Integral Yoga at Work

Both Sri Aurobindo and The Mother have written extensively about the Integral Yoga. Some of this has been for general guidance; some has been guidance for particular individuals in particular situations. However, often their emphasis has been upon delineating basic principles rather than on explaining how to live them in ‘real’ situations.

Now Larry Seidlitz has written a book, Integral Yoga at Work, that aims, in his words, “to see how these principles and guidelines are being actually lived out by individuals in the present day communities of the Sri Aurobindo Ashram and Auroville”.

The book begins with a brief but concise explanation of the basic principles of the Integral Yoga. It then examines how individuals in Auroville and the Ashram attempt to live and express them in management, education, health care and the arts.

It then draws out the essence of the integral approach in these different areas as understood by the practitioners. For education, it means to “nurture in oneself and in others an identification with the soul or divinity within and its expression in the outer life”. For management it is “identifying with the soul of the organization and manifesting it in one’s activities, which as a manager, includes leading the other members to identify with it more closely and to express it outwardly in their activities”. For integral health care, the integral approach is “to be inwardly connected with the Divine and become a subtle and responsive intermediary of its healing Force”. For the arts, “to become open to the creative inspiration – which, in the best art, comes either from the soul within or from the higher spiritual consciousness above the mind – and to express it outwardly through one’s trained and increasingly responsive instruments of mind, life, and body in whichever modality of art one is working.”

Perhaps the most interesting section is the one dealing with management as this is an area Sri Aurobindo and The Mother have not dealt with so extensively. Here, Larry draws upon an excellent paper by Gary Jacobs, Consciousness Approach to Business Management, that examines in detail how various aspects of business management – money, motivation, responsibility, resources etc. – can be illuminated and enhanced by the principles of the Integral Yoga.

This often touches upon occult laws. For example, regarding the funding of a business: “It can be seen that when one is left with a few more dollars and further finance is not forthcoming, the incoming money flow awaits the spending of the last cent. If money has been improperly expended on a certain item and efforts are taken to reverse the previous act, before long further sources of funding are revealed.”

Integral Yoga at Work is an important book as it aims to fill the gap between the general enunciation of the principles of Integral Yoga and their actual application in the world. It doesn’t always succeed. There is still a tendency of the people quoted to fall back upon generalisations about how they work, rather than giving detailed explanations of how they apply the Integral Yoga in very specific situations. (I’m still waiting for someone to write something like Integral Yoga and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance).

Yet Larry has opened a door upon a very fecund area of research. I hope he continues his very interesting explorations in this field.

Integral Yoga at Work: a Study of Practitioners’ Experiences Working in Four Professional Fields. Published by the Indian Psychology Institute, 2016. Price in India, Rs 250. Available from SABDA and, in the U.S., from Auromere.com and Matagiri.