Aakaasha and its records
Aakaasha – The Element
The word ‘aakaasha’ that literally refers to the sky, is a Sanskrit word also used to refer to the spiritual element - ‘ether’. Alternately spelt as aether, ether is one of the five basic elements, or the pancha-bhootas. They are also called pancha-tattvas or pancha-prethas. All living beings are made of these five elements. And upon the death of the physical body, the five elements that the body was constituted by, find their way to the five primary elements of nature, as matter is neither created nor destroyed. The world is said to have been created in this order: aakasha – vayu – agni – aapa – prithvi; in the increasing order of the tanmaatras (primary senses) they correspond to. Aakaasha is the first element and sound is its only property.
Sound is defined as that which conveys an idea of an object. It has “artha” or meaning. The scriptures differentiate sound from noise (noise has no meaning).
| Pancha-bhootas | The five elements | Corresponding tanmaatras | Corresponding senses/ properties |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aakaasha | Ether/ Space | shabda | sound |
| Vayu | Air | shabda, sparsha | sound, touch |
| Agni | Fire | shabda, sparsha, rupa | sound, touch, sight |
| Aapa | Water | shabda, sparsha, rupa, rasa | sound, touch, sight, taste |
| Prithvi | Earth | shabda, sparsha, rupa, rasa, gandha | sound, touch, sight, taste, smell |
Aakasha, being the most subtle element, does not possess the firmness of earth, the coolness of water, the heat of fire or the movement of wind. It is both, the essence of 'emptiness' as well as ‘everything that exists’ in the material realm. The space element is considered a spiritual energy or force that unifies the cosmos.
As it is associated with sound or sense of hearing, ether or aakaasha is not vacuum. The space-sound relationship has implications both in the external physical world as well as the inner physiological world.
There are four stages of sound, spiritually. Each level of sound corresponds to a level of existence and one's experience of sound depends upon the evolution of one's consciousness. Only a fully realised consciousness can experience the full range of sound, the full range of existence.
| Level/ Stage of sound | Level of consciousness | Level of refinement fine to gross (1 to 4) | Labelled as |
| Parā imperceptible sound | Transcendental | 1 | Guha (internal) |
| Pashyanti sound possesses qualities such as colour and form | Intellectual | 2 | Guha (internal) |
| Madhyamā mental speech or thought; vibratory nada rupa | Mental | 3 | Guha (internal) |
| Vaikhari sound that comes out through the mouth as spoken syllables | Physical | 4 | Laukika heard through the external senses (of hearing)(external) |
The cosmic storage
According to the scriptures, every tiny thought one thinks, every little word one utters, every minute kaarmic detail gets stored in Aakaasha. Thus, ether is an infinite storage facility of everything in the cosmos, past and present. All the knowledge that ever needs to be known, all inventions and discoveries that have been made and are yet to be made, every musical note, every mathematical equation, are all out there in the universe, stored as aakaashic records.
The ancients were familiar with insights into the future called “aakaasha vaani” or a voice from the skies. These disembodied voices were also called “ashareera vaani”, literally - ‘voice without a body’.
Perhaps the most famous example is the prediction of Kamsa’s death, even as he pulled the chariot of his newly married sister, Devaki and her husband, Vasudeva. A voice from the skies is said to have said, “The eighth child of this couple will be the cause of your death!”
But considering the composed acceptances* of such dreadful predictions and the lack of search for the origin of the voices, scholars have suggested that these excerpts from the aakaashic records were inaudible and were intangibly introduced to the intended recipient as an intuitive thought.
*With the exception of Kamsa, of course, who upon hearing this, drew out his sword to kill Devaki while Vasudeva pleaded for her life promising to surrender every new-born for him to slay...
In recent years a novel concept of “opening and reading aakaashic records” has gained immense popularity, in the East and the West. Youtube is swarming with videos that promise to teach you ways to unlock these records (through meditation) and resolve all problems by seeking specific information or posing pertinent questions!