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

269 Vote

Cause for reflection. What do you think?

Ostad Elahi has often insisted on the importance of the principle of causality in spirituality. This principle can be summed up in a simple phrase: nothing happens without a cause. The first consequence that follows is that it is—in principle—always possible to trace back the cause or causes that lead to a specific effect. As […]

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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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1428 Vote

The purpose of our existence: excerpt 2 of a lecture by Bahram Elahi, MD

Bahram Elahi, The purpose of our existence

Ostad Elahi used to define his teachings as a new medicine of the soul: one that is adapted to the true nature of human beings and adheres to the law of causality governing both their spiritual and material lives. The spirituality he practiced was natural spirituality, and he considered the process of spiritual perfection to resemble an academic curriculum.

The excerpts presented here are drawn from a lecture given at the Sorbonne in March 2011, in which Professor Bahram Elahi revisits various aspects of Ostad Elahi’s philosophy. Rephrasing them in a simple and direct manner, he relates these points to fundamental questions and identifies how they are justified from a rational standpoint.

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172 Vote

Asceticism

By - Oct 5, 2011 - Category Conceptbox
Asceticism

It appears that asceticism has always played a role in societies where spiritual life was organised and ritualised, to different degrees and in various ways depending on civilisations and times.

Etymologically, the term “asceticism” comes from the Greek askesis, which simply means “exercise”. In Ancient Greece, it applied to the exercises and discipline required of athletes. This is precisely what all forms of asceticism have in common: to impose a discipline onto oneself and thus exert one’s willpower against certain natural bodily tendencies. In India, for example, the practice of asceticism includes bodily exercises designed to control the body, breathing exercises to control both the body and the mind, as well as various fasting and meditation techniques.

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226 Vote

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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238 Vote

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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250 Vote

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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210 Vote

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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188 Vote

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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