Theos-Talk Archives (October 1995 Message tl00595)

Rich:

>>This is a different approach from some spiritual paths that teach
>>that our goal is to escape the necessity of physical incarnation,
>>and to seek rebirth on higher planes (globes).

>If I could butt in here for a moment -- some schools of thought
>that teach escape from this plane to other ones:

>Christianity (rebirth in heaven)
>Pure Land in Buddhism (rebirth in the pure land)
>Jainism (escape from the world where killing is necessary)
>Nichiren Buddhism ([seeking rebirth] in the pure land)
>Gnosticism (rebirth in the pleroma)
>Judaism (heaven)
>Islam (heaven)

It can be argued either way. We can say that in the long run we
will find rebirth into higher worlds. We find rebirth into
devachan between lifetimes. In many millions of years, we will
find rebirth on Globe E, on a higher cosmic plane. And in each
Round all the Globes will be on a higher cosmic subplane.

In the short run, though, if we're concerned with our spiritual
evolution, we *are here*. Globe D is the place for our development.
We are told, in Buddhism, for instance, that it is a great
priviledge to find birth in this world and we have a grave
responsbility to take full advance of it. Out of our physical
existence, we are in the earth's sphere of effects, and apart
from that evolution.

The desire to escape physical existence in order to achieve
an experience of the spiritual, I'd say, is misguided. We
are quite capable of direct experience of pure being while
yet alive and in the body. Our obstacle is not the having of
a physical form; the obstacle is the false barriers that we
set up in our inner nature, primarily the action of the mind
or manas as "the great slayer of the Real".

-- Eldon