To explain to them correctly the basis upon which the Karmatic future arises and develops, we should first analyze certain concepts which must be fully understood in order to master the Western initiation teachings, for their meanings, as is usual in our writings, differ considerably in the way in which they are known and understand by the uninitiated.
I will try, as much as possible, to give a basic and simple explanation of concepts that are very profound, but which you as initiates (conscious or not) are capable of understanding and comprehending.
What is the Self?
The Self is that which had no beginning and will have no end, that is, it is the Eternal. Therefore, when we speak of the human being, we are not referring to our physical body, nor even to our soul, since both are subject to the law of the cycle and are therefore subject to constant change. The Self is our spirit, which is immortal and, as we will see later, the basis of life and existence; its essence is unchanging, for it never changes or transforms.
But it is important for you to know that it is impossible-except for people who have attained enlightenment-to understand eternity and the Eternal, because it is something that cannot be understood by logic or reason. I have seen many people go crazy trying to understand God or eternity logically and rationally or by meditating deeply on it.
But if you really want to understand something about God or the Whole, study material and immaterial existence, its laws and principles, be aware of your actions and their consequences, and you will safely and correctly travel the long road to spiritual enlightenment.
What is exist or the existence?
Existence is all that is cyclical and perishable, and we can divide it into two types: the physical or material and the soul or immaterial, the first providing the structure (body) and the second providing the vehicle (soul) for the life (spirit) to manifest.
The whole universe, galaxies, stars, planets, etc., have both a material and a psychic existence, that is, all matter has a soul, but its soul is collective or common and not individual like that of a human being. In a future article, when we talk about true astrology, you will see that this is the fundamental basis not only of this ancient knowledge, but also of magic, alchemy, etc.
So our planet, the mountains, the seas, the lakes, the rivers, and everything that is part of the four elements have a collective soul. But only organic beings, plants, animals, and of course human beings have spirit, for wherever there is a manifestation of life, whether elemental or organic, there will be the presence of spirit to a greater or lesser degree.
In summary, the body (structure) and the soul (vehicle) exist as a single reality, but all existence is subject to universal laws that determine the maximum time or period it can exist as a structure or vehicle, so that at the culmination of its cycle it must perish or disintegrate.
The purpose of existence is to provide the means for spirit to manifest and thus create states of consciousness. Consciousness is thus the result of the interaction of spirit with material (body) and immaterial (soul) existence, and without this interaction it is impossible to generate consciousness.
What is Consciousness and Conscience?
In occultism we differentiate the terms consciousness and conscience to distinguish between what refers to the knowledge of matter (consciousness) and what refers to the understanding of the soul and spirit (conscience).
An animal does not know and is not aware that it is an animal, a plant does not know and is not aware that it is a plant; they do not know why and for what purpose they exist, because they are in a state of innocence, that is, their actions have no intention or purpose of their own, because everything they do obeys natural laws and principles that regulate their behavior, a behavior called instinctive because it does not proceed or is not performed by their own will.
I make an exception for domestic animals who, because they are close to humans and even because they are given a name and told to do things as humans would do them, are forced to abandon their state of innocence and therefore experience some diseases and karmic situations as if they were humans.
It is absurd, but very common, to punish an animal for acting instinctively, because most people ignore that there is no intention in it, because the animal is doing what it has to do according to its instincts. It is like cutting down a plant because one of its fruits fell and hurt a person. It seems absurd, but believe me, it happens more often than we think.
It is not the same with human beings, because we exist to learn to know the material reality and then to understand the immaterial and spiritual reality; but to reach this knowledge we have to go through a long journey called evolution. A journey that begins in innocence (according to the allegory of Adam, Eve and the earthly paradise), continues with the acquisition of material consciousness and culminates with the attainment of Khristic consciousness or enlightenment.
In a future article, we will see how the process of individualization of man depends on his holistic culturalization, that is, on the acquisition of speech, writing, science, and philosophy as an indivisible unity, and that when a civilization breaks with holism and tries to impose science or philosophy separately, it leads to extremism and fratricidal struggles.
The purpose of spiritual consciousness is to keep material existence alive and functioning holistically and in accordance with universal laws. If human beings were to stop generating consciousness, the entire universe would disappear because its reason for existence would have disappeared.
In order to achieve this goal, there are universal laws and principles that are responsible for regulating all existence; and one of the most important is the universal law of cause and effect, sometimes called the law of Talion, the law of compensation, or the law of universal justice, for didactic purposes we will call it the law of Karma, whose main purpose is that the human being generates consciousness and conscience through the principle of reincarnation-resurrection.
The Karmatic future, as we will analyze in detail in our next article, is the result of the actions or omissions that we human beings make in our journey through the evolution of consciousness and awareness.
Prof. Publio S. Colmenares B.