Spiritual Growth Articles

The great religious traditions of the world virtually all relate a battle betwee Powers of Darkness and the Powers of Light. Regardless of the specific names and forms each tradition adopts, the similarities speak to a human experience of a supraphysical reality that impacts life on earth.

At 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 ephemeral in nature, that the objects of our desires and the fruits of our actions all crumble into dust and are not permanent. Everything changes and dies. There is nothing one can hold onto in the world that is not subject to death and dissolution.

The purva-sanchit karmas are the set of accumulated karmas that have been bound in our past life and whose result we yield in this life. Let us understand this through an example…. Say we go to eat in a lower-end restaurant, enjoy the taste of the food there and intend that ‘one must often eat such restaurant food’. Based on our intent, we bind the karma ‘to eat at restaurant’. Through the life, we bind various such karmas, which keep getting accumulated at the subt

Fiber, Bacteria, and Probiotics - What Do You Need? Which probiotics are good for you? We have a lot of controversy over probiotics. What are they good for? Are they really helping? Do they make a difference in your health? Do they boost up immunity? Here’s the truth about probiotics. This Might Surprise You! Watch My Video to Find Out More… Dr. Paul Haider Dr. Paul Haider – Master Herbalist - Many Blessings to Everyone! I Have the #1 Herbal Channel on YouTube Please Subscribe https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrSQ6OzAenOt-Pj-r0n45Pg See Link to Video

It is a somewhat difficult concept for most people to accept: that each individual has his own spiritual path and realisation before him, and that it is therefore neither appropriate nor fruitful to spend time trying to either criticise or convert others to one’s own path or view, or to attempt to adopt or copy the methods or focus of another individual. Each individual comes into the world with a set of issues and difficulties that represent the challenges that individual is to face in this lifetime.

Yogic practitioners have a number of different methods they have utilized to try to gain control over the movement of vital desire. The disturbances caused by desire, and the distractions that result are clearly inimical to success in the yogic sadhana. Some, like those who practice various forms of the tantric tradition, believe that the ‘hero-yogin’ can conquer desire through conscious indulgence. For most people, however, this becomes an excuse that the vital uses to convince the mind to ‘play along’.

We bring into this life many propensities as well as genetic tendencies, which are compounded and accentuated by early learning that takes place in the family and in the society. Prenatal influences as well as learning that takes place after the birth process and in the very early childhood years all help form the individual and his actions and reactions. Many traits are locked in during this period that reverberate throughout the life of the individual, as they are stored in the subconscient, waiting for their opportunity to spring up and present themselves.

There is no clear line of demarcation between the 3 major paths of yoga that are based in the primary aspects of development, the yoga of knowledge, the yoga of devotion and the yoga of works. As they proceed down their somewhat different paths, they must necessarily gain aspects of and bring the results of the other two. As one gains in knowledge, one recognises the inherent necessity of love and devotion, and works take on a new meaning.

Several days ago a seeker raised a question, rephrased here: “I read Sri Aurobindo’s writings regularly and for a time they stay active within me, but then, it falls away and I feel blank inside. Am I losing the benefit of Sri Aurobindo’s teaching, and if so, how can I ensure that it stays active within me?”

In modern psychotherapy it’s thought that by not reacting to stimuli a person is shutting down and becoming depressed. Yet in spiritual ways of living after one has fully bloomed to know their feelings a person learns to control their feeling and not be affected by their senses. It’s a totally different way of looking at the world.

Lets pray for peace, we have so many wars going on right now, and we’ve had endless war since the dawn of time. Nothing has been gained by war, we’ve only lost billions of lives and created countless suffering. Here is a prayer for peace… I hope you will join me.

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When Milarepa approached Marpa, requesting liberation in one lifetime, he was haunted by the misdeeds he recognised in his own recent past and the harm he had caused many people. He had justified the harm based on the misdeeds of those individuals towards his family, but eventually he understood that his own fate was on the line. Instead of granting him the teachings, Marpa set him to work with hard physical labor for an extended period of time. What thoughts were going through Milarepa’s mind as he carried out the seemingly meaningless, back-breaking work?

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When we reflect on the time we have in our lifetime and how we utilize it, we find that after we calculate time spent in sleeping, eating, bathing, growth in childhood, earning a living, exercising, we have a very limited amount of what may be called “free time” available to us. In a culture and society that wants to keep us ‘occupied’ at all times, this free time is generally allocated to various forms of recreation or dissipation of our focus and energies. Any moment when we do not have a specific task or activity is considered empty and we deal with the feeling of boredom.

We live in a time of extreme polarization. People and even entire societies are taking fixed stands, and disputing the validity or right of anyone holding different or opposing viewpoints. In the framework of governing a nation, this leads inevitably to either a form of political gridlock if the sides are relatively equally matched, or a form of authoritarianism that attempts to control or stamp out views held by a minority who lack the immediate political power to level the playing field.

We have no difficulty seeing and understanding that an individual can create a legacy in the physical world we inhabit, as we see the evidence everywhere around us in the form of buildings, enterprises, religious movements, mental developments and conceptualization, and artistic creations, not to speak of the children that carry on much of our physical development and in many cases, our enterprises into future generations. These things continue to exist even when the individual who represented the driving force for their creation has left the scene.

When we live on the surface of our being, we are highly reactive and tend to act without reflection, jumping at events or circumstances and responding to the slightest provocations. Even something as frequent as someone driving too slowly or too close triggers anger and in some cases, what is known as ‘road rage’. We have no peace when we live on the surface in our exte al nature. This surface being is under the control of the three gunas, which are constantly in motion. In order to escape this reactive state, it is necessary to find a place where peace reigns in our being.

For the spiritual seeker there are two major transformations ahead of the ultimate supramental transformation. These are the psychic transformation and the spiritual transformation. The one opens up the devotional aspiration and the receptivity of the being. The other shifts the standpoint away from the ego to the universal divine standpoint. Each of these provides leverage to the seeker who is trying to overcome the impulse of anger.

Here is a really tasty meal that’s packed full of great nutrition of swiss chard that will do the body good. This dish is quick and easy to fix and will keep a person going all day long. And this great looking pasta feast requires only 15 to 20 minutes of prep time. Ingredients: 1 - Large Bunch of Organic Red Swiss Chard - Chopped 2 - Large Red Organic Bell Peppers - Chopped 1 - Large Organic Onion - Chopped 10 - Cloves of Organic Garlic - Minced 12 - Oz of Organic Black Olives - Sliced 1- Tablespoon of Organic Olive Oil 2 - Tablespoons of Organic Tomato Paste

We are more than just this flesh and blood body, studies show that our consciousness is powerful and extends well beyond our body. We can heal, we can exchange information, we can change the outcome of events, thus we have consciousness which is powerful and never ending.

“What To Do When You Have Everything and You Feel Empty Inside” A young man contacted me the other day and said, “I have a great wife, a new little girl on the way, and a great job but I feel empty inside”. Here is what I told him. It’s very common for people to feel empty inside in this day and age. The feel they are just going through the motions and nothing matters. There is no spiritual uplifting that makes people feel full, alive, free, and ready to embrace life no matter what happens. What Can You Do?

For Sri Aurobindo, truth of the spirit is to be lived, not attained by abandonment of life in the world. He looks at the evolution of body, life and mind as steps along the evolutionary process, and each one of them represents an important stage in an ongoing development. The action of these instruments is to be uplifted and perfected as new evolutionary powers enter into the world. The developed human being can participate consciously in this process, and thereby aid in bringing forth these new powers and transforming the nature and thereby the life in the world.

Lots of studies show Butterbur works wonders for migraines and allergies without the side-effects of other products. And Butterbur is amazing for asthma, inflammation, pain, it’s a powerful antioxidant, lowers cholesterol, lowers blood pressure, increases sperm count, helps with cardiovascular disease, prevents Alzheimer’s disease and dementia, protect the liver, helps with urinary tract inflammation, helps with preventing excessive clotting, helps with cancer and much more. Many Blessings to Everyone! Dr. Paul Haider - Master Herbalist Watch My Video and Find Out More

A man took his time getting up from the table while his wife was talking. But all the time she was talking he was disconnected from everything she was saying, negating hearing even a single word. And he did not respond to what she was saying nor did he interact with her, other than what he had to do to be polite. Then the wife said: “Why are you disconnected from me, you don’t respond, you don’t hear a word I’m saying… it’s as though you’re not interested.”

Once there was a man who had a dream job, a job that he loved so much that he started getting into his profession when he was in high school. Then in college he took course work in that profession and later he went on to be one of the greats in his profession. But later in life things began to change.

Patanjali’s Raja Yoga outlines a series of steps or stages in the development of that particular path. The first two are Yama and Niyama, which outline certain purification actions to prepare the practitioner for the later activities and experiences in the yogic practice. These two ‘limbs’, together, represent a solidifying of peace, the removal of obstacles that can disturb the mind, the emotions, the nervous sheath and the body.

rnGenerally, our feeling is that spirituality is all about renouncing, isn’t it? rnWe have to abandon our family, leave all our worldly comforts and pleasures, sacrifice tasty food and do fasting, and do hard penance and meditation, to grow on given spiritual path. But what if you are not asked to renounce anything, and yet you can develop spiritually? rnAkram Vignan, the stepless path to Self-Realization, makes this possible, whereby we can realize our real Self (Self-Real

For most people, acute illness is an event of the body, which is subject to attack by various malign types of germs, bacteria and viruses. We tend to envision the body as a battlefield and the attacking germs aggressively target the cells and organs and the body fights back with an immune response. The combination of the effects of the attack and the defense create the symptoms that we associate with a particular illness.

Majority of us cannot recall our past births. Given this fact, it could lead one to think that why at all should one bother for moksha then? And given such a situation, is moksha excessively overrated? rnThe answer is a resounding NO! Moksha means complete and permanent freedom from the cycle of birth and rebirth. Moksha means ultimate liberation! Moksha implies experiencing total and eternal bliss. Where there is moksha, there does not exist an iota of suffering; whereas in

When we reflect on the evolution of consciousness, it becomes obvious to us that nothing can evolve out of Matter that is not already involved in some way. We plant an acorn, and an oak tree grows. Someone unfamiliar with the science would treat this as a magical event. We put one form of matter, the acorn, into another form of matter, the soil, and a living being in the form of a tree results. With our relatively recent understanding of the mechanics of DNA and RNA, etc.

Can human nature be changed? We are exhorted to be kinder, more compassionate, less egoistic, more rational in our relationships with others and our actions in the world. When we try to actually carry out these things, we find that, for the most part, our vital instincts and drives still control our actions, and our mind tends to find excuses for, and support, the fulfillment of these drives. The vital is a powerful part of human nature and does not easily give up its habitual satisfactions.

If we examine the phenomenon of anger closely we see how it suddenly rises up and overpowers even those who are normally quite even-keeled in their day to day lives. By studying mob psychology, where we see a large number of individuals inflamed in a crowd setting and set into motion to wreak havoc and destroy, or express hatred, we see that on their own many of these individuals would never have engaged in such expressions or acts, but when their rage or anger has been whipped up from outside, they can do things that would be otherwise unthinkable.

You say, you want a permanent solution to your depression. This is indeed a very big thing, because generally, one in depression loses interest in everything, even in curing themselves. But you have the will to come out of depression forever. And where there’s a will, there’s a way! So, Nature is bound to show you that way. Come, let’s together today, explore the way to come out of your depression permanently...rnYou ask, ‘why do I feel like the only reasonable soluti

Being respectful is reflected in the courtesy with which we speak, act and treat one another. But the process of being so begins from within... Whenever we meet someone, there are thoughts and feelings exchanged, words spoken and behaviours taking place. Each interaction leaves an impression on our mind of what we felt in their presence. In turn, our words, our behaviour, and the vibrations we send out are based on how we think and feel about them. But when our pride is stron

Right now the human race sees something as important… and others as not important at all. And that attitude has lead us down a path creating climate change, toxins in our water, toxins in our food, and toxins in the atmosphere. What Would Life Be Like? What would life be like if we honored every single blade of grass? What would life be like if we honored every single seed we plant? What would life be like if we honored every single tree on the planet? What would life be like if we honored the natural bacteria in our soils?

For every action there is a reaction, for every movement there is a countering movement, and so there must be a countering force for everything in the Universe. This is the natural law which God, the Universe, and the One and Only has put into place. Nothing is separate from these natural laws… yet most people think that the Creator fulfills every wish and whim, but if we understand this law we can heal everything on this planet.

“Be Like Coffee and Hot Water” If you take cold water and add ground coffee it does not become coffee instantly. But if you take hot water and then add ground coffee and stir it around… it becomes coffee right away. The same goes for spreading your love. Love is all around us… all we have to do is see the good in all things. But even more than that… we have to decide we will be different. And have a great passion to be a guiding light for others. Love is the hot water and our passion is the stirring of the coffee.

The Vedic Rishis sought the Truth, the Right, the Vast. (satyam, rtam, brihat). They understood that the awareness limited to the ego-personality, the individual body-life-mind complex, was incomplete and could not comprehend the truth or meaning of existence. They sought to identify with the larger reality that manifested our existence as part of its own, not simply as separate beings. What many do not recognise is that this is not some concept of pure philosophy, but an actual experience of consciousness.

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Food is the basic need in life which gets us going, providing us with all the essential minerals, vital vitamins and sufficient amounts of energy required for our smooth and healthy functioning in daily life. Modern science has been researching a lot into the kinds of foods one should eat and their effects in our body. However, our ancient saints have already provided the most scientific and authentic information regarding the basic foods and food habits that one should culti

While we tend to place a negative connotation on ‘habits’, in fact, habits are an important part of the action of the being, particularly of the physical being. We see times and seasons in Nature that repeat themselves, and we see animal life surviving through patterns and habits that they have developed over time. Human beings have sleep and waking cycles as well as general times for taking food that represent physical habits deeply ingrained in human activity. We can measure changes in the energy cycles and hormone release cycles to identify that these patterns are generally operative.

The traditional paths of yoga have as a defining experience the rising of the energy from the lower chakras to the higher centres. Western psychology proposes that the creative force, that leads to art, as well as intellectual achievement comes through a process that is called ‘sublimation’ of the sexual energy, which corresponds generally to the traditional yogic experience of the energy of the Muladhara, the seat of the sexual energy, rising up through the higher chakras until it eventually reaches the crown of the head.

The inner control of thoughts is a further development once the poise of the witness consciousness has been attained. As the seeker observes the thoughts, he can also determine their effect in the being, and see if they lead to uplifting, widening, and harmonizing results, or whether they shrink the being back down into the ego-consciousness with all of its turmoil, disruptions and limitations. For the yogic practitioner the issue is not one of an artificial exte al moral or ethical code, but rather, the consciousness-impact of the thoughts that are permitted to act within the being.

These Foods Can Prevent and Reverse Cancer 26,000 People Will Die Today from Cancer in the US. Eat These Foods and Invigorate Your Lifestyle and You Can Prevent and Reverse this Disease. Less Than 50% of You are Doing Any of This… Not Good! It’s Time to Get Healthy! Let’s Work With Nature and Feel Great! Watch My Video and Find Out More… Dr. Paul Haider Dr. Paul Haider – Master Herbalist - Many Blessings to Everyone! I Have the #1 Herbal Channel on YouTube Please Subscribe https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrSQ6OzAenOt-Pj-r0n45Pg See Link to Video

Fruit wines are fermented alcoholic beverages made from a variety of base ingredients, they also add additional flavors taken from fruits, flowers, herbs and also made from any plant that can be fermented. Fruit wine is commonly called country wine, this should not be conflated with the term vin de pays, which is grape wine. Fruit wines have been popular with the home liquor store winemakers. Grapes are the most common fruit used raw material for alcoholic fermentation. They

It’s annoying to see people make fun of others, especially when we are one of the victims. And some people go on for hours, making a mockery of innocent beings. So don’t they see how this act of theirs is irritating others? Don’t they realize that it’s so demeaning, it affects one’s mind so badly and it can even ruin someone’s life. So what do people gain by making fun of others, what do they enjoy by making others feel low and let down? rnLet’s understand this

At 4am on the morning of September 12th, 2001, after seeing on TV (the day before) the second plane come around the back of and explode into the World Trade Center building, I created a new piece of art in a 30" by 40" frame. Later on the 12th, I asked permission to remove several photographs and a 20" by 24" piece of writing that were on exhibit in a long hallway leading from the parking lot into the Cape Cod 5 Bank in Orleans, MA and replace them with this 'new' piece of 'w

Right now we have people running around like chickens with its head cut off trying to make money. Yet, there are lots of people who have little money but have lots of time who are very happy and they are debt free. We Need a Minimum Amount of Money Of course, some money is important in order to live. We do need to have food and take care of life’s essentials. Living in Fear of Not Having Enough But at the same time, we see people running so much and they are so full of fear that they might not make that next amount of money… they are full of anxiety and fear.