Search results for tag "Natural Spirituality" - 10 answer(s)

775 Vote

Searching for the divine: excerpt 2 of a lecture by Bahram Elahi, MD

Bahram Elahi, Searching for the divine

Natural spirituality gives a central role to reason, but it also recognises the full value of positive emotions in the process of perfection.
In this question and answer session concluding a lecture he gave at the Sorbonne (Paris) in November 2011, Professor Elahi discusses this subjective or lived dimension of self-knowledge. He touches upon the specific emotion that derives from our relationship to Truth and the divine, as well as the incomparable joy—at once powerful, light and profound— that comes with the understanding of real divine truths.

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Spirituality, natural spirituality

Spirituality Natural Spirituality

“Spirituality” commonly refers to anything that relates to the life of the spirit, which is sometimes called “inner life”. The extreme vagueness of such a characterization clearly leaves room for all kinds of associations and generalizations. Spirituality today refers to a vast array of beliefs and practices—from monastic life to yoga workshops, alchemy, Taoism, tarot-reading or astral travel, to name only a few. The supermarket of spiritualities is not bothered by contradictions—even atheism may lay claim to a certain idea of the spiritual.

For Ostad Elahi, spirituality is much more specific in meaning. On one level, it is in line with the religious or mystical understanding of the matter. Indeed, spirituality is first and foremost the life of the spirit considered in its true essence: distinct from corporeal things and, in particular—with regard to human beings—distinct from their animal part. Spirituality is inseparable from the process of self-transformation, that is from specific practices that make it possible to achieve a greater knowledge and a sharper perception of oneself and the world. The “life” of the spirit is oriented towards this end. According to Ostad Elahi, the idea of perfection defines this orientation.

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Spirituality in everyday life

In this article published in december 1997 in the magazine L’Être et l’esprit, Bahram Elahi presents his conception of “natural spirituality,” reviewing its fundamental principles. “Natural spirituality” is a spirituality adapted to the very nature of man, it involves a daily practice based on what he calls “natural meditation”. “Natural spirituality” is not related to […]

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The relation to the divine Source

If, as normal individuals without extraordinary faculties, we are to carry through to the end the task of self perfection, we should bear in mind that we would not be able to achieve this without drawing sustenance from a transcendent source of energy. By cultivating within oneself a feeling of an omniscient, omnipotent and infinitely […]

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Worlds, interworlds and successive lives

It is a function of true understanding to bring back together the dispersed parts of a whole in a coherent context where they become meaningful. Our earthly life is a case in point. As a brief stage in the course of a long and complex journey, it should be carefully reassessed according to this pattern. […]

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Spiritual understanding and the causal system

Ostad Elahi’s conception of spirituality demands that great importance be given to reflection and discernment, not of course of the material kind that we apply to ordinary matters of daily life, but a reflection and discernment rooted in spirituality and nourished by authentic ethical and spiritual principles. Spiritual discernment is also to be considered as […]

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281 Vote

The twin foundations of ethics: education of thought and respect of rights in general

The processes of assimilation and growth inherent in the concept of “medicine for the soul” are not mere metaphors. They correspond to something real that must be evidenced by experience. It should be pointed out that education of thought is the backbone of spiritual practice, thought being the stuff we are actually made of. Our […]

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Spirituality as a medicine for the soul

Natural spirituality provides us with a framework for a unified discipline that takes into account two interacting human dimensions which are responsible for our progress towards self-perfection. To further clarify this, Ostad Elahi points out that the conjunction of our terrestrial and celestial parts results in the formation of an intricate psycho-spiritual organism, that should […]

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Human beings are bi-dimensional

The progression towards perfection has often been described by the spiritual traditions of the past as a change of plane, a drastic separation between body and soul, matter and spirit, eternity and impermanence, this world and the other. The reason why they did this is that human beings are bi-dimensional by essence. Ostad Elahi puts […]

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The process of self-perfection

The process of self-perfection is decidedly the basic concept and leading thread in Ostad Elahi’s teachings. It is therefore important to understand what it implies. It does not mean developing one’s talents, or attaining perfect mastery of some technical ability. There are many different ways of improving one’s physical or mental skills; but when it […]

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