Meditation

12.06.02

 I would like to talk today about the meditative work. The focus in the new schools will be increasingly upon the Life aspect and the monad rather than upon the soul or Love aspect. I have paved the way for this with my teachings on Shamballa, and part of the new dispensation will be further teachings on the monad, its source, its function and the result of its impact upon the soul. The equivalent of the Shamballa Impact upon humanity via its advanced members is the impact of the monadic energy on the causal body via the jewel in the lotus.

 The Black Lodge works through the stimulation of the form nature. Hierarchy stimulates the soul within the form, and Shamballa works to stimulate the Life aspect within the soul. I have elsewhere told you that individualisation in the next system will be through the use of the Will, just as in this one it is through Love, and in the last system it was through Active Intelligence.

 “Third, the third method of individualisation is the one to be followed in the next solar system, though it will have its faint beginnings in this one. It is not based on latent activity as in the first case, nor in electrical polarity as in the second, but in a peculiar process of "occult abstraction" (using the word "abstraction" in its basic sense as "the drawing out" of essence).  This occult abstraction is brought about by an effort of the will at present incomprehensible.  The first method of individualisation is that of the third aspect, or latent activity, and follows the line of least resistance under the Law of Economy; the second method is the purely electrical one, and works under the Law of Attraction; whilst the third method lies hidden in dynamic will and is as yet to us impossible and incomprehensible.”  (TCF, pp.349-50)

 Experimentation will occur in the new schools under the Law of Synthesis which will allow us to evaluate the effects of ‘identification’ as it impacts the process of initiation.

The lesser process can be accelerated by the greater; just as the soul has aided in the process of individualisation, so the monad can aid in the process of initiation. The mechanics of this aid are delivered via the higher antahkarana. The Will force of the monad is transmitted via the jewel in the lotus, resulting in the more rapid unfoldment of the petals and thus the taking of initiation by the man in incarnation. If the lower antahkarana is also built, then the conscious inflow of monadic energy along the sutratma to the heart centre can take place. It is this inflow which can make a man a powerhouse for the Will force upon the physical plane and a distributor of “Life more abundant”. (TCF, p.125) The movement of energy along the antahkarana is always a two-way process, and the result of inflow of monadic energy into the jewel will be a gradual abstraction of the consciousness of the disciple into the triadal worlds. The best analogy for the operation of the higher antahkarana would be the electric fire of lightning. This lightning flashes forth from the first or logoic plane to the fifth or manasic plane, thus relating the Hierarchies of Leo and Capricorn, two of the signs related to the First Ray.

 In the lower five worlds the soul relates the triad to the personality as follows:

Higher manasic – lower manasic via the knowledge petals

Buddhic – astral via the love petals

Atmic – etheric via the sacrifice petals

 These three ‘at-one-ments’ are carried out on the higher three subplanes of the mental plane.

 The atmic plane is also dual and on the three highest subplanes a similar process takes place concerning the five highest planes of the system:

Third subplane – higher atmic energy is transmitted to lower

Second subplane – monadic energy to buddhic

First subplane – logoic energy to manasic

 Thus logoic energy finds its expression through the jewel, resulting in the liberation of consciousness into the triad in the same way that atmic energy finds its lowest point of expression in the etheric crown chakra. The higher flow of Will energy follows the path 1:5 while the lower follows the path 3:7. When linked by the flow of the Second Aspect or Love principle on the 2:4:6 planes, an antahkarana from the highest to the lowest takes place.

 If you extend this relationship on the cosmic physical plane into the cosmic astral you will find the following very useful pattern that reveals the path of action of the First Ray or Will aspect of deity:

 ARIES – GEMINI – LEO – LIBRA – CAPRICORN – AQUARIUS

 The Planetary Logos is polarised on the fourth subplane of the cosmic astral plane. This is the plane where the energy of Aries operates, ruled hierarchically by Uranus, god of lightning. The keynote of this plane is ‘unity through effort’. This Will is focused through Gemini into the highest three subplanes of the logoic physical plane where the Fifth Hierarchy is on the verge of liberation. From the logoic subplane, this Will is transferred via the atmic plane to the three highest subplanes of the manasic plane. Thus the Tenth Creative Hierarchy (the Fifth) is the representative of the five liberated Hierarchies and operates on the mental plane. It is the direct recipient of the energy of the Will-to-be of the Planetary Logos, and he seeks to liberate himself from the fourth subplane of the cosmic astral onto the third. As He does so, the Fourth Creative Hierarchy of human souls will be liberated from their causal bodies on the mental plane.

 Thus the three signs that bring in the First Ray are related to each other: Aries, Leo and Capricorn. The result of this inflow of energy into the mental plane is the irradiation of causal bodies, allowing humans to bring the Third Aspect of the monad, atma, into expression upon the physical plane. This will be the demonstration of the principle of Justice and the establishment upon Earth of governance based upon spiritual Will. The Law will then be implemented on the physical plane by men, functioning as souls under the impression of Shamballa transmitting the Will of the Logos.

 A study needs to be made eventually of the First Aspect of divinity and the way in which it impacts the minds of men. To date we are still dealing with the Consciousness aspect, but as that consciousness focuses upon the Life aspect, it is itself transfigured through direct experience and identification with the Life principle. The coming Yoga of Synthesis will emphasise this ‘livingness’ of consciousness as we approach the First Aspect by way of the Second.

 30.10.02

 The soul is as limited an expression of triadal consciousness as the physical body is an expression of personality consciousness. In the same way that an individual meditating may be working intensely and yet their physical body is quite still and inactive, the soul considered as the triad may be working with no real activity taking place in the causal body. Really it is the monad that is working, no matter where the consciousness is focused. There is only one ‘self’ on the cosmic physical plane and that ‘self’ is the monad. The monad is thus the source of ‘selfhood’ for all lesser states of being in the five worlds, with this selfhood being ‘fixated’ on the higher mental plane as a temporary causal existence for life in the three worlds.

The monad is the source of ‘be-ness’ while the mental plane is the source of ‘self-awareness’. To be aware of a self necessarily means one is separate from that self. What separates the causal body from the monad is consciousness, and therefore all consciousness must be transcended before Be-ness can be experienced in its fullness. Beyond that the monad as the source of Be-ness must learn to negate being in the same way that the soul learns to negate consciousness and the personality learns to negate activity. The doorway to the higher always requires the relinquishment of that which is the source of the lower.

I want to give you one more piece of information vital to the new teaching: The monad is to the cosmic physical plane what the causal body is to the three worlds. It has the same relationship to the cosmic astral and mental planes as the causal body has to the buddhic and atmic planes, or the physical body has to the emotional and mental bodies. It is the physical externalisation of an identity which originates on the cosmic mental plane, and in fact on the cosmic monadic plane. Your body is to the monad what the monad is to the monad of the Solar Logos. In fact the analogy would be closer if we said the heart centre of the body is to the monad what the monad is to the solar monad. And even closer if we said the heart centre, as the sum total of the energy to be found in the central core of the seven chakras of the body. The heart centre is the seat of the Life principle because it is able to communicate that Life to the centre of each chakra. In a way it could be said to BE the centre of each chakra. Think this through with regard to the monad as forming part of the centre in one of the seven Heavenly Men.

 06.11.02

 In the next solar system the monadic plane will be the lowest point of focus, with the expression of this focus occurring through the higher three subplanes of the atmic plane, in the same way that the higher three subplanes of the mental plane are used to transmit ashramic energy in this system. There will be no need for a lower focus by the consciousness of the Heavenly Man because the lower five planes will automatically respond to the impulses and Will emerging from the monadic plane. Being and form will AGREE as a result of the work done on triadal levels during the second system.

 When we consider the heart chakra of a high initiate, it serves to express the Life principle emanating from the monadic plane, clothing itself first in buddhi and then in astrality before expressing through the etheric body. Because there is no identity in the buddhic or astral realm, then these vehicles serve as sheaths. The disciple is attempting to clear any identity from the astral body so that it becomes a clear reflector of buddhi. The Master is seeking to clear any identification with his buddhic vehicle so that it may become a clear transmitter of monadic force.

 If we extend this process to cosmic levels we can see that there will come a time when a clear alignment occurs between the solar monad on cosmic monadic levels, and the etheric ‘heart of the Sun’ as it expresses through the seven Heavenly Men focused upon the monadic plane of the cosmic physical plane. In the third solar system our physical Sun will be a sun of the ‘second order’ rather than the fourth, and will therefore be composed of matter of the second ether of the physical systemic plane. As this process of alignment takes place, our Solar Logos will necessarily begin the process of abstraction from his causal body and begin to identify with the solar triad and eventually the solar monad.

 At some long-distant point in solar evolution, the Will of the solar monad will be able to be transmitted directly through the etheric solar heart centre without any ‘qualification’ by solar triadal consciousness. This ‘reabsorption’ of solar consciousness on the cosmic monadic plane marks the beginning of pralaya at the end of the mahamanvantara. Similarly, when the triadal consciousness is reabsorbed by the monad in the life cycle of a human being, the beginning of the Higher way is entered as the Sixth Degree initiate decides upon which cosmic Path he will leave the cosmic physical plane. Pralaya is only a period of inactivity therefore, to any entity confined to a manifest world. To entities that are operating in the (relatively) unmanifest world, it is a period of activity. For example, when the Logos shifts his focus out of the three lower cosmic planes into the triad for a period, activity dies out in the three worlds, and yet his consciousness is still active. Similarly when a man sleeps, his consciousness continues on the astral plane even though physical activity ceases. To a liberated consciousness there is no sleep, only a change of emphasis of activity. Similarly, when an entity withdraws from consciousness itself there is no discontinuity in the Life aspect, merely a time when that Life is clothing itself in consciousness and a time when it is freed from the limitation of consciousness. If you extend this analogy beyond the cosmic physical plane, you will be forced to also entertain the idea that there may be a time when that which we call Being or Life is being experienced, and a time of non-being or unmanifest experience occurring.

 That which we call Life, and of which man in the three worlds knows almost nothing, is in reality just another relative experience – the experience of Beingness expressing on the monadic plane. Due to the fact that we are unable to penetrate beyond this, humans extrapolate this LIFE as absolute - as in fact the LIFE which lies behind all existence, in the same way that aspirants assume ‘Spirit’ is anything that is impinging upon their consciousness including the consciousness of the astral plane. Certainly the monad can be a gateway to the greater LIFE of OAWNMBS. In the same way, a heart chakra can be the gateway to astral, buddhic and eventually monadic life, but what is being experienced by a unit in the etheric heart centre is not the same as the experience of the monad upon its own plane. Think this through.

 A useful analogy is the return of the Buddha at each Wesak full Moon. From the perspective of the personality life of the planet Earth, nothing is occurring apart from a ceremony high in the Himalayas. From the perspective of the soul or Hierarchy there is an ‘appearance’, an inflow of energy into the planetary soul which is awaited and experienced. At the end of the experience the Buddha ‘leaves’ from the perspective of Hierarchy. From the perspective of Shamballa however, the Buddha merely returns his focus to a higher sphere of activity which also comes within the normal sphere of activity of Shamballa.

 The concept of an Absolute Life is comforting to the mind of man which would like to arrive somewhere final, or at least feel reassured that there is somewhere final beyond his ken. This does not make logical sense however, as all we can truly understand is what we have experienced, or what is passed on to us from those capable of a higher level of experience. Beyond the manifest universe (the seven cosmic planes) is the great unmanifest. And yet this ‘unmanifest’ is quite likely to be merely a universal astral body from that perspective. Who is really willing to limit the limitless by their thought or experience?

 The common Theosophical perspective is that if we can just make it back to monadic awareness then that is it. There is really only ‘one’ monad, One Life which permeates everything, manifest or unmanifest. Does it not seem reasonable brother, that there are degrees of Life just as there are degrees of consciousness, and that what is being experienced as the ‘One Life’ by a human being may be somewhat different than the reality experienced as the ‘One Life’ by the ensouling entity of a constellation?

Of course it makes no sense to talk of things beyond the understanding of man in the three worlds, let alone beyond his experience. The universe is evolving however, and man with it. New truths must ever be revealed to the advancing and developing consciousness, and the next great revelation to humanity is of that which lies beyond Life in the same way that Life lies behind consciousness. In my last series of teachings I endeavoured to convey something of the Life aspect to those who were barely able to contact soul with any real facility. Now I must attempt a similar process at a higher turn of the spiral. Each new teaching turns the previous teaching on its head without negating the essential truth conveyed. You think of Shamballa as a head centre. Try to now contemplate it as a base.