Chapter 5.
God

With all the references in previous chapters to the “Creator” and “Brahma,” you may be wondering if these are references to “God.” How does your concept of “God” fit in with kârma, the S’rî Chakra, S’îva, Krishna, jîva, Brahma, and Brahman Consciousness? Who do we mean when we say “God?” Is God a person, like one of us? Is God a man or woman or asexual? Is God a nameless, formless, all-powerful, indescribable, omnipotent, and mysterious “being?” In this chapter we will explore the Divine aspect of our existence from the vantage point of S’rî Vyûha and find answers to all these questions and more.

In Chapter 1 we presented a myth to account for the creation of the universe. This myth is a complete a statement of Truth, conveyed in a narrative fashion so that more information is conveyed than the mere words. In this myth and elsewhere we have mentioned S’îva as the Pure One above all others. S’îva is God in the absolute, pure, unmanifest sense. We also have frequently mentioned Krishna as the inseparable expression of S’îva. Krishna is God in the personal, divine, and manifest sense. The two are unique, individual, separate but inseparable – like the two faces of a coin, it is possible to look at one face and not the other, but the other is always there in our awareness just the same.

In the next few paragraphs, I will offer some personal experiences and impressions of S’îva and Krishna in terms that are at times allegorical, and along the lines of the myths that are prevalent in the Vedic literature. At best, these are very partial expressions of an incomprehensible Totality. Like one who is blind trying to describe an elephant he has never seen, after spending a few minutes touching one leg.

S’îva is aloof and must be approached with care. He lives on a desolate mountaintop, high above the clouds and far away from all civilization. He is kindness and all love, so much so that to come into His presence immediately brings up the fear of losing one’s self to Him. Unity Consciousness is ultimately the experience of this unity with S’îva, and I find the prospect of this unity unbearable. A moment in His presence is indescribable Bliss and unbearable pleasure. The mere memory of such a moment is sufficient for lifetimes. He has intervened in my life on just a few occasions, and the experience of each contact is a vivid today as it was at the time. One day in the fall of 1994 He came to initiate my entry on the path leading to Brahman Consciousness. It was a simple meeting in which He quickly and in a business-like fashion gave me a precise instruction that immediately changed my life. Another time He appeared while I was driving back from an expedition to gather devas to populate my S’rî Chakra. He presence was so joyful and carefree and happy that I could hardly drive the car. Another time I had just faced what seemed to me to be a major loss, and His presence was of such love and compassion, mixed with joy and bliss that all the pain of the loss was immediately lost like a drop of ink disappearing in the ocean. S’îva is always there, on the mountaintop, and I know I can go there or call Him to me at any time. However, I stay away and do not call because, in His presence I cannot function in this world. My joy is to serve others for His sake, and for that I am satisfied with His memory.

Krishna is the bountiful expression of all the Glory of God. He is depicted in the Vedic literature as beautiful and beautifully dressed, always in the company of friends, family and adorers, extraordinarily creative, unbelievably wealthy, possessed of magical, miraculous powers. He is my constant companion and literally not different from me at all. One summer morning in 1992 I became acutely aware of His presence in my life. I invited Him into my body and I watched with delight as He danced around the room and operated my body for several hours. In the fall of 1994 I gave to Him my Absolute Body (more on the Absolute Body later) and we have been one from that day. He has a very loving manner, but is prone to tease and joke around. However, His teasing is always loving, and meant to show me some aspect of myself that I need to surrender.

God is S’îva and God is Krishna, but God is much more. God is the Divine Mother Pârvatî, the consort of S’îva. She is not different from S’îva, but rather depicted in the Vedic literature as one half of His body. Pârvatî is the S’aktî of S’îva who instantly creates whatever He intends. S’îva does not participate in an active role as the Creator, but He is free to create at any moment and certainly does so. His creations always add an unexpected delightful twist. Pârvatî is the unknowable gap from where all devatâ expression arises, unknowable, that is, to all but S’îva. She is the Mother of all S’aktî and without Her there would be no universes.

God is Râdhâ the Grand Mother of all universes and the eternal consort of Krishna. She is depicted in the Vedic literature as a simple, beautiful country girl that loves Krishna more that life itself and is totally and forever devoted to Him. She is, of course, the S’aktî of Krishna and the One who gives birth to the jîvas at the start of their major cycles. The romance of Râdhâ and Krishna is heart-wrenching because in spite of their love for each other, they spend most of their time apart because of Krishna’s responsibilities for the world. Krishna once told me that because of the deep sadness He feels being separated from Râdhâ, a foundation is created for the extreme joy of Bliss Consciousness. Without the fundamental contrast of deep sorrow provided by this personal sacrifice of Râdhâ/Krishna, no one would be able to experience Bliss Consciousness.

The beautiful infant Mahâvishnû is God. In the Vedic literature, God is depicted as triune: Creator, Maintainer and Destroyer. God does function is these three roles, and Vishnû is the God that maintains the creations of others. In His role as the Maintainer, He is the eternal servant of all. Those in Brahman Consciousness are His direct representatives, serving Brahma the Creator. Mahâvishnû (meaning Great Vishnû) is a direct descendent of Krishna and this shows that His role is the One who serves and cares for all. He is the repository or guardian of the jîvas while they are waiting for a universe to be created for them. And He gives the jîvas shelter when their universes are destroyed.

Narâyâna, a direct descendent of Mahâvishnû and hence Krishna, is God in the role of Maintainer who once again shelters the jîvas between creations. Narâyâna selects the foremost of jîvas to become Brahma, the creator of a universe. Narâyâna shows Brahma how to create a universe, and provides help and support all along the way. He teaches Brahma how to serve others by example and by the tasks He gives to Brahma, thereby elevating Brahma to His status as God.

God is Brahma, the Creator of a universe. The life of Brahma shows by example that it is possible for man to become God through a life of service to the jîvas. The path of Brahman Consciousness is our opportunity to serve this Great Servant of all creatures and humanity, Lord Brahma, and thereby perhaps one day be appointed by Narâyâna Himself to serve on that Supreme level.

God is Vishnû, the Maintainer of the universe. He is depicted in the Vedic literature as the One who is always defending the jîvas and protecting the universe created by Brahma. He incarnates from time to time to serve the human race directly. His most recent direct incarnation was Jesus Christ. Jesus came to show us that God is real and personal. He is the loving Father and like a parent is devoted to His children’s welfare. In the pain of His crucifixion He absorbed and balanced a massive block of kârma that was dragging down the lives of all jîvas.

God is Rûdra, the Destroyer of the universe. We have not explicitly mentioned Rûdra until now, but implicitly His presence was known in the rest cycles of the universes during each night of Brahma, the end of the universe at the end of the lifetime of Brahma, the end of the cycles of universal creation during the in-breath of Mahâvishnû, and the end of the major jîva cycles when the jîvas return to the body of Krishna. Rûdra is the other side of Vishnû and like S’îva/Krishna they are inseparable. Rûdra, like Vishnû is always ultimately in service to the jîva.

So far, we have seen that God is at once personal, and present in many Beings. There is ultimately one God, Pure Consciousness, S’îva; who manifests Himself as Krishna, Mahâvishnû, Narâyâna, Vishnû, Rûdra, direct incarnations like Jesus Christ, and Brahma, the foremost of jîvas. All are devoted to serving us, the lowly jîva. But God is much more than this.

Let us enter into Brahma’s creation, our own universe, and see where God is also found. The drawing below depicts the beings that inhabit the celestial and other subtle realms of our universe. Also included are the jîva koshas as they relate to the different planes.

At the top of the drawing are the aspects of God, Vishnû/Rûdra and Brahma in the realm of Ânandamâyâ kosha. Ânanda means, “bliss”, mâyâ means, “that which is not,” and kosha means, “sheath or covering.” So this is the realm of the “sheath of bliss, that is not.” What is being covered or sheathed by the koshas is Pure Consciousness. This means there is an extremely thin covering of the jîva on this level because the Bliss of Pure Consciousness easily penetrates. This is the highest realm of God that a jîva can consciously enter until mature Brahman Consciousness.

The next realm is Vijñanamâyâ, which is populated by God in three forms, Ganesha, Paramâtman, and the Siddhas (Ascended Masters). Ganesha is the leader of the celestial army whose function is to serve and protect all of the jîvas and celestial beings from the attacks of the âsuras and rakshâsas (more about these renegades in a moment).  Ganesha is the son of S’îva and Pârvatî and a most generous and loveable Being. He is always invoked prior to the commencement of an auspicious initiation or yajña, to provide protection and remove obstacles to the successful completion of the act. He, as with all the aspects of God, delights in service to the jîva.

The Paramâtman aspect of God is a collective consciousness (more about collective consciousness later in this chapter) of the host of Âtmans who are direct descendents of Krishna through Vishnû. Every jîva has an Âtman who is directly responsible to guide its jîva back to the safety and bliss of the body of Krishna. The Âtman arranges the innumerable incarnations for the jîva to inhabit appropriate physical bodies, and thereby gives the jîva the opportunity to exercise its creativity and free will, and also have the chance to balance kârmas.

The Ascended Masters, also known as the siddhas (perfected beings) are those highly evolved jîvas that have accomplished Brahman Consciousness, and choose to devote the remaining eons of their existence in service to the jîvas. Among this group are the Seven Rishîs, or general administrators of the universe, and the Grahas, the administrators of kârma. The Ascended Masters are not direct aspects of God, but because they are among those next in line to become Brahmas, and for their long service and devotion, are revered as God.

The Manomâyâ realm and “below” are inhabited by devic beings that are not direct aspects of God, but are nonetheless highly devoted servants of the jîvas and worthy of our praise, reverence, and respect. Devic beings, also called angels, are not evolving jîvas, but rather are beings that are created by Brahma for an express purpose to serve in the maintenance of the universe. The hosts of Devas are innumerable, and Indra is their king. He is a very powerful figure in the celestial realms and a great servant of Brahma.

To consider the Devas and Nature Spirits and their realms will take us a few pages, but it is necessary to build a foundation for the last segment of our topic on God in which we will consider the gods of the religions.

In the Prânamâyâ realm are the Nature Spirits, a class of devas that provide very localized services such as managing the growth of a single tree or plant. Every cell in our body has a deva in charge to manage its functioning. Every organ system and the body as a whole has devas specifically assigned to it. Our S’rî Chakra is activated and made functional by its devas.

Devas and Nature Spirits are organized in a very structured manner according to their specific jobs with clear lines of reporting to supervisors, who in turn report to their supervisors, and so on all the way to Indra, who is ultimately in charge of all the Devas. They are intelligent, loving and friendly beings that live to serve all jîvas.

By now it must seem that everyone in the universe from God on down is here to serve us. However, it is very useful to categorize beings into two classes: those who serve out of love and ask for nothing in return, and those who serve for profit. The beings that serve out of love are Suras and those who serve for profit are Âsuras.

All aspects of God are Suras, as is Indra, and the higher realms of Devas. However, the Nature Spirits are neutral and will serve all beings, both Suras and Âsuras, equally. Nature Spirits may be created by jîvas, and those that are take on the quality of their creator, either suric or asuric. The Âsuras are jîvas that are in various stages of the incarnation process, some with physical bodies and many without. They can reach “up” to the Vijñanamâyâ realm and constantly oppose Indra and the Devas as well as try to dominate and control other jîvas. In the physical realm, it is a rare person who is not âsuric – almost everyone is motivated by profit or “what’s in it for me” rather than love, except in close family relationships.

Among the âsuras are a class of beings that are extremely domineering and controlling of others called rakshâsas. In every case they are jîva-based beings. The most powerful rakshâsas are those who have diverted from the path of Brahman Consciousness but still possess an Absolute Body (more on the Absolute Body in a few paragraphs). Also, there is a class of Nature Spirits that are troublesome, but these beings are created not by Brahma but by jîvas and rakshâsas with dark intentions and their power is limited to the lower planes. These rakshâsas and their demon spirits are responsible for addictions, destructive habits, and some forms of mental illness. They cling like leeches and can make a person’s life miserable. However, they are attracted to similar resonating ungrounded energies and kârmas in the individual. When the resonating kârmas and ungrounded energies are balanced, the leeches fall away.

This is why the S’rî Chakra Mahâ-videhâ Program focuses attention on the consciousness of the individual to balance kârmas and ungrounded energies on the level of the mind in the S’rî Chakra. When all kârmas and ungrounded energies have been balanced and the S’rî Chakra has been cleared of vâsanâs, the individual literally becomes invincible to all attacks by âsuras, rakshâsas and their spirit demons.

Let us now move on to a more interesting topic - the Absolute Bodies. In the earlier drawing that depicts the celestial realms, the Absolute Bodies are found located in the upper regions of the Manomâyâ plane. Every jîva has at least the seed of an Absolute Body. In most jîvas, it is only a seed. The Absolute Body needs to be activated by a specific procedure initiated by Brahma at the request of the jîva when it is moving into the last stages of its evolution, because only those on the path of Brahman Consciousness should use the Absolute Body.

The Absolute Body is a permanent vehicle used by the Siddhas (Ascended Masters) for work in the celestial realms. To understand the significance of this, we will have to briefly touch on the reincarnation cycle of the jîva as it moves from body to body.

When the physical body dies, the jîva does not die. It simply retracts into the next subtle body, which is the Prânamâyâ Kosha. The jîva remains conscious during this transition. The transition may be very confusing at first because many objects on the physical plane have nearly exact counterparts on the Prânamâyâ Kosha (etheric) plane. This is because it is the Prânamâyâ Kosha that energies the physical bodies (Anamâyâ Kosha) of all living plants and animals. Also, objects such as chairs and telephones that are frequently in close contact with a living body will have some energy of that being on them. This causes all living plants and animals plus some inanimate objects to be visible on the Prânamâyâ Kosha plane to beings on that plane.

Without going into great detail, hopefully it is enough to say that on each plane we have senses organs that function on these planes and allow us to perceive what is on that plane. While our physical body is alive, the subtle senses are overwhelmed by the more powerful physical senses, and we have a web of protection that shields our subtle senses, so we rarely detect activity on the subtle planes. When this protective mechanism is faulty, the individual will perceive subtle sensory impressions from the Prânamâyâ or lower Manomâyâ plane. These experiences may cause the individual to be diagnosed by psychiatrists as schizophrenic.

A few days to perhaps a few years after the death of the physical body, the Prânamâyâ Kosha will disintegrate naturally, and the consciousness of the jîva will move to the lower mental plane (Manomâyâ Kosha) for a stay of perhaps many years. On this plane, (sometimes called the astral plane) exist the bulk of the emotions of the jîva. There is always a very large population of disembodied jîvas on the astral plane. It is from here that most psychic channeling arises as sensitive individuals in a physical body open themselves to this plane – a highly dangerous practice.

It is visits to the astral plane, perhaps during near-death experiences that are responsible for the religious ideas of purgatory and hell. If the jîva has cultivated habits that attract astral leeches during its physical life, it will have to deal with these unsavory influences at a magnified level on the astral plane after death of the physical body. However, if the jîva has appealed to an aspect of God for salvation, it will be saved from this experience after the death of the body and quickly ushered back to the blissful safety of the body of Krishna.

Everyone is invited to ask for after-death salvation. The process is simple and fully described in the next chapter of this book. Please follow the procedure to ask your Âtman for salvation after death. Your Âtman will not reject you. Your Âtman’s power to grant this salvation to you is infallible. However, you must ask because you have free will. Only you can decide if you want to continue with the reincarnation process or return to the body of Krishna after death.

For those jîvas that elect for after-death salvation and do not also take up the path of Brahman Consciousness, after the physical body dies, the jîva will be immediately escorted by its Âtman back to the body of Krishna. The jîva will rest there for a very long time (perhaps millions or billions of man years) as all of its kârmas die and turn into vâsanâs. Then at the start of its next activity cycle, the jîva will again leave the body of Krishna and begin the long evolutionary activity cycle into a new universe.

For those jîvas that do not elect for after-death salvation, nor choose to take up the path of Brahman Consciousness, the route is different. After many years (perhaps hundreds or even thousands) the lower astral body of the jîva will have disintegrated. If the jîva has some mental energies still active, it will spend a much longer time on the upper mental plane until the entire Manomâyâ Kosha has disintegrated. However, the Âtman has been busy all this time reincarnating the jîva into a host of new bodies, mostly animal but occasionally human, as it continues to fulfill its responsibility to help the jîva balance its kârmas.

As promised earlier, we are now ready to see what the Ascended Masters do with their Absolute Bodies. When one in Brahman Consciousness drops the physical body, the jîva is conscious of its Absolute Body and immediately transfers full consciousness to it and continues its life of service. In many cases, the individual has already been working on the subtle planes in its Absolute Body, so the transition is really just one of withdrawing activity from the physical plane. The Ascended Masters do not usually reincarnate into physical bodies, finding it better to help jîvas already in the physical to enter onto the path of Brahman Consciousness, and encouraging those on the path to carry out the work on the physical necessary to establish their Brahman Consciousness.

The Ascended Masters serve on the subtle planes for the balance of the cycle of Narâyâna. Many in turn assume the post of Brahma and create a universe. At the end of the cycle of Narâyâna, they are escorted back to Krishna, but not to the body of Krishna, instead they enter into Krishna Consciousness and continue their service as Krishna Himself.

Now we are ready for the very interesting topic of the gods of religions, where there is much misinformation and confusion in society today. Notice first of all that the “g” is not capitalized because these gods are not direct aspects of God. They are in fact not beings at all but pseudo-beings created by the phenomenon of collective consciousness. However, they are to be revered and honored as the collective consciousness of the best and highest ideals of humanity.

Collective consciousness is an interesting phenomenon that occurs spontaneously when two or more beings come together for a common objective. An example from the realm of Nature Spirits is the collective consciousness of the cells of the human body. Every cell of the body has a deva responsible for its operation. Since every cell has a common objective of a healthy functioning body, a collective consciousness exists which forms a collective deva. This collective deva is the deva of the human body, functioning as the collective representative of all the devas of the cells – similar to the president of the country, except that a collective deva is created by the population, and is not an existing deva that was simply elected. The collective deva of the human body is not the jîva – this deva exists only as long as the physical body is alive.

We can take this example further and look at organ systems. For example, every heart cell has a deva responsible for it. However, the heart itself as an organ does not have a real deva, but a collective deva that is a product of the collective consciousness of the heart devas.

In the plant kingdom we find an example of a collective deva associated with every plant. A tree has no jîva, but it does have a single collective deva, made of the collective consciousness of all the devas of all the cells of the tree, that is responsible for it. A forest of trees has a collective consciousness and that produces a collective deva of the forest. The planet earth has a famous collective deva that many have experienced and given the name Gaia.

Collective devas are for all practical purposes as real as any other deva created by jîva or Brahma. They have a lifespan that often transcends the original collective that created them. For example a forest deva may have been originally created by the first population of trees in a region, but after perhaps 500 years, none of the original trees will be alive, yet the forest deva will still be found existing, having been continually renewed as new trees sprouted in the forest.

A collective deva has all the qualities of its collective consciousness that are associated with the common purpose of the collective. It retains these qualities over time and as new qualities arise in the collective, they are imbibed by the collective deva. The collective deva can become a powerful force for good or evil, depending on the purpose of the collective population.

For example, there is a wonderful healing energy called Reiki that many have experienced and received a healing for some physical or emotional disorder. Reiki was given to a Japanese physician named Dr. Usui after the man fasted and sincerely prayed for several days for some method to heal his patients. Vishnû answered His prayers and gave him a series of symbols and practices that became the focal point for the doctor and his patients to create a collective deva for healing. Over time the Reiki collective deva has become a powerful healing deva as thousands the world over joined the collective consciousness of Reiki practitioners and patients. The Reiki collective deva is an excellent example of the good that can be created by sincere and caring people.

In human society, the concept of collective consciousness is very prevalent. All nations have a national collective deva that is purely a product of the patriotism of the citizens and their pride in their country. Every business with two or more employees has a company collective deva. Every family of two or more members has a family collective deva. Every social club has a collective deva. Every school has a collective deva. Every political party has a collective deva. Every church has a collective deva.

The collective deva of a religion is that religion’s god. If a religious group believes in the One God and individual members pray to that One God, the members believe that God always hears their prayers and answers them directly. This is probably not true in most cases because of the current state of the S’rî Chakra that most jîvas possess. God is all-powerful and omnipresent, but He has chosen to operate within His universe and the Laws of Nature He established to insure an orderly and peaceful environment for all jîvas. He gave the jîvas the S’rî Chakra as its direct communications link with Him. If the jîva, of its own free will, has chosen to act in such a manner as to introduce kârmas and ungrounded energies into the mechanism, and distort the structure with the accumulation of vâsanâs, we should not be surprised if it no longer works as designed.

However, because churches have as their common objective a relationship with God, their collective deva will reflect some of the highest human ideals associated with God. The collective deva of each of the organized religions, Hindu, Christian, Islam, Jewish and all other religions, are a powerful force for good in the world today. When the members of a religion pray to God, their collective deva will always hear their prayers, no matter the condition of their S’rî Chakra, and will attempt to do what it is asked to do and answer the prayers.

Collective devas can be and often are competitive for collecting new members in their individual groups, because this naturally enhances the power of the deva and extends its lifetime. However, this competition for members often leads to arrogance, pride, and destructive tendencies and practices. We see, for example, the intense competition among churches and religious groups, all in the name of “God,” who of course loves and accepts all of His children and would have no part in any competition among them. This one behavior should prove beyond a reasonable doubt to any serious minded individual that God is not at the head of these religions – obviously these religions are headed by the collective consciousness of the membership.

If you are sincere about wanting to communicate with God, you do not need a religion or priest as a “go-between.” He has provided the way through your Âtman. Remember, your Âtman is the direct aspect of God that He gave to you to watch over you and care for you. Your Âtman can be readily contacted by a simple procedure in which you first enlist the cooperation of the deva of your body, who is quite capable of, and gladly will, make the connection for you with your Âtman. The deva of your body is right here with you now and very easy to communicate with.

Nothing needs to be taken on faith in your communications with God. It should not be a one-way communication in which you ask for help then wonder if He heard you, and have no way to discover His answer anyway! The following chapter shows you exactly how to establish a direct, two-way, very fulfilling communication and relationship with God through your Âtman, who loves you and has been patiently waiting for this day.