The Longing for Infinite Life

When an ordinary person comes to understand that there exists a power transcending the material world—or at least it seems so—and when he observes that some are able to dwell within a single body for endless ages, then a fierce longing awakens in him to accomplish the very same.

The reason is simple: birth and death often strike us as tedious and inconvenient steps along the path of human evolution. Thus eternal life calls to him, much as the "fountain of eternal youth" once lured the adventurers of old. Even today man seeks that same source—immortality, perpetual youth, the means to live forever.

But here is the essential truth: one must always remember—these great powers are merely effects. Their true cause lies in self-mastery and the attainment of perfection. If someone does not live rightly, does not think rightly, and cannot overcome his lower desires, cravings, and passions, then he cannot hope through spiritual power alone to prolong his life.

Man has many lessons to learn—not only at this material level, but in other realms as well. In other worlds he receives instruction, accumulates experience, while here on earth he prepares for his next unfolding of consciousness.

Consider then—if he were forced to remain on this earth eternally, without a single familiar face, trapped in the tedium of endless repetition—would he not soon begin to pray for death, just as he now prays for long life?

What is the true meaning of eternal life? When man learns to live not for himself but for the welfare of others alone, when he becomes relevant across ages and epochs, when he completely abandons his desire for selfish existence, when he becomes so indispensable to the Great Plan that in every moment he is needed for the good of all—only then does he become capable of living through eternity. Then he shall endure not merely in this world but in many worlds yet to come—ever working, ever relevant, established in immortality.