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THE IMMORTALITY OF THE SPIRIT |
The immortality of the spirit is mentioned in the Holy Books;
it is the fundamental basis of the divine religions. Now punishments
and rewards are said to be of two kinds. Firstly, the rewards
and punishments of this life; secondly, those of the other
world. But the paradise and hell of existence are found in all the
worlds of God, whether in this world or in the spiritual heavenly
worlds. Gaining these rewards is the gaining of eternal life. That
is why Christ said, “Act in such a way that you may find eternal
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life, and that you may be born of water and the spirit, so that
you may enter into the Kingdom.”
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The rewards of this life are the virtues and perfections which
adorn the reality of man. For example, he was dark and becomes
luminous, he was ignorant and becomes wise, he was neglectful
and becomes vigilant, he was asleep and becomes awakened, he
was dead and becomes living, he was blind and becomes a seer,
he was deaf and becomes a hearer, he was earthly and becomes
heavenly, he was material and becomes spiritual. Through these
rewards he gains spiritual birth, and becomes a new creature. He
becomes the manifestation of the verse in the Gospel where it is
said of the disciples that they were born not of blood, nor of the
will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God; that is to
say, they were delivered from the animal characteristics and qualities
which are the characteristics of human nature, and they became
qualified with the divine characteristics, which are the bounty
of God; this is the meaning of the second birth. For such people
there is no greater torture than being veiled from God, and no
more severe punishment than sensual vices, dark qualities, lowness
of nature, engrossment in carnal desires. When they are delivered
through the light of faith from the darkness of these vices, and
become illuminated with the radiance of the Sun of Reality, and
ennobled with all the virtues, they esteem this the greatest reward,
and they know it to be the true paradise. In the same way
they consider that the spiritual punishment, that is to say the
torture and punishment of existence, is to be subjected to the
world of nature, to be veiled from God, to be brutal and ignorant,
to fall into carnal lusts, to be absorbed in animal frailties; to be
characterized with dark qualities, such as falsehood, tyranny,
cruelty, attachment to the affairs of the world, and being immersed
in satanic ideas; for them, these are the greatest punishments and
tortures.
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Likewise the rewards of the other world are the eternal life
which is clearly mentioned in all the Holy Books, the divine perfections,
the eternal bounties, and everlasting felicity. The rewards
of the other world are the perfections and the peace obtained
in the spiritual worlds after leaving this world; whilst the rewards
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of this life are the real luminous perfections which are realized in
this world, and which are the cause of eternal life, for they are
the very progress of existence. It is like the man who passes from
the embryonic world to the state of maturity, and becomes the
manifestation of these words: “Blessed be God, the best of creators.”
The rewards of the other world are peace, the spiritual
graces, the various spiritual gifts in the Kingdom of God, the
gaining of the desires of the heart and the soul, and the meeting
of God in the world of eternity. In the same way the punishments
of the other world, that is to say, the torments of the other world,
consist in being deprived of the special divine blessings and the
absolute bounties, and falling into the lowest degrees of existence.
He who is deprived of these divine favors, although he continues
after death, is considered as dead by the people of truth.
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The logical proof of the immortality of the spirit is this, that
no sign can come from a non-existing thing; that is to say, it is
impossible that from absolute non-existence signs should appear,
for the signs are the consequence of an existence, and the consequence
depends upon the existence of the principle. So, from
a non-existing sun no light can radiate, from a non-existing sea
no waves appear, from a non-existing cloud no rain falls; a non-existing
tree yields no fruit; a non-existing man neither manifests
nor produces anything. Therefore as long as signs of existence
appear, they are a proof that the possessor of the sign is existent.
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Consider that today the Kingdom of Christ exists: from a non-existing
king how could such a great kingdom be manifested?
How, from a non-existing sea, can the waves mount so high?
From a non-existing garden, how can such fragrant breezes be
wafted? Reflect that no effect, no trace, no influence remains of
any being after its members are dispersed and its elements are
decomposed, whether it be a mineral, a vegetable, or an animal.
There is only the human reality and the spirit of man which, after
the disintegration of the members, dispersing of the particles, and
the destruction of the composition, persists, and continues to act
and to have power.
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This question is extremely subtle: consider it attentively. This
is a rational proof which we are giving, so that the wise may
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weigh it in the balance of reason and justice. But if the human
spirit will rejoice and be attracted to the Kingdom of God, if the
inner sight becomes opened, and the spiritual hearing strengthened,
and the spiritual feelings predominant, he will see the immortality
of the spirit as clearly as he sees the sun, and the glad
tidings and signs of God will encompass him.
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Know that the power and the comprehension of the human
spirit are of two kinds: that is to say, they perceive and act in
two different modes. One way is through instruments and organs:
thus with this eye it sees, with this ear it hears, with this tongue
it talks. Such is the action of the spirit, and the perception of the
reality of man, by means of organs. That is to say, that the spirit
is the seer, through the eyes; the spirit is the hearer, through
the ear; the spirit is the speaker, through the tongue.
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The other manifestation of the powers and actions of the spirit
is without instruments and organs. For example, in the state of
sleep without eyes it sees, without an ear it hears, without a tongue
it speaks, without feet it runs. Briefly, these actions are beyond
the means of instruments and organs. How often it happens that
it sees a dream in the world of sleep, and its signification becomes
apparent two years afterwards in corresponding events. In the
same way, how many times it happens that a question which one
cannot solve in the world of wakefulness, is solved in the world
of dreams. In wakefulness the eye sees only for a short distance,
but in dreams he who is in the East sees the West: awake he sees
the present, in sleep he sees the future. In wakefulness, by means
of rapid transit, at the most he can travel only twenty farsakha
an hour; in sleep, in the twinkling of an eye, he traverses the East
and West. For the spirit travels in two different ways: without
means, which is spiritual traveling; and with means, which is
material traveling: as birds which fly, and those which are carried.
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In the time of sleep this body is as though dead; it does not
see nor hear, it does not feel, it has no consciousness, no perception:
that is to say, the powers of man have become inactive,
but the spirit lives and subsists. Nay, its penetration is increased,
its flight is higher, and its intelligence is greater. To consider
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that after the death of the body the spirit perishes, is like imagining
that a bird in a cage will be destroyed if the cage is broken,
though the bird has nothing to fear from the destruction of the
cage. Our body is like the cage, and the spirit is like the bird. We
see that without the cage this bird flies in the world of sleep; therefore
if the cage becomes broken, the bird will continue and exist:
its feelings will be even more powerful, its perceptions greater,
and its happiness increased. In truth, from hell it reaches a paradise
of delights, because for the thankful birds there is no paradise
greater than freedom from the cage. That is why with utmost joy
and happiness the martyrs hasten to the plain of sacrifice.
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In wakefulness the eye of man sees at the utmost as far as one
hour of distance, because through the instrumentality of the body
the power of the spirit is thus determined; but with the inner
sight and the mental eye it sees America, and it can perceive that
which is there, and discover the conditions of things and organize
affairs. If, then, the spirit were the same as the body, it would be
necessary that the power of the inner sight should also be in the same
proportion. Therefore it is evident that this spirit is different from
the body, and that the bird is different from the cage, and that the
power and penetration of the spirit is stronger without the intermediary
of the body. Now, if the instrument is abandoned, the
possessor of the instrument continues to act. For example, if the
pen is abandoned or broken, the writer remains living and present;
if a house is ruined, the owner is alive and existing. This is one of
the logical evidences for the immortality of the soul.
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There is another: this body becomes weak, or heavy, or sick, or
it finds health; it becomes tired or rested; sometimes the hand or
leg is amputated, or its physical power is crippled; it becomes
blind or deaf or dumb; its limbs may become paralyzed; briefly,
the body may have all the imperfections. Nevertheless, the spirit
in its original state, in its own spiritual perception, will be eternal
and perpetual; it neither finds any imperfection nor will it become
crippled. But when the body is wholly subjected to disease
and misfortune, it is deprived of the bounty of the spirit; like
a mirror which, when it becomes broken, or dirty, or dusty, cannot
reflect the rays of the sun, nor any longer show its bounties.
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We have already explained that the spirit of man is not in the
body, because it is freed and sanctified from entrance and exit,
which are bodily conditions. The connection of the spirit with
the body is like that of the sun with the mirror. Briefly, the
human spirit is in one condition; it neither becomes ill from the
diseases of the body, nor cured by its health; it does not become
sick, nor weak, nor miserable, nor poor, nor light, nor small. That
is to say, it will not be injured because of the infirmities of the
body, and no effect will be visible even if the body becomes weak
or if the hands and feet and tongue be cut off, or if it loses the
power of hearing or sight. Therefore it is evident and certain
that the spirit is different from the body, and that its duration
is independent of that of the body; on the contrary, the spirit
with the utmost greatness rules in the world of the body, and its
power and influence, like the bounty of the sun in the mirror,
are apparent and visible. But when the mirror becomes dusty
or breaks, it will cease to reflect the rays of the sun.
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