The seventh sub-plane or the lowest heaven:
The lowest heaven i.e., the seventh sub-plane, has affection for family or friends as its main characteristic. This affection must be unselfish but is usually somewhat narrow in its nature. It must not be assumed that this love is confined to the lowest heaven, but rather that this form of affection is the highest of which those who find themselves on the seventh level are capable of. On the higher levels love of a far nobler type is to be found. A few interesting cases have been studied which can throw some light on the characteristics and life in general on the seventh sub-plane. In this regard it may be useful to describe a few typical examples of the inhabitants of the seventh sub-plane. One was that of an ordinary man, honest and respectable, but of no intellectual development or religious feeling. Although he had probably attended church regularly, he hardly understood religion since it had no connection with the business of everyday life. Hence while he had no depth of devotion, nevertheless he had affection for his family. They were constantly on his mind and he always put them ahead of himself. His surroundings on the mental plane would not be of a very refined type, but nevertheless he would be as intensely happy as he would be capable of developing unselfish characteristics which would be built into his soul as permanent qualities.
Case studies have shown that a large number of western people are found on this sub-plane due to the fact that the principal unselfish activity found its outlet through family affection. Comparatively few eastern people especially among the Hindus or Buddhists were found on this sub-plane, because in their case real religious feeling usually enters more immediately into their daily lives, and consequently takes them to a higher level. For those on this lowest level of the mental plane there is not much material out of which a particular faculty can be moulded and progress is very limited. The inhabitants on this level find their family affections nourished and they are re-born with a improved emotional nature which will help them to recognise and respond to a higher ideal.
The sixth sub- plane or the second heaven: During the soul’s life on the mental plane it is able to witness the various prophets, sages and founders of various religions. However it must be understood, that this environment which the soul witnesses is of the nature of a mirage as partly it is a product of human thought. The thought-forms of a particular form of religious thought gather great strength on the mental plane and endure with all the appearance of reality to the believer and devotee, although entirely invisible to those of a different faith. The presence of prophets and sages remain with the environment though the souls of these individuals have long since passed on to other planes. The mental plane is a realm of ideals and each soul finds its ideals realised on this plane. The good Christian finds a manifestation of the best of one’s own creed and beliefs and rests fully assured that one has had the true faith and has reaped the reward that one had expected. The same holds good for the Hindu, Muslim or Buddhist. Moreover, each particular sect of religious belief finds a corroboration of its own beliefs on the mental plane and there is no conflict of sects or religions. Each soul finds its own, and is oblivious of the rest. The only apparent exception is the soul which has advanced far enough to realise the fundamental truth in all religious beliefs which is allowed to see the joy of the blessed of all religious faiths. However it must be remembered that these mental representations of the various religious faiths comprise only the best of each particular form of belief. Thus the soul witnesses the highest conception and ideal of which it is capable of regarding its favourite religion. This naturally has the effect and result of developing the highest religious conceptions in the soul and inhibiting the lower ones. This enables the soul to carry with it only the highest in its religion when it undertakes its next journey to the physical plane. Sometimes a soul will evolve from one form of religious conception during its mental life and upon its reincarnation will be ready for one higher.
The principal characteristic of the sixth sub-plane or the second heaven of the mental plane may be described as anthropomorphic religious devotion. There appears to be some correspondence between this level of the heaven-world and the second astral sub-plane, the difference being that on the astral there is invariably an element of selfishness whereas in the heaven-world the devotion is entirely free from any such taint. This phase of devotion, which consists essentially in the perpetual adoration of a personal deity, must be distinguished from those still higher forms which find their expression in performing some definite work for the sake of the deity.
A few examples will show these distinctions. A fairly large number of entities on this level are drawn from oriental religions whose devotion is pure. Worshippers of Vishnu and Shiva are found here, each wrapped up in a shell of one’s own thoughts and oblivious of the rest of mankind. An exception would be related to one’s affections associated with those whom one loved on earth.
Women form a very large majority of the inhabitants of this sub-plane and example to illustrate this follows. There was a Hindu woman who had glorified her husband into a divine being and who also thought of the child Krishna as playing with her own children. While these children were thoroughly human and real, the child Krishna was obviously nothing but an image. Krishna also appeared in her heaven as an effeminate young man playing a flute but she was not in the least confused by this double manifestation. Among other examples of inhabitants of this sub-plane was an Irish peasant who was absorbed in the deepest adoration of the Virgin Mary, whom he imaged as standing on the moon but holding out her hands and speaking to him
Even if one is a materialist and agnostic, one will still have a heaven-life, provided that one had been capable of devotion. For deep unselfish family affection, as well as earnest philanthropic activity must produce their result and can manifest nowhere but on the mental plane. It will be seen that blind unreasoning devotion does not at any time raise its votaries to any great spiritual heights but does result in happiness and satisfaction. Nor is such a heaven-life without a very good affect on their future journey. For although no amount of mere devotion will ever develop intellect, yet it does produce an increased capacity for a higher form of devotion and in most cases it leads to purity of life. One who enjoys a heaven such as the one described is not likely to make rapid spiritual progress but is at least guarded from many dangers. It is improbable that in the next birth such a person will fall into any of the grosser sins or be drawn away from one’s devotional aspirations.
The article has been taken from the book Life Beyond Death by Anil Sharma.