Theos-Talk Archives (April 2004 Message tt00697)

Wednesday, April 28, 2004

 

Dear E and Friends:

 

Let me offer for you to read an Editor’s Note by H P B – as it seems togive
the basic principles on the killing of other humans.

 

 

---------------------------------

 


IS SUICIDE A CRIME?


Article by H. P. Blavatsky


A LETTER AND A REPLY

THE writer in the London Spiritualist for November, who calls the "Fragments
of Occult Truth" speculation-spinning, can hardly, I think, apply that
epithet to Fragment No. 3, so cautiously is the hypothesis concerning
suicide advanced therein. Viewed in its general aspect, the hypothesis seems
sound enough, satisfies our instincts of the Moral Law of the Universe, and
fits in with our ordinary ideas as well as with those we have derived from
science.

The inference drawn from the two cases cited, viz., that of the selfish
suicide on the one hand, and of the unselfish suicide on the other, is that,
although the after-states may vary, the result is invariably bad, the
variation consisting only in the degree of punishment. It appears to me
that, in arriving at this conclusion, the writer could not have had in his
mind's eye all the possible cases of suicide, which do or may occur. For I
maintain that in some cases self-sacrifice is not only justifiable, but also
morally desirable, and that the result of such self-sacrifice cannot
possibly be bad. I will put one case, perhaps the rarest of all rare cases,
but not necessarily on that account a purely hypothetical one, for I KNOW at
least one man, in whom I am interested, who is actuated with feelings, not
dissimilar to these I shall now describe, and who would be deeply thankful
for any additional light that could be thrown on this darkly mysterious
subject.--(See Editor's Note I . ) 

Suppose, then, that an individual, whom I shall call M., takes to thinking
long and deep on the vexed questions of the mysteries of earthly existence,
its aims, and the highest duties of man. To assist his thoughts, he turns to
philosophical works: notably those dealing with the sublime teachings of
Buddha. Ultimately he arrives at the conclusion that the FIRST and ONLY aim
of existence is to be useful to our fellow men; that failure in this
constitutes his own worthlessness as a sentient human being, and that by
continuing a life of worthlessness he simply dissipates the energy which he
holds in trust, and which, so holding, he has no right to fritter away. He
tries to be useful, but--miserably and deplorably fails. 

What then is his remedy? Remember there is here "no sea of troubles" to
"take arms against," no outraged human law to dread, no deserved earthly
punishment to escape; in fact, there is no moral cowardice whatever involved
in the self-sacrifice. M. simply puts an end to an existence which is
useless, and which therefore fails of its own primary purpose. Is his act
not justifiable? Or must he also be the victim of that transformation into
spook and pisacha, against which Fragment No. 3 utters its dread warning?
(2.) 

Perhaps, M. may secure at the next birth more favourable conditions, and
thus be better able to work out the purpose of Being. Well, he can scarcely
be worse; for, in addition to his being inspired by a laudable motive to
make way for one who might be more serviceable, he has not, in this
particular case, been guilty of any moral turpitude. (3.) 

But I have not done. I go a step further and say that M. is not only
useless, but positively mischievous. To his incapacity to do good, he finds
that he adds a somewhat restless disposition which is perpetually urging him
on to make an effort to do good. M. makes the effort--he would be utterly
unworthy the name of man if he did not make it--and discovers that his
incapacity most generally leads him into errors which convert the possible
good into actual evil; that, on account of his nature, birth, and education,
a very large number of men become involved in the effects of his mistaken
zeal, and that the world at large suffers more from his existence than
otherwise. 

Now, if, after arriving at such results, M. seeks to carry out their logical
conclusion, viz., that being morally bound to diminish the woes to which
sentient beings on earth are subject, he should destroy himself, and by that
means do the only good he is capable of; is there, I ask, any moral guilt
involved in the act of anticipating death in such a case? I, for one, should
certainly say not. Nay, more, I maintain, subject of course to correction by
superior knowledge, that M. is not only justified in making away with
himself, but that he would be a villain if he did not, at once and
unhesitatingly, put an end to a life, not only useless, but positively
pernicious. (4.) 

M. may be in error; but supposing he dies cherishing the happy delusion that
in death is all the good, in life all the evil he is capable of, are there
in his case no extenuating circumstances to plead strongly in his favour,
and help to avert a fall into that horrible abyss with which your readers
have been frightened? (5.) 

M.'s, I repeat, is no hypothetical case. History teems with instances of
worthless and pernicious lives, carried on to the bitter 1 end to the ruin
of nations. Look at the authors of the French Revolution, burning with as
ardent a love for their fellowmen as ever fired the human breast; look at
them crimson with innocent blood, bringing unutterable disasters on their
country in Liberty's sacred name! apparently how strong! in reality how
pitifully weak! What a woeful result of incapacity has been theirs? Could
they but have seen with M.'s eyes, would they not have been his prototypes?
Blessed, indeed, had it been for France, if they had anticipated M.? 

Again, look at George III. of England, a well-meaning, yet an incapable
Sovereign, who, after reigning for a number of years, left his country
distracted and impoverished by foreign wars, torn by internal dissensions,
and separated from a kindred race across the Atlantic, with the liberties of
his subjects trampled under foot, and virtue prostituted in the Cabinet, in
Parliament and on the Hustings. His correspondence with Lord North and
others abundantly proves that to his self-sufficiency, well-meaning though
it be, must be traced the calamities of Great Britain and Ireland,
calamities from the effects of which the United Kingdom has not yet fully
recovered. Happy had it been for England if this ruler had, like M., seen
the uselessness of his life and nipped it, as M. might do, in the bud of its
pernicious career! 

 
AN
INQUIRER
 
----------------------------------------------------------------






 

EDITOR'S NOTES

 

(1.) "Inquirer" is not an Occultist, hence his assertion that in some cases
suicide "is not only justifiable, but also morally desirable." No more than
murder, is it ever justifiable, however desirable it may sometimes appear. 

The Occultist, who looks at the origin and the ultimate end of things,
teaches that the individual--who affirms that any man, under whatsoever
circumstances, is called to put an end to his life,--is guilty d as great an
offense and of as pernicious a piece of sophistry, as the nation that
assumes a right to kill in war thousands of innocent people under the
pretext of avenging the wrong done to one. 

All such reasonings are the fruits of Avidya mistaken for philosophy and
wisdom. Our friend is certainly wrong in thinking that the writer of
Fragments arrived at his conclusions only because he failed to keep before
his mind's eye all the possible cases of suicide. 

The result, in one sense, is certainly invariable; and there is but one
general law or rule for all suicides. But, it is just because "the
after-states" vary ad-infinitum, that it is as erroneous to infer that this
variation consists only in the degree of punishment. If the result will be
in every case the necessity of living out the appointed period of sentient
existence, we do not see whence "Inquirer" has derived his notion that "the
result is invariably bad." 

The result is full of dangers; but there is hope for certain suicides, and
even in many cases A REWARD if LIFE WAS SACRIFICED TO SAVE OTHER LIVES and
that there was no other alternative for it. Let him read para. 7, page 313,
in the September THEOSOPHIST, and reflect. Of course, the question is simply
generalized by the writer. To treat exhaustively of all and every case of
suicide and their after-states would require a shelf of volumes from the
British Museum's Library, not our Fragments. 

(2.) No man, we repeat, has a right to put an end to his existence simply
because it is useless. As well argue the necessity of inciting to suicide
all the incurable invalids and cripples who are a constant source of misery
to their families; and preach the moral beauty of that law among some of the
savage tribes of the South Sea Islanders, in obedience to which they put to
death, with war-like honours, their old men and women. 

The instance chosen by "Inquirer" is not a happy one. There is a vast
difference between the man who parts with his life in sheer disgust at
constant failure to do good, out of despair of ever being useful, or even
out of dread to do injury to his fellow-men by remaining alive; and one who
gives it up voluntarily to save the lives either committed to his charge or
dear to him. One is a half insane misanthrope the other, a hero and a
martyr. One takes away his life, the other offers it in sacrifice to
philanthropy and to his duty. 

The captain who remains alone on board of a sinking ship; the man who gives
up his place in a boat that will not hold all, in favour of younger and
weaker beings; the physician, the sister of charity, and nurse who stir not
from the bed-side of patients dying of an infectious fever; the man of
science who wastes his life in brain-work and fatigue and knows he is so
wasting it and yet is offering it day after day and night after night in
order to discover some great law of the universe, the discovery of which may
bring in its results some great boon to mankind; the mother that throws
herself before the wild beast, that attacks her children, to screen and give
them the time to fly; all these are not suicides.

The impulse which prompts them thus to contravene the first great law of
animated nature--the first instinctive impulse of which is to preserve
life--is grand and noble. And, though all these will have to live in the
Kama Loka their appointed life term, they are yet admired by all, and their
memory will live honoured among the living for a still longer period. We all
wish that, upon similar occasions, we may have courage so to die. Not so,
surely in the case of the man instanced by "Inquirer." Notwithstanding his
assertion that "there is no moral cowardice whatever involved" in such
self-sacrifice--we call it decidedly "moral cowardice" and refuse it the
name of sacrifice. 

(3 and 4.) There is far more courage to live than to die in most cases. If
"M." feels that he is "positively mischievous," let him retire to a jungle,
a desert island; or, what is still better, to a cave or hut near some big
city; and then, while living the life of a hermit, a life which would
preclude the very possibility of doing mischief to any one, work, in one way
or the other, for the poor, the starving, the afflicted. 

If he does that, no one can "become involved in the effects of his mistaken
zeal," whereas, if he has the slightest talent, he can benefit many by
simple manual labour carried on in as complete a solitude and silence as can
be commanded under the circumstances. Anything is better even being called a
crazy philanthropist--than committing suicide, the most dastardly and
cowardly of all actions, unless the felo de se is resorted to, in a fit of
insanity. 

(5.) "Inquirer" asks whether his "M." must also be victim of that
transformation into spook and pisacha! Judging by the delineation given of
his character, by his friend, we should say that, of all suicides, he is the
most likely to become a séance-room spook. Guiltless "of any moral
turpitude," he may well be. But, since he is afflicted with a "restless
disposition which is perpetually urging him on to make an effort to do
good"--here, on earth, there is no reason we know of, why he should lose
that unfortunate disposition (unfortunate because of the constant
failure)--in the Kama Loka. 

A "mistaken zeal" is sure to lead him on toward various mediums. Attracted
by the strong magnetic desire of sensitives and spiritualists, "M." will
probably feel "morally bound to diminish the woes to which these sentient
beings (mediums and believers) are subject on earth," and shall once more
destroy, not only himself, but his "affinities" the mediums. 

[ Editor: HPB ]

Theosophist, November, 1882 

 
----------------------------
 
2
 

CONSCIOUS STATE OF VICTIMS OF ACCIDENT 

-- Dreamless
Sleep

 

 

[ Explanation of state of consciousness of violent or accidental death
victims .] "...In cases of good and innocent Egos...the latter gravitates
irresistibly towards the 6th [buddhi] and 7th [atma ], and thus--either
slumbers surrounded by happy dreams, or, sleeps a dreamless profound sleep
until the hour strikes...The victim whether good or bad is irresponsible for
his death, even if his death were due to some action in a previous life or
an antecedent birth; was an act...of the Law of Retribution, still, it was
not the direct result of an act deliberately committed by the personal ego
of that life during which he happened to be killed. Had he been allowed to
live longer he may have atoned for his antecedent sins still more
effectually: and even now, the Ego having been made to pay off the debt of
his maker (the previous Ego) is free from the blows of retributive justice.
The Dhyan Chohans who have no hand in the guidance of the living human Ego,
protect the helpless victim when it is violently thrust out of its element
into a new one, before it is matured and made fit and ready for it. We tell
you what we know, for we are made to learn it through personal experience...
Yes; the victims whether good or bad, sleep, to awake but at the hour of
the last Judgment, which is that hour of the supreme struggle between the
6th and the 7th, and the 5th and 4th at the threshold of the gestation
state. And even after that, when the 6th and 7th carrying off a portion of
the 5th have gone into their Akasic Samadhi [devachan ], even then it may
happen that the spiritual spoil from the 5th will prove too weak to be
reborn (132) in Deva-Chan; in which case it will there and then reclothe
itself in a new body, the subjective "Being" created from the Karma of the
victim (or no victim, as the case may be) and enter upon a new
earth-existence whether upon this or any other planet [read "Globe"]."
M L p. 131-2

 

 

"What you were taught is the Rule. [Bear always in mind that there are
exceptions...] Good and pure "accidents" sleep in the Akasa, ignorant of
their change; very wicked and impure--suffer all the tortures of a horrible
nightmare. The majority--neither very good nor very bad, the victims of
accident or violence (including murder)--some sleep, others become Nature
pisachas, and while a small minority may fall victims to mediums and derive
a new set of skandhas from the medium who attracts them. Small as their
number may be, their fate is to be the most deplored."
M L p. 132

 

 

 

MOTIVE -- LOVE, HATRED -- IMMEDIATE REBIRTH

 

 

"Motive is everything and man is punished in a case of direct
responsibility, never otherwise." M L p,132

 

 

"Love and Hatred are the only immortal feelings..." M L p. 127

 

"Unless a man loves well or hates as well, he will be neither in Deva-Chan
nor in Avitchi. "Nature spews the lukewarm out of her mouth" means only
that she annihilates their personal Egos (not the shells, nor yet the 6th
principle [buddhi ] ) in the Kama Loka and the Deva-Chan. This does not
prevent then from being immediately reborn--and, if their lives were not
very very bad--there is no reason why the eternal Monad should not find the
page of that life intact in the Book of Life." M L p. 134

 

 

                

KAMA-LOKA - SUICIDES - ACCIDENTAL DEATHS

 

 

The Adept states: "We tell you what we know, for we are made to learn it
through personal experience." ML p. 131

 

 

1. SUICIDES:--

 

 

Though not separated completely from Buddhi and Atma yet there is a vast
gulf until the day when they would have normally died.

 

These two: Atma-Buddhi are passive for the intervening time, (to the hour of
the last judgment--when the last and final struggle between Atma-Buddhi on
one hand and Kama-Manas on the other occurs).

(Theos. Articles & Notes, p.239-40)

 

Suicide is death brought on voluntarily and with full and
deliberate knowledge of its immediate consequences.
TA&N, 240)

 

If, in a fit on insanity a man commits suicide, he falls asleep like any
other victim of accident.

TA&N (240)

 


 

 

2. ACCIDENTAL DEATHS:--

 

 

The victim, good or bad, is irresponsible for his death.

 

Even if the death by accident were due to past Karma, it is not the direct
result of a personal act of the Ego in this life. 

 

The Dhyan-Chohans protect the hapless accident victim when it is violently
thrust out of its life before it has matured and been made ready for the new
place in a normal way. TA&N, 239

 

In the case of accidental death, the 2 groups of principles
(Atma-Buddhi-Manas) and (Astral-Prana-Kama-Lower Manas) attract each other.
TA&N, 239-240

 

 

 

In the case of good and innocent egos the lower 4 gravitate irresistibly
towards Atma-Buddhi, and thus sleep,

 

1. a dreamless slumber, or 

 

2. are surrounded by happy dreams until the hour when death
would have normally taken place occurs and the separation between the
"higher" and the "lower" principles occurs just before Devachan ("gestation
state").

 

If at that time Atma-Buddhi carrying the essence of Higher

Manasic experience proves to have too little for the operation 

of the process of "Akasic Samadhi" in Devachan the Manasic 

principle will reclothe itself in a new body (the direct    

result of the remaining Karma of the victim) and enter upon a     

new life on earth. [ Quick reincarnation ? ] TA&N (240)

 

 

 

3. SEANCE ROOM "SPIRITS":--

 

 

The only "visitors" at seance rooms as astral forms are:

 

1. suicides, and

 

2. Elementaries -- Kama-lokic remains & "Black
Magi       

cians"

 

3. Executed criminals.

 

No pure Spirits visit any seance room. TA&N
(240-1)

 

 

 

4. Victims of Vicious Indulgence:-- ( life shortening )

 

 

The cause of vice receives punishment. Motive IS everything, and man is
punished in a case of direct responsibility only.

 

Vicious indulgence can cause an earlier death than provided for under the
personal karma of that life. TA&N p. 240

 

 

 

5. MURDERERS - EXECUTED PERSONS:--

 

 

Under the influence of the last violent thoughts and feelings he felt before
execution, the executed person will be ever reviewing on the Astral Plane
his anger and fear, and will be receiving the impact of the changes made in
the lives of others influenced by his acts. TA&N, 240-1

 

Those who are vicious, and not insane, are only partly killed on execution.
>From the Astral Plane they will be affecting all those who are sensitive
enough to "feel and receive" them.

 

Especially at spiritualistic seances. There they project scenes of blood
and punishment into such weak persons, influ-

encing them to copy. [ They may also "haunt" astrally by attraction the
place of their crime or of execution.]

TA&N 241

 

At scenes of collective murder, where victims are overwhelmed by a group and
killed, the struggle and emotional impact may be reenacted several times a
year for many years. [ Ex.: Marathon ] Those sensitive to the Astral images
will see this. TA&N (241)

 

 

 

6. INSANITY:--

 

 

Suicide and murder can be committed while insane. The period between death
of the body and the real death would be passed in sleep.
(Theos. Articles & Notes, p. 240 241)

 

 

===============================

 
 
Best wishes 

 

 

Dallas

 

=====================================

 

-----Original Message-----
From: Etzion B
Sent: Tuesday, April 27, 2004 10:58 AM
To: study@blavatsky.net
Subject: [bn-study] Re: Divine Wind

 

What I have learnt, is when a person kills another person, he takes upon
himself the sanskaras/impressions of that person. Presumably, the *victim*
is the real winner here, bacause his karmic burden has been lessened, while
the karmic burden of the killer grew. A person who kills in order to protect
another person or his country, and doing it without any trace of anger, can
help the other side to lessen its karmic burden, while he himself don't
contract any further karma. This is very rare. I of course, don't know the
personal fate of those Japanese pilots. They were ordered to do so, they
were not volunteers. The burden in such a case, falls on the heads of those
who gave the orders. Etzion

----- Original Message ----- 

 

From: L.R. <mailto:liberty722980@yahoo.com> Andrews 

To: study@blavatsky.net 

Sent: Monday, April 26, 2004 7:41 PM

Subject: [bn-study] Divine Wind

 

Dear Friends,

 

With regard to suicide and its consequences in the hereafter, would for
example a Kami Kaze (Divine Wind) pilot who deliberately crashed his
aircraft into an enemy ship, necessarily be in torment after death because
he "committed suicide?" It would seem that many if not most of the Japanese
suicide pilots of World War II had the noblest of intentions when they
unselfishly gave up their lives for their homeland.

 

Thanks for your comments,

 

L.R.

 

 

 



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