The Education in Detail

 

            “An Integral Education which could, with some variations, be adapted to all the nations of the world, must bring back the legitimate authority of the Spirit over a matter fully developed and utilised.”¹

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The Mother

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           “The ascent of the human soul to the supreme Spirit is that soul’s highest aim and necessity, for that is the supreme reality; but there can be too the descent of the Spirit and its powers into  the world and that would justify the existence of the material world also, give a meaning, a divine purpose to the creation and solve its riddle. East and West could be reconciled in the pursuit of the highest and largest ideal, Spirit embrace Matter and Matter find its own true reality and the hidden Reality in all things in the Spirit.”²

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Sri Aurobindo

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            The sacred institution of Integral Education is missioned to bridge the gulf and sharp division between the two extreme ends of existence, the Matter and the Spirit which begins step by step obscurely and ignorantly, continues through diversity and exclusiveness and culminates in an immense educational movement through inalienable unity, constant luminous reconciliation and triumphant harmony. It recognises this mutable mechanical unintelligent bodily substance as the noble and fit material to inhabit the immutable and imperishable Spirit and the Soul; they are reconciled with each other either by the objectively subjective method of critical analysis, organisation and observation applied to Life, Mind and Matter through knowledge by projection, confrontation and apprehension or by the subjectively objective method of synthesis, truth discerning vision and illumination applied to Psychic, Spiritual and Supramental Self through Knowledge by identity, harmony and comprehension and arrives at the repose of the ultimate Oneness without denying the manifestation of the vivid multiplicity. Objectively Subjective method of Education proceeds separately from all multiple things to resultant unity and arrives at the knowledge of the Self and the Universe through the activation of pure Reason, Intellect and Mind. The subjectively Objective method of Education proceeds from essential oneness to resultant multiplicity and arrives at the Knowledge of the Self and Universe through pacification of mind and the activation of Silence and Intuitive faculty of the triple Soul. Only by complete and catholic affirmation of both the method of Education known as Integral Education can all the multiform and apparently contradictory facts of existence be harmonised and Mind with its effort and the endeavour and the Soul with its spontaneity and the way of infinite enlargement will discover the true centre or the Central Truth, and Education will know its aim of objective and subjective self-fulfillment through apprehensive and comprehensive knowledge and integral human existence through infinite unity and serves the life with a serene and settled joy and light with rhythmically coherent Divine Shakti to support the growth of a diversified individuality.

 

            The first object of Integral Education is the discovery of its true centre which should be neither achievements, nor fame, nor success, nor power, nor material opulence, nor morality, nor separative ego, nor attachment to mutable form. So the true centre of education must be always identified as the dynamic Soul, the Psychic being in the heart, the need of its growth and experience, its aspiration towards possession of pure power of Light, Love, Wisdom, Joy, Beauty and Harmony and elimination of all imperfection. All that helps this Soul growth, Mental, Vital and Physical Education are identified as its accessory²⁴ or a subsidiary helpful process; by the pressure of Soul force these modern learning materials are lifted out of their limitations and carried more swiftly and profoundly to discover their Mighty Source, Subtle Mental, Subtle Vital and Subtle Physical Education; they subsequently are drawn towards the supreme Light in Knowledge, integral Completeness and their detailed and yet undreamed potentialities. The second object of Integral Education is the discovery of its second centre or second Soul, which is not a high intellectual notion of truth and right, not idealism, not altruistic eagerness, not an ethical turn of mind, nor moral purity and austerity, not religiosity or an exalted emotional fervour, not even a compound of all these excellent things, not an emotional aspiration and fulfilment, not a regulation of conduct according to religious and ethical formula. It is the discovery of the Spiritual Self above the head, a vast static and silent Self, enters into contact with greater immutable Reality beyond and pervading the universe; it is also a turning, conversion and transformation of our whole being through a large dynamic descent of Divine Light, Love, Knowledge, Power, Bliss or other supernormal affirmative Energies into untransformed Nature. This Spiritual Self uncovers the passage to Cosmic Consciousness where the Matter is real to the Spirit and Spirit is real to the Matter and both find their true reconciliation through enlargement and universalisation of Subtle Mental, Subtle Vital and Subtle Physical Sheaths. After the prolonged movements between the above two Selves, the third object of Integral Education is traced by the discovery of its third centre or third Soul, the discovery of a Supramental Self,  Vijnanamaya Purusha, the limitless Consciousness in which the individual, the Cosmic and the Transcendent live eternally in each other; it has come for the adventure of the Soul lapsing into Inconscience and emerging out of its darkness and this adventure proceeds to capture all other sheaths without disturbing the poise which is kept firm from the summit of Consciousness to its base; the experiencing Consciousness must preserve a calm balance, supreme harmony and a high Spiritual positivism. The fourth aim of Education is concentrated around a centre of Infinity that must be all-inclusive perfection directed to resolve all the problems of existence including the ultimate, lasting and permanent solutions and utilise the Psychic, Spiritual and Supramental Education towards the transformation of human collectivity and a journey towards the discovery of the source of Ananda from which this whole creation is originated. And the last aim of integral Education is the perfect self-expression of the Spirit in the material life of our terrestrial existence by purifying, perfecting and transforming the nether dark worlds through Subconscient and Inconscient Education or restoration of all-perfection of Sachchidananda Consciousness in the whole of humanity through activation of Subconscient and Inconscient Self. Integral Education considers this life as 'a field of manifestation in which there is a progressive evolution of the soul and the nature in Matter'²⁵ which culminates in 'the complete revelation of Sachchidananda in life.'²⁵

 

The Main Formula of Integral Education:

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            The literal meaning of Integral Education is the Concentration on the total Consciousness of the Eternal. Its main formula and its successive bifurcations are derived from the main formula of integral Yoga. They are as follows:-

 

1)        All Life is Education. Or ‘All Time of All Life is a continuous uninterrupted Education’ of which ‘this Time of this whole life’ is a very small fragment of Integral Education. This whole external ordinary life is a very small part of vast inner living. This inner life is connected through a subtle link of union with our unnumbered past and future bodies and births, which is defined as All Life and the Timeless Spirit in us has thrown itself into All Life as the adventurer in Time to uncover self-knowledge and integral knowledge. Education is defined as the developmental urge discovered by the Mother-nature through many-sided purposeful efforts in Ignorance and spontaneous leap action by Shakti in Knowledge to arrive at apprehensive Knowledge, Prajnana and comprehensive Knowledge, Vijnana. It begins with limited separative exclusive awareness and ends with integral awareness of integral knowledge. True education means to purify, expand and perfect the constitution of subtle physical, subtle vital and subtle mental which constitute our inner life which is again veiled by outward appearance of phenomenal Education of training the surface mind, vital and body.

 

2)        All Education is a synthesis of all developmental methods discovered by the Mother-nature through age-long many-fold effort of Science, Arts, Religion, Ethics, Occultism, Spiritual thought and Spiritual experiences and lifts them out of their existing limitations. They draw all their new discoveries and inventions from the ‘secret Supermind’s huge store.’²⁰ The evolutionary endeavour of Nature has experimented on all lines and attempted every possible way in order to discover her primary education of enlarging the bound of surface knowledge, deeper and larger teachings of true inner education and the out bringing of the widest, the most powerful and the highest boundary of whole education which are combined as Integral Education.

 

3)        All methods of Education are the synthesis of dispensable and indispensable self-discipline. Education cannot confine itself to the dispensable method of an outwardly acquired and learned knowledge of the existence or exclusively preoccupied with its immeasurable outlook on the world and uncovering the secrets of the material worlds, but an unveiling and revelation of an inward and upward self-unfolding and would awake to an indispensable awareness of Self’s vast in look, (1) a clear and complete knowledge of the multiple Selves and triple time, (2) a direct knowledge of others, surrounding world and extreme complexity of untransformed Nature, (3) a direct knowledge of hidden and mysterious dark forces of Nature and (4) a direct knowledge of the occult mechanism of mind, life and matter, which are beyond our present immediate attainment.

 

4)        The methods by which the largest time saving development in the shortest possible path can be pursued are identified as indispensable self-disciplines of Integral Education which are Psychic, Spiritual and Supramental Education, responsible for evolving the capacity in man to become the (1) master of himself or opening towards his multiple Selves, (2) master of the hierarchies of ascending and descending Consciousness, (3) master of the energies of Nature, (4) master of his instrumentation of mind, life and matter. These indispensable self-disciplines are subordinated by all other lines of developmental urge of Nature, identified as Psycho-physical discipline, which is further fragmented as Physical, Vital and Mental Education; its utmost mission is to educate the obscure consciousness emerged out of the dark prison of Matter, to overcome and control life and matter, to enlighten the dull inertia, blind instincts and vague perceptions till it shall be capable of opening towards higher Light. The last perfection of mental, vital and physical education can come by opening to something beyond which is key of his completeness. When the dispensable self-discipline of education learns consciously to become the subordinate of the indispensable self-discipline, then the essential and comprehensive truth of the Integral education is known and not at all ignored.  

 

5)        All the dispensable self-discipline or objectively subjective approach towards education is defined as development of higher or highest faculties through the formulation of lower mental methods of ‘educate thyself’ and its indispensability is felt till the higher methods or Soul’s methods of ‘know thyself’ are evolved and it asks indispensable presence and help of physical guide. Mind has the capacity to enter large effort to gain small result and even if with this struggle to limit the action of our capacities and even then uses with a much less sure rapidity, the intelligent will is treated as our first conceptive potentiality, main force of effectuation and the highest available faculty at our immediate disposal and to fully utilise the mental faculty of exclusive concentration for purification is identified as the best beginning and sure promise of integral emergence of an underlying truth which is an uncovering of higher faculties other than mind, acquisition of scientifically minute knowledge and scrupulous accuracy through a long culture of intellect.  

 

6)        The need of Integral Education is felt primarily to enlarge our knowledge of the World, Self and God and extend our Mental, Vital, Physical and Spiritual existence; secondarily reconcile, integrate, transform and perfect them; where the former is enforced on each student of Integral Education in order to make him fit to enter the mainstream of life and world and the latter is a special opportunity of voluntary choice among the privileged few.

 

7)        As Integral Education is the utilitarian aspect of Integral Yoga, Integral Evolution, Mediatrix Shakti and Absolute Shakti; so, all developmental aspect of the former will draw its strength, innovation, inspiration, expansion and guidance from the latter. Education has its roots in Yoga; Yoga has its roots in Evolution of Nature; Evolution has its roots in Consciousness; Consciousness has its roots in Shakti; Shakti has its roots in Chit or Sachchidananda. What Sri Aurobindo stated in the Principal Shastra, The Synthesis of Yoga for a Sadhaka in terms integral Yoga and strong declaration that ‘All Life is Yoga’ (through consecration), the same thing He restated with greater precision, force and enlargement in the complementary Shastra, The Life Divine for mere men or all humanity in terms Integral Evolution, hence we can discover it as the book of ‘The Synthesis of Evolution’ and He asks all humanity to train the mind towards the realisation of the mantra ‘All Life is Evolution’ (of Consciousness). The same objective He restated in the complementary Shastra, ‘The Mother’ book for Her all children in terms of Mediatrix Shakti where all the four intermediate Spiritual Powers and Personalities of the Mediatrix Mother are synthesised to which we can discover it as the book of ‘The Synthesis of (four) Overmental Shakti’ whose mantra is ‘All life is the possession of the Truth and the Divine Shakti’ (through the increase of faith, Sraddha, and Truth Power that rejects, destroys and transforms falsehood). The same objective He restated again with greatest intensity and vividness in the complementary Shastra, Savitri for swiftest Spiritual evolution of Her dearest children or Integral Yogis in terms of absolute or virgin Mother Power, Maya, to which we can discover it as the book of ‘The Synthesis of four¹⁹ Supramental Mother Power, Maya’ and Her mantra is ‘All life is possession of Virginity and Supramental Maya’ (through intensification of purifying and all-embracing Divine Love that rejects, destroys and transforms the limitation of human love). So now the method of Education is to be restated in the form of a profound developmental urge of learning for all students from above four books in terms of Integral Education along with the mantra ‘All Life is Education’³ (through the practice of concentration, samyama) and the evolution of the new written truth can be restated as ‘The Synthesis of Education.’ Thus, one strives after truth and perfection  that 'are constantly endeavouring to embody in new statements of the science and art of the inner and outer life, a new Shastra.'²⁶

 

            Now it is time to intensify education through four powers of the Mother-nature that of the integral Yoga, integral Evolution, integral Truth and integral Virginity, not limiting oneself to physical virginity alone and welding them strongly to the One, the Divine, the Sachchidananda who stands above as the Lord of Yoga, the Lord of Evolution, the Lord of Truth Power, Shakti and the Lord of absolute Virgin Power, Chit Shakti and also the Lord of Integral Education. A student of Integral Education will be at once a seeker of Integral Yoga, Integral Evolution, Integral Truth and Comprehensive Virginity extending over multiple subtle bodies in addition to his surface training of mind, vital and body. He will be aware of a Supramental world whose advent will be foreseen when earth life will be the playfield of more and more ‘superior human and invisible beings’¹⁷ hinted in Savitri as ‘Omnipotent’s flaming pioneers,’⁵ ‘mighty wardens,’²¹ ‘The sun-eyed children,’⁵ ‘radiant children of Eternity,’⁴ ‘princes of the Sun,’¹² ‘garbless deity,’⁶ ‘golden child,’⁷ ‘King-children,’¹⁵ ‘nude god-children,’¹⁸ ‘The heroic leaders of coming time,’¹⁵ ‘The Infants of the Monarchy of the worlds,’¹⁵ ‘Nameless the austere ascetics without home’¹⁵ ‘sunlight moulded like a golden maid,’⁸ ‘high-bred maiden,’⁹ ‘golden bride,’¹⁰ ‘the eternal bride,’¹¹ ‘golden virgin,’¹⁶ ‘virgin bridals of the dawn,’¹² and the ‘citizens of that mother state.’¹³  

 

8)        The superiority of one educational institution from another (or one individual from another) can be discerned by the degree of truth and knowledge they have worked out from world falsehood and world Ignorance and the perfect institution²² (or the most conscious individual) always suffers least corruption in its mind and heart and that is possible when the Mother Nature’s four Evolutionary energy that of Yogic Power, Consciousness Power, Truth Power and Virgin Power are perfectly reconciled. An uncorrupted individual²³ and institution always reject falsehood from within by silencing and purifying the three Gunas and reject falsehood from without which diminishes and lowers the frontal distorted consciousness or wages a constant outer war against adharma.

 

            OM TAT SAT

 

References:

1: The Mother’s Centenary Works/13/361,

2: CWSA-36/Autobiographical Notes-p-553,

3: “Auroville will be the place of an unending education, of  constant progress, and a youth that never ages.” The Mother’s Agenda-07.02.1968,

4: “The radiant children of Eternity dwell” Savitri-282,

5: Savitri-343,

6: Savitri-430,

7: Savitri-76,

8: Savitri-400,

9: Savitri-496,

10: Savitri-718,

11: Savitri-666,

12: Savitri-401,

13: Savitri-262,

14: “A seeker of truth, jijnasu, after many births of preparation, purification of impurity and sin, endeavouring with sincerity becomes a Yogi and attains the highest goal... After many births of preparation, a Jnana Yogi with strong foundation of Karma and Bhakti Yoga, attains My Purushottama or Supramental state of Consciousness. He also realises the intermediate stair that all this existence is Divine, the Cosmic Consciousness, Vasudeva sarvamiti. Such great Soul or integral Yogi is very rare.” The Gita-6.45/7.19,

15: CWSA/34/Savitri-382, 266,

16: CWSA/34/Savitri-384,

17: The Gita defines developed Souls in different terminologies of Dvija, Dvijottam (the best among the twice born), Yantra, Vibhuti, Avatara, Panditah, Sthita Prajna, Buddha, Maharsi, Debarsi, Siddhanam, Suhridam, Sadhunam, Sraddhavan, Jnanaban, Jnani, Jnaninah, nitya Sannyasi, Tyagi, Brahmachari, Munirbrahma, Muneh, Mumuksubhih, Yoginah, Tattva-darsinah, Tattvavit, Jitendriya, Visuddhatma, Dhira, Putah, Sthirabuddhi, Yatinam, Suhrud, Jitatmana, Triptatma, Prasantatma, Vijitatma, Asammudhah, Samyami, Bhakta rajarsayah, Brahmavid, Mahatma, Kshina-kalmasah, Krishna-vit, Dharmatma, Brahmavadinam, Mokshakankhivih, Atiba-priya Bhakta. Among the masculine personalities it has identified Janaka (A famous King and Sage and the Father of Mother Sita), Vivasvan (the Sun-God), Ikshavaku (head of the Solar line and the first king of solar race), Vrigu (son of Varuna, regarded as one of the Rishis in the Veda), Ushana (a Vibhuti among seer-poets), Kapila Muni (traditional founder and chief exponent of Sankhya system of philosophy), Narada (the heavenly sage who stands for Divine Love and Knowledge), Manu (mythological Father of mankind), Asita (name of the Vedic Seer), Devala (the name of the Vedic Seer), Vyasa (compiler of the Vedas and the author of the Mahabharata and the Gita), Sanaka (son of the creator God, Brahma), Prahllada (son of an Asura King Hiranyakasipu and true devotee of Lord Vishnu), Arjuna (one of the five Pandavas, very dear to the external manifestation of Godhead, the best among the twice born Souls, Instruments and Emanations), Sanjaya, (Dhritarashtra’s minister who was endowed with the power of celestial vision)  and Lord Sri Krishna (son of Devaki, Godhead and the Lord of Ananda, one of the ten incarnations of Lord Vishnu) as developed Souls. Among the feminine personalities, it has identified Kirti, Sree, Vak or Vani, Smriti, Medha, Dhriti and Kshama as developed Souls. They are unattached to outward touches for their happiness and are ever satisfied with themselves through inner contact with the Soul, nitya-trupto nirasrayah. Similarly, they can use but do not depend on external aid for their Spiritual fulfillment. The traditional Yoga of the Gita proposes that a developed Soul is free from seven deformations, vicaras, that of liking and disliking, iccha, dvesah, pleasure and pain, sukham, dukham, subjection to lower consciousness, chetana, place together truth and falsehood, sanghatah, tamasic and rajasic persistence, dhriti. Integral Yoga proposes that a developed Soul or adult Soul is free from seven deformations, vicaras that of (1) hatred, (2) disliking, (3) scorn, (4) repulsion, (5) clinging, (6) attachment and (7) preference.

18: Savitri-126,

19: Four Supramental Mother Powers are Truth supreme, Power supreme, Supreme Delight and Will supreme.,

20: Savitri-187,

21: “The mighty wardens of the ascending stair” Savitri-265,

22: “Organisations, however vast and complete they may be, can achieve nothing permanent unless a new force, more divine and all-powerful, expresses itself through a perfected human instrument.” TMCW-14/Words of The Mother-II/p-277, “No material organisation, whatever its degree of preparation, is capable of bringing a solution to the miseries of man…Man must rise to a higher level of consciousness and get rid of his ignorance, limitation and selfishness in order to get rid also of his sufferings.” TMCW-14/Words of The Mother-II/p-277,

23: “Fostered by sacrifice the gods shall give you desired enjoyments: who enjoys their given enjoyments and has not given to them, he is a thief, stena.” The Gita-3.12, “Who controls the organs of action, but continues in his mind to remember and dwell upon the objects of sense, such a man has bewildered himself with false notions of self-discipline, mithychara.” The Gita-3.06, “The corruption of the best produced the worst by that strange chemistry of the power of life which generates evil out of good even as it can also generate good out of evil… Yet even in the earthward life a higher knowledge is indeed the one thing that is throughout needful, and without it the lower sciences and pursuits, however fruitful, however rich, free, miraculous in the abundance of their results, become easily a sacrifice offered without due order and to false gods; corrupting, hardening in the end the heart of man, limiting his mind’s horizons, they confine in a stony material imprisonment or lead to a final baffling incertitude and disillusionment.” CWSA-23/The Synthesis of Yoga/p-140-141,

24: “It is through the growth of consciousness that the collective soul and its life can become aware of itself and develop; the free play of mind and life is essential for the growth of consciousness: for mind and life are the soul’s only instrumentation until a higher instrumentation develops; they must not be inhibited in their action or rendered rigid, unplastic and unprogressive.” CWSA-22/The Life Divine/p-194,

25: CWSA-29/Letters on Yoga-II/p-444-445, "All existence is a manifestation of God because He is the only existence and nothing can be except as either a real figuring or else a figment of that one reality. Therefore every conscious being is in part or in some way a descent of the Infinite into the apparent finiteness of name and form." CWSA-19/Essays on the Gita/p-13-14, "All existence is a manifestation of the divine Existence and that which is within us is spirit of the eternal Spirit. We have come indeed into the lower material nature and are under its influence, but we have come there from the supreme spiritual nature: this inferior imperfect status is our apparent, but that our real being." CWSA-19/Essays on the Gita/p-424,

26: CWSA-19/Essays on the Gita/p-478,

 

 

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