A Greater Psychology: An Introduction to Sri Aurobindo's Psychological Thought

Rating:
Summary: A Profound, Comprehensive Intro to the Human Condition
Review: Last summer, I stumbled across a Pema Chodron book. Thus, by serendipity, began my love affair with Buddhism and Eastern philosophy. Chodron's books are notoriously soothing and easy to read, perfect fodder for a blossoming Buddhist neophyte. Intuitively, I understood and experienced the healing power of the Buddhist outlook. It wasn't long before I graduated to more challenging material. I developed a particular interest in the Abhidharma and Buddhist psychology.

Several weeks ago, I bought "A Greater Psychology". Upon settling into the sofa for a good, long read, I felt that I was looking at an opaque mirror. The sentences flowed on and on endlessly, but I could not comprehend any meaning. I put aside the book, thinking at it was surely pure gobble-de-gook. However, I was nevertheless chomping at the bit to learn about Eastern thought, beyond Buddhism.

I picked up an amazing book by Dhruv S. Kaji, "Common Sense About Uncommon Wisdom: Ancient Teachings of Vedanta". Kaji's book seemed to start a little slow, but quite soon I became enthralled, as if I was approaching the last chapters of a great mystery novel. I had never heard of nondualism, and the unfolding concept answered some profound question I had never thought to ask.

Thereafter, I immersed myself in other Vedanta readings and similar material -- Easwaran's translation of the Bhagavad Gita and the Upanishads; Torwesten's "Vedanta: Heart of Hinduism"; "The Spiritual Teaching of Ramana Maharshi"; Wilber's "No Boundary"; Zimmer's "Philosophies of India".

So, last week, I pulled "A Greater Psychology" from my bookshelf, and started afresh. To my amazement, Aurobindo's writing metamorphosed from opacity and pompous wordiness to subtle, sublime profundity. Never have I encountered such an insightful description of the human condition -- a supremely lucid and all-encompassing treatise shedding light on every layer of consciousness from our lower animal selves to highest reaches of spiritual realization. As each new jeweled concept flowed from the book, I found myself nodding over and over, "Yes, that rings true in my experience" or "Yes, that idea fits seamlessly with my own understanding of what it means to be human".

I have often complained that someone took the "psyche" out of psychology. Our worship of the scientific method has tended to restrict our burgeoning knowledge to what is observable and what is measurable, even despite Einstein's legacy. So psychologists get steeped in statistics and experimental design, virtually ignoring the unseen motivations, emotions, passions, and cravings of the human -- and spiritual aspect of healthy psychological development is simply a taboo topic. Except for those trudging after Freud's tradition, even the unconscious is unmentionable.

To have available Aurobindo's comprehensive, experiential psychospiritual teachings is priceless. It puts conventional Western psychology to shame. The book will not be easy reading, even for those with a background in psychology and a strong familiarity with Vedanta and Eastern philosophy. But if you have the backbone for a fearless and arduous education in the human condition, all-inclusive, with guideposts to your own place in the cosmos, then I could not recommend this book more highly.

Rating:
Summary: A Profound, Comprehensive Intro to the Human Condition
Review: Last summer, I stumbled across a Pema Chodron book. Thus, by serendipity, began my love affair with Buddhism and Eastern philosophy. Chodron's books are notoriously soothing and easy to read, perfect fodder for a blossoming Buddhist neophyte. Intuitively, I understood and experienced the healing power of the Buddhist outlook. It wasn't long before I graduated to more challenging material. I developed a particular interest in the Abhidharma and Buddhist psychology.

Several weeks ago, I bought "A Greater Psychology". Upon settling into the sofa for a good, long read, I felt that I was looking at an opaque mirror. The sentences flowed on and on endlessly, but I could not comprehend any meaning. I put aside the book, thinking at it was surely pure gobble-de-gook. However, I was nevertheless chomping at the bit to learn about Eastern thought, beyond Buddhism.

I picked up an amazing book by Dhruv S. Kaji, "Common Sense About Uncommon Wisdom: Ancient Teachings of Vedanta". Kaji's book seemed to start a little slow, but quite soon I became enthralled, as if I was approaching the last chapters of a great mystery novel. I had never heard of nondualism, and the unfolding concept answered some profound question I had never thought to ask.

Thereafter, I immersed myself in other Vedanta readings and similar material -- Easwaran's translation of the Bhagavad Gita and the Upanishads; Torwesten's "Vedanta: Heart of Hinduism"; "The Spiritual Teaching of Ramana Maharshi"; Wilber's "No Boundary"; Zimmer's "Philosophies of India".

So, last week, I pulled "A Greater Psychology" from my bookshelf, and started afresh. To my amazement, Aurobindo's writing metamorphosed from opacity and pompous wordiness to subtle, sublime profundity. Never have I encountered such an insightful description of the human condition -- a supremely lucid and all-encompassing treatise shedding light on every layer of consciousness from our lower animal selves to highest reaches of spiritual realization. As each new jeweled concept flowed from the book, I found myself nodding over and over, "Yes, that rings true in my experience" or "Yes, that idea fits seamlessly with my own understanding of what it means to be human".

I have often complained that someone took the "psyche" out of psychology. Our worship of the scientific method has tended to restrict our burgeoning knowledge to what is observable and what is measurable, even despite Einstein's legacy. So psychologists get steeped in statistics and experimental design, virtually ignoring the unseen motivations, emotions, passions, and cravings of the human -- and spiritual aspect of healthy psychological development is simply a taboo topic. Except for those trudging after Freud's tradition, even the unconscious is unmentionable.

To have available Aurobindo's comprehensive, experiential psychospiritual teachings is priceless. It puts conventional Western psychology to shame. The book will not be easy reading, even for those with a background in psychology and a strong familiarity with Vedanta and Eastern philosophy. But if you have the backbone for a fearless and arduous education in the human condition, all-inclusive, with guideposts to your own place in the cosmos, then I could not recommend this book more highly.