Paul Brunton Philosophic Foundation homepage > Notebooks of Paul Brunton



The after-death condition of certain rare men like Jesus, Buddha, and Krishna is necessarily a rare one. They continue the beneficent work of urging and helping men to rise above their lower natures which was inaugurated when manifest in the flesh whilst on earth, albeit it must be understood that it will necessarily fail to achieve the same degree of sharp effectiveness which the use of a physical body would have given it. Nevertheless, what it loses in depth it gains in width, for although personal attainment is swift among their disciples during their lifetime, popular influence among the masses is able to spread like ripples only after their death. Only a materialistic outlook of the universe will fail to understand that such a man does not ever die and that his true existence continues, even when he is not in incarnation, and that his saving power is still made available for others even then. So long as men call earnestly upon their name or cherish their memory with reverence, so long will they continue their spirit-existence. They do not die, do not really disappear.

-- Perspectives > Chapter 9: From Birth to Rebirth > # 21