Sage, poet, mystic, revolutionary, Sri Aurobindo (1872-1950) was a figure who cannot be easily described. As he himself says, “My life has not been on the surface for men to see.” He plunged into the Indian freedom struggle on his return to India after being educated in England. After intense involvement in the revolution, he had mystical experiences and he then immersed himself into a spiritual life

Sri Aurobindo emphasized on the integral and holistic development of the being. His `integral yoga’ opened a unique chapter in Indian spiritual thought and tradition. Spiritual evolution in his vision meant bringing the divine light on the plane of the earth and transforming life, and not merely attaining individual nirvana.

Drawn by his immense, oceanic depth, a community of seekers gathered around him as bees to a lotus in hope of the nectar. Among them was a highly evolved soul, Mirra Alfassa, (better known as `The Mother’), who came from France and became his spiritual collaborator and a guide to those who came seeking the spirit’s treasures. Later this community was formally organized as what we today know as `Sri Aurobindo Ashram’