Theos-Talk Archives (February 2001 Message tt00154)

Wednesday, February 21, 2001

Dallas offers:

H.P.B. from the beginning of her writing refers to the ASTRAL
PLANE and to the individual ASTRAL BODY.

It is (from our point of view_ comparable to an electro-magnetic
FIELD. It has a definite shape and provides for the material
molecules, atoms, cells, etc... a foundation, a structure a kind
of lattice work on which they can fit themselves according to the
Karma which they have in common with the host.

Additionally the ASTRAL LIGHT ( and BODY) have the power to
retain a permanent memory (as a photograph would, except that it
is living and is retained for a definite period of time) has this
power to retaining an image of the vision, sight, acts, deeds,
thoughts and feelings of every individual with which it is
associated. Accordingly every "material form" may be assumed to
have within it the ASTRAL PATTERN. Every organ or structure in
our body (as also in animals, plants, and minerals) is associated
with the Astral Plane. Some entities resident there with their
peculiar intelligence are occasionally "seen" and are name
"ELEMENTALS" --but a discussion of the Elementals is best left
to H.P.B. who has written several articles on them. Mr. Judge,
writing on these has given us very graphic details concerning
their existence and action. (Available through BLAVATSKY.NET.)

The ASTRAL BODY (also its patterns, records, karma, memories,
etc..., associated with it) are more closely associated with the
physical and of the material side of Nature, our Earth and the
Universe (as a form).

It is said by H.P.B. to be the lowest of the aspects of the
AKASA -- the Universal and imperishable register of all events,
thoughts, feelings, etc... and these are preserved in its records
eternally. In other words it forms the root base for KARMA --
and serves as a link with previous reincarnations of the Immortal
Ego that is Man / Woman, as well as all aspects of the Universe
everywhere, right back to the undiscoverable "beginning."

But even the ASTRAL BODY has divisions (or components -- right up
to the AKASA, which is associated with BUDDHI and with
MAHABUDDHI) The first article in FIVE YEARS OF THEOSOPHY is
titled "The Elixir of Life." This article shows how a disciple
along the path of spirituality and the ULTIMATE GOAL of the
CONSCIOUS AWARENESS OF HIS ONENESS WITH the ABSOLUTENESS,
develops another kind of ASTRAL BODY, named the "Permanent
Astral." This is composed of the highest and the best of the
Monads associated as vehicles with each Human being as he/she
develops SELF-CONSCIOUSNESS and voluntarily follows the "GOOD
LAW."

In Theosophical literature there is a great deal that is said on
this. One may find their articles on this by H.P.B. and W.Q.J.
through BLAVATSKY.NET. Perhaps the best source (condensed) of
information in a single volume is Mr. Judge's THE OCEAN OF
THEOSOPHY. Chapters 4, 5, 16, 17 will give the scope,
metaphysics and theory needed as a reliable base for students.

Best wishes,

Dallas

=======================



-----Original Message-----
From: Bruce & Olive MacDonald [mailto:bmacdonald@accesscomm.ca]
Sent: Monday, February 19, 2001 7:15 PM
To: basic@blavatsky.net
Subject: [bn-basic] Re: Linga Sharira

Chris,
You ask some very good questions which suggest that you
have
already perceived some of what you are asking about. It is
necessary to
know at some level before you can ask.
So when you ask the following it indicates that you will
understand some of what is answered. So let's start with what
you ask.

>OK if it's not the astral body stretching out into the other
planes to peek
>in, what is it that experiences higher consciousness? Or what is
it that is
>experiencing this consciousness. I think I'm asking for the name
of the part
>that is the experiencier of consciousness. So that when the
lights go on so
>to speak, who is seeing higher consciousness? And what is the
process or
>method by which the devotee has this moment of awareness.

In some ways we can answer this series of questions by
referring
to the septenary nature of our composition. The body for
instance, has
senses which are aware of touch, sight, smell, etc. We have a
sense when
we are bound to the body that these senses and the body are "us."
But as
we begin to develop to higher awareness we begin to sense that
the body is
not really us. So the "I" which perceives must be something
else.
If we move up a notch in awareness we may begin to sense
the Life
Force itself, the Jiva which we share with all things. When we
are in the
woods, for instance, we can often feel this life force from the
trees or
the grass. But then, as we progress farther we realize that we
are
conscious on a level which is somehow "higher" than just this
Jiva: we are
aware of a wider range of things than trees or animals are.
We may think, therefore, that our desires and emotions
are what we
really are, since they seem to be different from the animals.
But at some
point we discover that these desires and emotions, aspects of the
Kama or
desire nature, are transitory and cannot really define us. WE
are actually
experiencing the desire, but "we" are not the desire.
At some point we may become aware of the design of our
lives, the
pattern of learning, the way we respond to others and the way in
which we
seem to be moving in our lives. This awareness is far beyond
mere
responding emotionally, since we now have a sense of the pattern
or purpose
of our total life in this time and place. We may even become
aware of some
of the Karmic forces which seem to be moving us along and from
which we
need to learn. And when we reach this level we begin to take our
own
destiny into our own hands, to make decisions for which we can
see tangible
results in the improvements which result from positive, loving,
compassionate service to others as well as devotion to learning
and
self-awareness. No longer are we slaves of desire or bodily
needs or even
of the life force of animals and plants. At this level we have
become
aware of the Linga Sharira, or Design Body. The Design Body is
very
complex and is something of which we can become aware once we
have freed
ourselves from the slavery to the lower aspects of the "Lower
Quaternary."
But the question will still arise, "Who am I?" At this
level of
being aware of the Linga Sharira we know that we are not the
lower elements
of our being, and we know that we are aware of some of the Karmic
influences on our development. We may even be aware that we are
now in
some kind of control of our destiny. But the question still
remains: what
is this "I" which is aware of "my" destiny.
At this point we know that the "I" which knows this is
not a slave
of destiny and in many ways in not a slave of the Linga Sharira.
The Linga
Sharira can be changed, in fact, and it is at this stage that
your question
about healing in a later email applies. When we discover that we
are not
slaves to the Design Body which has surrounded us and given us
physical
focus in the physical world, then we can begin to know the actual
elements
of the Linga Sharira and even change them. When we make changes
at that
level, we also automatically change the physical body, which is a
mere
reflection of the Design Body. (The practice of "visualization"
which is
used in many alternative medical circles is actually a process of
manipulating the Design Body to bring about change in the
physical body.)
It is through the Linga Sharira, the Design Body, that
(as Dallas
points out) there is a two-way interchange between what is
"higher" and
what is "lower" in our nature. And it is at the point where we
become
aware of this transition point in the process of meditation, of
developing
self-knowledge, that we can begin to become aware also of the
Manas, the
Mind which is aware of some of the higher principles of our
being.
Manas can be of the lower and the higher as well. The
lower Manas
only has intellectual knowledge, brain knowledge. In order to
transcend
intellectual knowledge, what HPB calls the "Hall of Learning" in
the "Voice
of the Silence," we must actually experience in ourselves the
knowledge
which has been only intellectual. So, for instance, if I have
intellectual
knowledge of Kama, desire, I need also to experience desire, to
know its
nature, its limitations, its power over my body and life, the way
it can
destroy as well as create, and so forth. Once I KNOW Kama in
this way, I
have raised my awareness several levels: 1. from being slave to
desire/Kama, 2. from mere intellectual knowledge that Kama
exists, to
3. the level of knowing the actual nature of Kama in my life and
in the
lives of others.
This kind of knowing can be developed through
observation,
meditation, self-examination, study, sensitivity, intuition over
many years
until I have developed a higher kind of knowing in Manas. In
effect, I am
beginning to develop an awareness not only of the things which
affect me,
personally, but am beginning also to become aware of what are
fundamental
truths of the universe. Again, this awareness is of Higher Manas
because I
begin to develop a direct awareness of these truths, not
accepting them
only second-hand from books and from others. We need to start
with books
and teachers, because they can introduce us to "right knowledge."
But we
have to finally transcend the book knowledge and make it direct
knowledge.
It is when I develop the awareness of the universal
truths,
directly, that I begin to move into the realms of Buddhi, because
I have
actually transcended even the limits of Manas and have begun to
see with
the eyes of Atman since Buddhi is the active agent or aspect of
Atman. At
that stage I begin to realize that the truths I am aware of are
not just
divided truths of divided humanity, but that this kind of truth,
this
Atma/Buddhi knowledge is actually divine knowledge, and that
Atman and
Brahman are one. Thou art that.
Now, in answer to your question in a roundabout way,
there is no
astral body stretching out to be aware of anything. What is
happening is
that the central "I" is experiencing on different levels as it is
able. At
one stage the "I" of Atma/Buddhi is limited by my conscious
choices in the
past, to the awareness of body and desire. Once "I" have been
able to
sufficient spiritual housecleaning, "I" can perceive other
higher things.
This is one of the difficult things to grasp. The Monad
is always
One, undivided. Brahman/Atman is always at the center, radiating
light. If you want a diagram, think of Atman at the middle of a
bull's eye
target. All the rings (the various apparent levels of our
reality) which
seem to obscure or close in Atman are really a kind of illusion
which was
brought about by the process of manifestation of more and more
dense
"physical" reality which obscures the view Atman has of
everything. It
only appears that all the Atmans, all the Monads, all the targets
are
separated, because in actuality they are all rays of the same
Light, and
since Light in this Divine form is not divided, there is actually
no
division between them. It only appears to be divided because we
cannot yet
see very far. As we persevere in meditation, study,
self-examination,
service to others, compassion, love and the like we gradually
raise our
ability to "see" because we gradually strip away those things
which keep us
from being aware that we ARE Atman, we are God, a Ray of the
Divine
Sun. And we begin to perceive in the process that we are One
with All that Is.
So, from your questions it appears you are on the right
path, at
least as far as I can see the path, and having entered the path
you are
assured of finding the goal.

Hope that helps a little.

Peace, Bruce MacD


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