For
esoteric students the concept of rebirth is not an abstract belief
based on theory and thus open to debate. For them it is a well-established
concept which has been part of the Ancient Wisdom teaching for
thousands of years, and has subsequently been verified over and
over again in daily life.
The
principle is primarily based on the duality of man. Once the student
has accepted the premise of the immortality of the human soul,
then logic, when unobstructed by dogma, will compel him to the
conclusion that reincarnation is inevitable.
If
the composition of humanity is considered, with its races and
nations, with their variety of colour and language, their physical,
emotional and mental characteristics, and if in addition it is
considered that there are as many characters as individuals, then
some idea of its complexity can be formed. The point to be emphasized
is the disparity between individuals. Among the billions on earth
there are those who die of starvation, and those who die of excess;
there are those who possess nothing and do not have the wherewithal
'to hold the body and soul together', and those who require large
organizations to administer their possessions; there are those
who still live as slaves, and those who have the power to dispose
over the welfare, life and death of millions; there are the mentally
weak and those gifted with brilliant minds; there are those with
wasting bodies, and those with radiant health. And similarly one
could name many more contrasting conditions and characteristics;
but finally there are those interested only in their personal
well-being, in contrast with those advanced disciples whose lower
vehicles are already completely subject to the behests of the
soul, and characterized by spiritual love, living solely to serve
their fellows.
Now if man were granted only one life on Earth, only a single
opportunity to either succeed or fail, with all these individuals
so unequally equipped for life's challenges and struggles, how
could such a state of affairs possibly be justified and regarded
as equitable? How could one possibly believe in a God of love
apparently favouring one with every conceivable advantage in life,
and another nothing, no intelligence, no worldly goods, no opportunities,
and no spiritual consciousness? How could two such divergent individuals
be brought before the Seat of Justice and be judged on the same
terms? No, impossible! No Loving Father would ever countenance
such anomalies, when providing only one opportunity for redemption.
Fortunately for man, we do have a loving Father, on whose wisdom
and justice we can depend. The shortcoming lies with man himself
who can neither understand nor interpret that with which he is
surrounded. He can only distinguish one small facet of the Truth
and of a most involved system, and therefore bases his judgement
on totally inadequate evidence. But where then has man failed
in his reasoning?
The
answer and crux of the whole problem lies in the misleading and
erroneous assumption that the evolution and redemption of the
human soul must be completed in a single spell of life on Earth.
The
inner man - the soul
The
disparate condition between both individuals and races is factual,
and forms part of the pattern of human existence, but once the
reason for this disparity is understood, there can no longer remain
any doubt about the compassionate love and justice of our Divine
Father. What we observe, in races and individuals, is merely the
outer expression of the stages of development attained by the
many components of humanity, all of whom are in a state of constant
change, evolution and adaptation. Some are still at a primitive
stage, whereas others are already well advanced along the Path.
Man's main handicap is lack of discernment and understanding;
his myopic vision, which is accentuated and distorted by the glamour
of the astral surround in which the majority still move and live.
What should be recognised is that the personality is only the
physical instrument, which is temporarily occupied by the real,
immortal, inner man -the soul.
The
material sheath of flesh, blood and bone, is definitely mortal,
and 'dies' at the end of the life span, when the soul, together
with the essence of life, is withdrawn. The dead body then disintegrates
into its constituent atoms, but the immortal soul is transferred
to one of the etheric levels, depending on the spiritual development
achieved. Existence will continue 'normally' on these higher levels,
except that the soul will now be free and no longer encumbered
by a limiting physical, outer covering. After a long or shorter
sojourn in these subjective spheres, a growing urge will develop
in the soul for further physical experience. In the Ageless Wisdom
writings repeated reference is made to the developing or unfolding
soul. Strictly speaking this is incorrect. The soul is a reflection
of the Monad or Spirit, and as such is a spark or minute fraction
of Deity, and should therefore also be perfect. But 'perfection'
is a relative concept, and although our Deity, the Logos of our
planet Earth, is the consummation of perfection to man, even this
Deity, according to the Ageless Wisdom, remains mutable and in
a perpetual state of change and evolution. For this evolution
'experience' is needed.
Towards
what objective the Logos is evolving will always remain beyond
human conception but, apparently, for the realisation of that
purpose it is essential for the soul, as a fragment of the comprehensive
Spirit, to sustain every possible experience which can be acquired
through contact with dense matter. From these experiences the
soul then gleans the 'essence', which is transmitted to the Higher
Self to serve some unknown higher purpose on behalf of the Logos.
All that concerns man is the fact that the soul needs these experiences,
and that human bodies on Earth are required through which souls
can operate.
Souls
commence their age-long cycle by occupying the bodies of primitive
men, and the only influence exerted on these bodies at this early
stage is apparently to provide them with the self-consciousness
needed to distinguish them from the animal world.
For
innumerable incarnations, covering hundreds of thousands or even
millions of years, these periodic or cyclic reincarnations are
endlessly repeated, the soul gaining its requirements for gradual
unfoldment, but for a long time having no noticeable effect on
its instrument. With the passing of ages, however, the soul becomes
selective, choosing bodies that show some measure of development
or refinement; at first the bodies are purely focused on satisfying
the physical aspect of existence, but subsequently forms are evolved
which gradually begin to be oriented towards emotional living.
Eventually the lower mind begins to awaken, resulting in the development
of the mental body.
It
is only with the unfoldment of the mind that the soul can begin
to assert itself, but real guidance by the soul only arises when
the physical, astral and mental bodies become integrated and jointly
function as the 'personality'. The above digression may help to
explain the wide diversity in type, quality, characteristics and
development occurring among the billions of individuals of which
mankind is composed. There is therefore no question of an unjust
Father favouring certain races, communities or individuals, and
penalising others; what is observed are merely stages in the kaleidoscopic
range of patterns in which souls find expression. Individuals
and nations are to be seen in all stages of evolution, from the
most primitive to the highly evolved, each and everyone undergoing
those experiences needed by the indwelling soul.
To
man's injudicious eye some of these experiences may seem unnecessarily
harsh or cruel, but we can be sure that, for some reason inexplicable
to the limited human mind, it is exactly what the soul needs at
this specific stage. We are observing the human panorama composed
of millions of individuals, each guided by its own indwelling
soul, each at its own particular stage of evolutionary unfoldment,
and in the process of gathering additional experience on its long,
long journey back to the Father's home.
Remember
also that at whatever lowly stage of development a particular
instrument may at present happen to be, all are on the same path,
every soul has endured or will endure, the same experiences in
past, present or future lives, and eventually all will attain
the same temporary destination, only to proceed again still further
on the timeless evolutionary path leading into the mysterious
Unknown.
Aspects
of Rebirth
A
few aspects of rebirth perhaps deserve some further elaboration:
·
Intervals between Reincarnation. Too much value should not be
attached to generalisation on this subject, as wide differences
occur in the rapidity with which these 'cyclic impulses' take
place. Some souls linger for aeons on astral levels before deciding
to return to the world of physical expression, while others rotate
fairly rapidly. It can nevertheless be said that the little evolved
as a rule circulate fairly rapidly, and do not dally long on subjective
levels. As spiritual development proceeds, the length of these
periodic withdrawals is increased, till much more time is spent
'on the other side' than in physical incarnation. However, with
the path of discipleship nearing its final stages, the periods
between incarnations will again begin to shorten: it is as if
the soul is incited to complete its aeons of physical experience
as rapidly as possible, with an urge for rounding off commitments
and service obligations initiated during previous lives.
·
Normally the intent to reincarnate arises within the soul itself.
When this happens, the soul, assisted by a specialized group of
spiritual helpers, will select suitable parents who are to give
birth to the physical body which must serve the soul as its next
channel of expression. These parents must be selected with care,
not only as to their heritable qualities, but also with due consideration
of the environment in which they are functioning. The soul is
returning for specific purposes, and for their realization it
is important that a form be provided with the required potentialities,
as well as suitable surroundings for the needed experiences.
·
Souls belong to groups, and as a rule a soul is reborn in the
same period as other members of his group. The degree to which
these group members will be associated during their physical life
will vary. Some of these members may be born into the same family,
but this is only one of many possibilities. It will also occasionally
happen that all group members will reincarnate in the same period
or in the same region or race. When a soul returns 'home' after
completing an incarnation, it will usually be welcomed back by
group members 'on the other side'.
·
Actually group bonds and the consequent 'cyclic impulse' of groups
plays a far more important role than has so far been realized
by the average esoteric student. Man with his typical egotistic
concern, has in the past largely stressed the many personal implications
of rebirth and development, not realizing the function which the
group has to fulfil, or the service and sacrifice underlying group
incarnation on behalf of the overall evolution of mankind. In
the coming years this aspect of rebirth will receive far more
consideration.
·
As far as soul life is concerned gender is irrelevant, since this
is essentially an attribute of physical and emotional existence.
For the sake of rounding off its experiences, the soul will, however,
periodically be incarnated in either male or female bodies. For
similar reasons the soul will also take birth in nations and races
of all colours and qualities.
·
Advanced souls who have reached the stage where they are delegated
to fulfil some specific function in service of humanity, may be
induced either to delay the termination of a particular incarnation,
or in other instances to expedite their return. The 'Lords of
Karma', who are mainly responsible for arranging conditions of
rebirth, can therefore exert a strong influence on the trend of
world affairs, by either retarding or accelerating the entry into
incarnation of a suitable number of specially 'trained' souls
to guide mankind in a required direction. It should also be remembered
that advanced souls are no longer prompted to incarnate by a desire
for achieving perfection - with them the incentive is an urge
to sacrifice, and a will to serve and to contribute their share
towards realizing the divine Plan.
Reprinted
with the kind permission of Share International Magazine.
