Sri Aurobindo Seer-Poet and Sonneteer

This paper looks into the multifaceted personality of Sri Aurobindo, some of his early experiences and his deep search into the realms of spirituality. An outstanding critic, his magnum opus ‘The Life Divine’ is one of the greatest works of modern times. However, his poetic out pourings are the focus of attention here. Sri Aurobindo felt that the poetic form could suggest inner truths that could not be formulated in discursive prose. So he composed the epic poem ‘Savitri‘. While Sri Aurobindo was revising ‘Savitri’ during the 1930’s and 1940’s, he also wrote a number of short, mystical poems. During this time, he composed a series of 73 sonnets. The most remarkable are the first person accounts of spiritual experiences of Sri Aurobindo. The paper looks into such mystical experiences that are a revelation in themselves, as they explore the spiritual territories in which Sri Aurobindo was marching on progressively towards an ultimate Gnostic transformation. Hisyogic pursuits indicate the intense aspiration of body, mind and soul for Divine Grace in an absolute self·surrender to the Great Mother. This thought is basic to ‘Savitri‘ and, in a microcosm; some of the sonnets under study here reflect the same spirit's divinity.