Chapter%20XV
The Life Beyond Death
Chapter XX Beyond Reincarnation
Those who imagine that the Yogi Philosophy teaches that before
the soul there is an endless chain of earthly rebirths, or
series of reincarnations, have failed to grasp the real spirit
of the teaching. When it is remembered that the earth is but one
of a countless number of preparatory worlds, having its
beginning in time and its ending in time, the folly of such a
doctrine becomes apparent. The earth is but one of the many
schools, which have been from time to time formed in the Cosmos,
and which, at the best, are but mere lower grade abodes. The
soul of man will persist aeons after this earth, and millions of
others like it, will have vanished into the ether of space from
which it originally emerged. To assign to earth-life any such
importance in the Cosmic order is contrary to the teachings of
the wise.
Moreover, it is a false teaching which holds that even in the
present era and phase of the soul’s existence the soul can
progress no further than earthly incarnation. Even though the
majority of the race must undergo many earthly incarnations
before freedom and liberation is found, still it is equally true
that when a soul reaches the stage of spiritual development in
which the ties of earth-life no longer bind it, then it is
impossible that such a soul can be held to the round of earthly
incarnation for even a moment of time.
There are many souls which are now on the Astral Plane,
undergoing the final stages of the casting off of the earthly
bonds. And there are many souls now in earth-life which will
never again return to earth, but which, after their next sojourn
on the Astral Plane, will rise to the higher planes of
existence, leaving the earth and all earthly things behind
forever. Moreover, there are to-day, on earth, thousands of
souls which are well on the way to freedom, and which will have
but one more earthlife to undergo—and that one life will be
passed in an exalted state of understanding and wisdom. At the
present time we are nearing the end of a cycle in which a very
great number of souls are preparing for their upward flight, and
many who read these lines may be well advanced in that cyclic
movement.
It would be the veriest folly for human pen to attempt to
picture the nature of the existence on the higher spheres— even
those spheres only one grade higher than the earth. For there
are no words which would convey the meaning—no mental concepts
which would embody the idea. Nay, more, the majority of the race
have not even the mental machinery which would enable them to
even think of the nature of such a life. The average human mind
cannot begin to think even of the middle planes of the Astral,
and the concept of the higher Astral is far beyond them. What
then must be their position regarding the thought of realms of
being to which even the highest Astral planes are but as
dung-hills compared with the world’s greatest palaces? Enough to
know that there exists an infinite scale of being, composed of
realm after realm, ever rising higher and higher and higher—and
that the soul is destined to move on and on and on toward the
Infinite.
Escape from the round of earthly reincarnation is possible when
the soul learns the truth regarding its own nature and its
relation to the Whole. When it perceives the illusory nature of
the phenomenal universe, and realizes that the spiritual world
is the only real one, then do the ties of the material life
begin to slip away, and the soul begins to struggle from its
confining bonds.
This liberation is the great end aimed at in the Yogi
Philosophy. This is the reason, end, and aim, of Yoga. Some
attain it by faithful works; others by love of the divine and of
the divine fragment in their fellow human beings; others by the
use of the intellect and the attainment of wisdom; others by
development of the intuitive faculties; but all these are but
different roads leading to the same end. When the nature of
earthly things is realized, they lose their hold upon the human
soul. Desire then dies away, and the soul is liberated and
attains spiritual freedom. Loosened from the attraction of
earth, the soul takes higher flights, and soars to the higher
regions of being.
The philosophies of the Orient are filled with this idea. Under
various guises it appears. To the initiated occultist the sacred
teachings of the world—of all religions—are seen to have their
esoteric side. And the spirit of the esoteric teaching is always
Liberation. As we write these words, our eyes fall upon a book
lying on our table—a little story of the East, told by a Western
writer. This writer has caught the spirit of the East and
expresses it well. Listen to his words, and see how true they
are to the
spirit of the teaching:
“The object of the Sage, according to the old Hindoo doctrine,
is to become absolute master of himself (jitama) , to render
himself completely superior, or rather indifferent to the
‘attachment’ of all mundane clogs. The ordinary mortal is a
prisoner, tied, bound in bondage, or attached (sakta), to and by
the objects of delusion and sense. Whoever aims at emancipation
must first, by a long and strenuous course of penance and
austerity, sever these attachments, till even though he still
remains among them, they run off him like water from a duck; and
he goes on living, according to the classic formula, like a
wheel that continues to revolve when the original impetus has
ceased; or like a branch that goes on swaying after the
departure of the bird. He is awake, as opposed to those who
still remain blinded by illusion; he is free, as contrasted with
the bound.”
The above writer, however, has erred when he speaks of the “long
and strenuous course of penance and austerity,” necessary
to sever the material attachments. The best authorities frown
upon these ascetic practices and austerities, and do not
encourage them. The true practice is that of the attainment of
wisdom, and the opening of the heart to the inflow of the Divine
Wisdom which comes in the form of Intuition. It needs but to
perceive the real nature of material things in order to lose
desire for them; therefore Knowledge is the great Liberator.
It is true that great unselfish love (Bhakti Yoga) will cause
the scales to fall from the eyes of the soul; it is likewise
true that faithful works and duty performed without hope of
reward (Karma Yoga), will cause the eyes to see clearly; but the
greatest of all Yoga is Gnani Yoga, the Way of Wisdom. To those
who yearn for release, we recommend a careful study of the Yogi
Philosophy, or any of the other great forms of the
Wisdom-Religion, and the careful following of the Life of the
Spirit which is common to all religions, rightly understood.
We think that the best little guide on The Path in the English
language, is that little manual “Light on the Path,” which is
founded on occult axioms current even in ancient Atlantis. In
this valuable little manual are to be found “The Rules which are
written on the Walls of the Hall of Learning,” by the “Rulers of
the Golden Gate.” As a writer has said: “What Parsifal is to
lovers of music, that ‘Light on the Path’ is to aspiring souls—a
never-ending source of inspiration and wonder.” The following
axioms, taken from its pages, give the keynote, when rightly
understood—the balance of the manual is but an explanation of
the axioms:
I. Kill out ambition.
II. Kill out desire of life.
III. Kill out desire of comfort.
IV. Kill out all sense of separateness.
V. Kill out desire for sensation.
VI. Kill out the hunger for growth.
VII. Desire only that which is within you.
VIII. Desire only that which is beyond you.
IX. Desire only that which is unattainable.
X. Desire power ardently.
XI. Desire peace fervently.
XII. Desire possessions above all.
XIII. Seek out the way.
XIV. Seek the way by retreating within.
XV. Seek the way by advancing boldly without.
XVI. Stand aside in the coming battle; and though thou fightest,
be not thou the warrior.
XVII. Look for the warrior, and let him fight in thee.
XVIII. Take his orders for battle, and obey him.
XIX. Listen to the song of life.
XX. Store in your memory the melody you hear.
XXI. Learn from it the lesson of harmony.
XXII. Regard earnestly all the life that surrounds you.
XXIII. Learn to look intelligently into the hearts of men.
XIX. Regard most earnestly your own heart.
XX. Inquire of the earth, the air, and the water, of the secrets
they hold for you.
XXI. Inquire of the holy ones of the earth, of the secrets they
hold for you.
XXII. Inquire of the inmost, the one, of its final secret, which
it holds for you throughout the ages.
XXIII. Hold fast to that which has neither substance nor
existence.
XXVI. Listen only to the voice which is soundless.
XXV. Look only on that which is invisible alike to the inner and
the outer sense.”
These axioms have seven several and distinct meanings,
superimposed one upon the other, and which are uncovered
only by the unveiling of the eyes of the soul as it unfolds.
Blessed is he who is able to comprehend even the first set of
meanings,
for he is on The Way.
The commentor upon these axioms, in the little manual, gives the
following valuable advice to those who seek out the Way of
Liberation and Peace:
“Seek in the heart the source of evil, and expunge it. It lives
fruitfully in the heart of the devoted disciple, as well as in
the heart of the man of desire. Only the strong can kill it out.
The weak must wait for its growth, its fruition, its death. And
it is a plant that lives and increases throughout the ages. It
flowers when the man has accumulated unto himself innumerable
existences. He who will enter upon the path of power must tear
this thing out of his heart. And then the heart will bleed, and
the whole life of the man seem to be utterly dissolved. This
ordeal must be endured: it may come at the first step of the
perilous ladder which leads to the path of life: it may not come
until the last. But, O disciple, remember that it has to be
endured, and fasten the energies of your soul upon the task.
Live neither in the present nor the future, but in the eternal.
This giant weed cannot flower there: this blot upon existence is
wiped out by the very atmosphere of eternal thought.”
The same commentor utters the following additional advice:
“Look for the flower to bloom in the silence that follows the
storm; not till then. It shall grow, it will shoot up, it will
make branches and leaves and form buds, while the storm
continues, while the battle lasts. But not till the harassed
spirit. And in the deep silence, and melted-not until it is held
by the divine fragment which has created it, as a mere subject
for grave experiment and experience—not until the whole nature
has yielded, and become subject unto its higher self, can the
bloom open. Then will come a calm such as comes in a tropical
country after a heavy rain, when Nature works so swiftly that
one may see her action. Such a calm will come to the mysterious
even will occur which will the whole personality of the man is
dissolved prove that the way has been found. Call it by what
name you will; it is a voice that speaks where there is none to
speak; it is a messenger that comes,—a messenger without form of
substance,—or it is the flower of the soul that has opened. It
cannot be described by any metaphor. But it can be felt after,
looked for, and desired, even amid the raging of the storm. The
silence may last a moment of time, or it may last a thousand
years, but it will end. Yet you will carry its strength with
you. Again and again the battle must be fought and won. It is
only for an interval that nature can be still.”
In conclusion, let us again quote from the writer of the words
above quoted—words also inspired by a higher source of authority
and wisdom: “Three Truths.”
“There are three truths which are absolute, and which cannot be
lost, but yet may remain silent for lack of speech: (I) The soul
of man is immortal, and its future is the future of a thing
whose growth and splendor have no limit. (II) The principle
which
gives life dwells in us, and without us, is undying and
eternally beneficent, is not heard or seen or felt, but is
perceived by the
man who desires perception. (III) Each man is his own absolute
law-giver, the dispenser of glory or gloom to himself, the
decreer
of his life, his reward, his punishment. These truths, which are
as great as is life itself, are as simple as the simplest mind
of man.
Feed the hungry with them.”
And now, friend and reader, we leave you once more. We trust
that what we have said will prove to be as the seeds of future
trees of knowledge within you. For this is the most that the
teacher may hope to do—to plant seeds. We trust that we have at
least brought you to the doors of the perception of the truth
that there is no Death—that what we call Death is but “the other
side” of Life, and one with it. May your own spiritual eyes
become opened, that you may perceive these truths for yourself,
and through your own experience. And now, once more, good
student, we say to thee:
Peace Be Unto Thee!
The End