The Way through the causal Realms

When the aspirant goes beyond Sahasdal Kanwal, the negative powers ruled by Kal, are most severe.

Kal can neither create nor destroy a soul, neither give Light nor Sound, but he can keep souls traped in the causal and astral realms as well as in the physical region.

He captures man’s soul with the chains of worldly pleasures and if a soul wishes to return to its Eternal Home, Kal releases all his powers to prevent this soul from its ascending.

But Sat Purush, the Sublime Lord of Love, is the Supreme Godhood and the Creator of all universes. The Perfect Adept of Mysticism is His incarnation, and He can safely guide the soul through Kal’s regions. Immediately before the aspirant reaches the atrium to the causal realms the soul encounters indescribably handsome men and beautiful women in the higher astral regions who offer incredible temptations to prevent the soul from its further ascent.

The protecting Shabd-Power of the Adept of Mysticism will make these tempting astral entities invisible to the aspirant. No negative power can approach the charisma of Shabd – the Sound Current – which was given by a Perfect Adept of Mysticism.

When you see the bright star within, the day star, as Jesus puts it, just fix your Inner Gaze minutely into the centre thereof. This will give you penetration and away through the star and you will cross it. At times, the Master also appears over there. While hearing the Sound, please do not try to stick to It, but listen carefully to the Sound and gradually you will hear the Sound distinctly as that of drum-beat or thunder. The Master-Power is overhead and will be extending all possible help, Grace and protection.

Spiritual Elixir – Part II,
Chapter II: Meditation,
by Kirpal Singh, 1894–1974

Maulana Rumi said about the protecting Mercy of Pir, the Master:

Oh, courageous soul, hold on to the garment of Somebody Who knows the various levels well. The physical, mental, supra-mental ones and the levels beyond it – and Who as a True Friend, whether in life or death, can stay with you in this or the next world.

Now the aspirant prepares himself for the second stage of his journey upwards, but before he is able to enter the causal realm, he has to pass on an incredibly narrow path, a curved tunnel or a bent pipe, known to the Eastern Adepts of Mysticism as Bunk-Naal. Kabir said about this tunnel to the mental worlds that it had only one tenth of the size of a mustard seed. And He compares the mind to that of an elephant.

Guru Nanak also described this tunnel and compared it with a passage which is only one tenth of a hair’s breadth. Other Adepts of Mysticism compared it to the eye of a thin needle. It is impossible for the aspirant to cross this tunnel without the assistance of a Competent Adept of Mysticism, but with the help of such a Master of Spirituality the path is broadened and the aspirant succeeds in ascending and descending without difficulties.

Thus, the initiated enters the causal regions through the U-shaped tunnel of Bunk-Naal. For some time the way forward is straight and even, but suddenly it drops steeply. After a downward bend it leads upwards again, and the initiated walks on an even path that leads to a region which is described as the seventh heaven in the Sufi literature.

If the initiated has reached the upper end of the Bunk-Naal tunnel his view and the whole perspective seems to be turned upside down, and he sees just like from the opposite side of the curtain or mirror which he has penetrated. Now he is in the second big division of creation known as Brahmand – egg of Brahm – in Eastern Mysticism.

Obviously, it is called Brahmand because of its elliptic form. In its totality it comprises the materio-spiritual as well as the physical universes, but it is much bigger than these two together, and, in fact, the three lower divisions of the entire cosmic creation can be perceived as a whole, the highest level of which is Brahmand, the spirituo-material division; in the centre there are the astral regions as the materio-spiritual section, and the lowest part is formed by the physical universe.

The residents of the causal regions are unspeakably happy, but after a long stay in Brahmand they are still subject to the final rebirth into the physical universe. Hence, they are not immortal as the liberated souls in the purely Spiritual Regions are, but they live in an immeasurable longer scale of time than the beings in the astral and physical universes. Brahmand is ruled by Maha Kal, which is also known as Par Brahm in Eastern teachings.

Maha Kal is the higher aspect of Kal and is located in the upper Spiritual Regions of Brahmand, just as Kal rules in the lower and more material regions.

In the lower regions of Brahmand the mental matter ranks first, for it is the level of mind, and mind itself consists of a refined form of matter and a certain amount of spirit.

The aspirant ascends to the lower levels of Brahmand and finds himself in the realm of the Universal Mind, known as Trikuti in Eastern teachings. This realm of Universal Mind was mistaken for God by a lot of metaphysicians and mystic theologians; however, to the Adepts of Mysticism and Their disciples this is only the initial stage of the second step on their journey upwards.

When the aspirant ascends to this region of Trikuti he hears a sublime melody that is very similar to a tonal expression of the word Om. It is a lingering, roaring sound reminiscent of the thunder of storm clouds on earth, but full of an unworldly sweetness and harmony. This sound comes from the middle of the rolling sound of the thunder of clouds. Here we have the four-petalled lotus. The light is red like that of the early dawn.

Beyond that through the tunnel of Bunk the soul doth penetrate to where most dreadful Kal hath cast his snare. From here doth to Trikuti spring where ruddy is the glow and word doth ‘Onkar’ sing.

Swami Ji

Onkar created god Brahm, Onkar doth he adore, Onkar created yugas (the cycle of time), Onkar revealed the Vedas.

Guru Nanak

The seat of the will-power is located in Antakaran, the four-petalled lotus behind the eyes, reflecting in the heart-centre. The mind acts from the four-petalled lotus to the heart-centre and from there into the world. – Hence it is perspicuous that the seat of Lord Shiva or the archangel Gabriel is the heart-chakra, yet the eye of Shiva, the Shiv Netra or Single Eye is to find behind and inbetween the two eyebrows.

Trikuti is a level in which the soul can travel through a roaring planetary path, a literal way through pulsating celestial bodies. If the soul of the initiated looks upward into this direction, it arrives at a region of fortress-like buildings with high towers and minarets.

It will stay for some while in this region and it is filled with the features of devotion and belief, it sees itself as the master of the mental level.

The region of the fortress is the warehouse of the human karmas, the records of past and present. The law of karma, the irrevocable law of cause and effect, governs the whole tripartite creation of the causal, astral and physical universes.

Each human’s individual karma determines his fate. The way and manner that someone has acted in his present and past courses of life determines what he is now. The karmic law acts permanently, since a man is what he thinks in his heart.

Which other way is there in order to conclude or release the karmic debts of a man than the long and seemingly endless cycle of birth and rebirth? Part of the answer to this question is given in the fortress region of the causal worlds; but nobody can get there without a Competent Spiritual Guide. At the physical level it seems to be so that as soon as one has atoned for his past faults he creates new karma for himself and has to pay tribute to the law of cause and effect. Kal is sitting at the supreme judge’s seat of the astral, causal and physical universes; he is the master of the karmas, and only an Incarnation can be authorized to change certain dispositions of Kal in order to release a soul from the wheel of births and deaths. Such an Incarnation is the Master of the highest order, known as Sant Satguru in Eastern terminology. As soon as such an Adept of Mysticism has taken an aspirant under His protection, this aspirant will be released from his link to Kal, the Negative Power – the binding power –, and after that his karmic debts – part of which is released at the time of initiation – will be subsequently redeemed by the Mercy of the Adept of Mysticism.

If the disciples reaches the fortress region by the Mercy of the Adept of Mysticism, the germs of his past karmas will be destroyed finally, though his soul is still loaded with the fault of major impurity which was accumulated during many incarnations. During his stay at the region of the fortress the disciple looks over the high minarets and views vast dark clouds from which the roaring sound of cosmic thunder permanently resounds. Don’t be afraid of the deep thunder in it, follow the Sound of Thunder, It will take you to the Master’s feet.

If the purpose of his stay in the region of the fortress has been achieved, the initiated rises above the black clouds and recognise that the whole region is a grand cosmos of vibrating red Light with a wonderful red sun in the centre of the sky which renders the carmine hue to the entire region. In addition to being the big warehouse of human karmas – a large stock which has accumulated in the course of millions of lives –, Trikuti is also a region of knowledge. The three cosmic features of harmony, activity and inactivity have their origin in Trikuti and enabled the creation of the astral and physical universes.

In Hindu writings, these three features are embodied by Brahma, Vishnu – Lord Krishna – and Shiva1 who are called Maha Dev – great God – collectively.

Below the bright red sky of Trikuti that reminds of the most beautiful dawn one can experience on earth, the Radiating Shape of the Adept of Mysticism – the Master – is seen in still bigger Glory and the initiated experiences the higher impulses of the Heavenly Shabd – Sound Current – in a way that goes beyond all his former experience in the astral and physical regions.

The initiate sees the cosmic form of a blazing four-petalled lotus of regnant red colour, which develops itself into various prodigious details and multifarious bright sounds, which become clearer and clearer the further he approaches the lotus. Now he can hear the mighty Sound of a Giant Drum which is beaten incessantly, and its deep sounds accompany him at this stage of his journey upwards. If the initiated continues his way he will travel through the infinite space of the causal region and the melody of the drum is to be heard everywhere.

Now, the initiate fully understands the significance of the Heavenly Shabd, the audible Stream of Life, the original Power of which brought about the whole creation. The initiate rises on a pulsating star-studded Path leading forward and upward and consisting of numerous suns, moons and stars that become visible and disappear again.

Words are entirely incomplete to describe this experience, for now the disciple completely recognises his absolute separation from the material universe and from the languages of the physical world.

When he rises into the upper regions of the causal realm the initiated will get drunk with joy and bliss because of his newly won liberty. He hurries across glowing cosmic mountains and wonderful regions.

Below him, he can see wonderful gardens, where vibrating flowers are arranged in symmetric patterns to form a symphony of colours and sounds. Bright rivers and channels of the ethereal Nectar of Brahm are meandering through this region, and, finally, the initiated approaches a huge, bright, shining ocean and crosses it on a bridge of Light.

Now he sees the awe-inspiring hills of Mer, Sumer and Kailash in front of him, the incredibly cosmic mountains that gave the region of Trikuti its name.

According to the Vedantic teachings of the old rishis, holy men, who at their snow-covered mountains of the Himalayas meditated on the nature of the cosmic universe, this level of consciousness is the ultimate aim of Spiritual Striving.

However, this is only the second step on the mystical Path of Love, the Path of Sant Mat.

*****

Regarding that, Hazur Baba Sawan Singh Ji Maharaj states the following in a letter to His disciple:

The teachers from Brahmand, the Avatars ascent with the three Light Currents, the three Gunas, wich arise behind the eyes. After they transcended Sahasdal Kanwal, the thousend-petalled lotus, they reach the second plane and end at the peak of the mountain Sumer and they cannot rise higher up. On the other hand those who practise the Sound Currents respectively the Saints by means of the Sound Current go upwards to the first plane, from there They go downwards through some kind of a tunnel to the second plane and from there further to the third and from there finally to the 8th plane. Between the two exist the three following differences:

  1. The Saints reach the eighth stage whereas the Brahmand-Avatars do not go beyond the second one.

  2. The Saints use the Sound whereas the Avatars voyage with the Light or with the Sound of the second stage.

  3. Because the second stage lies within the domain of Kal and Maya – and the covers of all three bodies, i.e. the physical, the astral and the causal cannot be taken off until the third plane is reached – the souls of the Avatars are not that steady towards temptations. And hence they always come back again into this world in certain periods of time.

Hence the souls of the Saints are cleaned from all impurities of Kal and Maya or Brahm, their souls pace further on and from stage to stage they attain always more power, until in the eights stage they merge into the Highest Being, becoming One with Him. In this manner, you will understand that They never come back.

All religions of the world – including yogis, yogeshwars, gyanis, prophets, incarnations etc. – end at the second stage.

Humility and modesty sometimes become a danger for the Inner Journey of the soul if one has to finish his task quickly, because it is possible that the individual spirit leads us astray to his own fields and therefore delays our further progress – just like in this world. Hence avoid those who tend to hold you up.

Complete faith – without any wavering – one does not attain before the karma is washed away, which is done at the second stage.

*****

Guru Nanak described this region of Brahmand as follows:

This much of the realm of dharma; and now Gyan Khand the realm of knowledge: countless its elements, air, water and fire, and countless Krishnas and Shivas, and countless the Brahmas fashioning various creations of countless forms and countless hues. Countless the fields of action2, countless the golden mountains3, and countless the Dhrus4 meditating therein. Countless the Indras, countless the suns and moons, and countless the earthly and stellar regions; countless the Siddhas, the Buddhas, the Naths, and countless the gods and goddesses. Countless the Danus5 and the Sages, and countless the bejewelled oceans. Countless the sources of creation, countless the harmonies, countless those that listen unto them, and countless the devotees of the Word, endless and unending, oh Nanak, is this realm.

Jap Ji, Stanza 35

This glorious region is the realm of the Universal Mind through which the Supreme Lord created the cosmic universes. However, the Supreme Lord is not this Universal Mind, despite the differently phrased reports given by a lot of modern metaphysicians and mystics.

The Universal Mind is a projection of the will of the Supreme Being to reflect a part of Himself into His creation. Man, who is created in the image of the Lord also acts through his mind creatively, but he is not the mind. Man is a living soul, a Spiritual Being of God’s Spirit and on his journey upwards the initiated striving for higher regions realises that the human mind is still much lower on the ladder of the Inner Universes than the Spiritual Aspects of the mankind, despite the wonderful functions and the creative power of mind.

Beyond this realm of Universal Mind there is that region about which Christ said:

But there is neither anything hidden that was not revealed, nor secretly anything that you will never know. 

St Luke 8:17

The aspirant has to remain some time in this causal region, a realm of unspoilt joy, while his entire karmic burden is destroyed in the fortress-like region.

The Adept of Mysticism orders him to meditate for some time in this causal realm in order to further clean his soul from impurities. If this purification has been achieved the Adept of Mysticism will encourage the initiated to proceed to the higher regions beyond Brahmand.

The ascent must be aimed at the super causal regions, which are known as Par Brahm – beyond Brahm – or Daswan Dwar – the tenth gate – in Eastern Mysticism.

The practice of the permanent Sound Current purifies all your sins and lusts and the karmic impressions of the previous births will be destroyed.

Finally with the light of self-knowledge and God-Knowledge, one will rise into the Universal Consciousness, recognise Brahm and Par Brahm and attain the Kingdom of God, the Eternal Inheritance, which is far above it.

By the Mercy of a Competent Master the lost Word returns to Light and Life and is a free gift to every one who is chosen by Him.

Kirpal Singh

Those are fortunate who were recognised, selected and were initiated into the mysteries of the beyond, by being connected with the Divine Attributes of the Holy Light and the celestial Sound Current.

Kirpal Singh

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Indication of Source: This chapter is based on the text ‘The Path Through the Causal Realms,’ by Dr George Arnsby Jones, published in Sat Sandesh / September 1975. Further quotations and insertions were made by the publisher.

Explanation: 1) In the teachings of other Adepts of Mysticism they are known as arch angels Michael, Israel and Gabriel. See the BookCrown of Life p. 65. 2) Karm Bhumi: a place, where one is endowed with a free will, and reaps the fruits of his own actions. This world is termed as Karm Bhumi for here reigns the principle of action and reaction or cause and effect. 3) The three elevations in Trikuti; Mer, Sumer and Kailash: The golden mountains seen in this Spiritual Plane by the devotees. 4) Dhru: a Saint proverbial for his steadfast meditation. 5) Danus: Demigods.