We will now examine the concept of reincarnation, which involves the soul’s expression of a personality as an “investment” made by the soul.
The analogy of “investment” is not simply a figure of speech but rather has a concrete and material aspect to it. When the soul, in its causal envelope, incorporates a mental and an emotional envelope in its process of building out its vehicles of incarnation, the process includes the actual intertwining of a portion of the matter of its causal envelope with the matter of those lower emotional and mental bodies. Therefore, this act of “putting down” a portion of oneself is closely analogous to making an investment. This investment is referred to as the lower causal envelope and is the encasing envelope that makes up the 1st-Self.
Like all investments, individuals hope to receive more than they initially invest. However, there is always a risk of potential disappointment or loss. In rare and extreme cases, there may even be a total loss, leaving the individual without available capital to recycle, although not necessarily bankrupt.
Expanding on this analogy, we should remember that the causal envelope is comprised of matter from the first, second, and third sub-planes of the mental plane. The majority of it belongs to the first sub-plane, with a smaller portion belonging to the second sub-plane and an even smaller portion belonging to the third.
The vast majority of humanity is primarily engaged in the lowest type of activity, and even that is usually only partial. Only some of the lowest types of causal matter can be attributed to lower levels, and only a tiny fraction of that part can be entangled with mental and emotional matter. As a result, only a very small portion of the soul is active in relation to the personality. We have set this figure in our previous examples as five per cent, but that number is not written in tablets of stone.
In the case of younger souls, probably not more than one-hundredth part of the matter of the third sub-plane is active. Among esoteric students, a little of the second sub-plane matter (47:2) is generally active as well. More advanced students have a great deal of that sub-plane in activity, and in the stage below that of an Arhat (46-Self), about one-half of the soul is active.
The soul, still half asleep, has very weak control over what it expresses. As the physical body and the emotional and mental aspects develop, the deep-seated energy within them becomes active due to their strong vibrations. This energy gives life, strength, and a sense of individuality to these aspects, which in turn strongly influence it and awaken it to a sharp awareness of life. This sharp awareness of life is exactly what it needs and is the very purpose for which it is expressed. The longing for this sharp awareness is called trishna, which we have discussed in a previous presentation.
Only a small fraction of the soul is fully aware of its spiritual nature. This awakened part of the soul may sometimes become so intensified that it mistakenly thinks it is the entirety of the soul and loses its connection to its higher spiritual source. This fraction may also identify with the physical world and resist influence from the other, less awakened parts of the soul that act as a link to the higher spiritual plane.
This diagram depicts the awakened soul as a chalice in shape. The awakened portion is divided into three parts: [a], [b], and [c]. [a] is a small part of the soul that remains on its own plane. [b] is a small part of [a] and serves as a link between [a] and [c], as it is put down but not entangled with lower planes. [c] is a small part of [b] and is thoroughly entangled with the matter of the lower planes.
[a] can be visualised as the person’s outer boundary; [b] representing their extended arm; [c] symbolising the hand that grasps or even the fingertips immersed in matter.
We have here a very delicately balanced arrangement that may be affected in various ways. The intention is for the hand (c) to grasp firmly and guide the matter with which it is entangled, being fully directed all the time by the envelope (a) through the arm (b). Under favourable circumstances, additional strength, and even additional matter, may be transferred from the envelope (a) through the arm (b) into the hand (c) so that the control may become more and more perfect.
The hand (c) may grow in size as well as in strength, and the more it does so, the better, as long as the communication through the arm (b) is kept open freely and the envelope (a) retains control. The entanglement of the causal matter, which constitutes the hand (c), awakens it to a keen activity and an accuracy of response to delicate shades of vibration, which it could gain in no other way. When this is transmitted through the arm (b) to the envelope (a), it means the development of the soul itself. And to think the Knights of the Roundtable were looking for an actual cup!
Unfortunately, events do not always follow the ideal plan outlined. When control of the mind is weak, it sometimes happens that the individual becomes so immersed in lower matters that they actually identify themselves with that lower level, forget their true nature, and think of themselves as the entire soul. This is the curse of materiality and the strong attraction that drew the three elemental kingdoms downwards into matter in the first place. The Zoroastrians call this force Ahriman and represent him as an irresistible force drawing humanity into matter and trapping us here.
If the individual is primarily focused on the lower mental plane, then they may be completely materialistic. While they may be intellectually sharp, they are not spiritual and may even be intolerant of spirituality, unable to understand or value it. This person might consider themselves practical, matter-of-fact, and unsentimental, but in reality, they are as hard as a rock. Because of this hardness, their life, from a spiritual perspective, is a failure, and they are not making any spiritual progress. Such people may be a Nobel Prize-winning scientists, but they are not as smart as they think they are!
On the other hand, if the individual is excessively entangled in emotions, they will be primarily concerned with their own gratification. They will be ruthless in pursuit of their desires, being unprincipled, and selfish. Such a person lives in their passions, much like the individual entangled in mental matter lives in their mind. While these individuals have been referred to as “lost souls,” they are not entirely beyond redemption. Remember, the monad is immortal, and the Law of Development never lets up, so no matter how hard we resist, in the words of the song, “the only way is up”.
H.P. Blavatsky says of such individuals: “However, there is still hope for a person who has lost their Higher Soul due to vices while still in the physical body. They may be redeemed and guided to turn away from their material nature. Either intense feelings of repentance, a single earnest appeal to the departed Soul, or, best of all, an active effort to amend one’s ways may bring the Higher Soul back. The connection is not completely severed.”
Revisiting the analogy of investment, we observe that the soul anticipates not only retrieving the hand [c] but also expects improvement in both quality and quantity. The quality of the hand should improve as it becomes more alert and capable of instantly and accurately responding to a wider range of vibrations. Upon reabsorption, this enhanced capacity of the hand [c] naturally extends to the envelope [a]. However, it is important to note that the energy that created a powerful wave in the hand (c) will only produce a ripple when dispersed throughout the entire substance of the envelope [a]. This is why you need several incarnations to really perfect a talent.
It’s important to remember that vehicles can respond to and express negative thoughts and emotions. Their excitement can cause disturbance in the interconnected causal matter [c]. It’s impossible for [c] to reproduce those vibrations itself or communicate them to the arm[b] or the envelope [a]. This is because the matter of the three higher mental levels can’t vibrate at the rate of the lowest plane, similar to how a violin string tuned to a certain pitch can’t produce a note lower than that pitch. Additionally, the hand[c] should be strengthened because the causal envelope, like all other vehicles, constantly changes its matter. When a specific part of it is exercised, that part grows in size and becomes stronger, just like a physical muscle does when it is used repeatedly.
This analogy will be developed further in the following two presentations when we look at what can go wrong in this whole process and the consequences that follow from those mistakes.