NEW An Introduction to the Path To Enlightenment of Sri Aurobindo: “The Triple Transformation”

Sri Aurobindo

          Sri Aurobindo (1872-1950) was an Indian mystic, a philosopher, and an activist who lived during the British ruling of India.[1] His main interests in life became the resolution of the split between transcendence/spirit and immanence/matter, which he believed to be present in many traditions.[2] After having found the key to resolve this split—(1) the psychic being, (2) the descending force, and (3) the supramental—[3] he formulated a new path, which he called integral yoga,[4] or purna yoga, that aimed to unite Spirit and matter.[5]

Triple Transformation

          The path to enlightenment in the integral yoga of Sri Aurobindo is sometimes referred to as the triple transformation[6] because it can be divided into three stages: (1) psychic transformation,[7] (2) spiritual transformation,[8] and (3) supramental transformation.[9] (1) The psychic transformation refers to: first, the discovery, in a felt sense, of the psychic being, or personal evolving soul, and second, the deepening of the experience of the soul by allowing it to pervade all aspects of one’s being and directly influence one’s actions.[10] (2) Spiritual transformation refers to: first, the ascent of one’s consciousness to the transcendental personal Self ātman[11] and universal Self Brahman,[12] and second, the descent[13] of Brahman into the world through what Sri Aurobindo calls “the descending force,” which begins the transformation of the physical material body.[14] (3) The supramental transformation refers to completing the transformation of the physical nature into spiritual nature, and therefore, completely bringing transcendence into immanence.[15] The first two stages of this triple transformation can occur in any order; however, the third can only occur after the first two stages are completed.[16] The following is a brief consideration of the triple transformation.

Click “Here” to read about the first spiritual transformation: the Psychic Transformation

[1]  Aurobindo, The Complete Work of Sri Aurobindo, Vol. 36, Autobiographical Notes (Pondicherry: Indian Press, 2006), http://www.sriaurobindoashram.org/ashram/sriauro/writings.php.

[2]  Aurobindo, The Complete Work of Sri Aurobindo, Vol. 35, Letters on Himself and the Ashram (Pondicherry: Indian Press, 2011), 286-288, http://www.sriaurobindoashram.org/ashram/sriauro/writings.php.

Aurobindo and The Mother, The Psychic Being. Soul: its Nature, Mission and Evolution (Pondicherry: Indian Press, 2003), 115-116.

Aurobindo, The Complete Work of Sri Aurobindo, Vol. 30, Letters on Yoga III (Pondicherry: Indian Press, 2014), 444-445, http://www.sriaurobindoashram.org/ashram/sriauro/writings.php.

[3]  Ibid., 416, 418.

[4]  Aurobindo, The Complete Work of Sri Aurobindo, Vol. 23-24, The Synthesis of Yoga (Pondicherry: Indian Press, 1999), 609, 614, http://www.sriaurobindoashram.org/ashram/sriauro/writings.php.

[5]  Aurobindo and The Mother, The Psychic Being. Soul: its Nature, Mission and Evolution (Pondicherry: Indian Press, 2003), 102-103.

[6]  Ibid.,  101-103.

[7]  118.

[8]  118.

[9]  Aurobindo, The Complete Work of Sri Aurobindo, Vol. 21-22, The Life Divine (Pondicherry: Indian Press, 2005), 924, http://www.sriaurobindoashram.org/ashram/sriauro/writings.php.

[10]  Aurobindo, The Complete Work of Sri Aurobindo, Vol. 21-22, The Life Divine (Pondicherry: Indian Press, 2005), 925, http://www.sriaurobindoashram.org/ashram/sriauro/writings.php.

Aurobindo and The Mother, The Psychic Being. Soul: its Nature, Mission and Evolution (Pondicherry: Indian Press, 2003), 30-32, 64-66, 111.

[11]  Aurobindo and The Mother, The Psychic Being. Soul: its Nature, Mission and Evolution (Pondicherry: Indian Press, 2003), 17.

[12]  Ibid. 101-102, 118.

[13]  118-119.

[14]  102.

Aurobindo, The Complete Work of Sri Aurobindo, Vol. 30, Letters on Yoga III (Pondicherry: Indian Press, 2014), 418, http://www.sriaurobindoashram.org/ashram/sriauro/writings.php.

[15]  Aurobindo and The Mother, The Psychic Being. Soul: its Nature, Mission and Evolution (Pondicherry: Indian Press, 2003), 102-103.

Aurobindo, The Complete Work of Sri Aurobindo, Vol. 30, Letters on Yoga III (Pondicherry: Indian Press, 2014), 453, http://www.sriaurobindoashram.org/ashram/sriauro/writings.php.

[16]  Aurobindo and The Mother, The Psychic Being. Soul: its Nature, Mission and Evolution (Pondicherry: Indian Press, 2003), 103.