Theos-Talk Archives (October 1998 Message tt00095)

Dallas:

>THE MORAL QUALITY OF OUR LIFE HAS A LOT TO SAY IN REGULATING THE
>TIME WE SPEND IN "AFTER-DEATH" STATES.  In THE OCEAN OF THEOSOPHY
>starting p 99 on to page 116 covers most of the important
>statements that Theosophy offers on this period.  KARMA rules all
>these things.

The reason for that is, I think, because higher impulses
for good are worked out in Devachan, and potentially
involve vast periods of time. Lower impulses are worked
out in the kamaloka, but are more readily disposed of
(e.g. burned out). A person with a rich inner life with
be setting in motion strong spiritual energies that can
only be dealt with in Devachan. A comparison could be
made to Christian views, although it's an imperfect one.

After physical death is a purgatory where the sins are
burned away. We call it the "kamaloka", the state of
awareness in which the unexhausted desires and passions
are worked out, in the absence of external situations
where they can find any expression. (We're without a
body now, cut off from opportunity to live out our desires.)

After that purgatory, we realize a heaven world, where
our noblest aspirations and yearnings find fulfillment.
It's like a beautiful dream, but more real, yet still
entirely subjective, and devoid of opportunity to make
new karma. Our term "devachan" comes from the Tibetan
term "dewachan" which refers to a heaven world or world
of the Gods, although the source of the term was
misidentified in early theosophical literature.

[speaking of the Kali Yuga]

>If there is a reference
>that speaks of accelerated incarnations for the average person I
>would be glad to see it.

When I come across one, I'll bring it up.

>THE MAHATMA IS QUITE BEYOND THE NEED FOR DEVACHAN AS HE ADJUSTS
>KARMA ALL THE TIME AS HE LIVES AND NEVER TRANSGRESSES THE LAWS OF
>KARMA.  HE HAS NO NEED FOR "REST" AND "MEDITATION."  The
>philosophy of theosophy explains this clearly.  [ KEY p. 148,
>Transaction p. 18,  HPB Articles Vol II pp. 199-205, HPB - THE
>MYSTERIES OF AFTER LIFE Lucifer January 1889;  WQJ Articles Vol.
>2 pp. 371-378, REWARD FOR UNMERITED SUFFERINGS, Path March 1891;
>and DEVACHAN, Path, September 1890   Ocean pp. 112-3

I'll look for the citation in THE MAHATMA LETTERS.

>* There is mention of a ratio of 1-to-100 regarding years
>  of earth life and the time in the after-death. The number
>  "100" could refer to many things. One is 10 x 10 states
>  or classes of other-world experience, each having it's
>  own sort of "time", disassociated with our normal sense
>  of the passage of time on this, our Globe D physical earth.
>
>I HAVE NOT COME ACROSS SUCH A RATIO BEING MENTIONED.  COULD A
>REFERENCE BE GIVEN PLEASE ?

I recall it mentioned by Purucker. As to other sources, I'll
keep my eyes open and if I find something I'll bring it up.
In a sense, it's just a progression on, or more complete
reference to the "777" idea, bring the sevenfold scheme to
a tenfold one, having a 10 x 10 number rather than a 7 x 7 one.

[speaking of the composite nature of our embodied being:]

>While this may be true, the essential thing to grasp is that
>there is ONE CONSCIOUSNESS.  It pierces up and down the seven
>planes of being and serves to uphold the memory of all the varied
>experiences on the several planes that it contacts.  We are that
>ONE CONSCIOUSNESS

Yes, and one analogy, be it imperfect, is the one I mentioned
of the atom and the molecule. The atom loses it's separate
identity when participating in a molecule, but still shares
in the experience of the unified molecular consciousness
*from its own vantage point*.

[speaking of the after death states ...]

>I AGREE IN GENERAL WITH THIS, BUT I WOULD LIKE TO HAVE A
>REFERENCE TO A STATEMENT MADE THAT THE "Mahatmas and Chelas may
>find rebirth of the other globes.
>
>I ask this because Karma demands that all bonds be first
>harmonized on any plane or globe before proceeding to others -
>that is as I understand it.

Another quote for me to look for. There's the general
idea that a Mahatma gets to that status by outracing the
bulk of humanity. The individual finds rebirth and
evolutionary growth on each of the globes of the chain,
E, F, G, A, B, C, then back to our physical earth again,
Globe D. I'd suspect that at any time, although the
chela/adept has a particular Globe as their "home base,"
that they can find incarnation on the other globes, including
our physical earth.

-- Eldon