LIFE AFTER DEATH/PART 9
IX
HELPING THE DEAD
THIS brings us
to the consideration of what is by far the greatest and most important part of
the work — the helping of the dead. Before we can understand this we must throw
aside altogether the ordinary clumsy and erroneous ideas about death and the
condition of the dead. They are not far away from us, they are not suddenly
entirely changed, they have not become angels or demons. They are just human
beings, exactly such as they were before, neither better nor worse, and they
stand close by us still, sensitive to our feelings and our thoughts even more
than before. That is why uncontrolled grief for the dead is so wrong as well as
so selfish. The dead man feels every emotion which passes through the heart of
his loved ones, and if they uncomprehendingly give way to sorrow, that throws a
corresponding cloud of depression over him, and makes his way harder than it
need be if his friends had been better taught.
So there is much
help that may be given to the dead in very many ways. First of all, many of
them — indeed, most of them — need much explanation with regard to the new
world in which they find themselves. Their religion ought to have taught them
what to expect, and how to live amid these new conditions; but in most cases it
has not done anything of the kind. So it comes that very many of them are in a
condition of considerable uneasiness, and others of positive terror. They need
to be soothed and comforted, for when they encounter the dreadful thought-forms
which they and their kind have been making for centuries — thoughts of a
personal devil and an angry and cruel Deity — they are often reduced to a
pitiable state of fear, which is not only exceedingly unpleasant, but very bad
for their evolution; and it often costs the helper much time and trouble to
bring them into a more reasonable frame of mind.
There are men to
whom this entry into a new life seems to give for the first time an opportunity
to see themselves as they really are, and some of them are therefore filled
with remorse. Here again the helper's services are needed to explain that what
is past is past, and that the only effective repentance is the resolve to do
this thing no more — that whatever the dead man may have done, he is not a lost
soul, but that he must simply begin from where he finds himself, and try to
live the true life for the future. Some of them cling passionately to earth,
where all their thoughts and interests have been fixed, and they suffer much
when they find themselves losing hold and sight of it. Others are earth-bound
by the thoughts of crimes that they have committed, or duties that they have
left undone, while others in turn are worried about the condition of those whom
they have left behind. All these are cases which need explanation, and
sometimes it is also necessary for the helper to take steps on the physical
plane in order to carry out the wishes of the dead man, and to leave him free
and untroubled to pass on to higher matters. People are inclined to look at the
dark side of spiritualism: but we must never forget that it has done an
enormous amount of good in this sort of work — in giving to the dead an
opportunity to arrange their affairs after a sudden and unexpected departure.
It is surely a
happy thought that the time of much needed repose for the body is not
necessarily a period of inactivity for the true man within. I used at one time
to feel that the time given to sleep was sadly wasted time; now I understand
that Nature does not so mismanage her affairs as to lose one-third of the man's
life. Of course there-are qualifications required for this work; but I have
given them so carefully and at length in my little book on the subject that I
need only just mention them here. First, he must be one-pointed, and the work
of helping others must be ever the first and highest duty for him. Secondly, he
must have perfect self-control — control over his temper and his nerves. He
must never allow his emotions to interfere with his work in the slightest
degree; he must be above anger, and above fear. Thirdly, he must have perfect
calmness, serenity and joyousness. Men subject to depression and worry are
useless, for one great part of the work is to soothe and to calm others, and
how can they do that if they are all the time in a whirl of excitement or worry
themselves? Fourthly, the man must have knowledge; he must have already learnt
down here on this plane all that he can about the other, for he cannot expect
that men there will waste valuable time in teaching him what he might have
acquired for himself. Fifthly, he must be perfectly unselfish. He must be above
the foolishness of wounded feelings, and must think not of himself but of the
work that he has to do, so that he will be glad to take the humblest duty or
the greatest duty without envy on the one hand or conceit on the other.
Sixthly, he must have a heart filled with love — not sentimentalism, but the
intense desire to serve, to become a channel for that love of God which, like
the peace of God, passeth man's understanding.
You may think
that this is an impossible standard; on the contrary, it is attainable by every
man. It will take time to reach it, but assuredly it will be time well spent.
Do not turn away disheartened, but set to work here and now, and strive to
become fit for this glorious task, and while we are striving, do not let us
wait idly, but try to undertake some little piece of work along the same lines.
Every one knows some case of sorrow or distress, whether among the living or
the dead does not matter; if you know such a case, take it into your mind when
you lie down to sleep, and resolve as soon as you are free from this body to go
to that person and endeavour to comfort him. You may not be conscious of the
result, you may not remember anything of it in the morning; but be well assured
that your resolve will not be fruitless, and that whether you remember what you
have done or not, you will be quite sure to have done something. Some day,
sooner or later, you will find evidence that you have been successful. Remember
that as we help, we can be helped; remember that from the lowest to the
highest we are bound together by one long chain of mutual sendee, and that
although we stand on the lower steps of the ladder, it reaches up above these
earthly mists to where the light of God is always shining.
END OF
THIS BOOK.
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