The Golden Body

In Arhatic Yoga practice, one of the objectives at the higher levels is the development of the so-called golden body. While the specific techniques are understandably secret, the concept of the golden body itself is not unique to Arhatic Yoga. Development of the golden body represents one of the components in the advanced spiritual practices of esoteric traditions the world over.

A lot of religious statues and icons, especially Buddhist ones, are made of gold, painted in gold or clothed in gold. In the book The Third Eye, T. Lobsang Rampa describes a process where newly deceased high-ranking lamas are encased in gold. So precise was the process that the deceased retained the features they had in life, except that their bodies were now completely encased in gold. The now golden statues are then clothed before being placed in a specific location in the Potala (the Vatican of Tibetan Buddhism).

During the Spanish conquest of the Aztecs and Incas, the legend of El Dorado captivated many conquistadors and treasure hunters. Apparently, El Dorado originally referred to the chief of the Muisca tribe who covered himself in gold dust before diving into Lake Guatavita as part of an initiation ceremony. There is a lot of esoteric symbolism here, but I will touch upon that later.

Later on, El Dorado acquired the now famous allusion to the lost city of gold. The greed of the Spanish conquistadors drove many of them to feverishly search for this mother lode of riches, except that all their endeavors ended in ruin because no such city of gold has ever been found. I feel this is because they assigned a literal interpretation to a legend that is full of esoteric symbolism.

The city is also used to symbolize the body. In Master Choa Kok Sui's teachings, he refers to Revelations 21:12 which reads, "And had a wall great and high, and had twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and names written thereon, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel." The gates symbolize the chakras of the energy body, with each chakra having a Divine Name. In Inner Teachings of Hinduism Revealed, Master Choa also quotes a verse in the Taitriya Upanishad that mentions the "city of the unborn with 11 gates." In case you noted the discrepancy of 11 gates in one quote and 12 gates in the Bible, the 12th gate or chakra refers to the soul chakra located 12 feet above the head, discussed in more detail in the book Achieving Oneness with the Higher Soul. The 11 chakra system is used in pranic healing because these are the chakras that receive the most attention in healing.

Why use a city as a symbol for the body? My take on it is that a city is a collective of separate yet interdependent functions. Walls and soldiers for security, bakeries and markets for sustenance, libraries for learning, a palace that is the center of administration, etc. Same with the physical body that has the immune system for defense, stomach, liver and other internal organs for nutrient distribution and waste removal, the brain as directing center, and so on.

The legend of El Dorado, the golden city, most likely refers to the golden body, indeed a treasure worth having. There is a related legend referring to the Seven Cities of Cibola, cities supposedly made of gold, which again most likely refers to the golden body, with the number 7 probably referring to the traditional chakra system.

Let's now go back to the ceremony of the Muisca chief covering himself with gold dust then diving into the lake. Let's first go on a slight tangent. In ancient Egypt, the pharaohs were supposed to be enlightened leaders. This was represented by the upraised cobra on the pharaoh's headdress, which indicated that the kundalini is activated and therefore the leader is spiritually illuminated. Since the golden body is a hallmark of high spiritual development, we could interpret the symbolism the same way: the Muisca chief covered in gold dust indicates that the leader is an illuminated person (or is supposed to be one).

How about the diving into the lake part? Again, we need to go on another tangent. In Hinduism, there is a story about the child Krishna jumping into the river to fight the snake Kaliya. After submerging in the water, Lord Krishna appears out of the water standing on the head of Kaliya and dancing on it. According to Master Choa, the water symbolizes the sex chakra and the snake symbolizes kundalini. When meditating, Divine energy comes down to the basic and sex chakras to raise the kundalini to the head. When the kundalini is thus mastered, one is enlightened to a certain degree.

So the same story could be played out during the initiation ceremony of the Muisca chief. The enlightened self has control over the sex energy and has raised it up in order to become enlightened. The enlightened leader thus rules over his people benevolently and wisely.

Does the body literally turn to gold? Gold dust will eventually wash off, and immersing oneself in liquid gold is not the best way to die. So what are all the accounts about the golden body referring to?

I will quote Master Choa's words in his discussion of golden pranic energy. This is taken from pages 12-13 of the Advanced Pranic Healing book:

When electric violet pranic energy (divine energy - SF) comes in contact with the etheric or bioplasmic body, it gradually turns into golden prana. The golden prana, when absorbed by the physical body, becomes light red. Golden prana has properties almost similar to those of electric violet prana....Saints of different religions are sometimes depicted with brilliant electric white light descending on their heads and a golden halo surrounding it. This golden halo is produced by the activated crown chakra and the radiation of the assimilated electric violet pranic energy which has turned golden....For spiritual practitioners who have achieved a relatively high level of development, their etheric bodies are transformed into gold. They have developed, to a certain degree, the GOLDEN BODY. The gold first manifests externally, then it gradually manifests inwardly into the physical body. This is why some saints of different religions are sometimes depicted with a golden garment or golden body. If the clairvoyant is not well-trained, he or she will see the electric violet light as brilliant white light and may not notice the golden aura behind the brilliant white light.

The important part to remember is that the golden body is perceived clairvoyantly, not with the physical senses. However, it seems that there are physical cues and abilities that indicate the development of the golden body.

Let's take a short look at the life of Ramalinga Adigal (5 October 1823 – 30 January 1874), more popularly known as Vallalar. In the Thiruvarulpa (The Divine Song of Grace), Ramalingam states that his body attained a resplendent golden hue and thus transformed into the body of love (Suddha Deham).

It's interesting to look at Ramalingam because his life provides a clearly documented account of someone who has achieved the golden body. Apparently, even just before the state of achieving the golden body, the desire for absorption into the Divine Source is so strong that a lot of Masters abandon physical existence before anyone can document their life after the transformation.

Ramalingam supposedly went through three levels of transformation. It seems these transformations refer to different stages in the development of the golden body. The first transformation was the achievement of the Perfect Body or Suddha Deham. The body becomes immortal and indestructible, is made of Divine Light and one now has access to different powers such as materialization, teleportation, resurrection of others, and other abilities.

The second level of transformation was the Body of Grace or Pranava Deham. This body can be seen but not touched, and one's appearance becomes as that of a child. Furthermore, one gains mastery of all the siddhis.

The third level of transformation was the Bliss Body or Gnana Deham. It is the highest evolution for the human being and one automatically becomes omnipresent but one cannot be seen, touched or otherwise perceived.

Ramalingam states that the process of achieving the golden body involves "God's Hug" or the descent of Divine Light into his heart. And so the path to achieving the golden body is through the heart.

Ramalingam departed the world on January 30, 1874 supposedly by dematerializing himself. He locked himself in his room in Siddhi Valakam and told his disciples not to open it, but he said that even if they did, they would find nothing. In May of that year, the government had the doors forcibly opened yet as Ramalingam said, there was no sign of him or his body.

As the alchemists of old sought the legendary Philosopher's Stone in order to transmute lead into gold, the process of attaining the Golden Body is the inner alchemy of transmuting our gross nature into one of perfection. Lest we fall into the same trap the conquistadors did in their search for El Dorado, it would be wise to look at things in their proper perspective. In the end, the golden body is simply a tool, admittedly a very refined one. Yet we must remember that we are not the body, the golden body is one of the vehicles of the soul.

Right thought, right speech, right emotions, right deeds. Simple yet difficult, but they are for us to practice. But as long as we do, the Golden Body becomes not so much a goal as it is a by-product of the way we live.

Our spiritual journey is not one that sees as its end the acquisition of feats and abilities, but rather a return to our Divine Nature, a coming home face to face. Everything else, as a kabbalistic story goes, is commentary.