

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00:25:38,520 --> 00:25:42,440
of the planet.
That's a mark, remarkable thing.

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00:25:44,360 --> 00:25:50,560
So what does this mean for us,
those who appreciate support and

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00:25:50,560 --> 00:25:54,920
want to take up the yoga that
Trioro Bindo has shown us?

254
00:25:56,280 --> 00:26:01,680
And the Mother indicated Trioro
Bindo came upon Earth to teach

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00:26:01,680 --> 00:26:06,360
this truth to men.
He told them that man is only a

256
00:26:06,360 --> 00:26:11,680
transitional being, living in a
mental consciousness, but with

257
00:26:11,680 --> 00:26:16,640
the possibility of acquiring a
new consciousness, the truth

258
00:26:16,640 --> 00:26:21,200
consciousness, and capable of
living a life perfectly

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00:26:21,200 --> 00:26:26,240
harmonious, good and beautiful,
happy and fully conscious.

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00:26:27,760 --> 00:26:31,440
During the whole of his life
upon earth, Sri Aurobindo gave

261
00:26:31,520 --> 00:26:36,320
all his time to establish in
himself this consciousness he

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00:26:36,320 --> 00:26:42,280
called superimental and to help
those gathered around him to

263
00:26:42,280 --> 00:26:47,280
realize it.
Sriorobindo has come on earth

264
00:26:48,480 --> 00:26:52,400
not to bring a teaching or a
creed in competition with

265
00:26:52,400 --> 00:26:58,120
previous creeds or teachings,
but to show the way to overpass

266
00:26:58,280 --> 00:27:04,920
the past and to open concretely
the route towards an imminent

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00:27:05,560 --> 00:27:15,000
and inevitable future.
And that means that those who

268
00:27:15,560 --> 00:27:23,040
are moved by Srioro Bindo's
teaching, by Srioro Bindo's

269
00:27:23,040 --> 00:27:30,280
presence, who have love and
devotion towards what Srioro

270
00:27:30,280 --> 00:27:35,720
Bindo represents in the world,
we have that opportunity.

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00:27:35,720 --> 00:27:44,160
It's our burden to take up that
yogic practice and change human

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00:27:44,160 --> 00:27:51,080
nature within ourselves, Sri
Robindo stated.

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00:27:52,200 --> 00:27:58,400
The yoga we practice is not for
ourselves alone, but for the

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00:27:58,400 --> 00:28:03,520
Divine.
It's aim is to work out the will

275
00:28:03,520 --> 00:28:07,600
of the divine in the world, to
effect a spiritual

276
00:28:07,600 --> 00:28:13,840
transformation and to bring down
a divine nature and a divine

277
00:28:13,840 --> 00:28:20,920
life into the mental, vital and
physical nature and life of

278
00:28:20,920 --> 00:28:26,000
humanity.
Its object is not personal

279
00:28:26,000 --> 00:28:31,160
mukti, although mukti is a
necessary condition of the Yoga,

280
00:28:32,400 --> 00:28:35,720
but the liberation and
transformation of the human

281
00:28:35,720 --> 00:28:40,440
being.
It is not personal Ananda, but

282
00:28:40,440 --> 00:28:45,840
the bringing down of the Divine
Ananda, Christ's Kingdom of

283
00:28:45,840 --> 00:28:57,300
heaven, our Satya Yuga upon the
earth trio.

284
00:28:57,300 --> 00:29:07,400
Robindo wrote most of his major
writings between 1910 and 1920.

285
00:29:09,480 --> 00:29:14,800
Some of them he edited and
refined, but one writing stands

286
00:29:14,800 --> 00:29:23,320
out by virtue of the fact that
he worked on it until 1950, the

287
00:29:23,320 --> 00:29:32,560
year when he left his body.
And that is Savitri, a legend

288
00:29:32,560 --> 00:29:38,600
and a symbol.
And in Savitri he sets forth in

289
00:29:39,440 --> 00:29:50,480
radiant and inspiring terms his
vision of what the world can do

290
00:29:50,480 --> 00:29:56,160
and be, and what we those who
follow afterwards, and who are

291
00:29:56,160 --> 00:30:02,600
moved and inspired by the same
force that moved and inspired

292
00:30:02,600 --> 00:30:07,240
tree or a window.
And so I'd like to read a short

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00:30:07,240 --> 00:30:24,770
passage from Savitri.
I saw the omnipotent flaming

294
00:30:24,770 --> 00:30:31,410
pioneers over the heavenly verge
which turns towards life, come

295
00:30:31,410 --> 00:30:34,850
crowding down the amber stairs
of birth.

296
00:30:36,610 --> 00:30:39,050
Forerunners of a divine
multitude.

297
00:30:40,210 --> 00:30:45,200
Out of the paths of the morning
star they came into the little

298
00:30:45,200 --> 00:30:51,440
room of mortal life.
I saw them cross the twilight of

299
00:30:51,440 --> 00:30:56,040
an age, the sun eyed children of
a marvellous dawn.

300
00:30:56,920 --> 00:31:02,160
The great creators with wide
brows of calm, the massive

301
00:31:02,280 --> 00:31:08,080
barrier Breakers of the world
and wrestlers with destiny in

302
00:31:08,080 --> 00:31:12,600
her lists of will.
The laborers in the quarries of

303
00:31:12,600 --> 00:31:19,560
the gods, the messengers of the
incommunicable, the architects

304
00:31:20,080 --> 00:31:24,960
of immortality.
Into the fallen human sphere

305
00:31:24,960 --> 00:31:29,120
they came.
Faces that wore the immortals

306
00:31:29,120 --> 00:31:34,800
glory still.
Voices that commune still with

307
00:31:34,800 --> 00:31:38,880
the thoughts of God.
Bodies made beautiful by the

308
00:31:38,880 --> 00:31:43,840
spirit's light carrying the
magic word, The Mystic fire

309
00:31:44,840 --> 00:31:49,520
carrying the Dionysian cup of
joy approaching eyes of a

310
00:31:49,520 --> 00:31:56,040
diviner man, Lips chanting an
unknown anthem of the soul.

311
00:31:57,680 --> 00:32:01,440
Feet echoing in the corridors of
time.

312
00:32:03,360 --> 00:32:08,440
High priests of wisdom,
sweetness, might and bliss,

313
00:32:09,520 --> 00:32:13,880
discoverers of beauty, sunlit
waves and swimmers of Love's

314
00:32:13,880 --> 00:32:18,560
laughing, fiery floods and
dancers within rapture's golden

315
00:32:18,560 --> 00:32:22,600
doors.
Their tread one day shall change

316
00:32:22,600 --> 00:32:28,360
the suffering earth and justify
the light on nature's face.

317
00:32:35,920 --> 00:32:41,560
The role of the devotee, the
disciple, the follower of Srioro

318
00:32:41,560 --> 00:32:47,480
Bindo, is not simply to worship
Trioro Bindo and create a new

319
00:32:47,480 --> 00:32:53,760
religion, but to put into
practice the teachings, follow

320
00:32:53,760 --> 00:32:59,680
the path, and realize the truths
that Trioro Bindo was able to

321
00:32:59,680 --> 00:33:05,640
reveal about the divine
manifestation and the evolution

322
00:33:05,920 --> 00:33:11,280
of consciousness.
Om Tut.

323
00:33:11,520 --> 00:33:29,640
Sut.
I don't want to break the

324
00:33:29,640 --> 00:33:33,120
silence, so I was just wondering
if we could meditate, you know,

325
00:33:33,200 --> 00:33:38,760
for, for a few minutes actually,
and then we'll come back to the

326
00:33:38,760 --> 00:37:45,240
group and have conversations.
Thank you so very much for this

327
00:37:45,240 --> 00:37:52,640
wonderful presentation.
It's still feeling the silence.

328
00:37:57,600 --> 00:38:01,920
Usually the mind begins
chattering, you know, after

329
00:38:03,120 --> 00:38:05,920
talks.
And I think the power of the

330
00:38:05,920 --> 00:38:09,880
words get lost.
And that was the reason I

331
00:38:09,880 --> 00:38:12,320
thought that it would be good to
have a meditation.

332
00:38:12,800 --> 00:38:16,280
And I personally felt that it
was a beautiful overview of

333
00:38:16,440 --> 00:38:19,920
Shurbinda's integral yoga coming
from Shurbinda himself.

334
00:38:21,560 --> 00:38:24,320
You know, what are the essential
characteristics of the yoga?

335
00:38:25,920 --> 00:38:29,560
Thank you very much for
reminding the salient aspects of

336
00:38:29,560 --> 00:38:34,400
the yoga.
And you know, August is when we

337
00:38:34,400 --> 00:38:37,360
celebrate the birthday of
Shurbinda.

338
00:38:37,360 --> 00:38:41,400
There will be more talks in this
particular month specifically

339
00:38:41,400 --> 00:38:47,480
focused on Shorebindle, and once
again, the idea is very simple.

340
00:38:47,640 --> 00:38:50,600
You know, it is about inner and
outer transformation.

341
00:38:52,720 --> 00:39:00,560
And as Santosh pointed out, I
too believe that, you know, that

342
00:39:00,760 --> 00:39:06,960
the fellowship stands for for
concentrated work and very much

343
00:39:06,960 --> 00:39:13,360
in line with Shorebindle and our
predecessors.

344
00:39:13,840 --> 00:39:16,160
I've never believed in the
numbers.

345
00:39:16,280 --> 00:39:21,240
You know, it is about having a
focus group which is, which is

346
00:39:21,240 --> 00:39:24,200
committed towards inner and
outer transformation and

347
00:39:24,200 --> 00:39:28,080
bringing about transformation in
as many ways as possible, in

348
00:39:28,080 --> 00:39:31,160
different ways as possible.
You know, it's, it's, it's a

349
00:39:31,160 --> 00:39:33,480
diverse world, it's a plural
world.

350
00:39:33,920 --> 00:39:38,440
And of course, all of us are
going to interact with the yogic

351
00:39:38,440 --> 00:39:46,880
scheme in specific ways in in,
in our unique ways.

352
00:39:48,440 --> 00:39:52,680
So thank you very much.
Let's open the group for

353
00:39:52,680 --> 00:39:54,920
conversations, comments,
questions.

354
00:39:56,600 --> 00:39:59,680
Please raise your hand, unmute
yourself and come in.

355
00:40:01,080 --> 00:40:10,280
Yeah, Margaret.
Santosh, I assumed that you were

356
00:40:11,160 --> 00:40:15,480
there was inner guidance in your
choice to use Shrior Bindo's

357
00:40:15,480 --> 00:40:19,760
words rather than talk about
Shrior Bindo.

358
00:40:20,920 --> 00:40:25,280
So I think it's helpful for you
to know from those that

359
00:40:25,280 --> 00:40:31,240
experienced this talk today that
it allowed the mantra power of

360
00:40:31,240 --> 00:40:37,840
Shriora Bindo's words containing
that force to really have that

361
00:40:38,560 --> 00:40:44,160
powerful influx of force and
light.

362
00:40:45,000 --> 00:40:52,960
So what Condon was saying and
when we had the meditation, I'm

363
00:40:52,960 --> 00:40:59,600
sure all of us could experience,
even though you channelled this

364
00:40:59,600 --> 00:41:04,760
this morning, that we received
the full power and radiance of

365
00:41:04,760 --> 00:41:08,800
Sri Rabindo's words.
Thank you so much.

366
00:41:19,580 --> 00:41:26,020
Well, you know, when Kundan
asked me to speak today, I was a

367
00:41:26,020 --> 00:41:32,100
little shocked and thought, how
can I be so presumptuous to

368
00:41:32,700 --> 00:41:38,140
describe Shriwa?
And for a few days I just was in

369
00:41:38,140 --> 00:41:43,260
sort of a state of why me, why
should I do this?

370
00:41:44,100 --> 00:41:51,600
And then it became clear that
Shriya Robindo can and should

371
00:41:51,840 --> 00:41:55,760
and does speak for himself, We
can't do that.

372
00:41:56,600 --> 00:42:00,160
And that that's how this
happened today, that it just

373
00:42:00,160 --> 00:42:07,000
sort of grew on me as as the
panic of trying to intervene in

374
00:42:07,920 --> 00:42:13,040
describing Shriya Robindo and
his work overtook me at the

375
00:42:13,040 --> 00:42:25,840
request.
Hi, Santosh, this is Mike Hebel

376
00:42:25,840 --> 00:42:29,400
here in San Francisco.
Santosh, you indicated that the

377
00:42:29,400 --> 00:42:32,680
one work that Sure Bindo
continued to work on through his

378
00:42:32,680 --> 00:42:36,800
whole life with Savitri, you
also told us that I think that

379
00:42:36,800 --> 00:42:40,840
the major works that he had done
were done in a 10 year period,

380
00:42:41,440 --> 00:42:46,760
30 or so years earlier.
Do you have any inclination or

381
00:42:46,760 --> 00:42:55,720
did Sure Bindo say why Savitri
was the work that required such

382
00:42:55,760 --> 00:43:02,520
continuous work and development?
The intimation that I've

383
00:43:02,520 --> 00:43:07,320
received from studying these
things and what Sri Aurobindo

384
00:43:07,320 --> 00:43:12,160
and the Mother both had to say
about it, was that Savitri

385
00:43:12,160 --> 00:43:16,280
embodied a mantric force of
realization.

386
00:43:17,520 --> 00:43:25,160
And that he continued as he
gained new realizations, as he

387
00:43:25,160 --> 00:43:30,400
gained new powers of
understanding, as the higher

388
00:43:30,400 --> 00:43:37,120
forces built themselves out and
exposed levels of humanity that

389
00:43:38,120 --> 00:43:42,720
needed to be looked at.
He was moved to continually

390
00:43:42,720 --> 00:43:50,720
incorporate that into Savitri so
that it would provide and

391
00:43:50,720 --> 00:43:57,400
impetus and power of realization
for anyone who picks it up and

392
00:43:57,400 --> 00:44:03,280
reads it with sincerity and
without a chattering mind.

393
00:44:03,280 --> 00:44:08,480
You could say just quietly
allowing the mantra to create

394
00:44:08,480 --> 00:44:13,240
its images, to build within
oneself and and carry that

395
00:44:13,240 --> 00:44:16,120
force.
And my own experience with

396
00:44:16,120 --> 00:44:19,880
Savitri was was interesting.
I was living at Trior Bindu

397
00:44:19,880 --> 00:44:28,720
Ashram in 1973 and I thought,
how can I even read Savitri?

398
00:44:30,720 --> 00:44:35,280
And so I started with the very
first Cantor, the first chapter,

399
00:44:35,280 --> 00:44:42,280
and decided that I would
understand it only if I could

400
00:44:42,280 --> 00:44:47,080
really understand the language.
And so it was the hour before

401
00:44:47,080 --> 00:44:53,800
the gods awake, and I thought, I
need to really look up the

402
00:44:54,000 --> 00:44:59,360
nuance of the words.
Across the path of the divine

403
00:44:59,360 --> 00:45:05,960
event, the huge foreboding mind
of night, alone in her unlit

404
00:45:05,960 --> 00:45:10,680
temple of eternity place
stretched immobile upon silence.

405
00:45:10,680 --> 00:45:14,160
March.
And I started reading that and I

406
00:45:14,160 --> 00:45:19,400
thought, OK, I better go to the
dictionary and really reflect on

407
00:45:19,840 --> 00:45:22,440
the nuances of every word
chosen.

408
00:45:24,000 --> 00:45:27,760
And as I did that, and I went
through that first canto, I

409
00:45:27,760 --> 00:45:32,560
reached a point where I felt
everything was utter darkness

410
00:45:32,560 --> 00:45:36,280
and despair.
It was the mind of night, and it

411
00:45:36,280 --> 00:45:40,000
had just filled me with that
darkness.

412
00:45:41,160 --> 00:45:48,120
And then something, there was a
long lone line of hesitating

413
00:45:48,120 --> 00:45:50,640
Hugh.
There was there was a line that

414
00:45:50,640 --> 00:45:59,080
just suddenly I felt in my heart
that there was a a spark,

415
00:46:00,400 --> 00:46:02,520
Something broke through the
darkness.

416
00:46:03,480 --> 00:46:09,760
And the next line in that canto
was a hope stolen that hardly

417
00:46:09,760 --> 00:46:13,960
dared to be amid the night's
forlorn indifference.

418
00:46:15,840 --> 00:46:23,560
And it awakened me to the power
of Savitri because he could

419
00:46:23,560 --> 00:46:34,600
create within the receptive soul
the very power and force of what

420
00:46:34,600 --> 00:46:40,720
he was seeing and experiencing.
And he could then move you to a

421
00:46:40,720 --> 00:46:45,840
new framework, a new
understanding, a new energy, a

422
00:46:45,840 --> 00:46:50,800
New Hope.
And as I read other sections of

423
00:46:50,800 --> 00:46:58,960
Savitri, the same thing happened
in book 11, The eternal day he's

424
00:46:58,960 --> 00:47:03,320
talking about.
I mean, he's just giving us all

425
00:47:03,320 --> 00:47:09,520
of these beautiful images and
forces and music and sounds and

426
00:47:09,880 --> 00:47:14,640
everything.
And then he breaks the spell by

427
00:47:14,640 --> 00:47:19,640
saying the measure of the subtle
music ceased.

428
00:47:20,760 --> 00:47:25,080
And at that moment I woke up and
realized I'd been entranced in

429
00:47:25,080 --> 00:47:32,760
this energy.
And he was consciously making us

430
00:47:32,760 --> 00:47:39,960
aware of that inner movement so
that it wouldn't just be some

431
00:47:39,960 --> 00:47:45,560
experience that was ephemeral
and comes and goes, but actually

432
00:47:46,520 --> 00:47:52,640
helps us to recognize the power
that Savitri holds for the

433
00:47:52,640 --> 00:47:57,200
transformation, not from an
intellectual standpoint, but

434
00:47:57,200 --> 00:48:01,480
from an inter transformational
standpoint.

435
00:48:04,200 --> 00:48:22,800
Thank you.
Hi Santosh, I just thank you so

436
00:48:22,800 --> 00:48:24,320
much.
That was such a beautiful

437
00:48:24,320 --> 00:48:26,640
presentation.
I really, really loved it.

438
00:48:27,160 --> 00:48:29,400
Thanks for sharing your
experience and your wisdom.

439
00:48:29,400 --> 00:48:32,160
And I loved hearing the passages
from his writings.

440
00:48:32,160 --> 00:48:34,840
It's just so beautiful.
Makes me really want to read

441
00:48:34,840 --> 00:48:37,240
Savi Tree.
So I'll have to make that a

442
00:48:37,240 --> 00:48:41,080
lifelong goal.
But yeah, I've never read his

443
00:48:41,080 --> 00:48:43,800
work before, so I really
appreciate you sharing that with

444
00:48:43,800 --> 00:48:44,800
us.
It was beautiful.

445
00:48:45,840 --> 00:48:47,600
And it's great to see everybody
today.

446
00:48:47,600 --> 00:48:53,160
Thank you for being here.
Thank you.

447
00:48:53,160 --> 00:49:12,810
Santosh, please.
And me.

448
00:49:12,970 --> 00:49:19,680
Cheers.
Santosh I what you just said

449
00:49:19,680 --> 00:49:26,400
about Sabatry is of course, what
many of us feel from the

450
00:49:26,400 --> 00:49:32,920
incredible mantra poetry and
Sabatry and from his his other

451
00:49:32,920 --> 00:49:36,840
poetry.
But, but I, I would make a

452
00:49:36,840 --> 00:49:42,440
strong pitch for the same kind
of qualities, the same, the very

453
00:49:42,440 --> 00:49:51,120
same qualities in his prose that
we, we can find the same, the

454
00:49:51,120 --> 00:49:59,120
same force, the same power in
each word of his prose, his

455
00:49:59,120 --> 00:50:04,120
paragraphs that go on for or his
sentences that go on for a

456
00:50:04,120 --> 00:50:06,760
paragraph or a page or two
pages.

457
00:50:06,760 --> 00:50:10,960
If we, we, we need to break them
down.

458
00:50:11,040 --> 00:50:16,320
We need to disassemble and let
them reassemble themselves.

459
00:50:17,320 --> 00:50:20,960
You know, I, I find that I can,
I can swim in those words.

460
00:50:20,960 --> 00:50:28,160
We swam in those words, the
prose that you, you spoke to us

461
00:50:28,160 --> 00:50:30,560
today in, in your, in your
reading.

462
00:50:31,880 --> 00:50:34,760
So I just wanted to, to make
that pitch.

463
00:50:34,760 --> 00:50:40,520
I I'd love Savitry, but but but
the prose, if one gives

464
00:50:40,520 --> 00:50:44,800
attention to it and it requires
absolute attention.

465
00:50:44,800 --> 00:50:51,120
This is not easy reading, as we
all know, but but that same

466
00:50:51,120 --> 00:50:54,240
quality is there in, in, in the
prose.

467
00:50:54,240 --> 00:50:59,720
Some of us are more taken to
prose and some to poetry, but it

468
00:50:59,720 --> 00:51:03,720
is it is all there.
And so thank you for this.

469
00:51:04,160 --> 00:51:11,000
Such a wonderful short summary,
1/2 an hour a tour, a Tour de

470
00:51:11,000 --> 00:51:17,320
force of of Shriya Rabindo as we
approach August 15th.

471
00:51:17,320 --> 00:51:23,680
So thank you very much for that.
Well, you know I I agree with

472
00:51:23,680 --> 00:51:29,720
you about the pros.
Back in 2009, I came to the

473
00:51:29,720 --> 00:51:34,280
conclusion that I was reading
Shriya Rabindo's writings too

474
00:51:34,280 --> 00:51:40,840
fast for the entire time from
1971 until that point.

475
00:51:40,840 --> 00:51:46,280
And I said I don't know that I
can really absorb what he's

476
00:51:46,280 --> 00:51:50,120
saying and what he's
communicating, just sort of

477
00:51:50,120 --> 00:51:55,600
devouring page after page, as
was, you know, the way we read

478
00:51:55,600 --> 00:52:00,080
books, OK.
And so I started my daily blog,

479
00:52:00,080 --> 00:52:02,640
not for anybody else, but for
myself.

480
00:52:03,600 --> 00:52:08,920
And I said I'm going to go 1
page a day and I'm going to

481
00:52:08,920 --> 00:52:11,200
really reflect on it.
I'm going to look at that

482
00:52:11,200 --> 00:52:17,480
passage and I'm going to try and
understand it and add my own

483
00:52:18,120 --> 00:52:24,320
unique reaction, perspective,
whatever to it so that it

484
00:52:24,320 --> 00:52:28,960
becomes me rather than just
something I read and let it go.

485
00:52:29,960 --> 00:52:36,840
And now, you know, it's been
what, 14 years and the blog is

486
00:52:36,840 --> 00:52:40,160
still going on and it's gone
through all of the prose works,

487
00:52:40,160 --> 00:52:44,680
the major prose works, the life
divine, the synthesis, the

488
00:52:44,720 --> 00:52:49,600
essays on the Gita that I mean,
just on and on.

489
00:52:49,600 --> 00:52:54,280
And now we're looking at
compilations of the one I'm

490
00:52:54,280 --> 00:52:58,400
working on right now is called
Our Many Selves, Practical Yogic

491
00:52:58,400 --> 00:53:02,080
Psychology, which compiles
writings of Shriya Rabindu and

492
00:53:02,080 --> 00:53:04,640
the Mother.
And again, it's, it's basically

493
00:53:04,640 --> 00:53:12,200
one passage or page a day.
And it slows me down so that I

494
00:53:12,200 --> 00:53:17,920
can really grasp and grapple
with what they're trying to

495
00:53:17,920 --> 00:53:21,480
communicate.
And I just share it on the blog

496
00:53:21,480 --> 00:53:25,720
because others have said, as you
said, well, it's hard.

497
00:53:25,720 --> 00:53:31,280
There's so much material and we
don't know how to really grasp

498
00:53:31,280 --> 00:53:36,280
it all and deal with it.
And I thought, well, I'm going

499
00:53:36,280 --> 00:53:40,520
through that experience.
I can share that experience sort

500
00:53:40,520 --> 00:53:45,880
of collectively with everybody.
And many times people have their

501
00:53:45,880 --> 00:53:49,480
own comments and they add them
and, and it's encouraged.

502
00:53:49,480 --> 00:53:53,600
It's wonderful.
Sometimes people have asked me,

503
00:53:54,000 --> 00:53:57,480
you know, why aren't you just
citing Shiro Bindo's paragraph?

504
00:53:57,480 --> 00:54:02,400
And I say, well, because I want
to actually internalize it.

505
00:54:03,320 --> 00:54:08,000
I want to make it real to me,
and you should make it real to

506
00:54:08,000 --> 00:54:12,240
you.
Not just be able to parrot back

507
00:54:12,240 --> 00:54:17,280
the words, but to actually
appreciate and understand what

508
00:54:17,280 --> 00:54:21,720
they mean and what they do.
To some degree, each time we

509
00:54:21,720 --> 00:54:28,240
read this, we get a deeper layer
of it, but it doesn't mean we

510
00:54:28,240 --> 00:54:31,240
shouldn't take those steps.
So thank you.

511
00:54:31,280 --> 00:54:34,600
You're right.
Yeah, I, I think it's very good

512
00:54:34,600 --> 00:54:40,840
for us to share the ways that we
read to increase sort of the

513
00:54:40,840 --> 00:54:43,680
breadth of people's
understanding about the way to

514
00:54:43,680 --> 00:54:47,680
do this.
Your your way was was more out

515
00:54:47,680 --> 00:54:52,320
there with you with your blog.
Mine was much more quiet and

516
00:54:52,320 --> 00:54:57,000
private.
I, I slowed down maybe even more

517
00:54:57,000 --> 00:55:01,200
than you did, even less than the
page a day times.

518
00:55:01,200 --> 00:55:07,240
And my my my way was to
literally touch the words.

519
00:55:08,200 --> 00:55:13,920
I've used a a PDF reader, good
reader and for for all the

520
00:55:13,920 --> 00:55:21,680
volumes and and I I move.
I, I actually literally touched

521
00:55:21,680 --> 00:55:29,640
the words in electronically on
the PDF reader by highlighting

522
00:55:29,640 --> 00:55:33,960
them, maybe even lifting
important sentences out and

523
00:55:33,960 --> 00:55:38,680
putting them in another place
to, to really, really and, and

524
00:55:38,680 --> 00:55:45,360
having a dictionary right there
readily available for so many of

525
00:55:45,360 --> 00:55:48,040
the words to understand the
nuances.

526
00:55:48,560 --> 00:55:53,560
So I, I think this is an
important exchange about how we

527
00:55:53,560 --> 00:55:57,480
read Shriya or Bendo and the
difference between the prose and

528
00:55:57,480 --> 00:56:00,920
the poetry.
And we each have our own ways.

529
00:56:01,720 --> 00:56:06,000
So enough said.
But I, I appreciate this, this

530
00:56:06,000 --> 00:56:06,800
exchange.
Thank.

531
00:56:09,120 --> 00:56:13,920
You, if I may add just a bit,
you know, to this ongoing

532
00:56:13,920 --> 00:56:17,680
conversation, the mother would
say that one of the best ways to

533
00:56:17,680 --> 00:56:22,120
read Shurvinder's writings is to
silence the mind and invoke the

534
00:56:22,120 --> 00:56:30,080
grace.
I have found that, you know, the

535
00:56:30,080 --> 00:56:35,960
writings begin to make complete
sense and and even prose, you

536
00:56:35,960 --> 00:56:41,120
know, appear poetry to me and
you know, it's my experience is

537
00:56:41,120 --> 00:56:43,760
very similar to what Earl was
talking about.

538
00:56:45,880 --> 00:56:52,120
Baman, please come in.
Thank you, Santosh.

539
00:56:52,120 --> 00:56:56,800
I just wanted to again like let
everyone else thank you for the

540
00:56:56,800 --> 00:57:02,560
way you did this presentation.
I think for some of us who have

541
00:57:02,560 --> 00:57:10,080
been in a teaching role in some
sense, or it's, it's been a

542
00:57:10,080 --> 00:57:15,160
dilemma, I think it is a dilemma
how to teach her a window or

543
00:57:15,160 --> 00:57:18,440
even to teach her a window.
And I think you put it very

544
00:57:18,440 --> 00:57:20,320
nicely and, you know, in that
way.

545
00:57:21,320 --> 00:57:24,480
Second thing that caught my
attention was your emphasis,

546
00:57:24,640 --> 00:57:27,320
because there's so much else you
could have also brought in, but

547
00:57:27,680 --> 00:57:30,720
your emphasis on the part that
should have been a talks about

548
00:57:31,280 --> 00:57:35,760
that I didn't do this by myself.
You know, in some sense he takes

549
00:57:35,760 --> 00:57:42,160
himself outside out, you know,
and, and I, I find that very

550
00:57:42,160 --> 00:57:45,440
difficult and very promising at
the same time.

551
00:57:45,440 --> 00:57:50,640
It's, it's really hard to
overcome the ego because the ego

552
00:57:50,640 --> 00:57:53,160
is not just some characteristic
that's not good.

553
00:57:53,160 --> 00:57:56,040
The ego is just very basic way
that we are.

554
00:57:56,480 --> 00:58:01,040
And to be able to really utilize
it in the way that he he calls

555
00:58:01,040 --> 00:58:05,240
for it is, is not easy.
But but one thing that has made

556
00:58:05,240 --> 00:58:11,680
it easier for me a little bit is
that even though Share Windows

557
00:58:11,880 --> 00:58:15,800
works and his capabilities are
immense compared to many human

558
00:58:15,800 --> 00:58:22,240
beings or other beings, perhaps,
I don't know if it's necessary

559
00:58:22,240 --> 00:58:27,080
for us to compare ourselves in
any sense to, to to him.

560
00:58:27,080 --> 00:58:30,600
Like to think that I should know
so much poetry should be able to

561
00:58:30,600 --> 00:58:34,200
write a poem like his or to
write an article like, you know,

562
00:58:34,200 --> 00:58:37,920
or to, because it's just a
different story.

563
00:58:37,920 --> 00:58:40,840
And I think you all started to
point to this direction in the

564
00:58:40,840 --> 00:58:46,200
past few conversations that I, I
think what it, what's more

565
00:58:46,200 --> 00:58:51,320
necessary is to just light a
candle within us to really want

566
00:58:51,680 --> 00:58:56,400
spiritual development.
And, and his words are so great

567
00:58:56,400 --> 00:58:59,600
and so full that each of us will
find something in it where we

568
00:58:59,600 --> 00:59:04,520
can find a thread for ourselves
and kind of go at our own pace.

569
00:59:04,520 --> 00:59:07,960
But somehow I think there's a
lot of progress that can be made

570
00:59:07,960 --> 00:59:12,160
if we're not intimidated by the
immensity of his philosophy and

571
00:59:12,160 --> 00:59:16,640
his intelligence.
And in some sense, I think the

572
00:59:16,640 --> 00:59:21,360
mother's work is very helpful
because it contains a lot of, I

573
00:59:21,360 --> 00:59:24,600
don't know what some people call
spiritual intelligence, you

574
00:59:24,600 --> 00:59:29,480
know, something that is about
how to conduct a spiritual life

575
00:59:29,480 --> 00:59:33,200
rather than so many other things
about spirituality.

576
00:59:33,200 --> 00:59:37,520
So I think, you know, I really
appreciate this initiation that

577
00:59:37,520 --> 00:59:42,320
I believe you have done to
inspire us to kind of bring in

578
00:59:42,320 --> 00:59:46,040
these new ways of they're really
capitalizing on these teachings

579
00:59:46,040 --> 00:59:46,960
for ourselves.
Thank.

580
00:59:54,470 --> 00:59:58,310
You Bahman for your comments.
I see Linda's hand up.

581
01:00:00,430 --> 01:00:04,350
I want to thank both you,
Santosh and Kundan, because

582
01:00:04,350 --> 01:00:09,600
after Santosh's last talk, I was
on Kundan.

583
01:00:09,600 --> 01:00:12,720
You know, it's such a shame that
we don't have these recorded so

584
01:00:12,720 --> 01:00:14,640
that we could go back and listen
to them.

585
01:00:14,880 --> 01:00:18,040
And Kundan promised me that he
would have you back and others

586
01:00:18,040 --> 01:00:22,120
back many times.
So don't be surprised if you're

587
01:00:22,120 --> 01:00:27,000
asked to come back again.
And he was Kundan was saying, I

588
01:00:27,000 --> 01:00:30,920
I kind of like the intimacy of
having a smaller group.

589
01:00:32,320 --> 01:00:35,680
And it it's really, it's so
true.

590
01:00:35,680 --> 01:00:43,720
It really I was, I was kind of
just feeling things wash away.

591
01:00:43,720 --> 01:00:47,680
And I'm a very out there
extroverted person.

592
01:00:47,680 --> 01:00:51,760
And to be able to come back from
the farmers market to this is

593
01:00:51,760 --> 01:00:54,160
quite precious.
So thank you both for it.

594
01:00:54,160 --> 01:00:59,880
Thank.
You, Linda.

595
01:01:05,240 --> 01:01:09,640
You know, this focus for the
last few minutes on how to read,

596
01:01:09,640 --> 01:01:12,680
how to absorb, how to connect
with with something like this.

597
01:01:13,160 --> 01:01:17,760
It, it, it, it's such a fun trip
because it's like we were

598
01:01:18,040 --> 01:01:22,160
talking about Srior Bindo and
the philosophy, and then we went

599
01:01:22,160 --> 01:01:25,840
into a thing of how to read.
And that was a very deep

600
01:01:25,840 --> 01:01:28,800
teaching that happened
spontaneously.

601
01:01:28,800 --> 01:01:33,360
That wasn't part of the agenda.
So isn't it great how those

602
01:01:33,360 --> 01:01:39,200
things can happen spontaneously?
And it's so easy for me to read

603
01:01:39,200 --> 01:01:45,400
something that's a lot and feel
intimidated by it and not

604
01:01:45,440 --> 01:01:50,520
intellectually or theologically
prepared for it or at at a point

605
01:01:50,520 --> 01:01:55,240
where I can really grasp it.
And just, you know, I'll come

606
01:01:55,240 --> 01:01:57,640
back to that some other day or
some other year.

607
01:01:58,240 --> 01:02:01,440
But there's another way to
approach it.

608
01:02:01,440 --> 01:02:06,240
So I appreciated this
presentation on multiple levels.

609
01:02:06,800 --> 01:02:12,160
Thank you.
Thank you.

610
01:02:12,520 --> 01:02:22,310
Thank you, Roger.
There's this car horn which was

611
01:02:22,790 --> 01:02:25,070
disturbing the peace.
I'm glad it stopped.

612
01:02:29,520 --> 01:02:33,680
More comments, questions for
some thoughts.

613
01:02:42,150 --> 01:02:46,350
Thank you everyone for joining.
Kundan, I would add one thing

614
01:02:46,350 --> 01:02:52,510
and that is that during our
meditation, one of Sri

615
01:02:52,510 --> 01:02:58,230
Aurobindo's mantras was
occurring to me and I thought I

616
01:02:58,230 --> 01:03:00,470
would share it to close us out
here.

617
01:03:00,470 --> 01:03:13,200
So ohm tatsavitur varam rupam
jyotihi parasya dhimahi yanaha

618
01:03:13,560 --> 01:03:20,160
satyena D payet ohm.
Let us meditate on the most

619
01:03:20,160 --> 01:03:25,800
auspicious form of Savitri, on
the light of the Supreme, which

620
01:03:25,800 --> 01:03:49,640
shall illumin us with truth.
Thank you very much, Santosh.

621
01:03:52,320 --> 01:03:55,600
Namaste.
Thank you all.

622
01:03:56,040 --> 01:04:00,160
Thanks everyone.
Thank you, Santosh.