Speeches from Auroville

The late Georges Van Vrekhem was a devotee of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother (Mirra Alfassa), two spiritual teachers based in Pondicherry in India. “The New Spirituality” is a collection of speeches and interviews in which Vrekhem expounds on various Aurobindonian themes. It's a kind of sequel to “Preparing for the Miraculous”, a similar book. Both books cover essentially the same ground. The speeches were delivered at Auroville, the intentional community of Aurobindo's followers outside Pondicherry.

Vrekhem argues that Aurobindo and the Mother were twin avatars who incarnated on Earth in order to divinize matter and hence push human evolution forward, towards the “supermind”. The author explains certain aspects of Aurobindo's worldview, including cosmic evolution, the Great Chain of Being and the cosmic fall of Spirit into the “inconscient”. World War II plays a central role in Vrekhem's scenario, since he believes that evil forces known as Asuras directed Hitler in a grand attempt to stop human evolution. One article is a tribute to Winston Churchill, who Vrekhem believes was guided by a higher force.

The most extreme aspects of Aurobindo's and the Mother's worldview aren't mentioned, however. For those who want more sensational stuff, I recommend “Beyond the Human Species” by the same author. I admit that I didn't find “The New Spirituality” particularly interesting.