Reincarnation And Spiritual Development

Yoga Philosophy Continued

In past incarnations we had lived different lives, played our parts,
and died. Death was just a temporary loss of consciousness. In each
lifetime we had gained experience, learned lessons, and profited by
our mistakes. We may not remember much about a certain day or week
that took place twenty years ago, but the influences of those events
are still with us. In the same way, we may not remember our previous
existences, but those lifetimes are still affecting our behavior
today. After each life lived, according to yogi philosophy, our personal experience
gets boiled down (metaphor here) with the leftovers going into
our new life -–our new and improved lives (hopefully)—which, after a while, we
took (are taking) to a new level of spiritual enfoldment.

And so it continues on into the present. Spiritual development and
growth is continuous, and, accordingly, we are much more than a
product of local influences. Our souls may have existed for ages,
working their way up from lower to higher—always progressing, always
unfolding. That development had, for the most part, taken place
unconsciously, but then we met a yogi who told us that we could take
the "bull by the horns," so to speak, and propel our spiritual
development towards enlightenment. To accomplish that, however, we had
to follow him and practice yoga. From our point of view, the
perspective of the struggling disciple, it's a huge struggle to get
from the lower to the higher, but from the Spirit Level of
consciousness (and here is the ironic twist), all levels became
enfolded into one Being. So at the end of the line, after all the
effort, we would arrive back at the beginning.

In terms of the cost/benefit ratio, I was not sure what to make of it
all. I guess it turned on how uncomfortable you were with your present
life. "Spirit" developed anyway, whether you practiced yoga or not. I
took comfort in that thought and I looked forward to attending yoga class.
Passing up an opportunity like that would have been stupid,
especially since I had the time and inclination.