Religious Movements Homepage: Integral Yoga

Integral Yoga

of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother

I. Group Profile

Name: Integral Yoga of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother
Founder: The Sri Aurobindo and Mirra Alfassa, also known as The Mother
Dates of Birth: Sri Aurobindo: (born 8/15/1872; died 12/5/1950); The Mother: (born 2/21/1878; died 11/17/1973)
Birth Place: Sri Aurobindo -- Calcutta, India; The Mother -- Paris, France
Year Founded: Around 1904
History: Integral Yoga is a term used by many yoga associations around the world to designate the practice of a yoga that is a synthesis or combination of many different types of yoga. This web site presents separate pages on two major groups founded by Sri Aurobindo and Sri Satchidananda. While the two are believed to have met only briefly in India, their underlying beliefs and practices have many similarities. click here to access the web page of Sri Satchidananda.
Origins of Integral Yoga
In 1907, Sri Aurobindo was prosecuted and acquitted of sedition in India because of his involvement with the reform Nationalist party, which he himself helped to create. The Nationalist movement demanded independence from Great Britain and advocated total non-cooperation with the existing Indian government. After being acquitted, Sri Aurobindo, because of lack of leadership, was forced to become the head of the party only to be arrested for conspiracy again. He spent one year in Alipore Jail. After being released in 1909, Sri Aurobindo found the party in shreds, and for another year, he acted as the leader of the Nationalists in India. Finally, Sri Aurobindo faced the fact that his involvement in the movement was over and that he could lead it no farther.
During his year in Alipore Jail, Sri Aurobindo had seriously begun to study yoga, having first discovered the discipline in 1904. In April of 1910, Sri Aurobindo sailed for Pondicherry in French India. Because of a third unsuccessful attempt to convict him of conspiracy and because he believed that his spiritual life would consume all of his energy, Sri Aurobindo went into complete retirement, never to return to politics again.

In 1914, after four years of silent yoga, he began to publish a philosophical monthly, called the Arya, which included most of his inner knowledge gained through the practice of yoga. Six years later, in 1921, the Arya ceased publication. Afterwards, Sri Aurobindo lived with four or five disciples in Pondicherry, where he taught them yoga. Soon, more and more people joined him on his spiritual path and a community of followers grew up around him (the Sri Aurobindo Ashram). These were among the first people to practice integral yoga. The headquarters of Disciples of Sri Aurobindo are currently located at Pondicherry.

The Mother met Sri Aurobindo in 1910 when she and her husband traveled to Pondicherry. Immediately, she felt a spiritual connection with Sri Aurobindo and returned to India in 1914 to help him in his spiritual quest. As early as age eleven, The Mother had had spiritual and psychic experiences about the existence of God and the possibility of human beings becoming one with him. From then on, she had dreams in which "teachers" came to her with descriptions of a practical method for fulfilling a divine life here on Earth. She claimed to have met Sri Aurobindo, whom she called Krishna, in one of these dreams.
Cult or Sect:

Conceptualizing "Cult" and "Sect"

Size of Group: The Disciples of Sri Aurobindo keep no formal membership lists and an accurate number of participants is not available.
Integral Yoga International (IYI) keeps no formal membership list. However, in 1988, they claimed 50 centers in the United Sates and six in Canada. In addition, they claimed eleven affiliated centers in various foreign countries. Current (1996) figures indicate that membership in IYI is on a decline, with only 23 centers in the United States and four in Canada. Eleven affiliated centers in various foreign countries still exist. However it should be noted that obtaining an accurate number of individuals who practice Integral Yoga in their daily lives or who temporarily visit Integral Yoga centers only to leave and practice yoga on their own is very difficult. Even though the number of centers has decreased, the number of individuals who practice Integral Yoga may have actually increased.
Contemporary Issues/Controversies: Unlike many religious movements, Integral Yoga has been relatively free of controversy for most of its existence. The practice of Yoga has become very popular in recent years, especially in the United States, and is practiced in some form by millions. Integral Yoga has been one key resource for the teaching of yoga.
The Sri Satchidananda Ashram -- Yogaville is located in one of the poorest counties in the state of Virginia. Since the beginning, they have been integral in helping Buckingham County provide for its needy citizens. Their community service work continues today and is probably a major contributing factor to their lack of controversy.

II. Beliefs of the Group

Integral Yoga teaches its followers five paths to self-realization, although there are many, many other types of yoga designed for the same purpose. For a more complete list see Yoga Paths. These five paths include Hatha Yoga, Karma Yoga, Bhakti Yoga, Jnama Yoga, and Raja Yoga.

Hatha Yoga: Path of the Body:

This is the most well known school of yoga in the United States, where it is used mainly for exercise and stress management. It incorporates Asanas (postures), Pranayama (regulated breathing), meditation (Dharana and Dhyana), and Kundalini (energy) to achieve enlightenment or self-realization. At first, a yogi (someone who practices yoga) learns the necessary postures. Then he engages in breath control and visualization. When his mind is completely focused on his primary chakra (energy center) he begins to move the energy from the base of his spine, where it is stored, to the top of his skull. This energy is called Kundalini Energy and Laya Yoga is responsible for its movement.
Karma Yoga: Path of Selfless Action:

Karma Yoga strives to get an individual to a state where he is no longer attached to the outcomes of his actions. It enables him to become one with what he is doing because he is not preoccupied with the material results of his behaviors; his focus is totally in the present.
Bhakti Yoga: Path of Devotion:

Bhakti Yoga is the simplest of all yogas. It is the practice of self surrender to a point where an individual comes to identify with a higher self. This is accomplished by a yogi who, after selecting a Saint, guru, or other figure to direct his "devotional love," visualizes his loved, all the while repeating a mantra (sounds, words, or phrases) over and over again. "OM" (pronounced a-u-m) is popular mantra.
Jnama Yoga: Path of Transcendental Knowledge:

This type of yoga is geared towards individuals who like to analyze and reason. The goal is to rid oneself of the ordinary mind so one can know the Ultimate and Absolute. Often this is done by meditating on the question of "Who Am I?" until the ordinary mind reveals its true nature.
Raja Yoga: Path of Stillness:

The goal of Raja Yoga is to quiet the mind through meditation. During meditation an individual's attention is focused on a specific object, mantra, or concept. Once the mind has stopped wandering and has completely focused on the object, the yogi will emerge with his higher self. Depending on the yogi, the entire process of realizing the True Self may take anywhere from hours to years.

Integral Yoga

III. Links to Integral Yoga Web Sites

The Integral Yoga Home Page

Within the Home Page, there is a list of recommended readings for beginners.
http://www.miraura.org/lit/rec.html

And also a list of Journals and Newsletters with information about subscriptions.
http://www.miraura.org/lit/desc.html
http://www.miraura.org/

The Satchidananda Ashram -- Yogaville Home Page
Home page of Satchidananda Ashram -- Yogaville located in Buckingham, Virginia. Yogaville serves as the National IYI headquarters. Great site with lots of information on classes, retreats, and workshops.
http://yogaville.org/

San Francisco Integral Yoga Institute
http://www.integralyogasf.org/

Auroville Home Page
Founded by the Mother in 1965, Auroville is a community for IYI followers in Tamil Nadu, South India. This is an incredibly comprehensive site that should be able to answer any questions you have about Auroville. And if not, the site also includes contacts (email addresses and telephone numbers).
http://www.auroville.org/

The Sri Aurobindo Center of Los Angeles Home Page
The East-West Cultural Center is a sibling organization based on the work of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother. Another user friendly site with lots of information. This site may be mainly of interest to those who live on the West Coast.
http://home.earthlink.net/~ewcc/

The Integral Yoga of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother.
Provides general information about Sri Aurobindo and the Mother. The site is a good place to begin.
http://www.miraura.org/

Yoga.
10/09/97 This site contains a personal narrative on yoga, with many links to different yoga paths, and other yoga related web sites.
http://www.talamasca.org/avatar/yoga.html

Yoga Paths.
10/09/97 This site contains extensive information about many yoga paths. It is very informative and comprehensive. There is also an in-text link from this page located in the Beliefs section.
http://www.spiritweb.org/Spirit/Yoga/Overview.html

Glossary of Sanskrit Words
Provides definitions of some of the most commonly used Sanskrit words. If the word you are looking for isn't here, then it must not be very common.
http://www.spiritweb.org/Spirit/Yoga/yoga-sanskrit-terms.html

IV. Selected Bibliography

Heehs, Peter. 1989.: Sri Aurobidno: A Brief Biography. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Joshi, Kireet. 1989.: Sri Aurobidno And The Mother. New Dehli: The Mother's Institute of Research.
Nandakumar, Prema. 1988.: Sri Aurobindo: A Critical Introduction. India: Sterling Publishers Private Limited.

Bordow, Sita. 1984.: The Master's Touch. Yogaville, Virginia: Integral Yoga Publications.
Bordow, Sita and others. 1986.: Sri Swami Satchidananda: Apostle of Peace. Yogaville, Virginia: Integral Yoga Publications.
Weinca, Sita. 1972.: Swami Satchidananda. New York: Bantam Books.

Melton, J. Gordon. 1996.: The Encyclopedia of American Religions. Detroit, Michigan: Gale Research Co. Fifth Ed. pp. 846, 856

V. Contacts

IYI headquarters in the United States

iyi@moonstar.com

Integral Yoga Magazine -- IYI News
227 West 13th Street
New York, NY 10011

Contact for Disciples of Sri Aurobindo
Disciples of Sri Aurobindo
c/o Sri Aurobindo Association
2288 Fulton Street Ste. 310
Berkeley, CA 94704

Created by Sarah O. Meadows
For Sociology 257, FALL, 1997
Last updated: 09/06/01