APPARITIONS IN GRAVEYARD
Have you ever encountered a paranormal activity before?
Or have your near ones ever shared a supernatural experience that left you shaken?
We all have grown up listening to a number of ghost stories that have shaped our ideas about the existence of apparitions.
But do you think that the horror movies you watch, or the stories you hear, describe well enough, what apparitions really are?
Or like some of you might still think, Do ghosts really exist?
What are apparitions?
Wikipedia explains apparitions as souls or spirit of dead person or animal that can appear to the living. The appearance of ghost differs from an invisible presence, to faint wispy shapes, to realistic, lifelike visions!
Generally described as solitary human-like essences, ghosts are believed to haunt particular locations, objects of people they were associated with in life.
According to a 2009 study by the Pew Research Centre, 18% of Americans say they have seen a ghost.
While there are various types of ghost, in this article we will learn about apparitions associated with graveyard from its theosophical perspective.
Theosophy gives an answer to whether ghosts exist in graveyard along with possible reasons for their existence.
Read further for deeper knowledge about what leads to unrest souls hovering about their graves after death.
According to Theosophy, from the perspective of the Etheric body, apparition is nothing but the detached “Etheric double” of a person whose physical body has died and is slowly decomposing.
What is an Etheric Body?
Every solid, liquid and gaseous particle of our physical body is surrounded with an Etheric envelope. Hence the Etheric Double is a perfect duplicate of the dense physical body. In size it projects about one quarter of an inch beyond the skin.
Here are some interesting facts about the Etheric body –
- The two bodies are so closely connected that whatever happens to the etheric body reflects on the physical body.
- It is especially associated with Vital (Pranic) or Magnetic Healing, and also with Mesmerism, for purposes of healing, anaesthesia, or trance.
- The Etheric body also dies and decays following its physical body.
- At death, the double withdraws from the dense body, forms a violet mist and slowly condenses into a look-alike figure of its dead body.
- A shiny magnetic thread attaches the dense physical body to its double. This thread is snapped at the moment of death, detaching the physical body to its Etheric double.
- After death, when separated from the dense physical body, it is known as the “wraith”, “phantom”, “apparition”, or “churchyard ghost”.
To learn more about the Etheric double, we recommend you our course on the study of The Etheric body by Arthur E, Powell.
So, what happens to the Etheric body before it starts disintegrating? It hovers around its grave, appearing as an apparition to any sensitive person around it!
How can the etheric body turn into a malefic entity?
When the double finally leaves the dense body, it stays in close proximity to its associated physical body, near its grave. It is still waiting to be disintegrated soon after its dense, visible body. In this condition it is known as the wraith.
They extend their lives by obtaining astral and etheric elements from the surrounding. It sometimes appears to those with whom it is closely bound, as a cloudy figure, very dully conscious and speechless.
This wraith/apparition which hovers about its grave is extremely vulnerable to other astral entities, to its own astral body, and even to various thought-forms present in its surrounding.
The separated etheric double is so vulnerable in nature that –
- Even though it has no consciousness of its own, it may obtain other astral matters, or act as a vehicle for astral entities that may take control of it.
- It may become a vehicle for any kind of thought-form.
- It may be controlled by evil people or demonic spirits to fulfil evil purposes such as black magic or causing any kind of harm to others.
A good example of such kind of control can be taken from the apparition movie The Conjuring. As shown in the movie, the demonic spirit of Valak takes hold of the etheric body of the dead old man Bill Wilkins, through whom she creates havoc in the lives of the Hodgson family in the haunted house.
The way a dead body is treated greatly determines such unfortunate possibilities.
Preservation of the dead body by burial, delays the disintegration of the physical body, and makes it possible for the released etheric body to be controlled by someone else. Similarly, embalming also delays disintegration of the physical, visible body, thus delaying the disintegration of the etheric body. This immensely facilitates the unfortunate purposes of evil people.
On the other hand, cremation allows immediate disintegration of the physical body, followed by its etheric body. It entirely prevents any attempt of partial or temporary reunion of the two bodies after death. All of these possibilities are avoided by the wholesome practice of cremation.
This is why the practise of cremation is followed and advised for complete and quick disintegration of the bodies.
For more information about the practice of cremation and its importance, check out our blog on Cremation!
Have you ever seen or dealt with an apparition before? Let us know your experience in the comments below!
References –
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghost