Until
now, most biographical information about Aurobindo was only available in the
writings of devotees, and had an understandably devotional, laudatory slant
regarding the details of Aurobindo’s life. Scholarship on Aurobindo has lacked
a biography of Aurobindo thoroughly grounded in primary sources and written
from the perspective of an outsider, or at least by a person who appreciates
the conventions of sound historical writing. Peter Heehs has filled that gap
with the present volume. It will undoubtedly serve for many years to come as
the standard biography of this great Indian figure. . . . If you read only one
book about Aurobindo, again, this volume would get my vote. It stands in a
class all its own. There is simply no other book about Aurobindo available that
does all that Heehs’s book does.
- W. Michael Ashcraft in Nova Religio more>>
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Just how do you write a
biography of an Aurobindo? Peter Heehs faces the challenge faced by all
biographers when writing the life-stories of Indian holy men or of Indian
politicians turned saints, both invariably avatars to their disciples. Can one
maintain the criterion for the writing of history laid down by the
Enlightenment? . . . Peter Heehs is ideally equipped to be Aurobindo’s
biographer. . . . It is not as if he has set out to demythologise Aurobindo but
he does seek to write a life as firmly based on evidence as he can. . . . Heehs
has endeavoured to produce an objective account of Aurobindo and it is a
formidable piece of scholarship.
- Antony Copley in Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society more>>
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Historian Peter Heehs has done the world a great service with the publication this year of a book that may finally make Sri Aurobindo and his work accessible to a broader audience. Appropriately titled The Lives of Sri Aurobindo, this meticulously researched and beautifully written scholarly biography follows its subject through five periods and personas—Son, Scholar, Revolutionary, Yogi and Philosopher, and Guide. While biographies of Aurobindo have been published before, including a short one by Heehs himself, none has ever drawn on such a vast resource of original letters, diaries, and other primary sources.
- Ellen Daly in EnlightenNext more>>
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Despite his massive political and spiritual influence, the twentieth century Indian revolutionary turned mystic Sri Aurobindo Ghose has been curiously neglected in Western scholarship. Heehs ... corrects this by producing what is certain to become Aurobindo’s definitive biography....The result is a clear and detailed picture of a fascinating figure whose continuing religious relevance can be seen in the contemporary popularity of many of his pioneering East-West teachings: the evolution of consciousness, an integral approach to spiritual liberation and a socially engaged this-worldly mysticism. Particularly recommended for those interested in the religious, cultural and political landscape of twentieth-century India.
- Ann Gleig in Religious Studies Review more>>
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With
this book, Peter Heehs has done the job of examining Aurobindo in his entirety
with remarkable success, and has aptly titled his work The
Lives of Sri Aurobindo. .
. . Heehs’ volume is 500 pages long but highly readable, meticulous and
comprehensive. . . . I recommend it as an important reading for everyone
interested in the remarkable life of Aurobindo who made a difference to
humanity at large.
- Jayant Bapat in South Asia more>>
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With this intense and meticulously researched work, our author [has] effected a timely intervention, asserting how objective historical assessment may be justly separated from commonly accepted perceptions.... Peter Heehs makes a commendable effort at rescuing a leading thinker of modern times from uncharitable critics.... Heehs's detailed and fulsome treatment also allows him to unravel hitherto little-known facts about his subject.... Personally speaking, I have not found a more lucid description of complex constructs like the 'supermind'.
- Amiya P. Sen in The Book Review more>>