We have previously discussed that only good elements are stored in the causal envelope, with evil finding no means of expression in that body. Let’s delve further into this and examine the effects, whether direct or indirect, on the causal envelope as a result of engaging in evil deeds.
In a 1. Young Soul, the growth of the causal envelope is necessarily very slow. As we have discussed, the higher qualities developed on lower planes are gradually incorporated into the causal envelope through the method of exciting sympathetic vibration. However, in the life of an undeveloped person, there will be very few feelings or thoughts from the higher world that can contribute to the growth of the real person. Consequently, the growth is slow since the rest of life does not support it.
However, even the most morally corrupt individuals can typically manifest on the causal plane as a completely undeveloped entity. Their vices, though continued through multiple lifetimes, cannot tarnish the causal envelope. Nevertheless, they can make it increasingly challenging to cultivate corresponding virtues.
In every case, the presence of a negative trait in a person indicates the absence of the corresponding positive trait in their overall character. A person’s soul cannot be inherently evil, but it can be imperfect. The qualities that a soul develops can only be positive, and when these qualities are well-established, they manifest in each of the person’s many lifetimes. As a result, these incarnations can never exhibit traits that are contrary to the positive qualities that are developed.
A positive trait that is lacking in a person can still be considered to exist in the soul, even if it has not yet been activated. Once it is activated, its strong influence will impact the lower aspects of the person, making it impossible for the opposite negative trait to reoccur.
The absence of a specific quality in the soul does not necessarily mean that a definite negative trait will manifest in the person. However, without a positive quality in the person, there is nothing to prevent the growth of the indicated negative trait. Therefore, it is highly likely that the person may develop that negative trait, especially if it is already present in many others around them, given that humans are often influenced by those around them. Importantly, this negative trait belongs only to the lower aspects of the person and not to their true self or soul. While repeated expression of this negative trait in the lower aspects may create a challenging pattern, if the person actively strives to cultivate the opposite positive trait within themselves, the negative trait will be eradicated and cannot persist in this or future lifetimes.
The most effective way to eliminate evil and prevent its return is to fill the void in the soul. By developing good qualities, they will become an integral part of a person’s character throughout their future lives.
While evil cannot be definitively contained in the causal envelope, the act of practising evil may impact the causal envelope. Every increase in vice in the lower aspects of our being, every indulgence in it in the lower realms, tends to diminish the radiance of the corresponding virtues in the causal envelope.
The “I” cannot assimilate anything that is evil because it cannot reach the “I” level of consciousness. The soul is unaware of evil; it knows nothing about it, so it makes no impression. The most significant result of prolonged lives of a low type in the causal envelope is the incapacity to receive the opposite good impression for a considerable period, a sort of numbness or paralysis of the matter of the causal envelope. This is not so much consciousness as unconsciousness – an unconsciousness which resists impressions of the good of the opposite kind. That is the limit of the harm that is done. Therefore, when the life of evil has been prolonged, it will take many more lives to bring out the first response to the good side of activity.
The following observation was made when studying past lives in an attempt to understand how the causal envelope remains undamaged despite experiencing numerous difficult lives. In prolonged cases with an abnormal number of such lives, a numbing effect was observed caused by continuous exposure to negative experiences over a long period of time. As a result, several subsequent lives were needed to restore the normal responsiveness to that part of the causal envelope. It’s important to note that these cases are considered abnormal.
We can further explore the study of the effects of evil. When evil is subtle and persistent, it can take away a part of the individual. If someone continually follows evil, their mental state becomes so entangled with their emotions that after death, they cannot entirely free themselves from it. Some of their essence is torn away, and when their emotional state also dies and breaks down, the part of their mental state that was torn away goes back to the general pool of mental matter and is lost to the individual. In most cases, the harm caused to the causal state does not go any further than this. We will discuss this aspect of our subject in more technical detail in a later presentation.
When the soul becomes strong in intellect and will without increasing in unselfishness and love, it becomes self-centred rather than growing and expanding. It builds a wall of selfishness around itself and uses its powers for its own benefit rather than for others. In such cases, it is possible for the soul to consciously go against the “Good Law” and fight against evolution. The soul’s aura then darkens due to contraction, losing its characteristic radiance. This kind of harm cannot be caused by a poorly developed soul or regular emotional or mental faults. It requires a highly evolved soul with awakened mental energies to cause such significant damage.
It’s for this reason that ambition, pride, and the powers of the intellect, when used for selfish purposes, are far more dangerous and have a more harmful impact than the more obvious faults of our base nature. This means that a “Pharisee” is often further from the “kingdom of God” than a “publican and sinner.” This concept gives rise to the idea of the “black magician” – a person who conquers passion and desire, develops willpower and the higher faculties of the mind, not to contribute to the evolution of the whole but solely to gain everything for themselves as an individual, without sharing. Such individuals endeavour to maintain separation rather than unity and strive to hinder rather than accelerate evolution. They resonate in discord rather than harmony with the larger whole and are at risk of tearing their own soul, which means the loss of all the benefits of evolution.
Hitherto, we have spoken mainly of the effects of evil on a person’s growth: let us now look at the other side of the picture. All those who are beginning to understand something of the causal envelope can make its evolution a definite object in life. They can strive to think, feel and act unselfishly and so contribute to its growth and activity. Life after life, this evolution of the individual proceeds, and in aiding its growth by conscious effort, we are working in harmony with the Divine Will and carrying out the purpose for which we are here. Nothing good that is once woven into the causal envelope can ever be lost or dissipated, so long as that person remains in the Human Kingdom.
Thus, we can observe that according to the law of evolution, everything that is evil, no matter how strong it may appear, contains within itself the seed of its own destruction. On the other hand, everything that is good contains within it the potential for immortality. The underlying principle is that everything that is evil is disharmonious because it goes against the cosmic law. As a result, it is eventually broken apart by that law, shattered against it.
Everything that is good, on the other hand, being in harmony with the law, is embraced by it and propelled forward. It becomes part of the evolution of that force which promotes righteousness and, therefore, can never perish or be destroyed.
We can imagine all of a person’s experiences as passing through a fine sieve or mesh: only the good can pass through, while the evil is left behind and rejected. Within this mechanism lies not only the hope of mankind but also the certainty of its ultimate triumph. Despite slow growth, progress is inevitable; regardless of the length of the journey, there will be an end. The individual, our true Self, is constantly evolving and cannot be completely destroyed. Even though our own mistakes may impede this growth, everything we contribute to it, no matter how small, remains within us forever and is our possession for all the ages ahead.
Even though evil cannot be stored in the causal envelope, it is stored in the lower vehicles to which it belongs. According to the law of justice, every individual must experience the consequences of their actions, whether they are good or bad. However, evil works itself out on the lower planes because its vibrations can only be expressed in the matter of those planes, and it does not have the capacity to affect the causal envelope. Therefore, its impact is confined to its own level, and it directly affects its creator in their emotional and physical life, in this or in future incarnations.
The consequences of evil are stored in the mental unit (47:4), emotional (48:1), and physical (49:1) permanent atoms. As a result, a person has to confront these consequences repeatedly. However, this is quite different from accepting it into the soul and truly internalising it. The thoughts and actions that we choose to act upon have lasting effects on our inner selves. While all thoughts and actions manifest on the outer, temporary level, only positive qualities are preserved within us, contributing to our true selves.
In this way, the person’s casual envelope is built slowly at first and then with ever-increasing rapidity in the later stages. Studying the colours and striations of the causal envelope at each stage of a person’s growth reveals the progress the soul has made since the causal envelope was first formed when the entity emerged from the animal kingdom. It also indicates the exact stage of evolution at which the monad has now arrived.