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Articles from santosh krinsky | Selfgrowth.com
- Thought-Forms and Their Results - by Submitted on Sep 02, 2024 from santosh krinskyWe take the chatter in our minds for granted and do not attribute any real significance or power to it most of the time. The constant influx of thoughts is just a lot of background noise, for the most part. When we concentrate on something and focus the thoughts, we recognise that we can ...
Views: 289 - Three Differences Between Integral Yoga and Traditional Spiritual Paths - by Submitted on Feb 21, 2021 from santosh krinskyPeople frequently wonder how the integral yoga may differ from the traditional paths of yogic practice. The aim of the integral yoga is to transform consciousness here on earth; it is not fixated solely on individual liberation, although individual realisation is a necessary step on the path, ...
Views: 632 - Three Main Causes of Madness, Psychological Collapse and Failure of the Spiritual Quest - by Submitted on Dec 16, 2021 from santosh krinskyThose who take up the spiritual quest face numerous difficulties along the way. Old habits and ways of seeing and acting are suddenly challenged, while at the same time energies long subdued or depressed may arise as the various chakras begin to open and pour out their energy. The various parts ...
Views: 629 - Three Necessary Conditions for the Divine Power To Work Through the Seeker in the Outward Life - by Submitted on Oct 04, 2025 from santosh krinskyUnder normal conditions, we are pushed from one reaction to another by external impulsions and our trained responses to circumstances. There is very little chance, therefore, to inject a higher divine power directly into the life-action. Sri Aurobindo outlines the conditions that help the ...
Views: 104 - Three Necessary Conditions to Receive and Act Under the Impulsion of the Divine Force - by Submitted on May 31, 2021 from santosh krinskyAs long as we identify with the individual ego-personality, we remain bound to the limits of the body-life-mind complex. The action of the Divine Force under such conditions is necessarily diffused and diluted. The energy is mixed with the much more fragmentary and limited goals and objectives ...
Views: 623 - Three Parts of the Outer Being: Mental, Vital and Physical - by Submitted on Apr 07, 2022 from santosh krinskyOnce an individual recognises that there are three separate foundations of consciousness in the outer being, and that they are not simply part of one unified awareness, it becomes much easier to untangle the numerous strands of pressure internally and understand how to address and deal with the ...
Views: 595 - Three Primary Paths of Inner Growth and Spiritual Development - by Submitted on Nov 11, 2022 from santosh krinskyEach individual has a unique way of relating to and developing his spiritual aspiration. Those who are more intellectually inclined may find that they naturally incline towards what is known as the yoga of knowledge. Those who have a nature more inclined to devotion and emotional expression may ...
Views: 487 - Three Rules for the Spiritual Practitioner with Respect to Experiences - by Submitted on Apr 17, 2023 from santosh krinskyWhat to do about spiritual experiences when they come? When we have a revelation of some sort, when we hear a communication that provides us insight or guidance, how are we to know whether it is truthful or misleading? Can we determine the source of the clairvoyant or clairaudient communication ...
Views: 384 - Three Steps (and Beyond) to Eliminate the Ego-Consciousness - by Submitted on Dec 22, 2021 from santosh krinskyThe ego-consciousness controls our viewpoint, how we respond to events and circumstances, and our relations with others. This is such an inherent and automatic framework of action, that we many times do not even notice or appreciate that it is there. When egoism becomes extreme, we can ‘see’ it, ...
Views: 563 - 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: 499 - Time Perspective on Achieving Spiritual Realisations and Change of Human Nature - by Submitted on Oct 03, 2023 from santosh krinskyLife is so short! When one wants to accomplish something extraordinary or difficult, it takes considerable time and focus. If we reflect however, that the first 16 years or more are formative years and are focused on physical growth, development of vital powers of action, and cultivating the ...
Views: 362 - To Be Conscious - by Submitted on Aug 03, 2025 from santosh krinskyWhen we reflect upon what we really know about our existence, our lives, our purpose, the forces at work in the world and in us, the influences to which we are being subjected constantly, and the way we respond to these influences without conscious awareness, it becomes clear that we act out of ...
Views: 140 - To Be In a State of Attentive Observation - by Submitted on Oct 22, 2023 from santosh krinskySome years ago, a visitor residing temporarily at Sri Aurobindo Ashram in India attempted an experiment. He determined to undertake a period of ‘social’ silence, while remaining active in the community and undertaking various work assigned to him. The rules he set for himself included utilizing ...
Views: 367 - To Become a Conscious Instrument of the Divine Action - by Submitted on Jan 24, 2025 from santosh krinskyIn the Bhagavad Gita, Sri Krishna explains to Arjuna, at some length, the process of the universal manifestation and how individuals are essentially driven by their nature in relation to the larger forces of the manifestation itself to act in certain ways. For most of these individuals, the ...
Views: 215 - To Become A Conscious Instrument of the Divine Force - by Submitted on Nov 17, 2023 from santosh krinskyThe Mother identifies a distinction between those of goodwill who are ‘unconscious’ instruments of the Divine, and those who can and do become ‘conscious’ instruments of the Divine. Those with good will and aspiration may be guided or impelled to undertake actions which support the divine ...
Views: 356 - To Become Conscious of the Source of Our Thoughts, Feelings, and Actions - by Submitted on Oct 11, 2023 from santosh krinskyAs we are primarily based in our ego-consciousness, we tend to accept that ideas we have, feelings we have, emotions we express, needs and desires we seek after, are all what make up ourselves, our personality, our persistent individuality. We identify with a specific religion, political ...
Views: 380 - To Learn How To Will - by Submitted on Oct 11, 2024 from santosh krinskyIf you looks deeply at one’s attempts to utilize will-power to accomplish any task, to bring about some change in one’s being, or to develop in some direction, it quickly becomes apparent that there are elements within our own being that are not supporting the focus, intensity and direction that ...
Views: 253 - To Read, or Not to Read, That is the Question for the Spiritual Seeker - by Submitted on Jan 04, 2023 from santosh krinskyIntellectual development is not the same as spiritual realisation. The essence of spiritual development lies in the living experience of the truths of the spirit, not in the mental understanding of concepts. Thus, preeminence is placed on experience, not reading. The sages of the Vedic and ...
Views: 473 - To Think Without Words - by Submitted on Sep 15, 2024 from santosh krinskyWe tend to associate the process we call ‘thinking’ with the linear sequence of words that organize our understanding in our mind. We thus associate thinking with language and indicate that our thinking is limited by the language. A language that is rich in words and nuances will yield more ...
Views: 256 - Total Dedication to Participate in the Birth of a New World - by Submitted on Jul 18, 2024 from santosh krinskyWhen people become totally immersed in something, they concentrate, naturally, all their energies and focus in that direction, without seeming effort, and experience the joy of the process. We can observe this in children at play. They become the act of play and don’t concern themselves with ...
Views: 278 - Training the Subconscient to Respond to the Higher Spiritual Will - by Submitted on Feb 05, 2026 from santosh krinskyAs the seeker begins to observe the movements of the external nature closely, he can identify certain repetitive patterns of response, including impulses to stimuli of various sorts, cravings, desires, fears, frustrations, anger, and attraction. All of these are for the most part virtually ...
Views: 62 - Transcending the Fear of the Unlimited Spiritual Consciousness - by Submitted on Feb 03, 2025 from santosh krinskyA relatively frequent occurrence for the spiritual aspirant is to reach the boundary wall of consciousness and get a glimpse or experience of the spiritual consciousness without limits. This experience, when it comes, may raise up tremendous fear in the individual and he reacts, almost ...
Views: 180 - Transformation of Human Nature Requires a Shift of Standpoint Away From Absorption in the Actions and Reactions of the External Being - by Submitted on Jun 04, 2023 from santosh krinskyTransformation of human nature is not practical from a standpoint mired within that nature. Forces push the being in one direction or another, and the individual is under the power of the divergent drives put up by the physical, the vital and the mental being, compounded by the impact of the ...
Views: 454 - Transformation of Human Nature Requires the Action of the Psychic Being Connected to the Higher Consciousness - by Submitted on Oct 05, 2023 from santosh krinskyThe external life and its conditions tend to fixate the attention for most people to such a degree, that they are overwhelmed by the needs of the body, the impositions of the life-energy and the force of desire, and the focus and attention of the mind. Just trying to keep up with all the ...
Views: 381 - Transformation of the Vital Nature of Man: Background and Introduction - by Submitted on Oct 21, 2021 from santosh krinskyA primary characteristic of human life on earth at this time is the power of the vital force in shaping not just our day-to-day responses to life situations, but to also impact our mental processes, such that for most people, the mind is under the control of the vital and its desires and ...
Views: 544 - 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: 503 - Transformative Spiritual Experiences - by Submitted on Apr 03, 2023 from santosh krinskyAs consciousness develops in the seeker, it clearly brings with it changes in the way the seeker perceives and understands and reactions to events, situations, people, opportunities, etc. What is often forgotten is that it is not the extraordinary and massive experiences that effectuate ...
Views: 429 - Transforming Pain and Pleasure Into Spiritual Calm and Bliss - by Submitted on Feb 27, 2025 from santosh krinskyAll sensations carry signals through the nervous system to the brain, which then can interpret the signal. The signal may be more or less intense. It may be interpreted as pain or pleasure. Intensity of the sensation has something to do with the experience and its interpretation. There is a ...
Views: 178 - Transforming Sleep, Not Suppressing It - by Submitted on Feb 20, 2026 from santosh krinskyIn the Bhagavad Gita, Sri Krishna explains to Arjuna: “Verily this Yoga is not for him who eats too much or sleeps too much, even as it is not for him who gives up sleep and food, O Arjuna.” (Bhagavad Gita and Its Message, tr. by Sri Aurobindo, Ch. 6, V. 16) It is interesting to note that one of ...
Views: 51 - Transforming the Character Of Sleep - by Submitted on Feb 21, 2026 from santosh krinskyGiving the body the rest and recuperative time it needs, the spiritual aspirant still has to deal with the effects of what is normally a descent into a more tamasic status that can have its impacts on the waking consciousness. If we wake up tired, groggy or cloudy, we have not only not fully ...
Views: 50 - Transforming the Vital Nature, Part 2: Overcoming Difficulties and Obstacles on the Path - by Submitted on Jul 21, 2022 from santosh krinskyThe primary initial difficulties faced by the sadhak in overcoming the vital nature are related to the Gunas of Rajas and Tamas. Rajas is naturally energetic and somewhat aggressive and thus, it tackles issues with vehemence. When it becomes frustrated or suffers a setback, it tends to recoil ...
Views: 517 - Transition to a New Higher Standpoint of Consciousness Is the Basis of Achievement of the Cosmic Consciousness - by Submitted on Aug 08, 2021 from santosh krinskyMany people can identify the experience of suddenly receiving an intuition or inspired or illumined knowledge on occasion. Some experience such things relatively frequently. Where does this sudden illumination come from? How does it act upon us? Generally, the occasional intuition is recognised ...
Views: 593 - Transitioning From Mental Consciousness to Spiritual Consciousness While Controlling the Vital Nature - by Submitted on May 23, 2025 from santosh krinskyThe mind provides a filter to manage and control the vital forces to a certain degree. While it is not perfect, without it, an individual can become subject to whatever vital energy is active and rising up within him. At the same time, the mind acts as a limitation on the ability of the ...
Views: 148 - Transitioning from the View of a Body With a Soul, to a Soul With a Body - by Submitted on Jul 07, 2024 from santosh krinskyThe primary standpoint for most people is that they are a physical body endowed with Life, Mind and (potentially in their minds) a Soul. Everything starts from the primacy of the body and its centrality in their view of their lives. This makes the purpose of life one of survival and procreation, ...
Views: 318 - Transitioning the Human Consciousness from Ego-Centric to Soul-Centric Basis - by Submitted on Nov 22, 2023 from santosh krinskyIn one of his aphorisms, Sri Aurobindo points out “the ego was the helper; the ego is the bar.” We frequently get the feeling that somehow the ego is truly an obstacle to our spiritual development, without looking at it through the lens of the evolutionary arc of the development of ...
Views: 358 - Transitioning to the Silent Mind - by Submitted on Jun 08, 2022 from santosh krinskyAssume that we succeed, through various methods of meditation or concentration, to bring the mind into a status of relative quiet. At that moment we begin to notice that there is this other running commentary going on in the background, reacting to every sense impression, bodily sensation, ...
Views: 564 - Transmission of Vibrational Patterns in the Physical World - by Submitted on Apr 23, 2024 from santosh krinskyThe transmission from one individual to another, or from an atmosphere created by a number of individuals together upon others entering that environment, is both a matter for vibration and a matter for actual physical carriers of those vibrations. The body exudes these particles as it vibrates ...
Views: 333 - Trapped by the Social and Moral Code, or Beyond Good and Evil? - by Submitted on Jan 23, 2023 from santosh krinskyFriedrich Nietzsche wrote that certain individuals, by virtue of their innate status as superior beings, could not be bound by social rules or morality or ethics. While the implication may be understood to apply to those who have evolved beyond the ‘need’ for such contextual social rules, the ...
Views: 532 - Treating All Work As Karma Yoga - by Submitted on Apr 28, 2025 from santosh krinskyWhen the spiritual aspiration awakens in an individual, he often feels like he has to leave his employment and take up some work that is more ‘spiritual’. He tends to equate the type of work with some ill-defined spiritual nature. Thus, we frequently see spiritual people, and organizations, take ...
Views: 195 - True Freedom and Free Will Resides in the Divine, Not in the Individual Ego-Personality - by Submitted on Feb 29, 2024 from santosh krinskyThe individual drops of water that make up the ocean do not determine the movement or action of the ocean. They are carried along and partake of the larger forces that act upon and through the ocean. The are a small pinpoint ‘nexus’ of the ocean action but not the motive or driving ...
Views: 343 - True Strength Resides in Quietude - by Submitted on Dec 16, 2024 from santosh krinskyWe tend to equate strength with outward expressions whether it be through physical power, emotional pressure, bullying, or the use of mental will force to achieve one’s intended results. We talk about “strong man” dictators who, in particular, use threats, bullying and police power to pressure ...
Views: 218 - Trust and Faith - by Submitted on Oct 22, 2024 from santosh krinskyWe frequently remark on how young people act with a seemingly carefree attitude and take risks that older people would not take. This is due to the inherent trust they have in their body’s vital and physical resilience and powers of prevailing even in difficult or dangerous circumstances. As ...
Views: 286 - Turning the Vision Inward to Reveal the Soul - by Submitted on Apr 15, 2026 from santosh krinskyThe external world has a way of commanding attention for most of us. We experience sights, sounds, smells, touches or tastes through our senses and they have an immediacy that draws our attention to them. These sense impressions also tend to carry with them additional content, mental ideas, ...
Views: 20 - 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: 507 - Two Conditions for Preventing Illness - by Submitted on Dec 12, 2024 from santosh krinskyThe Mother describes two conditions for preventing illness from invading the physical being. The first condition is basically ‘not to want it’. When we reflect on this, the first reaction is that we don’t want it! This is however not the complete picture. We have to recognise that the human ...
Views: 260 - Two Forms of Protection from Attacks of Hostile Forces - by Submitted on Dec 14, 2021 from santosh krinskyThere must be some form of inner connection or resonance for any vibration to succeed in impacting an individual. On the more general basis, the physical body represents a connection to the material world, so that actions which impact the material world may obviously impact the physical body. ...
Views: 565 - Two Introductory Methods to Develop Remembrance in Work - by Submitted on May 29, 2021 from santosh krinskyDevelopment of the inner attitude of dedication, and remembrance of the Divine in work is a progressive process. Initially, most people are unable to actively keep the focus and remembrance while concurrently concentrating on the work at hand. Sri Aurobindo introduces two methods to begin to ...
Views: 574 - Two Key Forms of Aspiration in the Spiritual Seeking - by Submitted on Apr 02, 2026 from santosh krinskyThe Yoga of Knowledge focuses on the realization of the Self, the consciousness above which is free from the illusions of the external life that most people lead. The Yoga of Devotion focuses on the realisation of the psychic being which turns the being and the sense towards the Divine. The ...
Views: 24 - Two Methods for Achieving Equality of Feelings with Others - by Submitted on Feb 23, 2022 from santosh krinskyWhat causes an individual to ‘like’ or ‘dislike’ someone they meet. Some obvious reasons include similarities or differences in temperament, responses to situations, idea-sets, lifestyle, and, based on acculturation, accidental characteristics such as religion, social standing, career, or ...
Views: 572 - 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: 504