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- Growing Within: the Psychology of Inner Development: Summary and Conclusions - by Submitted on May 27, 2023 from santosh krinskyHumanity is facing an existential crisis. Scientists report that changes brought about by human civilisation have created the conditions that are causing what is now being called the sixth planetary die-off of species. The land, water and air are all being polluted. Toxic chemicals are poisoning ...
Views: 429 - 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: 429 - 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: 429 - The Awakened Psychic Being Attracts What It Needs for Its Growth and Development - by Submitted on May 12, 2023 from santosh krinskyThere has been a lot of publicity about what is called generally the “law of attraction”. This holds that an individual can focus on something and thereby cause it to be attracted to him. People have used it to try to attract wealth, romance, and other things they desire to themselves. There is, ...
Views: 429 - The Experience of Samadhi - by Submitted on Apr 19, 2023 from santosh krinskyIt is impossible for the mental consciousness to imagine what the state of Samadhi actually is. If we try to sit for meditation, we find all kinds of perceptions, feelings, nervous impulses, random thoughts and emotions flitting across our minds. We can observe an almost endless stream of inner ...
Views: 429 - The Intense Opposition of Basic Human Nature to Any Attempt to Change or Grow into a New Status and the Need to Persevere - by Submitted on Mar 19, 2023 from santosh krinskyUntil an individual takes up the issue of inner growth and development, whether this is for spiritual progress, mental development, emotional growth, vital discipline or some kind of physical control, he tends to take very little notice of any inner conflict or struggle. He just acts ‘naturally’ ...
Views: 429 - The Essential Process of Ascent and Integration of Spiritual Progress - by Submitted on Apr 24, 2023 from santosh krinskyBy putting emphasis on ‘headline’ spiritual experiences and attempting to hold onto them or repeat them, the seeker is potentially losing sight of the larger process that is taking place to effect the transformation of the nature. All progress represents what may be called a ‘vertical ascent’ to ...
Views: 428 - 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: 428 - 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: 428 - 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: 428 - 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: 428 - The Psychic Being and the Evolutionary Principle in Earthly Life - by Submitted on Oct 01, 2023 from santosh krinskyThere are certain beings that occupy specific positions in the hierarchy of consciousness, who inhabit specific planes with a specific define role in the creation. These are essentially ‘static’ beings as they do not ‘evolve’. It is commonly held that, on the contrary, the evolutionary principle ...
Views: 427 - The Science of Living - by Submitted on Oct 20, 2023 from santosh krinskyThe wisdom seekers of past ages essentially set forth one overriding dictum “Know Thyself”. Simple enough! We then, however, begin to understand the difficulties involved. Sri Ramana Maharshi poignantly asks us to inquire ‘who am I”? Who, indeed…. For those who live primarily in the external ...
Views: 427 - 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: 426 - How to Gain Control Over the Subconscient Impact on the External Being - by Submitted on Apr 01, 2024 from santosh krinskyIdeally we want some kind of a pill we can take, some kind of an instant solution, some magic formula that will instantly resolve some difficulty we face when a subconsicent formation has been triggered. We react without any advance warning when this occurs. it is also the source of many ...
Views: 426 - 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: 426 - 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: 426 - The Self: Transcendent, Universal and Individual - by Submitted on Sep 15, 2023 from santosh krinskyIn order to distinguish standpoint and nexus of attention, we refer to the Divine Being as either Transcendent, i.e. exceeding the entire manifested universe and containing both the manifest and unmanifest aspects; Universal, i.e. the consciousness that maintains awareness of the universal ...
Views: 426 - The Two Most Powerful Levers to Enter Into Contact with the Divine in One’s Psychic Being - by Submitted on May 04, 2023 from santosh krinskyWhen an individual begins to recognise the existence of his soul, and seeks for a way to come into contact with it, and begin to thereby understand the purpose and significance of his life in the larger creation, the first question that comes to mind is ‘how do I do that?’ This leads to a ...
Views: 426 - Complex Interaction of the Gunas Can Bring About Opposite Responses from an Individual Under Various Circumstances - by Submitted on Apr 28, 2023 from santosh krinskyAs we take our standpoint primarily in the external nature, we are clearly subject to the action of the three Gunas, or ‘qualities’ of Nature. These qualities do not remain constant and are ever-changing, and they then determine the type of reaction and action an individual has in any particular ...
Views: 425 - So-Called ‘Spiritual’ Experiences and True Spiritual Development - by Submitted on Apr 04, 2023 from santosh krinskyWe tend to associate experiences of various unusual powers as either evidence of high mental development or perhaps spiritual development. Most of what gets mooted about, however, may be seen as experiences of entering into various occult vital planes and bringing back the experience from those ...
Views: 425 - The Outer Mental, Vital and Physical Consciousness of the External Being - by Submitted on Jun 08, 2023 from santosh krinskyModern-day Western psychological researchers are finding that certain portions of the brain are related to higher cognitive functions, logic, reasoning, extrapolation, imagination, projection, analysis and classification while some parts are in charge of the purely mechanical control of things ...
Views: 425 - Boredom and Its Cure - by Submitted on Nov 18, 2023 from santosh krinskyWe are frequently not aware of the state of boredom and its various manifestations within us. We do recognise periods when we feel at a loss and want to do or experience something or distract our minds and we recognise these times as boredom. What we do not necessarily recognise however are the ...
Views: 424 - Is the Mental Consciousness an Aid or an Obstacle for the Spiritual Seeker? - by Submitted on Aug 03, 2023 from santosh krinskyEvery level of consciousness is limited by the frame within which it operates, as well as by the mechanism of its action within that frame. In its own field of action, with its own native operation, the mind can be a powerful tool and aid to the individual. Yet, when it tries to assert for ...
Views: 424 - The Soul and the Jivatman - by Submitted on Sep 17, 2023 from santosh krinskyAs the seeker proceeds in the path of yoga, it is important that he not misinterpret or misunderstand what he experiences or what the source of the experience may be. Most people confuse the terms Self, Spirit, and soul so that they really cannot appreciate the difference aspects or ...
Views: 424 - 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: 424 - The Inner Being (the Subliminal) - by Submitted on Jun 09, 2023 from santosh krinskyThere are many times when people suddenly get a true ‘sense’ or a ‘feeling’ about something that is not directly perceptible to their senses. Sometimes one will feel that someone is watching or following, although the person cannot be seen or heard. There is some inner sense, with a wider and ...
Views: 423 - 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: 423 - 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: 422 - Discovering One’s Role or Mission in Life - by Submitted on May 02, 2023 from santosh krinskyWhen we are fixed in the external personality we take our cues about our role in life from our family, our friends, the social and economic environment and, with that framing, our particular interests and aptitudes. As a child we may want to emulate people in uniforms and thus, may want to be a ...
Views: 422 - The Nature and Action of the Intuitive Mind - by Submitted on Sep 11, 2023 from santosh krinskyWhen we generally consider the idea of intuition, we look at some ‘gut feeling’ we may have, or some quick certainty we have about a certain situation and call that ‘intuition’. If we examine the common notions of intuition carefully, we find that in some cases they are embedded responses to ...
Views: 422 - The Process of Changing Human Nature - by Submitted on Apr 16, 2023 from santosh krinskyWhen we take up the question of how to go about changing human nature, we are confronted with the difficulty of that attempt. Instincts, habits, trained responses, ‘nature’ and ‘nurture’ all conspire to maintain the status quo. When we attempt to make any change, we run up against the opposition ...
Views: 422 - The Spectrum of Consciousness: From Superconscient to Inconscient - by Submitted on Aug 24, 2023 from santosh krinskyAll consciousness operates on a continuum with each plane representing certain vibrational spectra that are perceptible to those able to receive and process the vibrations of that plane. We know from research with various beings such as insects and animals of various sorts that they have ...
Views: 421 - The Value of Enthusiasm - by Submitted on May 03, 2023 from santosh krinskyWhen we think about what qualities within ourselves are aids to achieving conscious contact with the psychic being, the soul, we would likely not name ‘enthusiasm’ as one of them. The Mother, however, makes the case for this quality. Those things that motivate us to learn, to expand our ...
Views: 421 - Becoming Aware of the Illusion of the External Life - by Submitted on May 25, 2023 from santosh krinskyMany people are begin to reflect, and even entertain the notion, that the world we experience on a day to day basis is somehow unreal or illusory. Films such as the dystopian story set forth in The Matrix envision that human beings are fettered and their brains wired so they experience a form of ...
Views: 420 - Understanding the Relationship of Various Parts and Planes of the Being to Our Current External Mental, Vital and Physical Consciousness - by Submitted on Jun 07, 2023 from santosh krinskySri Aurobindo frequently describes going inward to discover the deepest inner being, the psychic being, or soul, as one way to come into contact with the truth of one’s existence and unify one’s being with the Divine. This is a way to overcome the artificial wall of separation that we set up ...
Views: 420 - The Complex Make-Up of the Human Personalities - by Submitted on Apr 29, 2023 from santosh krinskyWe tend to look on ourselves as being of a specific nature and having a specific personality. We see main lines of understanding, of reaction, and of action and look upon these as ‘who we are’. If we take a closer look, however, we soon begin to see that we are not as simple and homogeneous as ...
Views: 419 - The Experience of the Individual in the Ordinary Life of the External Surface Being - by Submitted on Jun 05, 2023 from santosh krinskyFor the individual living on the surface of his being, interacting with the external world, responding to impulsions, pressures, forces and the objects of desire, his inner experience is essentially a reaction to these external pressures and an attempt to meet the desires that arise and somehow ...
Views: 418 - Which incident made you realize the difference between Self Respect and Ego? - by Submitted on May 08, 2023 from Dada BhagwanOh! That’s a wonderful story. Come, let me tell you... I always thought self-respect is one of the most important ingredients in a personality. Anything which you yourself do not respect or value, how can you expect it from others? Moreover, right from childhood, I was inclined towards the ...
Views: 418(1 vote) - Work That Aids the Aspiration and Work That Dulls the Aspiration of the Seeker - by Submitted on Mar 02, 2023 from santosh krinskyIt is a constant complaint that we have to take on boring, distasteful, mechanical or otherwise unpleasant jobs in order to survive. Then we create a bifurcation in our minds between “work time” and “personal time” or “sadhana” (if we happen to be practicing any form of yoga). We thus spend a ...
Views: 418 - 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: 418 - How To Effect Permanent Change in the Subconscient Nature - by Submitted on Aug 19, 2023 from santosh krinskyIt is often said that ‘you can’t change human nature’. One of the major obstacles turns out to be the seeds of all past habits, actions, behaviors, reactions and instincts that reside in the subconscious levels of the being. An individual may spend his life culturing his mind, his emotions and ...
Views: 417 - 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: 417 - Understanding the Physical Mind and the Process of Change - by Submitted on Aug 11, 2023 from santosh krinskyThere is in Nature, a conservative force that resists change. There is a benefit inasmuch as it ensures that life does not devolve into chaos, and there is a further benefit that it forces the change-process to become much more solid and effective in order to eventually bring out the intended ...
Views: 417 - The Contagious Nature of Desire in the Vital Being - by Submitted on Jul 28, 2023 from santosh krinskyVirtually everybody, at some point in their lives, has the experience of entering a room or a gathering of some sort and feeling the movement of some vital force rising up within them. It could be a room filled with the energy of greed, or sexual tension or anger. They feel like they are being ...
Views: 416 - The Evolutionary Progress of Nature and the Impact of the Conscious Participation of the Soul - by Submitted on May 10, 2023 from santosh krinskySri Aurobindo describes the long, slow process of development of the universal manifestation. There is an evolution of consciousness which takes place over time spanning many millennia, and which does not involve the conscious participation of the individual. At a certain point in time, when the ...
Views: 416 - The Soul Provides the Continuity of Consciousness from Life to Life - by Submitted on Sep 24, 2023 from santosh krinskyWithin a particular lifetime we experience a sense of continuity of being, which we normally attribute to the ego-personality. The sense of ego helps us identify with the body, life and mind we currently inhabit and utilize. This ego-sense is held together by the force of memory and by an ...
Views: 416 - The True Soul and the Desire Soul - by Submitted on Sep 22, 2023 from santosh krinskyThe confusion about the soul is pervasive at virtually every level of our being. Sri Aurobindo identifies what he calls the ‘desire soul’ which is a formation of the vital being, living on the surface of the consciousness and seeking gratification of desires for the external being. The amalgam ...
Views: 415 - Confusion About the Reality of the Atman and the Ego - by Submitted on Oct 08, 2023 from santosh krinskyWe frequently allow our mental process and the limitations of language to create confusion within ourselves. The mind’s primary capacities involve fragmentation and classification; thus, we identify different aspects, parts, beings, roles, events and treat them as separate and distinct from one ...
Views: 414 - Solving the Existential Crisis of Our Lives Through the Evolution of Consciousness: My Personal Journey in the Adventure of Consciousness - by Submitted on Apr 23, 2024 from santosh krinskyWe struggle with finding meaning in our lives. There is so much strife, so much confusion, so many issues that threaten our very existence as a species. We view enormous changes to the environment, the ever-dwindling supply of fresh water, the imminent collapse of the ocean fisheries, ...
Views: 414