A. Tanha, or the unsatisfied desire for existence.  The being having done that for which he must be rewarded or punished in future, and having Tanha, will have a rebirth through the influence of Karma.

Q. 124. ....What is it that is reborn?

A. A new aggregation of Skandhas, or individuality, caused by the last yearning of the dying person.

Q. 128.  To what cause must we attribute the differences in the combination of the Five Skandhas has which makes every individual different from every other individual?

A. To the Karma of the individual in the next preceding birth.

Q. 129.  What is the force or energy that is at work, under the guidance of Karma, to produce the new being?

A.  Tanha—­the “Will to Live.”
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When these are once mastered, the opportunities to use them will arrive, for there comes a moment when further watch and exertion are no longer needed:—­the moment when the turning-point is safely passed.  For the present as we deal with aspirants and not with advanced chelas, in the first stage a determined, dogged resolution, and an enlightened concentration of self on self, are all that is absolutely necessary.  It must not, however, be considered that the candidate is required to be unhuman or brutal in his negligence of others.  Such a recklessly selfish course would be as injurious to him as the contrary one of expending his vital energy on the gratification of his physical desires.  All that is required from him is a purely negative attitude.  Until the turning-point is reached, he must not “lay out” his energy in lavish or fiery devotion to any cause, however noble, however “good,” however elevated.* Such, we can solemnly assure the reader, would bring its reward in many ways—­perhaps in another life, perhaps in this world, but it would tend to shorten the existence it is desired to preserve, as surely as self-indulgence and profligacy.  That is why very few of the truly great men of the world (of course, the unprincipled adventurers who have applied great powers to bad uses are out of the question)—­the martyrs, the heroes, the founders of religions, the liberators of nations, the leaders of reforms—­ever became members of the long-lived “Brotherhood of Adepts” who were by some and for long years accused of selfishness. (And that is also why the Yogis, and the Fakirs of modern India—­most of whom are acting now but on the dead-letter tradition, are required if they would be considered living up to the principles of their profession—­to appear entirely dead to every inward feeling or emotion.) Notwithstanding the purity of their hearts, the greatness of their aspirations, the disinterestedness of their self-sacrifice, they could not live for they had missed the hour.