Theosophical Society,
Spirit,
Soul and Ghosts
This contribution is a reply by D Marsland to questions
asked by an enquirer at Cardiff Lodge
Question:-
What is the
difference between Soul, Discarnate Entities and Spirit ?
This is my analysis of
Spirit, Soul and Discarnate Entities. Explanations from other Theosophists may
be different.
Spirit
This is the piece of the
divine in everyone known as the Atma. Pure Spirit is ineffective by itself and
needs a vehicle. This is provided by the Buddhic principle which is The Thesosophical
equivalent of a Soul. Neither of these can act without the other.
The combination of Atma and
Buddhi are termed the Monad which is the individual spiritual entity. These two
elements still need to be reflected in some consciousness and a third element
is added. This is the Manas “mind” principle which is divided into higher and
lower. The combination of
Higher Manas with Atma and Buddhi is known as the Causal Body or
Reincarnating Ego. The Causal Body carries experience from life to life and
evolves with the lives lived. It is also subject to Karma. Eventually the
Causal Body evolves (hopefully) beyond the need to reincarnate and reaches
Nirvana and the states beyond. When this is reached, the individual is really
no longer human. The individual can choose to help mankind without incarnating
(Bodhisattva or Ascended Master) and therefore would become one form of
Discarnate Entity. However, the term discarnate entity is rarely used to denote
highly developed beings.
Discarnate Entities
These are several beings in
this category they generally inhabit the Astral Plane.
A thought form if powerful
enough can take on an identity of its own which can have a beneficial or
malevolent effect. Sometimes these thought forms take the form of elementals
created by sorcerers or magicians. Most Theosophists believe that if anyone
creates a malicious elemental then it will come back on them.
Belief in a Deity can create
it as a thought form
There are also entities on
the Astral Plane which are people who have died and are unable to leave their
earthly life behind (unfinished business). These are said to attach themselves
for their own purposes to vulnerable living people. A sort of
possession.
People strongly unable to
accept that they have died can be trapped in a twilight world between the
physical plane and the Astral.
Sometimes remnants of the
etheric body (body of prana) can linger around a corpse and may be seen as
wraiths in churchyards. Although these may be recognizable as the person who
has died, they are just a shell.
Question:-
What about ghosts ?
Here is my view on ghosts. I
like to make a clear distinction between something caused by an active entity
and something that is an imprint from the past.
Ghosts
The term ghost is usually
used to refer to an apparition or a presence in a building, at a site or in
certain specific circumstances. A ghost in my view is not a discarnate entity
but an imprint left by an event probably involving emotional trauma or
obsession. There is a hypothesis that in the way that an audio tape can absorb
and store a human voice and replay it later, the walls of a building can absorb
human stress and release it given the right conditions.
Ghosts, poltergeists, apparitions
and mysterious presences are likely to be old trauma trapped as energy. You
rarely hear of happy ghosts and the reason why many people are frightened of
ghosts is that they usually represent negativity.
Psychometrists can pick up an
object and tell you its history, so it may be that everything absorbs something
from the energy it comes into contact with but most of us are not sensitive
enough to pick it up. Hauntings are probably a more intense example of
absorbing energy that is strong enough to release to people who are not
normally sensitive enough to pick up subtle energies.
Apparent contacts at séances
are usually a bit different. Theosophists believe that what a medium contacts
is not the actual deceased entity but the imprint that they have left on the
Akashic Record. The Akashic Record is effectively the memory of the space time
continuum where everything that happens leaves an imprint. It is however
possible that a discarnate entity may use a séance as an opportunity to break
through possibly with a bit of unfinished business.
The Ghost of Hamlet’s father
has a clear purpose and is dealing with unfinished business and would be the
discarnate entity of Hamlet’s father using etheric or astral material to
contact the physical plane. Once he gets his message to Hamlet, he isn’t seen
again. I believe that it is very possible for a deceased person with unfinished
business to make contact for a specific purpose with a receptive living person
using some from of apparition. This would be rare or single event and not a
haunting unless the discarnate entity was malevolent and exercised some form of
possession over the person.
Theosophical Society,