SAIEN

The Yogis of ancient India took a somewhat different approach toward understanding the physical world than we have seen in the West. Western scientists have generally started from the most external physical forms and from there, systematically moved inward toward more and more subtle understanding. The Yogis quickly recognized that the physical form is the outer, grossest expression and could not possibly be the ultimate cause, and that therefore, something else must be building, creating and operating the outer world and all its forms. The Taittiriya Upanishad , indeed, started from the outer physical and moved toward the vital, mental knowledge and ultimately the spiritual levels of existence, with each one more subtle than the prior, and having a causative action on the former level. These Yogis, when they looked at the interaction between the subtle inner levels and the gross physical forms, developed a detailed understanding of the principles of action of the vital force, which th...

Money is a powerful force and the chief preoccupation for most of mankind today. Politics, business and society are shaped by the power money holds on our psychology. How should a human being yearning to develop psychologically or on the path of self awareness or yoga deal with this force? Money, an essential tool for our material needs and living, for some becomes an end in itself and then it serves no purpose. It is a great tool as a means to an end, but a toxic master. If money starts possessing the possessor, as it can happen, it brings a toxic element in such persons, ruining relations, depleting or weakening higher values, with  selfishness, self obsession and egoic enhancement. Money is impersonal and in itself flavourless, but takes the flavour of the person who has or possesses it for the moment. One could turn this around and use money for self development, as a self study to reflect and contemplate its effect on oneself. Does having more money than my neighbour or collea...

One of the biggest mysteries, for me, has been the process of change itself. The transformation of one thing into another has fascinated me since a very young age. This interest in movement of time and space was further fuelled after coming in contact with Auroville, Sri Aurobindo and the Mother. Every day since then, has been a discovery of how this process of transformation is, in fact, in service of the Divine - a transformation of self and collective consciousness to serve the purpose of evolution. When I started farming eight years ago, my motivation was only to get away from a life I thought was meaningless and find something truer and deeper within myself. Over the years, however, I have begun to realise the responsibility that this work brings and how it holds one of the key ingredients for the emergence of a new culture. Farming embodies change and transformation; transformation of a humble seed into a spectacular plant that attracts all beings for food towards itself, again t...

How proud a peacock is of its beautiful but heavy tail is doubtful, but it sure seems to carry the burden happily. Peahens suitably impressed, its purpose served, the tail is shed naturally at the end of the breeding season. Recently I saw a peacock, with hardly half its tail left. It was sitting with its neck twisted back, had taken its beak to the very roots of the feathers and was plucking ruthlessly out, feather by feather, what still remained of the tail. It seemed too impatient to wait for all of its tail to be shed on its own. However, the feathers apparently came off easily, and the process was painless.  What I was witnessing suddenly struck me as the visible demonstration of an invisible process. The preferred route to victory over temptations such as food and sex is not to begin with outer renunciation by using the brute force of moral will, but working inside-out. Inner renunciation having been achieved through a combination of knowledge and experience, outer renunciati...

When we are stressed out and worried, we tend to have our minds continually revolve around the object of worry, and we are unable to break out of that cycle easily. This enhances the stress and locks us into an unhealthy pattern of breath and the impact that both the worry and the irregular breathing have on the physical body. When we try to simply shift the attention away, we find the thoughts continue to recur, and in many cases, our sleep is disturbed, or we turn to mindless distraction, or self-medication with drugs or alcohol to try to do away with the fixation.   There is however another way. The world religious traditions, and the spiritual paths that have developed over time, all recognize the power of chanting of various mantras, prayers or hymns, to break the cycle of external thoughts and move the awareness inwards to a state of peace and calm. Prayer and mantra are able to shift the focus of the mind away from the cause of worry and thus, shift the mind towards a recogn...

Self-Development is an important goal for any conscious human being in the world. Normally, by Google search, self-development could mean skill enhancement or better employability. But if we go a bit deeper, self-development is more than just an improved capacity or skill for a better material life. Self-Development, in a deeper way, is a call to change,  improve and progress, and move towards self-perfection. For after all, that is a goal worthy of life on earth.    The reason for self-development stems from our deep need for underlying search for something higher and truer. Being conscious beings, inwardly and secretly we work towards this impulse towards perfection, truth and bliss as Sri Aurobindo says in 'The Life Divine'.    Helpful Tips Some tips or pointers worth keeping in mind when one takes up the work  of self-development would be:   Setting a goal This is an important step for any growth. An aim, a goal is needed. Be it for change of habit...

Holistic self development means developing the full potential of each part of our being - mind, heart, vital force, and body – and aligning each with our true self or innermost being.  The first step in this process is to become conscious of our various parts and their current nature and workings in daily life. The second is to develop the full potential of each aspect of our being by aligning it with our true self. When this happens, we begin to live harmoniously with the world around us: family and friends, neighbors, community and even nature and the universe.  Step 1: Our various parts and their current nature and workings Let us consider the mind and its workings in daily life. One of the most important functions of the mind is the power of discrimination. But notice that the mind’s ability to discriminate between things such as right-wrong, proper-improper, moral-immoral, etc. is mostly dependent on our shifting beliefs, values, mental convictions/preferences and even ou...