________________
CREATION
59
suggestive enough in itself, and gives rise to the inference that they owe their existence to the ideas of the 'living' who may be present at a sitting. The medium's soul unconsciously appropriates and assimilates these ideas by the power of telepathy, and perceives them in a materialized form. In other cases, the perception of souls in a waking state is an illustration of the work of the creative faculty of imagination with the aid of memory. Memory furnishes the impression, and imagination intensifies and projects it in visible form, as happens in dreams. Thus, a critical analysis will show the so-called spirits to be made of the same stuff as dreams are made of.
This conclusion, however, does not affect the point in issue in so far as the question of the survival of the soul is concerned, since that depends on the nature of the soul, rather than on its perception by men. If the opinion of men who have devoted their lives to the study of the psychic phenomena is admissible, and the reasoned opinion of specialists and experts is always entitled to respect,---it is available in abundance to show that the soul is an undying reality, capable of maintaining a conscious existence independently of the body of matter. T. J. Hudson whose views as to the nature of the spiritistic phenomena agree with those stated above, writes in the preface to “A Scientific Demonstration of Future Life :"
" In demonstrating the fact of a future life, I have simply analyzed the mental organization of man, and shown that, from the very nature of his physical, intellectual, and psychical organism, any other conclusion than that he is destined to a future life is logically and scientifically untenable."
Jain Education International
For Private & Personal Use Only
www.jainelibrary.org