Acharya Shree, can you please shed light on angels, guardian angels, and spirit guides?
Angels have different names in different languages.
In Sanskrit, it is called deva and devattas.
Or female is devis.
More or less, all religions, they believe in angels.
Extremely believer in angels is one of the oldest religion...Jain.
They think there are 26 heavens.
And they are superior than eachother.
First of all you have to understand...
That every religion believes in angels...like Catholic.
Angel Gabriel. Like conceiving...that Mary conceived Jesus.
Even she was Virgin Mary.
Same idea in Jain religion. It is called hiranyagabeshi.
I don't know how this word twisted. Hiranyagabeshi and Gabriel. The same function.
Islam believes same way. Old Testament believes same way. All the other Christian beliefs... Let me tell you first:
Angels are entities. They don't have physical bodies.
They have astral body.
You cannot see them with your naked eyes.
Many people claimed they see angels.
I think that is their productive mind.
Angel cannot be seen. Angel can be felt.
Sometimes they seems like real that they are touching me, they are caressing me, they are healing me.
Like the people believing in guardian angels.
They are entities.
But like astral body.
It is like air.
Or it can be a light body.
Your hand...if you try to touch an angel, your hand come...If the angel is standing in front of you...
Your hand can go from front to back.
And angel's body will not be hurt.
Because it is like air.
It is not a physical body.
Angels...they exist in different form.
On different planet.
Sometimes they can appear on this earth too.
But it is rare occasions.
So if somebody's praying for the angels and at that time they are walking on this Earth they can be happy on you.
All the cultures on this earth, more or less, they believe in angels.
And they worship them.
Worship them for their own selfishness.
Because they want something from them.
And the angel can be very happy on you.
It can guide you. That's what we call a spirit guide.
Or it can protect you.
If they are happy on you.
In hindu culture or all hindu religions they have a very weird idea about angels that you can make a slave
You can make an angel your own slave.
But you have to do a lot of different kind of sadhana.
And in that sadhana...in that spiritual practices...that angel will appear in front of you.
And he will say first that "don't do...don't continue these spiritual practices".
"Otherwise I have to obey you".
And they try to tell you don't do it, don't do it.
But you do it then finally if you don't give up...
Then they begin to obey you.
That is common belief in Hindu culture.
And all the people believe oh this saint has an angel.
Can answer our questions.
Can guide us.
But yes there are guardian angels
Is not angels what we believe from the other universe or other planet.
It is your own spirit becomes your own guardian angel.
If you practice to see I will suggest to you one simple spiritual practice.
And you will be surprised you will always have your own guardian angel.
Go to the sunshine.
And when Sun in the morning your shade body...shadow...your own shadow,
You just concentrate your own shadow.
And just look at it.
Try to look at it without blinking eyes.
And slowly by practice by practice months and months
that shadow will turn...begin to turn into a real man
But it needs lot of confidence, lot of concentration, lot of courage.
Because you might hurt your eyes, your own eyes because you are not blinking them.
And you are standing outside.
It's very difficult to do it. It is called Chaya Purusha Siddhi.
And it is very ancient technique.
Once it is...
Finished or fully practiced
Then it begins to obey you.
Like you can send that Chaya Purusha that guardian angel to any other world and brings the information.
But it's very difficult...it is belief, but it can happen.
So your own spirit practices some kind of spiritual practices and
it becomes your own guardian angel.
So this spirit guide or guardian angel sometimes people believe that there are spirit guide coming from the other world.
Or a person dies or a saint die.
Then they think that...that master, that saint is coming to me.
To the person.
And they call it a spirit guide, they guide them. What to do.
But there are many beliefs. But let me tell you.
Angels rarely appear on the earth because they are not living on this earth.
But there are many people they're like an angel.
A child is born with...we always say "Oh he's coming from the angel world".
Or she's coming from the...they are pure!
Angels are pure and very very sensitive entities.
And it is very difficult to feel them.
Maybe sometimes they are around you you cannot feel it.
But if you become sensitive and you become pure, your heart doesnt think, your mind doesnt think, you are still, you are fully focused...
So you are able to contact with your own spirit. That is an angel.
That can protect you.
That can take you anywhere. All the others, religious belief - that is their own belief.
They can believe it - angels exist or not exist - but you exist!
Your soul exists. You can be your own angel. You can be your own guardian angel. You can be your own spirit guide.
But you have to improve yourself. By spiritual practices - adhyatmik sadhana.