Integral Spirituality by Ken Wilber

Sri Aurobindo had coined the word Integral Spirituality, I thought that noone really took notice, neither the world’s philosophers nor the world’s psychologists. I could not understand what Sri Aurobindo said, couched as it was in very demanding English. I got glimpses of what he propounded through the Mother’s writings. some of it made sense, as it confirmed my belief in the deep connection between psychology and Eastern/Indian philosophy. So it was very rewarding to find that Ken wilber has taken the lead from Sri Aurobindo and has proposed a new theory that blends psychology and spirituality, both the eastern and western thoughts. Reading about his theory is difficult, as he sprinkles his writings with generous references to studies and texts written by researchers in psychology and spiritual teachings; but he has obviously taken a lot of pains to explain the integrality of things through the waves, structures, lines concept. I had often wondered how someone can be so deeply spiritual and yet involve himself in sexual misdemeanours or how someone could be illiterate and unexposed to the world and its ways but yet be wise about human nature and be compassionate with people. Wilber’s theory seems to answer why. his theory is expounded in http://wilber.shambhala.com/html/books/psych_model/psych_model1.cfm/

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Integral Spirituality – a new find

Been reading about Integral Spirituality being propagated by the Philosopher Ken Wilber www.integralinstitute.org and found it interesting in the way Wilber attempts to bridge the eastern and the western spiritual traditions, metaphysics, science, religion, et al. Aurobindo started it first and has writen a lot about Integral philosophy. It was strange how I stumbled upon the California Institute of Integral Studies www.ciis.edu  and found that it was started by Haridas, a disciple of Aurobindo. Seems that Wilber was associated deeply with the institute intially although ho no longer is. fortunately, the ISB www.isb.edu library obliged me in getting the magazine ‘What is enlightenment’ www.wie.org .  This magazine was fascinating, it had a number of articles and an interview with Wilber by the editor Andrew Cohen. it deals with today’s or educated people’s quest for spirituality. 

hmm, i have been deeply impressed by Alan Watts’s writing, found in his writings an explanation of eastern philosphy which the teachings of all the swamis i had heard did not give, he brought home indian philosophy and made it relevant. seems like he too had been deeply associated with the CIIS and led it for quite a while. my attraction to pondicheri added to all this makes me think that i am looking for this east west blend, perhaps explains the deep influence that chinmaya mission and geetha lectures have had as well as the ‘convent’ education and its western education styles. but then these are all words, words, and words. what am i looking for?

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