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Holistic Spiritual Psychology II

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Holistic Spiritual Psychology (The constitution of the Human Being)
by Atman Nityananda

The two fundamental aspects of our human nature

  • 1. The true Self – Consciousness (Self, Divine Self, Soul, Essence, Atman).
  • 2. The apparent Self – Body-mind-ego (Physical body, vital energy, mind, intellect, subconscious, causal body)

Our True Self (Consciousness)

Our true Self, what we really are, is pure Consciousness and it is identical with the Universal Consciousness which is the Highest principle of the universe (what we call God). The Universal Consciousness (Brahman, God) manifests through us as the seemingly individual Consciousness (Atman) which due to ignorance we mistakenly identify with body and mind, that is, we believe that Consciousness belongs to the body and the mind.Our true Self (Consciousness) is experienced in us as the timeless, formless, immovable, unchanging, ever-present silent presence, peace, plenitude, freedom and bliss.Our true Self is untouched, unaffected and uninfected by anything. No one and nothing can touch, affect or harm our divine Self (Consciousness); It is untouched by what happens to the body, the mind, the senses and the vital energy (prana), and by everything that happens in the outside world as well. Other people, physical phenomena and weapons can harm our bodies, they can slander us, they can deceive us, they can insult and despise us, many things can happen to our body and mind, but none of all these things can affect our glorious, immortal Self (Consciousness).Although it is always present in us and can be experienced any moment, by paying attention in the silent space within us, it can be fully experienced by a pure-sattvic mind in profound meditation and samadhi.The goal of human life is to realize fully its divine nature or essence (Consciousness, Soul, Spirit, Atman)

The causal body

The Astral Body

  • 1. Vital energy (Prana)
  • 2. The mind – the quadruple internal organ or instrument, (in Sanskrit Anthakarana).

The mind – the quadruple inner organ or instrument (Antahkarana)

The 4 aspects of the mind and their functions

  • 1. Manas – outer mind, (emotional, thinking, motor)
  • 2. Buddhi – intermediate mind, (Intellect, intelligence)
  • 3. Chitta – inner mind, (mental consciousness, the conditioned mind, the subconscious),
  • 4. Ahamkara – the illusory identity, (The two aspects of the ego: the lower rajasotamasic ego, and the higher sattvic ego.

Although the mind is one, it has different aspects and levels (Manas, Buddhi, Chitta, Ahamkara). Each of them does their own special work, but all of their parts function as a whole. Because of the Rajasotamic lower ego the mind is unbalanced and its higher capacities are not developed.

  • The three gunas or qualities (Sattva-Rajas-Tamas)
  • The three gunas and the mind
  • The ego, its nature and aspects (Ahamkara).

The ego, its nature and aspects (Ahamkara).

The Ego (Ahamkara) or I is what we think we are and it makes us have the delusion that we are the body and separate individuals limited by the physical body and the mind. The ego is the one that causes the sense of I-ness and Mine-ness in relation to the body and mind and objects respectively.

Because of the ego (the egoic tendencies energies and vibrations) we do not experience the freedom, peace and bliss of our essential nature. We can live the fullness of our true Self if we are willing abandonthe false beliefs and illusions of our limited egoic self, to dissolve the egoic tendencies and the egoic field of energy (kama-manas), its desires and passions that give us a little pleasure or joy and a lot of suffering.

Which are the illusions and identifications that the ego creates

Which are the factors that cause the illusions: The lower ego, the rajas and tamas gunas, identification, projection, superimposition and imagination, lack of Self-awareness, lack of attention and lack of discernment.

The aspects of the ego in relation to the three gunas

  1. The sattvic or superior ego
  2. The rajasotamasic or inferior ego

The aspects of the ego in relation to the vehicles of our existence

The ego identifyingwith the body, mind, heart, senses, and intellect (intelligence) fnctions as:

  • The Physical Ego,
  • The Vita-emotional Ego,
  • The Mental Ego
  • The Intellectual Ego

and respectively we become:

  • The Doer by identifying with the body,
  • The Enjoyer, Sufferer, Feeler by identifying with outer and inner heart,
  • The Thinker by identifying with the mind and intellect,
  • The Perceiver and Observer by identifying with the senses, body, manas, intellect and Consciouness as well) we become the Perceiver and the Observer of sensory objects and the psychological structures

The psychological structures (Desire, Selfish tendencies, patterns, programming, emotions, impulses, beliefs…)

  • Memorized sensory impressions, imagination, thoughts, emotions
  • Associations,
  • Desire and attachment.
  • The pairs of opposites. Its nature, its aspects and its mechanisms
  • The emotions. What are, how do they work, managing emotions, dissolving negative or inferior emotions.
  • Selfish tendencies (Samskaras and Vasanas). How they are created, grow and are empowered. Experience, identification, recording, conditioning of the mind,
  • Programming, Mental, Emotional patterns and Habits (mental, emotional, physical),
  • The beliefs, the importance and their effects. Investigate all beliefs and change wrong, harmful and limiting beliefs for true and beneficial ones.

The vital energy or Prana

Life energy animates matter. Without prana there is no life. The body and the entire universe move and function thanks to the vital energy. That’s why there are traditions that consider prana as higher or more important than the mind.

The two aspects of prana

The psychic and physical prana. The physical prana provides the energy for all physical actions and functions and the subtle psychic prana provides the energy for all psychological functions.

Sexual energy

Sexual energy is the most fundamental expression of cosmic energy, because thanks to it the entire universe is born and exists. In our bodies it also has a very important role, which is the reproduction of the species and the experience of pleasure. But sexual energy is very important for spiritual development as well.

The 7 Chakras and the Shakti-kundalini

  • 1. Primer: Muladhara or Root chakra.
  • 2. Second: Swadisthana or Sacral chakra.
  • 3. Third: Manipura or Solar Plexus chakra.
  • 4. Fourth: Anahatha or Heart chakra.
  • 5. Fifth Visudda or Throat chakra.
  • 6. Sixth: Ajna or third eye chakra.
  • 7. Seventh Sahasrara or crown or light chakra, (literally, “thousand-petalled lotus”)

Nadis (energy channels)

  • 72.000 Nadis
  • Ayurvedic and acupuncture meridians
  • The important nadis: Ida-Pingala, Sushumna and Brahmanadi.

The three bio-energies (doshas in Sanskrit)

  • Vata (Air, Space)
  • Pitta (Fire, Water)
  • Kapha (Earth, Water)

The three subtle energies

  • Ojas
  • Tejas
  • Prana

The physical body

The physical body is the base the receptor that allows all the cosmic energies and the Soul to function through it. That is why the body is called the temple of God. The physical body is born, grows, changes, decays and dies.

  • The 5 sensory organs (Eyes, Ears, Nose, Tongue, Skin)
  • The five organs of action (Hands, Legs, Tongue, Genitals, Anus)
Read: Holistic Spiritual Psychology I