Exploring the Concept of Immortality

The subject of immortality has been discussed and debated for centuries. Spiritual immortality is the key point of many mainstream religions. However, physical immortality seems like something only a vampire could achieve.

Maybe in the next century with the technology of cloning "body bags" and other types of cell research, the human body might be able to sustain several hundred years or so, but physical immortality is a long stretch of the imagination.

What happens to the soul when you step into a body clone and have your memories downloaded into a replacement brain chip? Do you lose access to the soul and spiritual mortality? I guess the next question should be: would you trade your spiritual immortality for physical immortality?

Concepts of Immortality

Some religious practices stated that: "death of false ego, leads one to deathlessness of immortality. Meeting the Satguru brings immortality, working in god's consciousness." Nearly every society and religion has their own set of rules to abide, in order to gain immortality.

The ancient Egyptians taught the law of karma was the "universal law of balance" This is referring to the writing on the wall of Balshazzar's palace which states: "Though art weighed in the balance and found wanting." This weighing is referring to the weighing of a soul for an afterlife in eternity. Before the soul can progress to the next life, it must first seek admission to the judgment hall.

But to enter into the gates of the judgment hall, the soul must first speak the mystery names which indicates recognition of the "word." This word which is referred to is the final "knowledge of the heavenly and infernal mysteries; the gnosis."

Webster's dictionary defines the word gnosis as: "Intuitive knowledge of spiritual truths; said to have been possessed by the Gnostics." The Sumerians in the Bible were the first known Gnostics. The Egyptian's also believed that only with this information could the soul progress into spiritual immortality. If the "word" was not known the soul could not escape the "second death: the lake that burneth with fire and brimstone."

Does that sound familiar? It sounds like: the Bible, ancient Egyptians, and the oldest known civilization (the Sumerians) all subscribe to an afterlife or immortality. The progress of the soul (after death) is said to be "a series of transformations."

The Journey of the Soul

Hermes taught; "from beings who live aloft in the air (Heaven) men are born. On reaching that status of men, the souls receive the principal of conscious immortality, become spirits, then pass into the choir of the Gods."

Some believe that Earth is an illusion, and is more or less an extended dream. Trismeqistos, from the book of Hermes stated that "Man is transient, therefore he is not real. He is but appearance, and appearance is the supreme illusion."

Whether we're real or not, spiritual immortality must be obtained by each individual. If you could summarize the Egyptian teaching it could be expressed in Hermetic teaching; "Death does not exist, and man never steps outside of universal life."

A "universal life" of living amongst the universe. Universal is defined as: "pertaining to the characteristic of a whole; the universal experience." How could we live universally without spiritual immortality?

Ascension of the Soul

Every transition or lifetime in which the soul incarnates is for the spiritual evolution of the soul. We are all "old souls" and everyone is spiritually connected whether we realize it or not.

After our souls have experienced and learned what they were supposed to learn we're absorbed into the light (and spirit) of God; from whence we came. All of this is decided by our "higher self" which is the immortal part of us, and the over-seer of our soul.

I'll leave you with a quote from the book of Hermes to ponder when your mind starts to think about the soul and the meaning of it all. "Though art from old, o soul of man; yea, thou art from everlasting."

Source of information: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immortality