If we refer to Figure 4, below, we see a seated man with all the chakras, as described in The Spiritual Anatomy of Man. Behind him are the three Age charts described in The Yuga essay. Without getting too arcane and descriptive, lets just say that Man operates horizontally across at least five major spheres of interaction: Individual, Family, Tribal, State and Nation. Continuing to simplify, this just think of all of these spheres being affected by chakral mechanics. That’s all I will say at this time. Thus, a seated sentient Being is shown relating vertically to the various spheres. We can usefully use this diagram to visualize the planes of sentient existence.

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Now, imagine a circular plane parallel to the one on which the being is seated and drawn thru each of the chakras and you have the seven astral planes which are the seven heavens. (See Illustration 12 below)

Upon the death of the physical body, a sentient Being, awakens on one of these planes.

These planes are teeming with sentient life. And the sentient life found there is pre-occupied with some attribute of that chakra. It is a defining capability of the Soul entity that it is easily absorbed by a state of mind, an attribute or some material creation and it does not easily give up the addiction. This is a double-edged sword. On the one hand it IS the whole point of being...this ability to become so absorbed in a thing that one eventually becomes that thing. On the other hand, if that thing is evil and destructive, that is.... in modern parlance.... WAY BAD. The sign of a highly developed and adept entity is its ability to control and move in and out of these absorptions.

Before, we talk about the first Heaven we have to discuss Hell. Hell (Hades, the Nether World) is an astral plane, which lies just below the plane of the Root Chakra (Muladhara). It is a dark foreboding place. Whether there is an actual fire and brimstone experience, I'm not sure...what I think happens is that individuals can experience fire and brimstone, if they BELIEVE it exists, since on the astral plane a concept or an idea which enters the mind as a thought and is believed or desired ............ is immediately created. Suffice to say that hell or this nether region is a place created by the Being. The fires of emotions, angers and hatreds as well as cravings, guilt and self-loathing are intensified and experienced over and over again by the Being. If the Being has spent his life in and out of earthly prisons.... he will be in and out of Astral prisons. If the Being has spent his life tormenting and inflicting pain and suffering on others, he will continue to do so in the lower Astral regions. This will continue indefinitely. On the astral planes there are no concepts of time...it time does not exist. There is no space; the concept of space does not exist. To the Being it will seem like an eternity. I have read of near-death-experiencers who have had events happen that would have taken days on Earth awake and the Doctors tell them, ‘Lucky for you, you were only dead for a minute.’ ‘Huh,’ is the thought?! All these fires are fueled by coals that do have a finite life and eventually they do burn out. Then, everything goes into reverse. They then become the victims of the torment and pain of the criminals. All this is punctuated by earthly life times of misery, discontent.... usually poverty and starvation. Until at last, the coals become embers and all fires burn out and if they have learned any of the lessons of the experience, they begin to reach for another way.

But, by the same token, the gateway to the first heaven COULD for some people (who believe it strongly enough) be Pearly Gates with a Being at the entrance who might introduce himself as St. Peter. But, this, of course, would not be the experience of all who entered there upon death.

I don't know how effective it is...but, when a Catholic priest gives absolution at death to an individual, if it clears the Being in his/her own mind of obsession with one of the seven deadly sins.... Pride, Sloth, Anger, Gluttony, Lust, Envy, Greed ...or guilt over supposed sins or even real sins, or out and out crimes against humanity, it might calm the mind enough to allow the entity to step thru the Gateway onto the plane of the Root Chakra (Muladhara) the first Heaven, in a frame of mind in which the Being believes he is forgiven his transgressions. It might work.

In the first Heaven, one finds the shells of past earth civilizations, and the building blocks of future civilizations. The entities here are pre-occupied with materializing a physical plane condition, which is in keeping with their personal concepts of what a perfect earthly order should look like. When, I use the word earthly, I mean it as a generic term for physical plane existence. The physical universe is also teeming with life on planets throughout its width and breadth. I, also, don't wish to imply that ALL Beings know what they are up to. These are in the minority. The greater majority are caught in the ebb and flow of the dynamics of life and are "blissfully" ignorant of the laws governing life.

The Second Heaven is for those developed in the Reason Chakra. On this plane are found great Universities. Some of which have a counterpart on the Earth...Oxford, Cambridge, Harvard and Yale.... for example. Nothing exists on the physical plane that was not first conceived in one of the Seven Heavens. You might also encounter Beings who are surrounded by gadgetry, devices and instruments. They are pre-occupied with the creation of functional objects that will do all sorts of interesting things. Rube Goldberg contraptions come to mind. It could be that an Edison figure was born into the earth plane thru this chakra. There are other Beings here; they are martinets. They contrive military strategies and march about in close order drill with incredible precision and go about the business of warfare on a grand and logical scale. They are preoccupied with discovering the elements, which will make a good, victorious soldier. Perhaps a General George Patton was born from this chakra. Lawyers conceive intricate points of law and argue their concepts among their peers...each appreciating the subtlety of the concept lending support or pointing out flaws and presenting a variation, which might overcome the flaw. The Beings on this plane perfect their particular interests and are born from this plane into the physical plane and attempt to execute their ideas in the challenging arena of the physical world, where barriers, counter-intentions and a whole host of things will prevent a brilliant concept from being materialized. Hemingway's, "Old Man And The Sea", is a splendid discussion of what happens to great concepts in the physical world.

The Will Chakra is a power center Heaven. Spiritual energy flows here like white water rapids of the Colorado River. Beings who arrive here are consumed by the ecstasy of accomplishment; they are filled with an endless enthusiasm. They are consumed by the need, desire and knowledge that they can achieve and will achieve great ends. Great athletes populate this plane, as they conceive of great feats that require unusual efforts of will to accomplish. They are usually astounded at how easy it is in the astral plane to make goals. But, they dream of and postulate their accomplishment for the physical plane at some future date. Great architects, engineers, politicians and other movers and shakers in the physical plane dream of magnificent projects that they will push forward in some future earthly incarnation, that will require the coordination of armies of people, money, political manipulation and the harnessing of natural forces. As they conceive them in the astral plane, they are easily accomplished and they are charged with paroxysms of joy and exaltation.

The Heaven of the Heart Chakra is a place of quiet contemplation. While the Root Chakra Heaven and the Reason Chakra Heaven are teeming with multitudes of beings the Heart Chakra Heaven begins a very rapid decline in population. Though, still in the millions of entities, they do not compare to the lower chakras, for obvious reasons. The level of spiritual development required to attain this plane is quite high, thus ordinary Beings do not reside here. Suffice to say that once one arrives here, one is treated to various kinds of Coffee Houses and Cafes which serve up there own special brand of poetry readings by Beings who see and feel deeply the meaning of the universe, life and even the beauty of a rose. One travels from cafe to cafe bathing in the beauty of the expressions found in each place. Relating one to the other, sharing the experience, merging in the realities of others and giving forth their personal realities.

One could be a great painter and be in a wonderful garden standing before a canvas and expressing ones self thru that medium and surrounded by admirers and would be artists who have not achieve the same level of ability to express a concept and attend the school of a master.

On any of the planes (or in any of these Heavens) everyone in NOT equal. A grand master of an art, say, can conceive, see and execute eight to ten shades of blue. While a novice may be able to conceive and see only two or three shades of that color and only be able to execute only one of them, using his accumulated technical skill.

There are great manors, and chateaus nestled in an idyllic countryside. The rooms are filled with virtuoso musicians perfecting their instruments; practicing, composing and holding recitals. One can walk on the various grounds and encounter an amphitheater where a magnificent orchestra is performing.

There are opening nights for great acting ensembles performing wonderful plays. At an outdoor cafe you might see a playwright frantically scribbling the elements of his current work, while dance troupes cavort and work in a nearby glade.

You might join a crowd around a movie producer treating them to projections of motion picture ideas that he plans for some future showing and invites them to be at a certain place when he plans to have his production ready for viewing in its entirety.

From this plane are born the artists, poets and playwrights of the world, who will eventually struggle to realize in the physical plane some concept they were preoccupied with in the Heart Chakra Heaven.

The Fifth Heaven is found on the plane controlled by the Love Chakra. Again, the population on this plane diminishes sharply as one moves up. And, in this Heaven there is a magnificent place called the City Of Gold. It is a Walled City which Jerusalem was modeled after...probably inspired by an Avatar...who was commissioned by the Grand Master in the restoration effort around the time of David...as the foundation was being laid in the physical plane for the new dispensation...with the exception that the Earthly Jerusalem is stone and mortar.... the building blocks of the City Of Gold are pure gold and the ornamentation is done in every imaginable precious metal and precious gemstone and fine wood paneling.

The other exception is that Jerusalem was a city built by the Jews for the Jews and only latter became sacred and revered by Christians and Moslems....the City Of Gold is the current cycles focus of progression in the Current Dispensation on Earth. I only have a vague idea why cities are central to a master plane conceived by Gods, demi-gods, avatars and armies of their agents to bring about a Golden Age cycle. I don’t plane to go into it here.

The many Spiritual cities on this plane have been the spawning place of all religious movements thru out the physical universe. But, for clarity sake, I’ve given you the Earth-centric sector of this Heaven. Many, NDE’s have seen a Crystal City. This city may be of a past Golden Age are the foreshadowing of a future Golden Age for Earth or some other planetary system. There is Shambala, Vahalla and many others. These are all examples of spiritual retreats and Astral creations for past and future Yuga Cycles.

There is no conflict here between religious factions because they do not become aware of each other unless BOTH parties desire a communication. The city has specific houses of worship conceived and executed by the religions founder. The followers of these various sects spend much of their time contemplating and refining their concepts of God. Discussion groups gather and adepts teach novices. (Again, not everyone is equal in development).

The adepts meet other religious thinkers in great conclaves where they share views of the God Head and exchange concepts and help each other in anyway necessary without demanding compliance or understanding. Very rarely are there disagreements, since, these Beings concede space to each other and believe each will arrive at the truth thru experience and personal growth. All, here KNOW that the experience of God and his truth is strictly and solely a personal and individual experience and it cannot be shared in an objective way, though, each who has a similar or the same experience gazes lovingly and with great affection on the other and nod in knowing, or embrace in love and gladness for the others attainment.

The highlight of any stay in the Fifth Heaven is a visit to the plane by one of the Seven Rays. [A Ray is a Son of God so called...because of their high attainment and the fact that they have never fell into the physical plane, they have never been born of woman...but are sired by immaculate conception when they must enter the physical plane. These super Avatars guide events on the physical plane, their entry into the physical plane marks transitions from Age to Age. They establish mystery schools to guide the new age thru its development.] They enter the main Gates of the city in a magnificent procession preceded by their entourages. The inhabitants line the streets throwing many colored rose petals and offering lilies of the fields to the courtiers. Then the Ray enters carried on a Golden Palenquin carried by four high level novices who have earned the right to be so close to the Great Being. It is a wondrous event when the Demi God swings open the white silk curtains of his Palenquin and steps forth. The novices in the crowd fall on their faces, not having attainment to gaze upon the Splendid Light Form. Many low level adepts cast their eyes downward, not yet worthy. But, all are drenched in light and swell with ecstasy and fervor. Choral paeans fill the atmosphere, celestial music of the spheres stirs the depths of the being of all who are fortunate to witness this event and rare it is as many come to this plane many times and are still not worthy of this miracle even for the astral plane which in itself is a miracle by any earthly standards.

I started with the City Of Gold because it is the high point of any visit to the Heaven of the Love Chakra, for a human in the current dispensation. But, there is a lot more on this plane. The masters of the natural environment or Mother Natures agents operate from here. They are the controllers of the group souls, which are the spiritual force of various animal species, the guardians of the lakes and mountains; rivers and oceans; the planets and galaxies. Their purpose and goals are to maintain the order of the universe and keeping the Law within their specific realms. I wouldn't be surprise, if great conservationists like John Muir might not have been incarnated from this plane.

The Sixth Heaven is found on the plane of the Chakra of the Third Eye. And, it is amazing how conventional nomenclature can latch on to something and name it correctly without really understanding the full significance of it. This is the seat of the sixth sense, as it is commonly known. Once again the population sharply declines. In this heaven one surveys the universe, as if, from a mountaintop. The other thing about this plane is that beings here do not seek companionship or comradery. This doesn't mean they are lonely or anti-social, but, that the absorption is so complete in whatever specialty the Being is interested in… nothing else matters or enters their focus.

All knowledge is here for the asking. Truly, the admonition.... ask and you shall receive.... is fabulously operational in this Heaven. One needs only to be curious about the way a thing in the universe works and a detailed answer immediately unfolds before the Eye.

It is said that this Heaven is ice cold. The meaning of this is that it sees the pure logic and the variations of logic as it is effected by other factors, since it can hold millions of factors relative to a piece of knowledge all at once or SEE them working upon each other. While the Reason Chakra, does not see nuance, but, only that one plus one equals two...the Third Eye can see a conceptual situation wherein one plus one might not equal two. While the Reason Chakra cannot dissect a double entre and will take a word or a phrase at face value; The Third Eye sees all the ramifications of a word or phrase and correctly and instantaneously reacts to it. Some believe that the Third Eye is so rapid in its calculations of events that it actually sees the possibilities and probabilities of things even before they are manifest thus is the basis for the ability known as clairvoyance.

The Seventh Heaven, the plane of the Crown Chakra, and so mistakenly understood by the public at large (the popular concept of the Seventh Heaven) with the winged angels and the clouds, etc., that's probably the Fifth Heaven.

In my Father's house are many mansions.....
John 14:2

Ramakrishna, a realized Being of the current era claimed to have tested the validity of various religions by practicing the tenets of each to see if they were a barrier to his accomplishment. He claimed that all of the religions he tested had a validity peculiar to the practitioner and that practitioner’s covenant with God. So, if it was agreed between him and his God that (this of course is highly exaggerated) he spin around three time a day when the Sun was 30 degrees to the horizon. That was the deal. As long as the practitioner kept his end of the bargain God kept his end of the bargain, whatever that bargain turned out to be.

How valid Ramakrishna’s experiment was is questionable, since he was a bonified Avatar of very high rank and accomplishment. How could he miss??

But, the knowledge of how the other elements work, leads me to believe that once one attains the Seventh Heaven, one then (not returning to the physical planes ever again...against ones will) goes thru eleven initiations, thus consolidating the final ascension and becoming the Master of the Material universe. From this platform, there are thirty-three vertical initiations of which I have no idea what they are. I only know that they exist and that they are the spiritual initiations to demonstrate powers of the Soul itself.

So, therefore the Crown Chakra is to the spiritual world of the Soul what the Root Chakra is to the physical human world whose attainment from the animal kingdom gives the Being the right to open the Seven chakras of the physical plane and the attainment of the Crown Chakra which now gives the Being the right to open the Thirty-three rings of the spiritual plane. This is as far as any material that I have accessed takes me. I surmise there is at least one last plane. And, that is the causal plane. But, nothing that I have found sheds any light on it. I'm sure it exist, though.

It has to.

Anyone attaining enlightenment does not die in the usual way. The Seventh Heaven is attained thru self-realization while in a physical body. As far as I know it can't be done any other way. Most, authorities also say it cannot be done without a guru:

In my Father's house are many mansions:
If it were not so, I would have told you.
I go to prepare a place for you.

And if I go and prepare a place for you,
I will come again, and receive you unto
myself; that where I am, there ye may be
also. John 14:2, 3

To summarize the astral plane is the classical heaven, which is spoken of by most of the mystery schools on earth. It is a very easy existence whilst one lives there. Time does not exist. There are not the usual barriers of condition. One does not require food, abode or money. To the extent of your own personal abilities (which is different for various Beings...i.e. ...IN THE REAL UNIVERSE EVERY ONE IS NOT EQUAL) you can create your astral existence. So, if you want to be wealthy, and you can visualize yourself that way with emotion and will.... you can bring it about. If you want to be a great golfer, you can live on a golf course going 18 holes round and round making holes-in-ones, eagles and birdies.... as you fancy and you can do this for eternity (I'm sure it gets quite boring after a time) or until you are called back to the physical plane.

Those in the higher Heavens can visit the lower heavens. But, those in the lower Heavens cannot move up to higher Heavens unless brought there by someone living there. One is usually, blissfully unaware of any other place than the one one lives in anyway so in general these restrictions have no practical value. I'm given to believe that a lower heaven person who somehow becomes aware of a higher heaven and longs to be there will attract a higher heaven Being who will come to him/her and escort them there for a brief visit.

I once realized in meditation, that the Cinderella story and the Fairy God Mother was probably a construct of just this phenomenon. These are really nice Beings and no one acts against any other person in a willfully malicious way. But, all will work diligently on behalf of any other if their attention is somehow attracted.

Ask and you shall receive is the rule. And, if you somehow miss out on something, it's because...well you just didn't think of it.

One can only attain higher heavens thru development of ones spiritual awakening in the physical plane. It can't be done in the astral plane. I don't know why, I only know that that is just the way it is. It is said that the animal kingdom exists and maintains itself with the single concept of self-preservation. When one finally graduates out of the animal kingdom and becomes a human being one then must learn to function with a new concept in order to reach the next level. That concept is self-sacrifice. You will not attain spiritual development until you (through bitter physical plane existence) learn to leave animal instinct behind and become a servant of the path. Which path, how does one sacrifice self. Well, that is the thing you have to discover for yourself. Isn’t it.

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