SelfGrowth.com articles for Self Knowledge https://selfgrowth.com/articles/rss/505561 The #1 Self Improvement Site On The Web, as Ranked by Google and Yahoo en The Psychic Being Brings Cheerful Focus to the Spiritual Sadhana https://selfgrowth.com/articles/the-psychic-being-brings-cheerful-focus-to-the-spiritual-sadhana In his novel Martin Chuzzlewit, Charles Dickens exposes us to a character who is perpetually cheerful, Mark Tapley. We meet him in a comfortable situation working at an inn, with a warm relationship with the proprietor of the inn, with whom he is in love (and who is in love with him). He ... santoshk@msn.com Fri, 1 Aug 2025 5:07:42 pm Spiritual Awakening: Moving Away From Disillusionment to Finding Meaning in Life https://selfgrowth.com/articles/spiritual-awakening-moving-away-from-disillusionment-to-finding-meaning-in-life As we grow and experience life, there may come a time when we become disillusioned. We may feel like there is no meaning or significance to what we do. We feel like we are running in a hamster wheel, or on a treadmill, always striving to earn money to survive and maybe have a bit of enjoyment. ... santoshk@msn.com Thu, 31 Jul 2025 9:46:14 pm The Sunlit Path in the Yogic Endeavour https://selfgrowth.com/articles/the-sunlit-path-in-the-yogic-endeavour When we see deeply religious or spiritual people, we expect to see people who are serious, reserved and who carry an air of distance from the things of the world. This expectation has been so deeply embedded in the human psyche that we almost unconsciously take up this attitude when we tread the ... santoshk@msn.com Wed, 30 Jul 2025 8:47:19 pm Let Endurance Be Your Watchword in the Yogic Endeavour https://selfgrowth.com/articles/let-endurance-be-your-watchword-in-the-yogic-endeavour Successful people, in whatever field, tend to highlight their ability to keep going. They indicate that no matter how many times one falls, one must get up, or in the local vernacular, ‘keep on keeping on’. Reactiveness, an inability to hold one’s peace under provocation, is considered to be a ... santoshk@msn.com Tue, 29 Jul 2025 8:31:21 pm Unflagging Perseverance and Persistence Is Required for the Practice of the Integral Yoga https://selfgrowth.com/articles/unflagging-perseverance-and-persistence-is-required-for-the-practice-of-the-integral-yoga Athletes undergo extensive training routines, logging many thousands of hours with, in many cases, tough physical conditioning and practice, in order to achieve their goals for physical development and to be able to participate in a competitive sporting event. Many who are not athletes undertake ... santoshk@msn.com Mon, 28 Jul 2025 8:08:22 pm Overcoming Doubt and Fear of Failure in the Yogic Sadhana Through the Shift from the Ego-Standpoint to the Divine Standpoint https://selfgrowth.com/articles/overcoming-doubt-and-fear-of-failure-in-the-yogic-sadhana-through-the-shift-from-the-ego-st We seem to be always second guessing ourselves. Are we doing the sadhana in the right way? Is there another method or technique i should be employing? Why am I not seeing the results I expect and desire? Am I even cut out for doing sadhana? Maybe this was all just a big mistake and I should get ... santoshk@msn.com Sun, 27 Jul 2025 9:00:11 pm Sustaining the Yogic Endeavour in the Unique Challenges Posed by the Integral Yoga https://selfgrowth.com/articles/sustaining-the-yogic-endeavour-in-the-unique-challenges-posed-by-the-integral-yoga For those individuals called to take up the integral yoga, there is a unique opportunity and a unique set of concerns that arise. Those paths of yoga which aim at liberation have their own difficulties. It is not simple to escape the lures of the external life, or even to undertake ... santoshk@msn.com Sat, 26 Jul 2025 8:24:13 pm Spiritual Development Is a Marathon, Not a Sprint https://selfgrowth.com/articles/spiritual-development-is-a-marathon-not-a-sprint A devotee by the name of Satyakama Jabala approached a respected Guru, in a story related in the Chhandogya Upanishad. He asked for teachings so he could achieve realisation on the spiritual path. The teacher asked him his name and family background, to which the young seeker replied that he did ... santoshk@msn.com Fri, 25 Jul 2025 9:43:28 pm The Need for Patience and Perseverance https://selfgrowth.com/articles/the-need-for-patience-and-perseverance-0 Scientists tell us that human beings diverged from chimpanzees somewhere between 4 and 8 million years ago. Somewhere around 2 million years ago, the line of development that led to human beings appeared and our current formation, Homo sapiens came on the scenes around 300,000 years ago. Each ... santoshk@msn.com Thu, 24 Jul 2025 5:40:04 pm A True Measure of Faith https://selfgrowth.com/articles/a-true-measure-of-faith When an individual takes up the spiritual path, he normally starts by desiring peace, knowledge, power or some kind of solace or comfort. But what if he actually is faced with an unending series of obstacles, challenges, threats, and various forms of physical, vital or mental suffering? In such ... santoshk@msn.com Wed, 23 Jul 2025 10:33:03 pm An Unwavering Trust and Faith in the Divine Without Any Admixture of Egoistic Demands or Self-Dealing Is the Attitude to Be Cultivated by the Spiritual Aspirant https://selfgrowth.com/articles/an-unwavering-trust-and-faith-in-the-divine-without-any-admixture-of-egoistic-demands-or-se Without even thinking about it, we are programmed to bargain with the Divine. We carry expectations, we want our desires to be fulfilled. We care about immediate and positive feedback for the efforts we are making and the sacrifices we are undergoing for the Divine. We will agree to devote ... santoshk@msn.com Wed, 23 Jul 2025 10:30:31 pm The Faith That Every Sadhak Must Have to Support Him Through Every Obstacle or Setback https://selfgrowth.com/articles/the-faith-that-every-sadhak-must-have-to-support-him-through-every-obstacle-or-setback When we travel on a major highway, we do not doubt or question that the destination at the end of that road is where we will eventually end up. We may need to face various difficulties along the way. There may be stops for food or fuel, there may be automobile breakdowns and needed repairs, ... santoshk@msn.com Wed, 23 Jul 2025 10:27:00 pm The Difference Between Trust and Faith https://selfgrowth.com/articles/the-difference-between-trust-and-faith Trust is frequently built on the basis of experience. We gain trust by confirmation of a particular development or response from our interactions. Trust is thus primarily based in the mental process. Through a process that develops credibility, an individual gains trust in the action and ... santoshk@msn.com Wed, 23 Jul 2025 10:22:07 pm Overthinking causes unhappiness. How do you stay occupied to avoid negative thoughts? https://selfgrowth.com/articles/overthinking-causes-unhappiness-how-do-you-stay-occupied-to-avoid-negative-thoughts Overthinking means thinking about something for too long and making it into a problem.... problem because generally, overthinking happens around negative thoughts, negative emotions, negative imaginations and negative assumptions. Mind is indulged into multiple things that don’t help you think ... dadabhagwan@dadabhagwan.org Mon, 21 Jul 2025 12:50:32 am Faith and Courage Represent the True Attitude For Facing Life and for Spiritual Progress https://selfgrowth.com/articles/faith-and-courage-represent-the-true-attitude-for-facing-life-and-for-spiritual-progress One of the qualities that Swami Vivekananda emphasized as ‘fearlessness’. We may wonder why courage and fearlessness are such important elements in living our lives, if we live a relatively ‘safe’ external life and don’t engage in extremely risky behaviour. We may also wonder why they are ... santoshk@msn.com Sat, 19 Jul 2025 7:35:41 pm The Individual Action Needed to Implement the Spiritual Path in One’s Life https://selfgrowth.com/articles/the-individual-action-needed-to-implement-the-spiritual-path-in-one-s-life 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 ... santoshk@msn.com Fri, 18 Jul 2025 5:27:43 pm Peace and Faith in the Divine Action Through a Shift in Standpoint from the Ego-Standpoint to the Divine Standpoint https://selfgrowth.com/articles/peace-and-faith-in-the-divine-action-through-a-shift-in-standpoint-from-the-ego-standpoint- The individual in the surface ego-personality, measures everything that happens from his own unique individual perspective. This includes judgments based on perceived benefit to the individual. He wants to achieve certain results, obtain positive responses, and minimize or eliminate pain, ... santoshk@msn.com Thu, 17 Jul 2025 6:43:28 pm Focusing One’s Attention on the Forces One Wants to Manifest https://selfgrowth.com/articles/focusing-one-s-attention-on-the-forces-one-wants-to-manifest The human being receives vibrations from the universe. They are either accepted and allowed to act upon the individual, or rejected at some level of the being, with minimal impact other than the pressure on the sheath or aura that feels the vibration. If the vibration is accepted, it can not ... santoshk@msn.com Wed, 16 Jul 2025 7:33:45 pm The Need for the Persistence of Faith to Succeed in the Yogic Endeavour https://selfgrowth.com/articles/the-need-for-the-persistence-of-faith-to-succeed-in-the-yogic-endeavour We often do not recognise that there are different parts of our being that may be at different stages in terms of the spiritual focus, the dedication, the faith and the commitment. Thus, when our mind gets distracted or concerned, or when our vital nature goes off in another direction, we may ... santoshk@msn.com Tue, 15 Jul 2025 8:45:40 pm Understanding Faith and Its Role in Spiritual Development https://selfgrowth.com/articles/understanding-faith-and-its-role-in-spiritual-development There 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 ... santoshk@msn.com Mon, 14 Jul 2025 9:01:09 pm Achieving Confidence About the Spiritual Path and the Spiritual Destiny https://selfgrowth.com/articles/achieving-confidence-about-the-spiritual-path-and-the-spiritual-destiny When we see things from the viewpoint of our ego-personality, with our limited life-span, and our insecurities based on the limitations of our knowledge and power we frequently experience bouts of anxiety or at least uncertainty about the reality of what we are doing, about the truth of the ... santoshk@msn.com Sun, 13 Jul 2025 5:58:01 pm What is the power of positivity like? Why think positive in life? https://selfgrowth.com/articles/what-is-the-power-of-positivity-like-why-think-positive-in-life Why should we think positive in life? Param Pujya Dada Bhagwan says, “Positive line is on the side of God and negative line is on the side of devil-evil.” The One whose mind has become permanently positive is Himself God. The Self (Soul) is towards positive and intellect is towards negative. ... dadabhagwan@dadabhagwan.org Sat, 12 Jul 2025 11:22:55 pm Overcoming the Distracting Force of Vital Desire to Find and Live the Truth of One’s Life https://selfgrowth.com/articles/overcoming-the-distracting-force-of-vital-desire-to-find-and-live-the-truth-of-one-s-life Wind is a metaphor for the vital force. The vital being is moved by desire. When we covet or desire something, we are tossed about as by a great gust of wind. This is the normal state for most people, and they just get tossed about from one focus to another trying to achieve what is held before ... santoshk@msn.com Sat, 12 Jul 2025 8:31:03 pm What Actually Is Spirituality? https://selfgrowth.com/articles/what-actually-is-spirituality We speak of ‘spirituality’ and we have a conception in our minds about what it actually is. We vaguely sense that it encompasses a devotion and focus on something other than our daily external life and relationships. Many people state that they are ‘spiritual, not religious’. We sometimes ... santoshk@msn.com Fri, 11 Jul 2025 10:17:40 pm Understanding the Respective Roles of Personal Effort and Divine Grace in the Transformation of Human Nature https://selfgrowth.com/articles/understanding-the-respective-roles-of-personal-effort-and-divine-grace-in-the-transformatio It is one thing to adopt, in one’s mind, the idea that since the Divine is doing the work, we need simply accept the idea and let things take their course. It is an entirely different thing if we actually want to accomplish the transformation needed to bring about a change in human nature based ... santoshk@msn.com Thu, 10 Jul 2025 7:37:00 pm Individual Strength, the Power of Sincerity and the Action of the Divine Grace https://selfgrowth.com/articles/individual-strength-the-power-of-sincerity-and-the-action-of-the-divine-grace Particularly in the West, historically, but more and more a world-wide phenomenon in the modern era, there is a strong bias toward the idea that one needs to be a “self-made man”, implying that it is through individual strength and accomplishment that one can accomplish anything. This bias is ... santoshk@msn.com Wed, 9 Jul 2025 8:50:30 pm Understanding the Yogic Process and Its Developments Through the Action of Time https://selfgrowth.com/articles/understanding-the-yogic-process-and-its-developments-through-the-action-of-time We frequently overlook the element of time in any inner review of progress toward spiritual fulfillment, surrender to the Divine, or any other aspect of our spiritual path. We want and expect instant results, and thus, when we once take up spiritual practice, we want it to be immediately ... santoshk@msn.com Tue, 8 Jul 2025 10:16:41 pm Integral Surrender to the Divine https://selfgrowth.com/articles/integral-surrender-to-the-divine We tend to live under the illusion that we are one being and that what we think or feel represents ‘who we are’. We accept the idea that we are dedicated to a spiritual path, or we accept the sense of devotion that we feel as representing our surrender to the Divine Will. Yet, we have different ... santoshk@msn.com Mon, 7 Jul 2025 5:56:26 pm Spiritual Progress: Personal Effort or Surrender to the Divine Grace https://selfgrowth.com/articles/spiritual-progress-personal-effort-or-surrender-to-the-divine-grace We see in the legends about great yogic practitioners and their struggles to achieve the spiritual results, a variety of approaches. Two major approaches have been categorised as the “baby monkey” and the “baby cat” approach. The differentiation involves the way the individual participates in ... santoshk@msn.com Sun, 6 Jul 2025 7:54:16 pm Distinguishing Truth from Falsehood Requires Separation from the Vital Desire-Soul and Its Impulsions https://selfgrowth.com/articles/distinguishing-truth-from-falsehood-requires-separation-from-the-vital-desire-soul-and-its- During the 1980’s there were a number of scams carried out by US mail. An individual would receive a letter purporting to come from some high official in another country who had access to a large amount of money and needed a ‘partner’ to help take the funds out of the country and invest them in ... santoshk@msn.com Sat, 5 Jul 2025 8:34:07 pm How to Recognise the Divine Will https://selfgrowth.com/articles/how-to-recognise-the-divine-will We get prompted inwardly to do somethng. In some cases, we have conflicting impulses or reactions. We wonder how to distinguish the Divine Will from all of the other drives, motives, forces, and options that confront us. Add to this the complications of the vital nature, in i ts attempts to ... santoshk@msn.com Fri, 4 Jul 2025 5:41:23 pm Establishing the Psychic Being as the Central Organizing Principle and Overcoming the Dominion of the Vital Nature and the External Being https://selfgrowth.com/articles/establishing-the-psychic-being-as-the-central-organizing-principle-and-overcoming-the-domin As long as we identify ourselves with our external personality, the body-life-mind complex we inhabit and project into the world, we are subject to the responses, reactions and motivations that they express, based on the developments of the entire past evolutionary history of consciousness on ... santoshk@msn.com Thu, 3 Jul 2025 5:26:46 pm Wielding the Torch of Perfect Sincerity — the Way of Realisation on the Spiritual Path https://selfgrowth.com/articles/wielding-the-torch-of-perfect-sincerity-the-way-of-realisation-on-the-spiritual-path Some years ago, there was a movie coming out of Hollywood that was based on the premise that someone was ‘cursed’ with having to tell the truth at all times. The premise was developed as a comedy with the idea that rather than using flattering terms or avoiding any harsh statements, the ... santoshk@msn.com Wed, 2 Jul 2025 8:16:52 pm Understanding the Masks, False Fronts and Deceptive Appearances We Present to the World and to Ourselves https://selfgrowth.com/articles/understanding-the-masks-false-fronts-and-deceptive-appearances-we-present-to-the-world-an-0 It 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 ... santoshk@msn.com Mon, 30 Jun 2025 7:59:30 pm Addressing the Divergence Between the Inner Being and the External Nature https://selfgrowth.com/articles/addressing-the-divergence-between-the-inner-being-and-the-external-nature Complete sincerity, inwardly and outwardly, is something that does not generally happen overnight. There are too many habits, instncts and trained responses that control the way the external nature responds to expect that the mental, vital and physical elements of the being will not only accept ... santoshk@msn.com Sun, 29 Jun 2025 8:23:47 pm Sincerity and Spiritual Sadhana https://selfgrowth.com/articles/sincerity-and-spiritual-sadhana For most people, the concept of ‘sincerity’ is connected with how they relate to other people, in an open, natural and honest way, without duplicity or hypocrisy. The idea that sincerity can relate to oneself and one’s inner life is something that spiritual aspirants grapple with. Sincerity is ... santoshk@msn.com Sat, 28 Jun 2025 9:16:23 pm Inner Peace Is the Foundation and Basis for Spiritual Growth https://selfgrowth.com/articles/inner-peace-is-the-foundation-and-basis-for-spiritual-growth When the spiritual seeker begins to recognise all of the difficulties and obstacles in his own external being, and understands the need to reduce and remove these obstacles if there is to be any permanent and major progress, he may begin by struggling with the desires, the movements that arise, ... santoshk@msn.com Fri, 27 Jun 2025 6:37:43 pm The Nature of True Aspiration https://selfgrowth.com/articles/the-nature-of-true-aspiration Restlessness, impatience and disturbance of the vital nature are signs of weakness in the vital, an inability to hold the energy that is available to the vital. A strong vital nature will have the ability to remain calm and hold the energy without spilling it. For the spiritual seeker, there ... santoshk@msn.com Wed, 25 Jun 2025 9:16:29 pm The Quality of Rajas and Its Impact on the Spiritual Sadhana https://selfgrowth.com/articles/the-quality-of-rajas-and-its-impact-on-the-spiritual-sadhana The quality of Rajas, when it predominates in the action of the individual seeking spiritual growth, can have quite disruptive effects. A certain amount of focus and energy is required for any spiritual endeavour, to be sure, but there is a fine line between too little energy and too much. Rajas ... santoshk@msn.com Tue, 24 Jun 2025 8:51:26 pm Aspiration, Desire and the Action of the Divine Force https://selfgrowth.com/articles/aspiration-desire-and-the-action-of-the-divine-force Aspiration is frequently confused with a form of vital desire that ‘wants’ some kind of spiritual development, experience or result. Aspiration, however, originates in the psychic being, while desire stems from the vital being. The characteristics of the two are therefore dramatically different ... santoshk@msn.com Mon, 23 Jun 2025 10:35:00 pm Shifting the Standpoint of Consciousness Beyond the Action of the Three Gunas https://selfgrowth.com/articles/shifting-the-standpoint-of-consciousness-beyond-the-action-of-the-three-gunas The three Gunas of Nature control the actions and reactions of the external nature and the response to the dualities that present themselves in Nature. As long as we remain fixated at the level of the surface personality, we remain subject to this action of the Gunas. The question then ... santoshk@msn.com Mon, 23 Jun 2025 10:18:37 pm The Most Helpful Attitude for Spiritual Progress https://selfgrowth.com/articles/the-most-helpful-attitude-for-spiritual-progress The vital nature, in particular, is addicted to ‘drama’. It seeks attention and excitement. An added complication is that in modern society, with our fixation on all types of electronic stimulation, internet, mobile phones, radio, television, cinema, along with neon signs, blaring ads and ... santoshk@msn.com Fri, 20 Jun 2025 8:32:51 pm Dealing with Physical Pain https://selfgrowth.com/articles/dealing-with-physical-pain-0 At some point in life everyone is confronted with physical conditions which cause pain. What is pain exactly? When we speak about physical pain in particular, we reference particular sensations or impulses of an intensity that activates the nerves to carry the sensation to the brain, which ... santoshk@msn.com Fri, 20 Jun 2025 7:36:22 pm Overcoming Suffering and Changing the Future of Our Karma https://selfgrowth.com/articles/overcoming-suffering-and-changing-the-future-of-our-karma Many people believe that there is some kind of inexorable law of reward and punishment being doled out by God or some other all-powerful, all-observant being. In the West children are taught this lesson through the myth of Santa Claus, when they are encouraged to be “good” because Santa Claus is ... santoshk@msn.com Fri, 20 Jun 2025 11:03:24 am Addressing the Issue of Overactive Nervous System Response to Circumstances https://selfgrowth.com/articles/addressing-the-issue-of-overactive-nervous-system-response-to-circumstances Whenever anything happens in the world, the senses capture the vibrations and send them up the nervous channels to the brain where they are they interpreted and responded to. When the nervous system is sensitive and overly responsive it may vibrate continuously and not let up. This creates an ... santoshk@msn.com Thu, 19 Jun 2025 12:37:22 am Exceeding the Limits Set By Our Minds to Harness Powers of Health and Fitness https://selfgrowth.com/articles/exceeding-the-limits-set-by-our-minds-to-harness-powers-of-health-and-fitness We generally remain locked within the framework of our past training and experience. We create walls around ourselves that circumscribe what we believe we can accomplish, what we can do, what is ‘real’ and what is possible. As long as we remain primarily fixated on the past, we limit our ... santoshk@msn.com Mon, 16 Jun 2025 7:51:13 pm Developing the Power to Remove Illnesses from the Physical Body https://selfgrowth.com/articles/developing-the-power-to-remove-illnesses-from-the-physical-body An illness is a vibrational pattern that impacts the body and its normal operations. If one does not succeed in rejecting it before it breaks through the protective vital sheath and then, if one fails to prevent it from taking hold at all in the physical body, one is left with having to deal ... santoshk@msn.com Sun, 15 Jun 2025 10:53:38 pm Overcoming the Habit of Illness of the Body https://selfgrowth.com/articles/overcoming-the-habit-of-illness-of-the-body The first time we experience something it starts to create a “groove” in our neural network, nerves or responsive centers. As the experience recurs, the groove becomes a ‘pathway’. Eventually, the pathway becomes an embedded habit. When a similar vibration is experienced, it ‘automatically’ ... santoshk@msn.com Sat, 14 Jun 2025 7:12:27 pm Causes and Prevention or Elimination of Illness https://selfgrowth.com/articles/causes-and-prevention-or-elimination-of-illness The physical body has an ingrained response, for most people, to vibrations that precipitate illnesses. The vector carrying that vibration (whether one calls it ‘germs’, ‘bacteria’, ‘virus’, or ‘suggestion’) strikes the protective vital envelope, or aura, surrounding the body. If it finds an ... santoshk@msn.com Fri, 13 Jun 2025 7:46:59 am The Action of the Three Gunas in Relation to the Assimilation of the Spiritual Force https://selfgrowth.com/articles/the-action-of-the-three-gunas-in-relation-to-the-assimilation-of-the-spiritual-force The 3 Gunas, qualities of Nature, are active in all beings, including those who are undertaking an active process of spiritual development. The physical being is very much subject to the action of Tamas, generally, because of its dense and somewhat inert material characteristics. It thus may ... santoshk@msn.com Wed, 11 Jun 2025 3:01:31 pm

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