Guruji often says, " This LIFE is like a DREAM ". I have always
wondered – Maybe, but how? All that is happening with me and around me all
seems so real! But it is just lately that I really started to wonder may be
this IS A DREAM after all! The difference between the wonder I had earlier and
the wonder I have now is that, earlier there was a question mark towards the
end. “Maybe it’s a dream, but how can it be?” there was a question mark. Guruji
says when the bent in the question mark straightens up, it becomes wonder! Yes,
now in me arose a real wonder!
“What is death, what is beyond death?” – in his talk Death
and Beyond Guruji goes on to say, “Sleep gives you a glimpse of what death is
and what lies beyond death. It gives a clue.” Hmm mysterious isn’t it? Sleep
and death – correlated? It sounded true but something in me wanted a better understanding
of what he meant. I thought about it often, did a lot of study and research to
uncover the mysteries of death, mind, karma and beyond. It all gave good
information but the understanding was yet to be experienced!
One day, I picked up “Autobiography of a Yogi” by Pramahansa
Yogananda, which has been in my book rack for almost a year now. With every
page I felt blessed. Blessed to be blessed with a MASTER of my Guru’s stature
in my life! Then came the chapter where Sri Yukteshwar, Yogananda’s guru
resurrects himself in subtle form after his maha Samadhi and appears before his
beloved devotee – Yogananda. He gives Yogananda an understanding about the
Astral Plane of existence.
( Pic of Swami Yukteshwar and Paramahansa Yogananda)
Every being has a physical – the gross body. The me that is
typing right now, the you that is reading right now is through the physical
form. Then comes the Astral form where resides our thoughts, emotions, feelings
and the subtler expressions of life which happens through the mind! Then the
Causal sphere of existence in which all exists and is the pure form of
existence.Now this is where it could get a little tricky for you if
you have are not a meditator yet :-) .
Every meditator has had glimpses of something unexplainable during the process
of deep meditation.
The astral sphere is where the mind gets into carrying along
with it all the impressions, feelings collected through the senses during the physical
form. Sri Yukteswar goes on to reveal fascinating things about the astral plane
where everything happens through the thoughts and feelings and by the power of
will of the being. Communication happens telepathically. The being in the
astral plane meets all its relatives and friends from all its previous incarnations!
YES, ALL THE PREVIOUS BIRTHS!!! (Phew that’s a
lot of unwanted relationships to handle!! – Isn’t that what you r
thinking ? haha :-) )
My understanding - this is where the being learns to give
unconditional Love because everyone belongs to each other! Fantastic isn’t it.
OK! Now whats the relationship between what Guruji said
about Sleep and death and what Sri Yukteshwar said about the Astral plane?
Where am I getting to with all this mumbo-jumbo??( Isn’t that what you are
thinking!
Ya I know, my Astral being just read your mind :)
17th September – The evening when it all
connected with each and revealed to me the understanding I was looking for!
As I sat browsing through the pages of “An Intimate note to
the since seeker” during the Long Kriya which I was conducting, I happened to
stumble upon the knowledge sheet – “DREAMS”. In that beautiful sheet of
knowledge Guruji says and I summarize here “ When something is unbelievably
beautiful or joyful, you wonder if it’s a dream. When misery is there you never
wonder if it is a dream! All miseries are unreal. A Wise man knows happiness is
real and is one’s true nature and unhappiness is unreal as it is only an
affliction of memory. When you see both happiness and misery as a dream you
abide in your true self. Nightmare is mistaken as a reality only when you are
dreaming!” I finished this and I closed my eyes reflecting on these wise words
of wisdom.
Suddenly the puzzle arranged itself to reveal its mysterious
scene. Dream is an integral part of sleep. Most may not understand the astral
plane, but what every common man experiences is DREAMS!
Have you noticed that in dreams you do something spectacular
where you are a super hero battling 10 people with bare hands even though the
10 other enemies would be carrying the most terrifying weapons! You do the most unimaginable stunts and amazingly
you beat them all up (and say "Yenna RASCALLA!!)?
Have you noticed there are times in your dreams where you
meet strange people who you wouldn’t have even seen in this lifetime so far and
after you wake up you wonder, what in the world was that stranger doing in my
dream? Have you noticed that in your dream you would have lived like 20 years
in the future and life is running for another 5- 10 years and in all you would
have lived close to 40 years- all this in your dream of just maybe 1 hour!!
Have you ever felt just in the moments before dropping off to sleep, something
is actually dropping your body? What is this something? Suddenly to me, it all
seemed clear.
During our sleep the mind drops the body and all that
remains is the mind in the Astral plane with all its gathered thoughts and
impressions. And as Sri Yukteshwar said everything in the Astral plane happens
through thoughts emotions and feelings and hence the heroic scenes J that we often see in
our dreams! In the astral world we meet our old relations and friends from
different lifetimes, hence the strange visitors in your dreams :)! In the astral plan
time travel happens and hence the long 30-40 year long experience in your
dreams :)!
And here’s the mother of all understandings. When we die the
mind along with the impressions, thoughts, feelings and ego abandons the body and enters the Astral plane
where it would reside depending on the extent of the Karmas. The dreams that we
have every day depends on the impressions and karmas carried out by us during
the day or that lifetime till date. This is the understanding that dawned on me
in the moments of Kriya about what Guruji says - “sleep gives you a glimpse of what death is
and what is beyond death."
We die every day in our sleep, the mind leaves the body and
enters a different world. Death is only a prolonged sleep. A sleep where the
body is abandoned and another body is chosen at a different place and time for
the soul to be reborn again! What happens in the interim where the body is
dropped and until another body is chosen? We get a glimpse of this mystery every
night during our sleep – which we call dreams. WOW!
With wonders in the mind… – “ What if this moment is also a
dream! What if everything around me is a dream! What if my life so far in itself
was a dream within a BIGGER DREAM! After this wonderful experience filled with
wonders, I open my eyes to finish the page of wisdom - and I was amazed.
The lines read – “ Keep wondering whether your waking
reality is a dream, and you will wake up to the real!”
Are you wondering too?
P.S – This article is purely my understanding and
interpretation. The reader may or may not agree with my words. In fact my
understanding may be wrong too!! If it is I will correct my understanding when
the truth is revealed J
I just wanted to express my thoughts and hence I have.
Posts
0 comments:
Post a Comment