Theos-Talk Archives (December 1996 Message tt00065)

Martin,

Here are some comments on your post:

> G.de Purucker, who has made HPB more understandable remarks that
> she also alludes to a tenfold system.  I don't know where she
> does this (when the BCW are on CD-rom it will be easier to find,
> I guess), but it makes sense (she is purported to have said that
> ten is the perfect number, something that Pythagoras adhered to).

I do not know either where HPB speaks about it, but I can supply
a reference to A.  Bailey.  In "A Treatise on Cosmic Fire" (p.4)
she explains how ten principles can be arrived at (my
paraphrase):

The human being is triple: Spirit, Consciousness, and Form.  Each
of these three aspect is also triple in manifestation which makes
nine Sephirot.  These, with the totality of manifestation or the
Whole, produce the ten (10) of perfect manifestation, the ten
Sephirot, or the perfect Man.

Of course the same principle may be applied to any other
manifested entity.

> So, atman is a relative absolute and certainly not the end or
> beginning of all - a point which finds support by the fact that
> one can find in Hindu literature the terms/concepts : paramatman
> and parabrahman.  Note the word *para* - meaning *beyond* - there
> is always a beyond, more inner or outer layer /plane/sphere of
> existence! How can it be else? Infinite varieties and
> manifestations.
>
> Atman *is* however, the beginning or top of a hierarchy.  All
> this stuff pertains to the doctrine of emanations (and
> hierarchies) of which we know very little (G de P has written an
> interesting booklet about it).

According to A.Bailey, ("Cosmic Fire" p.1196-1226) monads (she
prefers to speak in terms of monads) are found somewhere in the
middle of the ladder of planetary hierarchies:

1st Hierarchy: the Divine Flames, Divine Lives

2nd: the Burning Sons of Desire; Divine Builders conferring soul.
They are the source of monadic life, but they are not the monads;
they are far higher;

3rd: the Triads of Life standing aloof from incarnation;

4th: human nonads;

5th: the Sons of Men on their own plane (roughly speaking, the
builders of consciousness);

6th: Lunar lords (builders of personality);

7th: elemental lives.

Regards,