Fundamentals of the Process of Spiritual Perfection: A Practical Guide

Fundamentals of the Process of Spiritual Perfection: A Practical Guide

by Bahram Elahi MD
Fundamentals of the Process of Spiritual Perfection: A Practical Guide

Fundamentals of the Process of Spiritual Perfection: A Practical Guide

by Bahram Elahi MD

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Overview

Written as a concise handbook, this Practical Guide presents a novel paradigm for addressing the enduring questions of our existence, while providing a roadmap to the rational pursuit of spirituality in contemporary life.

Approaching our spiritual development as one would any experimental science, Bahram Elahi, MD, describes the nature of the human soul, or self, through a series of original diagrams and functional analogies to medicine, psychology, and physics. In so doing, he introduces a new medicine of the soul that not only establishes how to nourish and develop the soul through the practice of correct divine and ethical principles, but also how to diagnose and treat its various ailments. Explaining the purpose of our presence on earth as the completion of the first stage in our spiritual development, he summarizes this fundamental work in three main points: examining and mending one’s faith, sufficiently developing one’s sound reason, and cultivating one’s humanity. Ultimately, this timely Practical Guide offers readers of all backgrounds an accessible roadmap to our spiritual journey that is adapted to life in modern society.


Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781948626613
Publisher: Monkfish Book Publishing Company
Publication date: 04/12/2022
Pages: 264
Sales rank: 527,596
Product dimensions: 6.00(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

Bahram Elahi is professor emeritus of surgery and anatomy, and the author of several works on spirituality as well as medicine. Beyond a distinguished academic and clinical career, he has dedicated the greater part of his life to studying and writing on the philosophy of his father Ostad Elahi (1895-1974), an influential thinker, jurist, and musician whose unique approach to the pursuit of self-knowledge and spiritual perfection lies at the heart of this work.

Table of Contents

List of Panels 11
Figures 12
Notes on the English Translation 21
Foreword 23
Prologue 25
Chapter 1 Foundational Principles and the Divine Flux 35
    The Principle of Gravitation 36
    The Principle of Opposites 37
    The Principle of Causality 38
    The Principle of Legitimate Rights 39
    The Principle of Connection 42
    The Principle of In Vivo Practice 47
    The Principle of Acceptability 48
    The Principle of Divine Generosity 49
    The Principle of Exception 49
    The Divine Flux 49
Chapter 2 Sound Reason and the Rational Love of Truth 53
    Sound Reason 55
    The Rational Love of Truth 57
Chapter 3 Truth, Essence-Bearers, Divine Light, Living Real Divine Truths 63
    Truth 63
    Essence-Bearers 64
    Divine Light (Light of the One) 65
    Living Real Divine Truths 67
Chapter 4 The Quintessence of Religions 75
Chapter 5 Divine Guidance 79
Chapter 6 In Vitro Practice and In Vivo Practice 87
Chapter 7 The Pragmatist and the Idealist 91
Chapter 8 Our Real Self
Commentary on Figure 1 97
    Fig. 1a – Body or Soul: Which Is Our Real Self? 98
    Fig. 1b – Representation of the Human Soul Proper and Its Psyche 99
Chapter 9 The Functional Structure of the Human Soul 

Commentary on Figure 2 105
    Fig. 2a – Structure of the Primate Psyche 106
    Fig. 2a – Structure of the Human Psyche According to Freud 108
    Fig. 2b – Functional Structure of the Human Soul Derived from the Teachings of Ostad 109
        1) The Conscious Self 109
        2) The Psychological Veil 110
        3) The Total Unconscious 110
        4) The Three Functional Membranes 11
        5) The Metabrain 113
Chapter 10 The Reduced Self and Spiritual Amnesia
Commentary on Figure 3 119
    Fig. 3a – Our Real Self (Our Soul) 120
    Regular Self-Consciousness 120
    Fig. 3b – The Reduced Self 121
    Spiritual Amnesia 123
    For What Purpose Are We Here? 126
    Where Do We Go After This World-yet 129
    Why Believe In An Accounting? 132
Chapter 11 The Psyche and the Human Soul
Commentary on Figure 4 135
    Fig. 4a – The Human Psyche 135
        1) The Conscious Self 136
        2) The Psychological Unconscious 137
    Fig. 4b – The Human Soul Proper (The Psychical State) 145
Chapter 12 The Exercise of Attention-Dialogue
Commentary on Figure 5 147
    Some Preliminary Observations 148
    The Exercise of Attention-Dialogue 150
        1) The Attention Phase 151
        2) The Dialogue Phase 156
        3) Conditions for the Exercise of Attention-Dialogue 160
    Spirituality in Practice 165
Chapter 13 The New Medicine of the Soul
Commentary on Figure 6 169
    The Fundamental Stage 173
    The Advanced Stage 165
Chapter 14 The Inner Conflict, the Imperious Self, Self-Mastery, Natural Spirituality
Commentary on Figure 7 187
    1) The Inner Conflict 188
    2) The Imperious Self 191
    3) Self-Mastery 195
    4) Natural Spirituality 203
Chapter 15 The Sound Development of Thought
Commentary on Figure 8 207
    Conditions for the Sound Development of Thought 209
    The Impact of a Sound Development of Thought on the Evolution of the Conscious Self 216
        1) The Conscious Self of Newborns (Fig. 8a) 217
        2) The Conscious Self of Adults (Fig. 8b) 217
        3) The Conscious Self of Those Who Are Subjugated By Their Imperious Self (Fig. 8c) 218
        4) The Conscious Self of Those Who Are Spiritually Awakened (Fig. 8d) 220
Chapter 16 Constant Attention and Perfect Attention 227
    Constant Attention 227
    Perfect Attention 229
Chapter 17 Journey Toward the Origin 231
Chapter 18 And God? 239
Chapter 19 Recommendation 249
Chapter 20 A Few Key Practical Points 253
    1) How Can We Examine and Mend Our Faith? 254
    2) How Can We Develop Our Sound Reason? 254
    3) How Can We Cultivate Our Humanity? 255
Epilogue 259
Select Bibliography 263

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