been trained to discount the
refraction and to view the _life_ which is permanent and stable,
disregarding the _form_ which is evanescent and changeable. The danger of
getting things out of focus always remains however and is so subtle that
the writer feels an imperative duty to warn his readers to take all
statements concerning the unseen world with the proverbial grain of salt,
for he has no intention to deceive. He is therefore inclined rather to
magnify than to minimize his limitations and would advise the student to
accept nothing from the author's pen without reasoning it out for himself.
Thus, if he is deceived, he will be self-deceived and the author is
blameless.

_Three Theories of Life._

Only three noteworthy theories have been offered as solutions to the
riddle of existence and in order that the reader may be able to make the
important choice between them, we will state briefly what they are and
give some of the arguments which lead us to advocate the doctrine of
Rebirth as the method which favors soul-growth and the ultimate attainment
of perfection, thus offering the best solution to the problem of life.

1) THE MATERIALISTIC THEORY _teaches that life is but a short journey from
the cradle to the grave, that there is no higher intelligence in the
universe than man; that his mind is produced by certain correlations of
matter and that therefore death, and dissolution of the body terminate
existence._

There was a day when the arguments of Materialistic philosophers seemed
convincing, but as science advances it discovers more and more that there
is a spiritual side to the universe. That life and consciousness may exist
without being able to give us a sign, has been amply proven in the cases
where a person who was entranced and thought dead for days has suddenly
awakened and told all that had taken place around the body. Such eminent
scientists as Sir Oliver Lodge, Camille Flammarion, Lombroso and other men
of highest intelligence and scientific training, have unequivocally stated
as the result of their investigations, that the intelligence which we call
man survives death of the body and lives on in our midst as independently
of whether we see them or not as light and color exist all about the blind
man regardless of the fact that he does not perceive them. These
scientists have reached their conclusion after years of careful
investigation. They have found that the so-called dead can, and under
certain