| |
|
|
|
|
Articles |
Glossary |
Questions |
Home |
by
Sri Bimal Mohanty
VOL
No. 115
August : 2010
CHAPTER 115
SEEING THE PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE and other topics
Based on lectures by Sri Bimal Mohanty
SEEING THE PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE
In sanatan philosophy the belief is that a siddha or enlightened soul acquires power of knowledge of his past lives, an omnipresent view of the present as well as seeing the future with equal ease. This aspect of the yogic power is often misunderstood and misinterpreted by many
Past present and future are all part of a continuum of kala or ‘time’ and all events take place with time as the background. Also as we discussed in the article “Spiritual Significance of Past Present and Future” in AHWAN September 2008 issue the eternity of time is equated with the eternity of Brahman. Brahman therefore is kala and inconceivable as separate from Kala. Therefore all events of past present and future take place within Brahman. So when a siddha or enlightened person attains Brahmatva in substantial measure, it is conceivable that he becomes aware of a gamut of events over a span of time covering past , present and future. It stands to logic that a yogi would be able to move mentally into past and future after acquiring this quality of Brahman in some measure. This power ofcourse comes after many years and many lives of sadhana by only a few. With the passage of yugas when the practice of yogasadhana gradually lost its influence and appeal in the lives of men, such yogis became rarer and in present times we have none that we know of with such yogic powers, not withstanding false claims made by many.
The connection between highly developed Brahman consciousness with the power of seeing events beyond the immediate focus and short memory is also significant. Suppose an ordinary person like you and me suddenly given the power to see the distant past or even past lives. And then we come across a person who might have done considerable harm to us in our past life. What will be our reaction? How many would be able to restrain themselves from a revengeful retaliation in some manner? That will be a sure degradation and regression to our spiritual progress. Brahman in his unbound compassion and grace ensures obliteration of such memories of our past from the individuals and protects them by that. If this protection were not available what chaos would there have been in this world!
But for the enlightened souls the situation is quite different. Having immunized their attitudes from any influence of retaliation, revenge and ill feeling (asuya, vidvesha), they have no such intentions of intervening on their own. They have attained a state whereby their senses, mind and intellect are under control dictated by their knowledge. (yadA pancAvatisthante jnAnAni manasA saha buddhisca na vichestati- as the sruti says ).They may even try to help the concerned to atone their mistakes.
Only to such Yogis the past is revealed by the grace of Brahman. Because only such people can be nimittas (agents) in furthering the principles of creation and not become self seeking adversaries
Quite often we come across people claiming to recollect some stray past events, persons and places claiming to be divinely endowed. Although a thorough study of such cases is always absent, the phenomenon can be explained as follows
All our faculties including mind( interalia memory) function as long the life force or jivabhuta or prAna operates within us. The jivabhuta is a derivative of Brahman. When Brahman leaves a body for the next, its departure is like the scent evaporating from a container (or a flower)
Shariram yadavApnoti yacchApyutkrAmatishwarah;
GrihitwaiAani samyAti vAyurgandhAnivAshayAt. (Gita 15.8)
When the prAna leaves the body, it moves away carrying with it the impressions of the organs including the mind for its fructification in the next life as prArabdha karmaphala. Not the subjective actions but their objective impressions are carried forward. If one has given material help to some one, in the next life the same material gift does not return to him but the benefit of that dAna (gift) accrues to him in the next lives. If one has harmed some one, not necessarily similar harm will befall him but he is due to suffer similar pain associated with that evil act. All impressions remain etched in the sub-liminal mind till atoned.
As it happens in the example of scent evaporation, the scent is not lost suddenly. Some traces remain for a while. Likewise some times traces of subjective stick on to the objective for a while in the next life and the individual gets flashes of events, places and personalities. However, such flashes are generally innocuous and do not affect the movement of karma.
Another point here of great importance is that, at the time of transmigration of soul with death of the previous body, the most prominent thought that occupies the mind has a very strong influence. It determines the nature of the environment and life one will get in the next birth.
Yam yam vApi smaran bhAvam tyajatyante kalevaram;
Tam tamevaiti kaunteya sadA tadbhAvabhAvitah. (Gita 8.6)
Therefore whatever a person at the time of death is thinking prominently, that leaves a deep impression on the subconscious. In freak cases this thought is remembered in the next life. But life provides enough safeguards for this freak phenomenon interfering with the divine cause and effect theory.
Seeing the future events or what we understand as moving into future is also governed by similar laws. For common people who have not won over their desires and attachments such power is not available. But for siddhas or enlightened yogis the logical possibility is there. They see the future with utter dispassion and detachment. Their limited involvement if any is only to facilitate the divine principles to take its course and assist the individual to understand God’s will. The power they have is the power of Brahman, and in no way runs counter to Brahman. A yogi who becomes of aware of future events will never interfere with their unfolding and will always let them take their course. Every event affects not only the obvious individuals connected with it but the entire creation directly or indirectly. Its consequence over the entire creation is known only to the omniscient Brahman and not to any one with limited knowledge. Under such circumstances it would be unwise to become an agent of interference not knowing what harm it will cause to whom. A yogi will at best only caution the direct players about the consequence of their acts.
Awareness of events on the spatial continuity of time – trikAladarshana- is associated with yogis who have acquired true mastery of control over internal and external senses and enough divine safeguards are in place to keep it away from common individuals
This power comes to sadhakas as a upalabdhi (natural consequence) of yogasAdhaA and grace from Brahman and not acquired as an objective of yoga. We see only those things which fall within the boundary of cognizance of our mind. Yoga enhances the power of mind and thereby broadens the boundary of cognizance. Thereby the sadhak simply becomes aware of a wider aspect of Brahman’s ways covering past, present and the future taking him closer to Brahman realization.
GIST- Only those Yogis who have attained a high level enlightenment acquire power to see events of past, present and future lives revealed to him.
