# What Actually Are The 3 Worlds? And Is Maya Limited Only To The Physical Plane?



## harcharanjitsinghdhillon (Nov 30, 2012)

to my understanding this three worlds are physical plane, astral plane and casual or mental plane..in all this 3 planes, Time and death is everywhere..in other words death will never leave us. if naams are not earned in a human birth on physical planes then after death we will still wonder in this 3 loks.. this is my oppinion so what is yours? please discuss and give your respected views on the above subject. sat sri akal



Page 67, Line 2
ਤੀਨੇ ਲੋਅ ਵਿਆਪਤ ਹੈ ਅਧਿਕ ਰਹੀ ਲਪਟਾਇ ॥
तीने लोअ विआपत है अधिक रही लपटाइ ॥
Ŧīne lo▫a vi▫āpaṯ hai aḏẖik rahī laptā▫e.
The *three worlds* are permeated by Maya; they are totally covered by it.
*Guru Amar Das*   -  [SIZE=-1]view Shabad/Paurhi/Salok[/SIZE]


Page 424, Line 6
ਤੀਨਿ ਭਵਨ ਮਹਿ ਏਕਾ ਮਾਇਆ ॥
तीनि भवन महि एका माइआ ॥
Ŧīn bẖavan mėh ekā mā▫i▫ā.
Throughout the *three worlds*, is the one Maya.
*Guru Amar Das*   -  [SIZE=-1]view Shabad/Paurhi/Salok[/SIZE]


Page 480, Line 17
ਜਿਨਿ ਤ੍ਰਿਭਵਣੁ ਡਸੀਅਲੇ ਗੁਰ ਪ੍ਰਸਾਦਿ ਡੀਠੀ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥
जिनि त्रिभवणु डसीअले गुर प्रसादि डीठी ॥१॥ रहाउ ॥
Jin ṯaribẖavaṇ dasī▫ale gur parsāḏ dīṯẖī. ||1|| rahā▫o.
By Guru's Grace, I have seen her, who has bitten the *three worlds*. ||1||Pause||
*Devotee Kabir*   -  [SIZE=-1]view Shabad/Paurhi/Salok[/SIZE]


Page 603, Line 4
ਤਿਹੀ ਗੁਣੀ ਤ੍ਰਿਭਵਣੁ ਵਿਆਪਿਆ ਭਾਈ ਗੁਰਮੁਖਿ ਬੂਝ ਬੁਝਾਇ ॥
तिही गुणी त्रिभवणु विआपिआ भाई गुरमुखि बूझ बुझाइ ॥
Ŧihī guṇī ṯaribẖavaṇ vi▫āpi▫ā bẖā▫ī gurmukẖ būjẖ bujẖā▫e.
The *three worlds* are entangled in the three qualities, O Siblings of Destiny; the Guru imparts understanding.
*Guru Amar Das*   -  [SIZE=-1]view Shabad/Paurhi/Salok[/SIZE]


Page 1078, Line 2
ਤ੍ਰਿਭਵਣ ਧਾਵੈ ਤਾ ਕਿਛੂ ਨ ਬੂਝੈ ॥
त्रिभवण धावै ता किछू न बूझै ॥
Ŧaribẖavaṇ ḏẖāvai ṯā kicẖẖū na būjẖai.
One who wanders through the *three worlds*, understands nothing.
*Guru Arjan Dev*   -  [SIZE=-1]view Shabad/Paurhi/Salok[/SIZE]


----------



## Luckysingh (Nov 30, 2012)

I'm not too sure, but I've assumed and thought of the 3 worlds as bein Air, water and land.
as we have-
Life in air
Life on land
Life in water.

I think it goes back to when Guru Nanak ji describes how the world was created.
There are many references, but on P19 it is a little more specific with your question

ਸਾਚੇ ਤੇ ਪਵਨਾ ਭਇਆ ਪਵਨੈ ਤੇ ਜਲੁ ਹੋਇ ॥
Sācẖe ṯe pavnā bẖa▫i▫ā pavnai ṯe jal ho▫e.
From the True Lord came the air, and from the air came water.
ਜਲ ਤੇ ਤ੍ਰਿਭਵਣੁ ਸਾਜਿਆ ਘਟਿ ਘਟਿ ਜੋਤਿ ਸਮੋਇ ॥
Jal ṯe ṯaribẖavaṇ sāji▫ā gẖat gẖat joṯ samo▫e.
From water, He created the three worlds; in each and every heart He has infused His Light.


We can see that it talks about water and the physical material worlds created from here. So, I don't think it is the astral planes .etc..or even consciousness and subconsciousness.

In my opinion, I really don't think that the maya world has influence in the astral plane or when your consciousness is completely isolated!!!

I could be wrong, but to me the consciousness and astral activity wouldn't make as much sense.

Alos there is a term called 'tribhavan', and it is also a name used by sikhs sometimes written as triphavan,- this means 'of the 3 worlds' or king of 3 worlds.


----------



## spnadmin (Nov 30, 2012)

Luckysingh ji

Your understanding is also my understanding on the specifics of the "3 worlds." However Guruji also says that Akaal also created worlds upon words, and billions of planets. The scientific understanding of the creation of the universe is not at odds with Guru Nanak. So yes it is important to be clear about "worlds" versus "planes" of reality. Two different things, one closely established in Gurbani; one not so and more likely to refer to aspects of spiritual awareness.


----------



## Kanwaljit.Singh (Dec 1, 2012)

They could also be Earth, Heaven and Hell. Guru Sahib has a way of equating all the concepts to one!


----------



## Luckysingh (Dec 1, 2012)

Kanwaljit Singh said:


> They could also be Earth, Heaven and Hell. Guru Sahib has a way of equating all the concepts to one!


 
Not trying to go off topic, but I think 'hell' is what we make ourselves as ''appey beej apaeye hee khao'.
Although there are no heaven and hell in sikhi, the 'nark' or bad hell is menioned in metaphors and the heaven is the place or goal that we want to achieve.


----------



## Gyani Jarnail Singh (Dec 1, 2012)

IN  BASANT KI VAAR..Guru ji tells us that the Tribhavans..get PERMEATED WITH THE SWEET SMELLS OF BASANT..spring.....BASANT...SPRING..FLOWERS BLOOMING...ETC IS AN EARTH phenomenon...happens here right here..on EARTH...and a NOSE of the physicla body is needed to smell and see Basant...and if this permeates the THREE WORLDS..TRIBHAVAN..then once again as GURBANI is in a Human Langauge wreitten on paper in INK menat to be read understood by humans and meant as LIFE INSTRUCTIONS Life Manual...the tribhavan is sky..ocean..and Land...RIGHT HERE...ON EARTH...Not the alleged heavens or Hells or purgatory...or other worlds( even though billions exist)..earths spring is for this earth ONLY.
I am amazed..Guru Ji Says..Smell the Coffee..and we wonder IF the coffee cup is in Heaven..or in hell..or is on some far away world...when the cup is right under our NOSE...and meant for us to DRINK...???


----------



## harcharanjitsinghdhillon (Dec 3, 2012)

here we are talking about maya.. in other words the 3 worlds.. or sometimes called as kaal-time or region of death, because the end product is death here. here in maya there are many types of temporal heavens.. all of this heavens can be enjoyed by our ego, or mind and body.. maya cannot show us eternal things.. here in this 3 worlds, the truth is the physical world or sometimes we call pind.. example the shadow of the moon drops on a pool of water, from the pool the image is reflected on the wall nearby.. the truth here is the physical moon, the rest two are just shadow.. so our world has also a shadow. so this world plus it s counterpart shadow is called maya.. true heaven Such khand is located above this 3 worlds where time does not exist.. that heaven is eternal.. this is my oppinion and understanding. if we want to understand about maya, then understand our mind and body.. mind and body is a sample of maya.. but actually we are souls, our true home is located much higher then the 3 worlds.. sat sri akal


----------



## BhagatSingh (Dec 3, 2012)

Lucky Singh ji,
Good try but Kanwaljit Singh ji is closer

The three worlds, planes, realms are: Akash, Pritvi and Pataal 
Heaven, Earth (with air, water, etc) and Nether
 

ਪਉੜੀ ॥
पउड़ी ॥
Pa▫oṛī.
Pauree:

ਆਪੇ ਤਖਤੁ ਰਚਾਇਓਨੁ ਆਕਾਸ ਪਤਾਲਾ ॥ 
आपे तखतु रचाइओनु आकास पताला ॥
Āpe ṯakẖaṯ racẖā▫i▫on ākās paṯālā.
He Himself established His throne, in the Akaashic ethers and the nether worlds.

ਹੁਕਮੇ ਧਰਤੀ ਸਾਜੀਅਨੁ ਸਚੀ ਧਰਮ ਸਾਲਾ ॥ 
हुकमे धरती साजीअनु सची धरम साला ॥
Hukme ḏẖarṯī sājī▫an sacẖī ḏẖaram sālā.
By the Hukam of His Command, He created the earth, the true home of Dharma.

ਆਪਿ ਉਪਾਇ ਖਪਾਇਦਾ ਸਚੇ ਦੀਨ ਦਇਆਲਾ ॥ 
आपि उपाइ खपाइदा सचे दीन दइआला ॥
Āp upā▫e kẖapā▫iḏā sacẖe ḏīn ḏa▫i▫ālā.
He Himself created and destroys; He is the True Lord, merciful to the meek.

ਸਭਨਾ ਰਿਜਕੁ ਸੰਬਾਹਿਦਾ ਤੇਰਾ ਹੁਕਮੁ ਨਿਰਾਲਾ ॥ 
सभना रिजकु स्मबाहिदा तेरा हुकमु निराला ॥
Sabẖnā rijak sambāhiḏā ṯerā hukam nirālā.
You give sustenance to all; how wonderful and unique is the Hukam of Your Command!

ਆਪੇ ਆਪਿ ਵਰਤਦਾ ਆਪੇ ਪ੍ਰਤਿਪਾਲਾ ॥੧॥ 
आपे आपि वरतदा आपे प्रतिपाला ॥१॥
Āpe āp varaṯḏā āpe parṯipālā. ||1||
You Yourself are permeating and pervading; You Yourself are the Cherisher. ||1|

There is actually more (and they are also created and destroyed countless times) but they are usually referred to as "Trai Lok", Akash is everything higher than Prithvi, and Pataal is everything lower than Pritvi. Prithvi is also called Bhur.



Satya-loka 
   Tapa-loka 
   Jana-loka   
 Mahar-loka   
 Svar-loka 
 Bhuvar-loka 
 *Bhur-loka *< where we are 
   Atala-loka   
 Vitala-loka   
 Sutala-loka   
 Talatala-loka 
   Mahatala-loka   
 Rasatala-loka   
 Patala-loka
 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loka

The word Bhur appears also in the Gayatri Mantra, and is translated as:
BHUR (भूर्) Firstly, the word Bhur implies existence. God is self-existent and independent of all. He is eternal and unchanging. Without beginning and without end, God exists as a continuous, permanent, constant entity. Secondly, the word Bhur can also mean the Earth, on which we are born and sustained. God is the provider of all, and it is through His divine will that we our blessed with all that we require to maintain us through our lives. Finally, Bhur signifies Prana, or life (literally, breath). God is That which gives life to all. Whilst He is independent of all, all are dependent on Him. It is God who has given us life, God who maintains us throughout our lives, and God alone who has the ability to take away our life, when He so chooses. The only permanent entity, all others are subject to His own will
http://www.eaglespace.com/spirit/gayatribywords.php

That should give us a good idea what the Trai Lok are.


----------



## Kamala (Dec 3, 2012)

3 worlds, in literal meaning from what I read, they are ruled by Tripura Sundri..

I think this is it:


> _*Kāmaloka*_:
> world of desire, typified by base desires, populated by hell beings, preta, animals, ghosts, humans and lower demi-gods.
> _*Rūpaloka*_:
> world of form, predominately free of baser desires, populated by jhana-dwelling gods, possible rebirth destination for those well practiced in jhanic absorption.
> ...


----------



## spnadmin (Dec 3, 2012)

Admin note: Are we discussing Gurmat, or some form of Vedantic thought yet to be identified? If this thread is a general philosophical discussion with Shabad Guru thrown in here and there for contrast, then the thread will need to be moved. Please clarify so I can move the thread to a more appropriate location in the forum. I see a lot of single-tuk posting mixed together with dashes of mystical terminology.


----------



## Luckysingh (Dec 3, 2012)

Bhagat ji,

It's not often that I need to correct you, but this isn't a correction but a slight deviation from the OP, I think!!!peacesign

Your explanation of ''Trilok'' is correct no doubt.  This refers to the realms as you stated.
But, I think that ''Tribhavan'' which is what the shabads refer to is different to ''trilok''.

Trilok ਤ੍ਰਿਲੋਕ can be found in the respected DG, and it does reflect your corrrect information above.
I can't seem to find ਤ੍ਰਿਲੋਕ in the Sri Guru Granth Sahib ji and I'm not convinced that Guru Nanak ji's explanation of water in the shabad below is referring to semi or formless realms.

ਸਾਚੇ ਤੇ ਪਵਨਾ ਭਇਆ ਪਵਨੈ ਤੇ ਜਲੁ ਹੋਇ ॥
Sācẖe ṯe pavnā bẖa▫i▫ā pavnai ṯe jal ho▫e.
From the True Lord came the air, and from the air came water.
ਜਲ ਤੇ ਤ੍ਰਿਭਵਣੁ ਸਾਜਿਆ ਘਟਿ ਘਟਿ ਜੋਤਿ ਸਮੋਇ ॥
Jal ṯe ṯaribẖavaṇ sāji▫ā gẖat gẖat joṯ samo▫e.
From water, He created the three worlds; in each and every heart He has infused His Light.

Then there is also 'pavan, pani, agni pataal' in japji, which is also referring to physical and earthly realms and we also have the popular salok 'pavan guru pani pita'.

It's interesting that we have 'trilok' and 'tribhavan' in gurbani (yes i will call DG gurbani where I believe so!:grinningsingh
But noticing and coming across these has been an accidental encounter and to differentiate is quite a learning curve!


----------



## spnadmin (Dec 3, 2012)

Luckysingh said:


> Bhagat ji,
> 
> 
> It's interesting that we have 'trilok' and 'tribhavan' in gurbani (yes i will call DG gurbani where I believe so!:grinningsingh



Believing does not make it so!  What we have now is yet another disconnect. Good that you identified Dasam Granth as one of your sources; but it is not Gurbani. 

Moreover, the direction of the thread is still drifting. I will close the thread if we do not get back on course. That is better than a dab of Dasam Granth, a dab here and there of mysticism, and a tuk now and then of SGGS instead of full Shabads.


----------



## Luckysingh (Dec 3, 2012)

Sorry adminji,
It was a tongue n cheek kind of comment with referece to some other threads that 'we both' know about previously (he knows what I meant!).

I think we are aware not to be mixing the two granths when explaining as this is why I tried to point that 'trilok' seemed different to 'tribhavan' and that trilok can be found in DG and not  Sri Guru Granth sahib ji.
I can see that the two can be easily confused and overlapped, which is what I felt Bhagatji  did unintentionally.:motherlylove:

Sorry!mundahug


----------



## spnadmin (Dec 3, 2012)

That's OK luckysingh ji. And thanks for the explanation. You know it is really interesting when someone takes the time to look at a concept and do something like this.  Very carefully explores a topic, for example "water," and then illustrates it through Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji, or shows how Dasam Granth passages echo that message (when they do), and then adds some thinking from Sikh scholars. Instead of throwing tuks all over the place, along side vedic terminology that is never really connected to the shabads. Once again, I appreciate that you took the time to clarify.

Some writers like Ambarsaria ji have done that, as have others. When they do some posters once again take on the business of throwing tuks around with vedic terminology that does not connect. Very frustrating.


----------



## BhagatSingh (Dec 4, 2012)

Lucky Singh ji,
Trai Bhavan and Trai Lok are synonyms. icecreammunda
In Guru Granth Sahib, Trai Bhavan appears like this: ਤ੍ਰਿਭਵਣ or as: ਤੀਨਿ ਭਵਨ
Trai Lok appears like this: ਤ੍ਰੈ ਲੋਕ or as: ਤੀਨੇ ਲੋਅ, ਤਿਹੁ ਲੋਇ, ਤੀਨਿ ਲੋਕ 

From what you are saying, ਤ੍ਰੈਲੋਕ does not appear. I think it's arbitrarily broken up, the original manuscripts of Guru Granth Sahib were _larhivar_, ie. had no spaces between words. But both are translated to Three Worlds.

A search of ਤ੍ਰਿਭਵਣ in srigranth.org dictionary gives:
[SIZE=+0]*ਤਿੰਨ ਲੋਕ*-*ਆਕਾਸ*,* ਪਾਤਾਲ* ਤੇ *ਧਰਤੀ*, ਤਿੰਨ ਭਵਨ, (ਭਾਵ) ਸਾਰਾ ਸੰਸਾਰ।
[/SIZE]
[SIZE=+0]*(from Sk. Tri + bhuvanam) the three worlds of heaven, earth and nether world *[/SIZE] [SIZE=-1]
Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji Gurmukhi-English Data provided by  Harjinder Singh Gill, Santa Monica, CA, USA.[/SIZE]

Spnadmin ji,
I mentioned the data on Wikipedia on 14 worlds (commonly known as Three Worlds) because those may appear in Gurbani. For example, the second last Rasatal appears in Kabir's saloks, Svarag is pretty common, and so on.


----------



## spnadmin (Dec 4, 2012)

BhagatSingh said:


> Lucky Singh ji,
> 
> 
> 
> ...




Thank you for the clarification. We all appreciate that. And thanks for taking the time. Some of the vocabulary in Kabir merits additional study.


----------



## chazSingh (Dec 5, 2012)

harcharanjitsinghdhillon said:


> to my understanding this three worlds are physical plane, astral plane and casual or mental plane..in all this 3 planes, Time and death is everywhere..in other words death will never leave us. if naams are not earned in a human birth on physical planes then after death we will still wonder in this 3 loks.. this is my oppinion so what is yours? please discuss and give your respected views on the above subject. sat sri akal
> 
> 
> 
> ...


 
From my limited understanding and current experience of simran/meditation, i feel anything from the mind realm to below is all creation...

the astral realm, causual all operate from the universal mind which created everything, all our experiences and worlds. what we think of as individual minds is actually one universal mind creating all. I suppose fully understanding this is part of our journey within.

I have read many people through meditation have reached the astral realm and they think this is the ultimate reality i.e heaven. they get stuck there. ego, desire, anger, lust, greed etc etc all exist in these realms also. so our deeds when taking the inner path are of utmost importance.

With support of our inner guru and guidance of our outer guru we can overcome attachment, ego, desire etc whilst experiencing all the realms and ultimately move beyond the mind and experience the force that coordinates the whole show  I think inner guru acts as an 'express elevator' who takes us to what we need to see and know and then beyond.

I cannot comment on the true meaning of the use of "three worlds" in gurbani. rather than speculate i;m hoping by following guru ji's instruction and dedicating time during amrit vela that true knowledge of gurbani will come to me 

god bless on your journey.


----------



## harcharanjitsinghdhillon (Dec 5, 2012)

three qualities guna will also help us in understanding the spread of maya..


----------



## harcharanjitsinghdhillon (Dec 13, 2012)

from Oamkaar all regions of time and space was created.. there was no space and time at the beginning when nothing was created. only god was there in unmanifested form and there was no maya. MAYA is not eternal. thanks


----------



## Luckysingh (Dec 13, 2012)

Time is a concept of the illusion only.
When it is just you or your consciousness in pure existance and no human body or you are seperated from your body, then time does NOT exist either.
You will only experience time whilst you are breathing in this human life form.

This is my own opinion.


----------



## Gyani Jarnail Singh (Dec 13, 2012)

Whats "Time"...imho..only a human who can avail himself of a clock/calendar  has some notion of time passing by...There is no time for prisoners in solitary...I very much doubt Bhai Maharaj Singh who was buried alive in a deep dungeon for 16 years and DIED BLIND due to no sunlight...knew how time passed by...outside the walls above his dungeon...people in solitary always mark crosses on their walls to keep a semblance of time...and imho animals have no sense of time either...???
so TIME is just human invention...


----------



## harcharanjitsinghdhillon (Dec 21, 2012)

in the whole of MAYA three types of consciousness is at play, waking state, sleep and dreaming, and sleep without dreams.. in all of them there is time running.. only in the 4th stage the true soul will manifest and no time and space here.. maya has a physical form and it also extend to etheric levels.. it is actually the play of 5 matters, from grosser-physical  to subtle etheric levels-- shadow part of maya. thanks

You have been asked many times to explain what content in red (specifically the "etheric/astral" material has to do with a) sikhism? b) this thread?) Fact of the matter is it has nothing to do with Sikhism and is misleading unless you declare the context in which you are writing. spnadmin


----------



## Harkiran Kaur (Nov 20, 2015)

I know this is a bit old... but reference the illusion of time...

Quantify the term 'NOW' 

One would say the present correct?

But by the time you finish the word, the first part is already in the past.  The future has not happened yet.  And 'NOW' is can not be quantified... any 'chunk' of time would automatically incur a beginning and end meaning there is no 'Now' in it.  

So we can't quantify a time which is 'now' because it's always moving... we can't access the past OR the future... so we are in an illusion of time. 

The best we can say about our awareness of 'time' is that it is an ever moving wavefront (something itself not exactly tangible as it's own thing) That wavefront is moving through something... 

It's like a book.  Taken as a whole, there seems to be no movement - no story line - the whole story is just there as one thing, the book.  But when you start to read the story, you start to immerse yourself within it, and then the timeline in the story becomes apparent.  Once you have read a book, the timeline is now outside of your experience.  It's a book, closed on the shelf.  And you have all of the knowledge of that story as one now, in your memory.  You are essentially outside of time as far as the book is concerned. You know the whole story, at once.


----------

