the mental plane. In order to create a unified view of seven bodies and remove earlier Sanskrit terms, an etheric plane was introduced and the term "astral body" was used to replace the former kamarupa - sometimes termed the body of emotion, illusion or desire. Some of those propounding such claims explain their belief that letting go of desires is spiritual progress by noting that, the more one lets go of earthly 'desire' feelings, the less tied down to the physical world, a world of illusion, and the more connected to the astral, where all is visible and known. According to Max Heindel's Rosicrucian writings, desire-stuff may be described as a type of force-matter, in incessant motion, responsive to the slightest feeling. The desire world is also said to be the abode of the dead for some time subsequent to death. It is also the home of the archangels. In the higher regions of the desire world thoughts take a definite form and color perceptible to all, all is light and there is but one long day. In his book Autobiography of a Yogi, Paramhansa Yogananda provides details about the astral planes learned from his guru. Yogananda claims that nearly all individuals enter the astral planes after death. There they work out the seeds of past karma through astral incarnations, or (if their karma requires) they return to earthly incarnations for further refinement. Once an individual has attained the meditative state of nirvikalpa samadhi in an earthy or astral incarnation, the soul may progress upward to the "illumined astral planet" of Hiranyaloka. After this transitional stage, the soul may then move upward to the more subtle causal spheres where many more incarnations allow them to further refine before final unification. See also Archangels Astral projection Astrotheology Bardo Barzakh Celestial sphere Celestial spheres Chakra Dream world (plot device) Esoteric cosmology Plane (esotericism) Pure land Linga sarira (subtle body) Takama-ga-hara Thought-Forms (book) Notes References Bruce, Robert, Astral Dynamics: A NEW Approach to Out-of-Body Experiences, 1999, Buhlman, William, Adventures Beyond the Body: How to experience out-of-body travel. Heindel, Max, The Rosicrucian Mysteries (Chapter III: The Visible and the Invisible Worlds), 1911, Leadbeater, Charles Webster, The Astral Plane: Its scenery, inhabitants and phenomena, 1900 Powell, Arthur E., The Astral Body and other Astral Phenomena Steiner, Rudolf, Theosophy: An introduction to the supersensible knowledge of the world and the destination of man. London: Rudolf Steiner