Theos-Talk Archives (January 1999 Message tt00179)

In a message dated 1/14/99 9:05:12 PM, gschueler@netgsi.com writes:

>>Why does HPB not reference it?
>
>There are several problems even more pronounced. One
>is her insistence on a past life review. Now many of us who
>have "almost" died had had such a review, including myself.
>However, although Tibetan Lamas have great details about
>the bardo or after-death state, they have absolutely no
>mention of any past-life review.  HH the Dali Lama was
>asked about this, and had no answer other than the Lamas
>have never detected such a review.

I agree with this observation, since I, too, have had a "near death"
experience that included a complete past-life review.  (But not "past", in the
sense of previous "lives".).  However, such a review is not an "after death"
experience, but occurs in the state of transition between life and death--when
the person "realizes" that death is approaching.  Technically, this is in the
8 minutes that it takes the brain to die.  Therefore, the Book of the Dead
would have no reference to his review, nor would any lamas, because it and
they would only be concerned with the actual "after death" state of Kama Loka
(which starts only when the brain is totally discharged of energy and finally
biologically dead).

I would be curious to know what other "problems" there might be that would
cause HPB to ignore this book (which, as far as I have heard, is actually a
manual for an exoteric religious ritual funerary practice, and used as a guide
for departing souls passing through the lower astral realms).  I don't think
it was any part of HPB's mandate to give out or promote such cultish or
religious practices in her expositions of pure esoteric theosophy.  Do you
think maybe she had planned to write about it in her projected volume 4 of the
S.D. which was supposed to talk about "magic" practices, psychism and the
like?  (I also wouldn't be surprised, however, if someone found a mention of
it in her many other writings and articles on many such subjects.)

LHM