Theosophical Siftings

Death

Vol 6, No 5

Death
by Sapere Aude (likely William Wynn Westcott)
Delivered at the Adelphi T.S. Lodge on Februar 6th, !"#$ %eprinted fro& 'Theosophical Siftings' Volu&e 6 The Theosophical (ublishing Societ , )ngland

'D)AT*', according to the dictionar , is the 'end of life+, that is, the ter&ination , not the ai& , of life, in the co&&on sense- and et considering the universalit of death a&ong living beings, perhaps it is also the proper ai& of life , to die , .ell. Still, it is not the .hole of Death , to die, i.e., for life to leave the bod - .e cannot safel o&it to stud the correlated changes, and ne. for&s of e/istence .hich death sets in &otion- .hether it be the end of the life of a plant, or ani&al, or of a &an.
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The .ord Death is not onl and al.a s an absolute ter&, it is also used in a restricted sense- for not onl &a it be applied to the end of an entire organis&, but also to one of its parts, and even to its &olecules. 0n co&&on language, the ter& Death is applied to the final change .hich occurs at the general cessation of the life of an bod , ani&al or hu&an- but this bod is onl the gross &aterial casing, and but one te&porar d.elling of the &an. 1 '0', ' thou' or 'he', .e should &ean the 'Thin2er' .hich d.ells in and inspires & , our or his bod . Death is the severance of the Thin2er fro& its d.elling, its clothing, its present suit of clothes- and in stud ing Death .e &a fitl glance at the subse3uent stages of the histor both of the Thin2er .ho goes hence upon another stage of his long 4ourne , and also at the fate of the soiled gar&ents it thro.s aside. For the gar&ents are soiled , b ti&e, b use, and b abuse. Self5 preservation is co&&onl said to be the first la. of hu&an nature, and setting aside the vagar of suicide, as apart fro& our present sub4ect, it see&s true that Death of the bod onl occurs .hen it is no longer ph sicall avoidable. Death does not ta2e, place so long as the organis& is perfect enough to for& the d.elling of the vital force, and to confine the life essence. Trul .e ignorant &ortals so&eti&es are a&a6ed at facts actuall observed- .e .onder how so&e poor sic2 or in4ured patient lives so long - and at other ti&es .e .onder .h so&e strong &assive for& is changed in a &o&ent into &ere earth. 1ut .e are &ostl .ise enough to believe that this .onder is but fro& .ant of 2no.ledge- .e 2no. that there &ust have been a fla. there present, ho.ever deftl nature had hidden it. 7edical science has alread put its finger on &an a hidden flaw, as the reason of [Page 4] death, but .hile it is a &aterialistic science, it .ill never discover the real fla.s in ever case. Science is an e/cellent thing, but science is et a bigot, and she .ill lag behind the adept, so long as she is ph sical science alone, and neglects the 'soul of things'. 7edical science has in regard to death &ade one ver needful distinction, viz., bet.een &olecular and so&atic death8 i.e., bet.een the death of tissue ele&ents, ato&s, or constituent parts, and Death of a .hole ani&al being. 0t is as natural to die as to be born, and the constant change .hich is occurring in ani&al bodies, &eans constant birth and death of ele&ents, of tissue ato&s. Al&ost all tissues of living beings are of cellular construction, and each of the & riad of cells, visible under our &icroscopes, has a life and death (age !

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independent of the death and life of the great creature into .hich it is built. The blood even is not alone a fluid, it contains &illions of detached free living cells, each of .hich has a birth, life and death, and .hose entire life histor &a onl occup a fe. hours, and bears no relation to the life of the &an or ani&al. Such then is &olecular death. So&atic death , fro& the 9ree2 .ord soma, the bod , is the &ore or less sudden final change of the entire co&ple/ organis& of a plant, ani&al or &an. For a full e/planation of all that &edical science has learned of the so&atic death of &an, 0 &ust refer ou to the te/t5boo2s of ph siolog and of &edicine- but shortl &a sa , that the si&plest classification of deaths is that fro& the pri&ar failure of one of the great vital s ste&s of internal organs- of these there are three, and so deaths are classed as fro& s ncope, failure of the heart and circulator s ste&- asph /ia, failure of the respirator organs- co&a, failure of the brain, spinal cord and nervous s ste&. These &a each be subdivided- for e/a&ple, heart failures into , :a; sudden s ncope- :b; asthenia, gradual .ea2ening of cardiac force- :c; necrae&ia, gradual e/haustion fro& i&purit of the blood- :d; fro& hae&orrhage, sheer loss of blood, the vital circulating fluid. 1ut purel &edical distinctions are not the sub4ect to be dealt .ith in this lecture- rather is it desired to call attention to those other changes .hich death produces in &an<s constitution. 0t is proposed then to stud the altered conditions of &an<s principles .hich ensue upon the Death change, and to consider the& fro& the point of vie. of the Theosophic constitution of &an2ind , .ith onl a glance at the vie.s of the )g ptian, *ebre., 9ree2 and %o&an, and =hristian cultus. Al&ost universal in the ancient .orld .as the doctrine of successive lives, of a series of earthl e/periences. %eincarnation .as the &ost general of all post mortem ideals, it .as reserved for the religion .hich sprang up on the ruins of %o&an civili6ation to populari6e the dog&a of a single life for each individual. 0t is ver i&portant to bear constantl in &ind the [Page ] fact, that the present vie.s regarding post mortem states, and of an eternit of .eal or .oe, an alternative of never5ending re.ard or punish&ent, .ithout further e/perience, are derived fro& the e/tensive spread of no&inal =hristianit , a doctrine .hich has reached its present develop&ent b a series of changes- at first b the acceptance of dog&as at the hands of do&inant teachers .ho evolved the& fro& their o.n sense of .hat .as fitting, and later b successive concessions to public opinion and scientific investigation. Apart fro& parable and allegor , one cannot find in the .ords of >esus an assertion of eternal 1urning, or of everlasting .hite5 robed choral service. The red5hot hell of the &ost orthodo/ )uropean =hristian, li2e the tailed and horned Satan, .as evolved fro& the &orbid fancies of bigot and priest in the dar2 ages of )urope. )ternit is trul said to be inconceivable, and as this is true, so is it true that no such period .ithout change can e/ist. Longer than a life, longer than the life of a nation, longer than the life5histor of a planetar .orld perhaps , but an stage of an e/istence, to be endless is a contradiction in ter&s, it indeed cannot be conceived, nor can it e/ist. Death introduces a ne. order of things, ne. associations, ne. develop&ents, but neither these, nor an further change .ill be infinite, so long as ti&e e/ists or so far as ti&e is conceivable , the hu&an &ind &a indeed conceive of a spiritual plane, of spiritual persons be ond ti&e and out of place , but in ti&e , the idea of 'changelessness' is an e&pt foll .

(age ?

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0f 0 .ere as2ed, .h =hristianit has at once spread so .idel , and at the sa&e ti&e .h the civili6ation of =hristian nations is so hone co&bed .ith vice and h pocris , 0 should attribute as the reason, its dog&a of a single life alone to each individual. )ven toda , after eighteen hundred ears of =hristian do&ination in )urope, it &ust be confessed that in =hristian )ngland, the purist of the .orld, the ratio of cri&inals to population is higher than in countries .here the older great religions bear s.a , and especiall higher than in 1uddhist and 1rah&in lands, and higher than a&ong either *ebre.s or 7oha&&edans. Ancient *ebre.s 2ne. nought of i&&ortalit in 4o , or in punish&ent, %abbinic >udais& taught the doctrine of successive lives , so did the 7 steries of Ancient )g pt, so did the 9ree2 aporrheta, and %o&an cultus, and so did and so do the great 0ndian religions- and 0 believe the ideal of subse3uent lives on earth , each tinctured b the conduct of the previous life, and each either hastening on or dela ing a long and blissful reunion .ith the divine , tends &ore to a life of &oralit , purit and benevolence, than the ideal of an al&ost inconceivable eternal heaven, or the notion of a hell of eternal tor&ent , inconsistent .ith the ideal of a benevolent Supre&e 1eing. 0n the 9ree2 and %o&an culture the notion of death .as al.a s softened, and the &ention of it .as avoided. %ather than sa he died , [Page !] mortuus est- the said vi/it , he did live, or fuit , he .as, but is not for a ti&e. Sudden death .as ascribed to Apollo or to Diana, respectivel for a &an or a .o&an- the for&er representing the sun, believed to have &ost concern and influence in a &an<s vitalit , and the latter the &oon, dee&ed to be &ost activel concerned in a .o&an<s life. =o&pare the idea of the astrologic ter&, h leg, &eaning giver of life , it is Sol in a &ale Natus, and Luna in a fe&ale Natal figure. The classical nations used both sepulture and cre&ation for their dead, so that no general principle of their vie.s on post mortem states can be gained fro& their funeral custo&s- .ith )g pt it is different, and their ver ancient principle of e&bal&ing their dead has led the authorities to certain suggestions of doctrine. That the ancient )g ptians believed in the return to earth of those .ho died, after a period of rest and te&porar re.ard or punish&ent, is not onl proved b &odern researches into the &eaning of the hierogl phics that re&ain to us, but b the doctrine as related of the )g ptians b *erodotus, b Diogenes Laertius, *ecataeus, and b A)neas 9a6eus. Aulus 9ellius notabl refers to the sa&e belief, giving as an e/a&ple of one person reincarnating as another, the tradition that the soul of ( thagoras had previousl been e&bodied in the for& of a fe&ale na&ed Alce. @vid also gives narratives of rebirth. 7uch speculation has arisen as to the reason .h the cultured and rich )g ptians spent so &uch ti&e and &one over the preservation of their dead, and the absurd reason, that it .as because the soul .hen it returned .ould need or prefer its old bod , has been adduced. Surel no persons .ould be so foolish as to prefer a .orn and da&aged shell to a ne. one that one can &a2e ver &uch .hat one pleases, or to al&ost an ne. one. @ther suggestions have indeed been &ade, such as that the believed that the soul onl lived as an independent spirit .hile the bod .as intact, or that the soul .ould onl have another e/istence if the &aterials of the earlier bod .ere intact fro& .hich to for& the ne. bod for the re5entering soul. To &e, it see&s a &uch &ore reasonable idea that the )g ptian preserved his father<s bod so as to preserve its shado. for& , A*A1A , the 1A or shade of A*A , bod , because the held as .e do, that the astral for& fades out .ith the bod <s deco&position, and the Aa&ic rupa escapes also and beco&es a pre to evil beings to ravage. 0t see&s to &e that he believed that preservation of the &aterial bod , the spiritual soul having risen , saved the principles of the lo.er &an fro& suffering and fro& conta&ination b evil forces on the astral plane. Theosoph gives us &an suggestions and &an side5lights upon the changes set up b Death, but (age $

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even Theosoph cannot penetrate ver far. There is indeed a veil dra.n across the face of Nature in her doings .ith &ortal &en. 1ut et the T.S. teachings of post mortem states supplies a [Page "] sche&e .hich is e&inentl rational, even if incapable of de&onstration, and is e&inentl satisfactor in its e/planation of the var ing fate and life5histories of the beings a&ong .ho& .e live, and .hose interests should concern us as &uch as do our o.n personal hopes and fears, failures and successes. For distinctness, the fate of a &an<s several principles .ill be considered singl , after a short vie. of the death period. 0t &atters but little .hether disease or accident has brought a &an do.n to the valle of the shado. of death, at .hose entrance .e are no. to &eet hi&, and to trace his fate- .hether he be in the ho&e surrounded b friends or alone upon a desert, he &ust sub&it to the inevitable. 0f the death be sudden, the earl stages are rapidl run through- and if the end be lingering the events of dissolution are all d.elt upon, and &ore full reali6ed. 1 .hichever path Death &a approach the bod , the cessation of the action of the three great vital centres rapidl occurs, one after, the other, regardless of .hich has been the first to fail. Death is, ho.ever, not an instantaneous change, as so&e have thought, and no ph sician, ho.ever s2ilful, can in reality na&e the &o&ent of death. The life .ave ebbs slo.l out, and there are occasionall little .avelets of returning surge, .hether of breathing, pulsation, or nervous &uscular action. Let us accept the fate, and ac2no.ledge that our brother is no. dead , that so&atic death is assured. The once living, breathing, pulsating, thin2ing personalit is no &ore- through .hat e/periences has this thin2er 4ust passed, in the rapid transition fro& life and &e&or to the un2no.n shore B @f one thing .e &a be assured, his ph sical sufferings are at an end, the pains of disease and in4ured bodil organs have ceased to be appreciated b a brain .hose centre is devitali6ed. 1rain and nerves .or2 together, and die together, and the high entit of &ind .hich has been seated there as on a throne, has left the tene&ent no longer suitable to its needs. Chat are the pains of deathB Chat can either orthodo/ or Theosoph do to alleviate the& B 0s d ing painful B of is it that the stage after death is painful B 7 contention is, that the bod having reached that state in .hich life is no longer possible or capable of prolongation, it is the living .hich is painful- it is the laborious struggles of the bruised and .ounded organs to carr on their functions that cause the ph sical pain. 0t is the struggling &uscles, spas& sei6ed, b the e/ceptional sti&uli the receive fro& brain centres, urging the& to e/ertion to preserve the life that has beco&e habitual- it is the passionate cr of the heart for &ore and purer blood suppl , and it is the failing lungs, .hich panting .ith useless effort, suppl the pangs of dissolution. 0t is the brain and nerves, [Page #] slo.l poisoned b the rapidl accu&ulating blood i&purit that shrie2 in their se&i5conscious e/istence, and .hich suffer in the co&&on destruction. Such &a the lingering death fro& disease be observed to be. Sudden destruction b accident, or s ncope, saves one fro& these trials. 0t is .ith the e/piration and failure of &utual efforts of the organs to live, that peace arrives at last, and that death of the bod is s.allo.ed up, in victor over &atter. Let us pra for a sudden death, if .e .ould avoid ph sical suffering- let us hope for a speed transition fro& health to dissolution to avoid bodil (age D

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Thus far as to the ph sical pains of d ing- but ho. of the &ind, .hat are its e/periences, .hich .ill be 2no.n b the adult. @f infants and those .hose &ental faculties have not e/panded, .e &a suppose that the &ind e/periences are nil or but slight- but it is far other.ise .ith the &an or .o&an .ho has passed a life of e/periences, good and evil- of such as ou and 0, .e &ust postulate a uni3ue e/perience, and an a.eso&e period of introspective trial. Fro& the earliest records of opinion .hich have co&e do.n to us, and throughout the ages, there has been a general idea that the stage of Death is &ar2ed b a &ental conception of the personal life histor , b the perception of a panora&a of past e/periences. So general a consensus of opinion cannot be .ithout foundation, and Theosoph accepts the accurac of the popular dog&a. As the death .ave s.eeps over a &an .e &ust believe that the death vision appears, and that a &an appreciates his o.n conduct, and grasps the passing 2e s of his fleeting incarnation. 1ac2.ards s.eeps the vision fro& the a.ful present, bac2 to esterda , to last .ee2, last &onth, last ear, to a lost &anhood, a transient bo hood, a di&&er childhood, and to an un2no.n origin. *o. terrible &ust such a retrospect be to &ost of us, &ore terrible still &ust the perception be, if it be that .e vie. the life as fro& a point of vantage, and if .e see the events in true succession, fro& effect to cause in gri& realit , and deprived of the see&ing and fallacious reasonings and &otives b .hich .e in past life glossed over deed after deed, and failure after failure, fault after fault, lac2 of charit after lac2 of 6eal. 7a it be granted unto us that this e/perience is but short, and that the failure of brain be si&ultaneous .ith failure of &e&or - .e &a .ell be than2ful if it be that &e&or is brain function, and that .hen the 7anas escapes fro& its &aterial environ&ent, all earthl incidents fade out and onl the higher and spiritual attain&ents are thereafter realised and carried on to the ne/t step of the ladder. Let us hope that the lo.er principles, escaping fro& the corpse, and cast off fro& the 7anasic ra , &a be senseless, and unconscious of life histor , although .e 2no. the e/ist for so&e considerable period on another plane, and are tinctured and soiled b the events of a [Page $] life, .hich, ho.ever earnest and good, &ust et have provided the& .ith &an a stain and ble&ish. Apart fro& this doctrine of a life revie. .hen at the point of death, the e/perience is rendered &ost probable b the fact that &an persons in our o.n ti&es, .ho have been brought do.n close to death b accidents, such as b dro.ning, b being stunned b blo.s, etc., have narrated a panora&ic life vision of a partial character, e/tending bac2 fro& the &o&ent of in4ur to previous scenes of life, but never reaching the actual life origin. 0t &a be that the &o&ent of incarnation in vision coincides .ith the last &o&ent of life- and hence no one .ho has returned fro& the confines of death, has reached the earl stages of the life. 0 suggest, too that it &a be that the onset of actual death is distinguished b the 7anasic entit fro& the occurrence of the ris2 of death, and so that the vision is not onl partial, but li&ited in 3ualit and realit , and accurac of self5realisation. This see&s the &ore probable fro& the fact that persons .ho have had this e/perience do not generall report upon the distress such a vision has caused the&, .hich see&s unreasonable, if the higher 7anas be indeed perceiving at a glance the true facts and opinions of a life histor . 0 have so&e personal 2no.ledge of this &atter, for 0 have been thro.n fro& a horse and stunned upon the road.a , and have felt the cessation of life histor , the thud of the blo. upon the head, follo.ed b a (age 5

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notion of passing bac2 fro& the blo. to the ride, to the countr passed through, to the ho&e left an hour before, to the reason for leaving for the 4ourne , and the previous da <s events , then a void , then a sense of pain and the 2no.ledge of returned earthl consciousness. The occurrence of Death is the signal for a distribution of the hu&an principles. The &aterial bod , .hich during life has been closel connected .ith the Linga Sharira, or astral for&, the vehicle of (rana, or vitalit , is slo.l deserted b these. The astral escaping graduall fro& the flaccid bod , and its departure .ith all the other principles leaves the &aterial shell a pre to deco&position. The bod is a vast congeries of ani&ate cells, and these again are co&posed of countless still &ore &inute ato&s, each a centre of energ and i&pregnated .ith vital force. Chile this hu&an for& still retains the other principles .hich for& it into a perfect .hole, these living ato&s are restrained into a certain course of e/istence, and are grouped into definite co&binations for special purposes- but .hen the lin2 is sundered, these countless +livesE are beco&e a disorderl cro.d, the run riot as po.ers of destruction and continuous disintegration, the beco&e other for&s repeatedl , each less stable than the last, until the hu&an for&, once the finest t pe of &aterial develop&ent, is reduced to solid, fluids and gases of[Page %&] ver si&ple constitution, even as the *ebre. said 'the bod shall return to dust as it .as, .hen the Spirit does return to 9od .ho gave it' :the .ord 9od here is )lohi&, the noun )loahF9od, .ith fe&inine plural for&, the seven great divine po.ers, .ho suppl each a principle to &an<s constitution;. The Linga Sharira as death beco&es acco&plished loosens its connection .ith the d ing bod , and gathers itself together fro& each organ and tissue .hich had been per&eated b it, and then graduall escapes apparentl fro& the region of the left side of the fra&e8 oo6ing graduall forth it hovers li2e a cloud over the bod , separating itself &ore and &ore, until but a thread of attach&ent re&ains, and at last the thread snaps, and the Linga bearing a.a the (ranic essence into the universal >iva or @cean of Life energ is definitel separated fro& the &an .ho .as. The Linga, for&ed li2e the &aterial bod of ato&s, although of te/ture so fine as to be i&perceptible to co&&on &en, &eets the sa&e fate, the ato&s being graduall dissipated and distributed as the &aterial ato&s are dispersed. So&e persons .ho are clairvo ant can see the astral for& escape at death, and are able to detect it hovering over a corpse long after separation has occurred- such clairvo ants are able under certain circu&stances to perceive such phanto& for&s over recent graves, of cloud te/ture i&palpable, and so&eti&es of violet colour, thus corroborating the Theosophic doctrine. The astral for& is not entirel dissipated until the last stage of deco&position has been attained, and nothing re&ains but the bones, .ith .hich the Linga see&s to have no relation. The life of &an, inhering in the astral for& .hich preceded the ph sical bod and upon .hich it .as first &oulded, is but a drop of vitalit fro& the ocean of life, and .hen death occurs the drop falls bac2 into the ocean, and its identit is lost. 'The de.drop slips into the shining sea', as )d.in Arnold has it in the concluding line of his ' Light of Asia'. (age 6

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The fourth principle, the highest of the lo.er 3uaternar , is Aa&a, the ani&al soul- this has been also inti&atel in union .ith (rana, the vitalit - the t.o together are the Nephesh of the Aabalist, the vital spar2, .hich 9enesis describes as the 'breath of life' breathed into the earl hu&anit , the first &an, Ada&, b the po.er .hich originated hi&, then called '>ehovah )lohi&', or the 'Lord 9od'. This principle is the personalit of beings lo.er than &an, .ho are &indless- it is the .ill to live, the instinct of self5preservation, the ani&al passions, the sensual ani&alit .hich pro&pts to food, drin2 and pro5creation. 0t is universall spread through the bod of &an, is the sentient agent, translating vibration into sensation. 0t has no independent vehicle during life, but .hen death occurs it accu&ulates around itself a rupa or for& of [Page %%] astral &atter, and lives for a ti&e an independent e/istence, casting fro& it belo. the Linga Sharira, .hile the 7anasic entit , or so &uch as is spiritual, escapes fro& it up.ard. 0n ordinar &ortals the 7anasic ra fro& the upper triad, .hich has been for life lin2ed .ith this Aa&ic, passional being, forfeits so&e portions of itself .hich have fallen fro& their high estate b sin and failure, and these at death are thrust forth fro& the purer 7anas, .hich ascends to peace and te&porar bliss in Devachan5*ades, and the are united b sad fate to Aa&a5rupa, thus enduing it .ith so&e consciousness, and rendering it a danger to hu&anit . The Aa&a5rupa of the perfect &an .ould receive no contribution fro& the high 7anas- it .ould be a brute, a shell, a senseless phanto&, soon fading out, an ele&entar .ithout evil influence. 1ut the Aa&a5rupas of the .ic2ed, and of suicides, although invisible to us &en, are terrible realities, and sources of &an dangers- the are the deluding spoo2s of the sance roo&, the d.ellers on the threshold, to .ho& especiall the un.ar and untrained e/peri&enter in &agic e/poses hi&self hence the ris2 of fooling .ith the occult arts. These ele&entaries, the 2lippoth of the Aabalah, the shells of the dead, these fearful Aa&a5rupas or entities d.ell on a plane contiguous to our o.n, but inappreciable to ordinar &ortals. The )asterns call the plane Aa&a5loca, the place of the phanto&s, but it is a state rather than a localit . The pure and the .ise need have no fear of these beings, and 2no., nothing of their e/istence- but &en and .o&en .ho are debauchees and live lives of cri&e and riot are at their &erc . Their evil aura attracts the deni6ens of Aa&a5loca- these rupas fi/ the&selves on such fallen hu&an beings and pro&pt the& ever to greater e/cesses, and the last end of such is .orse than the first. >ust a glance at the & steries involving the fate of &an<s higher principles, and first of the hu&an ego, 7anas, the individualit , one of .hose successive 'falls into &atter'- or 'birth into life' for&s the personal &an, such as ou and 0 are. The 0&&ortal 7anas sends out a ra of itself to incarnate in a hu&an being, and to &a2e a te&porar d.elling in a for& constituted of the lo.er 3uaternar . This 7anasic ra is there allied for earth e/perience .ith the Aa&ic, living, self5protecting entit for a period of terrene e/istence, for .eal or .oe. The life has been spent, and death has co&pleted the stage of progress. The personalit sheds, as has been described, its principles one b one, the bod dropping dead and still, the Linga escaping and disintegrating, (rana re5beco&ing >iva, and Aa&a cast aside to &as3uerade for a ti&e on an astral plane. Then the highest principles close together, the *igher 7anas dra.s bac2 into its boso& all that is spirituall pure of the ra .hich has inspired the deceased to good .or2s, and then passes into peace (age G

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and rest [Page %'] for a ti&e, into the blissful state of Devachan. This is the heaven of the =hristians, but a state rather than a place, and has no finalit .ithin it- no rest in Devachan is eternal. )verlasting rest is not et for the hu&an 7anas8 life after life &ust be passed through race after race, and round after round of e/istence, before once &ore (rala a falls upon active divine energ , or 7anas beco&es one .ith the Father in *eaven. @f the t.o supre&e essences of the Divine .hich have received na&es as related to &an, 0 &ean At&a, the seventh universal spirit, and of 1uddhi, its vehicle, no &an 2no.s an thing, nor can conceive of the&, but as brooding over the 7anasic principle and being its *eavenl Father and ho&e, even as 9enesis tells us that 9od brooded over the face of the .aters of creation- these things are a & ster . 0 do not atte&pt an conception of the Divine8 0 stand in si&ple rapture at the conte&plation of the @ne All. *aving co&pleted then a rapid surve of the pro/i&ate fate of the several hu&an principles, let us in conclusion loo2 for.ard to securing a death of peace, b sustained efforts to do life<s .or2 .orthil and .ell, so that the spectre of our life, .ho& .e &ust &eet at its threshold, &a but little distress us. The consciousness of a .ell spent life is a cro.n of re.ard- the last end of the &an .ho has spent his da s in selfish en4o &ent and in sin, .ill indeed be haunted b the ghost of his sordid 4o s and his poisoned feasts. Let us strain ever nerve to obe the &oral la., and the precepts of &utual interdependencesuch e/ertions have been reco&&ended b ever great teacher and philosopher and b the founders of ever true religion- the precepts of the higher life have been universall co&&ended b professors of ever different faith , against such there is no la.. The bod is to be respected and preserved as long as possible- .e are sent here to live, not to co&&it suicide- neglect of health is failure in life<s &ission- in life alone do .e gain e/perience, do .e &a2e progress8 on ever stage e/perience has to be gained. There is no progress in the grave .hither thou goest- our intellectual entit is largel conditioned b its d.elling- be careful ho. ou soil our ho&e, this &aterial te&porar abode. Action and re5action are universal- ou de&ean the bod , ou lo.er the &ental faculties, and the are apt to lead the bod in return still farther fro& the right path. As .e so., so shall .e also reap- the night co&eth , that is death , .hen no &an can .or2. The Devachanic interlude ensuing upon death &a be a blissful rest, but it also is illusion, and leads to no progress, and in the ne/t life .e &ust ta2e up the coil of life .here .e this ti&e la it do.n. Let us .or2 .hile it is et da , let us cultivate length of da s to obtain &easure of progress , let us develop .hile .e have the opportunit . 1ut [Page %3] .e are under Aar&ic la. .hich decides for us ho. long this present opportunit &ust last, .ithin certain li&its- .e cannot anticipate the decision. Ce should .or2 .ithout personal a&bition, as those .ho are a&bitious- .e should struggle up.ard, as those .ho fight for self, but .e should fight for all- respect life as those do .ho desire life for its o.n sa2e8 do these things and ou .ill be as happ as those .ho live for happiness. *o. e/cellent a thing it &ust be to spend a long life .ell, and to attain at last to death as the end of a long and arduous 4ourne , to fall asleep in peace as fro& fatigue. For the aged, the final scene is often brief and the pheno&ena of d ing i&perceptible. At such a ti&e the vivid recollections of a long life spent in benevolent self5sacrifice, in 6ealous endeavour to do the right, &ust constitute that euthanasia so (age "

Theosophical Siftings

Death

Vol 6, No 5

&uch to be desired b all. Let us endeavour then so to live as to have no fear of death- holding such doctrines as 0 have described, to confess to a fear of death is to confess to an ill5spent life. Cith &an apologies, & friends, 0 conclude this lecture- & feelings have led &e astra into a &oral dis3uisition, into a ser&on .hich 0 have no right to preach to ou- but .hatever & failings, and the are &an , 0 a& 6ealous in & efforts to teach .hat little 0 2no., of that .hich 0 believe to be true. Fare.ell.

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