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Articles from santosh krinsky | Selfgrowth.com
- Samadhi, the Yogic Trance, and the Waking Realisation - by Submitted on Jun 23, 2021 from santosh krinskyThe yogic trance, samadhi, is considered a goal for the spiritual seeker, providing access to the realisation of spiritual Oneness. In the integral yoga, however, dropping of the outer life and activity and entering into a trance state is not the end goal. The consciousness that is experienced ...
Views: 733 - Samadhi and the Integral Yoga - by Submitted on Jun 22, 2021 from santosh krinskyTraditional paths of yoga, and in particular the yoga practice organised and codified by Patanjali, hold Samadhi as an ultimate state of consciousness that puts the seeker into a state of superconscious reality that effectively links him to the Divine reality and purpose of existence. Swami ...
Views: 802 - Concentration in the Mental Centre to Achieve the Realisation of the Divine Presence in the Integral Yoga - by Submitted on Jun 21, 2021 from santosh krinskyTraditional 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: 765 - Concentration in the Heart Centre to Achieve the Realisation of the Divine Presence in the Integral Yoga - by Submitted on Jun 20, 2021 from santosh krinskySri 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: 743 - The Process of Concentration in Yoga, Part 2 - by Submitted on Jun 19, 2021 from santosh krinskyConcentration of various sorts is a part of yogic development generally. In most cases, particular paths recommend very specific forms of concentration, whether it be visualisation, recitation of mantras, or specific devotional exercises. The integral yoga also utilizes concentration, but does ...
Views: 787 - The Process of Concentration in Yoga, Part 1 - by Submitted on Jun 18, 2021 from santosh krinskyIt 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: 767 - Distinguishing Concentration and Meditation - by Submitted on Jun 17, 2021 from santosh krinskyThe 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: 760 - Achieving Silence in the Mind - by Submitted on Jun 16, 2021 from santosh krinskyWhichever method one chooses to begin the practice, eventually the seeker finds that mental control is not going to achieve the result on its own. There comes a time when the recognition comes that active intervention cannot achieve what an opening or receptivity to the higher Force can provide. ...
Views: 793 - The Road to Silence of the Mind - by Submitted on Jun 15, 2021 from santosh krinskyIt is essentially a universal experience that when we sit for meditation, we see clearly the constant running of thoughts, perceptions, feelings, emotions, desires etc. that occupies the mind all the time, but to which we pay little attention when going about the activities of daily life. There ...
Views: 724 - External and Internal Conditions for the Practice of Meditation - by Submitted on Jun 14, 2021 from santosh krinskySwami Vivekananda, in his lectures on Raja Yoga, describes what we may call the “mind stuff”, citta, which tends to be always disturbed as impressions, perceptions, thoughts, feelings, emotions create ripples, as a breeze will create ripples on the surface of a lake. He goes on to describe the ...
Views: 739 - How to Choose the Object or Idea for Meditation - by Submitted on Jun 14, 2021 from santosh krinskyIn 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: 741 - What is Meant by the Term ‘Meditation’? - by Submitted on Jun 12, 2021 from santosh krinskyWe are asked to meditate and for most, the question arises, what is meditation? How do i do it and what is supposed to happen when I meditate. Those with an active or highly devotional nature may find it difficult to sit for formal meditation, but for those who have a developed mental process, ...
Views: 786 - Work, Meditation and Devotion are Three Pillars of Yogic Development - by Submitted on Jun 11, 2021 from santosh krinskyEvery individual has a unique set of current capacities, difficulties and predilections in the nature. Spiritual growth therefore is not “one size fits all”. Some have a strongly developed mental power, others a vibrant emotional being, and still others have an active vital nature and / or ...
Views: 686 - Work and Spiritual Development - by Submitted on Jun 10, 2021 from santosh krinskyThe goal of integral yoga is both a shift of standpoint from the individual egoistic view to the divine standpoint, and the transformation of human nature to express the divine force as it manifests new phases of the evolution of consciousness in the world. This involves thus not only a ...
Views: 614 - Responding to the Consciousness in Material Objects - by Submitted on Jun 09, 2021 from santosh krinskyIn The Life Divine, Sri Aurobindo describes several standpoints that highlight the relationship between human beings and the material world. The “refusal of the ascetic” simply rejects the material world and does not put any focus or interest in it. The “materialist denial” accepts the physical ...
Views: 587 - The Gunas and the Seeker’s Relation to Material Objects in the Practice of the Integral Yoga - by Submitted on Jun 09, 2021 from santosh krinskyThe action of the three gunas, qualities of nature, is often overlooked in our understanding of how things take place in the world, including in our spiritual growth; yet, these qualities permeate all activity and an appreciation of them helps the witness consciousness observing the actions of ...
Views: 588 - Understanding the Need and Limitations for Rules and Guidelines in Social Interactions and Activity in the World - by Submitted on Jun 07, 2021 from santosh krinskyFinding and holding the right balance between the inner life and the outer action is one of the constant difficulties facing the seeker. In the ordinary human life, focus on the outer world and its demands takes precedence and there is little or no emphasis on an inner life. During this phase, ...
Views: 634 - Controlling the Ego in Ordinary Life and in Yoga - by Submitted on Jun 06, 2021 from santosh krinskyIn the normal life of an individual in society, the ego is important, although it’s actions must be managed to permit people to find ways to work together and achieve results. Wherever we turn, we can see the benefits of keeping the ego in check and subordinating the individual’s role within a ...
Views: 648 - The Importance of Order and Harmony in Work - by Submitted on Jun 05, 2021 from santosh krinskyThe Bhagavad Gita declares “yoga is skill in works”. For work to be a practice of yoga, there must be first the inward orientation that can make it into a consecrated and focused effort, and outwardly this translates into a skillful organization of the work and a harmonious development, keeping ...
Views: 796 - A Transitional Phase of Work in the Integral Yoga - by Submitted on Jun 04, 2021 from santosh krinskyFor 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: 687 - A Transitional Phase of Work in the Integral Yoga - by Submitted on Jun 04, 2021 from santosh krinskyFor 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: 693 - Facing and Overcoming Self-Doubt and Internal Criticism - by Submitted on Jun 03, 2021 from santosh krinskyAs the spiritual seeker develops the internal witness awareness, viewing the actions and reactions of the various parts of the being, it is frequently noted that the closeness of the view leads the aspirant to become overly critical of one’s own flaws, weaknesses, habits etc. This same type of ...
Views: 605 - Success: Its Meaning, Measure and Ultimate Significance in the Supramental Transformation of Consciousness - by Submitted on Jun 02, 2021 from santosh krinskyWe frequently identify success, as defined by our minds, as an indicator of divine Grace; yet this is driven in many cases by the ego, not by the larger viewpoint of the Divine. In a complex world that is undergoing evolutionary transformation driven by the manifestation of a new power of ...
Views: 604 - How to Recognise and Respond to the Higher Guidance in Work - by Submitted on Jun 01, 2021 from santosh krinskyWe are trained to think and act from the viewpoint of the ego-personality. When we take up the practice of integral yoga, however, we understand that the standpoint of action must shift so that we can become true instruments of the higher action of the divine force which is working to transform ...
Views: 580 - 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: 629 - Advanced Methods for Converting Work into Karma Yoga - by Submitted on May 30, 2021 from santosh krinskySri Aurobindo explores the methods of converting work into ‘karma yoga’ with several additional ways to approach this. The development of an inner ‘witness consciousness’, the purusha which is separate from the outer active nature, prakriti, is an intermediate stage beyond those which involve ...
Views: 662 - 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: 581 - The Process of Turning Work into Yogic Practice - by Submitted on May 28, 2021 from santosh krinskyThe Bhagavad Gita proclaims that ‘yoga is skill in works’. The type of focused concentrated effort that comes about through a yogic practice is an essential aspect of completing any task skillfully. It does not imply, however, that all ‘skill in works’ is necessarily yoga, unless by that one ...
Views: 592 - The Process of Turning Work into Yogic Practice - by Submitted on May 28, 2021 from santosh krinskyThe Bhagavad Gita proclaims that ‘yoga is skill in works’. The type of focused concentrated effort that comes about through a yogic practice is an essential aspect of completing any task skillfully. It does not imply, however, that all ‘skill in works’ is necessarily yoga, unless by that one ...
Views: 576 - The Role of Work in the Sadhana of the Integral Yoga - by Submitted on May 27, 2021 from santosh krinskyThere is a famous story in the Upanishads which illustrates both the role and the power of work in spiritual practice and realisation. A youth approached a teacher to learn the spiritual truths of existence. The teacher handed over to him 2 head of cattle and said that he would take him up as a ...
Views: 672 - Human Motives and Divine Motives in Action - by Submitted on May 26, 2021 from santosh krinskyThere is a difference between action undertaken with the usual motives in the normal course of human life, and actions undertaken by the spiritual seeker attempting to achieve spiritual growth and realisation of the Divine. The outer form of action, in and of itself, does not make an action ...
Views: 639 - The Nature and Practice of Karmayoga in the Integral Yoga - by Submitted on May 25, 2021 from santosh krinskyWe frequently hear about the practice of ‘karma yoga’ in connection with feeding people, or providing medical care and support. These and other ‘good works’ are clearly beneficial to the social body and to the numerous individuals who receive real and substantial benefits from them. These ...
Views: 618 - A Change of Consciousness Is Necessary for Solving the Issues of Human Existence - by Submitted on May 24, 2021 from santosh krinskySince the Renaissance, the Western world has put its faith in, and based its goals on the power of the human intellect and vital drive to uplift humanity and solve the problems we face. Tremendous changes have taken place and humanity has made progress in fields as diverse as atomic physics, ...
Views: 1000 - The Process of Establishing Equality in the Being - by Submitted on May 23, 2021 from santosh krinskyAs Sri Aurobindo has indicated, the practice of yoga is a science of applied psychology. The normal and habitual patterns of response that we exhibit need to be both understood and modified, energies redirected, and new forces allowed to intervene and exert their influence in our lives. ...
Views: 635 - Developing the Inner Poise of Equality in the Practice of the Integral Yoga - by Submitted on May 22, 2021 from santosh krinskyThe more reactive we are to people and events, the more dispersed our awareness is and this draws away from the ability of the practitioner of the yoga to create and maintain the inner connection to the spiritual force that is pressing to manifest the next phase of the evolutionary development. ...
Views: 581 - The Nature and Power of Equality in the Practice of the Integral Yoga - by Submitted on May 21, 2021 from santosh krinskyWe usually think about the term ‘equality’ in relation to society or the economy. Sri Aurobindo uses the term to describe an inner psychological state that keeps the practitioner of the yoga focused on the inner being and its spiritual practices, rather than having the attention drawn out to ...
Views: 547 - The Need to Remain Undisturbed by Outer Circumstances - by Submitted on May 20, 2021 from santosh krinskyOne of the great obstacles to the reception and activation of the higher forces of consciousness are the pre-existing habits of action and reaction in the mind-life-body complex. We are constantly pulled in one direction or another, we react to events and circumstances from our narrow ...
Views: 594 - The Power of Wideness in the Practice of the Integral Yoga - by Submitted on May 19, 2021 from santosh krinskyWhen an individual being is under extreme pressure, whether through illness, emotional or mental distress, stress of living in the society or dealing with events and people, the natural reaction at the physical-vital-mental level is to contract, to curl up, to close off, to withdraw into a ...
Views: 584 - Understanding the Concept of Wideness in the Integral Yoga - by Submitted on May 18, 2021 from santosh krinskyThe Vedic Rishis spoke of Satyam, Ritam, Brihat, ‘the truth, the right, the vast’. These represent psychological states into which the yogic practitioner can enter in order to embody the truth of the Brahman. The vast consciousness takes us out of the human egoistic standpoint into an awareness, ...
Views: 539 - Understanding the Concept of Wideness in the Integral Yoga - by Submitted on May 18, 2021 from santosh krinskyThe Vedic Rishis spoke of Satyam, Ritam, Brihat, ‘the truth, the right, the vast’. These represent psychological states into which the yogic practitioner can enter in order to embody the truth of the Brahman. The vast consciousness takes us out of the human egoistic standpoint into an awareness, ...
Views: 571 - The Silent Mind Prepares the Receptivity for the Advent of the Higher Consciousness in the Being - by Submitted on May 17, 2021 from santosh krinskyAn important principle for the practitioner of yoga is to recognise that the old habits and ways of acting and reacting need to be removed in order to open up the capacity to receive the new powers of consciousness that are in the process of manifesting. Yoga is more or less a process of applied ...
Views: 562 - The Basis for Developing the Silence of the Mind - by Submitted on May 16, 2021 from santosh krinskyIn today’s world, we tend to value those processes of mind, life and body which focus on the elements of success in the outer life. We educate children to remember facts of the past, to learn basic mathematics, and rules of grammar and spelling. We train students on how to utilize and implement ...
Views: 591 - The Creative Power of the Silent Mind - by Submitted on May 16, 2021 from santosh krinskyFor most people there is never a moment of silence in the mind. A constant churning of thoughts, ideas, desires, plans, wishes, concerns, feelings, emotions, perceptions, and needs keeps mental activity of one sort or another always going. We seem to actually fear the silence, so if the inner ...
Views: 651 - The Nature of Inner Peace - by Submitted on May 14, 2021 from santosh krinskyMost 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: 742 - The Nature and Power of Sincerity in the Practice of the Integral Yoga - by Submitted on May 13, 2021 from santosh krinskyFor spiritual practices that seek a solution outside the life in the world, it is possible to try to “cut the knot” and simply abandon, or at least minimize, the active engagement of mind, life and body in the world. For a spiritual practice such as the integral yoga, however, which aims at a ...
Views: 559 - Distinguishing Between the Qualities of Quiet, Calm, Peace and Silence in the Integral Yoga - by Submitted on May 13, 2021 from santosh krinskyNear the top of the “wish list” for most spiritual aspirants is achieving “peace”. This is generally understood however in a very personal sense to alleviate the turmoil, dissention and conflict that invariably arises in our normal circumstances living in the world. It is rarely appreciated ...
Views: 640 - The Power of a Calm Mind - by Submitted on May 13, 2021 from santosh krinskyIf we observe our mental space for some time, such as when we sit for meditation, the first thing to be noticed is that the mind tends to jump around from one thought, idea or perception to another, seemingly randomly and impacted by sensory data coming to us through our sense organs. Some call ...
Views: 588 - Understanding the Quality of Sincerity in the Practice of the Integral Yoga - by Submitted on May 10, 2021 from santosh krinskyThe general definition of sincerity as understood in society is the quality of unifying one’s intention with one’s words or actions. This definition is a good starting point for understanding sincerity in the yogic sense. The major difference between the two is the level of inward review and ...
Views: 575 - Understanding the Nature and Role of Spiritual Experiences in the Yogic Process - by Submitted on May 09, 2021 from santosh krinskyWe bring to the spiritual quest all kinds of mental ideas, emotional expectations and preconceived notions about what is supposed to happen, how it is supposed to happen and what it signifies. All of these things, however, are based in the mind-life-body complex and act as limiting factors in ...
Views: 631 - Realisations in the Development of the Yogic Sadhana - by Submitted on May 08, 2021 from santosh krinskyMany who take up the practice of yogic sadhana find that they receive some signs of encouragement either prior to starting consciously down the path, through some kind of experience that opens other dimensions and opportunities for growth for them, or through some spiritual experiences in the ...
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