India
Northern India was the cradle of the present race--the fifth--the Eden
of our humanity, our physical, moral, mental, and spiritual
mother.[81] From her womb issued the emigrant hordes that peopled
Europe after spreading over Egypt, Asia Minor, and Siberia; it was her
code of ethics that civilised Chaldaea, Greece, Rome, and the whole of
the East; our own code is full of traces of the Laws of Manu, whilst
both the Old a
often almost a literal copy of the sacred Books of ancient Aryavarta.
The presence of the doctrine of reincarnation in the Vedic hymns has
been disputed; this proves nothing more than the present fragmentary
condition of the Vedas. Nothing, indeed, could be more absurd than to
find that the sacred Scriptures of India had maintained silence on a
doctrine which, along with that of Karma, form the two main columns of
the Hindu temple; for the Brahman as well as for the Buddhist--who is
only a member of a powerful offshoot of Hinduism--these two laws rule
throughout the whole Universe, from the primordial kingdoms up to the
gods, including man; and the principal, nay, the only goal of human
life is Moksha--salvation, in Christian terminology--liberation from
the chain of rebirths.
In this land, in which, along with strict obedience to the rules of
conduct set forth by its great Teachers, there existed the most
complete freedom of opinion, and where the most divergent and numerous
philosophic sects consequently developed, there has always been
perfect unanimity regarding the doctrine of rebirth, and in that
inextricable forest of metaphysical speculations two giant trees have
always overtopped the rest: the tree of Karma and the tree of
Reincarnation.
In spite of the intentional obscurity in which we are left as to the
teachings regarding rebirth from the time of the decadence of India,
it is no difficult matter, with the aid of theosophy, to discover its
main points. Thus we find in them the return of the "life-atoms"[82]
and animal souls[83] to existence in new physical bodies; the rebirths
of the human Egos are indicated in their main phases; but here, the
deliberate omission of certain points which had long to remain
incomprehensible--and consequently dangerous--to the masses, makes
obscure, and at times absurd, certain aspects of transmigration. I
have heard a great Teacher clearly explain these points to some of the
most enlightened of the Hindu members of the Theosophical Society, but
I do not feel authorised to repeat these explanations, and so will
leave this portion of the subject under a veil, which the reader will,
with the aid of intuition, be able to lift after reflecting on the
following pages.
The Sages of ancient India, then, teach three distinct phases in the
return-to-birth process: Resurrection, Transmigration or
Metempsychosis and Reincarnation properly so-called.
More
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A Few Deductions
The Germ. From the facts established in the course of this comprehensive view of the Universe, we are enabled to draw important deductions. For instance, as the basis of every "cycle of life" is found the egg or germ, that strange microcosm whi... Ancient Greece (magna Graecia)
In Greece, the doctrine of Rebirths is met with in the Orphic tradition, continued by Pythagoras and Plato. Up to the present time, this tradition has probably found its best interpreter in Mr. G. R. S. Mead, an eminent theosophist and a scholar o... Arguments Against Reincarnation
The honest consideration of any subject necessitates the examination of "the other side of the case," as well as the affirmative side. We have given much space to the presentation and consideration of the arguments advanced by those convinced of t... Between And Beyond Incarnations
One of the first questions usually asked by students of the subject of Reincarnation is: "Where does the soul dwell between incarnations; does it incarnate immediately after death; and what is its final abode or state?" This question, or questions... Chaldaea
It is said that the Magi taught the immortality of the soul and its reincarnations, but that they considerably limited the number of these latter, in the belief that purification was effected after a restricted number of existences on the soul retur... Egypt
If we pass from India to Egypt, the land of mystery, we again find the world-wide doctrine of palingenesis hidden beneath the same veil. According to Egyptian teaching, the theory of the "fall of the angels" was accepted; the fallen angels were hu... India
Northern India was the cradle of the present race--the fifth--the Eden of our humanity, our physical, moral, mental, and spiritual mother.[81] From her womb issued the emigrant hordes that peopled Europe after spreading over Egypt, Asia Minor, and S... Islamism
It has been said that the Arabs believed in Reincarnation before Mohammed forbade it. Some, however, think that the Koran was written only after the death of the Prophet, and that the latter committed nothing to writing, but taught by word of mouth.... Manifestation Of The Higher Consciousness In The Phenomena Of Possession And Materialisation
In these strange phenomena, not only manifestations of the higher consciousness, analogous with or similar to those just cited, have been noted, but also a number of facts which prove, to some extent, the casual presence in a normal human body or in... Manifestation Of The Higher Consciousness In Various Cases Of Mental Faculties Lost To Normal Consciousness
A rather large number of people born blind have images in dreams, and can see with the higher consciousness, when placed in a state of somnambulism. This proves that the higher consciousness possesses the power of vision on its own plane, and can im... Manifestations Of The Higher Consciousness During The Different Kinds Of Sleep
Normal dream. During normal sleep there exists a special consciousness which must not be confounded either with waking consciousness or with that of the astral body. It is due to the automatic, cerebral vibration which continues during sleep, and wh... Manifestations Of The Higher Consciousness In Apparitions
A final group of phenomena to which I wish to call attention is the one which goes under the name of apparitions. A considerable number of these are to be found; we will confine ourselves, however, to referring the reader to a volume entitled Phanta... Manifestations Of The Higher Consciousness In Phenomena Of Double Consciousness
The "strata of memory" met with in many cases also prove the existence of the second vehicle of consciousness which we are trying to demonstrate. Certain dreams continue night after night, beginning again just where they stopped the previous nigh... Manifestations Of The Higher Consciousness Indicating Not Only That It Extends Farther Than Normal Consciousness
The Soul functioning in the finer body sees the physical body in a state of coma. Dr. Abercrombie relates the case of a child aged four, who was trepanned as the result of fracture of the skull, and whilst in a stale of coma. He never knew what happ... Manifestations Of The Higher Consciousness Under The Form Of Memory
The memory that is lost by the brain is preserved in its entirety by the finer vehicle. A musician, a friend of Hervey's, once heard a remarkable piece of music; he remembered it on awaking, and wrote it down, regarding it as his own inspiration.... Metempsychosis
After the disintegration of the body, the kamic[92] elements continue for some time, us a "shade"[93] or a "phantom,"[94] in the finer and invisible atmosphere;[95] then they, in turn, become disintegrated by the various forces of this environment,[... Neoplatonism
The great philosophic body that formed a bridge, as it were, between the Old World and the New was the famous School of Alexandria, founded about the second century of our era by Ammonius Saccas and closed in the year 429 A.D. through the intoleranc... New Testament
The New Testament is far more explicit than the Old, even though we find the teachings of reincarnation indicated in only a vague, indirect fashion. All the same, it must not be forgotten that the canonical Gospels have suffered numerous suppression... Objection
An apparently serious objection to the doctrine of Rebirth is constantly being made. It is unjust and useless, people say, to be punished for misdeeds that are forgotten. As this objection has reference to moral proofs, we must deal with it here. ... Objection
Reincarnation is not necessary, it has been alleged; the soul's evolution is continued after death in the invisible worlds in finer bodies; consequently it is needless to return to the denser bodies of earth. In our opinion, the trials of life, s... Objection
Reincarnation and Forgetfulness of the Past. Sceptics are ever bringing forward against reincarnation the absence of all memory of past lives, convinced that there can be no answer to this argument. They do not reflect that human ignorance is a... Old Testament
H. P. Blavatsky tells us that the Old Testament is not a homogeneous composition; that Genesis alone is of immense antiquity; that it is prior to the time when the Libra of the Zodiac was invented by the Greeks, for it has been noticed that the chap... Progress
The observer of Nature makes a third discovery. Every fresh cycle of life is characterised by an advance on the preceding cycle; every stage brings the end nearer. This represents progress, and it is seen everywhere; when it does not appear, it is b... Proofs Of The Astral Body
Certain normal and abnormal or morbid phenomena in man have proved the existence of this vehicle, which we will call the higher consciousness, for it is far greater than normal, waking consciousness, that of the brain. In the somewhat rare cases in ... Reincarnation
The process of disintegration[97] which, after disincarnation, destroys the physical, astral, and mental bodies of the man leaves the Soul--or, to be more exact, the causal body, for the soul is not the causal body any more than it is any of the oth... Reincarnation And Science
The secret of the Universe lies in observation; it is for man to develop his senses and patiently to search into the hidden things of Nature. All science proceeds thus, and the reason that savants have not unearthed the precious object for which ... Reincarnation And The Moral Law
The Goodness, justice, and Omnipotence of God are the guarantees of Providence. It is absolutely impossible that the faintest breath of injustice should ever disturb the Universe. Every time the Law appears to be violated, every time Justice se... Reincarnation And The Religious And Philosophic Consensus Of The Ages
In the rapid review we are now about to make of the religion and philosophy of the past, we shall find that, under many and divers names and veils, the doctrine of Rebirths has been taught from the farthest antiquity right up to the present time. Th... Resurrection
The human body is a species of polyp colony, a kind of coral island like those that emerge above the waves of the Pacific, by reason of the collective efforts of lower organisms. The most numerous of the compounds of the human aggregate are known ... Rome
Although Rome, above all else, was a warlike republic, and religion principally a State cult, that allowed but slight opportunity for the outer expression of spirituality, none the less did it inherit the beliefs of Egypt, Greece, and Persia; the Ba... The Argument For Reincarnation
In addition to the consideration of Justice, there are many other advantages claimed by the advocates of Reincarnation which are worthy of the careful consideration of students of the problem of the soul. We shall give to each of these principal p... The Celts
Sacerdotal India--and perhaps also Atlantis--in early times sent pioneers into the West to spread religious teachings amongst their energetic inhabitants; those who settled in Gaul and the British Isles were the Druids. "I am a serpent, a druid," th... The Cyclic Process Of Evolution
Another fact strikes the observer: the cyclic march of evolution. After action comes reaction; after activity, rest; after winter, summer; after day, night; after inspiration--the breath of life during which universal Movement works in a molecular a... The Doctrine Of Rebirth In Modern Philosophy
In antiquity, science and philosophy were scarcely anything else than parts of religion[223]; the most eminent scientists and the greatest philosophers alike were all supporters of the established form of religion, whenever they did not happen to be... The Early Christian Church
The documents to which we have access, dealing with the philosophical and religious history of Christianity in the first few centuries of our era, are so questionable, that we can place but faint reliance upon them, if we would really become acquain... The Early Races
By "Reincarnation" we mean the repeated incarnation, or embodiment in flesh, of the soul or immaterial part of man's nature. The term "Metempsychosis" is frequently employed in the same sense, the definition of the latter term being: "The passage ... The Egyptians Chaldeans Druids Etc
After considering the existence of the doctrines of Reincarnation among the primitive peoples, and its traditional existence among the vanished peoples of the past, we find ourselves irresistibly borne toward that ancient land of mystery--the home... The Evolutionary Series
If we look attentively at the totality of beings we perceive a progressive series of forms expressing a parallel series of qualities and states of consciousness. The portion of this scale we are able to compass extends from the amorphous state[42]--... The Goal Of Evolution
The Formation of Centres of Consciousness that become "Egos." Through innumerable wanderings this general progress traces a clear, unwavering line. Those capable of following evolution on the planes of finer matter at once perceive, as it were, wi... The Hindus
While Reincarnation has been believed and taught in nearly every nation, and among all races, in former or present times, still we are justified in considering India as the natural Mother of the doctrine, inasmuch as it has found an especially fav... The Jews Essenes And Early Christians
The early Jewish people had an Inner Teaching which embraced certain ideas concerning Reincarnation, although the masses of the people knew nothing of the doctrine which was reserved for the inner circles of the few. There is much dispute concerni... The Justice Of Reincarnation
There are three views entertained by men who believe in the existence of the soul--there are many shades of belief and opinion on the subject, but they may be divided into three classes. These three views, respectively, are as follows: (1) That th...