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The Life After Death
An early Theosophist discusses life beyond death.
- GenresNonfiction
94 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1916
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About the author
C.W. Leadbeater
678 books131 followersCharles Webster Leadbeater was an influential member of the Theosophical Society, author on occult subjects and co-initiator with J.I. Wedgwood of the Liberal Catholic Church.
Originally a priest of the Church of England, his interest in spiritualism caused him to end his affiliation with Anglicanism in favour of the Theosophical Society, where he became an associate of Annie Besant. He became a high-ranking officer of the society, but resigned in 1906 amid a scandal. Accusations of his detractors were never proven and, with Besant's assistance, he was readmitted a few years later. Leadbeater went on to write over 69 books and pamphlets that examined in detail the hidden side of life as well as maintain regular speaking engagements. His efforts on behalf of the society assured his status as one of its leading members until his death in 1934.
Originally a priest of the Church of England, his interest in spiritualism caused him to end his affiliation with Anglicanism in favour of the Theosophical Society, where he became an associate of Annie Besant. He became a high-ranking officer of the society, but resigned in 1906 amid a scandal. Accusations of his detractors were never proven and, with Besant's assistance, he was readmitted a few years later. Leadbeater went on to write over 69 books and pamphlets that examined in detail the hidden side of life as well as maintain regular speaking engagements. His efforts on behalf of the society assured his status as one of its leading members until his death in 1934.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
June 9, 2025
AN EARLY THEOSOPHICAL SOCIETY LEADER OUTLINES THEIR TEACHINGS ON THIS SUBJECT
Charles Webster Leadbeater (1854-1934) was a former Anglican priest, who became an influential member of the Theosophical Society, and was co-initiator (with J. I. Wedgwood) of the Liberal Catholic Church. He resigned from the Theosophical Society in 1906 after accusations of pederasty, but was readmitted a few years later. He wrote many books and publications, such as 'An Outline of Theosophy,' 'The Masters and the Path,' 'A Textbook of Theosophy,' 'The Astral Plane: Its Scenery,' 'Inhabitants And Phenomena,' etc. [NOTE: the page numbers below relate to the 94-page 1912 edition hardcover reprint, which does not include an essay on Reincarnation by Annie Besant.]
He wrote in the first chapter of this 1912 book, "death... is a perfectly natural incident in the course of our life... It ought not to be necessary for Theosophy to come among Christian nations and teach death is a friend and not an enemy... On this point, as on so many others, Theosophy has a gospel for the western world; it has to announce that there is no gloomy impenetrable abyss beyond the grave, but instead a world of light and life... Death is... an angel bearing a golden key, with which he unlocks for us the door into a fuller and higher life than this." (Pg. 3-4)
He asserts, "Every man has within himself latent faculties, undeveloped senses, by means of which the unseen world can be directly cognized... I know very well that this is a considerable claim to make---a claim which would not be made by any minister of any church when he gave you his version of the states after death... But in Theosophy we are able to say to you quite definitely that many of us know personally that of which we speak, for we are dealing with a definite series of facts which we have investigated, and which you yourselves may investigate in turn." (Pg. 6-7)
He suggests, "the theosophical student should rather represent the life as a great eclipse, starting from the ego on the higher mental level and returning to him. The line would descend into the lower part of the mental plane, and then into the astral. A very small portion... at the bottom of the ellipse, would be upon the physical plane, and the line would soon reascend into the astral and mental planes. The physical life would therefore be represented only by that small portion of the curve lying below the line which indicated the boundary between the astral and physical planes, and birth and death would simply be the points at which the curve crossed that line." (Pg. 18-19)
He adds, "The astral life is happy for some, unhappy for others, according to the preparation they have made for it; but what follows it is perfect happiness for all, and exactly suited to the needs for each." (Pg. 29) He states, "Instead of saying, as orthodoxy does, that some men will go to heaven and some to hell, it would be far more correct to say that all men will have their share of both states (if we are to call even the lowest astral life by so horrible a name as hell), and it is only their relative proportions which differ." (Pg. 47) He observes, "All is one graduated life, from God Himself to the very dust beneath our feet---one long ladder, of which humanity occupies only one of the steps." (Pg. 71)
Of the dead, he explains, "They are not far away from us, they are not suddenly entirely changed, they have not become angels or demons. They are just human beings, exactly such as they were before, neither better nor worse, and they stand close by us still, sensitive to our feelings and our thoughts even more than before. That is why uncontrolled grief for the dead is so wrong as well as so selfish." (Pg. 88) He adds, "People are inclined to look at the dark side of spiritualism: but we must never forget that it has done an enormous amount of good in this sort of work---in giving to the dead an opportunity to arrange their affairs after a sudden and unexpected departure." (Pg. 91)
This clear exposition of the Theosophical position on life after death will be of interest to many readers.
Charles Webster Leadbeater (1854-1934) was a former Anglican priest, who became an influential member of the Theosophical Society, and was co-initiator (with J. I. Wedgwood) of the Liberal Catholic Church. He resigned from the Theosophical Society in 1906 after accusations of pederasty, but was readmitted a few years later. He wrote many books and publications, such as 'An Outline of Theosophy,' 'The Masters and the Path,' 'A Textbook of Theosophy,' 'The Astral Plane: Its Scenery,' 'Inhabitants And Phenomena,' etc. [NOTE: the page numbers below relate to the 94-page 1912 edition hardcover reprint, which does not include an essay on Reincarnation by Annie Besant.]
He wrote in the first chapter of this 1912 book, "death... is a perfectly natural incident in the course of our life... It ought not to be necessary for Theosophy to come among Christian nations and teach death is a friend and not an enemy... On this point, as on so many others, Theosophy has a gospel for the western world; it has to announce that there is no gloomy impenetrable abyss beyond the grave, but instead a world of light and life... Death is... an angel bearing a golden key, with which he unlocks for us the door into a fuller and higher life than this." (Pg. 3-4)
He asserts, "Every man has within himself latent faculties, undeveloped senses, by means of which the unseen world can be directly cognized... I know very well that this is a considerable claim to make---a claim which would not be made by any minister of any church when he gave you his version of the states after death... But in Theosophy we are able to say to you quite definitely that many of us know personally that of which we speak, for we are dealing with a definite series of facts which we have investigated, and which you yourselves may investigate in turn." (Pg. 6-7)
He suggests, "the theosophical student should rather represent the life as a great eclipse, starting from the ego on the higher mental level and returning to him. The line would descend into the lower part of the mental plane, and then into the astral. A very small portion... at the bottom of the ellipse, would be upon the physical plane, and the line would soon reascend into the astral and mental planes. The physical life would therefore be represented only by that small portion of the curve lying below the line which indicated the boundary between the astral and physical planes, and birth and death would simply be the points at which the curve crossed that line." (Pg. 18-19)
He adds, "The astral life is happy for some, unhappy for others, according to the preparation they have made for it; but what follows it is perfect happiness for all, and exactly suited to the needs for each." (Pg. 29) He states, "Instead of saying, as orthodoxy does, that some men will go to heaven and some to hell, it would be far more correct to say that all men will have their share of both states (if we are to call even the lowest astral life by so horrible a name as hell), and it is only their relative proportions which differ." (Pg. 47) He observes, "All is one graduated life, from God Himself to the very dust beneath our feet---one long ladder, of which humanity occupies only one of the steps." (Pg. 71)
Of the dead, he explains, "They are not far away from us, they are not suddenly entirely changed, they have not become angels or demons. They are just human beings, exactly such as they were before, neither better nor worse, and they stand close by us still, sensitive to our feelings and our thoughts even more than before. That is why uncontrolled grief for the dead is so wrong as well as so selfish." (Pg. 88) He adds, "People are inclined to look at the dark side of spiritualism: but we must never forget that it has done an enormous amount of good in this sort of work---in giving to the dead an opportunity to arrange their affairs after a sudden and unexpected departure." (Pg. 91)
This clear exposition of the Theosophical position on life after death will be of interest to many readers.
October 8, 2020
Ho scoperto l'esistenza di questo libretto in seguito ad un video su YouTube, quindi posso dire di averlo incontrato per caso ( sempre che il caso esista), perché questo libro è un piccolo viaggio in luoghi inesplorati in quanto apre la visuale sul mondo del pensiero e ci porta in dimensioni più alte, attraversando lo spazio e il tempo.
È davvero profondo ed illuminante, leggibile in poche ore, addirittura commovente per quanta pace riesce ad infondere.
Esprime quello che ho sempre pensato sulla vita dopo la morte, ed è profondamente consolante e di grande conforto trovare queste idee scritte ed espresse senza pudore e con naturalezza.
Lo farò leggere a più persone possibili, dando la precedenza agli anziani che conosco, affinché affrontino il passaggio naturale che li attende da una dimensione all'altra più serenamente.
Purtroppo gli errori grammaticali che ho riscontrato in formato digitale rovinano un po' l'esperienza di lettura e penalizzano la mia valutazione, che altrimenti sarebbe stata più alta.
È necessario aggiungere che non è un testo da tutti, a persone non predisposte a credere al mondo non tangibile e molto attaccate al piano terreno questo libro può risultare troppo metafisico, al limite del fiabesco.
Tuttavia è indubbio che stimoli una riflessione a chiunque si imbatta anche in alcune delle parole scritte.
È davvero profondo ed illuminante, leggibile in poche ore, addirittura commovente per quanta pace riesce ad infondere.
Esprime quello che ho sempre pensato sulla vita dopo la morte, ed è profondamente consolante e di grande conforto trovare queste idee scritte ed espresse senza pudore e con naturalezza.
Lo farò leggere a più persone possibili, dando la precedenza agli anziani che conosco, affinché affrontino il passaggio naturale che li attende da una dimensione all'altra più serenamente.
Purtroppo gli errori grammaticali che ho riscontrato in formato digitale rovinano un po' l'esperienza di lettura e penalizzano la mia valutazione, che altrimenti sarebbe stata più alta.
È necessario aggiungere che non è un testo da tutti, a persone non predisposte a credere al mondo non tangibile e molto attaccate al piano terreno questo libro può risultare troppo metafisico, al limite del fiabesco.
Tuttavia è indubbio che stimoli una riflessione a chiunque si imbatta anche in alcune delle parole scritte.
December 1, 2019
Didn't mention the entity that pretends to be someone that you know and lead you to the false light.
Didn't mention that part of the soul will be juice to support the entity who setup this Matrix.
Didn't mention that part of the soul will be juice to support the entity who setup this Matrix.
August 3, 2008
Excellent gift for someone who is trying to cope with a death of a loved one or is generally scared of death.
Will set his fundamentals of life straight.
Will set his fundamentals of life straight.
March 28, 2012
Reading
April 28, 2017
From the theosophical point of view--interesting.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews