Five Years of Theosophy Part 9

In this description the first triple group--viz., the bones (or the gross matter), the vital force which keeps them together, and the ethereal body, are included in one and called Existence, Life. The second part stands for the fourth principle of the septenary man, as denoting the configuration of his knowledge or desires.* Then the three, consciousness (or animal soul), (spiritual) soul, and the pure Spirit are the same as in the first quoted pa.s.sage. Why are these four mentioned as distinct from each other and not consolidated like the first part? The sacred writings explain this by saying that on death the first of these five parts disappears and perishes sooner or later in the earth's atmosphere. The gross elementary matter (the sh.e.l.l) has to run within the earth's attraction; so the ahum separates from the higher portions and is lost.

--------- * Modern science also teaches that certain characteristics of features indicate the possession of certain qualities in a man. The whole science of physiognomy is founded on it. One can predict the disposition of a man from his features,--i.e., the features develop in accordance with the idiosyncrasies, qualities and vices, knowledge or the ignorance of man.

The second (i.e., the fourth of the septenary group) remains, but not with the spiritual soul. It continues to hold its place in the vast storehouse of the universe. And it is this second daenam which stands before the (spiritual) soul in the form of a beautiful maiden or an ugly hag. That which brings this daenam within the sight of the (spiritual) soul is the third part (i.e., the fifth of the septenary group), the baodhas. Or in other words, the (spiritual) soul has with it, or in it, the true consciousness by which it can view the experiences of its physical career. So this consciousness, this power or faculty which brings the recollection, is always with, in other words, is a part and parcel of, the soul itself; hence, its not mixing with any other part, and hence its existence after the physical death of man.*

--A Parsi F.T.S.

--------- * Our Brother has but to look into the oldest sacred hooks of China-- namely, the YI KING. or Book of Changes (translated by James Legge) written 1,200 B.C., to find that same Septenary division of man mentioned in that system of Divination. Zhing, which is translated correctly enough "essence," is the more subtle and pure part of matter-- the grosser form of the elementary ether; Khi, or "spirit," is the breath, still material but purer than the zhing, and is made of the finer and more active form of ether. In the hwun, or soul (animus) the Khi predominates and the zhing (or zing) in the pho or animal soul. At death the hwun (Or spiritual soul) wanders away, ascending, and the pho (the root of the Tibetan word Pho-hat) descends and is changed into a ghostly shade (the sh.e.l.l). Dr. Medhurst thinks that "the Kwei Shans"

(see "Theology of the Chinese," pp. 10-12) are "the expanding and contracting principles of human life!" "The Kwei Shans" are brought about by the dissolution of the human frame--and consist of the expanding and ascending Shan which rambles about in s.p.a.ce, and of the contracted and shrivelled Kwei, which reverts to earth and nonent.i.ty.

Therefore, the Kwei is the physical body; the Shan is the vital principle the Kwei Shan the linga-sariram, or the vital soul; Zhing the fourth principle or Kama Rupa, the essence of will; pho, the animal soul; Khi, the spiritual soul; and Hwun the pure spirit--the seven principles of our occult doctrine!--Ed. Theos.

Brahmanism on the Sevenfold Principle in Man

It is now very difficult to say what was the real ancient Aryan doctrine. If an inquirer were to attempt to answer it by an a.n.a.lysis and comparison of all the various systems of esotericism prevailing in India, he will soon be lost in a maze of obscurity and uncertainty. No comparison between our real Brahmanical and the Tibetan esoteric doctrines will be possible unless one ascertains the teachings of that so-called "Aryan doctrine," and fully comprehends the whole range of the ancient Aryan philosophy. Kapila's "Sankhya," Patanjali's "Yog philosophy," the different systems of "Saktaya" philosophy, the various Agamas and Tantras are but branches of it. There is a doctrine, though, which is their real foundation, and which is sufficient to explain the secrets of these various systems of philosophy and harmonize their teachings. It probably existed long before the Vedas were compiled, and it was studied by our ancient Rishis in connection with the Hindu scriptures. It is attributed to one mysterious personage called Maha.*.....

---------- * The very t.i.tle of the present chief of the esoteric Himalayan Brotherhood.--Ed. Theos.

The Upanishads and such portions of the Vedas as are not chiefly devoted to the public ceremonials of the ancient Aryans are hardly intelligible without some knowledge of that doctrine. Even the real significance of the grand ceremonials referred to in the Vedas will not be perfectly apprehended without its light being throw upon them. The Vedas were perhaps compiled mainly for the use of the priests a.s.sisting at public ceremonies, but the grandest conclusions of our real secret doctrine are therein mentioned. I am informed by persons competent to judge of the matter, that the Vedas have a distinct dual meaning--one expressed by the literal sense of the words, the other indicated by the metre and the swara (intonation), which are, as it were the life of the Vedas.

Learned Pundits and philologists of course deny that swara has anything to do with philosophy or ancient esoteric doctrines; but the mysterious connection between swara and light is one of its most profound secrets.

Now, it is extremely difficult to show whether the Tibetans derived their doctrine from the ancient Rishis of India, or the ancient Brahrnans learned their occult science from the adepts of Tibet; or, again, whether the adepts of both countries professed originally the same doctrine and derived it from a common source.* If you were to go to the Sramana Balagula, and question some of the Jain Pundits there about the authorship of the Vedas and the origin of the Brahmanical esoteric doctrine, they would probably tell you that the Vedas were composed by Rakshasas** or Daityas, and that the Brahmans had derived their secret knowledge from them.***

--------- * See Appendix, Note I.

** A kind of demons-devil.

*** And so would the Christian padris. But they would never admit that their "fallen angels" were borrowed from the Rakshasas; that their "devil" is the illegitimate son of Dewel, the Sinhalese female demon; or that the "war in heaven" of the Apocalypse--the foundation of the Christian dogma of the "Fallen Angels" was copied from the Hindu story about Siva hurling the Tarakasura who rebelled against the G.o.ds into Andhahkara, the abode of Darkness, according to Brahmanical Shastras.

Do these a.s.sertions mean that the Vedas and the Brahmanical esoteric teachings had their origin in the lost Atlantis--the continent that once occupied a considerable portion of the expanse of the Southern and the Pacific oceans? The a.s.sertion in "Isis Unveiled," that Sanskrit was the language of the inhabitants of the said continent, may induce one to suppose that the Vedas had probably their origin there, wherever else might be the birthplace of the Aryan esotericism.* But the real esoteric doctrine, as well as the mystic allegorical philosophy of the Vedas, were derived from another source again, whatever that may be-- perchance from the divine inhabitants (G.o.ds) of the sacred island which once existed in the sea that covered in days of old the sandy tract now called Gobi Desert. However that may be, the knowledge of the occult powers of Nature possessed by the inhabitants of the lost Atlantis was learnt by the ancient adepts of India, and was appended by them to the esoteric doctrine taught by the residents of the sacred island.** The Tibetan adepts, however, have not accepted this addition to their esoteric doctrine; and it is in this respect that one should expect to find a difference between the two doctrines.***

---------- * Not necessarily. (See Appendix, Note II.) It is generally held by Occultists that Sanskrit has been spoken in Java and adjacent islands from remote antiquity.--Ed. Theos.

** A locality which is spoken of to this day by the Tibetans, and called by them "Scham-bha-la," the Happy Land. (See Appendix, Note III.)

*** To comprehend this pa.s.sage fully, the reader must turn to vol. I.

pp. 589-594 of "Isis Unveiled."

The Brahmanical occult doctrine probably contains everything that was taught about the powers of Nature and their laws, either in the mysterious island of the North or in the equally mysterious continent of the South. And if you mean to compare the Aryan and the Tibetan doctrines as regards their teachings about the occult powers of Nature, you must beforehand examine all the cla.s.sifications of these powers, their laws and manifestations, and the real connotations of the various names a.s.signed to them in the Aryan doctrine. Here are some of the cla.s.sifications contained in the Brahmanical system:

I. As appertaining to Parabrahmam and existing in the MACROCOSM.

II. As appertaining to man and existing in the MICROCOSM.

III. For the purposes of d Taraka Yog or Pranava Yog.

IV. For the purposes of Sankhya Yog (where they are, as it were, the inherent attributes of Prakriti).

V. For the purposes of Hata Yog.

VI. For the purposes of Koula Agama.

VII. For the purposes of Sakta Agama.

VIII. For the purposes of Siva Aqama.

IX. For the purposes of Sreechakram (the Sreechakram referred to in "Isis Unveiled" is not the real esoteric Sreechakram of the ancient adepts of Aryavarta).*

-------- * Very true. But who would be allowed to give out the "real" esoteric one?--Ed. Theos.

X. In Atharvena Veda, &c.

In all these cla.s.sifications subdivisions have been multiplied indefinitely by conceiving new combinations of the Primary Powers in different proportions. But I must now drop this subject, and proceed to consider the "Fragments of Occult Truth" (since embodied in "Esoteric Buddhism").

I have carefully examined it, and find that the results arrived at (in the Buddhist doctrine) do not differ much from the conclusions of our Aryan philosophy, though our mode of stating the arguments may differ in form. I shall now discuss the question from my own standpoint, though, following, for facility of comparison and convenience of discussion, the sequence of cla.s.sification of the sevenfold ent.i.ties or principles const.i.tuting man which is adopted in the "Fragments." The questions raised for discussion are (1) whether the disembodied spirits of human beings (as they are called by Spiritualists) appear in the seance-rooms and elsewhere; and (2) whether the manifestations taking place are produced wholly or partly through their agency.

It is hardly possible to answer these two questions satisfactorily unless the meaning intended to be conveyed by the expression "disembodied spirits of human beings" be accurately defined. The words spiritualism and spirit are very misleading. Unless English writers in general, and Spiritualists in particular, first ascertain clearly the connotation they mean to a.s.sign to the word spirit, there will be no end of confusion, and the real nature of these so-called spiritualistic phenomena and their modus occurrendi can never be clearly defined.

Christian writers generally speak of only two ent.i.ties in man--the body, and the soul or spirit (both seeming to mean the same thing to them).

European philosophers generally speak of body and mind, and argue that soul or spirit cannot be anything else than mind. They are of opinion that any belief in lingasariram* is entirely unphilosophical. These views are certainly incorrect, and are based on unwarranted a.s.sumptions as to the possibilities of Nature, and on an imperfect understanding of its laws. I shall now examine (from the standpoint of the Brahmanical esoteric doctrine) the spiritual const.i.tution of man, the various ent.i.ties or principles existing in him, and ascertain whether either of those ent.i.ties entering into his composition can appear on earth after his death, and if so, what it is that so appears.

-------- * The astral body, so called.

Professor Tyndall in his excellent papers on what he calls the "Germ Theory," comes to the following conclusions as the result of a series of well-planned experiments:--Even in a very small volume of s.p.a.ce there are myriads of protoplasmic germs floating in ether. If, for instance, say water (clear water) is exposed to them, and if they fall into it, some form of life or other will be evolved out of them. Now, what are the agencies for the bringing of this life into existence? Evidently--

I. The water, which is the field, so to say, for the growth of life.

II. The protoplasmic germ, out of which life or a living organism is to be evolved or developed. And lastly--

III. The power, energy, force, or tendency which springs into activity at the touch or combination of the protoplasmic germ and the water, and which evolves or develops life and its natural attributes.

Similarly, there are three primary causes which bring the human being into existence. I shall call them, for the purpose of discussion, by the following names

(1) Parabrahmam, the Universal Spirit.

(2) Sakti, the crown of the astral light, combining in itself all the powers of Nature.

(3) Prakriti, which in its original or primary shape is represented by Akasa. (Really every form of matter is finally reducible to Akasa.)*