From REPLIES TO CLASS QUESTIONS chapter, delivered at Golden Gate Hall, Sunday, January 25, 1903
How long does it take a man to be re – born after death?
One man is doing all sorts of things today; he goes to sleep and then he wakes up again next morning. The time of his going to sleep is like death, and the time of his waking up again is like rebirth. Now the time that elapses between the moment that he goes to sleep and the moment he wakes up, is the time which is passed in your heavens, hells, spiritual kingdoms, etc. Now we see that in this world there are some people who sleep only four or five hours; there are some who sleep ten hours while there are others who sleep eight hours. Children sleep long. Old men do not sleep much. Young men require long sleep. So much depends on different men, upon the stages of their spiritual advancement. As there is no fixed time for your life in this world, some die young, some live thirty years, some live three score and ten, so there is no fixed period for rebirth.