Milford chronicle., 1906-05-04
Lii O-ATH.
Heaven and Hell as Understood by =
Theosonhiat.

Heaven anu men AN A-AGAHApoH ~ =
TheosoDhist.
C. Jinaraiadasa, b. A. Cambridge, Of
Colombo. Ceylon, recently lectured on
Heaven and Hell of Fact and Fancy"
under the auspices of the New York
branch of the Theosophical society.
The lecturer said in part:
"All religions have taught that when
man dies his soul or spirit enters into
a place or condition which is pleasur-
able or painful, corresponding to what
are termed heaven and hell in the
Christian religion.
NEARLY all the ideas Of heaven aud
hell taught by the various ~.igions are
pure fancy. The hot helis of Chris
tianity and the cold hells, as taught
by some of the eastern religions, sim
DIV do not exist Heavens and hells
there are but they are conditions of
the mind and not localities. The mes-
tai conditions called heaven and hell
can be experienced here on earth or in
that very real though invisible world
into which every man enters when he
passes the portals of death.
philosophy maintains that knowl-
edee about heaven and hell can be
Jtained-knowledge as definite and
u-acise as our understanding of the
l~s governing the various combina-
tals Of the chemical elements. HUI
OH ity in its progress has solved many
ny .as and discovered many laws
governing the natural world. Heaven
ana he'll are in a way material, not
spiritual in the sense of absolutely
nonmaterial states. and consequently
can be studied by those who have
properly developed their inner senses,
Just rs science can study the properties
Of the elements.
Modern science has shown us where
the truth is to be found The latest re-
searches of the physicists into the
composition of matter show grades of
matter finer than any recognized by
human senses. The electrOns that pen
citrate the hardest steel as though it
were a sponge and the ether that inter-
penetrates all matter are now estab-
Iished as facts. The investigations of
scientists like Sir William CrOOkes and
Sir Oliver Lodge in England and Ri
chet in France show clearly that telep-
athy is one of the higher powers of
the human mind and that man has abb
normal senses hitherto unrecognized.
TheOsOphists hold that we are sur
rounded by invisible worlds of matter
and that trained men can observe their
constitution and life therein. This abil-
ity comes through development Of pow
ers in man vaguely called psychic or
clairvOyant.
'The invisible worlds surrounding US,
observed by these new faculties, are
made of matter finer even than the all
penetrating electron Of science; they
are governed by laws which are Just
as natural as any in our physical
world. They can be observed full
waking consciousness; it is not neees-
sary for the trained scientific psychic
investigator to go into a trance or be
come hypnotized. By this method of
investigation the so called dead are
seen to be not far of in the stars or in
side the earth, but close at hand and
living in these invisible worlds.
an order to understand what the
after death states of heaven and hell
are like we must understand something
about the constitution or makeup Of
man.
"AIan has several physical bodies, or.
rather, his one physical body is very
complex piece of mechanism. The out
er physical form is composed Of the
chemical elements; this outer form is
the Overcoat which is cast aside at
death The chemical elements cOmpos-
ing the physical body are made up Of
atoms, and atoms Of electrOns, accord
ing to modern science. Further than
this science does not take us. Theoso-
phy holds that the electrOns are COM
posed of ether; back of ether is astral
matter. and so on. Man inhabits, there
fore. a physical, etheric. astral and
mental body, and these bodies inter
penetrate one another. When the phys
ical is cast aside the etheric astral and
mental bodies still remain. The man
himself, the ego, continues to function
in them on the planes Of nature corre-
spending to tbem-rOughly speaking,
heaven and hell-and except for his
physical body is just the same man
he was before he died.
"When man enters this after death
state he finds no burning pit Of he'll.
He'll is only a symbol of the suffering
that a man undergoes who longs for
the Iusts and ambitions Of the searth
that cannot be gratifed without the
body he has cast aside at death. He
burns within with these passions. and
his suffering lasts as long as he has
these desires, but there is no place Of
torture with devils.
Heaven is seen to be one part OF
this invisible world, where all, irespec-
tive of faith. nation or age, are happy;
realizing the dreams Of happiness they
have had through affection to people,
devotion to God Or love Of knowledge
and of the arts. Whoever has done
something to help another lives in
| I,oo,-o,, d,,rinor Of least n mart of his