Originally posted on sciy.org by Rich Carlson on Fri 02 May 2008 09:38 AM PDT
"The Lives of Sri Aurobindo easily constitutes
the most comprehensive, thorough, and balanced study of Sri Aurobindo
Ghose's life and thought to date. Peter Heehs's remarkable access to
archival sources both at the ashram and in numerous other archives
around the world establishes this text as the definitive study of
Aurobindo's immense output in all of its genres and modes. His text
humanizes and problematizes a historical figure whose complexity has
been more or less lost to us via hagiography, piety, and now Hindutva
apologetics. In some very real sense, Heehs gives us back Aurobindo as
a political figure, a prolific writer, and as a religious teacher-all
in all, a remarkable accomplishment. His writing is clear, uncluttered,
precise, and in places quite beautiful. There are few scholarly texts I
genuinely enjoyed reading, but this is one of them." — Jeffrey J.
Kripal, J. Newton Rayzor Professor and chair of religious studies, Rice
University
"Sri Aurobindo, the first Indian leader to call for
independence from Great Britain and India's greatest philosopher of the
twentieth century, deserves far greater recognition in the West for his
pioneering vision and spiritual practice. This, his first major
biography, is written with meticulous care, without the fawning worship
of previous hagiographies that have obscured his extraordinary life and
work." — Michael Murphy, founder, Esalen Institute
"Sri Aurobindo has at last received the scholarly biography he deserves-and we need." — Robert McDermott, author of The Essential Aurobindo
"Here
are details that are not only reliable but transparent in letting their
sources speak. Throughout we hear the voices of Sri Aurobindo and his
contemporaries. Peter Heehs has written the definitive biography and a
superb introduction to the life and thought of Sri Aurobindo." —
Stephen Phillips, professor of philosophy and Asian studies, University
of Texas at Austin
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