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I or still lower beings, unless the liability
to rebirth in hell or in the class of the four-sensed or still lower beings is contracted before the destruction of mithyâtva.
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It is to be observed tbatŢthe cause of a re-birth in any particular hell lies in the assimilation of particles of matter having a peculiar affinity to its soil, and the assimilation itself is due to the negativity of the soul ignorant of its true nature and existence independently of the body. It follows from this that no one who actually believes in the theory of re-birth and in the divine nature of his own soul can possibly be re-born in hells, even though he may not have a human or deva birth in his next incarnation. This is subject to the observation that the liability to be reborn in hell, as already pointed out, is not contracted before the dawn of proper discernment, though even in such cases the acquisition of the right faith will prevent a soul from descending into the lowest hells and from the worst forms of torment, and will also considerably shorten the period of its sojourn in those regions of suffering and pain.
STAGES ON THE PATH.
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