Dear readers,
How appropriate that Easter is on April 1st this year! So, to carry on last month’s theme on the importance of light in the spiritual life, let us talk about the Body of Glory.
Initiatic science teaches that the Body of Glory is the body of the resurrection. Those who are familiar with the subtle bodies will recognize that we are composed of the physical body made of matter formed by the mother, the etheric body is nearly physical but of a very fine substance, invisible to the normal eye yet tangible enough to carry sensitivity and vitality to the physical body. Without the etheric body, a person would die. Then, we have the astral body which is the body of desires, feelings and passions, and the mental body which is linked to the intellect.
On the higher level of our being, in our spiritual bodies or our divine nature, we have the Causal body which is linked to the world of higher reason, wisdom, the world of archetypes; the Buddhic body is the body of selfless love, absolute purity and beatitude (Christ and Buddha are the perfect examples of that love and sacrifice). And finally the Atmic body which is the body of ultimate power and creation.
The Body of Glory is a seed dormant within each one of us. It requires the right conditions to develop and fully manifest. Just like vegetation which requires light, warmth to bring about life, our Body of Glory needs to be given the necessary elements for its development.
In the following diagram, you will see how the lower bodies are linked together with the higher bodies. Sometimes the etheric body is represented within the physical but for the sake of our explanation this illustration shows them separately.
You see how the etheric and astral bodies are linked to the Buddhic body. We can best strengthen our etheric body by breathing pure air in the early morning when the prana is most abundant, by nourishing ourselves consciously with the light and develop our astral body by practicing unselfish love, abnegation and dedication on the spiritual path. Then the atom of the Body of Glory will be like the seed in a woman’s womb which through her warmth, protection and feeding will grow and develop into the body of light, the immortal body, the Buddhic body. “That is the Resurrection: the intense life which man gives his Body of Glory by his thinking, feeling and acting, which have been stamped with the seal of Divinity.”
Again, have a wonderful resurrection today and every day through your inner work!
Carmen, for The Aquarian Team
This text was inspired from the pocket book entitled “Christmas and Easter in the Initiatic Tradition” by Omraam Mikhael Aïvanhov, available through Prosveta.ca