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Articles from santosh krinsky | Selfgrowth.com
- Power Is to be Transformed, Not Rejected, in Spiritual Development - by Submitted on Dec 26, 2024 from santosh krinskyPower is disconcerting. Humanity is attracted to it, while at the same time, it fears raw power. It is often said “Power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely.” What is then to be done with our vital nature that expresses power and provides the motive force for our lives? Those ...
Views: 213 - Powers Within — Introduction - by Submitted on Aug 18, 2024 from santosh krinskyWe are a civilisation obsessed with the idea of power. In the external world, we fixate on economic power, political power, military might, physical strength and various forms of magical and sexual power. We recognize the power of ideas, of charismatic leaders, of religious teachings and many ...
Views: 298 - Powers Within: Summary and Conclusions - by Submitted on Feb 08, 2025 from santosh krinskyWe tend to overlook, or underestimate, the powers inherent in our human existence, the powers of the body, the powers of the vital nature, the powers of the mind, the powers of the psychic being, and the power of the spirit. Some of these powers are manifest but not fully understood, explored or ...
Views: 181 - Practical Applications of the Power of Immobility - by Submitted on Nov 27, 2024 from santosh krinskyThe Mother provides a practical example of the ‘power of immobility’, albeit as applied in the external world and society. There is an apocryphal story from the time of the Mahabharata. Drona, the preceptor of the sons of Dhritarashtra and the sons of Pandu, princes and future king of the ...
Views: 249 - Practical Tips Regarding Meditation - by Submitted on Jun 24, 2021 from santosh krinskyThe first point that should be considered is why one wants to meditate and what the expected result should be. This is important because it helps set the internal expectation and helps thereby in understanding the different aspects, both internal and external, that can influence the result. ...
Views: 713 - Praise, Criticism and Comparing Oneself With Others - by Submitted on Mar 27, 2025 from santosh krinskyThe vital nature generally craves praise and becomes upset with criticism. This habit has been increased by the rise of social media with the ‘likes’ and ‘dislikes’ that appear on various posts, videos and blogs. People work hard to increase their ‘likes’ and ‘followers’ and make that almost an ...
Views: 168 - Prayer and Aspiration, Part 1 - by Submitted on Nov 13, 2024 from santosh krinskyWhen most people are asked about the nature of prayer, they respond that it is a formulation in words of a specific request to God, for some result or benefit they desire to see come to fruition. Prayer is much more than that, and need not be formulated in words. Each level of the being actually ...
Views: 260 - Prayer and Aspiration, Part 2 - by Submitted on Nov 14, 2024 from santosh krinskyFor a spiritual seeker, there is a major difference with regard to prayer and aspiration. Prayer is, generally, and in many cases, a more formalized, external activity, primarily based in the outer nature. Aspiration is centered in the soul, or psychic being, and represents the spiritual flame ...
Views: 253 - Prayer and Aspiration, Part 3 - by Submitted on Nov 15, 2024 from santosh krinskyWhat is the experience of prayer in our being? If it is a form of bargaining, with an expectation of a return, then it takes on the colour of a business deal. We give from our side the prayer and the expression of gratitude or adherence, and in return, we get something we desire from the ...
Views: 236 - Precondition for Offering the Ego into the Divine Consciousness - by Submitted on Oct 14, 2023 from santosh krinskyWhen we think about dissolving the ego and offering ourselves to the Divine, we do not often consider the details involved and the difficulties attendant on that process. What is it we are offering? How are we accomplishing that offering? What does the offering look like in terms of its ...
Views: 326 - Prenatal Influences on the Development of the Child in the Womb - by Submitted on Sep 16, 2024 from santosh krinskyWe recognise nowadays that actions of the mother impact the fetus in the womb. Certain things impact the physical development, including certain drugs or alcohol. Some drugs may cause physical deformities; others may impact the brain and nervous system. What is less frequently acknowledged, ...
Views: 291 - Preparation and Training Needed to Consciously Draw on the Universal Vital Force - by Submitted on May 17, 2024 from santosh krinskyWe recognise that there are ocean currents which circulate ocean water world wide and regulate the climate. We also recognise that there are air currents which we can partially observe through the soaring of birds who let the air currents carry them along, and experience directly if we are ...
Views: 300 - Preparation for the Definitive Shift of the Consciousness to a New Standpoint - by Submitted on May 23, 2023 from santosh krinskyWhen a seeker has an unusual experience, when the consciousness shifts to a different standpoint, when new forms of understanding, inspiration, and response suddenly arise, there can be a feeling of intense disorientation, concern, fear or anxiety. ‘What is happening to me?’ Given the ...
Views: 387 - Preparing the Being for the Spiritual Quest - by Submitted on Aug 12, 2021 from santosh krinskyThe vital nature of the human being craves the type of excitement that comes with extraordinary experiences. True spiritual progress, however, requires that a balance be maintained between what the human instrument can hold effectively, and how much Force is brought to bear from the higher ...
Views: 652 - Preparing the Body, Vital and Mind for Restful, Conscious Sleep - by Submitted on May 14, 2022 from santosh krinskyWe spend as much as one third of our lifetime asleep. Many questions arise when one reflects on this fact. What happens during sleep? Where does the consciousness go? What does it do? Can we become conscious, or at least more conscious, of that part of our lives? Are there ways to prepare for ...
Views: 542 - Primary Functions and Powers of the Major Chakras in the Integral Yoga - by Submitted on Feb 17, 2021 from santosh krinskyPractitioners of yoga are generally familiar with the usual definitions of the chakras, their forms, colors and major operative powers when they open. In the integral yoga, where evolutionary planes of consciousness are recognised, Sri Aurobindo has expanded the definitions and understanding of ...
Views: 685 - Programming and Reprogramming of the Being Through Application of Will - by Submitted on Nov 23, 2024 from santosh krinskyEverything we do represents an action of will. Even inaction winds up being a ‘willed’ action. We are provided a choice at each moment as to how to respond to circumstances, pressures, events, opportunities that lie before us. In many cases, however, we do not recognise the power of choice as we ...
Views: 299 - Programming the Subconscient to Modify Habits - by Submitted on Aug 26, 2022 from santosh krinskyWhile we tend to place a negative connotation on ‘habits’, in fact, habits are an important part of the action of the being, particularly of the physical being. We see times and seasons in Nature that repeat themselves, and we see animal life surviving through patterns and habits that they have ...
Views: 503 - Progressively Becoming Conscious - by Submitted on Nov 20, 2022 from santosh krinskyEveryone believes they are ‘conscious’. Spiritual seekers, especially, having awakened from the purely mechanical, habitual processes of the external life, certainly believe they are conscious. Those who believe in various religious traditions, by virtue of that belief, accept that they are ...
Views: 516 - Project and Personnel Management From the Viewpoint of the Spiritual Seeker - by Submitted on Apr 09, 2025 from santosh krinskyBeing a spiritual seeker, and a manager of a business, or a unit or department or program, are not incompatible activities. The question that seekers raise is how to find the proper balance that allows the work, including the management work, that they do, be part of their spiritual sadhana. If ...
Views: 204 - Psychic Love -- a Flame of White Light - by Submitted on Apr 24, 2026 from santosh krinskyIt is a quite common circumstance. The heart centre appears to have a very close connection with the physical-vital centres governing the forces of sexual energy in particular. Thus, when there is an emotional attachment there is frequently a physical bonding that occurs. When the psychic ...
Views: 13 - Psychic Love Surpasses Human Love - by Submitted on Feb 08, 2022 from santosh krinskyThe unique dynamics of living in a spiritual or religious community make it especially important to understand the subtle (and sometimes not so subtle) distractions that can arise when the long habitual reactions of the vital nature, as well as the strong cultural pressures, developed over ...
Views: 577 - Psychic Self-Defense - by Submitted on Feb 14, 2022 from santosh krinskyThe true test of spiritual equanimity and balance is how one responds to adverse circumstances. It is relatively easy to be calm and peaceful when there is no external pressure and one is surrounded by a quiet and nourishing environment. It is quite another to remain focused, balanced and equal ...
Views: 583 - Psychic Tears — Psychic Emotions - by Submitted on Apr 21, 2026 from santosh krinskyEmotional responses appear in the external being and for the most part, they stem from the vital being and its various moods. There is however another potential source of what appear on the surface being as emotions, and that is something that stirs deep in the being in the psychic heart. ...
Views: 13 - Psychoanalysis and the Practice of Yoga, Part 1 - by Submitted on Feb 10, 2026 from santosh krinskyA narrow focus of extreme specialisation is a major cause of inaccurate assessment and therefore, inappropriate decisions and action. This is, however, a symptom of our modern-day fixation on mental analysis rather than on an approach that integrates the various parts into a coordinated whole, ...
Views: 59 - Psychoanalysis and the Practice of Yoga, Part 2 - by Submitted on Feb 11, 2026 from santosh krinskyFreud made a breakthrough for the development of Western psychology that finally recognised that the human being responds to situations and circumstances, not solely on the superficial, transactional level, but also from suppressed, subliminal and subconscient activities that actually have a ...
Views: 57 - Psychoanalysis and Yoga Do Not Mix - by Submitted on Nov 15, 2021 from santosh krinskyWhatever an individual focuses on takes on a large, central position and other aspects shift into the background. This is the secret not only of concentration of effort, but also on an understanding of the issues surrounding practices such as psychoanalysis in relation to a practitioner of yoga. ...
Views: 574 - Psychoanalysis and Yoga Don’t Mix - by Submitted on May 08, 2022 from santosh krinskyWithout the power to control and purify, an individual faces great risk in dredging up all kinds of subconscious energies, fears, experiences, dreams and desires. Psychoanalysis focuses on tapping into this subconscious level, but it does not start with any process to arm the individual with the ...
Views: 556 - Purification of the Being Is More Essential Than Extraordinary Spiritual Experiences - by Submitted on Jan 20, 2023 from santosh krinskyThe vital nature revels in having extraordinary experiences that arise as a result of spiritual practice or some type of opening to other planes of being. These experiences support the ego, making the individual feel special, uniquely qualified and selected for spiritual progress, and they are ...
Views: 441 - Purification of the Energies of the Second Chakra - by Submitted on Nov 08, 2021 from santosh krinskyIn traditional yogas that describe the opening of the chakras, the kundalini energy moves up systematically from the root chakra, Muladhara, successively through each chakra until it reaches the crown of the head where it joins with the Divine, universal consciousness. Thus, one of the very ...
Views: 563 - Purification of the Nature: Negative and Positive Approaches - by Submitted on Feb 04, 2023 from santosh krinskyOrdinarily, when we reflect on addressing impurities in the nature, whether in the mind, the emotions, the vital nature or the physical body, we tend to fixate upon the weakness or limitation we have identified and work to directly control, change or suppress it. This is what may be termed a ...
Views: 507 - Purity from the Moral Standpoint or the Spiritual Standpoint - by Submitted on Jan 22, 2023 from santosh krinskyIn the Bhagavad Gita, Arjuna poses the question to Sri Krishna as to how to identify the realised soul, asking how does he act, how does he speak, etc. Sri Krishna responds that it is not through outer action that one can identify the liberated individual, as this is something that can only be ...
Views: 445 - Reading and the Concentration and Dispersion of Conscious Awareness - by Submitted on Mar 27, 2022 from santosh krinskyAs we become aware of the states of conscious awareness within our being, it becomes clear that there are times when the consciousness is highly concentrated, intensely focused, and other times when it is dispersed and wandering seemingly aimlessly. Our activities, including reading, are ...
Views: 586 - Reading As a Method of Entering into a Wider and Deeper Consciousness - by Submitted on Dec 05, 2024 from santosh krinskyA teenager was observed as she was deeply absorbed in reading the famous novel by Alexandre Dumas, The Count of Monte Cristo. This novel spans some 1000 pages and encompasses themes of deep and abiding interest, but does so in a captivating story line. It so happened that this teenager was ...
Views: 213 - Reading as a Spiritual Practice and Its Limitations - by Submitted on Mar 26, 2022 from santosh krinskyWhile Sri Aurobindo created an enormous body of written materials regarding the integral yoga, the development of the next phase of consciousness growth in the earth-evolution, he also clearly recognized that there are limits to how much reading can aid the spiritual seeker. He made a clear ...
Views: 605 - Reading, Mental Development and Spiritual Growth - by Submitted on Mar 24, 2022 from santosh krinskyThere is a general bias in our society that holds that someone who has a developed mentality, and who is ‘well-read’ is smarter or more intelligent than those who cannot read or who have limited reading capacity. Yet it must be recognised that intelligence cannot be measured, as is done in the ...
Views: 567 - Readings in Sri Aurobindo’s Savitri: A Legend and a Symbol - by Submitted on Aug 27, 2023 from santosh krinskyIntroduction: Savitri: A Legend and a Symbol is an inner guidebook for the soul. These mantric verses imbue even the body with potent spiritual resonance. In this epic spiritual poem, Sri Aurobindo reveals his vision of mankind’s destiny within the universal evolution. He sets forth the ...
Views: 430 - Realisations in the Development of the Yogic Sadhana - by Submitted on May 08, 2021 from santosh krinskyMany who take up the practice of yogic sadhana find that they receive some signs of encouragement either prior to starting consciously down the path, through some kind of experience that opens other dimensions and opportunities for growth for them, or through some spiritual experiences in the ...
Views: 567 - Realization of the Divine Consciousness and Ananda Requires Control of Sexual Energies - by Submitted on Jan 06, 2026 from santosh krinskySuccess in attaining the objectives of any spiritual practice is based on achieving ‘one pointed concentration’. This means focusing the aspiration on the spiritual source and maintaining that focus without diverting energy and attention away to any other objective. The integral yoga, with its ...
Views: 74 - Rebirth and the Individual - by Submitted on Mar 06, 2022 from santosh krinskyHow do we imagine our past, or future, existences? What about past life regression therapy? Is there a reality to the experience and if so, what does it mean to us? Many who believe in a future reincarnation have no conception of any past lifetime at all. They accept the reality of their current ...
Views: 561 - Receiving and Utilizing the Universal Vital Forces - by Submitted on May 18, 2024 from santosh krinskyIn our fragmented process of understanding, we frequently create an artificial separation that does not exist in reality. Thus, seekers sometimes undertake to find ways to draw on the universal vital energy, when in fact, it is through the flow of that energy that they live, breathe, exist, grow ...
Views: 277 - Receiving Spiritual Shocks and Trials With Humility Through a Shift of Standpoint Away from the Ego-Consciousness - by Submitted on May 11, 2025 from santosh krinskyThe way we respond to setbacks or difficulties is conditioned by how deeply we are embedded in the ego-consciousness. The individual ego judges everything from its own very limited viewpoint. What it interprets as a negative result or as an obstacle may actually be part of the larger process of ...
Views: 158 - Receptivity and Awareness of Occult Powers and Forces Does Not Come Through the Mental Faculty of the Intellect - by Submitted on Feb 25, 2024 from santosh krinskyit can be especially difficult for those who are highly educated in the field of Western science, medicine, or other studies that focus on the logical intellect of the mind, to actually appreciate and be receptive to the play of forces that occurs outside the normal perceptive range of the ...
Views: 361 - Receptivity to the Universal Vital Forces - by Submitted on May 19, 2024 from santosh krinskyIn May 1973, a devotee from the West was visiting Auroville in South India. At that time, it was primarily an eroded, dusty plateau, not the lush forested scene that one can see today if one visits. May is an extremely hot month, and the visitor had just arrived a couple of weeks earlier from ...
Views: 322 - Recognising and Addressing the Law of Dualities and Action-Reaction in the Physical, Vital and Mental Levels of Our Existence - by Submitted on Feb 27, 2024 from santosh krinskyIn the material world, the laws of physics state that ‘for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction”. Is it possible to extend the working of the law of the physical world into the vital, or even the mental, realm? We recognise the dualities, both on the physical level and in our ...
Views: 383 - Recognising the Emergence of the Soul in Our Being - by Submitted on Apr 07, 2024 from santosh krinskyThere are many things in the world which we know exist, not because we can directly perceive them, but because we can experience their effects. Thus, we cannot see ‘gravity’ but we know it exists. We cannot see radiation, but again, we know it exists. As we continue to develop powers of the ...
Views: 338 - Recognizing and Understanding Spiritual Experiences - by Submitted on Apr 07, 2023 from santosh krinskyWhen we live primarily on the external surface of our being, anchored to the physical world, the vital energy and mental status of living in the world, we try to judge everything that occurs within us by the standards of what we expect and understand from our outward existence, experience and ...
Views: 421 - Reconciling Difficulty of the Change of Human Nature With the Time and Patience Needed for the Change - by Submitted on Jan 15, 2026 from santosh krinskyThe objective is almost unimaginably complex and difficult. Changing human nature, including the inheritance humanity brings from the animal evolutionary process, is not something that is quickly or easily accomplished. It cannot also be done entirely by the action of human mind and will power. ...
Views: 73 - Reconciling Fate and Free Will - by Submitted on Feb 21, 2024 from santosh krinskyWe treat free will and determinism as opposite and irreconcilable concepts, and there are adherents ready to argue one position or the other and provide irrefutable proofs of their position. It is clear from the strength of each position that there is a truth that underpins each of these ...
Views: 337 - Reconciling the Opposites - by Submitted on Mar 30, 2023 from santosh krinskyIf we recognize that the two extremes, matter and spirit, despite their apparent and irreconcilable opposition, both speak to some deep seated truth within the human sense, then we can begin to accept the idea that this is not a matter of one being “true” and the other being “false”, but rather, ...
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