Title: The Initiatic Doctrine of Immortality: Beyond the Illusion of the "Soul" Tags: #Tradition #Initiation #Immortality #Self #Karma 1. Rejection of the "Immortal Soul" – The religious notion of an inherent "immortal soul" is illusory; true immortality is a possibility, not a given. 2. Eternal Principles ≠ Immortality – Even if eternal principles exist in man, without conscious activation, they are irrelevant to the Self’s immortality. 3. Self as Consciousness – The Self is consciousness; when consciousness extinguishes, the Self ceases, regardless of any surviving "principles." 4. Atman vs. Empirical Self – The human "self" is merely a reflection of the transcendent Atman; death is the reabsorption of this reflection, not survival. 5. No Continuity in Reabsorption – Reintegration into the Absolute is tantamount to dissolution—only initiation bridges the gap consciously. 6. Karma as Impersonal Residue – What survives death is not a "soul" but karma, an impersonal force shaping future formations within samsāra. 7. Flame Metaphor – Karmic continuity is like one flame lighting another—no identity persists, only causation. 8. Superior Principle Manifestations – Multiple existences may be attempts by a higher principle to perfect itself, not "reincarnations" of the same self. 9. Assault Waves of the Army – Like waves in a battle, each existence is a separate attempt; success belongs only to the one that achieves reintegration. 10. The Awakened One – Only the being who achieves initiatic reintegration transcends the cycle, becoming the "perfect button" cast from the failures of prior forms. No consolation, no religion—only the hard doctrine of the Self. ### The Initiatic Doctrine of Immortality: An Evolian Perspective Critics argue that denying the common religious notion of an "immortal soul" goes too far, insisting that eternal principles exist within man regardless of conscious realization. However, from the initiatic standpoint, if thes