On these experiences, William Atkinson in his book "Life beyond death" commented the
following:
« The student of
comparative religions is struck with the fact that from the primal stock of
religious belief there emerges an almost countless number of creeds, sects, and
divisions of religious thought. From the very primitive superstitions of the
simple races to the most advanced conceptions of the cultured peoples, there
runs a uniting thread of fundamental belief in a something which is above the
phenomenal universe, and which is the Causeless Cause of the Universe.
Coupled with this conception we find the fundamental belief that the
soul survives after the death of the body. But this conception, also, is
variously interpreted by the different religious authorities and sects. The
third general conception, the fundamental religious instinct of the race, is
that which holds that the future life of the soul depends upon the character
and actions of the individual during his earth-life.
It is a long journey from some of the most primitive interpretations of
these three fundamental principles of religious belief, to that high conception
of the advanced occultists which has been stated by a gifted author as follows:
« There are three truths which are absolute, and which
cannot be lost, but yet may remain silent for lack of speech.
1.
The soul of man is
immortal, and its future is the future of a thing whose growth and splendor
have no limit.
2.
The principle which
gives life dwells in us, and without us; is undying and eternally beneficent;
is not heard or seen, or felt, but is perceived by the man who desires
perception.
3.
Each man is his own
absolute law‑giver; the dispenser of glory or gloom to himself, the decreer of his life,
his reward, his punishment.
These truths, which are as great
as his life itself, are as simple as the simplest mind of man. Feed the hungry
with them. »
(This is found in chapter eight of Mabel
Collins's book "The Idyll of the White Lotus".)
Yet each of the conceptions, and all the varying degrees which appear
between them, are alike the result of man’s intuitive perception of that
something; the Immortality of the Soul; and the Law of Karma. The difference
between the varying forms of religious thought is simply the differences
between the conceptions of Truth formed by the minds of various religious
leaders or teachers and their followers.
All creeds and religious dogmas are manmade, as the enemies of revealed religion
maintain. But, these good folks miss the other half of the truth, i.e. that
underlying the man‑made creeds and dogmas eternally exists the intuitive
perception of the race regarding the existence of Truth. The mind may not be
able to correctly interpret the intuitive perception, but it finds itself
positively impressed by the fact that Truth does exist.
Man has made a god of nearly everything in the material world, and has
fallen down and worshipped his own creation — this because of his limited power
of interpretation. But in worshipping the stick or stone, the graven image, or
the anthropomorphic deities, he was unconsciously, and in reality, worshipping
that something which was the cause of the religious intuition within his soul.
And, as one of the Hindu Vedas beautifully states it, the Supreme One accepts
all such worship, when honestly given as intended for itself. “Truth is but
One, although men call it by many names,” says the old Yogi sage of centuries
past.
Each man creates for himself, and holds to, the particular form of
religious faith which is best suited for the requirements of his soul at any
particular period of its evolution. When he is ready for a higher conception,
he sheds and discards the old belief and eagerly embraces the newer one. The
world has witnessed many instances of this evolution of religious thought, and,
indeed, it is really going through an important one at this particular time.
The path of the race is strewn with broken and discarded idols, material
and mental, which were once precious to millions of worshippers. And, as the
race advances, many more idols will be overthrown and left crumbling on the
paths of time. But each idol had its own appropriate place in the general
history of the evolution of the religious thought of the race. Each served its
purpose, and its ideals served to aid man in his perpetual and eternal journey
toward Absolute Truth.
In view of the above-stated facts, would we not naturally expect to find
in a rational and equitable adjustment of conditions on “the other side” some
provision made for the sincere religious faiths and beliefs of the race,
differing from each other as these faiths and beliefs may be?
Imagine the spiritual anguish of a disembodied soul were it to see the
cherished beliefs of an earnest life, and the traditions of many generations of
ancestors, swept away as by a flood. And, this, particularly in view of the
fact that the soul would not be sufficiently advanced to understand or accept
the higher forms of religious truth, but would be merely asked to accept either
something which it could not understand, or else which was repugnant to it by
reason of its past training and experience. Such would be cruelty to the
disembodied soul as much as if the same thing were attempted during its
earth-life.
There is a native belief among many persons which would imply that the
disembodied soul is magically, and instantaneously transformed from ignorance
into absolute knowledge upon passing over to “the other side.” This is a
childlike belief, and has no basis in fact. There is really but very little
difference in the general intelligence or spiritual attainment of the soul,
before or after death. Soul progress is gradual, in or out of the body.
The disembodied soul is practically the same in general intelligence and
understanding, in and out of the body. “In” and “out” of the body are but
successive phases of its continuous life, succeeding each other like day and
night, summer and winter. Therefore, what is true of a particular soul’s
feelings and emotions in earth-life is almost equally true of the same things
in its life in the Astral. We mention this that you may better understand that
to which we have been leading up in the previous pages of this chapter.
Accordingly, what we might naturally expect to find (according to reason
and in equity) regarding the religious experiences of the disembodied soul, is
so in fact. That is to say, on the Astral Plane each soul finds itself
surrounded by a religious environment in accordance with the best of the
beliefs entertained by it in its earth-life. It will not only find the
particular heavens, or hells, which it expected to find, but it will also find
itself in contact with other souls of a similar belief, and with the prophets
and sages and founders of its own religion. But this environment will be of the
nature of a mirage, for it is a product of human thought and has no counterpart
in the absolute facts of nature.
The thought-forms of a particular form of religious thought gather great
strength on the Astral Plane, and endure with all the appearance of permanent
reality to the perception and understanding of the believer and devotee —
although entirely invisible to those of a different faith. The presence of prophets
and founders remains with the environment, though the souls of these
individuals have long since passed on to other planes of life.
The Astral Plane is a realm of ideals, and each soul finds its ideals
realized thereon. The good Christian finds a manifestation of the best in his
own creed and beliefs, and rests fully assured that he has had the true faith,
and has reaped the reward he expected. But, the same is true of the good
Brahmin, or the good Mohammedan, or the good Confucian. Moreover, each particular
sect or division of religious belief finds a corroboration of its own beliefs
on the Astral Plane. But there is no warring of sects or religions.
Each soul finds its own, and is oblivious of the rest. But, note this
apparent exception: the soul which has advanced far enough to realize that
there is Truth in all religious beliefs, and which has manifested a tolerant
spirit in earth-life, is also given a corroboration of his belief, and is
allowed to see the joys of the blessed of all religious faiths.
It must be remembered, however, that these Astral representations of the
various religious faiths and beliefs comprise only the best of each particular
form of belief — in short, the soul witnesses the highest conception and ideal
of which it is capable regarding its favorite religion. This naturally has the
effect and result of developing the highest religious conceptions in the soul,
and inhibiting the lower ones, to the end that when the soul undertakes its
next earthly pilgrimage it will carry with it a taste and inclination for only
the highest in its own religion, and will thus aid in the evolution of religion
on earth.
Sometimes a soul will evolve from one form of religious conception in
its Astral Life, and upon its reincarnation will be ready for one higher.
Remember, always, that the spiritual evolution constantly leads onward and
upward, from lower to higher — on, and on, and on, forever.
The question of religious rewards and punishments, on the Astral Plane,
which naturally forms a part of the subject just considered, will be discussed
in the following chapter. »
(Chapter 10)
OBSERVATION
The masters explained that despite the tremendous disfigurements that
men have made of religions, ancient religions usually have an undertone of truthfulness.
And Master Pasteur pointed out that in the afterlife, the human maintains the
same level of development that he had before dying.
So in these two statements William Atkinson is correct, but where he is
wrong is to ensure that on the astral plane each discarnate human will be
surrounded by the religious environment that he had during his earthly life and
will be related to the others souls who share the same religious beliefs.
And that is false because the masters pointed out that most humans
remain asleep during their post-mortem journey. So to give you a better idea of
what humans experience after they pass away, watch what happens when you go to
sleep.
After going to bed, your consciousness goes out and you lose contact
with the outside world. Then most people begin to dream based on what they have
learned and experienced on Earth.
A few humans wake up on the astral plane and begin to interact with that
subtle plane, but in a very clumsy and confused way because they are not
familiar with that plane of existence and their consciousness is half asleep.
And the most advanced humans (who are currently only a very small
percentage of humanity) also wake up on the mental plane which is a higher
plane of existence.
Well, the same thing also happens after you die, but with the difference
that when you return to Earth, you no longer wake up in the same body in which
you fell asleep, but rather in the body of a newborn baby, and that is the
reason why when you reincarnate again, you no longer remember your past life,
because now you have a new body with a new brain where the memories of your
previous life are not registered.
These memories are stored in the Akashic records, but it requires
further development to access them.
And what I am trying to tell you with all this, is that at the current
level of development that humans have, the vast majority of them can only stay
awake on the physical plane and remember their current life, but as humans
continue to evolve, then they will also be able to remain awake on the higher
planes of existence and remember their past lives.
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