Showing posts with label plane of existence. Show all posts
Showing posts with label plane of existence. Show all posts

Friday, 12 October 2012

An Article from the Spiritual Research Foundation.


What is the Region of the Dead (Martyaloka)?

1. Introduction

In the article on, ‘Where do we go after death?’, we described the 13 main subtle regions in the Universe where we can go after death. However, immediately after we die, we all go through an interim region in the Universe which is known as the Region of the Dead (Martyaloka). In this region, the subtle body gets accustomed to its new state without a physical body. There are 10 sub-regions in this plane of existence that a subtle body goes through.

2. To whom is this plane of existence most relevant?

This plane is most relevant to those whose final destination in the afterlife is the Nether Region. For these subtle bodies, they move slowly through the various sub-regions of the Region of the Dead (Martyaloka) as they shake off the vestiges and attachments of their Earthly life.
For highly evolved people due to the lightness of their subtle bodies and no attachment to worldly life, they shoot through this region to the higher subtle regions such as Heaven, Mahaaloka etc.
Alternately, subtle bodies who go to one of the regions of Hell sink to the lower regions without spending much time in the Region of the Dead (Martyaloka). This is due to the heaviness of their subtle body that is laden with the negative deeds in their lifetime and their ego and attachments.
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3. The various sub-regions in the Region of the Dead (Martyaloka)

There are a total of ten sub-divisions in the Region of the Dead (Martyaloka). We have given a basic description of each of these subtle divisions and the general behaviour of subtle bodies in each of these sub-divisions.
There are descriptions in ancient holy scriptures of the Holy subtle river Vaitarna that all departed ancestors are said to cross before entering the Nether region (Bhuvaloka). This is in fact a subtle sheath of the Absolute Cosmic Water element around the Earth region. This sheath itself is the river Vaitarna. After death, the subtle bodies take a dip in the Vaitarna and enter the Nether region (Bhuvaloka). The remaining excretory gases and sub-vital energies related to the physical body accompanying the subtle body are discharged into the Vaitarna.
Thus the Vaitarna helps strip the subtle body of the last vestiges of the gross body so as to make it subtle enough to make it possible for it to enter the Region of the Dead.
Diagram of the subregions of the Region of the Dead
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Footnotes: M1, M2, M3.... M10

M1 refers to the first sub division of the Region of the Dead. M2 refers to the second sub division of the Region of the Dead and so on.

3.1 Region of the Dead (Martyaloka) No 1: The subtle bodies seen running helter-skelter

The subtle bodies after crossing the Vaitarna enter the ‘Region of the Dead’ (Martyaloka) No 1. The environment in this division appears reddish purple in colour. The subtle bodies are seen running helter-skelter because the environment is new to them. The inherent understanding that they have to move is there, but they have no clue as to which is the right way.  Hence all the bodies in this division are restless.

3.2 Region of the Dead (Martyaloka) No 2: Impatience of subtle bodies

The environment of this division consists of broad streaks of purple and red. The subtle bodies in this division are seen struggling in a drowning motion. The subtle bodies after entering this division do not run around like in the earlier division but nevertheless they are seen constantly moving in one place. Impatience is seen in them. This is because after coming to this division, they are better adjusted than the earlier division, but still do not have a clue about which way to move.

3.3 Region of the Dead (Martyaloka) No 3: Unrestrained subtle bodies

The environment in this division appears as if made from intertwining threads of purplish red colour. Many subtle bodies in this division appear to be moving up and down in an unrestrained manner but in a horizontal line. The subtle bodies have further progressed than the earlier division and try moving in a horizontal line.
Diagram of the subtle body's journey through the Region of the Dead

3.4 Region of the Dead (Martyaloka) No 4: Unstable subtle bodies

Here the intertwining of purplish red threads is even more. The subtle bodies in this division appear very restless to move to the next division. The subtle bodies move in a vertical line from the upper to the lower portion of this division. As movement in the horizontal direction fails to take them out of the Region of Dead, they try vertical movement.

3.5 Region of the Dead (Martyaloka) No 5: Efforts by the subtle bodies to adjust to the environment

Particles of subtle basic raja-tama are seen in this division. Many streaks of purplish red threads are seen in it. The subtle bodies in this region appear to move ahead, then remain steady and again resume forward motion. They appear to be inclined more towards stability.

3.6 Region of the Dead (Martyaloka) No 6: Subtle bodies adjusted to the pressure in the environment

The subtle bodies in this division appear becoming stable at times in the middle zone and in the lower zone at other times. The environment in this division is filled with purplish red clouds.

3.7 Region of the Dead (Martyaloka) No 7: The subtle bodies steady at times in the upper zone and in the middle zone at other times

In this division, the clouds become sparse and the subtle basic raja-tama particles are more. The subtle bodies steady at times in the upper zone and in the middle zone at other times.

3.8 Region of the Dead (Martyaloka) No 8: Subtle bodies steady in the upper zone

This division consists of entirely purple colour. Sparse subtle basic raja-tama particles are seen. The subtle bodies steady at the edge of the upper zone.

3.9 Region of the Dead (Martyaloka) No 9: The subtle bodies realise how to cross the division

This division is entirely purple in colour. In this division, effulgent frequencies are seen emanating from the external covering of the subtle bodies. The subtle bodies move to the next zone on the strength of these effulgent frequencies.

3.10 Region of the Dead (Martyaloka) No 10: The subtle bodies realise how to cross the division

The aerial atmosphere of this division is faint purple in colour. The subtle bodies appear to habituate this division for a very short time. The subtle bodies are thrown in an upward direction with the help of the aerial covering of the 9th division. Their destination in the Nether region (Bhuvaloka) or other regions is decided as per their deeds.

3.11 Subtle space vehicle (Antariksha yaan): The subtle bodies are thrown out of this area into the Nether region (Bhuvaloka) like comets

This is also known as the Ancestor vehicle. It has its own energy. It is by virtue of momentum of this energy that the subtle bodies are thrown out of this area into the Bhuvaloka like comets. A hurricane like sound is heard in this region.
The colour of Martyaloka consists of the collective flow of purple and red.  It is an apt setting to the disintegration of the frequencies of desire. This  occurs in the sheaths around the subtle bodies or on the centres of impressions in the covering around the subtle bodies. Besides this, it is also due to the continuous disintegration of the excretory gases related to the physical bodies.

4. Duration of time spent in the Region of the Dead (Martyaloka)

The duration of time spent in the Region of the Dead (Martyaloka) is anywhere between a few months to years.
The factors that decide the time spent there are:
  1. The intensity of the departed ancestors attachments: The more the attachments the slower the progress.
  2. The rituals done for the ancestors: Depending on if specific rituals are done, the subtle body gains momentum in its onward journey.
  3. Spiritual level: A subtle body at the 50% spiritual level will traverse the region faster than that of a subtle body at the 30% spiritual level. This is due to the lightness of the subtle body owing to dissolution of the five senses, mind and intellect.
When we refer to ancestors being Earthbound we mean that that they are stuck in the Region of the Dead (Martyaloka). Here we can help them move on with specific spiritually potent rituals or by chanting the special protection chant of Sree Gurudev Datta.
As in most cases in the present times, neither has the dead person done any substantial spiritual practice as per the six basic principles of spiritual practice nor do the descendants do any correct rituals or chanting of Sree Gurudev Datta. As a result, most subtle bodies languish in the Region of Dead for years.
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Wednesday, 3 October 2012

Astral plane

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This article is about a plane of existence. In the context of Unicode, astral characters consist of planes above the Basic Multilingual Plane.

The astral spheres were thought to be planes of angelic existence intermediate between earth and heaven
The astral plane, also called the astral world, is a plane of existence postulated by classical (particularly neo-Platonic), medieval, oriental and esoteric philosophies and mystery religions.[1] It is the world of the planetary spheres, crossed by the soul in its astral body on the way to being born and after death, and generally said to be populated by angels, spirits or other immaterial beings.[2] In the late 19th and early 20th century the term was popularised by Theosophy and neo-Rosicrucianism.
The Barzakh, olam mithal or intermediate world in Islam and the "World of Yetzirah" in Lurianic Qabala are related concepts.

Contents

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[edit] History

Plato and Aristotle taught that the stars were composed of a type of matter different from the four earthly elements - a fifth, ethereal element or quintessence. In the "astral mysticism" of the classical world the human psyche was composed of the same material, thus accounting for the influence of the stars upon human affairs. In his commentaries on Plato's Timaeus, Proclus wrote;
"Man is a little world (mikros cosmos). For, just like the Whole, he possesses both mind and reason, both a divine and a mortal body. He is also divided up according to the universe. It is for this reason, you know, that some are accustomed to say that his consciousness corresponds with the nature of the fixed stars, his reason in its contemplative aspect with Saturn and in its social aspect with Jupiter, (and) as to his irrational part, the passionate nature with Mars, the eloquent with Mercury, the appetitive with Venus, the sensitive with the Sun and the vegetative with the Moon."[3]

Dante's heavens and hells symbolised the astral spheres and their associated virtues and vices
Such doctrines were commonplace in mystery-schools and Hermetic & gnostic sects throughout the Roman Empire and influenced the early Christian church.[4] Among Muslims the "astral" world-view was soon rendered orthodox by Quranic references to the Prophet's ascent through the seven heavens. Scholars took up the Greek Neoplatonist accounts as well as similar material in Hindu and Zoroastrian texts.[5] The expositions of Ibn Sina (Avicenna), the Brotherhood of Purity and others, when translated into Latin in the Norman era, were to have a profound effect upon European mediaeval alchemy and astrology. By the 14th century Dante was describing his own imaginary journey through the astral spheres of Paradise.[6]
Throughout the Renaissance, philosophers, Paracelsians, Rosicrucians and alchemists continued to discuss the nature of the astral world intermediate between earth and the divine. Once the telescope established that no religious heaven was visible around the solar system, the idea was superseded in mainstream science.[7]

[edit] The astral plane and astral experience

Planes of existence
Gross and subtle bodies
Theosophy
Rosicrucian
The 7 Worlds & the 7 Cosmic Planes
The Seven-fold constitution of Man
The Ten-fold constitution of Man
Thelema
Body of light | Thelemic mysticism
Hermeticism
Hermeticism|Cosmogony
Surat Shabda Yoga
Cosmology
Jainism
Jain cosmology
Sufism
Sufi cosmology
Hinduism
Talas/Lokas - Tattvas, Kosas, Upadhis
Buddhism
Buddhist cosmology
Kabbalah
Atziluth -> Beri'ah -> Yetzirah -> Assiah
Sephirot
Fourth Way
Ray of Creation
The Laws
Three Centers and Five Centers
This box:
According to occult teachings the astral plane can be visited consciously through astral projection, meditation and mantra, near death experience, lucid dreaming, or other means. Individuals that are trained in the use of the astral vehicle can separate their consciousness in the astral vehicle from the physical body at will.[8]
In early theosophical literature the term "astral" may refer to the aether. Neo-Theosophy, as developed by Annie Besant, C. W. Leadbeater, and later Alice Bailey, makes the astral finer than the etheric plane but "denser" than the mental plane. In order to create a unified view of seven bodies and remove earlier Sanskrit terms, an etheric plane was introduced and the term "astral body" was used to replace the former kamarupa - sometimes termed the body of emotion, illusion or desire.[1]
According to Max Heindel's Rosicrucian writings, desire-stuff may be described as a type of force-matter, in incessant motion, responsive to the slightest feeling. The desire world is also said to be the abode of the dead for some time subsequent to death. It is also the home of the archangels. In the higher regions of the desire world thoughts take a definite form and color perceptible to all, all is light and there is but one long day.
In his book Autobiography of a Yogi, Paramhansa Yogananda provides details about the astral planes learned from his resurrected guru.[9] Yogananda reveals that nearly all individuals enter the astral planes after death. There they work out the seeds of past karma through astral incarnations, or (if their karma requires) they return to earthly incarnations for further refinement. Once an individual has attained the meditative state of nirvikalpa samadhi in an earthy or astral incarnation, the soul may progress upward to the "illumined astral planet" of Hiranyaloka.[9] After this transitionary stage, the soul may then move upward to the more subtle causal spheres where many more incarnations allow them to further refine before final unification.[10]
Astral projection author Robert Bruce describes the astral as seven planes that take the form of planar surfaces when approached from a distance, separated by immense coloured "buffer zones". These planes are endlessly repeating ruled Cartesian grids, tiled with a single signature pattern that is different for each plane. Higher planes have bright, colourful patterns, whereas lower planes appear far duller. Every detail of these patterns acts as a consistent portal to a different kingdom inside the plane, which itself comprises many separate realms. Bruce notes that the astral may also be entered by means of long tubes that bear visual similarity to these planes, and conjectures that the grids and tubes are in fact the same structures approached from a different perceptual angle.

[edit] In popular culture


"The place where earth and heaven meet", from Flammarion's Popular Meteorology, 1888.
  • The Astral Plane is referred to in the songs "The Doorway" by Neurosis, "Gonna See My Friend" by Pearl Jam, "Mary Jane" by Megadeth, "Stormrider" by Iced Earth, "Over the Mountain" by Ozzy Osbourne, "Dream Weaver" by Gary Wright, "New Invaders" by Iris, "Legend of a Mind" by The Moody Blues, "Forest of Legend" by Vektor. The two songs "Astral Plane" and "Astral Plane Pt Deux" by Morphine Machine are specifically about it. "Astral Plane" is the name of song on the debut album of Jonathan Richman and The Modern Lovers and the astral concept informed the lyrics of Van Morrison's Astral Weeks. An early piece by the progressive rock band Yes was entitled "Astral Traveller".
  • Rap artist Method Man references Astral Plane in the song 'Bring the Pain'. "I came to bring the pain, hardcore to the brain, let's go inside my Astral Plane". Parts of the song were also used for the chorus of rap artist Tupac Shakur's 'No More Pain'. Shakur studied and analyzed books about Telepathy and the supernatural as a teenager.
  • The avant-garde heavy metal band maudlin of the Well created music, lyrics, and atmosphere that dealt predominantly with the subject of astral projection. The band tried to find music rather than compose it. This was done through practicing astral projection and lucid dreams, from which the band were purportedly able to "bring back" pre-existing music from the astral plane (as stated by Toby Driver in the liner notes included with the reissued Bath and Leaving Your Body Map).
  • The American progressive metal band Mastodon constructed its fourth LP, Crack the Skye, as a concept album dealing with astral planes, with astral projection as a primary plot point.
  • "Astral Planes" is the fourth addition to The Smashing Pumpkins 44-track album "Teargarden by Kaleidyscope."
  • In the Marvel Universe, Doctor Strange has practiced astral projection since his inception in 1963. Illyana Rasputin [alias Magik] was able to astral project her own consciousness in New Mutants (Series 1) #15. Other mutants such as Professor X, Emma Frost, Jean Grey, and other powerful psychics, have access to the astral plane. Professor X imprisons the Shadow King on the astral plane. There are beings who live there such as Cassandra Nova. The Hulk is capable of seeing astral bodies.
  • In the DC/Vertigo Universe, the Astral planes are used for travel and magic by a certain number of individuals such as Doctor Fate, Zatanna, and Doctor Occult, though use of astral projection is mostly illusionary.
  • In the standard Dungeons & Dragons RPG planar cosmology, the Astral Plane is a dimension coexistent with all others (or all non-elemental planes in some editions of the game), used as a means of transportation between planes.
  • The Astral Plane is the final level of the computer game NetHack.
  • The Apple II and PC video game Windwalker identifies the Astral Plane as a dimension through which a character called the Alchemist can summon demons, influence dreams and cause evil.
  • The Astral plane is featured as a level in the video game X-Men Legends.
  • The video game Psychonauts revolves around a young psychic named Razputin, who uses a form of astral projection to enter the minds of several in-game characters, taking him into mental worlds based on their memories, imaginations, obsessions, and even manias.
  • The Astral plane as well as other planes of existence such as the etheric are featured prominently in the Deverry Cycle of fantasy books by Katharine Kerr.
  • Parts of the parody poetry book An American Parody by Vince Chesner is said to have been written and inspired during visits to the Astral world.
  • The Astral Plane is featured in the surreal 2000 comedy film The Nine Lives of Tomas Katz.
  • It is a major part of the musical The True Story of the Bridgewater Astral League by The World/Inferno Friendship Society.
  • It is featured in the television show Charmed, in which it is described as a realm of "spirits and energies" and a place where time does not progress.[11]
  • Ghostbusters 2 visualizes what might happen if negative forces from the astral planes entered the physical plane.
  • Do the Astral Plane is the name of a song by Flying Lotus
  • In the horror film Insidious, a young boy after astral projecting and transcending into a part of the astral plane called "the Further", where tortured souls roam looking for a vessel to take over, most likely symbolizing hell, is left in a coma-like state, where his astral body is stuck in the astral plane.
  • In the massively multiplayer online video game Allods Online, players traverse multiple layers of the Astral, the thin, chaotic void of energetic empty space between remnants of the planet Sarnaut. Players can use astral ships to travel between the dangerous astral space to large floating remnant islands, known as allods.

[edit] See also

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ a b G.R.S.Mead, The Doctrine of the Subtle Body in Western Tradition, Watkins 1919.
  2. ^ Plato, The Republic, trans. Desmond Lee, Harmondsworth.
  3. ^ Quoted in; G.R.S.Mead, The Doctrine of the Subtle Body in Western Tradition, Watkins 1919, page 84 (Slightly adapted).
  4. ^ Frederick Copleston, The History of Philosophy Vol 2, IMAGE BOOKS 1993-1994.
  5. ^ The Brihadaranyaka Upanishad: There are two states for man - the state in this world and the state in the next; there is also a third state, the state intermediate between these two, which can be likened to the dream [state]. While in the intermediate state a man experiences both the other states, that of this world and that in the next; and the manner whereof is as follows: when he dies he lives only in the subtle body, on which are left the impressions of his past deeds, and of those impressions is he aware, illumined as they are by the light of the Transcendent Self
  6. ^ Miguel Asín Palacios La Escatología musulmana en la Divina Comedia [Muslim Eschatology in the Divine Comedy] (1919). Seyyed Hossein Nasr, An Introduction to Islamic Cosmological Doctrines, University of New York Press, passim. Idries Shah, The Sufis, Octagon Press, 1st Ed. 1964.
  7. ^ Frances Yates - see;
  8. ^ J. H. Brennan, Astral Doorways, Thoth Publications 1996 ISBN - 978-1-870450-21-8
  9. ^ a b Paramhansa Yogananda (1946). Autobiography of a Yogi (Google books). The Philosophical Library, Inc. http://books.google.com/books?id=iN6fdZR6rXkC&pg=PA400&lpg=PA400&dq=Hiranyaloka+%2B+autobiography+of+a+yogi#v=onepage&q=Hiranyaloka&f=false. Retrieved 20 July 2011.
  10. ^ Paramhansa Yogananda (1946). "Autobiography of a Yogi". http://reluctant-messenger.com/yogananda/chapter_43.htm. Retrieved 20 July 2011.
  11. ^ The Power of Three Blondes

[edit] References

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