You may remember that last week I was repeatedly listening to “Autobiography of a Yogi”, chapter 43: The Resurrection of Sri Yukteshwar, trying to truly understand the implications of the Vedic vision of the universe. Well, this is exactly the kind of situation where above equation has an application for me. In this book Sri Yukteshwar, who had previously died and was buried, has returned to give solace to Yogananda, and the rest of us, by explaining how the various realms (terrestrial, astral, causal & god consciousness) all nest within each other and work together.
Sri Yukteshwar appears before Yogananda in what looks to his eyes be his guru’s physical form. Yet, Sri Yukteshwar explains that he sees this body as ‘ethereal’ and explains that he “created an entirely new body, like the cosmic-dream physical body, which was laid beneath the sands” in his funeral. He further goes on to say how “God encased the human soul successively in 3 bodies (or sheaths): the idea or causal body; the subtle astral body, seat of man’s mental and emotional natures; and the gross physical body.” He goes on to say, “on earth a human is equipped with physical senses…astral beings work with their consciousness and feelings and a body made of lifetrons (prana: inherently intelligent, creative lifetronic forces). Further, states that “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”.
While this information comes from a trusted and respected source, I personally would have a harder time wrapping my head around and understanding the possibility of it, were it not for the theory of relativity. This helps my intellectual mind understand the ‘how’ of what Sri Yukteshwar is implying, a reality that my heart holds as true. Understanding that energy and mass are ‘equivalent and transmutable’, I am able to see how the transformation of one into the other could allow for both Sri Yukteshwar’s resurrection as well as the explanation for the other realms and their interconnectivity with the rest of all that is.
This makes me think of what the Taoists refer to as the diamond or rainbow body. It is essentially when a great master ascends to the ethereal realm without leaving a physical body behind. Truly the transformation of matter into energy!
ReplyDeleteYou know, it's funny -but- I was thinking about that the other day...because I had an encounter with these Tibetan Shartse Monks who were Buddhists in the 80's (I worked on a documentary about them). And I had never met Buddhists before and through that process I was exposed to their belief system and all the different 'lokas' and Buddhas...but it was just so foreign to me then, I really didn't understand. Then, the other day after writing this blog, I was reflecting on it. Suddenly remembered the encounter with the Monks and their Buddhist version of the different worlds and the ‘Rainbow’ body and immediately saw everything in a very different way...and I understood more clearly their world view for the first time.
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