Theos-Talk Archives (March 2001 Message tt00093)

Tuesday, March 13, 2001


Dear Mauri and Gene


On NO-THING. Theosophy in drawing our attention to the SOURCE
BEGINNING of our evolutionary cycle speaks of the great sleep of
all beings called by the Hindus PRALAYA.

The doctrine exposes the idea that the whole Universe (limits in
space, time and motion are undefinable) has been through many
periods (cycles) of "sleeping" (Pralaya) and "Waking"
(Manvantara). Karma is generated for succeeding periods of
animation and work as Manvantara succeeds Manvantara. The
periods of Pralaya are those spent subjectively (in another
state, and on another plane of life) in reviewing and
assimilating the experiences of the series of Manvantaric
experiences that had just ended.

As there is some correspondence to "Nirvana" it seemed to me one
could say:

The Pralayas are periods when matter as we know it is dispersed,
but the essence of all experience in and though that anciently
constituted "matter" is always carefully preserved, and when
Manvantara (an evolutionary period), reopens, the living (but up
to that point, sleeping entities) reawake.

Half of this next Manvantara is spent on reorganizing the links
of physical forms in matter, psychic and intellectual links all
under the wise tutelage of Spirit and its representatives: hosts
of Spiritual Beings. [ An analogy is our own sleeping and
awakening cycles -- not identical, but near enough in concept.
Reincarnation as Theosophy exposes its processes is far closer to
the type of change and re-creation that occurs when each
Manvantara period recommences. [H.P.B. describes this in S.D.
Vol. I.]

Our type of daily-in-use "Matter" is not the ONLY TYPE OF MATTER
in the Universe. (see S.D. I 142). It is however, that with
which we are familiar, but it would be hazardous to suppose that
"our kind of matter" is uniformly present throughout the visible
universe.

H.P.B. indicates there is a kind of spherical crucible around us
all whereby outgoing and incoming stimuli of a sensory type are
transformed into those levels of perception that our physical
senses are attuned to.

Very little is said of the nature of psychic and spiritual
"senses" or the transmission and reception of stimuli on and
through those sources and planes of transmission. The Astral
Light" being a different plane of "matter" and closest to us, is
mentioned (see Judge THE OCEAN OF THEOSOPHY, Chapters 16, 17)

One notices that there is an increasing notice being taken in our
experiments in Science in regard to the psychological, biological
and physical phenomena for which adequate explanations are yet to
be given.

Those who have heeded Theosophical doctrines are making the
greatest advances in those areas. ISIS UNVEILED, by H.P.B., is
full of historical and contemporary references that illustrate
the interplay of the astral, psychic, spiritual and physical
planes of being. (see also S.D. I 181-3)

If the concept of NO-THING is troubling, then think of a
situation where you have a bar-magnet that constantly generates
an invisible field of influence around it. It is not until a
suitable aggregation of magnetically responsive material (IRON
FILINGS) are brought near it, that it reveals the marvelous
presence of arcs of power flowing all around it. Those "arcs"
are NOTHING to our senses and need a suitable material base to be
made "visible."

I suppose that our feelings, desires, passions, thoughts and
dreams have similar invisible patterns surrounding us as their
generators -- which do not register very strongly through the
physical instruments we try to devise to record their presence.
The presence of "brain waves" during sleep indicates that
activity continues even when the "brain" is comatose. Something
is active inside us. [ I found further details on this in
H.P.B.'s TRANSACTIONS OF THE BLAVATSKY LODGE, pp 63-78, ULT
Edn.; and in Blavatsky COLLECTED WORKS, Vol. 10 it is
reprinted. It is well worth a close study. ]

Not being able to see or feel with our physical senses, does not
mean NON-EXISTENCE.

Thinking of the whole Universe, we cannot visualize all the many
kinds of entities inhabiting it, and even those on different
planes from the physical. One might say that the efforts needed
to re-create out of the chaotic, sleepless and still
unintelligently organized substances -- in an area of nascent
re-formation, the highly organized structures (visible and
invisible) needed to provide the least of us (whether elemental,
astral, physical, psychic, intellectual, spiritual) with a
substantial (on a subtler plane -- as the astral or the Akasic)
or even an objective and sensitive "physical, bodily form" --
would take a long time and some highly cooperative and sensitive
effort by hosts of cooperative, intelligent and Wise Sages, who
always offer their time and effort for such duties.


NIRVANA

Consider that NIRVANA is a very long personal and selfish state
of purity.

It is explained that it is created by the desire of a personality
(Lower Mind, now purified by its own self-efforts, of any
baseness or evil. Yet it seems to be gripped by the strong desire
to be "free of all further involvement" in the affairs and
sorrows of the Earth and its humanity.

As I see it, one might say: It (this Personality, Lower manas
purified) achieves thereby a technical "Perfection," inasmuch as
it has mastered its own DESIRES of a personal nature, but, has
not yet understood, nor has it mastered the "Perfection" of a
MANASIC OR A SPIRITUAL BEING. Those remain to be worked on and
attained. There is a significant hint given in THE SECRET
DOCTRINE: (pp. 79-80) regarding "returning Nirvanees."

It will be readily imagined that this entity will rest in his
self-made isolation until such time as those whom he had
preceded, finally arrive at a state, level and condition
comparable to his earlier achievement.

Theosophy explains that the period of Karmic rest and bliss he
had decided on "cashing in," comes to a close and this entity is
borne along the flood of incarnation in a fresh manifestation
when it re-enters the evolutionary scheme anew as a "returning
Nirvanee." (S.D. II 79-80, 109-110).

Mr. Judge wrote a passage on this in the EPITOME OF THEOSOPHY, p.
28. In one of the FORUM Answers he says: "...if the Adept
voluntarily takes the delights, pleasures and powers referred to,
he is compelled after millions of years of enjoyment, to re-enter
objective nature at the elemental stage...The whole matter is a
reference to a very obscure doctrine, but little known..."
[ Judge, Forum Answers, p. 120 -- ULT ]

I hope this is of some help,

Best wishes,

Dallas

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

-----Original Message-----
From: Mauri [mailto:mhart@idirect.ca]
Sent: Tuesday, March 13, 2001 6:03 AM
To: sd@blavatsky.net
Subject: [bn-sd] matter is eternal and flexible?


subject: matter is eternal and flexible?

RE:

bn-sd] re: "Matter is Eternal"
Mon, 12 Mar 2001 09:39:14 -0800

"Eugene Carpenter" <ecarpent@co.la.ca.us>

wrote partly:

One can see everything as a gestalt and see
that it is indeed nothing, instantly, and I'm sure that
at higher levels of consciousness this is what each
of us does and knows. Then one can can
expericence sets of meaningful experiences "in
successive gradations" and at the very end of the
complete cycle THEN SEE THAT IT IS ALL
NOTHING.
===============cut

I wonder if, after seeing "THAT IT IS ALL
NOTHING," (after attaining some advanced
Nirvanic state, possibly?---or even at some
point before that?), would that be a
"background reality" only (like a white canvas
waiting for paint?): could it be that, in an
advanced Nirvanic state of reality/being, one's
conceptions could be made, at will, to become
one's somethings, (against a background of
non-conception/nothing)? If so, one might
wonder about the nature of those Nirvanic
conceptions, long before getting there.

Seems as if a difference between Devachanic
states and Nirvanic states might be that, in the
former, there is less recognition of the
illusory nature of of the background ("empty")
reality of that state as well as much less control of
the content of that state.

Also, I seem to recall reading somewhere (if I
remember correctly) that the Nirvanic emptiness
is a "plenum-void" of some kind, rather than just
empty. But I could be wrong.

Mauri