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ARTArticleSpeech and the Practice of YogaHuman beings are talkative creatures. The power of speech, the power of language is one of the most highly developed areas of difference from most other species on the planet (there are other beings that have speech, but to date we have not found them to have the complexity and breadth of capacity for conceptual speech that we find in humanity). We talk about everything, from our daily activities and needs, to subtle concepts of science of philosophy. We have developed numerous languages, and many of these languages have tens of thousands of words.ARTArticleSpiritual Experience and PsychoanalysisHumanity has a tendency to try to judge everything by its existing level of perception and knowledge. Thus, for most of human existence, people ‘knew’ that the sun rotated around the earth and that the earth was the center of the universe around which everything else moved and upon which everything else depended.ARTArticleSpiritual Experiences and Transformation of the NatureThe vital nature is always interested in, even fixated on, the idea of having dramatic ‘spiritual experiences’. These experiences can open the eyes of the seeker to a wider reality, and can help reorient the direction of the life, sometimes in unusual or unexpected ways. There are many instances where an individual has a realisation, sometimes based on a near death experience or a vision quest of some sort, and recognises the futility of the old habits of his life and strikes out in a totally new direction.ARTArticleSpiritual Health Is Important to Physical HealingThe Bibles says, “Beloved, I pray that you prosper and be in good health even as your soul prospers.” Many times our physical illness and ailments are directly related to our spiritual and emotional health. If we are living in fear, negativity, anger, resentment, or abnormal amounts of stress, this is going to affect not only our spiritual health, but our physical health as well. According some ministers and many alte
ative health experts, many of the diseases prevalent in the world today, are said to have their roots in spiritual health and well-being.ARTArticleSpiritual HumilityThe quality of humility is important to keep the ego in check, but even here, the ego finds ways to create an artificial form of humility that actually reinforces the ego. Those following an inspiring leader, or treading a path that provides true spiritual experience may use their position to puff up the ego and provide a sense of superiority or that one’s own path is better than others, or one’s progress exceeds that of others, etc. There is, as with all things, a fine line between true spiritual humility and the ‘appearance’ of humility outwardly.ARTArticleSpiritual Power of GratitudeGratitude is one of the most powerful spiritual tools that you can use to enhance your state of mind and life, and cope with challenging circumstances.
In accepting that which you can’t change, and expressing gratitude for what it is teaching you, life’s problems become easier to tolerate.
You can express gratitude for a limitless number of things, including the positive aspects of your financial situation, home, family, health, physical body, being single or being in a relationship, and much more.
Below we list quotes that highlight the importance and power of gratitude.ARTArticleSpiritual Practice Requires Strength of Body, Life and MindMany people mistakenly believe that those who take up the spiritual life and withdraw from active involvement in the outer life of society, marriage, familiy, commerce, governance, etc. are somehow weak or unfit to succeed in society and they are “taking the easy way out”. It is true that some who experience a life of difficulty and failure turn to the spiritual life as a refuge of sorts. The misconception lies in the idea that one can succeed in the spiritual life with weakness of body, life-energy or mind.ARTArticleSpiritual Realisation Is Not the Same as Supramental TransformationThe supramental transformation involves the manifestation in the world of the next stage of consciousness beyond the mental level. Just as the evolution of mind brought about enormous changes in life on earth, the evolution of supermind will have a transformative effect on all existence, on the mind, on the life force and even on the physical body. The supramental transformation involves the integration of the supermind into human life, both individually and collectively.ARTArticleSpiritual Sadhana Varies by Individual Based on Temperament and Situation of the SadhakNot everyone can achieve spiritual progress using exactly the same methods or disciplines. The “one size fits all” approach tried by many religious or spiritual communities of the past only works if their members are all basically similar in temperament and their spiritual development. We have of course heard the stories of individuals who enter a monastery and who seem to be always “getting in trouble” because they cannot maintain silence all the time, or are not ‘serious’ enough in their demeanor for the rest of the community.ARTArticleSpirituality and Family LifeFor spiritual and religious aspirants, there has always been a pressure to give up the focus on family life due to the inherent distraction that a family creates for the seeker. Whether the seeker takes vows and enters a monastery or cloister, or leaves family behind to follow a particular spiritual teacher, or reaches a stage in life to enter the forest and take up the life of the spiritual aspirant full-time, the traditions of the world have made it clear that family is at best a distraction, and at worst, a serious bondage that can hinder the spiritual focus.ARTArticleSpirituality and OccultismThe lure of occult powers and experiences can be a considerable obstacle for the spiritual seeker who becomes enmeshed in the idea of developing these capacities. There is a reason why traditional paths of spiritual development eschew the use of the occult powers that arise naturally as one goes deeper into the inner levels of awareness. These are not magical or even, in most cases, very extraordinary powers, but to the normal surface consciousness they seem to be so.ARTArticleSpirituality Transcends All ReligionsMany people confuse spirituality and religion and then try to associate various spiritual paths with specific religious traditions. Spirituality, however, is not based in the beliefs, practices, or customary folkways of any religion. Spirituality seeks for direct experience of the greater reality of existence, independent of the mind’s ideas or beliefs, independent of any particular philosophical direction, independent of any emotional or vital relationships.ARTArticleSri Aurobindo’s View of the Supramental TransformationThe spiritual landscape is vast, and there are innumerable objectives and paths that can be taken. Sri Aurobindo describes briefly his approach to spiritual growth and its relation to the process of an evolution of consciousness in the earth-nature to incorporate what he calls the supramental transformation as a next step in the evolutionary progression.ARTArticleSupraphysical Powers of Darkness and the Earthly LifeThe great religious traditions of the world virtually all relate a battle betwee
Powers of Darkness and the Powers of Light. Regardless of the specific names and forms each tradition adopts, the similarities speak to a human experience of a supraphysical reality that impacts life on earth.ARTArticleSupraphysical Sensory Experience: Latent Powers, Not Miracles or DelusionsIt is human nature to want to be able to explain away events, circumstances or experiences that are not understood. For much of human existence, the rising and setting of the sun and moon, the existence of the stars, the power of the oceans, the wind or the storms were described as actions of gods who controlled these things. Human events have been instilled with significance by somehow tying them to the will of an unseen power, a god, or some mechanism of fate.ARTArticleSurprising Scientific Findings on MeditationOne of the best ways to get centered is through meditation. The feel-good state of meditation directly combats stress and anxiety, and helps to improve your overall outlook on life.
Besides the many scientifically documented benefits (some of which we document below), meditation helps you flow with the currents of life and avoid false starts and dead-ends. For regular meditators, it’s common to receive a signal in meditation to try an alte
ate path, and realize later it saved them time or money.
Below we list several scientific studies highlighting the benefits of meditation.ARTArticleTapping Into the Universal Forces Rather tha
Interchange with Other PeopleWe are very much creatures of habit, and thus, when it comes to our intake of energy, we tend to habitually turn to a preferred method of reception. For most people, the primary source is food. Most people engage in vital interchange with others, and there is a subtle interaction that can both give and take energy during this interchange. The more set we are in our habits, the less we explore opportunities for new avenues or directions from which to interact with the universal forces and receive them into our being.ARTArticleThe Action of Karma and the Nature of Suffering“What goes around comes around” and “karma” both basically indicate that there is a factor in existence that rewards good deeds and punishes bad deeds. But do we really see that things work this way? Is there some divine entity sitting up in the clouds, watching our good and bad actions, and giving us presents when we are ‘good’ and punishments when we are ‘bad’? How do we define good and bad, after all? Is it a moral judgment that varies based on the religion we follow or the culture to which we belong?ARTArticleThe Action of the Divine Force As It Descends Into the BeingIn the classic methods known as Kundalini Yoga, and more generally in traditional yogic practices that seek to open and energize the subtle energy centers, or chakras, the experience is described as one of the energy starting at the lower chakra center, the Muladhara, and then rising up until it joins with the chakra at the crown of the head.ARTArticleThe Attempt to Change Human Nature at All Levels of the BeingIt is a well-known occurrence. We have a wonderful experience in meditation and come back filled with light, a feeling of joy or bliss, an open heart and a sense of realisation. Then we go out to act in the world and all the old impulses arise, the feelings of desire, the drive of control, impulses of anger or lust, mental arrogance and an attempt to enforce our view on others, whatever it may be.ARTArticleThe Attitude Towards Food and the Practice of YogaThere is considerable confusion, and a resultant variety of ways that spiritual seekers respond, to the question of food. Ordinarily food should not lead to any sense of bewilderment, as it is simply a necessity for the maintenance of the physical body in general. The issue arises when food becomes something else, a sublimated vital response to life, or a means of enjoyment, etc. In particular, spiritual seekers who carry out a discipline of avoidance of other forms of vital enjoyment may channel the latent desires into their relationship with food.ARTArticleThe Bedrock of Resistance to Change in Human NatureWhen we look at the working of Nature, we see ample evidence of inbred habits of action and reaction, which we call ‘instinct’ in the world of animals, and which we call the laws of physics in the material world. Consider how it is possible, for instance, that Monarch butterflies carry out a multi-thousand mile migration across four generations of butterflies. There are no schools for butterflies to learn what they need to do in the next generation, so we cannot call thus “nurture” — it is inbred into their genetic instructions.ARTArticleThe Benefit of Shifting the Focus Toward the Higher Consciousness Rather tha
Focusing on the Struggles to Change the Lower NatureWhatever we focus on intensely becomes stronger. If we focus entirely on the lower nature and its weaknesses, we actually are empowering them and giving them energy. In order to effectuate change in the lower nature, there must be an awareness of the areas that require change, of course, but not a fixation on them to the exclusion of anything else. Additionally, the focus on the weaknesses and resistances of the lower nature and the difficulty in making real progress for change can be depressing.ARTArticleThe Body Heals Best When We Do Not Fixate Upon It With Anxiety and WorryWhere the mind focuses and attention is given, energy flows. Thus, when we focus on our physical body and its health issues, when we create fear or anxiety over our health status, we are actually opening up a pathway for the very conce
s we are worried about. Positive healthy attention to the needs of the body is one thing, but when we shift over to a negative state of worry, we get in touch with the things that cause the worry, and thus, create a link that allows them to enter. We are in effect ‘inviting them in’ with this type of attention.ARTArticleThe Body’s Will to Health Is the True Cure of IllnessMost people associate the will-power with the mind. We concentrate on achieving something and we “set our mind to it” and exercise our will. When the issue turns to overcoming vital habits or bodily weaknesses, however, we find that the mental will is much less effective, and in many cases, we try to resort to various methods of brute force to gain control over them. What we fail to recognise in all of this is that the mental will is most effective on the mental plane, but that there are also a vital will and a physical will.ARTArticleThe Characteristics of the Physical Nature and the Way Toward TransformationAt some point everyone experiences periods where the physical body and its corresponding physical mind seem dull, tired, lacking in enthusiasm, and interested only in sleeping, eating and the most basic things that occupy our physical life on earth. During these periods there is an absence of energy and inspiration, the spiritual effort is seemingly missing, and the individual feels lost and helpless.ARTArticleThe Choice Before the Practitioner of the Integral YogaThe pressure of both the habitual patterns established by the physical body, the vital life energy and the mental development, together with the pressure of society and the impact of past education, creates an enormous impediment to the radical change in standpoint necessitated for the manifestation of the supramental force and the transformation of the nature. Much of this is essentially unconscious or subconscious, making it even more difficult to identify and root it out, in order to be prepared for an entirely different working of consciousness in the practitioner.ARTArticleThe Circumstances and Need of a Temporary Withdrawal and Quiet of the BeingThere are occasions where the practice of silence and a temporary withdrawal from the hustle and bustle of the outer life, to the degree feasible, becomes a necessary part of the sadhana for the practitioner of yoga. Yoga is, by definition, a change of consciousness, and it involves an inward and upward movement of awareness off of the surface interactions of the physical, vital and mental planes, to the psychic and spiritual levels of existence.ARTArticleThe Consent of the Entire Being Is Necessary for the Divine ChangeWhen we associate ourselves with our mental identity, we tend to believe that what we ‘think’ is what we ‘are’. However, this leaves open the opportunity for self-deception and ultimate failure to change the nature, as the vital being remains stuck in its old habitual patterns and does not necessarily carry out the idealistic view we hold in our minds. The essential point here is to convert thoughts and words into concrete action and results for the being in its responses and in its relation to the events, people and circumstances in the outer world.ARTArticleThe Cure for Inner LonelinessHuman beings are social animals, and they crave contact and relationship with others. Modern society has broken or weakened many of the links that formerly brought people together, including the nuclear and extended family, and tight-knit communities where people socialized and interacted with one another. The attempt to interact through social media or through mass gatherings, or even through joining clubs, groups or gatherings of various sorts, is an effort to find comfort for the feeling of emptiness that arises inwardly as people feel disconnected from one another in any meaningful way.