Sri Aurobindo (vegetarian): Integral Yoga for Divine Awakening, Part 2 of 2

In the early years of His time in Pondicherry, Sri Aurobindo reread the Vedas in its original Sanskrit text, discovering its true meaning: “…I found, first, that the mantras of the Veda illuminated, with a clear and exact light psychological experiences of my own, for which I had found no sufficient explanation either in European psychology or in the teachings of Yoga or of Vedanta.” Together with a group of disciples, Sri Aurobindo established an ashram in 1926 that still welcomes visitors today. It was envisioned as a vibrant place for the progression of humanity into a global community where even daily tasks were dedicated to the spiritual pursuit of oneness with the Divine. Since the founding of this spiritual community, the vegetarian diet was embraced as the optimal way of eating for wellness that benefits the physical and transcends to the metaphysical. Sri Aurobindo explained that cruelty-free plant-based foods bring peace and clarity, supporting the awakening of one’s spiritual consciousness while also refining and stabilizing one’s overall personality. Thus, the Sri Aurobindo Ashram serves only vegetarian foods. As Sri Aurobindo explained: “Life is life – whether in a cat, or dog or man. There is no difference there between a cat or a man. The idea of difference is a human conception for man’s own advantage.” Sri Aurobindo taught that there are higher levels of consciousness above intelligence. He emphasized that humanity has come to a stage where a new level of consciousness is awakening, and we must assist that awakening. This will lead to a new type of humanity which will live in a Divine consciousness of oneness. Beyond the human mind, there will be a suprahuman, supramental consciousness. In “Sri Aurobindo on Himself,” the Master wrote: “The one aim of [my] Yoga is an inner self-development by which each one who follows it can in time discover the One Self in all and evolve a higher consciousness than the mental, a spiritual and supramental consciousness which will transform and divinize human nature.” Sri Aurobindo also explained that we are experiencing the current planetary crisis because the human mind cannot solve the problems. Only by rising above the mind into higher intuition and a supramental consciousness can we experience oneness with the world and resolve all the issues.