Karmayogin: The Practical Mysticism of Sri Aurobindo in the Struggle Against Fascism and Colonialism

The Cambridge-educated Indian nationalist and mystic Aurobindo Ghose, later Sri Aurobindo, was heavily involved throughout his life in the cause of Indian independence from British colonial rule. Early on, this took the form of impassioned literary argument in the pages of self-published periodicals like Bande Mataram and the Karmayogin, where he couched his political arguments in the language of Indian spiritual and cultural renewal. Following several pivotal mystical experiences, his attention shifted toward his own yogic practice, framed by an evolutionary esotericist metaphysics of cosmic transformation into divinity. He understood Indian independence, and, during WWII, the victory of the Allied forces, as key developments in this process, and focused his own mystical practice on achieving these ends. From his meditative perch in Pondicherry, India, Aurobindo and his partner, Mirra Alfassa, engaged in psychic battle against the Axis forces and worked to influence the “play of forces” supportive of Indian independence.