Sri-Aurobindo's Integral Education Principles

These are beautiful principles that Sri Aurobindo has given for Integral Education.

1. SRI AUROBINDO’S
INTEGRAL EDUCATION
PRINCIPLES
DHAVAL DALAL
@SOFTWAREARTISAN

2. 3 PRINCIPLES

3. 3 PRINCIPLES
•Nothing can be taught.

4. 3 PRINCIPLES
•Nothing can be taught.
•Mind has to be consulted in its own growth.

5. 3 PRINCIPLES
•Nothing can be taught.
•Mind has to be consulted in its own growth.
•To work from the near to the far.
SRI AUROBINDO

6. NOTHING CAN BE TAUGHT
•The system prevailing in our universities is one which -
•Ignores the psychology of man.
•Loads the mind laboriously with numerous little packets of
information carefully tied with red tape.
•By the methods used in this loading process, damages or
atrophies the faculties and instruments by which man
assimilates, creates and grows in intellect, manhood and
energy.
SRI AUROBINDO
THE BRAIN OF INDIA - II
HTTPS://INCARNATEWORD.IN/CWSA/01/THE-BRAIN-OF-INDIA

7. NOTHING CAN BE TAUGHT
•Those systems of education which start from an
insufficient knowledge of man, think they have provided
a satisfactory foundation when they have supplied the
student with a large or well-selected mass of information
on the various subjects which comprise the best part of
human culture at the time. 
•The school gives the materials, it is for the student to use
them,—this is the formula.
•But the error here is fundamental.
SRI AUROBINDO
THE BRAIN OF INDIA - II
HTTPS://INCARNATEWORD.IN/CWSA/01/THE-BRAIN-OF-INDIA

8. THE FUNDAMENTAL ERROR
•Information cannot be the foundation of intelligence, it can
only be part of the material out of which the knower builds
knowledge, the starting-point, the nucleus of fresh discovery
and enlarged creation.
•An education that confines itself to imparting knowledge, is
no education.
•The various faculties of memory, judgment, imagination,
perception, reasoning, which build the edifice of thought
and knowledge for the knower, must not only be equipped
with their fit and sufficient tools and materials, but trained to
bring fresh materials and use more skilfully those of which
they are in possession.
SRI AUROBINDO
THE BRAIN OF INDIA - II

9. NOTHING CAN BE TAUGHT
•The Guide => Mentor/Coach/Teacher
•Not an Instructor or Task-Master, but a Helper and a Guide.
•True knowledge comes from within, not just to be supplied in the form of information from
outside.
•Provide an environment, materials and a field of experience, where a mentee finds
enriching, stimulating to manifest latent possibilities.
•Identifies the correct time and brings them in in accordance with nature, rhythm and
awakening within the mentee.
•For a knower, the guide awakens the potentials that are hidden within by
showing
•How to perfect their own instruments of knowledge.
•How to acquire knowledge and not impart knowledge (rather than being "told" what to
do)
•Where the knowledge lies and how can it be habituated to rise to the surface.

10. DIFFERENCE BETWEEN TRAINING,
COACHING & MENTORING
•Trainings => Often used in group settings, Learning focused,
Information transfer, Structured, One-time event or short-
lived.
•Coaching => Often targets teams, Development focused -
enhancing skills and knowledge, Tailored, Constructive
Feedback & guidance - Informal, conversational, and
relational, Practicing and applying in real-life, Short-term
duration.
•Mentoring => Targets individual or couple, Personal and
professional growth focus - direction, career, role, life etc…,
Evolving agenda over time, Experiential, Long-term duration.

11. THE MIND MUST BE CONSULTED
IN ITS GROWTH
•Everyone has within them something divine, something his own,
a chance of perfection and strength in however small a sphere
which God offers him to take or refuse.
•Guide’s task is to help the knower identify/find the innate
interests, inner dispositions, abilities and develop them, use and
perfect them.
•Unfortunately, the Western education system is a product of 19th
century Industrial mind-set (assembly line production) where the
raw material is culled, shaped and finally tested for viability.
•Process is repeated for all the parts that pass through the
pipeline to ensure homogenous “quality” output.

12. THE MIND MUST BE CONSULTED
IN ITS GROWTH
•Everyone has within them something divine, something his own,
a chance of perfection and strength in however small a sphere
which God offers him to take or refuse.
•Guide’s task is to help the knower identify/find the innate
interests, inner dispositions, abilities and develop them, use and
perfect them.
•Unfortunately, the Western education system is a product of 19th
century Industrial mind-set (assembly line production) where the
raw material is culled, shaped and finally tested for viability.
•Process is repeated for all the parts that pass through the
pipeline to ensure homogenous “quality” output.
SRI AUROBINDO

13. THE MIND MUST BE CONSULTED
IN ITS GROWTH
•We need to be mindful of the heterogeneity in all.
•Don’t hammer the knower into the desired shape. This
is a barbarous and an ignorant superstition.
•It is (S)he himself who must be induced to expand in accordance
with her/his own nature - स्वभाव - Swabhava [= स्व - Swa - True-self
+ भाव - bhava - becoming = Becoming of True-self].
•Suggest, Invite, Assist, Encourage but do not Impose.
•If anything has to be brought in from outside, it must be offered,
not forced on the mind.

14. THE MIND MUST BE CONSULTED
IN ITS GROWTH
•We need to be mindful of the heterogeneity in all.
•Don’t hammer the knower into the desired shape. This
is a barbarous and an ignorant superstition.
•It is (S)he himself who must be induced to expand in accordance
with her/his own nature - स्वभाव - Swabhava [= स्व - Swa - True-self
+ भाव - bhava - becoming = Becoming of True-self].
•Suggest, Invite, Assist, Encourage but do not Impose.
•If anything has to be brought in from outside, it must be offered,
not forced on the mind.
SRI AUROBINDO

15. •To force the nature to abandon its own स्वधर्म - Swadharma [=
स्व - Swa - True-self + धर्म - dharma - law of action = one’s own
law of action] is to do it permanent harm, mutilate its growth
and deface its perfection.
•No greater error than to arrange beforehand to develop
particular qualities, capacities, ideas, virtues, or be prepared
for a prearranged career.
•It is a selfish tyranny over a human soul and a wound to the
nation, which loses the benefit of the best that a man could
have given it and is forced to accept instead something
imperfect and artificial, second-rate, perfunctory and common.
THE MIND MUST BE CONSULTED
IN ITS GROWTH
SRI AUROBINDO

16. EXTERNAL ACTION/WORK
ONE’S OWN LAW OF ACTION
TEMPERAMENT
धर्म - Law of action
Modern Understanding
Homogeneous, External
Ethical or Moral
framework that defines
Normative Order, thus is
Objective.

17. EXTERNAL ACTION/WORK
ONE’S OWN LAW OF ACTION
TEMPERAMENT
कर्म
EXTERNAL ACTION
WORK
कर्म
External Action or Work
धर्म - Law of action
Modern Understanding
Homogeneous, External
Ethical or Moral
framework that defines
Normative Order, thus is
Objective.

18. EXTERNAL ACTION/WORK
ONE’S OWN LAW OF ACTION
TEMPERAMENT
कर्म
EXTERNAL ACTION
WORK
Depends on
कर्म
External Action or Work
Grounded in
धर्म - Law of action
Modern Understanding
Homogeneous, External
Ethical or Moral
framework that defines
Normative Order, thus is
Objective.

19. EXTERNAL ACTION/WORK
ONE’S OWN LAW OF ACTION
TEMPERAMENT
कर्म
EXTERNAL ACTION
WORK
ONE’S OWN
LAW OF ACTION
स्वधर्म
Depends on
स्वधर्म is Subjective, and
Ethically Neutral. It is a
Normative order based
on the subjective dharma
rooted in individual स्वभाव.
कर्म
External Action or Work
Grounded in
धर्म - Law of action
Modern Understanding
Homogeneous, External
Ethical or Moral
framework that defines
Normative Order, thus is
Objective.

20. EXTERNAL ACTION/WORK
ONE’S OWN LAW OF ACTION
TEMPERAMENT
कर्म
EXTERNAL ACTION
WORK
ONE’S OWN
LAW OF ACTION
स्वधर्म
Depends on
Grounded in
स्वधर्म is Subjective, and
Ethically Neutral. It is a
Normative order based
on the subjective dharma
rooted in individual स्वभाव.
कर्म
External Action or Work
Grounded in
Depends on
धर्म - Law of action
Modern Understanding
Homogeneous, External
Ethical or Moral
framework that defines
Normative Order, thus is
Objective.

21. EXTERNAL ACTION/WORK
ONE’S OWN LAW OF ACTION
TEMPERAMENT
कर्म
EXTERNAL ACTION
WORK
ONE’S OWN
LAW OF ACTION
स्वधर्म
स्वभाव
TEMPERAMENT
Depends on
Grounded in
स्वधर्म is Subjective, and
Ethically Neutral. It is a
Normative order based
on the subjective dharma
rooted in individual स्वभाव.
कर्म
External Action or Work
स्वभाव is Subjective
Personal Temperament,
the becoming of the
True-self
Grounded in
Depends on
धर्म - Law of action
Modern Understanding
Homogeneous, External
Ethical or Moral
framework that defines
Normative Order, thus is
Objective.

22. •Today, very few can really discover their own
temperament.
•As a guide, help the knower to discover their Swabhava.
•Observe external indications like -
•Work/action that one does without friction of their own nature or
without any push or motivation, something that is very natural to
oneself - As a child what did I love doing?
•Find that the joy of doing it makes you happy without any rewards.
The joy is the reward itself.
•After work, your energy levels remain the same as before.
DISCOVERING SYMPTOMS

23. •Causes disharmony within an individual due to divided
consciousness - दु:ख - dukha or sadness.
•Causes confusion and retardation.
•Subconscious accumulation of falsehood and insincerity.
•Develops guilt complex - a starting point for psycho-
somatic diseases.
•Eventually violates integrity of the being and hence
harmful for his/her true development.
NON-CONGRUENCE OF SWABHAVA
SWADHARMA AND KARMA

24. •The third principle of Education is to work from the near
to the far, from that which is to that which shall be. That
which is near is the starting point and that which is far is
the target.
•Secure the basis first.
•The basis of a man’s outer nature is almost always, in addition to
his soul's past his heredity, his surroundings, his nationality, his
country, the soil from which he draws sustenance, the air which he
breathes, the sights, sounds, habits to which he is accustomed.
•They mould him not the less powerfully because insensibly, and
from that then we must begin.
WORK FROM THE NEAR TO THE FAR
SRI AUROBINDO

25. •Build further extensions of knowledge and ability that
are within the reach, but yet unrealised or
undeveloped.
•It is easy for an individual to utilise the elements of the
established base and expand the circle subsequently.
•In general - Organic growth and movement.
•Work from that which is established and known to that needs
to be taken up next. In other words, expand to the knowledge
horizons that are within reach by taking baby steps.
Sri Aurobindo
NEAR TO THE FAR - IN BABY STEPS

26. MY OBSERVATIONS
•All the 3 principles are extremely relevant in other spheres of life as
well.
•From Near to Far is also a pattern of many things that we do in life.
•Personally
•Self-improvements and self-trainings.
•Training of the physical (शरीर - Sharir - body), vital (प्राण - Prana - the seat of
emotions) and mental (मन - Mana).
•Professionally
•When I’m coaching or conducting technical workshops or talks at conferences.
•I personally use this pattern in software designs to do refactorings when working
within the teams during coaching.

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31. •तमस - Tamas or Inertia - One wants to do something,
but one can’t.
•Laziness is a kind of tamas, but in laziness there is an ill-
will, a refusal to make an effort.
•It is a dangerous illness
•Generally, lazy people are not always lazy, not in all things.
 
INERTIA & LAZINESS
LAZINESS = INERTIA + ILL-WILL
THE MOTHER
CWM, VOL-14

32. •An active movement is one in which you throw your force
out, that is, when something comes out from you — in a
movement, a thought, a feeling — something which goes out
from you to others or into the world.
•To be active is to throw out the consciousness or force or movement
from within outwards.
•Passivity is not laziness. It is not also Inertia.
•To be passive is to remain immobile and receive what comes from
outside.
•It does not at all depend on whether one moves or sits still. It is not
that at all.
 
ACTIVITY AND PASSIVITY
THE MOTHER
CWM, VOL-6, PG, 111-113 

33. •Receptivity is the result of a true passivity.
•Receptivity is the beginning of intellectual intuition.
•Lack of receptivity means something that is unable to
receive the force, that is completely shut up.
•This is a cause of great imbalance in the system.
•Effort makes you receptive to the universal forces.
RECEPTIVITY
THE MOTHER
CWM, VOL-6, PG, 111-113 
CWM, VOL-5, PG, 174-176 
•Every interaction helps in opening up something
within us and developing the inner receptivity.

34. PASSIVITY ≠ INERTIA
PASSIVITY ≠ LAZINESS
PASSIVITY —————> RECEPTIVITY
LEADS TO

35. •Mind is the hardest terrain on earth to cultivate, even harder than rocks!
•It is accustomed to a habitual way of looking at things.
•Its conservative inertia - tamas in our nature disposes us to give every new
experience the shape and semblance of those to which we are accustomed.
•For example, when we get a true impression of what is happening - we habitually act
on such impression - either true or false.
•However, if the experience differs from what we are accustomed to expect, the old
association meets it in the consciousness or चित्त - chitta (not merely memory but much
more than that), and sends a changed report to the बुध्धी - buddhi or intellect or
understanding in which, either the new impression is overlaid and concealed by the old
or mingled with it.
•Only more developed minds which can receive first impressions without an
unconscious bias against the novelty of novel experience.
HABITS AND INERTIA - NEAR

36. •Ridding the mind of this inertia is impossible without
चित्तशुध्धी - chittashuddhi or purification of mental and
the habits formed in the chitta or consciousness.
•Chittashuddhi can be achieved by employing
“learning by observation”
•One can use the technique of comparison and contrast - a
natural way for human mind to grasp new things.
•It helps untie the knots and unblock the mind - readies the
mind to accept.
BREAKING INERTIA

37. •When engaged in comparing and contrasting, another centre is certain
to develop, the centre of analogy/metaphor.
•The learner will inevitably draw analogies/metaphors and argue from
like to like.
•(S)he should be encouraged to use this faculty while noticing its
limitations and errors.
•At the same time, we need to be mindful of the scope of the metaphor
or analogy, to not use beyond the context and for the purpose in which
it was meant to be used. This also must be conveyed to the learner.
•In this way the learner will be trained to form the habit of correct
analogy/metaphor, which is an indispensable aid in the acquisition of
knowledge.
ANALOGY - A FRESH FRAME

38. INTERACTIVE IMMERSION
•Trainings have a very limited scope of bringing about this mind-shift or
chittashuddhi due to its uni-directional or at best bi-directional nature.
•Its primary focus is on developing particular skills, at best we get skills-
shift or up-skilling.
•Workshops’ or pairings’ or mobbing have an inherent multi-directional
nature.
•Interactive immersion creates opportunities for opening up receptivity, deep
reflections, realisations and learnings that stick, which other-wise would be difficult
in trainings.
Tell me and I Forget, => Talks, Slide-shows, Discussions etc…
Show me and I Remember, => Demos, Videos, Screencasts etc…
Involve me and I Learn. => Workshops, Mobbing, Pairings, Tutorials etc…

39. •During a session, set up a stage for every pair or triad or mob to
showcase their approach to the remaining learners.
•This brings everyones awareness to the fore. Other observers can
learn, critique or appreciate at the end.
•Here the guide can demonstrate - how to keep emotions aside while
giving or receiving feedback - like feeling bad or good, getting angry
or upset etc… This trains the vital and makes them open to giving
and receiving feedback rationally.
•Eventually, the guide can guide to better practices than what was
showcased.
•Because of Workshops and Pairings or Mobbing, learners’ old or
inappropriate habits get challenged and mind opens up for further
corrections.
JETTISONING OLD HABITS

40. IMAGINATION — POWER,
INSTRUMENT AND FACULTY
•Imagination - कल्पना - kalpana is really a power of mental
formation - कल्पनाशक्ति - kalpanashakti.
•A very powerful means of action.
•It is an elementary way of creating, of forming things in the
world, of new combinations of existing thoughts and images.
•In fact, a good deal of our life embodies the products of our imagination.
•It is an instrument which can be disciplined, can be used at will;
one can discipline it, direct it, orientate it.
•It is one of the faculties one can develop in himself and render
serviceable, that is, use it for definite purposes.
THE MOTHER

41. WHAT IS IT TO IMAGINE?
•When you begin to picture to yourself an ideal being to whom you
apply all your conceptions, and when you tell yourself, “Why, it should
be like this, like that, its form should be like this, its thought like that, its
character like that,” when you see all the details and build up the being.
•Example - Writers do this all the time because when they write a novel,
they imagine.
•They are those who are imaginative, creators; they create a character, a personage
and then put him in their book later.
•To imagine, for example, a whole concurrence of circumstances, a set of events, this
is what I call telling a story to oneself. 
•One can create for oneself his own inner and outer life; one can build his
own existence with his imagination, if one knows how to use it and has a
power.
THE MOTHER

42. THE PROCESS OF IMAGINATION
•When you start visualising….it’s like the antennae going into a
world that’s not yet realised, catching something there and
drawing it here.
•It is a capacity to project oneself outside realised things and
towards things realisable, and then to draw them by the
projection.
•Then naturally it is an addition to the earth atmosphere and
these things tend towards manifestation.
•Some beings can cause considerable progress to be made in
the world, because they have the capacity of imagining
something that’s not yet manifested. 
THE MOTHER

43. FUNCTION OF IMAGINATION
•If one didn’t have the capacity of imagination he would not make
any progress.
•Your imagination always goes ahead of your life.
•When you think of yourself, usually you imagine what you want to
be, don’t you, and this goes ahead, then you follow, then it
continues to go ahead and you follow. 
•Imagination opens for you the path of realisation. 
•People who are not imaginative—it is very difficult to make them
move; they see just what is there before their nose, they feel just
what they are moment by moment and they cannot go forward
because they are clamped by the immediate thing.
THE MOTHER

44. PROGRESSIVE AND REGRESSIVE
IMAGINATION
•It is like a knife which may be used for progressive or regressive, good or
evil purposes, giving it a form that manifests later when the circumstances
are right.
•Regressive
•There are people who always imagine all the catastrophes possible, and unfortunately
they also have the power of making them come.
•Every time you indulge your imagination in an unhealthy way, giving a form to your
fears and anticipating accidents and misfortunes, you are undermining your own
future.
•Progressive
•There are people who always imagine better future state of what they are in presently.
•Every time you are sick, you can imagine oneself in a cured state and help heal faster.
THE MOTHER

45. JUDGEMENT OR DISCERNMENT
•The judgement or विवेक - Viveka will naturally be
trained along with other faculties.
•Often the judgements and distinctions made will have
to be exceedingly subtle and delicate.
•At every step, the learner will have to decide what is
the right idea, measurement, appreciation of color,
sound, scent, etc… and what is wrong.
•At first many errors will be made, but the learner
should be taught to trust his judgement, without being
attached to results.

46. JUDGEMENT
•It will be found that the judgement will soon begin to respond
to the calls made on it, clear itself of all errors and begin to
judge correctly and minutely.
•The best way is to accustom the learner to compare his
judgements with those of others.
•When the learner is wrong, it should at first be pointed out that
how far the he was right and why it went wrong, afterwards he
should be encouraged to note these things for himself.
•Every time the learner is right, the attention should be
prominently and encouragingly called to it so that he may get
confidence.

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HABITS &
INERTIA
FAR
NEAR
BABY
STEPS

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HABITS &
INERTIA
LEARNING BY
OBSERVATION
FAR
NEAR
BABY
STEPS

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HABITS &
INERTIA
ANALOGY,
REPETITION,
RECEPTIVITY
LEARNING BY
OBSERVATION
FAR
NEAR
BABY
STEPS

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HABITS &
INERTIA
ANALOGY,
REPETITION,
RECEPTIVITY
OLD HABITS
LEARNING BY
OBSERVATION
FAR
NEAR
BABY
STEPS

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HABITS &
INERTIA
ANALOGY,
REPETITION,
RECEPTIVITY
OLD HABITS
IMMERSION,
IMAGINATION,
JUDGEMENT
LEARNING BY
OBSERVATION
FAR
NEAR
BABY
STEPS

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HABITS &
INERTIA
ANALOGY,
REPETITION,
RECEPTIVITY
OLD HABITS
IMMERSION,
IMAGINATION,
JUDGEMENT
OLD
HABITS
LEARNING BY
OBSERVATION
FAR
NEAR
BABY
STEPS

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HABITS &
INERTIA
ANALOGY,
REPETITION,
RECEPTIVITY
OLD HABITS
IMMERSION,
IMAGINATION,
JUDGEMENT
OLD
HABITS
LEARNING BY
OBSERVATION
FAR
NEAR
BABY
STEPS
TARGET

56. FAR
BABY
STEPS
NEAR

57. FAR
BABY
STEPS
HABITS & INERTIANEAR

58. FAR
BABY
STEPS
LEARNING BY
OBSERVATION
HABITS & INERTIANEAR

59. FAR
BABY
STEPS
RECEPTIVITY,
REPETITION,
ANALOGY
LEARNING BY
OBSERVATION
HABITS & INERTIANEAR

60. FAR
BABY
STEPS
RECEPTIVITY,
REPETITION,
ANALOGY
OLD HABITS
LEARNING BY
OBSERVATION
HABITS & INERTIANEAR

61. FAR
BABY
STEPS
RECEPTIVITY,
REPETITION,
ANALOGY
OLD HABITS
IMMERSION,
IMAGINATION,
JUDGEMENT
LEARNING BY
OBSERVATION
HABITS & INERTIANEAR

62. FAR
BABY
STEPS
RECEPTIVITY,
REPETITION,
ANALOGY
OLD HABITS
IMMERSION,
IMAGINATION,
JUDGEMENT
LEARNING BY
OBSERVATION
OLD HABITS
HABITS & INERTIANEAR

63. FAR
BABY
STEPS
RECEPTIVITY,
REPETITION,
ANALOGY
OLD HABITS
IMMERSION,
IMAGINATION,
JUDGEMENT
LEARNING BY
OBSERVATION
OLD HABITS
HABITS & INERTIANEAR
TARGET

64. INTEREST, CONCENTRATION AND
TIREDNESS
•Interest is the basis of one-pointedness - एकाग्रता -
Ekagrata or Concentration.
•We make the lessons supremely uninteresting and repellent and
then complain of the restless inattention.
•Symptoms of Lack of Interest in the child/mentee.
•Tiredness or fatigue shows lack of will for progress.
•Fatigue comes from doing things without interest.
•Pestering or forcing the learner to pick it up.

65. •Symptoms of Interest
•A child, like man, if (s)he is interested - prefers to go to the end of his/
her subject rather than leave it unfinished.
•More than finishing it, out of their volition they may work on it for
perfection.
•Mindful facilitator does not go against mentee's Swabhava,
•Instead use the Swabhava as a lever to seed or develop interest where
(s)he may lack or have less of it.
•In the beginning, Effort is proportional to Interest - Effort ∝
Interest.
EFFORT AND INTEREST

66. EFFORT AND CONCENTRATION
•Effort is the engine using that uses Interest as the
propellent.
•If one makes the necessary effort to do the work to the
maximum of your ability, you will feel joy, even if what you
do is against your nature. 
•It compels you to a sort of organisation of yourself, a sort of
concentration of your energies, because it is this that one
wishes to do and not fifty other things which contradict it.
•In this concentration, in this intensity of the will, lies the
origin of joy.
THE MOTHER
CWM, VOL-4, PG, 32-33 

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INTEREST
ROCKET
ENGINE

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EFFORT
INTEREST
ROCKET
ENGINE

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EFFORT
INTERESTINTEREST
ROCKET
ENGINE

70. THE VALUE OF REPETITION
•आवृत्ति - Āvṛtti or repetition was meant to fill the recording part of
the mind with the शब्द् - śabda or word, so that the अर्थ - artha or
meaning might of itself rise from within.
•All of us have felt, when studying a language, difficulties which seemed insoluble while
grappling with a text, suddenly melt away and a clear understanding arise without
assistance from book or teacher after putting away the book from our mind for a brief
period.
•There must be that clear still receptivity and that waiting upon
the word or thing with the contemplative part of the mind which
is what the ancient Indians meant by न - dhyāna  or meditation.
•Many of us have experienced also, the strangeness of taking up a language or subject,
after a brief discontinuance, to find that we understand it much better than when we
took it up, know the meanings of words we had never met with before and can explain
sentences which, before we discontinued the study, would have baffled our
understanding.
SRI AUROBINDO
THE BRAIN OF INDIA - III

71. UNFOLDING KNOWLEDGE
•The true knowledge takes its base on artha - the meaning and
applicability.
•Only when it has mastered the thing, proceeds to formalise its information.
•Developing the faculty of observation and rationality
•Make the mind interest itself in drawing inferences from the facts, tracing cause and
effect.
•Mind should then be led on to notice its successes and failures to develop judgement.
•Tracing the reason of the success and of the failure to arrive at a logical deduction
develops the faculty of rational thinking.
•As a guide, help them achieve this by nudging with an explicit “show and tell”
approach to register the observation/deduction.
•For this, the guide’s job is to craft problems with rising gradient of challenge that help
the learner to develop this faculty.

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INTERESTINTEREST
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EFFORT
INTEREST
UNFOLDING
KNOWLEDGE
INTEREST
ROCKET
ENGINE

74. FACULTY OF ABSTRACT THOUGHT - FAR
•Next, steer or craft another situation/problem that builds
up on the earlier one
•Create a level of difficulty such that it forces them apply what is
learnt and pushes the thinking a tad forward, but is still within the
grasp of the intellect/understanding (धी).
•Once logical deduction happens, the faculty of abstract thought
develops based on It helps precipitate similarities and differences.
•Thus, the abstract concept can not only be grokked and
appreciated but also be used to reconcile opposing facts or
differences.
•Developing the faculty of abstract thought is a natural
sequel to developing the faculty of observation.

75. KNOWLEDGE ASSIMILATION
•When they arrive at the conclusions or abstractions on
their own
•It is fulfilling for both - the learner and the teacher/mentor
•It firmly settles in the chitta.
•Concretises right judgements.
•Makes the learner confident.
•Seeds further exploration - they feel encouraged to push their
boundaries further by assimilating the earlier knowledge,
independently.

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UNFOLDING
KNOWLEDGE
INTEREST
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ENGINE

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EFFORT
INTEREST
UNFOLDING
KNOWLEDGE
INTEREST
ROCKET
ENGINE
ASSIMILATION

78. ENCOURAGEMENT - THE IGNITION
•Encouragement is used by the vital to re-ignite interest (the
propellent) for effort and exploration.
•During the knowledge building process , sometimes the
mentees may exhibit -
•A wildness and recklessness of their young natures due to over-
confidence of success. But these are only the overflowings of an
excessive strength, greatness and nobility. This should not be
discouraged.
•A sulkiness and dislike due to failures or wrong judgements. But these
are only the slips in to weakness, lowness and ignobility. This should not
be encouraged.
•All of the above should be purified and educated.

79. ENTHUSIASM - THE OUTPUT
•उत्साह - Enthusiasm is the result of effort and encouragement.
•Progressive journey of making effort also depends upon the enthusiasm.
•Initially, enthusiasm depends upon
•Success results in happiness that fuels the enthusiasm.
•Failure may result in some dejection that mars the enthusiasm.
•But eventually as the journey progresses, enthusiasm must depend on
the आन्द - Ananda or innate joy of doing the कर्म - Karma or action.
•They should be trained for self-enthusiasm even in failure and success
•When the vital goes beyond Success and Failure, it arrives at a higher joy of action.
•This higher joy makes the child, like man, reflective and results in inner growth.

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UNFOLDING
KNOWLEDGE
INTEREST
ROCKET
ENGINE
ASSIMILATION

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INTEREST
UNFOLDING
KNOWLEDGE
INTEREST
IGNITION
ROCKET
ENGINE
ASSIMILATION

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EFFORT
INTEREST
UNFOLDING
KNOWLEDGE
INTEREST
IGNITION
ENTHUSIASM
ROCKET
ENGINE
ASSIMILATION

83. TRUE ART OF FACILITATING
•Lies in sowing the seeds of interest in their minds by striking
chords of artha and applicability in real-life situation(s).
•Lies in guiding the knower step-by-step and go शनै शनै -
shanai shanai or steadily.
•Lies in holding full attention of their minds at each step as it
unfolds, until they have mastered the subject.
•Lies in developing the faculties of receptivity, judgement,
imagination, reasoning and abstract thought along the way.
•Lies in ensuring deliberate repetition is practised in some
form or the other.

84. ALL THIS IS GOOD,
BUT WHAT IF THE
STUDENT OR KNOWER
LACKS THE ATTITUDE
TO THINK WIDE AND DEEP
AND REFLECT?

85. THOUGHT PHOBIA
•It is my belief that the main cause of India's weakness is
not subjection, nor poverty, nor a lack of spirituality or
religion, but a diminution of the power of thought, the
spread of ignorance in the birthplace of knowledge.
Everywhere I see an inability or unwillingness to think
— incapacity of thought or “thought- phobia”.
•This may have been all right in the mediaeval period,
but now this attitude is the sign of a great decline. The
mediaeval period was a night, the day of victory for the
man of ignorance; in the modern world it is the time of
victory for the man of knowledge.
SRI AUROBINDO
BENGALI WRITINGS, PG. 369-371

86. THOUGHT PHOBIA
•A few solitary giants aside, everywhere there is your
simple man, that is, your average man, one who will not
think, cannot think, has not an ounce of strength, just a
momentary excitement.
•He who can delve into and learn the truth about the
world by thinking more, searching more, labouring
more, gains more power.
SRI AUROBINDO
BENGALI WRITINGS, PG. 369-371

87. INDIA AND THE WEST
•Take a look at Europe. You will see two things: a wide
limitless sea of thought and the play of a huge and rapid,
yet disciplined force. The whole power of Europe is here. It
is by virtue of this power that she has been able to swallow
the world, like our tapaswis of old, whose might held even
the gods of the universe in terror, suspense, subjection.
•In Europe even ordinary labourers think, want to know
everything. They are not satisfied to know things halfway,
but want to delve deeply into them.
•India wants the easy thought, the simple word; Europe
wants the deep thought, the deep word.
•The difference lies here.
SRI AUROBINDO
BENGALI WRITINGS, PG. 369-371

88. SRI AUROBINDO ALSO ASKS…
•What was the secret of that gigantic intellectuality,
spirituality and superhuman moral force which we see
pulsating in the Ramayana and Mahabharata, in the
ancient philosophy, in the supreme poetry, art, sculpture
and architecture of India?
•What was at the basis of the incomparable public works
and engineering achievements, the opulent and
exquisite industries, the great triumphs of science,
scholarship, jurisprudence, logic, metaphysics, the
unique social structure?
THE BRAIN OF INDIA - II

89. •What supported the heroism and self-abandonment
of the Kshatriya, the Sikh and the Rajput, the
unconquerable national vitality and endurance?
•What was it that stood behind that civilisation
second to none in the massiveness of its outlines or
the perfection of its details?
THE BRAIN OF INDIA - II
SRI AUROBINDO ALSO ASKS…

90. THE DEGRADATION….
•Our forefathers swam in a vast sea of thought and gained
a vast knowledge; they established a vast civilisation.
•But as they went forward on their path they were
overcome by exhaustion and weariness.
•The force of their thought decreased, and along with it
decreased the force of their creative power…
•…But power is needed to get this power. We, however,
are not worshippers of power; we are worshippers of the
easy way. But one cannot obtain power by the easy way.
SRI AUROBINDO
BENGALI WRITINGS, PG. 369-371

91. HOW AND WHERE IS
THAT POWER, FORCE
AND ENERGY TO BE
FOUND?

92. SRI AUROBINDO ANSWERS…
•Without a great and unique discipline involving a perfect
education of soul and mind, a result so immense and
persistent would have been impossible.
•It would be an error to look for the secret of Aryan success
in the details of the instruction given in the old ashrams and
universities so far as they have come down to us.
•We must know what was the principle and basis on which
the details were founded.
•We shall find the secret of their success in a profound
knowledge of human psychology and its subtle application
to the methods of intellectual training and instruction.
THE BRAIN OF INDIA - II

93. SRI AUROBINDO ANALYSES
TILL THE ROOTS…
•The first necessity for the building up of a great intellectual
superstructure is to provide a foundation strong enough to
bear it…
•…And the foundation of the structure they have to build,
can only be the provision of a fund of force and energy
sufficient to bear the demands of a continually growing
activity of the memory, judgment and creative power.
THE BRAIN OF INDIA - II

94. FINALLY,
THE SECRET OF ALL
LIES IN…

95. BRAHMACHARYA
•At the basis of the old Aryan system was the all-important
discipline of Brahmacharya.
•This was the first principle on which the ancient Aryans
based their education and one of the chief processes
which they used for the increased storage of energy, was
the practice of Brahmacharya.
•The application depends on a right understanding of the
physical and psychological conformation of the human
receptacle of energy. 
SRI AUROBINDO
THE BRAIN OF INDIA - III
HTTPS://INCARNATEWORD.IN/CWSA/01/THE-BRAIN-OF-INDIA#P11

96. WHAT IS BRAHMACHARYA?
•All human energy has a physical basis. <—- The mistake made by
European materialism is to suppose the basis to be everything and
confuse it with the source.
•[Aryans recognised the difference between source and basis/
foundation]
•The source of life and energy is not material but spiritual,
•but the basis, the foundation on which the life and energy stand
and work, is physical.
•To raise up the physical to the spiritual is Brahmacharya, for by the
meeting of the two the energy which starts from one and produces
the other is enhanced and fulfils itself.
SRI AUROBINDO
HTTPS://INCARNATEWORD.IN/CWSA/01/THE-BRAIN-OF-INDIA#P11

97. THE PHYSICS AND PSYCHOLOGY
•The application depends on a right understanding of the
physical and psychological conformation of the human
receptacle of energy.
•The fundamental physical unit is the रेतस - retas, in which
the तेजस - tejas, the heat and light and electricity in a man,
is involved and hidden.
•All energy is latent in the  retas.
•This energy may be either expended physically or
conserved. 
SRI AUROBINDO
HTTPS://INCARNATEWORD.IN/CWSA/01/THE-BRAIN-OF-INDIA#P11

98. WASTE OF ENERGY
•All passion, lust (sexual desire, sexual longing), desire wastes
the energy by pouring it, either in the gross form or a
sublimated subtler form, out of the body.
•Immorality in act throws it out in the gross form; immorality of
thought in the subtle form.
•In either case there is waste, and unchastity (illicit indulgence)
is of the mind and speech as well as of the body.
SRI AUROBINDO
HTTPS://INCARNATEWORD.IN/CWSA/01/THE-BRAIN-OF-INDIA#P11

99. INCREASE OF ENERGY
•On the other hand, all self-control conserves the energy
in the  retas, and conservation always brings with it
increase.
•But the needs of the physical body are limited
•and the excess of energy must create a surplus which
has to turn itself to some use other than the physical.
SRI AUROBINDO
HTTPS://INCARNATEWORD.IN/CWSA/01/THE-BRAIN-OF-INDIA#P11

100. REFINEMENT OF ENERGY
•According to the ancient theory,  retas is jala or water, full of light and heat
and electricity, in one word, of  tejas.
•The excess of the  retas turns first into heat or  tapas which stimulates the
whole system, and it is for this reason that all forms of self-control and
austerity are called  tapas or tapasyā , because they generate the heat or
stimulus which is a source of powerful action and success.
•Secondly, it turns to  tejas proper, light, the energy which is at the source of
all knowledge; 
•Thirdly, it turns to  vidyut or electricity, which is at the basis of all forceful
action whether intellectual or physical.
•In the  vidyut again is involved the  ojas, or prāṇaśakti, the primal energy
which proceeds from ether. 
SRI AUROBINDO
HTTPS://INCARNATEWORD.IN/CWSA/01/THE-BRAIN-OF-INDIA#P11

101. ENERGY
SUBLIMATION
The retas refining
from jala to tapas,
tejas and vidyut and
from vidyut to ojas, fills the
system with physical strength,
energy and brain-power and in
its last form of  ojas rises to the
brain and informs it with that
primal energy which is the most
refined form of matter and
nearest to spirit.
SRI AUROBINDO
HTTPS://INCARNATEWORD.IN/CWSA/01/THE-BRAIN-OF-INDIA#P11
रेतस
RETAS
जल
JALA
तपस
TAPAS
तेजस
TEJAS
वित
VIDYUT
ओजस
OJAS
Water
Heat
(Stimulus)
Light
(Knowledge)
Electricity
(For intellectual
And
physical action)
Primal
Energy
(Pranashakti)

102. CONCLUSION
It follows that the more we can by Brahmacharya
increase the store of  tapas, tejas, vidyut and ojas,
the more we shall fill ourselves with utter energy
for the works of the body, heart, mind and spirit.
System Energy ∝ Brahmacharya.
SRI AUROBINDO
HTTPS://INCARNATEWORD.IN/CWSA/01/THE-BRAIN-OF-INDIA#P11

103. ENTHUSIASM
चित्त
INTEREST
EFFORT
INERTIA
IMMERSION
ANALOGY
OLD HABITS
NOTHING CAN BE TAUGHT
MIND MUST BE CONSULTED IN ITS GROWTH
BABY STEPS
WORK FROM THE NEAR TO THE F A R
FACULTY OF
OBSERVATION
FACULTY OF
ABSTRACT THOUGHT
ENCOURAGEMENT
स्वधर्म
चित्तशुध्धी
ONE-POINTEDNESS
एकाग्रता
तमस
आन्द
TEMPERAMENT
अर्थ
EMOTIONS
मन, प्राण, शरीर
बुध्धी
JOY
कर्म
धी
UNDERSTANDING
INTELLECT
MEANING
WORK
BASIC MIND-STUFF
MIND, LIFE, BODY
OWN LAW
OF ACTION
स्वभाव
आवृत्ति
REPETITION
उत्साह
JUDGEMENT
विवेक
IMAGINATION
कल्पना
BRAHMACHARYA
ओजस
OJAS
TAPAS
तपस
वित
VIDYUT
तेजस
TEJAS
रेतस
RETAS

104. REFERENCES
•Collective Works of Sri Aurobindo - CWSA.
•http://incarnateword.in/cwsa/01/a-system-of-national-education
•https://incarnateword.in/cwsa/01/the-brain-of-india
•Essays on the Gita - Sri Aurobindo.
•The brain of India - Sri Aurobindo.
•Collective Works of The Mother - CWM.
•http://www.sacar.in/pdf/Integral%20Education.pdf
•Sradhaalu Ranade’s Talk - Integral Education.
•Svadharma and Svabhava in the Bhagavadgita - Braj M. Sinha.