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Articles from santosh krinsky | Selfgrowth.com
- The Nature of the Mind Creates and Enhances Much Human Psychological Suffering - by Submitted on Apr 10, 2022 from santosh krinskyIt is often said that animals do not suffer in the same way that humans do. They experience pain and can suffer from it, but they seem to not be tortured by all of the mental suffering that we go through in our lives. The major differences are first, the ability of the mind to observe itself and ...
Views: 555 - The Nature of the Resistance of the Mind-Life-Body to the Pressure of the Divine Force - by Submitted on Nov 23, 2021 from santosh krinskyEach aspect of the human instrumentality provides its own characteristic forms of resistance when a new, higher evolutionary force tries to engage them and redirect them along the lines it proposes. The underlying issues relate to the action of Tamas in the physical level, Rajas in the vital ...
Views: 550 - The Nature of the Resistance of Universal Nature to the Pressure of the Divine Force - by Submitted on Nov 24, 2021 from santosh krinskyWe tend to accept issues we are having in our lives as something personal to ourselves and thus, we struggle and either consider ourselves to be weak, or sinful, or otherwise unfit. This happens both generally and for those who practice yoga, and the result is, in many cases, some form of ...
Views: 494 - The Nature of the Reversal of Consciousness Cannot Be Fully Grasped by the Ordinary Human Externalized Consciousness - by Submitted on May 18, 2023 from santosh krinskyIf we reflect for a moment that a being who does not have a highly developed abstract mental capacity, perhaps a fish or a honeybee, or even a cat or dog, is unable to truly appreciate and understand the functioning of the higher reasoning and logical capabilities that human beings consider to ...
Views: 418 - The Nature of the Sexual Impulse - by Submitted on Jan 06, 2022 from santosh krinskyThe sexual impulse and energy is one of the basic primary drives in Nature and is widespread in the animal kingdom, although there are instances of asexual reproduction. The drive is so powerful that it can drive beings to extreme lengths, even killing off rivals, or fighting to maintain ...
Views: 634 - The Nature of the Subconscient - by Submitted on Nov 13, 2021 from santosh krinskySri Aurobindo utilizes the term ‘subconscient’ to signify a level of consciousness that operates below the range within which the normal human awareness is operable. We may look at consciousness as a spectrum similar to what we know of the properties of the electro-magnetic spectrum or the color ...
Views: 575 - The Nature of the Subconscient - by Submitted on Jan 30, 2026 from santosh krinskyC.G. Jung described what he called the ‘collective unconscious’, a repository of archetypal images and experiences that are universal to humanity. Sigmund Freud explored the subconscious realms of the individual and how they impacted the lives and responses of those individuals. The ...
Views: 65 - The Nature of the Subconscient Level of Consciousness in Man - by Submitted on Mar 28, 2024 from santosh krinskyEuropean culture takes credit for ‘discoveries’ that it makes despite the fact that societies in other parts of the world have long known about these things. Thus, Europeans ‘discovered’ America while disregarding the fact that it was already populated with numerous tribes of indigenous people, ...
Views: 364 - The Nature of the Subconscious - by Submitted on Aug 15, 2023 from santosh krinskyMost of the impressions we receive on a day to day basis go unremarked by our conscious awareness, but are nevertheless received and stored away in our subconscious levels. These impressions may rise to the surface during dreams, or be triggered by certain sensations, events or circumstances, ...
Views: 405 - The Nature of True Aspiration - by Submitted on Jun 25, 2025 from santosh krinskyRestlessness, impatience and disturbance of the vital nature are signs of weakness in the vital, an inability to hold the energy that is available to the vital. A strong vital nature will have the ability to remain calm and hold the energy without spilling it. For the spiritual seeker, there ...
Views: 143 - The Nature of Vital Emotions - by Submitted on Apr 22, 2026 from santosh krinskyThe vast majority of the responses we categorise as emotions come from the external vital nature. The vital being has a strong tendency to the expression of Rajas, which can bring forward strong, powerful actions, violent and passionate emotions, and eventually when it retreats, a fall into ...
Views: 16 - The Nature, Character and Evolutionary Role of the Psychic Entity, the Soul - by Submitted on Nov 09, 2022 from santosh krinskyThe Rishis of the Rig Veda place Agni at the beginning and in a central role in the spiritual development they described. The flame of aspiration, the ‘knower of all things born’, the mystic fire is the starting point for spiritual growth. This flame resides in the psychic being, the soul, ...
Views: 522 - The Necessary Shift from Ego-Centric to God-Centric Consciousness in the Practice of Yoga - by Submitted on Dec 19, 2021 from santosh krinskyMy needs, my wants, my likes and dislikes, my feelings, my emotions, my ideas, my goals and aspirations — all of these things are the signs of the ego-consciousness at work, overcoming the law of inertia that says that a body at rest tends to stay at rest. All of humanity is immersed in the ...
Views: 532 - The Necessity and Methods of Overcoming Inertia in the Physical Nature - by Submitted on Nov 13, 2021 from santosh krinskyThe quality of Tamas has as a major characteristic the sense of inertia. Nothing seems to be moving or advancing, there is little energy or will active to undertake action, there is an overpowering sense of helplessness, weakness, failure and dullness. Many times people confuse dullness or ...
Views: 521 - The Necessity for Quietude of the Vital Nature - by Submitted on Feb 08, 2023 from santosh krinskyThere can be no permanent settlement of peace in the mind if the vital nature has not also attained quiet and peace. Many people take this as a reason to abandon active life and involvement in society and the world-at-large; yet, this is not a solution. The vital nature is very much driven by ...
Views: 490 - The Necessity of a Luminous Faith in Following the Spiritual Path - by Submitted on May 05, 2021 from santosh krinskyThe long-standing debate between science and religion pits the rational intellect with its demand for facts, proof, and logical inference, along with rigorous testing to achieve reproducible results to dispel doubt against the religious conviction based on faith. Science looks down on faith as ...
Views: 570 - The Necessity of a Reversal of Consciousness for Living the Spiritual Life - by Submitted on May 15, 2023 from santosh krinskyWhether we describe it as a ‘shift of standpoint’ or a ‘reversal of consciousness’, it is an essential turning point in the development of a spiritual life that the individual adjust both his focus and his interpretation of the life experience to conform, not with the outer view on the surface ...
Views: 413 - The Necessity of Receptivity to the Force of the Divine Shakti to Accomplish the Sadhana of the Integral Yoga - by Submitted on Dec 17, 2025 from santosh krinskyFor the practitioner of the integral yoga, it becomes evident that the transformation of human nature is not something that can be done by his own capacity alone. His mental ideas, the will power, vital drives and physical powers have their limitations and remain relatively fixed within the ...
Views: 86 - The Necessity of the Psychic Transformation - by Submitted on Sep 05, 2021 from santosh krinskySri Aurobindo emphasizes the need for the psychic transformation, which is the coming forward of the soul or psychic being in man to provide the central focus, and overcome the promptings of the ego-consciousness as it normally acts in the mind, life and body. Spiritual experiences, on their ...
Views: 585 - The Necessity of Transformation of Human Nature - by Submitted on Aug 31, 2021 from santosh krinskyFor most of human existence, there has been a deep divergence between those who seek spiritual development and those who are focused on the material life in the world. In The Life Divine, Sri Aurobindo describes the two paths as ‘the refusal of the ascetic’ and ‘the materialist denial’. It would ...
Views: 598 - The Necessity of Transformation of the Lower Vital Nature - by Submitted on Nov 01, 2021 from santosh krinskyIf the goal of the spiritual seeker is to attain liberation or realisation, the vital nature can be, for the most part, disregarded. For an integral yoga that has transformation of life through the implementation of the next phase of the evolutionary cycle, such a direction cannot be accepted. ...
Views: 557 - The Necessity, Process and Benefit of Stepping Back from Involvement in the External Surface Consciousness - by Submitted on Sep 08, 2022 from santosh krinskyWhen we live on the surface of our being, we are highly reactive and tend to act without reflection, jumping at events or circumstances and responding to the slightest provocations. Even something as frequent as someone driving too slowly or too close triggers anger and in some cases, what is ...
Views: 511 - The Need and Benefit of the Power of Concentration - by Submitted on Sep 29, 2024 from santosh krinsky“By askesis do thou seek to know the Eternal, for concentration in thought is the Eternal.” Thus spoke Varuna to Bhrigu in the Taittiriya Upanishad [Sri Aurobindo’s translation]. Swami Vivekananda’s lectures on Raja Yoga, expounding the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, with an extensive commentary, ...
Views: 274 - The Need and Method for Observing One’s Thoughts - by Submitted on Jun 17, 2022 from santosh krinskyAvoidance of suffering may be considered as a ‘negative’ status. Achievement of happiness is the positive pole of this continuum. Both states are rooted in the mind and the standpoint that the individual takes. When the scriptures speak of “evil thoughts” or “purified thoughts” this is not ...
Views: 545 - The Need and Method to Become Conscious and Change the Nature - by Submitted on May 05, 2022 from santosh krinskyWe identify something about ourselves that we would like to change — it could be a physical transformation we seek, or a way to address an imbalance in our feelings or emotions, or it could be a change to our mind-set to overcome ideas of weakness, failure, incapacity, etc. We then try to find a ...
Views: 539 - The Need and Process of Transforming the Subconscient - by Submitted on Nov 13, 2021 from santosh krinskyThe subconscient is the home, in the earth consciousness, of the quality of Tamas, just as the vital manifestation is the natural home of the quality of Rajas, and the mental level and above would be the natural home of the quality of Sattwa. These are all mixed up in the human being, interact ...
Views: 585 - The Need and Significance of Psychic Education - by Submitted on Feb 09, 2024 from santosh krinskyOur educational systems focus on training of the body, the life-force and the mind, essentially fixating the individual on the life in the external world and his role in that world. He is trained on social expectations and customs, and the use of the tools of mind, life and body in the pursuit ...
Views: 343 - The Need for a Direct Experience of the Reality of Existence - by Submitted on Feb 06, 2021 from santosh krinskyAt the end of all our speculation, logic, reasoning, and opinions, we find that we are plagued by uncertainty and doubt in our minds about the meaning of our existence, our purpose in the world and the reality of the universal creation. We can recognize that what we observe through our senses is ...
Views: 659 - The Need for a Settled Peace and Silence in the Mind As the First Stage of Yogic Practice - by Submitted on Sep 15, 2025 from santosh krinskyThe vital nature seeks ‘experiences’. These experiences are something special that sets the individual apart. In most cases, these experiences come as signposts along the way to motivate the seeker and guide. But the vital ego latches on to them and desires them to repeat as well as have new ...
Views: 104 - The Need for a Sleepless Vigilance in the Yogic Sadhana - by Submitted on Aug 06, 2025 from santosh krinskyVirtually everyone has had the experience, at some point or another of finally overcoming a particularly difficult internal issue, whether it is the force of desire, or not responding with anger to things that do not go as anticipated, or any number of other activities that take place in the ...
Views: 156 - The Need for Action of the Psychic Being in the Yoga of Transformation of Human Nature - by Submitted on Jan 22, 2026 from santosh krinskyIn a certain sense, pursuing one of the paths that lead to liberation from human life is actually simpler and less complicated than a path that calls for the total change and transformation of human nature. In the first case, the seeker can choose to disregard the external life and the external ...
Views: 69 - The Need for Constant, Steady and Flexible Progress on the Yogic Path - by Submitted on Jul 26, 2022 from santosh krinskyAt certain stages along the way, a particular technique or method of standpoint may be helpful to the growth of the spiritual consciousness or the implementation of that consciousness in the outer being and life. These same methods, however, can lead to stagnation if practiced without heed to ...
Views: 489 - The Need for Intense Aspiration for the Divine Realisation - by Submitted on Dec 16, 2022 from santosh krinskyThe time and effort needed to overcome the numerous impediments along the way for those seeking the Divine realisation implies that the seeker must have an intense inner drive to carry on through all difficulties and delays encountered. This inner drive is known as aspiration. It is called the ...
Views: 422 - The Need for Patience and Perseverance - by Submitted on Mar 29, 2025 from santosh krinskyIn today’s modern societies, people expect instant results. They want things to be fast and easy. They respond to ads claiming they can lose weight easily in a few days’ time. They want deliveries from stores to be overnight, if not ‘same day’. They would prefer to receive their enlightenment ...
Views: 153 - The Need for Patience and Perseverance - by Submitted on Jul 24, 2025 from santosh krinskyScientists tell us that human beings diverged from chimpanzees somewhere between 4 and 8 million years ago. Somewhere around 2 million years ago, the line of development that led to human beings appeared and our current formation, Homo sapiens came on the scenes around 300,000 years ago. Each ...
Views: 136 - The Need for Patience and Perseverance to Bring About Evolutionary Change of Consciousness - by Submitted on Jan 27, 2026 from santosh krinskyIt is essential for the spiritual seeker to maintain his view of the long-term objectives and the time frames of the evolution of consciousness in Nature, in order for him to avoid becoming overly anxious about specific setbacks or delays in completing transforming the external physical ...
Views: 66 - The Need for Patience, Persistence and Continuity in the Attempt to Change or Transform Human Nature - by Submitted on Aug 22, 2023 from santosh krinskyHuman beings generally have little patience or endurance. Particularly in today’s world, where we expect “immediate” gratification, we want something to get done quickly, easily and permanently. If we work on a particular issue we notice in our being, we want to see results and not have to ...
Views: 392 - The Need for Persistent Energy and Focus to Live the Spiritual Life - by Submitted on May 12, 2022 from santosh krinskySpiritual progress is an ongoing process that requires patience, persistence, endurance and strength of purpose, along with the focus of energy needed to achieve any substantial realisations. Some people believe that spirituality is something weak and ineffective, that leads people to abandon ...
Views: 525 - The Need for Preparation of the Being Before Exploring Occult Worlds and Domains - by Submitted on Jun 05, 2024 from santosh krinskyWhen an individual leaves the relative safety of the physical being and traverses other domains and interacts with other beings, including vital beings both beneficent and maleficent, he is faced with the reality that the vibrations which he carries with him, or that resonate with him, draw to ...
Views: 322 - The Need for Serious Review of Other-Worldly or Supernormal Experience - by Submitted on Jun 29, 2024 from santosh krinskyIt is convenient, and perhaps comforting, to simply deny reality to experiences that people have, rather than to grapple with the implications of those experiences. We stick convenient labels on certain phenomena and believe by doing so, we have understood and defined those phenomena. Delusion, ...
Views: 347 - The Need for Silence of the Thinking Mind for the Spiritual Transformation - by Submitted on Oct 17, 2021 from santosh krinskyFor most people, the mind is always active with an internal commentary or dialogue running as people react to situations or try to solve various issues. As the mind is trained to undertake intellectual processes, it follows a process of logic and organisation that is used to understand and act ...
Views: 510 - The Need for Spiritual Discrimination, the Ability to Distinguish the Pure from the Impure - by Submitted on Apr 18, 2023 from santosh krinskyAs the spiritual seeker develops the sadhana over time, eventually he is confronted with lights, voices, and energies that come to him. It is not sufficient for him to simply accept that whatever comes is to be seen as valid and supportive of his spiritual aspiration. Spiritual discrimination, ...
Views: 408 - The Need for the Descent of Peace Into the Being - by Submitted on Sep 25, 2021 from santosh krinskyWe see in tales of various spiritual paths of the past, and present, that even a slight opening to the divine Power, Knowledge or Ananda can lead to severe disruptions in the individual being. There are stories of people dancing with ecstasy when they cannot hold the force coming down, as well ...
Views: 624 - The Need for the Guidance of the Guru - by Submitted on Sep 20, 2021 from santosh krinskyThe snares of the desire-soul of the vital nature are often subtle and can easily overpower the mind. Thus, motivations that represent the gratification of the ego are frequently justified by the mental processes and thus, can continue even when the seeker believes that he is carrying out the ...
Views: 561 - The Need for the Persistence of Faith to Succeed in the Yogic Endeavour - by Submitted on Jul 15, 2025 from santosh krinskyWe often do not recognise that there are different parts of our being that may be at different stages in terms of the spiritual focus, the dedication, the faith and the commitment. Thus, when our mind gets distracted or concerned, or when our vital nature goes off in another direction, we may ...
Views: 163 - The Need for the Power of Discernment in the Spiritual Sadhana - by Submitted on Jan 10, 2026 from santosh krinskyThere are many powers at work in the world, physical powers, vital powers, mental powers, spiritual powers. They are native to their own sphere, but in many cases they are active here in our world, trying to assert themselves and thrive here. Many of these powers are conscious and act with ...
Views: 65 - The Need for Time to Assimilate the Descent of the Divine Force - by Submitted on Sep 30, 2021 from santosh krinskyThe vital nature craves excitement and signs of progress. It feels like time spent reflecting, relaxing, or contemplating may be ‘wasted time’. This is similar to the mindset that sees a vacant piece of land, with just plants, flowers and trees on it as ‘wasted’ as it has not been ‘developed’. ...
Views: 521 - The Need for Transformation of the Vital in the Practice of the Integral Yoga - by Submitted on Jul 16, 2022 from santosh krinskyCan human nature be changed? We are exhorted to be kinder, more compassionate, less egoistic, more rational in our relationships with others and our actions in the world. When we try to actually carry out these things, we find that, for the most part, our vital instincts and drives still control ...
Views: 505 - The Need for Understanding the Power of Thought Formation - by Submitted on Sep 08, 2024 from santosh krinskyWhat is thought formation? For many people, the constant stream of haphazard ideas, thoughts, reflections and perceptions represents thought. Their minds are constantly bombarded by thoughts of all types without a consistent flow or theme. They jump from one subject to another without even a ...
Views: 301 - The Need to Achieve a Calm Equality Not Shaken By Outward Happenings - by Submitted on Mar 18, 2025 from santosh krinskyIf we examine our reactions to circumstances that occur daily in our lives, we will see we generally go through a range of feelings from elation when something we deem positive occurs, to depression when it seems like the house is falling in on us. Major events, such as achievements in school, ...
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