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ARTArticleThe Three General Forms of Response to the Touches of NatureEndurance can be trained and developed. There are entire philosophical programs that have developed to systematically help an individual face the pressures and circumstances of the world with a sense of equality and equanimity. Some of these disciplines rely on acclimating the body to handle increasing stress. One well-known escape artist from the 20th century used to immerse himself in a bathtub of ice in order to prepare his body for extremely cold water during his performances. Others do systematic training to harden their bodies and prepare them for various extreme conditions.ARTArticleThe Three Gunas, the Operation of Prakriti in the Exte
al Nature, and the Exercise of WillThe actions that take place in the exte
al world are controlled by the action of the three Gunas, or qualities, of Nature. This includes not only the physical nature, but also the vital nature and the mental nature. There is what we may call a ‘machinery’ of Nature that drives the creation forward for an aim, determined by not each of us individually, but by the Divine Will carrying out its intention in the creation.ARTArticleThe Transcendent Divine, the Cosmic or Universal Plane of Consciousness and Material ExistenceThe seer of the Taittiriya Upanishad identified various planes of ever more subtle and powerful consciousness, with the most subtle and powerful being the ultimate causative agent of the denser and lower formations of Matter, Life and Mind. If we look at the experience of the vedic seers, we find that there are three basic terms that define stages of conscious awareness. There is the lower, denser level consisting of Matter-Life-Mind. There is another level that is the “Knowledge” plane of consciousness.ARTArticleThe Ultimate Focus of ConcentrationThe genius of the Rishis of ancient India was their ability to focus on the essential core of knowledge, will and existence. They reminded us that we can obtain many forms and types of knowledge, but each of these is but a fragment, an isolated fact or event, if we have not identified that central Knowledge which, being known, all is known. Similarly, when we focus our will on an aim, it should be to reach that central status that represents the core of our existence. Young Bhrigu, in the Taittiriya Upanishad, asks his father and preceptor to teach him the Ete
al.ARTArticleThe Unified Field of All Consciousness and ExistenceA powerful technique for inner growth and understanding is to sit quietly and simply observe one’s thoughts and feelings as they arise. Then, trace back any of them to where and how it arose. What triggered it? Where did it come from? Initially it is difficult to successfully carry out this practice as the next thought comes along and we tend to jump to that one; however, with time and patience, one can begin to isolate any specific thought or feeling and track it backwards. Invariably one finds that something from outside triggered it, even if it seems to arise from inside oneself.ARTArticleThe Universal Tendency Moves Toward the Expression of Free WillWe can identify the direction of the evolutionary development of the universe towards the expression of free will, despite the fact that at our current state we can recognise that there is apparently very little free will operative in our actions. In the physical world, Matter operates under seemingly fixed laws which provide Matter no choice or decision about how it will react under a variety of pressures or circumstances. As the vital force evolves, we continue to see operative laws, but also, an increasing sense of freedom that allows some variation in the result in individual cases.ARTArticleThe Universality of the Spiritual Presence in All ExistenceWe are educated and habituated to focus on our differences. We see different gender, different class, different racial characteristics, different religious backgrounds, different temperaments, different interests and focus, different value sets, different philosophies of life and living, different levels of education, different capacities, from one individual to the next, and we thus begin to evaluate and judge everything through this lens of our differences.ARTArticleThe Unseen Societal Conditions That Frame Our Response to Events in Our LivesEach society, each religion, each culture in the world has its own characteristic ideas and responses to the questions that arise during an individual’s life. Many of these are programmed into the individual in childhood, starting with prenatal conditioning based on the energies of the mother. Once the child is born, he is trained to accept the societal norms and modes of reaction to various circumstances, until these become an unspoken assumption that forms the basis of the individual’s life responses and judgments.ARTArticleThe Utilization of Powers That Arise Through the Development of the Yogic PracticeSpiritual seekers are frequently advised not to indulge in or display any ‘powers’ that arise along the way. Patanjali, in his Yoga Sutras, describes a number of powers that can arise naturally through the practice of Yoga, and seekers throughout the ages have validated the reality of powers that develop as the concentration of force, tapasya, effectuates openings in the various energy centres of the being, and as the powers of the vital being and the mind are activated.ARTArticleThe Vital Envelope Surrounding the Body and the Ability to Ward Off IllnessMany people have had the experience of a feeling that something is happening in the body, such as a feeling of a “cold coming on”. In some cases the feeling is very strong and the pressure is great. There may be some sneezing, some tickle in the throat, some coughing, some amount of congestion. In other cases there is a very faint sense of pressure. This pressure is felt in the vital envelope that surrounds the body and then in the subtle physical level, before they manifest into a full-blown illness in the physical body itself.ARTArticleThe Vital Nature Can Go On Strike When It Does Not Get What It WantsMost people have had the experience. An individual has a dispute with a friend, a relative, a spouse. No resolution takes place. An attempt to convince or control the other person is met with resistance. There may be aggression or threats of violence. Or a period of silent avoidance may result. This latter response is an example of what we might consider to be an individual “going on strike” in relation to another individual.ARTArticleThe Vital Nature: Desire and the Reaction to Failure in Obtaining the Object of DesireThe vital nature is closely tied to the operation of desire. Whether it is a desire for recognition, for money, for sex, for achievement of some sort, for acceptance or comfort, the vital nature activates its energy to reach out and grab some result it believes will satisfy that desire. At the same time, this vital seeking is frequently frustrated. Obstacles come in the way. Something we are expecting or hoping for simply does not come our way.ARTArticleThe Way of Repulsion and the Way of Attraction in the Path of Inner GrowthWhat makes us move in one direction or another? How do we choose, decide, set forth in one direction as opposed to another? There is the inner readiness that creates a sense of incompleteness, dissatisfaction or a view of something better, more perfect, more beautiful, more essential than what we experience now.ARTArticleThe Will to Endure and the Body’s Ability to Withstand Hardship and SufferingWhile most people are quite insulated from direct confrontation with extremes which the body is asked to endure, our modern media makes it possible to see and relate to some of these extreme situations. Far beyond the pressure of training for and running in a marathon race, there are circumstances, some of them voluntary, many of them involuntary, which expose us to the powers of the body to withstand what can only be called extreme suffering with a will to live and endure that beggars the imagination.ARTArticleThose Who Observe and Reflect Can Recognise the Higher Planes and Worlds of ExistenceModern day scientists, researchers and philosophers are beginning to explore the mysteries of life and as they do so, they are beginning to recognise the existence of domains, planes, worlds and universes that the exte
al mind of humanity has avoided or at least resisted. Now scientists speak of parallel universes, “anti-universes”, quantum states in which all possible outcomes exist until we actually observe a specific one and bring it into actualityARTArticleThought Forms Originate and Are Based in the Mental Plane Creating the Noosphere Which Acts Upon the Biosphere and Geosphere of the Exte
al WorldPhysical forces take physical forms. Vital forces take vital forms. Even though they may act upon the physical existence of the being, they are not physical forces. Similarly, mental forces take mental forms on the mental plane. Once again, they may act upon vital forces and physical forces, but they are based in the mental plane.
The physical world operates within what we call the geosphere (comprising the land mass), the hydrosphere (comprising the water element on earth and the atmosphere (comprising the air element).ARTArticleThought-FormsWhen we examine the question of thought-forms, we recognise that people usually want to imply that a thought is able to turn into some kind of physical reality, purely through the power of thought. This, however, is one element of the question, but not the only element. Thought-forms have a variety of mechanisms for being created and effectuated.ARTArticleThought-FormsWhen we examine the question of thought-forms, we recognise that people usually want to imply that a thought is able to turn into some kind of physical reality, purely through the power of thought. This, however, is one element of the question, but not the only element. Thought-forms have a variety of mechanisms for being created and effectuated.ARTArticleThought-Forms and Their ResultsWe take the chatter in our minds for granted and do not attribute any real significance or power to it most of the time. The constant influx of thoughts is just a lot of background noise, for the most part. When we concentrate on something and focus the thoughts, we recognise that we can actually accomplish something with thought, but even then we do not generally recognise either the mechanism or the actual power of thought or the creation of thought-forms.ARTArticleTo Become a Conscious Instrument of the Divine ActionIn the Bhagavad Gita, Sri Krishna explains to Arjuna, at some length, the process of the universal manifestation and how individuals are essentially driven by their nature in relation to the larger forces of the manifestation itself to act in certain ways. For most of these individuals, the action takes place as a result of the forces of the exte
al vital nature. They are essentially subject to the machinery of Nature through the operation of the three Gunas.ARTArticleTo Learn How To WillIf you looks deeply at one’s attempts to utilize will-power to accomplish any task, to bring about some change in one’s being, or to develop in some direction, it quickly becomes apparent that there are elements within our own being that are not supporting the focus, intensity and direction that one is trying to bring about. The will is in the mind, but the vital nature or the physical being are resistant or simply not interested. They want to continue along their habitual lines of activity, and do not see the necessity or urgency in accomplishing the change that is desired by the mind.ARTArticleTo Think Without WordsWe tend to associate the process we call ‘thinking’ with the linear sequence of words that organize our understanding in our mind. We thus associate thinking with language and indicate that our thinking is limited by the language. A language that is rich in words and nuances will yield more advanced and complex thinking than a language that is simpler and more directly expressive of our outer experience in the world, according to this understanding.ARTArticleTotal Dedication to Participate in the Birth of a New WorldWhen people become totally immersed in something, they concentrate, naturally, all their energies and focus in that direction, without seeming effort, and experience the joy of the process. We can observe this in children at play. They become the act of play and don’t conce
themselves with hunger, thirst, time of day, chores or homework, or anything other than what is occupying them at the moment.ARTArticleTranscending the Fear of the Unlimited Spiritual ConsciousnessA relatively frequent occurrence for the spiritual aspirant is to reach the boundary wall of consciousness and get a glimpse or experience of the spiritual consciousness without limits. This experience, when it comes, may raise up tremendous fear in the individual and he reacts, almost automatically and spontaneously, drawing himself away from that unlimited field and back into his own comfortable ego-self. The reaction is one of the ego-consciousness that fears its dissolution.ARTArticleTransitioning from the View of a Body With a Soul, to a Soul With a BodyThe primary standpoint for most people is that they are a physical body endowed with Life, Mind and (potentially in their minds) a Soul. Everything starts from the primacy of the body and its centrality in their view of their lives. This makes the purpose of life one of survival and procreation, with vital enjoyments and mental preoccupations as possible ways to enjoy the sojou
in the body.ARTArticleTransmission of Vibrational Patterns in the Physical WorldThe transmission from one individual to another, or from an atmosphere created by a number of individuals together upon others entering that environment, is both a matter for vibration and a matter for actual physical carriers of those vibrations. The body exudes these particles as it vibrates to a particular frequency. They strike the subtle body of others and can get incorporated and begin the process of vibration in those others.ARTArticleTrue Freedom and Free Will Resides in the Divine, Not in the Individual Ego-PersonalityThe individual drops of water that make up the ocean do not determine the movement or action of the ocean. They are carried along and partake of the larger forces that act upon and through the ocean. The are a small pinpoint ‘nexus’ of the ocean action but not the motive or driving force.
Similarly, human individuals are not the motive or driving force of action, but are more the ‘nexus’ of action of larger universal forces that manifest themselves through all of the individual body-life-mind complex individuals that together make up our human race.ARTArticleTrue Strength Resides in QuietudeWe tend to equate strength with outward expressions whether it be through physical power, emotional pressure, bullying, or the use of mental will force to achieve one’s intended results. We talk about “strong man” dictators who, in particular, use threats, bullying and police power to pressure people (and countries) to comply with their demands. The fact, however, that they have to use such outward manifestations of strength to convince others to carry out their wishes makes it clear that they are actually hiding their weaknesses, insecurities and fears.ARTArticleTrust and FaithWe frequently remark on how young people act with a seemingly carefree attitude and take risks that older people would not take. This is due to the inherent trust they have in their body’s vital and physical resilience and powers of prevailing even in difficult or dangerous circumstances. As they age, they tend, in most cases, to gain more caution, as they come to realize that their bodies are not ‘immortal’ and they experience the pains and setbacks that tend to accompany the initial surge of trust in the life of the body.ARTArticleTwo Conditions for Preventing IllnessThe Mother describes two conditions for preventing illness from invading the physical being. The first condition is basically ‘not to want it’. When we reflect on this, the first reaction is that we don’t want it! This is however not the complete picture. We have to recognise that the human being is an amalgam of multiple different parts of the being, each with its own characteristic mode of action and response, and that these different parts are not always in agreement with each other.