Esoteric V10: July 1896 - Iapsop.com

244 wHAT IS KARMA? [December
existence. Admitting thi!!, then succe!lsive generatiuus, in the
language of the Bible, have been growing weaker and wiser,
-weaker physically, wi!ler intellectually and spiritually,-have
been outgrowing the animal state of great phyKical strength
antl force of mu!!cle, :tnd growing into greater !!piritual con­
!lciousness and intellectual ability. If this be true, and if the
object of an earthly existence he the gi'Owth of the soul in all
its higher facultie!l, then our ancestot'!l, who did not attain to
that which we have done, have suffered injustice, and, as souls,
compared to the modern man, they must be mere childt·en.
To meet this objection the OccidentaliKt has invented a
theot·y of growth and development in heaven ; others hold
that the soul is pel'fect, and attempt no explanation of a phy11ical
exi!ltence. Hnwever, those who believe in evolution and
rea!lon from that truth as a basis, or those who simply admit
that a purpose is to be served by an earthly exi11teuce and dt·aw
logical conclusions therefrom, must see that, if all the reqnirt>·
ments of growth aml development are met in the K})it·it wm ld,
there would be no use of an eat·th life.
If, then, a rhy!!it•al existence ill necessary to the de\'t•lnrment
of a son I, the question al'i>~e!l, To what stage of gruwt h
must a soul attain before it ha!! ceased tu need an t.>arthly
hudy? The angel sai.l to ,John: "He that overeom~th shall inhet·it
all things: and l will be his God, and he !!hall be my son.''
Rev. XXI. 7 .• le>4us .is recot·detl to have Raitl, "l have ovet·eome
the worl