INTEGRAL YOGA This Yoga aims for the perfection of the world through self-perfection and does not seek a personal salvation or to transform the individual ego only. Its goal is to change the collective ego, the world itself, to establish the realm of the Divine Life on earth. Sources The teaching of Sri Aurobindo starts from that of the ancient sages of India that behind the appearances of the universe there is the Reality of a Being and Consciousness, a Self of all things, one and eternal. All beings are united in that One Self and Spirit but divided by a certain separativity of consciousness, an ignorance of their true Self and Reality in the mind, life and body. It is possible by a certain psychological discipline to remove this veil of separative consciousness and become aware of the true Self, the Divinity within us and all. New vision As Sri Aurobindo said, his Yoga starts where other Yogas end, because it goes beyond individual salvation, the so called illumination, and aims to help the descent of the highest consciousness down to earth, effecting human unity and the divinisation of man. In Sri Aurobindo´s vision, man is not the last step in evolution. As the stone evolved into plant, the plant into animal, the animal into man, a new species will appear after man with a divine nature, with divine qualities, the supramental being. Why Integral? Life is evolution of consciousness and what is needed is the integral transformation of all parts of the being and of the whole earth: In matter shall be lit the Spirit´s glow. From a lesser to a greater, from a lower to a higher, from a surface to a deeper consciousness. Rather than advocating one of the classical paths of yoga, it takes up the essence of the older Yoga traditions and integrates them into the Integral Yoga (i.e. the Yoga of Works (Karma Yoga), the Yoga of Knowledge (Jnana Yoga), the Yoga of Love (Bhakti Yoga), etc.). It is no longer necessary to have an isolated and ascetic life in order to progress, as was common in ancient times. Now, All Life is Yoga, integrated into the ordinary life. On the way Each one follows his own path and has his own experiences… The process of self-discipline (sadhana) is based on a sincere aspiration, a total surrender to the Divine and a rejection of all that is not useful for this aim. WHAT TO BRING You only need to bring your personal items. Bring comfortable clothes according to the season and shoes easy to take off. At the ashram you can buy towel, soap, toilet paper, etc. A torch is also recommended. If you are taking special medicines we advise you to bring them with you since the names and qualities might be different from those of the Indian market. It is also advisable that ladies follow the local tradition and bring clothes that cover legs and shoulders, even for bathing in the River Ganges to avoid the risk of being harassed. This river is considered a temple; it is not culturally acceptable to use shorts or western style bathing suits.