The book throws light on the nature of various inner powers which we already possess and use more or less unconsciously, as well as with latent powers within, which are as yet undeveloped. The book is of interest to the general reader as well as to the spiritual seeker.

Since 1980, Shraddhavan has been teaching English in Auroville through close readings of Sri Aurobindo’s revelatory epic Savitri: a legend and a symbol. In August 1998 these classes were resumed at Savitri Bhavan, with a growing number of students, including young Tamil teacher-trainees from the Arul Vazhi School located in Promesse, Auroville. These classes were given the name ‘The English of Savitri’ and they concluded in May of 2009 as this group reached the end of the poem. This book is based on the transcripts of a new series of classes given by Shraddhavan between August 2009 and October 2010, which have been edited for conciseness and clarity, while aiming to preserve some of the informal atmosphere of the course. Edited transcripts of these classes began to be published serially in the Bhavan’s journal of Study Notes on Savitri, ‘Invocation’, from issue 32 onwards, since it was felt that they may be of interest to a wider audiance. They are now being published in book form in several volumes by Yukta Prakashan publishers of Vadodara. This suggested the idea of collecting the original English articles into a book form as well. This is the first such volume, covering all the five cantos of Book One of the poem, ‘The Book of Beginnings’.

This book aims primarily to help the reader become aware of the influence and action of the soul in life and then to describe and clarify the various states of consciousness that pertain to the experiences of the soul. The selections were chosen to provide the reader with a mental understanding and clarity that can help identify the movements and influences of the psychic being and grow more conscious of which factors are helpful and which harmful in fostering the awareness of one's soul . Finally, it aims to light the way beyond the initial discovery of the psychic being to an aspiration for the complete transformation of the external being, leading to a life governed only by the soul. This book, an expansion on the editor's previous compilation The Psychic Being, deals more extensively with the practical aspects of the subject.

Santosh highlights key relevant points of Aurobindo's Essays on the Gita, explains them and reveals their depth and implications today. Each of his well-chosen selections and lucid comments constitutes a luminous doorway into the heart of the Gita. Santosh shows us how we should approach great teachings like those of Sri Aurobindo and make them relevant for our current search, helping to lift humanity into a new era of higher consciousness that is so desperately needed.

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This poem was written in 1899. It is in blank verse and this was before the yogic phase of Sri Auribindo’s life. This is a poem of the glories of human love, and the height of human sacrifice. This poem is about Ruru and Pramadvura, a story from The Mahabharatha. This poem predates Sri Aurobindo’s magnum opus, Savitri. This is a classic example of the command of the English language by Sri Aurobindo and his ability to bring to life a rather drab and not well known story from the epic The Mahabharatha. There is an interesting description of Yamaloka, and I leave it to you, the reader to enjoy it!