Having just returned from a visit to the shrines of St.
Francis and other saints in Italy, I am “inspired” to ask this question: Do
demons exist?
From what I understand, a great questioning took place
during the 20th century among Protestant theologians, ministers and
members regarding the core beliefs of the Christian faith. Without wishing to
explore the history of Protestantism, let us simply say that the
rationally-minded skepticism of the 20th century found expression
among religionists to the point of questioning all of the miracles of the
Bible, both New and Old Testament. The existence of Satan, likewise, was among the
debates. So pervasive was the skepticism among ministers that the
self-described “modern mystic, Frank Laubach, conducted a campaign among ministers
to remind them to even mention God in their sermons!
Catholics were not permitted most of these questions but
even amongst them, in the form of what I believe is called, “scholasticism,”
questions were raised. In the life of the famous stigmatist, Padre Pio from
southern Italy, for example, Vatican hierarchy sought to question, ostracize
and distance themselves from what some felt were medieval and superstitious
beliefs in miracles such as the stigmata, the devil, bi-location, psychic
powers, levitation and so forth. Catholic hierarchy was sensitive, reactive, or
influenced by the thinking and the accusations of Protestants, what to mention
science-inspired rationalism, and therefore were eager to hush up claims of
miracles so that Catholicism could be seen as a rational and appropriate in the
20th century world of politics and “‘isms.”
Paramhansa Yogananda, a world teacher from India, lived in
this same 20th century. In his teachings he stated that the saints
are true custodians of truth, not the bishops or theologians, or worse. The
great saints of east and west down through the ages (including the twentieth
century) testify to the existence of evil as a conscious Force that can sometimes
take on human or individual appearance.
I contend that whether evil is personified as outside
oneself or “merely” a projection of the subconscious mind, the difference is
not as significant as one might imagine, at least not to the person “imagining”
it! I say this early on so that we don’t get into a sparring contest over “how
many angels fit on the end of a needle.”
Human incarnations of evil can perhaps be recognized in the
form of great evil-doers such as Stalin, Hitler or serial killers who inflict
suffering intentionally and repeatedly, even wantonly. Metaphysically or
ethically, at least, are these people not, in effect, human incarnations of the
overarching consciousness of evil? The other side of this coin might be viewed
in the long-standing religious teaching that the greatest of saints and saviors
are considered direct incarnations of God! On a lesser note, we sometimes refer
to special people as “angels in disguise!” On a deep level, humans sometimes
reveal that we do understand that each of us is an incarnation of a greater
spirit than what our physical form, our habits and personality might suggest.
Turning now to mental illness, such as schizophrenia, multiple
personalities, and other forms of extreme mental illness, (adolescence count in
this?), it seems just as plausible to at least consider these illnesses to be
the result of possession by disincarnate entities as it is to puzzle it out
medically, behaviorally or environmentally, doesn’t it? Even if mental illness
can be traced to aberrations in the brain, are these aberrations the cause, or
the result? It’s not as if modern medicine has been all that successful in
finding wonder drugs for mental illness! Maybe something else is going on?
I just read, moments ago, that Pope Francis sent an
encouraging message to a convention of exorcists, thanking them for their
important work and acknowledging that their case loads are growing rapidly in
today’s stressed and extreme world!
How about drunkenness or drug addiction? At least in more
extreme cases, doesn’t it seem as though the person is not himself, to put it
mildly? Unrecognizable, in fact? Yogananda taught (and I don’t imagine only he
did so) that in bars and other places (proverbial “opium dens”), “ghosts” hover
to find bodies to inhabit in order to have a taste of sensory experiences. Yogananda was not alone in warning people from trance channeling or, worse yet, parlor seance "games." I personally know of a case in which a person went too far into using a pendulum to help him become a medium. In time he lost his job, his marriage, his health and his mind -- to whom?
James van Praagh, “ghostbuster” and author of “Ghosts Among
Us,” seems to be a credible witness to the presence of disincarnate entities
who, for various reasons, refuse to leave us and move on to the “other side” in
order to continue their journey. He has found ways to help them detach. His description of such entities, their motives and behavior match, in most respects, that of Yogananda's experience.
We can speculate at length but we might also at least
consider the testimony of Jesus Christ, Buddha, Yogananda, St. Anthony of the
Desert, Padre Pio, many others, and even Martin Luther (who threw an ink pot at
the devil — the spot is still on the wall in his room): Satan DOES exist and
can take a human form. The essence of evil is not a person with cloven hoofs, a
red suit, and a pointy tail, however, but a Conscious Force that has the power
to take any form or no form.
Such witnesses of evil incarnate or disincarnate are people who, themselves,
demonstrated power over material objects; psychic power (seeing at a distance;
knowing the future; bi-location; levitation, even, in some cases, raising the
dead) and more. What do we think of that supposedly scientific attitude of
inquiry that dismisses such testimony on the basis of an a priori assumption that
the evidence must be false simply because they can’t replicate it?
For all the impotence of modern medicine to treat extreme
mental illness with drugs, why not consider what indeed might be an obvious, if
alternative, explanation? If so, and applying appropriate techniques of
exorcism (not just rituals) but the power of an intuitive person, to work with
the “victim,” might not equal or better results be found?
It is my understanding, derived from the teachings of
Paramhansa Yogananda, and from things I have heard my spiritual teacher, Swami
Kriyananda, say (or write) that the reason most of us have no commerce with
demons is that we are not worth their time! We have our own demons of desire,
anger, revenge, lust, jealousy and so on —already within us, so to speak.
Indeed, the teaching as I understand it is this: when our spiritual
consciousness is so advanced that we come close to achieving Self-realization,
the delusive force of “maya” takes note and takes human form in a last ditch
effort to dissuade us from dissolving forever our identification with our body,
our ego, and the world of matter over which maya rules. Thus Jesus was tempted with having dominion over the world, and power over the angels (disincarnate entities, however benign), and power of matter (stones into break).
The reason most humans do not encounter demons of anger, lust,
revenge (etc.) attempting to dance upon our soul’s grave is that we simply don’t have sufficient mental energy
and psychic sight to call such to appear
before us. We are neither terribly bad nor exceedingly good to matter much. We
don’t warrant a visitation! We are not yet royalty, you might say.
Our physical brain is the accepted seat of intelligence. In
raja yoga, we practice techniques of breath and mind control (the two are
inextricably linked!) which effectively raise “energy” to the brain
(re-directing it, as it were, from the body, the tissues, and the senses). By
stilling the natural turbulence of our thoughts and related metabolism, caused by the
constant interaction with the world around us and the mind within us through
our senses and our ego-directed fears and desires, we can “raise our energy”
(and consciousness) from identification with body and ego to a higher and more
subtle level of awareness.
Just as a child, becoming an adult, outgrows the interests
and preoccupations of childhood, so too the adult — striving for maturity —
accepts an ever expanding awareness of the world in which we live. We are
concerned about wars and poverty in other parts of the world; we read about
Ebola and terrorism as threats to our world. The yogi, by raising his energy
within, to the inner world of consciousness (sans tangible objects and personal
emotions), becomes increasingly aware of the subtle realities of consciousness
and the forms taken by consciousness. This can include not just a subtle
awareness of divine realities but also lesser forms, including such beings that
are traditionally given names as angels, devas, or demons.
As the soul gradually expunges from its aura behaviors that
are sense and ego affirming, subtle forces and beings and states of
consciousness become increasingly apparent and real to us. Lest you dismiss
such a description as being hallucinatory or self-deluding, I can say with
assurance that to achieve such a level is to have the power to accomplish
material goals far more effectively than the average person. Psychic power and
sight are not debilitating but empowering. The mind rules matter. Intelligence
and genius have more power not less.
If I have forever banished from my consciousness
inclinations to be competitive, angry, or sensual, I begin to experience states of consciousness as preexisting their manifestation in one form or another. Lust
is a universal state of consciousness that beings, including human, experience
from time to time. If I have worked to overcome this particular tendency, I may
find that in the final stages of my looming victory, lust incarnates in either
human or a subtle form as part of my last temptations. The magnetism of my
efforts (my karma) might attract to me some final opportunities to either re-affirm it or expunge it forever. The form of
temptation might come as a person, or, if by this time, I live almost
exclusively in the subtle atmosphere of consciousness, it may take the form of
an apparition of one sort or another. Besides, you don’t have to be a saint to
become aware of the fact that sexual desire is “all in the mind” anyway! A cow
in its pasture happening upon the centerfold page of Playboy Magazine is going
to walk right by it towards the greener pasture beyond it.
If good and evil exist in human form, then, according to
metaphysical precepts, they preexist in subtler forms. All that exists already
exists in latent form or else it could not come into form.
Fortunately for us, we need not fear the appearance of the
Great Deceiver any time soon. But, sufficient unto today are the demons of temptation and habit within us. When the time comes when we are soon to
merge into pure goodness, we will certainly be tested then, too. At such
time, we must not imagine our reason or will is sufficient to outwit the powers of darkness. We must call upon God and guru with faith, even if, temporarily, our inner sight goes dark. It is only a test. It might be the final test!
Thus while St. Anthony of
the desert (in Egypt) was being attacked by demonic forces, he called upon God
and Christ to save him. Though they failed to appear at his call, the evil One
was nonetheless vanquished by his faith. Anthony, when Jesus finally appeared to
him, asked Jesus “Where were you when I needed you?” Jesus replied, “Anthony, I
was always with you!”
Faith, you see, is the ultimate test. Before our moment
of final victory, it is our faith that must, at last, be tested. All else is
taken from us, even the consolation of God’s presence that has otherwise grown
steadily in our soul’s evolution. This final test is the true "dark night of the soul." We must give up everything, even what might seem our very existence and consciousness, even (seemingly) what we have come to rely upon as God's protection in that final test. Our choice to enter into God's bliss must be an act of complete self-offering: given freely and dynamically. Jacob's being tested by God to sacrifice his own son is a metaphor for this final act of faith.
Like St. Anthony, we will discover that we have never been separate from God, for God is all
there is. “God alone,” as Sister Gyanamata (advanced disciple of Yogananda) put
it.
So, yes, demons do exist; angels do exist; saints exist; God
exists! We have nothing to fear but let us be, as Jesus counseled, “Wise as
serpents but harmless as doves.”
Blessings of Light,
Swami Hrimananda
