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The Forgotten Art of Foot Washing
www.kiwani.net
Master Libre has baptized this alchemical method “the noble and forgotten art of washing the feet” and defines it in his books as “a magic-stick for personal transformation.”
The forgotten art of washing feet reaches far back into ancient & ... Views: 2109
A yogic practice focus on transformation of human nature must necessarily address issues differently than one that has ‘liberation’ as its sole goal. This brings in the need for an understanding of the human instrument, the various elements of the being, the development of those elements through ... Views: 439
In a chapter titled ‘Knowledge by Identity and Separative Knowledge’ in The Life Divine, Sri Aurobindo describes true knowledge as coming through identity, where the knower and the object of knowledge are one and unified. This occurs through the direct relation of the soul with the Divine in a ... Views: 341
Many people formulate their prayers in the form of thoughts, and they are repeated according to a strict formula and ritual. In that case, if the mind is actively engaged in the prayer, it carries the power of the mental focus to tune the being to the frequency of the being who is the object of ... Views: 248
For those who focus on liberation from the worldly life, it is not much of a consideration to understand the exact details of the vital nature. If they can find a way to eliminate or reduce its action overall, so that they can concentrate on the process of liberation, that is considered ... Views: 658
A major concern for those who are desirous of shifting from the mental to the intuitional consciousness definitely lies in the transition, how that is going to work, what the role of the mind, if any, is in this transition and how the consciousness will function as it shifts to reliance on the ... Views: 244
The ego-consciousness lives within the illusion of having free will and making its own independent decisions. A closer examination shows us that the individual is not an ‘island’ unto himself; rather, he is a result of innumerable factors from genetics, to pre-natal influences, to interactions ... Views: 255
Every thought, every idea, every imagination, every focus, represents electrical impulses that are formed and projected into the general mental atmosphere, whether expressed verbally or in writing, or simply formulated in one’s mind. Each such formation is either weaker or stronger depending on ... Views: 279
There was a point when I noticed that everyone in my life seemed to talk a lot while I listened.
I wasn’t a talker.
I was pretty young; maybe my early 20s and I didn’t know things other people knew…like women talk more than men in general. Men think differently about sex than women. ... Views: 1150
We find in the ancient Indian epic, Ramayana, an interesting sub-plot which changes the very complexion of what appears to be a battle between ‘good’ personified by Rama and his family, and ‘evil’ as personified by Ravana and his kin. As we delve deeper into the tale, we find that Ravana was ... Views: 491
When an individual is called to the yoga of transformation, he comes with all of his strengths, weaknesses, developed and latent capacities, and habitual ways of dealing with things, as well as his familial, social, economic and educational background. These frame the starting point for the ... Views: 433
Modern day civilization emphasizes some kind of external 'result' that can be measured. Most frequently this is tied to a monetary value, but the world also appreciates and honors, in some cases, those who do humanitarian work, those who lead countries or fight wars, those who create new ... Views: 144
We 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: 588
‘Where there is data, there is an undeniable call for analytics.’ Analytics is a highly influential and rapidly emerging avenue that a dynamic range of industries in the twenty-first century are making the most of. They are utilizing their collected data to drive in huge successes ... Views: 784
Most people are not directly aware of their soul, although it is frequently talked about. There seems to be much confusion. Western scientists have tried to determine the existence of the soul like they would measure particular chemical elements within the body. They weigh the body immediately ... Views: 396
We experience a growth of consciousness during the maturation process starting with birth and continuing as the infant becomes a school-age child, then grows into teenage years and passes through puberty and the hormonal changes that come with that period, then into young adulthood and ... Views: 426
We become so used to all of the dark tendencies, hurtful energies and bad faith displayed throughout the world that we sometimes believe that this is the unchanging way that life is meant to be. What we often do not see is the secret evolutionary development of the soul, through time and ... Views: 400
It is the normal process of Nature that each being, each individual experiences life, interacts with his environment and with other individuals and forms thereby his physical being, his vital being and his mental being through these interactions. What is not easily recognised, due to the unseen ... Views: 418
The 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: 580
What we frequently fail to recognise is that much of the vital interaction and mental self-justification that supports it takes place more or less without active intervention or reflection by the mind. A vital desire or concern is prodded and the mind instantly jumps to self-justification ... Views: 368
Moving to a new location is not a rare incident in modern people’s lives because of various reasons. Change of employment, changes in lifestyles, kids’ educational purposes and various other reasons push people to change their dwellings time to time. If not the help of a home removalist in ... Views: 1284
Isaac Newton identified various forces that operate in the physical external world around us. His work was followed up by numerous others and codified into laws of physical substance. The force of gravity is one such force that impacts the movement and attraction of physical objects. Other ... Views: 322
We tend to live our lives in the belief that we are separate and isolated from one another. We struggle to survive and thrive in a world where every other being is competing with us for their own survival and self-aggrandisement. In such a world, we suffer from self-doubt, anxiety, fear, and ... Views: 285
Evolution of forms is the machinery for the manifestation of the universe. Evolution of consciousness provides the significance and inner direction. Similarly, we can look at the lower Nature, apra prakriti, as the mechanism and para prakriti, the higher Nature as the cause and conscious creator ... Views: 22
The Bhagavad Gita describes the lower nature and the higher nature. The lower nature is the external manifestation of forms, matter, life-energy, mind, that together constitute the creation and all the multiplicity of formations that together represent the external world. This can be seen as a ... Views: 21
There have been many tyrannical rulers throughout history. Joseph Stalin, leader of the Soviet Union, had killed many people during the Great Terror, coolly dispatching with his political opponents and other Russians, and also as a consequence of his economic policies, caused the famine in the ... Views: 1381
Ujjain is all set to host Kumbh festival again. Ujjain becomes the favorite destination of devotees and saints at the time of Khumb. Thousands of devotees come here to take bath in the auspicious Kshipra River. It is believed that it is one of the river in which drop of mortality were fallen at ... Views: 864
We spend little time or thought on the place we occupy in the universal creation. The larger forces at work, the consciousness that creates, builds, shapes and directs this massive and complex undertaking remain hidden from us. The power we can consciously receive and utilize is a minute amount ... Views: 306
For the vast majority of individuals, the idea of confronting the vast consciousness without any discernable or identifiable form is overwhelming. Anything that is undefined or unlimited breeds discomfort and fear in our being. in the Bhagavad Gita, Arjuna is confronted with a vision of the ... Views: 468
The drive in the human individual to find out who he is, what he is here for, and how he can grow and become what he is intended to be in the creation sets him apart from the animal. Even in the midst of an almost complete immersion in the external life and its lures, somewhere deep inside, the ... Views: 158
It is a malady of modern society that we believe we must stay constantly busy, We do not understand nor appreciate the value of quiet time for contemplation and stepping outside of the whirl of day to day activities to unite our awareness with that of the consciousness which manifests in the ... Views: 532
Imagination is a window to the future. People who are stuck in their past, or the present, tend to close themselves off from development. They insist that things have always been done a certain way, and that is how they are going to be done. Change is anathema to them. They have little, if any, ... Views: 328
We many times fail to recognise the extent of the impact that the mind, and the vital nature, have on the body, its health and its capacities for growth, resilience and development. The mind-body connection is starting to come into focus, however. When the mind sends repeated ‘suggestions’ to ... Views: 268
In the advance and technological world, where everyone is busy in their life and no one care about the rights of others, even they can’t tolerate the presence of others in their work. The jealousy factor increases day by day and everyone wants to lead the others. This abhorrence then takings the ... Views: 1197
Well, the connect of Diwali celebrations and sweets is extremely close. Most of India cannot think of a Diwali without sweets or mithais. Though the kind of celebration may differ but sweet is an integral part of Diwali celebrations every year. This year due to the pandemic though new ... Views: 722
The Bhagavad Gita declares “yoga is skill in works”. For work to be a practice of yoga, there must be first the inward orientation that can make it into a consecrated and focused effort, and outwardly this translates into a skillful organization of the work and a harmonious development, keeping ... Views: 789
There are several advantages afforded the self-aware individual. With respect to their importance and value to empowering your teammates/clients, I will highlight some of those advantages in this article.
To begin with, your team will benefit from becoming self-aware by realizing that they ... Views: 1567
When we look around at the world today, as well as at the thoughts, feelings and moods of people, both ourselves, and others, we find that Sri Aurobindo has perfectly described the situation. He defines this as the underlying Inconscient ‘bed-rock’ of being. The basic material resistance that is ... Views: 532
The Bhagavad Gita provides an extensive review of the operation of the three Gunas, the qualities of Nature, Sattwa, Rajas and Tamas. These qualities are always interacting and changing based on that interaction. There is no consistency or constancy in how an individual responds so long as he is ... Views: 349
The vital nature wants to continue its old ways and achieve fulfillment of its desires. It is also very effective at finding ways to convince the mind to carry out its impulses and desires. When an individual takes up the spiritual path, the vital being does not get discouraged, it simply tries ... Views: 139
Many studies have been done, and real-life examples have shown the power of a body of people focused on a particular feeling, thought or action. Mob psychology shows that individuals who otherwise might be seen as quiet and peaceful can be riled up into paroxysms of anger when part of an angry ... Views: 519
Forces that operate in the world are not necessarily ‘hostile’ even if their effect on any particular individual appears to be extremely negative. These forces operate on a large scale to carry out their own role and fulfillment, without specific regard to who may be impacted. When an earthquake ... Views: 119
As each individual tries to understand his life and purpose, he begins a process of observation, review, and experimentation. At this stage, many seekers have little clue about the path that is best suited for them, and they may try out different approaches. Once a path has been identified, they ... Views: 441
We remain so fixated on the external surface being, that we fail to recognise the divinity within us. Just as we go through our daily lives in the light of the day and do not attend to our world’s connection to the vast galaxies and universe of which our world is a part, so also we do not ... Views: 349
One of the limitations of Mind embedded in a physical body is that it tends to fixate on what it can experience ‘here and now’. It has a hard time correlating past, present and future and seeing and understanding trends, directions, trajectories and momentum, other than in specific areas such as ... Views: 282
We live in a time of incredible feats of technological progress. Digital technologies, quantum computing, wireless transmission of energy, solar power, airplane flights, space flight, landing on the moon, instant communications of audio and video content world-wide are things we tend to take for ... Views: 279
Authoritarian states throughout history have understood, intuitively, the power of collective vibration and suggestion. Nazi Germany created a propaganda ministry that had as its goal continuously repeating certain key phrases, to raise up specific emotions and sentiments, and then to enforce ... Views: 288
In The Life Divine, Sri Aurobindo devotes a chapter to the ‘sevenfold ignorance’. While we are fixated on our external mind, life and body and the life we lead in the external world, we remain ignorant of the forces at work, behind the scenes, to create what we call our being and personality, ... Views: 453
Have you ever wondered how some people seem to go through various situations without a problem while others go through similar situations and have to undergo tremendous challenges and suffering? If someone escapes a harrowing incident once, we tend to call it “luck”. But if it happens repeatedly ... Views: 226
The paradigm that has ruled Western psychology has focused on treating the individual as a discrete entity, separate and apart from everyone else, and independent of his environment. Pressure may be exerted by societal influences, economic influences or family relationships and expectations, but ... Views: 642