Date: June 17, 2025
Venue: Online
As part of the week-long celebration of International Yoga Day 2025, organised by AuroYajna, Sri Aurobindo Society, Dr. Beloo Mehra, Director, BhāratShakti, was invited to deliver two talks on June 16 and 17. The theme of the celebration was – Yoga and Awakening: Bharat’s Gift to the World.
On June 16, 2025, Dr. Mehra had taken up the topic – Harmony Within and Without. On June 17, building upon some of the points brought up on the previous day, Dr. Mehra spoke on the topic – Sadhana of India.
Dr. Mehra began with a quote from Bhawani Mandir, where Sri Aurobindo clearly spells out the work India must do for the future of humanity; which is why the eternal spirit of India must be reborn in new forms. He writes:
“India cannot perish, our race cannot become extinct, because among all the divisions of mankind it is to India that is reserved the highest and the most splendid destiny, the most essential to the future of the human race. It is she who must send forth from herself the future religion of the entire world, the Eternal religion which is to harmonise all religion, science and philosophies and make mankind one soul.
“In the sphere of morality, likewise, it is her mission to purge barbarism (mlecchahood) out of humanity and to aryanise the world. In order to do this, she must first re-aryanise herself. [. . .]”
Building upon this, Dr. Mehra focused her talk on exploring the meaning of ‘aryanising’ oneself, in the light of Sri Aurobindo’s insights on human nature and character development, as well as the work that India must do for the future of India. She highlighted that such a responsibility requires intense sadhana. It is no mere intellectual or mental work, but it requires intense tapasya and seeking of deeper wisdom and shakti, all of which is the yoga that Indians and India as a collective must go through. Emphasising that if India is to be the spiritual leader of the world, she must first procure for herself the Shakti that will awaken in her the true seeking of truth, light, liberty and will.
Dr. Mehra also highlighted that the real work of such a national regeneration is not the field of politics but rather the field education. Pointing out the nature of education that is essential as conscious means for inner development of the individual, she added that the soul-based free progress approach to education is essential. In this regard, she highlighted that true inner development can only happen in the context of freedom, but what is important to understand is that the true freedom is from the enslavement of one’s physical-vital-mental instincts and impulses. Social and political freedom also make sense only when there is this true inner freedom, she emphasized.
Dr. Mehra also spoke about the significance of four-fold nature of tapasya that India must go through, with the help of some relevant examples. She also briefly discussed the need to decolonize our mental structures and understandings before we advocate for realigning our institutions and structures as part of national regeneration. Some insights from Sri Aurobindo and the Mother on the integration of love for one’s motherland with one’s aspiration and effort as a sadhak on the path Integral Yoga were also briefly discussed.