(This is a follow on satsang from the prior reply posted on this topic)
Sundari: As stated, psychic phenomena’ of whatever ilk are all mithya and have nothing to do with you as satya. But nonetheless, as with everything else in mithya (the apparent reality) they do have a kind of strange existence, because you can experience them. It is one that can be easily understood and dismissed if Self-knowledge is firm, but it can be confusing when you are not there yet. Some people see ghosts or seemingly embodied beings and take them to be real because these entities are jivas too, of a subtle kind. They have a Subtle Body and are still attached to the world of gross objects, just like embodied jivas are. It is desire that keeps them attached, so they are driven by their vasanas.
But vasanas cannot be directly seen, whereas the Subtle Body can be seen by certain people who are able to do so, even if it is not seemingly attached to a gross object, like a physical body. But much of what people experience from their subjective realities is the result of neurotic projections based on misguided fears and beliefs. The New Age fad of ‘channeling’ supposedly superior beings is open ground for fools and phonies. Some of it has some value from the mithya level, but the problem is of course that if it is taken to real, which it usually is, it keeps you stuck in duality. The ability to see or hear disembodied entities is just the ability to tune into a different bandwidth so to speak, much like tuning into a different TV or radio channel. It’s no big deal. The magical thinking types who abound in the spiritual marketplace use this subjective knowledge and present it as though it is truth—and of course, you need to give your power over to them because they know what the truth is for you.
The psychic world of spirits has no valid or objective teaching and therefore, it is all ignorance, but it does have some minor benefit in that it can give one the understanding that there is something outside of the information available through the normal organs of perception, our senses. The insights available in such cases are much like the insights a drug-induced high or an epiphany can provide. The problem comes in when more import is given to these insights than they actually have. Like all subjective experiences, experiencing dis-embodied beings is of little use unless it delivers Self-knowledge, and the knowledge is understood and assimilated.
The knowledge this kind of subjective information is supposed to give is that YOU are the knower of what appears in the mind. If you see it as coming from some magical or evil place outside of and beyond you, you are trapped in duality once again, bound to objects and subjugated by them. It is spiritual materialism, no different from any other materialism—but perhaps more dangerous in terms of giving your power and self-confidence (not to mention common sense!) as the Self away.
For knowledge to qualify as knowledge it must be true to the object and not the subject; therefore, subjective knowledge may or may not contain truth. Whereas Self-knowledge is not dependent on the object; it is self-revealing. Vedanta calls the subjective realm of experience “pratibasika”, meaning apparently real, and the information obtained from this is dependent on interpretation. Everyone will experience this realm differently, through the filters of their conditioning, meaning their vasanas.
Vyavaharika refers to the realm of empirical reality, such as Newton’s world of billiard balls and clocks. This realm is apparently predictable and relatively stable. If we are both looking at a mountain, we will probably both agree that it is a mountain. But, I might find it a scary mountain and you might find it a peaceful mountain which will be a result of our subjective view of the mountain. Lastly one has the realm of paramarthika…the perspective of awareness. This is non-dual vision, where everything is seen as Awareness, as you, that which is real.
There is no such thing as an ‘outside’ entity other than the impersonal understanding of who and what Isvara(the creative principle or God) is—what the gunas (the three energies that create everything in mithya) are, how they operate and govern our seemingly personal vasanas, and the laws that run the creation or dharmafield. The apparent reality may not be real but it nonetheless runs on natural laws. We need to act in accordance with these laws, or we suffer. There is no other ‘external’ force that can subjugate us other than ignorance of Isvara, i.e. the belief that duality with all its projections, is real.
There is a teaching on the psychic realms or lokas in Vedanta. If you have read Panchadasi (James has made this advanced scripture much more accessible in his book, Inquiry into Existence), you will know that creation is a ‘cosmic egg’. It is born out of a ‘black hole’, or, Macrocosmic Tamas—the densest form of matter—so dense, even light cannot escape it. In this egg, there are 14 (some say 17) levels or fields of existence and experience. Three types or levels of sentient beings inhabit these worlds, in various gradations, ‘up or down’, meaning all of them are determined by punya or papa (good or bad) karma.
The first realms are the lower realms which are predominantly tamasic, then the middle realms which are predominantly tamasic-rajasic with different levels of sattva, and the higher or celestial realms, which are predominantly sattvic. All levels are ‘below the line’, meaning, in mithya, and known to you, Awareness. None of them are more real or have more meaning than any other, as much as the New Age magical world of spiritual materialism would like to make it so.
The first and lower, predominantly tamasic level viswas—or jivas (waking state entities), include animals, reptiles, birds, insects, micro-organisms, plants and also, the demonic embodied or dis-embodied spiritual realm. Embodied demonic entities are totally tamasic, meaning ignorant of the self, and are mostly psychopaths but could also be sociopaths, what Vedanta calls rakshasas—demons.
These are living people that want to harm others and take pleasure in doing so. They do not feel for others at all (cannot feel compassion or empathy) and do not suffer guilt or regret. They do not suffer existential anxiety, nor do they worry or feel separate and alone. They are cold-hearted and have no feeling for Isvara’s law of non-injury—it is not built in, like it is for most humans. Unlike animals, they do have an intellect and can think—but their thinking is controlled purely by tamas. They can be very intelligent (sattva), but it is intelligence solely in the service of tamas, ‘evil’. Like animals, they do not make themselves this way; they are a program and they cannot help their nature.
The dis-embodied demonic beings in this realm are the same as the embodied ones, but as I said above, they do not have a physical body, they only have a Subtle body. As they still have great attachment to the world of gross objects just like embodied demonic jivas do, their intention is also to harm. Susceptible people experience these entities or psychic vampires in various ways, in dreams, in people and situations—they can even appear ‘embodied’ in what looks like physical form. They are dark and extremely malevolent entities that can ONLY take form through fear thoughts, just like their opposite, the angelic realm, can appear through thoughts of love and compassion. But, they are no more real than thoughts. They have no real ability to harm other than how they influence our thinking.
The lower realm also includes animals, insects, micro-organisms, and plant jivas. Having no intellect (or only very rudimentary intellects) these jivas are also totally tamasic, ignorant of the Self. You could say they are totally bound, or you could say they are totally free, one with the Self. Animals are not conditioned by the gunas, so they do not have vasanas nor can they or do they deliberately want to harm. Animals are not plagued by the usual thought/emotional patterns that limit humans: guilt, shame, regret, lack of self-esteem, to name a few. So, animals do not have existential problems, they are happy and do not worry. Animals have no power to analyze or think other than in terms of their desires.
Animals do not interpret their environment; they do not evaluate the things that happen to them, in them and around them. Being ignorant and not capable of self-reflection, there is no karma for animals. Animals act purely on “instinct”, meaning in accordance with Isvara. They are programs and have no choice in the matter, whereas humans do have the power to choose. We have free will. Well, we can question how free it really is because the gunas are behind everything, but essentially, we can seemingly choose one thing over another. Animals do not feel incomplete or separate, so do not chase objects to complete them. Animals don’t worry because they accept reality as it is. Animals don’t need scripture or enlightenment because they are not bound by the gunas.
But, the downside is, to achieve moksa, a jiva must develop the ability to assimilate the meaning of experience. First level jivas do not have much merit because they cannot assimilate the meaning of experience, so are not able to achieve moksa. However, whether demonic (embodied or not), animal or plant, they have the ability, given by Isvara of course, to evolve upwards. When the momentum of past actions (prarabdha karma) of a demonic or animal/insect/organism or plant jivas is exhausted, they can be reborn into higher realms or levels within their realm, progressing upwards (so to speak) in this dream reality. But please do remember, it is only a dream, nothing more!
The middle level of creation contains embodied human waking state entities or viswas who are predominantly rajasic/tamasic, but with different levels of sattva. The middle level disembodied beings, such as benevolent spirits or ghosts, are jivas too with a Subtle Body, and again, like the lower level demonic spiritual realm, they still have great attachment to the world of gross objects, just like embodied jivas do. But disembodied jivas in these middle realms are benign, or neutral. They are no different to embodied jivas stuck in bondage to their desires—i.e., in ignorance.
Most beings in this realm have some merit (punya) and some demerit (papa), even the ones who are mostly sattvic, being the ones qualified for self-inquiry but not yet free of samsara. They are in the twilight zone with half knowledge (spirit) and half ignorance (matter) and are bound by the gunas, as having free will and an intellect capable of doubt, this realm can make choices not conducive to peace of mind, creating ‘bad’ (papa) karma. The most evolved souls in this realm have attained moksa, are free of the gunas and having actualized the Self, are free of karma, although seemingly ‘good and bad’ things still play out for the jiva, they are no longer identified with the jiva.
Karma itself is value neutral. It is just action and its results. It only becomes meaningful when we evaluate it. We either like it or don’t like it or are indifferent to it. Only in the minds of bound and ignorant human beings does action become ‘karma.’ Karma is either meritorious or deleterious based on how pure or impure it renders the Subtle Body, because a pure Subtle body is the instrument for attaining moksa.
Humans and spirits in the middle realm of the field of experience (mithya) can evolve upwards or downwards, depending on the predominance of merit and demerit that their actions produce. The upside of having a human Subtle Body is that it can analyze and do inquiry and because of this, ignorance can be removed from the mind by Self-knowledge. Therefore, a human Subtle body is better than any other body because it is capable of moksa, whereas no other Subtle body is. A human Subtle body is also better than a spirit or celestial Subtle body, and I will explain why.
The ‘higher’ levels of creation contain celestials, such as angels. Celestials are totally sattvic and do not suffer worry or dissatisfaction. They do not have vasanas and like animals, they are happy because they too are not bound by the gunas. But, there is a downside in the ‘celestial realm’ as there is everywhere in mithya. Namely, it is still in mithya. And, celestials must become human jivas when the momentum of their good karma is exhausted, bringing them back to earth, samsara—the wheel of karma, where they must work on another round of human karma before final liberation, moksa, is actualized through Self-knowledge.
Moksa can only be achieved in a human Subtle Body which is attached to a Gross physical body, through Self-knowledge. Disembodied beings, no matter how pure, cannot achieve moksa. So, it is pointless making a big deal of these realms as somehow superior to the human plane of experience. They are not. Nothing in mithya is real.
As I said above, all three levels of existence are mithya—only apparently real. The teaching on these levels has no real importance for self-inquiry other than to help us discriminate between satya and mithya. Making an identity out of any of these levels is duality, ignorance. When Self-knowledge has removed all ignorance, we are trigunaatita, beyond the gunas, and, beyond the influence of the world and everything in it. But, to be free as a jiva and live free as the Self, we need to understand the gunas and how they condition the jiva—in other words, how the gunas generate ‘our’ seemingly personal vasanas—fears and desires, which is another way of saying, we need to understand Isvara and the Field of Existence. I don’t think you do, or at least, you are confused because your ability to discriminate between satya (that which is real) and mithya (that which is apparently real) is faulty. You are attaching meaning according to your filters of perception, which are dualistic.
Ramji was married to a woman many years ago who lost her mind—and he watched the process unfold. She was a beautiful soul, but these very deep fear thoughts took over her mind and materialized externally as seemingly real entities—and she was so invested in them even he could see them. He had Self-knowledge, so he never bought into them and dismissed them, but if your knowledge is not strong, these thought forms can take over. Eternal vigilance is the price of freedom. He had a recurring nightmare around that time. He was taking part in a basketball match with a team of very tall, menacing black players who chased him and wanted to smash his skull with the ball. Instead of running away from them, he decided to embrace them as the self, and they disappeared. We live in a thought universe, none of it is real—it is just a movie. Love is your nature and it conquers all. Nothing can withstand love’s transformative power. Stay in touch, feel free to write if you need help with inquiry, but remember to follow our instructions on the process freely available on our website.
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Much love
Sundari
