We are currently looking for an Official SelfGrowth.com Guide to "Self Knowledge". If you have expertise in Self Knowledge and your own website and/or product for this topic, please review this form for complete details. The Official Guide Position is part of our Premium Placement Package
Students today face many academic challenges. Coursework deadlines, complex topics, and high expectations from teachers can make studies stressful. Many students struggle to manage everything at the same time. To handle this pressure, learners now rely on an online coursework helper for guidance ... Views: 0
It is obvious. If a system is set up to carry out vital demands, desires and wants, and it is provided more energy, it will simply expand its ability to achieve those desires. That is the reason that undertaking practices that increase the vital force, without first ensuring that the focus and ... Views: 1
There is a substantial and well-known danger of the vital nature taking advantage of the force that comes down through the psychic aspiration and using it to advance objectives of the vital rather than those that carry out the intended purpose of the Divine Power. There is a well known ... Views: 2
The spiritual seeker is so close to the movements and reactions of the mind, life and body, in most circumstances, that he can easily become confused or concerned about the process, timing and steps of the desired changes to responses of the external nature. It is frequently noted that it is ... Views: 3
The 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: 4
The 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: 5
There 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: 6
As the spiritual seeker begins to address the question of mastery over the sex-impulse, he becomes aware of the difficulties of tackling a deeply embedded process that stretches back into the early phases of animal evolution, and thus, has acquired a strong power base within the being. This ... Views: 7
People 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: 8
Most religious and spiritual paths have addressed the issue of sexuality from a viewpoint that turns it into some kind of sin or morality concern, and proscriptions about sex and responses to the sexual impulse mirror this focus on morality versus immorality. People who engage in sexual ... Views: 9
There are many powers at work in the world, physical powers, vital powers, mental powers, spiritual powers. They are native to their own sphere, but in many cases they are active here in our world, trying to assert themselves and thrive here. Many of these powers are conscious and act with ... Views: 10
Until 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: 11
Vital Forces and Spiritual Forces and the Evolution of Consciousness
Posted on January 8, 2026
Most people do not recognise the active role and intention of conscious vital forces in their lives. First, the physical body tends to shield them from direct perception of these forces. While they ... Views: 11
There 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: 13
Success 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: 13
The 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: 15
In 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: 15
When 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: 15
Fasting 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: 16
A 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: 17
When 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: 16
It 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: 16
There is a factor of enjoyment of taste of various foods which is called rasa in Sanskrit. We experience this when we eat something that excites our taste buds and sends signals of pleasure to the brain. For many people, the sweet taste, and more particularly the taste of rich chocolate, seems ... Views: 17
In 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: 18
Dealing with the Desire or Craving Related to Food
Posted on December 27, 2025
Vast numbers of people face the difficulty of the craving for food, whether in the form of eating more than their body requires, or eating foods that carry little nutritional benefit but which represent large ... Views: 16
Humanity 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: 18
Human 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: 17
Material 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: 20
There 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: 20
Desire 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: 20
When 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: 20
We 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: 23
Spiritual 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: 23
We 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: 25
Typically, in moments of extreme hardship or intense suffering, individuals often seek a path to escape their pain, suffering and misery. It is during these times that the aspiration to attain a god-like state may arise.
"Traumatic" is generally related to experiences that are emotionally ... Views: 19
For 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: 27
Every 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 ... Views: 23
A 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: 26
An 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: 28
When 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: 26
The 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: 29
The vital forces that have, for the most part, gained substantial control of the earth-nature’s vital existence, are very protective of their ‘turf’, so to speak. They do not cede the ground easily, and once they are dismissed from an individual’s nature, they still maintain both their existence ... Views: 33
When 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: 35
There 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: 30
The 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: 33
When 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: 31
As 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: 32
When a spiritual seeker begins to appreciate the forces at work in the world that try to influence and manipulate his behaviour, one of the first reactions tends to be to try to close oneself off, wall oneself off, not take cognizance of these forces. This is the power of the anchorite ... Views: 39
Particularly (but not exclusively) in the beginning of the spiritual sadhana, the seeker has to find a way to navigate through the countless obstacles, resistances and difficulties that arise as he tries to transition from a focus on the external responses of the ego-personality and the embedded ... Views: 35
As 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: 35