SYMPOSIUMS
LECTURE
No. 1 – ON EARTH AND IN THE AFTERLIFE, THE CONTINUITY OF LIFE ACCORDING TO AUMISM
No. 1 – ON EARTH AND IN THE AFTERLIFE, THE CONTINUITY OF LIFE ACCORDING TO AUMISM
Thank you for being here at this 10th International Colloquium of Aumism, to share views on a theme that concerns us all, since it is nothing less than the human condition. In today’s world it is not easy to speak about death, because it causes great suffering. But it is an unavoidable question, and religions and philosophies, whether they deny or affirm the existence of the invisible, have given it many answers over the centuries. Moreover, a new fact stands out: even scientists, quite apart from any spiritual quest, are led to look into the afterlife on the basis of near-death experiences.
As for the Aumist speakers, they will share with you a Teaching of His Holiness the Lord HAMSAH MANARAH, Founder of Aumism, on life on Earth and in the afterlife.
In this talk we will discuss:
1 – The need to restore the value of life in today’s world
2 – The help brought by the Aumist Teaching on life, death and the afterlife
3 – The practical implications of this Knowledge for present life
I – WHY IS IT NECESSARY TO RESTORE THE VALUE OF LIFE IN TODAY’S WORLD?
When life gives way to death: a brief observation
– In a universe centred on material goods, death appears as a predator. The Wisdoms and the religions advocate detachment. But a consumer society feeds the desire to possess ever more, giving rise sometimes to frustration, sometimes to the fear of losing what one has, during one’s life and at the moment of death. Moreover, this relationship with having can spill over into emotional relationships, strengthen possessiveness towards loved ones, who are sometimes seen as ramparts against finitude, and make every form of separation more difficult, especially at the time of a death.
– Paradoxically, death exerts a kind of fascination. A common example: to be successful, many films and video games put violent death at the centre of their plot. But it is not only fiction. Some young people who have no goal in life are searching for identity and recognition. They seek out dangerous games and extreme challenges, consume harmful substances, and are sometimes ready to follow incitements to violence, even to murder. In this way they show contempt for their own lives and for the lives of others.
– This contempt for life is also expressed on a collective scale. It is rooted in divisions:
– The lack of justice in the sharing of the planet’s resources decimates the poorest.
– Wars all too often have religious oppositions as one of their components, and the worst of aberrations is to see human beings kill in the name of God, who is the Energy of Life and Love.
– Attacks on nature turn against everyone’s health. They cause climate change, which threatens food resources and the very existence of certain regions of the globe, with consequences for every continent. We can no longer ignore the interdependence that binds all peoples. All this endangers our humanity. And, as everyone knows, this brief reminder is far from exhaustive. Much of what we are going through is not new. But we are facing an accumulation, a convergence of difficulties that highlight the consequences of destructive human choices. Getting out of this imbalance and all this suffering is a vital priority for our humanity.
“Man believes he is defeating death by diverting life towards death,” says His Holiness the Lord HAMSAH MANARAH.[1]
This bears witness to the forgetting of God as the Principle of Life and Unity, whatever Name we give Him. It is a characteristic of the Age of divisions (called the Iron Age), from which humanity must emerge or destroy itself. It must change its way of thinking and acting, individually and collectively, in order to change Cycle and enter the New Era (called the Golden Age), the Age of the return to Unity, where life reclaims its rights.
Humanity must restore the value of life
Fortunately, it must be said that in the face of the threats hanging over the planet, progress can be seen.
– Awareness and action in favour of peace, solidarity and protection of the environment are increasingly widespread.
– Religious figures from different Traditions meet and pray together. The aspiration to brotherhood is expressed and put into practice:
– We see admirable acts of mutual aid, during disasters for example.
– We see parents from enemy countries weeping together for their children killed by war.
– We see the courageous reaffirmation of humanist values in the face of unbearable acts of barbarity.
Despite those who still persist in perpetuating hatred, part of humanity is on the move and becoming aware that love is a force. A force of Life. And this nourishes faith in humanity.
But the planet’s passage into the Era of peace requires a collective and lasting change, which depends on everyone changing. It is an exceptional stage in the history of our planet. Humanity is still bogged down in the ways of the past, but it calls for deliverance because it can bear no more. It needs superhuman help. This help cannot be a wave of a magic wand that would stop wars without human beings having changed. For if they do not change their mentality, they will reproduce their destructive patterns and remain chained to the causes of suffering.
In this sense, the Envoys who founded religions, at the cost of immense self-sacrifice, brought their help to humanity, adapting the spiritual Teaching from Age to Age, in different parts of the planet and at different times, even if over time too many human beings have forgotten, distorted or scorned them. And at this key moment in our history, in harmony with the Teachings that foster the spiritual elevation of beings, the Lord HAMSAH MANARAH responds to our planet’s need for unity. He comes to help humanity change Cycle, in order to enter the New Era of brotherhood. His disciples bear witness to it: such a Mission demands limitless self-sacrifice.
The Lord HAMSAH MANARAH addresses everyone. He urges us to transform ourselves and to take charge of our own lives and of the life of our planet. He often said: “I show you the Way, but I cannot walk it for you!” For it is through personal effort that our choice and our freedom are expressed, without which there is no lasting transformation. To this end, He gives us the necessary support on every level.
His 22 Books, in particular, answer the different expectations of human beings, from the desire for personal balance to the desire to realise the Divine within. His Teaching on the continuity of life and of Evolution beyond death is particularly important.
II – THE HELP BROUGHT BY A NEW KNOWLEDGE OF LIFE, DEATH AND THE AFTERLIFE
First of all, the Lord HAMSAH MANARAH helps us rediscover the meaning of life
– He reminds us of our true identity by saying: “God is in each one.”[2] This notion is found in other religions. For example, in Hinduism it is said: “Tat tvam asi”, “Thou art That”. The Buddha Shakyamuni states: “Look within yourself, you are the Buddha.” Jesus says: “Ye are gods”…
The Founder of Aumism always welcomed His new disciples by paying homage to the Divine present in them, expressing that there is no difference in essence between the Master and the disciple, between God and man. And He pays this homage to the Divine present in every human being. From there, He reminds us of the goal of life: “Become the God that you are.” The Divine is within us, but we have to develop it in order to progress towards divinisation. For those who do not believe in God, the wish to grow in humanity encourages them to develop the best in themselves.
– The Lord places each person before the obligation to respect their own life, since God is present within them, and the lives of others, since God is present in them too. And in difficulties and trials, He urges us to open our hearts to the Energy of Love and Unity: “When doubt, fear and anguish threaten to capsize you, invoke the Lord of Unity and He will descend into you like a comet, to support your victorious march towards true and total freedom.”[3]
The Lord HAMSAH MANARAH also teaches the meaning of death and of life in the afterlife
– Death, called here “Transition”, is a “change of state”. It is the soul leaving its physical body like a garment. This notion is found in other reincarnationist Traditions. But, as we shall see, it needs to be adapted to the needs of the New Era.
According to Aumism, life continues for the soul, which goes on evolving. To think in terms of Evolution is to see life on Earth as a school where we learn to perfect ourselves. And it is to understand that the soul should not have to stop dead in the middle of its apprenticeship because of death, but can continue it in the afterlife and from life to life.
– The afterlife, called here the “Column of Light”, is a spiritual university where all souls must learn the values of the Golden Age: they deserve to reincarnate only if they have become capable of helping human beings to establish and maintain peace. In this way they rediscover the meaning of true happiness.
“Post-mortem life is a time to evolve, to be trained for the Golden Age.”[4]
This will be developed in the talk on the afterlife and reincarnation according to Aumism.
III – THE PRACTICAL CONSEQUENCES OF THIS KNOWLEDGE FOR PRESENT LIFE
Thinking of the continuity of life helps us approach human finitude differently
– It helps us cope better with bereavement. The death of a loved one is always an ordeal, and it takes time for the pain of separation to heal on the human level. It is not a matter of repressing one’s emotions, but of accepting them in the moment, the better to take the helm of one’s own life again afterwards. Knowledge does not abolish suffering overnight. But it lightens it by giving it meaning. And it is a real help to think that we can accompany the person who, after leaving their physical body, must continue to evolve beyond the visible world, and that we can still be useful to them through our prayers and our thoughts of love.
– It makes it easier to accept the idea of one’s own death. Here again, we must be able to accept the understandable regret at having to die. But we are not looking at a break that would make life lose its meaning, and we can ask ourselves how best to use it.
– This Knowledge allows us to accompany, even at a distance, those who are about to die. It is an act of pure compassion, a human service that anyone may be called upon to render to their fellow beings, and the Lord HAMSAH MANARAH teaches us how to help a dying person while respecting their Tradition. He teaches us the power of the prayer of the OM, the first Name of God, found in different Traditions, beneficial at the moment of death but also in daily life, whether one is a believer or not. These precious Teachings will be developed during the colloquium.
The continuity of post-mortem life gives present life its full importance.
Life on Earth and life in the afterlife are communicating vessels. If we put into practice right now the qualities in harmony with the Golden Age, our stay in the Column of Light will be lightened. If we do not put them into practice, we will have to learn them in this school of the afterlife… staying there as long as necessary.
“It is good to know that after the death of the physical body, each soul reaps the fruits of what it has sown on Earth.”[5]
This relationship of cause and effect makes us understand the importance of our present existence! That is why, during this colloquium, we will discuss two priorities.
– One of these priorities is the need always to move in the direction of reconciliation.
The Lord HAMSAH MANARAH always set an example of forgiveness and urges us to follow it. No one is excluded from God’s Forgiveness. And no one should despair at the threshold of death: “If at the end of your life,” He says, “you became aware of the burden of your errors, know that it is never too late to ask God for forgiveness…”[6] Moreover, working for the reconciliation of peoples and religions, He founded Aumism, the religion of the Unity of the Faces of God, and the monastery of Mandarom, unique in the world, forming a bridge between East and West. A symbol of peace that is particularly needed in today’s world.
– The priority that will be discussed at the end of the colloquium is, of course, the need to contribute in our daily lives to the survival of the Earth, through a new relationship with ourselves, with others and with the environment, which shapes the way we educate future generations.
IN CONCLUSION
The Lord HAMSAH MANARAH teaches the continuity of life in the visible and the invisible, where
“The soul will learn brotherhood, tolerance, love and wisdom.”[7]
These values form the bridge between believers of all Traditions, and between believers and atheists, because they are the foundation both of human fulfilment and of the divinisation of man, which is its extension. This common path, beyond differences of view on death and the afterlife, thus allows us to unite, here and now, to take the future of the planet firmly in hand together, through prayer, thought and action. We know that it is urgent. And His Holiness the Lord HAMSAH MANARAH sums up the meaning of existence, and of the effort asked of each of us so that our humanity may survive and attain the happiness of the Golden Age, in these words:
“We were born on this Earth to learn to love.”[8]
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[1] L’Aumisme, la Doctrine de l’Âge d’Or, p. 100.
[2] Le Flambeau d’Unité, p. 27.
[3] Vers un Âge d’Or d’Unité, p. 449.
[4] L’Unité des Visages de Dieu, p. 249.
[5] Les Combats du Messie, p. 221.
[6] La Révolution du Monde des Vivants et des Morts, p. 499.
[7] La Loi d’Évolution des Âmes, p. 326.
[8] La Voix de Lumière, p. 447.
