Self Improvement Site
On The Internet! Take the Self Improvement Tour
On The Internet! Take the Self Improvement Tour
Self Knowledge Articles
We are currently looking for an Official SelfGrowth.com Guide to "Self Knowledge". If you have expertise in Self Knowledge and your own website and/or product for this topic, please review this form for complete details. The Official Guide Position is part of our Premium Placement Package
- The Standpoint of the Individual Rooted in the Vital Nature - by Submitted on Jul 24, 2023 from santosh krinskyEach individual is rooted primarily in one of the major component aspects of our human individuality. Some are clearly rooted in the physical and their thoughts, actions and needs are those called for by the physical being. The vast majority of people are moved by their vital being, and are ...
Views: 290 - The Education and Uplifting of the Vital Nature - by Submitted on Jul 23, 2023 from santosh krinskyOne of the most confusing issues for the spiritual seeker is the ‘care and feeding’ of the vital nature. We shift from one extreme to the other in our view of how to bring it under control, for it is virtually uniformly recognised that for spiritual development, the vital nature must be ...
Views: 290 - The Food of the Vital Being - by Submitted on Jul 22, 2023 from santosh krinskyWe can observe that there are times when the vital nature is energetic, enthused, active, and makes efforts. There are other times when it is dull, withdrawn, sullen, lacking energy and clearly is not taking interest in doing anything. The difference between these two states generally lies in ...
Views: 289 - The Vital Nature: Transformation Not Suppression - by Submitted on Jul 21, 2023 from santosh krinskyThe vital has a natural tendency to seek for the fulfillment of its being in some form of enjoyment. In the external surface being, this enjoyment takes the form of a seeking after pleasure. With this seeking after pleasure, however, comes also the experience of pain. Pleasure and pain alternate ...
Views: 273 - The Desire-Soul and the Life and Death of the Body - by Submitted on Jul 20, 2023 from santosh krinskyThe vital desire-soul animates the external being. When it enters the physical frame, we say that there is life in the body. When it departs, we say that the person has died. This is distinguishable from the true soul, the psychic being, which is not dependent on either the life or death of a ...
Views: 309 - The Vital Desire Soul and the True Soul of the Psychic Being - by Submitted on Jul 19, 2023 from santosh krinskySri Aurobindo and the Mother make a distinction between the ‘desire soul’ of the vital nature and the ‘true soul’ which expresses the inmost being that is a direct spark of the Divine. They differ in their focus, orientation, and basis of action. The desire soul incorporates the drives of the ...
Views: 296 - The Vital Being: Its Nature, Its Role and Its Mode of Action - by Submitted on Jul 18, 2023 from santosh krinskyWhen the vital nature is involved, which individual has the power to control its impulsions and demands and keep it focused on the higher aims of life? The vital nature is a powerful and essential component of life on earth. It animates material nature and functions through the force of desire. ...
Views: 288 - The Physical Consciousness: Abandon or Transform? - by Submitted on Jul 17, 2023 from santosh krinskyThrough long habit, spiritual seekers tend to look at the question of how to attain spiritual liberation involving abandonment of the external life in the world. Not only spiritual seekers raise this question in some form or another. Anyone involved in aesthetic, mental, artistic, or emotional ...
Views: 295 - The Aspiration and Surrender of the Body Consciousness in Its Seeking for Health and Balance - by Submitted on Jul 16, 2023 from santosh krinskyWhile the mind does not generally recognise the consciousness of the body, it remains true that the body has its own ability to respond to circumstances. For those who have a highly developed mental or vital being, these powers frequently override the natural responsiveness of the body. When we ...
Views: 286 - Conservative Bias and Progressive Action - by Submitted on Jul 15, 2023 from santosh krinskyThere is a conservative bias in earthly existence that seeks to preserve established ways of life as a means of providing an element of stability. This principle helps to avoid the chaotic implications of unrestricted change, thereby providing a basis and a certain amount of certainty. This ...
Views: 308 - The Interaction of the Mind and the Body - by Submitted on Jul 14, 2023 from santosh krinskyThe body has its own consciousness and much of its operation takes place without active mental intervention. However, there is also a serious interaction that takes place so that the mental power can influence, guide, train, direct and otherwise gain at least some control over certain aspects of ...
Views: 313 - How does the soul take a new birth? Where does the soul fly away after death? In which form does the soul go? - by Submitted on Jul 14, 2023 from Dada BhagwanHave you ever seen a talking and walking toy that runs on battery? According to what it is fed, it says, ‘I am hungry, I am happy’, and so on. It works as long as there is a battery in it. And, when the battery is discharged, it is dead. Similarly, a dead body doesn’t have any energy or power to ...
Views: 230 - Understanding the Consciousness of the Body - by Submitted on Jul 13, 2023 from santosh krinskyIf we reflect on how many actions or operations of the physical body take place without our mental intervention, it becomes clear that the body has its own highly developed, and essential, form of consciousness that operates independently of the mind. One common example is widely experienced. An ...
Views: 323 - Causes and Avoidance of Accidents - by Submitted on Jul 12, 2023 from santosh krinskyAn accident avoided. An individual related the following incident. He was driving with a passenger through Yellowstone National Park in the USA some years ago during the summer season in a van late in the afternoon. He had a sense or feeling of an impending accident involving a bison, although ...
Views: 375 - Why chastity has always been considered as highest virtue? - by Submitted on Jul 12, 2023 from Dada BhagwanIn the book, ‘Brahmacharya – Celibacy Attained with Understanding’, Param Pujya Dada Bhagwan, an Enlightened being, has shown the beneficial effects of brahmacharya with scientific exactness. Let’s look at the following excerpts from this book: Param Pujya Dadashri, herein, says: “So ...
Views: 239 - Interaction of the Mind, the Vital Envelope and the Physical Body in the Development of Acute Illness - by Submitted on Jul 11, 2023 from santosh krinskyFor most people, acute illness is an event of the body, which is subject to attack by various malign types of germs, bacteria and viruses. We tend to envision the body as a battlefield and the attacking germs aggressively target the cells and organs and the body fights back with an immune ...
Views: 394 - Understanding the Causes and Prevention of Illness - by Submitted on Jul 10, 2023 from santosh krinskyThere are many ideas about the causes of illness, as well as ways to prevent or cure illness. In the West, the prevalent idea is related to what may be called the “germ invasion” theory, namely, that illness is caused by specific physical ‘germs’ (bacteria or viruses) which invade and overpower ...
Views: 417 - The Role of the Vital-Physical Aspect of Our Being - by Submitted on Jul 08, 2023 from santosh krinskyWhen we observe the nerves and their role in our actions, we see that they carry vital sensations within a physical frame to connect our senses and responses to external pressures to the brain, and then, carry impulses back to the organs of action. Most people do not recognise the essential role ...
Views: 288 - Understanding the Physical Body in its Gross and Subtle Aspects - by Submitted on Jul 07, 2023 from santosh krinskyWhen a particular power of consciousness is intended to participate in the evolution in the external world, it utilizes the physical body as the foundation or anchor of its action. This fixes its action in the world, while at the same time, imposes limits on the power due to the watering-down ...
Views: 301 - Interaction of the Powers of Consciousness in the Material World - by Submitted on Jul 06, 2023 from santosh krinskyWhile each power of consciousness, physical, vital, mental (and others) operates in its native mode and strength in its own plane or sphere of action, it projects itself into the world we inhabit by tying itself to the foundation of the basic physical principle. This involves a ‘watering down’ ...
Views: 295 - The Continuum of Consciousness and the Interactions of the Various Wave-Forms - by Submitted on Jul 05, 2023 from santosh krinskyWe recognise the electro-magnetic spectrum, the color spectrum, the sound wave spectrum and others, each as representing a continuum of wave forms with varying characteristics. There are shorter, more intense waves and longer wave frequencies. Some conduct tremendous amounts of physical heat, ...
Views: 279 - The Reality of Worlds of Existence Other than the Physical World - by Submitted on Jul 04, 2023 from santosh krinskyWe have a strong bias in favor of accepting things that we can perceive with our physical senses, and we tend to disbelieve or discount anything that is not directly, physically available to our experience. Yet if we reflect on the totality of our life experience, it becomes clear that there are ...
Views: 333 - The Status of the Purusha in the Individual and in the Universal Manifestation - by Submitted on Jul 03, 2023 from santosh krinskyWe see pattens repeating from the macro-level to the micro-level. The study of fractals shows us that there are indeed certain patterns and relationships that repeat themselves in every smaller configurations as we drill down toward the micro-level. The macrocosm and the microcosm reflect the ...
Views: 326 - Understanding Planes of Existence or Planes of Consciousness - by Submitted on Jul 02, 2023 from santosh krinskyWe reflect on the evolution of consciousness, how Life evolves out of Matter and Mind evolves out of Life in Matter. Nothing can evolve that has not been previously involved, just as a tree can develop out of an acorn, because the genetic coding is 'involved' in that seed and under the proper ...
Views: 313 - Becoming Conscious of the Multiple Sheaths or Planes of Our Being - by Submitted on Jul 01, 2023 from santosh krinskyIn the Taittiriya Upanishad, the seeker discovers, through intensive tapasya that there are multiple layers, or sheaths, of consciousness that make up the human being. His seeking first discovers the material body, or ‘food sheath’. As he continues he recognises the vital body, or ‘prana ...
Views: 316 - Yoga as Applied Psychology to Understand and Address the Complexity Inherent in the Evolution of Consciousness - by Submitted on Jun 30, 2023 from santosh krinskyThe evolution of consciousness involves an increasing level of complexity as successive levels of consciousness are layered and then interact with each other, with each layer attempting to not only express its own native way of seeing and acting, but also needing to accommodate the demands and ...
Views: 307 - Organizing One’s Life Around a Central Aspiration - by Submitted on Jun 29, 2023 from santosh krinskyOne of the things that spiritual seekers experience is that regardless of how strong the central aspiration of the soul happens to be within them, they experience fluctuations based on the various parts of the external nature coming to the front and asserting their own priorities. This leads to ...
Views: 333 - Understanding Conflicting Powers in the Being - by Submitted on Jun 28, 2023 from santosh krinskyIt is practically a universal experience among religious and spiritual seekers, and even among people who are simply developing some kind of an inner life, that they have an aspiration, a desire to consecrate themselves to some goal, principle or idea, and yet, they struggle with opposing ...
Views: 301 - Unifying the Entire Being Around the Aspiration for the Divine - by Submitted on Jun 27, 2023 from santosh krinskyA spiritual seeker identifies with his aspiration and the focus and actions that come about as a result of that aspiration. It may be acts of prayer, acts of giving, acts of consecration, acts of meditation, or dedicated works. During the moments that he is engaged in these acts, he feels like ...
Views: 335 - Untying the Knot of the Ego-Consciousness - by Submitted on Jun 26, 2023 from santosh krinskyAs long as an individual is locked within a framework of understanding, he is unable to truly recognise or exceed the limits of that framework. The ego-consciousness is such a frame of awareness. It creates the sense of a separate individual, apart and having his own autonomy in ...
Views: 337 - Understanding the Mechanism of the External Nature and the Way to Overcome Its Limitations - by Submitted on Jun 25, 2023 from santosh krinskyAs the seeker attempts to follow a spiritual path, he frequently finds that he struggles with old habits, desires, feelings, cravings, emotions and ideas. He believes these are part of ‘who he is’ and he thus cannot find a way to overcome them, In some cases, he is deeply attached to some of ...
Views: 275 - Contending With the Multitude of Beings That Exist Within Each Individual - by Submitted on Jun 24, 2023 from santosh krinskyAlmost everyone has the experience, from time to time, of acting out a different personality. We may say that someone “got out of bed on the wrong side this morning” when we see a normally cheerful and upbeat individual responding in a totally uncharacteristic way. We chalk this up to some mood ...
Views: 351 - Understanding the Separate Aspects of Being That Make Up the Human Individual’s Personality - by Submitted on Jun 23, 2023 from santosh krinskyMost people look at what they consider to be their personality in a very simple and straightforward manner. The mixture of ideas, thought-process, emotional responses, vital reactions, desires and physical needs and cravings is simply ‘who they are’. When they conclude that something needs to ...
Views: 327 - Confusion About the Real Inner Self and the ExternalSurface Personality Is the Root of Our Suffering - by Submitted on Jun 22, 2023 from santosh krinskyWhen an individual takes up the spiritual path, there is considerable focus on the idea that the life of the external world is an ‘illusion’ and needs to be abandoned in order to achieve spiritual liberation. He sees that a focus on the external personality, its needs, desires, satisfactions, ...
Views: 312 - How long it will take to move on after a very bad break up when you still love that person and should I do to move on as quick as possible? - by Submitted on Jun 22, 2023 from Dada BhagwanAttain Self-Realization As Soon As You Can The first thing you need to do is attain Self-Realization!! For details, you may check out https://www.dadabhagwan.org Let’s assume there is pitch darkness in your house, such that you cannot see anything ahead of you. What happens to you ...
Views: 243 - The Psychic Being and Transformation - by Submitted on Jun 21, 2023 from santosh krinskyAs long as we remain rooted in the awareness of mind-life-body, we see the world and our existence as a fragmented collection of separate objects, beings and forces and we act as if we are separate and distinct from everything else. The spiritual transformation of consciousness involves a shift ...
Views: 311 - The Path to the Attainment of Integral Self-Knowledge - by Submitted on Jun 20, 2023 from santosh krinskyIn The Life Divine, Sri Aurobindo describes at some length what he calls ‘the refusal of the ascetic’. This refusal is caused by the focus on the attainment of the Supreme by disregarding or even eliminating the relationship of the seeker to the life of the external world and society. He eschews ...
Views: 351 - Sachchidananda (Existence-Consciousness-Bliss) - by Submitted on Jun 19, 2023 from santosh krinskyIn our mental view of the world, we see everything separated and fragmented, and we identify separate objects, beings and forces as interacting with one another. We can intellectually conceive of the concept that all these separate entities and forces are part of a coordinated and combined ...
Views: 304 - Supermind - by Submitted on Jun 18, 2023 from santosh krinskyWithin the framework of our mind and the experience of our vital existence, we are inculcated in the belief that everything is subject to duality, good and bad, happy and unhappy, light and dark. We cannot generally conceive of an existence that is not subject to these pairs of opposites. We ...
Views: 352 - Overmind - by Submitted on Jun 17, 2023 from santosh krinskyThere are further levels of consciousness beyond the intuition. The next superior level, as Sri Aurobindo has defined it, is that of the ‘overmind’. The overmind involves at least a partial shift of standpoint as it sees and understands the greater oneness and unity and factors that knowledge ...
Views: 313 - Is the mind a part of our immortal soul, which is also immortal along with the soul? - by Submitted on Jun 17, 2023 from Dada BhagwanNo, the mind is not immortal. And it is not a part of the immortal Soul either. The Soul and the mind are two different entities. Just as this body is physical, the mind too is physical and is made up of matter. Whereas the Soul is not at all physical, it is pure consciousness and has no ...
Views: 240 - Intuition - by Submitted on Jun 16, 2023 from santosh krinskyThe popular idea about intuition is tied to some kind of unexplainable process of "knowing" that people go through. If it is purely based in the type of extrapolation from past experience, or some sense that drives the decision without careful and logical analysis, it is still based in the ...
Views: 439 - Illumined Mind - by Submitted on Jun 15, 2023 from santosh krinskyWhen we study the functioning of the mind, we see that the essential nature is one that can receive sense perceptions, analyze, organize and then subject the objects so developed to a process of reasoning using systematic application of rules of logic. We can also see a process of recall of ...
Views: 333 - What makes you get emotionally attached in a relationship? - by Submitted on Jun 15, 2023 from Dada BhagwanIt is good to earnestly love someone. But to allow yourself to become overly emotionally attached can result in an unhealthy, troubling and even on occasions, an unnatural relationship. When you are deeply in love with someone, so much so that that person inadvertently takes over your entire ...
Views: 307 - Higher Mind - by Submitted on Jun 14, 2023 from santosh krinskyIf we reflect for a moment on the shift from one evolutionary principle of consciousness to another, we can see a shift of standpoint as well as a difference in the mechanism of operation. Those beings who are primarily based in the vital nature tend to react based on principles of fear and ...
Views: 314 - The Superconscient - by Submitted on Jun 13, 2023 from santosh krinskyJust as the electro-magnetic spectrum has ranges below those that we can consciously receive and translate, as well as ranges above those we can utilize, so also consciousness has ranges below and above our limits. The ranges below our limits are called subconscient and inconscient. Those above ...
Views: 312 - The Subconscient and the Inconscient - by Submitted on Jun 12, 2023 from santosh krinskyWe are conscious and aware of forces and energies that operate within a certain specified range. Anything that falls outside that range, whether above or below, remains unseen and unknown to us, even if the forces operative in those superior or inferior ranges impact our thoughts, feelings, ...
Views: 295 - The Supramental Evolution Represents the Fulfillment of Life, Not the Abandonment of Life - by Submitted on Jun 11, 2023 from santosh krinskyFor much of human history, spirituality has been looked upon as a contradiction of an active life in the world. The anchorite in the desert, the renunciate, the Sannyasin, the monk or nun in the cloister are held up to us as the examples of dedication to spiritual growth and purpose. All of ...
Views: 269 - The Inmost Being — the Psychic Being - by Submitted on Jun 11, 2023 from santosh krinskyFor those who live their lives on the surface, focused on fulfillment of their external lives, desires and their ego-personality, there is generally no direct knowledge of the existence of the soul. They may accept the idea of a soul without a clear sense of what that implies or means. Or they ...
Views: 290