A Treatise on Cosmic Fire

by Alice A Bailey

  This law governs the seventh chain in each scheme; each chain having achieved the fullest expression possible in the scheme, comes under the Law of Death, and obscuration and disintegration supervenes. In a cosmic sense and analogy, it is the law that governs the coming in of pralaya at the end of a system. It is the law that shatters the cross of the cosmic Christ, and places the form of the Christ within the tomb for a period of time.

  The Principle of Mutation. In concluding the above information about the laws, it is needful that we all recognise the extreme danger of dogmatising about these matters, and the risk of laying down hard and fast rules. Much must remain unexplained and untouched, and much also will serve to raise only questions in our minds. Comprehension is as yet impossible. Until fourth-dimensional sight is ours, it will scarcely be possible for us to do more than hint at, and get a passing vision of, the complexity and the interweaving in the system. It is not easy for us to do more than grip as a mental concept the fact that the rays, schemes, planets, chains, rounds, races and laws form a unit; seen from the angle of human vision the confusion seems unimaginable, and the key of its solution to be so hidden as to be useless; yet, seen from the angle of logoic sight, [598] the whole moves in unison, and is geometrically accurate. In order to give some idea of the complexity of the arrangement, I would like here to point out that the Rays themselves circulate, the Law of Karma controlling the interweaving. For instance, Ray I may pass around a scheme (if it is the paramount Ray of the scheme) with its first subray manifesting in a chain, its second in a round, its third in a world period, its fourth in a root race, its fifth in a subrace, and its sixth in a branch race. I give this in illustration, and not as the statement of a fact in present manifestation. This gives us some idea of the vastness of the process, and of its wonderful beauty. It is impossible for us, sweeping through on some one Ray, to visualise or in any way to apprehend this beauty; yet, to those on higher levels and with a wider range of vision, the gorgeousness of the design is apparent.

  This complexity is for us very much increased because we do not yet understand the principle governing this mutation. Nor is it possible for even the highest human mind in the three worlds to do more than sense and approximate that principle. By mutation I mean the fact that there is a constant changing and shifting, an endless interweaving and interlocking, and a ceaseless ebb and flow, in the dramatic interplay of the forces that stand for the dual synthesis of Spirit and matter. There is constant rotation in the Rays and planes, in their relative importance from the standpoint of time which is the standpoint most closely associated with us. But we can rest assured that there is some fundamental principle directing all the activities of the Logos in His system, and by wrestling to discover the basic principle on which our microcosmic lives rest, we may discover aspects of this inherent logoic principle. This opens to our consideration a wide range of vision, and [599] though it emphasises the complexity of the subject, it also demonstrates the divine magnitude of the scheme, with its magnificent intricacies. The reason the fourth is a major round is because in this round two things happened—the spark of mind was implanted and the door was opened from the animal kingdom into the human; and later, another door opened, on to the Path leading from the human kingdom into the spiritual—again a dual reason. The fifth round is a major round because it marks a point in evolution where those who will achieve the goal, and those who will not, are sharply differentiated into two groups; the seventh is a major round because it will mark the merging of the two evolutions, the human and the deva.

  The major root races are chosen under the Law of Correspondence. In the third root race came the third Outpouring, the merging and the point of contact between the Spiritual Triad and the Lower Quaternary. The fifth root race marks a point where higher and lower manas approximate, and where the concrete mind, meeting its highest development of this round, gives place to the intuition from above. Here again we have a twofold reason. The seventh root race again demonstrates dual attainment, love in activity, the basis of the third system of Will or Power.

  The three major Rays, being dual, are their own sufficient explanation. They are at present the mode of expression of the three aspects, and demonstrate under their appropriate Logoi, Who manipulate world affairs through the three departments, of which the rulers on our planet are the Lord Maitreya, the Manu, and the Mahachohan. The three major planes demonstrate easily their unique position—on plane two we have the home of the Monads of Love, on plane five we find the habitat of their reflections, the reincarnating Egos, and [600] on the physical plane we find the working out at its densest point of the life of the Spirit.

  This principle of mutation governs every department in the Law of Correspondences, and certain things can be stated as regards the system, and its component parts which will be found illuminating if we remember that they are facts for the present. Let me again illustrate: we have been told that the three major Rays at this time are the first, the second, and the seventh. But later, the Rays now major may become subsidiary, and others take their place, though for this solar system the second Ray, being the synthetic Ray, will always be a major Ray. Perhaps we can here get a hint on this great principle, though we must be careful not to draw it out to too fine a conclusion. For this system the major Rays will always be the dual Rays—the negative-positive Rays, the masculine-feminine Rays—this being the dual system. The major Rays for system three will be those in triple manifestation.

  The following table may be found of interest, if regarded as relative, and as holding information for the present time, but also as being subject to change and circulation:

  7 Rays Major 1-2-7 Four subsidiary converging on the fifth.

  7 Principles 3 Major Monad, Ego and Personality, synthesising at various stages the four subsidiary.

  7 Chains Major 1-4-7

  7 Planes Major 2-5-7

  7 Manvantaras Major 3-4-7

  7 Rounds Major 4-5-7

  7 Root races Major 3-5-7

  7 Sub races Major 1-5-6

  7 Initiations Major 1 4 5 if viewed from the angle of human attainment, and 1-5-7 if viewed from a higher.

  [601]

  II. THOUGHT ELEMENTALS AND DEVAS.

  1. THE RULER OF FIRE—AGNI.

  a. Agni and the Solar Logos.

  Thus far in this treatise we have considered the first section of the book which has dealt somewhat with the internal fires of the system, both macrocosmic and microcosmic. In this the second section we are dealing with the fire of mind. This section, together with the nine introductory questions, constitutes the main part of the treatise. In it we have dealt with the nature and function of mind and with the egoic ray. We have dealt also, somewhat, with the form side of thought, with its material manifestation and with its substance.

  We proceed now to take up the consideration of the Ruler of Fire, AGNI, and are brought to the study of the vitality that energises and the Life that animates; to the contemplation of the Fire that drives, propels, and produces the activity and organisation of all forms. The realisation of this will reveal the fact that what we are dealing with is the “Life and the lives,” (186, 187) as it is called [602] in the Secret Doctrine; with Agni, the Lord of Fire, the Creator, the Preserver, and the Destroyer; and with the forty-nine fires through which He manifests. We are dealing with solar fire per se, with the essence of thought, with the coherent life of all forms, with the consciousness in its evolving aspect, or with Agni, the sumtotal of the Gods. He is Vishnu and the Sun in His glory; He is the fire of matter and the fire of mind blended and fused; He is the intelligence which throbs in every atom; He is the Mind that actuates the system; He is the fire of substance and the substance of the fire; He is the Flame and that which the Flame destroys.

  Students of the Secret Doctrine when they read carelessly are apt to consider Him only as the fire of matter and omit to note that He is Himself the sumtotal—and this is especially the case when they find that Agni is the Lord of the mental plane.
(188) He is the animating life of the solar system, and that life is the life of [603] God, the energy of the Logos, and the manifestation of the radiance which veils the Central Sun. Only as He is recognised as Fohat, the energy of matter, as Wisdom, the nature of the Ego and its motivation, and as essential unity, can any due conception be arrived at as to His nature or being. He is not the solar Logos on the cosmic mental plane, for the egoic consciousness of the Logos is more than His physical manifestation, but Agni is the sumtotal of that portion of the logoic Ego which is reflected down into His physical vehicle; He is the life of the logoic Personality, with all that is included in that expression. He is to the solar Logos on His own plane what the coherent personality of a human being is to his Ego in the causal body. This is a very important point to be grasped, and if meditated upon will bring to the student much enlightenment. His is the life that fuses and blends the threefold nature of the Logos when in physical incarnation; His is the coherent force that makes a unity of the triple logoic Personality, but man can only arrive at His essential nature by the study of the logoic physical vehicle—hence the difficulty; he can only understand by a consideration of His psychic emanation as it can be sensed and viewed by passing the history of the races in retrospect. Man’s personality reveals his nature as his life progresses; his psychic quality unfolds as the years slip away, and when he passes out of incarnation he is spoken of in terms of quality, good or bad, selfish or unselfish; the effect of his “emanation” during life is that which remains in men’s minds. Thus only can the logoic personality express itself, and our knowledge of His nature is consequently limited by our close perspective, and handicapped by the fact that we are participants in His life, and integral parts of His manifestation.

  It is only as we begin to function upon the buddhic plane that we can in any way “live in the subjective” [604] side of nature, and it is only as our knowledge of the spiritual life increases, and as we pass definitely through the portal of initiation into the fifth kingdom that we can appreciate the distinction between the dense physical, and the vital body. Only as we become polarised in the cosmic etheric body and are no longer held prisoner by a dense material sheath (for the three lower planes are but the dense body of the Logos) do we come to a fuller understanding of the psychic nature of the Logos, for we stand then in the body which bridges the gulf between the dense physical, and the astral body of the Logos. Only when this is the case do we understand the function of the Lord Agni as the vital life of the cosmic etheric, as the vitality of the Heavenly Men and the activity of Their sheaths.

  b. Agni and the Mental Plane.

  I seek to deal with a very important point here, emphasising the close connection between Agni, the sumtotal of the life force of the logoic threefold personality, as He is seen at work on the mental plane (which closely concerns man), and that manifesting driving force or intelligent will which emanates from the cosmic mental plane. There is a very interesting series of correspondences to be worked out here and we might briefly indicate the lines to be followed in this connection by the ensuing tabulation:

  The 5th cosmic plane The cosmic mental.

  The 5th systemic plane The mental plane.

  The 5th subplane of the physical The gaseous.

  The 5th principle Manas.

  The 5th Law Fixation, the Law of Concretion.

  The 5th Ray Concrete knowledge.

  The 5th round The round of manasic attainment.

  The 5th root-race The Aryan. Mental development.

  The 5th sub-race The Teutonic and Anglo-Saxon. Concrete mind.

  The 5th group of Devas Fire Devas of the mental plane.

  The 5th Manvantara Three-fifths of the manasaputras achieve.

  The 5th scheme The Lord of concrete science.

  The 5th Mahamanvantara (or solar system) The solar Logos achieves His fifth major Initiation.

  The 5th chain Principal evolution—fire devas.

  The 5th Hierarchy The greater Builders.

  Vibrations of fifth order Manasic.

  [605] It will, therefore, be apparent that when the system is viewed in reverse order and the physical plane is counted as the first (as it often is when considering it as the field of strictly human evolution), that the third plane—the mental plane—comes under the same group of correspondences and Agni, as the energising factor of the dense physical body of the Logos, or as the fire of His most concrete manifestation, vitalising, warming and holding all together, has to be considered.

  Three hierarchies are, in this mahamanvantara, of profound significance, the fourth or human Creative Hierarchy, and the two deva hierarchies, the fifth and sixth.

  The fourth Hierarchy in the larger scheme is literally the ninth, for five hierarchies have earlier passed on and are considered as pure abstractions. In this system concretion concerns us, and the blending of form and of energy into one coherent whole. In the ninth, tenth and eleventh Hierarchies lie the clue to the nature of Agni, the Lord of fire, the sumtotal of systemic vitality. He who understands the significance of these figures, and their relation to each other as the triple division of a Unity in time and space will have discovered [606] one of the keys which will unlock a door hitherto fast closed. They are the numbers of achievement, of potentiality brought into full activity and of innate capacity demonstrating in perfect fruition. All potentiality lies in the vitalising, energising power of Agni, and in His ability to stimulate. He is life itself, and the driving force of evolution, of psychic development and of consciousness. This fact is hidden in these figures, and not the evolution of substance, which is but a result, emanating from psychic causes. These three numbers are the basis of the cyclic calculations which concern the egoic cycles, and the cycles of Vishnu, as distinguished from the cycles dealing with the third aspect. Occult students have not sufficiently grasped the fact that objectivity is an inevitable result of an inner conscious subjective life. When this is better apprehended, bodies on the physical plane, for instance, will be purified, developed and beautified through a scientific attention paid to the development of the psyche, to the unfoldment of the Ego, and to the stimulation of the egoic vibration. The cause will be dealt with and not the effect, and hence the growing appreciation by the human family of the study of psychology, even though as yet they are but studying the kama-manasic body, and have not reached back to the egoic consciousness. The lunar Lords have had their day; now Agni, as the solar Lord of life and energy, will assume due importance in human life.

  c. Agni and the Three Fires.

  In studying the manifestation of Agni in the solar system it should be remembered that we are considering here His essential nature as actuating fire. We have seen that He is the threefold logoic personality, but He is the threefold Logos in a subjective sense, and the form aspect is only subsidiary. Perhaps a tabulation may make this point clearer.[607]

  TABULATION V

  AGNI—LORD OF FIRE

  Aspect Fire Result Subjective Manifestation Origin of Energy Objective Manifestation

  First, Will Electric Fire Activity of Spirit The One Life. Unity. Spiritual. Dynamic. Coherence. Synthesis. Central Spiritual Sun The solar system (etheric and dense)

  Second, Love-Wisdom Solar Fire Activity of Consciousness. Egoism. Vitality. Magnetism. The seven Heavenly Men. The seven Rays The seven types of Mind. The Heart of the Sun The seven Rays.manifesting through the seven planetary schemes

  Third, Activity Fire by Friction Activity in Matter. Atomic vitality. Energy. The seven fires. The akasha. The physical Sun The seven planes

  [608] Each of these three aspects of the One Fire, showing as the Creative Fire, Preserving Fire, and Destroying Fire, must be studied as electrical phenomena, and this under the aspects of light, flame, and heat, of electricity, radiance and motion, of will, desire and action. Only thus will the true nature of Agni be apprehended. As the logoic personality He is demonstrating through a triplicity of sheaths forming a unity, and only thus will it become apparent why at this sta
ge in evolution the material aspect is the most considered.

  The entire system is the physical sheath of the Logos and consequently the most easily cognised, for the Logos is as yet centred in His cosmic sheaths and can only reveal Himself through their medium.

  Man’s just apprehension of this mystery of electricity will only come about as he studies himself, and knows himself to be a triple fire, manifesting in many aspects.

  MAN, A FIRE

  Monadic fire Electric fire Spirit Will The Central Spiritual Sun.

  Egoic fire Solar fire Consciousness Love-Wisdom The Heart of the Sun.

  Personality fire Fire by friction Physical man Physical Sun.

  Each of these fires can also be studied in a threefold manner and under three aspects.

  THE MONAD

  Will aspect Electric fire Flame Spiritual Will.

  Love-wisdom Solar fire Light Spiritual Love.

  Active Intelligence Fire by friction Heat Spiritual Intelligence.

  [609]

  THE EGO

  Will Atma Electric fire The spark The Jewel in the Lotus Conscious Will.