Theos-Talk Archives (July 2003 Message tt00209)

Thursday, July 17, 2003

RE :INITIATION and illumination

Dear Greg. And friends:


Perhaps some of the quotes given below will help?

Thank you for your response.

The "Seven Rings" "Planes," etc... are universal ideas as they
are derived from the Universal Geometry of the continual
reincarnation of universes, systems of worlds, Suns, earths,
humans etc...

----------------------------------

CORRESPONDENCE : 7 COSMIC & 7 HUMAN "PRINCIPLES."
[ from: SD II p. 696]
================================================================
HUMAN aspects or	COSMIC aspects or
Principles	Principles
================================================================

1.	Universal Spirit (Atma)	The Unmanifested Logos
2.	Spiritual Soul {Buddhi)	Universal (latent) Ideation
3	Human Soul, Mind (Manas)	Universal (or Cosmic) active
Intelligence
4.	Animal Soul (Kama-Rupa)	Cosmic Chaotic energy
5.	Astral Body (Linga-Sarira)	Astral Ideation, reflecting
terrestrial things.
6.	Life Essence (Prana)	Life Essence or Energy
7.	Body (Sthula Sarira)	The Earth.



Table from KEY TO THEOSOPHY, pp. 91-92

HUMAN PRINCIPLES

================================================================
Sanskrit	Exoteric	Explanatory
Terms	Meaning
================================================================

LOWER QUATERNARY

a) Rupa or	Physical	Is the vehicle of all the other
Sthula-Sarira	body	"principles" during life.

b) Prana	Life or Necessary only to a) c) d), and
Vital	the functions of the lower Manas,
principle	which embrace all those limited to
the (physical) brain.

c) Linga-	Astral body	The Double, the phantom body.
Sharira

d) Kama rupa	The seat of	This is the center of the animal
animal -	man, where lies the line of
desires and	demarcation which separates the
passions.	mortal man from the immortal
entity.
---------------------------------------------------------------

UPPER IMPERISHABLE TRIAD


e) Manas --a	Mind. Intelligence	The future state and the Karmic
dual prin- :	destiny of man depend on whether
ciple in its	which is the	Manas gravitates more downward to
function	higher human	Kama-rupa, the seat of animal
mind, whose	passions, or upwards to Buddhi, light, or
rad-	the Spiritual Ego. In the latter
iation links	case, the higher consciousness of the MONAD,
for	the individual spiritual aspir-	the lifetime	ations of
mind (Manas), assimil-	to the mortal ating Buddhi, are
absorbed by it man.	and form the Ego, which goes into
Devachanic bliss.

f) Buddhi	The Spiritual	The vehicle of pure universal Spirit
Soul

g) Atma	Spirit	One with the Absolute as its radiation.

[From: Key to Theosophy pp 91-2]



----------------------------------




I N I T I A T I O N



There is a most important axiom on which the whole of
Theosophical philosophy rests:

"Every living creature, of whatever description, was, is, or will
become a human being in one or
another Manvantara." HPB-- TRANSACTIONS, p. 23.


"Every Buddha meets at his last initiation all the great adepts
who reached Buddhahood during the
Preceding ages...every class of adepts has its own bond of
spiritual communion which knits them
together...The only possible and effectual way of entering into
such brotherhood...is by bringing
oneself within the influence of the Spiritual light which
radiates from one's own Logos
[ATMAN]...such communion is only possible between persons whose
souls derive their life and
sustenance from the same divine RAY, and that, as seven distinct
rays radiate from the 'CENTRAL
SPIRITUAL SUN,' all adepts and Dhyan Chohans are divisible into 7
classes, each of which is
guided, controlled, and overshadowed by one of the 7 forms or
manifestations of the divine
wisdom."	S. Rao quoted - THEOSOPHIST, AUG. 1886. SD I 574


A study of the statements made in the Theosophical philosophy
concerning the universal principle
Atma show that it pervades everything. It can be understood as
"Space."

The purpose for manifestation is that every Monad, an
individualized "ray" of the Atma, may reach
to a complete knowledge and understanding of the nature and
reach of the Universe in all its vast
complexity.

The process of reincarnation for the Atma (spirit) in humans is
only a continuation of the
pilgrimage of the immortal Monad.

The Atma being the UNIVERSAL ALL, may be seen to overshadow,
rather than incarnate in any
individuality. It pervades the whole universe and beyond, as it
is when non-manifest considered as
the ABSOLUTE for which there are no limits or conditions.

It is only for the purpose of our understanding that we call ATMA
a human "Principle."

In all truth the principle "BUDDHI" is the primary "human
principle." Higher Manas (BUDDHI-
MANAS) is a portion of the UNIVERSAL MIND (Mahat). [It is
Mulaprakriti, or divine primordial
substance -- see Suddha Sattva in the Theos. Glossary.]

So the word Atma as used in The SECRET DOCTRINE may be considered
a "blind" designed to
indicate the INDIVIDUALITY or the ETERNAL PILGRIM and all the
powers that it has of penetrating in and through all the levels
and planes of being.

And finally, it is said to be "overshadowing " the gross human
physical frame we all use when we
are awake and acting on this plane we call the Earth. This
"frame of physical matter" is the final
and lowest of the 4 principles that we group under the term
"personality." It changes with each
incarnation because of the so many choices we make. And to its
choices, good or bad, lawful or
unlawful, all aspects of karmic responsibility are attributed.

The basic concept is that the INDIVIDUALITY overshadows the
skandhaic attributes (or bundles of "monads of lesser
experience") of the Personality to assist them to elevate
themselves to the level it has already achieved, perhaps many
Manvantaras earlier.

The quotations offered below are only a fraction selected by one
student who found them useful in
his own study in the pursuit of the understanding and
applications that seemed implicit in
Theosophy.


Here is an important concept that Mr. Crosbie offers:


"As to the "we," there is but one "we," or perceiver [Atma], who
perceives on any plane through the
sheaths evolved by him on each plane. His perceptions on any
plane will depend on the "quality"
of the sheath or vehicle.

"Atma" (spirit) or consciousness alone, is what remains after the
subtraction of all the sheaths. It
is the ONLY witness--a synthesizing unity.

On this plane"--and this means during waking consciousness or its
dream effects--the perceiver
knows "only what it knows on this plane" (generally speaking),
and through ignorance of the Real,
involves itself in the cause and effect of physical nature,
identifying itself with body and sensations,
and looking at other human beings in the same light. This is a
wrong attitude of mind. The "we," at
this end, is the identification of the perceiver with this
plane's perceptions--a misconception of the
perceiver, a dream--a play--in which the perceiver is so involved
as to have lost sight and memory
of his real life.

The mind is both "carrier" and "translator" of both lower and
higher self; the attitude determines the
quality and kind of action, for one will act according to the
attitude of mind firmly held. The great
and incalculable value of acting for and as the Supreme is that
there is nothing higher in the way of
attitude, and this endeavor "must," by its very nature bring
about the best results.

What moves the "mind" this way or that is usually desire for the
attractions of matter, and self-
interest in them; these then move and control the mind through
the brain. "We," the Perceiver, do
not perceive anything but the "ideas" which the senses and organs
present. He is not fully awake
on this plane; sometimes he gets partly wakened, but drops off
to sleep again, lulled by the sounds
and memories of his dream; sometimes "bad dreams" awake him;
sometimes he is awakened by
the voices of those who are awake.

The "Real" and the "unreal," the "fleeting" and the
"ever-lasting" are terms which will be more fully
understood if looked at from the point of view of the Perceiver.
This is the attitude of mind we
should hold."	FRIENDLY PHILOSOPHER, pp. 47-8



Universal Mind and Initiation


"The action of the entire universe is but a detailed
manifestation and example of the action of mind on matter,
governed at the highest point by the action of the universal
Mind. Between the finite human mind of the ordinary uninitiated
individual and this universal mind lie an infinite number of
gradually ascending degrees, and the higher the plane of
consciousness the nearer is the approach to the universal mind
which is, as it were, the main-spring of the whole. Although
there are no hard and fat lines in nature yet these various
grades may be marked off into great main divisions; and it is
the successive attainment of these, one after the other that is
represented by the degrees of initiation. When one plane of
existence has been exhausted, there is needed, as it were, a
fresh impulse to enable us to go on higher and this it is that is
supplied at the time of initiation."
"Alpha"	Theosophist, June 1886 - [ ULT- T A & N p. 61 ]


"To crucify before (not against) the sun" is a phrase used of
initiation. It comes from Egypt, and primarily from India. The
enigma can be unriddled only by searching for its key in the
Mysteries of Initiation. The initiated adept, who had
successfully passed through all the trials, was attached, not
nailed, but simply tied on a couch in the form of a tau T (in
Egypt) of a Svastika without the four additional prolongations
(thus: [a cross], not [svastika shape] plunged in a deep sleep
(the "Sleep of Siloam" it is called to this day among the
initiates in Asia Minor, in Syria and even higher Egypt). He was
allowed to remain in this state for three days and three nights,
during which time his Spiritual Ego was said to confabulate with
the "gods," descend into Hades, Amenti or Patala (according to
the country), and do works of charity to the invisible beings,
whether souls of men or Elemental Spirits; his body remaining
all the time in a temple crypt or subterranean cave. In Egypt it
was placed in the Sarcophagus in the King's Chamber of the
Pyramid of Cheops and carried during the night of the approaching
third day to the entrance of the gallery. where at a certain hour
the beams of the rising Sun struck full on the face of the
entranced candidate, who awoke to be initiated by Osiris, and
Thoth the God of Wisdom...[see the bas-reliefs...especially from
the temple of Philoe, represents a scene of initiation.]	SD II
558


"The ancient MSS. mention these "hard couches of those who were
in (spiritual) travail, the act of giving birth to
themselves."...remember the allegory of Visvakarma, the creative
power, the great architect of the world, called in the Veda "the
all-seeing god," who "sacrifices himself to himself" (the
Spiritual Egos of mortals are his own essence, one with him,
therefore). Remember that he is called Deva Vardhika "the
builder of the gods" and that it is he who ties (the Sun) Surya,
his son-in-law, on his lathe, in the exoteric allegory; on the
Swastika, in esoteric tradition, as on earth he is the Hierophant
Initiator, and cuts away a portion of his brightness.
Visvakarma, remember again, is the Son of Yoga-Siddha, i.e., the
holy power of Yoga, and the fabricator of the "fiery weapon," the
magic Agneyastra..."	SD II 559


ATMA

"...Atman is the Universal All, and becomes the Higher Self of
man only in conjunctions with
Buddhi, its vehicle, which links It to the individuality (or
divine man). For it is the Buddhi-Manas
which is called the Causal Body, (the united 5th and 6th
Principles) and which is consciousness,
that connects it with every personality it inhabits on earth."
Key, p. 121


" Atma. Spirit. One with the Absolute, as its radiation."
KEY, p. 92


HIGHER SELF

The Supreme Divine spirit overshadowing man. The crown of the
upper spiritual Triad in man--
Atman. T. Glos. 141


"Atman" is no individual property of any man, but is the Divine
essence which has no body, no
form, which is imponderable, invisible, and indivisible, that
which does not exist, and yet is.

...It only overshadows the mortal; that which enters into him
and pervades the whole body being
only its omnipresent rays, or light, radiated through Buddhi ,
its vehicle and direct emanation.
This is the secret meaning of the assertions of almost all the
ancient philosophers, when they said
that "the rational part of "man's soul" never entered wholly
into the man, but only overshadowed
him more or less through the irrational spiritual Soul or
Buddhi...the difference between that which is negatively, or
passively, "irrational," because undifferentiated, and that which
is irrational
because too active and positive.

Man is a correlation of spiritual powers, as well as a
correlation of chemical and physical forces,
brought into function by what we call "principles." ...the spirit
(Atma) never descends hypostatically into the living man, but
only showers more or less its radiance on the inner man (the
psychic and spiritual compound of the astral principles)..."	Key
101-2


MAN IN EVOLUTION

Coming to consider Man and his constitution in evolution as we
find him today we can see:


"...our Ego is a ray of the Universal Mind, individualized for
the space of a cosmic life-cycle,
during which space of time it gets experience in almost
numberless reincarnations or rebirths, after which it returns to
its Parent-Source.

The Occultist would call the "Higher Ego" the immortal Entity,
whose shadow and reflection is the human Manas, the mind limited
by its physical senses. The two may be well compared to the
Master-artist and the pupil-musician...In the course of natural
evolution our "brain-mind" will be replaced by a finer organism,
and helped by the 6th [Buddhi] and the 7th [Atma] senses..."
Theos. Articles & Notes, (ULT) p. 208


"...Spirit (in the sense of the Absolute...invisible All), or
Atma. As this cannot be located or limited in philosophy, being
simply that which is in Eternity, and which cannot be absent from
even the tiniest geometrical or mathematical point of the
universe of matter or substance, it ought not to be called, in
truth, a "human" principle at all. Rather, and at best, it is in
Metaphysics that point in space which the human Monad and its
vehicle man occupy for the period of every life. Now that point
is imaginary as man himself, and id an illusion, a maya; but for
ourselves, as for other personal Egos, we are a reality during
that fit of illusion called life, and we have to take ourselves
into account, in our own fancy...Occultism calls this seventh
principle the synthesis of the six, and gives it for vehicle the
Spiritual Soul, Buddhi."	HPB Key , p. 119


"The student must not confuse this Spiritual Ego with the "Higher
Self" which is Atma, the God
within us, and inseparable from the Universal Spirit."	Key, p.
130-1fn


ATTUNING OURSELVES TO THE INFLUENCE OF THE ATMA WITHIN


"...Buddhi and Atma...These higher principles are entirely
inactive on our plane, and the higher
Ego (Manas) itself is more or less dormant during the waking of
the physical man...So dormant are
the Spiritual faculties, because the Ego is so trammeled by
matter, that IT can hardly give all its
attention to man's actions, even should the latter commit sins
for which that Ego--when reunited
with its lower Manas--will have to suffer conjointly in the
future. It is...the impressions projected into
the physical man by this Ego which constitute what we call
"conscience;" and in proportion as the
personality, the lower Soul (or Manas), unites itself to its
higher consciousness, or EGO, does the
action of the latter upon the life of mortal man become more
marked." TRANS 62-3


"...Whenever you are able to attune your consciousness to
any of the seven chords of
'Universal Consciousness," those chords that run along the
sounding-board of Kosmos, vibrating
from one Eternity to another; when you have studied thoroughly
'the music of the Spheres [the 7
principles of Nature and of man and their correlations]," then
only will you become quite free to
share your knowledge with those with whom it is safe to do
so...Do not give out the great Truths that
are the inheritance of the future Races, to our present
generation. Do not attempt to unveil the
secret of being and non-being to those unable to see the hidden
meaning of Apollo's
HEPTACHORD--the lyre of the radiant god, in each of the seven
strings of which dwelleth the
Spirit, Soul and Astral body of the Kosmos, whose shell only has
now fallen into the hands of
Modern Science..."	SD I 167


"...human consciousness" is but a Ray of the Divine. Our Manas,
or Ego, proceeds from, and is
the Son (figuratively) of Mahat. Vaivaswatta Manu (the Manu of
our fifth race and Humanity in
general) is the chief personified representative of the thinking
Humanity of the fifth Root-race; and
therefore he is represented as the eldest Son of the Sun and an
Agnishwatta Ancestor...Thought in
its action on human brains is endless. Thus Manu is, and
contains the potentiality of all the thinking
forms which will be developed on earth from this particular
source. In the esoteric teaching he is
the beginning of this earth , and from him and his daughter Ila
humanity is born; he is a unity
which contains all the pluralities and their modifications.
Every manvantara has its own Manu, and
from this Manu the various Manus or rather all the Manasa of the
Kalpas will proceed...he may be
compared to the white light which contains all the other rays,
giving birth to them by passing
through the prism of differentiation and evolution."
TRANSACTIONS, p. . 99


"It is the Spiritual evolution of the inner, immortal man that
forms the fundamental tenet in the Occult
Sciences...the ONE Universal Life, independent of
matter...and...the individual intelligences that
animate the various manifestations of this Principle...The ONE
Life is closely related to the one law
which governs the World of Being--KARMA.	SD I 634


"Every man has a god within, a direct ray from the Absolute, the
celestial ray from the One.
TRANSACTIONS, p. 53


"To meditate on the Higher Self is difficult. Seek then, the
bridge--the Masters. Fix your thoughts
again on Those Elder Brothers, work for Them, serve Them, and
They will help through the right
appropriate means..."	W.Q.J. LETTERS THAT HAVE HELPED ME, p. 112


"...think, think, think on the truth that you are not body,
brain, or astral man, but that you are THAT,
and "THAT" is the Supreme Soul [Atma]."	W.Q.J. LETTERS p. 116


"...relying always on the Higher Self, and looking to it for
knowledge and light."
W.Q.J. LETTERS, p. 122


"...remember that the greatest and truest friend is the Higher
Self. He who has the Higher Self as
his friend possesses all things and lacks nothing, and the Higher
Self is your friend if you will but
receive that friendship. Take courage and be patient; the light
is shining in your heart, and, if you
will but go on, you will find it there, and it will be brighter
far than you can now imagine."
W.Q.J. LETTERS, pp. 174-5


"...a full reliance upon the Spirit within and upon the law that
the hands that smite us are our own,
will relieve the pressure of some events that seem
mysteries...The great struggle must be to open
up my outer self, that my higher being may shine through, for I
know that in my heart the God sits
patient, and that his pure rays are merely veiled from me by the
many strivings and illusions that I
bring on outwardly." W.Q.J. LETTERS, p. 85


"But let me again insist upon your trying to realize in
yourselves that you are a part of the All. That
is the constant subject of meditation, and will bring you the
best and most rapid progress...too
much must not be expected of the Mahatmas. They cannot interfere
with Karma'; and so, if a man
starts out to them, they say: "Try"...It does not follow that
they are always helping him because he has made himself a chela.
Of course, there are those whose Karma is such that they are
helped...Of course
if the Master sends one, then he will protect...We say we are all
part of the All. Well, we must
intensely mediate upon that until we begin to realize it, and
from then we will receive instruction."
W.Q.J. LETTERS, p. 200


"He must first get rid of the idea that he himself really does
anything, knowing that the actions all
take place in these three natural qualities [Gunas], and not in
the soul at all. The word "qualities"
must be considered in a larger sense than the word is generally
given. Then he must place all his
actions on devotion. That is, sacrifice all his actions to the
Supreme and not to himself. He must
either (leaving out indifference) set himself us as the God to
whom he sacrifices, or the other real
God--Krishna, and all his acts and aspirations are done either
for himself or for the All. Her comes
in the importance of motive. For if he performs great deeds of
valor, or of benefit to man, or
acquire s knowledge so as to assist man, and is moved to that
merely because he thinks he will
attain salvation, he is acting only for his own benefit and is
therefore sacrificing to himself.
Therefore he must be devoted inwardly to the All; that is, he
places all his actions on the Supreme
[Atman], knowing that he is not the doer of the actions, but is
the mere witness of them...All doubts
come from the lower nature, and never in any case from the higher
nature. Therefore, as he
becomes more and more devoted, he is able to know more and more
clearly the knowledge
residing in his Satwa part... The three qualities are lower than
a state called Turya, which is a high
state capable of being enjoyed even while in this body.
Therefore, in that state, there exists none
of the three qualities , but the soul sees the three qualities
moving in the ocean of Being beneath.
This experience is met with not only after death, but, as I said,
it may be enjoyed in the present life,
though of course consciously very seldom. But there are those
high Yogees who can and do rise
up to Nirvana, or Spirit, even consciously, while on earth. This
state is the fourth state, called
Turya...In that state the body is alive even though in deep
catalepsy. (Self-induced by the Adept.]
When the Adept returns from it be brings whatever he can of the
vast experiences of that Turya
state. Of course they are far beyond any expression, and their
possibilities can only be dimly
perceived by us."	WQJ - Letters, p. 28-9


"I am glad that you have such faith in the Great Workers who are
behind us. They are behind
us, to my personal knowledge, and not behind me only, but behind
all sincere workers. I know that
their desire is that each should listen to the voice of his inner
self [Atma] and not depend too much
on outside people, whether they be Masters, Eastern disciples, or
what not. By a dependence of
that kind you become at last thoroughly independent, and then the
unseen helpers are able to help
all the more." WQJ Letters, pp. 112-113


"Seek the truth by strong search," by doing service, and by
enquiry, and Those who know the
Truth will teach it. Let the warrior fight, the gentle yet
fierce Krishna, who, when he finds thee as
his disciple and friend, will tell thee the truth and lighten up
the darkness with the lamp of spiritual
knowledge."	W.Q.J. Letters, p. 112


"The best and most important teacher is one's seventh (Atma)
principle centered in the sixth
[Buddhi]. " W.Q.J. Letters, p. 96


"A student of occultism...gets into...a vortex of occultism...he
passes into the whirl caused by the
mighty effort of his Higher Self [Atma], to make him remember
his past lives. Then those lives
affect him..." W.Q.J. LETTERS, p. 150



MASTERS AND THE HIGHER SELF (ATMAN)


In another place HPB seems to equate the idea of the Masters of
Wisdom with the Higher Self, the Atma within. This ought to be
carefully considered, since the implication is that the Master is
already "in place" in each of us, and the embodied "brain-mind"
needs to consider this as a vital
fact for its own advance.


"The "Master" in the Sanctuary of our souls is "the Higher
Self"-- the divine spirit whose
consciousness is based upon and derived solely...(during the
mortal life of the man in whom it is
captive)... from the Mind, which we have agreed upon to call the
Human Soul (the "Spiritual Soul"
being the vehicle of the Spirit [Atman]. In its turn the former
(the personal or human soul) is a
compound in its highest form of spiritual aspirations, volitions,
and divine love; and in its lower
aspect, of animal desires and terrestrial passions imparted to it
by its association with its vehicle,
the eat of all these. It thus stands as a link and a medium
between the animal nature of man which
its higher reason seeks to subdue, and his divine spiritual
nature, with the inner animal. The latter
is the instinctual "animal Soul" and is the hotbed of those
passions..."
H.P.B. -- "OCCULTISM VS. THE OCCULT ARTS," HPB Articles
(U.L.T. ), Vol. II, p. 105


"...our Higher Self is leading us through all the experiences of
life to the end that we shall recognize the unity of all, then,
instead of continually acting contrary to that object of the
Higher Self [Atma], we try to acquire the right belief and
aspiration." GITA NOTES, pp. 123-4
[ see also H.P.B. -- TRANSACTIONS, pp. 65-77 ]


"Rely within yourself on your Higher Self always, and that gives
strength, as the Self uses whom it
will. Persevere, and little by little new ideals and
thought-forms will drive out of you the old ones. This is the
eternal process." W.Q.J.-- LETTERS THAT HAVE HELPED ME , p.
129


"Apart for the Higher Self in each of us, there are in the World
the actual Masters of Wisdom,
Adepts, Mahatmas or Perfected Men. Their existence and continued
work in both visible and
invisible planes and it has been described as: Knowers of Atma:
"Atma-Gnyanis." Atma (our 7th principle) being identical with
the universal Spirit, and man being one with it in essence, what
is then the Monad proper ?

It is that homogeneous spark which radiates in millions of rays
from the primeval "Seven;" ...It is
the EMANATING spark from the UNCREATED RAY--A
MYSTERY...Adi-Buddha (Chogi dangpoi sangye), the One Unknown,
without beginning or end, identical with Parabrahm and Ain-Soph,
emits a bright ray from its darkness. This is the Logos (the
first), or Vajradhara, the Supreme Buddha (also called
Dorjechang)...he cannot manifest, but sends into the world of
manifestation his heart--the "diamond heart," Vajrasattva
(Dorjesempa). This is the second logos of creation, from whom
emanate the seven (in the exoteric blind the five) Dhyani
Buddhas, called the Anupadaka, "the parentless."

These Buddhas are the primeval monads from the world of
incorporeal beings, the Arupa world,
wherein the Intelligences (on that plane only) have neither shape
nor name, in the exoteric system,
but have their distinct seven names in the esoteric philosophy.
These Dhyani Buddhas emanate,
or create from themselves, by virtue of Dhyana, celestial
Selves--the super-human Bodhisattvas.
These incarnating in the beginning of every human cycle as mortal
men, become occasionally,
owing to their personal merit, Bodhisattvas among the Sons of
Humanity, after which they may re-
appear as Manushi (human) Buddhas. The Anupadaka (or
Dhyani-Buddhas) are thus identical
with the Brahmanical Manasaputra, "mind-born sons"--whether of
Brahma or either of the other two Trimurthian Hypostases, hence
identical with the Rishis and Prajapatis." SD I 571


"The real Mahatma is then not his physical body but that higher
"Manas" which is inseparably
linked to the "Atma" and its vehicle (6th principle) -- a union
effected by him in a comparatively
very short period by passing through the self-evolution laid down
by the Occult Philosophy."
HPB Articles (U.L.T. ) I, p. 293


Considering that the Atmic Beings are those who became "perfect"
in previous Manvantaras, it can
be understood that They volunteered to assist in this Manvantara
in the developing of further
successful pupils in this eternal School. The "Secret Doctrine"
says:


"Alone a handful of primitive men -- in whom the spark of divine
Wisdom burnt bright, and only
strengthened in its intensity as it got dimmer and dimmer with
every age in those who turned it to
bad purposes--remained the elect custodians of the Mysteries
revealed to mankind by the divine
Teachers.

There were those among them, who remained in their Kumaric
condition from the
beginning; and tradition whispers, what the secret teachings
affirm, namely, that these Elect were
the germs of a Hierarchy which never died since that period: --
"The inner man of the first * * *
only changes his body from time to time; he is ever the same,
knowing neither rest nor Nirvana,
spurning Devachan and remaining constantly on Earth for the
salvation of mankind ..."

"Out of the seven virgin-men (Kumara) four sacrificed themselves
for the sins of the world and the instruction of the ignorant,
to remain till the end of the present Manvantara. Though unseen,
they are ever present. When people say of one of them, "He is
dead;" behold, he is alive and under another form. These are
the Head, the Heart, the Soul, and the Seed of undying knowledge
(Gnyana). Thou shalt never speak, O Lanoo, of these great ones
(Maha...) before a multitude, mentioning them by their names.
The wise alone will understand. (Catechism of the Inner
Schools.)	SD II 281-2



There is an important article written by Mr. Judge named "THE
SEVENFOLD DIVISION." In it he points out that Atma is the only
"principle," and that it uses 6 "vehicles" or "sheaths. If we
turn to S D Vol. 1, p. 157 we will find that the ancient Indian
Schools of philosophy have used slightly
different classifications, but those are all keyed to the
seven-fold Occult one. In the S D Vol. II, p.
167 we are offered an explanation of the way in which the Divine
overshadows and shines through
the Personality -- TWO EGOS are there spoken of.



ATMA - THE ONE "PRINCIPLE" AND ITS 6 "VEHICLES"


"As the synthesis of the 7 Dhyani-Buddhas, Avalokiteshwara was
the first Buddha (the Logos), so
Amitabha is the inner "god" of Gautama, who, in China, is called
Amita (-Buddha)...the glorious
counterparts of every earthly mortal Buddha--the liberated
Manushi-Buddhas appointed to govern
the Earth in this Round. They are the "Buddhas of
Contemplation," and are all Anupadaka
(parentless), i.e., self-born of divine essence...rests on the
fact that owing to the highest initiation
performed by one overshadowed by the "Spirit of Buddha"--...a
candidate becomes virtually a
Bodhisattva, created such by the High Initiator."	SD I 109


"...an adept may be compared to that one key which contains all
the keys in the great harmony of
nature." He has the synthesis of all keys in his thoughts,
whereas the ordinary man has the same
key as a basis, but only acts and thinks on one or a few changes
of this great key, producing in
his brain only a few chords out of the whole great possible
harmony...the brain of the chela is
attuned by training to the brain of the Master. His vibrations
synchronize with those of the
Adept...so the chela's brain is abnormal...the adept sees all the
colors in every color and yet does
not confuse them together...the highest adepts [have raised their
vibrations so as to have them the
same as those of nature as a whole]...He can produce a sound
which will alter a color. It is the
sound which produces the color, and not the other or opposite.
By correlating the vibrations of a
sound in the proper way a new color is made...on the astral plane
every sound always produces a
color ...these are invisible because not yet correlated by the
human brain so as to become visible
on the earth plane....His astral senses may see the true color,
but the physical eye has its own
vibrations, and these, being on the outer plane, overcome the
others for the time, and the astral
man is compelled to report to the brain that it saw correctly.
For in each case the outer stimulus is
sent to the inner man, who then is forced, as it were, to accept
the message and to confirm it for
the time so far as it goes. But there are cases where the inner
man is able to even then overcome
the outer defect and to make the brain see the difference...."
WQJ ARTICLES , (U.L.T. ) Vol. I, p. 423-426.


"The real Mahatma is then not his physical body but that higher
"Manas" which is inseparably
linked to the "Atma" and its vehicle (6th principle) -- a union
effected by him in a comparatively
very short period by passing through the self-evolution laid down
by the Occult Philosophy."
HPB Articles (U.L.T. ) I, p. 293


"There are 7 chief groups of such Dhyan Chohans...the primeval
Seven Rays. Humanity,
occultism teaches, is divided into 7 distinct groups and their
sub-divisions, mental, spiritual, and
physical...(Fn) Hence the 7 chief planets, the spheres of the
indwelling 7 spirits, under each of
which is born one of the human groups which is guided and
influenced thereby. There are only 7
planets (specially connected with this earth), and 12
houses...countless...each of which varieties is
born under one of the 7 planets and one of the said countless
planetary combinations."
SD I 573 & fn


"Are not the prismatic rays fundamentally one single white ray?
>From the one they become three;
from the three, seven; from which seven primaries they fall into
infinitude. Referring back to the
so-called "consciousness" of the Ah-hi, that consciousness cannot
be judged by the standard of
human perceptions. It is on quite another plane.
[Example]...often the reasoning faculty of the
higher mind may be asleep, and the instinctual mind be fully
awake."
TRANSACTIONS, p. 26-7


"...the true esoteric meaning is that most of them (the
Agnishwatta Pitris) were destined to
incarnate as the Egos of the forthcoming crop of Mankind. The
human Ego is neither Atman nor
Buddhi, but the higher Manas; the intellectual fruition and the
efflorescence of the intellectual self-
conscious Egotism--in the higher spiritual sense. The ancient
works refer to it as Karana Sarira on
the plane of the Sutratma, which is the golden thread on which,
like beads, the various personalities
of this higher Ego are strung...these beings were returning
Nirvanees, from preceding Maha-
Manvantaras...."	SD II 79


The information given would not have much use for us, unless some
practical applications could be
drawn from it. It is suggested in a number of places that we can
be:



VERIFICATION AND PROVING OF ALL DOCTRINES


The process of self-perfection is always directed by our
free-choice. It is significant that in the
Occult and Esoteric process each student-pupil is left entirely
free to make his own choices, his
own "path," and to either accelerate or retard his progress. At
all stages he receives information
and suggestions for his consideration and use if he desires to
employ them. It is always
recommended that he fully investigate and probe all information,
so as to verify its accuracy for
himself. Nothing is to be taken on "blind faith." To do so,
would give no actual benefit to the
student, because, in effect he remains ignorant of some vital
link. He is expected, by the laws
inherent in Nature, to learn the whole process from its base on
up. It is for this reason that no
impartation of esoteric knowledge by the payment of money or the
exchange of personal benefits
works.

-----------------------------

I hope this proves to be of use.

Best wishes,

Dallas

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


-----Original Message-----
From: Greg
Sent:	Wednesday, July 16, 2003 12:01 PM
To:
Subject:	:Re: Initiation and illumination

Dallas,
The ideas you sent regarding illumination were very
helpfull.Thankyou...You mentioned here the seven chords of
universal consciousness.I am a Hermetic Student.The Devine
Pymander of Hermes mentions seven rings that one must ascend to
attain universal consciousness.Basically each ring involves a
further letting go of the of the lower planes or what some may
consider the material world untill one ascends to the 8th ring
and beyond of Universal light and Life.Some of the powers let go
of to acsend include ability to increase and
diminish,machinations,lusts and passions,ambtion,rashness,sense
of accumulation and falsehood...Once these qualities are let go
of,illumination takes place..
Basically when we meditate on the Life and Light within we do
this more or less.Attention focused outward takes us towards what
has been generated by Universal consciousness and attention
focused inwards to the creator ,rather than the
created.ILLUMINATION results in a great outpouring of Love as
atonement or Oneness is achieved or realized.The creator loves
himself and recongnizes himself in everything.
What do you consider to be the best steps in developing
illumination..Greg