Q: Reading Abbot Burke’s The Christ of India, (all in all a great book) I am a bit confused as to the disposition of Saint Thomas Christians on the matter of God? At one point, he states that they are Unitarian and at other times asserts they are Trinitarian, both practically and esoterically. Which is it?

It is both, because God is both Unity and Trinity. We must realize that since human beings are only on the first rung of the evolutionary ladder, the material universe, they really cannot comprehend the divine nature as it is, since it is beyond conception–but not beyond direct experience. As a result, we must speak of it in terms common to this world.

God is beyond all conception, and therefore is beyond both Unity and Trinity as we think of it. Yet in speaking of the possibility of interaction between humans and God and the ultimate realization of their oneness, we have to speak as well as we can, though only approximately. God is absolutely One, yet in relating to us manifests in a triune manner. And since God never changes, he must be essentially One and Three simultaneously, otherwise it could not happen. Yet, since even the concepts of one and three are from our side only, he is neither one nor three.

A child beginning to talk really does not have the mental development to understand what his mother and father really are as human beings. But they respond to his addressing them, even if he does not articulate “mother” or “father” clearly. In the same way, our reaching out to comprehend through language is an act of will which does lead us onward to increasing understanding and then transcendence of that limited comprehension into “open vision direct and instant” (Bhagavad Gita 9:1) which is beyond words. And in that vision we get beyond them, too.

To someone who, referring to the foregoing answer asked why it had to be one and three and not four, five, six, or any number.

You are absolutely right. Any number that applies to an aspect of God is perfectly legitimate. Here is an interesting section from the upanishads regarding this.

“Then Vidagdha Sakalya asked him: How many gods are there, Yajnavalkya? He answered, in accord with the following nivid (invocation of the gods): As many as are mentioned in the nivid of the hymn of praise to the Vishwedevas, namely, three hundred and three, and three thousand and three. Yes, he said, but how many gods are there, Yajnavalkya? Thirty three. Yes, he said, but how many gods are there, Yajnavalkya? Six. Yes, said he, but how many gods are there, Yajnavalkya? Three. Yes, said he, but how many gods are there, Yajnavalkya? Two. Yes, said he, but how many gods are there, Yajnavalkya? One and a half. Yes, said he, but how many gods are there, Yajnavalkya? One. Yes, said he.” (Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 3.9.1)

God is not like an egg or an apple that you can count him, so he is not really one, either. As the ancient sages of India have told us over and over, he is all and he is no thing. Therefore he is every number and no number.

The only ones who really understand this are the siddhas, the perfected yogis.

Further Reading:

• Esoteric Christian Beliefs — The various esoteric Christian beliefs outlined in this article are blessedly outside “official” churchdom and therefore not a set of imposed dogmas but a spiritual perspective, the “mind of Christ” (I Corinthians 2:16) without which no one is a real Christian. Christian discipleship is spiritual practice–and the experience and knowledge gained from such practice–rather than the intellectual concepts of theology and dogma, but there is a certain broad framework, outlined in this article, within which the disciple works out his salvation, but theological details and their interpretation are left up to the individual. By Abbot George Burke.
• Robe of Light — “Where am I?…How did I get here?” is more than a trite line from nineteenth century melodramas and novels. It is a query put forth by potential sages throughout the history of conscious mankind. When asked on a cosmic scale, it is bold indeed: What is this universe I keep finding myself in, and how did I get here? That is answered by esoteric Christian cosmology outlined in this article. By Abbot George Burke. Also available in print and as an ebook here.
• Religion for Awakening — A profound study in practical truth by F. W. Pigott, an esoteric Christian bishop within the Liberal Catholic Church in Great Britain who wrote in the first half of the twentieth century. This is an edited–and occasionally adapted–version, edited by Abbot George Burke.
• The Esoteric Christian Creed — Bishops Wedgwood and Leadbeater were adherents of the Non-dual (Advaita) philosophy of India as uncompromisingly taught by Madame Blavatsky, with whom Leadbeater lived for several years in India. This creed embodies that esoteric view. Commentary by Abbot George Burke.

Q: Can someone today have had “no” past lives? Could this be the start of lives?

We have many, many reincarnations in lower life forms before we ever reach human form. (See Robe of Light.) By the time we are (primitive) human beings we have no doubt been around for more than one creation cycle. So every human being has a very long history behind them.

Which is the best link to a guided meditation for past life regression? Is there a script to guide through a past life regression?

My healer-friend Benjamin Bibb formulated a form of past life regression that enables someone to briefly experience previously lives. It is the only one I have ever used, and I am planning to eventually post that on our website.

There is a most interesting book: David St. Clair’s Lessons in Instant ESP, that has a script for past life recall. It is rather complex and lengthy, but certainly can work. It can be bought from Amazon.

What if someone can’t recall a past life/lives? How do they unblock this?

There is a very good reason for people not remembering their past lives, lest they get stuck in one and not move on and thereby retard their progress. So if someone draws a blank in trying to remember, it is better to drop the idea for a while and return to it occasionally to see if the blank remains. When the time is right, the memory will be available.

Sometimes people have lived on other planets in intelligent life forms very different from ours, so even if they remember, it either makes no sense to them or they do not believe it. It is not common, but it does happen.

Why do some people feel shame and embarrassment over the memory of a past life? Is this normal and why are people ashamed? 

That is so subjective and personal that there is no simple answer for it. Certainly, a person might get a glimmer of a life that somewhere had an unpleasant or “shameful” element and feel shame and embarrassment even if that aspect has not surfaced consciously. It is good to be cautious at such times, perhaps waiting a while and then trying again.

I once remembered quite a bit about a childhood in a life three centuries ago. It made no sense to me: I lived alone with my mother in a large house and never saw anyone else but an elderly woman who was some kind of servant that came each day. When I was about ten years of age, I did meet two other boys my age. We became friends and often spent time together in a forest, but I never saw their homes or anyone connected with them. In my early teens my mother died and then no one at came near our house, and to escape starvation I wandered until I found a road and walked to a large city where I made a very poor living. One day when pondering the peculiarity of that life I understood: I must have been an illegitimate child of someone who kept my mother and I hidden away and my existence was strictly kept secret. Since the lapse of three centuries made me indifferent to such a life, I might have felt ashamed if the impressions of the social ideas of that time were still in my subconscious.

Learn more about reincarnation:

• May a Christian Believe in Reincarnation?
• Understanding Karma as the Basis of Reincarnation | Podcast
• The Process of Reincarnation