"All souls incarnate and
reincarnate under the Law of Rebirth. Hence each life is not only
a recapitulation of life experience, but an assuming of ancient
obligations, a recovery of old relations, an opportunity for the
paying of old indebtedness, a chance to make restitution and progress,
an awakening of deep-seated qualities, the recognition of old
friends and enemies, the solution of revolting injustices, and
the explanation of that which conditions the man and makes him
what he is. Such is the law which is crying now for universal
recognition, and which, when understood by thinking people, will
do much to solve the problems of sex and marriage.
Why will this be so? Because when
this law is admitted as a governing intellectual principle, all
men will tread more carefully the path of life, and will proceed
with greater caution to fulfil their family and group obligations.
They will know full well that 'whatsoever a man soweth, that will
he also reap', and that he will reap it here and now, not in some
mystical and mythical heaven or hell; he will have to make his
adjustments in the life of everyday upon earth, which provides
an adequate heaven and a more than adequate hell. The spreading
of this doctrine of rebirth, its scientific recognition and proving,
is fast going forward." (Esoteric Psychology, Vol. l,
p. 300/1 )
"Advanced souls, and those
whose intellectual capacity is rapidly developing, come back with
great rapidity, owing to their sensitive response to the pull
of obligations, interests, and responsibilities already established
upon the physical plane. . . .
Man reincarnates under no time urge.
He incarnates under the demands of karmic liability, under the
pull of that which he, as a soul, has initiated, and because of
a sensed need to fulfil instituted obligations; he incarnates
also from a sense of responsibility and to meet requirements which
an earlier breaking of the laws governing right human relations
have imposed upon him. When these requirements, soul necessities,
experiences and responsibilities have all been met, he enters
permanently 'into the clear cold light of love and life' and no
longer needs (as far as he himself is concerned) the nursery stage
of soul experience on earth. He is free from karmic impositions
in the three worlds, but is still under the impulse of karmic
necessity, which exacts from him the last possible ounce of service
that he is in a position to render to those still under the Law
of Karmic Liability." (Esoteric Healing, p. 403/5
)
"An incarnation is a definitely determined period (from the angle of the soul) wherein Experiment, Experience and Expression are the keynotes in each incarnation. Each successive incarnation continues the experiment, deepens the experience and relates the expression more closely to the latent unfolding divinity." (The Rays and the Initiations, p. 337)
"The factors governing the appearance in incarnation of a disciple, are as follows:
First, his desire to work
off karma rapidly and so liberate himself for service. The
Ego impresses this desire upon the disciple during incarnation,
and thus obviates any counter desire on his part for the bliss
of devachan, or even for work on the astral plane. The whole objective,
therefore, of the disciple after death is to get rid of his subtler
bodies, and acquire new ones. There is no desire for a period
of rest, and as desire is the governing factor in this system
of desire, and particularly in this planetary scheme, if it exists
not, there is no incentive to fulfilment. The man, therefore,
absents himself from the physical plane for a very brief time,
and is driven by his Ego into a physical body with great rapidity.
Second, to work out some piece
of service under direction of his Master. This will involve
some adjustments and occasionally the temporary arresting of his
karma. These adjustments are made by the Master with the concurrence
of the disciple, and are only possible in the case of an accepted
disciple of some standing. It does not mean that karma is set
aside, but only that certain forces are kept in abeyance until
a designated group work has been accomplished.
Third, a disciple will return
into incarnation occasionally so as to fit into the plan of a
greater than himself. When a messenger of the Great Lodge
needs a vehicle through which to express Himself, and cannot use
a physical body Himself, owing to the rarity of its substance,
He will utilise the body of a disciple. We have an instance of
this in the manner the Christ used the body of the initiate Jesus,
taking possession of it at the time of the Baptism. Again, when
a message has to be given out to the world during some recurring
cycle, a disciple of high position in a Master's group will appear
in physical incarnation, and be 'overshadowed' or 'inspired' (in
the technically occult sense) by some teacher greater than he.
Fourth, a disciple may, through
lack of rounded development, be very far advanced along certain
lines, but lack what is called the full intensification of a particular
principle. He may, therefore, decide (with the full concurrence
of his Ego and his Master) to take a series of rapidly recurring
incarnations with the intention of working specifically at
bringing a certain quality, or series of qualities, to a point
of higher vibratory content, thus completing the rounding of his
sphere of manifestation. This accounts for the peculiar, yet powerful,
people who are met at times; they are so one-pointed and apparently
so unbalanced that their sole attention is given to one line of
development only, so much so that the other lines are hardly apparent.
Yet their influence seems great, and out of all proportion to
their superficial worth. A realisation of these factors
will deter the wise students from hasty judgements, and from rapid
conclusions concerning his fellow men.
Occasionally a variation of
this reason for rapid and immediate incarnation is seen when an
initiate (who has nearly completed his cycle) appears in incarnation
to express almost entirely one perfected principle. This he does
for the good of a particular group which -- though engaged in
work for humanity -- is failing somewhat in its objective through
the lack of a particular quality, or stream of force. When this
becomes apparent on the inner side, some advanced disciple puts
the energy of that particular quality at the disposal of the Hierarchy,
and is sent forth to balance that group, and frequently
to do so for a period of rapidly succeeding lives.
These are a few of the causes governing
the periodic manifestation of those who are grouped in the hierarchical
records as 'the aligned points of fire'. They are distinguished
by the energy flowing through them, by the magnetic quality of
their work, by their powerful group effects, and by their physical
plane realisation of the Plan." (A Treatise on Cosmic
Fire, p. 1149/51)
"Much help can also come to you if you will remember that there are certain lives in which the development of the equipment is the major goal. Then come later lives in which the prepared equipment is used." (Discipleship in the New Age, Vol. l, p. 148 )