150th Birth Anniversary Of Sri Aurobindo

Home » 150th Birth Anniversary Of Sri Aurobindo

Context:

On 15th August, the Prime Minister paid tribute to Sri Aurobindo on his 150th birth anniversary.

Relevance:

GS I- Modern History

Dimensions of the Aricle:

Born Aurobindo Ghose in Calcutta on 15 August 1872, Sri Aurobindo was drawn to the Indian freedom movement as a revolutionary leader.
His father Krishna Dhun Ghose was a surgeon in Rangpur, Bengal and had sought to provide his five children English education considering British culture to be superior to Indian culture.
In 1879, the whole family moved to England as Krishna Dhun Ghose wanted his sons to pursue the Indian Civil Service (ICS). There, Aurobindo was taught History, French, Latin, Arithmetic and Geography.
He passed the ICS examination securing the 11th rank out of 250 candidates. He joined King’s College for the training but had himself disqualified for an exam by arriving deliberately late as he had no interest in the ICS.
He returned to India and secured employment in the Baroda State Service with the help of an acquaintance.
He developed a kind of Yoga called Integral Yoga. He believed that human beings can evolve further into something truly divine.
He inspired scores of people both from India and abroad.
Sri Aurobindo passed away on 5 December 1950 in Pondicherry aged 78.

From 1902 to 1910 he partook in the struggle to free India from the British. As a result of his political activities, he was imprisoned in 1908 (Alipore Bomb case).
Two years later he fled British India and found refuge in the French colony of Pondichéry (Puducherry), where he devoted himself for the rest of his life to the development of his “integral” yoga with an aim of a fulfilled and spiritually transformed life on earth.

-Source: Indian Express