Deliberations on The Life Divine - Chapterwise Summary Talks (Set of 5 Volumes)

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About the Book The present book 'Deliberations on The Life Divine, Volume One' is a transcribed, edited version of Dr. V. Ananda Reddy's talks on Sri Aurobindo's The Life Divine. He has attempted to explain in a simple language the main philosophical arguments of chapters I to VI of Sri Aurobindo's magnum opus. As the book maintains the tenor of his talks, it is simple and easy to understand even by beginners who would like to grasp the profound and magnificent philosophy of Sri Aurobindo.

About the Author Dr. V. Ananda Reddy is the Director of Sri Aurobindo Centre for Advanced Research. He has travelled widely in India as well as in the U.S.A, Germany, The Netherlands, Spain, England, Italy, Russia, Japan, Bangkok and Singapore and delivered extensive lectures and conducted workshops on the vision and works of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother.

Foreword Sri Aurobindo's main philosophical work The Life Divine is a difficult work not only to understand but also to go through without making great effort. The difficulty consists in not only the originality of the thought expressed in the book but also in the style of writing of its author. At the same time it must be admitted that if the book is read with the right kind of attention, it not only becomes capable of being understood but also of being enjoyed. What is necessary for developing the right kind of attention is not only effort of the mental reason but also a wider and deeper psychological discipline. The reader must push away from his mind all pre-conceptions and be ready to look at Sri Aurobindo's original ideas on subjects as old as the hills with a pair of eyes endowed with the power of fresh intellectual comprehension.

One of the difficulties the modern readers, both Western and Indian, committed to the idea that mental reason is the arbiter of all knowledge, will come up against in Sri Aurobindo's considered judgment that experience is the true means of right knowledge of anything and everything. Many a time he gives strong arguments for a thesis and then says that truly speaking it is experience which can decide the issue. Sri Aurobindo is first yogi and then a philosopher. But he does not mean by experience only yogic and mystical and spiritual experience. The senses, the intellect, ethical sensibility and aesthetic enjoyment, all may and do contribute to the attainment to the integral knowledge of the reality.

Dr. Ananda Reddy has dealt with what I have briefly stated above more elaborately in his informative introduction. The reader should pay special attention to what he says about how to read Sri Aurobindo's writings. He quotes the Mother and other authorities in this connection. The suggestions are of great importance and will be of great help to a reader who is beginning to read The Life Divine. Dr. Reddy summarizes the contents of the first six chapters of the book under study and also gives the arguments offered in their support. These will assist the reader to begin to understand the chief topics of Sri Aurobindo's doctrines in these six chapters and also the steps of his arguments. Dr. Reddy, has rendered a signal service to the prospective reader of The Life Divine and also of Sri Aurobindo's other writings.

It is to be hoped that this book will be well received and will stimulate people to read Sri Aurobindo's writings in the original.

Book's Contents and Sample Pages