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Articles from santosh krinsky | Selfgrowth.com
- Addressing Obstacles, Weaknesses and Limitations Through the Connection with the Divine Power - by Submitted on Nov 27, 2025 from santosh krinskyThere are so many obstacles and difficulties that confront the spiritual seeker, precisely because the work of transforming human nature in each element involves dealing with endless numbers of embedded habits, instincts, trained responses, etc. It is virtually a constant effort to address each ...
Views: 89 - The Needed Effort to Resolve the Deformations of the Lower Vital Nature - by Submitted on Nov 19, 2025 from santosh krinskyIn his application of yoga as applied psychology, Sri Aurobindo identifies a number of different planes and parts of the being that make up the human individual. There are various levels of mind, vital being and physical being. Each level carries out specific types of functions and responds to ...
Views: 89 - Distinguishing and Addressing Undivine and Antidivine Forces - by Submitted on Nov 20, 2025 from santosh krinskyThere is a real difference in motivation and intention between what may be considered to be ignorant responses, and those that are malignant. Seekers face a difficulty or some resistance in the external nature constantly. For the most part, this resistance is due to the long embedded habits and ...
Views: 88 - Standing Back from the Reactions of the External Nature - by Submitted on Nov 21, 2025 from santosh krinskyThe action of the three Gunas rules our external nature. Rajas active in the vital being tends to fixate on the fulfillment and satisfaction of desires of whatever kind. Desires, however, cannot ever be fully satisfied as the fulfillment of a desire simply increases the vital’s push for more. A ...
Views: 88 - Success in Yoga Despite Negative Suggestions of Unfitness or Impossibility - by Submitted on Dec 04, 2025 from santosh krinskyAs the three Gunas continue to rotate their action in the external personality, there are times when Rajas presides and there is potentially a sense of ambition and with it, a sustained effort. When Tamas presides, however, there is a tendency to fall into despondency or depression, seeing ...
Views: 88 - Ascent and Integration Define Spiritual Progress for the Seeker - by Submitted on Nov 25, 2025 from santosh krinskyTransforming human nature does not happen overnight. There are thus periods when the spiritual force is actively experienced and descending into the being; and then, there are other periods where it needs to adjust the responses of the mind, the life energy and the physical body to both hold and ...
Views: 87 - Dealing With Periods of Dissipation and Distraction in the Spiritual Sadhana - by Submitted on Nov 29, 2025 from santosh krinskySpiritual aspirants tend to have periods of concentration, intense experiences, positive forward movement centered around our deepest aspirations, only to find that after some time the energy withdraws, or they sink back into old habits or comfortable patterns of the past. They may look for ...
Views: 87 - Hostile Forces, the Law of Attraction and Progress in Spiritual Development - by Submitted on Dec 09, 2025 from santosh krinskyThere are powers at work in the world that have a vested interest in maintaining the current status. They have control, they have power, they can exult in their predominance. They do not want to see their power or influence wane or disappear. On the contrary, they may seek further control and ...
Views: 87 - The Different Processes for Change of the Vital Nature and the Psychic Being - by Submitted on Dec 08, 2025 from santosh krinskyThe vital nature, under the influence of the Guna of Rajas, tends to create drama. Struggle, disruption, aggressive responses are all a part of this vital play. One of the manifestations of this drama is to raise the temperature about any resistance, obstacle, delay etc. that the individual ...
Views: 87 - “Are We There Yet?” - by Submitted on Nov 11, 2025 from santosh krinskyJust about anyone who has experienced a long trip with young children will relate to the question ‘Are We There Yet?’. Ten minutes into the journey, and every 5 or 10 minutes thereafter, the children ask if we are at the destination yet. They have no realistic sense of time, distance or process. ...
Views: 87 - The Necessity of Receptivity to the Force of the Divine Shakti to Accomplish the Sadhana of the Integral Yoga - by Submitted on Dec 17, 2025 from santosh krinskyFor the practitioner of the integral yoga, it becomes evident that the transformation of human nature is not something that can be done by his own capacity alone. His mental ideas, the will power, vital drives and physical powers have their limitations and remain relatively fixed within the ...
Views: 86 - Faithfulness to the Divine Light and the Divine Call - by Submitted on Dec 19, 2025 from santosh krinskySpiritual seekers face a long and difficult road trying to sort out what thoughts, emotions, feelings, movements, actions and responses are expressive of and related to their spiritual calling, and which ones are part of the old ways of the external nature and the vital ego. They frequently ...
Views: 85 - The Difficulty and Time Required for the Transformation of the Nature - by Submitted on Nov 16, 2025 from santosh krinskyWe make ‘new year’s resolutions’ with the idea that we will start the new year with a fresh dedication to undertaking some kind of change to our lives. This may be a mental change, such as a willingness to listen and try to truly understand what others say and think rather than jumping in our ...
Views: 85 - The Value of the Witness Consciousness in the Yogic Endeavour - by Submitted on Nov 23, 2025 from santosh krinskyThe witness consciousness is an extremely useful mode for the seeker to adopt in any attempt to overcome the limitations and deformations of the external nature, whether to try to attain liberation and release from the world, or, as Sri Aurobindo suggests, to work toward the eventual divinsation ...
Views: 85 - The Action of the Higher Force As It Descends Into the Present Formulation of the Mind, Life and Body - by Submitted on Dec 10, 2025 from santosh krinskyWhen the higher spiritual forces begun to enter the being through any kind of opening, they interact with the existing framework of the body-life-mind. Any time energy is introduced into a system, it activates the existing patterns of response, so that the mind begins to create its thoughts and ...
Views: 83 - Suppression Without True Rejection of the Sexual Impulse Does Not Solve the Issue for the Spiritual Seeker - by Submitted on Jan 05, 2026 from santosh krinskyThe first impulse of religious or spiritual paths with respect to the sex impulse has frequently been to simply suppress and deny it. When any form of energy is forcefully suppressed, it acts like a coiled spring, storing that energy and building up its potential power, until such time as it is ...
Views: 82 - The True Foundation of the Yoga - by Submitted on Nov 22, 2025 from santosh krinskyWe are generally so tied to our external ego-personality that we identify with it as what we consider to be our ‘self’. We then refer to this body-life-mind complex as our reality and we say that we ‘have a soul’. The reality is far different. The reality is that the soul, the psychic being, ...
Views: 82 - Understanding Experience of a Shift from the External to the Inward Consciousness - by Submitted on Dec 06, 2025 from santosh krinskyAs the seeker begins to go inwards in his awareness, theare are innumerable new experiences that take place. He generally is not able to determine exactly what they mean. In this case, the guidance of an experienced practitioner or of a Guru can be of immense assistance. If a seeker is ...
Views: 82 - Understanding Fluctuations in the Force of the Spiritual Sadhana - by Submitted on Nov 28, 2025 from santosh krinskyThe spiritual seeker tends to struggle with the constant recurrence of old thoughts, feelings, reactions and desires. He is also constantly confronted by changes in his energy levels and focus. Much of this is due to the underlying and deeply embedded energies that he has inherited as part of ...
Views: 82 - Why a Spiritual Seeker Should Not Just ‘Go With the Flow’ - by Submitted on Dec 01, 2025 from santosh krinskyWe frequently hear the advice that we could have much more peace and satisfaction in our lives if we were not always trying to ‘manage’ things. We are encouraged to just ‘go with the flow’. Even spiritual seekers are frequently asked to let the ‘force’ work without interference from our mind or ...
Views: 82 - Liberating the Consciousness from Imprisonment in the Physical Body - by Submitted on Dec 07, 2025 from santosh krinskyWhen we reflect on our normal state of conscious awareness, we recognise a primary seat of awareness in the mind, while also finding that we respond to impulses that originate in the other chakras, subtle energy centres, from the base of the spine to the crown of the head. Yogic science has long ...
Views: 81 - Personal Effort in Service of the Divine Is an Initial Step Towards Complete Shift to the Divine Standpoint - by Submitted on Oct 30, 2025 from santosh krinskyThe normal human action is based in the ego-consciousness. We act as if we are fully independent, making our own decisions based on our own criteria, needs and concerns. We treat ourselves as something of a self-standing actor, working to survive in a somewhat hostile world and environment, ...
Views: 81 - Suicide Does Not Provide an Escape From the Difficulties of Life or of Spiritual Development - by Submitted on Dec 14, 2025 from santosh krinskyAn individual reaches an absolute low point in his life. He may be suffering under intense grief, he may have made mistakes that led to catastrophic consequences, he may be faced with exposure and embarassment for actions he has undertaken, he may be in intense pain and suffering from a terminal ...
Views: 81 - Distinguishing Vital or Mental Desire or Demand from Aspiration of the Psychic Being - by Submitted on Dec 22, 2025 from santosh krinskyDesire can take many forms, some of them subtle, inasmuch as they are linked to prayer and thus seem to confirm the aspiration. There is a subtle form of bargaining that can take place where the dedication of the seeker is tied to the Divine providing a specific anticipated form of realisation, ...
Views: 80 - Face and Conquer the Difficulties in This Life and in This Body - by Submitted on Dec 15, 2025 from santosh krinskyA human birth is prized as it is the gateway to evoution and development. In the Indian tradition, even the gods need to take a human birth if they want to achieve any new form of development or progress. The gods reside normally in a static world which does not have the impetus for ...
Views: 80 - Strength and Courage Are Needed to Face the Difficulties of the Spiritual Path - by Submitted on Dec 13, 2025 from santosh krinskyWhen an individual withdraws from most external activities to focus on spiritual sadhana, people tend to interpret this as a sign of weakness or failure in the outer life. They believe the seeker could not ‘make it’ in the competition in the external world and therefore retreated from it so he ...
Views: 80 - Vital Impatience and a Hurried Effort Are Obstacles to the Transformation of the Human Instrument - by Submitted on Nov 30, 2025 from santosh krinskyThe vital ego is impatient. It wants to keep pressing on regardless of the impact on the body or the mind, or even its own native energy. It wants to get somewhere and begrudges the journey and the time and the waypoints along the path. It believes that haste will achieve the goal sooner, while ...
Views: 80 - Dealing with Material Possessions in the Spiritual Practice - by Submitted on Dec 24, 2025 from santosh krinskyMaterial possessions are always an issue for the spiritual aspirant, as they tend to distract the focus and lead to vital reactions that are not helpful to overcoming the pull of the external world and its measures of success which is attached to the acquisition, holding and use of the ...
Views: 78 - Distrust and Disobedience in the Practice of Yoga Interferes With the Action of the Force - by Submitted on Dec 18, 2025 from santosh krinskyWe like to believe that we are independent actors in control of our own destiny and our own lines of development. We want ‘freedom’ to express ourselves. The ego-personality acting in the outside world is very much a captive of past energies, whether those of the formation of physical and vital ...
Views: 77 - Changing Each Part of Human Nature Through the Progressive Action of the Divine Shakti - by Submitted on Dec 12, 2025 from santosh krinskyThe change of human nature does not happen all at once, nor does it change every aspect or part of the being instantaneously. Once the divine Force begins to descend, it works its way systematically through the various parts of the being, starting with those that are most receptive to its action ...
Views: 76 - Sadhak of Integral Yoga Rejects Fulfillment of Sexual Impulse to Focus Conscious Force on the Spiritual Realization - by Submitted on Jan 14, 2026 from santosh krinskyThere is a vast difference between the goals of the ordinary human individual and those who have chosen to take up spiritual sadhana. This difference defines the way they respectively look at things, including the various normal and natural functions of human life. For the ordinary individual, ...
Views: 76 - The Mother’s Force Is the Primary Aid in Overcoming the Force of Desire - by Submitted on Dec 23, 2025 from santosh krinskyThere is a dual significance to the term ‘the Mother’s Force’. First, this is the Divine Shakti, which manifests the universal creation, and which acts to bring forth the sequential expression of the consciousness involved in Matter. At the same time, there is the specific reference to the ...
Views: 76 - Food, Fasting and Spiritual Development - by Submitted on Dec 30, 2025 from santosh krinskyIt is tempting for a spiritual seeker to undertake some form of extreme fasting. The practice of fasting has been used since time immemorial all around the world to increase the vital force by reducing the ‘drag’ of the physical body and its operations around acquiring, preparing, eating and ...
Views: 75 - Integral Yoga Method for Attaining Mastery Over the Force of Desire in the Lower Vital Nature - by Submitted on Dec 26, 2025 from santosh krinskyHumanity develops habits of response that tend to become ingrained in almost all approaches to any particular topic. This is found to be especially true when it comes to the question of religious dedication and spiritual aspiration. The default response to religious or spiritual devotion has ...
Views: 75 - Suppression or Rejection of the Force of Desire - by Submitted on Dec 21, 2025 from santosh krinskyWhen an individual takes up religious or spiritual practices, he becomes aware of the force of desire and the need to curb it. In some cases, particularly in religious pursuits, there are a set of moral rules or monastic rules that provide set guidelines for the practitioner. Usually these ...
Views: 75 - The Role of the Physical Body in the Spiritual Sadhana - by Submitted on Jan 01, 2026 from santosh krinskyA human birth is considered to be an important and valuable step in the growth of the soul and in the evolutionary development of consciousness in furtherance of the divine manifestation. It is not to be wasted. The traditions of India indicate that even the gods, who are static beings, would ...
Views: 75 - The Supramental Transformation Represents a Radical Upgrade of Animal and Human Nature - by Submitted on Jan 09, 2026 from santosh krinskyUntil such time as we become capable of drawing infinite energy from the universal force of creation, we have the issue of choosing how we utilize the energy that we have available to us. Through certain types of practices we can actually increase the available energy. The radical transformation ...
Views: 75 - Addressing the Arguments Against Management and Redirection of the Sexual Energy by the Spiritual Seeker - by Submitted on Jan 12, 2026 from santosh krinskyPeople tend to get very defensive about the idea of celibacy, sexual abstinence, Brahmacharya, however it may be termed. They argue that it is unhealthy. They argue that this is a process in Nature that ensures the continuity of the race, they argue that the suppression of sexual expression ...
Views: 74 - Converting Primal Physical-Vital Force Into Spiritual Force - by Submitted on Jan 07, 2026 from santosh krinskyThere is a well-known and widely described concept in the spiritual traditions of India whereby the basic force of the first chakra that manifests in the ordinary course through that centre as sexual energy is converted through various processes of tapasya, yogic concentration, into a force that ...
Views: 74 - Perspective of Time and Stages in the Process of Transformation of Human Life - by Submitted on Jan 03, 2026 from santosh krinskyWhen we consider the objective of the transformation of human nature, we begin to understand that it is not a simple or quick process. We carry within us the physical, vital and mental habits of life on earth, including instincts, set modes of action and response, and the rsult of the training ...
Views: 74 - Realization of the Divine Consciousness and Ananda Requires Control of Sexual Energies - by Submitted on Jan 06, 2026 from santosh krinskySuccess in attaining the objectives of any spiritual practice is based on achieving ‘one pointed concentration’. This means focusing the aspiration on the spiritual source and maintaining that focus without diverting energy and attention away to any other objective. The integral yoga, with its ...
Views: 74 - Where Do Desires Come From? - by Submitted on Dec 20, 2025 from santosh krinskyWe feel a desire and try to fulfil it. It may be a desire or craving for some type of food or drink, or for a particular object of material enjoyment, or it may be a sexual desire, or a desire for companionship, excitement, or any other vital drive that wells up in us. In some cases we try to ...
Views: 74 - Reconciling Difficulty of the Change of Human Nature With the Time and Patience Needed for the Change - by Submitted on Jan 15, 2026 from santosh krinskyThe objective is almost unimaginably complex and difficult. Changing human nature, including the inheritance humanity brings from the animal evolutionary process, is not something that is quickly or easily accomplished. It cannot also be done entirely by the action of human mind and will power. ...
Views: 73 - Shifting to the Divine Standpoint From the Ego Standpoint Is Central to Overcoming the Impulses of the External Nature That Need to be Changed for the Spiritual Fulfillment - by Submitted on Jan 16, 2026 from santosh krinskyThe practitioner of the integral yoga has set before himself the change of what we consider to be basic human nature, the established workings and principles of action of the body, the life-force and the mind. These elements have developed over countless millennia as part of the evolutionary ...
Views: 73 - The Sex-Impulse and the Spiritual Sadhana - by Submitted on Jan 04, 2026 from santosh krinskyIn his book, The Mother, Sri Aurobindo describes sex as one of the three forces, “power, wealth, sex — that have the strongest attraction for the human ego and the Asura and are most generally misheld and misused by those who retain them.” The force of the sex-impulse is one that impacts not ...
Views: 73 - The Spiritual Seeker Can Change the Normal Human Focus on Food to a More Balanced Perspective That Supports His Focus on Sadhana - by Submitted on Dec 28, 2025 from santosh krinskyIn the ordinary life in society, food plays an especially important and high profile role. We treat food as a centerpiece of our various celebrations, as rewards, as comfort when we are under stress and as something we consumer out of boredom or inattention. Food taste, food preparation, food ...
Views: 73 - Addressing Food-Desire Effectively Without Over-Emphasizing the Focus on It - by Submitted on Dec 31, 2025 from santosh krinskyWhen an individual takes up the spiritual path, he seeks guidance, perhaps from books or through online blogs, podcasts, videos, webinars, perhaps from people who are treading the path, perhaps from a teacher or Guru who has come into his life. Generally he comes away with some guidelines to ...
Views: 72 - Fasting in the Sadhana of the Integral Yoga: Impact on Vital Energy and Physical Body - by Submitted on Jan 02, 2026 from santosh krinskyFasting has often been utilized by spiritual and religious practitioners as a way of gaining some measure of control over the vital desires, cravings and urges, as well as a means for increasing the vital and mental energy available to them. In some cases, it has been used to induce altered ...
Views: 72 - Mastery Beyond Asceticism and Indulgence - by Submitted on Dec 25, 2025 from santosh krinskyHuman beings have a tendency to move from one extreme to the other, like a pendulum swing. When we are faced with a particular concern we want to resolve, we apply this tendency. When it comes therefore to the force of desire and the attraction of material objects, we either become attached to ...
Views: 72 - The Challenge and Difficulty of the Integral Yoga - by Submitted on Dec 16, 2025 from santosh krinskyEvery spiritual discipline, every path, has its unique challenges and difficulties. One cannot minimize the issues that anyone taking up the spiritual life must face. Almost all of these paths traditionally have focused on liberation of the individual seeker, regardless of the specific ...
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