of the reign of one Manu 306,720,000
The reign of 14 Manus embraces the duration of 994
Maha Yugas, which is equal to 4,294,080,000
Add Sandhis, i.e., intervals between the reign of each
Manu, which amount to 6 Maha Yugas, equal to 25,920,000
The total of these reigns and interregnums of 14
Manus, is 1,000 Maha Yugas, which constitute
a Kalpa, i.e., one day of Brahma, equal to 4,320,000,000
As Brahma’s night is of equal duration,
one day and night of Brahma will contain 8,640,000,000
360 of such days and nights make one year
of Brahma, equal to 3,110,400,000.000
100 of such years constitute the whole period
of Brahma’s age, i.e., Maha Kalpa 311,040,000,000,000
That these figures are not fanciful, but are founded upon astronomical facts, has been demonstrated by Mr. Davis, in an essay in the Asiatic Researches; and this receives further corroboration from the geological investigations and calculations made by Dr. Hunt, formerly President of the Anthropological Society, and also in some respects from the researches made by Professor Huxley.
Great as the period of the Maha Kalpa seems to be, we are assured that thousands and thousands of millions of such Maha Kalpas have passed, and as many more are yet to come. (Vide Brahma-Vaivarta and Bhavishyre Puranas; and Linga Purana, ch. 171, verse 107, &c.) and this in plain language means that the Time past is infinite and the Time to come is equally infinite. The Universe is formed, dissolved, and reproduced, in an indeterminate succession (Bhagavata-gita, VIII, 19).”—The Theosophist, Vol. VII, p. 115.5. (back)
(7) The term “ring-pass-not” is used in occult literature to denote the periphery of the sphere of influence of any central life force, and is applied equally to all atoms, from the atom of matter as dealt with by the physicist or chemist through the human and planetary atoms up to the great atom of a solar system. The ring-pass-not of the average human being is the spheroidal form of his mental body which extends considerably beyond the physical and enables him to function on the lower levels of the mental plane. (back)
(8) 1. The Primordial is the Ray and the direct emanation of the Sacred Four. S. D, I, 115, 116.
The Sacred Four are:
Unity
a. Father . . . Mahadeva . . .1st Logos . . . Will . . . Spirit.
Duality
b. Son . . . Vishnu . . .2nd Logos . . . Love-Wisdom.
Trinity
c. Mother . . . Brahma . . . 3rd Logos . . . Intelligent activity.
Sacred Four
d. The united manifestation of the three—Macrocosm.
2. The manifested Quaternary and the seven Builders proceed from the Mother.—S. D., I, 402.
a. The seven Builders are the Manasaputras, the Mind-born sons of Brahma, the third aspect. S. D., III, 540.
b. They come into manifestation to develop the second aspect .
S. D., I., 108.
c. Their method is objectivity.
3. The re-awakened Energies sprang into space.
a. They are the veiled synthesis. S. D., I, 362
b. They are the totality of manifestation. S. D., I, 470
c. They are pre-cosmic. S. D., I, 152, 470. (back)
(9)
Akasha. Definition . . . . S. D., II, 538
It is the synthesis of ether . . . . S. D., I, 353, 354
It is the essence of ether . . . . S. D., I, 366
It is primordial ether . . . . S. D., I, 585
It is the third Logos in manifestation . . . . S. D., I, 377 (back)
(10) H. P. B., defines the Akasha in the following terms: S. D., II, 538. “Akasha the astral Light can be defined in a few words: It is the Universal soul, the Matrix of the Universe, the Mysterium Magicum from which all that exists is born by separation or differentiation. In the various occult books it is called by different terms and it would be of value perhaps if we enumerate some of them here: There is one universal element with its differentiations.
Homogeneous Differentiated.
1. Undifferentiated cosmic substance 1. Astral Light.
2. Primordial ether 2. Sea of fire.
3. Primordial electric entity 3. Electricity.
4. Akasha 4. Prakriti.
5. Super-astral light 5. Atomic matter.
6. Fiery serpent 6. The serpent of evil.
7. Mulaprakriti 7. Ether, with its four divisions, air, fire, water, earth. “
8. Pregenetic matter.
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(11) Fohat is divine thought or energy (Shakti) as manifested on any plane of the cosmos. It is the interplay between Spirit and matter. The seven differentiations of Fohat are:
1. The Plane of divine life Adi Sea of fire.
2. The Plane of monadic life Anupadaka Akasha.
3. The Plane of Spirit Atma Aether.
4. The Plane of the intuition Buddhi Air.
5. The Plane of mind Mental Fire.
6. The Plane of desire Astral Astral Light.
7. The Plane of density Physical Ether.
—S. D. I, 105, 134, 135, 136. (back)
(12) The quaternary is composed of the four lower principles and the sheaths through which they manifest as a coherent unit, being held together during manifestation by the life force of the indwelling entity. (back)
(13) These terms, Lower Self, Higher Self, Divine Self, are apt to be confusing until the student apprehends the various synonyms connected with them. The following table may be found helpful:
Father Son Mother
Spirit Soul Body
Life Consciousness Form
Monad Ego Personality
Divine Self Higher Self Lower Self
Spirit Individuality Personal Self
The Point The Triad The Quaternary
Monad Solar Angel Lunar Lords
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(14) See S. D., I, 169, 562, 567, 569; II, 258, 390, 547, 551, 552. (back)
(15) In the Study of Consciousness Mrs. Besant says (page 37): “Consciousness is the one reality, in the fullest sense of that much-used phrase; it follows from this that any reality found anywhere is drawn from consciousness. Hence, everything which is thought, is. That consciousness in which everything is, everything literally, “possible” as well as “actual”—actual being that which is thought of as existent by a separated consciousness in time and space, and possible all that which is not so being thought of at any period in time and any point in space—we call Absolute Consciousness. It is the All, the Eternal, the Infinite, the Changeless. Consciousness, thinking time and space, and of all forms as existing in them in succession and in places, is the Universal Consciousness, the One, called by the Hindu the Saguna Brahman—the Eternal with attributes—the Pratyag-Atma—the Inner Self; by the Parsi, Hormuzd; by the Mussulman, Allah. Consciousness dealing with a definite time, however long or short, with a definite space, however vast or restricted, is individual, that of a concrete Being, a Lord of many universes, or a universe or of any so-called portion of a universe, his portion and to him therefore a universe—these terms varying as to extent with the power of the consciousness; so much of the universal thought as a separate consciousness can completely think, i.e., on which he can impose his own reality, can think of as existing like himself, is his universe.” (back)
(16) Universal consciousness, manifesting as consciousness in time and space, as Mrs. Besant so ably expresses it, includes all forms of activity and spiral cyclic evolution from the standpoint of cosmic evolution, and in terms of absolute consciousness, may again be rotary. (back)
(17) “The divine essence that, pervading the entire universe of millions of solar systems, is caught up by our sun and passed out in a manifested form to the utmost boundaries of our solar system, so that this manifested essence may be the basic soil of the growth, preservation and destruction of our worlds, that divine essence is simple Nadam of our yogic philosophy and that Nadam or
OM subsequently manifests itself as seven streams. The unmanifested is manifested by or borne by the subsequent ramifications. These streams are the seven vowels or seven notes. These seven vowels and notes must have special correlations with the seven vedic metres, since in the Vishnu Purana, Parasara describes the vedic metres as the coursers of the solar essence.”—Some Thoughts on the Gita, p. 74. (back)
(18) T. Subba Rao says on page 20, of Esoteric Writings: “As a general rule, whenever seven entities are mentioned in the ancient occult science of India in any connection whatsoever, you must suppose that those seven entities came into existence from three primary entities and that these three entities again are evolved out of a single entity or monad. To take a familiar example, the seven coloured rays in the solar ray are evolved out of three primary coloured rays; and the three primary colours co-exist with the four secondary colours in the solar ray. Similarly the three primary entities which brought man into existence co-exist in him with the four secondary entities which arose from different combinations of the three primary entities.”
In Christian terminology these are the three Persons of the Trinity, and the seven Spirits which are before the Throne. Compare “Our God is a consuming fire.” Heb: 12.29. (back)
(19) “I have already said in speaking of this Logos, that it was quite possible that it was the Logos that appeared in the shape of the first Dhyan Chohan, or planetary Spirit, when the evolution of man was recommenced after the last period of inactivity on this planet, as stated in Mr. Sinnett’s book, Esoteric Buddhism, and after having set the evolutionary current in motion, retired to the spiritual plane congenial to its own nature, and has been watching since over the interests of humanity, and now and then appearing in connection with a human individuality for the good of mankind. Or you may look upon the Logos represented by Krishna as one belonging to the same class as the Logos which so appeared. In speaking of himself Krishna says, (chap. x, verse 6):
“The seven great Rishis, the four preceding Manus, partaking of my nature were born from my mind: from them sprang, was (born) the human race and the world.”
He speaks of the sapta Rishis and of the Manus as his manasaputras, or mind-born sons, which they would be if he was the so-called Prajapati, who appeared on this planet and commenced the work of evolution.”—The Theosophist, Vol. VIII, p. 443. (back)
(20) The following tabulation should be borne in mind:
Seven branch races make one subrace
Seven subraces make one rootrace
Seven rootraces make one world period
Seven world periods make one round
Seven rounds make one chain period
Seven chain periods make one planetary scheme
Ten planetary schemes make one solar system
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(21) “It should be remembered that the mere scale does not matter, for greatness and smallness are essentially relative. The destiny of each atom is to create a brahmanda. Brahmandas like or smaller or larger than ours, held together by a sun, are present in every atom. Vishvas, great world-systems, exist in an atom, and atoms again exist in these vishvas. This is the significance of ‘many from one’; wherever we see the one we should recognise the many also, and conversely. After securing the ability of, and then actually, creating a brahmanda, the next step is the creation of a jagat, then a vishva, then a maha-vishva and so on, till the status of maha-vishnu is reached.”—Bhagavan Das in the Pranava Vada, p. 94. (back)
(22) Atma means as you all know the self or the ego or an individualised centre of consciousness around which all worldly experiences in their dual aspect of subjective and objective cluster and arrange themselves. It is as it were one of the foci from which emerge rays of light to illumine the cosmic waters and in which also converge the rays sent back by those waters. In Theosophical writings, it is called the selfconscious individuality or the Higher Manas. From this point of view, you will see that the Higher Manas is the most important principle or the central pivot of the human constitution or the true soul. It is the thread which ought to be caught hold of by one who wants to know the truth and lift himself out of this conditioned existence. To this it may be objected that Atma represents the seventh principle of the theosophical septenary and that the Manas is far lower in the scale. But the plain answer is that the seventh principle is the ultimate state attainable by the self after crossing the ocean of conditioned existence or samsara.”—Some Thoughts on the Gita, p. 26. (back)
(23) Fohat, or electricity, is an Entity.
He is the primordial electric Entity S. D., I, 105.
He is Will S. D., I, 136.
He is Love-Wisdom S. D., I, 100,144,155.
He is Active Intelligence S. D., I, 136.
Therefore He is God S. D., I, 167.
He is the sumtotal of the energy of the seven Spirits, Who are the sumtotal of the Logos.—S. D., I, 169. (back)
(24) Chohan (Tibetan). A Lord or Master. A high Adept. An initiate who has taken more Initiations than the five major Initiations which make man a “Master of the Wisdom.” (back)
(25) The seven Brothers. See S. D., I, 105. These seven are the seven differentiations of primordial electric energy.
Plane. As used in occultism, the term denotes the range or extent of some state of consciousness or of the perceptive power of a particular set of senses or the action or a particular force, or the state of matter corresponding to any of the above. (back)
(26) Permanent Atom. An appropriated point of atomic matter. A tiny centre of force which forms the central factor and the attractive agency around which the sheaths of the incarnating Monad are built. These are strung like pearls upon the sutratma, or thread.
Ray. A stream of force or an emanation. The solar Logos, or the Macrocosm, manifests through three major rays and four minor rays. The Monad or microcosm likewise manifests through three rays as mentioned in the text above. All rays express a peculiar and specialised type of force.
Triad. This is literally Atma-buddhi-manas, the expression of the Monad, just as the personality is the expression of the Ego. The Monad expresses itself through the Triad, and in its lowest or third Aspect forms the Egoic or Causal body, the infant or germinal Ego. Similarly, the Ego expresses itself through the threefold lower man, mental, emotional, and etheric (these being the reflection of the higher triad) and these three give rise to the dense physical manifestation. (back)
(27) Spirilla: “In order to examine the construction of the atom, a space is artificially made, then, if an opening be made in the wall thus constructed, the surrounding force flows in, and three whorls immediately appear, surrounding the “hole” with their triple spiral of two and a half coils, and returning to their origin by a spiral within the atom; these are at once followed by seven finer whorls, which following the spiral of the first three on the outer surface and returning to their origin by a spiral within that, flowing in the opposite direction form a caduceus with the first three. Each of the three coarser whorls, flattened out, makes a closed circle; each of the seven finer ones, similarly flattened out, makes a closed circle. The forces which flow in them, again, come from “outside,” from a fourth-dimensional space. Each of the finer whorls is formed of seven yet finer ones, set successively at right angles to each other, each finer than its predecessor; these we call spirillae.
“Each spirilla is animated by the life-force of a plane, and four are at present normally active, one for each round. Their activity in an individual may be prematurely forced by yoga practice.”—Occult Chemistry, p. 28. (back)
(30) “Buddhas of Activity.” The ‘Pratyeka Buddhas.’ This is a degree which belongs exclusively to the Yogacharya School, yet it is only one of high intellectual development with no true spirituality....It is one of the three paths to Nirvana, and the lowest, in which a yogi—”without teacher and without saving others”—by the mere force of will and technical observances, attains to a kind of nominal Buddahood individually.”—Theosophical Glossary. (back)
(31) “From the view taken of Karma as I have done it, you will see that no plane of the highest spirituality, be that the plane of the nirvanees, is outside the karmic wheel and when it is said in the Sanskrit writings and even in the Bhagavat Gita that men cross the karmic ocean, it must be understood with some allowance. The entities that have now succeeded in going outside the karmic wheel, have done so, only if that wheel be taken as the one that turns now. The cosmos is not going in one groove all the days of Brahma, but it is going on a higher and higher status as it fulfils its mission. Those who have attained unto a rest in a state of spirituality not reachable now, will therefore in a future day come within the action of the wheel, with perhaps a punishment for the great duties neglected for long ages.”—Some Thoughts on the Gita, p. 40.
(32) The Lipika are the Spirits of the Universe. They are connected with the Law of Cause and Effect (Karma) and its recorders. Lipika comes from “Lipi” writing. For information concerning the Lipika Lords see S. D., I, pp. 152, 153.
The Buddhas of Activity, are the Triad Who stands closest to Sanat Kumara, The Lord of the World. They are the planetary correspondences to the three Aspects of the logoic third Aspect and are concerned with the force behind planetary manifestation.
Monadic Essence, the matter of the atomic (or highest) subplane of each plane. Elemental Essence, the matter of the six subplanes which are non atomic. It is molecular matter.
(33) “Karma may be defined to be the force generated by a human centre to act on the exterior world, and the reactionary influence that is in turn generated from the exterior world to act on him may be called karmic influence and the visible result that is produced by this influence under proper conditions may be called karmic fruit.”—Some Thoughts on the Gita, p. 53., attains to a kind of nominal Buddahood individually.”—Theosophical Glossary. (back)
(34) “Prana, or the vital principle, is the special relation of the Atma with a certain form of matter which by the relation of Atma organises and builds up as a means of having experience. This special relation constitutes the individual Prana in the individual body. The cosmic all-pervading Prana is not Prana in the gross sense, but is a name for the Brahman as the author of the individual Prana....All beings, whether Devatas, men or animals, exist only so long as the Prana is within the body. It is the life duration of all....Prana, or vitality, is the common function of the mind and all the senses.”—Serpent Power, pp. 94, 95. (back)
A Treatise on Cosmic Fire Page 130