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This volume comprises all of Sri Aurobindo's shorter prose writings on yoga and philosophy written after 1910 and published during his lifetime. The texts of this volume have been arranged under the ten headings below; all of them except Notes from the Arya are also published as separate works. The Supramental Manifestation upon Earth. Sri Aurobindo's last prose writings (1949--50) on the future evolution of man. The Problem of Rebirth deals with the rebirth of the soul on earth, with evolution, heredity, Karma, justice and freedom. Ideals and Progress concerns the need of progressive and original thinking to solve the problems of humanity. The Superman discusses the ideal of the superman, fate and free-will, and the nature of the divine worker. Evolution deals with the theory of evolution and the philosophy of materialism. Thoughts and Glimpses contains about eighty-five aphorisms arranged under six headings: The Goal, Delight of Being, etc. Heraclitus compares the thought of the Greek philosopher Heraclitus with the thought of Indian Vedanta. Views and Reviews is a collection of six articles and nine book reviews first published in the Arya. "Notes from the Arya" concerns the philosophy and ideals put forth by Sri Aurobindo in the "Arya". T he Yoga and its Objects, written around 1913, is one of Sri Aurobindo's earliest published works on Yoga. Extract: A divine life on earth need not be a thing apart and exclusive having nothing to do with the common earthly existence; it will take up human being and human life, transform what can be transformed, spiritualise whatever can be spiritualised, cast its influence on the rest and effectuate either a radical or an uplifting change, bring about a deeper communion between the universal and the individual, invade the ideal with the spiritual truth of which it is a luminous shadow and help to uplift into or towards a greater and higher existence. Mind it will uplift towards a diviner light of thought and will, life towards deeper and truer emotion and action, towards a larger power of itself, towards high aims and motives. Whatever cannot yet be raised into its own full truth of being, it will bring nearer to that fullness; whatever is not ready even for that change, will still see the possibility open to it whenever its still incomplete evolution has made it ready for self-fulfilment.... An awakening must come in the earth-nature and in the earth-consciousness which will be, if not the actual beginning, at least the effective preparation and the first steps of its evolution towards a new and diviner world order. - Sri Aurobindo About the Author: Sri Aurobindo was an Indian/Hindu nationalist, scholar, poet, mystic, evolutionary philosopher, yogi and guru. After a short political career in which he became one of leaders of the early movement for the freedom of India from British rule, Sri Aurobindo turned to the development and practice of a new spiritual path which he called the "integral yoga," the aim of which was to further the evolution of life on earth by establishing a high level of spiritual consciousness which he called the Supermind that would represent a divine life. Sri Aurobindo wrote prolifically in English on his spiritual philosophy and practice, on social and political development, on Indian culture including extensive commentaries and translations of ancient Indian scriptures, on literature and poetry including the writing of much spiritual poetry.
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