New Delhi: Tibetan Buddhism is renowned for its deep spiritual practices. the religious structure and texts unveils a mystical phenomenon known as the “rainbow body.” This extraordinary transformation of the physical form into radiant lights is considered a profound spiritual achievement.
The essence of Rainbow body
In the Vajrayana traditions of Tibetan Buddhism, the material world is believed to be composed of five fundamental elements: space, air, fire, water, and earth. Tibetan scriptures, including The Tibetan Book of the Dead, assert that these elemental energies permeating the cosmos are indistinguishable from those within the human body. Consequently, the human body is perceived both as an individual entity and a microcosm of the universe.
Specific Buddhist meditation techniques are designed to manipulate the gravitational field of these five elements within the body, transmuting them into the five resplendent hues of the color spectrum. This physical luminosity is referred to as “jalu” in Tibetan, which translates to “rainbow body.” The rainbow body represents the metamorphosis of the ordinary human form after years of dedicated spiritual practice.
Recognizing the rainbow body
Tibetan traditions have outlined signs that signify the attainment of the rainbow body. While alive, those who have achieved this spiritual state are believed to cast no shadows in lamplight or sunlight. Upon their passing, their physical bodies reportedly undergo a dramatic reduction in size, emitting fragrances instead of the usual scent of decomposition. The common metric for the shrunken corpse of a rainbow body is the “length of a forearm.” Other telltale signs include the sudden blossoming of exotic plants and flowers at any time of the year and the appearance of rainbows in the sky.
A rare variation of the rainbow body is known as the “great transference into rainbow body,” or “jalu powa chemo.” This involves the complete transformation of the material body into radiant light, leaving behind only hair and fingernails. While the historical origins of this phenomenon remain a subject of limited study, it is often associated with the eighth-century Dzogchen meditation master Padmasambhava, who, according to legend, attained the great transference and entered an eternal state of being.
A video was shared by an Instagram user named being111enlightened. The video dwells into the divine nature of human beings which is left untapped by the majority of the population.
View this post on Instagram
Modern accounts and mystical wonders
Reports of rainbow bodies emerging from Tibet have surfaced sporadically over the past century, with an increasing number of accounts in recent decades. One of the most renowned cases is that of Yilungpa Sonam Namgyel, who achieved rainbow body in 1952, as recounted by Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche in his memoir, “Born in Tibet.” Another remarkable instance is the story of Changchub Dorje, a medical doctor and leader of a Dzogchen community in eastern Tibet’s Nyarong region, as detailed by Chogyal Namkhai Norbu in “The Crystal and the Way of Light.”
The phenomenon of the rainbow body continues to captivate spiritual seekers and scholars alike, offering a glimpse into the profound mysteries of Tibetan Buddhism and the limitless potential of human spirituality.
