05/05/2018
Could you explain for me about the life of Soul?" This is a question that I received earlier from an ECKist Facebook Friend in Africa. Well it is very simple but it is also very complex.
I am going to throw out three phrases that are quite well known:
1) As above, so below.
2) Man is the microcosm existing within the macrocosm.
3) Man is made in the image of God.
All of the above statements are basically saying the same thing. We are created in the pattern or the image of something infinitely greater than ourselves. We can hardly understand this in the human state of consciousness, but it is really much easier to grasp if we compare a seed with a fully grown tree. They seem to be of a completely different nature and yet they are of one fabric. Man as the "seed" below within the Microcosm, grows or transforms into the "Tree" above within the Macrocosm. Man is made in the image of God.
Within the Microcosm of man are all planes of Being that exist within the Macrocosm of God.
Man as the "seed of life" and God as the "Tree of Life" cannot be separated. 'In God we live, and move, and have our being'. In ECKANKAR we speak of these planes of Being as the Physical, Astral, Causal, Mental, Etheric and Soul Worlds. In a very real sense we carry these Worlds with us at all times. How is that, you may be asking? They are so close to us and we are so familiar with them. But it is as the saying goes, "we can't see the forest for the trees".
The Physical World corresponds to your physical body and the realm that it inhabits.
The Astral is the more subtle world of your emotions. The Causal is the Memory and the schematics of all the causes and effects that have led you to be exactly where you are in this moment of time. The Mental is the realm of thought and intellect. The Etheric is the realm of Intuition acting as a bridge between the Higher Self or Soul and the Mind. The Soul Plane is the unlimited aspect of you that exists as Pure Awareness.
These multiple aspects of our Being---or Planes of Existence---also have a direct correlation with the five elements of Creation.
The Physical Plane, with all of its solidity, is related to the Earth element. The Astral Plane, corresponding to the fluidity of our emotions, is related to the Water element. The Causal Plane,
associated with the karma of purification and universal memory, is related to the Fire element. The Mental Plane, the world of thought, relates to the Air element. And finally, the Etheric Plane, the highly refined bridge of communication between Soul and Mind, relates to the element known as Ether. When you speak of the Soul Plane it is that primordial Awareness existing above and beyond the Five Elements. Yet it is the Quintessential Nature of the Five Elements, enlivened by the primordial Awareness of Soul, that form your Being in its totality.
So these planes of Being are with us at all times and form the whole of our existence. However the degree to which we are aware of these worlds is another question. When you look at an iceberg, how much of it are you capable of seeing? The visible tip above the water line is in reality only a very small portion of its complete mass. The majority of it remains hidden and unseen.
"What is the Life of Soul?" It is our day to day life. It is our emotions, our feelings and our dreams. It is all of our actions, all of our memories. All of our thoughts. It is our deep dreamless sleep. It is our intuitive knowing which often comes to us in the form of a revelation. The Life of Soul is all of this and more. Why? Because it is Soul which gives Life and Awareness to each of us. Apart from Soul there is no Life. It is the Breath of Life. It is also something so close to us that we don't recognize our own nature.
On this Path of Spiritual Freedom, when you begin the process of spiritual awakening---when you study with the Mahanta, the Living ECK Master--- you start to see beneath the tip of the iceberg. You begin to see what has been hidden in pla
