FROM BIRTH TO BEYONDーI
Chapter Four
FROM BIRTH TO BEYONDーI
THIS chapter, allied with the next, traces man from birth to what lies beyond. Starting at conception, we examine the prob-lems associated with the physical body, question whether or not the earthly lifespan is predetermined, and consider the guide's views on death and grief.
At what state did man as a spiritual being enter the evolutionary process during the span from amoeba to his present state of develop-ment? Was he already in the first living cell?
If the questioner means the human species, then it was not present in the amoeba. But wherever there has been any form of life there has been spirit, because spirit is life and life is spirit. It is true to say there has always been spirit manifesting through every process and form of growth, from the lowest to the highest, from the simple to the most complex.
The human element arises in the gradual development of the amoeba. As part of the evolutionary process there is a constant unfoldment towards the human being. Man becomes man at that time in evolution when man was aware of being man, that is, when man had self-awareness, consciousness. But evolution has always been in existence. Evolution did not have a beginning. It is beginning and endless because it is part of the progress towards perfection.
Could you tell us when the spirit takes up residence in the physical body? Is it at the moment of conception, or the quickening, or when?
I have been asked this many times. I always give the same answer. When there is conception there is life. And where there is life there is spirit.
Would you say that at the actual moment of conception, spirit takes up residence and then grows to a personality?
This is a little more difficult when you introduce words like personality. Life is spirit and spirit is life. They are one and the same. What you call conception means that there is life. If there is no conception there is no life. There-fore spirit incarnates into matter at the moment of concep-tion.
As to the question of its development, this is more difficult because it depends on a variety of circumstances. The spirit that incarnates at the moment of birth has always existed as spirit. So the question of personality means to what extent is it an aspect or an expression of an individuality, which is something much larger than a personality.
At what point does a fertilised seed become a human being? At what stage precisely in the prenatal existence of a child does it become a human being? Would you say a foetus is a human being?
Yes, from the moment of conception there is life and there is spirit. If there is what you call in your world a miscarriage or an abortion, you have not destroyed the life force. You have merely removed its expression from your world to ours.
When would you say that that prenatal form of life in the womb was really a human being as we understand the term?
It is potentially a human being from the moment of conception and has latent within it all the aspects of human-ity.
From the moment of fertilisation?
Just as it has from the moment of conception latent within it all its physical characteristics, so it also has all its spiritual characteristics. It could not have the physical characteristics unless the spiritual characteristics were there, because matter is a shadow of the spirit.
Do I understand you to imply that a spirit has no choice whatever over the vehicle it will use on earth?
No, you do not understand me to say it at all. On the contrary, the spirit has every choice. In the majority of cases the spirit chooses to incarnate through a particular vehicle because it has work to do in your world. It can take a very long time for you to wake up to do the work that you said you were going to do.
Of the physical body, Silver Birch said:
The physical body, from the moment it is born, begins to die. Nothing can change that fact. It is not conceived to achieve permanence in your world. By nature it knows it has only an ephemeral existence. It must follow the cycle. Gradually it achieves the maturity of physical well-being. Then just as gradually every aspect of the body begins to wear out. What should happen is that the physical body drops away, as I have said many times, when it is ripe, as the apple drops from the tree.
We in our world are not perfect. We have not attained the end of our spiritual progress. We have a long, long way to go. But we utilise what power we can attract when we are confronted with material conditions which make it very difficult for us to work in your world.
I have always said, and will continue to say, we do not possess all knowledge because it is infinite. You in your world are able to have only a smaller amount of knowledge because you are encumbered with physical limitations that do not apply to us.
To a circle member who was very tired Silver Birch said:
When you lack rest, then the body pays the price. Sometimes the price is exacted that you must take to your beds for a complete rest. We cannot preach personal responsibility and tell you that there are exceptions to the operation of this law. Do not try to do too much. The body is only a machine and it must not be overtaxed beyond its capacity.
Another circle member said: "It is so difficult when you say we must take to our beds when we are tired. We know that, but where other people are concerned that we have to look after because they are so much worse than we are, you have to give yourself." The guide replied:
You cannot change the operation of natural laws. I love you all. If I did not love you I would not be here. There are no attractions for us in your world of matter. It is because we love you that we come and work with you and among you. We have nothing to gain by so doing. Many of us have willingly sacrificed what we have attained to serve as best we can.
We do love you with a heart that is filled with affection for you, but we cannot change the laws. You have machines that you call physical bodies. The finest machines in your world are given rest. They are not made to work as your physical bodies are made to work. If you don't rest them the machines break down.
It is your responsibility because it is your body. The Great Spirit has given you intelligence and reason for you to use these divine powers. Do not blame me because I tell you what I know is the truth about the way the universe works. I cannot be false to that which I know, I can only give you ideals to be achieved, spiritual maxims that are based on truth and which when applied to your lives will bring you the richness which should be your natural heritage.
It is for you to decide what to do. We help you to the best of our ability. There are circumstances sometimes beyond our control when our best is not good enough. We cannot interfere with your free will. We have to stand by at times and watch what you do because your decision is important in your evolution.
Are we forgiven then for breaking the law?
Motive is the important consideration.
Is it not true that sometimes in life, because you love somebody and want to help, you deliberately break the law, but do it with the right intention?
All I can say is the law is the law is the law. It will operate because it must operate. If I could interpose between cause and effect it would be very bad indeed. It would be doing a disservice. The law is perfection. How else could it work?
You have said on occasion you can bring laws to bear that would ease a situation.
Yes, we have helped some of you in the times of your greatest despair. What we cannot do is alter the sequence of cause and effect. Nor is any forgiveness involved. I try to be your guide, to point out to you that your body is a machine. It must have rest. If you overwork it cannot function. When it cannot function you have to take to your bed until the machine is ready to work properly.
What I know is that we are all very privileged because of what has been revealed to us. We have also seen what the power of the spirit can do, the wondrous transformation it can make, how it can point the way, give guidance and show each one the ideals to be attained to fulfil themselves. Those are the important matters.
The physical body is the means by which the spirit expresses itself. If you want to have the fullest expression then the physical body must be fit to do so. If you overwork, it cannot fulfil its proper function. That is why the Great Spirit, with infinite wisdom, ordained sleep, so that it can bring refreshment and restore vitality to the physical body.
Look at the order of the seasons in your world, how in the autumn nature prepares itself for the sleep of winter, awakens in the spring to achieve the full glory of the summer. So your bodies must have rest, refreshment and recuperation. Learn from nature the lesson it has to teach you. Rest is essential.
Silver Birch pointed the moral by referring to two circle members who had suffered ill-health as a result of overwork.
Even with their knowledge they fall by the wayside. When they do then they must have rest. It is our function to help you to help yourselves, to give obedience, not only to the laws of the spirit and mind, but also to those that control your bodies. When you provide this obedience and there is harmony then you are healthy and well.
To a visitor's comment, "I am afraid I don't listen," Silver Birch said:
That is why the Great Spirit gave you ears. You have in your Spiritualism a set of seven principles. One of them is personal responsibility. That is probably the most impor-tant one of all. It enshrines a truth which cannot be gainsaid. You are personally responsible for what you do, not for what anybody else does. There is nobody and nothing that can absolve you from your responsibility. If you do not pay heed you must pay the price. That is the natural law of cause and effect.
The visitor said: "I know about personal responsibility, but I am afraid I never thought of it for myself. I always thought of it for everyone else, but I shall remember."
Please do, because the natural laws will continue to operate irrespective of what you think about them. They are not indifferent, but they are compelled to work their own way, just the same as we are compelled to work along certain lines.
I have always told my friends here that we can only do things in our way and in our time, not in your way and in your time. We are bound by laws, as you are, to ensure that we do what is essential when it is spiritually right. We can pull strings, we can control matter, we can even find money for you when it is necessary, but only in accordance with the operation of natural law.
I always say that you must do whatever you think is right and whatever your conscience gives the direction. You are in the end your own judges and will be able to assess, when looking back, whether the things you did were always right or sometimes wrong. If the motive is to serve, it cannot be wrong. Motive is the paramount consideration.
Remember always that primarily you are spiritual beings expressing yourselves through physical bodies. You are not bodies with spirits, you are spirits with bodies. Strive always so to order your lives that your spiritual nature will rise to the heights.
The subject of lifespan was discussed by the guide when a visiting medium said, "Life seems to run out so quickly and we want to do so much." Silver Birch told him:
You have to learn to become philosophical. You must realise that long before you incarnated into matter, there
were others, rugged pioneers, hewing out the path, finding it very difficult and wondering what was going to happen
when their earthly life ended. But they removed a few of the boulders and made it easier for you to tread where it was so hard for them. If you move a few more boulders this is your contribution. After you will come others. They will continue to keep on moving the boulders until ultimately there are no more to be removed.
Earth is your schoolhouse of experience. It is not perfect, neither are you. You are imperfect beings in an imperfect world trying to express as much of perfection as you can while you are there. So do your best, no more is expected of you. It is important to help those who cross your path to come into their own, to recognise that they are shaped in the divine image, that they have the divine potential and that this power is capable of bringing a beauty, love and radiance into their lives that makes all worth while.
So thank the Great Spirit for the challenges that come to you. As you answer them you are better spiritually as a result. If you find among your associates some who cannot measure up to the task, if their vision has become obscured, bypass them. Work with those who still have the vision
splendid of the great purposes to be fulfilled.
Is our lifespan on earth predetermined, or is it a question of physical strength or some other factor?
It is all part and parcel of the one thing. The physical structure, the body, is that which is necessary for the soul to have the experience which is essential for its growth on earth. The two go together. The termination of the earthly period in most cases is known in advance.
You cannot isolate matter from spirit. The two are inextricably bound together, with matter restricting spirit and spirit animating matter. You cannot divide the aspects of your being into isolated compartments. You are a comprehensive whole, with every facet reacting on other facets. All aspects merge, combine and mingle to make up the totality which is you, the soul.
Arising out of that, if, say, a thousand people were drowned simultaneously, were they all ready to go at that particular time? Was the ordained span for their soul growth the same?
It is the use of words which is difficult. When you say "ordained," by whom and by what? The underlying suggestion is that in some way this is a happening arranged by the Great Spirit. But it does not work that way. The natural laws control every aspect of being throughout the vast panorama of life.
At some stage, no matter what scientists may say in your world, death is inevitable to the physical body. It serves its purpose by releasing the spirit. Thus physical death is equivalent to physical birth. One is the exit of the spirit and the other is its entrance.
Your world regards death as a tragedy, but it is not a tragedy to us. Death is liberation because it is the spiritual birth of a soul. It is its release from all the problems of your world. It is, in the vast majority of cases, a reward, not a punishment. People must not regard death as something to be avoided at all costs, but to recognise it as an integral part of life, the means by which the soul must come into its own.
Though much is heard about the next world, few seem to give thought to preparing for our future life there. Surely we could begin to educate ourselves with this in view, practising the arts instead of watching television. Have you any suggestions?
It always comes back to the question of realisation. If you are aware that you are a spiritual being with a body, that your world is not your permanent abode, that every-thing physical is ephemeral ... If you are aware that you, the spiritual you, the indestructible you, the you that is divine, will emerge after death to continue the life of infinite progress. . .
Then if you are wise, you will behave in such a fashion that automatically you prepare for what is your future existence beyond death. Your actions will be governed by the stage of spiritual awareness you have reached.
Can you explain the cause of earthquakes and the thousands of people, regardless of their spiritual development, killed in them?
Why do you think death is such a disaster? You rejoice when babies are born into your world, but we often cry. We rejoice when people come into our world, but you cry. Death for the majority is not a tragedy for those who die. There may be a temporary problem while adjustment is made, but death brings liberation. Death is the end of the thraldom that earth imposes on the spirit.
You are boundーand I appreciate your problemーto view all your difficulties with earth-time measurement. But you are infinite. If you live on earth for 60, 70 or 100 years, then 100 over infinity is a very small fraction.
There are no accidents in the operation of natural law. You pass from your world at the time appointed for the spirit. In many cases this is the time the spirit has chosen for its passing before it incarnated into your world.
Reverting to earthquakes and such disasters, we know people survive death, but they suffer for years maybe before they die. Perhaps they are homeless and never have the opportunity to make another home. Do you think that perhaps we are born into that part of the world for the sake of these experiences?
You cannot escape all the advantages and disadvantages of living in your world. You must experience its darker as well as its brighter sides. The soul will develop not when you are lotus-eaters. The soul will come into its own in times of difficulty, struggle and crisis. I appreciate you can-not understand this because you are measuring according to your earth-time. But from the viewpoint of infinity your difficulties are better for you than all your benefits.
On other occasions came these words:
You have no idea of the wonders, beauty, richness, glory and the radiance of life in our world. It is impossible to find language to describe it for you. Let me say without fear of contradiction that death is often the jailer who unlocks the door of the cell to bring freedom. Everybody in your world has to die. It is part of the law that you cannot live on earth for ever. So it is inevitable that the physical body, when it has fulfilled its function, should be severed from the spiritual body and the soul which endowed it with animation. It is thus that the transitional period can be accomplished and the soul go marching on as part of its eternal pilgrimage.
The next question asked on behalf of a friend was, "Do you agree it is foolish to keep sad anniversaries as it is a waste of good emotion and therefore unwise and quite useless?" The visitor commented, "It is bad enough to dwell on pain when we cannot help ourselves, but actually to force ourselves to dwell on it for one day a year..."
What would be considered, according to the questioner, as a sad anniversary?
The anniversary of a death. I have come across people who won't do anything on a death anniversary. I suppose they want to be miserable all over again.
It is a sad anniversary for whom?
For the loser, not for the person who has passed, I agree with you. It is a form of selfishness probably.
This is self-pity. This is sorrow for self, bemoaning its loss. No tears need be shed for those who are released from all suffering in your world. The majority of people who come to our world are better for so doing. There is a minority who, because of selfish earthly lives, are still
chained to the world of matter.
But for the vast majority it is a release from prison. It is a new-found freedom in which there are the means of expressing all latent gifts. They are able to live in the sunlight of knowledge instead of the darkness of ignorance.
If because of days that have gone there are anniversaries that are sad, why recall them? What is achieved of value to the soul? Nothing! It is always unwise to look backward. It is better to live one day at a time and to greet every morning with joyous anticipation as a herald of opportunity to grow, expand, unfold and develop spiritually. That is the way of wisdom.
"It is so sad when people are in the flesh that they cannot understand," said one visitor. "They are materialists who cannot realise that none of it matters. It is only a stage set. No one can go on when the curtain comes down."
This is the difference between ignorance and knowledge. Our task is always to ensure that knowledge spreads and extends its boundaries all the time. With knowledge you can face life and understand. With ignorance you are dwelling in darkness.
It is very, very sad for us, particularly when we desire only to help, that we find people are surrounded by a wall of ignorance, prejudice and self-created superstition that cannot be broken down because they are simply not ready. Truth cannot penetrate that thick wall. It is sad because the ones they love here cannot reach them either. For a time there is sorrow on both sides of the veil. There is no need to shed tears for those who leave your world. By recognising and accepting this fact you do not hold them back. You do not create a barrier. You enable the correct adjustments to be made to your mind and spirit.
This answer led a circle member to comment: "It is human for us to be sad when a certain way of life has ended. Therefore, even though we are sad, we are not grieving in a sense because we know it is only for a time."
Those who come to my world recognise that death is a step upward and they have earned their release. It gives them the opportunity to express latent gifts, to perform services that they could not have done and to be more alive than ever was possible before. Of course there is a tinge of sadness whenever a break comes in your world. But recognition of the fact that there is no sadness with the one who is promoted should help to remove as much as possible of that tinge of sorrow. We must always set an ideal for you to achieve.
The guide was then asked, "If two people love each other and one is left in our world, would it be true to say that heaven is where the loved one is?"
Yes, as long as you recognise that it is a shared and not a divided loving. You cannot isolate love from its beloved. Earth is only a temporary dwelling place. There can be no physical immortality. Recognising that there must come a time when leave the earth means that in reality you should congratulate those who have reached it. And recognise also that you will join them and continue together in a land of greater light, beauty and wonder such as you can never appreciate on earth.
Another circle member said: "We have to consider this from our physical point of view. It is a period of waiting, but with ever-growing activity. We have to continue. It is very, very difficult."
Why should spiritual truths be difficult when considered from a physical viewpoint?
"Because we are physical beings," Silver Birch was told.
But primarily you are spiritual beings with physical bodies. The spirit is the greater and the physical the lesser. So in the light of the knowledge you possess you must make the right adjustment. All the things worth while must be difficult. If it were easy to earn spiritual prizes they would not be worth having.
三章 質問に答える ( 一 )
──地上の生活──
本章では誕生から死に至る人間の一生をたどりながら、その間のさまざまな問題を取りあげる。まず受胎の問題から始めて肉体にまつわるさまざまな疑問、さらには寿命というものがあらかじめ定まっているのかどうか、そして死、それに伴う悲しみといったテーマについて、シルバーバーチの見解を質すことにする。（小見出しは訳者による）
発達と進化
──アメーバから今日の人類にいたる進化の過程のどの段階において、霊的存在としての人間が登場したのでしょうか。最初の細胞の中ですでに宿っていたのでしょうか。
「ご質問が人類としての個霊のことを意味しておられるのでしたら、それはアメーバの段階ではまだ存在しておりません。が、生命のあるところには必ず霊が存在します。
なぜならば霊とは生命そのものであり、命とはすなわち霊だからです。最も原始的なものから最高の組織体へ、つまり最も単純なものから最も複雑なものに至るあらゆる発達過程と生命形態を通じて霊が顕現していると言えます。
人間的要素はアメーバの段階的発達の中で発生します。そして人類（ひと）へ向けて絶え間ない発達過程を続けます。そして人間としての意識に目覚めた段階で、つまり自我意識をもつに至ったときに、いわゆる人間となります。
しかし、進化は絶え間なく続いているのです。進化に始まりの一点というものはありません。常に始まりであり、終わりがないのです。なぜなら進化とは完全へ向けての永遠の過程だからです」
訳者注──シルバーバーチは発達 development と進化 evolution とを区別している。ここでも問題となるのはやはり用語についての認識の仕方であろう。これまでの進化論はあくまで地上の生命にかぎっての話であって、ただ一人アルフレッド・ウォーレスのみが〝霊的流入〟spiritual influxによって動物が人類へと進化したという説を立てた。
スピリチュアリズム的に言えばそれが本当の意味での〝進化〟であって、その段階までは〝造化の霊団〟によってこしらえられた〝種〟が発現し、精霊の働きによって促進される〝発達〟である。それを進化と呼ぶのなら、次元が異なることを認識した上で使用しなければならない。
シルバーバーチも重複して用いることがあるが、基本的には霊的向上つまり霊格が上がることを〝進化〟と呼び、その霊が使用する機能が開発されることを〝発達〟と呼んでいる。
霊が身体に宿る時期
──霊はどの段階で身体に宿るのでしょうか。受胎の瞬間でしょうか。それとも胎動期つまり十八週ごろでしょうか。
「この問題はこれまで何度も尋ねられました。そしていつも同じお答えをしております。生命は受胎の瞬間から始まります。そして生命のあるところには必ず霊が存在します」
──受胎の瞬間から霊が宿り、そこから個性が発達していくということでしょうか。
「個性という用語を持ち出されるとまたややこしくなります。生命は霊であり霊は生命です。両者は二つにして一つです。受胎と呼んでいるものは、そこに生命があるということを意味します。受胎がなければ生命は存在しません。したがって霊は受胎の瞬間に物質に宿ることになります。
その後の発達の問題ですが、これは環境条件によって異なりますのでさらに問題がやっかいです。受胎時に宿る霊も、霊としてはそれまでずっと存在していたのです。ですから、個性の問題は、その個性よりはるかに大きい霊全体のどの部分が表現されるかの問題となります」
──受胎後のどの段階で人間（ひと）となるのでしょうか。胎内生活の正確に何か月目から人間となるのでしょうか。（三か月後の）胎児はすでに人間と呼べるでしょうか。
「受胎の瞬間から生命が存在し、したがって霊が存在します。流産とか中絶とかがあっても、それは生命を破壊したことにはなりません。その生命の表現の場をあなた方の世界から私たちの世界へと移しただけです」
──子宮内の生命もれっきとした人間だとおっしゃるのでしょうか。
「潜在的には受胎の瞬間から人間であり、人間性のすべてを宿しております」
──受胎の瞬間からですか。
「受胎の瞬間から身体的機能のすべてを潜在的に宿しているごとく、霊的機能もすべて宿しております。霊的機能が存在しなければ身体機能も存在しません。物質は霊の影だからです」
──ということは、霊は誕生に際して地上で使用する身体をみずから選択する自由はないと理解してよろしいでしょうか。
「それは正しくありません。逆に、霊はあらゆる自由が与えられています。大半のケースにおいて、霊は地上で果たさねばならない目的をもって生れてきます。そしてその仕事に合った身体に宿ります。ただ、自分は地上でかくかくしかじかのことをしようと決意したその仕事に実際に目覚めるまでに相当な時間を要します」
訳者注──ここでいう決意とは肉体に宿る前の〝霊〟としての意識による決意であって、肉体に宿ってからの脳を焦点とした意識にはそれがなかなか自覚されない。シルバーバーチがそれに目覚めるまでには相当な時間を要しますと述べているのは、必ずしも誕生前の霊としての決意と同じものを記憶として思い出すことを言っているのではなく、
食べて働いて寝るだけの物的生活を超えて、何のために生きているのだろうという疑問をはじめた時点からその段階に入るものと私は理解している。そのうち〝自分はこれでいいのだ〟という得心ともあきらめとも悟りともつかないものを自覚し、同時に生きる意欲が湧いてくる。シルバーバーチはそのことを言っているのであろう。
物的身体に関連して
「誕生の瞬間から肉体は死へ向かいます。この現象は誰にも変えられません。もともと肉体は不老不死を目指すようには意図されていないのです。本性そのものが儚い存在であることを自覚しております。従わねばならないサイクルというものがあるのです。
まず、ゆっくりと機能的成熟を目指します。成熟すると同時に、やはりゆっくりと、全機能が衰えはじめます。そして、リンゴが熟すると自然に木から落ちるように、肉体も与えられた寿命をまっとうして死を迎えます。何度も申し上げているように、人間は本来そうなるようにできているのです。
私たち霊界の者も完全ではありません。まだ霊的進化の頂点を究めたわけではありません。まだまだ延々と先が続いております。しかし地上での仕事を困難にする物的条件に直面したときは、私たちにできるかぎりのエネルギーを活用して、その克服につとめます。
いつも申し上げ、これからも繰り返し申し上げることでしょうが、私たちといえども全ての知識を手にしているわけではありません。無限に存在するからです。が、地上のあなた方は私たちにない肉体的条件によって制約を受けていますから、手にすることのできる知識はきわめて限られております」
こう述べてから、メンバーの一人で非常に疲れた様子をしている人に向かって───
「休息が不足すると身体がその代償を支払うことになります。その代償の度合いが大きすぎると、完全な休息を要求されて、あなたは床につかねばならなくなります。各人各個の責務という教理を説きながら、その働きに例外があるかのようなことを申し上げるわけにはまいりません。
無理して一度に多くのことをなさってはいけません。肉体は所詮は機械です。その限度を超えたことを要求してはなりません」
別のメンバーが意見を述べる。
───疲れすぎると床につかねばならなくなるとおっしゃいますけど、休むわけにはいかないこともあります。休まなくてはいけないことは分かっていても、世話をしてあげなくてはならない人たちとの関係においては、自分より気の毒な状態にあるのを見ていながら自分だけ休むわけにはいきません。
「自然の摂理の働きは変えようにも変えられません。私には皆さんに対する愛があります。もし無かったら今こうしてここにいることもないでしょう。私たちにとって地上という世界は何一つ魅力はありません。なのにこうして戻ってきて皆さんの中に混って皆さんとともに仕事をするのは、皆さんに対する愛があるからです。
そうすることで何の利益を受けるわけでもありません。私たちの多くには（※）これまでに身につけたものを惜しげもなく犠牲にして皆さんのお役に立ちたいという願いがあるのです。
（※〝私たち〟と言わずに〝私たちの多く〟という言い方をしたことには意味がある。 『霊訓』 のモーゼスの背後霊団をはじめとしてスピリチュアリズムの初期の霊団には、地縛霊の状態からやっと脱したばかりの低級霊が大勢いて、複数の高級霊の監督のもとに物的証拠を見せるための物理現象を担当した。
言うなれば〝勤労奉仕〟のようなもので、ある程度その仕事にたずさわって霊的に向上してくると、代って別の低級霊団が同じ仕事を受けもつというふうにして、よく入れ替りが行われた。
その種の霊にとっては、それまでの怠惰や罪の償いをする絶好のチャンスなのであるが、それを監督・指導する立場の霊にとっては光輝あふれる世界からどんよりとした息も詰まらんばかりの地上圏に降りてくるのは大きな犠牲を強いられることになる───訳者）
私たちは情愛に満ちた心で皆さんを愛しております。しかし、だからといって皆さんの都合のよいように摂理を変えてあげるわけにはまいりません。皆さんは肉体という機械をお持ちです。どんなに優秀な機械でも休息が与えられます。皆さんの肉体のように片時も休むことがないという機械は他にありません。機械は休ませないと故障します。
肉体はあなたのものですから、その健康管理はあなたの責任です。神はそのための能力として知性と理性とを与えてくださっております。
宇宙の摂理について知り得たかぎりの真実を有りのままに述べている私を責めてもはじまりません。私は、私が間違いない真理だと信じたものを欺くようなことは申せません。 目的とすべき理想、霊的真実に基いた処生訓、それを忠実に人生に応用すれば、霊としての当然の遺産であるべき豊かさをもたらしてくれるもの、それをお教えするだけです。 最終的にどう決めるかはあなたご自身です。私もできるかぎりの援助はいたします。が、時として私たちにも如何ともしがたい情況というものが生じます。 あなたの自由意志を無視するわけにはまいりません。側に立ってあなたがなさることを見つめるしかないことがあります。あなたの霊的進化にとってはあなた自身による決断が重大な要素となるからです」
──その際には摂理にもとることをしても許されるのでしょうか。
「そのときの動機が大切な要因となります」
──でも、人間生活においては愛する人を救わんがために、悪いと知りつつも善意から、摂理にもとる行為をせざるを得ないというケースも有り得るのではないでしょうか。
「私に申し上げられることは、あくまで摂理は摂理であるということが摂理である、ということだけです。摂理は摂理であるがゆえに、その摂理どおりに働くしかありません。もしも私が原因と結果の関係に干渉することができるとしたら、これは大変なことになります。良かれと思ってしても、結果的には大へんな害をもたらすことでしょう。
摂理は完璧にできているのです。定められた通りに働くのが一ばん良いのです」
──事態を収拾するためにさまざまな法則を集中的に動員することがあるとおっしゃたことがありますが。
「あります。絶対的窮地に陥ったときに救ってさしあげた方が皆さんの中に何人かいらっしゃいます。私たちが干渉できないのは原因と結果の関係です。また、いわゆるお情けというものも一切ありません。
私は指導霊としての立場から、あなたの身体が機械であることを指摘しているのです。休ませてやらねばならないことがあることを申し上げているのです。疲労が度を過すと機能が停止します。停止すると再び機能を回復するまでに床についていなければならなくなります。
私がつくづく思うのは、これまでに啓示していただいた真理のすばらしさをみて、われわれ一同はほんとうに恵まれた者たちだということです。それに加えてわれわれは又、霊力のすばらしさを見ることができました。
事態を一変させ、進むべき道を指し示し、導きを与え、各自が天命をまっとうするための理想の生き方を教えてあげることができることを知りました。これは、ただごとではない大切なことです。
（訳者注──ここでいつものように〝私たち〟とせず〝われわれ〟という言い方にしたのは、気持の中でサークルのメンバーも含めているからである。ここではシルバーバーチは、霊団としても霊の力にこれほどすばらしいことができるのかという驚きを抱いている気持を表明している。
前巻の八章の〝シルバーバーチの最大の発見〟の中でも同じことを述べている。人間のために大きな犠牲を払いながら、これほどのことをやらせていただいていることに、その恩恵を受けるサークルのメンバーと共に感謝している気持が私には読み取れるのである。謙虚さが自然に出ていて、読んでいてこちらの方が恐縮させられる）
肉体は霊が自我を表現するための道具です。存分に発揮したいと思われれば、十分な手入れをしなくてはなりません。疲労が重なると本来の機能が発揮できなくなります。そこで神は、その無限の叡知によって、肉体を休息させ、活力を取り戻させるための〝睡眠〟を用意したのです。
地上の四季の移り変わりをよくご覧なさい。秋になると大自然は冬の眠りのための準備をし、春になると再び目醒め、夏にその壮観を披露します。人体も同じです。休息によって元気を回復しなければなりません。休息はぜひとも必要です」
──ここで過労によって健康を害している二人のメンバーにこう説いた。
「無理をしていることを知りつつも無理を重ねて､けっきょく中途で倒れる人がいるものです。倒れたら休息するほかはありません。私たちはあなた方に自助の心構えを説き、霊と精神にかかわる摂理だけでなく、その肉体を支配している生理的法則にも絶対的に従わねばならないことをお教えしています。
それを忠実に守り、霊と精神と肉体が調和状態にあるかぎり、あなた方は健康であり健全です」
メンバーの一人が「どうやら私は言うことを聞かない部類に入るようです」と述べると──
「言うことを聞くようにと、神は二つの耳をお与えになったのです。〝スピリチュアリズムには七つの綱領〟（※）というのがあります。その一つに〝各個の責任〟というのがありますが、たぶんこれが七つの中で一ばん大切でしょう。異論や反論の余地のない真実が秘められているからです。
あなた方は他人のすることではなく自分のすることに自分一人で責任を取るのです。
あなたの責任を免除してくれるものは誰一人、何一つありません。注意を怠れば、それだけの代償を自分が払わねばなりません。それが原因と結果の自然法則なのです」
（訳者注──心霊誌 Two Worlds の創刊者である女性霊媒エマ･ハーディング･ブリテンを通じて地上で社会主義思想家として有名だったロバート･オーエンが提唱した基本原理で、あえて直訳のまま紹介すると次の通りである。
（一）神の父性 （二）人類の同胞性 （三）霊の交信と天使の支配 （四）人間の霊魂の存続 （五）各自の責任 （六）地上生活における善行と悪行に対する死後の応報 （七）すべての霊魂に開かれている永遠の向上。
以上を基本として、さらに、キリスト教的信仰を忘れきれない一派や、反対にキリスト教的色彩を徹底的に抹殺したい一派などによって、それぞれに拡大したり敷延したりした綱領もある。
──各自に責任があることは知識としては知っていましたが、これまでは他人事のように考え、自分の問題として真剣に自覚したことはありませんでした。これからは心掛けようと思います。
「ぜひ心掛けてください。あなたが自覚するしないにおかまいなく、自然法則は働き続けるものだからです。冷淡なのではありません。法則として定められたように働かざるを得ないのです。それは、私たちがこの仕事を定められた一定の線に沿って、進めざるを得ないのと同じです。
このサークルのメンバーの方には常づね申し上げていることですが、私たち霊団は、私たちのやり易い時に、私たちのやり易い方法でやるしかありません。あなた方の都合に合わせるわけにはいかないのです。あなた方と同じように私たちも、霊的にみてこれは是非やらなくてはならないと判断したことを行うに際して、やはり一定の法則による制約を受けています。
みなさんの生活を蔭で操ることはできます。物質を動かすこともできます。必要とみれば金策もいたします。が、それも一定の自然法則に従って行わねばなりません。
いつも申し上げることですが、人間は自分で正しいと判断したこと、良心が命じたことに素直に従わなくてはいけません。最終的には自分自身が裁判官なのです。反省してみて自分の行ったことはすべて正しかったか、どこかに間違いはなかったかを自分で判断することができるようになっております。
動機さえ正しければ絶対に間違ってはいません。何よりもまず動機が最優先されるのです。
（ここで〝間違ってはいません〟というのは霊性を傷つけることはないという意味であって、それによる結果に対して責任は問われないという意味ではない──訳者）
あなた方も元来が霊的存在であって、それが今は物的身体を通して自我を表現しているにすぎないという、この基本的真理をつねに念頭においてください。霊をたずさえた肉体ではなく、肉体をたずさえた霊だということです。その認識のもとに内部の霊性をできるだけ多く発揮することになるような生活を心掛けることです」
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