What has death and a thick body
dances before
what has no thick body and no death.
– Kabir
This essay is offered as an extension of an earlier post: “Multiple Dimensions of Reality” (published in June of 2018 –
https://worldfamilytrading.com/multiple-dimensions-of-reality/?v=7516fd43adaa )
I am (still) arguing that we humans (& the realms we live in) are not merely physical, but in fact – multidimensional.
It so happened that, when my little brother Jack was 24 – he died from carbon monoxide poisoning (from an improperly vented gas apartment heater). He and I were very close.
When Jack died, I began looking into Spirituality (in general) and into “Life after Death” (in particular). And my enquiries included a look into Eckankar, the ancient science of soul travel. I took an Experimental College course in Eckankar (at U/W in Seattle), read a couple books, and met others who were following that path. I found these folks likable – sincere, decent, cheerful. That I did not continue long on that path was not because I did not have a high regard for the practice (or the people who were pursuing it). It’s just that I happened to get involved with Transcendental Meditation, and then felt I had to make a choice – (not that Eckankar and TM are mutually exclusive. But one must make decisions about how to spend one’s time. Mmm?) That was 5 decades ago; and I’m still doing TM.
You may have noticed that we live in a devoutly materialistic society. (by which I do NOT mean that we are money hungry. I mean – we ARE that; but that’s not what I’m talking about)
What I mean is – that we think there’s an “equals sign” between Materiality and Reality.
[R = M] We think that Reality EQUALS Materiality, and that Materiality EQUALS Reality. We think THEY ARE THE SAME THING !. This is a Bad Mistake. (& also Childish Nonsense)
Many years ago I heard Elisabeth Kübler-Ross (on TV) declare that “life after death” is no longer just a theory, but an established Scientific Fact (because of the enormous body of data from dying people – all over the world, of all ages and religions). These reports (while subjective) are so numerous and corroborative as to be inescapable.
[ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elisabeth_K%C3%BCbler-Ross ]
But any child (or teen or adult) is capable of noticing the (enormous) difference between a Living Person … and a Dead Body.
That’s why the epigram (for this essay): “What has death and a thick body
dances before
what has no thick body and no death.”
If you wish to try to invigorate your notion of your (abstract / non-material) self (the thing which has no thick body and no death), you may want to have a look at https://worldfamilytrading.com/the-great-illusion/?v=7516fd43adaa (published in July of 2019) plus the two subsequent essays. Also see https://worldfamilytrading.com/attention/?v=7516fd43adaa (published in September, 2018)
Anyway, from Eckankar’s point of view – their first six Planes of Existence are:
Physical, Astral, Causal, Mental, & Etheric.
Plus they reckon there are six planes HIGHER than the Etheric
https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=10150563836504997&set=the-worlds-of-eckthe-god-worlds-can-best-be-described-as-planes-of-reality-each- (Eckankar’s Planes of Existence)
And if you’d like a one-page explanation of Eckankar, you can see one here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eckankar
Now let’s hear from Gibran:
The Great Longing
Here I sit between my brother the mountain and my sister the sea.
We three are one in loneliness, and the love that binds us together
is deep and strong and strange. Nay, it is deeper than my sister’s
depth and stronger than my brother’s strength, and stranger than
the strangeness of my madness.
Aeons upon aeons have passed since the first grey dawn made us
visible to one another; and though we have seen the birth and the
fullness and the death of many worlds, we are still eager and young.
We are young and eager and yet we are mateless and unvisited, and
though we lie in unbroken half embrace, we are uncomforted. And
what comfort is there for controlled desire and unspent passion?
Whence shall come the flaming god to warm my sister’s bed? And
what she-torrent shall quench my brother’s fire? And who is the
woman that shall command my heart?
In the stillness of the night my sister murmurs in her sleep the
fire-god’s unknown name, and my brother calls afar upon the cool
and distant goddess. But upon whom I call in my sleep I know not.
Here I sit between my brother the mountain and my sister the sea.
We three are one in loneliness, and the love that binds us together
is deep and strong and strange.
– Kahlil Gibran
(from The Madman)
Here is my own (brief) interpretation of this ‘poem’
The ‘sea’ (emotions) Gibran casts as ‘feminine’. His material body (the mountain) he casts as masculine. Each has their own dreams & yearnings. He casts himself (the abstract self) as somewhere in the center of all this turmoil. All are lonely. He acknowledges love to be what unifies the whole mess.
Every human being is capable of contemplating the Human Condition, and so we are – in some sense fully qualified to say whether Gibran is ‘telling the truth’.
And if he IS telling the truth, you can see why such a situation would be enough to drive ANYONE mad. Mmm? A Human Life – it’s a tough gig.
The world of inanimate matter is governed by the laws of physics. The wind blows because the air moves from a place of greater pressure to a place of less pressure. The snow falls slowly because the air (near sea-level) is somewhat dense, because all the air above is piled on top, which compresses it. (we live at the bottom of a ‘sea of air’).
But the world of Living Creatures functions under additional laws: principally – DESIRE. If I hold my hand out, in front of my face, then if I want my hand to go UP, it just goes up ! We conduct our bodies here and there (miraculously) by mere intention. (snowflakes, as they fall, do NOT do such things; they simply submit to gravity and to however the air is moving. They do not make choices. Nor do they get themselves into trouble.
The fact that we GO here or there by mere intention should convince us that the soul owns the body, and not the other way round. Or, if not that, we should need no further convincing – that we consist of MORE than merely a physical component.
Every child who can run around – knows perfectly well that he can do things that a stone or a stick can NOT. (with or WITHOUT contemplation of the matter).
Such considerations, by the way, are ontological, which is to say – they have to do with issues of Being (“What is our Nature?”). I bring this up – because, as a culture, we have NOT done a good job with our ontological enquiry (who ARE we?) We mainly neglect it.
Well here is an ontological folk song (that is – it talks about ‘who we are’):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GlPjUvOxAf0 (Harry Belafonte – Turn The World Around)
Heart = water
Body = mountain
Spirit = sunlight / (or fire)
“Do you know who I am? Do I know who you are?”
“See one another clearly – Do we know who we are?”
“We are of the Spirit Truly of the Spirit”
“Only can the Spirit turn the world around.”
I think this song has a lot going for it. A few centuries ago the Four (or Five) Elements
were considered to be:
Earth
Air
Fire
Water
Spirit
So, for me, this song says that we ARE (ALL) these things so we should COME BACK to these Elements. We should BE who we really are. And if we can do that, we can change the world. Together (in our true Selves) we can set the world aright. Take care of the Great Mother.
Mmm?
Also, it’s a fun song. Perky. It’s in ‘5’ !! Maybe 15% of all the songs we’ve ever heard are in ‘3’ (skipping time, or walz time); and most of the rest are in “4”. Almost NONE are in ‘5’.
(The most well-known ‘in-five’ song is :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vmDDOFXSgAs (Dave Brubeck – Take Five) a jazz piece, of course.
(and by the way, the 5-beat is about the same in these two songs: [‘Turn the World Around’ & ‘Take Five’. Same tempo / speed ] )
And surely there are many (real) things which cannot be seen – (e.g. – our feelings, hopes, purposes, dreams, plans, aspirations, love)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zvT31UAIcdI (The 13th Warrior (1999) The duel between Herger the Joyous and Angus 4:05) [take note of the dialog at the end of this clip]
Yes, and what about Love? (notice the acknowledgement, late in the song: “Do you believe in something that you’ve never seen before?”):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9xHc5yQojAY (The Wedding Song – Paul Stookey)
And Szymborska has something to say about it (love):
“True Love”
True love. Is it normal
is it serious, is it practical?
What does the world get from two people
who exist in a world of their own?
Placed on the same pedestal for no good reason,
drawn randomly from millions but convinced
it had to happen this way – in reward for what?
For nothing.
The light descends from nowhere.
Why on these two and not on others?
Doesn’t this outrage justice? Yes it does.
Doesn’t it disrupt our painstakingly erected principles,
and cast the moral from the peak? Yes on both accounts.
Look at the happy couple.
Couldn’t they at least try to hide it,
fake a little depression for their friends’ sake?
Listen to them laughing – it’s an insult.
The language they use – deceptively clear.
And their little celebrations, rituals,
the elaborate mutual routines –
it’s obviously a plot behind the human race’s back!
It’s hard even to guess how far things might go
if people start to follow their example.
What could religion and poetry count on?
What would be remembered? What renounced?
Who’d want to stay within bounds?
True love. Is it really necessary?
Tact and common sense tell us to pass over it in silence,
like a scandal in Life’s highest circles.
Perfectly good children are born without its help.
It couldn’t populate the planet in a million years,
it comes along so rarely.
Let the people who never find true love
keep saying that there’s no such thing.
Their faith will make it easier for them to live and die.
– Wislawa Szymborska
And – what do you suppose Mirabai is talking about?:
Why Mira Can’t Go Back to her Old House
The colors of the Dark One have penetrated Mira’s body; all the other colors washed out.
Making love with the Dark One and eating little, those are my pearls and my carnelians.
Meditation beads and the forehead streak, those are my scarves and my rings.
That’s enough feminine wiles for me. My teacher taught me this.
Approve me or disapprove me: I praise the Mountain Energy night and day.
I take the path that ecstatic human beings have taken for centuries.
I don’t steal money, I don’t hit anyone. What will you charge me with?
I have felt the swaying of the elephant’s shoulders;
and now you want me to climb on a jackass?
Try to be serious.
– Mirabai
or Rumi?:
Someone who does not run
toward the allure of love
walks a road where nothing
lives. But this dove here
senses the love hawk floating
above, and waits, and will not
be driven or scared to safety
– Rumi
It turns out that what cannot be seen is more important (& essential) than what can.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
You may also want to have a look at:
https://worldfamilytrading.com/lifting-a-person-using-subtle-energies-and-teamwork/?v=7516fd43adaa
and maybe: https://worldfamilytrading.com/both/?v=7516fd43adaa (which deals with our “mutual exclusivity” hang-up – published in July of 2019).