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Integral yoga

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Integral yoga , sometimes also called supramental yoga , is the yoga -based philosophy and practice of Sri Aurobindo and The Mother ( Mirra Alfassa ). Central to Integral yoga is the idea that Spirit manifests itself in a process of involution , meanwhile forgetting its origins. The reverse process of evolution is driven toward a complete manifestation of spirit.

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76-409: According to Sri Aurobindo, the current status of human evolution is an intermediate stage in the evolution of being, which is on its way to the unfolding of the spirit, and the self-revelation of divinity in all things. Yoga is a rapid and concentrated evolution of being, which can take effect in one life-time, while unassisted natural evolution would take many centuries or many births. Aurobindo suggests

152-500: A god is both within and beyond the universe ( panentheism ); in it, but not of it; simultaneously pervading it and surpassing it. The Ethics of Baruch Spinoza used the expression "transcendental terms" (in Latin : termini transcendentales ) to indicate concepts like Being, Thing, Something, which are so general not to be included in the definitions of species, genus and category . In modern philosophy , Immanuel Kant introduced

228-559: A grand program called sapta chatushtaya (seven quadrates) to aid this evolution. Spirit or satchitananda is the Absolute, the source of all that exists. It is the One, having three aspects: Sat (truth), Citta (consciousness, awareness), and ananda (bliss, happiness). Involution is the extension of Spirit, the Absolute , to create a universe of separate forms. Being manifests itself as

304-526: A greater influence, taking on the role of spiritual Guide. Central Being refers to the transcendent and eternal spirit , as opposed to the incarnate and evolving Soul , which he calls the Psychic Being . Sometimes it refers to both of them together as the essential spiritual core of the being. The Central Being "presides over the different births one after the other but is itself unborn" (ibid p. 269). This transcendent Central Being or Spirit

380-485: A multiplicity of forms, meanwhile becoming lost in the inconscience of matter. The first manifestation of Spirit in the process of involution is as Satchitananda , and then as Supermind, the intermediate link between the higher (Spirit) and lower (matter, life, and mind) nature. According to Aurobindo the world is a differentiated unity. It is a manifold oneness, that generates an infinite variety of lifeforms and substances. The lifeforms and substances are stretched out on

456-460: A new term, transcendental , thus instituting a new, third meaning. In his theory of knowledge , this concept is concerned with the condition of possibility of knowledge itself. He also opposed the term transcendental to the term transcendent , the latter meaning "that which goes beyond" (transcends) any possible knowledge of a human being. For him transcendental meant knowledge about our cognitive faculty with regard to how objects are possible

532-778: A number of diverse Indo-European languages , including the word "sooth" and "sin" in English , " istina " (" истина ") in Russian , " sand " (truthful) in Danish , " sann " in Swedish , and " haithya " in Avestan , the liturgical language of Zoroastrianism . Sat ( Sanskrit : सत् ) is the root of many Sanskrit words and concepts such as sattva ("pure, truthful") and satya ("truth"). The Sanskrit root sat has several meanings or translations: Sat

608-464: A prior form or state of oneself. Mystical experience is thought of as a particularly advanced state of self-transcendence, in which the sense of a separate self is abandoned. " Self-transcendence " is believed to be psychometrically measurable, and (at least partially) inherited, and has been incorporated as a personality dimension in the Temperament and Character Inventory . The discovery of this

684-426: A priori . "I call all knowledge transcendental if it is occupied, not with objects, but with the way that we can possibly know objects even before we experience them." Therefore, metaphysics , as a fundamental and universal theory, turns out to be an epistemology . Transcendental philosophy, consequently, is not considered a traditional ontological form of metaphysics. Kant equated transcendental with that which

760-555: A process of synthesis, the mind generates both the structure of objects and its own unity. A metaphilosophical question discussed by many Kantian scholars is what transcendental reflection is and how transcendental reflection is itself possible. Valentin Balanovskiy shows that this is a special instrument inherent in our consciousness, something by what individuals can distinguish themselves from any other objects of reality. Stephen Palmquist argues that Kant's solution to this problem

836-493: A restraint from falsehood in one's action (body), words (speech, writing), or feelings / thoughts (mind). In Patanjali's teachings, one may not always know the truth or the whole truth, but one knows if one is creating, sustaining, or expressing falsehood, exaggeration, distortion, fabrication, or deception. Satya is, in Patanjali's Yoga, the virtue of restraint from such falsehood, either through silence or through stating

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912-450: A set of habits. This crystallised set of habits becomes one's personality. This is normally believed to be "self". The appearance of stable personality is given by constant repetition and recurrence of the same vibrations and formations. According to Aurobindo, humans face three basic problems: The fundamental cause of falsehood, error and evil is Ignorance. Ignorance is a self-limiting knowledge, which arises with exclusive concentration in

988-443: A single field. According to Aurobindo, human notion of good, bad & evil are uncertain and relative. Unlike other Yoga practices Integral yoga does not propose any kind of physical asanas, breathing techniques or external movements. It is more psychological in nature, with internal reflection and self analysis & correction as main tools of development. The main practices or approaches are divided into The limitations of

1064-439: A transcendence. Additionally, if the other is viewed strictly as an object, much like any other object, then the other is, for the for-itself, a transcendence-transcended. When the for-itself grasps the other in the others world, and grasps the subjectivity that the other has, it is referred to as transcending-transcendence. Thus, Sartre defines relations with others in terms of transcendence. Contemporary transcendental philosophy

1140-628: A transformation of the outer nature. This transformation of the outer being or ego by the Psychic is called Psychicisation; it is one of the three necessary stages in the realisation of the Supramental consciousness. This Psychic transformation is the decisive movement that enables a never-ending progress in life, through the power of connecting to one's inner spirit or Divine Essence. The Psychic begins its evolution completely veiled and hidden, but grows through successive lifetimes, and gradually exerts

1216-572: A wide range, from physical matter to a pure form of spiritual being, akin to the five koshas or sheaths, where the subject becomes fully aware of itself as spirit: Above Mind proper lie various higher levels of Mind, which ascend toward Spirit. Through evolution Spirit rediscovered itself as Spirit. Evolution follows a developmental trajectory from the original inconscience of matter into life, to mind, and then to spiritualized mind, culminating in The Supermind or Truth Consciousness. Evolution

1292-554: Is asat , that is delusion, distorted, untrue, the fleeting impression that is incorrect, invalid, and false. The concepts of sat and asat are famously expressed in the Pavamana Mantra found in the Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad (1.3.28): Asato mā sad gamaya tamaso mā jyotir gamaya mṛtyor mā amṛtam gamaya Lead me from delusion to truth from darkness to light from mortality to immortality Sat

1368-506: Is teleological , since the developing entity contains within itself already the totality toward which it develops. It is not a mechanistic or deterministic teleology, but a "manifestation of all the possibilities inherent in the total movement." The goal of Integral yoga is to become aware of the Divine, to integrate the physical, mental and spiritual aspects of ourselves, and to manifest the Divine at earth. According to Sri Aurobindo, all life

1444-554: Is "... in respect of the subject's faculty of cognition." Something is transcendental if it plays a role in the way in which the mind "constitutes" objects and makes it possible for us to experience them as objects in the first place. Ordinary knowledge is knowledge of objects; transcendental knowledge is knowledge of how it is possible for us to experience those objects as objects. This is based on Kant's acceptance of David Hume 's argument that certain general features of objects (e.g. persistence, causal relationships) cannot be derived from

1520-422: Is Yoga, while Yoga as a sadhana is a methodised effort towards self-perfection, which brings to expression the latent, hidden potentialities of being. Success in this effort unifies the human individual with the universal and transcendental Existence. Integral yoga reunites "the infinite in the finite, the timeless in the temporal and the transcendent with the immanent. Sri Aurobindo discerns three types of being:

1596-685: Is a Sanskrit word translated as truth or essence. It also refers to a virtue in Indian religions , referring to being truthful in one's thoughts, speech and action. In Yoga , satya is one of five yamas , the virtuous restraint from falsehood and distortion of reality in one's expressions and actions. In the Vedas and later sutras , the meaning of the word satya evolves into an ethical concept about truthfulness and an important virtue. It means being true and consistent with reality in one's thought, speech, and action . Satya has cognates in

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1672-494: Is a common prefix in ancient Indian literature and variously implies that which is good, true, genuine, virtuous, being, happening, real, existing, enduring, lasting, or essential; for example, sat-sastra means true doctrine, sat-van means one devoted to the truth. In ancient texts, fusion words based on Sat refer to "Universal Spirit, Universal Principle, Being, Soul of the World, Brahman ". The negation of sat

1748-409: Is a state of being that has overcome the limitations of physical existence and by some definitions has also become independent of it. This is typically manifested in prayer , séance , meditation , psychedelics and paranormal "visions". It is affirmed in various religious traditions' concept of the divine , which contrasts with the notion of a god (or, the Absolute ) that exists exclusively in

1824-671: Is also designated as the Jiva or Jivatman , although the meaning of these terms in Sri Aurobindo's philosophy differs greatly from that of much of conventional Vedanta (especially Advaita Vedanta ) The levels of being ascend from the inconscient to the Supermind. Inconscient Matter is the lowest level of involution. Spirit is still present in the inconscient: "The Inconscient is the Superconscient's sleep." The Inconscient

1900-608: Is also the instrument of the Superconsciousness which has created the Universe. According to Satprem, the Inconscient lies at the bottom of the physical subconscient, and "life emerged ... at the border between the material inconscient and the physical consciousness ... in our body. The physical, vital and mental levels of being contain both a subconscient and a subtle or subliminal part. The subconscient parts are

1976-400: Is an appeal to faith . For Kant, the "transcendent", as opposed to the "transcendental", is that which lies beyond what our faculty of knowledge can legitimately know. Hegel 's counter-argument to Kant was that to know a boundary is also to be aware of what it bounds and as such what lies beyond it – in other words, to have already transcended it. In phenomenology , the "transcendent"

2052-567: Is considered as a form of reverence for the divine, while falsehood a form of sin. Satya includes action and speech that is factual, real, true, and reverent to Ṛta in Books 1, 4, 6, 7, 9, and 10 of Rigveda. However, satya isn't merely about one's past that is in context in the Vedas, it has one's current and one's future contexts as well. De Nicolás states, that in Rigveda, " Satya

2128-431: Is described in the book The God Gene by Dean Hamer , although this has been criticized by commentators such as Carl Zimmer . The doctrine or theory of immanence holds that the divine encompasses or is manifested in the material world. It is held by some philosophical and metaphysical theories of divine presence. Immanence is usually applied in monotheistic, pantheistic, pandeistic, or panentheistic faiths to suggest that

2204-407: Is developed by German philosopher Harald Holz with a holistic approach. Holz distanced transcendental philosophy from the convergence of neo-Kantianism . He critically discussed transcendental pragmatism and the relation between transcendental philosophy, neo-empiricism , and so-called postmodernism . Philosophical definitions of transcendence often emphasize the idea of going beyond or exceeding

2280-573: Is higher than the Law of Righteousness ( Dharma ). The weak overcomes the stronger by the Law of Righteousness. Truly that Law is the Truth ( Satya ); Therefore, when a man speaks the Truth, they say, "He speaks Righteousness"; and if he speaks Righteousness, they say, "He speaks the Truth!" For both are one. Taittiriya Upanishad 's hymn 11.11 states, "Speak the Satya (truth), conduct yourself according to

2356-478: Is nothing higher than truth. Everything is upheld by truth, and everything rests upon truth. Even the sinful and ferocious, swear to keep the truth amongst themselves, dismiss all grounds of quarrel and uniting with one another set themselves to their (sinful) tasks, depending upon truth. If they behaved falsely towards one another, they would then be destroyed without doubt. In the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali , it

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2432-518: Is one of the three characteristics of Brahman as described in sat-chit-ananda . This association between sat , 'truth', and Brahman , ultimate reality, is also expressed in Hindu cosmology, wherein Satyaloka , the highest heaven of Hindu cosmology , is the abode of Brahman . Traditional Satya is a central theme in the Vedas. It is equated with and considered necessary to

2508-413: Is partly a creation of the inconscient or subconscient. According to The Mother, the ordinary, false consciousness, which is common to material body-consciousness, is derived from the subconscient and the inconscient. According to Aurobindo, the outer being depends on the subconscient, which hinders the spiritual progress. Only by living in the inner being can this obstacle be overcome. According to Sharma,

2584-400: Is that which transcends our own consciousness: that which is objective rather than only a phenomenon of consciousness. Jean-Paul Sartre also speaks of transcendence in his works. In Being and Nothingness , Sartre uses transcendence to describe the relation of the self to the object-oriented world, as well as our concrete relations with others. For Sartre, the for-itself is sometimes called

2660-435: Is the dynamic form of Sachchidananda (Being-Consciousness-Bliss), and the necessary mediator or link between the transcendent Sacchidananda and the creation. Humans are stuck between matter and Spirit, due to the habits of personality and partial awareness, which arise from Ignorance. Humans are accustomed to respond to certain vibrations more than other. These customs develop into one's desire, pain, feelings, which are all

2736-506: Is the modality of acting in the world of Sat , as the truth to be built, formed or established". Satya is widely discussed in various Upanishads, including the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad where satya is called the means to Brahman , as well as Brahman (Being, true self). In hymn 1.4.14 of Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, Satya (truth) is equated to Dharma (morality, ethics, law of righteousness), as Nothing

2812-543: Is the realisation of the Supermind , or Supramental consciousness, and the resulting transformation of the entire being. Psychicisation and spiritualisation serve as necessary prerequisites for the Supramentalisation of the entire being. The supramental transformation is the final stage in the integral yoga, enabling the birth of a new individual, fully formed by the supramental power. Such individuals would be

2888-479: Is the subtle, higher counterpart of the subconscient. According to Sharma, "it has an inner mind, an inner vital being, and an inner subtle physical being, wider than man's consciousness." It can directly experience the Universal, and "it is the source of inspirations, intuitions, ideas, will ... as well as ... telepathy [and] clearvoyance." The gross body commonly referred to in yoga constitutes mainly of two parts

2964-594: Is translated in English as "reality" or "truth." In terms of the Four Noble Truths ( ariyasacca ), the Pali can be written as sacca , tatha , anannatatha , and dhamma . 'The Four Noble Truths' ( ariya-sacca ) are the briefest synthesis of the entire teaching of Buddhism , since all those manifold doctrines of the threefold Pali canon are, without any exception, included therein. They are

3040-492: Is written, “When one is firmly established in speaking truth, the fruits of action become subservient to him." In Yoga sutra, satya is one of the five yamas , or virtuous restraints, along with ahimsa (restraint from violence or injury to any living being); asteya (restraint from stealing); brahmacharya (celibacy or restraint from sexually cheating on one's partner); and aparigraha (restraint from covetousness and craving). Patanjali considers satya as

3116-728: The Dharma (morality, ethics, law)". Truth is sought, praised in the hymns of Upanishads, held as one that ultimately, always prevails. The Mundaka Upanishad , for example, states in Book 3, Chapter 1, सत्य मेव जयते नानृतं Translation 1: Truth alone triumphs, not falsehood. Translation 2: Truth ultimately triumphs, not falsehood. Translation 3: The true prevails, not the untrue. Sandilya Upanishad of Atharvanaveda, in Chapter 1, includes ten forbearances as virtues, in its exposition of Yoga. It defines satya as "the speaking of

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3192-514: The psychic being , the psychic personality or Divine Soul , in the core of one's being. The Divine Soul serves as a spiritual Guide in the yoga, and enables one to transform the outer being . It may also help avoid the dangers of the spiritual path. There is an intermediate zone , a dangerous and misleading transitional spiritual and pseudospiritual region between the ordinary consciousness and true spiritual realisation. Psychisiation consists of three methods. In "consecration" one opens oneself to

3268-424: The scholastic , designating the extra-categorical attributes of beings. In religion , transcendence refers to the aspect of God's nature and power which is wholly independent of the material universe, beyond all physical laws. This is contrasted with immanence , where a god is said to be fully present in the physical world and thus accessible to creatures in various ways. In religious experience , transcendence

3344-404: The "Mental" faculties. In addition to the individual Vital faculty, Sri Aurobindo refers to a Vital Plane or Vital world, which would seem to be partly equivalent to the astral plane of popular occultism and New Age thought. Mind proper is the conceptual and cognitive mind , the manakosha. Mind is a subordinate process of the Supermind. It is the intermediary stage between the Divine and

3420-950: The Divine Soul that the sadhak can avoid the pitfalls of the spiritual path. As a result of the Psychicisation, light, peace, and power descend into the body, transforming all of its parts, physical, vital, and mental. This is the Spiritual transformation, or Spiritualisation, the concretisation of the larger spiritual consciousness. Aurobindo asserted that spiritual aspirants may pass through an intermediate zone where experiences of force, inspiration, illumination, light, joy, expansion, power, and freedom from normal limits are possible. These can become associated with personal aspirations, ambitions, notions of spiritual fulfilment and yogic siddhi, and even be falsely interpreted as full spiritual realisation. One can pass through this zone, and

3496-586: The Force before engaging in an activity. "Moving to the Depths" (or "concentration") is a movement away from the surface existence to a deeper existence within. "Surrender" means offering all one's work, one's life to the Divine Force and Intent. Guided by the evolving divine soul within, the sadhak moves away from ego, ignorance, finiteness, and the limitations of the outer being . It is thanks to this guidance by

3572-798: The Mental on his reading of the Taittiriya Upanishad , the mental being (or perhaps just the Mental Purusha) is the mano-maya-atma – the self made of mind ( manas ). For Sri Aurobindo, Mind or the Mental being is not simple and uniform, but consists itself of various strata and subdivisions, which act at different levels of being. These various faculties are described or variously referred to, usually in obliquely or in passing, in some of his books, including Savitri , which has poetic references to many types of Mind. In his letters answering questions from disciples, Sri Aurobindo summarises

3648-585: The Outer being, the Inner being, and the Psychic Being. The Outer Being includes the physical, vital and mental levels of Being, which characterises our everyday consciousness and experience. This includes several levels of the subconscient: a mental subconscient, a vital subconscient, and a physical subconscient, down to the material Inconscient. Integral Yoga involves going beyond this surface consciousness to

3724-562: The Psychic or Inmost Being. By doing yoga practice ( sadhana ), the inner consciousness is being opened, and life turns away from the outward to the inward. The inner consciousness becomes more real than the outer consciousness, and becomes a peace, happiness and closeness to the Divine. The Psychic Being is Sri Aurobindo's term for the Personal Evolving Soul (the Higher Mind, Illumined Mind, Intuition and Overmind),

3800-506: The Subconscient. The Subtle physical is Sri Aurobindo 's term for a subtler aspect of the physical nature. This has many qualities not found in the gross physical nature. In The Agenda , The Mother often refers to it. It might be compared to the etheric body and plane , or even the astral body and plane . The term "subtle physical" is used to distinguish it from gross ( sthula ) or outer material physical. The Vital level of

3876-700: The Truth; false are the foundations of the false. Imbued with Truth, you shall meet the Guru. The true ones are absorbed into the True Lord. The motto of the republic of India 's emblem is Satyameva Jayate which is literally translated as 'Truth alone triumphs'. Transcendence (philosophy) In philosophy , transcendence is the basic ground concept from the word's literal meaning (from Latin ), of climbing or going beyond, albeit with varying connotations in its different historical and cultural stages. It includes philosophies , systems, and approaches that describe

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3952-412: The Vedas." The Epic repeatedly emphasizes that satya is a basic virtue, because everything and everyone depends on and relies on satya . सत्यस्य वचनं साधु न सत्याद विद्यते परम सत्येन विधृतं सर्वं सर्वं सत्ये परतिष्ठितम अपि पापकृतॊ रौद्राः सत्यं कृत्वा पृथक पृथक अद्रॊहम अविसंवादं परवर्तन्ते तदाश्रयाः ते चेन मिथॊ ऽधृतिं कुर्युर विनश्येयुर असंशयम To speak the truth is meritorious. There

4028-411: The associated spiritual dangers, without harm by perceiving its real nature, and seeing through the misleading experiences. Those who go astray in it may end in a spiritual disaster, or may remain stuck there and adopt some half-truth as the whole truth, or become an instrument of lesser powers of these transitional planes. According to Aurobindo, this happens to many sadhaks and yogis. Supramentalisation

4104-401: The being refers to the life force , but also to the various passions, desires, feelings, emotions, affects, compulsions, and likes and dislikes. These strongly determine human motivation and action through desire and enthusiasm. Unlike Western psychology , in which mind, emotions, instincts, and consciousness are all lumped together, Sri Aurobindo strongly distinguishes between the "Vital" and

4180-474: The characteristics of the various levels of Mind. Above mind proper lie various higher individual levels of mind, namely the Higher Mind, Illumined Mind, Intuitive Mind and Overmind, which ascend toward the Spirit, and provide a higher and more inclusive vision of reality: Supermind is the infinite unitary Truth Consciousness or Truth-Idea beyond the three lower planes of Matter , Life , and Mind . Supermind

4256-476: The concept Ṛta ( ऋतं , ṛtaṃ )—that which is properly joined, order, rule, nature, balance, harmony. Ṛta results from satya in the Vedas, as it regulates and enables the operation of the universe and everything within it. Satya is considered essential, and without it, the universe and reality falls apart, cannot function. In Rigveda , opposed to rita and satya are anrita and asatya (falsehood). Truth and truthfulness

4332-462: The forerunners of a new supra-humanity, grounded in truth-consciousness. All aspects of division and ignorance of consciousness, at the vital and mental levels, would be overcome, and replaced with a unity of consciousness at every plane. And even the physical body transformed and divinised. A new supramental species would then emerge, living a supramental, gnostic, divine life on earth. Aurobindo describes several results and different stages depicting

4408-400: The fundamental structures of being, not as an ontology (theory of being), but as the framework of emergence and validation of knowledge of being. These definitions are generally grounded in reason and empirical observation and seek to provide a framework for understanding the world that is not reliant on religious beliefs or supernatural forces. "Transcendental" is a word derived from

4484-487: The larger life of the Inner Being, which is more open to spiritual realisation. The Inner Being, or Subliminal, includes the inner realms or aspects of the physical, vital and mental being. They have a larger, subtler, freer consciousness than that of the everyday consciousness. Its realisation is essential for any higher spiritual realisation. The Inner Being is also transitional between the surface or Outer Being and

4560-442: The limits of human experience, and may focus on concepts such as rationality, consciousness, or the nature of reality. These definitions are generally grounded in reason and empirical observation, and seek to provide a framework for understanding the world that is not reliant on religious beliefs or supernatural forces. Religious definitions of transcendence, on the other hand, often emphasize the idea of connecting with something beyond

4636-490: The living is not commendable, whether it refers to actual facts or not". According to the Jain text Puruşārthasiddhyupāya : All these subdivisions (injury, falsehood, stealing, unchastity, and attachment) are hiṃsā as indulgence in these sullies the pure nature of the soul. Falsehood etc. have been mentioned separately only to make the disciple understand through illustrations. The term satya (Pali: sacca )

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4712-485: The material physical body (anna kosha ) and the nervous system normally refer to as vital vehicle (Prana kosha) in Integral yoga. The Physical level refers to both the physical body and the body's consciousness . The body is just as conscious as the vital and mental parts of the being, only it is a different type of consciousness. The Physical not only shades upwards to higher ontological levels, but also downwards into

4788-461: The mundane life. It works by measuring and dividing reality, and has lost sight of the Divine. It is the seat of ignorance, yet it is still capable of an upward ascent toward the Divine. Unlike Western psychology, in which mind and consciousness are considered the same, Sri Aurobindo strongly distinguishes between the "Mental" and the "Vital" (emotional) faculties, as well as between Mind and pure Consciousness. Sri Aurobindo in part bases his concept of

4864-468: The physical order (immanentism), or indistinguishable from it ( pantheism ). Transcendence can be attributed to the divine not only in its being, but also in its knowledge. Thus, God may transcend both the universe and knowledge (is beyond the grasp of the human mind). Although transcendence is defined as the opposite of immanence, the two are not necessarily mutually exclusive . Some theologians and metaphysicians of various religious traditions affirm that

4940-478: The present being can be overcome by the Triple transformation, the process in which the lower nature is transformed into the divine nature. It consists of the inward psychicisation by which the sadhak gets in contact with the inner divine principle or Psychic Being; the spiritual transformation or spiritualisation; and the Supramentalisation of the entire being. Psychicisation is a turn inward , so that one realises

5016-399: The principle of Divine spirit in every individual. The Psychic is the "Innermost Being", the permanent being in us that stands behind and supports the physical, vital and mental principles. It "uses mind, life and body as its instruments," undergoing their fate yet also transcending them. In Integral Yoga the goal is to move inward and discover the Psychic Being, which then can bring about

5092-476: The self or the material world, and may focus on concepts such as God, the soul, or the afterlife. These definitions are often grounded in faith and revelation, and may be seen as offering a way to access a higher or divine reality that cannot be directly observed or explained through reason alone. While there may be some overlap between these two definitions of transcendence, they are ultimately grounded in different epistemological frameworks and ways of understanding

5168-469: The sense impressions we have of them. Kant argues that the mind must contribute those features and make it possible for us to experience objects as objects. In the central part of his Critique of Pure Reason , the "Transcendental Deduction of the Categories", Kant argues for a deep interconnection between the ability to have consciousness of self and the ability to experience a world of objects. Through

5244-468: The stages of development in integral yoga, called together the sapta chatushtaya , "seven quadrates." It consists of:. Aurobindo had a strong influence on Ken Wilber 's integral theory of spiritual development . Wilber's Causal and Ultimate stages closely resemble Aurobindo's higher mental stages, but Wilber lumps together levels of Being, types of Being and developmental stages. Satya Satya ( Sanskrit : सत्य ; IAST : Satya )

5320-449: The subconscient is "the inconscient in the process of becoming conscient." It is a submerged part of the personality without waking consciousness, but which does receive impressions, and influences the conscious mind. According to Sharma, it includes the unconscious mind which is described by psychologists like Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung, though it includes much more than the unconscious of ( Freudian ) psychology. The subtle or subliminal

5396-403: The submerged parts. It contains "obstinate samskaras , impressions, associations, fixed notions, habitual reactions formed by the past." According to Satprem, there are several levels of the subconscient, corresponding with the different levels of our being: a mental subconscient, a vital subconscient, and a physical subconscient, down to the material Inconscient. According to Aurobindo, the body

5472-499: The truth of suffering (mundane mental and physical phenomenon), of the origin of suffering ( tanha , craving), of the extinction of suffering ( Nibbana or nirvana ), and of the Noble Eightfold Path leading to the extinction of suffering (the eight supra-mundane mind factors). The Gurmukhs do not like falsehood; they are imbued with Truth; they love only Truth. The shaaktas, the faithless cynics, do not like

5548-436: The truth that conduces to the well being of creatures, through the actions of one's mind, speech, or body." Deussen states that satya is described in the major Upanishads with two layers of meanings—one as empirical truth about reality, another as abstract truth about universal principle, being, and the unchanging. Both of these ideas are explained in early Upanishads, composed before 500  BCE , by variously breaking

5624-476: The truth without any form of distortion. Satya is one of the five vows prescribed in Jain Agamas . Satya was also preached by Mahavira . According to Jainism, not to lie or speak what is not commendable. The underlying cause of falsehood is passion and therefore, it is said to cause hiṃsā (injury). According to the Jain text Sarvārthasiddhi : "that which causes pain and suffering to

5700-517: The word satya or satyam into two or three syllables. In later Upanishads, the ideas evolve and transcend into satya as truth (or truthfulness), and Brahman as the Being, Be-ness, real Self, the eternal. The Shanti Parva of the Mahabharata states, "The righteous hold that forgiveness, truth, sincerity, and compassion are the foremost (of all virtues). Truth is the essence of

5776-496: The world. Therefore, the scope derived from the philosophical definition of transcendence could contain the scope derived from the religious definition of transcendence, but not vice versa. This is because the philosophical definition of transcendence is broader and more abstract than the religious definition, which is more specific and focused on a particular faith or belief system. In everyday language, "transcendence" means "going beyond", and "self-transcendence" means going beyond

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