e-ostadelahi.com

“Exploring our real self”: a new lab on Ostadelahi-inPractice

Editorial Board — Sun, 05 Jun 2022 21:05:30 +0000

After “One character weak point after another – delving within our unconscious psyche”, elaborated from an extract of The Path of Perfection, OstadElahi inPractice, filled with enthusiasm for the recent publication in English of the Fundamentals of Spiritual Perfection: A Practical Guide, is now launching a series of labs dedicated to the study and in-depth practical approach of this book by Bahram Elahi.

The first lab of this series opens with the words that introduce the book and that perfectly illustrate, in both form and substance, the scientific approach of a manual of medicine.

The post “Exploring our real self”: a new lab on Ostadelahi-inPractice appeared first on e-ostadelahi.com.

A handbook for students of the new medicine of the soul

Emmanuel Comte — Thu, 21 Apr 2022 19:57:24 +0000

[Updated] “This path, Ostad Elahi would say, is not a path for words but one for deeds; only through action can progress be achieved." But how are we going to take action? Where to begin? With what mindset should we set to work? The foundations of natural spirituality have been laid—a spirituality that Ostad Elahi described as “the new medicine of the soul”. They called for a practical complement, something like a student’s workbook. This need has now been fulfilled with the publication of this Practical Guide, which the author, Bahram Elahi, tells us will be followed by a forthcoming series of four additional volumes. Together, these five volumes will constitute the Fundamentals of the Process of Spiritual Perfection. The Practical Guide indisputably constitutes its core. Punctuated by inserts and diagrams, it has been designed as a handbook, and it is as such that we can make the most of it: the Practical Guide is the reference work for those who wish to study and practice the new medicine of the soul.

The post A handbook for students of the new medicine of the soul appeared first on e-ostadelahi.com.

High-definition spirituality (2)

Emmanuel Comte — Wed, 12 Jan 2022 18:46:00 +0000

Not settling for the mere condition of a human-animal and developing the qualities that will make us truly human, such is the ultimate task facing us. The pressing challenge, though, is to prevent Bob, our “inner bonobo”, to end up taking control. So much of our behaviour already bears its mark! Practically speaking, we need to imagine the worst and take the initiative, in other words strive to take control of our self. Only on this basis can we work toward cultivating our humanity.

The post High-definition spirituality (2) appeared first on e-ostadelahi.com.

High-definition spirituality (1)

Emmanuel Comte — Mon, 18 Oct 2021 22:53:49 +0000

There is no Nobel Prize (to date) rewarding ethics research, but surely no one would dispute that in this field Ostad Elahi was perfectly learned. What is meant here by the word “learned”? Being learned is not merely knowing. A learned individual is first and foremost one who comprehends, not in theory only or through sustained reading, but as a result of self-acquired concrete knowledge. To comprehend a reality is to have concretely experienced it, to have gained first-hand knowledge of some truth. Indeed, when Ostad Elahi addresses any topic, you have a distinct sensation that he is speaking from personal experience.

The post High-definition spirituality (1) appeared first on e-ostadelahi.com.

Portraits of the imperious self (4): the imperious self is rebellious

Isabelle Najar — Thu, 23 Sep 2021 20:43:16 +0000

The imperious self is an anti-self, i.e., a contrary force that is rebellious and systematically out to pull us away from where our real self—our soul—wants to lead us. If you want to meet with your imperious self, there is nothing simpler, all you need is to take a step towards some ethical or divine principle: help someone without expecting anything in return, hold our tongue when your impulse is to backbite or show off, try to rid your mind of negative thoughts, etc. The reaction will be immediate, and you will clearly witness the power of your imperious self in countering your attempts at such accomplishments.

The post Portraits of the imperious self (4): the imperious self is rebellious appeared first on e-ostadelahi.com.

Portraits of the imperious self (3): the imperious self is domineering

Isabelle Najar — Fri, 30 Apr 2021 18:44:04 +0000

As we have seen, the imperious self functions on the basis of the “terrestrial” values (ego and material interests). Its action on us could be summarized as follows: to focus our thoughts and aspirations solely toward terrestrial values and to make us forget celestial values; to put it in another way: to make us act solely according to our own material and selfish interests with no regard for others’ interests or for our spiritual dimension.

The post Portraits of the imperious self (3): the imperious self is domineering appeared first on e-ostadelahi.com.

Portraits of the imperious self (2): the imperious self is imperious

Isabelle Najar — Sat, 27 Feb 2021 21:40:45 +0000

If the plural “portraits” is used here, it is to best illustrate the multifaceted and elusive figure of our inner life for the imperious self is a shape-shifting model that makes for a difficult subject for a painter. We never really know where to find it when we look for it, and we often find it where we have not been looking for it—at times in our outward behaviour, more often in our thoughts and emotions, in our most daily activities as well as in our actions that appear most spiritual and most noble. The imperious self is like a creeping rootstalk that runs underground and spreads itself out in the Self.

The post Portraits of the imperious self (2): the imperious self is imperious appeared first on e-ostadelahi.com.

Portraits of the imperious self (1): an ethics of transformation

Isabelle Najar — Wed, 16 Dec 2020 17:00:12 +0000

This is the first piece in an extended series dedicated to the practice of ethics and more specifically to the identification of the main source of our anti-ethical tendencies: the imperious self. This concept is given a precise definition in The Path of Perfection: “The imperious self is a powerful psychological energy that is harmful for the soul. This energy is continuously produced by the activity of our character weak points, resulting in anti-ethical and anti-divine impulses and desires at the level of our conscious self”.
The paradox is that the fierce resistance deployed by our imperious self against our ethical endeavours actually constitutes the necessary condition for the process of spiritual perfection to take place. In this sense it could very well be considered as our “best enemy”.

The post Portraits of the imperious self (1): an ethics of transformation appeared first on e-ostadelahi.com.

Practising humanity in times of a pandemic

Frédéric Perrault — Tue, 31 Mar 2020 21:21:32 +0000

In dire times, it is not only human beings that are being tested, but the humanity in each of us. In the midst of generalised lockdown in place, here are a few reflections on the ethical significance of an unprecedented situation…

“My last point is practise humanity. We don’t talk about practising humanity, but now if ever there is a time to practise humanity, the time is now. The time is now to show some kindness, to show some compassion to people, show some gentility—even as a New Yorker.” Who spoke these words? The Governor of the State of New York, in a press briefing on March 21, 2020 to New Yorkers about the management of the coronavirus pandemic. That ethics should invite itself in such a way in political discourse is worth reflecting on. Other public voices out there struck the same chord: physicians, journalists, writers, etc.

I live in France, so when I realised that the ongoing situation was spontaneously interpreted by many in terms of what one should do as a human being, I had already been in lockdown for a week and it struck me as an echo of Bahram Elahi’s words in his latest book, Fondamentaux du perfectionnement spirituel : le guide pratique (Fundamentals of the Process of Spiritual Perfection: Practical Guide, forthcoming).

The post Practising humanity in times of a pandemic appeared first on e-ostadelahi.com.

Committing to saying what is good

Frédéric Perrault — Mon, 05 Aug 2019 20:22:58 +0000

For our intention to become our own “hallowed tree”, it needs to be nurtured and that begins with words. The first stages of what Bahram Elahi calls in vivo practice, i.e. fighting against the imperious self and concretely putting into practice human virtues in everyday life and in contact with others, have to do with our words. The extraordinary thing about words is, precisely, that they are ordinary. Every minute of our lives in the most ordinary circumstances, we can do an act of humanity by choosing to speak or, on the contrary, not to speak.

The post Committing to saying what is good appeared first on e-ostadelahi.com.

At the Met, the tanbur is back

Editorial Board — Tue, 28 May 2019 13:57:06 +0000

The tanbur is back… A few months ago, in 2018, a couple of steps away from the oldest piano in the world, a showcase was inaugurated in the department of musical instruments at the Met (Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York). Dedicated to a few “famous musicians” of the 20th century, it featured a Benny Goodman clarinet next to a guitar that belonged to Andrés Segovia as well as one of Ostad Elahi’s tanburs, crafted by the lute maker Nariman, along with a video including explanations and archived images that harked back to the 2014-2015 Sacred Lute exhibit, that we covered here.

The post At the Met, the tanbur is back appeared first on e-ostadelahi.com.

“One character weak point after another”: a new lab on OstadElahi-inPractice

Editorial Board — Mon, 20 May 2019 21:09:09 +0000

After two “28 days straight” labs (In Ostad Elahi’s footsteps and One day, one Maxim) OstadElahi inPractice has gone back at the request of numerous users, to its classic 5-phase labs.

The website will soon offer a new lab entitled “One character weak point after another – delving within our unconscious psyche”. As this title suggests, the objective is self-knowledge. Users will be invited to follow a protocol—as is appropriate for students in the medicine of the soul—that will allow them to progressively diagnose their character weak points.

The post “One character weak point after another”: a new lab on OstadElahi-inPractice appeared first on e-ostadelahi.com.