A Treatise on Cosmic Fire

by Alice A Bailey

  It is this constant stream of emotional or sexual energy which is responsible for the chaotic conditions of the present; the balance is not preserved, the interaction between the two, and the myriads of thought forms consequently produced of a low order and vibration are producing a condition which is going to require all the efforts of mental workers eventually to negate, offset, and transmute. These forms, which scarce merit the prefix “thought,” being largely kamic with an admixture of the lowest grade of mental matter, are responsible for the heavy, slow vibrating or pulsating fog or cloak which envelops the human family, and which produces much of the present evil, crime and mental lethargy. People are mainly polarised in the astral body, as we know, and the lower centres are the most active; when an atmosphere or environment of thought-forms of a low key and vitalised by all the baser forms of astral energy is coupled to this, it will become apparent how stupendous is the task of lifting humanity to a clearer, purer and better atmosphere, and how easy it is for the lower aspects and appetites to flourish and to grow.

  As the vitalisation is pursued and the energy is poured from one or other of the centres into the thought-form, the conscious builder begins to extend this influence in order to send it forth from him to perform its mission, whatever that may be, to make it occultly “radiant” so that its vibrations will emanate, and make themselves felt, and finally to make it magnetic, so that something [974] in the thought form will call forth response from other thought forms or from the minds it may contact.

  When these three objectives have been reached, the life of the form itself is now so strong that it can pursue its own little life cycle and fulfil its work, being only linked to its creator by a tiny thread of radiant substance, which is a correspondence to the sutratma. All forms have such a sutratma. It links a man’s bodies to the inner Identity, or to that magnetic current which, emanating from the true Identity, the solar Logos, connects the Creator of the solar system with His great thought form by a stream of energy from the central Spiritual Sun to a point in the centre of the physical Sun.

  As long as the attention of the creator of any thought form, great or small, is turned towards it, that magnetic link persists, the thought form is vitalised, and its work carried on. When the work has been accomplished, and the thought-form has served its purpose, every creator, consciously or unconsciously, turns his attention elsewhere, and his thought form disintegrates.

  Hence the occult significance of all the processes occultly involved in sight, can be seen. As long as the eye of the Creator is upon that which is created, just so long does it persist; let the Creator withdraw “the light of his countenance” and the death of the thought form ensues, for vitality or energy follows the line of the eye. When, therefore, a man, in meditation, considers his work and builds his thought form for service, he is occultly looking, and consequently energising; he begins to use the third eye in its secondary aspect. The third or spiritual eye has several functions. Amongst others, it is the organ of illumination, the unveiled eye of the soul, through which light and illumination comes into the mind, and thus the entire lower life becomes irradiated. It is also the organ through which pours the directing energy [975] which streams out from the conscious creating adept to the instruments of service, his thought-forms.

  The little evolved do not, of course, employ the third eye for the stimulating of their thought forms. The energy used by them in the majority of cases originates in the solar plexus, and works in two directions, either via the organs of generation, or through the physical eyes. In many people these three points—the lower organs, the solar plexus, and the physical eyes—form a triangle of force, around which the stream of energy flows before going out to the objectivised thought form. In the aspirant, and the man who is intellectual, the triangle may be from the solar plexus, to the throat centre and thence to the eyes. Later, as the aspirant grows in knowledge and purity of motive, the triangle of energy will have the heart for its lowest point instead of the solar plexus, and the third eye will begin to do its work, though as yet very imperfectly.

  Just as long as the “Eye” is directed to the created form, the current of force will be transmitted to it, and the more one-pointed the man may be the more this energy will be centralised and effective. Much of the ineffectiveness of people is due to the fact that their interests are not centralised but very diffuse, and no one thing engrosses their attention. They scatter their energy and are attempting to satisfy every wandering desire, and to dabble in everything which comes their way. Therefore, no thought they think ever assumes a proper form, or is ever duly energised. They are consequently surrounded by a dense cloud of half-formed disintegrating thought forms and clouds of partially energised matter in process of dissolution. This produces occultly a condition similar to the decay of a physical form, and is equally unpleasant and unwholesome. It accounts for much of the diseased condition of the human family at this time.

  Failure in thought creation is due also to the fact that [976] the laws of thought are not taught, and men do not know how, through meditation, to create those children of their activity to carry on their work. Results on the physical plane are much more quickly achieved through scientific thought creation than through the directly physical plane means. This is becoming more realised, but until the race has reached a point of greater purity and unselfishness, the more detailed explanation of the process must necessarily be withheld.

  Another reason for creative ineffectiveness is owing to the currents which emanate from the majority of people being of such a low order that the thought forms never reach the point of independent action, except through cumulative group work. Until matter of the three higher subplanes of the astral and physical planes finds its place in the thought form, it has to be energised principally by mob energy. When the higher substance begins to find its way into the form, then it can be seen acting independently, for the individual Ego of the man concerned can begin to work through the matter—a thing before impossible. The Ego cannot work freely in the personality until third subplane matter is found in his bodies; the correspondence consequently holds good.

  Once the thought form has been vitalised and its etheric form is completed or “sealed” as it is called, it can attain the dense physical form if desired. This does not mean that the individual thought forms of every man take dense substance upon the etheric, but they will eventuate in activity upon the physical plane. A man, for instance, is thinking a kindly thought; he has built it up and vitalised it; it is objective to the clairvoyant and exists in etheric matter close to the man. It will, therefore, find physical expression in an act of kindness or a physical caress. When the act is over, the caress consummated, the interest of the man in that particular thought form fades out and it dies. Similarly with a crime—the [977] thought form has been built up and inevitably it will find its physical expression in some deed of one kind or another. All activity of every kind is the result:

  a. Of thought forms built consciously or unconsciously.

  b. Of self-initiated thought forms or of the effect of the thought forms of others.

  c. Of responsiveness to one’s own inner impulses, or of responsiveness to the impulses of others, and therefore to group thought forms.

  It will be apparent, therefore, how vital is this matter, and how influenced men and women are by the thought forms they themselves create, or the mental children of other men.

  c. The occult significance of speech. The old Scripture saith: “In the multitude of words there wanteth not sin,” (Bible. Prov. 10:19.) because in a tide of words at this stage of man’s evolution, many are spoken purposelessly or from motives which (when analysed) will be found to be based purely in the personality. The greater the progress that is made along the path of approach to the Mysteries, the greater the care that must be taken by the aspirant. This is necessary for three reasons:

  First, owing to his stage in evolution, he is able to enforce his words in a manner which would surprise him could he but se
e on the mental plane. He builds more accurately than the average men, his subsequent thought-form is more strongly vitalised, and it performs the function whereon it is sent by the “Sound” or speech with greater precision.

  Second, any word spoken and consequent thought-form built (unless along the higher path and not based on personality impulses) is apt to cause a barrier of mental matter between a man and his goal. This matter or separating wall has to be dissipated before further [978] advance can be made, and this process is karmic and unavoidable.

  Third, speech is very largely a mode of communication on the physical levels; on the subtler levels whereon the worker stands, and in his communications with his fellow workers and chosen co-operators it will play an ever lessening part. Intuitive perception and telepathic interplay will distinguish the intercourse between aspirants and disciples, and when this is coupled with a full trust, sympathy and united effort for the plan we will have a formation wherewith the Master can work, and through which He can pour His force. The Master works through groups (large or small) and the work is facilitated for Them if the interplay between units of the group is steady and uninterrupted. One of the most frequent causes of difficulty in group work and consequent arrest of the inflow of force from the Master temporarily is based on misuse of speech. It brings about a clogging of the channel for the time being on the mental plane.

  I mention these three factors for this question of group work is of vital importance and much is hoped from it in these days. If in any organisation on the physical plane the Masters can get a nucleus of even three people who mutually interact (I choose the word deliberately) and who disinterestedly follow the path of service, They can produce more definite results in a shorter space of time than is possible with a large and active body of people who may be sincere and earnest but do not know the meaning of trust in, and co-operation with each other and who guard not the gate of speech.

  If a man succeeds in understanding the significance of speech, if he learns how to speak, when to speak, what is gained by speech, and what happens when he speaks, he is well on the way to achieving his goal. The person [979] who regulates his speech rightly is the person who is going to make the most progress. This has ever been realised by all leaders of occult movements. That most occult order of Pythagoras at Crotona, and many other of the esoteric schools in Europe and Asia had a rule that all neophytes and probationers were not permitted to speak for two years after entering the school and when they had learned to keep silence for that period, they were given the right to speak, for they had learned a specific reticence.

  It might be of value here if students realised that every good speaker is doing a most occult work. A good lecturer (for instance) is one who is doing work that is analogous on a small scale to that done by the solar Logos. What did He do? He thought, He built, He vitalised. A lecturer, therefore, segregates the material with which he is going to build his lecture and which he is going to vitalise. Out of all the thought matter of the world he gathers together the substance which he individually seeks to use. Next he copies the work of the second Logos in wisely building it into form. He constructs the form, and then when it is constructed, he finishes up by playing the part of the first Person of the Trinity putting his Spirit, vitality and force into it so that it is a vibrant, living manifestation. When a lecturer or speaker of any kind can accomplish that, he can always hold his audience and his audience will always learn from him; they will recognise that which the thought form is intended to convey.

  In everyday life when the student speaks, he is doing just the same thing, only the trouble frequently arises that in his speech he constructs something that is usually not worth while and vitalises it with the wrong kind of energy, so that the form, instead of being a constructive, vital, helpful force, is a destructive one in the world. If we study the various cosmologies of the world, we shall [980] see that the process of creation was carried on by the means of sound or speech or the Word. We have it in the Christian Bible, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was God. All things were made by Him and without Him was not anything made that was made.” (Bible. John I.) Thus, according to the Christian teaching, the worlds were made by the Word of God.

  In the Hindu Scriptures we will find that the Lord Vishnu, Who stands for the second Person of the Trinity, is called “The Voice.” He is the great Singer Who has built the worlds and the universe by His song. He is the Revealer of the thought of God Who has constructed the universe of solar systems. Just as the Christian speaks about the great Word, the Word of God, the Christ, so the Hindu speaks of Vishnu, the great Singer, creating by means of His song.

  In physical plane manifestation, we are known by our speech; we are known by our reticence, by the things we say, and by the things we leave unsaid and are judged by the quality of our conversation. We think of people in terms of what they say, because their words disclose the type of thought-matter in which they work and the quality of energy or life which they put behind their words. To the various solar Logoi of the vast constellations that are apparent when we scan the starry heavens, the quality of the Logos of our solar system is seen through the medium of that great thought form He has built by the power of His speech, and which is energised by His particular quality of love. When God speaks, the worlds are made and at this present time He is only in process of speaking. He has not yet concluded what He has to say, and hence the present apparent imperfection. When that great divine phrase or sentence which occupies His thought is brought to a close, we [981] will have a perfect solar system inhabited by perfect existences.

  Through speech a thought is evoked and becomes present; it is brought out of abstraction and out of a nebulous condition and materialised upon the physical plane, producing (could we but see it) something very definite on etheric levels. Objective manifestation is produced, for “Things are that which the Word makes them in naming them.” Speech is literally a great magical force, and the adepts or white magicians, through knowledge of the forces and power of silence and of speech, can produce effects upon the physical plane. As we well know, there is a branch of magical work which consists in the utilisation of this knowledge in the form of Words of Power and of those mantrams and formulae which set in motion the hidden energies of nature and call the devas to their work.

  Speech is one of the keys which opens the doors of communication between men and subtler beings. It gives the clue to the discovery of those entities who are contacted on the other side of the veil. But only he who has learned to keep silent, and has arrived at the knowledge of the times to speak can pass this veil and make certain esoteric contacts. Magic consists, we are told in the Secret Doctrine, in addressing the Gods in Their own language; therefore, the speech of average man cannot reach Them.

  Therefore, those who seek to learn the occult language, those who yearn to become aware of the words which will penetrate to the ears of those who stand on the other side, and those who seek to utilise the formulae and phrases which will give them power over the Builders, have to unlearn their previous use of words and to refrain from ordinary methods of talking. Then the new language will be theirs and the new expressions, words, mantrams and formulas will be entrusted to their care.

  [982] The laws of speech are the laws of matter and students can apply the laws governing physical plane substance to their use of words, for it concerns the manipulation of matter on other levels. Speech is the great medium whereby we make apparent the nature of the little system we are constructing—that system of which each human unit is the central sun, for under the Law of Attraction he draws to himself that which he needs.

  2. The Nature of Magic. (292)

  We have considered somewhat at length the building of thought forms, and have seen that the process pursued by man is analogous to that pursued by the threefold Logos in the creation of the solar system. We are to deal now with that great department in occultism which is usually termed magic. The man who masters the esoteric significance of what is
here said will take his place in the ranks of those entitled to call themselves the “Brothers of White Magic.” The subject is too immense to be more than briefly touched upon, for it covers [983] the entire range of endeavour in the field of material construction.

  We must deal first with the mental attitude of man as he faces the work of creation, and his ability to bring through, via the mental body, the purpose of the Ego, thereby impressing the building agents on the mental plane with a certain rate of rhythm, and a certain vibratory activity. This is the prime factor which results (on the physical plane) in direct egoic activity. We must also bear in mind, that in the consideration of this matter we are not dealing with the every day work of average man, but are speaking of the organised creative work, under law and rule, of the advanced man. We thereby set a standard and emphasise the ideal towards which occult students should strive.

  We must also consider the work of the wise magical student upon the astral plane, whereon, through purified desire and sanctified emotion, he provides those equilibrised conditions and those stable vibrations, which will permit of the transmission without hindrance to the physical plane via the physical brain of the man, of the vibratory activity emanating from the Ego, and of the circulatory action of the higher force. Hence (if a remark of a practical nature may be interpolated for the average student) the cultivation of emotional tranquillity is one of the first steps towards the achievement of the needed equipment of the white magician. This tranquillity is not to be achieved by an effort of the will which succeeds in strangling all astral vibratory activity, but by the cultivation of response to the Ego, and a negation of all response to the inherent vibration of the astral sheath itself.