taijasi
Gnōthi seauton
Yes, and no, Bandit, in that order.Bandit said:
I do believe ... that Reincarnation is a subset of the 2nd Great Law governing all of Cosmos. My understanding and belief, is that every being in Cosmos is subject to this Great Law, although its various sub-laws are increasingly transcended, as we gain experience. This, however, is the Law of Love, and therefore our effort is to learn more and cooperate with this Law governing our existence, and not to fight it. It's lowest expressions, or the ones which keep ultimate order down here on planet Earth (and all planets in outward expression) ... includes Cause & Effect - As ye sow, so shall ye reap; As ye mete it out, so shall it be meted out unto you - or Karma, in the East, with the twin Doctrine of Rebirth, or the method by which all souls are destined to attain, and are called toward perfection.
As such, I do not believe that any Entity, whom & which is manifest in Cosmos, is "free" of that Law of Love, in an ultimate sense, but one does accomplish, on higher & higher turns of the spiral, always answering more fully and with greater success, to the outstretched arm of Deity. Thus, relative to Earth, and eventually to any planet in outward, physical expression, we do stop incarnating. The relative number of lives may depend per entity, varying certainly for those of other evolutions - or Humanities of other planets - but even here on Earth it can vary. Many, many souls (3/5ths) are presumed to have begun their evolution as Humans only some ~18 million years ago, on this planet. Even during that time, not every cycle, phase, or period of evolution would have been productive, or conducive for a given soul to incarnate, therefore, at most, perhaps a few thousands, or at best tens of thousands of lives, might have been lived. The actual number, is almost irrelevant. We may consider 99% of them as sealed to us, for all intents & purposes. To recover them, whether through PLR, or other means, may be considered as a great misfortune.
Why? Because they represent our evolution as "animal-men," and would only be revolting to us now - not helpul in any way! The Soul is concerned only with the most recent cycle of lives, often in a series of 7, and also with preparations for its next incarnation or two. And clearly, its immediate focus, in outward terms, is the present incarnation, although esotericists try to bear in mind that relatively speaking, the "portion" or the Soul's awareness (which is misleading, since the nature of Soul consciousness is itself wholistic & Unifying) ... the "portion" which is directed on the outward personality, might be considered 1% - of it's true and total awareness. The Soul is itself understood to be undergoing a different evolution entirely, on one of those higher turns of the spiral - still technically subject to "incarnation" or Rebirth. The nature of its incarnation, however, though the embodiment of Sacrifice and Love, from our perspective ... is such that for the Soul, there is no suffering as we know it, nor separateness, nor anger, hate, confusion, delusion, or any of the woes we know of in the "three lower worlds" of mortal existence. The Soul has long ago attained, via human incarnation on long-past planets (in some cases in prior Solar cycles) ... to Immortality, and is relatively Perfect, from our point of view. It is already what esotericists call a Master, and thus it is said, truly, that the Soul and the Master are one.
And that is why it is also spoken of as the "Christ principle," or the Christ within. Its goal, which is much more inclusive than simply assisting us, which is not even required of it, but is only a willing sacrifice, is to attain yet a higher form of freedom, by compliance with Spiritual Will - and when we have attained to a certain great expansion of consciousness (the one to which Jesus attained, and St. Paul after him, at the "Conversion") - upon that attainment, the Soul is said to "leave us," and assume the Higher Way of evolution. It leaves the planetary realm altogether, never to return. Even for those who sacrifice and stay, the Masters of esoteric teachings, Earth Service is not permanent. It is but a willing sacrifice, the trading of one's earned Nirvana - the most blissful "heaven" we could conceive - for ... sighhh. For endless toil, until enough of Humanity are able to assume the ranks of Co-Stewardship of the planet.
The Buddha, for example, has all but left connection with the Earth, and exoterically He is said to have taken his Maha-Para-Nirvana (beyond the Great - Nirvana). But esoterically, He is said to return each year at the Wesak Festival, as He has done for hundreds of years, to give His Blessing to the Christ and Assembled Host. The entire 8-minute ceremony is so potent and the Blessing is so great, that this is all that the assembly can withstand of His tremendous force - and it remains with us for an entire year, being carefully distributed to those who are receptive ... and stepped down accordingly. But this will not go on forever, and will soon cease, the moment Christ's Reappearance is an established fact.
And so, too, our cycle of lives is said to end, as early as the arhat stage (Jesus, St. Paul, countless others), if we so choose. But that is not our goal. Nor is full Buddhahood, although that might be required in a distant cycle. Eventually, all are destined for that. Our goal on this planet, is said to be somewhere in between, and technically the last 2 or 3 lives that are required to reach that Liberation/Salvation - are voluntary. But if we think of them as the proverbial icing on the cake, why would we even imagine not completing the cycle??? Short answer - because already, as an arhat, one has attained to the Nirvanic bliss - and that Peace which Passeth Understanding, as a permanent state. Not every Soul is prepared, or at that moment, capable, of withstanding the call to enter into Bliss. And to enter it is fine, since the Soul a such - is able to move on, and continue its Higher evolution, while we enter Nirvana ... and emerge only later, in order to complete the cycle. The choice made by our Souls was to do so not by direct incarnation, as it were, but by "loaning us" a portion of themselves - by directly providing their "Christ Principle" to us, until our own Christ Princple could be awakened & developed ... which is our immediate attention. This is beyond intellect, although Higher Mind is where the Soul focuses, since it is by this means that we approach the Divine.
The simplest answer to your question ... is a symbolic teaching presented 150 years or so ago. It was said that we have a total of 777 symbolic incarnations - not literal. Of these, the first 700 might be thought of as outwardly focused, and deal mostly with physical evolution, and survival. This can be considered the Hall of Ignorance. For the next 70 lives, our focus shifts to the level of the emotions, and is still exceedingly self-centered, yet our interests become more cultural & broadened, as we traverse the Hall of Learning. The final Seven lives, which can literally be seven, or perhaps twice that many, are called the Hall of Wisdom, and here the Soul learns Love, and Service. We focus on others, and realize that our existence as a separated individual is the Great Illusion. We focus increasingly on the purpose & nature of our existence, and an entire reorientation towards life begins to take place. At this point, once either chooses or rejects the opportunity to greatly hasten one's spiritual evolution, and if one is capable of making the extreme sacrifices necessary, and living a life of utmost discipline, strictest purity, and selfless service to others, then eventually, esoteric training can begin.
Nevertheless the Goal of our evolution, is considered as one & the same for all souls. It is only a question of when, not whether. And another thing, esoterically there are 60 billion human souls, not 6 billion. Obviously then, only 1/10th are presently in incarnation, although I've read an account of beings from other worlds where the population density was dozens of times greater than it is here. The difference? The were very closely knit within each other's lives, and their Communities - in which everyone lived - were like the most intimate of families. Isolation was unknown to them, and their lives were governed by the utmost in efficiency. Perhaps, one day, that is our future, as well. Not, I trust, in the next few hundred years ...
There's my essay of the day.
You know what they say, ask a simple question ... (get a gosh-awful long answer!). bah. It's just one of the most fascinating - topics, or themes of our existence. Couldn't resist ...cheers,
andrew
