Interviewees

Arabinda Basu

Arabinda Basu is a philosopher and scholar of the yoga of Sri Aurobindo, and a member of the Sri Aurobindo Ashram in the coastal town of Pondicherry, India. He is editor of Gavesana (Quest for Light), a journal of philosophy and yoga, and has taught and lectured on comparative philosophy and religion at universities in India, Europe, USA and Israel.

Videos featuring Arabinda Basu

  • Diversity of Life, Unity of Spirit 

    Arabinda Basu, philosopher and scholar of Sri Aurobindo, explains that an inner consciousness of unity will in turn allow for greater understanding of the multiplicity of life. He says, "We must address the problem of diversity on the basis of unity, which is spiritual."

    (2 min 36 sec)

  • Waking the Sleeping Soul of Humanity

    Arabinda Basu, philosopher and scholar of Sri Aurobindo, defines yoga as an organ of knowledge that helps develop one's inner consciousness. He explains that this knowledge comes from spiritual practices, which help reveal the underlying unity at the root of all humanity, and that this knowledge of unity then allows for all the diversity and complexities of nature.

    (7 min 39 sec)

  • Resistance to Change

    Arabinda Basu, philosopher and scholar of Sri Aurobindo, explains that man is a high being capable of evolving to very high states of consciousness, but that there is individual and collective resistance to change. According to the philosophy of Sri Aurobindo, in order for any real change to take place, spiritual unity must be present and all current mental molds must be broken.

    (4 min 3 sec)

  • Importance of Spiritual Unity

    According to Arabinda Basu, philosopher and scholar of Sri Aurobindo, if there is spiritual unity, then there is diversity of life without conflict. Our capacity to respond/connect to/with experiences outside of our culture (like music for example) is proof to Basu of our ability to recognize this underlying unity, and therefore value the multiplicity of life.

    (2 min 34 sec)

  • Addressing the Issue of Poverty

    Arabinda Basu, philosopher and scholar of Sri Aurobindo, suggests that the current problems of humanity can only be resolved by a new collective knowledge. Basu says this higher level of awareness is "more harmonious, sees the reasons for conflict, and sees how to resolve the conflict."

    (7 min 11 sec)

  • Finding Unity in Everyday Life

    Arabinda Basu, philosopher and scholar of Sri Aurobindo, explains that a basic fundamental spiritual discipline (yoga) can bring about a centralization of the diverse tendencies of one's nature.

    (1 min 48 sec)
"There is a revolt against God. God wants to evolve man to a higher level of consciousness; man doesn't want to do it."
From
Resistance to Change