All over the world, and in every civilization, large number of cases have been reported about ghost sightings, poltergeist incidents, production of materials from thin air, out of body experiences and other paranormal phenomena. Quite a few can be thought of as trickery or sleight of hand-type events, but majority of these phenomena have remained a mystery. Nevertheless all these cases point towards the possibility of reality or layers of them, which is beyond our level of perception and out of our four dimensional world.
Perception of reality
We can perceive these layers of reality by expanding our consciousness through a powerful brain. A powerful brain (or processor) is one which can focus and concentrate on a single thought for a long time. This process is called 'Sanyam' in Patanjali Yoga. Such a powerful mind can process information from sensory inputs very effectively and hence becomes "hungry" for more information and experience. This is the basis of mind expanding process.
One reason for enhanced awareness is that a powerful brain also becomes an enhanced signal receiver and can easily get information and knowledge from external sources including the knowledge space (KS). Knowledge space (as the name implies) is filled with knowledge both from present and past civilizations and this knowledge can be assessed by the prepared mind. This is akin to cloud computing in the cyberspace.
There are large numbers of instances of advanced Yogis, scientists and inventors who have discovered the universal truths by plucking them from the knowledge space. This requires preparation and tremendous concentration of the mind for a long time and is akin to Sanyam of Patanjali Yoga.
This expansion of our horizons or yearning for Universal Consciousness gives us an awareness of reality and life in different dimensions. Sage Patanjali has spoken about this reality in couple of his shlokas where he says "When a Yogi is fairly advanced in his Sadhana he will be approached by celestial beings. The Yogi should be careful about such a contact and there should neither be attachment nor surprise, for undesirable connections can occur again". Interestingly Patanjali does not discuss the nature of these beings and what their attributes are.
Nevertheless many modern saints like Ramakrishna, Vivekanand and Aurobindo Ghosh have spoken about these entities and have always stressed that one should not get entangled with them. That these highly advanced Yogis spoke about them meant these entities exist.
Nature of entities
So what are these layers of reality? These could be energy packets in ghost forms and are differentiated into their layers of existence by the energy they possess. This is just like a quantum state of an electron in an atom where the electron energy level corresponds to various levels of its existence.
The higher energy level electrons are farther from the nucleus whereas the lowest energy level ones are closest to it. Similarly the lower entities remain attached to the earth's gravity field and for their stability feed on the psychic energy of individuals. This could also be the basis of Shamanic rituals and religion. In fact the whole basis of "sacrifice" (both life and food) ritual and offerings to gods might have originated from this concept.
It is also possible that these ghost forms are strong memories of physical beings both humans and animals and sometimes result when unnatural deaths take place. When these psychic energy structures interact with humans and animals they are capable of influencing their minds and make them exhibit the latent tendencies of their past existence. Thus they can continue to "live" through the medium of other bodies and could be the basis of possessions that have been witnessed in all civilization since time immemorial. They get attached to those who will them and sometimes it is difficult to get rid of them.
Lots of tantriks, charlatans and so called miracle 'god men' have close interaction and connections with some of these entities. These entities do their bidding but also demand their pound of flesh which is why most of these 'god men' fall prey to their own shenanigans and these spirits. Thus it is best to be always wary of such influences and to keep away from them.
How are these entities formed?
It is possible that these entities are ghost structures which remain stable even after the physical body is dead. How this structure remains stable and how it is sustained remains a mystery. It is also possible that the ghost form is a template of the physical being and takes time to "dissolve" after the physical death and this form somehow in some cases becomes stable and is fed by the psychic energies. In Indian mythology this ghost form is sometimes called "Sukshma shareer". This is almost similar to Prigogine's dissipative structures which remain stable because of the energy feeding them. One example of a dissipative structure is convection currents in a body of water heated from below. The heated water rises in the container and is replaced by the cold water from top and thus the convection is developed. This convection structure exists as long as the container gets energy from the heat source.
The higher energy entities loose lot of their negative attributes and are the benevolent gods that almost all religions talk about. Indian and other mythologies talk about many instances where great souls have come and "settled" on earth to help earthlings and it is said that they have remained ethereally on this planet. It is also possible that all these god-like entities are pulled on this earth by the active memories of the living beings. In Bhagwat Gita, Lord Krishna tells Arjun that he will come to earth and will be born again and again whenever there is Adharma.
Similarly all great heroes, yogis and enlightened human beings after their death reach the status of gods since they are actively remembered by humans. The continuous remembrance by large number of humans creates a stable structure for that god entity.
We should certainly remember the higher energy entities and the benevolent gods but we should ask them for favors of wisdom, better minds and how we can help in the betterment of mankind and not for mundane and petty personal favors. The awareness of higher dimensional space and reality can also make us fearless and remove our fear of death since death is a simple transition between various forms and dimensions. This is also the lesson of Gita. With fearlessness comes the ability to do new things and follow uncharted paths which can give us a quantum jump in our spiritual and technological developments and understanding of natural forces.
(The author is the Director and Hon. Secretary Nimbkar Agricultural Research Institute (NARI). He could be reached at anilrajvanshi@gmail.com)