Category Archives: General

General issues

Hermeneutics: how to read holy scriptures

When men come across a book of true knowledge, each finds himself there, and at every new reading he discovers things that he did not see in it at first; it opens to him each time a new field of knowledge that had till then escaped him in it. But that is because it reaches layers of knowledge that were waiting for expression in the subconscious in him; the expression has now been given by somebody else and much better than he could himself have done it. But, once expressed, he immediately recognises it and feels that it is the truth. The knowledge that seems to come to you from outside is only an occasion for bringing out the knowledge that is within you Continue reading

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Why read Sri Aurobindo’s books?

Enlightened Masters such as Sri Aurobindo who have reached a high level of consciousness are able to state Truths with great clarity by virtue of the illumination they have attained. Every statement becomes a revelation and every paragraph an epiphany. Those who aspire for spiritual progress have to desist from reading books which lower the consciousness precisely because words have power. This is a collection of passages by the Mother of the Aurobindo Ashram, Mirra Alfassa, on the effect of reading ordinary books versus reading Sri Aurobindo’s books. Continue reading

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Guidance by random-book opening

In these passages, the Mother (Mirra Alfassa) explains how opening a holy book and reading it at random can provide spiritual guidance in times of crisis. Continue reading

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How to read holy books

One of the greatest obstacles to the finding of Truth is the belief current among religious people that Truth is written down in some book or books which constitute the ’sacred scripture’ for them Continue reading

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