Spiritual Growth Articles

There is considerable confusion about the nature of the soul. A sizable portion of humanity denies the existence of the soul, while another segment of humanity reduces its ‘value’ below that of material possessions and outward satisfactions. The ego-personality, bound up in the actions and reactions of the mind, life and body, has little time to consider the implications of the soul, its existence, its purpose, its action and its significance for our growth and development.

In his poem Savitri, Sri Aurobindo provides imagery to describe the nature and role of the soul, and the significance of the psychic being hidden deep within, carrying our human experience and human life to its eventual fulfillment. Sri Aurobindo writes: "But since she knows the toil of mind and lifer As a mother feels and shares her children's lives, She puts forth a small portion of herself, A being no bigger than the thumb of manr Into a hidden region of the heartr To face the pang and to forget the bliss, To share the suffering and endure earth's woundsr

What if the life we lead is not our true purpose on earth? What if there is more to our existence than the daily round that we carry out, day after day, year after year, changing only the exte al trappings and specific activities, but falling into a similar groove regardless? How many of us sense, at some point in our lives, that we are missing something that would help us make sense of it all? In his epic poem Savitri: A Legend and a Symbol, Sri Aurobindo explores these questions. Sri Aurobindo writes: “This bodily appearance is not all; The form deceives, the person is a mask;r

Sri Aurobindo’s use of the terms ‘soul’ and ‘psychic’ started out with the common usage of the time, but as his work developed, he determined it was best to create a more precise terminology than was commonly in use. In order to appreciate the nuances involved and follow along with the central sense being communicated, we take a moment to focus on these terms which will appear constantly in our review of the current text.

To answer your question, let’s study the following words of Param Pujya Dada Bhagwan, an Enlightened being, very carefully. He says: “This puzzle has come about on its own, governed by the laws of science. I am telling you that this world is run only by Scientific Circumstantial Evidences. In Gujarati, I call it 'Vyavasthit Shakti'... It is all run by scientific circumstantial evidences. The whole world is run by this energy. These words are not easy to understand, unless

The English language leaves a lot of room for confusion, simply because terminology tends to be imprecise, inexact, or vague. The issue is made even more difficult because, particularly in the West, there is very little understanding of the vast field of consciousness, the various planes and parts of the being, and their interactions with one another. It is compounded by the use of language to join together vastly different things simply because they are not recognised in their true place or significance.

We tend to look at things through the standpoint of the exte al physical being, the body, life and mind with which we identify. From this standpoint we treat the soul as something that we need to search for, if we even acknowledge the existence of the soul, and as something secondary to and therefore less important than the goals we set for ourselves to live and enjoy the exte al life. Few are those individuals who look at things differently and see the soul as the primary controller and driver of our lives, and the exte al activities as secondary and subordinate to the soul’s intention.r

In the Kena Upanishad, the powers of the physical plane, the vital plane and the mental plane all believe they are predominant and can wield their power to achieve whatever they want. These powers are embodied in the form of Agni on the physical plane, Vayu on the vital plane and Indra on the mental plane. The Upanishad confronts these powers with a power they cannot recognise. They try to use their native force against this power, but they all fail. They were able to approach the Ete al, with the mental power coming closest to that realisation.

The soul, the psychic being, is a portion of the Divine that resides deep within. For most people, who are living in the surface consciousness primarily, the existence of the soul is a question mark, if they think about it at all. As we grow and face life’s challenges, however, we may begin to wonder about why we are alive, what we are here to do, and how we came to live within a certain society, certain culture, certain family, under certain circumstances.

How does one distinguish between psychic experience, as defined by Sri Aurobindo, as soul experiences, from the vast array of experiences that occur on the mental or vital planes that have been called ‘psychic’ phenomena? Once one has the clue about the different parts of the being and their characteristic modes of action, it is actually not to difficult to know what the experience is, where it originates from, and what energy it carries.

As with many words in the English language, the word soul has various nuanced meanings as Sri Aurobindo explains. English as a very fluid language can at times be very imprecise in this way. This, however, is just one of the issues Sri Aurobindo takes up here in the citation below.

There is considerable confusion about the concept of rebirth and the development and growth of the psychic being across multiple lifetimes. Popular imagination has it that the same individual personality is reborn, and that under certain circumstances, past lives can be identified and recalled. Then they can find their ‘soul mate’ and re-establish the relationships of the past.

The lack of experience and recognition of the action of the soul makes it difficult for most people to understand the reality of the soul. For this reason, people tend to confuse the true soul with the vital soul of desire, which Sri Aurobindo calls the ‘desire-soul’. This is an expression of the vital being and is seen as passionate, sensuous and desire-filled. The vital connection feltl between two individuals clues us in to how people tend to identify a ‘soul mate’.

A seed contains the entire genetic code from which the exte al form, energetic capacity and mental abilities of a living being develop. It can be seen as the most concentrated form of that being, a form that nevertheless has the capacity, through time, of manifesting a physical form, a vital form, and eventually a mental form. Each of these layers take the shape and carry out the energy and direction of the seed from which they developed.

children can exhibit the presence of the psychic being which may recede as they are socialized into the world and develop the powers of the external being of the mind, life and body.

Karma Yoga article: opens with the "wasted effort" feeling when outcomes disappoint, then breaks down Krishna's teaching to Arjuna — act with full commitment, release attachment to results. Covers what Karma Yoga really means, why Arjuna froze, why inaction isn't real detachment, the farmer analogy for controlling only

a brief introduction to the yoga of love and devotion as a means of contacting and bringing forward the psychic being

the spiritual seeker works to overcome the pressure and habits of the external nature driven by the desires of the vital and ambitions of the mind, by contacting and following the quiet guidance of the soul

much that passes for devotion in our outer lives is actually a form of performance or bargaining. Psychic devotion is a pure flame that loves for the sake of the Divine only.

Spiritual Presence permeates all of existence. Spiritual being is an evolutionary development.

It is not realistic for "readers" to describe a specific past life of an individual in detail

we tend to attribute passion, motivation, charisma, energy to the soul, but most of the time, these are expressions of the energy of the vital nature, perhaps tinged by the soul's influence to some degree.

The power of emotion can be an obstacle in the spiritual development, or it can be harnessed to enhance the progress

perceiving the action of the soul by the mind is only possible under specific conditions.

The mental and vital elements of the being work together to fulfill the desires. The knowledge base used is by reference and is limited. The solution is to shift to the standpoint of the soul which is capable of 'knowledge by identity'

We are afraid to die because we identify with the limited external being of our body-life-mind complex. When we shift our awareness to the Eternal, the consciousness held by the psychic being, we are no longer afraid as we recognise that our existence preceded our current lifetime and continues in future lifetimes.

sincerity in the ordinary sense is different than sincerity in the spiritual growth of the individual.

when we base our viewpoint in the external being and the ego personality, we are always reactive and imbalanced. When we shift to the soul standpoint, we gain balance and poise in our responses to life situations

The psychic being has specific qualities and characteristics. When they begin to express themselves through an individual, it means the psychic being has taken a more active role in the guidance and management of the life of that individual

In each incarnation, the psychic being manifests another latent aspect of the divine reality into an objective formation

the psychic world has its own unique characteristics which can influence the physical, vital, mental existence we lead in the world by infusing its focus on the Divine into our lives

Each plane of existence manifests with different characteristics. While they appear separate, they are part of one unified creation and are harmonized when one moves to the divine standpoint.

The action of the subtle energy centres, the chakras, and the seat of the psychic being in the heart chakra

the higher Reason of the mental element of our nature should not be discarded but utilized during the shift of standpoint to the psychic being

The soul-realization is prepared secretly and manifests when the being is ready to receive it through a natural process of development

the psychic presence is infused even in the material consciousness, eventually to manifest overtly as consciousness evolves from Matter through Life, Mind and beyond. Certain vital worlds are worlds of disorder and do not contain the psychic presence.

The psychic being is the direct link between the human being and the eternal Truth. It is possible for other beings to contact the eternal Truth within the static nature of their existence.

The external being relies on memory which tends to encapsulate events into a linear mental framework, while the psychic being has a sense of major waypoints in its development and growth and its periods of coming forward in the life.

education has been subjected to the rigorous framework imposed by the mind, mechanising human life and suppressing the natural relationship of the soul and our deeper purpose in life from our external lives.

It is through contact with and constant deepening of the contact with the psychic being that the power of Divine Love can manifest.

Children frequently have the psychic being in front until it gets covered over by the mental, vital and physical energies as they grow and come under the influence of those around them and the society they live in.

each plane of existence operates under its own mode of action and consciousness and does not depend on the other planes. When they begin to interact in a common environment, they need to be able to communicate and be receptive to one another in order to understand the action

the subtle energy centers or chakras operate outside the 3 spatial dimensions and interact through the operation of consciousness which pervades the entire universal manifestation

there is a substratum of bliss, Ananda, that underlies all existence and is the cause of our ability to live and face suffering and difficulties in our external lives

The heart chakra is a subtle center experienced behind the physical heart and is the seat of the psychic being, the soul in man

The psychic being is the seat of certain particular characteristics. The mind, life-force and body, when receptive, respond to these characteristics to manifest them in their own ways in the external life

when the psychic being begins to influence the external nature, it interacts with the vital being which is under the influence of rajas, with its desires, ambitions and greed. when the experiences recede, it can then fall into tamas, subject to despair, darkness and depression.

Past life memory of the soul and exploring the use of past life regression therapy

Flowers carry and express the psychic presence in the physical plane. Their aspiration towards the light is a physical manifestation of that psychic presence.

Animals have a psychic presence which we can observe and experience