Core principles

Integral Yoga is a transformative spiritual path created by Indian yogi and philosopher Sri Aurobindo and French occultist and spiritual guide Mirra Alfassa (known as the Mother). It is also referred to as Supramental Yoga and unlike main stream yoga systems that might focus on achieving liberation by rejecting the world, Integral Yoga aims to transform all aspects of human existence—physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual—to manifest a divine life on Earth. Some core principles of Integral Yoga are the following:

• Embracing life: Instead of renouncing the world, Integral Yoga seeks to divinize it. It views earthly existence as a key part of spiritual evolution, not an obstacle to it.

• The Supermind: Sri Aurobindo posited that humanity is a transitional species and that the next stage of evolution involves the descent of a higher consciousness, which he called the Supermind, into human consciousness. This would lead to the emergence of a "supramental race".

• Involution and Evolution: The philosophy is based on the idea that the Divine Spirit, or Satchitananda, involutes (descends) into the unconsciousness of matter. Evolution is the reverse process, where Spirit gradually re-emerges through matter, life, and mind toward a complete manifestation of divinity.

• Psychic and Spiritual Transformation: The yoga involves a "Triple Transformation" of consciousness.

  • Psychic transformation: An inner movement to discover the psychic being, or soul, which is the evolving divine principle within each individual.

  • Spiritual transformation: The release into higher levels of consciousness above the ordinary mind, such as the Higher Mind, Illumined Mind, and Overmind.

  • Supramental transformation: The ultimate goal, involving the descent of the Supermind to completely divinize the entire being—mind, life, and body. 

• The Synthesis of Yoga: In Sri Aurobindo's Integral Yoga, the three classical paths of works (Karma Yoga), wisdom (Jnana Yoga), and devotion (Bhakti Yoga) are not practiced separately but are synthesized into a single, comprehensive method for the divine transformation of human life. The goal is to perfect all parts of the being by using each path in an integrated manner.