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Sweet Mother,

How should we read your books and the books of Sri Aurobindo so that they may enter into our consciousness instead of being understood only by the mind?

To read my books is not difficult because they are written in the simplest language, almost the spoken language. To get help from them, it is enough to read with attention and concentration and an attitude of inner good-will, with a desire to receive and live what is taught.

To read what Sri Aurobindo writes is more difficult because the expression is highly intellectual and the language far more literary and philosophic. The brain needs a preparation to really be able to understand and generally this preparation takes time, unless one is specially gifted with an innate intuitive faculty.

In any case, I always advise reading a little at a time, keeping the mind as quiet as one can, without making an effort to understand, but keeping the head as silent as possible and letting the force contained in what one reads enter deep inside. This force, received in calm and silence, will do its work of illumining and will create in the brain, if necessary, the cells required for understanding. Thus, when one re-reads the same thing some months later, one finds that the thought expressed has become much clearer and closer and even at times quite familiar.

It is preferable to read regularly, a little every day and at a fixed hour if possible; this facilitates the brain's receptivity.¹

There are the very few who want to understand life, its purpose and its goal. For them, Sri Aurobindo's books are the best reading of all.²

By carefully reading what Sri Aurobindo has written on the subject, develop a clear conception of what human perfection must be.

By closely observing your own character, become aware of what needs to be transformed in order to achieve the ideal condition. Then set to work sincerely, observing your inner as well as your outer movements. And each time you discover something that contradicts the ideal you have set for yourself, make an effort to correct it.³

The Mother

Ref: 1.CWM 17:231, 2. Ibid., p.359, 3. Ibid., p.39

Reading also can be made helpful.¹

You can remember at the beginning and offer your reading to the Divine and at the end again. There is a state of consciousness in which only a part of it is reading or doing the work and behind there is the consciousness of the Divine always.²

Dedication to the Divine [is the right attitude in reading]. To read what will help the Yoga or what will be useful for the work or what will develop the capacities for the divine purpose.³

All should be done quietly from within―working, speaking, reading, writing as part of the real consciousness―not with the dispersed and unquiet movement of the ordinary consciousness.⁴

At the top of the head or above it is the right place for Yogic concentration in reading or thinking.⁵

It is quite natural to want to meditate while reading Yogic literature.⁶This [inclination to meditate while reading books on spiritual life] is quite a normal movement. In reading these books you get into touch with the Force behind them and it is this that pushes you into meditation and a corresponding experience.⁷

When the passion for reading or study seizes hold of the mind, it is like that; one wants to spend all the time doing it. It is a force that wants to satisfy itself―like other forces―and takes hold of the consciousness for its purpose. One has to utilise these forces without letting them take hold; for this there must be the central being always in control of the forces of Nature that come to it, deciding for itself the choice of what it shall accept, how use, how arrange their action. Otherwise each Force catches hold of some part of the personality (the student, the social man, the erotic man, the fighter) and uses and drives the being instead of being controlled and used by it.⁸

Reading good books can be of help in the early mental stage―they prepare the mind, put it in the right atmosphere―can even if one is very sensitive bring some glimpses of realisation on the mental plane. Afterwards the utility diminishes―you have to find the right knowledge and experience in yourself.⁹

What you can do is to read not for pastime but with the clear intention of furnishing your mind with knowledge.¹⁰

Yes, reading can be done for the improvement of the mental instrument as part of the sadhana.¹¹

That [inability to understand what is read] only means that you cannot separate yourself from your mental consciousness in its activity. Naturally, if you take your mental consciousness off the reading, you can't understand what is being read, for it is with the mental consciousness that one understands. You have not to make the mental consciousness separate from the reading, but yourself separate from the mental consciousness. You have to be the Witness watching it reading or writing or talking, just as you watch the body acting or moving.¹²

Sri Aurobindo

Reference: 1. CWSA 31:63, 2. Ibid., p.64, 3. Ibid., p.63, 4. Ibid., v29, p.254, 5. Ibid., p.311, 6. Ibid., p.318, 7. Ibid., v31, p.63, 8. Ibid., p.62, 9. Ibid., p.63, 10. Ibid., p.64, 11. Ibid., p.64, 12. Ibid., p.65

The Complete Works of Sri Aurobindo (CWSA)

The Complete Works of Sri Aurobindo (CWSA) in a uniform library edition consist of 37 volumes―36 volumes are available and volume no.37 is to be published (Ref: sriaurobindoashram.org). CWSA is published by Sri Aurobindo Ashram Publication Department, Puducherry, India.

All available (36 volumes) PDF files of the Complete Works of Sri Aurobindo (CWSA) can be downloaded from sriaurobindoashram.org website. Please check copyright with Sri Aurobindo Ashram Trust, Puducherry, India.

TITLES OF THE VOLUMES

Volume 1		Early Cultural Writings Early essays and other prose writings on literature, education, art and other cultural subjects. The volume includes The Harmony of Virtue, Bankim Chandra Chatterji, essays on Kalidasa and the Mahabharata, The National Value of Art, Conversations of the Dead, the "Chandernagore Manuscript", book reviews, "Epistles from Abroad", Bankim – Tilak – Dayananda, and Baroda speeches and reports. Most of these pieces were written between 1890 and 1910, a few between 1910 and 1920. (Much of this material was formerly published under the title The Harmony of Virtue.)
Volume 2		Collected Poems All short poems and narrative poems in English. This volume consists of sonnets, lyrical poems, narrative poems, and metrical experiments in various forms. All such poems published by Sri Aurobindo during his lifetime are included here, as well as poems found among his manuscripts after his passing. Sri Aurobindo worked on these poems over the course of seven decades. The first one was published in 1883 when he was ten; a number of poems were written or revised more than sixty years later, in the late 1940s.
Volumes 3-4		Collected Plays and Stories — I–II All original dramatic works and works of prose fiction. Volume 1: The Viziers of Bassora, Rodogune, and Perseus the Deliverer. Volume II: Eric and Vasavadutta; seven incomplete or fragmentary plays; and six stories, two of them complete.
Volume 5		Translations All translations from Sanskrit, Bengali, Tamil, Greek and Latin into English, with the exception of translations of Vedic and Upanishadic literature. The volume includes translations from Sanskrit of parts of the Ramayana and the Mahabharata and works of Kalidasa and Bhartrihari; translations from Bengali of Vaishnava devotional poetry and works of Bankim Chandra Chatterji, Chittaranjan Das and others; translations from Tamil of poems of Andal, Nammalwar, Kulesekhara Alwar and Tiruvalluvar; and translations from Greek and Latin. Sri Aurobindo made most of these translations while living in Baroda and Bengal; some were done later in Pondicherry.
Volumes 6-7		Bande Mataram — I–II All surviving political writings and speeches from 1890 to 1908. The two volumes consist primarily of 353 articles originally published in the nationalist newspaper Bande Mataram between August 1906 and May 1908. Also included are political articles written by Sri Aurobindo before the start of Bande Mataram, speeches delivered by him between 1907 and 1908, articles from his manuscripts of that period that were not published in his lifetime, and an interview of 1908.
Volume 8		Karmayogin All surviving political writings and speeches of 1909 and 1910. This volume consists primarily of articles originally published in the nationalist newspaper Karmayogin between June 1909 and February 1910. It also includes speeches delivered by Sri Aurobindo in 1909.
Volume 9		Writings in Bengali and Sanskrit All writings in Bengali and Sanskrit. Most of the pieces in Bengali were written by Sri Aurobindo in 1909 and 1910 for Dharma, a Calcutta weekly he edited at that time; the material consists chiefly of brief political, social and cultural works. His reminiscences of detention in Alipore Jail for one year ("Tales of Prison Life") are also included. There is also some correspondence with Bengali disciples living in his ashram. The Sanskrit works deal largely with philosophical and cultural themes. (This volume will be available both in the original languages and in a separate volume of English translations.)
Volumes 10-11		The Record of Yoga — I–II Sri Aurobindo's diary of his yogic practice between 1909 and 1927. This two-volume record of sadhana contains fairly regular entries between 1912 and 1920 and a few entries in 1909, 1911 and 1927. It also contains related materials Sri Aurobindo wrote about his practice of yoga during this period, including descriptions of the seven "chatusthayas" (groups of four elements), which are the basis of the yoga of the Record.
Volume 12		Essays Divine and Human Short prose pieces written between 1910 and 1950, but not published during Sri Aurobindo's lifetime. The material is arranged in four parts: (1) "Essays Divine and Human", complete essays on yoga and related subjects, (2) "From Man to Superman: Notes and Fragments on Philosophy, Psychology and Yoga"; (3) "Notes and Fragments on Various Subjects", and (4) Thoughts and Aphorisms. (Some of this material was formally published under the title The Hour of God and Other Writings)
Volume 13		Essays in Philosophy and Yoga Short works in prose written between 1909 and 1950 and published during Sri Aurobindo's lifetime. Most of these short works are concerned with aspects of spiritual philosopy, yoga, and related subjects. The material includes: (1) essays from the Karmayogin, (2) The Yoga and Its Objects, (3) writings from the Arya, such as On Ideals and Progress, The Superman, Evolution, Thoughts and Glimpses, The Problem of Rebirth, and (4) The Supramental Manifestation upon Earth. (Most of these works were formerly published together under the title The Supramental Manifestation upon Earth and Other Writings.)
Volume 14		Vedic and Philological Studies Writings on the Veda and philology, and translations of Vedic hymns to gods other than Agni not published during Sri Aurobindo's lifetime. The material includes (1) drafts for The Secret of the Veda, (2) translations (simple translations and analytical and discursive ones) of hymns to gods other than Agni, (3) notes on the Veda, (4) essays and notes on philology, and (5) some texts that Sri Aurobindo called "Writings in Different Languages". Most of this material was written between 1912 and 1914 and is published here for the first time in a book.
Volume 15		The Secret of the Veda Essays on the Rig Veda and its mystic symbolism, with translations of selected hymns. These writings on and translations of the Rig Veda were published in the monthly review Arya between 1914 and 1920. Most of them appeared there under three headings: The Secret of the Veda, "Selected Hymns" and "Hymns of the Atris". Other translations that did not appear under any of these headings make up the final part of the volume.
Volume 16		Hymns to the Mystic Fire All translations of Vedic hymns to Agni; and related writings. The material includes all the contents of Hymns to the Mystic Fire(translations of hymns to Agni from the Rig Veda, with a Foreword by Sri Aurobindo) as well as translations of many other hymns to Agni, some of which are published here for the first time.
Volume 17		Upanishads-I : Isha Upanishad Translations of and commentaries on the Isha Upanishad. The volume is divided into two parts: (1) Sri Aurobindo's final translation and analysis of the Isha Upanishad. This small work contains his definitive interpretation of the Upanishad. It is the only writing in this volume published during his lifetime; (2) ten incomplete commentaries on the Isha. Ranging from a few pages to more than a hundred, these commentaries show the development of his interpretation of this Upanishad from around 1900 to the middle of 1914.
Volume 18		Upanishads-II : Kena and Other Upanishads Translations of and commentaries on Upanishads other than the Isha Upanishad. The volume is divided into two parts: (1) translations of and commentaries on the Kena, Katha and Mundaka Upanishads and some "Readings in the Taittiriya Upanishad"; (2) early translations of the Prashna, Mandukya, Aitareya and Taittariya Upanishads; incomplete translations of and commentaries on other Upanishads and Vedantic texts; and incomplete and fragmentary writings on the Upanishads and Vedanta in general. The writings in the first part were published by Sir Aurobindo during his lifetime; those in the second part were transcribed from his manuscripts after his passing.
Volume 19		Essays on the Gita Essays on the philosophy and method of self-discipline presented in the Bhagavad Gita. These essays were first published in the monthly review Arya between 1916 and 1920 and revised in the 1920s by Sri Aurobindo for publication as a book.
Volume 20		The Renaissance in India with A Defence of Indian Culture Essays on the value of Indian civilisation and culture. This volume consists of three series of essays and one single essay: (1) "The Renaissance in India", (2) "Indian Culture and External Influence", (3) "Is India Civilised?" and (4) "Defence of Indian Culture". They were first published in the monthly review Arya between 1918 and 1921. In 1953, they first appeared in a book under the title The Foundations of Indian Culture.
Volumes 21-22		The Life Divine — I–II Sri Aurobindo's principal work of philosophy. In this book, Sri Aurobindo presents a theory of spiritual evolution and suggests that the present crisis of humanity will lead to a spiritual transformation of the human being and the advent of a divine life upon earth. The material first appeared as a series of essays published in the monthly review Arya between 1914 and 1919. They were revised by Sri Aurobindo in 1939 and 1940 for publication as a book.
Volumes 23-24		The Synthesis of Yoga — I–II Sri Aurobindo's principal work on yoga. In this book Sri Aurobindo examines the traditional systems of yoga and provides an explanation of certain components of his own system of integral yoga. There is an Introduction, "The Conditions of the Synthesis", and four parts: "The Yoga of Divine Works", "The Yoga of Integral Knowledge", "The Yoga of Divine Love" and "The Yoga of Self-Perfection". The material was first published serially in the monthly review Arya between 1914 and 1921; the introduction and first two parts were later revised by Sri Aurobindo for publication.
Volume 25		The Human Cycle — The Ideal of Human Unity — War and Self-Determination Three works of social and political philosophy. In The Human Cycle, Sri Aurobindo traces the evolution of human society and suggests where it is headed. In The Ideal of Human Unity, he examines the possibility of the unification of the human race. In War and Self-Determination, he discusses the sovereignty of nations in the aftermath of the First World War. These works were first serialised in the monthly review Arya between 1915 and 1920; later Sri Aurobindo revised them for publication.
Volume 26		The Future Poetry with On Quantitative Metre Sri Aurobindo's principal work of literary criticism. In this work, Sri Aurobindo outlines the history of English poetry and explores the possibility of a spiritual poetry in the future. It was first published in a series of essays between 1917 and 1920; parts were later revised for publication as a book.
Volume 27		Letters on Poetry and Art Letters on poetry and other forms of literature, on painting and the other arts, on beauty and aesthetics, and on their relation to the practice of yoga. Most of these letters were written by Sri Aurobindo in the 1930 and 1940s to members of his ashram. Around one sixth of them were published during his lifetime; the rest were transcribed from his manuscripts after his passing. Many are being published for the first time in this volume.
Volume 28		Letters on Yoga — I Four volumes of letters on the integral yoga, other spiritual paths, the problems of spiritual life, and related subjects. In these letters, Sri Aurobindo explains the foundations of his integral yoga, its fundamentals, its characteristic experiences and realisations, and its method of practice. He also discusses other spiritual paths and the difficulties of spiritual life. Related subjects include the place of human relationships in yoga; sadhana through meditation, work and devotion; reason, science, religion, morality, idealism and yoga; spiritual and occult knowledge; occult forces, beings and powers; destiny, karma, rebirth and survival. Sri Aurobindo wrote most of these letters in the 1930s to disciples living in his ashram. A considerable number of them are being published for the first time.
Volume 29		Letters on Yoga — II Four volumes of letters on the integral yoga, other spiritual paths, the problems of spiritual life, and related subjects. In these letters, Sri Aurobindo explains the foundations of his integral yoga, its fundamentals, its characteristic experiences and realisations, and its method of practice. He also discusses other spiritual paths and the difficulties of spiritual life. Related subjects include the place of human relationships in yoga; sadhana through meditation, work and devotion; reason, science, religion, morality, idealism and yoga; spiritual and occult knowledge; occult forces, beings and powers; destiny, karma, rebirth and survival. Sri Aurobindo wrote most of these letters in the 1930s to disciples living in his ashram. A considerable number of them are being published for the first time.
Volume 30		Letters on Yoga — III Four volumes of letters on the integral yoga, other spiritual paths, the problems of spiritual life, and related subjects. In these letters, Sri Aurobindo explains the foundations of his integral yoga, its fundamentals, its characteristic experiences and realisations, and its method of practice. He also discusses other spiritual paths and the difficulties of spiritual life. Related subjects include the place of human relationships in yoga; sadhana through meditation, work and devotion; reason, science, religion, morality, idealism and yoga; spiritual and occult knowledge; occult forces, beings and powers; destiny, karma, rebirth and survival. Sri Aurobindo wrote most of these letters in the 1930s to disciples living in his ashram. A considerable number of them are being published for the first time.
Volume 31		Letters on Yoga — IV Four volumes of letters on the integral yoga, other spiritual paths, the problems of spiritual life, and related subjects. In these letters, Sri Aurobindo explains the foundations of his integral yoga, its fundamentals, its characteristic experiences and realisations, and its method of practice. He also discusses other spiritual paths and the difficulties of spiritual life. Related subjects include the place of human relationships in yoga; sadhana through meditation, work and devotion; reason, science, religion, morality, idealism and yoga; spiritual and occult knowledge; occult forces, beings and powers; destiny, karma, rebirth and survival. Sri Aurobindo wrote most of these letters in the 1930s to disciples living in his ashram. A considerable number of them are being published for the first time.
Volume 32		The Mother with Letters on the Mother This volume opens with Sri Aurobindo's small book The Mother, in which he describes the nature, character and role of the Divine Mother. The rest of the volume consists primarily of letters on the Mother — on the Divine Mother and on Sri Aurobindo's collaborator, the Mother, who was the head of his ashram. He wrote most of these letters in the 1930s to disciples living in the ashram.
Volumes 33-34		Savitri — A Legend and a Symbol Sri Aurobindo's major poetic work, an epic in blank verse. In Savitri, a legend from the Mahabharata becomes the symbol of the human soul's spiritual destiny. In poetic language, Sri Aurobindo describes his vision of existence and explores the reason for ignorance, darkness, suffering and pain, the purpose of life on earth and the prospect of a glorious future for humanity. The writing of the epic extended over much of the later part of his life.
Volume 35		Letters on Himself and the Ashram Sri Aurobindo's letters between 1927 and 1950 on his life, his path of yoga and the practice of yoga in his ashram. In these letters, Sri Aurobindo writes about his life as a student in England, a teacher in Baroda, a political leader in Bengal, and a writer and yogi in Pondicherry. He also comments on his formative spiritual experiences and the development of his yoga. In the latter part of the volume, he discusses the life and discipline followed in his ashram and offers advice to the disciples living and working in it. Sri Aurobindo wrote these letters between 1927 and 1950 — most of them in the 1930s.
Volume 36		Autobiographical Notes and Other Writings of Historical Interest Sri Aurobindo's writings on himself (excluding the letters in volume 35, Letters on Himself and the Ashram) and other material of historical importance. The volume is divided into four parts: (1) brief life sketches, autobiographical notes, and corrections of statements made by others in biographies and other publications; (2) letters of historical interest to family, friends, political and professional associates, public figures, etc; also letters on yoga and spiritual life to disciples and others; (3) public statements and other communications on Indian and world events; (4) public statements and notices concerning Sri Aurobindo's ashram and yoga. Much of the material is being published here for the first time in a book.
Volume 37		Reference Volume (TO BE PUBLISHED) Index, glossary, editorial notes, supplementary texts. This volume will include a complete index to the Complete Works, a glossary of Sanskrit and other Indian terms, a chronology of Sri Aurobindo's life, a bibliography of his works, a note on editorial method, a list of emendations and errata, and supplementary texts not included in the main works.
		Glossary to the Record of Yoga (TO BE PUBLISHED) A glossary to and structural outline of the Record of Yoga (volumes 10 and 11). This unnumbered volume — an appendix to Record of Yoga — will contain an alphabetical index of Sanskrit words and a structural outline of the seven-limbed yoga that Sri Aurobindo practised between 1912 and 1927. (A temporary glossary is available on this website under the heading "Research".)

The Collected Works of The Mother (CWM)

The Collected Works of The Mother (CWM) in a uniform library edition of 17 volumes is published by Sri Aurobindo Ashram Publication Department, Puducherry, India.

The 17-volume Collected Works consists of nine volumes of talks and eight volumes of writings (prayers, reflections, essays, sayings, letters and personal notes). Most of the material was written or spoken in French and appear here in translation. The text on the Sri Aurobindo Ashram website is that of the second edition; it is textually the same as the first edition (excepting a few minor corrections), but differs in page numbering.

Online reading of the Collected Works of the Mother (CWM) is available on the website sriaurobindoashram.org.

CONTENTS OF THE COLLECTED WORKS

Volume 1		Prayers And Meditations 313 prayers and meditations, most of them written between 1912 and 1917. Selected by the Mother from her diaries, these prayers are a record of her spiritual experiences at that time.
Volume 2		Words of Long Ago Writings and talks from 1893 to 1920. The volume includes early essays, talks to seekers in Paris, essays written in Japan, and Tales of All Times, some stories for children.
Volume 3		Questions and Answers 1929–1931 Conversations about Yoga and life. The Mother answered questions raised by disciples in 1929 and 1930–1931. The volume also includes her commentaries on The Dhammapada, with a translation of that text.
Volume 4		Questions and Answers 1950–1951 Talks by the Mother including comments on her essays on education, on her Questions and Answers 1929, and on Sri Aurobindo's The Mother.
Volume 5		Questions and Answers 1953 Talks by the Mother including comments on her Questions and Answers 1929.
Volume 6		Questions and Answers 1954 Talks by the Mother including comments on her essays on education and on three short works of Sri Aurobindo: Elements of Yoga, The Mother and Bases of Yoga.
Volume 7		Questions and Answers 1955 Talks by the Mother including comments on Sri Aurobindo's Bases of Yoga, a chapter from The Human Cycle, two chapters from The Synthesis of Yoga, and the Mother's play, The Great Secret.
Volume 8		Questions and Answers 1956 Talks by the Mother including comments on Sri Aurobindo's Synthesis of Yoga(Part One) and his Thoughts and Glimpses.
Volume 9		Questions and Answers 1957–1958 Talks by the Mother including comments on Sri Aurobindo's Thoughts and Glimpses, The Supramental Manifestation upon Earth and the last six chapters of The Life Divine.
Volume 10		On Thoughts and Aphorisms Commentaries on Sri Aurobindo's Thoughts and Aphorisms, with the text.
Volume 11		Notes on the Way Conversations with a disciple between 1964 and 1973 about the Mother's "sadhana of the body" and the experiences she was undergoing towards the end of her life.
Volume 12		On Education Essays on education and self-development; correspondence and conversations with students and teachers of the Ashram school and captains; and three plays: Towards the Future, The Great Secret and The Ascent to Truth.
Volume 13		Words of the Mother Short written statements on Sri Aurobindo, herself, the Sri Aurobindo Ashram, Auroville, India and other nations.
Volume 14		Words of the Mother Short written statements on Yoga and life, dealing with the individual's relationship with the Divine, the path of Yoga, qualities needed in Yoga, difficulties of spiritual life, and human relationships and work.
Volume 15		&p align="justify">Words of the Mother Short written statements on Yoga and life: the Divine and the universe, adverse forces, religion, occultism, morality, war, wealth, government, transformation, illness and health, messages, prayers and talks.
Volume 16		Some Answers from the Mother Correspondence with fourteen persons—disciples living in the Ashram and students of the Ashram school. The Mother answered questions about life and Yoga.
Volume 17		More Answers from the Mother Correspondence with six persons—disciples living in the Ashram and students of the Ashram school. The Mother answered questions about life and Yoga.