In this article I’d like to look at the passages from Sri Ramakrishna in which he refers to life lived in the Transcendental.
These passages were the earliest mentions I read that raised the possibility that beings continued to live (1) with individuality intact (2) in the Transcendental.
To begin with, Sri Ramakrishna locates Narendrath Gupta, later Swami Vivekananda, in the Transcendental. He’s one of the Seven Sages. Ramakrishna invites him to join him on Earth:
“Absorbed one day, in samadhi, Ramakrishna had found that his mind was soaring high, going beyond the physical universe of the sun, moon, and stars, and passing into the subtle region of ideas.
“As it continued to ascend, the forms of gods and goddesses were left behind, and it crossed the luminous barrier separating the phenomenal universe from the Absolute, entering finally the transcendental realm.
“There Ramakrishna saw seven venerable sages absorbed in meditation. These, he thought, must have surpassed even the gods and goddesses in wisdom and holiness, and as he was admiring their unique spirituality he saw a portion of the undifferentiated Absolute become congealed, as it were, and take the form of a Divine Child.
“Clambering upon the lap of one of the sages and gently clasping his neck with his soft arms, the Child whispered something in his ear, and at this magic touch the sage awoke from meditation. He fixed his half-open eyes upon the wondrous Child, who said in great joy: ‘I am going down to Earth. Won’t you come with me?’
“With a benign look the sage expressed assent and returned into deep spiritual ecstasy. Ramakrishna was amazed to observe that a tiny portion of the sage, however, descended to earth, taking the form of light, which struck the house in Calcutta where Narendra’s family lived, and when he saw Narendra for the first time, he at once recognized him as the incarnation of that sage. He also admitted that the Divine Child who brought about the descent of the rishi [or sage] was none other than himself.” (1) [My emphasis.]
“He saw a portion of the undifferentiated Absolute become congealed, as it were, and take the form of a Divine Child.” We are in the Transcendental and yet there is more, which Ramakrishna calls “the Absolute.”
Remember Michael saying:
Archangel Michael: Now, when you have gone through all of that think of it as being contained in a bubble, go outside the bubble, that’s where we are.
Steve: Aah. So, transcendental space.
AAM: Yes. But, also at times the space – now we are going to really confuse you – the space in-between the spaces.
We occupy often the space between the spaces. We come from Source. (2)
So a distinction is being made between the Transcendental and then a space beyond, a space between the spaces, the Source, the Absolute.
From this Absolute space the God-child congealed and approached the Sage, himself on a Transcendental level. I’m willing to bet we’re hearing the way in which God would descend as an avatar, encased in one body after another as s/he descends dimensionally.
Until my conversations with Archangel Michael, this passage from Ramakrishna and the next were the only references I was aware of that pointed to people living in the Transcendental.
This next one from Sri Ramakrishna was important because it mentioned a number of his disciples, almost a community, all living on the Transcendental or near it. He continues:
“I have had many amazing visions. I had a vision of the Indivisible Satchidananda [God, the Absolute]. Inside It I saw two groups with a fence between them. On one side were Kedar, Chuni, and other devotees who believe in the Personal God. On the other side was a luminous space like a heap of red brick-dust. Inside it was seated Narendra immersed in samādhi. Seeing him absorbed in meditation, I called aloud, ‘Oh, Narendra!’ He opened his eyes a little. … Kedār, a believer in the Personal God, peeped in and ran away with a shudder. “ (3)
So, existing within the Absolute, Sri Ramakrishna sees Duality and the Transcendental.
Just as we angels have, Narendranath and the other Ishvarakotis or ever-perfect have come down from the Transcendental.
“Narendra, Bhavanath, Rakhal, and devotees like them belong to the group of the nityasiddhas [eternally-perfect]; they are eternally free. Religious practice on their part is superfluous.” (4)
So there is individuated life beyond the dimensions, as supported by evidence from an avatar (Sri Ramakrishna) and an archangel (Michael).
Michael’s admission yesterday extends that picture even further:
“We [angelics] occupy often the space between the spaces. We come from Source.” (5)
If that means angelics come from the Absolute, then we have evidence that individuation persists even there. With that, the last remaining pillar of contemporary enlightenment theory – that we lose individuality when united with the One – falls.
And of course what it says about who is here and who we are explodes.
(Continued in Part 5.)
Footnotes
(1) Swami Nikhilananda, trans. Vivekananda: The Yogas and Other Works. New York: Ramakrishna-Vivekananda Center, 1953, 14.
(2) “Archangel Michael on the Angelic Kingdom,” June 13, 2014, at http://goldenageofgaia.com/2014/06/13/archangel-michael-on-the-angelic-kingdom/.
(3) Paramahansa Ramakrishna in Nikhilananda, Swami, trans. The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna. New York: Ramakrishna-Vivekananda Center, 1978; c1942, 810. (Hereafter GSR.)
(4) GSR, 279.
(5) “Archangel Michael on the Angelic Kingdom,” June 13, 2014, at http://goldenageofgaia.com/2014/06/13/archangel-michael-on-the-angelic-kingdom/.