Hare krsna !!!!hari Bol pranam to all devotees! I have a small doubt ,do ghost really exist? I seem to kind of like understand the whole concept of spirits and stuff but is this all real or just fake stories and myths to scr and distract ppl? Pls clear my doubts I'll be extremely grateful.harekrsna
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To get rid of ghost means that he will go elsewhere. We therefore recommend you to help him to leave to higher lokas.
It is necessary to find out who he is, why he remained here and lead him away. There're various methods like prayers, masses, sacrifices or other rituals done on his behalf. One of the simplest is the recitation of Bhagavadgita (only Sanskrit, at least one chapter, recommended are mainly 3., 7. and 8.). Donate the result in your mind to him. Thus he will get a pious credit (Sanskrit: punya) needed to leave. (It's similar situation like when someone remains on a trip without money and relatives must send him some so he could continue.) It's dealt with in Gita Mahatmya from Padma Purana, ch. 1.
His descendants should do it. If they (or someone else) won't do it the ghost will continue to draw attention to himself and according to Garuda Purana 2.20.44 they themselves will also become ghosts. This may last even many centuries in case no descendant knows what to do, refuses to do it or the family dies out.
Hare Krsna Prabhu.
A person who underwent violent death, lived wrongly (and thus created a negative karma) or is attached to its family, living place etc. becomes ghost so after leaving the physical body he can't immediately go to higher dimensions (Sanskrit: loka) to prepare for another incarnation on earth.
During the day they usually stay in their above-earth dimension (antariksha, also called bhutaloka) and during the night they descend to earth. According to Garuda Purana 2.49.11 they can enter (so-called possession) non-living objects, insects, birds, animals, people and devas. It means that they attach themselves to the subtle body of an incarnated being and live off his energy (prana) as parasites. They also feed on impure substances (all kinds of garbage). They suffer because without physical body they can't satisfy their desires like hunger, thirst or sex desire. They wait until their karma-set time expires and they will be able to incarnate again.
Why do ghosts appear to us?
Most people will not see them in their whole life. It depends on the sensitivity of a given person, the ability to perceive subtle reality. Sometimes they appear to relatives to whom they come to say good-bye shortly after their death or they want to tell them something, mostly in a dream.
Many ghosts who haunt various places to which they're emotionally attached don't even know they're dead. If they appear to someone they mostly want to draw attention to themselves and thus increase their chance that someone will help them from their situation. They can't get out of it any time soon on their own because to remain stuck in the form of ghost is a form of negative karma which often lasts pretty long time. In modern time when ceremonies for the dead are becoming less current, are replaced by spiritually inefficient secular ones or completely neglected, such ghosts are increasing in number. If ghosts appear to relatives repeatedly and look insistent, they look for help to leave this dimension.
Should we be afraid of ghosts?
Ordinary ghosts aren't directly life-threatening but to keep them in one's body or to live in their presence, esp. for a prolonged time, has a harmful effect on us. They should leave for higher lokas. But mostly they need help to do that.
How to ascertain ghost's presence?
Ghost can be present internally, attached to our subtle body, or externally, staying in our life space (house, apartment).
Symptoms of the attached ghost:
- permanent fatigue and lack of energy (ghost parasites on prana, bodily energy)
- inner tension one can't control by mind
- lack of concentration
- lack of self-esteem, insecurity
- disinterest in meaningful activities, apathy, boredom, procrastination, killing time
- negative and suppressed emotions - depression, phobia, anger, eating disorder, neurosis, self-harm, suicide
- problems with relationships with people (often substituted by above-standard relationship with animals), subjection to manipulation
- sexual problems (hypersexuality, autosexuality)
- sleep disorders and nightmares
- chronic pain in head, neck, back, shoulders, hands, legs, joints, belly, allergies, asthma, eczemas
- repeated problems, 'something' prevents their solution
- increase of aggression
- one can't stand sounds like finger snapping (repels ghosts)
- fear of spirituality (uneasy and unpleasant feeling in churches and other sacred places, in proximity of holy persons and objects, while listening to sacred music, prayers, mantras).
Presence of ghost in a dwelling usually reveal:
- mantic (divinatory) methods
- unpleasant feeling (negative vibrations), feeling of someone's presence, domestic animals show fear, watch objects unseen by people, refuse to enter certain places
- unusual, mainly unpleasant dreams experienced by more present persons
- draft, cold places and an increase of cold without obvious cause
- sounds like breathing, voices, steps, moving of heavy objects, etc. from empty, locked rooms
- unusual scents without obvious cause
- blood spots which can't be removed
- sudden reactions of compass without obvious cause (without proximity of metal)
- movements and losing of objects
- kinetic phenomena (poltergeist) like movement and levitation of objects, starting and stopping of running water, light and other electric devices can be a result of psychic energy of incarnated person, not necessarily of ghost
- photos
- seeing ghost by more people, esp. children, and domestic animals (exclusion of subjective hallucination), ghost's nature can be estimated by its color - white is positive, the more dark, the more negative
- sleep paralysis
Sleep paralysis is a well-known phenomena. From the point of view of teachings like yoga and ayurveda it's an attack of an aggressive ghost who tries to enter the body of a sleeping person while paralysing the pranas (life airs) which are part of the subtle body (Chandogya Upanisad 8.12.2-3). The sleeping person starts to suffocate and can move only his eyes. Simply said, the body didn't 'wake up' due to the ghost. These attacks usually last several seconds. The goal of the ghost is to use physical body for a parasitic satisfaction of his desires. The victim usually feels a great weight on his chest as if someone would sit or lie on him and chokes.
A lighter form of sleep paralysis is caused by a sudden awakening from deep sleep phase when the physical body for several moments doesn't function since pranas aren't active yet. (Even after a normal awakening we experience that bodily needs and symptoms of illnesses like running nose, cough and pain manifest only after some time.) After such awakening one is time-wise desoriented - doesn't know if it's day or night and how long time did he sleep. Spontaneous cases aren't usual in healthy people.
A spirit soul takes on a material body. Due to false ego, the soul identifies itself with the material body. However, when sleeping, the soul forgets the material body and identifies itself with the subtle body.
When the body is worn out, the soul transmigrates into another material body. During this transmigration, the soul, along with the subtle body leaves the worn out material body enters another material body in a short period of time.
However when someone commits suicide and dies prematurely, the soul leaves the material body, but continues to retain the subtle body and does not enter another material body for a long time. Such state is described as ghost.
This is usually a result of punishment for trying to escape what is called imprisonment of the material body.
Veda Ambodhkar > Shravn PrabhuOctober 20, 2011 at 12:49am
Thank u so much Shravanji. But I still have a doubt. Why do ghosts necessarily trouble other devotees even though they may not have any connection to that soul
Replies
How to help ghost?
To get rid of ghost means that he will go elsewhere. We therefore recommend you to help him to leave to higher lokas.
It is necessary to find out who he is, why he remained here and lead him away. There're various methods like prayers, masses, sacrifices or other rituals done on his behalf. One of the simplest is the recitation of Bhagavadgita (only Sanskrit, at least one chapter, recommended are mainly 3., 7. and 8.). Donate the result in your mind to him. Thus he will get a pious credit (Sanskrit: punya) needed to leave. (It's similar situation like when someone remains on a trip without money and relatives must send him some so he could continue.) It's dealt with in Gita Mahatmya from Padma Purana, ch. 1.
His descendants should do it. If they (or someone else) won't do it the ghost will continue to draw attention to himself and according to Garuda Purana 2.20.44 they themselves will also become ghosts. This may last even many centuries in case no descendant knows what to do, refuses to do it or the family dies out.
A person who underwent violent death, lived wrongly (and thus created a negative karma) or is attached to its family, living place etc. becomes ghost so after leaving the physical body he can't immediately go to higher dimensions (Sanskrit: loka) to prepare for another incarnation on earth.
During the day they usually stay in their above-earth dimension (antariksha, also called bhutaloka) and during the night they descend to earth. According to Garuda Purana 2.49.11 they can enter (so-called possession) non-living objects, insects, birds, animals, people and devas. It means that they attach themselves to the subtle body of an incarnated being and live off his energy (prana) as parasites. They also feed on impure substances (all kinds of garbage). They suffer because without physical body they can't satisfy their desires like hunger, thirst or sex desire. They wait until their karma-set time expires and they will be able to incarnate again.
Why do ghosts appear to us?
Most people will not see them in their whole life. It depends on the sensitivity of a given person, the ability to perceive subtle reality. Sometimes they appear to relatives to whom they come to say good-bye shortly after their death or they want to tell them something, mostly in a dream.
Many ghosts who haunt various places to which they're emotionally attached don't even know they're dead. If they appear to someone they mostly want to draw attention to themselves and thus increase their chance that someone will help them from their situation. They can't get out of it any time soon on their own because to remain stuck in the form of ghost is a form of negative karma which often lasts pretty long time. In modern time when ceremonies for the dead are becoming less current, are replaced by spiritually inefficient secular ones or completely neglected, such ghosts are increasing in number. If ghosts appear to relatives repeatedly and look insistent, they look for help to leave this dimension.
Should we be afraid of ghosts?
Ordinary ghosts aren't directly life-threatening but to keep them in one's body or to live in their presence, esp. for a prolonged time, has a harmful effect on us. They should leave for higher lokas. But mostly they need help to do that.
How to ascertain ghost's presence?
Ghost can be present internally, attached to our subtle body, or externally, staying in our life space (house, apartment).
Symptoms of the attached ghost:
- permanent fatigue and lack of energy (ghost parasites on prana, bodily energy)
- inner tension one can't control by mind
- lack of concentration
- lack of self-esteem, insecurity
- disinterest in meaningful activities, apathy, boredom, procrastination, killing time
- negative and suppressed emotions - depression, phobia, anger, eating disorder, neurosis, self-harm, suicide
- problems with relationships with people (often substituted by above-standard relationship with animals), subjection to manipulation
- sexual problems (hypersexuality, autosexuality)
- sleep disorders and nightmares
- chronic pain in head, neck, back, shoulders, hands, legs, joints, belly, allergies, asthma, eczemas
- repeated problems, 'something' prevents their solution
- increase of aggression
- one can't stand sounds like finger snapping (repels ghosts)
- fear of spirituality (uneasy and unpleasant feeling in churches and other sacred places, in proximity of holy persons and objects, while listening to sacred music, prayers, mantras).
Presence of ghost in a dwelling usually reveal:
- mantic (divinatory) methods
- unpleasant feeling (negative vibrations), feeling of someone's presence, domestic animals show fear, watch objects unseen by people, refuse to enter certain places
- unusual, mainly unpleasant dreams experienced by more present persons
- draft, cold places and an increase of cold without obvious cause
- sounds like breathing, voices, steps, moving of heavy objects, etc. from empty, locked rooms
- unusual scents without obvious cause
- blood spots which can't be removed
- sudden reactions of compass without obvious cause (without proximity of metal)
- movements and losing of objects
- kinetic phenomena (poltergeist) like movement and levitation of objects, starting and stopping of running water, light and other electric devices can be a result of psychic energy of incarnated person, not necessarily of ghost
- photos
- seeing ghost by more people, esp. children, and domestic animals (exclusion of subjective hallucination), ghost's nature can be estimated by its color - white is positive, the more dark, the more negative
- sleep paralysis
Sleep paralysis is a well-known phenomena. From the point of view of teachings like yoga and ayurveda it's an attack of an aggressive ghost who tries to enter the body of a sleeping person while paralysing the pranas (life airs) which are part of the subtle body (Chandogya Upanisad 8.12.2-3). The sleeping person starts to suffocate and can move only his eyes. Simply said, the body didn't 'wake up' due to the ghost. These attacks usually last several seconds. The goal of the ghost is to use physical body for a parasitic satisfaction of his desires. The victim usually feels a great weight on his chest as if someone would sit or lie on him and chokes.
A lighter form of sleep paralysis is caused by a sudden awakening from deep sleep phase when the physical body for several moments doesn't function since pranas aren't active yet. (Even after a normal awakening we experience that bodily needs and symptoms of illnesses like running nose, cough and pain manifest only after some time.) After such awakening one is time-wise desoriented - doesn't know if it's day or night and how long time did he sleep. Spontaneous cases aren't usual in healthy people.
When the body is worn out, the soul transmigrates into another material body. During this transmigration, the soul, along with the subtle body leaves the worn out material body enters another material body in a short period of time.
However when someone commits suicide and dies prematurely, the soul leaves the material body, but continues to retain the subtle body and does not enter another material body for a long time. Such state is described as ghost.
This is usually a result of punishment for trying to escape what is called imprisonment of the material body.