Theos-Talk Archives (June 2000 Message tt00089)

Dear Michele, the doctrine you refer to is sometimes called the "death of
the soul"

All who have lived upon earth, live there still in new exemplars of their
types, but the souls which have surpassed their type receive elsewhere a new
form based upon a more perfect type, as they mount ever on the ladder of
worlds;[From one loka to the other; from a positive world of causes and
activity, to a negative world of effects and passivity.--ED. THEOS.] the bad
exemplars are broken, and their matter returned into the general mass.[Into
Cosmic matter, when they necessarily lose their self-consciousness or
individuality or are annihilated, as the Eastern Kabalists say.--ED. THEOS.]
[STRAY THOUGHTS ON DEATH AND SATAN, by Eliphas Levi, annotations by HPB]

At that point the great Law begins its work of selection. Matter found
entirely divorced from spirit is thrown over into the still lower worlds --
into the sixth "GATE" or "way of rebirth" of the vegetable and mineral
worlds, and of the primitive animal forms. From thence, matter ground over
in the workshop of nature proceeds soulless back to its Mother Fount; while
the Egos purified of their dross are enabled to resume their progress once
more onward. It is here, then, that the laggard Egos perish by the millions.
It is the solemn moment of the "survival of the fittest," the annihilation
of those unfit. It is but matter (or material man) which is compelled by its
own weight to descend to the very bottom of the "circle of necessity" to
there assume animal form; as to the winner of that race throughout the
worlds -- the Spiritual Ego, he will ascend from star to star, from one
world to another, circling onward to rebecome the once pure planetary
Spirit, then higher still, to finally reach its first starting point, and
from thence -- to merge into MYSTERY.
[Mahatma Letter 9]

But suppose it is not a question of a Bacon, a Goethe, a Shelley, a Howard,
but of some hum-drum person, some colourless, flaxless personality, who
never impinged upon the world enough to make himself felt: what then? Simply
that his devachanic state is as colourless and feeble as was his
personality. How could it be otherwise since cause and effect are equal. But
suppose a case of a monster of wickedness, sensuality, ambition, avarice,
pride, deceit, etc.: but who nevertheless has a germ or germs of something
better, flashes of a more divine nature -- where is he to go? The said spark
smouldering under a heap of dirt will counteract, nevertheless, the
attraction of the eighth sphere, whither fall but absolute nonentities;
"failures of nature" to be remodelled entirely, whose divine monad separated
itself from the five principles during their life-time, (whether in the next
preceding or several preceding births, since such cases are also on our
records), and who have lived as soulless human beings. (1) These persons
whose sixth principle has left them (while the seventh having lost its vahan
(or vehicle) can exist independently no longer) their fifth or animal Soul
of course goes down "the bottomless pit." This will perhaps make Eliphas
Levi's hints still more clear to you, if you read over what he says, and my
remarks on the margin thereon (see Theosophist, October, 1881, Article
"Death" [See above, Kim]) and reflect upon the words used: such as drones,
etc.
[Mahatma Letter 25. Note that the Editor's Annotations may be identical with
KH's remarks on the margin]

....they will be absorbed in the current by the force which has produced
them, and will return to the central and eternal fire'."
The "central and eternal fire" is that disintegrating Force, that gradually
consumes and burns out the Kama-rupa, or "personality," in the Kama-loka,
whither it goes after death. ....
 the Personal Ego, becoming at one with its divine parent, shares in the
immortality of the latter. Otherwise....
[PSYCHIC AND NOËTIC ACTION, by HPB]

I gave the outlines of the Occult doctrine in the Theosophist of October,
1881, and November, 1882, but could not go into details, and therefore got
very much embarrased when called upon to explain. Yet I have written there
plainly enough about "useless drones," those who refuse to become co-workers
with Nature and who perish by millions during the Mantvantaric
life-cycle...[etc.]
....
Thus we find two kinds of soulless beings on earth: those who have lost
their Higher Ego in the present incarnation, and those who are born
soulless, having been severed from their Spiritual Soul in the preceding
birth....[etc.]

[HPB in ES Paper 3, see CW XII 636-641, or Secret Doctrine, 5th or 6th ed.,
vol 5, page 499-502. This contains the fullest description of the doctrine I
have seen.]


The courses open to the Divine Ego after separation are two - S. D., III,
524.
a. It can start a fresh series of incarnations.
b. It can return to the "bosom of the Father" and be gathered back to the
Monad.

Two courses are open to the lower discarded self - S. D., III, 525, 527.
a. If with a physical body it becomes a soulless man. In this case there is
hope.
b. If without a physical body it becomes a spook, or one form of the Dweller
on the Threshold.
[Alice Bailey, A Treatise on Cosmic Fire, p. 1017. This is a very able
summary of the ES paper above. SD Page numbers refer to the 3rd Adyar ed.]


Michele, the above quotes should serve as a few examples of this doctrine,
controversial as far as A.O Hume and others doubted it, but clearly taught
in the Mahatma Letters, and in the works of HPB, T. Subba Row, and.... Alice
Bailey.
It is not however jolly peasants on hill-side which are in the dangerzone,
but:
1. Dabblers in magic [HPB terms CW XII, p. 606]
2. Highly advanced (and hence highly responsible) humans, who life after
life persists in developing mind and ignoring spirit (many modern scientists
may be taken as examples). [No time to look up reference]

The key to this whole line of thought lies in the problem of individuality
(or "Self"). When the memory of a whole sequence of incarnations are
"blanked out", "erased in the book of life", there cannot be any possible
identification with a new series. The problem of individuality is as great
(and unknown) in Parinirvana.

Shankara describes the state of Sat (be-ness) as homogeneous as like "honey
collected from many flowers." [i.e There are no distinction observed within
the "honey" ] Entities leaves that state (of Nirvana) as the same species
into which they entered it.
[And remember that Space itself is impressed with that film, or "astral
photographs" or "akashic records", which may serve as the "memory-basis" for
continued "individualized existence" ]

I hope this will be of help, Michele. Writing under under the scrutiny of so
many judges of what is "true theosophy", "pseudo-teosophy" (and even
jesuitical conspiracies !??!), etc.,  I chose the form of respectable (in
this tiny environment) HPB quotations

;-) Kim


----- Original Message -----
From: Michele Lidofsky <officerjenny@mindspring.com>
To: <theos-talk@theosophy.com>
Sent: Wednesday, June 07, 2000 3:54 AM
Subject: Re: Theos-World - Christ in Nairobi.


>
>
> LeonMaurer@aol.com wrote:
>
> > There are at least two things a true theosophist cannot be... One is a
> > worshipper of any God, figurehead or authority... Another, is a member
of any
> > religion that denies the validity or the rule of karma and the doctrine
of
> > reincarnation (coupled with individual, self determined choice, based on
self
> > devised study) as determiners of the fates or destinies of all sentient
> > beings...
>
>
> Hello, everyone -
>
>   I have a question I would like to present to the group...  About a
> year or two ago I was very surprised to hear a highly knowledgeable
> theosophical author mention that HPB taught that not EVERYBODY will
> reincarnate.  Upon expressing my skepticism, s/he referred me to this
> quote in 'The Key to Theosophy'- (TUP 1987 pp. 190-191)
>
>   "If during life the ultimate and desperate effort of the INNER SELF
> (Manas) ,to unite something of the personality with itself and the high
> glimmering ray of the divine Buddhi is thwarted; if this ray is allowed
> to be more and more shut out from the ever-thickening crust of physical
> brain, the Spiritual Ego or Manas, once freed from the body, remains
> severed entirely from the ethereal relic of the personality; and the
> latter, or KAMA RUPA, following its earthly attractions. is drawn into
> and remains in HADES, which we call the KAMA-LOKA.  These are "the
> withered branches" mentioned by Jesus as being cut off from the VINE.
> Annihilation, however, is never instantaneous, and may require centuries
> sometimes for its accomplishment..."
>
>   In other words - if there is never an effort made or succeeded to
> "create a soul" - when the body dies; that's it -  because there would
> be nothing left after that body is gone TO reincarnate.
>
>   I was still a disbeliever.  My friend remarked that this was a result
> of erroneous theosophical thinking; I needed to consider, since there is
> really only ONE THING,  it doesn't matter if many of the 'sparks' from
> the flame die, because the one flame remains alive.
>
>   I later read another HPB quote somewhere in the literature that the
> masses, as peasants on the hillside, mostly live happy, even good and
> decent lives, but because unexamined and unenlightened, these masses are
> mostly annihilated. (This quote I will have to research to supply the
> reference for; has anyone else ever seen it)?
>
>   Has anybody  ever heard of this idea as a basic theosophical
> postulate?  As a CONTROVERSIAL theosophical postulate, even?  Or is this
> just the accepted wisdom?  The members of our group of ten or twelve in
> our TS lodge couldn't agree. (So what else is new...)
>
>   I'd appreciate any input on this question, and thanks in advance!
>
>   Michele L.
>
> -- THEOSOPHY WORLD -- Theosophical Talk -- theos-talk@theosophy.com
>
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