Formula V - Manifestation and Creativity -
BAM.
“The formula with which I present
you today consists of three closely related words, and the theme with
which the student must concern himself is the nature of the relationship
which is indicated—not by the words but by the very nature of that
which relates them. This is not an obvious relation but the esoteric
and subtle meaning which the intuition will reveal and that the outer
words hide.
THE SUN
. . . BLACK . . . ANTAHKARANA”
(DINAII, pp.320-1)
“Formula 5 . . . Transition from
the individual consciousness to the universal. Evolutionary
processes from divine Purpose into plan and then into manifestation.
The nature of individual renunciation. The one Life.” (DINAII, p.365)
Black
Within
the Magnum Opus of the art of Alchemy “there are three stones,
or three works, or three degrees of perfection”. (S. Klossowski
de Rola, The Secret Art of Alchemy,
p.12) The first is the Black Stone, the product
of the nigredo. To begin, the Materia
Prima is purified by fire. In this process sulphur and mercury “killing
one another, be stewed in their proper venome”.
(Nicolas Flamel, in de Rola, p.11) “Thus death, which is separation,
is followed by a long process of decay which lasts until all is purified
and the opposites dissolved in the liquid nigredo.
This darkness darker than darkness, this ‘black of blacks’,
is the first sure sign that one is on the right path; hence the alchemical
aphorism: ‘No generation without corruption’.” (de
Rola, p.11) In the alchemy of the human psyche, the nigredo is the descent into the ‘dark night’
of the soul. It is about facing the shadow; the transmutation of the
Matter of the personality. It is death to the old ways of being. We
must first fall deeply into Matter to then attain mastery.
If all the colours of the rainbow
are combined as light, white is produced. If all the colours of the
rainbow are combined as pigment (Matter), black is produced. Black is
the exoteric colour of Saturn, Lord of Karma. (EPI, p.419)
“…the divine spark in man corresponds to the sun. It
seems to die when the soul enters the house of Saturn.”
(Titus Burckhardt, Alchemy,
p.91) Karma is inherent in matter itself, and is “imposed upon
the ensouling entity through the medium of matter.” (TCF,
p.469) The nigredo is our meeting with karmic tests and limitation.
The nigredo
is the start of a series of soul transformations that end only at the
Fourth Initiation when the causal body itself is destroyed and contact
is made directly with the Monad. “All "shadows disappear"”
when the blazing Light of the Monad “absorbs both its reflection,
the soul, and its shadow, the personality.” (DINAII, p.287)
Saturn cannot follow man on to the Cardinal Cross. (EA, p.105)
Black is death and the darkness of
Matter, but the alchemical retort is also the womb of the dark goddess;
the nigredo the fecund matter from which new Life is born.
“From the interplay of the Four Elements, and their metamorphosis
one into the other, all is evolved, and the fifth element, the Quintessence,
distilled.” (de Rola,
p.17) Saturn corresponds to the throat centre, or to the creative activity
of the Third Aspect. (TCF,
p.182) When the throat centre is awakened, the disciple can become a
conscious creator on the physical plane. Saturn is the planet of manifestation
and opportunity upon the Path to Spirit.
Black is both deepest Matter and Spirit.
Only where Matter and Spirit meet is the Light of the Soul produced.
Dark Spirit
Light Soul
Dark Matter
“Darkness
is pure spirit”. (RAI, p.174) Black is the darkness of space, the
Oneness that is everything.
The
Sun
“The
clue to rightly orienting your thinking [in relation to Formula V] lies
in the realisation of the threefold aspect of the Sun…” (DINAII,
p.321)
Physical
Sun
Heart of the Sun
Central Spiritual Sun
“The
‘heart of the Sun’ employs Neptune
as its agent, whilst the central, spiritual Sun pours its influences
through Uranus.” (EA, p.296)
These
are the alignments of the paths from the Meditation on the Three Aspects
of the Sun (also see EA, p.351):
Alcyone (Pleiades)
– Cancer –
Saturn - Physical Sun
Light of Knowledge coming down to Throat centre – Sacral centre.
Sirius –
Gemini – Neptune - Heart of Sun
Light of Wisdom coming down to Heart centre – Solar Plexus.
Alkaid (Great Bear)
– Aquarius
– Uranus - Central Spiritual Sun
Light of Intuition coming down to Head centre – Base centre.
Saturn,
Neptune and Uranus are all planets of creativity and manifestation:
Saturn expresses the creative activity of the Third Aspect. (TCF, p.182)
Neptune is the planet of inspiration,
imagination, dreams, artistic vision. Uranus “is the embodiment
of the principle of concretion and the materialising of that which is
in need of objective manifestation, through the bringing together of
spirit and matter.” (EA, p.246)
At
the systemic level, Saturn is “the correspondence to the logoic
physical permanent atom”, while “Uranus and Neptune are reflections
of the logoic astral and mental permanent atoms”. (TCF, p.406) All the permanent atoms “concern
physical matter and manifestation.” (TCF, p.534) Under the Law
of Karma they store a record of the qualities of the three bodies of
manifestation, according to which the devic
lives build the bodies of the next incarnation.
Saturn,
Neptune and Uranus are also “the synthesising planetary schemes…
They are the "reaping" planets.” (TCF, p.777)
These schemes bring our solar system to conclusion. They are
death as well as Life. Finally the solar system is absorbed into the
Sun, the Solar Logos.
“Oh
thou who givest sustenance to the universe,
From whom all things proceed.
To whom all things return…”
(Gayatri)
Atmic plane
The
Fifth Point of Revelation: “When the light of the seven Rays is
blended with that of the seventh Ray, then light supernal can be known.
Involves the atmic plane.” (DINAII, p.370)
Saturn
is the ruler of the Atmic plane, the fifth plane counting up, the highest plane of the Spiritual Triad. This plane is particularly
associated with the building of the antahkarana, the Consciousness thread anchored in the head;
for “it is within the substance of the atmic
plane that the activity is set up which can impress the abstract mind,
which then becomes the seat of the consciousness of the spiritual man”.
(TEV, p.112) On the planetary level, the Atmic
is the plane to which the Nirmanakayas (the
Planetary Contemplatives) are sensitive. “The Nirmanakayas
work in contemplative activity with the antahkarana
which connects the Hierarchy with Shamballa and Humanity with the Hierarchy.”
(RAI, p.407) “For purposes of his peculiar and specific work the
Nirmanakaya "sleeps" to all states save that of the third,
or atmic plane.” (LOS, p.23) They work
under the creative inspiration of the three Buddhas
of Activity to maintain a “stream of inspiration or of "energy
flooded with creative light"”, which is made available both to
the Hierarchy for their creative work, and is also available to Humanity:
“it is a part of that dynamic, galvanising energy which feeds the
enthusiasm of the New Group of World Servers, binds them together in
the One Work, and enables them to work intelligently and with creative
ability.” (DINAII, p.202)
Alta
Major
The
Fifth Point of Revelation “concerns the alta
major centre”. (DINAII, p.370) This centre is located in the medulla
oblongata, the brain stem which meets the top of the spinal chord at
the back of the neck. There is a close connection between the alta
major centre and the throat centre. (TCF, p.169)
There
is a slight gap between the alta major centre and the point at
which the fires of matter issue from the spinal channel. “Part of the work the man who is
developing thought power has to do, is to build a temporary channel
in etheric matter to bridge the gap. This channel is the reflection
in physical matter of the antaskarana that
the Ego has to build in order to bridge the gap between…the causal
vehicle on the third subplane of the mental
plane, and the manasic permanent atom on the first subplane.” (TCF,
p.137) So the alta major symbolises the ‘leaps in consciousness’
we must take to build the antahkarana. These
are the initiations.
Through
meditative alignment eventually co-ordination is perfected with the
Higher Self, the channel of communication reaching in line direct to
the physical brain consciousness. When the pineal gland and the pituitary
body are “functioning with correlation…then the third, or
alta major centre, intensifies its hitherto
gentle vibration” (LOM, p.2), thus activating the triangle:
Crown
centre
Pineal gland
Ajna centre
Pituitary gland
Throat / Alta major centre
Carotid gland
“By
the time the third Initiation is reached, this triangle is fully awakened
and the fire (or energy) is circulated freely.” (TCF, p.962) DK
mentions that Formula V “has a tenuous yet definite connection
with the third initiation”. (DINAII, p.321) This is the Transfiguration, an initiation
of Mind. It signifies that the disciple has mastered the three lower
bodies (etheric/physical, astral and mental)
and is released from personality control.
At
the Third Initiation alignment is achieved from crown to base. The crown
chakra becomes sensitive to the Will of the
Monad. This energy “is projected down the spinal column, via the
alta major centre” When it reaches the
basic centre it combines with the latent energy of substance itself
and kundalini rises. “All the centres are thus brought into
full expression; all limitations are destroyed; every part of the body
is vitalised and material perfection is produced, plus the full play
of the enlightened consciousness and also of the life aspect.”
(EH, pp.210-11)
When
the alta major centre becomes active, spiritual vision or
true perception is developed, and the thousand-petalled lotus unfolded. “This type of vision opens up
the world of the intuitional or buddhic plane,
and takes its possessor beyond the abstract levels of the mental plane.
The things of pure spirit, and the basic purposes
underlying all manifestation are thus realised…” (LOS, p.69)
The
technique of meditation “is the outstanding creative agent on
our planet”. (DINAII, p.202) When the alta major centre is awake, it becomes possible for
the disciple “to materialise and activate the desired form which,
through attractive energy, he is in process of constructing.” (TCF,
p.966)
Manly
Palmer Hall writes that the medulla oblongata “signifies
an essence of a summary or a compendium, the consummation of the alchemists…”
(Man: Grand Symbol of the Mysteries, p.131) The alchemical consummation
is the royal marriage of the Sun and Moon, the solar and lunar pitris, Spirit and Matter.
The awakening of the alta
major centre must register a major step along this path.
When
the triangle of pineal, pituitary and carotid glands is activated, a
point in the centre becomes illuminated. This is known as the Light
in the head. (EPII, pp.607-8) “The light in the head is produced
by the definitely planned bringing together of soul light and personality
light, focussed in the mental body and producing an effect in the brain.”
(GWP, p.208) It indicates to a Master that a disciple has reached a
stage where he may profit somewhat by instruction.
Planetary
and systemic alta
major
The
Three Buddhas of Activity who preside over
the three points in the Council Chamber of Sanat Kumara form the planetary correspondence of the pineal
gland, the pituitary body and the carotid gland. Within their “exalted
consciousness the three strands of the [planetary] antahkarana meet”. The Council Chamber is symbolically
the “planetary brain”. (RAI, pp.256-7) Humanity is building
that part of the antahkarana linking the head centre of Sanat Kumara with his heart centre. (RAI, p.273)
On
the systemic level, the Logos of Saturn “holds a position in the
body logoic similar to that held by the throat
centre in the microcosm. Three centres towards the close of manifestation
will become aligned in the same way as the centre at the base of the
spine, the throat centre and the alta major centre. Here it must be pointed out that there
are three planetary schemes which hold a place analogous to that held
by the pineal gland, the pituitary body, and the alta
major centre, but they are not the schemes referred to as centres, or
known to us as informed by planetary Logoi.”
(TCF, pp.1163-4)
Fifth
Hierarchy
The
Fifth Hierarchy, the Human Personality, came into being when the spark
of Mind was implanted into animal man during Lemuria. This had to do with the building of the systemic
antahkarana; specifically the raising of kundalini from the base of the spine to the heart centre of
the Solar Logos: The Mystery
of the Dragon was the result of “the influx of manasic
or mind energy into the solar system” from the constellation of
the Dragon (Draco), which has the same relation to the One About Whom
Nought May Be Said as the centre at the base
of the spine has to a human being”.
(EA, p,46.)
The
Fifth Hierarchy, Makara, ruled by Capricorn and Venus, governs the Mental Plane.
Specific egoic groupings within this Hierarchy
relate to the triangle of the centres within the head: “There is
a vital and significant correspondence to be found between the seven
head centres and the seven groups of Egos on the mental plane, and there
is an occult analogy between the three head centres (pineal gland, pituitary
body, and the alta major centres) and the expression of these seven groups
of Egos in the three worlds.” (TCF, p.1206) This Hierarchy is “"mediating" body”
between the higher four and lower three Creative Hierarchies. They are “the fivefold Links, the
"Benign Uniters" and "the Producers of the
Atonement." Esoterically,
they are the "Saviours of the Race" and from Them
emanates that principle [of Manas] which—in
conjunction with the highest aspect—lifts the lower aspect up to
Heaven.” (TCF, p.1204) The symbol of the Fifth Hierarchy is the
five-pointed star, Manas, by means of which
the first five initiations are taken: “The five points of the five-pointed
star are pyramids of ascension and, at the summit of each point—hidden
within the emanating rays—lies a point
of revelation, offsetting the radiation but preserving the deeply seated
magnetism.” (DINAII, p.371)
Venus
is the planet of Love as well as Mind. The Fifth Hierarchy is one of
the deva Hierarchies, which give of their
own substance to build the bodies of the human personality. Therefore
the Fifth Hierarchy are the “redeeming
Angels”, who save through Love. Formula V has to do with the threefold
aspect of the Sun (DINAII, p.321) and the Fifth Hierarchy receive energy
from the three aspects of the Sun:
“1. The central
spiritual Sun.
2. The heart of the Sun.
3. The physical Sun.
b. The heart centre of the planetary
Logos…
c. The egoic
lotus of a human being on the mental plane, which is literally a correspondence
to the "heart of the sun."…
d. The heart centre of a man on the
etheric plane of the physical plane, which is in its turn
a correspondence to the physical sun.” (TCF, p.1205)
The Fifth Hierarchy embody the “Will
to Manifest”. (EA, p.36) The
manasic principle (whether cosmic, systemic, or human) “manifests
in five ways, is transmuted into wisdom after its fivefold manifestation,
and eventually is resolved into pure will or power. Herein lies the clue; all the objective
display we see around us in connection with the Heavenly Men, and with
the cells of Their bodies, lies hidden in this.
Herein may be found the mystery of the five Kumaras, Who are awaiting the final resolution, and herein
is secreted the knowledge of divine alchemy, which is based on the five
elements, and is concerned with their transformation into a primal element
through the medium of an intermediate stage.” (TCF, pp.401-2)
The Mystery of the Fifth Creative
Hierarchy “is incident upon the relation of the fifth Hierarchy
to the five liberated groups.” (TCF, p.1203) The five ‘liberated’
Hierarchies on the Cosmic Astral plane, known as the Five Kumaras,
are “the product of the earlier system, that wherein Intelligence
or Manas was the goal.” They are “the
sumtotal of manas.” (TCF,
p.1197) Hence their relationship to the Capricorn Hierarchy on the Mental
plane, which embodies one of the two Kumaras
who fell: “The student who seeks the significance of the preponderance
of orange and of rose is approaching the secret of the two Kumaras
Who fell.” (TCF,
p.824)
“How art thou fallen from heaven,
O Lucifer, who didst rise in the morning? How art thou fallen to the
earth…” (Isaiah 14:12-15) ‘Lucifer’ means ‘light
bringer’. Lucifer was Venus, the Morning Star, once the brightest
angel. The story of the fall of Lucifer and the rebel angels describes
the individualisation of Humanity upon the Earth. “…the incarnating
Minds, human beings, the solar angels, came originally from Venus…”
(EA, p.105) The ‘sin’ of Lucifer - who decided that that it
was better to rule in hell than serve in heaven - was the desire for
independence from God and equality with God. Thus he separated himself
from Deity. Lucifer denied the omnipotence of God by refusing God’s
dominion over him, but in the process denied his own divinity. So the
path of Humanity back ‘to the Father’ lies in truly recognising
our own divinity, identifying with the immortal soul, the One Life.
Although
presented in the Bible as a rebellion, esoterically the fall of Lucifer
and the angels was a willing sacrifice: They “‘went down into
hell, and found their place in prison.’ On that day souls were
born.” Their descent into Matter was a creative act, participant
in the redemption of Matter.
Direction
“The
key to the correct interpretation of a hint lies in its association
with the idea of direction in time and space.” (Hint V) We build the antahkarana ‘upwards’ to the ‘higher worlds’.
So “the antahkarana per se, completed by the bridge built by the disciple,
is the final medium of abstraction or of the great withdrawal.”
(RAI, p.491) The doctrine of abstraction “covers all life processes,
and will convey to you the eternally lovely secret of Death, which is
entrance into life.” (RAI, p.167)
‘Upwards’ is ultimately the direction of our evolution.
‘Downward’ is the involutionary path. However, abstraction is only half the
formula. We need to learn to abstract in order to disidentify with the three worlds, for only once we have learned
detachment can we bring divine Will down to the physical plane. Having
built the antahkarana, we reverse direction:
“Down—or rather across—this bridge, descent can be made
at will, in order to serve humanity and to carry out the will of Shamballa.”
(RAI, pp.494-5)
The disciple “must study the
laws of transmutation and be a student of that divine alchemy which
will result in a knowledge of how to transmute the lower force into the higher…
He will then become a channel for the light of the Ego, and for the
illumination of buddhi to pour through for
the saving of the race, and the lighting of those who stumble in dark
places. …His life must begin to radiate,
and to have a magnetic effect upon others.
By this I mean he will begin to influence that which is imprisoned
in others, for he will reach—through his own powerful vibrations—the
hidden centre in each one.” (TCF, p.863)
Light
Supernal
“When
the light of the seven Rays is blended with that of the seventh Ray,
then light supernal can be known.” (Fifth Point of Revelation.) The object of the Science of the Antahkarana “is to fuse the lower and the upper lights,
so that one light shines forth in physical manifestation and a synthesis
of light is consequently brought about.” (ENA, p.144) On a planetary
level, light supernal streams from the Council Chamber of Sanat
Kumara, where the planetary antahkarana is
anchored. (RAI, p.143)
It
is the role of the 3rd Ray Lord, who governs both Saturn
and the Earth, to lead us towards light supernal by means of mind control
and consequent mental illumination. (EPI, p.69) The keyword for Capricorn
on the reversed Wheel is: "Lost am I in light supernal, yet on that
light I turn my back." (EA, pp.173-4) The disciple in Capricorn ‘turns
back’ towards Earth in service to Humanity. It is in the next sign
of Aquarius, ruled by Uranus and the Seventh Ray,
that light supernal is brought to Earth. This is the potential
of our work as World Servers in the Aquarian Age.
“The
Procedure required for the manifestation of "light supernal" takes place
when a transitory point of synthesis is reached and the seven energies
are blended into one great energetic Light.” (DINAII, p.425) The
Synthetic Ray which blends all seven Rays is the great Love-Wisdom Ray,
“for verily and indeed "God is Love."” (IHS, p.3) Light supernal
is created when Spirit is brought deeply into Matter, and this is the
action of the Lord of the Seventh Ray; thus is he known as “The
Divine Alchemical Worker”. (EPI, p.85).
The
appearance of light supernal heralds the Reappearance on Earth of the
Christ, the Lord of Love-Wisdom: “Then shall the Coming One appear,
His footsteps hastened through the valley of the shadow by the One of
awful power Who stands upon the mountain top, breathing out love eternal,
light supernal and peaceful, silent Will.” (ROC, p.13)
Consciousness
The
antahkarana is the Consciousness thread, anchored
in the head. Formula V in one word is about ‘recognition’:
‘Cognition’ is the mental process of knowing. To
‘re-cognise’ is ‘to know again’:
RECOGNISE
Middle English recognisen, to resume possession of land, alteration (influenced by Medieval
Latin recognizre, to recognize), of Old French reconoistre, reconoiss-, to know again
from Latin recognscere : re-,
re- + cognscere, to get to know.
(www.dictionary.com)
To
recognise is to bring to brain consciousness that which we deeply know
to be true. The Middle English word “recognisen”
meaning “to resume possession of land” in this context suggests
the reclamation of the dominion of our divine inheritance. Eventually
we ‘recognise’ that there is no separation between light and
darkness. Suns eventually become black holes. The darkness of Matter
is the black gold that fuels our ascent back ‘to the Father’.
The tests of Saturn that evoke the dark night of the soul are our pathway
Home.
The
symbol for the Sun is a circle with a point in the centre; a point of
black within a sphere of Light. Conversely there is a point of light
at the centre of every sphere of Matter; a Light in the dark cave of
the head. At the heart of every atom is a spark of buddhi which is electric fire. Light contains dark and dark
contains light. The path to synthesis is always through the centre.
The
human antahkarana is the feedback loop of consciousness within the
solar systemic Life. Human consciousness the iterative factor run through
the fractal formula of the universe as Humanity revolves continually
upon the Wheel of Rebirth. The summation of every incarnation can increase
incrementally the vibration of the whole. We are the “x”
variable, the creative and dynamic factor in the formula - because we
have free will. Thus we create our own karma and our own destiny.
The
alchemical transmutation of the Planetary Logos is proceeding through
the gradual at-one-ment of the deva and human evolutions
- the Fourth and Fifth Hierarchies ruled by Hermes (Mercury) and Aphrodite
(Venus) – until together they “form the body of the divine
Hermaphrodite.” (TCF, p.328)
The devas sacrifice their substance
to create the forms of all that exists. Humanity’s part in this
divine experiment is to ‘sacrifice’ our consciousness. Formula
V is about the “transition from the individual consciousness to
the universal”. (DINAII, p.365)
‘Sacrifice’ means ‘to make sacred’ and to
‘offer up’. By opening the ring-pass-not of our self-consciousness
to embrace the universal, we inspire Matter with divinity.
“The
Will is an expression of the Law of Sacrifice”. (DINAII, p.426)
When Humanity of its own free will aligns entirely with the Will of
Deity, light and dark will become One. All
duality will be resolved in Oneness. This is the alchemical ‘consummation’.
Magic
Formula
V is a “magical and mantric formula” for the creative manifestation of the
Divine Will in time and space here on Earth. It is intended to find
its fulfilment in the lives of disciples during the Aquarian Age. This
sounds very practical. But how do we bring it down to Earth? The 6 Formulas
“are life formulas, not soul formulas” (DINAII, pp.255-6),
although they come to us stepped down as “second ray presentation
of soul ideas”. A Treatise on White Magic is about “the
Magic of the Soul”, and contains 15 Rules for the guidance of the
disciple. The Formulas though, encourage us towards Monadic Life; towards
expression of the Monadic Will through the personality. Thus they are
“symbols of the future”. (DINAII, p.305) If we really grasped
the Formulas we would be living them.
DK
says in relation to Formula V: “…concern yourselves…with
the triangle created and the lines of force set in motion when the right
word finds itself at the apex of the triangle.” And: “The
clue to rightly orienting your thinking lies in the realisation of the
threefold aspect of the Sun, the unity of reality and the dual nature
of the antahkarana”. (DINAII, p.321)
1. Unity,
Oneness. Black.
(“Space is an entity”. DINAII, p.396)
2. Duality.
Antahkarana. (Consciousness, relationship.)
3. Threefold.
Sun.
(Oh
thou, who givest sustenance to the universe.
Creativity.)
Recognising
the inadequacy of words, and at the risk of over-simplifying the profound,
perhaps the Mystery at the centre of Formula V could be translated into
the imperative:
Recognise
that at the centre of everything is its opposite, therefore all is One.
Mathematically
this could be expressed as:
1(0)
= 1
Barbara
Maré
Shamballa School
11
August 2003
