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- The Difference Between Indulgence, Suppression and Rejection of the Movement of Desire - by Submitted on Jul 18, 2022 from santosh krinskyYogic practitioners have a number of different methods they have utilized to try to gain control over the movement of vital desire. The disturbances caused by desire, and the distractions that result are clearly inimical to success in the yogic sadhana. Some, like those who practice various ...
Views: 467 - The Power of Love - by Submitted on Aug 02, 2023 from Maetreyii Ma NolanEvery day is a new opportunity, a new beginning, an opportunity to live the life you truly want to live. Spirituality uplifts the human spirit. It is governed by love, lovingkindness, compassion, and awareness. When the mind and body and spirit are aligned, there is a flow from that infinite ...
Views: 467 - Evolution of Consciousness - by Submitted on Oct 25, 2022 from santosh krinskyNature takes a long time to effectuate substantive evolutionary progress in manifesting higher, more complex and more powerful forms of consciousness. The shift from the realm of Matter took countless millennia. The first appearance of Life was simple and, again, the time required was far beyond ...
Views: 466 - The Experience of the Descent of the Higher Consciousness Into the Mind, Life and Body - by Submitted on Sep 27, 2021 from santosh krinskyThe traditional paths of yoga have as a defining experience the rising of the energy from the lower chakras to the higher centres. Western psychology proposes that the creative force, that leads to art, as well as intellectual achievement comes through a process that is called ‘sublimation’ of ...
Views: 466 - Delving into the Complexity of Determining an Individual’s Destiny in Life - by Submitted on Nov 24, 2023 from santosh krinskyTo understand the complexity of any individual’s destiny, it is essential to note that it is comprised of an amalgam of the streams of energy that flow through each aspect of his being. Thus, there is a physical destiny, a vital destiny, a mental destiny, a spiritual destiny, each following the ...
Views: 465 - Experiencing the Wideness of the Consciousness - by Submitted on Oct 12, 2022 from santosh krinskyThe Vedic Rishis sought the Truth, the Right, the Vast. (satyam, rtam, brihat). They understood that the awareness limited to the ego-personality, the individual body-life-mind complex, was incomplete and could not comprehend the truth or meaning of existence. They sought to identify with the ...
Views: 465 - Overcoming Polarization and Argument - by Submitted on Oct 04, 2022 from santosh krinskyWe live in a time of extreme polarization. People and even entire societies are taking fixed stands, and disputing the validity or right of anyone holding different or opposing viewpoints. In the framework of governing a nation, this leads inevitably to either a form of political gridlock if the ...
Views: 465 - Understanding and Addressing the Mechanism of Anger and its External Cause - by Submitted on Jan 03, 2022 from santosh krinskyIf we examine the phenomenon of anger closely we see how it suddenly rises up and overpowers even those who are normally quite even-keeled in their day to day lives. By studying mob psychology, where we see a large number of individuals inflamed in a crowd setting and set into motion to wreak ...
Views: 465 - A Technique for Shifting the Focus of Consciousness Into a Status of Complete Identification - by Submitted on Oct 05, 2022 from santosh krinskyPatanjali in his Yoga Sutras describes the practice of samyama which is a power of identification that results from the systematic development of dharana (holding the mind on to some particular object), dhyana (an unbroken flow of knowledge in that object) and samadhi (reflecting on the meaning, ...
Views: 464 - Do We Know What We Seek in Our Lives? - by Submitted on Nov 22, 2022 from santosh krinskyWe feel like something is missing in our lives. It could be something material, it could be just a pang of hunger or thirst. It could be a sense of emotional emptiness, unattached to a specific object. We may feel like we need to find out something, do something, know something, respond to ...
Views: 464 - Making Best Use of Our Limited Time - by Submitted on Oct 17, 2022 from santosh krinskyWhen we reflect on the time we have in our lifetime and how we utilize it, we find that after we calculate time spent in sleeping, eating, bathing, growth in childhood, earning a living, exercising, we have a very limited amount of what may be called “free time” available to us. In a culture and ...
Views: 464 - The Vital Is Attached to Suffering - by Submitted on Oct 25, 2021 from santosh krinskyWe frequently hear people saying that this world is a world of opposites and one cannot have joy without sorrow, pleasure without pain. This is accepted basically as an axiom for living in the world. And it is true, that for virtually everyone there is a mixture of positive and negative vital ...
Views: 464 - Understanding the Cycles and Phases of Spiritual Development - by Submitted on Nov 14, 2022 from santosh krinskySeveral days ago a seeker raised a question, rephrased here: “I read Sri Aurobindo’s writings regularly and for a time they stay active within me, but then, it falls away and I feel blank inside. Am I losing the benefit of Sri Aurobindo’s teaching, and if so, how can I ensure that it stays ...
Views: 464 - 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: 463 - Rejection of the Sex Impulse and Mastery of Its Force - by Submitted on Jan 11, 2022 from santosh krinskyMany religious traditions and cultures have placed sex in a ‘taboo’ category for discussion or consideration. Sex is considered by many to be something sinful, immoral and only to be conducted within the confines of a lawfully sanctioned marriage and under guidelines for procreation not ...
Views: 463 - The Case for the Rare Instance of an Ongoing Physical, Vital or Mental Formation Surviving the Death of the Individual - by Submitted on May 07, 2023 from santosh krinskyWe have no difficulty seeing and understanding that an individual can create a legacy in the physical world we inhabit, as we see the evidence everywhere around us in the form of buildings, enterprises, religious movements, mental developments and conceptualization, and artistic creations, not ...
Views: 463 - Two Aids in Overcoming the Impulse of Anger - by Submitted on Jan 02, 2022 from santosh krinskyFor the spiritual seeker there are two major transformations ahead of the ultimate supramental transformation. These are the psychic transformation and the spiritual transformation. The one opens up the devotional aspiration and the receptivity of the being. The other shifts the standpoint away ...
Views: 463 - The Third Step in the Mental Discipline: Control of Thoughts - by Submitted on Jun 19, 2022 from santosh krinskyThe inner control of thoughts is a further development once the poise of the witness consciousness has been attained. As the seeker observes the thoughts, he can also determine their effect in the being, and see if they lead to uplifting, widening, and harmonizing results, or whether they shrink ...
Views: 462 - An Exercise to Experience the Nature of Consciousness - by Submitted on Sep 10, 2022 from santosh krinskyThe quest to understand the nature of consciousness, and “who am I?” spans back through the past history of mankind. Some of the exercises undertaken by the ancient sages remain relevant into the current day, as the Mother illustrates in her example below, which derives i its original form from ...
Views: 461 - The First Step In Organising One’s Life Around a Central Will or Aspiration - by Submitted on Sep 16, 2022 from santosh krinskyThose who have an aspiration for spiritual growth, for the change of human nature within themselves, eventually find that they cannot live haphazardly, at the mercy of whatever forces, impulses, ideas or thoughts happen to be moving within them at any point in time, regardless of the source or ...
Views: 461 - Two Methods for Practicing the Yoga of Works - by Submitted on Mar 04, 2023 from santosh krinskyThere is no clear line of demarcation between the 3 major paths of yoga that are based in the primary aspects of development, the yoga of knowledge, the yoga of devotion and the yoga of works. As they proceed down their somewhat different paths, they must necessarily gain aspects of and bring ...
Views: 461 - Gaining the Standpoint of the Observer of the Nature - by Submitted on May 26, 2022 from santosh krinskyAn important step in the practice of yoga is to attain true detachment from the surface nature through the shifting of the standpoint from the surface to the ‘witness consciousness’, the Purusha. The separation of Purusha from Prakriti, the active nature, is needed in order to effectuate change ...
Views: 460 - 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: 460 - Transformation of the Vital Requires the Action of a New Power of Consciousness - by Submitted on Jul 25, 2022 from santosh krinskyAlbert Einstein was famously quoted as saying: “We can not solve our problems with the same level of thinking that created them”. It is necessary to achieve a new frame of reference and standpoint in order to address the issues of the body-life-mind complex and the transformation of the vital ...
Views: 460 - Alleviating the Greater Part of Human Suffering - by Submitted on Sep 15, 2022 from santosh krinskyIn the opening chapter of The Life Divine, Sri Aurobindo sets forth the proposition that “… all problems of existence are essentially problems of harmony.” We can see the reality of this statement both in the way we respond internally to circumstances, events and our reactions to them, as well ...
Views: 459 - Bringing Harmony Between the Inner Psychic Being and the External Nature - by Submitted on Sep 26, 2022 from santosh krinskyFor Sri Aurobindo, truth of the spirit is to be lived, not attained by abandonment of life in the world. He looks at the evolution of body, life and mind as steps along the evolutionary process, and each one of them represents an important stage in an ongoing development. The action of these ...
Views: 459 - 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: 459 - The Evolutionary Cycle and the Speeding Up of the Evolutionary Cycle - by Submitted on Nov 15, 2022 from santosh krinskyWhen we reflect on the evolution of consciousness, it becomes obvious to us that nothing can evolve out of Matter that is not already involved in some way. We plant an acorn, and an oak tree grows. Someone unfamiliar with the science would treat this as a magical event. We put one form of ...
Views: 459 - Time and Patient Persistence - by Submitted on Jul 19, 2022 from santosh krinskyThe shift from the standpoint of the desire-soul of the ego is not something that can occur completely and all at once. There are too many persistent threads of the instincts and habits of the mind-life-body complex to expect so radical a change to happen magically. There may be, and generally ...
Views: 459 - Understanding and Addressing the Difficulties of Gaining Control of the Ordinary Human Nature and Life, Part 2 - by Submitted on Aug 20, 2022 from santosh krinskySri Aurobindo provided advice to an individual who was trying to sort out the direction for his life and how to face the difficulties that confronted him, particularly with respect to certain vital weaknesses to which he was prone. Sri Aurobindo analyzed the condition of this individual in great ...
Views: 459 - 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: 458 - The Consent of the Entire Being Is Necessary for the Divine Change - by Submitted on Nov 02, 2021 from santosh krinskyWhen we associate ourselves with our mental identity, we tend to believe that what we ‘think’ is what we ‘are’. However, this leaves open the opportunity for self-deception and ultimate failure to change the nature, as the vital being remains stuck in its old habitual patterns and does not ...
Views: 458 - The Darkness and the Light Within Each Individual - by Submitted on Sep 28, 2022 from santosh krinskyAncient Chinese philosophy enunciated the concept of yin and yang, which represent the opposites that together form a whole, and which are constantly interacting with one another dynamically. The classical image shows a black spot in a white background and a white spot in a black background, ...
Views: 458 - Wise Reminders From Edgar Allan Poe - by Submitted on Dec 06, 2022 from Scott & Stephen PetulloEdgar Allan Poe (January 19, 1809–October 7, 1849) was an American writer and poet who is considered to have pioneered the category of detective fiction, and was one of the first Americans to consistently write short stories. He is also the first well-known American writer to earn a living ...
Views: 457 - Tapping Into the Universal Forces Rather than Interchange with Other People - by Submitted on May 21, 2022 from santosh krinskyWe are very much creatures of habit, and thus, when it comes to our intake of energy, we tend to habitually turn to a preferred method of reception. For most people, the primary source is food. Most people engage in vital interchange with others, and there is a subtle interaction that can both ...
Views: 456 - The Predominant Characteristic of Physical Consciousness: Tamas or Inertia - by Submitted on Apr 21, 2022 from santosh krinskyAn understanding of the three gunas, or qualities of Nature, is extremely helpful in gaining an understanding of the responses to external stimuli, events, people and circumstances. The gunas are sattwa, with a predominant quality of light and harmony, rajas with a predominant quality of ...
Views: 455 - Options and Risks in Widening the Consciousness Using Various Methods - by Submitted on Oct 13, 2022 from santosh krinskyThere are numerous ways to widen one’s consciousness to begin to incorporate the viewpoint and direction of others. Some of these methods are easier than others, in that they utilize a mood or feeling that is evoked from a natural environment, such as the starry sky, the ocean, a wide view from ...
Views: 454 - The Process of Effectuating Real Change in Human Nature - by Submitted on Sep 18, 2022 from santosh krinskyHonest observation without mental bias is the first step the Mother outlines. This is accomplished by setting up the ideal as a screen or filter against which to compare each action. Those that do not compare entirely favorably represent things that can be identified as subjects for the change ...
Views: 454 - Online Coaching For JEE 2021 - by Submitted on Sep 03, 2021 from najma husainTaking up NEET test in 2021 The National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) managed by NTA (the National Testing Agency) catalyzes the understudies to get affirmations in undergrad clinical, dental, BHMS, or comparable courses in India. Goodness, stand by! Is it accurate to say that ...
Views: 453 - The Complexity of Predicting the Destiny of Any Individual - by Submitted on Nov 23, 2023 from santosh krinskyWe predict the times and the seasons, we can predict to a certainty physical and mechanical operations, and we can even predict within a range, the pattern and scope of a particular set of events we set in motion in various fields. We expect that the physical world in which we live follows ...
Views: 453 - The Parable of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde - by Submitted on Oct 01, 2022 from santosh krinskyRobert Louis Stevenson wrote what is one of the classics in Western literature, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. The tale is one of a scientist who experiments with potions, one of which releases the dark side of his being, the suppressed inhibitions and dark urges of murder, lust, ...
Views: 453 - Hints for the Spiritual Practitioner Seeking to Eliminate the Sex Impulse - by Submitted on Jan 12, 2022 from santosh krinskyWe have learned quite a bit about the sexual impulse. Young children are basically asexual, and it is only with the coming of puberty and the flooding of mood-creating chemicals in the system (hormones), that we become susceptible to responding to the sexual energy when it arises. Not everything ...
Views: 452 - 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: 452 - Vital Movements Rising Up During the Practice of the Yoga - by Submitted on Oct 28, 2021 from santosh krinskyEvery individual has all the long-established vital movements embedded deep in the nature. When the force of the yoga begins to open up the various energy centers, particularly the vital centers, these movements are stirred and use the opportunity to capitalize on the new energy and try to ...
Views: 452 - Observing the Inherited and Environmental Influences on One’s Character from the Standpoint of the Psychic Being - by Submitted on Aug 29, 2022 from santosh krinskyWhen the individual is able to shift out of the standpoint of the ego-personality to that of the soul, the psychic being, he is able to observe and trace the influences of inherited tendencies or environmental pressures that bubble up from the subconscient and try to gain admittance and ...
Views: 451 - Self-Identification with Others — Loosening the Bonds of the Ego-Consciousness - by Submitted on Oct 08, 2022 from santosh krinskyWith focus, over time and with dedicated effort, the power of concentrated attention, samyama, eventually bears fruit and one can escape the boundaries of the ego-consciousness and enter into an identification with others. As this occurs, we understand their motivations and the direction of ...
Views: 451 - 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: 451 - 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: 451 - Westerners and Indian Yoga, Part 3: Are There Advantages to an Indian Birth for the Practice of Yoga? - by Submitted on Mar 30, 2022 from santosh krinskyIf we look at the qualities required for bringing about the emergence of the psychic being, the development of a devotional attitude, and support for the idea of focusing on the Eternal through subordination or even abandonment of the relations of the outer life, it is clear that India has ...
Views: 451 - What Is the Purpose? Why Am I Alive? Is There a Meaning to Life? - by Submitted on Dec 09, 2022 from santosh krinskyModern day civilisation suffers from an epidemic of ’emptiness’, a feeling that life has no meaning or purpose. This leads to various coping mechanisms such as dissipation through use of drugs or alcohol, or through consumption of mindless entertainment. For those who do not choose these ...
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