Sri Aurobindo
Why in News?
- 15 August 2026 marked the 154th birth anniversary of Sri Aurobindo, coinciding with India’s 80th Independence Day. Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid tribute to him, recalling his contribution to India’s freedom struggle and his vision of human progress.
- The coincidence is historically significant because Sri Aurobindo was born on 15 August 1872, the same date on which India became independent in 1947.
- Freedom Struggle: He was a prominent nationalist during the Swadeshi Movement, advocating Swaraj, boycott, national education and passive resistance against British rule.
- Revolutionary Nationalism: Through newspapers such as Bande Mataram and Karmayogin, he articulated a more assertive form of nationalism and criticised moderate constitutional politics.
- Alipore Bomb Case (1908): He was arrested and tried in the Alipore Conspiracy Case; his year-long imprisonment became a major turning point in his life.
- Spiritual Transformation: After his release, he increasingly shifted from active politics towards spiritual philosophy and yoga, eventually settling in Pondicherry in 1910.
- Integral Yoga: He developed the philosophy of Integral Yoga, which sought not merely individual liberation but the transformation of human consciousness and life.
- Major Works: The Life Divine, Savitri, The Synthesis of Yoga, Essays on the Gita and The Human Cycle.
