VII.  Atma.—­The emanation from the absolute, corresponding to the seventh principle.  As regards this entity there exists positively no real difference of opinion between the Tibetan Buddhist adepts and our ancient Rishis.

We must now consider which of these entities can appear after the individual’s death in seance-rooms and produce the so-called spiritualistic phenomena.

Now, the assertion of the Spiritualists, that the “disembodied spirits” of particular human beings appear in seance-rooms, necessarily implies that the entity that so appears bears the stamp of some particular personality.

So, we have to ascertain beforehand in what entity or entities personality has its seat of existence.  Apparently it exists in the person’s particular formation of body, and in his subjective experiences (called his mind in their totality).  On the death of the individual his body is destroyed; his lingasariram being decomposed, the power associated with it becomes mingled in the current of the corresponding power in the macrocosm.  Similarly, the third and fourth principles are mingled with their corresponding powers.  These entities may again enter into the composition of other organisms.  As these entities bear no impression of personality, the Spiritualists have no right to say that the disembodied spirit of the human being has appeared in the seance-room whenever any of these entities may appear there.  In fact, they have no means of ascertaining that they belonged to any particular individual.

Therefore, we must only consider whether any of the last three entities appear in seance-rooms to amuse or to instruct Spiritualists.  Let us take three particular examples of individuals, and see what becomes of these three principles after death.

I. One in whom spiritual attachments have greater force than terrestrial attachments.

II.  One in whom spiritual aspirations do exist, but are merely of secondary importance to him, his terrestrial interests occupying the greater share of his attention.

III.  One in whom there exists no spiritual aspirations whatsoever, one whose spiritual Ego is dead or non-existent to his apprehension.

We need not consider the case of a complete adept in this connection.  In the first two cases, according to our supposition, spiritual and mental experiences exist together; when spiritual consciousness exists, the existence of the seventh principle being recognized, it maintains its connection with the fifth and sixth principles.  But the existence of terrestrial attachments creates the necessity of Punarjanmam (re-birth), the latter signifying the evolution of a new set of objective and subjective experiences, constituting a new combination of surrounding circumstances, or, in other words, a new world.  The period between death and the next subsequent birth is occupied with the preparation required for the evolution of these new experiences.  During the period of incubation, as you call it, the spirit will never of its own accord appear in this world, nor can it so appear.