The Theosophical Path Illustrated Monthly Volume 1, July-December, 1911
Religion
The Theosophical Path Illustrated Monthly Volume 1, July-December, 1911
Theosophy -- Periodicals
The justice and harmony of a human life cannot be discerned if we
regard that life separately--apart from its sequel and apart from that
of which it is the sequel. This circumstance accounts for most of the
strivings and strainings to reconcile faith with experience and to
find a place for God in philosophy. But the idea of Reincarnation is
so unfamiliar to Western culture and habits of thought that reasonable
as it is it will take some time to win its appeal. The process of
familiarizing this truth is rendered slower by the fact that much
nonsense is talked about it, and reasonable inquirers thereby warned
off. Yet it is possible to speak of Reincarnation in a sane and serious
way.
What people most often forget is to distinguish properly between
that which survives and that which does not, and this may lead them
to expect proofs of a kind that cannot logically be demanded. They
also confound memory with recollection, assuming, quite illogically,
that where there is no recollection there can be no memory. But it is
conceivable that memories may be stored up beyond our present reach,
and yet be accessible to stronger efforts which we may be able to
make at some future time. It may be true that we do not _recollect_
our past lives, but we are not warranted in inferring that the memory
is obliterated or that there never was any such record made. The
recollection of past lives is a question of memory training; but it is
probably unnecessary to say that anyone who should venture on such a
task in the expectation of achieving speedy results by his own unaided
efforts would be liable to disappointment and delusion. For this
attainment lies a long way ahead of us on the Path.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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