Death--and After?

habit in these elementary papers—to resort to these technical names at the outset, for the English language has as yet no equivalents for them, and the use of long descriptive phrases is extremely cumbersome and inconvenient. The author is likely referring to Sanskrit terms like "Prana" or "Linga Sharira" which were being introduced to Western audiences at this time.

For myself, I believe that very much of the antagonism between the adherents of the Esoteric PhilosophyA school of thought, often identified with Theosophy, that claims to teach the "inner" or "hidden" truths found at the core of all religions. and those of SpiritualismA movement popular in the 19th century that focused on the ability of the living to communicate with the souls of the deceased through mediums. has arisen from confusion of terms, and consequent misunderstanding of each other’s meaning. One eminent Spiritualist lately impatiently said that he did not see the need of exact definition, and that he meant by Spirit all the part of man’s nature that survived Death, and was not body. One might as well insist on saying that man’s body consists of bone and blood, and asked to define blood, answer: “Oh! I mean everything that is not bone.” A clear definition of terms, and a rigid adherence to them when once adopted, will at least enable us all to understand each other, and that is the first step to any fruitful comparison of experiences.

THE FATE OF THE BODY.

The human body is constantly undergoing a process of decay and of reconstruction. First builded into the etheric formoriginal: "forma aetherea"; a subtle, invisible blueprint or energy template that guides the growth and maintenance of the physical body. in the womb of the mother, it is built up continually by the insetting of fresh materials. With every moment tiny molecules are passing away from it; with every moment tiny molecules are streaming into it. The outgoing stream is scattered over the environment, and helps to rebuild bodies of all kinds in the mineral, vegetable, animal, and human kingdoms, the physical basis of all these being one and the same.