In this Weekly Wisdom, Gurudev shares amazing ideas about our gross, subtle, and causal bodies, moving on to the next life, and being a witness.
We all have three bodies:
The gross, physical body we know.
The subtle body is bigger than the gross body. How big? The subtle body is about 1 foot bigger. Our impressions are there in the subtle body.
Then, there’s a causal body that is even much bigger than the subtle body. We experience it in deep sleep. In the causal body, we get close to Shiva Tattva. Not really, but more close. That’s when we get a lot of strength. That’s the abode of bliss and happiness.
You all have to exit one day, right? When you exit from this world, when you prepare yourself for the next life, how do you prepare?
Choosing your next life
What type of bag do you want to check in for your flight? When you land, you have to claim the same baggage. So what do you want to carry?
Where do we carry that baggage? Do we carry in the physical? No! The physical body remains here. The causal body doesn’t catch anything.
Where do we take our luggage? In the subtle body. The subtle body is our suitcase, and what you put in your suitcase is very important. Impressions are stored in the subtle body.
However you live your life, before you exit the physical body, if your subtle body is vibrant, clean, and taking only that piece of luggage that you want to take, you’ll have a better life next time. The next body you choose will be good.
If you’re just filling your suitcase only with toilet paper, and you leave this life, what can you do? You can only go use the toilet, nothing else. Just imagine, that’s how you would travel. It’s good for nothing.
You’re taking your suitcase and you don’t have another piece of clothing to wear. It’s all stuffed with only tissue paper. That’s what most people are doing. Or they only fill their suitcases with dirty, stinky things.
How to make our subtle body vibrant
Whatever you need to do here, make a list of the things you need to do in this life as though you’re done with it all, finished, and ready to move on. How? With a big smile and a light heart. With nothing weighing on your head. With a happy mind.
One gentleman's doctor told him he had only three months to live. He immediately went to the bank to find out how much wealth he had. He was a billionaire, so he had plenty of money.
He asked his accountant how many generations his wealth would last. The accountant said, “Your grandson and great-grandson can comfortably live, even if they don’t earn one dollar. They can live their lives happily.”
After hearing this, the man got so sad. The doctor said, “What’s the matter? You have enough money. You’re leaving enough money to your kids.”
He said, “What about the fifth generation? I’m now worried about my fifth generation. My great-grandson’s children, what will they do? I have to be busy and work now.”
Endless! When you don’t know what you really want or what you’re doing, you end up in misery, which is beyond all logic. Do you think you’re going to take care of everybody all the time? No! Wake up and see the Shiva Tattva, the greater principle which is taking care of everybody and everything.
A greater power is taking care of everything
It’s that big power that brought your children into the world through you. They belong to the higher power.
Even when you’re not there, your children and grandchildren will be taken care of. Their grandchildren will be taken care of. Doesn’t it give you some peace of mind?
You do what you need to do. Your rights and your duties, you do. And then, you have the faith that only good will happen.
Everyone has their own karma
Third, everyone has come with their own baggage, and they’ll be here as long as that luggage is there—it will work out. Karma is at play. Sometimes or most of the time, you can’t do anything about it.
See your life beyond this physical life. You have come here so many times, been born here a million times, and had all of these relationships. And then you’re gone! Thank God you don’t remember any of those.
Just imagine that you suddenly remember that you owned a big house out there in Ottawa. You’re living in an apartment. You say, “Oh, my God. All my life I’ve been saving and in a previous life I built that huge, beautiful mansion in Ottawa, and now I’m in a small apartment.”
You won’t have a peaceful sleep, I tell you. Nature has its unique way of expressing karma. So, when we know that this is all karma, it gives us immense strength not to get drowned in anything, but instead to be a witness of all actions and all that’s happening.
Be a witness
You go and sit in a movie theater and watch the movie. When you come out of the movie, you feel a little dizzy, right? You have to adjust from that world to this world, especially if you’re so immersed in the movie.
When you come out of the movie, it takes just a few seconds for you to adjust to this reality. But suppose you don’t adjust to this reality. You remain in that same cloudy state of mind. What will happen to you? You may have to be taken to a mental hospital.
Because you were in the movie, and you remain in that movie mood the whole time, and life can’t move on. You need to be hospitalized, correct? This is what is happening to most people. After this movie is over, we’re not able to shake off that and come to the real world.
What we see is all an unreal, movie world. As I’m speaking, can you see that all that happened until this moment is nothing more than a movie?
Right now, remember. You went to school, and you went to college. You had good days and bad days. You fought with your friends. You watched soccer games. Is it not like a movie now?
At the World Culture Festival, we had over a million people. Is it not like a movie now?
It’s all gone!
Similarly, pleasant days have come and gone. Unpleasant days have come and gone. Everything is on the fast track, anyway. Everything is moving.
Can you just snap out of it and say, “I’m just a witness to it all.”
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Editor’s note:
To experience Gurudev’s ancient secret to modern well-being, SKY Breath Meditation (Sudarshan Kriya) for yourself, register for the Art of Living Part 1. SKY has helped millions of people worldwide improve all aspects of their lives.
