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The Bhagavad Gita devotes considerable focus to the operation of the three gunas, qualities of the action of the nature, Sattwa, Rajas and Tamas. The Gita indicates that all actions are modified and controlled by the action of the gunas. This includes the practice of spiritual sadhana. Rajas ... Views: 608
Another, and serious, issue that arises is the relationship of the gnostic individuals and community to that wider world of humanity and life in general which remains based in the physical, vital and mental principles and thus, continues to operate on the basis of division, fragmentation and the ... Views: 279
Even 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: 558
The more reactive we are to people and events, the more dispersed our awareness is and this draws away from the ability of the practitioner of the yoga to create and maintain the inner connection to the spiritual force that is pressing to manifest the next phase of the evolutionary development. ... Views: 535
An illness is a vibrational pattern that impacts the body and its normal operations. If one does not succeed in rejecting it before it breaks through the protective vital sheath and then, if one fails to prevent it from taking hold at all in the physical body, one is left with having to deal ... Views: 115
We tend to view everything from our individual ego-standpoint, and as a result, we take difficulties as being our own, as well as any obstacles, setbacks or delays being directly tied to ourselves. We tend to believe that we are either bound by some karmic destiny, or by the astrological pattern ... Views: 899
When we are interested in something we naturally focus on that to the exclusion of other distractions. Time passes and we do not notice it. Things that would ordinarily engage our attention are disregarded. This power of ‘one pointed’ concentration is however elusive when it arises just out of ... Views: 329
Sankhya philosophy, also referenced in the Bhagavad Gita and certain Upanishads with respect to its understanding of the respective roles of the Purusha, the witness consciousness and Prakriti, the active nature, provides a guiding light for those seeking liberation from bondage to the external ... Views: 81
We are all gathered here, on this dense planet Earth, because of our low consciousness.
Each of us receives an individual life scenario as a present at birth.
As a result, everyone gets the opportunity to correct mistakes and misdeed made in previous lives.
This allows us to continue our ... Views: 867
Like anything in the Universe, our Consciousness is a subject of Evolution and Devolution.
If one person forms an individual consciousness, then a group of people moulds a collective consciousness.
For example, a collective consciousness might belong to a small group of people such a ... Views: 994
The ability to perceive, understand and modify the actions of the body, life and mind requires the development of a new standpoint outside of the body-life-mind complex. For this reason, the attempt to undertake this process with the analytical power of the mind is bound to fail. Not only can ... Views: 499
Dharma needs to be followed both by individuals and by the collective society as a whole. When an individual is out of alignment with dharma, their life becomes disjointed and they cease to have a harmony with the world around them. They become self-centered and self-absorbed. When a society, a ... Views: 1089
It is an obvious fact that as one grows and develops in the spiritual path, the concentration of conscious force, tapasya, will definitely increase not only the spiritual development, but also the powers that the individual has available to accomplish action in his life in the world. In the ... Views: 228
If you’ve awaken to the realization of pursuing personal development, that’s a good place to start. Sometimes, it may be somewhat daunting trying to pick a particular aspect of self development to start with. Well, the first step is to do an inner search, in order to know the area that requires ... Views: 1528
Whether we term it divine Will, synchronicity, coherence, quantum entanglement, cause and effect, dependent origination, karma, or the law of attraction (or any other terminology), there remains a truth that the specific time, place and circumstance we occupy in the world is due to a stream of ... Views: 96
If we examine the times and phases of our lives, we find that when things seem to be going smoothly forward and we feel great, we want to enjoy and appreciate the good times. We thus tend to slacken our efforts so that we can get the most out of the positive energies we are experiencing. This is ... Views: 88
Every individual faces difficulties during his lifetime. They may be difficulties imposed due to external circumstances attendant on one’s birth, cultural or societal position, opportunities, or economic prospects. They may be difficulties that arise due to climate or natural disasters. They may ... Views: 432
You and a colleague, Harry are up for a promotion. You know you are the better person for the job, but Harry got the position. He’s pompous, arrogant and doesn’t have the leadership skills that inspire you to generate, well, anything. You scratch your head in disbelief that he was chosen over ... Views: 1419
I can’t tell you the number of times over that past few weeks that I’ve heard the term seeing the big picture. I pay attention when something is said two or more times; there’s something to be mined for myself and perhaps for others.
Seeing the Big Picture; what the heck does that mean? What ... Views: 1463
When we initially reflect on “what is a good thought” and “what is a bad thought”, the first ideas that arise almost inevitably harken back to whatever cultural, moral or ethical code prevails within the society of the time, whether this is based on religion or developed cultural understandings ... Views: 571
When your life is meaningful, fulfilling and purposeful you carry in your heart the passion to create something extraordinary for others and for yourself
Wouldn’t the world be a great place if we all discovered happiness! What if we had the opportunity to find our purpose in life? Imagine ... Views: 1301
Declare daily, the truth that the Lord is guiding you! Your Creator has destined you to leave your mark! Your job is to believe and trust that it is all coming together. Don’t be in doubt, or fear or even feeling that you are inadequate; instead begin to visualize what it is you are seeking. ... Views: 1222
When we are fixed in the external personality we take our cues about our role in life from our family, our friends, the social and economic environment and, with that framing, our particular interests and aptitudes. As a child we may want to emulate people in uniforms and thus, may want to be a ... Views: 364
The Buddhist tradition describes Manjushri as a Bodhisattva who, with his flaming sword of discrimination, cuts through illusion and falsehood to disclose the truth of existence. The power of discrimination between different powers, forces, impressions, suggestions, and their source and intent ... Views: 661
Many of you are expressing that this start of the year of the snake has been a very important time for soul searching and experiencing breakthroughs of profound awakenings, and alongwith this comes recognizing the depth of resistant patterns that have been sabotaging your abilities to manifest ... Views: 1398
The mental framework frequently wants to find an “either/or” option rather than looking at the nuance needed to resolve multiple views of pending questions. Thus, when we are asked to consider achieving a poise of equality in the face of provocation of any sort, positive or negative, we will ... Views: 106
There is a real difference in motivation and intention between what may be considered to be ignorant responses, and those that are malignant. Seekers face a difficulty or some resistance in the external nature constantly. For the most part, this resistance is due to the long embedded habits and ... Views: 29
While humanity embodies the development of the mental consciousness, in principle, it must be noted that this generalisation does not apply specifically to each and every human individual. Just as the field of statistics does not predict any single event, and the observational experiments of ... Views: 470
We transcribe and filter impulses and feelings that arise from the physical body and the vital action through our minds, and thus, we generally confuse the awareness or the response that arises through this process as a mental functioning. Sri Aurobindo distinguishes between the physical mind, ... Views: 760
Near the top of the “wish list” for most spiritual aspirants is achieving “peace”. This is generally understood however in a very personal sense to alleviate the turmoil, dissention and conflict that invariably arises in our normal circumstances living in the world. It is rarely appreciated ... Views: 589
If we observe the mental status that takes place at times when we focus on achieving some objective or other, taking a test, working on a project, running a race, playing music, or creating some work of art, for example, we see that the attention is focused intensely on the task at hand, and ... Views: 630
There is considerable confusion between the concept of occultism and the idea of the practice of magic (whether considered ‘white’ magic or ‘black’ magic). Occultism essential is the science of dealing with forces subliminal to our outer senses, but nevertheless active and acting upon our being. ... Views: 231
We occasionally meet people who seem to be highly intuitive. With very few facts, and with a very fast response time, they seem to understand and decide things successfully that we are struggling to deal with, and for which we need considerably more time. In some cases, there may be the ... Views: 181
The vital nature has an innate drive towards fulfillment and satisfaction of desire. Since most individuals are oriented towards the outer life, the fulfillment comes through attaining desirable objects of the vital focus. This can be accumulation of wealth, it can be family, fame or achievement ... Views: 573
Spiritual experience and progress can be confusing. In many cases the seeker is misled or misunderstands what is actually taking place, and the significance of it. Spiritual paths generally recommend the seeker find an experienced guide, or Guru, among other reasons, to help mitigate confusion ... Views: 589
There is considerable confusion about the “subconscient” and the “subliminal” aspects of consciousness. Essentially, the subliminal references aspects of the independent levels of consciousness that embody the subtle physical, the subtle vital and the subtle mental. These levels are independent ... Views: 375
The long history of focus by spiritual aspirants on achieving oneness with the Transcendent, the Eternal, while subordinating or outright denying the life of the world, has created substantial confusion about the significance of life, the nature of the manifested universal creation, and the ... Views: 694
We may observe feelings, perceptions, thoughts, emotions, ideas, imaginations, memories, etc. all arising in our minds, and, for most of us, this is all just ‘mental activity’. And for most people this is clearly enough! For those taking up the spiritual life and practice, however, it becomes ... Views: 324
During the 1980’s there were a number of scams carried out by US mail. An individual would receive a letter purporting to come from some high official in another country who had access to a large amount of money and needed a ‘partner’ to help take the funds out of the country and invest them in ... Views: 85
It is not easy for most people to distinguish vital responses such as feelings or emotions from the true expression of the psychic being within them. This is primarily due to the fact that just about everyone bases themselves in the external surface being. We see this confusion when people see ... Views: 352
Desire can take many forms, some of them subtle, inasmuch as they are linked to prayer and thus seem to confirm the aspiration. There is a subtle form of bargaining that can take place where the dedication of the seeker is tied to the Divine providing a specific anticipated form of realisation, ... Views: 5
“The integral yoga, which involves a deep understanding of the normal psychology of the human being, as well as the impact of the descent of the higher spiritual force to manifest the Divine Will in the manifestation, has to develop its own terminology and specific definitions so as to ensure ... Views: 292
We like to believe that we are independent actors in control of our own destiny and our own lines of development. We want ‘freedom’ to express ourselves. The ego-personality acting in the outside world is very much a captive of past energies, whether those of the formation of physical and vital ... Views: 9
What is the physical mind? The element of mental activity that relates to the actual physical substance that conveys and responds to sense perceptions and the operations of the physical body is considered to be the ‘physical mind’. We normally believe that the operation of our mind is ... Views: 619
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: 546
The terms ‘divine grace’, along with ‘cosmic law’ and ‘divine compassion’, are transcriptions into human terms from our human viewpoint of actions and events that take place from an entirely different level of the divine manifestation and with a viewpoint that far exceeds that of our limited ... Views: 220
Due to the nature of the mind, which always seeks for “black and white” solutions and answers, it is easy to fall into the idea that everything depends on one’s own efforts, or alternatively, that one’s efforts do not matter as the Divine controls what occurs. In actuality, there is no real ... Views: 625
The ancient sages of India, as we see in some of the texts that have come down to us through the course of time, understood the balance between the internal and the external, between individual liberation and a balanced activity in the world. They recognised the individual role as part of the ... Views: 74
What is the will of the Divine, and how can we know it? The usual answer is some prescription from one religion or another with a doctrine supported by that religious persuasion as being the correct interpretation. In some cases, the Divine Will seems thereby to be in conflict from one religion ... Views: 209
Someone has their astrological chart done, and by that they are able to determine the location of the various planets and the sun and moon and the constellations in relation to their birth. They will learn about the hardships they will face, the major life events they can expect, and the ... Views: 276