When a man commits a sin on earth in a hidden corner, unseen by others, in a clean place, he derives some pleasure out of it. But when the same person is compelled to commit the sin in company with thousands of others who are all doing exactly the same thing, he will be filled with a feeling of revulsion. And more so when he finds that he is not allowed to stop when he has had enough, because the irresistible momentum takes him deeper into the sin. Then it is that out of the depths of his heart goes forth the cry, “I am in agony: I do not wish to commit this sin any longer. Is there no one to save me?” His cry is answered by one of the service groups of which you have many in the astral world. Members of the service group—souls, who have had similar experiences, souls, who were tempted by sins while they lived on earth and who had developed the strength to resist those temptation—come to his aid and lead him out of purgatory into heaven.
If, however a soul during his sojourn on earth has striven to control his desires and check his sinful nature, he need not enter the purgatory or his stay in the purgatory may be brief. Therefore, while on earth, let us try to live a clean and pure life. Let us try to be unselfish, let us give the love and compassion of our hearts to all, all sentient beings, including animals and birds, who are our brothers in the one family of creation. If we do so, we shall not need to enter the purgatory.
One thing which is very helpful as an aid to right living is to review the deeds of the day at night. It is more helpful if this is done in the reverse order, that is to say, from the evening to the morning. Although this may be a little confusing at first, one soon becomes used to it and experiences no difficulty. Each night, as we go over the deeds of the day, let us repent for our misdeeds. We shall thereby prevent our purgatorial debt from accumulating. I need not say that if we repent for a misdeed today and repeat it tomorrow, it will not be helpful, for I am merely reserving a place for myself meant for hypocrites: and there can be no purgatory worse than that.
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