Evidences of the Existence of Subtle Body
The power of subtle body is far greater than that of the physical body. In the field of spirituality its evidences are available at each and every step. There is a famous incident of the spiritual world in which Jagadguru Shankaracharya defeated Mandan Misra in a debate on scriptures after which his wife Bharti, who was also a scholar, came to the front. She asked complex questions on the art of sex from Shankaracharya — beyond imagination for a celibate ascetic. But he was a yogi and needed the services of a great scholar like Mandan Misra, so he made his soul enter the dead body of the king of Mahishmati and acquired the knowledge of sex. After that he returned to his own body and answered the questions of Bharati. This incident of 'Parkaya Pravesh' (entering in other's body) gives evidence of that subtle conscious aspect of the power of this body which has been considered rich with mysterious potentialities.
There is another historical event of 'Parkaya Pravesh' by the subtle body of Devdutta, the disciple of seer Upvarsha. He could enter the dead body of Maha Padmanand the king of Patliputra, but he could not come out. Seer Upvarsh had three disciples: Varuruchi or Katyayan, who later became the minister of King Chandragupta and explained the formulae of grammar proposed by Panini; Vyadi, who authored a huge book on grammar; and Devdutta, who was expert in Yogavidya and possessed the knowledge of entering in other's body. In the greed of getting one lakh gold coins as dakshina, Devdutta made the dead body of King Maha Padmanand the medium and handed over the responsibility of his physical body to his two colleagues. The intelligent minister Shaktar noticed the change in the behavior and virtues of the resuscitated Maha Padmanand, realized the reality, and had the physical body of Devdutta cremated. When Devdutta (in the form of Maha Padmanand) knew this, he was helpless.
There is also a famous event from America. The spirit of a painter of international fame, Goya, entered the body of one widow named Henrat. In the new body Goya painted a beautiful piece named 'milkmaid'. Widow Henrat had never made any painting in her life. American specialists recognized the spirit of Goya in the behavior of that widow. They considered it an event of Parkaya Pravesh.
Yoga is a subtle science. It is an assured means of realization of Self and that of the Supreme Being. This path may be that of hurdles, self-control and self-purification, but it is a scientific method whose results are definite. The existence of the causal body within the subtle body is also of the same level. The researchers of the scientific world have now confirmed the truth contained in Indian philosophy that the 'etheric body' of a human being is much more powerful as compared to the physical body. It can work inside as well as outside the physical body. It can go to distant places in a very short time and it can help the needy.
Top parapsychologists of the 'Psychophysical Research Centre' located at Oxford have done considerable research on 'Astral Travel'. The chief research scientist of this Institute, Dr. Charles M. Creavy, says that about 10 percent of the common people get the experience of 'astral travel'. Among these, most of the incidents occur either during accidents or during surgery.
Famous author Ernest Hemingway has described in his book 'Farewell to Arms' several such mysterious occurrences in which people have seen their own body lying somewhere which has met with an accident. Similarly, famous scientist Raymond Moody has collected several cases in which patients have witnessed death from very near and saw how under very painful conditions the subtle bodies got detached from the physical bodies and were observing all the scenes — including the efforts of the doctors to save them.
In this context, neurologists say that under normal conditions the physical and subtle bodies both remain in unison. Only under some special circumstances the two get separated. In that state, it becomes possible for the subtle body to go anywhere. It is only after death that this contact is completely broken and the subtle body completely becomes free.
A brilliant engineer of Boland was famous for his transcendental power. On the suggestion of his physician friend, he traveled far and wide with his subtle body. That friend and his investigating team found that whenever the subtle body got separated from the physical body, there used to be no sign of life — the heartbeat, pulse, respiration, etc. used to stop. As soon as it returned to the body, they became active again. American Society for Psychical Research has given recognition for the validity of his research.
Top parapsychologist Sylvan Muldoon says that the subtle body is merely a condensed form of the cosmic energy. With the help of Yoga Sadhana and penance, it is possible to accumulate more and more cosmic energy and make the subtle body more powerful and healthy. Its power is several times more than that of the physical body. According to him, traveling by the subtle body provides a huge amount of energy and agility which is never possible with the physical body. He has called it the voyage of mind which is completed with the help of strong will power.
"I am the thread that runs through all these pearls, and each pearl is a religion or even a sect thereof. Such are the different pearls, and God is the thread that runs through all of them." — Swami Vivekananda