Zirkoff B. - EI. Instruction No.5: Difference between revisions

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{{Style P-Subtitle|INSTRUCTION NO. V}}

The student will, in this Instruction, address himself to the understanding of the Lower Quaternary, as defined in Diagram V, and to the workings of consciousness as manifested through that Lower Quaternary. The study of the Higher Triad pertains to further Instructions, and for the understanding of the Higher Triad it is needful that the Lower Quaternary shall be in some measure understood. And first let the student clearly realize that he cannot see things spiritual with the eyes of the flesh, and that in studying even the Body he must use the eyes of the Spiritual Intelligence, else will he fail and his study will be fruitless. For growth is from within outwards, and always the inner remains the more perfect. Even the development of a physical sense is always preceded by a mental feeling, which proceeds to evolve a physical sense. As said (p. 672) all senses are but differentiations of the one sense-consciousness, and become so differentiated on the Astral plane, where perceptive life proper begins (p. 660); from that the differentiation is continued on to the lowest sub-plane of the Prâkritic plane, to which the physical molecules of our Bodies belong. For instance, fishes living in dark subterranean waters are blind; but if they are taken and put into a pond, in a few generations they will develop eyes. Nevertheless, in their original state, though they had no organs of physical vision, they were yet endowed with a sense of sight. Otherwise, how could they, in the darkness, have found their prey and have avoided obstacles and dangers?

The student must therefore guard his thoughts, regarding them as the generators of action. Five minutes’ thought may undo the work of five years. And although the five years’ work may be run through more rapidly the second time than it was the first, yet time is lost.

Your best method is to concentrate on the Master as a Living Man within you. Make His image in your heart, and a focus of concentration, so as to lose all sense of bodily existence in the one thought.

The great difficulty to be overcome is the registration of the knowledge of the Higher Self on the physical plane. To accomplish this, the physical Brain must be made an entire blank to all but the Higher Consciousness.

In acquiring the power of concentration the first step is one of blankness. Then follows by degrees consciousness, and finally the passage between the two states becomes so rapid and easy as to be almost unnoticed.

Perception, brain perception, is located in the aura of the Pineal Gland, while the Pineal Gland itself, illuminated, corresponds with Divine Thought. The Pituitary Body is the organ per se of the psychic plane. Pure psychic vision<ref>Ordinary clairvoyance is not the use of this organ.</ref> is caused by the molecular motion of this body, which is directly connected with the optic nerve, and thus affects the sight, and gives rise to hallucinations. Its motion may readily cause flashes of light, seen within the head, similar to those that may be obtained on pressing the eyeballs, and so causing molecular motion in the optic nerve. When molecular action is set up in the Pituitary Body these flashes are seen, and further action gives psychic vision, as similar motion in the Pineal Gland gives Spiritual Clairvoyance. Drunkenness and fever cause disorderly motion in the Pituitary Body, and so produce illusions of sight, visions, hallucinations. This body is sometimes so affected by drunkenness that it is paralyzed, and the strict forbiddance of alcoholic liquids to all students of Occultism turns on this effect which alcohol produces on the Pituitary Body and Pineal Gland.

The Corpora Quadrigemina corresponds with Kâma-Manas, bringing Kâma thus within the Mânasic division of the human brain.

|Corpora Quadrigemina

The Sympathetic Cords take their rise from a sacred spot above the Medulla oblongata, called the Trideni. From this same spot start Idâ and Pingala, an upper junction of the sympathetic and cerebro-spinal axes being thus formed.

The Atom, esoterically, contains the six Principles and dwells in the molecule, the molecule being the Body, or Sthûla-Śarîra of the Atom, as Âtma contains all and dwells in the material universe. In its highest aspect it is on the seventh sub-plane of the lowest Prâkritic plane, and is thus the Âtma of the objective Cosmos. It is thus spiritual, and is forever invisible on this plane, and in its first manifestations it remains atomic, as Âtma-Buddhi-Manas in the molecule. Thus, on the lowest Prâkritic sub-plane is afforded the material upâdhi through which the higher Principles can act in the Body. The Ego is atomic, spiritual, and so are the Atoms which form explicitly the three higher Principles of the molecules, as well as contain implicitly the lower. Molecules form round the Atom, and these molecules are related to Kâma-Manas, Kâma, Linga-Śarîra, and finally, as outer coating, appear as the molecules of the Sthûla-Śarîra. The Astral Bodies are molecular, however etherealized may be their composition, whereas the Ego is atomic. This is the difference between the nature and essence of the Astral Bodies and the Ego. These Atoms are the thirty-three crores of Gods met with in Hindu books. But with all this the actual nature of the Ego cannot be understood by finite mind. The student may now better understand the statement (p. 661) that the consciousness of the senses, being that of the molecules, is in Âtma-Buddhi and without Manas. The Mânasic upâdhi is not developed in the molecule, hence the Mânasic aspect of the sevenfold Âtma cannot manifest in it, and there is no self-consciousness in the molecule, or in the cell composed of molecules. Thus the cells of the legs or other parts are conscious, but they are slaves of an idea or volition {{Page aside|704}}sent to them and obey it. They are not self-conscious, and cannot originate an idea. When they are tired they can send to the brain an uneasy sensation, caused in them by exhaustion, by diminution of Prânic energy. Thus they give rise in the brain to the idea of fatigue, the Lower Manas translating the cell-Kâmic sensation of exhaustion into the idea of fatigue.

The Linga-Śarîra is in a sense the permanent seed for the Sthûla-Śarîra of man, and Weissmann, in his theory of the hereditary germ,<ref>The Secret Doctrine, Vol. I, 223, footnote.</ref> is not far from the truth. But it would be an error to say that there is one permanent seed oversouled by a single Ego in a series of incarnations. The Linga-Śarîra of one incarnation fades out, as the Sthula-Śarîra to which it belongs rots out; the Auric Egg furnishes the basis of the new Linga-Śarîra and the Tâòhic Elementals form it (p. 609) within the Auric Envelope, the continuity being thus preserved; it lies dormant in the foetal state, during the Devachan of the entity to whom it belongs, and enters, in due course, a woman’s womb. It is first in the womb, and then comes the germ that fructifies it, from the male {{Page aside|705}}parent. It is the subjective image of the man that is to be, the model of the physical body in which the child is to be formed and developed. It is then clothed with matter, as were the Lunar Pitris, and is therefore often called the Chhâyâ. Up to the age of seven, it forms and moulds the Body; after that age, the Body forms the Linga-Śarîra. The Mind and the Linga-Śarîra mutually act and react on each other, and so is prepared a mould for the next incarnation. It is the perfect picture of the man, good or bad, according to his own nature. It cannot therefore be said that there is one permanent Linga-Śarîric seed in the incarnations of the Ego; it is a perpetual succession of destruction and reformation, the Manas by the Auric Egg affording the permanent seed; “it is Heaven and Earth kissing each other.”

During incarnation the germ, or life essence, of the Linga-Śarîra, is, as said, in the Spleen; the Chhâyâ lies curled up therein. And now let the student escape from much confusion by distinguishing between the various Astral Bodies and the true Astral. The Astral, par excellence, the Second Principle in Man, corresponding to the Second Principle in Cosmos, is the progeny of the Chhâyâ of the Lunar Pitris and the Auric Essence that absorbed it. (See p. 608.) This is the moulder of the infant’s Body, the model spoken of above. This has for its physical organ the Spleen, and during incarnation has its seat there. It affords the basis for all Astral Bodies, for the Linga-Śarîra proper, and the Mâyâvi-Rûpas used as vehicles for different Principles. Let us then now call it the Chhâyâ, in view of its origin. When an Astral Body is to be formed, the Chhâyâ evolves a shadowy, curling or gyrating essence like smoke, which gradually takes form as it emerges. In order that this essence may become visible, the Chhâyâ draws on the surrounding atmosphere, attracting to itself certain minute particles floating therein, and so the Linga-Śarîra, or other Astral vehicle is formed outside the physical Body. This process has often been observed at spiritualistic séances, at which materialization has occurred. An Esotericist has seen the Chhâyâ emerging from Eglinton’s left side,<ref>[William Eglinton (1857-1933), famous medium, concerning whom information may be found in Vol. III, pp. 503-05, of the Collected Writings.]</ref> and forming in the way here described.

This ethereal Body, built outside the Sthûla-Śarîra, is the Linga-Śarîra, properly so termed; it could not form in vacuo, it is built up temporarily, with the Chhâyâ as its foundation, and disperses when the Chhâyic foundation is withdrawn into the Body. This Linga-Śarîra is united to the physical Body by an umbilical cord, a material cord, and cannot therefore travel very far from it. It may be hurt by a sharp instrument, and would not face a sword or bayonet, although it can {{Page aside|706}}easily pass through a table or other piece of furniture. When swords are struck at Shades, it is the sword itself, not its Linga-Śarîra, or Astral that cuts. Sharp instruments alone can penetrate such Astrals; thus, under water, a blow with a blunt object would not affect you so much as a cut would.

At spiritualistic séances the Linga-Śarîra of the medium materializes, the resemblance to deceased persons being mostly caused by the imagination, but sometimes by an Elemental throwing onto the Linga-Śarîra a reflection of a picture of the defunct in the Astral Light, thus producing the likeness. The clothing on such phantasms is formed from the living particles of the medium’s body, and is no real clothing, nor has it anything to do with the clothing of the medium. All the material clothing seen at materialization séances has been paid for. Materialized forms are to be for the present divided into two classes: (a) those with a definite form produced by the sub-conscious or other thought of the person to whom the form belongs, or as above stated, and, (b) those the form, or semblance, or appearing of which is due to the combined thought of the person to whom it belongs, and the person who sees it, so that the outer appearance is due to a process of thought or imagination exercised by the one or the other. The imagination and the thought in these cases take place or act at the same time with too small an interval to be noticed. It is these facts about Astral Bodies that account for the Arabian and Eastern tales about Jinns, bottle imps, etc. Dugpas are able to work on the Linga-Śarîras of other people. When a man visits another in his Astral Body, it is the Linga-Śarîra that goes, but this cannot happen at any great distance. So also it is the Linga-Śarîra that is seen in the neighborhood of persons as their “doubles.” And it is the Linga-Śarîra that is used to move objects without visible contact. A Linga-Śarîra can be formed by the escaping Chhâyâ without any knowledge of the person emanating it, and can wander about, but it is not then fully endowed with Consciousness. Such projection of the Astral Body should not be attempted.

Although the student can no longer look on Prâna as one of the Seven Principles, since it is the Universal Life, he must not forget that it vivifies all, as Prânic energy. Every Principle is a differentiation of Jîva, and the life-motion in each is Prâna, “the Breath of Life.” It is Nephesh: and Jîva becomes Prâna only when the child is born. Thus Kâma depends on Prâna, without which there would be no Kâma. Prâna wakes the Kâmic germs to life, and it makes all desires vital and living.

The Kâma during life does not form a Body which can be separated from the physical Body. It is intermolecular, answering molecule for molecule to the physical Body, and inseparable from it molecularly. Thus it is a form yet not a form; a form within the physical Body, but incapable of being projected outward as a form. This is the Inner, or Astral Man, in whom are located the centres of sensation, the psychic senses, and on whose intermolecular rapport with the physical Body, all sensation and purposive action depend. At death, every cell and molecule gives out this essence, and from it, with the dregs of the Auric Envelope, is formed the separate Kâma-Rûpa; but this can never come during life. The Blood is a good symbol of Kâma-Rûpa, for while within the Body, filling every portion but confined in vessels, it takes the shape of the Body and has a form, though in itself formless. If the term Kâma-Rûpa be used to indicate this intermolecular structure which is the Psychic Man, then the post mortem separate form must be called the Kâma-Rûpa-Astral, or Astral of the Kâma-Rûpa.

During life the Lower Manas acts through this Kâma-Rûpa, and so comes into contact with the Sthûla-Śarîra; this is why the Lower Manas is said to be “enthroned in Kâma-Rûpa” (p. 635). After death it ensouls the Kâma-Rûpa for a time, until the Higher Triad, having reabsorbed the Lower Manas, or such portion of it as it can reabsorb, passes into Devachan. The normal period during which any part of the consciousness remains in Kâma-Loka, i.e., is connected with the Kâma-Rûpa, is one hundred and fifty years. The Kâma-Rûpa eventually breaks up, and leaving in Kâma-Loka the Tânhic Elementals (p. 609), its remaining portions go into animals, of which the red-blooded come from man. Cold-blooded animals are from the matter of the past.

This Higher Ego, at incarnation, shoots out the Ray, the Lower Ego. At every incarnation a new Ray is emitted, and yet in essence it is the same Ray, for the essence is always one, the same in you and in me and in everybody. Thus the Higher Ego incarnates in a thousand bodies. The Flame is eternal. From the Flame of the Higher Ego the Lower is lighted, and from this a lower vehicle, and so on. For this Ray can manifest on this Earth, sending out its Mâyâvi-Rûpa. The Higher Ego is the Sun, we may say, and the personal Manases are its Rays; the mission of the Higher Ego is to shoot out a Ray to be a soul in a child. Only thus can the Higher Ego manifest, for thus it manifests through its attributes. Only thus also can it gather experience; and the meaning of the passage in the Upanishads, where it says that the Gods feed upon men, is that the Higher Ego obtains its Earth experience through the Lower.

Thus the Lower Manas, taken as a whole, is, in each Earth-Life, what it makes itself. It is possible for it to act differently on different occasions, although surrounded each time by similar conditions, for it has Reason and self-conscious knowledge of Right and Wrong, of Good and Evil, given to it. It is, in fact, endowed with all the attributes of the Divine Soul, and one of these attributes is Will. In this the Ray is the Higher Manas. The part of the Essence is the Essence, but while it is out of itself, so to say, it can get soiled and polluted, as above explained. So also it can emanate itself, as said above, and can pass its essence into several vehicles, e.g., the Mâyâvî-Rûpa, the Kâma-Rûpa, etc., and even into Elementals, which it is able to ensoul, as the Rosicrucians taught.<ref>See Le Comte de Gabalis, by the Abbé de Montfaucon de Villars.</ref>

There comes a moment, in the highest meditation, when the Lower Manas is withdrawn into the Triad, which thus becomes the Quaternary, the Tetraktys of Pythagoras, the highest, the most sacred, of all symbols. This upward withdrawal of the Lower Manas leaves what was the Quaternary as a Lower Triad, which is then reversed. The Upper Triad is reflected in the Lower Manas. The Higher Manas cannot reflect itself, but when the Green passes upward it becomes a mirror for the Higher; it is then no more Green, having passed from its associations. The Psyche, thus separated from Kâma, unites itself with the Higher Triad and becomes spiritual; the Triad is reflected in the Fourth, and the Tetraktys is formed. So long as you are not dead, there must be something in which the Higher Triad is to be reflected; for there must be something to bring back to the waking Consciousness the experiences passed through on the higher plane. The Lower Manas is a tablet, which retains the impressions made upon it during trance; thus serving as a carrier between the Higher Manas and the everyday Consciousness. This withdrawal of the Lower Manas from the Lower Quaternary, and the formation of the Tetraktys, is the Turîya state; it is entered on the Fourth Path, and is described in a note to The Voice of the Silence as a state of high spiritual consciousness, beyond the dreamless state.

{{Style P-Signature|WILLIAM Q. JUDGE.}}