ARCHIVE #10 — Integral Anthropology and the Supermind: Sri Aurobindo, Evolution, and the Mystical Real, with Professor Debashish Banerji

I’m joined by Dr. Debashish Banerji, Haridas Chaudhuri Professor of Indian Philosophies and Cultures at CIIS, where he also serves as Chair of the East-West Psychology department. A leading scholar of Sri Aurobindo, postcolonial thought, and Indian metaphysics, Debashish’s work bridges contemplative tradition with visionary philosophy—bringing Vedic insight into conversation with the dilemmas of modernity.

Together, we explore the contours of integral anthropology—a concept that understands the human being not as a finished product but as an evolutionary threshold. We speak about mystical experience, yoga as transformation, and the metaphysical foundations of consciousness. Our dialogue centers around Sri Aurobindo’s vision of the Supermind: a supramental consciousness that underlies all of existence, from the atom to the Absolute.

Themes of Being and Becoming, animal consciousness, the psychic self, and cosmic evolution emerge throughout this episode as we trace the delicate interplay between matter and spirit, between the soul and its destined unfolding.

For those seeking a deeper understanding of yoga as a metaphysical path—and of human life as a bridge between the finite and the infinite—this episode offers a profound and poetic map.

This episode was originally released under the podcast title Sacred Wisdom, the precursor to The Cosmic Codex. It now resides within The Sacred Wisdom Archives.