Sri Aurobindo, the early-twentieth-century Indian philosopher, is now recognized as one of the forefathers of evolutionary spirituality. But Aurobindo was not just a philosopher, as historian Peter Heehs makes clear in his new book, The Lives of Sri Aurobindo, published by Columbia University Press. He was also a poet, a scholar, a spiritual leader, and a political revolutionary—one of the most prominent figures in the early years of India’s struggle for independence. In fact, he was at one point thought of by the British as “the most dangerous man in India.”
After reading Heehs’ 500-page tome, contributing editor Ellen Daly and executive editor Carter Phipps talked with the author about Aurobindo’s many “lives,” his unusual path to awakening, his dedication to spiritual practice, and his extraordinary contribution to the philosophy and vision that inspires so many “evolutionaries” today.
BIO
Peter Heehs was born and educated in the United States but has lived in India since 1971. He is one the founders of the Sri Aurobindo Ashram Archives and Research Library in Pondicherry, India, where he currently works as an archivist and is also on the editorial board of The Complete Works of Sri Aurobindo. Heehs has published many books and articles on Sri Aurobindo, and his most recent, The Lives of Sri Aurobindo (2008), is the first major scholarly biography of this great Indian spiritual leader.
