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- Understanding and Addressing the Desire and Craving for Food - by Submitted on Sep 04, 2025 from santosh krinskyWe have a fixation on food. We do not seek food just for nourishment and proper care of our bodies, generally; rather, we use food to provide us with comfort, emotional support, and fulfillment of desires for various tastes. We center many of our relationship rituals around food. At some ...
Views: 106 - Understanding and Addressing the Difficulties of Gaining Control of the Ordinary Human Nature and Life, Part 1 - by Submitted on Aug 19, 2022 from santosh krinskySri Aurobindo provided advice to an individual who was trying to sort out the direction for his life and how to face the difficulties that confronted him, particularly with respect to certain vital weaknesses to which he was prone. Sri Aurobindo analyzed the condition of this individual in great ...
Views: 469 - Understanding and Addressing the Difficulties of Gaining Control of the Ordinary Human Nature and Life, Part 2 - by Submitted on Aug 20, 2022 from santosh krinskySri Aurobindo provided advice to an individual who was trying to sort out the direction for his life and how to face the difficulties that confronted him, particularly with respect to certain vital weaknesses to which he was prone. Sri Aurobindo analyzed the condition of this individual in great ...
Views: 496 - Understanding and Addressing the Mechanism of Anger and its External Cause - by Submitted on Jan 03, 2022 from santosh krinskyIf 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 ...
Views: 497 - Understanding and Attaining the Right Attitude Toward Food for the Yogic Practitioner - by Submitted on Jan 25, 2022 from santosh krinskyShifting the awareness away from the ego-consciousness to the divine standpoint takes place as a ‘tuning’ process which Sri Aurobindo designates as ‘aspiration’. This represents a focus of the attention of the being on the higher consciousness and away from the normal fixation on the outer life ...
Views: 542 - Understanding and Dealing with Nervous Imbalances Caused by Hostile Forces - by Submitted on Aug 17, 2022 from santosh krinskyThe question of ‘hostile forces’ is one that generally needs a certain amount of reflection. In the West, the major religious denominations frequently speak of the devil, the fallen angels, Satan, and other beings to which they attribute a malignant power that pressures human beings to commit ...
Views: 621 - Understanding and Dealing with the Physical Mind - by Submitted on Jun 05, 2022 from santosh krinskySri Aurobindo recognises that in order to effectively address the actions of the mind, the various underlying sources and the energies they raise up in their action must be clearly seen and understood. There is a difference in the way one needs to deal with a persistent emotional reaction, for ...
Views: 505 - Understanding and Dealing with the Subtle Vital Interchange in Human Relationships - by Submitted on Mar 11, 2024 from santosh krinskyWe undergo changes of mood, feelings, responses and do not generally try to understand how these changes come about, their source, and impact upon our own state of being. In some cases, we actually associate ’cause and effect’ with an interaction with another individual, such as when we exclaim ...
Views: 346 - Understanding and Distinguishing the Complex Makeup of Human Nature - by Submitted on Mar 01, 2021 from santosh krinskyEverything we experience is filtered through the mind. For daily life, it may not be essential to go much deeper into the question, although even there some amount of awareness can be helpful, such as when one experiences pain, the actual cause needs to be determined to resolve the issue ...
Views: 749 - Understanding and Managing the Subconscious Part of the Being - by Submitted on Aug 22, 2025 from santosh krinskyThe idea that significant events or forces can take place within us during sleep or in the twilight range between sleep and waking is something that has been part of human understanding for thousands of years. In particular, dreams, a particular form of the sleep state where the consciousness is ...
Views: 119 - 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: 614 - 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: 566 - Understanding and Persevering Through the Darkness and the Delays in the Process of Spiritual Realisation - by Submitted on May 09, 2025 from santosh krinskyWhen we are confronted with difficulties, we employ several different types of responses, mainly depending on instinct, habit, training and the play of the three Gunas, the qualities of Nature, Sattwa, Rajas and Tamas. Sometimes we respond with more effort, sometimes we lapse into depression and ...
Views: 144 - Understanding and Respecting the Body’s Need for Rest - by Submitted on Jul 30, 2022 from santosh krinskyWhen an illness strikes the body, its energy must go to recuperation and rebuilding its basic strength. For a practitioner of yoga, as well as for those who have a developed mental or emotional consciousness, or an aesthetic sense, the recuperation and rebuilding phase can be irksome, as there ...
Views: 541 - Understanding and Utilizing the Power of Sincerity in Action - by Submitted on Oct 28, 2024 from santosh krinskyIf we reflect on our own efforts to change things in our lives, whether a resolution to follow a diet, exercise regularly, create a work-rest balance, spend more time with our families, or carry out some effort in our religious or spiritual focus, we will quickly see that our resolve does not ...
Views: 254 - Understanding Conflicting Powers in the Being - by Submitted on Jun 28, 2023 from santosh krinskyIt is practically a universal experience among religious and spiritual seekers, and even among people who are simply developing some kind of an inner life, that they have an aspiration, a desire to consecrate themselves to some goal, principle or idea, and yet, they struggle with opposing ...
Views: 411 - Understanding Desire and the Absence of Desire - by Submitted on Aug 21, 2025 from santosh krinskyWhen seekers take up the spiritual path, they try to follow the guideline to reject desire. They will frequently say “I don’t desire anything”. In many cases, however, this is an obfuscation by the vital nature manipulating the mind to accept something which is not entirely accurate. Let’s break ...
Views: 126 - Understanding Difficulties and Obstacles That Arise During the Yogic Process - by Submitted on Mar 16, 2023 from santosh krinskySri Aurobindo is able to illustrate the different ways that seekers wind up facing and dealing with difficulties or obstacles that arise during the yogic process. This is not a “one size fits all” process due to the differing backgrounds, starting points, capacities and social environment ...
Views: 440 - Understanding Experience of a Shift from the External to the Inward Consciousness - by Submitted on Dec 06, 2025 from santosh krinskyAs the seeker begins to go inwards in his awareness, theare are innumerable new experiences that take place. He generally is not able to determine exactly what they mean. In this case, the guidance of an experienced practitioner or of a Guru can be of immense assistance. If a seeker is ...
Views: 76 - Understanding Faith and Its Role in Spiritual Development - by Submitted on Jul 14, 2025 from santosh krinskyThere is a long history of debate about what we believe and how we know what we know. Science and religion have historically taken opposite positions in this debate. Science takes the view that the mind must be able to ascertain objective facts, and draw conclusions based on them. This includes ...
Views: 148 - Understanding Fluctuations in the Force of the Spiritual Sadhana - by Submitted on Nov 28, 2025 from santosh krinskyThe spiritual seeker tends to struggle with the constant recurrence of old thoughts, feelings, reactions and desires. He is also constantly confronted by changes in his energy levels and focus. Much of this is due to the underlying and deeply embedded energies that he has inherited as part of ...
Views: 73 - Understanding God's Ambivalence - by Submitted on Dec 14, 2012 from Mark KellyIt’s not easy being God in that He is all we want to be in and of ourselves, yet what we feel we can’t be without His assistance. Consequently, He is cure and crutch, Love and Judgment, and the all-powerful Light whose inaction makes possible the Dark. God’s ambivalence is deeply troubling – ...
Views: 3204 - Understanding Human Nature - by Submitted on Jul 13, 2022 from santosh krinskyAt some point in life, virtually every individual has an experience which is extremely disappointing and painful, due to a perceived betrayal or undue negative reaction from another person. A great part of human interaction is driven by reactions of jealousy, envy, lust, greed, fear, anger or, ...
Views: 511 - Understanding Planes of Existence or Planes of Consciousness - by Submitted on Jul 02, 2023 from santosh krinskyWe reflect on the evolution of consciousness, how Life evolves out of Matter and Mind evolves out of Life in Matter. Nothing can evolve that has not been previously involved, just as a tree can develop out of an acorn, because the genetic coding is 'involved' in that seed and under the proper ...
Views: 410 - Understanding Psychic and Soul In Their Deepest and Original Sense - by Submitted on Mar 08, 2026 from santosh krinskyThe 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 ...
Views: 27 - Understanding Societal Expectations and Their Impact on the Individual and His Development - by Submitted on Dec 09, 2023 from santosh krinskyWe generally fail to recognise how much we tend to take on the coloration of the thoughts and feelings of those around us. Just as a chameleon will adapt its body color to blend into its physical environment, we tend to adapt our ideas, opinions, and feelings to match up with those with whom we ...
Views: 340 - Understanding the Action of the Subconscient - by Submitted on Mar 30, 2024 from santosh krinskyThe field of psychology in the West has developed over the last couple of centuries with a focus on the influence of the subconscious levels on our external lives, fixating on trauma, past events and their effect on the way we respond to circumstances in our lives. This has led to techniques ...
Views: 314 - Understanding the Causes and Prevention of Illness - by Submitted on Jul 10, 2023 from santosh krinskyThere are many ideas about the causes of illness, as well as ways to prevent or cure illness. In the West, the prevalent idea is related to what may be called the “germ invasion” theory, namely, that illness is caused by specific physical ‘germs’ (bacteria or viruses) which invade and overpower ...
Views: 550 - Understanding the Complexity and Risks of Dealing with the Power of Thought Forms - by Submitted on Sep 09, 2024 from santosh krinskyThere is a famous story in the Mahabharata which has a profound meaning when it comes to the application of any power of action in the world, including the power to create thought formations. One of the protagonists in the great war that was fought at Kurukshetra was Arjuna. He was the greatest ...
Views: 271 - Understanding the Concept of Wideness in the Integral Yoga - by Submitted on May 18, 2021 from santosh krinskyThe Vedic Rishis spoke of Satyam, Ritam, Brihat, ‘the truth, the right, the vast’. These represent psychological states into which the yogic practitioner can enter in order to embody the truth of the Brahman. The vast consciousness takes us out of the human egoistic standpoint into an awareness, ...
Views: 560 - Understanding the Concept of Wideness in the Integral Yoga - by Submitted on May 18, 2021 from santosh krinskyThe Vedic Rishis spoke of Satyam, Ritam, Brihat, ‘the truth, the right, the vast’. These represent psychological states into which the yogic practitioner can enter in order to embody the truth of the Brahman. The vast consciousness takes us out of the human egoistic standpoint into an awareness, ...
Views: 526 - Understanding the Consciousness of the Body - by Submitted on Jul 13, 2023 from santosh krinskyIf we reflect on how many actions or operations of the physical body take place without our mental intervention, it becomes clear that the body has its own highly developed, and essential, form of consciousness that operates independently of the mind. One common example is widely experienced. An ...
Views: 419 - Understanding the Cycles and Phases of Spiritual Development - by Submitted on Nov 14, 2022 from santosh krinskySeveral 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 ...
Views: 503 - Understanding the Defense Mechanism of Projection - by Submitted on Apr 12, 2022 from santosh krinskyDue to what we may call ‘observational bias’ we tend to attribute intention and motive to others that we ourselves have internally and project our internal response onto the other party, without knowing exactly what the cause of their action may be from their standpoint. Some of this is due to ...
Views: 570 - 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: 585 - Understanding the Difference Between Psychic and Spiritual - by Submitted on Jun 01, 2023 from santosh krinskyEvery language has its limitations, particularly surrounding areas of development that were not central to the people who developed and utilized that language. This makes it difficult to translate concepts that are self-evident in one language easily or effectively into another language. This ...
Views: 633 - Understanding the Differences Between the Vital Desire Soul and the Psychic Being - by Submitted on Mar 05, 2025 from santosh krinskyWe can observe, in our own lives and in the lives of various individuals we see on the ‘world stage’, the difference between those who are driven primarily by the impulses of the external vital nature and the ego-personality, and those who have made contact with the inner being and has developed ...
Views: 157 - Understanding the Existence of and Interaction With the Higher Ranges of Consciousness Above the Mind - by Submitted on Sep 08, 2023 from santosh krinskyJust as all energy operates along a spectrum of vibration from shorter wavelength to longer wavelength, and this spectrum can be perceived within certain limited ranges based on the capacity of our sense instruments (or tools we develop to extend our range of perception), so also consciousness ...
Views: 359 - Understanding the External Medium of Communication and the Inner Force Within the Communication - by Submitted on Mar 14, 2024 from santosh krinskyThere are hidden forces, vibrational patterns that move between people that remain unseen, but have their effect, similar to the way that we do not observe electricity, but we do observe its effects. These vibrational patterns operate without any overt, external medium, simply through ...
Views: 302 - Understanding the Higher Guidance That Directs Our Actions Towards Our Spiritual Destiny - by Submitted on Mar 15, 2025 from santosh krinskyWhen we rely on our surface impressions, which are very much based on and influenced by our background, family, society and the values inculcated into us by those relationships, we only are able to truly understand a fraction of what is actually occurring, and generally this is conditioned by ...
Views: 151 - Understanding the Higher Guidance That Directs Our Actions Towards Our Spiritual Destiny - by Submitted on Mar 16, 2025 from santosh krinskyWhen we rely on our surface impressions, which are very much based on and influenced by our background, family, society and the values inculcated into us by those relationships, we only are able to truly understand a fraction of what is actually occurring, and generally this is conditioned by ...
Views: 161 - Understanding the Influence of the Subconscient on Our Conscious Experience - by Submitted on Feb 01, 2026 from santosh krinskyWhile we tend to believe that our consciousness is centered in the region of the brain, or in some cases, the heart, there is really a much broader framework for consciousness. There are different forms that consciousness takes. These forms vibrate at different frequencies and are then taken up ...
Views: 54 - Understanding the Inner Being - by Submitted on Jul 30, 2021 from santosh krinskyAs long as we remain on the surface of our being, and rely entirely on the physical senses and the nervous system of the vital being and the mental processes focused on these outer sensations, actions and phenomena, the inner depths of our being remain hidden from us, occult, and not quite ...
Views: 592 - Understanding the Issues of Mastery Over Vibrations Inwardly and in the External World - by Submitted on Nov 24, 2024 from santosh krinskyWe try to control or dominate other people generally through various methods. It is customary in many cultures to subject children to strict discipline and education so that they do things the way the parents or educators like, or they get subjected to some kind of punishment, whether it be ...
Views: 255 - Understanding the Larger Being of Man and the Process of Transformation of the Subconscious - by Submitted on Nov 16, 2021 from santosh krinskyWestern psychoanalysis focused on a specific segment of the overall human psychological makeup, an area that deals with vestigial instincts and suppressed desires and urges. Obviously any opening and examination of this aspect is fraught with both concerns and dangers for the individual seeking ...
Views: 558 - Understanding the Limitations of the Mechanical Mind - by Submitted on Jun 11, 2022 from santosh krinskyAt a very basic, rudimentary level, less developed in the evolutionary scale than the physical mind, lies what is termed the ‘mechanical mind’. This level relies heavily on programmed repetition. It is programmed to have a simple instruction set, to repeat continuously whatever ‘sets off’ its ...
Views: 570 - Understanding the Limitations of the Physical Mind - by Submitted on Jun 10, 2022 from santosh krinskyWe are used to superimposing our higher intellectual control on the physical mind and its operations. The physical mind still acts, but we generally limit its application through this process. At the same time, however, we do not consciously pay attention to its action or the impact of that ...
Views: 571 - Understanding the Limiting Frames of Our Existence and the Process for Breaking Free of the Bonds of those Frames - by Submitted on Dec 07, 2023 from santosh krinskyAs long as we live within a certain frame of understanding, we cannot truly understand who or what we are, or why we do what we do, as we are bound by the limitations of that frame. Thus, as we are born in a particular culture, or a particular society, or a particular religious persuasion, or ...
Views: 334 - Understanding the Masks, False Fronts and Deceptive Appearances We Present to the World and to Ourselves - by Submitted on Jun 30, 2025 from santosh krinskyIt is relatively easy to recognise that we are putting up a false front in our dealings with society. We greet people with a smile while in our minds, we may be having an opposite feeling about the person. We flatter people to get ahead in society, knowing that the flattery is not based on ...
Views: 135 - Understanding the Meaning of Vital Formations and Beings That Arise During Meditation - by Submitted on Apr 28, 2024 from santosh krinskyWhen people take up the practice of meditation, they generally do not know much about it. They follow a set of guidelines on ‘how to meditate’ and just let things happen. The result is very much dependent, then, on their state of conscious awareness, and their focus of attention. Meditation is ...
Views: 336