Developing Yourself:

World Cultures

Integral Yoga

Integrating Yoga into Your Life to Achieve Supramental Abilities

"Yoga means a change of consciousness; a mere mental activity will not bring a change of consciousness, it can only bring a change of mind."

~ Sri Aurobindo

Integral Yoga as Defined by Sri Aurobindo

Integral yoga or purna yoga, in Sanskrit stands for full or complete yoga. Sometimes it also called supramental yoga. The aim of integral yoga is the transformation of the entire being.

In the teachings of Sri Aurobindo,  Integral yoga refers to the process of the union of all the parts of one's being with the Divine, and the transmutation of all of their jarring elements into a harmonious state of higher divine consciousness and existence.

Sri Aurobindo defined integral yoga in the early 1900s as "a path of integral seeking of the Divine by which all that we are is in the end liberated out of the Ignorance and its undivine formations into a truth beyond the Mind, a truth not only of highest spiritual status but of a dynamic spiritual self-manifestation in the universe."

Sri Aurobindo considered man's present mental consciousness to be a transitional stage in terrestrial evolution, and that our civilization is at the brink of an evolutionary leap or shift towards a greater or ‘supramental' experience and capacity.

Sri Aurobindo and the Mother** taught that surrendering to the ‘higher' consciousness was one of the most important processes of the supramental yoga. There is no definitive method for every practitioner of the yoga, else it would not be an adventure. Supramental consciousness would act and establish itself in Earthly life. How this will happen is for the divine to decide and evolve with time.

Triple transformation is the process through which reality is transformed into the divine. The Triple Transformation refers to the two-fold movement of spiritual transformation – the inward pychicization by which the sadhaka* gets in contact with the inner divine principle or Psychic Being, and the spiritual transformation or spiritualization.

The Goal of Integral Yoga

Source: www.yogaville.org

The goal of Integral Yoga, and the birthright of every individual, is to realize the spiritual unity behind all the diversity in the entire creation and to live harmoniously as members of one universal family.

• a body of optimum health and strength;

• senses under total control;

• a mind well disciplined, clear, and calm;

• an intellect as sharp as a razor;

• a will as strong and pliable as steel;

• a heart full of unconditional love and compassion;

• an ego as pure as crystal;

• a life filled with Supreme Peace and Joy.

By practicing Integral Yoga we develop an easeful body, a peaceful mind, and a useful life

References and Resources:

1. The Synthesis of Yoga, Sri Aurobindo

2. Zen Proverbs, Sayings, and Quotes

3. Pearls of Wisdom

4. Stray Birds, Rabindranath Tagore

5. Zen

6. Meditation

* A sādhaka (Sanskrit) is someone who follows a particular sādhana, or a way of life designed to realize the goal of one's ultimate ideal, whether it is merging with Brahman or realization of one's personal deity. The word is related to the Sanskrit sādhu, which is derived from the verb root sādh-, to accomplish. As long as one has yet to reach the goal, they are a sādhaka, while one who has reached the goal is called a siddha. In modern usage, sadhaka is often applied as a generic term for any religious practitioner. In medieval times it was more narrowly used as a technical term for one who had gone through a specific initiation.

** Sri Aurobindo's close spiritual collaborator, Mirra Richard (b. Alfassa), came to be known as The Mother simply because Sri Aurobindo started to call her by this name.