by Sri Bimal Mohanty
VOL No. 68
October 2006

 


  Atma
 Knowledge
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 Spiritualism
 sanatan

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DIMENSIONS OF OUR EXISTENCE
(Gross and Subtle bodies)- Part 2

Based on the lectures by Sri Bimal Mohanty

As we have discussed, the process of Yoga was conceived in the minds of human beings with the main purpose of providing a road map for man’s upliftment, his spiritual development till he reaches his ultimate achievement – the satchidananda. It is often amusing as to how this lofty concept has been brought down by man to the level of mere physical training and gross commercialization. But that is another point. When the sanatan philosophy gifted to the mankind the gift of yoga, its only purpose was to assist man in his total development in all aspects and dimensions of his existence. A mere prowess in any single dimension, whether physical, mental or even knowledge – often known as ‘siddhi’s, and getting satisfied with this limited gain, is absolute foolishness. siddhis are even harmful in the long run as they only boost one’s ego.

We all know of the eight limbs of Patanjali’s astAnga yoga. It is foolish to think that one can pick up one or two of the eight limbs and that will suffice for his ultimate liberation. The eight limbs address to all the dimensions of our existence. Some predominantly address to the physical body and some to the mind and some are in the realm of our psychic level. Picking out one or two limbs out of the total yoga process and seeking liberation through that is naïve thinking. A true sadhak remains ever aware of this. The development has to be integrated and Yoga finds its fulfillment in total integrated liberation.

How does one look at it from the practical view point and what should be our course of action?

The scriptures tell us that at all levels of our existence, we should be tuned to that single purpose of connecting with Brahman.. The physical body is the first step.

Sthiraih angaih tustuvAn sah tanubhih vyasema devahitam yadAyuh.

It says; may we with healthy body devote the entire length of our life in the cause of the Divine. Any other usage, whatever that may be, is sheer frittering away of this hard earned and valuable gift. After tremendous good conduct spanning over many many births we attain this human form and life (manusyatvam). It is the most precious gift from the Lord. Sri Sankaracarya observed; narajanma durlabhamatah. Knowing the purpose of this form, it should be sacrosanctly used for that very purpose only.

The Isavasya Upanishad says;

Kurvan eva iha karmAni jijiviset satam samAh.

Only by remaining indulged in action (the right actions, or the divinely ordained actions) one should desire to live hundred years. The number hundred is not important here. It only denotes ‘sufficiently long’. Nor this sloka is a recipe for warding off death for long years. The stress is on ‘right actions’, and the noble desire to be able to be in service of God for long many years, by using this precious gift of human life in its only worthwhile way and as long as possible, for who knows, whether one can get a human form in the next life or not?

So continuing to make the right use of our life, becomes our only justification for prolonging our physical existence. That is why we have this inbuilt mechanism to resist decay.

Here the nature comes to us as our great ally. We have seen that the material body eventually must disintegrate. So how shall we continue to exist? Here again lies another great truth taken from sanatan philosophy.

When we talk of ‘long life’, the meaning of life is not continuing with a particular form nor ‘living’ or immortality means remaining for ever as one Raghunath, or a Elizabeth or Ahmed as we are. It is the continuation of the ‘being’ even after changing the names and forms that is the essence of immortality. It is some what like your remaining the same ‘you’ whether you were wearing a yellow dress yesterday or put on a red tunic today. Like the dresses you change the ‘being’ changes bodies. But the ‘being’ within the body remains the same. To take again the idea from Sri Aurobindo- the material immortality is understood through the constant reproduction as a means for self preservation, self repetition and self multiplication through forms after forms. It is that unbroken thread that runs through all my forms is my immortality. So who says ‘I ever died?’

Why do we talk so much about the gross physical body – the sthula sarira- when the widely understood perception that one hears all around is that, the body is the soul’s greatest obstacle? There is so much misunderstanding about this material body. It is so because, the material body and its contribution to the sadhak’s spiritual progress is seen from the wrong angle by most.

It all depends upon how one understands the deep esoteric significance of everything that the Lord has provided for us, in this creation of his.

Everything around us has two aspects- the negative as well as positive, and the choice is left to our intellect. If we fail to understand the ‘tattva’ or the essential meaning that all ‘negatives’ are there for our understanding and assisting us to reach out for the ‘positive’, then we shall always grope in the dark. But if we seize hold of this assistance, inherent in everything, then we have the benefit of adding up all the essential positive elements and then achieve an overall total transformation.

That is also advocated in the concept of integral yoga which is talked about by many and so much emphasized by Sri Aurobindo. He explains both these aspects so lucidly in his essay on “Matter’ in The Life Divine. He says:

“It seems indeed that the body is from the beginning the soul’s great difficulty, its continual stumbling block……….To get rid of it man has even gone so far as to deny its existence……..”
And then he explains again “ The mind, life and body of man depend upon this physical principle, and if the outflowering of Life is the result of Consciousness emerging into Mind, expanding, elevating itself in search of its own truth in the largeness of the supramental existence…….it seems also to be conditioned by …. this matter.”

This should throw some favourable light on ‘ ‘Hatha’’ and ‘‘Tantra’’ branches of Yoga which are so much part of sanatan philosophy. Most people look down upon ‘ ‘Hatha’’ and ‘‘Tantra’’ as something inferior compared to the better known paths of bhakti, karma and jnana etc. That is because wrong people with their ignorance and ulterior motives have reduced ‘ ‘Hatha’’ and ‘‘Tantra’’ to the level of sorcery and black magics. But the real purpose is to provide an efficient and strong physical support for our journey.

Now let us examine the subtler parts of our existence.

The gross body or sthula sarira changes continuously. It exists through the changes. So also do our subtler dimensions or our sukshma sariras.. Our vital, mental, knowledge and bliss bodies are also continuously changing. Progressively through Yoga, we acquire higher purity, a higher mind. When the consciousness gets more focused (ghanacaitanya) this realization seeps deeper. It is no more the same pranamay, manomay, jnanamay, or anandamay bodies that the physical form housed a while earlier. From the last moment to this moment we have a better prana-enriched body, a better mental body, a more knowledgeable self and a happier being. All this if we are in Yoga.

We change into different personalities all the time. The previous one ceases to exist with the advent of the new one. That is the process of our integral evolution.

The real self within us remains but we are shedding these bodies- old inferior to a new better – all the time. Even the subtle bodies have no fixed permanency.

There is always a mind-shaking choice before all of us – permanency or progressive evolution. And again the Lord comes to our rescue all the time. Sitting within us his continuous voice – if we listen to Him – keeps on telling us to go for the change for the better and not opt for stagnation.

Knowing this, the wise are not affected by the worldly concepts of death or destruction. There is no death for any one – only a change of state.

The final conclusion is:
I am never dead.
You are never dead
No one is ever dead.

The wise men see this stage-by-stage development as a divine continuous process, supervised and controlled by the omnipotent and omniscient controller –the Brahman..

There is no grief for what has gone past, knowing that what comes next is always better. There is no celebration for the present, no regrets for the past. Future is awaited with intelligent welcome.

Therefore life at any stage or dimension should not be looked from the point of view of longevity. That is juvenile thinking. A sadhak knows that the next stage in every dimension will take him still nearer to his goal and with that thought, he puts efforts to earn a superior next dimension – a higher level of conscious state. This he knows can only be achieved by dint of his action. That is the positive and spiritual approach to life that sanatan philosophy teaches.

A better frame of body and mind, well nourished by the vital force (pranashakti), will house and assist a more knowledgeable self. Only a knowledgeable self can relish and enjoy the spiritual bliss.

Everything in the divine system, works for that objective.

Now we can try to answer ‘How long my subtle existence will last?

The simple answer is that the same principle as applies to the gross physical body also applies to the subtle bodies. If I continue to have physical existence as long as it is needed for my evolutionary purpose, there is no logical reason as to why I should ever lose my subtle existence as long as my purpose has not been achieved. I exist both physically as well as in my subtle forms.

When one physical form is destroyed, the jiva assumes another physical form. Even during one’s so-called lifetime we are also continuously changing forms. A baby form is different from a youth’s form, which is again different from an old age form.

DehinosminyathA dehe kaumaram yauvanam jarA, tathA dehAntaraprAptih..

So also my mind, my knowledge consciousness, my state of bliss, are changing all the time as I continue to develop. No one can hold on to any fixed state all along.

Through all these changes the only thing that runs through is my principle of existence.

All these dimensions of existence will only end when their purpose have been served. When I am liberated and lose my self in Brahman., I lose both my gross and subtle existence, like the river becoming extinct on its consecration to the ocean.
As the Mundaka Upanishad tries to explain, the river keeps on rushing to the ocean. When it meets the ocean, it has lost all its existence. There remains no river, only the ocean.
YathA nadyah syandamAnAh samudre astam gacchanti nAmarupe vihAya
Till such time we all continue to exist with all our dimensions in a qualified ever-lasting way.
 I was never dead, you were never dead, no one was ever dead and no one shall cease to exist until that moment of finality – the union with satchidananda.

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