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Articles from santosh krinsky | Selfgrowth.com
- Understanding and Overcoming Depression - by Submitted on Jul 02, 2022 from santosh krinskyIn today’s world, depression is a widespread malady that affects people throughout the world. In many cases, pharmaceutical drugs are known to have potential ‘side effects’ that can cause depression, thoughts of suicide, or other dark moods that inhibit the ability of the individual to function ...
Views: 487 - Developing Harmonious Relationships with Close Family, Friends and Associates - by Submitted on Feb 24, 2022 from santosh krinskyEven among those closest to one another, there remain differences of habit and temperament. Issues of personal grooming, dietary choices, choices in music or other media interactions, time commitments, interactions about caring for the common shared space all work to create minor daily ...
Views: 486 - The Need and Process of Transforming the Subconscient - by Submitted on Nov 13, 2021 from santosh krinskyThe 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: 486 - Addressing the Difficulties of the Transformation of the Vital Nature - by Submitted on Oct 22, 2021 from santosh krinskyTo effectuate a total transformation of the mind-life-body and its action in the world, it is necessary for the seeker to address and solve the issue of the vital being, its desires, and the ego-standpoint that it fosters and maintains. Methods that essentially try to fight with the vital ...
Views: 485 - 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: 484 - Guarding One’s Faith - by Submitted on Dec 29, 2022 from santosh krinskyFaith, as described by Sri Aurobindo and the Mother, is not a dogmatic acceptance of a system of ideas or ‘articles of faith’; rather, it is a form of knowledge that arises from deeper within, from the soul and its connection with the universe, which provides a certainty that goes beyond the ...
Views: 484 - 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: 484 - Three Parts of the Outer Being: Mental, Vital and Physical - by Submitted on Apr 07, 2022 from santosh krinskyOnce 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: 484 - Opening the Being to the Divine Power and Presence - by Submitted on Apr 23, 2021 from santosh krinskyA yoga that focuses on opening to a new power of consciousness beyond the mind, and that does not abandon life, but acts to transform it, has to address the issues of the limitations embedded in the existing ‘status quo’ of mind-life-body. The limitations inherent in the operations of these ...
Views: 483 - The Role of Medicine in Treating Illness for the Practitioner of Yoga - by Submitted on Jan 30, 2022 from santosh krinskyThe 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: 483 - Westerners and Indian Yoga, Part 1: Is It Possible For Westerns to Practice Yoga? - by Submitted on Mar 28, 2022 from santosh krinskyThe 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: 483 - Yogic Equality Does Not Imply Fatalistic Acceptance - by Submitted on Jun 03, 2022 from santosh krinskyAttaining 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: 483 - OM, the Mantra and the Use of Mantra in the Integral Yoga - by Submitted on Jul 11, 2021 from santosh krinskyThe 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: 482 - 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: 482 - The Risks and Difficulties of Eliminating Lower Drives Through Purposeful Indulgence, Part 1 - by Submitted on Nov 17, 2021 from santosh krinskyThe 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: 482 - 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: 482 - “Yoga Made Easy?” - by Submitted on Nov 22, 2021 from santosh krinskyThere 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: 482 - A Settled Peace in the Being and a Fixed Resolution in the Mind Aid in the Transformation of the Vital - by Submitted on Oct 30, 2021 from santosh krinskyIn 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: 481 - Art and Intellectual Development Are Not Essentially Spiritual Pursuits - by Submitted on Mar 18, 2022 from santosh krinskyWe 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: 481 - 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: 481 - How to Eliminate Desire Without Suppression - by Submitted on Jul 17, 2022 from santosh krinskyHow do we experience desire? For some, it comes as a drive to possess something we experience in the world, whether something seen, heard, felt, etc. In other words, desire begins with something perceptible by our senses. In the past, this was therefore something close at hand. Nowadays, with ...
Views: 480 - Responding to the Consciousness in Material Objects - by Submitted on Jun 09, 2021 from santosh krinskyIn 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: 480 - 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: 480 - The Basis for Developing the Silence of the Mind - by Submitted on May 16, 2021 from santosh krinskyIn 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: 480 - The Gunas and the Seeker’s Relation to Material Objects in the Practice of the Integral Yoga - by Submitted on Jun 09, 2021 from santosh krinskyThe 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: 480 - The Importance of the Attitude of Trust for the Yogic Practitioner - by Submitted on Jun 25, 2022 from santosh krinskyIn our world today, we tend to doubt everything, question everything, trust in nothing. We recognise how much dissembling takes place, how many illusions are placed before our eyes, and we frequently have the experience that when we trust in someone or something, we tend to later see that we ...
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: 479 - The Nature of Bhakti — the Yoga of Devotion - by Submitted on Jul 02, 2021 from santosh krinskyThe path of devotion relies on the heart, not the mind. The seeker who is rooted in his mental process undergoes substantial efforts to achieve spiritual realisation, but may find that the ego-consciousness asserts itself as an arrogant pride of accomplishment, knowledge or understanding. As ...
Views: 479 - The Process of Bringing About Change at the Subconscious Level of Our Being - by Submitted on Nov 20, 2021 from santosh krinskyAnyone 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: 479 - The Test of Yogic Equality - by Submitted on Jun 02, 2022 from santosh krinskyThe setting of Sri Krishna’s teaching to Arjuna on the battlefield of Kurukshetra, symbolizing the ‘battle of life’ is an essential message to all who seek to progress in their spiritual growth and development. We do not normally associate a battlefield as the place to learn about our spiritual ...
Views: 479 - Understanding the Defense Mechanism of Rationalization - by Submitted on Apr 11, 2022 from santosh krinskyWe 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: 479 - How to Recognise and Respond to the Higher Guidance in Work - by Submitted on Jun 01, 2021 from santosh krinskyWe are trained to think and act from the viewpoint of the ego-personality. When we take up the practice of integral yoga, however, we understand that the standpoint of action must shift so that we can become true instruments of the higher action of the divine force which is working to transform ...
Views: 478 - Peace in the Body’s Cells Can Cure Illness - by Submitted on May 03, 2022 from santosh krinskyWhen we conjure up, in our minds, the idea of peace, we tend to give it a form of inaction, a ‘negative’ status. Similarly, peace to our vital nature is the absence of excitement or any form of energetic expression. For the body, we believe peace is a state of quietness that does not ‘do’ ...
Views: 478 - Psychic Self-Defense - by Submitted on Feb 14, 2022 from santosh krinskyThe 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: 478 - Six Recommendations for Speech and Social Relationships - by Submitted on Feb 20, 2022 from santosh krinskySpeech 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: 478 - The Three Gunas and Spiritual Practice - by Submitted on Nov 28, 2021 from santosh krinskySpiritual 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: 478 - The Transformation of the Mind - by Submitted on Oct 16, 2021 from santosh krinskyit is typical of the mental intelligence to believe that reading and remembering something implies that we have realised the truth of what we have read. Those who have taken the time to reflect on this make it clear that ‘reading a book about swimming’ does not mean one knows how to swim! ...
Views: 478 - The Risks and Difficulties of Eliminating Lower Drives Through Purposeful Indulgence, Part 2 - by Submitted on Nov 20, 2021 from santosh krinskyDealing 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: 477 - Understanding and Overcoming Obstacles That Obstruct the Psychic Opening - by Submitted on Sep 09, 2021 from santosh krinskyIf human nature can be changed, it has to be at the place where motives and impulsions affect the understanding and the action. The sadhana thus entails a review of the wellsprings of thought and action, and a refusal of the drives and motives of the desire soul of the vital nature. Many times ...
Views: 477 - 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: 477 - Habits, Cravings, Addictions and the Subconscient - by Submitted on Aug 25, 2022 from santosh krinskyOne of the big issues that all people face is dealing with cravings, habits and addictions and their effects in their lives. The mechanism at work here is not based on conscious decision-making, but on impulses, feelings and pulls that occur subconsciously, whether in the mind, the vital being, ...
Views: 476 - Issues in the Establishment of Equanimity and Peace in the Being - by Submitted on Feb 01, 2023 from santosh krinskyWe have long-established instincts that harken back to the animal kingdom, in what we may call the “fight or flight” response. This instinct is deeply embedded and lies at the root of one of the biggest obstacles to achieving calm and peace in the being. Every impulse we receive from outside ...
Views: 476 - 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: 476 - The Call to the Spiritual Path - by Submitted on Nov 29, 2022 from santosh krinskyIf we look at the individual life as separate from the rest of the creation, and claim that it starts at birth and ends at death, there seems to be no rationale or meaning for that life, nor can we explain the evolutionary progression of awareness, understanding, growth, and development that we ...
Views: 476 - The Need to Remain Undisturbed by Outer Circumstances - by Submitted on May 20, 2021 from santosh krinskyOne 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: 476 - 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: 475 - The Greek Temperament and the Roman Temperament in the Practice of Yoga - by Submitted on Feb 13, 2022 from santosh krinskyWe 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: 475 - 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: 475 - The Process of Turning Work into Yogic Practice - by Submitted on May 28, 2021 from santosh krinskyThe 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: 475 - The Soul’s Journey Through Life, Death and Rebirth - by Submitted on Mar 05, 2022 from santosh krinskyOne 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 ...
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