Today, we will look at life after death in the fifth heaven. In the previous series, we discussed a person’s experiences after death on the emotional and lower mental planes in their Emotional and Mental Envelopes. We explored the different levels of existence in the afterlife on the mental plane, describing them as the First, Second, Third, and Fourth Heaven worlds. These worlds correspond to the Seventh, Sixth, Fifth, and Fourth Sub-planes, respectively, of the MentalWorld. Now, we will delve into life after death in the causal envelope, focusing on the three higher levels of the mental plane. It’s important to note the distinction between the lower or rupa (form) and the higher or arupa (formless) divisions of the mental plane. The differences between these two realms are so significant that they require different vehicles of consciousness for functioning within them.
In the series “The Mental Envelope,” the general rationale and purpose of life in Devachan have already been explained and do not need to be repeated here. It was also described in that series why devachan is a necessity for the great majority of people. However, in certain exceptional cases, we saw that a person sufficiently advanced, with the permission of a very high authority, may “renounce devachan” and take a series of rapid incarnations without any appreciable intervals between them.
In the lower mental plane, matter dominates: it is the first thing that catches the eye, and consciousness struggles to shine through the forms. However, on the higher planes, life is the most prominent thing, and forms exist only to serve its purposes. The challenge on the lower planes is to express life in the forms, while on the higher planes, it is the opposite – to contain and give form to the abundance of life. Only above the dividing line between the lower and higher mental planes does the light of consciousness remain unaffected, shining with its own power. A spiritual fire serves as a fitting symbol for consciousness at these levels, as opposed to the lower planes where the symbol of fire burning fuel is more appropriate.
In the arupa levels, matter is subordinated to life, constantly changing. An entity’s form changes with every thought, with matter serving as a mere instrument of life and not an expression of the entity itself. The form is transient, altering with every change in the entity’s life. This applies not only to the arupa levels but also at the lower mental levels and the subtle manner of the plane Buddhi (46) and similarly to the spiritual soul in Atma (45).
The heavenly life on the lower mental plane, as glorious as it may be, eventually comes to an end. The mental envelope, like the other bodies before it, eventually drops away, and the individual’s life in their causal envelope begins. Throughout the heavenly life, the personality of their last physical life is distinctly preserved. It is only when the consciousness is finally withdrawn into the causal envelope that this feeling of personality merges with individuality. At this point, the individual, for the first time since their descent into incarnation, realises themselves as the true and comparatively permanent soul.
In the causal realm, the person requires no “windows” – which, as the student may recall, were created by its own thoughts in the lower heavens. In the causal plane, the person’s true home, all barriers have dissolved.
The majority of people are not very conscious at this level; they are mostly unobservant and barely awake. However, the little awareness they have is accurate, although it is limited due to a lack of development. The higher spiritual life has a limited influence on the average person’s life because their soul is not developed enough to be fully awake in the spiritual realm. Some souls never consciously experience the spiritual realm, while others only have a slight connection to it.
But in the case of a spiritually developed person, their life, as a soul in their own world, is glorious and thoroughly satisfying. By the way, for the majority of humanity incarnate today, that number is vanishingly small. Remember, however, that only 20 billion of the potential 60 billion monads associated with the Earth Scheme are currently incarnating regularly. The reason they are not is because they would find nothing to interest them in their spiritual development, considering the materialistic and hostile environment we choose to inhabit today. So they are waiting for better days and greener pastures. Many of these monads are enjoying life in the Causal World, so for them, all is well with the World as long as they are up there and not down here with us. When we either evolve or blow ourselves up, they will start to reincarnate again to finish their passage through the 4th kingdom of Nature.
Regardless, every human being, consciously or unconsciously, must reach higher levels of the mental plane before reincarnation occurs. As people evolve, their connection with this plane becomes more distinct and meaningful. Their awareness increases as they progress, and the time spent in that realm of reality becomes longer as their consciousness slowly rises through the various planes of the system.
The time spent in the higher mental world may vary according to the stage of development. For an ordinary, undeveloped person, it may be just two or three days of unconsciousness. However, exceptionally advanced individuals may experience a long period of years of conscious and glorious life.
The amount of time spent in the heavenly realms between reincarnations depends on three main factors: (1) the type of soul, (2) how they became individualised, and (3) the length and nature of their most recent life. This topic has been covered in detail in previous presentations of The Mental Envelope, so there’s no need to repeat what was already discussed.
Even when we fully realise how small a part of each life cycle is spent on the physical plane, to reasonably estimate its true proportion to the whole, we must thoroughly bear in mind the far greater reality of life in the higher worlds. This point cannot be emphasised too strongly, as the vast majority of people are still entirely under the dominion of their physical senses, making the unrealities of the lower world seem like the only reality to them. The closer anything approaches actual reality, the more unreal and incomprehensible it appears to them.
The emotional world has often been referred to as the world of illusion, but it is actually a step closer to reality. While emotional perception is not as clear or comprehensive as the perception on the physical plane, it is sharper and more reliable than physical senses. Similarly, mental perception is to emotional perception as emotional perception is to physical perception, only to a greater extent. Time spent on these higher planes is much longer than our physical life, and every moment of it has the potential to be much more productive than an equivalent amount of time on the physical plane. Time on these higher planes is experienced differently. Still, there is an absolute clock ticking with regards to the Earth’s own evolution, so when, where and how you choose to pop down to planet Earth is up to you and your guardian angels, but the Earth you are incarnating into has a timeline you must accommodate. If you choose to ignore the relentless march of time, you have to wait until a new suitable playground is opened for you to frolic in.
As evolution progresses, the principle governing life after death is that life on the lower levels, both emotional and mental planes, gradually shortens. In contrast, the higher life becomes steadily longer and fuller. Eventually, the time arrives when consciousness is unified, i.e., when the higher and lower selves are indissolubly united, and the individual is no longer capable of wrapping themselves up in their own cloud of thoughts and mistaking the limited view they have for the entirety of the great heaven-world around them. It is at this point that they realise the possibilities of their life and truly begin to live for the first time. By the time they attain these heights, they will have already entered upon the Path and taken their future progress definitively into their own hands.
After the consciousness has shifted from the lower aspects of being and is centred in the soul, the true impact of the just-concluded incarnation becomes clear. It is at this point that we can see the new qualities acquired during this particular phase of evolution. Additionally, there is a moment when the soul gains a clearer understanding of the life just lived and a glimpse of what will follow in the next birth.
The glimpse into the next incarnation may not provide specific knowledge of the nature of the next life, but it can give a general sense of the main objectives and progress intended to be made. The vision is valuable as a lesson in understanding the karmic results of past actions. It provides an opportunity for personal growth, which may be utilised to varying degrees depending on an individual’s stage of development.
Initially, the individual only makes a little use of their consciousness since they are barely aware and struggle to comprehend facts and their connections. However, over time, their ability to understand what they observe improves. Eventually, they gain the capacity to recall past experiences and compare them, allowing them to assess their progress. Additionally, they devote time to planning for the life ahead. Their consciousness continues to expand, enabling them to have a substantial existence on the higher mental planes each time they access them.
In the following presentations, we will examine each subplane of the Causal Envelope in greater detail.