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.

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? 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