A Treatise on Cosmic Fire

by Alice A Bailey

  a. Man is demonstrating the aspects of divinity. The devas are demonstrating the attributes of divinity.

  b. Man is evolving the inner vision and must learn to see.

  The devas are evolving the inner hearing and must learn to hear.

  c. Both are as yet imperfect, and an imperfect world is the result.

  d. Man is evolving by means of contact and experience. He expands.

  The devas evolve by means of the lessening of contact. Limitation is the law for them.

  e. Man aims at self-control.

  Devas must develop by being controlled.

  f. Man is innately Love,—the Force which produces coherency. The devas are innately intelligence,—the force which produces activity.

  g. The third type of force, that of Will, the balancing equilibrium of electrical phenomena, has to play equally upon and through both evolutions, but in the one it demonstrates as self-consciousness, and in the other as constructive vibration.

  In the Heavenly Man these two great aspects of divinity are equally blended, and in the course of the mahamanvantara the imperfect Gods become perfect. These broad and general distinctions are pointed out as they throw light upon the relationship of Man to the devas.

  The devas of the physical plane, though divided into the three groups A, B, C, are under another grouping spoken of as “the Devas of the Seventh Order.” The seventh order is peculiarly linked to the devas of the first order on the first plane. They are the reflectors of the mind of God of which the first order is the expression, and manifest it as it has worked through from the [668] archetypal plane. This seventh order of devas is directly under the influence of the seventh Ray, and the planetary Logos of that Ray works in close co-operation with the Raja-Lord of the seventh plane. As the goal of evolution for the devas is the inner hearing, it will be apparent why mantric sounds and balanced modulations are the method of contacting them, and of producing varying phenomena. This seventh order of devas is the one with which the workers on the left hand path are concerned, working through vampirism and the devitalisation of their victims. They deal with the etheric bodies of their enemies, and by means of sounds affect deva substance, thus producing the desired results. The white Magician does not work on the physical plane with physical substance. He transfers His activities to a higher level, and hence deals with desires and motives. He works through the devas of the sixth order.

  The devas of the sixth order are those of the astral plane, and are the devas who have the most to do with the forces which produce the phenomena we call love, sex impulse, instinct, or the driving urge and motive which demonstrates later on the physical plane in activity of some kind. The positive vibration set up on the astral plane produces results on the physical and that is why the White Brother, if He works with the devas at all, works only on the astral plane and with the positive aspect.

  These devas of the sixth order, as might be expected, are closely linked with those of the second order on the monadic plane, and with the heart centre of the particular Heavenly Man on Whose Ray they may be found. They are allied too to the deva forces on the buddhic plane and in these three great orders of devas we have a powerful triangle of electrical force,—the three types of electricity which are met with in occult books. It should be borne in mind that the equilibrising [669] type of force (at present an unknown type) flows in from the buddhic plane at this time, and the apex of the triangle is there.

  These three orders are (in this solar system) the most potent, especially in this fourth round. They influence particularly the fourth kingdom of nature, and are the basis of that search for balance, of that aspiration towards harmony, union and yoga which distinguishes man in all grades; it shows in its lower manifestation as the sex instinct as we know it, and in its higher as longing for union with God.

  These devas of the sixth order come under the special influence of the Lord of the sixth Ray of Abstract Idealism, and it is their connection with Him which facilitates the working through of the archetypal idea on to the physical plane. The sixth Creative Hierarchy likewise is specially connected with this particular order of devas, and through this dual influence is produced that physical manifestation which is definitely objective,—one type of force working through the etheric manifestation, and the other through the dense physical.

  This will as yet prove an insoluble mystery to the student, but in the significance of numbers much can be discovered. This angle of the matter should be studied in order to bring out the true meaning of this sixth order of devas, whose symbol is the six-pointed Star set at a particular angle and in full manifestation. The six-pointed star is the sign that a “Son of Necessity” [670] (no matter whether God or man) has sought physical incarnation. The devas of the sixth order, the Agnisuryans, are a prime factor in bringing this about. In the sixth round these devas will begin to make their presence felt more and more potently, but the strength of their vibration will be very gradually turned upwards, and not downwards into the physical plane. This will involve the transmutation of desire into aspiration, and will produce eventually the liberation of the planetary Logos, and bring a manvantara (or His cycle of physical incarnation) to a close. Withdrawal of the force of desire results likewise in the cessation of man’s physical existence. The old Commentary expresses this truth in the following words:

  “The Sixth retire within themselves; they turn towards the Fifth, leaving the Seventh alone.”

  In continuing our consideration of these deva orders, it should be pointed out that these three lower deva orders—the lower fifth, the sixth and the seventh—have a close connection with the moon. They are the building agents which (working on the involutionary matter of the three worlds) construct the lower three bodies of incarnating man. They are a branch of the lunar Pitris, but the fact should be remembered that this particular branch of pitris are those functioning in our particular scheme, and are closely allied to our planetary Logos. Groups of these Pitris are found wherever man is in incarnation in all the schemes, but in other schemes they differ somewhat from ours, as the “Mystery of the Moon” is connected with a peculiar esoteric condition which concerns our own planetary Logos.

  Wherever man is in incarnation, the Builders of his bodies are to be found but they will differ in:

  a. Their rate of vibration.

  b. Their stage of development. [671]

  c. Consciousness.

  d. Fohatic, magnetic and dynamic force.

  It should be remembered also that each round sees the deva substance or the deva evolution changing; they also evolve and, therefore, the subject of the devas in their dual aspect as the negative and positive substance which produces objectivity must be studied in a threefold manner if a true idea is to be approximated. Therefore, the devas—who are the sum-total of substance—must be considered from:

  The standpoint of round development.

  The standpoint of any particular planetary Logos as they form His body of manifestation, a scheme.

  The standpoint of the human kingdom.

  When this is not done, a wrong and narrow idea is the result. In future time, as may be seen from a study of the Secret Doctrine, (I, 288; II, 179, 187.) the Logos in His septenary Nature will be seen as the Macrocosm for Man, whilst the Microcosm, Man himself, will be seen also as the Macrocosm for the three lower kingdoms. This is simply one way of studying the evolution of the conscious Entity—God, Man, or lesser life—by means of deva substance; it involves the study of the positive and negative interaction. As says the old Commentary again:

  “When Father approaches Mother, that which will be taketh form. The union of the two concealeth the true mystery of Being.

  When the two great devas seek each other, when they meet and merge, the promise of life is fulfilled.

  When the one who sees and knows stands midway between his parents, then can be seen the fruition of knowledge, and all is known upon the planes of consciousness.

  When Anu, the infinitesimal, is seen to conta
in Ishvara in His potency, when the lesser spheres and cycles expand into the [672] circle of the Heavens, then shall the essential Unity be cognised and manifested fully.

  When the One that holds the life becomes the three behind which that life is hidden; when the three by revolution become the seven and the ten; when the thirty million crores of deva lives repeat the revolution; when the central point is reached and reveals the three, the nine, and the inner blazing JEWEL, then is the circle of manifestation consummated, and the One again becomes the ten, the seven, the three and the point.”

  Herein lies the key to the mystic marriage, and to the student of occultism much may be revealed through the study of these pairs of opposites; it will cause the revelation of the process (in time and space) whereby this union and its fruit is consummated, and the resultant creation of the divine Hermaphrodite is seen upon His Own high plane.

  We must ever keep clearly in mind that we are dealing in this section with the evolutionary devas who are the positive Life animating involutionary matter or deva substance. Consequently, the correspondence of the mystic marriage of Spirit and matter can be seen working out also in deva substance itself, through the interaction of negative and positive deva lives. Substance itself represents essential duality; forms repeat the same duality, and when we arrive at man himself again, we have duality plus a third factor. These three orders of deva substance—the lower fifth, the sixth and seventh—are a very mysterious group as far as man is concerned.(217) [673] They have scarcely been hinted at as yet in occult literature, but they contain within themselves the secret of our planetary individualisation. They were the group which had much to do with the “sin of the mindless,” and are very closely associated with animal man. To the power and control which these pitris assumed must be ascribed much of the disastrous early happenings referred to in the Secret Doctrine, such as the above mentioned “sin,” and also the early “failures” in building suitable vehicles for Spirits seeking incarnation. Here also may be found the beginnings of that mysterious divergence which we call the “left and right hand paths,” which conditions (existing within the body logoic and consequently being part of the divine consciousness) originated in the remote “space of time,” when the sons of God were seeking form. It has to do with a special condition in the astral body of our planetary Logos, and with His history as it lies hidden in the astral light.

  It concerns that which He has to surmount and many of the problems which face the occultist, including the “sin of the mindless,” the failure in Atlantean days, and even that mysterious “failure” of the Buddha (which has a planetary significance only hinted at in the Secret Doctrine) (218) can be traced back to the condition of the deva substance of which the astral body of our planet, and the astral bodies of all forms are formed. Our planetary Logos is one of the Lords spoken of as being a lesser lord, and more “full of passion” than the higher three. Not even yet is His work completed, and deva [674] substance in its various living orders is not yet brought fully under His control. The deva evolution has far to travel.

  If this idea be extended to the solar system, it will be apparent that the astral vehicles of the different planetary Logoi differ. This difference is necessarily dependent upon Their cosmic astral life which directly affects the systemic astral, or the physical liquid subplane of the cosmic physical. This is a point but little realised. The dense physical body of the planetary Logos exists, as we know, in a threefold condition—dense, liquid, and gaseous—and each is acted upon directly from the corresponding cosmic plane. The condition of the various physical planets will some day be found to be dependent upon this fact.

  When the psychic nature of the planetary Logos is understood (which knowledge is entered upon after initiation, being a part of the Wisdom) the nature of the different schemes, as regards their watery aspect, for instance, will be found to be connected with a particular astral state. As the initiate progresses in wisdom, he intuitively comprehends the essential nature of the seven groups, or of the logoic Septenate, which is that concerning their colour or quality. This colour or quality is dependent upon the psychic nature of any particular planetary Logos, and His emotional or desire nature can thereby be somewhat studied by the initiate. This will lead eventually to a scientific consideration of the effect of this nature upon His dense physical body, and particularly that portion of it which we call the astral plane, the liquid sub-plane of the cosmic physical plane. A reflection of this (or a further working out, if that term is preferred) is found in the liquid portions of the physical planet.

  The seventh subplane of the cosmic physical plane can be subdivided into seven, which are our seven physical [675] subplanes. It is this knowledge which enables a magician to work. Given a certain physical phenomenon—such as the weight of water, for instance, upon a planet—and an initiate of the higher orders can form deductions from it as to the quality of the exalted Life manifesting through a plane. He arrives at this knowledge through a process of reasoning from the liquid (sixth) subplane of the systemic physical plane to:

  a. The liquid subplane of the cosmic physical, our systemic astral plane.

  b. The fourth cosmic ether, the buddhic plane.

  c. The second cosmic ether, the monadic plane, or the plane of the seven Heavenly Men.

  d. The cosmic astral plane, thus getting in touch with the desire nature of the God.

  This method naturally involves a vast knowledge of the deva substance and predicates an intuitive realisation of their orders and groups, the keynotes of those orders and of the planes, and also of the triple nature of substance and a knowledge of how to work with the third type of electrical force, which is the type of energy which puts a man in touch with extra-systemic phenomena. Hence that force still remains unknown, and is only contacted as yet by high Initiates.

  It will again be apparent why the Agnisuryans are of such supreme importance; they embody force which is a direct emanation from the cosmic astral plane and which reveals—when triply blended—the desire nature of our Heavenly Man, and of any particular planetary Logos. In the two opposites, which are called by the theologians “Heaven and Hell,” we have two of these types of force hinted at, and in this thought we have indicated one of the keys to the astral plane.

  2. Summary. Before passing to the consideration of [676] those devas who are concerned with the construction of man’s causal body, and who are the linking group between the Triad and the Quaternary, both in man and the Logos, we will briefly enumerate the principal groups of Agnisuryans on the systemic astral plane, as they, in their totality, form the body of manifestation of the great deva or Raja-Lord of the plane.

  First. The Raja-Lord of the Plane, the great deva Varuna, Who is the central Life of the substance of the astral plane of our planetary scheme. He is Himself an outpost of the consciousness of that greater Deva Who embodies the substance of the solar astral plane, or the sixth subplane of the cosmic physical plane. He again in His turn reflects His prototype, that great cosmic Entity Who ensouls the cosmic astral plane.

  Second. Seven great Devas, who are the positive force of each of the seven subplanes of the systemic astral plane.

  Third. Various groups of devas, performing different functions carrying out varying activities, and producing constructive results. They might be enumerated as follows, bearing in mind the fact that we are but touching upon a few of the many groups, and that there are numbers whose name is utterly unknown to man and would be unintelligible if mentioned:

  1. Those devas who form the permanent atomic substance of all the Monads, both in and out of physical incarnation. They are divided into seven groups according to the Ray of the Monad.

  2. Those devas who form the “liquid” aspect in the physical body of the planetary Logos and of the solar Logos. They are myriads in number, and include deva existences ranging all the way from those who ensoul the astral plane, and the astral currents of the highest religious and aspirational nature, to the little water [677] spirits
which are reflections of such astral entities precipitated in watery physical matter.

  3. A group of devas, who form the desire body of that great entity who ensouls the animal kingdom. They are the total kamic manifestation (divorced from mentality) of animal desire in its incentive impulsive aspect.

  4. Certain devas who—being of the third order—form the Heaven of the average orthodox Christian or believer of any faith. Another group—being the seventh order—form the Hell for the same class of thinker.

  5. Those devas who form the astral life of any thought-form. These we will deal with later when studying thought-form construction.

  6. A mysterious group of devas intimately connected at this time with the sex expression in the human family on the physical plane. They are a group who are, at this juncture, swept into being, and they embody the fire of sex expression as we understand it. They are the impulse, or instinct, back of physical sex desire. They were peculiarly dominant in the fourth root-race, at which time sex conditions reached a stage of unbelievable horror from our point of view. They are gradually being controlled, and when the last of the Lemurian Egos has passed into the fifth root-race they will be slowly passed out of the solar system altogether. They are connected with the passional “fire” of the solar Logos and with one of His centres in particular; this centre is being gradually obscured and its fire transferred into a higher centre.

  7. There is also a group of devas connected with the Lodge of Masters, whose work it is to build the aspirational forms towards which average man may aspire. They are divided into certain groups—three in number—connected with science, religion and philosophy, and through these groups of deva substance the Heads of the three departments reach men. It is one of Their [678] channels for work. The Master Jesus is particularly active at this time along this line, working in collaboration with certain adepts on the scientific line, who—through the desired union of science and religion—seek to shatter the materialism of the west on the one hand and on the other the sentimental devotion of the many devotees of all faiths. This is made possible now through the passing out of the sixth Ray and the coming in of the seventh. It should be borne in mind by all students when considering the planes, plane substance and energy that they are in a condition of flux and change all the time. The matter of all planes circulates, and cyclically certain portions become more energised than others; the matter of the planes is thus under a threefold influence, or—to word it otherwise—deva substance is subjected to a threefold cyclic stimulation: