rebirth - Blog Posts - Yoga Vidya International - Yoga, Meditation and Spirituality2024-03-28T18:34:43Zhttps://my.yoga-vidya.org/profiles/blogs/feed/tag/rebirthDissolution & Dance Of The Archetypes (Between Worlds parts 2 & 3)https://my.yoga-vidya.org/profiles/blogs/dissolution-amp-dance-of-the2010-08-16T20:50:16.000Z2010-08-16T20:50:16.000ZChristopher Stewarthttps://my.yoga-vidya.org/members/ChristopherStewart<div><p style="text-align:center;"><img src="" alt="" /><br /><span style="font-size:x-small;">("<a href="http://flickr.com/photos/32856635@N00/2287971853">Dance of the Lord of Death</a>" by <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/32856635@N00">Jean-Marie Hullot</a>)</span></p><br /><div align="center"><object height="100" width="400" data="http://s3.amazonaws.com/stlth/static/production/swf/audio_controller.swf" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="never" ></param><param name="allowNetworking" value="internal" ></param><param name="movie" value="http://s3.amazonaws.com/stlth/static/production/swf/audio_controller.swf" ></param><param name="wmode" value="opaque" ></param><param name="flashvars" value="song_label=poligraf.between.worlds.2006.part2.mp3&music_track=http://drop.io/download/public/yexsyiswj7cmc2m7qwpq/921d143a26bcd4135afda0ab6c7ff19aba01b75b/Asset/3666939/v3/web_preview&autoplay=false" ></param><embed wmode="opaque" src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/stlth/static/production/swf/audio_controller.swf" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" flashvars="song_label=poligraf.between.worlds.2006.part2.mp3&music_track=http://drop.io/download/public/yexsyiswj7cmc2m7qwpq/921d143a26bcd4135afda0ab6c7ff19aba01b75b/Asset/3666939/v3/web_preview&autoplay=false" height="100" width="400" allowscriptaccess="never" allownetworking="internal"></embed></object></div><br /><p>« Between Worlds » is a composition that started as a song entitled « Requiem » which was written in response to the deaths of my father and maternal grandmother, both due to cancer, at the beginning of the 1990s. Inspired by « <a href="http://www.near-death.com/experiences/buddhism01.html">The Tibetan Book of the Dead</a>, » the piece eventually turned into a suite in five movements intended to present the successive stages of the death process as described in Tibetan culture.</p><br /><p>« Dissolution » is a very short section which represents the moment of physical death itself. It corresponds to the first « between world, » or first bardo :</p><blockquote><em>The first bardo comes at the very moment of death, when there dawns the Clear Light of the Ultimate Reality. This is the very content and substance of the state of liberation, if only the soul can recognize it and act in a way to remain in that state.</em></blockquote><br /><p>If the dying person can recognize that their own mind and self is identical with the Clear Light, implying that they themselves are the Ultimate Reality, while in this supreme state at the moment of death, they will attain liberation – that is, they will remain in the Clear Light forever.</p><br /><p>The following section, « Dance Of The Archetypes, » is a longer instrumental that is intended to depict the potentially overwhelming experience of the second bardo.</p><br /><p>If the soul is still not liberated after the first intermediate state, it will descend into the second bardo, which is said to last for two weeks, and is divided into two parts :</p><blockquote><em>(...) in the first, the soul of the deceased encounters what are referred to as « the Peaceful Deities. » On each of the seven days, a particular Buddha-being will appear in radiance and glory, with a bevy of angelic attendants.</em></blockquote><blockquote><em>In the second week of the second bardo, the soul meets seven legions of Wrathful Deities: hideous, terrifying demons who advance upon him with flame and sword, drinking blood from human skulls, threatening to wreak unmerciful torture upon him, to maim, disembowel, decapitate and slay him.</em></blockquote><br /><p>If the person awakens to the fact that all these creatures are not real, but are merely illusions emanating from their own mind, the creatures will vanish and the dying will be liberated. If they can't, they eventually wanders down to the third bardo.</p></div>Between Worlds (Epilogue)https://my.yoga-vidya.org/profiles/blogs/between-worlds-epilogue2010-08-27T20:16:12.000Z2010-08-27T20:16:12.000ZChristopher Stewarthttps://my.yoga-vidya.org/members/ChristopherStewart<div><p style="text-align:center;"><img src="" alt="" /><br /><span style="font-size:x-small;">("<a href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Maitreya_the_Conqueror.jpg">Maitreya the Conqueror</a>" by <a href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Nicholas_Roerich">Nicholas Roerich</a>)</span></p><br /><div align="center"><object height="100" width="400" data="http://s3.amazonaws.com/stlth/static/production/swf/audio_controller.swf" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="never" ></param><param name="allowNetworking" value="internal" ></param><param name="movie" value="http://s3.amazonaws.com/stlth/static/production/swf/audio_controller.swf" ></param><param name="wmode" value="opaque" ></param><param name="flashvars" value="song_label=poligraf.between.worlds.2006.finale.mp3&music_track=http://drop.io/download/public/3q3oirsgx3ueqhzv3p72/494a44b265b02e1bbae12d7a8ac5b3f1c47f6735/Asset/4650172/v3/web_preview&autoplay=false" ></param><embed wmode="opaque" src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/stlth/static/production/swf/audio_controller.swf" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" flashvars="song_label=poligraf.between.worlds.2006.finale.mp3&music_track=http://drop.io/download/public/3q3oirsgx3ueqhzv3p72/494a44b265b02e1bbae12d7a8ac5b3f1c47f6735/Asset/4650172/v3/web_preview&autoplay=false" height="100" width="400" allowscriptaccess="never" allownetworking="internal"></embed> </object></div><br /><p>I read the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bardo_Thodol" target="_blank">The Tibetan Book of the Dead</a> twice. I started with a French translation, and then read the <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/208124.The_Tibetan_Book_of_the_Dead" target="_blank">Robert A. F. Thurman version</a>. My motivation at the time was to learn more about the death process and what comes after.</p><br /><p>At the time, I was agreeably surprised to discover that the text, which is traditionally read to the dead and is intended to guide them through the experiences that the consciousness has during the interval between death and the next rebirth in order to help them attain liberation, was also very rich in knowledge that could be applied to my own life, for instance in terms of understanding my own inner workings.</p><br /><p>Years later, I came to the realization that the text could also be interpreted as a metaphor for life, or more precisely, as a symbolized depiction of the process of moving from where one currently is to the next stage in their life. In that perspective, and in a way reminiscent of the death card in tarot, the death process can be seen as the transition from one's present self to one's future self, for instance in terms of changing careers, relocating, moving on to a new love relationship, or similar transformations, which are represented by transmigration and rebirth.</p><br /><p>As hinted in the text through numerous mentions of not giving into fear, and recognizing post-death experiences as one's own mental projections, the quality of this rebirth is determined by the degree to which one is able to recognize the extent of their power, their very nature and their true purpose, and to shed the elements of the past that are not compatible with this recognition.</p><br /><p>The audio clip above presents the finale of the whole suite. Below is an excerpt taken from the first ever live performance given by Poligraf, playing an early version of « Between Worlds » back in April 2002 :</p><br /><div align="center"><object height="364" width="445" data="http://www.youtube.com/v/0IE_oPL8XVM?fs=1&hl=en_US&rel=0&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999&border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="never" ></param><param name="allowNetworking" value="internal" ></param><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/0IE_oPL8XVM?fs=1&hl=en_US&rel=0&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999&border=1" ></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="false" ></param><embed wmode="opaque" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/0IE_oPL8XVM?fs=1&hl=en_US&rel=0&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999&border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="never" height="364" width="445" allownetworking="internal"></embed> </object></div><br /><blockquote><em>Hey! Now when the life between dawns upon me,<br /> I will abandon laziness, as life has no more time,<br />Unwavering, enter the path of learning, thinking, and meditating,<br />And taking perceptions and mind as path,<br />I will realize the Three Bodies of enlightenment!<br />This once that I have obtained the human body<br />Is not the time to stay on the path of distractions.<br /></em></blockquote><p>(Taken from "<a href="http://glenavalon.com/bardothotrol.html">The root verses of the six betweens</a>" - see near the bottom of the page)</p></div>Departure (Between Worlds part 1)https://my.yoga-vidya.org/profiles/blogs/departure-between-worlds-part2010-08-10T20:49:20.000Z2010-08-10T20:49:20.000ZChristopher Stewarthttps://my.yoga-vidya.org/members/ChristopherStewart<div><p style="text-align:center;"><img src="" alt="" /><br /><span style="font-size:x-small;">("<a href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Buddha_painted_on_a_rock_wall_in_Tibet.jpg">Buddha painted on a rock wall in Tibet</a>" by Unknown Artist - photography by onwardtibet.org)</span></p><br /><br /><div align="center"><object height="100" width="400" data="http://s3.amazonaws.com/stlth/static/production/swf/audio_controller.swf" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="never" ></param><param name="allowNetworking" value="internal" ></param><param name="movie" value="http://s3.amazonaws.com/stlth/static/production/swf/audio_controller.swf" ></param><param name="wmode" value="opaque" ></param><param name="flashvars" value="song_label=poligraf.between.worlds.2006.part1.mp3&music_track=http://drop.io/download/public/5fubseykaoqxarxsnykk/73eccd7d2d0134ea0bed73a7ad86e6adb41be65a/Asset/3579083/v3/web_preview&autoplay=false" ></param><embed wmode="opaque" src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/stlth/static/production/swf/audio_controller.swf" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" flashvars="song_label=poligraf.between.worlds.2006.part1.mp3&music_track=http://drop.io/download/public/5fubseykaoqxarxsnykk/73eccd7d2d0134ea0bed73a7ad86e6adb41be65a/Asset/3579083/v3/web_preview&autoplay=false" height="100" width="400" allowscriptaccess="never" allownetworking="internal"></embed></object></div><br /><p>« Between Worlds » is a suite in five movements that started as a song entitled « Requiem » which was written in response to the deaths of my father and maternal grandmother, both due to cancer, at the beginning of the 1990s. The original draft eventually became what now constitutes « Departure, » the introductory section of the whole composition.</p><br /><p>A few years later, after discovering Buddhism, I acquired an edition of « <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bardo_Thodol" target="_blank">The Tibetan Book of the Dead</a> » (« Bardo Thodol » in Tibetan) which I read with great interest, and wholeheartedly recommend. At that point, I had already toyed with the idea of extending the song to include a hint at after-death, and the book gave both the inspiration and substance needed to turn the piece into a suite intended to present the successive stages of the death process as described in Tibetan culture.</p><br /><p>The composition begins with an illustration of physical decay, presented as a plea for euthanasia coming from someone in the throes of a degenerative illness, which is followed by dissolution and passage into the successive « between worlds, » or intermediate states (« bardos » in Tibetan), finally leading to rebirth.</p><br /><p>The lyrics to « Departure » follow below. Although they work in their current form, I'm not totally convinced that telling this part of the story from the vantage point of the dying is the wisest way to proceed, so the words might go through a complete overhaul before they receive the « Definitive » stamp and get recorded.</p><br /><p><em>Talk to me, tell me it's you <br />Clear sight has gone astray<br />All is dark outside and in<br />I’m sure glad you made it today<br /><br />No word still of even a slight chance<br />It gets harder every day<br />I feel it won't be long before<br />It takes my mind away<br /><br />Is there a point in trying to find<br />Reasons to keep going ?<br />I’ve seen a lot through this lifetime of mine<br />No fear of death keeps me waiting<br /><br />What’s left for me but this life of dependence<br />And fading memories of freedom ?<br />I do accept that my time here is up<br />I want to know where we all go<br /><br />Don't be sad my friend<br />This life is all behind me<br />Stay on for a while<br />Listen to my plea<br /><br />Don’t be mad my friend<br />There’s not much that we can do<br />I’m reaching the end<br />Just help me through <br /><br />I trust you can understand what I'm going through<br />This body, numb, is a jail<br />I know it’s no easy task that I ask of you<br />Promise me that you won’t fail<br /><br />Don't be sad my friend<br />This life is all behind me<br />Take me to the end<br />With dignity<br /><br />Please be strong my friend<br />Give me the shot that’ll kill me<br />Save me all this pain<br />Do it for me</em></p></div>Determination (Between Worlds part 5)https://my.yoga-vidya.org/profiles/blogs/determination-between-worlds2010-08-24T20:48:27.000Z2010-08-24T20:48:27.000ZChristopher Stewarthttps://my.yoga-vidya.org/members/ChristopherStewart<div><p style="text-align:center;"><img src="" alt="" /><br /><span style="font-size:x-small;">("<a href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Akshobhjavadzra--Guhyasamad.jpg">Akshobhya Buddha</a>" by <a href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:VanemTao">VanemTao</a>)</span></p><br /><div align="center"><object width="400" height="100" data="http://s3.amazonaws.com/stlth/static/production/swf/audio_controller.swf" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="never" ></param><param name="allowNetworking" value="internal" ></param><param name="movie" value="http://s3.amazonaws.com/stlth/static/production/swf/audio_controller.swf" ></param><param name="wmode" value="opaque" ></param><param name="flashvars" value="song_label=poligraf.between.worlds.2006.part4.mp3&music_track=http://drop.io/download/public/l8ccbclm5dgnyifgtwjm/67c3ba4d16cfce3bce5d4aa5fa7353f04cdeb5b4/Asset/4414193/v3/web_preview&autoplay=false" ></param><embed wmode="opaque" src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/stlth/static/production/swf/audio_controller.swf" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="400" height="100" flashvars="song_label=poligraf.between.worlds.2006.part4.mp3&music_track=http://drop.io/download/public/l8ccbclm5dgnyifgtwjm/67c3ba4d16cfce3bce5d4aa5fa7353f04cdeb5b4/Asset/4414193/v3/web_preview&autoplay=false" allowscriptaccess="never" allownetworking="internal"></embed> </object></div><br /><p>« Between Worlds » is a composition that started as a song entitled « Requiem » which was written in response to the deaths of my father and maternal grandmother, both due to cancer, at the beginning of the 1990s. Inspired by « <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bardo_Thodol">The Tibetan Book of the Dead</a>, » the piece eventually turned into a suite in five movements intended to present the successive stages of the death process as described in Tibetan culture.</p><br /><p>The last section of « Between Worlds » is entitled « Determination » and is intended to depict the intermediate state of rebirth, known as the « sidpa bardo, » the bardo of karmic becoming or transmigration.</p><br /><p>According to Wikipedia, this bardo features karmically impelled hallucinations, typically imagery of men and women passionately entwined, which eventually result in rebirth.</p><br /><p>The title of the section was chosen to reflect the main characteristic of this state, which is the determination of the dead's next incarnation. Basically, the person will experience the rebirth that corresponds to the hallucinations to which they feels drawn to while in this state of consciousness. Thus, one who has learned to distinguish between what is truly beneficial and what is not in this present life will be able to enjoy a most beneficial embodiment in the next.</p><br /><p>The clip presents the end of « Deliberation » followed by the beginning of « Determination. »</p></div>Deliberation (Between Worlds part 4)https://my.yoga-vidya.org/profiles/blogs/deliberation-between-worlds2010-08-20T20:50:52.000Z2010-08-20T20:50:52.000ZChristopher Stewarthttps://my.yoga-vidya.org/members/ChristopherStewart<div><p style="text-align:center;"><img src="" alt="" /><br /><span style="font-size:x-small;">("<a href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:%27The_Dhyani_Buddha_Akshobhya%27,_Tibetan_thangka,_late_13th_century,_Honolulu_Academy_of_Arts.jpg">The Dhyani Buddha Akshobhya</a>" - Unknown Artist)</span></p><br /><div align="center"><object height="100" width="400" data="http://s3.amazonaws.com/stlth/static/production/swf/audio_controller.swf" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="never" ></param><param name="allowNetworking" value="internal" ></param><param name="movie" value="http://s3.amazonaws.com/stlth/static/production/swf/audio_controller.swf" ></param><param name="wmode" value="opaque" ></param><param name="flashvars" value="song_label=poligraf.between.worlds.2006.part3.mp3&music_track=http://drop.io/download/public/goarrre6mxmckcr3twaj/eadbcb00a22146cb23bb9aae266b56a9cdd1c6c5/Asset/3787489/v3/web_preview&autoplay=false" ></param><embed wmode="opaque" src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/stlth/static/production/swf/audio_controller.swf" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" flashvars="song_label=poligraf.between.worlds.2006.part3.mp3&music_track=http://drop.io/download/public/goarrre6mxmckcr3twaj/eadbcb00a22146cb23bb9aae266b56a9cdd1c6c5/Asset/3787489/v3/web_preview&autoplay=false" height="100" width="400" allowscriptaccess="never" allownetworking="internal"></embed></object></div><br /><p>« Between Worlds » is a composition that started as a song entitled « Requiem » which was written in response to the deaths of my father and maternal grandmother, both due to cancer, at the beginning of the 1990s. Inspired by « <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bardo_Thodol">The Tibetan Book of the Dead</a>, » the piece eventually turned into a suite in five movements intended to present the successive stages of the death process as described in Tibetan culture.</p><br /><p>« The Dance Of The Archetypes » culminates with an encounter with the Lord Of Death, a fearsome demonic deity appearing in smoke and fire, who subjects the dead to a judgment based on the karma accumulated during their lifetime. If the person is still not liberated after this judgment, they proceed to the next bardo.</p><br /><p>« Deliberation » refers to this subsequent experience and depicts a fluid state wherein the dead hovers about the world, observing the surroundings and other beings, but without committing to any specific course of action. Eventually, the soul will recognize and be drawn to something in the environment, perhaps a being, or what looks like a feature of the landscape. The object of this attraction will in fact become the entrance toward their next rebirth.</p><br /><p>Currently the section is instrumental only, but lyrics will possibly be added to better describe this particular intermediate state.</p><br /><p>The clip presents the culmination of the « Dance Of The Archetypes, » followed by the first half of « Deliberation. »</p></div>