Man Visible and Invisible
Examples of Different Types of Men as
Seen by Means of Trained Clairvoyance
C. W. Leadbeater
WITH
FRONTISPIECE, THREE DIAGRAMS,
AND TWENTY-TWO COLOURED ILLUSTRATIONS
THE THEOSOPHICAL PUBLISHING HOUSE
Adyar, Madras 600 020, India
Wheaton Ill., USA. London, England
First Edition 1902
Second Edition: revised and enlarged
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CONTENTS |
CHAPTER |
|
I. |
How These Things Are Known |
II. |
The Planes of Nature |
III. |
Clairvoyant Sight |
IV. |
Man’s Vehicles |
V. |
The Trinity |
VI. |
The Earlier Outpourings |
VII. |
The Animal Group-Soul |
VIII. |
The Upward Curve |
IX. |
Human Consciousness |
X. |
The Third Outpouring |
XI. |
How Man Evolves |
XII. |
What His Bodies Show Us |
XIII. |
Colors and Their Meaning |
XIV. |
The Counterpart |
XV |
Early Stages of Man's Development |
XVI. |
The Ordinary Person |
XVII. |
Sudden Emotions |
XVIII. |
More Permanent Conditions |
XIX. |
The Developed Man |
XX. |
The Health-Aura |
XXI. |
The Causal Body of the Adept |
|
Appendix |
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
PLATE
1. Signification of the Colors
2. The Planes of Nature
3. The Three Outpourings
4. Involution and Evolution
5. The Causal Body of the Savage
6. The Mental Body of the Savage
7. The Astral Body of the Savage
8. The Causal Body of the Average Man
9. The Mental Body of the Average Man
10. The Astral Body of the Average Man
11. A Sudden Rush of Affection
12. A Sudden Rush of Devotion
13. Intense Anger
14. A Shock of Fear
15. The Average Man in Love
16. The Irritable Man
17. The Miser
18. Deep Depression
19. The Devotional Type
20. The Scientific Type
21. The Causal Body of the Developed Man
22. The Mental Body of the Developed Man
23. The Astral Body of the Developed Man
24. The Normal Health-Aura
25. The Health-Aura in Disease
26. The Causal Body of the Arhat
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Plate I - Signification
of the Colors |
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Plate II
- Planes of Nature |
Plate III
- Three Outpourings |
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Plate IV
- Involution and Evolution |
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... |
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Plate V
Causal Body of the Savage |
Mental Body of the Savage |
Plate
VII
Astral Body of the Savage |
Plate VIII
Causal body of the Average Man
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Plate IX
Mental Body of the Average Man |
Plate X
Astral Body of the Average Man |
Plate XI
Sudden Rush of Affection |
Plate XII
Sudden Rush of Devotion |
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Plate XIII
Intense Anger |
Plate XIV
Shock of Fear |
Plate XV
Average Man in Love |
Plate XVI
Irritable Man |
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Plate XVII
Miser |
Plate XVIII
Deep Depression |
Plate XIX
Devotional Type |
Plate XX
Scientific Type |
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Plate XXI
Causal Body of the Developed Man |
Plate XXII
Mental Body of the Developed Man |
Plate XXIII
Astral Body of the Developed Man |
Plate XIV
Normal Health Aura |
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Plate XXV
Health Aura in Disease |
Plate XXVI
Causal Body of the Arhat |
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PUBLISHER’S NOTE
THIS book was first published in 1902 and it has continued to be in demand
through the years since then. Because of the great interest in extrasensory
perception and in invisible aspects of man’s nature, it is now being published
for the first time in a paperback edition in a slightly abridged form. A few
passages which are not relevant today have been eliminated, but they do not
affect the main thesis of the work. The original language of the author remains
the same, with two exceptions. So as not to confuse the reader with the modern
scientific use of the term “atom”, a change has been made in some places in the
text by substituting the word “unit” where the author is referring to ultimate
units of matter. In some places the word “savage” has been replaced by the term
“primitive man” or “undeveloped man”. A brief appendix has been added to explain
a few technical terms. The original colored plates, painted under the direction
of Mr. Leadbeater, have been used.
CHAPTER I
HOW THESE THINGS ARE KNOWN
1.
MAN is a curiously complex being, and his evolution, past, present and
future, is a study of perennial interest for all who can see and understand.
Through what toilsome eternities of gradual development he has come to be what
he is, to what round in the long ladder of his progress he has now attained,
what possibilities of further progress the veil of the future conceals from us,
these are questions to which few can be indifferent - questions which have been
occurring all through the ages to everyone who has thought at all.
2.
In the Western world the answers given have been many and various. There
has been much dogmatic assertion, based on differing interpretations of alleged
revelation; there have been many ingenious speculations, the fruit in some cases
of close metaphysical reasoning. But dogmatism meets us with a story which is
on the face of it manifestly impossible, while speculation moves chiefly along
entirely materialistic lines, and endeavors to arrive at a satisfactory result
by ignoring half of the phenomena for which we have to account. Neither
dogmatism nor speculation approaches the problem from a practical point of view,
as a matter which can be studied and investigated like any other science.
3.
Theosophy comes forward with a theory based upon entirely different
foundations. While in no way depreciating the knowledge to be gained either by
study of the ancient scriptures or by philosophical reasoning, it nevertheless
regards the constitution and the evolution of man as matters, not of
speculation, but of simple investigation. When so examined, they prove to be
parts of a magnificent scheme, coherent and readily comprehensible - a scheme
which, while it agrees with and explains much of the old religious teaching, is
yet in no way dependent on it, since it can be verified at every step by the use
of the inner faculties which, though as yet latent in the majority of mankind,
have already been brought into working order by a number among our students.
4.
For the past history of man, this theory depends not only upon the
concurrent testimony of the tradition of the earlier religions, but upon the
examination of a definite record - a record which can be seen and consulted by
anyone who possesses the degree of clairvoyance requisite to appreciate the
vibrations of the finely subdivided matter upon which it is impressed. For its
knowledge as to the future which awaits humanity, it depends, first, upon
logical deduction from the character of the progress already made; second, on
direct information supplied by men who have already reached those conditions
which for most of us still constitute a more or less remote future; and third,
on the comparison which anyone who has the privilege of seeing them may make
between highly evolved men at various levels. We can imagine that a child who
did not otherwise know the course of nature might reason that he would presently
grow up and become a man, merely from the fact that he had already grown to a
certain extent and in a certain way, and that he saw around him other children
and young people at every stage of growth between his own and the adult level.
5.
The study of the condition of man at the present time, of the immediate
methods for his evolution, and of the effect upon that evolution of his
thoughts, his emotions, his actions - all this is regarded by theosophical
students as a matter of the application of well-known laws as a broad, general
principle, and then of careful observations, of painstaking comparison of many
cases in order to comprehend the detailed working of these laws. It is, in
fact, simply a question of sight, and this book is published in the hope, first,
that it may help earnest students who do not yet possess this sight to realize
how the soul and its vehicles appear when examined by its means; and second,
that the persons who are now beginning to exercise this vision more or less
perfectly, may by it be helped to understand the meaning of what they
see.
6.
I am perfectly aware that the world at large is not yet convinced of the
existence of this power of clairvoyant sight; but I also know that all who have
really studied the question have found the evidence for it irresistible. If any
intelligent person will read the authenticated stories quoted in my book
Clairvoyance, and will then turn from them to the books from which they were
selected, he will see at once that there is an overwhelming mass of evidence in
favor of the existence of this faculty. To those who themselves can see, and are
daily in the habit of exercising this higher vision in a hundred different ways,
the denial of the majority that such sight is possible naturally seems
ridiculous. For the clairvoyant the question is not worth arguing. If a blind
man came up to us and assured us that there was no such thing as ordinary
physical sight, and that we were deluded in supposing that we possessed this
faculty, we in our turn should probably not feel it worth while to argue at
great length in defense of our supposed delusion. We should simply say: “I
certainly do see, and it is useless to try to persuade me that I do not; all the
daily experiences of my life show me that I do; I decline to be argued out of my
definite knowledge of positive facts.” Now this is precisely how the trained
clairvoyant feels when ignorant people serenely pronounce that it is quite,
impossible that he should possess a power which he is at that very moment using
to read the thoughts of those who deny it to him!
7.
I am not attempting, therefore, in this book to prove that clairvoyance
is a reality; I take that for granted, and proceed to describe what is seen by
its means. Neither will I here repeat the details given in the little book which
I have mentioned as to the methods of
8.
clairvoyance, but will confine myself to such brief statement of the
broad principles of the subject as is absolutely necessary in order that this
book shall be comprehensible to one who has not studied other theosophical
literature.
9.
CHAPTER II
10.
THE PLANES OF NATURE
11.
THE first point which must be clearly comprehended is the wonderful
complexity of the world around us - the fact that it includes enormously more
than comes within the range of ordinary vision.
12.
We are all aware that matter exists in different conditions, and that it
may be made to change its conditions by variation of pressure and temperature.
We have the three well-known states of matter, the solid, the liquid, and the
gaseous, and it is the theory of science that all substances can, under proper
variation of temperature and pressure, exist in all these conditions.
13.
Occult chemistry shows us another and higher condition than the gaseous,
into which also all substances known to us can be translated or transmuted; and
to that condition we have given the name of etheric. We may have, for example,
hydrogen in an etheric condition instead of as a gas; we may have gold or silver
or any other element either as a solid, a liquid, or a gas, or in this other
higher state which we call etheric.
14.
In ordinary science we speak of an atom of oxygen, an atom of hydrogen,
an atom of any of the substances which chemists call elements, the theory being
that that is an element which cannot be further reduced, and that each of these
elements has its atom and an atom, as we may see from the Greek derivation of
the word, means that which cannot be cut, or further subdivided. Occult science
has always taught that all these so-called elements are not in the true sense of
the word elements at all; that what we call an atom of oxygen or hydrogen can
under certain circumstances be broken up. By repeating this breaking-up process
it is found that there is one substance at the back of all substances, and
different combinations of its ultimate Units give us what in chemistry are
called atoms of oxygen or hydrogen, gold or silver, lithium or platinum, etc.
When these are all broken up we get back to a set of Units which are all
identical, except that some of them are positive and some negative.
15.
The study of these units and of the possibilities of their combination is
in itself one of most enthralling interest. Even these, however, are found to be
units only from the point of view of our physical plane; that is to say, there
are methods by which even they can be subdivided, but when they are so broken up
they give us matter belonging to a different realm of nature. Yet this higher
matter also is not simple but complex; and we find that it also exists in a
series of states of its own, corresponding very fairly to the states of physical
matter which we call solid, liquid, gaseous, or etheric. Again, by carrying on
our process of subdivision far enough we reach another unit - the unit of that
realm of nature to which occultists have given the name of the astral world.
16.
Then the whole process may be repeated; for by further subdivision of
that astral unit we find ourselves dealing with another still higher and more
refined world, though a world which is still material. Once again we find matter
existing in definitely marked conditions corresponding at that much higher level
to the states with which we are familiar; and the result of our investigations
brings us once again to a unit - the unit of this third great realm of nature,
which in Theosophy we call the mental world. So far as we know, there is no
limit to this possibility of subdivision, but there is a very distinct limit to
our capability of observing it. However, we can see enough to be certain of the
existence of a considerable number of these different realms, each of which is
in one sense a world in itself, though in another and wider sense all are parts
of one stupendous whole.
17.
In our literature these different realms of nature are frequently spoken
of as planes, because in our study it is sometimes convenient to image them as
one above another, according to the different degrees of density of the matter
of which they are composed. It will be seen that in the accompanying diagram
(Plate II) they are drawn in this way; but it must be very carefully borne in
mind that this arrangement is merely adopted for convenience and as a symbol,
and that it in no way represents the actual relations of these various planes.
They must not be imagined as lying above one another like the shelves of a
book-case, but rather as filling the same space and interpenetrating one
another. It is a fact well known to science that even in the hardest substances
no two atoms ever touch one another; always each atom has its field of action
and vibration, and every molecule in turn has its larger field; so that there is
always space between them under any possible circumstances. Every physical atom
is floating in an astral sea - a sea of astral matter which surrounds it and
fills every interstice in this physical matter. The mental matter in its turn
interpenetrates the astral in precisely the same manner; so that all these
different realms of nature are not in any way separated in space, but are all
existing around us and about us here and now, so that to see them and to
investigate them it is not necessary for us to make any movement in space, but
only to open within ourselves the senses by means of which they can be
perceived.
18.
CHAPTER III
19.
CLAIRVOYANT SIGHT
20.
THIS brings before us another very important consideration. All these
varieties of finer matter exist not only in the world without, but they exist in
man also. He has not only the physical body which we see, but he has also within
him what we may describe as bodies appropriate to these various planes of
nature, and consisting in each case of their matter. In man’s physical body
there is etheric matter as well as the solid matter which is visible to us (see
Plates XXIV and XXV); and this etheric matter is readily visible to the
clairvoyant. In the same way a more highly developed clairvoyant, who is capable
of perceiving the more refined astral matter, sees the man represented at that
level by a mass of that matter, which is in reality his body or vehicle as
regards that plane; and exactly the same thing is true with regard to the mental
plane in its turn. The soul of man has not one body, but many bodies, for when
sufficiently evolved he is able to express himself on ail these different levels
of nature, and he is therefore provided with a suitable vehicle of the matter
belonging to each, and it is through these various vehicles that he is able to
receive impressions from the world to which they correspond.
21.
We must not think of the man as creating these vehicles for himself in
the course of his future evolutions, for every man possesses them from the
beginning, though he is by no means conscious of their existence. We are
constantly using to a certain extent this higher matter within ourselves, even
though it be unconsciously. Every time that we think, we set in motion the
mental matter within us, and a thought is clearly visible to a clairvoyant as a
vibration in that matter, set up first of all within the man, and then affecting
matter of the same degree of density in the world around him. But before this
thought can be effective on the physical plane it has to be transferred from
that mental matter into astral matter; and when it has excited similar
vibrations in that, the astral matter in its turn affects the etheric matter,
creating sympathetic vibrations in it; and that in turn acts upon the denser
physical matter, the grey matter of the brain.
22.
So every time we think, we go through a much longer process than we know;
just as every time we feel anything we go through a process of which we are
quite unconscious. We touch some substance and feel that it is too hot, and we
snatch away our hand from it instantaneously as we think. But science teaches us
that this process is not instantaneous, and that it is not the hand which feels,
but the brain; that the nerves communicate the idea of intense heat to the
brain, which at once telegraphs back along the nerve-threads the instruction to
withdraw the hand; and it is only as a result of all this that the withdrawal
takes place, though it seems to us to be immediate. The process has a definite
duration, which can be measured by sufficiently fine instruments; the rate of
its motion is perfectly well defined and known to physiologists. Just in the
same way thought appears to be an instantaneous process; but it is not, for
every thought has to go through the stages which I have described. Every
impression which we receive in the brain through the senses has to pass up
through these various grades of matter before it reaches the real man, the ego,
the soul within.
23.
We have here a kind of system of telegraphy between the physical plane
and the soul; and it is important to realize that this telegraph-line has
intermediate stations. It is not only from the physical plane that impressions
can be received; the astral matter within a man, for example, is not only
capable of receiving a vibration from etheric matter and transmitting it to the
mental matter, but it is also quite capable of receiving impressions from the
surrounding matter of its own plane, and transmitting those through the mental
body to the real man within. So the man may use his astral body as a means for
receiving impressions from and observing the astral world which surrounds him;
and in exactly the same way through his mental body he may observe and obtain
information from the mental world. But in order to do either of these things, he
must first learn how they are done; that is to say, he must learn to focus his
consciousness in his astral body or in his mental body, just as it is now
focussed in the physical brain. I have already treated this subject fully in my
book Clairvoyance, so that I need do no more than refer to it here.
24.
It should always be remembered that all this is a matter of direct
knowledge and certainty to those who are in the habit of studying it, although
it is presented to the consideration of the world merely as a hypothesis; but
even the man who approaches the subject for the first time must surely see that
in suggesting this we are not in any way claiming faith in a miracle, but simply
inviting investigation of a system. The higher grades of matter follow on in
orderly sequence from those which we already know, so that though to some extent
each plane may be regarded as a world in itself, it is yet also true that the
whole is in reality one great world, which can be fully seen only by the highly
developed soul.
25.
To aid us in our grasp of this, let us take an illustration which,
although impossible in itself, may yet be useful to us as suggesting rather
startling possibilities. Suppose that instead of the sight which we now possess,
we had a visual apparatus arranged somewhat differently. In the human eye we
have both solid and liquid matter; suppose that both these orders of matter were
capable of receiving separate impressions, but each only from that type of
matter in the outside world to which it corresponded. Suppose also that among
men some possessed one of these types of sight and some another. Consider how
very curiously imperfect would be the concept of the world obtained by each of
these two types of men. Imagine them as standing on the seashore; one being able
to see only solid matter, would be utterly unconscious of the ocean stretched
before him, but would see instead the vast cavity of the ocean-bed, with all its
various inequalities, and the fishes and other inhabitants of the deep would
appear to him as floating in the air above this enormous valley. If there were
clouds in the sky they would be entirely invisible to him, since they are
composed of matter in the liquid state; for him the sun would be always shining
in the daytime, and he would be unable to comprehend why, on what to us is a
cloudy day, its heat should be so much diminished; if a glass of water were
offered to him, it would appear to him to be empty.
26.
Contrast with this the appearance which would be presented before the
eyes of the man who saw only matter in the liquid condition. He would indeed be
conscious of the ocean, but for him the shore and the cliffs would not exist; he
would perceive the clouds very clearly, but would see almost nothing of the
landscape over which they were moving. In the case of the glass of water he
would be entirely unable to see the vessel, and would therefore be quite unable
to understand why the water should so mysteriously preserve the special shape
given to it by the invisible glass. Imagine these two persons standing side by
side, each describing the landscape as he saw it, and each feeling perfectly
certain that there could be no other kind of sight but his in the universe, and
that anyone claiming to see anything more or anything different must
necessarily be either a dreamer or a deceiver!
27.
We can smile over the incredulity of these hypothetical observers; but
it is exceedingly difficult for the average man to realize that in proportion to
the whole that is to be seen, his power of vision is very much more imperfect
than either of theirs would be in relation to the world as he sees it. And he
also is strongly disposed to hint that those who see a little more than he does
must really be drawing upon their imagination for their alleged facts. It is one
of the commonest of our mistakes to consider that the limit of our power of
perception is also the limit of all that there is to perceive. Yet the
scientific evidence is indisputable, and the infinitesimal proportion (as
compared to the whole) of the groups of vibrations by which alone we can see or
hear is a fact about which there can be no doubt. The clairvoyant is simply a
man who develops within himself the power to respond to another octave out of
the stupendous gamut of possible vibrations, and so enables himself to see more
of the world around him than those of more limited perception.
28.
CHAPTER IV
29.
MAN’S VEHICLES
30.
If we turn to Plate II we shall see there a diagram of these planes of
nature, and we shall also observe the names which have been employed to
designate the vehicles or bodies of man which correspond to them. It will be
noticed that the names used in theosophical literature for the higher planes are
derived from Sanskrit, for in Western philosophy we have as yet
no terms for these worlds composed of finer states of matter. Each of these
names has its especial meaning, though in the case of the higher planes it
indicates only how little we know of those conditions.
31.
Nirvana has for ages been the term employed in the East to convey the
idea of the highest conceivable spiritual attainment. To reach Nirvana is to
pass beyond humanity, to gain a level of peace and bliss far above earthly
comprehension. So absolutely is all that is earthly left behind by the aspirant
who attains its transcendent glory, that some European Orientalists fell at
first into the mistake of supposing that it was an entire annihilation of the
man - an idea than which nothing could be more utterly the opposite of the
truth. To gain the full use of the exalted consciousness of this exceedingly
elevated spiritual condition is to reach the goal appointed for human evolution
during this aeon or dispensation - to become an adept, a man who is something
more than man. For the vast majority of humanity such progress will be attained
only after cycles of evolution, but the few determined souls who refuse to be
daunted by difficulties, who as it were take the kingdom of heaven by violence,
may find this glorious prize within their reach at a much earlier period.
32.
Of the states of consciousness above this we naturally know nothing,
except that they exist. “Para” signifies “beyond”, and “Maha” means “great”, so
all the information conveyed by the names of these conditions is that the first
is “the plane beyond Nirvana”, and the second is “the greater plane beyond
Nirvana” - showing that those who bestowed these appellations thousands of years
ago either possessed no more direct information than we have, or else,
possessing it, despaired of finding any words in which it could be expressed.
33.
The name of Buddhi has been given to that principle or component part of
man which manifests itself through the matter of the fourth plane, while the
mental plane is the sphere of action of what we call the mind in man. It will be
observed that this plane is divided into two parts, which are distinguished by a
difference in color and the names of “rupa” and “Arupa”, meaning respectively
“having form” and “formless”. These are names given in order to indicate a
certain quality of the matter of the plane; in the lower part of it the matter
is very readily moulded by the action of human thought into definite forms,
while on the higher division this does not occur, but the more abstract thought
of that level expresses itself to the eye of the clairvoyant in flashes or
streams. A fuller account of this will be found in the book Thought forms,
where are portrayed many of the interesting figures created by the action of
thoughts and emotions.
34.
The name “astral” is not of our choosing; we have inherited it from the
medieval alchemists. It signifies “starry”, and is supposed to have been applied
to the matter of the plane next above the physical because of the luminous
appearance which is associated with the more rapid rate of its vibration. The
astral plane is the world of passion, of emotion and sensation; and it is
through man’s vehicle on this plane that all his feelings exhibit themselves to
the clairvoyant investigator. The astral body of man is therefore continually
changing in appearance as his emotions change, as we shall presently show in
detail.
35.
In our literature certain tints have usually been employed to represent
each of the lower planes, following a table of colors given by Madame Blavatsky
in her monumental work The Secret Doctrine;
but it should be clearly understood that these are employed simply as
distinctive marks - that they are merely symbolical, and are not in any way
intended to imply a preponderance of a particular hue in the plane to which it
is applied. All known colors, and many which are at present unknown to us, exist
upon each of these higher planes of nature; but as we rise from one stage to
another, we find them ever more delicate and more luminous, so that they might
be described as higher octaves of color. An attempt is made to indicate this in
our illustrations of the various vehicles appropriate to these planes, as will
be seen later.
36.
It will be noticed that the number of planes is seven, and that each of
them in turn is divided into seven sub-planes. This number seven has always been
considered as holy and occult, because it is found to underlie manifestation in
various ways. In the lower planes which are within the reach of our
investigation the sevenfold subdivision is very clearly marked; and all
indications seem to warrant the assumption that in those higher realms which are
as yet beyond our direct observation a similar arrangement obtains, allowing for
the difference of conditions.
37.
As man learns to function in these higher types of matter, he finds that
the limitations of the lower life are transcended, and fall away one by one. He
finds himself in a world of many dimensions, instead of one of three only; and
that fact alone opens up a whole series of entirely new possibilities in various
directions. The study of these additional dimensions is one of the most
fascinating that can be imagined. Short of really gaining the sight of the other
planes, there is no method by which so clear a conception of astral life can be
obtained as by the realization of the fourth dimension.
38.
It is not my object at the moment to describe all that is gained by the
wonderful extension of consciousness which belongs to these higher planes -
indeed, I have done that already to some extent in a previous book. For the
present we need refer only to one line of investigation - that connected with
the constitution of man, and how he came to be what he is.
39.
The history of his earlier evolution can be obtained by examination of
those ineffaceable records of the past from which all that has happened since
the solar system came into existence may be recovered, and caused to pass before
the mind’s eye; so that the observer sees everything as though he had been
present when it occurred, with the enormous additional advantage of being able
to hold any single scene as long as may be required for careful examination, or
to pass a whole century of events in review in a few moments if desired. This
wonderful reflection of the divine memory cannot be consulted with perfect
certainty below the mental plane, so for the ready reading of this earlier
history it is necessary that the student shall at least have learnt to use with
freedom the senses of his mental body; and if he is so fortunate as to have
under his control the faculties of the still higher causal body, his task will
be easier still. The question of these records has been more fully dealt with in
Chapter VII of my little book on Clairvoyance, to which the reader may be
referred for further details.
40.
CHAPTER V
41.
THE TRINITY
42.
WE must now endeavor to understand how man comes into existence amidst
this wonderful system of the planes of nature, and in order to do that we shall
find ourselves compelled to take an excursion into the domain of theology.
43.
When we search these records in order to discover the origin of man, what
do we see? We find that man is the resultant of an elaborate and beautiful
evolutionary scheme, and that in him three streams of divine life may be said
to converge. One of the sacred scriptures of the world speaks of God as having
made man in His own image - a statement which, when it is properly understood,
is seen to embody a great occult truth. Religions agree in describing the Deity
as threefold in His manifestation, and it will be found that the soul of man is
also threefold.
44.
It will, of course, be understood that we are speaking now not of the
Absolute, the Supreme, and the Infinite (for of Him naturally we can know
nothing, except that He is), but of that glorious Manifestation of Him
who is the great Guiding Force or Deity of our own solar system - who is called
in our philosophy the Logos of the system. Of Him is true all that we have ever
heard predicated of the Deity - all that is good, the love, the wisdom, the
power, the patience and compassion, the omniscience, the omnipresence, the
omnipotence - all of this, and much more, is true of the Solar Logos, in whom,
in very truth, we live and move and have our being. Unmistakable evidence of His
action and His purpose surrounds us on every side as we study the life of the
higher planes.
45.
As He shows Himself to us in His work the Solar Logos is undoubtedly
triple - three and yet one, a religion has long ago told us.
46.
It is obviously impossible to picture this divine manifestation in any
way, for it is necessarily entirely beyond our power either of representation or
comprehension, yet a small part of its action may perhaps to some extent be
brought within our grasp by the employment of certain simple symbols, such as
those adopted in Plate II. It will be seen that on the seventh or highest plane
of our system the triple manifestation of our Logos is imaged by three circles,
representing His three aspects. Each of these aspects appears to have its own
quality and power. In the First Aspect He does not manifest Himself on any plane
below the highest, but in the Second He descends to the sixth plane, arid draws
round Himself a garment of its matter, thus making a quite separate and lower
expression of Him. In the Third Aspect He descends to the upper potion of the
fifth plane, and draws round Himself matter of that level, thus making a third
manifestation. It will be observed that these three manifestations on their
respective planes are entirely distinct one from the other, and yet we have only
to follow up the dotted lines to see that these separate persons are
nevertheless in truth but aspects of the one. Quite separate, when regarded as
persons, each on his own plane - quite unconnected diagonally, as it were; yet
each having his perpendicular connection with himself at the level where these
three are one.
47.
Thus we see a very real meaning in the insistence of the Church “that we
worship one God in Trinity, and Trinity in Unity, neither confounding the
persons nor dividing the substance” - that is to say, never confusing in our
minds the work and functions of the three separate manifestations, each on his
own plane, yet never for a moment forgetting the Eternal Unity of the
“substance”, that which lies behind all alike on the highest plane.
48.
It is instructive to notice here exactly the true meaning of this word
person. It is compounded of the two Latin words per and sona, and
therefore signifies “that through which the sound comes” - the mask worn by the
Roman actor to indicate the part which he happened at the moment to be playing.
Thus we very appropriately speak of the group of temporary lower vehicles which
a soul assumes when he descends into incarnation as his “personality”. Thus also
these separate manifestations of the One on different planes are rightly thought
of as persons.
49.
Thus we see how it can be said: - “There is one person of the Father,
another of the Son, and another of the Holy Ghost; but the Godhead of the
Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost is all one - the glory equal, the
majesty co-eternal.” Truly the manifestations are distinct, each on its own
plane, and consequently one appears lower than another; yet we have only to
look back to the seventh plane to realize that “in this Trinity none is afore or
after other, none is greater or less than another, but the whole three Persons
are co-eternal together and co-equal”. So also “every Person by himself is God
and Lord”, “and yet they are not three Lords, but one Lord”.
50.
See also how clear and luminous become many of the statements concerning
the Second Aspect and His descent into matter. There is another and far wider
meaning for this, as will be seen in Plate III, but what is true of that grander
descent is true also of this, for when we think of the Aspect on the higher
plane as the essential Godhead ensouling the manifestation in matter relatively
lower, though still high above our ken, we see how He is “God, of the substance
of his Father, begotten before the world; but man, of the substance of his
Mother, born in the world”. For as an aspect of the divine He existed before the
solar system, but His manifestation in the matter of the sixth plane took place
during the life of that system.
51.
So, “although he be God and Man, yet he is not two, but one Christ; one,
not by conversion of the Godhead into flesh, but by taking of the manhood into
God”. One, that is, not only because of the essential Unity, but because of the
glorious power of drawing back into Himself all that has been acquired by the
descent into lower matter. But this belongs more especially to that greater
descent illustrated for us in Plate III.
52.
The greatest schism which has ever occurred in the Christian Church was
that between the Eastern and Western branches, the Greek Church and the Roman.
The doctrinal reason alleged for it was the supposed corruption of the truth, by
the introduction into the Creed of the word filioque at the Council of
Toledo in the year 589.
53.
The question at issue was whether the Holy Ghost proceeded from the
Father alone, or from the Father and the Son. Our diagram enables us to see what
was the point at issue; and furthermore, it shows us, curiously enough, that
both parties were right, and that if they had only clearly understood the matter
there need have been no schism at all.
54.
The Latin Church held, quite reasonably, that there could be no
manifestation on the fifth plane of a Force which admittedly came from the
seventh, without a passage through the intermediate sixth, so they declared that
He proceeded from the Father and the Son. The Greek Church, on the other hand,
insisted absolutely on the distinctness of the Three Manifestations, and quite
rightly protested against any theory of a procession from the First
Manifestation through the Second such as would be typified in our diagram if we
drew a diagonal line through the First, Second, and Third. The dotted line on
the right of Plate II, showing how the Third Aspect descends through the planes
and finally manifests on the Fifth, is of course the key to the true line of
procession, and the absolute harmony of the two conflicting ideas.
55.
The wonderful way in which man is made in the image of God may be seen by
comparing the triad of the human soul with the Trinity in manifestation above
it. So astonishingly material have been the orthodox conceptions, that this text
has literally been interpreted as referring to the physical body of man, and
made to mean that God created man’s body in a shape which He foresaw as that
which Christ would choose to assume when He came on earth.
56.
A glance at Plate II shows us at once the true meaning of those words.
Not the physical body of man, but the constitution of his soul, reproduces with
marvellous exactitude the method of Divine manifestation. Just as three aspects
of the Divine are seen on the seventh plane, so the Divine Spark of the spirit
in man is seen to be triple in its appearance on the fifth plane. In both cases
the Second Aspect is able to descend one plane lower, and to clothe itself in
the matter of that plane; in both cases the Third Aspect is able to descend two
planes and repeat the process. So in both cases there is a Trinity in Unity,
separate in its manifestations, yet one in the reality behind.
57.
Each of the three Aspects or Persons or Manifestations of the Logos has
an especial part to play in the preparation and development of the soul of man.
What these parts are we shall endeavor to make clear by the help of the diagram
given on Plate III. The horizontal subdivisions indicate the planes, precisely
as in Plate II, and above them will be seen three symbols belonging to the
series described by Madame Blavatsky in The Secret Doctrine. The highest
represents the First Aspect of the Logos, and bears only a central dot,
signifying the primary manifestation in our system. The Second Aspect of the
Logos is symbolized by a circle divided by a diameter, showing the dual
manifestation which is always associated with the Second Person of any of the
Trinities, while the lowest circle contains the Greek Cross, one of the most
usual symbols of the Third Aspect.
58.
CHAPTER VI
59.
THE EARLIER OUTPOURINGS
60.
IT is from this Third Aspect that the first movement towards the
formation of the system comes. Previous to this movement we have in existence
nothing but the atomic state of matter in each of the planes of nature, none of
the aggregations or combinations which make up the lower sub-planes of each
having yet been formed. But into this sea of virgin matter (the true Virgin
Maria) pours down the Holy Spirit, the Lifegiver, as He is called in the Nicene
Creed; and by the action of His glorious vitality the units of matter are
awakened to new powers and possibilities of attraction and repulsion, and thus
the lower subdivisions of each plane come into existence. It will be seen that
this is symbolized in the diagram by a line descending from the lowest circle
straight through all the planes, growing broader and darker as it comes, to show
how the Divine Spirit becomes more and more veiled in matter as it descends,
until many are quite unable to recognize it as divine at all. Yet the living
force is nevertheless there, even when it is most strictly confined in the
lowest of its forms.
61.
Into this matter thus vivified, the second great out-pouring of the
Divine Life descends. Thus the Second Person of the Trinity takes form not of
the “virgin” or unproductive matter alone, but of the matter which is already
instinct and pulsating with the life of the Third Person, so that both the life
and the matter surround Him as a vesture, and thus in very truth He is
“incarnate of the Holy Ghost and the Virgin Mary”, which is the true rendering
of a prominent passage in the Christian creed. (See The Christian Creed.)
62.
Very slowly and gradually this resistless flood pours down through the
various planes and kingdoms, spending in each of them a period equal in
duration to one entire incarnation of a planetary chain, a period which, if
measured as we measure time, would cover many millions of years. This flood is
symbolized in Plate III by the line which, starting from the second of the
circles, sweeps down the left-hand side of the oval, gradually darkening as it
approaches its nadir. After passing that point it commences its upward arc and
rises through the physical, astral and lower mental planes until it meets the
third great outpouring, which is typified by the line starting from the highest
circle and forming the right-hand side of the great oval. Of this meeting we
shall say more hereafter, but for the moment let us turn our attention to the
descending arc. To aid us the better to comprehend this, let us turn to Plate
IV. This diagram, though it looks so different, in fact corresponds very closely
with Plate III; the variously colored column on the left is identical with the
downward-sweeping curve on our left in Plate III, and all the pyramidal figures
which make the rest of the diagram are simply representations of the earlier
part of the upward curve on the right of Plate III, pictured at various stages
of its growth.
63.
It will be observed that at different stages of its descent it is
called by special names. As a whole, it is often spoken of as monadic essence,
more especially when clothed only in the ultimate matter of the various planes;
but when on its downward course it energises in the matter of the higher part of
the mental plane, it is known as the First Elemental Kingdom. After spending a
whole chain-period
in that evolution, it descends to the lower or rupa levels of the same plane,
and there it ensouls the Second Elemental Kingdom for another chain-period. Its
next aeon is spent on the astral level, where it is called the Third Elemental
Kingdom, or very often simply elemental essence of the astral plane. At both of
these stages it is very intimately connected with man, as it enters largely into
the composition of his various vehicles, and influences his thought and action.
This, however, is beside our present subject, and for a full description of this
action of the “desire-elemental” and the “mental-elemental” upon man we must
refer our readers to other Theosophical works. A chapter upon the
desire-elemental will be found in The Other Side of Death.
64.
When this great life-wave of divine force reaches the lowest point of its
destined course it is immersed in physical matter; and at this period, and for
some time after it has begun its long upward journey, it is energizing or
ensouling the mineral kingdom of the particular chain upon which it happens to
be at the moment. At this stage it has sometimes been called “the mineral
monad”, just as at later periods of its evolution it has been named “the
vegetable monad” and “the animal monad”. But all these titles are somewhat
misleading, because they seem to suggest that one great monad animates the
entire kingdom.
65.
Even when this monadic essence first comes before us, in the earliest of
the elemental kingdoms, it is already not one monad, but many - not one great
life-stream, but many parallel streams, each possessing characteristics of its
own. The whole scheme tends increasingly toward differentiation, and as these
streams descend from kingdom to kingdom they divide and subdivide more and more.
It may be that there is a, point before all this evolution at which we may think
of the great outpouring as homogeneous, though no man has ever seen it in that
condition; and at the conclusion of the first great stage of evolution it is
finally divided into individualities, each man being a separate soul, though as
yet an undeveloped soul.
66.
Now at all points between these two extremes its condition is something
intermediate; there is always subdivision, but it is not yet carried to the
point of individualization. It must never be forgotten that we are dealing all
the while with the evolution of the ensouling force or life, and not of the
outward form; and this ensouling energy evolves by means of the qualities
acquired in physical incarnation. In the vegetable kingdom, for example, we have
not a soul for one plant, but one group-soul for an enormous number of plants -
perhaps in some cases for a whole species. In the animal kingdom this
subdivision has proceeded much further, and though it may still be true among
low forms of insect life that one soul animates many millions of bodies, in the
case of the higher animals a comparatively small number of physical forms are
the expression of one group-soul.
67.
CHAPTER VII
68.
THE ANIMAL GROUP-SOUL
69.
THIS idea of the group-soul seems to many students novel and difficult;
perhaps an Oriental simile may help us to understand it more readily. They tell
us that the group-soul is like the water in a bucket, while if we suppose a
tumbler full of water withdrawn from that bucket, we shall have a representation
of the soul of the single animal. The water in the glass is for the time quite
separate from that in the bucket, and it takes the form of the glass which
contains it. Suppose that we put into that glass a certain amount of coloring
matter, so that the water in it acquires a distinctive hue of its own; that
coloring matter will represent the qualities developed in the temporarily
separated soul by the various experiences through which it passes.
70.
The death of the animal will be typified by pouring back the water from
the glass into the bucket, when the coloring matter will at once spread through
the whole of the water, tinting it faintly. In exactly the same way, whatever
qualities have been developed during the life of the separated animal will be
distributed through the whole group-soul after his death.
71.
It would be impossible to take again out of the bucket the same glass of
water, but every glassful taken out afterwards will necessarily be colored by
the matter brought in from that first glass. If it were possible to take out of
the bucket exactly the same molecules of water, to reproduce the first glassful
exactly, that would be a veritable reincarnation; but since that is not
possible, we have instead the re-absorption of the temporary soul into the
group-soul - a process in which, nevertheless, everything that has been gained
by the temporary separation is carefully preserved.
72.
Not one glass at a time only, but many glasses simultaneously, are filled
from each bucket; and each one of them brings back to the group-soul its own
quota of evolved quality. Thus in time many different qualities are developed
within each group-soul, and of course manifest themselves as inherent in every
animal which is an expression of it. Hence came the definite instincts with
which certain creatures are born. The duckling, the moment it is set free from
the egg, seeks the water and can swim fearlessly, even though it may have been
hatched by a hen which dreads water, and is terribly worried to find her charges
rushing to what she supposes to, be destruction. But that fragment of a
group-soul which is functioning through the duckling knows perfectly well from
previous experience that the water is its natural element, and the tiny body
fearlessly carries out its behests.
73.
All the while within each group-soul the tendency to further and further
subdivision is steadily working. It manifests itself in a phenomenon, which,
though upon a higher plane, has a curious resemblance to the way in which a cell
divides. In the group-soul, which may be thought of as vividly animating a great
mass of matter on the mental plane, a kind of scarcely perceptible film
appears, as we might suppose a sort of barrier gradually to form itself across
the bucket. The water at first filters through this barrier to some extent, but
nevertheless the glasses of water taken out from one side of that barrier are
always returned to the same side, so that by degrees the water on one side
becomes differentiated from the water on the other, and then the barrier
gradually densifies and becomes impenetrable, so that we have eventually two
buckets instead of one.
74.
This process is constantly repeated, until by the time that we reach the
really higher animals a comparatively small number of bodies is attached to
each group-soul. It is found that the individualization which lifts an entity
definitely from the animal kingdom into the human, can take place only from
certain types of animals. Only among domesticated creatures, and by no means
among all classes of even those, does this individualization occur. It must of
course be remembered that we are very little more than half through the
evolution of this chain of worlds, and it is only at the end of this evolution
that the animal kingdom is expected to attain humanity. Naturally, therefore,
any animal which is now attaining or even approaching individualization must be
very remarkably in advance of the others, and the number of such cases is
consequently very small. Still they do occasionally occur, and they are of
extreme interest to us as indicating the manner in which we ourselves came into
existence in the remote past. The lunar animal kingdom, out of which we were
individualized, was at a somewhat lower level than the animal kingdom of the
present day; but the principle adopted seems to have been almost precisely the
same.
75.
CHAPTER VIII
76.
THE UPWARD CURVE
77.
BEFORE explaining this in detail we must refer once more to Plate IV. It
will be remembered that the variously colored bands which occupy the principal
part of this diagram are intended to signify various stages in the upward
progress of the monadic essence. In its downward course, which is indicated by
the column to the left of the diagram, it simply aggregates round itself the
different kinds of matter on the various planes, evolving that matter by
accustoming and adapting it to convey vibrations and impressions, and at the
same time acquiring for itself the power to receive and respond readily to these
impressions at their respective levels. But when it has reached the lowest point
of its immersion in matter, and turns to begin the grand upward sweep of
evolution towards divinity, its work then is somewhat different. Its object then
is to develop its consciousness fully at these various levels, learning to
control the bodies which it constructs from them, and to use them definitely as
vehicles, so that they shall not only serve as bridges to carry impressions from
without to the soul, but shall also enable that soul to express itself on their
several planes through their instrumentality.
78.
In this effort it naturally begins with the lowest matter, since its
vibrations, though they are the largest and coarsest, are also the least
powerful or penetrating, and therefore the easiest to control. Thus it happens
that man, although possessing in a more or less latent condition so many higher
principles, is yet at first for a long time fully conscious only in his physical
body, and afterwards very gradually develops the consciousness in his astral
vehicle, while in his mental body it comes at a still later stage.
79.
Turning to Plate IV, we see that we have a separate band or ribbon to
represent each of the kingdoms. It will be noticed that in the band
corresponding to the mineral kingdom we have the full width developed only in
the denser part of the physical plane, and that in the part of the band which
corresponds to etheric physical matter the band grows steadily narrower as we
approach the higher planes. This of course indicates that in the mineral
kingdom the control of the soul over the higher part of the etheric matter is
not yet perfectly developed. It will be noticed also that there is a small point
of red, showing that a certain amount of consciousness is already working
through astral matter - that is to say, that a certain amount of desire is
already manifesting itself.
80.
It may seem strange to many people to speak of desire in connection with
the mineral kingdom; but every chemist knows that in chemical affinity we have
already a very distinct manifestation of preference on the part of various
elements; and what is that but a commencement of desire? One element has so
strong a desire for the company of another that it will instantly forsake, in
order to join it, any other substance with which it may happen to be in
association. Indeed, it is by means of our knowledge of these likes and dislikes
of the various elements that we obtain various gases when we want them. For
example, oxygen and hydrogen are combined in water, but if we throw sodium into
the water we find that oxygen likes sodium better than hydrogen, and promptly
deserts the latter to combine with the former; so we have a compound called
sodium hydroxide instead of water, and the released hydrogen escapes. Or if we
put zinc filings into diluted hydrochloric acid (which is hydrogen combined
with chlorine) we find that the chlorine proceeds to abandon the hydrogen in
order to join the zinc, so that zinc chloride remains, while hydrogen is given
off and may be collected. So it will be seen that we are justified in speaking
of the action of desire in the mineral kingdom.
81.
If we now look at the band which symbolizes the vegetable kingdom we
shall see that it is of full width not only in the dense physical, but also in
the etheric part. We shall see also that the point typifying desire is more
fully developed, betokening a far greater capacity of utilizing the lower
astral matter. Those who have studied botany will be aware that likes and
dislikes (that is to say, forms of desire) are very much more prominent in the
vegetable world than in the mineral, and that many plants exhibit a great deal
of ingenuity and sagacity in attaining their ends, limited though these ends may
be from our point of view.
82.
When we turn to the band representing the animal kingdom we find that
consciousness has advanced very much further. It will be noticed that the band
is of full width not only through the whole of the physical plane, but in the
lowest sub-plane of the astral as well, showing that the animal is capable to
the fullest possible extent of experiencing the lower desires, although the
rapid narrowing of the band as we reach the higher sub-planes proclaims that his
capacity for the higher desires is much more limited. Still it does exist; and
so it happens that in exceptional cases he may manifest an exceedingly high
quality of affection or devotion.
83.
It will be observed also that the band representing the animal kingdom
ends in a point of green, signifying that at this stage there is already a
development of intelligence, employing mental matter for its manifestation. It
used at one time to be supposed that reason was the quality which distinguished
man from the animals - that he possessed this faculty, while they had only
instinct. As regards the higher domestic animals, however, that is certainly a
mistake; anyone who has kept a dog or a cat, and made a friend of him will
surely have observed that such creatures undoubtedly do exercise the power of
reason from cause to effect, although naturally the lines along which their
reason can work are few and limited, and the faculty itself is far less powerful
than ours. In the case of the average animal the point is quite correctly shown
as embracing only the lowest variety of reason, acting in the matter of the
lowest subdivision of the mental plane; but with the highly developed domestic
animal the point might readily extend even to the highest of the four lower
levels, though, of course, it would remain only a point, and by no means the
full width of the band.
84.
CHAPTER IX
85.
HUMAN CONSCIOUSNESS
86.
WHEN we turn to the consideration of the band of color which represents
humanity, we at once note several quite new features. In this case the band
retains its full width not only through the whole of the physical plane, but
also through the whole of the astral, showing that man is capable of all
varieties of desire to the fullest possible extent, the highest as well as the
lowest. It also exhibits the full width in the lowest level of the mental plane,
indicating that, as far as that level is concerned, man's reasoning faculty is
fully developed. Higher than that, however, the development is not yet full;
but an entirely new factor is introduced in the dark blue triangle on the higher
mental plane, betokening the possession by the man of a causal body
and a permanent reincarnating ego. This blue triangle corresponds to the
other triangle in the circle which is seen in Plate III. In the great majority
of mankind the point which denotes consciousness of any sort upon the higher
mental levels does not rise beyond the third or lowest of them. It is only very
gradually, as his development progresses, that the ego is able to raise his
consciousness to the second or the first of these sub-planes.
87.
It is not, of course, implied that the man can function consciously at
these heights as yet. In the most primitive types, desire is still emphatically
the most prominent feature, though the mental development has also proceeded to
some extent. Such a man during life has a dim consciousness in his astral body
while asleep, and after death he is very fully conscious and active on the lower
astral sub planes. In fact, that lower astral life usually forms nearly the
whale of the interval between his incarnations, for as yet he has practically
nothing of the life of the heaven-world. The consciousness of the man at this
level is undoubtedly centred in quite the lower part of the astral body, and
his life is principally governed by sensations connected with the physical
plane.
88.
The ordinary man of our own civilization is still living almost entirely
in his sensations, although the higher astral is coming into play; but still for
him the prominent question which guides his conduct is not in the least what is
right or reasonable to do, but simply what he himself desires to do. The more
cultured and developed begin to govern desire by reason - that is to say, the
centre of consciousness is gradually transferring itself from the higher astral
to the lower mental. Slowly as man progresses, it moves up further still, and he
begins to be dominated by principle rather than by interest and desire.
89.
To be able to use these different bodies as definite vehicles in which
the soul can consciously function is another and still greater development. Any
fairly advanced and cultured man has consciousness fully developed in the astral
body, and is perfectly capable of employing it as a vehicle if he were only in
the habit of doing so. But to do this a definite effort would be necessary. The
enormous majority of men know nothing at all about the astral body or its uses,
and so naturally make no effort of any kind. They have behind them the tradition
of the immemorial custom of along series of lives in which the astral faculties
have not been used, for these faculties have been gradually and slowly growing
inside a shell, somewhat as a chicken grows inside the egg. The shell is
composed of the great mass of self-centred thought in which the ordinary man is
so hopelessly entombed. Whatever may have been the thoughts chiefly engaging his
mind during the day, he usually continues them when falling asleep, and is thus
surrounded by so dense a wall of his own making that he practically knows
nothing of what is going on outside. Occasionally, but very rarely, some violent
impact from without, or some strong desire of his own from within, may tear
aside this curtain of mist for the moment and permit him to receive some
definite impression; but even then the fog closes in again almost immediately,
and he dreams on un-observantly as before. It is obvious that this shell may be
broken in various ways.
90.
First. - In the far-distant future the slow but sure evolution of
the man will undoubtedly gradually dissipate the curtain of mist, so that he
will become conscious by degrees of the mighty world of intensely active life
which surrounds him.
91.
Second. - The man himself, having learnt the facts of the case,
may be steady and persistent effort from within clear away the mist, and
gradually overcome the inertia resulting from ages of inactivity. This is, of
course, merely the hastening of the natural process, and will be in no way
harmful if the man’s development is proceeding with equal rapidity along other
lines. But if he should gain this awakening without having attained at the same
time the strength, knowledge, and moral development which would naturally have
preceded it, he would be liable to the double danger of misusing such powers as
he might acquire, and of being overwhelmed by fear in the presence of forces
which he could neither understand nor control.
92.
Third. - It may happen that some accident, or some unlawful use of
magical ceremonies, may so rend the veil that it may never be wholly closed; and
then the man is left in the terrible condition so well described by Madame
Blavatsky in her story of “A Bewitched Life”, or by Bulwer Lytton in his
powerful novel Zanoni.
93.
Fourth. - Some friend who knows the man thoroughly, and believes
him capable of facing the dangers of the astral plane and doing good unselfish
work there, may act upon this cloud-shell from without and rouse the man to
definite action. Naturally the man who does this undertakes a very serious
responsibility toward the man whom he thus arouses. The elder worker assumes
this responsibility only when by long and intimate acquaintance he has become
reasonably certain that the younger possesses in some measure all the
qualifications mentioned in Chapter XIX of Invisible Helpers; but
the need of helpers is so great that every aspirant may be absolutely certain
that there will not be a day’s delay in arousing him as soon as he is seen to be
ready. Meantime any who feel themselves overlooked have always the resource of
adopting the second method to which I referred above; but before doing so they
would be well advised to assure themselves absolutely and beyond any
possibility of doubt that they possess the requisite development along other
lines, as otherwise their fall will be speedy and certain.
94.
But a great deal of work may be done, and constantly is done, short of
this full awakening. A man who falls asleep each night with the definite
intention in his mind of doing a certain piece of work, will assuredly go and
attempt to carry out his intention as soon as he is freed from his physical
body; but having done his best in connection with that particular case, he is
almost certain to let the fog close round him once more, simply because he has
for ages been unaccustomed to initiate a fresh line of action when functioning
apart from the physical brain. Many make a practice of thus ensuring that they
may perform at least one helpful action each night; and of course in many cases
the action is such as to occupy the whole of the time spent in sleep, so that
they are practically exerting themselves to the fullest extent possible for
them. We should also remember that it is by no means only during sleep that we
can give effective help; the strong living thought can be sent out at any
moment, and can never fail in producing its effect. But the difference between
the one who has been definitely awakened and the one who has not, is that in the
case of the former the curtain of mist has been for ever dissipated, while in
the latter it merely opens for the time and then shuts down as impenetrably as
before.
95.
CHAPTER X
96.
THE THIRD OUTPOURING
97.
IN order to understand the formation of the soul in man there is another
great factor which must be taken into account. This is the third outpouring of
the divine life, which comes from the first aspect of the Logos, and makes
within each man that distinctive “spirit of the man which goeth upward” in
contradistinction to “the spirit of the beast which goeth downward” which,
being interpreted, means that while the soul of the animal pours back after the
death of the body into the group-soul or block to which it belongs, the divine
spirit in man cannot so fall back again, but rises ever onward and upward
towards the divinity from which it came. This third wave of life is represented
by the band on the right in Plate III, and it will be noticed that in this case
the outpouring does not become darker or more materialized as it proceeds. It
appears to be unable of itself to descend lower than the Buddhic plane, and
there it hovers like a mighty cloud, waiting for an opportunity of affecting a
junction with the second outpouring, which is slowly rising to meet it. Although
this cloud seems to exercise a constant attraction upon the essence below it,
yet the development which makes the union a possibility must be made from below.
98.
The illustration usually given in the East to help the neophyte to
comprehend this process is that of the formation of the water-spout. There also
we have a great cloud hovering above the sea, on the surface of which waves are
constantly forming and moving. Presently a great finger is extended from the
cloud - an inverted cone of violently whirling vapor. Underneath this a vortex
is rapidly formed in the ocean, but instead of being a depression in its
surface, as is the ordinary whirlpool, it is a whirling cone rising above that
surface. Steadily the two draw closer and closer together, until they come so
near that the power of attraction is strong enough to overleap the intervening
space, and suddenly a great column of mingled water and vapor is formed where
nothing existed before.
99.
In just the same way the group-souls of the animal kingdom are constantly
throwing parts of themselves into incarnation, like the temporary waves on the
surface of the sea, and the process of differentiation continues until at last a
time comes when one of these waves rises high enough to enable the hovering
cloud to effect a junction with it, and it is then drawn up into a new existence
neither in the cloud nor in the sea, but between the two and partaking of the
nature of both. Thus it is separated from the group-soul of which hitherto it
has formed a part, and falls back again into the sea no more.
100.
Anyone who has made a friend of a really intelligent domestic animal will
readily understand how this happens, for he will have seen the intense devotion
manifested by the animal for the master whom he loves, and the great mental
efforts which he makes to understand his master’s wishes and to please him.
Obviously both the animal’s intellect and his power of affection and devotion
will be enormously developed by these efforts; and the time will come when in
this way he will raise himself so much above the general level of his group-soul
that he will absolutely break away from it, and in doing so become a fit vehicle
for this third outpouring, by the junction with which the individual is formed,
which thereafter follows its own course of evolution back again to divinity.
101.
It is sometimes asked why, if the essence was divine in the beginning,
and returns again to divinity at the end - if the human monad was all-wise and
all-good when it started on its long journey through matter - it was necessary
for it to go through all this evolution, including as it does much sorrow and
suffering, simply to return to its source in the end. But this question is based
on a complete misconception of the facts. When what is sometimes, though perhaps
inappropriately, called the human monad came forth from the divine it was not a
monad at all-still less an all-wise and all-good one. There was no sort of
individualization in it - it was simply a mass of monadic essence. The
difference between its condition when issuing forth and when returning is
exactly like that between a great mass of shining nebulous matter and the solar
system which is eventually formed out of it. The nebula is beautiful, no doubt,
but vague and useless; the sun formed from it by slow evolution pours life and
heat and light upon many worlds and their inhabitants.
102.
Or we may take another analogy. The human body is composed of countless
millions of tiny particles, and some of them are constantly being thrown off
from it. Suppose that it were possible for each of these particles to go through
some kind of evolution by means of which it would in time become a human being,
we should not say that because it had been in a certain sense human at the
beginning of that evolution, it had therefore not gained anything when it
reached the end. The essence comes forth as a mere outpouring of force, even
though it be divine force; it returns in the form of thousands of millions of
mighty adepts, each capable of himself developing into a Logos.
103.
It is this wonderful course of evolution that we shall try to represent
to a certain extent in our series of illustrations, and though the most that we
can do is to endeavour to portray the change which takes place in the various
vehicles of the man as he develops; it is yet hoped that some idea of the
progress may thus be conveyed to those who are as yet unable to see. There is
one point in connection with the junction which we have been trying to describe
which requires further explanation. A curious change has taken place in the
position of the monadic essence. All the way through its long ages of evolution
in all the previous kingdoms, it has invariably been the ensouling and
energising principle - the force behind whatever forms it may have temporarily
occupied. But now that which has hitherto been the ensouler becomes itself in
turn the ensouled; from that monadic essence which was part of the animal
group-soul is now formed the causal body - a splendid ovoid form of living
light, into which the still more glorious light and life from above has
descended, and by means of which that higher life is enabled to express itself
as the human individuality.
104.
Nor should any think that it is an unworthy goal to reach as a result of
so long and weary an evolution, thus to have become a vehicle of this last and
grandest outpouring of the divine Spirit; for it must be remembered that
without the preparation of this vehicle to act as the connecting link, the
immortal individuality of man could never come into being. No fragment of the
work which has been done through all these ages is lost, and nothing has been
useless. For the upper triad thus formed becomes a transcendent unity, “not by
conversion of the Godhead into flesh, but by taking of the manhood into God”.
Without that long course of evolution this final consummation could never have
been reached, that man should rise to the level of divinity, and that thus the
very Logos Himself should be made more perfect, in that He has of His own
offspring those upon whom that love which is the essence of His divine nature
has for the first time been fully lavished, and by whom it can be returned.
105.
A stage of development much in advance of the ordinary man is typified
for us by the band on the extreme right of the diagram in Plate IV. There we
have the image of the highly spiritual man, whose consciousness has already
evolved even beyond the causal body, so that he is able to function freely upon
the Buddhic plane, and has also a consciousness (at least when out of the body)
upon a plane still higher than that, as is hinted by the white point. It will be
seen that in his case the centre of consciousness (denoted by the widest part of
the ribbon) is not at all, as before, upon the physical and astral planes, but
lies between the higher mental and the Buddhic. The higher mental and the higher
astral are in him much more developed than their lower parts, and although he
still retains his physical body, as is shown by the fact that the lower point of
the band still reaches the lowest physical limit, yet this is only a
point, which means that he holds this physical form merely for the convenience
of working in it, and not in any way because his thoughts and desires are fixed
there. He has long ago transcended all karma which could bind him to
incarnation; and if he now takes upon himself the vehicles of the lower planes,
it is simply in order that through them he may be able to work for the good of
humanity, and to pour out at these levels influence which otherwise could not
descend thereto. For the vibrations of certain types of the divine force are in
themselves too fine to be appreciated by the grosser essence of these lower
planes; but if they descend to them through the channel of one whose vehicles at
these levels are perfectly pure, then they can be appreciated even down here,
and so their work may be done.
106.
When this causal body is newly formed it is transparent yet iridescent,
like a gigantic soap-bubble, when viewed by the higher clairvoyant sight - that
is to say, when examined at its own level by one who has fully developed the
faculties of his own causal body, for it is only to such sight that it would be
visible at all. But at this stage it also resembles the soap-bubble in being
almost empty in appearance, for the divine force which is really contained
within it has as yet had no time to develop its latent qualities by learning to
vibrate in response to impacts from without, and consequently there is little
color. What little there is comes because certain qualities have been already
evolved within the group-soul of which that causal body previously formed a
part, and it is in process of communicating these to the force within, so that
there is already a certain vibration at the rates corresponding to these; and
consequently faint indications of these rates of vibrations are even now
observable within the form as dawning gleams of color. Plate V will give us some
idea of its appearance at (or soon after) this stage, and it may be taken to
represent the causal body of the primitive man. The grey shading at the left
side of this illustration must not be taken as meaning any quality in the body;
in fact it is not really present in it at all, but is introduced by the artist
simply to give the effect of rotundity to the bubble.
107.
But although the man now possesses a causal body, he is very far from
being sufficiently conscious to receive or respond to impressions at that level;
and since the appointed method for the evolution of his latent qualities is, as
has been said, by means of impacts from without, it is obviously necessary that
he should descend far enough to meet such impacts as can affect him. Therefore
it is that the method of progress destined for him is that by reincarnation -
that is. to say, by putting forth part of himself into these lower planes for
the sake of the experience to be gained there and of the qualities which that
experience develops, and then withdrawing back again into himself, bearing with
him the results of his endeavour. Indeed, this putting forth of a part of
himself into incarnation may be not inaptly likened to an investment; he
expects, if all goes well, to reclaim not only the whole of his capital but also
a considerable amount of interest, and he usually obtains this. But as with
other investments, there is occasionally an opportunity of loss as well as of
gain; for it is possible that some portion of that which he puts down may
become so entangled with the lower matter through which it has to work, that it
may be impossible wholly to reclaim it. The consideration of how this may happen
hardly belongs to our present subject, but it will be found fully explained in
The Astral Plane.
108.
The soul puts himself down under the impulse of what in the East is
called Trishna, the thirst for manifested existence, the desire to feel
himself alive. He plunges about in the sea of matter, he strengthens self by
selfishness, and shows himself to astral vision under the very unlovely guise
depicted in Plate VII. Very gradually he learns that there is a higher evolution
and that the strong shell of selfishness (which was necessary for the formation
of a powerful centre) becomes a hindrance to the growth of that centre after it
has once been formed, and so must be broken up and thrown aside, just as
scaffolding must be removed when the building is finished, though it was
necessary during its erection. Slowly through many incarnations his astral
presentment develops from that of Plate VII to that of Plate X, and later still
to that of Plate XXIII. We shall try to follow this evolution, and illustrate it
at its different stages.
109.
CHAPTER XI
110.
HOW MAN EVOLVES
111.
THE soul puts himself down first into the matter of the lower levels of
the mental plane. Immediately, and in a certain sense automatically, a vesture
of this matter is drawn round him, a vesture which is an exact expression of
such qualities as already exist in him, so far at least as they can be expressed
at that level.
112.
For it must never be forgotten that each stage in the descent means
submission to limitation, and that consequently no expression of the soul upon
any lower level can ever be a perfect expression. It is merely an indication of
its qualities, just as a picture painted by an artist is a representation in two
dimensions of a scene existing (or imagined as existing) in three dimensions.
The picture represents the scene as nearly as it can be represented on a flat
surface by means of perspective, but in reality almost every line and angle in
it must of necessity be unlike the line or angle which it is intended to image.
In exactly the same way the true quality as it exists in the soul cannot be
expressed in matter of any lower level; the vibrations of the lower matter are
altogether too dull and sluggish to represent it, the string is not sufficiently
stretched to enable it to respond to the note which resounds from above. It can,
however, be tuned to correspond with it in a lower octave, like a man’s voice
singing in unison with a boy’s, expressing the same sound as nearly as the
capabilities of the organism permit.
113.
Thus the color which expresses a certain quality in the causal body will
express it also in the mind body and even in the astral body, but the color will
be less delicate, less luminous and ethereal as we descend. The difference
between these octaves of color is very far greater than can be in any way
represented upon paper or canvas; we can endeavor to image it only by stages or
qualities, for even the next octave above the physical is entirely beyond the
conception of our mind as long as it works under the limitation of the physical
brain. The lowest astral colors may be thought of as dark and coarse, and they
certainly are so as compared to the higher and purer hues, but at least they are
luminous in their coarseness; they are not so much dark color in our
ordinary sense of the word, as dimly glowing fire.
114.
At each stage as we ascend we shall find that while the higher matter
exhibits a splendid power of expression of the nobler qualities, it gradually
loses the power to express some which are lower. The peculiarly unpleasant hue
which represents coarse sensuality in the astral body is quite incapable of
reproducing itself in mental matter. It may be objected that this surely should
not be so, as a man may undoubtedly have a sensual thought; but this idea does
not seem accurately to represent the facts. A man may form a mental image which
evokes sensual feeling in him, but the thought and the image will express
themselves in astral matter, and not in mental. It will leave a very definite
impression of its peculiar hue upon the astral body, but in the mental body it
will intensify the colors which represent its concomitant mental evils of
selfishness, conceit and deception. These in their turn will find no expression
whatever in the resplendent glory of the causal body, but every intensification
of them in the lower vehicle, every indulgence in them down here, tends somewhat
to dim the luminosity of the colors representing the development of the opposite
virtues in that higher existence, which is so much nearer to reality.
115.
The process by which the colors are produced works always from below
upward. The man feels some impact from without, and in response to it a wave of
emotion of some sort is awakened within him. That means that for the moment,
while the emotion endures; the particular type of vibration (which represents
it) is predominant in the astral body, as will presently be shown in our
illustrations. After a time the emotion dies down, and the color corresponding
to it fades away - but not entirely. A certain proportion of the matter of the
astral body is normally oscillating at the especial rate appropriate to that
emotion, and every great outburst of it adds somewhat to this proportion.
116.
For example, men have within them a certain amount of irritability, which
expresses itself in the astral body as a scarlet cloud. When the man manifests
that irritability by some special outburst of temper the whole astral vehicle is
temporarily suffused with scarlet. The fit of passion subsides, and the scarlet
flush dies away, but it has left its traces behind, for there is a slight
permanent addition to the size of the scarlet cloud of irascibility, and the
whole matter of the astral body is a little more ready than before to respond to
the vibration of anger when any opportunity offers. Naturally, exactly the same
course is followed in the case of any other emotion, whether it be good or bad;
and thus we see the clear manifestation in matter of the moral law, that every
time we yield to a passion of any kind, we make it a little more difficult for
ourselves to resist its next attack; while every successful effort at its
repression makes the next victory a little easier.
117.
The comparatively permanent color in the astral body means a persistent
vibration, which in course of time produces its due effect upon the mental body
also, creating a vibration of similar character at that much higher level -
provided that the vibration is of such a character as can be reproduced in that
finer matter. It is by the same method of exciting sympathetic vibration that
the higher qualities developed by the life on lower planes are gradually built
into the causal body itself, though at that level, fortunately for us, only the
effect of the loftier emotions can be recorded.
118.
So, in the course of his many lives, man develops within himself many
qualities, some good, some evil; but while all good development is steadily
stored up and accumulated within the causal body, that which is evil can express
itself only through the lower vehicles, and so is comparatively impermanent.
Under the mighty law of divine justice, every man receives absolutely the exact
results of his own action, whether it be bad or good; but the evil necessarily
works out its effects upon the lower planes, because it is only in the matter of
those planes that its vibrations can be expressed, and it has no overtones
capable of awakening a response in the causal body. Its force, therefore, is all
expended at its own level, and it reacts in its entirety upon its creator in his
astral and physical life, whether it be in this or in future incarnations.
119.
The good action or thought produces its results upon these lower planes
too, but in addition to that it has the immensely higher and permanent effect
upon the causal body which is so prominent a factor in the evolution of man.
Thus, while all alike produce their results down here, and manifest them in the
various temporary vehicles, it is the good qualities only which are retained as
so much definite gain to the real man. The evil meets him again and again on his
successive descents into incarnation, until he has vanquished it, and finally
rooted out from his vehicles all tendency to respond to it-until, in fact, he is
no longer liable to be swept away by any passion or desire, but has learnt to
rule himself from within.
120.
CHAPTER XII
121.
WHAT HIS BODIES SHOW US
122.
THIS process of learning is a gradual one, and the earlier manifestations
of the undeveloped man upon the lower planes are by no means beautiful to see.
The primitive man whose causal body is represented in Plate V would be likely to
possess such a mental body as is shown in Plate VI, and an astral body of the
type given in Plate VII.
123.
It must be understood that all these bodies occupy the same space, and
interpenetrate one another; so that in looking clairvoyantly at the primitive
man we should observe his physical body surrounded by a luminous ovoid mist, but
that mist would present to us the appearance of Plate V, Plate VI, or Plate VII
according to the type of clairvoyance which we employed.
124.
Using our own astral senses, we should see his astral body only, and
should learn from that what passions or emotions or sensations he was at the
moment experiencing, and to which of these he was in the habit of yielding
himself frequently. This is the field of the manifestation of desire - the
mirror in which every feeling is instantly reflected, in which even every
thought which has in it anything that touches the personal self must express
itself. From its material a bodily form is given to the dark elements which men
create and set in motion by evil wishes and malicious feelings; from it also
are bodied forth the beneficent elementals called into life by good wishes,
gratitude and love.
125.
As might naturally be expected, there is little of permanence about its
manifestations; its colors, its brilliance, the rate of its pulsations, are all
changing from moment to moment. An outburst of anger will charge the whole
astral body with deep-red flashes on a black ground; a sudden fright will
instantaneously veil everything in a mist of ghastly, livid grey. Nevertheless,
there will be moments when even this fluctuating astral vehicle is
comparatively at rest, and it will then show a definite group of colors which
retain more or less the same arrangement. Such a moment is that chosen for our
illustration in Plate VII, and from this, as we shall presently see, a good deal
of information about the man may be obtained.
126.
Using our mental sight, it would be the mental body of our primitive
friend that we should perceive, and it would probably resemble that illustrated
in Plate VI. As far as its colors are the same, this body would agree fairly
with the astral in a condition of repose, but it would also be much more than
this, for in it would appear whatever might be developed in the man of
spirituality and intellectuality - not much yet, perhaps, in the case of our
primitive man, but of considerable importance later on, as we shall see in due
course. From this mental body we are therefore able to deduce what kind of man
he is, and what sort of use he has made of his life so far in this incarnation.
127.
But if we are fortunate enough to be able to apply to the problem the
perfect power of vision exercised through our causal body, then what we see is
the causal body of the primitive man, and from that we know how for his real
life as a soul has advanced, and what progress the ego has made in its
unfoldment toward divinity. It will be seen that, to the trained clairvoyant
who is able to employ all these various degrees of sight in turn, the entire
life of the man in all its stages lies open like a book; for on these higher
planes no man can hide or disguise himself; what he truly is, is seen to be by
any unprejudiced spectator.
128.
Unprejudiced, I say; because we must never forget that each sees the
other through the medium of his own vehicles, and so is somewhat in the position
of one looking at a landscape through the colored glass. Until he has learnt to
make allowance for this influence, he will be likely to consider as most
prominent in the man at whom he is looking just those characteristics to which
he finds himself most ready to respond; but with a little careful practice he
soon frees himself from the distortion produced by this personal equation, and
is able to read clearly and accurately.
129.
CHAPTER XIII
130.
COLORS AND THEIR MEANING
131.
BEFORE we can intelligently study the details of these various bodies, we
must familiarize ourselves with the general meaning of the various shades of
color in them, as shown in our frontispiece. It will be realized that an almost
infinite variety is possible in their combination. I am endeavoring to give, as
nearly as possible, the exact shade which expresses the unmixed emotion whose
name is attached to it; but human emotions are hardly ever unmixed, and so we
have constantly to classify or to analyse indeterminate hue in the formation of
which many factors have played their part.
132.
Anger, for example, is represented by scarlet, and love by crimson and
rose; but both anger and love are often deeply tinged with selfishness, and just
so far as that is the case will the purity of their respective colors be dimmed
by the hard brown-grey which is so characteristic of this vice. Or again, either
of them may be mingled with pride, and that would instantly show itself by a
tinge of deep orange. Many examples of such commingling, and of the resultant
shades of color, will be seen as we continue our investigation; but our first
endeavor must be to learn to read the meaning of the simpler hues. We will give
here a list of some of these which are most common.
133.
Black. - Thick black clouds in the astral body mark the presence
of hatred and malice. When a person unhappily gives way to a fit of passionate
anger, the terrible thought-forms of hate may generally be seen floating in his
aura like coils of heavy, poisonous smoke.
134.
Red. - Deep-red flashes, usually on a black ground, show anger;
and this will be more or less tinged with brown as there is more or less of
direct selfishness in the type of anger. What is sometimes called “noble
indignation” on behalf of someone oppressed or injured may express itself in
flashes of brilliant scarlet on the ordinary background of the aura.
135.
Lurid, sanguinary red - a color which is quite unmistakable, though not
easy to describe - indicates sensuality.
136.
Brown. - Dull brown-red, almost rust-color, means avarice; and it
usually arranges itself in parallel bars across the astral body, giving a very
curious appearance.
137.
Dull, hard brown-grey signifies selfishness, and is unfortunately one of
the very commonest colors in the astral body.
138.
Greenish-brown, lit up by deep red or scarlet flashes, denotes jealousy,
and in the case of the ordinary man there is nearly always a good deal of this
color present when he is what is called “in love”.
139.
Grey. - Heavy leaden grey expresses deep depression, and where
this is habitual its appearance is sometimes indescribably gloomy and saddening.
This color also has the curious characteristic of arranging itself in parallel
lines, as has that of avarice, and both give the impression that their
unfortunate victim is imprisoned within a kind of astral cage.
140.
Livid grey, a most hideous and frightful hue, betokens fear.
141.
Crimson. - This color is the manifestation of love, and is often
the most beautiful feature in the vehicles of the average man. Naturally it
varies very greatly with the nature of the love. It may be dull, heavy, and
deeply tinged with the brown of selfishness, if the so-called love occupies
itself chiefly with the consideration of how much affection is received from
somebody else, how much return it is getting for its investment. But if the love
be of that kind that thinks never of itself at all, nor of what it receives, but
only of how much it can give, and how entirely it can pour itself forth as a
willing sacrifice for the sake of the loved one, then it will express itself in
the most lovely rose-color; and when this rose-color is exceptionally brilliant
and tinged with lilac, it proclaims the more spiritual love for humanity. The
intermediate possibilities are countless; and the affection may of course be
tinged in various other ways, as by pride or jealousy.
142.
Orange. - This color is always significant of pride or ambition,
and has almost as many variations as the last-mentioned, according to the nature
of the pride or the ambition. It is not infrequently found in union with
irritability.
143.
Yellow. - This is a very good color, implying always the
possession of intellectuality. Its shades vary, and it may be complicated by the
admixture of various other hues. Generally speaking, it has a deeper and duller
tint if the intellect is directed chiefly into lower channels, most especially
if the objects are selfish; but it becomes brilliantly golden, and rises
gradually to a beautiful clear and luminous lemon or primrose yellow, as it is
addressed to higher and more unselfish objects.
144.
Green. - No color has more varied signification than this, and it
requires some study to interpret it correctly. Most of its manifestations
indicate a kind of adaptability, at first evil and deceitful, but eventually
good and sympathetic.
145.
Grey-green, a peculiar shade which signifies deceit and cunning, will be
found very prominently in the astral bodies of most primitives. It is by no
means rare among civilized men, who ought long ago to have passed the stage of
evolution which it indicates. As the man advances, this hue improves into a
bright emerald-green, which still means versatility, ingenuity, and quickness
of resource, but no longer implies any evil intent in connection with these
qualities. It indicates the power of “being all things to all men”, not now for
the purpose of tricking or misleading them, but at first in order to please
them, to obtain their praise or their favor, and later on, as understanding
develops, for the purpose of helping and strengthening them. Eventually it
becomes a lovely pale, luminous blue-green, such as may sometimes be seen in an
exceptionally delicate sunset sky, and then it shows some of the grandest
qualities of human nature, the deepest sympathy and compassion, with the power
of perfect adaptability which only they can give. In its earlier development a
bright apple-green seems always to accompany strong vitality.
146.
Blue. - Dark, clear blue usually betokens religious feeling, but
this also varies according to the type of the feeling, its purity or bigotry,
its selfishness or nobility. It is liable to be tinted by almost any of the
qualities previously mentioned, so that we may have any shade from indigo on one
side and rich deep violet on the other, down to a muddy grey-blue which is at
the level of fetish-worship. The tinge of love or fear, of deceit or of pride,
may mingle with the hue of religion, and thus there is a wide range of variation
observable.
147.
Light blue marks devotion to a noble spiritual ideal, and gradually rises
to a luminous lilac-blue, which typifies the higher spirituality, and is usually
accompanied by sparkling golden stars, representing elevated spiritual
aspirations.
148.
It is easy to understand how almost infinite may be the combinations and
modifications of all these hues, so that the most delicate gradation of
character or the most evanescent of mingled feelings is expressed with the
greatest accuracy. The general brilliance of the astral body, the comparative
definiteness or indefiniteness of its outline, and the relative brightness of
the different centres of force, are all points which have to be taken into
consideration in reading the full meaning of what is seen. Another fact worth
mentioning is that developed or developing psychical faculties show themselves
by means of the colors which lie beyond the visible spectrum, so that it is
impossible to picture them with physical hues. The ultra-violet tints denote the
higher and purer developments, while gruesome combinations of the ultra-red
reveal the wickedness of the dabbler in evil and selfish forms of magic. Occult
advancement proclaims itself not only by these colors, but also by the greater
luminosity of the various bodies, and by their increased size and more definite
outline.
149.
CHAPTER XIV
150.
THE COUNTERPART
151.
THERE is one other point to be mentioned in connection with our
illustrations generally, before we take them up one by one for separate
consideration. It will be noticed that the outline of the physical body is
faintly marked inside each of the ovoids, in order to keep clearly before the
reader the comparison in size between it and these mist-clouds; but it should be
remembered that this is merely an indication and not a representation, and none
must make the mistake of supposing that the astral and mental counterparts of
the physical form are in reality as indefinite and unrecognizable. In a drawing
made upon this plane it is impossible to give simultaneously all the aspects of
a figure which belongs to a different realm of nature, and for that reason
certain characteristics of these higher vehicles have in our illustrations been
intentionally ignored or subordinated to the special purpose of this book,
which is to explain how the evolution of man displays itself in the coloring of
his various bodies.
152.
No attempt, for example, has been made to show the appearance of the
seven chakrams or centers of force, although these exist in all the
vehicles, and would in some cases be exceedingly vivid and prominent. The
artist has not essayed in any way to reproduce the wondrous opalescent hues of
the surface film of each ovoid; he has depicted neither the dense cloud of
thought-forms which closes round each man like a wall, nor the inner arrangement
which so exactly imitates the physical shape; and it is this last which needs a
few words of elucidation.
153.
If we glance with astral vision at our neighbour during his waking hours,
we shall see him looking very much as usual, except that he will be surrounded
by a slight luminous mist, in which by somewhat more intent observation, we may
detect the play of many colors. How is it, it may be asked, that his face and
limbs are perceptible to us, since we know that the astral matter of the vehicle
which we are employing cannot respond to purely physical vibrations? The reply
is that what is visible to us is not his physical body but its counterpart in
astral matter; and we find that even when the man abandons his dense earthly
form, whether temporarily in sleep or permanently in death, this counterpart
still preserves the same appearance. Let us consider how this happens.
154.
We have noticed in Plate II, that astral matter has its seven conditions
or degrees of density, corresponding with those on the physical plane. There is
more than a mere correspondence; there is an intense attraction. Every particle
of solid physical matter is interpenetrated by and has for its counterpart
certain particles of astral matter of the lowest sub-plane, which for
convenience we may call “solid astral” matter - though that is in truth a
contradiction in terms, for solidity in the ordinary sense of the word is
certainly not a quality that could be predicated of any kind of astral
substance. In the same way every liquid physical particle has for its
counterpart “liquid astral” particles, and so on; and the counterparts are not
readily separable.
155.
When a man descends into incarnation he draws round himself matter of the
various planes through which he passes. As he gathers his mental and astral
material, it adopts that ovoid form which is the expression on these lower
planes of the true shape of the causal body. Presently he finds himself
surrounding a small physical body, and at once its attraction begins to affect
the previously inchoate astral and mental matter. The vehement vibrations of
these finer particles do not easily submit themselves to such control, but as
the child-form grows its influence steadily increases, until the adult has
usually over ninety per cent of the matter of his astral and mental bodies
within the periphery of his fleshly tabernacle. I do not mean that the same
particles always stay there, for every one of them is in rapid motion and is
constantly passing in and out; but on the whole that proportion is maintained.
Therefore when, with astral sight, we examine a friend, what we really see is a
human form of very dense and solid-looking mist surrounded by an egg-shaped
cloud of diaphanous mist; and as every feature of the familiar countenance is
faithfully reproduced, the man is instantly recognizable.
156.
Nor is this all. The phenomenon of habit comes into play, and the astral
and mental particles, having become accustomed to that form, retain it even
when the dense body which caused it is destroyed, so that there is no more
difficulty in recognizing a man after death than before it. Temporary changes
may take place, for the finer matter may be moulded by a passing thought; but as
soon as the pressure of that constraining thought is withdrawn, it slips back
again into its usual shape.
157.
There is a much slighter but more continuous thought-influence which
sometimes very gradually produces a considerable change. No man habitually
images himself as decrepit, infirm, bowed, or wrinkled; and so, although
immediately after death his astral body may accurately reproduce all these
characteristics, the unconscious influence of his own thought of himself slowly
brings back to him something of the appearance of the prime of life. That is why
a man who shows himself after death as an apparition sometimes impresses his
friends as looking younger instead of older than when he died.
158.
A factor which has its share in helping to preserve the astral shape
unchanged after death is the thought of others. When a man’s friends, whether
living or dead, turn their thoughts upon him, they naturally think of him as
they know him; but every such thought is a momentary moulding force, and in the
aggregate the effect is considerable.
159.
From all this the reader will realize that when he learns to see an
astral body, he will find many other points to observe in it than are shown in
our illustrations; and in particular he will notice that the counterpart of the
physical form is not a mere faint outline, but probably the most prominent
feature of all.
160.
It is almost certain to be so for the untrained clairvoyant, since it is
only in the rarest of cases that he has the astral sight perfectly developed.
Naturally enough, that part of the faculty which usually opens first is the
lowest, the nearest to the physical, and a man may often for very many years be
able to see only the denser kinds of astral matter. But those, corresponding as
they do to the materials of the physical body, are precisely the varieties which
are most of all concentrated within the counterpart. Obviously, therefore, the
surrounding ovoid of mist will seem to such a man much fainter in proportion and
much less conspicuous than it really is - indeed he is quite likely to overlook
it altogether. If his astral sight be rather above the ordinary level he may, as
I said just now; see something of the colors by looking more intently by making
an effort corresponding to straining the eyes on the physical plane. The effect
of such exertion is momentarily to raise the vibrations of his astral body, or
more correctly to extend his faculty to somewhat higher vibrations; and so to
bring within his purview more of the vehicle at which he is looking. A man who
is properly trained in clairvoyance is of course taught how to use the power of
sight on all the sub-planes, either separately or simultaneously as he wishes.
161.
People often ask whether an astral body appears clothed, and if so, where
it obtains its vestments. Since this finer matter can be modelled by thought,
the man is as he thinks of himself, and it is easy for each person to
clothe himself as he will. If his attention is entirely occupied with some
other matter, his mind usually automatically reproduces some ordinary costume
with which it is familiar, so that he will probably appear in whatever dress he
wears most frequently. I know one friend who for a long time, without ever
having considered the matter, used always to show himself upon the astral plane
in evening dress - because, I suppose, late at night he naturally thought of
himself in that costume. Another wore always the graceful yellow robe of the
Buddhist monk; but I think that was intentional in the beginning, though no
doubt afterwards it became a habit.
162.
The counterpart exists in mental matter as well as in astral, so through
the heaven-life also the man retains to a considerable extent the appearance as
well as the memory of his last personality. Even in the causal body there is
also a human form - not that of any one incarnation, but a glorified blending of
what is noblest in all of them - the Augoeides or heavenly man, through whom
manifests the true ego; but conditions at that level are so different that it is
hopeless to try to describe this.
163.
CHAPTER XV
164.
EARLY STAGES OF MAN’S DEVELOPMENT
165.
WHEN we apply the information contained in Chapter XIII, to the
consideration of the mind-body of a primitive man as shown in Plate VI, certain
facts about the man at once become obvious. Although on the whole it is a very
poor and undeveloped mind-body, yet some progress has already been made. The
dull yellow at the top indicates a certain amount of intellect, but also shows
by the muddiness of the color that it is applied exclusively to selfish ends.
The devotion denoted by the grey-blue must be a fetish-worship, largely tinged
with fear, and prompted by considerations of self-interest; while the muddy
crimson on our left points to a commencement of affection which must as yet be
principally selfish also. The band of dull orange implies pride, but of quite a
low order; while the large dash of scarlet expresses a strong tendency to anger,
which would evidently blaze out upon very slight provocation. The broad band of
dirty green which occupies so great a portion of the body shows forth deceit,
treachery and avarice - the latter quality manifesting itself in the brownish
tint which is observable. At the bottom we notice a sort of deposit of mud
color, suggesting general selfishness and the absence of any desirable quality.
166.
It is just that absence of any well-defined higher quality which makes us
certain that, in turning to the corresponding astral body (Plate VII), we shall
find it almost entirely uncontrolled. Accordingly, we see how enormous a
proportion of this vehicle of desire is occupied exclusively by sensuality,
proclaimed by the very unpleasant brown-red which is almost blood-color.
167.
Deceit, selfishness and greed are conspicuous here, as might be expected,
and fierce anger is also implied by the smears and blots of dull scarlet.
Affection is scarcely indicated at all, and such intellect and religious feeling
as appear are of the lowest possible kind.
168.
Another point which should be noticed is the irregularity of the outline
of this astral body, the generally blurred effect, and the manner in which the
colors are arranged. As we pass to the vehicles of the more evolved human beings
we shall find a considerable improvement in this respect. The colors always to
some extent intermingle and melt into one another, but nevertheless in the
ordinary man they have a tendency to lie in more or less regular bands, while
the outline of the body becomes fairly definite and regular. With the
undeveloped man, however, all is ill-regulated and confused; he is obviously a
creature of violent and often vicious impulses to which he instantly yields
without the slightest effort to control them. A very unpleasant person
altogether; yet every one of us has passed through this stage, and by the
experience gained in it we have been enabled to rise out of it to something
purer and nobler.
169.
It will be very necessary for us to bear constantly in mind, in our
endeavor to realize the appearance of the various vehicles, that the particles
of which they are composed are always in rapid motion. In certain cases, which
will be specially mentioned in their turn, there are definite bands and clearly
defined lines in these bodies; but in the vast majority the clouds of color not
only melt into one another, but are all the while rolling over one another, and
appearing and disappearing as they roll. Indeed, the surface of this luminous
and brightly-colored mist resembles somewhat the surface of violently boiling
water in the way in which the particles are seen to swirl about, to rise to the
surface and sink back again, and constantly to change places with one another,
so that the various colors by no means retain always the respective positions
in which they are represented in our illustrations. Yet it is nevertheless true
that they gravitate towards the arrangement here portrayed - that though the
yellow, the rose and the blue are not always to be found grouped exactly as
depicted, yet in all their whirlings and rollings they remain near the upper
part of the oval; they are always to be found near the head of the physical
body, when they exist at all, while the colors which mark selfishness avarice,
deceit or hatred tend always to appear towards the bottom, and the great mass
of sensual feeling floats usually between the two.
170.
Each of these rates of vibration (which show themselves to us as colors)
has its own special type of astral or mental matter in which it can operate most
freely, and the average position of these colors in the ever-shifting
must-cloud depends in reality upon the respective specific gravity of its
special matter. The whole, or almost the whole, of the matter in an astral body
may be temporarily forced by a sudden rush of passion to vibrate at a certain
rate; but all of it except that to which the vibration is natural will fall back
into its ordinary rate when the force is removed.
171.
Naturally each man has his individual idiosyncrasies, and no two are
exactly alike; but each illustration given represents a section of an average
specimen of its class, and its various hues are shown in that part of the ovoid
where they are usually to be found.
172.
CHAPTER XVI
173.
THE ORDINARY PERSON
174.
LET us now examine the average “man in the street”, in order that we may
see what advancement has been made, and in what way it shows itself in the
various vehicles. Looking with appropriate sight at the causal body of such a
man, we shall find it at about the degree of development indicated in Plate
VIII. It will be seen that there has been a distinct increase in the content of
the great ovoid film; a certain amount of exceedingly delicate and ethereal
color now exists within it, though it is still less than half filled. The
general meaning of the colors is the same as at lower levels, although here
they betoken qualities definitely and permanently acquired by the soul, and they
are many octaves higher than the colors which represent the same qualities on
inferior planes. It will be seen that something of the higher intellect,
something of the power of true devotion and true unselfish love, has already
been developed within the man; and whatever expression of this may be possible
upon the lower planes will be his as a kind of stock-in-trade or inherent
quality in every incarnation which the future holds in store for him. There is
even already a faint tint of that exceedingly delicate violet which implies the
capacity of love and devotion turned towards the highest ideal, and also a faint
hint of the clear green of sympathy and compassion.
175.
Examining the mental body of the ordinary man as pictured in Plate IX we
find that it already shows considerable improvement over that of the undeveloped
man. It is not only that there is more in proportion of intellect, love and
devotion, but that all of these characteristics have improved greatly in their
quality. Though very far yet from being perfectly pure, they are certainly far
better in tone than those in Plate VI. The proportion of pride is quite as high
as before, but at least it is now pride at. a higher level; if the man is still
proud, it will be rather of such good qualities as he imagines himself to
possess than merely of physical pre-eminence in brute force or in cruelty. There
is still a good deal of the scarlet which marks liability to anger, but it is
noticeable that it now takes a much lower place in the cloud, which means an
improvement in the general quality of the matter of which this mind body is
composed. The low type of green in the mental body of the undeveloped man (which
denotes deceit very strongly tinged by avarice and selfishness) required for its
vibrations a type of matter denser and coarser than that needed by the scarlet
of anger. The decidedly better green which is exhibited in the mental body of
the ordinary man needs for its vibration matter of a type somewhat less dense
than the scarlet; and hence apparently the change of relative position. The
green has now advanced to the suggestion of a certain amount of versatility and
adaptability, rather than deceit or cunning. A large proportion of the mind is
still occupied by the brown of selfish tendencies; but even this color will be
seen to be a trifle warmer and less grim than before.
176.
If we now turn to Plate X we shall find the astral body which corresponds
to the mental body in Plate IX - the astral body of the ordinary man. It will be
seen that this astral body agrees closely with its mental, though its colors are
naturally somewhat coarser and it contains very decided indications of certain
passions which cannot be expressed on the higher plane. Still it will be found
much improved as compared with the astral body on Plate VII. There is less of
sensuality, though that is stall unfortunately one of the most prominent
characteristics; but at least it is less utterly brutal and overpowering than it
was. Selfishness is still very prominent, and the capability of deceit for
personal ends is still undoubtedly present; but already the green seems to be
dividing itself into two distinct qualities, showing that mere cunning is
gradually becoming adaptability.
177.
This drawing of the astral body represents not only the average quality
of the type of man to which it belongs, but also its average condition when
comparatively at rest. The astral body of any ordinary person is so very rarely
at rest that we should gain but a very incomplete idea of the possibilities of
its appearance if we omitted to consider it as it is when affected by sudden
impulses or rushes of feeling. There are also certain more permanent attitudes
of mind which produce modifications of the astral body that are sufficiently
distinctive to be worthy of remark, and we shall now devote a few plates to
illustrating these various effects.
178.
CHAPTER XVII
179.
SUDDEN EMOTIONS
180.
SOME of these produce most striking results in the astral body - results
which are well worth careful study. It should be premised that every one of the
illustrations given in this book is drawn from life. They are not somebody’s
idea of how a man might look under certain conjectured conditions; they are the
representation of the appearance presented by the vehicles of living persons
under the circumstances described. They are the result, not of imagination, but
of observation and careful reproduction. For instance, by turning to Plate XI,
we shall see an attempt to picture the effect which is visible when a sudden
wave of strong and perfectly pure affection sweeps over a person - the example
chosen being that of a mother as she snatches up her baby and covers it with
kisses. In a moment the astral body is thrown into violent agitation, and the
original colors are for the time almost obscured. In this, as in all these
cases, the astral body of the ordinary person, as given in Plate X, is taken as
a basis or background, though during the passage of the violent emotion but
little is seen of it. If the change introduced in Plate XI is analyzed it will
be found to consist of four separate parts.
181.
Certain coils or vortices of vivid color are to be seen, well-defined and
solid-looking, and glowing with an intense light from within. Each of these is
in reality a thought-form of intense affection, generated within the astral
body, and about to be poured forth from it towards the object of the feeling. In
the book Thought Forms will be found a drawing of one of these very
coils as it flew through the air on its way to its goal. It will be observed
that a certain modification of shape has been caused by the rapid motion, so
that the spiral has become a projectile, somewhat resembling the head of a
comet. It is difficult to depict these whirling clouds of living light, but
their real appearance is indescribably lovely.
182.
The whole astral body is crossed by horizontal pulsating lines of crimson
light, more difficult to represent accurately even than the thought-forms, by
reason of the exceeding rapidity of their motion. The general effect, however,
has been very happily caught by the artist.
183.
A kind of film of rose-color covers the surface of the whole astral body,
so that all within is seen through it, as through tinted glass. In the drawing
this shows only at the edges.
184.
A sort of crimson flush filling the entire astral body, tingeing to some
extent all the other hues, and here and there condensing itself into irregular
floating wisps, like half-formed cirrus clouds.
185.
This magnificent display of astral fireworks usually lasts only a few
seconds, and then the body rapidly resumes its normal condition. Yet every such
rush of feeling produces its effect; it adds a little to the crimson in the
higher part of the oval, and it makes it a little easier for the particles of
the astral body to respond to the next wave of affection which comes. Transient
though such an impulse may be, yet as it occurs again and again its effects are
cumulative; and another point which must not be forgotten is the good influence
upon others which is produced by the radiation of vivid vibrations of love and
joy.
186.
Many true hearts will be the happier for knowing that one who sends a
thought of intense affection to another actually gives something of
himself - that a certain portion of astral matter passes from him to the loved
one, charged so strongly with its own special rate of vibration that unless some
determined preoccupation exists it cannot but reproduce itself, it cannot fail
to set the astral body of the recipient swinging in harmony with it; and that
means that love tends to kindle love, and therefore that to love a person is
definitely to make hire a better man than he would otherwise be.
187.
Devotion
188.
Except that blue is everywhere substituted for crimson, Plate XII is
almost identical with Plate XI. It illustrates a sudden accession of devotional
impulse which surged over a nun while engaged in contemplation. All the four
forms of manifestation which we noted in connection with the impulse of
affection are also observable here - the whirling, gleaming coils, the
rapidly-vibrating horizontal lines, the outer film, and the wisps of cloud - and
their signification is precisely the same, substituting everywhere religious
feeling for affection.
189.
So perfect an outburst of devotion is somewhat rare - much less common
than a similarly perfect outrush of love. A surge of feeling of this nature, but
generally without its definiteness or precision, may sometimes be seen to occur
in the case of one who offers an act of adoration before an altar. Usually the
parallel lines are less regular and less prominent, and the sharply-defined
coils are altogether absent, their place being taken by shapeless clouds of blue
vapor.
190.
In the great majority of cases, devotion as a sentiment seems to be
vague and ill-defined, and so fine a specimen as that given in our illustration
is indeed rare. In this instance, when the coils passed out from the astral body
they did not assume the form of round-headed projectiles, as in the case of the
wave of affection, but instead became splendid upward-rushing spires. One of
these also is given in Thought Forms, and an attempt is there made to
illustrate the marvellous outpouring of force from higher planes which is
evoked by such an effort of devotion.
191.
Intense Anger
192.
Plate XIII is perhaps the most striking in appearance of the whole
series, and even without any explanation it would of itself be an eloquent
warning against the folly of yielding to a fit of passion. As in the previous
cases, the ordinary background of the astral body is temporarily obscured by the
rush of feeling, but now the strong and vivid thoughts are unfortunately those
of malice and ill-will. They express themselves once more as coils or vortices,
but this time as heavy, thunderous masses of sooty blackness, lit up from within
by the lurid glow of active hatred. Less defined wisps of the same dark cloud
are to be seen defiling the whole astral body, while the fiery arrows of
uncontrolled anger shoot among them like flashes of lightning.
193.
A tremendous and truly awful spectacle; and the more fully it is
understood the more terrible it appears. For this is the case of a man who is
absolutely transported and beside himself with rage - a man who for the time
being has utterly lost control of himself. Even should the discipline of
education and custom still withhold him from outward violence, those terrible
flashes are penetrating other astral bodies like swords, and the man is injuring
those about him just as really as, though less visibly than, if he assaulted
them on the physical plane.
194.
While he is thus a source of danger to others, he is utterly defenceless
himself. For the moment passion has entirely controlled him; the
desire-elemental is supreme, and the true man has temporarily lost hold of his
vehicle. Under those circumstances another and stronger will may seize that
which he has allowed to be wrested from him. In other words, at such a moment,
when a man is transported with rage, he is liable to be seized and obsessed
either by a dead man of similar nature or by some evil artificial elemental
whose vibrations synchronize with those which are dominating him. Not only is he
a danger to his fellows, but he is in appalling danger to himself.
195.
The case selected for illustration is of course an extreme one, and such
a condition does not usually last more than a few minutes. But everyone who
falls into a passion exhibits these characteristics to some extent; and one
cannot but feel that if men only knew how they appeared in the eyes of those who
can see, when they yield themselves to those outbursts of anger, they would
surely take far greater care to avoid them.
196.
The gust of passion passes away, but it leaves its mark behind. In the
astral body of the average man there is always a certain amount of scarlet,
which shows the capacity for anger, the possibility of being irritated; and each
outburst of rage adds something to this, and predisposes the matter of the
entire vehicle to respond somewhat more readily than before to these very
undesirable vibrations.
197.
It must also be remembered that though the passion may be impermanent,
the record of it remains for ever in the memory of nature; though the elemental
created by an evil wish will cease to exist after a period proportioned to the
strength of that wish, yet the living photograph of every instant of its life
remains, and all the wide-spreading results of its actions during that life are
arched with absolute justice to the karma of its creator.
198.
Fear
199.
The effect of fear upon the astral body is very striking. A sudden shock
of terror will in an instant suffuse the entire body with a curious livid grey
mist, while horizontal lines of the same hue appear, but vibrate with such
violence as to be hardly recognizable as separate lines. The result is
indescribably ghastly, and it is impossible to convey an adequate idea of it by
illustration. Plate XIV gives such suggestion of it as can be put upon paper,
but it can hardly depict the strange way in which all light fades out for the
time from the body, and the whole grey mass quivers helplessly like a jelly.
200.
Such an appearance as this denotes deadly panic, and ordinarily soon
passes away. A condition of permanent fear or extreme nervousness expresses
itself in a much modified form of the same phenomena, but the peculiar tinge of
grey, and the characteristic quiver, are invariable signs of this haunting
presence.
201.
CHAPTER XVIII
202.
MORE PERMANENT CONDITIONS
203.
WE have endeavored to illustrate the immediate effect of some of the
sudden emotions which affect the outer vehicles of man, and to explain that,
quickly as they pass, they are not without permanent results to the soul within.
It remains for us to describe the way in which certain dispositions or types of
character manifest themselves, so that it may be seen to what extent each of
these modifies the progress of the man upon his upward path.
204.
There is one influence, however, which produces a considerable result in
the lives of most men, which does not exactly belong to either of these
categories. It is often sudden in its advent, and in most cases it is certainly
not life-long in its duration; but still it does not fade away so rapidly as
those which we have been considering. Nevertheless, in the life of such a man as
is imaged in Plates VIII, IX, and X, it is usually the main event; indeed it is
very frequently the one really bright spot in an existence which is otherwise
monotonous, sordid and selfish - the only occasion on which such a personality
is lifted temporarily out of himself, and lives for a while on an altogether
higher level.
205.
This sudden elevation comes to the person who, as it is commonly called,
“falls in love”.
206.
Into a life cramped and limited there suddenly shines a gleam from above,
and the divine spark within glows brighter in response. Later, the man may lose
it again, and descend once more into the murky light of common day; yet nothing
can take away from him the experience, and the glory of the higher life has been
to some extent revealed. He has at least passed through a phase when for a
longer or shorter period self was dethroned, and another entity occupied the
first place in his world; and thus he learns, for the first time, one of the
most valuable lessons in the whole course of his evolution. It will be aeons yet
before that lesson is perfectly assimilated, yet even this first glimpse of it
is of enormous importance to the ego, and its effect on the astral body is
worthy of special notice.
207.
The transformation is unexpected and complete, as will be seen by
comparing Plate X with Plate XV. The two bodies could not be recognized as
belonging to the same person, so extraordinary is the alteration. It will be
seen that certain qualities have altogether disappeared for the time, that
others have been enormously increased, and that their relative positions have
considerably changed.
208.
Selfishness, deceit and avarice have vanished, and the lowest part of the
oval is now filled with a large development of animal passions. The green of
adaptability has been replaced by the peculiar brownish-green of jealousy, and
the extreme activity of this feeling is shown by the bright scarlet flashes of
anger which permeate it.
209.
But the undesirable changes are more than counterbalanced by the
splendid band of crimson which fills so large a part of the oval. This is for
the time a dominant characteristic; and the whole astral body glows with its
light. Under its influence the general muddiness of the ordinary body has
disappeared, and the hues are all brilliant and clearly marked, good and bad
alike. It is an intensification of the life in various directions.
210.
It will be noticed that the blue of devotion is also distinctly improved,
and even (so much has the nature been temporarily elevated) a touch of pale
violet appears at the summit of the ovoid, indicating a capacity of response to
a really high and unselfish ideal. The yellow of intellect, however, has
entirely vanished for the time - which I suppose would be considered by the
cynical as characteristic of the condition!
211.
It seems scarcely possible that after all this brilliant development the
man should sink back again into the condition indicated in Plate X, yet in the
majority of cases this is what occurs, though naturally the amount of crimson
has considerably augmented, and it is clearer in hue than before. This
experience of being “in love” is assuredly a valuable one for the ego, and gives
him a definite forward impulse, even though there may often be associated with
it much that is undesirable.
212.
The intensely strong and unselfish affection often felt by children for
those somewhat older than themselves is a very powerful factor in their
progress, since it is usually an unmixed benefit, free from all associations
connected with the lower animal nature. Even though such affection may seem
transitory, and may change its object more than once as years roll on, it is
nevertheless very real while it lasts, and it serves a noble purpose in
preparing the vehicle to respond more readily to the stronger vibrations which
are yet in the future just as the unset blossom of the fruit-tree, which seems
to come to nothing, in reality has its function, since it not only looks
exceedingly beautiful at the time, but also helps to draw up the sap for the
fruit that is to come.
213.
The Irritable Man
214.
We turn now to the consideration of the manner in which certain special
types of character exhibit themselves in the bodies of the man. The case of the
irritable man is a good specimen of these. His astral body will usually show a
broad band of scarlet as one of its prominent features, as we see in Plate XVI.
But what especially differentiates him from other men is the presence in all
parts of the astral body of little floating flecks of scarlet, somewhat like
notes of exclamation. These are the result of little accessions of vexation at
the small worries which are constantly occurring in ordinary life. Every time
any little trifle goes wrong - when his coffee is cold, when he misses his
train, or when the baby upsets the ink-bottle - the irascible man gives vent to
an impatient or angry exclamation, and a tiny scarlet flash shows the
uncontrolled feeling. In some cases these little messengers of undisciplined
temper fly outward towards the person who is supposed to be responsible for
whatever has gone wrong; but in many others they simply remain floating within
him, suspended in the matter of the astral body, and presenting the appearance
shown in our illustration. These spots gradually fade away, but their places are
taken by others, for the irritable man is never at a loss for subjects of
annoyance.
215.
The Miser
216.
Another striking, but happily less common, spectacle, is that which is
imaged for us in Plate XVII. The background differs somewhat from the ordinary
astral body, for there is a total absence of devotion, and far less than the
normal proportion of affection. Avarice, selfishness, deceit and adaptability
(or perhaps, rather, cunning) are all intensified, but, on the other hand, there
is very little sensuality. The most remarkable characteristic, however, is to be
seen in the curious series of parallel horizontal lines which bar the oval, and
give the impression that the man within is confined in a cage. These bars are of
a deep brown color, almost burnt sienna, level and clearly marked as to their
upper edge, but shading off into a sort of cloud below.
217.
This is an illustration of a confirmed miser, and naturally so extreme a
case is not very common; but a large number of people seem to have some of the
elements of the miser in their nature, and show them by an intensification of
the color of avarice and by one or two such bars in the upper part of the astral
body, though few are so completely, confined as is this specimen. It is obvious
that this man has shut himself away from the world, and that vibrations from
without cannot readily affect him. Probably in this way he escapes some of the
ordinary temptations of life, but he also makes himself impervious to the love
and sympathy of his friends, and to all the higher religious feelings. Above
all, his prison-bars prevent the passage of vibrations outward as well as
inward, and he himself can pour out neither affection nor devotion. He is
wrapped absolutely in his own selfishness, and is doing no good to any human
being, and while that is his condition he can make no progress. This vice of
avarice seems to have the effect of completely arresting development for the
time, and it is very difficult to shake off when once it has gained a firm hold
upon the personality.
218.
Deep Depression
219.
The astral body shown in Plate XVIII is in many ways similar to the last.
Here, however, we have dull grey lines instead of the brown, and the whole
effect is indescribably gloomy and depressing to the observer. It does not seem
that in this case any qualities are necessarily absent; we have simply the
ordinary colors of the body as a background, but all are veiled by these heavy
weeping lines. Our picture represents a person during a period of extreme
depression, when he is as utterly isolated as was the miser, and naturally there
are very many intermediate stages between this and the healthy astral body. A
man may have only a few bars of depression, and even they may be but transient;
or in slighter and less persistent cases, the heavy cloud may hardly have time
to arrange itself in lines at all.
220.
Yet there are only too many who yield themselves to these feelings, and
allow the fog of despair to close round them until all the world looks black;
not realizing that in doing so they are not only seriously delaying their own
evolution and losing manifold opportunities, but are also causing unnecessary
suffering and injury to all those near to them. No psychic condition is more
infectious than this feeling of depression; its vibrations radiate in all
directions and introduce their slackening, deadening effects into every astral
body within reach, whether the ego to which that astral body belongs is in
incarnation or not. The man who gives way to despondency is thus a nuisance and
a danger alike to the living and the dead, for in these days of overstrain and
nervous worry most people find it very difficult to resist the contagion of
these funereal vibrations.
221.
The only man who is proof against such dire influences is he who
understands something of the purpose of life, who regards it from the
philosophical and commonsense standpoint. Fortunately good influences can be
spread abroad just as readily as evil ones, and the man who is wise enough to be
happy will become a centre of happiness for others, a veritable sun, shedding
light and joy on all around him, and to this extent acting as a fellow-worker
together with God, who is the source of all joy. In this way we may all of us
help to break up these gloomy bars of depression, and set the soul within them
free in the glorious sunlight of the divine love.
222.
The Devotional Type
223.
It will be useful for us to close our list of special cases among astral
bodies by examining two very distinct types, from the comparison of which a
good deal may be learnt. The first of these is illustrated in Plate XIX, and we
may call him the devotional man. His characteristics present themselves through
the medium of his colors, and we see that he possesses the faint touch of violet
which implies the possibility of his response to the presentment of a high
ideal. His most prominent feature is the unusual development of the blue,
showing strong religious feeling; but unfortunately only a very small proportion
of this is the pure light blue of unselfish devotion, the majority being of a
dark and somewhat muddy hue, suggesting the admixture of a good deal of desire
for personal gain.
224.
The very small proportion of yellow tells us that he has very little
intelligence to direct his devotion into reasonable channels, or to save him
from degenerating into senseless bigotry. He has a fair proportion of affection
and adaptability, though not of very high order; but the amount of sensuality
manifested is much above the average, and deceit and selfishness are also very
prominent. It is a remarkable fact that extreme sensuality and the devotional
temperament are so frequently seen in association; it would suggest that there
must be some hidden connection between them - or it may be simply that both are
characteristic of a man who lives chiefly in his feelings, and is governed by
them instead of trying to control them by reason. Another point to which
attention should be paid is the irregularity in the distribution of the colors
and the vagueness of their outline; they all melt into one another, and there
are no clear lines of demarcation anywhere. This also is very expressive of the
vagueness of the devotional man’s conceptions.
225.
It will be understood that in this case; as in all the others of this
chapter, we are dealing merely with variants of the ordinary person.
Consequently this is the astral body of an ordinary and non-intellectual
religious man - not in the least that of the developed religious man whose
devotion is evoked by full comprehension and guided by reason.
226.
The scientific type
227.
The observer can hardly fail to be struck by the contrast between the
body illustrated in Plate XX and that which we have just described. In Plate XIX
we see that the principal features are devotion (of a sort) and sensuality, and
a very small modicum of intellect is shown; in Plate XX we have no devotion at
all, and far less than the average amount of sensuality, but the intellect is
developed to a very abnormal degree. Affection and adaptability are both
somewhat small in quantity and poor in quality, being apparently overshadowed by
the intellectual development, as the man is not yet sufficiently advanced to
possess all these qualities equally in their higher forms. There is a good deal
of selfishness and avarice, and a certain capability of jealousy is also
apparent. But the great feature of this man is the large proportion of golden
yellow, showing a well-developed intelligence directed principally to the
attainment of knowledge. A huge cone of bright orange rising in the midst of it
indicates the presence of much pride and ambition in connection with that
knowledge, but still the shade of the yellow precludes the idea that the
intellect is debased to merely selfish ends.
228.
It should be noticed also that the scientific and orderly habit of mind
has a distinct influence upon the arrangement of the astral colors; they tend to
fall into regular bands, and the lines of demarcation between them are decidedly
more definite than in the previous illustration.
229.
It is evident that the bodies pictured in Plate XIX and XX give us
examples of two varieties of unequal development; and while each has its good
points, each also has decided disadvantages. We shall now proceed to the
consideration of the vehicles of the more developed man who possesses all these
various qualities to a much greater extent, but has them well balanced, so that
each supports and strengthens the other, instead of dominating or stifling it.
230.
CHAPTER XIX
231.
THE DEVELOPED MAN
232.
THE term “developed” is a relative one, so it will be well to explain
exactly what is here meant by it. The vehicles illustrated under this heading
are such as might be possessed by any pure-minded person who had definitely and
intelligently “set his affection on things above, and not on things of earth”.
They are not those of one already far advanced upon the path which leads to
adeptship, for in that case we should find a consider able difference in size as
well as in arrangement. But they do distinctly imply that the man of whom they
are expressions is a seeker after the higher truth, one who has risen above mere
earthly aims, and is living for an ideal. Among such some may be found who are
especially advanced in one direction, and some in another; this is an
evenly-balanced man - simply a fair average of those who are at the level which
I describe.
233.
We may first examine Plate XXI, which represents for us his causal body.
By comparing this with Plates V and VIII we shall see what the man’s progress
has been, and how it is expressed in his appearance. We observe that by this
time many beautiful qualities have been developed within him, for the glorious
iridescent film is now filled with the most lovely colors, typifying for us the
higher forms of love, devotion and sympathy, aided by an intellect refined and
spiritualized, and by aspirations reaching ever towards the divine. Let me quote
from The Devachanic Plane, the sixth of our theosophical manuals:
234.
“Composed of matter inconceivably fine, delicate and ethereal, intensely
alive and pulsating with living fire, the causal body becomes as its evolution
proceeds a radiant globe of flashing colors, its high vibrations sending ripples
of changing hues over its surface - hues of which earth knows nothing -
brilliant, soft and luminous beyond the power of language to describe. Take the
colors of an Egyptian sunset and add to them the wonderful softness of an
English sky at eventide - raise these as high above themselves in light and
translucency and splendour as they are above the colors given by a child’s
paint-box - and even then none who have not seen can image the beauty of these
radiant orbs which flash into the field of clairvoyant vision as it is lifted to
the level of this supernal world.
235.
All these causal bodies are filled with living fire drawn from a higher
plane, with which the globe appears to be connected by a quivering thread of
intense light, vividly recalling to the mind the words of the stanzas of Dzyan,
‘The spark hangs from the flame by the finest thread of Fohat’; and as the soul
grows and is able to receive more and more from the inexhaustible ocean of the
Divine Spirit which pours down through the thread as a channel, the latter
expands and gives wider passage to the Hood, till on the next sub-plane it might
be imaged as a waterspout connecting earth and sky, and higher still as itself a
great globe through which rushes the living spring, until the causal body seems
to melt into the in-pouring light. Once more the stanza says it for us: ‘The
thread between the watcher and his shadow becomes more strong and radiant with
every change. The morning sunlight has changed into noonday glory. This is thy
present wheel said the flame to the spark. Thou art myself, my image and my
shadow. I have clothed myself in thee, and thou art my vahan to the day,
“Be-with-us”, when thou shalt re-become myself and others, thyself and me’.”
236.
How hopeless it seems to try to represent all this glory on paper! Yet
our artist has skillfully contrived to suggest that which no brush could paint,
and however far even the cleverest physical image may be from that transcendent
reality, it at least gives our imagination a starting-point from which we may
try to build up a conception.
237.
We must not omit to notice one of the grandest characteristics of the
developed man - his capacity to serve as a channel for higher force. It will be
seen that from his causal body streams of this force pour out in various
directions, for his attitude of unselfishness, of helpfulness and readiness to
give, makes it possible for the divine strength to descend upon him in steady
stream, and through him to reach many who are not yet strong enough to receive
it directly.
238.
The crown of brilliant sparks which ascends from the upper part of the
body proclaims the activity of spiritual aspiration, and adds very greatly to
the beauty and dignity of the man’s appearance. This rises constantly from the
causal body, no matter how the lower man may be occupied on the physical plane:
for when the soul of man is once awakened upon his own level, and is beginning
to understand something of himself and his relation to the divine, he looks ever
upwards towards the source from which he came, totally irrespective of any
activities which he may at the same time be inspiring on lower planes. We must
never forget how small and partial an expression of the Self even the noblest
personality can be; so that as soon as the higher man begins to look round him,
he finds almost unlimited possibilities opening before him, of which in this
cramped physical life we can form no idea.
239.
This very upward rushing of spiritual aspiration, which makes so glorious
a crown for our developed man, is itself the channel through which the divine
power descends; so that the fuller and stronger his aspirations become, the
larger is the measure of the grace from on high.
240.
His Mental Body
241.
It can hardly fail to strike the observer, as we come to deal with the
more developed man, that his various vehicles are not only all of them greatly
refined and improved, but they are also very much more like one another.
Allowing for the difference between what we may call the octaves of the color -
between the hues belonging to the lower and the higher levels of the mental
plane - Plate XXII is almost a reproduction of Plate XXI; and the resemblance
between Plates XXII and XXIII is perhaps even more marked, though in comparing
them we have to remember that astral colors are again of a different octave from
even the lower mental.
242.
Another useful comparison to make is that between Plates XXII, IX and VI,
in order that we may see how the evolution from the savage to the unselfish man
shows itself in the mind-body. It will appear upon examination that pride, anger
and selfishness have altogether disappeared, and that the remaining colors have
not only so expanded as to fill the whole oval, but have also so improved in
tone as to give quite a different impression. Every one of them is more refined
and delicate, for all thought of self has vanished from them; and in addition
has appeared the pure violet with the golden stars, which betokens the
acquisition of new and greater qualities. The power from above, which we saw
radiating out through his causal body, acts also through the mental vehicle,
though with somewhat less fore. This is on the whole a very fine mental body,
already well developed, and having within it every promise of rapid progress
along the Path, when the time for that shall come.
243.
His Astral Body
244.
His astral body, which is pictured in Plate XXIII, will at once be seen
to resemble the mental vehicle very closely. It is, in fact, little more than a
reflection of it in the grosser matter of the astral plane. This indicates that
the man has his desires thoroughly under the control of the mind, and is no
longer liable to be swept away from the firm base of reason by wild surges of
emotion. He will no doubt still be subject to occasional irritability, and to
undesirable cravings of various sorts. But he knows enough now to repress these
manifestations, to maintain a struggle against them whenever they appear,
instead of yielding to them. So though they may temporarily change his astral
body, they will hardly make any permanent impression upon it as against the much
stronger vibrations of his higher qualities.
245.
In exactly the same way, at a still later stage of progress, the mental
body itself becomes a reflection of the causal, since the man learns to follow
solely the promptings of the higher self, and to guide his reason exclusively by
them.
246.
This illustration brings clearly before us an interesting fact connected
with the yellow light, which signifies intellect. When this color is present in
the oval, it invariably shows itself in the upper part of it, in the
neighbourhood of the head; consequently it is the origin of the idea of the
nimbus or glory round the head of a saint, since this yellow is much the most
conspicuous of the colors of the astral body, and the one most easily perceived
by anyone who is approaching the verge of clairvoyance. Also, even without
astral sight it may occasionally be perceived; for when any person of some
development is making a special effort of any kind, as, for example, in
preaching or lecturing, the intellectual faculties are in unusual activity, and
the yellow glow is therefore intensified.
247.
In some cases which I have seen, it has passed the bounds of physical
visibility, and been seen by many who had no power of higher sight than that of
this plane. In such a case, it is not that the astral vibration slackens until
it sinks below the line which separates it from the physical, but that it
becomes so much more vigorous than usual that it is able to arouse a
sympathetic vibration even in the coarse and heavy matter of the physical
plane. No doubt it was either from occasional glimpses of this phenomenon or
from traditions derived from those who could see, that our mediaeval painters
derived the idea of the glory round the head of the saint. It may be remembered
that in the nimbus of the Christ a cross is usually drawn; and this also is
strictly within the probabilities, from the point of view of occult
investigation, for it has often been observed that in the auras of very highly
developed persons various geometrical figures present themselves, signifying
certain elevated and far-reaching thoughts. Some of these will be found among
the illustrations given in Thought-Forms.
248.
The student will find it useful to compare these illustrations carefully
one with another; first, to examine each causal body in connection with the
mental and astral bodies which are partial expressions of it, in order to
understand the connection between these different vehicles; and secondly, to
compare the three astral bodies in Plates VII, X, and XXIII, in order to
understand how progress shows itself in the desire-body, which is naturally
much the easiest of the various vehicles to see clairvoyantly, and in fact the
only one which the ordinary psychically developed person is at all likely to
see. The same comparison should be instituted between Plates VI, IX, and XXII,
and also between Plates V, VIII, and XXI, to study the progress of the man as
manifested in his higher bodies.
249.
Among our Theosophical literature we have many books which treat of
the other side of all this evolution, and catalog the moral qualifications
required at its various stages. This is a subject of the very deepest interest,
though somewhat outside of the scope of this little work. Those who wish to
study it should turn to Invisible Helpers, Chapters XIX to XXI, and then
read Annie Besant’s books In the Outer Court and The Path of
Discipleship.
250.
From those books some idea may be gained not only of the conditions of
progress, but of its goal and of the glorious future that awaits us when we
shall have fulfilled those conditions - when after many incarnations upon this
grand old world of ours we shall at last have learnt the lessons which its
physical life is meant to teach us. Then we shall have attained that
“resurrection of the dead” after which St. Paul was so earnestly striving, for
we shall be free alike from death and from birth, we shall have transcended the
cycle of necessity, and shall be free for evermore - free to help our fellow-men
along the path that we have trodden, until they also gain the light and the
victory which is ours. For this attainment is for every man, and to reach it is
only a question of time, however young a soul may be. There is for man no doubt
about “salvation”, since there is nothing except his own error and ignorance
from which any man needs to be saved; there is for him not even an “eternal
hope”, but an eternal certainty. All shall attain, because that is God’s will
for them, that is the sole object for which He called them into existence. Even
already the world is progressing, and the powers are beginning to develop; and
assuredly this morning sunrise shall increase into noonday glory. To the vistas
of advancement that stretch before man, our keenest sight can see no end; we
know only that they extend into splendours indescribable, illimitable and
divine.
251.
CHAPTER XX
252.
THE HEALTH-AURA
253.
HITHERTO we have been dealing exclusively with those bodies of man which
are connected with the higher planes, but our subject would not be completely
treated if we omitted all reference to the minutely subdivided physical matter
which is seen by clairvoyant sight to be part of the aura of man. Much of that
matter is in the etheric state, and constitutes what is often called the etheric
double. This is not in any sense a separate vehicle, but must be considered
simply as part of the physical body. It is clearly visible to the clairvoyant as
a mass of faintly luminous violet-grey mist, interpenetrating the denser part
of the physical body, and extending very slightly beyond it, as will be seen in
Plates XXIV and XXV. This etheric matter is the link between the astral and the
physical, but it has also a very important function as the vehicle of the vital
force on the physical plane.
254.
This vital force is poured upon us from the sun, which is the source of
life in this inner sense as well as by means of its light and heat in the outer
world. The earth’s atmosphere is full of this force at all times, though it is
in special activity in brilliant sunlight; and it is only by absorbing it that
our physical bodies are able to live. The absorption of this vital energy is one
of the functions of the etheric part of that organ which we call the spleen; and
that organ possesses the curious property of specializing and transmuting the
force as it passes through it, so that it presents a totally different
appearance.
255.
The force itself is naturally invisible, like all other forces; but as it
exists around us in the atmosphere it clothes itself in millions of tiny
particles which are colorless though intensely active. After it has been
absorbed into the human body through the spleen, however, these particles take
on a beautiful pale rose-color, and they flow in a constant stream over and
through the whole body along the nerves, in the same manner as the
blood-corpuscles flow along the arteries and veins, the brain being the centre
of this nervous circulation. An attempt is made in our illustrations to
represent the general appearance of this stream, but this must not of course be
supposed to be an accurate map of the nervous system.
256.
It is evident that this flow is necessary to the proper working of the
nerves, for when it is withdrawn there is no sensation. We know how a limb may
be so numbed by cold as to be absolutely insensible to the touch; and the reason
of such insensibility is that the vital force is no longer flowing through it.
It might be supposed that it was rather due to the failure of the circulation
of the blood, but those who have studied mesmerism are aware that one of the
commonest experiments is to produce similar insensibility in a limb by magnetic
passes. This does not at all interfere with the circulation of the blood, for
the limb remains warm; but it does check the circulation of the subject’s
life-fluid, and substitutes for it that of the magnetizer. The nerves of the
subject are still there, and (so far as physical sight can see) in perfect
working order; yet they do not perform their office of reporting to his brain,
because the fluid which animates them is not connected with that brain, but with
the brain of the operator.
257.
In a healthy man the spleen does its work in so generous a fashion that
the specialized life-force is present in very large quantities, and is
constantly radiating from the body in all directions. A man in perfect health,
therefore, not only is able to impart some of it to another intentionally, but
is also constantly though unconsciously shedding strength and vitality on those
around him. On the other hand, a man who from weakness or other causes is unable
to specialize for his own use a sufficient amount of the world’s life-force,
sometimes, equally unconsciously, acts as a sponge and absorbs the already
specialized vitality of any sensitive person who is unfortunate enough to come
into contact with him, to his own temporary benefit, no doubt, but often to the
injury of his victim. Probably most people have experienced this in minor
degree, and have found that there is some one among their acquaintances after
whose visits they always feel a quite unaccountable weariness and languor; and a
similar lassitude is frequently felt by persons who attend spiritualistic
seances without taking special precautions against the drain upon their vital
force set up in the course of the manifestations.
258.
This radiation produces a striking effect upon the appearance of what we
may call the purely physical part of the man’s aura. It is well known that tiny
particles of dense physical matter are constantly being thrown off from man’s
body, in insensible perspiration and in other ways; and these particles also are
visible to clairvoyant sight as a faint grey mist. These particles are in many
cases crystals, and therefore are seen in certain geometrical forms; for
example, the tiny cubes of sodium chloride or common salt, are among the most
frequent. This purely physical part of man’s surrounding is sometimes called the
health-aura, from the fact that its condition is greatly affected by the health
of the body from which it emanates. It is a faint bluish-white, almost
colorless, and has the appearance of being striated; that is, it is full of, or
perhaps it might rather be said to be composed of, infinitude of straight lines
radiating evenly in all directions from the pores of the body. That at least is
the normal condition of these lines when the body is in perfect health; they are
separate, orderly, and as nearly parallel as their radiation allows. But on the
advent of disease there is an instant change, the lines in the neighborhood of
the part affected becoming erratic, and lying about in all directions in the
wildest confusion, or drooping like the stems of faded flowers.
259.
The reasons for this curious appearance is itself an interesting one. We
find that the rigidity and parallelism of the lines of this health-aura are
caused by the constant radiation of life-force from the healthy body; and as
soon as this radiation ceases, the lines fall into the confused condition
described above. As the patient recovers, the normal radiation of this magnetic
form of vital energy is gradually resumed, and the lines of the health-aura are
thereby combed into order once more. As long as the lines are firm and straight,
and the force steadily radiates between them, the body seems to be almost
entirely protected from the attack of evil physical influences, such as germs
of disease, for example - such germs being repelled and carried away by the
outrush of the life-force; but when from any cause - through weakness, through
wound or injury, through over-fatigue, through extreme depression of spirits, or
through the excesses of an irregular life - an unusually large amount of
vitality is required to repair damage or waste within the body, and there is
consequently a serious diminution in the quantity radiated, this system of
defence becomes dangerously weak, and it is comparatively easy for the deadly
germs to effect an entrance.
260.
It may also be mentioned that it is possible by an effort of will to
check this radiation of vitality at the outer extremity of its lines, and there
to build it into a kind of wall or shell, which will be absolutely impervious
to these germs - and, with a little further effort, impervious also to any kind
of astral or elemental influence - so long as such effort of the will is
maintained.
261.
Illustrations of this aura, showing its appearance in health and disease
respectively, will be found in Plates XXIV and XXV. It must be remembered that
it is almost colorless, so that although it is physical matter, and so needs
less-developed sight than the astral part of the aura, yet this latter is so
much more conspicuous by reason of the brilliancy of its flashing colors and its
constant movement, that it is very often seen at an earlier stage of the man’s
progress than the other.
262.
CHAPTER XXI
263.
THE CAUSAL BODY OF THE ADEPT
264.
PROBABLY to those who cannot yet see any of the higher bodies of man, the
illustrations given in this book will be to some extent suggestive and even
illuminative, and it is in the hope that that may be so that it has been
published. Yet those who can see, while recognizing to the full the
painstaking care and skill of the artist, will all agree that even the lowest of
these superphysical planes can never be adequately portrayed on paper or canvas.
If this be true, as it assuredly is, how much more hopelessly impossible (if one
may be pardoned the use of an improper but expressive phrase) must it be to try
to represent the adept - the man who has attained the goal of humanity - who has
become something more than man!
265.
In his case the size of the causal body has enormously increased, and
shines with a sunlike splendour far beyond all imagination in its glorious
loveliness. Of the beauty of form and color here no words can speak, for mortal
language has no terms in which those radiant spheres may be described. Such a
vehicle would be a separate study in itself, but one quite beyond the powers of
any but those who are already far on the Path.
266.
This at least may be seen, that such a body is not only much larger than
that of the ordinary man, but also has its colors differently arranged. These no
longer move in whirling clouds, but are arranged in great concentric shells, yet
penetrated everywhere by radiations of living light always pouring forth from
him as a centre. The order of the colors differs according to the type to which
the Adept belongs, so that there are several well-marked varieties amid their
glory. Strangely enough, considering the recondite character of the subject, a
tradition - a perfectly accurate tradition - of this fact has been preserved in
many of the roughly-drawn pictures of the Lord Buddha which one sees upon temple
walls in Ceylon. The Great Teacher is usually represented there surrounded by an
aura; and the strange thing is that, though the coloring and general arrangement
of those surroundings would be grotesquely inaccurate and even impossible if
intended for that of an ordinary man, or even for that of an ordinary adept (if
one may without irreverence use such an expression), yet it is a rough and
material representation of the actual higher vehicle of the Adept of that
particular type to which this Great One belongs. It is noteworthy also that the
lines of the health-aura are drawn in some of these primitive pictures.
267.
If it is impossible to attempt to illustrate the causal body of the
Master; it may yet be worth while to give some idea of the relative size and
appearance of that of one of his more advanced pupils - one who has attained
that fourth stage of the path which in Oriental books is called that of the
Arhat. (See Invisible Helpers, p. 172.) Such an endeavor has been made in
Plate XXVI, but an effort of the imagination even greater than usual is
necessary to complete the picture, by reason of the fact that the colors of this
causal body have two characteristics which are irreconcilable here on the
physical plane. They are distinctly more delicate and ethereal than any that
have been previously described; yet at the same time they are far fuller, more
brilliant, and more luminous. Until we can paint with fire instead of mere
color, we shall find ourselves always on one horn or other of the dilemma; for
if we attempt to represent the depth and richness of the color it must look
dense and solid; if we try instead to give its marvellous transparency and
luminosity, then the colors must be entirely lacking in the wonderful power and
brilliance which is so prominent a characteristic of the glorious reality.
268.
Since, however, an effort has been made in the case of the other causal
bodies to give an idea of the transparent ovoid form, it seems better in this
case to try to give the depth of color, its arrangement, and the relative size.
This last can be brought into proportion only by the expedient of decreasing
many times the size of the physical body in our picture; for if we retained the
same scale as that previously employed, the causal body of the Arhat would need
to be represented as some yards in length and breadth. Consequently we are
compelled to reduce very much the drawing of the physical form, in order that
the causal body, when drawn in proportion to it, may come within the size of
even a double plate. But even at the best, such a drawing can only be regarded
as a help to stimulate us in an effort to make a mental image - an image which
may perchance be less hopelessly inadequate than the physical representation.
269.
In examining this illustration we are at once struck by the magnificent
development of the highest types of intellect, love and devotion, by the wealth
of sympathy and of the highest spirituality which it displays. The outrush of
the Divine influence which we saw in Plate XXI is enormously intensified here,
for this man has become an almost perfect channel for the life and the power of
the Logos. Not only in white light does the glory radiate from him, but all the
colors of the rainbow play round him in ever-changing gleams like
mother-of-pearl; so that there is something in that radiation to strengthen the
highest qualities in every person who approaches him, no matter what those
qualities may be. Thus none can come within the range of his influence without
being the better for it he shines upon all around him like the sun, for, like
it, he has become a manifestation of the Logos.
270.
The mind-body and astral body connected with this have very little
characteristic color of their own, but are reproductions of the causal body in
so far as their lover, octaves can express it. They have a lovely shimmering
iridescence - a sort of opalescent, mother-of-pearl effect - which is far
beyond either description or representation.
271.
One thing at least we may perhaps hope that our study of these inner
vehicles will do for us: it may help us to understand that it is this higher
presentation of him which is the real man, and not that aggregation of physical
matter crystallized in the midst of it, to which we in our blindness attach such
undue importance. The very man himself - the divine trinity within - we may not
see; but the more our sight and knowledge increase, the more nearly we approach
that which veils itself in him; and if for the moment the highest vehicle of his
which is perceptible to us is the causal body, then that is the nearest to a
conception of the true man that our sight will at present give us. But if the
same man be looked upon from the standpoint of the lower mental levels,
naturally only so much of him can be seen as can be expressed in that mind-body
which is the manifestation of the personality. Examining him on the astral
plane, we find that an additional veil has descended, and only that lower part
of him is visible which can find expression through the vehicle of desire. Here
on the physical plane we are still worse off, since the true man is more
effectually hidden from us than ever.
272.
Perhaps the knowledge of this may lead us to form a somewhat higher
opinion of our fellow-man, since we realize that he is always so much more than
he seems to the physical eye. There is always the higher possibility in the
background, and often an appeal to the better nature will arouse it from its
latency, and bring it down into manifestation where all can see it. When we have
studied the man as he is, it may be easier for us to pierce through the dense
physical veil, and image the reality which is behind. Our faith in human nature
may become greater when we realize how entirely it is part of the divine nature;
and so we may be able to help our fellow-man the better, because we grasp the
certainty that he and we are one.
273.
If through us the divine light shines out more brightly, it is only in
order that we may share that light with him; if we have gained a higher step
upon the ladder, it is only that we may stretch out a helping hand to him. The
more we understand this glorious scheme of evolution whose progress we have been
studying in its outward manifestation, the more fully shall we see the true
intention of the mighty self-sacrifice of the Logos; and so beautiful is this,
so perfect beyond all thought of ours, that to see it once is to be devoted for
ever to its realization. To see it is to throw oneself into it, to strive for
ever more to be one with it, even though in the very humblest capacity; for he
who works with God is working for eternity and not for time, and in all the eons
that lie before us his work can never fail.
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