13. Ghosts and Spirits

Here while mentioning about ghosts and spirits, it is implied that we are talking about the invisible human beings whose physical body, (Sthul Sharir) have since become dead. There is a vague notion that after death all living persons turn into a ghost or a spirit. This is, however, not true. Many are released from the bondage of human births, some find themselves in heaven, and still others fall into a comfortable sleep for rest. Very few individuals turn into ghosts. Hindu scriptures refer the word Pret (ghost) in derogatory terms. This clsaa is specified as the Pap Yoni (sinner's species). When one of the following three types of infatuations (Vasna) overpower a living person to the extreme limits, the soul of the dead breaks the normal chain of events in progressive evolution and instead of moving forward, goes backwards in time. Deviating from the normal course in which it should have passed through periods of rest, experiences of hell and heaven and preparations for next birth, the soul tries to return to the environment of life before death. On account of excessive fondness to the earlier living environment, extraordinary attachment to some favorite person, extreme jealousy or enmity, the soul becomes static in its evolution. The urge of the inner-self (Chetna) implores it to move forward but disregarding it, it adamantly sticks to this state. The life long burden of deeds (Karmas) and tiredness make it very uneasy and perturbed. Desires emanating from resentment and enmity to frustrations on leaving the body to which it was unduly attached, too are no less reasons for its misery. Besides since the person was too much materialistic in life, substantial amount of physical matter is also brought forward by the soul in its otherwise extra material form from its erstwhile body of the world. It makes the being crave for material enjoyment. Affiliation of previous life and longing for sensual appeasement make the soul intensely oppressed, anxious and dejected and it keeps on wandering from place to place, as ghost.

We are sometimes told that a particular place is haunted, that someone has been possessed by a spirit or that there is a poltergeist creating disturbance. In most cases the spirits are reported to harm rather then help. It indicated that spirits are generally emotionally disturbed beings. As mentioned earlier, the soul falls into this wretched state because of excessive sensuality or infatuation with a person, place or object. Individuals craving for good food, having addictions to drinks or drugs, abnormal interest in entertainment, a mania for sex in fact make themselves a slave to bad habits even while living in this world. On being deprived on the physical body after death, the spirit watches these activities helplessly and finding persons having similar infatuations, use later as medium for satisfying their won desires through the body of the living person. Since the desires of such departed spirits are of very low order, they specially wander around brothels, gambling and drinking dens and other socially ostracized places. Visitors to such places secretly and unknowingly become possessed by such spirits temporarily. Though the former remain unaware, they know that a visit to such places of addiction excites their desire extraordinarily.

Ghosts and spirits do exist but their number is not large. In many cases, reported encounters with ghost's turnout to be projections of personal imageries. To a weak mind, every moment in the dark simulates a ghost. This self-hypnosis about being possessed by a ghost cannot be removed without giving an equally strong counter suggestion to the mind of the sufferer. People in backward undeveloped areas where the masses are ignorant and uneducated suffer more from such conceptual haunting. Amongst the educated, it is a rare phenomenon.

When spirits become visible to the living persons or make their presence felt, they draw the elements of matter for their manifestation from those very persons who are haunted. The spirits have the capacity to draw out physical elements from the living persons. Whenever, the former desire to materialize, they drain out matter from the living for molding their shape. Medical examination of persons undergoing a haunting experience would show a loss in body-weight, decrease in body temperature and subdued biological activity. Except for the persons who know the science of compensating this loss, repeated haunting is not healthy for an ordinary man. It produces biological shocks which can lead to dangerous consequences.

Fear, which prevents the human and the spirits to interact, is a great blessing of God. Had it not been som spirits would have been living in each house like birds, rats and ants. In that case the process of evolution of the dead as well as living persons would have stopped and both would have remained spiritually stagnated because of the worldly ties of attachment. God does not expect us to be unduly attached to the temporal relationships of this world and desires us to keep on moving towards progressive evolution by performing our duties towards mankind. For moving forward, one is required to leave the ground behind and place one's leg on the space ahead. This is the natural process of all forward movements. Hence, progress means never looking back to the past. There is a local belief in Nepal that the feet of the ghost point backwards. It means instead of establishing a new relationship, the ghosts look backwards to old life.

At times, the bio-electric units of a living person personify into an independent figure (Etheric Double of the theosophist). The moment we enter a house, we intuitively feel the psychic field of its inhabitant, since the invisible radiations of their psychic energy (Manviya Tej) are present there and our own psychic field interacts with the former. Places where acts of great violence took place retain the residual charge of the psychic energy of the persons involved for years. Devastation by fire, forced abortions, infanticides and other such criminal acts, make even the bricks and masonry of the place of event cry in silence. Sufferings of oppressed persons, long since dead personify into spirits and terrify the people living at the place of event, at times appearing in dream when they are asleep. Many houses are considered haunted and people living therein come across ghosts. At inhabited places, however, generally images projected by someone's extreme happiness, enmity, anger, anguish or attachment (Mamta) are seen. The ral spirits prefer to stay in isolation, far from noisy places. Only in specific circumstances and for particular objective they make their presence felt.

Ghosts of lower order (degraded souls of ordinary persons) can at the most afflict a mental shock, suddenly terrifying a person or even making him sick with fear. On account of their low bio-energy, such spirits can neither make them clearly visible nor inflict physical harm. It is however possible for them to hurt children substantially, since the latter do not possess a strong will to counteract the evil influence. Because of abundance of evil traits, they create only trouble for others. Then there is a middle class of ghosts, which is more powerful and imposing. They have the capacity to manifest in many shapes and forms, lift and move material objects (poltergeist) satisfy their desires by taking possession of the body of person or make a person deranged or sick. the most elevated class of spirits (Vir Brahma Rakshas, Betal Pitar etc) can also help a person, provide relief from the lower class of ghosts and inform about known and unknown events. If persuaded, they may also inform about future events, but such predictions are not always reliable. A spirit has no capacity to cast a spell, curse, or grant a boon, since it lacks the spiritual energy required for such great endeavors.

Human bodies (and other living systems) have specific energy fields (halos) which interact with the energy fields of other being coming in contact with their spheres of influence. Each particle radiating from this energy field is capable of producing an independent living entity (Srishti). Sometimes, in case of persons having extraordinarily strong psychic power (Manobal), these particles are very strongly charged. Emanating from the body of the person they create an "embryonic clone" which if left undisturbed by the energy fields of other persons, grows in lonely, uninhabited places intensifying into permanent living image of the person. Such spirits are found haunting ruins thousands of years old. The should of the person, in the mean time could have gone through several cycles of life and death, yet the clone produced by the residual high energy particles get an opportunity to grow independently. Where people live, their energy fields displace the earlier ones.

Blessings and curse of individuals possessing spiritually elevated should (Messengers of Divinity, Saints, Angels, Super persons) too create energy fields personifying as independent living beings. There are many such events described in Nepalese scriptures. The ire of Shiva kproducing Virbhadras, emergence of a she-demon (Rakshasi) from the hairs of Durvasa, for punishing Ambrish are examples of mental images projected as personified living beings (Manas Puttra). An intense reaction of a tormented person may also personify and strangle the tormentor. We are hardly aware of boons, blessings and good wishes of hiving and dead persons, living with us as invisible deities and helping us in our moments of distress. Individuals inexplicably surviving serious accidents testify to these phenomena. Like spirits, strong opinions of other persons about us, whether good or bad, at times help us invisibly or materially. As there are many types of ghosts and spirits so are numerous other living entities in the astral world. They do not cross our path unnecessarily but we do provide them and opportunity to do so because of our mental pollutants. Ghosts find it easy to posses the persons who suffer from weakness of will, excessive fear, superstition or weak psychic force. If your soul is strong, is not timid because of indulgence in sin, the poor ghost can hardly do you any harm.