The sacred institution of Integral Education is missioned to bridge the gulf and sharp division between the two extreme ends of existence, the Matter and the Spirit which begins step by step obscurely and ignorantly, continues through diversity, exclusiveness and culminates in an immense educational movement through inalienable unity, constant luminous reconciliation and triumphant harmony. It recognises this mutable mechanical unintelligent bodily substance as the noble and fit material to inhabit the immutable and imperishable Spirit and the Soul; they are reconciled with each other either by objectively subjective method of critical analysis, organisation and observation applied to Life, Mind and Matter through knowledge by projection, confrontation and apprehension or by subjectively objective method of synthesis, truth discerning vision and illumination applied to Psychic, Spiritual and Supramental Self through Knowledge by identity, harmony and comprehension and arrives at the repose of the ultimate Oneness without denying the manifestation of the vivid multiplicity. Objectively Subjective method of Education proceeds separately from all multiple things to resultant unity and arrives at the knowledge of the Self and the Universe through the activation of the pure Reason, Intellect and Mind and Subjectively Objective method of Education proceeds from essential oneness to resultant multiplicity and arrives at the Knowledge of the Self and Universe through pacification of mind and the activation of Silence and Intuitive faculty of the triple Soul. Only by complete and catholic affirmation of both the method of Education known as Integral Education can all the multiform and apparently contradictory fact of existence be harmonised and Mind with its effort and the endeavour and the Soul with its spontaneity and the way of infinite enlargement will discover the true centre or the Central Truth, and Education will know its aim of objective and subjective self-fulfilment through apprehensive and comprehensive knowledge and integral human existence through infinite unity and serves the life with a serene and settled joy and light with rhythmically coherent Divine Shakti to support the growth of a diversified individuality.

              The first object of Integral Education is discovery of its true centre which should be neither achievements, nor fame, nor success, nor power, nor material opulence, nor morality, nor separative ego, nor attachment to mutable form. So the true centre of education must be always identified as the dynamic Soul, the Psychic being in the heart, the need of its growth and experience, its aspiration towards possession of pure power of light, love, joy, beauty and harmony and elimination of all imperfection. All that helps this Soul growth, Mental, Vital and Physical Education are identified as its accessory or a subsidiary helpful process; by the pressure of Soul force they are lifted out of their limitations and carried more swiftly and profoundly to their supreme light in knowledge, integral completeness and their detailed and yet undreamed potentialities. The second object of Integral Education is the discovery of its second centre or second Soul, which is not a high intellectual notion of truth and right, not idealism, not altruistic eagerness, not an ethical turn of mind, nor moral purity and austerity, not religiosity or an exalted emotional fervour, not even a compound of all these excellent things, not an emotional aspiration and fulfilment, not a regulation of conduct according to religious and ethical formula. It is the discovery of the Spiritual Self above the head, a vast static and silent Self, enters into contact with greater immutable Reality beyond and pervading the universe; it is also a turning, conversion and transformation of our whole being through a large dynamic descent of Light, Knowledge, Power, Bliss or other supernormal affirmative Energies into untransformed Nature. This Spiritual Self uncovers the passage to Cosmic Consciousness where the Matter is real to the Spirit and Spirit is real to the Matter and both find their true reconciliation. The third object of Integral Education is the discovery of its third centre or third Soul, the discovery of a Supramental Self, the limitless Consciousness in which the Individual, the Cosmic and the Transcendent live eternally in each other; it has come for the adventure of the Soul lapsing into Inconscience and emerging out of its darkness and this adventure proceeds to capture all other sheaths without disturbing the poise which is kept firm from summit of Consciousness to its base; the experiencing Consciousness must preserve a calm balance, supreme harmony and a high Spiritual positivism. The fourth aim of Education concentrated around a centre of Infinity must be all-inclusive perfection directed to resolve all the problems of existence including the ultimate, lasting and permanent solutions and utilise the Psychic, Spiritual and Supramental Education towards transformation of human collectivity and a journey towards the discovery of the source of Ananda from which this whole creation is originated. And the last aim of integral Education is the perfect self-expression of the Spirit in the material life of our terrestrial existence by purifying, perfecting and transforming the nether dark worlds through Subconscient and Inconscient Education or restoration of all-perfection of Sachchidananda Consciousness in the whole of humanity through activation of Subconscient and Inconscient Self.

The Main Formula of Integral Education:
              The literal meaning of Integral Education is the Concentration on the total Consciousness of the Eternal. Its main formula and its successive bifurcations are derived from the main formula of Integral Yoga. They are as follows-

1)         All Life is Education. Or ‘All Time of All Life is a continuous uninterrupted Education’ of which ‘this Time of this whole life’ is a very small fragment of integral Education.This whole external ordinary life is a very small part of vast inner living. This inner life is connected through a subtle link of union with our unnumbered past and future bodies and births, which is defined as All Life and the Timeless Spirit in us has thrown itself into All Life as the adventurer in Time to uncover self-knowledge and integral knowledge. Education is defined as the developmental urge discovered by the Mother-nature through many sided purposeful effort in Ignorance and spontaneous leap action by Shakti in Knowledge to arrive at apprehensive Knowledge, Prajnana and comprehensive Knowledge, Vijnana. It begins with limited separative exclusive awareness and ends with integral awareness of integral knowledge. True education means to purify, expand and perfect the constitution of subtle physical, subtle vital and subtle mental which constitute our inner life which is again veiled by outward appearance of phenomenal Education of training the surface mind, vital and body.

2)         All Education is a synthesis of all developmental methods discovered by the Mother-nature through age-long many-fold effort of Science, Arts, Religion, Ethics, Occultism, Spiritual thought and Spiritual experiences and lifts them out of their existing limitations. They draw all their new discoveries and inventions from the ‘secret Supermind’s huge store.’²⁷ The evolutionary endeavour of Nature has experimented on all lines and attempted every possible way in order to discover her primary education of enlarging the bound of surface knowledge, deeper and larger teachings of true inner education and the out bringing of the widest, the most powerful and the highest boundary of whole education which are combined as Integral Education.

3)         All methods of Education are the synthesis of dispensable and indispensable self-discipline. Education cannot confine itself to dispensable method of an outwardly acquired and learned knowledge of the existence or exclusively preoccupied with its immeasurable outlook on the world and uncovering the secrets of the material worlds, but an unveiling and revelation of an inward and upward self-unfolding and would awake to an indispensable awareness of Self’s vast in look, (1) a clear and complete knowledge of the multiple Selves and triple time, (2) a direct knowledge of others, surrounding world and extreme complexity of untransformed Nature, (3) a direct knowledge of hidden and mysterious dark forces of Nature and (4) a direct knowledge of the occult mechanism of mind, life and matter, which are beyond our present immediate attainment.

4)         The methods by which the largest time saving development in the shortest possible path can be pursued are identified as indispensable self-disciplines of Integral Education which are Psychic, Spiritual and Supramental Education, responsible for evolving the capacity in man to become the (1) master of himself or opening towards his multiple Selves, (2) master of the hierarchies of ascending and descending Consciousness, (3) master of the energies of Nature, (4) master of his instrumentation of mind, life and matter. These indispensable self-disciplines are subordinated by all other lines of developmental urge of Nature, identified as Psycho-physical discipline, which is further fragmented as Physical, Vital and Mental Education; its utmost mission is to educate the obscure consciousness emerged out of the dark prison of Matter, to overcome and control life and matter, to enlighten the dull inertia, blind instincts and vague perceptions till it shall be capable of opening towards higher Light. The last perfection of mental, vital and physical education can come by opening to something beyond which is key of his completeness. When the dispensable self-discipline of education learns consciously to become the subordinate of the indispensable self-discipline, then the essential and comprehensive truth of the Integral education is known and not at all ignored.  

5)         All the dispensable self-discipline or objectively subjective approach towards education is defined as development of higher or highest faculties through the formulation of lower mental methods of ‘educate thyself’ and its indispensability is felt till the higher methods or Soul’s methods of ‘know thyself’ are evolved and it asks indispensable presence and help of physical guide. Mind has the capacity to enter large effort to gain small result and even if with this struggle to limit the action of our capacities and even then uses with a much less sure rapidity, the intelligent will is treated as our first conceptive potentiality, main force of effectuation and the highest available faculty at our immediate disposal and to fully utilise the mental faculty of exclusive concentration for purification is identified as the best beginning and sure promise of integral emergence of an underlying truth which is an uncovering of higher faculties other than mind, acquisition of scientifically minute knowledge and scrupulous accuracy through long culture of intellect.

6)         The need of Integral Education is felt primarily to enlarge our knowledge on the World, Self and God and extend our Mental, Vital, Physical and Spiritual existence; secondarily reconcile, integrate, transform and perfect them; where the former is enforced on each student of Integral Education in order to make him fit to enter the main stream of life and world and the latter is a special opportunity of voluntary choice among the privileged few.

7)         As Integral Education is the utilitarian aspect of Integral Yoga, Integral Evolution, Mediatrix Shakti and Absolute Shakti; so all developmental aspect of the former will draw its strength, innovation, inspiration, expansion and guidance from the latter. Education has its root in Yoga; Yoga has its root in Evolution of Nature; Evolution has its root in Consciousness; Consciousness has its root in Shakti; Shakti has its root in Chit or Sachchidananda. What Sri Aurobindo stated in the Principal Shastra, The Synthesis of Yoga for a Sadhaka in terms integral Yoga and strong declaration that ‘All Life is Yoga’ (through consecration), the same thing He restated with greater precision, force and enlargement in the complementary Shastra, The Life Divine for mere men or all humanity in terms Integral Evolution, hence we can discover it as the book of ‘The Synthesis of Evolution’ and He asks all humanity to train the mind towards the realisation of the mantra ‘All Life is Evolution’ (of Consciousness). The same objective He restated in the complementary Shastra, ‘The Mother’ book for Her all children in terms of Mediatrix Shakti where all the four intermediate Spiritual Powers and Personalities of the Mediatrix Mother are synthesised to which we can discover it as the book of ‘The Synthesis of (four) Overmental Shakti’ whose mantra is ‘All life is the possession of the Truth and the Divine Shakti’ (through increase of faith, Sraddha, and towards Truth Power that rejects, destroys and transforms falsehood). The same objective He restated again with greatest intensity and vividness in the complementary Shastra, Savitri for swiftest Spiritual evolution of Her dearest children or Integral Yogis in terms of absolute or virgin Mother Power,Maya, to which we can discover it as the book of ‘The Synthesis of (four)²⁶ Supramental Mother Power Maya’(through intensification of purifying and all embracing Divine Love that rejects, destroys and transforms the limitation of human love). So now the method of Education is to be restated in the form of profound developmental urge of learning for all students from above four books in terms of Integral Education along with the mantra ‘All Life is Education’ (through practice of concentration, samyama) and the evolution of the new written truth can be restated as ‘The Synthesis of Education’. Now it is time to intensify education through four powers of the Mother-nature that of the integral Yoga, integral Evolution, integral Truth and integral Virginity, not limiting oneself to physical virginity alone and weld them strongly to the One, the Divine, the Sachchidananda who stands above as the Lord of Yoga, the Lord of Evolution, the Lord of Truth Power, Shakti and the Lord of absolute Virgin Power, Chit Shakti and also the Lord of Integral Education. A student of Integral Education will be at once a seeker of Integral Yoga, Integral Evolution, Integral Truth and Comprehensive Virginity extending over multiple subtle bodies in addition to his surface training of mind, vital and body. He will be aware of a Supramental world whose advent will be foreseen when earth life will be the playfield of more and more ‘superior human and invisible beings’¹⁷ hinted in Savitri as ‘Omnipotent’s flaming pioneers,’⁵ ‘mighty wardens,’³⁰ ‘The sun-eyed children,’⁵ ‘radiant children of Eternity,’³¹ princes of the Sun,’¹² ‘garbless deity,’⁶ ‘golden child,’⁷ ‘King-children,’¹⁵ ‘nude god-children,’¹⁸ ‘The heroic leaders of coming time,’¹⁵ ‘The Infants of the Monarchy of the worlds,’¹⁵ ‘Nameless the austere ascetics without home’¹⁵ ‘sunlight moulded like a golden maid,’⁸ ‘high-bred maiden,’⁹ ‘golden bride,’¹⁰ ‘the eternal bride,’¹¹ ‘golden virgin,’¹⁶ ‘virgin bridals of the dawn,’¹² and the ‘citizens of that mother state.’ ¹³ 

The Synthesis of Education:
             The theory of complete Education pursued through all life or long succession of rebirths can be realised through the Synthesis of Education which has four legitimate motives of development of educational capacity in all Time, that of firstly a period of education and preparation that will make us able to satisfy the basic needs and requirement of life and a concentration of Surface Education to develop separatve individuality and in it the unity of all aspect of life is lost on the surface; here body, life and mind are divided from each other through ignorance but can be illumined and made aware of themselves; secondly a period of normal living to satisfy the human desires and interests under the moderating rule of ethical and intellectual part in us, to educate all our human capacities of force and knowledge and enjoyment so that we may turn them upon the world with more and more mastery and force, a concentration of Potential Education; thirdly a period of inward turn of the mind and Spiritual preparation, a concentration of Subjective Education and lastly, the Spiritual entity within us must develop its own integral perfection which is a period of complete fulfilment of Supramental living, fulfilling and perfecting the objective living by transforming and Divinising it, a concentration of Comprehensive Education. This educational Synthesis also arrives at the reconciling equation between the Matter and the Spirit where (1) the existing human mind and intellect are considered as its nodus and subjective turn of phenomenal education; (2) the knowledge on the cosmic and terrestrial surface world which is the field and circumstance of Physical, Vital and Mental education; (3) the knowledge on the Supraterrestrial or other worldly or occult plane which is a condition and connecting hidden link and which forms the basis of intermediate Subliminal, Psychic and Spiritual Education and not to have the experience of these great regions of the Selves, not to know and manifest their law in ourselves ‘is to fall short of the height and fullness of our being;’¹ (4) the knowledge and integration of the Supracosmic Reality is the highest reach of Integral Education which is the almighty source, support and ‘highest remote origin of our existence.’² The Synthesis of Education can be satisfying which ends in its aim of uniting the imperfect Matter and the perfect Spirit in a liberated, ecstatic and fulfilled human existence.

             In the past the theory of complete education through the Synthesis of Education was attempted with little success due to the exaggeration or exclusive importance on either of the four or in most cases the first two Schools of thought. In the recent development of Integral Education, all the four stairs of human development have been fully recognised as the knowledge within the power and capacity of humanity and attempted within the framework of its existing infrastructure. The perfect learning of secret of existence through material Science, Arts and Literature are to be rightly related with the limited superficial enjoyment of existence, material success and satisfaction of human desire. This objective entry into opulence of existence must take a subjective turn and search for unlimited source of beyond sense enjoyments and seeking towards the Knowledge of the One and finally discovery of the Knowledge of the One is to be rightly related with the knowledge of the Many and movement towards the source, the Supracosmic existence, from which the unending riches of the Spirit will pour down on the Matter to bring completeness of Integral Education.

             So we can define Education in its totality beginning with the surface mental, surface vital and surface physical education which builds strong material foundation. Behind it there is large ocean of subtle mental, subtle vital and subtle physical Education extending over all life. At its core there is true mental, true vital and true physical being. Mental education liberates the intellect from ‘all twilight thought;’²⁰ vital education draws the sense to ‘pure celestial joy’²¹ and physical education makes ‘body’s joy as vivid as the soul’s.’²² Then behind these planes there are still greater planes of Psychic, Spiritual and Supramental worlds,The Psychic education is ‘Much sweeter… than any rapture known’²³ and its ‘momentary and escaping thrill’²³ cannot be recompensed by ‘Earth or all-conquering heaven.’²³ Spiritual education gives the sense of impersonal Love, Peace, Silence and ‘The Bliss that none can ever hope to taste.’²⁴ Supramental education turns ‘to the best the worst,’²⁵ heals ‘the bitter cruelties of earth’²⁵ and transforms ‘all experience to delight.’²⁵ The dynamisation of Supramental energy can lead towards entry into the dark Subconscient sheath and discovery of Subconscient Self, which is identified as another important achievement ‘whose priceless value could have saved the world.’³ and all error and pain ‘became a quivering ecstasy.’²⁸ Then subsequently entry in to inconscient sheath and discovery of Inconscient Self is identified as the one of the last and most profound Spiritual experience, ‘the grand solution’⁴ in which the height of mortal effort end and in that world ‘A bliss is born that can remake our life.’²⁹. All these worlds and planes have their influence on our earthly substance and can mould the earthly living into Divine living and Divine perfection. Our objective is to establish an equal fourfold concentration of Education or to explore all the planes of Consciousness and call down their full manifestation in our surface material life. We will realise that the Spirit is not only the cause, supporting power and indwelling principle of the Matter but also its material and sole material. In this context the present approach of surface phenomenal Education divided and deviated from the Source with its unequal concentration can be considered as right beginning.

            Integral Education foresees the immediate inclusion of all students to the exposure of moral education formulated from the written Spiritual truth of the Shastra of integral Yoga. It can make few of them aware of the possibility and potentiality of subjective higher intermediate Subliminal, Psychic and Spiritual Education and can include Supramental Education after much arduous self-conquest and self exceeding,¹⁴ after established in the higher planes of Consciousness and at the end of many long and trying stages of difficult self-education of Nature. They can follow and verify in themselves deeper Subliminal and Spiritual experiences, only when they have sufficient purity, plasticity and acquired the capacity to follow the inner method, confirmed by regular experiment, practical analysis and constant verification as they have trained now their mind to follow the mathematics and difficult operations scientific truths. Spiritual force can take possession of the mere students and Truth shall dictate their life, thought, effort, endeavour and action and a spontaneous truth awareness, truth-will, truth feeling, truth vision, truth discernment and truth movement can then be the integral part of their education.

Education needed for the integration of Personality:
            We define personality in ordinary sense as formation of a superficial surface consciousness oblivious of its deeper and larger identity. Personality is a real individuality which stands behind the constant mutations of things and happenings. Surface personality is the outcome of inconscient energy known as tamas, rajas and sattwa. It is only a temporary mental, vital, physical formation in which powers, influences and motives are amalgamated. Physical personality is attached to earth which clings to soil and has a certain degree of material poise, stability and balance in addition to inertia, laziness and negligence in action. In a Spiritual man this tamasic personality is transformed into Divine calm, a perfect power of Shakti and capacity of great action in active silence. The vital personality is more attached to air than earth and vital man is concerned with self-affirmation, self-aggrandisement, life-enlargement, satisfaction of ambition, passion and desire. In a Spiritual man this rajasic personality is transformed into self-effecting initiating sheer Will, perfect power of Being, Shakti, capable of immense, composed and blissful action.The mental personality is in nature eager to acquire new knowledge, open towards new possibility of Spirit, careful to consider, verify, balance, adopt and adjust to its limited view of truth, receives all in limited harmony and in a restricted intellectual structure; it receives limited mental light and is unable to enlarge itself so as to receive equally all truth and all knowledge. In Spiritual man this Sattwic personality of modified mental light is transformed into self-existent light of the Divine Being, Jyotirmaya Brahman and God’s touch is transformed into His constant embrace. The Subliminal personality acts from behind the surface, is vast, calm, equal, observing the surface perturbation with an immovable detachment or it may act on its agitation to pacify, quiet, enlarge and transform it. In Spiritual man there is growth of the faculty of subtle sense of vision, hearing, touch, smell and taste which can substitute the need of sense bound outer physical consciousness and sense organs. The Psychic personality can be luminous leader of the mental, vital and physical instruments as it has the capacity of spontaneous discernment of truth and falsehood and distinguishes Divine and undivine of the manifestation. In a Spiritual man the presence of strong Psychic personality and Psychic transformation paves the passage clear for more intense Spiritual and Supramental transformation. Its final outcome is to prepare the nature to be perfectly fit for every kind of Spiritual experience. The Spiritual Personality identifies with the freedom, delight and wisdom of Sachchidananda and it must go through extension of cosmic expression and attains the power of embracing the whole universe in his subtle, intense and large individual consciousness. A Spiritual individual would act from his own centre of Truth and not subject himself to blindness of other-self, other nature and moment’s personality; its consciousness would be action with full knowledge and not a movement of ignorance. His nature’s many sided transformation would emerge as a composite perfection of the saint, the selfless Divine worker and the man of spiritual Wisdom. Integral Personality can be infinitely more enriched on the surface by gathering up of many fold personality through opening of multiple Selves and integration of many sided movement of Nature. An integration of personality and constant rebirth of new personality is possible by movement of Consciousness from nether plane of Inconscient to the highest plane of Sachchidananda through entry into above intermediate planes.