983- Since a spirit who expiates its wrongs in a new life undergoes physical suffering, is it correct to say that after death the soul experiences only mental suffering?
“It is very true that the tribulations of life represent a suffering for the reincarnated soul, but it is only the body that undergoes physical suffering.
“You usually say that a dead person no longer suffers, but this is not always true. As a spirit it no longer suffers physical pain, but depending on the wrongs it has committed, it may have mental sufferings still more severe, and in a new existence it may be even unhappier. Those who have wasted their wealth will in turn beg and suffer the privations of poverty; the proud will undergo humiliations of every kind; those who have abused authority and have treated their subordinates with disdain and harshness will be forced to obey masters who are even harsher. All the punishments and tribulations of life are expiations for wrongs of another life when they are not the consequence of wrongs committed in the present one. When you have departed your present life, you will understand this better. (See nos. 273, 393, 399)
“Those who believe themselves to be happy on earth because they can satisfy their passions are those who make the least effort at self-improvement. Frequently, they begin to expiate such ephemeral happiness in this life but they will certainly atone for it in another existence as material as this one.”
984- Are the troubles of life always punishment for current wrongs?
“No. We have already told you that they are trials imposed by God or chosen by you yourselves in the spirit state before your reincarnation in order to expiate the wrongs committed in a former life. No infraction of the laws of God, and especially of the law of justice, ever remains unpunished, and if punishment is not experienced in this life, it certainly will be in another. This is why persons whom you regard as morally upright frequently still feel the consequences of their actions from past existences.” (See no. 393)
985- Is the reincarnation of a soul on a less dense world a reward?
“It is a consequence of its purification, for as spirits become purified, they reincarnate on successively better worlds to the point where they completely rid themselves of all matter and moral imperfections in order to eternally enjoy the bliss of pure spirits in the bosom of God.”
On worlds in which existence is less material than on this one, the needs are less dense and all physical suffering is less acute. The inhabitants no longer know the evil passions that on less evolved worlds make them each other’s enemies. Having no motives for hatred or jealousy, they live in peace, practicing the law of justice, love and charity. They do not know the worries and anguish that are born from envy, pride and selfishness, and which comprise the torment of our terrestrial existence. (See nos. 172, 182)
986- Can spirits who have progressed during their terrestrial existence sometimes reincarnate on the same world?
“Yes, if they have not been able to accomplish their mission and if they ask to complete it in a new existence; however, in that case, it is no longer an expiation for them.” (See no.173)
987- What becomes of those who, without doing evil,Contents nevertheless do nothing to shake off the influence of matter?
“Since they have made no progress towards perfection, they must begin a new existence similar to the one they have left behind. They remain at a standstill, and thus can prolong the suffering of their expiation.”
988- There are persons whose lives flow in perfect serenity, and having no worries, they are entirely free of concerns. Is their happy existence evidence that they have nothing to expiate from any former existence?
“Do you know many like that? If you think you do, you are mistaken. Usually, such serenity is no more than apparent. They could have chosen such an existence, but when they leave it behind they perceive that it has not helped them to progress. Then, like those who have been idle, they regret the time they wasted. Bear in mind that spirits cannot acquire knowledge and evolve except through activity. If they choose to rest in a worry-free existence, they do not advance. They are like those who, according to your customs, need to work but go for a walk instead, or go to sleep in order to avoid it. Also bear in mind that each of you will have to answer for any intentional inactivity during your life, and that such uselessness is always fatal to your future happiness. The sum of future happiness is always exactly in proportion to the sum of the good you have done. In the same way, your unhappiness is always in proportion to the sum of the evil you have done, and to the number of those whom you have made unhappy.”
989- There are persons who, although not positively wicked, make everyone around them unhappy because of their character. What is the consequence of this for them?
“Such persons are assuredly not good. They will expiate this wrong by the sight of those whom they have made unhappy, and this will comprise a constant reproach for them. Then, in another existence, they will endure all that they have caused others to endure.”
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