The Wheel of Life in Tibet

by John P. Pratt
11 Oct 2019, 7 Skull (SR), End Tabernacles (E)

©2019 by John P. Pratt. All rights Reserved.

Index, Home

Contents

1. Lobsang Rampa 2. Wheel of Life 2.1 Conception 2.2 Quickening 2.3 Birth 2.5 Rebirth 2.6 Death 2.7 Spirit World 2.10 Anguish in Hell 2.20 Lord 3. Conclusion 4. Appendix Notes

A Tibetan lama's view of the nature of the human life cycle.

Most of the sacred calendars discovered in my work have holy days which celebrate the 20 steps of life symbolized on the 20-day life cycle of the Sacred Round of Native Americans (the veintena, see Figure 1).[1] Life is represented there as a cycle from conception, birth, death, entry into the spirit world, and then being born again to repeat the cycle. That is very reminiscent of reincarnation, which belief has seemed incompatible with Christianity, but is believed by most religions of the East. "Reincarnation" as understood by Tibetans means that humans can only be reborn again as humans, not other life forms. Many adepts there have mastered the ability to enter the spirit realm and simply observe what is happening there. Many of their religious beliefs are thus based on observation, not superstition nor religion. Repeatable observations are the basis of science.

Fig. 1. The 20-step life cycle.

This article is an attempt to look objectively at what observations are claimed in the East, without the foolish Western (un-) scientific bias of disallowing all spiritual observations.[2] A blind man should not deny the existence of a rainbow because he cannot touch it. The two-fold objective of this article is (1) to learn more about the true cycle of life and (2) make an attempt to consider the possibility that Christianity and reincarnation may be two sides of the same coin.

Fig. 2. Bee Vision Compared to Human.

Before looking at the observations of a Tibetan lama, consider the following comparison. The eyes of a typical human can see colors from red to violet, as in a rainbow. Science has created sensors now which can detect colors invisible to us, such as ultraviolet, but visible to bees (see Figure 2). Many flowers have "targets" on them visible only in ultraviolet light (see Figure 3), which are located in the area needing pollination. How foolish would it seem to a bee if we argued that there was no target on the yellow flower simply because we could not see it. On the other hand, the bee cannot see "red" (see Figure 2), so she also should not argue with us about the existence of that color.

Fig. 3. Human vs bee view of cucumber flower.

This article is about a man who can see things in the spirit realm which he calls the "astral planes" (i.e. "star planes" which may coincide with "telestial" glory, the glory of the stars) (D&C 100:81). We can learn from his observations but must exercise great caution when he makes definitive statements about what he cannot see. That is, the same reasoning also applies to him: just because he cannot see something does not mean it does not exist! Such statements are based on religious beliefs or other learning. This article only concerns that which he testifies that he can see. He was allowed to visit higher realms with much more glory, but only briefly. Let us now see what we can learn from him.

Lobsang Rampa.

Dr. T. Lobsang Rampa (1911-1981) was a Tibetan Lama[3] who was trained at the Chakpori Medical College on Iron Mountain in the city of Lhasa, the capital of Tibet (see Figure 4).[4] He wrote 19 volumes between 1956 and 1980 about his life in Tibet, medicine, metaphysics, and his learning about different planes of existence and exactly what life is as he observed and understood it. He was a gifted seer with a photographic memory, which allowed him to remember many vital details. More important is that he was able to see and operate in the spirit realm at will. The truth his books contained caused me to read all of them between 1984 and 1985. His purpose was to educate the materialistic Western mind about the spiritual realm. To me he had a wealth of knowledge, even though, like all of us, his viewpoint was biased by his upbringing, religion and culture.

Eastern and Western religions both have fervent adherents who all agree on most points of how to act, such as the importance of treating everyone as you would like to be treated.[5] There have been, however, huge differences concerning the nature of the human experience. The West (Christianity) has viewed life as a single mortal life from birth to death, after which one is judged and rewarded according to his deeds and works (Rev. 20:12). On the other hand, the East has looked at life as just one of a series of multiple mortal probations, in which one has many lives to return to "choose again" to try to improve. Their equivalent of a "judgment" is that after death one visits the Hall of Records to review his life and see how well he did compared to the goals he set for himself before birth. The "law of karma", which is like the rendering of the judgment of his life, is largely his own plan for the next, in which his life includes scenarios to learn from and/or be punished for acts in previous lives. Another difference between East and West is that most Eastern religions do not believe in a resurrection, but consider the body only to be discarded like a man discards an old robe for a new one.

Fig. 4. Medical College atop Chakpori ("Iron Mountain") in 1938.

Another key difference is that Christianity insists that it is necessary to accept Jesus Christ as the Savior of all mankind in order to be "saved", whereas the East feels that one can perfect oneself by simply taking the mortal probation test over and over until he finally gets all of the answers right. They see Jesus Christ as one of many "ascended masters" who have graduated from the "Wheel of Life" after arriving at "perfection", but not as a "Savior" or "Son of God" who needs be acknowledged as such.

Fig. 5. Sermon on the Mount.

Rampa's observations are highly biased by his religious beliefs. He was required in his school to study the Bible, and so is familiar with its teachings and discusses his understanding of them. He explicitly states his belief that Christianity is the opposite of his religion, so that must be kept in mind because he is not looking for ways to reconcile the two views. For example, he does not believe in the existence of a literal "hell" where souls are tortured as they await a final Judgment Day. He believes that "hell" is this world, where spirits return to live in another probation to see if they can learn the "right way" to live. That next mortal life will be designed to help individuals to learn the required lesson. He does not believe in the need of a Savior because people are attempting to perfect themselves by simple living many, many lives. The Christian response to that method might be, "Good luck with that, because that won't ever happen without accepting the Savior!"[6] In spite of these apparently vast differences, there is one huge similarity: both are attempted paths to perfection! One tries to attain that goal alone and the other believes such an attempt is futile and so relies on the merits of Jesus Christ. Both paths require very similar laws of "right conduct". Only two points out of twenty-five in the Sermon on the Mount mention accepting Jesus (the first and last, see Figure 5), the others are all about being a good person,[7] so maybe these paths are not as far separated as we have assumed.

His beliefs provide an excellent example of how one must carefully distinguish between his observations and the conclusions he draws from his observations. He knows reincarnation exists because he, with permission, can go replay a person's entire life by viewing it in the akashic record.[8] The akasha is the etheric matter in which a complete record of all lives are imprinted. It is in all things and through all things, the same as the "ether" of former scientists, which Einstein renamed to be the "vacuum", which has all the same properties of the former ether, such as transmitting light waves/photons! It is called the "light of Christ" by Mormons (D&C 88:6-7), and the zero point energy field by forward-looking scientists. Most of those who return from near death experiences, who saw their entire life played back to them in an instant, testify that such a life record exists. There is also a record which traces exactly which lives a spirit lived during its progression. But when Rampa identifies the astral plane as the "hell" of the Christians, that is his theory or explanation, just like a scientific theory which attempts to explain what he sees. He has not seen a hell (a place of souls tormented in flames), but he has seen what happens to spirits after death, has seen them grieve over their mistakes in the Hall of Records, and assumes that their suffering there and in their next life must be what is symbolized by the Christian "hell".

Blind men describing an elephant
(Click to see their view of reality)

There is something else which he sees but may not understand fully. He points out that a living soul is composed of three main parts: (1) a physical body, (2) an etheric body, and (3) an immortal spirit. When he describes death, he states that these three parts separate. The dead corpse in Tibet was given to the vultures (often after a careful autopsy) in most cases, because it was considered to be like an old robe to be disposed of.[9] In life, the etheric body is usually identified as the innermost level of the aura which is in contact with the physical body.[10] He points out, however, that it is not really part of the aura, which is generated by the life force in the physical body, but is actually a separate part of an individual found between the physical body and the aura. It is magnetic, rather than electric. After death, the etheric body appears as a glowing phantom slightly larger than the person. It is often called a "ghost" because it can linger long enough to be seen on dark nights around graves as a faintly glowing entity. Rampa believes it dissolves back into native elements like the body, leaving no trace, because it is usually seen only for a few days after death. In contrast, the immortal spirit goes on to review its life, make a plan, and then to be reborn. That is what he identifies as the individual. He has no belief in a hell, judgment by another, nor resurrection because he has not observed them and his religion does not believe in them. My main point in reviewing this is that his lack of knowledge of those subjects does not negate them. This article concerns only what he actually observes.

Sacred calendars, my field of study, are mostly based the steps of life, so they can only be understood if the steps of life are understood.[11] This article summarizes my understanding of Rampa's view, retold from my Western (Christian) perspective, of his understanding relevant to the cycle of life.

Although the Tibetans refer to a Wheel of Life, no precise steps on it could be found in Rampa's work, but only the general idea that we cycle through a series of births, lives, deaths, and life reviews. Thus, in this article that phrase refers to the 20 days of the Native American veintena (see Figure 6). Summaries of quotations from my notes from his 19 volumes which seem to pertain to those 20 steps of life are presented in this section. Those books are numbered in this article sequentially in order of publication date from 1 to 19.[12] Direct quotations from his writings are given in the format 4:197 where "4" refers to the book number and 197 refers to page number in the paperback edition. Such references can be accessed by hovering over or clicking on the reference. The quotation will also be given in the Appendix to this article for hard copy readers. The books are written by an Eastern mind, which means they are not written in chronological order nor arranged by subject but are anecdotal stories from his life which teach principles. Some books are answers to questions from readers. Thus, quotations from several volumes may all pertain to one subject.

Fig. 6. The 20 steps of the life cycle.

Before presenting his views on each step of the veintena, the following quote sums up the lama's belief about the time as a spirit before birth:

Every person coming to this earth comes with a prepared plan, a plan of what they want to learn, what they propose to do, and what they aspire to be when they leave this earth after sojouring in its school....

Before we came to this earth, we mapped out what we intended to do. The knowledge was stored in our subconscious and if we could get in touch with our subconscious, as some of us can, then we should know everything that we had planned....

Most people come to this world in order to learn things. Others come in order that they may assist those in need, or to complete some special, highly important task. -- Rampa 4: 197, 220, 53.

In the subsections which follow, the ideas taught by Rampa are summarized according to my understanding. His actual words are found in the references provided.

2.1 Conception

Rampa teaches that a child should only be conceived by two loving parents. Love is a key factor in the best development of a new life. Parents should have only one sex partner, mating for life as do more advanced animals. Artificial insemination of mankind or animals is considered to be a major crime. It can result in an almost soulless person who might actually be subhuman (Rampa 4:184,187,203).

Rampa's personal knowledge appears to be mostly confined to "astral planes", meaning spiritual realms above, at, or below our spiritual level as mortals. He states that most people will never see their spouse or family again after death because there are not really strong ties of love and compatibility between them. Except in the lower planes, spirits will be only around similar individuals with whom they get along. They will never see again anyone with whom they were incompatible, including their spouse (Rampa 4:95). But in the case of families where there is truly love among them, then yes, they can be together because of the love more than because of the particular relationship they had in mortality. He also says that children chose their parents mostly for the reason of what they felt they could learn from them rather than for compatibility. Often that means that some of the most advanced spirits chose really harsh, abusive parents for them to learn the required difficult lessons.

2.2 Quickening

Quickening is the moment when the spirit enters the body of the unborn child and the mother feels it come to life (Rampa 4:37). Before that moment, the fetus is truly just a developing body being prepared to receive a spirit. Therefore, birth control before that time when life is felt in the little body by the mother is acceptable to terminate a pregnancy (Rampa 4:186).

Concerning terminating the pregnancy, he is speaking of birth control pills which abort the very tiny fetus almost immediately after conception. Abortion was illegal at that time and considered totally immoral by nearly all people, so this quote should not be construed to support abortion. One reason for that is that he also teaches that all children choose which parents would be best for them to learn the lessons they want during mortality. It is implied that the parents also agree to accept those children. Thus, even though the spirit has not yet been quickened into the unborn baby's body, any termination of the pregnancy might be considered a breech of contract. There are many such cases known to modern researchers of children who were forced to go to other families because their parents rejected them from joining their family.[13]

2.3 Birth

Birth consists of when the umbilical cord is cut and the newborn infant begins to breath the breath of life, independent of its life in the mother's womb. It is a huge step in this new life. All three of the first steps of the veintena are considered major holy days, which comprise only seven days of the twenty. The lama has little new to add to this universal definition.

The fourth step of the veintena, the Dragon (representing evil), marks the end of the age of innocence and the birth of the natural man (Mosiah 3:19), an enemy of God, with the arrival of the time of accountability at age 8 or the teenage years, often marked by rebellion. The lama says nothing about this step in all nineteen volumes to the best of my ability to detect, so there is no Section 2.4. To the best of my understanding, he does not believe in Satan, but only the general concept of evil, meaning to be off of the path of the "right way".

2.5 Rebirth

The death of the natural man is represented by the Serpent of the veintena, representing "Rebirth", because a serpent appears to be reborn when it sheds its old dead skin. This concept is not well understood in Christianity at all. The outward ordinance associated with rebirth is baptism, which represents the death of the natural man and the rebirth of the person, who is transformed and no longer has any wish whatsoever to do evil. Like all ordinances, it is symbolic of the actual rebirth which usually comes long after baptism by water, not at confirmation as a member of the Church, where the new member is commanded to later receive the Holy Ghost. An example of a people having "no disposition to do evil, but to good continually" after having been "born of him" are those hearing King Benjamin's speech (Mosiah 5:2, 5-7). If the reader still has desires to do evil, then you probably have not been born again.

It is extremely important to be born again with the baptism of fire and of the Holy Ghost. In fact, it is apparently required to enter the Kingdom where God resides (John 3:5). This was made clear to the Nephites because as Jesus told them they must believe and be baptized to inherit the kingdom of heaven. He stated that if they (truly) believe, that the Father will visit them "with fire and with the Holy Ghost" (3 Nephi 11:33-35). Moreover, rebirth not a slow, imperceptible process requiring years, but occurs within a minute or so. It feels like one is on fire, completely enveloped in flames, having all dross being burned out of the body as in a refiner's fire. Often at the same time the Holy Ghost descends upon him giving revelations. An example is Alma the Younger who, after experiencing the anguish of hell, cried unto Jesus, was "born of God" and, being "filled with the Holy Ghost", received a revelation of God on His throne (Alma 36:5,12-13,18,20,22-23).

While Rampa does not believe in the "natural man", nor "baptism", nor the need to accept Jesus Christ as a Savior, he talks about something very similar. He states that one cannot escape the cycle of having to endure multiple mortal lives until one has what is known as the "raising of the Kundalini". The Kundalini is represented by a coiled serpent below the base of the spine that at some point of spiritual maturity uncoils quickly like a spring, shooting like a huge surge of electricity up the spinal cord, awakening the chakras (spiritual centers) on the way. When this has been achieved, the person's powers of perception and metaphysical gifts are greatly expanded. That occurrence is a necessary, but not sufficient, indication that the person is ready to advance to a higher state called the "Land of Golden Light" where one attains to Buddhahood (Rampa 2:98, Rampa 3:75), being the equivalent of the Christian "paradise" (place in spirit world for the righteous). It is a plane of perfect harmony between people there.

The raising of the Kundalini is mentioned here because it may be the Tibetan equivalent of being "born again" in that it is required to advance to the next spiritual level (paradise), much the same as being born again is required of Christians (Rampa 9:184). Both result in a person being transformed, where they can live together in harmony because they no longer desire to do any evil. Moreover, both consist of feeling a power surge or feeling enveloped in spiritual flames. Rampa explains his belief that Adam and Eve gained knowledge in this manner (Rampa 3:93b).

One witness of the correctness of this interpretation of Eve's partaking of the forbidden fruit being the raising of her Kundalini comes from the Sacred Round. The day on which Eve partook was on 13 Serpent,[14] a major holy day being the "high day" (13 is the highest number) of the Serpent, which has been interpreted in my work to represent Rebirth. That day has appeared meaningful because of the importance of the serpent in the allegory, but something appeared wrong for two reasons. First, the symbol for Satan in the veintena is the Dragon, not the Serpent, so it has been mysterious why the day was not 13 Dragon. Second, the Serpent is a very positive day, not negative. Isaac was born on 1 Serpent. If that was indeed a "fall" day, it should have been more negative. The Fall of Adam was on 1 Storm, where Storm can have negative connotations, which makes more sense. For example, the Fall of Jerusalem in 587 BC was on 1 Storm. Note, however, that Eve did not break God's commandment, for that commandment only told Adam not to partake of the fruit (Gen. 2:16-17). Eve had not even been created by that time. Eve broke only Adam's commandment, hence the event is referred to as the "Fall of Adam".

The Serpent is also the symbol of Wisdom because the serpent knows when to strike in an instant after having remained coiled up patiently awaiting the right moment to succeed in hitting its target (Eccl. 8:5). The Savior commanded his apostles to be "wise as serpents and harmless as doves" (Matt. 10:16).[15] A hidden meaning of that injunction might now be springing forth to understand why the Serpent is the symbol of Rebirth. It actually only refers to being baptized by fire and the Holy Ghost! It does not include being baptized by water, which is represented by the glyph Water on the veintena. The Savior was baptized on the day 13 Water.[16] The serpent is the symbol of Wisdom and the dove is the symbol of the Holy Ghost! The Kundalini is also called the "Serpent Fire" (Rampa 3:92). Rampa's explanation is so striking that at this moment it becomes clear that on the veintena cycle of the Sacred Round, Water is the symbol of baptism, being born of water, and the Serpent is the symbol of the Rebirth by the baptism by fire and the Holy Ghost. Henceforth in my work, that shall be my interpretation of the meaning of the Serpent in the veintena glyphs! Another change in my understanding is that the phrase "Fall of Eve" will probably no longer be used in my articles. "Raising of Eve" seems more appropriate![17] One goal of this article has been to understand those glyphs better, and that has been fulfilled!

This explanation could be tied to the Day of the Brazen Serpent, which was a "fiery, flying serpent" (1 Nephi 17:41), a "fire serpent", a saw-scale viper, which is called "fiery" both because it is red and also has a burning poisonous bite. It can spring upward so rapidly that it eats birds![18] That miraculous healing day also occurred on 13 Serpent![19] Truly that was the right day for the fiery serpent to be "raised up"!

The Hebrew holy day which corresponds to the Serpent of the veintena is Hanukkah, the Feast of Dedication, celebrating when the temple was rededicated (reborn) during the time of the Maccabees in 165 BC. It is also called the Festival of Lights because it commemorates the miracle of when the light of the eternal flame continued to burn for 8 days longer than it should have. It is celebrated by lighting candles on the special 9-candle menorah, rather than the usual one with only seven candles. The nine candles are lit in succession, one on each night of the Festival.[20]

Indeed, hidden knowledge can be learned by studying the wisdom of the East!

2.6 Death

The subject of death is so important in this article that the date of publication was chosen to be on a holy Skull (Death) day, as well as End Tabernacles (E) which also represents death of the mortal tabernacle. This is a subject which Rampa describes in detail because a seer can see the spirit leaving the body as well as the etheric body (ghost). Some of his books are just to answer questions of readers, and the most common question was about death, so he repeated the lessons several times.

There are three main parts to a human being: (1) the physical body, (2) the etheric body, and (3) the spirit. The etheric body contains emotions, especially those which are negative such as greed and lust. The spirit is the true identity of the individual (Rampa 1:201). The brain is just an electrical relay station which forwards impulses from the spirit to control the body, such as the muscles. The spirit is connected to the physical body by a "Silver Cord" of high frequency electrical energy through which the spirit controls and communicates to the body. It is the spiritual equivalent to the umbilical cord through which the mother nourishes and sustains the unborn baby. It is even usually connected to the navel.

As a person begins to die naturally, as from a sickness (not accident), a cloud begins to form above the body. Gradually it takes on the exact shape and size of the person, and the Silver Cord is seen to connect their navels (usually at that point). The Silver Cord gradually thins until it breaks. Death occurs at that moment, and the spirit then slowly drifts out of the room (Rampa 9:122-123). There are many Christian scriptures which refer to death as being "cut off" (Psa. 37:9; Eze. 14:17,19; Job 4:7). One Bible scripture explicitly states that the severing the Silver Cord causes death (Eccl. 12:6-7).

The etheric body is a blue-grey magnetic layer extending from about ¼ to 3-4 inches from the physical body (Rampa 4:152).[10] It continues on after death, being slightly larger than the person, and can linger for days. It is what is called the "ghost" which is seen around graveyards for a few days after burial. In the Tibetan belief system this body simply disintegrates, but Rampa notes that the Egyptians believed that this is the body which was taken to the underworld by the jackal-headed god Anubis. He explicitly states that his religion does not believe that the etheric body persists as did the Egyptians, but instead dissolves (Rampa 1:201).

2.7 Spirit World

The Deer glyph of the veintena represents the rapidly moving spirit of an individual. Rampa explains that a spirit may move almost instantly to almost any place desired. He distinguishes what he calls the "spirit world" from the "astral planes". The spirit world refers to what Christians would call paradise, whereas the middle astral is the level of this earth's existence and the lower astral is the place of demons and monstrous-looking evil creatures, sounding very similar to what Christians might call hell. Rampa sees this area not as hell but rather simply the dwelling place of unevolved creatures which have not yet learned the "right way".

Most spirits after death, however, do not get to go to paradise but rather stay in the astral planes. Note that "astral" means "star", so this level can be thought of as the "glory of the stars", or what Mormons call a telestial level. That fits with their belief that this earth is currently in a telestial state. Thus, the lama sees that those who die on earth are usually reincarnated to begin another mortal life to attempt to learn lessons they need. This they do after visiting the Hall of Records which contains a copy of their life stream, which recorded their entire life to be reviewed later. There is nobody else there to judge them; they judge themselves and usually very harshly. After the spirit has planned out a life which would help him improve, he can be reborn when the time is right. There is typically a few centuries between mortal lives. In the case of Rampa, his last incarnation was about 600 years prior (Rampa 1:210). Suicide is never justified! Suicide is considered one of the worst crimes against oneself and against the Creator, not to appreciate the gift of life. If a person shortens his own life, the spirit must be reborn immediately to finish out his alloted time (Rampa 4:38).

2.10 Anguish in Hell

The lama does not believe in a hell as a place within the earth where a soul is burning in anguish for his sins. Instead he believes in reincarnation, where a person is born again into a life which he himself designed to learn to overcome his former sins. Thus, he sees this earth life as really being what Christians are talking about when they speak of hell (Rampa 4:54). Keep in mind, though, he may never have seen hell and hence does not believe in it. He believes in what he has seen. His belief does not appear consistent with what he has said about what life is: a school. Thus, his belief is equivalent to "school is hell", which hopefully isn't true for everyone! He does make a strong point elsewhere, though, that if a person is suffering in this life, it does not mean he is being punished for past sins. It often means that his plan was that such suffering might teach him a lesson he needs, such as compassion. One cannot judge another to be suffering because of past evil deeds (Rampa 3:122). Thus, to me this lack of a belief in hell seems inconsistent which his other beliefs.

Anubis, guide to the Underworld.

Moreover, he makes the point that the Egyptians believed in an underworld where Anubis, the jackal-headed guide, leads the soul into anguish. The symbol of the Dog in this life step corresponds to Anubis. The Native American wheel is inspired and matches the lives of so many great souls, that the fact that the lama does not believe in it to me does not in any way negate the existence of a hell separate from this mortal life. On the other hand, he does believe in the "lower astral" where there exist many horrible and hideous evil demons (Rampa 4:139), but apparently he has never witnessed any people there being tortured by them. That is especially noteworthy because on his tour of that region under the protection of his mentor, the demons tried to kill him. They were unsuccessful because the lesson he was being taught was that there is nothing to fear but fear itself (Rampa 4:136,140,141). Thus, this appears to be a case where he was more influenced by his religion, which does not believe in hell, than by what he actually observed, namely demons attempting to torture him.

2.20 Lord

The final state, equivalent to becoming "one with God" or even "god" is difficult to pin down. Most of the description of life from Buddhists is about simply trying to get off the Wheel of Life, referring to being continually reborn on earth, just to get to paradise, without having needed to accept a Savior. They don't believe in the Resurrection. In Mormon teaching, that works just fine because the terrestrial kingdom, the place for the honorable men of the earth who did not accept Jesus (D&C 76:75-77), is a glorious place where the people indeed live in harmony. That is apparently the Nirvana (Land of Golden Light) of the Buddhists. It is one of the three great kingdoms of heaven.

On the other hand, the lama could see many things in the various planes of existence which adds to the spiritual knowledge of us materialistic Westerners. Rampa criticizes Christians for believing that man was created in the image of God, because that would imply that man is the highest form of life. They can see higher and more intelligent forms of life in other worlds and systems, so they feel they know man is not the highest. The believe in a person who is the head entity over this earth, and realize that this might be who the Christians are calling "god". They believe that the "god" of this earth is a very evolved man (Rampa 4:61). But they believe that every being is experiencing eternal progression, so that even God will progress and a new one will be promoted to his level to take his place.

Notes

1. Pratt, John P., "Celebrating Life on Twenty Holy Days" (18 Feb 2014).
2. See Pratt, John P., "Science and Religion Turf Wars" Meridian Magazine (11 Dec 2002).
3. His later volumes explain that when he was near death in 1949, his silver cord (Ecc. 12:6-7) was spliced onto the body of a man named Cyril Hoskin who wanted to die, causing that man to be released into the spirit realm and Lobsang to take over that body to finish his work. All of his books were written in that body, so of course all scholars have assumed the books are fiction purporting to be truth. I believe that Rampa was honest and describing the cosmos as he saw and understood it because there is so much truth in the books. I do not believe the books were channelled, but that they described his actual experiences. Moreover, it was ideal for Rampa to inherit the body of a British man because he needed to write his books in English. It turns out that language is stored totally in the brain, not the mind. Thus, he could write in English. Perhaps the strongest argument against him by critics was that he didn't even speak Tibetan, but that was to be expected!
4. See "Chagpori" in Wikipedia for an excellent summary article about the former medical college, established in 1696, which was destroyed by Chinese communists in 1959, who then ruled the land. It is wonderful that Lobsang preserved so much arcane knowledge in his books!
5. Pratt, John P., "Obeying God's Laws to Prepare for Zion" (8 Apr 2017) Section 2.1 Sermon on the Mount. It summarizes Christ's new commandments in a list of 25. Only the first and last refer to following Jesus, the other 23 are about being a good person. Five centuries before Christ, Confucius had his own version of the Golden Rule: "Do not impose on others what you do not wish for yourself."
6. This is reminiscent of an old joke where two are comparing how much schooling they've had. The first said she'd had 16 years of school because she graduated from college. The second said, "That's nothing, I've had lots more than that: 3 years in first grade, 4 years in second grade,..."! That would be true if they accept Christ during their first lifetime while those in the East reject Christ as Rampa had done at the time of the writing of his books. Supporting this idea, Rampa says that the people of the East have very old spirits, but those in America are very young, many coming to earth for the first time (Rampa 10:69). The oldest spirit may not be the best! I knew man who applied for a job saying that he had 30 years experience at it. When one of his references was contacted, he said it wasn't true, but rather that the man had repeated one year of experience thirty times!
7. See reference in Note 5.
8. For example, because he needed the knowledge, Rampa was allowed to view the entire life of the man whose dying body his silver cord was spliced to so he could continue to live in that body and finish his work (see note 3).
9. It may be very important to note, however, that in the case of highly advanced individuals, it was important to embalm and preserve their remains. In the case of Rampa himself, when his body was worn out and near death, it was very important for him to return to Tibet to have his body laid to rest there. The scriptures talk about the resurrection of most people occurring after most of the world's 7,000 history is over, so it might be that they understood that only the last body would resurrect. For some reason, they felt to keep certain corpses preserved and feed the rest to the vultures!
10. See "Etheric Body" in Wikipedia which defines it as "a vital body or subtle body propounded in esoteric philosophies as the first or lowest layer in the 'human energy field' or aura."
11. I received an answer to prayer about 1980 when I first began to research the Mayan Calendar which is still guiding my work. I had prayed to understand the workings of the Mayan Calendar. Suddenly I began to receive answers about the cycle of life, such as that a plant is "born" when its head emerges from the dark, wet soil into the light and dry air. That was interesting, but I felt like I was reading someone else's mail because I had not asked any questions about biology. These answers often came in the form of dreams. When I then prayed to know if there had been some mistake because I could not see what those dreams had to do with the Mayan Calendar. In answer, I spiritually heard these words: "This is my work and my glory, to bring to pass life. If you want to understand my calendar, you must understand life." I was totally surprised by that response, but as time went on, it became clear just how all-encompassing that answer was! It apparently applies to nearly all of His calendars!
12. Here is the list of Rampa's 19 books, numbered for quotation references:

    1. The Third Eye (New York: Ballentine Books, 1956)
    2. Doctor from Lhasa (New York: Souvenir Press, 1959)
    3. The Rampa Story (New York: Souvenir Press, 1960)
    4. Cave of the Ancients (London: Corgi Books, 1963)
    5. Living With the Lama (London: Corgi Books, 1964)
    6. You Forever (London: Corgi Books, 1965)
    7. Wisdom of the Ancients (London: Corgi Books, 1965)
    8. The Saffron Robe (London: Corgi Books, 1966)
    9. Chapters of Life (London: Corgi Books, 1967)
    10. Beyond The Tenth (London: Corgi Books, 1969)
    11. Feeding the Flame (London: Corgi Books, 1970)
    12. The Hermit (London: Corgi Books, 1971)
    13. The Thirteenth Candle (London: Corgi Books, 1972)
    14. Candlelight (London: Corgi Books, 1973)
    15. Twilight (London: Corgi Books, 1975)
    16. As It Was (London: Corgi Books, 1976)
    17. I Believe (London: Corgi Books, 1976)
    18. Three Lives (London: Corgi Books, 1977)
    19. Tibetan Sage (London: Corgi Books, 1980)

13. Sarah Hinze is perhaps the foremost author in this field of life before birth and the horrible effects of late term abortions on the unborn baby, who still suffers from that abuse in their next life. See, for example, The Castaways (2016).
14. Pratt, John P., "Decision Days Ahead?" Meridian Magazine (21 Jun 2006) Section 5.1 Fall of Eve.
15. Concerning the wisdom of the serpent, in the story of Eve and the serpent, note the double meaning of the Hebrew word (Strong 6175) translated "subtle" (KJV) in the statement that the serpent was the most subtle of any beast of the field (Gen. 3:1). That is usually interpreted to mean crafty or sly. In Hebrew, however, it can also mean "wise" and was often translated as "prudent" (KJV). Examples are Prov. 12:23, Prov. 14:8, Prov. 14:18, and Prov. 22:3. In that case, the Garden story might mean that the serpent was the wisest of all of the animals!
16. Pratt, John P., "Astronomical Witnesses of the Great Flood" Meridian Magazine (13 Aug 2003) Section 2.2 Baptism of Jesus Christ.
17. Consider this possibility which now presents itself. Even though the counsel to partake of the forbidden fruit was given by Satan, what if Eve was not actually obeying him, but instead followed the promptings of her own Spirit, her higher Self, which in turn may have been prompted by God because the higher Self is connected by a Golden Cord directly to God (Rampa 9:151). If so, then Eve disobeyed her husband in order to follow God, whereas Adam disobeyed God in order to follow his wife! If that was the case, then Eve did not even sin against God at all, but actually obeyed Him! In fact, Eve demonstrated true wisdom! Nevertheless, part of her punishment for disobeying her husband was that he would rule over her (Gen. 3:16).
18. Pratt, John P., "What Fiery Flying Serpent Symbolized Christ?" Meridian Magazine (9 Jun 2000).
19. Pratt, John P., "Jubilee Calendar Testifies of Christ" Meridian Magazine (17 Nov 2004) Section 2.3.4 Brazen Serpent.
20. When the Serpent Fire (Kundalini) is raised, it successively lights up each of 9 chakras along the spinal cord, being the seven more visible ones and two which are hidden and not known to most (Rampa 9:181). There are also nine planets (counting the sun and moon), 7 of which are visible and two (Uranus and Neptune) which are invisible. There are nine holy days on the Mercury, Venus and Mars Calendars, seven which are holy days when the planet is visible, and two of which (Quickening and Death) when it disappears.

Appendix

The first number in a Rampa reference is to the number of his book (1-19) and the second is to the page number in that book where the quotation begins.

• Rampa 1:201 -- "There are three basic bodies: the flesh body in which the spirit can learn the hard lessons of life, the etheric or 'magnetic' body which is made by each of us by our lusts, greed, and strong passions of various kinds. The third body is the spirit body, the 'Immortal Soul'. That is our Lamaist belief and not necessarily the orthodox Buddhist belief. A person dying has to go through three stages: his physcial body has to be disposed of, his etheric has to be dissolved, and his spirit has to be helped on the road to the World of Spirit. The ancient Egyptians also believed in the etheric double, in the Guides of the Dead, and in the World of Spirit. In Tibet we helped people before they were dead."
• Rampa 1:210 -- So as a Recognized Incarnation I had again the status with which I left the earth some six hundred years before. The Wheel of Life had revolved full circle."
• Rampa 2:98 -- "I knew ... that this man was no longer of the flesh, but a spirit, that his silver cord had been severed and the golden bowl shattered.... in a flash, a flash of golden light,... a vision of surpassing beauty and purity. It was a being who had advanced far upon the path of evolution. One who had attained Buddhahood."
• Rampa 3:75 -- "A rest in what we call 'The Land of Golden Light'. Here we are beyond the stage of reincarnating. Here we work to help peoples of many different worlds, not merely that called Earth."
• Rampa 3:92 -- "Man and woman are not merely a mass of protoplasm, of flesh stuck on a bony framework. Man is, or can be, much greater than that. Here on this earth we are mere puppets of our Overself, that Overself which temporarily resides in the astral [body--JPP] and which obtains experience through the flesh body, which is the puppet, the instrument of the astral.... The spine is a very important structure indeed. It houses the spinal cord, without which one is paralyzed, without which one is useless as a human. But the spine is more important than that. Right in the center of the spinal nerve, the spinal cord is a tube which extends to another dimension. It is a tube upon which the force known as the Kundalini can travel when awakened. At the base of the spine is what the Easterners call the Serpent Fire. It is the seat of life itself.... the serpent force can arise through the channel through the spinal nerve, rise straight up to the brain and beyond, beyond into the astral. As it rises its potent force activates each of the chakras, or centers of power,... when those centers are awakened a person becomes vital, powerful, dominant. With complete control of the serpent force, one can achieve almost anything. One can move mountains or walk on water"
• Rampa 3:93a -- "With complete control of the serpent force one can achieve almost anything. One can move mountains, or walk on water, or levitate, or allow oneself to be buried in the earth in a sealed chamber from which one would emerge alive at any specified time."
• Rampa 3:93b -- "Eve was tempted by the serpent. In other words, in some way she got to know about the Kundalini. She was able to release the serpent power coiled at the base of her spine and that rose up and surged through the spinal column, and awakened her brain, and gave her knowledge. Thus in the story it can be said that she ate from the Tree of Knowledge, or of the fruit thereof."
• Rampa 3:122 -- "you cannot judge a man's evolution by his present status on earth, nor can you condemn him as evil because he seems to be in difficulties. Nor should you condemn, for until you have all the facts, which you cannot have in this life, you have no sound judgment."
• Rampa 4:37 -- "At some pre-determined time the Soul in Waiting was called and was led forth into the World of Mankind by one of those whose task was such service. They stopped, invisible to the eyes of those in the flesh, watching the parents-to-be, looking at the house, assessing the probabilities that this house would afford the desired facilities for learning the lessons which had to be learned this time. Satisfied they withdrew. Months later the Mother-to-be felt a sudden quickening inside her as the Soul entered and the Baby came to life."
• Rampa 4:38 -- "A man or a woman has a certain alloted span of time on earth. If one ends his or her life before that time, then he or she has to return almost immediately.... Suicide is never justified; it is a grave offense against oneself.... Bravery consists not in dying but in living in face of hardship, in face of suffering. To die is easy -- to live -- that is the brave act! We are here to learn and we can only learn through living our allotted span. Suicide is never justified!"
• Rampa 4:54 -- "Many religions preach about a hell, a place of punishment or expiation for one's sins. Hell is here, on this world. Our real life is on the other world. Here we come to learn, to pay for the mistakes made in previous lives or ... to attempt the accomplishment of some highly important task."
• Rampa 4:61 -- "Every world, every country of every world, has its God, or Guardian Angel. We call the God in charge of the world the Manu. He is a highly evolved Spirit, a human who through incarnation after incarnation has purged the dross, leaving only the pure behind. There is a band of Great Beings who at times of need come to this earth that they may set an example whereby ordinary mortals may be enabled to lift from the mire of worldly desires."
• Rampa 4:95 -- "if you are unhappy with your parents you will never see them again in the spirit world. In the spirit world there is the Law of Harmony, and it is utterly impossible for you to meet anyone with whom you are incompatible. Thus, if you are married to a partner and yours is a marriage of convenience, a marriage which you are afraid to break for fear of what the neighbors will say, you will never again see your companion in the spirit world unless he or she alters so radically (or if YOU alter!) that you are both compatible.... They must definitely be compatible and in complete harmony before they can meet again. This is one of the reasons why it is necessary for spirits to have a physical body, that lessons may be learned, because only in the physical body can two antagonistic entities be brought into contact so that they may try to 'smooth off all the rough edges' and reach mutual understanding."
• Rampa 4:136,139-141 -- "The only thing to fear in occult matters is fear. Fear allows undesirable thoughts, undesirable entities to enter and even to take control of one, to take possession of one ... insane fiends ... hideous creatures ... they all seemed to have a common human trait of cruelty about them.... repeat again and again that there is naught ever to fear other than fear itself.... The creatures of the lower astral feed on fear, they are nourished by those of troubled conscience.... Fear corrodes the soul."
• Rampa 4:152 -- "extending from the body for a distance of an eighth of an inch to three or four inches from the body is the etheric sheath. This is a blue-grey mist, one can hardly call it a mist for although it appears misty one can see clearly through it."
• Rampa 4:184,187,203 -- "the sexual act should only be indulged in by those who are in love, by those who bound together by spiritual affinity. That which is illicit, unlawful, is mere prostitution of the body and can harm one as much as the other can help one. In the same way, a man or a woman should have only one partner, eschewing all temptations which would lead one from the path of truth and righteousness.... If one is going to have good stock, then there must be must be love or a form of affection in the mating process. If humans were artificially inseminated, then it could be that, being born without love, they would be subhumans! ... artificial insemination is one of the major crimes upon this earth.... If people got together just for the purpose of increasing the race, then the resulting children would be almost soulless people, the same in fact as those creatures who are born by what is known as artificial insemination. There must be love in intercourse".
• Rampa 4:186 -- "Birth control to some appears to be murder of an unborn person, but [before quickening -- JPP] the spirit has not entered the unborn baby".
• Rampa 7:100 -- "The Overself is like a puppet master. Just as the manipulator of puppets can manage the strings of several puppets at once, so can the Overself manage the Silver Cords of quite a number of different people. A person can be in England and have another person in Africa, Australia, or even on another planet; they can all be under the control of the same Overself."
• Rampa 9:38 -- "The Overself may have a person living one life in Australia, and may have yet another person doing something else in Africa. Perhaps there will be another one in South America, or Canada, or England; there may be more than three, there may be five, six, or seven. These people might never meet on Earth and they would still be very much in affinity with each other, they may have telepathic rapport, without in any way understanding why, but then occasionally they would meet in the astral world, just as travelling salesmen sometimes meet in the sales manger's office.... But what is the purpose of all this, you might ask. Well, that's easy to answer. By having a number of puppets the Overself can have vast experience and can live ten lives in just one lifetime. The Overself can experience riches and poverty at the same time, and so weigh them in the balance of experience.... In the normal course of events people would perhaps come as a prince and then wait for another life to come as a beggar, or the other way around, but when they are rushed for time, when any given cycle of evolution is nearing its end, as is the present case, then heroic methods may have to be adopted in order that those who ares slower may yet keep up with the rest.".
• Rampa 9:134 -- Prophecy of most probable future as seen in akasic record in 1967: "Lost continents which are now the sea-bed will rise and form new lands, present lands will sink and the world will for a time be in panic and turmoil. New York will be levelled to the ground and eventually shall sink below the waters of the Atlantic. Los Angeles and San Francisco, Seattle and Vancouver on the Pacific coast will be levelled to the ground and then shall sink beneath the rising Pacific. Most of the coast line will be inundated, the whole land will change. From over Alaska will come rockets with bombs from Communist Russia, great devastations will be caused in the United States and Canada. Of course, through retaliatory methods of these countries, great devastation will also be caused in Russia, but on the North American continent a few survivors will cluster on the top of the Rocky Mountains, enough to repopulate the continent later".
• Rampa 9:151 -- "the fourth stage of meditation takes us by way of the Silver Cord up to our Overself, and then by way of the Golden Cord of our Overself into the presence of that Great Entity which, for want of a better term down here, we call 'God'."
• Rampa 9:181 -- "The human mechanism--the controller mechanism, that is-- is actually composed of nine control centers. The average occultist mentions only seven because there are seven on the material, or mundane plane.... As already stated, there are seven 'mundane' centers, which are called 'chakras'. At the top of the head there is one frequently referred to as the 'Thousand Petalled Lotus'. The actual Sanskrit name is Sahasrara Chakra. This is the 'relay', or center, which is nearest to the spiritual and thus the one which is the more easily deranged. Lower (we are looking at the body from the back) around about the neck is the Ajna Chakra. This is the next important, and which is actually in contact with the Overself. This is the chakra of the mind, and remember that the mind is just an electrical function in much the same way as you can receive a telephone message, and the earpiece is just a 'function' of what is being said at the other end of the wire. Father down the spine we have the third chakra; this one is known as Visudha. This controls the action of the mouth, so if one has trouble in speaking clearly it could be that this chakra is undisciplined or damaged.... Next of our 'relays' is the Anahara Chakra which controls feel and all that we touch. Below that is the Manipura Chakra. This one is known as the 'Fire Principle' chakra ... Below that we have the sixth chakra, this is the Swadhishatana Chakra. This one deals with the Water Principle. Father down we have the seventh, or Earth Principle, referred to in Sanskrit as the Mooladhara. This one is the home of the Kundalini, and the Kundalini is actually the controlling, or life of humans. It is, let us say, the equivalent of the fire in the furnace which heats the water to raise the steam which turns the turbines to generate the electricity which lights the lamps, cools the refrigerator, etc., in civilization. Once the fire goes out the electricity dies through want of steam, and everything comes to a standstill. Many people who have been misinstructed, or worse, have been uninstructed, try to raise the Kundalini force by artificial means, because it is a fact that if one raises the Kundalini properly one can be very much more aware, very much more intelligent. But to raise it indiscriminately without having utter purity of thought is to do immense harm to oneself and frequently to lead to madness; to raise the Kundalini without thought of the consequences can lead to a complete mental and physical breakdown. So ... do not try to raise your own Kundalini."
• Rampa 9:184 -- "so long as Man (and Woman!) are bound by the operation of Ida and Pingala [two tubes in spine which provide energy for the body before Kundalini is awakened -- JPP], that man or woman will be confined to the earth plane, and to the theory and practice of birth, death, and rebirth. It is only when Man is able to raise his Kundalini and by-pass the caretaking energy sources of Ida and Pingala that he can progress and know that his time of release from the cycle of birth, death, and rebirth has come to an end."
• Rampa 14:142 -- "Actually there are nine different sheaths from the physical to the astral, but that does not matter for now because they are in different dimensions"
• Rampa 15:109 -- "Now, I have mentioned many times about the Overself and the puppets. Let's put it this way; you have your body, let's call your body the Overself. And then you have a right hand, a left hand, a right foot, and a left foot, let's call them your puppets. So your hands and feet are definitely part of you, aren't they, they are definitely related to each other, so in precisely the same way the other puppets who are the puppets of that one overself are related, are connected, are dependent upon each other. And the Overself has to manage each of those puppets in the same way that you have to manage your hands and your feet."
• Rampa 15:137 -- "... you can always pray to your Overself. Your Overself knows everything that has every happened to the Overself. But look at it like this; you are employed here in (shall we say?) America and your Big Boss is living in---oh, let's say Sydney, Australia. Now, if you want to get in touch with your Big Boss you have to use a ... telephone, and ... your Big Boss is the equivalent of your Overself ... and if you have ever tried to phone half way across the world you will have discovered that it is a frustrating, time wasting, patience consuming experience. And then half of the words you might have to guess. Your sub-conscious is like a librarian. A librarian doesn't need to know much herself, her chief value is that she knows where to find certain information. So a librarian can be consulted about any problem, an if she is a good librarian, she can tell you just where to look, what type of book will give you the information that you need. She will also tell you where the book is on the library shelves. The sub-conscious is like that. The sub-conscious is a pretty dim sort of individual, but he or she knows exactly how to get the information you want so if you get in touch with your subconscious you will find that you get results far more quickly that if you waste energy trying to contact your Overself.