153rd Birth Anniversary of Sri Aurobindo

• 19 Aug 2025

Why in News? 

On 15th August 2025, PM Narendra Modi paid tribute to the philosopher and freedom fighter Sri Aurobindo on his 153rd birth anniversary, acknowledging his profound impact on India’s nation-building journey.  

• He highlighted that Aurobindo's philosophy and spirituality guided the nation's growth toward realizing its potential. 

Key Facts About Sri Aurobindo 

• About: Aurobindo Ghose was born in Calcutta on 15th August 1872. He was a yogi, seer, philosopher, poet, and Indian nationalist who propounded a philosophy of divine life on earth through spiritual evolution. 
  • He died on 5^th December 1950 in Pondicherry. 
• Education: 
  • His education began in a Christian convent school in Darjeeling. 
  • He entered the University of Cambridge, where he became proficient in two classical and several modern European languages. 
  • He returned to India in February 1893 at the age of twenty-one and commenced his service in the Baroda State. 
  • He began the study of Yoga and Indian languages, including classical Sanskrit. 
• Indian Revolutionary Movement: From 1902 to 1910, he partook in the struggle to free India from the British. As a result of his political activities, he was imprisoned in 1908 (Alipore Bomb case). 
• Spirituality: In Pondichéry, he founded a community of spiritual seekers (1910), which took shape as the Sri Aurobindo Ashram in 1926. 
  • He believed that the basic principles of matter, life, and mind would be succeeded through terrestrial evolution by the principle of supermind as an intermediate power between the two spheres of the infinite and the finite. 
• Literary Works: 
  • In 1906, he became the editor of Bande Mataram, an English newspaper (founded by Bipin Chandra Pal in 1905). 
  • Bases of Yoga 
  • Bhagavad Gita and Its Message 
  • The Future Evolution of Man 
  • Rebirth and Karma 
  • Savitri: A Legend and a Symbol 
  • Hour of God 
• The Five Dreams of Sri Aurobindo: In 1947, upon India’s independence, Aurobindo shared his five dreams, which included a free and united India, the resurgence of Asia, a global union for a fairer life, India’s spiritual gift to the world, and a transformative step in human evolution towards higher consciousness and societal perfection. 
• Auroville: Auroville, founded by Mirra Alfassa (The Mother) in 1968, is an experimental township in Pondicherry that embodies Aurobindo’s vision of a global, spiritually united community.  
  • Endorsed by UNESCO in 1966, it emphasizes sustainable living and addresses humanity's future cultural, environmental, social, and spiritual needs.