Filename: RC1078.TXT Source: +quot;The Rosicrucian Philosophy In Questions + Answers, Vol.

Filename: RC1078.TXT Source: "The Rosicrucian Philosophy In Questions & Answers, Vol. II" by Max Heindel [PAGE 2753] A WORD OF EXPLANATION: The questions contained in this book were answered by Max Heindel in RAYS FROM THE ROSE CROSS during the years between 1913 and 1919. Since most of these magazines are now out of print, this compilation is for the purpose of sharing with the general public in book form much valuable occult informa- tion from the pen of Max Heindel which would otherwise not be easily avail- able. For the benefit of those not familiar with the teachings given in THE ROSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION, we give the following information concerning the Western Wisdom Teachings and the terms used. With these basic facts, it will be easy for anyone to understand the answers to the questions. It may also be in place to state here that each question has been answered regard- less of what has been said in answer to any other question, so that each an- swer is complete in itself. This has occasioned repetition of some things said in answer to one question when replying to another which is similar, but it will be found that in all cases where there is such a repetition it presents a new aspect of the subject, thus giving added information. * * * * * * * * * * The Rosicrucian Philosophy teaches that man is a complex being, an Ego, or threefold Spirit possessing: (1) A DENSE BODY, composed of the solids, liquids and gasses of the [PAGE 2754] Physical World. It is the visible instrument he uses here in this world to fetch and carry--the body people ordinarily think of as the whole man. (2) A VITAL BODY, which is made of ether and interpenetrates the vis- ible body as ether permeates all other forms, except that human beings spe- cialize a greater amount of the universal ether than other forms. This ethereal body is our instrument for specializing the vital energy of the sun, and for carrying on the functions of assimilation, growth, propagation, etc. (3) A DESIRE BODY, which is our emotional nature. This finer vehicle pervades both the dense and vital bodies. It is seen by clairvoyant vision to extend about sixteen inches outside the visible body, which is located in the center of this ovoid cloud as the yolk is in the center of an egg. The desire body contains sense centers which, when properly developed, are man's means of perception in the Desire World. (4) THE MIND, which is a mirror, reflecting the outer world and en- abling the Ego to transmit its commands as thought and word. It is the link between the Spirit and its bodies. At the present time it is but an unformed cloud, but will eventually be as well organized as man's other bod- ies. THE EGO is the threefold Spirit which uses these vehicles to gather expe- rience in the school of life and transmute it into soul power. [PAGE 2755] QUESTIONS DEALING WITH LIFE AFTER DEATH: DIAGRAM 13A: THE SEVEN DAYS OF CREATION: ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | [ Stage of Unconscious ] | [ Stage of Conscious ] | | [ Involution. ] | [ Evolution. ] | | [ Growth of the 3-fold ] | [ Growth of the 3-fold ] | |<---[ body, the focus of ]--->|<---[ by right action, right]-->| | [ mind & attainment of ] | [ feeling and right ] | | [ self-consciousness. ] | [ thought. ] | | | | | | | | | | ||--------| | |-------| ||THRONES | | |We will| World ||awakened| | | be | of || the | | | God- | Divine ||Divine | | | Men | Spirit || Spirit | | | and | || in man | | | Crea- ----------||and gave|----------------------- |------------------------|--tors-| World ||him the||--------| | |-------|| by | of || thought||CHERUBIM| | |We will||Amalga-| Life ||form of||awakened| | | be || mating| Spirit || a || the | | | Demi- || the | ----------||-Dense--||-Life---|--------------|---------------|-Gods--||-3-fold| W Region || Body. || Spirit ||--------| | |--------|| and || Soul | O of || || in Man ||SERAPHIM| | |We will ||extract|| with | R Abstract|| ||and gave||awakened| | | be || the || the | L Thought || Lords ||him a || the | We are |Super- || Emo- || Mind. | D || of ||germinal|| Human | human | Man ||tional || | || Mind || Vital || Spirit | here>> | and || Soul || | O ........||..were..||.Body...||and gave|.....\|/..|.extract||.from..||.......| F || human. || which ||the germ||--------|| the || the || Mine- | || || was || of the || LORDS ||Intel- || Desire|| rals | T Region || ||then a || Desire || OF ||lectual || Body. ||will be| H of || || thought|| Body || FORM || Soul || || human.| O Concrete|| || form. || which || || from || || | U Thought || Globes || ||was then|| Mind || the || || Globes| G || of the || || a ||given by|| Vital ||Plants ||of the| H || SATURN || || thought||Lords of|| Body. ||will be|| VULCAN| T || PERIOD || || form. || Mind || ||human. || PERIOD| ||--------|| || ||is now a|| || ||-------| ----------|----------|--------||--------||-thought||--------||-------|--------- Desire | | || || form. || || | World | | || || || Animals|| | | | Globes || || Con- ||will be || Globes| | | of the || || scious || human. ||of the| | | SUN || || Soul || || VENUS | | | PERIOD || || ex- || || PERIOD| | |--------|| || tracted|| ||-------| ----------|--------------------|--------||-from---||--------|------------------ P | | || Dense || | H | | || Body. M|| | Y | | Globes ||M E|| Globes | S Etheric | | of the ||A R|| of the | I Region | | MOON ||R C|| JUPITER| C | | PERIOD ||S U|| PERIOD | A | |--------||1/2 R||--------| L ........|..............................|.......Y|............................ | | 1/2| W | | Globes | O Chemical| | of the | R Region | | EARTH | L | | PERIOD | D | |--------| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Involution brings the spirit Evolution lifts the spirit out of down into matter by crystal- matter by spiritualizing the bodies lizing it into bodies. into soul. Epigenesis, the original creative activity of the spirit, is the lever and the Mind is the fulcrum upon which Involution turns to Evolution. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [PAGE 2756] THE PURGATORIAL EXISTENCE: QUESTION NO. 1: DOES THE PURGATORIAL EXPERIENCE OF THE EGO CONTINUE FROM DEATH UNTIL THE PANORAMA REACHES THE BIRTH OF THE LIFE JUST ENDED, OR ARE THERE PERIODS OF RESPITE BETWEEN THE END OF SUFFERING FOR THIS, THAT, OR THE OTHER DEED AND THE BEGINNING OF SUFFERING FOR THE NEXT? ANSWER: NATURE, WHICH IS GOD IN MANIFESTATION, always aims at the con- servation of energy, attaining the greatest results with the least expendi- ture of force and the least waste of energy. The Law of Analogy applies to this case. If we study the effect of change in the physical world, we shall learn something of its consequence in the realm above us. A person who is here suffering acutely for a short time usually feels pin very intensely; whereas those who suffer for years in succession, though the pain which is inflicted upon them may be as severe, do not seem to feel the suffering in the same measure. They have, as it were, grown used thereto, and their frame has in a certain sense become emaciated and adjusted to pain; hence suffering is not felt as keenly by these as by the person in the first case. It is similar in the purgatorial experience. When a person (man or woman) has been very hard and harsh in life, when he has thought nothing of the feelings of others, when he has inflicted severe pain here, there, and [PAGE 2757] everywhere on whatever occasion offered, we shall find that HIS SUFFERING IN PURGATORY WILL BE VERY SEVERE, intensified of course by the fact that the purgatorial experience is shorter than the life lived upon earth; but the pain is intensified in proportion. Now, therefore, it is evident that if his experience were continuous, if the pain engendered by one act were fol- lowed immediately by the next, much of the effect of the suffering would be lost upon the soul because it would not feel its full intensity. Therefore the experiences, as it were, come to them in waves so that there is a period of respite after each period of suffering in order that the full intensity OF THE NEXT may be felt. Some may think, of course, that this is cruel, and that it is inflicting pain needlessly, taking advantage of every finesse to make the suffering as acute as possible. This is not so, however. While the effect is there, the motive is a greater good, for nature, or God, never seeks to revenge or avenge any wrong, but only to teach those who permit themselves to do wrong not to repeat the act, by giving the wrong-doer exactly pain for pain. The tendency in a future life is to cause him to respect the feelings of others and so be merciful to all the world. Thus the very highest intensity in pain is necessary for the conservation of energy, and to make him good and pure sooner than would be the case if the pain were continuous and the suf- fering correspondingly lessened. [PAGE 2758] HOW ARE THE "DEAD" CLOTHED? QUESTION NO. 2: HOW DO THE SO-CALLED DEAD APPEAR AS TO OUTER APPAREL? HOW ARE THEY CLAD? DOES THEIR THOUGHT MOLD THE ETHEREAL MATTER INTO GARMENTS OR ANYTHING THEY DESIRE? ONE WOULD JUDGE SO FROM WHAT IS SAID IN THE COSMO ABOUT THE DESIRE WORLD. DOES THE DESIRE BODY TAKE THE SHAPE OF THE DENSE BODY IMMEDIATELY AFTER THE SILVER CORD IS SEVERED? ANSWER: It is possible for the so-called dead to form by their thoughts any article of clothing they desire. They usually think of themselves as being clothed in the conventional garb of the country in which they lived prior to their passing into the Desire World, and therefore they appear so clothed without any particular effort of thought. But when they desire to obtain something new or an unusual article of clothing, naturally they have to use their will power to bring that thing into existence; and such an ar- ticle of clothing will last as long as the person thinks of himself as being clad in that apparel. But this amenability of desire stuff to the molding power of thought is also used in other directions. Generally speaking, when a person leaves the present world in consequence of an accident, he thinks of himself as being disfigured by that accident in a certain manner, perhaps minus a leg or arm or with a hole in the head. This does not inconvenience him at all; he [PAGE 2759] can move about there of course just as easily without arms or legs as with them; but it shows the tendency of thought to shape the desire body. At the beginning of the war when great numbers of soldiers passed over into the De- sire World with lesions of the most horrible nature, the Elder Brothers and their pupils taught these men that by merely holding the thought that they were sound of limb and body, they would at once be healed of their disfigur- ing wounds. This they immediately did. Now all newcomers, when they are able to understand matters over there, are at once healed of their wounds and amputations in this manner, so that to look at them nobody would think they had passed over in consequence of an accident in the physical world. As a result this knowledge has become so general that many people who have passed over since have availed themselves of this property of desire stuff and have molded it by thought in case they wanted to change their bodily appearance. Some times those who are very corpulent want to appear more slim and, vice versa, those who are very thin want to appear as if they had more flesh. This change or transformation is not permanently success- ful, however, on account of the archetype. The extra flesh put on a thin person or the quantity taken off one who is corpulent does not stay on or off permanently, but after a while the man who was originally thin returns to this original stature, while the person who tries to take off flesh finds [PAGE 2760] himself putting it back on by degrees, and then has to go through the pro- cess anew. It is similar with people who attempt to mold their features and change them to an appearance that suits them better than their original one. However, changes affecting the features are less permanent because the fa- cial expression there has here is an indication of the nature of the soul; therefore whatever is sham is quickly dispersed by the habitual thought of the person. With regard to the second part of the question, we may say that during physical life the desire body is shaped more or less like an ovoid cloud surrounding the dense body. But as soon as the person gains consciousness in the Desire World and begins to think of himself as having the shape of the dense body, then the desire body begins to assume that form. This transformation is facilitated by the fact that the soul body, composed of the two higher ethers, the light and the reflecting ether, is still with the man the Ego. To put it more clearly and bring in a helpful comparison, we may remember that at the time when the Ego is coming down to rebirth the two lower ethers gathered around the seed atom of the vital body are molded into a matrix by the Lords of Destiny--the Recording Angels and their agents. This matrix is placed in the womb of the mother, where the physical par- ticles are embedded in it so that they gradually form the body of the child, which is then born. At that time the child has no soul body. Whatever [PAGE 2761] there may be of the two higher ethers is not assimilated until later in life and is built upon by deeds that are good and true. When the soul body has reached a certain density, it is possible for the person to function in it as an Invisible Helper, and during his soul lights the desire body mold it- self readily into this prepared matrix. When he returns to the physical body, the effort of will whereby he enters it automatically dissolves the intimate connection between the desire body and the soul body. Later on when the life in the physical world has been finished and the two lower ethers discarded with the dense body, the luminous soul body or "golden wed- ding garment" still remains with the higher vehicles, and into this matrix the desire body is molded at its birth into the Invisible World. So as the body of the child was made in conformity to the matrix of the two lower ethers before coming to physical birth, similarly the birth into the Invis- ible World which follows death in the physical region is attended by an im- pregnation with desire stuff of the matrix formed of the two higher ethers, to form the vehicle that will be used in that world. But the so-called dead are not the only ones who have the power thus to mold desire stuff into any shape they please. This power is shared by all the other denizens of the Desire World even down to the elementals, and they very often use this faculty of transformation to frighten or mislead the newcomer, as many a neophyte has found out to his consternation when he first entered that realm. For these little imps are quick to know when a [PAGE 2762] person is a stranger and not conversant with the nature of things there, and they seem to take a special delight in annoying newcomers by transforming themselves into the most grotesque and terrifying monsters. Then they may feign atrocious attacks upon him, and its seems to give them the keenest de- light if they are able to chase him into a corner and make him cringe with feat while they stand gnashing their teeth as if ready to devour him. But the moment the neophyte learns that in reality there is nothing that can hurt him, that in his finer vehicles he is immune from all danger of being torn to pieces or devoured, and that a quiet laugh at the harmless creatures and a stern command to take themselves off is all that is needed to cause them to turn their attention elsewhere, they soon learn to leave him alone. Thus he learns to force them to do his will, for in that world all creatures which have not been individualized are compelled to do the bidding of higher intelligences, and man is among the latter. Thus a man may take an elemental and form it into any shape he desires and use it to do his bidding. The beings thus created with his life and will power and given a certain mission to do will faithfully obey his or- ders, and according to the intensity which he puts into that work will the thing last for a longer or shorter time. In this manner many so-called spooks have been created and given a mission lasting for centuries after the person who originally started the spell had gone into the higher Heaven [PAGE 2763] World. That is probably the origin of the "white lady" who warns the Hohenzollerns of impending death. She and kindred apparitions which have given rise to so much speculation have been created by the superlative in- tensity of desire of a human being launched into the Desire World under par- ticularly painful or distressing circumstances, which wrought the required magic spell unconsciously to the person himself. A SHORT CUT TO HEAVEN: QUESTION NO. 3: SOME WRITERS SEEM TO TEACH THAT IT IS POSSIBLE TO GO STRAIGHT FROM THE PHYSICAL WORLD TO THE HIGHER SPIRITUAL WORLD WITHOUT HAVING TO PASS THROUGH THE LOWER REGIONS OF THE DESIRE WORLD, THUS ESCAPING ALL THE NOISOME SIGHTS WHICH ARE PECULIAR TO THAT REGION. YOU, ON THE OTHER HAND, ALWAYS SPEAK AS IF IT WERE NECESSARY TO PASS THROUGH EVERY REALM OF NATURE IN SUCCESSION. WHY THIS DISCREPANCY? ANSWER: We are well aware that some people make statements as above relative to the transition from the physical to the higher spiritual realms by way of what they learnedly call the "atomic subplanes." For guidance as [PAGE 2764] to who is right, we refer you to the Law of Analogy, "As above so below," which is the master key to all mysteries, spiritual or physical, for this law is one in whatever realm of Nature we investigate. You know it is im- possible for a diver to get to the bottom of the sea without starting at the surface and descending through the intervening water. It is also evident that it is impossible for an aeroplane to ascend above the clouds without first passing through the intervening space of air between the earth and the clouds. Similarly the Ego after death gradually ascends through the various spiritual realms to the Third Heaven, and at the time of rebirth it gradually descends through the Region of Concrete Thought, the Desire World, and the Ether to the physical plane. These are facts known to many who have investigated, and are beyond dispute or argument to the occult scientist as much as it is beyond argument to the material scientist that the earth moves on its axis; anyone who contends otherwise is simply mistaken. Nor does the writer say this solely upon the basis of his own experience, for he is acquainted with hundreds of others who possess the ability to function outside the body in the various spiritual realms. He has never ex- pressly discussed this phase of superphysical experience with any of them, but their repeated references to things which happened to different ones when passing through the lower realms of the Desire World and the Ether make [PAGE 2765] him feel certain that none of his acquaintances have ever mounted to the higher parts of the Desire World or the Region of Concrete Thought without first passing through the Ether and the lower Desire World strata, namely the Purgatorial Region. Furthermore, even if there were such a short cut as that mentioned from the physical world to the highest spiritual realms, do you think that one of God's helpers would ever make use of it for the sake of escaping the noisome sights and the suffering to be found in Purgatory? Most assuredly not! The Christ never turned in disgust from a leper or anyone else in sorrow and af- fliction. He always sought them out in order that He might heal and help them. What work to you think an Invisible Helper could do in the First Heaven and the Region of Concrete Thought, where there is no sorrow, suffer- ing, or misery, but where all is happiness and joy? There he is not needed by any means. His work lies in the very regions which these writers profess to be able to skip, and if there were such a short cut as mentioned, no true Invisible Helper would ever want to make use of it; but as a matter of fact there is no such byway to heaven. [PAGE 2766] EARTH-BOUND SPIRITS: QUESTION NO. 4: WHY DO YOU SAY THAT SOME PERSON AFTER THEY HAVE PASSED INTO THE OTHER LIFE ARE EARTH-BOUND? IS THERE ANYTHING WE CAN DO HERE BY WHICH SUCH A CON- DITION CAN BE AVOIDED HEREAFTER? ANSWER: Yes, indeed! People who are earth-bound have their treasures on earth instead of in heaven. They have all left something behind. It may not always be money; they may have other ties on earth, somebody that they think they own--their wife, their husband, their children. Their idea is that because I love you, you must do just as I want you to do. They don't regard the person they love as having any rights at all. Later when they pass out, that relation continues, and they endeavor to impress their loved ones, to keep close to them and be in their company as much as they can. People who have houses and lands and such things and are very much attached to them are the worst off. We see such a person sometimes watching a safe where he has a lot of stock and bonds. Then the heirs will come and take the bonds out and laugh at the old fool for hoarding his money. Or it may be people who have lived for society. They have jewels, dresses, and other things. They still love them and feel they cannot part with them, therefore [PAGE 2767] they are bound to earth as long as they have that feeling. The best way is to give everything away. Of course we have to watch that we do not put ourselves in a position where people that we give such things to would put us out in the street and cause us to be entirely destitute in old age. But if we use judgment, when we see that we have lived our life to the end of usefulness, we may say: here are things that I have no more use for, and I know I am getting towards the end; where can I do most good with them, who will enjoy them most, or whom can I help to establish in business so he can do something for himself? Or we may find other similar ways of disposing of things. Also with regard to the affections: we should hold ourselves in check so that we do not love anybody with an inordinate love--such as that which makes idols of others and puts them before every- thing else. If we thus get ourselves free from all earthly ties so we are ready to go, then we are like the ripe kernel falling out of the ear of grain. If we are free from all earthly ties whether financial, personal, or whatever they may be, we cannot be kept earth-bound. If, however, people have committed crimes, they are sometimes unavoidably earth-bound by asso- ciation with the places where they were committed and by trying to undo the wrong that was done. [PAGE 2768] REUNION OF LOVERS IN HEAVEN: QUESTION NO. 5: IF THERE IS A STRONG ATTRACTION BETWEEN TWO PEOPLE WHICH CANNOT REACH A LEGITIMATE CONSUMMATION IN MARRIAGE BECAUSE OF PREVIOUS TIES AND ONE OF THEM PASSES OUT OF HIS LIFE WITH THAT LONGING IN MIND, WILL THEY BE REUNITED IN HEAVEN, AND WILL THEY MEET AND MATE IN A FUTURE EARTH LIFE? ANSWER: YES, in all probability the attraction they feel for each other and which cannot find expression now will in many such cases bring them to- gether even before the next life; for though there is no marriage in Heaven, those who love each other and are therefore in a sense necessary to each other's happiness, are united in a bond of closest friendship during the stay in the First Heaven if they pass out at or near the same time. But if one remains in the body for a number of years after the other has passed over, the one who is in the Heaven World will with his or her loving thought create an image of the other and endow it with life for we must remember that the Desire World is so constituted that we are able to give bodily shape to whatever we think of. Thus, although this image will only be ensouled by his thought and the thoughts of the other person still living in the physical region, it embodies all the conditions that are necessary to [PAGE 2769] fill the cup of happiness of this inhabitant of the Heaven World. Similarly, when the second person passes on, if the first person has pro- gressed into the Second Heaven, his or her shell, so-called (the disinte- grating desire body in which he or she lived), will answer the purpose and seem perfectly real to the second lover until his or her life in this realm is ended. Then when they both pass into the Second and Third Heavens, for- getfulness of the past comes over them, and they may part for one or more lives without loss. But some time, somewhere, they will meet again, and the dynamic force which they have generated in the past by their yearnings for each other will unvaryingly draw them together so that their love may reach its legitimate consummation. This applies not only to lovers in the generally accepted sense of the word, but the love existing between brothers and sisters, parents and chil- dren, or friends who are not related by blood will also work itself out in a similar manner. Our life in the First Heaven is always blessed and filled by the presence of those we love. If they are not in the spirit world and thus actually present, their images will be; and it must not be thought that these are pure illusion, for they are ensouled by the love and the friend- ship sent out by the absent ones toward the person of whose heaven life they are a part. [PAGE 2770] STUDY IN THE INVISIBLE WORLD: QUESTION NO. 6: ON PAGE 118, LAST PARAGRAPH, OF THE COSMO IT IS STATED REGARDING THE FIRST HEAVEN: "THE STUDENT AND THE PHILOSOPHER HAVE INSTANT ACCESS TO ALL THE LIBRARIES OF THE WORLD." IS THE KNOWLEDGE RETAINED WHICH IS OBTAINED THERE? IS IT HELD BY THE MIND AND BROUGHT TO EARTH AT THE NEXT BIRTH? CAN STUDY BE CONTINUED THERE AND WE REAP THE REWARD OF THAT STUDY IN THE NEXT OR SOME FOLLOWING EARTH LIFE? ANSWER: We have great opportunities if we have a mind to take them after we pass over into the Invisible World. But the great majority of people seem to live almost as they lived here. They do not need to eat, but they do eat, as the spiritualists say; and they do have houses over there, and they so seem to live in other respects exactly as they lived here, just hav- ing as good and easy a time as they possibly can and enjoying themselves in that way. That class of people are not getting any great good out of their post-mortem existence. But those who are studious and try to study humanity there have a great field. They can do a wonderful lot of work, and its helps them. It doesn't seem to bring soul growth in the same sense that it does here; but just the same it promotes their standing, gives them greater spirituality, and helps [PAGE 2771] them in their evolution to a wonderful extent. Thus the essence of the knowledge gained there is retained and brought to earth at the next birth. QUIET IMMEDIATELY AFTER DEATH: QUESTION NO. 7: IT IS SAID THAT THE BODY SHOULD NOT BE CREMATED WITHIN THREE AND ONE-HALF DAYS AFTER DEATH. IS THERE A DETRIMENTAL EFFECT EXPERIENCED FROM A BURIAL AT ANY TIME WITHIN THREE AND ONE-HALF DAYS? ANSWER: No, not from the burial of the body in itself if it is not mo- lested in any other way. But of course a burial cannot usually take place without more or less commotion and the body being more or less disturbed; therefore it is best to wait until after the period mentioned has passed. Of course any incision in the body such as used for the purpose of embalm- ing, or anything like that, is felt by the Spirit. Just as the spirit dimly feels the cutting when a doctor performs an operation upon a person under ether, so a post-mortem operation causes enough sensation to make the Spirit feel uncomfortable; therefore we should avoid these things if we possibly can. There should be as much quiet as possible around the body [PAGE 2772] during these three and one-half days, as whatever is done to disturb its rest and peace is really detrimental to the Ego. EFFECT OF EMBALMING: QUESTION NO. 8: IN EMBALMING THE BLOOD IS DRAWN FROM THE BODY WHILE IT IS STILL WARM AND A FLUID FORCED INTO THE ARTERIES. WHAT IS THE EFFECT OF THIS OPERATION? ANSWER: The Spirit feels pain from embalming and consequently is dis- turbed in that most important of all things, the meditation over the pan- orama of life. We should realize that at the time of death the harvest is beginning; we have been sowing all through life, and when death comes the reaping begins. The first and most important fruitage comes from the study of the panorama of life as it unrolls in reverse order, showing first the events of the past life and then the causes that produced them. If the body is disturbed at that time by the lamentations of relatives or by moving it out to be buried, then the Spirit is disturbed in the same degree. And naturally a post-mortem examination or embalming will have far more [PAGE 2773] detrimental effects. Therefore it is wrong to do either. HELPING FRIENDS WHO ARE IN PURGATORY: QUESTION NO. 9: MY ONLY BROTHER DIED LAST NOVEMBER AND MUST NOW FIND HIMSELF IN ONE OF THE LOWEST REGIONS OF THE DESIRE WORLD. WOULD YOU ADVISE ME TO LET HIM KNOW THAT MY A SIMPLE EFFORT OF THE WILL HE CAN PREVENT THE MATTER OF THE DESIRE BODY FROM FORMING ITSELF INTO CONCENTRIC LAYERS, AS IT WERE, THE COARSER MATTER ON THE OUTSIDE AND THE FINER WITHIN? I MEAN TO SAY THAT BY AN EFFORT OF WILL HE COULD MAKE THE MATTER OF THE SEVEN REGIONS OF THE DESIRE WORLD WHICH FORM HIS DESIRE BODY, COME TO THE SURFACE OF THAT BODY, AND BY THIS MEANS HE WOULD BE ABLE TO CONTACT AT ONCE ALL THE SEVEN REGIONS OF THE DE- SIRE WORLD INSTEAD OF ONLY THE LOWER REGIONS. THERE IS, I BELIEVE, NO SERI- OUS OBJECTION TO THIS USE OF WILL POWER. ANSWER: This question refers to the fact that when death has taken place and man finds himself in the Desire World, the MAGNETIC POWERS OF THE SEED [PAGE 2774] ATOM ARE SPENT, the archetype is dissolving, and therefore the centrifugal force of Repulsion forces the desire stuff of the desire body outward to- wards its periphery. The matter belonging to the lower regions is thrown off first by the process of purgation, which cleanses the man from all the evil acts of his past life. This is the result of the same natural law that in the physical world causes a sun to throw off matter which then becomes planets. To interfere with this law would be disastrous to any human being even supposing it were possible, which it is not. So it is useless to at- tempt to help your brother in that manner. It is different with the Initiate who goes to the Desire World during life. Then the seed atom of the desire body forms a natural center of at- traction, or gravitation, which holds the desire stuff in that vehicle to the accustomed lines. Also it is different with anyone who performs the scientific exercises given in the Mystery Schools. Such a person is con- stantly purging his desire body of the coarser matter so that at death he is not affected to the same degree by the centrifugal force of Repulsion as those who have not had this training. But there is another way in which we may help someone near and dear to us provided we have his cooperation. To make this clear it is necessary to mention first that the coarser the desire stuff in the desire body, the more tenacious is its hold upon a man; therefore expurgation by the force of Re- pulsion causes great pain, and that is what we feel in the purgatorial [PAGE 2775] experience. If we were perfectly willing to let go and acknowledge our faults when the pictures of them appear in the life panorama instead of try- ing to make excuses for ourselves or being stirred anew by the anger and hate of the past, then it would involved much less pain to eradicate them from our desire body. If this fact can be impressed on one whom we are anx- ious to help, if we can get him into the state of mind where he is willing to acknowledge his wrongs and mistakes from the very bottom of his heart, then the process of purgation will be both shorter and less painful, and he will rise to the higher regions where the force of attraction hold sway in a much shorter time than otherwise. The same result can be accomplished by prayer; also by kind thoughts, thoughts of upliftment and helpfulness, for these have the same effect on those who are out of the body as kind words and helpful acts have on people who live in this world. [PAGE 2776] DISFIGUREMENT IN THE INVISIBLE WORLD: QUESTION NO. 10: AT PRESENT SO MANY DEPLORABLE CASUALTIES ARE OCCURRING DAILY AND HOURLY, AND PEOPLE ARE BEING HURLED INTO THE NEXT WORLD IN A HIDEOUSLY MAIMED AND DISFIGURED CONDITION. DO THOSE WHO PASS INTO THAT WORLD UNDER THE ORDINARY PEACEFUL DEATHBED CONDITIONS HAVE TO FACE THESE HORRIBLE SIGHTS ON THE OTHER SIDE? ANSWER: Conditions there are not quite so bad now as they were in the beginning of the war (World War I). At that time the Spirits who passed over thought of themselves as being maimed, and they had no way of correct- ing that impression; therefore they carried about with them the wounds on the various parts of their bodies and appeared minus limbs, etc. Often they suffered very acutely, believing themselves to be still afflicted with the physical pain. But the Invisible Helpers have not been idle; a system of education has been inaugurated and systematized so that nearly everybody is now aware of the fact that physical disabilities are not necessarily perma- nent on the other side. They have learned that a hand which has been shot off may be replaced in the desire body by the mere thought of having a hand and its being complete. This word has been passed from one to another so that now everyone who goes to the other side with a gunshot wound or minus arms or legs or even a head, is at once instructed in the fact that desire [PAGE 2777] stuff is readily molded by thought and will, and as a result almost everyone there is perfect in body. In fact, those who now pass from this life halt, lame, hunchbacked or in any other way physically disfigured have taken a leaf out of this book, and whereas in years before the war one would find as many hunchbacked and halt people there as in the physical world, one will now find nearly everyone with a perfect body. It is amusing, to say the least, to see people who were vain in the earth life, now molding their faces and bodies in harmony with their conceptions of beauty by a mere effort of will. This makes it a little more difficult than it used to be to find people there, for those who were tall and skinny but who had a keen desire to be more fleshy have changed their appearance in accordance with their wish, and conversely those who were fleshy and suffered from a superabundance of avoirdupois have often made themselves slender as sylphs. Thus the knowledge which before the war was largely confined to the occultist has now become general property in the other world, and has caused the inhabitants there to change their shapes in- sofar as this has not been prevented by the purgatorial experience. The great majority of recent arrivals have nothing of the above nature to divert their attention in the Desire World, and are intently watching devel- opments here on the material plane. Having been taken out of the physical world in the very prime of manhood, their hole life before them so to speak, [PAGE 2778] they are still very much attached to physical conditions, and will probably be earth-bound for a considerable number of years during which time they will form an unseen but very potent factor in shaping the world's destiny. They upon their side will endeavor by all possible means to establish com- munication with this world, and their combined efforts will be felt as a powerful force by an increasing number of sensitive people. We may therefore expect to see spiritualism flourish as it never did be- fore in the world's history. This involves the development of mediumship, which is a very dangerous phase of psychic unfoldment. Neptune, the planet of psychism, is now entering Leo, the sign of the heart, and the heartstrings of love and desire for intercommunication will pull the people in the two worlds together. This will establish the spiritual verities be- yond cavil. But we should prepare ourselves to go there consciously and not allow them to come back here through mediumship, much less draw them on, for that is retrogression for them. Instead, if we cultivate our latent sixth sense we shall be able to see them, and to speak with those who have passed over just as well as we did when they were with us in the flesh. [PAGE 2779] EXPERIENCES OF AN EARTH-BOUND SUICIDE: QUESTION NO. 11: (IN A LETTER TO MAX HEINDEL FROM PUERTO RICO) YOU REMEMBER OUTRAM COURT, A ONE-TIME STUDENT OF YOURS WHO COMMITTED SUI- CIDE? WELL, I HAVE TAKEN MY MIND ENTIRELY OFF HIM LATELY, BECAUSE I SUP- POSED BY THIS TIME HE WAS SAFE IN HIS OWN PLACE. BUT ONE OF MY PEONS HAS JUST TOLD ME HE ATTENDED A SPIRITUALIST MEETING A FEW NIGHTS AGO AND OUTRAM COURT CAME. TO PROVE HIS IDENTITY HE INSISTED UPON SPEAKING ENGLISH AL- THOUGH HE SPOKE SPANISH JUST AS WELL, AND AS NONE OF THOSE PRESENT UNDER- STOOD ENGLISH THERE WAS A DELAY UNTIL THEY FOUND A SPIRIT WHO UNDERSTOOD BOTH LANGUAGES. OUTRAM SAID HE WAS STILL LIVING AT MY NEIGHBOR'S WHERE HE KILLED HIMSELF; THAT HE WAS SUFFERING TORTURE FROM HUNGER, AND WANTED THEM TO GIVE HIM FOOD. LATER IN THE INTERVIEW HE CHANGED TO SPANISH. NOW, I WONDER WHAT I CAN DO. THE WORST OF IT IS I CANNOT BRING BACK THE MEMORY OF ANYTHING THAT HAPPENS IN MY SLEEP. AN I DO SO WANT TO REMEMBER. WHAT CAN I DO? ANSWER: This question opens up the vast subject of abnormal transition into the beyond, both by accident and design, together with the feelings ex- perienced by people who have thus passed the gate of death, and their [PAGE 2780] communications through mediums; also the curious fact that many of the people we call dead are unaware that they have lost their physical body. To elucidate it is necessary first to state a few of the salient facts concerning man and the world in which we live. Everyday observation as well as scientific researches prove that matter exists and moves in states which we cannot see. Water is evaporated by the sun's heat and again condensed as rain; ether is as necessary to transmit light and electricity as air is to the transmission of sound. The invisible wind, which is air in motion, is as surely a cosmic force as the electricity moving in the still finer realm of ether. In short, we are surrounded by an invisible world of force and matter, as real as, or more so than, the world we know through our physical senses. And as we eat the substances of this gross, dens world to sustain our visible bodies, we assimilate a certain amount of matter belonging to the invisible ethereal worlds, which forms a garment for the Spirit when it has dropped the mortal coil. "The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but knoweth now whence it cometh or whither it goeth; so is everyone who is born of the spirit. Under normal conditions the exit of the Spirit from its outgrown body is like the falling of the seed from the ripe fruit. But when the Spirit sev- ers the tie before the appointed harvest time of death, the unripe [PAGE 2781] spiritual vehicle cannot ascend to the higher realms; it hovers close to its earthly haunts, as hungry for more physical sustenance as the kernel forc- ibly extracted from the unripe fruit. In the nature of things this cannot be gratified, and therefore intense unsatisfied hunger causes the suicide the most excruciating torture. He sometimes obtains a little temporary sur- cease by inhaling the fumes of highly flavored dishes. Furthermore, as the flesh clings to the kernel when it is forcibly torn from unripe fruit, so also some of the lower ethers and even gases of the slain body cling to the higher vehicles of the suicide, with the result that he is very nearly material, and is susceptible to gross, sensual suggestions in a manner and to a measure not felt by humanity in the body. If his na- ture is such that he would entertain and take pleasure in such things he may here wallow in the deepest mire of the darkest hell, with very serious det- riment to his spiritual welfare. But if he dislikes the coarse and sensual, the atmosphere of bestiality in which the suicide finds himself will jar upon his sensibilities in proportion to his refinement; as several have ex- pressed it to the writer, the orthodox hell with its devil would be a mild form of amusement by comparison. Some describe the pain which we have com- pared to unsatisfied hunger as a gnawing, throbbing toothache, with the difference that the pain is felt all over the body instead of being confined to the dental region. [PAGE 2782] The experience of Outram Court bears out the foregoing teachings of the Rosicrucians. He is still earth-bound in the same house where he formerly lived, and his desire body evidently remains very dense, so dense that at times he cannot realize that he has passed over because he sees clearly the physical world and the people in it; he probably sits at their tables and endeavors to partake of their food, or at least to feed upon the odor. Nor is it strange that he frequents the spiritualistic meetings of the peons, for these people are at a low stage of development, very sensual, and prac- tice without being aware of it a good deal of black magic under the guise of spirit communication. There are two ways of helping such an Ego: one is by direct communica- tion with him at night, by reasoning with him and showing him that he is making a rod which will whip him sorely in the future; that he ought to try to bear the pain patiently till the archetype collapses at the time when he would have died normally. This may or may not be successful, but it is worth a trial. If the writer of the letter were conscious of what happens to him at night he could go and talk the matter over with Outram Court just as he would if both were in the physical body; but still he is not shut off from helping even if lacking this consciousness. It is the will that deter- mines our actions there as here, and if he holds his thought before going to sleep intently on the work he wishes to do, preparing himself with arguments [PAGE 2783] and centering his whole being on helping Outram Court, this last thought be- fore going to sleep will also be the first waking thought on entering the invisible world where the sleeping and the dead meet and converse. This thought then becomes a sort of "fixed idea" which he will follow during the night to the exclusion of all other thoughts and desires, and the results are bound to be beneficial. The other method, for those who are not trained in concentration, is prayer. This is a good method of helping such a case as the present one, for the attitude of prayer often acts as a guide to the person to be helped, and brings about a change in his mental state which furthers him spiritu- ally. The thought forms of prayer then take the place of the Invisible Helper; but they are more easily put aside and therefore not so efficient, nor can they meet an argument. We always advise a combination of these two methods for the untrained. Pray for those you want to help, whether they are in the body or out (living or dead). Think out all you would like to say to them just before going to sleep. When you meet in "Dreamland," if you are not yet conscious and can- not either plead or argue, your feelings in the matter will make some im- pression at least, and if kept up for some time the effect will certainly be noticebale. Our friend says in his letter that the mother of Outram Court does not know she is dead. No one who has lost the dense body thinks of himself as "dead"; as a matter of fact the so-called "dead" feel themselves much more [PAGE 2784] alive than we do. When they pass out normally they know neither sickness nor pain, and they cannot therefore be expected to take our view, who think of the physical body as the man, when it is only a garment we wear and wear out. Their consciousness is focussed entirely in their spiritual bodies, with nothing to remind them of the discarded dense vesture. On the other hand, the suicide feels every moment the sensation of hunger occasioned by the attempt of the archetypal body to draw physical material to itself, and his feeling that he is not dead springs therefore from a very different root than the similar idea of the general run of people who now live in the in- visible world. OUR RESPONSIBILITY TO THE DEAD: QUESTION NO. 12: WILL YOU PLEASE TELL ME JUST HOW WE MAY BEST HELP THOSE WHO HAVE PASSED ON? ANSWER: We have often expressed our appreciation of the SCIENCE OF BIRTH with its efficient methods of helping both the mother and the child when the [PAGE 2785] latter is entering our earth-life, but we have also heartily deplored the lack of a SCIENCE OF DEATH which would teach people how to help intelli- gently the Ego that is passing from earth-life into the unseen realms of na- ture. At such times we usually stand helplessly by, and often do in our ig- norance the very things which are detrimental to the comfort of the Spirit then in transition. If people could only know how their moans and hys- terical outbursts affect their dear departing ones, unselfish consideration would probably change their attitude and quiet their manner. So far as the body is concerned it is not really dead until about three and one-half days after the Spirit has passed out of it, for the silver cord still connects it with the higher vehicles. During this time anything in the nature of a post-mortem examination, embalming, or cremation is felt by the Spirit almost a keenly as if still within the body. These are facts well known to all students of the Rosicrucian Philosophy, but they have per- haps not received the emphasis they deserve. We should remember that our attitude after that time continues to affect the Spirit, for our friends do not usually leave their accustomed places right away. Many stay in or near the home for a number of months after they have left the body and can feel conditions there even more keenly than when in earth-life. If we sigh, mourn, and moan for them we transfer to them the gloom we ourselves carry [PAGE 2786] about with us or else we bind them to the home because of their efforts to cheer us. In either case we are a hindrance and a stumbling block in the way of their spiritual progress, and while this may be forgiven in those who are ignorant of the facts concerning life and death, people who have studied the Rosicrucian Philosophy or kindred teachings are incurring a very grave re- sponsibility when they indulge in such practices. We are well aware that custom used to demand the wearing of mourning and that people were not con- sidered respsectable if they did not put on a sable garb as a token of their sorrow. But fortunately times are changing and a more enlightened view is being taken of the matter. The transition to the other world is quite seri- ous enough in itself, involving as it does a process of adjustment to strange conditions all around, and the passing Spirit is further hampered by the sorrow and anguish of the dear ones whom it continues to see about it- self. When it finds them surrounded by a cloud of black gloom, clothed in garments of the same color and nursing their sorrow for months or years, the effect cannot be anything but depressing. How much better then the attitude to those who have learned the Rosicrucian Teachings and have taken them to heart. Their attitude when a dear one makes the transition is cheerful, hopeful, and encouraging. The selfish grief at the loss is controlled in order that the passing Spirit may receive all the encouragement possible. Usually the survivors in the family [PAGE 2787] dress in white at the funeral and a cheerful, genial spirit prevails throughout. The thought of the survivors is not, "What shall I do now that I have lost him (or her)? All the world seems empty for me." but the thought is, "I hope he (or she) may find himself (or herself) to rights un- der the new conditions as quickly as possible and that he (or she) will not grieve at the thought of leaving us behind." Thus by the good-will, intel- ligence, unselfishness, and love of the remaining friends the passing Spirit is enabled to enter the new conditions under much more favorable circum- stances, and students of the Rosicrucian Philosophy cannot do better than to spread this teaching as widely as possible. According to the Bible the re- deemed of the Lord will finally vanquish the last enemy, DEATH, and they will then exclaim "O Death, where is thy sting? O Grave, where is thy vic- tory?" For those who have evolved spiritual sight there is of course no death, but even those who have studied the Rosicrucian Teachings may in a measure be said to have attained this great victory. Continued with file "RC1079.TXT" End of File