Magical Relationship Between Our Physical Body and Mind - Do We Reincarnate ?

Abstract: Part 1 of this article highlights the link between the human mind and the body in terms of our brain mechanics and biology. These are the most recent scientific findings to explain the origin of the human mind. Part 2 brings some religious context into it, describing how certain spiritual traditions go about the same topic. In this way the both articles established a link between science and spirituality which should give a new perspective to the reader. The conclusion of these two articles comes here answering some burning questions based on the meditative experience of the author of this blog. 

Fig. 1. The after-death process (The state of bardo or the Judgment Call).

1. Do we Reincarnate ?

People engage in spiritual practices for many reasons. Some want to eliminate suffering, and some want to find their soul’s purpose. Suffering mainly occurs in the mental sphere, and practices such as mindfulness and self-inquiry can dispel our negativity, self-attachment, and insecurities.

From childhood, we have been motivated to be religious and to follow a belief system; some people even go beyond it, finding the underlying message of these religions. One such belief is that, as human beings, we reincarnate on this planet. Going through several lifetimes, doing momentary somersaults, we evolve in our consciousness. At some point in this never-ending cycle, we begin to sense our birthright as human beings. And that is to work towards spiritual enlightenment.

But how do we verify whether we reincarnate? Only a person who passed away (not-near death) and came back to life can unravel the mystery behind this. This rare incident has happened to many enlightened beings in human history and is referred to as “resurrection” or, in other terms, “final liberation”, “divine incarnation” of a human soul. For the oversoul to incarnate into a human form, the typical human soul that has been through suffering and survival mode in the physical body has to leave first. This separation leads to the complete death process, with the blessing of having a new soul. Then the incarnated soul merges its energy with the memories of the brain and the physical body. In this way, the truth embodies in the human form.

The Authentic Spiritual Death

Let’s explore the science behind it. Only a season meditator can throw some light on this.

Be it any meditation method, developing subtle mental concentrations (Jhanas/Samadhis in Indian traditions), or mindfulness, we are trying to tap into a higher vibrational source within us. The resistance to achieving this lies in our physical body and the karmic structure, as they are “gross” inherently. When we progress through our meditation (the progression is different for each person and depends on the maturity of the soul), the gross mind has to go through several energy levels. Each energy level is a small-scale resemblance of universal energy levels and their frequencies. This fact also fits to the religious context and resonates with statements such as “Man is son of god”, “Man is a carbon copy of the universe” . Developing your mental absorptions does not necessarily need to be in the following order, although it may look like this for many of us.

Fig. 2. Different meditative absorptions (aka Samadhi).

The energy levels in multiple colors must be familiar to you; they are the frequencies in the visible light spectrum. These lights reflect the awakened state of the internal energy centers (which will not be covered in this article). Our mind always perceives some information, names, and forms in the mental absorptions within this visible spectrum. This means that mental awareness remains throughout these energy levels and gets only subtler and subtler from the lowest to the highest. For instance, in Western and Eastern cultures, people worship ancestors or some energy forms that were claimed to appear in their meditative visions. i.e. Ganapathi in Indian tradition. This is typical for the visible spectrum, where our mind at a certain vibrational level (absorption or samadhi) gets in tuned to related universal entities in the same energy level. They appear as names and forms in meditation.

But the Satori (aka oneness, nirvikalpa samadhi, nirodha samapatti, clear light mind) is a more advanced state in which our mind disappears into nothingness. This is the starting point of the spiritual journey where the meditator encounters the state of “no mind, no clinging, no identification” for the first time in their life. This can also be experienced as being one with the whole existence. Satori can induce a shift in our consciousness.

"If a drug addict or an alcoholic comes to this experience by any chance, their life would completely transform. Its influence on our mind is so significant that even the deepest addictions in our character may disappear."

Since there are no mind activities at all in this stage, it is referred to as a “non-karmic” state. The advantage of developing such a meditative state is that, even after a hectic workday, after a stressful situation, the mind can go into its source “no-mind” state (not out of mind :D) and gets refreshed, clearing the mental clutter.

Satori is not the most profound samadhi state, and it can be followed by many subtler samadhi levels. Therefore the source of the mind can be even deeper. The immediate mental absorption after this state is called universal love or the golden samadhi (related to Anandamaya kosha, Soruba samadhi). According to the Buddhist scriptures (Mahayana/Vajrayana Bodhisattva path), this state has about eight levels before the resurrection process. However, a meditator may quickly progress through all these levels and even may not notice there are levels to it. It depends on the subtle mental awareness during the meditation. If it is quite sharp, at least the meditator would notice several intensities within this realm, but he can only remember when he comes out of the meditation. There are no mental activities in this space either.

Fig. 3. So called subtle bodies and their association with energy centers.

If the meditator goes beyond all these meditative absorptions, his vibration becomes unbearable to his physical body at some point. 

"For instance, when an electrical signal in a conductor modulates at a very high frequency, it cannot contain in the conductor and leave it as a radio frequency wave. This is how antennas work."

The same applies to our physical body and the energy system; if the energy cannot be contained, what we refer to as the soul, leaves our gross body. What is the soul, and what is its relation to our mind and meditative absorptions? Each energy level has a subtle body associated with it. The mind energy is the combination of all these subtle bodies, and therefore when the mind reaches a higher energy state, these subtle bodies tend to leave the gross physical body. The astral body travel is a prime example of leaving such a subtle body out of our physical body. Most of the authentic NDE experiences during meditation are similar examples. However, all subtle bodies (9 major subtle bodies according to the written text) must leave for the complete dying process and resurrection to occur. This is where the yogi can witness the dynamics of the death process clearly and comes back to life as living proof to reveal many mysteries of the universe. However, the resurrection only happens to a handful of beings. When leaving their physical body, most meditators leave it forever, not taking any rebirth in any physical or subtle realm. This is what we refer to as “Mahasamadhi”.

Why only fully enlightened beings (Resurrected or Mahasamadhi attainers) do not reincarnate?

If you were with somebody at their last moment, you might recall how the life force (the soul) left their physical body. For most ordinary beings, it leaves from the openings of the lower realm: mouth, ears, nose, etc. Only a fully enlightened being can consciously leave from their higher exit, the crown (Brahmarandhra or Ushnisha in certain spiritual traditions). What happens to them after death?

When such a being has mastery over all subtle bodies, he can traverse through his subtle bodies using his meditative concentration. His mind could be at the highest vibratory level a human body can contain. Hence energy-wise, his soul is much lighter than that of an ordinary being. At our physical death, after leaving the body, our soul has to go through the fundamental energy source of the universe (the highest universal energy aka Dharmakaya). This is where our soul’s weight or impurity (combination of subtle bodies) matters for reincarnation.

As shown in Fig. 1, if your soul is lighter to the level of the fundamental energy source itself or closer to its frequency, then this soul can anchor or merge into this universal source and becomes a part of it. After that, there is no person, separation, or individuality to be found in that merging. But if the soul’s weight is larger and gross, it cannot anchor into this universal energy, and therefore it naturally moves to a lower energy level through the source and finds an appropriate physical body for that level. A person with a pure heart and positivity would undoubtedly have a lighter soul (energy bodies) than an evil person, and both will be assigned corresponding gross physical bodies. If a person is meant to end up in a celestial realm, they most likely won’t have a physical form but far less vibrational energy than the fundamental source. This brief energy transit period through the fundamental universal source can be given a religious term, i.e., “God’s Judgement” if necessary. In Buddhism, this transition is referred to as the Bardo state.

2. Mind in Body or Body in Mind (The Meditator's Viewpoint) ?
The first two articles raised this question a couple of times, and it was addressed to a certain extent by scientific and religious facts. However, an insightful answer can only be given by a meditative experience that transcends both the human mind and body. 

As noted in the first section, if someone can revert the binding process of the soul or subtle bodies to our physical body by any means (meditation in our case), then we utilize our mind to go beyond the mind itself and our physical body. Simply put, we transcend the grossness by the subtleness. Matter by the anti-matter. Hence it is more logical to say that the body is sort of a manifestation of mind. With this transformation, a huge shift in consciousness takes place and may change our perspective on the world and on ourselves completely. The binding of the soul to this body happens when we are born, and it is not a trivial process. A thorn prick causes you pain. After some time, the pain may be bearable, and you may have even forgotten there is a thorn. But this has to be removed; if left unattended, the wound may develop into an infection. Removing the thorn may cause more pain than the initial pain. The ego or spiritual death experience is the same. If the binding of the soul to the physical body was difficult, the removal process is also difficult. However it would happen to anybody with a certain maturity in their soul, or either with the genuine practice of spirituality.

3. Which Spiritual Practice Should I Follow ?

Even though the practitioners from this lineage are from Buddhist Tantra background (we have our own meditation and yogic methods), there is no fix spiritual practice to follow. The practice, method, or sadhana is just a doorway to the divine. If practiced with devotion to your guru, your own practice, or the existence, the blessings may reach you unexpectedly. However, they may not come in your favor to satisfy your ego-centric requirements. The way to progress in your spiritual path depends on the maturity required for your soul, which comes down to what you really lack in your soul. It can transform you through life-changing situations. i.e., You may lose someone who is dearest to you; your suffering may lead you to practice meditation or to follow a guru. All these practical scenarios can be entry points to your path. If practiced diligently, you may touch the full dimensions of spirituality.