During this first round "animal-man" runs, as you say, his cycle in a spiral. On the descending arc — whence he starts after the completion of the seventh round of animal life on his own individual seven rounds — he has to enter every sphere not as a lower animal as you understand it but as a lower man, since during the cycle which preceded his round as a man he performed it as the highest type of animal. Your "Lord God," says Bible, chapter I, verses 25 and 26 — after having made all said; "Let us make man in our image," etc., and creates man — an androgyne ape! (extinct on our planet) the highest in intelligence in the animal kingdom and whose descendants you find in the anthropoids of to-day. Will you deny the possibility of the highest anthropoid in the next sphere being higher in intelligence than some men down here — savages for instance, the African dwarf-race and our own Veddhas of Ceylon? But man has no such "degradation" to go through as soon as he has reached the fourth stage of his cyclic rounds. Like the lower lives and beings during his first, second and third round and while he is an irresponsible compound of pure matter and pure spirit (none of them as yet defiled by the consciousness of their possible purposes and applications) from sphere I, where he has performed his local sevenfold round of evolutionary process from the lowest class of the highest species of — say — anthropoids up to rudimentary man [he] certainly enters No. 2 as an ape (the last word being used for your better comprehension). At this round or stage his individuality is as dormant in him as that of a foetus during his period of gestation. He has no consciousness, no sense, for he begins as a rudimentary astral man and lands on our planet as a primitive physical man. So far it is a mere passing on of mechanical motion. Volition and consciousness are at the same time self-determining and determined by causes, and the volition of man, his intelligence and consciousness will awake but when his fourth principle Kama is matured and completed by its (seriatim) contact with the Kamas or energizing forces of all the forms man has passed through in his previous three rounds. The present mankind is at its fourth round (mankind as a genus or a kind, not a RACE nota bene) of the post-pralayan cycle of evolution; and as its various races, so the individual entities in them are unconsciously to themselves performing their local earthly sevenfold cycles — hence the vast difference in the degrees of their intelligence, energy and so on. Now every individuality will be followed on its ascending arc by the Law of retribution — Karma and death accordingly. The perfect man or the entity which reached full perfection, (each of his seven principles being matured) will not be reborn here. His local terrestrial cycle is completed and he has to either proceed onward or — be annihilated as an individuality. (The incomplete entities have to be reborn or reincarnated).106 On their fifth round after a partial Nirvana when the zenith of the grand cycle is reached, they will be held responsible henceforth in their descents from sphere to sphere, as they will have to appear on this earth as a still more perfect and intellectual race. This downward course has not yet begun but will soon. Only how many — oh, how many will be destroyed on their way!
The above said is the rule. The Buddhas and Avatars form the exception, as verily we have yet some Avatars left to us on earth.
(7) The animal soul having in successive passages round the cycle lost, so to speak, the momentum which previously carried it past the divergent path downward which strikes off here, falls into the lower world, in the relatively brief cycle in which its individuality is dissipated.
But this would only be the case with the animal soul which had not, in its union with spirit, developed a durable sixth principle. If it had done this, and if the sixth principle, drawing to itself the individuality of the complete man, had withered the inferior fifth principle by so doing — as the aloe's flower, when thrown up, withers its leaves — then the animal soul would not have cohesion enough to enter on another existence in a lower world and would be soon dissipated in the sphere of this earth's attraction.
(7) Reforming your conceptions on what I gave you above you will understand now better.
The whole individuality is centred in the three middle or 3rd, 4th and 5th principles. During earthly life it is all in the fourth, the centre of energy, volition — will. Mr. Hume has perfectly defined the difference between personality and individuality. The former hardly survives — the latter, to run successfully its seven-fold downward and upward course, has to assimilate to itself the eternal life-power residing but in the seventh and then blend the three (fourth, fifth and seventh) into one — the sixth. Those who succeed in doing so become Buddhas, Dhyan Chohans, etc. The chief object of our struggles and initiations is to achieve this union while yet on this earth. Those who will be successful have nothing to fear during the fifth, sixth and seventh rounds. But this is a mystery. Our beloved K.H. is on his way to the goal — the highest of all beyond as on this sphere.
I have to thank you for all you have done for our two friends. It is a debt of gratitude we owe you.
M.
For some short time you will not hear of, or from me — PREPARE.
L
Letter No. 45 (ML-44) Rec. February, 1882
Sinnett, not being aware that the Mahatma K.H. had written him, since he had not yet received the letter, had addressed another letter to M., who very kindly answered him.
Part of the letter is concerned with the medium William Eglinton, whom the Mahatma here terms "the poor sensitive lad." Eglinton seems to have been a fine medium; it was said that he never resorted to trickery. He had, however, a number of personal weaknesses. It may be remembered that there was some indication that the Mahatma K.H. had considered bringing him to Simla for a series of training so that he could be used in their work, but after Eglinton arrived in Calcutta, K.H. decided against this.
Received Allahabad, February, 1882.
Your letter was addressed to me, as you were not aware that K.H. had again put himself in relations with you. Nevertheless, as I am addressed I will answer. "Do so; by all means: go ahead." The result may be disastrous to Spiritualism, though the reality of the phenomena be proved; hence beneficial to Theosophy. It does seem cruel to allow the poor sensitive lad to risk himself inside the lion's den; but as the acceptance or rejection of the kind invitation is with the medium under the counsel and inspiration of his mighty and far-seeing "Ernest" why should others worry themselves!