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Nº. XL
CONCERNING THE HEREAFTER (1)
WHEN a man parts at death with his
material body, that of him which survives is divisible into three parts, the anima
divina, or, as in the Hebrew, Neshamah; the anima bruta,
or Ruach, which is the persona of the man; and
the shade, or Nephesh, which is the lowest mode of
soul substance. In the great majority of persons the consciousness is gathered
up and centred in the anima bruta,
or Ruach; in the few wise it is polarised in the anima
divina. Now, that part of man which passes
through, or transmigrates, – the process whereof is called by the Hebrews
Gilgal Neshamoth, – is the anima divina, which is the immediate
receptacle of the deific Spirit. And whereas there is in the world nothing save
the human, actual or potential, the Neshamah subsists
also in animals, though only as a mere spark, their consciousness being
therefore rudimentary and diffuse. It is the Neshamah
which finally escapes from the world and is redeemed into eternal life. The anima
bruta, or earthly mind, is that part of man
which retains all earthly and local memories, reminiscent affections, cares and
personalities of the world or planetary sphere, and bears his family or
earth-name. After death this anima bruta,
or Ruach, remains in the “lower
of the Neshamah. But
very advanced men become re-incarnate, not on this planet, but on some other
nearer the sun. The anima bruta has lived but once, and
will never be re-incarnate. It continues in the “lower
can he have these memories of his past lives. Such
memories as a man, on the upward path, can have of his past incarnations, are by
reflection only; and the memories are not of events usually, but of principles
and truths, and habits formerly acquired. If these memories relate to events,
they are vague and fitful, because they are reflections from the overshadowing
of his former selves in the astral light. For the former selves – the deserted
temples of the anima divina
– frequent her sphere and are attracted towards her, especially under certain
conditions. From them she learns through the intermediary of the genius, or
“moon,” who lights up the camera obscura
of the mind, and reflects on its tablet the memories cast by the overshadowing
past. The anima bruta, or
Ruach, seems to itself to progress, because it has a vague sense that
sooner or later it will be lifted to higher spheres. But of the method of this
it is ignorant, because it can only know the celestial by union with it. The
learning which makes it seem to itself to progress is acquired by reflected
soul-rays coming from the terrestrial. Advanced men on the earth assist and
teach the astral soul, and hence its fondness for their spheres. It learns by
reflected intellectual images, or thoughts. The Ruach
is right when it says it is immortal. For the better part of it will in the end
be absorbed into the Neshamah. But if one interrogate a Ruach of even two or
three centuries old, it seldom knows more than it knew in its earth-life,
unless, indeed, it gain fresh knowledge from its interrogator. The reason why
some communications are astral, and others celestial, is simply that some
persons – the greater number – communicate by means of the anima
bruta in themselves; and others – the few
purified – by means of their anima divina.
For, like attracts like. The earthly souls of animals are rarely met with; they
come into communion with animals rather than with man, unless an affection between a man and an animal have been very
strong. If a man would meet and recognise his beloved in
Nirvâna, he must make his affection one of the
Neshamah, not of the Ruach. There are many
degrees of love. True love is stronger than a thousand deaths; for, though one
die a thousand times, a single love may yet perpetuate itself past every death
from birth to birth, growing and culminating in intensity and might.
Now, all these three, Nephesh, Ruach, and Neshamah, are discrete modes of one and the same universal
being, which is
at once life and substance, and is instinct with
consciousness, inasmuch as it is, under whatever mode, Holy Spirit. Wherefore,
there inheres in them all a divine potency. Evolution, which is the
manifestation of that which is inherent, is the manifestation of this potency.
The first formulation of this inherency, above the plane of the material, is the Nephesh, this being the soul by which are impelled the lower
and earlier forms of life. It is the “moving” soul that breathes and kindles.
The next – the Ruach
– is the “wind” that rushes forth to vivify the mind. Higher, because more
inward and central, is the Neshamah, which, borne on
the bosom of the Ruach, is the immediate receptacle of
the Divine particle, and without which this cannot be individualised and become
an indiffusible
personality. Both the “wind” and the “flame” are spirit; but the wind is
general, the flame particular. The wind fills the house; the flame designates
the person. The wind is the Divine Voice resounding in the ear of the Apostle
and passing away where it listeth; the flame is the
Divine Tongue uttering itself in the word of the
Apostle. Thus, then, in the soul impersonal are perceived the breath and
afflatus of God; but in the soul personal is the formulate
and express utterance of God. Now, both of Nephesh
and Ruach, that which is gathered up and endures is Neshamah.
Footnotes
(96:1)
(97:1) See Appendix, note A.
(97:2) Ps.
cxii, 6.
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