SAIEN

We come across two sets of paths chosen by seekers on spiritual journey – one who practice Inner detachment (TYAGA) and second who practice Outer detachment (SANNYAS). For householders like me who have commitments in family and social front and so indulge in a professional career to earn livelihood and fulfil professional commitments, this path is akin to Karma Yogi (selfless service). Attachment to family and intense desire to give, to arrange resources needed, to facilitate family decent living and ensuring good quality of education to children with positive values and ethics principles, to survive and grow in objective world, are considered normal.  Having had an opportunity at early age to get connected with teachings of Sri Aurobindo and The Mother through study circles, which had routine of reading passages from books written by Sri Aurobindo and The Mother with brief meditation in beginning and closing of each meeting, sowed the seeds of positive values and attributes and in...

O mind, be still, Long have you had your kill, Can you hear the whispered longing, Echoing behind your incessant thronging? Be quiet that in that silence you may hear, The roseate call of the unshed tear, Of that which in quiet depths resides, The softness and beauty, your veil hides. Stop a bit that in the pregnant while, You may glimpse the eternal world-consuming smile And uncover love’s mud concealed treasure trove, Then may be even you will change, and learn to love. - Anahita Sanjana (India)

Facing the difficulties and obstacles presented by the external world to our ego-personality, we frequently become disturbed and react with anger, frustration or some other indication of a lack of peace. We tend to "become" the reaction. Someone cuts in front of us on the road and we become angry, in some cases expressing ourselves through what is known as 'road rage' or at least mentally engaging in some type of upset reaction. If we reflect on our daily reactions, we can easily identify situations where someone has angered us, someone has insulted us, where things occur that distress us, where we have relationship, financial or other setbacks, where flights get cancelled, where we get delayed for a meeting, etc. Each of these situations creates 'ripples' in the mind-stuff and the nerve channels. These ripples disrupt our ability to receive and channel the higher energies with light, clarity and serenity. For the spiritual seeker, therefore, it becomes even m...

Relation between Breath and Thought The breath, or Prana, is intimately connected with  thought  and  mental activity . 1  Sri Aurobindo notes that  Pranayama , the practice of breath regulation, sets the  Pranic currents  free and removes dullness from the brain, allowing  higher consciousness  to descend. 2  His personal experience at Baroda demonstrated that practising Pranayama for several hours daily led to an  illumined and powerful mind , significantly increasing poetic output and enhancing memory. 3  This indicates that the Pranic currents sustain mental activity, and changes induced by Pranayama alter the brain, removing obstructions that hinder higher thought communication. 4 Furthermore, the  cessation of thought  is observed to lead to the  cessation of breath ; the entire  kumbhak  (breath retention) effortlessly establishes itself when thought ceases. 5  Conversely, when thought resum...