Theos-Talk Archives (July 2001 Message tt00316)

Mic:

At 03:54 AM 7/27/01 -0700, you wrote:
> ... Since his death my friend, I shall call
> him Bob, has told me many times how he could feel the
> presence of his father. Other things, such as the
> disappearence of car keys, strange dreams, and other
> paranormal activity have occured and Bob swears that
> his father has something to do with.
When Bob's father had died, he lost his ability
to do things physically until his next lifetime.
But there still was a interpersonal bond between
father and son. The father might influence Bob's
dreams, psyche, and indirectly the events arising
in Bob's life through this connection with Bob.
(Bob may be losing things and other paranormal
events may arise out of Bob's life energies, but
these could be influenced by the father.)

> On reading Annie Besant's book, "The Ancient Wisdom",
> I came across the chapter on Kamaloka. In this chapter
> Besant states that when a person dies by accident
> (typically the result of karma) then, often, the "man
> is full of all the plans and interests that made up
> his life, and is conscious of the presence of the
> people and things connected with them; he is almost
> irresistibly impelled by his longings to try and
> influence the affairs to which his passions and
> feelings still cling...".
There are different models of what happens when we
die. Even in theosophical literature, you can see
differences. The original, basic model is that
"sleep is an imperfect death and death is a perfect
sleep." That is, our after-death states are
disconnected from external physical life. We're
in a subjective, dream-like state that is populated
out of the contents of our consciousness. We don't
awaken to objective reality where we directly
interact with others and make new karma until we've
reincarnated again.

In simple terms, the after-death states are a
series of steps of "letting go" of various parts
of ourselves. First goes the outer body. Then the
unspent desires work themselves out in something
like a purgatory (the kamaloka). Then comes the
unspent intellectual and spiritual energies, which
could take a huge number of years to work out, if
our spiritual impulses were frustrated in life, and
did not find some expressive outlet while we were
alive.

The whole process is one of letting go of unspent
energies. The final result is a moment of brief,
momentary liberation, followed by a thirst for life
leading us to quickly take on embodied existence.

The different in this model from what is more
frequently found is that the whole after-death
process is a series of subjective states leading
to eventual rebirth on earth. We are not ready for
nor experiencing conscious, objective existence on
a higher plane. We're not ready for that, and it
will only come in some future state of human
evolution. Right now, it's outer physical existence
followed by a time in subjective spheres surrounding
the earth, followed by yet another life.

> First Question: Is Bob's father actively involving
> himself in Bob's life as he has died prematurely and
> still believes he is in the physical world?
It may be possible for a short time, perhaps a few
hours or days immediately following death. It can
take a while for the complete separation from the
physical body. Even after it's apparently dead, there's
still a process of separating that takes place. It
may be possible to physically see things in the
room. When a complete separation has happened, Bob's
father would have finished "going to sleep" and have
entered the subjective after-death states.

Since the process involves working out all the
unspent desires and energies, there would be some
interest in the most recent events of life. Bob's
father would dwell on those. I don't think the
father would be aware of being dead, just as we
are not aware we're dreaming at night (even though
it's possible to learn to become aware that one
is dreaming at night).

> Besant continues to state that if a person wishes to
> leave this kamaloka then he must resolutely turn away
> from earth and fix his mind on higher things. If he
> cannot do this on his own then he can accept the help
> of workers on the astral plane (in a footnote Besant
> notes that these workers are disciples of some of the
> great Teachers). Knowing Bob's father, he is a
> completely stubbon man and if he is anything like he
> was in his physical body then he will never accept the
> help of these workers.
Some have the idea that there's an astral plane where Bob's
father is now living, and where there's astral social workers
that seek to assist him in his transition. This comes from
a different model of the after-death states, a model that
more closely resembles Spiritualism. This second model was
gradually embraced by Annie Besant and others of her time.
It offers a different explanation of what is happening.

To avoid confusion, it's important to be aware that there's
more than one explanation. The first one comes from earlier
theosophical literature like THE MAHATMA LETTERS. It's the
one that I'm describing. The second one is found in some
later writers, like Annie Besant.

> Second Question: Is there anyway we, existing on the
> physical plane, can communicate with those who are in
> kamaloka and possibly assist in their transition to
> greater things?
I'd say that if you love and care for someone, there's a
bond between you and them. You know and feel the connection.
Even if the other person is asleep, you influence their
sense of comfort and how their dreams go. They likewise
influence how you feel and react to life, even if they are in
a dream and not standing beside you in life. The inner link
between the two of you is more real than outer physical
things, even though it be intangible.

The best assistance to offer someone in their transition
is to send them unqualified love and good will. Think of
them kindly, but let go at the same time. Do not feel
grief, longing for them to be here, nor anything that might
delay their letting go of the life that has past. Let them
sleep the deep sleep in peace, knowing that when they
awaken again, you'll likely be there with them, sharing
another life in companionship with the ones you love.

-- Eldon