The most significant thing about Tulpas is that they can be seen by others also, that is, by those who have not created them. Equally significant, they are able to change form, just like our thoughts change. And not just this, they are able to integrate themselves with either a living soul or a dead soul—and separate as well whenever they desire. The Russian Psychiatrist Olga Kharitidi published her direct experience of this phenomenon in the mountains, where a shaman or mystic merged a stream of his consciousness continuum or “spirit” with hers. The Tibetans describe them as phantoms—“nirmita” and “nirmana”—beings who were built or constructed.” Buddhist teachings also describe how accomplished priests and holy men can create thought forms called Tulpas.
The age old Vedas describe the universe as a product of maya or illusion. The activation of a fundamental energy called “pradhana” and how this activated “pradhana” produces subtle forms of energy, and these in turn produce gross matter is also described. This makes it easier to understand the concept of Tulpas or thought forms which can become individual entities. Uma, the wife of Lord Siva, is also known as Maya Devi, or the goddess in charge of the illusory energy and Uma’s husband, Lord Shiva, is the master of illusion and technology.
In Tibetan Buddhist and Tantric beliefs as well “matter is a development of thought, crystallised mental energy, a force that is always near but cannot always be perceived”. The “Dhammapada” says : “What we are today comes from our thoughts of yesterday, and our present thoughts build our life of tomorrow; our life is the creation of our mind.”And for those who want a more scientific answer, quantum physics substantiates this paranormal concept as it tells us we not only perceive our reality, we participate in making it.In fact, Tulpas are also a paranormal form that has been studied extensively by the Western and Indian researchers as a Vajrayana, Bonpo and Tibetan Buddhist upaya concept, discipline and teaching tool. Spiritually, the purpose of this practice is to stop all desire for worldly life—to see that it is all created by our mind.
Tulpas are of many kinds and can take many different forms such as man, woman, shadowy form, cloud, animal, tree, stone, etc. and usually take several months to crystallise, though an accomplished Tulpa creator can create one much faster. Usually, unless kept under very tight control by the master mind that has created them, Tulpas acquire their own identity soon after they have acquired a complete form. It is at this juncture that they can become very dangerous. Sometimes, Tulpas can travel long distances away from their creator and can develop evil intentions. They can also function in evil ways after the death of their creator.
If a Tulpa creator dies, the Tulpa generally dissolves or dies with the person though there are some Tulpas which are created specifically to outlive the death of the creator. And sometimes, if the creator dies without dissolving the Tulpa, it has been known to survive, out of control and harming people. What should be done in such cases? A master of yoga can dissolve a Tulpa as readily as he can create it. Paranormal experts, tantrics, some sadhus and other evolved souls also have the ability to destroy or dissolve harmful Tulpas.
Tulpas are used both for good and bad purposes. For example, at a Tibetan shrine dedicated to Shambhala, Tulpas are used for protection purposes. In Delhi I have seen Tulpas protecting a Sufi shrine and a small ancestral temple in an afforested area. But I also know of several tantrics who create and use Tulpas to carry out harmful deeds.
I have written about a Tulpa driven stick that walked and talked. Briefly, a person named Brijendra Nath found a walking stick in a park and a single decision to take home an ownerless walking stick led mystifying happenings. The stick would slowly but very purposefully slide towards him and do other strange things. His family assured him that they were hallucinations and they would fix an appointment with the family doctor. Brijendra Nath’s son good humouredly picked up the stick and put it against the wall but he had hardly turned his back on it when it fell. Like his father had done, he then picked it up and hung it from the clothes hook. Once again, the stick fell off the hook. What followed amazed all those present. The stick stood up on its own, began “walking”, stopped before them, and began to talk— at any rate, a voice seemed to speak from inside the stick. “Now that you have brought me home, you must deal with me…..”
It transpired that the stick had belonged to an old man who had been passing through the park, felt unwell, sat down and later died. But the man who died had been so attached to his stick that it had created a Tulpa within the stick. And so, in a bizarre ritual in the first week of an intensely cold January, the stick was carried to the banks of the Yamuna . Amidst the chanting of Vedic hymns, prayers from all of us, and the strange fragrance of sandalwood and incense mingling with a fetid smell from the heavily polluted river, the stick was consigned to the flames. Several years have passed, with no sign of the soul of the stick’s owner or the Tulpa driven stick, so presumably they have both attained mukti. But my dilemma remains: should I put in more time, energy and will power into fashioning the desired link with my Tulpa? If not, it’ll be extremely important to dissolve it. But what if the Tulpa doesn’t want to be dissolved? Will keep you informed.