Living Within: Summary and Conclusions

Living Within: The Yoga Approach to Psychological Health and Growth, compliled by Dr. A.S. Dalal, is an eminently practical handbook for understanding and addressing the complexity of our psychological makeup. Modern-day civilisation creates enormous pressures for individuals, while at the same time immersing everyone in a vast array of information, misinformation, and divergent opinions which tend to confuse rather than clarify our status. It is no wonder that we see an enormous increase in psychological suffering, a lack of peace in the being, and numerous manifestations of disruptions in our minds, in our vital life energy and in our bodies which wreak havoc on our ability to function and carry out our individual destiny. We continually seek for answers and a solution to these seemingly insoluble problems. Endless therapy sessions do not seem to resolve them. The spiritual paths of the East have the ability to provide new insight and clarity to the issues that we face, and thus, we have seen an enormous upsurge in interest in these disciplines. Sri Aurobindo and the Mother, with their grounding in both the developments of the West and the directions of the East, have created a synthesis that provides a flexible, responsive and intuitive response to the challenges of our time.

Arden Mahlberg, from the Midwestern Psychological Services, Madison, Wisconsin notes the following: “Western psychotherapy and personal growth process has gained considerably from the experience acquired within Eastern traditions. Living Within makes it apparent that there is a great deal more to learn that is of both practical and theoretical value. Dr. A.S. Dalal has lived and worked in both the world of Western mental health and the world of Eastern spiritual discipline. He draws on the deep insights of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother to locate the origins and solutions to ordinary problems in living as well as in psychopathology. The key lies in understanding that the levels of consciousness in which we ordinarily live are fraught with psychological disturbances. As a result, we experience recurrent conflict, anxiety, anger, fear and depression. Living Within not only shows the way for overcoming such disturbances radically, but also provides practical guidance and exercises for achieving positive mental health and psychological growth.”

Sri Aurobindo and The Mother, Living Within: The Yoga Approach to Psychological Health and Growth