How to Receive Spiritual Guidance from the Unseen World?

May the blessings of the Triple Gem be with you all!

In this teaching, we will explore a profound question: how can we receive help for our meditation practice from the unseen world? My hope is to provide you with a few practical points that you can test and experience for yourselves, offering a way to receive spiritual guidance on your journey.

Navigating the Unseen World: Helpers and Hindrances

As we cultivate our spiritual path and develop our inner strengths, it’s helpful to understand that there are beings in the unseen world who can assist us. There are deities, or Devas, as well as celestial beings known as Brahmas. There are also powerful beings like Nagas (serpent spirits) and Yakkhas (nature spirits). Even certain classes of ghosts, known as Pretas, may wish to see our spiritual development succeed.

However, just as our human world contains both good and not-so-good people, the unseen world is also diverse. Some beings have their own imperfections. The most prominent figure who opposes spiritual progress is known as Mara. In the Buddhist view, Mara reached his high position in the highest heavenly realm (Paranimmita Vasavatti) through past meritorious deeds, or kamma.

Yet, like a wealthy person who never practices generosity, he has become attached to his power and does not see a path beyond it. He operates from a powerful wrong view, believing this entire world is under his control. Therefore, anyone who tries to find freedom from his domain through spiritual practice is seen as a threat. Mara and his followers are often the first to create obstacles for those seeking liberation.

Besides Mara, there are other forces in the unseen world that may hinder our progress. These can include deities who hold wrong views (micchā diṭṭhi), as well as certain Nagas, Yakkhas, Pretas, and other non-human beings (Amanussa) who are not supportive of spiritual growth.

Your Spiritual Allies Who Support Your Path

Just as there are those who hinder, there are many in the unseen world who are eager to help. There are Devas, Brahmas, Nagas, Yakkhas, and Amanussa who delight in seeing us perform wholesome actions and cultivate our spirituality. They offer their support and spiritual guidance constantly.

For this, we should feel and express gratitude, a quality known as kelehi guna in Sinhala. I will explain later how we can show this gratitude.

To understand this dynamic of receiving unseen help, let me share some historical context. These are not facts you will find in conventional history books or sources. However, if you possess the ‘divine eye‘ (Dibba-cakkhu), a form of clear-seeing developed through meditation, or what some call the ‘third eye,’ you could verify this by looking into the past. Similarly, a genuine practitioner of traditional arts like scrying (anjana) someone not driven by money or deceit could also perceive these truths.

Wisdom from the Ancients: How Great Kings Received Unseen Help

Consider the great kings of ancient Sri Lanka, I am speaking of truly great kings, not all of them. Such as King Dutugemunu, King Valagamba, and King Parakramabahu. Let’s take King Dutugemunu as an example. He unified the nation, won a great war, established prosperity so people had food and drink, and firmly established Theravada Buddhism as the heart of the country.

For a king to accomplish such monumental tasks, he must have received help from the unseen world. This spiritual guidance came from Devas, Brahmas, Nagas, and Yakkhas.

While this isn’t widely recorded, a source for this idea can be found in the commentaries regarding King Ashoka of India. Known as Chandasoka (Ashoka the Cruel) before his transformation and Dharmasoka (Ashoka the Righteous) after, he too received help from deities. He built 84,000 temples and worked tirelessly to spread the Buddha’s teachings.

A truly great leader, unlike many today, rules with two essential qualities: personal integrity and support from the unseen world. With both, a leader can achieve greatness. These ancient kings were also meditators, and that spiritual practice was a source of their strength.

A Practical Guide: How to Ask for Spiritual Assistance

Now, let me explain how you can apply this in your own life. After we perform any meritorious deed, whether large or small, known as āmisa pūjā it is a common practice to chant the ‘Akasattha ca bhummattha’ verse, sharing the merits with the deities. We wish for them to gain divine comforts, wisdom, and the opportunity to realize Nibbana (liberation).

Let’s refine this practice slightly. After you perform a meritorious act, offering flowers, holding a large ceremony, or even after your daily meditation follow this method. Once you have shared the merits, make a clear and firm intention, an aspiration known as an adhiṭṭhāna. Ask the deities directly:

‘Please grant me the energy needed to develop my spiritual path. Show me the correct way forward. Please give me the strength you possess to help me on my spiritual journey.’

When you do this consistently, after morning offerings, evening chanting, or any good deed you will begin to feel a strength building within you. You will start to notice subtle help and spiritual guidance appearing in your life, whether in your worldly affairs like education and work, or in your spiritual practice. For instance, you might be protected from an accident or obstacle that would have otherwise hindered your spiritual progress. The help you receive will be unique to your journey.

Beyond the Gods: Connecting with the Brahma Realms

Beyond the deities, we can also connect with beings in the Brahma realms. Unlike gods in the heavenly worlds who are often born there as a result of meritorious deeds, Brahmas are born in their high realms primarily through the power of meditation.

They have cultivated deep states of mental absorption, known as the Jhānas. In the Abhidhamma (the higher teachings of Buddhism), you can learn about the 20 different Brahma realms and the meditative attainments required to be born in them. Books by esteemed monks like the late Ven. Rerukane Chandawimala Thero can provide deep insights into this.

During your meditation, you can make this aspiration: ‘May a Brahma who is highly skilled in meditation connect with me and offer spiritual guidance to help me walk this path correctly.’ This connection might not be a face-to-face conversation, unless you are very advanced. More often, it works like a message sent to the mind. You might suddenly receive clear instructions ‘Meditate this way,‘ or ‘Adjust your practice like this.‘ If you find yourself going down a wrong path, you might have a sudden realization, an ‘aha!‘ moment that clicks everything into place. This is often a form of spiritual guidance from these helpful beings.

Important Clarification: This is Assistance, Not Worship

Now, I must make a critical point to avoid misunderstanding. I am not, in any way, asking you to take refuge in gods. Please remember this. Your only true and ultimate refuge is the Triple Gem: the Buddha (the Enlightened One), the Dhamma (His teachings), and the Sangha (the community of noble disciples). There is no other ultimate shelter.

However, if you already practice devotion to certain deities, popular ones like Vishnu, Kataragama, Suniyam, or others. You can reframe your practice. Instead of making vows and asking for worldly favors, make this request: ‘Please help me to develop my spiritual practice and my meditation. Please provide me with the right energy and show me the correct path.’ Ask this every day.

This creates a positive connection. Deities with right view (Sammā-diṭṭhi) do not want your worship; they delight in seeing you develop yourself. In fact, it is said that even Sakka, the king of the gods, pays homage to humans who live virtuously and meditate.

Walk Your Own Path: The Goal is Your Independence

The purpose of seeking this help should always be your spiritual growth, not worldly gain. Do not ask these beings for success in your career or relationships. I have never done this, and I advise you not to. The right-view deities and other helpful beings are most interested in supporting your path to liberation.

Even beings in unfortunate states, like the Amanussa, can be helpful. They are born into suffering due to their past unwholesome actions, yet they may rejoice when they see you performing meritorious deeds. I know of a real, present-day story where a non-human being in a house would cause the food to spoil if the family neglected their evening chanting and offerings. This being wanted them to perform good deeds! That is how much even they appreciate wholesome actions.

However, you must never become dependent on this help. Do not become a spiritual parasite, always relying on others. You have your own wisdom (paññā). This support is merely an aid. Ultimately, you must walk this path with your own strength and independence, like a powerful lion. This spiritual guidance is a support system, not a replacement for your own effort.

A Final Blessing on Your Spiritual Journey

So, to receive help, make a general aspiration: ‘May any deity, Brahma, Naga, Yakkha, or any unseen being who wishes for my spiritual development, please show me the correct path, help me overcome my obstacles in meditation, and provide the necessary support.’ After making this intention, always remember to share your merits with them out of gratitude. (You don’t need to share merits with Brahmas, as they are sustained by their meditative bliss).

By understanding these principles, you can learn to accept spiritual guidance from the unseen world. May the power of the Triple Gem the Buddha, Dhamma, and Sangha help you to grasp these teachings well. May you receive all the necessary help from the unseen world, and may you have the ability to develop your own spiritual path.

We invite you to walk this path with us. Read our teachings, and most importantly, apply them practically in your own life. as you practice, questions will naturally arise. Please feel free to share your experiences and questions in the comments below, via email or contact form. I will do my best to offer guidance in future talks based on your progress. For now, begin this practice with an open heart and a mind free from expectation. Cultivate it correctly, and may you find the clarity and peace you seek.

Thank you for joining us. We hope this blog will be of great benefit to your spiritual journey.

May you all be well and happy.