Aurobindo was born on August 15,, 1872 at Calcutta in rich aristocratic family. His father was Dr. Krishnadhan Ghose, an anglicized medical officer. His mother was Swarnalatha Devi. The family was well-known throughout Bengal.
Aurobindo along with his two brothers was sent to Darjeeling to pursue Westernized education. Aurobindo went to England to qualify for I.C.S. He returned to India without completing the courses, even though he passed the open test. On return from England he joined service in the State of Baroda, in the settlement department. Later he joined as Professor of English in Baroda College.
He was a voracious reader of books even from his boyhood. He was specially interested in subjects like History and Philosophy. He was a good orator and many people thronged to listen to him.
He started his political career while working at Baroda. Later he expanded his activities to Maharashtra, Gujarat and other states in India including his home state, Bengal. He was a revolutionary with deep thoughts. He was in some way or other connected with many Indian extremists to drive the British rules. He married at the age of 29 but his married life was not quite a happy one.
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On account of his anti-British Government activities he could not live in British India safely. So he sifted his residence to Pondicherry, which was then under French rule. Aurobindo was a mystic. He was great liking for Yoga and practiced it sincerely. He was religious and also had a scientific temper. He was of the opinion that there was no place for superstition in religion. He pursued his quest in this direction and developed his philosophy.
After settling in Pondicherry he started an Ashram and also a small school to experiment his ideas. He got a realization that ‘All is He’, meaning that everything is God and that changed his life. He developed the principle of universal Brotherhood and put it in practice by starting an International school at Pondicherry and also an international Residential Complex named Aurovile.
He had written a number of books and his lectures are also compiled into various volumes. On education he had some clear-cut ideas. He said (1) student should be totally free to learn (2) a school should have a healthy atmosphere (3) Student should be creative and (4) Spiritual education along with physical education is necessary. Teacher would set the tasks. The students are to explore the answers and find them out. Aurobindo believed in evolutionary process of change and he felt if men could evolve from an ape, he is sure to evolve into a superman in the years to come.
In the later years of his life Aurobindo spent more time on spiritual quests than on politics. He was a real a patriot and fighter for India’s freedom in his earlier years. Aurobindo left his mortal frame on December 5, 1950 leaving his philosophy behind. He wrote (1) Life divine (2) Essays on the Gita (3) Basis of Yoga (4) Love and Death, a attracts people from all corners of the world even today.