The device of the universe and 7 planes of being
The word "astral" comes from the Greek word astron, which means "starry". At first, this word was used to designate the habitat of Greek deities, and then began to be used in relation to other entities and worlds. In ancient times, it was believed that the "astral world" is a mysterious place inhabited by disembodied beings and angels of the higher hierarchies. Subsequently, the term "Astral World" or "Astral Plane" began to be associated with the occult sciences, and in our time it is defined as a mysterious world hidden from ordinary senses and physical perception.
Several years ago I read a small treatise called "The Astral World" by the Indian master Swami Panchadasi. This book attracted my attention, because its author was distinguished by excellent knowledge of the subject of his research, using knowledge in the field of physical sciences, as well as biochemistry, history, literature and philosophy. This topic causes certain difficulties when considering and often serves as a pretext for excessive fantasy and outright fiction. But his work was so convincing and impartial that it left the reader little choice but to believe his arguments, some of which seemed almost surreal. Due to the clarity of presentation, and also due to the fact that this treatise describes the traditional views of various mystical schools on the Astral world,I have chosen Panchadasi's book as my main source when considering this topic.
In the ancient teachings, we are told about the existence of seven planes of being. The first and denser plane of being is the material plane, which is identified with our physical world. It is followed by the spiritual plane, also known as the etheric, astral and mental planes. Three more plans are intended for those who have reached the highest level of spiritual evolution, therefore we practically know nothing about them.
Each of the seven planes of being is divided into 7 sub-planes, and those, in turn, into 7 more sub-planes, and so on until the number of divisions reaches seven times. Panchadasi states that these planes do not overlap like the layers of the Earth; rather, they appear at the same time at the same point in space. To understand this concept, it must be remembered that, with the exception of the material plane, none of them need physical matter. All of them are manifestations of energy of different vibration frequencies. The densest and slowest vibration corresponds to the material plane, or the physical world. To a greater extent, high and fast vibration levels are characteristic of other planes of existence, other worlds, one of which is the Astral world.
If the planes of being are a manifestation of energies with an increasing frequency of vibrations, then we will be able to admit the possibility of their stay at the same point in space, but at different levels of density, taking into account the decrease of the latter as we approach the higher plane of being. You will better understand this assumption if you remember that heat, electricity, magnetism, X-rays, laser beams and ultraviolet radiation can be at the same time in the same area of space without influencing each other, because all these types of energies use different vibration frequencies. In the same way, different planes of being are able to coexist at the same point in physical space, without colliding with each other. In ancient times, some of their sages explained this hypothesis, arguingthat the plane of being is not a place, but a state of mind.
The second plane, known as spiritual or etheric, is the source of creative energy through which the universe takes on its physical expression. Recently, physicists, especially those who study quantum mechanics, have focused their attention on the study of the energies of the etheric plane without even knowing it. This is where subatomic particles such as neutrinos, mu-mesons and quarks are located, which, according to some scientists, may turn out to be the building blocks of matter. The etheric substance, called prana, is one of the forms of energy that arises on this plane of being. We absorb this energy along with the air when we breathe. Yogis believe that it is she who is the main source of our nutrition. Prana is best absorbed by the body through rhythmic breathing called pranayama.
The third plane of being, known as the astral plane or astral world, is the habitat of the human spirit after its death. We also visit him at night while sleeping. The astral plane is available to people who either use their intuitive abilities, or travel to this world using their astral body.
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The perception of the astral world is directly related to physical sensations, thanks to which people receive information from this plane of existence. In other words, each of our five senses - sight, touch, hearing, smell and taste - has its counterpart in the astral world. Another form of perception of the astral plane is known to us as extrasensory perception (ESP), which includes telepathy, psychokinesis and clairvoyance. Such abilities are in an undeveloped state in most people, but their action begins to become more active. Clairvoyants sometimes see images of the astral plane, but as a rule this happens spontaneously and does not depend on their own will. True vision of the astral world is possible only through special education and training. People who have developed such an abilitycan use it to move from one plane of being to another with a simple effort of will.
According to Panchadasi, astral travel is a way of moving between different planes of existence using the astral body. This body is made of ethereal matter with a very high vibration level and is usually the seat of human individuality. Despite the fact that etheric matter is almost imperceptible to the naked eye, under certain circumstances people are able to see the astral body. The astral body surrounds the physical body in the form of a translucent cocoon, and it is described as a bluish-gray radiance that protrudes several inches beyond its borders.
The color of the astral body changes depending on the state of health, as well as the mental or mental state of the person. This radiance is commonly known as the human aura and is not so difficult to see. It may be easy to learn to perceive the aura by stretching out your hand against a light background and observing its outline with a slightly defocused gaze. After a few minutes, you will be able to see the aura protruding in the form of a vague bluish-gray shell extending arms.
The astral body is an exact copy of the physical body and continues to live after its death. But the astral body is not eternal and, in the end, disintegrates into constituent elements like the physical body. Many people have had the experience of being out of their bodies when they saw themselves hovering over their physical body. Some claim that they traveled to incredible places and, returning to their physical shell, found the body cold and motionless, like an empty dwelling. All these examples are varieties of astral travel, in which a person goes beyond the boundaries of his physical body.
Clairvoyants and people who are able to arbitrarily contemplate the images of the astral world assure that the astral body is connected to the physical with the help of a grayish-silvery cord that can maintain a connection between these two bodies even at very large distances. This silvery cord breaks during death, allowing the astral body and spirit to leave the physical body of a person.
At this stage, I would like to draw your attention to the fact that the astral body is not spirit or human consciousness. Rather, it is a soul, consisting of a combination of etheric and astral bodies. The etheric body contains all human instincts, and the astral body contains his emotions and feelings. Spirit is a combination of reason, logic, intellect, inspiration and all the hidden qualities of a person.
So, the astral body of a person is a repository of his instincts and emotions. While a person is alive, all travels he makes, with the help of his astral body, become part of his consciousness, spirit and individuality. When people travel to the astral world, they perceive it in the same way as the material world. This amazing world has cities, landscapes, forests, rivers, fields, people and many other things. Material objects in the astral world seem to be as real as in the material world.
In the astral world, it is possible to travel from one place to another by a simple effort of will. This means that you can be in a certain place, simply by desiring it. In this mysterious world, it is possible to meet many different entities; among them are the astral bodies of dead people, as well as entities that are inhabitants of the astral world and have never lived among people. Fairies, gnomes, elves, salamanders, undines, sirens, devas, genies and other entities that have more than once amazed our imagination live on the astral plane. They appeared there thanks to our efforts, which are reflected in the countless folk tales that brought them to life. Every object that we imagine in our imagination immediately appears in the astral world and has the degree of reality that we ourselves have endowed it with. This is why thoughts are so powerful and dangerous if not properly controlled.
On the first subplane of the astral world, which Panchadasi called the astral cemetery, the astral bodies of the dead people are waiting for their decay. After the death of a person, the spirit, along with the astral body, goes to one of the sub-planes of the astral world, where for some time it dwells in a state of calm restorative sleep. During this dream, the spirit prepares to go to the appropriate place for the level of its spiritual development. When the spirit awakens, it immediately goes to the mental plane, from where it gets to the next level according to its development. After the spirit leaves the astral body, it remains in the astral world for a short time.
Finally the astral body loses its strength and disintegrates like the physical body. When this happens, it immediately ends up in the astral graveyard. The higher the spiritual development of a person, the faster his astral body disintegrates, because it consists mainly of human instincts and emotions. The more a person is attached to the physical world, the longer his astral body remains on the lowest sub-planes of the astral world.
According to Panchadasi, during the practice of spiritualism, or channeling, it is the astral bodies that appear, and not the spirits of dead people. There are also ghosts that haunt people, because they cannot find a place of peace for themselves. This primarily relates to people who have died a violent death and who cannot accept this.
After death, the spirit is usually restored in the astral world, and after that it moves to the mental plane of being. But the astral body is able to retain memories and individual personality traits for some time, therefore it can strive to establish, albeit very weak, contact with living people.
Participants in a seance want to be convinced that the entity they are communicating with is in fact the spirit of the person they once knew and loved. But an observant person may notice that the behavior of this entity is unconvincing, and its actions and deeds do not quite correspond to the manners and habits of the deceased. It seems as if the disembodied spirit is devoid of some important component inherent in a living person. Panchadasi assures that the ghost lacks a spirit, a mind that is already on a higher plane of being, leaving only an empty shell in the astral world, the remnants of the soul.
Panchadasi also believes that after death most spirits "sleep" on the sub-planes of the astral world for a very long time, some of them for many years. Highly spiritual individuals and those who are at the lower stages of spiritual development "wake up" much faster. The former, because they do not need much time to prepare for the transition to the appropriate level of the mental plane, and the latter, because they automatically move towards the zone of lower vibration. Once in one of these zones, they continue to remember those terrible, destructive actions they performed during their lifetime, but this time in the role of helpless observers.
As a result, many of the spirits feel horror at the thought of their past life, regret what they have done and try to leave these sub-planes in order to find themselves on higher levels of being. In this case, the strength of their desire to become better helps them ascend to the next plane of being in the hope of purification. But there are also those who have sunk to such a degree in their spiritual development that they were unable or unwilling to give up their past carnal attachments. A spirit that does not feel remorse and does not want to move towards the light of spirituality exposes itself to the risk of final decay. These sub-planes of the lower level of the astral world correspond to the concepts of hell and purgatory.
In addition to these terrifying sub-planes, the astral world has higher levels, where the spirits of people of creative professions: writers, artists, poets and composers - can complete their great works that remained unfinished in the material world. Other spirits create masterpieces on the astral plane, which eventually become a source of inspiration for people who embody their plan in the world of matter.
The astral world is the initial matrix for the material world. Everything that happens in the physical world is just a consequence of events that happened in the astral world, which is also the world of the imagination.
That is why it is possible to create and visualize objects with the help of the mind, which then materialize on the physical plane.
There are higher levels on the mental plane, which in many religions are called paradise. Such sub-planes are inhabited by noble spirits of highly spiritual people, for example, saints and martyrs, as well as those who sacrificed their lives for the sake of another person or in the name of lofty ideals. Angels who embody pure love belong to the highest levels of the astral plane, constantly moving from one sub-plane to another.
Panchadasi, who firmly believes in the possibility of reincarnation, argued that highly evolved spirits await their next incarnation for a long time. When such a spirit decides to be reborn soon after the completion of a previous life, it means that he is making a great sacrifice, which usually has a good reason. Having been reborn in a human body, he is deprived of the joy and pleasures inherent in the life of the spirit on the higher planes of being.
In the astral world there are sub-planes corresponding to the concept of a “paradise” among the ancient warlike peoples. These include Valhalla from the Vikings, Fields of the Blessed from the ancient Greeks, and the Land of the Happy Hunt from the American Indians.
Almost all spirits, regardless of their level of development, are for some time on the sub-planes of the astral world, where they are engaged in self-improvement. Before a spirit can be reborn on the physical plane, it must leave the astral world and move on to a suitable subplane of the mental world. Less developed spirits are here for a short time and almost immediately reincarnate, because life in the physical world gives them more opportunities for development.
Highly developed spirits can remain for several centuries on the sub-planes of the mental world or on even higher planes of being. While staying in these worlds, the spirit is fully identified with its higher "I", gaining purification and spiritual light and enjoying the unearthly pleasure that yogis call nirvana. If the spirit is so developed that it can no longer incarnate in the physical world, it remains on the higher planes of existence, where it helps those spirits that cannot yet interrupt their cycle of incarnations.
Migene Gonzalez-Whippler