The Metaphysical View of Death and Life After Death Part 8

In the Chonyid one has to exercise Vairagya and Viveka, or detachment and discrimination--detachment as to what is seen, and discrimination as to what is real and unreal in the unfolding panorama. One has to overcome one's attraction to the images of beauty in this first Chonyid stage as well as to overcome one's repulsion to wrathful and awesome images in the following Chonyid phase. One has to embrace every appearance as a reflection of one's own pure primordial nature. Forms should be seen as illusory, their inner essence, however, should be realized as the essence of Reality. Tsele Rangorol explains it in this way:

"The key point in the Bardo of dharmata is simply to rest in awareness, no matter what happens, and to be able to embrace everything with the mindfulness of awareness-wisdom, without losing the continuity of that awareness." (1993:7)

Aside from psychic images that one perceives in the Chonyid, one may also see coloured-lights, either bright and dazzling or dull. The bright coloured-lights originate from the five "Dhyani Buddhas" of the spiritual planes, whereas the dull coloured-lights emanate from the 6 lower realms of becoming. Like the psychic images that one may see in the Chonyid, the coloured-lights are also a manifestation of one's mind. Their appearance may continue all the way through Sidpa bardo. In the following we list the realms with their associated coloured-lights together with the Dhyani Buddhas and their corresponding colour rays:

[Note: The table may be seen as originally published at our website]

Generally speaking, one has to distance oneself and not be attracted to the dull lights as they lead one to a rebirth in a lower world. Conversely, bright coloured-lights lead us to a more fortunate rebirth in the spiritual worlds. When encountered, therefore, one has to abide in the dazzling coloured-lights and allow them to guide one to a higher state. Detlef Lauf in the Secret Doctrines of the Book of the Dead, tells us what would occur if we were to be attracted to dull lights:

"If thou art frightened by the pure radiances of Wisdom and attracted by the impure lights of the 6 lokas, then thou will assume a body in any of the 6 Lokas and suffer sangsaric miseries . . ." (1989:125)


Chonyid Bardo, Second Stage

This stage is a continuation of the previous stage. Should the awareness-principle still be unliberated from the bardo in the previous experience, this stage dawns to reflect the darker side of one's psyche for immediate reaction--or response. When the images of one's spiritual aspect exhausts itself from one's psyche, what remains are the negative side with images called by Tibetan teachings "the 58 wrathful deities." Like the images of the peaceful deities, these wrathful images are mere illusions, thoughtforms, hallucinations, or mirages. They are simply projections of one's negative thoughts, feelings and karmic stains. It is therefore imperative that the soul grasp the true nature of these images and not be repulsed, frightened or alarmed by them. Nothing can hurt one's primordial nature, one's Divine Self--"the Real cannot be threatened"--and this is a lesson that one has to learn even now while incarnated in the physical form. A calm abiding in one's pure awareness without any dualistic thought of "I" and "thou" or any sense of separation should be cultivated and maintained. There should only be a feeling of unity, of oneness, of integration with All That Is, which is one's Divine Self. Understandably, such an awareness may not come automatically while one is facing terrifying images. It is for this reason that there should be a reasonable amount of spiritual practice while one is still yet alive on the physical plane. Referring to the images perceived in the bardo and a possible emancipation through right understanding and awareness as well as the result of wrong apprehension, Detlef Lauf comments:

"If all the temptations of deceptive visionary images, which are continually referred to in the texts [Bardo Thodol] as hostile forms of the intellect, can be recognized as empty creations of one's mind and can be immediately penetrated, one will attain liberation. These images dissolve away and the awareness reaches the peaceful and imageless release of nirvana. Every fleeing from these fearsome and terrifying bardo images and every feeling of being seduced by certain colours and visionary apparitions is a step into the ambivalence of the feelings of hatred and desire and is attachment to the opposites of divine consciousness. It is therefore a step back into ignorance, for the antagonistic forces of desire and aversion prevent salvation and unity of awareness in the state of liberation." (1989:69)

One of the reasons that one slips into this bardo from the former stage is that the anxiety, and the terror engendered by the fear of the unknown, and augmented by the appearance of holy images which often stimulates guilt feelings, causes the awareness-principle to evoke the negative side of its subconscious content, thus resulting in the appearance of wrathful images. What one experiences in the bardo is the direct result of one's karma and the nature of one's psyche, whether it be spiritual or carnal. The images of peaceful or terrifying deities, or other frightening forms are there to purify the awareness of ignorance and to offer an opportunity for the awareness-principle to grasp their inner nature. Should the soul react negatively to these images, it passes on to the next bardo. A positive response offers release. One's negative reaction is due to one's karma and lack of spiritual unfoldment.

Should one fail to gain liberation in the Chikai or in the former stage of Chonyid because of one's negative karma and negative mental and emotional traits, there is still hope to liberate oneself at this stage; not from samsara, however, but from rebirth in one of the lower planes of the six worlds. Liberation at this stage also emancipates the awareness-principle from having to undergo the "Judgment" in Sidpa bardo. A soul gains liberation, totally or partially, at whatever stage his karma allows. As said before, preparation beforehand through spiritual practices is an indispensable task to be undertaken by those seeking a better soul-life. Chokyi Nyima, the author of The Bardo Guidebook, advises this succinctly:

"The Buddhas very kindly gave many teachings and methods of practicing, but all these different systems converge at one point: right now, while you are alive, get used to the non-conceptual wakefulness called luminous dharmata, the state free from concepts, beyond a meditation of mental fabrication . . . Accustom yourself to non-conceptual wakefulness now so at the time of death you will not have to go through the remaining bardos [Chonyid and Sidpa] to a new rebirth. Resting in non-conceptual wakefulness is enough to cover all aspects of practice . . . " (1991:137)

In Chonyid bardo one's psychic senses are enhanced, and one acquires a certain degree of clairvoyance. The pilgrim of the bardo is somewhat aware at this stage of the surroundings related to its physical form and its newly-terminated incarnated life. The soul may hear and see its relatives and friends grieving and lamenting, but they do not perceive the astral form of its awareness-principle. The awareness-principle may or may not realize at this stage that it has permanently severed connections with its physical form. The incapability of offering comfort and solace to beloved ones at this point frustrates the soul. Bombarded by frightening sounds and coloured-lights likewise make this an exhausting period for the soul.


Sidpa Bardo, First Stage

Here, in Sidpa bardo, the lights, sounds, and images assume a sight more ghastly than the previous bardo. The psychic motion within one's consciousness is intensified to the utmost degree and it projects out with a centrifugal force all of one's inner negative qualities that takes on forms that corresponds to those qualities. It is in this bardo that one's negative karmic deeds play strongly upon one's conscience. In Sidpa, the feelings of guilt, of hatreds, greed, anger and other egoic expressions seemingly assume terrifying phantasms--demon-like, to torture one's consciousness of all of the misqualifications of one's personal energy. As the peaceful deities are said to emanate from the heart-center, so the terrifying images that one experiences in the bardo are said to emanate from the head-centers. One's main objective and natural inclination at this state as in previous ones, is to escape, to flee from these frightening, awesome and gruesome images. This is a mistake of the dualistic mind, however, that requires a reiterated warning: all that is experienced in the bardo are mental projections, and are, therefore, unreal. The bardo experience is subjective and is but a mental journey with an alchemical purpose. To acknowledge mental projections as real and to be deluded by them causes the awareness-principle to further entrap itself in the snare of Maya. This is spiritual death to the consciousness which is referred to by the Piscean Master when he advised his disciples to "let the dead bury the dead."

Should one by any chance, however slim, attain a partial liberation in the Sidpa, one obtains the Nirmanakaya--a pure emanation of the Dharmakaya, the Monad. Eventhough with this attainment, the awareness-principle is still subjected to the wheel of birth and rebirth. However, the next birth may be in more fortunate circumstances and surroundings, conducive to spiritual growth, unfoldment and awakening.

We should reiterate here that the Bardo, not being a place or a realm, but an inner experience, is different for every soul making its transition. Every form, image, figure, or symbol making an appearance on the screen of consciousness simply reflects one's own subconscious content. They are one's personal conscious and subconscious fantasy assuming a virtual reality. All of the forms that appear corresponds to one's sublime or carnal thoughts, feelings, passions and impulses. One's habitual pattern of thoughts and feelings are the most potent in expressing themselves in the bardo. The average soul may succumb in a negative way to these protean forms and changing scenes, the spiritually inclined would, however, transform these images into more pleasant ones with the power of thought. Recognizing the underlying reality of the bardo forms, one may go through it quickly. Amidst the dark thought-forms of Sidpa bardo, there still lurks the Clear Light of the Void. Therefore, reaching out to the greatest light perceivable hidden in and around the monstrous forms one may discover a "saviour" that leads one away from experiencing the Judgment in the latter half of the Sidpa bardo.

At every stage masterful beings watch intently the souls experiencing the bardo--to give subtle aid when necessary, or when a plea for help is made. The nature of that aid is dependent upon the soul's own personal karma. Such saviours when recognized amidst the psychedelic and surrealistic images will free one from further doings in the bardo.

Sidpa bardo is often called the "bardo of becoming," because at this stage it is almost certain that one would be reborn in one of the 6 realms, in one of the phenomenal world of change. In Sidpa the awareness-principle is made aware through certain signs and indications that it is deceased. With such an awareness it may desire to be quickly reborn; it does so by seeking the lights emanating from the human realm--as though drawn to it. These lights play upon the psychic senses, swirling and twirling together as though a human couple were in the act of copulation. Other lights from the other lower realms also play about in one's vision. The light that the soul is attracted to and merges with determines the realm of its rebirth. This may occur before or after the judgment--normally after.


Sidpa Bardo, Second Stage

One now comes to the Judgment with which almost all religions teach. After undergoing the previous bardos without being released from it, the soul, the awareness-principle, hallucinates a judgment scene. In this judgment, all of the actors--the judge, the prosecutor, the defender, the scribe and others--are all aspects of one's being participating in a drama that directs the attention of the soul to all of its misdeeds in thought, words, and action--whether of omission or commission--in the physical life that it had just passed. It is a period of soul-review, reflection, introspection and self-examination. Regarding this soul-review, Helena Blavatsky, the co-founder of the Theosophical Society remarks:

"At the solemn moment of death every man, even when death is sudden, sees the whole of his past life marshalled before him, in its minutest details. For one short instant the person becomes one with the individual and all knowing Ego. But this instant is enough to show him the whole chain of causes which have been at work during his life. He sees and now understands himself as he is, unadorned by flattery or self-deception. He reads his life, remaining as a spectator looking down into the arena he is quitting; he feels and knows the justice of all the sufferings that has overtaken him." (cf Cosmos in Man 1983:180)

In this judgment one's past life is relived and viewed as though one were watching a movie. One is enforced here to realize the significance of one's misdeeds and made aware of one's error. Every misdeed the soul has to account for, and motives are scrutinized by one's conscience represented by Dharmaraja, the Judge, literally, "king of the law." This is the event where the saying "God is not mocked," is seen explicitly. All of the persons that the soul had harmed or done wrong in any way, seemingly appear to accuse the soul of its violation of truth and righteousness. Their sufferings and pain are somewhat felt by the soul being judged, that it may acquire an understanding of the effect of its evil actions. One's reaction here may determine one's "placement" in the subtle realms, whether it be in one of the hell regions or in purgatory. Should the soul be filled with remorse and shame, acknowledge its error, sincerely repent and ask forgiveness, it may be granted a reprieve and sent to the purgatorial worlds; otherwise, if it is filled with hate and anger for God and man and hardens its heart, it would be isolated in hell where it has illusory visions of being tortured by demons, or even literally feel the effects of the flames. This punishment in reality is self-imposed, for none condemns the soul but its own self. The low vibrations that it generates with its negative feelings simply anchors it down to the mire of the astral worlds.

The results of one's judgment are recorded in the seed-atoms and in the subconsciousness of the soul, and this has a great influence upon its subsequent lives in the physical plane; and while still imprinted fresh in its mind in the subtle realms, it provides food for thought and consideration which may evolve into a conscience of a higher standard. In the judgment of Sidpa the soul sees itself for what it really is and not what it believes itself to be or what others believe itself to be.

Copyright © 2006 Luxamore

The Metaphysical View of Death and Life After Death Part 7

Dissolution of the physical form causes a release of the awareness-principle from the body and expands the consciousness to enfold a higher state. The absorption of the four elements are spiritually related to the activities of their subtle counterpart personified as goddesses:

1) Buddhalocana - Earth

2) Mamaki - Water

3) Pandaravasini - Fire

4) Samayatara - Air

After the absorption of the elements, what is called the "Three Paths" commences. Whereas the above is known as the "gross dissolution," the Three Paths is known as the "subtle dissolution." The Three Paths is associated with inner processes called by lamas the stages of "appearance," "increase" and "attainment." They are associated with the three "tigle," or "bindu." The tigles are described as being the essences of one's parents and possessing certain colours related to the male and female seed. The male tigle is white in colour and resides at the top of the head. It represents "skillful means." It is also related to the nirmanakaya--one of the three bodies often referred to in Mahayana Buddhism. The female tigle is red in colour and has its abode at the base of the spine. It represents "wisdom," and is related to the sambhogakaya. The third tigle is a neutral essence, it is a combination of both male-female tigles when they meet in the heart; it results in the black tigle. This tigle is related to the dharmakaya. The movements of the three tigles in the physical body result in the stages of one's realization of "emptiness," or the Clear Light of the Void, which in the average person goes unrecognized. During the death process the white tigle descends into the heart center followed by the ascent of the red tigle into the same locality. These are the stages of "appearance" and "increase." The stage of "attainment" or the "black path" occurs when both male and female bindus meet in the heart center to form the black tigle and give rise to the actual moment of death. The appearance of the Clear Light follows at that precise moment. In the black stage the average person usually falls unconscious, the Buddhist initiate of such teachings as Dzogchen or Mahamudra, however, is able to maintain awareness and recognize the Clear Light as it appears. Concerning the nature and movements of the tigles, Chokyi Nyima Rinpoche in the Bardo Guidebook comments:

"Whiteness or appearance is due to the descent of the white element, obtained from one's father at the moment of conception. At that time there is a white shimmering light like moonshine. The outer sign is similar to the moon descending or rising. The inner sign is that one's consciousness feels hazy like a mirage. This should be acknowledged as the experience of the whiteness.

"The experience of redness involving the ascent of the red element obtained from one's mother at conception is like sunshine in a place filled with dust so that the sun appears very red. The outer sign is a red sun either rising or setting. The inner sign is scintillating sparks that appear and disappear like fireflies. The experience of blackness is like the darkness of the night sky. At this point one's consciousness alternates between being clear and hazy." (1991:92-93)

The phenomena of the three tigles should be considered symbolic. They represent psychological processes that purifies, as much as possible, the psyche from emotional and mental stains. Our primordial nature is the Clear Light of the Void, in Christian terms this corresponds to one's "Father" in heaven or Nur Illahi, as muslims would call it.. This shining divine spark within is clouded by negative emotional and mental qualities, recognized my muslim mystics as the "hijab" or veil. Once freed from those negative toxins of the psyche, one's true nature may be easily apperceived. The "movements" of the tigles facilitates this process. In the Bardo Guidebook the author refers to the psychological cessation of thoughts related to sensual desire, anger and delusions and in connection with the stages of the three tigles:

"During the white experience the thirty-three thought states caused by anger cease. During the red experience the forty thought states caused by passions cease. When the two essences meet, the seven thought states caused by stupidity cease." (1991:12)

And once freed from the above negative, deluded thoughts of anger, passion and stupidity, what remains is the Clear Light of the Dharmakaya--one's divine nature.

When the dying's last expiration is about to cease, lamas make it a practice to turn the pilgrim's dying body over to the right side. This they call the "Lying Posture of the Lion." The carotid arteries of the left and right side of the throat are pressed simultaneously. By such a practice it is hoped that the "awareness-principle" would emerge from the crown chakra. By pressing the arteries the remaining life-force in the body no longer re-circulates within the physical system--it is forced out through the crown portal. Pressure on the arteries prevents the soul, or awareness-principle from falling unconscious, or into the death-swoon. It also triggers the experience of the Clear Light of the first phase of the Bardo and the hoped-for recognition of it. Incidentally, it is likewise believed that the arterial pressure stimulates kundalini, or the serpent-force lying at the base of the spine, just as the death-hormone is believed to by Chaney. This occult writer also believes that kundalini is an active cause of the appearances of the bardos. Kundalini as it rises to the dying brain via sushumna, or the subtle spinal nerve, is believed by lamas to be an important factor in manifesting the Clear Light of the Void. The pressure on the carotid arteries is maintained for about six minutes after the last breath--the time that it takes for the Clear Light to dawn. We are also advised by Bardo teachings not to touch a corpse for at least an hour after death, for, it is said, that the awareness-principle is attracted to the area being touched. This would only cause the mind of the soul to be distracted and to wander away from the important bardo experiences.

Although soul-emergence out of the crown chakra is the desire of every well-informed Tibetan, the incarnated soul may also exit, according to Lamas, through any of the other eight different openings of the body, the route of which, it is said, determines the place of abode of one's awareness-principle in the after-life. Below we give the nine portals of exit and their associated realms:

Anus - Hell realm

Genital - Animal realm

Mouth - Hungry ghost realm

Nose - Human realm

Navel - Desire-gods realm

Ears - Asura/Titan realm

Eyes - Form realms of the gods

Top of head - Formless realms of the gods

Crown of head - Devachan

We shall now consider the three bardos, or the three phases of the Bardo--the Chikai, Chonyid, and Sidpa. Below we give the bardo-phases and stages, and the approximate number of days that the soul may linger in them:

1) Chikai Bardo, first stage - First to third day

2) Chikai Bardo, second stage - Third to fourth day

3) Chonyid Bardo, first stage - Fourth to eleventh day

4) Chonyid Bardo, second stage - Eleventh to nineteenth day

5) Sidpa Bardo, first stage - Nineteenth to fortieth day

6) Sidpa Bardo, second stage - Fortieth to forty-ninth day

It should be noted that not all of these bardos may be experienced by the one undergoing transition. Liberation and illumination may occur in the first or second phase making the undergoing of the succeeding stages unnecessary; it all depends upon the purity, the spirituality, and the karma of the dying pilgrim. Each succeeding stage makes it more improbable that liberation be gained; however, with the correct faith, humility, knowledge, attitude, behaviour, and awareness, the grace of the Cosmos may pour upon the one experiencing the bardo and offer attainment of the long sought-for salvation. Our understanding, awareness and reactions in the Bardo determines whether we attain enlightenment or prolong our existence in samsara.

Chikai Bardo, First Stage

In this first stage of the bardo the Clear Light of the Void dawns upon the consciousness or awareness-principle. In Vajrayana teachings this Clear Light is none other than the dharmakaya, the highest principle within the microcosmic being of man. In Theosophy, this is the Monad; or the "I AM Presence," as some esoteric schools of thought would call it; or "Yechidah" in the Qaballa, the oral tradition of Judaism.

The Clear Light is like a mirror that reflects our Divine Self, our true Buddha nature. This Clear Light is said to be resplendent and scintillating, of a brightness that surpasses a thousand suns. Recognizing, being aware, and merging with one's true nature confers upon one a new spiritual status. The experience expands one's consciousness, not unlike the "Cosmic Consciousness" of Richard M. Bucke. Fundamentally, the Clear Light is experienced when one abides in one's true primordial nature in stillness without being moved by thoughts or emotions. This usually occurs in a deep state of meditation. Experiencing the Clear Light in full awareness liberates oneself from samsara, from Maya, and the dualistic state of mind and conception. The Clear Light and liberation implies a non-dual state, a non-thought-formation, and an abidance in one's Divine nature.

According to Vajrayana teachings, the Chikai stage is the first opportunity given to us to be free from the world of birth and rebirth, of the cycle of reincarnation with its concomitant sufferings and pain. Our main problem here is maintaining consciousness while undergoing the process of soul-release and recognizing the Clear Light when it appears. Most people pass through this stage unconsciously, in a state of slumber. Various factors causes the awareness-principle to fall into a stupor and not recognize its true nature as represented by the Clear Light. Impurity of thoughts and emotions, guilt, unforgivingness, attachment to the world of form and possessions, ignorance of the bardo states and its liberating potential, karmic stains, and the influence of drugs are just some of the many causes that prevents the soul from achieving salvation in the Clear Light. Earlyne Chaney in her book, "The Mysteries of Death & Dying" comments on why the Light may not be seen:

"If there is darkness within the consciousness, it is reflected on the mirror of your mind and the mirror cannot then reflect the radiance of the Clear Light itself. At this moment when the Clear Light dawns, the mind is like a mirror and only when it is cleared of karmic obstacles can the mind reflect the ultimate light of reality. This is why it is so difficult for most of us to imagine that we may merge with the Clear Light, because the mind must be completely cleared of all karmic darkness." (1989:70)

In order to prepare oneself for the Clear Light experience, we are advised by lamas to meditate daily, and to undergo certain purifying, detoxifying processes--mental, emotional, physical and spiritual--that clears the skandhas, the aggregates of the lower constitution of the microcosm, from all psycho-physical dross that hangs like a veil over the Clear Light preventing its shimmering brilliance from emerging and contacting the soul-in-transition. The more karmic stains in the skandhas, the less we see of the Clear Light. Purifying practices such as the Heruka Vajrasattva sadhana, for instance, are often resorted to, to clear one's mental and emotional continuum of karmic stains. The necessity for purity in one's nature in order to see the Clear Light is also to be found in Christian teachings where it is said that only the pure shall see "God." Surat An-Nur of the Quran alludes poetically to the Clear Light, to Nur Illahi and how it is perceived.

Basically, one has to be detached from the five skhandas (essence of form, sensation, volition, consciousness, and deluded perception) in order to recognize the Clear Light and its transformative qualities. It takes a perfectly detached mind and a pure awareness, free from karmic stains to merge with the high energies of the Divine flame of the Clear Light of the Void. Only then is one free from all mortal states and is born into a realm beyond the laws of change, of becoming. Immortality is attained in such a manner. Bokar Rinpoche, in the book Death & the Art of Dying tells us the significance of the consummation of one's mergence with the Clear Light:

"Recognizing this fundamental Clear Light means `becoming' Buddha in the absolute body at the moment of death! It is said that it also means `being liberated as a Buddha in the first Bardo.' When awakening is attained, the bardo no longer continues." (1993:19-20)


Chikai Bardo, Second Stage

While the first stage of Chikai occurs in the swoon state approaching death, this second stage occurs after clinical death--usually half an hour after the occurrence. From the occult point of view, it occurs after the heart seed-atom departs from the physical body and the severance of the sutratma. The duration of this stage is a little longer than the previous one. In this stage the Clear Light seemingly reduces its intensity to some degree. It actually does so because of the obscurations of one's ignorance and karma. Although the Clear Light may not be recognized in the primary stage, there is still a chance for the awareness-principle, when awakened from its stupor or dream-like state to take notice of the Clear Light in this secondary phase of the Chikai. This is usually done with the assistance of the presiding guide, the Reciter of the "death manual," or the Bardo Thodol. The bardo ritual also helps awaken the deceased person to recognize the fact that it had passed through the portal of death and that it should now pay attention to the subsequent psychological phenomena. In the Tibetan Book of the Dead, the awareness-principle in the Chikai stage is advised to recognize its own primordial Self:

"O nobly-born, when the body and mind were separating, thou must have experienced a glimpse of the Pure Truth, subtly, sparkling, bright, dazzling, glorious, and radiantly awesome, in appearance like a mirage moving across a landscape in spring-time in one continuous stream of vibrations. Be not daunted thereby, nor terrified, nor awed. This is the radiance of thine own true nature. Recognize it." (1975:104)

Like the first stage, liberation is also offered here as a gift of the Divine Intelligence; it is, however, an incomplete liberation, not as totally or as fully as the liberation of the first stage. To ensure the attainment of liberation, as said before, it is necessary to practice meditation every day where a glimpse of the Clear Light may be seen and experienced in an altered-state of awareness in order to aid us to recognize its full power in the Chikai. Experience of the Clear Light in the meditative state help us to experience it in the Chikai state. Spiritual exercises such as visualizing one's physical body and aura surrounded with white light assists us greatly to recognize the Clear Light when it emerges from the depth of our being. Recollection of teachings pertaining to the bardo also increases considerably the chances that the soul would realize the Clear Light and to know the manner of correct approach toward the following bardos. The marifat or gnostic techniques of Islamic and Hindu mystics allows the practitioner to evoke the presence of the Clear Light, as does the techniques of Dzogchen.

The intensity of the Clear Light that appears to one's consciousness is dependent upon the quality of light within one's own consciousness. An impure consciousness taints the Clear Light of the Void. Normally, the average person would not experience or recognize the Clear Light of the Chikai stage; and those who experience violent deaths go through the first stages of the bardos very quickly, likewise without recognizing the Clear Light.

While experiencing the Chikai stage, it is possible for the awareness-principle to be distracted from the Clear Light by loud physical noises, or the lamenting of relatives and friends. It is for this reason that the room of the dying one should be free from any conditions that may disturb its mental focus.

Should one successfully recognize the Clear Light, one should merge into it, or absorb its radiance. This will lead one to the Buddhic or higher worlds. Otherwise, if unsuccessful in recognizing and merging with the Clear Light, one would simply fall into slumber and awaken to the subsequent bardos. It is to be noted that in this Secondary Light of the Chikai that the deceased may often catch a glimpse of awaiting relatives and friends on the Otherside, or see their presiding deity or guru, or even hear heavenly music. This phenomena is substantiated in Near-Death Experiences as recorded by doctors and researchers of the paranormal.


Chonyid Bardo, First Stage

As the awareness-principle sink deeper into the depths of the bardo--because of lack of spiritual attainment--the Clear Light of the Void lessens its shining brilliance, or to be more accurate, heavier veils enshroud it. In the previous Chikai stage, the Clear Light was a manifestation of the dharmakaya. In this Chonyid stage, the Bardo of Dharmata, the Light filters through the sambogakaya, which may be interpreted to mean the causal body. In terms of psychology, this sambogakaya may correspond to the superconsciousness, whereas the former corresponds to Cosmic Consciousness. One's consciousness at this stage sees the refracted Clear Light of the sambogakaya as coloured rays which are moulded according to the nature of the spiritual side of our psychic contents. What one sees in the Chonyid are, basically, hallucinations.

In this phase and stage one's mental and subconscious contents of a spiritual nature are projected externally onto the sambogakaya lights as psychic images. These images may take the form of gods, devas, masters, or angels--anything that reflects our spiritual conscious state. Teachings of Tibetan Buddhism refer to this stage as the appearance of the "42 peaceful deities," or the appearance of karmic illusions of a spiritual nature. It is said that these peaceful deities emanate from the heart center. The spiritual forms of these deities usually appear in the guise of the being that we often pray to and seek spiritual refuge. It is, however, important to realize that all forms that appear in the Chonyid and Sidpa are mental creations, and are, therefore, unreal. Concerning the nature of these deities, Tsele Rangorol in The Mirror of Mindfulness says that,

". . . the deities are an expression of one's spontaneously present wakefulness; they are automatically there, inherent in one's nature." (1993:10)

Visions within this and the following bardos are reflections of our habitual thought patterns. The spiritual inclined will see spiritual images at this stage, while the mind with habitual carnal thoughts would probably bypass this bardo stage as it would have done so with the previous Chikai stage and go onto the next to see visions of its based thoughts. The primary aim in this and in the following stages is to realize the "emptiness" of these images, and to grasp their real essence as being that of the Clear Light. In this manner we transform our consciousness by realizing the true basis of these visions and integrating them into our own being. Failure to do so simply results in a rebirth in one of the lower six realms. Not recognizing the psychic images as one's own thoughtforms in this bardo and in the next results in a continued existence in samsara.

Copyright © 2006 Luxamore

The Metaphysical View of Death and Life After Death Part 6

One of our personal experiences with our deceased friend with whom we related previously would substantiate this principle as described by Swedenborg:

We once decided to visit our friend in the heavenly regions. We had some joyful news that we wanted to convey to her--news that she was waiting to hear while she was alive in the physical. Not knowing where she was or able to directly manifest before her, we were escorted by a guide to a lovely garden with a Greek temple in the midst of it. The garden was empty, or so it seemed. But while adjusting our sight, people appeared everywhere. They did not notice us, however. It was as though we did not exist in their eyes. Our escort went into the building and moments later our friend came out all beaming with joy. "I've been waiting for you," she said. Then she looked more closely at me and commented jocularly, "you are so bright, I could faint." After conveying to her our message we bade farewell. As we were leaving, we noticed that no one was yet aware of our presence; however, a dark-skinned man who was sitting on a bench reached out and touched me to, perhaps, reassure himself of my presence and reality. We smiled at each other.

After a lengthy stay in the astral or lower mental heavens, and when one is about ready to reincarnate through karmic necessity or choice, one first goes to the causal realms for a brief sojourn. Not all souls experience this; however, some incarnate directly from whatever realm they may be. In the causal world the soul experiences bliss and peace, and a real rest as a reward for a soul-mission well done. One of the purposes of this stay in the causal realms is the transference of the positive qualities acquired by the soul and recorded in the seed-atoms, to the causal body where it is stored as one's "treasure in heaven." The positive deeds and virtues of the soul adorn the causal body with a greater glory than its former condition. Every incarnation offers a form of nourishment to the causal body when its incarnated life ends. This causal body is called in Masonry "the temple not made with hands." Other traditions call it "the Chalice." When the soul is prepared to reincarnate for new soul-experiences, it seeks out the appropriate parents, time and place to be reborn in the physical world. This seeking is done with the help of spiritual guides.

Reincarnation is a law for those not having transcended ignorance and earthly desire. Although some religions do not openly teach reincarnation, the concept or precept does appear in some form in their holy scripture.

Although not exhaustive, the above information is sufficient enough to offer us some idea of the occult knowledge available concerning the after death state that is based on personal experiences of psychics and mystics. In order to know more in a convincing way, one would have to study and master the art of soul-travel. Only in this manner, through personal experience, will we satisfy our thirst for a greater knowledge of God's many dimensions, the Cosmic laws, and the purposes of life.


The Tibetan Tradition

Tibetan Buddhism declares that men are enchained to a world of suffering and pain, of illusion and ignorance. This they call samsara. Samsara refers generally to the condition of the six worlds, but more specifically it refers to the physical plane. To be liberated from samsara one had to awaken to one's true Reality and the Reality of the Cosmos called in Mahayana and Vajrayana literature, the "Clear Light of the Void," "Sunyata," "Dharmakaya," etc. Tibetan Buddhism, or Vajrayana, declares that there are various ways of liberating oneself. One may be liberated--if prepared beforehand through arduous spiritual work--through initiation by a spiritual master where the Clear Light of one's true primordial nature is introduced; or one may be liberated through samadhi or meditation where the Clear Light dawns in the consciousness; liberation may also be achieved through recognizing and merging with the Clear Light during transition in the first phase of the bardo.

Techniques have been formed by lamas and applied at the onset of transition to assist the dying to achieve Liberation. These techniques are called:

1) Liberation Through Taste, where consecrated pills are placed in the mouth to assist the soul to sustain consciousness throughout the bardo so that it would recognize the Clear Light when it dawns.

2) Liberation Through Contact, where the ashes of burnt talismans are rubbed on the heart for the same purpose as the above.

3) Liberation Through Listening, this is by far the most common practice. In this method, a manual-ritual such as the Bardo Thodol is read to the dying to remind the person of what it had previously learnt of the bardo and the way of approaching it.


The Bardo Thodol

The "Bardo Thodol," or the Tibetan Book of the Dead, as Christianized by Evans-Wentz, deals with the phases of the bardo that the soul would undergo and what it should do in order to liberate itself from samsara. It provides a unique psychology of the death process and the attitudes that the soul should assume in order to escape rebirth in the lower realms. Recognition of the Clear Light in the first bardo phase is stressed in the manual, because it is the only means for the soul to save itself from experiencing the subsequent phases of the bardo, which from the viewpoint of Tibetan metaphysics, lead to rebirth and a prolonged stay in the samsaric worlds. Thus, the Clear Light that dawns in the first phase of the bardo offers a chance for the soul to redeem and free itself from the shackles of samsara. This Clear Light is the grace of God that offers death-bed salvation--salvation from one's so-called "sins," or liberation from karma.

In Tibet there are many manuals composed as guides for the dying or the newly departed soul. The Bardo Thodol is one of the most well-known among them in the Western world. It is said to have been written down in the 8th century by the Precious Guru, Padmasambhava. The teachings and doctrines of the Bardo Thodol as an oral tradition, however, are much older. It is believed that Bon, the indigenous religion of Tibet, transmitted much knowledge to Tibetan Buddhism concerning the death process.

Unlike the Christian forms of prayers of burial-rituals recited on behalf of the newly-departed (and also the living), the Bardo Thodol is more of an instruction manual read to the dying by a spiritual guide, that it may understand the psychological processes that it would undergo through transition. It is of especial value to those who practice and follow Buddhistic doctrines, or teachings similar to it because of certain inherent concepts. The underlying doctrine of Tibetan Buddhism is that man, a slave to samsara--the wheel of birth and rebirth, or reincarnation--is able to liberate himself through being aware of his primordial nature represented by the Clear Light which appears in the early stages of the bardo. Recitation of texts such as the Bardo Thodol reminds the departing soul, the "awareness-principle," what it had previously learnt of the bardo and its liberating potential while still alive in the physical plane.

Although dissociated from the physical body, the awareness-principle still retains its sensory faculties. In the disembodied state its psychic senses are acute and enhanced and is able to register and perceive physical surroundings--to listen to the bardo-guidance and instructions as given by the spiritual guide or lama, for instance. In the death process, as the physical senses grow dull the psychic senses grow more keen.

The recitation of the bardo text to the departed may last for a total of 49 days. This is done at first in the presence of the corpse but later a representation of it. The 49 days is supposed to be the maximum length of days the soul would spend in the bardo. This given figure is probably symbolic, representing as it does the number 7 squared. The number 7 is the mathematical and geometrical principle in which our solar system is based. We have many indications of the number seven as creative manifestations, for instance, the seven colours of the light spectrum, and the seven notes in an octave. Forty-nine days of the bardo may also refer to soul-progression and evolution within the 49 realms of the cosmic physical plane. In Indonesia, 40 days is referred to as the period it takes for the soul to complete its wandering in the borderland between the physical and higher worlds before settling in its destined home in the subtle spheres. In other traditions, three days and three nights after transition are considered to be of some importance to the soul. For instance, the Hadhokht Nask, one of the scriptures of Zoroastrianism, declares that the soul remains near its body for such a period. This 3-day lingering is probably based on the occult fact that sometimes the sutratma may still be connected to the body after the pronouncement of "death," meaning that the so-called corpse is actually in a comatose state and that revival may occur.

Being symbolic, in reality the 40 or 49 days may take just a few moments or several days. Should the spiritual guide be unable to attend to the dying for reasons of physical distance, an effigy is usually made to represent the one undergoing transition with personal effects surrounding it to attract by magnetic attunement the awareness-principle of the dying pilgrim. The instructions of the Bardo Thodol may thus telepathically be heard by the dying soul.

It is well worth quoting the fundamental doctrines of the Bardo Thodol as summed-up by Evans-Wentz in the Tibetan Book of the Dead, as this will help us understand the bardo as well as give us some insight into Buddhistic beliefs:

"1) That all possible conditions, or states, or realms of sangsaric existence, heavens, hells, and worlds, are entirely dependent upon phenomena, or in other worlds, are naught but phenomena.

"2) That all phenomena are transitory, are unreal, and non-existent save in the sangsaric mind perceiving them.

"3) That in reality there are no such beings anywhere as gods, or demons, or spirits, or sentient creatures--all alike being phenomena dependent upon a cause;

"4) That this cause is a yearning or thirsting after sensations, after the unstable sangsaric existence;

"5) That so long as this cause is not overcome by Enlightenment, death follows birth and birth death unceasingly--even as the wise Socrates believed.

"6) That the after-death existence is but a continuation, under changed conditions, of the phenomena-born existence of the human world--both states alike being karmic.

"7) That the nature of the existence intervening between death and rebirth in this or any other world is determined by antecedent actions;

"8) That, psychologically speaking, it is a prolonged dream-like state, in what may be called the fourth dimension of space, filled with hallucinatory visions directly resultant from the mental-content of the percipient, happy and heaven-like if the karma be good, miserable and hell-like if the karma be bad;

"9) That, unless Enlightenment be won, rebirth in the human world, directly from the Bardo-world or from any other world or from any paradise or hell to which karma has led, is inevitable.

"10) That Enlightenment results from realizing the unreality of sangsara, of existence;

"11) That such realizing is possible in the human world, or at the important moment of death in the human world, or during the whole of the after-death or Bardo-state, or in certain of the non-human realm;

"12) That training in yoga, i.e. in control of the training process so as to be able to concentrate the mind in an effort to reach Right Knowledge, is essential.

"13) That such training can best be had under a human guru, or teacher.

"14) That the Greatest of Gurus known to mankind in this cycle of time is Gautama the Buddha.

"15) That this doctrine is not unique, but is the same doctrine which has been proclaimed in the human world for the gaining of salvation, for the Deliverance from the Cycle of Rebirth and Death, for the Crossing of the Ocean of Sangsara, for the Realization of Nirvana, since immemorial time, by a long and illustrious dynasty of Buddhas, who were Gautama's Predecessors.

"16) That lesser spiritually enlightened beings, Bodhisattvas and gurus, in this world or in other worlds, though still not freed from the Net of illusion, can nevertheless, bestow divine grace and power upon the sishya [student] who is less advanced upon the Path than themselves.

"17) That the Goal is and can only be Emancipation from Sangsara.

"18) That such Emancipation comes from the Realization of Nirvana.

"19) That Nirvana is non-sangsaric, being beyond all paradises, heavens, hells, and worlds.

"20) That it is the ending of Sorrow.

"21) That it is Reality" (1975:66-68)

Man, in general, is ignorant of his divinity. His mind and consciousness are veiled by the false light of Maya. Maya is the way we perceive and interpret Reality. It translates in our consciousness cosmic vibrations into forms, colours and sensations--a world of appearance. We perceive not what is, but what we believe to be. Maya produces a deceiving state of duality, of object and subject. All appearances in the mind and consciousness as a product of Maya are illusory and unreal. The mind, not understanding the nature of Maya, is indeed the slayer of the Real, as stated by Helena Blavatsky. This ignorance of Reality causes man's prolonged stay in samsara. Recognition of the Clear Light, of Reality, of the Unity of Being, releases man from his spiritual bondage. Tibetan Buddhism believe that the six worlds are transitory and that rebirth into any one of them is undesirable and should be avoided. Man's loftiest aspiration should be directed to the awakening to Reality as the highest religious goal, and this illumination naturally terminates the ceaseless rounds of birth and rebirth in the samsaric worlds. In Christian terms, this is the attainment of salvation where the true follower of Christian principles is made into a pillar in the kingdom of heaven and "goes no more out."

Tibetan Buddhism is not the only religion that possesses manuals to be read to the dying. To the Hindus, the Garuda Purana fulfills the same purpose. Ancient Egyptians, too, had their death-manuals such as the one translated by Wallis Budge, the Book of the Dead, or "The Coming Forth From Day," to give its original title. This title suggests the acquaintance of the ancient Egyptians with the Clear Light of the bardo. In this manual, taken from hieroglyphical murals painted in tombs, says that death is followed by the soul's entry into the "clear light of day." Experience of the bardo is universal and fundamental to the human psyche, therefore, manuals such as the Bardo Thodol or the Book of the Dead that possesses keys to spiritual portals, are relevant to human psychological and spiritual integration. The relevance of such texts are not to be confined to its place of origin in time or in space. Adaptations may be made for western society with its world-wide influence. The phenomenon of the Clear Light with its inherent nature of spiritual grace is for all human beings regardless of race, sex or creed. In one sense, this Clear Light may be seen as the "comforter" promised by the Piscean Master to his followers.

The Bardos and Tibetan Practices Related to Dying

Before continuing, it is appropriate that we define here the word "bardo." Bardo is often translated as "intermediate state," an interval, or a period between two conditions, planes, or states of consciousness in the samsaric worlds. Basically, it refers to the following four states:

1) Between two states of consciousness

2) Transitional state

3) Uncertain state

4) Twilight state

Tibetan teachings refer to these 4 states as the psychological nature of the following six bardos:

1) Bardo of Life (Kye Ne Bardo)

2) Bardo of Dreams (Milam Bardo)

3) Bardo of Meditation (Samten Bardo)

4) Bardo of the Transition Process (Chikai Bardo)

5) Bardo of State After Death (Chonyid Bardo)

6) Bardo of Rebirth into Samsara (Sidpa Bardo)

The word Bardo, as is commonly used and understood, refers to the general framework of the death process. In this section we will be considering the nature of the last three bardos listed above. But before we do, however, it would be interesting to note certain practices related to the art of dying and the psycho-somatic processes of dying as occultly observed by spiritual practitioners of Lamaism throughout the centuries.

Physiologically speaking, when one undergoes a natural death the physical senses fail one by one. First the sense of vision blurs, then the sense of hearing is impaired, next the sense of smell fails; this is followed by the deterioration of the sense of taste and touch. There is also a feeling or sensation of pressure, followed by coldness, heat, and a sense of being blown to bits. Dissolution of the senses and its varied sensations are symbolically described in Tibetan Buddhism as the merging of the elements one into the other until it sinks into the primal substance. This is the process of Thimrim. To describe the illustrative process above in symbolical detail:

First, "earth sinks into water;" second, "water sinks into fire;" third, "fire sinks into air;" fourth, "air sinks into space."

As for the external signs of the approach of death that may be observed by an outsider, they may include sagging facial muscles, coldness in the extremities, blueness beneath the nails, difficulty in breathing, and glazed eyes.

This merging of the elements are accompanied by internal and external phenomena or signs which the dying is taught to recognize. Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche explains certain inner signs as cited in the Bardo Guidebook:

"First the earth element starts to disintegrate. One feels very heavy. That's when people say `Please lift me up, raise me up. I feel like I'm sinking.' When the water element dissolves then one feels very cold and says, `Please warm me up. It's too cold in here.' When the fire element dissolves one feels very thirsty and wants water, one's lips are drying up. When the wind element dissolves one feels as if one is floating at the brink of an abyss, not anchored anywhere. When consciousness dissolves into space it means that everything grows very big and completely ungrounded. The outer breath has stopped but the inner breathing is still taking place." (1991:93)

Copyright © 2006 Luxamore

The Metaphysical View of Death and Life After Death Part 3

FINDINGS

In this chapter we will consider the four perspectives in greater detail. We will look into the dying process and the nature of life in the higher planes, as seen through the eyes of Western and Eastern occultism. Analysis of the religious concepts anent death, dying and the after-death state will offer us a clearer picture of what is commonly believed by the average person. We will deal with religious concepts not from the perspective of any particular religion, but from an overall, general view. The findings of modern researchers of the paranormal will greatly enhance our comprehension of nature's laws, while Tibetan teachings concerning death will offer us a better insight into the purposes of life and the liberating nature of the death process. We will discuss these various perspectives with a metaphysical understanding.

The metaphysician is a seeker of empirical and pragmatic truths--truths and laws that are applicable and relevant to one's life. The metaphysician, as a healer of man's souls, is a searcher for not merely theoretical, but practical, factual, and experiential knowledge. Such knowledge, as an accumulation of relevant data, offers the material required to gain wisdom, insight and understanding of God's plan, and the privilege of participating in the creative work of the universe. Knowledge of the death process and the purposes of life offers us a certain power to pre-determine our fate in the higher worlds and in subsequent incarnations with the exercise of our God-given gift of free-choice and the divine-will of our Higher Self.


Religious Beliefs

Followers of religions have viewed death, or the passing over to a new dimension, in contradictory terms. On one hand, there is a lively anticipation and hope for a glorious future-state in a heavenly paradise, and on the other, a pronounced fear of eternal damnation and torture in an everlasting burning hell. The concepts of heaven and hell are common to most religions, and from the occult point of view, there is a basis for these ideas; however, heaven and hell as understood by the masses and unenlightened clergymen are a distortion of the reality underlying those states.

Hell, according to religious ideas, is a place in the afterlife for the punishment of wicked, immoral and sinful men and women. It is described to be a place of eternal torture, a place filled with fire and brimstone, a place of horror and terror, a locality where one suffers pain and misery indefinitely. Judaism refers to this hell as Sheol and Gehenna, while the ancient Greeks called it Hades and Tartarus. In Buddhism, the hell-state is known as Avitchi. Hell has been described in literature as the Inferno, the Abyss, the Pit, the Darkness, Limbo etc. In Paradise Lost, Milton called the capital of Hell, Pandemonium, which figuratively, refers to a state of chaos, lawlessness and anarchy. In the Gospel stories the Piscean Master referred to a pit outside the walls of Jerusalem--a pit utilized as a garbage incinerator. This burning pit was used as an illustration, in a metaphorical and symbolical manner, of the nature of Gehenna. Not understanding the symbolism, followers of Christ have accepted the Master's explanation in a literal sense. It should also be noted that ancient mystics considered this earth plane to be one of the hell regions.

In the scriptures we are told that God is a consuming fire. This fire is synonymous with the fires and flames of hell; to the soul, higher vibrations are always fiery in nature. What do the flames of God consume? They consume temporarily the manifestation of the false ego with its expressions of pride, hatred and cruelty. They cleanse the subtle bodies of psychic dross. In the alchemical tradition, fire has been a symbol of the processes of transmutation and purification. In the same esoteric sense, the fiery stimulus of hell causes a purification and transmutation of the soul which results in soul-awakening. Once the soul realizes its mortal errors and repents, it rises from the fires of hell and enters into the planes of "purgatory" for the next phase of the purification process. From another perspective, the flames of hell may symbolize a soul's lust for the physical world--its ungratified consuming desire, and rage or resentment towards all that opposes its egoistic will. Freedom from such a hell is a simple matter of extinguishing lowly desires and the acquisition of humility. Sufferings one experience in hell, aside from the above conditions could also be the result of remorseful feelings for one's past negative deeds, one's "sins" of omission and commission; or the result of one's anger and displeasure for not possessing the ability to resume the life-style one had previously known. This often cause what is called an "earth-bound spirit."

The concept of purgatory was first formulated by Pope Gregory I, who lived in the sixth century AD. Although turned into a dogma in some Christian sects, this particular doctrine is based on reality, as it is validated by the experiences of psychics and mystics. Purgatory is an intermediate plane between heaven and hell; however, in actuality, all planes are purgatorial in nature. Purgatory, in a specific sense, is a plane of consciousness, a dimension where souls sojourn temporarily to cast off material and carnal habits, attitudes and feelings. It is a realm of purification of one's thoughts, emotions and desires. Purgatory is where one also commences the assimilation of experiences of one's incarnated life. Once this purification has taken place, the soul goes to one of the heavenly regions appropriate for its expression. This occurs automatically without any authoritarian decree or overseeing.

To believe that a loving, kind and merciful God would banish and exile wayward souls to eternal condemnation and punishment is a sacrilegious attitude and feeling, and an injustice towards our Creator. The loving Omniversal Mind of the Cosmos would never have conceived of such an idea. God does not punish. The many hell regions were not created by God but by man's guilty conscience, by man's evil tendencies and propensities, by man's willful disobedience and violation of the Cosmic Law of Harmony. This is not to say that hell and its tortures do not exist. They do exist, but as an illusion of maya. They are tangible but are phantasmagorias. Hell is an inner state of darkness within the consciousness projected and objectified onto astral substances. Hell is a state of mind and consciousness externalized and reflected in one's astral, or even physical environment. Sojourners of hell unconsciously build, share, and experience a collective thoughtform.

Religion in the collective sense, paints hell in frightful forms and images. In actuality though, most of the devils and demons torturing souls in hell are mere phantasms arising from the psyche. The wrathful deities, creatures and demons found in hell, such as Satan, Beelzebub, Ashtaroth, Mara, the Raksasas, the Furies, the Harpies, the Erinyes, Chimaeras, Cerburus and Hydras, are all negative thoughts and feelings within one's soul externalized in an illusory, hallucinatory sense to torment oneself for one's past misqualification of soul-energies. Aside from hell, these gruesome and grotesque images are also seen and experienced at a certain phase of the bardo. These terrifying demons are mere symbols of negative human behaviour. The guilty conscience of men and women evilly-inclined erupts from the unconscious to manifest as horrible illusions. Simply put, a bad conscience and temperament creates the experience of hell. Cornelius Agrippa, the eminent occultist of the 16th century, referring to the illusory nature of hell as experienced by hell-sojourners says that souls,

". . . are most cruelly tortured in the irascible faculty with the hatred of an imaginary evil, into the perturbations whereof, as also false suspicions, and most horrible phantasms they then fall, and they are represented to them sad representations; sometimes of the heaven falling upon their head, sometimes of being swallowed up into the earth . . . and sometimes of being taken, and tormented by devils." (1995:596)

In the Gathas, one of the holy scriptures of Zoroastrianism, hell is described as the place of the worst thought, and as the House of Lies. The people of Ahura Mazda believed and still believe that in hell one is tormented by the daena, or conscience; however, they do not propose this to be construed and considered as a permanent state--a concept expounded by theologians of many other living faiths. Eternal punishment is illogical, senseless, and without purpose, and goes against all spiritual principles and values. It would be more realistic to view a merciful God ending soul-identity and consciousness rather than to picture the Almighty banishing and gloating at the sufferings and miseries of wayward souls. Hence, the purpose of hell is not that of punishment but to awaken the soul of its spiritual poverty, of its need to turn towards the Divine Light. Here we emphasize the concept of hell from the perspective of Zorastrianism for it has greatly influenced the Semitic religions which somehow distorted the transmission of esoteric knowledge.

Hell should not be seen as an eternal state. It exists for the soul only for as long as the soul refuses to acknowledge and face the Light of God, of Truth, and give up its resentments, hatreds, and other negative feelings. Not all souls sojourn in hell or purgatory. Lofty, pure souls bypass the lower worlds to head straight for their place in the heavenly regions. Every soul goes to the plane most appropriate for its nature. This process or procedure is not directed arbitrarily by any being, there is no one to coerce and force us to be in any realm. This is all executed according to the Law of Correspondence. Man's spiritual attainment or lack of it determines where he would go. It is a matter of frequencies. One's personal frequency attunes one into the appropriate dimension vibrating at the corresponding wavelength. Imagine if you will, a wicked sinner obtaining forgiveness at the last hour and goes to the heavenly worlds. The very presence of the sinner would transform heaven into hell, for his innate wickedness, his negative character, would pollute the surrounding environment. Death does not transmute our character. We carry our same personality, character, minds and emotions wherever we go. If we are in constant discord with our environment, with our many relationships here on this earth plane, we would express no differently in the subtle worlds. The presence of negativity causes the soul, the astro-mental bodies, to assume a certain density in its energy-structures and fields, a certain atomic weight which binds it to the lower regions of hell or purgatory. Heaven is thus protected from trouble-makers. Whether in hell or purgatory, the soul suffers all of its misqualified and misspent energies alone. The length of time that one sojourns in hell or purgatory is dependent upon one's self, upon one's own inner desire to improve one's character, upon one's desire to be free, the desire to forgive self and others--to request forgiveness from those wronged, and the desire to serve others.

Concerning heaven, Christians have long visualized it to be a magnificent city with streets paved in gold and ornamented with precious stones. The book of Revelations has done much to mould Christian beliefs regarding this matter. What is not known to the average Christian is that the apocalypse in Revelations is symbolical and that it is a work written by great initiates for lesser initiates studying the mysteries of God, and that to interpret it literally is to deceive and mislead oneself. It takes a great deal of familiarity with the occult, the Qaballah, and the initiatory teachings of the ancients to properly interpret the real significance of its spiritual contents.

Heaven, generally, is believed to be a place of rewards, of eternal rest. Ancient Greeks called heaven the Elysian Fields or Olympus. Followers of Zoroaster describe it as the House of Suns, and the abode of the best thought--a place where the sun never ceases to shine--no doubt alluding to the luminous nature of the plane. To Hindus, heaven is Surga, and it lies in the higher lokas. Theosophists call heaven "Devachan." Ancient Egyptians referred to it as Sekhet-hetepet. To Scandinavians it is Asgard; and spiritualists call it Summerland. Heaven as an abode of peace, happiness, and abundance is a fundamental religious belief in every culture, ancient and modern. As hell is believed to be a place of punishment, so heaven is believed to be a realm of rewards due to the virtuous, the "poor in spirit" and to those who serve God faithfully.

Like hell, followers of religion have likewise misunderstood and misconceived the nature of heaven. In their theology, most religions lay too much stress on externals without considering the mystical nature of their teachings; this applies most specifically to such concepts as heaven and hell. The Bahá'i faith, as an exception, believes heaven and hell to be spiritual conditions, and not mere places. In their theological teachings, heaven is defined as the proximity of the consciousness to the throne of God, and hell as a remoteness from the heavenly Godhead. This is in accord with the words of the Nazarene that the kingdom of God is within. Eventhough the concept of paradise among Christians has a different meaning from the kingdom of God as enunciated by the Master--the former believing it to be a place--it could indeed be considered as such, as a place or places reflecting the inner state of the soul, just like hell--eventhough we apparently contradict our previous statement concerning Christian emphasis upon externals. As mentioned before, heaven and hell as places have been substantiated by the discoveries and experiences of mystics and psychics. However, we have to realize that the external protean reality is but a reflection of the inner state or condition of the mind. We have considered this before, but it is necessary to reiterate because of its importance.

Although heaven is as beautiful and glorious as described by religions, it is not a place of eternal rest. A heaven of ease and idleness is a static state. Inertia does not exist in the universe. All is in motion and in a continuous flux. The Greek philosopher, Heraclitus, said that "everything is becoming." All Sparks, or creatures of God are forever evolving. Everything is in a dynamic state moving towards a higher expression and manifestation. Heaven as experienced and understood by mystics, is a state of intense activity. Heaven is not a place where one sings hymns and play on the harp all day long (unless that is what gives us pleasure), it is a place of continued education for the evolving soul, where the mysteries of the universe, and Cosmic laws are studied. In the higher worlds one learns to exercise one's creativity in myriads of ways. One also spends one's time in heaven serving the whole of creation in various capacities, in accord with one's innate abilities and talents. In the heavenly regions, there are no angels ornated with wings and halos, as represented by painters in their artwork. In heaven, angelic beings are adorned with their purity, love and other positive virtues. What are supposed to be wings are simply magnetic radiations streaming from their persons.

One of the salient features of religious beliefs is that during transition, before one passes over to heaven or hell, one has to undergo a judgment. The Ancient Egyptians, Tibetans, Christians, Muslims and many others all have and had their judgment scenes in their theological concepts. This is ingrained in the eschatology of religion and has, as a matter of fact, a basis of truth which we shall see later as we consider the bardos. It will suffice here to describe certain aspects of the Judgment scene.

The Judgment scene of almost every religion consists of a judge, a weigher of the scales, a scribe, and of course, the soul being judged. To Ancient Egyptians, Osiris was the judge of the soul, Anubis the weigher of the scales, while Thoth was the scribe. The human soul was often depicted as hawk-headed. In Zoroastrianism, Mithras or sometimes Zoroaster sits on the judgment seat, with Rashnu acting as weigher and Sraosha as recorder. Tibetans called their magistrate Dharmaraja and their scribe Shinje--the monkey-headed one. Christians believe that Jesus would be the one to judge the "quick and the dead," with angelic personnel acting as his amanuensis.

In the Judgment scene, as conceived by the ancient Egyptians, the Ab, or heart of the soul is weighed against Maat, or Truth, symbolised by a feather. The deceased makes a long confession, affirming his or her goodly works. The negative works of the soul goes unstated and unproclaimed--the soul hoping that its past sinful deeds are overlooked and not revealed. But then comes the weighing of the scales, where the statements of the soul are gauged of its truth. When found not to measure up to its honesty, the soul is led to hell to be tormented by Typhon, who is one of the presiding demons; otherwise, it is shown the way to paradise. The Judgment scene of all religions follows more or less along similar lines.

According to some religious and cultural beliefs, prior to the Judgment or the entry into the underworld, the soul had to cross a river or rivers, before passing on to its destination. The soul is usually led across the river in a boat or by using certain bridges. Ancient people used these symbols to signify the processes of transition. Muslims call the bridge "Sirat," while followers of Zoroaster call it "Chivat." Ancient Greeks called the underworld rivers Styx, Acheron, Cocytus, and Phlegethon. These named rivers correspond to the four streams of the Garden of Eden: Pison, Gihon, Hiddekel, and Phrath. Occultly, they probably refer to the four etheric planes. Scandinavians also believe in a river that souls in the cthonian world had to cross. They call this "Wimur." Ancient Babylonians believed that the soul had to cross the Huber river prior to reaching the "mountain of justice," or the Judgment scene.

Psychologically, rivers, oceans, pools, and lakes all refer to the subconscious element within man. In the depth of the Freudian "id," lurk various monsters--phobias, psychosis, neurosis, and repressions. In an occult sense, these monsters of the psyche are known collectively as the Dweller on the Threshold. Crossing rivers in the context of its symbolism, entails encountering these monsters, these repressed images in the death process; and indeed, according to Tibetan thanatology, this is exactly what occurs in the bardo. All religious doctrines teach of the danger that the soul may have to face in the intermediate state.

Copyright © 2006 Luxamore

The Metaphysical View of Death and Life After Death Part 1

Humanity throughout the ages have seen death as something loathsome and gruesome; something dreadful, something preferable to avoid at all cost--that is, if a choice were given--but without any other option, are forced to succumb for lack of any power over its occurrence. Anticipating the termination of life at an unexpected moment and the possible prospect of annihilation of self-identity, humanity views death as a state or condition to be feared. This fear is sustained when all around, most of the dying are seen to seemingly suffer in anguish and in agony in the death process. The fear of death is actually man's fear of the unknown, and it indicates man's bondage to his ignorance which ultimately grows into superstitious expressions. Because of the underlying fear, man attempts laboriously to postpone death through medicine and other means; medical science has, however, not yet found a way to prolong life indefinitely--or to ease one's fears, to offer solace, or to answer profound questions regarding this ancient mystery. Knowing the true nature of death releases man from his bondage to his fears and to the clinging of his varied superstitions pertaining to it. Such knowledge based upon personal experience may be acquired--beliefs to the contrary places an illusory boundary upon the unfolding soul. Alice Bailey, writing for the Tibetan in "A Treatise on White Magic," refers to man's fears regarding death:

"The mind of man is so little developed that fear of the unknown, terrors of the unfamiliar, and attachment to form have brought a situation where one of the most beneficent occurrences in the life cycle of an incarnating Son of God is looked upon as something to be avoided and postponed for as long a time as possible." (1972:494)

We can see from her statement that one of the factors that causes man to struggle against death, is the attachment to form. The identification of the Self with the physical form misleads one into thinking that the dissolution of the physical body results in the annihilation of the Self. Sri Sankaracharya, the eminent exponent of Advaita Vedanta, taught that the deluded mind with its beliefs in the reality of form causes bondage to Maya, or Cosmic Illusion. Philosophically speaking, this is the state of duality, and unless man perceives the One Reality underlying the dualistic worlds, and as his true nature, he lives in fear and in a state of slavery. What is Real cannot be destroyed, what is unreal does not exist apart from our false perception and understanding. This is avidya, or ignorance. To apprehend the true state of things is to be truly liberated from death. One's consciousness is expanded and raised to a divine estate when Reality is known and death seen for what it really is. What Bailey does not mention is that the soul-process of "death" may be experienced in the meditative state. Mystics call this "dying while living," and advanced mystics have reached a state where they may predetermine and trigger the time and process of their physical and mystical deaths--these are executed with divine permission. Mystical deaths offers one the opportunity to acquire the beautific vision called Marifatullah by Islamic gnostics. We will not dwell on this mystical aspect in this paper but focus more on the physical side of death and dying.

Before continuing further, let us first provide a definition of the branch of study dealing with death. The study is properly termed, "Thanatology" (from Greek thanatos, "death"). The Encyclopedia Britannica explains it thus:

". . . the description or study of death and dying and the psychological mechanisms of dealing with them. Thanatology is concerned with the notion of death as popularly perceived and especially with the reactions of the dying, from whom it is felt much can be learned about dealing with death's approach . . . Generally, psychologists have agreed that there are two overall concepts concerning death that help in understanding the simultaneous processes of living and dying. The "my death versus your death" concept emphasizes the irrational belief that while "your death" is a certainty, an exemption may be made in "my case." The second concept, "partial deaths versus total extinction" stresses the belief that by experiencing the bereavement following the deaths of friends and relatives, a person is brought as close as possible to realizing "partial death." These experiences colour the individual's attitude toward greater personal losses, culminating with the ultimate loss, life itself.

"Thanatology also examines attitudes toward death, the meaning and behaviours of bereavement and grief, and the moral and ethical questions of euthanasia, organ transplants, and life support."

Thanatology deals with death from various perspectives, from the cultural and anthropological standpoint, the clinical, biological, religious, metaphysical, etc. Death itself is defined in dictionaries as "an extinction of life," the "ceasing to be."

Ordinarily, the average person would avoid talking or thinking about death. When chosen as a topic for discussion, for instance, the subject is frequently and promptly relegated to the background of life's many "evil" necessities and often spoken in hushed tones. Death has always been a taboo subject in unenlightened social circles. Man's present negative attitude and understanding of the nature of death may cause self-inflicted suffering, torment, and pain. Man's lack of understanding of the truth of death is mainly the result of a deficiency in the knowledge of spiritual verities, and in an absence of spiritual awareness. Religious doctrines and materialistically-oriented educational systems have inadvertently encouraged man's negative attitude towards death. They paint horrible conditions of the after-death state, ranging from eternal punishment and torture in fashions exceeding the cruelties and atrocities of the Inquisition, to the materialistic view of nihilism and annihilation. Religion and the academic institutions offer no real comfort or solace to those whose loved ones have faced the great change. The only recourse for individuals seeking a greater understanding of death is by acquiring metaphysical knowledge concerning its nature and by developing a greater awareness of multi-dimensional life; for life simply is, it cannot cease to be. Life is Real and eternal for it is not compounded. Forms are compounded, therefore, they are evanescent. Clinging and being attached to what is temporal, and from the point of view of the Absolute as "illusory," makes one often feel threatened to life's varied circumstances.

In order to be relieved from suffering in the form of bereavement and anguish, humanity as a whole would have to be re-educated as to the true nature of death, its value, its process, and regarding the state of life after the great transition. One's frame of reference for personal existence has to be expanded to include multi-dimensional worlds, to one's immortal aspect, and not circumscribed to physical matter. Concomitant to this cleansing process of the mind of its false beliefs and notions concerning death--both the result of social conditioning and brainwashing--there should also be a search, an investigation into the true purpose of life. For to pass through transition not knowing the purpose of one's personal existence is to have lived in vain. It is said that to die well we must first learn to live well, and this is true, for our negative karma and our wrong attitudes and apprehension of death causally leads us to pain and suffering in the bardo, the death process--of which we will deal in later chapters. For this reason it is incumbent upon us all to embark upon the study of thanatology--the science of death, as understood by metaphysics, to live a worthwhile life, to relieve the sense of suffering, and to efface our misgivings regarding death and the after-death state. Death is simply a transformation, a process analogous to a caterpillar-turned-butterfly through metamorphosis.

Our "fate" and experiences in the afterlife and in the death process are both determined largely by our karma, beliefs, knowledge (or lack of it), purity, righteousness, and understanding of the mission and purpose of our sojourn in the physical plane. Life in this physical dimension should be seen as an opportunity to mature and to liberate oneself from all mortal restrictions even though functioning through an organic vessel. Some people experiencing the vicissitudes and hardships of life often complain that it was not their wish to be born, implying that it was not their wish to live or to be here in this physical world, and yet, in this they contradict themselves by expressing a fear of death, saying that they do not wish to die--implying that they wish to live. Such inconsistencies reflect the state of non-awareness of spiritual realities and verities. Death should be perceived as an initiation into the higher mysteries of Nature. It is thus one of the most important events in one's spiritual journey. Mastery of one's life, of one's lower self, and service to the Higher Intelligences, is the wise preparation for this great initiatory experience.

In ancient cultures, the existence of the afterlife was taken for granted. In former eras there have been concepts or beliefs in the afterlife such as the "Happy Hunting Grounds" "Olympus" and the "Elysian Fields." The spiritual instincts of early and modern man have always rebelled against the idea of death, and rightly so, for death in reality is non-existent, but the average person is normally unaware and ignorant of this truth, or he chooses to ignore it for some unknown reason. Death should not be looked upon as an ultimate chapter or conclusion of one's life, for death is simply a change, a passing, a transition to a different plane of consciousness, a different dimensional activity. Orthodox, or conservative scientists in conformity with Einstein's equation, "E=mc2," tell us that nothing in the universe can be destroyed, that there can only be a transformation, a change or conversion of the patterns of energy-fields; this is the economy of life which is acknowledged as a law of the Cosmos; and yet, although furnished with this scientific theorem and understanding, these same scientists are skeptical concerning the survival of the personal consciousness or "awareness-principle," as Tibetan Buddhists designate it. Mainstream science, although faced with many positive data concerning the survival of the consciousness acquired by researchers in the paranormal and related fields, still express incredulity as to its reality. Why is it that the life-force, soul, and consciousness are not seen by these scientists as energy-fields, just as all objects down to their minuscule component, the electrons, protons and neutrons are known to be such? More succinctly, why do scientists not recognize the soul? Is it, perhaps, because of the unconscious opposition and antagonism towards Religion that has long persecuted Science in the centuries past? From the occult point of view, group minds form living entities or currents of energy with certain qualities in accord with the thoughts and feelings generated by the originators or individuals of the same group-mind. This is called an egregore. Such egregores may have an indefinite life span, living for centuries, and influencing all that comes within its mental and emotional force fields. It is through these egregores that an individual, a scientist, for instance, living in the distant past may influence a scientist living in the present. Prejudicial feelings toward Religion and its tenets, such as its declaration of the living soul that survives the dissolution of the physical body, may therefore, be carried from the past to the present. As can be understood from the above, the antagonism of scientists may not be truly directed to the concept of the afterlife, or soul-survival, but towards religion as a whole, and this discord is an unconscious feeling--the result of centuries of maltreatment in the hands of Religion--executed in the name of the Almighty.

Investigators and exponents of mainstream science, however, have not proved in their laboratories the cessation of life, and the non-survival of consciousness after death. On the contrary, they are very close to discovering and proving its reality and validity. It would seem that the Veil of Isis is thinning; nevertheless, the question of the survival of consciousness, we feel, can only be satisfactorily and adequately answered to us by personal experience--through phenomena such as NDEs (Near Death Experience) and the projection of one's consciousness and subtle bodies. Without personal experience there would be an element of doubt, the truth would elude our comprehension, and the false delude our understanding. Knowledge pertaining to the the truth of death eliminates fear, pain and sorrow. When one understands the nature and mechanism of life and death, one begins to lead a philosophical and mystical life, open to spiritual verities and impressions. One commences to live in harmony with the forces and laws of Nature, in accord with the purposes of the Divine Plan. Scientists would have to become philosophers and mystics in order to break through any bias constraining their minds from the truth of life after death.

It is a fallacy to think that the nature of death and the afterlife state cannot be known while one is embodied and functioning in the three-dimensional sphere. Religious fundamentalism, in general, would have us believe this. Man dies temporarily every night during the sleep-state, and he calls his activities during such a state as "dreams." Man practices death every time he enters the delta-theta state. Poor recollection of one's nocturnal activities results in an inadequate comprehension of the nature and relationship between sleep and death. Spiritual development improves the recollection of astral activities and the awareness of the "no-dream" state. Refinement of the soul disperses the etheric web at the crown chakra and forms a link between the brain and higher mind allowing for free movement of the personal-consciousness to higher dimensions without a break in awareness. Fundamentally, the only difference between death and the sleep-state is that death is the permanent evacuation of the awareness-principle from the physical body, whereas in sleep it is merely a temporary condition. In death the sutratma, or silver cord, snaps, and the personal-consciousness leaves the physical body to disintegrate and return to the ground from whence it came. In the sleep state, this cord which connects the physical body to the subtle bodies is maintained. Essentially, death is an illusion. Death is actually an interval between two states or planes of consciousness. It eventuates in the return of every component of the microcosm to its proper place. This truth is embodied in the poetic verse of Ovid:

"Four things of man there are: spirit, soul, ghost, flesh;

"These four, four places keep and do possess,

"The earth covers flesh, the ghost hovers o'er the grave,

"Orcus has the soul, stars do the spirit crave."

Man has the divine ability to be aware of his being as existing independently of the physical vehicle. This is accomplished in what has come to be called lucid dreaming and astral projection, or "OBE" (out-of-the-body experience) as a modern designation for the phenomenon. Like St. Paul, it is possible for all of us to say that we "knew a man who went to the third heaven," and hear of things not suitable for the non-initiate. Death is a change of focus of our consciousness, from one plane to another. This is also accomplished through the above means. Astral projection is an ability that all metaphysicians should seek to acquire--for it is educational and it opens-up avenues of services that one may render. Most, if not all mystical traditions teach of this occult ability. The practitioner of Taoist Yoga, for instance, learns in the course of his studies how to separate the soul and spirit from the physical body. Advance mystics and occultists are all able to function in full awareness in the physical, astral and mental worlds. Such individuals are not concerned with the arguments of materialists--arguments stating the non-survival of self, for every mystic knows the truth of the matter through personal experience.

Dying, to the initiate, is a science and an art. The technique of death is known to the inter-dimensional consciousness-traveller. The psychonaut is familiar with the many phases of the bardo that leads to one of the "six realms," or to liberation from the cycle of reincarnation. It is the reality of reincarnation that proves to us that we are no stranger to death. We incarnate and pass through the change of death repeatedly until we emancipate ourselves from the wheel of birth and rebirth. We have all met the angel of death countless times and shall meet that specter once again in the future. All religions refer to this life-death cycle, though some metaphorically.

Every metaphysician should be familiar with the subject of death, as understood in the esoteric sense, and as to its occult process. In the course of one's metaphysical ministry, one would often meet individuals suffering from anguish and bereavement. The metaphysician should be able to offer the kind of solace that goes beyond the service of the burial ceremony and the pronouncement of the words, "ashes to ashes, dust to dust . . ." To the dying, and those newly passed-on, the advanced metaphysician should act as a guide to the inner levels of being. He should play the role of Anubis, guiding the departed soul to its proper place. This should be an integral part to any last rites or sacraments given. There is much superstition, fear and ignorance regarding the nature of death among the masses. It, therefore, behooves the metaphysical counselor to play his or her part in enlightening society; and this ministration would benefit humanity as a whole. We feel that this paper should be written to remind metaphysicians of the importance of conveying the truths to the masses regarding the continuity of life, personal identity, and consciousness. One's professional image is enhanced when well-equipped with the requisite knowledge. Even though much has been written on the subject of death, with much invaluable information given, we take this opportunity to add some of our own insights and experiences to enrich the existing literature and the storehouse of humanity's learning.

Copyright © 2006 Luxamore