The herald., 1896-06-15
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dissolution and what Is miscalled DEATH
The consciousness, the soul. the thinker.
survives the body and after rest, corre-
spending In every particular to sleep.
reincarnates in another human body
which the soul constructs and which
never before existed. This is the cause
and rationale Of death. Too much life
causes death.
What occurs during death of the
body, and what state Of consciousness
does the thinker exist in during interims
between its many earth lives?
THE first stage of sleep is the night
mare state. This Is critical state,
neither sleeping nor waking. The
thinker has neither lost its hold upon the
waking nor entered the deeper states Of
consciousness. Those who are swayed
by the passions of their lower natures do
not pass beyond the nightmare stage in
sleep, and upon death enter what Ro-
man Catholics call purgatory. which is
the realm of low, unsatisfied desires
corresponding to the state of conscious
ness during the last past life. In sleer
and death review is had of the events Of
the past life. If a given one lives on
low plane during life and waking hours,
his state in sleep Is the same and death Is
the same. We make our death states
by the thoughts, desires and deeds OF the
last past earth life. Some men fear to
steep ana lear 10 Ole, LOT oiie anu tuo
same reason. Their thoughts and deeds
are evil, and IN sleep and death they live
over and over again the experiences OF
their waking hours. No soul can be
prayed in or prayed out of purgatory,
The die has been cast in their last past
life. There is no escape. No rest or
peace is possible in the nightmare stage
of sleep or death
How wrinkled and scanned by pas
Il. ~. Co. -<>f,,
ing! How old and hard are the faces OF
some newborn infants! The reason Of
both is the same. Both have been rudely
aroused from the horrible experiences
of the nightmare stages of sleep ano
death where passions held sway. They
have not enjoyed refreshing siumper'
but INDUCED in a revel of passionate oe-
sire which was a continuation OF tneir
careers of the last past life. They could
not pass on to the realms of real and re-
freshing sleep, nor commune with pure
beings of their own thought creations.
simply because they were themselves
impure. They made wrong conditions
in the past life and now must ABIDE the
consequences.
So-called spirit communications from
summerland" emanate from these pc
ings in the nightmare or purgatorial
state. The same is, and productive OF,
the same result, as if we attempted to
talk with those in the first stage OF
sleep. We may receive response to our
questions, but no new knowledge. we
commune with the phantomS OF the oeao'
with the low, earthly and passionate
nature of the departed. not with the
spirit of our deceased friend. we olu
not know that in his life time, for we
know little of our own spiritual nature
living, as we mostly do, in the earthiy
rot,,re Communications from this
quarter are bad.
THE second stage of death corre-
spends to the second stage OF sleep. Inc
soul, because of higher aspirations than
usually sway in ordinary earth life
passes on beyond the nightmare stage
into deep sleep. 1t escapes from illusion.
In proportion as it does, it is freed from
Influences of it's last earth life and es-
capes beyond possibility of communl-
cation by those still on this side, unless
the latter be purified of earthly dross.
Even here communications are eN-
tremely unreliable. Different objects
and interests actuate those who remain
and those who departed. Commona!ty
of interest and understanding is IN
dispensable to communication between
two minds upon whatever planes of be-
ing. The departed soul in the second
stage of death has, for the time, cut Tree
from earth and earthly interest; those
who remain here are Immersed in them.
The absence of commonality of interest
IS the absence of a medium of thought
transmission. We, still upon this side,
are subject to earthly attractions ana
associa tions, are welded to our 1dols'
while those who depart are, for the time,
freed and live in their higher nature.
We can not, thus, understand each otn-
er. Differing conditions preclude II.
1.-The third stage of death is Identical
with the conscious slumber of sleep
wherein the soul is freed from the illu-
sions of self and matter. Where an in
dividual has by knowledge of the laws
governing the process. freed the soul
from all trammels of sensuous exist
ence. he can instantaneously and at Will
throw the mind into this higher state.
Then he reaches and has consciousness
upon the plane Of reality. Such distlnc-
tions as you and me, mine ana
yours yesterday and tomorrow, far
and near vanish. and then no longer
exist barriers between souls that nave
thus advanced, Then the one universal
Self is known, and the eternal, ever pres
ent now encompasses all things. The
adept has reached that stage of develop
ment The adopts were once men ike
ourselves, and in allanen are the posi-
bilities of the highest adept. The world
is crowded with partial knowledge. That
Will not answer. Definite and speclnc
Knowledge is imperative to real attain
ment Theosophy is but another name
for knowledge of the operation OF natur-
al law, of the fine forAes of nature. or the
mind of man as related to the mlnd OF
Diety and to all that lives. And that
knowledge is Indispensable to real prog
ress and true happiness"