Self Improvement Site
On The Internet! Take the Self Improvement Tour
On The Internet! Take the Self Improvement Tour
Articles from santosh krinsky | Selfgrowth.com
- The Play of the Gunas and the Difficulty of Effecting True Change in Human Nature - by Submitted on Mar 20, 2023 from santosh krinskyWe do not generally recognise that it is virtually impossible to hold one thought, one idea, one form of concentration, one energetic status for long periods of time. As time goes on, the balance of the Gunas changes and we lose the intensity, shift our focus to something else, and we find that ...
Views: 312 - 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: 319 - How to Change Human Nature - by Submitted on Mar 18, 2023 from santosh krinskyMany people are skeptical about the possibility of true change to human nature. This skepticism is supported by the long experience humanity has had in trying various ways of changing and overcoming habits, atavisms and what are considered to be the ‘natural’ forms of expression and action of ...
Views: 388 - Risks and Difficulties Attendant on the Practice of a Yoga of Transformation - by Submitted on Mar 17, 2023 from santosh krinskyPeople tend to underestimate the risks and difficulties attendant on the practice of yoga, with a focus on the growth of consciousness and transformation of human nature. Once the seeker begins to try to make changes in long-standing habits of action and reaction, mental predilictions, vital ...
Views: 330 - Understanding Difficulties and Obstacles That Arise During the Yogic Process - by Submitted on Mar 16, 2023 from santosh krinskySri Aurobindo is able to illustrate the different ways that seekers wind up facing and dealing with difficulties or obstacles that arise during the yogic process. This is not a “one size fits all” process due to the differing backgrounds, starting points, capacities and social environment ...
Views: 338 - he Three Gunas, Their Role in the Difficulties and Obstacles in the Yogic Development, and the Certainty of Success When the Divine Call is Present - by Submitted on Mar 15, 2023 from santosh krinskyThe importance of the rule of the 3 Gunas, the qualities of Nature, cannot be over-emphasized. Each of these qualities has both its positive aspects and its downsides, and they are functional in all life. They are continually in fluctuation and intermix with one another to create the events and ...
Views: 327 - The Formation of Human Nature and the Character of the Individual and the Basis of the Resistance to Change - by Submitted on Mar 14, 2023 from santosh krinskyA yogic practice focus on transformation of human nature must necessarily address issues differently than one that has ‘liberation’ as its sole goal. This brings in the need for an understanding of the human instrument, the various elements of the being, the development of those elements through ...
Views: 320 - Difficulties, Obstacles and the Spiritual Path - by Submitted on Mar 13, 2023 from santosh krinskyEvery individual faces difficulties during his lifetime. They may be difficulties imposed due to external circumstances attendant on one’s birth, cultural or societal position, opportunities, or economic prospects. They may be difficulties that arise due to climate or natural disasters. They may ...
Views: 355 - The Divine Grace By Any Other Name… - by Submitted on Mar 12, 2023 from santosh krinskyIt is human nature to want to categorize and pigeon-hole what happens and make developments fit into definitions of our choosing. This same thing occurs when we look at openings of the spiritual nature and the development of or transformation of consciousness. Not only do we want to define and ...
Views: 306 - The Individual Seeker and the Best Path Forward in the Practice of the Yoga - by Submitted on Mar 11, 2023 from santosh krinskyAs each individual tries to understand his life and purpose, he begins a process of observation, review, and experimentation. At this stage, many seekers have little clue about the path that is best suited for them, and they may try out different approaches. Once a path has been identified, they ...
Views: 340 - Understanding the Path of Devotion, Bhakti Yoga - by Submitted on Mar 10, 2023 from santosh krinskyDevotion is not something measured externally by how an individual sings, dances, prays or manifests various signs such as ‘speaking in tongues’, although any one of these activities may indeed be expressions of a deep inner devotion. The measure of devotion is one that reflects the internal ...
Views: 352 - External Worship and the Practice of Bhakti Yoga - by Submitted on Mar 09, 2023 from santosh krinskyMany people are abandoning formalized religions while saying that the external rituals are simply missing any inner spirit or force, that they are simply empty and do not get to the heart of the matter. There is a keen insight here that is useful for those who wish to practice the yoga of ...
Views: 343 - The Nature of Bhakti - by Submitted on Mar 08, 2023 from santosh krinskyThe heart of devotion opens spontaneously with a deep sense of reverence, aspiration and love. It is based on soul-contact with the Divine. External signs of worship, prayers, songs, rituals, repeating words of devotion are not indicators of the soul status necessarily and they cannot replace ...
Views: 354 - The Impersonal and the Personal Divine - by Submitted on Mar 07, 2023 from santosh krinskyIt seems that people fall into two camps. Either they believe in a personal form of divinity, God, or savior, or they don’t. For those that do not believe in a personal form of the Divine, there is a belief in some impersonal machinery of unknown origin or purpose. These two however need not be ...
Views: 384 - Work, Devotion, Meditation and the Practice of the Integral Yoga - by Submitted on Mar 06, 2023 from santosh krinskyWhatever the predominant aspect of the individual nature, the spiritual aspiration seizes upon that as the leading power to carry the sadhana forward. Nevertheless, at some point, it is important to recognize both the value and the necessity of the other aspects for what is after all an integral ...
Views: 322 - How to Make Progress in the Practice of Karma Yoga - by Submitted on Mar 05, 2023 from santosh krinskyWe tend to be carried away by the external focus in the work we are doing, and thus, the presence of mind needed to remember and offer is set in the background of our awareness. If we reflect on the state of consciousness we experience when focused on some external work, we soon find that we can ...
Views: 323 - 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: 393 - Overcoming Vital Reactions of Attraction and Repulsion in Action - by Submitted on Mar 03, 2023 from santosh krinskyThere are numerous activities we undertake in our lives that engage us with more, or less, interest. Some we treat as purely mechanical, some we detest but do them because we ‘have’ to. Some elicit very positive and focused interest from us and we tend to like those activities. Our vital nature ...
Views: 353 - 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: 309 - The Essence of Karma Yoga — the Yoga of Works - by Submitted on Mar 01, 2023 from santosh krinskyHumanity has relied on social action, technology, and education as pillars of advancement and the development of humanity. Yet if we examine things closely we find that we are still driven primarily by the forces of ego and desire, even when they cloak themselves in a veneer of altruism or ...
Views: 333 - Distinguishing the Ordinary Motives of the Vital Being from Spiritual Motivation - by Submitted on Feb 28, 2023 from santosh krinskyThe vital nature has an innate drive towards fulfillment and satisfaction of desire. Since most individuals are oriented towards the outer life, the fulfillment comes through attaining desirable objects of the vital focus. This can be accumulation of wealth, it can be family, fame or achievement ...
Views: 479 - The Bhagavad Gita and the Path of Karma Yoga - by Submitted on Feb 27, 2023 from santosh krinskyWhen we delve into the yoga of works, the Bhagavad Gita immediately comes to mind as a primary text. The Gita explores the questions of what constitutes a yogic attitude in action and compares it to the normal standpoint about work. The major difference lies in the inner standpoint and attitude ...
Views: 363 - The Nature of Karma Yoga - by Submitted on Feb 26, 2023 from santosh krinskyIt is a common conception, and a tempting one, to expect that by taking up a certain type of charitable work, or even service to support a particular religion or spiritual path, one is practicing a form of karma yoga. All of these things may have enormous benefit in the outer world, and may ...
Views: 522 - The Need to Balance Meditation and Work in the Practice of the Integral Yoga - by Submitted on Feb 25, 2023 from santosh krinskyIn an ancient Upanishadic tale, a youth approached a sage requesting to become a disciple and achieve spiritual realisation. The sage indicated that he should take two cattle into the forest, and when they numbered 1000 he should return and would undertake to teach the youth. The young man made ...
Views: 496 - The Value and Rationale for the Yoga of Works — Karma Yoga - by Submitted on Feb 24, 2023 from santosh krinskyThe vital nature of man is a core existential element of our existence. In the past, those who took up serious spiritual practice frequently recognised both the power of the vital and the difficulty of bringing it under some kind of managed and focused control, and thus, they attempted to ...
Views: 512 - Methods for Quieting the Activity of the Mechanical Mind - by Submitted on Feb 24, 2023 from santosh krinskyThe mind seems always to be busy, and we seem to have a constant inner commentary about sensations, perceptions, memories, anticipated activities, hopes and dreams, and worries about situations we need to address. Then there are the drives and cravings such as hunger, thirst, or sensations of ...
Views: 505 - Yogic Concentration - by Submitted on Feb 21, 2023 from santosh krinskyThe power of concentration is well-known. It is a power that we utilize daily to accomplish the various tasks set before us, or to achieve some goal that we have set for ourselves. In yoga, also, the power of concentration is required. The focus and intention behind the concentration is the ...
Views: 505 - Distinguishing Concentration and Meditation from One Another - by Submitted on Feb 20, 2023 from santosh krinskyIf we observe the mental status that takes place at times when we focus on achieving some objective or other, taking a test, working on a project, running a race, playing music, or creating some work of art, for example, we see that the attention is focused intensely on the task at hand, and ...
Views: 520 - Dynamic Meditation - by Submitted on Feb 19, 2023 from santosh krinskyIn the Bhagavad Gita, Arjuna poses the question to Sri Krishna as to how one can know the spiritual man, how does he walk, how does he speak, how does he act… Spiritual practitioners pose similar types of questions about meditation, as to what is the right form of meditation, how does one site, ...
Views: 486 - The Difference Between Static and Dynamic Meditation - by Submitted on Feb 18, 2023 from santosh krinskyWhen an individual sits for meditation, does he come out of the meditation changed in some way? … or is meditation something like a state of ‘statis’ where time goes by, but nothing happens? Is the individual taking a ‘time out’ from life but not moving the purpose and focus of the life forward? ...
Views: 486 - Determining the Appropriate Posture for Beginning with Meditation - by Submitted on Feb 17, 2023 from santosh krinskyFor someone beginning with meditation, every aspect of the process raises a question. One of these questions relates to the body. The eventual goal is to attain a state whereby meditation can occur regardless of what the body is doing or how it is positioned. However, this is not usually the way ...
Views: 433 - Beginning the Process of Bringing Meditation into One’s Life - by Submitted on Feb 16, 2023 from santosh krinskyIf we shift to the standpoint of the observer of the mind, we will notice that as conditions vary, the ‘mind-stuff’ (citta) takes on different characteristics based on our state of reactivity and interaction with perceptions, feelings, events or external circumstances. We may consider an image ...
Views: 392 - Stages and Forms of Meditation and Contemplation (Dhyana) - by Submitted on Feb 15, 2023 from santosh krinskyThere is considerable confusion about what exactly meditation is. This is compounded by the fact that there are numerous different techniques that are taught as meditation, ranging from practices that are called ‘mindfulness’ to those that include detailed visualisations Sri Aurobindo provides ...
Views: 361 - Religious, Mechanical and Psychological Methods of Inner Development - by Submitted on Feb 13, 2023 from santosh krinskyWhen an individual awakens to the inner need for significance and meaning in life, he generally takes up one or more methods to try to understand the purpose of his life. Religious worship and belief systems tend to be quite external in their nature, trying to find a relationship between the ...
Views: 348 - What Technique or Practice Is Prescribed in the Integral Yoga? - by Submitted on Feb 12, 2023 from santosh krinskyit is a frequent inquiry: ‘Tell us what technique we should use to reach the spiritual goal?” Many ask what specific technique Sri Aurobindo or the Mother recommends for everyone to follow. They point out that other paths of spirituality offer specific actions one must undertake to succeed. ...
Views: 356 - A Simple Method to Achieve Peace and Silence in the Mind - by Submitted on Feb 11, 2023 from santosh krinskyThere are a number of proven methods for achieving peace and silence in the mind. Some are more arduous than others. The more one works at it, the more inward pressure one asserts to try to achieve this status, the greater the intrusions that force themselves on the mind. This is the result of a ...
Views: 421 - The Strength in Stillness - by Submitted on Feb 10, 2023 from santosh krinskyWe live in a world that prizes action and that continually impinges upon us with various information feeds and input from all directions. Quiet and stillness, the ability to remain calm without agitation or upset, the ability to achieve true peace in the mind, in the vital and nervous being and ...
Views: 378 - Calmness Belongs to the Strong — Quietude Is the Basis of True Power - by Submitted on Feb 09, 2023 from santosh krinskyIn today’s world we are confronted by politicians and business leaders who act aggressively, beat their chests, berate others, bully and otherwise exhibit behavior that proclaims “might is right” and therefore, due to their financial power or physical strength, they have the right to control ...
Views: 386 - 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: 363 - Steps Toward Achieving a Calm Mind - by Submitted on Feb 07, 2023 from santosh krinskyEverything comes to the seeker based on his ability to tune his focus and maintain that focus in an unwavering manner over time. Sri Aurobindo, in his book The Mother, sets forth the methodology as “aspiration, rejection, surrender”. Aspiration is the will from the depth of the being to achieve ...
Views: 407 - What Does It Mean to ‘Be Calm’ in the Mind - by Submitted on Feb 06, 2023 from santosh krinskyAttaining a deep inner peace in the being is a process that can begin wherever an individual current is in their inner life. For someone just starting out, there is no expectation of some sudden miraculous silencing of the mind (although of course, it is possible). Rather, the initial attempts ...
Views: 383 - Developing and Integrating Calm and Peace in the Being - by Submitted on Feb 05, 2023 from santosh krinskyIf we remain constantly in active motion and react to all the sense impressions and pressures that impinge upon us from the outer world, it is difficult to achieve a status of calm or peace. One of the values of sitting regularly for a time of quiet reflection, meditation or concentration is ...
Views: 387 - 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: 375 - Cultivating Inner Peace as the Basis of Spiritual Sadhana - by Submitted on Feb 03, 2023 from santosh krinskyGiven the reactive nature of the external being, the mind, the vital, the physical body, there is generally a lack of peace and we are driven from one response to another as circumstances, events, sense impressions, etc. impinge upon us. Development of an awareness that is separated from this ...
Views: 389 - Stages of the Development of Peace in the Being - by Submitted on Feb 02, 2023 from santosh krinskyWith all the complexity surrounding the reactions we have to impressions and pressures we receive from the world, it is important to both understand the seed causes of our reactions and find a way to systematically gain control over these reactions. One of the techniques recommended by Sri ...
Views: 361 - Issues in the Establishment of Equanimity and Peace in the Being - by Submitted on Feb 01, 2023 from santosh krinskyWe have long-established instincts that harken back to the animal kingdom, in what we may call the “fight or flight” response. This instinct is deeply embedded and lies at the root of one of the biggest obstacles to achieving calm and peace in the being. Every impulse we receive from outside ...
Views: 462 - Equality: the State of Inner Peace in the Face of Provocation - by Submitted on Jan 31, 2023 from santosh krinskyHow do we typically respond to the situations that we meet in the world? We want to fulfill our desires, have our wishes and ideas carried out, and have a modicum of control in our lives. When things do not go as we wish, we become frustrated, angry, resentful or otherwise upset. On the other ...
Views: 392 - Concentration Is Not the Same As Meditation - by Submitted on Jan 30, 2023 from santosh krinskyThere is considerable confusion about meditation and concentration. They are, however, not quite the same. Achieving a meditative state inwardly can aid in the development of concentration. Certain forms of meditation utilize techniques that lead to concentration. Yet meditation can be calm, ...
Views: 444 - How to Convert Mental Seeking into Living Spiritual Experience - by Submitted on Jan 29, 2023 from santosh krinskySri Aurobindo describes the first step to move from a mental seeking to a living spiritual experience as “the practice of concentration of your consciousness within yourself.” We ask what this means exactly. Some observation of our mental state discloses what we normally consider to be ...
Views: 335 - The Power of Concentration is the Key to Realization in All Fields of Life - by Submitted on Jan 28, 2023 from santosh krinskyEvery major accomplishment in human life involves some form of concentration. We live in a modern world that systematically distracts and disperses the mind, thus making it more difficult to achieve a state of concentration. Cell phones, internet surfing, music, flashing lights, entertainment, ...
Views: 361