ACQUIRINGFIRST-HANDKNOWLEDGE 481
spent by the desire and the vital bodies in repairing the
damage done in the day time, leaving no time for outside
work of any kind. But as the individual begins to feel the
needs of the higher life, control sex force, and temper, and
cultivate a serene disposition, there is less disturbance
caused in the vehicles during waking hours; consequently
less time is required to repair the damage during sleep. Thus
it becomes possible to leave the dense body for long periods
during sleeping hours, and function in the inner Worlds in
the higher vehicles. As the desire body and the mind are not
yet organized, they are of no use as separate vehicles of
consciousness. Neither can the vital body leave the dense
body, as that would cause death, so it is evident that
measures must be taken to provide an organized vehicle
which is fluidic and so constructed that it will meet the
needs of the Ego in the inner Worlds as does the dense body
in the Physical World.
The vital body is such an organized vehicle, and if some
means could be found to loosen it from the dense body
without causing death, the problem would be solved.
Besides, the vital body is the seat of memory, without which
it would be impossible to bring back into our physical
consciousness the remembrance of super-physical
experiences and thus obtain the full benefit of them.
We remember that the Hierophants of the old Mystery
Temples segregated some of the people into castes and tribes
such as the Brahmins and the Levites, for the purpose of
providing bodies for use of such Egos as were advanced
enough to be ready for Initiation. This was done in such a
manner that the vital body became separable into two parts,
as were the desire bodies of all humanity at the beginning of
the Earth Period. When the Hierophant took the pupils out of