Dedicated to Sri Sarada Devi

A Place where devotees gather to share inspiration.


"Holy Mother" painted by Swami Tadatmananda

Used courtesy of the Vedanta Society of Southern California

http://www.vedanta.org




Dedicated to Sri Sarada Devi
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Re: Some questions

Hi Rosemary,

Certainly it is believed those such as Holy Mother, Sri Ramakrishna, and Christ take on the karma of their disciples. This is a basic idea in the Hindu tradition. Usually this is extended to include any teacher/disciple relationship, because of the nature of the relationship, which is not limited to our ordinary physical and emotional plane. The incarnation and the guru are helping to free us from bondage, and serve as a channel linking us to the divine.

What is "different" from our Christian understanding is that this is not extraordinary. They are part of the "natural order" of our spiritual evolution and connectedness, so to speak.

Ghosts are also natural in the Hindu view of our nature. The individualized soul is said to be made up of five koshas or sheaths, which cover the Atman (Self) and create the individualized being. The outer sheath is our physical body. This sheath is called the annamaya, 'made of food".. This is the sheath or covering we discard at death. The four remaining sheaths are the

pranamaya, 'made of the vital forces'
ormanamaya, 'made of mind'
vijnanamaya, 'made of consciousness'
anandamaya, 'made of bliss'

These four coverings make up our subtle body, that which reincarnates into a new annamaya kosha, or physical body. Through spiritual practice we pass through these remaining coverings until we attain knowledge of our true Self and experience oneness with Brahman.

Until the time, the subtle body continues as a unit, caring our storehouse of past impressions and karma. It is this subtle body that can get "stuck" on the physical plane as a disembodied being, or ghost. Hence Hindus, like other spiritually attuned cultures recognize the importance of allowing the person to properly leave the body at the time of death and help this process through chanting and other rituals.

However, sudden death by trauma, for example, can result in a disembodied suble bodied individual who may not even realize he or she has "died" at first. Hence, a ghost. Again, this is not "extrodinary". There was a spirit dwelling in monastery (formerly a residence) that I am familiar with. It was seemingly benign soul, who mostly surprised devotees. They were frighted, but nothing harmful, This went on for several years. One day the swami quietly, on his own, said prayers or did a ritual to help the spirit leave the house and hopefully ascend to a subtle plane. He said very little about it, but no one experienced the presense again. Some spirits are more attached to the physical plane and may be more difficult to set loose, others are disoriented or lost. Some can cause problems.

Again, an important point is, there is no need to make a big deal out of things which are simply part of Nature. Ah, but you say, Mother was afraid. Mother would be even more aware of a disembodied soul because she was in tune with the subtle. One imagines that this was not a beneign spirit and that Mother expressed "fear" out of concern for the safety of those around her. But because these "ghosts" are understood in her culture, we cannot imagine Mother's fear was like ours would be.

We have no such understanding of ghosts in our culture, hence we are more generally superstitious about and frightened by them.

An interesting aside: Sannyasins, those who have taken a vow of renunciation, have the status of ghost within Hindu society. A part of the sannyas ceremony is for the individual to conduct his or her own funeral, symbolically ending one's present physical life. The gerua (orange, salmon) color they wear symbolizes the fire of the funeral pryer, and is a constant reminder of their "death" to previous life and spiritual focus. Hence the status of "ghost".... Orange Caspers, of course!

Location: San Diego, California, USA

Re: Some questions

Jayanti,
Thank you for taking the time to explain this so beautifully to me. Your understanding overwhelms me.
I really appreciate it. I will be thinking on this today.

Location: New Bern, NC

Re: Re: Some questions

Finally finished the last chapter of "Holy Mother".

Couple of questions...


There were a lot of references in the book to the taking on of karma by Mother and the Master. Of course, this is the essence of Christianity, that Jesus took on the karma of the world, however, I read from a holy man somewhere that no one can take on someone else's karma. It is like trying to eat someone else's food. That made sense to me, when explained that way, but I see references of it over and over in "Holy Mother". Can anyone help me with this?

Comment: Sri Ramakrishna explains the ability of 'high-souled' people,
in taking on the Karmic burdens of others:

"When habate wood (an old, dry piece of wood) floats, it sinks even if a bird sits on it. But when bahaduri wood (superior and heavy log) floats it can take across a cow, a man, and even an elephant. The steamboat itself goes across and also takes so many people across.

"Narada and such other teachers are like the bahaduri wood (heavy log), like the steam boat."


Also, Mother's reference to her fear of ghosts. Was she only kidding? She claimed to have seen the Master after his death, was that a ghost, a hallucination or an actual being? I read where the same holy man above said there were no ghosts, and again that made sense to me, but then I moved into an apartment where there was a perceivable presence, and I was not the only one to perceive it.

Comment: Here is a quote from Swami Vivekananda, concerning the belief in ghosts:

"It is very hard to show men new things, to give them great ideas. It is harder still to knock off old superstitions, very hard; they do not die easily. With all his education, even the learned man becomes frightened in the dark - the nursery tales come into his mind, and he see ghosts."