A Treatise on Cosmic Fire

by Alice A Bailey

  It should here be remembered that in the moon the fifth principle of manas incubated normally, and instinct gradually developed until it imperceptibly merged into manas, being of a similar nature; in this round a peculiar condition necessitated extra-planetary stimulation, and this special group of Pitris effected a transition of the lower into the higher through a downflow of energy via the Earth’s Primary from an extra-systemic centre.

  The central three rounds, as in the planes and principles, are the most important for the evolution of the self-conscious units in this system, and this working towards perfection of the three, the four, and the five, mark, for the planetary Logos, as for man, the cycle of maturity. The earlier and later cycles mark that of growth towards maturity, and the garnering of the fruits of earlier experience. The three Halls again can be here considered from this aspect, and the central period allocated to the Hall of Learning.

  On all the planets these manasadevas are found working, ever in their three groups but varying the methods employed according to the stage of the evolution of the planet concerned, and the karma of its planetary Lord. Their method of work on the Earth can be studied in the Secret Doctrine and has a most significant interest for men at this time. (234) The three groups should be carefully considered from the standpoint of their occult work, which is hinted at under the terms of:

  a. Those who refused to incarnate.

  b. Those who implanted the spark of manas.

  c. Those who took bodies and moulded the type.

  [701] The second group, the intermediate, can be subdivided into two lesser groups:

  a. Those who implant the spark of manas,

  b. Those who fan and feed the latent flame in the best types of animal man,

  thus again making five. These statements have been accepted at their face value, but little attention is paid to the real meaning. Much profit would come if the student would study the subject from the standpoint of energy, and of magnetic interaction. Those who refused to incarnate or to energise with their life the prepared forms, were acting under Law, and their opposition to incarnation in these forms was based on magnetic repulsion. They could not energise the forms provided, for it involved the opposition of that which is occultly the same. The lesser was not negative to the greater Life. Where the Spark was implanted we have the receptivity of the negative aspect to the positive force and therefore the progress of the work. In every case we have deva substance of one polarity energised by another polarity with the goal in view of producing—through their mutual interaction—a balancing of forces, and the attainment of a third type of electrical phenomena.

  The question of the coming of the Lords of Flame is discussed hereafter under the heading “Individualisation.” At this point we are only dealing with the work of these chohanic forces in a systemic and cosmic sense. These solar entities, being liberated intelligent Essences were in pralaya of a secondary nature when the time came for their reappearance in manifestation. When the WORD sounded forth which produced desire in the Triad for self-expression, and when the sound of the lower manifestation had blended with it, and had risen up into the Heavens, as the occult books express it, [702] an effect was produced which caused a response in certain allied constellations; this set loose energy which swept into the solar system, carrying with it those solar angels who “rested in the Heart of God until the hour was come.” Their appearance upon the mental plane brought about the union of Spirit and matter, and from this union was born a self-conscious Identity, the Ego. On cosmic levels, an analogous process occurs in connection with such stupendous Identities as a solar Logos, and the septenary Lives.

  As the energy of a human being, seeking incarnation, passes down from the plane of intensive purpose, the mental plane, into the physical vehicle on the gaseous or fifth subplane, so a somewhat analogous stimulation takes place in the body logoic. A somewhat similar process can also be seen in connection with this energy in a human body as it stimulates the life of the individual cell, and brings about relatively its intelligent co-operation in group work, and its ability to take its place in the body corporate. It is so with the human Monads, the cells in the body logoic. When science recognizes this fact (which will scarcely be yet awhile) attention will be turned to the volatile essences of the body, to the heart centre particularly, and its relation to these gaseous elements. The heart will be found to be not only the engine which circulates the life fluids, but also the generator of a certain type of intelligent essence which is the positive factor in the life of the cell.

  Some idea can be gathered from this as to the microcosmic process, for the individualization of the units is brought about through a macrocosmic happening which produces effects in the microcosm.

  A final point here needs emphasising. Occultly understood, the five Kumaras or the five Mind-born Sons of Brahma are the embodiers of this manasic force on [703] our planet; but They only reflect (in the Hierarchy of our planet) the function of the five Kumaras or Rishis who are the Lords of the five Rays manifesting through the four lesser planets and the synthesising planet.

  These five Kumaras are the channels for this force and one of Them, the Lord of the planet Venus, embodies in Himself the function of the fifth Hierarchy. This accounts for the activity of Venus at the moment of individualisation in this round. In the next round, this fifth Hierarchy will be utilising our Earth scheme in this way, and we shall then see manas in full fruition working out in the human family. This fifth Hierarchy of Agnishvattas in their many grades embody the “I principle” and are the producers of self-consciousness, and the builders of man’s body of realisation. In time and space, and on the mental plane, they are Man himself in essential essence; they enable him to build his own body of causes, to unfold his own egoic lotus, and gradually to free himself from the limitations of the form which he has constructed, and thus to put himself—in due course of time—into the line of another type of energy, that of buddhi. To word it otherwise, through Their work man can become conscious without the manasic vehicle, for manas is but the form through which a higher principle is making itself known. The life of God comes cyclically under the influence of the different Hierarchies or forces, all of which temporarily build for it a vehicle, pass it through their substance, give to it in this way a certain quality or colouring, and increase thereby its vibratory capacity until eventually the life is set free from hierarchical limitation. It then returns to its eternal Source plus the gain of its experiences and with the increased energy which is the result of its various transitions.

  Let us bear carefully in mind, that the Rays are the positive aspect in manifestation and pass down into [704] negative matter, deva or hierarchical substance, thus causing certain evidences of activity. The Hierarchies are the negative aspect as far as the Rays are concerned and are responsive to Ray impulse. But within each Ray and each Hierarchy in this system a dual force again will be found. The Sons of God are bisexual. The deva substance is also dual, for the evolutionary devas are the positive energy of the atom, cell or subhuman form, for instance, while the electrons or lesser lives within the form are negative.

  The mystery of the Manasaputras is hidden in this, and in the function of the fifth Hierarchy, and it is not possible to reveal more of it. The secret of Buddhi, the sixth or Christ principle, which concerns these Sons of God, and the secret of the fifth Hierarchy which is the vehicle or recipient of buddhi, cannot be mentioned outside initiated circles. It holds hid the possibility of egoic unfoldment, and keeps secret the karma of the Heavenly Men, the five Kumaras.

  The fifth principle of manas is embodied in the five Kumaras, and if the student studies the significance of the first five petals which are unfolded in the egoic lotus, he may touch upon the fringe of the mystery. The fifth Ray, which is the Ray of the fifth Kumara, is potently responsive to the energy flowing through the fifth Hierarchy. As the student of occultism knows, the Lord of the fifth Ray holds that place in the Septenary enumeration, but under the fivefold classif
ication, he holds the third or middle place.

  1. The cosmic Lord of Will or Power.

  2. The cosmic Lord of Love-Wisdom.

  3. The cosmic Lord of Active Intelligence 1.

  4. The cosmic Lord of Harmony 2.

  5. The cosmic Lord of Concrete Knowledge 3.

  6. The cosmic Lord of Abstract Idealism 4.

  7. The cosmic Lord of Ceremonial Magic 5.

  [705] This should be pondered on, and His close connection therefore, as a transmitter of force within the Moon chain, the third chain, in connection with the third kingdom, the animal, and with the third round, must be borne in mind. One symbol that may be found in the archaic records in lieu of His Name or description is an inverted five-pointed star, with the luminous Triangle at the centre. It will be noted that the points involved in this symbol number eight—a picture of that peculiar state of consciousness brought about when the mind is seen to be the slayer of the Real. The secret of planetary avitchi (235) is hidden here, just as the third major scheme can be viewed as systemic avitchi, and the moon at one time held an analogous position in connection with our scheme. This must be interpreted in terms of consciousness, and not of locality.

  In the fifth round, at its middle point, certain things will eventuate.

  The fifth Hierarchy will rise to its full power. This will precede the Judgment Day, and will mark a point of tremendous struggle, for the manasic vehicle “manas” (which they embody) will rebel against the translation of the life within (the buddhi). There will, therefore, be seen on a racial scale and involving millions simultaneously, a repetition of the self-same struggle which embroils the man who seeks to transcend mind and to live the life of Spirit. This will be the final Armageddon, the planetary kurukshetra, and will be succeeded by the Judgment Day when the Sons of Manas will be cast out and the Dragons of Wisdom rule. This only means that those in whom the manasic principle is over-potent or under-developed will be considered as failures and will [706] have to wait for a more suitable period for development, while those who are living the buddhic life, and in whom it is waxing stronger—spiritual men, aspirants, disciples of various degrees, initiates and adepts—will be left to pursue the natural course of evolution on this scheme.

  The mystery of Capricorn is hidden in these five and in the Biblical words “the sheep and the goats.” (Bible. Rev., 20:6-7. Matt., 25:32.) The Christian hints at this when he speaks of the Christ reigning on earth a thousand years during which the serpent is imprisoned. The Christ principle will triumph for the remainder of the manvantara, and the lower material nature and mind will be held in abeyance until the next round, when fresh opportunity will arise for certain groups of the discarded, though the majority will be held over until another system. Something similar again will take place on the fifth chain but as it concerns a centre in the planetary Logos of which we know but little, we need not here enlarge upon it.

  The planetary chains embody centres, and as they are awakened and come under stimulation, they swing into physical incarnation certain types of manasaputras. The type dominated by the fifth chain energy is little known as it is yet in process of evolution within another scheme, the fifth, so it is waste of our time to consider it. It is connected with the unfoldment of the fifth egoic petal of a planetary Logos on His Own plane and consequently with the activity of the fifth spirilla. When the hour strikes, these units of energy will “come in” from another scheme on a stream of cosmic energy which will swing through a particular systemic triangle, just as when the egos came in this round.

  It might here be pointed out that the solar Angels concerned with the fifth Hierarchy are naturally a potent factor in the evolution of the fifth or spiritual kingdom; they are that which make it possible, for they not only [707] bridge the gap between the fourth and third kingdoms, but bridge that found between the fourth and fifth.

  We need not consider any further this question of the fifth principle, for two reasons:

  First, that the subject has been sufficiently covered for our purpose in an earlier section, and secondly, that the full revelation in connection with cosmic manas and the entities who come in on that influence may not further be revealed at this moment. That which is given in the Secret Doctrine, and supplemented here by further details, will suffice for the investigations of students for another generation. Each generation should produce those able to ascertain subjective fact for themselves; they will utilize that which is exoteric and known as stepping stones on the path to perfect knowledge. They will know, and they will give out, and only the next cycle of fifty years after their work is accomplished will see the recognition by the many of the truth revealed by the few. In the case of H. P. B. this is apparent. On the tide of the present endeavour, the Secret Doctrine will be vindicated and her work justified.

  b. On Individualisation.

  (a.) The Work of the Solar Angels. Let us briefly consider the general construction of the body of the Ego enumerating its component parts and bearing in mind that the form is ever prepared prior to occupancy. From the study of this body, we can get some idea of, and some light upon macrocosmic Individualisation.

  The causal body, called sometimes (though inaccurately) the “karana sarira,” has its place on the third subplane of the mental plane, the lowest abstract plane, and the one whereon the Ray of the third Logos provides the necessary “light for construction.” (This is because each subplane comes specially under the influence of its Number, Name, or Lord.) When the hour [708] strikes and the vehicles for buddhi are to be co-ordinated certain great Beings, Lords of the Flame, or Manasadevas, through driving external force, come in conjunction with the material of that subplane, and vitalise it with Their Own energy. They form a new and positive impulse which co-ordinates the material of the plane and produces a temporary balancing of forces. Hence the meaning of the “white,” or transparent condition of the new causal body. It remains with the new-born ego first to upset the equilibrium, and then to regain it, at the close of the process, producing a radiant form, full of primal colours.

  At the coming in of the Manasadevas to produce self-consciousness and to bring about the incarnation of the divine Egos, four things occur on that plane. If the student adds to these four those which have been already imparted in various occult books anent the effect of individualisation on animal man and his appearance as a self-conscious identity on the physical plane, a working hypothesis is provided whereby man can scientifically undertake his own unfoldment. These four are given in the order of their appearance in time and space:

  First. There appear upon the third subplane of the mental plane certain vibratory impulses—nine in number—corresponding to the fivefold vibration of these Manasadevas in conjunction with the fourfold vibration set up from below and inherent in the matter of this subplane, the fifth from the lower standpoint. This produces “the ninefold egoic lotus,” which is at this stage tightly closed, the nine petals folded one upon the other. They are vibrant, and scintillating “light” but not of excessive brightness. These “lotus buds” are in groups, according to the influence of the particular ones of the fivefold Dhyanis Who are acting upon it and Who form it out of Their own substance, colouring it faintly with the “fire of manas.”

  [709] Second. There appears a triangle on the mental plane, produced by manasic activity, and this triangle of fire begins slowly to circulate between the manasic permanent atom, and a point at the centre of the egoic lotus, and thence to the mental unit, which has appeared upon the fourth subplane through innate instinct approximating mentality. This triangle of fire, which is formed of pure electrical manasic force, waxes ever brighter until it produces an answering vibration from both the lower and the higher. This triangle is the nucleus of the antaskarana. The work of the highly evolved man is to reduce this triangle to a unity, and by means of high aspiration (which is simply transmuted desire affecting mental matter) turn it into the Path and thus reproduce in a higher synthetic form the earlier “path” along which the d
escending Spirit came to take possession of its vehicle, the causal body, and from thence again work through the lower personal self.

  Third. At a certain stage of vibratory activity, the work of the Lords of the Flame having produced a body or form and a vibration calling for response, there occurs a practically simultaneous happening.

  A downflow of buddhi takes place along the line of the manasic triangle until it reaches a point at the very centre of the lotus. There, by the power of its own vibration, it causes a change in the appearance of the lotus. At the very heart of the lotus, three more petals appear which close in on the central flame, covering it closely, and remaining closed until the time comes for the revelation of the “jewel in the Lotus.” The egoic lotus is now composed of twelve petals, nine of these appear at this stage in bud form and three are completely hidden and mysterious.

  At the same time, the three permanent atoms are enclosed within the lotus, and are seen by the clairvoyant as three points of light in the lower part of the bud, beneath [710] the central portion. They form at this stage a dimly burning triangle. The causal body, though only in an embryonic condition, is now ready for full activity as the eons slip away, and is complete in all its threefold nature. The matter aspect, which concerns the material form of the man in the three worlds, or his active intelligent personal self call be developed and controlled through the medium of the mental unit, the astral permanent atom and the physical permanent atom. The Spirit aspect lies concealed at the heart of the lotus, in due course of time to stand revealed when the manasadevas have done their work. The will that persists forever is there. The consciousness aspect embodying the love-wisdom of the divine Ego as it reveals itself by the means of mind is predominantly there, and in the nine petals and their vibratory capacity lies hid all opportunity, all innate capacity to progress, and all the ability to function as a self-conscious unit, that entity we call Man. (237) Mahadeva sits at the heart, Surya or Vishnu reveals Him in His essence as the Wisdom of Love and the Love of Wisdom, and Brahma, the Creative Logos makes that revelation possible. The Father in [711] Heaven is to be revealed through the Christ, the Son, by the method of incarnation made possible through the work of the Holy Spirit. All this has been brought about by the sacrifice and instrumentality of certain cosmic entities who “offer Themselves” up in order that Man may be. From their very essence, they give out that which is needed to produce the individualising principle, and that which we call “self-consciousness,” and thus enable the divine Spirit to enter into fuller life by means of limitation by form, by means of the lessons garnered through a long pilgrimage, and through the “assimilation of manifold existences.”