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- What are karmas and how does the soul remain connected with them? - by Submitted on Oct 07, 2021 from Dada BhagwanAn intriguing question! And here is the scientific answer to what are karmas and how does the Soul remain connected. To begin, we will explore karma and then look at the connection to the Soul. Karma Supporting any action with the claim, ‘I am doing it’ is karma. To confirm the action with ...
Views: 458 - Spiritual Realisation Is Not the Same as Supramental Transformation - by Submitted on Oct 04, 2021 from santosh krinskyThe supramental transformation involves the manifestation in the world of the next stage of consciousness beyond the mental level. Just as the evolution of mind brought about enormous changes in life on earth, the evolution of supermind will have a transformative effect on all existence, on the ...
Views: 484 - The Differences Between Spiritual Realisation and Supramental Transformation - by Submitted on Oct 04, 2021 from santosh krinskyThe goal of traditional spiritual paths is mainly to achieve individual liberation or realisation of the Self, although some, such as Mahayana Buddhism, add an element of self-giving in action by having the realised soul, the Bodhisattva, renounce full liberation until such time as all other ...
Views: 469 - The Kundalini, the Tantra and the Integral Yoga - by Submitted on Sep 25, 2021 from santosh krinskyThe opening and activation of the subtle energy centres described in the Tantras and known generally as Kundalini Yoga, differs from the practices of integral Yoga as to process, but not necessarily as to the end result. In both cases, the subtle centres, or chakras, are opened and energy is ...
Views: 523 - The Need for the Guidance of the Guru - by Submitted on Sep 20, 2021 from santosh krinskyThe snares of the desire-soul of the vital nature are often subtle and can easily overpower the mind. Thus, motivations that represent the gratification of the ego are frequently justified by the mental processes and thus, can continue even when the seeker believes that he is carrying out the ...
Views: 458 - 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: 498 - The Divine Consciousness - by Submitted on Sep 16, 2021 from santosh krinskyThe Divine Consciousness encompasses both a vast peace which can fill the being and bring the seeker to a realisation that all the external life details, about which so much worry and fretting take place, are relatively inconsequential in the larger scheme of things. When the peace descends, the ...
Views: 486 - The Necessity of the Psychic Transformation - by Submitted on Sep 05, 2021 from santosh krinskySri Aurobindo emphasizes the need for the psychic transformation, which is the coming forward of the soul or psychic being in man to provide the central focus, and overcome the promptings of the ego-consciousness as it normally acts in the mind, life and body. Spiritual experiences, on their ...
Views: 469 - The Elements of the Psychic Transformation - by Submitted on Sep 05, 2021 from santosh krinskyThe first of the three major transformations of consciousness that Sri Aurobindo describes as required to actually effect the needed change in human nature, is the psychic transformation. With this transformation, the soul comes forward, takes control of the mind, life and body and turns them ...
Views: 510 - 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: 500 - What Is Transformation of the Nature? - by Submitted on Sep 02, 2021 from santosh krinskySri Aurobindo describes a goal for humanity which involves a change of consciousness and the transformation of human nature. There is considerable debate about whether it is possible to change human nature, or whether we are doomed to be stuck in our animal nature for all times. Sri Aurobindo ...
Views: 626 - The Necessity of Transformation of Human Nature - by Submitted on Aug 31, 2021 from santosh krinskyFor most of human existence, there has been a deep divergence between those who seek spiritual development and those who are focused on the material life in the world. In The Life Divine, Sri Aurobindo describes the two paths as ‘the refusal of the ascetic’ and ‘the materialist denial’. It would ...
Views: 485 - 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: 509 - Cosmic Truth and Cosmic Ignorance: the Unity and the Multiplicity - by Submitted on Aug 09, 2021 from santosh krinskyThe Isha Upanishad describes the dual aspects of Reality, the Ignorance and the Knowledge: “Into a blind darkness they enter who follow after the Ignorance, they as if into a greater darkness who devote themselves to the Knowledge alone. Other, verily it is said, is that which comes by the ...
Views: 538 - 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: 507 - Transition to a New Higher Standpoint of Consciousness Is the Basis of Achievement of the Cosmic Consciousness - by Submitted on Aug 08, 2021 from santosh krinskyMany people can identify the experience of suddenly receiving an intuition or inspired or illumined knowledge on occasion. Some experience such things relatively frequently. Where does this sudden illumination come from? How does it act upon us? Generally, the occasional intuition is recognised ...
Views: 485 - The Nature and Experience of Cosmic Consciousness - by Submitted on Aug 06, 2021 from santosh krinskyWithout experience, it is difficult to comprehend the difference between the normal human ego-consciousness and the cosmic consciousness. Those who have had the experience try to disclose the type and quality of their experience, but using human words that relate to our normal body-life-mind way ...
Views: 488 - 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: 505 - Liberation Should Precede the Attainment of the Cosmic Consciousness - by Submitted on Aug 04, 2021 from santosh krinskyThe ego-personality actually can be a form of protection for the unprepared soul in the world, as it limits the range and power of action. If a person breaks out of the framework provided by the small ego-personality, and comes into contact with and active conscious interaction with the larger ...
Views: 549 - 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: 513 - The Need to Overcome Fear in the Realisation of the Atman - by Submitted on Aug 02, 2021 from santosh krinskyIn the external world, fear plays a role that can both hinder progress, and protect from impulsive or rash action that would result in injury, loss or death. If fear is excessive, it paralyzes the individual into inaction. If it is insufficient, he may rush into circumstances far beyond his ...
Views: 450 - 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: 502 - The Self — the Atman and Individual Liberation - by Submitted on Jul 31, 2021 from santosh krinskyOne of the primary objectives of traditional paths of yoga has been the liberation from the bondage of the world of illusion, the phantasmagoria of the creation and the individual’s fixation on success and failure, gain and loss, pleasure and pain, happiness and despair that occurs as a result ...
Views: 563 - 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: 502 - The Transitional Stage of Shifting from the Outer Surface Consciousness to the Inner Consciousness - by Submitted on Jul 29, 2021 from santosh krinskyAt a certain stage of spiritual development, seekers tend to go through a phase where the world, its actions, objects, goals and results seem to be an illusion. The philosophical path of Mayavada resulted from just such an insight and experience. The seeker sees that everything is transitory and ...
Views: 404 - Understanding the Witness Consciousness — the Separation of Purusha and Prakriti - by Submitted on Jul 27, 2021 from santosh krinskyWe tend to identify with the perceptions, sensations, desires, feelings and thoughts we experience and through the ego-consciousness, we take ownership of them and believe that they are what makes up our unique individuality. When we sit quietly, and turn our attention away from the outer world, ...
Views: 523 - The Need to Open and Bring Forward the Inner Psychic Being - by Submitted on Jul 26, 2021 from santosh krinskyHumanity has tried countless ways to solve the existential questions and crises that we face living in the world around us and interacting with all other beings who share the space with us. Religion, law, social development, economic development, technology, and others have each had their chance ...
Views: 456 - Can a non vegetarian be spiritually rich compared to a vegetarian? - by Submitted on Jul 26, 2021 from Dada BhagwanSpirituality is about attaining a unique awareness. Spiritual growth happens when one gains higher consciousness or awareness of his Self which is beyond the awareness of the five senses and the mind-ego-intellect. For the ones who want to grow in a higher spiritual realm and be spiritually ...
Views: 392 - 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: 494 - 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: 479 - Understanding and Bridging the Gap Between the Outer Surface Existence and the Inner Being - by Submitted on Jul 24, 2021 from santosh krinskyThe Upanishads describe an aspect of reality that is generally blocked from the external awareness of the body-life-mind complex. The Isha Upanishad states: “The face of Truth is covered with a brilliant golden lid; that do thou remove, O Fosterer, for the law of the Truth, for sight.” (Isha ...
Views: 449 - Results of Spiritual Development in the Consciousness - by Submitted on Jul 23, 2021 from santosh krinskyJust as we cannot see electricity, but we can observe its results, or we cannot see the mental process objectively (although one can indeed observe thoughts processing internally), but we can see its impact in the world, so with the spiritual development, which is more subtle than the mental ...
Views: 469 - Experience and Signs of Spiritual Development in the Consciousness - by Submitted on Jul 22, 2021 from santosh krinskyWhen we experience something in the physical body, it is a sensation that carries a nervous impulse to the brain, which interprets whether it is cold or hot, dry or wet, painful or pleasurable, etc. Similarly, vital reactions and emotions are experienced through the release of various hormones ...
Views: 477 - 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: 488 - In Need of Deepening - by Submitted on Jul 20, 2021 from Paul DunionIn Need of Deepening Paul Dunion Sometimes, we settle for knowing what we experience by having an understanding of what it isn’t. So, it may be with the idea of depth. Typically, we know it isn’t about being superficial, shallow or mundane. We use the language of depth ...
Views: 528 - A Change of the Outer Nature Requires First a Change in the Inner Being - by Submitted on Jul 20, 2021 from santosh krinskyThe physical body (actually the entire material world) is subject to habits, and change tends to come slowly. Our being, however, is made up of a series of sheaths which progress from the subtle to the gross physical and thus, any attempt to make a change to the more outward sheaths, the ...
Views: 567 - Perception of the Divine Force Through the Inner Being - by Submitted on Jul 20, 2021 from santosh krinskyWhen we flip a light switch, we have faith that there is electricity flowing through the wires and the lights will turn on. We do not actually know or perceive the electricity, but we can see its effects in operation. Similarly, our surface being may see effects of the Divine Force at work in ...
Views: 423 - The Nature and Forms of Spiritual Experience - by Submitted on Jul 18, 2021 from santosh krinskyHow do we distinguish what is an actual spiritual experience? We have an inherent bias towards believing and accepting perceptions and reactions to outer stimuli, the objects of the senses, and the reactions that arise inwardly from those stimuli. When it comes to an inner feeling or experience, ...
Views: 439 - Spiritual Experiences and Spiritual Realisations - by Submitted on Jul 17, 2021 from santosh krinskyOur vital nature crazes ‘excitement’ and to gather ‘experiences’. It is no different for the spiritual aspirant than for the rest of humanity in this regard. Spiritual experiences tend to be extraordinary in the sense that they go beyond the everyday perceptions or sensations and tend to have a ...
Views: 427 - What Is Spirituality? - by Submitted on Jul 16, 2021 from santosh krinskySurveys done of young people today indicate a strong movement to reduce the role of the mainstream organised religions with people claiming to be “spiritual” not “religious”. What is spirituality and how does it differ from being religious? Religions tend to focus on a fixed belief system and ...
Views: 480 - An Integral Yoga involves Knowledge, Devotion, Works and Self-Perfection - by Submitted on Jul 14, 2021 from santosh krinskyThe integral yoga takes as its goal something far different than most of the individual yogic paths. The goal here is not liberation from the world, dissolution of the individual, or renunciation of action. Rather, the integral yoga calls for the liberation of the nature and the transformation ...
Views: 484 - The Needed Engagement That Enlivens the Outer Forms of Worship - by Submitted on Jul 13, 2021 from santosh krinskyThe inner life-force behind any action is more important than the outer form which it takes. Japa and Mantra can become habitual and repetitive, and if that happens, the outer shelf remains, but there is nothing alive within. Such japa sadhana has little value. The living energy needed is either ...
Views: 429 - Secrets for the Successful Use of Japa or Mantra for Spiritual Realisation and Daily Life - by Submitted on Jul 12, 2021 from santosh krinskyThere are tales of devotees reciting various mantras millions of times in order to achieve some boon or result in their spiritual progress. The mantra, or the recitation of a name of God, is the sound-body of the form or deity and thus, the theory goes, continued repetition of that name or sound ...
Views: 452 - External Forms of Worship and Spiritual Growth in the Integral Yoga - by Submitted on Jul 10, 2021 from santosh krinskyPractitioners of mainstream religions are very familiar with ritual worship. Much of the activity of religion is scripted around a set formula of external worship that has developed from perhaps an initial experience or, over time, as a result of habitual action. The intended purpose of this ...
Views: 450 - The Principle Behind Mantra and Japa - by Submitted on Jul 10, 2021 from santosh krinskyEverything we experience is based on vibrations that impinge upon us and bring about a response in the substance of our being. All matter is created by energy, which consists of vibratory waves. All energy is created by consciousness, which provides the specific impulse of vibration to be ...
Views: 477 - Quotes On Life After Death And Reincarnation - by Submitted on Jul 09, 2021 from Scott & Stephen Petullo30 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: 471 - Your Unlimited Unchanging Essence - by Submitted on Jul 08, 2021 from Maetreyii Ma NolanEvery living being loves their life. Everyone wants to be happy. The deer in the field wants to be happy. The wolf, the coyote wants to be happy. The plants, the trees want to be happy. And human beings want to be happy, want to feel that life is sweet. And it is a burden that even the wise ...
Views: 544 - The Role of the Emotions in the Practice of the Integral Yoga - by Submitted on Jul 06, 2021 from santosh krinskyEmotions tend to be hard to deal with. Spiritual seekers recognise that emotions can disrupt the focus and lead the seeker into undesirable vital entanglements. Many spiritual paths counsel cutting off the emotional outlets and renouncing the life in the world. They ask the seeker to abandon ...
Views: 525 - Which Comes First — Devotion or Spiritual Experience? - by Submitted on Jul 05, 2021 from santosh krinskyHow does an individual come to devotion to the Divine? There are well-known instances that involve some kind of key experience of the Divine, such as the story of Saul on the road to Damascus, or even extreme cases such as Dannion Brinkley who was struck by lightning, declared clinically dead ...
Views: 451 - God’s Grace or God’s Duty - by Submitted on Jul 04, 2021 from santosh krinskyThe devotee may begin the process of devotional surrender to the Divine with a form of bargaining, expecting a recompense from God for the efforts made to express the devotion. Thus, people pray and expect an answer to their prayers, or they carry out devotional exercises and expect God to ...
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