Medhananda: Difference between revisions
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'''Medhananda''' (1908 - 1994) joined the Sri Aurobindo Ashram in 1952, where he was put in charge of the Library. For many years he taught History of Religions at the Sri Aurobindo International Centre of Education (SAICE), a position he was well-qualified for by his life-long interest in and study of the spiritual cultures of different ages and parts of the world. In 1965 he became editor of the quarterly journal [[=1|=1 ("Equals One")]].<ref>"About the authors Medhananda and Yvonne Artaud", http://www.medhananda.com/</ref> | '''Medhananda''' (1908 - 1994) joined the Sri Aurobindo Ashram in 1952, where he was put in charge of the Library. For many years he taught History of Religions at the Sri Aurobindo International Centre of Education (SAICE), a position he was well-qualified for by his life-long interest in and study of the spiritual cultures of different ages and parts of the world. In 1965 he became editor of the quarterly journal [[=1|=1 ("Equals One")]].<ref>"About the authors Medhananda and Yvonne Artaud", http://www.medhananda.com/</ref> | ||
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Revision as of 19:24, 7 April 2015
Medhananda (1908 - 1994) joined the Sri Aurobindo Ashram in 1952, where he was put in charge of the Library. For many years he taught History of Religions at the Sri Aurobindo International Centre of Education (SAICE), a position he was well-qualified for by his life-long interest in and study of the spiritual cultures of different ages and parts of the world. In 1965 he became editor of the quarterly journal =1 ("Equals One").[1]
Early History
Medhanada was born in Pforzheim, Germany. He learnt Latin and Greek and became fluent in English and French. Despite his early interest in ancient cultures and their symbols and spirituality he followed the wishes of his father and studied law at Munich, Heidelberg, and Paris. During this time he was privileged to study Chinese under the distinguished scholar Richard Wilhelm, translator of the Chinese I Ching, Tao Te Ching and many other ancient texts.
In 1934, although already launched on a promising legal career, he left Germany with his French wife to escape the rise of Nazism. They went to Tahiti in French Polynesia, settled on its sister island Moorea where they could buy 200 hectares of virgin forest, build a small house and establish themselves as farmers, cultivating vanilla and coffee. Their three children grew up in that paradise. In the radiant silence of that forest, Medhananda started to explore the levels of consciousness accessible to his self-awareness. He also had plenty of opportunity to explore the pre-Christian culture, the age-old gnosis of Polynesia. During the second world war he was interned near Tahiti as an enemy alien.
After his release in 1946 he came across the writings of Sri Aurobindo.[2]
Collaboration with Yvonne Artaud
In 1978 Medhananda founded together with Yvonne Artaud the Identity Research Institute, a non-profit foundation for psychological research. It was from about 1970 onwards, that he started an in-depth exploration of the symbology of the hieroglyphs and pictorial imagery of ancient Egypt, using the psychological approach that Sri Aurobindo had initiated for the interpretation of the Vedas.[3]
References
- ↑ "About the authors Medhananda and Yvonne Artaud", http://www.medhananda.com/
- ↑ "About the authors Medhananda and Yvonne Artaud", http://www.medhananda.com/
- ↑ "About the authors Medhananda and Yvonne Artaud", http://www.medhananda.com/
