Part 1. Structure of the Universe

The soul is immortal; the body is born and dies. Yet the word “spirit” has no single meaning – it shifts across contexts and traditions.

This is true of many religious terms: words in spiritual texts often carry multiple meanings. Sometimes the same word appears in different sources but signifies different ideas. At other times, different words point to the very same meaning. How can we untangle this web of overlapping senses?

To clarify these distinctions, we need a clear mental image. For this purpose, we will use a model – a simple tool that acts like scissors. Just as scissors separate fabric, this model will help us separate one meaning from another in spiritual literature.

In the model that follows, we will arrange meanings as if on shelves:

● Different meanings will go on different shelves.

● Words with the same meaning will be placed on the same shelf.

This method allows us to see both the diversity and the hidden unity of spiritual language.

In this book, the concept of the “Universe” will encompass and systematically delineate both the material and mental domains of what we might term “absolutely everything”.

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Unified Religious Structure

Physical world is the world we live in. The world of phenomena. Physical dimension. The corporeal dimension. The material universe. Reality. Visible reality. In Buddhism: Kamaloka (Desire Realm).

Astral world is the world we enter in a dream. Astral dimension. Soul dimension. In Buddhism: Rupaloka (Form Realm). The astral world is divided into the lower and the upper. The lower astral overlaps the world of phenomena. The upper astral has no direct projection with the world of phenomena. The astral controls reality by the mechanism of image projection. A phenomenon or object, before manifesting in our physical world, first appears in the astral as an image. A person who has a spiritual level that allows them to freely be reborn in the next life in the upper astral or higher is called a "saint".

Causal world is the world that controls the astral world and the world of phenomena. The causal dimension. The spiritual dimension. In Buddhism: Arupaloka (Formless Realm). The causal world is divided into the upper, middle and lower. The lower causal overlaps the lower astral and the world of phenomena. The middle causal overlaps the upper astral. The upper causal does not have a direct projection with the astral. The causal controls the astral through the mechanism of idea projection. That is, an astral image, before manifesting in the astral, first appears in the causal as an idea.

_{The causal world is the world of causes. In the three-dimensional diagrams of the structure of the Universe used in this (first) part, the vertical axis can be interpreted as the "axis of merit", and the axis extending downwards, toward nirvana, can be interpreted as the "axis of tranquility".}

Typical Divisions of Nirvana

World of Nirvana is the world of the highest Absolute. "Nirvana" is translated as "absence of agitation". It is a state of liberation, absolute peace. In the sutras, nirvana is designated as the destruction of worldly desires. Nirvana is opposed to samsara, that is, reality, the astral, and the causal are samsara, and nirvana is not samsara. A distinction is made between minor nirvana, nirvana with remainder, parinirvana, bodhinirvana, and mahanirvana.

Nirvana. Minor nirvana. Simply nirvana. Solitary nirvana. A person who has attained lesser nirvana arrives at this attainment of nirvana (the first attainment of liberation) alone. Such a person is called an arhat or a singularly awakened one. Lesser nirvana can be roughly divided into causal nirvana, astral nirvana, and nirvana of the phenomenal world, depending on the spiritual level of the "liberated one" and, accordingly, the experience of which world in the horizontal projection he stops (casts aside).

Nirvana with a remainder. By "residue" in this term is meant the "life" that the arhat has not yet cast aside.

Parinirvana is the highest level of nirvana, "nirvana without remainder," the completely independent existence of the True Ego. "Pari" is translated as "finally." More precisely, the prefix "pari" is applied only to the final departure of the Conqueror of Truth into nirvana. For all cases of lower-level departure, the word "anupādhiśeṣa-nirvāṇa" (anupadhisesha) is used, which literally translates as "nirvana without remainder." However, since there is no corresponding term in English, for simplicity's sake, we will call all three cases the same: "pari." Parinirvana is not associated with any of the samsara realms; therefore, it is impossible to simultaneously be in a state of parinirvana and be alive. If an arhat discards life immediately after achieving nirvana, they will enter parinirvana. "Parinirvana" and "nirvana with remainder" are antonyms.

Bodhinirvana. An arhat, after achieving nirvana, does not stop there, but expands his achievement, leading other individuals to the achievement of nirvana, and thus overcoming the bonds of other worlds, other delusions, which he did not have before. Such a person is called a "bodhisattva". "Bodhi" is translated as "awakening, enlightenment", and "satva" is translated as "being" – a being striving for awakening. The bodhisattva goes through a shuttling motion: nirvana – samsara – nirvana again – samsara again – nirvana – samsara – and so on. Repeating the path of liberation doubles the individual's experience. Then triples it. Then quadruples it. And so on. Thus, the individual gains an increasingly broader experience of liberation than simply the individual's nirvana. This state of expanding nirvana experience is called bodhinirvana. In the world of bodhinirvana, relative to the world of nirvana, one can distinguish an upper level: bodhiparinirvana, to which the bodhisattva can pass after death; and a lower one. Lower bodhinirvana can also be conditionally divided into three levels depending on which world's experience is destroyed: causal bodhinirvana, astral bodhinirvana, and bodhinirvana of the phenomenal world.

Mahanirvana. When a bodhisattva achieves liberation from all delusions, whether in the phenomenal world, the astral plane, or the causal plane, they find themselves in a state where they have nothing more to achieve; they have transcended all possible experience. This state is called "buddha", and it corresponds to mahanirvana. "Maha" translates as "great". If a person has already attained buddhahood in a past life, then in the next life, their individual liberation will simultaneously become a great liberation. Since mahanirvana corresponds to liberation from all worlds, it is divided into only two levels: mahanirvana and mahaparinirvana.

Mahaparinirvana is decoded as stands for the great, final destruction of worldly desires. Buddha Shakya muni entered mahaparinirvana after his death. The sources often discuss the question "Can a Buddha's personality return from mahaparinirvana as the same person?" – Yes. Since a Buddha's personality is free, it is free to choose whether to return from mahaparinirvana or never again.

Levels of Consciousness

A person consists of several bodies: physical, astral, causal, and the True Ego (True Self).

Physical body is a normal human body. The physical body has consciousness.

Astral body can be described as something like a reflection of the body in a mirror. That is, it is not a body, but merely a reflection. That is, it is both present and not present. To see the astral body, one must have astral vision. The physical body is designed in such a way that when a person uses the physical eyes, they suppress their astral vision due to a specific mechanism of connection between the astral body and the physical body. However, the ability to see with astral vision is not unattainable. This ability is developed through meditation. The astral body has its own consciousness. This consciousness of the astral body is correlated with what science calls the subconscious (the unconscious). The astral body, separated from the physical body, is also called the precognitive body. There are beings who have only an astral body, but no physical body. Such beings are simply called precognitive. When a person is said to be possessed by a demon, this may mean that a lower astral being (precognition), which lacks its own physical body, has imprinted itself on the person's astral body or taken (replaced) the place of their astral body.

Causal body may appear externally as a sphere of plasma, similar to ball lightning, or, to be more precise, simply a ball of light, simply light as a ball. The causal body also has its own consciousness. This causal consciousness is comparable to what science calls the super-subconscious (the deep unconscious, the preconscious). You can discern causal consciousness like this: Imagine a time when you forgot something so completely, for example, the name of an old acquaintance, that you could not remember it at all. You try to remember. You make a mental effort. And suddenly, a distant spark flashes in your mind. "I know!" You have not yet remembered what exactly it is, but you already know it's in your memory, and you know that this information will soon emerge from the depths of memory. So, this spark is causal consciousness. What psychology calls the "collective unconscious" is the entire lower causal world.

True Ego. In the world of nirvana (in all worlds of nirvana), body and consciousness are one. The body-consciousness in the world of nirvana is called the True Ego.

The causal body, together with the True Ego, is also called the human spirit. The astral body, together with the spirit, is also called the human soul. The essence of a person is their soul. The essence of the soul is its spirit. And the essence of the spirit is the True Ego. The physical body is controlled by the soul. The soul is controlled by the spirit. And the spirit is controlled by the True Ego. The human "I" and the True Ego are essentially one and the same.

Besides the aforementioned case of the causal body, the word spirit is often used to refer to any vital, mental, or mystical energy. The word "spirit" is also sometimes used to refer to the mystical ascending energy: kundalini (Holy Spirit).