Navigate the Chapters of this Book

2. THE FIRE DEVAS THE GREATER BUILDERS. - Part 1

I have divided the groups of devas and elementals into evolutionary and involutionary Builders—those who are in themselves positive force, and those which are negative force, the conscious and the blind workers.  It is absolutely essential that students bear in mind here that we are studying the mystery of electricity and therefore must remember the following facts:—

a. Introductory Remarks.

The Mystery of Electricity.  The greater Builders are the positive aspect of substance or of electrical phenomena whilst the lesser Builders are the negative aspect.

Two types of force are represented in the activities of these two groups and it is their interaction and interplay which produces Light, or the manifested solar system.

Their sumtotal is substance in its totality, the intelligent active form, built for the purpose of providing a habitation for a central subjective life.

They are also the sumtotal of the Pitris, [cxci]91 or Fathers of mankind, viewing mankind as the race itself, the fourth kingdom in nature, the Heavenly Men in physical manifestation.  This is a most important point to emphasise.  These deva activities in relation to Self-Consciousness (which is the distinctive characteristic of humanity) can best be studied in the large, or through [613] the consideration of groups, of races, and of the life of the scheme, the manifestation of one of the Heavenly Men.  When the student brings his study of deva work down to the terms of his own individual life he is apt to become confused through too close a juxtaposition.

The greater Builders are the solar Pitris, whilst the lesser Builders are the lunar ancestors.  I would here explain the occult meaning of the word "ancestor," as used in esotericism.  It means literally initiatory life impulse.  It is that subjective activity which produces objectivity, and concerns those emanatory impulses which come from any positive centre of force, and which sweep the negative aspect into the line of that force, and thus produce a form of some kind.  The word "ancestor" is used in connection with both aspects.

The solar Logos is the initiatory impulse or Father of the Son in His physical incarnation, a solar system.  He is the sumtotal of the Pitris, in the process of providing form.  The union of Father (positive force) and Mother (negative force) produces that central blaze which we call the form, the body of manifestation of the Son.  A Heavenly Man holds an analogous position in relation to a planetary scheme.  He is the central germ of positive life or force, which, in due course of time, demonstrates as a planetary scheme, or an incarnation of the planetary Logos.  A man similarly is the positive life or energy which, through action on negative force, creates bodies of manifestation through which he can shine or radiate. [cxcii]92[cxciii]93[cxciv]94

The lesser Builders [cxcv]95 are the negative aspect and are swept into action in group formation through the play [614] of positive force upon them, or through the action of the conscious Minds of the system.  At the present stage of evolution—during the period of Light—it is difficult for the human being (until he has attained the consciousness of the Ego) to differentiate between the types of force, and to work consciously with these dual aspects.  An Adept of the Light works with force in substance, viewing substance as that which is negative, and therefore occultly to be moved, and He can do this because He has (in the three worlds of His endeavour) achieved unity, or the point of balance and equilibrium, and can therefore balance forces and deal with positive and negative energies as appears best in the interests of the plan of evolution.  The Brother of Darkness, knowing himself to be positive force in essence, works with negative substance, or with the lesser Builders to bring about ends [615] of his own, incited thereto by selfish motive.  The Brothers of Light co-operate with the positive aspect in, and of, all forms—the building devas of evolutionary intent—in order to bring about the purposes of the Heavenly Man Who is the sumtotal of planetary physical manifestation.

It can be seen, therefore, how necessary it is that the functions of the devas of all grades be comprehended.  It is however equally important that man should refrain from the manipulation of these forces of nature until such time as he "knows" himself, and his own powers, and until he has fully unfolded the consciousness of the ego; then, and only then, can he safely, wisely, and intelligently co-operate in the plan.  As yet, for the average man or even the advanced man this is dangerous to attempt and impossible to accomplish.

Now, let us add a few more statements upon which the student can ponder before we pass on to study specifically the three main groups of building devas on the three planes in the three worlds which most intimately concern man.

The building devas [cxcvi]96 are the Ah-hi, or Universal Mind.  They contain within their consciousness the plan logoic, [616] [616] and inherently possess the power to work it out in time and space, being the conscious forces of evolution.

They not only embody the Divine Thought but are that through which it manifests, and its actuating activity.  They are essentially motion.  The lesser builders are more particularly the material form which is actuated, and in their cohorts are the substance of matter (considering substance as that which lies back of matter).

They are that which produces concretion and which gives form to the abstract.  The terms " rupa" and "arupa" devas are relative, [cxcvii]97 for the formless levels and the formless lives are only so from the standpoint of man in the three worlds; the formless lives are those which are functioning in and through the etheric body of the Logos, formed of the matter of the four higher planes of the system.  From this point of view the mental plane provides an interesting consideration:—its three higher subplanes are positive, and centralise the positive force of the plane.  This focussing of the positive affects the negative substance of the four lower planes and brings about likewise:

a. The formation of force centres on the causal levels, those force centres being egoic groups in their various divisions.

b. The concretion of substance, or the building of the dense physical body of the Logos.

On the physical plane of the solar system an analogous process can be seen taking place as regards the physical [617] body of man, or his concrete manifestation.  In his case, the fourth subplane is the focal point of positive force.  On that plane are located the etheric centres of man, which have, in the evolutionary process and in the work of force direction, a relationship to his physical body similar to the relationship which groups of Egos on the mental plane have to the dense physical body of the Logos.  This is a profound occult hint.

In the words "prana and the etheric body" (or life force and form) we have the key to the mystery of the solar and lunar pitris, and a hint as to the place of the physical body in the scheme of things.

The solar Pitris and devas find their force expression most adequately through man, with all that is included in that term.  They are the source of his self-consciousness, and it is their action upon the negative aspect which produces the human Ego (on a large scale, viewing them in their totality as cosmic force); it is their action upon the negative or mother aspect which, on cosmic levels, produces that Self-conscious Unity, a solar Logos, functioning through His physical vehicle.  From the Christian standpoint, the greater Builders are the Holy Spirit, or force overshadowing and fecundating matter, whilst the negative or lesser Builders correspond to the Virgin Mary.

The lunar Pitris, and lesser builders from the systemic point of view find their fullest expression in the animal kingdom.  When they, as the initiatory impulse, had produced animal man they had performed their prime function, and just as (on a smaller scale and in connection with only one of the Heavenly Men) the moon is a dying and decadent world, so on a systemic scale and therefore covering a vast period of time, the work of the lunar Pitris is slowly coming to a conclusion as the power of the third kingdom, the animal, over the human is being [618] superseded by spiritual power; the systemic correspondence to lunar pitric activity will occultly die out.

The lunar Pitris, [cxcviii]98[cxcix]99 the builders of man's lunar body and their correspondence in the other kingdoms of nature, are the sumtotal of the dense physical body of the Logos, or the substance of the mental, astral and physical planes (the gaseous, liquid and dense bodies which form a unity, His physical vehicle, viewing it apart from the etheric).  They are the product of an earlier solar system; their activities date from there.  That system stands to the present one as the lunar chain to ours.  That is why the physical body is considered no principle (either for man or the solar Logos); that is why the lower nature is considered evil, and why man must "slay his lunar body." [cc]1  Evil is that which can be controlled and subdued but which is permitted to govern.  The positive can always manipulate the negative.  When the negative line is followed and the line of least resistance to that which is no principle, is pursued, then we have evil.

In the first solar system the negative substance aspect, the Mother aspect or matter, was perfected.  The lower Pitris dominated.  In this system force activity lies in the hands of the solar Pitris or greater devas.  At the close of the mahamanvantara they will have built according [619] to the plan a perfect sheath or vehicle of expression for the Divine Thought, and this through the manipulation of negative substance; they utilise the heat of the Mother to nourish the germ of the Divine Thought, and to bring it to fruition.  When the germ has developed to maturity the Mother aspect no longer has a place, and the Man occultly is freed or liberated.  This idea runs through all manifestations, and the kingdoms of nature or the form (no matter what form it may be) nourish the germ of that which is the next step on in the evolutionary process, and are considered the Mother aspect.  This aspect is eventually discarded and superseded.  For example, the third kingdom, the animal, in the early stages nourishes and preserves the germ of that which will some day be a man; the personality is the preserver of that which will some day unfold into spiritual man.

It will thus become apparent to students how the Heavenly Man, viewing Him as a solar Deity, a self-conscious Entity, works with His negative aspect through positive force, from logoic etheric levels upon the three aspects of the logoic dense physical, thus bringing to maturity the atoms and cells of His Body, fostering the germ of self-consciousness, fanning the flame until each unit becomes fully group conscious and aware of his place within the body corporate.  Each human being likewise, functioning in the three worlds, works in a corresponding way upon the conscious cells of his bodies, until each atom eventually achieves its goal.  The Heavenly Man works necessarily through egoic groups, pouring positive force upon them until they emerge from passivity and negativity into potency and activity.  Man works correspondingly through his centres upon his sheaths, and has a responsibility to the lesser lives which under the karmic law must be worked out.  This is the basis of the evolutionary process.

[620]

b. The Functions of the Devas.

Having predicated certain basic facts about the devas, viewing them as the sum total of the energy of substance and of substance itself, we come down to more technical details and to the more detailed consideration of these building forces as they construct the thought-form of the Logos, the solar System.  From this consideration of them certain practical knowledge will eventuate:

First.  Knowledge of how to build in mental matter in the three worlds, and how to employ the devas of the gaseous plane of the cosmic physical.

Second.  Realisation of how to combine the pairs of opposites, and thus give body and form to concept.

Third.  Materialisation upon the physical plane of the embodied idea.

1. Manifestation of the Logoic Aspects.  This is achieved through the close consideration of the laws of being, and of the method pursued by the Logos in giving His conception form, thus working out His purpose, or will, through that form.  In the three planes of man's endeavour we have reflected the three aspects of the Logos as they produce manifestation:

The Mental Plane...reflection of the first aspect.  The plane of concept, of the union of Father-Spirit-Will and Mother-Matter-Energy.  This is the work of the Logos, and this union produces the Son, for Divine Thought takes form.  The body of the Ego is there found.

Astral Plane...reflection of the second aspect, the Son.  Materialisation proceeds through desire, and the form grows and evolves, becoming more adequate.

Physical Plane...Manifestation.  The thought-form (of man or the Logos) appears in activity.  The Son is born on the physical plane, the thought of the Thinker (divine or human) becomes an entity, separated [621] from its originating source, yet energised by the vitality emanating from him.

All this becomes possible—speaking now from the human standpoint—through the action of the devas who are that which embodies thought, and that which give it its separated energy, as distinct from the purpose which will work out to fruition as the form becomes adequate as a medium of expression.

2. Deva force substance.  As we consider the devas of the seven planes of the solar system, and especially as we consider those who work in the three worlds, we must bear in mind the following statements:

The First Statement.  They are the devas who are the dual force-substance of the lowest cosmic plane, the cosmic physical.  As regards the three worlds, they are the deva force and substance [cci]2 which compose the dense physical body of the Logos, hence man is limited, as he works on these planes, to those devas who are primarily regarded (from the higher levels) as having no part in the seven principles of the Logos; to those devas who form the gaseous, liquid, and concrete form of the Logos, the devas of concrete fire, of water and of earth in its densest aspect; to those devas who are the automatic, subconscious builders, carrying on the work of the dense physical vehicle of the Logos in the same sense as the builders in man's body work automatically and unconsciously, producing the cells and energising the bodily functions.  This is the basis of the danger to man in tampering with these forces.  He is too close to them in many ways; he identifies himself with them and until [622] he has attained the consciousness of the Ego, and has with full knowledge established his identity with the Spirit aspect and not with substance, he is liable to be swept into the line of blind force, and become a lost soul should he trespass ignorantly, and curiously, into their domain.

He is concerned also with those devas who are as yet animated by the life and purpose which distinguished the evolution of the first solar system.  That life is the life of God, and that purpose is the working out of His will, but it is evil from our present standpoint, for it is superseded as far as man is concerned by a different purpose and goal.  Therefore, identification with that which is past, retrogression and the methods of the old are for a man a return along the path of self-conscious evolution, and lead eventually to a loss of the egoic principle, or of ego-ism, which distinguishes a man (human or heavenly) from the rest of evolution.

The Second Statement.  The hope for the devas and for the form aspect lies in the fact that each of the subplanes of the cosmic physical plane comes under the direct influence of cosmic forces, originating on the six other cosmic planes.  Of these forces everything is unknown and inconceivable, except the vague and general indications of these currents and forces as they may be felt as emanating from the cosmic planes.

The cosmic mental plane.  This manifests for us in the three types of force to be seen on the systemic mental plane.  These three types have not been sufficiently studied, and are:

a. The force which plays through all the manasic permanent atoms, and which produces basically that manifestation which we call the three worlds.

b. The force which animates those groups of "lotuses" [623] which we call egoic groups or centres—aggregations of causal bodies.

c. The force which vitalises all the mental units and which is distributed thence to all the other permanent atoms.

These three types of force deal with the substance aspect—permanent atoms, causal vehicle, and mental units, and are therefore directly impressing themselves upon the devas who build these forms out of their own substance, and thus develop the divine plan.  These three types of force affect substance, but with a psychic intent, being themselves swayed and actuated according to divine purpose, and from high levels.  They emanate from the concrete levels of the cosmic mental plane (being therefore the force flowing through the mental unit of the Logos), and are concerned with the force centre which focalises the logoic mental body.  They are the force of Agni in His first aspect.  He is that fire which is distinctive of the cosmic mental plane, reflected in the cosmic gaseous subplane of the cosmic physical plane—our systemic mental plane.

The Cosmic Astral Plane.  The force from this plane plays through our systemic astral plane, the cosmic liquid physical sub-plane, and it is practically subject only to two differentiations, each of them occultly embodied in two great groups of devas:

First.  The devas who are the substance or force of the astral plane, viewing it as the sumtotal of desire, of feeling and of sensation.  They are, therefore, the nerve centers, or nerve plexi, of the logoic physical body, for the systemic astral plane provides the nervous system of the logoic physical body.  It is the body of intensest vibration from the physical standpoint, and the vehicle through which all is transmitted to that portion of the logoic physical body which corresponds to the brain [624] in man.  I can elucidate this no further, but the few words here imparted open up a tremendous range of thought, and give the key to much which transpires and which is distressing in solar evolution as well as human.

Second.  Those devas who are the sumtotal of the astral light.  They are the agents of the karmic lords, who are in themselves deva entities of an inconceivably advanced evolution and who, in their own substance,

1. Record.

2. Produce effects from cause.

3. Direct force.

This particular group of devas emanate from a great force centre which we generalise by calling it by the name of the sun Sirius.  Sirius-kama-manas—the cosmic astral plane—and the systemic astral plane—make a close interlocking chain, and form the line of least resistance for a particular type of negative force to pour through.

The Cosmic Physical Plane.  This is the force (external and internal) of the solar system itself, and of its environing space.  It might be regarded as the pranic forces, pouring through the logoic etheric body (our four higher subplanes) which are positive to the lower three, impregnating these lower three planes (a reflection in substance, or in the Brahma aspect, of the union of Father-Mother) and producing the purely concrete manifestation.  This is why the physical vehicle has such control during long stages of man's evolution, for the force of this type of energy is necessarily felt more strongly than any other.  It is deva force, and substance, which is so close to us as powerfully to delude us.  Here lies the mystery of maya, and here is to be found the secret of illusion.  Here exists for man the first great stage of the battle for full Self-consciousness, and for identification with the God-aspect, and not with the [625] matter-aspect.  Here lies the occult reason why man is called by his father's name and not his mother's.  When man has dominated the deva essences of the physical plane, he controls next those of the astral and dominates the mental essences.  Having achieved this in his own nature he can then safely become a magician and contact, control and work with, the devas in connection with the plans of the Heavenly Man.  In the realisation of the three types of force, will be found for man the key to the mystery of his centres.

The secret of the note of the head, the heart, and the throat centre is found here and their blending with the lower centres so that the note of the higher sounds out, and the lower produces only harmony.  Upon the note of nature the Logos has to superimpose a higher note.  To the natural note of the centre (which is found through the development of the lower centre, which is its reflection or correspondence) must be added the dominant note of the higher centre, and, in the dual harmony the centre vibrates as desired.  The note is the result of correct activity.  That is why the lower centres of man are (in the early stages of his career) the controlling factor.  He has to learn their note, and from it to attain the key of the higher.  Then the higher takes the prominent place, and the lower only serves the purpose of providing that which is understood as occult "depth."  Why is this?  Because in these notes those groups of devas who are the force and energy of the centres (which are centres in substance) are contacted and controlled.  Through their activity, directed through the centres, the material sheaths—physical, astral and mental—are built.

These ideas of force and the sheaths are the basis of the astrological teaching that is one of the keys to the Secret Doctrine[ccii]3  We should therefore bear in mind that [626] the Deva Lords, Agni, Varuna, Kshiti, [cciii]4 represent in the exoteric teaching the substance aspect of the dense body of the Logos whilst the force aspect as flowing through the etheric body of the Logos is considered under various names, such as Shiva, Surya, Brahma.  Yet the two aspects are but one.

The Third Statement.  The final point I seek to make here is that in connection with these three lower planes and their many groups of devas it must be remembered that their polar opposites are to be found in the great devas of the highest three planes.

Divine . . . . . . . .
1st Cosmic
    ether . . . . . . .



Primordial
Fire . . . . . . . . . 




Mental Plane . . . . . .




Fire.
Monadic . . . . . . 
2nd Cosmic
    ether . . . . . . .


Akasha . . . . . . 


Astral Plane . . . . . . .



Astral
   light.
Spiritual
   or Atmic . . . . . 


3rd Cosmic
    ether . . . . . . . 





Æther . . . . . . .




Physical Plane . . . . . 



Ether.

 

The particular type of differentiated force which they embody, when brought into union with each other is that which causes concretion, or the appearance, in space and time, of the dense physical body.  This should be carefully considered, along with the very interesting fact that on the fourth plane of our system (the fourth cosmic ether, or buddhic plane) we have the sphere of certain occult happenings which cannot be more than hinted at, because their true significance is one of the secrets of initiation.  They are an aspect of the plan of the Logos which can be contacted direct by those who have expanded their consciousness adequately.

[627]

The buddhic plane, or fourth cosmic ether, is the plane whereon:

a. The sacred planets function.

b. Man will eventually function freed from the triple lower man.

c. The true meaning of the words "Divine Hermaphrodite" is there to be comprehended.

d. It is predominantly the plane of life-force, and one of the planes of generation.

e. Here man will for the first time understand and utilize his relationship with the devas.

f. It will see the fruition of the combined evolutionary process of the two solar systems.

g. It is the plane from whence all planetary avatars emanate.

h. The Heavenly Men take the first Initiation on this plane.

i. On this plane the true inner significance of the "Sun" is apprehended.

More I cannot say, but careful study of that which is here given may open up much that is of significance in the study of the macrocosm and the microcosm.

c. The Devas and the Planes.

Preliminary Remarks.  We have considered in broad and general terms the various types of force which animate deva substance, and its origin.  Now we can study more specifically the deva entities in their various groups, having laid down the fundamentals in connection with them.

In this particular section students must remember that we are not considering those builders of involutionary development which are spoken of in theosophical and occult literature as the elemental essences.  We are discussing those who are on the evolutionary arc, and who are the agents of cosmic force, whilst the lesser builders are the agents specifically of solar and of lunar force.  Solar force implies the various differentiations of the threefold cosmic force as it manifests within the solar [628] system.  Solar force can also (as far as the creative or building faculty of man is concerned) be termed planetary force, for every human being (be he Adept or ordinary man) builds and creates his thought forms—consciously or unconsciously—within the planetary spheres in the three worlds.

We shall now come to a considerable amount of tabulation, for all that it is wise and possible to give at this time are certain facts, names and outlines which can only be demonstrated through the law of correspondence.  The key to comprehension is always this law.  The basic differentiation in the solar system is as follows:

Agni........Electric fire.........Spirit......Central Spiritual Sun..Energy

Surya......Solar fire............Vishnu....Heart of the Sun.........Light

Brahma...Fire by friction..................Physical visible Sun....Fohat

As electric fire the Logos manifests as the seven aspects of Will, spiritual impulse or purpose.

As solar fire He manifests as the seven Rays, or as the Light of Wisdom, the Consciousness, radiating through the form.

As fire by friction He manifests as the seven Sons of Fohat, the seven great fires, or the active heat of intelligent substance.

These three aspects of the God of Fire, and of the fire of God, are the three Entities of the logoic Trinity, and each in turn manifests through seven other Entities Who form their total manifestation.

Sevenfold electric fire.  The seven types of spiritual existences, or the seven Spirits before the Throne in Their essential essence; the dynamic force or will lying back of all manifestation.  They form on their own plane in a peculiar sense the logoic "Jewel in the Lotus," and [629] hence are inconceivable to our intelligence in this solar system, as They are not revealed until the "Son be made perfect," or the logoic consciousness is fully awakened.  They are esoterically the "Spirits of Darkness."

Sevenfold solar fire.  The seven Heavenly Men, the sumtotal of Light, the seven Rays of manifestation of the Spiritual Sun.  In time and space these seven Rays of Light become the nine (the major three, with the third demonstrating as seven) and are thus esoterically the nine petals of the logoic Ego as He manifests in His physical vehicle.  They are esoterically the "Sons of Light."

Sevenfold fire by friction.  The seven brothers of Fohat.  The seven manifestations of electricity, or of electrical phenomena.  These are the seven Raja-Lords or Devas of the seven planes; they are the seven Fires, or those seven states of activity through which consciousness is expressing itself.  They are the vehicles of consciousness and the seven vibrations.  They are esoterically the "Brothers of energy."

Therefore it will be apparent that the sumtotal of logoic manifestation as it can be seen in existence in time and space is:

Seven Spirits...............sevenfold will.

Seven Rays.................sevenfold quality or psyche.

Seven Deva Lords......sevenfold form.

The latter are literally the seven spirillae, or force vibrations within the logoic physical permanent atom.  This needs to be carefully borne in mind and pondered upon.  The seven Rays are the sumtotal of the psychic nature of the Logos, as it radiates through His physical form—His seven qualities, the aggregate of the expression of His desire, or love nature.  The seven Spirits are the sumtotal of His Will-to-be aspect, the synthetic Life of His total manifestation, that which causes the persistence [630] of the form, and its evolution for as long as the logoic Ego seeks physical existence.

To carry the simile, or analogy, even further back and thus bear in mind the resemblance between microcosmic and macrocosmic development we have:

1. The seven Spirits who find Their originating incentive on:

a. The cosmic lower mental levels.

b. The logoic "Jewel in the Lotus."

c. The cosmic atmic plane.

2. The seven Heavenly Men are in the line of force from:

a. The cosmic astral plane.

b. The logoic nine-petalled lotus.

c. The cosmic buddhic plane (the seven Rishis of the Great Bear).

3. The seven Sons of Fohat find their vital force emanating from:

a. The cosmic physical plane.

b. The logoic permanent atoms (within the causal body).

c. The cosmic higher mental levels.

Yet these three are but the expressions of One Existence, for behind the Logos in physical incarnation is to be found the logoic Monad, expressing Itself through the logoic Ego, and its reflection, the logoic Personality.

All these spiritual Essences are individualised self-conscious Identities, and the "Fiery Lives" are real, and conscious, vital Existences.  Thus we see the Logos manifesting as One Unity yet Three in One; we see the threefold Unity differentiating into the seven great Lives, containing within Themselves all lesser lives.

Another broad differentiation must next be touched upon:

[631]

a. The seven Fires form the forty-nine Fires.

b. The seven Heavenly Men manifest through forty-nine lesser Rays.

c. The seven Spirits shew forth as forty-nine Existences.

In connection with the Spirit aspect it will prove unprofitable to carry the thought any further.  Of Spirit per se we can know nothing, and beyond predicating the forty-nine [cciv]5 solar Manus (each of the Heavenly Men is expressing Himself on the physical plane through seven Manus) it is impossible to go.  Therefore, in discussing these abstract questions, we will concern ourselves only with the seven Rays of Light, or Heavenly Men, and the seven Fires.

Each of the seven Rays of Light differentiates into seven making the forty-nine aspects of the logoic psychic nature, as it shews itself on the cosmic physical plane, and each of the seven Fires manifests as seven lesser Fires, making the forty-nine Fires referred to by H. P. B. in the Secret Doctrine[ccv]6  The seven Heavenly Men manifest each through seven lesser Entities, Who form the psychic centres in Their body in the same manner as They—in Their turn—form the psychic centres in the logoic vahan or vehicle.  Each of the seven Fires, or Deva Lords, of a plane manifest through seven lesser devas, who form the central fire, and consciousness of the substance of a subplane.  It is with their mutual interplay and work that we are now concerned, or with the study of matter as it is affected and built into form through the medium of Divine Thought or Will.

Of the higher Fires (the Lords of the four higher planes) I do not seek to deal, for it only profits us to [632] study the construction of thought-forms in the three worlds through the medium of deva essences; these are vitalised and manipulated by the Builders, the Dhyan Chohans, the Heavenly Men through the force of Their Life, through Their knowledge of the logoic Will or purpose, and through the power of Their psychic nature.  Thus They are occupied in building the logoic physical body, and in carrying out His plans in that body, in this way fulfilling the purpose for which He incarnated.  Their work is infinitely greater than this, for it lies primarily on cosmic levels, but this is what concerns us, and all that we can, in any way grasp.  Man in the three worlds of human endeavour works at two things:

First.  The building of his body of manifestation, a threefold body.

Second.  The construction of thought-forms, which he builds of mental matter and vitalises by desire, and which he holds within his aura, thus constructing a tiny system of his own.

Both man, and the Heavenly Men, work in deva substance; both co-operate with the devas; both manifest will, psychic quality and intelligent activity as they pursue their work but a difference lies, not only in degree, but in consciousness.  Man works usually unconsciously.  The Heavenly Men, on cosmic levels, work for the most part consciously.  Herein lies a hint as to the stage of evolution of our Logos.

This matter is of real difficulty, for the subject is abstruse and profound.  We will now leave these basic ideas, and deal more specifically with the devas with whom we are immediately concerned, or with the three groups I have outlined—the Agnichaitans, the Agnisuryans, and the Agnishvattas.  They are concerned primarily with the evolution of the dense body of the Logos, the liquid, gaseous and dense subplanes of the [633] cosmic physical, or the three worlds of human endeavour; with the magnetic radiation of the Logos through His physical vehicle, and with the radiatory emanations of the particular Heavenly Man Who is expressing Himself through our planet.  Finally they are concerned with the evolution of consciousness [ccvi]7 in the three worlds, and particularly with the individualisation of the human unit of consciousness, and with the vitalisation of the centres in the body of the Heavenly Man with Whom we are peculiarly connected.

The subject of our consideration now is the fire devas of the physical plane, those great building devas who are working out the purposes of the Logos in his dense, physical body.  Let us get our ideas as clear as possible on this matter; in the following tabulation, the status of these devas will be apparent at a glance:

 


   Name   


Cosmic Plane

Systemic
   Plane


Nature


Ruler

Agnichaitan...........

7th subplane.........
cosmic physical

Physical......

Densest.........
 concretion

Kshiti

 

 

 

 

 

Agnisuryan...........

6th subplane..........
 cosmic physical

Astral..........

Liquid.............

Varuna

 

 

 

 

 

Agnishvatta...........

5th subplane..........
cosmic physical

Mental........

Gaseous........

Agni

 

The Agnichaitans.  These are the devas who construct, and build in matter of the densest kind in connection with logoic manifestation.  They function on the seventh subplane of the cosmic physical plane, and are the producers of the greatest concretion.  In the planetary body of our planetary Logos they are the builders of the Earth, His densest form, and throughout the entire solar system they are the sum-total of that activity and vibration [634] which demonstrates through what we call "solid substance."

Therefore, it will be apparent that under the law they will have a peculiarly powerful effect on the lowest subplane of the systemic physical plane; hence their esoteric appellation of the "Agnichaitans of the inner or central heat."  They are the totality of the lowest vibration in the cosmic physical vehicle.

The Agnisuryans are the builders on the sixth subplane of the cosmic physical plane, our systemic astral plane.  They represent, as I have before hinted, the sympathetic nervous system in the logoic physical body, just as their brothers of the seventh vibration represent the sumtotal of the circulatory or blood system.  A hint to the student who is interested in the physiological key lies in the relationship between the two great groups of devas who build and construct the most objective portion of logoic manifestation, and the two groups of corpuscles which in their mutual interaction hold the body in health; there is an analogy also in the relationship between the devas of the astral plane, and the motor and sensory nerves of the physical body.  I will not enlarge upon this angle of vision.

These devas have to do, in a very esoteric sense, with the nerve plexus in the:

a. Solar system. (Physical Sun)

b. Planetary scheme. (Dense Planet)

c. Human physical body. (Dense Body)

and are therefore a powerful factor in the eventual vitalisation of the centres in man.  The etheric centres, or the focal points of force of a Heavenly Man are on the fourth cosmic ether, the buddhic plane.  The astral plane is closely allied to the buddhic, and as the etheric centres of our Heavenly Man, for instance, come into full activity, the force is transmitted through the astral correspondence [635] to the fourth physical ether, in which the centres of man exist.

The Agnishvattas are the builders on the fifth or gaseous subplane of the cosmic physical, and—from the human standpoint—are the most profoundly important, for they are the builders of the body of consciousness per se.  From the psychic standpoint of occult physiology, they have a close connection with the physical brain, the seat or empire of the Thinker, and as at this stage all that we can know must be viewed kama-manasically, it will be apparent that between the sympathetic nervous system and the brain is such a close interaction as to make one organised whole.  This microcosmic correspondence is of interest, but in studying these groups of devas at present we will view them principally in their work as systemic and planetary builders, leaving the student to trace out for himself the human analogy.  He will learn thereby.  Having indicated certain lines of thought, we will now take up these groups one at a time and consider them.

The Agnichaitans—Physical Plane Devas.

These devas are the sumtotal of physical plane substance.  This plane is, as we know, divided into two parts:

The four ethers, four subplanes.

The demonstrably concrete or dense three subplanes.