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- Evolution of Consciousness and the Need for Rebirth as a Mechanism of that Evolution - by Submitted on Mar 01, 2022 from santosh krinskyWe observe an outer fact of existence, but we do not see the motive force behind it, nor the intention behind the motive force. Thus, Darwin identified an evolution of species, and researchers have identified families of species, development of specific characteristics within those families and ...
Views: 516 - The Cure for Inner Loneliness - by Submitted on Feb 28, 2022 from santosh krinskyHuman beings are social animals, and they crave contact and relationship with others. Modern society has broken or weakened many of the links that formerly brought people together, including the nuclear and extended family, and tight-knit communities where people socialized and interacted with ...
Views: 628 - The Need to Shift the Consciousness Beyond the Ego - by Submitted on Feb 27, 2022 from santosh krinskyThe ego-consciousness has its evolutionary purpose. The distinction of the individual from the mass of existence led to the ability to move beyond the instinctual and habitual patterns of the species. With this consciousness, variation and innovation became more easily possible. Observation from ...
Views: 548 - The Potential Impact of Positive or Negative Thoughts on Another Individual - by Submitted on Feb 26, 2022 from santosh krinskyThought has power. Power, however, has its conditions of action. A ‘passing’ thought running through the mind, disappearing as quickly as it enters, does not have the same impact as a concentrated and persistent focus coupled with the gathering of emotional or vital force to accentuate its ...
Views: 806 - 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: 568 - 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: 535 - Speak Truth, Not Falsehood - by Submitted on Feb 22, 2022 from santosh krinskyTruth. This term is subjected to considerable interpretation in today’s world. Some say that there is no such thing as ‘truth’ and that ‘truth is relative’. Some hold that what one person understands as ‘truth’, seen from a different perspective, is falsehood. Some indicate that ‘today’s truth ...
Views: 497 - Speaking About One’s Spiritual Experiences - by Submitted on Feb 21, 2022 from santosh krinskyAn individual has a peak spiritual experience, or something unusual takes place in his inner life about which he has no prior knowledge or understanding. This creates an impulse to speak of the experience to other people. There can be a number of motivations for talking about an inner experience ...
Views: 613 - Six Recommendations for Speech and Social Relationships - by Submitted on Feb 20, 2022 from santosh krinskySpeech not only can affect one’s own energy, but it can also affect one’s relationship with others and the dynamics of a social relationship and a community. For the most part, people tend to speak whatever comes to them without a great deal (if any) reflection. This practice however can have ...
Views: 550 - Observing and Controlling One’s Speech - by Submitted on Feb 19, 2022 from santosh krinskyMauna Sadhana, the discipline of silence, can be a very powerful way to gain insight into the impulse to speech and the control of speech. We frequently speak without filtering what we have to say. The idea comes into our mind and before we know it, it is making its way out in the form of ...
Views: 482 - The Circumstances and Need of a Temporary Withdrawal and Quiet of the Being - by Submitted on Feb 18, 2022 from santosh krinskyThere are occasions where the practice of silence and a temporary withdrawal from the hustle and bustle of the outer life, to the degree feasible, becomes a necessary part of the sadhana for the practitioner of yoga. Yoga is, by definition, a change of consciousness, and it involves an inward ...
Views: 506 - Speech and the Practice of Yoga - by Submitted on Feb 17, 2022 from santosh krinskyHuman beings are talkative creatures. The power of speech, the power of language is one of the most highly developed areas of difference from most other species on the planet (there are other beings that have speech, but to date we have not found them to have the complexity and breadth of ...
Views: 631 - Helping Others in the Spiritual Path - by Submitted on Feb 16, 2022 from santosh krinskyThere is an impulse to share something that we find valuable in our own lives. This impulse is oftentimes harnessed by religious organizations or spiritual groups to become a method of proselytizing and conversion, and in some cases, it can become a situation filled with pressure on the ...
Views: 588 - Is Inner Spiritual Growth Possible While Engaging with the External World? - by Submitted on Feb 15, 2022 from santosh krinskyIf we look at the spiritual and religious traditions of the world, we find that a recurring theme is the need of the true seeker to disassociate himself from the outer life of the world. This is done to focus the attention on the spiritual quest and to avoid the distractions, disruptions and ...
Views: 536 - Psychic Self-Defense - by Submitted on Feb 14, 2022 from santosh krinskyThe true test of spiritual equanimity and balance is how one responds to adverse circumstances. It is relatively easy to be calm and peaceful when there is no external pressure and one is surrounded by a quiet and nourishing environment. It is quite another to remain focused, balanced and equal ...
Views: 549 - The Greek Temperament and the Roman Temperament in the Practice of Yoga - by Submitted on Feb 13, 2022 from santosh krinskyWe observe some individuals who have an obvious connection to the life-energy and who have a sensitivity and responsiveness to life that allows them to experience the fullness of life. We also observe individuals who appear more restrained, self-contained, and less subject to the life around ...
Views: 551 - Spiritual Sadhana Varies by Individual Based on Temperament and Situation of the Sadhak - by Submitted on Feb 12, 2022 from santosh krinskyNot everyone can achieve spiritual progress using exactly the same methods or disciplines. The “one size fits all” approach tried by many religious or spiritual communities of the past only works if their members are all basically similar in temperament and their spiritual development. We have ...
Views: 516 - Addressing Vital Interchange in the Context of Spiritual Practice - by Submitted on Feb 11, 2022 from santosh krinskyThe normal human viewpoint in today’s world is one of separate individuality. We believe, based on that viewpoint, that we are free and independent and make our own choices exercising our free will. In actuality, however, this is not quite true. All relationships in society involve subtle vital ...
Views: 557 - The Focus on Spiritual Development or Attachment to Family Life: the Choice for the Spiritual Aspirant - by Submitted on Feb 10, 2022 from santosh krinskyFrom childhood we are acculturated with the idea of family and family life as a primary function and goal of our existence. This becomes a habit in our vital being and in our minds. At some point, through some seminal experience or through a growing inner conviction, certain individuals become ...
Views: 502 - Friendship and Affection — Human and Divine - by Submitted on Feb 06, 2022 from santosh krinskyHuman relationships are subject to eventual disappointment in almost all cases. Friendship and affection are generally based in the ego and its gratification and at some point, the needs and goals of the individuals may diverge, they may be separated due to distance, illness or death, or there ...
Views: 527 - elations of the Yogic Practitioner With Non-Practitioners - by Submitted on Feb 04, 2022 from santosh krinskyFamily, friends, relatives, children, parents, siblings, community. It is both normal and generally accepted that people form attachments to those with whom they have close relations. Those attachments demand attention and effort. For those who have a calling to follow the religious life or a ...
Views: 489 - Relationship Among Sadhaks in an Ashram Community - by Submitted on Feb 03, 2022 from santosh krinskyThe history of spiritual and religious communities has witnessed numerous approaches to interpersonal relationships. For the most part, monasteries, cloisters or ashrams have tried to focus the attention of their members by maintaining strict rules, in many cases including vows of silence, ...
Views: 556 - Why Do Some People Believe the Practice of Yoga Causes Illness or Death? - by Submitted on Feb 02, 2022 from santosh krinskyPeople in the West who have been introduced to yoga, primarily Hatha Yoga, come to understand that there can be substantial health benefits to the practice of yoga. Meditation has also been shown to help reduce stress, aid in achieving rest and sleep, and thereby enhance health for the ...
Views: 500 - A Balanced Approach to Dealing with Illness and the Health of the Body for the Yogic Practitioner - by Submitted on Jan 31, 2022 from santosh krinskyThe traditional Western approach to health and well-being sees the human body as under attack and health is a matter for defense and counter-attack against the causes of illness in the form of bacteria and viruses. In cases where the process of illness or deterioration of the capacities of the ...
Views: 632 - The Role of Medicine in Treating Illness for the Practitioner of Yoga - by Submitted on Jan 30, 2022 from santosh krinskyThe spiritual seeker often is confronted with a situation that seems to pit faith against medical science. The debate between religion and science goes back millennia and this is one small part of that larger debate. Those who are dedicated practitioners are asked to face all difficulties with ...
Views: 560 - The Source and Cause of Illness - by Submitted on Jan 28, 2022 from santosh krinskyWestern medical science holds that illness has several potential causes. Failing to digest food properly is one such cause. Stress on the body and its organ systems is another. A third is failure to obtain proper nutrition or fluids. Aging is considered a contributing factor in the breakdown of ...
Views: 547 - The Qualities of Food and Spiritual Practice - by Submitted on Jan 27, 2022 from santosh krinskyWhen people take up spiritual practices, they are exposed to many different ideas about the proper diet. With the idea that ‘you are what you eat’, there is a long list of foods that are considered suitable for spiritual practitioners to eat, what are called in the ancient traditions of India, ...
Views: 512 - Fasting and the Practice of the Integral Yoga - by Submitted on Jan 26, 2022 from santosh krinskyAt some point in their spiritual quest, seekers are generally confronted with the question of ‘fasting’. Some paths recommend fasting as a method to lighten the heaviness of the ‘earth consciousness’ and make the being more receptive to higher vibrational energies. Some point out that fasting ...
Views: 514 - Understanding and Attaining the Right Attitude Toward Food for the Yogic Practitioner - by Submitted on Jan 25, 2022 from santosh krinskyShifting the awareness away from the ego-consciousness to the divine standpoint takes place as a ‘tuning’ process which Sri Aurobindo designates as ‘aspiration’. This represents a focus of the attention of the being on the higher consciousness and away from the normal fixation on the outer life ...
Views: 520 - The Attitude Towards Food and the Practice of Yoga - by Submitted on Jan 24, 2022 from santosh krinskyThere is considerable confusion, and a resultant variety of ways that spiritual seekers respond, to the question of food. Ordinarily food should not lead to any sense of bewilderment, as it is simply a necessity for the maintenance of the physical body in general. The issue arises when food ...
Views: 531 - 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: 579 - The Need to Overcome the Subconscious State of Sleep - by Submitted on Jan 22, 2022 from santosh krinskyNormally when we sleep, the body goes into a state of tamas and with it, the consciousness loses the thread of the progress of the preceding day. While the progress is not ‘lost’ in the long run, it does mean that we tend to have to re-establish what was done previously time and again. Something ...
Views: 488 - Sleep, Rest and Consciousness - by Submitted on Jan 21, 2022 from santosh krinskyWestern scientists describe the various stages of sleep. Yet they are looking at sleep from outside and do not know how to correlate the stages with the movement of consciousness during sleep. They recite facts based on observation and brain wave activity and pronounce that one is experiencing ...
Views: 600 - The Process of Sleep and its Transformation in the Practice of Yoga - by Submitted on Jan 20, 2022 from santosh krinskyIf we examine the sleep state, we can identify different phases of ‘normal’ sleep patterns for human beings in general. Starting from the waking state where we are conscious of the sights, and sounds of the outside world, as well as the thoughts and emotions and nervous impulses, feelings and ...
Views: 490 - Sleep and the Practice of Integral Yoga - by Submitted on Jan 19, 2022 from santosh krinskyReligious devotees and spiritual aspirants throughout the world have tried to experience a divine revelation through various extreme practices that put the body under severe stress. One of these practices has been extreme fasting, and another, the attempt to overcome the power of sleep and carry ...
Views: 481 - Creating Balance for the Physical Body as an Instrument of the Sadhana - by Submitted on Jan 18, 2022 from santosh krinskyWhen the mind is engaged in carrying out some idea, or the vital being is involved and enthusiastic about something, there is a strong tendency for the rise of Rajas in the being. Rajas has a tendency to overdo things, go beyond limits and as a result, it is the frequent cause of injury and the ...
Views: 557 - Causes and Solutions for Physical Fatigue - by Submitted on Jan 17, 2022 from santosh krinskyIn the field of medicine, there is a practice known as ‘differential diagnosis’ which examines symptoms and looks at the variety of potential causes before suggesting a remedy or curative action. The classic example is one of headache, which can have innumerable potential causes, including ...
Views: 526 - Spiritual Practice Requires Strength of Body, Life and Mind - by Submitted on Jan 16, 2022 from santosh krinskyMany people mistakenly believe that those who take up the spiritual life and withdraw from active involvement in the outer life of society, marriage, familiy, commerce, governance, etc. are somehow weak or unfit to succeed in society and they are “taking the easy way out”. It is true that some ...
Views: 488 - Fear and Fearlessness in Life and in Yoga - by Submitted on Jan 15, 2022 from santosh krinskyFear arises in the lower vital, in some instances, as a direct vital response to an energy that threatens health and safety of the individual; in other words, it is part of the survival instinct. But it also arises through social acculturation, such as in issues of stage fright, or through ...
Views: 528 - Soul-Mates, Marriage and the Integral Yoga - by Submitted on Jan 14, 2022 from santosh krinskyThe soul-mate, the individual who is intended to match your soul in this lifetime, the perfect partner, the person who helps one make life work. People are always seeking for just the perfect match, and there are any number of romantic notions about how this occurs in life. People then say that ...
Views: 483 - Marriage and Spiritual Life in the Integral Yoga - by Submitted on Jan 13, 2022 from santosh krinskyIn many religious traditions it is customary to expect the dedicated aspirant to forego not only sexual relations, but also worldly entanglements. In the Catholic religious tradition, nuns are considered to be ‘brides of Christ’ and as such, do not enter into the state of marriage. In the Hindu ...
Views: 497 - Hints for the Spiritual Practitioner Seeking to Eliminate the Sex Impulse - by Submitted on Jan 12, 2022 from santosh krinskyWe have learned quite a bit about the sexual impulse. Young children are basically asexual, and it is only with the coming of puberty and the flooding of mood-creating chemicals in the system (hormones), that we become susceptible to responding to the sexual energy when it arises. Not everything ...
Views: 460 - Rejection of the Sex Impulse and Mastery of Its Force - by Submitted on Jan 11, 2022 from santosh krinskyMany religious traditions and cultures have placed sex in a ‘taboo’ category for discussion or consideration. Sex is considered by many to be something sinful, immoral and only to be conducted within the confines of a lawfully sanctioned marriage and under guidelines for procreation not ...
Views: 471 - The Transformation of the Sex Centre and Its Energy - by Submitted on Jan 10, 2022 from santosh krinskyFor the practitioner of the integral Yoga, energy is utilized to redirect and shift the standpoint away from the ego-personality into the divine standpoint, and then to effectuate actions to carry out the divine manifestation in the world. Energy dedicated to the enhancement or satisfactions of ...
Views: 649 - The Need to Master the Sex Impulse for the Sadhak of the Integral Yoga - by Submitted on Jan 09, 2022 from santosh krinskyReligious and spiritual paths throughout the world have recognised the need to gain control over the sex impulse. Similarly societies have recognised that in many cases the sex impulse can create disruption in the orderly processes of the society. Traditionally, certain mores or rules of conduct ...
Views: 458 - The Role of Sex in the Integral Yoga - by Submitted on Jan 08, 2022 from santosh krinskyWhen Sri Aurobindo states “all life is yoga”, he is speaking generally about the long, slow ‘yoga of nature’ which is taking place in the universe, leading to ever-greater stages of consciousness manifesting and transforming, successively, the previously manifested planes of awareness. This ...
Views: 508 - The Nature of the Sexual Impulse - by Submitted on Jan 06, 2022 from santosh krinskyThe sexual impulse and energy is one of the basic primary drives in Nature and is widespread in the animal kingdom, although there are instances of asexual reproduction. The drive is so powerful that it can drive beings to extreme lengths, even killing off rivals, or fighting to maintain ...
Views: 600 - Violence and Non-Violence — in Life and in Yoga - by Submitted on Jan 05, 2022 from santosh krinsky‘The law of the jungle.’ ‘Dog eat dog’. ‘Survival of the fittest.’ ‘Darwinian evolution.’ These ideas illustrate the way we understand life on earth, and its requirements for survival and success in worldly life. When Jesus proclaimed ‘the meek shall inherit the earth’, he expressed an idea that ...
Views: 500 - Resolved for 2022: To Do More Self-Reflection — Aggh! - by Submitted on Jan 04, 2022 from Marcia Naomi Berger"If you know what you do, you can do what you want," Feldenkrais instructor Ruti Gorel quotes Dr. Moshe Feldenkrais. The Feldenkrais method prescribes gentle, mindful exercises. While doing them, I become deeply relaxed. Afterward, my posture improves. The method focuses on ...
Views: 675 - Violence and Spiritual Change - by Submitted on Jan 04, 2022 from santosh krinskyThrough ambition or impatience, the spiritual seeker may try to rush the spiritual progress, and in many cases, this is attempted through various forms of overt or sublimated violence. The overt forms include various extreme penances or even self-punishment, while the sublimated forms may ...
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