Self Transcendence. – What does it mean?
Going beyond previous limits. Within each individual there is a desire for going one better and improving our situation. It is the driving force behind evolution; it is what encourages people to train and improve their physical capacities. This inner aspiration for self transcendence is an important feature of human nature.
“What do we long for? We long for self-transcendence. ..We all need self-transcendence and, at the same time, we fervently long for it.” Sri Chinmoy (1)Physical Self Transcendence. Self Transcendence can most easily be measured through improvements in physical achievements. In running it involves trying to break new records in both time and speed. The beauty of self transcendence is that it can be practised by anyone; we need not compete with others, we can just compete with ourselves. From this perspective we can get great joy by surpassing our previous personal bests. As Sri Chinmoy suggests.
“Self-transcendence gives us joy in boundless measure. When we transcend ourselves, we do not compete with others. We do not compete with the rest of the world, but at every moment we compete with ourselves.” (2)Spiritual self transcendence. Self transcendence is a concept that is incorporated into different spiritual traditions. In this regard we are seeking to go beyond our limited state of ego to expand our own consciousness. When we identify only with the body and ego it is a limited perspective. Spiritual traditions suggest we are more than just a frail body. Through practising yoga and spiritual traditions we learn to expand our consciousness and feel our connection with the universal self.
Physical and Spiritual Self Transcendence. There is no need to separate the physical self transcendence with spiritual development. They can harmoniously work together and complement each other. One notable example of this is the 3100 mile Self Transcendence race founded by Sri Chinmoy. The 3100 mile is an epic race which can take competitors between 45 – 60 days to complete. To run such a mind boggling distance requires the cooperation of both body and soul. By completing this act of physical transcendence we are going beyond the limits of what the mind may think possible. By stretching our physical capacities we also delve into a different understanding of ourself.
A sense of Oneness with others. Usually as humans we identify with first ourselves and then perhaps our country. If we practise spiritual self transcendence we feel we are don’t just belong to one country or one culture, we feel we belong to the whole world.
”I am neither an Athenian or Greek, but a citizen of the world” – Socrates.This is a practical and spiritual manifestation of self transcendence.
By: Tejvan Pettinger 01/02/2008
SOURCE: http://www.biographyonline.net/spiritual/articles/self-transcendence.html
Stephanie Doty
Weary of Wonderland
November 20, 2013
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/
