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The 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: 595
As 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: 595
The mind is not an instrument of knowledge. It is an analytical and organising tool, but is unable, on its own, to establish truth or certainty. It also maintains a certain arrogance in its own powers, and thus, when confronted with something beyond its own capabilities, it doubts the veracity ... Views: 594
As 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: 593
There is a difference between ‘joy’ and ‘enjoyment’. Enjoyment is a more or less passive state, such as when we enjoy some form of entertainment. Joy, on the other hand, is an active status, which rises spontaneously through involvement and action. If we observe children, we see that they ... Views: 593
Day care school in Noida schools have a critical role to play in our lives to determine our response towards social equality. Here are some of the aspects that make gender equality lessons a must and indispensable for children so as to secure a stable society and a bright future for those ... Views: 592
Once an individual recognises that there are three separate foundations of consciousness in the outer being, and that they are not simply part of one unified awareness, it becomes much easier to untangle the numerous strands of pressure internally and understand how to address and deal with the ... Views: 592
Lotus Valley is one of the Top CBSE Schools in Noida believe that it is a wrong notion that creativity only pertains to music and arts. In fact, creativity and technology are very much related. If you see, information technology, when at its best, is highly creative. Things like project-based ... Views: 592
Aristotle (384–322 BC) was a Greek philosopher taught by Plato. He wrote about many subjects and his philosophy continues to heavily influence almost every form of knowledge in the West.
Below are words of wisdom from Aristotle.
"Be a free thinker and don't accept everything you hear ... Views: 592
Attaining the proper poise of equality is an essential step for the yogic practitioner. It is quite easy to fall into a fatalistic view that basically says “what happened was what had to happen”, without further consideration about the process through time and the direction, momentum and ... Views: 592
Sri Ramana Maharshi famously inquired into the question ‘who am I?’. Through constant self-examination with this question, the seeker begins to separate himself from the idea that he is the body, or the particular life-energy formation or mental sense that make up his external, surface ... Views: 591
There is no way to achieve “instant” yogic realisation. There is no automatic technique, there is no pill one can take to suddenly become enlightened. The sages ensured that we understand the needed patience, persistence and efforts required in the various accounts of realised souls and how they ... Views: 591
We can clearly see the influence of the vital on the mind when we understand the lengths to which the mind will go to justify satisfaction of the needs, desires or actions of the vital nature. The defense mechanism of ‘rationalization’ is a clear example. We understand, intellectually, that ... Views: 590
The 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: 589
Best preschool in Noida always strive to instill discipline among our students as an essential means of learning. We believe discipline is as important as love, food, sleep, and education. Discipline in early childhood allows for the development of social, emotional, and behavioral skills in ... Views: 589
Children naturally have direct contact with the universal vital energy but this tends to fade into the background and be ‘lost’ as the mind ‘learns’ the ‘laws of nature’ which do not recognise the energy or its relationship to us. This is a circumstance of the artificially limiting action of the ... Views: 589
The 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: 589
Anyone who has taken up the practice of meditation is familiar with the attempt to quiet the mind and not pay attention to thoughts that arise during the process, letting them drift through without being followed or amplified in any way. One quickly realises during the process that we tend to ... Views: 589
Imagine we had to manage all the functions of the body through conscious attention by the mind, telling the body how to operate each organ, controlling each breath and heartbeat, controlling the energy production activities in the cells, etc. It would be clearly impossible. We depend entirely on ... Views: 588
When 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: 588
Some years ago we were witnesses to an event that clearly illustrated the disturbance to the vital that can be caused by a positive experience. In that case, a married couple were planning to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary and their extended family and friends were there to join the ... Views: 588
We 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: 588
People believe that suppression of the vital forces that are actuated by the force of desire can lead to imbalance and mental illness. For this reason, Western psychology has recommended the moderate expression of these forces, and has generally counseled having a healthy vital life that does ... Views: 587
One level of the deep ignorance within which we live and act is our bondage to the specific individual life, personality and situation that we inhabit. We are generally unaware of anything prior to our birth or which occurs after our death. Some even take the view that there is no “meaning” and ... Views: 586
When the idea of becoming conscious in sleep is raised, many people try simply to find ways to remain awake somehow in sleep. This process generally leads to exhaustion, and imbalances in the physical, vital and mental complex of the outer nature. Sleep is restorative to their processes, and any ... Views: 585
Before we can deal with thoughts, we need to have at least a basic understanding of what they are and where they come from, what they consist of, and what the purpose of thought is. Yet, we rarely if ever examine these questions and simply take thought for granted as something necessary and ... Views: 585
The ancient Mandukya Upanishad describes OM in considerable detail as the sound-body of the Universe: “OM is this imperishable Word, OM is the Universe, and this is the exposition of OM. The past, the present and the future, all that was, all that is, all that will be, is OM. Likewise all else ... Views: 585
One 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: 585
Western 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: 585
In ancient Greek mythology, there is the tale of the 12 labours of Hercules, one of which was cleaning out the Augean stables. He needed to accomplish this task in one day, but there were so many cattle that it was considered an impossible task. And every day the mess was renewed after the ... Views: 584
30 years ago, if you mentioned you believe in life after death, religious people might have agreed with you, but many others would have laughed at you. But now, with so much credible evidence that the soul survives death, all but the most skeptical among us at least consider the possibility.
... Views: 584
In setting forth a goal of transformation of the nature through the advent of the spiritual consciousness and the supramental level, Sri Aurobindo goes beyond the goals of other traditional spiritual paths which have ‘liberation’ as the goal. He describes the impact of each new manifestation of ... Views: 584
Access to the universal vital force and the renewal of one’s energy follows basic principles that can be seen in the action of another universal force that allows the creation of results in the external world, symbolised by what we know as ‘money’. In his book The Mother, Sri Aurobindo states ... Views: 583
Speech 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: 583
As we become aware of the states of conscious awareness within our being, it becomes clear that there are times when the consciousness is highly concentrated, intensely focused, and other times when it is dispersed and wandering seemingly aimlessly. Our activities, including reading, are ... Views: 582
The 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: 582
Dealing with deeply embedded drives of the subconscient and the lower vital through raising them up and indulging in them not only contains risks that one may fall into a deeper pattern of habitual response, but also can be a pretext for the vital enjoyment of the action with a veneer to ... Views: 582
The integral yoga does not focus on the abandonment of human life in the world. The liberation from the hold of the ego-consciousness and its fixation on the terms of success for life that the ego concentrates on, is an important preliminary step. In the end however, nothing less is envisioned ... Views: 582
In 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: 581
The subconscient is the home, in the earth consciousness, of the quality of Tamas, just as the vital manifestation is the natural home of the quality of Rajas, and the mental level and above would be the natural home of the quality of Sattwa. These are all mixed up in the human being, interact ... Views: 581
It is a typical belief that through the use of logic, argument or some kind of pressure that is exerted, through perhaps an enforced dogma or belief system, that opinions and beliefs can be changed. It is true that the power of an idea may capture an individual’s focus and support. It is also ... Views: 581
The question is frequently raised as to whether Westerners, with a background and culture grounded in materialism, the fulfillment of the vital ambitions and desires, and the development of the mental faculties, can truly enter into the spirit of yoga and obtain the fruits of the yogic practice ... Views: 581
As the awareness develops of the influences that have shaped our character and active nature from our ancestors, our parents, as well as the influences from our peers and from the society at large, we begin to develop a respect for the complexity of the task and the reasons why we cannot simply ... Views: 580
The 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: 580
The 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: 580
The idea of overcoming lower drives and desires of the vital, or that stem from the physical or the subconscient, through indulgence in a purposeful way is an enticing one, particularly to the vital nature, which can use this excuse to convince the mind to fulfill the myriad of powerful desires ... Views: 580
If we observe ourselves carefully, we find that as a natural consequence of the distractions and the dispersion of the consciousness, we have little if any calm and peace in the being. We experience not only the more overt forms of anxiety and concern, but the more subtle forms of nervous ... Views: 579
In 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: 579
We tend to confuse artistic and various intellectual pursuits as somehow being spiritual accomplishments. These are, however, developments of the higher emotional and mental spheres to a great degree, except when they are channeling energies of the lower vital levels of our being, which, in ... Views: 578
Spiritual aspirants, just as all others in the world, are impacted by the play of the three Gunas the qualities of Nature. These qualities are always in movement, constantly combining, jostling one another, becoming predominant, and then being suppressed as the next movement arises. We can see ... Views: 578