Theosophy - The Etheric Double? - The Far-reaching Effects of a False Assumption - by Geoffrey A.Farthing
THE ETHERIC DOUBLE ?
THE FAR-REACHING EFFECTS OF
A FALSE ASSUMPTION
Geoffrey A. FARTHING
REVISED EDITION – NOVEMBER
1996
DIFFERENCES IN THEOSOPHICAL
TEACHINGS
AN EXAMINATION OF SOME
OF THE DIFFERENCES IN DATA AND TERMINOLOGY BETWEEN THE ORIGINAL LITERATURE AND
LATER VERSIONS
Introduction
There are many of the more thoughtful students of Theosophy and many teachers
who are genuinely confused at the discrepancies they find between what has become
known as second generation Theosophy (the Annie Besant/ C.W. Leadbeater or A.B./C.W.L. system) and the teachings of the two Masters instrumental
in setting up the Theosophical Society and introducing Theosophy as given out through
H.P. Blavatsky (the H.P.B./ Masters system).
These discrepancies do not come to light as long as only one system is studied.
In the minds of such students there are no difficulties or inconsistencies to worry
about. The attitude can then well be that really there cannot be any serious divergences
because surely the source of data, the main outlines of the Esoteric Science, are
common to both systems, therefore discrepancies are likely to be trivial and really
inconsiderable. This attitude is not really tenable but it is one generally held
by those who have studied nothing but second generation literature. Moreover, it
is this second generation literature which has become the commonly accepted one
throughout the Adyar Society and generally in the world at large. Its classifications
of the principles of man and the planes of Cosmos are now the commonly accepted
ones. They do not accord, however, with those originally given out in the vast Blavatsky literature. Some of the areas of difference are presented and examined
in this article. It will be seen that nearly all hinge on the introduction into
the A.B./C.W.L. literature of the Etheric Body into the constitution of man. Many
alterations not only to that constitution but also to the planes of Nature had
to be made to accommodate this introduction, chiefly to preserve a sevenfold classification.
The purpose of this paper is not only to point out the discrepancies but to demonstrate
that they are unjustified because there is not and cannot be such a thing as an Etheric
Body
constituted as described by Leadbeater.
The ramifications of the impossibility of there being such a body are discussed.
Some Areas
of Difference
The main areas of difference are in the classification of the human principles
and the 'planes' of being. These differences stemmed from the division in the A.B./C.W.L.
system of the physical plane into seven sub-planes, with three of them regarded
as dense physical and four as 'etheric', a term first used by Leadbeater to describe
four states of matter he had observed during a clairvoyant examination of the common
physical elements.
In the book Occult Chemistry which
records some prolonged and painstaking investigation work done by Leadbeater and
Besant over about three decades in their discoveries of the graded formation and
the nature of the sub-atomic aggregations that make up physical atoms, there is
a passage towards the end describing four pre-normal states of the common elements
of Carbon, Hydrogen, Nitrogen and Oxygen which Leadbeater named 'etheric'. He added
that this was done 'perhaps unadvisedly' (see Occult Chemistry revised edition 1919, table opposite p.7, and Appendix after p.109). He said this
because of the sense in which the word 'ether' was then being commonly used. Ether
was then regarded as the postulated universal all-pervading 'substance' which conveyed
electro-magnetic vibrations such as heat, light, electric charge, etc., throughout
space and through a vacuum. Nevertheless, the term 'etheric' as above defined was
adopted and became generally used thereafter in the A.B./C.W.L. literature, making
three gross states, viz. solid, liquid and gaseous, and four etheric states.
It is important to note that these investigations were done clairvoyantly, or, in
the author's parlance, using astral sight (presumably in Blavatsky's nomenclature).
This is important because, according to the Blavatsky teachings, there is a laya centre,
or neutral condition between each plane of Cosmos and it is explained that senses
of a different order are needed for each plane. In other words, physical senses will
not respond to 'astral' stimuli and vice versa. This means that anyone using 'etheric'
(astral) sight could not be seeing physical matter. What would be seen would be the
etheric (astral) counterpart of the physical, not the physical itself. In order to
examine these 'etheric' sub-atomic structures Leadbeater had to use a special power
of the will (siddhi) to break down the atoms from their normal state (of gaseous)
to the abnormal disintegrated sub-states which he saw. It must be stressed, however,
that these sub-states of matter were created by Leadbeater using his siddhi, and that they do not exist in the normal way, either in the 'etheric' (astral) plane or at physical level. They have never been
observed as existing in the 'free' state at physical level, although specimen states
corresponding to them may exist under abnormal conditions, for example during sophisticated
and powerful experiments. If they exist at physical level they would be observable
by normal physical senses or suitable sense-extending instruments. Similarly the
astral (Blavatsky) world being that from which all that is in the physical is projected,
would contain the counterparts of 'etheric' atomic states normally (i.e. without
Leadbeater having to break down atoms into their constituent parts). However, they
do
not, or he would have seen them without having to use his siddhi.
If these 'etheric' states do not exist at physical level, there is no matter
of which the 'etheric' double could be composed. That there was, was an assumption
made by Leadbeater. This assumption could have been checked by his clairvoyantly
examining an Etheric Body direct. There is no record of such an examination and
presumably none was made, i.e. the assumption of the composition of an Etheric
Body was not checked by direct observation, neither was the real existence of such
a body (as described) ever established by him or any other person.
The 'etheric' states of physical matter, or its astral Blavatsky counterpart,
were 'created' by Leadbeater, and the idea of an 'etheric' body or semi-physical
plane, was an unsound deduction.
Leadbeater's
'Etheric' States of Matter
The conception of an 'Etheric Body' and its location on an 'etheric' semi-physical
plane arose from the naming as described of what might be regarded as the formative
stages of the atoms of common chemical elements, by a series of aggregations of
what Besant and Leadbeater called the ultimate physical atom (Anu). It is important
to note that, whereas in such a developmental stage, i.e. moving from one 'etheric'
state to the next, there is a change in atomic structure, but in the three normal
states of matter, i.e. solid, liquid and gaseous, there is no such change. This
is an inconsistency from the normal process of change of state.
Besant refers (on page 72 of The
Ancient Wisdom ) to these etheric stages as 'higher' than the physical atoms of science. There is
a serious objection to this contention in that the 'etheric' states are clearly
formative, i.e. more primitive states than those of the elements as they now
exist. If there were such a thing as an Etheric Body it would be lower on the
evolutionary scale than the physical body.
Furthermore, as pointed out above, apart from the chemical elements (listed
in the periodic table) composed according to Leadbeater of the sub-atomic particles
of his investigations, which comprise the 'matter' of our objective world, Leadbeater's
sub-particles have normally no independent existence. Therefore no bodies, and
no plane, could be composed of them.
Besant later, consistently with the original (Blavatsky) literature, added
'fire' to the gross physical states, corresponding the classical four elemental
states of Earth, Water, Air and Fire and the invisible beings, the elementals,
supposed in mediaeval times to have been associated with them, viz. the gnomes,
the sylphs, the undines and the salamanders. These four Elements correspond in
the original literature to the tattvic states of matter which include Fire but
the A.B./C.W.L. classification in Occult Chemistry omits Fire as a state of matter, having however its four etheric states. If Fire
is included as an element there is room only for three etheric states. In Blavatsky's
classical scheme there are seven tattvic states.
Tattvas and
corresponding States of Matter
In several places Blavatsky identified the four states of matter, viz. earth,
water, air, fire, and associated them with elementals of corresponding classes
and with the Tattvas under the Hindu names of Prithivi, Apas, Tejas, Vayu. Continuing
up the tattvic scale she put the 5th as Alaya or Akasa, and then mentioned two
more above that, viz. a 6th, Anupadaka and a 7th, Adi. These are the expressions
used in the Table opposite page 500 in the Secret Doctrine, Volume III (Collected
Writings of H.P.Blavatsky, Volume XII, age 614; E.W., 399) and compared with the
A.B./C.W.L. nomenclature in the table below:
TABLE
I -
|
Comparative
Table of the STATES OF MATTER in the two Systems |
|
H.P.B./MASTERS SYSTEM |
A.B./C.W.L.SYSTEM |
TATTVAS |
NO. |
ELEMENTS & STATES OF MATTER |
NO. |
ETHER 4
(Ultimate Physical Atom, Anu) |
ADI |
7 |
AETHER(Akasa) |
1 |
ETHER 3 (Etheric) |
ANUPADAKA |
6 |
DIVINE FLAME |
2 |
ETHER 2 (Physical) |
ALAYA (or AKASA) |
5 |
ETHER |
3 |
ETHER 1 |
TEJAS |
4 |
FIRE |
4 |
** |
|
VAYU |
3 |
AIR |
5 |
AIR. GASEOUS |
Gross
Physical |
APAS |
2 |
WATER |
6 |
WATER. LIQUID |
PRITHVI |
1 |
EARTH |
7 |
EARTH. SOLID |
|
** (Fire omitted) |
Note
-1- Adi simply means first or supreme - not used to apply to a plane in
the Secret Doctrine. |
Note
-2- Anupadaka
(lit. parentless) - apart from being the name of a tattva, it was applied
to the seven Dhyani Buddhas (see Secret Doctrine, Volume I, page 571;
3rd Edition, page 624; 4th Edition, page 295) |
Note -3- The
inversion of the numbering should be noted. It is a further cause of
confusion to
students. |
In the S.D.III Table the 5th Tattva (Alaya) is referred to as Akasa, but is the equivalent
of the 2nd differentiation from Adi: commonly in the text of the S.D. Akasa is
synonymous with
Aether, i.e. the One Element. Alaya is referred to elsewhere as (and corresponds
to) Ether. Further it must be noted that the Table in The Secret Doctrine shows the correspondences of the
Tattvas with, among other things, the human Principles, which include the Linga
Sarira (as such). Ether is significantly mentioned on page 12 of the Secret Doctrine,
Volume 1 (3rd Edition,Page 40; 4th Edition Page 78) wherein it says,
For clearer understanding on the part of the general reader, it must be stated that Occult
Science recognizes seven cosmical elements, four entirely physical and the 5th (Ether)
semi-material, as it will become visible in the air towards the end of our Fourth Round, to
reign supreme over the others during the whole of the Fifth. The remaining two are as yet
absolutely beyond the range of human perception. These latter will, however, appear as
presentments during the sixth and seventh Races of this round, and will become known in
the sixth and seventh Rounds respectively.
Obviously the first four entirely physical elements are those enumerated above and the fifth,
Ether, is in the process of manifesting now, but the other elements, whether regarded as Ethers or
not, are not yet manifest on our globe. There is therefore nothing in the H.P.B./Masters system
that could correspond to the A.B./C.W.L. system's four 'ethers or etheric states of matter.
Sub-atomic States of Matter
It can be asked, if the above is true, what is the matter that is manifest at spiritualistic
séances as ectoplasm and of what are the 'auras' of Kirlian photography composed?
To answer the second question first, Kirlean photographs are relatively high voltage
discharges affected by the emanations from living bodies, or where a part of a body has been
detached (cut off or severed by accident) the astral (not etheric) model still remaining intact
affects the discharge. An understanding of this involves a knowledge of how forms or models in
the astral are projected into objectivity at physical level.
The first question concerning the exuding of the matter called ectoplasm from mediums
(spiritualistic) during séances involves a process of the disintegration of
the physical substance of the medium's body, i.e. the creation of a special state
of physical matter for the time being. The
phantom's weight increases as that of the medium correspondingly decreases. Ectoplasm
is exuded as an amorphous mass from an orifice, e.g. mouth or nostril, and then
it, or some of it,
assumes a form, or a number of forms, of recognizable likenesses. These are impressed
on the substance by psychic (astral) force by elementals from patterns in the minds
of those present or in
the Astral Light.
Blavatsky
describes (see Secret Doctrine, Volume I, Page 257; 3rd Edition Page 267;
4th Edition, Page 259) what characteristic of matter will correspond to the 'etheric'
state
when
it does
manifest,
and
she says it will be that of
'permeability'. Along with it a sixth sense will develop in man which will enable
him to see 'through' solid matter. Not only that, in the then proper 'etheric'
state a solid object will be able to
pass through another solid one, say a wall, or knots will be able to be tied
in an endless cord, etc. This is something that elementals are now able to
do
and sometimes do at séances. If the etheric
states as described by Leadbeater were of this nature this state of permeability
and the sixth sense would also be here now, but they are not. It should be
noted that, just as Leadbeater 'created' his
'etheric states of matter, so there must be other states of matter than those
we normally know - as implied a number of times by Blavatsky - which do not
ordinarily
exist in a free state. An
example of the temporary creation of one of these abnormal states would be that
of the endless cord knots just cited, wherein abnormal states of matter would
have been created
by the Elementals.
Established Terminology
When
Blavatsky wanted to describe something non-physical and tenuous in nature
she used the word 'ethereal' (not etheric), which again she specifically related
to
the astral plane (see Secret Doctrine, Volume II, page 299; 3rd Edition,
page 313; 4th Edition, page 300). Further, towards the end of an article that she
entitled
'A
Danger Signal' written for La Revue Théosophique, April 1889, (see Collected Writings, Volume XI, page 185 et seq.)
Blavatsky makes the following statement: 'The terminology established some fifteen
years ago in the Theosophical Society is the correct one, because in every case
these terms are a faithful
translation of their Sanskrit equivalents, almost as old as the latest human
race', and then significantly she adds, 'This terminology could not be modified
at present
without running the
risk of introducing into the theosophical teachings a chaos which would be deplorable
and dangerous to their clarity'. This statement is particularly relevant and
significant in the light of
what in fact happened to the theosophical terminology in the books written later
on.
It was in 1889 that Blavatsky wrote The Key to Theosophy and therein she very carefully
defined her terms and their meanings. Towards the end of Chapter IX (page 171
Original Edition) she wrote a section, 'Definite words for definite things'.
In this she was
concerned that the
terminology should be settled. She used a large part of that section for definitions
of the elements of the human 'soul'. In a footnote (Page 175) she puts, 'Shifting
of Metaphysical terms ', which she
says 'applies here only to the shifting of their translated equivalents from
the Eastern expressions: for to this day there never existed such terms in English,
every Theosophist having to coin his
own terms to render his thought. It is high time then to settle on some definite
nomenclature', and this she did in The Key where she defined precisely all the more commonly used words and gave
their Sanskrit equivalents. She set out the constitution of man, giving the English
equivalents of
the Eastern names.
Besant's The Ancient Wisdom was written in 1897, eight years after this terminology had
been established. In it (Page 194) she equates the Linga Sarira to her Etheric
Double which in her system, as explained above, she places on the physical plane.
This introduces a difficulty because
the Linga Sarira in the Hindu and original theosophical sense is on the plane above
the physical.
It must also be remembered that, according to Blavatsky, there is a Laya Centre between
the physical plane proper and the one of the Linga Sarira (the astral) above it, and therefore
distinctly different sets of senses operate on the planes on either side of the Laya Centres. The
physical is cognizable by physical senses but the plane of the Linga Sarira (the Astral in the
Blavatsky system) is not; the latter requires astral senses, i.e. those of clairvoyance and
clairaudience. In the A.B./C.W.L. system, however, the Etheric Body or Double being 'etheric'
physical, but on the physical plane, would not be separated from the dense physical by a Laya
Centre: physical senses would therefore apply to both the gross physical and the etheric physical.
TABLE
II
|
THEOSOPHICAL
DIVISION
|
|
SANSKRIT TERMS |
ESOTERIC MEANING |
EXPLANATORY |
The Lower (personal) Quaternary |
(a) Rupa, or Sthula Sharira |
(a) Physical Body |
(a) Is the vehicle of all the other 'principles' during life. |
(b)
Prana |
(b) Life, or vital principle |
(b) Necessary only to a, c, d, and the functions of the lower Manas, which embrace
all those limited to the physical brain. |
(c)
Linga Sharira |
(c) Astral body |
(c) The double, the phantom body |
(d)
Kama Rupa |
(d) The seat of animal desires and passions |
(d) This is the centre of the animal man, where lies the line of demarcation which
separates the moral man from the immoral entity. |
The Upper Imperishable Triad |
(e) Manas - a dual principle in its functions |
(e) Mind, intelligence; the higher human mind, whose light or radiation links the
Monad, for the life-time, to the mortal man. |
(e) The future state and the karmic destiny of man depend on whether Manas more gravitates
downward to Kama Rupa, the seat of the animal passions, or upwards to Buddhi,
the spiritual Ego. In the latter case, the higher consciousness of the
individual spiritual aspirations of mind (Manas), assimilating Buddhi,
are absorbed by it and form the Ego, which goes into devachanic bliss. |
(f)
Buddhi |
(f) The spiritual soul |
(f) The vehicle of pure universal spirit |
(g)
Atma |
(g) Spirit |
(g) One with the Absolute, as its radiation |
[Key
to Theosophy, VI, 91/92, Original Edition] |
She gave some
further significant definitions which are of relevance in the light of some later
usage of the terms:
I) Atma, the Higher Self, is neither your spirit nor mine, but like sunlight shines
on all. It is the universally diffused divine principle, and is inseparable from
its one and absolute super-spirit, as
the sunbeam is inseparable from sunlight.
II) Buddhi, the spiritual soul is only its vehicle. Neither Atma nor Buddhi separately,
nor the two collectively, are of any more use to the body of man, than sunlight
and its beams are for a mass of
granite buried in the earth, unless the divine duad is assimilated by, and reflected
in, some
consciousness. Neither Atma nor Buddhi are ever reached by Karma, because the former is the
highest aspect of Karma, the working agent of Itself in one aspect, and the latter is unconscious
on this Plane. This consciousness or mind is
III) Manas, the derivation or product in a reflected form, of ahamkara, 'the conception of I,' or
'Ego-ship'. It is, therefore, when inseparably united to the first two, called
the spiritual Ego, and
taijasa, the radiant. This is the real individuality, or the divine man. It is this Ego
which - having originally incarnated in the senseless human form animated
by, but unconscious of, the presence
in itself of the dual monad, since it had no consciousness - made of that human-like
form a real
man. It is this Ego, this 'causal body', which overshadows every personality into which
Karma forces it to incarnate. It is this Ego which is held responsible
for all the sins committed through
and in, every new body or personality - the evanescent masks which hide the true
individual through the long series of rebirths. [Key to Theosophy, VIII,
135]
__________
The Higher Self is
Atma, the inseparable ray of the Universal and One SELF. It is the God
above, more than within us. Happy the man who succeeds in saturating his
Inner Ego with it!
The Spiritual Divine Ego is
the spiritual soul or Buddhi, in close union with Manas, the mind-principle, without which the former is no Ego at all, but only the Atmic
Vehicle.
The Inner, or Higher Ego, is
Manas, the 'fifth' principle, so called, independently
of Buddhi. The mind-principle is only the Spiritual Ego when merged into one with Buddhi; no
materialist being supposed to have in him such an Ego, however great his
intellectual capacities. It is the permanent individuality or the reincarnating
Ego. The Lower, or Personal ego, is the physical man in conjunction with
his lower self, i.e. animal instincts, passions, desires, etc. It is called the
false personality, and consists of the lower Manas combined with Kama
Rupa, and operating through the physical body and its phantom or double.
[Key to Theosophy, IX, 176]
It is also important to note that, whereas there are tattvic correspondences to the solid,
liquid, gaseous and fiery states of matter, there are none to the four physical 'etheric' states.
Besant's Terminology
In her book The Ancient Wisdom, in a footnote, Besant says, 'Linga Sarira was the name
originally given to the Etheric Body and must not be confused with the Linga Sarira of Hindu
philosophy. Sthula Sarira is the Sanskrit name for the dense body'. But the 'Etheric Body' is her
modern term and Linga Sarira is an ancient one. She does not explain the origins of the term
'Etheric Body' nor what she meant by 'originally', but in the original (Blavatsky) theosophical
literature there is no 'etheric' body or state of matter. Besant does not say why the Etheric Body
should not be confused with the Linga Sarira. She implies that the term Etheric Body was
somehow of more ancient usage than Linga Sarira but does not justify her statement. It was
certainly used as a word by mediaeval and even 19th century occultists but not in the sense in
which Besant used it. To this double, however, she ascribed most of the characteristics and
qualities of the astral body (2nd principle) of the Blavatsky system, often referred to by its Indian
name Linga Sarira.
In the H.P.B./Masters literature the word 'etheric' does appear in a few places,
e.g. concerning the force used in the Keeley motor (see Secret Doctrine, Volume
I,
page
562;
3rd
Edition, page
613;
4th Edition, page 285) but
there Blavatsky expressly relates 'etheric' to Astral (i.e. her 2nd plane). It
could be that in contrasting it with the meaning given to the word by the Hindus
Besant was thinking of Linga
Sarira being translated as 'sex-body' (see Collected Writings, Volume IV,
page 53), Linga being the Sanskrit word for phallus or maleness. Blavatsky does mention
this
but
persists
with
her use
of the word. The meaning she
gave to Linga Sarira in her Theosophical Glossary is as follows:
'Linga Sarira. The 'body', i.e., the aerial symbol of the body. This term designates the
doppelgänger or the 'astral body' of man or animal. It is the eidolon of the Greeks, the
vital and prototypal body; the reflection of the man of flesh. It is born before and dies or
fades out, with the disappearance of the last atom of the body.'
It is used in this sense consistently throughout the Blavatsky writings. Linga Sarira
is the direct equivalent of Blavatsky's astral body. Later she explains the Linga
Sarira's relationship to the
Kama and Mayavi Rupas in Collected Writings of H.P.Blavatsky, Vol.IV, page 53.
In all the voluminous literature that came during and after the Besant era, the astral plane
became identified with the Kama Loca (4th Blavatsky plane), but to add to the confusion many of
the qualities ascribed to the astral plane in the later literature were in fact those of the astral plane
(2nd) as originally described by Blavatsky, and sometimes of the Astral Light (Blavatsky).
Little or no mention of the Astral Light, as such, is made in the later literature in spite of
its importance, particularly in explaining psychic phenomena. Another important difference
between the A.B./C.W.L. view on 'etheric' states and the H.P.B./Masters description of Ether is
that the former might be regarded, as 'developmental' states of matter, and would then be
associated with the processes of involution, whereas the tattvic Ether and higher states are
evolutionary, i.e. they will appear only in the Rounds after our present fourth.
Besant said she was making these changes to eradicate confusions but it is difficult to see
that any confusions existed, especially as Blavatsky had been at such pains to define her terms
which she used consistently throughout both her own and the Masters' writings.
Principles and Planes
Many confusions were introduced by the changes made by Besant in both the terminology
and classifications of the principles and planes. A fundamental one was the use
of the word 'Monadic' to describe a plane (2nd) (see Table IV below). Monad is
defined in the Blavatsky
literature as a duad, the combination of Atma and Buddhi. It is also used in
the universal sense to include Mahat i.e. Monad is then regarded as a triad (see
Secret Doctrine, Volume I, page 570; 3rd Edition, page 623; 4th Edition, page
293). There is a reference in the S.D. Vol.III to the Monad as both a duality and
a
triad, but by the latter the Ego (the upper Triad in man) is obviously meant.
Although Monad as defined by Blavatsky is
one and indivisible, the triad Atma-Buddhi-Manas is sometimes referred to in
her literature as the human Ego (see terminology and definitions given at the
end of Chapter IX of The Key to Theosophy , page 176 in
the Original Edition).
TABLE
III-
COMPARATIVE TABLE OF CLASSIFICATION OF PLANES
|
MASTERS/H.P.B. System
|
A.B./C.W.L. System (OLD)
|
|
|
1
|
ADI
|
|
|
2
|
ANUPADAKA
|
7
|
ATMA
|
3
|
ATMA
|
6
|
BUDDHI
|
4
|
BUDDHI
|
5
|
Higher
MANAS ----------------
Lower
|
5
|
Higher
MENTAL ------------------
Lower
|
4
|
KAMA
|
6
|
ASTRAL
|
3
|
PRANA
|
|
|
2
|
LINGA SARIRA (Astral)
|
|
|
1
|
STHULA SARIRA
(Physical Body)
|
7
|
Etheric
PHYSICAL -----------------
Dense
|
The inversion of the numbering should be noted. It is a further cause of confusion to students.
Note Table IV
(page 14) for new names of planes in A.B./C.W.L. system (see Besant's Study in
Consciousness, page 3)
The division of the physical plane by Besant into two (a dense lower and an upper
etheric) not only meant a radical rearrangement of the principles of man, but
also affected the naming of the planes in Nature on which the 'subjective' globes
of a Chain are placed. The
H.P.B./Masters scale of principles is clearly set out in The Key (see Table II). Besant's variations
on this are given on page 194 of her The Ancient Wisdom (Table III herein). They are also set out on
page 48 and there are further variations in the footnote, where the numbering
of the principles is inverted. Here Atma is allocated to the 5th plane, counting
from the bottom, instead of the 7th
(see Table IV). It is explained in the text that two higher principles above
the 5th (3rd in Table IV) are beyond the consciousness of man at this time. No
reference to any such higher principles
or planes is given in the Blavatsky literature. Corresponding planes of Nature
are given on page 3 of Besant's A Study in Consciousness. Here Adi and Anupadaka are names given to the two planes
above Atma, whereas in the H.P.B./Masters classification Atma is supreme, i.e.
no planes above it, and the names Adi and Anupadaka are those of the Tattvas corresponding to Atma and
Buddhi (see Table I). Besant applied the word 'Monadic' (see Table IV) to her No.2 plane
(counting downwards) making it superior to the Spiritual (Atmic). Apart from
the fact that in the classical system there is no 'plane' above Atma, Besant's
nomenclature is illogical in that whether
Monad is regarded as a duad or triad, Atma is its highest component. Any combination
of Atma with Buddhi and Manas, both derivatives of 'Atma', could not possibly
be superior to Atma.
On page 194 of The Ancient Wisdom Besant
gives a table of principles and 'forms'. Under the forms she lists a series
of bodies which she says corresponds to the Koshas in the Vedantic
classification, but here she relates Atma to the bliss, Buddhi to the causal
and Manas to the mental body respectively. These terms are not so used in the
Blavatsky
system where the causal
body corresponds to the higher Manas and bliss to Buddhi (see Secret Doctrine,
Volume 1, page 157; 3rd Edition Page 181; 4th Edition page 211). In Besant's
Table the astral body is equated to
Kama,
or
the animal soul, and the Etheric
Double to Linga Sarira and the dense body to Sthula Sarira. Underneath the Table
Besant says: 'It will be seen that the difference is merely a question of
names and that the 6th, 5th, 4th and 3rd
'principles' (not however numbered in the Table) are merely Atma working in the
buddhic, causal, mental and astral bodies while the 2nd and 1st principles
are the two lowest bodies
themselves'. To this statement was added, 'This sudden change in the method of
naming is apt to cause confusion in the mind of the student, and as Blavatsky,
our revered teacher, expressed much dissatisfaction with the then current nomenclature
as confused and misleading
and desired others and myself to try and improve it, the above names as descriptive,
simple and representing
the facts are here adopted'. The changes, together with others, made by Besant
did not in fact represent the same 'facts', e.g. the invention and insertion
of the 'etheric' body, but they were
adopted both within and outside the Theosophical Society. In the meanwhile they
have virtually become standard 'Theosophy'. It is difficult to understand
how Blavatsky's 'then current
nomenclature' was 'confused and misleading', in that so near to her death as
1889 when she wrote The Key to Theosophy she set out so clearly and simply the terminology which had been devised
over many years with the Masters' cooperation. Up to that time there were no
English expressions for the then devised terms, and there was certainly no
confusion in them.
As an example of how Besant's new nomenclature was imposed on the membership of the
T.S. (and the interested public), we have the following from Leadbeater's Textbook of Theosophy,
page 61:
'The President has now decided upon a set of names for the planes, so for the future these
will be used instead of those previously employed. A table of them is given below for
reference.
TABLE
IV
|
NEW NAMES
|
OLD NAMES
|
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
|
Divine World
Monadic World
Spiritual World
Intuitional World
Mental World
Emotional or Astral World
Physical World
|
Adi Plane
Anupadaka Plane
Atmic or Nirvanic Plane
Buddhic Plane
Mental Plane
Astral Plane
Physical Plane
|
'These will supersede the names given in Vol.II of The Inner Life.'
It will be noted that neither the 'New' nor the 'Old' names referred back to those given by
Blavatsky.
Further Differences between the Systems
Confusions have certainly arisen because of the altered nomenclature and numbering of
both planes and principles. In the H.P.B./Masters literature specific expressions are used quite
consistently; for example, the Linga Sarira is always the astral body or the astral double. In the
A.B./C.W.L. system this term, Linga Sarira, was dropped, together with its corresponding plane,
as was also the principle of Prana and its plane. Both the Blavatsky astral and prana principles,
however, have their corresponding states of consciousness, but both of these were omitted in the
A.B./C.W.L. system.
It is true that Blavatsky made some variations in the ordinary septenary classification of
planes and principles in the Papers for her Esoteric School, particularly in dividing Manas into
upper and lower, and sometimes omitting the physical body as a principle, but she never altered
the main theme of her sevenfold system, with Atma as the supreme principle and plane. It will be
seen from the foregoing that the alterations made by Besant, which were generally adopted by
later writers in the Society, e.g. Leadbeater, C. Jinarajadasa, A.E. Powell, etc., were more than
mere terminological changes and certainly did nothing to improve clarity.
It is important to note what is said in Secret Doctrine, Volume 3, (495 footnote; Collected Writings of H.P.Blavatsky, Volume 12, Page 608
footnote; E.W., 394 footnote). 'It is erroneous to call the fourth [2nd in
A.B./C.W.L.]
human
principle
'Kama Rupa'. It is no Rupa at
all until after death, but stands for the Kamic elements in man, his animal desires
and passions, such as anger, lust, envy, revenge, etc., the progeny of selfishness
and matter'. This states
categorically that there is no Astral Body (4th principle vehicle as such) until
after death. In what body then it can be asked does 'astral' travel occur, if
there is no body during life in which to
travel? Blavatsky tells us,
'When a man visits another in his Astral Body, it is the Linga-sarira that goes, but this
cannot happen at any great distance.
If a man thinks intensely of another at a distance, his Mayavi-Rupa (see later) may
appear to that person, without the projector knowing anything about it. This
Mayavi-rupa is
formed by the unconscious use of Kriyashakti. (Collected Writings, Volume XII,
Pages 706/7).
Doubles
In the matter of the 'doubles' in man's constitution Blavatsky wrote an article,
in question and answer form between herself and M.C., for Lucifer (December 1888, see Collected Writings, Volume X, page 217 et seq.)
'On Astral Bodies, or Doppelgängers' wherein she clearly states:
H.P.B. Our occult philosophy teaches us there are three kinds of 'doubles', to use the word in its
widest sense. (1) Man has his 'double' or shadow, properly so called, around which the
physical body of the foetus - the future man - is built. The imagination of the mother, or
an accident which affects the child, will affect also the astral body. The astral and the
physical both exist before the mind is developed into action, and before the Atma awakes.
This occurs when the child is seven years old, and with it comes the responsibility
attaching to a conscious sentient being. This 'double' is born with man, dies with him and
can never separate itself far from the body during life, and though surviving him, it
disintegrates, pari passu, with the corpse. It is this, which is sometimes seen over the
graves like a luminous figure of the man that was, during certain atmospheric conditions.
From its physical aspect it is, during life, man's vital double and after death, only the
gases given off from the decaying body. But, as regards its origin and essence, it is
something more. This 'double' is what we have agreed to call linga-sarira, but which I
would propose to call, for greater convenience, 'Protean' or 'Plastic Body'.
M.C. [Mabel Collins] Why Protean or Plastic?
H.P.B. Protean, because it can assume all forms; e.g. the 'shepherd magicians' whom popular
rumour accuses, perhaps not without some reason, of being 'were-wolves', and 'mediums
in cabinets', whose own 'Plastic Bodies' play the part of materialized grandmothers and
'John Kings'. Otherwise, why the invariable custom of the 'dear departed angels' to come
out but little further than arm's length from the medium whether entranced or not? Mind, I
do not at all deny foreign influences in this kind of phenomena. But I do affirm that
foreign interference is rare, and that the materialized form is always that of the medium's
'Astral' or Protean Body.
M.C. But how is this astral body created?
H.P.B. It is not created: it grows, as I told you, with the man and exists in the rudimentary
condition even before the child is born.
M.C. And what about the second?
H.P.B. The second is the 'Thought' body, or Dream body, rather; known among Occultists as the
Mayavi-rupa, or 'illusion-body'. During life this image is the vehicle both of thought and
of the animal passions and desires, drawing at one and the same time from the lowest
terrestrial manas(mind) and Kama, the element of desire. It is dual in its potentiality, and
after death forms, what is called in the East Bhoot, or Kama-rupa, but which is better
known to theosophists as the 'Spook'.
M.C. And the third?
H.P.B. The third is the true Ego, called in the East, by a name meaning 'causal body' but which in
the trans-Himalayan schools is always called the 'Karmic body', which is the same. For
Karma or action is the cause which produces incessant rebirths or 'reincarnations'. It is
not the Monad, nor is it Manas proper; but is, in a way, indissolubly connected with, and
a compound of the Monad and Manas in Devachan.
M.C. Then there are three doubles?
H.P.B. If you can call the Christian and other Trinities 'three Gods', then there are three doubles.
But in truth there is only one under three aspects or phases: the most material portion
disappearing with the body; the middle one, surviving both as an independent, but
temporary entity in the land of shadows; the third, immortal, throughout the manvantara
unless Nirvana puts an end to it before.
After this Blavatsky went on to explain the difference between the Mayavi and Kama
Rupa, very relevant to 'astral' travel and the after-death states. All this explanation was to
eradicate confusion.
Man's Constitution as Principles and Aspects
There is important explanatory passage in the Secret Doctrine, Volume III, Page 493,
or Collected Writings , Volume XII, page 607, which gives another view of the
elements of man's make-up, and which significantly
supplements
what was in
The Key tabulated above. These extracts indicate how precisely Blavatsky defined the terms
which had then been decided upon. The established classification and numbering
of the principles of man were those used consistently throughout the massive
Blavatsky literature.
Some variations on the main theme were made in her E.S. Papers but these were
explained. It is hard to see how any confusion could have arisen prior to the changes made by
Besant herself.
ABOUT 'PRINCIPLES' AND 'ASPECTS'
Speaking metaphorically and philosophically, on strict esoteric lines, man as a complete unit is
composed of Four basic Principles and Three Aspects produced by them on this earth. In the
semi-esoteric teachings, these Four and Three have been called Seven Principles, to facilitate the
comprehension of the masses.
THE ETERNAL BASIC PRINCIPLES
|
TRANSITORY ASPECTS PRODUCED
BY THE PRINCIPLES
|
1.
Atman, or Jiva, 'the One Life', which permeates the Monadic Trio. (One in
three and three in One.)
|
1.
Prana, the Breath of Life, the same as Nephesh. At the death of a living
being, Prana re-becomes Jiva. (Remember that our reincarnating Egos are called
the Manasaputras, 'Sons of Manas' (or Mahat), Intelligence, Wisdom.)
|
2. Auric Envelope; because the substratum
of the Aura around man is the universally
diffused primordial and pure Akasa, the
first film on the boundless and shoreless
expanse of Jiva, the immutable Root of all.
|
2. Linga-Sarira, the Astral Form, the
transitory emanation of the Auric Egg. This
form preceded the formation of the living
Body, and after death clings to it,
dissipating only with the disappearance of
its last atom (the skeleton excepted).
|
3. Buddhi; because Buddhi is a ray of the
Universal Spiritual Soul (ALAYA).
|
3. Lower Manas, the Animal Soul, the
reflection or shadow of the Buddhi-Manas,
having the potentialities of both, but
conquered generally by its association with
the Kama elements.
|
4. Manas (the Higher Ego); for it proceeds
from Mahat, the first product or emanation
of Pradhana, which contains potentially all
the Gunas (attributes). Mahat is Cosmic
Intelligence, called the 'Great Principle'.
|
As man is the combined product of two
aspects: physically, of his Astral Form, and
psycho-physiologically of Kama-Manas, he
is not looked upon even as an aspect, but as
an illusion.
|
The Auric Egg, on account of its nature and manifold functions, has to be well studied. As
Hiranyagarbha, the Golden Womb or Egg, contains Brahma, the collective symbol of the Seven
Universal Forces, so the Auric Egg contains, and is directly related to, both the divine and the
physical man. In its essence, as said, it is eternal; in its constant correlations, it is a kind of
perpetual motion machine during the reincarnating progress of the Ego on this earth.
The aim of this
document is to draw attention to the fact that the Ethers of which the
Etheric Double was said to be composed (see The Ancient Wisdom page 50 et seq.) do not exist. Students
may also be interested in the alterations to the original classification of the
human principles which were made to accommodate the Etheric Body. These, as given
by Besant, are set out in
tabular form below (see Ancient Wisdom page 193):
TABLE
V - PLANES AND PRINCIPLES (BESANT)
|
PLANES
|
PRINCIPLES
|
7
|
Hidden *
|
|
|
|
6
|
Hidden *
|
|
|
|
5
|
Nirvanic (Atmic)
|
7
|
Atma
|
|
4
|
Buddhic
|
6
|
Buddhi
|
|
3
|
Mental
|
5
|
Higher
Manas -----
Lower
|
|
2
|
Astral
|
4
|
Kama
|
|
1
|
Physical
|
3
|
Physical
|
Prana |
2 |
Etheric Double |
1 |
Body (Dense) |
*
The 7th and 6th planes are described in The Ancient Wisdom pages 46/47.
See also footnote to page 48. Principles 1, 2 and 3 are regarded as physical. |
It will be seen from this Table that neither the planes nor the principles nor their
numerous correspondences accord with those given in the original literature, particularly
in the Inner Group
Notes (Collected Writings, Volume XII or the Secret Doctrine (1897) Volume III),
where
the
planes
and
principles
correspond
exactly to each other according to the Law of Analogy. Similarly the characteristics
of the planes as described by
A.B./C.W.L. do not agree in important particulars with those given in the H.P.B./Masters
system. Besant gives the colour of the Etheric Double (Ancient Wisdom, page 54)
as violet-grey
or blue-grey. In the Notes
(H.P.B./Masters system) violet is the colour of the Astral Double, which is on
the plane above the
physical.
After Death
Another serious difficulty that arises is that the whole of the Masters' account of what occurs
at and after death cannot be understood in terms of the classification of principles later used by
Besant. This is apart from essential differences between the Masters' account of what actually
happens after death and that enunciated later by Leadbeater. Besant's account in her early book Death
and After is, however, generally in accord with that of the Masters.
Summary
The foregoing analysis and comparison deals with only some of the salient points of
difference between the Theosophy as given us by the Masters and the system propounded by Besant
and her followers. There are many other areas of difference not touched on in this paper, viz. group
souls, permanent atoms, the dispensing of Karma and the attitude to religion.
From what has been given it is quite clear that in the respects mentioned the two systems are
irreconcilable. This is particularly so in connection with the latest information Blavatsky gave out
in the Papers to her Inner Group. The A.B./C.W.L. system is incompatible with the correspondences
given there and with, for example, the hierarchical colours and their relationship to the principles
of man. It is important that serious students of Theosophy should know about these discrepancies.
Note
The
clairvoyant investigations into the atomic structure of some elements was
started in 1895. An early reference to the term 'Etheric' is on page 20 of Leadbeater's book The Astral Plane (1895,
reprint 1987). On page 21 he refers to Blavatsky's 'seven principles of man',
but Blavatsky never made reference to the Etheric Double (see Table II and
references
to Blavatsky's Doubles on page 16 et seq.)
|