I’ve previously talked a little about lokas, mainly for the 2 versions of the Gayatri mantra. One describes a 3-worlds model of physical, subtle, and Divine. The other, a more detailed 7-worlds model with the physical, 3 progressively more subtle layers, and 3 heavens. Same arena divided in more detail. How many colours in a rainbow?
Loka means place or world. The Vedas define lokas ranging from the physical world up into various heavens in the celestial realm. Essentially lokas are a type of nested sub-space. Just as the described koshas often stop with the causal, heavens are not usually described above that either. Most related models consider anything further to be absolute or Divine.
There are many kinds of lokas for different kinds of beings, like Ghandarva loka, home of celestial musicians (we may hear subtle music) and Sarpa loka, home of wise snake devas.
Rather than thinking of lokas as other worlds, it’s more effective to consider them the collective consciousness of those beings. Just as we have community, state, and country consciousness, more subtle beings live in the space of their own collective consciousness. [Update:] Established lokas will have beings responsible for sustaining that loka/ group consciousness. Often, they’re in the loka but large ones like our universe have a team outside the loka.
The Patalas are lokas where the members of the group are more driven by darkness than light. They go from moderate to extreme. We would typically call these the hells.
In the way they’re often described, lokas and patalas are places we might go to after death when we leave the physical loka. And yet, they’re collective places in consciousness. They’re not somewhere else but coexist with all the other spaces of this universe.
We exist in a loka by the state of our being. We have a physical body so are in the physical world by default. But we’re also in various layers of the collective with other like beings. Where do we visit when we dream or sleep, for example? For beings who are more aware of group consciousness, they can define their shared “space” with more detail. How do they decorate their collective?
Do we live in love or fear? Our stage of consciousness does help develop a presence to live more consciously but our entry into higher places has more to do with our clarity or sattva. Our degree of purification and healing, we might say. Then detail is more accessible.
Heaven and hell are a spectrum of quality. We can meet people living in heaven and others in hell in our neighborhood. We can also meet more subtle beings living in the same ranges but in different collectives based on their body and development.
For example, if we wake up but die while carrying a bunch of anger issues, they will inform where we go next to work them out. But this isn’t a black and white thing. There are a lot of nuances in quality. To illustrate, when you graduate from grade school it may be best to pursue academics, to go to a technical school, or go into a special program. Your marks and aptitudes will influence the choice but so will your attitude and state.
The quality of our inner world determines the quality of the space we live in. It is our offering to the world. And it determines what follows. What qualities do you culture? What qualities do the people around you culture? Are we culturing heaven on earth? When enough of the population shifts to love and happiness, that will become the shared experience in the collective. This is underway but the current task is bringing shadows to light.
Davidya
Last Updated on January 12, 2020 by Davidya
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When we have celestial perception like communication with higher beings like devas or angels,etc, are we experiencing it on/in a dfferent loka?
In one of the links you mentioned a description of Haranyagarba which sounded so much like an experience I once had during deep meditation. I saw a golden sphere floating in a golden ocean. The sphere was transversed horizontally and vertically by a golden cross (actually made of light) it looked a bit like a Celtic cross.
Have we actually ‘entered’ different lokas and had these experiences? Is that what caused them?
Hi Gina
It depends. If we simply have an experience of a being, it’s probably in shared space. But if you experience a group of them in an environment they’re interacting with, that may be a loka.
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That’s the golden egg or seed. That’s on the causal level. We can think of it as the seed of our universe or as our universe from the outside. Our universe is a loka so you saw it from outside but usually see it from inside.
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Technically, it’s egg-shaped but eggs look round from certain angles. 🙂
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Koshas are sheathes around our specific body but as in my SAND18 talk, they can be used to name the shared spaces created at each stage of becoming – from consciousness through to the physical. As the article notes, most lokas are in the causal and more manifest levels but there are some beyond that.
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Put another way, we mostly move through the shared spaces/ layers with our attention but occasionally may see or enter a loka.
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Some are controlled spaces that require qualification to enter so you don’t pollute the group consciousness. (for the good or bad)(laughs) Some are very hierarchical and visitors may need to pay respects to the leader. Kind of like visiting another country.
Excellent description. I think even on earth, we tend to associate with people who are most like ourselves. I think most of us will be pretty happy with the Loka we end up in. Fortunately, it is the nature of life to grow, so eventually, we all look for something more. Thus, perpetual evolution.
Hi Jeff
Great points. And yes, the loka will be well-suited to our needs.
I feel that my loka will be associated with Mother Divine, as she is always with me radiating divine beauty and divine love.
Beautiful. One of the texts describes her having 19 enclosures, so there is a wide range. 🙂
I added an update to the 4th paragraph. Lokas generally have beings who work to sustain them.
Very nice. Hearing/experiencing the music since 2011. Is there also direct experience of the Sarpa that you mentioned. Also light beings and 2014 MMY as a golden being and then him with a group of 3 other golden light beings and one alien, lol.
There are many, many possible experiences. It comes down to your priorities and what you have time for. 🙂
After reading you post this am, I did 2 roungs of 108 of the Gayatri in the 3 form that you mentioned. The alien mentioned above arrived alone and not with MMY, not was he golden.
Again many possibilities. From an upcoming article:
“When the celestial beings beckon, we should not respond with pleasure or pride, because this will obstruct progress, and it is always possible to fall.”
– Yoga Sutra 3.51
It is beautiful to have and they can bring wisdom and direction. But they remain part of the experience that can come and go. Always come back to source. 🙂
Thank you for your response. What remained was a knowing of Universal Love and great gratitude and an opening that was not available before and an an increase in bliss. JGD
Beautiful. (my response was mainly to the larger audience.)
Sometimes beings come to watch such openings, sometimes to support them. 🙂
Hi David – Thank you for this gem. Absolutely perfect around Easter, the holiday that celebrates Transcendence, or at least I decided it did awhile ago… sans torture and death in my definition 🙂
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Yes, what a magnificent thing to recognize the wholeness of the world, in all of its purity, here and now. The gradual discovery of the full Creation, the full spectrum from heavens to hells, and access, is similar to our growth in the material/emotional world:
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First it is feelings and shades of light, then objects appear, and souls and relationships with loved ones. Fluent interaction with all that we perceive follows. We learn how to communicate, develop relationships, travel, and accomplish our goals.
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Although Celestial perception is well known, and often reported, especially with those who have some experience with spiritual practice, there is a boundary with regards to how far the interaction goes, a fail-safe built into the experience – In order to sustain the experience, we must match the purity of the Celestial source or Being.
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Everyone knows how to do this, through devotion and transcendence, though there seems to be a lack of recognition that such sustained experiences can become a normal and natural part of life. Going even further, there is the reality of interacting with the Celestial world as easily as one does with anyone else, throughout the spectrum. Yet further, the direct interaction with the Divine on earth, to effect real change in our world is also possible; commanding the angels.
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Back to the fail-safe, this prevents the ego from taking charge and attempting to do things above its pay grade:
Celestial energy, because it is so refined, is naturally quite powerful. Agreed? 🙂 So that the first glimpses carry that energy with them, producing purification throughout ourselves. This then needs integration before a further dose, and so on. Wishful thinking, and attachment work well to retard the process.
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Further, once we begin to strongly integrate the Celestial world into our own in a practical way, it necessitates personal relationships in the Celestial world in order to progress. Like any job. 🙂 Now it is truly a two-way street.
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Then once we prove ourselves, we get promoted. This leads to further opportunities to partner with the Celestial hosts to bring such energy wherever it is needed on earth. Further, each incursion if you will, acts in a highly energized way to further instill such energy into the material/emotional world too, for all.
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So, beyond the initial experiences and glimpses of the Divine, there is far more potential there, vast transformations more, than we give ourselves credit for. We are not meant to simply glimpse the Celestial worlds, but to bring them down to earth. Boots on the ground, people! 🙂 Thank you.
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Jai Guru Dev, All Glory to Sri Brahmananda Saraswati 🙂
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Agreed, Jim. Have never tried to plot a course of perceptual development. Generally, people first become aware of astral stuff which is more of a mixed blessing.
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But yes, once the celestial comes online, the potential for unfolding is remarkably vast. And once we qualify to partner with them, the potency is remarkable.
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Thanks for sharing. Jai Guru Dev!
Thanks David for giving me the opportunity to! I really appreciate it. There is literally no place else to post such knowledge.
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Yep, the astral and the hell worlds too are worth knowing about and experiencing just so the energy can be differentiated from the Celestial. But of little value otherwise, as is obvious. Who lights up when someone tells them to go to hell? 🙂
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You bring up an excellent and key point about a course of perceptual development, as it is completely tangential to the development of sattva, and cannot really be pursued straight on without the equivalent purity in place.
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Better to live Brahman (ParaBrahman) and then everything comes along for the ride, with Mother Divine’s Blessings!
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Jai Guru Dev!
You’re welcome, Jim. Rather the point of the blog.
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Go to here now doesn’t have the same punch. 🙂
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I’m not sure perceptual development follows a standard arc anyway. I talk about the layers of what may arise, personalization, and styles of experience but there are huge differences in each persons arc. Theres actually a section on that in tomorrow’s article.
Thanks, I look forward to it!
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To the point of your blog, it remains centered, like a spoken mantra, allowing infinity to remain lively, and well, infinite. This is the gift, and a very welcome context to discuss such active topics.
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Unique in my experience, a place stitching together Reality, one sutra at a time. Everybody says, where is the new enlightened age? Yet, isn’t it obvious? lol
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