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DIVISION C.  SEVEN ESOTERIC STANZAS. - Part 2

Atma

Aether.

4. The Plane of the intuition

Buddhi

Air.

5. The Plane of mind

Mental

Fire.

6. The Plane of desire

Astral

Astral Light.

7. The Plane of density

Physical

Ether.

—S. D. I, 105, 134, 135, 136.

 

[xii] 12: The quaternary is composed of the four lower principles and the sheaths through which they manifest as a coherent unit, being held together during manifestation by the life force of the indwelling entity.

[xiii] 13 These terms, Lower Self, Higher Self, Divine Self, are apt to be confusing until the student apprehends the various synonyms connected with them.  The following table may be found helpful:

 

Father

Son

Mother

Spirit

Soul

Body

Life

Consciousness

Form

Monad

Ego

Personality

Divine Self

Higher Self

Lower Self

Spirit

Individuality

Personal Self

The Point

The Triad

The Quaternary

Monad

Solar Angel

Lunar Lords

 

[xiv] 14: See S. D., I, 169, 562, 567, 569; II, 258, 390, 547, 551, 552.

[xv] 15: In the Study of Consciousness Mrs. Besant says (page 37): "Consciousness is the one reality, in the fullest sense of that much-used phrase; it follows from this that any reality found anywhere is drawn from consciousness.  Hence, everything which is thought, is.  That consciousness in which everything is, everything literally, "possible" as well as "actual"—actual being that which is thought of as existent by a separated consciousness in time and space, and possible all that which is not so being thought of at any period in time and any point in space—we call Absolute Consciousness.  It is the All, the Eternal, the Infinite, the Changeless.  Consciousness, thinking time and space, and of all forms as existing in them in succession and in places, is the Universal Consciousness, the One, called by the Hindu the Saguna Brahman—the Eternal with attributes—the Pratyag-Atma—the Inner Self; by the Parsi, Hormuzd; by the Mussulman, Allah.  Consciousness dealing with a definite time, however long or short, with a definite space, however vast or restricted, is individual, that of a concrete Being, a Lord of many universes, or a universe or of any so-called portion of a universe, his portion and to him therefore a universe—these terms varying as to extent with the power of the consciousness; so much of the universal thought as a separate consciousness can completely think, i.e., on which he can impose his own reality, can think of as existing like himself, is his universe."

[xvi] 16: Universal consciousness, manifesting as consciousness in time and space, as Mrs. Besant so ably expresses it, includes all forms of activity and spiral cyclic evolution from the standpoint of cosmic evolution, and in terms of absolute consciousness, may again be rotary.

[xvii] 17: "The divine essence that, pervading the entire universe of millions of solar systems, is caught up by our sun and passed out in a manifested form to the utmost boundaries of our solar system, so that this manifested essence may be the basic soil of the growth, preservation and destruction of our worlds, that divine essence is simple Nadam of our yogic philosophy and that Nadam or OM subsequently manifests itself as seven streams.  The unmanifested is manifested by or borne by the subsequent ramifications.  These streams are the seven vowels or seven notes.  These seven vowels and notes must have special correlations with the seven vedic metres, since in the Vishnu Purana, Parasara describes the vedic metres as the coursers of the solar essence."—Some Thoughts on the Gita, p. 74.

[xviii] 18: T. Subba Rao says on page 20, of Esoteric Writings:  "As a general rule, whenever seven entities are mentioned in the ancient occult science of India in any connection whatsoever, you must suppose that those seven entities came into existence from three primary entities and that these three entities again are evolved out of a single entity or monad.  To take a familiar example, the seven coloured rays in the solar ray are evolved out of three primary coloured rays; and the three primary colours co-exist with the four secondary colours in the solar ray.  Similarly the three primary entities which brought man into existence co-exist in him with the four secondary entities which arose from different combinations of the three primary entities."
In Christian terminology these are the three Persons of the Trinity, and the seven Spirits which are before the Throne.  Compare "Our God is a consuming fire."  Heb:  12.29.

[xix] 19: "I have already said in speaking of this Logos, that it was quite possible that it was the Logos that appeared in the shape of the first Dhyan Chohan, or planetary Spirit, when the evolution of man was recommenced after the last period of inactivity on this planet, as stated in Mr. Sinnett's book, Esoteric Buddhism, and after having set the evolutionary current in motion, retired to the spiritual plane congenial to its own nature, and has been watching since over the interests of humanity, and now and then appearing in connection with a human individuality for the good of mankind.  Or you may look upon the Logos represented by Krishna as one belonging to the same class as the Logos which so appeared.  In speaking of himself  Krishna says, (chap. x, verse 6):
"The seven great Rishis, the four preceding Manus, partaking of my nature were born from my mind:  from them sprang, was (born) the human race and the world."
He speaks of the sapta Rishis and of the Manus as his manasaputras, or mind-born sons, which they would be if he was the so-called Prajapati, who appeared on this planet and commenced the work of evolution."--The Theosophist, Vol. VIII, p. 443.

[xx] 20 The following tabulation should be borne in mind:

Seven branch races make

one subrace

Seven subraces make

one rootrace

Seven rootraces make

one world period

Seven world periods make

one round

Seven rounds make

one chain period

Seven chain periods make

one planetary scheme

Ten planetary schemes make

one solar system

 

[xxi] 21: "It should be remembered that the mere scale does not matter, for greatness and smallness are essentially relative.  The destiny of each atom is to create a brahmanda.  Brahmandas like or smaller or larger than ours, held together by a sun, are present in every atom.  Vishvas, great world-systems, exist in an atom, and atoms again exist in these vishvas.  This is the significance of 'many from one'; wherever we see the one we should recognise the many also, and conversely.  After securing the ability of, and then actually, creating a brahmanda, the next step is the creation of a jagat, then a vishva, then a maha-vishva and so on, till the status of maha-vishnu is reached."—Bhagavan Das in the Pranava Vada, p. 94.

[xxii] 22: Atma means as you all know the self or the ego or an individualised centre of consciousness around which all worldly experiences in their dual aspect of subjective and objective cluster and arrange themselves.  It is as it were one of the foci from which emerge rays of light to illumine the cosmic waters and in which also converge the rays sent back by those waters.  In Theosophical writings, it is called the selfconscious individuality or the Higher Manas.  From this point of view, you will see that the Higher Manas is the most important principle or the central pivot of the human constitution or the true soul.  It is the thread which ought to be caught hold of by one who wants to know the truth and lift himself out of this conditioned existence.  To this it may be objected that Atma represents the seventh principle of the theosophical septenary and that the Manas is far lower in the scale.  But the plain answer is that the seventh principle is the ultimate state attainable by the self after crossing the ocean of conditioned existence or samsara."—Some Thoughts on the Gita, p. 26.

[xxiii] 23 Fohat, or electricity, is an Entity.

He is the primordial electric Entity

S. D., I, 105.

He is

Will

S. D., I, 136.

He is

Love-Wisdom

S. D., I, 100,144,155.

He is

Active Intelligence

S. D., I, 136.

Therefore He is God

S. D., I, 167.

 

He is the sumtotal of the energy of the seven Spirits, Who are the sumtotal of the Logos.—S. D., I, 169.

 

[xxiv] 24: Chohan (Tibetan).  A Lord or Master.  A high Adept.  An initiate who has taken more Initiations than the five major Initiations which make man a "Master of the Wisdom."

[xxv] 25: The seven Brothers.  See S. D., I, 105.  These seven are the seven differentiations of primordial electric energy.
Plane.  As used in occultism, the term denotes the range or extent of some state of consciousness or of the perceptive power of a particular set of senses or the action or a particular force, or the state of matter corresponding to any of the above.

[xxvi] 26: Permanent Atom.  An appropriated point of atomic matter.  A tiny centre of force which forms the central factor and the attractive agency around which the sheaths of the incarnating Monad are built.  These are strung like pearls upon the sutratma, or thread.
Ray.  A stream of force or an emanation.  The solar Logos, or the Macrocosm, manifests through three major rays and four minor rays.  The Monad or microcosm likewise manifests through three rays as mentioned in the text above.  All rays express a peculiar and specialised type of force.
Triad.  This is literally Atma-buddhi-manas, the expression of the Monad, just as the personality is the expression of the Ego.  The Monad expresses itself through the Triad, and in its lowest or third Aspect forms the Egoic or Causal body, the infant or germinal Ego.  Similarly, the Ego expresses itself through the threefold lower man, mental, emotional, and etheric (these being the reflection of the higher Triad) and these three give rise to the dense physical manifestation.

[xxvii] 27: Spirilla:  "In order to examine the construction of the atom, a space is artificially made, then, if an opening be made in the wall thus constructed, the surrounding force flows in, and three whorls immediately appear, surrounding the "hole" with their triple spiral of two and a half coils, and returning to their origin by a spiral within the atom; these are at once followed by seven finer whorls, which following the spiral of the first three on the outer surface and returning to their origin by a spiral within that, flowing in the opposite direction form a caduceus with the first three.  Each of the three coarser whorls, flattened out, makes a closed circle; each of the seven finer ones, similarly flattened out, makes a closed circle.  The forces which flow in them, again, come from "outside," from a fourth-dimensional space.  Each of the finer whorls is formed of seven yet finer ones, set successively at right angles to each other, each finer than its predecessor; these we call spirillae.
"Each spirilla is animated by the life-force of a plane, and four are at present normally active, one for each round.  Their activity in an individual may be prematurely forced by yoga practice."—
Occult Chemistry, p. 28.

[xxviii] 28: See S. D., I, 108; II, 596.

[xxix] 29: S. D., I, 99, 108; II, 596.

[xxx] 30: "Buddhas of Activity."  The 'Pratyeka Buddhas.'  This is a degree which belongs exclusively to the Yogacharya School, yet it is only one of high intellectual development with no true spirituality....It is one of the three paths to Nirvana, and the lowest, in which a yogi—"without teacher and without saving others"—by the mere force of will and technical observances, attains to a kind of nominal Buddahood individually."—Theosophical Glossary.

[xxxi] 31: "From the view taken of Karma as I have done it, you will see that no plane of the highest spirituality, be that the plane of the nirvanees, is outside the karmic wheel and when it is said in the Sanskrit writings and even in the Bhagavat Gita that men cross the karmic ocean, it must be understood with some allowance.  The entities that have now succeeded in going outside the karmic wheel, have done so, only if that wheel be taken as the one that turns now.  The cosmos is not going in one groove all the days of Brahma, but it is going on a higher and higher status as it fulfils its mission.  Those who have attained unto a rest in a state of spirituality not reachable now, will therefore in a future day come within the action of the wheel, with perhaps a punishment for the great duties neglected for long ages."—Some Thoughts on the Gita, p. 40

[xxxii] 32: The Lipika are the Spirits of the Universe.  They are connected with the Law of Cause and Effect (Karma) and its recorders.  Lipika comes from "Lipi" writing.  For information concerning the Lipika Lords see S. D., I, pp. 152, 153.
The Buddhas of Activity, are the Triad Who stands closest to Sanat Kumara, The Lord of the World.  They are the planetary correspondences to the three Aspects of the logoic third Aspect and are concerned with the force behind planetary manifestation.
Monadic Essence, the matter of the atomic (or highest) subplane of each plane.  Elemental Essence, the matter of the six subplanes which are non atomic.  It is molecular matter.

[xxxiii] 33:  "Karma may be defined to be the force generated by a human centre to act on the exterior world, and the reactionary influence that is in turn generated from the exterior world to act on him may be called karmic influence and the visible result that is produced by this influence under proper conditions may be called karmic fruit."—Some Thoughts on the Gita, p. 53.

[xxxiv] 34:  "Prana, or the vital principle, is the special relation of the Atma with a certain form of matter which by the relation of Atma organises and builds up as a means of having experience.  This special relation constitutes the individual Prana in the individual body.  The cosmic all-pervading Prana is not Prana in the gross sense, but is a name for the Brahman as the author of the individual Prana....All beings, whether Devatas, men or animals, exist only so long as the Prana is within the body.  It is the life duration of all....Prana, or vitality, is the common function of the mind and all the senses."—Serpent Power, pp. 94, 95.

[xxxv] 35: S. D., I, 74.

[xxxvi] 36: "This whole solar system being conceived of as one vast mechanism, with an exquisite adjustment of its parts in all major details, is only the physical expression of Vishnu, or the ethereal basic substance, as we may understand the word for the present.  All the harmonies observable in the manifested cosmos are only the result of the harmoniously working energies that resolve ether into the expression that we recognise.  All planets, worlds, human beings, etc., are only parts of the body, each functioning in subordination to the law which governs the whole.  The evolution, preservation and destruction of the world is therefore one vast process called Yagna, which takes place in the body of Yagna Purusha, or the psychical body of nature.  Humanity taken collectively is the heart and brain of this Purusha and therefore all the Karma generated by humanity, physical, mental, or spiritual, determines mainly the character of this Yagnic process....Sri Krishna therefore calls the process the Yagnic life that he has been giving out to Arjuna as Yoga (1st Sloka 4th Chr).  In fact, Yoga and Yagna are very closely allied and even inseparable, though at the present day people seem to disconnect the two.  Yoga derived from the root Yuj to join means an act of joining.  Now as the heart is the great centre in man, likewise the Yogee of the heart keeps his central position in the universe and hence his individuality.  The individuality or the Higher Manas being the pivot of the human constitution or the centre on which two hemispheres of higher and lower existence turn as I have already said, the Yogee of the heart has a heavenly dome above and earthly abyss below and his yoga becomes twofold as a consequence.  He joins himself on to the thing above in dhyana and the thing below in action.  The word yagna derived from the root Yaj—to serve also means a twofold service, service done to the thing above through service done unto its expression the thing below."—Some Thoughts on the Gita, pp. 18, 134.

[xxxvii] 37: Principles, the basic differentiations, essential qualities or types of energy upon which all things are built; they give the distinctive nature of all forms.

[xxxviii] 38: Pralaya....A period of obscuration or repose—planetary, systemic or cosmic.  An interlude between two periods of manifestation.

[xxxix] 39: S. D., I, 232-238.  The whole cosmos is guided, controlled and animated by an almost endless series of Hierarchies of sentient Beings, each having a mission to perform.—S. D., I, 295.  Among these the Hierarchy of human Monads has a place.

[xl] 40: S. D., I, 170-180.

[xli] 41: S. D., I, 179.

[xlii] 42: Involutionary Arc is the term applied to the first part of the evolutionary process.  It covers the "path of descent," or the coming down of Spirit into ever denser matter until the lowest point is reached, the point of densest concretion.  The latter half of the process is called evolutionary and marks the ascent or return of Spirit to its emanating source, plus the gains of the evolutionary process.

[xliii] 43: "The Three Outpourings.  In the diagram the "symbols of the three Aspects (of the Logos) are placed outside of time and space, and only the streams of influence from them descend into our system of planes....They represent in due order what are commonly called the three Persons of the Trinity....It will be seen that from each of them an outpouring of life or force is projected into the planes below.  The first of these in order is the straight line which descends from the third Aspect; the second is that part of the large oval which lies on our left hand—the stream which descends from the second Aspect until it has touched the lowest point in matter, and then rises again up the side on our right hand until it reaches the lower mental level.  It will be noted that in both of these outpourings the divine life becomes darker and more veiled as it descends into matter, until at the lowest point we might almost fail to recognise it as divine life at all; but as it rises again when it has passed its nadir it shows itself somewhat more clearly.  The third outpouring which descends from the highest aspect of the Logos differs from the others in that it is in no way clouded by the matter through which it passes, but retains its virgin purity and splendour untarnished.  It will be noted that this outpouring descends only to the level of the buddhic plane (the fourth plane) and that the link between the two is formed by a triangle in a circle, representing the individual soul of man—the reincarnating ego.  Here the triangle is contributed by the third outpouring and the circle by the second...."—The Christian Creed, by C. W. Leadbeater, pp. 39, 40.

[xliv] 43a See S. D., I, 98, 99, 100, 103. 

1.  The root of life was in every drop of the ocean of immortality.  Every atom in matter was impregnated with the life of the Logos.

2.  The ocean was radiant light, which was Fire, Heat, Motion.  These three are the subjective life manifesting objectively.  Fire:  The essence of the first Logos.  Electric fire.  Spirit.  Heat:  Duality.  The essence of the second Logos.  Solar fire.  The Son aspect.  Consciousness.  Motion:  The essence of the third Logos.  Fire by friction.  Matter.

THE MACROCOSM

First Logos

Fire

The will to live or to be.  Electric.

Second Logos

Heat

Duality, or love between two.  Solar.

Third Logos

Motion

The fire of mind, the relation between.
Fire by friction.

This is the subjective expression.

 

The Sun

Will or power.

Venus-Mercury

Love and Wisdom.

Saturn

Activity or intelligence.

This is the objective expression.

 

THE MICROCOSM.

The Monad

Electric fire

Will or power.

The Ego

Solar fire

Love and wisdom.

The Personality

Fire by friction

Activity or intelligence.

This is the subjective expression.

 

The mental body

Will or power

Fire.

The astral body

Love-wisdom

Heat.

The physical body

Active intelligence

Motion.

 

This is the objective expression.

 

Physical body.

The brain

Monad

Will or power.  Electric fire.

The heart

Ego

Love-wisdom.  Solar fire.

Lower organs

Personality

Active intelligence.

 

[xlv] 44: The Bible. Ecc: XII, 6.

[xlvi] 45: In the Secret Doctrine, Vol. I, p. 473, footnote, the destruction of Lemuria by fire is hinted at, and in the Secret Doctrine, II, 149, footnote, the words occur, "Lemuria was not submerged but was destroyed by volcanic action, and afterward sank."

[xlvii] 46: The planetary Spirit is another term for the Logos of our planet, one of the "seven Spirits before the Throne," and therefore one of the seven Heavenly Men.  He is on the evolutionary arc of the universe, and has passed many stages beyond the human.
The planetary Entity is on the involutionary arc and is a very low grade Entity.  He is the sum total of all the elemental lives of the planet.

[xlviii] 47: The keys to the Secret Doctrine, by H. P. Blavatsky.  See S. D., I, 343; note; II, 551.
1. Every symbol and allegory has seven keys.—S. D., II, 567; III, 3.
2. Only three keys available in the nineteenth century.—S. D., II, 543.  Compare II, 617, 842.
3. There are seven keys to the Entrance door to the Mysteries.—S. D., III, 178.  Compare I, 346; II, 330; II, 668, II, 731.
4. The keys, as hinted by H. P. B., are:
a. Psychological.—S. D., II, 25, note; I, 389.
b. Astronomical.—S. D., II, 25, note; I, 389; III, 198.
c. Physical or physiological.—S. D., II, 25, note; III, 198.
d. Metaphysical.—S. D., II, 25, note; II, 394.
e. Anthropological.—S. D., I, 389; III, 198.
f. Astrological.—S. D., II, 343.
g. Geometrical.—S. D., II, 494; III, 176.
h. Mystical.—S. D., I, 401.
i. Symbolical.—S. D., II, 561.
j. Numerical.—S. D., II, 198.
5. Each key must be turned seven times.—S. D., I, 22.
6. The Jews availed themselves of two keys out of the seven.
7. The Metaphysical key is available.—S. D., I, 338.  Compare III, 198.

[xlix] 48: "The seven keys open the mysteries, past and future, of the seven great rootraces and of the seven kalpas."  Every occult book, symbol and allegory can be subjected to seven interpretations.  There are three locks to be opened.  Seven keys.  Every book can be read exoterically, subjectively and spiritually.  All the keys are not yet available.  (See Secret Doctrine, I, 330, 343.)  There is the physiological key, the psychological, the astrological and the metaphysical.  The fifth key is the geometrical.

[l] 48a: "Ring-pass-not.  The circumference of the sphere of influence of any centre of positive life.  This includes the fire sphere of magnetic work of the solar orb, viewing it as the body of manifestation of a solar Logos and inclusive of an entire solar system.  This term is also applied to the sphere of activity of a planetary Logos or to a planetary scheme and could equally well be applied to the sphere of activity of the human Ego."S. D., I, 346.

[li] 49: The four Lipika Lords stand between the first and second plane.—S. D., I, 155.
a. They can pass the ring-pass-not.—S. D., I, 157.
b. They are connected with karma.—S. D., I, 153.
c. They are concerned with the Hereafter.—S. D., I, 151.
d. They are in three groups.—S. D., I, 153.
e. They are the spirits of the Universe.—S. D., I, 153.

[lii] 50: The four rays of mind are the four minor rays which form the logoic Quaternary and which are synthesised eventually into a fifth ray, the third major ray of active intelligence, or adaptability.  The names of the rays are as follows:
The three major rays:
1. The Ray of Will or Power.
2. The Ray of Love or Wisdom.
3. The Ray of Active Intelligence.
The four minor Rays:
4. The Ray of Beauty, Harmony, Art or Rhythm.
5. The Ray of Concrete Knowledge or Science.
6. The Ray of Abstract Idealism.
7. The Ray of Ceremonial Order or Organisation.

[liii] 51: Sutratma. The "silver thread" which incarnates from the beginning of a period of manifestation until the end, stringing upon itself the pearls of human existence.  It is the line of energy which connects the lower personal man with his Father in Heaven via the ego, the mediating middle principle.  Upon it are found those focal points of energy we call the permanent atoms.

[liv] 52: S. D., I, 136, 354.  See also note page No. 8.

[lv] 53: S. D., I, 87, 136, 731, 732.