Theos-Talk Archives (November 2005 Message tt00035)

I have started recently with Theosophy through the works of Annie 
Besant and C.W. Leadbeater. I have still a long way to go. However, 
I would like to share what I have learned by presenting a 
compilation on some of the topics discussed in Theosophy. I don't 
profess to teach Theosphy, even to beginners (since I am a beginner 
myself), so these articles might be viewed as nothing more than my 
loud thinkings on the topics. 

Since this is only a compilation, I have generously used the text 
from the works of Theosophy authors and indicated the source I have 
made use of. In making use of the texts I duly acknowledge the 
credit to the authors, and don't claim any originality whatsoever.

I am testing the waters with this first article. If readers find it 
suitable for the forum, I can post further articles...
---

In the (g)olden days of Gurukula vidya, spiritual inquiries started 
in the bachelor life (brahmacharya ashram) under the guidance of a 
guru. 

Pursuit of knowledge in ancient India was holistic, spanning 
society, history, science, philosophy, religion and spirituality. 
The jyoti of spiritual inquiry lit in the early life burnt steadily 
and guided the sadhaka's path when he/she moved on to the other 
ashrams of life. 

Today's materialistic education has no space for spirituality. In a 
fast changing world, money and material comforts have become the 
target of the modern-day aspirants who scarcely, if ever, think 
about spirituality, until they reach the vanaprasta (forties) or 
even the sannyasa (sixties) stage in life. 

Today's youth are gradually weaned away from spirituality by cinema, 
TV, pop music, a growing permissive life and other evil influences 
of the western culture. They simply have no time for spiritual 
inquiry. A major factor that allows this is the lack of parental 
control or guidance. 

As a revered Swamiji said of parents in a recent Hindu summit 
meeting in the USA, "Let the kids wear jeans, but they should not 
forget their genes. Do not teach them, reach them. They do what they 
see. Teach them with your life. Family is the first school." 

This is not to say that the modern youth are irreligious; only that 
they are less religious, and far less spiritual. 

For example, most of us today have no clear ideas of these truths of 
our spiritual life: 

thoughts, emotions, dreams, consciousness, will power, death and 
after, reincarnation, karma, soul, spirit, other worlds, creation, 
evolution, devolution, and more. 

These are truths that the modern, physical science can never hope to 
unravel. These are truths that have their cause and effect under a 
universal law. They influence the life of every single individual, 
the life of a civilization, the life of a country and the life of 
the entire world. 

We are not aware that our seers of yore and the spiritual gurus of 
ancient traditions have conducted a scientific, logical and coherent 
inquiry into these truths and documented their findings. 

The main objective of this serial is to present the readers, 
specially the youth, with an interesting, inherent and perhaps more 
practical view of the high truths listed above, using the teachings 
of Hinduism, Buddhism and Theosophy. 

Since the human thought process is largely associative and 
pictorial, we would try to follow a similar way with our topics of 
discussion. The first topic we will select is Vibration. 

Vibration... 

This one word defines everything. From Here to Eternity. It defines 
a human being. All other beings. It defines nature, the earth and 
the Universe. And even God. 

Things that vibrate, behave in similar ways, with similar 
attributes. As our Tamil Siddhars said: what is in the andam 
(universe) is also in the pindam (body). "As above, so below", is 
the Hermetic Axiom. 

Vibration basically, is movement. Back and forth. Up and down. In 
quick circles. Or pendulam-like, in an arc. It can be regular or 
irregular, linear or circular, in two dimensions, three, or more. 

Vibration involves matter, force and energy. It is the matter that 
vibrates, under a force, and the vibration transmits energy. 

Vibration can be measured. When we measure vibration, we take into 
account two things: distance and time. 

When matter in discrete particles vibrates, the energy it transmits 
travels in waves. To measure the vibration, we take into account the 
Frequency and Amplitude. 

Frequency is the number of cycles or oscillations a wave completes 
in a second. Amplitude is the intensity of the wave. Wavelength is 
the distance between two corresponding points in successive phases 
of a wave. 

Frequency is measured in Hertz. One Hertz is one cycle per second. 
We are familiar with the terms kilohertz (KHz) and megahertz (MHz) 
since the time of the radio, and in today's world of FM radio, TV, 
mobile phones, computers and other space annihilators. 

Frequency translates into color with light waves and pitch with 
sound waves. Waves of higher frequencies have shorter wavelengths. 

Amplitude translates into voltage with electromagnetic waves in 
general, volume in audio waves, height in mechanical waves, and 
color, sound and motion when these forms of waves are combined, as 
in TV transmission. 

Apart from frequency and amplitude, a wave has a third attribute: 
its shape. The typical shape of a wave is the sine curve, which is 
the regular, wavy line we draw to represent a wave. Complex shapes 
are built by adding the basic, sinusoidal shapes with different 
frequencies and amplitudes. 

Vibration creates the nature around us. Color is vibration. Sound is 
vibration. Taste is vibration. Smell is vibration. Touch introduces 
vibration. All objects in this world, animate and inanimate, are 
vibrations. 

These vibrations are at the physical plane, which is our world of 
three dimensions, bound by space and time. 

When vibration manifests as color, it appears as the violet color at 
its highest frequency in the visible spectrum of colors. It appears 
as the red color at its lowest frequency. In between, are the other 
colors of the seven-colored rainbow: VIBGYOR. 

This number 7 is a holy number. It plays a primary role in creation. 

When the colors merge, we get white, the primordial color, that is, 
the base color from which all colors are formed. A ray of the Sun is 
white in color. Snow is white because it reflects all the colors of 
the light it receives. 

When vibration manifests as sound, it is heard as the cacophony of 
sounds that surrounds us all the time. Sound is also heard as speech 
or music. 

The primordial sound is the aum, the pranava mantra, which forms the 
basic vibration behind all manifestations. 

When vibration is manifest as music, it sounds as notes, again seven 
in number: sa,ri,ga,ma,pa,dha,ni. Music is a complex wave of sound, 
whose different sinusoidal components are called Harmonics. Because 
it is complex and harmonious, it creates sympathetic vibrations on 
the part of the listener, who enjoys it. 

Our emotions are also vibrations, albeit in a different plane. Our 
thoughts are also vibrations, in yet another plane. 

There are entities higher than thoughts. They exist in their own 
planes. God, the highest and most absolute form of vibration, exists 
in His own plane. 

Does this mean that the physical and other planes of vibration are 
separate, having their own space and time boundaries? No. 

All the planes of nature interpenetrate each other and share the 
same space as the physical plane. Just as the elements earth, water, 
and air (solid, liquid and gas) interpenetrate each other in the 
same space. More on this later. 

We have the five physical organs to sense physical vibration. They 
form part of our physical body. Using some of these physical organs 
we create physical vibrations to communicate with each other. 

In the same way, we have subtle organs to sense and create subtle 
vibrations, such as our emotions and thoughts. 

These subtle organs exist within us. They are not physical. They are 
usually not very well developed in ordinary humans. With knowledge 
and constant practice, we can control and develop them. 

Once we know that everything around and within us are nothing more 
than vibrations which manifest as sights and sounds and thoughts and 
emotions, this knowledge will prompt us to know them better, control 
and develop them. 

This fact of vibration as the basis of everything throws up a number 
of exciting possibilities. We shall continue to think about them in 
the forthcoming instalments. 

"There is No Religion (or Science) Higher than Truth." 

Regards,
saidevo

Notes:
Some more points that are rather technical: 

1. The Electromagnetic Spectrum (ES) 

This is a band of measured waves that are in the nature of 
radiations. Starting at the radio waves, the ES band includes 
infrared waves, the visible spectrum of light waves, the ultraviolet 
waves, X-rays and gamma rays. 

2. Cosmic rays 

These are not radiations (so not included in the ES), but 
high-energy charged particles that travel through space at nearly 
the speed of light. They originate outside our galaxy and provide 
information about distant objects such as quasars. They are detected 
when they hit the earth's upper atmosphere, creating showers of 
particles in their interaction with atoms. 

3. Sound 

Sound has a near infinite range of vibrations, connected with all 
matter. While scientists acknowledge this fact today, India knew it 
right from her ancient times. Our Vedas speak about the primordial 
sound aum which is the essence of all matter, and formed the basis 
of creation. 
====================================================================