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Articles from santosh krinsky | Selfgrowth.com
- Yogic View of Beauty - by Submitted on Mar 17, 2022 from santosh krinskyWe are trained to appreciate external beauty of form, whether in life or in art. This training internalizes cultural preferences. Thus, the ideal of beauty changes depending on which culture is providing the cultural background and which time-frame encompasses the judgment term. Based on ...
Views: 545 - Cosmic Consciousness and a Shift from the Ego-Standpoint to the Divine Standpoint - by Submitted on Aug 08, 2021 from santosh krinskyHow can anyone describe or comprehend an experience of consciousness so foreign to our normal human individual experience? Sages and seers have used many illustrative images to try to provide the mind some vague notion of the significance of the shift in standpoint that is represented by the ...
Views: 544 - 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: 544 - The Yogic Practitioner Should Not Obsess About Hostile Attacks - by Submitted on Dec 13, 2021 from santosh krinskyThe focus on attacks by hostile forces, and difficulties faced, easily engages the ego-personality in a form of vanity. It strengthens the hold of the ego, rather than loosening attachment to open the way for the shift to the divine standpoint. When it takes a rajasic form, the ego glorifies in ...
Views: 544 - Understanding and Dealing with Nervous Imbalances Caused by Hostile Forces - by Submitted on Aug 17, 2022 from santosh krinskyThe question of ‘hostile forces’ is one that generally needs a certain amount of reflection. In the West, the major religious denominations frequently speak of the devil, the fallen angels, Satan, and other beings to which they attribute a malignant power that pressures human beings to commit ...
Views: 544 - What is the Atman? How Do We Experience the Self? - by Submitted on Aug 01, 2021 from santosh krinskyAs long as we are enmeshed in the ego-life, it is essentially impossible to conceive of the status or existence of the Atman. We relate to the physical world, we relate to other individuals as if we are just this limited human existence and being, we perceive and react to everything from our own ...
Views: 544 - Yogic Sadhana and Depression - by Submitted on Jul 03, 2022 from santosh krinskyPractitioners of yoga are not exempt from the play of the gunas, the qualities of Nature, and thus, are from time to time, subject to bouts of discouragement and depression when tamas is in the ascendent. It may happen when a particular goal or ambition is thwarted or delayed, as the frustration ...
Views: 544 - The Importance of the Psychic Transformation - by Submitted on Sep 05, 2021 from santosh krinskyAs the seeker traverses the unknown realms of the inner being, the various worlds of the physical, vital and mental planes and the spiritual heights and widenesses, he is confronted with many circumstances, events, beings, and actions which he simply does not have any reference point to ...
Views: 543 - 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: 543 - Understanding and Addressing Resistance in the Lower Being to the Descent of the Divine Force - by Submitted on Sep 28, 2021 from santosh krinskyThere is a physical sensation that often accompanies the descent of the higher Force into the being. Some people relate this as a type of pressure in the head. Some experience headaches initially. Some find their being shaking to some degree as the nervous system absorbs and distributes the ...
Views: 543 - 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: 543 - Distinguishing the Realisation of the Atman and the Higher Planes of Consciousness - by Submitted on Aug 03, 2021 from santosh krinskyWhen an individual begins the spiritual quest, there can be considerable confusion about different directions, objectives and methods of attainment. In many cases, divergent goals are lumped together, while in other instances, there can be confusion about the sequence of the steps. Sri Aurobindo ...
Views: 542 - The Impersonal Divine and the Personal Divine - by Submitted on Jun 30, 2021 from santosh krinskyIn our typical linear thought process we tend to fixate on either the Impersonal aspect of the Divine, or the Personal aspect, and we treat them as either mutually exclusive or in competition with each other, with some adherents favoring one and some the other. In reality, both aspects are part ...
Views: 542 - Additional Forms of Disturbance Associated with the Physical Mind - by Submitted on Apr 14, 2022 from santosh krinskyDr. Dalal identifies other manifestations of the physical mind which can present issues for an individual. Everyone has had the experience, at some point or another, of thoughts that keep revolving around in the brain, and no matter how much one tries, they continue to crop up and recur. We chew ...
Views: 541 - How to Make Sleep Conscious - by Submitted on Jan 23, 2022 from santosh krinskyMuch research has been done to monitor the various stages of sleep and to try to determine what is taking place during each stage. People have been experimenting with learning during sleep, and some people actively ‘program’ their minds before they go to sleep to solve certain problems they are ...
Views: 541 - Safely Transitioning Between the External Physical Consciousness and the Mental, Vital and Subtle Physical Realms of Inner Experience - by Submitted on Aug 10, 2021 from santosh krinskyWhenever an individual enters into a new situation or circumstance, there is a period of disorientation, which may involve misinterpretation of what is being experienced, as well as failure to understand the rules, laws or protocols that may apply in that new situation. In society this may lead ...
Views: 541 - The Devotee and the Yoga of Devotion, Part 1 - by Submitted on Jul 03, 2021 from santosh krinskyWhich comes first, the experience of the Divine Presence or the aspiration to bask in the Presence? This question arose in a dialogue between a disciple and Sri Aurobindo and led to an extensive response from Sri Aurobindo. Sri Aurobindo describes the attitude, motive and dedication of a devotee ...
Views: 541 - The Source and Significance of Visions - by Submitted on Aug 19, 2021 from santosh krinskySeeking visions has been a part of what has been called a “spiritual journey” by countless individuals around the world throughout history and in all religious and spiritual traditions. The “vision quest” is a well known and accepted activity among seekers. Christian mystics, for instance, chose ...
Views: 541 - Where Does Desire Come From? - by Submitted on Apr 15, 2022 from santosh krinskyEveryone experiences the tug of desire. We observe something and suddenly we want to have it. We experience something pleasant and we want to have it happen once again. Sometimes we feel a sudden urge for something after being exposed to a commercial message. At other times we can simply be in a ...
Views: 541 - The Link Between Inner Defects and External Attacks of Adverse Forces - by Submitted on Dec 11, 2021 from santosh krinskyIn order for any force or action to affect an individual, there must be something that links them together, attracting the energy that is external to the receiving station nexus of the individual body-life-mind complex. For purely material forces,, obviously, this connection is existence in the ...
Views: 540 - Comparing Current General State of Human Consciousness With More Evolved States, Part 6 Subjection to Suffering from the Dualities Versus Equanimity - by Submitted on Nov 02, 2022 from santosh krinskyThe dualities, or pairs of opposites, are recognised throughout the world as a condition of life. Night and day, positive and negative, and all other dualities, can be seen in material nature, as well as in our vital and emotional existence and in our minds. Electricity flows between positive ...
Views: 539 - What Is Cosmic Consciousness? - by Submitted on Aug 05, 2021 from santosh krinskyOur normal human consciousness revolves around the standpoint and awareness of our ego-personality. We look at things from our own viewpoint, and determine our relation to everything that takes place based on how we perceive these things to impact the ego. We tend to treat the universal creation ...
Views: 539 - Comparing Current General State of Human Consciousness With More Evolved States, Part 5 Identification With the External Nature Versus Poise of Detachment - by Submitted on Nov 01, 2022 from santosh krinskyWe generally experience ourselves as our body, life and mind. When we injure our body, we say that we have hurt ourselves. When there are hunger pangs, we say that we are hungry. When we experience an emotion, we say that we have become angry, or are in love, or are feeling lonely or depressed. ...
Views: 538 - Introduction to Living Within: the Yoga Approach to Psychological Health and Growth by Sri Aurobindo and The Mother, compiled by Dr. A.S. Dalal - by Submitted on Apr 03, 2022 from santosh krinskyWhat is psychological health and growth? Western psychology tends to define psychological health as the absence of various forms of extreme disturbance or disruption. ‘Normal” levels of dissatisfaction, upset-ness, are considered to be both acceptable and part of everyday life. It is only when ...
Views: 538 - 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: 538 - Exploring the Nature of the Dream State - by Submitted on Aug 26, 2021 from santosh krinskyDreams have kept researchers awake for the entire history of mankind. Where do dreams come from? Of what substance are they made? What significance do they have? The ancient Greek culture had oracles who interpreted dreams. The Old Testament of the Bible recounts the rise of Joseph in the land ...
Views: 537 - Understanding and Overcoming Depression - by Submitted on Jul 02, 2022 from santosh krinskyIn today’s world, depression is a widespread malady that affects people throughout the world. In many cases, pharmaceutical drugs are known to have potential ‘side effects’ that can cause depression, thoughts of suicide, or other dark moods that inhibit the ability of the individual to function ...
Views: 537 - Discernment of Good and Bad Thoughts - by Submitted on Jun 18, 2022 from santosh krinskyWhen we initially reflect on “what is a good thought” and “what is a bad thought”, the first ideas that arise almost inevitably harken back to whatever cultural, moral or ethical code prevails within the society of the time, whether this is based on religion or developed cultural understandings ...
Views: 536 - 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: 536 - The Bedrock of Resistance to Change in Human Nature - by Submitted on Nov 21, 2021 from santosh krinskyWhen we look at the working of Nature, we see ample evidence of inbred habits of action and reaction, which we call ‘instinct’ in the world of animals, and which we call the laws of physics in the material world. Consider how it is possible, for instance, that Monarch butterflies carry out a ...
Views: 536 - The Emergence of the Witness Purusha - by Submitted on Jul 29, 2021 from santosh krinskyThe recognition of the separation of the Purusha, the inner witness consciousness and the Prakriti, the active nature that operates in the mind, life and body, is an important step in the practice of yoga, whether for total abandonment of the outer world and liberation of the being, or as an ...
Views: 536 - Guarding One’s Faith - by Submitted on Dec 29, 2022 from santosh krinskyFaith, as described by Sri Aurobindo and the Mother, is not a dogmatic acceptance of a system of ideas or ‘articles of faith’; rather, it is a form of knowledge that arises from deeper within, from the soul and its connection with the universe, which provides a certainty that goes beyond the ...
Views: 535 - Dealing With Physical Pain - by Submitted on Aug 03, 2022 from santosh krinskyIn various places, Sri Aurobindo describes the possibility of pain becoming for the spiritual practitioner an intense form of spiritual bliss, Ananda. He is describing the psychological experience of a realized soul who has separated himself from attachment to and identification with the ...
Views: 534 - The Intermediate Zone in the Development of Consciousness - by Submitted on Aug 12, 2021 from santosh krinskySri Aurobindo distinguishes between what he terms the ‘intermediate zone’ and a number of intermediate stages in the development of consciousness. The distinction is important. The intermediate zone is a transitional phase as the normal human mind-life-body begins to experience the influx of ...
Views: 534 - How Can I Understand True Spiritual Humility - by Submitted on Dec 24, 2021 from santosh krinskyIn the Bhagavad Gita, Arjuna inquires how he can know an enlightened individual, whether by his talk, or the way he acts, or by some other external sign. Sri Krishna replies that it is not through external actions or signs that one can recognise the realised souls. The truth lies in their inner ...
Views: 533 - Spiritual Experiences Are Real - by Submitted on Jul 25, 2021 from santosh krinskyFor the individual who has a spiritual experience, one of the most notable characteristics is the absolute and incontrovertible ‘reality’ of the experience. Yet, people who live primarily in the surface consciousness tend to treat such experiences, when related, as somehow less real or even ...
Views: 533 - The Static and Dynamic Aspects of the Higher Spiritual Self - by Submitted on Sep 16, 2021 from santosh krinskyWhen the seeker initially passes the limits imposed by the body-life-mind complex and the ego personality, the experience can be one that is totally disorienting, raising fear and a shrinking back within the limits of the outer being. This is the experience of the boundary where the ego must ...
Views: 533 - Understanding the Inner Being - by Submitted on Jul 30, 2021 from santosh krinskyAs long as we remain on the surface of our being, and rely entirely on the physical senses and the nervous system of the vital being and the mental processes focused on these outer sensations, actions and phenomena, the inner depths of our being remain hidden from us, occult, and not quite ...
Views: 533 - Immortality in this Body is Not the Transformation Sought by the Integral Yoga - by Submitted on Oct 13, 2021 from santosh krinskyThe “fountain of youth”, the elixir of immortality, attaining eternal life… these are various ways the aspiration of humanity has found expression for the conquest of death. Some who take up the integral Yoga latch on to the eventual idea of the supramental transformation leading to immortality ...
Views: 532 - Reading as a Spiritual Practice and Its Limitations - by Submitted on Mar 26, 2022 from santosh krinskyWhile Sri Aurobindo created an enormous body of written materials regarding the integral yoga, the development of the next phase of consciousness growth in the earth-evolution, he also clearly recognized that there are limits to how much reading can aid the spiritual seeker. He made a clear ...
Views: 532 - Absorption in Our Outer Life, Living in the ‘Now’, Mindfulness and Detachment - by Submitted on May 29, 2022 from santosh krinskyMost people live a life without inward reflectoin, reacting to circumstances, conditioned by habits developed through millennia, trained responses and built up expectations. Their lives are fixated on whatever is presented to them at the moment, and they lose any sense of self-awareness in this ...
Views: 531 - Conditions for Emergence of the Psychic Being - by Submitted on Sep 09, 2021 from santosh krinskyMost people associate yoga with a series of physical exercises and breathing routines. Yoga, however, is more than such physical activities, although they can help to regulate energy flow and enhance stability and provide benefits to the body, life energy and mind. Sri Aurobindo has more broadly ...
Views: 531 - The Objective of Spiritual Effort Is a Change of Consciousness, Not a Large Following - by Submitted on Mar 15, 2022 from santosh krinskyWe generally try to measure the importance of a particular religion or path by the number of adherents it boasts. Hundreds of millions of Christians, Hindus, Buddhists, and many tens of millions in other major religious denominations, are impressive numbers for our external mental awareness that ...
Views: 531 - Addressing the Methods of Change of the Physical Consciousness - by Submitted on Nov 10, 2021 from santosh krinskyBrute force has often been employed by aspirants seeking to overcome the ‘desires of the flesh’ and the obstructions of the physical consciousness to their spiritual focus and seeking. Extreme fasting, wearing of the cilice or sackcloth, arduous penances in the desert, self-flagellation, ...
Views: 529 - Becoming Aware of the Inner Being and Taking Up the Spiritual Life - by Submitted on Jul 21, 2021 from santosh krinskyFor most people, their lives are focused on their external relationships, their own individual self-satisfaction and their ability to manipulate their social and environmental reality to achieve objectives set by their ego-personality. Many do not have any meaningful relationship to any inner ...
Views: 529 - The Advent of the Supramental Consciousness and Its Impact on Mind, Life and Body - by Submitted on Mar 28, 2021 from santosh krinskyEvery new evolutionary development of consciousness has brought with it changes in the material forms and activity of those forms to accommodate the new powers that are manifesting. It is therefore expected that as the supramental manifestation takes place, it will also bring about changes in ...
Views: 529 - The Test of Yogic Equality - by Submitted on Jun 02, 2022 from santosh krinskyThe setting of Sri Krishna’s teaching to Arjuna on the battlefield of Kurukshetra, symbolizing the ‘battle of life’ is an essential message to all who seek to progress in their spiritual growth and development. We do not normally associate a battlefield as the place to learn about our spiritual ...
Views: 529 - Desire and True Need for a Yogic Practitioner - by Submitted on Dec 31, 2021 from santosh krinskyToday’s civilisation is fixated on possession and ownership of material things, and people are generally respected and honored for their ability to accumulate resources. This has led to extreme inequality in terms of the resources available for use by people on the planet, as a very small number ...
Views: 528 - Developing Harmonious Relationships with Close Family, Friends and Associates - by Submitted on Feb 24, 2022 from santosh krinskyEven among those closest to one another, there remain differences of habit and temperament. Issues of personal grooming, dietary choices, choices in music or other media interactions, time commitments, interactions about caring for the common shared space all work to create minor daily ...
Views: 528 - 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 ...
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