Sounds.

Sounds.Q. Sound is an attribute of Âkâsha; but we cannot cognize anything on the Âkâshic plane; on what plane then do we recognize sound? On what plane is sound produced by the physical contact of bodies? Is there sound on seven planes, and is the physical plane one of them?A.The physical plane is one of them. You cannot see Âkâsha, but you can sense it from the Fourth Path. You may not be fully conscious of it, and yet you may sense it. Âkâsha is at the root of the manifestation of all sounds. Sound is the expression and manifestation of that which is behind it, and which is the parent of many correlations. All Nature is a sounding-board; or rather Âkâsha is the sounding-board of Nature. It is the Deity, the one Life, the one Existence. (Hearing is the vibration of molecular particles; the order is seen in the sentence,“The disciple feels, hears, sees.”)Sound can have no end. H. P. B. remarked with regard to a tap made by a pencil on the table:“By this time it has affected the whole universe. The particle which has had its wear and tear destroys something[pg 550]which passes into something else. It is eternal in the Nidânas it produces.”A sound, if not previously produced on the Astral Plane, and before that on the Âkâshic, could not be produced at all. Âkâsha is the bridge between nerve cells and mental powers.Q.“Colours are psychic, and sounds are spiritual.”What, assuming that these are vibrations, is the successive order (these corresponding to sight and hearing) of the other senses?A.This phrase was not to be taken out of its context, otherwise confusion would arise. All are on all planes. The First Race had touch all over like a sounding board; this touch differentiated into the other senses, which developed with the Races. The“sense”of the First Race was that of touch, meaning the power of their atoms to vibrate in unison with external atoms. The“touch”would be almost the same as sympathy.The senses were on a different plane with each Race;e.g., the Fourth Race had very much more developed senses than ourselves, but on another plane. It was also a very material Race. The sixth and seventh senses will merge into the Âkâshic Sound.“It depends to what degree of matter the sense of touch relates itself as to what we call it.”Prâna.Q. Is Prâna the production of the countless“lives”of the human body, and therefore, to some extent, of the congeries of the cells or atoms of the body?A.No; Prâna is the parent of the“lives.”As an example, a sponge may be immersed in an ocean. The water in the sponge's interior may be compared to Prâna; outside is Jîva. Prâna is the motor-principle in life. The“lives”leave Prâna; Prâna does not leave them. Take out the sponge from the water, and it becomes dry, thus symbolizing death. Every principle is a differentiation of Jîva, but the life-motion in each is Prâna, the“breath of life.”Kâma depends on Prâna, without which there would be no Kâma. Prâna wakes the Kâmic germs to life; it makes all desires vital and living.The Second Spinal Cord.Q. With reference to the answer to the question on the second cord, what is it that will become a second spinal cord in the Sixth Race? Will Idâ and Pingalâ have separate physical ducts?[pg 551]A.It is the sympathetic cords which will grow together and form another spinal cord. Idâ and Pingalâ will be joined with Sushumnâ, and they will become one. Idâ is on the left side of the cord, and Pingalâ on the right.Initiates.Pythagoras was an Initiate, one of the grandest of Scientists. His disciple, Archytas, was marvellously apt in applied Science. Plato and Euclid were Initiates, but not Socrates. No real Initiates were married. Euclid learned his Geometry in the Mysteries. Modern men of Science only rediscover the old truths.Kosmic Consciousness.H. P. B. proceeded to explain Kosmic Consciousness, which is, like all else, on seven planes, of which three are inconceivable, and four are cognizable by the highest Adept.Taking the lowest only, the Terrestrial (it was afterwards decided to call this plane Prâkritic), it is divisible, into seven planes, and these again into seven, making the forty-nine.[pg 552]She then took the lowest plane of Prâkriti, or the true Terrestrial.Its objective or sensuous plane is that which is sensed by the five physical senses.On its second plane things are reversed.Its third plane is psychic: here is the instinct which prevents a kitten going into the water and getting drowned.Then objective consciousness was given.[pg 553]The three lower Prâkritic are related to the three lower of the Astral Plane immediately succeeding.With regard to the first division of the second plane, H. P. B. reminded her pupils that all seen on it must be reversed in translating it,e.g., with numbers which appeared backwards. The Astral Objective corresponds in everything to the Terrestrial Objective.The second division corresponds to the second of the lower plane, but the objects are of extreme tenuity, an astralized Astral. This plane is the limit of the ordinary medium, beyond which he cannot go. A non-mediumistic person to reach it must be asleep or in a trance, or under the influence of laughing-gas; or in ordinary delirium people pass on to this plane.The third, the Prânic, is of an intensely vivid nature. Extreme delirium carries the patient to this plane. In delirium tremens the sufferer passes to this and to the one above it. Lunatics are often conscious on this plane, where they see terrible visions. It runs into the—Fourth division, the worst of the astral planes, Kâmic and terrible. Hence come the images that tempt; images of drunkards in Kâma Loka impelling others to drink; images of all vices inoculating men with the desire to commit crimes. The weak imitate these images in a kind of monkeyish fashion, so falling beneath their influence. This is also the cause of epidemics of vices, and cycles of disaster, of accidents of all kinds coming in groups. Extreme delirium tremens is on this plane.[pg 554]The fifth division is that of premonitions in dreams, of reflections from the lower mentality, glimpses into the past and future, the plane of things mental and not spiritual. The mesmerized clairvoyant can reach this plane, and even, if good, may go higher.The sixth is the plane from which come all beautiful inspirations of art, poetry, and music; high types of dreams, flashes of genius. Here we have glimpses of past incarnations, without being able to locate or analyze them.We are on the seventh plane at the moment of death or in exceptional visions. The drowning man is here when he remembers his past life. The memory of events of this plane must be centred in the heart,“the seat of Buddha.”There it will remain, but impressions from this plane are not made on the physical brain.[pg 555]General Notes.The two planes above dealt with are the only two used in the Hatha Yoga.Prâna and the Auric Envelope are essentially the same, and again, as Jîva, it is the same as the Universal Deity. This, in its Fifth Principle, is Mahat, in its Sixth, Alaya. (The Universal Life is also seven-principled.) Mahat is the highestEntityin Kosmos; beyond this is no diviner Entity; it is of subtlest matter, Sûkshma. In us this is Manas, and the very Logoi are less high, not having gained experience. The Mânasic Entity will not be destroyed, even at the end of the Mahâmanvantara, when all the Gods are absorbed, but will re-emerge from Parabrâhmic latency.Consciousness is the Kosmic seed of superkosmic omniscience. It has the potentiality of budding into the Divine Consciousness.Rude physical health is a drawback to seership. This was the case with Swedenborg.Fohat is everywhere: it runs like a thread through all, and has its own seven divisions.Auric Envelope or Âtmic Elements of Manifested Kosmos.Alaya. Buddhi.Mahat. Manas.Fohat. Kâma-Manas.Jîva. Kâma-Prana.Astral. Linga.Prâkriti. Body.In the Kosmic Auric Envelope is all the Karma of the manifesting Universe. This is the Hiranyagarbha. Jîva is everywhere, and so with the other Principles.[pg 556]The above diagram represents the type of all the Solar Systems.Mahat, single before informing the Universe, differentiates when informing it, as does Manas in man.Taking this figure to represent the human Principles and planes of consciousness, then[pg 557]7, 6, 5 represent respectively, Shiva, Vishnu, Brahmâ, Brahmâ being the lowest.Shiva is the four-faced Brahmâ; the Creator, Preserver, Destroyer, and Regenerator.Between 5 and 4 comes the Antahkarana. The triangle represents the Christos, the Sacrificial Victim crucified between the thieves: this is the double-faced entity. The Vedântins make this a quaternary for a blind: Antahkarana, Chit, Buddhi, and Manas.Manvantaric Aspect of Parabrahman and Mûlaprakriti.[N.B.—The number of Rays is arbitrary and without significance.]Perceptive life begins with the Astral: it is not our physical atoms which see, etc.Consciousness proper begins between Kâma and Manas. Âtmâ-Buddhi acts more in the atoms of the body, in the bacilli, microbes, etc., than in Man himself.Objective Consciousness.Sensuous objective consciousness includes all that pertains to the five physical senses in man, and rules in animals, birds, fishes and some insects. Here are the“Lives”; their consciousness is in Âtmâ-Buddhi; these are entirely without Manas.[pg 558]Astral Consciousness.That of some plants (e.g., sensitive), of ants, spiders, and some night-flies (Indian), but not of bees.The vertebrate animals in general are without this consciousness, but the placental Mammals have all the potentialities of human consciousness, though at present, of course, dormant.Idiots are on this plane. The common expression“he has lost his mind”is an Occult truth. For when through fright or other cause the lower mind becomes paralyzed, then the consciousness is on the Astral Plane. The study of lunacy will throw much light on these points. This may be called the“nerve plane.”It is cognized by our“nervous centres”of which Physiology knows nothing,e.g., the clairvoyant reading with the eyes bandaged, reading with the tips of the fingers, the pit of the stomach, etc. This sense is greatly developed in the deaf and dumb.Kâma-Prânic Consciousness.The general life-consciousness which belongs to all the objective world, even to the stones; for if stones were not living they could not decay, emit a spark, etc. Affinity between chemical elements is a manifestation of this Kâmic consciousness.Kâma-Mânasic Consciousness.The instinctual consciousness of animals and idiots in its lowest degrees, the planes of sensation: in man these are rationalized,e.g., a dog shut in a room has the instinct to get out, but cannot because its instinct is not sufficiently rationalized to take the necessary means; whereas a man at once takes in the situation and extricates himself. The highest degree of this Kâma-Mânasic consciousness is the psychic. Thus there are seven degrees from the instinctual animal to the rationalized instinctual and psychic.Mânasic Consciousness.From this plane Manas stretches upwards to Mahat.Buddhic Consciousness.The plane of Buddhi and the Auric Envelope. From here it goes to the Father in heaven, Âtmâ, and reflects all that is in the Auric Envelope. Five and six therefore cover the planes from the psychic to the divine.[pg 559]Miscellaneous.Reason is a thing that oscillates between right and wrong. But Intelligence—Intuition—is higher, it is the clear vision.To get rid of Kâma we must crush out all our material instincts—“crush out matter.”The flesh is a thing of habit; it will repeat mechanically a good impulse as well as a bad one. It is not the flesh which is always the tempter; in nine cases out of ten it is the Lower Manas, which, by its images, leads the flesh into temptation.The highest Adept begins his Samâdhi on the Fourth Solar Plane, but cannot go outside the Solar System. When he begins Samâdhi he is on a par with some of the Dhyân Chohans, but he transcends them as he rises to the seventh plane (Nirvâna).The Silent Watcher is on the Fourth Kosmic Plane.The higher Mind directs the Will: the lower turns it into selfish Desire.The head should not be covered in meditation. It is covered in Samâdhi.The Dhyân Chohans are passionless, pure and mindless. They have no struggle, no passions to crush.The Dhyân Chohans are made to pass through the School of Life.“God goes to School.”The best of us in the future will be Mânasaputras; the lowest will be Pitris. We are seven intellectual Hierarchies here. This earth becomes the moon of the next earth.The“Pitris”are the Astral overshadowed by Âtmâ-Buddhi, falling into matter. The“Pudding-bags”had Life and Âtmâ-Buddhi, but no Manas. They were therefore senseless. The reason for all evolution is the gaining of experience.In the Fifth Round all of us will play the part of Pitris. We shall have to go and shoot out our Chhâyâs into another humanity, and remain until that humanity is perfected. The Pitris have finished their office in this Round and have gone into Nirvâna; but they will return to do the same office up to the middle point of the Fifth Round. The Fourth or Kâmic Hierarchy of the Pitris becomes the“man of flesh.”The astral body is first in the womb; then comes the germ that fructifies it. It is then clothed with matter, as were the Pitris.The Chhâyâ is really the lower Manas, the shadow of the higher Mind. This Chhâyâ makes the Mâyâvi Rûpa. The Ray clothes itself[pg 560]in the highest degree of the Astral Plane. The Mâyâvi Rûpa is composed of the astral body as Upâdhi, the guiding intelligence from the heart, the attributes and qualities from the Auric Envelope.The Auric Envelope takes up the light of Âtmâ, and overshadows the coronal, circling round the head.The Auric Fluid is a combination of the Life and Will principles, the life and the will being one and the same in Kosmos. It emanates from the eyes and hands, when directed by the will of the operator.The Auric Light surrounds all bodies: it is the“aura”emanating from them, whether they be animal, vegetable, or mineral. It is the light,e.g., seen round magnets.Âtmâ-Buddhi-Manas in man corresponds to the three Logoi in Kosmos. They not only correspond, but each is the radiation from Kosmos to Microcosmos. The third Logos, Mahat, becomes Manas in man, Manas being only Mahat individualized, as the sun-rays are individualized in bodies that absorb them. The sun-rays give life, they fertilize what is already there, and the individual is formed. Mahat, so to say, fertilizes, and Manas is the result.Buddhi-Manas is the Kshetrajña.There are seven planes of Mahat, as of all else.The Human Principles.Here H. P. B. drew two diagrams, illustrating different ways of representing the human principles. In the firstthe two lower are disregarded; they go out, disintegrate, are of no account. Remain five, under the radiation of Âtmâ.[pg 561]In the second:the lower Quaternary is regarded as mere matter, objective illusion, and there remain Manas and the Auric Egg, the higher Principles being reflected in the Auric Egg. In all these systems remember the main principle, the descent and re-ascent of the Spirit, in man as in Kosmos. The Spirit is drawn downwards as by spiritual gravitation.Seeking further for the cause of this, the students were checked, H. P. B. giving only a suggestion on the three Logoi:1. Potentiality of Mind (Absolute Thought).2. Thought in Germ.3. Ideation in Activity.Notes.Protective variation,e.g., identity of colouring of insects and of that on which they feed, was explained to be the work of Nature Elementals.Form is on different planes, and the forms of one plane may be formless to dwellers on another. The Kosmocratores build on planes in the Divine Mind, visible to them though not to us. The principle of limitation—principium individuationis—is Form: this principle is Divine Law manifested in Kosmic Matter, which, in its essence, is limitless. The Auric Egg is the limit of man as Hiranyagarbha of the Kosmos.The first step towards the accomplishment of Kriyâshakti is the use of the Imagination. To imagine a thing is to firmly create a model of what you desire, perfect in all its details. The Will is then brought into action, and the form is thereby transferred to the objective world. This is creation by Kriyâshakti.[pg 562]Suns And Planets.A comet partially cools and settles down as a sun. It then gradually attracts round it planets that are as yet unattached to any centre, and thus, in millions of years, a Solar System is formed. The worn-out planet becomes a moon to the planet of another system.The sun we see is a reflection of the true Sun: this reflection, as an outward concrete thing, is a Kâma-Rûpa, all the suns forming the Kâma-Rûpa of Kosmos. To its own system the sun is Buddhi, as being the reflection and vehicle of the true Sun, which is Âtmâ, invisible on this plane. All the Fohatic forces—electricity, etc.—are in this reflection.The Moon.At the beginning of the evolution of our globe, the moon was much nearer to the earth, and larger than it is now. It has retreated from us, and shrunk much in size. (The moon gave all her Principles to the earth, while the Pitris gave only their Chhâyâs to man.)The influences of the moon are wholly psycho-physiological. It is dead, sending out injurious emanations like a corpse. It vampirizes the earth and its inhabitants, so that anyone sleeping in its rays suffers, losing some of his life-force. A white cloth is a protection, the rays not passing through it, and the head especially should be thus guarded. It has most power when it is full. It throws off particles which we absorb, and is gradually disintegrating. Where there is snow the moon looks like a corpse, being unable, through the white snow, to vampirize effectually. Hence snow-covered mountains are free from its bad influences. The moon is phosphorescent.The Râkshakas of Lanka and the Atlanteans are said to have subjected the moon. The Thessalians learned from them their Magic.Esoterically, the moon is the symbol of the Lower Manas; it is also the symbol of the Astral.Plants which under the sun's rays are beneficent are maleficent under those of the moon. Herbs containing poisons are most active when gathered under the moon's rays.A new moon will appear during the Seventh Round, and our moon will finally disintegrate and disappear. There is now a planet, the“Mystery Planet,”behind the moon, and it is gradually dying. Finally the time will come for it to send its Principles to a new Laya Centre, and there a new planet will form, to belong to another Solar System, the[pg 563]present Mystery Planet then functioning as moon to that new globe. This moon will have nothing to do with our earth, though it will come within our range of vision.The Solar System.All the visible planets placed in our Solar System by Astronomers belong to it, except Neptune. There are also some others not known to Science, belonging to it, and“all moons which are not yet visible for next things.”The planets only move in our consciousness. The Rulers of the seven Secret Planets have no influence on this earth, as this earth has on other planets. It is the sun and moon which really have not only a mental, but also a physical effect. The effect of the sun on humanity is connected with Kâma-Prâna, with the most physical Kâmic elements in us; it is the vital principle which helps growth. The effect of the moon is chiefly Kâma-Mânasic or psycho-physiological; it acts on the psychological brain, on the brain-mind.Precious Stones.In answer to a question, H. P. B. said that the diamond and the ruby were under the sun, the sapphire under the moon—“but what does it matter to you?”Time.When once out of the body, and not subject to the habit of consciousness formed by others, time does not exist.Cycles and epochs depend on consciousness: we are not here for the first time; the cycles return because we come back into conscious existence. Cycles are measured by the consciousness of humanity and not by Nature. It is because we are the same people as in past epochs that these events occur to us.Death.The Hindus look upon death as impure, owing to the disintegration of the body and the passing from one plane to another.“I believe in transformation, not in death.”Atoms.The Atom is the Soul of the molecule. It is the six Principles, and the molecule is the body thereof. The Atom is the Âtman of the objective Kosmos,i.e., it is on the seventh plane of the lowest Prakriti.[pg 564]Terms.H. P. B. began by saying that students ought to know the correct meaning of the Sanskrit terms used in Occultism, and should learn the Occult Symbology. To begin with one had better learn the correct Esoteric classification and names of the fourteen (7 × 2) and seven (Sapta) Lokas found in the exoteric texts. These are given there in a very confused manner, and are full of“blinds.”To illustrate this three classifications are given below.Lokas.1. The general exoteric, orthodox and tântric category:Bhûr-loka.Bhuvar-loka.Swar-loka.Mahar-loka. The second seven are reflected.Janar-loka.Tapar-loka.Satya-loka.2. The Sânkhya category, and that of some VedântinsBrahmâ-loka.Pitri-loka.Soma-loka.Indra-loka.Gandharva-loka.Râkshasa-lokaYaksha-loka.And an eighth.3. The Vedântic, the nearest approach to the Esoteric:Atala.Vitala.Sutala.Talâtala (or Karatala).Rasâtala.Mahâtala.Pâtâla.Each and all correspond Esoterically to the Kosmic or Dhyân Chohanic Hierarchies, and to the human States of Consciousness and their subdivisions (forty-nine). To appreciate this the meanings of the terms used in the Vedântic classification must be first understood.[pg 565]Talameansplace.Atala means no place.Vitala means some change for the better:i.e., better for matter in that more matter enters into it, or, in other words, it becomes more differentiated. This is an ancient Occult term.Sutala means good, excellent, place.Karatala means something that can be grasped or touched (from kara, a hand):i.e., the state in which matter becomes tangible.Rasâtala means place of taste; a place you can sense with one of the organs of sense.Mahâtala means exoterically“great place”; but, Esoterically, a place including all others subjectively, and potentially including all that precedes it.Pâtâla means something under the feet (from pada, foot), the upâdhi, or basis, of anything, the antipodes, America, etc.Each of the Lokas, places, worlds, states, etc., corresponds with and is transformed into five (exoterically) and seven (Esoterically) states or Tattvas, for which there are no definite names. These in the main divisions cited below make up the forty-nine Fires:5 and 7 Tanmâtras, outer and inner senses.5 and 7 Bhûtas, or elements.5 and 7 Gnyânendryas, or organs of sensation.5 and 7 Karmendryas, or organs of action.These correspond in general to States of Consciousness, to the Hierarchies of Dhyân Chohans, to the Tattvas, etc. These Tattvas transform themselves into the whole Universe. The fourteen Lokas are made of seven with seven reflections: above, below; within, without; subjective, objective; pure, impure; positive, negative; etc.Explanation of the States of Consciousness Corresponding to the Vedântic Classification of Lokas.7.Atala.The Âtmic or Auric state or locality: it emanates directly fromAbsoluteness, and is the first something in the Universe. Its correspondence is the Hierarchy of non-substantial primordial Beings, in a place which is no place (for us), a state which is no state. This[pg 566]Hierarchy contains the primordial plane, all that was, is, and will be, from the beginning to the end of the Mahâmanvantara; all is there. This statement should not, however, be taken to imply Kismet: the latter is contrary to all the teachings of Occultism.Here are the Hierarchies of the Dhyâni Buddhas. Their state is that of Parasamâdhi, of the Dharmakâya; a state where no progress is possible. The entities there may be said to be crystallized in purity, in homogeneity.6.Vitala.Here are the Hierarchies of the celestial Buddhas, or Bodhisattvas, who are said to emanate from the seven Dhyâni Buddhas. It is related on earth to Samâdhi, to the Buddhic consciousness in man. No Adept, save one, can be higher than this and live; if he passes into the Âtmic or Dharmakâya state (Alaya) he can return to earth no more. These two states are purely hyper-metaphysical.5.Sutala.A differential state corresponding on earth with the Higher Manas, and therefore with Shabda (Sound), the Logos, our Higher Ego; and also to the Manushi Buddha state, like that of Gautama, on earth. This is the third stage of Samâdhi (which is septenary). Here belong the Hierarchies of the Kumâras—the Agnishvattas, etc.4.Karatalacorresponds with Sparsha (touch) and to the Hierarchies of ethereal, semi-objective Dhyân Chohans of the astral matter of the Mânasa-Manas, or the pure ray of Manas, that is the Lower Manas before it is mixed with Kâma (as in the young child). They are called Sparsha Devas, the Devas endowed with touch. These Hierarchies of Devas are progressive: the first have one sense; the second two; and so on to seven: each containing all the senses potentially, but not yet developed. Sparsha would be rendered better by affinity, contact.3.Rasâtala, or Rûpatala: corresponds to the Hierarchies of Rûpa or Sight Devas, possessed of three senses, sight, hearing, and touch. These are the Kâma-Mânasic entities, and the higher Elementals. With the Rosicrucians they were the Sylphs and Undines. It corresponds on earth with an artificial state of consciousness, such as that produced by hypnotism and drugs (morphia, etc.).2.Mahâtala.Corresponds to the Hierarchies of Rasa or Taste Devas, and includes a state of consciousness embracing the lower five senses and emanations of life and being. It corresponds to Kâma and Prâna in man, and to Salamanders and Gnomes in nature.1.Pâtâla.Corresponds to the Hierarchies of Gandha or Smell[pg 567]Devas, the underworld or antipodes: Myalba. The sphere of irrational animals, having no feeling save that of self-preservation and gratification of the senses: also of intensely selfish human beings, waking or sleeping. This is why Nârada is said to have visited Pâtâla when he was cursed to be reborn. He reported that life there was very pleasant for those“who had never left their birth-place”; they were very happy. It is the earthly state, and corresponds with the sense of smell. Here are also animal Dugpas, Elementals of animals, and Nature Spirits.

Sounds.Q. Sound is an attribute of Âkâsha; but we cannot cognize anything on the Âkâshic plane; on what plane then do we recognize sound? On what plane is sound produced by the physical contact of bodies? Is there sound on seven planes, and is the physical plane one of them?A.The physical plane is one of them. You cannot see Âkâsha, but you can sense it from the Fourth Path. You may not be fully conscious of it, and yet you may sense it. Âkâsha is at the root of the manifestation of all sounds. Sound is the expression and manifestation of that which is behind it, and which is the parent of many correlations. All Nature is a sounding-board; or rather Âkâsha is the sounding-board of Nature. It is the Deity, the one Life, the one Existence. (Hearing is the vibration of molecular particles; the order is seen in the sentence,“The disciple feels, hears, sees.”)Sound can have no end. H. P. B. remarked with regard to a tap made by a pencil on the table:“By this time it has affected the whole universe. The particle which has had its wear and tear destroys something[pg 550]which passes into something else. It is eternal in the Nidânas it produces.”A sound, if not previously produced on the Astral Plane, and before that on the Âkâshic, could not be produced at all. Âkâsha is the bridge between nerve cells and mental powers.Q.“Colours are psychic, and sounds are spiritual.”What, assuming that these are vibrations, is the successive order (these corresponding to sight and hearing) of the other senses?A.This phrase was not to be taken out of its context, otherwise confusion would arise. All are on all planes. The First Race had touch all over like a sounding board; this touch differentiated into the other senses, which developed with the Races. The“sense”of the First Race was that of touch, meaning the power of their atoms to vibrate in unison with external atoms. The“touch”would be almost the same as sympathy.The senses were on a different plane with each Race;e.g., the Fourth Race had very much more developed senses than ourselves, but on another plane. It was also a very material Race. The sixth and seventh senses will merge into the Âkâshic Sound.“It depends to what degree of matter the sense of touch relates itself as to what we call it.”Prâna.Q. Is Prâna the production of the countless“lives”of the human body, and therefore, to some extent, of the congeries of the cells or atoms of the body?A.No; Prâna is the parent of the“lives.”As an example, a sponge may be immersed in an ocean. The water in the sponge's interior may be compared to Prâna; outside is Jîva. Prâna is the motor-principle in life. The“lives”leave Prâna; Prâna does not leave them. Take out the sponge from the water, and it becomes dry, thus symbolizing death. Every principle is a differentiation of Jîva, but the life-motion in each is Prâna, the“breath of life.”Kâma depends on Prâna, without which there would be no Kâma. Prâna wakes the Kâmic germs to life; it makes all desires vital and living.The Second Spinal Cord.Q. With reference to the answer to the question on the second cord, what is it that will become a second spinal cord in the Sixth Race? Will Idâ and Pingalâ have separate physical ducts?[pg 551]A.It is the sympathetic cords which will grow together and form another spinal cord. Idâ and Pingalâ will be joined with Sushumnâ, and they will become one. Idâ is on the left side of the cord, and Pingalâ on the right.Initiates.Pythagoras was an Initiate, one of the grandest of Scientists. His disciple, Archytas, was marvellously apt in applied Science. Plato and Euclid were Initiates, but not Socrates. No real Initiates were married. Euclid learned his Geometry in the Mysteries. Modern men of Science only rediscover the old truths.Kosmic Consciousness.H. P. B. proceeded to explain Kosmic Consciousness, which is, like all else, on seven planes, of which three are inconceivable, and four are cognizable by the highest Adept.Taking the lowest only, the Terrestrial (it was afterwards decided to call this plane Prâkritic), it is divisible, into seven planes, and these again into seven, making the forty-nine.[pg 552]She then took the lowest plane of Prâkriti, or the true Terrestrial.Its objective or sensuous plane is that which is sensed by the five physical senses.On its second plane things are reversed.Its third plane is psychic: here is the instinct which prevents a kitten going into the water and getting drowned.Then objective consciousness was given.[pg 553]The three lower Prâkritic are related to the three lower of the Astral Plane immediately succeeding.With regard to the first division of the second plane, H. P. B. reminded her pupils that all seen on it must be reversed in translating it,e.g., with numbers which appeared backwards. The Astral Objective corresponds in everything to the Terrestrial Objective.The second division corresponds to the second of the lower plane, but the objects are of extreme tenuity, an astralized Astral. This plane is the limit of the ordinary medium, beyond which he cannot go. A non-mediumistic person to reach it must be asleep or in a trance, or under the influence of laughing-gas; or in ordinary delirium people pass on to this plane.The third, the Prânic, is of an intensely vivid nature. Extreme delirium carries the patient to this plane. In delirium tremens the sufferer passes to this and to the one above it. Lunatics are often conscious on this plane, where they see terrible visions. It runs into the—Fourth division, the worst of the astral planes, Kâmic and terrible. Hence come the images that tempt; images of drunkards in Kâma Loka impelling others to drink; images of all vices inoculating men with the desire to commit crimes. The weak imitate these images in a kind of monkeyish fashion, so falling beneath their influence. This is also the cause of epidemics of vices, and cycles of disaster, of accidents of all kinds coming in groups. Extreme delirium tremens is on this plane.[pg 554]The fifth division is that of premonitions in dreams, of reflections from the lower mentality, glimpses into the past and future, the plane of things mental and not spiritual. The mesmerized clairvoyant can reach this plane, and even, if good, may go higher.The sixth is the plane from which come all beautiful inspirations of art, poetry, and music; high types of dreams, flashes of genius. Here we have glimpses of past incarnations, without being able to locate or analyze them.We are on the seventh plane at the moment of death or in exceptional visions. The drowning man is here when he remembers his past life. The memory of events of this plane must be centred in the heart,“the seat of Buddha.”There it will remain, but impressions from this plane are not made on the physical brain.[pg 555]General Notes.The two planes above dealt with are the only two used in the Hatha Yoga.Prâna and the Auric Envelope are essentially the same, and again, as Jîva, it is the same as the Universal Deity. This, in its Fifth Principle, is Mahat, in its Sixth, Alaya. (The Universal Life is also seven-principled.) Mahat is the highestEntityin Kosmos; beyond this is no diviner Entity; it is of subtlest matter, Sûkshma. In us this is Manas, and the very Logoi are less high, not having gained experience. The Mânasic Entity will not be destroyed, even at the end of the Mahâmanvantara, when all the Gods are absorbed, but will re-emerge from Parabrâhmic latency.Consciousness is the Kosmic seed of superkosmic omniscience. It has the potentiality of budding into the Divine Consciousness.Rude physical health is a drawback to seership. This was the case with Swedenborg.Fohat is everywhere: it runs like a thread through all, and has its own seven divisions.Auric Envelope or Âtmic Elements of Manifested Kosmos.Alaya. Buddhi.Mahat. Manas.Fohat. Kâma-Manas.Jîva. Kâma-Prana.Astral. Linga.Prâkriti. Body.In the Kosmic Auric Envelope is all the Karma of the manifesting Universe. This is the Hiranyagarbha. Jîva is everywhere, and so with the other Principles.[pg 556]The above diagram represents the type of all the Solar Systems.Mahat, single before informing the Universe, differentiates when informing it, as does Manas in man.Taking this figure to represent the human Principles and planes of consciousness, then[pg 557]7, 6, 5 represent respectively, Shiva, Vishnu, Brahmâ, Brahmâ being the lowest.Shiva is the four-faced Brahmâ; the Creator, Preserver, Destroyer, and Regenerator.Between 5 and 4 comes the Antahkarana. The triangle represents the Christos, the Sacrificial Victim crucified between the thieves: this is the double-faced entity. The Vedântins make this a quaternary for a blind: Antahkarana, Chit, Buddhi, and Manas.Manvantaric Aspect of Parabrahman and Mûlaprakriti.[N.B.—The number of Rays is arbitrary and without significance.]Perceptive life begins with the Astral: it is not our physical atoms which see, etc.Consciousness proper begins between Kâma and Manas. Âtmâ-Buddhi acts more in the atoms of the body, in the bacilli, microbes, etc., than in Man himself.Objective Consciousness.Sensuous objective consciousness includes all that pertains to the five physical senses in man, and rules in animals, birds, fishes and some insects. Here are the“Lives”; their consciousness is in Âtmâ-Buddhi; these are entirely without Manas.[pg 558]Astral Consciousness.That of some plants (e.g., sensitive), of ants, spiders, and some night-flies (Indian), but not of bees.The vertebrate animals in general are without this consciousness, but the placental Mammals have all the potentialities of human consciousness, though at present, of course, dormant.Idiots are on this plane. The common expression“he has lost his mind”is an Occult truth. For when through fright or other cause the lower mind becomes paralyzed, then the consciousness is on the Astral Plane. The study of lunacy will throw much light on these points. This may be called the“nerve plane.”It is cognized by our“nervous centres”of which Physiology knows nothing,e.g., the clairvoyant reading with the eyes bandaged, reading with the tips of the fingers, the pit of the stomach, etc. This sense is greatly developed in the deaf and dumb.Kâma-Prânic Consciousness.The general life-consciousness which belongs to all the objective world, even to the stones; for if stones were not living they could not decay, emit a spark, etc. Affinity between chemical elements is a manifestation of this Kâmic consciousness.Kâma-Mânasic Consciousness.The instinctual consciousness of animals and idiots in its lowest degrees, the planes of sensation: in man these are rationalized,e.g., a dog shut in a room has the instinct to get out, but cannot because its instinct is not sufficiently rationalized to take the necessary means; whereas a man at once takes in the situation and extricates himself. The highest degree of this Kâma-Mânasic consciousness is the psychic. Thus there are seven degrees from the instinctual animal to the rationalized instinctual and psychic.Mânasic Consciousness.From this plane Manas stretches upwards to Mahat.Buddhic Consciousness.The plane of Buddhi and the Auric Envelope. From here it goes to the Father in heaven, Âtmâ, and reflects all that is in the Auric Envelope. Five and six therefore cover the planes from the psychic to the divine.[pg 559]Miscellaneous.Reason is a thing that oscillates between right and wrong. But Intelligence—Intuition—is higher, it is the clear vision.To get rid of Kâma we must crush out all our material instincts—“crush out matter.”The flesh is a thing of habit; it will repeat mechanically a good impulse as well as a bad one. It is not the flesh which is always the tempter; in nine cases out of ten it is the Lower Manas, which, by its images, leads the flesh into temptation.The highest Adept begins his Samâdhi on the Fourth Solar Plane, but cannot go outside the Solar System. When he begins Samâdhi he is on a par with some of the Dhyân Chohans, but he transcends them as he rises to the seventh plane (Nirvâna).The Silent Watcher is on the Fourth Kosmic Plane.The higher Mind directs the Will: the lower turns it into selfish Desire.The head should not be covered in meditation. It is covered in Samâdhi.The Dhyân Chohans are passionless, pure and mindless. They have no struggle, no passions to crush.The Dhyân Chohans are made to pass through the School of Life.“God goes to School.”The best of us in the future will be Mânasaputras; the lowest will be Pitris. We are seven intellectual Hierarchies here. This earth becomes the moon of the next earth.The“Pitris”are the Astral overshadowed by Âtmâ-Buddhi, falling into matter. The“Pudding-bags”had Life and Âtmâ-Buddhi, but no Manas. They were therefore senseless. The reason for all evolution is the gaining of experience.In the Fifth Round all of us will play the part of Pitris. We shall have to go and shoot out our Chhâyâs into another humanity, and remain until that humanity is perfected. The Pitris have finished their office in this Round and have gone into Nirvâna; but they will return to do the same office up to the middle point of the Fifth Round. The Fourth or Kâmic Hierarchy of the Pitris becomes the“man of flesh.”The astral body is first in the womb; then comes the germ that fructifies it. It is then clothed with matter, as were the Pitris.The Chhâyâ is really the lower Manas, the shadow of the higher Mind. This Chhâyâ makes the Mâyâvi Rûpa. The Ray clothes itself[pg 560]in the highest degree of the Astral Plane. The Mâyâvi Rûpa is composed of the astral body as Upâdhi, the guiding intelligence from the heart, the attributes and qualities from the Auric Envelope.The Auric Envelope takes up the light of Âtmâ, and overshadows the coronal, circling round the head.The Auric Fluid is a combination of the Life and Will principles, the life and the will being one and the same in Kosmos. It emanates from the eyes and hands, when directed by the will of the operator.The Auric Light surrounds all bodies: it is the“aura”emanating from them, whether they be animal, vegetable, or mineral. It is the light,e.g., seen round magnets.Âtmâ-Buddhi-Manas in man corresponds to the three Logoi in Kosmos. They not only correspond, but each is the radiation from Kosmos to Microcosmos. The third Logos, Mahat, becomes Manas in man, Manas being only Mahat individualized, as the sun-rays are individualized in bodies that absorb them. The sun-rays give life, they fertilize what is already there, and the individual is formed. Mahat, so to say, fertilizes, and Manas is the result.Buddhi-Manas is the Kshetrajña.There are seven planes of Mahat, as of all else.The Human Principles.Here H. P. B. drew two diagrams, illustrating different ways of representing the human principles. In the firstthe two lower are disregarded; they go out, disintegrate, are of no account. Remain five, under the radiation of Âtmâ.[pg 561]In the second:the lower Quaternary is regarded as mere matter, objective illusion, and there remain Manas and the Auric Egg, the higher Principles being reflected in the Auric Egg. In all these systems remember the main principle, the descent and re-ascent of the Spirit, in man as in Kosmos. The Spirit is drawn downwards as by spiritual gravitation.Seeking further for the cause of this, the students were checked, H. P. B. giving only a suggestion on the three Logoi:1. Potentiality of Mind (Absolute Thought).2. Thought in Germ.3. Ideation in Activity.Notes.Protective variation,e.g., identity of colouring of insects and of that on which they feed, was explained to be the work of Nature Elementals.Form is on different planes, and the forms of one plane may be formless to dwellers on another. The Kosmocratores build on planes in the Divine Mind, visible to them though not to us. The principle of limitation—principium individuationis—is Form: this principle is Divine Law manifested in Kosmic Matter, which, in its essence, is limitless. The Auric Egg is the limit of man as Hiranyagarbha of the Kosmos.The first step towards the accomplishment of Kriyâshakti is the use of the Imagination. To imagine a thing is to firmly create a model of what you desire, perfect in all its details. The Will is then brought into action, and the form is thereby transferred to the objective world. This is creation by Kriyâshakti.[pg 562]Suns And Planets.A comet partially cools and settles down as a sun. It then gradually attracts round it planets that are as yet unattached to any centre, and thus, in millions of years, a Solar System is formed. The worn-out planet becomes a moon to the planet of another system.The sun we see is a reflection of the true Sun: this reflection, as an outward concrete thing, is a Kâma-Rûpa, all the suns forming the Kâma-Rûpa of Kosmos. To its own system the sun is Buddhi, as being the reflection and vehicle of the true Sun, which is Âtmâ, invisible on this plane. All the Fohatic forces—electricity, etc.—are in this reflection.The Moon.At the beginning of the evolution of our globe, the moon was much nearer to the earth, and larger than it is now. It has retreated from us, and shrunk much in size. (The moon gave all her Principles to the earth, while the Pitris gave only their Chhâyâs to man.)The influences of the moon are wholly psycho-physiological. It is dead, sending out injurious emanations like a corpse. It vampirizes the earth and its inhabitants, so that anyone sleeping in its rays suffers, losing some of his life-force. A white cloth is a protection, the rays not passing through it, and the head especially should be thus guarded. It has most power when it is full. It throws off particles which we absorb, and is gradually disintegrating. Where there is snow the moon looks like a corpse, being unable, through the white snow, to vampirize effectually. Hence snow-covered mountains are free from its bad influences. The moon is phosphorescent.The Râkshakas of Lanka and the Atlanteans are said to have subjected the moon. The Thessalians learned from them their Magic.Esoterically, the moon is the symbol of the Lower Manas; it is also the symbol of the Astral.Plants which under the sun's rays are beneficent are maleficent under those of the moon. Herbs containing poisons are most active when gathered under the moon's rays.A new moon will appear during the Seventh Round, and our moon will finally disintegrate and disappear. There is now a planet, the“Mystery Planet,”behind the moon, and it is gradually dying. Finally the time will come for it to send its Principles to a new Laya Centre, and there a new planet will form, to belong to another Solar System, the[pg 563]present Mystery Planet then functioning as moon to that new globe. This moon will have nothing to do with our earth, though it will come within our range of vision.The Solar System.All the visible planets placed in our Solar System by Astronomers belong to it, except Neptune. There are also some others not known to Science, belonging to it, and“all moons which are not yet visible for next things.”The planets only move in our consciousness. The Rulers of the seven Secret Planets have no influence on this earth, as this earth has on other planets. It is the sun and moon which really have not only a mental, but also a physical effect. The effect of the sun on humanity is connected with Kâma-Prâna, with the most physical Kâmic elements in us; it is the vital principle which helps growth. The effect of the moon is chiefly Kâma-Mânasic or psycho-physiological; it acts on the psychological brain, on the brain-mind.Precious Stones.In answer to a question, H. P. B. said that the diamond and the ruby were under the sun, the sapphire under the moon—“but what does it matter to you?”Time.When once out of the body, and not subject to the habit of consciousness formed by others, time does not exist.Cycles and epochs depend on consciousness: we are not here for the first time; the cycles return because we come back into conscious existence. Cycles are measured by the consciousness of humanity and not by Nature. It is because we are the same people as in past epochs that these events occur to us.Death.The Hindus look upon death as impure, owing to the disintegration of the body and the passing from one plane to another.“I believe in transformation, not in death.”Atoms.The Atom is the Soul of the molecule. It is the six Principles, and the molecule is the body thereof. The Atom is the Âtman of the objective Kosmos,i.e., it is on the seventh plane of the lowest Prakriti.[pg 564]Terms.H. P. B. began by saying that students ought to know the correct meaning of the Sanskrit terms used in Occultism, and should learn the Occult Symbology. To begin with one had better learn the correct Esoteric classification and names of the fourteen (7 × 2) and seven (Sapta) Lokas found in the exoteric texts. These are given there in a very confused manner, and are full of“blinds.”To illustrate this three classifications are given below.Lokas.1. The general exoteric, orthodox and tântric category:Bhûr-loka.Bhuvar-loka.Swar-loka.Mahar-loka. The second seven are reflected.Janar-loka.Tapar-loka.Satya-loka.2. The Sânkhya category, and that of some VedântinsBrahmâ-loka.Pitri-loka.Soma-loka.Indra-loka.Gandharva-loka.Râkshasa-lokaYaksha-loka.And an eighth.3. The Vedântic, the nearest approach to the Esoteric:Atala.Vitala.Sutala.Talâtala (or Karatala).Rasâtala.Mahâtala.Pâtâla.Each and all correspond Esoterically to the Kosmic or Dhyân Chohanic Hierarchies, and to the human States of Consciousness and their subdivisions (forty-nine). To appreciate this the meanings of the terms used in the Vedântic classification must be first understood.[pg 565]Talameansplace.Atala means no place.Vitala means some change for the better:i.e., better for matter in that more matter enters into it, or, in other words, it becomes more differentiated. This is an ancient Occult term.Sutala means good, excellent, place.Karatala means something that can be grasped or touched (from kara, a hand):i.e., the state in which matter becomes tangible.Rasâtala means place of taste; a place you can sense with one of the organs of sense.Mahâtala means exoterically“great place”; but, Esoterically, a place including all others subjectively, and potentially including all that precedes it.Pâtâla means something under the feet (from pada, foot), the upâdhi, or basis, of anything, the antipodes, America, etc.Each of the Lokas, places, worlds, states, etc., corresponds with and is transformed into five (exoterically) and seven (Esoterically) states or Tattvas, for which there are no definite names. These in the main divisions cited below make up the forty-nine Fires:5 and 7 Tanmâtras, outer and inner senses.5 and 7 Bhûtas, or elements.5 and 7 Gnyânendryas, or organs of sensation.5 and 7 Karmendryas, or organs of action.These correspond in general to States of Consciousness, to the Hierarchies of Dhyân Chohans, to the Tattvas, etc. These Tattvas transform themselves into the whole Universe. The fourteen Lokas are made of seven with seven reflections: above, below; within, without; subjective, objective; pure, impure; positive, negative; etc.Explanation of the States of Consciousness Corresponding to the Vedântic Classification of Lokas.7.Atala.The Âtmic or Auric state or locality: it emanates directly fromAbsoluteness, and is the first something in the Universe. Its correspondence is the Hierarchy of non-substantial primordial Beings, in a place which is no place (for us), a state which is no state. This[pg 566]Hierarchy contains the primordial plane, all that was, is, and will be, from the beginning to the end of the Mahâmanvantara; all is there. This statement should not, however, be taken to imply Kismet: the latter is contrary to all the teachings of Occultism.Here are the Hierarchies of the Dhyâni Buddhas. Their state is that of Parasamâdhi, of the Dharmakâya; a state where no progress is possible. The entities there may be said to be crystallized in purity, in homogeneity.6.Vitala.Here are the Hierarchies of the celestial Buddhas, or Bodhisattvas, who are said to emanate from the seven Dhyâni Buddhas. It is related on earth to Samâdhi, to the Buddhic consciousness in man. No Adept, save one, can be higher than this and live; if he passes into the Âtmic or Dharmakâya state (Alaya) he can return to earth no more. These two states are purely hyper-metaphysical.5.Sutala.A differential state corresponding on earth with the Higher Manas, and therefore with Shabda (Sound), the Logos, our Higher Ego; and also to the Manushi Buddha state, like that of Gautama, on earth. This is the third stage of Samâdhi (which is septenary). Here belong the Hierarchies of the Kumâras—the Agnishvattas, etc.4.Karatalacorresponds with Sparsha (touch) and to the Hierarchies of ethereal, semi-objective Dhyân Chohans of the astral matter of the Mânasa-Manas, or the pure ray of Manas, that is the Lower Manas before it is mixed with Kâma (as in the young child). They are called Sparsha Devas, the Devas endowed with touch. These Hierarchies of Devas are progressive: the first have one sense; the second two; and so on to seven: each containing all the senses potentially, but not yet developed. Sparsha would be rendered better by affinity, contact.3.Rasâtala, or Rûpatala: corresponds to the Hierarchies of Rûpa or Sight Devas, possessed of three senses, sight, hearing, and touch. These are the Kâma-Mânasic entities, and the higher Elementals. With the Rosicrucians they were the Sylphs and Undines. It corresponds on earth with an artificial state of consciousness, such as that produced by hypnotism and drugs (morphia, etc.).2.Mahâtala.Corresponds to the Hierarchies of Rasa or Taste Devas, and includes a state of consciousness embracing the lower five senses and emanations of life and being. It corresponds to Kâma and Prâna in man, and to Salamanders and Gnomes in nature.1.Pâtâla.Corresponds to the Hierarchies of Gandha or Smell[pg 567]Devas, the underworld or antipodes: Myalba. The sphere of irrational animals, having no feeling save that of self-preservation and gratification of the senses: also of intensely selfish human beings, waking or sleeping. This is why Nârada is said to have visited Pâtâla when he was cursed to be reborn. He reported that life there was very pleasant for those“who had never left their birth-place”; they were very happy. It is the earthly state, and corresponds with the sense of smell. Here are also animal Dugpas, Elementals of animals, and Nature Spirits.

Sounds.Q. Sound is an attribute of Âkâsha; but we cannot cognize anything on the Âkâshic plane; on what plane then do we recognize sound? On what plane is sound produced by the physical contact of bodies? Is there sound on seven planes, and is the physical plane one of them?A.The physical plane is one of them. You cannot see Âkâsha, but you can sense it from the Fourth Path. You may not be fully conscious of it, and yet you may sense it. Âkâsha is at the root of the manifestation of all sounds. Sound is the expression and manifestation of that which is behind it, and which is the parent of many correlations. All Nature is a sounding-board; or rather Âkâsha is the sounding-board of Nature. It is the Deity, the one Life, the one Existence. (Hearing is the vibration of molecular particles; the order is seen in the sentence,“The disciple feels, hears, sees.”)Sound can have no end. H. P. B. remarked with regard to a tap made by a pencil on the table:“By this time it has affected the whole universe. The particle which has had its wear and tear destroys something[pg 550]which passes into something else. It is eternal in the Nidânas it produces.”A sound, if not previously produced on the Astral Plane, and before that on the Âkâshic, could not be produced at all. Âkâsha is the bridge between nerve cells and mental powers.Q.“Colours are psychic, and sounds are spiritual.”What, assuming that these are vibrations, is the successive order (these corresponding to sight and hearing) of the other senses?A.This phrase was not to be taken out of its context, otherwise confusion would arise. All are on all planes. The First Race had touch all over like a sounding board; this touch differentiated into the other senses, which developed with the Races. The“sense”of the First Race was that of touch, meaning the power of their atoms to vibrate in unison with external atoms. The“touch”would be almost the same as sympathy.The senses were on a different plane with each Race;e.g., the Fourth Race had very much more developed senses than ourselves, but on another plane. It was also a very material Race. The sixth and seventh senses will merge into the Âkâshic Sound.“It depends to what degree of matter the sense of touch relates itself as to what we call it.”Prâna.Q. Is Prâna the production of the countless“lives”of the human body, and therefore, to some extent, of the congeries of the cells or atoms of the body?A.No; Prâna is the parent of the“lives.”As an example, a sponge may be immersed in an ocean. The water in the sponge's interior may be compared to Prâna; outside is Jîva. Prâna is the motor-principle in life. The“lives”leave Prâna; Prâna does not leave them. Take out the sponge from the water, and it becomes dry, thus symbolizing death. Every principle is a differentiation of Jîva, but the life-motion in each is Prâna, the“breath of life.”Kâma depends on Prâna, without which there would be no Kâma. Prâna wakes the Kâmic germs to life; it makes all desires vital and living.The Second Spinal Cord.Q. With reference to the answer to the question on the second cord, what is it that will become a second spinal cord in the Sixth Race? Will Idâ and Pingalâ have separate physical ducts?[pg 551]A.It is the sympathetic cords which will grow together and form another spinal cord. Idâ and Pingalâ will be joined with Sushumnâ, and they will become one. Idâ is on the left side of the cord, and Pingalâ on the right.Initiates.Pythagoras was an Initiate, one of the grandest of Scientists. His disciple, Archytas, was marvellously apt in applied Science. Plato and Euclid were Initiates, but not Socrates. No real Initiates were married. Euclid learned his Geometry in the Mysteries. Modern men of Science only rediscover the old truths.Kosmic Consciousness.H. P. B. proceeded to explain Kosmic Consciousness, which is, like all else, on seven planes, of which three are inconceivable, and four are cognizable by the highest Adept.Taking the lowest only, the Terrestrial (it was afterwards decided to call this plane Prâkritic), it is divisible, into seven planes, and these again into seven, making the forty-nine.[pg 552]She then took the lowest plane of Prâkriti, or the true Terrestrial.Its objective or sensuous plane is that which is sensed by the five physical senses.On its second plane things are reversed.Its third plane is psychic: here is the instinct which prevents a kitten going into the water and getting drowned.Then objective consciousness was given.[pg 553]The three lower Prâkritic are related to the three lower of the Astral Plane immediately succeeding.With regard to the first division of the second plane, H. P. B. reminded her pupils that all seen on it must be reversed in translating it,e.g., with numbers which appeared backwards. The Astral Objective corresponds in everything to the Terrestrial Objective.The second division corresponds to the second of the lower plane, but the objects are of extreme tenuity, an astralized Astral. This plane is the limit of the ordinary medium, beyond which he cannot go. A non-mediumistic person to reach it must be asleep or in a trance, or under the influence of laughing-gas; or in ordinary delirium people pass on to this plane.The third, the Prânic, is of an intensely vivid nature. Extreme delirium carries the patient to this plane. In delirium tremens the sufferer passes to this and to the one above it. Lunatics are often conscious on this plane, where they see terrible visions. It runs into the—Fourth division, the worst of the astral planes, Kâmic and terrible. Hence come the images that tempt; images of drunkards in Kâma Loka impelling others to drink; images of all vices inoculating men with the desire to commit crimes. The weak imitate these images in a kind of monkeyish fashion, so falling beneath their influence. This is also the cause of epidemics of vices, and cycles of disaster, of accidents of all kinds coming in groups. Extreme delirium tremens is on this plane.[pg 554]The fifth division is that of premonitions in dreams, of reflections from the lower mentality, glimpses into the past and future, the plane of things mental and not spiritual. The mesmerized clairvoyant can reach this plane, and even, if good, may go higher.The sixth is the plane from which come all beautiful inspirations of art, poetry, and music; high types of dreams, flashes of genius. Here we have glimpses of past incarnations, without being able to locate or analyze them.We are on the seventh plane at the moment of death or in exceptional visions. The drowning man is here when he remembers his past life. The memory of events of this plane must be centred in the heart,“the seat of Buddha.”There it will remain, but impressions from this plane are not made on the physical brain.[pg 555]General Notes.The two planes above dealt with are the only two used in the Hatha Yoga.Prâna and the Auric Envelope are essentially the same, and again, as Jîva, it is the same as the Universal Deity. This, in its Fifth Principle, is Mahat, in its Sixth, Alaya. (The Universal Life is also seven-principled.) Mahat is the highestEntityin Kosmos; beyond this is no diviner Entity; it is of subtlest matter, Sûkshma. In us this is Manas, and the very Logoi are less high, not having gained experience. The Mânasic Entity will not be destroyed, even at the end of the Mahâmanvantara, when all the Gods are absorbed, but will re-emerge from Parabrâhmic latency.Consciousness is the Kosmic seed of superkosmic omniscience. It has the potentiality of budding into the Divine Consciousness.Rude physical health is a drawback to seership. This was the case with Swedenborg.Fohat is everywhere: it runs like a thread through all, and has its own seven divisions.Auric Envelope or Âtmic Elements of Manifested Kosmos.Alaya. Buddhi.Mahat. Manas.Fohat. Kâma-Manas.Jîva. Kâma-Prana.Astral. Linga.Prâkriti. Body.In the Kosmic Auric Envelope is all the Karma of the manifesting Universe. This is the Hiranyagarbha. Jîva is everywhere, and so with the other Principles.[pg 556]The above diagram represents the type of all the Solar Systems.Mahat, single before informing the Universe, differentiates when informing it, as does Manas in man.Taking this figure to represent the human Principles and planes of consciousness, then[pg 557]7, 6, 5 represent respectively, Shiva, Vishnu, Brahmâ, Brahmâ being the lowest.Shiva is the four-faced Brahmâ; the Creator, Preserver, Destroyer, and Regenerator.Between 5 and 4 comes the Antahkarana. The triangle represents the Christos, the Sacrificial Victim crucified between the thieves: this is the double-faced entity. The Vedântins make this a quaternary for a blind: Antahkarana, Chit, Buddhi, and Manas.Manvantaric Aspect of Parabrahman and Mûlaprakriti.[N.B.—The number of Rays is arbitrary and without significance.]Perceptive life begins with the Astral: it is not our physical atoms which see, etc.Consciousness proper begins between Kâma and Manas. Âtmâ-Buddhi acts more in the atoms of the body, in the bacilli, microbes, etc., than in Man himself.Objective Consciousness.Sensuous objective consciousness includes all that pertains to the five physical senses in man, and rules in animals, birds, fishes and some insects. Here are the“Lives”; their consciousness is in Âtmâ-Buddhi; these are entirely without Manas.[pg 558]Astral Consciousness.That of some plants (e.g., sensitive), of ants, spiders, and some night-flies (Indian), but not of bees.The vertebrate animals in general are without this consciousness, but the placental Mammals have all the potentialities of human consciousness, though at present, of course, dormant.Idiots are on this plane. The common expression“he has lost his mind”is an Occult truth. For when through fright or other cause the lower mind becomes paralyzed, then the consciousness is on the Astral Plane. The study of lunacy will throw much light on these points. This may be called the“nerve plane.”It is cognized by our“nervous centres”of which Physiology knows nothing,e.g., the clairvoyant reading with the eyes bandaged, reading with the tips of the fingers, the pit of the stomach, etc. This sense is greatly developed in the deaf and dumb.Kâma-Prânic Consciousness.The general life-consciousness which belongs to all the objective world, even to the stones; for if stones were not living they could not decay, emit a spark, etc. Affinity between chemical elements is a manifestation of this Kâmic consciousness.Kâma-Mânasic Consciousness.The instinctual consciousness of animals and idiots in its lowest degrees, the planes of sensation: in man these are rationalized,e.g., a dog shut in a room has the instinct to get out, but cannot because its instinct is not sufficiently rationalized to take the necessary means; whereas a man at once takes in the situation and extricates himself. The highest degree of this Kâma-Mânasic consciousness is the psychic. Thus there are seven degrees from the instinctual animal to the rationalized instinctual and psychic.Mânasic Consciousness.From this plane Manas stretches upwards to Mahat.Buddhic Consciousness.The plane of Buddhi and the Auric Envelope. From here it goes to the Father in heaven, Âtmâ, and reflects all that is in the Auric Envelope. Five and six therefore cover the planes from the psychic to the divine.[pg 559]Miscellaneous.Reason is a thing that oscillates between right and wrong. But Intelligence—Intuition—is higher, it is the clear vision.To get rid of Kâma we must crush out all our material instincts—“crush out matter.”The flesh is a thing of habit; it will repeat mechanically a good impulse as well as a bad one. It is not the flesh which is always the tempter; in nine cases out of ten it is the Lower Manas, which, by its images, leads the flesh into temptation.The highest Adept begins his Samâdhi on the Fourth Solar Plane, but cannot go outside the Solar System. When he begins Samâdhi he is on a par with some of the Dhyân Chohans, but he transcends them as he rises to the seventh plane (Nirvâna).The Silent Watcher is on the Fourth Kosmic Plane.The higher Mind directs the Will: the lower turns it into selfish Desire.The head should not be covered in meditation. It is covered in Samâdhi.The Dhyân Chohans are passionless, pure and mindless. They have no struggle, no passions to crush.The Dhyân Chohans are made to pass through the School of Life.“God goes to School.”The best of us in the future will be Mânasaputras; the lowest will be Pitris. We are seven intellectual Hierarchies here. This earth becomes the moon of the next earth.The“Pitris”are the Astral overshadowed by Âtmâ-Buddhi, falling into matter. The“Pudding-bags”had Life and Âtmâ-Buddhi, but no Manas. They were therefore senseless. The reason for all evolution is the gaining of experience.In the Fifth Round all of us will play the part of Pitris. We shall have to go and shoot out our Chhâyâs into another humanity, and remain until that humanity is perfected. The Pitris have finished their office in this Round and have gone into Nirvâna; but they will return to do the same office up to the middle point of the Fifth Round. The Fourth or Kâmic Hierarchy of the Pitris becomes the“man of flesh.”The astral body is first in the womb; then comes the germ that fructifies it. It is then clothed with matter, as were the Pitris.The Chhâyâ is really the lower Manas, the shadow of the higher Mind. This Chhâyâ makes the Mâyâvi Rûpa. The Ray clothes itself[pg 560]in the highest degree of the Astral Plane. The Mâyâvi Rûpa is composed of the astral body as Upâdhi, the guiding intelligence from the heart, the attributes and qualities from the Auric Envelope.The Auric Envelope takes up the light of Âtmâ, and overshadows the coronal, circling round the head.The Auric Fluid is a combination of the Life and Will principles, the life and the will being one and the same in Kosmos. It emanates from the eyes and hands, when directed by the will of the operator.The Auric Light surrounds all bodies: it is the“aura”emanating from them, whether they be animal, vegetable, or mineral. It is the light,e.g., seen round magnets.Âtmâ-Buddhi-Manas in man corresponds to the three Logoi in Kosmos. They not only correspond, but each is the radiation from Kosmos to Microcosmos. The third Logos, Mahat, becomes Manas in man, Manas being only Mahat individualized, as the sun-rays are individualized in bodies that absorb them. The sun-rays give life, they fertilize what is already there, and the individual is formed. Mahat, so to say, fertilizes, and Manas is the result.Buddhi-Manas is the Kshetrajña.There are seven planes of Mahat, as of all else.The Human Principles.Here H. P. B. drew two diagrams, illustrating different ways of representing the human principles. In the firstthe two lower are disregarded; they go out, disintegrate, are of no account. Remain five, under the radiation of Âtmâ.[pg 561]In the second:the lower Quaternary is regarded as mere matter, objective illusion, and there remain Manas and the Auric Egg, the higher Principles being reflected in the Auric Egg. In all these systems remember the main principle, the descent and re-ascent of the Spirit, in man as in Kosmos. The Spirit is drawn downwards as by spiritual gravitation.Seeking further for the cause of this, the students were checked, H. P. B. giving only a suggestion on the three Logoi:1. Potentiality of Mind (Absolute Thought).2. Thought in Germ.3. Ideation in Activity.Notes.Protective variation,e.g., identity of colouring of insects and of that on which they feed, was explained to be the work of Nature Elementals.Form is on different planes, and the forms of one plane may be formless to dwellers on another. The Kosmocratores build on planes in the Divine Mind, visible to them though not to us. The principle of limitation—principium individuationis—is Form: this principle is Divine Law manifested in Kosmic Matter, which, in its essence, is limitless. The Auric Egg is the limit of man as Hiranyagarbha of the Kosmos.The first step towards the accomplishment of Kriyâshakti is the use of the Imagination. To imagine a thing is to firmly create a model of what you desire, perfect in all its details. The Will is then brought into action, and the form is thereby transferred to the objective world. This is creation by Kriyâshakti.[pg 562]Suns And Planets.A comet partially cools and settles down as a sun. It then gradually attracts round it planets that are as yet unattached to any centre, and thus, in millions of years, a Solar System is formed. The worn-out planet becomes a moon to the planet of another system.The sun we see is a reflection of the true Sun: this reflection, as an outward concrete thing, is a Kâma-Rûpa, all the suns forming the Kâma-Rûpa of Kosmos. To its own system the sun is Buddhi, as being the reflection and vehicle of the true Sun, which is Âtmâ, invisible on this plane. All the Fohatic forces—electricity, etc.—are in this reflection.The Moon.At the beginning of the evolution of our globe, the moon was much nearer to the earth, and larger than it is now. It has retreated from us, and shrunk much in size. (The moon gave all her Principles to the earth, while the Pitris gave only their Chhâyâs to man.)The influences of the moon are wholly psycho-physiological. It is dead, sending out injurious emanations like a corpse. It vampirizes the earth and its inhabitants, so that anyone sleeping in its rays suffers, losing some of his life-force. A white cloth is a protection, the rays not passing through it, and the head especially should be thus guarded. It has most power when it is full. It throws off particles which we absorb, and is gradually disintegrating. Where there is snow the moon looks like a corpse, being unable, through the white snow, to vampirize effectually. Hence snow-covered mountains are free from its bad influences. The moon is phosphorescent.The Râkshakas of Lanka and the Atlanteans are said to have subjected the moon. The Thessalians learned from them their Magic.Esoterically, the moon is the symbol of the Lower Manas; it is also the symbol of the Astral.Plants which under the sun's rays are beneficent are maleficent under those of the moon. Herbs containing poisons are most active when gathered under the moon's rays.A new moon will appear during the Seventh Round, and our moon will finally disintegrate and disappear. There is now a planet, the“Mystery Planet,”behind the moon, and it is gradually dying. Finally the time will come for it to send its Principles to a new Laya Centre, and there a new planet will form, to belong to another Solar System, the[pg 563]present Mystery Planet then functioning as moon to that new globe. This moon will have nothing to do with our earth, though it will come within our range of vision.The Solar System.All the visible planets placed in our Solar System by Astronomers belong to it, except Neptune. There are also some others not known to Science, belonging to it, and“all moons which are not yet visible for next things.”The planets only move in our consciousness. The Rulers of the seven Secret Planets have no influence on this earth, as this earth has on other planets. It is the sun and moon which really have not only a mental, but also a physical effect. The effect of the sun on humanity is connected with Kâma-Prâna, with the most physical Kâmic elements in us; it is the vital principle which helps growth. The effect of the moon is chiefly Kâma-Mânasic or psycho-physiological; it acts on the psychological brain, on the brain-mind.Precious Stones.In answer to a question, H. P. B. said that the diamond and the ruby were under the sun, the sapphire under the moon—“but what does it matter to you?”Time.When once out of the body, and not subject to the habit of consciousness formed by others, time does not exist.Cycles and epochs depend on consciousness: we are not here for the first time; the cycles return because we come back into conscious existence. Cycles are measured by the consciousness of humanity and not by Nature. It is because we are the same people as in past epochs that these events occur to us.Death.The Hindus look upon death as impure, owing to the disintegration of the body and the passing from one plane to another.“I believe in transformation, not in death.”Atoms.The Atom is the Soul of the molecule. It is the six Principles, and the molecule is the body thereof. The Atom is the Âtman of the objective Kosmos,i.e., it is on the seventh plane of the lowest Prakriti.[pg 564]Terms.H. P. B. began by saying that students ought to know the correct meaning of the Sanskrit terms used in Occultism, and should learn the Occult Symbology. To begin with one had better learn the correct Esoteric classification and names of the fourteen (7 × 2) and seven (Sapta) Lokas found in the exoteric texts. These are given there in a very confused manner, and are full of“blinds.”To illustrate this three classifications are given below.Lokas.1. The general exoteric, orthodox and tântric category:Bhûr-loka.Bhuvar-loka.Swar-loka.Mahar-loka. The second seven are reflected.Janar-loka.Tapar-loka.Satya-loka.2. The Sânkhya category, and that of some VedântinsBrahmâ-loka.Pitri-loka.Soma-loka.Indra-loka.Gandharva-loka.Râkshasa-lokaYaksha-loka.And an eighth.3. The Vedântic, the nearest approach to the Esoteric:Atala.Vitala.Sutala.Talâtala (or Karatala).Rasâtala.Mahâtala.Pâtâla.Each and all correspond Esoterically to the Kosmic or Dhyân Chohanic Hierarchies, and to the human States of Consciousness and their subdivisions (forty-nine). To appreciate this the meanings of the terms used in the Vedântic classification must be first understood.[pg 565]Talameansplace.Atala means no place.Vitala means some change for the better:i.e., better for matter in that more matter enters into it, or, in other words, it becomes more differentiated. This is an ancient Occult term.Sutala means good, excellent, place.Karatala means something that can be grasped or touched (from kara, a hand):i.e., the state in which matter becomes tangible.Rasâtala means place of taste; a place you can sense with one of the organs of sense.Mahâtala means exoterically“great place”; but, Esoterically, a place including all others subjectively, and potentially including all that precedes it.Pâtâla means something under the feet (from pada, foot), the upâdhi, or basis, of anything, the antipodes, America, etc.Each of the Lokas, places, worlds, states, etc., corresponds with and is transformed into five (exoterically) and seven (Esoterically) states or Tattvas, for which there are no definite names. These in the main divisions cited below make up the forty-nine Fires:5 and 7 Tanmâtras, outer and inner senses.5 and 7 Bhûtas, or elements.5 and 7 Gnyânendryas, or organs of sensation.5 and 7 Karmendryas, or organs of action.These correspond in general to States of Consciousness, to the Hierarchies of Dhyân Chohans, to the Tattvas, etc. These Tattvas transform themselves into the whole Universe. The fourteen Lokas are made of seven with seven reflections: above, below; within, without; subjective, objective; pure, impure; positive, negative; etc.Explanation of the States of Consciousness Corresponding to the Vedântic Classification of Lokas.7.Atala.The Âtmic or Auric state or locality: it emanates directly fromAbsoluteness, and is the first something in the Universe. Its correspondence is the Hierarchy of non-substantial primordial Beings, in a place which is no place (for us), a state which is no state. This[pg 566]Hierarchy contains the primordial plane, all that was, is, and will be, from the beginning to the end of the Mahâmanvantara; all is there. This statement should not, however, be taken to imply Kismet: the latter is contrary to all the teachings of Occultism.Here are the Hierarchies of the Dhyâni Buddhas. Their state is that of Parasamâdhi, of the Dharmakâya; a state where no progress is possible. The entities there may be said to be crystallized in purity, in homogeneity.6.Vitala.Here are the Hierarchies of the celestial Buddhas, or Bodhisattvas, who are said to emanate from the seven Dhyâni Buddhas. It is related on earth to Samâdhi, to the Buddhic consciousness in man. No Adept, save one, can be higher than this and live; if he passes into the Âtmic or Dharmakâya state (Alaya) he can return to earth no more. These two states are purely hyper-metaphysical.5.Sutala.A differential state corresponding on earth with the Higher Manas, and therefore with Shabda (Sound), the Logos, our Higher Ego; and also to the Manushi Buddha state, like that of Gautama, on earth. This is the third stage of Samâdhi (which is septenary). Here belong the Hierarchies of the Kumâras—the Agnishvattas, etc.4.Karatalacorresponds with Sparsha (touch) and to the Hierarchies of ethereal, semi-objective Dhyân Chohans of the astral matter of the Mânasa-Manas, or the pure ray of Manas, that is the Lower Manas before it is mixed with Kâma (as in the young child). They are called Sparsha Devas, the Devas endowed with touch. These Hierarchies of Devas are progressive: the first have one sense; the second two; and so on to seven: each containing all the senses potentially, but not yet developed. Sparsha would be rendered better by affinity, contact.3.Rasâtala, or Rûpatala: corresponds to the Hierarchies of Rûpa or Sight Devas, possessed of three senses, sight, hearing, and touch. These are the Kâma-Mânasic entities, and the higher Elementals. With the Rosicrucians they were the Sylphs and Undines. It corresponds on earth with an artificial state of consciousness, such as that produced by hypnotism and drugs (morphia, etc.).2.Mahâtala.Corresponds to the Hierarchies of Rasa or Taste Devas, and includes a state of consciousness embracing the lower five senses and emanations of life and being. It corresponds to Kâma and Prâna in man, and to Salamanders and Gnomes in nature.1.Pâtâla.Corresponds to the Hierarchies of Gandha or Smell[pg 567]Devas, the underworld or antipodes: Myalba. The sphere of irrational animals, having no feeling save that of self-preservation and gratification of the senses: also of intensely selfish human beings, waking or sleeping. This is why Nârada is said to have visited Pâtâla when he was cursed to be reborn. He reported that life there was very pleasant for those“who had never left their birth-place”; they were very happy. It is the earthly state, and corresponds with the sense of smell. Here are also animal Dugpas, Elementals of animals, and Nature Spirits.

Sounds.Q. Sound is an attribute of Âkâsha; but we cannot cognize anything on the Âkâshic plane; on what plane then do we recognize sound? On what plane is sound produced by the physical contact of bodies? Is there sound on seven planes, and is the physical plane one of them?A.The physical plane is one of them. You cannot see Âkâsha, but you can sense it from the Fourth Path. You may not be fully conscious of it, and yet you may sense it. Âkâsha is at the root of the manifestation of all sounds. Sound is the expression and manifestation of that which is behind it, and which is the parent of many correlations. All Nature is a sounding-board; or rather Âkâsha is the sounding-board of Nature. It is the Deity, the one Life, the one Existence. (Hearing is the vibration of molecular particles; the order is seen in the sentence,“The disciple feels, hears, sees.”)Sound can have no end. H. P. B. remarked with regard to a tap made by a pencil on the table:“By this time it has affected the whole universe. The particle which has had its wear and tear destroys something[pg 550]which passes into something else. It is eternal in the Nidânas it produces.”A sound, if not previously produced on the Astral Plane, and before that on the Âkâshic, could not be produced at all. Âkâsha is the bridge between nerve cells and mental powers.Q.“Colours are psychic, and sounds are spiritual.”What, assuming that these are vibrations, is the successive order (these corresponding to sight and hearing) of the other senses?A.This phrase was not to be taken out of its context, otherwise confusion would arise. All are on all planes. The First Race had touch all over like a sounding board; this touch differentiated into the other senses, which developed with the Races. The“sense”of the First Race was that of touch, meaning the power of their atoms to vibrate in unison with external atoms. The“touch”would be almost the same as sympathy.The senses were on a different plane with each Race;e.g., the Fourth Race had very much more developed senses than ourselves, but on another plane. It was also a very material Race. The sixth and seventh senses will merge into the Âkâshic Sound.“It depends to what degree of matter the sense of touch relates itself as to what we call it.”Prâna.Q. Is Prâna the production of the countless“lives”of the human body, and therefore, to some extent, of the congeries of the cells or atoms of the body?A.No; Prâna is the parent of the“lives.”As an example, a sponge may be immersed in an ocean. The water in the sponge's interior may be compared to Prâna; outside is Jîva. Prâna is the motor-principle in life. The“lives”leave Prâna; Prâna does not leave them. Take out the sponge from the water, and it becomes dry, thus symbolizing death. Every principle is a differentiation of Jîva, but the life-motion in each is Prâna, the“breath of life.”Kâma depends on Prâna, without which there would be no Kâma. Prâna wakes the Kâmic germs to life; it makes all desires vital and living.The Second Spinal Cord.Q. With reference to the answer to the question on the second cord, what is it that will become a second spinal cord in the Sixth Race? Will Idâ and Pingalâ have separate physical ducts?[pg 551]A.It is the sympathetic cords which will grow together and form another spinal cord. Idâ and Pingalâ will be joined with Sushumnâ, and they will become one. Idâ is on the left side of the cord, and Pingalâ on the right.Initiates.Pythagoras was an Initiate, one of the grandest of Scientists. His disciple, Archytas, was marvellously apt in applied Science. Plato and Euclid were Initiates, but not Socrates. No real Initiates were married. Euclid learned his Geometry in the Mysteries. Modern men of Science only rediscover the old truths.Kosmic Consciousness.H. P. B. proceeded to explain Kosmic Consciousness, which is, like all else, on seven planes, of which three are inconceivable, and four are cognizable by the highest Adept.Taking the lowest only, the Terrestrial (it was afterwards decided to call this plane Prâkritic), it is divisible, into seven planes, and these again into seven, making the forty-nine.[pg 552]She then took the lowest plane of Prâkriti, or the true Terrestrial.Its objective or sensuous plane is that which is sensed by the five physical senses.On its second plane things are reversed.Its third plane is psychic: here is the instinct which prevents a kitten going into the water and getting drowned.Then objective consciousness was given.[pg 553]The three lower Prâkritic are related to the three lower of the Astral Plane immediately succeeding.With regard to the first division of the second plane, H. P. B. reminded her pupils that all seen on it must be reversed in translating it,e.g., with numbers which appeared backwards. The Astral Objective corresponds in everything to the Terrestrial Objective.The second division corresponds to the second of the lower plane, but the objects are of extreme tenuity, an astralized Astral. This plane is the limit of the ordinary medium, beyond which he cannot go. A non-mediumistic person to reach it must be asleep or in a trance, or under the influence of laughing-gas; or in ordinary delirium people pass on to this plane.The third, the Prânic, is of an intensely vivid nature. Extreme delirium carries the patient to this plane. In delirium tremens the sufferer passes to this and to the one above it. Lunatics are often conscious on this plane, where they see terrible visions. It runs into the—Fourth division, the worst of the astral planes, Kâmic and terrible. Hence come the images that tempt; images of drunkards in Kâma Loka impelling others to drink; images of all vices inoculating men with the desire to commit crimes. The weak imitate these images in a kind of monkeyish fashion, so falling beneath their influence. This is also the cause of epidemics of vices, and cycles of disaster, of accidents of all kinds coming in groups. Extreme delirium tremens is on this plane.[pg 554]The fifth division is that of premonitions in dreams, of reflections from the lower mentality, glimpses into the past and future, the plane of things mental and not spiritual. The mesmerized clairvoyant can reach this plane, and even, if good, may go higher.The sixth is the plane from which come all beautiful inspirations of art, poetry, and music; high types of dreams, flashes of genius. Here we have glimpses of past incarnations, without being able to locate or analyze them.We are on the seventh plane at the moment of death or in exceptional visions. The drowning man is here when he remembers his past life. The memory of events of this plane must be centred in the heart,“the seat of Buddha.”There it will remain, but impressions from this plane are not made on the physical brain.[pg 555]General Notes.The two planes above dealt with are the only two used in the Hatha Yoga.Prâna and the Auric Envelope are essentially the same, and again, as Jîva, it is the same as the Universal Deity. This, in its Fifth Principle, is Mahat, in its Sixth, Alaya. (The Universal Life is also seven-principled.) Mahat is the highestEntityin Kosmos; beyond this is no diviner Entity; it is of subtlest matter, Sûkshma. In us this is Manas, and the very Logoi are less high, not having gained experience. The Mânasic Entity will not be destroyed, even at the end of the Mahâmanvantara, when all the Gods are absorbed, but will re-emerge from Parabrâhmic latency.Consciousness is the Kosmic seed of superkosmic omniscience. It has the potentiality of budding into the Divine Consciousness.Rude physical health is a drawback to seership. This was the case with Swedenborg.Fohat is everywhere: it runs like a thread through all, and has its own seven divisions.Auric Envelope or Âtmic Elements of Manifested Kosmos.Alaya. Buddhi.Mahat. Manas.Fohat. Kâma-Manas.Jîva. Kâma-Prana.Astral. Linga.Prâkriti. Body.In the Kosmic Auric Envelope is all the Karma of the manifesting Universe. This is the Hiranyagarbha. Jîva is everywhere, and so with the other Principles.[pg 556]The above diagram represents the type of all the Solar Systems.Mahat, single before informing the Universe, differentiates when informing it, as does Manas in man.Taking this figure to represent the human Principles and planes of consciousness, then[pg 557]7, 6, 5 represent respectively, Shiva, Vishnu, Brahmâ, Brahmâ being the lowest.Shiva is the four-faced Brahmâ; the Creator, Preserver, Destroyer, and Regenerator.Between 5 and 4 comes the Antahkarana. The triangle represents the Christos, the Sacrificial Victim crucified between the thieves: this is the double-faced entity. The Vedântins make this a quaternary for a blind: Antahkarana, Chit, Buddhi, and Manas.Manvantaric Aspect of Parabrahman and Mûlaprakriti.[N.B.—The number of Rays is arbitrary and without significance.]Perceptive life begins with the Astral: it is not our physical atoms which see, etc.Consciousness proper begins between Kâma and Manas. Âtmâ-Buddhi acts more in the atoms of the body, in the bacilli, microbes, etc., than in Man himself.Objective Consciousness.Sensuous objective consciousness includes all that pertains to the five physical senses in man, and rules in animals, birds, fishes and some insects. Here are the“Lives”; their consciousness is in Âtmâ-Buddhi; these are entirely without Manas.[pg 558]Astral Consciousness.That of some plants (e.g., sensitive), of ants, spiders, and some night-flies (Indian), but not of bees.The vertebrate animals in general are without this consciousness, but the placental Mammals have all the potentialities of human consciousness, though at present, of course, dormant.Idiots are on this plane. The common expression“he has lost his mind”is an Occult truth. For when through fright or other cause the lower mind becomes paralyzed, then the consciousness is on the Astral Plane. The study of lunacy will throw much light on these points. This may be called the“nerve plane.”It is cognized by our“nervous centres”of which Physiology knows nothing,e.g., the clairvoyant reading with the eyes bandaged, reading with the tips of the fingers, the pit of the stomach, etc. This sense is greatly developed in the deaf and dumb.Kâma-Prânic Consciousness.The general life-consciousness which belongs to all the objective world, even to the stones; for if stones were not living they could not decay, emit a spark, etc. Affinity between chemical elements is a manifestation of this Kâmic consciousness.Kâma-Mânasic Consciousness.The instinctual consciousness of animals and idiots in its lowest degrees, the planes of sensation: in man these are rationalized,e.g., a dog shut in a room has the instinct to get out, but cannot because its instinct is not sufficiently rationalized to take the necessary means; whereas a man at once takes in the situation and extricates himself. The highest degree of this Kâma-Mânasic consciousness is the psychic. Thus there are seven degrees from the instinctual animal to the rationalized instinctual and psychic.Mânasic Consciousness.From this plane Manas stretches upwards to Mahat.Buddhic Consciousness.The plane of Buddhi and the Auric Envelope. From here it goes to the Father in heaven, Âtmâ, and reflects all that is in the Auric Envelope. Five and six therefore cover the planes from the psychic to the divine.[pg 559]Miscellaneous.Reason is a thing that oscillates between right and wrong. But Intelligence—Intuition—is higher, it is the clear vision.To get rid of Kâma we must crush out all our material instincts—“crush out matter.”The flesh is a thing of habit; it will repeat mechanically a good impulse as well as a bad one. It is not the flesh which is always the tempter; in nine cases out of ten it is the Lower Manas, which, by its images, leads the flesh into temptation.The highest Adept begins his Samâdhi on the Fourth Solar Plane, but cannot go outside the Solar System. When he begins Samâdhi he is on a par with some of the Dhyân Chohans, but he transcends them as he rises to the seventh plane (Nirvâna).The Silent Watcher is on the Fourth Kosmic Plane.The higher Mind directs the Will: the lower turns it into selfish Desire.The head should not be covered in meditation. It is covered in Samâdhi.The Dhyân Chohans are passionless, pure and mindless. They have no struggle, no passions to crush.The Dhyân Chohans are made to pass through the School of Life.“God goes to School.”The best of us in the future will be Mânasaputras; the lowest will be Pitris. We are seven intellectual Hierarchies here. This earth becomes the moon of the next earth.The“Pitris”are the Astral overshadowed by Âtmâ-Buddhi, falling into matter. The“Pudding-bags”had Life and Âtmâ-Buddhi, but no Manas. They were therefore senseless. The reason for all evolution is the gaining of experience.In the Fifth Round all of us will play the part of Pitris. We shall have to go and shoot out our Chhâyâs into another humanity, and remain until that humanity is perfected. The Pitris have finished their office in this Round and have gone into Nirvâna; but they will return to do the same office up to the middle point of the Fifth Round. The Fourth or Kâmic Hierarchy of the Pitris becomes the“man of flesh.”The astral body is first in the womb; then comes the germ that fructifies it. It is then clothed with matter, as were the Pitris.The Chhâyâ is really the lower Manas, the shadow of the higher Mind. This Chhâyâ makes the Mâyâvi Rûpa. The Ray clothes itself[pg 560]in the highest degree of the Astral Plane. The Mâyâvi Rûpa is composed of the astral body as Upâdhi, the guiding intelligence from the heart, the attributes and qualities from the Auric Envelope.The Auric Envelope takes up the light of Âtmâ, and overshadows the coronal, circling round the head.The Auric Fluid is a combination of the Life and Will principles, the life and the will being one and the same in Kosmos. It emanates from the eyes and hands, when directed by the will of the operator.The Auric Light surrounds all bodies: it is the“aura”emanating from them, whether they be animal, vegetable, or mineral. It is the light,e.g., seen round magnets.Âtmâ-Buddhi-Manas in man corresponds to the three Logoi in Kosmos. They not only correspond, but each is the radiation from Kosmos to Microcosmos. The third Logos, Mahat, becomes Manas in man, Manas being only Mahat individualized, as the sun-rays are individualized in bodies that absorb them. The sun-rays give life, they fertilize what is already there, and the individual is formed. Mahat, so to say, fertilizes, and Manas is the result.Buddhi-Manas is the Kshetrajña.There are seven planes of Mahat, as of all else.The Human Principles.Here H. P. B. drew two diagrams, illustrating different ways of representing the human principles. In the firstthe two lower are disregarded; they go out, disintegrate, are of no account. Remain five, under the radiation of Âtmâ.[pg 561]In the second:the lower Quaternary is regarded as mere matter, objective illusion, and there remain Manas and the Auric Egg, the higher Principles being reflected in the Auric Egg. In all these systems remember the main principle, the descent and re-ascent of the Spirit, in man as in Kosmos. The Spirit is drawn downwards as by spiritual gravitation.Seeking further for the cause of this, the students were checked, H. P. B. giving only a suggestion on the three Logoi:1. Potentiality of Mind (Absolute Thought).2. Thought in Germ.3. Ideation in Activity.Notes.Protective variation,e.g., identity of colouring of insects and of that on which they feed, was explained to be the work of Nature Elementals.Form is on different planes, and the forms of one plane may be formless to dwellers on another. The Kosmocratores build on planes in the Divine Mind, visible to them though not to us. The principle of limitation—principium individuationis—is Form: this principle is Divine Law manifested in Kosmic Matter, which, in its essence, is limitless. The Auric Egg is the limit of man as Hiranyagarbha of the Kosmos.The first step towards the accomplishment of Kriyâshakti is the use of the Imagination. To imagine a thing is to firmly create a model of what you desire, perfect in all its details. The Will is then brought into action, and the form is thereby transferred to the objective world. This is creation by Kriyâshakti.[pg 562]Suns And Planets.A comet partially cools and settles down as a sun. It then gradually attracts round it planets that are as yet unattached to any centre, and thus, in millions of years, a Solar System is formed. The worn-out planet becomes a moon to the planet of another system.The sun we see is a reflection of the true Sun: this reflection, as an outward concrete thing, is a Kâma-Rûpa, all the suns forming the Kâma-Rûpa of Kosmos. To its own system the sun is Buddhi, as being the reflection and vehicle of the true Sun, which is Âtmâ, invisible on this plane. All the Fohatic forces—electricity, etc.—are in this reflection.The Moon.At the beginning of the evolution of our globe, the moon was much nearer to the earth, and larger than it is now. It has retreated from us, and shrunk much in size. (The moon gave all her Principles to the earth, while the Pitris gave only their Chhâyâs to man.)The influences of the moon are wholly psycho-physiological. It is dead, sending out injurious emanations like a corpse. It vampirizes the earth and its inhabitants, so that anyone sleeping in its rays suffers, losing some of his life-force. A white cloth is a protection, the rays not passing through it, and the head especially should be thus guarded. It has most power when it is full. It throws off particles which we absorb, and is gradually disintegrating. Where there is snow the moon looks like a corpse, being unable, through the white snow, to vampirize effectually. Hence snow-covered mountains are free from its bad influences. The moon is phosphorescent.The Râkshakas of Lanka and the Atlanteans are said to have subjected the moon. The Thessalians learned from them their Magic.Esoterically, the moon is the symbol of the Lower Manas; it is also the symbol of the Astral.Plants which under the sun's rays are beneficent are maleficent under those of the moon. Herbs containing poisons are most active when gathered under the moon's rays.A new moon will appear during the Seventh Round, and our moon will finally disintegrate and disappear. There is now a planet, the“Mystery Planet,”behind the moon, and it is gradually dying. Finally the time will come for it to send its Principles to a new Laya Centre, and there a new planet will form, to belong to another Solar System, the[pg 563]present Mystery Planet then functioning as moon to that new globe. This moon will have nothing to do with our earth, though it will come within our range of vision.The Solar System.All the visible planets placed in our Solar System by Astronomers belong to it, except Neptune. There are also some others not known to Science, belonging to it, and“all moons which are not yet visible for next things.”The planets only move in our consciousness. The Rulers of the seven Secret Planets have no influence on this earth, as this earth has on other planets. It is the sun and moon which really have not only a mental, but also a physical effect. The effect of the sun on humanity is connected with Kâma-Prâna, with the most physical Kâmic elements in us; it is the vital principle which helps growth. The effect of the moon is chiefly Kâma-Mânasic or psycho-physiological; it acts on the psychological brain, on the brain-mind.Precious Stones.In answer to a question, H. P. B. said that the diamond and the ruby were under the sun, the sapphire under the moon—“but what does it matter to you?”Time.When once out of the body, and not subject to the habit of consciousness formed by others, time does not exist.Cycles and epochs depend on consciousness: we are not here for the first time; the cycles return because we come back into conscious existence. Cycles are measured by the consciousness of humanity and not by Nature. It is because we are the same people as in past epochs that these events occur to us.Death.The Hindus look upon death as impure, owing to the disintegration of the body and the passing from one plane to another.“I believe in transformation, not in death.”Atoms.The Atom is the Soul of the molecule. It is the six Principles, and the molecule is the body thereof. The Atom is the Âtman of the objective Kosmos,i.e., it is on the seventh plane of the lowest Prakriti.[pg 564]Terms.H. P. B. began by saying that students ought to know the correct meaning of the Sanskrit terms used in Occultism, and should learn the Occult Symbology. To begin with one had better learn the correct Esoteric classification and names of the fourteen (7 × 2) and seven (Sapta) Lokas found in the exoteric texts. These are given there in a very confused manner, and are full of“blinds.”To illustrate this three classifications are given below.Lokas.1. The general exoteric, orthodox and tântric category:Bhûr-loka.Bhuvar-loka.Swar-loka.Mahar-loka. The second seven are reflected.Janar-loka.Tapar-loka.Satya-loka.2. The Sânkhya category, and that of some VedântinsBrahmâ-loka.Pitri-loka.Soma-loka.Indra-loka.Gandharva-loka.Râkshasa-lokaYaksha-loka.And an eighth.3. The Vedântic, the nearest approach to the Esoteric:Atala.Vitala.Sutala.Talâtala (or Karatala).Rasâtala.Mahâtala.Pâtâla.Each and all correspond Esoterically to the Kosmic or Dhyân Chohanic Hierarchies, and to the human States of Consciousness and their subdivisions (forty-nine). To appreciate this the meanings of the terms used in the Vedântic classification must be first understood.[pg 565]Talameansplace.Atala means no place.Vitala means some change for the better:i.e., better for matter in that more matter enters into it, or, in other words, it becomes more differentiated. This is an ancient Occult term.Sutala means good, excellent, place.Karatala means something that can be grasped or touched (from kara, a hand):i.e., the state in which matter becomes tangible.Rasâtala means place of taste; a place you can sense with one of the organs of sense.Mahâtala means exoterically“great place”; but, Esoterically, a place including all others subjectively, and potentially including all that precedes it.Pâtâla means something under the feet (from pada, foot), the upâdhi, or basis, of anything, the antipodes, America, etc.Each of the Lokas, places, worlds, states, etc., corresponds with and is transformed into five (exoterically) and seven (Esoterically) states or Tattvas, for which there are no definite names. These in the main divisions cited below make up the forty-nine Fires:5 and 7 Tanmâtras, outer and inner senses.5 and 7 Bhûtas, or elements.5 and 7 Gnyânendryas, or organs of sensation.5 and 7 Karmendryas, or organs of action.These correspond in general to States of Consciousness, to the Hierarchies of Dhyân Chohans, to the Tattvas, etc. These Tattvas transform themselves into the whole Universe. The fourteen Lokas are made of seven with seven reflections: above, below; within, without; subjective, objective; pure, impure; positive, negative; etc.Explanation of the States of Consciousness Corresponding to the Vedântic Classification of Lokas.7.Atala.The Âtmic or Auric state or locality: it emanates directly fromAbsoluteness, and is the first something in the Universe. Its correspondence is the Hierarchy of non-substantial primordial Beings, in a place which is no place (for us), a state which is no state. This[pg 566]Hierarchy contains the primordial plane, all that was, is, and will be, from the beginning to the end of the Mahâmanvantara; all is there. This statement should not, however, be taken to imply Kismet: the latter is contrary to all the teachings of Occultism.Here are the Hierarchies of the Dhyâni Buddhas. Their state is that of Parasamâdhi, of the Dharmakâya; a state where no progress is possible. The entities there may be said to be crystallized in purity, in homogeneity.6.Vitala.Here are the Hierarchies of the celestial Buddhas, or Bodhisattvas, who are said to emanate from the seven Dhyâni Buddhas. It is related on earth to Samâdhi, to the Buddhic consciousness in man. No Adept, save one, can be higher than this and live; if he passes into the Âtmic or Dharmakâya state (Alaya) he can return to earth no more. These two states are purely hyper-metaphysical.5.Sutala.A differential state corresponding on earth with the Higher Manas, and therefore with Shabda (Sound), the Logos, our Higher Ego; and also to the Manushi Buddha state, like that of Gautama, on earth. This is the third stage of Samâdhi (which is septenary). Here belong the Hierarchies of the Kumâras—the Agnishvattas, etc.4.Karatalacorresponds with Sparsha (touch) and to the Hierarchies of ethereal, semi-objective Dhyân Chohans of the astral matter of the Mânasa-Manas, or the pure ray of Manas, that is the Lower Manas before it is mixed with Kâma (as in the young child). They are called Sparsha Devas, the Devas endowed with touch. These Hierarchies of Devas are progressive: the first have one sense; the second two; and so on to seven: each containing all the senses potentially, but not yet developed. Sparsha would be rendered better by affinity, contact.3.Rasâtala, or Rûpatala: corresponds to the Hierarchies of Rûpa or Sight Devas, possessed of three senses, sight, hearing, and touch. These are the Kâma-Mânasic entities, and the higher Elementals. With the Rosicrucians they were the Sylphs and Undines. It corresponds on earth with an artificial state of consciousness, such as that produced by hypnotism and drugs (morphia, etc.).2.Mahâtala.Corresponds to the Hierarchies of Rasa or Taste Devas, and includes a state of consciousness embracing the lower five senses and emanations of life and being. It corresponds to Kâma and Prâna in man, and to Salamanders and Gnomes in nature.1.Pâtâla.Corresponds to the Hierarchies of Gandha or Smell[pg 567]Devas, the underworld or antipodes: Myalba. The sphere of irrational animals, having no feeling save that of self-preservation and gratification of the senses: also of intensely selfish human beings, waking or sleeping. This is why Nârada is said to have visited Pâtâla when he was cursed to be reborn. He reported that life there was very pleasant for those“who had never left their birth-place”; they were very happy. It is the earthly state, and corresponds with the sense of smell. Here are also animal Dugpas, Elementals of animals, and Nature Spirits.

Sounds.Q. Sound is an attribute of Âkâsha; but we cannot cognize anything on the Âkâshic plane; on what plane then do we recognize sound? On what plane is sound produced by the physical contact of bodies? Is there sound on seven planes, and is the physical plane one of them?A.The physical plane is one of them. You cannot see Âkâsha, but you can sense it from the Fourth Path. You may not be fully conscious of it, and yet you may sense it. Âkâsha is at the root of the manifestation of all sounds. Sound is the expression and manifestation of that which is behind it, and which is the parent of many correlations. All Nature is a sounding-board; or rather Âkâsha is the sounding-board of Nature. It is the Deity, the one Life, the one Existence. (Hearing is the vibration of molecular particles; the order is seen in the sentence,“The disciple feels, hears, sees.”)Sound can have no end. H. P. B. remarked with regard to a tap made by a pencil on the table:“By this time it has affected the whole universe. The particle which has had its wear and tear destroys something[pg 550]which passes into something else. It is eternal in the Nidânas it produces.”A sound, if not previously produced on the Astral Plane, and before that on the Âkâshic, could not be produced at all. Âkâsha is the bridge between nerve cells and mental powers.Q.“Colours are psychic, and sounds are spiritual.”What, assuming that these are vibrations, is the successive order (these corresponding to sight and hearing) of the other senses?A.This phrase was not to be taken out of its context, otherwise confusion would arise. All are on all planes. The First Race had touch all over like a sounding board; this touch differentiated into the other senses, which developed with the Races. The“sense”of the First Race was that of touch, meaning the power of their atoms to vibrate in unison with external atoms. The“touch”would be almost the same as sympathy.The senses were on a different plane with each Race;e.g., the Fourth Race had very much more developed senses than ourselves, but on another plane. It was also a very material Race. The sixth and seventh senses will merge into the Âkâshic Sound.“It depends to what degree of matter the sense of touch relates itself as to what we call it.”

Q. Sound is an attribute of Âkâsha; but we cannot cognize anything on the Âkâshic plane; on what plane then do we recognize sound? On what plane is sound produced by the physical contact of bodies? Is there sound on seven planes, and is the physical plane one of them?

A.The physical plane is one of them. You cannot see Âkâsha, but you can sense it from the Fourth Path. You may not be fully conscious of it, and yet you may sense it. Âkâsha is at the root of the manifestation of all sounds. Sound is the expression and manifestation of that which is behind it, and which is the parent of many correlations. All Nature is a sounding-board; or rather Âkâsha is the sounding-board of Nature. It is the Deity, the one Life, the one Existence. (Hearing is the vibration of molecular particles; the order is seen in the sentence,“The disciple feels, hears, sees.”)

Sound can have no end. H. P. B. remarked with regard to a tap made by a pencil on the table:“By this time it has affected the whole universe. The particle which has had its wear and tear destroys something[pg 550]which passes into something else. It is eternal in the Nidânas it produces.”A sound, if not previously produced on the Astral Plane, and before that on the Âkâshic, could not be produced at all. Âkâsha is the bridge between nerve cells and mental powers.

Q.“Colours are psychic, and sounds are spiritual.”What, assuming that these are vibrations, is the successive order (these corresponding to sight and hearing) of the other senses?

A.This phrase was not to be taken out of its context, otherwise confusion would arise. All are on all planes. The First Race had touch all over like a sounding board; this touch differentiated into the other senses, which developed with the Races. The“sense”of the First Race was that of touch, meaning the power of their atoms to vibrate in unison with external atoms. The“touch”would be almost the same as sympathy.

The senses were on a different plane with each Race;e.g., the Fourth Race had very much more developed senses than ourselves, but on another plane. It was also a very material Race. The sixth and seventh senses will merge into the Âkâshic Sound.“It depends to what degree of matter the sense of touch relates itself as to what we call it.”

Prâna.Q. Is Prâna the production of the countless“lives”of the human body, and therefore, to some extent, of the congeries of the cells or atoms of the body?A.No; Prâna is the parent of the“lives.”As an example, a sponge may be immersed in an ocean. The water in the sponge's interior may be compared to Prâna; outside is Jîva. Prâna is the motor-principle in life. The“lives”leave Prâna; Prâna does not leave them. Take out the sponge from the water, and it becomes dry, thus symbolizing death. Every principle is a differentiation of Jîva, but the life-motion in each is Prâna, the“breath of life.”Kâma depends on Prâna, without which there would be no Kâma. Prâna wakes the Kâmic germs to life; it makes all desires vital and living.

Q. Is Prâna the production of the countless“lives”of the human body, and therefore, to some extent, of the congeries of the cells or atoms of the body?

A.No; Prâna is the parent of the“lives.”As an example, a sponge may be immersed in an ocean. The water in the sponge's interior may be compared to Prâna; outside is Jîva. Prâna is the motor-principle in life. The“lives”leave Prâna; Prâna does not leave them. Take out the sponge from the water, and it becomes dry, thus symbolizing death. Every principle is a differentiation of Jîva, but the life-motion in each is Prâna, the“breath of life.”Kâma depends on Prâna, without which there would be no Kâma. Prâna wakes the Kâmic germs to life; it makes all desires vital and living.

The Second Spinal Cord.Q. With reference to the answer to the question on the second cord, what is it that will become a second spinal cord in the Sixth Race? Will Idâ and Pingalâ have separate physical ducts?[pg 551]A.It is the sympathetic cords which will grow together and form another spinal cord. Idâ and Pingalâ will be joined with Sushumnâ, and they will become one. Idâ is on the left side of the cord, and Pingalâ on the right.

Q. With reference to the answer to the question on the second cord, what is it that will become a second spinal cord in the Sixth Race? Will Idâ and Pingalâ have separate physical ducts?

A.It is the sympathetic cords which will grow together and form another spinal cord. Idâ and Pingalâ will be joined with Sushumnâ, and they will become one. Idâ is on the left side of the cord, and Pingalâ on the right.

Initiates.Pythagoras was an Initiate, one of the grandest of Scientists. His disciple, Archytas, was marvellously apt in applied Science. Plato and Euclid were Initiates, but not Socrates. No real Initiates were married. Euclid learned his Geometry in the Mysteries. Modern men of Science only rediscover the old truths.

Pythagoras was an Initiate, one of the grandest of Scientists. His disciple, Archytas, was marvellously apt in applied Science. Plato and Euclid were Initiates, but not Socrates. No real Initiates were married. Euclid learned his Geometry in the Mysteries. Modern men of Science only rediscover the old truths.

Kosmic Consciousness.H. P. B. proceeded to explain Kosmic Consciousness, which is, like all else, on seven planes, of which three are inconceivable, and four are cognizable by the highest Adept.Taking the lowest only, the Terrestrial (it was afterwards decided to call this plane Prâkritic), it is divisible, into seven planes, and these again into seven, making the forty-nine.[pg 552]She then took the lowest plane of Prâkriti, or the true Terrestrial.Its objective or sensuous plane is that which is sensed by the five physical senses.On its second plane things are reversed.Its third plane is psychic: here is the instinct which prevents a kitten going into the water and getting drowned.Then objective consciousness was given.[pg 553]The three lower Prâkritic are related to the three lower of the Astral Plane immediately succeeding.With regard to the first division of the second plane, H. P. B. reminded her pupils that all seen on it must be reversed in translating it,e.g., with numbers which appeared backwards. The Astral Objective corresponds in everything to the Terrestrial Objective.The second division corresponds to the second of the lower plane, but the objects are of extreme tenuity, an astralized Astral. This plane is the limit of the ordinary medium, beyond which he cannot go. A non-mediumistic person to reach it must be asleep or in a trance, or under the influence of laughing-gas; or in ordinary delirium people pass on to this plane.The third, the Prânic, is of an intensely vivid nature. Extreme delirium carries the patient to this plane. In delirium tremens the sufferer passes to this and to the one above it. Lunatics are often conscious on this plane, where they see terrible visions. It runs into the—Fourth division, the worst of the astral planes, Kâmic and terrible. Hence come the images that tempt; images of drunkards in Kâma Loka impelling others to drink; images of all vices inoculating men with the desire to commit crimes. The weak imitate these images in a kind of monkeyish fashion, so falling beneath their influence. This is also the cause of epidemics of vices, and cycles of disaster, of accidents of all kinds coming in groups. Extreme delirium tremens is on this plane.[pg 554]The fifth division is that of premonitions in dreams, of reflections from the lower mentality, glimpses into the past and future, the plane of things mental and not spiritual. The mesmerized clairvoyant can reach this plane, and even, if good, may go higher.The sixth is the plane from which come all beautiful inspirations of art, poetry, and music; high types of dreams, flashes of genius. Here we have glimpses of past incarnations, without being able to locate or analyze them.We are on the seventh plane at the moment of death or in exceptional visions. The drowning man is here when he remembers his past life. The memory of events of this plane must be centred in the heart,“the seat of Buddha.”There it will remain, but impressions from this plane are not made on the physical brain.

H. P. B. proceeded to explain Kosmic Consciousness, which is, like all else, on seven planes, of which three are inconceivable, and four are cognizable by the highest Adept.

Taking the lowest only, the Terrestrial (it was afterwards decided to call this plane Prâkritic), it is divisible, into seven planes, and these again into seven, making the forty-nine.

She then took the lowest plane of Prâkriti, or the true Terrestrial.

Its objective or sensuous plane is that which is sensed by the five physical senses.

On its second plane things are reversed.

Its third plane is psychic: here is the instinct which prevents a kitten going into the water and getting drowned.

Then objective consciousness was given.

The three lower Prâkritic are related to the three lower of the Astral Plane immediately succeeding.

With regard to the first division of the second plane, H. P. B. reminded her pupils that all seen on it must be reversed in translating it,e.g., with numbers which appeared backwards. The Astral Objective corresponds in everything to the Terrestrial Objective.

The second division corresponds to the second of the lower plane, but the objects are of extreme tenuity, an astralized Astral. This plane is the limit of the ordinary medium, beyond which he cannot go. A non-mediumistic person to reach it must be asleep or in a trance, or under the influence of laughing-gas; or in ordinary delirium people pass on to this plane.

The third, the Prânic, is of an intensely vivid nature. Extreme delirium carries the patient to this plane. In delirium tremens the sufferer passes to this and to the one above it. Lunatics are often conscious on this plane, where they see terrible visions. It runs into the—

Fourth division, the worst of the astral planes, Kâmic and terrible. Hence come the images that tempt; images of drunkards in Kâma Loka impelling others to drink; images of all vices inoculating men with the desire to commit crimes. The weak imitate these images in a kind of monkeyish fashion, so falling beneath their influence. This is also the cause of epidemics of vices, and cycles of disaster, of accidents of all kinds coming in groups. Extreme delirium tremens is on this plane.

The fifth division is that of premonitions in dreams, of reflections from the lower mentality, glimpses into the past and future, the plane of things mental and not spiritual. The mesmerized clairvoyant can reach this plane, and even, if good, may go higher.

The sixth is the plane from which come all beautiful inspirations of art, poetry, and music; high types of dreams, flashes of genius. Here we have glimpses of past incarnations, without being able to locate or analyze them.

We are on the seventh plane at the moment of death or in exceptional visions. The drowning man is here when he remembers his past life. The memory of events of this plane must be centred in the heart,“the seat of Buddha.”There it will remain, but impressions from this plane are not made on the physical brain.

General Notes.The two planes above dealt with are the only two used in the Hatha Yoga.Prâna and the Auric Envelope are essentially the same, and again, as Jîva, it is the same as the Universal Deity. This, in its Fifth Principle, is Mahat, in its Sixth, Alaya. (The Universal Life is also seven-principled.) Mahat is the highestEntityin Kosmos; beyond this is no diviner Entity; it is of subtlest matter, Sûkshma. In us this is Manas, and the very Logoi are less high, not having gained experience. The Mânasic Entity will not be destroyed, even at the end of the Mahâmanvantara, when all the Gods are absorbed, but will re-emerge from Parabrâhmic latency.Consciousness is the Kosmic seed of superkosmic omniscience. It has the potentiality of budding into the Divine Consciousness.Rude physical health is a drawback to seership. This was the case with Swedenborg.Fohat is everywhere: it runs like a thread through all, and has its own seven divisions.Auric Envelope or Âtmic Elements of Manifested Kosmos.Alaya. Buddhi.Mahat. Manas.Fohat. Kâma-Manas.Jîva. Kâma-Prana.Astral. Linga.Prâkriti. Body.In the Kosmic Auric Envelope is all the Karma of the manifesting Universe. This is the Hiranyagarbha. Jîva is everywhere, and so with the other Principles.[pg 556]The above diagram represents the type of all the Solar Systems.Mahat, single before informing the Universe, differentiates when informing it, as does Manas in man.Taking this figure to represent the human Principles and planes of consciousness, then[pg 557]7, 6, 5 represent respectively, Shiva, Vishnu, Brahmâ, Brahmâ being the lowest.Shiva is the four-faced Brahmâ; the Creator, Preserver, Destroyer, and Regenerator.Between 5 and 4 comes the Antahkarana. The triangle represents the Christos, the Sacrificial Victim crucified between the thieves: this is the double-faced entity. The Vedântins make this a quaternary for a blind: Antahkarana, Chit, Buddhi, and Manas.Manvantaric Aspect of Parabrahman and Mûlaprakriti.[N.B.—The number of Rays is arbitrary and without significance.]Perceptive life begins with the Astral: it is not our physical atoms which see, etc.Consciousness proper begins between Kâma and Manas. Âtmâ-Buddhi acts more in the atoms of the body, in the bacilli, microbes, etc., than in Man himself.

The two planes above dealt with are the only two used in the Hatha Yoga.

Prâna and the Auric Envelope are essentially the same, and again, as Jîva, it is the same as the Universal Deity. This, in its Fifth Principle, is Mahat, in its Sixth, Alaya. (The Universal Life is also seven-principled.) Mahat is the highestEntityin Kosmos; beyond this is no diviner Entity; it is of subtlest matter, Sûkshma. In us this is Manas, and the very Logoi are less high, not having gained experience. The Mânasic Entity will not be destroyed, even at the end of the Mahâmanvantara, when all the Gods are absorbed, but will re-emerge from Parabrâhmic latency.

Consciousness is the Kosmic seed of superkosmic omniscience. It has the potentiality of budding into the Divine Consciousness.

Rude physical health is a drawback to seership. This was the case with Swedenborg.

Fohat is everywhere: it runs like a thread through all, and has its own seven divisions.

Auric Envelope or Âtmic Elements of Manifested Kosmos.Alaya. Buddhi.Mahat. Manas.Fohat. Kâma-Manas.Jîva. Kâma-Prana.Astral. Linga.Prâkriti. Body.

Auric Envelope or Âtmic Elements of Manifested Kosmos.

Alaya. Buddhi.

Mahat. Manas.

Fohat. Kâma-Manas.

Jîva. Kâma-Prana.

Astral. Linga.

Prâkriti. Body.

In the Kosmic Auric Envelope is all the Karma of the manifesting Universe. This is the Hiranyagarbha. Jîva is everywhere, and so with the other Principles.

The above diagram represents the type of all the Solar Systems.

Mahat, single before informing the Universe, differentiates when informing it, as does Manas in man.

Taking this figure to represent the human Principles and planes of consciousness, then[pg 557]7, 6, 5 represent respectively, Shiva, Vishnu, Brahmâ, Brahmâ being the lowest.

Shiva is the four-faced Brahmâ; the Creator, Preserver, Destroyer, and Regenerator.

Between 5 and 4 comes the Antahkarana. The triangle represents the Christos, the Sacrificial Victim crucified between the thieves: this is the double-faced entity. The Vedântins make this a quaternary for a blind: Antahkarana, Chit, Buddhi, and Manas.

Manvantaric Aspect of Parabrahman and Mûlaprakriti.

[N.B.—The number of Rays is arbitrary and without significance.]

Perceptive life begins with the Astral: it is not our physical atoms which see, etc.

Consciousness proper begins between Kâma and Manas. Âtmâ-Buddhi acts more in the atoms of the body, in the bacilli, microbes, etc., than in Man himself.

Objective Consciousness.Sensuous objective consciousness includes all that pertains to the five physical senses in man, and rules in animals, birds, fishes and some insects. Here are the“Lives”; their consciousness is in Âtmâ-Buddhi; these are entirely without Manas.

Sensuous objective consciousness includes all that pertains to the five physical senses in man, and rules in animals, birds, fishes and some insects. Here are the“Lives”; their consciousness is in Âtmâ-Buddhi; these are entirely without Manas.

Astral Consciousness.That of some plants (e.g., sensitive), of ants, spiders, and some night-flies (Indian), but not of bees.The vertebrate animals in general are without this consciousness, but the placental Mammals have all the potentialities of human consciousness, though at present, of course, dormant.Idiots are on this plane. The common expression“he has lost his mind”is an Occult truth. For when through fright or other cause the lower mind becomes paralyzed, then the consciousness is on the Astral Plane. The study of lunacy will throw much light on these points. This may be called the“nerve plane.”It is cognized by our“nervous centres”of which Physiology knows nothing,e.g., the clairvoyant reading with the eyes bandaged, reading with the tips of the fingers, the pit of the stomach, etc. This sense is greatly developed in the deaf and dumb.

That of some plants (e.g., sensitive), of ants, spiders, and some night-flies (Indian), but not of bees.

The vertebrate animals in general are without this consciousness, but the placental Mammals have all the potentialities of human consciousness, though at present, of course, dormant.

Idiots are on this plane. The common expression“he has lost his mind”is an Occult truth. For when through fright or other cause the lower mind becomes paralyzed, then the consciousness is on the Astral Plane. The study of lunacy will throw much light on these points. This may be called the“nerve plane.”It is cognized by our“nervous centres”of which Physiology knows nothing,e.g., the clairvoyant reading with the eyes bandaged, reading with the tips of the fingers, the pit of the stomach, etc. This sense is greatly developed in the deaf and dumb.

Kâma-Prânic Consciousness.The general life-consciousness which belongs to all the objective world, even to the stones; for if stones were not living they could not decay, emit a spark, etc. Affinity between chemical elements is a manifestation of this Kâmic consciousness.

The general life-consciousness which belongs to all the objective world, even to the stones; for if stones were not living they could not decay, emit a spark, etc. Affinity between chemical elements is a manifestation of this Kâmic consciousness.

Kâma-Mânasic Consciousness.The instinctual consciousness of animals and idiots in its lowest degrees, the planes of sensation: in man these are rationalized,e.g., a dog shut in a room has the instinct to get out, but cannot because its instinct is not sufficiently rationalized to take the necessary means; whereas a man at once takes in the situation and extricates himself. The highest degree of this Kâma-Mânasic consciousness is the psychic. Thus there are seven degrees from the instinctual animal to the rationalized instinctual and psychic.

The instinctual consciousness of animals and idiots in its lowest degrees, the planes of sensation: in man these are rationalized,e.g., a dog shut in a room has the instinct to get out, but cannot because its instinct is not sufficiently rationalized to take the necessary means; whereas a man at once takes in the situation and extricates himself. The highest degree of this Kâma-Mânasic consciousness is the psychic. Thus there are seven degrees from the instinctual animal to the rationalized instinctual and psychic.

Mânasic Consciousness.From this plane Manas stretches upwards to Mahat.

From this plane Manas stretches upwards to Mahat.

Buddhic Consciousness.The plane of Buddhi and the Auric Envelope. From here it goes to the Father in heaven, Âtmâ, and reflects all that is in the Auric Envelope. Five and six therefore cover the planes from the psychic to the divine.

The plane of Buddhi and the Auric Envelope. From here it goes to the Father in heaven, Âtmâ, and reflects all that is in the Auric Envelope. Five and six therefore cover the planes from the psychic to the divine.

Miscellaneous.Reason is a thing that oscillates between right and wrong. But Intelligence—Intuition—is higher, it is the clear vision.To get rid of Kâma we must crush out all our material instincts—“crush out matter.”The flesh is a thing of habit; it will repeat mechanically a good impulse as well as a bad one. It is not the flesh which is always the tempter; in nine cases out of ten it is the Lower Manas, which, by its images, leads the flesh into temptation.The highest Adept begins his Samâdhi on the Fourth Solar Plane, but cannot go outside the Solar System. When he begins Samâdhi he is on a par with some of the Dhyân Chohans, but he transcends them as he rises to the seventh plane (Nirvâna).The Silent Watcher is on the Fourth Kosmic Plane.The higher Mind directs the Will: the lower turns it into selfish Desire.The head should not be covered in meditation. It is covered in Samâdhi.The Dhyân Chohans are passionless, pure and mindless. They have no struggle, no passions to crush.The Dhyân Chohans are made to pass through the School of Life.“God goes to School.”The best of us in the future will be Mânasaputras; the lowest will be Pitris. We are seven intellectual Hierarchies here. This earth becomes the moon of the next earth.The“Pitris”are the Astral overshadowed by Âtmâ-Buddhi, falling into matter. The“Pudding-bags”had Life and Âtmâ-Buddhi, but no Manas. They were therefore senseless. The reason for all evolution is the gaining of experience.In the Fifth Round all of us will play the part of Pitris. We shall have to go and shoot out our Chhâyâs into another humanity, and remain until that humanity is perfected. The Pitris have finished their office in this Round and have gone into Nirvâna; but they will return to do the same office up to the middle point of the Fifth Round. The Fourth or Kâmic Hierarchy of the Pitris becomes the“man of flesh.”The astral body is first in the womb; then comes the germ that fructifies it. It is then clothed with matter, as were the Pitris.The Chhâyâ is really the lower Manas, the shadow of the higher Mind. This Chhâyâ makes the Mâyâvi Rûpa. The Ray clothes itself[pg 560]in the highest degree of the Astral Plane. The Mâyâvi Rûpa is composed of the astral body as Upâdhi, the guiding intelligence from the heart, the attributes and qualities from the Auric Envelope.The Auric Envelope takes up the light of Âtmâ, and overshadows the coronal, circling round the head.The Auric Fluid is a combination of the Life and Will principles, the life and the will being one and the same in Kosmos. It emanates from the eyes and hands, when directed by the will of the operator.The Auric Light surrounds all bodies: it is the“aura”emanating from them, whether they be animal, vegetable, or mineral. It is the light,e.g., seen round magnets.Âtmâ-Buddhi-Manas in man corresponds to the three Logoi in Kosmos. They not only correspond, but each is the radiation from Kosmos to Microcosmos. The third Logos, Mahat, becomes Manas in man, Manas being only Mahat individualized, as the sun-rays are individualized in bodies that absorb them. The sun-rays give life, they fertilize what is already there, and the individual is formed. Mahat, so to say, fertilizes, and Manas is the result.Buddhi-Manas is the Kshetrajña.There are seven planes of Mahat, as of all else.

Reason is a thing that oscillates between right and wrong. But Intelligence—Intuition—is higher, it is the clear vision.

To get rid of Kâma we must crush out all our material instincts—“crush out matter.”The flesh is a thing of habit; it will repeat mechanically a good impulse as well as a bad one. It is not the flesh which is always the tempter; in nine cases out of ten it is the Lower Manas, which, by its images, leads the flesh into temptation.

The highest Adept begins his Samâdhi on the Fourth Solar Plane, but cannot go outside the Solar System. When he begins Samâdhi he is on a par with some of the Dhyân Chohans, but he transcends them as he rises to the seventh plane (Nirvâna).

The Silent Watcher is on the Fourth Kosmic Plane.

The higher Mind directs the Will: the lower turns it into selfish Desire.

The head should not be covered in meditation. It is covered in Samâdhi.

The Dhyân Chohans are passionless, pure and mindless. They have no struggle, no passions to crush.

The Dhyân Chohans are made to pass through the School of Life.“God goes to School.”

The best of us in the future will be Mânasaputras; the lowest will be Pitris. We are seven intellectual Hierarchies here. This earth becomes the moon of the next earth.

The“Pitris”are the Astral overshadowed by Âtmâ-Buddhi, falling into matter. The“Pudding-bags”had Life and Âtmâ-Buddhi, but no Manas. They were therefore senseless. The reason for all evolution is the gaining of experience.

In the Fifth Round all of us will play the part of Pitris. We shall have to go and shoot out our Chhâyâs into another humanity, and remain until that humanity is perfected. The Pitris have finished their office in this Round and have gone into Nirvâna; but they will return to do the same office up to the middle point of the Fifth Round. The Fourth or Kâmic Hierarchy of the Pitris becomes the“man of flesh.”

The astral body is first in the womb; then comes the germ that fructifies it. It is then clothed with matter, as were the Pitris.

The Chhâyâ is really the lower Manas, the shadow of the higher Mind. This Chhâyâ makes the Mâyâvi Rûpa. The Ray clothes itself[pg 560]in the highest degree of the Astral Plane. The Mâyâvi Rûpa is composed of the astral body as Upâdhi, the guiding intelligence from the heart, the attributes and qualities from the Auric Envelope.

The Auric Envelope takes up the light of Âtmâ, and overshadows the coronal, circling round the head.

The Auric Fluid is a combination of the Life and Will principles, the life and the will being one and the same in Kosmos. It emanates from the eyes and hands, when directed by the will of the operator.

The Auric Light surrounds all bodies: it is the“aura”emanating from them, whether they be animal, vegetable, or mineral. It is the light,e.g., seen round magnets.

Âtmâ-Buddhi-Manas in man corresponds to the three Logoi in Kosmos. They not only correspond, but each is the radiation from Kosmos to Microcosmos. The third Logos, Mahat, becomes Manas in man, Manas being only Mahat individualized, as the sun-rays are individualized in bodies that absorb them. The sun-rays give life, they fertilize what is already there, and the individual is formed. Mahat, so to say, fertilizes, and Manas is the result.

Buddhi-Manas is the Kshetrajña.

There are seven planes of Mahat, as of all else.

The Human Principles.Here H. P. B. drew two diagrams, illustrating different ways of representing the human principles. In the firstthe two lower are disregarded; they go out, disintegrate, are of no account. Remain five, under the radiation of Âtmâ.[pg 561]In the second:the lower Quaternary is regarded as mere matter, objective illusion, and there remain Manas and the Auric Egg, the higher Principles being reflected in the Auric Egg. In all these systems remember the main principle, the descent and re-ascent of the Spirit, in man as in Kosmos. The Spirit is drawn downwards as by spiritual gravitation.Seeking further for the cause of this, the students were checked, H. P. B. giving only a suggestion on the three Logoi:1. Potentiality of Mind (Absolute Thought).2. Thought in Germ.3. Ideation in Activity.

Here H. P. B. drew two diagrams, illustrating different ways of representing the human principles. In the first

the two lower are disregarded; they go out, disintegrate, are of no account. Remain five, under the radiation of Âtmâ.

In the second:

the lower Quaternary is regarded as mere matter, objective illusion, and there remain Manas and the Auric Egg, the higher Principles being reflected in the Auric Egg. In all these systems remember the main principle, the descent and re-ascent of the Spirit, in man as in Kosmos. The Spirit is drawn downwards as by spiritual gravitation.

Seeking further for the cause of this, the students were checked, H. P. B. giving only a suggestion on the three Logoi:

1. Potentiality of Mind (Absolute Thought).

2. Thought in Germ.

3. Ideation in Activity.

Notes.Protective variation,e.g., identity of colouring of insects and of that on which they feed, was explained to be the work of Nature Elementals.Form is on different planes, and the forms of one plane may be formless to dwellers on another. The Kosmocratores build on planes in the Divine Mind, visible to them though not to us. The principle of limitation—principium individuationis—is Form: this principle is Divine Law manifested in Kosmic Matter, which, in its essence, is limitless. The Auric Egg is the limit of man as Hiranyagarbha of the Kosmos.The first step towards the accomplishment of Kriyâshakti is the use of the Imagination. To imagine a thing is to firmly create a model of what you desire, perfect in all its details. The Will is then brought into action, and the form is thereby transferred to the objective world. This is creation by Kriyâshakti.

Protective variation,e.g., identity of colouring of insects and of that on which they feed, was explained to be the work of Nature Elementals.

Form is on different planes, and the forms of one plane may be formless to dwellers on another. The Kosmocratores build on planes in the Divine Mind, visible to them though not to us. The principle of limitation—principium individuationis—is Form: this principle is Divine Law manifested in Kosmic Matter, which, in its essence, is limitless. The Auric Egg is the limit of man as Hiranyagarbha of the Kosmos.

The first step towards the accomplishment of Kriyâshakti is the use of the Imagination. To imagine a thing is to firmly create a model of what you desire, perfect in all its details. The Will is then brought into action, and the form is thereby transferred to the objective world. This is creation by Kriyâshakti.

Suns And Planets.A comet partially cools and settles down as a sun. It then gradually attracts round it planets that are as yet unattached to any centre, and thus, in millions of years, a Solar System is formed. The worn-out planet becomes a moon to the planet of another system.The sun we see is a reflection of the true Sun: this reflection, as an outward concrete thing, is a Kâma-Rûpa, all the suns forming the Kâma-Rûpa of Kosmos. To its own system the sun is Buddhi, as being the reflection and vehicle of the true Sun, which is Âtmâ, invisible on this plane. All the Fohatic forces—electricity, etc.—are in this reflection.

A comet partially cools and settles down as a sun. It then gradually attracts round it planets that are as yet unattached to any centre, and thus, in millions of years, a Solar System is formed. The worn-out planet becomes a moon to the planet of another system.

The sun we see is a reflection of the true Sun: this reflection, as an outward concrete thing, is a Kâma-Rûpa, all the suns forming the Kâma-Rûpa of Kosmos. To its own system the sun is Buddhi, as being the reflection and vehicle of the true Sun, which is Âtmâ, invisible on this plane. All the Fohatic forces—electricity, etc.—are in this reflection.

The Moon.At the beginning of the evolution of our globe, the moon was much nearer to the earth, and larger than it is now. It has retreated from us, and shrunk much in size. (The moon gave all her Principles to the earth, while the Pitris gave only their Chhâyâs to man.)The influences of the moon are wholly psycho-physiological. It is dead, sending out injurious emanations like a corpse. It vampirizes the earth and its inhabitants, so that anyone sleeping in its rays suffers, losing some of his life-force. A white cloth is a protection, the rays not passing through it, and the head especially should be thus guarded. It has most power when it is full. It throws off particles which we absorb, and is gradually disintegrating. Where there is snow the moon looks like a corpse, being unable, through the white snow, to vampirize effectually. Hence snow-covered mountains are free from its bad influences. The moon is phosphorescent.The Râkshakas of Lanka and the Atlanteans are said to have subjected the moon. The Thessalians learned from them their Magic.Esoterically, the moon is the symbol of the Lower Manas; it is also the symbol of the Astral.Plants which under the sun's rays are beneficent are maleficent under those of the moon. Herbs containing poisons are most active when gathered under the moon's rays.A new moon will appear during the Seventh Round, and our moon will finally disintegrate and disappear. There is now a planet, the“Mystery Planet,”behind the moon, and it is gradually dying. Finally the time will come for it to send its Principles to a new Laya Centre, and there a new planet will form, to belong to another Solar System, the[pg 563]present Mystery Planet then functioning as moon to that new globe. This moon will have nothing to do with our earth, though it will come within our range of vision.

At the beginning of the evolution of our globe, the moon was much nearer to the earth, and larger than it is now. It has retreated from us, and shrunk much in size. (The moon gave all her Principles to the earth, while the Pitris gave only their Chhâyâs to man.)

The influences of the moon are wholly psycho-physiological. It is dead, sending out injurious emanations like a corpse. It vampirizes the earth and its inhabitants, so that anyone sleeping in its rays suffers, losing some of his life-force. A white cloth is a protection, the rays not passing through it, and the head especially should be thus guarded. It has most power when it is full. It throws off particles which we absorb, and is gradually disintegrating. Where there is snow the moon looks like a corpse, being unable, through the white snow, to vampirize effectually. Hence snow-covered mountains are free from its bad influences. The moon is phosphorescent.

The Râkshakas of Lanka and the Atlanteans are said to have subjected the moon. The Thessalians learned from them their Magic.

Esoterically, the moon is the symbol of the Lower Manas; it is also the symbol of the Astral.

Plants which under the sun's rays are beneficent are maleficent under those of the moon. Herbs containing poisons are most active when gathered under the moon's rays.

A new moon will appear during the Seventh Round, and our moon will finally disintegrate and disappear. There is now a planet, the“Mystery Planet,”behind the moon, and it is gradually dying. Finally the time will come for it to send its Principles to a new Laya Centre, and there a new planet will form, to belong to another Solar System, the[pg 563]present Mystery Planet then functioning as moon to that new globe. This moon will have nothing to do with our earth, though it will come within our range of vision.

The Solar System.All the visible planets placed in our Solar System by Astronomers belong to it, except Neptune. There are also some others not known to Science, belonging to it, and“all moons which are not yet visible for next things.”The planets only move in our consciousness. The Rulers of the seven Secret Planets have no influence on this earth, as this earth has on other planets. It is the sun and moon which really have not only a mental, but also a physical effect. The effect of the sun on humanity is connected with Kâma-Prâna, with the most physical Kâmic elements in us; it is the vital principle which helps growth. The effect of the moon is chiefly Kâma-Mânasic or psycho-physiological; it acts on the psychological brain, on the brain-mind.

All the visible planets placed in our Solar System by Astronomers belong to it, except Neptune. There are also some others not known to Science, belonging to it, and“all moons which are not yet visible for next things.”

The planets only move in our consciousness. The Rulers of the seven Secret Planets have no influence on this earth, as this earth has on other planets. It is the sun and moon which really have not only a mental, but also a physical effect. The effect of the sun on humanity is connected with Kâma-Prâna, with the most physical Kâmic elements in us; it is the vital principle which helps growth. The effect of the moon is chiefly Kâma-Mânasic or psycho-physiological; it acts on the psychological brain, on the brain-mind.

Precious Stones.In answer to a question, H. P. B. said that the diamond and the ruby were under the sun, the sapphire under the moon—“but what does it matter to you?”

In answer to a question, H. P. B. said that the diamond and the ruby were under the sun, the sapphire under the moon—“but what does it matter to you?”

Time.When once out of the body, and not subject to the habit of consciousness formed by others, time does not exist.Cycles and epochs depend on consciousness: we are not here for the first time; the cycles return because we come back into conscious existence. Cycles are measured by the consciousness of humanity and not by Nature. It is because we are the same people as in past epochs that these events occur to us.

When once out of the body, and not subject to the habit of consciousness formed by others, time does not exist.

Cycles and epochs depend on consciousness: we are not here for the first time; the cycles return because we come back into conscious existence. Cycles are measured by the consciousness of humanity and not by Nature. It is because we are the same people as in past epochs that these events occur to us.

Death.The Hindus look upon death as impure, owing to the disintegration of the body and the passing from one plane to another.“I believe in transformation, not in death.”

The Hindus look upon death as impure, owing to the disintegration of the body and the passing from one plane to another.“I believe in transformation, not in death.”

Atoms.The Atom is the Soul of the molecule. It is the six Principles, and the molecule is the body thereof. The Atom is the Âtman of the objective Kosmos,i.e., it is on the seventh plane of the lowest Prakriti.

The Atom is the Soul of the molecule. It is the six Principles, and the molecule is the body thereof. The Atom is the Âtman of the objective Kosmos,i.e., it is on the seventh plane of the lowest Prakriti.

Terms.H. P. B. began by saying that students ought to know the correct meaning of the Sanskrit terms used in Occultism, and should learn the Occult Symbology. To begin with one had better learn the correct Esoteric classification and names of the fourteen (7 × 2) and seven (Sapta) Lokas found in the exoteric texts. These are given there in a very confused manner, and are full of“blinds.”To illustrate this three classifications are given below.

H. P. B. began by saying that students ought to know the correct meaning of the Sanskrit terms used in Occultism, and should learn the Occult Symbology. To begin with one had better learn the correct Esoteric classification and names of the fourteen (7 × 2) and seven (Sapta) Lokas found in the exoteric texts. These are given there in a very confused manner, and are full of“blinds.”To illustrate this three classifications are given below.

Lokas.1. The general exoteric, orthodox and tântric category:Bhûr-loka.Bhuvar-loka.Swar-loka.Mahar-loka. The second seven are reflected.Janar-loka.Tapar-loka.Satya-loka.2. The Sânkhya category, and that of some VedântinsBrahmâ-loka.Pitri-loka.Soma-loka.Indra-loka.Gandharva-loka.Râkshasa-lokaYaksha-loka.And an eighth.3. The Vedântic, the nearest approach to the Esoteric:Atala.Vitala.Sutala.Talâtala (or Karatala).Rasâtala.Mahâtala.Pâtâla.Each and all correspond Esoterically to the Kosmic or Dhyân Chohanic Hierarchies, and to the human States of Consciousness and their subdivisions (forty-nine). To appreciate this the meanings of the terms used in the Vedântic classification must be first understood.[pg 565]Talameansplace.Atala means no place.Vitala means some change for the better:i.e., better for matter in that more matter enters into it, or, in other words, it becomes more differentiated. This is an ancient Occult term.Sutala means good, excellent, place.Karatala means something that can be grasped or touched (from kara, a hand):i.e., the state in which matter becomes tangible.Rasâtala means place of taste; a place you can sense with one of the organs of sense.Mahâtala means exoterically“great place”; but, Esoterically, a place including all others subjectively, and potentially including all that precedes it.Pâtâla means something under the feet (from pada, foot), the upâdhi, or basis, of anything, the antipodes, America, etc.Each of the Lokas, places, worlds, states, etc., corresponds with and is transformed into five (exoterically) and seven (Esoterically) states or Tattvas, for which there are no definite names. These in the main divisions cited below make up the forty-nine Fires:5 and 7 Tanmâtras, outer and inner senses.5 and 7 Bhûtas, or elements.5 and 7 Gnyânendryas, or organs of sensation.5 and 7 Karmendryas, or organs of action.These correspond in general to States of Consciousness, to the Hierarchies of Dhyân Chohans, to the Tattvas, etc. These Tattvas transform themselves into the whole Universe. The fourteen Lokas are made of seven with seven reflections: above, below; within, without; subjective, objective; pure, impure; positive, negative; etc.

1. The general exoteric, orthodox and tântric category:Bhûr-loka.Bhuvar-loka.Swar-loka.Mahar-loka. The second seven are reflected.Janar-loka.Tapar-loka.Satya-loka.

1. The general exoteric, orthodox and tântric category:

Bhûr-loka.

Bhuvar-loka.

Swar-loka.

Mahar-loka. The second seven are reflected.

Janar-loka.

Tapar-loka.

Satya-loka.

2. The Sânkhya category, and that of some VedântinsBrahmâ-loka.Pitri-loka.Soma-loka.Indra-loka.Gandharva-loka.Râkshasa-lokaYaksha-loka.

2. The Sânkhya category, and that of some Vedântins

Brahmâ-loka.

Pitri-loka.

Soma-loka.

Indra-loka.

Gandharva-loka.

Râkshasa-loka

Yaksha-loka.

And an eighth.

3. The Vedântic, the nearest approach to the Esoteric:Atala.Vitala.Sutala.Talâtala (or Karatala).Rasâtala.Mahâtala.Pâtâla.

3. The Vedântic, the nearest approach to the Esoteric:

Atala.

Vitala.

Sutala.

Talâtala (or Karatala).

Rasâtala.

Mahâtala.

Pâtâla.

Each and all correspond Esoterically to the Kosmic or Dhyân Chohanic Hierarchies, and to the human States of Consciousness and their subdivisions (forty-nine). To appreciate this the meanings of the terms used in the Vedântic classification must be first understood.

Talameansplace.

Atala means no place.

Vitala means some change for the better:i.e., better for matter in that more matter enters into it, or, in other words, it becomes more differentiated. This is an ancient Occult term.

Sutala means good, excellent, place.

Karatala means something that can be grasped or touched (from kara, a hand):i.e., the state in which matter becomes tangible.

Rasâtala means place of taste; a place you can sense with one of the organs of sense.

Mahâtala means exoterically“great place”; but, Esoterically, a place including all others subjectively, and potentially including all that precedes it.

Pâtâla means something under the feet (from pada, foot), the upâdhi, or basis, of anything, the antipodes, America, etc.

Each of the Lokas, places, worlds, states, etc., corresponds with and is transformed into five (exoterically) and seven (Esoterically) states or Tattvas, for which there are no definite names. These in the main divisions cited below make up the forty-nine Fires:

5 and 7 Tanmâtras, outer and inner senses.5 and 7 Bhûtas, or elements.5 and 7 Gnyânendryas, or organs of sensation.5 and 7 Karmendryas, or organs of action.

5 and 7 Tanmâtras, outer and inner senses.5 and 7 Bhûtas, or elements.5 and 7 Gnyânendryas, or organs of sensation.5 and 7 Karmendryas, or organs of action.

5 and 7 Tanmâtras, outer and inner senses.

5 and 7 Bhûtas, or elements.

5 and 7 Gnyânendryas, or organs of sensation.

5 and 7 Karmendryas, or organs of action.

These correspond in general to States of Consciousness, to the Hierarchies of Dhyân Chohans, to the Tattvas, etc. These Tattvas transform themselves into the whole Universe. The fourteen Lokas are made of seven with seven reflections: above, below; within, without; subjective, objective; pure, impure; positive, negative; etc.

Explanation of the States of Consciousness Corresponding to the Vedântic Classification of Lokas.7.Atala.The Âtmic or Auric state or locality: it emanates directly fromAbsoluteness, and is the first something in the Universe. Its correspondence is the Hierarchy of non-substantial primordial Beings, in a place which is no place (for us), a state which is no state. This[pg 566]Hierarchy contains the primordial plane, all that was, is, and will be, from the beginning to the end of the Mahâmanvantara; all is there. This statement should not, however, be taken to imply Kismet: the latter is contrary to all the teachings of Occultism.Here are the Hierarchies of the Dhyâni Buddhas. Their state is that of Parasamâdhi, of the Dharmakâya; a state where no progress is possible. The entities there may be said to be crystallized in purity, in homogeneity.6.Vitala.Here are the Hierarchies of the celestial Buddhas, or Bodhisattvas, who are said to emanate from the seven Dhyâni Buddhas. It is related on earth to Samâdhi, to the Buddhic consciousness in man. No Adept, save one, can be higher than this and live; if he passes into the Âtmic or Dharmakâya state (Alaya) he can return to earth no more. These two states are purely hyper-metaphysical.5.Sutala.A differential state corresponding on earth with the Higher Manas, and therefore with Shabda (Sound), the Logos, our Higher Ego; and also to the Manushi Buddha state, like that of Gautama, on earth. This is the third stage of Samâdhi (which is septenary). Here belong the Hierarchies of the Kumâras—the Agnishvattas, etc.4.Karatalacorresponds with Sparsha (touch) and to the Hierarchies of ethereal, semi-objective Dhyân Chohans of the astral matter of the Mânasa-Manas, or the pure ray of Manas, that is the Lower Manas before it is mixed with Kâma (as in the young child). They are called Sparsha Devas, the Devas endowed with touch. These Hierarchies of Devas are progressive: the first have one sense; the second two; and so on to seven: each containing all the senses potentially, but not yet developed. Sparsha would be rendered better by affinity, contact.3.Rasâtala, or Rûpatala: corresponds to the Hierarchies of Rûpa or Sight Devas, possessed of three senses, sight, hearing, and touch. These are the Kâma-Mânasic entities, and the higher Elementals. With the Rosicrucians they were the Sylphs and Undines. It corresponds on earth with an artificial state of consciousness, such as that produced by hypnotism and drugs (morphia, etc.).2.Mahâtala.Corresponds to the Hierarchies of Rasa or Taste Devas, and includes a state of consciousness embracing the lower five senses and emanations of life and being. It corresponds to Kâma and Prâna in man, and to Salamanders and Gnomes in nature.1.Pâtâla.Corresponds to the Hierarchies of Gandha or Smell[pg 567]Devas, the underworld or antipodes: Myalba. The sphere of irrational animals, having no feeling save that of self-preservation and gratification of the senses: also of intensely selfish human beings, waking or sleeping. This is why Nârada is said to have visited Pâtâla when he was cursed to be reborn. He reported that life there was very pleasant for those“who had never left their birth-place”; they were very happy. It is the earthly state, and corresponds with the sense of smell. Here are also animal Dugpas, Elementals of animals, and Nature Spirits.

7.Atala.The Âtmic or Auric state or locality: it emanates directly fromAbsoluteness, and is the first something in the Universe. Its correspondence is the Hierarchy of non-substantial primordial Beings, in a place which is no place (for us), a state which is no state. This[pg 566]Hierarchy contains the primordial plane, all that was, is, and will be, from the beginning to the end of the Mahâmanvantara; all is there. This statement should not, however, be taken to imply Kismet: the latter is contrary to all the teachings of Occultism.

Here are the Hierarchies of the Dhyâni Buddhas. Their state is that of Parasamâdhi, of the Dharmakâya; a state where no progress is possible. The entities there may be said to be crystallized in purity, in homogeneity.

6.Vitala.Here are the Hierarchies of the celestial Buddhas, or Bodhisattvas, who are said to emanate from the seven Dhyâni Buddhas. It is related on earth to Samâdhi, to the Buddhic consciousness in man. No Adept, save one, can be higher than this and live; if he passes into the Âtmic or Dharmakâya state (Alaya) he can return to earth no more. These two states are purely hyper-metaphysical.

5.Sutala.A differential state corresponding on earth with the Higher Manas, and therefore with Shabda (Sound), the Logos, our Higher Ego; and also to the Manushi Buddha state, like that of Gautama, on earth. This is the third stage of Samâdhi (which is septenary). Here belong the Hierarchies of the Kumâras—the Agnishvattas, etc.

4.Karatalacorresponds with Sparsha (touch) and to the Hierarchies of ethereal, semi-objective Dhyân Chohans of the astral matter of the Mânasa-Manas, or the pure ray of Manas, that is the Lower Manas before it is mixed with Kâma (as in the young child). They are called Sparsha Devas, the Devas endowed with touch. These Hierarchies of Devas are progressive: the first have one sense; the second two; and so on to seven: each containing all the senses potentially, but not yet developed. Sparsha would be rendered better by affinity, contact.

3.Rasâtala, or Rûpatala: corresponds to the Hierarchies of Rûpa or Sight Devas, possessed of three senses, sight, hearing, and touch. These are the Kâma-Mânasic entities, and the higher Elementals. With the Rosicrucians they were the Sylphs and Undines. It corresponds on earth with an artificial state of consciousness, such as that produced by hypnotism and drugs (morphia, etc.).

2.Mahâtala.Corresponds to the Hierarchies of Rasa or Taste Devas, and includes a state of consciousness embracing the lower five senses and emanations of life and being. It corresponds to Kâma and Prâna in man, and to Salamanders and Gnomes in nature.

1.Pâtâla.Corresponds to the Hierarchies of Gandha or Smell[pg 567]Devas, the underworld or antipodes: Myalba. The sphere of irrational animals, having no feeling save that of self-preservation and gratification of the senses: also of intensely selfish human beings, waking or sleeping. This is why Nârada is said to have visited Pâtâla when he was cursed to be reborn. He reported that life there was very pleasant for those“who had never left their birth-place”; they were very happy. It is the earthly state, and corresponds with the sense of smell. Here are also animal Dugpas, Elementals of animals, and Nature Spirits.

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