What's New
“Prediction is very difficult,
especially about the future.”
~ attributed to many
“Prediction is very difficult,
especially about the future.”
~ attributed to many
It is intended to add content to this website on a regular basis, perhaps once every three months. Many topics are under consideration.
Below is a list of the content added to date.
Each topic name is an anchor link. Clicking on a title name will take you directly to that posting.
Below is a list of the content added to date.
Each topic name is an anchor link. Clicking on a title name will take you directly to that posting.
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Addendum Note (September 2016)
Much of the material on this website will be new to many and hard to understand for most.
The words of the mystics have historically gone unheeded for a reason. They are hard to comprehend. An attempt has been made herein to try to make these words a bit easier to understand by using modern day analogies to help explain difficult and sometimes startling concepts. But it is still a challenge. Having researched this area for a while I am comfortable with the words of the mystics. In earlier years, it would have been a significant challenge.
The same with the discoveries of modern science; in particular, the astounding findings of quantum mechanics that have redefined our material universe. The once solid universe is now understood to be essentially “frozen light.”
Much of the material on this website will be new to many and hard to understand for most.
The words of the mystics have historically gone unheeded for a reason. They are hard to comprehend. An attempt has been made herein to try to make these words a bit easier to understand by using modern day analogies to help explain difficult and sometimes startling concepts. But it is still a challenge. Having researched this area for a while I am comfortable with the words of the mystics. In earlier years, it would have been a significant challenge.
The same with the discoveries of modern science; in particular, the astounding findings of quantum mechanics that have redefined our material universe. The once solid universe is now understood to be essentially “frozen light.”
“In the field of science, the last hundred years has wrought a revolution that has been, quite literally, world-shattering. The revolution we are talking about is quantum physics, and the "world" it shattered was the materialist world.” ~ Joel Morwood
“With the development of quantum theory, physicists have found that even subatomic particles are far from solid ... Whatever matter is, it has little, if any, substance ... Solid matter has, literally, disappeared into empty space.”” ~ Peter Russell
“Everything we call real is made of things that cannot be regarded as real” ~ Niels Bohr
“I studied matter for 35 years only to find out it does not exist” ~ Prof. Hans-Peter Dürr
“The universe consists of frozen light” ~ David Bohm
“Concerning matter, we have been all wrong. What we have called matter is energy, whose vibration has been so lowered as to be perceptible to the senses. There is no matter.” ~ Albert Einstein
“There is no matter as such.” ~ Max Planck
“The frank realization that physical science is concerned with a world of shadows is one of the most significant advances.” ~ Sir Arthur Stanley Eddington
This is hard for us to accept as our senses suggest the universe to be solid and real. Even the discovering physicists had much difficulty coming to grips with the new reality of our universe. As Paul Levy says, “It is as if physicists themselves haven’t fully comprehended and don’t quite know what to make of the great truth that they have unwittingly stumbled upon. They have been forced to wrestle, not just intellectually but emotionally, existentially and spiritually with their own discoveries in the quantum realm.”
“Do not keep saying to yourself, if you can possibly avoid it, 'But how can it possibly be like that?' Nobody knows how it can be like that.” ~ Richard Feynman
“Einstein said that if quantum mechanics is right, then the world is crazy. Well, Einstein was right. The world is crazy.” ~ Daniel Greenberger
“The point is no longer that quantum mechanics is an extraordinarily peculiar theory, but that the world is an extraordinarily peculiar place.” ~ David Mermin
“The world of physics is a world of shadows, we were not aware of it; we thought we were dealing with the real world ... I don't like it, and I'm sorry I ever had anything to do with it.” ~ Erwin Schrödinger
“I remember discussions with Bohr which went through many hours till very late at night and ended almost in despair … Can nature possibly be so absurd as it seemed to us in these atomic experiments?” ~ Werner Heisenberg
“The difference between how we picture reality as solid and continuous and how quantum physics tells us it is, is profound.” ~ Bernard Haisch
It is human nature to resist or reject concepts that are new, strange and that we do not understand – whether they be the words of the mystics or the discoveries of science. We tend to be quick to criticize and laugh at things beyond our so-called “normal” realm of reality and experience.
To that, I add a personal story from my university days in Montreal. As university students in the heady days of the 1960s, we thought we knew it all. During those days, a variety of different groups used to wander the university campuses and espouse various ideologies. One such group we used to call the “Hare Krishnas”. It was comprised of mostly young men with shaven heads, wearing robes and beads and endlessly dancing and chanting, “Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Hare, Hare,” over and over again, to the accompaniment of drums and tambourines. We erudite students found this group particularly amusing and we would do our own mocking “Hare Krishnas” after they had passed by.
And, of course, we were part of that society-changing decade of the 1960s. We proudly sang the Dylan anthem, The Times They Are A-Changin'. In our infinite wisdom, we righteously belted out the line, “And don’t criticize what you can’t understand,” which was directed, of course, at our parents’ generation. Or so we thought.
In 1969, John Lennon recorded what would become an anthem of the American anti-war movement for the following decade, “Give Peace a Chance,” in a Montreal hotel room. Some of the “in” people of the generation were present and participated in the recording. The people in the room banged on everything from doors to tabletops to provide a background rhythm. Apparently, Lennon thought the first take sounded weak, so for the next take he added a group of Hare Krishna drummers. And then we hear the lyrics of the last verse,
“Ev'rybody's talking about
John and Yoko, Timmy Leary, Rosemary,
Tommy Smothers, Bobby Dylan, Tommy Cooper,
Derek Taylor, Norman Mailer,
Alan Ginsberg, Hare Krishna,
Hare, Hare Krishna”
OK, so maybe those Hare Krishna boys aren’t so crazy after all.
And then George Harrison releases an album in 1970 that features the song, My Sweet Lord, with lyrics that include the Hare Krishna chant. It’s getting even tougher to laugh now.
And then I spend the last 40 years researching the words of the mystics and discover that Krishna is a beloved mystic and avatar whose inspiring dialogue with the disciple, Arjuna, in the Bhagavad Gita has been motivating and awakening spiritual aspirants for centuries.
Apparently the Dylan line, “And don't criticize what you can't understand” applied to me.
Maybe it applies to all human beings under the control of their ego-conscious minds.
May you take the time to understand the words of the mystics and the scientists.
It will not be easy, but it will definitely be worth it.
May that understanding come in less than 40 years.
“With the development of quantum theory, physicists have found that even subatomic particles are far from solid ... Whatever matter is, it has little, if any, substance ... Solid matter has, literally, disappeared into empty space.”” ~ Peter Russell
“Everything we call real is made of things that cannot be regarded as real” ~ Niels Bohr
“I studied matter for 35 years only to find out it does not exist” ~ Prof. Hans-Peter Dürr
“The universe consists of frozen light” ~ David Bohm
“Concerning matter, we have been all wrong. What we have called matter is energy, whose vibration has been so lowered as to be perceptible to the senses. There is no matter.” ~ Albert Einstein
“There is no matter as such.” ~ Max Planck
“The frank realization that physical science is concerned with a world of shadows is one of the most significant advances.” ~ Sir Arthur Stanley Eddington
This is hard for us to accept as our senses suggest the universe to be solid and real. Even the discovering physicists had much difficulty coming to grips with the new reality of our universe. As Paul Levy says, “It is as if physicists themselves haven’t fully comprehended and don’t quite know what to make of the great truth that they have unwittingly stumbled upon. They have been forced to wrestle, not just intellectually but emotionally, existentially and spiritually with their own discoveries in the quantum realm.”
“Do not keep saying to yourself, if you can possibly avoid it, 'But how can it possibly be like that?' Nobody knows how it can be like that.” ~ Richard Feynman
“Einstein said that if quantum mechanics is right, then the world is crazy. Well, Einstein was right. The world is crazy.” ~ Daniel Greenberger
“The point is no longer that quantum mechanics is an extraordinarily peculiar theory, but that the world is an extraordinarily peculiar place.” ~ David Mermin
“The world of physics is a world of shadows, we were not aware of it; we thought we were dealing with the real world ... I don't like it, and I'm sorry I ever had anything to do with it.” ~ Erwin Schrödinger
“I remember discussions with Bohr which went through many hours till very late at night and ended almost in despair … Can nature possibly be so absurd as it seemed to us in these atomic experiments?” ~ Werner Heisenberg
“The difference between how we picture reality as solid and continuous and how quantum physics tells us it is, is profound.” ~ Bernard Haisch
It is human nature to resist or reject concepts that are new, strange and that we do not understand – whether they be the words of the mystics or the discoveries of science. We tend to be quick to criticize and laugh at things beyond our so-called “normal” realm of reality and experience.
To that, I add a personal story from my university days in Montreal. As university students in the heady days of the 1960s, we thought we knew it all. During those days, a variety of different groups used to wander the university campuses and espouse various ideologies. One such group we used to call the “Hare Krishnas”. It was comprised of mostly young men with shaven heads, wearing robes and beads and endlessly dancing and chanting, “Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Hare, Hare,” over and over again, to the accompaniment of drums and tambourines. We erudite students found this group particularly amusing and we would do our own mocking “Hare Krishnas” after they had passed by.
And, of course, we were part of that society-changing decade of the 1960s. We proudly sang the Dylan anthem, The Times They Are A-Changin'. In our infinite wisdom, we righteously belted out the line, “And don’t criticize what you can’t understand,” which was directed, of course, at our parents’ generation. Or so we thought.
In 1969, John Lennon recorded what would become an anthem of the American anti-war movement for the following decade, “Give Peace a Chance,” in a Montreal hotel room. Some of the “in” people of the generation were present and participated in the recording. The people in the room banged on everything from doors to tabletops to provide a background rhythm. Apparently, Lennon thought the first take sounded weak, so for the next take he added a group of Hare Krishna drummers. And then we hear the lyrics of the last verse,
“Ev'rybody's talking about
John and Yoko, Timmy Leary, Rosemary,
Tommy Smothers, Bobby Dylan, Tommy Cooper,
Derek Taylor, Norman Mailer,
Alan Ginsberg, Hare Krishna,
Hare, Hare Krishna”
OK, so maybe those Hare Krishna boys aren’t so crazy after all.
And then George Harrison releases an album in 1970 that features the song, My Sweet Lord, with lyrics that include the Hare Krishna chant. It’s getting even tougher to laugh now.
And then I spend the last 40 years researching the words of the mystics and discover that Krishna is a beloved mystic and avatar whose inspiring dialogue with the disciple, Arjuna, in the Bhagavad Gita has been motivating and awakening spiritual aspirants for centuries.
Apparently the Dylan line, “And don't criticize what you can't understand” applied to me.
Maybe it applies to all human beings under the control of their ego-conscious minds.
May you take the time to understand the words of the mystics and the scientists.
It will not be easy, but it will definitely be worth it.
May that understanding come in less than 40 years.
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Another Look at Destiny and Free Will (September 2016)
Imagine that you know someone who has created a great Virtual Reality game and he lets you play it. It is such a realistic game that when you become immersed in it, it is hard to distinguish the game from reality. And then your friend gives you a copy of the game program and shows you how you can change it. The basic "rules of the game" must stay the same but you are able to change the game's simulated immersive environment as well as the events that your VR character experiences. In fact, you can even change the abilities that your VR character has. You could create endless exhilarating and sublime experiences in wondrous simulated environments limited only by your imagination. Of course, you would still have to play within the basic "rules of the game." If the game rules were violated, all kinds of limitations would automatically kick in.
Are we in just such a Virtual Reality game? Are we gods existing outside of this simulated universal playground? Are these body-forms the VR characters each of us has put on to play within the game? If so, then we have endless potential to enjoy wondrous experiences in ever-changing, awe inspiring universal structures of our own choosing. We would truly be "gods playing the fool" in a simulated playground that would appear incredibly real.
But that is not what we experience. While some people seem to achieve things by perseverance and exercising strong will power, many others seem to be carried along within the game with limited control over what happens to the body-forms they occupy and no control over the universal environment they find themselves in. What happened? In our excitement, did we break some of the "rules of the game" and have had temporary limitations applied to us? Did we become so engrossed in the game that we forgot who we really were and no longer remember our god-selves which have the ability to do these wondrous things. Do we think these play body-forms are our real selves? Can we overcome these limitations and reclaim our remarkable powers?
And then when we eventually tire of these sublime experiences and want to experience "the peace that passeth all understanding," can we turn off the game and become our blissful, formless, infinite original god-selves? Can we become the Infinite Spirit from whence we came?
It is our ultimate destiny to do so.
Imagine that you know someone who has created a great Virtual Reality game and he lets you play it. It is such a realistic game that when you become immersed in it, it is hard to distinguish the game from reality. And then your friend gives you a copy of the game program and shows you how you can change it. The basic "rules of the game" must stay the same but you are able to change the game's simulated immersive environment as well as the events that your VR character experiences. In fact, you can even change the abilities that your VR character has. You could create endless exhilarating and sublime experiences in wondrous simulated environments limited only by your imagination. Of course, you would still have to play within the basic "rules of the game." If the game rules were violated, all kinds of limitations would automatically kick in.
Are we in just such a Virtual Reality game? Are we gods existing outside of this simulated universal playground? Are these body-forms the VR characters each of us has put on to play within the game? If so, then we have endless potential to enjoy wondrous experiences in ever-changing, awe inspiring universal structures of our own choosing. We would truly be "gods playing the fool" in a simulated playground that would appear incredibly real.
But that is not what we experience. While some people seem to achieve things by perseverance and exercising strong will power, many others seem to be carried along within the game with limited control over what happens to the body-forms they occupy and no control over the universal environment they find themselves in. What happened? In our excitement, did we break some of the "rules of the game" and have had temporary limitations applied to us? Did we become so engrossed in the game that we forgot who we really were and no longer remember our god-selves which have the ability to do these wondrous things. Do we think these play body-forms are our real selves? Can we overcome these limitations and reclaim our remarkable powers?
And then when we eventually tire of these sublime experiences and want to experience "the peace that passeth all understanding," can we turn off the game and become our blissful, formless, infinite original god-selves? Can we become the Infinite Spirit from whence we came?
It is our ultimate destiny to do so.
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Quotes by Leonard Cohen 
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Bird on the Wire (November 2016)
“Like a bird on the wire Like a drunk in a midnight choir I have tried in my way to be free” ~ Leonard Cohen It is November 11th, 2016 - Remembrance Day. On television that evening in Ottawa, a hockey game is about to begin. The game is preceded by a Remembrance Day tribute. In the arena, just before the national anthem is sung, the huge jumbotron high above center ice comes alive with scenes of World War I. We then hear the announcement that the John McCrae poem In Flanders Fields will now be recited by Leonard Cohen. It is a haunting rendition. As a Huffington Post writer says the next day, “Cohen's complex, textured baritone amplified the simplicity and solemnity of McCrae's words, doing justice to the work of a poet as perhaps only another poet can.” The recitation became even more haunting upon hearing Cohen’s voice say, “We are the dead: Short days ago, We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow, Loved and were loved.” Leonard Cohen died on November 7th, but the world was only made aware on November 10th, His In Flanders Fields recital was recorded a year ago, on the 100th anniversary of the poem. Leonard Cohen, Canadian-born songwriter and singer. One of the preeminent poets of his generation, along with Dylan, he had legendary status worldwide. His most highly regarded concerts came in his later years, at which he was much beloved by his audiences for his heart-felt performances. And deep reverence. Deep reverence to his audience; to his band members; to his songs. Cohen’s singing voice could be, for some, an acquired taste. His deep baritone and sometimes depressing imagery were once described by a critic as “music to slit your wrists by.” Possibly by way of response, in one of his songs, Cohen intones, “I was born like this, I had no choice, I was born with the gift of a golden voice”. His self-deprecating humour was always intact. Needless to say, like Dylan, he was more appreciated for his poetic imagery than his singing. In the website page on Ego-consciousness and God-consciousness, Muhammad Ali was chosen as an example of “Everyman,” the path taken by many of us in this world. Ali was chosen as he was one of the most recognized names worldwide in recent times. Ego-consciousness and god-consciousness is one of the more difficult concepts to appreciate. So perhaps it would be useful to consider Leonard Cohen as another example of “Everyman,” an individual who life’s passage exhibited an interesting mix of both ego-consciousness and aspiring god-consciousness. Of course, it is understood that very few of us lead our lives in the limelight as Muhammad Ali and Leonard Cohen did. Why Leonard Cohen? What makes Cohen interesting is that he describes his successes and failures to regain his native god-state in a very open and honest way. His wry sense of humour and poetic way of expressing himself make his comments even more compelling. Cohen was once described by a Hollywood actress as “half wolf, half angel.” Whether we want to admit it or not, all of us have been “half wolf” in this and/or previous lifetimes. It seems to go with the territory. Even highly advanced individuals who have regained their god-nature may sometimes fall back into “half wolf” status if they have not fully eradicated their remaining ego-consciousness. And, unfortunately, being “half wolf” is one of the main reasons mankind remains under the cosmic spell of maya and ego-consciousness. “The vanished lives of all men are dark with many shames. Human conduct is ever unreliable until man is anchored in the Divine.” ~ Sri Yukteswar “All cravings are the mind seeking salvation or fulfillment in external things ... as a substitute for the joy of Being. As long as I am my mind, I am those cravings, those needs, wants, attachments, and aversions.” ~ Eckhart Tolle Being “half wolf” is easy. What is far more interesting is the path that leads to our “half angel” side. As part of his search for God, Cohen embraced “anything that worked”. This included his native Judaism as well as Christianity, the mystical path of Zen Buddhism and the mystical path of Advaita Vedanta, among others. Like Timothy Leary, Ram Dass, Allen Ginsberg and so many others of the 1960s generation, and Aldous Huxley before them, he also unsuccessfully tried hallucinogenic drugs in hopes of finding God. He was searching for anything that worked. Below are some quotes by Cohen, relating to his struggle to become the “half angel." On what he tried in his spiritual search; Anything, Roman Catholicism, Buddhism, LSD, I’m for anything that works. I participated in all these investigations that engaged the imagination of my generation at that time. I even danced and sang with the Hare Krishnas - no robe, I didn’t join them, but I was trying everything. On his experimentation with hallucinogenic drugs; I took trip after trip, sitting on my terrace in Greece, waiting to see God. Generally, I ended up with a bad hangover. On his time in a Zen monastery: You are getting up at two-thirty in the morning ... The cabins are only heated a few hours a day. There’s snow coming in under the badly carpentered doors. You’re shovelling snow half the day. And the other half of the day you’re sitting in the zendo. So in a certain sense you toughen up. Whether it has a spiritual aspect is debatable. It helps you endure, and it makes whining the least appropriate response to suffering. Just on that level it’s very valuable. On searching for God; Now I look for her always I'm lost in this calling I'm tied to the threads of some prayer Saying, When will she summon me When will she come to me What must I do to prepare When she bends to my longing Like a willow, like a fountain She stands in the luminous air And the night comes on And it's very calm I want to cross over, I want to go home But she says, Go back, go back to the World On the value of suffering (a value that is not usually apparent while going through it); I’ve heard the soul unfolds In the chambers of its longing And the bitter liquor sweetens In the hammered cup. On the trials of feeling lost at times; I was lost on the road, your love was so confusing And all the teachers told me that I had myself to blame On hurting others and atonement; Like a baby, stillborn, like a beast with his horn I have torn everyone who reached out for me. But I swear by this song and by all that I have done wrong I will make it all up to thee. In the column on the left are some more quotes by Cohen. Living with almost lifelong depression was not an easy road. Yet it did not hamper Cohen’s dry, self-deprecating humour. Once asked if he considered himself a pessimist, he responded that “a pessimist is someone who is waiting for it to rain. I feel soaked to the skin.” In one of his later songs he suggests to God that perhaps he should he writing “a manual for living with defeat.” Another song that describes war, torture, killing, and missing children (“Lord, it’s almost like the blues”), he adds into the same mix of horror “all his bad reviews.” And then there’s “I let my heart get frozen to keep away the rot, My father said I'm chosen, my mother said I'm not.” It is likely that his depression was one of the prime motivators for Cohen’s spiritual efforts. Suffering is “a prod to remembrance” of our native state as gods, individualized extensions of Spirit, as discussed in the Why is There Suffering? webpage. In this, our second “Everyman” example, we have glimpsed a few moments in the life of Leonard Cohen. Half wolf, half angel. No doubt, he identified strongly with the body-form and mind-processor that are associated with ego-consciousness. But I believe it was his intuitive knowledge that there is an existence vastly superior to this one that drove his life-long search to find the answer. He was willing to “try anything that worked.” It would appear that this time around, Leonard Cohen made great strides in his search for this ultimate truth. One of the major themes of India’s beloved Bhagavad Gita is a metaphoric description of the battle we all must undertake between our ego-conscious mind and our native god-consciousness. It is a battle in which each of us will ultimately be victorious, leading to enlightenment and eternal bliss-consciousness. However, the ego-mind does not give up easily, and lifetime after lifetime is spent in doing battle. In fact, most people are unaware of this struggle, as they have yet to actively attempt to overcome the ego-mind. But at some point in our existence, we tire of this virtual reality game that we are playing and want to get out, or at least want to play the game correctly, knowing that our true existence is the god-player that exists outside of the game. Ego-consciousness and the cosmic hypnosis of maya and avidya make us falsely believe that the player within the game is our true self. When the need to overcome ego-consciousness becomes clear to us, the battle begins. It is then that we find out what a formidable foe the ego-mind can be. The epic struggle of the ages ensues. The road is long. Each of us finds ourselves at a different point along the way. Sometimes we take detours, sometimes we go backwards. Eventually, we reach the destination. It can often be instructive to see the path that others are taking. Mankind can learn in many ways – one of the easiest is to observe what others have done. That way we can copy the successes and avoid the pain of the failures. We can learn much from the words of the mystics that have been recorded in this website – those who have completed this battle and have made it home. We can also learn much from the struggles of our fellow man and how they have approached the great battle of finding the lost shining, golden prize of our bliss-filled native god-state from the morass and suffering of ego-consciousness. And, lest we forget, on this Remembrance Day, when the John McCrae poem says, “We are the dead,” the mystic says; “We are the Unlimited, while appearing as limited; we are the Divine Self, the ultimate Reality, while living in this dream-like phantasmagoria as human forms.” ~ Swami Abhayananda I attended two of Leonard Cohen’s concerts in recent years. They were such intimate occasions that I almost feel I know him personally. As well, we are both native Montrealers. As such, I send my best wishes to Leonard – the poet, the gentleman, the seeker of God - as he continues his journey homeward. Like a bird on the wire
Like a drunk in a midnight choir You tried in your way to be free. |
Below are links to three Youtube videos;
1 – Leonard Cohen reciting the poem In Flanders Fields.
2 and 3 – Leonard Cohen singing “Bird on the Wire.” I couldn’t decide between these two versions.
The first one better recorded. The second one with nuances that the first missed.
It will not do you any harm to listen to this song twice.
1 – Leonard Cohen reciting the poem In Flanders Fields.
2 and 3 – Leonard Cohen singing “Bird on the Wire.” I couldn’t decide between these two versions.
The first one better recorded. The second one with nuances that the first missed.
It will not do you any harm to listen to this song twice.
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Aleppo, 2017
My Lai Massacre, Vietnam, 1969
Vietnam War, napalm attack, 1972
Middle East Wars
“This same law applies to groups of people, as they act together. There is karma for families, for tribes, for races, and for nations. For example, when a nation of individuals started a war in a previous lifetime and are reincarnated, a war will be committed against that nation. Only when such a nation is defeated in humility by a nation with justice and mercy, will the karma of war be lifted from the defeated nation.” ~ Edgar Cayce 
Hitler and Stalin, responsible for the deaths of 40 million people
Questioner - But we see pain in the world. A man is hungry. It is a physical reality. It is very real to him. Are we to call it a dream and remain unmoved by his suffering? 
Aldous Huxley
“Many people confuse karma with what they call fate. The effect of action for which a person is responsible may not come to him until a long time afterward, when he has forgotten about the action. Not being able to account for the effect because he has forgotten its cause, he decides that he must be a victim of fate.” ~ P. Yogananda 
Quotations by Nobel Prize Physicists 
Richard Feynman, Nobel prize winning physicist
Peter Russell, scientist and psychologist
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To a Dear Friend (January 2017) It is December 2016, just before Christmas. There is no lack of bad news coming from news agencies worldwide, in particular the brutal stories of the Syrian government’s overtaking of the city of Aleppo, as highlighted by the following news excerpts; “Mass murder by chlorine gas. Massacres of innocents. Bombardments by Russian jet fighters. The deliberate targeting of hospitals and clinics. The firing of mortar rounds into crowded neighbourhoods. The terror of barrel bombs dropped from Syrian army helicopters. The starvation siege that followed the city’s encirclement by Shia death squads and Assadist militias.” “None of that mattered, not the hourly imagery on Instagram and Youtube and Twitter of corpse-strewn streets and decapitated infants, and not the gut-wrenching final goodbyes uploaded to mobile phones or sent by text from the survivors in the rebel-held ruins of the Old City.” “The still-living lie with the dead in the rubble of bombed-out buildings. You can hear them screaming. Regime militias are carrying out mass executions of civilians. In one case, 11 women and 13 children were shot “on the spot.” Women are committing suicide rather than face the prospect of rape and murder.” The scene unfolding in Aleppo is described by a UN spokesman as “a complete meltdown of humanity.” And the world watches in horror - but without any intervention. With this as a backdrop, I receive my annual email greeting from a dear friend. We have been exchanging email greetings every Christmas/New Year for many years – ever since we ended up living in different cities. A chance to catch up with each other’s lives. I had sent my friend the link to this website a few months earlier. At that time, he responded that I should be lecturing on these topics at university. I knew how important social justice was to him and how much the perceived injustices worldwide ate away at him. I had hoped the website description of karma would help and I encouraged him to have a look at it. There was no follow-up response from him. Then came the annual email greeting. After providing an update on himself and his family, he added the following postscript. 'It is against every quark of my being to believe or support “We are in control of our own experience of the universe – everything that happens to us as individuals is a result of our own individual free will choices; choices perhaps made in both this and previous lifetimes.” Tell that to the people in Aleppo or in Iraq or in Hiroshima or in Vietnam or in Afghanistan or kids dying of sickness in hospitals or dying of hunger in Africa or being sexually abused that everything happens to them is a result of their own individual free will choices made in this lifetime. And if we say this suffering is due to choices made in previous lifetimes, then that’s even worse, it is a gigantic, unforgivable, copout on our side, in a way, we do not do a damn thing for them and then we blame them for their own misery and telling them that you are the architect of your own suffering, and you thus deserve it! The social injustice, the severe limitations to our abilities and capabilities throughout our lives, our sheer ignorance and lack of knowledge at all levels, and above all the fact that we are mortals, push some of us to believe in certain things, though there is no proof. In fact, there are all the proofs in the world to the contrary. I think what you believe in can be categorized as faith, i.e., a belief without proof. However, I truly believe for some people having such a belief is absolutely the most wonderful thing in the world, as it makes them happier and better individuals by any measure, and I believe they should continue believing. I am happy you believe in what you believe as it has made you a truly great person in many ways, and make me proud to have known you. People like you and me try to do the decent thing in life, be good, care about social justice, and try to make a meaningful contribution and a significant difference in the world in our own way, yet we may have diametrically opposing views, which, as a bottom line, is absolutely fine.' I was thrilled to have a response from him. Any response. For up until that point, I only had the same initial platitudes that others had given out. I replied to his email but said that I would provide another response later. I re-read his comments. They were very well-written – so well-written that my own ego-mind seemed to agree with many of his points! Once again, I marvelled at how powerful the cosmic hypnosis is that casts its spell on our sense-driven minds. But then I sat quietly in stillness. The ego-mind does not like silence or stillness – it only wants to chatter away with the endless noise of thoughts; thoughts that seem logical within the limits that the ego-mind processor operates. In the silence and stillness, gradually, the intuitive understanding that is available to all, but few cultivate, came to me and I knew how I would respond. And then it hit me. If my initial response to my friend’s comments was as described above, then I would imagine that most people would identify strongly with his thoughts. And, once again, since so few bother to develop their higher intuitive mind that is the source of all true understanding, I thought it might be worth sending my response as a website posting rather than as an email only to my friend. And so, To a Dear Friend (and to others who may identify with his views); 1 - You strongly object to the following statement that appears in the summary of the Personalized Creation Model section of the website, “We are in control of our own experience of the universe – everything that happens to us as individuals is a result of our own individual free will choices; choices perhaps made in both this and previous lifetimes.” First off, I think it is clear that those directly impacted by the atrocities that you refer to in Aleppo, Iraq, Hiroshima, Vietnam, Afghanistan and Africa would not “choose” to be victims of such events. And so the “free will choices” that led to such happenings must have occurred earlier, and in the case of children would certainly have had to have happened in prior lives. If people made free will choices in prior lives that severely harmed others, the rules of the game of creation are such that one must learn that such acts are not acceptable. And so enters the law of karma. The law of karma is not intended to be a tool for revenge but a tool for learning. As such, there is usually a time delay in the law of karma. If an individual (call him “A”) learns the error of his ways and truly regrets his actions, then the lesson is learned and the universal law responds with forgiveness. However, the individual who was wronged (call him “B”) will at some point in the future be given an opportunity to respond to the harm caused to him by “A”. Due to the time delay in the law of karma, such an opportunity may be in a future life. Of course, both “A” and “B” will be in different body-forms but their paths will cross and there will be some form of inner recognition. Four possibilities can occur; “A” realizes the error of his ways, deeply regrets his actions and atones for it “B” forgives the wrong done to him **** no further action is required. “A” realizes the error of his ways, deeply regrets his actions and atones for it “B” does not forgive and chooses to harm “A” **** as per the old saying, two wrongs do not make a right; the karmic opportunity now passes back to “A” who will be given the opportunity to either forgive or harm “B”. “A” is given time to realize the error of his ways, but does not do so. “B” does not forgive and chooses to harm “A” **** as above, the karmic opportunity then passes back to “A” ... and after that to “B” ... and after that to “A” ... in an insidious, seemingly endless cycle over many lifetimes, until “A” or “B” chooses a higher response. “A” is given time to realize the error of his ways, but does not do so. “B” forgives the wrong done to him **** no further involvement by “B”. However, since “A” still has not accepted that evil is wrong, the universal “school of hard knocks” kicks in and “A” will encounter some unpleasant event or events that are intended to help him acquire such learning. How does one learn from the school of hard knocks? By undergoing an unpleasant event or events, “A” can respond in two ways, (i) with resentment and anger, or (ii) with the wish that no one else has to go through what he went through. By making the second choice, “A” is unlikely to be the cause of such pain to others in the future. If you think about all the permutations and combinations of the above, some observations and conclusions can be made;
It has been said by more than one mystic that the wars and other unspeakable atrocities that are currently happening in the Middle East have been going on for thousands and thousands of years. The players keep coming back in different body-forms and the hate continues. This process will continue indefinitely until one side chooses forgiveness as its response to the evil done to it. At that point, that side will no longer incur further harm. The other side can also choose forgiveness, in which case, it all finally comes to an end. If the other side does not choose forgiveness, the karmic law will ensure that the “school of hard knocks” will come to provide the teaching needed. It was not a coincidence that the mystic Jesus of Nazareth was born and carried out his teachings in the Middle East. This was the part of the earth that most needed his teachings. Some of his followers thought that he was going to be a warrior king that would lead them to victory over the occupying Roman army of the times. They were disappointed. The teaching instead was forgiveness – a teaching that was not fully understood or accepted as witnessed by the atrocities that continue today. Although in the examples above, “A” and “B” represent individuals, they can also represent groups of people, e.g. families, communities, countries, etc. There is group karma as well as individual karma (see quote in the left column by Edgar Cayce). An interesting quirk of karma is that members of group “A” who hate group “B” may find themselves born as members of group “B” in their next life. Think of the possibilities, e.g. Klu Klux Klan members reborn as Black Americans? Benjamin Netanyahu coming back as an Arab? Ayatollah Khomeini coming back as a Jew? Perhaps that appeals to your strong sense of justice. Eventually such intermingling helps to teach forgiveness, love and compassion. After all, if you carry within your subconsciousness some innate, intuitive awareness of who you were before, who are you going to hate? 2 - Hopefully, the above will show that the law of karma operates over multiple lifetimes and, as such, you will appreciate that I disagree with your email statement that “And if we say this suffering is due to choices made in previous lifetimes, then that’s even worse.” One could postulate a universe with a different form of implementation of karma. Perhaps such universes exist. What about a universe with no time delay in the implementation of karma? Whatever you do instantly attracts a similar response – instant karma. You kill someone, you are instantly killed. You steal from someone, you instantly lose your belongings. You give something to others, you immediately get something even better in return. It’s not hard to see where this ends up – everyone only does good things and no one harms anyone else. But the motivation is greed and fear. People have not learned to care about each other and have not developed love and empathy. In contrast, time-delayed karma eventually leads to higher behaviour. What about a universe with no karma? It is probably a short-lived universe that self destructs when the base drives of the ego-mind go unchecked. There would not be enough time to acquire the higher traits required by man to attain enlightenment. So, a time-delay in karma that often stretches over more than one lifetime is likely the best choice. However, it is not easy to understand, because it often appears that the “bad guys” are literally getting away with murder and that sometimes the “good guys” seem to attract unwarranted misfortune. With the time-delay, it is difficult to see the cause and effect, i.e. we do not see the complex tapestry of events from the past that lead to the unfolding events of the present. 3 – “kids dying of sickness in hospitals or dying of hunger in Africa” Perhaps the toughest thing to understand about karma is how it impacts children. Kids are adorable and innocent. Why are they suffering? What we do not see is their previous lifetimes. If Hitler or Stalin were reborn, they would most likely look as adorable and innocent as any other children. But we must not assume that suffering by kids is always directly correlated to poor choices made in past lives. There are many other possibilities. Perhaps the child is a very highly advanced soul who wants to accelerate his growth by choosing certain events that will help him learn the remaining lessons it needs prior to enlightenment. Without the discerning wisdom of an advanced mystic, we cannot know. 4 – “we do not do a damn thing for them and then we blame them for their own misery” As human beings sharing the planet with others, it is our duty and obligation to help those less fortunate than ourselves. As noted above, only highly advanced individuals can possibly know the direct cause of suffering. It would be a major mistake to “judge” those that are suffering as being at fault and not worthy of our help. Such a response would attract a strong lesson from the universal laws. As mentioned elsewhere in this website, one of the worst things one can do is to judge others. All are worthy of our help. If people sometimes do not help others, it is usually because they are so caught up in the drama of their own lives. Most people reading or hearing about the misfortunes of others do care and do empathize. If someone asked them at that moment to provide support for food and medicine and humanitarian aid, they would not hesitate to do so. Otherwise, their busy lives come calling and their consciousness shifts back to their personal world. The quote on the left by Ramana Maharshi reinforces the need to help others as we play our roles in this game of creation. 5 - I think what you believe in can be categorized as faith, i.e., a belief without proof. Not so. I would never be satisfied with faith alone. As Aldous Huxley has said, the best that can be said about blind belief is that it improves conduct. It does little, however, to alter character and nothing of itself to modify consciousness. My interest is to modify consciousness. And I would never create a website based on faith alone. That would be the blind leading the blind. More on this in the website section on Religion and Spirituality. In addition to the five senses and the analytical mind processor that come with the body-form, each human being also has a “sixth sense,” the faculty of intuition. Many are not aware of this faculty, since they seldom, if ever, use it. Some people get “hunches” about things, but often these hunches are unreliable. Others get occasional deep insights into certain things that prove to be correct. They are not sure where these insights came from. Writers and poets often get temporary access to an area of the mind that provides much insight (“If I knew where the good songs came from, I would go there more often” ~ Leonard Cohen). And there are some that have a deep intuitive awareness that others do not have; an awareness that is not merely a hunch, but rather a deep, clear, unquestionable understanding into the true nature of this world. Who has access to this deepest level of intuition? It is available to all. Each and every one of us can have it, and ultimately will have it. However, it must be cultivated through dedicated effort. Those who have acquired such a faculty have developed it either in this and/or former lives, typically through the process of focused contemplation and deep meditation. Profound intuition is stored within the deep, still, silent recesses of the consciousness of every human being. For those who want it, the path to its acquisition has been known for countless years. Perhaps the Eastern world is best recognized for this but this understanding is also prevalent in the Western world, dating as far back as the ancient Greeks. Such penetrating intuition is infallible and is the highest knowledge available to us. Much of what I have said above appears in various sections of the website, including Karma and Reincarnation , Destiny and Free Will and Why is There Suffering? I have included in the left column a few quotes taken from theses sections. 6 - “If there was a God, π would have been an integer.” The title of your email to me. I have not forgotten your inimitable sense of humour; nor your strong scientific and mathematical prowess that earned you a PhD. Once one has developed the deep, inner intuition mentioned above, one realizes that there is a consciousness much higher than the one that the sense-mind utilizes. This higher understanding has no difficulty comprehending things like eternal time, infinite space – things that the ego-mind cannot possibly understand. And yes – it can handle the concept of numbers like π. It seems only appropriate that π is referred to as an irrational number, i.e. its decimal representation has an infinite number of digits. The term irrational probably came from the fact that the rational, logical, analytical sense-driven ego-mind cannot fathom an infinite series of digits. It is interesting that π is also referred to as a transcendental number, which has a mathematical definition that you probably know but that few others would care about. I like that word, transcendental, as it implies that a true understanding of π requires accessing a higher, transcendent mind, which is exactly true. I also assume by your comment that you do not believe in a God. Knowing your deep feelings about the endless injustices of this world that are seen by the sense-mind, I assume that you feel that no God would run a creation like this, certainly not the all-loving and all-compassionate God portrayed in orthodox religions. But as I say, there is a transcendent mind that sees quite a different view of reality than the sense-mind does. And we know from the findings of modern science, in particular the discoveries of quantum mechanics, that the world that the sense-mind sees is a mirage. I do not want to repeat all the material of the website, but how can one ignore the quotations by Nobel-prize winning physicists shown in the column on the left. I know how much you respect the great Nobel-prize winning physicist, Richard Feynman. With wry humour Feynman accepted that what appears to be reality is not, “Do not keep saying to yourself, if you can possibly avoid it, "But how can it be like that? Nobody knows how it can be like that,” and, “The electron is a theory we use; it is so useful in understanding the way nature works that we can almost call it real.” More recently, world-renowned physicist David Bohm, who has been called one of the most significant theoretical physicists of the 20th century, described matter as “frozen light.” This is consistent with the fact that so-called solid matter is 99.99999999% empty space. This is indisputable. Every physicist will acknowledge this, even if the senses and the internal mind processor suggest otherwise. Although modern physicists cannot deny these facts – they, like most people, choose to ignore them, because the world does not appear that way to our senses. But it is true. The mirage that the senses reveal is deeply ingrained in our consciousness and appears before us every day. But, ultimately, it is still a mirage. This is the cosmic hypnosis at work. To add to the above, our senses are not quite what they seem to be. Many scientists have studied how the senses provide information to the brain and the consciousness. Peter Russell, who is quite eloquent on this topic, is quoted many times in this website. Below are a few quotes of his. “It seems undeniable that out there, around us, independent and apart from us, stands a physical world, utterly real, solid and tangible. But all is not what it seems … All that I see, hear, taste, touch, smell and feel has been created from the data fed to me by my sensory organs. All I ever know of the world around are the images produced in the mind. I think I am seeing the tree ‘out there’, in the world around me. But all that I am actually experiencing is the image created in the mind. This simple fact is very hard to grasp. It runs totally counter to all our experience. There seems nothing more certain than the fact that I am seeing the world as it is, around me. But however nonsensical it may sound, this is the conclusion we are forced to make … However real it may seem, it is, in the final analysis, all in the mind. We never experience the physical world directly; all we ever know is the image of the world generated in our awareness. And that image is no more ‘out there’ than are the images of our dreams.” “Atomic physics had already shown that solid matter did not really exist, our experience of solid substance being an appearance generated in the mind … When we speak of the material world we usually think we are referring to the underlying reality - the world that we are perceiving ‘out there’. In fact we are only describing our image of reality. The materiality we experience, the solidness we feel, the whole of the "real world" that we know are all aspects of the image created in the mind; they are part of our interpretation of reality. Paradoxical as it may sound, matter is something created in the mind. When we realize that everything we know, including the whole material world that we experience ‘out there’ is part of the phenomenon, the image constructed in consciousness, we find the truth is a complete reversal of our everyday view. Matter, as we know it, is a creation of consciousness … Space, time, matter, energy -- the whole substantial world built up from our sense perceptions - is created within consciousness.” “Even when we intellectually accept the fact that our entire world of experience is a construction within the mind, as eventually we must, we still see this world ‘out there,’ around us.” "… When I look at a tree, light reflected from the tree forms an image of the tree on the retina of my eye. Photo-sensitive cells in the retina discharge electrons, triggering electro-chemical impulses that travel down the optic nerve to the visual cortex of the brain. There the data undergoes a complex processing that detects shapes, patterns, colors and movements. The brain then integrates this information into a coherent whole, creating its own reconstruction of external world. Finally, an image of the tree appears in my consciousness. Just how my neural activity gives rise to a conscious experience is the "hard problem" we touched on earlier. But even though we have no idea how an image appears in the mind, it does happen. I have the conscious experience of seeing a tree … Similar activities take place with the other senses … In short, all that I perceive - all that I see, hear, taste, touch and smell - has been reconstructed from sensory data." More on all of this in the website section on The View of Modern Science. Well then, what is reality? Rather than repeat what was said in the website, I invite you to read (or re-read) the section on Who and Where are We? Perhaps then the injustices that seem so clear to the sense-mind may appear less so. With deep regards, Ken |
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Astral and Causal Worlds (May 2017)
“Soul is individualized Spirit, which is unmanifested, ever-existing, ever-conscious, ever-new Bliss. The soul, as Spirit's reflection, has the same qualities as Spirit, but the soul identifies itself with the three bodily sheaths that cover it: the ideation [causal] body, the astral body, and the physical body.” ~ P. Yogananda
Perhaps one of the first references to the Astral and Causal worlds is found in the Upanishads, the ancient Vedic mystical texts of India. Historians have put the date of composition of the Upanishads around 800 - 400 BC.
Sri Yukteswar and Paramahansa Yogananda, 1935
Brian Greene
Brian Josephson
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The astral world, the “heaven” of many religions, naturally holds a fascination for most of mankind. What is this “heaven” like? Does everyone go there? Does hell exist? Religions offer a rather superficial and glossy view of this world with little detail. It’s a case of just believe what you are told, don’t ask questions, and everything will be fine. But we live in a more sophisticated world in which mankind seeks deeper answers. And where can one search for a deeper understanding? A good start is the knowledge provided by the mystics throughout the ages. But even here, the astral world is not covered in much detail and is often buried in rather pedantic and uninspiring language.
Perhaps the astral “heavens” first became “alive” in the enthalling descriptions provided by the great mystic Sri Yukteswar in his dialogue with Paramahansa Yogananda, as recorded in a chapter from Yogananda’s book “Autobiography of a Yogi." Yogananda also eloquently provided much more information on this and related topics from his own direct mystic experience in several of his other writings, in particular God Talks With Arjuna: The Bhagavad Gita and The Second Coming of Christ. As such, much of what follows comes from these two spiritual giants, complemented by information from others. This posting is divided into several sections, as follows; Brief Review of the True Nature of Creation – to provide the necessary context for what follows The Three Levels of Existence – expands on the above discussion Near Death Experiences – an interesting modern phenomenon that provides “glimpses” into the astral world Death – a brief overview of the transition that takes place between the physical world and the astral world. The Astral World – descriptions of this domain of existence Is There an Astral Hell? – is there a dark region in the astral realm? The Causal World – while many have heard of the astral “heavens,” few are aware of the existence of the evener higher causal world, the realm of the gods. Home at Last – the final freedom of indescribably blissful awareness of oneself as Spirit, the immortal, infinite consciousness Final Thoughts – to put everything in perspective Brief Review of the True Nature of Creation As covered in the website section on Who and Where are We?, each of us is playing a character in the game of creation. Our real selves exist outside of this virtual reality game as souls, unique individualized extensions of the One Supreme Being. Our true nature is immortal bliss consciousness, although for most of us, that seems like a long stretch from what we are currently experiencing. Our dilemma is that the VR game of creation has so captured our attention that we think it is real. It doesn’t help that the Supreme Being has made the game quite difficult by including the formidable forces of cosmic hypnosis, maya and avidya, which try to keep us believing that the unreal is real. But it is not. Like other VR entertainment, once we put on the VR gear and enter the game, it can appear so "lifelike" that we can lose our sense of reality. It is important to remember that our real selves exist outside of the game and that the VR characters are just that – make up characters that are assumed for the purposes of the entertainment. And just what is this VR gear that we put on that makes everything appear so real? Our body-forms. In order to enter the game of creation, each of us must “pull on” a body-form that encases our true soul selves. Once in the game, we start out remembering that we are souls playing our characters through these bodies and minds. But eventually, the game becomes so real to us that we forget we are souls existing outside of the game environment and begin to believe that these characters, our body-forms, are real and that the cosmos (which we now know to be only condensed light) is also solid and real. Such is the situation for the vast majority of us. A few have managed to escape the game and know their real existence beyond; these are the mystics who have managed to recall their true essence outside the game and have come to tell us what they have learned. We may recall the story of the freed man from Plato’s Cave who, after climbing the various levels in the cave, ultimately reached the mouth of the cave, experienced the indescribably wondrous world outside the cave, and then returned to tell his compatriots. And so, here are the words of the mystics as they tell us of the various levels in the game of creation that ultimately lead to our true home outside the game. The next section addresses the three levels of existence in creation as well as the body-forms associated with each of these levels. Everyone is familiar with the physical level and physical body-form, but there are two other levels and body-forms – the astral and the causal – built into the mysterious and marvellous game of creation. The Three Levels of Existence “The universe created by God has many inhabited planets in the physical, astral, and causal cosmoses.” ~ P. Yogananda “The physical cosmos is diminutive in relation to the enormously larger and grander astral cosmos, as is the astral universe in relation to the causal.” ~ P. Yogananda “Increasingly subtle vibratory forms of etheric space divide the lower from the higher astral regions, and the even finer causal realm from the astral.” ~ P. Yogananda “At the end of each earthly sojourn the soul emerges from its fleshly prison, garbed in its heavenly causal and astral coverings of consciousness and life energy – an “angelic” contrast to the corruptible physical form. Astral freedom is temporary for those whose karma compels eventual return to physical incarnation; but those who transcend the self-woven cause-effect nets of earthbound desire progress by continuing spiritual effort through ever higher astral spheres of the astral heaven and the even finer causal heaven, eventually earning enrolment in the Heavenly Host of perfected beings. Thus does each soul rise to its source in Spirit.” ~ P. Yogananda Vedic cosmology identifies these three worlds of existence: Bhuloka or the physical plane; Antarloka or the subtle or astral plane; and Sivaloka or Karanaloka or Brahmaloka, the causal plane, the world of the gods and highly evolved souls. And so, within the game of creation, the metamorphosis of Spirit produces this triune production;
Each of us starts as a unique, individualized extension of Spirit, a soul, a god. The causal body-form is used to differentiate each of the gods, or souls, for without any form there is only the One Formless Spirit. As such, the causal body-form is the origin of each of the “separate” beings, even though, in essence, all are Spirit. "Man as an individualized soul is essentially causal-bodied.” ~ Sri Yukteswar “The Causal Body is the vehicle of the human Soul and its vibration is higher than that of the other bodies.” ~ Simon Heather (teacher, healer and author) From the causal body-form, the next step is the creation of the astral body-form, the luminous body of light. After that is the creation of the physical body-form, still a body of light but one that vibrates at a lower rate such that the physical senses identify it as “solid,” even though it is not. "The interpenetration of man's three bodies is expressed in many ways through his threefold nature. In the wakeful state on earth a human being is conscious more or less of his three vehicles. When he is sensuously intent on tasting, smelling, touching, listening, or seeing, he is working principally through his physical body. Visualizing or willing, he is working mainly through his astral body. His causal medium finds expression when man is thinking or diving deep in introspection or meditation; the cosmical thoughts of genius come to the man who habitually contacts his causal body.” ~ Sri Yukteswar "A man identifies himself about sixteen hours daily with his physical vehicle. Then he sleeps; if he dreams, he remains in his astral body, effortlessly creating any object even as do the astral beings. If man's sleep be deep and dreamless, for several hours he is able to transfer his consciousness, or sense of I-ness, to the causal body; such sleep is revivifying.” ~ Sri Yukteswar All three body-sheaths that cover the soul have different rates of vibration – from the “finest” and highest vibration of the causal sheath to the “grossest” or “densest” lower vibration of the physical body-sheath. Each body-sheath matches the dimensional level that man finds himself on, i.e. the physical, astral or causal dimension. Beyond the three dimensions is the unconditioned, indescribably blissful immortal state of Spirit outside the game, from whence each soul has come and back to which each soul ultimately returns. “The dense physical body is the result of solidified vibrations, the astral body of energy and mind vibrations, and the causal body of nearly pure vibrations of Cosmic Consciousness.” ~ P. Yogananda “During the last thirty years of his life, Albert Einstein sought relentlessly for a so-called unified field theory – a theory capable of describing nature’s forces within a single, all-encompassing, coherent framework ... Now, at the dawn of the new millennium, proponents of string theory claim that the threads of this elusive unified tapestry finally have been revealed. ... According to string theory, at the ultramicroscopic level, the universe would be akin to a string symphony vibrating matter into existence.” ~ Brian Greene, Ph.D, physicist, cosmologist and author “Since the divergence of science and religion in centuries past, scientists have typically greeted the idea of “higher dimensions” with scepticism. At the forefront of advanced physics today, however, is the theory of superstrings – a theory that not only allows for additional dimensions but requires them” ~ Brian Greene, Ph.D, from The Elegant Universe: Superstrings, Hidden Dimensions, and the Quest for the Ultimate Theory, 2000. “Mystical experience by self-development through meditation, etc., is not only the key to one’s own development but also the key ... to putting this attempt to synthesize science and religion on a solid foundation ... If we follow this path of a synthesis of science with religion (using meditation as an observational tool), what we are doing is using our own nervous systems as instruments to observe the domains in which God works. Ordinary scientific instruments like telescopes, galvanometers, and particle detectors are not going to be good in this context because they are designed to function in the material domain. Our nervous systems, on the other hand, are designed to allow us to interact not only with the material level of existence but also with the spiritual levels ... All the different levels are open to exploration if we develop our nervous systems so that they tune in.” ~ Brian Josephson, Ph.D, 1973 Noble Prize in Physics The objective of creation is for each soul or god to reverse the metamorphosis and change from a physical entity to an astral entity to a causal entity and ultimately return once again to become Spirit Itself. Spirit is really the only player, but has chosen to experience Its game of creation through what appears to be countless individualized forms of Itself, the souls, the gods. This process starts with the soul alternating back and forth between a physical body-form and an astral body-form. “After the death of the physical body, the mind … soon becomes active again in a new world and a new body – the astral – till it assumes another body in what is called a ‘rebirth’.” ~ Ramana Maharshi And so, contrary to what Shakespeare said is “the undiscover'd country from whose bourn no traveller returns,” each of us, in fact, repeats this cycle of physical life followed by astral life followed by physical life, etc. over and over again until the need for physical birth is no longer required, i.e. once all earthly desires and earthly karma are gone. The power of the cosmic hypnosis of maya and avidya is so strong that this typically requires many, many lifetimes alternating between a physical environment and an astral environment. The physical and astral environments are virtual creations of light, like a hologram, and serve as the “backdrop” of the virtual creation. Once man has “seen though the game” of the physical, he “graduates” to the astral level, without the need to return to the physical level any more. Then the game involves changes in level from the astral to the causal and back again, until the astral man graduates to the causal level, without the need to return to the astral level. Once firmly established at the causal level, man has regained his status as a god and may choose to stay in the blissful causal level for eons. Ultimately, each god evolves to become Spirit Itself, although it retains its knowledge of its individualized self and may choose to return to that form on occasion. Such is the enthralling evolution of mankind through the magnificent game of creation – a game that is played at all levels through the manipulation of light. “In the afterlife, as on earth, souls must either ascend or descend; none can remain stationary until the permanence of God-union is attained. Those who have gone into the astral world at physical death with material desires must return to the gratifying playground of the physical world. Souls who have freed themselves from earthly karma, and who continue to develop in God-consciousness in the astral world, ascend into the supernally blissful causal heaven.” ~ P. Yogananda “Ordinary souls have to reincarnate repeatedly from the physical to the astral, then back to the physical, until they become developed enough to resurrect from the physical to the astral and then to the all-liberating spiritual realm. In the spiritual realm, souls dissolve their delusive bodily forms and dreams of a little body into the consciousness of the Infinite, either as tenuously individualized souls in the causal realm or in complete mergence in Spirit.” ~ P. Yogananda “Thus the word resurrection, “to rise again” after death, means reincarnation, which may occur from the physical to the astral, or from the astral to the physical; or for supremely advanced souls, from the physical to the spiritual, from which place souls are never forced to leave again.” ~ P. Yogananda “Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out.” ~ Revelation 3:12 |
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Levels in the Game of Creation
“There are a set of vibrations or frequencies, you can call them the physical plane, the astral plane, the causal plane, and that which is beyond the beyond.” ~ Ram Dass
Spirit – supernal existence beyond of the game of creation
Also called the Ideational Level, as it is the level of ideas
The luminous “heaven”
The “dense” vibratory level that appears solid, but is not.
*** “This world has a lot of limitations and the astral world has none. When a soul leaves the expansiveness of the astral world to be born on earth, that human baby finds himself restricted and confined in the mother's womb and wants to get out of it but can't. For nine months he has to wait. Then he is subjected to the helplessness of infancy. As he grows into adolescence he must fight his way through passions and emotions, which if he doesn't control will get him into all kinds of misery. Then he marries, struggles to support a family, and perhaps is happy for a little while - but as he gets older everything starts to go wrong with his body-machine and eventually he dies. Every day this drama of mortal limitations, whatever be its minor variations, is playing itself out in your life; and still you cling to this world as most desirable. It is not.” ~ P. Yogananda
“There are a set of vibrations or frequencies, you can call them the physical plane, the astral plane, the causal plane, and that which is beyond the beyond.” ~ Ram Dass
Spirit – supernal existence beyond of the game of creation
Also called the Ideational Level, as it is the level of ideas
The luminous “heaven”
The “dense” vibratory level that appears solid, but is not.
*** “This world has a lot of limitations and the astral world has none. When a soul leaves the expansiveness of the astral world to be born on earth, that human baby finds himself restricted and confined in the mother's womb and wants to get out of it but can't. For nine months he has to wait. Then he is subjected to the helplessness of infancy. As he grows into adolescence he must fight his way through passions and emotions, which if he doesn't control will get him into all kinds of misery. Then he marries, struggles to support a family, and perhaps is happy for a little while - but as he gets older everything starts to go wrong with his body-machine and eventually he dies. Every day this drama of mortal limitations, whatever be its minor variations, is playing itself out in your life; and still you cling to this world as most desirable. It is not.” ~ P. Yogananda
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Dr. Raymond Moody
Syrian gas attack, April 2017
Korowai tribe of Papua, Indonesia
Quotations from Paramahansa Yogananda on Death Quotations from P. M. H. Atwater on Death 
The sky, pastel hues of blue, pink, and orange-yellow in the waning afternoon sunlight, looked almost ethereal. I gazed about me in wonder. Bernard noted my expression. “I see the desert’s magic is working on you already!” He added, “Master says the light here resembles the astral light.” ~ discussion between two disciples of Paramahansa Yogananda 
“Many, including myself, have seen disembodied souls on the astral level” ~ Swami Abhayananda 
Swami Abhayananda has written a touching story in which he was able to meet his mother in the astral plane shortly after her death. When he discovered his mother had been upset that he had not been with her during her illness, Swami Abhayananda found her in the astral plane "and there ensued a touching reconciliation between mother and son, whereby I was able to assure her of my love."
Would astral hell be different than hell on earth?
Syrian civil war, 2017
Medieval witch hunts and persecutions
WWII fighting in the Pacific Islands
Starving children in Africa
“I shall never forget how I was roused one night by the groans of a fellow prisoner, who threw himself about in his sleep, obviously having a horrible nightmare. Since I had always been especially sorry for people who suffered from fearful dreams or deliria, I wanted to wake the poor man. Suddenly I drew back the hand which was ready to shake him, frightened at the thing I was about to do. At that moment I became intensely conscious of the fact that no dream, no matter how horrible, could be as bad as the reality of the camp which surrounded us, and to which I was about to recall him.” ~ Viktor Frankl (WWII concentration camp survivor)
Impact of Religious Beliefs on NDE Experiences 
Ramana Maharshi
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Near Death Experiences
The phenomenon of Near Death Experiences (NDEs) was revealed to the world in the 1970s, through the pioneering work of Dr. Raymond Moody and his ground-breaking book, Life After Life. Although NDEs have been recorded since ancient times, modern medical intervention techniques have brought increasing numbers of people back from death’s door. Many who have been declared “clinically dead” have been resuscitated and brought back to life through medical intervention; and many of these individuals have described their experiences during their brief time while “dead.” Raymond Moody, M.D., Ph.D and subsequent researchers such as Karlis Osis, Ph.D, Erlendur Haraldsson, Ph.D, and Kenneth Ring, Ph.D found much commonality among those who reported an NDE. By comparing thousands of descriptions given by dying patients in the moments just before passing, and by people who were revived after a state of temporary clinical death, these and other doctors at major universities and medical research centers have identified a consistent pattern that often includes the following elements;
Although NDEs are an interesting topic in their own right, they are mentioned here solely as examples of “ordinary” individuals who have glimpsed into the astral world. The above listed common features of NDEs are consistent with the view described by the mystics. It should be noted that while the vast majority of NDEs follow the above pattern, a few individuals have experienced unpleasant visits. NDE descriptions of the world they find themselves in after death vary from one individual to another, which is not surprising. Imagine there exist life-forms from a completely different planet than ours that have never seen or experienced life on earth. It is completely foreign to them. Imagine further that a number of these life-forms get a chance to spend a few minutes on earth and then return to their own world. One can imagine the vastly different descriptions of earth, depending on where each of these life-forms landed and spent their few minutes. For example, earth might be described as;
Of course, all of these descriptions are accurate and reflect the vast variation of the environment on earth as well as the life experiences of those who live on this planet. The astral world is just like that. Just as on earth, there is much variation in what the astral world appears like as well as much variation in one’s experience of existence there. It all depends on where you land. Now back to our example of life-forms from another planet who want to know what the earth is and what life is like there. As we have seen, the glimpses provided by those who have a chance to spend a few minutes on earth are useful but do not provide a complete answer. If these life-forms came into contact with a well-seasoned earth dweller who had travelled all parts of the earth and had experienced earth life in all its variations, then they could be given a much more comprehensive and complete description of the planet earth as well as life on earth, in all its diversity. Similarly, the glimpses provided of the astral world by those who have experienced NDEs is interesting and useful, but far from complete. In order to get a comprehensive understanding of the astral world, it would require a description from a person or persons who had travelled throughout the vast reaches of the astral world and who had seen and experienced the full variety of astral life experiences. We are fortunate that such descriptions are indeed available, as we shall see in the upcoming section on The Astral World. “Despite the wide variation in the circumstances surrounding close calls with death and in the types of persons undergoing them, it remains true that there is a striking similarity among the accounts of the experiences themselves. In fact, the similarities among various reports are so great that one can easily pick out about fifteen separate elements which recur again and again in the mass of narrations that I have collected.” ~ Dr. Raymond Moody, from his pioneering book, Life After Life (1975) “[The person undergoing this experience] notices that he still has a “body,” but one of a very different nature and with very different powers from the physical body he has left behind ... the experience affects his life profoundly, especially his views about death and its relationship to life” ~ Dr. Moody “Although most patients apparently drift into oblivion without awareness of it, there are some, clearly conscious to the end, who say they ‘see’ into the beyond and who are able to report their experiences before expiring ... These experiences are transformative. They bring with them serenity, peace, elation, and religious emotions. The patients die a ‘good death’ in strange contrast to the usual gloom and misery commonly expected before expiration.” ~ Dr. Osis and Dr. Haraldsson, from the book At the Hour of Death (1977) Note – for those interested, there is much material on NDEs that can be found using Internet search engines. A few words of caution may be in order; one will encounter the usual naysayers who love to deny the validity of anything “new.” The fact that there exists a Flat Earth Society in today’s world of inter-space travel says it all. Having said that, though, there is some false information on this topic on the web. As always, discrimination is necessary to separate the wheat from the chaff. One website on NDEs that you may find useful is Kevin William’s Near-Death Experiences and the Afterlife. After reading Raymond Moody's book, Life After Life, Williams became enthralled with NDEs and carried out extensive research on this topic - reading all the books and all the NDE accounts he could find. His website is an extensive and comprehensive resource for information on this topic; it also covers some of the work of Dr. P.M.H. Atwater, a long time NDE researcher who has personally survived three NDE events. She has authored several books that provide comprehensive insight into NDEs. Quotations from both Williams and Atwater will be included in some of the sections below. Death “What dies with death? The idea ‘I am the body’ dies; the witness does not” ~ Nisargadatta Maharaj “You may see and experience many beautiful new things when you enter the afterlife. However, heaven is familiar to you and will not feel like an alien world. This is because the fundamental things that constitute “you” remain the same. You continue to use perceptions, you continue to see an objective world, and you retain memory, character, and your personality.” ~ Craig Hamilton-Parker (psychic, author, student of Eastern spirituality) “Life by life, each man progresses (at his own pace, be it ever so erratic) toward the goal of his own apotheosis. Death, no interruption in this onward sweep, simply offers man the more congenial environment of an astral world in which to purify his dross ... It is indeed unlikely that God had exhausted His ingenuity in organizing this world, or that, in the next world, He will offer nothing more challenging to our interest than the strumming of harps.” ~ P. Yogananda “Most persons can look forward to a glorified experience of peace, freedom, and heavenly relief from life’s burdens and afflictions when the spirit leaves the body at the time of death.” ~ P. Yogananda Before we move on to descriptions of the astral world, it seems relevant to spent a short time on the actual transition that takes place as one moves from the physical world to the astral world. This is what we call “death,’ although, in fact, there is no death. What we call death is this process of transition from one virtual body-form to another, from one virtual environment to another. It is the process of moving from one level of the virtual reality game of creation to another level. The only thing that “dies” is the physical body-suit which is merely the vehicle that you occupied in order to play in the physical level of the game. Like taking off an overcoat when one moves from the outside to the inside, one takes off the “overcoat” of the physical body-form when one moves from the physical world to the astral. The common features of NDE experiences, as described by NDE researchers Dr. Moody, Dr. Osis, Dr. Haraldsson, Dr. Ring et al in the previous section, cover this transition well and are worth repeating, i.e.
The above is typical for those who have led decent lives, with good actions mostly outweighing bad ones, i.e. the vast majority of individuals departing the physical plane of earth. For this vast majority, they now enter the astral "heaven," as described shortly, and reside there for a karmically determined time, typically hundreds of years. At the end of this sojourn in the heavenly astral realm, the physical desires they left behind that need fulfilling as well as their carry-over karma call them back and they are reborn in the physical world to continue their journey. For this majority of individuals, most of the work in reawakening to their real nature as gods is done on the physical level, and so the astral visit is primarily a rest and rejuvenation. For those whose good actions and bad actions are about equal, their experience of death is typically a rejuvenating sleep followed by rebirth in the physical world, with little or no experience of the astral world. With each successive stay on earth, which usually leads to the development of good qualities that override bad ones, they can “graduate” to the experience of the astral “heaven” after death. A very small percentage of mankind lead what can only be described as evil lives with complete disregard for their fellow man. With extreme selfishness and total disregard for the welfare of others, they are quite prepared to harm and kill others without qualm. Such brutal individuals will be attracted to the dark regions of the astral world, as described shortly. There they stay for a karmically determined time after which they are given rebirth on the physical level to hopefully lead better lives. They may, alternatively, be attracted to an immediate return to earth into what would be considered a “hellish” environment, e.g. a war zone or other unpleasant region. Another small percentage of mankind are well along the path of recovering their lost true identity as gods; unique, individualized extensions of Spirit. Such individuals will be attracted to the highest realms of the astral world to continue their development. If physical rebirth is still required for karmic reasons, they will likely be attracted to a very conducive environment on earth to complete their journey. If physical rebirth is no longer required, after a time in the astral world, such individuals will graduate to the higher causal world and ultimately to full enlightenment and a return to the indescribably blissful realm of immortal Spirit. For spiritually advanced individuals, e.g. the mystics and those who have a highly developed consciousness resulting from many years of deep meditation, the transition from the physical world to the astral (or causal) world is done consciously. In fact, many mystics can easily move between the physical, astral and causal worlds at will while appearing to exist solely in a physical body-form. “An accomplished yogi can behold the physical cosmos and its beings as the cosmic dream of God. Or he can project his consciousness into the astral world and perceive its panorama of indescribably beautiful island universe and beings made of ethereal blendings of various colored lights. Or he can lift his consciousness into the sublime causal sphere, with its galaxies of dazzling wisdom-objects and beings and their interactions – a glorious diadem in the eternally still, endless skies of Spirit … or go beyond to the transcendent vibrationless region of God. He is able to perceive one portion of the Lord’s consciousness as the transcendental eternal peace, and another portion as the ripple of cosmic dreams – the worlds of creation.” ~ P. Yogananda Note that in all cases, the consciousness that one has following the death transition is the same as the consciousness that one had prior to death – good, bad, or evil. The transition does not miraculously eliminate your desires, increase your wisdom or advance your spiritual development. You start out in the next world where you left off in this one - just the body-form and the environment changes, e.g. a luminous body-suit of light in one of the many levels of the astral world or rebirth into the physical body of an infant into a family and earth location conducive to your on-going development. _________________________________ When one of his followers was dying of cancer, Yogananda promised that he would be there to greet her when she entered the astral world. He did so, and said that he found her in a beautiful meadow with flowers more glorious and bright than any on earth. She had taken on the form of her youth from her recent life on earth. As Yogananda approached her, she was singing happily and dancing in bliss. She recognized him and said, “Oh Master! Oh, Master, you have come!” “I kept my word,” he said. “Oh, yes, Master. Look, see this body. The dreadful pain and disease are gone.” She was beholding her body of light, her astral form. “Oh, what a relief! How I suffered.” “Yes, my daughter, it was only a dream of one life that you experienced, and now you are free from that physical form. You are free to continue your evolution, working out in this world that karma which cannot be worked out in the world of the physical senses.” He blessed her, and said, “Now you go on your way. Wherever you are, as often as you think of me I will be there.” In the column on the left are a number of quotations on death by Paramahansa Yogananda. Following that are some quotations by Dr. P.M.H. Atwater, an NDE expert mentioned earlier. The Astral World “The astral body of man and the astral counterparts of everything in nature are vastly more beautiful, more vibrant, more expressive of the harmony and perfection of the Divine Creator than what we perceive when our consciousness is limited to matter.” ~ P. Yogananda The astral world operates at a higher vibration than the earth and the physical universes. To the astral dweller, everything is seen as light. By contrast, the physical world is made of light at a lower or “denser” vibration such that the senses associated with the physical body give the sensation and appearance that the physical world is solid, even though it is not. One could say that the range of experiences in the astral world is similar to that found on earth, i.e. a range that could include heavenly and hellish experiences and everything in between. What attracted you to your earthly environment – good or bad – was primarily your karmic status and it is such that will attract you to your experience of the astral world. Perhaps the best way to describe the resplendent astral heavens and the luminous beings that reside there is to quote directly from Sri Yukteswar’s enthralling characterization as provided in Yogananda’s book, the Autobiography of a Yogi. The following are excerpts from Sri Yukteswar’s account; "Just as many physical suns and stars roam in space, so there are also countless astral solar and stellar systems. Their planets have astral suns and moons, more beautiful than the physical ones. The astral luminaries resemble the aurora borealis - the sunny astral aurora being more dazzling than the mild-rayed moon-aurora. The astral day and night are longer than those of earth. "There are many astral planets, teeming with astral beings. The inhabitants use astral planes, or masses of light, to travel from one planet to another, faster than electricity and radioactive energies. "The astral world is infinitely beautiful, clean, pure, and orderly. There are no dead planets or barren lands. The terrestrial blemishes - weeds, bacteria, insects, snakes - are absent. Unlike the variable climates and seasons of the earth, the astral planets maintain the even temperature of an eternal spring, with occasional luminous white snow and rain of many-colored lights. Astral planets abound in opal lakes and bright seas and rainbow rivers. "The ordinary astral universe is peopled with millions of astral beings who have come, more or less recently, from the earth, and also with myriads of fairies, mermaids, fishes, animals, goblins, gnomes, demigods and spirits, all residing on different astral planets in accordance with karmic qualifications. Various spheric mansions or vibratory regions are provided for good and evil spirits. Good ones can travel freely, but the evil spirits are confined to limited zones. In the same way that human beings live on the surface of the earth, worms inside the soil, fish in water, and birds in air, so astral beings of different grades are assigned to suitable vibratory quarters. "The astral cosmos is more naturally attuned than the earth to the divine will and plan of perfection. Every astral object is manifested primarily by the will of God, and partially by the will-call of astral beings. They possess the power of modifying or enhancing the grace and form of anything already created by the Lord. He has given His astral children the freedom and privilege of changing or improving at will the astral cosmos. On earth a solid must be transformed into liquid or other form through natural or chemical processes, but astral solids are changed into astral liquids, gases, or energy solely and instantly by the will of the inhabitants. "Astral beings dematerialize or materialize their forms at will. Flowers or fish or animals can metamorphose themselves, for a time, into astral men. All astral beings are free to assume any form, and can easily commune together. No fixed, definite, natural law hems them round - any astral tree, for example, can be successfully asked to produce an astral mango or other desired fruit, flower, or indeed any other object. Certain karmic restrictions are present, but there are no distinctions in the astral world about desirability of various forms. "The span of life in the astral world is much longer than on earth. A normal advanced astral being's average life period is from five hundred to one thousand years, measured in accordance with earthly standards of time … Visitors to the astral world dwell there for a longer or shorter period in accordance with the weight of their physical karma, which draws them back to earth within a specified time.” ~ Sri Yukteswar "The earth-liberated astral being meets a multitude of relatives, fathers, mothers, wives, husbands, and friends, acquired during different incarnations on earth, as they appear from time to time in various parts of the astral realms. … Though the outward appearance of loved ones may have changed, more or less according to the development of new qualities in the latest life of any particular soul, the astral being employs his unerring intuition to recognize all those once dear to him in other planes of existence.” ~ Sri Yukteswar "No one is born of woman; offspring are materialized by astral beings through the help of their cosmic will into specially patterned, astrally condensed forms. The recently physically disembodied being arrives in an astral family through invitation, drawn by similar mental and spiritual tendencies. "The astral body is an exact counterpart of the last physical form. Astral beings retain the same appearance which they possessed in youth in their previous earthly sojourn; occasionally an astral being chooses, like myself, to retain his old age appearance. "Unlike the spacial, three-dimensional physical world cognized only by the five senses, the astral spheres are visible to the all-inclusive sixth sense-intuition. By sheer intuitional feeling, all astral beings see, hear, smell, taste, and touch. "Man's physical body is exposed to countless dangers, and is easily hurt or maimed; the ethereal astral body may occasionally be cut or bruised but is healed at once by mere willing. "Beauty in the astral world is known to be a spiritual quality, and not an outward conformation. Astral beings therefore attach little importance to facial features. They have the privilege, however, of costuming themselves at will with new, colorful, astrally materialized bodies. Just as worldly men don new array for gala events, so astral beings find occasions to bedeck themselves in specially designed forms. "Communication among the astral inhabitants is held entirely by astral telepathy and television; there is none of the confusion and misunderstanding of the written and spoken word which earth-dwellers must endure. Just as persons on the cinema screen appear to move and act through a series of light pictures, and do not actually breathe, so the astral beings walk and work as intelligently guided and coordinated images of light, without the necessity of drawing power from oxygen. Man depends upon solids, liquids, gases, and energy for sustenance; astral beings sustain themselves principally by cosmic light. "The astral beings … drink a nectar flowing from glorious fountains of light and from astral brooks and rivers … from the wildest fancy of these beings, whole gardens of fragrant flowers are materialized, returning later to the etheric invisibility. “Astral beings enjoy the ethereal music of the spheres and are entranced by the sight of all creation as exhaustless expressions of changing light. The astral beings also smell, taste, and touch light. Astral desires are thus connected with an astral being's power to precipitate all objects and experiences as forms of light or as condensed thoughts or dreams. Paramahansa Yogananda also provided illumination on the astral world as recorded in such writings as God Talks With Arjuna: The Bhagavad Gita and The Second Coming of Christ. The following Yogananda quotations complement Sri Yukteswar's words above; “The physical cosmos, with its many “island universes” floating in the eternal void, is encircled by a nimbus of radiant energy that melts away into the larger astral world. The astral cosmos is a grander manifestation of creation than the physical, and runs through and beyond the latter. In the astral cosmos many luminous galaxies of various densities, with their astral solar and stellar systems, are roving in a vaster sphere of eternity. “On the inner side of my consciousness, I am in that astral world all the time, so I know. In comparison, this earth is a bedlam; in the astral world you can order things according to your wish. In your astral “car” you can travel any distance instantly. If you desire flowers, they are there immediately, just by willing them. And when you no longer want them, remove the thought and they are gone. “The astral kingdom is a realm of rainbow-hued light. Astral land, seas, skies, gardens, beings, the manifestation of day and night – all are made of variegated vibrations of light. Astral gardens of flowers, planted on the soil of the ether, surpass human description. The blossoms glow like Chinese star shells, ever-changing but never fading, adapting themselves to the fancy of the astral beings. They disappear when not wanted and reappear with new colors and fragrance when desired again. “Astral beings drink prismatic light from lifetronic fountains cascading from the bosom of ethereal mountains. Oceans heave with opalescent azure, green, silver, gold, red, yellow, and aquamarine. Diamond-bright waves dance in a perpetual rhythm of beauty. “Inhabitants of the astral heaven consciously and at will control their surroundings. The earth is so full of decay and destruction; in the astral world, havoc caused by any clash of inharmonious vibrations could be remedied by mere willing. “Colors on the earth-plane are crude imitations of their astral source. Lifetronic colors are beyond human conception, far more beautiful than any sunset or painting or rainbow or aurora borealis. The most exquisite colors in nature, if blended together in scenic portrayal, still would not depict the beauty of the astral world; the motley physical hues are such dense vibrations of their astral counterparts. In the delicacy of the astral land, neither dull skies nor blinding sun assault the senses. The astral luminosity dims all physical light, yet is never harsh or glaring. “Souls in the astral region are clothed in gossamer light. “The form of most astral beings resembles that of their recently discarded earth body, but without the decrepitude. “Astral beings have all the faculties of perception and cognition to which man is accustomed in his physical body, but as instruments of intuition independent of the limitations of the imperfect mortal senses and rationalizing intelligence. “Astral beings can concentrate upon anything in the particular stratum to which they are assigned and know about its nature through the instantaneous knowledge-producing power of intuition. Though they need not depend on the tedious methods of book-learning, advanced beings who wish to record their special thought vibrations have only to visualize those concepts, which are then immediately transformed into a permanent record of astral light vibrations. “Advanced astral beings can traverse any plane or region of the vast astral heaven, travelling faster than the speed of light in a vehicular mass of luminous lifetrons. “Marriage is not part of the astral world ... Nevertheless, souls who are deeply in love with each other or who share bonds of pure friendship during their stay on the earth plane will recognize each other and continue to feel the love and divine friendship imprinted on their souls. “Desires in the astral body thrive on finer astral sensations. Everything is enjoyed as wondrously changing and manipulatable forms of light and vibration. Astral beings see, hear, smell, taste, and touch all forms of astral creation as mutable vibratory light. Both Sri Yukteswar and Yogananda provide a brief summary of astral “death.” When a luminous astral being has competed his karmically determined time in the astral world, one of two things may occur;
As noted below, astral “death” is not as traumatic as physical “death.” It is merely the dissolution of the luminous astral light rays and reassignment of the consciousness to a new physical or causal body-form. "The astral being does not have to contend painfully with death at the time of shedding his luminous body.” ~ Sri Yukteswar “After a while the ego begins to be disturbed by its innate subconscious material desires and by the muffled longing to express itself through a physical vehicle. At this time the cosmic law of karma, acting according to the desires and nature of the physically disembodied ego, sends it to be reborn on earth to parents similar in certain karmic respects to this wandering soul.” ~ P. Yogananda “Birth and death in the astral world are merely a change in consciousness. When the physical body dies, a being loses the consciousness of flesh and becomes aware of his subtle astral form in the astral world. At a karmically determined time that astral being loses consciousness of his astral form to undergo rebirth in the physical world. When the astrally garbed soul leaves the astral world, at the end of its astral life, it is attracted to parents and an environment on earth (or to similar inhabited planets in other island universes) which are suited to the working-out of that individual’s store of good and bad karma.” ~ P. Yogananda "Normal or long-established residents of the astral universe, on the other hand, are those who, freed forever from all material longings, need return no more to the gross vibrations of earth. Such beings have only astral and causal karma to work out. At astral death these beings pass to the infinitely finer and more delicate causal world.” ~ Sri Yukteswar "Just as most people on earth have not learned through meditation-acquired vision to appreciate the superior joys and advantages of astral life and thus, after death, desire to return to the limited, imperfect pleasures of earth, so many astral beings, during the normal disintegration of their astral bodies, fail to picture the advanced state of spiritual joy in the causal world and, dwelling on thoughts of the more gross and gaudy astral happiness, yearn to revisit the astral paradise. Heavy astral karma must be redeemed by such beings before they can achieve after astral death a permanent stay in the causal thought-world, so thinly partitioned from the Creator.” ~ Sri Yukteswar "Only when a being has no further desires for experiences in the pleasing-to-the-eye astral cosmos, and cannot be tempted to go back there, does he remain in the causal world.” ~ Sri Yukteswar To wrap up this section on the astral world, here is something to ponder. Until recently, physicists have regarded space, or the ether, as a vacuum or a void. No longer. In the 1990s, scientists came up with the theory of “dark energy” which was postulated to account for the fact that the universe is expanding even though the laws of gravity predict that it should be slowing down. This mysterious “dark energy” is the influence that pushes space apart faster than gravity can pull things together. But just what this dark energy is remains one of the biggest mysteries in physics today. “The missing link in cosmology is the nature of dark matter and dark energy.” ~ Stephen Hawking, Ph.D, world renowned theoretical physicist and cosmologist Physicists investigating the ether have determined that “the very underpinning of our universe [is] a heaving sea of energy, one vast quantum field ... [an] inexhaustible energy source ... all sitting there unobtrusively in the background of the energy space around us.” ~ Lynne McTaggart, from The Field: The Quest for the Secret Force of the Universe, 2002. Calculating the energy needed to overcome gravity, scientists have determined that dark energy makes up roughly 75 percent of the universe. Dark matter makes up another roughly 21 percent, leaving the "normal" matter that we are familiar with to make up 4 percent of the cosmos around us. In addition to not knowing the true nature of dark energy, no scientific instruments have been able to detect this immense energy field. Now let’s look at a few quotations on the astral world from Paramahansa Yogananda; “Hidden behind the ether of space is the tremendous light of the astral world, providing the life and energy that sustains the whole universe. “Ether” or “space” is the subtlest vibratory element in the material world. “Ether-permeated space is the boundary line between heaven, or the astral world, and earth. “The physical cosmos, with its many “island universes” floating in the eternal void, is encircled by a nimbus of radiant energy that melts away into the larger astral world. The astral cosmos is a grander manifestation of creation than the physical, and runs through and beyond the latter. Could it be that the mysterious “dark energy” that currently mystifies the modern scientific world is the immense energy of the astral world? Could it be that “dark energy” cannot be detected because it’s astral source vibrates at a rate far beyond the detection range of the most sensitive measuring equipment on earth? Is There an Astral Hell? “The idea of an eternal heaven is true, for we are made in the image of God, and at the end of the trail of reincarnations actuated by our wandering material desires, we will find the heavenly blissful Father waiting to receive His prodigal children and to entertain them with the fatted calf of everlasting, ever-new Joy. But the idea of eternal damnation for eternally blessed souls made in the image of God is untenable and should be exploded and banished from the superstitious minds of men.” ~ P. Yogananda As mentioned earlier, there is a small percentage of evil individuals who lead brutal lives with complete disregard for the sanctity of the lives of others. Such individuals are attracted to the darker regions of the astral world to reside among others of their ilk. As noted in the quotation above, and contrary to many religious beliefs, such individuals reincarnate in a physical body after a karmically determined time to have another opportunity to play the game in a better fashion, hopefully having learned from their unpleasant stay in the dark astral realms. If the game plays out the same again in the physical realm, the subsequent astral stay repeats. Eventually evil ones develop better karma and attract better conditions in both the astral and physical worlds and eventually return to their original status as gods, like all others. No soul is lost forever. The following quotes provide a view of the dark astral regions; “Those who have stored up evil in their past lives may experience in their astral bodies the dark astral realms of distressing or nightmarish dreams; eventually ... to reincarnate in new physical bodies with their same evil tendencies impinged on the brain.” ~ P. Yogananda “Among the fallen dark angels expelled from other worlds, friction and war take place with lifetronic bombs or mental mantric vibratory rays. These beings dwell in the gloom-drenched regions of the lower astral cosmos, working out their evil karma.” ~ P. Yogananda “... 'these worst among men' attract … rebirth in … states of hellish existence on earth or in other regions of the universe characterized by suffering and violence, or in dark astral worlds of fearsome beings and nightmares … the karmic fate of the asuras, demonic mentalities, is to remain entrapped in darkest delusion birth after birth if they do not rouse themselves from ignorance by efforts at right determination and action. Thus may they descend to the farthest possible depths, incarnating for a time even in an animal body or other medium (as may be the case in some insane persons who have lost all power of reason), or in some astral bestial form. Such instruments have no power of free choice and therefore accrue no karmic consequences for their actions. Such an existence is the bottommost saving grace for the declining being. Working out past karma without the possibility of accruing further entanglement, the descended being will then be given in his next life a new and better opportunity to redeem himself.” ~ P. Yogananda “No pain that one suffers consciously goes without reward, the purifying effect of having burned off a measure of past karma or of having kindled an inner illumination that awakened and consolidated a nascent soul virtue.” ~ P. Yogananda “Those persons who have been brutal and whose desires are utterly depraved will wake up in the grosser still lower level of the Astral plane. Here the environment is grey coloured or dark, and living there is extremely unpleasant and miserable. The inhabitants will experience frustrations due to their inability to work out their physical passions through their Astral bodies which are not equipped for such fulfilment. This harrowing experience may well be termed a purgatory, but it is temporary and lasts until his depraved desires are worn out. The term Apaya (Niraya) used in Buddhist literature could correspond to this Grosser Astral plane.” ~ from Buddhist teachings. In addition to the above, Kevin Williams (who was mentioned above in the NDE section) has summarized his findings on the existence of astral hells, based on his extensive study of a large number of NDE accounts, some of which mentioned a hell-like visit. As mentioned earlier, the words of the mystics are far more reliable that those of NDE experiencers who only glimpse the astral world for a short time and in a very specific location. Nonetheless, a summary of the common features from these accounts may be of value. Below are some of Kevin William's summary findings in this regard. “Near-death experiencers have witnessed numerous variations of hell realms. These hell realms are not for judgment nor punishment, nor are they eternal. They are states of mind which acts as a "time out" condition for reflection, education and purification of negative thought patterns ... Hell realms in the spirit world are the perfect outward manifestation of the inner hellish condition within people ... People in these hellish spirit realms remain in this condition for however long best serves their spiritual development.” “Why do some people have NDEs that resembles the fire and brimstone hell of the Bible while other people describe a different kind of hell? The quick answer is that there are many kinds of hells and many kinds of heavens. A person's situation in life and after death is based upon many factors including: perception, perspective, cultural and religious background, spirituality or lack thereof, and education. If you examine enough hellish NDEs that resemble the traditional hellfire and brimstone, you will notice that they mostly occur to fundamentalist Christians. Life after death often means "getting what you expect", that is, if you believe heaven is a place where you float on a cloud and play a harp, you just might get that when you die. And only when you realize that this kind of heaven is a fantasy-to-be-abandoned will you find reality different. In other words, reality is what you make it. This applies on earth as it is in heaven. If we believe that such a hell exists, it actually does exist - in our own minds. And since the afterlife is the realm of the mind and spirit, these hellish conditions actually exist merely by creating them in our own mind. This is why it is critical that we be careful what we put in our minds and what we build there.” _____________________________________ "In the afterlife, the world around you is generated by your inner consciousness. Here, it is easier to understand that happiness springs from within. The same rule applies to this world. The events that happen to you are caused by your own actions and thoughts. They arise from experiences gained in this life and lives you have lived before.” ~ Craig Hamilton-Parker (psychic, author, student of Eastern spirituality) The Causal World “Behind the physical world of matter (atoms, protons, electrons), and the subtle astral world of luminous life energy (lifetrons), is the causal, or ideational, world of thought (thoughtrons). After man evolves sufficiently to transcend the physical and astral universes, he resides in the causal universe. In the consciousness of causal beings, the physical and astral universes are resolved to their thought essence. Whatever physical man can do in imagination, causal man can do in actuality—the only limitation being thought itself.” ~ P. Yogananda Sivaloka, Karanaloka or Brahmaloka, the causal plane, the world of the gods and highly evolved souls who exist in their effulgent forms – radiant bodies of centillions of quantum light particles. The causal world is like a fantasyland – a heaven of ideational consciousness. It is a blissful world of thoughts and ideas. Anything one can imagine can be brought into manifestation. Causal beings transcend time and distance altogether in the instancy of thought. At this point in the soul’s evolution, there is only a thin veil that separates it from Spirit. Causal world dwellers have evolved back to the level of the gods that they were at their original creation by Spirit. As such, they can create their own universes and project them out from their consciousness just as Spirit does. Causal beings may remain for eons in the nearly perfect causal world, enjoying the blissful perception of its awesome wonders. The immensity of Spirit’s consciousness is such that It beholds the unfolding show of Its own countless universes of light as well as the spectacular dramas of the creations of each of Its innumerable individualized extensions of Itself. An endless infinity of creation. The causal world has not been extensively described – probably because the human ego-mind can only grasp a basic appreciation of it. However, here are some quotes from mystics and others that may help; “The largest or causal cosmos contains countless causal galactic systems with their suns and planets, roaming all through the physical and astral cosmoses and far beyond their boundaries to the outermost sphere of vibratory space … in the causal universe, God’s finest creative forces of consciousness, and highly evolved beings with their intuitive processes, objectify universes from subtle divine thought forces.” ~P. Yogananda “After man evolves sufficiently to transcend the physical and astral universes, he resides in the causal universe. In the consciousness of causal beings, the physical and astral universes are resolved to their thought essence. Whatever physical man can do in imagination, causal man can do in actuality – the only limitation being thought itself.” ~P. Yogananda “Causal desires consist of enjoying everything by exquisitely keen perceptions of pure consciousness only. Souls encased only in the causal body know the whole of creation to be materialized dream ideas of God. Souls awake in the causal body can materialize anything they desire in thought forms more “real” than any physical sensation or astral perception which are grossly dull and stifling to the soul’s fine causal sensibilities.” ~P. Yogananda. “Those who find themselves covered only by the delicate veil of the causal body can bring universes into manifestation even as the Creator. Because all creation is made of the cosmic dream-texture, the soul thinly clothed in the causal has vast realizations of power.” ~P. Yogananda “As the physical body is made primarily of flesh, and the astral body of prana, intelligent light or lifetrons, so the causal body is made specifically of consciousness, ideas.” ~P. Yogananda “The nearly-free beings who are encased only in the causal body see the whole universe as realizations of the dream-ideas of God; they can materialize anything and everything in sheer thought. Causal beings therefore consider the enjoyment of physical sensations or astral delights as gross and suffocating to the soul's fine sensibilities. Causal beings work out their desires by materializing them instantly.” ~P. Yogananda "The causal world is indescribably subtle. In order to understand it, one would have to possess such tremendous powers of concentration that he could close his eyes and visualize the astral cosmos and the physical cosmos in all their vastness as existing in ideas only. If by this superhuman concentration one succeeded in converting or resolving the two cosmoses with all their complexities into sheer ideas, he would then reach the causal world and stand on the borderline of fusion between mind and matter. There one perceives all created things - solids, liquids, gases, electricity, energy, all beings, gods, men, animals, plants, bacteria - as forms of consciousness, just as a man can close his eyes and realize that he exists, even though his body is invisible to his physical eyes and is present only as an idea.” ~ Sri Yukteswar "Whatever a human being can do in fancy, a causal being can do in reality. The most colossal imaginative human intelligence is able, in mind only, to range from one extreme of thought to another, to skip mentally from planet to planet, or tumble endlessly down a pit of eternity, or soar rocketlike into the galaxied canopy, or scintillate like a searchlight over milky ways and the starry spaces. But beings in the causal world have a much greater freedom, and can effortlessly manifest their thoughts into instant objectivity, without any material or astral obstruction or karmic limitation.” ~ Sri Yukteswar "Souls in the causal world recognize one another as individualized points of joyous Spirit; their thought-things are the only objects which surround them. Causal beings see the difference between their bodies and thoughts to be merely ideas. As a man, closing his eyes, can visualize a dazzling white light or a faint blue haze, so causal beings by thought alone are able to see, hear, feel, taste, and touch; they create anything, or dissolve it, by the power of cosmic mind.” ~ Sri Yukteswar "Both death and rebirth in the causal world are in thought. Causal-bodied beings feast only on the ambrosia of eternally new knowledge. They drink from the springs of peace, roam on the trackless soil of perceptions, swim in the ocean-endlessness of bliss. Lo! see their bright thought-bodies zoom past trillions of Spirit-created planets, fresh bubbles of universes, wisdom-stars, spectral dreams of golden nebulae, all over the skiey blue bosom of Infinity!” ~ Sri Yukteswar "Many beings remain for thousands of years in the causal cosmos. By deeper ecstasies the freed soul then withdraws itself from the little causal body and puts on the vastness of the causal cosmos. All the separate eddies of ideas, particularized waves of power, love, will, joy, peace, intuition, calmness, self-control, and concentration melt into the ever-joyous Sea of Bliss.” ~ Sri Yukteswar “Viewed from a three dimensional perspective a fully evolved Causal Body appears as a radiant orb of white and golden light, a miniature sun.” ~ Simon Heather (teacher, healer and author) “The Causal Body is the final sheath around the Soul. Once the individual has worked out their causal karma the soul is free to return to God/Oneness.” ~ Simon Heather (teacher, healer and author) “The Causal is a realm of Unmanifest, from which the Manifest emerges. It contains objects, images, or principles that are in their merely potential, formless form.” ~ Swami Jnaneshvara Bharati (student and teacher of Advaita Vedanta) “The causal plane - the world like Plato’s world of pure ideas. It’s the highest place you can get on in the world of form or energy ... from which all the rest is manifestation.” ~ Ram Dass (spiritual teacher and author) “Beings of the Physical world can go direct to the Brahma [causal] worlds if they have developed their minds in meditation to a very high level. The beings in the causal world are only one step away from total liberation or Nirvana. They have only to apply themselves to get rid of the remaining traces of desires to achieve liberation.” ~ Buddhist teaching Home at Last “Ultimately, man sheds the last soul covering – his causal body – to unite with omnipresent Spirit, beyond all vibratory realms.” ~ P. Yogananda At some point, for each one of us, the game ends. Our endless playing in the virtual universe comes to an end as we finally recall that we are not VR characters/players but rather the immortal souls that exist beyond creation’s appearance of light. At that point, we are home – free of all constraints and limitations, beyond the heartache and suffering; beyond all grief over lost loved ones of countless lifetimes. Lost loved ones from this and previous lives may still be playing the game, but you now recognize them in their true form – as unique, immortal gods, just like you. They can never be lost – they just change their form. You know them now far better than you knew them before. And you are now pure, endless ever-new bliss consciousness. You have become Spirit Itself, not a part of Spirit, but Spirit in Its fullest and most complete sense. “Some people think that they will see God as if He were standing there and they here. It is not so. God and I, we are one. … I am converted into Him in such a way that He makes me one Being with Himself.” ~ Meister Eckhart Even though one has now become the full Spirit Itself, the memory of once being a unique, individualized extension of that Spirit is never lost. On occasion, one may choose to return to that status and pretend to be a separate being. “For example, God is the soul of a particular man, John, a mortal through delusory body identification. By meditation, John again united himself with God, finding that it was God in the first place who became John; by developing wisdom, John again became God ... The liberated soul of John, even though one with Spirit, would retain its individuality in the sense that it would always remember and know that it had once been John, the soul-wave that, without knowing it, had floated on the surface of the Ocean of Spirit. When John the mortal became John the immortal, he did not lose his identity, but realized that he was John the soul-wave (mortal man), as well as John the Ocean of Spirit (immortal man).” ~ P. Yogananda “Man’s individuality as an existent entity can never be erased from him ... the soul of man merely ... expands into the Spirit, at home in Infinity!” ~ P. Yogananda “When a soul finally gets out of the three jars of bodily delusions it becomes one with the Infinite without any loss of individuality.” ~ Sri Yukteswar “I materialize or dematerialize this form any time at will … By quick dematerialization, I now travel instantly by light express from planet to planet or, indeed, from astral to causal or to physical cosmos.” ~ Sri Yukteswar Final Thoughts One may have noticed that little has been said about how religious affiliations or lack of same affect the afterlife experience in the astral and other worlds. This is because these afterlife experiences have very little correlation to religion, contrary to the beliefs of many. In fact, if one has misguided religious convictions (such as "my religion is right and yours is wrong"), such thoughts will be a hindrance as one moves into the higher worlds. One place where religious beliefs may have a role is during the transition phases ( e.g. from the physical to the astral levels) at which time one is often "greeted" by an advanced being. For religious people, that person could be the religious icon they most revere. However, the greeter might well be a spiritual master, one's guide or guru. And for those without religious or spiritual affiliations, the greeter could be an advanced being of light that is not easily identifiable. NDE experts Kevin Williams and Dr. P. M. H. Atwater have researched the impact of religious beliefs on near death experiences, based on a large number of NDE accounts. Some of their findings are shown in the column on the left. ______________________________ And another final thought. When his followers asked questions on the topics addressed above, the twentieth century mystic Ramana Maharshi was reluctant to respond. Not because he did not know the answers, but because he felt his followers should be spending their time and thoughts elsewhere. He knew that his followers' true identities existed outside of this phenomenon of creation and he constantly encouraged them to ask themselves "Who am I?" with the intent of focusing their consciousness on their real god-self within. However, like most earth dwellers, his followers spent much of their time trapped inside the game. They would ask for information about the different “levels” of the game; they would ask how long one stayed on the astral level before having to come back to the physical level; what was the “death” process like in transitioning from the physical to the astral; was the experience of the astral level the same for all; etc. Ramana Maharshi would try to tell his followers that they were spending their time asking about a “chain of illusions” and that if they got out of the game and realized their true nature as immortal souls (i.e. realize that they had been “gods playing the fool”) they would understand that “there is neither birth nor death.” Ramana felt that his followers should spend their efforts on re-discovering their true blissful, immortal selves rather than spend their time asking for more information about the game itself. “It must be distinctly understood that it is no soul which comes and goes, but only the thinking mind of the individual, which makes it appear to do so. On whatever plane the mind happens to act, it creates a body for itself; in the physical world a physical body and in the dream world a dream body.” ~ Ramana Maharshi “It should now be clear that there is neither real birth, nor real death. It is the mind which creates and maintains the illusion of reality in this process, till it is destroyed by Self-realisation.” ~ Ramana Maharshi However, if pressed enough, Ramana Maharshi would relent and give his followers the “game” information that they were seeking. In replying, he would say that if one imagined that the individual self was real, then that imaginary self would persist after death and that eventually it would identify with a new body and a new life. The whole process, he said, was sustained by the tendency of the mind to identify itself with a body. Once this limiting illusion of mind was transcended and one remembered one’s true existence, then identification with the body would cease, and all theories about death and reincarnation would be inapplicable. |
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London High-Rise Apartment Fire 
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Addendum — Astral and Causal Worlds (June 2017)
“This world has a lot of limitations and the astral world has none ... this drama of mortal limitations, whatever be its minor variations, is playing itself out in your life; and still you cling to this world as most desirable. It is not.” ~ P. Yogananda The horrendous fire earlier this month that occurred in a high-rise apartment building in London was a reminder of just how precarious our existence is in this world. At any moment an accident or a sudden illness can bring an end to the body-form that you are occupying on this physical plane. Many of the 79 people who died in London had the horrific experience of being trapped for hours on the upper floors of the burning building, waiting for the fire to arrive and take their lives. For those dealing with the devastation during the aftermath, it was highly traumatic. In the column on the left are extracts from various news reports regarding this catastrophic event. Such an occurrence causes one to question the nature of the physical world and why such suffering exists. This topic was addressed in the website section on Why is There Suffering? However, in silent reflection on the event in London, some additional thoughts come to mind in relation to the Astral and Causal Worlds posting above, as follows;
"Ye are gods" ~Jesus of Nazareth “You are all gods, if you only knew it” ~ P. Yogananda
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(footnote 1) As mentioned in the main posting on the Astral and Causal Worlds, the physical region of the VR game of creation is contained within the much larger astral region. The separation between the two is based on the rate of vibration of the corresponding structures and forms of light; i.e. the dense, gross vibrations of the Physical versus the much higher and finer vibrations of the Astral. The highest astral beings can choose to lower their vibrations into physical forms and thence into the corresponding physical worlds.
(footnote 2) "The games will become indistinguishable from reality" ~ Elon Musk (founder of SpaceX and co-founder of Tesla Motors, speaking about the advance of virtual reality game technology, June 2016)
Imagine you are playing a VR war game in which your character is a foot soldier on a mission to liberate a town from a dreaded enemy. You put on the VR headset and assume the role of your character. You and your team of soldiers are going house to house to gradually gain control of the town. It is a fun game – but quite realistic. You get scared sometimes when an enemy soldier jumps out at you from around the corner, but you quickly recover and laugh because you know it is only a game. The character you are playing is not real – just a projection of light from your VR headset that impinges on your consciousness. As the game progresses, the enemy soldiers are becoming more and more frightful when they try to ambush you and your team as you continue into the town. You are getting more and more tense. The game seems more and more real. It’s not as fun as it was earlier. You are concentrating as hard as you can on the game in order to prevent the enemy soldiers from shooting you. Fear starts to mount. The game is becoming all-consuming in your mind as you begin to forget that it is only a game. Your soldier character is real. It has become you. The fear is real. Suddenly an enemy soldier jumps out of a doorway and starts firing at you. You feel the bullets as they burst into your body. The burning pain is excruciating. The enemy soldier is lifting his weapon to shoot again. You are desperate to escape but there is no way out. You shout out in pain and fear and anguish.
Suddenly everything goes black and there is no more pain. What has happened? Have you died? The bewilderment lasts a few seconds and suddenly you feel something coming off your head. It is your VR headset. It is being removed by a friend of yours who was in the next room when he heard your shouts. He has put the VR game on "pause." Suddenly you remember everything – you were just playing a game. The soldier is not you. It was just a character in a game. You are the player existing outside of the VR game. Your feeling of relief and joy is almost uncontainable.
It is just like that. These human body-forms are not real – they are projections of light energy, just as modern science says. Everything appears real, including all our surroundings, but they are not real either – just projections of light energy. The cosmic hypnosis of maya and avidya make the unreal seem real to our senses and to the mind-processor that comes with the human body-form as we play within this VR reality game of creation. But if we are able to put this game of humans playing in the universe on “pause,” then everything would stop. Everything would go black. For a few seconds, we might not know what is happening. And then, the glorious realization would come that we have only been playing a game and that our real selves are imperishable forms of infinite light and endless bliss. We are the gods existing outside of the game. The feeling of relief and joy would be almost uncontainable.
We must learn how to find the “pause” button that exists in the silent stillness deep within the recesses of our consciousness. Then all suffering would disappear because you would now know that the “soldier” is not real. You would realize that the soldier is just a play character within a game. It cannot cause you pain if you remember that you are the player outside of the game. You were just pretending to be the soldier. It has no reality. A fantasy character in a fantasy game cannot hurt you. But if you once again forget that you are the player outside the game and once again think that the game is real, everything changes. The soldier appears real again. Pain and suffering return.
(footnote 3) Much more is covered on the role of silence, stillness and meditation in the website section, The Path to Awakening.
(footnote 2) "The games will become indistinguishable from reality" ~ Elon Musk (founder of SpaceX and co-founder of Tesla Motors, speaking about the advance of virtual reality game technology, June 2016)
Imagine you are playing a VR war game in which your character is a foot soldier on a mission to liberate a town from a dreaded enemy. You put on the VR headset and assume the role of your character. You and your team of soldiers are going house to house to gradually gain control of the town. It is a fun game – but quite realistic. You get scared sometimes when an enemy soldier jumps out at you from around the corner, but you quickly recover and laugh because you know it is only a game. The character you are playing is not real – just a projection of light from your VR headset that impinges on your consciousness. As the game progresses, the enemy soldiers are becoming more and more frightful when they try to ambush you and your team as you continue into the town. You are getting more and more tense. The game seems more and more real. It’s not as fun as it was earlier. You are concentrating as hard as you can on the game in order to prevent the enemy soldiers from shooting you. Fear starts to mount. The game is becoming all-consuming in your mind as you begin to forget that it is only a game. Your soldier character is real. It has become you. The fear is real. Suddenly an enemy soldier jumps out of a doorway and starts firing at you. You feel the bullets as they burst into your body. The burning pain is excruciating. The enemy soldier is lifting his weapon to shoot again. You are desperate to escape but there is no way out. You shout out in pain and fear and anguish.
Suddenly everything goes black and there is no more pain. What has happened? Have you died? The bewilderment lasts a few seconds and suddenly you feel something coming off your head. It is your VR headset. It is being removed by a friend of yours who was in the next room when he heard your shouts. He has put the VR game on "pause." Suddenly you remember everything – you were just playing a game. The soldier is not you. It was just a character in a game. You are the player existing outside of the VR game. Your feeling of relief and joy is almost uncontainable.
It is just like that. These human body-forms are not real – they are projections of light energy, just as modern science says. Everything appears real, including all our surroundings, but they are not real either – just projections of light energy. The cosmic hypnosis of maya and avidya make the unreal seem real to our senses and to the mind-processor that comes with the human body-form as we play within this VR reality game of creation. But if we are able to put this game of humans playing in the universe on “pause,” then everything would stop. Everything would go black. For a few seconds, we might not know what is happening. And then, the glorious realization would come that we have only been playing a game and that our real selves are imperishable forms of infinite light and endless bliss. We are the gods existing outside of the game. The feeling of relief and joy would be almost uncontainable.
We must learn how to find the “pause” button that exists in the silent stillness deep within the recesses of our consciousness. Then all suffering would disappear because you would now know that the “soldier” is not real. You would realize that the soldier is just a play character within a game. It cannot cause you pain if you remember that you are the player outside of the game. You were just pretending to be the soldier. It has no reality. A fantasy character in a fantasy game cannot hurt you. But if you once again forget that you are the player outside the game and once again think that the game is real, everything changes. The soldier appears real again. Pain and suffering return.
(footnote 3) Much more is covered on the role of silence, stillness and meditation in the website section, The Path to Awakening.
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The Probabilistic Universe (September 2017)
Note - some of this material has been covered in the main website. Some of it is new. This topic may be easier to grasp with a second look and a different perspective.
Schrödinger’s wave equation changed everything. Derived by Erwin Schrödinger in 1925, it formed the basis of his winning the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1933.
This equation and related quantum mechanics discoveries ushered in The Probabilistic Universe and unfolded a fascinating view of how our lives play out within this Virtual Reality game of creation that we find ourselves in.
The pioneering quantum physicists of the twentieth century uncovered a world they had not expected. Many of them, including Schrödinger, had great difficulty in dealing with the implications of their work. Schrödinger is quoted as saying, “I don't like it [quantum mechanics], and I'm sorry I ever had anything to do with it.”
But today, almost a century later, all but a few in the world of science have come to accept that we live in a Probabilistic Universe; a world that the mystics have known all along.
Note - some of this material has been covered in the main website. Some of it is new. This topic may be easier to grasp with a second look and a different perspective.
Schrödinger’s wave equation changed everything. Derived by Erwin Schrödinger in 1925, it formed the basis of his winning the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1933.
This equation and related quantum mechanics discoveries ushered in The Probabilistic Universe and unfolded a fascinating view of how our lives play out within this Virtual Reality game of creation that we find ourselves in.
The pioneering quantum physicists of the twentieth century uncovered a world they had not expected. Many of them, including Schrödinger, had great difficulty in dealing with the implications of their work. Schrödinger is quoted as saying, “I don't like it [quantum mechanics], and I'm sorry I ever had anything to do with it.”
But today, almost a century later, all but a few in the world of science have come to accept that we live in a Probabilistic Universe; a world that the mystics have known all along.
Erwin Schrödinger
(footnote 1) Although we each live in our own individualized world, all of these worlds are contained within the master world of Spirit within creation, i.e. Ishvara. 
(footnote 2) What is being referred to here as a “roadmap” is perhaps better described as a 3-D holographic movie projection that contains the complete story of our most probable life as predicted from the point of our most recent free will choice. In fact, this “movie” projects not only this life, but also all of our most probable future lives from that point in time. Most humans, using the more common lower consciousness of their ego-mind, cannot “see” these movie projections. However, one who has re-awakened their higher consciousness can. The term “roadmap” is being used as it is succinct and may be easier to follow within the frame of reference of the main text. 
(footnote 3) Everything we do is ultimately based on our own free will. Predestination is a result of poor free will choices made over many previous lifetimes that went against the laws built into this virtual game of creation. Play against the rules and life can be miserable. By making good choices with the few they have left, those in this situation can increase their quota of free will choices and improve their life experience. It takes time and perseverance. The results of their efforts may not be felt until their next lifetime. For those who blame their circumstances on others, on bad luck or on an unfair universe, their resentment will continue to hold them back until they finally realise the true nature of this world. It is not easy; the time delay in karma usually masks the correlation between cause and effect. 
(footnote 4) An excellent example of this was mentioned in the Destiny and Free Will section of the website and is repeated here. The great mystic Paramahansa Yogananda has written the following, regarding the relationship of Jesus with his disciple, Judas: Quotes on Free Will and Determinism/Destiny |
It looks something like this. Until an observer looks at it, matter resides in a fuzzy state of unmanifested non-existence, like background waves of possibilities with associated probabilities of manifestation. Once observed, matter will come into being and appear as solid forms but will actually be waves of manifested light frozen into these forms and structures. The likely form in which the frozen light will appear follows a probability distribution that is defined by Schrödinger’s wave equation. When an act of observation (or consciousness, as we shall mention shortly) brings an object into “existence” in a particular form, it is referred to as “collapsing the wave equation” by choosing a value from the probability distribution.
The probabilistic nature of matter means that while there is a most-likely shape that matter will manifest as, there is always at least a small chance of matter manifesting in any form, or a small chance of anything occurring. In recent years, some scientists have suggested that “consciousness” is the true creator of matter. In this hypothesis, consciousness replaces what had previously been considered the role of the “observer.” Having said that, many in the scientific community still have a hard time dealing with something that is non-material, e.g. consciousness. There is, however, no doubt that mystics would affirm that consciousness is indeed the true means by which matter is brought into manifestation. When any object is not in your conscious awareness, it is in an unmanifested, potential state, as far as your world is concerned. The object may well be manifested in the world of other conscious beings, should they be aware of that object. “There is no Madras for you while you live in Allahabad, and there is no Allahabad for you while you live in Madras.” ~ Sivananda Our Personalized World of Probability So what does all of this have to do with how we play out our lives in this Virtual Reality game of creation that we find ourselves in? Well, our lives follow a similar pattern. Each of us plays out our lives in our own personalized VR game of creation. There is a master VR game that encompasses all of the countless individualized games and provides a “background” universe. (footnote 1). Each individualized game can overlap with those of others for a time; key people in our lives have a significant overlap while acquaintances have a smaller overlap. These overlaps occur for only portions of our lives, i.e. people come and go. The people in our lives are not there through mere chance but have some karmic connection, be in minor or major. Those people who have a significant overlap in our lives may share a common “local” portion of the master universe and may share many common experiences, but they each are still playing in their own distinct, personal VR game. Even close family members (who share a common environment) have experiences and aptitudes that can be vastly different from one another, e.g. health, friends, interests, intellectual abilities, etc.
Within each of our own personalized VR games, we find ourselves in a particular environment that is a manifestation of a small portion of the overall universe of light structures. The nature of this particular manifestation and our current life experiences are directly correlated to our karma and our free will choices up to that point in time. What lies ahead in our lives and our local experience of the universe exist in a fuzzy state of unmanifested non-existence; roadmaps of possibilities with associated probabilities of manifestation. This “probability cloud” contains all the possible manifestations of the roadmaps of our lives going forward, each with an associated probability of being the one that is played out. The specific roadmap that actually plays out depends on our next free will choice. Each time a free will choice is made, a new life and local universe roadmap is unfolded from the many potential ones that existed in their unmanifested states (footnote 2). Some of our free will decisions are minor, some major; sometimes we have many each day, sometimes only a few. Some decisions lead to minor karmic impacts to our life experience, some major; some have an immediate karmic impact, most are time-delayed. The probabilities of choosing one option over another are based on a number of factors, e.g. our desires, our life experiences to that point, our current environment, etc. Based on these factors, a most probable choice can be identified, with all other choices having lower probabilities of being selected. So, as we occupy these body-forms and play the game of creation within our own personalized VR local universe environments, we step from one life roadmap to the next each time we make a free will choice. If the decision being made is quite minor (e.g. am I going to eat an apple or potato chips for a snack every day?) the next roadmap will look similar to the previous one (perhaps with a small difference in the length of this life). If the free will choice is a significant one (e.g. am I going to go to university, go volunteer in Africa, travel the world for a year, take a non-university job?) the revised roadmap will likely look quite different, not only for this life but also as the roadmap stretches out over many lives. Each updated projected life roadmap is created assuming that every time we make a decision going forward, we make the most probable one. If, at some point, we make a choice that is not our most probable one and if that decision is a major one, our projected roadmap will change appreciably. An exception to the above relates to those few who are carrying very heavy negative karma from their past lives and have thus foregone much (perhaps all) of their free will choices (as outlined in the Destiny and Free Will section of the website). For such individuals, their experience of the universe is, for a time, predestined and deterministic. (footnote 3) If one integrates all of the projected roadmaps from all of the individuals within the overall master universe, then a composite view of how the universe will most probably unfold can be created. From this composite view, projected roadmap views of how different karmically connected groups' roadmaps will most probably play out can also be constructed, e.g. for individual countries, planet earth, etc. Such is the source of prophesies that have been made by the mystics at various times, particularly when the group or planetary roadmap looks grim. It is then that the mystics implore that enough individuals change their most probable upcoming choices to better ones and thereby mitigate the impending disaster. Neither the mystics nor Spirit know how the players are going to play the game. That is one of the main sources of entertainment. If everything is preordained, there would not be much fun watching or playing the game. A Story Imagine there is high school graduate by the name of Ethan. Ethan has considerable intelligence, lives with a prosperous family in a peaceful country and is trying to decide his future. As mentioned, our lives are a complex mix of free will choices and karmic influences, with the ratio between the two determined by how well we have made free will choices in the past (including past lifetimes). The fact that Ethan finds himself in a prosperous family in a peaceful country with good intelligence is a reflection of good karma that he has accrued from the past. Let’s say that Ethan now finds himself with a list of choices going forward; he can (1) enter university in a field consistent with his interests and abilities, (2) enter university in a field that offers a more lucrative career but is of less interest, (3) travel the world for a year and then decide what he wants to do with his life, or (4) join a friend who is enlisting in a foreign military operation. For those who find themselves with choices in their current life, there is usually one selection that is most likely to be favoured; each of us is strongly influenced by a variety of factors as mentioned earlier. One might deduce that our “free will” choices are not really free but are based on a mindset that has been developed from the past as well as our current environment. However, when we find ourselves with choices, we in fact do have free will to decide. While we are strongly influenced by our past experiences, current desires and environmental conditions, each of us is still ultimately free to choose. In other words, we can choose not to be influenced by any factors and make what we believe to be the right choice, not necessarily the one that we want. That is our true freedom. The most probable choices that we make in life usually represent “the path of least resistance,” i.e. we follow our influences. Greatness can often be traced to decisions and choices that individuals made that overcame influences and desires, i.e. the right choice was made, not necessarily the choice one wanted or found the easiest to make. Back to Ethan. Let’s say that Ethan’s “most probable” choice is to join the foreign military operation – not the decision that you may have thought. The reason that option is most probable is due to a past life war experience that took place in that foreign land – an experience that he shared with his friend of this lifetime. The subconscious memory of this experience is strongly influencing Ethan to return to this foreign war zone. Note that while Ethan is most likely to follow that influence, he is still free to choose one of his other options. If his karma was such that he had to go to the foreign war zone, he would probably have been born there. Ethan’s “most probable” life can be predicted and laid out before him like a movie reel (although he does not see the movie). It is a most probable life story, not a definite life story, because it depends on future choices that he will make as well as possibly some “group karma” that he is carrying from the past that depends on decisions made by that group (be it war comrades from the past or whatever). Given the propensities that Ethan has as an individual (as well as the propensities of any karmic group that he is associated with), it is possible to predict what these future choices will most likely be and then the “movie” of his most probable life made. This movie of Ethan’s life story may not turn out so well given his choice of engaging in a war in a foreign land. If it is a war of terror, he is likely to accrue a mass of bad karma that may result in an untimely death and much carry-over misery into his next life. Or, perhaps things turn out much differently. Perhaps at some point the suffering that Ethan experiences or witnesses is so intense that he decides to forsake the life he has chosen. Perhaps he subsequently saves the lives of some participants on one or both sides of the conflict. Perhaps he dies doing so. Ethan’s karma going into the astral world as well as his karma in his next physical life will be dramatically better. If Ethan makes a different choice from his list coming out of high school, the movie of his life would be quite different. For example, if he goes to university in a field of his liking, he may graduate, get a job that he likes, marry and raise a family. A “normal” life. One that does not have a lot a drama to it. One that provides him the opportunity to learn some life lessons that he will carry into his next life. If he chooses to go to university in a field of less interest to him, but offers a more lucrative career, his life may be similar to the above, except that he does not enjoy his work nearly as much. A major life lesson might be that personal happiness and fulfillment are more important than the amassing of money and he will carry that lesson into his next life. If Ethan chooses to travel the world for a year, perhaps at some point he finds himself wandering in the foothills of the Himalayas. Perhaps he finds himself strongly attracted to visit a particular town in which he comes across a stranger who he somehow recognizes. He is drawn to this person like a magnet. Perhaps it turns out that the stranger is a mystic and a spiritual teacher. As they talk, an area of Ethan’s subconscious memory is activated and he recognizes the stranger as a spiritual teacher from a former life. Both teacher and student have returned to the physical plane at the same time, but not by serendipity. The mystic has voluntarily returned to the earth and has quietly sent out vibrations to his former students living around the world. Many find themselves travelling to him. Ethan is overjoyed as distant memories of a past life spend in spiritual pursuits flash before his conscious mind. He chooses to stay with this mystic teacher and spends many years practicing meditation and other spiritual disciplines. Continuing where he had left off in that previous life, he makes great advances towards his ultimate enlightenment. Note - Ethan’s most recent past life was one spent fighting a war in a foreign country. His life of spiritual development had been prior to that. Ethan was being strongly influenced to repeat this life of war and it represented his “most probable” choice. By opting to overcome this propensity to go to the foreign war zone, Ethan was granted the good karma of being attracted to renew an earlier lifetime of spiritual growth. Some Thoughts on Modern Science Today, all but a few scientists have accepted the implications of the quantum mechanics revolution, i.e. we live in a Probabilistic Universe, not a fixed, deterministic one. It was not always this way. And some physicists still cling to determinism, buoyed by theories that may support their view. Following the discovery of the classical laws of physics in the seventeenth century, most scientists believed we lived in a deterministic universe, i.e. one in which all events are predestined and inevitable. Such a view leaves no room for free will and purports that each of our lives is run entirely by fate and destiny. It suggests that even when we appear to be making free will choices, those choices have already been predestined and the choice process is merely a charade. The scientific background that led to such views came out of the Newtonian view of the clockwork universe. Scientists, like Pierre-Simon LaPlace, postulated that if all the laws of nature could be known, then in principle it would be possible to compute all future actions. “We may regard the present state of the universe as the effect of its past and the cause of its future. An intellect which at a certain moment would know all forces that set nature in motion, and all positions of all items of which nature is composed, if this intellect were also vast enough to submit these data to analysis, it would embrace in a single formula the movements of the greatest bodies of the universe and those of the tiniest atom; for such an intellect nothing would be uncertain and the future just like the past would be present before its eyes.” ~ Pierre Simon Laplace, from A Philosophical Essay on Probabilities As mentioned, the advent of quantum theory largely supplanted this concept of determinism. “It is impossible to trap modern physics into predicting anything with perfect determinism because it deals with probabilities from the outset” ~ Arthur Eddington, highly regarded astronomer, physicist, and mathematician, 1882 – 1944 “Thus, the future of the universe is not completely determined by the laws of science and its present state, as Laplace thought.” ~ Stephen Hawking, world renowned physicist and cosmologist However, determinism retained support among some physicists based on the concept of the “block universe” (which extrapolates from Einstein’s model of the four-dimensional time-space continuum) in which everything that has ever happened in the past and will ever happen in the future is laid out frozen in time before us. In such a block universe, the world and all things in it can be pictured like frames in a celluloid film (or movie reel or DVD). Once the movie is made, all the action from the beginning to the end is captured on the film. The story is complete and nothing can change. As one views the movie, it appears that there is a past and a present and a future unfolding, but in reality the complete story has already been captured. Like the frames in the celluloid film, the past, present, and future already exist and each observer’s “now” travels along the film to create his particular experience of time. Not surprisingly, such a view is not supported by all; “And if I am going to be told that my idea that I make choices, take action, interfere, possibly change the future, is all an illusion, then I shall want to know how this block universe, this frozen history, came into existence, who colored it, and what is the point of this vast, idiotic conjuring trick.” ~ J.B. Priestley, from the book, Man and Time (1964) For those supporting determinism, an extension of the concept was proposed based on chaos theory, possibly as a means to make determinism more palatable to its critics by allowing the possibility that small chance events could offer significant variations in future outcomes. Proponents of this view suggest that chaos theory takes a predictable universe with its predestined lives and introduces an element to give at least the appearance of an unpredictable world. This theory, sometimes called “the butterfly effect,” suggests that a small change in the state of a deterministic nonlinear system can result in large differences later. As an example of this effect, the movie Sliding Doors (1998) is sometimes referenced. In that movie, the main character (played by Gwyneth Paltrow) rushes to catch a train as the doors are closing, and the movie shows the very different ways her life plays out in a world in which she makes the train and one in which she misses it, a kind of chance event resulting in wide-spread ramifications. As well, determinism found support in a theory proposed in 1954 by Hugh Everett, i.e. the “multiverse” or “many worlds” concept. This theory suggests that Schrödinger’s wave equation never “collapses” into a single outcome, but that all possible outcomes are materialized in separate universes. Those supporting determinism saw this concept as a means to reconcile the probabilistic world of quantum physics with the fixed world of determinism by suggesting that each of us live in many different universes. When each of us faces a decision, the multiverse theory can be interpreted as suggesting that instead of just one outcome being chosen, all of the possible outcomes are chosen and the future roadmaps for each are carried forward in separate, parallel universes. Under this interpretation, free will choices get lost because every choice available to us finds a deterministic universe to play in. Of course, the number of universes grows exponentially since every decision point in each of the universes spawns yet another set of new universes, etc., etc. One could say the number of universes becomes astronomical (pun intended; a little humour may help here). Perhaps surprisingly, a number of physicists, including some foremost ones, support the multiverse theory. So, how do we reconcile all these different views from science? Let’s go back and have another look;
And who has this vast intellectual capability referred to above? Anyone who has recovered his higher god-nature. Many mystics can look at an individual and predict how that person’s life will play out. But it is only a prediction. As such, that is why spiritual teachers often try to influence their followers to change certain ways. They can see how the follower’s life (and future lives, as needed) will improve by correcting a certain character flaw and making better choices going forward. (footnote 4)
Note that scientists may support the idea of the multiverse (as does Stephen Hawking) and still not believe in determinism. “I have noticed even people who claim everything is predestined, and that we can do nothing to change it, look before they cross the road.” ~ Stephen Hawking, world renowned physicist and cosmologist Summary We live in a Probabilistic Universe. A fascinating model of the universe can be developed, one which is in tune with the latest findings of quantum physics regarding the role of human consciousness on the unfolding of the universe. In brief, based on our individual past actions, abilities, current mindsets and various other factors, it is possible to predict with a certain probability how each of us will respond to an upcoming free will choice in our lives. Based on making that choice, the universe will look a little different going forward that it would have looked had we made a different choice, due to the altering of upcoming karmic events as well as due to our mind’s influence on cosmic evolvement. The same process happens for each ensuing free will choice that we make in our lives. The universe that each one of us experiences is unique and is in part a result of the individual choices that we each make in our lives. Because each of these choices cannot be predicted with certainty, the unfolding universe for each of us becomes a complex probabilistic model. The actual choices that we make as we move through life are the final determiner. If the probabilistic models for others are combined with our own, an elaborate probability distribution map can be developed that shows how the universe will most likely unfold over time for such a group. The groups could be, for example, citizens in a particular community, or country, or perhaps the whole planet. As such, most probable life paths as well as most probable regional and planetary evolutions can be predicted. “… the karmic law of cause and effect projects into the ether vibratory potentials of future events that are a probable outcome, or effect, of previously initiated causes. Future events forming in the ether from causes originated by human actions are not always inevitable; they evolve and can change dramatically according to the transmuting power of man’s free-will actions integrating into those karmic vibrations.” ~ P. Yogananda In the column on the left are some more quotes on free will and determinism/destiny - some taken from the main website, some new. |
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The Story of Issa (December 2017)
The following is based on the words of both mystics and scholars. A modicum of poetic licence has been employed in order to synthesize this information and present it in a story format.
"Whenever virtue declines and vice predominates, I incarnate as an Avatar. In visible form I send Myself forth age after age to protect the virtuous and to destroy evildoing in order to re-establish righteousness." ~ Bhagavad Gita
In a small village of a few hundred people, a young boy is beginning to acquire the skills of a tradesman as he helps his father in his work. The village, one of many that dot the mostly arid countryside, is in a local stretch of hilly farmland. Most of the inhabitants work the land.
A precocious child with a strong will and an independent spirit, the child is often a handful for his parents to manage and keep track of. In school, the young lad learns to speak his native language as well as the language of the scriptures he is being taught. He shows an interest in understanding the deeper meaning of the scriptural texts he is learning; on the few occasions that he travels with his parents to the main city in the region, he uses the opportunity to seek out the religious authorities to try to acquire the answers to the many questions that fill his mind.
The following is based on the words of both mystics and scholars. A modicum of poetic licence has been employed in order to synthesize this information and present it in a story format.
"Whenever virtue declines and vice predominates, I incarnate as an Avatar. In visible form I send Myself forth age after age to protect the virtuous and to destroy evildoing in order to re-establish righteousness." ~ Bhagavad Gita
In a small village of a few hundred people, a young boy is beginning to acquire the skills of a tradesman as he helps his father in his work. The village, one of many that dot the mostly arid countryside, is in a local stretch of hilly farmland. Most of the inhabitants work the land.
A precocious child with a strong will and an independent spirit, the child is often a handful for his parents to manage and keep track of. In school, the young lad learns to speak his native language as well as the language of the scriptures he is being taught. He shows an interest in understanding the deeper meaning of the scriptural texts he is learning; on the few occasions that he travels with his parents to the main city in the region, he uses the opportunity to seek out the religious authorities to try to acquire the answers to the many questions that fill his mind.
Jagannath, Puri
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As he approaches the age of thirteen, the desire to seek out the deeper meaning of life is all consuming. An entirely human yet highly advanced being, he has an internal drive to find and experience the highest truths and wisdom. Those in his native land do not seem to have what he is looking for. He must seek his answers and realization elsewhere. He hears stories of the mystics of the East brought back by the travelling merchants who have been there. He intuitively knows that it is there he must go. Once he reaches the age of thirteen, based on the local tradition, he will be expected to marry. It is time to go.
He lives in a much earlier time than today. No airplanes. No cars. To get to the mystical lands of the East from where he lives requires many, many long months of travel along the same route that the merchants use; the Silk Road. With the blessing of his parents, who realize that his quest needs an opportunity to find fulfillment, he joins a Silk Road merchant caravan travelling by camels and mules through the difficult mountainous and desert terrain that leads to the mystery realms of the East. After close to a year of travel, the caravan passes through Northern India. It is there that the young boy leaves the caravan and begins his search. Arriving at the age of fourteen, the young lad spends six years in various locations. He stays for some time in the caves along the Ganges River up-river from Rishikesh, the abode of ancient sages and yoga masters. Here he learns the science of yoga and engages in the highest mystical yogic practices and meditation. After a time, he continues south into Benares, the spiritual heart of India and the major center of Vedic learning where he undertakes intense studies of the spiritual texts of Sanatana Dharma, especially the Upanishads and the Bhagavad Gita. Continuing south, the young lad settles in Jagannath, an ancient and sacred pilgrimage site in Puri, living for some time in the famous Govardhan Math, today a major center of the monastic order of the philosopher-saint of India known as Adi Shankaracharya. During this time, the boy perfects the synthesis of the mystical teachings of the Vedas and the Upanishads with the highest yoga philosophy. These studies combined with years of deep practice of advanced meditation techniques allow the young man, now known as Issa, to awaken the highest understandings from within the deep recesses of his inner mind. He has recovered the god-consciousness by which he becomes aware that he is an individualized extension of Spirit. This awakening of his god-nature is achieved relatively quickly as he had achieved full enlightenment in a previous lifetime, but had to “play the game” so that others could be shown the path that they could follow, thereby attaining their own awakening. He knew that the normal human consciousness that associates itself with a body is not the real self. Following his awakening, the youth spends several more years in the East teaching the eternal universal principles of Santana Dharma by which each soul can recover his true identity as a god, regardless of whichever religion (or lack of religion) that one follows. Now a young man of about twenty, Issa is loved by the common people who see him as a compassionate and caring enlightened teacher. People come from near and far to hear his remarkable wisdom. However, Issa has a fiery nature when he sees injustices, particularly those associated with false religious teachings. In Puri, he denounces caste bigotry and many of the priestly rituals, as well as the worship of many gods in idolic form rather than sole reverence for the one Spirit. Issa also violates the religious customs by defiantly giving teachings to the lower castes – the farmers, merchants and labourers. The orthodox religious priests become enraged and conspire against him. Warned by his friends, Issa leaves Puri and heads north to the Himalayan foothills in Nepal, the birthplace of Gautama Buddha. This pattern of being a calm, loving charismatic master with the common people but a fierce out-spoken critic of hypocritical and false religious teachers will be repeated more than once in his life. Issa spends the next six years in the monasteries of Nepal and Tibet, including Himis. During this time, he learns the Pali language and studies the ancient Buddhist scrolls. He is soon able to perfectly explain these sacred writings to all who will listen. And then he turns his face westward, and begins his long trek back to his homeland, teaching the masses as he travels. He is between the ages of twenty-six and twenty-eight. His voyage takes him through the Himalayan region of Kashmir where he traverses a mountain pass into the city of Ladakh. There he is joyously received by the monks and the common folk. He teaches in the monasteries and market places as well as other places where the simple people gather. After a while, it is time to move on. The Ladakis love this captivating and engaging teacher and at his departure they are very sorrowful. In Persia, Issa is embraced by the common people but once again attracts the animosity of the local religious authorities, including the Zoroastrian priesthood, when he challenges their false doctrines. The Zoroastrian priests seize him but he escapes unharmed. |
Ladakh (in the valley), Kashmir
Travels in India
Finally, he arrives back in his native land. He is about thirty years old. His trip to India has converted a young seeking soul into a god-realized master. He has experienced the highest spiritual wisdom of the mysterious East; including the teachings of mystical Hinduism; the Vedas including the Upanishads; the Bhagavad Gita; and the teachings of Gautama Buddha (who had lived in India just 500 years prior). He has mastered the eternal principles of Sanatana Dharma, the universal spiritual teachings. And, through intense meditation, he has become a yoga adept, mastering the highest esoteric principles of the science of yoga (union with God), and is now capable of manipulating the condensed light forms that make up this virtual world and these body-forms that we occupy in ways that are well-known to yoga masters but that appear miraculous to common people.
From the clear vision of his awakened god-consciousness, Issa can “see” the roadmap of his upcoming years spread out like a movie in time and space before him. The roadmap is clear. He has a mission to perform. He sees that many will embrace his teachings (including those who have been with him in former lives). He sees that many will reject his teachings (including the “high priests” of the established orthodox religions of his time). His roadmap, like that for each of us, is not pre-destined, but depends on choices that Issa will make as well as choices that key players that he will encounter will make. It is a most probable road map that reflects most likely choices (more on this below).
And so he starts his mission, which is to teach the eternal, universal principles of spiritual life to the masses. Given that the general level of awareness is much lower than today, partially due to the low level of scientific understanding of the virtual world these body-forms are playing in, Issa can only use high level concepts and parables. The relatively “dense earth environment” of the times weighs heavily on the consciousness of most of those around him. However, for the advanced disciples whom he has taught over many lifetimes, he is able to teach the advanced yogic principles of meditation that will greatly hasten their attainment of enlightenment. These disciples of former lifetimes intuitively recognize their master instantly when they meet him and drop everything to follow him.
For three to four years, Issa teaches in the hills near the small communities and towns in the region he grew up in, during which time he occasionally heals the sick and performs what the people consider miracles. He is revered by the common folk everywhere.
However, Issa’s fiery nature with religious authorities who teach false doctrines is becoming well-known in the region. Issa is outspoken in denouncing these teachers who approach religion like a business and who have no higher understanding than normal people, but who try to control the people. Issa relentlessly challenges their hypocrisy. Needless to say, Issa is not popular with these religious authorities. Eventually, they conspire against him and convince the governing forces to arrest him and have him killed.
As an enlightened being, Issa knows that “death” merely means that the body-form of condensed light that he occupies in the physical level of the virtual reality game of creation will no longer be functional. He knows that his real self is the god that exists outside of the VR game. Part of his mission is to attempt to show mortal man, i.e. those believing that their body-forms are their real selves, that there is a higher understanding that will free them from their bondage to the physical body-form. As such, Issa re-creates his body-form from light energy after his “death” and re-enters the physical level of the virtual creation game. He shows his “resurrected” body-form to many of his close disciples and others.
However, Issa’s fiery nature with religious authorities who teach false doctrines is becoming well-known in the region. Issa is outspoken in denouncing these teachers who approach religion like a business and who have no higher understanding than normal people, but who try to control the people. Issa relentlessly challenges their hypocrisy. Needless to say, Issa is not popular with these religious authorities. Eventually, they conspire against him and convince the governing forces to arrest him and have him killed.
As an enlightened being, Issa knows that “death” merely means that the body-form of condensed light that he occupies in the physical level of the virtual reality game of creation will no longer be functional. He knows that his real self is the god that exists outside of the VR game. Part of his mission is to attempt to show mortal man, i.e. those believing that their body-forms are their real selves, that there is a higher understanding that will free them from their bondage to the physical body-form. As such, Issa re-creates his body-form from light energy after his “death” and re-enters the physical level of the virtual creation game. He shows his “resurrected” body-form to many of his close disciples and others.
Shortly after the “death” of Issa, his closest disciples are blessed with a flood of higher understanding that is a direct result of Issa’s taking on much of their karma through his voluntary “death.” As such, Issa hopes that they will further grow in their understanding of his teachings and the true nature of this virtual world. Issa asks that his disciples spread the word of this teachings and his mastery over the physical body form. And so they do, as best their increased understanding will allow.
In so doing, Issa is trying to promote the eternal principles of Sanatana Dharma, the universal spiritual principles that he had learned in India, and make them available to the common masses. Instead, his followers promote Issa the individual, as they are in awe of this great being. They make it appear as if he is a unique incarnation – exactly the opposite of what Issa is trying to teach.
His message is that all people can achieve the same enlightenment that he had achieved, by following a spiritual path similar to the one that he followed while in India. However, most of the disciples do not fully grasp his teachings, and so cannot effectively expound on them.
The net result is the creation of a new religion that heralds Issa as a unique being. At first, the prevailing Roman Empire of the time persecutes the followers of this new religion. Later, the Romans decide to adopt the new religion as their own. They make it their state religion. In doing so, they further desecrate the original teachings of Issa (more on this below).
In so doing, Issa is trying to promote the eternal principles of Sanatana Dharma, the universal spiritual principles that he had learned in India, and make them available to the common masses. Instead, his followers promote Issa the individual, as they are in awe of this great being. They make it appear as if he is a unique incarnation – exactly the opposite of what Issa is trying to teach.
His message is that all people can achieve the same enlightenment that he had achieved, by following a spiritual path similar to the one that he followed while in India. However, most of the disciples do not fully grasp his teachings, and so cannot effectively expound on them.
The net result is the creation of a new religion that heralds Issa as a unique being. At first, the prevailing Roman Empire of the time persecutes the followers of this new religion. Later, the Romans decide to adopt the new religion as their own. They make it their state religion. In doing so, they further desecrate the original teachings of Issa (more on this below).
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Addendum
The above story is, of course, the story of Jesus of Nazareth. I have chosen to use the name by which he was known in India, i.e. Issa (or Isa, Isha, Saint Issa, Essa and other variations). I have purposely avoided the name “Jesus” because when one hears that name, a flood of preconceived images most likely come to mind, most of which are probably inaccurate.
The word “Jesus” is similar to the word “God.” Because so much has been erroneously written about these two words, perhaps using a different name will provide a view without preconceived notions.
We are reminded of the words of present day mystic Eckhart Tolle;
“The word God has become empty of meaning through thousands of years of misuse. I use it sometimes, but I do so sparingly. By misuse, I mean that people who have never even glimpsed at the realm of the sacred, the infinite vastness behind that word, use it with great conviction, as if they knew what they are talking about. Or, they argue against it, as if they knew what it is that they are denying. This misuse gives rise to absurd beliefs, assertions, and egoic delusions, such as ‘My or our God is the only true God, and your God is false.’”
With the exception of quotations by others, the rest of this posting will continue to use the name “Issa” in reference to this enlightened mystic.
As mentioned earlier, this web post is based on the words of mystics to describe Issa’s teachings as well as the collaborative words of both mystics and scholars to detail historical information.
The word “Jesus” is similar to the word “God.” Because so much has been erroneously written about these two words, perhaps using a different name will provide a view without preconceived notions.
We are reminded of the words of present day mystic Eckhart Tolle;
“The word God has become empty of meaning through thousands of years of misuse. I use it sometimes, but I do so sparingly. By misuse, I mean that people who have never even glimpsed at the realm of the sacred, the infinite vastness behind that word, use it with great conviction, as if they knew what they are talking about. Or, they argue against it, as if they knew what it is that they are denying. This misuse gives rise to absurd beliefs, assertions, and egoic delusions, such as ‘My or our God is the only true God, and your God is false.’”
With the exception of quotations by others, the rest of this posting will continue to use the name “Issa” in reference to this enlightened mystic.
As mentioned earlier, this web post is based on the words of mystics to describe Issa’s teachings as well as the collaborative words of both mystics and scholars to detail historical information.
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Where did Issa spend most of his time upon his return to his native land? 
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In these three to four years, Issa spent most of his time preaching to the common people living in the small towns of Galilee, Samaria and Judea (in the present day country of Israel). In particular, he spent much time in the small fishing villages surrounding the Sea of Galilee. These towns and villages typically had a few hundred inhabitants each. Issa showed that his message was meant for all by preaching in both Jewish territories as well as in non-Jewish, i.e. Gentile, territories on the far side of the Sea of Galilee as well as through Samaritan territory and in the ethnically and religiously diverse region of Capernaum. Issa tried to break down the walls of separation that had been constructed as Judaism became institutionalized and the religious elite ruled from positions of power by the letter of the law. On occasion, he would travel to the largest city in the region, Jerusalem, with a population of roughly 50,000. It was in Jerusalem that his rebellious nature would be awoken when he encountered the false teachers and thoroughly chastised them. |
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Who were the major players in the region at this time? 
Romans
Pharisees, Scribes and Sadducees
Essenes
Zealots
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In the first century BCE, the Romans conquered much of the known world, including Jerusalem and all the surrounding countryside. The region became a province of the vast Roman Empire. The Romans were an occupying force under the rule of Herod the Great, who was appointed governor of Judea and ruled at the time of Issa’s birth. At the time of Issa’s death, the ruler was Herod Antipas. The Pharisees were the fundamentalists of Jewish society. Most of the Scribes (the 'theologians' of the day) were Pharisees. They meticulously followed the letter of the law as laid out in the Jewish Torah. No doubt their strict emphasis on the law regardless of all else was the cause of Issa’s scorn for them. They were probably much like the religious fundamentalists of today who blindly “follow the law” and thereby consider themselves the most religious of all. Issa constantly railed against the hypocrisy of the Pharisees, just as he would most likely have challenged the religious fundamentalists of today. Is it more important to love your fellow man unconditionally or condemn him because he does not strictly follow the law? Does that condemnation make you more religious and a better person? Or is love better? And is “the law” that is being followed the word of Spirit or, in many, many cases, the word of unenlightened authorities, and hence not worth following? Do the fundamentalists ever question the authenticity of “the law” or just blindly follow? Is it better to heal the sick on the Sabbath as Issa did or condemn Issa for not observing the law of “resting” on the Sabbath? Fundamentalists of all ages typically have a hard time embracing new knowledge and higher truths as they arise. As just one example, fundamentalists of today believe that the earth is around 8000 years old, based on a long-held interpretation of the Book of Genesis. However, today’s science has conclusively determined that the earth is at least 4.5 billion years old. In spite of such evidence, a Gallop poll taken in 2017 has found that 38% of adults in the United States still believe that the earth is less than 10,000 years old. The Sadducees were the great pragmatists of the day. As wealthy lay-nobles, priests and aristocrats, they sought to conserve their wealth and power through compromise with Rome. The Sadducees could be described as having a lesser interest in religion but they were still committed to the Jewish faith on the basis of the earlier books of the bible. But as the head of Jewish society, they were more concerned with present-day affairs than speculation on the life-to-come. It is the Sadducees who were the main opponents of Issa at the time of his trial and death. They rightly saw that Issa’s radical brand of religion threatened their power and status. One of the few things that the Sadducees and the Pharisees could agree on was that Issa was a common threat to them. The Essenes solved the problem of Jewish identity in a Roman-occupied Israel by withdrawing to a monastic-like setting. They completely opted out of mainstream Jewish society. A notable group in Issa’s time was the Qumran community who lived an ascetic life and were waiting for God's apocalyptic intervention in human history. It is unlikely that Issa had much contact with this particular group. Still, he was introduced to the ascetic option through his contact with the disciples of John the Baptist who represented a quasi-Essenic withdrawal from mainstream society. Issa’s public ministry showed his decision to engage with all members of society. The Zealots took the revolutionary option. They advocated outward violence, even armed rebellion, to rid Israel of Roman oppression. Nothing else, they figured, would bring final liberation to the Jewish people. Certainly Issa had zealots among his followers, for example 'Simon the Zealot'. Issa himself had the fire and rebellious spirit of the Zealots, but he was committed to peaceful ways to attain his goals. And the “kingdom” that Issa was promoting was one that existed outside of the virtual world. The Zealots, like most everyone else, were caught up in the kingdom of their illusory virtual world. |
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Was Issa a unique incarnation? 
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Yes and no. Yes, in the sense that every one of us is unique. As covered in the main website, each of us is a unique, individualized extension of Spirit, a unique god. Once we overcome the delusion that these body-forms are our real selves, we can leave this virtual playground and return to our native states as gods beyond creation. We can then choose to remain as such or take on the full consciousness of the one all-embracing Spirit. Yes, in the sense that Issa had already “graduated” from this virtual playground and had re-awakened to his native status as a god prior to returning as Issa. Most “graduates” are so filled with the infinite bliss consciousness of their existence beyond the virtual game of creation, they have no interest in returning. A rare few feel such compassion for those still trapped in the delusional virtual world that they voluntarily return to try to help their brothers and sisters. Those few who do so are called avatars. When an avatar returns to the virtual world, the “rules of the game” are such that they have to temporarily forget their true status and once again take on the delusion of identifying themselves with the body-form they find themselves in. However, they quickly overcome this delusion (typically as teenagers) and then spend the rest of their lives in that body-form helping mankind to awaken. No, in the sense that all of us are gods, just as Issa himself taught. No one is greater than anyone else. Some of us are living in delusion and think that our body-forms are who we are. Some have overcome this delusion and have re-attained their native status as gods. But we are all gods. All equal; and, ultimately, we are all Spirit. |
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Was Issa a god or a man? 
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Both. Issa had fully awakened to his native god state and as such was a god. A god is an individualized extension of Spirit and can become “one with the Father” at any time. When Issa referred to his god awareness, he called himself a “son of God.” A key part of his mission was to help others awaken to their own status as gods. As he said, “ye are gods." As a child, Issa thought of himself as a body but once he regained his god awareness, he knew that he was a god. However, even as a god, he was still aware that he had a body-form and that body-form occasionally “demanded” his attention. On those instances, he referred to himself as a “son of man.” Issa had a personality like all people in a body-form; his primary traits were an independent spirit, a strong will, an all-consuming love for his fellow man and a low tolerance for injustices. He had a fiery disposition when it came to denouncing the false religious teachings of his times. We see that fiery disposition in full force when he overturned the tables of the money changers outside the synagogues on a couple of occasions when he visited Jerusalem. He strongly objected to the false teaching that by following the outer rules established by temple authorities, they could literally buy their way into heaven. On another occasion when his body-form was “demanding” attention because it was hungry, Issa saw a fig tree on the road ahead and looked forward to eating figs. When he approached the tree and discovered there were no figs on it, he cursed the tree and declared that it would no longer be able to grow figs. The fig tree immediately withered and died. Even one who has full awareness of his status as a god can momentarily slide below that state of consciousness. At that point, Issa realized he had to better control his reactions and the demands of the body-form. His god status was such that by merely saying what he did, the frozen light structures responded instantly to his beaconing. As a god in form, he was able to co-create from within the virtual world. And as he told his disciples when they marvelled at the fig tree incident, everyone can be a co-creator and manipulate the structures of light from within this virtual world once they realize their true status as gods ("ye can move mountains"). |
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Who were the Magi, the Three Wise Men? 
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The connection between Issa and the East started at his birth, with the visit of the Magi, the three wise men. These individuals were mystics from India who had known that the avatar Issa was about to re-enter the virtual world in the Middle East. They also knew that Issa would return their visit years later and receive his spiritual training under their tutelage as part of the “drama” to be played out as part of Issa’s role in the virtual play. |
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Did Issa need to go to India? 
“It is of his own mystical experience that Jesus spoke, a mystical experience which transcends all doctrines and all traditions, and which is identical for Christians, Muslims, Jews, and Vedantists alike. It is an experience of absolute Unity - a Unity in which the soul merges into its Divine Source, and knows, ‘I and the Father are one.’” ~ Swami Abhayananda |
The process of re-awakening one’s true nature as a god is an evolutionary process that takes many, many lifetimes. We progress from life to life. Because Issa was a highly advanced soul who had finished this work in previous lifetimes, he was able to "re-complete" the process during the years he spent in India. He was an enlightened being who voluntarily returned to this virtual reality game of creation and occupied a body-form in order to help his fellow man. The years spent in India served a dual purpose;
The avatars come with a common message to mankind. By going to India and practicing the mystical teachings of previous avatars, e.g. Krishna and Buddha, Issa was trying to show that the eternal principles of recovering one’s god identity were common to all the higher teachings. |
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Why did Issa come? 
Francis of Assisi & Teresa of Avila
Two of many to whom Issa has appeared |
Issa came with a mission, the main elements of which included the following;
Even in modern times, Issa's resurrected form can appear to a devoted follower in a body-form of light energy that vibrates at a “physical” rate or at a higher “astral” rate. Many have seen the body-form of Issa over the two thousand years since his "death." |
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What was the connection between Issa and John the Baptist? 
Issa and John the Baptist
"Both John the Baptist and Jesus in their former incarnations as Elijah and Elisha had found complete liberation. Who Jesus was before he was born as Elisha is not important, for it was in that incarnation that he attained the supreme goal ... Elisha was perfected through Elijah, who cast on him his mantle of spiritual realization." ~ P. Yogananda |
Once we enter this virtual world, we as gods soon get caught up in the drama of this playground and forget who we really are. The cosmic hypnosis, or maya, casts its spell over us and we identify ourselves with these body-forms that we occupy. The cosmic hypnosis is so strong that we need help to see through it and regain our native status as gods. After many, many lifetimes our soul calls out for such help, and we are sent a spiritual guide (or guru) who takes on the responsibility to lead us out of the maze of this virtual world. In the lifetime that he became enlightened, Issa had been Elisha (or Eliseus) and his guru had been the great prophet Elijah (or Elias). At the end of that lifetime, Elijah transferred much of his spiritual power to Elisha, for he knew that Elisha was to return with a world mission. And so it was; Issa re-entered this virtual world as an enlightened being with a world mission. Elijah also returned at the same time to support him, in the body-form of John the Baptist. During the times of Issa, it was the custom for the young to attach themselves to a local teacher or sage. Although we know little of Issa’s early life, we do know that he chose to be a disciple of John the Baptist. Under normal circumstances, Issa would have re-gained the remembrance of his god-nature under the tutelage of his guru, John the Baptist. However, part of Issa’s mission was to show that there is really only one eternal, universal religion, so he re-gained his god-remembrance while in India, practicing meditation and learning the principles of the universal teachings under the tutelage of many sages and holy men, including the three Indian mystics that had visited him at his birth. Once Issa returned to his homeland, one of the first things he did was to visit John the Baptist and receive spiritual baptism and blessings, prior to undertaking his difficult mission. |
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Was Issa recognized as the “messiah” while on earth? 
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The direct disciples of Issa and a few others had a clear intuitive awareness that this was their spiritual guru who had been their master in many previous lives. They literally left the lives they had been living and followed him. Most of them also recognized him as the “messiah” who had been prophesied in the Jewish scriptures. However, many expected that part of the mission of the “messiah” would be to free the people from the oppression of Roman occupation. Issa was not at all concerned with the “background” of the virtual world that he found himself in – he was only concerned with helping people to ”take off their virtual reality headsets” and leave the game that they had become trapped inside. In his hometown of Nazareth, he was rejected. The townsfolk could not reconcile that the carpenter’s son that they remembered from his boyhood days had now returned after many years as the “messiah.” As well, Issa lived in a time when there were many charismatic preachers wandering the countryside teaching various ideologies. To some, he was just one of these. In most cases, the greatness of an avatar is intuitively recognized by a relatively small number during the time of their appearance in the virtual playground. It is typically many decades or centuries before that recognition comes to a larger number of people. There is a good chance that most of us would not have recognized Issa had we been there; just as most of us would not likely recognize Issa as an avatar if he were on the planet today. Avatars that have graced this planet in modern times have been recognized by relatively few; but will be known as such in the future. |
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Did Issa feel pain during his death? 
Garden of Gethsemane
"As soon as Jesus cried out ... God quickly revealed Himself and restored Jesus' divine consciousness with the realization that the suffering on the cross was a delusive mental dream with no intrinsic reality, and that he was Spirit, everlastingly untouched by suffering. |
As an enlightened being and yoga master, Issa could easily have transferred his consciousness out of the body-form and thereby not felt any body-form sensations. However, part of the purpose of his death was to take on a portion of the karma of his disciples and close followers. As such, he would have retained at least partial body-consciousness, in which he was aware of his real self as a god beyond the virtual game and at the same time be conscious of the body-form of Issa within the virtual game. The body consciousness would have felt pain but he may have managed it by holding onto his god consciousness which would not have felt pain. We know that “the plan” was that Issa take on some pain, otherwise, he would not have so fervently asked Spirit to change the plan in the Garden of Gethsemane. As well, when Issa called out towards the end of his ordeal, “My God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken me?” we know that he had temporarily lost contact with that god awareness and was fully body-conscious. The awareness of his god-consciousness returned shortly thereafter. As well, in returning to this virtual world, Issa had to voluntarily take on a body-form and the ego-consciousness that comes with it. Even though he had fully recovered his god awareness, in order to leave this virtual world behind he had to let go of, or surrender, that ego-consciousness. By agreeing to stick with the plan that he had volunteered for, he was surrendering that ego-consciousness. As such, it was likely a mix of accepting pain to benefit his close followers and going into god awareness and not feeling the body at all. |
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Did Issa survive the crucifixion? 
Saint Irenaeus
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As an enlightened being and yoga master, it would have been easy for Issa to have survived the crucifixion. Advanced yoga masters can suspend the heart and breath functions without harm for a time. By so doing, it would have appeared that Issa was “dead.” In fact, many scholars believe that Issa did just that and returned to India for a number of decades. The second century Church Father Irenaeus wrote a celebrated book entitled Against Heresies, in which he claimed Jesus lived for many decades in Asia with his disciple John and others. However, part of Issa’s mission was to take on some of the karma of his disciples and close followers. His death was a means to do so. As well, part of his mission was to demonstrate that these body-forms are not our real selves, that we are gods existing beyond this playground of the universe. By reappearing following his death in a recreated body-form, he was trying to help with such a teaching. As modern science is beginning to understand, everything in this virtual universe is light energy frozen or condensed into various forms. Our body-forms are the same (99.9999999% empty space, as detailed in The View of Modern Science section of the website). By condensing the light energy into the shape of his old body-form, the consciousness of Issa re-entered that new body-form for a time. Whether Issa “ascended into heaven” after forty days as told in the Bible or choose to take his resurrected virtual body-form and return for some time to the virtual lands of India is not of great consequence. |
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Does Satan Exist? 
Issa tempted by Satan in the desert
Buddha defeats Mara
When I was in Bombay just before returning to America, I realized that the satanic power was trying to destroy my life, to prevent me from fulfilling the mission given to me by God and my guru. I wasn't afraid, I knew God was with me and I remembered Master's promise of protection .... for a little while I sat meditating ... as I opened my eyes and looked toward the right side of the room, I saw the black form of Satan, horrible, with a catlike face and tail. It leapt on my chest, and my heart stopped beating. Mentally I said; "I am not afraid of you. I am Spirit." But still my heart wouldn't work. Suddenly I glimpsed an ochre robe, and there stood Master. He commanded Satan to leave; and as soon as he spoke, the evil figure vanished and my breath started to flow again. I cried out: "My Master!" He said, "Satan was trying to destroy you. But fear not. I am with you evermore." ~ from The Divine Romance, p378 |
The term "Satan" is commonly referred to in the West and appears in the writings of the Bible. Sometimes the word "devil" is used. In Buddhist texts, there is mention of "Mara." What do these terms mean? As noted above, when Spirit created this virtual playground, the force of maya was included to keep the game from being too easy. As Spirit entered the virtual game world as gods, i.e. the individualized extensions of Itself, and took on body-forms, maya was the force that allowed Spirit's multitudes of individualized gods to pretend that their body-forms had some reality to them, when in fact they did not. That made the game more entertaining. And to make the game even more challenging for Itself, Spirit made maya a conscious force, i.e maya could consciously devise different ways to keep the gods in delusion. As such, one could say that maya became a conscious being, as personified by the terms Satan, the devil, or Mara. So, are Satan and Mara real? They are just as real and unreal as anything in this virtual world in which everything seems real but nothing is. Everything is frozen light and appears to have intrinsic reality but nothing does. It is all a play of light, a picture show. However, while one is under the spell of the cosmic hypnosis of maya, everything appears to be real, and as such, Satan and Mara appear to be real. Satan and Mara can take on any frozen light forms that they like - usually, they choose loathsome forms but occasionally they choose appealing ones in an attempt to appear charming. If you were the conscious force of maya, i.e Satan or Mara, who would you feel most threatened by? Most likely, the major threat would come from avatars and other great spiritual beings who enter this world to help people to overcome maya. And so, indeed, Satan and Mara spend much effort to try to stop the work of such spiritual giants. We are told that Satan confronted Issa while he was meditating for 40 days in the desert and “tempted” him with worldly power if he would stop his mission. Of course, Issa saw that this world was just a “backdrop” of light energy as part of the virtual game and as such it had no reality or intrinsic value. Issa told Satan to leave. When that didn't work, Satan worked through the minds of Judas, Pilote and the Sadducees to shorten Issa's mission. The Buddha was similarly challenged. As he was about to achieve full enlightenment while in mediation under the Bodhi tree and thence begin his own world mission, Mara appeared and tried to prevent the Buddha from attaining enlightenment. But it was not to be. The Buddha saw through Mara's devious means and ultimately cried out, "I have defeated you, Mara," and indeed he had. Paramahansa Yogananda had a similar experience in that the Satanic force tried to stop him from undertaking his world mission, as described in the column on the left. In the end, Satan or Mara always loses. To a truly determined individual intent on getting out of the virtual game, no matter what maya tries, it can only delay, not stop, the inevitable. The blissful awakening to the awareness of one's immortal self comes to each of us eventually. |
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Could the roadmap of Issa’s life have been different? 
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The roadmap of Issa’s life played out according to the predicted one, the one in which all involved made their most probable choices (see previous web posting on The Probabilistic Universe for a discussion on roadmaps and most probable choices). However, things could have turned out differently. For example, the Sadducees and the Pharisees could have made higher choices. Instead of plotting against him and finally having him killed, they could have asked themselves if, perhaps, Issa was correct and that their teachings needed to be changed. Had they done so, perhaps Issa would have been able to teach for many more years and they would have saved themselves from carrying so much heavy karma into their future lives. Perhaps Judas could have made a higher choice and not betrayed his spiritual master. In doing so, it would have saved him from having to deal with much bad karma going forward. It is still probable that the Sadducees would have eventually achieved their objective of eliminating Issa, but perhaps Issa would have had more time to teach. Perhaps the Roman governor Pontius Pilate of Judea, who presided over the trial of Issa, could have refused to allow Issa to be killed. Perhaps when Pilate offered the mob the choice to free the insurrectionary Barabbas or Issa, the mob could have chosen Issa. Issa himself could have made the decision to avoid his execution. In his god-conscious state, he could clearly see how the roadmap was going to play out. As such, he asked Spirit if it was possible to “change the plan.” But he knew that one of the purposes of his mission was to transfer much of the karma of his disciples and close followers onto himself, so in lieu of another way to achieve that objective, he went along with the plan. Issa had the power to change things, but chose to “play the role” that he was intended to play. |
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Is the Christian religion today reflective of the teachings of Issa? 
Emperor Constantine
Council of Nicaea
Second Council of Constantinople
Changes to Other Religions |
This was first partially addressed in the website section on Religion and Spirituality. The answer here is a mix of new and previous information; based on the words of mystics and scholars.
If one researches the History of Christianity, it becomes immediately apparent how the teachings of Issa went through many, many stages of editing, revisions, changes, deletions, etc. from the early days right through to today. To start, Issa himself never wrote down any of his teachings. As such, the initial Christian beliefs were those documented by some of the disciples of Issa. Since the disciples were not enlightened beings (at least not at that point), their versions of the teachings of Issa were limited by their understanding. The highest principles were not well documented. The disciples were in awe of Issa and focused more on many of his miraculous feats. These writings were followed by the words of the apostle Paul and after that came doctrines initiated by post-apostolic bishops (e.g. Polycarp of Smyrna and Clement of Rome) and Church Fathers (e.g. Ignatius of Antioch, Irenaeus of Lyon, Clement of Alexandria and Origen of Alexandria). Perhaps the most significant revisions to the teachings of Issa came shortly after 313 AD when Emperor Constantine of the Roman Empire stopped the Roman persecution of the early Christian groups and publicly endorsed Christianity. (It would later become the official state religion of the Roman Empire). In 325, AD Constantine convened the First Council of Nicaea which was attended by some 300 church figures. This group produced the Nicene Creed which became the main doctrine for the evolving religion. Up until then, Issa had been quite rightly considered a son of God (as we all are). But the Nicene Creed changed that to declare that Issa was the only begotten son of God. That changed everything. Issa had taught the exact opposite. His mission was to show the highest principles of the one eternal religion by which all mankind can find their way out of this virtual world and return to their native status as gods beyond. All are equal. As Issa taught, “ye are gods” and “the works that I do he shall do also; and greater works than these shall he do.” And from John 1:12, “as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God." Now, the Nicene Creed was putting Issa on a pedestal above everyone else. No one else could achieve his status. What about Buddha? What about Krishna? What about other avatars? In fact, what about each and every one of us; unique, individualized extensions of Spirit that we are? And then, these church authorities decided to declare that all humans are born in sin and must accept Issa as their saviour in order to gain “salvation” and avoid going to hell after death. They declared that Jesus is the Saviour of the world, the only possible way to God. After all, they said, he himself stated that, “I am the way ... no one comes to the Father but through me” (John 14:6). It was in his complete identification with god-consciousness that Issa stated that "I (i.e. god-consciousness) am the way ... no one comes to the Father but through me (i.e. god-consciousness). In other words, in order to come to the Father, i.e. escape this virtual world of delusion and reclaim our native status as gods, one must re-awaken one’s own innate god-consciousness, just as Issa had done. To make things even worse, the church authorities declared that Christianity was the only true religion and that all other teachings were false. Issa never taught this. He taught the universal principles that respect all true mystical paths. In addition to the above, all references to Issa’s time in India have been removed from the Bible. It is remarkable that the four Gospels that describe the life and times of Issa refer to his birth and childhood until he is twelve years old and then leave out the next 18 years. The next mention of Issa is when he begins his ministry in his homeland at the age of 30. At some point, unenlightened church authorities, likely at the Council of Nicaea, decided that Issa’s connection to the East needed to be removed, leading to what is now commonly referred to as “the lost years of Christ.” Many of the changes to the early teachings resulted from a power struggle amongst the various church authorities who simply did not understand the true nature of Issa and his message. Instead, they used Christian religious doctrines as a lever in their attempts for control of the Roman Empire. One example was the third century split of the church into what became the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church. In the ancient world the purpose for writing history books was not so much to record facts but to portray an image that supported the ruling elite and its policies. While much of modern history writing is also affected by political concerns, the improved communications technology has made it more difficult to get away with a political rewriting of events. There are many more examples of how the original teachings of Issa were significantly modified; but just one more example will be addressed here. While modern Christian doctrine does not include reincarnation, it was, in fact, accepted by the early Christian church and endorsed by the Essenes, the Gnostics as well as many church fathers such as Clement of Alexandria, Origen and St. Jerome. It was well known to Issa and understood by his disciples. References to reincarnation were removed from the Bible around 550AD at the Second Council of Constantinople by the religious authorities of the time. However, some references still remain, as outlined in the Karma and Reincarnation section of the website. The net result of all these changes was that the message that Issa taught, i.e. that the path to escape from this virtual world and regain one’s status as a god is an inner journey (“the kingdom of God is within you”), became the opposite. The unenlightened authorities falsely taught an outer religion that involved practicing various rituals and meaningless rites and blindly believing incorrect doctrines. This mechanical form of worship was supposed to somehow take you to a higher awareness. Issa’s path to God was not blind belief but an inner awakening of one’s native god-awareness. A final thought on the state of the Christian religion as it exists today. Part of the strategy of false teachers is to use fear and guilt as a tool, i.e. they tell their followers to blindly accept the teachings as given them or they will “not be saved” or will “go to hell.” This is a tragedy of the ages, that those who are trapped in the illusion of this virtual world are given false teachings and have been programmed with fear and guilt. The guilt makes them think they are "sinners" and are incapable of finding the perfection of god-awareness. The fear prevents them from asking questions and challenging the false doctrines. If they are not willing to question, how can they possibly receive the truth that will set them free? Particularly problematic are the hellfire and brimstone preachers who portray Issa as a judge who will send "the sinners" to hell unless they blindly follow their dictates. What happened to Issa's original message of love, compassion and opportunity for enlightenment? Christianity is not the only religion that has desecrated the original teachings of the prophet upon which the religion is based. In all lands and times, original mystical teachings became distorted and clouded by religious authorities that did not possess inner realization and instead focused on rituals and incorrect interpretations of the original teachings (see column on the left). "Christ has been much misinterpreted by the world. Even the most elementary principles of his teachings have been desecrated, and their esoteric depths have been forgotten. They have been crucified at the hands of ... superstition, dogmatism, and pedantic theological misinterpretations.” ~ P. Yogananda “Some of the first human beings in whom the new consciousness emerged fully became the great teachers of humanity, such as Buddha, Lao Tzu, or Jesus, although their teachings were greatly misunderstood, especially when they turned into organized religion." ~ Eckhart Tolle “All those who ... embraced the Christian faith as directed by the Church were to be exonerated, or saved, while all others were condemned to everlasting hell-fire. In the 16th century, this primitive and childish myth was taken as unquestioned fact, and formed an integral part of the belief-system of practicing Christians.” ~ Swami Abhayananda “Jesus of Nazareth ... was a powerful son of God who came to open everybody’s eyes to the fact that you are too. ... We are sons of, or of the nature of God: manifestations of the divine. This discovery is the Gospel. That is, the Good News. But this has been perpetually repressed throughout the history of Western religion.” ~ Alan Watts, philosopher, Eastern and Western spirituality/religion researcher “The ‘living Jesus’ of these texts** speaks of illusion and enlightenment, not of sin and repentance, like the Jesus of the New Testament. Instead of coming to save us from sin, he comes as a guide who opens access to spiritual understanding.” ~ Elaine Pagels, Ph.D., from The Gnostic Gospels (1981) |
**The Nag Hammadi texts. Also known as the "Gnostic Gospels," this library is a collection of early Christian and Gnostic texts discovered near the Upper Egyptian town of Nag Hammadi in 1945. The best-known of these works is probably the Gospel of Thomas.
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Final Thoughts 
"The veracity of of the Biblical stories of Jesus is regarded skeptically by many in the modern age. Scoffing at supernormal capacities that challenge common prejudices about what is humanly possible, some staunchly deny that the God-man of the Gospels ever lived. Others concede a measure of historicity to Jesus, but depict him only as a charismatic ethical or spiritual teacher. But to the New Testament account of the Christ of Galilee I humbly add my own testimony. From personal experience I know the reality of his life and miracles, for I have seen him many, many times, and communed with him, and received his direct confirmation about these matters." ~ P. Yogananda |
Many parallels exist between the lives of the mystic Issa described herein and the modern day mystic, Paramahansa Yogananda. Both were “graduates” of this virtual game of creation and had voluntarily re-entered the virtual world with the sole purpose of helping their brothers and sisters who were lost within the game. As such, they both led “high profile” lives. Both had to voluntarily give up their infinite nature of bliss consciousness and squeeze themselves into the restrictive and limited prison cages of body-forms and take on the associated delusion of ego-consciousness. Both were precocious children who re-awakened their god awareness as teenagers and then spent time preparing for their missions. Both started their missions in their mid to late twenties. Both were “tempted" to take an easier path rather than deal with the myriad difficulties of a public life. Both took the higher road of meeting their original intentions. Both had gurus who re-entered the virtual world with them but who largely stayed in the background, i.e. John the Baptist (Issa) and Sri Yukteswar (Yogananda). John the Baptist and Sri Yukteswar were both strict disciplinarians, whereas their disciples were both incarnations of love. Both Issa and Yogananda took on some of the karma of their disciples and close followers. In Issa’s case, it was largely physical karma. In Yogananda’s case, it was largely the mental karma of wrong thinking (he told his disciples, "I go inside your minds. It is hideous.”) Issa lived at a time when the average human consciousness was lower than it is today. As such, he had to teach the masses using relatively simple language, including parables. He could only teach the higher principles to his disciples and close followers, who were more advanced than most of their contemporaries. Yogananda was able to directly explain most of the higher concepts due to mankind’s greater understanding. As well, Yogananda had the benefit of being on the planet at a time of remarkable discoveries by modern science. As such, he used those scientific advances to help explain these higher concepts. Issa (like Buddha and Ramana Maharshi) did not write down his teachings, but left that to his followers, which led to problems of misunderstandings, as mentioned. Yogananda, on the other hand, was a prolific writer. One of Paramahansa Yogananda’s books is a 1500 page treatise on the life of Issa and his teachings, entitled The Second Coming of Christ; The Resurrection of the Christ Within You. A modern mystic explaining the words of a brother mystic. “Yogananda strips away the divisiveness and dogmatic approach that have accumulated around Jesus’ teachings” ~ Sacred Pathways magazine review (December 2004) |
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"Whenever virtue declines and vice predominates, I incarnate as an Avatar. In visible form I send Myself forth age after age to protect the virtuous and to destroy evildoing in order to re-establish righteousness." ~ Bhagavad Gita
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The Odyssey of the gods (March 2018)
As always, this posting is based on the words of the mystics who have directly experienced the true nature of reality, as well as the findings of modern science
"Every man is a divinity in disguise, a god playing the fool" ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson
"But sing no more this bitter tale that wears my heart away" ~ Homer, from The Odyssey
"Ah my friend, if you and I could escape this fray and live forever, never a trace of age, immortal, I would never fight on the front lines again" ~ Homer, from The Iliad
"The whole world is consciousness having taken birth as form, manifesting as form temporarily, and then dying, which means dissolving as form. What always remains is the "essence" of all that exists—consciousness itself. " ~ Eckhart Tolle
"Think of what happens when you wake from a dream: Your own consciousness of Self remains even when the dream vanishes. Who you thought you were in the dream is seen to have been an illusory identity; but You remain. The dream scenery is vanished too. Where did it go? It never really was. It too was only your own consciousness, appearing as form. Likewise, in this universe, matter is consciousness appearing as energy, appearing as form." ~ Swami Abhayananda
"Fear arises through identification with form, whether it be a material possession, a physical body, a social role, a self-image, a thought, or an emotion. It arises through unawareness of the formless inner dimension of consciousness or spirit, which is the essence of who you are." ~ Eckhart Tolle
As always, this posting is based on the words of the mystics who have directly experienced the true nature of reality, as well as the findings of modern science
"Every man is a divinity in disguise, a god playing the fool" ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson
"But sing no more this bitter tale that wears my heart away" ~ Homer, from The Odyssey
"Ah my friend, if you and I could escape this fray and live forever, never a trace of age, immortal, I would never fight on the front lines again" ~ Homer, from The Iliad
"The whole world is consciousness having taken birth as form, manifesting as form temporarily, and then dying, which means dissolving as form. What always remains is the "essence" of all that exists—consciousness itself. " ~ Eckhart Tolle
"Think of what happens when you wake from a dream: Your own consciousness of Self remains even when the dream vanishes. Who you thought you were in the dream is seen to have been an illusory identity; but You remain. The dream scenery is vanished too. Where did it go? It never really was. It too was only your own consciousness, appearing as form. Likewise, in this universe, matter is consciousness appearing as energy, appearing as form." ~ Swami Abhayananda
"Fear arises through identification with form, whether it be a material possession, a physical body, a social role, a self-image, a thought, or an emotion. It arises through unawareness of the formless inner dimension of consciousness or spirit, which is the essence of who you are." ~ Eckhart Tolle
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I distinctly remember how it happened. It was several months ago. I had been working on a website posting and had been spending time mulling over the chimerical nature of our physical existence based on the astounding findings of modern science as well as the words of the mystics.
As I was ruminating over this topic one day, the thought came to me that our true nature is consciousness and that these bodies and these surroundings are merely a masquerade. While this was not a new thought, it came to me in such a powerful way that it startled me. One can study the findings of science and the words of the mystics and intellectually conclude the above. As such, one knows it to be true and can react in fascination. Or, like the mystics, one can directly experience such a truth. In my case, it was far more than an intellectual appreciation of a higher truth – I was quite familiar with such. But it was not a direct mystical experience either. It was something in between. Without directly experiencing this truth, it came forth from a higher intuitive level of consciousness that was quite powerful. It was clear and unquestionable. We are consciousness alone. These bodies and surroundings are an illusory disguise that have no reality. Our native state is infinite, endless formlessness – beyond space and time. Such a powerful concept is tough enough to handle with our intellectual minds, but there is always a bit of a distance between an intellectual understanding and a true realization. When one knows a higher truth by deep intuition, there is no escaping its impact. We are formless consciousness. How can that be? We are so conditioned by the cosmic hypnosis of maya into believing that our bodies are synonymous with our selves and represent our identity, that deeply knowing our true native state of existence as formless consciousness without any body was more than a bit disconcerting. |
Our native state is consciousness without any body. I decided to take a break from my website work while I let this revelation percolate in my mind. But it didn’t take too long. In rather short order, my unease was dispensed and was replaced with a peaceful elation.
One merely has to compare the two modes of existence, as summarized in the table below.
One merely has to compare the two modes of existence, as summarized in the table below.
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Body-consciousness
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Formless-consciousness
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Consciousness is trapped within a very small, restricted and (seemingly) rigid body-form. It cannot escape.
The body-form is easily hurt or destroyed by accidents and disease. Within the body, the consciousness is often subject to intense suffering due to both physical pain as well as the mental pain of depression, anxiety, grief, fears, phobias, moods, etc. Even without accidents, birth defects and major illnesses, the body-form is mortal and will eventually become non-functional; and while functional, it requires constant maintenance (food, water, sleep, bathing, clothing, etc.) At death, over which it has little control, ego-consciousness takes on an astral body-form for a time before being reborn as a helpless infant in the physical universe once again. This cycle is repeated over and over and over again until we finally awaken our god-selves. Body-consciousness is aware of only a tiny, localized portion of this vast virtual universe, limited by the body-form's very restrictive sense range. It also knows nothing of the reality outside of and beyond this virtual creation. Travel from one portion of the universal playground to another is very limited in range and is both slow and cumbersome. |
No restrictions. Can travel anywhere in unplumbed space as well as exist outside and beyond the virtual creation boundaries.
"With a disappointment almost unbearable, I realized that my infinite immensity was lost. Once more I was limited to the humiliating cage of a body, not easily accommodative to the Spirit." ~ P. Yogananda (following an early experience in cosmic consciousness as a young lad) No pain. Cannot be hurt. No suffering. Endless freedom and indescribable joy. "Everything is the vibration of God's consciousness condensed into electromagnetic images. The essence of those images cannot be severed by a sword, nor burned, nor drowned, nor suffer pain of any sort." - P. Yogananda. Consciousness is immortal. No maintenance required. No death. “Is this living Splendor, this beaming Sun of Life, beyond the slightest touch of earthly sorrow, suffering or pain, my real Self? O wonder of wonders, am I this immortal Being, happy beyond measure.” ~ Gopi Krishna No form. No restrictions. No limitations of any type. "You are imprisoned in physical and mental formations. You are trapped in thinking. You are wrapped in emotions. You are a fictitious self, trapped in form. The true self is beyond form and to know that is liberation." ~ Eckhart Tolle Vast, endless sphere of awareness. "I was no longer myself, or to be more accurate, no longer as I knew myself to be, a small point of awareness confined in a body, but instead was a vast circle of consciousness in which the body was but a point, bathed in light and in a state of exaltation and happiness impossible to describe." ~ Gopi Krishna Consciousness can travel at the speed of thought (faster than the speed of light). " ... they realize that the physical, astral, and causal bodies and the physical, astral, and causal universes are all dream condensations of God’s thoughts. Such masters are able to resolve everything into divine thought; they can instantaneously traverse eternity with the speed of thought.” ~ P. Yogananda |
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I started thinking about the immense freedom of being free from a body, in particular the physical body-form addressed in the table above. Have you ever wondered why humans cannot fly? In my dreams, I often fly. It seems to me that we must have an existence in some dimension in which flying is our natural mode of travel. It reminded me of how much I dislike air travel – how cumbersome, how slow, how inefficient. Slow? Yes, to me we should be able to travel from one place to another just by willing it and do it instantly. In fact, we should be able to travel from place to place in our minds, in our consciousness. I can watch an ultra high definition video on a large monitor showing aerial views of spectacular scenery from places across the earth and be fully satisfied. That is enough for me. More than enough. I can immerse myself in the video and consciously visit these venues. I have no interest in engaging in the turtle pace of normal travel. I realized that I was already pending much time in consciousness and less so in the body.
"You are born with wings. Why prefer to crawl through life?" ~ Rumi
The only thing body-consciousness has going for it is familiarity. It's what we know. But one who has experienced infinite, formless consciousness never wants to return to the confining prison of the body-form, just as Plato's caveman who escapes to the unbounded world outside the cave never wants to return to the prison underground.
"I realised that I was not my body. What appeared to be my body was not real. I went beyond the light into pure radiant consciousness. I became omnipresent. My individuality had merged into pure absolute bliss. I expanded. I became the universe. The feeling is indescribable. It was total bliss, total joy." ~ Robert Adams
My initial anxiety regarding our true existence without a body disappeared. However, it was now replaced with the opposite anxiety. I would occasionally awake at night concerned that my consciousness was solely limited to this physical body-form and its local surroundings. At times, I felt trapped and needed to expand my realm of awareness.
“You are the bird of happiness in the magic of existence! What a pity when you let yourself be chained and caged. But if you can break free from this dark prison named body soon you will see you are the sage and the fountain of life!” ~ Rumi
But all in good time. In fact, each of us is on our own voyage of expanding awareness; a journey of awakening consciousness; an odyssey of discovery as we traverse this virtual playground of creation and wend our way home to our final destination of enlightenment.
It is the Odyssey of the gods.
This topic was first addressed in the website section entitled Adventures in Wonderland. This posting looks at this topic from a different perspective.
There are a number of stages on this journey. Within each stage our real selves always remain formless, bliss consciousness. In some stages, however, our consciousness takes on a form and we are fooled into thinking that we are this form.
We can consider this odyssey of consciousness to consist of five stages, as follows;
"You are born with wings. Why prefer to crawl through life?" ~ Rumi
The only thing body-consciousness has going for it is familiarity. It's what we know. But one who has experienced infinite, formless consciousness never wants to return to the confining prison of the body-form, just as Plato's caveman who escapes to the unbounded world outside the cave never wants to return to the prison underground.
"I realised that I was not my body. What appeared to be my body was not real. I went beyond the light into pure radiant consciousness. I became omnipresent. My individuality had merged into pure absolute bliss. I expanded. I became the universe. The feeling is indescribable. It was total bliss, total joy." ~ Robert Adams
My initial anxiety regarding our true existence without a body disappeared. However, it was now replaced with the opposite anxiety. I would occasionally awake at night concerned that my consciousness was solely limited to this physical body-form and its local surroundings. At times, I felt trapped and needed to expand my realm of awareness.
“You are the bird of happiness in the magic of existence! What a pity when you let yourself be chained and caged. But if you can break free from this dark prison named body soon you will see you are the sage and the fountain of life!” ~ Rumi
But all in good time. In fact, each of us is on our own voyage of expanding awareness; a journey of awakening consciousness; an odyssey of discovery as we traverse this virtual playground of creation and wend our way home to our final destination of enlightenment.
It is the Odyssey of the gods.
This topic was first addressed in the website section entitled Adventures in Wonderland. This posting looks at this topic from a different perspective.
There are a number of stages on this journey. Within each stage our real selves always remain formless, bliss consciousness. In some stages, however, our consciousness takes on a form and we are fooled into thinking that we are this form.
We can consider this odyssey of consciousness to consist of five stages, as follows;
- The One Spirit
- The new gods
- Adventures within the virtual worlds
- The travellers return home
- The One Spirit
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1. The One Spirit 
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It all starts here. The One Spirit is the source of formless, infinite, endless, ever-new bliss consciousness. For that is what Spirit is, as best as can be described by the mystics who have directly experienced It. The mystics have great difficulty in describing Spirit, or Brahman, because It is so far beyond normal human understanding that words are inadequate. It is much like Plato's caveman trying to describe the worlds outside the cave to those who have lived their lives solely within the cave. The words of the caveman language are inadequate to describe things that exist outside the cave. More on this topic can be found in the website sections Spirit - God Beyond Creation and The Mystic Vision. The mystics say Spirit is our origin. Our true identity. In their direct experience of Brahman, the mystics become Spirit Itself and realize That is their true identity and has been all along. The time spent within creation has only been the substance of dreams with the same mistaken reality that dreams have. “Dreams are true while they last, and do we not live in dreams?” ~ Alfred Lord Tennyson Each of us starts as formless, infinite, endless, ever-new bliss consciousness. And that is all we ever are - even if it appears that we are different during the various stages of the Odyssey of the gods. "Whatever separate identity I entered that experience with had become transparent, and vanished in the dawning awareness of myself as the eternal Consciousness Itself." ~ Swami Abhayananda "The shoreless ocean of consciousness which I was now immersed in appeared infinitely large and infinitely small at the same time, large when considered in relation to the world picture floating in it and small when considered in itself, measureless, without form or size, nothing and yet everything." ~ Gopi Krishna |
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2. The new gods 
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What else is there to do but dream Up worlds and populate them With imaginative forms caught up In crazy, impossible plots and toils? What else would You do When there’s none else but You? ~ Swami Abhayananda, from the poem None Else In the first act of creation, Spirit creates an identical version of Itself within an artificially created world of form. This is Ishvara, as described in the website section Ishvara - God within Creation. Ishvara then creates the artificial virtual dream world of light that we call the universe. Spirit is able to enjoy Its dream universe through Ishvara. Then Spirit chooses to produce countless unique, individualized extensions of Itself in order to experience Its dream creation in a vastly magnified way through the perspective of each of these unique versions of Itself. These are the gods. And therein lies our true identity; each one of us is a god. “You are all gods, if you only knew it.” ~ Paramahansa Yogananda “Through our eyes, the universe is perceiving itself. Through our ears, the universe is listening to its harmonies. We are the witnesses through which the universe becomes conscious of its glory, of its magnificence.” ~ Alan Watts We, the gods, are each endowed with a unique identity and we perform within the dream creation with two key attributes; (i) free will, and (ii) the ability to co-create the dream universe from within. Thus Spirit can play within Its dream creation in the guise of the gods - each god (or soul) chooses its own directions within the dream and each is capable of creating new dream structures. "At first there was little difference between the consciousness of the new individual (i.e., soul) and its consciousness of identity with God (i.e., spirit). Souls merely watched the flow of the Mind, somewhat as people daydreaming, marveling at its power and versatility. Then souls began to act itself, imitating and paralleling what Mind was doing. Gradually souls acquired experience, becoming a complementary rather than an imitative force. It helped to extend, modify, and regulate creation." ~ Edgar Cayce At this initial stage of the journey, the gods occupy bodies of very fine, subtle light. These are the initial causal bodies. The causal bodies are wondrous and can change form and size and move throughout the dream creation at the speed of thought. As well, at this initial stage of our journey, the gods are simultaneously conscious of both their causal forms within the dream creation as well as their true selves as Spirit beyond creation. You may have had the experience of waking up from a dream so vivid that you can allow the dream to continue in part of your consciousness while the other part of you is awake. You can continue to pretend to be your dream character within the dream world with part of your mind while the rest of your mind is associated with the real you that is awakening. It is just like that. Part of the consciousness of the gods is on their dream causal forms within creation and part on their true selves beyond creation. With this balanced consciousness, the gods can have fun playing in the dream creation all the while knowing their true Self beyond. The gods can enjoy the wondrous experiences of the dream worlds and create new dream structures within the dream at will, all the while knowing their true existence as the formless, infinite, endless, ever-new bliss consciousness of Spirit Itself. |
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3. Adventures within the virtual worlds 
“All these universes, humans, objects, thoughts and events are merely pictures moving on the screen of Pure Consciousness, which alone is real. Shapes and phenomena pass away, but Consciousness remains ever." ~ Ramana Maharshi |
"The Earth is an expression of Divine Mind with its own laws, its own plan, and its own evolution. Souls, longing to feel the beauty of the seas, the winds, the forest, and the flowers, mixed with them and expressed themselves through them. They also mingled with the animals, and made thought forms in imitation of them. Souls played at creating and imitated God. But this interfered with the evolutionary plan of the Earth. Thus, the stream of mind carrying out this plan for the Earth gradually drew souls into its current. Souls had to evolve into the bodies they had themselves created. This entanglement of souls into physical form was a probability from the beginning. But God did not know when it would happen until the souls, of their own free will, had caused it to happen ... Of the souls which God created, only a comparative few have entered into the experience of our solar system. Many other souls have gone through or are going through a similar entanglement in other solar systems in the universe." ~ Edgar Cayce As the gods continue to play within the dream creation, they become aware of other levels, made of denser light structures. In order to enter these denser dream worlds, they have to "trade-in" their subtle causal bodies for body-forms made of denser light. The first level of denser light below the Causal level is the Astral world and below that is the Physical world composed of even denser light. The gods occupy body-forms consistent with these different levels as they traverse from one level to another. We are all familiar with the Physical world and the physical body-forms, since that is the level of the dream creation we currently are at. Descriptions of the Astral worlds and Causal worlds were provided in the Astral and Causal Worlds web posting of May 2017. Up to now in this posting, we have been using the "dream analogy" to describe creation, since is the main one that mystics have used throughout the ages. It is perhaps the most common analogy used by the mystics since everyone in all lands and all times knows what a dream is. With advances in technology, mystics in more recent times have been able to use other analogies that are perchance better suited to help explain the dream universe. Twentieth century mystics often used the "movie analogy" to help describe the worlds we find ourselves in. It is a very powerful metaphor. In the last decade or so, with the advent of Virtual Reality (VR) technologies and games, a "VR analogy" is conceivably an even better way to describe creation. Although this analogy has already been used numerous times in this website, much more can be said about how closely Virtual Reality matches our experience in creation. This will be the subject of an upcoming web posting to be entitled Our Virtual Reality World and will invoke the words of the mystics as well as recent advances in science and technology to unfold this creation model. In the VR analogy, Spirit is, as always, formless, infinite, endless, ever-new bliss consciousness. The mystics have said that Spirit chose to create a world of virtual light forms as entertainment for Itself, perhaps in a way similar to someone today choosing to play a VR game for entertainment. However, in this case, Spirit has chosen to play the VR game through countless extensions of Itself, each playing their own individualized game with a unique perspective. As such, the infinite mind of Spirit is not playing just one VR game, but countless. Each of us represents one of these games. The game is being played by our god-self. The character we are playing within the game appears as the body-form that each of us currently occupies. The body-form comes with its own mind-processor that is "pre-loaded" with game information about the game's setting, i.e. the universe. The mind-processor is also fed with information from the body-form's five sense instruments. All of this information is used to create a personalized mini-universe within the mind-processor which is then projected out as our localized version of the universe. This projection is constantly updated with new sense instrument information as well as updated game information. The mind-processor that comes with the body-form disguise has been referred to throughout this website as ego-consciousness. The body-form and ego-consciousness are almost synonymous - one cannot exist without the other. To play within the VR game, both are necessary. But both only exist within the game and have a reality only within the game. Once the game is over, both disappear, just like the characters in your dreams when you awaken. What always remains is your true self, the god-self, the formless, infinite, endless, ever-new bliss consciousness. While in the game, your body-form changes many, many times and the game setting changes many, many times as the different levels of the game are played. As such, even though we identify ourselves with these body-forms and our ego-consciousness, they only have a "reality" within the game. Like a fighter pilot in one of today's VR games, they have an existence solely within the game. Outside the game, only the player remains; just as the only thing that ultimately remains for us is our god-self. Even though at this stage of the Odyssey of the gods, we think we are body-forms contained within a universe, we really are not. Our real reality is, as always, formless, infinite, endless, ever-new bliss consciousness. In fact, like all VR games, all the action in this VR game of creation takes place solely in our consciousness. In all VR games, the virtual background, the characters in the game and all the action appear to be spread out in a tapestry of time and space all around the main character- but in fact, everything is happening within the "VR headset" or consciousness of the player who exists outside the game. “Fleeting objects are mere phenomena which appear on your being like pictures which move across a screen. The screen does not move when the picture moves. Similarly, you do not move from where you are even when the body leaves the home and mixes in society. Your body, the society, the forest and the ways are all in you; you are not in them.”~ Ramana Maharshi In the above quote, "you" is the player outside the game (the real you) while the "body" refers to the character you are playing within the VR game of creation. Similarly, when Rumi says, “In truth we are not here. This is our shadow," the "we" are the players outside the game while the "shadow" refers to the characters we are playing within the game. This is not an easy concept to follow. Much more explanation on this as well as some fascinating related information will be addressed in the web posting on Our Virtual Reality World, mentioned above. Some aspects of this topic have also been briefly addressed in the website section entitled Personalized Creation Model. In the meantime, the quotations on the left may provide helpful context. |
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4. The travellers return home 
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After many, many, many lifetimes spent at the lower Physical and Astral levels of the VR game, each of the weary virtual travellers, one by one, ascends at last to the Causal level; the same level that they, as gods, were at in Stage 2. Again, the website posting on Astral and Causal Worlds describes these virtual levels in detail. The gods' first time at the Causal level was the time of their creation by Spirit. The gods then were new players with no experience in the VR game of creation that they were about to play. Now, at stage 4, the gods return with vast experience of the VR game of creation. Within a host of VR game settings and levels, they have had incredible journeys, seen wondrous sights and have experienced untold wonders and joys. The gods have also experienced much suffering, in that much of the time was spent mistaking their identities to be the virtual game characters rather than their true selves as the gods beyond. But now they are back at the Causal level in which they remember their true identity. They know themselves as gods - formless, infinite, endless, ever-new bliss consciousness. Yes, each of the gods still wears the disguise of a causal body, but is it a subtle form with almost limitless powers. It is a glorious existence. While always aware of their blissful selves as Spirit, each of the gods have a part of their consciousness on the virtual dream creation. With the vast experience gained in playing in the virtual worlds, each god now has the ability to create their own virtual reality creations and experience their own games through countless extensions of themselves, just as Spirit does. Now Spirit can be entertained by not only Its original creation but also through the portals of countless ones created by Its individualized extensions of Itself, the gods. “Those who find themselves covered only by the delicate veil of the causal body can bring universes into manifestation even as the Creator. Because all creation is made of the cosmic dream-texture, the soul thinly clothed in the causal has vast realizations of power.” ~P. Yogananda "Many beings remain for thousands of years in the causal cosmos. By deeper ecstasies the freed soul then withdraws itself from the little causal body and puts on the vastness of the causal cosmos. All the separate eddies of ideas, particularized waves of power, love, will, joy, peace, intuition, calmness, self-control, and concentration melt into the ever-joyous Sea of Bliss.” ~ Sri Yukteswar |
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5. The One Spirit 
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"Ultimately, man sheds the last soul covering – his causal body – to unite with omnipresent Spirit, beyond all vibratory realms.” ~ P. Yogananda “You embrace some form saying, “I am this.” By God, you are not this or that or the other, you and spirit are the same.” ~ Rumi And in the end, we return home, each of us having followed our own unique path through the magnificent virtual worlds of creation. In our last act within the virtual worlds, we take off our magical causal disguise and completely leave the world of form to return to formless Spirit beyond the virtual dream world. The Odyssey of the gods is now complete. We have returned to our original state of formless, infinite, endless, ever-new bliss consciousness. Of course, that is what each of us has been all along. But now there is no disguise. The dream is over. All levels of the VR game have been successfully played. As Spirit, we can now watch as newly created gods start playing in the virtual worlds. The memory of each of the unique gods remains within the consciousness of the One Spirit. The gods can occasionally choose to return to the world of form, at the highest Causal level of the VR game, at will. Most of the gods who have played the game for so long prefer to abide in their ever-new , endless consciousness of bliss. “I cannot conceive of anyone who has glimpsed the beauty of the Transcendent Formlessness ever preferring cosmic beauty." ~ Franklin Merrell Wolff "The self is dissolved in the unfathomable Blissful Spirit. Yet the impression of their individuality remains and can be reclaimed at will." ~ P. Yogananda “It is the most intense experience of love, of wonder, of beauty, of music that you can ever have … that divinity, is not separate and distinct from you but your own self, holding you in an embrace that is rapturous beyond all description” ~ Gopi Krishna “The treasure I have found cannot be described in words, the mind cannot conceive of it” ~ Shankara “Then there is an ecstasy, there is that living movement of truth, which is not an end, not a culmination, but an ever-creative living, an ecstasy which cannot be described” ~ Jiddu Krishnamurti |
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Final Thoughts
This posting addresses the stages that our consciousness takes through an incredible journey, the Odyssey of the gods.
It has been mentioned that at some stages of the journey, our consciousness is simultaneously aware of both our pretend existence (in the disguise of some type of body-form) as well as its true existence (as infinite, endless, ever-new bliss without any form). This is a magical state of existence.
This state is known in the mystical language of the East as nirvikalpa samadhi. It is, in fact, the state of awareness that was originally planned to be with us throughout all the stages of the journey. For most of us, however, we lose it during stage 3, during our adventures within the Physical and Astral levels of the virtual worlds. We become overwhelmed with the fantastic imagery and experiences and forget our true identity. We regain it again later at stage 4.
"But one who has advanced to the highest state of consciousness, nirvikalpa samadhi, sees the great pictureless light of Cosmic Energy coming from God, and simultaneously beholds on the vast screen of space the motion picture of the universe produced by God’s Creative Light" ~ P. Yogananda
It is possible, however, to regain this glorious state of awareness during stage 3, while at the physical level of the VR game. For those fortunate ones who have done so, they are no longer bothered by all the suffering that is so prevalent at this level. Even while playing in this world, all the time they realize that it is only a game and that the forms within the game are not real.
“Though you see me here with you, performing on the boards,
I’m there, in God’s unbounded bliss, my own eternal Self.”
~ Swami Abhayananda
Imagine someone playing a fighter pilot in one of today's VR games. If the player gets so immersed in the action that he forgets his real self and actually thinks he is the fighter pilot, then if his plane is shot down in the game and crashes, he will truly think he has been killed. On the other hand, if he knows the fighter pilot to be just a play character and all the while he is aware of his real self as the player outside the game, then when his plane gets shot down, he can laugh, take off the VR headset and tell his friend in the room all about the action.
One who is in the state of nirvikalpa samadhi can play in this virtual world in a like manner. He knows that his real self exists outside this virtual world as infinite, endless, ever-new bliss consciousness without form. He can enjoy watching himself play his virtual character role in a body-form without any attachment. No suffering. Just entertainment; as it was originally planned to be.
It has been mentioned that at some stages of the journey, our consciousness is simultaneously aware of both our pretend existence (in the disguise of some type of body-form) as well as its true existence (as infinite, endless, ever-new bliss without any form). This is a magical state of existence.
This state is known in the mystical language of the East as nirvikalpa samadhi. It is, in fact, the state of awareness that was originally planned to be with us throughout all the stages of the journey. For most of us, however, we lose it during stage 3, during our adventures within the Physical and Astral levels of the virtual worlds. We become overwhelmed with the fantastic imagery and experiences and forget our true identity. We regain it again later at stage 4.
"But one who has advanced to the highest state of consciousness, nirvikalpa samadhi, sees the great pictureless light of Cosmic Energy coming from God, and simultaneously beholds on the vast screen of space the motion picture of the universe produced by God’s Creative Light" ~ P. Yogananda
It is possible, however, to regain this glorious state of awareness during stage 3, while at the physical level of the VR game. For those fortunate ones who have done so, they are no longer bothered by all the suffering that is so prevalent at this level. Even while playing in this world, all the time they realize that it is only a game and that the forms within the game are not real.
“Though you see me here with you, performing on the boards,
I’m there, in God’s unbounded bliss, my own eternal Self.”
~ Swami Abhayananda
Imagine someone playing a fighter pilot in one of today's VR games. If the player gets so immersed in the action that he forgets his real self and actually thinks he is the fighter pilot, then if his plane is shot down in the game and crashes, he will truly think he has been killed. On the other hand, if he knows the fighter pilot to be just a play character and all the while he is aware of his real self as the player outside the game, then when his plane gets shot down, he can laugh, take off the VR headset and tell his friend in the room all about the action.
One who is in the state of nirvikalpa samadhi can play in this virtual world in a like manner. He knows that his real self exists outside this virtual world as infinite, endless, ever-new bliss consciousness without form. He can enjoy watching himself play his virtual character role in a body-form without any attachment. No suffering. Just entertainment; as it was originally planned to be.
'When you are an observer, then you can enjoy this play. This is what you must learn" ~ P. Yogananda
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“When the mind is silent, when all the thoughts, feelings, perceptions and memories with which we habitually identify have fallen away, then what remains is the essence of self ... and you know that essence to be pure consciousness. You know this to be your true identity. You are not a being who is conscious. You are consciousness. Period.” |
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The Enigma of Time (July 2018)
Most of this posting deals with time, but time and space are closely related and as such there will be some references to space as well.
I remember being with my mother when I was seven years old while she visited her sister. There were just the three of us in the house. To amuse myself, I kept playing a Johnny Horton song on my cousin's record player over and over again. When we finally left, I mentioned to my mother that I would like to have a record player someday. She said when I was as old as my cousin, I could have one. I asked how old he was. Eleven, I was told. Eleven. That was like forever. To a seven year, the four years to age eleven was effectively over half a lifetime away.
Such is psychological time. All of us have experienced psychological time; something fun or that intensely engages our mind seems to pass quickly; something that we do not like or is boring seems to last forever; time seems to pass more quickly for older people, etc.
Psychological time is our first hint that there is something strange about time.
Due to the finite speed that light travels, we are incapable of seeing things in “real time.” We see the moon as it was 1.3 seconds ago, the Sun as it was eight minutes ago, Proxima Centauri (the closest star to our solar system) as it was more than four years ago, and the Andromeda galaxy (our closest galactic neighbor) as it was more than 2.5 million years ago. Just by looking out into the night sky, we are traveling through time.
As outlined below, the true nature of time is eminently fascinating; decidedly extraordinary; and, indeed, very, very strange.
Most of this posting deals with time, but time and space are closely related and as such there will be some references to space as well.
I remember being with my mother when I was seven years old while she visited her sister. There were just the three of us in the house. To amuse myself, I kept playing a Johnny Horton song on my cousin's record player over and over again. When we finally left, I mentioned to my mother that I would like to have a record player someday. She said when I was as old as my cousin, I could have one. I asked how old he was. Eleven, I was told. Eleven. That was like forever. To a seven year, the four years to age eleven was effectively over half a lifetime away.
Such is psychological time. All of us have experienced psychological time; something fun or that intensely engages our mind seems to pass quickly; something that we do not like or is boring seems to last forever; time seems to pass more quickly for older people, etc.
Psychological time is our first hint that there is something strange about time.
Due to the finite speed that light travels, we are incapable of seeing things in “real time.” We see the moon as it was 1.3 seconds ago, the Sun as it was eight minutes ago, Proxima Centauri (the closest star to our solar system) as it was more than four years ago, and the Andromeda galaxy (our closest galactic neighbor) as it was more than 2.5 million years ago. Just by looking out into the night sky, we are traveling through time.
As outlined below, the true nature of time is eminently fascinating; decidedly extraordinary; and, indeed, very, very strange.
"Inside the museums, infinity goes up on trial
Voices echo this is what salvation must be like after a while
.....
The harmonicas play the skeleton keys in the rain
And these visions of Johanna are now all that remain"
~ Bob Dylan
Voices echo this is what salvation must be like after a while
.....
The harmonicas play the skeleton keys in the rain
And these visions of Johanna are now all that remain"
~ Bob Dylan
This posting will consist of the following sections;
- What is Time?
- The View of Modern Science
- The View of the Mystics
- A Model of Time
- Final Thoughts
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1. What is Time? 
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Time is a measure in which events can be ordered from the past through the present and into the future, as well as the measure of the duration of events and the intervals between them. Time is often referred to as the fourth dimension, along with the three spatial dimensions. It may be helpful to think of time as being divided into subcategories:
Unlike space, time does not have any of our five senses assigned to it. We have no built-in mechanism to perceive or sense time. Despite this glaring absence, human beings do have a sense of time. Time is sensed through change. If you lived all alone on an island in a world with constant daytime, would you have a sense of time? Our sense of time also has a strong relationship to the life expectancy of our body-forms. In our normal human consciousness, we sense time, but in our true nature as immortal gods, does time exist? As mentioned below, in the two major theories of physics, time is an ingredient, although each theory views time in a fundamentally different way. In one, time is absolute. In the other, it is relative to motion; individuals travelling at different speeds have their own unique measure of time. And in some more recent theories of physics, time disappears from the equations altogether. It is no longer relevant. St. Augustine suggested that maybe time is measured in the mind; time is not an event itself that is measured but instead the impression that it leaves on the mind. So is time an illusion of the human mind? If it is, then maybe it might be possible to jump out of the river of time, run up or down along the river’s banks, and then re-enter into the past or the future. Or could we possibly see the whole river of past, present and future all at once? |
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2. The View of Modern Science 
Sir Isaac Newton
(1643 - 1727) 
Albert Einstein
(1879 - 1955) "The distinction between the past, present and future is only a stubbornly persistent illusion." ~ Albert Einstein |
Until the last 100 years or so, time was defined by Sir Isaac Newton, as part of his magnificent seventeenth century description of how our universe worked. In Newton’s Principia Mathematica, the British physicist formulated a notion of time that fits with our everyday experience. He pictured a universal stopwatch whose ticks beat out the steady passage of seconds, minutes and hours across the cosmos. Newton regarded time as immutable, absolute and unchanging, independent of the state of an object’s motion. This became known as “Newton’s Clockwork Universe." Then came the twentieth century. The world of science was rocked by many astounding discoveries, including the revelation that matter does not exist in the way it appears to us, i.e. it is not solid; it is light energy frozen into various shapes. Similarly, today’s scientists are discovering that time is not what it appears to be. As a starter, quantum field theory and Einstein’s general theory of relativity have superseded classical physics and overturned many of Newton’s ideas of time and space. In particular, modern physics has rejected Newton’s notion that space and time are distinct, uniform and absolute. Instead, space and time are now conceived as forming an integrated four-dimensional space-time continuum in which both space intervals and time intervals depend upon the relative movement between observer and observed. There is not one “universal clock” as Newton thought, but many “local clocks” whose relative rates depend on their relative motion. And from there, things got even crazier. Now, over a hundred years later, physicists are no closer to a final resolution on the true nature of time, or even if it exists at all. Along the way, however, some fascinating insights have been gained into this strange world of “time.” “Understanding the nature of time is the single most important problem facing science." ~ Lee Smolin, PhD, physicist “The meaning of time has become terribly problematic in contemporary physics,” ~ Simon Saunders, PhD, philosopher of physics "For physics, time is still a deep mystery ... Overcoming this problem is the most fundamental challenge of 21st century physics" ~ Thomas J. McFarlane, scientist, philosopher and author "Of all obstacles to a thoroughly penetrating account of existence, none looms up more dismayingly than time" ~ John Wheeler, PhD, world-renowned physicist The following will very briefly highlight some of the modern theories of time that have been put forth by the world of science. |
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1 – Time is not absolute
As mentioned above, Einstein’s theory of relativity has shown that time passes at a different rate depending on the relative motion of different observers. In effect, each of us is in our own “local universe” in which times passes differently for us than for all others. The effect is small at speeds that we typically encounter in our daily lives but becomes quite dramatic as velocities start to approach the speed of light. Compared to someone travelling at low speeds, time hardly moves for someone travelling in a spacecraft that approaches light speed. At the speed of light itself, time stands still. “Since light travels at the speed of light, let’s imagine a disembodied observer (pure mind with no mass) traveling at the speed of light. Einstein's equations would then predict that, from light's own point of view, it travels no distance and takes zero time to do so.” ~ Peter Russell (scientist, futurist, philosopher, b1946). “If you could ride a beam of light as an observer, all of space would shrink to a point, and all of time would collapse to an instant. In the reference frame of light, there is no space and time.” ~ Jay Alfred, from Brains and Realities |
Andromeda Galaxy
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2 – Events do not happen at the same time to all observers
This follows directly from point-1 above. Philosopher and author Jim Holt gives a rather fanciful example of how to see this; “Einstein proved that whether an observer deems two events at different locations to be happening “at the same time” depends on his state of motion. Suppose, for example, that Jones is walking uptown on Fifth Avenue and Smith is walking downtown. Their relative motion results in a discrepancy of several days in what they would judge to be happening “now” in the Andromeda galaxy at the moment they pass each other on the sidewalk. For Smith, the space fleet launched to destroy life on earth is already on its way; for Jones, the Andromedan council of tyrants has not even decided whether to send the fleet.” 3 – The division of time into past, present and future have become meaningless This follows directly from point-2 above. What Einstein had shown was that there is no universal “present.” Whether two events are simultaneous is relative to the observer. And once simultaneity goes by the board, the very division of moments into “past,” “present,” and “future” becomes meaningless. Events judged to be in the past by one observer may still lie in the future of another. "The distinction between the past, present and future is only a stubbornly persistent illusion." ~ Albert Einstein |
Richard Feynman
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4 – Space and Time may be viewed as a “block universe” in which the future already exists
This follows directly from point-3 above. In place of the fleeting present, we are left with a vast frozen timescape - a four-dimensional “block universe” in which everything that has ever happened in the past and will ever happen in the future is laid out frozen in time before us. In such a block universe, the world and all things in it can be pictured like frames in a celluloid film (or movie reel or DVD). Once the movie is made, all the action from the beginning to the end is captured on the film. The story is complete and nothing can change. As one views the movie, it appears that there is a past and a present and a future unfolding, but in reality the complete story has already been captured. Like the frames in the celluloid film, the past, present, and future already exist and each observer’s “now” travels along the film to create his particular experience of time. This picture of time is highly repugnant to those who see it as negating free will. “And if I am going to be told that my idea that I make choices, take action, interfere, possibly change the future, is all an illusion,” protests the novelist J.B. Priestley in his nonfiction work, Man and Time, “then I shall want to know how this block universe, this frozen history, came into existence, who colored it, and what is the point of this vast, idiotic conjuring trick.” Perhaps surprisingly, this is a theory that is supported by many physicists today. "The Laws of Nature are not rules controlling the metamorphosis of what is, into what will be. They are descriptions of patterns that exist, all at once... The four-dimensional space-time manifold displays all eternity at once." ~ Richard Feynman, PhD, renowned physicist |
George Ellis
John Wheeler
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5 – The “evolving” block universe
As mentioned above, the block universe theory has a major weakness, i.e. it assumes that the future has already been determined. As such, it negates free will. As noted many times in this website, free will is a key attribute of the human experience within this virtual creation. A variation of the block universe that allows for free will was put forth in recent years by the distinguished cosmologist, George Ellis. As he states, “space-time should be regarded as an evolving block universe, bounded to the future by the present time, which continually extends to the future.” Ellis posits that the future remains a collection of possibilities until it merges into the present. Ellis’ model of time retains enough of the block universe model to match with relativity’s predictions, but without the need to take Einstein’s drastic last step of assuming that the fourth dimension of time is solidified into the infinite future. Ellis’ view of time has the backing of the remarkable findings of quantum mechanics (as covered elsewhere in this website) in which the future exists as a fuzzy state of many possibilities until an act of conscious free will causes one of the states to manifest in the present. This then sets up the next set of possibilities for the future and the process repeats itself on and on. As such, quantum theory supports a future that is undetermined. 6 – Does time even exist? The two great masterpieces of 20th-century physics, general relativity (which describes gravity and the large-scale structure of the cosmos) and quantum physics (which govern the realm of the tiny) seem incompatible with each other. Much effort to synthesize the two theories has been going on for decades (e.g. string theory and loop quantum gravity). In the 1970s, the renowned physicist John Wheeler along with a fellow physicist, Bryce DeWitt, developed an extraordinary equation for loop quantum gravity that provides a possible framework for unifying relativity and quantum mechanics. But the Wheeler-Dewitt equation has always been controversial, in part because it adds yet another, even more baffling twist to our understanding of time. Time “t” is not part of the equation. Time disappears. The possibility that time may not exist is known among physicists as the “problem of time.” |
Julian Barbour
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7 – The movie film strip model
Building on the radical view of time from the Wheeler-Dewitt Equation, and sounding much like a modern mystic, British physicist Julian Barbour has recently put forth a novel model of time. Barbour argues that the universe is really a vast, static array of “Nows,” like frames of some cosmic movie-reel. Time itself, however, doesn’t exist. He argues that, although there does exist an infinity of individual, instantaneous moments, nevertheless there is no objective happens-before ordering of them, no objective time order. For Barbour each Now is an arrangement of everything in the universe. The Nows can be imagined as pages of a novel ripped from the book's spine and tossed randomly onto the floor or like cards in a deck that can be shuffled arbitrarily. Each page is a separate entity existing outside of time. Arranging the pages in some special order and moving through them in a step-by-step fashion makes a story unfold, and gives the illusion of movement, of time, of history. Still, no matter how we arrange the sheets, each page is complete and independent. There is no past moment that flows into a future moment. In this view, the universe is a huge collection of snapshots; each is a world unto itself - our lives are a scrapbook of snapshots. Our brains assemble these snapshots and play them in succession giving the illusion of movement. Everything that happens can be thought of as the unfolding of moment after moment after moment of these snapshots, or “Nows.” “Whatever light is, it seems to be in a realm where there is no duration; no before, and no after. There is only ‘Now.’” ~ Peter Russell, scientist, futurist, philosopher, b1946 "The physical universe is really like a movie/motion picture, in which a series of still images shown on a screen creates the illusion of moving images." ~ Mir Faizal, PhD, physicist |
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8 – Time consists of separate discrete moments. It is not continuous.
Some physicists currently believe that if they ever manage to unify quantum theory and general relativity, space and time will be described by some modified version of quantum mechanics. In such a theory, space and time would no longer be smooth and continuous. Rather, they would consist of discrete fragments, just as light is composed of individual bundles of energy called photons. Time would consist of discrete separate moments, much as described in point-7 above. It is projected that there would be an incredible number of these static moments occurring each second. This results from what physicists have determined to be the smallest physically meaningful interval of time, which is known as “Planck time,” an infinitesimal 5.39 divided by 10 to the power of 44 seconds. This is regarded by physicists to be the smallest time interval possible between any two events. That means there would be about 10 to the power of 43 “moments” flashing into existence every second, i.e. more than a million trillion trillion trillion "moments" each second. Note the strong connection between this concept of “time” and Barbour’s “Nows.” Each one of Barbour’s “Nows” exists separately as a standalone discrete “moment.” Just as a movie in a theater plays many standalone discrete frames from a film each second in order to create the illusion of continuous motion for the audience, our consciousness plays a series of these “Nows” in succession to create the illusion of continuous motion in our lives and the universe. But it is not continuous; time does not “flow.” Our body-forms and the virtual universe consist of a series of still frames, a series of static ‘Nows.’ Everything is recreated over and over again - an incredibly huge collection of Planck-frame snapshots, each a world unto itself. “The everyday universe is therefore literally disappearing and manifesting every split second. This process is similar to what happens as you look at an image on your computer screen - which is actually regenerated by the system every split second. …. While the flicker of the universal screen is imperceptible to most of us, advanced meditators have alluded to it.” ~ Jay Alfred, from Brains and Realities “All objects within my panoramic gaze trembled and vibrated like quick motion pictures” ~ P. Yogananda “Nobel Prize winning physicists have proven beyond doubt that the physical world is one large sea of energy that flashes into and out of being in milliseconds, over and over again. Nothing is solid. This is the world of Quantum Physics. They have proven that thoughts are what put together and hold together this ever-changing energy field into the ‘objects’ that we see. So why do we see a person instead of a flashing cluster of energy? Think of a movie reel. A movie is a collection of about 24 frames a second. Each frame is separated by a gap. However, because of the speed at which one frame replaces another, our eyes get cheated into thinking that we see a continuous and moving picture.” ~ John Assaraf, entrepreneur, brain researcher |
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9 – The past is a result of the present, not the other way around
As difficult as some of the concepts above are to comprehend, this one is perhaps the hardest for the human ego-mind processor to grasp. This idea was first brought to the forefront by John Wheeler in 1978 in the so-called “delayed-choice” hypothesis. Wheeler postulated that the past state of a photon travelling to earth from a distant galaxy is actually determined by measurements made in the present, i.e. the present determines the past. It would be tempting to dismiss Wheeler's thought experiment as a curious idea, except for one thing: it has been demonstrated and verified in laboratory tests. For example, tests done by physicists in both Australia and France have, in fact, shown that actions in the present can retroactively change something which had already happened. In this concept of time, the ”past” consists of a wide range of possible states all co-existing in a state of unmanifested potential (just like the “future,” as has been discussed many times in this website). An act of consciousness evokes a particular universe in the present moment while simultaneously reaching backwards in time to create a history appropriate and consistent with that present. In this model, cause and effect are reversed, the present and future can cause the past. There is a legend of a Chinese general who lost a very important battle. It is said that the reason he lost the battle is that many years later, mistakes were made in the liturgy of his funeral. The mistakes caused his life to be less auspicious and therefore led to the loss of the battle. “What Wheeler is pointing out through the delayed choice experiment, though, is that the past doesn’t actually exist in a solid and objective way that causes or determines our present moment experience like is imagined by classical physics. Rather, he is saying our situation is just the opposite. He is saying that by the way we observe in this present moment we actually reach back into time and create the past. It is not just the future that’s undetermined, but the past as well; just as there are ‘probable’ futures there are ‘probable’ pasts. Our present observations select one out of many possible quantum histories for the universe.” ~ Paul Levy On a personal level, there have been times when something has arisen in the present which was inconsistent with what I had been expecting based on past events. On each such occasion, I went back to review the past event only to find that is was not what I had thought. The past event was, in fact, now consistent with the unexpected present happening. One can easily dismiss all this by concluding that I have a bad memory. However, after it has happened a number of times (in which the new present events were preferable to what I had been expecting), I must say that I now feel much less constrained by so-called limitations arising from the past. “It is wrong to think of that past as ‘already existing’…..the past has no existence except as it is recorded in the present.” ~ John Wheeler, PhD, world-renowned physicist “You have multiple possible futures, each with a different history” ~ Robert Lanza, MD and scientist, 2009 “Our choice in the present moment affected what had already happened in the past. This makes absolutely no sense, which is a common phenomenon when it comes to quantum physics. Regardless of our ability to make sense of it, it’s real.” ~ Arjun Wali, author and member of Collective Evolution “For decades, quantum mechanics predicted that your observation not only creates your present reality, but also creates the past history appropriate to that reality, i.e., you actually produce something backwards in time. Most scientists found this difficult to comprehend, much less believe. Quantum cosmologist John Archibald Wheeler suggested what he called a “delayed-choice experiment,” which if carried out would determine whether or not one’s observation actually could produce something backwards in time. For a long time, this was just conjecture, but in 1987, the experiment was performed and it confirmed that backwards-in-time history is created by the observer.” ~ James A. Cusumano, Ph.D |
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10 – It’s “all in the mind”
And, finally, there is a contention called the biocentric universe theory, which ultimately concludes that time is an illusion which exists only in the minds of conscious observers. In essence, the universe exists because consciousness exists. To most, space appears to be a vast container that has no walls and that houses a myriad of separate objects. But the separations may be mere mental constructions. The space “out there” may be part of a continuum of consciousness, and nothing exists apart from the observer. In reality, the farthest regions of space may be located right here in our minds. “Where does Space-Time come from? Is there any answer except that it comes from consciousness.” ~ John Wheeler, PhD, world-renowned physicist "We must rid ourselves of the notion that space and time are actual qualities in things in themselves … all bodies, together with the space in which they are, must be considered nothing but mere representations in us, and exist nowhere but in our thoughts.” ~ Immanuel Kant, renowned philosopher, 18th century “Space and time have fallen from their absolute status. They are both created through the act of perception … This is not to imply that they are not fundamental to our experience; they are the dimensional framework within which we structure our mental image of the world. But we deceive ourselves when we assume that they are also fundamental to the underlying reality.” ~ Peter Russell, scientist, psychologist, futurist, b1946 |
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3. The View of the Mystics 
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The last section highlighted the work that is going on today by physicists to try to understand the true nature of time. This present section looks at how mystics view time. Mystics from all lands, all traditions and all ages have held a common understanding of time, as directly experienced by them during states of higher consciousness. The mystics' experience of the nature of time is vastly different from the one that humans, under the spell of the cosmic hypnosis of maya, believe to be true. The experience of the mystics can be organized into a number of categories, as follows; 1 – The illusion of time One of the key revelations expressed by all mystics is that, at the highest level of consciousness, time does not exist. “God is the Eternal Consciousness, unchanging and indivisible, in which the illusions of time and space present an infinite variety of forms interacting in a progressive mode of past, present and future. When a dreamer travels around the world in his dream, he does so, not in time and space, but in his consciousness only. Similarly, the cosmic dream is occurring neither in vast space nor in a series of past, present, and future time, but in the Eternal Now of God’s dream consciousness.” ~ P. Yogananda Questioner: Oh yes, I know that I exist now, but I want to know if I’ll exist in the future. Ramana Maharshi: Past!…Present!… Future!…. Questioner: Yes, today is the result of yesterday, the past, and tomorrow, the future, will be the result of today, the present. Am I right? Maharshi: There is neither past nor future. There is only the present. Yesterday was the present to you when you experienced it, and tomorrow will be also the present when you experience it. Therefore, experience takes place only in the present, and beyond experience nothing exists … even the present is mere imagination, for the sense of time is purely mental. Space is similarly mental. “To be identified with your mind is to be trapped in time: the compulsion to live almost exclusively through memory and anticipation. This creates an endless preoccupation with past and future and an unwillingness to honor and acknowledge the present moment and allow it to be. The compulsion arises because the past gives you an identity and the future holds the promise of salvation, of fulfillment in whatever form. Both are illusions.” ~ Eckhart Tolle “From a purely theoretical point of view, Eternity can be a very daunting concept, one which cosmologists as a rule refrain from considering. But for those of us who have been privileged to experience Eternity directly, it is neither a theory nor a concept. We know, with absolute certainty, that it is the underlying foundation, support, and projecting power upon which this universe of time and space exists. We know that time exists only in the universal manifestation, with a recurrent beginning and end, and that in Eternity there is no such thing as time– no past, no present, no future.” ~ Swami Abhayananda “There is only imagination. It has absorbed you so completely that you just cannot grasp how far from reality you have wandered. No doubt imagination is richly creative. Universe upon universe are built on it. Yet they are all in space and time, past and future, which just don't exist.” ~ Nisargadatta Maharaj It is quite evident from the above quotations that mystics clearly do not see time the same way as mortal humans do. More on this later. |
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2 – The dual nature of time
Time is apparent for those caught up in the manifestation of this universal playground, but no longer exists for those who have “graduated” from the virtual game and have returned to their native home as gods beyond the virtual playground. The last quotation above hints at this. This is also suggested by a line from Paramahansa Yogananda’s poem Samadhi (which describes an early experience in cosmic consciousness) in which he states, “present, past, future no more for me, but ever-present all-flowing, I, I everywhere.” Here, Yogananda acknowledges that present, past and future are a part of the lower consciousness of the ego-mind but are “no more” once one attains the higher god-mind. This is further suggested by the following quotations; “As form you are still in time. As the formless you are beyond time.” ~ Eckhart Tolle “The idea of time is only in your mind. It is not in the Self [your god-nature]. There is no time for the Self. Time arises as an idea after the ego arises. But you are the Self beyond time and space; you exist even in the absence of time and space.” ~ Ramana Maharshi “In your world everything must have a beginning and an end. If it does not, you call it eternal. In my view, there is no such thing as beginning and end - these are all related to time …The immutable Reality lies beyond space and time.” ~ Nisargadatta Maharaj “Time and its corollary, space, as observed in the world of relativity, are “man-made” categories, suggested by Nature’s power of illusion” ~ P. Yogananda “It's only in the phenomenal world where time arises.” ~ Eckhart Tolle “Humans are amphibians - half spirit and half animal. As spirits they belong to the eternal world, but as animals they inhabit time.” ~ C. S. Lewis, theologian and author |
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3 – The Eternal Now
For those with access to their god-mind, one is aware of the full panorama of all events of the so-called past, present and future simultaneously, the so-called all encompassing “Now” that includes everything that has ever happened or will ever happen (with the proviso that future happenings are the “most probable” ones and can change based on the karmic results of free will choices). ‘The "Now" is eternal and still; it never changes or moves, since it is the infinite clearing or space in which all change and movement happens. The cloud arises, the cloud stays a bit, and the cloud goes, but the vast empty sky remains untouched by it.’ ~ Tom Huston, from Buddhism and the Illusion of Time “[Your] awareness is transformed into a timeless, spaceless awareness of identity with the limitless and eternal Consciousness” ~ Swami Abhayananda “There exists only the present instant... a Now which always and without end is itself new. There is no yesterday nor any tomorrow, but only Now, as it was a thousand years ago and as it will be a thousand years hence.” ~ Meister Eckhart “When you view it from the highest dimension, there is no time and no space, nor any future or past, and that it is all happening in one fascinating expression” ~ Edgar Cayce “I have realized that the past and future are real illusions, that they exist in the present, which is what there is and all there is” ~ Alan Watts “The Cosmic Dreamer … is aware not only of His present cosmic dreams, but of all that went on within Him in the past, and of all that is going to happen within Him in the future – appearing and disappearing in His spaceless, timeless consciousness of an eternal present” ~ P. Yogananda “The Jivas with individual minds are witnessing the events in succession. But the Isvara knows all events at one sweep.” ~ Sivananda "All temporal succession coincides in one and the same Eternal Now. So there is nothing past or future." ~ Nicolas de Cusa, mystical writer and philosopher of 15th century "In this moment there is nothing that comes to be. In this moment there is nothing that ceases to be … thus the absolute peace in this present moment. … There is no limit to this moment, and herein lies eternal delight." ~ Ch'an Master Hui-neng, Zen Buddhist Master "This moment is all there is" ~ Rumi |
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4 – The remarkable "time processing" speed of the higher mind Another way of expressing point-3 above, is that time passes incredibly fast at the higher states of consciousness. All events of the so-called past, present and future are experienced as an almost instantaneous awareness. “This absolute Awareness is beyond movement and rest; One instant is ten thousand years.” ~ Seng-ts’an, Buddhist Master, from 6th century BCE “… [because] visions are seen … on the superconscious plane, not on the material plane of relativity, they occupy an incredibly short span of time” ~ P. Yogananda “Higher states of consciousness use subtler (lighter and quicker) energy and lower states of consciousness use denser (heavier and slower) energy to process our experiences. Thus, when we are in a higher state we process experiences faster and when we are in a lower state we process experiences more slowly. Also, acceptance of experience speeds up the processing rate and resistance to experience slows down the processing rate, acceptance speeds up the experience of time and resistance slows down the experience of time. The higher our level of consciousness, the more expansive and inclusive it is of the past and the future.” ~ Simon Heather, from The Astral and Causal Bodies, July 2013 article Many individuals who have had a near death experience (NDE) have reported that they experienced a very detailed life review. One of the remarkable aspects of the reviews is that they seemed to have been completed almost instantaneously, in spite of their thorough nature. Perhaps such life reviews are experienced while in a higher state of consciousness. |
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5 – Time consists of separate discrete moments. It is not continuous.
This is identical to the feature of time mentioned earlier in the View of Modern Science section. The experience of the mystics is wonderfully expressed by the following quotation from Zen Master Seung Sahn, from his book The Compass of Zen; "Sometimes you go to a movie. You see an action movie about a good man and a bad man—lots of fighting, cars moving very fast, and explosions all over the place. Everything is always moving very quickly. Our daily lives have this quality: everything is constantly moving, coming and going, non-stop. It seems like there is no stillness-place. But this movie is really only a very long strip of film. In one second, there are something like fourteen frames. Each frame is a piece of action. But in each frame, nothing is moving. Everything is completely still. Each frame, one by one, is a complete picture. In each frame, nothing ever comes or goes, or appears or disappears. Each frame is complete stillness. The film projector moves the frames very quickly, and all of these frames run past the lens very fast, so the action on-screen seems to happen nonstop. There is no break in the movement of things. But actually when you take this strip of film and hold it up to the light with your hands, there is nothing moving at all/ each frame is complete. Every moment is completely not moving action. Our minds and this whole universe are just like that. This world is impermanent. Everything is always changing, changing, changing, moving, moving, moving, nonstop. Even one second of our lives seems full of so much movement and change in this world that we see. But your mind—right now—is like a lens whose shutter speed is one divided by infinite time. We call that moment-mind. If you attain that mind, then whole world‘s moment stops. From moment to moment you can see this world completely stop. Stop. Stop. Stop. Stop. Stop. Like the film, you perceive every frame—this moment—which is infinitely still and complete." "Rather than being some constant, fixed reality, this whole universe constantly appears and disappears." Seung Sahn then goes on to say that while the above is the true reality of time, man's thinking mind is always moving, thus creating the illusion of time passing; "In the frame, nothing is moving. There is no time, and nothing appears or disappears in that box. But this movie projector—your thinking mind—is always moving, around and around and around, so you experience this world as constantly moving and you constantly experience change." Seung Sahn then describes how man can raise his normal consciousness to a higher level through meditation and thereby acquire the ability to see and experience the individual discrete frames of the "movie." "When you practice meditation for long time, however, you can stop your mind-lens, and then you can actually experience that each moment of your life is truly infinite in time and space. This is why we call it moment-mind. It is not moving, and always complete. It is mind that is actually beyond time and space." The following two quotations build on this thought; “In deep meditation, when all awareness of things has ceased and the mind is completely still, there is no experience of change, and nothing by which to mark the passing of time. You know you have been sitting there, in absolute stillness, but as to how long you have been there, you have no idea. It could have been a minute, or it could have been an hour. Time as we know it has disappeared. There is simply now, eternal now. Not only is this essential self beyond time, it also is beyond space.” ~ Peter Russell, Consciousness and Reality “When you are perfectly calm, time stops. There is no time.” ~ Robert Adam |
Eckhart Tolle
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6 – Time has practical value in the VR game
As much as time is but an illusion at the higher realms, it was indeed created by Spirit; and it has some practical use in the lower realms of the virtual reality game of the universe. “Time derives from Him, though He is utterly beyond time’s reach” ~ Swami Abhayananda “Time has no absolute existence, but exists only as an elemental byproduct of the universal expansion of space projected upon the one eternal Mind. It is a measure, as spatial location is, of the progression of universal manifestation.” ~ Swami Abhayananda “Time, that is to say, past and future, is what the false mind-made self, the ego, lives on, and time is in your mind. It isn’t something that has an objective existence “out there.” It is a mind-structure needed for sensory perception, indispensable for practical purposes, but the greatest hindrance to knowing your Self.” ~ Eckhart Tolle |
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7 – Time is not linear
Those with access to their god-mind can hop from a “past” event to a “future” event to a “present” event in whatever order they so choose. Those who are limited to their ego-mind processor are restricted to a linear flow of time - from past, to present, to "most probable" future. “Eternal consciousness has one time - the ever present. God looks through the window of infinite consciousness on the films of finite happenings of the past, present, and future shown on the screen of time and space, continuously moving backward and forward in an eternal now.” ~ P. Yogananda “God has no respect for “history,” man’s limited and erroneous conceptions of time and space, for He can produce any past being, object, or event instantaneously in His ever present dream consciousness.” ~ P. Yogananda |
Nisargadatta Maharaj
Ralph Waldo Emerson
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8 – It’s “all in the mind"
Like everything in this virtual reality game, ultimately the sense of time is experienced solely in your own consciousness (just like a VR game player of today who puts on his VR headset and experiences different VR game environments and events solely in his consciousness. None of the VR games are real). The experience of time is just like that. "The mystery of time opens up to the mystery of consciousness itself" ~ Thomas J. McFarlane, scientist, philosopher and author, b1964 “In reality time and space exist in you; you do not exist in them. They are modes of perception.” ~ Nisargadatta Maharaj “The influence of the senses have in men overpowered the thought to the degree that the walls of time and space have come to look solid, real and insurmountable … Yet time and space are but inverse measures of the power of the mind. Man is capable of abolishing them both.” ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson “There is no time nor space – everything is happening in your own thought.” ~ P. Yogananda, from Beholding the One in All, recorded in 1949 |
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4. A Model of Time 
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In this section, the latest scientific findings and the words of the mystics, as outlined above, are synthesized into a model of time. The diagram below illustrates of some of the key elements of this model. Note that the "movie film strip" analogy is one that is used by both mystics and scientists alike. "The physical universe is really like a movie/motion picture, in which a series of still images shown on a screen creates the illusion of moving images." ~ Mir Faizal, PhD, physicist “The whole physical universe is a true-to-sight, true-to-hearing, true-to-smell, true-to-taste, and true-to-touch “technicolored” cosmic-dream motion picture.” ~ P. Yogananda |
Model of Time
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The main features of the model are as follows; There is an Eternal Now that encompasses all time; the Present Moment, the "most probable" future and a past that is consistent with the Present Moment (see The Probabilistic Universe posting on this page for an outline of the "most probable" future concept). The Eternal Now stretches across all events of time and provides a vast panoramic view from the beginning to the end of the universe.
The Eternal Now can be visualized as a movie film strip made up of countless static, standalone movie frames in which the entire movie from start to finish can be seen all at once.
For the vast majority, who currently only have access to their lower ego-minds, only a very small portion of the Eternal Now movie can be seen. The ego-consciousness plays the static frames, or snapshots, of this limited portion of the movie in succession to create the illusion of continuous motion in our lives and the universe. While a cinema movie consists of 24 frames per second, our life movie is run at a much, much higher rate. The movie creates the illusion of a linear flow from the "present" frame on to "future" frames with former present frames stored in the memory as the "past." But in fact, there is no flow. There is no such thing as continuous time. It's all an illusion created in the mind. More on this below.
For those with access to the higher consciousness of their god-minds, the full movie, the complete panoramic view of the Eternal Now can be experienced all at once. The god-mind can also choose to play the frames of the movie sequentially in a manner similar to that of the ego-mind. The movie can be played at the lower speed of the ego-mind or at a vastly higher speed such that the complete movie is completed in a flash. Further, those with access to the higher consciousness of the god-mind can visit individual frames of the movie in whatever order they so choose.
As covered in the Personalized Creation Model webpage, each of us live in our own personalized universe and as such, each of us has our own "local" Eternal Now that encompasses every event of our lives from the beginning to the end of time; all lives, all levels of the game, etc.
The individual Eternal Nows can be integrated into different groups to allow a composite view of the Eternal Now for that group (e.g. family, community, country, planet, universe, etc.)
The Eternal Now for each of us (and for each group) is "refreshed" almost countless times each second based on individual (and group) free will choices made in the Present Moment. Based on these free will choices, the karmic results are immediately determined and displayed from the beginning to the end of the universe. New movies are produced providing the latest most probable future and a past that is consistent with the most recent free will choices and associated karmic impacts.
The movie frames of the past do not determine the present and future. The only movie frame that really counts is the Present Moment in which choices are being made. This Present Moment movie frame determines all other frames of the so-called past and future. The movie frames of the most probable future are determined from many possibilities as a result of each free will choice and its associated karma, as discussed many times in this website. Similarly, the ”past” consists of a wide range of possibilities all co-existing in a state of unmanifested potential. An act of consciousness evokes a particular universe in the present moment while simultaneously reaching backwards in time to create a history appropriate and consistent with that present.
________________________________________________________ It may be useful at this point to go back and see how well this model of time has "kept up" with the latest theories from science and the revelations of the mystics that were highlighted earlier. Starting with science, here is a point by point review of each of the findings as articulated earlier;
Similarly, the above model of time addresses the teachings of the mystics, i.e.
The declaration by both mystics and some physicists that time is "all in the mind" is addressed below. |
As mentioned above, time is viewed differently depending on the consciousness of the observer, e.g.
The table below summarizes how time is viewed by each of these three groups.
- Those with access to their god-minds, existing outside and beyond the virtual world of creation;
- Those using their ego-minds while playing within the virtual world; and
- Those with access to their god-minds, while playing within the game environment of the virtual world.
The table below summarizes how time is viewed by each of these three groups.
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1 - Those with access to their god-minds, existing outside and beyond the virtual world of creation
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For the formless gods/Spirit existing beyond the virtual worlds, there is no such thing as time. It is an eternal, timeless realm of ever-new, endless bliss consciousness.
One can picture this as follows; imagine a vast, motionless, endless blue sky. Small clouds of different shapes appear on the backdrop of this vast sky, drift along and then disappear. These are the universes that arise, exist and then disappear. The infinite consciousness of the gods/Spirit witness these creations of Spirit from their vast timeless, eternal realm. Although these universe "clouds" appear to last billions of years from a human perspective, they arise and disappear almost instantaneously within the infinite consciousness of the gods/Spirit. |
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2 - Those using their ego-minds while playing within the virtual world
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For the individualized extensions of Spirit, who are playing within the virtual universes under the spell of the cosmic hypnosis of maya, time seems real. The Eternal Now cannot be seen.
The ego-mind experiences the "movie film strip" of time from one frame to the next in a linear fashion. The frame they are conscious of is the so-called present, but it disappears into the "past" as the movie film strip moves along to the next present moment and then on to the next and so on. The movie film strip frames yet to be played in the ego-mind are referred to as the unseen "future." |
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3 - Those with access to their god-minds, while playing within the game environment of the virtual world
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There are some players in this virtual world who have access to their higher god-minds. By virtue of having a human body-form, they also have at least a hint of ego-consciousness. They experience this virtual world as both a participant as well as a god.
As such, while using their ego-mind, they experience time just as the majority of mankind does. But they are just playing the game. They know with their higher mind the true nature of time. They experience the Eternal Now as described above. They have control over the frames of the "movie film strip" and can experience any event of the so-called past or "most probable" future as they so choose. They know that the past is not fixed, but that the movie film strip frames can be manipulated into different scenes, etc. |
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(footnote 1) It may be difficult to accept that history is only a story that can be manipulated to match views held in the present. For example, suppose history tells the story of a battle that took place many hundreds of years ago in which occupants of a castle were under siege by an enemy force. Today, one can fly across the world and visit that castle which is still standing. Is that not proof that past events actually happened and history is fixed? |
It's 'all in the mind" The mystics have consistently said that time is an illusion - that it's just a game being played in our consciousness and that once we raise our awareness to a higher level, we will experience time's real nature. “Don't talk to me about past and future. They exist only in your mind.” ~ Nisargadatta Maharaj “Time, that is to say, past and future, is what the false mind-made self, the ego, lives on, and time is in your mind. It isn’t something that has an objective existence 'out there.'” ~ Eckhart Tolle “It is we who are under an illusion when we believe that the world we see around us is actually around us, not within us. These inner explorers [mystics] have discovered that it truly is ‘all in the mind'.” ~ Peter Russell It is interesting that there are at least a few physicists who are coming to the same conclusion, i.e. it's all in the mind. Perhaps there are many that have reached this determination, but they have not gone public with such views, for fear of being ostracized by their peers. But there are always a few brave scientists who are prepared to say where there scientific experience is leading them, regardless of the implications. “Where does Space-Time come from? Is there any answer except that it comes from consciousness.” ~ John Wheeler, PhD, world-renowned physicist One way to try to comprehend that time is "all in the mind" is to once again invoke the virtual reality (VR) view of creation that has been used many times throughout this website. The mystics have said that Spirit - formless, infinite, endless, ever-new bliss consciousness - chose to create a world of virtual light forms as entertainment for Itself, much like a person today may play a VR game for entertainment. In fact, Spirit has chosen to play the VR game through countless extensions of Itself, each playing their own individualized game with a unique perspective. As such, the infinite mind of Spirit is not playing just one VR game, but countless. Each of us is a player of one of these games. The game is being played by our god-self (which is, in turn, Spirit Itself). The characters we are playing within the game appear as the body-forms that each of us currently occupies. The body-form comes with its own mind-processor that is "pre-loaded" with game information about the game's settings and background, e.g. the universe. From within the game, the mind-processor is also fed with information from the body-form's five sense instruments. All of this information is used to create a personalized mini-universe within the mind which is then projected out as our localized version of the universe. This projection is constantly updated with new sense instrument information as well as updated game backgrounds and other new information. Part of the game information that is pre-loaded into the mind-processor is "time". At the lower levels of the game, time appears as described above for the ego-mind, i.e. a linear flow of events that are played as the present, past and future. At the higher levels of the game, the god-mind experiences the true nature of time, i.e. the Eternal Now. And, like all VR games, all the action in this VR game of creation takes place solely in our consciousness. In all VR games, the virtual background, the characters in the game and all the action appear to be spread out in a tapestry of time and space all around the main character- but in fact, everything is happening within the "VR headset" or consciousness of the player who exists outside the game. It's "all in the mind." In a similar manner, our consciousness “projects” our own individual virtual movie. Each frame of the movie contains absolutely no motion whatsoever — it is a still image. Yet, by rapidly sequencing these still frames, we create the illusion of motion and time. The consciousness of one playing the game at an advanced level exists in the timeless realm in which one can view the all of the static frames of the entire film simultaneously. As well, at the higher levels of the game, one can choose to reorder the frames or jump from one frame to another in a non-linear fashion (footnote 1); all of which takes place in the consciousness of the VR player. |
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5. Final Thoughts
It is difficult to comprehend the true nature of time that the mystics have alluded to and that modern science is now discovering. It is inconsistent with everyday experience.
The difficulty is that the cosmic spell of maya convinces us that time flows from the past to the present to the future in a linear and unchangeable fashion. But it does not. It is just an illusion created as part of the VR game of the universe - just like the illusory worlds that are created for entertainment purposes as part of all VR games.
This is much like a hypnotist who "suggests" to a person that the number "4" does not exist. That person will insist that there is no number "4" in spite of all evidence to the contrary. No amount of persuasion or explanation will cause that person to change their mind.
Similarly, we believe that our bodies and surroundings are solid objects in spite of indisputable evidence from science that our bodies and surroundings are actually frozen light energy, 99.9999999% empty space.
Such is the power of hypnosis. The ego-mind has been given an incorrect understanding of the true nature of time and cannot be easily persuaded that there is a higher understanding.
But that is the challenge. Eventually each of us must overcome our ego-mind and awaken to our true nature as gods. Once that is done, the VR game will be played with a true understanding of the nature of time.
In doing so, playing within the VR game of creation will become much more enjoyable. No longer will we be subject to the relentless march of time. We will have the ability to choose to visit any event within our consciousness, i.e. any event of the so-called past or future. We will be able to see the magnificent panorama of all events from the distant past to the farthest reaches of the future simultaneously as part of our awareness of the Eternal Now. We will be able to manipulate in our consciousness new arrangements of the static movie frames into new stories, etc.
And when we finally understand that the VR game of creation essentially consists of static movie frames that appear and disappear countless time each second, we will understand that these body-forms are merely vibrating frozen light energy whose sole purpose is to be a vehicle for our god-selves to experience the phantasmagoria of these virtual worlds of creation.
The ego-mind is aghast at the thought that the body-form appears and disappears countless times each second. When reading the quotations below from earlier in this posting, i.e.
- “The everyday universe is therefore literally disappearing and manifesting every split second.”
- “Nobel Prize winning physicists have proven beyond doubt that the physical world is one large sea of energy that flashes into and out of being in milliseconds, over and over again.”
- "Rather than being some constant, fixed reality, this whole universe constantly appears and disappears."
does it mean that you are dying and returning to life countless times each second? Of course not. But these body-form disguises and all our surroundings are certainly appearing and disappearing in such a way. The only conclusion to draw from this is that what we call "I" cannot possibly be our body-forms. Our ego-minds have been wrong all along . But if we are not these body-forms, then who are we? We are the gods - individualized extensions of Spirit, ultimately Spirit Itself; each of us "a divinity in disguise, a god playing the fool" within the play drama of these virtual worlds.
- “You embrace some form saying, 'I am this.' By God, you are not this or that or the other, you and spirit are the same.” ~ Rumi
In a VR game, you take on a role and with your VR headset on, you closely identify yourself with this role, so much so that you may actually forget your real self and believe you are this role. As such, you have been fooled by how realistic the VR game is. Take off the VR headset and you can laugh at how the game fooled you.
And so it is with us. In this VR game of creation the body-form is our role. But the body-form is only a play character; part of the movie. Once a player becomes advanced enough to actually "take off their VR headset" and step out of the game, that player enters the timeless realm where everything "just is." No time. Just pure eternal consciousness of ever-new bliss.
“I remind you again, the only difference between the sage and yourself is you see the world and you identify with it. You think it's real. A sage sees the world and he knows it's a superimposition upon Consciousness. So he identifies with Consciousness.” ~ Robert Adams
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This posting has likely required a fair bit of focused concentration. Perhaps it would be useful to lighten things up at the end with a quote from Dave Barry - author, columnist and very funny man .... “Aside from velcro, time is the most mysterious substance in the universe. You can't see it or touch it, yet a plumber can charge you upwards of seventy-five dollars per hour for it, without necessarily fixing anything.” |
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George Carlin
William Dement
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The Mystery of Sleep (October 2018)
"The woods are lovely, dark and deep. But I have promises to keep, and miles to go before I sleep, and miles to go before I sleep" ~ Robert Frost George Carlin was a very funny man. He was also an astute observer of the human condition which he would describe in his inimitable "no holds barred" style. He once noted that, People say, 'I'm going to sleep now,' as if it were nothing. But it's really a bizarre activity. 'For the next several hours, while the sun is gone, I'm going to become unconscious, temporarily losing command over everything I know and understand. When the sun returns, I will resume my life.' And then we have the words of Raymond Tallis, a British philosopher, poet and retired medical physician/clinical neuroscientist; "Sleep is rather extraordinary. If I told you that I had a neurological disease which meant that for eight or more hours a day I lost control of my faculties, bade farewell to the outside world, and was subject to complex hallucinations and delusions – such as being chased by a grizzly bear at Stockport Railway Station – you would think I was in a pretty bad way ..... The fact that we accept without surprise the need for a prolonged black-out as part of our daily life highlights our tendency to take for granted anything about our condition that is universal. We don’t see how strange sleep is because (nearly) everyone sleeps." Have you ever wondered why it is that we sleep? Why do we spend about one-third of our time on this planet in an unconscious state, vulnerable and oblivious of events around us? Why do most of us actually look forward to it? Such is the mystery of sleep. This posting starts by looking at what modern science has to say about sleep. In spite of extensive research, science still has no definitive answer as to why we sleep. As sleep specialist Dr. Manisha Witmans says, "Believe it or not, despite all that we know about sleep, we don't know why people sleep or what its purpose is." This is echoed by Dr. Meir Kryger, a leader in the field of sleep medicine and author of the book, "The Mystery of Sleep", who admits that, "No one has been able to declare with certainty why all life forms need sleep.” As neuroscientist Dr. Michael Halassa puts it, "It's sort of embarrassing ... it's not clear why we need to sleep at all." Perhaps facetiously, Dr. William Dement, one of the leading sleep researchers of the last century and co-discoverer of Rapid Eye Movement sleep, concluded from his fifty years in the forefront of the field that the only reason we need to sleep is that, "we get sleepy.” In spite of not knowing why we sleep, modern science has discovered some interesting information on what happens when we sleep, as will be outlined below. The posting then looks at the mystics' view on the mystery of sleep. It turns out that for mystics, there is no mystery at all. It is quite clear what the purpose of sleep is. As outlined below, the mystics offer a consistent and fascinating account on this topic. |
It is intriguing to note that the stages of sleep that modern science has discovered are the same stages that mystics describe. The difference is that mystics can explain the purpose of these stages while science can only speculate.
The posting will consist of the following four sections;
The posting will consist of the following four sections;
- The View of Modern Science
- The View of the Mystics
- Commentary and Context
- Final Thoughts
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1. The View of Modern Science 
Raymond Tallis
British philosopher, poet and retired medical physician/clinical neuroscientist Raymond Tallis on Sleep |
As mentioned above, modern science has been unable to discern the purpose for sleep. There is no lack of hypotheses and conjecture; many ideas have been put forward - but without any substantial evidence to support them. It's safe to say, however, that sleep contributes to the health of the body-form in general and to the body-form's mind-processor, i.e. the brain, in particular. It is also a form of renewal, like a new beginning, in which some of yesterday's constraints can be left behind and a chance to build upon new ideas and start anew., refreshed and recharged. Over the last 100 years, with the advent of electroencephalograms, or EEGs, modern science, however, has made much progress into identifying the different stages of sleep as well as providing insight into the characteristics of these different stages. This work accelerated in the 1990s as neuroscientists moved beyond EEG markers of sleep stages to reveal activities of individual neurons that underlie slow waves. Science has identified two primary states of sleep - dream sleep and deep, dreamless sleep. There are often references made to other stages of lighter sleep that are a prelude to the deep, dreamless state, but these preliminary stages are not primary states and as such, will not be addressed further herein. During the night (or any other sleep period ) we oscillate back and forth between these two primary states of sleep. Initially we enter the deep, dreamless state (preceded by the aforementioned preliminary stages). The deep sleep state is followed by the dream state and then the cycle repeats, typically 3-5 times a night. With each cycle, the time spent in deep sleep decreases and the time spent in dream sleep increases. Even as we cycle through these stages, our sleep is frequently interrupted by brief awakenings, each lasting only seconds. We typically experience about five awakenings an hour, although we do not remember them. Modern science has determined a number of characteristics of the two primary sleep states, as follows: Deep sleep
Dream sleep
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2. The View of the Mystics 
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Like modern science, mystics refer to the same two key states of sleep, i.e. deep sleep and dream sleep. When modern mystics use the term “sleep" they are referring to deep sleep. Going forward, we will use the terminology of the mystics in order to be consistent with the many quotations that follow. In addition to these two states of sleep, mystics also refer to two other states of human consciousness - the waking state and the superconscious state. The first three states, i.e. waking, sleep and dreaming, are often referred to as the "normal" states of human consciousness. The fourth category of superconsciousness is a higher state. Only few remain in such a state, in spite of it being the native state of our god-selves. These "three plus one" states of consciousness are briefly summarized in the table below; |
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Sleep state
Dream state Waking state Superconscious state |
During the deep sleep state, we are not conscious. The subconscious mind records the experiences therein. A small reflection of these experiences may be experienced as peace, happiness and/or rejuvenation upon awakening.
When we are dreaming, we are using our subconscious mind. The subconscious mind also remains active in the background during wakefulness, collecting memories. Our waking state in which we are said to be conscious. Our conscious mind is inactive during the sleep and dream states. The superconscious state of god-awareness; our original, native state, i.e. the formless bliss consciousness of immortality. |
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Each of these states of consciousness will be described in a bit more detail below;
Quotations on the Deep Sleep State |
The Deep Sleep State
The deep sleep state is a fascinating one. The mystics have characterized this state as one in which we are drawn into our native state of god-consciousness. Every night in the deep sleep state our body-awareness falls away, the world disappears, and we spend our time in a state of god-awareness. This state is the closest that the ego comes to remembering its original state of unending joy. As such, whenever the body-bound ego tires of playing in this virtual world, it is unconsciously attracted to seek the hidden bliss of deep sleep. The deep sleep state differs from the full superconsciousness state in three ways;
As such, deep sleep may be called a semi-superconscious state. As postulated by scientists, mystics confirm that the deep sleep state is indeed a period of rejuvenation and recharging of the body instrument. In fact, the deep sleep state is a necessary condition for the body-form to continue to function within the virtual playground of creation. “Every night He dissolves your body in the subconscious sphere and makes you realize that you are not a man nor a woman but a piece of consciousness … every night you become the Infinite.” ~ P. Yogananda "Nothing in the waking state can compare with the bliss and well-being derived from deep sleep, when the mind and the senses are absent" ~ Ramana Maharshi On the left are some more quotations from modern day mystics regarding the deep sleep state. |
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Quotations on the Dream State 
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The Dream State In the dream state, images from our subconscious mind are strung together into movie scenes involving ourselves and others in various situations and environments. While in a dream, everything appears just as real to us as it does during our wakeful state. Dreams may feature people, places and time sequences that would not be considered normal in our waking state, but nonetheless seem real while we are dreaming. As such, our dreams offer more scope for “out of the ordinary events” than does our waking state. Dreams originate in the consciousness of the dreamer. Any dream imaginable is possible to project onto the screen of one’s subconsciousness. Occurrences in our waking state can influence and shape occurrences in our dreams, and vice versa. In a dream, the dreamer is aware of ego-consciousness, and according to the mystics, can feel sensations of cold or heat; pleasure or pain; perception of the weather; perception of painful diseases; perceptions of babies born or men dying; and sensory perceptions of earth, water, fire, and air. Likewise, the dreaming ego is able to perceive, will, feel, and reason; and can be aware of fear, anger, love, and tranquility; as well as the sensations of sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch. Dreams demonstrate man’s power to materialize thoughts; we can create a miniature cosmos in a fashion similar to Spirit’s dream creation of the material world. We can employ the instrument of the mind to produce creations of our own fancy. One can occupy a new body-form, fashion a new universe and do anything one fancies. In essence, we create substance out of thoughts, just as Spirit does. Dreams are a reflection of one's consciousness - worldly people have worldly dreams; active people have dreams of activity; evil people have dreams of evil; imaginative people have fanciful dreams; optimists may have comedy dreams; pessimists may dream tragedies; worried and fearful people may have nightmares. From the above, one can surmise one's predominant state of consciousness. Otherwise, there is limited validity to dreams. It is generally a waste of time to try to decipher the meaning of dreams. However, while most dreams are meaningless, on occasion one may have what could be called a true dream or vision. More on this below. Mystics also offer practical advice relating to the dream state. For example, it is recommended to sleep on one’s right side (or back). Sleeping on one’s left side puts higher stress on the heart which can often lead to bizarre dreams or nightmares. On the left are some quotations from modern day mystics regarding the dream state. |
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The Waking State While we are under the cosmic hypnosis of maya, the waking state is commonly referred to as our "normal state" (in spite of the fact that our true normal state is that of our god-selves existing outside of this virtual game of creation.) We are all quite familiar with our waking state, so no further commentary is necessary, for now. We will revisit the waking state in a latter section and discover that it is not quite what we think it is. |
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Quotations on the Superconsciousness State 
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The Superconscious State Our superconscious state is our native state of existence in which we remember that we are the gods that exist outside of this virtual game of creation. While it is possible to retain this state of consciousness within the virtual game, most of the players have become so engrossed with their virtual body-forms that they have forgotten their native state and think that their body-forms and this virtual world are real. The superconscious state is often referred to as turiya, particularly with regards to discussions regarding sleep. This terminology will appear in some of the quotes herein. Turiya is a Sanskrit word literally meaning "the fourth" and as such, refers to the highest state of consciousness beyond the three states of waking, dreaming and deep sleep. The term originates from the Upanishads - the ancient, mystic texts of the East. To one who is in this fourth state of consciousness, the other three states of waking, dreaming and deep sleep are secondary. One who is in the state of turiya is fully aware at all times - he can watch his body-form go through the waking, dream and deep sleep states and be fully conscious at all times. He is aware of his real self beyond the VR game; as such, he can watch his VR persona, i. e. the body-form, go through its routines just like watching an actor in a movie. One in the superconscious state may choose to have his body-form forego the dream and deep sleep states - they are no longer required. However, to play along within the game, one may opt to appear like others. The superconscious mind may, on occasion, take a true happening or an upcoming happening and drop it into the subconscious mind to be played as a dream. Such superconsciously induced dreams are true dreams. Similarly, dropping a true happening or an upcoming event into the conscious mind of the waking state is referred to as a vision. On the left are some quotations from modern day mystics regarding the superconscious, or turiya, state. |
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3. Commentary and Context 
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Mystics have used many analogies throughout the centuries to help explain the true nature of our existence, as addressed in the website section entitled Helpful Creation Analogies. The use of dreams to help illustrate the unreal nature of our existence in this world has been a popular one with mystics since everyone understands dreams. This website has emphasized the use of Virtual Reality to help show that our true existence resides outside of this virtual world of frozen light energy projections. Our body-forms, which we take to be our real selves, are the virtual roles we take on when we enter the VR game. Our body-forms and the world around us appear real just as a VR character and a VR game environment appear real as long as we have our VR headset on. Once we take off the VR headset, the virtual character that we were playing and the virtual world that we had entered disappear and we return to our real self outside the game. Virtual Reality is a powerful analogy to help illustrate our true nature. However, VR technology is quite recent. As such, even relatively recent mystics such as the ones quoted herein could not use VR as an analogy because no one would know what they were talking about. However, as mentioned, everyone of all ages understands dreams and therefore they have been used extensively by mystics to help explain that our lives in this world are not real. Each of us lives in our own personalized world in which our consciousness projects light energy frozen into shapes that become our bodies and the world around us, as described in the website section entitled Personalized Creation Model. While each of us live in our own unique projected world, we share many common experiences and environments with others. These common elements come from the consciousness of Spirit, which we receive and re-project as part of our own world. These projections of consciousness that we call our waking world are similar to the projections of consciousness from our subconscious minds that become our dreams. The difference is that we use our conscious minds to do the projections of our waking world. Beyond the dream world and the waking world is the pure awareness of our superconscious mind. Our god-mind. The formless, immortal bliss consciousness that is our true self. |
Below are some quotations from mystics in which they use the dream analogy to help explain our true existence beyond this virtual world and to encourage us to wake up from our dream of creation and return home.
Quotations from Nisargadatta Maharaj |
Quotations from Ramana Maharshi Quotations from Others |
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4. Final Thoughts 
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I remember many years ago coming across the following quotation from Paramahansa Yogananda; “Night time is your real existence. This is your false existence." I had no idea what he meant. It made no sense to me at all. But, like many other words of mystics that, over the years, I could not comprehend, I searched for understanding. And to those who persevere, understanding eventually comes. The "false existence" of our waking state is clearly a reference to the state of cosmic hypnosis that makes us think that this virtual body-form and this virtual world around us are real. Fair enough. But night time as our "real existence"? We know that our dreams are largely meaningless and are clearly not our real existence. What I did not know at the time was that we also enter a deep sleep state every night and that the deep sleep state gives us the experience of our "real existence" as gods beyond this world. I know now. Entering the deep sleep state every night is the primary purpose of sleep. Without doing so, the body-form would be unable to sustain itself. And the nightly glimpses of our blissful god-selves are a key source of rejuvenation and joy, even if these experiences are closeted away in our subconscious minds. Our conscious selves, active in our waking state, are not directly aware of these glorious happenings but nonetheless benefit greatly from them. In addition to deep sleep, our dream state is meant to show us that each of us has the power to create individual worlds of our own fancy - miniature universes that are projected from our subconscious minds and appear just as real to us while we are dreaming as does the waking world when we are awake. This power to create worlds of our own fancy parallels that of Spirit's creative powers, even if it is generated by our subconscious minds. It is a reminder of our native state as creative gods. Another purpose of the dream state is to help us to overcome the powerful grip of maya, the cosmic hypnosis that fools us into believing that the world we experience during our waking state is real. If we can come to the realization that the dream state and the waking state are both dream states that have no validity, then we can come to realize that our true existence lies beyond both of these dream states. As Ramana Maharshi says, “There is no difference between the dream and the waking state except that the dream is short and the waking long. Both are the result of the mind.” Finally, sleep also serves as a means to allow us to start our lives anew on a daily basis. While many things do not change each morning - most of the conditions of our lives pick up where we left off - we can start each new day with a rejuvenated attitude and fresh ideas. In some sense, each new day is a mini-rebirth that follows the mini-death of unconscious sleep. Is sleep necessary as part of this virtual game of creation? For most, yes. But as we covered above, there is a fourth state of consciousness - beyond waking, dreams and deep sleep - known as turiya or superconsciousness. For those who can enter this state of awareness of their true nature as gods, sleep is no longer necessary. Those in this highest state of consciousness may choose to allow their body-form to sleep or to forego it altogether. Should they choose to let the body-form sleep, they do so with full awareness and never lose their state of superconsciousness. For the majority of mankind who have not yet regained their native state of god-awareness, are there any immediate steps that one can take to have more control over the sleep process? Indeed there are. For example, lucid sleep that was mentioned earlier in this posting is a conscious way to exercise some control over the dream process. As well, the mystics teach that one can learn how to consciously enter sleep though meditation-like techniques that allow control over sleep. Eventually, one can advance to a state of foregoing sleep altogether or else making it a fully conscious activity. 
“The world we see and experience in everyday life is simply a convenient mirage attuned to our very limited senses, an illusion conjured by our perceptions and our mind ... the stuff of the world is mind stuff.” ~ Sir Arthur Stanley Eddington (highly regarded British astronomer, physicist, and mathematician, 1882 – 1944)
"It is maya that keeps us from realizing that the universe is constructed of mind stuff and that it has no more reality than do our dreams." ~ P. Yogananda |
One more thought.
The mystics tell us that our waking state is really a dream; a fanciful reverie that is much like our sleeping dreams, except that it is produced by our conscious/waking mind rather than our subconsciousness.
If one accepts that premise, then do we have more control to shape our waking lives than we normally think? Our sleeping dreams are our own creation. Are we also largely responsible for creating our waking dreams? Can we change the waking dream by changing our waking thoughts? Do we have to be carried helplessly down the river of life, hitting whatever rocks the currents lead us into, or can we take some control and learn to navigate down the river, avoiding many of the rocks and finding the destinations that we want to go to? Must we blame an uncaring world for our misfortunes or can we exercise our indomitable will to change the direction of our waking dream lives? **
We are told by both scientists and mystics that "the stuff of the world is mind stuff." Can we not do more to change our thoughts, our minds, our consciousness and thereby wittingly influence the direction of our waking dreams? And then, can we not eventually wake up? ***
“All depends on you. It is by your consent that the world exists. Withdraw your belief in its reality and it will dissolve like a dream.”
~ Nisargadatta Maharaj
“Everything in the universe is within you. Ask all from yourself.” ~ Rumi
“It is only the waking state that brings before us this creation. This universe is nothing but a mode of the mind … The movement of the mind generates the universe.” ~ Sivananda
“We are what we think. All that we are arises with our thoughts. With our thoughts, we make the world." ~ Buddha
"Our every thought builds our reality." ~ Edgar Cayce
"Since you alone are responsible for your thoughts, only you can change them. You will want to change them when you realize that each thought creates according to its own nature.” ~ P. Yogananda
It’s an enormous step forward to realize for oneself that all the unhappiness, discontent and conflict in most people’s lives originate within the structures of our minds rather than being externally caused.” ~ Eckhart Tolle
“What does it avail you to attribute the cause of misery to the happenings of life when that cause is really within you?” ~ Ramana Maharshi
And are some modern day philosophers and scientists saying the same thing?
“The world as we have created it is a process of our thinking. It cannot be changed without changing our thinking.” ~ Albert Einstein (physicist, 1921 Nobel Prize in Physics, 1879 – 1955)
“We created our perception of the world … And, we are free to see it differently.” ~ Peter Russell (scientist, futurist, philosopher, b1946)
“It is we who are under an illusion when we believe that the world we see around us is actually around us, not within us. These inner explorers [mystics] have discovered that it truly is ‘all in the mind.” ~ Peter Russell (scientist, futurist, philosopher, b1946)
“This universe is nothing other than an embodied reflection of our own consciousness projected outside of ourselves.” ~ Paul Levy
“Every man’s world picture is and always remains a construct of his mind.” ~ Erwin Schrödinger (physicist, Nobel Prize winner, 1887 – 1961)
** As noted in the website posting The Probabilistic Universe (September 2017), the lives of those who carry a heavy karmic load are largely pre-destined. But these are a small minority.
*** Quotations taken from the website page entitled Personalized Creation Model. This topic, covered in more detail there, will be addressed again from a different perspective in an upcoming posting.
The mystics tell us that our waking state is really a dream; a fanciful reverie that is much like our sleeping dreams, except that it is produced by our conscious/waking mind rather than our subconsciousness.
If one accepts that premise, then do we have more control to shape our waking lives than we normally think? Our sleeping dreams are our own creation. Are we also largely responsible for creating our waking dreams? Can we change the waking dream by changing our waking thoughts? Do we have to be carried helplessly down the river of life, hitting whatever rocks the currents lead us into, or can we take some control and learn to navigate down the river, avoiding many of the rocks and finding the destinations that we want to go to? Must we blame an uncaring world for our misfortunes or can we exercise our indomitable will to change the direction of our waking dream lives? **
We are told by both scientists and mystics that "the stuff of the world is mind stuff." Can we not do more to change our thoughts, our minds, our consciousness and thereby wittingly influence the direction of our waking dreams? And then, can we not eventually wake up? ***
“All depends on you. It is by your consent that the world exists. Withdraw your belief in its reality and it will dissolve like a dream.”
~ Nisargadatta Maharaj
“Everything in the universe is within you. Ask all from yourself.” ~ Rumi
“It is only the waking state that brings before us this creation. This universe is nothing but a mode of the mind … The movement of the mind generates the universe.” ~ Sivananda
“We are what we think. All that we are arises with our thoughts. With our thoughts, we make the world." ~ Buddha
"Our every thought builds our reality." ~ Edgar Cayce
"Since you alone are responsible for your thoughts, only you can change them. You will want to change them when you realize that each thought creates according to its own nature.” ~ P. Yogananda
It’s an enormous step forward to realize for oneself that all the unhappiness, discontent and conflict in most people’s lives originate within the structures of our minds rather than being externally caused.” ~ Eckhart Tolle
“What does it avail you to attribute the cause of misery to the happenings of life when that cause is really within you?” ~ Ramana Maharshi
And are some modern day philosophers and scientists saying the same thing?
“The world as we have created it is a process of our thinking. It cannot be changed without changing our thinking.” ~ Albert Einstein (physicist, 1921 Nobel Prize in Physics, 1879 – 1955)
“We created our perception of the world … And, we are free to see it differently.” ~ Peter Russell (scientist, futurist, philosopher, b1946)
“It is we who are under an illusion when we believe that the world we see around us is actually around us, not within us. These inner explorers [mystics] have discovered that it truly is ‘all in the mind.” ~ Peter Russell (scientist, futurist, philosopher, b1946)
“This universe is nothing other than an embodied reflection of our own consciousness projected outside of ourselves.” ~ Paul Levy
“Every man’s world picture is and always remains a construct of his mind.” ~ Erwin Schrödinger (physicist, Nobel Prize winner, 1887 – 1961)
** As noted in the website posting The Probabilistic Universe (September 2017), the lives of those who carry a heavy karmic load are largely pre-destined. But these are a small minority.
*** Quotations taken from the website page entitled Personalized Creation Model. This topic, covered in more detail there, will be addressed again from a different perspective in an upcoming posting.
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East is East & West is West (January 2019)
"East is East, and West is West, and never the twain shall meet" ~ Rudyard Kipling, 1889 Some time ago, I came across a two-part article entitled The Eye of Shiva. The only suggestion of an author was a reference at the end of the article to the Journal of Dharma, an India-based journal on religion and philosophy. Upon further research, I discovered that there was a book by the same name written by Amaury de Riencourt in 1980. After acquiring and reading the book, it became clear that the article consisted of extracts from de Riencourt's work. However, the author of the article arranged the extracts in a different order than they appeared in the book and occasionally changed a word or two. The net result was an article that provided a wonderful overview of the key messages from the book. Of course, the message of the article is really Amaury de Riencourt's, a gifted writer whose extensive travels throughout the East and the West provided him with a universalist perspective. The main message of the article/book relates to the convergence of Eastern mysticism and Western science brought about by the revolutionary development of the twentieth century's "New Physics" (which replaced the former mechanistic models of the universe.) Western scientists looking for a new philosophical model of the universe discovered a framework that mystics had been using for millennia. |
Amaury de Riencourt (1918 - 2005) maintained that the "higher state of consciousness" of the meditating yogi, the enlightenment of Eastern mysticism, is not a dream state but a true description of reality. He believed that this consciousness, symbolized by the Eye of Shiva, can provide the appropriate model for further research in physics. Furthermore, he argued that this "hidden level of existence" can unite Eastern and Western traditions and forever end the dualism of Western thought.
The Eye of Shiva is an investigation of Western scientific and Eastern mystical traditions. Although written some 40 years ago, it remains a lucid, provocative, and radical book with the power to challenge and change our ways of thinking.
For purposes of this posting, the definition of East and West will be that used by de Riencourt, i.e. "the East comprising Hinduism and Buddhism, along with all the other sects and creeds of the Far East and their offshoots; the West being largely made up of Judaism, Christianity and Islam. The East springs mostly from India's culture heritage, the West from Greek philosophy and the prophetic tradition of Judaism."
The Eye of Shiva is an investigation of Western scientific and Eastern mystical traditions. Although written some 40 years ago, it remains a lucid, provocative, and radical book with the power to challenge and change our ways of thinking.
For purposes of this posting, the definition of East and West will be that used by de Riencourt, i.e. "the East comprising Hinduism and Buddhism, along with all the other sects and creeds of the Far East and their offshoots; the West being largely made up of Judaism, Christianity and Islam. The East springs mostly from India's culture heritage, the West from Greek philosophy and the prophetic tradition of Judaism."
This posting comprises four sections, as follows;
- The Eye of Shiva ~ Part 1, the first part of the above-mentioned article
- The Eye of Shiva ~ Part 2, the second part of the article
- The Essence ~ some key quotations from the article/book that provide the main message of The Eye of Shiva
- Final Thoughts
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1. The Eye of Shiva ~ Part 1 
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It seems easier today than a century ago for man to have a religious outlook on life. In an apparent paradox, it is the scientific revolution of the twentieth century that makes this possible. Not so far back there was a time when it seemed that an iron-bound deterministic science was about to establish complete dominion over man and his environment - when the universe was seen as a cosmic machine functioning according to sets of mathematical equations. The physical world was seen through the lenses of an engineer, and the mind was thought to coincide with the brain. All this is now water under the bridge, and contemporary physicists regard the material world, in Arthur Eddington's words, "in a more mystical, though no less exact and practical way."
Strangely enough, there is also, in what some call the post-Christian world, a profound and rising skepticism regarding the dogmas and theologies of western creeds, although man's religious aspirations are greater now than they were two or three generations ago. This coincidence is explosive, and evidence points to the fact that we are probably standing on a historical watershed - comparable in importance to the birth of Christianity some two thousand years ago. A new spiritual vision is beginning to take shape, under the spur of a most unlikely alliance between the new physics and eastern, rather than western, philosophies. Few physicists who reach the outer limits of their science can avoid taking a side glance at the "metaphysical" implications of the recent revolution: but the surprising fact is that contemporary science seems to be deliberately turning away from its cultural roots, finding a more compatible atmosphere in the very different metaphysics of the orient. It is the startling similarity between the world-picture of today’s physics and the world vision of Eastern metaphysics that is perhaps the most outstanding cultural phenomenon of our times. Furthermore, as Werner Heisenberg remarks, the increasing contribution of eastern scientists from India, China and Japan, among others, reinforces this conjunction. Physical science has now become planetary and draws into its fold an increasing number of non-westerners who find in its new vision of the universe many elements that are quick to note, one cannot always distinguish between statements made by eastern metaphysics based on mystical insight, and the pronouncements of modern physics based on observations, experiments and mathematical calculations. The new picture of the universe presented to us by contemporary physics is baffling. Contrary to classical science, physics now states that the commonsensical world we live in simply does not exist; all our impressions of ultimate solid substances are deceptive. The scientific revolution has shattered our previous notions of physical reality and natural law. Space, time, energy, matter and causality have all acquired entirely new meanings. The first item to go was the sharp and absolute separation between space and time. Einstein's Special and General Theories of Relativity have now joined them together into a four-dimension continuum lacking the Newtonian universal flow of time. Different observers will see events occurring in different temporal sequences according to their respective positions and velocities. As the eminent and Nobel Prize-winning Japanese physicist Hideki Yukama states it, "Here time resolves itself into the fourth dimension, on a par with space, where harmony prevails in an eternal state of rest. One may sense something close to the Oriental outlook." The second item to go was the concept of matter as something substantial, whose building blocks, the atoms, were considered to be the ultimate, indivisible constituents of the physical world. Almost suddenly, the atom was understood to be divisible and made up of nucleus and particles. Stranger still, particles could be interpreted as waves as well as granular elements - it made little difference to the mathematical equations that dealt with them since they are not substantial things in the commonsensical meaning of the word. Wave mechanics assert that electrons can be either waves or corpuscles, giving rise to the Theory of Complementarity, according to which any physical event can be interpreted in two different frames of reference, mutually exclusive, yet also complementary. At that microcosmic level, the objective world of space and time ceases to exist: the mathematical interpretation of this subatomic world no longer refers to actual reality but only to potentialities, "probability waves." With Heisenberg's Principle of Uncertainty (or Indetermination), we now reach the outer limits of scientific possibilities by doing away with determinism and causality, in view of the impossibility of determining simultaneously the position and velocity of a particle - the greater the precision of the one, the greater the imprecision of the other. The deeper we penetrate into the microcosmic world, the more difficult, if not impossible, is direct observation, along with the fact that the observation itself interferes with the behaviour of the phenomenon. For instance, let us suppose that an imaginary microscope was able to magnify an individual electron a hundred thousand million times so as to make it visible to the human eye. Since an electron is smaller than a light-wave, the scientist could make it visible only by using radiation of a shorter wave-length. This would imply using high-frequency gamma rays of radium that would push the electron around so violently as to make an objective study of it impossible. This amounts to saying that physics can go only so far in its objective study of nature, and no further: and beyond, there remains a whole realm of reality that can never be investigated by scientific observation and experimentation. Physics has to presuppose the existence of a background that shall remain forever outside the scope of its investigation. Physics itself is now reduced to statistical statements and pointer readings; physical laws simply express the "connectivity" of these pointer readings. To sum up, the world we see and experience in everyday life is simply a mirage, an illusion of our perceptions and our brain. All that is around us, including ourselves, which appears so substantial, is ultimately nothing but networks of particle waves whirling around at lightning speed, colliding, rebounding, disintegrating in almost total emptiness. Matter is mostly emptiness, proportionately as void as intergalactic space, void of anything except occasional dots and spots and scattered electric charges. For instance, a single atom is already minute enough: yet, although almost all of its mass is concentrated in the nucleus, this nucleus itself is a hundred thousand times smaller. An atom, therefore, is almost completely empty space in which protons and neutrons whirl around within its confines at speeds up to forty thousand miles per second-enough to make us dizzy when we understand that, in the last resort, that is what we and everything physical are made of. A Victorian scientist thought that he knew clearly what he was talking about when he mentioned atoms, molecules, matter: he visualized them as concrete and describable elements. Today's physicist knows that this is not exactly the case. Science no longer pretends to have anything to say about the intrinsic nature of the physical world: the atom we attempted to visualize earlier is, in fact, nothing more than a "schedule of pointer readings" attached to some unknown background. Scientific knowledge is all inferential knowledge. Physics presents us with the symbolic skeleton of the universe, not with an accurate picture of the universe itself. The one indisputable fact about the universe is human consciousness which is known to us by direct and immediate self-knowledge. Even science and actuality of the physical world is, ultimately, a product of our consciousness. Physics now tends to accept the fact that we have to restore consciousness to the fundamental position in the universe, rather than see it simply as a material phenomenon derived from a particular arrangement of physical molecules, atoms and particles. Physicists such as Eugene Wigner believe that the formal inclusion of consciousness in physics could well become an essential feature of any further advance in our scientific understanding. The mind is the one element of knowledge that is not limited to pointer readings. Therefore, only consciousness can provide the necessary background for all the pointer readings that, in the aggregate, constitute physical science. This background is mind-stuff and, as Eddington puts it, the "stuff of the world is mind-stuff." This mind-stuff is not spread out in space and time: on the contrary, it is space and time that are spun out of it. Here and there it rises to the level of self-consciousness in human beings and from those tips of icebergs, floating on the surface of the world stuff, springs our two-tier intellectual knowledge - direct knowledge within each thinking individual, and generalized inferential knowledge which includes our knowledge of the physical world. Inferential knowledge, however, is only part of a whole and cannot grasp the whole. Science cannot, regardless of further discoveries, encroach on the background from which it springs; and our own consciousness lies in this background. Our task now is to deal with that part of consciousness that does not emerge in space and time and is, therefore, not amenable to scientific analysis - a part that is, perhaps, amenable to the insights of the religious approach. We are now faced with the central problem of the truth of religion. A vast number of churches and denominations scattered throughout the world claim a near-monopoly of spiritual truth with a remarkable lack of metaphysical humility such as characterizes contemporary science. It has become difficult for any thoughtful person to subscribe to any such claim. All religions are true and false at the same time, in the sense that they all point toward some ultimate truth; but none of them is literally and absolutely true. All their myth, dogmas, scriptures and theologies are merely symbolic and relative interpretations designed to help the devotee on his spiritual way. But how did this belief in the possibility of "literal" truth come about when thousands of years ago already, our much wiser cultural ancestors quite rightly understood that every form of expression is purely symbolic? As Origen expressed it in the third century: "Who can be stupid enough to believe that God, like a gardener, tilled the fields of Eden and actually planted a tree named the Tree of Life?" In order to understand it, we must come to grips with the fundamental dichotomy splitting mankind's higher cultures into two distinct groups - East and West, the most famous twins in history: the East comprising Hinduism and Buddhism, along with all the other sects and creeds of the Far East and their offshoots; the West being largely made up of Judaism, Christianity and Islam. The East springs mostly from India's culture heritage, the West from Greek philosophy and the prophetic tradition of Judaism. The first striking difference is that the West often believes in the literal truth of its myths, scriptures, dogmas and ideologies, and often takes their contents as historical facts, very much as the Victorian physicist thought that his scientific world-picture literally described the universe as it is. The East, on the other hand, does nothing of the kind - indeed it has no dogmas at all, sees in all myths merely useful symbolism and does not care at all about historical fact. The roots of the pseudo conflict between science and religion, materialism and spiritualism lies right here and concerns only the West. No such conflict is possible in the East where all mythologies are understood to be simply allegoric and symbolic, implying no literal truth or factual statement whatsoever, and therefore no possibility of collision with any scientific view of the universe. It does matter a great deal to the West whether Christ rose bodily from the dead, multiplied bread loaves, or even existed at all. It does not matter one whit to the East whether Rama, Shiva or Buddha ever existed; since their importance is not historical but symbolic. The West has always attempted to impose dogmatically its conflicting viewpoints because, imbued with a Biblical, Judaic or Koranic sense of God-given historical mission and the conviction of having the monopoly of literal religious truth, it has always attempted to conquer and shape the world, either by the sword or by scientific knowledge. The apparent paradox is that the western scientific attitude springs precisely from this belief in literalness, inherited from medieval scholasticism, from the intellectual gymnastics of such mental giants as Duns Scotus and Abelard, who raised the word-symbol to an almost mathematical precision, and made possible the total independence of the abstract idea from aesthetic impression. Thought was no longer chained to subjective emotion and could therefore enter into independent and objective relationship with the world of nature. The East also expanded its knowledge but without ever rejecting the mythologies from which it sprang. It never took those myths to be anything but metaphorical formulations of higher truths - as projected contents of an unconscious that was understood and accepted as being closer to ultimate Reality than conscious thought (waking-consciousness). East and West alike, all religions attempt to provide for their devotees a "way": a path toward some form of holiness. Unlike the West, the East concentrates almost entirely on the Path - the Chinese Tao, the Buddhist "Noble Eightfold Path" - and underplays the merely intellectual interpretations that supposedly go with it. Therefore it does not tread on the secular grounds covered by science. Furthermore, and this is crucial, it has studied the "way" of internal metamorphosis pragmatically and undogmatically, with almost clinical thoroughness; whereas the West, encumbered by dogmas and scriptures, has never developed a methodical "science" of the "way", based on experimentation and observation. The "way", of course, is the way of the mystic, for lack of a better word. Where the mystical impulse, in the West, is presumed to be a free gift of God's grace imparted to the few, in the East it is presumed to arise through a form of knowledge and practice that is, theoretically, at everyone's disposal. |
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2. The Eye of Shiva ~ Part 2 
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The paradoxical meeting between eastern mystical insight and modern physics springs from the fact that both disciplines are thoroughly empirical. One investigates the inner world, the other the outer physical universe. Both are experimental, both observe with clinical detachment. Where they could meet is when physics comes close to the fundamental nature of reality, to consciousness.
This meeting would not have been possible a hundred years ago when physical science held dogmatically a far more mechanistic and substantial view of the material world, a view that is still quite useful as far as our everyday life is concerned by which is no longer appropriate at the microcosmic level where problems of consciousness intrude unceasingly. The phenomena analyzed by quantum physics are elements in a string of processes, and what binds them together lies in the observer's mind. The fundamental unity of all things and events at that level is therefore bound to include consciousness. It becomes increasingly clear that both approaches to ultimate Reality are complementary rather than opposite and antagonistic. What, then, is the major characteristic of the mystical approach? The East seems to have understood long ago what Henri Bergson brilliantly demonstrated. That is, that man's mind, as it evolved over hundreds of years, is cast in an essentially utilitarian mold. His mental functions are atavistically geared to practical action, rather than abstract thought about ultimates. The brain analyzes perceptions and selects the actions to be accomplished. It is not, by nature, intended to deal with pure, non-utilitarian knowledge. The illusion that the rational intellect could reach some kind of ultimate metaphysical truth was never completely discarded in the West. It was never seriously considered in the East where the problem has always been to still and overcome the mind through appropriate techniques of meditation and contemplation, to shed an intuitive transrational light on the depths of the soul and let the Self disclose itself. Briefly, the various eastern techniques aim at controlling and eventually stopping the flow of thoughts with the assistance of physiological processes, bodily postures and breath control, according to the hallowed Tibetan saying: "Breath is the courser and thought the rider." The fundamental dichotomy between East and West is the result of a sharp cleavage between two forms of consciousness which took place some four thousand years ago. In the Sumerian and Babylonian civilizations, the respective spheres of man and higher divinity began to split away from one another. The king no longer partakes of the divine; he is nothing but the humble priest of a totally transcendental deity, and the religious problem therefore becomes one of relationship rather than identification between man and an external God. This sharp separation triggered a longing for the restoration of the broken connection between the human and divine spheres. The end result, many centuries later, was the birth of the notion of history as a spiritually meaningful progression in which the will of God reveals itself - history as a linear development with a temporal direction, and without any possibility of recurrence. This is a complete break with the previous cyclical concepts of time which were geared to the natural cycles of the seasons. The cosmic process appears now as a directional unfolding with a once-and-for-all Creation, followed by a Fall and a struggle to overcome the Fall and reach Redemption. The world becomes the dramatic battlefield of a mighty struggle between the powers of good and evil, light and darkness - a vision that found its fullest expression in Zoroastrian Persia and Israel. Thus, the West looked for what theologian Paul Tillich calls the "new being" in the historical process itself rather than beyond it. All this is foreign to the concepts of the East where the ever-recurring cyclical view, either historical as in China, or transhistorical as in India, prevails. The process of history has no spiritual significance whatsoever. There is no temporal tension here, no historical struggle between good and evil, just a natural and inevitable alternance between two complementary poles, as between day and night. Man's spiritual problem is not relationship with the divine but identification with it. Man is assumed to be divine in essence; his main problem is therefore to realize this identification by peeling off the veils of illusion, which separate him from his true divine being. Phrased another way, the problem is to eliminate mere appearance, to which the individual ego belongs, and which is due to the illusion bred by ignorance, in order to retrieve one's fundamental identity, one's divine Self. This, of course, has great bearing on the problem of ultimate Reality. From the first, Greece's Ionian philosophers took the major step of sharply dissociating the subjective from the objective - the subjective being viewed as illusory. Objective thinking made its first decisive appearance in Greek pre-Socratic philosophy; and the process of objectification can best be understood by looking at the rare surviving fragments of Heraclitus of Ephesus. Until then, as a legacy of the magic mind, dream-pictures were considered to be at least as real as mental activity in the waking-state. In other words, the unconscious was granted at least as high a degree of reality. This was turned upside down by Heraclitus: "It is therefore necessary to follow the common. But while reason is common, the majority live as though they had a private insight of their own ... those who speak with a sound mind must hold fast to what is common to all ... The waking have one common world, but the sleeping turn aside each into a world of his own." In Indian thought, the process was reversed; the objective, that is, the world of appearances, maya, is ultimately a phantasm (as modern physics tells us), whereas the subjective, that is, consciousness, is the real world. The Greeks began to see the external world as full of detached, autonomous objects, and linked these objects with one another intellectually, binding them together into logically coherent systems of objective relationships according to strict physical laws. They conceived the ultimate object of the material world to be the atom, the Greek atomos signifying "indivisible", that is, the irreducible building block of the physical universe. In the process, they came to rely increasingly on the rational intellect and on discursive thought, deemed fit to understand and explain everything in the phenomenal world and beyond. With Plato, for instance, the process of objectification reaches beyond the mere material world to postulate a supra-physical order of objectified ideas and geometrical concepts, of which physical things are imperfect replicas. Hence, for thousands of years, all the vain efforts of the western mind to adduce rational proofs of the existence of an objectified God as First Cause, as Deus ex Machina. The East never had any need for this; in fact it largely turned its back on the subject, without cutting it off sharply from its emotional links with the non-subject surrounding or underlying it. As a result, whereas western philosophies are philosophies of strict intellectual information, eastern philosophies are philosophies of total transformation, leading to a form of human wholeness that is unreachable in the western context. To the easterner, religion is an awareness of ultimate Reality, not an intellectual theory. It is psychology and method rather than theology and dogma. So that while the westerner advances from thought to thought, from abstract concept to abstract concept, deducing, inducing, differentiating, integrating, analyzing, the easterner advances from one subjective condition to another. The westerner focuses on the objects of consciousness, the easterner on consciousness itself. Eastern philosophies are basically empirical descriptions of the possible evolution of man from one level of consciousness to higher ones. To sum up, the westerner aims at clear thought, the easterner at pure consciousness. The Bhagavad Gita, one of the monuments of Indian literature, gives us a perfect example of this predominance of the subjective outlook. This "Song of the Blessed" depicts the battlefield of Kurukshetra where two armies stand face to face. One of the commanders, Arjuna, drives his war chariot between the lines and, horrified at the thought of the forthcoming slaughter, wants to call off the battle. Lord Krishna, who assumes temporarily the role of charioteer and incarnates divine wisdom, urges him to fight regardless of the objective consequences, and his speech is the essence of the Gita's message. Arjuna must fight with serenity and total detachment because it is his duty as a professional warrior, because he is bound by the Karma of his past and has to go inexorably through the mysterious labyrinth of his appointed duties, however evil the consequences may seem to others. The immediate message: there is no such thing as objective reality. And the ultimate message: "Give thought to nothing but the act, never to its fruits ... For him who achieves inward detachment, neither good nor evil exists any longer here below." The western outlook has always included a full acceptance of an objective reality, implying the absolute dissociation of every individual human being from every other, and the equally absolute dissociation of all human beings from the higher divinity. Furthermore, there was in the West, until the advent of psychoanalysis, no conscious problem of self-identification, of rediscovering one's deeper layers of consciousness. The western problem was how to relate to divine powers outside oneself, and how to develop in the process one's original personality (a concept ignored in the East), that is, one's ego. In the East, the problem is how to overcome and extinguish the ego as an essential step on the way to the discovery of one's fundamental identity with the unindividualized divinity within the deep self according to the sacred formula, "Tat Tvam Asi", (Thou Art That). The Almighty Brahman, lord of the universe, and atman, the human soul, are one and the same. Quite obviously, philosophies of transformation are entirely geared to the development of the mystical potential in man; whereas philosophies of objective information are not. This explains the unending tension between mystical tendencies in the West and the rational intellect of its dogmatic theologians and philosophers. In spite of the East-West dichotomy, there seems to be, however, a broad area of agreement between all mystics the world over; that, while the majority of human beings lead a more or less worthy life framed by the moral standards of whatever society they happen to be born into, there is another special "way" for those who feel instinctively in touch with higher spiritual powers. This way is as mysterious as its destination, which is literally beyond verbal description, inexpressible in any language, although it can be hinted at in pictures and metaphors, music and poetry. It is here, in the direct records of the personal experiences of the great mystics, that the heart of the religious impulse is to be found, rather than in the official dogmas and intellectual interpretations of theologians. Perhaps the most dramatic instance of the opposition between the two forms of knowledge occurred to Thomas Aquinas, the supreme theologian whose monumental Summa Theologiae remained the cornerstone of Roman Catholic doctrine for centuries. On the feast of St. Nicholas in 1273, he was unexpectedly overpowered by a mystical rapture of such intensity that all his theological writings appeared to him as totally worthless. In his own words: "Everything that I have written seems like straw to me, in comparison with the things that I have seen and that have been revealed to me." And therefore, he never wrote another word. This, from a theological standpoint, rather embarrassing episode, also illustrates the staggering nature of mystical rapture, not only as physical sensation and spiritual emotion, but also as translogical knowledge of a far higher order than can be acquired by the most brilliant intellect. Quite clearly, all religions have sprung from this indefinable awareness in human nature that obviously transcends its physical and mental limitations, a potential awareness made actual in some peculiarly gifted human beings. It is in the sum-total of the records of their own direct personal experiences in this realm beyond life and death, and beyond time and space, that kernel of religious truth is to be found - although in most men, this mystical disposition lies beneath the threshold of waking consciousness, not strong enough to break into the open and revolutionize their lives. If we peruse these records carefully, we are struck by a universal insistence on the fact that all distinction between things, men, object and subject, self and non-self is overcome, and abolished. The world becomes "One", which is the essence of the monistic philosophy of India's Vedanta. This, the western intellect resists with all its might, since it abolishes the whole monotheistic concept of a sharp distinction between man and God; it makes a mockery of the concept that history has any spiritual meaning; and it destroys all the analytical claims of western thought as to the sharp opposition between subject and object. No wonder that western mystics have always had to contend with the underlying hostility of the cultural environment into which they were born. Unless they are honest enough to claim, like Aquinas, that their intellectual word is "straw" as compared with the true mystical vision, they had to go through extraordinary contortions to dissociate the vision from the almost irresistible claim of their souls to outright participation in the Divine. As St. John of the Cross put it in his Dark Night of the Soul: "I trust neither to experience nor to knowledge ... but solely to the Holy Scriptures ... it is not my intention to depart from the sound doctrine of our holy mother the Catholic Church. I resign myself absolutely to her light, and submit to her decisions ..." In the East there can be no such surrender since it is acknowledged that ultimate Reality is precisely what the mystic experiences; and that this experience is the actual recovery of his inner, divine Self. He becomes, in fact, what he has actually always been. Time and again, the western mystic is warned not to let himself be carried away by the subjective "illusion" of his own potential divinity, warned that there can be no divine incarnation in man - save in the one and only case of Jesus, for the Christians - and that his experience is actually a "vision" of an objectified, transcendental and forever separate Almighty God, rather than a "fusion" with it. In spite of all those strictures, western mystics managed often enough to convey the essence of their raptures, which agree with the eastern testimony. The essence is the monistic feeling that the seer and the seen are identical, that there is no division or distinction between one thing and another: the corollary is that the vision completely transcends the rational mind, and that it is therefore beyond verbal description: and finally that the experience is an overwhelmingly emotional one, involving a supreme peace "that passes all understanding", total calm and total blessedness. As the pagan mystic Plontinus put it: "The man is changed, no longer himself nor self-belonging: he is merged with the Supreme, sunken into it, one with it ... This is why the vision baffles telling: for how could a man bring back tidings of the Supreme as detached, when he has seen it as one with himself?" The true mystical experience is in complete contradiction with the main trend of the western philosophic outlook. No wonder that, time and again, the objectifying, analytical mind of the West has viewed mysticism either with distrust, or as sheer delusion or superstition whereas the East views precisely this objectifying, analytical mind as the source of all delusions. In early Buddhism, we reach the height of total subjectivity untainted by any attempt at objectification. Buddha denied the objective reality of Brahman, merely stressing Nirvana, the subjective state of enlightenment. This has brought upon him the accusation of atheism; but this accusation is irrelevant to the extent that early Buddhism was simply not interested in any kind of objectification whatsoever. It merely posits the total unreality of any stable substance, thing or concept, claiming that everything is in a perpetual flux, that only events take place - reminding us of Whiteheads's famous saying that "The event is the unit of things real." The same, of course, applies to the other so-called "atheistic" schools of Indian philosophy such as Samkhya and Yoga. The real is what you experience, not what you think. All attempts at identifying and defining the Supreme Deity, God, Allah, Brahman, are pointless and meaningless since they all hint at some Reality that is beyond time and space, beyond the objective and the subjective, and therefore beyond verbal description - and yet, can be experienced by man. Even to state that God exists objectifies Him, and implies that He is one thing among other things, and is therefore finite and in contradiction with His infinity - hence the impossibility of proving His existence by intellectual means alone. We can now sum up the broad areas of agreement between the eastern mystical insight as expressed in eastern literature and philosophy, and the revolutionary vision of the universe postulated in contemporary physics. The first place must be given to the monistic view of the world, the fundamental oneness of it, which becomes increasingly evident at the subatomic level where all the phenomena are interrelated and cannot be viewed as autonomous and isolated things or processes: particles' properties can only be observed and defined through their interactions with other systems. The second place must be given to the non-existence of a sharp separation between object and subject, observer and thing observed, since the observer, like the mystic, is an active "participant" in the experiment, and forms one whole with whatever is being observed. This entails, in turn, the overcoming of the world of opposites and transforming them into alternation and interdependent poles, like those of a magnetic field. In China the interplay of Yin and Yang has traditionally symbolized this alternance. In the far more intellectualized culture of India, the constant theme is the need to transcend all pairs-of-opposites, dvandva. This overcoming of pairs-of-opposites occurs constantly in nuclear physics where continuity and discontinuity co-exist; where particles are all at once destructible and indestructible; where energy changes into matter and vice-versa; where the statistical character of the quantum theory makes it impossible to state flatly that a particle exists or does not exist in a given place since it is, in fact, a probability pattern in a state that is halfway between existence and non-existence. To conclude, we may eventually look forward to a global, planetary culture in which both the "eastern" mystical and "western" scientific searches for ultimate Reality will merge, and which will transcend them both. A physical science will go on developing indefinitely within the limits it is setting for itself; and a science and technique of mysticism will strip away all dogmas, theologies and ideologies prevailing today in order to concern itself exclusively with this most mysterious and profound transhuman experience. Journal of Dharma |
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3. The Essence 
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All of the topics from the above article (which, in turn, are extracts from the book, The Eye of Shiva) have been covered in various sections of this website. The beauty of the article is that the originator, Amaury de Riencourt, was a highly gifted writer. As such, the words flow easily from one sentence to another and from one concept to another. In spite of covering some fairly difficult topics, it is quite easy to read. For those of you who may have skipped reading the above article, I encourage you to do so. However, if you have jumped down to this section without reading the article, the main messages are captured below in terms of quotes from the article/book, organized into different subjects. As such, these quotations capture the essence of The Eye of Shiva. To a large extent, the quotations stand on their own. In some cases, I have added a few supplementary comments (in the right column below). |
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Physics and Eastern Mysticism
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“A new spiritual vision is beginning to take shape under the spur of a most paradoxical alliance between the new physics of the twentieth century and Eastern, rather than Western, mystical insight.”
“It is the startling similarity between the world-picture of today’s physics and the world vision of Eastern metaphysics that is perhaps the most outstanding cultural phenomenon of our times.” “One cannot always distinguish between statements made by Eastern metaphysics, based on mystical insight, and pronouncements of modern physics based on experiments, observations and mathematical calculations.” Vertical Divider
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This topic has been covered in some detail in The Enchanted Universe section of this website, in particular The View of Modern Science webpage.
The quotations speak for themselves. |
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The Astounding Discoveries of Modern Physics
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“Contrary to classical science, physics now states without ambiguity that the commonsensical world in which we live simply does not exist; all our impressions of ultimate solid substances are deceptive. The scientific revolution of the past decades has shattered all our previous notions of physical reality.”
“Einstein postulated that the universe was one single, unbroken four-dimensional continuum - three dimensions of space and one of time - lacking the Newtonian flow of time: different observers will see events occurring in different temporal sequences according to their respective positions and velocities: there was no more universal ‘now.’” “Einstein proved conclusively that matter is simply condensed energy.” "All that is around us (including our own bodies) which appears so substantial is ultimately nothing but ephemeral networks of particle-waves whirling around at lightning speed.” “So-called matter is mostly emptiness, proportionately as void as intergalactic space, void of anything except occasional dots and spots and scattered electric charges.” “An atom, therefore, is almost completely empty space in which minute particles whirl around within its confines at speeds of up to forty thousand miles per second - enough to make us dizzy when we grasp the fact that, in the last resort, that is what our physical bodies and everything material are ultimately made of.” “Physical science now tells us quite plainly that ... there is not, and cannot be, a truly objective picture of the universe per se." Vertical Divider
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As above, this topic has been covered in some detail in The Enchanted Universe section of this website, in particular The View of Modern Science webpage.
Albert Einstein
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The Role of Consciousness
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" ... actuality of the physical world is, ultimately, a product of our consciousness.”
"As Eddington puts it, the 'stuff of the world is mind-stuff.' This mind -stuff is not spread out in space and time: on the contrary, it is space and time that are spun out of it." “The world we see and experience in everyday life is ... an illusion conjured by our perceptions and our mind." " ... the world of appearances, maya, is ultimately a phantasm (as modern physics tells us), whereas ... consciousness, is the real world." “Suddenly, with a roar like that of a waterfall, I felt a stream of liquid light entering my brain through the spinal cord . . . The illumination grew brighter and brighter, the roaring louder and louder, I experienced a rocking sensation and then felt myself slipping out of my body, entirely enveloped in a halo of light. It is impossible to describe the experience accurately. I felt the point of consciousness that was myself growing wider and wider, spreading outward while the body, normally the immediate object of its perception, appeared to have receded into the distance until I became entirely unconscious of it. I was now all consciousness, without any outline, without any idea of a corporeal appendage, without any feeling or sensation coming from the senses, immersed in a sea of light, simultaneously conscious and aware of every point, spread out, as it were, in all directions without any barrier or material obstruction. I was no longer myself, or to be more accurate, no longer as I knew myself to be, a small point of awareness confined in a body, but instead was a vast circle of consciousness in which the body was but a point, bathed in light and in a state of exaltation and happiness impossible to describe.” ~ Gopi Krishna "[Mankind can now enter] a new dimension of consciousness in which the objective world more or less disappears as such, to become unmistakably a projection of human consciousness." Vertical Divider
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