First Nature builds the body, a house with doors of sense,
Wherein a strange child, the Spirit, is then born.
Tools he finds and uses at his pleasure,
Leaving finally the house; it crumbles,
But the architect always builds anew
And beckons the heavenly guest again to earthly accommodation.
Friedrich Ruckert (1788-1866)
Wisdom of the Brahmins

"Without the idea of reincarnation, our social system is iniquitous and inexplicable," Papus declared in Reincarnation. "Why," he questioned, "are unintelligent people gorged with money and loaded with honors, while persons of apparent worth are doomed to struggle in poverty, and daily toil for physical, moral, or spiritual nourishment?"

"Man is so conceited that he is loath to admit he is inflicting his own punishment. He therefore blames his family; that is to say, his ancestors, his social environment, his physical body, or even God, for the trials of his life."(1)
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(1) Nowadays, of course, it is fashionable to blame the government or society for all man's troubles. The scapegoat may be different, but the human weakness is still the same.
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The Ancient Peoples Accepted Reincarnation

Papus explained, "The ancient races (from Atlantis through Egypt and the Persia of Zoroaster) universally taught as one of their mysteries the secret of reincarnation and its social consequences. The first book of the Bible, Genesis, was written by Moses from Egyptian documents and reconstructed by Daniel for Esdras.(2) Actually, not until much later was this generally accepted doctrine abandoned by the Church in favor of the Heaven-Hell concept. This later concept may have been of value in controlling the uneducated peasants of the Middle Ages but has little to recommend it to the modern thinking man or woman."
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(2) Moses, it should be recalled, was trained in the Egyptian Schools of Initiation. The instructions he gave in the first five books of the Bible were an interpretation of Egyptian teachings designed for the uneducated, carnally minded Hebrews. However, even the simplified version of the Egyptian Mysteries included the Laws of Reincarnation. Impartial investigators acknowledge that at the time of the Nazarene the Hebrews continued to hold this understanding, according to the previously mentioned quotations from chapters l3, 16, and 17 of the book of Matthew. -----------------------------------------------------------

All advanced peoples in earlier times taught reincarnation as an "elementary truth of existence" because no other rational concept comes even close to explaining the obvious injustices of human social life.

If we are to accept the fact of a just and rational God, then reincarnation becomes the only practical explanation for man's circumstances. Because they have not been exposed to the full character of this concept, many have left religion in disgust and consider themselves agnostics, or even worse, atheists.

However, once a person is able to accept the fact that the present life is only one of many, like so many terms at school, he understands that failure is not all that catastrophic. He will always have another opportunity to come back, after a period of rest, to make amends or correct his mistakes.

But even more encouraging are the possibilities that may lie ahead of us once we realize that we are able to make plans not only for one lifetime but for several. Many projects cannot be finished in the span of one lifetime, but by carefully choosing our thoughts, desires, and goals, we can arrange to fulfill our desires over several lives.

Papus discussed the social effects of reincarnation in his day. He wrote:

"The man who has misbehaved in a former life may await punishment in a subsequent existence. Needless to say, this life may be spent on a different planet, as all the planets are inhabited, the Earth being only one of the circles of Hell in the invisible world; that is why we are nearly all demons here, and why trials are so numerous.(3)
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(3) As mentioned previously, Papus believed all the planets are inhabited. Although modern space exploration does not give much verification of this concept, the type of life or life forms that may inhabit these worlds may not be visible to our eye or may be beyond the sound range of our ear. The five human senses and the human body have very narrow operating ranges. Even when these senses are mechanically or electronically extended, vast areas of reality are still excluded. There is no reason to think there are not beings on other planets that are in all ways invisible to us.

The thought that the Earth is one of the hells of the Universe is intriguing. The more one thinks about it, the more plausible the idea becomes. Can there be worse punishment than that dealt out by some men to other fellow humans?
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"The Egyptian idea of reincarnation passed into Greece through Pythagoras and his disciples. First Empedocles, and afterwards Plato, popularized this idea. We read in Plato's Timaeus these words, which have a twofold meaning:

" ‘Cowards are changed into women; vain and frivolous men into birds; ignorant men into wild beasts, that cringe and bend closer to the earth in proportion as their laziness has been more debasing; unclean and gluttonous men animate fishes and aquatic reptiles.'

"We read in the Phaedon:

" ‘Those who yielded to intemperance and overindulgence in food and their passions, and had no self-control, will probably enter into the bodies of animals of a similar nature; those who only loved injustice, tyranny, and plunder will animate the bodies of wolves, hawks, and falcons. The destiny of other souls will correspond to the life they have led.'

"These extracts refer to physical rather than spiritual reincarnation; they concern metempsychosis. In an earlier chapter the difference between metempsychosis and reincarnation was explained.(4)
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(4) Unfortunately for the human race, these statements have all too often been taken at face value and have had a detrimental effect on the wider understanding and acceptance of reincarnation of the Soul.
As a man includes in his life the cardinal characteristics of various animals, as described previously, various parts of his being can and will animate animals. This has nothing to do with the human Soul, however; the Soul follows an entirely different course, as was explained in earlier chapters.
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"Plotinus in his Enneades tells us:

" ‘It is a discovery that has been recognized from the remotest ages that if a Soul commits sins, it is condemned to expiate them by suffering punishment in the hell-pit(5); afterwards, it is permitted to enter new bodies and renew its trials.'
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(5) The "hell-pit" is nothing more or less than the judgment each Soul gives itself shortly after physical death. There is no escape; we all must read the record we have made for ourselves. If the record is bad, we can do nothing except feel the deep regrets of a life misused. The feelings of having failed and knowing we can do nothing to change the fact until we once again have an opportunity to return to Earth is the hell-pit. There can be no worse hell than self-condemnation.
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"Elsewhere Plotinus says:

" ‘When we go astray with the multitude, we are punished for it, first by the very fact of our having gone astray, and afterwards, when we take on new bodies, our condition is less fortunate.'

"The Druids also taught reincarnation, with metempsychosis for the physical body as its corollary.

"What interests us now is the influence of spiritual reincarnation in social life, and our only object in quoting the preceding passages is to show that this idea is not a novel one, but that it formed the basis of all the mysteries of antiquity and was not the exception but the rule for most of these peoples."

The Real Reasons We Are As We Are

Papus continued, "In most cases the social status of the present life is fixed by the former condition of the Soul as it entered the Soul world. In such matters death changes nothing. All the ‘profits and losses' of our past life are carefully and accurately added up, and these determine our future social status.

"A robber who had attacked and plundered a number of human beings in a former incarnation may be compelled to return in a later life to care for and relieve those whom he had previously despoiled.

"A king or the head of a society of individuals, who misused his power, must return to suffer the punishment of the unjust laws he has enacted. Such is the inflexible law, the action of Destiny upon the reincarnating Soul."

Under God's Divine Law, every thought and act of each human initiates a reaction that must and will return to us in time. The old saying, "Chickens come home to roost," is not far from the truth. The nature of the reaction is such that we are allowed to suffer as we have made others suffer. On the other hand, if we have sown kindness and love, we will receive them in return. The return, for various reasons, may be delayed, but then a good rate of interest is added, so that all are, in the end, treated with perfect fairness by the Law. As pointed out often in this volume, neither God nor the Law creates the reaction. It is created by the nature of the act itself in the same manner that the admixture of an acid and a base creates a salt.

Figure 6. Social status and reincarnation.

Time. The only factor we cannot calculate is that of - time. So many factors must be considered with every reaction that the wonder is the Divine Law operates at all. If there were only a few people in the world, the reaction to the Law would be simple. But the actions and reactions of billions of people are intertwined. And yet the Law is absolutely fair to all.

The factor of time is variable. The reason the reactions of some individuals are postponed until another lifetime may be better understood from the following example: Imagine an ambitious businessman who is entirely ruthless in his dealings. By sharp deals and outright deception he has built a large company that employs thousands of honest, hard-working people.

Under the most simplistic functioning of the Law, all the businessman has built up should be destroyed, because it was built by deceit and evil. But what about the many honest employees? If the company were to be destroyed, what would happen to them? Most of the workers, undoubtedly, do not deserve to lose their jobs. To allow such destruction would be counter to the interests of the Law.

The simplest solution would be to permit the questionable businessman and the company to survive and delay the reaction of the Law until a later lifetime. As our actions become more complicated, some reactions may be postponed for several lifetimes. This may seem desirable at first thought, but the longer it takes for a reaction to be felt, the greater will be the amount of the accrued interest.

Our Earthly Circumstances And Reincarnation

Have you ever met a person who was happy with himself? Are we not always too fat, too thin, too tall, too short, too this, too that? We don't like our nose, our legs. We think that other people have all the luck. We may be dissatisfied with our color or our sex. The list may go on and on. Few realize that each of us is what we are because that is either what we wanted in a past life or, more frequently, what we deserved.

One of the most rewarding aspects of reincarnation is that it removes the cause for anxiety, anger, and frustration which often stem from the above feelings. When we realize that we are what and who we are because we are where we belong and that we alone are responsible for our position in life, there can be no legitimate cause for such complaints.

Homosexuality And Reincarnation

Never in the history of mankind has the subject of homosexuality been so flaunted and openly discussed as at present. An understanding of the Laws of Reincarnation helps to clarify the reason for this fact. We are at the time in the development of humanity when all heretofore hidden thoughts and desires are allowed free expression.

The reasons for this were clearly outlined in the first text of this series, A Guide for the New Renaissance,(6) which explained that during the final decades of the twentieth century the world will be beset with a plethora of previously recalcitrant souls who are being given one last opportunity to change their ways before the biblical separation of the wheat for the chaff. They are being proffered, under Divine Law, the opportunity to embrace the good and to enter the New Renaissance as noble and worthy sons or daughters. Many individuals now on Earth are, as it were, here on probation. They have stubbornly followed the dark path in their past lives, but have now been given one last chance to become of the wheat of the New Renaissance.
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(6) This book is available from the Philosophical Publishing Company, P. O. Box 220, Quakertown, PA l895l-0220. 1-800-300-5168
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Due, however, to their previous misbehavior, the rules of this present incarnation are most rigid. They are, like any prisoner on probation, held to far stricter requirements than their more law-abiding peers. This may be seen clearly in the ramifications of the disease acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS). In this disorder, the results of the infringement of the Laws of Sexuality, as laid down by all God's authentic Messengers, are swift and final.

Let it be made clear on this subject right from the beginning. To practice homosexuality is a sin which will place many in the category of the chaff. To have homosexual tendencies is not a sin and does not in and of itself preclude an individual from entering the New Renaissance as one of the wheat.

It is not difficult to determine whether a human tendency is good or destructive. Merely extend the practice to all humanity and observe if the results over a few decades would be desirable for the human race.

This rule, applied to homosexuality, reveals that the human race would become extinct in only one generation if it were universally practiced. These same criteria may be used with all such human tendencies. Try them. You may be surprised at some of the results.

The Origin Of These Tendencies. If homosexuality is destructive to the advancement of civilization, then where did these tendencies arise? An honest question which deserves an honest answer!

Inasmuch as God is the embodiment of all that is good, obviously He would not introduce or encourage a tendency that has the potential of destroying His Creation. That leaves only man. Somehow, some way, man has created this aberration (as well as all others) by his thoughts, desires, or actions in previous lives. When his Soul was new, it was a pristine and pure flame from the Godhead. It was neither good nor evil, it simply was. It was as a book with completely blank pages.

As we began our journeys to Earth, we began to fill these pages. Following each incarnation, we had an opportunity to rest and read what we had written in our last journey to the world of matter. We could not change one word, but at that time we could plan to do better (assuming as was true in most instances that our writing was not all we would like) in our next Earth life.

After many such visits (as all of us have made), each of us has a book of interesting information and tendencies and a fascinating balance sheet of debits and credits. It is what has been and is written in this book and balance sheet that ultimately makes us what we are at any time or in any incarnation.

Despite what we may think, hear, or read, no one has the ability to write in any book except one's own. This being true, the folly of anger, jealousy, hatred, resentment, and all other adverse passions is obvious. If everything that happens to us is but the consequence of our own previous thoughts, desires, and actions, what right have we to indict others for our misfortunes?

They are but agents of the Law, bringing to us that which we, by our thoughts, desires, and actions, have programmed for our existence. We, in turn, in our relationships with others are agents of the Law.

Homosexuality comprises one of the pages of the book of individuals who exhibit this tendency. In other words, those who are homosexual either desired to be such and therefore wrote it into their book or by other thoughts and actions brought this state to themselves as a learning experience.

As pointed out earlier, an individual in his heart could desire to savor the apparent advantages of the opposite sex without the willingness to accept the responsibilities. For example, a man in this life may think women have a great advantage as far as their sexuality is concerned and may envy this attitude, but not wish, however, to participate in the perceived drudgery of the feminine life.

If his desire is sufficiently strong, it will be fulfilled in a later incarnation, as all of us eventually become that which we hold in our mind and heart, if not in this lifetime, certainly in a later one. In a future life that person may be born with the strong homosexual tendencies he himself created in his past incarnation. Had his desire to be a woman been total, that is, a real willingness to be all that a woman is, not just the part he finds intriguing, he would have been born a woman in all ways, instead of only in part.

This same pattern, of course, also applies to women. The lesbian was, possibly, a woman in a past life who admired authoritative masculine characteristics but did not wish to take upon herself the other responsibilities of manhood. Or she could have been a man in a previous incarnation who desired most of the characteristics of womanhood but was not willing to give up certain masculine traits. So he reincarnated into the body of a woman but retained those characteristics he wished.

Thus, there are almost as many ways for a reincarnating individual to be homosexual as there are incarnating souls, each having created its own particular environment by past thoughts, desires, and actions.

As also discussed earlier, not all homosexuals are created in this fashion. Some homosexual tendencies are not the result of direct desire but, just the opposite, the result of adverse judgment of these individuals. Under this Law, a person could develop such an antagonism towards homosexuals (the individuals, not the practice) that he would be drawn to this group in a later life by his previous hatred and judgments. By reincarnating as a homosexual he would have an excellent opportunity to see the other side.

Homosexuals, male or female, are in one way or the other of their own creation. As a part of the Unity of Life, they are to be loved and respected. Their tendencies, however, must be controlled and overcome if they are to advance as spiritual beings. Once the causes and influences of this state are understood the practice likely will diminish and finally become extinct.

Cells In The Body Of God

All truly advanced souls realize that it is not possible for any being in the world to be at complete peace until all beings are at peace. We are all part of the same body of life. What affects one, affects all. Therefore, even though we ourselves may have conquered our own weaknesses (not an easy task), we cannot achieve the ultimate blissful peace we all desire until we have helped the rest of God's creatures to the same state.

With this understanding, we come to realize that what most persons may call an unselfish act is really impossible. Whatever we do to elevate others must elevate ourselves as well. Thus, in the final analysis, altruism is the attribute that brings us the greatest rewards imaginable.

Strange to say, the only way we can commit an act that does not return benefit to us, and could thereby be considered unselfish, according to modern interpretation, is to do that which is destructive, both to ourselves and to others. This may seem somewhat paradoxical, but there is nothing in God's Universe that man may not have if he is willing to work for it. God places no limit on us. We alone limit ourselves. Did not the Nazarene say, "Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in Heaven is perfect"?

There is enough and more for every man and woman to have all they could possibly desire in life without attempting to take something away from another. This desire to take from another that which he has earned is true selfishness. This desire is the bane of human existence, the cause of all wars and disputes, the cause of all crime, the cause of all evil.

Even on the surface, such an attitude is obviously counterproductive. If we take something from another, nothing is added to the storehouse of the known world. If, on the other hand, we create something of our own, we are enriched as is the entire world.

All the Messengers of God knew this to be true. They came back to Earth mainly because of their love for their fellowman, but their mission was also essential for them if they were to continue their own development as rapidly as possible. This was true even of the Nazarene. His mission was not only one of great service to mankind, in that He brought the latest interpretation of the Law, but it was necessary for His own personal growth and advancement.

Once we accept the wisdom of reincarnation, we can begin to understand and appreciate the ultimate fairness of God's World. Once we personally accept the fact that we are where we are because that is what we, ourselves, built in our past lives, a great sense of frustration should be lifted from us.

When we realize that no one, except ourselves, can be blamed for our circumstances, we can look at all about us with a new feeling of tolerance. At worst, we will come to know that individuals we considered as adversaries are but agents of the Law put here to bring us the rewards of our past actions.

As Benjamin Franklin said concerning enemies, "Love your enemies, they tell you your faults." Even more than that, they provide us an opportunity to overcome much of our Karma and to temper our personality by learning to accept the vicissitudes and trials of life with dignity and nobleness.

For those reared on a religious diet of "Salvation by the Grace of God," the hardness of reincarnation is difficult to embrace, even though it obviously fits the commonly observed facts of life more realistically than the former doctrine. All is not lost, however; there is always prayer. Prayers are heard and answered as long as they are sincere and to the benefit of the one who prays. In these matters it is wise for all to follow the example of the Nazarene when He was in the Garden of Gethsemane and end each supplication with the phrase, "Not my will, but Thine, be done."

If a Supreme Being such as the Nazarene felt it necessary to rely on the judgment of God in matters of prayer, what about us? Is anyone of us wise enough to tell God what to do? In prayer we have the right to let the Father know our desires, but the final decision should be left to God. We, on our part, must be willing to accept the answer He returns.

In the following paragraphs, Papus presents original thoughts on the subject of prayer and reincarnation.

Prayer And Reincarnation: The Nature Of Forgiveness

Papus wrote, "The human Spirit possesses the special distinction that, while it is incapable of influencing the constitution of its body and the laws governing it, except by hygiene and Soul development, it can do anything it desires in regard to the framing of social laws and the creation of human societies. These are almost entirely the outcome of man's will.

"The first problem to be solved is to know whether a man can modify his Destiny.

"The Hindus, from whom the Western culture has adopted a number of ideas, have given this Destiny the name of Karma. (7)
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(7) Karma is correctly used to describe talents, weaknesses, traits, unpaid past debts, and other qualities we bring to this life from our past existences. In the strictest sense, this should not include reactions to our present acts which we reap in the same incarnation. However, because the general usage of this word has now come to accept both meanings, the word is used in this text in the expanded definition.
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"The Oriental doctrines, of which the Buddhists are the present-day representatives, teach that Destiny can be modified only by the conduct of the human being in this life, which then influences his future destiny.

"The Initiates of the East - that is, the adepts of the Brahmanic school, the Taoists of China - the Initiates of the West, continuing the secret Egyptian tradition, whose teachings have been enlightened by the living words of Our Lord Jesus Christ, tell us, on the contrary, that this Destiny can be modified by the influence of Heavenly Mercy, through the agency of Celestial Entities to whom the incarnate being has always the right of appeal.

"Our Spiritual Guide, the great unknown contemporary Master, Dr. Nizier Philippe, of Lyons, now deceased, has pronounced deep truths on this subject in his teachings. He said.

" ‘Between two beings, one who prays and the other who does not, the one who prays enacts a very useful part in the invisible world, because he gives spiritual nourishment to certain entities who live solely on human prayers.'

" ‘We return,' said he, ‘with those passions which we have not conquered.'

"Again he said: `It is to the world in which we have contracted our debts that we come to discharge them.'(8)
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(8) Interestingly, Papus stated that his instructor taught we must return to the world where the indebtedness was created. According to this concept, most of us will call Earth our home for some time to come.
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"He also taught that in this life we progress unceasingly,(9) and as and when we progress, our Guide is changed; hence, the necessity for immediate reconciliation with our enemies, as, by offending our enemies we offend our Guide, and peace can only exist between friends. Otherwise we would have to wait for the same period to occur in the series of reincarnations to grant our forgiveness." (10)
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(9) This fact is true unless by the exercise of the will the person insists on the path of self-destruction. This is the path referred to in the Bible as "the Soul that sinneth, it shall die."

(10) It is not possible ever to vanquish an enemy by destroying him in one lifetime. He will be there in the future ever ready to attempt his revenge. The only way to stop this karmic game of tag is to make him a friend. For this reason we are advised by Scriptures to "Agree with thine adversary quickly."
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Summary Of Reincarnation And The Social Life

Papus went on, "Our social life, therefore, is the mathematical result of our previous lives. Our present destiny can be modified by three elements:

"l. By the physical courage to do that which is right and good.

"2. By the submission to moral and physical trials that are the result of past Karma.

"3. By prayer, and help from Heaven.

"Destiny governs the past, the human will governs the present, and Divine Providence the future. (11)
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(11) This is true to the extent that we, as humans, sow only good or evil. We are able to influence our future by our thoughts, desires, and actions. We cannot, however, control when the reaping will occur in the future. This, as Papus states, is up to Divine Providence. We can be sure, though, that if we truly TRY to follow the Law of God, our Karma will return to us whenever we have the greatest opportunity to benefit from its occurrence.
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"Pythagoras learned from the Chinese that the number of Destiny was 5, that of the human will, 4; of Divine Providence, 3. The union of the Ætheric was necessary on Earth; that is to say, a square of 3 and 4-3x3=9, 4x4=l6, l6+9=25 - to balance the square of fatality, 5x5=25.(12)
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(12) Such calculations have been retained from the original to lend some flavor to the text. The explanation, however, is so complicated and lengthy that its inclusion here is not advisable. Numbers, as used by Initiates, usually signify quality as well as quantity.
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"This is the secret key to the celebrated square of the hypotenuse which has puzzled so many generations of schoolboys. Man on Earth, therefore, must combine his forces with those of the Spiritual plane in order to balance the forces of Destiny.

"Westerners, as well as Brahmins, are right, therefore, when they say that prayer is a lever of wondrous power, which, aided by the human will, is able to help lift the awful burden of Destiny or Karma."

Why Certain Individuals Are Born To Certain Parents

Papus continued his discussion of man's relation to family and society. He wrote, "It is impossible to analyze every type of social condition as it is determined by a former life. We will only mention that the strongest attraction, which is usually manifested by reciprocated love, draws those spirits that are farthest away from the Earth, that is to say, the purest ones, and that the weakest attraction, which is exercised by alcoholic or loveless parents, seeks out those spirits that are close to the Earth, such as suicides or densely materialistic spirits.

"The present social system is, therefore, the mathematical outcome of a former social system, and we can again understand in this case the wisdom of the Chinese, who consider living beings merely as the passing result of the action of the social system of their ancestors.

"In every family there is the normal reincarnation of egos belonging to that family (those who tend to be like others in the family) in the invisible world, whose first name, with its secret numbers, gives the key to its correspondences in the Ætheric world. But there is also, in each family, whether it be numerous or otherwise, a spirit which is strange to that family, the so-called ‘black sheep,' which comes from an entirely different plane; it is the comet of the family. This sibling is usually the despair of his Earthly parents. He is the artist in a grocer's family, the spendthrift in a miser's family, sometimes the firebrand in a magistrate's family. This paradox is the result of the secret of Nature's equilibrium. When two nations hate one another intensely, the Spiritual Guides often interchange the reincarnations, and the spirit of hatred is sometimes modified.(13)
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(13) Such a modification is now taking place between the United States and the Soviet Union. These two great enemies will once again become friends, as the Spiritual Guides work their wonders. -----------------------------------------------------------

The Value Of The Physical Plane.

"According to the Spiritual Master's words: ‘We come here to pay the debts we have contracted,' commenting Christ's beautiful prayer, ‘Father, remit unto us our debts as we remit them unto those that owe us,' which words have been translated by the exoteric churches into the more supplicating, "Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.'

"Terrestrial incarnation is intended to strengthen our future spiritual organs, and the resistance of these organs to the power of Destiny can be strengthened only by spiritual training, a training which is frequently effected on the physical plane by what are known as trials and tribulations.

"According to the teaching of our own Spiritual Guide, when we say, ‘Give us this day our daily bread,' we are asking for trials - but trials adapted strictly to our strength.

"Those who know the secret origin of the life that circulates in all planes of manifestation know perfectly well that only in exceptional cases will the Father allow any of His children to die on any plane,(14) provided these children leave the door ajar between them and their Spiritual Guide.
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(14) Papus refers to premature death, that is, death before the appointed karmic-created time has come for this individual. We all must die here on Earth so that we may be born elsewhere. -----------------------------------------------------------

A Spiritual Test

"To be able to lift a heavy weight with ease, the muscles of the arm require a course of training, which consists in lifting gradually heavier weights, beginning with a light one. This kind of training for the physical body is the key to success in all sports and athletic feats.

"Exactly the same principle applies to the moral and the spiritual as to the physical plane. Each trial occurs thrice in succession in the form of a higher influence acting upon the nape of the neck (anatomists would say, ‘On the floor of the fourth ventricle'), which is the terminal of all the conscious sensory centers of man. (15)
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(15) This teaching is not essential to the concept of reincarnation and is retained only for its historic and scientific interest.
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"Curiously enough, we find among the ancient Egyptians, under the name of ‘SA,' exactly the same teaching, and the influence of this center as the focus of the invisible forces is clearly depicted in all the bas-reliefs.

"Therefore, a mild initial test is given to us to see if we are able to withstand it. If we succeed, the test is imposed with increased strength a second time. Our spirit, strengthened by its first resistance, may again combat the suggestion of this baser impulse, but it requires all its strength to do so.

"Again, the test comes for the third time, and is yet stronger. This time the spirit cannot conquer except by calling upon the Spiritual Forces. If, through the influence of prayer and will power, the power of the lower self is finally broken, compassion enters into the heart of the incarnate spirit, and it is at this time that the real age of a Soul begins to show itself.

"The man who condemns others on every occasion is a newly incarnate Soul who has not encountered many spiritual trials. ‘He who is compassionate will receive mercy,' says the Gnostic. We find in the Gnostic doctrine, as well as in the Catholic religion and the religion of the Brahmins, Maria, the Virgin of Light, the Virgin Mary, Maha or Maya, the living Heavenly Mercy and the great Reformer of the Judgments of Destiny; she crushes the head of the serpent Karma, Nahash, Schnah, or Time, the Past, and Fate.

"Therefore, when a crime is committed, ‘he who knows' and ‘remembers' prays for the criminal whose destiny was to come back to Earth and play such a fatal and terrible part.

"He who does ‘not know' strikes his breast, saying: ‘I am an honest man, my family has left me a stainless name; I think this criminal has defiled the whole of humanity by his infamous deed, and the world must be made rid of him.' This merciless spirit may well become a criminal himself in a subsequent life, because ignorance is not forgiven in the beyond.

The Living Ideal

"Goodness during an earthly incarnation is therefore not merely a duty. It is a special token of the understanding of higher things. To be considered a good-natured fool whom the cunning people of the world cheat to their heart's content; to be exploited by ostensibly poor people, false friends, and the whole crowd of this world's outcasts, is often the sign that a man is on the right path, and the Light on the other side glows brightly for him whom the strong men of this earth despise and hold up to scorn.(16)
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(16) There are certain limits to this, of course. If we consciously let someone take advantage of us, we do wrong because we allow evil to flourish. Did not the Nazarene say, "Be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves"? It is not a good idea to forget the wise-as-a-serpent part. We were given a brain as well as a heart, and just because all too many men, in particular let the head rule does not mean that it should be cast aside completely. The ideal of the New Renaissance is to be as harmless as the dove, but also as strong as the ox, and as wise (knowledgeable) as the serpent.
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"It is not for us to preach, as there is often no man so immoral in private life as the moralist in public life, and we are too conscious of our own inferiority from the spiritual point of view to wish to judge others. We merely suggest these ideas as the living ideal at which man must aim during his different incarnations.

"We are convinced, from our own experience, that reincarnation is the only true key to the differences in social life."
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