Hello and welcome to episode 140 of The Ask Sri Vishwanath Show. Today is part 6 of what happens after death.
This is part of a long series so if you haven’t watched the last 5 episodes I recommend you do so, so you won’t get confused. I will give you a quick recap of everything we covered but to really understand it you should read and watch the last 5 episodes in full.
In 135 we spoke about the sacrifice of Nachiketa. How a young buy asked his father to sacrifice his best asset, himself. He was sent to the chamber of death where he met Yama who offered him three boons. For his last boon he wanted to know what happened after death. Yama tried unsuccessfully to distract the boy and in the end, revealed his secrets to him.
In 136 we learned that Yama told him that destruction is only going back to the source. How there are some things that die with the body and some things that do not. The spirit never dies. The spirit is what is important and what we should focus on.
We talked about that source, sound and how all creation began with sound. As before we discussed the most powerful sound in the universe, AUM. We talked about how AUM makes up the entire sound matrix and how mediating on it, feeling it vibrating through every part of your body can really help you get back to your consciousness.
In 137 we spoke about the different realms and how heaven is not the final destination. Heaven is a stop of on a transit journey. If you have not formed the gold image then your stop off in heaven will be used to better equip you in your next life. We also learned that a high level of sattvic gunas ensures a better position in heaven with the greatest teachers.
In 138 we talked about the 5 spheres, the earth sphere, lunar sphere, electric sphere, Brahma Lok and the un manifest. We spoke about the difference between matter and force and how it changes between the spheres because the higher the vibrations the hard it is to distinguish between the two. As you go up through the sphere’s the vibrations get higher so in the Brahma Lok and un manifest you cannot distinguish between particles and force.
We learned that once you reach the electric sphere you do not come back. The great ones exist in the Brahma Lok and have power over everything except creation.
In episode 139 we learned about how we are all born through food, sacrifice and rain. The wise ones would create sacrifices of fire to the rain gods so they would bring the rain and the crops would grow.
The consciousness descends from heaven and enters the seed and becomes Prana, a life force which becomes a plant that the father then eats. This becomes part of the father’s semen which is then transferred into the mother’s womb. This is a very simplified recap. For further detail and an excerpt from my book “Give up your Excess Baggage” please read episode 139 in full.
Life begins with breathing which spurs the circulation which forms the brain and creates awareness. This is why time is associated with breathing because it’s through breathing we create awareness.
Real and apparent time
There are two aspects of time, real and apparent. There is a practical aspect of time like Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday or January, February and March which is done for organisational purposes. The other aspect of time is through awareness of the consciousness through breathing. The consciousness becomes the prana, the life force and this becomes the breathing.
Vivekananda says that the life force causes the mechanics of breathing through two nerve currents. Here is an excerpt from my book “The secret of Bhagavad Gita”, which is available on Amazon to help you understand it better.
“What’s real is based on the consciousness of time and that which is apparent is based on the practical applicability and division of time. That which is real is timeless and that which is apparent is limited. Purusha, when it entered into Prakarti , took the form of a jiva which stands for the individual soul present in every living being. Out of jiva manifested the Prana (the life force) which is the key to human consciousness. Human breathing which evolved out of Prana is the real aspect of time. It’s the fly wheel of the whole system of human consciousness. Breathing first acts upon the lungs, the lungs upon the heart, the heart acts upon the blood circulation; this in turn acts on the brain and the brain on the mind which produces the awareness of the outside world.
Time therefore begins with human breathing, the act of inhalation and exhalation which makes us aware of all existence.
Breathing isn’t restricted to the act of inhaling and exhaling. Instead, it’s the ultimate medium through which the body unites with the soul. “Prana” – the life force causes the motion of the breath through two currents which passes through the brain and circulates down the sides of the spine, crossing at the base and returning to the brain. These two currents are the called “pingala” (the sun current) and the “ida” (the moon current). The first one, pingala, starts from the left hemisphere of the brain, crosses at the base of the brain to the right side of the spine, and re-crosses at the base of the spine like one half of the figure eight. The other current, ida, reverses this action by starting at the right hemisphere of the brain and completes this figure eight.
These two currents are responsible for all the mind and body functions in our system. These currents flow day and night and make deposits of the great life forces at different points in our body; but most human beings are rarely conscious of them and fail to direct these divine forces to supercharge their consciousness.
Breathing is intimately connected with these two currents. The science of breathing gives a new direction to the “sun’” and “moon’” currents. It opens for them a new passage through the center of the spinal cord. This center of the spinal cord contains a very fine brilliant thread called “sushumna” which is luminous and which can be felt and seen through constant practice and concentration. This thread which begins from the base of the spine and ends at the pineal gland is the seat of all spiritual and divine power that you see manifested in any human being. That technique of breathing is the basis of supreme consciousness. One life cycle of the universe is intimately connected to breathing. Time therefore begins with human breathing which makes us aware of all existence, both bodily and divine.”
Raja Yoga
There is a beautiful science of breathing called Raja Yoga. It is where you open a new passage at the base of the spinal cord. We are then given a new channel called the sushumna. Only very few people on earth have seen this happen. It’s not terribly vital that you know the mechanics of it all. All you really need to know is that this life force is available to us.
We should not just look at ourselves as normal human beings. This comes from the body mind and intellect. It is very important that you know that we all have this incredibly special life force within us. We just need a little bit of intelligence and awareness to be able to access it.
We spoke before about this force and how it moves up the body and we meditated on the lotus flowers with the different number of petals opening up. It is a very powerful way of moving this life force through your body. This is how the great ones attain knowledge of the consciousness.
Awareness
The real meaning of yoga has been lost in the west. Yes they focus sometimes on breathing but it is only to make the body feel better and they forgo the consciousness. What is really important to know is that yoga should be used to become aware of the consciousness. When you do this you will be able to feel the life force rising from the base of your spine and invigorating your consciousness.
Science is very focused on breathing being the beginning and end of life but the truth is there are a million things that happen before breathing that are important for life and awareness. This is why spirituality and raja yoga is so important, it helps us understand this.
Two natures
Krishna says we have two natures, a lower and a higher nature. The lowest form of consciousness is understood through our senses, our eyes ears and mouth. The higher nature is already there in the prana for you to access.
Krishna says “at the hour of departure who so ever with a steady mind and with devotion and with the power of yoga sustains the power of the life force between the eyebrows reaches me”
This is how the great ones shed their body. It’s called Samadhi. The body is nothing but a collection of baggage that can be dropped with enough knowledge and awareness.
At the time of death the last thought enters the prana, the prana enters the jiva and then leaves the body. The ones who do not form the gold image, their life forces passes through the lower levels and the higher ones, their consciousness passes through the eyebrows and they directly go to Brahma Lok and they do not come back.
Shed the baggage
So we must understand these two levels of consciousness and awareness is where you access the life force, channel it and bring it to the center of the eyebrows. You don’t need to worry about the mechanics of it you just need to visualise it like we did in an earlier episode.
Right now this information may seem strange but just know that it can be done. With the right level of awareness you can shed the body. Remember if we accumulate something we can get rid of it and you can drop the body, mind and intellect.
I hope you are enjoying all this I know it may seem a bit technical but bear with me and the further we go on the journey the better you will understand. Until then you keep asking questions and I’ll keep answering them.
