Where We Were
Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.
Theodore Roosevelt,
26th U.S, President (1858—1919)
For countless years, probably countless millennia if not millions of years, we imagined that we live on Earth for no particular reason, other than to survive for as long as we could. This, after all, seems to be the principal preoccupations of other species, of other animals, who have not yet begun to create their own, artificial realities.
And then came mystics, prophets and even messiahs.
They, until recently, were the only ones who suggested that we are more than flesh and bones. That we can create realities that we can pretend to be real. They also suggested that life on Earth is not the only form of existence, but rather a transient state of becoming, when-after we shall move, on ‘dying’ (vacating our illusory bodies), to a higher reality. Those ideas were summarily exploited by men who created religions, for the sole purpose of controlling man’s minds. For what purpose they did so, we shall leave for now. While they tended to live in unprecedented luxury compared to those whose minds they controlled, they were also directly responsible for creating, installing and protecting countless architectural, sculptural and painting treasures, which, to this day, we recognize as works of art, and that often serve as inspiration for wonderful compositions of music.
And then came Albert Einstein and, with a single sentence upset the philosophical, religious and even practical apple cart. He proclaimed that:
“Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one.”
So much for life on Earth.
Unless...
Unless the only purpose of life on Earth is to prepare a state of consciousness in which we want to spend extended periods. Some Mahatmas1 claim that the stages between reincarnations in the ‘valley of tears’ can last, on average, 1500 years.
Hence, we don’t retire to do nothing for ever-after, to exist eternally in a state abysmal boredom usually referred to as Heaven, but be retire to Devachan, which is a temporary abode which”
“...is regarded as the place where most souls go after death where desires are gratified, corresponding to the Christian belief in Heaven. However, Devachan is a temporary intermediate state of being before the soul's eventual rebirth into the physical world.” (H.P. Blavatsky, The Theosophical Glossary. Theosophical Publishing Society, 1892, page 98)
Let us make sure that we do not confuse Devachan with the Christian version of Purgatory, which is far, far more unpleasant state of consciousness than Devachan. While Devachan can be a stint wherein we are rewarded for having created the existence of joy and pleasure, the Purgatory is a purely punitive condition. According to Christian doctrine, we are not sent there as a reward, but a punishment. After all, all Christianity is built on the carrot and the stick philosophy with the absolutes of Heaven and Hell as unchangeable, irrevocable, permanents states of consciousness.
Alas, for the rest of us, we prefer to believe in Christ’s teaching, and not in the perverted version of it promulgated by the sacerdotal fraternities. After all, Christ said that “Kingdom of God is within you” (Luke 17:21). We must assume that the Kingdom of God is as close to Heaven as we can get.
Nevertheless, H.P. Blavatsky, purporting the philosophy of theosophy, assures us that:
“Through Wisdom and Knowledge, one can reach Nirvana and be free from the cycle of birth and death, and even the "false bliss" of Devachan. (H.P. Blavatsky, The Secret Doctrine)
We wouldn’t be able to verify if the bliss of Davanchan is real unless we’ve been there. There are, however, several people throughout history who have strong recollections of previous lives.
On the other hand, we cannot confirm Blavatsky’s thesis as, to my knowledge, no one yet achieved “absolute Wisdom and Knowledge”, hence failed to return to Earth.
(1)
Mahatma means "great soul", derived from Sanskrit (maha) meaning
"great" and (atman) meaning "soul, spirit, life".
(TO BE CONTINUED IN A DAY OR TWO)
No comments:
Post a Comment