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Articles from santosh krinsky | Selfgrowth.com
- Extending a Measure of Validity to Reports of Supra-Physical Perceptions and Experiences - by Submitted on Jul 01, 2024 from santosh krinskySri Aurobindo makes an important point. Various aspects of reports about subtle senses and supraphysical realities as they impact our external world, have been documented, and in some cases, extensively studied and verified. Once we accept the fact that there is a real and solid basis for these ...
Views: 203 - External and Internal Conditions for the Practice of Meditation - by Submitted on Jun 14, 2021 from santosh krinskySwami Vivekananda, in his lectures on Raja Yoga, describes what we may call the “mind stuff”, citta, which tends to be always disturbed as impressions, perceptions, thoughts, feelings, emotions create ripples, as a breeze will create ripples on the surface of a lake. He goes on to describe the ...
Views: 571 - External Forms of Worship and Spiritual Growth in the Integral Yoga - by Submitted on Jul 10, 2021 from santosh krinskyPractitioners of mainstream religions are very familiar with ritual worship. Much of the activity of religion is scripted around a set formula of external worship that has developed from perhaps an initial experience or, over time, as a result of habitual action. The intended purpose of this ...
Views: 441 - External Interactions Provide the Seeker a Mirror to His Inner Characteristics and Traits - by Submitted on Apr 02, 2025 from santosh krinskyWhat we see in others in many cases is a mirror to what we contain within ourselves. We understand what is taking place because we are able to receive the vibration and internalize it and translate it into something that resonates in our being. In Western psychology there is a concept called ...
Views: 11 - External Worship and the Practice of Bhakti Yoga - by Submitted on Mar 09, 2023 from santosh krinskyMany people are abandoning formalized religions while saying that the external rituals are simply missing any inner spirit or force, that they are simply empty and do not get to the heart of the matter. There is a keen insight here that is useful for those who wish to practice the yoga of ...
Views: 343 - Facing and Overcoming Self-Doubt and Internal Criticism - by Submitted on Jun 03, 2021 from santosh krinskyAs the spiritual seeker develops the internal witness awareness, viewing the actions and reactions of the various parts of the being, it is frequently noted that the closeness of the view leads the aspirant to become overly critical of one’s own flaws, weaknesses, habits etc. This same type of ...
Views: 482 - Faith and Confidence - by Submitted on Oct 21, 2024 from santosh krinskyThere are countless stories of what may be called the “placebo effect” for confidence in action. Athletes sometimes believe they will perform better if they are wearing a specific shirt or pair of socks. People have their ‘lucky charms’ that they believe provide them success in certain ...
Views: 123 - Faith and Personal Effort - by Submitted on Oct 24, 2024 from santosh krinskyThere is a tendency in the human mind to create an artificial division between faith, based in the divine Grace, and effort, based in the mental, vital and physical being of the individual. Thus, if we have faith, we tend not to ‘worry’ about specific actions we can or should take. It is a type ...
Views: 116 - Faith In and Receptivity to the Guru - by Submitted on Jan 12, 2023 from santosh krinskyIn Essays on the Gita, Sri Aurobindo notes that every scripture has both a ‘temporal’ and an ‘eternal’ aspect. The temporal aspect is transitory, changes from time to time and from culture to culture, based on the societal background within which the scripture has been produced. The knowledge ...
Views: 441 - Fasting and the Practice of the Integral Yoga - by Submitted on Jan 26, 2022 from santosh krinskyAt some point in their spiritual quest, seekers are generally confronted with the question of ‘fasting’. Some paths recommend fasting as a method to lighten the heaviness of the ‘earth consciousness’ and make the being more receptive to higher vibrational energies. Some point out that fasting ...
Views: 428 - Fear and Fearlessness in Life and in Yoga - by Submitted on Jan 15, 2022 from santosh krinskyFear arises in the lower vital, in some instances, as a direct vital response to an energy that threatens health and safety of the individual; in other words, it is part of the survival instinct. But it also arises through social acculturation, such as in issues of stage fright, or through ...
Views: 442 - Fear Is Based in the Limitations of Ignorance and Unconsciousness - by Submitted on Jun 29, 2022 from santosh krinskyIn The Life Divine, Sri Aurobindo describes the sevenhold ignorance which limits the human being. We live in a world about which we know very little, and we lack a complete understanding of the significance of our lives, the meaning of existence, or the processes of Time. As a result, we act as ...
Views: 537 - Fear: Its Effect on the Vital Sheath and As a Cause of Illness - by Submitted on May 01, 2024 from santosh krinskySeveral years ago there was a world-wide pandemic that affected many tens of millions of people, which was called the covid-19 pandemic. It provided us a clear opportunity to see the impact of fear on the reactions of people. Panic ensued. Stores closed, public access was shut down in many ...
Views: 175 - Finding a Solution that Provides Peace Without Sacrificing Progress in the Universal Manifestation - by Submitted on Jun 22, 2022 from santosh krinskyIf the drive towards progress is fueled by dissatisfaction and anxiety felt by the individual, we are left with the concern that achieving peace must come at the cost of giving up the active life and the development of consciousness in the world. We either have to sink back to the level of the ...
Views: 398 - Finding the Balance Between Individual Effort and Surrender in the Practice of the Integral Yoga - by Submitted on Apr 30, 2021 from santosh krinskyPractitioners of the integral yoga are confronted daily with the task of balancing between the individual effort required, and the call to surrender to the divine force that actually is undertaking the changes in the nature that are required. We all start with the ego-consciousness and all of ...
Views: 468 - Finding the Right Balance and Spirit in Management - by Submitted on Apr 10, 2025 from santosh krinskyThere is an art to management of people within a company, department or section. Those who are tasked with undertaking this responsibility frequently find it challenging to get the exact right balance to both motivate their team members and keep things moving smoothly forward. If they are too ...
Views: 8 - First Foundations for the Practitioner of the Integral Yoga - by Submitted on Jan 18, 2023 from santosh krinskyPatanjali’s Raja Yoga outlines a series of steps or stages in the development of that particular path. The first two are Yama and Niyama, which outline certain purification actions to prepare the practitioner for the later activities and experiences in the yogic practice. These two ‘limbs’, ...
Views: 390 - First Steps in the Practice of Yoga - by Submitted on Jan 23, 2021 from santosh krinskyThe transformation of the individual is not something that occurs magically overnight. Even if someone is awakened out of their habitual routines by some extraordinary experience, such as a sudden spiritual opening, or even a near death experience, the ongoing effort is still required to bring ...
Views: 596 - Focusing on the Dedicated Action, Not the Immediately Visible Results - by Submitted on Jan 16, 2023 from santosh krinskyIn the Bhagavad Gita, Sri Krishna teaches Arjuna that he has the right to action, but not to attachment to the fruits of the action, i.e. the results. In our world today we are fixated on the destination, not the ‘journey’ and we measure everything by the immediate results we obtain. This ...
Views: 350 - Focusing on the Signal While Eliminating the Noise: Concentration and Purification - by Submitted on Jan 26, 2023 from santosh krinskyConsider briefly that you have a television set that receives all the available channels, but you cannot tune the set, so that all picture and sound from the entire frequency range come in at the same time and mix up with each other, along with the static that occurs between various station ...
Views: 343 - Focusing the Will on the Physical Body and its Development - by Submitted on Oct 12, 2024 from santosh krinskyThe mind has a tremendous power to influence the physical body, for good or ill. In some cases, mental ideas can lead to extraordinary imbalances in the body, which can lead to weakness, illness and even the death of the body. Many times we will push the body beyond its limits without concern ...
Views: 124 - Following the Right Path to Divine Realisation - by Submitted on Nov 13, 2022 from santosh krinskyWe very easily fall into the mistaken idea that the path we follow is the best way to approach the Divine or achieve spiritual realisation and that other paths are either less effective or do not provide the complete liberation from the ego-personality. We also tend to accept the idea that ...
Views: 359 - Following the Unique Path of One’s Deepest Aspiration to Spiritual Realisation - by Submitted on Oct 20, 2022 from santosh krinskyIt is a somewhat difficult concept for most people to accept: that each individual has his own spiritual path and realisation before him, and that it is therefore neither appropriate nor fruitful to spend time trying to either criticise or convert others to one’s own path or view, or to attempt ...
Views: 393 - Forces at Work In Human Affairs Behind the External Causes - by Submitted on Feb 26, 2024 from santosh krinskyThe study of human history is one of externalities generally. We memorize dates of important events and try to lay the responsibility for certain subsequent actions at the door of those events. To hear historians tell it, the assassination of the Archduke Ferdinand was the trigger that set off ...
Views: 265 - Four Common Forms of Resistance by the Lower Vital to the Transformation Required - by Submitted on Nov 01, 2021 from santosh krinskySri Aurobindo considers yoga to be, in a certain sense, applied psychology. The review and understanding of one’s own actions and deeper motives and motivations is essential if one is going to overcome the limitations and habits of the lower nature and eventually receive and manifest new ways of ...
Views: 451 - Four Instruments for Attaining the Perfection of the Practice of Yoga - by Submitted on Dec 13, 2022 from santosh krinskyPeople frequently seek for a very specific, directed form of practice which will provide liberation and spiritual perfection. They ask ‘what is the best form of practice’? Sri Aurobindo takes a much more flexible approach which is based on the need and development of the individual practitioner, ...
Views: 324 - Four Steps to Avoid Suffering - by Submitted on Jun 16, 2022 from santosh krinskyMany people suppose that it is impossible to avoid suffering, as it is an inherent aspect of life on earth. Their strategies for dealing with suffering may vary, but they all believe that suffering is inevitable. When we consider, therefore, the idea of avoiding suffering, we are either met ...
Views: 427 - Free Will, Determinism and Random Chance as Factors in Life Outcomes - by Submitted on Feb 28, 2024 from santosh krinskyThere is a third factor that intervenes in the debate about free will and determinism and that is ‘random chance’. In that concept, there is basically no plan, no framework and no way to manage or control events, which thus can occur through random occurrences with no predetermined end. Both the ...
Views: 247 - Freeing the Mind from Subjection to the Life-Force and the Body - by Submitted on Jan 05, 2025 from santosh krinskyThe development of the vital, life-force integrated with the physical domain led to changes in the physical in order to accommodate the action of this new energy. At the same time, the life-force had to itself make adjustments in order to operate in the material world as opposed to in its own ...
Views: 67 - Friendship and Affection — Human and Divine - by Submitted on Feb 06, 2022 from santosh krinskyHuman relationships are subject to eventual disappointment in almost all cases. Friendship and affection are generally based in the ego and its gratification and at some point, the needs and goals of the individuals may diverge, they may be separated due to distance, illness or death, or there ...
Views: 448 - Friendship, Affection and the Practice of the Integral Yoga - by Submitted on Feb 05, 2022 from santosh krinskyAs we experience relationships in the world, whether family, friend or significant others, we begin to appreciate how complex, demanding and ‘messy’ they are. To cultivate and support relationships takes time, effort and understanding. When we don’t agree 100% with someone, we find that even ...
Views: 654 - From the Oneness of Unconsciousness to the Oneness of Consciousness: the Impulsion of the Divine Consciousness - by Submitted on Dec 08, 2023 from santosh krinskySri Aurobindo cites the Vedic Rishi of Mandala X, Canto 129, verses 1-5 at the beginning of Chapter 25 of The Life Divine, titled The Knot of Matter: “Then existence was not nor non-existence, the mid-world was not nor the Ether nor what is beyond. What covered all? where was it? in whose ...
Views: 225 - Gaining Access to the Subliminal Consciousness - by Submitted on Sep 02, 2023 from santosh krinskyIt is one thing to gain an intellectual understanding of the concept of the subliminal consciousness. However, this does not provide a real experience of nor true knowledge about the action, influence and impact of the subliminal consciousness on our lives. The question then arises, whether and ...
Views: 250 - Gaining an Understanding of the Nature of the Subliminal Consciousness - by Submitted on Aug 30, 2023 from santosh krinskyWestern psychology is in its infancy as a science. It is, as is all mental knowledge, a form of ignorance, seeking and grasping for knowledge, while not actually able to see the entire picture nor understand the complexity of all the elements that go into human psychology. Thus, Freud gained a ...
Views: 258 - Gaining Mastery Over the Action of the Mechanical Mind - by Submitted on Aug 14, 2023 from santosh krinskyThe mechanical mind encompasses some of the most basic, most rudimentary activities of the mind. It lies below the faculties of higher logical reasoning, and forms a foundation for the most simple and automatic mental processes. It is like the core computer language upon which all kinds of ...
Views: 259 - Gaining Mental Understanding Through Quieting and Widening the Mental Consciousness - by Submitted on Oct 11, 2022 from santosh krinskyMany people, over the years, have told me that reading Sri Aurobindo’s writings is difficult due to the complexity and wideness of the concepts he presents. I have heard, or experienced, similar issues reading Kant, Leibnitz, Kierkegaard, Sartre, Joyce and others. For those engaged in technical ...
Views: 363 - Gaining the Standpoint of the Observer of the Nature - by Submitted on May 26, 2022 from santosh krinskyAn important step in the practice of yoga is to attain true detachment from the surface nature through the shifting of the standpoint from the surface to the ‘witness consciousness’, the Purusha. The separation of Purusha from Prakriti, the active nature, is needed in order to effectuate change ...
Views: 382 - Gaining the Support of the Vital Being for the Sadhana Through the Joy of Creative Activity - by Submitted on Mar 21, 2022 from santosh krinskyOne of the issues that every spiritual seeker eventually faces is what to do about the vital nature. The vital being is an essential element of life on earth. Normally however it is distracted with its needs and desires, the seeking for pleasure and enjoyment, the avoidance of pain and ...
Views: 380 - General Limitations and Options for Methods and Applications for Spiritual Development - by Submitted on Jan 03, 2023 from santosh krinskyIn any technical field, there are both a general statement of goals and principles, as well as specific steps that should be applied to achieve those results. In many endeavours, particularly those involved in dealing with the physical world and the science that operates in that world, the ...
Views: 357 - Genetic Engineering - by Submitted on Dec 30, 2020 from santosh krinskyGenetic engineering. It is everywhere in our lives, whether we recognise it or not. The question arises as to how humanity responds to it, and what, if anything, we can do about it. In the past, genetics was involved with attempts at selective breeding. Over multiple generations certain ...
Views: 665 - Getting in Touch with the Inner, Subliminal Mind, Life and Physical Consciousness - by Submitted on Aug 28, 2023 from santosh krinskyIn his epic poem Savitri: A Legend and a Symbol, Sri Aurobindo describes the experience of the awareness moving inwards away from the surface consciousness fixated on external perceptions. “In moments when the inner lamps are lit And the life’s cherished guests are left outside, Our spirit sits ...
Views: 252 - Glimpses and Experiences of the Inner Being, and the Shift of the Consciousness from the Outer to the Inner - by Submitted on Nov 06, 2022 from santosh krinskyIf we focus on the experience of our normal, daily lives, we will find that it can be characterised by a specific feeling or quality that we know as our usual experience. While each individual may have a different characterisation of this experience, some happy, some sad, some joyful, some ...
Views: 540 - Gnostic Consciousness Resolves the Contradictions of Mental Consciousness - by Submitted on Mar 03, 2024 from santosh krinskyWe face, in every sphere of human endeavor, a conflict of competing ideas or directions. If we look closely we can see an element of truth in each side, but can also recognise that as long as we are bound by the mind’s limitations and its desire to reduce everything to “either-or”, we cannot ...
Views: 204 - Gnostic Consciousness Resolves the Contradictions of Mental Consciousness - by Submitted on Apr 21, 2024 from santosh krinskyWe face, in every sphere of human endeavor, a conflict of competing ideas or directions. If we look closely we can see an element of truth in each side, but can also recognise that as long as we are bound by the mind’s limitations and its desire to reduce everything to “either-or”, we cannot ...
Views: 203 - Gnostic Consciousness Transcends Rigid Mental Rules for Living - by Submitted on Mar 03, 2024 from santosh krinskyAs long as we remain fixed in the mental framework, we tend to create judgments and rules for everything we do that are founded on the limited and fragmented understanding that the mental power possesses. The advent of a new wider, more expansive, more unifying and comprehensive consciousness ...
Views: 238 - God, Gods, Goddesses and Human Perceptions - by Submitted on Apr 07, 2021 from santosh krinskyDoes God exist? Are there more than one God? Is God a figment of human imagination? These questions have confounded humanity for aeons and, even today, they are hotly debated. Some believe there is only one God and that anyone who worships a different form or name of God is deluded. Some ...
Views: 599 - God’s Grace or God’s Duty - by Submitted on Jul 04, 2021 from santosh krinskyThe devotee may begin the process of devotional surrender to the Divine with a form of bargaining, expecting a recompense from God for the efforts made to express the devotion. Thus, people pray and expect an answer to their prayers, or they carry out devotional exercises and expect God to ...
Views: 460 - Growing Spiritually Beyond the Forms of Religion - by Submitted on Jun 16, 2024 from santosh krinskyWe see a growing movement around the world of people leaving the religion into which they were born, and starting down a spiritual path of inner growth. A driving factor behind this change is the perception among these people that the religion has either lost any life-force that it may have had ...
Views: 220 - Growing Within: the Psychology of Inner Development: Summary and Conclusions - by Submitted on May 27, 2023 from santosh krinskyHumanity is facing an existential crisis. Scientists report that changes brought about by human civilisation have created the conditions that are causing what is now being called the sixth planetary die-off of species. The land, water and air are all being polluted. Toxic chemicals are poisoning ...
Views: 289 - 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 ...
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