Sri Aurobindo and Vedic Interpretations (An Old and Rare Book) (Only 1 Quantity Available)

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Sri Aurobindo was one of the most creative minds of this century, and his writings have shed new light upon many hidden facets of our rich spiritual heritage. The present publication brings together a series of research papers presented at a Seminar on Veda, Tantra and Sri Aurobindo held last year. The contributors have made a deep study of Sri Aurobindo's writings on these critical areas, and have made a useful addition to the extensive material already available.

The Vedas, of course, represent the very foundation of our cultural and spiritual heritage, while the Tantra, though less well known, represents an important input into the magnificent structure of Hindu consciousness. Indeed, with its emphasis upon the feminine aspect of the psyche and its more earthly approach to the spiritual quest, the Tantra represents a fascinating symbiosis with the Vedas.

The organizers are to be congratulated upon this Seminar, and I have great pleasure in commending it to readers in India and abroad who are interested in the profound Philosophy and Yoga articulated by Sri Aurobindo.

A great many modern and ancient texts have dealt with the idea of interpreting the Rgveda. This book tries to highlight Sri Aurobindo's interpretation of the Rgveda. His is different from that of Sayanacarya and of modern Western Scholars. Aurobindo's interpretation is based upon his experiences with mysticism and his enlightment through tapasyä. He could give the world only a few glimpses of the interpretation of the Rgvedic hymns and the symbols therein. Unfortunately, the task remained incomplete.

It was felt that pondering over Sri Aurobindo's Vedic interpretations would give a new insight into the studies of Veda and Sri Aurobindo. Sri Aurobindo's revelation of Absolute as a whole and his concept of 'ascent' and 'descent' of the Absolute have parallels in the philosophy of Tantra (especially in Kasmira Saivism which advocates Holistic Absolutism). It seems that the two major streams of Indian Philosophy, viz., the Vedic and the Tantric have intermingled in the Philosophy of Sri Aurobindo. Therefore, a seminar on 'Veda, Tantra and Sri Aurobindo' was jointly organized by the Department of Philosophy, University of Bombay and K. J. Somaiya Bharatiya Sanskriti Peetham on 3rd February, 1995.

This volume contains the papers of the scholars shedding light on Aurobindo's interpretations. Four papers deal with symbols of the Rgveda and Sri Aurobindo's approach to them.

Dr. Kala Acharya's paper shows as to how the Aurobindoian method can be applied to bring out the spiritual meaning of the Vedic hymns. The suggested meaning of Madhuvidya in her paper throws new light on the significance of symbolism of the sacred hymns. Dr. S.G. Nigal presents an account of Sri Aurobindo's interpretation of the Vedic symbol of Yajna while Dr. (Smt.) Shubhada Joshi reveals how the symbolic meanings of Rgvedic hymns can be better understood with the help of the theory of the triple meaning, i.e., Adhibhautika, Adhīdaivika and Adhyatmika propounded by Yaskacarya and followed by Sri Aurobindo. Dr. V.V. Gangal has linked the traditions of Veda, Tantra and Sri Aurobindo.

The inaugural address of the seminar by Prof. Arabinda Basu, editor of Gavesana, the Journal of Sri Aurobindo Ashram, Pondicherry, casts new light on the Philosophy of Sri Aurobindo and its relation to the Vedic and Tantric philosophies. Dr. K. Mishra deals with the connections between the philosophy of Tantra and that of Sri Aurobindo. Dr. Madhu Khanna presented her views of Srividya which could not be included in the present volume due to some technical difficulties.

Dr. J.N. Chubb's work renders the integral vision of Truth, Consciousness in the Philosophy of Sri Aurobindo. Dr. S.S. Antarkar elaborates Sri Aurobindo's theory of the spiritual evolution in one of the Sri Aurobindo Memorial Lectures in January 1983 in University of Bombay. Dr. M.D. Paradkar depicts a brief life sketch of Sri Aurobindo and his ideas on the Bhagavadgita.

We are fortunate to have a foreword by Dr. Karan Singh, an eminent Sanskrit Scholar and President, India International Centre. We consider it as a blessing to the present work.

We are indebted to Dr. (Mrs.) Snehalata S. Deshmukh, Vice-Chancellor, University of Bombay and Principal Ashok Pradhan, Pro-Vice-Chancellor, University of Bombay for granting permission to publish the proceedings of the National Seminar on 'Veda' Tantra and Sri Aurobindo' in the form of the present book.

We are grateful to Shri Karamshibhai J. Somaiya, the founder member and the guiding spirit of Somaiya Vidyavihar and Dr. Shantilal K. Somaiya, Vice President, Somaiya Vidyavihar, our source of inspiration for encouraging all joint endeavours of Department of Philosophy, University of Bombay and K.J. Somaiya Bharatiya Sanskriti Peetham. We thank Shri P.M. Kavadia, the Honorary Secretary, Somaiya Vidyavihar, for his whole-hearted support.

We express our sincere thanks to Dr. S.M. Bhatkhande, Dr. M.D. Paradkar, Dr. (Mrs.) Lalita Namjoshi and Miss Supriya Deshmukh for having extended their invaluable help in preparing this book.

Our profound thanks are due to Shri S.G. Nene, the Chief Editor, Somaiya Publications, Mrs. Kamlesh A. Malhotra, Production Executive and Shri D.R. Amladi for extending their expertise in bringing out this book. Our thanks are also due to Shri Prakash Kerkar for the artwork.