One great difficulty lies in the way of the recognition of the fact of reincarnation. It has often been expressed through the question: "Why do I not remember I have been here before?"

This leads to the subject of memory. Instances of persons claiming to remember their past lives are coming to light and are being investigated, and this may lead in time to a greater acceptance of the idea. The technical reasons for these remembrances (or lack of them) cannot be grasped except through the teachings given in Theosophy—themselves the restatement of the Ancient Wisdom.

These technicalities can be resolved into two questions: (1) Where is memory stored? and (2) What happens to us after the death of the body? Theosophically, these questions cannot be considered adequately unless we take the astral body into account. By definition, it is a subtle, invisible, electro-magnetic counterpart of the physical body, capable of resisting change but simultaneously so sensitive that the most fleeting impressions of the senses, emotions and thoughts are recorded therein. By its nature it constantly attracts and throws off physical particles, molecules, etc. Recent experiments have confirmed the ancient teaching that the physical body is renewed every seven years, yet, as many of our memories last longer than seven years, it should be obvious that they cannot inhere solely in the physical molecules that make up the brain organism.

Science has gone so far now as to teach that every atom (Theosophy teaches that the real "atom" is infra-physical—astral, in fact) has an electro-magnetic field associated with it which is enormously strong. If we continue this idea we can see that a molecule, comprising several atoms, has also its peculiar electro-magnetic field. Stretching the concept still further, we can see that our physical organs, and our bodies, composed of aggregations of atoms, molecules, cells, must have electro-magnetic fields peculiar to themselves, in which they live and by which they affect the environment in which they live. The complex field, associated with each physical form, was called in the ancient teachings linga sharira (model body) and in modern Theosophy is known as astral body. Like all electro-magnetic fields, it extends to a measurable distance around the form which it supports and serves to aggregate. It is in this special electro-magnetic field that our personal consciousness functions during our lives.

Going deeper into the subject, we can see that our brain must have, underlying it, its special electro-magnetic field; following the channels of the nerves, this field envelops the whole of the physical body of the person, and is particularly attuned and sensitive to the impressions received by the physical organs of sensation: eyes, ears, nose, tongue and skin. On this special and highly intricate field of sensitive electro-magnetic forces which the astral brain represents are imprinted the experiences of a lifetime—sensations, feelings, thoughts, aspirations, anticipations, disappointments—in fact, everything that comes to us through our physical senses, our emotional sensitivities and our lower-mind sensations. Since the astral electro-magnetic matter does not change rapidly, the impressions made on it last for the whole of the life. Some that are more deeply imprinted (because of the special attention given to them when they are formed or impressed) can be easily recollected and brought to the surface of the inquiring mind for use. None are ever completely "lost." "Memory" can thus be seen to inhere in each atom, in each molecule and in each cell, the brain serving as the focal point for personal consciousness.

If an astral body, the model upon which the physical is assembled, is posited, we may well be asked: "What holds it together?" Theosophy answers that it is the Ego, the Real Man, technically called Atma-Buddhi-Manas (the three-in-one), or, Spirit-Truth, Discernment and Mind. This entity is also called the Reincarnating Man. Around the astral body physical molecules gather, so that this conscious intelligent entity (the real "I") may have a physical body to live in and have experiences in the physical world.

At the time of physical death the Real Egoic Consciousness (Atma-Buddhi-Manas) enters for a time into close rapport with its "ambassador in the body," the personal consciousness. Under the superior influence of the Immortal Ego (the Higher Manas, technically), all the impressions and memories of the lifetime are revived, down to the most fleeting; they are gathered up from the physical and the astral centres of memory and focused or centred in the electro-magnetic astral body which survives the death of the physical body for a while. Theosophy teaches that thereupon follows a process of sifting of these memories and impressions. A separation takes place in terms of the energy associated with each of them. This energy is different from that ordinarily associated with the mechanical forces known to science. Theosophy posits a moral quality in association with every force. Each atom, "an independent, conscious entity," records the motive impression associated with any act, feeling or thought impressed on it by the human entity it is for the time being in association with. Taking this into account, that which follows will be understood.

Those impressions and memories of the personality, the physical body of which has just died, which are consubstantial in terms of moral quality with the Higher Manas will be absorbed by it and built into its permanent memory. Those experiences and memories which are of a lower, personal, selfish character remain behind in the astral body and are gradually dispersed along with it as it proceeds to disintegrate and die out on the astral plane where it now is. This affords us an understanding of the ancient teaching concerning the skandhas, of which there are said to be five main divisions: (1) the material properties or attributes (rupa); (2) sensations (vedana); (3) abstract ideas (sanjna); (4) tendencies both physical and mental (sanskara); (5) mental powers (vidyana). These skandhas separate at the time of death and unite at the birth of man and constitute his personality. They serve as the physical basis for our Karma, and their cycle of dispersion and re-collection corresponds with that of the force with which we impressed them. They determine the limits and the capacities of our personality. We alter and change these impressions from moment to moment and in them we are laying up our future Karma.

The matter, physical and astral, of the new incarnation is a fresh combination of our old skandhas, minus the special combined memories of the brain of the past incarnation. The personal memories of any previous incarnation have been "lost" during the vast period that we know of as devachan (the period during which the Higher Manasic entity meditated and assimilated that which was consubstantial with its nature in the life last lived). This enormous period of time having elapsed (averaging, Theosophy teaches, 1,000 to 1,500 years), the Karma of the personality—the skandhas—brings about a new incarnation. There is thus a mathematical coincidence between the return of the real Ego and its vehicles which permit it to have experience in the material physical world. The character and the capacities with which we are born are thus seen to be the result of our past. Our brain is, however, a fresh, clean slate, and the "memory" of a previous life is not recorded there in its entirety. It is on this new "film" that our present memories begin to be impressed.

If all of this is true, then how is it that some people do remember incidents that can only be related to a past life—incidents that have been proved to be correct and which cannot be accounted for on the basis of this life?

Theosophy teaches that if a child dies very young, before the Egoic consciousness had had the opportunity to acquire any food for assimilation in Devachan, the Ego is reborn very early, often with the same astral body on which the memories of the short life just lived were impressed. These memories are sometimes transmitted to the waking brain consciousness of the new body while it is still young. Such an immediate rebirth need not be in the same environment, but under Karma a new physical body would be selected by the Ego in an environment which would best suit its development and the working out of its karmic life.

Another case where a quick return into incarnation is said to occur is that of the "out-and-out materialist." Here, however, the disintegration of the astral body would take place on the astral plane in the usual course, but the new incarnation being "almost immediate," the new brain consciousness, while it would not have a detailed memory of the past incarnation, might, possibly, be influenced from the astral plane by the remnants attracted to it of its not yet fully dispersed previous astral body, which carries impressions, more or less clear, of the past. Quick rebirth is also possible, to give another instance, in the case of a person who dies an accidental death, or is killed in war.

There is still another possibility as to why some people claim to "remember" what they think is their past life. The astral earth—electro-magnetic, like the human astral body—is the sensitive field whereon are impressed the records of all actions, thoughts and feelings, by whomsoever generated, and some people have developed in their nature, to a greater or lesser extent, the sensitivity or capacity to see or read these recorded impressions. Not being fully trained to observe these, their glimpses are often indefinite and partial. This may result in chronological inaccuracies, the substituting of one place or event for another, etc. Theosophy teaches that we reincarnate in places and in the company of persons with whom we have been connected in past lives. This adds to the sensitivity of those who have developed the ability to see in the Astral Light of the earth the pictures and records, vague or strongly impressed, with which we are surrounded and which are said to influence us constantly though unconsciously. The lower astral light has been called the most powerful hypnotizing medium, and Theosophy warns us of its nefarious influence. Thus, sensitive persons may recall something which has nothing whatever to do with their own past lives. Of course there are cases where, having in this life seen a picture or heard of an event, now lost to our conscious waking memory, we sense a familiarity with it when we see or hear it again—to the extent even of averring that we have been there "before." We can also think of the case of the psychometer—a person who is peculiarly sensitive to the impressions of the past imprinted on an object—so sensitive, in fact, that he can know and describe the events the object has been associated with. Obviously, then, the recollection or perception of scenes or events of the past is not always a proof of reincarnation.

In one short article we cannot consider all the arguments that are advanced in support of reincarnation. This article is concerned with memory, the basis for memory, the memory of the personality which dies and disintegrates shortly after the death of the body, and the memory of the individuality, which is that of the real man, the Atma-Buddhi-Manasic Triad. It also deals with the fact that there must be a storehouse of memory that corresponds to our physical earth—the astral plane. This, too, would have two levels—that of the ordinary personal events that fade into insignificance after a period of time proportionate to the impress made, and that of events involving the permanent individuality, which persists and is timeless.

Theosophical philosophy, it will be seen, posits that the whole of Nature is ruled by Law. Every part of Nature is conscious, and there are many degrees of consciousness and many ways of recording the impressions of conscious entities. Each atom has its place, just as each world, sun or system of worlds has its rightful and reasonable place in the entire scheme of things. The purpose of life is to learn and it is all made up of the experiences of learning, involving the entire range of consciousness, from the apparently unconscious to the infinitely superconscious. Theosophy again posits as the purpose of evolution the raising of the entire mass of matter to the nature, stature and dignity of conscious "godhood." This means that each of the lives or "atoms" we use now will, at some time, pass through the man-state, will in fact become man, before it passes on to the stage of an entity of godlike wisdom. This goal of conscious immortality of the Monad gives us the inspiring concept of the Great Servants of Humanity—the Masters, Elder Brothers—whose work of compassion is to remain in the world as intelligent and conscious forces for good, as Nirmanakayas and Adepts—so that we may have before us living ideals of the "good" made "perfect." May we, too, achieve, and do our whole duty!