Georges van Vrekhem
Encyclopedia
Georges Van Vrekhem is a Flemish-speaking Belgian journalist, poet and playwright, who was the artistic manager of a professional theater company, the "Nederlands Toneel te Gent". He became acquainted with the teachings of Sri Aurobindo
and the Mother
in 1964. In 1970 he joined the Sri Aurobindo Ashram in Pondicherry, and eight years later, in 1978 he moved to Auroville
. He has translated as selected writings from the Ramayana
and the Mahabharata
and several books of Sri Aurobindo, The Mother, Peter Heehs
, and Satprem
into Dutch
.
Since then Van Vrekhem has published The Mother - The Story of Her Life (2000), Overman - The Transitional Being between the Human and the Supramental (2000), Patterns of the Present - in the Light of Sri Aurobindo (2002), and Hitler and His God - The Background to the Nazi Phenomenon (2006).
Sri Aurobindo
Sri Aurobindo , born Aurobindo Ghosh or Ghose , was an Indian nationalist, freedom fighter, philosopher, yogi, guru, and poet. He joined the Indian movement for freedom from British rule and for a duration became one of its most important leaders, before developing his own vision of human progress...
and the Mother
Mirra Alfassa
-Early life:Mirra Alfassa was born in Paris in 1878, of a Turkish Jewish father, Maurice, and an Egyptian Jewish mother, Mathilde. She had an elder brother named Matteo. The family migrated to France the year before she was born. For the first eight years of her life she lived at 62 boulevard...
in 1964. In 1970 he joined the Sri Aurobindo Ashram in Pondicherry, and eight years later, in 1978 he moved to Auroville
Auroville
Auroville is an "experimental" township in Viluppuram district in the state of Tamil Nadu, India, near Pondicherry in South India. It was founded in 1968 by Mirra Alfassa and designed by architect Roger Anger...
. He has translated as selected writings from the Ramayana
Ramayana
The Ramayana is an ancient Sanskrit epic. It is ascribed to the Hindu sage Valmiki and forms an important part of the Hindu canon , considered to be itihāsa. The Ramayana is one of the two great epics of India and Nepal, the other being the Mahabharata...
and the Mahabharata
Mahabharata
The Mahabharata is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India and Nepal, the other being the Ramayana. The epic is part of itihasa....
and several books of Sri Aurobindo, The Mother, Peter Heehs
Peter Heehs
Peter Heehs is an American historian living in Pondicherry, India who writes on modern Indian history, Indian spirituality and religion. Much of his work focuses on the Indian political and spiritual leader Sri Aurobindo...
, and Satprem
Satprem
Satprem was a French author and an important disciple of The Mother.-Life and work:Satprem was born Bernard Enginger in Paris and had a seafaring childhood and youth in Brittany. During World War II he was a member of the French Resistance. He was arrested by the Gestapo in late 1943 and spent one...
into Dutch
Dutch language
Dutch is a West Germanic language and the native language of the majority of the population of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Suriname, the three member states of the Dutch Language Union. Most speakers live in the European Union, where it is a first language for about 23 million and a second...
.
Works
His book on the life and work of Sri Aurobindo and The Mother, Voorbij de mens has been published in The Netherlands in 1995, and translated into English as Beyond Man, published in India in 1997, and also translated into French, German, Italian and Spanish. The American edition, published by Paragon House, is called Beyond the Human Species: The Life and Work of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother.Since then Van Vrekhem has published The Mother - The Story of Her Life (2000), Overman - The Transitional Being between the Human and the Supramental (2000), Patterns of the Present - in the Light of Sri Aurobindo (2002), and Hitler and His God - The Background to the Nazi Phenomenon (2006).