Etheric body. (Etheric double.) The physical body of a human being is, according to occult teaching, formed of two parts, the dense physical body, and the etheric body. The dense physical body is formed [353] of matter of the lowest three subplanes of the physical plane. The etheric body is formed of the four highest or etheric subplanes of the physical plane.
Fifth Principle. The principle of mind; that faculty in man which is the intelligent thinking principle, and which differentiates man from the animals.
Fohat. Cosmic electricity; primordial light; the ever-present electrical energy; the universal propelling vital force; the ceaseless destructive and formative power; the synthesis of the many forms of electrical phenomena.
Guru. Spiritual Teacher. A Master in metaphysical and ethical doctrines.
Hierarchy. That group of spiritual beings on the inner planes of the solar system who are the intelligent forces of nature, and who control the evolutionary processes. They are themselves divided into twelve Hierarchies. Within our planetary scheme, the earth scheme, there is a reflection of this Hierarchy which is called by the occultist the Occult Hierarchy. This Hierarchy is formed of chohans, adepts, and initiates working through their disciples, and, by this means, in the world. (See diagram, page 254.)
Initiate. From the Latin root meaning the first principles of any science. One who is penetrating into the mysteries of the science of the Self and of the one self in all selves. The Path of Initiation is the final stage of the path of evolution trodden by man, and is divided into five stages, called the Five Initiations.
Jiva. A separated unit of consciousness.
Kali yuga. “ Yuga” is an age or cycle. According to the Indian philosophy our evolution is divided into four yugas or cycles. The Kali-yuga is the present age. It means the “Black Age”, a period of 432,000 years. [354]
Karma. Physical action. Metaphysically, the law of retribution; the law of cause and effect, or ethical causation. There is the karma of merit and the karma of demerit. It is the power that controls all things, the resultant of moral action, or the moral effect of an act committed for the attainment of something which gratifies a personal desire.
Kumaras. The highest seven self-conscious beings in the solar system. These seven Kumaras manifest through the medium of a planetary scheme in the same way as a human being manifests through the medium of a physical body. They are called by the Hindu “the mind-born sons of Brahma” amongst other names. They are the sum total of intelligence and of wisdom. Within the planetary scheme the reflection of the systemic order is also seen. At the head of our world evolution stands the first Kumara, aided by six other Kumaras, three exoteric and three esoteric, Who are the focal points for the distribution of the force of the systemic Kumaras.
Kundalini. The power of Life: one of the forces of nature. It is a power known only to those who practise concentration in yoga, and is centred within the spine.
Lemuria. A modern term first used by some naturalists and now adopted by Theosophists to indicate a continent that, according to the Secret Doctrine of the East, preceded Atlantis. It was the home of the third root race.
Logos. The deity manifested through every nation and people. The outward expression, or the elect of the cause which is ever concealed. Thus, speech is the [355] Logos of thought, hence it is aptly translated by the “verbum” and the “word” in its metaphysical sense. (See John I:1-3.)
Lord of Civilisation. (See Mahachohan.)
Lords of the Flame. One of the great Hierarchies of spiritual beings who guide the solar system. They took control of the evolution of humanity upon this planet about 18 million years ago, during the middle of the Lemurian, or third root race.
Macrocosm. The great universe, literally; or God manifesting, through His body, the solar system.
Mahachohan. The Head of the third great department of the Hierarchy. This great being is the Lord of Civilisation, and the flowering forth of the principle of intelligence. He is the embodiment on the planet of the third, or intelligence, aspect of deity in its five activities.
Mahamanvantara. The great period of time of an entire solar system. This term is applied to the greater solar cycles. It implies a period of universal activity.
Manas, or Manasic Principle. Literally, the Mind, the mental faculty; that which distinguishes man from the mere animal. It is the individualising principle; that which enables man to know that he exists, feels, and knows. It is divided in some schools into two parts, higher or abstract mind, and lower or concrete mind.
Mantrams. Verses from the Vedas. In the exoteric sense a mantram (or that psychic faculty or power that conveys perception or thought) is the older portion of the Vedas, the second part of which is composed of the Brahmanas. In esoteric phraseology mantram is the word made flesh, or rendered objective [356] through divine magic. A form of words or syllables rhythmically arranged, so that when sounded certain vibrations are generated.
Manu. The representative name of the great Being Who is the Ruler, primal progenitor and chief of the human race. It comes from the Sanskrit root “man”—to think.
Manvantara. A period of activity as opposed to a period of rest, without reference to any specific length of cycle. Frequently used to express a period of planetary activity and its seven races.
Maya. Sanskrit, “Illusion.” Of the principle of form or limitation. The result of manifestation. Generally used in a relative sense for phenomena or objective appearances that are created by the mind.
Mayavi Rupa. Sanskrit “Illusive Form.” It is the body of manifestation created by the adept by an act of will for use in the three worlds. It has no material connection with the physical body. It is spiritual and ethereal and passes everywhere without let or hindrance. It is built by the power of the lower mind, of the highest type of astral matter.
Microcosm. The little universe, or man manifesting through his body, the physical body.
Monad. The One. The threefold spirit on its own plane. In occultism it often means the unified triad—Atma, Buddhi, Manas, Spiritual Will, Intuition and Higher mind,—or the immortal part of man which reincarnates in the lower kingdoms and gradually progresses through them to man and thence to the final goal.
Nirmanakaya. Those perfected beings who renounce Nirvana (the highest state of spiritual bliss) and choose a life of self-sacrifice, becoming members of [357] that invisible host which ever protects humanity within karmic limits.
Permanent atom. Those five atoms, with the mental unit, one on each of the five planes of human evolution (the mental unit being also on the mental plane) which the monad appropriates for purposes of manifestation. They form a stable centre and are relatively permanent. Around them the various sheaths or bodies are built. They are literally small force centres.
Planetary Logos. This term is generally applied to the seven highest spirits corresponding to the seven archangels of the Christian. They have all passed through the human stage and are now manifesting through a planet and its evolutions, in the same way that man manifests through his physical body. The highest planetary spirit working through any particular globe is, in reality, the personal God of the planet.
Prakriti. Derives its name from its function as the material cause of the first evolution of the universe. It may be said to be composed of two roots, “pra” to manifest, and “krita” to make; meaning, that which caused the universe to manifest itself.
Prana. The Life Principle, the breath of Life. The occultist believes the following statement: “Life we look upon as the one form of existence, manifesting in what is called matter, or what, incorrectly separating them, we name Spirit, Soul, and Matter in man. Matter is the vehicle for the manifestation of Soul on this plane of existence; soul is the vehicle for the manifestation of spirit, and these three as a trinity are synthesised by Life, which pervades them all.” [358]
Parusha. The spiritual self. The embodied self. The word literally means “The dweller in the city”—that is, in the body. It is derived fr
om the Sanskrit “pura” which means city or body, and “usha,” a derivative of the verb “vas,” to dwell.
Quaternary. The fourfold lower self, or man, in the three worlds. There are various divisions of this, but perhaps for our purpose the best is to enumerate the four as follows:
1. Lower mind.
2. Emotional or kamic body.
3. Prana, or the Life Principle.
4. The etheric body, or the highest division of the twofold physical body.
Raja Lord. The word “Raja” simply means King or Prince; the word has been applied to those great angels or entities who ensoul the seven planes. These are great devas who are the sum total and the controlling intelligence of a plane.
Raja Yoga. The true system of developing psychic and spiritual powers and union with one's higher self or the Ego. It involves the exercise, regulation, and concentration of thought.
Ray. One of the seven streams of force of the Logos; the seven great lights. Each of them is the embodiment of a great cosmic entity. The seven Rays can be divided into the three Rays of Aspect and the four Rays of Attribute, as follows:
Rays of Aspect
1. The Ray of Will, or Power.
2. The Ray of Love-Wisdom.
3. The Ray of Activity or Adaptability. [359]
Rays of Attribute
4. The Ray of Harmony, Beauty, Art, or Unity.
5. The Ray of Concrete Knowledge or Science.
6. The Ray of Abstract Idealism or Devotion.
7. The Ray of Ceremonial Magic, or Law.
The above names are simply some chosen from among many, and embody the different aspects of force by means of which the Logos manifests.
Ring-pass-not. This is at the circumference of the manifested solar system, and is the periphery of the influence of the sun, both esoterically and exoterically understood. The limit of the field of activity of the central life force.
Root Race. One of the seven races of man which evolve upon a planet during the great cycle of planetary existence. This cycle is called a world period. The Aryan root race, to which the Hindu, European, and modern American races belong, is the fifth, the Chinese and Japanese belonging to the fourth race.
Sensa, or Senzar. The name for the secret sacerdotal language, or the “mystery speech” of the initiated adepts all over the world. It is a universal language, and largely a hieroglyphic cypher.
Shamballa. The City of the Gods, which is in the West to some nations, in the East to others, in the North or South to yet others. It is the sacred island in the Gobi Desert. It is the home of mysticism and the Secret Doctrine.
Triad. The spiritual Man; the expression of the monad. It is the germinal spirit containing the potentialities of divinity. These potentialities will be unfolded [360] during the course of evolution. This Triad forms the individualised or separated self, or Ego.
Viveka. The Sanskrit “discrimination”. The very first step in the path of occultism......is the discrimination between the real and the unreal, between substance and phenomenon, between the Self and the Not-self, between spirit and matter.
Wesak. A festival which takes place in the Himalayas at the full moon of May (Taurus). It is said that at this festival, at which all the members of the Hierarchy are present, the Buddha, for a brief period, renews his touch and association with the work of our planet.
Yoga. 1. One of the six schools of India, said to be founded by Patanjali, but really of much earlier origin. 2. The practice of Meditation, as a means of leading to spiritual liberation.
Note: This glossary does not undertake fully to explain all the above terms. It is simply an attempt to render into English certain words used in this book, so that the reader may understand their connotation. The majority of the definitions have been culled from the Theosophical Glossary, The Secret Doctrine, and the Voice of the Silence.
INDEX
A
Abstraction, importance, 2-3
Adaptability—
and subtone three, 55
in disciple, 347-348
Alignment—
by use of Word, 70
causal, 199
effected by groups, 68
effects of rhythm, 196, 197
imperfect, results, 103, 197-198
necessity for, 97, 277
of bodies with Ego, study, 245-246
of Ego for downpouring, 58
of Ego with personality, 1-7
of fourth subplane, 11
of personality, 3-4, 6
of physical and emotional bodies, 25
of planets, 6-7
perfect, 64
prophecy, 202
through meditation, 58, 64-65
with causal body, 1, 70, 197, 199
with egoic body, 5, 200, 295
Angels—
protective invocation, 162
See also Devas.
Animal-man, change to human state, 30
Antahkarana, use, 94, 275
Approach to divine, method, 15, 18, 281-282
Ashram—
attendance, 279, 291
remembrance of, 291
Astral colour, 226, 227
Astral plane, functioning on, 315
Atlanteans, black magic, 181-182, 188
Atlantis, tale from, 193-194
Atmic—
consciousness, 263
level, colour, 226, 227
Atom, mental permanent, 84-85
Atoms—
cosmic, 25
permanent, 11, 24-27, 30, 79
At-one-ment
individual and cosmic, 100-101
of principles, 187
Atrophy, dangers, 96-97
Aura of Master, disciple within, 271
Auras—
blending, 198, 273
colours, 233-234, 315
effect of rhythm, 197
Australia, school, 306, 308, 309
B
Blavatsky, H. P.
enumeration of colours, 206-207
first school, 301
work with pupils, 89
Blinds in discussion of colour, 207-208, 213
Blue, discussion, 205, 207, 213, 214, 216, 220, 221, 226
Bodhisattva—
line of, 170, 171-172 work, 167, 189
Bodies—
changes on Path, 82
Bodies lower—
five effects of meditation, 287-291
importance, 98
purpose, 97
rebuilding, time required, 130
refinement, need for, 232
work with, 81, 277, 278, 279-280
Body—
causal—
agency in downpouring, 225, 313
alignment with, 1, 70, 197, 199
condition to be considered, 32
deficiencies, results, 134
definition, 29
description, 31, 32
destruction, 16, 17, 18, 19, 31, 32, 78, 275
development, 20, 28, 31-32, 35, 59, 109, 276, 315
effect of kundalini, 78-79
equipment, 19, 109
faculties, use, 46
flame in, 26-27, 28, 30, 36
formation, 30
link with higher mind, 268
of national group, 306
planes, 3, 22
polarisation, 268
ray, 15, 32
reception of monadic force, 187
reflection, 337
relation to centres and kundalini, 78-79
relation to colour, 228
requirements of students, 320
specific gravity and content, 29, 31-32
work with, 186, 187
See also Body, egoic; Causal vision; Consciousness, causal.
egoic—
alignment with, 5, 200, 295
development, 35
polarisation, 292
powers, 292
See also Body, causal.
emotional—
building requirements, 156-157
care and control, 156-157, 338, 346
characteristics, 98
colour application, 339 dedication, 283-284
effect of rhythmic movement, 197
functioning, 124 healing, 159-160
nature of, 337-338
polarisation, 338
refining, 337-339
requirements on Path, 156-157
source of illness, 243, 245-246
stilling, 6, 338
study, 283
etheric—
colour, 226
healing, 156, 159, 242, 243
link, 245
refining, 337
relation to seventh ray, 221
study, 245, 247, 249
vivification, 336
weakness, 124
Letters on Occult Meditation Page 32