How You Can Overcome Negativity by an Effective Positive Attitude

Part 3 of Demons and Dunces (See Part 1 here, and Part 2 here.)

Positive attitude

Always remember that the positive expels the negative and do not fear or feel animosity for the spirits, for fear and hatred attract evil. Many of the exorcism prayers for both Eastern and Western Christianity are ridiculously negative and even hateful, and can prolong the disturbance and even guarantee its continuation.

Furthermore, a psychotic individual pretending to be possessed by spirits and undergoing such exorcism is capable of producing all kinds of phenomena that read like the best of horror stories. I have witnessed this nonsense myself. Here, too, sincerity on the part of the exorcist is no safeguard.

Blessing

Blessing is usually the best form of exorcism. I have seen possessed and obsessed people freed quickly and easily (and without drama) by such means. On occasion I have found that praying for an entity can benefit it. This is because some spirits actually come for help, but at the same time their deep negativity may impel them to be hostile and threatening–they cannot help themselves.

Do not let spirits fool you by pretending they need you to keep on “helping” them by praying and suchlike. This is just a way to tie you to them. If something does not get rid of them right away, then another approach is needed.

Evil spirits come for help

One of Swami Sivananda’s disciples told me that in an Indian scripture it is written that once many evil spirits came to Brahma the Creator and asked how they could be delivered from their negative condition, for their evil rendered them unable to help themselves. Brahma told them to seek out true yogis and sadhakas and stay near them and in time they would be freed.

In India I have been in some ashrams and holy places that were incredibly haunted by such spirits.

True life examples

I once read an account by a Westerner who had encountered negative spirits in one of the holiest shrines of Shiva, who is merciful to evil and crazy spirits. She was so terrified that she ran from there and denounced Hinduism as being demonic. But the negativity was in her, and that attracted the spirits to her just as positivity can attract them. I met her some time after reading her account and found her to be literally spiritually crazy, just like the spirits she had encountered that frightened her so.

Another yogi friend began seeing a terrifying and threatening entity every time he sat for meditation. His meditation room had doors with glass panes. Shortly after beginning to meditate he would feel something awful nearby, and opening his eyes would see a werewolf kind of creature leaning against the door on the opposite side and glaring at him. Obviously the being could not come in the meditation room, but how could he close his eyes with it just a foot away from him? Well, he could and he did, and after about four times the thing no longer appeared.

A personal experience

Not long before I took up yoga, I had attracted a non-human entity unintentionally through a mistaken attempt at psychic development. How it got into the earth plane I have no idea, but it had been worshipped as a god in an ancient culture. When that worship had ceased it had just drifted about. It was not at all malevolent, but it was ignorant and at loose ends and wanted human contact.

I did not fear possession or obsession by it, but I realized it was psychically unhealthy to have any kind of contact with it, and that further contact could be detrimental. (It might have caused me to be bound to it after death, but I did not realize that at the time.) So I just ignored it, and after a while I did not see it very often, and then not at all.

Yet one day when I was in the vegetarian restaurant at the Hollywood SRF Center, the entity came up to me and wanted further contact. I concentrated at the third eye and calmly broadcasted the message that I was not interested in any contact and that it should seek to return to its normal plane and even to move higher.

That was the end of all contact, and I feel sure that the merciful vibrations of Blessed Master Yogananda in that sacred place freed the entity.

As I have said, the yogi may have such experiences because of some previous life karma. Usually, though, japa and meditation draw that which is good and repel that which is evil. If evil (in the form of entities or energies) approaches and japa and meditation are maintained calmly by the yogi, then it leaves, dissolves or is transmuted.

Transmutation into a higher plane

As I have said, spirits come to us for help. Even though a lot spend their time harming and terrifying people because of their hatred and malice, some really do want to be freed from their miserable state, even though they still manifest hostility toward the people or place from which they seek help.

Omkar Sahai, a disciple of Swami Keshavananda (Keshabananda) written about in Autobiography of a Yogi, told me that once when he was with Anandamayi Ma standing with a group of people where Ma was sitting under a tree, one of the tree’s branches began to move up and down, at first gently and then violently. At the same time everyone backed away as though some force was pushing them.

Ma continued to sit there quietly, and slowly the branch stopped moving. Then everyone came forward to where they had been standing. Later Ma said that a brahmarakshasa (see the article “Brahmarakshasa” on Wikipedia) had come and was moving the branch to get her attention. That was all she told, but it was assumed that she had freed it.

God’s Name as a purifier

It is a common practice in India for there to be continual (akhanda) kirtan (singing of Holy Names) for some hours, days and or even months. At Sivanandashram in Rishhikesh the Mahamantra Akhanda Kirtan has been going on for seventy-four years.

One time I participated in an akhanda kirtan at Sapta Rishi Ashram north of the holy city of Hardwar. I had stayed at the ashram five years before and found it one of those places where spirits come for release or at least some relief. It was still the same, and early on in the kirtan I saw quite a few wandering spirits, one of them a very frightening spirit of the type called pishacha–a blood-drinker.

After some hours this spirit came right into the area of the kirtan and began shouting and obviously threatening the singers, who of course had no idea he was there. But I saw and heard him and was on guard, to put it mildly. Fortunately, he ignored me and kept on raving and threatening.

After some time he stopped and just stood there. Pishachas are intensely black, almost like a total void rather than a color. But after more time, he became more like a normal black hue, and then began to become lighter and lighter in color. Finally he was glowing white and suddenly was gone. He had gone to a higher world. I have witnessed less dramatic transmutations at other times, some of them in kirtan and others in ritualistic worship and meditation.

On occasion the released spirits express gratitude before passing upward. Always remember: the core of the evil spirit is the same divine spirit at the core of all beings. Otherwise they could not be freed.

Earthbound spirits

I mentioned earthbound spirits before. They can be encountered also, some of them malevolent, some of the insane and some them suffering and frightened. These, too, may show up, especially to a yogi. Prayer and good will go a great deal to healing them. They, too, can be lifted into a higher level where they would be if they had not for some karmic reason become earthbound.

Those who see a demon behind every grain of sand will say: “Aha! he is telling people to sympathize with them and in that way get under their power!” There is no doubt that a foolish and sentimental sympathy will not help those spirits, and they can start pestering and even tormenting those that do not try to help them in the right way.

In fact, there are times when they must kindly be told: “I cannot help you. Please go elsewhere.” I have had to do so myself on occasion, because otherwise the incautious yogi can become swamped by such spirits. Knowing our limitations and acting accordingly is an important asset in many aspects of life, including this.

If the spirit does not go, then intonations of Om and water and fire blessed by Om as I described earlier must come into use as well as meditation.

Animal spirits

Animal spirits can be earthbound, too. Since they do not have human intelligence you cannot talk to them. But you can pray for them and even ask their guardian spirits (they have them) to come help them or to ask holy angels to come to their aid.

This is a very long answer to your question, but I wanted it to be complete. Avoid those who are obsessed with the devil and demons and keep company with those who are devoted to God and his true saints.