Only three theories worthy of note have ever been brought forth to solve the riddle of life and death. Of these, the doctrine of rebirth is revealed by careful analysis to be the most sensible and logical. As evolution is a process of growth or development which is the result of the experiences of man, one short span of life is not sufficient to bring him to a state of perfection where no further experiences are necessary. It requires many lives to reach this high state of attainment. Life is in reality a school of experience wherein some have made much more rapid progress than others, and this fact accounts for the inequality in people and their various stations in the world.
The fact that man does not remember his former life is not an argument against this theory. We are all aware that we can only remember the principal events in our present life. It is well known that many of the great thinkers and writers of all ages understood, accepted, and taught evolution through rebirth. A few examples of the works which illustrate this are as follows: Wordsworth's "Ode on Intimations of Immortality"; Goethe's "Faust"; John Masefield's (Poet Laureate of England) "My Creed"; Rosetti's "I Have Been Here Before"; Oliver Wendell Holmes' "The Chambered Nautilus." Bible references are found in The Rosicrucian Cosmo-Conception.
Question 1:
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to us. Please be sure to include the course name and Independent Study Module number in your e-mail
to us. You will find the answers to the questions
below in the next Core Concepts Independent Study Module.)
Esoteric science teaches that all life evolves on a spiral path. Each loop of the spiral is a cycle. Each cycle merges into the next, as the loops of the spiral are continuous, each cycle being the improved product of those preceding it and the creator of those more developed states which succeed it.
Without esoteric science much must be attributed to heredity. The esotericists have demonstrated, however, that heredity applies only to the physical body and not to the moral or intellectual attainments. These are acquired in proportion to the use we have made of our opportunities in previous lives.
During the Ego's earth lives many relations have been established with various people. These relations were pleasant or otherwise, involving on the one hand mutually profitable associations as friends or relatives; or on the other hand obligations not liquidated, or injuries unatoned with the consequent feeling of a strong tie between the injured and his enemy. An exact adjustment of accounts must eventually be made.
The Laws of Rebirth and Consequence are connected with the motion of the cosmic bodies, the Sun, the planets, and the signs of the zodiac. All move in harmony with these laws, guided in their orbits by their indwelling spiritual Intelligences — the Planetary Spirits.
1. The qualities inherent in the seed atom determine the kind of material attracted for the new bodies.
2. The material attracted by the seed atom of the mind forms itself into a bell-shaped figure, open at the bottom and with the seed atom at the top. This sinks into the next lower subdivision of the Region of Concrete Thought and takes from that its proper quota of matter. When it has passed through the four subdivisions the forces of the seed atom of the desire body are awakened. It places itself at the top of the bell, inside, and attracts material from the different regions of the Desire World as it descends. The seed atom of the vital body is next aroused into activity, and the material attracted is built into the new vital body under the direction of the Recording Angels.
3. Epigenesis is the ability of the Ego to inaugurate something entirely new — to set new causes into operation.
4. During early years the child has only the negative faculties of excretion, passive sense-perception, etc., active, while the positive faculties of assimilation, circulation of the blood, etc., are taken care of by the macrocosmic vital and desire bodies.
5. The vital body is born at the age of 7; the desire body at 14; the mind at 21.
6. The blood is the direct vehicle of the Ego, the means by which the Ego expresses itself in the physical world.
7. Seven years after physical birth the vital body is born; at 14 the desire body is born; and at 21 the mind is born. At 28 serious life begins; at 35 the prime of life; at 42 the change of life; at 49 the prime of mentality. After death the Ego passes through Purgatory, the First Heaven, the Second Heaven, and the Third Heaven, reaping the fruits of the past life and preparing for the next physical incarnation. It then descends through the Region of Abstract Thought, the Region of Concrete Thought, the Desire World, and the Etheric Region, attracting material for its new bodies. It is then ready for rebirth into the physical world.
Supplemental
Reading Material:
I. Aquarian Conflict
Resolution
In every man there is a king. Speak to the king and the king will come forth.
— Scandinavian Proverb
In the Piscean Age, people lived under the rulership of various
dictators (kings, priests, et cetera) who laid down laws and proclaimed what
was true and right. Because everyone within a given society followed one
dictator, there was little internal conflict. If two people within the
society did have disagreement, they could go to the dictator, and he would
say who was right and who was wrong and what needed to be done to resolve the conflict. Thus things proceeded peacefully and harmoniously.
In the Aquarian Age, there will be no one head who will make all the
decisions and do all the thinking. Instead, everyone will do his own
thinking. When many people, starting with different perspectives and
exercising their creativity in different ways, are all independently
generating opinions, a wide variety of opinions will arise, and some of
these opinions may be in conflict with one another. The big problem that
then arises is to find how to resolve these conflicts. There is no one
authority to go to who provides the people with a definitive resolution of
their conflicts. Somehow, they must work together to resolve the conflicts
themselves.
The Aquarian Age is an age of reason. Thus, reason will be put to use in
conflict resolution. Let us take a rational look at the causes and cures of
conflicts.
People have needs and desires for physical necessities (food, clothing,
shelter), safety, companionship, esteem and self-actualization (independent
creativity, attainment of personal goals). If the needs and desires of one
person overlap those of another, then there is conflict.
One situation in which needs and desires will overlap is when there is
overpopulation: too many people and not enough food, clothing, and shelter.
The remedy for this type of conflict is to decrease the number of people
within a given region and/or work to increase the amount of food, clothing,
and shelter available.
Another situation in which conflicts occur is when one person oversteps
his rightful needs and desires and thus infringes on the needs and desires
of others. This occurs when one person steals from another; when one
threatens or hurts another without cause; when one tries to force his
presence or his ideas on another; when one tries to get ahead of another; or when one tries to dominate another. When this type of conflict occurs,
people need to be led to the point where they can see things from the other
person's point of view, so that they can recognize that everyone has needs
and desires and that if people are to live harmoniously together, one cannot
fulfill his needs and desires at the expense of another.
Some people may overstep their rightful needs and desires but may know
of no other way to fulfill their own needs and desires. It may be useless to
tell a starving man that it is not right to steal. In such cases, the only
way to overcome the problem may be to help the person in need find a way to
fulfill his needs. Give the starving man some food and a job, and he may not
steal any more. If a person feels a need to be listened to and is annoying
everyone with his talking, the problem may not be resolved by telling him to
"shut up." Rather, someone may need to listen to the talker until his need
to be heard has been fulfilled. If a person feels a need for esteem and
consequently goes around bragging, the problem is not solved by telling the
bragger that he hasn't done half the things which he claims to have done.
Rather, the problem may be resolved if the bragger's need for esteem is
fulfilled by giving him sufficient praise so that he begins to feel
appreciated.
Sometimes the needs and desires of two people may be in conflict because
one is overstepping his rights, but the one who is being imposed upon may
avoid conflict simply by releasing some of his own desires. This is an
especially useful technique in trivial matters that aren't worth fighting
over. It may also be done when one person loves another and is willing to
take burdens upon himself in order to make things easier for the other. It
is dangerous to do this, however, unless one really releases one's own
desires. Otherwise, inner tensions may be built up. John Powell notes in "Why Am I Afraid to Tell You Who I Am?," p. 64, "(If something you do
bothers me), I may be tempted to believe that it would be better not to
mention it. Our relationship will be more peaceful....So I keep it inside
myself, and each time you do your thing my stomach keeps score ...2...3...4
...5...6...7...8...until one day you do the same thing that you have always
done and all hell breaks loose. All the while you were annoying me, I was
keeping it inside and somewhere, secretly, learning to hate you. My good
thoughts were turning to gall. When it finally erupted in one great
emotional avalanche, you didn't understand. You thought that this kind of
reaction was totally uncalled for."
Some people have conflicting needs and desires within themselves. They
simultaneously want two things that cannot be had at the same time. They may
want both to go out and stay at home. They may want both to eat lots of food
and to stay slim. They may want both to get their work done and to play.
Such people tend to be in conflict with all their associates because
anything anyone does for them is in some way wrong. Such conflicts can only
be resolved by helping the person to recognize that he cannot have his cake
and eat it too and by encouraging him to clarify for himself his goals and
what he needs to do to attain these goals.
Another situation in which conflicts occur is when people think that
their needs and desires conflict due to misunderstandings. Note that the
needs and desires are not in actual conflict, so that removal of the
misunderstanding removes the conflict. Misunderstandings can be removed by
communication. The communication needs to be continuous, frank, and two-way.
Both sides need to listen to one another without prejudice so that resonance
can occur and produce sympathy and understanding between the parties. Each party needs to be able to see the other party's point of view. People need
to learn to see the thought behind the words used to express the thought, so
that two people with the same thought do not continue to argue over words.
Many people are in conflict, not because there is any current
overlapping of needs or desires, but because there was some past
overlapping, and they hold on to the memory of the past. Such conflicts
would readily disappear and cease to plague people if they would just let go
of their memories of wrong and forgive their debtors. Some people do not
want to forgive their debtors because they feel that justice has not been
carried out. Man, however, is a poor judge of justice, because, although he
may have seen certain incidents, he is not able to see the complete picture
with all the various debits and credits involved (some of which may have
occurred in previous lifetimes on Earth.) Thus, man might better leave
justice to the hands of God. Saint Paul wrote in his letter to the Romans
(12:19), "Never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God; for it
is written, `Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.'"
Conflicts, if they are to be resolved, must be approached with the right
attitude. It is important to realize that people can disagree and still be
friends. Disagreements should be kept at the intellectual level and not
allowed to degenerate into emotional attacks of one person on another.
Calling names never settled a disagreement. But it may be possible to settle
a disagreement if each side calmly tells the other side its reasons for its
beliefs. If one side sees what they consider to be an error in the reasoning
of the other side, they may gently point out what they think is wrong and
why. If the other side accepts the correction, then they can modify their
opinion. If they see an error in the first side's reasoning, they can gently
give a rebuttal. During such a discussion it is highly important that both sides listen to what the other side is saying, remain open to new ideas, and
remain flexible and capable of changing if some opinion is shown to be unsupportable.
Also, when trying to resolve conflicts, people should try to view the
overall situation and try to determine what will be best for everyone
involved, not just look at how they can gain the greatest advantage for
themselves. Principles of justice should be applied uniformly to all
involved, not just to some and not to others. The human rights of all should be respected.
Lastly, conflicts should be approached with the attitude that they can
be resolved. Nothing can be accomplished when people have lost hope. People can do what they think they can do.
References
— Nye, Robert D. Conflict Among Humans. New York: Springer Publishing Co., 1973
— Powell, John. Why Am I Afraid to Tell You Who I Am?. Allen, Texas: Argus Communications, 1969.
— Tolstoy, Leo N. Tolstoy's Tales of Courage and Conflict. Garden City, New York: Hanover House, 1958 (Neglect a Fire and It Spreads, pp. 311-22)
II. Aquarian Methods
of Teaching
The true purpose of education is to draw out inherent faculties, rather than only to drive in ideas from without.
— Geoffrey Hodson
In the Piscean Age, people within a given society were generally of similar background and beliefs, and children were taught and expected to
believe what everyone else in the society believed. In the Aquarian Age,
however, children will be exposed to a barrage of varying beliefs on
television, on radio, through movies, and through travel. Consequently,
Aquarian children are likely to question the validity of any given set of
beliefs, because they know that other people hold other beliefs. Aquarian
children will resist any attempt to impose upon them a given set of beliefs.
In the Piscean Age, the amount of known knowledge was relatively small.
The known knowledge was written in books, and children were then supposed to
learn it. The Aquarian Age is an age of research, and as research proceeds,
the body of knowledge grows. In time the body of knowledge becomes so great
that even in one field it is impossible for one person to know everything.
Then the aim of education can no longer be to teach young people everything
that is known. Nor is it possible to know, from among the many facts
available, which child will need which facts in the future.
In the Piscean Age, many jobs required people to perform repetitive,
predetermined tasks. To prepare young people for the job market, teachers
taught them to remember what they were told and to follow directions. With
the coming of the Aquarian Age, most repetitive, predetermined tasks are
being taken over by machines (tape recorders, cameras, manufacturing
machines, computers, and robots). Thus, the young person who has learned
only to do what he has been told to do will not find it easy to get a job.
In the Piscean Age, conditions were relatively static. Customs,
traditions, and ways of dealing with human problems were about the same from generation to generation. Thus, children were taught the customs,
traditions, and ways of dealing with human problems, and what they learned
in childhood served them well in their adult life. For each situation that
they might encounter in life they had been given a solution. In the Aquarian
Age, life is no longer this simple. People from faraway places bring in new
ways of doing things. Social structures changes. New machines are invented
which radically change the way things are produced, the types of jobs
available, and the way life is lived. Change is so rapid and unpredictable
that it becomes quite impossible to know what children will encounter when
they grow up, and thus it is not possible to give ready-made solutions to
life's problems.
If, in the Aquarian Age, it is useless to try to impose a set of beliefs
on young people (because they will not believe you), if it is useless to try
to teach any specific set of facts or procedures (because the actual facts
and procedures needed in life after graduation may be different), and if it
is useless to try to give solutions to life's problems (because the actual
problems encountered later may be different), what then should be done in
the schools?
The children need to be given the opportunity to observe the world. They
will be able to believe what they have seen. They need to be taught to
perform controlled experiments (experiments in which the variables are
controlled so that the effects of varying one factor at a time may be
observed), so that they can determine cause-effect relationships. They need
to be encouraged to ask questions and then to learn to make the observations
or do the research needed to obtain the information to find answers to their
questions. They need to be taught how to analyze data, how to find patterns
in data, and how to draw conclusions from data. They need to be taught
problem-solving techniques so that they will be able to generate for themselves solutions to new problems and new ways of doing things.
In the Piscean classroom, the two main teaching techniques used were
lecturing and recitation. In the Aquarian classroom, lecturing and
recitation will be kept to a minimum. Rather, the teacher will stimulate
individual thinking in the students by asking questions and encouraging all
to participate in the discussion of ideas. When the teacher wants to bring
to the students' attention a particular concept, he will ask a sequence of
questions which will encourage the students to make or recall relevant
observations, and then to think through the steps needed to draw the
conclusion from these observations. This is called Socratic questioning.
In the Piscean school, a major emphasis was placed on copying and
memorizing. In the Aquarian school, the emphasis will shift from memorizing
facts to thinking about ideas. In the Aquarian school, emphasis will shift
from copying others to creating your own.
In the Piscean school, students were all expected to fit into one mold,
or perhaps one of several molds. In the Aquarian school, students will be
allowed to think and act differently from one another, to develop individual
inclinations, and to follow different learning procedures.
In the Piscean school, the teacher was supposed to maintain control over
the students. The teacher would lay down laws and give orders. In the
Aquarian school, the student will begiven more responsibility to direct and
control himself. The children themselves will be allowed to help plan what,
when, and how they will do things.
In the Piscean school, conflicts were "resolved" by force. Teachers made
children obey by beating the children or otherwise punishing them if they
didn't obey. In the Aquarian Age, reason will be used to resolve conflicts. When a conflict arises between teachers and students or between students and
students, the matter will be discussed. Each side will try to understand the
other's point of view, and a solution will be sought which will be
satisfactory to all.
Training in resonance will be an important part of the Aquarian
students' education. The students will be taught to avoid prejudice (which
prevents resonance from occurring). They will be taught astrology (which can
help people to understand other peoples' point of view.) They will study
literature, art, and music (which, to be understood, require resonance].
They will be taught to develop an inner feeling of peace and quiet and a
reverence for all living creatures and for God (which also are needed for
resonance to occur).
III. Aquarian Government
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created
equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable
rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. — Thomas Jefferson
In the Piscean Age, people often were uneducated and uninformed about
the various issues of the day. The governors of the people (whether they
were kings, or some specially chosen nobles) were informed by various
advisors and wise men with whom they surrounded themselves, and it was the
governors' responsibility, then, to guide the people. In the Aquarian Age, however, educational opportunities and information will be available equally
to all. All will have access to libraries, radio, television, and computer
information banks. Through electronic communication devices wise men will
share their thinking with everyone as easily as previously they could share
it with one. Thus, in the Aquarian Age, the government will no longer have a
"corner" on wisdom. There will no longer be any reason to believe that
government is any more capable of making judgments about what is right and
wrong than the people. Thus, the Piscean view that society will become
corrupted unless the government tells the people what is right and wrong
(and makes them do what is right) will gradually be replaced by the Aquarian
view that people themselves have as much ability to make choices and moral
decisions as the government.
In the Aquarian Age, people are supposed to be developing the Light
within and learning to direct their own lives. People can only learn to
govern their own lives if they have the freedom to make choices, if they
experience the effects of their choices, and if they then use their rational
minds to see connections between choices (causes) and effects, so that in
the future they can govern their choices accordingly. Michael Newbrough
writes (in Liberty and Consciousness, p. 63):
Growth cannot come about through repression...So, the sooner we get on
with the adventures (and the mistakes), the sooner we learn what works and
what doesn't work, where happiness and fulfillment lie and where they don't.
We won't really begin to know excellence and virtue until we've confronted
the second rate, the self-destructive and the unworthy. We'll not know
what's 'enough' of some experience, unfortunately, until we've had too much. And inner peace won't seem valuable until we're exhausted from chasing the illusions of the relative,
time-bound, material world-view...Experience is the great teacher.
In the Aquarian Age, government must avoid interference with this
process of development. It must allow people to make free choices as long as
they do not violate the identical rights of others to pursue their paths.
The government must allow people to choose what they will believe, what
their value system will be, what their life-style will be, what they will
say and do, how they will vote, et cetera, as long as the people not
interfere with the free rights of others to make similar choices.
Governments must allow people to experience the effects of their
choices. If people have the feeling that the government will take care of
them whatever they do, then they may cease to feel responsible for keeping
themselves out of trouble or for providing for their own needs.
If the government does not try to exercise control over people and does
not try to make decisions for people or shield people form the effects of
their decisions, then what will the government do? Government may act as a
centralized organization for helping people exchange information, for
helping the various parts of the society better communicate with one
another, and for helping facilitate the making of collective decisions or
agreements.
In the Aquarian Age, people who hold similar values may unite in small,
loosely structured groups and thence give one another mutual support, enrich
one another, and cooperate and share with one another. Such small groups may
be self-generating, self-organizing, and (when desired) self-destructing.
Membership in such groups generally will be open to all who are interested.
Leadership in the groups may pass from person to person, depending on the needs of the moment. A group may change its activities over time as the
needs and interests of its members fluctuate. Coalitions of groups may form
networks, but even with the coalitions the individual segments of the
networks remain self-sufficient. (See Marilyn Ferguson, The Aquarian Conspiracy, pp. 213-21.)
References
— Ferguson, Marilyn. The Aquarian Conspiracy. Los Angeles, California: J.P. Tarcher, Inc., 1980
— Newbrough, Michael. Liberty and Consciousness. San Marcos, California: Palomar College, 1984
IV. Aquarian Age Politics
The man who has not anything to boast of but his illustrious ancestors
is like a potato — the only good belonging to him is underground. — Sir Thomas Overbury
In the Piscean Age, countries are ruled under the dictatorship of kings.
In the Aquarian Age, countries are led democratically by presidents. The
way in which someone becomes a king is significantly different from the way
in which a person becomes a president. Some people become king by divine
direction. Anyone who is reputed to be God's anointed representative is
given leadership in the Piscean Age. In the Piscean Age, some people become
king by birth. If the law states that the eldest son of the current king
will be the future king, then the Ego born into this position takes on the job of ruler (unless someone overcomes him by force). In the Piscean Age,
some people become king by means of material wealth. If someone has great
wealth he may be able to buy the allegiance of the people and to hire an
army to protect his position. In the Piscean Age, some people become king by
means of physical strength and courage. The boldest warrior may become
commander of the troops of soldiers and thence of the country. In the
Aquarian Age, the person who is to rise to the position of president uses
his intellect to recognize what the country needs to do, and then
intellectually persuades the people that he can lead the country to
accomplish those things, and then the people vote him into office.
In the Piscean Age, the responsibility of the masses of people is to be
good followers. Regardless of who they are following, as long as they all
follow the one leader, peace within the country is maintained. In the
Aquarian Age, the responsibility of the people is to be informed and to vote
wisely. The Aquarian citizen must avoid being swayed by bribes, falsehoods,
high-sounding names, military valor, by what he thinks others will vote for,
or by social pressures. He must independently exercise his own reasoning
powers.
The Piscean leader was set on a pedestal, above the masses of people,
and was reverenced and admired. The people were not expected to comprehend
what he saw from his lofty point of view or what he did. The Aquarian leader
is not supposed to be on a pedestal above the masses, and the people are
supposed to be able to understand what he does and why he does it, and the
people need to be kept informed about all his actions. The people are free
to criticize the Aquarian leader and he should listen to their criticism and
respond to it by either explaining to the satisfaction of the people why he
does things as he does or by changing his ways. Christ set the example when he told his disciples, "No longer do I call you slaves, for the slave does
not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all
that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you." (John 15:15)
Supplemental Reading
Material Reference: The Aquarian Age,
Elsa M. Glover, PhD
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