Sri Aurobindo describes a goal for humanity which involves a change of consciousness and the transformation of human nature. There is considerable debate about whether it is possible to change human nature, or whether we are doomed to be stuck in our animal nature for all times. Sri Aurobindo ... Views: 613
Entropy is a scientific theory that holds that the universe tends towards increasing disorder and dissolution over time, eventually having ordered patterns break down into randomness or chaos, and dissolution. While it is set forth in Western science as the second law of thermodynamics in a very ... Views: 610
The mind can justify a world of illusion that has its outlet in an escape to unity with an undifferentiated, unmoving Absolute; and it can equally justify a world of reality that is the manifestation of the Being who creates, sustains, informs, contains and constitutes that world. The various ... Views: 607
There is a long tradition in the West that does not accept evolution in any form as an acceptable explanation for life on earth. This view is set forth in the creation story in Genesis where God created each form and being of its own kind and created human beings to act as stewards of the ... Views: 606
In his book The Mother, Sri Aurobindo writes: “In all that is done in the universe, the Divine through his Shakti is behind all action but he is veiled by his Yoga Maya and works through the ego of the Jiva in the lower nature.” The Divine Shakti, the creative force of the universe, the power ... Views: 606
In order to evolve, a power or principle must be first involved. When we say that life evolved out of inanimate Matter, we have to reflect, “how is this possible?” When we examine Matter at the sub-atomic level, we see an incredible power of consciousness at work with very precise and ... Views: 604
Traditional yogic disciplines advise the seeker to concentrate between the eyebrows, chanting OM and focusing on the Divine Will. Sri Aurobindo notes this practice, and develops it to provide access to the higher ranges of consciousness above the mental level. The Isha Upanishad notes that there ... Views: 603
It is likely that most people have experienced a state of concentration at some point in their lives, whether it is focusing on a specific project they are involved with, preparing for an examination, or playing some game of sport that involves focus on a consistent basis. Many people report ... Views: 602
“One without a second.” This Upanishadic dictum forms the basis of Shankara’s philosophy of Adwaita, Vedantic non-dualism. The seeker leaves behind the illusion of the world to merge into the pure, transcendent Oneness of the Brahman. Sri Aurobindo proposes non-dualism, however, that adds the ... Views: 601
Wherever we focus attention, we create a direct relationship with the object of that attention. It may be through aspiration towards a higher consciousness, devotion to an ideal or through love for a revered guide or teacher; or it may be through the reaction of fear about some person, event or ... Views: 600
Does God exist? Are there more than one God? Is God a figment of human imagination? These questions have confounded humanity for aeons and, even today, they are hotly debated. Some believe there is only one God and that anyone who worships a different form or name of God is deluded. Some ... Views: 599
The mental consciousness likes to make ‘black and white’ decisions. Thus, it tends to set up oppositions between reliance on the spiritual force for healing, and the use of physical means such as medicines or other medical interventions. When we recognise, however, the complexity of the human ... Views: 598
It is a somewhat frequent occurrence that the instruction to meditate on the space behind the heart, or between the eyebrows is taken to be the meditation itself. There is a difference between where one “seats” one’s consciousness during meditation and the object of the meditation. Sri Aurobindo ... Views: 597
We generally try to understand things from our own individual perspective, yet this perspective is severely limited and cannot fully comprehend or appreciate the larger forces at work or the complete significance of the creation. If we make the shift to the divine standpoint, however, we can ... Views: 597
The transformation of the individual is not something that occurs magically overnight. Even if someone is awakened out of their habitual routines by some extraordinary experience, such as a sudden spiritual opening, or even a near death experience, the ongoing effort is still required to bring ... Views: 596
Most of us, when we reflect on the quality of “peace” think about finding an external situation that is quiet and isolated from the activities of the social body, whether it be politics, the economy, or inter-personal relationships. Peace for us is something that exists through the absence of ... Views: 596
Some people interpret the need to eliminate desire as becoming essentially cold and unmoved by anything. They even treat desire for the Divine realisation as something to eventually be eliminated. The subtlety and narrowness of the path makes it easy to stray in one direction or the other, and ... Views: 595
Western psychology has been fixated on dreams and dream interpretation since the dream interpretation work of Sigmund Freud. C. G. Jung took the review of dreams deeper by exploring what he called the ‘collective unconscious’ and the archetypes and symbols that arise widely in dreams. Dreams ... Views: 595
It seems wherever we turn nowadays we are confronted with enormous challenges. Climate change and global pollution are taking a toll on the planet and scientists confirm we are in the midst of the sixth species “die off” event they could document through geologic evidence on the planet. The ... Views: 595
Fear opens up pathways for whatever is feared to enter the being, as it creates a vibrational ‘link’ between the individual and the feared event or circumstance. Fear also opens holes int he vital envelope, or aura, that helps protect the individual from catching illnesses. We have all heard of ... Views: 594
If we understand the development of life and life-forms on earth as an expression of the evolution of consciousness, we can easily see the relationship between a new power of consciousness and the need to have forms that can hold, and express, that power effectively. Scientists frequently ... Views: 591
When the protective walls of the surface being give way as the seeker enters the inner planes, access to the vital planes may occur, with all of the beings, powers and forces at work there having suddenly direct interchange with the seeker. Sometimes these forces are intimidating, sometimes, ... Views: 591
The great epic of India, the Mahabharata, provides various illustrations of concentration in the recounting of the actions of Arjuna, who was the pre-eminent archer of the time and whose actions led to victory. The first example was provided during his youth as he, and his siblings and cousins ... Views: 591
The nature of the soul and its function has been a subject of intense interest and debate for thousands of years around the world. Some claim there is no soul and that everything is simply a function of material forces randomly combining to create our existence and sense of intelligence. Others ... Views: 591
If we accept the idea that supraphysical sight is a latent power of humanity, and not some kind of illusion or otherwise some miraculous special power, then we can seek to understand the conditions under which this power manifests, and show, first, that it is something that is reproducible and ... Views: 588
The West, in particular, believes in the power of thought to solve problems. The educational system focuses its attention on analysis and categorization, and eventually adds the precepts of logical thought as a methodology to work through problems step by step. The scientific method, as it is ... Views: 587
Through the use of logical reasoning the human mind can extrapolate along a straight line of development once a pattern is seen and understood. We can also combine things through the use of the faculty of imagination to spin a web of speculation about the future, building on what we already ... Views: 587
Many people confuse spirituality and religion and then try to associate various spiritual paths with specific religious traditions. Spirituality, however, is not based in the beliefs, practices, or customary folkways of any religion. Spirituality seeks for direct experience of the greater ... Views: 587
There is an interesting contradiction in the way humanity deals with unseen, or invisible forces at work. We believe wholeheartedly nowadays in gravity, electricity, wireless communications, magnetic transportation vehicles, and, despite the fact that all of these represent invisible forces, we ... Views: 586
Save the Oceans to Save the Planet, Part 3: A Framework for Implementation
As we have seen in the first two parts of this series, an existential crisis is facing, not only humanity, but the entire world. We have explored a number of aspects of this crisis and begun to understand the various ... Views: 586
An Integrated Approach to Achieving Harmonious Balance of Life on Earth and
Preserving Our Future and Our World
We are facing a sixth “mass extinction event”. We are destroying the complex interplay between
the ocean, the earth and the atmosphere that keeps our climate in balance. We ... Views: 585
The quality of humility is important to keep the ego in check, but even here, the ego finds ways to create an artificial form of humility that actually reinforces the ego. Those following an inspiring leader, or treading a path that provides true spiritual experience may use their position to ... Views: 583
It is difficult, if not impossible, for the mental awareness to understand experiences of consciousness outside of the mind’s normal ranges of operation. Just as we now recognise that our visual perceptions are framed within a range, and that other beings can actually see things we cannot see, ... Views: 583
While a spiritual experience is a subjective event, we can reference the accumulated reports from around the world and throughout human history to provide an accurate picture of the types of experiences and the reality of the experience. Sometimes these experiences come after undertaking various ... Views: 582
It is quite natural for human beings to extrapolate the nature of the universe and the meaning of existence from the limited set of facts and information that we perceive and organize in our normal mental-logical process. Yet there is so much that falls outside the scope of these perceptions and ... Views: 582
The life-force represents the next evolutionary stage beyond physical Matter. It transforms material energy and channels it for development of perception, feeling, and interaction. It prepares the way for the advent of the subsequent evolutionary phase of the manifestation of Mind. When it first ... Views: 581
How do medicines work? What exactly do they do in the body? How do we explain the effect of placebos, which are involved in a reasonably large percentage of cures? What about cases of spontaneous remission of disease? Is it possible to recover from “antibiotic resistant” bacterial diseases? Can ... Views: 578
Western psychology has been fixated on the idea of sexual energy being at the root of all creativity. Beginning with Freud they have discussed the sublimation of sexual energy into creative pathways of art, and intellectual effort. The sexual energy stems from the root chakra and provides a ... Views: 578
For the practitioner of the integral yoga, any form of work represents an opportunity to discard the normal, habitual mode of action and replace it with the direct action of the Divine Force. This transition, however, is neither immediate nor completed all at once, so there is inevitably a phase ... Views: 577
The practice of the integral Yoga does not rely on prowess of physical postures (asanas) or breathing techniques (pranayama) or external rituals or practices. It is focused on creating the right internal ‘landscape’ in the psychology in order to achieve specific psychological asanas, so to ... Views: 576
In the Taittiriya Upanishad, Bhrigu approached his father, Varuna and asked to be taught about the Eternal. Varuna replied ‘Seek thou to know that from which these creatures are born, whereby being born they live and to which they go hence and enter again; for that is the Eternal.’ As Bhrigu ... Views: 576
As the seeker begins to enter and experience the inner and higher realms of consciousness, he comes into contact with beings, forces, planes and worlds that transcribe experiences into his awareness, yet do not generally function under the same methods and laws that are operative in the normal ... Views: 576
Suppression of desire can be compared generally to the compression of a spring. The spring increases its latent energy by being compressed and eventually, when it escapes the compression stage, it responds powerfully. When desires are suppressed, they gain in strength and eventually burst forth ... Views: 576
Is there a purpose or significance to life and the evolution of consciousness? Who is responsible for this process, and how does it take place within the complexity of a unified whole that has innumerable constituent elements interacting with one another to create the world we live in and the ... Views: 576
No matter how highly develop and powerful the intellect is, at some point it reaches the limits of its power and acknowledges that all of its activity is limited within a frame that prevents it from knowing anything with certainty. The intellect builds steps of logic based on various assumptions ... Views: 576
Once the psychic being is in front and directing the aspiration, focus and receptivity of the being to the action of the Divine Force, it is necessary to maintain the correct psychological posture, which implies not allowing either rajasic or tamasic energies to dominate the effort, avoiding ... Views: 575
The 3 gunas of Nature, Sattwa, Rajas and Tamas are active in all things, even in the approach we take to the practice of meditation. Understanding these modes and the specific types of energy they each represent can aid us in tuning the meditation practice for ultimate positive results. Tamas ... Views: 575
Sri Aurobindo describes two main areas of concentration within the being, the heart centre and the head. For most people, the concentration in the heart centre turns out to be the safest and easiest to achieve realisation. Yoga, to be effective, must move beyond either a purely mental exercise ... Views: 574
In spiritual and religious traditions around the world, we see a proliferation of names and personalities of God. This has engendered much confusion for people who talk about monotheism versus polytheism. When one looks deeper into the question, however, it becomes clear that in most cases, ... Views: 574
The physical body has provided spiritual seekers with a riddle and a challenge throughout time and across the globe. For those focused on the external life there is no question. They enjoy, they develop the capacities of the body, they do not think twice about it, other than to the extent that ... Views: 574