Visit to Indraloka
by Swami Muktananda
One day in meditation I visited a great city. As soon as I saw it, I fell into a deep sleep and so could not see or understand anything about it; I was plunged into its waters of love. I passed through the darkness and reached Tandraloka, where I saw, in the distance, a chariot coming toward me. It was made in a unique way, a way that human ingenuity could not reproduce. It was studded with precious stones, made, not of matter, but of Consciousness. Instead of wheels, it had four small pillars beneath it. It shone all over with rays of divine light, as if illuminated by thousands of suns, and it moved without touching the ground. When I saw it, I was swept away in ecstasy. The chariot approached me and stopped, and a god in human form stepped out. He was dressed in white silk, and wore jeweled sandals on his feet and a girdle around his waist - not like the leather belt that modern men wear, but a belt set with countless jewels. He wore a necklack of pearls, a small jeweled crown on his head, and over his shoulder the sacred thread. His celestial radiance brightened my face and the surrounding mango trees. Luminous rings hung from his ears, and he held a shining weapon in his hand. The god looked at me and smiled, then spoke in Sanskrit, the language of the gods: rathe upavisa - "Sit in the chariot."I didn't know Sanskrit very well, but somehow I understood him. I immediately got in and sat down. Here another surprise awaited me; from the outside, the chariot looked about ten feet square, but once inside I saw that it was very big and furnished with everything one would need. There was water, a small bathroom, and several bedrooms. The cushions were strangely beautiful. They were set with divine jewels, whose radiance spread light everywhere. There was one seat there which attracted me very much and yet bewildered me.
After he had shown me around, the god took me to an outer room. At that point I felt the chariot setting off at the speed of lightening. I sat down on one seat and and looked at the god in human form sitting opposite me on a seat from which two jewels were throwing light on my body. We arrived at a wonderful, extraordinary city, where there were trees bearing blossoms of many colors and divine fragrances, trees laden with many kinds of sweet and juicy fruit, beautiful rippling streams, singing birds and different kinds of animals. On one side I saw enchanting swans of blue, white, yellow, and black, while on the other, herds of radiant golden deer leaped and bounded fearlessly. Some of them sparkled like diamonds, emeralds, and sapphires. I could also see herds of splendid cows and calves. The winds were laden with divine fragrances. I was in ecstasy at what I saw.
After a time the chariot came to the edge of the city and passed inside it. Everything there was made in a supernatural way, even the bricks, the stone, and the earth. Even the drains were small and beautiful. Truly, this was heaven. The light there was different from that of the sun. The city was illuminated by a silvery light. It was cool; there was no heat. All the leaves of the trees were green, and they did not fade or wither away.
I remind you all that I saw all these scenes in Tandraloka while I was sitting in meditation in my hut in Nagad. Finally we landed near a palace. The paths in front of it were strewn with flowers. Men stood on one side of the path holding garlands, and on the other side stood women holding golden salvers adorned for arati. As we both got down from the chariot, they showered me with flowers.
I now understood that the god who was with me was none other than the king of heaven and lord of a hundred sacrifices, Indra himself. He had risen to his present eminence because of the good deeds he had done as a king in a previous life as a human being. Indra is really the king of all worlds. We were both worshipped with arati. All the people of the city were young, healthy, and free from sadness. Although their bodies were slim, they were strong, and they all glowed with a remarkable radiance. I had been in Indra's own dwelling place, but now, accompanied by him, I went to see other places and was welcomed in the each by arati, offered by girls and women, and by flowers strewn on the path. After I had seen everything, we returned to the palace, where a company of classical musicians awaited us. Indraloka is the world of the virtuous, where sensuous desires are fulfilled, and because it grants enjoyment, it may also be called Sakamaloka, the world of the satisfaction of desires. As I looked around, a necklace of pearls and another of flowers were places over my head. At that moment the flying silver chariot appeared before us. I understood it as a signal for our departure, and Indra and I got in and sat down in our seats. In a short time I was back in Nagad, and my meditation stopped.
I opened my eyes and saw the same scene in front of me. When I shut them I could still see it. I was struck with wonder as I remembered all I had seen. I wandered around a bit outside and my tandra trance finally disappeared. I sat down quietly, and thought about everything so that I could remember it all very clearly. In this way the journey of Muktananda's yoga of meditation continued, full of different experiences.
Having seen heaven, hell, and the other world of the cobras, I began to have complete faith in the scriptures. Before, I had believed that the only truth was Self-realization and had not believed in heaven, hell, the world of the gods, and other such things. Now I was convinced that what the scriptures said was perfectly true and that it was we who were unable to understand. The ancient sages could see deeply into areas that we cannot see and had composed the scriptures with the omniscience acquired through yoga. This is why their words are true. When we can learn something by doing just a little sadhana, how could anything remain hidden from those sages and seers whose sadhana was perfect?