(129) The above information about the “Rods” is taken out of Initiation Human and Solar, page 126. (back)
(130) “The Secret of the Pleiades and of their relation to the Seven Rishis of the Great Bear, and therefore to our Seven Heavenly Men, is not yet to be revealed. It is known only in detail to the Chohans of the Seventh Initiation, though the fact that there is such a relation is now exoteric.” H. P. B. speaks of it in the Secret Doctrine. (S. D., II, 711, 725, 726) (back)
(132) A hint of this triangle of force was conveyed in Letters on Occult Meditation, page 79-84, when speaking of man and his centres. (back)
(134) Compare also the following correspondences:
The sacred Tetraktys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The manifested Logos.
The Fourth Creative Hierarchy . . . . . . The Human.
The Fourth Principle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Lower Mind.
The Fourth Race . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kamamanas.
The Fourth Element . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Water, S. D., I, 95. I, 640.
The Four Truths . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .S. D., I, 70.
The Four Propositions . . . . . . . . . . . . .S. D., I, 107.
The Four Initiations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .S. D., I, 227.
The Fourth Plane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Buddhi, fourth cosmic ether.
The Fourth physical sub-plane . . . . . . The Fourth Ether.
The Fourth Round . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .The Present. (back)
(136) Students must carefully differentiate between the five Mind born Sons of Brahma, the five true Kumaras and their representatives on our earth planet, Those Who stand around Sanat Kumara Who may be stated (esoterically understood) to represent Himself. (back)
(137) Chain—a series of seven globes or worlds which form the field of evolution during the planetary cycle or manvantara. The first three of these globes—generally known as A., B. and C. form a descending arc, the densest physical matter of the descent being reached in the fourth globe, D, of which our earth is an instance. The fifth globe, E, on the ascending arc (correspondence to C on the descending arc) usually belongs to the astral plane, and the sixth and seventh F and G (correspondence to B and A on the descending arc) to the Rupa and Arupa levels of the mental plane; these therefore are invisible to ordinary sight. (back)
(138) The Causal Body.
“This influence or force, or result, or whatever it may be called, of the antecedent actions of man, forms as it were a seed, from which germinates the plant, yielding good or bad fruit, to be eaten by him during his subsequent existence. (Vishnu Purana I, XIX, 5). This seed is technically called the Karana Sarira, the causal body (Paingala Upanishad II), as it is the cause of man’s enjoyment or suffering. This Karana Sarira is composed of the fifth Kosa (Anandamaya) of man and adheres to the soul so long as the soul remains enveloped in the gross or subtle body (Sthula or Sukshma Sarira); and vanishes entirely when the soul extricates itself from the trammels of the said two bodies; for then, the soul attains its primeval purity, and burns up as it were every trace of its combination with the body, including this causal body (Karana Sarira). This happens when the soul is prepared for final emancipation, Moksha. Till then, of course, the Karana Sarira, the seed, the result of prior actions, remains effective, and asserts a strong controlling influence over man’s actions.”—The Theosophist, Vol. VII, III, p. 59.
“An ordinary person will by Vasana (Aroma or smell) repeat (In Jagra, the waking state) the old story dreamt in a dream that has passed way. So also will he, who, investigating the true nature of the self has attained to real knowledge, express himself and still will never become Chidabhasa (chidabhasa is the reflection of atma in the Karana Sarira, which is the vehicle of ignorance). He who has become a celestial being will nevertheless be called ‘man’ till the causal body that has already died (by the birth of Pragna, or wisdom) is completely consumed by the predominant fire of wisdom.”—Kaivalyanavanita, Part II, 31.
“By the rarest fire of True Wisdom the body of avidya (i.e. the causal body) will be reduced to ashes.”—Kaivalyanavanita, Part I, 98.
Copied from The Theosophist, Vol. VIII. (back)
(139) Forms.
The Atharva Veda, as the summation, instructs us in the principles which equally underlie the methods of the World-process, and of the atom-process—a world in miniature. Whether ‘World-process’ or ‘atom-process’ depends on the speaker and his point of view. As every mantra of this Veda reflects the operations of the World-process, so does it reveal to us cognition within cognition, memory within memory, power within power, world within world, fact within fact, action within action, duty within duty, sin within sin, individuality within individuality, ascending and descending from every point in space, endlessly, ceaselessly. Atoms make up molecules, molecules compounds, compounds cells, cells tissues, tissues organs, organs bodies, bodies communities; communities classes and races; classes and races kingdoms; kingdoms of many grades and varied linkings make up a planet, planets make up a solar system, solar systems a vaster system, and so on, unending; nowhere is found simplicity indivisible; nowhere complexity final. All is relative.—From Pranava-Vada, pp. 334-335. (back)
(140) It might be of interest to note the correspondences between these six forces and the “shaktis” of the Hindu philosophy. The Secret Doctrine says that:—
The Six are the six forces of Nature.
What are these six forces? See S. D., I, 312.
a. They are types of energy.
b. They are the dynamic quality or characteristic of a planetary Logos.
c. They are the life force of a Heavenly Man directed in a certain direction.
These “shaktis” are as follows:—
1. Parashakti—Literally, the supreme force, energy and radiation in and from substance.
2. Jnanashakti—The force of intellect or mind.
3. Ichchhashakti—The power of will, or force in producing manifestation.
4. Kriyashakti—The force which materialises the ideal.
5. Kundalini shakti—The force which adjusts internal relations to the external.
6. Mantrikashakti—The force latent in sound, speech and music.
These six are synthesised by their Primary, the Seventh. (back)
(141) The Secret Doctrine says that:—
It is on the Hierarchies and the correct number of these Entities that the mystery of the universe is built.
Ten--The line and the circle. The symbol of the Heavenly Men.—S. D., I, 117.
The ten are the arupa universe . . . . S. D., I, 125.
The ten are manifested existence . . . . S. D., I, 467.
The ten are sumtotal . . . . S. D., I. 428.
Six—The six-pointed star. The subjective life and the objective form, overshadowed by Spirit.
The six are the six forces of nature . . . . S. D., I, 236.
The six Heavenly Men . . . . S. D., I, 402.
The six planes . . . . S. D., I, 236.
Force or energy, matter or substance, and Spirit.
The six are the double triangle . . . . S. D., I, 143.
The six are the symbol of objectivity . . . . S. D., II, 625.
They are the deva aspect of manifestation . . . . S. D., I, 241.
Five—This is the pentagon, the Makara, the five pointed Star. Compare S. D., I, 218, 219.
Five is the symbol of a planetary Logos . . . . S. D., II, 618.
Five is the symbol of the microcosm . . . . S. D., II, 608.
Five is the symbol of creation . . . . S. D., II. 613.
It is the second and the third Logos united in evolution.
In the merging of the five and the six you have the totality of manifestation, the male and female blended in the Divine Hermaphrodite. Summing up, S. D., I, 235-239. II, 610, 638.
The first order . . . . The essential Lives. Spirit. The Self.
The sixth order . . . .The objective form. Matter. The Not-Self.
/> The fifth order . . . . Intelligence. Manas. The relation between
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(143) Pitris.
“What I called spirituo-ideal constitution is what is known as swarga in our Sanscrit works and the entities that are functioning there are called the Pitris, which of course means fathers. These Pitris are often ‘heard of in a sort of antithetical way to the Devas in our puranas and this has led some of our Hindoos, many theosophists included, to think that the Pitris and Devas are in two distinct spheres of life. Now Pitris and Devas always exist together, the Devas giving the consciousness and the Pitris forming the body. The two are relative terms. If the Pitris be water the Devas are the fire in the water. If the Pitris be fire, the Devas are the flame in that fire. If the Pitris be the flame, the Devas are the conscious principle that actuates the flame’ and gives to the flame the power of illumining the world and making it exist as a factor of our consciousness. From the highest to the lowest plane of life, the Pitris furnish the objective aspect and the Devas the subjective aspect and life itself is a stream that forms the middle line....When instead of three lokas the cosmos is divided more accurately into seven lokas, you may assort the three higher lokas to the Devas, the three lower to the Pitris and the middle to the life stream which may be conceived as the point in which the Deva essence is changed into Pitric essence or the no loka is made fit to appear as a loka down below or the unmanifested becomes the manifested.”—Some Thoughts on the Gita, p. 56. (back)
(144) Diversity from Unity.
“Now, according to the Adepts of ancient Aryavarta, seven principles are evolved out of these three primary entities. Algebra teaches us that the number of combinations of things, taken one at a time, two at a time, three at a time, and so forth = 2n - 1. Applying this formula to the present case, the number of entities evolved from different combinations of these three primary causes amount to 23 - 1 = 8 - 1 = 7. As a general rule whenever seven entities are mentioned in the ancient occult sciences of India in any connection whatsoever, you must suppose that these seven entities come into existence from three primary entities; and that these three entities, again, are evolved out of a single entity or Monad.”—The Theosophist, Vol. VIII, p 449. (back)
(145) I use the word “unit” in connection with all that is in any degree self-conscious, or individualised. It must, therefore, be remembered that this phrase refers to nothing below the human kingdom. (back)
(148) “...it is He, again, who holds spiritual sway over the initiated Adepts throughout the whole world. He is, as said, the “Nameless One” who has so many names, and yet whose names and whose very nature are unknown. He is the ‘Initiator,’ called the ‘Great Sacrifice.’ For, sitting at the Threshold of Light, he looks into it from within the Circle of Darkness, which he will not cross; nor will he quit his post till the last Day of this Life-Cycle. Why does the Solitary Watcher remain at his self-chosen post? Why does he sit by the Fountain of Primeval Wisdom, of which he drinks no longer, for he has naught to learn which he does not know—aye, neither on this Earth, nor in its Heaven? Because the lonely, sore-footed Pilgrims, on their journey back to their Home, are never sure, to the last moment, of not losing their way, in this limitless desert of Illusion and Matter called Earth-Life. Because he would fain show the way to that region of freedom and light, from which he is a voluntary exile himself, to every prisoner who has succeeded in liberating himself from the bonds of flesh and illusion. Because, in short, he has sacrificed himself for the sake of Mankind, though but a few elect may profit by the Great Sacrifice.”—S. D., I, 229. (back)
(149) The Trinity. “Maha-Vishnu presides over the summation and totality of all this. In every Brahmanda the activity is fourfold, and the chief functionaries are Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva. Subdivisions of their functions give rise to the names and offices of Narayana, etc.
“Among these functions, that of making or creating goes with action and belongs to Brahma. Again, “that which has been made is maintained by knowledge;” this maintenance or preservation is the work of Vishnu. Further, because it is necessary that what has appeared should disappear, therefore is there a destroyer, and he is Shiva, connected with desire, which first affirms and next denies, acts and reacts, now attracts and then repels, begins with craving for, and, after satiety, revolts from its object and casts it off. It precedes action, or Brahma, as longing for manifestation; and it succeeds knowledge or Vishnu, after maintenance or enjoyment of that manifestation, as a sense of fatigue, a growth of inertness, a need for rest by winding up the manifestation.”—From Pranava-Vada, pp. 82-84, 311. (back)
(151) They have in India an ancient system of psychical teaching called Yoga, in which the recitation of certain mantrams, or verses of Sanskrit, is prescribed. Especially important is said to be the way in which the mystical syllable Om, or Aum, is pronounced. Learned Brahmans tell me that the illimitable psychic potentiality of the Sanskrit charms, or mantrams is only drawn out by the adoption of a certain very accurate rule of pronunciation (swara). They say that by formulating the words correctly a vibration is set up in the akaz, or that part of the ether of space which enwraps our globe, which makes man the master over all the spirit denizens of the various kingdoms of nature. It first re-acts upon the astral double or ethereal body of the man himself, purifying its grossness, stimulating its psychic powers out of the normal state of latency, and gradually fortifying them up to the point of mastery over nature’s finer forces.—The Theosophist, Vol. XIII, pp. 229, 613.
“The primal single sound (Aum or Om) is the highest uttered word of power and knowledge. It is verily as Brahman itself. The regulation of the breath is the chiefest tapas-discipline. Higher than the Savitri is no mantra. Higher than silence is truth.
The Creator stored the veritable essences of the Three Vedas in the three letters that make up the Sacred Word, in the three utterances that name and form the three worlds, and in the three parts of the veda-verse that invokes the sun. Each part He milked from one Veda. Who so ponders on these, morning and evening, after having learnt the Vedas previously, he verily studies the whole of the Vedas every day. These are the gateway unto Brahman.
By repeated dwelling on their significance, and tuning his desire and modelling his thought to that significance, the seeker after Brahman shall, without fail, attain all perfection, whether he discharge any other duty or not; for the very name of the Brahmana is ‘the friend of All creatures’ (and the Gayatri is the prayer for the blessing of all creatures by our radiant Father in Heaven, the Sun).”—Unknown.
There are specific formulae known to all initiates of a certain grade (and even to many who have not attained that grade, a number have become known and are used—sometimes in ways that result in no good to the insufficiently instructed user), some one or other of which is specially adapted to produce nearly every possible effect that can be imagined....
Well may Isis Unveiled (p. 514) tell us that ‘sounds and colors’ are all spiritual numerals; nor is that all, for odors, metals and planets are equally spiritual numerals. Each planet (or spiritual plane) has relation to a metal and a color. These again are in co-relation with a corresponding odor and sound.
The sphere of aura that surrounds every human being has one very important ‘fold’ or ‘layer,’ which invariably bears the color of the metal and planet to which that particular individual has most affinity, and it is on this layer that the magnetic part of odors and all sound vibrations impinges.—The Theosophist, Vol. VII, p. 218. (back)
(152) The Master R. or Rakoczi, is the Hungarian Master, living at this time in Hungary, and is the Regent of Europe and America, under the “great Brotherhood.” He works through various organisations and movements including Masonry. He is one of the Masters who take pupils.
The Master H. or Hilarion, is a Cretan Master, is interested in the Spiritualistic Movement and is responsible for Light on the Path. (back)
(153) Antahkarana is the lower manas, the path of communication between the person
ality and the higher manas, or human soul.—H. P. Blavatsky. (back)
(154) Karma and Reincarnation, the fourth and fifth doctrines of the Wisdom-religion. These two are, in reality, the A, B, C, of the Wisdom-religion. Karma is the sum total of our acts, both in the present life and in the preceding births. It is of three kinds:—
1. Sanchita karma
2. Prarabdha karma
3. Agami karma
“Sanchita karma includes human merits and demerits accumulated in the preceding and in all other previous births. That portion of the Sanchita karma destined to influence human life in one or the present incarnation is called Prarabdha. The third kind of karma is the result of the merits and demerits of the present acts. Agami extends over all your words, thoughts, and acts. What you think, what you speak, what you do, as well as whatever results your thoughts, words, and acts produce on yourself, and on those affected by them, fall under the category of the present karma, which will be sure to sway the balance of your life for good or for evil in your future development.”—The Theosophist, Vol. X, p. 235. (back)
(155) “Karma (action) is of three kinds:—
1. Agami:—The bodily actions good and bad—done after the acquisition of the discriminative knowledge. (Vide Sri Sankaracharya’s Tatwa Bodh, question 34).
2. Sanchita:—The actions formerly done, serving as seeds to grow the countless births; the store of former actions preserved. Ibid., question 35).
And 3. Prarabdha:—The actions of this body (i.e. birth) which give pleasure or pain in this life alone. (Ibid., question 36.).”—The Theosophist, Vol. VIII, p. 170. (back)
(156) Karma. “It must be remembered that in every action of man the influence of his prior karma constitutes an important element. For the accomplishment of every action, says, Sri Krishna, we need five essentials:—
A Treatise on Cosmic Fire Page 134