Aurobindo Ghosh

Sri Aurobindo (born Aurobindo Ghosh; 15 August 1872 – 5 December 1950) was an Indian philosopher, yogi and nationalist who is noted for his participation in the movement for India's independence from British rule; he advocated for complete autonomy through his writings and political activity. Following his imprisonment and acquittal, he withdrew to Pondicherry to devote himself to spiritual practice, eventually formulating the path of Integral Yoga. His extensive literary output includes the treatises The Life Divine and The Synthesis of Yoga and the epic poem Savitri.

Aurobindo studied for the Indian Civil Service at King's College, in Cambridge, England from 1890 until his departure in 1892. After returning to India, he took up various civil service work under the Maharaja of the princely state of Baroda. He became increasingly involved in nationalist politics in the Indian National Congress and the nascent revolutionary movement in Bengal with the Anushilan Samiti. He was arrested in the aftermath of a number of bombings linked to the revolutionary group he was associated with. He faced charges in a public trial for treason in the Alipore Conspiracy and was then released; after that, he moved to Pondicherry and developed a spiritual practice he called Integral Yoga. He wrote The Life Divine, which deals with the philosophical aspect of Integral Yoga and Synthesis of Yoga, which deals with the principles and methods of Integral Yoga. In 1926, he and Mirra Alfassa founded Sri Aurobindo Ashram.

Sri Aurobindo created a major literary corpus in English. His work synthesizes the histories of Eastern and Western philosophy, religion, literature, and psychology into a complex vision of the transition of humanity to divinity. His principal philosophical writings are The Life Divine and The Synthesis of Yoga, while his principal poetic work is Savitri: a Legend and a Symbol. He wrote translations and commentaries on the Vedas, Upanishads, and the Gita, among others; plays; literary, social, political, and historical criticism; devotional works; and an extensive collection of correspondence. Several volumes of his conversations have also been recorded.