Spiritual Inquiries: 7. Introduction to the Astral World

[Guest guest]

"Feeling or emotion is of two kinds--pleasurable or painful.

Pleasure, fundamentally a sense of moreness, produces attraction,

love (raga); pain, fundamentally a sense of lessness, produces

repulsion, hate (dvesha)...All emotions arise from love or hate, or

from both, in varying degrees of intensity."

 

-- The Science of the Emotions by Bhagavan Das.

 

The Astral World of the earth is where our desires and emotions

manifest, propagate, and affect both the person who originates them

and the target they are aimed at. Every person has to go via the

astral world after death. It is also the world where most us live,

in our astral bodies, until we are ready for a brief stay in the

mental world before another birth.

 

The souls of highly developed people when they die, just flash

through the astral world into the higher world. Their consciousness

is awakened only on the higher or lower planes (devachan or heavens)

of the mental world. Ordinary people who possess the qualities of

unconditional love, unselfishness and devotion, just sleep through

out their necessary stay in the astral world, and their

consciousness awakens only in the mental world.

 

All other people, however, have to spend their after-death lives on

the astral world, until the seeds of desire in their astral bodies

wither out and the astral bodies die, releasing the consciousness

into the mental body.

 

Life in the astral world is more active than on the physical world,

and form more plastic. The spirit-matter of this world is more

highly vitalised than any grade of spirit-matter in the physical

world.

 

The seven worlds are actually concentric interpenetrating spheres,

not separted from each other by distance but by a difference of

constitution. However, it is convenient to think of the higher

worlds as forming the next levels of the physical world.

 

The astral world has seven sub-planes, named after their physical

counterparts: astral solid, astral liquid, etc. Astral objects are

formed by astral matter, just as physical objects are formed by

physical matter.

 

The matter of the astral world of our planet stretches a little less

than the mean distance of the moon, which is 239,000 miles. The

astral spheres of the moon and the earth touch each other when the

moon is in perigee, that is, nearest to the earth. The mental world

is a still larger sphere. The higher globes are large enough to

touch the corresponding spheres of other planets. An ultimate astral

atom has 49^5 or 282,475,249 "bubbles in koilon".

 

The astral world has its own scenery and inhabitants, but much of

the scenery resembles that on earth, being largely made of the

astral duplicates of physical objects. The world and its scenery we

encounter in our dreams is usually astral.

 

The astral objects are translucent! Every object in the astral world

has a starry light, even the atmosphere is visible, hence the name

astral (meaning, like the stars) world.

 

Consciousness in the astral world is less hampered by astral matter,

so an object is visible in the astral world in all its profile:

back, front, outside and the inside! An untrained observer is

shocked and confused by this scenario, receives the most topsy-turvy

impressions, and commits blunders, when he tries to translate them

to his physical consciousness on return from his astral travels.

 

The following figure illustrates the geometry of the astral world as

perceived by a clairvoyant.

hindu_answerssaidevo/astralGeo.jpg

***

Fig.7.1 Escher Print: In this Escher wood carving entitled "Another

World", we have a visual representation of the geometry of the

astral plane as it is perceived by clairvoyant individuals (see

quote by C. W. Leadbeater on page 274). Note here the seemingly

paradoxical overlap of separate three dimensional spaces to create a

geometrical space that is seemingly four dimensional. Such a

geometry allows one to perceive a three dimensional object from all

sides at once. The seeming four dimensional geometry of this plate

is also a key quality of hallucinogenic drug induced perceptions,

thus pointing to the similarity of clairvoyant and hallucinogenic

induced perceptions.

Courtesy: Beyond the Physical an e-book by Donald J. DeGracia

 

Apart from the astral counterparts of the objects and scenery of the

physical world, the astral world has its own entities which are

ensouled by the astral elemental essence. When the second great

outpouring or wave of life that created forms out of matter passed

through the astral world, it vivified the plane by creating forms

out of aggregated astral atoms and ensouling these forms. Known as

the astral elemental essence, these forms of astral entities are

very sensitive, and change their shapes with startling rapidity and

vitality under the impulse of thought vibrations.

 

This means that we can create shapes out of the astral elemental

essence by our thoughts, feelings and desires, which have different

rates of vibrations. We do create such shapes even in our waking

consciousness, by our incessant thoughts and feelings and desires,

but we are scarcely aware of this fact.

 

The shapes or forms we create out of thoughts have three attributes:

duration, outline and color. The duration of the form depends on the

strength of the thought impulse. The clearness of its outline is

determined by the precision of the thinking, and the colour depends

on the quality of thought: intellectual, devotional, passional.

 

Shapes produced by thoughts and feelings are called thought-forms or

artificial elementals. Ensouled by a thought, each thought-form has

its own duration of life, and moves very swiftly, towards any

intended target, or lazily drifts about where there is no target.

 

Vague, loose thoughts create loose clouds of elemental essence,

drifting idly and attaching themselves to astral bodies whose

magnetism (vibrations) attracts them. Unattached thought-forms

ultimately dissolve into their source elemental essence.

 

This means that our dreams can also be shaped by the thoughts of

people around us. The thought currents generated by the enormous

number of thoughts floated by people pulsate around us all the time.

Some of these are absorbed by our etheric-double (the counterpart of

our physical body) giving rise to odd, illogical and strange dreams.

More on dreams later.

 

Clear, sharp thoughts have definite shapes with sharp outlines, and

show an endless variety of designs. They have longer life than their

cloudy brothers.

 

Average people create more thought-forms by feeling or desire than

with their thoughts. An outburst of anger causes a very definitely

outlined and powerful flash of red. Sustained anger makes a more

dangerous thought-form, red in colour, and pointed, barbed or

otherwise qualified to injure.

hindu_answerssaidevo/tfAngerBurst.jpg

hindu_answerssaidevo/tfAngerSust.jpg

hindu_answerssaidevo/tfLoveRadi.jpg

***

Fig.7.2 Thought-forms created by a sudden burst of anger (left),

sustained anger (middle), and radiating love (right).

Courtesy: Thought Forms by Annie Besant and C. W. Leadbeater

 

Love, according to its quality, sets up forms more or less

beautiful, in colours ranging from shades of crimson to the soft

hues of rose. A mother's love for her son hovers around him like an

angel-form, dispelling any evil influences that he may attract by

his thoughts.

 

Study of thought-forms is a subject by itself. Annie Besant and C.W.

Leadbeater have written a very useful book on this subject. We shall

have more thoughts on this subject later.

 

Thus, even a slight understanding of the astral world can act as a

powerful stimulus to right thinking.

 

The Astral World has its own rich scenary, and is populated largely

by disembodied souls (we call them dead people) and dreamers, who

consititute the human part. There are also non-human entities: Devas

and Nature Spirits on the side of the good, and a whole lot of

entities on the side of the evil, belonging to the realms of Harry

Potter: vampires, werewolves, and the black magician's creations.

 

We shall take a comprehensive tour of the Astral World in a separate

set of articles.

 

To continue on the mental and other planes...

 

Sources:

1. Theosophy Explained in Questions and Answers by P. Pavri.

2. The Ancient Wisdom by Annie Besant

 

Regards,

saidevo

 

====================================================================

[Guest guest]

Thanks Saidevo ji, for sharing ancient wisdom which is

missing, Also for sharing the reference as it will be

useful for interested people to pursue more on these

subjects.

 

Best REgards,

Divakar.

 

--- saidevotee <saidevo wrote:

 

> "Feeling or emotion is of two kinds--pleasurable or

> painful.

> Pleasure, fundamentally a sense of moreness,

> produces attraction,

> love (raga); pain, fundamentally a sense of

> lessness, produces

> repulsion, hate (dvesha)...All emotions arise from

> love or hate, or

> from both, in varying degrees of intensity."

>

> -- The Science of the Emotions by Bhagavan Das.

>

> The Astral World of the earth is where our desires

> and emotions

> manifest, propagate, and affect both the person who

> originates them

> and the target they are aimed at. Every person has

> to go via the

> astral world after death. It is also the world where

> most us live,

> in our astral bodies, until we are ready for a brief

> stay in the

> mental world before another birth.

>

> The souls of highly developed people when they die,

> just flash

> through the astral world into the higher world.

> Their consciousness

> is awakened only on the higher or lower planes

> (devachan or heavens)

> of the mental world. Ordinary people who possess the

> qualities of

> unconditional love, unselfishness and devotion, just

> sleep through

> out their necessary stay in the astral world, and

> their

> consciousness awakens only in the mental world.

>

> All other people, however, have to spend their

> after-death lives on

> the astral world, until the seeds of desire in their

> astral bodies

> wither out and the astral bodies die, releasing the

> consciousness

> into the mental body.

>

> Life in the astral world is more active than on the

> physical world,

> and form more plastic. The spirit-matter of this

> world is more

> highly vitalised than any grade of spirit-matter in

> the physical

> world.

>

> The seven worlds are actually concentric

> interpenetrating spheres,

> not separted from each other by distance but by a

> difference of

> constitution. However, it is convenient to think of

> the higher

> worlds as forming the next levels of the physical

> world.

>

> The astral world has seven sub-planes, named after

> their physical

> counterparts: astral solid, astral liquid, etc.

> Astral objects are

> formed by astral matter, just as physical objects

> are formed by

> physical matter.

>

> The matter of the astral world of our planet

> stretches a little less

> than the mean distance of the moon, which is 239,000

> miles. The

> astral spheres of the moon and the earth touch each

> other when the

> moon is in perigee, that is, nearest to the earth.

> The mental world

> is a still larger sphere. The higher globes are

> large enough to

> touch the corresponding spheres of other planets. An

> ultimate astral

> atom has 49^5 or 282,475,249 "bubbles in koilon".

>

> The astral world has its own scenery and

> inhabitants, but much of

> the scenery resembles that on earth, being largely

> made of the

> astral duplicates of physical objects. The world and

> its scenery we

> encounter in our dreams is usually astral.

>

> The astral objects are translucent! Every object in

> the astral world

> has a starry light, even the atmosphere is visible,

> hence the name

> astral (meaning, like the stars) world.

>

> Consciousness in the astral world is less hampered

> by astral matter,

> so an object is visible in the astral world in all

> its profile:

> back, front, outside and the inside! An untrained

> observer is

> shocked and confused by this scenario, receives the

> most topsy-turvy

> impressions, and commits blunders, when he tries to

> translate them

> to his physical consciousness on return from his

> astral travels.

>

> The following figure illustrates the geometry of the

> astral world as

> perceived by a clairvoyant.

>

hindu_answerssaidevo/astralGeo.jpg

> ***

> Fig.7.1 Escher Print: In this Escher wood carving

> entitled "Another

> World", we have a visual representation of the

> geometry of the

> astral plane as it is perceived by clairvoyant

> individuals (see

> quote by C. W. Leadbeater on page 274). Note here

> the seemingly

> paradoxical overlap of separate three dimensional

> spaces to create a

> geometrical space that is seemingly four

> dimensional. Such a

> geometry allows one to perceive a three dimensional

> object from all

> sides at once. The seeming four dimensional geometry

> of this plate

> is also a key quality of hallucinogenic drug induced

> perceptions,

> thus pointing to the similarity of clairvoyant and

> hallucinogenic

> induced perceptions.

> Courtesy: Beyond the Physical an e-book by Donald J.

> DeGracia

>

> Apart from the astral counterparts of the objects

> and scenery of the

> physical world, the astral world has its own

> entities which are

> ensouled by the astral elemental essence. When the

> second great

> outpouring or wave of life that created forms out of

> matter passed

> through the astral world, it vivified the plane by

> creating forms

> out of aggregated astral atoms and ensouling these

> forms. Known as

> the astral elemental essence, these forms of astral

> entities are

> very sensitive, and change their shapes with

> startling rapidity and

> vitality under the impulse of thought vibrations.

>

> This means that we can create shapes out of the

> astral elemental

> essence by our thoughts, feelings and desires, which

> have different

> rates of vibrations. We do create such shapes even

> in our waking

> consciousness, by our incessant thoughts and

> feelings and desires,

> but we are scarcely aware of this fact.

>

> The shapes or forms we create out of thoughts have

> three attributes:

> duration, outline and color. The duration of the

> form depends on the

> strength of the thought impulse. The clearness of

> its outline is

> determined by the precision of the thinking, and the

> colour depends

> on the quality of thought: intellectual, devotional,

> passional.

>

> Shapes produced by thoughts and feelings are called

> thought-forms or

> artificial elementals. Ensouled by a thought, each

> thought-form has

> its own duration of life, and moves very swiftly,

> towards any

> intended target, or lazily drifts about where there

> is no target.

>

> Vague, loose thoughts create loose clouds of

> elemental essence,

> drifting idly and attaching themselves to astral

> bodies whose

> magnetism (vibrations) attracts them. Unattached

> thought-forms

> ultimately dissolve into their source elemental

> essence.

>

> This means that our dreams can also be shaped by the

> thoughts of

> people around us. The thought currents generated by

> the

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