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Chapter Six

Heaven

The term "Heaven" was introduced in Chapter Three as the source of a creation and this chapter will add to that definition several more considerations including the idea that it is also the state of existence. Heaven, or the state of Heaven, has been commonly defined as a perfected world, but this is not a sufficient definition since it also becomes the source of creation of yet another higher world and hence cannot be perfect. Existence in a Heaven requires vimarsha or the seeking of more and more in your immediate experiencing of life. Heaven has some characteristics opposite to many of the common descriptions of Hell, such as eternal torment, un-ending suffering, and eternal bondage. The common definitions of Heaven as a future place of eternal rest or peace, however, lack vimarsha and become something like eternal sitting, which is not very appealing even if the sitting is done in a beautiful hall.

Heaven, as used in the ancient world, was not a place, a state of mind, or even something that could be directly described since it cannot ever be static. Jesus, in the Bible, gives excellent allegorical definitions of Heaven such that it is like ten virgins, a mustard seed, an inheritance that must be used, a pearl of great price, etc. When the ancient teachings are understood, then they provide the key to understanding these models as will be demonstrated. The following text will attempt to describe a few of the attributes of Heaven. As you read, do not attempt to form a complete or understandable picture of Heaven for it can only be understood during its creation.

To summarize Chapter Three, Heaven must come forth from a world that was created using the power of the Sun and Moon of a higher Heaven. The created world can however, in turn, create another Heaven since that world must also contain the elements of creation, the Sun and Moon. This concept is important in understanding the following text and for changing your own world into a Heaven.

You have probably experienced Heaven to some degree and you might have even stated that you were in Heaven. As for instance, when you have been caught up in the dance of life and lost your ego, judgments, and self-importance, you found a complete oneness with your inner mentally created view of what the outer world should be and what you perceived it to be. Your outer world became a perfect reflection of your own mind or creative center; or the inner Heaven became the source of the created perfect outer world. You may have done superhuman things or at least heard of others who have done so in this Heaven.

The above biblical phrase (in the Book) "Heaven is within you" is used for an introduction to this chapter because when it is interpreted correctly it shows the universality of the early concepts of reality. The original Greek word used for "within" (en) is not the specific Greek word meaning "inside" (or in the future,) but rather has the sense of an intermediate position as between a source or creation and its full or final manifestation. This definition is strange to a modern Westerner and meaningless without more of the ancient concepts of reality. With this interpretation, however, the above statement about Heaven is in agreement with other ancient writings and can be understood to mean that you can be an integral part of Heaven in the present moment. This then leads directly to the opening question of the Paratrimshika which asks "How can you find this Heaven?"

Consider first a sequence of Heavens. The ultimate Creator of all is called the "One" in The Emerald Table and this "One" must reside in a creative Heaven that is called the Telestial Heaven. Out of the Telestial Heaven came the Sun and the Moon which reside in the Celestial Heaven and together are a manifesting of the "One". The "One" in the Celestial Heaven, or the Sun and Moon in turn created the Earth which in its perfected form is called the Terrestrial Heaven or Heaven on Earth. This perfected Earth must involve you as a co-creator as will be discussed and requires a reflection of your inner perfection. This inner reflection is formed in part by your past experiences as well as your genetic inheritances or samskaras. When your dedication and yearning can be energized with the proper energy and samskaras, then Earth can become the kingdom of Heaven, Anuttara or state of perfection, moksha or freedom, enlightenment, etc.

Heaven is never the ultimate fulfillment, rather it is something always ahead of you. What is ahead of you is created with the mind or the power of the Masculine or Sun as will be discussed in Part B. To create Heaven, the conditioned "you" must become a co-creator with the inner Sun and Moon. You are however, a creation or reflection of the Celestial Sun and Moon Dyad and cannot be separated from it as discussed in Chapter Three, so therefore you also contain the Sun and Moon within yourself and hence are not only a co-creator, but also the creator. This bit of logic sounds strange, but is paramount to finding your personal Heaven. This identity with the higher realms will be dealt with Part B of the book, but for the moment a reflection of the basic teachings of some of the religions can make this point somewhat clearer. You have as basic building blocks within yourself, Yin and Yang, Shiva and Shakti, subtle and gross, Spirit and flesh, or Sun and Moon. Religions express these inner building blocks identically with those of the Celestial Heaven. If there is God in Heaven, the same God is within you. What is above, must also be below. What is without, must also be within.

This realization of the creation of Heavens immediately changes the approach to changing your life and world since the change must come from a Heaven above or beyond the Heaven you are attempting to create or enjoy. In other words, if you are not enjoying your world and want to change it, you must first find the Heaven or power that created it. This Heaven or power is beyond your present identification with the conditioned self who is in the midst of the world judging, desiring, and fearing. Most old religious writings attempt to teach this view by arguing that the physical and manifest world was first a mental creation in the mind of the "One" or Creator. The Bible, for example, has two creations in the book of Genesis; the spiritual creation (mantra) which existed before anything was made manifest and then the physical creation (mudra) which became the manifest.

If you are not in the kingdom of Heaven, where are you then? In describing the normal world, you do not use the word "perfect" to describe it. There is a large difference between your expectations and desires for the outer world and what you observe. This can be expressed as a large difference between your inner mantra and your projected mudra. This difference can be explained with the model of a child's world. If a child is lost in play, then there is complete agreement between the inner world of the child and the outer world. The game has become the perfect reflection of the inner mind or mantra. When the child however, enters into the world controlled by adults, there is suffering because of the vast gulf which separates the outer world from that created within. Further, social institutions desire to keep the gulf in place to maintain conformance.

The conditioned world of the adults and society can be called the "World of Law" or that of Mammon, while the higher and opposing world can be called the "kingdom of Heaven". The two realities or worlds can be described with four basic elements such as:

Heaven:
1) you must maintain the dedicated game and role you have chosen,
2) you cannot worry or attempt to control any thoughts, actions, or feelings, and
3) there must be a continual crescendo of feelings or vimarsha in your world as you surrender to the role, and
4) there must be an intense faith in the game and its outcome.

World of Law:
1) the role is fixed as being "yourself,"
2) you must be proper and do that which is expected by controlling what you say and do,
3) you do not allow yourself to become overpowered or to increase the intensity of life or vimarsha, and
4) you maintain a tight control on your thoughts and actions through continual judgements.

It is true that you are either in Heaven or in the World of Law. You cannot be partially in the kingdom of Heaven. There are, however, some people who may be said to be preparing to enter Heaven or are finding moments during which they are caught up in it. It is the study of these people that became the basis for Yoga and more recently became the basis of study for the American psychologist, Abraham Maslow. Maslow studied highly evolved or exceptionally successful people and is credited with being the founder of the Humanistic psychology movement. In studying the exceptional people of society (as did the ancient sages), rather than those of lesser social attainment, Maslow found that the exceptional or "self-actualized" people had characteristics that can be related to the special traits associated with religious or spiritual mastery. Maslow suggested six steps required to reach this higher state of attainment. These compare quite closely with the Eastern concepts of the steps necessary for evolution as discussed in the next chapter. Many of the modern Humanistic movement members have however, concentrated on the lower steps in Maslow's "hierarchy of needs" which are the beginning social conditionings of people, rather than on the higher steps of evolution. This exclusion is obvious since Maslow pointed out that less than 1% of a populace reaches the higher realm. This is an interesting number when compared to the statement in The Gospel of Thomas that only one in a thousand reach the state of Heaven. Does this mean that only one in ten of Maslow's self-actualized people reach the kingdom of Heaven or has the world evolved since Thomas' day?

One characteristic that impressed Maslow was that the "self-actualized" have a humility and openness rather than having a rigid self-centered view of their world. Along with this humility is a deeper insight into the nature of the Self and outer world with an ability to be more objective and observant of life. They are able to "see" and "hear" truth whereas the majority of people "hear" and "see" only that which they desire or are conditioned to hear and see. The self-actualized have broad interests and are capable of non-judgmental and correct interactions with their world. One strong characteristic that all of the self-actualizing individuals have is an intense dedication or drive toward some major goal in life. Because their goal becomes central to their life, everything becomes pleasurable whether others perceive it as work or play. They are highly creative with their creativity "flowing through" similar to that found in children. They are uninhibited and can play almost any role demanded of them. Lastly, they have an abundance of courage and faith in their own future and capabilities. These characteristics can be perceived to be fundamental for being in the kingdom of Heaven as described in the "Sermon on the Mount" by Jesus.

Another often quoted characteristic of Heaven is having a particular state of love. This state of love is not "caring for," "controlling," "possessing," or in "pleasing" another person. Instead, the higher state of love can be expressed with the Sanskrit word samaj. There is no corresponding English word for samaj, though you have probably experienced it at some time in your life. Samaj is described as having three powerful forces associated with it:

1. a yearning to merge with another,

2. the ability to completely surrender to another, and

3. the opposing conflicts to the above two.

The first term of yearning is not a passive term but requires a continuous driving force for more union or for coming ever closer; it is not becoming accepting, comfortable, or accustomed to each other or fully understanding each other. In samaj as in Heaven there must forever be the reaching and yearning for more and more. Surprisingly, that state can be found and is a characteristic of Heaven. The first term is not the same as wanting to possess or please each other.

The second term of surrendering is foreign to most modern people as they attempt to control their own lives and prevent others from influencing them. This term means surrendering to the extent that your mind and body become overwhelmed or controlled by the other. You are thoroughly conditioned not to allow yourself to be influenced by anyone else, particularly your enemies or those you don't like. Samaj however, requires you to reach into and join another person's beliefs, feelings, and thoughts as if they were your own. As an example, a wise person can often be characterized by his willingness to listen to any issue with an open mind whereas you may have trouble listening to any statement in support of your opposite political party or religion. One further example of surrender is given by young children who are able to open to and learn opposing points of view and agree with both.

Before moving on to the third term, the interaction of the first two terms needs to be clarified. An excellent example of samaj is sometimes perceived in "first love" as two teenagers fall in love. They are said to exist in their own world and to hold each other in the palms of their hands. They desire nothing more than to merge with the other in complete union in body, mind, and soul and at the same time to allow the other to overpower them as they surrender to what ever the demand of the other might be. Whatever one says to the other is wonderful, true, and has a tremendous interest and power over the other. Parents can be very jealous of the power another person has over their child and to most people in the modern world, this love is foolish, irresponsible, and degrading.

At this stage of love the third term of conflict can start to be understood. It is perhaps the judgment of the lovers by others that begins the process of conflict between the two. The people surrounding this couple warn them about being overcome, how they cannot trust each other, why the love cannot last, and about the weaknesses of one or both of the lovers. Because of these comments and expressed doubts, the couple will typically try harder to prove their love and the lovers starts to constrain or increase their actions, thoughts, or statements, so as not to endanger the relationship. This trying, constraining, and proving changes the yearning and surrendering into pleasing the other and others and controlling the Self to prevent any reduction in the relationship. However, they are now relying upon their learned and programmed concepts of what "should be" rather than "what is". Rather than "losing" themselves in their love, they now attempt to control their actions such that their love is not threatened. They can neither have an open, deep and ever increasing yearning nor can they surrender and become completely overcome by the other because of the fear of losing what they once started to experience. All of the attempts to control become conflicts that prevent love. The above opening quotes from the book of Luke in the Bible can be seen to directly relate. When the lovers trusted the "kingdom of Love" that lay within themselves they found more and more riches, but when they lost their faith and attempted to preserve and keep what they had, they lost it. A true union between two lovers can only take place with deep yearning and sacrifice of the self to the other. The higher plane relationships must be first experienced and then the relationship itself must be trusted which requires an unsubstantiated and unrelenting faith. Without this faith in their own potential future, the lovers are doomed to reducing their love. Their love can quickly drop to the possessive, jealous, and controlling relationship so fami lia r to almost everyone as they work at and cling desperately to what they were taught that they should have. Another important point about conflict is the element of giving you free Will. Without conflict, it would be impossible to escape samaj. This can be related to seeking Heaven, without opposition or conflicts, you would have no free agency or choice and hence, you would be powerless and remain only a kept "pet".

Love, like the dance of life and ecstasy (that will be discussed in Chapter Twenty), must continually be increasing and have vimarsha. The excitement, enjoyment, or ecstasy of a relationship with someone else is dependent upon the rate of exploring or sharing new experiences with the other. The social relationships exist because of fixed and generally well defined boundaries around each person. Social decency for instance, requires that you not stare or even react to a facial blemish on a casual acquaintance. Personal questions or even observations are taboo and interactions must be kept at an impersonal level. This boundary however, gradually lessens or opens with increased contact as you both gradually expose yourself more to the other. It is this increase in exposure that becomes pleasant or intriguing. In most social relationships, however, a stable boundary or separation develops which is "comfortable" to everyone. There is an unwritten list of taboo subjects that are avoided and limitations on behavior are recognized. For instance, any deviation in your opening remarks or your normal facial expressions on greeting these people causes an immediate negative or questioning response. In an exciting relationship, on the other hand, participants find that with each encounter, the boundaries open more and more as they both learn more of the other and share more experiences. This opening can involve much pain as well as relief as deeper feelings and thoughts are shared. This opening of boundaries is enhanced with the common pursuit of some goal and in sharing the problems and successes of the past toward that goal. If the relationship does not include some mutual evolution, love or samaj becomes less as the shared boundaries become fixed, and the conflicts become hardened.

The parables of Jesus about the kingdom of Heaven are unique in religious writings. However, they are seldom elaborated upon because of the misleading way they are generally interpreted. The actual power in the parables about the kingdom of Heaven is that they express a universal experience that rises above the normal World of Law and may be unassociated with any religious belief or practice. As an example and as an introduction to Tantrik philosophy, consider the Sermon on the Mount as described in the book of Matthew in the Bible (see Table 5, Part E). This sermon is an ancient "technical" commentary in that the meaning of terms is developed step-by-step (krama) and each verse must be taken in sequence. The necessary state of mind is given in the opening "Beatitudes" by the usage of Greek terms which specify humbleness and openness and the ability to allow the outer world to overpower you similar to Maslow's observations. The teaching of the Sermon follows with a definition of the power within yourself as "the Father in Heaven" which must be compared to the in-dwelling masculine force (or Sun) popularly called Shiva in the earlier Tantrik writings (Shiva is also considered to reside in the Celestial Heaven as well as within your body.) It is this acceptance of an inner Masculine force that makes the rest of the Sermon understandable. Much of the following text points to the intense effort that it takes to stay in this Kingdom which can be compared to the difficulty children have in playing an imaginary game. The most challenging aspect of remaining in this state is that you must follow stricter laws than any religion can require.

The Sermon can be compared with the characteristics of the self-actualizers studied by Maslow such as humility, faith, openness, and trust. Jesus elaborated upon trusting the game of life with his statements of taking no thought for tomorrow, or for what you will say, do, or even wear which are, of course, contrary to religious requirements of constantly trying to be good.

In addition to the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus provided many different allegorical models to define the elusive concept of Heaven. The opening quotation from Luke above gives Jesus' concluding remarks on the parable of the talents. This parable depicts various people being given money (talents) and how the one who invested, used, and increased the money is praised while the others who carefully hid and secured their money had to give up what remained. The teaching of the parable of the talents is also reflected in the above story of the teenage lovers who in attempting to preserve their love, lost it. Another parable of Jesus uses the model of the seed that contains all of the future manifestation of a life (as does Tantra in the game of life or lila). This can be seen in reviewing portions of your life when you dedicated your self to some attainment and then found the unfolding of your world to the perfection of your dedication. It is as if there was a master plan or seed contained within your first dedication. A third parable uses the idea of "leavening" as do many major religions. Leavening was associated with a spirit that changed the nature of ground grain or flour, and was symbolic of the transformation of an individual infused with a higher spirit of life. The last two models can therefore be used to imply that the kingdom of Heaven is contained within yourself (like a seed) or that you must be infused with a Spirit which will permeate and flow throughout your entire being (like leavening) to thoroughly change your life. Jesus also likened leavening to activating the whole loaf or the entire game (in your parlance) which fits the requirement that a game must continually grow or contain vimarsha. Further, if you do not fully contribute to a game, to continue the analogy, you cannot remain a player as Jesus exemplified with the story of the ten virgins and their lamps.

The state of being in Heaven is being compared directly to the trust and dedication required to play a child's imaginary game as described in the last chapter. With trust the child dives into a role completely, becoming a character, gaining fully the powers associated with that character. Children will report how the power of a role can overpower them and lead them into a previously unknown experience. If they do not respond to this power, they remain outside the game, locked in the effort of controlling or judging themselves such as a child who is afraid to get his clothes dirty.

Another approach to the attainment of Heaven can be described using the Indian model of the four objects or stages of life. The four objects or stages of life with their four major goals are: dharma, or the obedience to the world of law; kama, or the seeking of joy; artha, or the reaching for wealth and power; and moksha, perfection or liberation. Each of these stages has an associated sexual nature that will be discussed in detail later. Each stage or object also has a Power or creative source attributed to it as well. A child begins under the power of the world of law or the manifested and terrestrial Heaven. Although the next major objective involves the desire for joy with associated power of the Moon, the child is taught to distrust joy and consequently, the power of the Moon. Later, when success is the major goal, involving the power of the Sun, the child is taught to measure success only in terms of dollars, which likewise diminishes the power of the Sun. Western institutions do not in general support the ancient four stages of life since they do not advocate the latter three objects of life and instead argue for devotion to duty and finding security and safety. The average life is a Triune of law, joy, and success whereas the higher life becomes a Triune of joy, success, and perfection. The four stages and the associated sexual force with its source is listed below.

Stage:
Duty	Joy	Success	Perfection
(Dharma)	(Kama)	(Artha)	(Moksha)
Sex:
Neuter	Feminine	Masculine	Androgynous
Power:
Terrestrial Heaven	"Moon"	"Sun"	Kingdom of Heaven

Trusting in the higher power of a game or of Heaven conflicts with our modern Western culture in two major ways which prevent most people from "playing" or stepping into the kingdom of Heaven. The first problem is that the religious organizations require that game playing be postponed to a life after death and also that you must put your efforts and judgments into being good. This process leads, of course, into further conditioned control. The second problem is the belief in the powerlessness or non-existence of a higher power ruling a game. You may have turned against the concept of a benevolent God sitting on a throne watching your every action. But in doing so, you have thrown out any acceptance of a higher power or the Divine over your life. This denial forces you to the belief that you must control and judge your own life according to your conditioned responses.

One further comment about the "power" of the Divine: The Divine must have infinite and unlimited power if you are to fully play the game. The power of the game you are currently playing must become greater than any conditioned power or concepts. For instance, many people say that they believe in God, but then limit the powers of that God by not accepting anything in their life that does not meet their requirements of what God can and cannot do! In a game, you expect to do the unexpected and the miraculous, but that can only come with unlimited faith in the game and yourself. This can be compared with a child who is told to, "Go and play, but don't get dirty or forget to be good". A strong warning is required here: the kingdom in Heaven is in no way similar to "doing what you want to do". Rather, it involves losing your desires as you allow a dedication to become manifest through the process of mantra. All of the world's major religions, as well as the great contributors to society, state that the kingdom of Heaven (or its equivalent) is attained only with a strong drive toward some evolutionary goal.

One important aspect of Heaven is the realization of supernormal powers often associated with it. Maslow was very impressed with the abilities of the exceptional people in his study and how they exhibited insights and actions that were certainly beyond the normal. As noted earlier, children often demonstrate actions, insights, and awareness beyond their usual ability when completely absorbed in a game as do partners in early love. The old system of Tantra stated that super powers come when there is a need for them; so a first requirement is that you find yourself in a place where super powers are required of you. If you find yourself playing (with all of your effort) the role of an advisor, you will find that your advice is beyond what you could have given outside of the game. If you find that you are suddenly required to perform some feet of strength or courage, you may later be amazed at the power that comes forth. For instance, consider a commonly reported type of incident in which a small women lifts a car to release a child pinned under it. Initially with the shock of seeing the child trapped, the woman experiences a distortion of time, awareness, and capability of response. With trauma induced clarity, she sees the situation in complete detail. Then within the same time frame, she envisions herself freeing the child. The woman then simultaneously steps into that perceived role lifting the car. This is an example of the instantaneous transport into the kingdom of Heaven which should be convincing to everyone of the supernormal powers that can be found.

Therefore, under sufficient duress and with sufficient faith, a new Self is created instantly which is able to deal with the pressures and demands of the moment, whether it be increased patience, strength, endurance, knowledge, or love. An important aspect of this new state is that the conditioned judgmental aspect of the self is by-passed and you view the world dispassionately without judgment, fear, or need to control. Normally however, this change is not permanent and can only exist as long as the extreme demand exists. Once the demand ceases, you return back to your conditioned lower world and self. The practices of Tantra as will be described allow this normally hidden kingdom of Heaven be attained, sustained, and utilized under intentional control for increased evolution, joy, and ecstasy.

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