LIFE IN THE NEXT WORLD

　THE boy's eyes shone with pleasure when Silver Birch asked eleven-year-old John to sit beside the entranced medium. It was John's first seance. Even at his tender age he accepted Spiritualism naturally. When his father passed on as the result of an accident, his mother told him, what the boy accepted with-out question, that he had gone to join his sister in the spirit world. Ever since, the mother had frequently mentioned the spirit messages received from her husband and daughter.

　The guide began by telling him of the presence of these two relatives, who were as excited as he was. "I never knew my sister," said John.

　"But she knows you," the guide replied.

　"I expect she only saw me when I was a baby."

　The guide said: "No, she has seen you grow up from a little baby to the strapping giant that you now are. You must remem-ber that although you cannot see her she can see you. She has quite a different pair of eyes from yours, because her eyes can see right through walls and doors."

　"Yes, I know, mortal walls," was John's calm reply.

　"She can see even though she has not got your eyes. She sees with her soul. And when you see with your soul, then you can see a very, very long way, hundreds of thousands of miles."

　"How old is my sister now in spirit life?" asked the boy.

　Silver Birch said: "That is a very difficult question. Let me explain it to you. We do not grow old like you do. We do not have birthdays like you do. We do not say that we are now one year older or two years older. We do not grow in that way at all. We grow spiritually, that is, we grow towards per-fection."

　"What is perfection?" asked John.

　The guide replied: "Perfection is the final state when all things come into their own and there are no flaws, no weaknesses, no faults at all. That is perfection.'"

　The boy said, "In other words peace."

　Silver Birch answered: "Yes, when you have perfection you have peace, because you have perfect peace. But perfection is not something that you attain, because it is part of an infinite process. It is always going on; it never comes to an end."

　"But you come to an end when you get to it," John said.

　"You never get to it, it always goes on. You cannot imagine that, can you? But it is so. There is no beginning and no end to the things of the spirit. They have always been in some form. It is a constant process of getting better all the time. Your sister has not grown, as you understand growth, she has in beauty of mind and spirit. She has matured, she has unfolded, she has developed, but not physically. I can only tell you how old she is according to the way you count time. What I want to make you realise is something that you know in part that she and your father are always with you. this is a great secret that many people have not got; that all the time they are with you because they love you and want to help you. If you tell people, they won't believe that, will they? They think if they cannot see anything there is nothing there. There is a lot of sorrow in the world owing to the fact that they do not understand it. If If they did, they would not weep when death comes, because death is not a tragedy. It is for those left behind sometimes, but not for those who experience it. For them it is another birthday. They have evolved into a new life altogether. Try and remember that, John. You know about your sister because you have seen her, haven't you?"

　John said: "I want to see her with these eyes."

　"If you close them sometimes you will see her," the guide told him.

　"Just like I see everybody in this room?" the boy inquired.

　Silver Birch answered: "Not quite the same way. It is the sight of the soul again. If you want to see anything that belongs to the spirit you cannot see it with the eyes; neither if you want to hear

them do you hear with the ears."

　The guide added: "Your father is pleased with you. He says so. He ought to know. He is looking after you and is going to guide you and see that your feet will go on the right path."

　"Thank him for me, will you?'"

　"He hears you, you know. It is hard to understand that, isn't it, John? But every time you speak, or even think, he knows. It comes to him as a flash."

　"What sort of flash?"

　"Every time you think, your thought has a little light." 

　John asked: "What sort of light, a mortal light? I know we cannot see it. Is it like looking at the flash of a match?"

　The guide's answer was: "Oh no, it is a little coloured light. It is just like the flame of a candle, but it has many colours. Every thought has a different colour according to the nature of the thought. That is how we see these thoughts when they come to us, When we look at you we see you as a colour. You are a mass of colour all the time. Each of these colours, to those who are trained, mean something, so that you cannot have any secrets from us. All the colours show us what you think, what you desire and everything about you."

　John asked: "What is the point of learning about Spiritualism?"

　Silver Birch answered: "All knowledge is important. You are always better off if you have knowledge rather than ignorance. Where you have ignorance, you walk in the darkness; where you have knowledge you walk in the light. Which would you rather do?"

　"Walk in the light."

　"Then you must have knowledge. Knowledge is the most precious possession, because with knowledge you have wisdom, with knowledge, you have reason, with knowledge you have judgment, but without knowledge you are not properly equipped, are you? Here is a world in which you live. You may think it is a very big world, but it is only a small part of the universe. The reason you are put into this world is to gain as much knowledge as you can, so that you are ready for the next stage of your life.

　"And when it comes to what is called Spiritualism, it is very important to understand what the purpose of life is, because unless you understand what the purpose of life is, well, you do not know what it is all about, do you? Your mother is better off now because she has knowledge about your father and sister than when she had no knowledge, isn't she?"

　"Yes, she gets more help," said John.

　"Well, that is the answer to the question, isn't it? What next?"

　John asked, "What do the spirit people think of the inventing department of the world, whether the atomic bomb is both good and bad?"

　Silver Birch said: “That is a very big question, isn't it? I tell you what I think. I cannot tell you what everyone thinks here. I think this is a clear example of the value of knowledge rather than ignorance. Because of the war, scientists in your world were spurred on to make researches and experiments, with the result that they have found a secret, atomic that was used in the release of a bomb. They have found this secret many, many years before they were mentally and spiritually ready to deal with it. If this secret had been found in another hundred or two hundred years' time, it might well be that the people of your world would have advanced so much that they would know what to do with the secret when they found it. Now they do not know, because here is a secret that could be used to help or harm. The only answer to that question depends on the mental and spiritual make-up of the people of this world. Do you follow that?"

　John said, "Not the last bit."

　The guide told him: "Let me try to put it another way. This is a discovery which is in advance of its time. The people of your world, generally speaking, are not ready for the discovery that they have made and so it has been used for destruction. If they were ready for it, they would have used it for helpful purposes. Now we go back to your first question. If all scientists were people who had knowledge, knowledge of spiritual things, then they would not be worried about this question at all. They would know the answer, because, being spiritually ready, they would know the value of the invention and its application would be only for human good."

　John showed his of the answer by saying, "If they knew what it really was, they would use it in the right way."

　Silver Birch said, "Yes, it is only because they have not had the spiritual understanding that they are faced with this problem of what to do with this invention."

　John's next question was, "What is the difference between a ghost and a spirit?"

　The guide replied: "That is a very good question. A ghost is a spirit, but a spirit need not be a ghost. What you call a ghost can be a spirit bound to earth because of the very poor sort of life he has lived, or else reflections left behind by the concentrated hatred or evil of someone who has lived in a certain place. What is called a ghost is usually the first kind, that is, a spirit who is nearer to earth than he is to the spirit world, because although he has died his life, his selfish life, will chain him to the earth."

　"I have not really got any more questions," said John.

　"How will you mark my paper for this examination?" asked the guide.

　"I don't know the answers myself."

　Said Silver Birch: "You would not know whether I was giving you the right answers or not. Good! That is satisfactory, any-way. The great thing to remember always is this, that in addition to the love that surrounds you on earth, there is a great love that surrounds you from our world. Even if you cannot see it, it is there. Even if cannot feel it, it is there. When you are in trouble, just stop, send us a thought, send your father a thought, send your sister a thought, and they will help you and guide you as to what to do."

　The implications of the atomic bomb were discussed at another seance when this question was put to Silver Birch, "How do you think it best that nations and mankind can repel the fear which is automatically created by the atomic bomb?"

　The guide replied: "The root of the whole trouble is that at the control of human affairs are not the laws of spirit and their application, but fear and greed, envy and selfishness and the lust for power. There is, unfortunately, not the desire amongst all to serve one another, to live in harmony and peace, but to aggran-dise one nation above the other, to enrich one class at the expense of the other. The systems that still rule are founded on the philo-sophy of materialism, even though the name may have been, to some extent, abandoned. People declare that wealth and rank and colour take pride of place. They try to fashion their systems upon these physical foundations; they ignore the eternal realities. They attempt to judge the whole of life by that small fraction of it which is seen and heard and touched and tasted, in fact, just that infinitesimal fragment which is cognised by the physical senses.

　"But life is greater than matter and man is more than clay and dust. Life is not to be understood in terms of chemistry or medi-cine or atoms. The riddle of life is not solved in the laboratories of science; neither can the soul be found with a scalpel nor analysed by any chemical means. Life eludes all attempts at material explanation. And yet, throughout the whole world of matter, the majority of mankind live in complete divorce from the eternal, spiritual realities. The majority of mankind attempt to ignore the vital facts, the facts which make all life possible The whole of your world exists because of spirit, and you your-self owe your existence to spirit. Reality is not to be found in matter, neither is it to be discovered within your bodily frame. The seed of existence is not to be located within any bodily organ. You are spiritual beings now. You do not attain spiritual natures by coming to our world. From the moment of con-ception you are spiritual beings and there is nothing that you can do to cut yourselves off from that reality which enables you to live. The whole of your world exists because of spirit. Without spirit there is no life, for life is spirit and spirit is life.

　"It is the essential part of our task to teach to mankind these truths which can be demonstrated in such a fashion that they must become acceptable to those who will listen, unless, of course, they are so blind that they will not believe though one rose from the dead. Until the recognition of the fact of man's spiritual nature plays a predominant part in all human affairs, there will be fear. Today it is an atomic bomb, tomorrow it will be something even more awesome and stupendous. The long course of history shows very clearly that attempts to rule by force and tyranny must fail. Dictatorships have come, have thrived and have vanished. Tyrants do not for ever dwell on their thrones. The spirit of man being supreme and divine insists, albeit falter-ingly at first, on claiming its heritage. Freedom cannot be en-slaved for ever, neither can liberty be imprisoned for all time. These are the qualities of the spirit which must endure. Man does not live by bread alone. He is more than a physical being. He is a mind and a soul. He is a spirit, an integral part of that same spirit which fashioned every phase of life in a multitudinous universe whose bounds no man can set.

　"And when these truths dwell in their rightful place, all fear and anxiety will have vanished. The children of the Great Spirit will not walk, day by day, with anguish in their hearts, with fear in their minds, with bent backs wondering always what the morrow will bring forth. They will have claimed their spiritual birthright because man is a spirit who must live in the sunlight of freedom. His spirit must find full expression. The spirit which is eternal cannot be cramped and confined and restricted for it. It will burst its bonds, destroying all the opposition which com-pels it to live in the darkness. When knowledge reigns and ignorance has fled, fear will not be the activating motive. To answer your question, we must spread knowledge, for when all have the knowledge some will have the responsibility that know-ledge brings. Regeneration, a change of heart, the application of spiritual values, these are the only means by which peace will come to a troubled world."

　Later, Silver Birch added: "In times of stress and difficulty it behoves all those who have the knowledge to act as ambassadors of truth. It is a sad commentary when you find that those whose lives have been enriched with knowledge, and who have been given comfort in their hour of sorrow, fail to see the implications of that which has come to them. The gift of mediumship is a sacred one; it is an office which should not be lightly held. And yet, unfortunately, it cannot be said that all mediums, even the majority of them, regard their gifts as being divine in origin and seek to use them unselfishly in the service of the suffering, the weak and the needy.

　"And among those to whom the truth has been revealed, sometimes as a blinding flash, illuminating the darkness which has surrounded them for long, even there selfishness too often rules and service is forgotten. There is much cleansing to be done, much purifying, much regeneration. To those to whom is entrusted the task of spreading truth, let them look within them-selves and see whether they are not called upon to rededicate their lives to the vision which has too often lost some of its pris-tine glory, to the rich outlook which has become tarnished with the passage of time. Let them stir themselves to use their lives as instruments of that greater power which desires that it shall be made more manifest in your world."