From INFORMAL TALKS, delivered at Golden Gate Hall

What becomes of the souls of men who take their own life?

Rama says everybody takes his own life. Everybody who dies commits suicide. What becomes of those who die? Nothing, nothing particular. Similarly nothing particular becomes of those who are known as suicides. You cannot die until your work in this life is done.

How is death brought about?

Through their desires and through their ignorance people get themselves entangled in such a way that they wish this body could come to an end. In their heart of hearts, they desire death, and death comes to them. That is the law. By their desires they bring about diseases, and by their own previous desires which begin to bear fruit when on the sick – bed they are reduced to such a condition that they earnestly desire death, and death comes. All are suicides.

Is it possible while in the physical body consciously to manifest on the mental plane? Theosophical teachers have told me ‘ no.’

This question contains many points, but there is no time at present to go into details.

Well, Theosophists are right in saying no. The mental and physical planes go hand in hand. Mental investigations should be carried on through the mind, but on the other hand we see that on the physical plane, work is done not only by the mind but also by the body. The mind does a great many things on the physical plane. Cables, ships, etc., are all manifestations of your mental ideas, but all these material things are brought into physical manifestation through the instrumentality of the body. Tools have to be used to construct ships, to make cables, etc. Is the mind the captain or the tools? The mind is also an instrument, not the agent.

All great ships, great buildings, great works of art, etc, are conceived or planned by the mind and executed by the body.

In order to realize your unity, you must make use of both. Realizing unity and manifesting on the mental plane are different things. To realize your unity, you must spurn the mental as well as the physical plane, both are worlds.