Into Great Depth of Your Being - Arul Dev PDF

The contents of this book have had a profound impact on my life.
It is an enabler for
anyone who wishes to take a dive into understanding one’s own self in a meaningful
way. It equips you with the right tools that would be essential for any kind of spiritual
journey. The value of this book is greatly enhanced by the fact that it is one of the few
books that has been written, not by someone who has heard stories about the subject
or studied the inner radiance in others but by one who has himself experienced subtle
undercurrents and understood them.
Major Ajay Fuloria, Corps of Signals, M Tech, Computer Science, 2015–17
Mr. Arul Dev teaches his courses (on Self-Awareness) in a style that is personal and
lively. He emphasizes on experiential knowledge as opposed to rote learning. This
book is written in a lucid language, which reflects the erudition of the author, his
capacity to communicate with the reader and his service towards holistic education for
students and professionals.
Amlan K. Sengupta, Professor, Department of Civil Engineering
Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras
This book gives the reader more control over their own reading, which I think would
help the reader understand better. The author goes step by step into each part of the
being in a structured manner, but the beauty is that despite the structure, one can start
with any part of the being after the introductory session. The book helped me
understand which part of the being I am using at any given time, which parts to
improve, and which parts to tone down a bit.
Keshav Bharadwaj Ravi, Student, Department of Civil Engineering, IIT Madras
Reading this book is like taking on a special journey in a dimension that has been little
explored. Most of us think that we have only 3 important components – body, mind
and soul. Having read Arul’s book it is clearly evident that 8 parts make us the
Complete beings that we are. I am immensely grateful for having read the book first
hand and the ‘inside journey’ has already begun. For transformation to happen,
awareness is the first step and I have taken it.
Krishnaveni Nagarajan, Vice President – Risk and Control, RBS Services India Pvt.
Ltd
This book provides an excellent framework for those who want integral development
through the path of knowledge and will, with a systematic and experiential approach.
Arul Dev has done a masterful distilling of the essential qualities of the major
psychological parts of our being with a high degree of precision, based on the
knowledge of Integral Yoga of Sri Aurobindo. Arul’s original contribution to the
growing body of knowledge emerging based on Sri Aurobindo’s pioneering work, is
in developing easy ways to identify the inherent strength and potential of each part.
He also shares practical ways of nourishing these strengths so that they can emerge
and become our effective inner resources that come into play in our daily life and
work.
Manoj Pavitran, Integral Yoga (Sadhak), Design Thinking, Film Director, Auroville
First Edition: 2017
ISBN: 978-81-7060-391-7
Published by
AuroPublications, Sri Aurobindo Society, Puducherry
Website: www.auropublications.org | www.aurosociety.org
Email: info@auropublications.org
Copyright©2017 Sri Aurobindo Society

Puducherry
All rights reserved under international copyright conventions.
No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means,
electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording or by any other information
storage and retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the publisher.
Printed at Parksons Graphics, Mumbai, India

CONTENTS
Preface
Introduction
1. SENSING PARTS OF YOUR BEING
Inner Presence
Call for Evolution of our Inner Being
First Dip Into Parts of Being: Awareness
Development of Physical Body
Development of Vital Life-Force
Development of Mind
Development of Intuition
Discovering Inner Guide
Second Dip: Greater Understanding
Physical
Part 1 – Physical
Life Force
Part 2 – Sensory Enjoyment
Part 3 – Dynamic Energy
Part 4 – Emotional Care
Mind
Part 5 – Objective Mind
Part 6 – Idea Force
Part 7 – Pure Mind
Deeper Self
Part 8 – Deeper Self
Third Dip: Key Resources
Physical
Part 1 – Physical
Life Force
Mind
Deeper Self
Fourth Dip: Sources of Nourishment
Sadhana: Effort, Sincerity and Surrender
Inner Influences the Outer
Outer Influences the Inner
Aspiration: To Evolve
Teach this Chapter to Someone!
Reflection
2. PHYSICAL
Body
Habit and Its Repetitive Nature
An Exercise to Change Habits
Delights of the Physical
Health
Medicinal Systems to heal the body
Regular Maintenance
Stability
Transformation of Body
Health
Using the full capacity of human body
Honouring body’s boundaries and rhythms
Providing time for exercise and physical work
Health in all inner and outer parts of body
Lightness
Flexibility
Getting out of the way!
Other Parts of Being Enhancing Physical
Sensory Enjoyment enhancing Physical
Dynamic Energy enhancing Physical
Emotional Care enhancing Physical
Objective Mind enhancing Physical
Idea Force enhancing Physical
Pure Mind enhancing Physical
Spiritual enhancing Physical
‘Massage Master’ Exercise
Reflection and Practice
3. SENSORY ENJOYMENT
Nature of Senses and Its Enjoyment
Purification of Senses
Overcoming Temptations
(a) Recognizing the pull and grip of temptations
(b) Transcending grip of temptations
(c) Teaching senses to choose wisely
Transforming Crude Sensory Enjoyment
Overcoming Fear
Using Jealousy positively
Experiencing Freedom from impulsive or instant gratification
Transcending need for easy quick returns
Experiencing Inherent Delights of Senses
Comfort
Sensory Enjoyment
Sensual Pleasure
Transformation of Senses
Sadhana to release mind’s exaggeration of senses
Sadhana to experience senses at their plane
Sadhana of bringing consciousness into sensory reactions
Advanced Mastery Path
Other Parts of Being Enhancing Senses
Physical enhancing Senses
Dynamic Energy enhancing Senses
Emotional Care enhancing Senses
Objective Mind enhancing Senses
Idea Force enhancing Senses
Justifying Reason – Reverse influence of the sensory rushes on the
mind
True role of Idea Force on Senses
Pure Mind enhancing Senses
Spiritual (Silence, Peace, Presence) enhancing Senses
Rungs of Transformation
Reflection
4. DYNAMIC ENERGY
Nature of Dynamic Energy or Power
Power, Dynamic Energy: Experiential Examples
Harnessing Personal Power
Transforming Limitations
Anger, Revenge
Restlessness, Frustration
Dominance, Manipulation
Overdrive
Circulation of Power and Dynamism
Connecting Power (Inflow)
Higher Sources
Normal Sources
Holding Power (Hold)
Expressing Power (Outflow)
Developing Resources
Building Invincible Strength
Other Parts of Being Enhancing Dynamic Energy
Physical enhancing Dynamic Energy
Sensory Enjoyment enhancing Dynamic Energy
Emotional Care enhancing Dynamic Energy
Objective Mind enhancing Dynamic Energy
Idea Force enhancing Dynamic Energy
Pure Mind enhancing Dynamic Energy
Spiritual enhancing Dynamic Energy
Reflection
5. EMOTIONAL CARE
Emotions
Purifying Limitations of Emotions
Emotional Sensitivity
Affected by/Affecting other’s emotions
Emotional Oscillations
Brooding over loss of Relationships
Partiality
Transformation of Emotions
Deepening of Heart
Widening of Heart
Inherent Delights of Emotions
Caring
Vulnerability
Giving
Connecting/Bonding
Compassion
Other Parts of Being Enhancing Emotional Care
Physical enhancing Emotions
Sensory Enjoyment enhancing Emotions
Dynamic Energy enhancing Emotions
Objective Mind enhancing Emotions
Idea Force enhancing Emotions
Pure Mind enhancing Emotions
Spiritual enhancing Emotions
Reflection
6. OBJECTIVE MIND
Communication and Data Processing Center
Center for Communication
Data Processor
External Data
Internal Data
Explosion of Data
Tiny Workouts
Transforming Word
Word in its fallen condition
Purifying Word from its enmeshments: Path of Objectifying
Word as a Conscious Creative Formation
Transforming Data Scanning Faculty: Insights
Attachment to known (‘I know’)
Fixed Viewpoints (‘I frame’)
Consciously choosing inner and outer data (‘I choose’)
Flame of Concentration
Objectifying and Choosing Mental Filters
Detecting vital forces that toss mental filters around
Creating anchor or reference point as ‘external reality’
Transforming Data Scanning Faculty: Method
First step: Clarifying Quality of Current Mental Filters
Second step: Detecting Influencers behind Mental Filters
Third step: Clarifying Key limiting Mental Filters
Fourth step: Widening Mental Filters and Clarifying Focus Questions
Fifth step: Anchored to External Reality, being in the present
Clearing the Mind
Objective Mind’s Application in Life and Work
Problem Mapping
Time Sense
Paradigm
Prioritize
Estimate
Chunk
Plan
Honour Shared Time
Communication
Subject Matter Expertise
Inherent Delights of Objective Mind
Precision
Usefulness
Creating Reality Using Objective Mind
Word
Data
Solution Centric
Refocusing Time Line: Past to Present
Word as an Offering to Intuition
Reflection
7. IDEA FORCE
Overview of Three Parts of Mind
Function of the Mind
Nature of Thoughts
Contents of the Mind
Concept
Imagination
Word, Data
Idea Force – Quick Pointers
Creating an Empowering Timeline
Stories woven in the Mind
Picture of timeline in the Mind
Imagining a ‘Non-vital’ Creative Image
Purification: Freeing thought-image formations from enmeshment of
vital life-forces
Personal Vs. Impersonal Imagination
Future-to-Present Creative Visualization
Strengthen Light and Potency of Idea Force
Methods to build Concentration
Giving true Light and Will to Idea Force
One Idea – A Thousand ‘Non-vital’ Image Formations
Symbolic Transformation of a situation
Co-Ideation Process
Change, Transformation and Innovation
Silence in the Mind: Ideal Backdrop for Creativity
Reflection
8. PURE MIND
Crux of Pure Mind

Role of Pure Mind
Truth is Living, Directing and Evolving
Central Truth Binds Contradictions by Finding Essence of Essences
Individuality & ‘AND’ of Pure Mind
Inferring Core Nature of Collective Space or Environment
Deducing Universal and Individual Life Principles
Truth about Oneself – Core Qualities/Values and Life Purpose
Alignment – Within and Without
Signature Strengths
Developing Faculties of the Pure Mind
Reflection, Contemplation
Stand back, Observe and Witness
Concentration, Focus
Purity to seek Universal Truth
Mental Sincerity
Benefits of Pure Mind
Widening
Deepening
Wholeness
Evolving
Recognizing the Fractal Pattern in a situation
Pure Mind opening to Intuition
Reflection
9. DEEPER SELF
What is Deeper Self?
Deeper Self Within the Cave of Our Heart
Choosing Deeper Self as Inner Guide
Resonance
Resonance Examples
Resonance Practice
Lighting Flame of Aspiration
Connection with Higher Consciousness
Silence
Intuition
Waiting in upper chambers of the mind
Unconditional Love
Necessity of Holding Purity
Offering: Key Practice of Deeper Self
Offering Parts of Being
Interchange of Consciousness
Living in Divine Presence
Reflection
Deep Gratitude
Glossary
Further Reading
PREFACE
During the course of the day – every day, if we are honest with ourselves –
we often feel ill at ease. We feel something’s not quite right: either with the
circumstances we find ourselves in or with our abilities to deal with them.
We feel inadequate, troubled, incomplete and unfulfilled in various ways. We
wish we could live our lives more skilfully and authentically. This wonderful
book shows us how we could do just that.
It’s a book for aspirants of all ages, but is likely to be particularly useful for
the young and the middle-aged, looking for guidance on practically all
aspects of life in today’s world – especially, work and relationships. It will
also be very helpful for teachers and trainers interested in a truly integral
education that includes all dimensions – physical, vital, mental and spiritual.
Each of these ‘parts of Being’ are examined in great detail here, separately
and in their mutual interaction, to show how and why we tend to behave the
way we do, and how, through insightful practice, we can engage with life far
more skilfully and explore wonderful potentials that remain concealed in us.
This book will also be helpful to those who are spiritually inclined, for it
brings in a much-needed correction to the traditional ‘other-worldly’ view of
spirituality as something that calls for renunciation of the material world.
While some degree of asceticism, dispassion and equanimity are certainly
essential for spiritual living and Self-realisation, it would be an error to deny
the reality and purpose of the material world, for indeed everything is Divine.
The special challenge for individuals who have ascended to the heights of
pure Spirit is to engage consciously in bringing so-called heaven to life on
earth, staying ever yoked to Spirit. This is the way to the Life Divine
visualised by Masters like Sri Aurobindo. It calls for a thorough
understanding of various aspects of Body, Life, Mind and Spirit, as humanly
experienced in our daily life.
The author of this book, Arul Dev, is an exceptionally self-aware and gifted
individual, who knows very well what he is talking about. I have observed
him closely over the years as a friend and colleague, jointly teaching Self-
Awareness and Integral Karmayoga to students at IIT Madras, as well as
other programmes on integral education, for teachers and the corporate world.
He is at his best in individual coaching – especially for existing and potential
leaders of various organisations. He is clearly driven by an awakened
‘Deeper Self’ that spontaneously understands and responds to people and
situations around him. In this book, he teaches what he knows,
acknowledging that acquiring such knowledge is an evolving and unfolding
process for which he can only serve as a catalyst. The awakened Deeper Self
in the individual will then do all that needs to be done.
Arul Dev gives his time freely and whole-heartedly to all those who seek his
help, and I am amazed by his generosity, energy, patience and enthusiasm. It
is especially heartening to see many of our young boys and girls seeking him
out as a confidant, to help discover ways of dealing with so many personal
problems, which they are reluctant to share with even close family and
friends. From their feedback, we come to know how authentic, sincere,
humble, friendly and helpful Arul Dev is in all his interactions.
How poorly we know about ourselves! This is a surprising discovery anyone

delving into this book is likely to make. We discover that there are many
different parts to our individual being, somewhat like different employees in
a large organisation – with whom we have only a vague acquaintance. It is so
important to get to know them all, what their individual roles and functions
are, and how they collectively contribute to the well-being and functioning of
the overall system. We also discover that, if not well tended to, they can do
much damage and cause ill-being through dysfunction.
The author points out at the very outset that the key to this self-discovery lies
in focussing on the quality of our inner being. We need to turn inwards to feel
the “inner presence” in every part of our being, even as we engage with the
outer world. That inner presence is seeking healthy development and
purification, in the pursuit of perfection, so as to bring delight and fulfilment
in all outer expressions. Every part is there to serve a purpose and to satisfy a
need, which should not be ignored. A delight, a joy, a pleasure is experienced
when the need is quenched, and conversely, some form of despair or pain is
felt when the need is frustrated. It is a sign of growing maturity and evolution
of consciousness, when we are able to discern and align with more
aesthetically refined dimensions and potentials in each part of being, and
reject the cruder forms and limitations.
Eventually we discover an inherent happiness and ease of being in the

innermost part of our being, the Deeper Self. It liberates us from the delusory
dependence on external objects for our happiness, and liberates us from a
perennial sense of lack. We can still relish the ‘good things in life’ – as and
when they come – but are no longer dependent on them. We then have only
one purpose in life: what is our true divine calling? With the awakening of
the Deeper Self, things begin to fall in place, and we get our soul’s sure
guidance on all that contributes to truth, goodness and beauty. We engage in
work and life, not to fill some deficiency or craving in our surface being, but
to offer ourselves whole-heartedly and joyfully to whatever we are called
upon to do. The Deeper Self has the ability to unify and direct the different
parts of our being to function harmoniously and skilfully.
The journey of life is typically full of ups and downs. There are always
lessons to be learnt – sometimes, the hard way. Nevertheless, it is an
adventure, provided our aspiration remains high, and we can find our way.
This book helps us find our way, kindling our aspiration. It helps us discover
that the only way to find our way is through direct experience of inner
presence in every part of our being. The only way to truly understand others
is by experiencing what they feel and know in our own physical, vital and
mental parts of being. We begin to see how conditioned we are by our own
particular likes and dislikes, belief system and values, and how this
conditioning tends to distort our understanding, preventing us from true
appreciation of and empathy for others.
This is very important for teachers and leaders in organisations to recognise.

Students and trainees are not to be treated as though they are some
mechanical objects in an assembly line, meant to go through some pre-
programmed production process – which is what modern education is often
reduced to. Each individual is a unique human being, with unique gifts,
strengths and weaknesses. We need to pay careful attention to every
individual’s unique qualities – looking through their outer behaviour, into
their inner presence – if we are truly interested in human resource
development. This book shows the way.
No more needs to be said. Do plunge straightaway into the book, which

consists of nine chapters, each designed with meticulous care. Do pause to
soak in the pictures that the author has conceived, to add meaning to each
part of being. After reading the introductory chapter, you are welcome to
explore any other chapter that appeals to you – for that is the way the book
has been planned. But do read the book in its entirety, for there are many
insights to gain. When you browse through the book some time later –
perhaps some years later – you may be surprised to find yourself resonating
to some insight that you had missed earlier!
I thank Arul Dev for the privilege of writing this Preface. Thank you too,
dear reader! May this book help you find your way! May the Divine guide us
all!
Devdas Menon
Professor, IIT Madras
Author of Stop Sleepwalking through Life! and Spirituality at Work
INTRODUCTION
Purpose of this Book

The book has been written as an inner companion to understand the nuances
of our ‘being’. It is an experiment to make the act of reading an experiential
inward journey that triggers transformation. We spend a lot of time
understanding, discovering and mastering our outer world—work, career,
studies and relationships to name a few. We spend lesser time discovering,
polishing and perfecting the resources of our inner being. If we are largely
centered on the external we may grow and progress, but we will not evolve.
We may feel we are moving forward but our central axis, the consciousness
from where we fundamentally operate, remains the same. Inner evolution is
when we can become aware and transform the constituents of our inner
experience of thought, emotion, energy and habit, under the touch and
guidance of our deeper self. This changes the quality and nature of our
consciousness. However if we do this as a passing engagement we may land
up with some development but the fundamental consciousness from where
we ‘come from’ each moment will remain the same. This fundamental
consciousness will be centered in some part of our mind, emotion or energy
at its current levels.
We make a distinct choice in our life when we aspire to evolve and shift the
fundamental central axis of our consciousness. We may choose to center
ourselves in a greater creative and intuitive zone in our mind, deepen into the
goodness and wideness of our heart, embrace the abundance of energy
present to manifest our purpose or ground ourselves in the stability of living a
conscious and sustainable life. This shifting of the center of our
consciousness is a joyful labour of love where a) we choose to evolve
ourselves, b) we bring the focus of our new center or axis in our daily life and
work, c) we perfect all parts of our Being so that there is increasing
resourcefulness within and d) we align the working of all parts of our Being
to enhance the functioning and expression of our new center. In this journey
we ourselves are the instruments who choose to be transformed and we
ourselves are the guides of our own transformation.
This book is written for individuals who aspire to evolve. The vision is to
inspire and empower a critical number of people around the world who
evolve to uphold increasing truth, goodness, beauty, love, fulfillment,
perfection and authentic collective progress in their families, organization and
institutions.
The book offers you:
Awareness of your parts of being at the mind, life energy, physical and
deeper self level.
Insights on how each part of your being interacts and influences each
other, thus enabling or limiting each other.
Methods of purifying and developing the nature and strengths of each

part of your being to their inherent perfection.
Opportunity to center and stabilize in your new axis of consciousness.
Practices to align and integrate your inner being around your own
chosen center.
For whom is this book written
This book is meant for anyone who chooses to evolve within and without.
This is for those who choose to a) sink experientially within their own being
as they read the book, b) experiment with purification, development and
transformation of all parts of their being, and c) bring forth the quintessence
of their evolving being into their life and work, and thus meaningfully
contribute to their collective contexts.
For principals, teachers and educationalists, this book will provide practical
tools and pathways of how they can contribute to the holistic development of
all the inner faculties of the child – mind, life energy, body and connection to
purpose. The goal here is to forward Integral Education of the students
facilitated by teachers, and the book is intended to serve as a resource
material for the same.
For students, this book will support in kindling the aspiration to discover their
inner self and transform the nature and the quality of their inner intelligence,
will and driving forces. For those who want to enter the path of Self-
Awareness early on in their lives and accomplish Self-Mastery.
For leaders, who are inspired to delve deep and touch the layer of ‘Being’
within them; purify and strengthen it. For leaders who are also inspired to
coach their team members to access their strengths and resources of their
Inner Presence, to bring it out in their competencies and work.
Keys to Experience the Book
How is this book written
This book has been a result of more than eight years of research into each
part of Inner Presence. The Telos Model of Consciousness, developed by
Manoj Pavitran of Auroville and the author, based on Sri Aurobindo’s
Integral Yoga, served as a spark for the author’s own journey into his
consciousness. The model of eight parts of Being used in this book, further
emerged out of deep study of the author’s own Inner Presence and applying it
to his day-to-day life and work. Each part of the Being was meditated upon
and explored in-depth by the author and shared through workshops and others
via forums. The in-depth inner exploration of the Being within the author and
dialogues with participants from workshops, coaching sessions and classes,
led to the insights and experiential explorations which are presented in this
book.
All the examples shared in this book are real experiences. The names used are
fictitious. The experiences shared are that of the author’s or those of others
that the author has observed in life and verified the same in his experience.
The intent of sharing these experiences is for the reader to get a clue about
each part of Being and locate the same experientially within them. The author
invites the readers to experiment the inner explorations described in this book
within their own Being. This can result in some real discoveries, insights,
resourcefulness and inner changes within the reader through the journey of
this book.
How to read this book
When some of our participants read portions of this book, they gave us two
kinds of response. Some said that this was insightful and really helped them
understand themselves better and make the inner transformations that served
them best. Some said that portions of the book were challenging and complex
for them. We offer this book maintaining its purity and authenticity knowing
that these two experiences potentially would emerge within the reader. This
book would reveal greater insights, greater connectivity to one’s own inner
presence and enable the emergence of one’s own radiance present within. At
the same time, it can also give a feeling of being overwhelmed when certain
terrains are new, unexplored sufficiently within oneself or needing greater
depth and insight.
This insightfulness and some degree of complexity are an inherent nature of

this book as it attempts to explore the terrains of all parts of Being, and this is
done to the best of the author’s capacity and evolution at this point of time.
Some of the readers may be already familiar with some parts of their Being
and the chapters may take them to a deeper connect of their own Inner
Presence. Some readers may not be familiar with some parts of Being and for
them, these chapters may be relatively new, unexplored, exciting or
challenging.
With this background, we suggest some guidelines on how to read this book.
Find your own rhythm to allow the book to reveal its secrets and also to
enable your own inner presence to come alive and to become enriched
through this exploration.
Reading by Rhythm – The book need not be read in a linear manner

from cover to cover. It can be read in a simultaneous way moving where
attention and inspiration is being drawn.
Reading by repetition and in circular movements of internalization

– The book is intentionally written non-sequentially and is designed for
repetitions and circular ways of expression and order. This allows for
greater internalization for the reader and aids inner transformation of a
different nature. We invite you to experience the same.
Reading over time – The book works at different layers and hence can
be read over a few weeks or even over a few months. Some time may be
needed to internalize and assimilate the material so that it becomes one’s
own experiential inner knowing.
Reading to experience – The book is best looked upon as something

one dives into deeply beyond the words, stays aware of the experiences
triggered within and absorbs the core essence embodied within the book,
into one’s Being. This will ensure that the exploration through this book
is transformative.
Reading to discover new terrains – If a particular paragraph or chapter

is tough to read, the reader is recommended to read it with attention.
You can be aware of what is coming alive and clear to you at that point.
Later, what is not clear can be addressed through another reading and
deep dive.
Enhancing the experience of this book through your inner efforts –

The book is written to invite the reader to evolve with some inner effort.
The book may trigger you to scale up to some of the nuances, depth and
intricate details of this book. It is not necessary that you follow exactly
what is written here in your life. However, you are invited and requested
to access the corresponding nuances, depth and richness that get
triggered within your own Being by reading this book – in your own
unique way and through your own inner practices.
A Glimpse into the Flow of the Book
The first chapter is a general overview of each part of Being. We recommend
that you read each resource; and locate and connect with it within you. The
first chapter is intended as a starting point for your experiential exploration
into your Being. The remaining eight chapters will explore each part of Being
in succession. Each of the physical, life energy, mind and deeper-self
chapters will follow slightly different formats to bring out the essence of each
part of Being.
The chapter on the physical will explore the development of the body
and its habits. It will also recommend a 20 min workout to be done in a
very specific way to get the full benefit and radiance of the physical. The
physical is moved by the life energy and guided by the mind. This
influence of the other parts of Being on the physical will also be
explored.
The chapters on the life energy of ‘sensory enjoyment’, ‘dynamic

energy’ and ‘emotional care’ are written beginning first with their
limitations. The reason behind this is that the vital life-energy needs to
be at its purified flow for us to enable our full intelligence and to be able
to manifest our purpose in life. The chapters would attempt to access
ways of transforming the limitations and accessing the resources beneath
the limitations of vital life-energy. Then the inherent delights of each of
the vital life-forces will be explored. An exploration would also be made
to gauge how other parts of Being can intermingle with the vital life-
force to enhance it. The vital life-energy is the link between our physical
and the mind. Hence this exploration of the intermingling effects of
parts of Being will ensure that we are creating the nourishing and
energizing contacts between our mind, vital life-energy and body.
The chapters on the ‘mind’ follow a different format. We will first

explore the mind when it is trapped by the lower workings of physical
and vital life-energy. Next we will explore the working of the mind
playing its normal function as the ‘objective’, ‘creative’ and ‘pure’
mind. We will then explore the mind in its next evolutionary role – mind
which acts as a receiving and transmitting station for the wisdom and
intuition from higher consciousness, to enter and act through us in the
world.
The deeper self will be a direct exploration of how to recognize and

open to one’s inner guidance, trust, certitude, faith and intuition.
Final Words before we begin
This book and the author intend to have readers who are interested in their
‘Being-ness’ and who are interested to bring their own magnificence into
their ‘Doing-ness’ – to create exceptional, original and creative work in life.
The author wishes that the readers understand the different experiences at the
Inner Presence layer within them. What is written here is born from the
deeper explorations within the author. The author invites the reader to take
these experiences, connect to them and soak into them. The goal that the
author has attempted is a deep sharing and revealing authentically the
experiences of his Inner Presence so that the readers can genuinely connect to
their own Inner Presence and nurture its best magnificence.
The book is meant to be a reminder and a trigger for the reader to access
higher, deeper and richer experience at their Being level. And to accomplish
this, a certain degree of inner effort is indeed required. This book is dedicated
to all the people across the world who are doing their inner Sadhana/daily
practices for the transformation of their inner consciousness and the outer life
and work they are part of.
Inner Presence
This book is offered for the fuller development of the interiority of the
individual. In the spectrum of evolution, humans occupy an interesting
position – one where they can be increasingly aware of their own ‘Inner
Presence’. Humans can sense the quality of their ‘Inner Presence’ and its
inter-relationship with outer living, action and manifestation. The inner
presence determines the quality of outer manifestation and reality. The outer
environment and reality in turn influence the quality of inner presence.
Beneath all our actions and behaviours there is our inner presence that is
indwelling, flowing and functioning, whether we are aware of it or not. This
inner presence is the ‘being’ layer within us. It has certain universal parts like
the soul, mind, life energy and physical, with each part having its own
inherent nature, purpose, function and subdivisions. For example, the soul
guides, the mind thinks, the life energy mobilizes movement and action and
the physical body is the form in which our whole life is unfolding. Now the
way each of these parts of being has developed within us is a function of our
individual choices we have been making and the environmental and systemic
conditions present.
Initially, our self-awareness is indistinct and the working of the mind, energy,
emotion and sensations get mixed in one’s perception. The intended readers
are those who are curious about discovering the distinct nature and working
of each part of their inner being. Even when the human develops a capacity
for distinctive awareness of each part of their being, that understanding is
often theoretical. For example, one ‘knows’ how emotions flow, but one is
not directly in touch with the emotions. These pages have been written for
those who want to ‘taste’ and experience each part of their being in its own
domain. To this end, this book follows a slightly different style of writing.
The words are crystallized from the experience of a particular part of being to
connect with the same part in the reader. When the reader allows the words in
these chapters to penetrate into their being, the corresponding part of being
comes to the fore of their awareness. Each chapter is a gateway and guidepost
for the reader to enter into the wonderful world of that part of being, discover
its nature and explore how to purify, develop and perfect it.
Call for Evolution of our Inner Being
Human progress, especially in science and technology is, to a fair extent, the
result of the genius of a few exceptional minds. These minds which
developed greater faculties for creativity, innovation, synthesis and foresight
were able to bring about sweeping changes in the intellectual landscape of
their times. However, others who benefited from these breakthroughs had to
comprehend the work of these geniuses using whatever mental capacities
they possessed at the moment. Thus, a ‘spike’ in the intellectual level of a
few creates an evolutionary need for the development of mental faculties for
the rest of humanity as well. This is necessary for the next ‘spike’ of genius
to occur.
Though on one hand, mental faculties and the resultant accomplishments

have reached unforeseen heights, on the other hand, the very same intellect
creates problems that threaten the delicately balanced global ecology and
economy. Humanity is also continually faced with challenges in nurturing
and sustaining their relationships and health, to name a few.
Every period of rapid growth in one domain or facet is followed by a period

of balance and assimilation. This also usually necessitates a corresponding
growth in other related facets. The human is both a mental and an emotional
being. The current surge in mental capabilities of the human race is now
necessitating a corresponding development of the ‘heart’. Humans have
within them a ‘heart’ – a great capacity for personal care – which is often
bound by care as experienced within a particular family, group or society.
Some humans have, at the level of the heart, magnified their capacity to
access impersonal care wherein they feel, care and act for the well-being of
all. They are capable of care which manifests in an impersonal and all-
inclusive way without any preference for a particular person or group.
With the progress of technology, the emergence of a broad and dispassionate

heart that can use it effectively for the good of all is a need of the hour. The
body, too, is caught in the throes of human evolution. Everything that is
experienced by the mind and the heart has its residual impact on the body. At
the level of the individual and the entire humankind, the evolving complex
mind and the wide impersonal heart are often not yet perfect and may even be
at odds with each other. This contradiction is experienced in the body in the
form of stress. All over the world, people are trying to cope with stress in the
body. There is a pressing need to honour the needs of the body and, at the
same time, train the body to endure this accelerated evolutionary forward
movement of the mind and the heart.
With regard to the mind and its evolution to become broader, there’s a need
to accept diverse ideas from different sources, weave knowledge together into
a comprehensive whole and deduce the underlying singularity and simplicity
from within increasingly complex structures individually and collectively. In
this era of a great deal of mental noise, there are many people who sense the
need and aspire to access the ranges of silence, calmness and inner peace that
keep the mind fresher and clearer thereby enabling it to shine its guiding light
with more radiance. As far as the heart is concerned, its evolution to become
more inclusive, caring, giving, dispassionate and deep is needed for the well-
being of the individual and the entire race. Such an evolution will enable us
to access the unconditional and nourishing emotional and energetic states
within. The capacity of the body to bolster the development of the mind and
the heart, and remain in a relaxed, healthy and steady state of being is a great
need of present times. Our deeper self – the agent of evolution, inner
guidance and transformation within us – can best emerge as the ‘leader’ of
our being to guide this evolution. Such is the premise of our book – the
evolution of our mind, vital life-energy and body guided by our deeper self.
An experiential exploration of this inner evolution involving both the reader
and the author is being undertaken in the shared space of this book.
While this evolutionary need to work on our inner presence at the ‘being’
level is the need of the hour, in the current busy-ness of our ‘doing’ mode we
keep pushing our ‘doing’ and actions to be faster, smarter, more productive,
more efficient and more successful. We often get so consumed by our ‘doing’
that we miss paying attention to our ‘being’ which is the source of inner
nourishment that must come from within. Our parts of ‘being’ are the ones
that clarify, energize, add quality and strengthen our ‘doing’. When our inner
presence is given attention and developed to its natural best, there is a
quantum shift in the quality of our work and actions. When we can become
aware of and integrally develop all parts of our inner presence, there can be
substantial and balanced progress in our outer life and in our societies,
countries and environment.
The goal of this book is to touch and nourish your being layer. It is written by
meditating on each part of the inner presence and presenting it in such a
manner that the essence of the being is touched and experienced in you as the
reader. It is not meant to be read at one shot, but rather, is meant to be lived
with as a companion. You will benefit the most experientially when you tune
in to the nature of inner presence through the words here and make each part
come alive within you. The writings are also meant to open doors to a greater
insight on the quality of one’s inner presence and its natural resourcefulness.
You will find that the parts of being are explored repeatedly in a circular
dive-in way, to allow for greater internalization. Sometimes the core essence
and experience is shared by a straight dive into its depths. Then we circle
around it in myriad different ways, for the experience to be triggered in the
reader. At other times, a brief glimpse of the part of being is given at the
beginning and then we go for increasing depth as we progress through the
chapter. The intention behind this seemingly unconventional presentation is
to ensure that one does not just read the words of this book or think about it
and say ‘I know’, ‘I agree’, ‘I disagree’, etc. The aim is to ensure that through
this circular dive-in exploration, the part of being gets experientially triggered
in you, the reader, at a certain point. We invite you to stay with the process
and observe what emerges within you as you journey through each chapter of
this book.
First Dip Into Parts of Being: Awareness
Broadly speaking, the Inner Presence ‘being’ layer is made up of the
following parts:
Physical
Life Energy
Mind
Deeper Self
Physical: Become aware of your body as we explore this part. The physical
comprises the body and its habits. The body is the form in which we live and
act in this world. The body is content when it is exercised well, gets
nourishing food, sleep and rest and is flexible and strong enough to do all the
work that is needed of it. The body is also composed of habits.
Life Energy: The life energy is made up of three constituent parts –
Sensory Enjoyment: Become aware of your senses as we explore this

part. This is the desire center and its universe of sensations which seek
‘pleasure’ and want to avoid ‘pain’. Depending on one’s level of
evolution, the pleasures sought can be crude or aesthetic and short-term
quick fixes or long-term nourishment. ‘Beauty’ and ‘melody’ are the
delights here.
Dynamic Energy: Become aware of the energy around your navel

region as we explore this part. This is the center of power, drive and
passion. This is the ‘fire in the belly’ to move forward and conquer. The
delight here is the ‘strength’ of this dynamic energy in its capacity to
mobilize dynamism and action.
Emotional Care: Feel into your heart as we explore this part. This is the
center of love, care, warmth, inclusion and feeling. This is the stirring or
melting within one’s heart to give and to contribute. The delight we can
experience here is the feeling of ‘love’, ‘connection’ and ‘giving’.
Mind: The mind is made up three parts –
Objective Mind: Become aware of your mind of practicality and

information gathering when we explore this part. This is the practical,
scientific and methodical part of the mind. This aspect of our being
prizes data and information above all else. The expressed word and the
manner in which it is communicated are also related to the objective
mind. The delights here are ‘precision’, ‘accuracy’ and ‘usefulness’.
Idea Force: Become aware of the part of your mind that wants to align
to the purpose, idea or concept and imagines how this can be creatively
manifested to transform one’s life and work. This part of our being goes
beyond the known to explore new pathways that would enable us to
manifest the idea or ideal. The delight here is ‘novelty’, ‘nobility’ and
‘creativity’. This is the mind that is keen on envisioning change and
transformation.
Pure Mind: Become aware of the part of the mind that concerns itself
neither with the physical nor with the life energy and whose focus and
concern is the mind itself and the ‘essence’ or ‘quality’ of its contents
and formations. This mind is expansive and is capable of being open to
all the world-views, ideas and ideologies presented to our mind. It
‘centers’ each of these views, ideas and ideologies by culling out their
core principle or essence. It then synthesizes and weaves all these
‘centers’ together to form a cohesive whole. The delight here is ‘clarity’,
‘wholeness’, ‘essence’ and ‘synthesis’.
Deeper Self: This has two parts. Accessing both these parts is possible only
when we are able to shake off the mindless conditioning of our lives and
become genuinely aware, conscious, sensitive and sensing the deeper and
higher consciousness within and above us.
Become aware of the tiny space within your heart where you feel the
Presence of a guide or unconditional love, faith and trust in the world. This is
our ‘Inner Guide’ residing in the depth of our hearts and guiding us in our
evolution through its ‘whispers’ and ‘nudges’.
Become aware of the region above the workings of the mind, where the mind
is silent. This is the region where one’s awareness does not look at the realms
of mind, energy and body with downcast eyes. Instead the awareness looks
upwards as if looking at the light or the sky above. Here the mind waits
silently, pregnant with deep questions. It can then wait quietly till the insight,
revelation and wisdom enter this silent space and the mind acts purely as a
receiver.
The delights here are ‘love’, ‘joy’, ‘certitude’, ‘truth’, and a sense of being
held and unconditionally supported by a Presence.
Through this book we share methods and insights for the development of
each part of your being. A glimpse of what this development could look like
is shared here.
In the ensuing sections, we invite you to dive deeper into each part of being.
We urge you to locate each part of being as you read and understand its
nature and development, through your own experience. May the words
written in this book be guideposts to let you get a taste of your own parts of
being and explore its full radiance!
Development of Physical Body
Developing the physical was always considered paramount in the educational
systems of many ancient cultures. A robust and methodical development of
the body in order to build its flexibility, endurance and strength was
considered an integral part of one’s holistic development. An exercised and
healthy body is more capable of developing concentration and freshness of
the mind, and enduring all the challenges of life. Modern lifestyles see us
ignoring this fundamental principle of well-being. People often keep pushing
their bodies without taking care of it and often realize the difficulty of
managing an ill-formed body only later in life. In today’s busy world many –
especially working professionals – hardly pay any attention to their body.
Long working hours, irregular eating habits and accumulation of stress have
begun to take a toll on their health. And the ironical part is that with the ever-
lengthening lifespans that medical science is making possible, we do have to
be prepared to live longer.
In this book, we lay great emphasis to the development of body and its habits.
This ensures a strong foundation on which development and mastery of the
vital life-energy and mind can occur.
Development of Vital Life-Force
We need to learn to face life and interact with many different kinds of people
in a productive and harmonious way. We also need to enjoy life, face life’s
challenges with courage and feel the deep connect and bond we have with
others. Every interaction with another is an opportunity for us to develop
inter-personal capacities, leadership skills and to make a contribution –
however small – to make the world a little better.
Thus we need to learn to connect and emote with others in an authentic

manner so that we develop a genuine sense of care, affection and giving. To
this end, all excesses and over-sensitivity of emotions need to be healed. Real
life is quite dynamic and none can escape the interplay of conflicting pushes
and pulls. We need to recognize how to harness our authentic power and
dynamic energy, and learn to zestfully manifest the results that we aspire for
in life. We also need to cultivate an elegant capacity for sensory enjoyment.
This will guard us from the snare of crude pleasures, habits and temptations
that many get caught in even while at the peak of their accomplishments.
People in all walks of life and pursuing all avenues of work need to develop
their vitality, purify it of all the imperfections and develop it to its fullest
extent. It is the vital life-force which gives the dynamic power, sense of
enjoyment and emotional maturity needed to realize any dream or goal.
In this book we will touch each part of the vital life-force and comprehend
their impact within ourselves.
Development of Mind
Irrespective of the contents of our thoughts and analyses, the three parts of
the mind (the objective, creative idea force and pure mind) can be developed
to their absolute perfection. Let us, for a moment, assume that you are
tackling some problems involving statistics. By paying attention to the
precision and accuracy of data gathering and calculations, the objective part
of the mind can be developed. By focussing on approaching problems in a
whole new way aligned to the purpose or big picture, the creative area of the
mind can be exercised. By seeking to understand the underlying principles
and abstractions behind the problem-solving methods, the pure and
conceptual part of the mind can be refined.
Usually, the workplace requires us to use the objective mind which handles
data. Organizations are centered on data and scorecards in their various
avatars. Analytics is emerging as a key tool to understand the processes and
assess the overall health of the organization. However, due to this increased
focus on data-crunching, the full potential of the innovative mind and the
conceptual pure mind often lie unrealized. When we are able to tap into the
entire capacity of the idea force and pure mind in our institutions and
organizations, it would open up new horizons of innovation and alignment,
and bring about huge breakthroughs in the way we live and work.
Through this book, we attempt to set you on course for fuller development of
the mind and its amazing faculties.
Development of Intuition
This book is also meant to prepare its readers to enter into and discover for
themselves the domain of intuition. Most of us limit ourselves to dabbling
with the known – and often, only a small fraction of it. However, there are
those rare individuals like Srinivasa Ramanujan – the mathematician of the
East, and Nikola Tesla – the inventor of the West, who had highly evolved
intuitions. They could tap into realms of knowledge that were often much
ahead of their times. Why should learning deal for the most part with only
what is already known? Instead, why not prepare us to broach new frontiers
and open ourselves to receive new knowledge and wisdom? The average
human is conditioned to stifle their intuition because of their attachment to
the known and an under-developed capability to concentrate and listen to the
incomings of the ‘beyond’ and ‘unknown’.
These are the questions we seek to address in this book so as to prepare the
reader to tap into his or her intuitive part of being. All of us would have
experienced sporadic moments when our intuition is awakened and gives us
its insights. Ideally, one should always have a steady connection to his or her
intuitive self as we navigate our lives. We should remember that pure and
well-nourished body, vital life-force and mind are prerequisites to the
enhancement of this higher faculty. Silence and expansiveness are two other
qualities which must necessarily be fostered in us. The extent of silence and
expansiveness accessed in each mind determines how far the light of intuition
will be allowed to permeate into it.
Discovering Inner Guide
Present day society often offers us the strange spectacle of the helpless being
led by the absolutely clueless! When they are young, children are influenced
by their parents but sometimes rebel against them in later years. They are
swayed by whatever is deemed trendy by the media, the masses and their
equally lost peers. Careers are chosen solely on what course or job seems to
be in demand and would give them a fat pay package. A genuine attempt to
discover one’s own purpose, gifts and inner calling is often not given the
importance and attention it deserves.
Within each one of us is a deeper self – the leader or inner guide of our lives.
If we practice tuning into its resonance, sensitivity and guidance, we can
learn to allow ourselves to be led towards our own inner and outer evolution.
Such an evolution is a necessary step towards the fulfillment of our destiny.
Connecting to our deeper self would help us discover our true nature, life
work and unique purpose in life.
A hazy view of life is not restricted to the young generation. Adults, too, are
often ignorant or unconcerned about the deeper questions in life. Once in a
while they have inner stirrings and ask questions like, ‘Who am I?’ and
‘What should I do?’ However most often, no light dawns and nothing
transpires, except for some inner struggles and frustrations. Life is lived with
an indifferent ‘let’s get on with it’ attitude. Most of the so-called goals that
direct one’s actions are superficial and do not penetrate the depths of the soul.
Even those individuals who sense their calling are hampered by fear and
uncertainty as they may have families, large loans to repay and the comfort of
a life they have gotten used to.
In this book, connection to the deeper self is a pivotal part of the work. This
is a natural poise of centeredness where one is increasingly connected to
one’s inner light to guide the way through our evolution. The goal here is to
lead our lives in a purposeful, meaningful and aligned way.
The focus of this book is to allow an experiential journey within each
individual and the discovery of the process of inner change and evolution, led
by our inner guide. This will lead to a qualitative shift in action in the outer
environment and work one is a part of.
The goal here is to evolve each day in our thought, emotion, energy and
body. This is our privilege as human beings, our joy and our responsibility as
well. Noble efforts are needed to sufficiently purify and develop our inner
presence to radiate our full resources and goodness into our life and work.
May this gentle fire of progress burn into our hearts and minds!
Second Dip: Greater Understanding
Let us take another round of dip into each part of being in slightly more
detail. As you read the descriptions, be aware of what happens within you.
Notice which parts of being come more alive through this second stage. The
intention behind this dipping in is to provide greater conceptual clarity about
each part of being and to enhance internal awareness.
Physical
Part 1 – Physical
The physical comprises the human body, its health and its nature of habit
formation. When the body is well maintained with regular exercise,
nourishing food, adequate sleep and sufficient exposure to sun and fresh air,
it becomes healthy, supple, fresh, strong, and energetic. Consequently, it
infuses a greater capacity to carry out one’s activities with vigour and energy.
The body, by and large, works subconsciously using its own natural
intelligence and maintaining its equilibrium and rhythm. When we are tuned
in to this natural rhythm, the body functions at its best. But when we are off
the natural rhythm the body gets stressed, tired and weak.
The physical nature also manifests as habits. Any habit takes time and
repetition to form. Once formed, it again takes time and repetition to undo
and move beyond them. Habits can be both empowering and limiting.
When you develop your physical to its fullest radiance, you enjoy robust
health. You have mastery over habits. You can change any habit you want.
You can create any habit you want and hold it stable. This gives a solid
grounding and foundation for the whole of your life and work.
Life Force

Our senses come alive when they are exposed to sensory stimuli. The senses
always seek pleasure and try to avoid pain. Senses seek enjoyment by seeing,
hearing, touching, smelling and tasting.
The source of our enjoyments can be crude and temporal giving a heightened
but short-lived kick, or they can be aesthetic and refined, giving a long-
lasting, subtler and fuller satisfaction of the senses.
Nature is one of the most abundant sources of more refined sensory stimuli
and enjoyment that uplifts us.
This part of being is also the domain of seeking comfort, enjoying the small
things in life and leisure. When there is sufficient sensory enjoyment, fun,
and recreation present, life and work become joyful and there is a spring in
one’s step and melody in one’s heart.
When fully purified and refined, the senses turn towards beautiful and
aesthetic forms of nourishment. There is a sense of lightheartedness and fun
towards life, people and work.

This is the energy of action and passion. This is the energy that is ready to
take on any challenge to overcome it and emerge victorious. This is the drive
to keep on moving forwards and accomplish what seems impossible at this
point of time.
This is the relentless force to battle all odds, expand, reach new frontiers and
succeed. Success is a necessity, success is a mantra and success is a way of
life for our dynamic energy.
However long it takes, this energy can endure any hardship to taste victory.
This part of being is tremendously motivated and feels that every obstacle has
to be conquered, every competition has to be won and surpassed and every
corner of the world must be touched by one’s work.

This is where the heart opens up to connect to the other, to bond and to care,
and to belong and to share. The heart melts, enlarges and deepens, and the
other’s needs and aspirations become important to us. The heart feels called
upon to do whatever is possible to support the other so that they are happy
and fulfilled. When emotional care is developed to its fullest radiance, the
heart is fully open to give, contribute and make a positive difference for
others.
The heart places collective needs and the concerns and preferences of others
above one’s own needs and impels us to work towards their well-being and
advancement. This is a direct heart-to-heart connection that can last even if
one is not in constant touch with the other or they are across geographies.
There is a tender, warm and vulnerable feeling present within. This heart
wants to trust and confide in the other. More than wanting to receive, it wants
to give, share and offer all of itself and its gifts, talents and resources for the
greater good of family, organization, society, country, environment and the
world at large. St. Francis of Assisi has expressed this feeling perfectly
through his famous prayer, “O divine Master, grant that I may not so much
seek to be consoled as to console, to be understood as to understand, to be
loved as to love.”
Mind

This is the part of the mind that observes what is happening in reality, gathers
information, analyses data and communicates one’s views to the world. Its
role is to objectify and convert whatever it perceives into concrete and
tangible knowledge so that it can be understood and expressed with clarity
and precision. This would include making the knowledge specific,
measurable, split into appropriate chunks, and relatable to known terms.
This mind can observe and gather minute details about anything we pay
attention to. It believes in or accepts something as valid only when it is
supported by data that conforms to the current benchmarks and accepted
standards.
This part of mind is process-based and methodical – often working with

observable data – ordering, classifying them and drawing interpretations and
inferences from the data that it collects and classifies.
The objective mind prioritizes. It quantifies experiences and competencies so

that they can be clearly evaluated and their quality and extent can be
measured. This is the practical mind and it is concerned with what is material
and real. This part of being is the ‘form’ giver to knowledge, setter of rules
and guidelines and the framer of yardsticks and measures that govern
thinking, analyses and expression.

This is the force of creative imagination that helps in
manifesting/implementing ideas, philosophies, values, principles or concepts
in life and work. It frees the mind from what is already known and
established so that it can glimpse the potential of a new idea or vision.
Its interest lies in transforming and evolving our lives and work to help us
become closer to our ideals, ideologies and principles, enabling us to live a
principle-centered life.
This is the force of imagination that can envision how changes can
potentially unfold in alignment with our purpose and principles.
The idea force part of the mind is a realm of purposeful creation and ideation
which concerns itself with turning concepts into workable, real-life solutions.
This part of the mind generates innovative, creative and breakthrough ideas.

This is the highest part of the mind that deals with ideas, concepts, theories
and philosophies. It wants to know the meaning behind all that is happening
in life and in the world. It wants to frame a whole view or build a holistic
model to understand the truth about the nature of reality.
It extracts the essence of all what is known and is contained in one’s mind.
This is the Meta mind that is interested in the underlying universal truth. It
looks at the essential concept behind all concepts and core principle behind
all principles.
It then identifies the connecting thread or unifying idea beneath all these
essential concepts and core principles, and weaves them together to form a
synthesized cohesive whole.
This mind admits knowledge from all sides and engages in reflection and
contemplation. It seeks to excerpt any deeper truth or idea present, and
widens the mind to hold the essence of this additional truth or idea forming a
new synthesis in the mind. A perfected pure mind is an ordered, cohesive and
clear mind that can then prepare to be quiet enough to receive intuition
beyond mental striving.
Deeper Self

When you develop your deeper self to its fullest radiance, you are in touch
with the indwelling calmness, peace and authenticity. As much as you are in
touch with your deeper self, the indwelling Presence comes to the foreground
of your life, casting its Grace. When you lose your connection with the
deeper self, the indwelling Presence still does act, but only indirectly and
from the background. When you are in touch with your deeper self, you are
naturally attuned to your inner guide that propels you towards ever-
flourishing truth, goodness, beauty and perfection in your life and work.
You experience unconditional love, faith, gratitude, trust, subtle tenderness

and vulnerability in the depths of your heart. Your life and work become
sacred offerings. Your mind is silent and receptive to the light of wisdom and
intuition.
Your heart directly senses the inner resonance that points to your true and
authentic self and your natural calling in life and work.
At its best, you are truly you and through your true self, you make a
meaningful and fulfilling contribution to the collective you are a part of.
The deeper self is the causal or the secret leader of all parts of our being. In
the beginning the other parts of being of mind, life force and body, veil the
presence and workings of deeper self. Through our inner evolution the deeper
self emerges forward. It then directs all our life and further evolution through
the transformation of all parts of our being.
Third Dip: Key Resources
To enrich our awareness and learning, let’s take one more dip into each part
of being from the angle of its resources. Each part of being within us has its
distinct resources. While the potential of each resource exists in all of us, the
degree to which each is developed varies. We invite the reader to slowly
connect to each resource within each part of being. The parts of being can be
likened to an eight-stringed instrument. Becoming aware of each part of
being and developing it is like tuning each string to its most natural and
perfect pitch. Locating each resource within each part of being, connecting to
it and enhancing it is like fine-tuning the sub-notes of each string of this
instrument. What a joyful, adventurous and noble work this can be! With
such inner awareness and development, when we play the tune of our inner
instrument, our ‘being’ emits its glorious radiance through all its parts. This
luminousness and power are projected onto our actions, behaviours and
works.
In this section we present the ‘Inner Presence’ model, which highlights the
eight parts of being along with its resources. The ‘Inner Presence’ model is
derived from the Integral Yoga of Sri Aurobindo. Exploring into the works of
Sri Aurobindo, a model called ‘Telos’, which maps the parts of one’s being,
was first created by Manoj Pavitran of Auroville and the author. The Telos
model further got enriched by inputs from Dr. Devdas Menon of IIT Madras.
From the parent model of Telos, the author developed an application model
called ‘Inner Presence’ by further research, distilling the core essence and
simplifying the words, so that there was a better connect and reach out to
people. The ‘Inner Presence’ model is also based on the author’s own inner
experience, inner explorations, intuitive inquiry and through his life work
with educators, leaders, workshop participants and coaching. A good many
explorations with students in the Self-Awareness courses conducted at IIT
Madras, helped in applying and giving life to this model.
More than reading about these resources, locate these within you and sense
their nature and essence as you read each sentence.
Physical
Part 1 – Physical
Health: Health, lightness, flexibility, immunity and an overall sense of well-
being in the body and its parts.
Physical Relaxation: Calmness, sense of ease and relaxedness present in the

body.
Grounded: Gravitational pull felt as stable alignment of body to earth and a

sense of coordination in its movements.
Physical Sensitivity: Body’s own subtle awareness and signals which

indicate the quality of nourishment it gets from the environment and the food
it consumes.
Stability of Habits: The motion of repeating something as a practice which,

once formed, repeats itself unless countered by an alternative practice.
Just as a reminder: The best way to read these

resources of each part of being is to connect and delve
into them so that they come alive within your experience
as you connect to them. That way you will have a greater
experiential understanding of your own inner terrain.
Life Force

Sensory Acuity: Sensing subtle differences in tastes, colours, sounds, smells
and touches that one experiences.
Sensory Enjoyment: Senses relishing, enjoying and seeking gratification of

the pleasures of life.
Leisure: Enjoying the psychological space of letting go of any purpose and

engaging in something purely for the joy and sensorial experience of it – no
agendas, no hurry, no tension, no ‘rat race’ to run … just the ‘doing’ of an
action because it is fun and gives personal joy.
Aesthetic Sense: Senses undergoing refinement seek sensory stimuli that are
beautiful, melodious, soothing and that provide long-lasting nourishment to
the senses.
Comfort Satisfaction: Cherishing the simple comforts present in one’s life,

to make life easy, simple and convenient.

Personal Power: Filled with a sense of power and authority, with or without
any titles or positions.
Courage: Brave, daring and bold in facing new situations or exploring new
and challenging terrain.
Success Driven: Striving to be victorious and accomplishing what one wants.

Confidence: Being self-assured and self-reliant to face any challenge head-
on, undeterred by the enormity of it.
Ambition: Motivated and driven to aim higher.
Adventure: Exploring and venturing into paths least trodden.

Emotional Care: Feeling an impulse within the heart to ensure well-being of
the other and sensing the urge to do something that benefits them.
Acceptance: A loving energy that acknowledges and respects oneself and

others in a non-judgmental way.
Emotional Connect: Feeling within the heart for a position where there is
genuine and warm heart-to-heart bond with others and cherishing the bond
shared through this connection.
Large Heartedness: Heart expanding its field to connect to a larger group,

considering the group’s needs as its own and moved to contribute
significantly to the group.
Giving: Joyfully offering oneself, one’s gifts and talents for the well-being of
others; bringing joy into their lives.
Self-Care: Loving, respecting and deeply caring for one self.
Vulnerability: Being willing to ‘be’ who one truly is and allowing one’s self
to be seen by others, just the way one is.
Sensitivity: Being aware of the exact emotions the other is going through,
and mindful of how one affects others emotions.
Empathy: ‘Feeling with’ another, the emotions they experience and exuding
the warmth of understanding towards them.
Mind

Fact/Data Based: Seeking measurable and verifiable data to evaluate the
relevance or usefulness of something against established benchmarks.
Objectivity: Observing any information objectively and in a detached

manner to see its points and details clearly and plainly, without any additions
or subtractions stemming from one’s own biases and perceptions.
Detail-Oriented: Observing, describing or detailing something

comprehensively and exhaustively.
Precision: Making sharp and accurate differentiation of what one observes,

measures or communicates.
Time Estimation: Chunking tasks into manageable pieces and assessing the
exact time needed to complete it.
Methodical: Following an established plan or process systematically and

logically.
Tangibility: Concretizing anything subjective (e.g., emotion) or abstract

(e.g., concept) in clear, bounded, specific and relatable terms.
Practicality: Analyzing the usefulness of any action/object and engaging

with it only when it gives concrete, applicable and known benefits.
Again a reminder: As you explore the next set of

resources, to actually experience these resources follow
the clue of the description given.
Formation of mental images: Being aware of images forming in one’s mind
corresponding to whatever one is thinking or communicating.
Creating new thoughts or images: Imagining new realities or solutions in

the mind with no reference to what is pre-existing or known.
New pathways of existing thoughts or images: Forming a representation of

a situation (in the mind) and making imaginary changes to the situation, to
visualize what each change will appear like.
Creative Ideation: Creating a mental image of a situation in its most ideal or

hopeful condition.
Visual Rendering: Creating or finding the right image or picture that

visually represents what is described in words.
Purposeful Creation: Creating ideas or solutions that most closely embody

one’s highest vision or purpose.
Principle-Centered Living: Governing one’s actions and behaviour by one’s

central values and principles.

Core Purpose: Clarifying and re-clarifying one’s core values, ideologies and
life purpose that govern the whole of one’s life and work.
Conceptual Understanding: Framing and using mental models to

understand any experience, phenomenon or happening to get an
overview/holistic explanation for what is unfolding.
Culling Out Essence: Contemplating on concepts, philosophies, ideologies

and values to extract the essential universal truths beneath them.
Mental Expansion: Opening the mind to new and wider complexities,
paradigms or paradoxes. Enriching or evolving one’s beliefs, perceptions or
mental lenses to open up space to consider diverse views points.
Mental Synthesis: Integrating in the mind various diverse core concepts,

paradigms or world-views to formulate a central concept, paradigm or world-
view that takes in the best of each of the individual viewpoints and weaves
them together as a comprehensive whole.
Deeper Self

Unshaken faith: Centered unwaveringly in belief and faith in a Higher
Source, Presence or Existence.
Inner Calling: Sensing intimately the authentic voice or nudge from within,
guiding and directing Self.
Silence in the mind: Mind is quiet with no intrusion of thoughts.
Inner Peace & Calm: Connecting to the silence beyond the mind, and allow
its incoming peace and calmness to enter and reside in one’s being,
unaffected by the fluctuations of the external world.
Intuitive Knowing: Concentrating on a subject or a question directly and

absorbing or receiving its truth, without having to use the indirect approach
of conscious thought.
Sensing Resonance: Recognizing the inner gentle ‘stirring’ when it points to

a deeper connection or sync with an object, person, place, quality, etc.
Trusting the inner signal to explore the resonant connection and inspiration.
Unconditional Gratitude: Being in a state of deep and profound

thankfulness for everything one experiences in life.
Unconditional Love: Feeling a love present deep within that has no

limitations or conditions, but just wants to give unconditionally.
Fourth Dip: Sources of Nourishment
Each part of being needs to be nourished and we can work towards giving
this nourishment in a sustained and balanced manner. The source of
nourishment can be either internal or external. As you go through the
following tabular column, we invite you to make note of which parts of being
are being nourished and whether they are receiving their nourishment by
internal sources or external stimuli.
We do hope you reflected on:
Which parts of your being are receiving nourishment each day/week?
Is the nourishment internal or external? Both are important. However,

often internal sources are far more nourishing, reliable and sustainable in
the long term.
Sadhana: Effort, Sincerity and Surrender
As you read and experience each part of being within yourself, you can
recognize that in addition to the resources mentioned, each has its limitations
too. For example, when we have emotional care and affection, we can also
become over-sensitive about or hurt by the emotions of others. It is very
important to locate our resources of each part of being and fortify them. It is
also imperative to sufficiently purify each part of being to transcend its
inherent limitations. Our aim is to bring about the evolution of each part of
being in an integral manner.
We will follow a four-fold path towards the fulfillment of our integral aim:
1 Purification: Together, we will explore and share insights on practices

for purifying and transcending the inherent limitations of each part of
your being.
2 Development: We will explore how to fully develop the resources of

each part of your being so that they can shine in their entire glory.
Purification and development is best accomplished through Sadhana or daily

inner-practice. Sadhana is necessary to set this evolution in motion, sustain it
and transform your inner being.
Sadhana means formulating some simple inner practices to be done each

day/week. An inner practice can be aimed at nourishing a specific part of
your being. These inner practices can be aimed at developing the strengths or
transcending the limitations of some specific resource (of a particular part of
being). The number of parts of being that you want to focus on at a particular
point of time depends on your own rhythm and choice. Often one chooses
one or two parts of being and develops them to the next level and then works
on the others. However, certain parts of being like the physical need to be
worked consistently every day.
Through the ages, it has been shown that an individual who can follow such
sustained inner practices develops to his or her fullest potential and will be in
a position to offer their genius and talents for the benefit of their organization,
institution, family, society, nation or the larger world. As we proceed further
in this book, you are encouraged to frame your own inner practices to
experiment with.
3 Right attitude: We may put in a lot of effort towards our transformation

but our attitude and sincerity also matter. The key points to reflect on
would be, ‘Are you sincere about your own inner evolution?’, ‘Is it
something that you do just when you are free or is it an important focus
throughout the day?’ Sincerity is far more important for our
transformation than even the greatest of effort. A sincere attitude is like
a catalyst that heightens the offering of our efforts to forward our
evolution.
4 Surrender: We may also remember that transformation is a two-way

process. Whatever sincere effort we put in, it needs to have blessings of
the Grace or of the One Will that oversees and participates in the
working of this Universe. Surrender is an inner poise that enables our
deeper self to emerge, transform our efforts into offerings and wait with
faith for Time and Grace to intervene in the process of transformation.
The mentioned clarity on sincerity and surrender to Grace were provided by

an intuitive insight to the author by Srinivasanji of Sri Aurobindo Society.
The following quote by Sri Aurobindo clarifies this point well:
There is nothing unintelligible in what I say about strength and Grace.

Strength has a value for spiritual realisation, but to say that it can be done
by strength only and by no other means is a violent exaggeration. Grace is
not an invention, it is a fact of spiritual experience. Many who would be
considered as mere nothings by the wise and strong have attained by
Grace; illiterate, without mental power or training, without “strength” of
character or will, they have yet aspired and suddenly or rapidly grown
into spiritual realisation, because they had faith or because they were
sincere. I do not see why these facts which are facts of spiritual history
and of quite ordinary spiritual experience should be discussed and denied
and argued as if they were mere matters of speculation. Strength, if it is
spiritual, is a power for spiritual realisation; a greater power is sincerity;
the greatest power of all is Grace. I have said times without number that if
a man is sincere, he will go through in spite of long delay and
overwhelming difficulties. I have repeatedly spoken of the Divine Grace.
I have referred any number of times to the line of the Gita:
Ahaṁ tvā sarvapāpebhyo mokṣayiṣyāmi mā śucaḥ

“I will deliver thee from all sin and evil, do not grieve.”*
Inner Influences the Outer
Your inner presence determines the quality of your outer actions and work.
Let us consider some simple examples to see how inner presence works on
your being to increase the quality of your outward actions and work.
Say, for example, a guest comes to your house. There is a great anticipation
and a feast is being prepared. Now, for some unexpected reason, the person
who is cooking the meal had a big fight with someone at home and is upset.
As he or she is cooking, the thoughts are muddled and are racing back and
forth, continuously thinking of the harsh words that were exchanged. There
are churning emotions in the stomach. Does this inner experience – the
thoughts in the mind, the emotions and stress in the body have any influence
and impact on the meal prepared?
Well of course, yes, as we can experientially validate this. Some errors creep
in and in the cook’s inner agitation, some extra salt or pepper is often added
to the meal. Also, for someone who can sense energetically, the agitations
creep and energetically mix with the food! Our inner state affects the quality
of what we do.
Reflect if this inference of inner state affecting outer actions and work is true
in your life too. Here are a few more examples to reflect upon:
When we
Feel good within and have hope in our hearts, the whole world seems
inspiring.
Feel loved and taken care of, we easily express our love and care to
others, plants and the environment.
Are more alert within, we can easily grasp all details in our outer
environment.
Are determined and strong, even the biggest hurdle seems conquerable.
Are healthy, we can endure any physical ordeal imposed on us.
The inner presence is a function of the state of one’s mind, vital energy, body
and inner guide at any given point of time. If a human being can hold a state
of concentration and curiosity of the mind; passion, care and hope in the vital
life-energy; a healthy and relaxed body; and the inner fire of growth and
evolution deep within, the human is truly in a most conducive state for
learning, working and action which will show up as excellence and mastery.
Outer Influences the Inner
The qualitative nature of the outer environment you are part of and identified
with, influences the state of your inner presence.
Let’s explore this phenomenon with a few examples:
Imagine you live in a messy room. Things are thrown around

everywhere – on the floor, on the reading desk and inside that secret last
drawer of your table. If anyone bothers to push forward your reading
desk that is against the wall, they will be greeted by cobwebs and small
bits of paper. Let’s say you have been living in this space for about a
year, what would be the condition of your inner state? A good chance is,
if you are aware, you may find your own inner space muddled with
confusing thoughts. Are you prepared to carry out an experiment, in case
you have such a messy room or desk? Clean up the space and put
everything in order. And if you can, invite in some aesthetic beauty into
the space. Bring in some subtle decoration, colour, dynamism and
beauty into that space. Notice what happens to your mind and how you
feel. Many participants from our courses have participated in this
experiment and invariably they report that when the outer space is
ordered and cleaned, surprisingly, their mind is clearer and they actually
feel much better and energetic!
Say, you have been juggling multiple projects and deadlines and you
just take a vacation. You go to a beautiful hill station. And on one of the
rare days that you wake up early, you step out for a walk. As you walk
down the stairs of your room, the gentle chill morning air touches you.
As you walk, the morning flowers and their fragrance greet you, just as
they are ready to greet the rising sun. You hear birds chirping and you
just take in this vast view. If you continue to walk, connecting to nature
and taking in its beauty, soon you will find a big shift in your inner state
from what it was in the last few days. You will feel fresh, calm, happy
and more energized. It is almost as if the state of the outer nature, as you
connected to it and enjoyed it transferred itself or permeated into you. It
is almost as if you absorbed the quality of the outer nature through a
process of osmosis.
Say you have been living with someone for a long period of time. If you
look carefully, you can observe that slowly some of his or her
mannerisms, nature, characters and values have become yours.
If you work with an organization for a long time, the culture of the
organization becomes your own conscious or unconscious values.
Examples such as these are galore. The core point is whatever the quality and
nature of the environment you are part of, gradually that becomes your nature
as well!
Hence at work, home and outside, it becomes imperative to carefully and

consciously choose the environment and collective that you are a part of.
Aspiration: To Evolve
Life is often confusing. Often, we don’t know what path to take and we get
multiple and contradictory opinions from society, parents, teachers, guides,
colleagues, bosses, friends, brothers and sisters. Since there is no ‘center’
formed within, we are often swayed, tossed and thrown around. This is the
way, we often travel through life and at times, it is a marvel how in spite of
all this, we do accomplish something. Our aspiration tends to flicker and
waver. One day, we want something and the next day, we drop it and go after
something else or convince ourselves that we want something else. Most
often, we run after transitory pleasures discovering soon that they quench
partially the deeper thirst and bind us in a pattern of seeking something
superficial.
It is a turning point for the individual when he or she discovers that they are
born into this world for a definitive purpose. It is not by chance that they
were born to a certain kind of parents, went to a particular school and had
unique experiences with opportunities and challenges that repeated
themselves in their lives. Even though, in the beginning, he or she is not
conscious of why all these are happening and for what role he or she is being
prepared for, nevertheless nothing is by chance and everything is meant to
serve a larger purpose for the individual and the collective.
It is almost like the opening of a second chapter in one’s life when the
individual begins to ask the question – ‘Can I really find out my life purpose,
my unique role and work?’ and lives with the quest for the rest of one’s life.
The intelligence of this vast Universe is of a high order. Even the highest
scientific advancement cannot create a tiny fraction of the splendour of the
life we are part of. So, why are individuals born and do they have any
specific role to play as part of this Universe? Both scientists and yogis agree
that the Universe is evolving. The scientist looks at the outer forms in the
Universe and arrives at the conclusion that the Universe is evolving. The
yogi, the spiritual master/the wise person, goes within and observes
consciousness. They too arrive at the conclusion that matter, life, mind and
spirit are all evolving, directed from within. Let’s introduce a hypothesis
now, which is to be verified from personal experience. If something is part of
a Whole, that something will have its own individual characteristics but it
will also share some core nature with the Whole of which it is an integral
part. The human is perhaps, at this point, the highest in the evolution cycle.
He or she being part of the Whole would perhaps have the same evolving
quality in the core of his or her ‘within’.
We shall now introduce a second hypothesis, again something, which we

shall experientially verify in the course of our journey through this book.
What if there is an Inner Flame within us, which through its light and will is
guiding us in our own evolution and to manifest our unique work and role in
the outer world we are part of? Have you at times felt that when you were
doing something and heading in a certain direction, something within you
said that it was the wrong choice? Have you been presented with several
opportunities and options in life and sometimes, intuitively, you knew which
one was the best for you? Every individual, if they are aware, would have
several experiences of this kind. What is directing you from within? Do you
aspire to stay connected with this inner guiding force?
When a practitioner develops a steady aspiration to connect to this inner

guiding Presence within, invariably, they start getting clues like in a treasure
hunt and eventually, get answers to their questions in life. They start finding
answers to fundamental questions like – ‘What is my most authentic nature
and what is my true role and purpose in this world?’ and ‘What choices will
ensure personal evolution, holistic learning and contribution to the world?’
Are you ready to explore deeper your own unique life purpose and work?
If the reader navigates this book lighted by the steady flame of aspiration, all
the knowledge, insights and deeper truths of which this book is one
formation, can be revealed to the reader through direct contact with their own
Self and Source.
We encourage the reader to engage experientially with the book to derive

maximum value and transformation. This book is intended to serve as a
personal companion to connect deeper and transform your inner presence,
thus playing out your true potential and purpose in life and work.
You could be a leader, working professional, parent, teacher, student or
playing some other role in the world. We encourage you to teach each
chapter to someone else as you read and connect with it. Apart from just
reading, we learn a lot experientially when we teach it as well. So at the end
of each chapter, we will share some questions or guidelines to support in
teaching that chapter to someone else. Wishing you loads of fun and learning
by doing the same!
Guidelines
We would encourage readers to largely focus on the resources and

strengths when they facilitate this learning and connection to Inner
Presence for another person. Inner Presence has both its strengths and
limitations. We have seen that focusing a great deal on the limitations
leads to loss of morale and often people zoom into it and create a ‘bind’
or a ‘lock’. This sometimes leads to a sinking down into one’s own
untransformed self. In this book, we will see limitations only to
recognize what strength is needed to bring into it. Our aim is to build up
our resources and fortify us fully with their strength so that no limitation
can touch us. Ultimately, our aim is that the gifts of the deeper self, fill
all parts of our mind, life energy and the physical. So in your teaching
space with someone else, focus largely on the resources and strengths
present within yourself and the other person.
Connect to the nature of each part of your being and share how you
experience them within you. Use the words in this book as pointers and
keep your sharing experiential.
Take the table in the section on ‘Third Dip: Key Resources’ and convert
this into a game. Each of you may keep a copy of the list. One of you
can call out a resource in random order. The other person can a) Guess
which part of being it belongs to; b) Connect to this resource within
them; c) Share 2–3 times in the past when both of you experienced the
presence of this resource; d) Visualize what advantage the presence of
this resource, at your being level, gives for you in your life and work;
and e) Share one or two specific ways of how this resource can be
developed to its fullest potential.
Use the tabular column of ‘Fourth Dip: Sources of Nourishment’ to

make a chart to indicate the degree of nourishment you are receiving for
each part of your being. Also write down whether the sources of
nourishment are internal or external. Share with each other your insights
and how specifically you can provide specific nourishment for each part
of your being.
When you do these exercises and share with the other person, keep a
mood of wonder filled with a sense of curiosity to learn and discover
more.
Once again keep your attention on the resources and strengths. If either
of you feel that some resource is not well developed, then ask:
On a scale of 1 to 10 how much is this developed, 1 being lowest

and 10 being highest? Say the answer is ‘x’.
Whatever the numbers, how much ever low it is, ask, ‘What makes
‘x’ an ‘x’? It is not zero right. What is already going well that it is
an ‘x’ now?’
Then ask, ‘What level on a scale of 1 to 10 would you like this

resource to be?’
A follow through question can be, ‘What do you need to do from

your end to enable the resource to develop to your desired level?’
The key thing is when you teach, both of you can connect and play with
the resources to allow it to come alive.
Reflection
Using the understanding of different parts of being from this book, please
reflect on the following:
What is the quality of your inner presence that determines the quality of
your outer actions and work?
What is the qualitative nature of your outer environment you are a part
of or identified with, which influences your inner presence?
Do you hold a steady ‘flame’ inside you to find and live your life
purpose and calling by being your most authentic self and nature? How
can you make this ‘flame’ the guiding light of your life?
* Sri Aurobindo, Letters on Yoga – II, Practice of the Integral Yoga, (CWSA – Vol.
29) pg. 172. Puducherry: Sri Aurobindo Ashram Trust, 2013
The physical comprises both the human body and its nature of habits
formation and maintenance, which is the psychological equivalent of the
physical.
Body
The physical is composed of matter – rock, sand, building, infrastructure,
environment and so on. Everything from the earth to the stars is composed of
physical matter. The human body is also made up of this matter. Through
evolution, this matter has been animated by vital life-force, and into it, the
mind has evolved in the human being. If we compare a rock, plant, animal
and human, we can see that the human body has become more erect and
straight through evolution. So, the eye of the human does not just
predominately view the earth like in the animal but also looks ahead and can
have a much wider view. The straight posture of the human body could also
be symbolic of our capacity to connect more with the higher consciousness to
act as a channel for transmission and reception.
Let’s dwell deeper on the miracle of the human body.
Science has made great advances in understanding the human body, healing it
and sometimes even altering its appearance. However, what has been
understood about the body is only a fraction of its mysterious workings and
potential. In general, the body seems to have a great capacity to endure and
adapt to even the most challenging conditions. Its normal state is that of
healthy and harmonious functioning of its various constituent parts. Even
when it falls ill, the body has its own inner intelligence to recover and return
to balance quickly, if minimal intervention of facilitating the ‘prana’ flow
throughout the body is enabled. What prevents this self-healing are often the
doubts of the mind, fear, excesses and agitation of the vital in the body. For
example, if there is an injury or if the body is tired, most often, if we learn to
rest our body or give it the right exercise, the body recovers rapidly.
The body is highly resourceful naturally. We do not have to do anything to

create its resources, but just nourish it in the right manner and work in tune
with its natural rhythm. To clarify further, the body has its own intelligence
of functioning, even though we may be only partially aware of this. When its
rhythm, balance and functioning are disturbed either by internal or external
factors, the important step is to understand the body’s need in its own terms
and gently support it to recover its natural balance and health.
The human body also stocks all our experiences within it. If we are relaxed,
have positive emotions and clarity in our mind, our body too is relaxed and
fresh. If we are tensed, anxious and filled with doubts, confusions or fear, it
affects the body. The body gets tensed and if the pattern continues, it
develops psychosomatic disorders. A good metaphor for the body is that of a
receptacle or container. The quality of whatever we put into it – food,
emotions, thoughts, etc., affects it and either energizes the body or makes it
ill. As a practitioner of developing our Inner Presence, we need to bring
awareness to our body early in our life. Many of us ignore the body and focus
on vital pursuits and mental development alone. The common belief is that
when the body falls sick, we will pop some pills. This is treating the body as
a mechanical device. Our body however is a living entity and a great degree
of awareness can be brought into it to forward our evolution.
We invite the reader to
Connect to your body and sense its form from within.
Extend your awareness to the breath and the energy that is flowing
through all parts of the body, animating and giving life to it. The body
functions smoothly as long as the energy is flowing without any
blockage, through all its parts.
Become aware of the presence of your muscles around the joints. If the
muscles are well developed and strong, they protect the joints and
provide the strength and vibrancy to carry out daily activities.
Become aware whether you are utilizing all parts of your body to their
fullest capacity and entire range of movement. When the body parts are
used optimally and have their entire range of movement, they remain
healthy. When a body part is only partially used in its movements and
function, it slowly deteriorates.
So the question is to what extent can we use the full resources of the human
body in its full capacity for as long as possible? This determines the duration
we can remain active and healthy in our lives even when we grow into a ripe
age.
Habit and Its Repetitive Nature
The psychological aspect of the physical is habit formation through a large
number of repetitions. Let’s first take an example. Say, you want to learn to
drive a car. You go to a driving school and the instructor sits beside you and
tells you which foot you should use for clutch, brake and accelerator and how
to drive. You are very conscious. You try to recall everything and you drive
cautiously. After a few days or weeks, since you have been practicing the
driving lessons slowly, your feet move to the clutch, brake and accelerator
without you having to think about it. In a few more weeks, you drive
efficiently listening to a melodious song, having a conversation with a friend
and still driving effortlessly. What has caused the shift? The skill of driving
was first theoretical. By repeating it sufficiently, your body picks it up as a
habit and learns the skill. There would come a time when someone asks you
which foot we need to use to brake, and you may need to move your leg to
know the answer. The conscious part of the mind does not remember but the
body knows as it has become a habit – like an unconscious competence.
So, anything that is constantly repeated gets ingrained in the body as a habit.
Let us note a few more examples from our own experience to understand this
quality better:
If you lack the habit of exercising, even if you are inspired and wake up
early in the morning, the body resists and wants to go back to its habit of
sleeping.
If you are someone who has been exercising for years, there is
discomfort in the body if it misses exercising even for a single day.
If you have disciplined yourself, you can get up at almost the same time
each morning even without an alarm.
By eating a certain type and flavour of food frequently, you develop a

liking towards it. If you have to change your food preference, it often
takes some time and may require you to repeatedly taste the new kind of
food till you become familiar with it.
Even a mental activity may have a corresponding habit formation in the

body. Say, you allocate some time for creative thinking every day. If
you have been experimenting with this for some time, you may identify
a favourite creative time or a pet creative physical space or even a
chosen creative posture where your creative flow is good. By repeating
any activity sufficiently, a habit is formed in the physical.
There is nothing wrong with the habit-forming nature of the physical. In fact,
it is a very useful function. For example, it is very healthy that we have a
habit of brushing our teeth or having a bath every day. Some useful questions
would be:
Which of our habits are healthy and serve our evolution?
Which of them may have served some purpose in the past but have now
outlived their usefulness?
Which habits come in the way of creation of new behaviours?
It’s in the nature of a habit that, once formed, it takes a while to change. So to
create a new habit, it has to be repeated till it operates on its own rhythm.
When we want to form a new habit, often in the beginning, there is the joyful
energy of trying something new. Initially, the old habit resists the new one.
Following constant repetition, the new habit becomes the norm. Now if that
again has to be changed, it would certainly take some time! This mechanism
of new habit formation and old habit undoing happens like clockwork.
Even the most intelligent people miss this simple beauty of the physical habit
and often find it difficult to make changes in their life. They get inspired by
something, try it for some time and then get distracted towards something
else. Soon they fail to pursue what they were trying to accomplish and are left
scratching their heads saying, change is difficult. Change need not be difficult
when the mechanics of habit formation is understood and directly
experienced within you. When understood, the clockwork quality of habit
formation, which is the nature of our physical being, can be utilized to create
habits that really nourish us and forward our purpose and vision in life.
An Exercise to Change Habits
We need to use our discrimination and note which of these habits are healthy
and, which, unhealthy. Examples of healthy habits are brushing teeth, taking
bath, exercising, cleaning the room and concentrating for a particular period
of time each day. And unhealthy habits examples are keeping the room
untidy, eating and sleeping at odd hours, addictions, watching television
while eating, working long hours without breaks, carrying work home at the
loss of personal time, spending too much time on the net, etc.
A simple method to overcome an unhealthy habit
Identify an unhealthy habit that you want to change. For example, say
you choose to overcome your over-sleeping habit.
Observe when the old habit starts. What triggers it? For example, the
moment the alarm goes off, do you find the bed cozy and the breeze
lulling? And do you think, ‘Let me sleep just for another few minutes?’
Strategize a new habit that will fulfill the following conditions:
The solution would be to just develop the new habit. It should not
be a step towards the solution (for instance, thinking about
something) but a tiny part of the solution itself; should be an action.
For example, you can instruct yourself, ‘For a few seconds move
your toes, fingers, legs and hands. Then sit or stand up vertical.
Whatever you do then is fine but remain vertical’. This is a direct
solution framed as an action. A new habit framed as ‘a step towards
the solution’ and not a solution itself may be to tell yourself, ‘If you
get up, it will be good for you’. This may not work as by the time
you utter this, you may be already asleep. A new habit should be
direct action.
Carry out the new habit the moment the old habit raises its head.
For example, the moment you hear the alarm/find the bed and
breeze cozy/get lulled to sleep just for a few minutes more – that
very second, you need to act out the new habit.
Rehearse this sequence in your mind through visualization a few times:
Think of the old habit

Think of the trigger
Instantly imagine you are doing the new habit
In real life, practice the new habit action the moment the trigger for the
old habit rears its head. Practice and repeat till the new habit is naturally
formed and is stable.
The simple principle is that to form a new habit we need to persistently repeat
its till it stablizes. To undo an old habit, we need to repeatedly break old
patterns till it is permanently gone.
Delights of the Physical
Health
Health is the greatest delight of the human body. A body that is healthy all
through life and that can recover quickly from any setbacks is a great blessing
that one can have. The pursuit of health is best if started as early as possible
in life and needs to continue into old age, so that one leads a sound and
fulfilling life. Sometimes people believe that health is a matter of luck. While
it is true that there is an element of Grace in one’s health, we must put in
sustained, dedicated and methodical effort to take care of our health and
prolong our life.
When we work on our health, we need to remember that the body has its
inherent drive to self-preserve. When there is felt or real danger, the body
automatically does what it can to protect itself. Using this understanding, we
need to only detect what is causing the challenge or illness in the body and
just remove the cause. This alone often gives the body the capacity to take
care of itself. We can also learn to detect what our body naturally does to
self-preserve and remain healthy. We can then consciously strengthen this
movement of our body to ensure that our own actions and choices are in line
with the body’s natural movements to remain healthy. We will further
explore health in more detail throughout this chapter.
Medicinal Systems to heal the body

Many people tend to fall sick often because of unhealthy lifestyles and eating
habits. They complicate the problem by getting into the habit of popping pills
even for simple discomforts of the body. Today, this is one of the greatest
maladies of the body. Our body falls prey to illness easily due to our
environmental conditions, personal hygiene and lifestyle.
The biggest limitation inherent to the body is death. Our work can live much
longer than us, but our bodies are finite.
Most often as people start growing older and do not take care of themselves,
they gradually lose their capacity for fullness of work. A proactive
practitioner begins work in the body early enough to be able to sustain and
prolong the capacity to do high quality work all through life. Today, there are
people who are at the ripe age of 80–100 and are still engaged in their work
with full control of their faculties. From early childhood, they all have a
common characteristic – healthy habits and also do sufficient physical
activities.
By developing the physical body, we can detect illness early and take the
most appropriate approach to heal the body. A robust daily exercise regimen
is mandatory which we will discuss later. Now, one of the most important
choices we need to make consciously is our preferred method of treatment we
rely on to facilitate healing of our body if it falls ill. The options are galore
and we shall present just a few with brief descriptions here:
Allopathy: This is the most commonly used method today, where for
every ailment, there is a pill, injection or treatment leading up to
surgery. While it is often the quickest, allopathic treatment often leads to
side effects. Allopathy works directly on the symptoms and aims to
alleviate them.
Homeopathy: Not many people understand this medicinal system, but

nevertheless, those who have experienced it swear by it. This system
needs a very accomplished doctor who can understand the patient’s
body, energy and mind and prescribe a suitable remedy. Homeopathy
treats the entire person and not just the body. If the remedy is accurate, it
creates a lasting fundamental change. Homeopathy treats the source of
the problems and not just the symptoms.
Ayurveda: This is again a holistic treatment, which looks upon the body
as having three doshas or constitutions called Vata, Pitta and Kapha.
Ayurveda through its medicinal preparations and therapy seeks to
balance the three constitutions in the body, thus leading to overall health
and well-being.
The three medicinal systems mentioned are some of the most common ones.
There are many other methods of treatment like Acupressure, Acupuncture,

Reiki, Pranic Healing, Siddha, Marma Kalai and Unani to name a few. As
practitioners wanting to heal ourselves, we need to be aware of these options
and arrive at an understanding about what works best for us.
Regular Maintenance
Dispersion is the characteristic of the physical due to which it tends to fall
apart if not maintained on a regular basis. Let us take some examples and
then study this limitation in the human body. Say, you build a house. If you
don’t maintain it well, there will soon be some leaks, cracks, a few cobwebs
and dirt. And if you clean up your room, which was in a mess through the
day, you feel a great sense of achievement. However, following this exercise,
if you don’t maintain it regularly, soon the room turns into a mess again. This
is because the physical has a tendency to disintegrate if not maintained
regularly. The human body too is similar. To keep the body healthy, we need
to exercise and take care of it daily. Even after exercising for five years if, for
some reason, you stop exercising for a long period of time the body would
dissipate and lose the robust health it enjoyed in the past. The key to tackle
this limitation is regular maintenance of the human body and the physical
environment.
Stability
The second delight of the physical is the stability of the established habit –
whether it can continue without any hindrance or interruption. Once the
delight of stability is established into the habit, we can be rest assured that the
desired habit can continue almost in an autopilot mode. In the beginning
when any new habit is established, resistance or lethargy can form and hinder
it. So, in the beginning, the new habit is on shaky ground and can dissipate
any moment. But through repetition and persistence, when the physical opens
up and becomes malleable, the delight of stability of habit slowly settles in.
As you read this, we encourage you to reflect on how developed your

capacity to create a conscious habit and the capacity to hold it is.
You are invited to see where this capacity is for you right now and to what
level you want to move it forward. If you want to enhance this capacity of
holding the stability of habits, you can draw insights regarding what you
could ‘do’ specifically to master this capacity from this chapter.
Another aspect of a well-developed physical consciousness is a sense of

grounding felt within the body. Our body is always supported by gravity,
which we do not feel most often. When someone is not grounded, they tend
to trip or keep knocking against things as they walk. A sense of grounding
can be experienced when we become aware of our feet touching the ground
or by firmly standing or sitting on the ground. We can also try gently rocking
our body back and forth till we find an inner point where it feels stable and
rock solid. Sensing the grounding of the body anchors it in the present
moment and gives it its legitimate place on planet earth. This also allows
coordinated movements and a sense of centeredness in the body as we go
about our everyday actions.
Transformation of Body
We shall now explore the transformation of the physical from the angle of
bringing in health, lightness and flexibility into the body.
Health
Using the full capacity of human body

Health itself is the greatest delight of the physical and it augments the
capacity of the human body to endure and do the work that is required of it.
The inherent laziness of the body needs to be thrown off and the body should
be pushed beyond what it thinks are its limits. We had a participant in our
workshop a few years back. The workshop was being conducted on the fifth
floor. During the breaks, we served tea and snacks on the ground floor. There
were a few participants who took the elevator to go down. After one of the
sessions, we were walking down the stairs and invited the participants to join
us, as it would be a good exercise for them. Interestingly, one of the
participants hesitated saying if she walked down and up, she would get tired!
This is a complete misunderstanding of the body. The human body is capable
of much more than we think! However, due to our lifestyle and faulty beliefs,
we underutilize the body’s capacity during exercising and physical work. If
this continues for a long time, the body actually loses its capacity and
deteriorates.
Let us imagine that you pull a muscle. Often then, you don’t use that part of
the body. It is good to take rest for some time, but soon, we need to resume
our full activity. However, normally our body remembers the pain. We often
reduce our activities involving that body part. But if we keep doing this, the
part will lose its strength and capacity. A typical modern example is a
problem that many people have – stiff hips. This occurs because we don’t
often use this joint, not giving it sufficient work and rotation. Recovery of the
capacity is possible only when we fully start using the hips and exercising it
to its full capacity through a judicious selection of rotational exercises, dance,
activities or work. So, in essence, we need to pay attention to all parts of our
body and use it to its full capacity so that they will retain their capacity
through our lives.
Honouring body’s boundaries and rhythms

At the same time, we need to remember that the focus is on the body and its
development needs to happen in its own terms. The earlier point is that the
body itself has the capacity and we are under-utilizing it due to lack of
awareness, exercise and physical work. However, we should never push the
body beyond its natural rhythms because of vital rush or impatience. For
example, say, you are going to a dance class and you notice someone who is
able to split their legs fully and sit on the ground. You notice how beautifully
they do it. You may also want to do it. That is laudable, but you also need the
patience of practice and method. You can’t declare that in two weeks, you
will also do your splits. Such vital rushes and impatience often lead to some
injury. The crucial point to remember is that the human body needs some
time, method and repetition for it to change. So if you learn the right method
from a good teacher and practice it every day for a period of time, soon, you
too will be able to do your splits. Let’s take another example – you are
overweight by 10 kilos. You can’t exercise for just six days and then start
asking why you have not reduced. A good and steady exercise regimen,
followed for a sufficient period combined with good eating habits will help
you lose weight and sustain the loss.
Providing time for exercise and physical work

A few centuries back, the human body was required to do a lot of physical
activity and work. The human body was thus stronger and better-built than
what we have today. It is good to engage in appropriate physical work and to
follow a well-planned exercise regimen. Small lifestyle changes will be
helpful in the long run. This may mean getting up slightly early and going for
a walk, jogging, yoga, cycling, swimming, climbing up the stairs instead of
taking the elevator, bending and cleaning up our room from time to time, etc.
Once again, the trick to succeed in developing the physical is to exercise and
do work for a sufficient period of time every day without fail. The best time
for exercise is arguably in the morning but if that is difficult, we can certainly
find time during the evening. The most important point is to thoroughly feel
and do the exercises with full conscious participation so that there is
enjoyment built in as well.
Health in all inner and outer parts of body

For a perfect life, our entire body needs to have perfect health. Our body is
composed of many internal parts such as organs, nerves, tissues, bones,
blood, etc, and has several external parts as well. We need to ensure that our
entire body is healthy and functioning well. The moment we notice some
imperfection in any part of our body, we can bring our attention to it and look
at a holistic method to heal it.
Lightness
A feeling of lightness is another delight in the human body. If the body is left
in a passive mode or when we eat heavy food, the body gets into tamas or
laziness. Also, when we go through stress, the body picks up the tension and
accumulates stress. The antidote to this is the delight of lightness felt and
experienced in the body. Let us explore some simple ways by which we can
infuse lightness into the body:
The food that we consume has a direct impact on the lightness of our
body. For example, if we eat heavy or stale food, our body feels lazy.
The same happens when we overeat or add too much spice into our
food. However, if we select our food in right quantities and balance and
include more fresh vegetables and fruits, our body turns alive and fresh.
The quality and duration of sleep, too, has an impact on the body. If we
sleep too less, we will tire during the day. Also, if we sleep too much,
we become lazy and lethargic. The right amount of sleep and waking
early brings in freshness into the body. Morning hours between 4.00
a.m. and 6.30 a.m. are especially suitable for exercising, learning and to
keep the body fresh. However, for this one needs to sleep at the right
time.
A good walk in the company of nature where we can feel the breeze, see
the splendour of our surroundings and hear birds chirping always
rejuvenates us and makes our body fresh and light.
The other significant factor that brings in life and freshness into the
body is breath. Most often, we have an unconscious relationship with
breath. We consider it something mechanical. But breath is what brings
life into our body. The first step is to make our breathing conscious. We
can become aware of our ‘in-breath’ and ‘out-breath’. If we continue
this awareness for some time, we may notice that our breath is often
shallow and jerky. We can practice by breathing out (exhalation) fully
and then allowing a nice full in-breath (inhalation). If we do this
exercise for 10-20 minutes in the morning and for a short period at
several intervals during the day, we will notice that our breath becomes
deeper and smoother and that there is an increased freshness in the body.
With awareness, we can notice that when life gives us jolts, our breath
becomes jerky, shallow or rapid. Correspondingly, the body also gets
tensed.
Do try an experiment. When you are faced with a challenge, relax your
breath and breathe in deeply and focus consciously on the breath
entering and filling your body. You will soon sense a shift in your body
and your inner state. Now, if you can make your breathing even and
rhythmic with an equal count of ‘in-breath’ and ‘out-breath’ with a
harmonious rhythm, you find that it brings more balance in the body.
This gives you a better center and inner-poise to tackle external
challenges. A good practice is that the stomach bulges or ‘expands out’
when you breathe in and contracts or ‘goes in’ when you breathe out. An
interested practitioner can delve more into conscious breath and its
impact in our body and inner states.
Flexibility
Flexibility is another delight that can be developed in the human body. If we
observe, we find that children, in general, are quite flexible. They can twist
and turn in many different ways. They can jump up and down with ease.
Even if they fall down they cry, brush the dirt away and continue to play.
Somehow, as we grow older, our body becomes less flexible in its
movements and becomes stiffer. Is this the normal state of our body or do we
land up like this because of a lack of awareness and physical education? We
need to look at some role models around us to arrive at a conclusion. There
are several people well above the age of 80 whom the author met. Even
though their body has become old, they still retain a good degree of
flexibility. There are those aged more than 100 who are able to eat by
themselves, bathe by themselves and move around comfortably – perhaps
with the help of a walking stick. What is it that gives some people flexibility
and others stiffness of the body?
Let us take an example of a physical object such as a nut and a bolt. If we

keep using it to its full capacity, there will be the regular wear and tear, but if
we keep oiling it and using it well, it serves its full life to the best possible
extent. However, if we leave it unused for a long time it rusts, gathers dirt
and withers away. It is similar with the human body and its flexibility. When
the human is engaged in more physical work, the body is well developed and
is quite flexible as all parts and joints are used. But today, often the body is
static – sitting at a desk before the computer. To regain its fullest flexibility,
we need to carve out a separate time for exercising. Some of the best ways of
bringing in flexibility through exercise are:
A good yoga asana practice is one of the best ways to bring in

flexibility. A good yoga teacher can teach a well-orchestrated yoga
routine that takes care of all parts of the body and its development and
flexibility.
Specifically during our exercises, every joint in our body can be rotated
both anti-clockwise and clockwise to increase flexibility. These rotations
can be done to a fixed count of 21. In a subsequent section, a good
exercise regimen that helps to build flexibility, strength and the full use
of each part of the body is explained.
Getting out of the way!
The body has an inherent urge to self-preserve and more or less take care of
itself. If we accidently put our hand into an electrical socket, it immediately
withdraws by reflex action. From this example, we can infer that the body is
programmed to survive and take care of itself. However our habits, fears,
vital excesses, incorrect thought patterns and self-limiting beliefs cripple our
body and weaken it. An effective method of Sadhana with respect to the
body is to get these interferences out of the picture and allow the body to do
its own healing.
Let’s take something very simple. You go to a house where someone is sick
and is coughing. You become fearful wondering if the coughing is infectious
and you might catch it. Once outside, you suddenly realize that you are
mildly warm. The mind then is gripped in fear and doubts wondering if you
have got the germ now within you. In short, through your fears you often
manifest the sickness. If you could bring in some cessation to the vibration of
fear and the worrying thoughts, most often you observe that the body soon
rejects the temperature or other discomforts it has picked up and is totally
fine. With this solid foundation of health, lightness and flexibility brought
into the physical, we can now move on to explore how the other parts of
being (vital life-force, mind and our deeper self) influence and enhance the
physical.
Other Parts of Being Enhancing Physical
Sensory Enjoyment enhancing Physical: Sensory
awareness and joy during exercise or routine tasks
Here we explore how the delight of sensory enjoyment and its capacity to
make things sensorially interesting can be brought into the development of
the physical. So, when we exercise, we can either do it mechanically with no
fun or we can thoroughly enjoy the whole process and make it a new
enriching experience. To accomplish this, we need to first become aware of
our body at a sensorial level.
Let’s understand this with an example. When you take a bath normally, it is a
mechanical process.
The mind is thinking of something and you do it in a hurry to get the job
done. However, if you slow down a bit and become aware of the water
trickling down your skin and the touch of your hands as you apply soap
throughout your body, you will feel very much energized even in the doing of
this normal daily habit.
Similarly, when you exercise, you can bring in full sensory awareness into
the body. If you walk in the company of nature, it is very easy. You can feel
the breeze touching the skin. You can hear all the sounds in the background;
relax your eye and take in a peripheral vision of all the colours and details
around you. You can also bring in awareness of your breathing as you walk.
Once you begin to enjoy this sensory awareness, you will find that your body
comes out of the walk very much energized. On long treks when you grow
tired, one of the best ways to become re-energized is by breathing in the fresh
air and smelling the leaves and flowers along the path. Somehow, this
sensory connection to nature energizes your body and uplifts your inner state.
Even if you exercise indoors, you can bring in sensory awareness into the
body and enjoy the whole process. You can start with your breath and notice
how your breathing shifts with every movement of the exercise. In certain
exercises and yoga asanas, built into the exercise is movement of the limbs in
rhythm with breathing. For example, you can lift the leg 90 degree with the
‘out-breath’, say to a count of 6 or 8 and then bring it down with your ‘in-
breath’, to an equal count. If you learn to do this, rhythmically and with a
sense of enjoyment, the benefits of the exercise get much enhanced.
You can try to be aware of the sweat as it trickles on your skin during
exercise; become aware of the inner stretch in your body and enjoy the
flexibility as you practice regularly. You can appreciate the different
sensations in your body like warmth, cold, mild tensions and knots. If you
breathe in a gentle rhythm of inhalation and exhalation in a relaxed
harmonious manner slowly, you will find the tensions in the body dissolving
and the body restored to its best condition.
In a similar way, any routine task or habit can be performed with full
enjoyment and awareness. That is when we can derive full benefit from the
activity. Hence routine activites like cleaning, bathing, washing, gardening,
walking or commuting from one place to the other can all be done joyfully.
Dynamic Energy enhancing Physical: Resilience in the
body to deal with challenging conditions
Another important aspect of the body is building strength. Most often, we do
our exercises in a slow manner, which primarily relaxes and brings flexibility
to the body. We also need to pay attention to strengthening the body. We
don’t necessarily need to use weights to build strength. If we learn to do our
exercises by bringing and holding strength, the body becomes strong and well
built. Such a body will also give a great degree of inner strength and
confidence. The exercise routine detailed at the end of this chapter gives a
practical way to do this.
Psychologically, building resilience in the body is also key. If we expose the

body to too much comfort, it loses its capacity to deal with challenges. A
simple example is how people get so used to air-conditioning, that they
cannot tolerate even a short power outage during the summer. Enjoying
comforts is all right to an extent but at the same time, we need to support the
body to retain its natural capacity to adapt to and endure any challenging
situation. This natural capacity often withers by indulging in too much
comfort.
Some simple ways of building resilience and endurance in the body are:
If you notice you are bound by certain comforts, see if you can gently
push your body to endure some discomforts with equanimity.
Take up some challenging physical activity once in a while like going

for a trek, mountain climbing, cycling, long and brisk walking, climbing
the stairs up and down or walking from one place to another for the
entire distance.
Strength can also be used to weaken the hold of an old habit. It can also
be used to sustain the new habit with determination till it becomes part
of our routine.
Food is another source from which we can develop strength and resilience in
the body. Today there is a trend towards skimpy eating and fad diets in an
effort to lose weight. Weight in itself is not an issue as long as the body is
well toned, strong, flexible and developed. We can eat all the different grains
and food that provide strength. For example, potato when cooked in a sattvic
way (e.g., avoid frying, add green chillies instead of red chilli powder) is an
excellent source of strength.
Emotional Care enhancing Physical: Love and care for
the body
Now it is an excellent move to encourage the body to endure and go beyond
its limits. However, if the body is over burdened with vital rush and hurry, it
often results in an injury. This necessitates the bringing in of love and care
into the body. We all would have had this experience – if we cherish our pen
or our bike or our mobile and take good care of it, it lasts longer and
functions very well. Even a plant in our house responds well to our care, love
and appreciation. In such conditions the plant remains fresh, grows well and
blossoms. Similarly, the human body responds to touch and care positively.
If there is any part of our body that is in discomfort, we can place our palms
over it and give it our warmth, care, love and healing. We can admire and
appreciate the body for its great support; give it a nice self-hug and love each
part of our body no matter what its condition is. We can learn to respect the
body and be sensitive towards it and engage in an activity only if it is healthy
for the body – from the food we eat to the hours we sleep and the sensory
inputs we feed into it. We will thus learn to treat the body as a living entity
and take care of its holistic needs. The body responds very well to this care
and love.
Objective Mind enhancing Physical: Precise
awareness of body’s health / functioning
Now it is time to bring in the delight of objectivity and measurement to serve
the body’s well-being. Too much love and care can cause us to miss the
factual detail that is staring in the face and the intervention it requires.
The objective mind works very precisely. When there is a specific discomfort
in the body, it can pay attention to the exact details and observe objectively –
where exactly the pain is, how frequently does it occur, is it constant or
intermittent, what seems to trigger this pain, what seems to reduce its
intensity, etc. This mind can make a note of these objective observations over
a period of time, for effective diagnosis of the problem. A person who has
developed this capacity will thus be able to communicate clearly about what
is happening in the body to a doctor or healer or even make notes for oneself.
A person adept in this delight will search around for the best solution to the
precisely diagnosed problem. When choosing a doctor, the person will do his
or her homework and collect all relevant information. He or she may also
take references from someone who has been treated by that doctor besides
reflecting on the merits and demerits of different medicinal systems and
select what suits their personality and temperament.
So, in short when the objective mind serves the physical, there will be a
precise awareness of the body, accurate diagnosis of the condition or
problem, evaluation of various options and the ability to choose the best
treatment. This also includes periodic monitoring of body parameters like
weight, pulse, sleeping cycle, etc., to know accurately and track the condition
of one’s health.
There is a constant internal running commentary happening about our own

body. These are some conscious or unconscious words or statements about
our own body that is often running like a broken tape record that just repeats
itself in seemingly endless loops. For example, say you have had a ‘catch’
twice in the hip when you bent down. Next time, you bend to lift up a large
can of water, a word is muttered within, ’Watch out’. If you are conscious
you will notice that the body cringes back instantly. Now if this thought
‘Watch out’ is repeatedly replayed within, the limitation slowly gets
reinforced and starts to appear more real. This is where we can counter the
mechanical mind’s hold over the body by bringing in ‘affirmations’.
Affirmations act as an antidote to the limiting thoughts played constantly
within. By consciously forming an empowering word or set of words and by
repeating it consciously several times, we can imprint a healthy thought into
our body. An example of such an affirmation is, ‘I am healing’ or ‘Every day,
the cells of my body are rejuvenating’. Any inspiring insight or message from
this chapter can be converted into a short and crisp affirmation statement. An
affirmation statement is positive, has a belief embedded into it and is stated in
a present continuous tense. Here is an example of an affirmation, ‘Every part
of my body is relaxing NOW and is absorbing the healing energy from the
sun, air, food and water.’ You can try with your own affirmations. Upon few
repetitions, if it feels good and feels as if the desired state is building up for
real within you, then that is your perfect affirmation.
Idea Force enhancing Physical: Realizing the ideology
of physical development
Contemplating on questions like ‘why should the physical be developed?’
and ‘what is the larger purpose physical development plays in the evolution
of the human species?’ is a function of the pure mind. Whatever clarity of
ideology the pure mind brings in about the body, the idea force converts it
into a creative plan to implement the ideology and enhance the quality of life
through a holistic development of the physical. Say for example, the pure
mind’s prompt for the ideology of the physical is – physical transformation –
to hold the essence of higher consciousness within the physical. The idea
force, then further imagines or translates what the physical would appear as if
it houses higher consciousness within it. It could clarify as (a) presence of
inner beauty in the body, (b) body developing natural capacity to reject
illness and (c) body developing capacity to relax and be still, when
concentrating on something important. This brings lucidity about the
revealing signs of the ideology for the objective mind to observe and realize.
Now, in the first instance, the critical nature of the objective mind could say
that these are unrealistic and pie-in-the-sky ideas with no validity and perhaps
no practical use. A well-developed idea force can visualize – What would be
new systemic and systematic plans to realize these ideals in the body. It can
envision the strategies and plans to realize these ideals in the physical.
To summarize, the idea force justifies the ideology and governing principles
of physical development and upholds them with its creative will to transform
the physical nature. It visualizes creative ways of transforming the physical
and chooses what serves the ideology best.
Pure Mind enhancing Physical: Clarified ideology for
body’s wellness, health and development
We are primarily mental beings and for anything we do, we need an answer
to the question: Why are we doing it? Or What purpose does it serve? Only
then do we get full permission from the ‘big boss’ of the mind for anything
we undertake. This ‘why’ is the ideology, philosophy, abstraction or the
concept.
If we observe in an aware manner, we find that we have all kinds of concepts

and ideologies about the body and its health floating in our mind. They are
picked up from what we have read, heard and inferred. Most often these
concepts and ideologies are contradictory and not well understood and
internalized. So the first step is to become aware of the concepts of the body
that are floating around. Second is to understand, internalize and discriminate
them. The third step is to arrive at a core ideology for the body and
internalize it. We encourage you to do this right now and right here as you
are reading this, so that this is experiential for you.
For the first step, let’s take some examples. Some common concepts that
people have shared about their body and health are:
The body is a sacred temple. Only when we keep this temple clean and
healthy, a good life is possible.
The body is a problem and it finally has to die. We don’t have to pay
attention to it. What is important is for us to get enlightened in our mind
and spirit.
The body takes care of itself. We don’t have to do anything about it.
The body is the best machine.
The body is a complex inter-connected being.

These are only some examples and it is recommended that the reader and
practitioner clarify his or her own set of concepts held consciously or
unconsciously. These concepts operate in our mind constantly, but most
often, we are unaware of them. It is like wearing a blue-coloured filter in our
eye. Since we are seeing through it constantly, we are not even aware that it
is there. But it colours and governs how we see reality and carry out our
actions. So only when we reflect and step back, our concepts become clear.
This is the first step.
The second step is to understand and discriminate the concepts we hold based
on the degree of truth and wisdom they hold and their possible influence on
our lives. Let’s take the last two examples to illustrate how this can be
accomplished. If someone has a conscious or unconscious concept that views
the body as a machine, they will treat the body mechanically and often pop
pills following any discomfort. As per their concept if there is a loose nail, it
needs to be tightened or hammered in. So they treat the body in the similar
manner and want to fix it with a pill or a treatment. Thus often they end up
treating only the outer symptoms and are not concerned much about the side
effects that arise from their solution. However, if someone has a concept that
the body is an interdependent complex living system, then for every ailment,
they will look for the underlying causes both physical, psychological and
perhaps even spiritual. They will choose a treatment that is more holistic.
Similarly, we suggest the reader or practitioner take each of their concepts

about their body and reflect to see the degree of truth and wisdom they
contain and the implications that arise from embracing it. We encourage you
to actually do it now.
The third step is to identify the core concept or ideology. A core ideology is
something that is truest and widest – encompassing the key ideas of all the
other concepts considered. Once the core ideology is identified, it can be
internalized and brought as the governing light in life.
Let’s do the second and the third steps with our example, which will help you
to get a feel of it. For each concept, we shall draw out the key idea and reflect
on the degree of truth and wisdom it holds. This is the second step. Next, we
shall consider all the key ideas and arrive at the core ideology, which holds
the most width and truth.
For the above example, a possible core ideology, from all the key ideas
taken from all concepts can be:
The body is a sacred, inter-connected being. Body self-heals, facilitated by

our efforts, to keep it clean and healthy.
If we examine this core ideology, we can see that it holds a fairly good
degree of truth and wisdom. It also takes all the key ideas of the other
concepts and collates them cohesively, thus having a broader view. This core
ideology thus has the capacity to cohesively guide our action.
We recommend that you arrive at your own core ideology of your body. The
goal is to arrive at a cohesive and synthesized philosophy or ideology for the
body, which can clearly guide action.
Spiritual enhancing Physical: Silence, Peace and
Conscious ‘Prana’ felt in the sacred space of body
This is an area not much explored by many of us and so we humbly take our
baby steps into this delight. First and foremost, even some centuries back, a
popular view was that spirituality had nothing to do with the body. In fact,
the goal of the yogi or spiritual master was often to transcend the body, life-
force and mind and access the higher transcendental consciousness. The body
was seen as a burden as it had its own aches, pains and limitations. Accessing
the formless was considered the ultimate goal. However, in this book we
consider the body quite important in its role as the form that holds all our life
experiences and consciousness within it. The qualities experienced through
accessing a higher consciousness are brought into the day-to-day life, so that
the whole of life is transformed. Thus, the transformation of the body as well
as the vital life-force and mind, by the higher and deeper consciousness, is
considered a significant part in our work.
We shall offer some clues here and we invite you to make your own journey
into this domain, as often it is an individual journey here guided by one’s
own inner wisdom.
When we have a full awareness of the body, beyond its perfect and
imperfect workings, we can often sense an underlying current of quiet
delight that is always present. This current of delight is underneath the
pains and pleasures of the surface. This is why developing equanimity in
the body, was always considered as important. This will help the
individual transcend the surface undulations and gently taste the
underlying current of wellness within.
Advanced sadhaks often testify that the state of silence and peace that
they access in their higher realms of consciousness is sensed in the body
as a felt experience, as a dense and solid substance.
The body has a living inherent intelligence that communicates with us if

we can train ourselves to listen to it. Many have had the experience
where they sit in front of a plate of food about to take a spoonful of it.
But even before they raise the spoon to their mouth, the stomach sends
out a signal of discomfort. Often in such times, if they take the hint and
don’t eat the food, they are fine. However, if they ignore the signal and
eat the food, they often fall ill.
Some people have come to the inner realization that their body is a
temple with a soul in their inner heart. So they treat the body as a sacred
space with reverence.
For the body, breath can be seen as something of a panacea. There are
some practitioners who have a great degree of awareness of the ‘Prana’,
the life force in the breath that transforms every part of the body. They
feel alive and conscious in their whole body.
‘Massage Master’ Exercise
The exercise shared in this section has been gleaned by the author from a
Master in the domain of the body and its well-being. Fondly called the
‘Massage Master’, he has deep knowledge of the Marma (hidden energy
points) system of Kerala. He has taught a 20-minute exercise for the true
nourishment and maintenance of the body. The exercise routine is very
simple but when done in a specific way, it releases any ‘energy locks’ in our
body and enables energy to flow through all the hidden points in our body.
This protects the body and keeps it strong, flexible and in full working
condition. The author acknowledges the Master’s generosity for allowing him
to share his method with the larger public. If one does this exercise regularly,
the physical body is taken care of and remains well nourished, toned, strong
and well maintained. Listed below are the key principles behind this exercise,
and clarifies how this can be done to yield best results:
The healer in the body is the breath. ‘Prana’ or breath not only enters
through the nostrils but enters through the joints of the body when we
rotate them. When ‘prana’ flows through all the hidden points of the
human body, the physical parts of the body are well lubricated and
function well. When ‘prana’ gets stuck in any hidden point, then the
corresponding part of the body becomes stiff and develops aches, pains
or diseases. One of the methods used in this exercise is to rotate each
joint of the body in a manner that activates the hidden points and enables
the ‘prana’ to flow throughout the body. In this exercise, each joint of
the body is rotated 21 times anti-clockwise and then clockwise in a
specific manner. The key benefit of this exercise is that it triggers and
touches many ‘Marma’ or hidden points in the body and thus it deeply
contributes to the body’s overall well-being.
The body, when it is used in its fullness of movements, retains its full
capacity. When we under-utilize the movements of the body, the body’s
functions gradually deteriorate. So each movement in this exercise is to
be done in its fullness of movement. For example, if we say do a hip
rotation, the full rotation of hip needs to be done and not a partial
movement. If we have pain in any particular body part, it would be wise
to apply some oil over that region and then exercise. Either coconut or
gingelly oil can be applied. The oil helps lubricate that particular part
and slowly bring in the fullness of movement.
The muscles around each joint needs to be strong. This protects the
joints. Today, we only partially use our muscles. This set of exercises
when done in the right manner, strengthens the muscles around the
joints. To do these exercises weights or equipment are not needed. Each
move of these exercises needs to be done by holding strength, by
holding the muscles firm around each joint involved in the exercise. We
then rotate the particular body part with strength to build up the muscles.
This also activates the corresponding hidden energy points located
around each joint and when done with a full movement, the full
functioning of that body part is restored. For example, when we move
our hands over our head and down and do it like a warm up, we would
not get much benefit. If we hold the hands tight with strength and move
the hand up to our head and down using our strength, muscles build in
this part and full normal functioning is maintained. When done every
day, the body develops a subtle muscular tone.
Using these three principles, we suggest that you practice the following
movements of this exercise. In our understanding it takes about 20 minutes.
Each part of this exercise is to be done 21 times. For example, if it is a
rotation movement, it can be done 21 times anti-clockwise and 21 times
clockwise. If you are not used to exercising at all, you can start with a lesser
count and bring it up to 21 counts, over a period of time.
Three key pointers to keep in mind while doing this exercise are:
Do the full rotation movement, so that any locked ‘prana’ or

energy is released. This will also ensure that ‘prana’ is circulated
sufficiently into each respective joint in the body, that is being
exercised.
Do each rotation with strength and certain tightness so that muscles

build up around the joints.
Consciously hold the right posture and movement as
indicated here, so that the ‘hidden energy points’ are activated.
The author vouches for this method. He practices these exercises every day.
Whenever he was in doubt he has clarified details with the Massage Master.
The one thing that astonishes him is the belief structure of the Master – ‘If
this exercise is done in the exact way, no illness can touch the human’. The
Master invariably then explains why this is true, based on his deeper
understanding of the body. So let’s get started:
No matter how great an exercise is, nothing happens without the Grace of the
One Will. At the end of the exercise take a few seconds, connect to your
Divine, One Source or Nature. And offer the exercise and the well-being of
your body into the Grace of the Higher Wisdom and Power.
Some guidelines on how you can teach the insights and exercises from this
chapter to someone and thus gain the benefit of learning it yourself, follow:
Teach the 20-minute exercise to someone. Both of you may do it

together for a few days and do it in the specific way as instructed in the
three key principles of how to do the exercise. Energize each other to
practice this exercise every day. According to the ‘Massage Master’, this
is done best before any other exercise is done and done best in a open
space where the body can ‘breathe’ fully.
Read parts of this chapter with each other. See which part talks to each
of you. Share with the other how you plan to practice the method written
here.
Identify an old habit that you want to change. Identify a new habit you
want to bring in instead. Motivate each other to ‘just do’ the new habit
each day till it becomes established. If in a day, either of you do not feel
inspired to do the new habit, still motivate the other to ‘just do’ the new
habit till it becomes stable. If either of you feel ‘bored’ to do the new
habit, still motivate each other to ‘just do’ it.
Discuss how each of you can tune into the body’s own intelligence and
enable the body to remain healthy in the most natural ways possible.
Enable each other to clarify and internalize the core ideology for the
holistic development of the body, as per the method described in the
‘Pure mind enhancing Physical’ section.
Reflection and Practice
In summary, in the evolution of the whole of creation, first there was matter
represented by the stone. Then, there was life represented by the plant and
animal kingdom and subsequently there was the mind and the emergence of
human beings. A human being is a unique creation who carries the essence of
all other stages of evolution within him or her and holds the seeds of the
future as well. In the human, there is present a physical nature, which needs
to be completely transformed from its original dull, dense and inert quality to
be a conscious stable upholder of the play of the higher consciousness within
it. The healthier, stronger and resilient the physical is, the greater is one’s
capacity to manifest one’s work in life.
A great degree of patience and persistence is needed to transform the physical

part of our being. Regular conscious practices chosen for this purpose help in
the methodical and sustained transformation of the physical.
Any practice has two essential mantras for its success – a practice is effective
when it is gradual and a practice is sustained when it is mechanically
repeated for sufficient time. If a practice is brought in too suddenly, our
system rejects it. If a practice is done for only a short time, it does not stick.
So the formula for physical transformation is – take a tiny step of a practice,
gradually increase its challenge to optimum level and repeat the practice till it
becomes a healthy habit.
We end this chapter with an old story. There was once a very learned
scholar who wanted to cross the river. So, he went to the ferry and got into a
boat. As the journey began, he asked the ferryman if he had studied the
science and knowledge of the world. The ferryman said no. He said ‘Oh. A
quarter of your life is wasted’. He then asked the ferryman if he had studied
the scriptures, which pointed to the world beyond. The ferryman said no. He
said, ‘Oh my God. A half of your life is wasted’. And thus he continued for
some time in a similar vein. Meanwhile, a hole had formed in the boat and
water started to gush in. Despite the ferryman’s efforts, he could not save the
boat. Soon, the boat collapsed and all fell into the river. Now, it was the turn
of the ferryman. He asked the scholar, ‘You have learnt so much, do you
know how to swim?’ The scholar in-between gulps of water said, ‘Oh no. I
had no time for that’.
And the ferryman said, ‘Then your whole life is wasted now!’
At times we are much like the scholar in our life. We take efforts to study, get
a good job, get married, buy a house and car, have kids, etc. However, in the
midst of this we often forget to take care of the body that makes all this
possible. The modern man and woman often run into bodily difficulties as
early as their 30s and 40s. What is the point of building a beautiful structure
on a weak foundation?
May we start as early as we can and build a solid and healthy base of our
body!
In the space below, jot down your insights and reflections that emerged as
you read through this chapter. Most importantly reflect on the below:
Overall how purified and developed is your physical – body and habits?
What are the aspects that need more purification and development?
Are you aware and giving attention to your body at an experiential level
on a daily basis?
Are you consciously nurturing empowering habits on a daily basis?

Do you exercise daily? Is your exercise built to give health, lightness,
strength and flexibility in your body?
From the many methods that were described for the transformation of
the body and habit, which are resonating with you? Which of them are
you planning to include in your daily Sadhana practice?
Work on the physical part of being is not a destiny to reach, but a

journey to continue. Reflect what are the physical journeys (exercises
and lifestyle habits) you have begun and how you can sustain them over
your lifetime.
Nature of Senses and Its Enjoyment
Sensory enjoyment is the domain of the five senses. In humans, life energy
first stirs in the senses – in sight, hearing, taste, touch and smell. Just as every
part of being has a unique purpose for its existence, the vital energy of the
senses is a mysterious and beautiful form of life energy that plays a specific
role in our being. When this energy is touched upon and refined, it helps us
experience sensory pleasure, fosters an aesthetic sense of beauty and enables
us to take delight in the small joys and fun of life. However when in excess or
when mixed with the limitations of sensual cravings, it induces a crude sense
of enjoyment, an urge to indulge compulsively and a need for instant
gratification. When enjoyment is crude, quite often fantasies mix with real
experience to satisfy sensual cravings. Here, the sensual and sensory cravings
are also sought to be experienced and fulfilled through imagination – often in
quicker, more exciting ways than what is really possible. In its aesthetic and
refined state, the vital energy of the senses nourishes us, uplifts our plane of
experience and facilitates sensory fulfillment for our life and living. When
crude forms of enjoyment are pursued, there could be temporary release of
tension and the craving of the senses, but these activities often sap the energy,
weaken the body and dull the mind. However, the vital energy of senses is
inherently beautiful and very important for life. There are some who find this
energy overwhelming and difficult to manage. Consequently, they try to
control it or suppress it altogether. But this often does not work as the zest for
life is lost and a sense of dryness sets in. Sometimes it so happens that this
suppressed energy erupts at unexpected times in stronger forms or in totally
different contexts. The vital energy of senses is much-needed but often needs
extensive transformation, and once it assumes a conscious flow, it can be
refined, polished and perfected.
To transform our vital energy of senses, first of all, we need to be directly

aware of it at a sensory level. Our sensory experience does not happen only in
our brain but also in every part of our body and the nervous system – at the
vibrational level. Initially when there is a desire or sensation, we are only
aware of it when it reaches our thought. Often, we do not immediately feel
them at the sensorial vibrational level itself. This is perhaps the first step – to
become aware of the vibrations of the senses, as they begin to occur, so that
we can directly work with them.
Let’s consider the sense of sight and try to understand its nature. The moment
we open our eyes, we are flooded with a multitude of sensory stimuli. There
are objects of different sizes, shapes and colours. Let’s take one aspect of the
sense of sight – colour and zoom in. Usually, we are not very aware of the
richness of the different colours and their shades present around us. For
example, if we step out into nature and pay attention to the leaves on plants,
we find that there is a profusion of colours and shades. Some colours appear
pleasing to the eye and attract our attention, while others appear unsightly.
When the eye sees colours that are pleasing to it, it opens wider and take in
more of those. At the same time, when the eye sees colours that seem
repellent, it moves its attention away. Here, we see the first fundamental
nature of our sight – the eyes are drawn towards what appears pleasing and
move away from what appears repulsive.
The same fundamental nature can be observed in the context of the other four
senses as well. Our senses are attracted to sounds that seem pleasant to our
ears, food that is tasty to our palate, an environment that is comfortable and
fragrance that appeals to us. Our senses draw away from sound that is too
loud or harsh, food that tastes repulsive, an environment that is cold or
unpleasant, and odour that stinks. From all these, we can infer that the very
nature of our senses is to seek pleasures and avoid pain and unpleasantness.
Let’s dwell deeper on the pleasure-seeking nature of senses to arrive at the

second fundamental rule that governs the senses. Let’s say chocolate ice
cream is one of your favourites and anytime you think of it, your mouth
waters. Imagine you are walking along the road and you see a shop where
they have your favourite brand of chocolate ice cream. You hesitate for a
moment, deliberating whether you should eat or not as you have already
consumed sufficient sugar for the day. But it appears that there is some
unseen ‘desire force’ that pulls you from inside the shop. The ice cream wins
over your rational mind. You step in and buy your favourite ice cream with a
gleam in your eye and your taste buds wild with anticipation. You eat the ice
cream, pay the bill and are about to leave when the corner of your eye catches
another flavour. This flavour seems very attractive now. The ice cream seems
to glitter with buttery goodness under the soft lights in the shop. And once
again the mouth starts watering, all thoughts turn towards butterscotch and
the mind starts telling itself how delicious the ice cream looks. What will you
do now as the craving has returned once again?
This is an all too real example for most of us, the only difference being the
sensory object that we are attracted to. For some, it is ice cream, and for
others, it is some other food or object of sensory pleasure. But the experience
is largely similar. What is the second fundamental nature of the senses that
such experiences reveal? Senses also have a tendency to ‘hook’ us to what
appears pleasurable. This means that even though the voice of reason may
tell us that we already had enough sugar, the sight of ice cream and the
anticipation of its taste in the mouth ‘hooks’ us and compels us to indulge in
it. This makes it difficult to completely step beyond the lure of the senses.
This gives great trouble to many a practitioner. Often one is unable to
concentrate and focus single-mindedly on learning or work as he or she is
‘hooked’ by several pulls of the senses.
There is an abundance of sensory stimuli around us and a plethora of sensory

responses within us. What is the purpose of this sensorial landscape that we
are always a part of? Enjoyment, nourishment and connection can be looked
upon as the tri-fold purpose of the senses. Life is meant to be lived to the
fullest with sufficient degree of enjoyment. This enjoyment of life through
the agency of the senses gives us nourishment. Just as we need food, we also
need this sensorial nourishment for our well-being. For example, Ayurveda
emphasizes the importance of enjoying all the six tastes through the food we
eat. Our sight, hearing, sense of smell, sense of taste and sense of touch are
windows through which we can experience both this enjoyment and the
nourishment that arises. This enjoyment and nourishment can take a lower
form or a higher form depending on our own degree of evolution. Let’s take
music – which is a source of enjoyment and nourishment – as an example.
Now, if the music is crude, made of noises and is not rhythmic, we may get a
short-lived thrill and partial nourishment. If the music is melodious, rhythmic
or soulful, then we will have a longer-lasting enjoyment and fuller
nourishment. This brings us to the third fundamental nature of the senses –
crude sensorial experience provides short-term enjoyment and partial
nourishment; aesthetic and refined sensorial experience provides long-lived
enjoyment and fuller nourishment.
Now, a practitioner of this book may ask – how do we distinguish between

what is crude and what is aesthetically refined? If we develop awareness at
our sensory level, we can easily detect this from some signs. Some telling
signs of crude forms of sensory enjoyment are that it gives a hangover; it
eventually drains us and the true nourishment is missing. Also when one
over-indulges in such forms of enjoyment or when we get addicted to it, it
loses its glamour or inner experience for us and becomes mere repetitions of
habit.
Some characteristics of true nourishment of the senses:
Sight: Beauty, balance, pleasing, subtle, soothing
Sounds: Melody, rhythm, harmony, consonance, silence
Smell: Fragrance, aroma, freshness, subtle
Touch: Balance of warmth and coolness, smooth, soothing, comforting
Taste: Right balance of sweet, sour, salt, bitter, pungent and astringent
The same can also be detected within as vibrational differences. When what
we see is pleasing to the eye, there will be a certain kind of vibration within
us. But when the sight is jarring or unpleasant, the quality of vibration
produced will, in essence, be different. Likewise for each of the senses, when
we are aware of these vibrational experiences within, we can aim to provide
more true nourishment to the senses.
The fourth fundamental nature of senses is that it connects us in the

present with the outer environment that we are a part of. This can help us in
staying connected to the present moment. Our mind often behaves like the
proverbial monkey – jumping from one thought to another, from the past to
the future and vice versa. This prevents us from being fully aware of what is
happening in the moment. A simple way of taming the monkey-mind is by
becoming present to sensations arising in the moment. Some illustrations are:
Take in an all-embracing view of all that is in front of you – without

focusing on any particular object and without rejecting anything from
your sight.
Listen to all the sounds around you, from the near to the far, from the
most-subtle to the most-obvious.
Usually, bringing awareness into just these two important senses – sight and
sound, grounds us in the present. The same can be extended to being fully
present through the senses of taste, touch and smell. With sustained practice,
there will come a time where we experience a heightened sense of awareness
and are fully connected to the present through our senses. This is a great and
mysterious boon that the senses gift to those who want to be aware of the
present moment. Many mindfulness exercises use sensory awareness as a tool
to bring one’s attention to the present.
Purification of Senses
In this section, we examine the limitations of the senses and by navigating
through them, recover fully the delight of beauty and aesthetic enjoyment of
the senses.
Overcoming Temptations
All of us, it is assumed, have something purposeful and significant to do in
our life and need to give sufficient time and attention to it. It is the duty of
our mind to focus our attention on our aspirations. But temptation acts as a
major distractor, energy sapper and time killer. Irrespective of age, many
people fall prey to their temptations. Temptations include watching too much
television, social media overuse, food addictions, gaming, being obsessed
with someone you like, excessive shopping (clothes, mobiles, footwear,
watches, gadgets and so on), frittering away time chit-chatting with friends,
gossiping and having an affair.
(a) Recognizing the pull and grip of temptations

Let us now take an experiential look of how temptations work:
Something – the pleasure of which we have experienced earlier or want

to experience now ‘hooks’ our attention.
The will and discernment of the mind interfere and try to reason but
often fall prey to the riot of the senses.
We indulge in the temptation and derive a quick fix of pleasure from it.
However, the satisfaction of the pleasure wanes soon and the senses start
demanding for more!
At the same time, guilt too sets in and we don’t feel too good for giving
in to the temptation.
However, in spite of the guilt, we notice that the senses are playing
havoc once again!
Put in another way, we fall into temptation when the vital energy of senses
cuts itself off from the mind and its reason, and acts according to its own
conflicting pushes and pulls. The focus and concentration of the mind is
disturbed by the senses which, having taken over the mind’s faculty to
imagine, makes the object of pleasure seem very attractive. We need to act
quickly, grasp the interference of these illusions at the very beginning and
stay clear of them. This will help the mind to slowly exert its righting
influence over the vital energy of senses and guide them. However, we must
take care that the mind does not suppress the energy of senses but only
redirects their creative energy to more meaningful and aesthetic explorations.
For any individual, falling into temptations is a major reason for loss of
concentration. Also when someone repeatedly gives in to temptation, it
undermines their confidence and self-esteem. Often, even a few minutes of
indulgence in temptations can ruin a lifetime of goodwill and reputation.
(b) Transcending grip of temptations

So, how can we transcend the grip that our temptations have on us? The key
is to release the ‘hook’ of our temptations and come up with new choices. Let
us illustrate a simple and a direct way for you to do this:
Choose one temptation that you want to work on and free yourself from
its grip. This could be an addiction, a craving for a certain kind of food
or drink, some form of entertainment, gaming, pornography, excessive
social media or gossiping, compulsive need to buy or hoard things, etc.
Examine the kind of thoughts and images you have in your mind when
you are tempted. For example, if your particular temptation is black
forest pastry, you may notice that your thoughts create an attractive,
colourful and rather large image of the pastry.
Practice rejecting the thoughts. The thought or image is akin to an object

in the mind and can be, a) moved around just as we move a physical
object, b) replaced by another thought or image, c) rejected from the
mind or d) rejected from dreams as well. While each one has to perfect
this process by practicing with their own thoughts or images, here are a
few suggestions to start with.
Make the tempting thought or image
Smaller in size
Move back, farther away into the distance
Static or still; colour to black and white
Literally drop or reject the thought from the mind – either saying
“this is not for me” or reinforce a mantra or value of yours (e.g., –
“I choose to be healthy right now and will pass this pastry by”)
Move away from your focus. Keep your focus on something else –
the aspiration, purpose and will of your mind for a higher living
This approach to thought and image rejection may be difficult at first as the
mind comes up with many reasons why it is difficult or should not be done. A
gentle patience, persistence and practice will help you achieve this and
through that process, discover your own method to reject the thoughts and
images that lure you. The tempting activity may have served a purpose in the
past but it does not anymore. So it may be time to let go of it and evolve.
Hold a steady will in the heart that you are ready and willing to let go.
The author acknowledges Richard McHugh from whom he learned sub-

modalities work, which forms the bases of this method. This is a simple
exercise but many participants in our courses have reported breakthroughs in
purifying the limitations of their senses using this method. Practitioners have
also used the same method to reject past memories linked to love failures.
There was a student who had a disappointment in his relationship. His
girlfriend had left him for someone else. He was not able to forget the
relationship as many memories often surfaced causing him hurt and pain. He
went into mild depression for several months. We taught him this exercise to
free himself from those haunting memories. In a week or two, he recovered
from the setback and was able to focus on his studies, regaining his zest for
life.
(c) Teaching senses to choose wisely
We humans are social animals, and none of us can or must cut ourselves off
from society. Even if we were to reject our temptations at the level of
thoughts, the world is full of sensory stimulation. Just a glance at the
morning’s newspaper or a few minutes of television brings with it an
avalanche of advertisements carefully designed to hijack our attention.
Millions are spent by the food and beverages industry each year to research
flavours, colours, fragrances and ingredients that tempt us and keep us
hooked to their product more effectively. Many men and women train
themselves to captivate and hold the attention of the opposite gender. Thus,
however much the individual tries to purify the mind of tempting thoughts, a
seemingly endless supply of sensory stimuli keep pouring in from many
quarters.
A certain amount of thought control and rejection, when learned, will help in
clearing the mind, freeing it from the grip of senses. We then need to learn to
work directly with our senses. At first, one is often overwhelmed by the sea
of sensory stimuli. Soon, one realizes that what is flowing in and around us
latch on to us only if we carry a corresponding craving frequency within us.
Otherwise, the sensory domain is pure energy that can flow its own course,
touching us but leaving us unaffected since it is possible to remain centered
even when this energy flows through us. So, one way to work on this
situation is to modify the external stimuli but we can do that only up to a
certain point. A better way may be to train or retrain our senses to choose
what is more wholesome, enjoy it responsibly and gain sensory fulfillment in
nourishing ways. This works directly on the senses. We shall explore this
further in this chapter.
Transforming Crude Sensory Enjoyment
The information revolution has brought with it an explosion of sensory
stimuli that affect the vital energy of the senses. Many students and young
working professionals have a colourful nightlife watching movies and follow
social media whose contents can often be crude and even perverse. Addiction
to pornography is steadily on the rise among students. One student even told
us that he was advised into pornography as a solution to cope with a love
failure by his own ‘well-intentioned’ seniors! Students often start these
pursuits due to peer pressure and slowly it builds into an addiction that eats
up a few hours every day. We have heard from many students that they do
want to come out of crude pleasure-seeking habits, but they find it very
difficult. Even those who are married fall into excessive stimuli rising from
their imagination or jokes shared between friends, as though they are secretly
enjoying sensory pleasures, which they cannot get in their real life. Similarly,
many find themselves tempted to consume a lot of junk food. They want to
come out of the cycle but they struggle – often falling prey to their
temptation. However, several people have mastered their own ways of
wholesome transformation for the sake of a healthier self.
Let us now re-examine, why we seek sensory enjoyment in the first place.
Each part of our being needs its quota of delight for its sustenance and
perfection. The senses too need their quota of sensory delight. Now, there is a
whole range of sensory delight – from the purest of sources to cruder forms.
When a student or practitioner is not educated to access higher and purer
forms of sensory pleasure, he or she seeks the crude ones, as they are easily
available. Gradually, they get addicted. The best solution is to teach ourselves
to seek and enjoy higher and purer forms of sensory delight. From
entertainment, to food, to nature, to the books we read, we can choose the
high road when it comes to sensory enjoyment. If we start enjoying higher
forms of sensory delight, we can never go back to the perverse and crude
forms. This is what we can aim for in the path of Integral Development. The
aim is to give to ourselves real pleasure that is nourishing and uplifting,
which keeps our body healthy and our mind sharp.
When a person is offered higher and nourishing choices consciously and
consistently over a period of time, the senses get refined and make healthier
choices. So, the ‘trick’ here in the realm of the senses is to constantly provide
healthy choices of sensory enjoyment whether for others or ourselves. By
doing this, slowly but surely, we will evolve at the domain of our senses.
This method of directly working on the senses can be summarized below:
Be aware and vigilant at the vibrational level of seeing, hearing, tasting,

touching and smelling. Notice the trigger as it begins to hook the senses.
Immediately for ‘Three Seconds’ invoke your deeper aspiration in your

heart and the will in your mind to live a holistic and purposeful life. This
embeds the intent and the will into the senses when done repeatedly and
quickly.
Provide an alternative form of enjoyment to the senses that is

pleasurable and yet is more of a higher quality of vibration and has an
aesthetic sense built into it.
This is a simple method. However, every small victory is a step forward in

our capacity to transcend temptation. Every defeat is a learning opportunity to
reflect on why the awareness and the practices to transcend the limitations of
senses are not sharp, immediate and accurate. We need a good degree of
concentration to do this exercise effectively. At the same time, just doing this
exercise helps develop concentration. Here, we don’t suppress the senses but
retrain them to make better choices. We need quick discrimination, clear will
and repeated practice to make a change right at the level of the senses. Then,
we will develop greater mastery over our vital energy of the senses.
The best method to transform a crude sense of enjoyment is to immerse

ourselves in some pursuit such as art, music, dance, cooking, baking,
drawing, painting, sketching, pottery, gardening or any other creative pursuit.
This really opens us to the delight of the senses, and energizes and nourishes
us from deep down. Soon this translates into a joyful spring in our step and a
complete celebration of life and living. However busy or accomplished one
might be, this is an aspect that is important to bring alive.
We hope, you – the reader – are not just ‘reading’ these words but allowing
your awareness to dwell on the stirrings of your own sensory enjoyment
within you. In this chapter we will repeatedly dive into the nature of
sensations and their workings. After you reach a point where you have direct,
experiential awareness of your senses, you can, if you so choose, offer your
senses to the influence of your deeper self. When the senses are completely
surrendered to the deeper self, then, two things happen. First, the deeper self
transforms the senses so that there is a presence of a deeper inner poise.
When such a transformation occurs, the very nature of our desire-flows
change. Then, we can be open to the domain of the subtle self-existent
delight.
Overcoming Fear
Fear is a very potent energy that creeps and spreads its tentacles in many
hidden ways within us. It can be so strong that whatever merit we have
earned in life can all be destroyed by the vital energy of fear. Fear and panic
spread swiftly from one person to another and can sweep through entire
societies. All the goodness and inner poise that we have developed can get
destroyed when fear seeps into our being. Unless someone is really
transformed and has worked on oneself sufficiently, fear lurks around every
corner, ready to spring on us. There are layers and layers of fear – fear of
facing people, fear of insects, fear of reptiles, fear of darkness, fear of ghosts,
fear of death, fear of failure, fear of life and so on.
How do we deal with this energy of fear within us? We need to understand
that fear gets stronger when we avoid it, shy away from it or just get
intimidated by it. Fear creates all kinds of stories inside our head. We can go
beyond the grip of fear in our life only if we develop an attitude of courage
and strength, enter the vibration of fear directly and face it squarely. One
simple truth that we may all have noticed from time to time is that we often
fear things in anticipation, when we think about them. When the real situation
presents itself, the challenge is often not as hard as we had feared. So, the
first step in dealing with fear is to face it directly without any trace of
avoidance or cringing back.
The second step in tackling fear is to invoke a higher state of inner experience
just when the vibrations of fear begin to course through us. Some examples
of these higher states are:
Breathe consciously and deeply into the region of the body where the
vibrations of fear are beginning to flow. This will help the conscious
breath to change the nature of the fear vibration.
Say an affirmation in English or your own language, something that

gives you great courage. Some examples are, ‘I am protected always’,
‘All is fine’, ‘I am full of courage this moment’, ‘I am safe’, ‘I can
conquer this’, etc.
If you know a mantra, or a chant, or a tune, which gives you courage

and faith and uplifts your consciousness, you can chant or hum that. You
can tune into the vibrations of the mantra or tune so that positive
vibrations can cancel out and transform the lower vibrations of fear. In
the beginning, you may need to repeat it a few times for the method to
be effective. In due course of time, the lower vibration of fear can be
changed by repeating the chant as few as three times.
You can also use the light of your mind to cancel out the vibrations of
fear. Using reason, be absolutely clear that fear is the ‘false appearing as
real’. If you do not believe in the fear, it cannot touch you. Keep tabs on
the mind and ensure that it does not allow any exaggeration of fear more
than what it is.
Connect to the goodness in the whole Universe with your heart with
absolute trust, faith and love. Then no fear can touch you.
We need the support of a deeper connection within us – our inner guide,

along with a good degree of will, and the light of discernment of the mind to
directly work with the fear when it arises, face it directly and conquer it. The
attitude, ‘Let us see who wins – fear or me’ that arises from inner strength
and confidence is perhaps the best way to live life.
Also, behind every fear, there could be some important message. This should
not be overlooked. For example, let us say you feel a little fearful and
anxious every time you begin working on a particular project. Since it seems
minor, you keep on ignoring it. But in truth, since it is a subtle feeling, you
may actually need to pay more attention. To your dismay, you realize later
that there was an error in your fundamental hypothesis for the project and so,
all your calculations need to be reworked. You realize that your subtle fear
was a nudge from within, giving you a clue. If only you had paid attention to
it, many months of work could have been saved. To sum it up, sometimes
fear does serve a purpose. But, it is only in awareness that we can
distinguish between baseless fear and a fear which is a message in disguise.
Using Jealousy positively
Jealousy is a harmless yet powerful experience, which latches on unnoticed
even in fairly evolved people. At some level human beings compare each
other and feel a pang of jealousy within. In the beginning, it is about toys and
lollipops; later on, it is with the degree and placement one gets; then it is
about the looks or affluence of one’s spouse; then, it is about one’s
possessions (car, house, etc.). Even in the spiritual path, there is often
comparison of one’s worthiness and the amount of Grace one receives. Most
often this is harmless, but it can create a sense of negative competition and
enmity. This is especially true when the jealousy within oneself goes
unnoticed and we start finding faults in others of whom we are jealous.
The same jealousy can be used creatively for our own development. Jealousy
is just a lovely beautiful energy capable of giving us some key insights about
life. In a deeper sense, jealousy also means that we are drawn to the greatness
in another human. This reveals an aspiration for advancement. If someone
has accomplished greater things in a particular field, the pertinent question is
– what is there in him or her that has enabled them to rise to their position?
At this juncture, if we can shift the attention towards our self then there will
be clarity – ‘Ah! I actually want to develop this greatness that I cherish in
them within me’ and then the question arises, ‘How best I can develop this
greatness’? This way the limitation of jealousy can be considered as a useful
experience to identify what we want to develop within ourselves.
Another simple way to deal with jealousy is humour. We can honestly tell the
other person about our jealous feelings and turn it into a joke such that both
can laugh together about it. We can also take the other person’s help to learn
more about the qualities or accomplishments that make us jealous.
Accepting and embracing this energy of jealousy within and using it

positively go a long way in creating positive vibes within and for others
around us.
Experiencing Freedom from impulsive or instant
gratification
When the senses are attracted or excited, they can hardly wait. They
immediately want to rush towards the actual object of pleasure or engage
with them in the imagination. It is impulsive and wants to experience the
pleasure instantly. If there is a delay in getting the object of desire or
indulging in the imagination, it experiences tension. The senses inwardly
scream for immediate action and effort to get the object or experience – the
promise of pleasure. This is one of the greatest pulls experienced in the vital
energy of senses and many fall prey to it. The best strategy is to use the will
and discrimination of the mind as reins to hold the horses of desires. The trick
is to learn to delay gratification and to wait upon with patience, so that we
can experience the object at the appropriate time. Not doing what the senses
desperately want to do is great freedom. Many of us may have gone through
this when we feel the temptation of a dark chocolate pastry (or equivalent for
you) after a heavy meal. We try resisting but often to no avail and we end up
consuming it. But if we succeed in delaying gratification, the freedom and
self-esteem we derive from that victory is enormous. One of the key traits
observed in highly successful people is that they do not need immediate
gratification. It gives them two distinct advantages. First, they do not allow
their concentration and focus to be contaminated by the impulse of quick
gratification and thus, progress steadily and firmly towards their goals. The
second is that by learning to delay gratification, they truly enjoy the pleasure
when they consciously engage with it at a chosen and more appropriate time
and place. A human who can master this capacity is one who has risen from
their animal impulses and learned to experience and enjoy only the finest and
most refined forms of sensory enjoyment.
Transcending need for easy quick returns
If we over-indulge in our impulsive nature and keep feeding our desires with
instant and quick gratification, we soon develop its equivalent psychological
nature. If we are interested in something, we want it quick and we want it
easy! We are not prepared to wait long and we are not prepared to work too
hard for it. Some classic examples of this in the modern day life are:
We want good marks in exams in whatever is the shortest and easiest

way possible.
We want only the job that gives us the best remuneration and rewards.
We want customer service desks to do everything now and immediately

– even if the actual process legitimately takes some time to complete or
the person is new to the job.
We want to become a manager or a head of an organization as soon as

possible. Hence, we are prepared to keep switching jobs to progress
quickly in our career.
We want our savings to give us quicker returns so that we can have lots
of money to buy whatever we want.
We want a higher role even if, objectively, we are not ready for it.
These are just some examples. The motivation behind this is our tendency to
satisfy our short-term needs as quickly as possible to have a comfortable and
enjoyable life. If we have this flaw in us, it would be good to tame it as early
as possible by building patience and by seeking to first strengthen our skills
and competencies so that we may truly contribute to others. Then whatever is
meant to come to us, will come to us by our own merit. Behind the urge to
get easy and quick returns is the impulse to get, grab and receive as much as
possible from others with the least possible effort from our side. The escape
route from the trap of this urge is to simply flip it and focus on contributing
to others through our efforts, leaving the ‘receiving’ of results to take care of
itself. Ask not what we can get out of something – ask what we can give unto
it! This will help us to shift from a receiving mode to a giving mode.
Experiencing Inherent Delights of Senses
Comfort
Comfort is one of the delights of the senses. We need to remember that each
part of our being needs its quota of delight for its well-being. Let’s look at
few examples and observe how much of this delight is present in our lives:
Sitting in a good, cool breeze on a warm day.
Wearing clothes like cotton, which feel good on the skin.
Using a table and a chair with comfortable height, hand and back rest.
Traveling from one place to another in the easiest and most relaxed way.
Scheduling of activities during the day in a manner that is spread out and
comfortable with enough time for rest and relaxation.
There are some people who have the view that enjoying such comforts is a
weakness. However, we never need expose ourselves intentionally to harsh
conditions. Comfort is acceptable in its own proper proportion. It is only
when we get addicted to comforts and can’t live without it that it becomes a
problem. This delight becomes a limitation only when we enjoy comforts so
much that it prevents us from moving forward.
Sensory Enjoyment
The energy of the senses is the spice that makes life very interesting and adds
variety to it. The different colours, sounds, tastes, smells and touches add
richness to life and provide the required raw material for our sensory delight.
Let’s take few examples of sensory enjoyment from our day-to-day life:
Nature is abundant with sensorial delights. The colours of leaves and

flowers are a treat to the eye. If we are sensitive, each plant and flower
smells different and many of them enrich our senses and our general
well-being. Birds are exceptionally pleasant to watch with many
different shades of colours adorning their feathers. Every pebble/shell
that we pick up on the beach is a sensory delight – the varied designs,
shapes and colours. Learning to enjoy nature like this is an art by itself!
The food we eat has so many different flavours. It is a sensorial delight

when we can soak in the aroma and taste of the food and enjoy every
morsel of it. Thus food, for us, provides nourishment not just to the
muscles but to the senses as well.
The clothes we wear are an excellent source of sensory delight to the

wearer and the admirer. The delight here is in the variety, the design,
look and feel of fabric and the shades of colours.
Every room and building has a particular look and feel. There are
several objects, paintings and interiors that contribute to its sensory
appeal. If done in good taste, our immediate environment – the interiors
of our rooms, homes and workplaces can be a source of sensory delight.
Many ancient and modern monuments, temples, churches, mosques and

sculptures are visual treats. Often, the design is rich and intricate and
they serve to inspire a sense of wonder and beauty in us.
These are just a handful of examples from the vast variety of sensory delights
present in the world. Building the capacity to connect to the delights of
senses and relishing the right amount of sensory enjoyment is of utmost
importance. It helps one experience the sweetness of life even in the midst of
difficult situations and helps to develop an enjoyable personality.
Let’s dive deeper into this core delight of the ‘vital energy of senses’ – that of
experiencing sensory pleasure and nourishment. Have you gone for an early
morning walk, say, from 5 to 5.45 a.m.? Around that time, the sky is
fascinating and changes colour every few minutes. There is a whole palette of
colours from total darkness, to deep blue, to a variety of lighter shades of
blue. And then often there is an orange glow that breaks out and plays with
the blue creating many combinations till the sky becomes light whitish blue
and the sun slowly peeps out and says a hello to your eyes. If we stop
thinking or interpreting what is happening and are present without
conditioning and connected to the sky and its colours and designs, in a short
time we will be completely energized and charged for the whole day. We can
become present to the beauty that is so abundant in nature.
From this example, what are some clues we identify about the full experience
of sensory pleasure and nourishment within us?
The experience is fresh and direct. There is no thinking about the sky
and its colours. There is no analysis of what this colour or pattern could
mean. There is a direct connection and experience of the colours and
their patterns.
Conscious awareness is present throughout. Awareness is conscious and

steadily present without slipping into a mechanical mode.
Awareness is subtle. Even minute and subtle changes of colours are

observed.
Awareness is all-inclusive. There is no partial experience of some

preferred colours and rejection of the others from one’s observation.
One is present to all that is unfolding up in the sky. One is open to its
beauty.
Slowly this leads to a heightened state of awareness and this gives
tremendous sensory pleasure and nourishment.
All our senses can be trained to experience sensory pleasure and nourishment
freshly, consciously, subtly and all-inclusively. Some possible ways to do the
same are:
Taste:
When you bite into any food or sip any drink, let your tongue
freshly and consciously taste all the flavours present.
Experiment with different kinds of food, preparation and cuisines

to enjoy a rich variety of tastes. Savour the taste of the food in your
mouth before you swallow or chew it.
Develop the taste to identify and enjoy all the six basic tastes of
sweet, sour, salty, bitter, pungent and astringent. In a meal or in a
day, bring in all these tastes into your food to enjoy the same.
Sight:
See with fresh eyes all the different colours in any environment you
are part of. When you notice your eye habitually seeing only some
preferred colours, relax it and widen its view.
See the subtle shades of all colours. For example, instead of seeing
blue as just blue, see the different tints and hues of blue with a
sense of wonder.
Experience the rich tapestry of patterns, shapes and sizes in our

environment, clothes, nature, etc., with renewed perception.
Smell:
Wherever you walk, smell all the leaves and flowers around you.
Many plants have medicinal properties and just smelling them is
nourishing.
Every time as you eat, take in and enjoy the aroma of the food.
Sound:
When you hear something melodious may your whole being soak
into the sound, so that the sound comes in alive within you.
When you sing whole-heartedly, be present to every sound that is

emerging from your mouth.
Learn to appreciate good music of multiple genres and cultures.
Practice hearing sounds without deleting any detail. Just be present

to all that exists in the backdrop of your auditory landscape.
Touch:
Every time you touch something, feel the warmth, coolness,

smoothness, roughness, softness, wetness, etc.
When you take a bath, feel the water trickling down your skin.
Consciously, rub soap throughout your body making it a sacred
activity.
Feel the different textures of leaves and flowers.
When we thus train our senses and make them come alive, we will fully
experience sensory enjoyment and nourishment. When all our senses are thus
opened up with practice, later on when we offer our senses to the influence of
deeper self, the entire spectrum of our sensory flow can get transformed.
Senses that are not opened up cannot be receptive to the inflow of the deeper
self. It would be far easier for those areas of our senses which have been
consciously opened up, when offered to the deeper self, to receive its touch
and influence.
Sensual Pleasure
By sensual, we primarily refer to the sexual energy. This is a mysterious and
sacred energy which, unfortunately, is often reduced to the level of a very
animal-like instinct. At its best, it is an expression of the intimacy between
two people, a sacred act that helps them to connect deeper and share
moments of intimacy. In its best form, it is a sign of love and care. But when
divorced of love, it is reduced to a mere pleasure-seeking activity with many
perverted and over-indulgent avatars. In today’s world, many a man and
woman hardly taste true sensual pleasure and they come together in a
mechanical way. Many an individual, by over indulgence at various stages in
life – either in the imagination or in relationships – lose the sanctity of this
sacred contact.
However, this is a legitimate and beautiful connection when engaged in with

the beloved other. Each one of us has to find our own path in tasting this
beautiful sensual energy. We need to learn to taste it in its pure forms, with
love, with the right person, at the right time and place. How much of this
sensual pleasure we need is individual to each one of us. Too much is not
good and too little is not sufficient. By understanding our body and sexual
nature, we need to arrive at our own balance of this energy. Life partners
need to find the balance between each other. At the same time, there are some
who find that they do not need this sexual contact and can connect deeply
with another human being or the whole world at large beyond the play of this
energy. These are beings who aim to bring in a higher consciousness within
their body and life. That too, is a legitimate path but not the path for a
common man or woman. It is a path for a man or woman who is born for a
different purpose and calling.
Transformation of Senses
In the beginning, the delight of sensory enjoyment will be mixed with
limitations and desires. Through Sadhana, we need to break away from the
pull of our lower impulses. To accomplish this, neither is the path of
asceticism nor is a path of excess a valid path in Integral Development and
Change. We need to engage with the senses to enjoy their delights directly
without any fear of being overwhelmed by them.
There is a Divinity in each part of being. The world of the senses is also
Divine and it is a center of beauty and joy. Once transformed, the senses
seek enjoyment that is nourishing, beautiful, joyful or aesthetic rather than
what is base, crude, vulgar or mechanical. The transformed senses seek what
uplift them rather than what seemingly give instant pleasure but is destructive
over a period of time. When the pleasure center of our being is neither over-
indulged nor ignored, but its own delight is clarified, we become part of the
celebration of the magnificent beauty and joy in life and living.
This transformation, too, does not often change the fundamental nature of
senses. At the plane of instinct, the senses continue to dart about in split-
seconds trying to reach for objects of pleasure. Even if action does not
follow, this capricious nature of the senses continues to exist. That
consummate change of nature of senses, where even the slightest sensory
vibration can be quelled at will, is reserved only for very few individuals who
are meant to offer their body and life to embody a subtler consciousness,
whose very nature is self-existent delight. This is a desire-free delight that
exists without cause and effect. The thumb-rule here is that the lesser the
tendency of the senses to flit and dart from one desire to another, the more
they can embody the deeper delight consciousness. Exploring this is beyond
the scope of this book, and could form part of our future works.
We offer a three-pronged approach in our Sadhana or Inner Practice to

transform the senses from their normal conditioning to experiencers of
beauty, joy and delight. The three fundamental methods are summarized as
follows:
Sadhana to release mind’s exaggeration of senses
When the senses play and flow in our body, there is a part of the mind that
seeks pleasure in it. This part of the mind manufactures stimuli in the mind
and enjoys these stimuli in the mind. The mind manufactures images,
sensations, tastes, sounds and feelings that often make the object of
enjoyment far more compelling, attractive and delightful than what it really
is. This is, however, a potential hazard to our senses in the long term. As long
as we don’t actually connect with the object of pleasure through our senses,
we are engaging with them more through our thought formations and their
loops and exaggerations. This gives a false sense of pleasure and also a
promise of exaggerated pleasure which will most likely be unattainable in the
real experience. This does not fulfill our senses as our senses get cut away
from our awareness and we increasingly experience pseudo-satisfaction of
senses in our mind. The senses, not finding direct sensory nourishment, start
craving for more and we slip into a vicious cycle, largely trapped in the part
of the mind that feeds the craving for sensory stimuli.
The core practice here is to shift away from the thoughts which give a
pseudo-satisfaction of senses. If for some reason our thought looping or
exaggerations are strong, we can experiment with rejecting these sense-laced
thought formations. We can learn to throw them out of our mind. We can
shift our attention very consciously to ‘be’ and experience at the level of our
senses, however pleasurable or repulsive the experience is. We can learn not
to shut our senses away from the sensory energy flow and gently be with it
and understand it intimately.
Sadhana to experience senses at their plane
When the mind seeks pleasure but deprives the senses from actually tasting
and experiencing pleasure and enjoyment, over a period of time the senses
become mechanical in their working. The senses may even overindulge with
the object/s of pleasure, but if we are aware we may find that they experience
less and less true sensory fulfillment. This is because the mind’s exaggeration
interferes in the natural functioning and satisfaction of senses. At that time, in
awareness, if we experientially sense the ‘touching’ points of our senses with
the object of pleasure, we may notice that the senses are a bit dulled in their
capability. They go through the motion of sensory enjoyment mechanically.
This is why, at these times, we often need to feed more of the pleasure stimuli
to enjoy even a bit of pleasure and fun. We seek pleasure stimuli in ever-
larger doses. Second, when the mind gets excited with a particular sensory
stimuli, it keeps recreating the same experience in the mind. This, along with
the inherent tendency in us to form habits, reduces our senses to become
narrow and selective in seeking their sensory gratification. The senses then
lose their true nature of experiencing a variety of enjoyment from multiple
sources and begin to draw their source of pleasure from limited stimuli as
recreated by the mind and as conditioned by our habits. Senses thus lose
much of the sensory contact, nourishment and delight that belong to it
rightfully.
A practice here can be to bring direct and conscious awareness into the
domain of senses. We can open our senses directly to the object of pleasure
and actually experience it. We can learn to experience every contact of the
senses through sight, sound, taste, touch and smell, and intimately feel what
the senses experience. Some people fear that they may fall prey to their
senses if they pursue this path. The contrary happens as, in this method, we
learn to be fully conscious and experience our senses in a direct and open
manner. One way to do this is by reducing the quantity of sensory inputs of
fun and pleasure that we are exposed to and by consciously inviting the
senses to connect with and experience whatever little pleasure is available.
The underlying idea is to experience pleasure through small doses of
sensory inputs in real time, without resorting to the need to exaggerate it at
the mind level. We can try lessening the sensory inputs but focus on giving a
variety of inputs, and still experience the same fun and pleasure in a mindful,
conscious, sensorial and respectful manner as indeed, just as every other part
of our being, the senses too are Divine.
Sadhana of bringing consciousness into sensory
reactions
When we explore the fulfillment of senses, we are also confronted by the
disgust that we experience with certain sensory inputs. Some kinds of music,
visuals, touch, taste and smells cause a response reaction of disgust within us.
This is a good focal point for our Sadhana. The first clue is to pinpoint the
source of the disgust – is it a repulsion emerging from the mind or our
senses? A disgust of the mind arises from moral standards, ethical principles
and habitual rules based on our cultural background. These are often mere
personal choices and means designed to control our senses. However, even if
one human finds delight and sensory enjoyment in a sensory stimulus, it has a
legitimate existence on this planet and will continue to exist. Thus when we
notice sharp mental reactions to the desires of our senses, a good practice is
to reject the play of our mind in our sense fulfillment and experience. It may
be good to have our personal sensory preferences, but we must also respect
the personal sensory preferences of others.
Some reactions of disgust arise from our senses themselves. The senses often
cannot bear too much pleasure or too much pain. So when the threshold of
pleasure or pain is crossed, our senses shut down temporarily. We can learn
to trust and honour our senses. We can be fully conscious of our senses, be
with them and honour their needs. We need to trust and experience the
balance within our senses, in a condition when it is free of the control of
our mind and our habits. Our senses have an inherent balance and we
must be able to honour the choices that they make. Often, we fear whether
our senses will overpower us. This is just old conditioning. The senses know
just how much to indulge in – what to enjoy, when to enjoy and how much to
enjoy. When our senses are made fully conscious, they know what is good for
them and they find their own rhythm and balance. When they feel that they
have had their fill, a conscious and evolved faculty of sensory perception
would naturally step back. Whether we experience disgust or pleasure, when
we are truly in touch with our senses we can honour, fulfill and take care of
their needs.
Advanced Mastery Path
The highest practice in the Sensory Enjoyment part of being is when we can
let this beautiful energy flow through us, without us personalizing or
localizing it in any manner. Normally, when the energy of sensory or sensual
enjoyment courses through us, we seek to satisfy our cravings and experience
pleasure or avoid pain. In doing so, we become the reference point for our
senses and we want the flow of sensory energy to satisfy us. Also, in the
beginning, the experience of sensory and sensual enjoyment gets localized to
a particular part or organ of the body. In this case, that particular part or
organ experiences pleasure and then once satiated, it relinquishes its desire
for a while. After some time, this desire resurfaces. When we progress
towards becoming a Universal human being, our connection to this energy
becomes increasingly Universal and Cosmic. We begin to experience the
sensory flow within us in an impersonal way. When sensations flow within
us, we become an admirer of their joy, fun, pleasure and delight. However we
are not the reference point. The reference point is the Universal sensory
energy, which flows in many mysterious ways. We become a recipient and
container or channel through which the Universal energy flows. When we
look at nature, we open up fully to the abundance of this energy touching and
nourishing all our senses. Now this experience of Universal enjoyment is
different as we are neither seeking this enjoyment nor avoiding it. Whenever
the Universal sensory energy, which now becomes very subtle and evenly
delightful in nature, chooses to flow through us, we become a celebrator and
admirer of this energy and develop deep awe. Through our inner evolution,
we would then have arrived at a capacity to experience sensory enjoyment as
Universal Energy of Joy, Beauty and Delight. Our experience of sensory flow
would then have changed from a local experience linked to one part of the
body or organ, to an omnipresent non-local experience of Joy, Pleasure,
Enjoyment and Delight throughout our body and even outside it.
Other Parts of Being Enhancing Senses
A sustained aspiration for a higher and nobler life, and a well-developed
mind will guide one away from all pitfalls of the vital energy of senses and
help taste the true nectar of sensory fulfillment and enjoyment. This
transformation can be aided by perfecting the mind, vital life-force and
physical to support the vital energy of senses.
Let us examine how other parts of being can enhance the sensory enjoyment
of senses.
Physical enhancing Senses: Calmness and relaxedness
in the nerves
The nerves carry sensory stimuli to and from the brain and are often
subjected to a state of inner agitation and tension. This nervous strain could
be due to various reasons including overload of stimuli and the contradictory
pulls of desires. The inherent perfection of the physical is its steadiness,
which can also be seen as a certain calmness and relaxedness. For our well-
being, we need to learn to relax our nerves and be calm. This will greatly help
the senses as they function at their natural best when the nerves are relaxed.
How do we do this? A simple way would be to slow down when the senses
get overactive by the rush of sensations and their vibrations. We can enter
into awareness of the body, relax any part of the body and its nerves, which
gets agitated due to the action of senses. This is the best and most direct
method. This can certainly be done before we go to sleep. Throughout the
day, our senses are in a highly involved, active and often agitated state. If we
just drop off to sleep in that state, the same will continue and disturb our
sleep. Many of us may have experienced that a song that we listened to
several times during the day continues to play itself out in sleep and we often
wake up with the same song in our head. Once we lie down on the bed, we
can slowly relax and calm every part of our body from the toes to the head.
We can let go any tension or strain or vibrations in the nerves and let them be
completely passive. This can also be done few times during the course of the
day. Even though this reads simple, doing this may often be quite a
challenge. But, if done, yields great benefits for our well-being.
Dynamic Energy enhancing Senses:Enjoying sensory
intensity
Every sensory experience has its range and if is too intense, we often can’t
bear it. Most of us are wired such that we can take sensory delight only up to
a certain limit, after which we either dissipate it or go berserk because of the
rush of sensations. We need to learn to experience and hold sensory delight in
its purest and fullest form in its full intensity.
Some examples of developing this capacity are:
(a) When you see a sunrise, sunset or rainbow, allow yourself to experience
the full grandeur in the moment. Give yourself totally to the experience.
Let the beauty permeate into you and move you. Learn to bear the full
nobility of the beauty.
(b) Let’s say on a cool morning, you are taking a cold water bath. Allow
your skin to enjoy the intensity of the coldness of the water as it trickles
down your skin.
(c) Let’s say someone is singing a raga or playing a musical instrument,

allow the full nuances of the music and its gradations to touch your
senses. Enter into the music with your senses and let your senses dance
to the tunes of the music.
(d) Say a morsel of food is tasty. Give yourself an opportunity to taste every
morsel consciously and remain with the taste throughout the meal.
(e) When you get a whiff of fragrance that you like, enjoy the full intensity
of the smell along with all its layers.
Emotional Care enhancing Senses: Caring for one’s
comforts and needs
The emotion of care can be harnessed to take care of our own comforts and
needs. In this way, our basic needs, comforts and tiny preferences are
honoured by us and care is taken to fulfill them. This also extends to taking
care of our psychological needs as well. For example, while doing something,
we can ensure that we do it at a reasonable pace, ensuring that the stretch is
not too much. Even when we change within ourselves, we can ensure that it
is done in small doses spread over a longer period of time so that it is
comfortable. This quality is a warm, sweet energy and in general, makes us
feel good. It is perfectly fine to take care of our needs as far as it is in a
balanced and considerate manner.
Objective Mind enhancing Senses: Sensory acuity and
fine sensory distinction
The mind and its perfection can also be called upon to enhance the workings
of the senses. The objective mind can bring in precision in the form of
sensory acuity and distinction into the senses. Let’s understand this with an
example of an exercise. Imagine you are sitting blindfolded with six of your
friends standing around you. They ask you to stretch out your left palm. They
then stand in a particular order and approach you one by one. They say their
name and place their index finger on your left palm. Your instruction is that,
you must sense their index finger tip alone with your palm. Then, the first
person retreats and the second person comes forward to place their index
finger tip on your left palm, saying their name. Again, you are to feel the tip
alone, with your palm registering any subtle differences of temperature,
texture, shape, etc. Once all the six friends have done this, they reshuffle and
approach you in a new sequence. Without mentioning their names, they place
their index finger tips on your left palm. Your job is to guess the new order
accurately. Will you be able to do it? This depends on your degree of sensory
acuity and capacity to make sensory distinctions of temperature, texture,
shape, etc. (This exercise is normally done in the Neuro Linguistic
Programming [NLP] workshops of Richard McHugh).
The attempt is to open up to fully experience the senses freshly, consciously,

subtly and all-inclusively. When the objective mind comes in, it adds the
capacity of making fine sensorial distinctions and classifications. Let’s take
some more examples of a developed state of this capacity:
You can distinctly distinguish different pitch, tempo and rhythms of

sound, and you can have notations to represent each distinction.
You have a very good eye for colour and its finite distinctions. You
know the names of the different colours and their shades and can
distinguish them.
Your tongue can distinguish accurately the different tastes and flavours.
If you are communicating something important to someone, by watching

their changes in breath, skin colour, facial expressions, etc., you can
know their reactions and changes of their inner states.
When you go back to a place or a room, you can notice all the tiny
changes that have happened there to give you valuable clues.
By developing this capacity, you can learn to pick a good degree of

information at the sensory level about a person, object, nature or
environment. You develop this capacity by practice and observation.
Idea Force enhancing Senses: Aesthetic taste and sense
of beauty
This is the creative part of the mind enhancing the senses. However, before
we move on to the topic, let us first examine how the flow of the senses
contaminates and uses the mind for its own needs. The senses supply the
mind with justifying reason as to why it is so important to go ahead and
satisfy its wants and needs.
Justifying Reason – Reverse influence of the sensory rushes

on the mind
Let’s understand this with an example. Imagine you are researching a core
project related to your field. The deadline is a month from now. You have
decided that you want to master the topic. It is Saturday evening. You have a
bath and sit at your desk feeling very fresh. You concentrate for a few
minutes and then you open the relevant folder on your computer. Just as you
begin to read you hear a ‘beep’ on your mobile indicating that a message has
come. A ‘will’ runs in your mind, ‘Don’t see it now. Finish reading the topic
first.’ Immediately, there is temptation within you and a thought runs through
your mind, ‘Ah! But it will take only a few seconds. How will this hurt?’
This is justifying reason. It is the temptation of senses that arises in the mind
and uses the mind for its needs of getting instant gratification by generating a
convincing reason. And so keeping one eye still on the folder, you reach out
and open your message. It is a message from Karthik who says that he has six
complimentary tickets for the latest movie. So he has sent a message to your
group, calling them out for an evening show followed by dinner out and fun.
In a few seconds, all your resolution and concentration seem to be broken.
Thousands of images flash in your mind – of your friends, of good times you
have had, about the hero in the movie, the restaurant where you can eat your
dinner and the fun afterwards. And then your ‘will’ says, ‘Ah! But you
promised yourself that this time you will learn well and master the topic.’
Almost instantaneously, an eager cry emerges from within, ‘But tomorrow is
Sunday, you can always make up for lost time.’ Then, another thought
comes, ‘Oh what fun you will miss and you will be called a nerd if you don’t
go’. Many justifying reasons emerge. And very soon, you send a reply to the
message, ‘I am in, buddy! I was free anyway!’ This is a classic scenario for
many of us.
Justifying reason is where the desire in the senses enters the mind and clouds
it. The light of reason and capacity of the mind to observe calmly are clouded
by the vital rush of senses seeking to get its next pleasure fix. Once the senses
win in seducing the mind, they retreat, but only for a short time. Very soon,
the senses exert their influence on the mind clamouring for their next dose of
pleasure. If an individual is not observant and keeps falling prey to the vital
rush, the mind’s intelligence and reason get muddled and the ‘will’ becomes
weak in course of time. Many a practitioner ambles through life in this
manner.
This working of the justifying reason is very critical for the practitioner to
detect and counter with the light of reason and power of the ‘will’.
True role of Idea Force on Senses

The idea force can help in incorporating the idea or ideal of the pure mind to
transform the senses and raise them to a higher plane. Some examples of
ideas or ideals that the idea force can introduce are the aesthetic sense of
beauty, harmony and elegance. The mind could infer that when this elegance
gets deeply entrenched in the senses no lower vibration, crudity or perversion
can disturb it. The idea force part of our mind can see this beauty, harmony
and elegance in nature – in designs of fossils, shells, leaves, flowers, skin of
animals, feathers of birds, etc. This beauty and rhythm can be heard in the
chirping of birds. The creator has interwoven so much beauty and harmony
into nature. The idea force questions and visualizes whether this beauty,
harmony and elegance can also be created in our everyday sensorial
experience, so that we can consciously uplift the working of our senses.
Some simple ways of doing this are:
When you cook a meal and serve it you can ask, ‘How interestingly can
I present this?’ You can pay attention to the vessel used, its colour, the
colour of the table mat, the decoration on top of the food served, etc., to
invoke a pleasant experience of eating.
You can ask the question, ’How can I bring in more beauty and harmony
into my room or home?’ You can do this in many ways:
Coordinated colours can be used for the furniture, fabric,

decorations, etc., resulting in a good visual experience.
A flower arrangement or an artistic hand painting can be made

every day to invoke beauty and harmony.
You can locate an area of the room or the home and play soulful
music in that place to create an aesthetic feel of the space.
When you choose clothes, you can experiment with ethnic clothes with
beautiful designs and colours.
These are some of the best Sadhana (daily practices) possible in context of
the senses which uplifts the nature of its functioning. Aesthetic forms of
enjoyment are subtler but they are long lasting and nourishing.
Pure Mind enhancing Senses: Senses are guided by a
pure, clear and discerning mind
A good pure mind is clear and not clouded when senses rush in. The mind
can quietly step back and discern the quality of the sensations. It can discern
the healthy from the limiting clearly and at all times. To arrive here, one
needs to thoroughly refine and cleanse the mind so that it can clearly guide
the senses.
In the earlier instance we noted that the moment the sensations rush in and
enter the mind, they utilize the mind for their pursuits of pleasure through
justifiable reason. Within just a few seconds, the mind loses its clear reason
and speaks the voice of the senses. Like a dirty mirror distorts the images of
the objects that it reflects, the clouded mind distorts and then believes its own
distorted perceptions. This is how the mind functions without an illuminating
awareness. From here, how do we arrive at the full capacity of the discerning
clear mind that guides the senses?
First, the conceptual pure mind should have a clear reason or guiding
philosophy – why, in the first place, do we want a transformation of the
senses? Else we may say, ‘Ah! All this is too much effort. I might as well be
an addict to my senses!’ Some examples of a conceptual understanding that
highlights the transformation of senses are:
In evolution, first there was matter, then plants, animals and then came
the humans. The nature of senses is similar to that of plants. The best
feature in a human is his or her mind. It is a rare human who can live
and be guided by the mind without any desires of senses distorting it.
The senses need to function to their best on their own with the guidance
of the conceptual mind to maintain overall balance and harmony.
The senses are our windows to beauty and we need to make them as
pristine as possible to access this beauty within and through the senses.
When dirt accumulates on a mirror, we need to wipe it and keep it clean. We
need to be watchful and when a patina of dust settles, we need to wipe it
clean yet again. In the same way, the lens of perception of the mind must be
kept clean. When the senses rush in and cloud the mind, we need to detect
this as soon as we can. We must then step back sufficiently and pause. This
helps the mind recover its calm poise of discernment. Soon, we can bring to
focus the ideal of the development of senses in our life. We can then observe
the senses and discern their nature. But in the beginning, the mind gets
clouded very soon and we may need to practice stepping back frequently.
Connecting to your own compelling purpose of transformation is one way to
enable your mind to step back and discern the nature of the vital rushes, and
decide what to do with them. With determined Sadhana, we can arrive at a
steady state of a clear discerning mind, guiding and directing the senses and
their enjoyment, keeping sacred the pure mind’s principles and ideals.
Spiritual (Silence, Peace, Presence) enhancing Senses:
Equally poised with all external sensations of pain,
pleasure and indifference
When the spiritual touches the senses, the senses undergo total
transformation. The first indication is when one has equal response to both
pain and pleasure and all its gradations in-between. Even further, one
experiences bliss or delight with any and all sensory contact. This delight is
high and beyond the scope of our present discussion. We will only touch this
aspect briefly. Once our senses are sufficiently purified and perfected, then
we can learn to call upon the qualities of Peace, Silence and Presence within
our senses. When our senses connect with the spiritual without any direction
from our mind, they naturally choose what is natural, what is beautiful, what
is subtle, what is aesthetic and what provides long-lasting inner joy.
Rungs of Transformation
Let’s dwell on an additional point of transformation which will be

relevant for this chapter and other chapters as well. Imagine there is a
ladder that stretches from the ground to the sky where the dawn is
arising. Imagine the rungs are spaced widely apart. As a metaphor,
evolution here means that we need to move up the rungs till we reach
the top. However, we cannot bypass any rung. We need to stay on each
rung, face the challenges associated with it to overcome them and
become a master player at each rung. Now, we cannot transform any
particular rung if we only use the resources of the same rung. We need
to reach out and start anchoring on the resources of the higher rung for
transformation to occur in the particular rung on which we are standing.
Once the transformation is realized in our particular rung, we can then
raise ourselves up onto the higher rung to which we will be more
anchored, and make it our new base station. However, the movement
from rung to rung need not be linear but often a circular, simultaneous,
iterative and organic process.
We often learn best when we teach. So go ahead and teach this chapter to
someone and both of you can explore this chapter together from the vantage
point of your experiences and learn from it.
Some guidelines:
List down each of your senses – seeing, hearing, smelling, touching and
tasting. Share whether they are seeking crude or aesthetic sense of
enjoyment and nourishment at this point in time. You can mark it
against a continuum if that is more insightful to you.
Using insights from this chapter, share how you can detect crude sense
of enjoyment and aesthetic sense of enjoyment.
Make a note and share the degree to which each of your senses are
getting the following refined forms of nourishment and how:
Smell: Fragrance, aroma, freshness, subtlety
Touch: Balance of warmth and coolness, smooth, soothing,

comforting
Taste: Right balance of sweet, sour, salt, bitter, pungent and

astringent
Take one temptation that you want to let go of. Practice rejection of the
thought or image of the temptation as described in this chapter, under
the section of ‘Overcoming temptations’. Do this for each other and
have fun discovering something about how your mind can be free from
the ‘hooks’ of your senses.
Go on nature walks together. Experience the touch of the breeze on your

skin. Note the different colours in trees, plants and flowers. Hear the
different sounds of chirping of birds. Hear the sounds near and at a
distance. Smell the different fragrances of flowers. Touch the plants and
feel them. May your senses be nourished by nature!
Together, go through the section of ‘Sensory Enjoyment’ under the

‘Experiencing Inherent Delights of Senses’. Discuss real life incidents
about how each of your senses was nourished by the aesthetic touch and
beauty of sensory enjoyment. If any part of your senses is missing this
nourishment, discuss how to bring in aesthetic enjoyment into it.
Reflection
Senses are our first point of contact with the outer world. This contact can
be pure and delightful if we can systematically develop all its capacities.
Noble is the person who is at ease with all the delights of the senses and is
equally at ease when they are not there.
In the space provided, jot down your insights and reflections that emerged as
you read through this chapter. Most importantly reflect on the following:
Are you aware and do you give conscious attention experientially to

your senses on a daily basis?
Overall, how purified and developed are your senses? What are the
aspects that need more purification and development?
How would you like to nourish your senses on a daily basis?
Smell: Fragrance, aroma, freshness, subtle
Touch: Balance of warmth and coolness, smooth, soothing,

comforting
Taste: Right balance of sweet, sour, salt, bitter, pungent and

astringent
the senses, which ones resonated with you? Which of them do you plan
to include in your daily Sadhana?
Nature of Dynamic Energy or Power
The nature of the senses is to perceive and be attracted towards objects, and
then desire it for one’s own pleasure. By default, one largely operates within
one’s own comfort zone and wants quick gains and instant gratification.
Dynamic energy has the characteristic of making one reach out of the comfort
zone, hold one’s power, bear any difficulties and strive to achieve something
until one meets with the desired success. The dynamic energy can persist,
persist and persist some more until the goals are reached! When one is in
touch with the dynamic energy, one attains the ability to wait patiently for as
long as it takes to get the required results, but when confined to the world of
senses, one cannot often wait long and settles for mediocre results. In the
plane of vital energy of the senses, the movement is directed towards one’s
own small self to gain enjoyment. In dynamic energy, the energy moves
outwards to overcome a challenge or master a situation to achieve success.
Let us use the metaphor of a hosepipe to understand what it means to tap into,
hold or transmit the dynamic energy or power. Imagine there is a massive
obstacle in front of you and you need to use the hosepipe to get it out of your
way. You open the hosepipe and as the water gushes out with full force, you
direct it on the barrier. What will determine whether the barrier moves or not?
The volume of water, the intensity or force of the water and its duration of
flow are the parameters that matter. Similarly, a first requirement, a large
enough store of dynamic energy should be present within us and when it is
less, we need to know how to build this energy within ourselves. All the
limitations of this energy should be overcome and it should be in its purified
form. The energy should be sufficiently intense so that one can use it when
required. It needs to be carefully directed for enough time so as to overcome
the obstacle or challenge that one is facing. Once we have ample, purified,
intense and sustained dynamic energy, the next question is what is the extent
to which we can exert our influence in the world and how we are to forward
the larger evolution of our life and work.
In life and work, we need to accomplish tasks, reach goals and generate
results. Many things go into these – clarity of mind, robustness of life energy,
sound health and an inner alignment and sense of purpose. While all these are
equally important, the one factor that determines whether we can produce
results in a sustained manner is the degree of dynamic energy or power that
we possess and can tap into. A motorcar needs to move from one place to
another. Similarly, the power or dynamic energy in us gives us the fuel to go
for what we want, face and overcome any obstacle – however intimidating it
may be and succeed in getting the results we want. Just as the physical is
made up of body and habits and the vital life-energy of senses is made up of
sensations, the substance of the dynamic energy is the power that we possess,
can tap into and express.
At the same time, this dynamic energy and power in its limiting forms, is the
source of much of the chaos and struggle in the world today. We see this
energy creating much discord among people, institutions, corporates,
communities and nations. Each one struggles to get their way even if it is at
the expense of others. There is often a war of wills and an attempt to get
one’s way by hook or crook. The general attitude is that of Win–Lose and the
individual, institutions, corporates and nations try to dominate others for their
own gain. Hence, while this dynamic energy is very important for the
manifestation of our ideas and ideals, it is also one that causes much havoc in
its untransformed forms. As practitioners of Integral Development and
Change, our endeavour would be to harness this energy aplenty for the work
we need to do, but in its purified and healthy forms.
Dynamic Energy can be seen as play and exertion of power in the interaction
between self and other(s), in order to achieve something. Normally, this
interaction can take two limiting and two healthy forms.
The two limiting forms are:
Lose–Win: You have less dynamic energy and, thus, you are
overwhelmed with another person’s energy.
Win–Lose: Your dynamic energy is strong and you overpower the other
to get only your way.
The limiting form exists where there is a power struggle, a kind of stealing of
energy and power from each other. We actually think that the easiest way to
gain power is to snatch it from another. And this is often done – consciously
or not – by not allowing the other’s wants to find their expression through
you. This is the superiority position. The submissive or inferiority position is
where you suppress your wants for the sake of another’s wants.
In contrast, two healthy forms or Win–Win forms are:
Your dynamic energy is strong. If you understand that the other’s energy
is not sufficiently strong, you empower them and give them the space
and confidence to express themselves.
The dynamic energy is strong in both of you. So, you healthily enable,
challenge and empower each other to ensure that the best is brought out
from both (Win–Win).
In the healthy form, power is shared. Whoever needs it to manifest and

succeed is given the power and attention. In this form, power and attention
are rotated and shared with others. This would mean that all those involved
will have sufficient opportunities to succeed and manifest what they desire.
Power, Dynamic Energy: Experiential Examples
We need to learn to connect to this dynamic energy directly and sense its
quality within us. Let us take some examples and scenarios for reflection to
experientially locate this energy within us. We will first take some examples
which illustrate the limiting forms of dynamic energy and then move on to
some healthy ones.
In all these examples and reflections, note if you can observe the workings of
this energy within you experientially.
Picture this. Some words have come out of Ravi’s mouth and they are
strong and harsh. Seetha feels a punch in her stomach but Gowri holds
strong. Let us examine this further. Ravi, the project lead, works with
Seetha and Gowri on an automation project. On a particular day, he tries
to convey his views to them but for some reason both seem distracted.
He feels that they are ignoring him. He tries to explain several times but
to no avail. And suddenly, he snaps and there is a rush of frustration and
energy within him and the words gush out with force, “You useless
people! Why are you wasting my time?” His fist bangs the table
unsettling the glass on top of it, demonstrating his displeasure and anger.
In a fraction of a second, Seetha feels as if some strong force has
punched her stomach. She is completely taken off guard and feels as if
she has been thrown back. Gowri feels the anger of Ravi but remains
unshaken. She just pauses, gauges Ravi’s forcefulness and realizes that
there is something he wants from them which they are failing to give
him. She decides to talk to him – to understand, express and resolve the
situation. In this example, Ravi is using a strong force of dynamic
energy with its limitations. Seetha is, perhaps, not developed in this area
and thus struggles when she encounters forceful energy that is sprung on
her unexpectedly. Gowri demonstrates capacity and maturity in dealing
with a strong dynamic energy.
Recall a time when someone dominated you. Imagine that you were in
the presence of this dominating person for, say, three-quarters of an hour
and ultimately, though you did not want to react, you were forced into it.
When you leave this person and observe yourself in awareness, what do
you think you would normally notice? Many participants in our courses
have reported that they actually feel a ‘drain of energy’. It is almost as if
they lost some energy or power to the other person. Now recall another
situation – a time when you dominated or bullied someone – say a
younger brother, sister or friend. You were with them for 45 minutes
and pushed them to do something against their wish. If you observed
yourself in awareness when you left them, what would you notice?
Many have reported that in such situations they actually feel an increase
of energy or power and they feel stronger than or superior to the other
person. It is almost as if you gained some power or dynamic energy
from the other person. The dynamic power is nothing but energy that is
exchanged between individuals. In this case, it was exchanged in a lose–
win and win–lose manner.
Reflect on the greatest challenge you have successfully faced in your

life. How did you overcome it? Did you tap sufficient energy within you
to withstand the challenge, endure the problem and create a
breakthrough? Is this access to your own power and energy available to
you whenever you need or are there times when you feel powerless?
When you are with a very powerful or influential person, do you still
feel equal and relaxed? Do you feel confident and capable of voicing
your views? Can you boldly say no when you do not agree with
something that the person says?
When you are with a meek person, do you experience an increase of

confidence or power? Or do you also bring out your meek side more
often? Do you step back with inner power and strength, and allow the
other person to find ways to express their views and wants?
When you sense the other person as equal, do you strive to dominate or
enforce your views/energy more strongly on them, attempting to
convince them? Or do you, without inner resistance, allow the other
person to express equally and positively?
These are questions to reflect on about your own dynamic energy and power
and also pointers for you to get directly in touch with your power, energy and
dynamism. The answers may also be indicative of the limiting or healthy
relationship you have with the power within you. The limiting relationships
with power can be purified and the healthy ones can be enhanced to their
best.
Harnessing Personal Power
The true role of our dynamic energy is to gain personal power and operate
from it at all times. Today, in many situations, people lose their personal
power in relationships between boss-subordinate, client-customer, colleague-
colleague, teacher-student, husband-wife, parent-child, friend-friend, etc.
Often in these relationships someone plays the role of the oppressor while the
other plays the role of the oppressed. But this is a great weakness in the
relationship and it undermines people’s capacity to be their authentic selves
and accomplish what they want in their lives. We need personal power to
hold our self-esteem and go forward to succeed in our pursuits. Human
relationships often deteriorate through these power struggles and ultimately
both, whether they are playing the role of an oppressor or the oppressed, lose
their personal power.
Personal power can be seen as the result of an interplay between masculine

and feminine forms of power. Both these forms of power can co-exist in both
men and women. Both feminine and the masculine forms of power need to be
honoured and expressed for a beautiful presence and creation in the world. To
gain a deeper understanding, the characteristics of masculine and feminine
forms of power are summarized in the following table. This understanding is
very critical so that both can be honoured in relationships.
Core of Masculine and Feminine forms of power

Learning to honour the personal power of the masculine and feminine is a
great Sadhana in relationships at work and home. First we need to learn to
possess both masculine and feminine forms of power within us. Then we
need to allow others to express whichever form of power they are
comfortable with.
The world has tried both the matriarchal and patriarchal power structures. We
now need societies that can honour and respect the principles of ‘Being’ and
‘Creative Action’ that emanate from both the masculine and feminine
powers. We need individuals who recognize the need for personal power and
honour this in themselves and others at work and home. We need
organizations to understand that a good workplace cannot be created if we
deplete any individual’s personal power at any level of organizational
hierarchy. Instead, organizations need to allow people to hold personal power
and, at the same time, work out ways for how limitations, power excesses and
egoistic power games that people may play can be addressed collectively.
Excesses cannot be curbed by suppressing personal power. Organizations
must function in such a way as to facilitate personal power and, at the same
time, help individuals evolve from a self-centered to a collective-centered
way of working. Then, one works for one’s own well-being as well as for the
well-being of the collective.
Transforming Limitations
Anger, Revenge; Restlessness, Frustration; Dominance, Manipulation;
and Overdrive
We start our discussion with the limitations of dynamic energy and then,
through its transformation, see the refined emergence of strength, dynamism,
power, courage and passion of dynamic energy.
Anger, Revenge
This is a limiting form of dynamic energy that desperately wants to get its
own way and win at any cost (Win–Lose). Anger is the simpler form and
revenge/wrath is a great limitation of this energy spiraling out of control.
Many of us get angry and temporarily lose control of ourselves when anger
takes over. When the energy of anger surges with force, it clouds the mind. In
such cases, we don’t often use the energy of anger constructively. We use it
destructively and often, act in insensible ways. Let us understand anger well
in order to put its energy to constructive use and to fulfill its intended
purpose.
Richard McHugh, a leading NLP teacher says:
Anger = energy + a need of yours that is not fulfilled
This is an interesting insight. When we get angry, we usually get caught up in

the rush of this ‘anger energy’. We can deal with this energy in several ways
– express this energy by shouting or throwing tantrums, withdraw, hold back
or we can sulk. Even if we want to deal with it in a healthy way, we talk
about calming down by doing things like counting from 10 to 1. All these are
superficial ways of dealing with the energy of anger without understanding
its real nature and purpose. We can have a breakthrough when we step behind
the energy of anger and identify with our want(s) that are unfulfilled. Behind
our anger, there is always an unfulfilled want! There are two steps here. The
first is to accept the want as ours without blaming the other. For example,
imagine that you are in an auto-rickshaw and you are going for an interview
scheduled for 10.00 a.m. at a new unfamiliar place. The time is about 9.50
a.m. now and you realize that the auto driver seems to be going around in
circles. You already tried telling him a few times, but he is going at his own
pace and that too on a longer route. Normally, your anger would arise at this
moment and you may start losing your cool. Most often, this will result in an
argument and a further intentional delay from the driver to prove his point.
Naturally, you get even more angry and flustered. What if at this moment,
you step back and acknowledge that you have within you the energy of anger.
And then you can ask the question – What is my need that underlies this
energy of anger? With that question, you can shift your attention to your need
which is to reach the interview venue on time. And this is your need! The
second step is to shift away from your anger, focus on your need and own it
as yours without any blame. Then the paradigm of the entire experience will
shift, and you can bring responsibility and control back to yourself. You can
now choose to fulfill your want using the energy in the anger in more
constructive and creative ways by going after your want. You can think of
new things to do, in the moment, which will help you get to the interview on
time. In this way, the dynamic energy is not lost but channelized to go for
your goals.
Let’s take another example to illustrate this further. Of late, you have often
been getting angry at home for small reasons. You are irritable and even a
normal conversation with your family members ticks you off. In the
beginning, you hold back but of late, you have started letting out words that
hurt your family members and yourself unnecessarily. With the
understanding that you have about anger, you can ask yourself – ‘What is my
want? What is it that I need that I am not getting from my family and thus
getting angry?’ If you step back from your anger and ask this question
sincerely, you are bound to get clarity. In the beginning, there may be some
blame or guilt, but if you look for the underlying need with genuineness, you
will uncover it and accept it as your own. And then the choice is yours – if
you will, you can gather sufficient dynamic energy, present within the energy
of anger, to go for what you want and fulfil it.
Revenge is a limitation that is of a higher degree than anger but operates

under the same principle. Here too, we can step back, get out of blaming the
other, and then uncover our actual want and work for its fulfilment. All the
intense energy that originally transformed into revenge directed at the other
can now be used creatively and constructively as pure dynamic energy aimed
towards our success in what we want.
Our wants themselves are subject to evolution. In the beginning, we may

uncover wants that are quite superficial. Over time, our wants will evolve
from superficial ones to wants that deeply fulfill us and are also contributory
to the needs of others.
Restlessness, Frustration
This is a limiting version of dynamic energy that is not fully expressed and,
thus, manifests internally as restlessness.
The existence of the power or dynamic energy is in its circulation. It needs to

flow in and out or else it turns back on us. Let’s imagine that you want to
write a book. It is a strong desire of yours that you have felt from time to
time. However, you often start and fail to work on it consistently. If the
pattern continues, restlessness arises within you. Often, you do not know the
source of this restlessness. You may have several such unfinished tasks and
projects on your mind. You may have started all these with energy but lost
steam somewhere along the way. But the intent of the energy is still alive
within you in some form and if the need and energy are strong, they get
converted to restlessness. Let us take another example. You are working on a
project with a friend/colleague of yours. In the beginning, it was mutually
beneficial and convenient. But slowly, the work starts extending way late into
the evening, which fits the energy of your friend/colleague. Though the joint
project is useful for you, the change of timings starts to interfere with your
other schedules and personal time – right up to your energy levels for the
next morning’s exercise and swimming regimen. Your first instinct is to
share this with your friend. But a combination of respect for him/her and fear
as to how he/she would take it, makes you keep mum. So here the energy and
its expression are suppressed within you and it will normally change into
restlessness and frustration. This knot will get released when you take the
courage and speak to him/her or take some action to honour your need for
personal space and time, thus enabling the energy to flow.
The point to note here is that the power or dynamic energy exists only in
circulation. It needs to flow for it to build up and do its intended work. So we
need to learn to draw this energy in, hold it within us to allow it to build up
and then direct it towards the intended outcome without any stagnation. In the
beginning, we may find it difficult to hold and express this flow of energy. Or
we may dissipate the energy too soon or in diverse directions. The
breakthrough comes when we can hold the core intent behind the circulation
of energy and hold and express the fullness of this energy to fulfill the intent.
We shall study this in detail further in this chapter.
Dominance, Manipulation
This is dynamic energy that is operating on a win–lose mode. As we have
seen earlier, dynamic energy and power are needed to mobilize energy and
action. When someone has tasted success with this energy, they may tend to
use this to influence others to get their way. However, a lot depends on the
nobility of intention, genuineness of need and the degree of care that is
brought into the process.
Domination is where strong dynamic energy is used in its limiting form to

overpower others and make them act according to one’s whims alone. This
often forces the other to do something that they normally would not want to.
Domination is, in a way, simpler to deal with as it is direct. It gets far more
complex when control turns into manipulation where it is often subtle and
covert. Here one often starts using the other for one’s own needs – often
without the other knowing it consciously – leaving them drained and defeated
in the whole process. This energy can be balanced only when emotional care
opens up to include the needs of the other and when the mind steps in to
reason and guide this limiting energy. This is when the craving for attention
and control is softened by concern and care for the other, and their well-
being.
Overdrive
This is when the rush of the dynamic energy has gone out of balance. We
often experience overdrive when the dynamic energy tastes its own strength
and gets enamoured by its glories. We see this today in many individuals,
corporates and institutions. We want to do things fast, get massive results,
expand quickly and amass wealth – all often to the detriment of one’s own
health, peace of mind or the well-being of others. Likewise, many people get
addicted to the giddy feeling of success or self-importance and want to
achieve it or maintain it at any cost. If not detected and corrected
immediately, this becomes a beast of energy, which often leads to
compromise of ideals and quality. Today, this happens not only in corporates
or businesses, but in educational institutions as well. Organizations and
institutions start out with high quality and values. They have steady dynamic
energy and start tasting success. However, if they become over-focused on
success and growth, soon they keep raising their targets. They want to expand
their operations or open new branches all too quickly. If this expansion phase
is not balanced with a nurturing energy that holds the culture and values
which form the core signature experience of the organization, in course of
time, compromises start creeping in order to push numbers. Here one is often
interested in the horizontal expansion of more of the same and not on a
vertical qualitative evolution. For a practitioner, this can also be seen when
one pushes one’s energy to achieve results without giving sufficient time for
new learning and inner development to take place. If there is a lack of
balance, slowly overdrive becomes stronger and begins to consume one’s
attention, time and energy. The best way to confront and purify this energy is
to make living a balanced and holistic life, a clear goal.
Circulation of Power and Dynamism
Just as health and steady healthy habits are important for the Physical part of
being and enjoyment, fun and sensory gratification are important for the
Sensory Enjoyment part of being, the Dynamic Energy part needs its quota of
power and dynamism to deliver results and taste success. First, we shall look
into the quality of success that we seek and then examine the strength of
dynamic energy that we put into it.
The word success has become a bit of a cliché loaded with a lot of
assumptions and meanings defined by society. In truth, success is individual
and one defines it depending on the level of one’s own evolution. We run into
trouble with our expectations of success when it is driven by our desires and
greed. A good degree of purification and development is needed before an
individual becomes capable of defining success driven by aspirations of
higher purpose. So, the first step here is developing the aspiration for a higher
quality of life, which burns like a steady flame in the heart. In the second
step, we can invoke higher values, nobler vision and purposeful living – and
through that and for that, achieve success in our daily life, learning, work,
family life, society, etc.
One of the capacities within us that determines the degree of our success is
the strength of power and dynamic energy. The three parameters that
influence it are:
The strength of the power we can tap into, invoke or connect to within
us (Connecting Power)
The strength we can hold within us to allow it to build up sufficiently

(Holding Power)
The strength we can express to manifest desired results (Expressing

Power)
The connecting power, holding power and expressing power are three cycles
in the circulation of power. Power circulates through these cycles under the
following conditions:
Power comes into action when we face a challenge and seek to

overcome it. This is the prerequisite for the flow of this energy. If we
don’t take a challenge, or a risk, or if we don’t want to go to the next
level, we often remain in the plateau of our comfort zone.
Dynamic energy builds up efficiently when it flows in cycles with a

good inflow, holding and expression of energy. If any of these three are
inadequate in any sense, the cycle of dynamic energy circulation is
disrupted. So it is imperative to ensure that all three of these cycles are
efficient.
Third, the greater the number of inflow-hold-outflow cycles made, the

more the dynamic energy builds up. Sometimes repeated low-intensity
cycles of inflow-hold-outflow have a better impact than a sporadic flow
of dynamic energy even if it is of a more forceful nature. This principle
can be observed in nature where the continuous action of even the
smallest of ocean waves can erode mighty rocks, if they continuously
beat against the rocks. So if someone sporadically expends dynamic
energy in a forceful manner, will have lesser impact than someone who
regularly connects, holds and expresses energy even in relatively small
doses.
An apt metaphor to understand the circulation of energy is the breath. In

breath, we have inhalation, holding period and exhalation. If we have a good
inflow-hold-exhalation of breath, our body is energized. We can have a full
breath or a partial breath, which determines how much fresh air comes in and
goes out as exhalation. Also when our breath is rhythmic, then the body is
nourished well and there is a sense of well-being. Similarly, we can
consciously learn to bring rhythm to the movement of our dynamic energy.
We can bring balance, rhythm and smoothness to the flow of dynamic energy
through practice.
To achieve this, let us now explore the cycles of dynamic energy in greater
detail.
Connecting Power (Inflow)
Some individuals seem to have developed a great capacity to connect to
abundant source of power and dynamic energy. They are natural leaders.
Around them, there is action and even if something is dormant, they energize
and mobilize action. When something needs to be turned around, these are
the people others rely on. Let us reflect on how we can tap into this abundant
supply of energy.
When we connect to any source of power, we are infused and energized by

it. The more authentic the source, the more authentic our power is as well.
Some of these sources of power are:
Higher Sources
The highest source of power is that of Higher and Deeper
Consciousness. When we deepen our practices and evolve, we come to
a point where we can connect directly with our true inner nature and
transcendent power. In such cases, we become instruments for a higher
and nobler work to be done. Wisdom and force to accomplish the work
are given to us if we can learn to tap into these higher sources.
If we are integrally true to ourselves at all times, we can be in touch with

our own authentic power.
An unshaken faith in Life, Universe or Divine gives a source of power

and inner strength.
Normal Sources
Breath is considered as the life-giving force. This is freely available all
around us. When we need energy, if we take in a conscious, full in-
breath followed by a conscious, full out-breath and repeat this for some
time, we feel energized with a good flow of dynamic energy within us.
Healthy food that is rich in proteins provides energy to the body and
also energizes the dynamic energy.
Attention given to us by others – by virtue of respect, position or status,

enhances our power. We should treat this power with respect and
gratitude. We should also be careful that if someone gives us too much
attention, we may gain power but in the process, they may lose power.
Music, books, videos of patriotism, valour and strength infuse dynamic

energy within us.
Mentors who have abundant power can be sources from whom we can
learn to tap into dynamic energy.
Memories from our own life where we had acted with courage can
energize us when we remember them and connect to the dynamic energy
within them.
Money circulated well is a tremendous source of power. People

normally look at how they can earn wealth. But the true power of money
is in its circulation. As much as we place attention on how we can earn
sufficiently, it is important to place our attention on how well we utilize
and spend our monetary resources. Some amount of money for savings
is wise, but if too much money lies idle, the circulation and flow of
giving and receiving money becomes restrictive. In such a case, we may
actually need to spend money on what is really important for us. The
way to regain power is to consciously bring back the circulation of
money. When money is received through right means and spent
sufficiently to serve our deeper aspirations, it gathers genuine power.
But today, a large portion of our money serves our vanity, safety, power
and status needs. Money in circulation can be a great power to further
our larger vision and deepest aspirations.
Holding Power (Hold)
Once we draw power, we can learn to hold it before expressing it. The
purpose of learning to hold power within us before expressing it is to give it
time to gather momentum with balance. Else often we merely expend the
power, with a lack of timing and wisdom – like a cork bursting forth. It is to
take a clear stand or inner poise first – both at the level of energy and
intention. Then when we express it, there is sufficient strength and control in
our manifestation. Even the best of our expressions will lack in strength if it
is not supported by inner holding power. Let us take a simple example.
Someone forces us to do something that we don’t want to do. We try to say
‘no’, but the other person overpowers us. To ensure that our expression of
saying ‘no’ has substance, it needs to be backed with holding power. We
need to hold an energetic inner strength of ‘no’ first. Then, even if we say
quite softly that we don’t want to do, it will hold great power and strength.
However, the energy or power that we hold can leak out if there are any
‘holes’ in our inner being. These holes are typically impurities that exist in
any part of our being. Some common examples are:
Body itself is weak and does not have sufficient stamina to hold the
force.
When energy strengthens within, if there is any fear of action or

reaction, it can weaken the energy.
When energy strengthens within, if we are over-excited, it dissipates the

energy too early.
If arrogance, pride or manipulation build up, eventually we will lose our

power.
Over-sensitivity can cause doubts whether our strength will affect others
and thus whatever energy is being built often gets stifled.
When the mind is not clear and coherent, it may divert the energy in
many contradictory directions.
In the above, we see how the limitations of different parts of being can
interfere in the holding and harnessing of sufficient power for action and
work. Ideally, we need to learn to hold this dynamic energy within –
unshaken and unmoved, for some time so that it becomes a potent power
that we can then consciously direct to accomplish desired results.
Expressing Power (Outflow)
Dynamic Energy is the life energy that moves us to complete a task, energize
a situation or accomplish a certain result. If we have sufficiently tapped into
the universal energy and harnessed it well within us, there can be sufficient
flow and strength when this dynamic energy moves out. But first let us reflect
on what moves this dynamic energy. When nuclear technology is developed,
it can be with a nurturing intent or a harmful intent. Peace in the world
depends on the quality of intent that moves and uses the nuclear energy.
Similarly, we need to pay attention to what moves the dynamic energy within
us. We need to keep in mind that human beings are made of many parts of
their being. Some parts are soaked in limiting versions of consciousness
while others are soaked in healthy versions of consciousness. Each of these
parts has its own agenda and intents, which may want to utilize the dynamic
energy that is building up. So when the potent dynamism builds within us,
any one or more of the following can move our dynamic energy into action:
Our limiting intent
Our empowering intent
Other’s limiting intent
Other’s empowering intent
In day-to-day life, are we really aware of the quality of the consciousness

that is moving our power and energy into action? Or are we moved simply
by the most forceful influences from others and ourselves? As practitioners,
we need to be really conscious here and choose wisely, whom or what we
surrender our dynamic energy to. This is the discovery of our personal
power and the choice we have to make about using our power and dynamic
energy consciously.
So the first step is to consciously choose the intention that will move and
express our energy. Now when the energy expresses itself, it can flow either
as a pushing force or as an influencing force. The pushing force is like the
martial arts form, karate – direct energy being exerted to accomplish its
result. If this energy meets an obstacle, it is a direct encounter to win or lose.
For example, if a leader is using direct energy on his/her team, if there is
resistance, he/she would take a direct approach to push people, force and
demand them to follow instructions. This approach is often like a hammer
hitting hard on a nail. This leads to power struggle and into a win–lose mode
or sometimes even a lose–win mode. The influencing force is like Tai-Chi,
another form of martial arts where the movement of energy is more subtle. It
is like the flow of water. The influencing energy is more inspirational and
motivates and moves the other to do what is required to be done, through
mutual consent. We can learn to adapt both these approaches depending on
the need of the situation, but largely it is best to use inspirational influencing
energy. This is because if we use the direct push alone, we often forget the
needs of the other. When we inspire, we need to keep in mind that the other/s
have needs and they need to agree on their own volition in an inspired
fashion, on what is to be done for better ownership in execution.
Thus, with purification and inner work, we can choose our intent and express
energy in an influencing way. We can allow ourselves to manifest and work
fully with our dynamic energy. As we evolve, this effort can be aligned to be
in harmony to the influence of our deeper self. Then gradually, we can feel
the nudge of our inner guide, which directs us how and when to use this
energy. At that point, when the dynamic energy is surrendered to the deeper
self, it is best to let go of all our mental maps. However prior to that, the
dynamic energy must be purified and developed as best as we can.
Developing Resources
A good sign of a strong dynamic energy is when: We can go for what we
want and we can get what we want. A good sign of a well-developed and
mature dynamic energy is when: We can go for what we want and we can get
what we want, knowing that it is the right thing to do for our good and for the
good of others.
This capacity is built only by engaging the strength of the dynamic energy to
its full capacity. Some ways of engaging the dynamic energy to its fullest
best are:
Courage: Developing the courage to stand up for what you want to say
or what is important to you; Developing the courage to face the most
challenging situation directly, to be who you really are and to work
towards what you really care about in life.
Adventure: Bringing in an attitude that life and work are an adventure –

to explore new things, to take risks and try something new – to climb to
greater heights and to take a path less travelled to find what lies ahead.
Heroism: Being bold to stand up for a righteous cause, to support

someone in distress and to ask those tough questions to others as and
when required.
Ambition: Holding the drive to go forward and achieve goals, to be

self-driven, to be motivated to progress and to advance in your
career/life.
Success Driven: Working towards success. Working to finish your tasks

in a perfect manner, to achieve the outcomes aimed for; and to build a
habit of being successful and victorious in any activity you engage in.
Passion: Pursuing your dreams/interests/things that you really care

about with intensity and enthusiasm.
Expansion: Expanding horizontally to manifest more of what you have
– more business, more work, wider clientele, broader networks, more
outreach, etc.
These are some of the ways in which we can work towards developing our
full strength and capacity of the dynamic energy. There could be some
excesses that emerge when we initially engage with the full capacity of
dynamic energy in our life. However, that excess can be corrected and
balanced only when a healthy flow of the dynamic energy is established and
not in its absence. If we do not engage fully, the dynamic energy is rendered
weak. If we over-engage, the energy turns aggressive. From the perspective
of enhancement of dynamic energy, it is definitely better that this energy
flows even if it is overpowering sometimes. And then by bringing in a good
heart and mind, the dynamic energy can be refined as a purified dynamic
form of energy, which is powerful and yet vulnerable, influential and yet
nurturing and can face life without any fears whatsoever.
Building Invincible Strength
Let us now revisit a core perfection of dynamic energy – Invincible Strength
to face, conquer and succeed in any situation.
Have we developed our capacity to face anything in our life with no fear? No
fear, yes, with absolutely no fear! Of what use is fear except that it binds us
and chains us to our past and to our worries about the future. When we are in
fear, we withdraw and we lose the precious delight of strength of our
dynamic energy. By default, we have a lot of fears and as a fallout, we avoid
certain kinds of people, situations, projects, places or opportunities. This is
not a path of transformation but this is like an ostrich that puts its head into
the sand and pretends that the problem has disappeared just because we do
not face the situation directly. To transform the situation, we need to face the
person, situation, project, place or opportunity directly by invoking the
strength of the dynamic energy. Even when fear courses through our body,
we can invoke our dynamic energy and hold it with strength, so that it infuses
its strength and power into the vibrations of fear, thus transforming it. We
need a total victory. Every time we fall down, we need to quickly set
ourselves back and directly face the person or situation whom we feared
facing.
In life, it is natural to have setbacks in our journey towards success. A key

learning from Kichu Krishnan, a leading trainer in India is that, the moment
we realize we have an issue, we should set ourselves into a resourceful poise
immediately. There is no fixed method for doing this. With a clear intention
and will, we need to snap out of our upset state, often resisting the secret
enjoyment that we may be getting by wallowing in that state and reset
ourselves to normal. And then, we need to re-create our original intent for a
breakthrough or success and try again and again till we have it. Our goal here
is to be able to face any situation or person boldly to succeed in our
endeavours. To accomplish this, we can monitor the time we require to reset
ourselves. In the beginning, we may find that we take one hour or one day or
even one month to recover from the situation that upset us. Ideally, our target
time can be 1 or 2 minutes. The moment we recognize that we are upset,
overcome by a failure or are in the grip of fear, we can train ourselves to set
ourselves back to normal – to a more resourceful poise.
We can develop this capacity of invincible strength in order to face, succeed

and conquer any situation. This can be achieved using daily life situations as
learning opportunities. As practitioners, let us take some common situations
and explore how we can develop this capacity.
You are walking on a dark road late in the evening. If there are any
vibrations and thoughts of fear, danger and worry, they can be rejected
and overcome by the force of strength. Of course, you will take the
necessary precautions depending on the neighbourhood but if for some
reason, you need to walk the stretch alone, you can learn to face the
situation head on.
If a sudden sound, insect or animal scares you, you can immediately set
yourself back to normal and face the sound, insect or animal without
avoiding it or intimidating it. Then the natural right response will come
to you without any fear.
Let us say that you are trying to find some clarity about your ideal
profession. You think and reflect and arrive at a career option that best
uses your talents and interests. However, you find that it pays lesser
salary and you begin to worry about what others will say. In such a
situation, you can learn to build courage within you. You can learn to
face anyone who asks or criticizes, boldly and with confidence. You can
learn to speak authentically about your passion and stand firmly for your
choice.
When there is a group or peer pressure, the general tendency is to follow

the crowd and go along the beaten path. You can develop your courage
to deal with peers who are very much different from you and who even
try to force you to do something that you are not interested in. You can
meet their aggression with your calm strength and then voice your views
and opinions, having the courage to pursue your unique path. You can
learn to say a ‘no’ to them when required.
Even if a situation gets tough and challenging, you can face it squarely
with courage, hope and enthusiasm.
Imagine you have been aspiring to succeed in an endeavour and have

faced several failures from the past. Every time you try again, the past
failures hold you down. In such cases, the moment you start getting
upset about your failures, you can snap out of it and set yourself back
into a more resourceful and confident state and attempt for success with
full hope and strength.
These are a few examples to illustrate that in every situation, we can practice
and perfect this capacity of developing invincible strength to face any
challenge and succeed.
Other Parts of Being Enhancing Dynamic Energy
Physical enhancing Dynamic Energy: Success by habit
This is where steadiness and habit formation of the physical can help the
dynamic energy. We are all successful at times but how consistent can our
success be? We can become a great leader and a man/woman of action, if we
can practice being courageous with strength and power in our actions. Then,
being successful and energetic become a habit and a way of life and is a great
asset in our work and life.
Sensory Enjoyment enhancing Dynamic Energy:
Enjoying the journey while reaching the destination
Remember a time you went on a good trek up a mountain or did a similar
activity. You had an efficient guide and a dynamic group and you all decided
to go up the mountain for about four to five hours. Even though the climb
may have been difficult and sometimes you may have felt like quitting, when
the company was good, the climb too would have felt easier and more
enjoyable. You would have enjoyed the scenery, had enjoyable
conversations, cracked jokes, just paused from time to time and still
succeeded in the climb. Similarly, in life what is the point in achieving
something if we land up too serious and exhausted at the end? If we learn to
bring our fun and enjoyment in as we pursue our success, our journey can be
as enjoyable as reaching the destination. The same good cheer spreads to
others as well.
Some simple illustrations of enjoying the process of achieving something are:
Having a high goal and, at the same time, having quick small
celebrations when we accomplish critical milestones.
Converting a tough challenge into small steps that can be tackled one
step at a time.
Enjoying and celebrating all the effort and energy put in towards
accomplishing the goal.
Pausing occasionally during our work and success-driven actions and

making time for nothing or doing something really enjoyable and
nourishing.
These are some simple examples. The key question is whether we can enjoy
the journey as well as succeed in reaching our destination.
Emotional Care enhancing Dynamic Energy:
Empowering others and Sharing power
The normal tendency when power accumulates is that we want to hoard it for
our own needs and purposes. However when emotional care and giving open
up, there would be another need that develops – to share this power with
others. Then decision making becomes inclusive and done in a collaborative
and consultative mode. We would then energize and empower other/s for
mutual fulfilment of goals.
The aim here is to experientially find out how the dynamic energy that is
initially concerned only about individual success expands to include the
needs of the other. As a human being, we always identify with someone or
something and then take on the well-being of that someone or something as
our own responsibility. In the beginning, we take responsibility for ourselves
and act for our good. We may be part of a family or an institution or
organization but still be primarily interested in ourselves alone. Somewhere
along the way, when the heart opens up, it also expands and identifies more
and more with a selected group of people. The Span of Identification thus
increases and then we tend to take up responsibility for the well-being of the
group, which we identify with. As our heart widens in capacity, our span of
identification too, increases.
There are different Spans of our Identification:
– I, the Individual
– We, the Team
– We, the Organization/Institution
– We, the Nation
– We, the Globe/Planet
Another way to look at the Spans of Identification is:
– I, the Individual
– We, the Family
– We, the Culture/Society
– We, the Nation
– We, the Globe/Planet
Span of identification is where our sense of self expands and we operate

increasingly as part of a collective. When our heart widens, we increasingly
identify with the collective; we care for the collective and take up
responsibilities ‘for’ and ‘as’ the collective. At such a time, truly our aim
becomes collective. It does not matter who originates the action and who
accomplishes the result, as long as the desired outcomes – that are beneficial
to the collective – are happening. If one is a master in this capacity, then he or
she learns to contribute one’s power and energy for the well-being of all. One
then inspires others to contribute for the best interests of all and power is
shared. Decision-making capacities are shared and the best member in the
group is allowed to lead for mutual success. This capacity is a high
accomplishment as it combines the best of dynamic energy and emotional
care.
Some simple ways of building this capacity are:
When the group has a need and as far as it is noble, we can assume
responsibility to take required steps and inspire others to take up
responsibility for the same – so that the group succeeds.
When we notice someone whose voice is not heard within the group, we
can give him or her our attention and energy so that the person can
express with courage.
We can enjoy and be delighted in the success of others, celebrating it as

much as our own.
We can share power with others during decision making.
If we look around in today’s world, there is an upsurge of dynamic energy. In

general, there is more power hunger, ambition and the need to get one’s way
even if it is detrimental to the collective. Such entropy certainly demands the
soothing and balancing energy of the heart so that the energy of power can be
raised to be of service to the individual and collective.
A good exercise in reflection would be to observe how we express our

dynamic energy and respond to the dynamic energy of others. We can
observe how we respond if others are meek and if others are aggressive.
Ideally, it is best that we possess and act from calm strength at all times and
also empower others to honour their personal power in their interactions with
us.
Objective Mind enhancing Dynamic Energy: Drive to
achieve as per clear objectives and standards
Here the precise and meticulous mind comes in to guide the strength of the
dynamic energy. The fundamental substance of dynamic energy is power and
dynamism, and its fundamental urge is to succeed in any goal or endeavour.
So the precise objective mind assists this urge by making the goal or target –
specific, measurable and time bound. It also asks the question – how one can
know that one is on the right path, and details out milestones – to indicate
progress in the right direction. Let us take an example to illustrate this.
When you begin to work on an assignment or a project, sit down and detail
the following:
What is the exact outcome or result that you want?
How will you know that you have reached the outcome? What are some
observable indicators that will signal the successful completion of the
goal? How can you measure your final success – the quality and the
quantity aspects?
What are the milestones that will indicate that you are on the right path
towards accomplishment of the outcome? What are some observable
indicators that signal you have crossed these milestones?
In what time frame do you plan to achieve the milestones and the final
result?
Developing this capacity will enable the practitioner to use the best of the
objective mind to enhance the workings of the dynamic energy to achieve
intended results.
Idea Force enhancing Dynamic Energy: Creative
strategies to accomplish based on an idea/ideology
In the first instance, when a strong dynamic energy mixes with the creative
part of the mind, areas of the mind are taken over by the energy. Here the
dynamic energy looks upon the mind as a vehicle to accomplish its claims
and needs. This is a bottom-up influence and here we often fall prey to
illusions of grandeur, exaggerated sense of importance and visions, where
one imagines wanting to be No. 1 in anything one is doing, etc. When people
talk about vision or dreams, largely one is talking from this domain. It
appears creative, but in truth, it is the creative imagination of the mind
serving needs of the energy of position, status and power. By inner practice
we can learn to free our creative mind from being the hostage of the high
dynamic energy.
We can reach into the creative mind (idea force) proper that is acting under
the governance of the idea, principle or ideology. This is a higher creative
capacity as it can stand back from all too often aimless drives and be directed
by the higher idea or purpose or ideology that one wants to stand by or be
guided by. This is a top-down influence where the idea force guides the
movement of the dynamic energy. The focal point would be to design
creative strategies that will enable execution and manifestation of the idea to
produce desired results. While the pure mind clarifies the idea/ideals, the idea
force part of the mind strategizes and visualizes how to implement and
manifest them in the most creative way in life and work. The idea force can
also ask and see ahead what needs to be changed and transformed in life so
that there is fertile ground to succeed in alignment with one’s values and
ideals. The power to execute these strategies is then supplied by the dynamic
energy.
Pure Mind enhancing Dynamic Energy: Clarifying
goals based on principles, values and ideology
Here, the pure mind clarifies the philosophy, ideology, principles and values
to govern action and the pursuit of results. The world today has many
examples of individuals, organizations and institutions which can resort to
anything in the pursuit of success. Some look upon values and principles as
detrimental to success! There is a true story about a young man who wanted
to lead a principled life. He went on to start his own company and brought in
high values, transparency and ethics in his work and organizational culture.
Many years later, he met someone and fell in love. In the beginning, all was
fine. Later on, his girlfriend started to have doubts whether he would really
succeed in life if he stuck to all his principles and eventually chose to move
away from him. Such examples are galore in today’s world. Success is
sometimes attained by resorting to unethical methods to get what one wants
at any cost. There is often pressure to cut corners even if someone would
personally like to integrate success with ethical living. Is there a way out? A
lot depends on whether we really want to lead a fulfilled life and if we want
to bring the strength to do that.
Here, the pure mind steps in and asks what the universal values and ideals
that you want to stand for in your life are, no matter what. There is a
wonderful exercise to find our values and ideals in the book 10 Natural Laws
of Successful Time and Life Management by Hyrum W. Smith. We share a
simple adaptation of it.
Someone comes to you and lays down a rod of about 150 feet on the
ground and says, if you walk over it, he will give you 100 rupees. Will
you take the challenge? In all likelihood, you will not agree. However if
he raises the stake up to 500 rupees, most often you may say ‘What am I
going to lose and this is extra pocket money’ and you may take up the
challenge.
Now imagine that the same person mounts the rod on two vertical pillars
about 6 feet high. And the person says, ‘If you cross it I will give you
600 rupees’. You may say ‘No. Forget it. Thanks’. Let us say that now
the person increases the reward to 1,000 or 2,000 rupees. Most probably
you may go for it and make an attempt to cross from one end to the
other. You may feel that even if you fall, it is only from a small height.
Now imagine that the same person takes the rod on the top of two multi-
storey buildings of 150 floors and mounts both ends of the rod on the
top of each building. Imagine the person stands on the top of one
building and you are on the other one and says, ‘If you walk across the
rod and come here, I will give you 10,000 rupees.’ Most often you
would not even think for a second and you would decline the challenge.
Now say the person raises the stake and says that you would get 1 lakh
rupees. Maybe you may think for a few minutes, but given the distance
of the rod and the height of the building, you may decline.
Now imagine that the person stands on the other end with your own
daughter, son, brother or sister, who is three years old. Imagine the
person says, ‘If you do not come here in the next 5 minutes, I will drop
him/her’. Now what would you do? Most often your response will be
that somehow you would walk or crawl to the other side, get hold and
knock off the person so that you can save the child.
In the beginning, you are willing to take a reasonable risk for the money. But
when it comes to money or your life, you value your life more. In the last
scenario, you value the child’s life so much more that you are willing to even
risk your whole life to save him/her. This is a good example of how we value
several things in life and how they are prioritized. Similarly, it may be good
to reflect and clarify,
What are your values and ideologies for life? We should note that we are
talking about the whole of life. Some people make distinctions and
operate with a different set of values at work and with a different set of
values at home. This leads to a dichotomy in life and ‘splits’ our inner
being. In our work, we take our entire life as an interrelated whole and
ask the question which values and ideologies are most important for the
whole of our life.
What is your priority among these values and ideologies? This will give
you great clarity, and decision making will be very easy when you have
clarity on the internal hierarchy of your values. Happy and inwardly
satisfied is an individual who has this clarity and lives life based on this
clarity.
As you go for success and use your dynamic energy in life, do you
choose to honour your top values and ideologies without any
compromises? This is a high achievement as often we relax our values,
saying we will do it just this one time so that we can succeed quickly.
The problem however is that quite soon the ‘one time’ multiplies into
many times. It requires a human with clarity and nobility of intent to
clarify principles and values, stand for it with determination and succeed
in life. It is easy to succeed when we take recourse to any means in order
to succeed. It is far more challenging and nobler to succeed honouring
our ideologies and values. What is your choice and how would you live
your life?
This capacity is built by spending time and clarifying values and principles
using the pure mind and then living them, with the help of the creative idea
force, and producing results every day without any compromises.
Spiritual enhancing Dynamic Energy: Invincible inner
stillness under any circumstance
When the spiritual touches the dynamic energy, it undergoes total
transformation. The quality of peace enters our inner being and the power
takes on a very different quality. It is more powerful as it is aligned to the
deeper sanction but yet, paradoxically, it is very peaceful too. There is no
agitation as there is faith in life, in the Universe and in the ultimate triumph
of Truth, Goodness, Beauty and Perfection. Whatever effort one puts in the
collective one is part of, one is of perfect faith that good and noble efforts
will ultimately triumph. Regardless of the pitfalls one faces, one’s inner being
has a certainty and peace that all is guided and well!
The faith in the ultimate goodness of life and the faith in Truth, Goodness,
Beauty and Perfection, comes prior to action. One starts with the faith. The
faith gives great inner stillness within and a quiet, powerful action on the
outside under any situation. Nothing shakes one’s poise and one manages
even the most challenging situation from this inner state. This is inner
strength that then drives the dynamic energy and action outward.
Here are some guidelines to teach this chapter to someone and learn more
from the same.
Discuss if you both honour the masculine and feminine forms of power
using the table referred in this chapter, in the section ‘Harnessing
Personal Power’. Share specific ways of how you can become a
celebrator of both forms of power in your life and work.
Share what limitations of the dynamic energy exist within each of you
and how specifically can you overcome them.
Using the insights from the section, ‘Circulation of Power and

Dynamism’ that discusses the connecting, holding and expressing
power, discuss:
Which of the cycles of the connecting, holding or expressing power

you are more familiar with?
How can you build all the three parts of the cycle of power to its
fullest best?
Is there sufficient circulation of inflow, holding and expression of

power in your life and work? How can you enhance it when
needed?
Bring into awareness the quality of intent from the following four
options, which are moving your power and energy into action. Also
discuss how to allow only noble and higher order intents to move your
dynamic energy into action.
Your limiting intent
Your empowering intent

Other’s limiting intent
Other’s empowering intent
Use insights from this chapter to discuss how much you have built the
full capacity of the dynamic energy to go for what you want and get
what you want.
Discuss a) what are the times in your life where you had the invincible
strength without fear to conquer a situation, b) how can you develop this
capacity more in your life.
Discuss how wide is your span of identification now and how you can
expand it to act increasingly in the service of the collective.
In the pursuit of your goals, clarify and prioritize what values, principles
and ideologies you will uphold in your life and work, no matter what.
Discuss any other insights that have touched either of you from this
chapter and how you plan to apply them in your life.
Reflection
When you read through this chapter, how much of your own power and
dynamic energy you got in touch with experientially?
How purified and devoid of its inherent limitations is your own power
and dynamic energy? What are the aspects that need more development?
How much strength does your own dynamic energy have?
Is there sufficient and consistent flow in the three cycles of connecting-

holding-expressing of dynamic energy?
What are the methods of purification and development of dynamic

energy that has appealed to you in this chapter? Which of them are you
planning to include in your Sadhana or daily practice?
Emotions
On our journey so far through the ‘Physical’, ‘Sensory Enjoyment’ and
‘Dynamic Energy’ parts of being, the primary reference point has been
oneself. But when we reach the domain of emotional care, for the first time,
the ‘other’ becomes significant – as much or sometimes even more important
than oneself. In the physical, the concern is the body and its well-being. In
the world of senses, one wants to enjoy the ‘other’ for one’s own pleasure. In
the domain of dynamic energy, one wants to harness one’s power and
compete with others for the sheer exhilaration of achieving and succeeding in
something. In the domain of emotional care, one actually begins to connect
with the ‘other’ through ‘emotion’. Emotion helps us to understand what is
going on within the other person. Emotion helps us to understand their needs.
The same emotion also calls upon us to do something for the well-being of
the other person. In a way, this emotion is a gateway to connect to each other,
to help each other, to ask for support, to share and enjoy the companionship
of each other.
What is this emotion and how do we locate this within us experientially? For
some practitioners, this is very simple and not worth a discussion. But for
others, especially those with an intellectual bent of mind, this is one of the
most difficult questions. Often when we ask, ‘What is the emotion you are
going through now?’ to a group of people, we get theoretical answers. Very
few give an answer experientially by connecting to their own emotion. We
will also try to avoid this trap of giving intellectual answers and attempt to
experience emotions by invoking examples and, through them, study the
nature of emotions! Here are some examples,
Ravi was working on the computer. He saw Gopal enter the room and sit
down at his table. Within a few minutes of observing him and ‘being’
with him, he knew that something was wrong with Gopal and that he
was upset. Gopal did not say anything directly but Ravi knew it and
could feel it within him.
Gowri had gone to Europe for a few weeks. One day, she called Gita,
who was in India, on the phone. The moment Gita started speaking to
her, she knew that Gowri was really missing her and India, and wanted
to come back soon. It’s not the words that Gowri did or did not say that
gave her this clue. Gita felt the emotion across the oceans even though it
was only a phone connection.
Henry, the neighbour’s dog fell down and got hurt. Instantly
Mohammed felt the pain in his heart and rushed to help.
What is an emotion? The answer is often difficult to put into words. But most
of us understand these experiences. Nevertheless, we shall attempt to gather
some clues:
Let us examine emotions that exist with reference to the ‘other’. It

seems to exist when we treat the other as a sentient being. For example,
Mohammed felt pain for the dog, when he considered the dog as a being
with life and feelings. Many others may have witnessed the same
incident, but may not have had any emotional response. For them, the
dog is like an object or thing that they hardly consider important.
Once we consider the other as a sentient being, we naturally connect

with them. Here begins the flow of emotions. In Ravi’s case, the
connection was felt in person. In Gita’s case, the connection was felt
across continents.
This subjective experience of emotion is almost like a stirring within the

heart. The moment we connect with the other, we seem to have a
‘stirring in the heart’. We can call this stirring by several names –
closeness, distance, caring, concern, sympathy, empathy, grief, etc.
When we connect to the ‘stirring within our heart’, we can also feel the
‘stirring of the other’s heart’. This is how Ravi and Gita perhaps knew
what is going on in the other person even without them saying it.
When the stirrings of our hearts intermingle, there is emotional

transference. There is a mutual influence of the subjective emotional
states of each other.
From such a deep emotional connect is born an impulse to action – to

help the other. This is what Mohammed felt and he acted on it.
This action of helping deepens the feeling of connectedness and the flow
of emotions continues to build a stronger bond, relationship and a sense
of togetherness.
The ‘other’ with whom we connect emotionally can be a plant, an

animal, a human being, a group of people, a country or the whole world
at large, depending on how wide our heart is. Emotions for ourselves
can also be felt when we can connect and take care of ourselves at the
heart level.
It is only for ease of understanding that we study the emotional process step
by step in slow motion. In real life, all these steps happen almost
simultaneously. The point that we must remember now is to pay attention to
the stirrings within the heart and become aware of emotions directly.
To strengthen our understanding, please take a few moments and do the

following exercise:
1 Who is your best friend? What are the emotions that stir within your
heart when you are with that person? What emotions stir within your
best friend’s heart? What is the degree of emotional transference that
happens?
2 Who is someone that you do not like to spend time with? What are the
emotions that stir within your heart when you are with that person?
What emotions stir within the other person’s heart? What is the degree
of emotional transference that happens?
3 Reflect on what the quality of emotional stirrings within your heart is

and the transference in both cases.
By now we know that there are three parts to our Vital Life-Energy – that of
Sensory Enjoyment, Dynamic Energy and Emotional Care. How can we
experientially detect the difference between sensations, dynamic
energy/power and emotions within us? Let us make some simple yet fine
distinctions.
Purifying Limitations of Emotions
Let us examine how to fine-tune our emotions to embody the fullness of
warmth and care in a mutually nourishing manner – nourishing for self and
the other. We will first look at transforming the limitations of emotions.
Emotional Sensitivity
One of the purposes of emotion is to connect to ‘others’. This also becomes a
way to know what is going on within the other. In its resourceful state, the
emotions within us experience the emotion within the ‘other’ and an
appropriate response follows. This can be an act of love, care and affection.
However if we are oversensitive, this becomes a limitation and whenever the
other person goes through some intense emotions, it hurts us and often
disturbs us.
A few examples of emotional sensitivity are:
If someone close to us says something harsh, it hurts us and we are often

in tears.
When we have to be without someone close for some time, we find it

difficult.
If someone is going through pain or discomfort, it upsets us.
We find it difficult to give feedback to someone as we feel it will upset

him or her.
When we drive a car at night, if the person on the opposite side has bright
headlights, it hurts our eye and for a moment we either close our eye or shift
it away from the bright light. Similarly, if we experience the emotional state
of the other in an oversensitive way, we may shut ourselves off and
psychologically move away from the other person for a short period and thus
lose the connection. We certainly need to transform this over sensitivity, but
distancing from the emotion is not the solution as it severs the connection
with the other temporarily. Some people numb their sensitiveness or use the
mind to theorize about their emotions. However both are only quick fix
remedies and not a fundamental transformation, as the sensitivity itself is not
transformed.
To address this limitation, we need to understand the nature of emotions and
emotional connectivity further. When we connect emotionally with the
‘other’, two poises co-exist. First, we are connected to our own emotional
being and interested in our own well-being. In this poise, we take care of
ourselves. Second, we also lean towards the other; we are interested in them
and listen to them. Here we want to take care of the other. For any individual
it is key to establish this ‘centering’ between the two poises of self-focused
care and other-focused care. If we lean too much towards ourselves, we will
care less for the other. If we lean too much towards the other, we will go off
balance, be completely tossed by the emotional waves of the other and
sometimes forget to take care of our own needs. Within us, we need to find
the right balance between these two poises. This is an individual inner
calibration, where between the two states of self-care and other-care, we
make our inner movements and arrive at the ‘right poise’. Then, we are fully
and maturely centered within ourselves – taking care of ourselves as well as
offering our support to others for their well-being.
Affected by/Affecting other’s emotions
In the interchange of emotions, our emotions touch and influence each other.
The ideal condition is when we are centered in a healthy emotional state (e.g.,
caring, giving, affection, etc.) within us and can share that with others
irrespective of the other’s emotional ups and downs. For example, Jennifer
meets Chris in the corridor. Jennifer is centered; her heart is open – radiating
warmth and care. Chris, on the other hand, has had a fight with his mother.
His heart is broken and he is hurt and angry. Jennifer starts talking to Chris.
Her words are caring and her whole being radiates affection. Here, we have
two scenarios that can potentially unfold:
If Chris is really upset and he remains rooted in his state for a long time,
and if Jennifer’s caring state is not independently established within her,
in a while Jennifer may slip from her positive state. She may be affected
by Chris’s emotions and there may end up two upset people. Both would
feel close but both may spiral down to a state of emotional drain.
However if Jennifer’s caring state is strong, stable and well established

independently, her heart can radiate care and affection irrespective of the
emotional state of the other. She herself can remain centered
emotionally despite Chris’s prolonged agitation. She can recognize that
being emotionally upset is Chris’s choice and is a legitimate experience
for him to go through. She can radiate her care but allow Chris to take
up responsibility for his emotions and choose to shift out of the hurt and
anger when he wants. Jennifer can offer a safe space from her heart
where Chris can share his feelings and recognize what needs to be done
to heal and shift the relationship with his mother to a better state. Sooner
or later, when Chris has soaked in enough of the emotional warmth and
care, and feels listened to in the safe space offered by Jennifer, he can
turn around and we will then have two people in a healthy emotional
state.
Similarly, whenever we connect with others, we can become aware of the

quality of the emotional exchange. If we are very aware, we will know which
emotions we pick up from others and which emotions of ours influence
others. Mutual emotional influence is a sacred contact with the other. As far
as the emotional influence is nourishing, it is a beautiful connection and
experience to cherish. When the emotional influence begins to drain the other
or us, it is healthy to initiate a certain stepping back so as to bring in some
space into the emotional interchange. Choosing to step back when some
emotional drain is being experienced is like allowing the muddy waters to
settle down. This step back honours the sanctity of the contact. This is a great
discipline required of the practitioner – to honour the sanctity of emotional
contact and give space when any disturbance emerges from either oneself or
the other. Stepping back is not severing the bond or the relationship, but an
inner psychological movement while still holding the connection. This step
back is required to ensure that healthy emotions prevail. The connection
maintained is a heart-to-heart one and the step back needed is from the murky
emotions alone so that they settle down. This is difficult to accomplish in the
beginning as murky emotions cloud the deeper heart-to-heart connect. The
first step is to distinguish that emotions are just one layer and the heart-to-
heart connect is deeper. The second is to master the skill of maintaining the
heart-to-heart connect with another, no matter what.
Now, there are times when the other person finds it difficult to come out of
their limiting emotional state. We need to learn to have a great degree of
compassion and stand by them in their struggle without judging them, giving
them the right degree of support. At the same time, we need to allow them to
fully go through their experience for their growth. Also, there are times when
we find it difficult to come out of our limiting emotional state, and we notice
it is affecting the other. At this point, we need to step back. We can even be
honest with the other and explain what is happening. We can then proceed to
access our heart-to-heart connect and our resourceful emotions. By invoking
them, we can transform the limiting emotional state. For example, an iota of
love and compassion wholeheartedly accessed within us can heal a whole lot
of injuries to the heart.
Emotional Oscillations
Humans are capable of an entire spectrum of emotions of varying intensity
like love, hate, care, affection, closeness, disconnect, intimacy, distance,
happiness, sadness, etc. As we have seen earlier, what others and ourselves
experience emotionally intermingle with each other and create an emotional
flux. But as individuals, we always have a choice about those emotional
states we choose to enter into and experience, and those we feel we are ready
to transform. Once our emotions begin to transform, we can work towards
holding stable emotions of higher order like care, empathy, contribution and
inclusion.
People experience emotions in different ways. We shall explore this by

taking an example to deepen our understanding. Say you like working with
someone but keep on getting irritated with him or her. So the emotional mix
here is some degree of liking and some degree of irritation. We shall now
explore three different ways or styles of experiencing these emotions:
Some people avoid certain emotions as they appear intense or repulsive.

Not allowing the emotion to affect us is healthy. However avoiding it
indicates fear or repulsion, both of which cause a break in the
connection with the other.
Some keep on engaging with discomforting emotions even though they

sap the energy from oneself and the others. For example they may feel
irritated, show their irritation to the person concerned, complain about
their irritation to friends and colleagues, and keep getting irritated. This
is perhaps because they are hooked to this emotion and are getting some
negative ‘kick’ from it. However they may also recognize that it is not
truly fulfilling them as it is sapping their energy. They may get trapped
in this emotional state by their over-indulgence. Also if they keep on
engaging with the discomforting emotions too much (either by
consciously or unconsciously loving or hating these emotions), then it
shapes into an emotional character or habit as it is repeatedly
experienced.
Some keep shifting between emotions. For example, they may oscillate
between liking the other person and getting irritated but finally not
resolve anything in depth. These are the typical mood swings people
have – one moment, one feels care for the other and in the next moment,
it turns to hate. Correspondingly, in one moment one is happy and the
next moment one is sad. This creates an emotional dichotomy within us.
Also if we oscillate between emotions, we may not find our own
emotional character and just be an emotional cork tossed around by the
emotions that exist in our relationships.
These three ways in which people experience emotions do not uncover the
root and resolve the emotional oscillations. To resolve the emotion, we may
need to look within the emotion itself and ask ‘What do I need or want now?’
The answer can be ‘I want to spend more time with the other person’, or ‘I
want to get the other’s opinions to make some crucial decisions in my
project’ or ‘I am comfortable working with the other person, and thus I want
to be part of their core project team’, or ‘I want my views to be respected or
listened to’ and so on.
The moment you uncover the need behind your emotions, responsibility and
choice come in. It is an empowering experience when we take up the
responsibility to fulfill our need/s and not hold others responsible for that. We
can, of course, take support which is a beautiful bonding with others.
However when we accept the responsibility as ours, we experience freedom.
When we hold others responsible for our emotional experience and for the
fulfillment of our need/s, we lose our freedom and expectations get built in
the relationship. These are often emotional hooks that increase intimacy but
sap energy. By experiencing freedom and taking responsibility to fulfill the
needs behind the emotions, we create space in relationships. In this space
created we can, by choice, hold more nurturing emotions of care, empathy
and warmth.
Now, what happens when we recognize our needs and pursue them but the
other person is not willing to give what we want. These needs could range
from a demand for more time or wanting some guidance. These are needs of
ours that, say, the other person does not want to or is not able to fulfill. Now
what do we do? This is a situation that most of us will face at some point and
hence, needs to be looked into. We encourage the reader to find their own
answers in their experience. One strategy that works is to reflect if this need
of ours will be mutually fulfilling for us and the other person concerned. If
yes, then maybe we could explain the need in a more caring and inspiring
way. If not, we may need to explore this need through someone else for
whom it may be fulfilling. Do we have the courage and the creativity to do
that? Can we still learn to hold a heart-to-heart connect with the person who
is not in a position or is unwilling to fulfill our needs? This is a path where
freedom, responsibility and deeper connect can thrive together. Through
mastery of this process, we can also learn to support others to fulfill their
needs in a pure space of contribution to them.
Brooding over loss of Relationships
The loss of a person we are close to – either through death or a break in the
relationship, may often be a situation that is difficult to deal with. We shall
first discuss death and then discuss how to deal with relationship
breakdowns.
Death is the greatest and surest separator of human relationships. Let us take
an example. Radha Lakshmi was very close to her father, Ravi Chandran.
Right from her childhood, Radha’s mother was always quite busy and thus
Radha developed a very close bond with her father Ravi. He used to play
with her, get her ready for school, teach her and guide her in every little way.
When she grew up, apart from being a father, Ravi was her best friend in
whom she could confide anything. All of a sudden, when she was barely 29,
Ravi passed away peacefully early one morning. Radha was completely
shattered. She became very quiet and withdrawn unlike her normal self. She
hardly cried during the last rites of her father when everyone in the family
expressed their sense of loss quite emotionally. Even after two years, her
heart remained broken, withdrawn and she could hardly connect to anyone.
She could not forgive her father for letting her down and leaving this world
so early. She lost faith in the world and God, as she felt that her beloved
father was snatched away from her. At this juncture, Radha attended a
workshop on transcending habits. She said that she has been addicted to
coffee for some time and wanted to get beyond it. The facilitator took her
through an inward journey where she realized that she picked up coffee
addiction only after her father’s death. The best moments she had with her
father were when they used to chat over a cup of coffee. She realized that
latching on to coffee was an unconscious way for her to continue to feel that
togetherness with him, even now.
How could Radha come to terms with her father’s death? Emotional
relationships are quite intricate and each of us has to arrive at our own best
ways to heal them. We offer some guidelines here:
The emotional connection of care often mixes with the small sense of
self and develops possessiveness with those we are close to. We want
them to be with us forever for the sake of our comfort and emotional
needs. This can be avoided and the emotional connection of care can
ascend back into its own realm and ask, ‘What is good for the sake of the
other?’ One way for Radha to begin to do this is by expanding her frame
of identification from solely herself to include what is good for her
father and even expanding to include the frame of reference of the entire
universe. She can reflect, ‘Yes, I am finding it difficult, but maybe my
father’s soul wanted something else. Maybe I can learn to honour its
choice.’ So, here, one learns to let go of the focus on one’s needs and
demands alone and includes the needs and well-being of the other, and
learns to honour their choices.
It is also good to grieve enough. By grieving, Radha can experience her

connection with her father. She can sense the loss and hurt, and let them
all flow through her without any inhibition or need to withhold anything.
A full expression of grief melts the heart, lets all of the pain of loss go
and helps to come to terms with the death. Through this process, one can
accept the death of the body but can remain even more deeply connected
to the person in spirit. One feels free within at the end, and this helps in
setting the soul of the other person free.
The next step is to widen one’s heart so much that one comes right back
into life and remains connected at the emotional level with others. The
deepest connection felt for any one human being can be felt with many
others if the heart is expanded. Radha can engage back in life, connect
with others, learning to share the same depth of relationship and bond
that she had with her father with many others. It is when emotional care
is tinted with our comfort-seeking nature that makes us feel that deep
bonding has to be experienced with only a few people. In its own realm
of emotional connect and care, and especially when it goes deeper, a
deep bonding can be felt with many. One can become a source of
warmth and care in all of one’s relationships. And this can even extend
to the many new people that one meets every day.
These same guidelines can be applied while dealing with breaks in

relationships as well. Many of us face breakdowns in our closest relationships
and sometimes lose contact with the other for a certain period of time. The
best of friends, colleagues, siblings, parents and children can part ways or not
speak to each other for long periods of time. Why does the heart permit itself
to do this? Often when two people who are very close for many years
separate, the heart longs to re-connect even though on the surface one does
not want to admit it, or there could be some practical challenges in bringing
the relationship back to where it was earlier.
The break in relationships can be challenging to heal as at least, three ‘wills’

are involved here. First is our own will and what we want. Second is the other
person’s will and what they want. The third is the will of Life, which always
takes into consideration what is best needed for the evolution of our self, the
other and the world at large. For a relationship to exist in its best, the three
‘wills’ must concur to some extent – both parties should want it, and the
relationship must be beneficial for mutual evolution and growth. If any of the
three ‘wills’ are not in place, one way or the other, the relationship faces
trouble. When a relationship faces trouble, a self-aware practitioner can
reflect on the following:
If there are any emotional knots within our self, we can locate and
dissolve it. Emotional knots are emotional hurts, pains, pangs, etc. that
we feel within us, which are present in an untransformed manner. We do
not need these emotional knots. We only need the emotional connect
and flow of emotions. Some ways of dissolving emotional knots are a)
not giving it too much attention and importance; b) uncovering the need
behind it and taking up responsibility for fulfilling or transforming the
need; c) building a connection to a nourishing anchor present whenever
the emotional knots begin to take over. This could be breath, connection
to unconditional love, faith, compassion, empathy, etc.
If the other person backs out from the relationship, we can reflect if
there is something for us to learn and change. If so, we can first make a
sincere attempt to change ourselves – that something in us which is
causing discomfort to the other. Then, we can deepen our emotion and
intent to connect back and reach out to the other person.
If we have backed out from the relationship, we can reflect deeply to

sense if there is something we want to share and communicate with the
other person, which we have not done so far. If there is something that
we want to express, we can do it authentically and with compassion to
give the other person a chance to maintain the relationship. We can also
check if the other person wants to express something and give them
space for their expression.
If neither ourselves nor the other person has intentionally stepped back
but there is increasing friction and distance building in the relationship,
it may just be time to give more attention to the relationship and spend
time together. In today’s world, one often asks questions like, ‘Is this
activity important?’ or ‘How does this help us?’ or ‘Is this our current
priority?’ However, in the domain of the emotions, such questions often
make us approach emotions from the mind, analyzing and dissecting it.
This often widens the rift. The remedy to this is, perhaps, to honour the
need of the emotions to connect, be together, understand each other,
listen to, express and share what we, together, want. Often simply
establishing an emotional connection can restore the vibrancy back into
the relationship.
How do we know if the relationship is for the larger good of all? There
are some relationships, especially among friends that may feel good now
but may not be good for the evolution of either. We can have this insight
only when we learn to truly connect with our own deeper self.
Partiality
This is one of the inherent limitations of emotional care. When we are
emotionally connected with another human, we often get biased. Sometimes,
even if, objectively, we know that some of their opinions are not fully
acceptable, we end up agreeing with them. We agree with them either
because we are too much under their influence and the objective reality is
clouded, or we agree because we see the truth but still do not want to oppose
them as we identify with them emotionally and feel we may hurt them or
cause them discomfort. This partiality also happens in a group when we take
sides with whom we are closer. One of the effective ways of transcending
this limitation is by giving importance to both emotion and objectivity. We
can care for someone and yet view them with a great degree of objectivity.
Love and care can be the overall context in which we hold the relationship/s.
But within this context, we actually do a great favour to the other and
ourselves by being objective. By doing so, we are giving ourselves and them
the permission to be their true selves, straight forward and fact-based. We can
offer an unconditional space of love, trust and affection and acknowledge
people a) when we genuinely feel connected to them, or b) when they
actually do something that touches our hearts. In the workplace environment,
we can genuinely acknowledge others when they demonstrate competency in
what they do. This way the care becomes the domain and within that domain,
we are authentic and objective. We become capable of meeting people where
they are and support each other in mutual growth and evolution.
Transformation of Emotions
We will now examine two methods to transform our emotions and widen the
heart. The first helps in subjecting the superficial emotions to the influence of
deeper emotions, thus transforming them and deepening the heart. The
second widens the heart by shifting one’s span of identification from being
individual centric to increasingly collective centric, a clue that we gave in the
section titled ‘Emotional Care enhancing Dynamic Energy’ in chapter 4.
Deepening of Heart
Emotions vary in depth and quality. On the surface, we experience all the
fluctuating emotional contradictions like love–hate, closeness–distance and
emotional happiness–pain. On the surface, when we give something to
someone, we expect something back. It is in our nature to measure how much
we have received versus how much we have put into the relationship. Often if
we feel that the return is not sufficient, we either withdraw our contribution
or play a martyr and give up our needs. These are when emotions are
experienced superficially and are dependent upon the person/situation or
event. However, as we go deeper into our heart we start tapping into the
delights of the emotions of caring, giving, sharing, connecting, compassion,
etc. The deeper we go within our heart, these qualities become more
unconditional, and the emotions become constant and long lasting
irrespective of the surface oscillations as well as ups and downs in
relationships or life situations. The pinnacle of unconditionality and
constancy of emotions can be reached in the presence of the living touch of
the deeper self.
Here is a simple exercise to help in deepening of the heart:
1 Become aware of the emotions when they play out their opposites or
when we emote at a surface level.
2 Among the multitude of emotions that play out, select the one that you
are keen on enhancing. Or look beneath superficial emotions and
identify what deeper emotion could be present that you want to amplify.
This could be care, warmth, compassion, giving, sharing, empathy,
gratitude and so on.
3 Tune into that one emotion that you have selected – for example caring,
and immerse yourself fully into it within the heart. Ignore all other
emotional frequencies and let your heart melt fully into the emotion of
caring. Stay centered within and let this ‘caring’ state come alive fully
within you at the emotional level, and flow through you. If needed, you
can recall a time when you felt the emotion of care so that the emotion is
generated, and then slowly sink in completely into the emotion.
Continue giving nurturing attention till you arrive at a fully formed
emotional ‘state’ of the selected frequency.
4 Stay centered in this chosen emotional state and act from it. Create
actions every time from this state in a conscious manner. It is almost as
if every action proceeding from you gets soaked with this particular
emotional state. Gradually all the surface emotions will get infused with
the chosen emotional state and all your actions will bear this flavour. If
we practice this repeatedly, in course of time our emotional condition
will be habituated to holding the deeper and nurturing qualities of love,
care, affection, compassion, empathy, gratitude and warmth.
Widening of Heart
Our hearts could be narrow or wide. A narrow heart is primarily concerned
about oneself – feels the needs of oneself and takes up responsibility
primarily for oneself. One could be the Vice President of a large organization
of 5,000 plus people but still have a narrow heart. The span of emotional
identification can be predominantly individual-centric. If one has a narrow
heart, he or she will reach out and make decisions for the collective only if it
is favourable to them. The first concern of a wide heart is the collective. One
who has a wide heart recognizes the need of the collective within them and
takes up responsibility for the collective as if it is one’s personal need. One
could be a junior executive who does not have any formal leadership role, in
a large organization, and still have a wide heart. Here the span of
identification of the person is collective-centric. You would have surely come
across such people and wondered how they took care of a collective need
with no prodding or instruction. You may even have wondered how come the
thought came to them in the first place when others did not even think about
it. As one’s heart widens, it progressively becomes family-centric, team-
centric, department-centric, organization-centric, institution-centric, society-
centric, country-centric and ultimately world-centric. A wide heart
increasingly feels the need of the collective within oneself and takes
decisions that favour the collective even if personal ambitions and interests
need to be set aside.
We share here a simple and powerful daily practice for you to widen your
heart:
For any decision that you need to take, ask yourself:
What are your thoughts and emotions about the situation? What is your
need and what is the action and result you are seeking?
Now lose identification with yourself. Imagine that your heart and mind
widen and become identified with your team or family, involved in this
situation. What are the team or family member’s thoughts and emotions
about this situation? What are their needs and what are the action and
results they are seeking from this situation?
Now imagine that your heart and mind widen even further and become
identified with the totality of your organization/ institution/ culture
/society. Choose one of these larger collective entities and actually
identify yourself with it. Identify with this larger collective as if you are
it. As the larger collective what are the thoughts, emotions, needs,
actions and result strivings that exist within the collective, about this and
similar situations?
Now imagine that your heart and mind really widen and become
identified with the totality of your country and the world at large.
Identify with this larger collective in actuality, as if you are it. As the
larger collective what are the thoughts, emotions, needs, actions and
result strivings that exist within the collective, about this and similar
situations?
Now retrace your path:
You are the nation and the world. What insights do you have, from the
above reflection?
Now become your organization/institution/culture/society. Hear

the insights from the nation and world. With that in the background,
what are your insights – for the well-being of the nation/world AND
organization/institution/culture/society?
Now become your team and family. Hear insights of the other bigger
collective entities. With these insights in the background, what are your
insights at the team or family level – for the well-being of the
nation/world AND organization/institution/culture/society AND
team/family?
Now become yourself. Experiencing all these insights of the larger

collectives you are a part of, what are your insights – for the well-being
of the nation/world AND organization/institution/ culture/society AND
team/family AND yourself?
A practitioner who focuses on widening the heart can increasingly become a

contributor to the well-being of the planet, society, organization, institution,
team, department, family and one’s self.
Inherent Delights of Emotions
Caring; Vulnerability; Giving; Connecting / Bonding; Compassion
Caring
‘I care for you’, is one of the greatest emotions for both the giver and the
receiver. When we care for the other, there are two facets involved. First is
the emotion of care within us and second is the expression of it. Both are
important and complement each other. If a genuine emotion of care is not
present within, even the best expression outside is artificial. At the same time,
even the deepest and truest emotion of caring, when not expressed, is a
beautiful moment lost. When we care for the other, when we have the
corresponding emotion within and when we express it appropriately, our
heart melts and this in itself is a delight. The other’s heart too, is touched and
this adds to the delight.
Vulnerability
When we receive someone else’s care wholeheartedly, our heart melts and
feels vulnerable. This is also a delight of this realm. For many practitioners,
giving care is easier than receiving care. When we receive care, we often
allow our own limitations to taint the reception of the caring emotion. We
often think, ‘What does she want from me?’ We doubt, ‘Is this really
genuine?’ We fear, ‘Will I be able to give this back?’ When such distorting
frequencies start interfering with the frequency of care, we need to learn to
shift our attention away from these and give our attention to the incoming
care. We need to permit ourselves to feel the emotion of care and be
vulnerable. To take in the care and to allow ourselves to be touched and taken
care of by another is accepting the beauty of vulnerability. This vulnerability
is one of the greatest resources present within all of us. This increases trust
and love in relationships. If we do not receive vulnerably and openly, we
cannot give care and affection sufficiently.
Giving
In our lives, we can consider all our actions as comprised of cycles of giving
and receiving. Giving is when we act for the benefit of others. ‘Others’ can
be friends, family, teachers, colleagues or the world at large. Receiving is
when we are the beneficiaries of someone else’s acts and efforts. Normally
we are calculative and we want to make sure we receive more than or at least
as much as we give. This happens when the emotions of care get mixed with
the limitations of desire, pride and power. However, the delight of emotional
care in its fullest purity is giving without wanting anything in return. Whether
we receive or not is secondary to the purity of the heart. The very fact that we
could give and share with the other is delight and satisfaction by itself.
Let’s take an example to understand this well. Reflect which has given you
greater joy – when someone shared a gift with you or when you took time to
buy something meaningful and shared it with another person? Some
participants from our workshop have shared that it is the first and for some
others, it is the second that gives them greater joy. What we have observed is
those who are more centered in the world of senses and desires, experience
more joy in receiving a gift, and those more centered in the world of
emotions experience more joy in giving gifts. However, everyone will have
had at least one experience where they tasted pure joy in giving and the
gladness of the heart that followed that act. So one of the ways of tapping
into the resourcefulness of emotional care is by giving and learning to give
fully and abundantly from our heart.
Some simple ways of how you can tap into the goodness of giving are:
At least in one area of your life, you can give without asking for
anything in return. If someone voluntarily returns some contribution,
that is fine. Else you can come to a point where you can give with no
expectation. This is the concept behind giftivism or gift economy
initiatives. One way we try to put this into practice in our organization is
by not charging a fee when we offer our Integral Change experiential
labs. It is a gift we offer from our heart to those who are interested. If
anybody chooses to contribute, they are welcome to make a contribution
towards our work. If not, that is absolutely fine too. We have seen that
this method of giving and sharing our work opens up to more intimacy,
receptivity and learning for our participants and ourselves.
At least once a day, you can give your most precious resources for the
betterment of life and the world. These could be random acts of kindness
like:
Quietly clean up the trash on the road without anyone knowing it.
Anonymously gift an education to a child.
As you enter the office, greet the security person warmly, look into
their eyes and perhaps even ask a simple question of whether they
have had their meal, etc.
Extend a warm authentic smile to the person who is filling fuel into
your vehicle at the fuel station.
Share your best idea with someone without them knowing it came
from you or you needing to claim it as your idea.
Give the best to your team without being asked.

Connecting/Bonding
One of the greatest delights of emotions is to just connect to feel the bond
with the other human or other living being. How often do we feel this connect
in a simple, direct, heartfelt way? We often do a simple exercise with the
participants in our workshops. We ask them to pair up and face each other.
We just pause for a few moments and often they start chatting with each
other. We then give them the instruction of the exercise, “Without speaking
anything, just be with the person in front of you and connect with him/her”.
Many soon find the ceiling and floor most interesting! Some start laughing
and try to cover up their embarrassment; some avoid eye contact and some
stare into the eyes of the other person as if it is a competition. One participant
even ran to us after the exercise and asked us to touch his shirt. It was damp
with the tension he went through during the exercise as he was paired with a
woman. All the vital limitations creep in – fears, shyness, embarrassment,
power struggle, attraction, etc., when they try to connect with each other.
In the second part of the exercise, we guide them step-by-step. We help them
become aware of their bodies and just breathe in and out consciously. We
then ask them to close their eyes and just sense the human being in front of
them as a human just like them – someone who has some aspirations, some
challenges and some successes in life. With eyes closed, we guide them to
connect with the person in front, from the heart by sensing their heart and
feeling the bond that is already there. Soaking in this heart-felt connection
and bond, we ask them to open their eyes and continue the connection with
the other person as fellow human beings. The majority are able to connect
and actually feel the connection within their hearts this time.
We can actually practice this connection with any human being we meet,
both with those we know and with strangers. We only need to remember not
to ‘be in our heads’ all the time, but to delve into our heart and feel the
connection and the beautiful bond between all of us. We can connect with the
plant, animal, bird, insect, earth, sun, rain, etc. and allow the heart to fully
open up. This will slowly lead to a heart-felt connection with the whole of
existence. We need to practice and allow our heart to savour the fullness of
this beautiful connection.
A good Sadhana is to practice coming from a state of caring, giving and

connecting in the everyday interactions of life so that we can hold these
emotions in an unconditional and steady manner.
Compassion
We have already explored caring, giving and connecting. Now we shall build
up on that and introduce a nuance to it – Compassion. Compassion is a much
deeper state. Here we shall explore the beginning traces of it. We will explore
how to hold compassion, care and connection with all.
When the heart opens up to connect, share and care, it also starts feeling the
pain and suffering of others as our own. Even if someone constantly offends
us, when we access compassion, we feel the suffering they are going through
and feel a sense of care. In its ideal condition, within this care there is
gentleness with strength – an untouched, unbiased and deeply caring poise. In
this state, we are not perturbed by any misdeeds and hold no grudge against
the other. If something needs to be corrected and learned from our side, we
do it and if something needs to be done from their side we ask for it. When
needed, we can also be brutally honest, holding the deepest care of
compassion within.
True compassion opens up only when our deeper self is touched. In the
beginning, we often feel compassion towards another person for some time
but slip back when some hurt, misgivings or unresolved past memories
surface. When we are thus pulled to the surface emotions, we need to step
back and connect to the kindness with strength within our heart, and stay
connected there. This does not mean that our actions are passive with no
control of the situation. We should do the right action. Sometimes we will
demand from the other, sometimes compliment, sometimes we give them
space and at other times, we allow them to lead us. What is right is decided
by the context, requirements and purpose. However at all times, we can learn
to stay centered deeply in a state of compassion, holding kindness, strength
and goodwill for the other and ourselves. We should take care that we don’t
lose this state when a wave of emotional turmoil sweeps across the surface.
Also in the beginning, our compassion may be mixed with a sense of

superiority. This often creeps in camouflaged and hence we have to watch out
for it. When this feeling of superiority creeps in whatever good we do for the
other becomes a subtle way of feeling great about ourselves. We feel that we
are above the other person as we are the ones offering the support and they
are the ones taking it. As we practice compassion, we can learn to watch for
and guard ourselves against this potential pitfall. We can realize that it is we
who should be grateful and thankful to the other for giving us an opportunity
to feel compassion. We can steadily practice holding this state of compassion
– gentle care with strength and goodwill.
Other Parts of Being Enhancing Emotional Care
Physical enhancing Emotions: Stable and calm
emotions
Let us now ponder what happens when the stability of the physical enters the
emotional domain and adds value to it. Normally our emotions oscillate and
we find it difficult to hold the desired emotions of love, affection and
empathy. Let’s do an inner experiment to understand the default nature of our
emotions:
Invoke an emotion of care within you now. It could be care towards

someone specific or care in general, but certainly let it be a real
emotional stirring of care within your heart.
Recall a time when someone hurt you. Feel the hurt fully in the heart.
Then observe how this hurt emotion impacts the emotion of care. In
general, there would be a fluctuation or dip in the caring emotion.
Let go of the hurt consciously. Invoke within you the emotion of caring
as a stirring within your heart.
So in this case, we may find that we can invoke care but the moment another
strong emotion like a feeling of hurt courses through us, care often loses its
strength and purity. We may then consciously need to step out of the hurt or
other similar states and re-invoke the state of care. In our life, we can find
many instances where any desired emotion we want to hold is swayed by
many limiting influences. In such a situation, the desired emotion does not
become a steady state or a base station from where all our actions stem. For
us to develop the strength of our emotional character, it is important to bring
in stability in our chosen emotions and we should be able to hold them
without losing their purity, intensity and freshness. This emotional character
can be enabled by bringing in the resource of repetition that the physical has
into the domain of emotions. Accessing/invoking the desired emotion and
coming from it again and again and again in action – is at the heart of this
practice. Every time we are swayed away from our desired emotional state,
we can practice the following:
1 Be aware and quickly recognize as soon as the swaying begins and we

begin to shift away from our desired emotion.
2 Without any over-analysis or guilt, at once invoke the desired emotion

within us.
3 Savour the emotion and let it build up fully within ourselves.
4 Let every action of ours be soaked in this desired emotion.
5 If at any time we slip up, go back to step 1.
If we have the aspiration to hold certain desired emotions of higher vibrancy

and we repeatedly practice invoking and acting from that emotion every time,
soon the desired emotion will become a normal state for us and a great asset
to rely on.
We invite the reader to actually keep doing these inner exercises within them
as they read these chapters.
Sensory Enjoyment enhancing Emotions: Enjoying all
nuances of emotions
Now let’s explore what is the goodness the senses can bring into the
emotional domain. Some characteristics of sensory enjoyment are
playfulness, variety and enjoyment. When this quality enters the emotional
domain, we get the capacity to enjoy joyfully all the various nuances of
emotions. Every emotion has its varied textures and there are so many
different emotions in the human relationship. Do we taste and experience all
of them?
One of the greatest challenges in relationships is that monotony sets in after a

period of time! After spending long periods of time with a person in the
family, we often stop freshly emoting and become rather mechanical in the
way we connect with each other. One of the ways of playfully reviving the
freshness in relationships is by being consciously present to any emotion that
emerges in the moment, savouring its newness. For example, an emotion of
caring is never the same. Can we be fully present to the different shades of
caring and to the whole repertoire of emotions that exist in human
relationships? When we practice this, we also develop the capacity to
empathize with others and to be sensitive to their emotional states. We can
then understand all the shades of emotions they go through and give them
space to go through the same.
The sense of touch is quite significant in the expression of love and care.
When we bring in consciousness into our hands and body and explore the
quality of our touch, we may find many interesting nuances here. Here are
some examples:
Our touch is,
mechanical, lacking consciousness
tentative, shy
rough and cold
warm and expresses the warmth and affection we have for each other
healing as we are connected to our deeper self
Through practice we can bring in full awareness into our touch and hold pure,
caring and healing emotions within our heart which can get expressed
through our touch and expressions.
Dynamic Energy enhancing Emotions: Strength to bear
emotional intensity
How much love can we allow our hearts to bear? How much vulnerability
can we handle?
If the courage and strength of dynamic energy enters the emotional domain,
we get a new capacity. Some emotions are intense! We can allow ourselves to
experience the full intensity of emotions if we so choose, and bring in the
strength of dynamism. Let us take some examples:
Carol’s father had expired. She was extremely close to him and her heart
weeps in sorrow and grief. Can she bear the intensity and experience the
full depth of the emotion?
Ravi visits his grandparents once in a month. Every time he meets them,
his grandmom Mutharasi showers her love and affection on him. He
often gets embarrassed and finds it too sentimental and emotional. He
thus misses something beautiful and also misses the opportunity to give
full satisfaction to his grandmom by not receiving her love fully. Can he
learn to experience the full intensity of his grandmother’s emotion of
care and love?
Ammu and Suresh have been married for 10 years now. Somehow in the
last six months, the marriage has turned turbulent. Suresh has been
working late hours in his advertisement agency, and Ammu has been
traveling to the various sites of her organization to implement the new
software they have launched. They now meet only about 10 days in a
month and most of the time, they quarrel. The emotions are intense and
they sense a growing distance within their hearts. This is slowly starting
to affect their work. The more they try to avoid this negative spiral of
emotions, the more they seem to plummet into it. Can they bear the full
emotion of negativity and dive into it to find the solution that will bring
back their love and togetherness?
Now we can ask – ‘What delight is there in this capacity to bear the full
intensity of emotions and what is its usefulness?’ We need food for physical
well-being, sensory nourishment for the well-being of senses and abundant
energy for the well-being of power. Similarly, we need the experience of
nourishing emotions for our emotional well-being. A practitioner may say
this makes sense and so one should experience the positive emotions to the
fullest. The practitioner may also say that one should avoid intense and
negative emotions. It is true that limiting and negative emotions need to be
transformed. But the transformation cannot be effective unless we enter into
the emotion without labeling them as negative or limiting. We do this not to
indulge in the negativity but to go to the source which is always positive. For
that, we need to bear the intensity of the emotion and go to the depths of it.
This is how the strength of the dynamic energy contributes to the emotions. It
gives us the capacity to take the full intensity of the positive emotions. It also
helps us to cope with the full intensity of negative emotions to go to their
source, which will give us clues to transform the emotions.
Let’s now examine what it means to dip into the full intensity of emotions and
go to the very source in the earlier examples:
If Carol bears the entire sorrow with strength and goes right into its
depth, she will be able to connect with the quality of ever-present
nearness with everyone and ever-lasting love that no death can affect.
If Ravi accepts and experiences the fullest of love and affection of his
grandmom, he will connect with her completely and receive all her love.
This will also help him to get in touch with the same qualities present
within him. Then these qualities of love and affection will become his
own nature and he can share them with others in his life.
Ammu and Suresh will not be able to go to the root of the problem by
avoiding the negativity of emotions. Their fond memories of the 10
years that they spent prevents them from accepting that now there is a
distance between them. If they permit themselves to experience the
emotion of separation in its fullest intensity without any judgments or
guilt, they would eventually connect to the underlying love and
togetherness present deep down. They would perhaps sense that this
time, their love and togetherness feel different as they are now
connecting across time and geography because of their work choices.
Nevertheless, they would discover that the depth of bonding is the same.
If they keep avoiding the emotion of separation and do not enter into it
with awareness, they may miss arriving at this discovery.
It is a matter of belief in the beginning and later on, an experience to discover

that beneath any limiting emotion, in its depth, there is always a positive
source. So, to summarize our earlier discussions, one way to transform a
limiting emotion is to uncover the need behind it, take up responsibility and
go forward to fulfill the need. Another method to transform a limiting
emotion is to dive into its very depth and touch the unconditional positivity
within the limiting emotion.
Objective Mind enhancing Emotions: Bringing in
impartiality and objectivity
The objective mind can bring three qualities – expression, impartiality and
objectivity – to enhance some of the inherent limitations of the emotion.
Emotions, in general, are subjective. When someone says, “I am really upset
with you all the time”, it is a highly subjective statement that can be
understood better when we shine the clear light of objectivity. The following
questions may help:
‘Exactly what behaviour or action of mine upsets you?’
‘May I understand what specific emotion you experience when you are
upset with me?’
‘In a day about how many times, do I upset you?’
Let’s take another simple day-to-day example and study how we can bring
these three qualities into our emotions. Vikram and Anandhi are siblings.
When they spend time with each other and bond, they appear as perhaps one
of the most loving and caring pair of siblings. But when they fight they are at
each other’s throat. Whenever Anandhi gets very much annoyed with
Vikram, she would say, “You never listen to me!” This is a raw nerve for
Vikram as he feels hurt by her strong statement. Often, his eyes would fill
with tears and then he would say, “Well, it is you who never listens! You do
this all the time – saying that I never listen to you!” Then both get lost in an
emotionally upsetting interchange. Robert is Anandhi’s husband. He is often
pulled in as the mediator. Though he could see clearly how both of them were
creating the emotional currents, he often ended up taking Anandhi’s side as
he felt that after all, he is her husband.
How can Robert, Vikram and Anandhi handle the situation better, if they
brought in both the caring of the emotion and the three qualities of
expression, impartiality and objectivity of the objective mind? Some
illustrations follow:
Expression: When the mind enhances the emotions in an objective way,

expression becomes:
A clear communication of our emotion, as experienced by oneself
Taking up full responsibility for our own experience
Requesting for the other’s support, with no trace of blame
If Anandhi brings her objective mind into her expression, she would perhaps
say to Vikram, “Something is upsetting me a bit but I am not able to express
it. I request you to listen so that slowly I can be at ease and communicate
freely.” Naturally, this will elicit a completely different response from
Vikram. A different scenario – even if Anandhi had used the statement “You
never listen to me!”, if Vikram had this faculty of expression, he may say, “I
feel sad that I come across like that, when it is never my intention. Can you
help me? What do I need to do, so that there can be more listening present?”
Impartiality here would mean the capacity to see objectively all points of
view or opinions without any personal emotional bias. Robert, with this
impartiality, could have responded in this format, “To me how I experience
both of you is (fill in the blanks). If I were Anandhi I might do this (fill in the
blanks). If I were Vikram I might do this (fill in the blanks).”
If any of them bring in the Objectivity, they would hold the emotional
connectivity and still express some facts and specific examples, so that there
is clarity of understanding and what each one means will be clearer. Also,
when there is a conflict brewing someone can ask, “So what is our objective
or goal here in our dialogue about the situation?” This will greatly help to
focus the energies around our intention.
Idea Force enhancing Emotions: Qualitatively
enriching relationship roles
Here the values, concepts and the core ideology of living and relating, as
clarified by the Pure Mind enter the realm of emotional relationships to uplift
its workings. Individuals who have this capacity govern their relationships
according to higher ideologies like equality, co-creation, transcending
boundaries, freedom, co-evolution, etc. It is a theme that they hold and weave
into their relationships. When individuals access this capacity, they wonder
and visualize how life would look like if the core ideologies govern and are
present in their relationships. They also imagine what changes are needed in
the current way of relating and connecting to illuminate the magnificence of
their core ideologies. This is alchemy of the mind with emotion. It is not a
suppression of emotion but an elevation of the emotions to their highest
nature/purity/quality/intensity by the support and guidance of the idea force.
The creativity of the idea force can also look into fostering new roles,
definitions and possibilities into current and new relationships so that the core
ideals and values can be practiced and nurtured in this space. When only the
objective mind influences the emotions, it enforces fixed boundaries and
fixed definitions on our relationships. In relationships between spouses,
parents–children, siblings, colleagues or friends, the objective mind often
brings in some fixed guidelines as to what these relationships should look
like and what kind of bonding is most appropriate. Every relationship
however, is unique. The bonding and emotional connection is special and
never the same. This capacity is about transcending stereotypes in
relationships and allowing for fresh interpretations, expanded boundaries,
new roles and enriched quality to emerge in existing and new relationships so
that higher and noble principles, values, qualities and purposes can be
experienced.
Let’s do an exercise. Please select a very important relationship of yours

(can be personal or at work) and do the following to get a taste of this
capacity:
Describe the essence of all the roles you play with this person, which is
unique to your relationship. Go beyond normal definitions and actually
list down what roles you play. For example, with a close friend you
could play the roles of a companion, guide, critique and a mother. For
each of the roles what are the boundaries, stereotypes and structures that
are present in this relationship?
What specific core value, principle, quality or ideology do you want to

bring in more into the relationship with this person?
To bring in and live out these ideologies more, what are some changes
that you can make in the relationship:
What are some new roles that you can play?
What is some enrichment that can be made to current roles?
Can you define and see the relationship in a new light for a higher
or deeper purpose?
What are some of the boundaries and structures that need to be

expanded?
Visualize what the relationship will look like when you play out these
new roles, boundaries, definitions and structures.
Pure Mind enhancing Emotions: Clarifying inspiring
ideologies
When the pure mind comes in to enhance the emotions, we get the clarity on
core values, ideologies and principles that serve as a guiding light in building
the emotional quality of relationships. The pure mind steps back to observe
the current dominant emotional patterns that exist in our relationships. It
takes in the whole picture of our emotional life and culls out what values,
ideologies and principles they represent, and reflect. It then asks fundamental
questions like ‘What is my life purpose?’, ‘What are the ideologies and
principles that I want to uphold in the whole of my life including in my
relationships?’ In the beginning, these governing ideologies may be assorted
and we may have picked them up from many relationships and even books,
discussions with others, etc. When the full capacity of clarity and synthesis of
the pure mind is present, all these ideologies and values can be crystallized
into one or two core ideologies which can then guide and mould our
relationships coherently.
A simple exercise in reflection can be done to experience this capacity. Take

a few key relationships of yours and reflect on the following questions:
What are the values and ideologies that you currently stand for in these
relationships?
What are the values and ideologies that you would like to stand for in
these relationships?
What is the core ideology which forms the crux of all these values and
ideologies – current and desired?
This core ideology can then form the basis of establishing the quality of your
emotions and relationships in all areas of your life and work.
Spiritual enhancing Emotions: Connecting to the
Sacred in all
The qualities of unconditional love, gratitude, sense of selfless giving, faith,
trust, etc., emerge from the depth of the heart. They get tainted only on the
surface when they mix with the undulations of the emotions on the surface.
One way to deepen our heart is by placing our attention on these sacred
qualities and tracing their source to the subtle emotional level within the
heart. We can even go beyond these emotions to connect with a living
presence. This will slowly help us to connect to the sacred depth of our heart.
Once we connect to this sacred place within us, we automatically connect and
perceive this deeper space within the other people in our relationships. At
these moments, the whole world appears sacred and we feel a deep
connection and goodwill towards one and all. Even if one person in a family
or work place has this capacity, others gain energy because of this person’s
deeper connection.
Here are some guidelines as to how you can teach this chapter to someone
else and mutually explore this deeper:
Connecting heart to heart
Whoever you are teaching this chapter to, connect heart to heart
with this person without using any words. What is your emotion
you are feeling towards this person? What is their emotion towards
you, which you can also feel within you?
Mutually nourishing connection
Share with each other, when you hold emotional warmth with
someone, is it mutually nourishing? Mutual nourishment is where
you feel nourished and not overwhelmed and the other person also
feels nourished and not overwhelmed. How is this experienced in
your significant relationships?
When you emotionally connect in your close relationships, are you

more centered on self or other-centered? Have you found your
‘right poise’ where you are fully and maturely centered within and
taking care of yourself, and you can offer your support to others for
their well-being? Discuss how you can find and hold this mature
poise.
Steady State and Inner Poise of Care
Have you arrived at an independent steady state of care, empathy

and warmth even if the other person is emotionally upset? How can
you enhance this steady state more? The moment you recognize
that the emotions of others are ‘just beginning’ to upset you, what
can you do to regain your inner poise of care?
What insights from this chapter can help you to independently hold
your space of care and warmth, untouched by the ups and downs of
yourself or the other?
Sacred Contact
Explore together how to maintain attention on the sacredness of

contact in your relationships.
Giving
Do you enjoy giving more or receiving more? Share examples of

how your heart was glad by pure giving.
What insights from this chapter have touched you regarding

giving? How do you plan to practice it more?
Vulnerability
Discuss how much of love you can each allow your hearts to bear?
How much vulnerability can you each handle?
Leveraging the Mind to enhance the quality of your relationships
Discuss what core ideologies you each choose to hold in your

relationships.
Discuss what stereotypes can be transcended in your relationships

so that there is space for fresh interpretations, expanded boundaries
and new roles to emerge so that higher and noble principles, values,
qualities and ideologies can be experienced.
Reflection
Emotions help us to connect, feel and be with another living being. Emotions
help us to go beyond our own self-interests and include the need/s of the
other. It softens us and helps us to take care of the collective. The same
emotions when purified and perfected can help us to connect to the sacred
presence within all of us.
Are you aware and do you give conscious attention experientially to

your emotions on a daily basis?
Which inherent resources of emotional care do you now access

naturally? Which ones would you like to access and deepen more?
Overall, how purified and developed are your emotions? What are the
aspects that need more purification and development?
the emotions, which methods have resonated with you? Which of them
are you planning to include in your daily Sadhana?
Word and data/information are the building blocks of the Objective Mind.
Throughout this chapter, we will explore the objective mind in detail. We will
also use this chapter to prepare the mind to open up to its higher creative and
pure mind ranges and, ultimately, learn to be receptive to the inflow of
intuition. We will pursue multiple angles of enquiry to explore word and data
so that we reach a greater depth experientially. Some portions of this chapter
may be complex or challenging. We invite the reader to navigate this terrain
with conscious awareness for better clarity and to facilitate the transformation
of your objective mind even as you read this chapter. Some themes to purify
and transform the objective mind would be repeatedly explored – by design –
to inspire insight and change in you. The objective mind has facets related to
both internal and external data. We will zoom into the transformation of fixed
viewpoints and then into information processing. We intend to take the heroic
approach of transforming the objective mind from inside out.
Communication and Data Processing Center
From the subjective world of emotions (‘Emotional Care’ part of being), we
now enter the objective and tangible world (‘Objective Mind’ part of being).
Here everything needs to be known, measured and categorized. This is the
first layer of the mind called the objective mind.
Center for Communication
There are two aspects to the Objective Mind. First, it is the center of
communication, made possible by words and the constructs of language
governing it. From morning to night, we are in constant communication.
Tongues utter words and are expressed through writings. Words expressed by
others are also read, heard and processed. The word is a medium through
which all parts of being express themselves. Each word carries a particular
energy and intent depending on which parts of being seek to express
themselves through that word. Generally, we use words in a half-conscious
and mechanical manner, and we are not very aware of the specific intent and
energy that is transmitted through it. Also, the majority of the words we utter
or use each day are scattered – uttered without thought – and do not nourish
either others or us. In this chapter, we shall attempt to make our words
conscious in its content, intent and quality.
Data Processor
The second aspect of the Objective Mind is that it deals with the known and
tries to dissect, objectify, quantify and measure what is happening in the
world in precise and known terms. Here the known is represented, understood
and expressed as data, facts or information. This is data about our ‘external’
surroundings and circumstances. The external data create internal data within
our mind. This is like a ‘cache’ activity running in the background of a
software program. Internal data, which gets accumulated through the
processing of external data, results in inner filters through which we see
reality. These inner filters could include our opinions, viewpoints,
perceptions, beliefs, evaluations, etc. And then when we communicate this
internal data, it in turn become external data for the listeners.
External Data
External information is a packet of data related to something or someone
about which or whom we would like to know something about. The
properties of information in its best condition are – tangible, observable,
verifiable, measurable, storable in a retrievable format, and representing a
slice of reality. A good part of what we learn in school and colleges is
external data – information about many subjects. In corporate life too, we
involve ourselves with a lot of external data – analysis, data crunching and
adhering to established processes and best practices. External data typically
include all knowledge and information known and shared in multiple formats.
External data can also be gathered about us if we look at ourselves through a
lens of objectivity. This can include our behaviours, competencies, body or
actions that we want to observe and measure.
Let’s take a common day-to-day life example. Say someone asks Ram, how
his health is. He normally may answer in a generic manner saying “I am in
good shape”. Instead if Ram was more data centered, he would share a packet
of information like, “In the last 4 months, since May 2014, I have had
headaches twice a day, especially after a cup of coffee.” This data point is
objective, tangible and detail oriented. This data can be made more
observable, verifiable and measurable by noting down the time, duration and
intensity of headaches when they actually occur. Also the exact preparation,
ingredients and measures of the coffee-making process can be detailed to
observe the link between the kind of coffee Ram drinks and the occurrence of
his headaches. He can keep this data in an excel or word file or in an
observation sheet so that the details are handy when needed.
There are two kinds of external data – primary and secondary. Primary data
are obtained by our own observation and measurement. For example, if Ram
were to study the effects of coffee on headache, he can drink two cups of
coffee each day for 30 days, note the way coffee is prepared, observe directly
the immediate effects within a period of 20 to 60 minutes after drinking
coffee and note them down. Secondary data are the information we gather
from someone else’s observation, measurement and inference. This would
mean that Ram finds out who has done research on coffee and headache and
learn what they infer from their observations. From a combination of primary
and secondary data, Ram can infer whether coffee actually has any role on his
headache and, if so, in what way and, if not, try to identify what could be the
probable causes of headache.
Internal Data
The internal data are like the ‘is’es, which we carry in our head. These ‘is’es
emerge from our past experiences of life and the external data that we have
processed so far. These resultant ‘is’es then float around in our minds as
opinions, viewpoints, perceptions and beliefs. These are filters and they
determine which shade of reality we perceive. If we wear yellow-coloured
spectacles and view the world through it, the world would appear yellowish.
Similarly, depending on what ‘is’es we have formed in our minds, we seek
and see the corresponding layer of reality. We then seek evidence to validate
our ‘is’es and often feel threatened when others attack our ‘is’es. The irony is
that most often, we are not aware of our ‘is’es as we are looking at life
through them. Hence, the first step is to make ourselves aware of them.
Examples of ‘is’es are ‘Life is like…’, ‘She is like a…’, ‘I am always
like…’, ‘Work is…’, etc. Once we become aware of our internal data, a good
deal of Sadhana may be needed to evolve our internal filters to reflect our
own evolution and be present to the new external data around us.
Explosion of Data
We are living in times of an ‘information explosion’ and information is
increasingly becoming freely available. Science is making massive progress
in understanding the world in concrete terms. Google and Wikipedia are
some of the sources where humongous amounts of information are available
at the touch of a fingertip. Even the most knowledgeable person possesses
only a tiny fraction of the knowledge available to us. However, we are
becoming increasingly savvy in searching for and obtaining information as
and when we need it. We also need to keep in mind that what information we
get is only one facet of reality. The slice of reality that has emerged is a
function of our key words and search criteria.
Since we humans are, to a large extent, mental beings, we will find that the
evidence and workings of the objective mind is practically everywhere
through words (spoken and written), internal data (opinions, viewpoints,
perceptions and beliefs) and external data (information and knowledge). It is
these layers of word, external and internal data that we want to become aware
of, refine and perfect via this chapter.
Tiny Workouts
Throughout this chapter, we will sketch out tiny practices to fine-tune your
objective mind. These practices will help you purify and develop your
capabilities for processing external and internal data, word formation and
communication. The first tiny workout follows:
TINY WORKOUT FOR OBJECTIVE MIND – 1

Organizing your external environment: Take a few minutes each day.
Look around your room or desk. Have you assigned a place for
everything? Is everything in its place? Are all furniture, equipment,
utensils, etc., well-maintained and in good working condition?
Spend a few minutes each day putting your external environment in
order. Observe the impact it has on your internal mind and your
thoughts. Watch gradually the impact the regular cleaning up of your
environment has on removing the internal clutter in your mind.
Transforming Word
A word is a formation. When words are conscious, they can be a creative
formation.
Word in its fallen condition
We do not use words conscientiously most of the time. Only a meagre
portion of the words uttered by us and penned by our fingers are conscious.
Most often we don’t even mean what we say. We may say something at the
moment only to regret it later. The ‘word’ has always been considered sacred
in the Bible and Vedas. It is perceived as having great creative power. What
makes the word lose its creative sacredness and deteriorate into loose and
semi-conscious verbiage?
As we discussed in the previous chapters, all parts of our being are inter-
connected. The limitations of any part of being can influence the other parts
and disrupt their healthy working. The delights of any part of being can flow
into the other parts and enhance their working if it happens in a balanced
manner. Let us explore how the limitations of the body/habits, sensations,
energy and emotion can compromise the inherent sanctity of word. Do reflect
on the following:
When you are lazy, tired or caught by your habits, how is your speech?
It is often slow, slurred, dull or mechanical.
When there is some temptation, compulsion, desire or fear, how is your

speech? It is often agitated, hesitant, muddled, furtive, roundabout or
vague.
When there is some restlessness, overdrive or aggressiveness of the

dynamic energy, how is your speech? It is often fast, dominating,
manipulating, pushy, forceful or out of control.
When there are some emotional knots, grief, hurt or sadness, how is
your speech? It is often withdrawn, shaky, disjointed, indirect or sharp.
Purifying Word from its enmeshments:Path of
Objectifying
The habits and limiting/excessive parts of the vital life-forces seek their
expression through the word as we have seen earlier. These energies often
hijack the word to serve their interests and highlight a slice of data that is
favourable to their needs. When this happens, the mind becomes clouded and
experiences a pull from the habits or vital energy to say something or
perceive reality in a certain way. These create enmeshed or distorted word
and thought formations in our mind. Objectifying is a key step here.
Objectification refers to calling out our word or thought formation concretely
and precisely to make our inner experience an object of our awareness. What
is objectified can be transformed. What is not objectified escapes our
detection. Every word or thought formation has a life of its own and attracts a
corresponding reality that seeks to manifest. Only after we do this
objectification, can we use our discrimination. With this discrimination, we
can ask whether the reality that is seeking manifestation through the word or
thought formation is something that is taking our evolution forward, or
something that we need to purge from our system. Let us now take an
example to understand this well. We will explore experientially how we can
objectify and make concrete our internal data of word and thought.
Imagine that an email arrives from someone who asks for some information
about a project you are involved in. Now, this is a person with whom you
have had some negative experience in the past. The moment you see the
email, the memories surface and you become agitated. Immediately you may
notice within you that some opinions and perceptions (internal data) arise
coloured by some of your energetic reactions within you. You may think –
‘Why does he want this?’, ‘What is his ulterior motive?’, ‘He perhaps wants
to find fault in how I’m handling this project’, etc. Whatever you read in the
email at this point will seem to validate your internal data and inner reactions.
The truth would be that you may be seeing the contents in the email only
partially. You may pay attention to some of the content which seem to
validate your internal data while missing the rest. You may make some
comment to a friend who happens to be beside you – that is, you form words.
For example, you may say, “Ah! Life is so challenging!” or “This always
happens” or “He always troubles me like this!” or “Whenever I make some
progress, something like this always happens”.
Objectifying would mean that you recognize the specific thoughts and words
that unconsciously and consciously form within you. They become your
internal perceptions and beliefs and release vibrations through your words. If
objectification of thoughts is difficult, then you could begin by becoming
cognizant of the exact words you use to describe a person or situation.
Objectifying would also mean that you recognize exactly what data you have
picked up from his email and are acting upon, and what you may have missed
seeing when you reacted. Once objectification is done, we can easily use our
discrimination to see whether or not our word/thought formation is truthful,
accurate, insightful and useful. Objectification works only if we can learn to
do this each day and then it becomes an excellent way of clearing the
cobwebs of our thoughts and word. We can choose which thought or word
formation we want to uphold and which to let go of. This level of inner
purification is necessary to truly be a master of the objective mind.
In general, the normal condition of the objective mind is that it lives facing
our past within our mind. In all that we ‘see’, we see it with reference to our
past. With mastery of the process of objectification and its capacity to make
choices, we can develop a new capacity of the objective mind – to stay rooted
to the present and observe new and emergent data and reality.
Word as a Conscious Creative Formation
From the fallen state mentioned earlier, how can we recover the conscious
and creative potential of our word? Here are some simple beginning steps or
pointers for us to experiment with:
We can give full attention to our speech. We can be fully conscious of

every word that comes out of our mouth or is written by us.
We can consider the word as a living entity and that it holds life force
and intent within it.
In the beginning, we can slow down our speech or write consciously to

become fully aware of the words and the quality of energy and
experience they carry.
We need to understand that words live long after their utterance. Say, 10
years back a friend wrote a letter to you in anger but in the end decided not to
give it to you. But imagine you see the letter after 10 years. The words will
still communicate their meaning and affect you with the underlying emotion.
Or let us say your grandfather wrote a few letters to you and forgot to post
them. You discover them 15 years later and read them. Even after 15 years,
you will still feel the full love and care that your grandfather had, if you have
had a wonderful relationship with him. The same happens with our
memories. When we replay dialogues or words from our past, we get affected
in our present. Words carry emotion, energy and intention within them long
after they are uttered or written. So we need to be fully aware and alert about
the quality of words we sow into the world and of those we receive from the
world. We invite you to reflect on the quality of words with which you
express yourself to the world at this point of time.
Doing a steady inner practice on the words we utter or write is a great form of
Sadhana. This Sadhana can include some of the following:
As you create the word, you can pay attention to what energy or emotion
you are holding within you, which will get embedded into the word
formation.
If the energy/emotion is not nourishing, you can step back to change its
quality.
Every word you utter has a hidden or visible intent behind it. Through
inner practice and concentrated attention, you can bring awareness into
your intention as you communicate. You need to come to a point where
you are aware of the intent behind your words and consciously choose it.
You then have to choose the right set of words that convey the right
meaning and best expresses the intent.
The ideal condition is when words are created as conscious formations

embedded with right intent, right energy, right emotion and right
meaning.
For 2 minutes every one hour, pay attention to the quality of

thoughts that are looping around in your mind.
For 2 minutes every one hour, pay attention to the kind of word
formations you repeatedly utter into the world.
These thought-word formations are very concrete ones that you make at your
mind level. For sure, it is the same reality that will unfold in your life and
work. To take control, become conscious and choose your thought and
word formations, and create new conscious ones that will evolve your life
and work.
Transforming Data Scanning Faculty: Insights
Data or information is a slice or representation of the reality.
With the information explosion happening all around us, our mind picks up
some parts of the external data which are recommended, required or needed.
It takes this external data and condenses them into internal maps or data in
the form of conclusions, knowledge or opinions. However, the external
knowledge and information are constantly evolving and expanding. To be
updated, we need to keep on observing the emerging new data and upgrade
our internal maps. When we deepen this capacity further, we stop needing
internal maps but become able to directly access new emerging data points in
the present. At this stage, our attention has more direct contact with the
external data and hence we can observe and absorb information and
knowledge easily.
Attachment to known (‘I know’)
In truth, our mind does not function in the ideal way mentioned in the
previous section. We latch ourselves on to the internal data points that we
already know and may slowly begin to ignore scanning the external reality.
Thus we fail to observe new external data points (of knowledge and
information) that may emerge in the meantime. Once we are exposed to any
information, it gets converted into a quanta or a packet of known data within
our mind. When we keep getting more of the same or similar information, the
internal data points get reinforced within our mind. This gives us conviction
and expertise of knowledge in a certain area. However, the process also has a
limitation if we get attached to the internal data. This attachment prevents us
from seeing something new that is emerging in our field of interest. At this
point, we often come with a conviction of ‘I KNOW THIS’. This prevents us
from learning and exploring afresh.
There is an old Zen story often shared about this. A scholar goes to a Zen
master and says, “Teach me Zen”. Master says that the scholar is not ready.
After many persistent requests by the scholar, the master invites the scholar
for an evening tea. The scholar and master sit on a table where beautiful
teacups are arranged over a fine white tablecloth. The assistant soon comes
and starts to pour herbal tea into the scholar’s cup. The cup gets full and the
assistant continues to pour. The tea fills the saucer and overfills into the white
tablecloth, creating stains. At this point, the scholar blurts out, “But Master
the cup is full. Why is the assistant continuing to pour more tea? Can’t you
see?” The master pauses for what appears an eternity and slowly says, “This
is true. Your cup is also full. If I pour some knowledge into it, it will spill
away!” So saying, the master sends the scholar back home.
The problem is not the enormous quantity of information bursting into the
world. Nor the amount of internal information we have. The problem actually
is the ‘I know’, which arises from our holding on to what we already know –
our internal data – and thus colouring or missing portions of new external
data. Often, whether we are aware of it or not, we come from a space of ‘I
know’ and process any new information by comparing it with what is already
known to us. Here is a simple exercise in awareness for you. How often have
you thought ‘I know this’ when you were reading this chapter or previous
chapters and how did that influence how you received what was written in
this book? This state of ‘I know’ is often our default condition. As intelligent
human beings, we need to refresh and keep updating our information and
knowledge. We need to develop the capacity to observe external data points
in an ‘As-It-Is’ mode and really see that internal data points serve as simple
caches for immediate quick reference and not for permanent placement
within our mind.
How do we transcend this condition? How do we retain and harness the

internal knowledge we have but loosen the grip it has over us, so that we can
keep scanning and enriching ourselves with newly emerging knowledge in the
world?
Fixed Viewpoints (‘I frame’)
Our ‘I know’ creates our mental filters. Mental filters are our perspectives,
beliefs, viewpoints and opinions. It is through our mental filters that we
perceive the outer environment, knowledge and information. Mental filters
use the tool of questions and their ‘search’ criteria to scan and procure
knowledge and data. The ‘God’ of the objective mind is the World Wide
Web. When we want something from the Internet, we go to ‘Google’ and
search. The effectiveness and relevance of our search is a function of the
accuracy and relevance of the ‘key words’ or ‘key word strings’ we use to
search. The sharpness of our questions determines the quality of our search
for information and knowledge from other sources, including experts in the
field. The precision and nature of questions and the search criteria it
generates define the nature and kind of information we notice in the world.
If our mental filters or questions are narrow or biased, the nature of data we
gather, know or believe will also be correspondingly narrow or biased.
Subsequently, we negotiate life with these narrow or biased mental filters
reinforced by the narrow or partial data we have acquired. From this
compromised or prejudiced vantage point, we will see still more of the same
or similar data, which reinforces what we hold inside and then we say ‘The
world is like this…’, ‘X is like this…’, etc.
Let us use a metaphor to understand our current condition. Let us imagine

ourselves in a predominantly dark room. The room represents our mind.
Imagine there are some bubbles floating around in the room. These bubbles
represent our thought formations. Some are solid and dark and some are
lighter and semi-lucent. The floating bubbles are varied in their colours.
Outside the window of the room there is a beautiful scenery – a deer walks
gently on the grass with a bird perched on its back. This represents one
external situation or data present in the world. Every moment the scenery
changes with the deer in a new location on the grass. This represents that
external reality is constantly changing and is not static. Imagine that you are
watching this scene from the back of the room. This represents the ‘inner
eye’ with which you see the contents of your mind, through which you are
looking at the external reality. As you watch the scenery, bubbles float in
front of your eyes. Some block the scenery, some change the colour of the
scenery (as you look at the scenery through the coloured translucent bubbles)
and some give a clear view. To add to the complexity, once you take few
views of the scenery through the bubbles, you no longer see the scenery but
see only some past freeze frames locked inside the bubbles. This represents
‘cached’ internal data. These freeze frames allow only for a fixed view that
replays several times till there is some drastic change in the scenery. It is only
at this point of drastic change, we recognize that something has changed in
the external environment. However, in the normal condition we are not
present to the minute and fresh changes happening in external environment in
a continual manner.
Now, to deepen this metaphor, imagine that you step outside the room and
walk around. And suddenly you find that it is a building with many rooms
and floors that you were in. You were unable to see the other rooms and
floors because you were operating within the same room. Now if you take the
effort to go into each room on each floor, you will get a slightly different
view and a slightly different focus on details of the same scenery outside. In
each room, you see some common details of the scenery and some new
details based on the angle and view you are looking from. Your current room
represents your current perceptions, opinions, viewpoints, etc. This is your ‘I
frame’ which has boundaries. The other rooms represent other perceptions,
opinions and viewpoints that exist in reality from which a situation can be
viewed. These are other ‘I frames’ that exist. Each ‘I frame’ has a boundary
that defines the current frame and misses the other frames. Only when we can
shift our ‘inner eye’ deeper within and see the multiple ‘I frames’, can we be
fundamentally free and become liberated at the level of our Objective Mind.
Then we can gain mastery to shift from ‘frame’ to ‘frame’ at will, observe
reality through multiple lenses and gain multiple levels of data and
information, all of which co-exist in their valid representation of reality.
Do pause here and reflect:
Is this true to how you ‘see’ your external reality and situations?
After you ‘see’ the external reality or information, do your thoughts

make some screenshots of these and from then you ‘see’ and relate to
these screenshots of thoughts, more than the actual changing reality of
the external?
Do you miss some rich and emergent information in the external

environment and realities that you are a part of since you are over-
focussed on your internal data, frames and viewpoints?
If we extend this situation and really become aware, we may notice that we
have thousands of viewpoints, opinions and perspectives floating around and
we see reality largely through them. Every viewpoint, as it looks outwards
into the world, primarily looks for external data to validate itself and becomes
firmer in its position. How can we escape this inherent limitation of the
objective mind?
Consciously choosing inner and outer data (‘I choose’)
Flame of Concentration
One of the key capacities of the mind to build is concentration. This is the
capacity to focus on a topic or a problem and stay with it till the requisite
knowledge is gathered or the solution dawns. The reference point in the
objective mind is created based on where our flame of concentration is
focused. The mind, quite notoriously, behaves like a monkey that jumps from
one place to another thrown around by the vital currents or thought looping of
internal data. We can train our mind to gather together around an external
point of focus, question or enquiry. At any point, we need to be clear about
what we choose to place the mind’s attention on. Every time our mind
scatters its attention, we need to train our mind to bring it back to the specific
external focus of interest.
Do you have a scattered concentration or a gathered concentration at this

point of time?
Without getting caught in the circulation of thoughts (internal data), can you
keep your mind focused on an external detail, information and ‘see’ things
from the reference point of the data or information? Is your concentration
steady when you do this?
Objectifying and Choosing Mental Filters

From the perspective of the objective mind, we are the viewer of our internal
and external data and knowledge. We often forget that we are the viewer and
often get enmeshed with what we are ‘seeing’.
The objective mind bases itself primarily on the past. The internal data loop
around and trigger past memories, and together, they create mental filters or
coloured lenses in our mind. This forms the ‘background’ for our mind. We
can clarify what mental filters are in the background as we scan for
knowledge. Remember we are the viewer if we choose to be. The first layer
which we encounter in our awareness, is comprised of our mental filters –
known information, fixedness of opinions and view-points, past memories,
etc. Often we are not aware of this layer and we just view the world from
behind it. Bringing this layer of mental filters into awareness is something
that requires repeated practice. While we look outside to gather information
about something, we can look within and ask ourselves what the filters
through which we are seeing the information and reality are. The method is to
identify, call out and clarify our mental filters to ourselves. This is a very
powerful step if we learn to do this regularly.
In the beginning what we experience as objective data outside = Internal

Mental Filter + External Data.
We can bring in choice here. We can consciously decide which mental filters
we want to hold on to when we scan our external environment for
information and data, and consciously reject those that are outdated or
obsolete. We can reject those mental filters by internally saying a ‘No’ to
their influence and by taking our awareness off its thought loops. If our
attention (conscious and unconscious) is withdrawn, the thought loops will
not get energized by our awareness and will disintegrate and settle down. It is
a great sign of mastery when someone can be aware of and choose the exact
mental filters with which they are viewing external data.
Would you like to practice calling out all your mental filters when you gather
information, data or knowledge? What is a reminder mechanism you can set
for yourself to do this practice?
Detecting vital forces that toss mental filters around

If we examine our mental filters, we will find that these are not stable. Their
opinions and viewpoints change constantly. If we raise our awareness and
look within, we can find that our vital forces – emotions, energy and desire,
continually influence our mental filters. There is ‘colouring’ of our mental
filters, based on the flow of our vital energies. The lens of our mental filters
changes colour frequently. The external reality is what ‘is’, at the moment.
But mental filters distort the reality of the outside as per the needs and
demands of the vital forces as well as their own internal data-looping that we
have come across earlier. When vital forces distort the mental filters we, as
the viewer, cannot see the external reality clearly as the filters are clogged by
emotions, energies and desire flows. We thus perceive a distorted reality that
is far from the truth.
The key point that emerges from this discussion is that to hold the purity of
the objective mind, we need to pay attention to reality (a) as it is, (b) in
its own terms and (c) freshly each time. To possess this level of purity in
our objective mind, we need to learn to transform it.

For about 5 minutes every one hour, concentrate totally on the outside.
Shift your awareness to observe all the minute changes happening on
the outside – in the environment, in the outer expressions of people, in
the words you hear, sounds present in your landscape, information that
you focus on, etc.
If a reaction or a chunk of internal data or a memory gets triggered and
you notice that you are shifting your attention to within yourself, pull
the attention back and stop it from going within. Shift your attention
back to concentrate on the external and hold your attention in steady
minute observation.
Creating anchor or reference point as ‘external reality’
We need to overcome the three main limitations of the Objective Mind to
learn to be present, anchored and concentrated on external reality. We will
summarize here some of what we have already discussed – the phenomena of
distortion, deletion and generalization.
Distortion: Here the mental filters colour the data or information observed
outside. For example, if the data outside are ‘blue’ and mental filter quality is
tinted ‘yellow’, what we will end up seeing is ‘green’. Distortion happens all
the time. Even the most objective data we see are tinted by the ‘colour’ of our
mental lenses (perspectives, beliefs, viewpoints and opinions). What we then
see is a distorted reality. A good degree of distortion also happens due to the
trait of self-referencing that we possess. Here, our mind mechanically links
what we see in the external and what is looping in our mental lenses to what
it means to our small, superficial self. The phenomenon of self-referencing is
what binds our mental lenses firmly over our ‘inner eye’ that views both our
internal and external reality. Objectivity is lost here. Cutting through the
binds of self-referencing and mental filters, and focusing our undivided
attention on the external in order to observe it in minute detail counters this
habit. The trick is to observe the external in its own terms – the reference here
being the data point of the external that is being studied, its knowledge and
truth.
Deletion: There is a very large amount of information and data that are
present in the reality in front of us. We see only a small portion of it. We see
only one slice of reality. The rest of the reality is ‘deleted’ and it does not
exist as far as we are concerned. What we see of the reality, we believe in it
and act and live accordingly. Other individuals latch on to other slices of
reality and therefore act and live accordingly. This is the nature of the
objective mind. This nature of our mind can be overcome when we access the
pure mind and open up to overall understanding. This nature of our mind can
also be conquered when we learn to concentrate directly on the external by
learning to bypass the internal data looping and self-referencing. This
requires us to master a unified capacity of concentration on a specific piece of
information. We can also practice using various diverse mental lenses to view
this same information. This helps us to view the chosen external data from
multiple perspectives.
Generalization: Every data and piece of knowledge is contextual and is

partially true in that context or situation. That’s it! When any data or piece of
knowledge is generalized and made applicable to all contexts, it loses the
purity and potency of the objective mind. It is only the pure mind that goes to
the core and can cull out the essential idea or principle that is true across
multiple contexts, within a system or a much larger context. The objective
mind is always contextual and for its purity, it needs to acknowledge the
context its data are representing.
An example of generalization is when we notice 10 people of a certain

cultural background exhibiting a particular behaviour during, say, one of their
festivals and we make a generalization that these people ‘are’ like this. Here
one of their behaviours in the specific context of a festival has been
generalized as their overall behaviour across all situations. Also, the
behaviour of 10 people has been generalized to apply to the whole
community. Here the purity of the objective mind is lost. We rest in a
generalization and operate increasingly from that. The purity of the objective
mind is recovered when we state the context along with whatever data or
knowledge we observe and share. To apply this to our example at hand, ’10
people from ‘x’ community in the city of ‘y’ during their annual festival in
the month of ‘m’ were seen to exhibit ‘z’ behaviours’.
Being consciously aware of these internal processes of distortion, deletion

and generalization helps us to detect as they begin to happen. We can escape
these only if we can detect it as they begin to occur. We need to learn to
become aware and name this internal process as it occurs. If we increase our
awareness at this point, we can also detect self-referencing kicking in. There
will be some internal chatter commenting on the data with reference to our
small self. We can cut through this chatter and internal processes, and
concentrate on the chosen external data. When our concentration renders
itself scattered due to self-reference and internal looping, we can firmly place
our concentration on the external knowledge being observed. This then
becomes a dynamic Sadhana, very powerful when practiced.
The objective mind by its own inherent perfected nature just observes
external data and knowledge and feeds it back for our internal knowledge
creation, which results in updated mental filters. The true function and
objectivity of our objective mind is experienced when we can experience our
anchor or reference point of our mind as the external reality we are
observing. This is the requirement for the proper functioning of the objective
mind. Among the many external realities present, we need to choose our
focus. The discrimination of what to focus on can ideally come from our
intuition, inner resonance with deeper self or pure mind. A good degree of
concentration and focus is needed to shift the mind to stay on the outside. To
be at ease with whatever information is being observed irrespective of the ups
and downs of internal mental processing and the flow of the vital forces is a
great accomplishment. Accessing the reference point as external through
dedicated Sadhana is touching one of the peaks of the objective mind.
We offer seven focus pointers to help our minds to stay anchored in the
external. These pointers are also criteria that you may use to sift external data
to know the degree of their truth, accuracy, validity and resonance. By being
anchored on external knowledge and reality, we can concretize data which
then become information for others. Concretization is one of the most
important roles of the objective mind. This means that from the nebulous data
available to us, we quantify and objectify data based on seven pointers –
accuracy, credibility, reliability, comprehensiveness, context, originality and
resonance. The quality of data that we concretize depends on the degree up to
which these pointers are present. We put down a question for each of the
criteria. Hold the question in your mind and train your objective mind to stay
anchored in the external. Choose information that upholds most of the
criteria. When present, these criteria indicate the degree to which we can trust
the external data.
Accuracy: Is the data or information as close to the reality as possible?
Credibility: Does the person who is sharing the data have the required
authority on the subject? How close is it to established norms and best
practices?
Reliability: Are the data consistent in their description of a slice of

reality?
Comprehensiveness: How many different viewpoints do the data give

regarding a particular situation or subject?
Context: Is the context in which the data is valid explicitly and clearly
indicated?
Originality: Are they just a re-hash of what someone has said or are
they born from original experience so that a new, emergent reality is
captured?
Resonance: Is the knowledge represented by the data spontaneously felt

to be true within? Is it felt to be in sync with something deeper that we
know or are reminded of now?
Transforming Data Scanning Faculty: Method
Let us deepen our exploration by formalizing a method to transform the data
scanning faculty of our objective mind. Let us explore this method using an
example. We certainly invite you to engage in this process yourself as you
read about it. If done sincerely, you will find that this method transforms the
fundamental capacity of your objective mind.
The method is shared here: (You can do this for a particular context)
1 Become aware of your mental filters and clarify a) what kind of data
your mental filters permit through them; and b) what kind of data they
don’t see, reject or distort.
2 Detect if there are any emotional or energetic currents that influence the
mental filters. Purify them. No matter what vital forces flow, be they
healthy or limiting, let them not affect the objectivity of your internal
data and the external data that you observe. This is the practice of being
objective and not being swayed by vital life currents – no matter what
they are.
3 Clarify what you are seeking. Clarify what your focus questions are.
Questions are the mediators that link your mental filters with external
knowledge. Observe experts in your field. What do they seek? What
questions do they seem to hold in their minds while they perform their
work with mastery? Would some of their questions enable you to search
for a new reality? What you search for, you get eventually. Hence clarity
in your questions will help you ‘see’ the desired data, observe it better
and utilize its insights and inferences more in your life. Choose your
questions consciously and bring it into the flame of your concentration.
Come back to the chosen question every time the mind deviates from it.
4 Widen your mental filters and consider multiple frames of reference.

Gather data to represent the fullness of the reality present. Gather data to
get clarity and insights into your focus questions.
5 Recognize the working of your self-referencing habit, where every
chunk of data is viewed in relation to your small surface self.
Concentrate and anchor on a chosen external reality, data and situation.
Be fully present. Scan the environment to see emerging knowledge and
data that will provide answers to your questions, and will give you the
data that you are seeking. View the external in its own terms. This is
objectivity. Practice refraining from viewing reality from the comfort of
your mental filters. View reality in its own terms and if there are any
new data or knowledge, let them inform your mental filters, so that they
can evolve.
What we are attempting through this transformation is:
Be present to all emergent new knowledge in one’s field of interest and

reality. See each ‘bit’ of knowledge in its own terms, objectively. Utilize
the criteria to filter external data for truth, accuracy, validity and
resonance.
Allow one’s internal mental filters, frameworks, perceptions and beliefs

to evolve in tune with new knowledge that emerges.
There is a part in us that is involved in internal chatter. It self-references

and relates both the internal mental filters and new knowledge to
something in our small surface self. This corrupts the knowledge and
colours it in a way that is appealing to us. Then new knowledge gets
reduced to the level of our small self. We fail to rise up to the level of
new knowledge. We must learn to begin to transcend this layer of self-
referencing.
This is attempted by learning to hold our concentration single-pointedly

on a chosen and specific external knowledge or information. Not getting
trapped in the looping of our internal mental filters, we can practice to
hold our attention on what we are seeking to know.
We will now dive into these five steps with an example from practical life.
The steps will be slightly modified to reflect what actually emerged when it
was applied by Mahesh in the following example.
First step: Clarifying Quality of Current Mental Filters
Let us take the example of Mahesh who has discovered his life purpose. He
wants to transform the quality of education in India. He works out a program
on holistic education and offers it to several colleges. The colleges experience
great benefit through his work and he is called for repeated programs. While
he is happy with the progress, he now feels that to fulfill his vision of
improving the quality of holistic education in India, there needs to be more
educational facilitators like him who hold a certain degree of authenticity,
depth of understanding of holistic education and skills of facilitation. For
several years, he attempts to find associates for his project but he is not fully
successful. He notices that there are broadly three kinds of people whom he
meets in his search for potential associates. Some have talent but want to
come into this work for money and do not have the genuine motivation to
contribute. Some are busy with other projects. Some have a great volunteer
mindset, but are not fully knowledgeable nor are they adequately competent.
As readers, try to identify what Mahesh’s mental filters are, through which he
could be seeing his reality. Can his current reality be a function of his mental
filters through which he sees only a certain kind of people and misses out on
others who could have forwarded his project? What questions can you ask
Mahesh that will help him recognize the mental filters operating within him?
Through reflection, Mahesh knew that his perception of potential associates

was partial as many others in the field were able to find associates and
forward their work. Mahesh knew that the ‘frame’ of his mental filters was
partial. Through reflection, he clarified his mental filters and inner beliefs
that were operating beneath his search criteria to identify facilitators and
associates (some mentioned here):
‘Person should approach me on their own. This demonstrates their true

interest. If I approach, it may not reveal their true interest’
‘Person should not be looking at this as a source of revenue. This is

when they are truly motivated’
‘Person’s prime motive for the project should be the fulfillment of the
project’s vision and the remuneration given should be a bonus’
‘Person should resonate with the work authentically. That’s when they
will genuinely contribute’
‘Finding the right person for this work will take time and a lot of effort’
‘The path is tough and many are not willing to walk the path’
He realized that only when a person who comes and checks most of these
criteria, does his mind permit the person to be recognized as a potential
associate. Subsequently, he also realized that there could be more potential
people out there but his mind is unable to recognize them because of his own
mental filters. He could also see his self-referencing in action. He was the
‘hero’ in his world and this was about his struggle to fulfill his vision.
However his ability to accurately grasp and evaluate people was getting
distorted. At some level there was an inner dialogue about how this was
difficult for him and what he should be doing or not be doing.
Similarly, we request you to consider a situation in your life or work and list
down the mental filters that operate within you. Reflect which mental filters
enable you and which limit you; which filters give you a partial view and
which give you a more comprehensive view. Do decide which mental filters
need to be upheld and which need to be transformed. Also become aware if
you can recognize the self-referencing habit operating within you – weaving
an internal chatter about your small self in relation to your mental filters.
After you read each step of Mahesh’s example, apply the process to your own
situation.
Second step: Detecting Influencers behind Mental
Filters
To evolve your mental filters, you need to be aware of the emotional and
energetic undercurrents that influence them.
To illustrate the method, we shall consider Mahesh’s situation once again.

When Mahesh reflected, he uncovered the vital currents that influence his
mental filters. He wrote them down and also indicated what he wanted to do
with them.
Third step: Clarifying Key limiting Mental Filters
And as he was reflecting on this, he got a clue about another of his mental
filters. This was perhaps the strongest and influenced all other filters, but was
hidden from his conscious awareness earlier. He recognized the presence of
this filter only after he identified the vital influences underlying his mental
filters.
Similarly, for your situation, we recommend that you reflect on what

emotions, energy and desires influence your mental filters, and then reflect
on what your choice is based on your awareness. Reflect on which
undercurrents you want to retain and which you want to transform. When you
pinpoint these undercurrents, you may sometimes stumble upon a new
primary mental filter. Or sometimes those mental filters that you identified in
the first step may still remain as the most influential and primary filter.
Mahesh, on reflection, realized that his mental filters were clouding his view
of reality in this context. He realized that he was only seeing some people
who happened to walk into his life and who seemed to possess sufficient
intensity to do depth work. He realized that he could put himself consciously
out there into the field of education and collaborate with people who are
already doing this work in a natural and simple manner.
Fourth step: Widening Mental Filters and Clarifying
Focus Questions
The purpose of knowledge or data is to represent and understand reality in an
objective manner. Reality is multifaceted and the more comprehensive our
data points are, the more objective and fully informed we are. Only when our
mental filters widen, will they fully allow comprehensive and multifaceted
data to be observed.
Take one of the mental filters that you have recognized to be partial or
limiting and do the following steps. We will also illustrate how Mahesh does
these steps to transform and widen his mental filters.
Remember to do this step for your key limiting mental filters.
The key insight to gain here is that our mental filters and the questions we
ask from them define what we search for or seek to observe and understand
in the world. It is like a net where the size of its holes determines what gets
caught and what swims away. Now, when the mental filters change using
new focus questions, a different kind of data, information and reality are
noted. This creates an opportunity for a new life. What we see externally, we
create internally and we then believe it. This creates new widened mental
filters and new reality.
By consciously choosing the expanded mental filter, which now has the new
focus question at its center, we can learn to look out into the world with new
‘eyes’. Now we will start observing people, information and situations in a
fresh way as we are seeking a different sort of information and data. In
Mahesh’s case, he has unified his concentration to focus on the current and
emerging knowledge of holistic education. He searches for signs of soul-
connects with people who have a spark of passion to contribute in the field of
education. He then acts to forge a synergy between his work and their work.
Fifth step: Anchored to External Reality, being in the
present
The more we can learn to stay ‘external’, ‘outer’ or ‘data’ centered, the more
we can observe and absorb knowledge – both existing and emerging.
The seven pointers: accuracy, credibility, reliability, comprehensiveness,

context, originality and resonance are extremely useful in verifying the truth
of the external data observed.
Mahesh used the criteria in gathering knowledge about holistic education and
selection/training of his associates. He checked for facts, verified sources and
looked at contexts where these holistic methods worked. In selecting and
working with his associates he looked for demonstrations, actual knowledge
possessed, degree of skills present/demonstrated and increasingly worked
with resonance to maintain soul connect. He was sincerely practicing to stay
anchored to the external, to increasingly observe and absorb knowledge that
helped him to evolve and contribute.
The example of Mahesh shared is not merely illustrative. It is very much a

true story.
Clearing the Mind
It is healthy to clear the mind periodically and create some space within it, so
that we can access the full delights and resources of the Objective Mind to
open to the ‘new’. The best method for this, reported by many practitioners,
is to write down the looping fixed viewpoints or mental filters on a piece of
paper.
Each day, for a few minutes, sit down and look at the fixed thoughts that have
been circulating in the mind for that day. Take a few sheets of paper and just
objectify the thoughts by writing them down on the paper. Concentrate and
consciously write opinions, views, perspectives and data points down without
any editing. This is almost like free writing with no evaluation and no
stopping of the flow of thoughts. At the end, take the paper and with full
concentration, tear it and throw it away. This is one practice which, when
done every day, will significantly transform the mind space of a human
being.
These fixed viewpoints and mental filters have a life of their own and they
seek manifestation. If we allow them to circulate in our mind, they just swirl
around and cloud what we see. By putting it down on a piece of paper, the
need for expression of these viewpoints is satisfied. By tearing it, we destroy
the formation and open up to something new.
With continued sincere practice, we can begin to get our minds to be freer,
quiet and open to the ‘new’.
Objective Mind’s Application in Life and Work
So far, we explored the objective mind from a perspective of knowing reality
objectively and concretely. Now we will explore it from the perspective of
understanding how it can be applied in living life in an efficient and
organized manner. A well-developed objective mind can apply itself in many
areas including problem mapping, time sensing, communication and building
subject matter expertise.
Problem Mapping
The fundamental capabilities of the Objective Mind are often called upon in
problem mapping. A good objective mind looks at the world with clockwork
precision and wants to keep things working at their optimized best, very
much repeatable in their function and with perfection. This is the good
engineering or scientific mind wanting to measure everything, organize and
document the many ways of doing something and finally arrive at the most
optimal and efficient way.
We shall explore this use of the objective mind in problem mapping with an
example:
Jenifer is the new CEO of a multinational organization that has over 3,000
employees and which is into mobile e-learning solutions. The organization
has been in existence for six years and is currently going through a tough
patch in terms of its productivity and revenues. In the last year alone,
organizational productivity has plummeted by 30% and revenues by 20%.
Jenifer has been called in to set right the current scenario, recover the
performance and take the company forward to its next orbit. We invite the
reader to take a piece of paper and write down what Jenifer would do to
understand the situation if she really had a good objective mind. After writing
the points down, you can take a look at our list.
How Jenifer could potentially understand the situation:
She could call for the productivity and revenue figures for the last six
years across divisions and product lines in the organization.
She could then have someone do a trend and insight analysis to detect
any patterns or cause and effect that can be inferred.
She could ask for and detail what the functional, technical, people
management and leadership competencies are, that are needed to be
productive at the various job roles.
For each set of competencies, she could pinpoint specific knowledge,

behavioural, skill and attitudinal indicators that could demonstrate the
presence of the competencies. She could look at current competency
frameworks and enhance them with her inputs.
She could study any 360-degree competency exercises done over the
past.
She could set up a 360-degree feedback exercise across manager and

leader levels to measure the degree of these competencies that they
currently possess.
For other levels in the organization, she could meet them in small,
focused groups of 20 numbers and ask them a set of six to eight
questions to get a pulse of the organization and its productivity.
She could then ask for any other scorecards, indexes or surveys that
provide hints on the health of personnel, processes or results and study
them to get insights and information about the organization.
She could interview key stakeholders and go beyond the surveys and
reports to glean more information that could provide her with further
insights.
From all of these, she can select data that are accurate, credible, reliable,
comprehensive, contextual, original and resonant. Then she will get rich
information which is likely to give her valuable clues about the actual
problem. If she herself is very insightful, she can also catch glimpses of data
that point towards emerging solutions, thus giving valuable clues about the
way forward.
Here, what is actually being done is that reality is pegged, mapped and
measured based on certain criteria that one wants to consider and observe.
Here, one defines what one wants to observe and clarifies methods to
accurately measure, infer and act on insights gathered.
Data are not just static information. Data are the representation of a living
reality. Data on problems help us to map and understand the problem. They
zoom into the problem and the energy of the exercise is problem centric.
Now within every problem, there will be tiny saplings of solutions being
born. Normally, because of the loudness of the data pertaining to the
problem, these small saplings of solutions go unnoticed. Data, when not
noticed by people, do not receive sufficient energy and attention. If we train
our eyes to capture the solutions as they are just beginning to emerge, we can
give them the required attention and energy to enable their quicker
emergence. If we do not build this skill, many small solutions get killed
because no one nurtures them until some of these solutions find their way
through the problem, eventually, over a longer period of time. Hence training
the mind to quickly capture the data of solutions as they are just emerging is a
high order skill of the objective mind. Thus we may call the first aspect
sieving the data to understand the problem, while the second aspect is
sieving the data to glimpse the potential solutions being born. It is very
critical to develop both these aspects at the level of the objective mind.
Once the problem is mapped accurately using the objective mind, it can be
solved using the objective mind, idea force, pure mind or through intuition.
Time Sense
With a sufficiently advanced objective mind, one can master one’s

relationship with time. We shall now explore how to build efficient time
sense by exploring its different components.
Paradigm
Use Time: Time is precious. It is almost as if each midnight we are
handed over 24 hours into our hands. What we do with it is our choice!
We can choose to use it to forward our purpose, vision and goals or we
could choose to do things that hinder the same. We could use time to do
meaningful activities in nourishing ways or use time indulging in
activities that, in the long run, deplete our natural energy. Looking at
time, as ‘something precious to use’ is an important relationship with
time that one can establish. Here we relate to time as something
‘concrete’ and every minute lost is something concretely lost. ‘Use
Time’ is an internal mental filter recommended to have an empowering
relationship with time. The author acknowledges his work with Kichu
Krishnan who gave him the concept and insight of ‘use time’.
Time is Objective and Subjective: When we are doing something that

we love, time seems to fly. When we do not like something, time seems to
take eons to pass. This is the subjective experience of time. Nevertheless
an hour is an hour and in that sense, time is objective. We invite you to
reflect upon the everyday tasks that you do and identify the ones you
really love doing. This indicates to what extent you are living life
enjoying the time you have. When you enjoy the task, you can observe
how objective time gets shifted in experience because of the interest that
you have. So here, one hour is a certain and fixed fact. But 1 hour +
interest = joyful experience – where time seems to fly and we want more
of it. At the same time 1 hour + disinterest = boring experience – where
time seems to go slow and we are just waiting for it to get over. The
takeaway here is that if, each day, we do activities which are of interest
to us, our experience of time will be more engaged and involved. While
in the world of the objective mind data are simply data, how they are
experienced differs based on interest, emotions and other energies
present.
Slow time experience of flow state: This is a high point one can access
when one is involved in work that is interesting and for which one has
great passion. When one is involved in such work often one forgets
oneself, loses oneself into time and accesses a flow state. This state is
possible when we transcend the habit of self-reference and its habitual
internal mental filters. When our attention is united and we are fully
present with interest in the work, a flow experience often results. Here,
work unfolds in its perfect rhythm and state through us. In such a state,
the work and we become one movement. Everyone would have had at
least one experience of this flow state and then it is an art to tap into this
zone more often and consciously at will. This is an experience where we
can positively distort the experience of time. It is almost as if time
freezes or slows down. One is completely present and in a fully aware
state.
Slow time within and fast time dynamism outside: Playing with time
to master it is an important Sadhana for any human who wants to lead a
successful life. It is a great capacity of mastery when one can say that
one would accomplish a work in a particular period of time and actually
complete it in that time! Also in today’s world, the demand is that when
needed we need to act in a quick and swift manner. When we are
agitated or not focused, we can hardly do things swiftly. Actually when
we are centered and quiet within, then we can work dynamically and act
swiftly – all with calm and relaxed inner concentration. So the poise
here that the reader can experiment with is inner stillness and outer
swiftness and dynamism in action.
Prioritize
What actions you focus on expands in your awareness to fill the time
available. In a day, we have a lot of work to do and when we walk around,
our friends, family members, colleagues, bosses are more than happy to
delegate some more work to us. One of the key time management techniques
is to create a list of all our tasks and prioritize them in order of importance
and relevance. Stephen Covey has done seminal work here clarifying that (a)
in our tasks we have a mix of both important and urgent ones and (b) we
should make sure that each day, we slot time for the important tasks that will
enable us in the long-term fulfillment of our goals. Our readers may note that
tasks can also be categorized aligning with the progression of our self,
honouring of our values and utilization of our talents or that of the collective
that we are a part of. This is what we mean by the relevance of the task. We
shall explore in depth in chapter 8, how to find the purpose/values/strengths
of self or the collective. In this chapter, we invite readers to list their daily
tasks and choose those that forward their a) purpose; b) core values; and c)
natural gifts and talents based on their current awareness of purpose, values
and strengths. With sufficient practice, you can also learn to choose those
tasks that will forward your organization’s or institution’s a) purpose, b) core
values and c) unique value proposition. The author acknowledges Peter J.
Reding of ‘Coach for Life’ for giving him this perspective that purpose,
values and natural gifts/talents are important for a human being to honour in
order to lead fulfilled and authentic lives.
Estimate
To gain mastery of the objective mind, it is very important to learn to
estimate time accurately. Let’s take an example. Once a participant in our
workshop said that she wanted to review a proposal. We asked her how long
this would take. She replied that it would take two days. We then asked her
how she proposed to schedule this task into her daily planning. We went into
greater detail and soon realized that by two days, she meant the ‘stretched’
time! She was accounting for the fact that she would start the task but other
work would interfere and soon it would be time to go back home. Putting it
all together, including intrusions and sleep time, she had said it would take 48
hours. We then asked her the key question to estimate time, ‘How long does
the task actually take to complete – just the task alone?’ We again clarified
that it’s not about how long she will take to get the task completed, but rather
it’s about how long does the task itself take to get done. Her eyes lit up with
the recognition of this insight and she immediately amended her reply to two
hours. This is the main idea to remember when we are estimating a task.
Making a habit of doing this before we begin the task, focuses the mind and
enables us to estimate time accurately.
Chunk
Here the objective mind is used to bring in its precision and slice tasks in
order to schedule them into one’s plan for the day. Let us say that we have a
task that has an estimated time of 10 hours. Now this is a big chunk. We will
seldom get 10 hours at a stretch in general, unless we are cut off from the
world in a retreat or holiday space. Most often, if the task is planned as a
huge chunk, each time we see the huge task, we tend to postpone it to when
we have more time or when the deadline stares right in our face and we have
no other option but to go for it. The objective mind can use its precision and
objectification to dissect the big task into small chunks that can be slotted and
scheduled. Then when these smaller chunks of tasks are completed, the ball is
kept moving and the task will slowly gather momentum. For example, if
preparing a project proposal is a task that requires 10 hours, we can ask what
the first few small chunks are. We can then list them down with estimated
time beside it. For example,
Ask Hema for proposal format. (Estimated time: 10 minutes)
Read report inputs from colleague 1 and note key points. (Estimated
time: 60 minutes)
Read report inputs from colleague 2 and note key points. (Estimated
time: 45 minutes)
That’s it. We do not have to list all the sub-components of the large chunk
task. We only have to list the first few steps and ensure that these chunks are
tiny, specific and doable in a short period of time (ideally less than 45–60
minutes). We can plan to do this at a scheduled time of the day and then do
our best to complete these tasks within the estimated time.
Plan
Once we have estimated time for a chunked task, we can then choose and use
time wisely by saying ‘yes’ to activities which are in tune with our priorities.
We can also say ‘no’ to activities, which are out of tune with our priorities.
Each day select 3 to 5 important and relevant activities: Apart from all the
mundane tasks that we have to do, we can select a few important chunked
tasks that we choose to do, that are linked to our long-term goals. We can ask
ourselves if these tasks forward our purpose, honour our core values and
utilize our natural gifts and talents. We can then bring our will to do these
tasks, each day, no matter what.
Monitor progress and adapt resiliently: In life, many things that we need
to do appear on the horizon quite suddenly. It is an art to respond to the new
emergent tasks while ensuring that we complete at least the key things that
we plan each day. The trick is to be agile, adaptable and keep an eye on our
plan several times during the day. It is almost like looking out of the window
of the bus we are traveling in to ensure we are heading towards the
destination we want. Similarly, it would be good to keep looking at our
important and relevant tasks we want to do each day and work our way
towards accomplishing most of them.
As we bring in the best of objective mind in mastering time, we can also

make the journey interesting by bringing some energy from sensory
enjoyment, dynamic energy and emotional connect. We can bring in
enjoyment by celebrating key milestones. We could maintain our drive by
bringing in the propensity to act and move things forward. We can keep
emotional warmth and connect with all the people involved in our work so
that we can enjoy the togetherness as well as accomplish results in time.
Honour Shared Time

The final detail that we explore in time sensing is how to honour shared time
when multiple people are involved in a project and there is one common
project deadline. Here the objective mind can identify tasks that each one
needs to do, which of them are to be done sequentially and which to be done
simultaneously. Sequential tasks are the ones that need completion of
something by one person before the next person can start. Simultaneous is
where people can work in parallel and then they can put together what they
have individually completed. We should first understand the concept of
collective time to optimize it. If five people work 2 hours on a project, the
collective time that goes into it is 10 hours. Or if the same five people come
to meet to discuss something for 2 hours, 10 hours of collective time is spent
on the meeting. The reflection question can then be ‘Did the discussions and
outcome do justice to the collective time spent?’ Normally, people just look at
the 2 hours as 2 hours and do not view it as 10 hours of collective time. To
optimize collective time, someone should ensure that,
The sequential and simultaneous parts of tasks are well synchronized.
Each person plans to complete their tasks slightly ahead of time to give
space for their personal best.
Each person hands over the tasks to others sufficiently before project
timelines so that others have sufficient time and space to offer their
personal best.
Communication
Communication is a vast topic and in this section we explore three key
aspects in the cycle of communication.
Speaking: We can practice to speak precisely – saying exactly what we want

to say. Choosing the right words to communicate is an art. Speaking can be
succinct so that the key message is clear and it can be simply communicated.
Speaking can be immediate and timely so that we can state our viewpoint and
give our feedback at the right time. Sadhana here is to be present to and be
conscious of every word that we utter, write or express, especially with the
right message and to invoke the intended understanding and experience.
Listening: We can listen keenly to the words spoken, picking up all signals
of body language, modulations of voice, changes of skin colour on the face,
etc., to provide us with clues on the other person’s experience. We can listen
beyond words to what is not being said and pick up some clues. Then we can
ask questions to probe deeper and truly understand. We can look for patterns
or common threads that the other person is expressing to grasp the consistent
messages he or she is trying to communicate.
Silence: We can learn to allow brief silences to settle in between our

speaking and listening. From this silence, new perspectives, viewpoints and
thoughts are bound to emerge (from others and from oneself). We can learn
and use the keenness of our observation to detect any new directions to the
dialogue that can emerge through the silence.
Subject Matter Expertise
The finesse of the objective mind is seen when we specialize on some topic
or subject of our interest and know extensively about it. It is almost as if we
dig deep into this area and research so much on the topic that we become a
subject matter expert in that area. Having at least one area where we have
mastery is a great accomplishment for the intelligent human. The experience
of knowledge mastery is not a final ‘be all and end all’ state. Often, the true
master feels much like a beginner. One knows that one is an expert, but
remains in a state of curiosity and wonder, wanting to learn more in that area.
One is willing to learn from anyone younger or older who has some new
knowledge or expertise in that area. One also wants to contribute one’s know-
how to the world in some way so that the larger collective is benefited from
one’s pursuit and discoveries.
Inherent Delights of Objective Mind
We have explored different aspects of the objective mind. Now let us focus
on and explore two key delights of the objective mind that can become more
present in our life and work.
Precision
Usefulness
Precision
Precise data gives a clear and detailed picture of something. Sometimes
people bring precision in the areas of information and knowledge gathering.
But they may miss to bring it into the other areas of their life. We are
however interested in transformation of the whole of life by bringing in the
delights of all parts of being in various areas of life. Please use the following
check list to observe how much of precision is present in some of the areas of
your life:
Home:
a) Is everything in its exact place and you can pick whatever you want
from its right place, the moment you want it?
b) Are all papers and documents segregated accurately and stored in

neatly labeled files and folders? (This is a combination of both
order and precision).
Work:
a) Do you store all relevant data in any form, immediately in its

assigned right place?
b) Do you have zero or minimal clutter at your workspace?
c) Are all documents in your computer sorted precisely and saved in

clearly defined and allocated places?
Communication:
a) Do you speak precisely with accurate and specific details?
b) Do you ask precisely for accurate and specific details?

c) Do you use precise and right words to say what you want to
express?
d) When you want to share information that you have read, do you
know exactly on which note book or paper you have written it, or in
which electronic storage device and document you have keyed it
in?
Exploring from the angle of the ‘word’, we can train ourselves to use words
that are precise, data-based and captures practical information. Whatever we
say must be specific, time bound, measurable and can be verified by anyone
who is qualified. And then we can ensure that the data are practical and
useful to the intended person for the intended purpose. For example, if we tell
someone that Raman is a competent leader – it is just an observation and a
general statement. But we can also list out some examples and some specific
observable behaviours, where Raman had demonstrated competent leadership
in the past. This will help the listener to understand precisely about Raman’s
competency.
Usefulness
The information that you have or share – how useful and practical is it to you
or another person? Each part of the mind has its important role to play, and if
they work in tandem, they provide the required light of the mind. The Pure
Mind can come up with noble ideals and ideas. The Idea Force can creatively
visualize new possibilities and ways of doing things to forward these ideals
and ideas. However, to bring the idea or ideal into the world, we need to
ensure that it is applicable, useful and practical for living, work and action.
Simple questions can help to bring into focus ‘usefulness’. Some examples
are:
How do we break this complex process into simple, doable steps?
How do we apply and implement this idea or innovation in life and

work?
What specific benefits will this idea give for our life?
What difficulties will we encounter when we implement this idea and

apply it in life? How can we overcome them?
These questions are purely indicative. The idea is to keep our words,
communication and data simple, helpful and practical. The more useful and
practical the data, the more they will be utilized and will be beneficial. The
more useful and practical our communication, the more it will be used and
shared by and with others.
Creating Reality Using Objective Mind
The data consciously focused upon and the word consciously formed create
reality. We wish to summarize and add more depth to this understanding that
would, ideally, have emerged by now as you have been reading this chapter.
Word
What word we choose to utter or express consciously creates the quality
of our actions and reality. Every word we consciously utter reinforces
the intent and energy behind it and thus strengthens its reality.
A good deal of Sadhana needs to be done by any practitioner to arrive at

a point where they can consciously create the reality they want. The first
prerequisite is that we are actually aware of our word and can discern
its contents and quality of consciousness before the word is uttered. The
second prerequisite is that we have the capacity to choose whether or
not to allow the word to go through our mouth, writing or
communications. We need to have total control over our words. It is
only on the strength of these two prerequisites that the creative capacity
of the word can be fully developed. How do we develop such
discernment and control over the word? There are no shortcuts to this
and this requires sincere aspiration and dedicated practice. A good
practice is to identify and become ‘one’ with our word. Then every word
becomes a conscious offering and outpouring into the world. And every
word we listen to or read can be consciously considered and taken in or
ignored according to its content and quality of consciousness. The goal
would be to say what we want to say with the exact words and ensure
that the right message is transmitted to the listener with the right energy
and quality.
At a later point when we are stablizing in the deeper self, we can let go
of our control of the word. We can allow our intuitive knowing and
connection to move our word to express itself spontaneously, without
any preparation or thinking.
Data
In today’s world, data and information are aplenty. What we choose to
share with the world through our work, social media, etc., decides the
world’s perception of who we are, what we do and what is the kind of
life and work we are engaged with in the world.
There is an information explosion afoot. We need not know everything.

When information is needed, we need to hold the right mental filters and
key word strings or questions so that we can source the right information
and knowledge from the Universal Mind (composed of the world of
Internet, people and the knowledge being poured in and generated every
second). To refresh, mental filters are our internal viewpoints, opinions,
beliefs and knowledge that we already know and hold. Key words are
key strings that we use on the Internet or questions that we ask experts
to gain knowledge. Our inner knowing, perception, beliefs, search
criteria and questions need to be in resonant sync for us to focus and
observe the ‘right’ section of reality and gather relevant knowledge.
We invite you to do an exercise every day. Identify a topic of interest and

find out something new and advanced that is emerging in that field. Let’s call
this ‘new knowledge’. Then ask yourself the following questions:
‘Is my mental filter – belief, perception, known information and

convictions I am holding on – bigger, wider or richer than the ‘new
knowledge’?’ If not, you may need to widen and enhance your mental
filters so that you can detect this new knowledge that may emerge in the
future. When you expand your mental filter, actually you are attracting
and drawing newer and even more complex pieces of information to
you.
‘Are the predominant questions I am asking about the topic concerned

about the old knowledge that I already have? Or are the questions
concerned about the new areas of knowledge that are emerging?’ It is
very important to recognize the power of questions. As we seek (through
questions), so we see (observe). As we see, so we know (gain
knowledge). As we know, so we create (our reality).
‘Am I really being so observant? Do I keep collecting tiny bits of

emergent breakthrough knowledge about the topic of my interest? Am I
in a state of wonderment and curiosity to know more?’
These three practices can enable you to engage with new data that would
likely be part of a futuristic realm of knowledge or solution.
Solution Centric
When we see, focus and zoom into the problems, we understand the
problem well. When we see, focus and zoom into the solution that is
there in its ‘sapling stage’, we understand the solution well. We want to
catch solution-indicating data as they ‘sprout’. We need to observe,
measure and monitor this data, thus creating the existence and reality of
the solution quicker. We need to remember the principle that ‘What we
focus on expands more in our awareness’.
Refocusing Time Line: Past to Present
We can see any data that we want to in a situation. Hence, we want to
see those data points that will enable us to evolve. We need to see them
objectively. This is very pivotal. What we want to observe is not feel-
good stuff but real data, facts and competencies. And we want to see the
data that move us forward in creating desired solutions. We have seen an
excellent methodology for this in Peter J Reding’s method of coaching
based on the Fulfillment Coaching Model (FCM)™. He helps people
discover their life purpose, core values, natural gifts and talents. Then he
helps them to zoom into their past and look for instances where they
lived their life purpose, honoured their values and utilized their natural
gifts and talents. Then he asks them to look for times in the present
where one can do the same more. Suddenly these data points light up
from one’s past and present and get stronger in one’s awareness. Now
let us say that so far, we lived with purpose some 60% of time and
deviated 40% of time. Focusing on data where we did not live up to a
purpose creates a certain reality and a set of connections inside our head.
When we focus on data where we lived up to our purpose, this data
focus lights up a different experience and connection within us. We
create our reality as a reflection of the data points that are flashing
and focused within our mind across our timeline of past to present.
We invite you to experiment with focusing on objective data in both the ways
– a) focusing more on times when you lived your purpose, values and natural
strengths, and b) focusing more on times when you failed to do that. Discover
for yourself which focus helps you to create an authentic, fulfilling and happy
future.
The important thing to remember is that we create the facts and the reality out
there. Yes, there is a reality of facts present in the moment, perhaps the most
dominant one. We can choose to abide by it alone. Or we can create a
different reality, which is far more nourishing than what we have today.
These facts would emerge only if we take the road less traveled. We need to
be clear what the facts are that would represent the new creative reality and
we need to keep looking for them. We need to go beyond positive thinking or
negative thinking and just observe new facts as they become present at
different times. This method will enable us to use the objective mind to create
new desired reality.
Word as an Offering to Intuition
Some books are based on higher and deeper consciousness and philosophy.
We normally read such works with our superficial analytical mind which
analyses what we are reading with reference to what is known. A better inner
posture would be to step back from this superficial mind and concentrate and
connect to the words and also the conscious energy beneath the words.
Keeping our mind open and vast, we can contemplate on the words, allowing
the consciousness within them to mould and transform us. If we thus learn to
become present in concentration, the conscious energy behind the word will
allow its Force and Truth to make an imprint in our mind, heart and action.
Then we can evolve through words by a process of ‘osmosis of
consciousness’. We can learn to allow a direct influence of the Force and
Truth beneath the word to touch our heart and mind. This Sadhana when
done daily will transform our inner nature. We need to use our discrimination
or resonance to choose books based on higher and deeper consciousness to do
this practice.
A deeper practice is to learn to receive words that carry a higher intuition

and revelation. The practice is to concentrate on a problem, topic or area of
interest and wait upon it, placing our full attention on it. Immediately the
surface thoughts and known data flash through our mind. We can learn not to
be moved by any of them and just wait in concentrated aspiration to see a
deeper truth, insight, understanding, direction or solution. Sooner or later, we
will suddenly get a word or set of words that give a glimpse of intuitive
knowing. Many people get excited when this starts and allow their vital
desire to take over like, ‘Ah, I am receiving something great’ or ‘I should
remember this’ or ‘Finally, it is happening’ or ‘How will I apply this in life?’
All such excitement cuts the flow of intuition and we will quickly return to
our surface thinking. The best practice would be to quietly receive the flow of
words and passively jot them down. Any thinking can be done after the full
reception of the intuition.
What steals into our awareness from higher and deeper consciousness can be
made clear, concrete and relatable by precisely objectifying it using the
faculty of objective mind.
When an intuition comes in, we can wait upon it till it reveals the exact
word that objectifies the intuition in concrete terms so as to understand
and communicate.
Let us say we have a deeper aspiration to live a life in a particular

manner. We have that urge burning within us. We can use the objective
mind to make this deeper aspiration concrete by putting it down into
exact words. When the deeper aspiration is made precise, it helps the
mind to direct its attention towards it. It also becomes easier to
communicate the same to others.
Learn further by teaching and exploring the following topics with someone:
Conscious Communication
Talk about any topic with someone and make a deliberate attempt to
keep your words conscious.
Discuss with the other person how you can communicate in a manner
where the intent, energy/emotion and words used are in perfect sync.
Fixed Viewpoints/Mental Filters
What are some viewpoints or past knowledge that each of you have
become attached to? Share this by reflecting on how you hold
knowledge about yourself, a subject you love, about your work and
about the work of a family member or friend.
Examine the quality of your ‘mental filters’ and from the insights of this
chapter, discuss how you can widen and enrich your ‘mental filters’ to
see the new emergent data or knowledge in your field of interest.
Developing the Objective Mind
Discuss to what degree the following qualities are present when you
process or share data a) accuracy; b) credibility; c) reliability; d)
comprehensiveness; e) context; f) originality and g) resonance.
Discuss the four applications of objective mind and how they are
currently developed for each of you using the insights of the chapter, a)
Problem Mapping; b) Time Sensing; c) Communication and d) Subject
Matter expertise on a field of interest. Discuss how each of you can go
to your next level of mastery in these areas.
Creating Reality
Discuss what kind of reality you are creating through your word and
data focus.
To what degree is there sync between your mental filters and key words
or questions when you are seeking knowledge? Discuss how to bring in
more sync between your inner data, questions and outer knowledge you
are focusing on.
Delights of Precision and Usefulness
Discuss how much of precision and usefulness is present in your

objective mind and how to enhance it.
Discuss how you can bring greater specificity, sharpness and relevance
in your data observation, gathering and drawing insights methodology.
Opening to Intuition
Discuss how you can use word as a means to open to intuition.

Reflection
When you read through this chapter, how much of your own word and
known information/data processing you became aware of?
Which of your strengths have you observed in your objective mind?
In what aspects of your communication do you aspire for more

development?
How much objectification, precision and usefulness are present in the

way you think, analyze, read, write and learn?
Are you constantly updating your inner maps – perceptions and opinions
to reflect new and emergent knowledge you are gathering in your field
of interest?
Have you mastered your capacity to sharpen your focus on what you are
seeking to know, and gather data/information from the external world in
relation to your sharp internal focus and questions?
Have you mastered your capacity to feed into the Universal Mind
information you have concretized through the brilliance of your
objective mind?
Rooted in the present, back facing the past, eyeing the future, and
imagining in an impersonal way how to bring the future ideals into the
present – this describes the Idea Force proper. A purified Objective Mind is
necessary before one can explore the creativity, imagination, new vision and
innovation of the Idea Force.
Overview of Three Parts of Mind
Before we begin this chapter on Idea Force, let us first quickly revisit the
three parts of the mind. This will enable you to distinctly understand, become
aware of and utilize each part of your mind for their intended purpose.
Function of the Mind
The function of the Mind is to:
Understand, organize and express information and data points

about reality. It can also define precisely the mental filters, questions
and search criteria that will get us the information we want in the most
exact, methodical and timely way. This is the role of the Objective
Mind. Reflect how this part of the mind functions for you.
Make creative changes to a reality in our mind, to explore and examine

options ahead, to create new mental pathways, to think differently, to
transform a situation to its ideal state in our thoughts, to control the
mind and to ensure that its imagination/thought formations are aligned
to the central governing purpose or ideal of our life. This is the role of
Idea Force. Reflect how this part of the mind functions for you.
Contemplate and reflect to understand the concepts, principles,

ideologies, purpose and values of knowledge both in its simplicity and
in depth. Extract the ‘crux’ and the ‘core essence’ of the concepts,
principles, ideologies, purpose and values and combine them together
cohesively to arrive at the central governing principle, which is the
fundamental truth within. Clarify the relationship of each concept,
principle, ideology, purpose and value with the central governing
principle and ensure that the mind is organized in a unified way around
it. This faculty is the Pure Mind. Reflect how this part of the mind
functions for you.
The true Intuitive Knowing and direct ‘Oneness’ with Wisdom is

beyond the mind. We need to learn to be open to quietness and silence in
the mind to be able to receive intuitive in-flows. This intuition can then
illuminate and guide all other parts of the mind.
Nature of Thoughts
Just as the parts of the mind have different functions, we also have different
kinds of thoughts in the mind. Understanding and knowing these enable us to
utilize and master each part of our mind.
Our thinking is made up of fixed thoughts, fluid thoughts and centered

thought clusters.
Fixed thoughts are the mental filters, viewpoints, opinions, data,

information, etc., which we explored in the Objective Mind chapter.
Fluid thoughts are thoughts that a) change from what they are now, to
something better and transformative; or b) move towards manifestation
or realization of the ideal.
Each fluid thought formation can be moved by desire, energy or

emotion and thus they become vital imaginations.
Each fluid thought formation can bear the imprint of a concept or

an ideal and seek its implementation or manifestation. They then
become purposeful and novel imaginations, i.e., the Idea Force
which we shall explore in this chapter.
There is also a meta-role of the mind to form thought clusters as each

fluid and fixed thought formations can point to many directions and hold
diverse information. The mind has to hold these together in a unified and
non-contradictory manner to be cohesive.
This is the point where the mind steps back and looks at all these
thought formations, grasps the core essence behind each thought
formation and clusters together those thought formations that have
a similar core essence.
This part of the mind is the Pure Mind, and we will explore this in
the eighth chapter.
The Pure Mind steps back farther to synthesize the central essence
that holds the kernel of all the different core essences in the mind.
This central essence then becomes the guiding light for the whole
of mind and life/work. This central guiding light becomes the
source of inspiration for the idea force to imagine creative
formations in the mind, to enable the manifestation of the central
idea or inspiration. The Objective Mind then becomes an
instrument to work out the specific process to manifest the idea, to
measure milestones that indicate whether the idea is efficiently and
optimally being manifested and also to figure out the right and
precise words to communicate the idea.
Contents of the Mind
When we become aware of our mind, we can become aware of our concepts,
imagination, data and words. We invite the reader to consider the following
distinctions carefully, so that they can be assimilated well. The intentional
repetition of some details is to ensure that these get embedded in your
understanding of the three parts of the mind.
Concept
Concepts are the essence, principle, idea, ideology or fundamental
nature of something culled out in the mind.
Core concepts are the core essence behind all essences, key principle
behind all principles, underlying idea behind all ideas and common
ideology behind all ideologies considered.
A core concept once extracted and left static, reduces to a mere data
point. In order to remain and serve as one, a core concept must be
capable of evolving continually.
The evolving nature of a core concept is its ability to deepen and

widen continuously to hold various dimensions of the truth – even
paradoxical ones in a ‘Centered’, ‘Inclusive’ and ‘Aligned’ way.
A narrow mind is one that can toy only with a few narrow concepts. In
the beginning, the mind is a crowded place where many concepts lie
around in a half-assimilated and contradictory manner.
A wide mind can accept and consider numerous concepts, even the most
contradictory ones, to understand and extract the quintessence of each
concept. So, this part of the mind (Pure Mind) distils the core concept
that is universal and honours the ‘truth’ of all the different contradictory
concepts. This cannot be done just once. It is an ongoing activity. The
essence of every new concept has to be examined against the core
concept. If the essence is present within the core concept, it is fine. If
not, the core concept should widen and become enriched to hold the new
essence within it. This is the process of mental widening.
The purpose of the pure mind is to create a mind that is cohesive, where
thought formations do not contradict each other. To enable this, the core
concepts behind all the concepts are synthesized in order to fashion the
central concept – the governing light of the mind. This is done in a
continual manner to ensure that the central concept holds the higher and
vaster truth that honours, is greater than, relates to and includes all the
individual truths of the diverse core concepts. In this way, mental noise
is minimized and the mind slowly starts to operate as a cohesive whole.
This is the process of mental synthesis, creating alignment between the
thought formations and the evolving central concept of the pure mind.
People often misunderstand the pure mind to be dry, abstract and often
boring. When a concept becomes static, it is reduced to mere words or
theoretical statements and repeated in a half-understood, half-conscious
manner. Naturally the concept then seems dry, abstract and boring.
However, the actual nature of a concept is that a) it holds the kernel, the
essence and thus a part of the truth; b) if it is the core or central concept,
it holds a higher and vaster truth that includes within it the essence of all
the other truths considered; c) it evolves continually through mental
synthesis and d) every concept and core/central concept refers to a true
experience with a specific quality in their corresponding realm of
experience. This realm of experience is higher than the concept itself.
We list some of the core concepts and the reader can tune into the state
of the underlying experience to grasp the essence of the living qualities
behind the concepts – freedom, authenticity, equality, unity, alignment,
harmony, etc. If this is the nature of the concept, how can it be dry,
abstract or boring for someone who truly experiences this domain? In
truth, the domain of concept is living, evolving and has a felt
qualitative experience behind it.
Imagination
By imagination, here we refer to a novel mental formation.
By novel we mean something different, new, fresh and innovative.
This is a creative process of the mind which can see beyond what is
already known and established. It can create new combinations,
possibilities and potentials in the mind. Without this, there would be
very little progress.
Since the nature of the creative force of the mind is dynamic it can be
driven by desires, emotions or the dynamism of power. When these
currents are strong, the faculty of imagination can often be held hostage
for the vested interests of desire, emotions and energy. The guiding light
and will of the mind is imprinted, tainted and often clouded by the
agenda of desires, emotions or dynamic energy.
A good degree of purification of our vital life-energy is always needed

and this topic was covered in chapters 3, 4 and 5 of this book.
We also need a good degree of thought control. When our thought

moves in imagination – seeing something that is new or creating a new
reality in the mind, we need to remember that we are making a mental
formation. Every mental formation is real at the thought level. It
continues to exist even after our mind has ‘forgotten’ it. It then
circulates within us, sometimes resurfacing in our dreams, and also
influences those who are receptive to it. These thought formations will
be alive till they are realized and manifested. They seek manifestation in
one’s own mind or even in the minds of others who are receptive to it.
Till the thought formation expresses itself in some form through some
person, it lives and persists. Hence, it is essential that we be aware of the
thought formations we imagine into existence and need to develop a
good degree of control over it. At the same time, we need to allow it to
flow fluidly, for the idea force to play its role fully and also benefit us.
As thought begins to move forming imaginations, we can check if it is

being driven by desire, emotion or power. If these provide the impetus
for the imagination, there will always be a personal reference point or
beneficiary for this imagination. This can be someone close to us or
ourselves. There is nothing inherently right or wrong with this but such
imagination is driven purely by the vital force. It is desirable that we
experience imagination in its own domain and then choose how we want
to utilize its power. The moment we realize that the imagination is being
swayed by the motives of personal desire, we can learn to will the mind
to stop those thought vibrations and make the thought still. The moment
the thought is rendered still, it loses its power to manifest. Then we can
shift our attention so as to make a purposeful formation which is beyond
personalities and imagines a new solution in an impersonal way aligned
to ideals and principles.
The capacity for thought control paves the way for the ability to make
use of the imagination in a purposeful, harmonious, aligned and
impersonal way.
Purposeful imagination is a faculty of creating something new, noble and

congruent to our core concepts/ideals in our mind.
Purposeful imagination bases itself on the conscious concept, which is

the part of the mind that extracts the essential purpose, value, principle,
ideal or ideology. This concept, as mentioned earlier, becomes the
governing light of the mind. The imagination creates new possibilities or
scenarios in the mind that can manifest the core concept and embody its
essence in life and work. The true power of idea force is to center itself
on an idea/concept and come up with hundred-fold imaginations and
visualizations to manifest it. This is almost as if, from the one center,
imaginations spring forth pointing to and creating potentials before they
become present in reality.
Purposeful imagination is dynamic. As the concepts evolve, new mental

formations can be imagined about how to manifest these concepts in
life.
The Pure Mind and Idea Force perform two opposite and
complementary movements. The pure mind accepts all the
contradictions as it is meant to keep the mind wide enough to consider
all contradictory viewpoints and draws the concepts from them to weave
a central concept that can hold the contents of the mind cohesively. The
idea force is like a mental enforcer and instrument of manifestation. To
enable purposeful manifestation, it permits only those thought
formations that are aligned to the central concept to enter its
imagination. It is selective as it knows that what is imagined will
manifest in reality either in the imaginer or in someone else who is
receptive to the idea. If the thought is not aligned to the central concept,
the idea force refuses to give it its sanction to visualize it as an
imagination in the mind in any form.
An example
Let us explore this relationship of the Pure Mind and the Idea Force with an
example. Let us say we have five thoughts in our mind: ‘Being value-
centered is important to the experience of fulfilment in my life’, ‘A value-
centered life is tough in today’s world’, ‘I am not clear about my values’, ‘I
want to live a value-centered life’ and ‘I will be conscientious and smart as
needed and be flexible about my values’.
First of all, to have five different thoughts like this on one subject in our mind
in a focused and conscious manner is in itself a great accomplishment! In
general, our mind wanders and moves from one topic to another. Let’s apply
the Pure Mind to this. The concept of each of the thoughts can be identified
as ‘value-centered living’. The qualitative aspects of the thoughts on ‘value-
centered living’ appears to be ‘fulfilment’ and ‘success seeking’. There seems
to be a struggle building up between these two qualities, arising from many
viewpoints of the mind and influences from vital life-energy. Now for
cohesive decision making, it is important to know which is the more
important – fulfilment or success? Clearly fulfilment is more centered on
principles or ideology. Success seeking is linked more with the vital energy.
If our pure mind is strong, we will choose fulfilment as the principal quality.
We can thus define the core principle or concept as – value-centered living
towards a fulfilled life. Here fulfilment refers to deeper satisfaction.
Now let us zoom into these thoughts from the perspective of the Idea Force:
‘Being value-centered is important to the experience of fulfilment in my life’:
Here the thought has the stamp of the core concept of ‘value-centered’ and
‘fulfilment’. This is good. However, it has yet not moved into creative
imagination of how this can be made possible in reality. Thus, it runs the risk
of becoming an opinion or simply, a nice thought.
‘A value-centered life is tough in today’s world’: This thought formation

could arise from a past experience where life was made difficult by being
value-centered. Also, there could be stories and imagined scenarios being
created in the mind, ‘What if…’, ‘What if not…’, etc. This could be related to
the comfort-seeking nature of the senses and a part of the vital life-force that
wants to take the easy way out. If one’s core essential concept is fulfilment,
these imaginary formations can be halted and the thought can be frozen. Now
the reader can note that without the clarity that the core principle is
‘fulfilment’, this imagination will often be allowed to fashion and complete
its formation. This, in turn, will affect the quality of our life and the choices
made then may not serve the ‘fulfilment’ value of the individual.
‘I am not clear about my values’, ‘I want to live a value-centered life’ and ‘I

will be conscientious and smart as needed and be flexible about my values ’:
Let us examine these three thoughts together. Behind these thoughts there
could be the urge of an aspiration to get more clarity, aspiration to live life
according to the core principle, some fear/anxiety and the desire for quicker
success through compromises. The idea force can use its sanctioning power
to move those thought formations that are aligned to the core concept of
‘value-centered living’ and ‘fulfilment’ and make still or reject those thought
formations that are fed by ‘fear’, ‘anxiety’, ‘desire for compromised quicker
success’, etc. And if a value or ideal is not clear, it can reach back to the pure
mind for further clarity.
We could also create new and novel thought formations that are aligned to
the core concept of ‘value-based living’ and ‘fulfilment’. Let’s also bring in
the secondary quality of success as we aspire to live a value-centered life.
Let’s see an example of how an Idea Force formation can be made. We could
ask the following question and decide to make a certain number of new
thought formations through our imagination: ‘What would life look like if
value-centered living was present in every area of my life – a new reality
where being value-centered gives both fulfilment and success?’ We can make
these imaginations in many areas of our life. The trick is to imagine making
purposeful changes in our life that would allow our values to be honoured
and shining forth through our actions, words and behaviour – all the while
enabling us to be highly successful in what we are doing. It is almost like
mentally rehearsing the various ways this can be made possible. When every
imaginary formation is made consciously and purposefully, it creates a new
mental formation for a new possibility. Once these creative Idea Force
formations are done, we can let go of them. Letting go is important as
otherwise, we may hold on to them too tightly and convert them into fixed
thoughts or our own anxiety may interfere in the purity and manifestation of
the image formations.
Word, Data
Word and data can enhance the Idea Force. When we create conscious and
purposeful formations of imaginations, we can express them using precise
words in our communication. These words make it tangible and clear for
others, and ourselves, what we really want to manifest. A good idea
formation is essentially a new creation. Gathering data to observe when and
how the new creation becomes present in reality adds the dimension of
objectivity to creativity. By the very effort attached to looking for facts
around new creation, we give it focus and attention and create a more
receptive environment for the idea formation to be manifested.
Idea Force – Quick Pointers
As you read each point, become aware of the faculty of your imagination and
examine to what extent you are able to embody the finesse of the Idea Force
in your life and work.
To make progress, imagination should always be ahead of our life

and our reality.
We imagine what we want to be and make a conscious novel

formation.
We can then let go of the novel formation. Then reality unfolds by

itself as we have prepared the new ground in our mind and made it
fertile through our imagination.
We can develop ‘long vision’ to enable us to imagine the possibilities

that exist beyond chaos and the current phase.
We can learn to hold the ‘long vision’ imaginings that we see within
our mind and heart. Thus, we can nurture the possibility/potential and
make it a reality.
Imagination opens up new pathways for manifestation.
Imagination has no rules and boundaries.
Imagination is where the mind frees itself from what is known,

explores the unknown to make a new possibility or combination, and
thus creates a conscious new mental formation.
Every thought formed lives till it is realized, manifested or

expressed in some way and thus the new creative formation has
power.
The capacity to make a clear, new and purposeful image formation
that is not yet manifested in the world is innovation in the mind.
When we can make a mental formation, and see it ahead in our mind,
we can believe and thus manifest it in the reality of our life.
Purposeful imagination is applying the highest truths and concepts to

visualize the transformation of any situation, by the living presence of
the concept or truth.
Making a creative mental formation, a prototype of what we are

seeking to create in life and work is very important to use the power
of idea force. This helps in the manifestation and implementation of
the highest and most noble idea/ideals.
What is conceived in the mind can then be expressed through the

objective mind and given life through emotions, energy and
enjoyment and turned into a physical reality.
The true power of the imagination is accessed when it is made as an

impersonal formation. The exploration can be, ‘What will be the most
ideal solution/greatest possibility/best strategy that can emerge to
fulfill the ideal/idea?’ rather than ‘What is interesting to me or
others?’
Creating an Empowering Timeline
Let us now explore experientially how the Idea Force can be used to create an
empowering and magnificent timeline within our mind. We will see shortly
what a timeline is and how to transform it. But, first let us examine the kind
of stories we constantly weave in our mind.
Stories woven in the Mind
When we begin to think about something, we often start with facts about
what has happened in life and is remembered by us, with reference to this
‘something’. And within no time, whether we are aware or not, our mind
starts weaving a story around the facts and events. Our imagination kicks in,
stories are formed around earlier stories and, new scenarios are cooked up in
our head. If the reader is observant, it can be noted that it is when they are not
focusing or concentrating on something that these stories and imagination
take off and often, go on and on. New scenarios are considered in the head
and sometimes our actions are based on our imaginations rather than reality!
Since the imagination has a reality of its own, it influences our thinking and
decisions.
A good question to reflect on regarding any story or imagination that is being

formed within us is, ‘Does it forward our fundamental purpose, value,
concept, idea or ideology?’ ‘Does it forward our fullest potential and the
noblest of our intents?’ If so, we can allow the imagination to form. If not, we
need to have enough control to not complete the imagination in our mind – to
stop it the moment we recognize that it is heading in a different direction.
Let us take an example. Vindhya is a student and she has got the clarity that
she really wants to be a dancer in her life. She wants to get into fashion
designing promoting environmental friendly materials and designs while
pursuing a career as a dancer. When she arrived at this decision, she shared
this with her parents and she was surprised by their reaction. Her father said
that he expected her to support him in his food and beverages business. Her
mother felt that it would be better if she continued her career in finance and
economics in which she excels academically. After a long discussion with
them, Vindhya noticed that many scenarios and imaginations were running in
her head.
Some of these imaginations were,

About her life as a dancer and fashion designer.
That her father was upset vis-à-vis she having to follow in his footsteps
to please him or defying him to pursue her own path.
That she was resisting her mom and saying that her mom does not know
anything.
That her mother getting unwell because of her and consequently she
does what her mother wants her to do.
And so on and so forth.
Now all these imagination formations are real enough in the mind and
combat with each other. What mental noise! For her own peace of mind, she
can learn to pause the vibrations and movements of these imaginations and
not complete their formations.
The key point is that none of these imaginations are driven by the true idea
force.
Let’s reinforce the essence of the Idea Force to apply to this example:
The imagination of idea force a) goes beyond the known, b) leans

towards the ideal and c) visualizes several possibilities that do not exist
in reality yet.
The idea force makes up all these imaginations and lets go of them.
For the imagination to be an idea force and not reduce to mere desire
imaginations, it should emerge from a center. Vital imaginations have
no center and keep popping up based on vital undercurrents. Idea force
imagination always comes from a center. The center is the ideal, core
value, principle or purpose, and the idea force creates hundreds or
thousands of imaginations as possible ways of manifesting it. This
creates the ‘new’ in the mind which can then trickle into reality.
For the imagination to be one that is driven by the idea force, tinges of
self-reference should be transcended. The imagination should be
impersonal regarding what will benefit the situation, solution and idea.
Once such imaginations are formed well and released, they have
manifestation power and will get realized through the one who imagines
or anyone else who is a good receptor and implementer of ideas.
Some pointers for Vindhya to imagine the Idea Force way are:
What is the ideal that connects dance, fashion designing and

environmental awareness? One answer could be aesthetic movements
and sustainable designs. A more refined answer could be ‘Creative and
Sustainable Expressions’.
Visualize new business and work options through which the core ideal –
Creative and Sustainable Expressions, can be manifested. Some
examples could be (that can actually be visualized in the mind):
1 Dance dramas based on socially relevant themes
2 Sustainable architecture that symbolizes nature’s rhythms
3 Ethnic and organic clothes designing
4 Conducting theatre arts workshops in natural surroundings
Let go of all visualizations.
Every day visualize a new possibility of how ‘Creative and Sustainable

Expressions’ can be manifested that day in action and what career option
can help best in manifesting this. Let go of this imagination, after
forming it clearly.
When thoughts of how one can do it or about the reactions of others

emerge, stay centered on the core ideal of ‘Creative and Sustainable
Expressions’, without moving one’s attention from this center.
Ensure that all imaginations are impersonal – formed solely as a way to
express the core ideal without dwelling on personal capacity.
Offer Idea Force imaginations to the One Divine Will that governs the
existence of the universe.
Wait and see what emerges naturally!
We invite the reader to take some situation in their life and become aware of
what imaginations exist here. Do check if these are true idea force
imaginations. Using the essence of idea force and the earlier example, create
many idea force imaginations for the central ideal aspired in the situation.
Picture of timeline in the Mind
In our head, we carry our past, present and imagined future. Among the
various events that actually happened, some are remembered, some are
forgotten and some are imagined, constructed and re-constructed. Among
what is imagined, some are aligned to our core purpose and some derail us
from what we really want to stand for in our life. All these flash through our
mind and create a kind of a visual timeline of our past, present and imagined
future. Now our personal timeline paints an internal picture about our life and
projects a story about it. This is a very large visual formation in our mind
composed of many small sub-formations.
We often create our lives to mirror the timeline in our mind, whether we are
aware of it or not. This mental timeline is a kind of a mind screen or
backdrop against which we examine our various thoughts. This timeline is a
story we tell about our life based upon the life events that we focus on and the
imaginations that we add to it. We invite you to recognize your timeline and
write down what kind of imagined stories and metaphors are being formed in
your timeline about your life. Examples of stories/metaphors are ‘A warrior’s
journey’, ‘A grand loser’, ‘A life of depth and struggle, far ahead of its time’,
‘Serving others through self-sacrifice’, ‘Born to Win’, ‘A hero whose name is
unknown to the world’, ‘A visionary who is transforming the world’, etc.
A good question to ask from a perspective of Idea Force is, ‘Does this
story/metaphor we make up in our timeline forward our fundamental
purpose, value or concept?’ If it does, it is good to maintain the same
timeline. If not, we need to pause the current timeline story and create a new
timeline story that is more aligned to what we really want to stand for and
create. Most of our life is created as a reflection of our timeline. We
underestimate its power and potential! If simple imagination formations have
the power to manifest, we need to reflect what power this large formation of
the timeline will have on the life we create. The power of the Idea Force is to
release the hold our past has on us and imagine a future that we want to
create – a future that is closer to our ideal and potential. Re-imagining our
timeline in tune with our ideal and fundamental purpose gives us a way of
utilizing the power of our Idea Force.
Here we share a simple way to recreate the story of our timeline – to be more
empowering, inspiring and aligned to the purpose we want to fulfill. We
invite you to follow this process for your own timeline of your past, present
and future. The author is grateful to Richard McHugh from whom he learned
the basic principles of timeline, which are part of the tools of Neuro-
Linguistic Programming.
1 Imagine that there is a line in front of your ‘inner eye’ that extends from
your left to your right. The portions of the line to the left represent your
past, in front represent your present and to the right represent your
future.
2 Clarify the core purpose, vision or value of your life that you stand for,
currently. You can take this as your central reference. Create an image
or symbol for your central reference and place it in the ‘present’ point on
your timeline. Actually visualize this. It is better if the image is a tiny
symbolic one. Relate to the image or symbol as a living entity. Relate to
it as something that unfolds your vision and purpose for you. For
example, Vindhya’s purpose and vision is to bring forth ‘Creative and
Sustainable Expressions’. She can now visualize and create a symbol or
image to represent this. Let us say that the image she decides is a ‘tiny
glowing flame’. Now in your mind’s visualization when you refer to the
present, you will be thinking of some key situations happening ‘now’.
This ‘now’ can be this moment, a few hours or for some even a few days
of the recent past. These will be images and memories. Within this
‘now’ consciously insert your central reference symbol. So in Vindhya’s
case she will visualize that a tiny flame is present, along with the other
images that represent her present life.
3 Now glance through your past from childhood to ‘now’. Identify where
all you have stood for and demonstrated your central vision, purpose or
value – in Vindhya’s case, ‘Creative and Sustainable expression’. As
you identify each event, add the symbol you have created to the
memory. Actually see your core reference symbol along with other
memories representing the events. So Vindhya will now see an image of
tiny flame, placed into several key events of her life representing the
fulfilment of her vision, purpose and values at those times.
4 Now imagine that your symbol image is present far into your future and
imagine that there are many pathways leading to it. Vindhya can
imagine a tiny glowing flame in the far horizon and several new
pathways leading towards it.
We invite you to experiment with this process for your own timeline. What is
your experience?
Now if the symbolic image is meaningful and powerful, it is a transformative

experience. For example, if Vindhya imagines that the flame, apart from
representing an aspiration for a creative and sustainable expression, also
represents an offering of her work to the Divine, then the symbolism becomes
even more powerful.
If we do this process regularly, we will create a very empowering and

inspiring visual timeline in our mind. When well formed, this has such great
power that it manifests as the overall qualitative experience present in our life
and work.
Imagining a ‘Non-vital’ Creative Image
Just as the substance of the Objective Mind is data and word, the Idea Force
is made up of image formations. This may be a new faculty of the mind for
many people as we usually use words and information to communicate with
each other. Imagine a future where there are individuals who can
communicate far more creatively and precisely using image formations
instead of large amounts of copious texts. Even now such experiments and
projects are taking birth and thriving. The images used in these chapters are
good examples. After writing about 20–30 pages of text in a word document
for a chapter, we have worked with an expert in creative visualization to
create an image, which condenses thousands of words into a single image
formation. One image can be created to represent a hundred or a thousand
words. One or a few images can be created to represent one idea or ideal.
Another good example for this is the timeline image, where a picture or
symbol is used to represent purpose, vision and values lived across one’s life.
In this section, we shall explore the art of creating idea force images in its
purest form.
Idea Force is often like the caterpillar which dreams of being a butterfly.
There is no evidence yet for the butterfly but the caterpillar visualizes it
within. Often when the caterpillar ‘sees’ the butterfly, the vital desires,
energy and emotions rush in. The vital forces project their agenda into the
vision and we soon get a vital-vision, which is not the true Idea Force. We
will first explore the path of purification to release the hold that the vital life-
forces have on the portal of our imagination. Then we will explore the art of
making impersonal image formations.
Purification: Freeing thought-image formations from
enmeshment of vital life-forces
The imaginations we have in our mind can be broadly classified as Vital
Imaginations, Mental Imaginations and Direct Visions. Vital Imaginations
are sensational-, energy- or emotion-driven images. We have studied
sensational imaginations in the Sensory Enjoyment chapter. This is where the
vibration of ‘desire’ enters the domain of the mind and takes over the
imagination for its own need and expression. The same is true for the domain
of dynamic energy and emotional care, where energy and emotion can take
over the imagination of the mind to make their needs more attractive and
compelling. The true domain of the imagination is, however, the mental
imagination. These are inner thought formations consciously created to align
and manifest a higher purpose or ideal. Direct Vision is where direct intuitive
‘seeing’ opens up.
Mental Imagination is where the attention moves fluidly through different

visualizations searching for those which are most aligned to or manifest the
higher purpose or principle better. It is almost like considering an imagery of
a situation and asking it how else can the situation be; or what can be done
differently and allowing flexibility and fluidity of thinking to reveal multiple
options and possibilities. How do we ensure that this imagination is outside
the influence of strong emotions, energy and desires? But first let us ask, why
indeed do we need to keep the imagination free from the influence of vital
life-forces both from within ourselves and that of others.
The vital life-energies obviously seek their own satisfaction and there is a
definite place and scope for the same in our lives. However, the mind needs
to be free to create the ‘new’ and to envisage new pathways to progress. The
mind should have its space to imagine freely and fluidly under the guidance
of the highest purpose, principle and value sought. Now desire, energy and
emotion are personal by nature and are about ourselves or others we are close
to. Higher purpose, principle and value, by nature, tend to become more
universal and impersonal. So when we try to create an innovative and
creative way of manifesting higher purpose or vision; we should be able to
imagine impersonally. We should be able to keep the purpose/vision as the
‘center’. This center should not shift to own personal preferences that stem
from emotion, energy and desire.
Personal Vs. Impersonal Imagination
The traits for true imagination of the Idea Force are:
Noble: Stands up to an ideal, principle or concept
Impersonal, Universal
New: New center of vision
To access the true potential of imagination, which is seeing the new and
embracing the new as the center of vision, we need to be centered in the
universality and impersonality of the concept, principle or ideology and flow
creatively from that. Coming from that, seeing from that and aligned to that –
not as a dry concept but as a living experience, we can create new
imagination pathways in the mind to transform the current reality to uphold
more of the qualities of the concept, principle or ideology. While doing that,
if the focus shifts to ourselves, we will lose our impersonality and some of
our own agenda/preferences will seep in spoiling the potentiality of the vast
creative imagination possible. Training ourselves to be centered above
thoughts of our self and diving into thoughts of how the ideal can be actually
created and manifested irrespective of who is involved, is a pure pursuit of
mental imagination. The impersonal imagination created by the mental
faculties can then demand a certain transformation of the individuals involved
to evolve beyond their current potential and capacities. It would demand that
they look at what solution serves best the idea, ideal or principle and develop
themselves to manifest the solution. It is very important to stay beyond the
grip of the vital life-energies so that it can be an impersonal visualization of
the idea, the most creative solution to manifest the idea and co-creative
engagement with right individual/s who can best support in manifesting the
solution.
We need to learn to see the ‘new’ and create the ‘new’ in a universal and
impersonal way. We can do this first through mental creativity and then
through intuition. But either way this faculty is essential to open us to a new
way of living and to find delight in life and work. Without this, we may
spend our entire life circulating within the boundaries of what is already
known.
We need to learn to see ideals in the mind ahead of their full emergence in
reality, to make a formation aligned to central governing purpose, vision and
values. This will help us to bring futuristic changes and solutions in the
‘now’. This is building the capacity to see, envisage, foresee, pre-try, and
creatively see in the mind how potential future solutions can look like. To do
this, we need to exchange fixation on external orientation or personal
orientation to fixation on the idea or ideal or principle or vision and be single-
mindedly focused on its creative manifestation. The faculty built here can
later be used by the intuition to manifest its wisdom.
Let’s take an example:
Let us say that ‘depth at work’ is something we are aspiring to bring

more into our life and work.
To make this happen, we need to create a new life and reality.
We need not tune our work to existing reality and facts which point out
to how difficult it is to manifest work of depth.
Rather, we need to create new possibilities and new ways to connect

with and express depth at work.
We can imagine how our life would look like when there is depth.
We may notice that soon thoughts of our personal challenges and

eagerness would creep in.
We can then learn to step out of the vital fluxes and visualize four or
five ideal states or scenarios that would be universal representations of
depth at work.
If we are challenged, we can draw inspiration from examples of others
who have brought in depth into work and convert it into an impersonal
visual image that we can hold in our mind.
We can allow us to see without any personal bias how the ideal solution,
process, services and products of work will ideally look like when depth
is embodied.
Once we are very clear about this ‘end state’, our Idea Force can concern
itself with creating novel strategies to manifest the depth at work.
Then the Objective Mind can be called in to work out the practical
details and processes to implement the strategies.
The thinking process of a person operating from the Idea Force in an

impersonal way will be concerned with creating a beautiful life, bringing
innovation into work, creating hope, harmony, transformation, evolving
change, breakthroughs and living a noble and fulfilled life. It will not be for
mere individual benefit but for the sake of the universal appeal of the idea or
purpose. It would be for the benefit of the larger organization, world and
humanity. This impersonal image formation, when placed beyond any vital
currents, is a very powerful light and force of our mind. Care should also be
taken that the practicality of the Objective Mind follows, after the image
formation and also to ensure that it does not interfere with the creativity when
it is flowing. Once the visualization is created, the practical part of the
Objective Mind can figure out with objectivity how best to transform the
imagination into a reality.
Future-to-Present Creative Visualization
Begin with the creative formation and come from it to create the link
with the present.
Once you create a ‘non-vital’ impersonal image, if you imagine how you
would reach the desired future from the present, you may come to a point
where you can’t see further. Or you may land up imposing the present
conditions into how you want to travel into your future. Can we drop our
present conditioning and create our future from the creative lens and
possibilities of our future? Can we travel in time and space from the future to
the present in the mind?
The trick at the Idea Force level is not just to lead from where we are now to
where we want to be in terms of a perfect realized state/solution. This always
brings in a good mix of the past and its patterns, which keep dragging us
back. From the known to the new may not always work as we will still retain
some amount of logic, analysis, stickiness to the known, sequential
processing, etc. The creative trick is to imagine the potential end
state/solution in its ideal and purest form. We can then learn to think from
this formation as a new ‘center’ in our mind. Here we do not start from our
current state and progress towards our ideal in logical steps. Instead we begin
with the ideal situation in our mind and imagine backwards creating
pathways to new reality. We can create this new pathway first in the mind
and then implement the solutions in real life. The key trick is to imagine
backwards how the future would have emerged itself through new realities
and key-steps in between – all aligned to purpose and ideals. We can make
many imagination formations, and then let them all go.
For example, Mark is an educational visionary who has a creative dream that
he wants to see holistic education imparted in the institution he is associated
with. Normally, to make a creative imagination, he would begin from the
present reality of the quality of education actually present in the institution
and visualize how change can happen so that the education system is
transformed. Instead he practised the insights suggested earlier as follows:
He visualized the changed situation first in his mind. He actually saw
and visualized as the starting point, the manifested scenario that holistic
education is effectively practiced and imparted in the institution, say
three years from now. He visualized the curriculum, the teachers, the
students and classroom all embodying the true spirit of holistic
education.
Then he asked, ‘This reality is going to be true three years in the future.
Looking back from this point in the future, what would have been our
reality and key steps realized one year back (which would be two years
from now) and two years back (which would be one year from now)?’
He actually imagined these answers.
He also asked, ‘Three years back on that particular day (which is today)
what are three important tasks that I/we did that made it possible to
manifest the vision, with the fullest fulfillment of purpose?’ He formed
clear images for these three important tasks.
Once Mark identified the three tasks to do through his future-to-present

visualization, he got that done that day.
This is a very powerful and creative way of manifesting reality.

Strengthen Light and Potency of Idea Force
Idea Force has the capacity to shift our orbit of life from the earlier
trajectory to a new one that is more aligned to fundamental purpose, ideal
and values. For this, the first capacity needed is concentration to make the
Idea Force formation a new center for our inner seeing. Second, the light and
force of the Idea Force should be greater than the pulls of the boundaries
and rigidity of the Objective Mind and the pulls of Vital forces and habits.
When these two capacities are present, the Idea Force can function in its true
potency.
Methods to build Concentration
One-pointedness is the defining quality as well as the benefit of
concentration. This is built by constant practice. The ancient sages used
many methods to sharpen concentration, one of which was looking into the
center of a flame of light. Concentration means placing our attention on an
object in a one-pointed manner. If, at any time, our concentration scatters and
divides we can learn to quietly and quickly unify it back to focus on the
object. Neither too much effort nor too little effort is needed. Rather what is
needed is a steady concentration built over days and years of practice.
In the Idea Force, we can practice concentration by:
a) Creating an internal image of the desired solution/ideal/purpose fulfilled,

in an impersonal way. The most ideal solution is visualized and any
sense of personal grandiosity and importance that might creep into the
image is dropped.
b) Focusing on the image with inner concentration without any vital

excitement or mental doubt. If attention diverts, learning to bring
concentration back on the created image.
c) Shifting concentration to a new image and focusing on it, if, after some
time of focusing on the original image, a new insight or image which is
an even more ideal solution or manifestation of purpose pops up.
d) Continuing the practice using either the original image or the new image
that popped up.
In this practice, some people get a clear image and some people get a partial
image. Either way, the practice can be done.
Giving true Light and Will to Idea Force
For the Idea Force to propel us into a new orbit in order to fully manifest our
central purpose, vision and ideal, its image needs to have high clarity and be
strongly formed. The image created should be clearer in direction and
stronger in force than the current reality. Else the current patterns of the
Objective Mind and pull of the Vital forces will weaken our new imagination
and detract us from our creative progress. How do we strengthen the
formation of the Idea-Force imagination? We cannot use our vital push, as
that would bring our personal elements into it. We cannot use the analytical
faculties of our mind, as that will bring in the hold of the known. The
question we are now faced with is how to increase the vision, direction and
force of the creative imagination in an impersonal way so that we can launch
ourselves on a new trajectory in life and work. To harness the true power of
our imagination, we need to go deeper than the vital life-forces and find
certitude beyond it. We also need to learn to rise beyond the thought-looping
patterns in our mind and find clearer direction and vision there.
In reality, even if we manage to make the most creative imagination

formation of something that we really want – one that will help us to evolve
and go forward – our looping thought formations follow after the creative
moment. The looping could even be based on good intentions like, ‘I need to
be really sincere to do this’, followed by ‘Am I really sincere?’ followed by
‘I really can’t do this as my sincerity is low. Let me first be sincere and then
let me think about this important vision in my life’. And on and on; our
looping can go on joyfully and merrily around and around.
To create a fundamental creative breakthrough, we may need to learn to

access that part in the mind where looping is not happening. The reader is
invited to rise above the looping noise in the mind and access quieter regions
above the looping thoughts. This is a separate region of the mind. Accessing
this region, the reader is invited to creatively imagine the solution in an
impersonal way. This means that we create a picture of the solution, vision or
ideal against a background of pure vast light or quietness or in a space of
white calmness. We can recall the full image that we have already created to
represent the ideal or solution. Or we can redraw or re-create the same image
part-by-part in our mind as a brand new creation. We can choose the colour,
shape, space in-between the image and the interrelationship of all
components of the image to impersonally represent the ideal, vision or
purpose. Now as we recall or re-create this image, we can hold it in the part
of the mind, which is above all thought looping, thus giving impersonal
clarity and power to the image formation. This method may not come to us
perfectly in the beginning. When done every day, it gives us great capacity to
create a vision that holds impersonal light and power. Remember to hold a
background of pure vast light or quietness or a space of white calmness while
you invoke the image.
In a similar manner, we can locate a space within our heart that is not touched
by any emotions or vital energies. This is similar to going into the depths of
the cave within our heart, where there is an inner chamber with a tiny lamp
that burns constantly. This is a metaphor for some, but a genuine inner
experience for others. Connect to this metaphor and use your ‘sixth sense’ to
identify this location within your heart. And in that space, which is almost
like a quiet aspiration in silence with no vital currents touching it, recall or re-
create the image formation of the Idea Force that represents your highest
potential, fundamental purpose, ideal solution or the next level of purposeful
change in the future. Create the image and concentrate on it for a while as if
you are honouring and nourishing this image in a sacred manner. With
practice, this becomes a powerful exercise of the imagination that can be
accessed at any time, including in the midst of work. In a few seconds of this
practice, we can reach into the cave of our heart and create our image
formation connecting to greater light and force. The image above the looping
formations of the mind may be different from or same as the one in the depth
of our heart in terms of colour, details, shape, structure, etc.
An Idea-Force image created and re-created consciously above the thought

looping of the mind and in the secret chamber of the heart untouched by vital
forces holds great light and power. With practice, we can become aware
when we are being distracted from our focus on purpose or pulled into the
doubts of our mind and anxieties/pulls of our vital. To position ourselves
back on track, we can immediately invoke the Idea Force’s full image or re-
create the image step-by-step, in the region above the looping of the mind or
in the cave of the heart untouched by vital fluxes. It can be the same image
recalled or re-created each time or a brand new image created, but either way,
the process must be conscious. We can focus and concentrate on the image
for a few seconds and let the light and force from this image formation give
us insights, intuition, strength and clarity to create and manifest our new way
forward. Every time the Idea-Force image loses its clarity, we can re-create it
consciously to continue to hold the potency of its light and force.
Some people may find it easier to create and re-create the image above the
looping of their mind rather than in the depths of their heart. Others may find
the reverse to be true. We can create the image wherever it is most
convenient for us. It would be a great practice to create an impersonal image
to represent purpose, vision and ideals at least once each day.
One Idea – A Thousand ‘Non-vital’ Image
Formations
A masterful practice of the Idea Force is to take One Idea and create a
thousand manifestation possibilities as imaginations around it – all aligned
to the idea.
Criteria to select the one idea are:
It is the most ideal representation of your core purpose and values, as

you understand it now.
It inspires you, deeply resonates with you and energizes you.
It goes beyond your personal agenda and has universal appeal and
benefit.
It at least has some component that is not yet present/manifested in your

life.
When you have the one idea, imagine one thousand ways of manifesting it,
implementing it and actualizing it in the world. Fashion these into image
formations against a calm white background. Visualize each of the creative
possibilities in your mind. Make the imagination as lucid as possible and
leave what is unclear for it to emerge in its own time to unfold the details to
you.
For every one idea, create the one thousand imaginations in a day or over a
period of time.
Suggestions to create the one thousand imaginations:
Connect the imaginations to everyday reality. Let different scenarios in

your life and work act as triggers. Let them give you contexts to create
imaginations for the fulfilment of your idea.
Do not be bounded by current reality, but be rooted in the future

possibility of the one idea.
Once you form the image, let go of it.
When you are imagining, you need not think about the exact steps
needed to realize or implement the imagination. That work can be taken
up by the Objective Mind separately later on. When you are forming the
imagination, focus only on two things:
Align it as closely to the idea as possible.
Let the imagination be either a new variant or a fresh one altogether

each time.
The masterful art is creating these imaginations at will within few

seconds of focus on one idea.
This method is very powerful. Many of the one thousand possibilities

imagined through this method WILL really be manifested in time. The
manifestation can happen either through you or someone else who holds the
closest frequency of attunement to the idea.
We invite the reader to choose one core idea from their life and work and
practice this method. Remember to keep the imagination impersonal, not
centered around you, but fully focused on the idea, allowing it to express
itself.
Symbolic Transformation of a situation
We have carried out an experiment, which works really well, with people
who have good imaginative capacity. This involves the person representing
any particular situation from their life symbolically as a diagram on a piece
of paper and then changing the diagram symbolically till they feel something
shift within them. This creates a transformation of the situation at the levels
of both imagination and energy. We share the process which we have used
many times in the past. We invite you to apply the process as you read
through this.
Think of a problem that you are a part of and which you want to
transform.
Draw the situation symbolically on a piece of paper. You could use

some representative image or stick diagrams for the key people and key
events. Pay careful attention to the size of images, the positioning of
images and their interrelationships to indicate the current situation as
closely as possible.
Choose the principle, value, quality or ideology that you want to uphold
in the situation. For example, it can be harmony, synergy, optimum
productivity, collaboration, purposeful creation, etc.
Make symbolic changes in the drawing of the situation, so that the

situation upholds more of the principle, value, quality or ideology you
are concerned about. Redraw a different image or images that better
represent the solution and are more aligned to the ideology. Do a few
iterations till you are internally satisfied that the situation appears
transformed in a symbolic manner.
Define the center in the image of the solution. A center is someone or

something that most holds or represents the essence of the quality,
ideology or principle you want the solution to uphold.
Keep paying careful attention to the changes that happen within you as
you engage in this process. You may get some valuable clues by
observing a) when some doors or insights open inside your mind, and/or,
b) when some energy shifts within you. When it’s done well, this is a
very powerful, symbolic and creative formation to transform the
situation.
Co-Ideation Process
The following process has been implemented by us in several organizations
where we carry out facilitation and intervention work. This process invokes a
collective field of imagination. It allows a volunteer to focus on a situation
they want to transform, get into a receptive state and receive creative ideas
from assigned ‘idea generators’.
Process
Invite someone to be a volunteer for this exercise. This is someone who

has a situation or problem in his/her life or work that they want to
transform. Invite this person to sit in the center of the room. Ensure that
this person is willing to a) give a brief description of the situation to the
group, b) willing to receive innovative ideas from others that could lead
to potential solutions for oneself.
Select three people from the group to act as the ‘Innovative Idea
Generators’. Ask them to sit around the volunteer in the center but with
some distance apart.
In this exercise, the volunteer and idea generators will participate in the
process. The others in the hall will first observe and then all can break
themselves into groups of four and do this exercise. In this group
exercise, each one can take turns to be the volunteer and idea generators.
The volunteer can share his or her situation in about a maximum time of
3 minutes. The three idea generators are to listen with curiosity and ask
clarifying questions to gauge the pulse of the situation.
All in the group (volunteer and idea generators) are to practice ‘letting
go of the already known’ for a minute. Each individual is free to do
something to get his/her mind free and relaxed. They can walk, hum a
song silently, think of their passion or hobby, do a breath practice or just
let go of all thinking. The trick is to get some space, silence and
freshness in the mind.
Then the volunteer will sit with his/her back facing others. The
volunteer will have a notebook in hand and practice being open in the
mind. He or she will sit in a receptive poise to receive ideas from others.
During the process, volunteer will remain silent. He or she can note
down any points but will not ask any questions back to the people
offering ideas.
Each of the idea generators will walk close to the ear of the volunteer
one by one and offer a creative idea or innovative solution for the
situation. Only the volunteer will be able to hear their idea. They will
give their idea within 30–60 seconds and walk back. After one idea
generator shares an idea, there would be a 20-second gap given to the
volunteer. Then the next idea generator will come forward and share
their innovative solution quietly in the ear of the volunteer.
After one round is over where all the three idea generators have shared
ideas, begin again and go for another round.
Continue the process for a total of 8 to 12 rounds or about 15 to 20

minutes.
In the beginning, the idea generators can experience a sense of dryness

and believe that they have exhausted all their ideas and that no more
ideas are coming to them. The facilitator should encourage them to
come up with an idea quota (commit to generate one new idea every 2
minutes) and challenge their beliefs so that they can come up with many
innovative ideas in a short time. Idea generators can be encouraged to
share innovative ideas inspired from their varied experiences at work,
family, hobbies, community projects, etc.
It is important to give a gap of 20 seconds to the volunteer after each

member shares their ideas. It is also necessary to have a space of
quietness that enables the volunteer to receive ideas in a silent receptive
mode.
At the end, all can share their experiences and takeaways.
In this process both the sharer and receiver of ideas gets enriched. One also
goes beyond myths that idea generation takes time.
Change, Transformation and Innovation
The purpose of the Idea Force is to build a creative formation and then let it
flow to do its work to manifest itself in the world. The purpose of making this
formation is to create a new possibility in the mind first, something that had
not existed in our lives and work before. A creative genius goes a step further
and creates a possibility that has never existed so far in the world; makes a
conscious formation in the mind first and then manifests it to create a new
reality. So the deeper purpose of the imagination is to see the new emerging
reality and give it a formation in the mind. To see the new – that which is to
be born in our lives, work and in the world, is the actual use of this
imagination. This is the possibility of innovation, change and transformation.
Let us engage in some creative exercises as workouts for the development of

the Idea Force within us:
Creative Exercise 1: Imagining next level breakthrough solutions
See in your mind a particular project or work that you are engaged in.
Make a sequence of pictures to represent the current reality and quality of
your work or project. It is almost as if you are taking a camera inside your
mind, shooting some pictures and weaving them together to represent the
quality of what you are doing. Now ask the questions:
What could be the next level in the work or project?
What could be a breakthrough solution that will take the work or
project to a new level?
What could be something totally new and creative that could be
brought into the work or project?
One way would be to answer these with words. Here we will endeavour to
answer these with images:
1. Make some tiny change in the sequence of pictures depicting current
quality to depict a new solution or possibility.
2. Sense if the new images represent a new
level/breakthrough/something totally new or creative.
3. If not, restore the image to the current reality and go back to step 1.
4. Keep playing around till you get a new creative image, which is
inspiring to you.
5. Then let go of the image and offer it to the Source of All Creative
Potential of the Universe saying, ‘You take care’.
Creative Exercise 2: Imagining qualitative transformation from within
Here is an exercise to develop the capacity to imagine qualitative

transformation of a situation:
Consider a situation in your life where you are looking for a
breakthrough. It could be a project you are working on or a situation
in your family or any other context.
Visualize yourself handling the situation the way you currently do.
Identify three mentors whom you know or have heard about, who
handle such situations very effectively. Contemplate on each mentor
and identify two or three specific resources the mentor has that enable
him or her to handle such situations with great mastery. Some
examples of resources could be compassion, strategy, far-sightedness,
empathy, etc. Among the many resources that you have identified in
the mentors, select three resources that you choose to bring into your
situation.
Create an image of yourself where you are masterfully embodying the
first resource you have identified. You don’t have to figure out how
you developed this resource within you, but just imagine that you
already have mastery over it. See in your imagination how differently
you will tackle the situation now that this resource is fully present
within you. Create new pictures representing new resourceful
behaviours and actions emanating from you, as you are filled with the
resource. Repeat the same for the second and third resource. When
you create these imaginations with each resource, remember to render
them in an impersonal manner. Let the focus be on the resources
creatively expressing themselves through you and even others into
your life and work. Avoid referencing to your small self’s excitement
or challenges as you imagine the resources building within you. The
key to this imagination is: Since the resource is now present, imagine
what changes now flow through you and others.
Let go and offer this imagery to the infinite potential of the Universal
Life and Mind and its plethora of new possibilities.
Once you make a conscious image formation that is constructed well, there
is no way it will not materialize in reality. The only reason for it not
materializing is when the possibility is much ahead of its time or it is not
formed well or is contrary to collective well-being or you are yet to do
sufficient Sadhana to be a worthy instrument for it.
Creative Exercise 3: Fine-tuning capacity to receive images
In the Objective Mind, we should develop the capacity to consciously

create our words and concretize our knowledge; let them out into the world
and receive words and data back from the world consciously. While
exploring the Idea Force, we have so far seen how to consciously create
images in our mind and then let go of them. We will now learn how to
receive images, without us forming them consciously. We will also learn
how to connect with the revealed images till their clarity, insight and
intuition are fully revealed.
Some tiny exercises that can help you to develop this capacity:
Think of any situation of life or work you are a part of and ask the
question, ‘What is an image that represents the current reality?’
Once you ask the question, wait for an image to pop up in your mind.
If there is no image, wait patiently with the intent that you wish to see
the situation in the form of an image. If there is a biased or distorted
image, just let go of it without any struggle and quietly wait with the
intent that you wish to see the situation clearly in the image form.
Accept any kind of image that arises in you. It can be an actual picture
of the situation and its new possibility or a symbolic representation of
it. You may see parts of the workspace, people or the project. Or you
could get a symbolic picture that represents the reality, for example,
an octopus with eight tentacles – seven tentacles beautiful and
magnificent and one thin and twisted. Whatever the image that comes
in, accept it.
Now ask, ‘What could be an image that represents the solution or the
new possibility?’ Remember and reaffirm your core ideal and purpose
to yourself with reference to the situation and life in general. Focus on
the image of the current situation, waiting with intent for it to reveal
its next level or possibility. In this example, you can place attention
on the ‘octopus image’ and ask what could be the solution or the new
enhanced situation in image form. Wait with relaxed intent till you
receive an image that represents the seeds of the solution.
Continue to hold the image representing seeds of the solution in the
cave of your heart or above the looping of your mind. Be with the
image so that it can slowly reveal itself.
Creating and receiving a new imagination formation is a very potent tool that
the mind has. When properly done, it forwards manifestation of the idea.
Most of what we see today in the world is because someone who knew how
to do it created or received an imagination formation and empowered it.
When this is done well, the imagination is sure to get manifested either in our
lifetime or later. So, this is a very potent faculty that every human has, but it
has neither been understood fully nor used well.
Silence in the Mind: Ideal Backdrop for Creativity
Bringing silence in the mind is not some kind of technique to master. It is
almost as if there is a state or energy of silence that, once in a while, descends
on an individual or even a group. At those times, the individual or group is
consumed by great silence and then comes out very refreshed with a clear,
calm mind, energy and body. Silence is a state we can open up to, and a lot
depends on our sincerity and whether we are Graced by the silence or not. It
is almost like a child asking the experience of silence to come and visit him
or her once in a while. When there is silence, it is best to stay with the
experience and not to rush into any vital excitement about it or thinking to
understand it. One can just learn to be with the silence till the silence
withdraws by itself. This greatly freshens up the mind and allows the mind to
open up to the new. Once the silence withdraws, then one can record
whatever insights emerged during the period of silence. Even if one has no
experience tasting the silence yet, it is good to rest the mind, even briefly, a
number of times during the day and before going to sleep.
When the mind is kept in a state of peace and silence, then the creative
questions put into this mind will get their intuitive insights and answers. Also
an idea will be manifested more easily and the creative will for manifestation
will have far greater and calmer power.
Pair up with someone and experiment with these tiny exercises:
Take a situation in your life that you want to transform.
Tell your partner the images that float in your mind when you think
about the situation.
Clarify the core ideal, value or purpose that is your central reference
anchor in this situation.
Ask what is a symbol or image that represents this central reference

anchor. Patiently wait till you get an intuitive image. If there is no
intuition, consciously visualize the image.
Visualize your timeline and insert this symbol in the events where you
lived the ideal/value/purpose, in the past.
Impersonally imagine solutions through which the core

ideal/value/purpose can be realized in the situation in the present.
Imagine a future state where the core ideal solution is realized. Imagine
backwards, future-to-present, and visualize key interim changes through
which the future emerged.
Select one impersonal imagination that resonated most with you and
hold this image for some time in the cave of your heart or above the
looping of your mind.
Offer all these imaginations to the One Divine Will governing the whole
universe.
Also discuss:
How can you live your life so that you can be in a state to receive
intuitive imaginations?
How can you welcome silence into your mind and keep the mind at rest
at least a few times during the day and night?
Reflection
In the space provided, jot down the insights and reflections that emerged as
you read through this chapter. You can use the following reflection questions
to gather your insights:
When you read through this chapter, how much of your own
imagination and creativity have you become aware of?
How purified and devoid of its inherent vital energy and desire
influences is your imagination? What are the aspects that need further
development?
How much of impersonality, novelty and alignment to the central

governing principles are present in your faculty of imagination today?
What are the methods of development of Idea Force that have appealed
to you in this chapter? Which of them do you plan to include in your
daily Sadhana?
What you see within your head is what you create as your reality
outside. How can you open your mind to see new beginnings and
possibilities?
How can you practice to fashion at least one new creative thought/idea
each day and let it go? How can you hold this thought/idea against an
inner space of ‘brand newness’, which brims with noble or ideal future
possibilities?
Crux of Pure Mind
Pure Mind is that part of the mind which sees the whole picture as widely, as
deeply and as insightfully as possible. The pure mind steps back and takes a
bird’s eye view of the contents of our mind. It looks at the thoughts and the
imaginations. This part of the mind does not look for granular details but for
the essential principle, concept, ideology, purpose, value or quality behind
the thought and imagination patterns.
This is the part of the mind that culls out the seed
idea/essence/concept/ideology/principle behind a thought and its formation.
This is the essential fractal of truth, knowledge, intent or quality that gets
imprinted in many other thoughts, which then gets expressed in many more
different words. Culling out this ‘seed essence’ is one function of the pure
mind.
The pure mind also has a ‘synthesis part’ which collates the seed essences in
a cohesive way by finding out their ‘central core essence’. This central core
essence reveals the ‘heart’ and the ‘And’ of the seed essences. It also holds
the crux or truth of all other essences in such a way that each of the
individual truths is honoured. Around this ‘And’ center, the other seed
essences are ordered in the mind on the basis of the degree of congruence of
their individual truths with the central ‘And’ truth.
The Pure Mind thus brings order to the mind and synthesizes what we know,
so that the mind can become a cohesive whole. It thus reduces mental noise
by clustering the thoughts and synchronizing them around their core
essences. The pure mind performs perhaps the finest activity of the mind – to
be wide, to receive knowledge beyond opposites and to weave them together
into an integrated whole. It also prepares the mind to be able to receive
silence and open itself to receive intuition and wisdom from ranges beyond
that of the thinking process by being directly in touch with the Universal
Mind.
We will explore the pure mind in depth in this chapter by uncovering its
methods in a circular way. We will repeatedly explore each of the key
methods and practices so that ultimately the pure mind experience and
capacity get triggered in you. Some of the exercises in this chapter will take
time, and we invite the reader to treat themselves to the joy and benefits of
doing these exercises with full participation.
Role of Pure Mind
In the first few pages of chapter 7, we have introduced the Pure Mind as that
part of the mind from which the Idea Force draws its reference and guidance.
Do remember the same and dive deeper into the pure mind through this
chapter.
The Pure Mind is at the pinnacle of the mind. Above it are the intuitive zones.
It is a significant zone as above it, the mental activities cease and the mind
becomes a receiving channel (in silence) to receive knowledge, wisdom and
intuition directly without any thought and analysis. The real truth of things
comes as a revelation and intuition bringing new knowledge. Here we
decipher the nature of something by directly concentrating on it and we know
it is true as we experience ‘remembrance’. ‘Remembrance’ is that
instantaneous recognition that says ‘Yes, this is true’, without any thought or
analysis. The truth in the pure mind is still a reflected truth that is culled out.
This involves clarifying the universal truth that exists behind all the essence
that is known about something.
The Objective Mind and Idea Force are largely concerned about the details
and imagery of the mind and its knowledge. The Pure Mind steps back from
all these. Its focus and concern are the ‘essence’, ‘meaning’, ‘concept’,
‘principle’ or ‘purpose’ of all mind formations and which is the culled-out
truth behind all the mental formations and workings. And the methods it uses
to arrive at this truth are contemplation, reflection, abstraction,
conceptualization, culling out core essence and synthesis.
Now, there are two routes to verify whether the concept that is culled out is
the truth. One route is to use data, thought and analysis to verify this truth.
For most of us, this is the normal condition of the mind. Here the mind works
bottom up from the Objective Mind to the Pure Mind, with the objective
mind as the primary reference point. Whatever reflection is done in the Pure
Mind then, needs the sanction of the data and facts of the Objective Mind. So
if this method is used to verify the truthfulness of the culled out concept, it
should have facts and objectivity to back it up. As our mind evolves, this
directionality of the mind flips to become top down. The mind primarily
becomes a receiving and transmission channel. The mind opens up to
intuitive knowing, culls out the essence of these intuitions in the pure mind,
imagines novel ways of manifesting it using the creative idea force and then
uses the objective mind to work out details and plans. This is a big
evolutionary shift in an individual. The verifying method can now shift from
data/fact compliance to ‘remembrance’. ‘Remembrance’ is an experience of
spontaneous knowing. It is the feeling of “Yes! I already know with certitude
that ‘this essence’ is true”.
Truth is Living, Directing and Evolving
A mistake people often make is considering the pure mind as theoretical and
barren, as if it is a dead bunch of words talking about some abstractions. This
is a simplistic and vague way of using the faculty of pure mind. The
‘substance’ of the pure mind is the ‘essence of truth’. This ‘essence’ is living
and is a small portion of a vaster truth above. If you take the seed of a plant,
within the tiny seed the whole essence and nature of the plant are embedded.
Under the right conditions, the plant sprouts and it grows in sync with the
nature of the seed. The seeds hold fractals of the essential nature of the plant.
The seed of a rose holds the essence of the rose plant, and the seed of a lily
holds the essence of the lily plant.
Similarly, the essence of truth culled out behind all that is known about
something is a fractal of a truth about that something. This truth itself can
evolve as it is living. The truth in the pure mind is a contemplated and culled
out truth of essence. The truth of the pure mind is a reflection of the vaster
truth that is sustained beyond the thinking process of the mind. There is the
space of a vast, pregnant, living and ever-present void above the mind that
holds the un-thought truth. A fractal of this un-thought truth is what we can
receive and cull out in the pure mind. Because of the various filters in our
mind, we only grasp a portion of this whole truth. Then by synthesis of the
pure mind, we make the truth more holistic and integrated. By directly
opening to intuition, we can receive the whole truth in a direct and intimate
way.
This fractal truth is the ‘seed’ in the mind. A plant grows governed by the
nature of its seed if someone gives it water, manure and sunlight. The human
being has a great degree of freedom and thus holds a great degree of
complexity as well. The human mind moves in many different directions in a
scattered manner. Through the process of intuition or synthesis, we need to
learn to cull out the fractal truth that we are inspired to stand for and uphold
in our life and work. This could be our core principles, life purpose or core
values. We then need to energize this fractal truth by holding it in our mind
and concentrating on it. This centers and unifies our mind around our fractal
truth. When the rest of the mind, vital life-forces and actions work in
alignment, we can mould our life and work to be pure expressions of this core
fractal truth. This is a clear experience of the truth as one that lives, directs
and governs our whole life.
Truth is also something that evolves. The essence of truth culled out is never
static. Truth evolves by incorporating new truths into what is already
extracted so far. Any truth that we have gleaned about something could have
other truths as well, held by others and us. Combining truths and
incorporating new truths into the existing ones enables the truth to evolve. A
truth once culled out, inferred or recognized cannot become a static
remembered truth which we quote, speak or refer to. If that happens it
becomes dogma – a mere repetition of rules or a recollected truth that has lost
its living essence. Truth is living and evolving. Hence, we need to pay
attention to all essences of truth which we as well as others hold on the same
subject we enquire into. We can recognize truth through new concepts,
philosophies, principles, values and purposes. If the new essence or truth is a
part of the truth that we have already culled out, then it is fine. If not, we need
to widen and deepen the already culled out truth to hold the core essence of
the new truths that have emerged so as to synthesize a vaster, larger and more
holistic truth.
Central Truth Binds Contradictions by Finding
Essence of Essences
When there are contradictions in our mind, we can rise up to our Pure Mind
and find harmony there. Generally, our mind is a bundle of contradictions.
Factual contradictions are solved in a different manner by gathering precise
data and by validating them against established benchmarks and standards.
Addressing contradictions regarding the essential truths are very important to
clarify and synthesize, so that the mind can become more and more whole
and cohesive. Contradictions at the level of the essential truth would indicate
that we have not assimilated and evolved the truths in our mind consciously
and thus the guiding light of the pure mind becomes distorted and diffused,
spreading in myriad directions. Synthesis, as briefly mentioned earlier, is a
process where we cull out the core essence which holds the central truth of
all other essences. Once we have synthesized the core essence, then our Idea
Force can support in making sure that we create mental formations that are
aligned to the central truth of the core essence we seek to uphold. This helps
in making our mind more unified.
Let us explore this with an example. We are interested in personal

transformation. If we look around, we find that there are so many different
paths and among these there are quite a lot of similarities and differences.
Similarities are easy to deal with as they give an idea about what is deemed
important across all paths. However, most often, we do not do anything with
the differences, and in an unexamined manner imbibe some components of
these paths. This disperses our efforts and our mind remains scattered and
non-aligned at a fundamental essence level.
Let us explore our example deeper. Some of the perspectives we can hear
from others and ourselves on personal transformation are:
‘Let go and all will be well.’
‘Put down goals, monitor them daily and put a tick if you have
succeeded on your tasks.’
‘Take on big bold goals and go for them and march forward.’
‘There is nothing to change. All is perfect as it is. Let it all go and all
will be well.’
‘The world is going through an environmental crisis. It is conscious

action that counts.’
‘Take one step at a time. Small and steady steps will make a big
difference.’
‘We need immediate sustainable solutions to save our environment. Act

fast.’
‘Evolve consciously. Consistent effort is needed to purify and develop

oneself.’
‘Be in the now. Be very mindful. Be aware.’
‘Inner Change is what really matters. Change yourself.’
‘Be a witness in silence. Everything rises and falls in life. Do not react.
Do not be attached.’
‘Outer change is what really matters. Do something and contribute to the

world.’
Now write down what you believe are the key ideas behind these opinions
and viewpoints about personal transformation mentioned. The clue to
remember is that there are manifold ways of expressing these essences
through words. So we are looking for those key essential truths, principles or
concepts behind all these statements and opinions.
In our lens, the fundamental essences behind these could be written as:
Be silent and unattached. Step back in witness poise and watch with
equanimity the unfolding of life.
Through purification and development of your inner consciousness,

keep evolving with consistent aspiration and effort.
Act consciously to transform the world and its conditions.
Now cull out the core central truth of these three essences that we have
clarified earlier. To us, the central truth is: ‘In inner silence aspire, purify and
transform your inner self and outer world.’ Now, to us, this contains the
essences of all the other essences. No key truth is missed. It is also not a
stringing of words but, rather, an abstraction of essences. We invite you to
take an example of your own and glean the core central truth.
Now how can we use this central truth that we have culled out – ‘In inner
silence aspire, purify and transform your inner self and outer world’? One
way is to use this as a guiding principle. We rise above the noise of the mind
into the realm of the Pure Mind that is interested in ideas and qualities of
experiences. There we can hold the central truth as the guiding essence. We
scan the world with this guiding principle as our central reference point and
see which methods, paths, people and conversations are aligned to it. This
brings tremendous focus to our mind and brings in alignment, coherence and
the beginnings of silence. Concurrently, we learn to operate from the highest
regions of the mind. The requisite skill here is to hold the central essence
above the noise in our mind and dwell on it. This, when done with Intent and
Will, slowly transforms the contents of the mind to become expressions of the
central essence, and thus can guide the vital life-energy and actions.
In every endeavour we undertake towards personal transformation, we can

check if the efforts are aligned to the central core truth. So here, instead of
holding the central truth of ‘silence, aspiration, purification, development and
collective transformation’ as a theory, we bring it into our life through
reflection, enquiry and experimentation. This helps us to become coherent in
our version of personal transformation in an aligned and consistent manner.
If we can use this method to cull out the central truth behind all
contradictions that exist in our mind, we would be able to have such
congruence in our mind and make consistent and aligned progress. Often, we
are not able to accomplish much progress in a consistent and evolving way as
our perceptions, opinions and beliefs keep changing as per the needs of our
vital life-energies. Our perceptions also clash and a movement of thought in
one direction neutralizes another movement of thought in a different
direction. Our mind is often a mix of half-understood and half-assimilated
ideas. We do not take the time and effort to understand concepts by grasping
and synthesizing the essential truths behind them. How powerful and aligned
would our life and manifestation be if (a) we arrive at our central essence and
truth and (b) we are able to hold them as a guiding light and force for a long
period of time. If we can do that for six months, one year or even five years,
there would be conscious and aligned formations made, which would have
extraordinary luminance and power. In our Pure Mind, we can hold the
‘seed’ central truths that embrace all similar and contradictory positions,
and each viewpoint can then be understood in right relation with the central
‘seed’ truth. The reader is invited to experiment with the various conceptual
contradictions that may be floating in their mind, in a similar manner.
Individuality & ‘AND’ of Pure Mind
Let us take an example to understand the Individuality and ‘And’ of the Pure
Mind. This example is about multiple viewpoints held by three generations of
women in a family – a grandmother, daughter and granddaughter. The
grandmother is quite traditional, does her yoga even though she is 80 years
old, offers her prayers in the morning and places great importance on purity
in the home. She is not happy if someone walks into the kitchen without a
proper bath. The kitchen where she cooks her delicious specialties is a sacred
space for her. The sun is one of her Gods and she faces the sun every day to
perform her daily practices for health and well-being. She still takes major
decisions by consulting the elders and temple priests.
Now, culling out the essence by the Pure Mind cannot be a generic
abstraction, but it needs to uncover and uphold the individual truth (what is
present and existent) of anything we reflect upon. So, if we identify the core
essence of what the grandmother stands for as ‘being traditional’, it is right,
but it is still generic. Within traditionalism, the individual fractal essence that
uniquely represents the poise and quality of the grandmother has to be culled
out. From our viewpoint, this can be stated as purity, loyalty, passion and
reverence. Loyalty here captures her affinity for her tradition. Restating the
essence as purity, loyalty, passion and reverence is more specific than
traditional or even just saying she is religious. These four words describe the
‘core essence’ or ‘quality’ of the grandmother at a fundamental level, and
these find expression through her many actions and behaviours.
Now, the daughter is someone we would call modern. Right at the age of 21
when she got married, her husband got an international posting and she
started traveling around the world. She did her advanced studies and also
worked in organizations in China, Dubai, and the United States and then
settled in Singapore. She separated from her husband at the age of 30 and
married a handsome British athlete who was settled in Singapore. She attends
meditation classes occasionally and still has a small niche inside her clothes
cupboard for pictures of her favourite Gods. At times the chanting and
prayers she had done when she was young rises in her awareness without her
conscious effort. At 44, having risen quickly and successfully in her career,
she heads the operations of a large multinational. She has two children and
teaches them dance, art, martial arts and along with her husband, helps them
with their studies. She has her group of friends with whom she parties on
weekends along with her husband. What according to you is the core essence
of the daughter? According to us, the core essence of the daughter can be
stated as independence, multiculturalism, passion, drive for success and
rootedness. Rootedness here refers to being rooted to family and culture in
her own way.
Now the granddaughter is a rebel in many ways and defies what people tell
her to do. At 13, she knows exactly what food she likes and the clothes she
looks attractive in. She makes her own plans each day and joins her parents
and friends only when she wants to. If, at times, her parents insist on her
accompanying them somewhere, she is often on her mobile browsing
YouTube for her favourite albums. Her favourite music is that of Abeem
Khan, who raps mostly for social and environmental causes. She loves
mathematics and biology, and is the class topper in both without seemingly
much preparation for her exams. She runs 5 kilometers every day to keep fit.
She wants to be a fitness instructor and a creator of mathematics puzzles for
young genius minds to develop further. She is very good at convincing her
parents that taking up a regular job is not part of what she wants to really do
in her life. She is also a self-proclaimed atheist and declines to do anything
that is traditional. She gets angry when people are not fair and when she sees
any gender inequality. What according to you is the core essence of the
granddaughter? According to us, the core essence of the granddaughter can
be stated as free-spiritedness, independence, social consciousness, principle,
passion and determination.
In all these cases, we are not judging people nor are we ‘boxing’ or labeling
them. We observe and sense people very keenly in wonderment. We directly
tune in to identify what is the essence or truth (that is present and existent) of
who they are at this point of time. We are also humble at admitting that we
could be wrong and/or they could be changing or evolving over time. We are
also careful so that even if we discern the core essence of others correctly at
this point of time, every time we meet them, we perceive them afresh –
listening to appreciate their core essence and nature as present in the moment.
Now imagine each core essence of the grandmother, daughter and
granddaughter to be a circle and imagine that they interact with each other.
So, the essence of purity, loyalty, passion and reverence; independence,
multiculturalism, passion, drive for success and rootedness; and free-
spiritedness, independence, social consciousness, principle, passion and
determination intermingle constantly as these three individuals belong to the
same family and they interact with each other from time to time. There is
great love among them and at the same time when differences surface, they
have a lot of misunderstandings and quarrels. Now, if any one of them rises
above the mental noise resulting from these clashes and steps into the finesse
of the Pure Mind, how would they be able to co-hold the essences of all three
of them in their mind so that the focus may lie on the ‘And’ of their essences
while honouring the individuality of each person? Let’s explore this
symbolically with a diagram:
In option 1 (see diagram), we look for the commonality among the three
essences:
Purity, loyalty, passion and reverence
Independence, multiculturalism, passion, drive for success and

rootedness
Free-spiritedness, independence, social consciousness, principle, passion
and determination
What could be some core key words that describe the thread that runs
through the three sets of essences – that of the grandmother, daughter and
granddaughter? Some words that come to us are intense, powerful,
passionate and noble. Now the moment one of them rises above their
differences and grasps the core essence of each of their individual essences,
something will often shift internally for this person. This individual can then
focus on the collective ‘And’ essence, and learn to uphold and honour the
same in their interaction with the other two members. Now if this person
remains rooted in the pure mind and focuses on the collective ‘And’ essence
of intensity, power, passion and nobility, even if there are differences, they
could still experience mutual validation and the deep connection that exists
between them. This is because when the ‘And’ essence is culled out, each of
the individual essences will appear to be linked. And when the ‘And’ essence
is honoured, each of their individual essences will be nourished too. In fact,
each of the individual and varied expressions, perspectives and preferences of
the three people will then be seen as manifold expressions of the same
collective core essence. This may first be done by the individual centered in
pure mind, and later on by others, if they follow suit.
Now this core essence of ‘intensity, power, passion and nobility’ can also
become the context or the outer circle as shown in option 2 (see diagram),
within which all their relationships and conversations can co-exist. Any one
of the individuals who access their pure mind well can hold this collective
‘And’ essence as the context of their thinking, the background against which
all thinking and conversations happen with reference to each other. This
common thread that is shot through the individual essences and the holding
of this thread as the overall context is the ‘And’ experience of the pure mind.
Here, one endeavours to focus and serve the ‘And’ core essence. If parents
and children, spouses, friends and colleagues can learn to use this ‘And’
experience of the pure mind, mutual understanding, connection, harmony and
fulfillment can actually be made possible.
As you read this, we invite you to do this exercise keeping in mind your
family members you interact with on a regular basis, so that this exploration
of the pure mind becomes centered in your own experience and discovery
process. The steps would include finding out the individual essences of each
of the members in a group, including oneself, and then recognize what the
collective essence connecting all of them is. You can then practice focusing
on the collective essence and nurturing it through your actions,
communication and interactions.
Inferring Core Nature of Collective Space or
Environment
In the previous section we explored the method of understanding the
collective ‘And’ essence of individuals within a family. In the same manner,
we can also learn to sense the core nature of a collective entity. A collective
can be an organization, institution, social group or a country. Understanding
the core quality of a collective entity or context we are a part of is very
important. Even if an individual is fairly evolved, if the collective contexts
that they are a part of do not evolve, the individual will find it difficult to
express his or her evolving self in the static collective context. On the other
hand, even if the individual is static and lethargic, if the collective
environment is evolving, it will place a positive evolutionary pressure on the
constituent individual members, impelling them to transform. Hence, it is
very important to know the nature or essence of the collective entity that we
are a part of. The pure mind can really be of support here.
Tuning into the core essence of a collective group is similar to tuning into the
core essence of an individual. In both cases, a certain individuation or a
distinct formation of character should necessarily have formed in the
individual or collective for us to distinctly sense their essence. If an
individual has randomly picked up several characteristics, principles, values
and qualities from others or books but has not assimilated and integrated
them, he or she often behaves in a contradictory manner without any distinct
centrality or personality. In such individuals, we can only sense a few
potential semi-formed core qualities and we may need to observe them in our
future interactions to see which of these qualities emerge more distinctly and
prominently.
Similarly, when a collective entity is cohesively formed it develops a few

core characteristics that act as central culture or set of values for all its
constituent members. When a collective entity exists over a period of time,
upholds certain values and stands for something repeatedly, it develops a
distinct character and culture. Forming a new collective entity can also be
done in a cohesive manner with a strong foundation of inspiring principles
and values, and they can be nourished and strengthened over a period of time.
In general, a few leaders or forerunners create the new culture for a collective
organization and the rest imbibe the culture. At the same time, anyone in the
organization, irrespective of their hierarchy, can uphold the company’s
culture depending on how dearly they honour its values and cultural qualities.
Even when a collective is not yet fully formed, we can still learn to sense its
potential ‘seed’ culture and values, and wait to see which unfolds as the most
distinctive one over a period of time.
Listed here are some clues on how to find the core essence of any collective
entity:
Pay careful attention to any information you get about a family,

organization, institution or country and sense the heart of the collective
entity, listening beyond the specific information that is observed by you.
Look for deeply held principles, values and qualities which are
consciously or unconsciously expressed.
Make yourself the sensing instrument. When you connect to the family,
organization, institution or country, what qualities or values seem to be
present in the collective? What qualities or values get invoked within
you because of you identifying with and placing your attention on the
collective?
Observe which of the principles, values and qualities are cherished and
upheld in the interactions among the group and which are resisted and
looked down upon by its members.
Among all these essential principles, values and qualities that you have
inferred of the group, look for what comes through consistently and
repeatedly in their actions, behaviours and words. This would be their
core nature as understood by you at this moment. This could include
both cherished and suppressed values and principles. Wonder, at the
core essence level whether the group is moving towards some inspiring
value or away from a value of disconnect. For example, ‘creating’ is
often a moving towards value and ‘disrupting’ is often a rebellion
against a value of disconnect.
Pay careful attention not to convert your understanding of this core
nature into a static judgment of the group. Each time you meet the
group, be curious to see if you can sense any new values or
characteristics. Do observe if these new values are consistently present
over time. If so, evolve your understanding of the group’s core nature by
including the essence of the new values and characteristics to it.
Let us take one example to give you an indication of how to accomplish this.
Consider India and contemplate upon what could be the core essence of this
nation. Now, India is most diverse in terms of its people and a good degree of
traditionalism and modernity co-exist here. There are different people,
different religions, different professions and diverse cultures. India holds her
own in many fields ranging from scientific research, religion, mathematics,
information technology, art, dance, music and sports to name a few. What is
the heart of India? What is the core? What binds all of us Indians at the center
– the essence that we all carry within us?
We get a valuable clue about this from the book The Renaissance in India by
Sri Aurobindo. The essence of India is described as spiritual depth, abundant
and creative vitality, and opulent intellectuality – of which spirituality is the
master key. We invite the reader to explore this insight through their own
reflection on the essence of India as present across the ages. The expression
of spirituality, dynamic vitality and creative intelligence changes according to
the times and contexts but the essential quality of being an Indian appears to
be at least these three essences. Behind all her religions, India seems to hold
in reverence the infinity, transcendental consciousness and the creative
Shakti. India’s creative prowess is well known in many fields. Even in times
of her fall and decline, she has always held creative dynamic power and
force. Her mind is intelligent as seen right from the puranas and the dharma
shastras to the modern intellectual expertise in cutting-edge research,
demonstrated through her denizens and diaspora. The Indian mind has risen
to top leadership roles across the world and is involved with bringing great
progress to humanity. Hence we feel that spirituality, opulent vitality and
creative intelligence symbolize the core essence of India. Once we know this,
every citizen can consciously ensure that they develop these three qualities to
whatever extent they are ready for, to deepen their connection with India.
When citizens can deeply connect to the core of the collective and discover
and uphold their own individual core essence, we get people who are
individualized and universal beings. How to discover and identify with the
individual core we will explore further in this chapter.
As we shared earlier, the core nature of the collective environment is

important. No matter how many individual changes we make, if the context is
the same, individual evolution will face challenges. Also it is desirable that
the collective holds higher principles, values and qualities that will forward
our individual evolution at an essence level. Normally, when people join an
organization, they only evaluate the role opportunities, designation and
compensation to decide if they want to join. In this section, we introduce an
even more important point to check for resonance at the fundamental essence
level with the context. This is often new for many readers and thus some
practice may be needed to learn to tune into the core nature and essence of a
collective entity. Hence, we recommend that readers experiment with this
method several times till they can detect the essence of the collective entities
they are a part of. This will also enable the readers to carefully choose which
collective entities they want to be a part of, as the core nature of the collective
will, for sure, influences their inner nature as well.
Gaining expertise in this method will also enable you to contribute

consciously to nourish the core quality of the collective through your work
and actions. With the Idea Force brought in, the capacity that can be built
here is to evolve the individual self and the collective in a synergistic manner
– the individual evolution enhances collective evolution and collective
evolution enhances individual evolution.
Deducing Universal and Individual Life Principles
As the Pure Mind develops, both the individuation and universality aspects of
it get enhanced. One is more and more aware of one’s unique core essence
and with the help of the other parts of being, one can align oneself to fully
embody this core essence. At the same time, one becomes less personal and
more universal. This means that the degree of personal fixation reduces and
the degree of universality increases. One is interested in the truth, idea or
principle and is willing to live one’s life for the sake of the truth, idea or
principle. One is not focused on whether the pursuit of knowing the
‘essences’ of people, problems and things gives any practical benefit or not.
One tries to know the essence of everything because it gives one a much
wider and deeper understanding and because one is in contact with the
essential truth. Truth for truth’s sake is the interest and it does not matter
whom the ideas or insights come from. If there is truth in the ideas, one
accepts them and places one’s concentration on them. As the mind becomes
universal, it becomes open to ideas from all around. The pure mind is curious
to take in all that is there to know and assimilate. It reads diverse books,
poems, literature, articles, blogs, etc., as it wants to know the essence of
many things through the mind.
To reiterate, one slowly becomes a universal human with less personal

fixation but with increasing individuality. One wants to know the most
truthful essence of oneself, others and situations in a very universal and
impersonal way. Not looking from one’s own view but looking from the view
of truth is the interest. Knowing one’s most truthful essence, one aspires to be
one’s most authentic self. One studies life without any influences of needs or
desires of oneself and others. One studies life in order to deduce the
knowledge of the universal laws that govern life. One observes life – one’s
own and that of others to deduce why things occur the way they do. For
example, one observes that some people are filled with energy and positivism
and others are filled with self-criticism and negativity. One contemplates and
asks what the universal law or principle that exists behind this is. One
hypothesizes a universal principle – ‘Whatever you put your attention on
expands in your awareness.’ One then tests it – ‘Is it a Universal Truth?’ Or,
in other words, ‘Does it appear as the underlying principle across similar
situations?’ One is purely interested in knowing the truth for its own sake,
and repeatedly experiments and with a fresh approach to know the same. One
observes that if attention is given to whatever is positive, positivity actually
increases. One also observes that if attention is on negativity, negativity
increases. And when attention is focused on the ‘And’ that is common to the
positives and negatives, the core essence is now visible unifying the
opposites. When the focus is on the ‘And’ the opposite polarities unify.
Similarly, in the pure mind, what one seeks is not personal explanations
coloured by one’s personal experiences and preferences but universal
postulates that explain the whole of life and living. One seeks here for the
highest, widest and deepest truths across many instances and observations
made either by oneself or by others.
Let us take an example to examine how the Pure Mind works to deduce the
laws behind how something works. When someone goes for a homeopathic
consultation for the first time, they are often surprised by the questions that
the doctor asks. Instead of just asking questions about the symptoms, the
physician asks questions like ‘Do you like salty food or sweet food?’ or ‘Do
you like warmth or cold?’ Then one reads up and understands that
homeopathy attempts to go to the source of a problem and that these
questions help in understanding the fundamental preferences of the
individual. One also understands that in homeopathy, medicines of lesser
potency are administered as they are considered more powerful. One quickly
recognizes that this is different from other medicinal systems where often, a
more potent dose is considered more powerful. One then studies further and
understands that the fundamental principle of homeopathy is ‘Like cures
like’. The same substance that presumably causes the disease is administered
in its mildest dosage! One of the reasons a disease exists is because our
immune system fails to recognize the disease as a problem and so, does not
act on it. When the ‘like cures like’ method is used, it triggers the immune
system in the body which recognizes the disease-causing substance and deals
with it by strengthening the action of the immune system. One also
recognizes that even a little bit of the homeopathic remedy, if it is the right
one, is enough to cure the disease. Now ‘like cures like’ is a universal
principle for homeopathy – the entire system of homeopathy operates from
that principle. The pure mind then asks a fundamental question, ‘Is this
method in tune with who I am at a fundamental level?’ or ‘Is this in tune with
my core essential nature?’ If the answer is affirmative, one pursues the path
of homeopathy and if not, one searches for another medicinal system whose
principle of working is in tune with one’s core nature, inner rhythm and
principles. The pure mind here looks for resonance at the essence and
principle level between the inner and the outer.
A Pure Mind always seeks the essential principles and universal laws. Now
let us say that the same person who has an essential understanding of
homeopathy chances to read about how forest fires are controlled. Normally
if there is a fire, it is dowsed by pouring water or even by putting sand over it.
Now one reads that when there is a large forest fire, they actually tackle the
situation by kindling another fire in the opposite direction! The main
difficulty in handling forest fires is that they spread fast, destroying all the
vegetation. So firefighters start a fire at the opposite end and let it spread
towards the oncoming forest fire. This newly created fire burns away all the
inflammable vegetation on the ground. So when the created fire meets the
forest fire, there is nothing inflammable left for the original forest fire to feed
on, and it dwindles and is destroyed in a very striking manner. For a pure
mind, the principle behind this is similar to that of homeopathy – ‘like cures
like’ or here it is ‘like consumes like’. The ‘like’ consumes what is needed
for the ‘like’ to survive and thus destroys it. The pure mind person is ever
curious trying to deduce the universal principles behind the workings of
anything we come across in life.
Likewise, the pure mind can uncover the fundamental operating laws or
principles of any system we are interested in studying. Every universal
principle is true for that system or context. In the pure mind, the method we
use is that of deducing the essential principle of something and honouring the
principle consciously when we interact with the particular system or context.
When we relate with some other very different system or context, we uncover
its operating fundamental principle and we honour it. We do this as we are
curious about the universal principles behind something and we want to
understand and clarify it.
Now even though a system may have a universal principle, an individual

entity may operate with its own individual principle, which could dilute the
essence of the system due to dissonance or enhance it due to resonance. It is
important to observe whether the individual and the system are resonating
and co-evolving with each other. A system can evolve only when a critical
number of individuals in it hold within them an evolved essence, which
represents the next level essence of the system.
Let us consider a few more examples to further our understanding of

universal and individual principles:
What is the principle behind the allopathic medicine system? Our

understanding is: ‘To identify the exact symptom that is causing a
disruption and administer an external substance that will alleviate the
problem’.
What is the principle behind business enterprises? In general, it is ‘to

maximize profits for the shareholders’. This is the universal principle.
However, the fundamental principle of business held in the individual
organization depends on what the leaders have set it to be and uphold. If
a leader is spiritual, it can operate under the principle of ‘evolution of
collective consciousness’. If the leader wants to make a social impact,
the principle can be ‘solving or transforming a social problem through
sustainable practices’ rather than simply profit maximization. Even if a
leader holds higher principles, a critical number of people in his or her
organization need to internalize the same. Only then the general norm of
‘profit maximization’ that runs across all business enterprises can be
enhanced and enriched with the individual principles that define the
organization.
What is the principle of educational institutions? One of the universal

principles is ‘holistic development for teachers and students’. However,
at the level of individual operational principles, it may differ depending
on the heads of institutions. In some educational institutions, at an
individual level, the operating principle can be ‘profit maximization’ or
‘power aggrandizement’ or ‘propagation of a philosophy, religion or
social cause’. Some may hold the universal principle of ‘Integral
Education’ of teachers and students as the core operating principle.
People can project any principle through their communication, branding
exercise or vision statements. The actual fundamental operating principle is
inferred by direct observation. Beyond all the actions and words, we are
looking for what is the essential core essence and principle, the system or
context actually stands for. So here, we are learning to uncover both the
universal principle of the larger system or context and the individual principle
of the particular subsystem or sub-context we are studying.
The art of deducing universal and individual principles in systems and life in
general comes only by practice and reflection. We invite the reader to bring
in their sincere aspiration to master the quintessence of the mind – the Pure
Mind.
Truth about Oneself – Core Qualities/Values and
Life Purpose
One way of understanding our true nature is by uncovering our life purpose
and core qualities/values. We shall explore this process in this section.
Core Qualities/Values
The Pure Mind goes to the core essence of something and can see the
‘essence’ or ‘whole’ among many parts. We are now ready, based on the
explorations we have made so far, to enter into how the pure mind helps in
uncovering one of the truths about ourselves – our core qualities. All humans
are the same and yet each of us is distinctly different. At a deeper level, each
one of us resonate to some qualities and these qualities make us come ‘alive’.
Our heart is deeply nourished when we connect to these qualities within
others or ourselves. These core qualities are also referred to as core values.
Some examples of core qualities or values that people who have attended our
courses cherish and have shared, are:
Authenticity, equality, compassion, benevolence, honesty, generosity,

calmness, peace, serenity, wisdom, fulfillment, perseverance, dedication,
focus, cleanliness, love, satisfaction, purity, freedom, liberation,
kindness, gratitude, patience, independence, togetherness, wonderment,
curiosity, child-like innocence, trust, spirituality, composure, optimistic
enthusiasm, motivation, strength, abundance, prosperity, simplicity,
realism, affection, fearlessness, expansiveness, illumination, perfection,
pleasant disposition, connectedness, caring, happiness, sanctity, energy,
punctuality, commitment, hope, joy, life, hard work, sincerity,
contribution, tranquility, freshness, respect, relationship-centeredness,
humility, green, sustainability, impactful, positive-vibration, beauty,
solitude, dependability, thoughtfulness, expressiveness, holistic, being
knowledgeable, living in the present, silence, mindfulness, openness,
order, fitness, centeredness, discipline, flow state, idealism, elegance,
versatility, loftiness, humility, depth, nobility, balance, consistency,
oneness, acceptance, contentedness, cheerfulness, mystery, liveliness,
radiance, wholeness and resonance.
This is a rich list that many participants from our courses have shared from
their hearts about what is most meaningful to them. If we connect to these –
not just read but connect to each one – we can realize that these are
qualitative state experiences that exist within others and us. Now all of us
may value all of these qualities but some of them speak directly to our hearts
more than others. This indicates that these are our core qualities – our own
inner truth representing who we are at a qualitative level within us.
Discovering these essential qualities that resonate with us is very important to
know who we truly are at a deeper level.
Life Purpose
When we observe people across the world, we find that many lead lives
bounded by their job, career, family, desires and social engagements, but do
not experience fulfillment in their life. Their lives are about being successful
and ensuring that their offsprings are successful in the future. The pure mind
steps back from this ‘stuck in a rut’ mode and ponders on the question ‘Why
are we doing all this?’ and ‘What is the purpose of my life?’ It can scan
through the whole of our life and look for patterns, connecting threads and
the fundamental meaning we aspire to derive from life.
Our life purpose and values are known to our deeper self. It is our Inner
Guide, which reveals to us moment by moment what we need to stand for and
move towards. For this we use the faculties of resonance and inspiration in
the moment, both of which we shall explore in the ninth chapter. However, it
is the pure mind that puts together the clues from the resonances and
inspirations as the core truth of purpose and values. This then acts as the
governing light in the mind to encompass and direct the whole of our life and
work. This gives the central orientation of who we really are, and what we are
really doing in this world.
We now share a process that can enable readers to find their life purpose and
discover their core qualities/values.
Step 1: Core Qualities/Values
Scan through the whole of your life from birth till the present and look for
what stands out as significant memories and events. These could be
memories and events of success, failures, strife, happiness, joy, etc. Without
making any prefixed choices on recalling certain events, just scan your
lifetime a few times and notice whatever key moments pop up in your
awareness. You may or may not note these moments down.
Look within these memorable moments to recognize:
What qualities were present in these events that resonate with you even
now? What qualities, had they been present to a greater extent, would
have made the events even more fulfilling? Please note that it does not
matter whether the qualities were present in you or others as the
qualities are universal. So, irrespective of who embodied or you wish
had embodied them, note down the qualities that made or would have
made the events even more memorable.
What qualities were present in the environment, buildings and ambience,

in these memorable events that resonate with you? What qualities do
you wish had been more present in the environment, buildings and
ambience in those moments? List these qualities down (e.g., an
environment can embody the quality of ‘beauty’).
What principles and values that you or others stood by in these events
are most nourishing to you? What principles and values do you wish you
or others could have honoured more in these events?
Look at the list of qualities, principles and values that have emerged
from the earlier three bullet points and cull out the core qualities behind
them. You do not have to distinguish whether the qualities, principles
and values are yours or of others or from the outer environment. These
are universal and what really matters is that they resonate with you and
speak to your heart. Ask what is the ‘core essence’ present behind these
qualities, principles and values. A ‘core essence’ here are those core
qualities that exist and are present behind all the other qualities,
principles and values that resonate with you. This will provide you your
set of core qualities/values. This gives you clarity about what nourishes
you at a very deep level.
Step 2: Life Purpose
Scan through the whole of your life and this time, focus on the key
decisions you have made and the most important turning points of your
life. Write this list down.
From this list, identify those decisions and turning points where you
have made conscious choices and you felt inspired and meaningful when
you took these choices. What matters is that when you made these
decisions and choices in your life, it was of your own volition, you were
internally happy and felt aligned within. Write this list separately under
the title, ‘My joyful life choices’. It does not matter whether these
choices led you to success or not at that point in time.
For each choice in the list of ‘My joyful life choices’ write down what
your intent was behind the choice. Every time you write the intent ask if
it is a superficial intent or a deeper intent. If it is a superficial intent,
imagine ‘If this intent were already fulfilled, what intent was even more
important to me and what was I really seeking through the choice?’
Keep seeking a deeper intent until you get a specific one. However, let it
not become a generic abstraction where it loses its potency. The goal is
to get the deeper intent to be specific, comprehensive and a clear
reflection of the fundamental intent behind your choice. So for each
choice in the list of ‘My joyful life choices’, write down your specific,
comprehensive deeper intent.
Let us take an example:
Choice: Ram wants to start a business.
Intent: To make money and be successful.
Ram recognizes that this is a surface intent and thus he

imagines, ‘If I already have all the money I need and I am
successful, then what is even more important?’ The answer
could be to make a revolutionary product.
Ram decides to check further. He asks, ‘If I am already

creating a revolutionary product, fully and completely right
now, then what is even more important?’ His answer can be,
‘Ah I am most happy then. I just want to be happy and settle
down with my family’. Now in this case the reflection has gone
into a generic abstraction of happiness and also into another
area of family.
So he climbs back to the earlier level ‘To create a

revolutionary product’. He asks, ‘Is this very specific and
comprehensive in describing the fundamental purpose?’ He
reflects and concludes the specific comprehensive deeper
intent as ‘To create a revolutionary product to transform the
quality of education among college-going students in the
South of India’.
Similarly for each of the choices in ‘My joyful life choices’, you
have made, list down the specific comprehensive deeper intents.
Now for each of the specific comprehensive deeper intents that you have
got from the ‘My joyful life choices’ list, uncover the fundamental
fractals of your purpose that hold true, give meaning and fulfillment in
other areas of your life as well. To do this, take away the contexts and
uncover the essence of the specific comprehensive deeper intent. Check
if the essence holds true in a few other areas of your life. The moment
you uncover the fundamental fractals that hold true in a few other areas
of your life as well, you can say “Bingo! I have uncovered a seed, a part
of my life purpose.”
Let us continue our example:
First Specific Comprehensive Deeper Intent: ‘To create a

revolutionary product that will transform the quality of
education among college-going students in South India’.
Fundamental Fractal of Purpose: ‘To create…to transform the

quality of….’
Ram checks if the fundamental fractal of purpose is true in

other areas of life. An example for it being true in other areas
of his life can be ‘To create workshops and coaching journeys
to transform the quality of consciousness of leaders’. Another
example can be ‘To create an organization where people work
together with joy, ethics and superior performance to
transform the quality of work culture in organizations’.
From another life choice, Ram uncovers the Second Specific

Comprehensive Deeper Intent: ‘Contribute to the well-being
of my family members so that they are truly happy and
fulfilled’.
Fundamental Fractal of Purpose: So this statement has been

narrowed down to the level of family. One way Ram can get
the fundamental fractal of purpose is by taking away the focus
on a particular context and get the broad essence. This can
then be stated as ‘Contribute to the well-being of…so that
people experience true fulfillment….’
Ram can now check whether this fractal is true in other areas
of his life and work. An example of it being true in another
area of his life can be ‘Contribute to the well- being of my
team members so that each of us can reach our true potential
and are fulfilled at work’. Another example of it being true in
another area is ‘Contribute to the well-being of young
underprivileged children so that they can create a truly happy
and satisfying future for themselves’.
From yet another choice, Ram uncovers the Third Specific

Comprehensive Deeper Intent: ‘Doing without a doer-ship
attitude – Authoring the book I am writing so that the book
guides me in holding a pure energy and perfection within it’.
Fundamental Fractal of Purpose: ‘Doing without a doer-ship

attitude…so that it guides me to … .’
Ram can check if this is applicable in other areas of his life.

Examples are ‘Doing without a doer-ship attitude the daily
meditation and concentration practices, so that I allow the
practice itself to guide me to hold a pure consciousness
connection and energy within’ or ‘Doing without a doer-ship
attitude the social transformation project, so that the project
reveals what could be right actions and pure energy we can
hold, to touch the lives of people concerned and involved.’
Similarly, you may write down all the fundamental fractals of

purpose for each of your specific comprehensive deeper intents.
Now connect to all the fundamental fractals of purpose, synthesize and

arrive at the core essence or truth of all of them in one or two sentences.
This will be your life purpose as you can see it now. This life purpose
statement should hold the essential truth of all the fundamental fractals
of purpose. It should also encompass the whole of your life and act as
the primary purpose into which all other intents and purposes in your
life and work finally add up to. If this step is completed, it is a very
powerful and aligned way to lead one’s life as the intent behind intents
and the core life purpose of all our fundamental fractals of purpose are
clear.
Let us continue our example:
The three fundamental fractals of purpose Ram culled out are:
‘To create … to transform the quality of … .’

‘Contribute to the well-being of … so that people
experience true fulfillment … .’
‘Doing without a doer-ship attitude … so that it guides
me to … .’
We suggest that you try to recognize Ram’s life purpose from

within these three fundamental fractals of purpose.
One way the life purpose of Ram can be stated is ‘Allowing

self to be a vehicle through which creative contributions flow,
transforming work and people to hold higher qualities’.
Similarly write down your life purpose by finding the connecting

thread or crux from all the fundamental fractals of purpose that you
have listed down.
To make this exercise richer, you can add one more element. You can
list down the key projects you are working on right now and what you
feel is some of the most important work you plan to do over the next few
years. For each of these key projects or works, you can write down the
specific comprehensive deeper intent that you have and uncover the
fundamental fractal of purpose beneath it. You can then enrich your life
purpose that you have written so that it brings into it the essence of these
new fundamental fractals of purpose that you have uncovered. This will
be your enriched life purpose as you see it now!
Coming back to our example:
Current key project: Start an ‘after school’ where students of

school and college will come for four hours every weekend to
holistically develop all parts of their being.
Specific comprehensive deeper intent: To create a space in

addition to formal education where students from 10th
standard to college can experientially learn how to purify and
develop all parts of their being.
Fundamental fractal of purpose: Creating spaces to experience

transformation of all parts of being.
New enhanced Life Purpose: An example of how an enhanced
life purpose can be written to bring the new fractal purpose
into the earlier life purpose is shared here. Essence of
‘Allowing self to be a vehicle through which creative
contributions flow, transforming work and people to hold
higher qualities’ + Essence of ‘Creating spaces to experience
transformation of all parts of being’ = ‘Offering self as a
vehicle to facilitate holistic transformation of self, others and
work to uphold higher qualities and creative contributions.’
Similarly frame your enhanced life purpose by synthesizing new

fractals of your purpose from emerging projects and bring its
essence into your core life purpose.
Step 3: Inclusivity and Individuality
Now take this truth of your core qualities and life purpose, and apply two
‘check parameters’ on it. Is it all-encompassing? Does it convey the essence
of your individuality?
Our life purpose and core values should be all-encompassing when they are
distilled out and written down in such a manner that they can be applied to all
areas of our life and work. At the level of the core essence of life purpose and
core values/qualities, there are no compartments and we define the essence of
our truth across all work and all contexts of our life. If there is even a single
role or context where the life purpose or core quality is not true or not valid,
then we need to go deeper and find that statement of life purpose and core
values/qualities that hold true for the whole of our life and work. The way we
do this can be by reflecting on that one role or context where our current life
purpose or core qualities/values do not fully hold true. We can uncover the
new fractal purpose or quality and then enrich our current life purpose and
core qualities/values to hold the essence of the new.
The second criteria, is that the purpose and qualities should define our
individuality. Each of us is so unique and the essence of purpose and
value/qualities we connect with should be drawn out from our life, our
aspirations and inspirations. This can’t be taken out from a book or copy
pasted. It needs to be a true living enquiry where we find out what the
purpose or qualities we cherish deep down and defines our soul essence are.
So if we find ourselves repeating some generic purpose or value statements
like ‘I want to be happy and have peace’, it may be a good idea to go back to
the drawing board and dwell deeper till we get some truth about our purpose
or qualities that defines us uniquely, that we truly stand for, cherish, resonate
and are inspired by.
Step 4: Living Purpose and Core Qualities/Values
How do we use this work on life purpose and core qualities on a daily basis?
It helps if we see the written down life purpose and core qualities at least
several times each day. The trick is not just to read them but also to
actively connect to each of the life purpose statements and core qualities.
This makes them come alive in our mind, heart and actions.
We can identify the intent of each of our action and check if this is
aligned to our life purpose. We can also consciously invoke the core
qualities and act so that our actions are infused with these core qualities.
The life purpose and core qualities are not etched in stone and are
evolving. As we evolve and connect more with our self, we will get
further clues about, ‘Who are we, really?’ and ‘What do we really stand
for in our life and work?’ As glimmers of the answers come to us and
we gain new insights, it is wise to evolve the core essence of our life
purpose and core qualities to include the essence of these answers as
well.
Alignment – Within and Without
The Pure Mind can step away from the noise of the mind, its boundaries and
rise above it. It can focus on the core qualitative truths that inspire it and
define one’s individuality. These qualities are the essence of our life purpose
and core qualities/values, which define our inner nature. At its best this is like
a flashlight that lights up in all directions above the noise of our mind and
looks at people, situations, organizations and institutions to deduce their core
truth and essence. Using its capacity to observe the core essence and the
underlying patterns in self, other people and collective entities, it quickly
recognizes the core qualities they stand for – principles, purpose and values.
The resonance between the essence of our inner and the essence of the outer
we engage with is picked up intuitively and instantly by our Deeper Self. Our
Inner Guide gives its guidance as a spontaneous indication from within, when
there is resonance between ‘Self’ and the ‘other’. Here the ‘other’ can be a
person, object, another living being, the environment, nature or Divine
beings. At the same time, the pure mind helps to cull out our/other’s true
nature – life purpose and core values/qualities; and helps to recognize
alignment and congruence between oneself and other’s truer nature. Here the
rest of the workings of the mind and the vital desires should not contaminate
the working of the pure mind. In fact, it is the governing core qualities –
clarified and held in the pure mind, which should govern rest of the working
of the mind and the vital life-forces.
We can learn to make life and work choices where there is congruence
between our true nature and the collective’s or other persons’ core essence.
We can also craft our actions so that there is a dual benefit – a contribution to
our true essence and to the core essence of the other people/larger collective.
This way our life becomes more and more aligned and authentic – as the
essence of our inner and the outer contexts we are a part of become
complementary and nourishing.
Signature Strengths
We have many strengths – some that formed naturally in us and some that we
acquired based on our various life and work experiences. Is there a difference
between natural strengths and acquired strengths? As you read, we invite you
to contemplate on this question based on your own experience using your
pure mind to look for differences at the essence level. From our perspective,
there seems to be a qualitative difference between both strengths and we
share our understanding here.
A natural strength is something that kicked in and became present by itself

either when we were young or sometime later. If we are aware of and detect
the presence of a natural strength, we can then use it consciously for our
benefit and satisfaction. Some of the characteristics of a natural strength are:
It forms by itself. It could form at any point of time in life when certain
conditions and situations emerge.
It does not need much effort to develop. Even if we give some degree of
attention and use its strengths, it becomes stronger.
Every time we use the strength or come from the strength in our life and
work, we are satisfied. There is a sense of timelessness and innate
confidence when we bring forth this strength.
The strength feels good to us because of the intrinsic joy it gives us. So
here the strength is sustained by intrinsic motivation.
There is an inner urge felt to master all the nuances of the strength.
An acquired strength is something we were compelled to develop due to

external circumstances or chose to develop on our own in order to be
effective in a particular role. Some of the characteristics of an acquired
strength are:
Effort is needed to sustain development.
In the beginning, some method or technique is needed to work on this

strength.
It feels great to use the strength because of the benefits it gives and the
results it produces. So here the strength is sustained more by extrinsic
motivation or the results it gives.
The strength needs an external challenge and push to develop and

perfect it.
Perfection of an acquired strength needs steady, repetitive, conscious

and methodical effort.
Now let us use the pure mind to understand the essence of natural and
acquired strength. Natural strength emerges spontaneously and grows
joyfully with attention. Acquired strength is based on an external need and
develops by methodical effort. We invite you to enjoy the beauty of the pure
mind here. If we use the five bullet points describing natural and acquired
strengths to understand this concept, we will have one level of understanding.
When we use the pure mind, we reach for the essence and then we can detect
the essence of the natural strength in its nascent, partial or fully emergent
forms across our life and work. This gives us the capacity to detect natural
strengths quicker and easier.
We invite you to do the following exercise:
Focus and concentrate on the essence of the natural strength

(spontaneously emerging and joyfully growing with attention) and of the
acquired strength (external need based, developing by methodical
effort).
Scan through your entire life from birth (as early as you can remember)
until the present moment – a few times.
Each time, look for the presence of natural strength in its various forms
of emergence a) the natural strength emerged fully in a spontaneous way
and it joyfully continues to evolve with your attention, or b) the natural
strength emerged spontaneously but partially and it joyfully continues to
grow with your attention or c) the natural strength that was emerging
spontaneously was suppressed by some internal or external resistance
and thus its potential was lost.
Write down your natural strengths against these three buckets – fully
formed, partially formed and suppressed and contemplate on the insights
that emerge. Reflect:
What do you want to do with these natural strengths?
If you bring all your natural strengths into your life and work fully,
what fulfillment and transformation would you notice?
What do you think is the link between connecting to your natural

strengths and your overall authentic evolution as a human being?
What opportunities do you see in your life and work to fully bring
forth your natural strengths?
This is a very powerful exercise. When you do this exercise with the pure
mind, you can detect your own fully formed, partially formed and suppressed
natural strengths. You can then shed the light of attention on these partially
formed and suppressed natural strengths and create opportunities for its fuller
emergence. This enables one to become more of the best of oneself and
radiate one’s inherent and natural resourcefulness – your signature strengths
– in the world.
Developing Faculties of the Pure Mind
We have explored the Pure Mind and its methods in a good degree of detail.
Now let us examine what faculties can be developed to develop the Pure
Mind to its fullest:
Reflection, Contemplation
The capacity of the Pure Mind is to uncover the essential truth that lies
beneath all that we know. The faculty of the mind is to reflect and
contemplate on all that we know about something in a certain context and ask
within, ‘What is the truth that is self-existent and present behind all that I
know and in what context does this truth exist?’ Having asked the question,
we can learn to wait as patiently and quietly as possible till the essence and
truth are revealed.
Stand back, Observe and Witness
The capacity to ‘step back’ from the noise of the mind, from the circulating
thoughts and its focus on details helps the mind to grasp the big picture and
glimpse a bird’s eye view of the mind’s contents. It can then uncover the
essential ‘nodes’ or ‘hubs’ of the thought patterns and recognize them as
essential truths (what is self-existent and present) behind all the surface
details.
Concentration, Focus
A capacity to develop in the Pure Mind is to focus our attention not on the
details and information, but on the essence. This is the focus part. And then,
it is the capacity to place our attention on the essence for a period of time till
its truth (what is self-existent and present) is fully revealed. This is the
concentration part. How do we do this? By practice, practice and practice.
Every time our mind shifts from the essence to the details, we shift our focus
back to the essence. This need not be a mechanical exercise but a joyful
exploration as every essence is a quality as well and has a qualitative
experience behind it. For example, if the essence behind all that we are doing
is ‘quest for authenticity’, then we can learn to focus on the quality of
authenticity, as a living enquiry. We can ask ‘What does authenticity really
mean to me?’ We can concentrate on the quality of authenticity, till its
nuances are revealed to us.
Purity to seek Universal Truth
Pure Mind is pure thought. Idea Force Mind is creative and applied thought.
Objective Mind is practical and utilitarian thought. In Objective Mind, we
use ideas based on their practicality, utility to life, whether they can be
translated into action and how far they can benefit life. In Pure Mind, we
relate to ideas based on their intrinsic truth. Ideas are received in our mind as
a means to know the truth about something. We are not concerned about
practicality or whether someone has tested or pioneered it or not. We are
interested in the inherent merit of the logic or principle of the idea and the
degree of clarity it brings in understanding complex phenomena. Truth for
truth’s sake is the pursuit here, because the mind is inspired by it. We do not
pursue a truth here because it is practical but because the mind is inspired by
it, resonates with it and longs to know it. Living in the Pure Mind for the sake
of the Pure Mind, just contemplating and adoring the central core essence is
the joy and beauty of the Pure Mind.
The purity here is to develop a disinterested love for ideas. Here, absolute
love takes the form of pursuing ideas for their own sake. Here we examine
ideas irrespective of the individuals who have expressed them. Ideas can
come from anyone, learned or not. An objective disinterest is needed to do
this work in the mind. Looking for thoughts which are lofty and noble with
no self-reference or desire for personal benefit is the purity here. This opens
us naturally to the Universal Mind.
Mental Sincerity
Mental sincerity is to continually center the thought and to perform mental
synthesis. To arrive at the needed discernment and guidance in the mind, we
need to learn to draw out the core essence of a thought or its formation. This
is the process of centering the thought. This is different from labeling the
thought or changing the thought content, structure, sequencing, or pattern
through imagination. Centering the thought is actually extracting and
knowing the essence of the thought or its formation. Centering the thought
includes, a) culling out or knowing the essential quality or experience behind
the thought and b) culling out or knowing the essential principle or truth or
core idea behind the thought. With practice, every thought formation can be
centered so that we can know the core essence of it. Then centering the
thought becomes a living experience, a deeper connection formed within the
mind to every thought formation.
We also need to engage in mental synthesis on an ongoing basis. The mental

effort here is to identify the core meta-centers of the various centers of
thoughts. This is, in a way, tuning into the essence of the essence. The effort
here is to rearrange all the centers of thoughts around their corresponding
meta-centers, in the right relationship of alignment to the meta-centers. This
will result in the organization of thought essences in the form of nested loops.
One whole or meta-center will uphold many other related centers of thoughts.
The centers of thoughts that resonate most with their meta-centers will
occupy prominent space and receive more attention. The centers of thoughts
that have a lesser relationship or connection to their meta-center will gain
lesser emphasis and importance. This will organize the mind at the essence
level. This will ensure that our thoughts do not clash creating mental noise.
Ensuring that the mind is cohesive and not a space where thoughts clash, and
taking the continual effort needed for the same is defined as the sincerity of
the mind in this context.
Benefits of Pure Mind
The purpose of the Pure Mind is to provide a cohesive, unified and central
orientation to the contents of the mind. Such work of extraction and weaving
of truth gives the following benefits to our mind:
Widening
Since we now know the process of ‘essencing’ we can look for knowledge,
opinions, perceptions and viewpoints in all directions. We do not have to
reject anything. We can look into all information and using the objective
mind, get richer and wider data to describe a situation or problem in a fuller
way. We can then look through these data and information, deduce the
essential truths and draw out the central essence. If the pure mind is
underdeveloped, we will shut our mind away from too much information and
viewpoints as the mind gets overloaded. With the pure mind, our mind is
open and wide, accepting all data and perceptions into consideration from all
sources. The pure mind centers the information and culls out the essence
from the abundance of data and perceptions. The connecting essence can be
identified from even among the most paradoxical and contradictory positions.
This makes our mind wide and vast in its quest for knowledge. When the
connecting essences between paradoxical positions are culled out, the
opposite polarities unify in a higher and vaster essence.
Deepening
Our method to discern the essence within the essence develops depth. In the
beginning, we get only a superficial understanding of essence. With
experience and expertise, we can learn to see the deeper truth of anything. In
the beginning, we may need to take some time to reflect, wait upon and
contemplate to grasp this depth. As time goes by, the pure mind can become
so developed that by just applying our mind to something or concentrating on
a subject/discussion/viewpoint, the essential core idea or concept discussed
can be recognized at once.
The most significant way in which this can be applied is to know the deeper
intent of all our thoughts and actions, which we have already hinted earlier in
this chapter. In the beginning when we ask for the intent, we get the first-
level intents. Then as we have seen earlier, we can ask ‘What is even more
important?’ and access the deeper layer intents. This is a very powerful
technique. For example, someone criticizes us constantly and we get angry
and want to shower harsh words on the other person. We can ask what our
intent is. The first-level intent can be to ‘hit’ back at the other person. On
deeper reflection, our true intent can be recognized. For example, it could be
to protect, honour who we are and express our strengths. Once we uncover
our deeper intent we can focus on it and go for it rather than dissipating our
energy on fulfilling the first-level intent. A developed pure mind gives this
depth of understanding. It can go below layers of essences, intents, principles,
values, etc., and uncover the deeper ones.
When the mind becomes wide and deep, it also develops capacity to co-hold
multiple intentions in a group, as this mind can cull out the central ‘And’ of
all the intentions that will nourish all the individual intents of group members
in a fundamental way. This will not be in a word-to-word manner, but will be
at the essence level and, thus, far more nourishing and contributing. Even if
one member in a group has this capacity and if the group accepts his or her
capacity, it will be a great boon for the whole group.
Wholeness
By increasing the action of centering the thought and identifying the core that
unites many similar thoughts, the mind becomes more and more cohesive.
The contradictions reduce as the ‘And’ that unifies and holds the
contradictions are identified. When we learn to recognize the truths and
essences behind knowledge, perceptions and viewpoints, we arrive at the
center of all these truths and essences. We know what, essentially, they stand
for and thus each of these essences and truths are a ‘whole’ by themselves. In
application, this would mean that the central principles, values and constructs
are all drawn out clearly and in a succinct manner. These are the ‘wholes’
that can hold large degrees of complexity. A great treasure house of
knowledge can thus be held in the seed essence.
With further development of the pure mind, this becomes the pursuit of
singularity – the theory of everything, the discovery of the central whole that
can hold all the other wholes within it. Each whole can then be placed in right
relation with the central ‘whole’. One example of a central whole can be
‘Evolution’ and then all other perceptions, thoughts and viewpoints that we
have can be arranged around that central whole. This arrangement can then
be examined to note what kind of understanding, insights and direction this
pattern gives rise to in our mind. Another central whole can be ‘Divine’ and
then all the rest we know – the essences – can be placed around Divine in the
right relationship to the essence of the Divine. Those essences that resonate
the most to the essence of Divine will occupy more prominence or focus in
our mind. We must remember that one of the roles the pure mind plays is to
clarify the core essence that guides and directs the whole of life. We can then
reflect what such a pattern of thinking, with the essence of the Divine as the
center of our mind, gives us. Or, to take another example, we can place ‘Our
Self – Our Life Purpose and Core Values’ at the center of our thinking and
examine everything we believe or do with reference to this center. We can
contemplate what this configuration of our mind gives us – the kind of light,
clarity, insights and direction this provides.
We invite you to practice this process in your mind and see what happens!
The steps follow:
Choose what you want the center of your mind to be – a central value,
principle, ideal, ideology, universal quality or a Divine Presence.
View every other thought, concept, perception, belief or idea you have
in your mind, against the defined center of your mind – checking for
alignment and resonance.
Give a thought or idea prominence when it is closely aligned with the

defined center of the mind. Prominence is given by increasing focus,
concentration and duration of attention on the chosen thought, idea or
defined center of the mind. The varied degrees of prominence based on
discernment of alignment, of each thought with its center, create a
structure or pattern in our mind.
If the mind’s cohesive structure that forms through this process does not
resonate or is not inspiring to you, dismantle the structure by dropping
away the defined center and start the whole process again with a newly
defined center. What joy this would be! This would be the actual
experience of the evolution of our world-views.
With some practice, you can try this exercise with two defined centers in the
mind. For example, the first time you can do the exercise with ‘Self’– life
purpose and core values as the center. The second time around, you can do
the exercise with two centers and they can be, for example, ‘Self’ and
‘Divine’. With two centers, you can organize your thinking around these and
see what clarity, insights and direction this mind formation gives you. Now,
as you do this, you can try a third exercise. Between the two centers define
which one is your primary center and see what mind formations emerge.
Then interchange the primary and secondary centers and see what mind
formation emerges. Note what insights emerge through this process. This is a
very insightful and advanced pure mind exercise. Through this exercise, our
mind slowly becomes more holistic, somewhat like the formation of nested
loops. In these nested thought loops, the truth of the whole and all its
constituent parts are honoured. As you keep doing this exercise, you will
discover which defined center in the mind is truly inspiring to and resonates
with your deeper self, and brings all the perceptions, beliefs, ideas and
insights of the mind together in a cohesive manner. Then this defined center
becomes the quintessence of our pure mind that we can focus on.
Evolving
The central ‘whole’ is never a static truth. It considers all the individual
wholes that the mind continually culls out. If the individual truths are already
part of the central whole, everything remains the same. If not, the central
whole enriches itself to hold within it the new truth that has emerged. In this
manner, the central core of our mind keeps evolving as the other individual
centers of the mind form or evolve. Thus, we evolve as an interconnected
ecosystem of truths within our mind. This is the building of singularity and a
universe of truths within our mind. A true singularity is affected only by the
action of the intuition in the mind. As far as the pure mind is concerned, the
singularity and truth culled out are only the beginning ranges of its spectrum.
So, if we place our ‘Self’ as the central whole of our mind, it means that we
place our life purpose and core values at the center and arrange the whole
mind’s thinking around it. Imagine that at some point in our forward journey,
we come across a purpose or value that is highly resonant with us, and the
essence of which is not embodied in the central whole. We can then enrich
our life purpose and core values to hold the essence of this emergent purpose
or value. And then, we can reorganize our mind around this enriched central
whole. When we do this regularly, we get an evolving mind – a mind whose
formations evolve continually around enriched central wholes. This means a)
the center of the mind evolves, b) the thoughts and ideas we give prominence
to shifts in accordance to this new center and c) a new formation or world-
view emerges. When the mind evolves, the rest of the vital life-energy and
actions follow suit, if we have purified them sufficiently and developed them
through inner work or Sadhana.
Through the development of the pure mind, we also evolve as an individuated

human being. The pure mind gets formed around its own central whole and if
it is in touch with the Deeper Self, it creates a formation that is inspiring and
resonant. When this mind evolves, gets enriched and creates its own mind
formation that is cohesive, we get an aligned, wide and singular directionality
from our Pure Mind. If the Idea Force is well developed, it adopts this
directionality of the Pure Mind and creatively imagines many new ways of
manifesting it. The Objective Mind helps in formulating the directionality in
clear, tangible, measurable terms and monitors progress in a quantitative way.
Emotion, energy and enjoyment give the required fuel for the manifestation
of this directionality in life. The physical repeats conscious actions to ensure
that the directionality becomes actually present as a reality in actions and
day-to-day living. Thus, with the perfection of the Pure Mind we can evolve
into a true, aligned and cohesive individual. We can simultaneously become
more individuated and universal, celebrating the individuality of all other
humans.
Recognizing the Fractal Pattern in a situation
The Pure Mind can ask the question, ‘What is that one thing I can identify in
any one area of my life that, if I change, will have an impact in many other
areas of my life?’ Here we are looking for the fractal pattern which when
transformed, will have a widespread impact on the whole of one’s life. This
approach is far more efficient and effective than changing a lot of things or
even trying to change a few things in some random manner. To arrive at the
clarity of the seed pattern to be changed, the pure mind needs to operate
without any influence or distortions arising from movements of the vital life-
forces or other activities of thought and its formations. What is the method
for this? It is the same as the one we used to find the essential truth. Take the
key limitations you have. Where does it all stem from? What is the source of
these limitations? Which part of being do they primarily belong to? Take a
systemic view and identify the central limitation that underlies all these
limitations. Once you get a clue, tackle that and change that ‘seed’ limitation.
If this results in an overall change in your life, you have hit the ‘bull’s eye’. If
it does not, then go back and reflect to detect the seed limitation.
If you have a seed, it has a core essence. This is what unfolds as the plant.
Similarly, every situation you consider has some potential problems it can
run into and potential solutions it can foster. Seeds of both are normally
present in every situation. When we are solving a problem we generally use a
lot of analysis, and trial-and-error methods. However, the pure mind steps
back and looks for that fractal pattern of the problem which causes the
disturbance and it thwarts that pattern. This is powerful as we are working at
the level of the source pattern. Similarly, there is also a seed fractal pattern of
the solution that exists within the problem. Normally this is obscured by the
noise of the problem. Since the pure mind can rise above the noise of the
problem, it scans for the core essence of the solution that is just forming. If
this capacity is heightened, recognized and activated, it transforms life and
work easily. We can consciously learn to use our pure mind to recognize the
fractal pattern of the solutions and allow them to flow more into our lives by
giving them our focus. Zooming into the fractals of problems and fractals of
solutions are two qualitatively different experiences. A conscious human
makes a choice about which one they want to focus more on. It is important
to focus on both and the emphasis is normally on either the problem or
solution. Depending on the choice we make, we will have a very different
qualitative experience of living, working and experiencing fulfillment.
Pure Mind opening to Intuition
Using the Pure Mind, we can prepare to open to the ‘beyond’. The Pure Mind
is like the gatekeeper between the ‘unknown’ and the ‘known’. Based on the
qualities or core essences we resonate with and value in our pure mind, we
attract and permit those kinds of knowledge and experiences. Or in other
words, whatever knowledge or experience comes in, we view through our
pure mind to discover their underlying qualities or essences. At the same
time, when an intuition comes from the upper ranges of the mind which we
call the ‘potent unknown’, our mind colours it based on the core essences we
resonate with. So, at some point we need to transcend our preferences for
certain core essences and be open to what comes in from the highest regions
of intuition above the normal workings of our mind.
The Pure Mind in its perfect state is clear, reflective and free from any
influences from life, body and thought. When the pure mind is fully
developed and cohesive, it learns to bring in some silence, and it is open to
ideas and truth from the potent unknown. It also accepts an idea for its own
sake irrespective of the source it has come from – self or others.
The Pure Mind can draw the mind away from the flow of thoughts, bring
some quietness into the mind and open it upwards. It can learn to be quiet,
detached and silent. It can bring in the capacity to be anchored on a question
behind all our other questions, knowing that knowledge will reveal itself. A
quiet, contemplative, reflective and clear mind receives intuitive knowledge.
As you read these, you can develop the aspiration to prepare the pure mind to
arrive at this state.
Our normal mind works between polarities. Polarities are an excellent way to
remain at status quo. To synthesize polarities is still the beginning states of a
masterful pure mind. The Pure Mind can prepare to glimpse beyond existing
polarities to a singularity that exists in the next level. This singularity enters
our mind in a space of silence as an intuitive unidirectional or univalent
knowing. This entering singularity reroutes the mind into a new orbit. This is
a paradigm shift and often leads to an overarching change in one’s world
view. Normally even when we change or integrate our beliefs, ideas or
perceptions, we will still operate within the same world-view. This fixation to
our world-view is made possible, as we will be operating within the polarities
of this world-view. For example, viewing the world as good or evil or shades
in-between is still the world-view based on Cosmic Forces. Viewing the
world as all Divine and ALL as an expression of Divine shifts our orbit of
world-view higher. Here we shift beyond polarities to open to increasing
Singularity. With a deep intuitive trust, we can sense what lies at the next
level and be open to a more evolved world-view. Obviously, we cannot use
reason and analysis to figure out what could be our next world-view as that
will definitely be coloured by our current world-view. We need to learn to
come to a point where we have the courage not to attempt to predict how our
world-view will evolve. We need to learn to wait for the singularity to enter
us and mould our mind at its own pace. We can stay open facing the
unknown. As our pure mind gets moulded, we will notice that new
perceptions, truth essences, ideas, beliefs and concepts surface. We can
receive them and capture them in our pure mind and integrate the new truth
into what we are now holding as the quintessence of our pure mind. So, in
this way, the pure mind evolves not by our effort but by the direct action of
the intuitive unknown.
Discuss with someone who, also, has read this chapter. Proceed through
each section and teach and share your experiences with reference to,
drawing the essential truth of something
doing mental synthesis
culling out core nature of oneself and others
discovering core values/qualities
discovering signature strengths
identifying life purpose
uncovering the fundamental operating principle of collective

entities
discerning the degree of alignment between the essence of self and

a collective entity
For each of these topics, explore together the exercises mentioned in the
corresponding section of this chapter.
Discuss how to develop all faculties of the Pure Mind.
Discuss which benefits of the Pure Mind you currently experience and
which of the benefits you aspire to develop and experience more.
Reflection
In the following space provided, jot down your insights and reflections that
emerged as you read through this chapter. Most importantly, reflect on the
following:
When you read through this chapter, how much of your own Pure Mind
and quest for culling out the truth have you become aware of?
How purified and devoid of mental noise is the working of your Pure
Mind? What are the aspects that need more development?
How much of the Pure Mind capacities (culling out essence, synthesis,
discovering purpose and values, sensing the essence of collective
entities, finding resonance between individual–collective, understanding
universal/individual principles and making cohesive mind formations)
do you feel you possess currently?
What are the methods of development of the quintessence of the Pure

Mind that have appealed to you in this chapter? Which of them do you
plan to include in your daily Sadhana?
DIVINE
He stood transfixed in front of Her,

Her powerful Presence permeating his essence.
He cast an anchor-arrow in the darkness of the unknown,

Seeking to find the heart of the tranquil Creator,
A taut rope to pull his Vision and Will upward,
The cast not finds its target.
Recasts were many and the rope grew tauter,

Somewhere the anchor has found a resting point,
The point fixed remains unseen but is felt as light-full now,
He moves ahead with the taut rope as his guide.
He told Her, you are present in the world too,

May I be given the task to search and find you in this world,
May I be affixed not to the perils or challenges of this quest,
May your silent vision be the guiding light walking with me.
We begin this chapter with this connection to the Divine.

What is Deeper Self?
The Deeper Self is the primary part of our Being and the secret leader of all
the other parts. The Deeper Self works in the background of the mind, vital
life-energy, and physical and transforms it all. In the beginning, the working
of Deeper Self is hidden and indirect. Through our purification and evolution
of our physical, vital life-energy and mind, gradually the Deeper Self can
emerge to lead our lives more directly, towards individual and collective
evolution.
If we look into the story of evolution, every part of this Universe – from time
immemorial until now – exists within our being. By the same token the
Creator, Divine, Source or Sustainer of this Universe also exists within us,
and is present within us as the Deeper Self. Some people are comfortable
referring to the Creator as God, Truth Principle, Beauty, Resplendent
Strength, Unconditional Love, Source, One without a second, Divine Sakthi,
etc. In this chapter we shall address the Creator of this universe as Divine and
we request the reader to fill in the name that they are comfortable with for the
Creator.
Since the Deeper Self is a tiny portion of the Divine within us, it is also
capable of sensing the Divinity present within and without. The Deeper Self,
through the medium of ‘incoming intuitions’ un-thought in the silence of the
mind, connects us to the Source of Higher Consciousness. This Higher
Consciousness is present above the mind, guiding and upholding the working
of the whole universe. The Deeper Self, also through its language of
‘resonance’ of quiet joy within the cave of the heart, helps us to connect with
the Creative Divine present within the world and nourishes us with Its
Wisdom, Strength, Harmony, Beauty, Joy, Love and Perfection.
The Deeper Self thus has these two locations and functions – within the cave
of our heart and above the silence of the mind where it connects to Higher
Consciousness.
Deeper Self Within the Cave of Our Heart
Our life exists by constant interchange and replenishment. Every day, food is
needed for the body to survive. For our vital energies to thrive every day,
vital nourishment is needed. For our minds to be sharp and intelligent every
day, an increase in knowledge is needed. But a human does not live by
nourishment of the mind, life energy and body alone, but also by the
nourishment that comes by the connection with our Divine Source. This
deeper nourishment is needed each day for our inmost well-being.
To connect to our deeper self and receive its nourishment, our awareness
needs to touch deeper than our mind, vital energy and body. A mere mental
awareness cannot touch this inner-most space. Our efforts too can take us
only up to a certain point. The true question is, how much do we really want
to connect with the Divinity within us. If it is a sincere inner urge, then at
some point, we realize that there is a Presence that lives within us and carries
us forward. To recognize this Presence when it reveals itself to us, we can
begin to know its nature:
It exists quietly in the background, often unnoticed by our surface self.
When we are lost in the whirls of our mind, vital life-energy and body,
we lose our connection with this Presence.
When we remember and sincerely seek to connect, sooner or later, the

Presence makes itself felt.
It is undying. It is always there. We can connect to it anytime – day or

night – if we focus our attention within.
It has an inner certitude and nothing can shake it. When we are tossed
around by the currents of our mind, life energy or body, we lose
connection with this certitude. When we regain the connect with the
Presence and wait, sooner or later the inner certitude becomes present.
The most sacred space in the whole world lies in the cave of the human heart.
This cave of the heart cannot be located physically but only experientially in
one’s inmost consciousness. A conscious Presence that lives within us is the
flame of aspiration that wants to connect with the Higher Presence. This
flame is always present but it can be hidden and subdued by much of the
noise that sounds in our outer consciousness. It is very much a living flame. It
holds Intelligence, Love and Will. It is connected directly to the vast
impersonal consciousness and acts as the embodiment of the same within the
human. Its role is to be a guide of inspiration and resonance. It communicates
to our evolving surface consciousness through its whispers from within and
sparks a deeper and eternal longing. The flame seeks its beloved Higher
Consciousness above through the pursuit of Truth, Love, Beauty, Strength,
Harmony and Perfection in life and in the world. This deeper flame holds the
direction and light for our progress and evolution. Hence it is pivotal to
invoke and re-ignite this flame in our daily lives. This flame is our Inner
Guide and it communicates with us through the process of ‘resonance’.
Choosing Deeper Self as Inner Guide
One of the ways to connect with our deeper self and partake its nourishment
is to listen and receive its intimations and guidance for our life.
Among the eight parts of being, the deeper self is the true leader. However
for most of us, that is not the case. One of the other parts of being – of the
mind, vital life-energy or body, is often the center of gravity of our
consciousness. All other parts of being are under the influence of this
dominant part of being. If our center of gravity is one of the parts of the
mind, then our life is lived the mind way – either through analysis, purposeful
imagination or conceptual/philosophical superiority. If our center of gravity
is the vital, then our base point is emotional care or drive for progress or fun
and enjoyment. If our center of gravity is physical, our life is a repetition of
established habits. Rare is an individual who consciously aspires to shift his
or her center within the deeper self.
This chapter is written for the individual who aspires to make one’s deeper
self the true center point and the leader of one’s life. To listen and follow the
guidance of the Deeper Self, we need to understand its language – which is
‘resonance’.
Resonance
Imagine you have a metal detector. When this detector comes close to some
metal, it beeps. Like wise the Divinity within us is a detector and a sensor
too. When it comes ‘close to’ a) Divinity in any form in people, objects,
places, nature, etc., or b) someone’s inner core which is ‘in tune’ or ‘in
rhythm’ with our inner core, it signals to us from within. This signal is the
language of resonance of the deeper self. This signal is an indication that
something on the outside is vibrating at similar frequency with something
within us.
This nature of this resonance signal is:
Gentle but firm (Contrary to a vital signal which is loud)
Tiny but a clear nudge (Contrary to a vital signal which is compelling or

exaggerated and often clouds the mind)
Like a calm remembrance – Ah, I know it. Just a quiet, matter-of-fact-

like inner certainty
Permeates an inner gladness within us, when we honour its signal
When someone or something embodies inherent goodness, truth, beauty,

harmony and refined strength, even if they look or act different on the
outside, something within us gives us a signal or a nudge. We do not often
notice this when we are locked in thoughts or entangled in emotions and
feelings. If we are quiet and calm inwardly, we can sense this nudge, and then
we can consciously observe what it is in this person, object, environment or
situation that is calling for our deeper attention.
Our Inner Guide is also the ‘secret agent’ that draws to us our life
opportunities for us to evolve. If the impurities of the other parts of being do
not interfere, the deeper self mostly chooses a joyful path for our evolution. It
keeps pointing out from within who we should meet, where we should go,
what we need to say, what decisions we should take, etc. This direct inner
sensing of the nudge is something that we need not try to decipher using the
tools of the mind. Mixing thought with the direct inner sensing of such
signals might put us in a ‘neither here nor there’ kind of situation. If we learn
to use the mind in its own domain and our inner sense in the domain of the
deeper self, then there is a better chance that we can sense the whispers that
arise from deep within us. When we feel the resonance within, we can trust
the Inner Guide and act accordingly.
Resonance Examples
To give you a better experiential awareness, we share three examples of
resonance from everyday life. As you are reading, be aware of your inner
experience and what examples of resonance from your own life ‘pop up’ in
your awareness.
He had been sitting in prayer for the last four hours. He had two options
in his mind – which engineering course and which college should he
join. He connected to his Divine and asked for guidance. Receiving no
clarity, he waited and waited. There was a lamp lit in front of him and he
concentrated on it. Suddenly, everything was clear! The ambience of the
room seemed subtler and different. The lamp seemed to be more bright,
silent and steady. He felt an inner certainty. He felt strongly that he
should take the train booked that night to go to BITS Pilani. He moved
forward with inner certainty, even though many areas were still
uncertain. Throughout his train journey, till the time he reached college
and got his admission, the inner certainty remained with him.
He was writing a book. Every time he was clear on something, he wrote.

Then, when he faced a block or an inner obscurity, he waited. Once he
got clarity, he proceeded. If no clarity came, he moved on to other tasks
but a part of his consciousness waited in silent aspiration for the clarity.
Suddenly, an idea formulated or the next point emerged that felt in
harmony with the other points that had emerged so far in the chapter. If
he was free, he got back to writing. Otherwise, he noted the points down
on a piece of paper or recorded the insights on his mobile and resumed
writing whenever he could. Once he finished a section, he read it again
to check how it felt within him. If it felt in sync, he moved forward. If he
experienced some disharmony within, he refocused on those parts of the
writing and waited for clarity to emerge. He thus wrote his book at
home, in the office, at airports when he was waiting for a flight and
wherever he could find some time and space to continue this work.
He was working on his company’s website. He had clarified the key

points he wanted to share with his audience. He now wanted to create
few images that invoked the essence of what his company stands for. He
wished the image to be of such quality that it became a prayer, reminder
and a promise about the essence of the company that he was committing
to uphold. He came up with an idea for an image that was partially
formed, but one that he felt within to be in the right direction. He also
felt a nudge to contact his website vendor. His vendor worked on it and
sent back the image. He instantly felt some resonance and some doubts.
So, he waited upon the image and allowed the image to reveal to him
which parts in its essence needed to be retained and which needed to be
reworked. After every change that he wanted to suggest to the vendor,
he sensed the decision within. If there was an inner certainty and a quiet
gladness, he moved ahead and communicated his inputs to the vendor. If
not, he waited till there was clarity. Thus, the images were co-created
patiently, following the clues of inner resonance, to bear the core
essence of what his organization aspired to stand for.
Resonance Practice
It is important to practice to understand the language of resonance in
everyday life. In the beginning we may make errors. We may think that we
are following the guidance of our deeper self, not knowing that it is our vital
desire disguised as the deeper self that is moving us. What fun the vital has
fooling us pretending to be the voice of our deeper self! Many years of
sincere practice may be needed till the practitioner comes close to mastering
this art of not being deceived by vital desires.
We offer the following steps to the reader to practice resonance. We invite

you to practice these steps taking an example from your own life.
Choose one decision that you need to make in your life now – this can
be minor or something big.
Among the multiple options possible, examine the one you are about to
take. Let us call this ‘Option O’.
Concentrate on ‘Option O’.
Sense what the nature of the deeper self’s nudge is, in response to
the option you are considering.
Detect the mental and emotional responses emerging –

perceptions, beliefs, excitement, fear, doubts, passion, hesitation,
etc.
Without getting bound to any of the vital or mental responses, pay

attention to what the indication from your deeper self is. Choose ‘Option
O’ when one or more of the following deeper self’s indications are
present:
The nudge feels like a quiet and clear ‘Yes’.
The nudge becomes present in your awareness when you focus

your attention on it; and disappears from your awareness when
your attention wanders.
The option gives a sense of inner certainty, that this must be true
for you.
Considering the option leaves your ‘will’ unified and not split.
Then act on it and check if there is an instant and calm gladness within,
which presents by itself. This would indicate that the direction you are
moving in is in accordance with the compass that your Inner Guide
holds.
If you sense dissonance or lack of calm inner joy when you act, it often
indicates that you are moving away from the direction of your deeper
self.
Wait upon an option when there is:
Excitement to act immediately
Loud and compelling urge
Lack of clarity
Division of ‘will’
Once you have acted on an option, retrospect if you actually followed

the deeper self’s guidance. Or did you end up following the vital desire
that pretended to be the deeper self?
Sincerely aspire to be Graced; to be able to sense and follow the deeper

self’s guidance.
Practice, practice and practice.

Lighting Flame of Aspiration
Every day, Sadhana is needed to learn to consciously light the inner flame of
aspiration to evolve, connect to and embody Higher Consciousness. Here are
some simple ways of doing it during our regular work and life:
Remember the flame: In-between your regular day-to-day activities

take a 10 second pause and connect within. Feel the consciousness of
your heart. Bring alive, with reverence, the connection to your deeper
aspiration to live a life of truth, love and light.
Listen to resonance and inspiration: Hear the whispers of resonance –

a spontaneous feeling of gladness within, when you place your attention
on something or someone. This spontaneous joy indicates whether there
is a ‘being’ level connection with someone or something. Honour this
inner message and explore the connection. This rekindles the flame
within our heart. Be open and wide, and receive the incomings of
inspiration and intuitions. Hold the light and clarity revealed as a central
reference point to reorient your thinking. This aligns and rekindles the
flame within the heart.
Be pregnant with resonance: Being pregnant with what is resonating

with you is a great state. You could be resonating with an idea, a project,
a partial intuition or a deeper aspiration. Hold it within you as if you are
pregnant with a beautiful and glorious child. Connect to this pregnant
child. Nurture it each day by remembering the idea, tuning into it and
connecting to it. For a day, week, few months or even years nurture your
pregnancy till your idea, project, intuition or deeper aspiration is
joyfully delivered. Being pregnant with resonance lights and sustains the
flame.
Be in Faith: For 10 seconds, several times each day, connect to your

faith. It could be a faith in the Divine. It could be faith in your own
potential. It could be faith in the goodness of others. It could be faith in
some intent. It could be faith in life. It does not matter what this faith is
about. Just tune in to the state of faith. The objects of faith can vary.
Today it can be one person or Presence. Later it could be another.
Behind that is the state of unconditional faith. The state of faith stands
by itself. It is a universal state. When we get into that state, we have
faith in the Divine, others and us. When we lose connection to our inner
state of faith, we lose faith in the Divine, others and us. Faith is not just
a thought or a prayer but an actual state felt within the heart. Connect to
this state of faith each day and nourish it. Connecting to faith lights the
flame in the cave of our heart. The aim is to evolve to a point where our
faith is unconditional and ever-present.
Be in gratitude: In between your busy life, each day, for 10 seconds,

connect to a feeling of gratitude with no specific reason. All the good
things that fill our life have been attracted by the inner consent of our
Deeper Self. Our Deeper Self attracts all our challenges too. We may or
may not be consciously aware of the inner consents of our Deeper Self.
Both the good and bad, the opportunities and threats, can be utilized for
our evolution. Our Deeper Self often does this process unknown to the
comprehension-layer of our mind. This is because, if we know this
consent of the deeper self on a moment-by-moment basis, we may
unconsciously interfere with our own progress by our personal reactions.
So, every part of our life and work, just as it is, is important for our
evolution. Be in gratitude. Feel the flame in your heart and thank it for
all the opportunities and challenges it is bringing to you. This lights the
flame. At a later stage of evolution, when we are increasingly
surrendered to our Deeper Self, every choice of our Deeper Self can be
made in a fully conscious manner. Then we do not need to attract
challenges but can directly evolve to increasingly hold Higher
Consciousness within us.
Connection with Higher Consciousness
The Deeper Self within the cave of the heart is like a drop of Divinity within
us, inwardly directing us to evolve. The Divinity also enters into our vision
from the vaster heights and wider Universal consciousness present above and
beyond the working of all existence and universe. This Higher Consciousness
is the domain of Silence, Peace, Calmness, Truth, Infinite Freedom and Bliss.
It acts like a column of silencing Presence and pressure over the top of our
head. Our mental chatter cuts us off from this Higher Consciousness. Silence
helps us to connect back to it.
Silence
There is no ‘the’ method to access inner silence. Silence is akin to a Living
Presence that responds to our aspiration. Perhaps the only effort needed is to
place our attention periodically in a region above the thought and noise of the
mind. This region is a bit quiet. We can learn to ascend into this quieter
region above our ‘thinking’ mind and wait patiently. If we notice some
regular thoughts rising up and distracting us, we can quietly request silence to
Grace us. That’s it!
When the silence or the pressure above our head Graces us, it is best to fill
ourselves with deep gratitude and just allow the action to unfold. Using the
mind to interpret the method brings thought into this process and disturbs the
incoming action, clarity and flow.
It is worthwhile to state here that this is not a passive silence. We do not

necessarily have to be in non-action to access this silence. We can pretty
much be active in life and work and still sense the column of silence and
pressure above our head whenever we are Graced by it.
The mystics I adore from my heart

Who have dwelt in the corridors of Silence
Proclaim that you art the Source
They point to you, a higher Presence beyond
An epitome of beauty and delight.
Our hearts are bound to you

You and us, now fused for eternity
The quiet joy that resides within us
Must be the tail end of the ray
That emanates from thy feet.
Giver of Intuition and Will

Nurturer of all that we are and will become
May we see thy radiant face by your Grace
May you live within us this very moment
And my heart knows thou art here.
We offer this prayer as an invocation to the Delightful Presence that resides

above the ranges of silence.
Intuition
We can also learn to be ‘pregnant’ with a question or an aspiration in the
quieter regions of the mind. Here ‘pregnant’ implies that we hold the question
or aspiration within us. We should learn to be ‘quietly’ pregnant with the
question and not ‘noisily’ pregnant. We should hold the question or
aspiration quietly and wait. We should refrain from thinking about it. Sooner
or later we will receive the Grace of some intuitions. These intuitions come
by themselves. We only need to hold an aspiration, access the quieter zones
in our mind and wait.
Intuitions can visit us in any form. Some of them are:
A ‘word’ heard.
A sound heard that reminds.
A fully formed image or symbol that reveals.
A fore knowledge indicating emergence.
Our Divinity within receives its guidance and nourishment from Higher
Consciousness through this process of intuition. Geniuses and Masters are
people who can hold and sustain this connection as a way of life. In many
professions, intuition is not accepted as a legitimate path to know. But those
people who have tasted intuitive downloads access these zones and quietly
bring their wisdom and inner knowledge to work.
A good degree of purification and development of our mind is needed to

receive intuitions without distortions. Else our perceptions, beliefs and world-
views distort the incoming intuition to make it appear the way we want it to
look like! However, for the sincere person intuition still guides and reveals.
The intuition will find its own ways to work around our beliefs, perceptions
and preoccupations and deliver its ‘guiding ray’ into our hearts and minds.
Here is an example. He had finished his college and was aiming to go abroad
for further studies like every other bright student. He also had a job offer in a
leading company in the north. All of a sudden, an intuition steals in
unexpectedly and creates a sense of unrest deep within his heart. He suddenly
feels a lack of purpose and clarity. The glamour of living abroad and the job
somehow have lost their gleam. He feels lost. Something within him tells him
to ask the question sincerely – ‘What should I do in life?’ He asks it sincerely
and waits. Then again he suddenly gets attracted to a girl. He had known her
for a while but one particular day, they are out together and he realizes, ‘I
need to live my life with her’. His mind rushes on, ‘But she is in Chennai and
if I go north or abroad I will lose her. I will stay in Chennai’. All of this in
the span of a few minutes! Now in an instance clarity comes through to him –
‘Yes these training programs I am involved in are meaningful to me. I like
this better than the job at hand or higher studies. So Yes! I will become a
trainer.’ He goes home, convinces his parents and within a day, informs the
company where he has the job offer that he is not going to join them. He also
writes that he has found that his purpose in life is to train and empower
others, and that he will form a company to do so.
Having done all this, he fixes a date with the girl. He meets her. Voila! No
attraction now!! He searches, and still finds no attraction towards her now.
The attraction he felt had just disappeared. He now felt a clear aspiration and
clarity to be a trainer and form his company. His resolution was firmer and
surer now. Ah, how his intuition had tricked him! If it directly prompted him
to start his company and get into training, he would have invented several
excuses. Intuition stole into him in a manner that suited his personality which
at that time was prone to attractions, and won over his heart urging him to
follow it!
True intuitive connection is not just about getting an insight to some

questions we hold or about some needs that we have. Intuition is a process
through which new ‘light’, ‘wisdom’ and ‘will’ enters us to reprogram us and
help us evolve. It is a path through which we remember universal truths like
Oneness, Universality, hidden ‘Will’ being the cause of everything, etc.
We recommend the following to readers who choose to engage in sincere

practice with intuitions:
Cultivate the attitude that intuition is a way to allow your inner heart to
connect with Higher Consciousness. Intuitions are not just ways to get
some answers for your burning needs and necessities.
Practice holding the yearning in your heart to connect to a vaster

consciousness above. In the beginning, hold faith even when you may
not at first feel any yearning. By practice, at some point, you begin to
sense the deep bottomless love and yearning within your heart of
wanting to connect with its Cosmic and Infinite Source. Do this practice
during regular life and work.
Practice remembering silence. Be aware of the regions above the

thought process where there is a corridor of silence. Here too, in the
beginning you may sense no silence. Hold faith that there is silence
above your thinking and with faith, like a child asking the mother for
something, ask the silence to become present in you. Do this practice
during regular life and work.
Allow any knowingness or an un-thought idea to ‘pop up’ whenever it

wants. It can come now or later when you are involved in another
activity.
Note down what comes in, with gratitude. This is significant as often,
the clarity that presents itself in the intuitive state exists only within the
same state. Quietly note down the idea ensuring that the incoming flow
is not disturbed so that in our normal state too, we can remember and
connect to the idea.
Intuition can also be practiced via spontaneous writing. Here we hold a deep
connect within and write till the connection is present. In this, we practice not
to think, but to allow the words to flow without any evaluation while writing.
Waiting in upper chambers of the mind
We will now explore in detail how to rise above mental noise and learn to
wait at the transition point between the mind and the regions above the mind.
Within the mind, there is constant chatter of thoughts. The key to enter the
transition zone is through silence. Silence is not created. Above the mental
noise is a region where things are far quieter and there is silence with a
pregnant anticipation for the beyond. This region cannot be located
physically, but can be felt directly in the awareness of our consciousness.
Often it is first seen as an image or an inner knowing or as a certainty of this
quieter and higher region in the mind. With aspiration and practice this region
becomes familiar. In this region, there is a sense of waiting upon something
patiently and eternally. At this point, often the normal mind will remind us of
some agendas and intents for us to hold on to. We can learn to turn our
attention away from the mind’s reminders while practicing this and return our
gaze upwards to the quieter region above these thoughts. If we can learn to
wait here, we are free and vast in this space, and out of all current moulds and
trappings of our mind.
If we can wait long enough, suddenly something will pop up within our
awareness, either during our practice or later. We will then have an inner
knowing, intuition or revelation. This will be a new light. This will give a
whole new sight, a richer clarity or a forerunning certitude. This is the contact
with the Higher Intelligence and Will on the transition point of our mind.
Sometimes we can start to get very excited as we have got some precious
ideas and our vital forces may rush forth. In that instance, if we lose
ourselves to the excitement, the mind will become noisy and we will lose the
key of silence which is needed to remain in the quieter chambers of the mind.
Even as we receive these intuitions, we can learn to continue to wait quietly
until we receive fully the guidance of the Higher Intelligence and Will
entering into us.
We can practice this method by setting aside some time for contemplation in
the higher, silent regions of our mind. The practice can also be dynamic. In
between our day-to-day activities, we can find time to place our attention on
the upper chambers of the mind and wait there quietly with a sense of open
and vast receptivity. The trick is to learn to wait – not with any agenda, but
open to the agendas of the Infinite to manifest within us as per its agenda.
When we develop the capacity to be seated firmly in this region, the qualities
of freedom, silence, peace, vastness, direct knowing, inner knowing and
clarity enter our mind, influence our vital and body, and flow into our actions
and work. This is the symbolism of the inverted tree, which is nourished by
its roots reaching above into the Universe.
To strengthen our capacity to stay in the quieter ranges of the mind, we need
to learn to be agenda-free and in a receptive poise. Sometimes there could be
a thought that says, ‘If we drop our agendas, how will we be in control?’ This
fear of losing control is clearly the one that arises by identification with our
mind and body. The fear could also have a certain degree of truth behind it. If
our vital life-energies are not sufficiently purified, when we relax our control
of the mind we could get carried away by our own untransformed energies.
Which is why there is a ladder of consciousness and we have covered
methods of purification and development of vital life-energies and mind
before referring to the methods of going above the mind. We request the
reader to use their discretion and inner voice to know when they are ready to
transcend the known agendas of the mind to explore further.
When we are inwardly ready to take the leap upwards, if we are solely
focused on the mind’s known agendas and intents, there may be no space for
the unknown vision and potential to manifest themselves through us. On the
brink of the threshold of the known agendas of the mind, as we peep into the
beyond, are we ready to take the leap to Know through vaster intuition? At
this stage, the mind would often feel threatened and may even experience a
threat to its own existence. Let the mind hold its agendas, as it always will.
The trick is to ascend above these agendas into a zone where there dwells a
still quietness with no prefixed agendas. This zone already exists. We are
only tuning into it through our consciousness. And then, we can wait in an
open and receptive manner. This is the practice that is ours to do. How, what
and when inspirations and intuitions come in are in the hands of Will, Grace
and Timing of the Higher Intelligence.
In the initial stages of practice, when the mind learns not to hold any agendas,
we may feel lost if the connect with the upper chambers above the mind are
not fully established. This is the transition zone where, often, the tendency is
to shift back into the familiarity of the mind. The question is whether we can
remain faithfully in the transition zone with only whatever partial intuition,
subtle sight, subtle sound or subtle sense that we have experienced or are
experiencing in the moment to draw strength from. With sincere aspiration
and practice, the connection with the Higher Consciousness can become
stable and constant.
Unconditional Love
Unconditional Love is the nature of the Deeper Self. This is the love that
sustains all the workings of human interactions, other beings, the universe
and the beyond. This is the love that is present behind all our desires,
emotions, striving and seeking. In a way, this unconditional love is the
Divinity within trying to connect with the Divinity without. Every other love
is a minute reflection on the surface of this deeper love.
One way this love can be actualized within us is as the quiet yearning of the
Divinity present within a sacred space of our heart, wanting to connect to
vastness, peace, boundlessness and unending delight. This can also be felt as
the quiet adoration within our heart longing to touch the consciousness of a
specific Divine Presence that we love. Often, vital rushes taint this pure,
unconditional love connection as the vital brings in its own limiting
conditions and demands into the unconditional nature of this love. With a fair
degree of discrimination and purification of our vital life-energies, we can
hold a quieter yearning within our heart, to connect to our Divine Presence or
vast infinity above. Then we can become a ready instrument into which the
Higher Consciousness can flow in and mould us.
Every human connect that we form can be seen as an opportunity to maintain

our unconditional love connection. We can practice to feel the silent yearning
within our heart and the vastness above all our thoughts, while still being
fully engaged in human interactions.
What Grace our life can hold if we can aspire to have this unconditional love
connection present within us all the time! With sincere aspiration, sufficient
Sadhana and a dedicated offering of our self to the Deeper Self, sooner or
later, this Grace is sure to be bestowed on us. A higher Sadhana is to aspire
to sense this yearning for the unconditional love of the deeper self all the time
in the background of our awareness.
Necessity of Holding Purity
The Deeper Self is profound! Its contact and connect is direct, gentle and
deep. To progress on the path of our Deeper Self, one of the key requisites is
to practice holding a state of purity. Purity is like taking a bath in our
consciousness each day. Some examples of how to hold this purity are:
Practicing purity in thinking
Refraining from getting attracted by thoughts that drag someone

else or oneself down.
Pulling away from doubts which enter after one clearly sees an
insight or senses an intuition.
Being interested in the light of clarity rather than clouds and the
‘knots’ of the mind.
Respecting the authenticity of first-hand experience rather than

mere second-hand repetitions.
Practicing purity in vital life-energies
Widening of heart beyond boundaries, preferences and barriers.
Keeping one’s emotions pure, straight forward, all embracing and

deep.
Not being charmed by love that needs hate to sustain the love.
Practicing love that can be an unconditional steady state.
Holding great strength and inner power and using them with
integrity and authenticity for the deeper well-being of all.
Refining the desire center to seek on its own the aesthetic, the
beautiful and the uplifting energies.
Remaining free and above the seductive traps of fear, suspicion,

depression and any compulsive habits of any nature.
Practicing holding a state of lightness, joy and hope.
Practicing respecting and honouring the body
Respecting its needs for sufficient sleep, nourishing food and clean
clothing.
Holding the utmost intent and surrendered faith for good health – at
thought, energy and sensation level, for all parts of the body.
Gifting the body the nourishment of daily exercises or physical

activity.
Breathing the fullness of prana into and out of the body for its
overall well-being.
Vulnerably remembering and trusting the Deeper Self
Developing the attitude that everything is the Deeper Self and

ultimately everything is about the Deeper Self.
Remembering the Deeper Self at all times.
Holding onto the Deeper Self like a child that trusts unconditionally
– with total vulnerability, and allowing the goodness of the Deeper
Self to permeate into all parts of the being, while going about
regular life and work.
Purity is then the white canvas on which our Deeper Self unfolds its essence
in our life and work.
Offering: Key Practice of Deeper Self
All our lives are an offering for something or someone. We are born to a
family, then study in an institution, work somewhere, get married into a new
family, do some social work and so on. In all these contexts, we gain
something from others and offer something of us to others. When we die, we
are eaten either by the fire or by the soil. Our life and our works are also an
offering to the Universal Mind and the knowledge it holds, to the Universal
Life currents and to the nature, earth and the environment. Whether we are
conscious or not, this offering happens all the time. What if we become
conscious and we offer our best, our purest and our most perfect to the
collectives that we are a part of? Our offering to these collectives – would it
be for some superficial gain for the self/others, or for the fulfillment of a
Divine plan of evolution? What if we can learn to offer our work and
ourselves to our deeper self – the Divinity within us?
When we live more in connection with our Deeper Self, we get in touch with
the urge to offer our life and work to it. We further realize that our Deeper
Self is the head priest of this offering process day and night. This offering is
an interchange process where something is offered and something is received
back, in the space or seat from where the offering was made.
It is a continual self-offering of the human to the divine and a continual

descent of the divine into the human which seems to be symbolised in the
sacrifice.*
Sri Aurobindo
Here sacrifice is another name for the process of offering or interchange. The
quintessence of ‘offering’ is captured in the words of Sri Aurobindo. Each
reader has to find his or her own way of understanding and experiencing this
process. We offer some glimmers of light that might help along the way:
This offering is an interchange where the human offers his or her ‘seat’
to the Divine; invites the Divine to occupy this ‘seat’ and permeate
Divine qualities and nature into the human.
This offering creates a transformation at a fundamental level of the
human nature.
In the story of evolution, there could be a next stage beyond the human.
This stage can be one where the conscious human can connect, in a real
sense, with his or her Creator and embody the Higher Nature and
Presence more within their human nature.
The human can offer any or all parts of one’s being for this
transformation, following sufficient purification and development.
This offering is presided by our Deeper Self – secretly at first and then
more visibly through our evolution.
An inner flame needs to be consciously lit to witness and conduct this

offering. This inner flame is kept lit when we remember our
fundamental yearning of unconditional love – a quiet yearning within
our heart, to connect to our Divine Presence or vast infinity above.
This inner flame is the deeper self, rising upwards. Its nature is to
transform all that is given to it by the human through his or her choice.
This ‘giving’ or offering into the inner flame is performed by the human
through one’s intent and will. That’s it. There is no specific method. It is
like, ‘I give unto thee O transformative power, my …’.
What can be offered into this inner flame are our thoughts, words,
emotions, energy, sensations and action. In effect, the substance and
components of all our parts of being can be offered into this inner flame
lit in the cave of our heart. Since the inner flame is connected directly to
the Higher Consciousness, this opens the possibility of descent – the
intuition into the thought and word, the
Calm/Peace/Love/Strength/Joy/Beauty into the emotions, energy,
sensations and body. Thus the Divine enters into our parts of being to
transform it through its agents of Light (intuition), Love, Calmness,
Peace, Strength, Beauty and Joy.
The more we are purified, the more we can perform this offering and
receive the descent.
When and how the Divine reciprocates to this offering is not in our
hands. It is a matter of Grace. It is a matter of our sincerity. A state of
quiet inner gladness is conducive for the welcome presence of Grace.
Any external challenges and limitations from within us that we

encounter, need to be first countered through human effort. Then they
can be offered into the inner flame, with an aspiration that they are
transformed.
A sincere practitioner can aspire to make this a continual practice of offering.

Over the years, concrete and fundamental transformation can be noticed. The
manner in which this transformation unfolds is unique to each person. We
share some signs seen in long-term practitioners for you to have some clues:
Body holds the energy and qualities of the deeper and higher
consciousness that one has been repeatedly accessing and connecting
with.
Senses abandon their regular desire craving and rest in a more neutral
enjoyment of life – fully present and participative in life and at the same
time detached from the normal sensory stimuli. Sensual connects
become replaced by soul bonds.
The energy of power becomes even, strong and radiant, but at its center
is a calm poise. This dynamic energy can move or stand still, both with
poise and power.
Emotions are deep and unconditional, centering one in faith, hope, love
and certainty.
Time and word are conscious, living and mastered.
Mind is filled with intuitions, fresh perspectives, visions, deeper

understanding, depth of clarity and silence.
Now all this cannot be accomplished by effort alone. We are Graced with
these transformations or more, sooner or later, by the Higher Consciousness
entering us and forwarding our evolution to become Divine-like humans.
Offering Parts of Being
The reader is invited to make his or her own explorations, sometimes over
many years into this practice of offering that is transformative in nature.
Through continual offering day and night, every part of being can open up
their center and allow the deeper self’s Divinity to be seated within them.
Some parts of being accept the presence and influence of the Divinity quicker
and easier than others. Steady Sadhana is needed to open the parts that resist
and enable them to accept the Deeper Self and the Higher Consciousness as
the leader of their lives.
Following are some steps we share to practice this Sadhana of offering with
reference to each part of your being. This also can be a natural way to
connect to all parts of our being and begin to bring this book to a natural
conclusion.
Step 0: The base point
Light your inner flame by remembering the unconditional love within every
human. Keep the inner flame lit as long as possible.
Check if you are inwardly ready to engage in this practice. This process can
only be done under the catalytic presence of a ‘quiet gladness’ in the heart for
this practice. It cannot be done mechanically or with a sense of loss or a sense
of obligation/duty. This offering is facilitated by the presence of a quiet joy
and best done only when it is there.
Step 1: Human Effort
Be aware of the nature of thought, word, emotion, energy, sensation,

body’s signals and habits in each of your experiences.
When each of the thought, word, emotion, energy, sensation, body and
habits are working in their perfect condition or with sincere aspiration to
evolve, they are ready instruments for the Divine will from the Deeper
Self to cast its influence and act in the world through them.
When you find that any one of the part holds some impurities or
imperfections, first correct them in their own domain as best as your
human effort permits in the moment:
Make the limiting thought as lucid, novel and centered as possible.
Make the confusing word as conscious, precise, nurturing and

liberating as possible.
Make the fluctuating emotion as unconditional, nurturing and

caring as possible.
Make the affected energy as strong, fear-free and confidently

poised as possible.
Make the sensation’s seeking as aesthetic, beautiful, balanced and

nourishing as possible.
Release, relax and make the prana flow as much as possible

through the body’s pains and discomforts.
Every time an old habit raises its head, counter it and make it as
conscious as possible.
Step 2: Opening to Divine Grace
Let go of personal effort. Let go completely and relax.
Connect inwards and connect with the Deeper Self. Sense the flame of
aspiration present there to bring the touch of Divinity into all aspects of
our life. At first, this can be a matter of faith – even when the inner
flame is not experientially sensed, we can do this practice with faith.
Later, it can become a concrete experience within.
Offer – Make a tiny intent to this Divinity within:
May you occupy the center of this particular

thought/word/emotion/energy/sensation/body-part/persistent habit.
May this particular thought/word/emotion/energy/sensation/body-

part/persistent habit, open itself fully to your influence.
May you Grace and mould this particular

thought/word/emotion/energy/sensation/body-part/persistent habit
as you wish, at your chosen pace and time.
Now this process of offering each part of being to the deeper self’s influence
need not be done only for its limitations. The best of our thought, word,
emotion, energy, sensation and action, can also be offered to our deeper self’s
influence, as follows:
O thought, you have reached this far. Can you go forward, beyond and
onto vaster horizons and discover higher orders of truth, wisdom and
knowledge?
O word, you have reached this level of finesse. Can you evolve forward,
bear more truth, reveal more insights and be guided as per the silent
nudges felt within?
O emotion, you have reached this level of subtlety, can you evolve
further? Can you attain more finesse in your emotional connects? Can
you go into your depth to access the unconditional love, faith, certitude
and gratitude?
O power and energy! You have reached this pinnacle of strength. Can
you reach infinite calmness (static power) and infinite strength (dynamic
power), held together perfectly? Can you learn to bear what needs to be
borne till the one-pointed victory of the Deeper Self’s purpose is
accomplished?
O sensation, you have reached this degree of aesthetic refinement. Can

you now open up your pleasures and your sensory channels purely for
the flow of the unconditional joy of Divinity?
O body, thou have given your support this far. Do open yourself more to
the Divine qualities present within and without. Stop absorbing the
stress of the current times. Do instead absorb all the calmness, peace,
love and balance present within you and through your thoughts,
emotions and the deeper connection within.
O most persistent habits of mine that I am aware and unconscious of!

May you reveal yourself in the light of my awareness. May you also
accept the path of Divinity and evolution. May the tip of the flame of
unconditional love penetrate into you revealing your truest nature.
The intent, will and prayer mentioned here are offered to our Deeper self. The
Grace responds for sure, sooner or later.
Now for every transformation of our parts of being and the higher powers
that emerge with it, we will be tested. Is our primary loyalty to the Divinity of
the deeper self? Or at any point, do we succumb to personal agendas of the
higher powers of the perfected mind and vital life-energy, growing within us?
Interchange of Consciousness
When we interact with others, every part of our being interacts with theirs –
whether we are conscious of it or not. Our thoughts, words, emotions, energy,
sensations and actions interact with the other’s thoughts, words, emotions,
energy, sensations and actions. Now this is not just one part interacting with
the corresponding part in others – for example, thought with thought. Each
part interfaces with all other parts. Thoughts interface with emotions, energy,
sensations, etc. In this process the quality of our consciousness influences the
other’s and, in turn gets influenced by other’s, day and night.
This interfacing and interchanging of consciousness becomes an excellent

opportunity for us to engage in dynamic Sadhana. Often we may believe that
we are advanced and transformed in a particular part of being. However when
we interact with others, that part gets affected, by a certain limitation or
excess present in the other person’s part of being. This is valuable feedback
for our inner Sadhana. For example, we may think that we have reached a
poise where we are courageous to face any situation. And then we meet
someone who is very pessimistic, fearful or doubtful. We interact with the
person and try to help the person. And then, when we walk away, we notice
that a thread of their consciousness has got entwined with ours, clouding our
strength, courage and clarity.
It would be good to ask ourselves a few questions:
In situations where we interact with others, do we normally remain

centered in the Divinity of our deeper self?
Are we normally aware of the vastness or quietness above our thoughts?
Whenever we lose this connection, do we quickly recognize that we

have lost our connection during the conversation itself?
If so, do we promptly bring back our connection with our Deeper Self?
Yes, this is difficult in the beginning. But when we do it as a dynamic
Sadhana over the years, the Divine nature can be brought into our daily life
and work.
Every human interaction is a perfect place to do Sadhana of resonance with

the Deeper self. We can practice building our capacity to follow whatever
quiet nudge we receive from within during our interactions with others.
Sometimes the nudge may be to engage further with the other person;
sometimes it may be to give space; sometimes it may be to assert; at other
times, it may be to listen and so on. The path of Sadhana could be to learn to
listen to the inner guidance within us and act with trust. If, the second we act
we feel a quiet gladness or joy that becomes present by itself, then it is a clue
that we are moving in the right direction indicated by the Deeper Self. If we
learn to follow the rhythms of this quiet gladness, it leads us to our path and
tells us what to do, when to do and whom to do with.
Living in Divine Presence
Each of us may have our own connection with some form or formless state of
the Divine. When we have our own favourite connection with the Divine
Presence, the mere connection with this presence gives us power, joy, love
and inspiration. The atheist, in their denial, often thinks of the Divine far
more than the theist. When we already have this affinity, it is a great joy to
think and invoke the presence of the Divine during our daily work. When we
are fond of the Divine, its Image, Sound and Presence gradually get
imprinted in our hearts.
Within our heart is the greatest temple, church or mosque that can be built in
the whole world. The primary deity can be our beloved Divine Presence, of
whom we are immensely fond of. In the central altar can be kept the image
form or the sound form of the Divine.
Some examples of how we can erect our central altar in our heart are:
An image of the physical being of the Divine can be imprinted in our

heart.
We can keep an image of the feet of the Divine within our heart.
Revering the feet of the Divine or our Master is a very intimate and
powerful symbol. In many traditions, the blessings of the feet of a
Master on the head of the disciple is considered the most powerful
blessing and transference of consciousness. When we connect to the feet
of the Divine, we can be in direct communication with their
consciousness with a sense of total surrender.
An image of the eye of the Divine is a powerful symbol to imprint in the

cave of our heart. Even when we have a picture of the Divine or our
Master, fixating on their eyes is a direct transfer of their consciousness
into us. Eyes radiate and absorb consciousness easily. Thus, the eye of
our favourite Divine form can be revered too.
The name or a sound associated with the Divine can also be invoked in
the inner altar within our heart. For example, the sounds of ‘Om’ or
‘Amen’ or ‘Allah’ are universally considered as very powerful sound
vibrations depending on the traditions we come from. These can be
chanted silently within the heart. After a while, the sound periodically
arises by itself in its own rhythm. The favourite name of the Divine can
also be called silently within our heart in a state of total surrender.
Once our inner altar is erected within our heart, we can energize and invoke
the presence of the Divine daily. Some of the ways of invoking and living in
Divine Presence daily are:
Remembrance of the image or sound of the Divine, in our inner altar, the
moment we wake up in the morning and the last thing we do before
going to sleep.
If we can wake up early in the morning, we can remember the Divine

and sing, write, take a walk amidst nature, meditate or clean our home.
We can do anything that energizes our being and stay joyful, as that
energizes the Divine Presence in our heart.
All the work that we do, can be done by remembering and offering it to
the Divine Presence within our heart. In the work we do, we can offer
our best allowing all our potential to flow through in abundance. At the
end of the task, we can remember and offer our work to the Divine
Presence for the Divinity’s own nourishment and growth in the world.
Several times in-between the day, even for a brief few seconds, we can
think of the Divine, connect and find solace in its presence within our
heart. Through our attention, intention and love, we can light a tiny
flame within our heart in honour of the sacred presence of the Divine
living in the inner altar.
Whenever we wake up during the night, we can invoke the presence of

the Divine within our heart and gently drift back to sleep.
When we can live life with the Divine Presence within, we feel a quiet
gladness within our heart for no reason. We do not need any reason to be
glad, but our heart is glad. This is not an emotional gladness, but joy beyond
emotional ups and downs. This is a gladness stationed in love. This gladness
is subtle and quieter, but more intense and fulfilling.
Reflection
you read through this chapter. Most importantly reflect on the following
questions:
When you read through this chapter, how much of your own Deeper Self
within your heart and above your mind did you get in touch with?
Do you sense your Deeper Self reaching out to you through its subtle
nudges and foreknowing? How sincere is your aspiration to want the
Grace and connection with your Deeper Self?
How can you practice keeping the lamp lit in the sacred space of your
heart? How can you practice lighting the lamp within through your faith,
inner resonance, gratitude and unconditional love?
How can you climb up into the upper chambers in your mind, access
silence and wait in quiet aspiration till intuitions trickle in by
themselves? How can you stay free of any attempt to think, to know or
get excited when intuitions flow in?
How can you practice offering as a path day and night? How can you
light the inner flame of aspiration, listen to the presence of quiet joy and
offer all your work and actions to your deeper self?
How can you practice to offer all parts of your being to the influence of
your deeper self?
How can you practice to sense spontaneous resonance within your heart
and act on it?
How can you be connected to inspiration and receive intuitions as a way

of life?
How can you invoke and consecrate an inner altar for your favourite
Divine Presence within your heart? How can you invoke its Presence
several times during the day and night?
Much of Deeper Self is still a mystery.

Let us continue to focus, dwell upon and enjoy this mystery.
Let the mystery draw us more into it.
Let it reveal itself more to us.
Let it touch our life and work and transform it.
Let us surrender to this mystery.
* Sri Aurobindo, The Secret of the Veda, (CWSA – Vol. 15) pg. 67. Puducherry: Sri
Aurobindo Ashram Trust, 1998
DEEP GRATITUDE
This short note is an expression of deep gratitude from the bottom of my

heart. I thank the Universe and all involved for helping me discover the
writer within me. I had always thought that I loved training and coaching the
most in my life. This book has helped me to discover that I am in love with
words. I love writing. This, to me, is the greatest Sadhana that I can do on
planet earth.
I say bye to you now. We may connect again if Life and Time has such a plan
for us.
Thank you for connecting deeply with the book. The book was created to
inspire a journey within you, to discover your own magnificent treasures, and
bring them out into the world. I hope that the book fulfilled its purpose at
least to some extent. This book has come to an end and we say good-bye to
meet again. The next book is germinating and forming.
We stay in touch through interactions we can have at any point of time to co-
evolve. Every bit of evolution from either of our sides forwards both of us as
we have connected through this book. This book is dedicated to all the
evolving souls who have contributed to the making of this book in many
important ways. Special mention goes to Uma my wife who is my soul mate
and a key person in this journey for me. I especially thank my parents from
both sides of my family – Anto Vincent, Mary, Sumathi and Narayanan.
Gratitude goes to Devdas Menon of IIT Madras and Manoj Pavitran of
Auroville who are companions in this journey. Gratitude to Senthil Kumar
and Uma for painstakingly editing the first version of this book. A special
mention goes to Rambal of Rillusion for creating the images for this book –
each image was created to embody the essence of a particular part of being.
Deepest gratitude to the Sri Aurobindo Society team, who inspired, facilitated
and enabled the publication of this book. Pranams to Vijay Bhai for his
vision, inspiration and support. Respect and awe to Vivechana Saraf for her
project leadership, insights, and follow-up. Thanks to Kavita Dutta for design
suggestions and support. Very deep and special thanks to the copy editing
team – Lekshmi Remesh of Ridhima Publications and Gayatri Majumdar of
Sri Aurobindo Society. They chiseled the words and contributed in bringing
the book to its final shape.
Among the many participants with whom I explored Self-Awareness and

Integral Development, special thanks to those from the Self-Awareness,
Integral Karmayoga, and Self-Awareness and Higher Goals in Education
(SAHGE) workshops; and Integral Change experiential labs. Every dialogue
and conversation that we had has helped in writing this book experientially.
Gratitude to the Universe for guiding this book all through its unfolding.
Every word and experience in this book has been written from my heart
seeking the presence of Grace and Intuition.
GLOSSARY
Words used in this book with a slightly different purport to trigger an

experiential exploration of each part of being are listed here with their
meaning, to provide for succinct understanding.
Alchemy: Amalgamation of a purified resource of one part of being into

another to enhance the fundamental nature of the receptive part of being. For
example, clear purpose and vision can be held in thought when our emotions,
energies and sensations flow. Then the vital currents absorb the imprint of
purpose and vision and can slowly work in alignment to it.
‘And’ center/essence: The common ground or connecting-thread between

two or more concepts, values, purpose or principles.
‘As-it-is’ mode: Being able to view external data without colouring it with
our bias. Observing external data from its own terms with highly developed
focus and concentration, rather than from our perspectives and perceptions.
Aspiration: A one-pointedness and rising upward of our intent and purpose

towards the highest summit of consciousness that we can intuit and see at the
moment. This is our will to consciously evolve and be connected to and
guided by our deeper self (see Deeper Self).
Authentic selves: Who we really are behind our masks, behaviours and
actions. Identifying our core values, character and qualities that intrinsically
inspire and deeply resonate with us help us discover this.
Awareness (heightened sense): A condition where senses are in an open,

relaxed, alert and extended state beyond the boundaries of the body. For
example, eye picking out clues from the peripheral vision, ear distinguishing
subtle sounds from afar, taste buds experiencing flavours distinctly, touch
being aware of subtleties of temperature or texture and nose picking up subtle
aroma.
Balanced: A natural rhythm honoured between the movements and needs

fulfillment of different parts of being – ensuring that all get their due share of
fulfillment and transformation and ensuring that each support in enhancing
the strength of other parts.
‘Being’ layer: Our thoughts, will, emotions, energy, sensations and body’s
inner condition that are primarily observable and sensed in our inner
awareness.
Biased/distorted image: An image that is partially formed, unclear or has

traces of our self-reference, preferences or desires.
Bottom-up influence: A situation where the limitations of the desires,

passions and emotions enter the mind distorting its clarity and vision.
Breakdowns: Internal breakdowns are when a limitation of our mind,

emotion, energy, body or habit overpowers us – an inner state of lack of
resourcefulness at the ‘being’ level. External breakdowns happen through
failures in relationships, goals and other life and work situations.
Breath: Air and its life energy that circulates through the body, its organs,
tissues and cells.
‘Cached’ internal data: Old information, beliefs, viewpoints, perspectives,

etc., that were relevant at one point of time continue to circulate, distorting
our view and capacity to update and absorb new knowledge and world-views.
Center: Our core and fundamental internal reference point. For some of us
this reference is personal – our own emotions, power, desires or ideas.
Sometimes we may keep another human being at the center of our life. The
center can also be impersonal – an inspiring and resonating universal
purpose, higher value, resonating quality, noble idea, intuition received or the
felt experience of Divine. The higher the consciousness of our center, the
nobler our evolution.
Center of Mind: Defining the central point of focus in the mind – the core
purpose/value/principle, against which every other thought of the mind is
viewed in relation to it.
Central governing purpose: Culling out the central and connecting essence
among all our intents and purposes in all areas of life and work. This
becomes the mind’s governing purpose to align and direct our whole life.
Central reference anchor: See Central governing purpose, Center.
Central reference symbol: An image or symbol created in the mind to

represent our core purpose and ideals. This symbol is then used as a visual
cue to tag past events where we honoured our core purpose, inner resonance
and ideals, enabling the creation of an empowering visual timeline (see
Visual Timeline).
Chatter (internal): A constant running commentary occurring inside our

head. It is a voice that harps on something about us with reference to what we
are thinking, experiencing and the external reality that we are observing.
Building concentration on external focus or on our ‘Inner Eye’ (see Inner
eye) can transcend this habit.
Choice: The free will of any human to choose our internal and external
reality every moment; the willingness to evolve or not using all of life as an
opportunity to perfect every part of being and bring its radiance into the
world.
Circulation of energy: Drawing energy, for example, of enthusiasm and

passion through internal or external sources is called inflow of energy.
Holding energy helps clarify purpose of use and refine quality. Spending
energy is utilizing it to forward chosen actions and motives. When we can
draw, hold and use energy in sufficient quantities and cycles we gain energy
replenishment, flow and manifestation capacity.
Circulation of money: Earning, saving and spending money is one cycle of

money flow. Money gains inherent power when the three parts of the cycle
flow abundantly and sufficient circulations are created by earning, saving and
expending money. Money gains higher quality when it is earned in a value-
centered manner and spent to forward our fundamental purpose.
Circulation of power: Soaking into influencing capacity through confidence,

building strength or role definitions; holding power within to embed right
intent and care, and expressing power to inspire, forward and influence
outcomes – constitute the full movement of inflow-hold-outflow of power.
The more such flow and cyclical movements take place, the more is our
inherent power to be energized and to manifest.
Cohesive decision-making: In general our decisions do not add up but

scatter us in diverse directions. When we cull out our central purpose and
core qualities/values and bring them as the reference to every decision, our
decision-making becomes cohesive and takes us forward in an aligned way in
the intended direction.
Collective time: When ‘x’ number of people come together for a meeting or
an activity and spend ‘y’ hours of time together, being aware that the
collective time invested on the meeting or activity is not ‘y’ but ‘x’ times ‘y’
hours. This highlights the importance of spending time usefully and
productively together.
Collective: A larger group of family, organization, institution, society or

nation.
Collective-centric: Here the center or reference point of our thought, word,

emotion and action is the collective itself. Our heart and care has widened, no
longer centered on self or a few individuals. The heart aspires to work for the
well-being of many and all in the larger collectives we identify with.
Comfort zone plateau: A flat phase, where we may be active but operate
from the same known terrains of thought, words, habits, actions, interactions,
etc.
Compassion: An inner state of gentleness with strength, where we empathize

with human struggles with unbiased inner strength that the other/s will find
their way through. We offer what support we need to offer with kindness and
goodwill.
Concentrated aspiration: Waiting quietly for intuition. Having an aspiration

for a solution or progress and concentrating on the problem or situation.
Being with it for days or months, in the background of normal life, till an
intuition (see Intuition) reveals clarity and insight, suddenly making
everything clear and inspiring. Placing our undivided attention on our
fundamental urge to evolve and embody the essence of higher consciousness
into the human life.
Concentration: Normally our attention is scattered in many diverse

directions. When we unify our attention and place it on a chosen focus point,
we are practicing concentration. The capacity of concentration depends on
how long our unified attention can remain on the focus, before our attention
is scattered by a distracting thought. The more concentration we have, the
more we can unify our life around a single vision or idea and penetrate into
any subject and know its depths.
Concept: ‘Essence’ or ‘kernel’ truth of any wisdom, knowledge and

information, pointing to the fundamental nature, principle, purpose or
function of whatever is being observed.
Conceptual mind: Mind that seeks to know the core essence of any
knowledge in terms of their concepts, principles, philosophies, ideals,
fundamental nature, etc.
Concretize/solidify: See Objectification.
Connect to body: Sensing the body’s condition and communication directly

through its tingling, throbbing, coldness, warmth, heat, dryness, heart beat,
heart rate, heart rhythm, pulsations, pains, relaxedness, lightness, strength,
etc., as opposed to thinking about the body.
Connecting with the spiritual: Any part of being that is sufficiently purified
can aspire and open itself to the spiritual state. This enables the part of being
to absorb the spiritual quality within its own nature, thereby undergoing
transformation.
Conscious energy: A force and truth of consciousness that a person carries –
beyond their words, behaviours or actions.
Conscious offering: Every thought, word, emotion, energy and action that
we create can be made conscious to uphold their best quality possible in the
moment. Thus, these can become our most perfect offerings to the work of
the Divine in the world.
Contextual: Every information about something is based on conditions,

environment, background, time, sample, breath of study, etc., against which
the data were extracted. Information quoted without context becomes mere
generalization.
Core concept/ideology of the body: The primary belief that our mind has
about our body and the fundamental philosophy of its development and
transformation.
Core essence (Culling out): Framing a word, image or symbol that captures
the underlying key concept, purpose, value or idea, from any information or
knowledge.
Core essence of India: What appears underlying and constant, across ages,
about India – as its soul, commonality of collective presence, fundamental
character across its denizens and unique essential contribution made to the
world.
Core ideal: Our own internal aspiration and perfection to connect life and
work to our most central and resonating essence, values, aspirations and
purpose.
Core ideal solution: The solution that best fulfills purpose, values and ideals
and enables inner and outer evolution.
Core ideologies: The essential philosophy, beliefs, paradigms and world-

views we want to uphold and cherish.
Core nature/quality of Collective entity/environment: This is the central

culture or visible or invisible ‘axis’ of a collective. This axis is composed of
the core values or fundamental intents or purpose which, ultimately, all
crucial decisions and interactions in the collective boil down to and stem
from.
Core Purpose: Among all our intents, goals and purposes present in all areas
of life and work, culling out the deeper intents and purposes. And from this
clarity, re-culling out our most central purpose.
Core qualities/values: Specific Universal states of being that are

spontaneously delightful and intrinsically fulfilling to self – when we both
uphold them or are in the presence of those who uphold them.
Core signature experience: At the individual level, the most fundamental

inner qualities and deepest and most poised states of being define our core
signature presence. At an organization level, the central and cherished values
of culture define its signature experience.
Create reality: The information we focus upon brings into prominence its
version of reality in our awareness. The words that we express have creative
capacity and forward a corresponding reality. Through our focus and word
we can bring more into existence an empowering reality or continue with just
about the same.
Creative Divine: Cosmic and Universal Intelligence and Will participating in

the sustenance and evolution of the whole universe and its myriad
manifestations.
Creative formation/imaginations/images: Visualize and see in the mind’s

eye a) The ideal formation of a solution or manifestation of purpose, b) in
tune with core ideals and values and c) through manifold pathways of
reaching the final solution. Creating key images that represent these and then
letting go of these formations to keep the mind free to receive intuitions.
Creative mind: Mind that breaks free from the hold of the past that ties us to
what we already know. A mind that looks into new directions, possibilities
and horizons to create and manifest the noble life, vision and purpose.
Creative pursuit: Diverting senses creatively from their nature to seek their
own pleasure. Creating activities where the senses explore and express
themselves through colours, sounds, food, movements, etc., into the medium
of paper, graphics, music, cooking, dance, etc., to create something beautiful,
appealing, aesthetic, harmonious, rhythmic, etc. This opens the senses from
sense-indulgence to sense-expressions in a creative way.
Creator/Divine/Source/Sustainer of this universe: Different names of

referring to the One who is creating and evolving this Universe, by being
present within us, within others and is self-sufficient and free beyond all of
us.
Data points: What we choose to pay attention to, observe, measure, gather,
document and reflect upon from the large amount of information present
about something, become our data points. This is our subset of information
from the vast pool that is available on any given subject or knowledge or
situation.
Data scanning faculty: The objective part of the mind always scans people,
books, the Internet, conversations, etc. to glean new data, information,
knowledge and facts relevant to our field of study and interest.
Death: Separation of spirit and conscious awareness from our being followed
by cessation of life energy and force, leaving the body as mere matter, bones
and tissues.
Dedicated practice: (See Sadhana) Repeating a carefully thought-over

practice with an aspiration to create a certain change or transformation in our
inner or outer life with an attitude of sincerity.
Deeper Self: That part within us which is untouched by our daily

happenings; is directly in touch with the Creator above all creations; holds
the remembrance of our unique mould and purpose and that guides our inner
and outer evolution moment to moment.
Develop courage: Building capacity to face any situation or challenge, no

matter how intimating or daunting it is.
Development (Inner): Perfecting, through conscious practice, each resource
of each part of being to bring out its optimal function, nature and capacities.
Dirty mirror/clouded mirror: Mind, affected by tinges of desire, only sees

what the desires want and in a manner that satisfies the desire. This impurity
affects the clarity of the mind to see reality.
Disassociate/distancing (Emotionally): Whether fully engaged or not on the

surface, internally disconnecting our bond or affinity with the other, for
varied reasons like hurt, mismatch of expectation or loss of trust.
Dispersion (of the body): The condition of the body where it falls apart
slowly if not maintained, cleaned, energized and nourished by water, food,
breath, sleep, etc.
Distorted perceptions: Observations and inferences made under the

influence of desire, emotions and self-needs.
Distortion/distorted reality: Viewing external reality and information

coloured by our personal bias, perceptions and self-referencing habits (see
Self-referencing).
‘Doing’: Our actions, communication and behaviour that carry within them
the quality of our inner being (see Inner Being) and express them in the
world. This is often the layer that is directly visible to others.
Drain of energy: Loss of our power due to lack of confidence of self or

being meek in the presence of someone dominating.
Dynamic energy/power: Strength, energy or force that exists in movement

and drives action towards desired success. Victory is the need and the motive
behind this drive.
Egoistic power games: Covert or overt actions to gain self-importance or

prominence for our needs and interests.
Emotional care: Care of the heart wanting to connect, understand and

contribute to the well-being of other/s.
Emotional character/habit: The most dominantly present, expressed and

suppressed emotional states determine our emotional nature and its quality.
Emotional connectivity: Our emotions, consciously or sub-consciously,

open out to others and sense their state of well-being. The same happens from
the other’s side as well. In this connect, we can either co-affect or co-energize
each other – either draining or nurturing each other emotionally.
Emotional exchange: Specific emotions are interchanged between two or

more people. Often these are the ones that are dominant in each at the time.
Or it could also be the suppressed emotions, which find the avenue to find
expression in the presence of those others who are more open to them.
Emotional flux/oscillations: Due to interference in emotions from other

parts of our being and influence of each other’s emotional states, our
emotions oscillate from one condition to another. For e.g., care and concern
can turn to hatred and aversion. Then, with some response from the other, can
turn back to being care.
Emotional hooks: When we hold others responsible for our emotional

experiences, we get entwined with them emotionally.
Emotional influence: Our emotional state entering into and influencing

another’s emotional state. This often happens in an unconscious manner in a
matter of seconds or minutes.
Emotional knots: Untransformed emotions, hurts, painful past memories and

trauma that we still carry within at an emotional memory level.
Emotional sensitivity: Minute attunement to sense the nuances of our own

emotions and other’s, by their influence on our emotions.
Emotional state: The quality, intensity and frequency of specific emotions

present within creating an overall emotional field.
Emotional transference: The quality of emotions two or more people hold
flow into each other, thus influencing each other’s emotional states.
Emotions: Stirrings of the heart holding varied degrees of connect, affinity

and care, or lack thereof, for the other/s.
Energy of anger: Beneath the reaction of anger, there is pure dynamic

energy. When recovered from the grip of reactions, this energy can be
utilized to move us forward towards our intents and goals.
Enmeshed/distorted word: When the untransformed emotions, energies and

desires mix with our word, words get tainted and lose their creative potential.
Words then become mere spokespersons to voice the needs of emotions,
energies and desires.
Evolve (Evolution): Inner Evolution: Each part of being a) purifies and

perfects itself, b) opens to the influence of the radiance of each of the other
parts and c) comes under the primary influence of the inner guidance of
deeper self and vast silence, peace, and intuition of higher consciousness.
Outer Evolution: Each of our outer actions and works carry the imprint of our
evolving inner self, thus enabling our unique and masterful contribution in a
specific area, role or field of work.
Exaggeration at the mind level: The mind fabricates imagined scenarios

where sensory urges are satisfied aplenty – in larger doses, more intensely,
etc., than what is actually possible in reality.
Exercise: A set of body movements done for a certain period of time, to

provide each part, joint and muscle sufficient rotation, movement, stretch,
flexibility and strength.
External data (Primary & Secondary): Primary data are what we directly
observe, measure and infer about something or us. Secondary data are the
information that we gather from someone else’s observation, measurement
and inference about something or us.
External data/information: A known fact or data – observed either by self

or others and accepted as valid on the basis of prevalent and established
benchmarks and standards. These include information on various subjects,
topics and fields that exist and are constantly emerging in the world.
False sense of pleasure: Deriving pleasure indirectly from the imagination,

rather than deriving the full pleasure at the domain of senses itself.
Fear: A vibration that courses through our nerves making us cringe and
shrink away from contact with a perceived challenge or danger that appears
unsafe and threatening. This can happen in reality, imagination or dreams.
Feminine/Masculine power: Power has a nurturing, flowing and vulnerable

side referred to as feminine power. Power also has a directive, penetrating
and firm side referred to as masculine power. Both powers have dynamism
and both need to integrate and complement each other within an individual
for him or her to access the fullness of power.
Fixation on idea/ideal/vision/principle: (See Center) Making a particular

core idea/ideal/vision/principle the center of our thinking and reflecting how
the rest of the thoughts relate to, augment and connect to or not with this
center.
Fixed/Expanded thoughts/viewpoints: Fixed thoughts are bounded and

based on guidelines, moving within known grooves of the past. Fixed
viewpoints see reality selectively and with bias. Expanding viewpoints by
asking new questions, holding new beliefs or focusing on new external data
points enable us to gather enriched and comprehensive information from the
same reality.
Flame of aspiration: The fundamental yearning of our inner remembrance of

wholeness, to unite with the Vast Whole Creator above, seeking this union to
transform the partialness of the whole of living and existence.
Flow of emotions: Emotions flow within all parts of our being influencing
our thinking, energy, body and its sensations. In our relationships and
interactions, emotions also flow among each other influencing our moods,
thinking, energy and actions.
Fluid thoughts: Thoughts that see a new reality that points towards the ideal
that is not yet fully seen or materialized in current reality.
Food: Providing the body its required nutrients, fluids, tastes and aroma that
are needed for its healthy functioning, replenishment and nourishment.
Fundamental fractals of your purpose: A fractal is that deeper or key

essential component of purpose the essense of which permeates into all other
important purposes and intents in our life and work.
Future-to-present visualization: A method of visualization where the

imagined future solution/state where core purpose and ideals are fulfilled
becomes the center. We imagine that we look at our present from the future
state to draw insights on key turning points that could have emerged between
the future and the present that would have made the future true.
Giftivism: A practice where the transactional nature of offering a service and

its monetary interchange are transcended. Our services are offered as a gift,
freely. The beneficiary is at freedom to reciprocate or not, in cash, kind or
good will. This practice opens the heart deeper to contribution with no strings
attached, and with trust and faith.
Giving Care: Sharing and offering acts of goodwill and contribution to

other/s without expecting anything in return.
Governing light (of the mind): Our intuitions, life purpose, core
qualities/values and ideologies comprise the governing light of our mind.
(See Intuitive knowing, Life Purpose, Core qualities/values). The more there
is space for intuitions (see Intuition), the more there is light in our mind.
Great inner stillness: An inner calm poise that is not affected by anything.
In the beginning this can be accessed through unconditional faith (see
Unconditional Faith) and then by a direct connection with the consciousness
of peace and calm vastness.
Grieving: This could be a process of feeling into the sadness of separation in

the event of the death of someone close; holding deep everlasting connection
in spirit; letting go of all emotional memories and attachments; in a space of
love and acceptance.
Habit formation: When an activity is repeated a sufficient number of times,

a part of our sub-conscious picks it up and automates it, repeating the action
mechanically ad infinitum, unless countered repeatedly by a new force or
action.
Harnessing sufficient power: Receiving and expressing sufficient energy,

drive, passion and enthusiasm that are needed to overcome challenges,
manifest intents and perform actions and work.
Healthy emotions: Emotions that uplift others and ourselves such as

affection, sensitivity, empathy, care, goodness, etc.
Heart: That psychological emotive part within us that feels connection with
others and yearns to contribute to their well-being. A narrow heart, confines
care to the immediate family or team. A wider heart cares for all, as the heart
increasingly feels in communion with one and all.
Heart-to-heart connect: A heart-felt connection and goodwill that can form

the fulcrum of all our interactions, agreements, disagreements and
discussions.
Hidden energy points: See ‘Marma’.
Higher Consciousness: The vaster Presence that communicates with the

existence in mysterious ways. In the human, it communicates through the
deeper self within.
Higher creative capacity: This creative imagination acts under the

inspiration or influence of a higher purpose, ideals and vision, and is
unmoved by personal references or desires.
Higher Intelligence & Will: The next stage/s of the human or terrestrial
evolution applying its light and pressure on us to evolve.
Higher order intents: Intents inspired by core purpose, values, ideologies
and insights received through intuitions.
Holding strength (during exercise): To develop strength in a muscle exercise

can be done by tightening the muscle and holding strength while doing the
exercise movement.
Holes in our ‘Inner Being’: Limitations, imperfections and impurities that

exist within any part of our being that corrupt the potency and
resourcefulness of our overall being.
Holistic life: A way of living in which, all of our life and work are
considered as interconnected and important. Progress would mean an
inclusive evolution of all parts of our inner and outer aspects of life and work.
Holistic treatment: A recognition that the body is living and is

interconnected to our deeper self, mind, emotion, energy and sensation. One
of its central tenets is the understanding that the cause of an illness can be our
beliefs, emotional sentiments, energetic currents, quality of sensations,
body’s own condition or even a certain gap in our deeper faith and trust in the
goodness of life. Holistic treatment involves treating the body as a living
entity and providing healing inputs to our spirit, mind, emotion, energy,
sensation and body to provide a wholesome cure.
(Getting) hooked (senses): Entanglement of senses with its objects of

pleasure present either in the imagination or in reality. The entanglement is a
strong or weak current of desire binding our senses to its object.
Horizontal expansion: Growing and having more income, possessions,

friends, status, reputation, higher designation, etc., but remaining at the same
fundamental state of being or quality of consciousness.
‘I frame’: Our internal frame or world-view – the sum total of all our
perceptions, opinions, beliefs or viewpoints – create boundary conditions that
determine what and how much of reality we actually view. Even a new reality
or information that we observe is often from the reference of our I Frame, and
not from the frame of reference of the emergent knowledge.
‘I know’: Attachment to what we already know, creates a state of ‘I know’,
where we turn our eye away from the vast ocean of knowledge that lies
beyond our meager knowing.
Idea generators: Challenging self and others to come up with many new
ideas to solve a situation or a problem in a short time. Giving an idea quota,
for example, to generate a new idea every 2 minutes for 15 – 20 minutes.
Ideologies & Values/Principles: Ideology: Key noble ideals we choose to

govern and direct our life with. Values: Key universal qualities that
personally resonate when present within self, others or larger systems.
Principles: Fundamental governing/operational codes that clarify the ideal
function or role of an individual or system.
Imagery loops: Sensory imagery triggered by the senses, circulates

repeatedly in the mind until the sensory desire is satisfied, transcended or the
mind stands back unaffected by sensations.
Impersonal formation (in the mind): Creating an imagination to explore

how the core idea or concept can best express itself in reality, from the view
of the idea’s essence and its best creative expression. Rejecting any personal
preference of self and others that could interfere in creating this imagination.
Inclusive decision-making: Respecting and including the voice of others

while making collective choices.
Inclusivity & Individuality: Inclusivity: Our purpose, by its depth and

essence, clarifies the fundamental intent and vision that encompasses all of
our life and work. Individuality: Our purpose, by its authenticity, enlightens
the uniqueness of our inner core nature and the specific contribution we are to
make in a very specific field or role.
Individual principle: The specific core governing law, qualitative nature or

function that an individual sub-member of the system or context operates
from. In essence, this could be in tune or not with the universal principle that
the larger collective operates from.
Individual-centric: Here the center or reference point of our thinking,
decision-making or actions is oneself. Even when we are altruistic or a senior
member of a collective (see Collective), we can be primarily self-centered.
Inflow-hold-exhalation (of breath): Our inhalation energizes the body with

fresh breath and life energy. A hold creates a pause or silence. Our exhalation
expresses and releases what is complete within us in the moment. Where
there is conscious flow of breath, we are inspired, quiet within and can
manifest dynamically.
Inflow-hold-outflow cycles: Any form of dynamic energy a) flows into a

system thus influencing it (Inflow), b) is held within the system for sometime
to consolidate it (hold) and c) is expended out of the system to cause or create
something (outflow). This system can be an individual or a collective. When
this energy gets stuck in any part of the cycle, it becomes impotent. When it
flows effortlessly and abundantly through the three cycles it gathers strength,
power, momentum and manifestation capacity.
Information explosion: The increasing capacity of people all over the world
to share, upload, re-combine and re-share information and knowledge, which
is then accessible to others within seconds.
Inner & Outer emotion: Inner emotion is the emotional stirring experienced
within when we are in communion or conversation with the other – in reality
or in the imagination. Outer emotion is what is expressed to others, with or
without modification and disguise.
Inner (internal) filters/processes/mental filters: Our internal data (see

Internal data) act as filters that define and determine what, which portions
and how much of the plenitude of external data (see External data) present in
the world we actually see.
Inner Being: The consolidated qualitative ‘state’ of the different constituents

of our being layer – our spiritual connect, thoughts, will, emotions, energy,
sensations and body’s inner condition.
‘Inner eye’: This is the invisible viewer, who sees both our internal data (see
Internal data) and external data (see External data). The Inner Eye can view
the contents of our mind, the information present and emerging in the world
and the effect of interaction between our internal and external reality.
Inner flame: The light within that automatically illumines any knowledge,
revealing its qualitative nature and inherent truth. The fire or will within
wanting us to evolve, unite with the highest consciousness that we can touch
and bring its qualities into our daily life, work and into the world at large.
Inner Guide: The ‘veiled’ mysterious will and light within us, sending subtle
nudges to our surface self on what we should do, how we should be and with
whom we should commune to forward some mysterious plan of evolution for
self, other/s and the universe.
Inner influences/state: The state or quality of each part of our being

influences the other’s mind, emotion, energy, physical or spirit. This process
can be conscious or unconscious for our self and others. The other can be
humans, plants, animals, environment, etc. Also the quality of our inner state
of being influences the quality of our competencies and the final output of
our work/services.
Inner Presence: Our inner experience of what is happening at the physical,

vital life-force, mind and spiritual parts of our being (see Inner Being).
Inner resonance: A spontaneous subtle joy or inner gladness that guides us

from within, pointing to us when something or someone that we are
observing or considering to engage with, is in deeper sync with our core
nature or purpose.
Inner Stillness – Outer Swiftness: (See Playing with time) This is a

relationship with time and work where we are still, calm and focused within
and act dynamically, swiftly and decisively outside.
Innovation in the mind: Seeing a higher and nobler way of life that
represents next level evolution of consciousness and its solutions for the
world, ahead of times. Visualizing pathways to change and new creations to
manifest that have not yet been attempted, realized or made available in the
world.
Inspirational influencing energy: Highly impactful in motivating others,

but done through inspiration rather than pushing. Clarifying what needs to be
done and motivating and reminding others that they have the motive, choice
and capacity to do it generates inspiration.
Integral Inner Presence: Our Inner Presence (see Inner Presence) comprises
of eight distinct sub-parts a) Physical (b) Sensory Enjoyment (c) Dynamic
Energy (d) Emotional Care (e) Objective Mind (f) Idea Force (g) Pure Mind
and (h) Deeper Self. Each has distinct potentials and resource states that can
be accessed and enriched. This forms the composite quality of Integral Inner
Presence. The leader of our Integral Inner Presence is recognized to be the
Deeper Self and all other parts of the mind, vital life-energy and physical are
considered as instruments of the deeper self when purified, developed and
aligned.
Internal data: These are the summaries, representations and conclusions that
we carry within our mind based on external data observed so far. These
include our opinions, viewpoints, perceptions and beliefs based on our
current knowledge and experiences.
Internal hierarchy of values: Awareness of the priority of our core values,

based on which the most fulfillment and inner resonance are provided.
Internal mental processing: The constant flow of thoughts, thinking,

associating, dissecting, commenting, imagining, meaning-making, etc., that
happens in our mind’s background in spite of whatever we are doing in our
life.
Intimate knowing interchange: An experience where the learner connects

to knowledge as a way of understanding oneself and the world, and its
interrelationships. Here the learner is not relating to the information or
knowledge as an unknown third entity that exists outside oneself, but
explores it as a way to understand oneself, the microcosm and the macrocosm
with that piece of knowledge.
Intuition: Rays of light that steal into the mind reconfiguring its contents,
revealing a fore-knowledge or a ‘whole’ knowledge, without our thought
formulating any of these.
Intuitive knowing/direct oneness with wisdom: In the mind we receive

partial knowledge that we synthesize using the pure mind (see Pure mind).
Above the mind are intuitive zones that connect us to the Source of all Truth
and Knowledge. Corridors of silence link the quieter zones above our mind
with the intuitive zones. When we wait in concentration above our thinking,
the link between our mind and the intuitive zones are strengthened via the
corridors of silence. We then receive intuitions bearing the imprint of
Wisdom and Truth of the Beyond.
Invincible strength: An inward calm strength that is unshaken by any

outward or inward circumstance or fear.
‘Is’es: Our stickiness to what we already know – the known data and our
opinions, viewpoints, perceptions and beliefs. This leads to a sense of ‘This is
so’.
‘Key words’ search: We google the information we seek from the World
Wide Web via specific and precise key word strings. The quality of data we
source is a function of the focus and wideness of our key words.
Lack of balance: A sense of inner center or poise lost in energetic, emotional

or thought swinging towards select aspect of living, at the expense of other
key aspects of living.
Letting go: Freeing the mind from what is already known, old beliefs,
perceptions, imaginations, etc., so that there is space to receive intuitions.
Dropping the hold of emotions, energies, desires, habits and actions that limit
us.
Life Purpose: The fundamental directionality of our life in which all that we
are doing and have done so far add up and point to a specific contribution we
are envisioning in our field of work/role; by authentically holding a unique
‘being’ frequency.
‘Like cures like’: The principle of homeopathy medicine where the
substance that causes the problem is administered into our body in a very
small dose. This helps the body’s natural intelligence and immune system to
recognize the substance as something ‘foreign’ and thus heals the problem at
a fundamental level in a natural manner.
Losing/Honouring personal power: Upholding or losing the capacity for

personal choice, freedom and willful action.
Love: A sum total of the experiences of connection, care, goodwill, closeness

and wanting to contribute, felt for other/s and the self.
Marma (points): These are hidden energy points present throughout the
body. When ‘prana’ (see ‘Prana’) is circulated through each energy point, it
nourishes corresponding organs, body parts and cells.
Mental activity: See Internal mental processing.
Mental formation: Consciously creating or bringing into existence in the

mind, a fully formed image, word or concept, aligned to and forwarding a
purpose or idea.
Mental synthesis: Mind identifying the ‘seed’ or ‘meta’ idea beneath multi-
fold thought and its associations. Mind penetrating into the ‘core’ of these
‘cores’ and ordering them based on the degree of their alignment to the prime
core purpose, value or ideal. Mind thus orders the contents of the mind into a
cohesive whole.
Mental timeline/formation: Our past, present and imagined future creates a

backdrop screen against which, unconsciously, we view all the contents of
our mind and outer reality. This is a highly potent internal formation which
attempts to self propagate by creating similar life conditions.
Metaphor for the body – receptacle/container: Our body is the outer cover
and holder of our consciousness. Every spiritual experience, thought,
emotion, energy and sensation impacts the body. The body absorbs the
quality of our being and is either nourished or stressed by it.
Methods of treatment (of the body): The body heals by itself. If it fails to
do so, then we can detect what prevents its optimal functioning and provide
an antidote to restore the body’s natural healing process or to give it an aid to
supplement its natural function. An antidote can be medicine, food, rest,
sleep, fresh air, clean water, emotional care, an external aid, surgery, creative
visualization, healing sounds, energy healing, etc.
Milestones: Defined signposts that indicate whether we are progressing on

the right path to our destination of goals, purpose and fulfillment.
Multiple frames of reference: Capacity to hold multiple world-views, belief

structures, viewpoints to understand and comprehend knowledge and reality
more fully and comprehensively.
Murky emotions: Emotions holding its limiting conditions like over-

sensitivity, hurt, emotional pains, withdrawal, etc. This is also the
contamination of the natural state of joyful giving of emotions by desires,
expectations or power plays.
Mutual evolution: A deeper connect in relationships where we support each

other to become better human beings, contributing mutually towards
fulfillment of purpose and transformation of inner and outer life.
Mutual goal fulfillment: Providing space and opportunities during

interactions for the pursuit and accomplishment of goals of all parties
concerned.
Mutually fulfilling: Ensuring that the needs, intents, welfare, progress,

happiness and fulfillment of two or more people or collective entities
involved are honoured.
Narrow heart: Narrow heart is one that belongs to, connects and cares for a
smaller and known group of people in family and team (see Wide Heart).
Nature: The creations of a Higher Power including trees, plants, flowers, air,
sun, mountain, valleys, etc., which nourish human and other life forms.
Negative ‘kick’: Secret enjoyment of our limiting conditions by a part of our
being which, without our conscious knowledge, wallows in it and thus
sustains the limitation. Examples include depression, self-pity, sadness, hurt,
hatred, etc.
Nested loops: Each central concept or idea is a part of a larger or more

essential concept or idea, ad infinitum.
New creative reality: Aspiring for a reality that is new, going beyond current
conditions to actualize and embody the ideal and the highest vision and
purpose possible.
New imagination formation: A new visualization arising from a new center

– enriched purpose, deeper value, vaster idea, etc.
New learning (inner development): New insight, realization, awareness,

understanding, inner progress and breakthroughs.
New mental pathways/reality: Imagining novel ideas aligned to core

purpose and ideals, and visualizing new methods, processes and strategies to
manifest the ideas.
New vision: See New imagination formation.
NLP: Neuro-linguistic Programming is a tool for subtle awareness at the

inner process level, inner prayerfulness and transformation of the mind, heart
and energy using resourceful anchors already present within us.
No fear: A stage of evolution where nothing stirs within in the presence of

the greatest of dangers – real or imagined. In place of fear, a clear and firm
faith and an appropriate action or non-action arises.
Noble ideals & ideas: Higher standards and potentials of inspired living,
clarified and held as the governing light of the mind.
Non-vital creative image: Creating an imagination of a new possibility,

devoid of any desire or excitement. The image does not move by desire, but
points steadily to an opening beyond current reality towards a newer one
which is more in tune with purpose and values.
Non-vital image formation: See Non-vital creative image.
Novel mental formation: This is the creative process of the mind, which can
see beyond what is already known and established. It can create new
combinations, possibilities and potentials in the mind ahead of their
emergence in reality.
Nurturing energy: Honouring the values and culture in any individual and
collective pursuit, thereby giving scope for deeper inner fulfillment. This also
includes bringing in qualities of care, goodwill and respect that mutually
energize each other.
Objectification: The process of making something clear, specific, precise

and defined so that it can be observed and acted upon. This includes making
vague or abstract thoughts precise and clear, words definite, internal beliefs
and perceptions accurately articulated and also breaking down tasks into
small chunks with defined time estimates. What is objectified is made into a
concrete object in our awareness, which can be utilized and acted upon.
Objective mind: Mind that wants to make all knowledge concrete – defined,
sequential, ordered, expressed and measurable.
One Divine Will: Recognizing a Presence beyond all human and other
universal and cosmic forces, whose nature is Oneness – a union of Light,
Love and Power.
One pointedness: Intent and will united on one purpose or idea.
Osmosis of consciousness: Connecting to a book or fragment of knowledge

without the interference of thought and its analysis. Being one with the book
or the knowledge of a genius or master. Concentrating beyond the words or
information to connect to the conscious wisdom, truth, creativity and force of
the genius or master and allowing their consciousness to penetrate and
transform our own consciousness.
‘Other’/Other’s heart/Connect to ‘others’: A direct sensing of the other’s
emotions and a heartfelt connection as fellow human beings.
Outcome: Clarifying and achieving intended result aimed at within a certain

period of time, with certain parameters that indicate its quality.
Outer influences: The quality of the collective mind, emotions, energies and
the spiritual presence – in other humans, books, places, social media, world
wide web, etc., – influences the corresponding parts of our inner being (See
Inner Being).
Parts of Being: Our being is composed of eight parts which intermingle in

function and action with each other and create a distinct flavour of our Inner
Presence. These eight parts are – deeper self; pure, creative and objective
mind; emotional, dynamic and sensory energy; and body and its habits.
Perfect faith: A faith that knows its fundamental anchor – higher power,
quintessence of nature or deepest state within oneself; and believes through
the presence of this anchor that true, sincere and noble efforts will always
triumph.
Personal space/time: Catering to our need to connect inward, from the

surface self (see Small self/Surface self) with whom we really are within and
hold the connection for some time, thus gaining deep inner nourishment.
Catering to our need to do something meaningful and nourishing e.g.,
exercising, hobbies, meditation, prayer, etc.
Personal timeline: Our own internal view about our life and the stories,
inferences, conclusions and comments that we make about it. This exists as a
sort of continuum from our birth, past, present and imagined future.
Personal transformation: The evolution of the ‘being’ and ‘doing’ level of

an individual to hold increasing authenticity, alignment, refinement,
resourcefulness and capacity to manifest and create new reality.
Physical development: Developing the body to ensure that each part of the
body is functioning in its natural, optimal and healthy condition.
Playing with time: Practicing working with time to arrive at a poise where
we experience time as slow within in a centered and calm poise, and on the
outside we act swiftly and decisively demonstrating a more dynamic
relationship with time. With practice and mastery, we can attain the two
poises together – a slow, centered experience of time within and a fast
movement of time with dynamic action on the outside.
Pleasure fix: Providing a ‘quota’ of sensory stimuli that temporally satisfies

the cravings of the senses.
Point of focus: This is our point of focus – our center – with reference to
which we view and relate every data, observation, insight, experience and
decision. This point of focus can be an intuition, key concept, belief, novel
imagination, external information, inner guidance, past memory, an emotion,
sensation or passion, something else about ourselves, another human, etc.
Our focus reconfigures our thinking, emotion, energy and action around it in
the moment.
Potent unknown: The intuitive zones of the mind and beyond that embody
Knowledge, Truth and Wisdom that we are not cognizant of yet.
Potential Future solutions: Possible solutions that can be created in the

future which are most aligned to and manifest our core purpose and ideals.
Power struggle: Tug-of-war of force and power – between self and others, a
conscious or unconscious combat where those with more force get to win.
‘Prana’: This is the breath or life-giving energy that flows not only through
our nostrils but through many hidden energy points located throughout the
body. When prana flows through all our energy points, every part, organ and
cell receives the precious life energy and is healthy, pulsing and alive. Prana
can be made to flow through conscious breathing, deep visualization,
rotational movements of joints or direct touch to trigger the hidden energy
points.
Precise/meticulous mind: Mind that thinks sequentially, systematically,

methodically and examines and measures all the minute details.
Problem mapping: Defining key criteria to understand a problem situation
and clarifying what would constitute key pointers to indicate the presence or
absence of these criteria. Observing multiple data points to quantify and
document the degree, frequency and conditions of presence or absence of
these key criteria. Evaluating if this provides a comprehensive view of the
problem. If not, sharpening or widening the key criteria to get a more
comprehensive understanding.
Pseudo-satisfaction of senses: Indirect satisfaction of the senses through

imagery rather than the actual connects of our senses with the sensations.
Pulling of temptations: See (Getting) hooked. The hooking nature of senses

as it gets entangled and tied to its objects of temptation. Even if we want to
avoid this, the desire currents pull our senses towards the objects of pleasure.
Pure/Purified dynamic energy: Energy devoid of its limitations of over-

drive, manipulation, revenge, anger, wrath, etc., and utilized as mere force to
move forward.
Pure mind: Part of the mind that is free of the influence of emotions,
energies, sensations and the fixed and fluid thoughts. The mind that stands
back, free from the contents of the mind and observes it. Mind that ‘sights’
the underlying patterns, structures and central essence beneath all contents of
the mind.
Purification: Fine-tuning each part of our being to correct and release the
inherent limitations of its nature; limitations arising out of entanglements
with the other parts of our being and limitations that are triggered by
interactions with other/s and with parts of their being.
Purposeful formation (thought/mental): Focusing on thoughts and creating

words that emphasize, focus and forward core purpose and ideals. Valuing
thoughts and words for their intent, energy and alignment to core purpose and
ideals without personal bias. This can also be an image formation (see
Purposeful imagination).
Purposeful imagination (thought/mental): Creating an image that point in

the same direction as our fundamental purpose, value or idea. Visualizing in
image form the potent possibilities – that represent the process and
fulfillment of the core purpose, value or ideas. Imagining how current reality
can possibly be transformed to live a noble life. And finally, letting go of all
imaginations to stay tuned to intuitions and new emergence.
Purposeful manifestation (thought/mental): Ensuring that all imaginations

that float along or are consciously created or re-created bear allegiance to our
core purpose, values and resonant ideals.
Pushing/Influencing force: Energy or power moves outwards with a certain

degree of force, acting on a particular person, problem or situation for a
period of time to cause an impact. This can be a direct force that overpowers
others and thwarts resistances. Or this power can create an indirect impact by
motivating others to do what is right – by enabling them to draw inspiration
from their own power and motive.
Qualitative transformation: A change where the fundamental ‘being’ nature

of the individual or collective evolves to its next level.
Quality of words: The clarity of intent, vibration of energy and emotion and
precision of meanings that is present within our words.
Quiet, powerful action: A masterful state of dynamic energy where we are

rooted in inner faith, quiet calmness, unshaken by anything and, on the
outside, act decisively with sufficient flow of power (see Inflow-hold-outflow
cycles and Circulation of power) and abundant capacity for purposeful
manifestation.
Realm of experience: Behind a concept of truth, it is possible to experience

the truth as a lived and embodied state of experience. Here we are not
working towards the truth or reflecting about it using a concept. We are part
of the experience itself as it permeates us. For example, freedom can be a
concept or an experience, if we manage to penetrate the concept to
experience the existential state behind it.
Receive/Revealed images: These are images or symbols that we do not

create consciously but which enter into our vision in response to an
aspiration, concentrated question or as an intuition that reveals.
Receiving care: Accepting the care and contribution that others bestow upon
us in a vulnerable manner with gratitude.
‘Remembrance’: An inner knowingness/certitude that exists pre-thought,

indicating that something is true – existing in its authentic state and function
in the moment.
Resonance (practicing): Detecting and acting on resonance (see Resonance

signal); and in hindsight reflecting if it was really resonance or desire pulls or
personal mental perceptions that we acted out of.
Resonance (signal): A spontaneous subtle gladness/inner joy indicating

deeper alignment between a fundamental purpose or true nature of self, which
is now in sync with the fundamental directionality or core nature of
something or someone we are placing our attention on.
Resourceful poise: A poise where one or more resources of one or more

parts of our being are present.
Right poise: An inner poise where we are centered within and take care of
the well-being of self and other/s in a balanced and mutual manner.
Right words: Choosing consciously, the right word that precisely carries the
right meaning, right intent and the right tinge of emotion and energy aspired.
Sacred depth of our heart: The deepest space within our heart where there
is a subtle sense of inner knowing of a connection present between all of us
and with our Creator creating this Universe right now.
Sacred space of the body: Beyond the physical nature of the human body,
advanced Sadhaks experience an underlying current of gladness, quietness,
living flow of life-giving energy or feel their own Divine Presence residing
within their heart.
Sacredness of contact: A deep bowing down to the other/s from the
understanding that within each of us, there is a deeper Presence and Divinity.
Sadhana (Effort/Sincerity/Surrender/Right Attitude): a) Doing inner

practice every day to purify and develop one or more parts of our being. This
can be done by allocating specific time or it can be a dynamic practice done
in split-seconds while we engage in daily activities, b) Done with right
attitude of sincerity to evolve under the guidance of our deeper self and c)
With a conscious inner poise of offering the process, benefits and results to
our Divine; to Grace us and complete the transformation in Its own time and
approach.
Sanctioning power (mind): (See Purposeful formation, Purposeful

imagination and Purposeful manifestation) Our mind can exercise control on
what concepts, images and words we focus, create and express, based on their
clarity and alignment to our fundamental purpose and principles.
‘Sapling’ stage: Learning to catch a potential solution or an idea that

forwards purpose and vision even as it is just in its ‘seed’ phase starting to
form. If we can give it our attention, these solutions will sprout and grow
much faster and better than if they were ignored or not recognized.
Sattvic: Anything that holds the qualities of light, balance, goodness,

freshness and clarity – from the food we consume, the energy and emotions
that flow through us and the nature of thoughts we uphold.
Screenshot of thoughts: When we learn something new or are updating our

knowledge, we think about it. What we think is a miniscule or distorted
version of the knowledge, which act as ‘screenshots’ that represent the
knowledge. Often we slowly rely more on these screenshots rather than on
the fullness of knowledge that is present and constantly emerging.
Seed essence: Fundamental quality, principle or concept.
Seed limitation: The fundamental imperfection that triggers off an array of

related imperfections. Resolving or dissolving this fundamental imperfection
weakens or dissolves all its associated limitations.
Self-existent delight: A joy or bliss more subtle and intense in nature than
desires. Even the most pleasant sensations, energies, emotions, thoughts or
images do not cause this joy nor take it away. This joy exists on its own, for
its own purpose and Graces us when we are desire-free, without any
suppression of desires.
Self-referencing: The largely sub-conscious habit of viewing everything

from the reference point of self e.g., ‘What is in this for me?’, ‘Will I stand
benefited?’, ‘Do I agree with this?’, ‘Do I know this?’, ‘Is this easy for
me/us’, ‘What about me?’, etc. The ‘I’ colours and views everything with
‘me’ or a ‘smaller us’ that we identify with as the center. With increased
awareness, we can see that our thoughts, words, emotions, energies and
sensations all operate with a tinge of this self-referencing habit.
Sense of superiority: An internal sense of comparison where we believe we

are better than others. This often leads to a conscious or unconscious poise of
one-upmanship. This position can come from power play or also altruism and
compassion.
Sense of touch: The human touch can transmit mechanicalness, sexual

energy, push, dominance, care, warmth, gentleness, comfort, healing energy,
etc. We can bring awareness into our touch to transform the quality of
consciousness that flows through it.
Sensorial nourishment: All of the senses receiving sufficient gratification in

their own realm.– e.g., vision seeing soothing colours, sounds hearing
melody, taste buds enjoying delicacies, smell inhaling pleasant fragrances
and touch experiencing comfort and care.
Sensory acuity: Precise and minute awareness of senses that can distinguish
very subtle differences in colours, sounds, taste, touch and smell.
Sensory Enjoyment: Nature of senses to indulge more in sensations that

seem pleasurable or fun.
Sensory fulfillment: An inner sense of freedom from the craving of desires

in its crude forms. An opening of senses seeking aesthetic forms of joy,
beauty and balance. This is the pursuit of the senses seeking the touch of
higher consciousness in its own domain of sensations.
Sensory response: Internal responses of senses to its stimuli, e.g., movement

of sense vibrations to touch, variations in the pupil of the eye to visual inputs,
resonance or dissonance to sound vibrations, like or dislike for various
fragrances and flavours.
Sensory stimuli: Any object, real or imagined, that triggers our senses,
providing or promising experience of pleasure or pain.
Sensory vibration: The flow of sensations within our body, as our senses
connect with stimuli present.
Sensual energy: Sexual energy present through consent or intrusion,

between two or more people (and sometimes with other living creatures), that
seek excitement through sexual contact.
Sentient being: Any entity that has conscious awareness and life energy.
This includes humans, animals, plants, insects, cellular organisms, etc., - the
more evolved the entity the more free will and intricacies it possesses of its
conscious awareness.
Seven focus points: To train the mind to be anchored in the external, to

observe new emergence, view external knowledge and reality in its own new
frames of reference and not in our old frames of reference, we need to give
the mind some pointers. The following seven pointers can be taken by the
mind to scan external knowledge and reality: Accuracy, credibility,
reliability, comprehensiveness, context, originality and resonance. When
more of these parameters are present in knowledge or reality, we can focus
our mind’s attention on and imbibe its frames of reference to evolve ours.
Sieving data: Going through information looking for something. We can go

through data looking for insights or a better understanding of the problem, or
go through the same data to identify new solutions that are mushrooming.
Signature Strengths: Our natural gifts and talents that evolve to masterful
levels through personal effort, automatic organic unfolding and spending a
lifetime polishing the strength to its ever-increasing shine.
Silence in the Mind: The presence of a state that Graces the mind – where
thinking does not happen, but only a quiet opening up to the vastness is
present. The top-most ranges of the mind where thoughts are less and the
mind is quieter. In quiet concentration, if we wait here, we create the link
between the silent mind and the Intuitive zone above. If we continue to wait
here in concentration we can receive a direct knowing or intuition far ahead
of the knowledge we possess now.
Sleep: Resting the body and slipping into a sub-conscious or unconscious

state where the body receives deep nourishment. Best sleep is when our body
rhythms and cycles are in tune with nature’s rhythms of night and the light of
dawn. When the body rests well, has sufficient sleep and wakes up to the
rising sun, it receives maximum nourishment.
Slice of reality/representation: Among the many facets of information

about a subject or field of interest, the portion that we study or view defines
our slice of that reality. Another person, through a different internal filter (see
Inner filters) will often see a slightly or largely different slice of the same
reality.
Slice tasks: Taking a task that takes a longer time to complete, and dividing
it into smaller tasks doable in shorter timelines. This helps in avoiding
procrastination, planning and doing portions of the task every day in the
small window spaces of our schedules.
Small self/Surface self: The surface part of us that views everything

including others from its own preferences and perspectives – a fundamental
sense of, ‘What’s in it for me?’ This part is concerned with our own
immediate needs, comforts and self-interests.
Soul essence: Our own core individuality, authentic qualities and nature
which, when embodied, we experience an intrinsic joy of being ‘at home’.
Soul-connect: A deeper contact experienced with some people where our

fundamental path, nature or purpose seems to be in resonant sync. If this
deeper connection is nurtured in the relationship, each one will enable the
other to become more of their own core selves, evolve and manifest their true
purpose.
Span(s) of identification: Widening our heart to increasingly connect to the

collective (see Collective) – the wider the heart, the larger the collective we
can connect to. To feel the collectives needs as our own and act as an
involved representative of the collective for the welfare of it.
‘Spike’ (in the intellectual level): A sudden surge of breakthrough

thinking/innovation/discoveries/creativity spearheaded by one or few
individuals, creating the ‘next level’ in any field.
‘Splits’ (our own being): Living with one set of core values at work and
another for personal life and perhaps yet another for spiritual aspirations
divides the core of our being.
Stability of habits: A stage in habit formation where a chosen habit runs on

its own with minimal effort or intervention from our side. This comes after a
period of sufficient repetition of the habit, enabling it to run on autopilot
mode.
Sub-modalities work: Every sense has sub-sensory dimensions to it. Visual

has colour, size, shape, brightness, distance, movement, etc. Auditory has
volume, pitch, frequency, rhythm, distance, cadence, etc. Touch has
temperature, pressure, texture, etc. Taste has temperature, flavour, etc.
Olfactory has intensity, scent, etc. Full awareness of sub-sensory dimensions
in sensations and sensory imaginations opens our senses to minute nuances.
Success: Knowing our goals and purpose, going forward towards them and
accomplishing them within timeframes.
Superficial (analytical) mind: The mind that reads or learns by comparing

what is studied to what is already known and analyzing the sameness and
newness.
Superficial emotions: Surface emotions exist by their opposites, e.g., love
exists by the presence of hate, or togetherness needs separation to feel
bonding again. Deeper states like unconditional love, faith and gratitude,
which we can tune into, are causeless and self-existent.
Symbolic representation/picture (of events): When we are reflecting on a

situation or a set of events in our life, we can create or ask inward to see a
symbol that represents the situation or event. We can then create or ask
inward to see a symbol that represents the solution in its most ideal form
honoring purpose and values. We can then visually see what could potentially
bring about the change in the situation.
Symbolic transformation: Visualizing or drawing an image as a metaphor

that represents the problem and then symbolically modifying the image or
drawing to represent a solution where the noble ideals and core purpose are
fully manifested and fulfilled.
Tamas: Body’s inherent similarity with the ‘inert’ nature of matter. This
inertia translates as lethargy and laziness in the human – a condition felt at
times during the day and night, where the body moves only when it is acted
upon by a force.
Thought clusters/formation: Enabling a conscious grouping of thoughts

around its central essence or core idea. In the beginning thoughts are
triggered by past associations, external realities, information, emotions,
energies or desires present. Often one thought about an idea, emotion, energy
or desire triggers associated thoughts strengthening that formation. Thoughts
can be re-centered by consciously culling out the higher purpose, vision or
idea they represent and focusing on them. Gradually, other thoughts
reconfigure themselves around the new focused center.
Thought control: Rendering thought vibrations still, rejecting its prominence

or allowing certain kinds of thoughts to combine to co-create new thought
formations by increasing focus on their core essence – depending on the
thoughts’ fundamental alignment to the central idea, ideal or purpose.
Thought vibrations: Vital life-currents (see Vital Energy) often take over
the thoughts and force them to think of the vital energy and its fulfillment.
The thoughts then start flitting, leaving its focus of concentration and follow
the impulses of vital energy. When the thoughts just begin to vibrate under
the influence of these currents, we can exercise direct control over it. We can
still or freeze their vibration thus preventing the vital-energy imagination (see
Vital-vision).
Thought-/word-/thought-word formations: From a semi-conscious

condition, we can consciously create words that focus and express our
purpose, vision and ideas through practice and mastery. We can consciously
focus on those thoughts that are aligned to our purpose and vision, and allow
them to intermingle to co-create more ideas.
Three parts of the mind: The mind has three switches or functions with any
of them in an on/off condition at any moment. One is the part that observes,
quantifies and expresses factual data (Objective Mind). The second frees the
bind from the known to creatively imagine the novel and ‘next level’ idea
(Idea Force). The third steps back from the contents of the mind to cull out its
essential and central concepts, ideas, purpose, values and principles (Pure
Mind).
‘Three seconds’: A short practice time needed, say three seconds, to quickly
intervene when a sensory vibration begins its flow. Else the sensory currents
become too strong to intervene and will run through their desire cravings.
Three ‘wills’: In any relationship at least three intents and wills operate a)
my will, b) your will (the other/s) and c) Thy will (that of Divine, Higher
Intelligence or Power). When all the three wills resonate, there is a magical
sync and alignment. When even one is not in sync, there is discord, struggle
or strife.
Time sense: Developing awareness and an intimate relationship with time.

Remembering the component of timeliness within any action. An activity is
done within a time span – the duration and intensity of which defines the
timeliness, appropriateness and usefulness of the work delivered.
Top-down influence: The ideal condition where our desire satisfaction,

dynamic energy and emotional exchange are guided by the creative vision
and imagination, which themselves are aligned to the core purpose, ideals and
values, which themselves are moulded by the incoming intuition. The body
healthily and with stability bears this transformation.
Total control over words: Being conscious about every word that is
expressed. Allowing only those words that forward an empowering reality
aligned to purpose to be spoken or written by us. Having the control not to let
out words that cause disruption or potential deviation, or is tainted by our
untransformed emotions, energies or sensations.
Total transformation: A fundamental change in the nature and function of a

part of being made possible when, post sufficient purification and
development, the part of being opens to the quality or nature of higher
consciousness. By absorbing the higher consciousness, e.g., peace, calmness,
invincible strength, intuition, etc., its own core nature irreversibly changes.
Train our senses: Dedicated practice done when the senses flow – to shift
them from being hooked to certain stimuli and open them up to stimuli that
are aesthetic and uplifting. This practice is continued till the senses naturally
choose the harmonious and the beautiful.
Transcendental power: A higher power that has created and is creating this
universe. A wisdom and power that is yoked to the creation of this universe
and life and is constantly working for the creations’ evolution – to bear more
radiance of itself in the all of creation.
Transform emotions: Diving deep into our emotional currents and

discovering unconditional goodness, love, acceptance and gratitude behind
the fluctuating currents, creates a link between our surface emotions (see
Superficial emotions) and our deeper and purer unconditional states, causing
transformation.
Transformation of the physical: The inherent nature of the physical –

laziness, habits, resistance to change, etc., can open up to the influence of
new beliefs, clear mind, daily exercises, fresh air, briskness, physical work,
and enthusiastic living. The body then develops more vibrancy, lightness,
alertness, proportionality, vertical posture, flexibility, strength, etc.
Ultimately, the body can also experience the deeper self within as a living
Presence and develop qualities like inner beauty, calmness in the nerves, and
equanimity to endure any physical challenge when needed.
Transformed senses: Senses, without any personal effort, naturally choose

the beautiful, harmonious, rhythmic, nourishing and joyful.
True inner nature: Our inmost deeper self (see Deeper self) that holds the
seed of our inner essence and is the agent of evolution towards higher
consciousness.
Unconditional Faith: A fundamental state of trust in a higher Presence or

Power with nothing disturbing this poise. It is a default condition of being,
ever present and ever steady.
Unconditional space: Offering someone an un-wavering experience of love,

trust, affection and acknowledgment as a fellow human no matter how the
other person was, is or may be in the future.
Universal/Impersonal way/Impersonal image formation: Forming a

creative imagination that is closer to the truth – intuitively sensed or
conceptually grasped (universal); and is formed from the reference point of
the core purpose, vision or idea and its most ideal way of manifestation
without any personal bias (impersonal).
Universal Life: The collective field of all our emotions, energies and
sensations is our Universal Life field. Humans, animals, plants, insects,
nature, etc. share this.
Universal Mind: Timeless Truth and space-time bound knowledge of the

past, present and future in various degrees of fully revealed and cognized,
partially revealed and cognized or veiled and unknown states.
Universal principle: The underlying core governing law, qualitative nature

or function fundamentally present and operational in a larger system or
context.
Universal sensory energy/universal energy: Even though sensory
experience is personal, its nature is universal. All humans have the
fundamental nature of pleasure seeking and pain avoidance in its crude,
aesthetic or transformed forms. The sensory response and nature is also
present in animals, plants etc. The nature of sensations is Universal and we
all partake from this energy and offer into its field as well.
Universal values & ideals: Those values and ideals that are cherished
collectively across humanity e.g., truth, goodness, beauty, strength and
perfection.
‘Use time’: An attitude to time that treats it as limited and precious. Each day
we have 24 hours and we can use it well to forward what is important and
purposeful to us, or allow ourselves to squander time on meaningless
activities.
Usefulness: Ensuring that any information that is culled out is simple,

relatable and convenient to use. Ensuring that the information is practical and
can be applied to make life and work more efficient and streamlined.
Value-centered living: Living life in tune with those core values or qualities
that inspire and deeply resonate. Taking decisions that are aligned to these
core values.
Vertical qualitative evolution: Our inner consciousness purifies, transforms

and yokes to a deeper and higher consciousness – shifting our center of
gravity of consciousness. All of our life and work is then a vehicle to express
this evolving inner consciousness.
Vibrational experience (sensorial): The progression from thinking about

sensations, to general awareness of sensations, to very minute sub-sensory
awareness of sensations – as they vibrate and flow in response to sensory
stimuli, causing excitement, aversion or fear.
Vibrations of fear: Before fear grips our mind, it flows as inner vibrations,
triggered by some real or perceived danger. These vibrations can be
countered directly and immediately when another vibration is present e.g., a
word or a sound that automatically generates vibrations of faith and strength
within us, by dedicated Sadhana (see Sadhana).
Vision/dreams: Vision is a direct intuitive seeing of a solution or possibility,

not constructed or imaged by us. Vision can also be a creative visualization
of a solution or possibility consciously created by us. Dreams occur in sleep
and over which, initially, we have no control. Later we can seed ideas or ask
questions for which we can receive insights during the dreams that occur in
sleep.
Visual Timeline: The images of our past, present and imagined future; and
the images that emerge as new concoctions from these images, constitute the
visual field that exists within our mind. All new imagination happens within
this existing visual field.
Visualization: Creating an image or image scenario in the mind, of a

purpose, idea or ideal solution ahead of its emergence in reality.
Vital Energy/Vital life-currents: The domain of emotions, passion, power

and desire sensations.
Vital rushes: A sudden burst of sensory play, seeking instant gratification,

often in the presence of stimuli that holds promise of instant and amplified
pleasure.
Vital-vision: An imagination into which personal desires and preferences

have crept in. Here the faculty of imagination itself is held hostage by
personal desire for its own agenda and keeps popping up different desire-
based images to compel us to act for the desire or personal preference.
Wide Heart: A wide heart increasingly belongs, connects, cares and feels
one with a larger collective – organization, institution, society and world at
large.
Will of life: The overall intelligence, will and power that governs and
sustains the working of all of creation and its unfolding to ensure sustenance,
balance and evolution.
Win–lose/Lose–win/Win–win: In interactions the energy of power is
exchanged with each other. When we overpower someone against their
wishes, we gain and they lose power. When we succumb to someone
submissively, they gain and we lose power. When both hold their space and
poise, then power is retained, shared and gained by both.
FURTHER READING
Anthony de Mello, One Minute Nonsense. Anand: Gujarat Sahitya Prakash,

1992.
Anthony de Mello, One Minute Wisdom. Anand: Gujarat Sahitya Prakash,

1990.
Gary Zukav, Spiritual Partnership – The Journey to Authentic Power. UK:

Rider, 2010.
Gerald Nadler and Shozo Hibino, Breakthrough Thinking. Rocklin, CA:

Prima Publishing & Communications, 1990.
Hyrum W. Smith, The 10 Natural Laws of Successful Time and Life

Management. London: Nicholas Brealey Publishing Limited, 1994.
James Redfield and Carol Adrienne, The Celestine Prophecy, An Experiential

Guide. UK: Bantam Books, 1995.
Jyoti and Prem Sobel, The Hierarchy of Minds – Selections from the Works of
Sri Aurobindo and The Mother. Puducherry: Sri Aurobindo Ashram Trust,
2007.
Pierre Teilhard De Chardin, The Divine Milieu. New York: Perennial

Classics, 2001.
Richard P. McHugh, Mind With a Heart. Anand: Gujarat Sahitya Prakash,

2002.
Sri Aurobindo, Letters on Yoga – I, Foundations of the Integral Yoga,

(Complete Works of Sri Aurobindo (CWSA) – Vol. 28). Puducherry: Sri
Aurobindo Ashram Trust, 2012.
Sri Aurobindo, Letters on Yoga – II, Practice of the Integral Yoga, (CWSA –
Vol. 29). Puducherry: Sri Aurobindo Ashram Trust, 2013.
Sri Aurobindo, Letters on Yoga – III, Experiences and Realisations in the

Integral Yoga, (CWSA – Vol. 30). Puducherry: Sri Aurobindo Ashram Trust,
2014.
Sri Aurobindo, Letters on Yoga – IV, Transformation of Human Nature in the

Integral Yoga, (CWSA – Vol. 31). Puducherry: Sri Aurobindo Ashram Trust,
2014.
Sri Aurobindo, Savitri – A Legend and a Symbol. New Delhi: Savitri

Foundation, 2013.
Sri Aurobindo, The Renaissance in India. (CWSA – Vol. 20). Puducherry:

Sri Aurobindo Ashram Trust, 1997.
Sri Aurobindo, The Secret of the Veda, (CWSA – Vol. 15). Puducherry: Sri
Aurobindo Ashram Trust, 1998
Sri Aurobindo, The Synthesis of Yoga – I, (CWSA – Vol. 23). Puducherry:

Sri Aurobindo Ashram Trust, 1999.
Sri Aurobindo and the Mother on Education, A New Education for a New
Consciousness. Puducherry: Sri Aurobindo Ashram – Delhi Branch, 2014.
Sri Aurobindo and the Mother on Physical Education. Puducherry: Sri

Aurobindo Ashram Trust, 1996.
Sri Aurobindo and the Mother, Compiled from the Works of, Integral
Healing. Puducherry: Sri Aurobindo Ashram Trust, 2004.
Stephen R. Covey, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. UK: Pocket
Books, 1999.
The Mother, On Education, (Collected Works of The Mother – Vol. 12).

Puducherry: Sri Aurobindo Ashram Trust, 2002.
Thich Nhat Hanh, Translated by Mobi Ho, The Miracle on Mindfulness – A

Manual on Meditation. Boston: Beacon Press, 1987.
The national mind turned a new eye on its past culture, reawoke to its sense
and import, but also at the same time saw it in relation to modern knowledge
and ideas. Out of this awakening vision and impulse the Indian renaissance is
arising, and that must determine its future tendency. The recovery of the old
spiritual knowledge and experience in all its splendour, depth and fullness is
its first, most essential work; the flowing of this spirituality into new forms of
philosophy, literature, art, science and critical knowledge is the second; an
original dealing with modern problems in the light of the Indian spirit and
the endeavour to formulate a greater synthesis of a spiritualised society is the
third and most difficult. Its success on these three lines will be the measure of
its help to the future of humanity.*
SRI AUROBINDO
This book is an offering to the Renaissance in India project. It is aimed to be

a catalyst to bring out your Inner Radiance at your ‘being’ level. This is to
enable you to contribute to the spiritual essence, intuition, intellectual
brilliance, creative genius, super-abundant creative manifestations of India in
various fields – so that India can make its unique contribution to the world, in
a truer and fuller manner.
* The Renaissance in India, (CWSA – Vol. 20), pg. 15. Puducherry: Sri Aurobindo
Ashram Trust, 1997
Sri Aurobindo Society (SAS) is an international, spiritual, cultural, not-for-
profit NGO. Inspired by the vision of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother, it strives
for individual perfection, social transformation and human unity, beyond all
divisions of nationality, religion, caste, creed or gender. With its head office
in Puducherry and nearly 350 centres and branches, SAS invites participation
from all those who want to work together for a better tomorrow. SAS
organizes programmes and initiatives that seek to bring dynamic Spirituality
into material life and all its activities. With multidimensional focus on Action
Research, SAS is setting up models, centres of excellence and training
institutes that are sustainable, scalable and replicable. SAS has been
recognized by the Government of India as a charitable organization, a
research institute and an institution of importance throughout India.
Visit us at www.aurosociety.org
AuroPublications, the publishing division of the Sri Aurobindo

Society, Puducherry, undertakes works of deep insight that are
spiritually themed, while striving towards practical
applicability. There is a special focus on the Integral Yoga and
the vision of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother.
The catalogue comprises publications in multiple Indian and
foreign languages (English, Hindi, Bengali, Telugu, Tamil,
Oriya, Sanskrit, German) and also includes journals and e-books, multimedia
and audio CDs, educational aids and games and inspirational gifts in its
portfolio.
For further queries regarding AuroPublications, please contact:
info@auropublications.org
The books and CDs are available online at www.auropublications.org

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The contents of this book have had a profound impact on my life.

Copyright©2017 Sri Aurobindo Society

Printed at Parksons Graphics, Mumbai, India

1. SENSING PARTS OF YOUR BEING

Crux of Pure Mind

How poorly we know about ourselves! This is a surprising discovery anyone

Eventually we discover an inherent happiness and ease of being in the

This is very important for teachers and leaders in organisations to recognise.

No more needs to be said. Do plunge straightaway into the book, which

Purpose of this Book

The book offers you:

Methods of purifying and developing the nature and strengths of each

Opportunity to center and stabilize in your new axis of consciousness.

This insightfulness and some degree of complexity are an inherent nature of

Reading by Rhythm – The book need not be read in a linear manner

Reading by repetition and in circular movements of internalization

Reading to experience – The book is best looked upon as something

Reading to discover new terrains – If a particular paragraph or chapter

Enhancing the experience of this book through your inner efforts –

The chapters on the life energy of ‘sensory enjoyment’, ‘dynamic

The chapters on the ‘mind’ follow a different format. We will first

The deeper self will be a direct exploration of how to recognize and

Though on one hand, mental faculties and the resultant accomplishments

Every period of rapid growth in one domain or facet is followed by a period

With the progress of technology, the emergence of a broad and dispassionate

Life Energy: The life energy is made up of three constituent parts –

Sensory Enjoyment: Become aware of your senses as we explore this

Dynamic Energy: Become aware of the energy around your navel

Mind: The mind is made up three parts –

Objective Mind: Become aware of your mind of practicality and

Thus we need to learn to connect and emote with others in an authentic

Part 2 – Sensory Enjoyment

Part 3 – Dynamic Energy

Part 4 – Emotional Care

Part 5 – Objective Mind

This part of mind is process-based and methodical – often working with

The objective mind prioritizes. It quantifies experiences and competencies so

Part 6 – Idea Force

Part 7 – Pure Mind

Part 8 – Deeper Self

You experience unconditional love, faith, gratitude, trust, subtle tenderness

Physical Relaxation: Calmness, sense of ease and relaxedness present in the

Grounded: Gravitational pull felt as stable alignment of body to earth and a

Physical Sensitivity: Body’s own subtle awareness and signals which

Stability of Habits: The motion of repeating something as a practice which,

Just as a reminder: The best way to read these

Part 2 – Sensory Enjoyment

Sensory Enjoyment: Senses relishing, enjoying and seeking gratification of

Leisure: Enjoying the psychological space of letting go of any purpose and

Comfort Satisfaction: Cherishing the simple comforts present in one’s life,

Part 3 – Dynamic Energy

Success Driven: Striving to be victorious and accomplishing what one wants.

Ambition: Motivated and driven to aim higher.

Adventure: Exploring and venturing into paths least trodden.

Part 4 – Emotional Care

Acceptance: A loving energy that acknowledges and respects oneself and

Large Heartedness: Heart expanding its field to connect to a larger group,

Self-Care: Loving, respecting and deeply caring for one self.

Part 5 – Objective Mind