THOUGHTS ON THE SPIRIT.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXII, Issue 9714, 9 January 1895, Page 6

THOUGHTS ON THE SPIRIT.

TO THC EDITOR. Sir,—The moral teachings of the Buddha and of Christ are self-evident, and need no miracle to support them. By a miracle I understand a contravention of the laws of nature. To proclaim a miracle is to declare the unchangeable to be changeable. With your permission I would like to make a suggestion. I would define spirit to be vitality, and that is only manifested to hs through the medium of the material universe. The soul may be defined as the organ or medium of feeling, consciousness, reason, mind—that is, the nervous system, centred in the brain. It is a part of the body, and will die with the other parts of the body. " Mandieth and all his thoughts perish." Spirit is immortal, and will survive if there should be a crash of worlds, and a reconstruction of the universe. We are told that man was made out of the dust of the ground. Bone, muscle, and nerve would have been complete, though he would only have been a dead soul, but when the breath of life, vitality, and spirit were breathed ' into him, he became a living soulevery atom of his nature was impelled to action, and mind was evolved. Heat is the motor power in a steam engine, but neither heat nor motion is any part of the engine. A musical instrument—a piano, for instance—may be perfectly constructed, with vast latent capability, but it will be silent till operated on by the musician, when it will pour forth a flood of melody. The musician is synonymous to spirit, and music to mind. The question now presents itself: Is the spirit a distinct personality in each body, and will it remain a separate person after death ; or is it a manifestation of the Infinite Spirit which pervades all things, and is boundless as eternity ?I am, etc., W. AsiIDOWN, Kamarama, January 7, 1895.