A Treatise on Cosmic Fire

by Alice A Bailey

  Therefore, in connection with the first Logos, we can sum up as we did with the other Logoi:

  a. His goal is the synthesis of the Spirits who are gaining consciousness through manifestation, and who, by means of experience in matter, are gaining in quality.

  b. His function is, by means of will, to hold them in manifestation for the desired period, and later to abstract them, and blend them again with their spiritual source. Hence the necessity of remembering that fundamentally, the first Logos controls the cosmic entities or extra-systemic beings; the second Logos controls the solar entities; the third Logos controls the lunar entities and their correspondences elsewhere in the system.

  This rule must not be carried too far in detail as long as man’s mind is of its present calibre. The mystery lies in the realisation that all is carried on in a divine co-operation that has its base outside the system. Hence too the fact that the first Logos is called the Destroyer, because He is abstraction, if viewed from below upwards. His work is the synthesis of Spirit with Spirit, their [149] eventual abstraction from matter, and their unification with their cosmic source. Hence also He is the one who brings about pralaya or the disintegration of form,—the form from which the Spirit has been abstracted.

  If we carry the analogy down to the microcosm a glimpse can be gained of the same idea and hence ability to comprehend with greater facility. The Ego (being to the man on the physical plane what the Logos is to His system) is likewise the animating will, the destroyer of forms, the producer of pralaya and the One Who withdraws the inner spiritual man from out of his threefold body; he draws them to himself the centre of his little system. The Ego is extra-cosmic as far as the human being on the physical plane is concerned, and in the realisation of this fact may come elucidation of the true cosmic problem involving the Logos and “the spirits in prison,” as the Christian puts it.

  c. His mode of action is a driving forward; the will that lies back of evolutionary development is His, and He it is who drives Spirit onward through matter till it eventually emerges from matter, having achieved two things:

  First, Added quality to quality, and therefore emerging plus the gained faculty that experience has engendered.

  Second, Increased the vibration of matter itself by means of its own energy, so that matter at the moment of pralaya and obscuration will have two main characteristics,—activity, the result of the Law of Economy, and a dual magnetism which will be the result of the Law of Attraction.

  All of these three concepts are governed by the Law of Synthesis, which is the law of a coherent will-to-be, persisting [150] not only in time and space, but within a still vaster cycle.

  These preliminary statements have been laid down in an endeavour to show the synthesis of the whole. In the use of words comes limitation, and a clouding of the idea; words literally veil or hide thoughts, detract from their clarity, and confuse them by expression. The work of the second and third Logoi (being the production of the objectivity of the essential Spirit) is more easy to grasp in broad outline than the more esoteric work of the first Logos, which is that of the animating will.

  In terms of fire another angle of expression may perhaps elucidate.

  The third Logos is fire in matter. He burns by friction, and gains speed and added vibration by the rotation of the spheres, their interplay thus producing friction with each other.

  The second Logos is solar fire. He is the fire of matter and the electric fire of Spirit blended, producing, in time and space, that fire which we call solar. He is the quality of the flame, or the essential flame, produced by this merging. A correspondence to this may be seen in the radiatory fire of matter, and in the emanation, for instance, from the central sun, from a planet, or from a human being,—which latter emanation we call magnetism. A man’s emanation, or characteristic vibration, is the result of the blending of Spirit and matter, and the relative adequacy of the matter, or the form, to the life within. The objective solar system, or the sun in manifestation, is the result of the blending of Spirit (electric fire) with matter (fire by friction), and the emanations of the Son, in time and space, are dependent upon the adequacy of the matter, and of the form to the life within.

  The first Logos is electric fire, the fire of pure Spirit. Yet in manifestation He is the Son, for by union with matter (the mother) the Son is produced by Whom He is [151] known. “I and my Father are One” (Bible. John, 10:30) is the most occult statement in the Christian Bible, for it not only refers to the union of a man with his source, the monad, via the ego, but to the union of all life with its source, the will aspect, the first Logos.

  We will now endeavor to confine ourselves strictly to the subject of fire in matter, and its active effect upon the sheaths of which it is the animating factor, and upon the centers which come primarily under its control.

  As we have been told, and as is generally recognised, the effect of heat in matter is to produce that activity which we call rotary, or the revolution of the spheres. Some of the ancient books, and among them a few that are not yet accessible in the occident, have taught that the entire vault of heaven is a vast sphere, revolving slowly like a stupendous wheel, and carrying with it, in its revolution, the entire number of constellations and of universes contained within it. This is a statement unverifiable by the finite mind of man at his present stage, and with his present scientific accessories, but (like all occult statements) it contains within it the seed of thought, the germ of truths, and the clue to the mystery of the universe. Suffice it here to say, that the rotation of the spheres within the solar periphery is a recognized occult fact, and indications are available to prove that science itself likewise formulates the hypothesis that the solar ring-pass-not similarly rotates in its appointed place among the constellations. But at this juncture we will not deal with this angle of the subject, but will study the rotary action of the spheres of the system, and of its content—all the lesser spheres of every degree—remembering ever to keep the distinction clearly in mind that we are dealing now simply with the inherent characteristic of matter itself, and not with matter in co-operation with [152] its opposite, Spirit, which co-operation brings about spiral-cyclic movement.

  II. THE EFFECTS OF ROTARY MOTION

  Every sphere in the body macrocosmic rotates. This rotation produces certain effects, which effects might be enumerated as follows:

  1. Separation is produced by rotary movement. By means of this action, all the spheres became differentiated, and form, as we know, the following atomic units:

  a. The solar system, recognised as a cosmic atom, all the so-called atoms within its periphery being regarded as molecular.

  b. The seven planes, regarded as seven vast spheres, rotating latitudinally within the solar periphery.

  c. The seven rays, regarded as the seven veiling forms of the Spirits, themselves spheroidal bands of colour, rotating longitudinally, and forming (in connection with the seven planes) a vast interlacing network. These two sets of spheres (planes and rays) form the totality of the solar system, and produce its form spheroidal.

  Let us withdraw our thought at this juncture from the informing Consciousnesses of these three types of spheres, and concentrate our attention upon the realisation that each plane is a vast sphere of matter, actuated by latent heat and progressing or rotating in one particular direction. Each ray of light, no matter of what colour, is likewise a sphere of matter of the utmost tenuity, rotating in a direction opposite to that of the planes. These rays produce by their mutual interaction a radiatory effect upon each other. Thus by the approximation of the latent heat in matter, and the interplay of that heat upon other spheres that totality is produced which we call “fire by friction.”

  [153] In connection with these two types of spheres we might, by way of illustration and for the sake of clarity, say that:

  a. The planes rotate from east to west.

  b. The rays rotate from north to south.

  Students should here bear carefully in mind that we are
not referring here to points in space; we are simply making this distinction and employing words in order to make an abstruse idea more comprehensible. From the point of view of the totality of the rays and planes there is no north, south, east nor west. But at this point comes a correspondence and a point of real interest, though also of complexity. By means of this very interaction, the work of the four Maharajahs or Lords of Karma, is made possible; the quaternary and all sumtotals of four can be seen as one of the basic combinations of matter, produced by the dual revolutions of planes and rays.

  The seven planes, likewise atoms, rotate on their own axis, and conform to that which is required of all atomic lives.

  The seven spheres of any one plane, which we call subplanes, equally correspond to the system; each has its seven revolving wheels or planes that rotate through their own innate ability, due to latent heat—the heat of the matter of which they are formed.

  The spheres or atoms of any form whatsoever, from the form logoic, which we have somewhat dealt with, down to the ultimate physical atom and the molecular matter that goes to the construction of the physical body, show similar correspondences and analogies.

  All these spheres conform to certain rules, fulfil certain conditions and are characterised by the same fundamental qualifications. Later we will consider these conditions, [154] but must now continue with the effect of rotary action.

  2. Momentum, resulting therefore in repulsion, was produced by the rotary movement. We have referred to the Law of Repulsion as one of the subsidiary branches of the great Law of Economy, which governs matter. Repulsion is brought about by rotary action, and is the basis of that separation which prevents the contact of any atom with any other atom, which keeps the planets at fixed points in space and separated stably from each other; which keeps them at a certain distance from their systemic centre, and which likewise keeps the planes and subplanes from losing their material identity. Here we can see the beginning of that age-long duel between Spirit and matter, which is characteristic of manifestation, one aspect working under the Law of Attraction, and the other governed by the Law of Repulsion. From aeon to aeon the conflict goes on, with matter becoming less potent. Gradually (so gradually as to seem negated when viewed from the physical plane) the attractive power of Spirit is weakening the resistance of matter till, at the close of the greater solar cycles, destruction (as it is called) will ensue, and the Law of Repulsion be overcome by the Law of Attraction. It is a destruction of form and not of matter itself, for matter is indestructible. This can be seen even now in the microcosmic life, and is the cause of the disintegration of form, which holds itself as a separated unit by the very method of repulsing all other forms. It can be seen working out gradually and inappreciably in connection with the Moon, which no longer is repulsive to the earth, and is giving of her very substance to this planet. H. P. B. hints at this in The Secret Doctrine, and I have here suggested the law under which this is so. (S. D., I, 179.) (70)

  [155] 3. Frictional effect on all other bodies atomic, producing:

  a. Vitality of the atom,

  b. Coherence of the atom,

  c. Ability to function.

  d. Heat supplied to the composite form of which it may form a fragmentary part, whether it is the heat supplied by the rotation of a planet within the form macrocosmic, or the rotation of a cell in the physical body within the form microcosmic.

  e. Final combustion or disintegration, when the fires latent and radiatory have achieved a specific stage. This is the secret of final obscuration and of pralaya, but cannot be dissociated from the two other factors of solar and electric fire.

  4. Absorption, through that expression which is seen in all whirling spheres of atomic matter at whichever surface in the sphere corresponds to the point called in a planet the North Pole. Some idea of the intention that I seek to convey may be grasped by a study of the atom as portrayed in Babbitt’s “Principles of Light and Colour,” and later in Mrs. Besant’s “Occult Chemistry.” This depression is produced by radiations which proceed counter to the rotations of the sphere and pass down from the north southwards to a midway point. From there they tend to increase the latent heat, to produce added momentum and to give specific quality according to the source from which the radiation comes. This absorption of extra-spheroidal emanation is the secret of the dependence of one sphere upon another, and has its correspondence in the cycling of a ray through any plane sphere. Every atom, though termed spheroidal, is more accurately a sphere slightly depressed at one location, [156] that location being the place through which flows the force which animates the matter of the sphere. This is true of all spheres, from the solar down to the atom of matter that we call the cell in the body physical. Through the depression in the physical atom flows the vitalising force from without. Every atom is both positive and negative; it is receptive or negative where the inflowing force is concerned, and positive or radiatory where its own emanations are concerned, and in connection with its effect upon its environment.

  This can be predicated likewise of the entire ring-pass-not of the solar system in relation to its cosmic environment. Force flows into the solar system from three directions via three channels:

  a. The sun Sirius,

  b. The Pleiades,

  c. The Great Bear.

  I would here point out the connection or correspondence in this statement to an earlier one made when speaking of solar radiation, and the channels through which it can be felt. These currents or radiations we call

  a. Akashic.

  b. Electrical.

  c. Pranic.

  In considering the occult meaning of what is here suggested, one point in elucidation may be imparted, leaving the working out of the other two relationships to the student. The Pleiades are to the solar system, the source of electrical energy, and just as our sun is the embodiment of the heart, or love aspect, of the Logos (Who is Himself the heart of ONE ABOUT WHOM NAUGHT MAY BE SAID) so the Pleiades are the feminine opposite of Brahma. Think this out, for much is contained in this statement.

  Certain broad statements have been laid down here concerning the rotation of matter, and the results produced [157] in diverse spheres by that rotation. What is predicated of any one sphere or atom can be predicated of all, if it is in any way an occult statement of fact and we should be able to work out these four effects:

  1. Separation, or the repulsive effect,

  2. Momentum, or the interior effect,

  3. Frictional, environal effect,

  4. Absorption, the receptive or attractive effect,

  in every grade and type of atom,—a solar system, a sun, a planet, a plane, a ray, the body of the Ego, or a cell in the physical body.

  III. THE QUALITIES OF ROTARY MOTION

  Every rotating sphere of matter is characterised by the three qualities, of inertia, mobility and rhythm.

  1. Inertia. This characterises every atom at the dawn of manifestation, at the beginning of a solar cycle or mahamanvantara (or one hundred years of Brahma), at the commencement of a chain, of a globe, or of any spheroidal form whatsoever without exception. This statement, therefore, includes the totality of manifesting forms within the solar system.

  Let us keep clearly in our minds that we are simply considering the three qualities of matter itself and are not considering consciousness. Inertia is the result of lack of activity and the relative quiescence of the fires of matter. These fires, during obscuration or Pralaya, though latent, are free from the stimulation that comes from the aggregation of atoms into form, and the consequent interplay of the forms upon each other. Where form exists and the Laws of Repulsion and Attraction are coming into force, making radiation therefore possible, then comes stimulation, emanative effect, and a gradual speeding up which eventually, from within the atom itself, by its own rotary movement produces the next quality. [158]

  2. Mobility. The inherent fires of matter produce rotary movement. Eventually this rotation results in radiation. The radiation of matter,
the result of its dual heat, produces necessarily an effect upon other atoms in its environment (it matters not whether that environment is cosmic space, systemic space, or the periphery of the physical body of a man), and this interaction and interplay causes repulsion and attraction according to the polarity of the cosmic, systemic or physical atom. Eventually this produces coherence of form; bodies, or aggregates of atoms come into being or manifestation, and persist for the length of their greater or lesser cycles until the third quality is brought into definite recognition.

  3. Rhythm, or the attainment of the point of perfect balance and of equilibrium. This point of perfect balance then produces certain specific effects which might be enumerated and pondered upon, even if to our finite minds they may seem paradoxical and contradictory.

  The limitation lies with us and with the use of words, and not in any real inaccuracy. These effects are:

  a. The disintegration of form,

  b. The liberation of the essence which the form confines,

  c. The separations of Spirit and matter,

  d. The end of a cycle, whether planetary, human or solar,

  e. The production of obscuration, and the end of objectivity or manifestation,

  f. The reabsorption of the essence, and the merging again of differentiated matter with the root of matter,

  g. The end of time and space as we understand it,

  h. The unification of the three Fires and the bringing about of spontaneous combustion, if one might so express it, [159]

  i. The synthetic activity of matter in the three types of movement,—rotary, spiralling-cyclic and onward progression,—which unified movement will be produced by the interaction of the fires of matter, of mind and of Spirit upon each other.