How Great Thou Art: interfaith reflections: Spiritual Progress


	"How Great Thou Art" Reflections and Readings Rebirth [ Rebirth - Theosophy ] [ Rebirth - Heavenly City ]


	Rebirth Theosophy (The Blavatsky Trust) In the study of the constitution of man according to Occultism, two aspects of his inner nature are recognized, one mortal the psyche or soul, and the other immortal the spiritual essence. (In everyday parlance, and in much religious usage, the words "soul" and "spirit" are used loosely and often interchangeably. Particular attention must be paid to the precise meaning attached to them in the present study.) The spiritual essence in man, a persistent entity, attaches itself periodically to a succession of personalities which it projects into the objective world. In so doing, it obeys the universal cyclic law that operates throughout Nature. The temporary personality comprises a complex mortal non-physical component, the psyche or soul, housed in a body of flesh. It will be seen that rebirth, or reincarnation, is not a peculiarity of mankind; it is a particular instance of that law of alternation of activity and rest that may be observed in the natural world - the cyclic process of birth, growth, decay and death of the form, and the persistence of the life through successive forms. Source: blavatskytrust.org.uk


	Rebirth Heavenly City - Excerpt from Chapter 13 173 If we do not accept a spiritual life -- in other words, if are not newly born from the Lord -- we cannot go to heaven. The Lord taught this in John: "I tell you the truth: unless you are born a second time, you cannot see God's realm" (John 3:3). 174 We are not born from our parents into a spiritual life, but into a physical life. Spiritual life is loving God more than anything else, and loving other people as much as we love ourselves. We should do this according to the rules of faith that the Lord taught in the Bible. But physically-minded life is loving ourselves and material things more than other people, and even more than God himself. 175 We are all born with the bad traits of selfishness and materialism that we get from our parents. Every bad trait that has become second nature to us through long habit is passed on to our children. So these faults have been passed down from our parents, our grandparents, and our ancestors before them, one after the other, in a long chain stretching backwards. Finally, so many bad traits have been passed down to us that all of our own life is nothing but faults. The only way this continuing chain of bad traits can be broken and changed is by living in faith and kindness from the Lord. ... 181 Our inner self is reborn from the Lord first and our outer self is reborn through it afterwards. This is because our inner self is reborn by thinking things that have to do with faith and kindness but our outer self is reborn by a life in harmony with them. This is what the Lord meant when he said, "Unless you have been born from both water and spirit, you cannot enter God's realm" (John 3:5). In the spiritual meaning, "water" is the truth that goes with faith, and "spirit" is a life in harmony with it. Chapter 13 at: The Heavenly City - A Spiritual Guidebook