7rcTIX1xP

The Twelfth Lesson: Occult Miscellany.907
Question iv: “Is Nirvana a state of the total extinction of consciousness;
and is it a place, state or condition?”
Answer: The teaching concerning Nirvana, the final goal of the soul, has
been much misunderstood, and much error has crept into the teaching even
among some very worthy teachers. To conceive of Nirvana as a state of
extinction of consciousness would be to fall into the error of the pessimistic
school of philosophy which thinks of life and consciousness as a curse, and
regards the return into a total unconsciousness as the thing to be most desired.
The true teaching is that Nirvana is a state of the fullest consciousness—a
state in which the soul is relieved of all the illusion of separateness and
relativity, and enters into a state of Universal Consciousness, or Absolute
Awareness, in which it is conscious of Infinity, and Eternity—of all places and
things and time. Nirvana instead of being a state of Nothingness, is a state of
“Everythingness.” As the soul advances along the Path it becomes more and
more aware of its connection with, relation to, and identity with the Whole.
As it grows, the Self enlarges and transcends its former limited bounds. It
begins to realize that it is more than the tiny separated atom that it had
believed itself to be, and it learns to identify itself in a constantly increasing
scale with the Universal Life. It feels a sense of Oneness in a fuller degree,
and it sets its feet firmly upon the Path toward Nirvana. After many weary
lives on this and other planets—in this and other Universes—after it has
long since left behind it the scale of humanity, and has advanced into godlike
states, its consciousness becomes fuller and fuller, and time and space
are transcended in a wonderful manner. And at last the goal is attained—the
battle is won—and the soul blossoms into a state of Universal Consciousness,
in which Time and Place disappear and in which every place is Here; every
period of Time is Now; and everything is “I.” This is Nirvana.
Question v: “What is that which Occultists call ‘an Astral Shell,’ or similar
name? Is it an entity, or force, or being?”
Answer: When the soul passes out from the body at the moment of
death it carries with it the “Astral Body” as well as the higher mental and