A Treatise on Cosmic Fire

by Alice A Bailey

  He is sensing and responding to the vibration of the sixth subplane, but is not as yet fully conscious on that subplane.

  We have a corresponding reflection to this in the fourth and fifth root-races on this planet, in which the astral consciousness of the Atlantean cycle is being perfected, the fifth principle is being developed, and the sixth is being gradually sensed. This deserves thoughtful consideration.

  Third: The work of a solar logos is again of a corresponding nature:

  [292] a. He has to attain to the full consciousness of His entire ring-pass-not, or of the seven planes of the solar system. This covers a period wherein five of the Heavenly Men, or five of His centres, and therefore, five schemes, reach a stage of accurate response to contact and stimulation.

  b. He has to attain to the consciousness of the cosmic Logos within Whose body He is a centre. He must find by experience His place within the cosmic group of which He is a part, in much the same way as a planetary Logos pursues a similar course. This is achieved when all the Heavenly Men or each of the seven centres are awakened and functioning consciously and freely, with their systemic inter-relation adjusted and controlled by the Law of Action and Reaction. It brings within His control not only the seven subplanes of the cosmic physical plane (our seven major planes) but necessarily also the cosmic astral plane.

  c. To attain to the consciousness of the centre in the body of the ONE ABOUT WHOM NOUGHT MAY BE SAID. This centre is formed by the sphere of influence of a cosmic Logos. In the body of a cosmic Logos, a solar Logos is a centre.

  We must bear in mind that this enumeration is given from the standpoint of the present, and from the angle of vision (relatively limited) of the Heavenly Man of our particular scheme, and that it is therefore circumscribed by His peculiar conditions, which govern the intelligence of the cells in His body; it is given from the point of view of differentiation and not of synthesis. A synthetic absorption proceeds eventually in connection with all these Entities, and each undergoes a process, paralleling on His Own level that undergone by the Microcosm; in the case of the Microcosm the causal body or the body of the Ego acts as the synthesiser of the energy of the Quaternary or lower Self, and the spiritual

  [293] TABULATION II

  EVOLUTION IN THE UNIVERSE

  Entity Vehicle Centre Space Time

  The Unknown 7 constellations. cosmic Logos 5 cosmic planes.

  A cosmic Logos 7 solar systems solar Logos 4 cosmic planes.

  A solar Logos 7 planetary

  schemes Heavenly

  Man 3 cosmic planes. Period of three solar systems.

  A Heavenly Man 7 planetary

  chains Chohans and

  groups 2 cosmic planes. Period of one solar system.

  A Man 7 etheric centrcs a Principle 1 cosmic plane Period of one planetary scheme.

  [294] or monadic sheath as the synthesiser of the seven principles, making thus the three, the seven, and the ten.

  In closing I would point out that the mind must carefully be kept from reducing all these ideas into a rankly materialistic concept. It must be rigidly borne in mind that we are dealing with the subjective life, and not with the objective form, and that we are considering, for instance, the synthesis of the principles or the qualitating energies and not the synthesis of form.

  Through each etheric centre man is bringing to perfect vibration some one principle or quality through which the subjective life may express itself.

  Through each chain in a scheme a Heavenly Man is endeavoring to do the same.

  Through each scheme in a system, a solar Logos is working at the same thing; the goal is synthetic quality and not primarily the perfection of the form. The response of the energised form to the qualitative life is naturally—under the law—equal to the demand, but this is of secondary importance and is not the object in view.

  We have seen that the work to be accomplished in all the above cases is necessarily threefold:

  First. The development of individual consciousness.

  Second. The development of group consciousness.

  Third. The development of God consciousness, of that consciousness in each case which represents the highest spiritual Source, and which is recognised as the same in essence as the God within the individual, whether man or solar Logos.

  This concept must be meditated upon by all thinkers and its synthesis emphasised. The relation of the cell to the group, of the group to the aggregate of groups, and of them all to the indwelling Entity Who holds them in synthetic correlation by means of the Law of Attraction and Repulsion is of vital moment. Two main ideas must always be borne in mind: [295]

  That the terms “cell, group, or congery of groups” relate entirely to the form of vehicle, and thus to the matter aspect.

  That the idea of an Entity Who synthesises the groups and is the animating life of the cell has to do with the Spirit aspect.

  These two concepts lead necessarily to a third, that of the development of consciousness, which is the gradual expansion of the realisation of the Indweller in the form, the apprehension by the Self of the relation of the form to Itself, and of its slow utilisation and control. This persists until that Realisation includes the cell, the group, and the totality of groups. These ideas can be applied to the three grades of consciousness referred to. As follows:

  Man, the lowest type of coherent consciousness (using the word “consciousness” in its true connotation as the “One who knows”) is but a cell, a minute atom within a group.

  A Heavenly Man represents a coherent conscious group.

  A solar Logos on His Own plane holds an analogous place to that of a Heavenly Man in a solar system, and from a still higher standpoint to that of a man within the solar system. When the place of the solar planes within the cosmic scheme is duly apprehended it will be recognised that on cosmic levels of a high order the solar Logos is an Intelligence as relatively low in the order of cosmic consciousness as man is in relation to solar consciousness. He is but a cell in the body of the ONE ABOUT WHOM NAUGHT MAY BE SAID. His work parallels on cosmic levels the work of man on the solar planes. He has to undergo on the three lower cosmic planes a process of developing an apprehension of His environment of the same nature as man in the three worlds. This fact should be remembered by all students [296] of this central division of our subject; above all the analogy between the cosmic physical planes and the solar physical planes must be pondered upon. It holds hid the fourfold mystery:

  1. The mystery of the Akasha.

  2. The secret of the fifth round.

  3. The esoteric significance of Saturn, the third planet.

  4. The occult nature of cosmic kundalini, or the electrical force of the system.

  One hint on this fourth point may be given for wise consideration. When the electrical interplay between the planets is better ascertained (and by this I mean their negative or positive interplay), then it will be revealed which are related or connected, and which are nearing the point of balance. I would here point out very briefly certain facts, not pausing to elaborate or to elucidate, but simply making various statements which—as the knowledge of man progresses—will assume their rightful place in the ordered scheme. They will then be seen as enlightening and revealing the necessary sequence of development.

  2. The Work of the Atomic Units.

  a. The seven Heavenly Men, considered in relation to the Entity of Whom the solar Logos is a reflection, are as the seven centres in the physical body of a human being. This will be realised as the correspondence between the cosmic physical plane and the systemic physical plane is studied.

  b. Three of these centres, therefore

  Concern the lower centres of the cosmic Being.

  Have their analogies on the dense, liquid and gaseous planes.

  Are at present the object of the attention of cosmic kundalini.

  [297] c. One of these centres corresponds to the solar plexus and is the synthesiser of the lower three, thus making a quaternary.

>   d. The centre which is analogous to that at the base of the spine, or the reservoir of kundalini, has a permanence which is not seen in the other two lower centres. The Heavenly Man Who embodies this principle and is the source of generative heat to His Brothers, must be sought for by the aid of the intuition. Concrete Mind will not here avail.

  e. The three higher centres, or the Heavenly Men Who correspond to the head, the heart and the throat of the solar Logos, have Their etheric analogies on the three higher etheric levels of the cosmic physical plane, just as the Heavenly Man Who embodies the logoic solar plexus finds His manifesting source on the fourth etheric.

  f. This Heavenly Man, with His etheric vortex or wheel of force on the fourth cosmic ether, is in this fourth round, a vital factor in planetary evolution.

  g. When the Heavenly Man, Who is at present demonstrating through the Earth scheme, has succeeded in vitalising His middle centre, or in directing the force of planetary kundalini away from the lower centres to the solar plexus centre, a new cycle will be reached, and much of the present distress will be ended. His work is as yet in an embryonic condition, and two and a half more cycles must transpire before He has accomplished the necessary work. When that is done, the result in connection with the human units in incarnation will be threefold:

  Sex stimulation, as now understood, will be showing a tendency to manifest in creation, not so much on the physical plane, as on the astral and mental, demonstrating in the creations of art and beauty, and the objective work of the scientists.

  Crime, as now seen, based largely on the sex emotion, [298] will be a thing of the past, and physical plane license, orgy and horror will be reduced seventy-five per cent.

  The interplay between the three dense physical planets will be perfected and man will pass at will from one to another.

  I would here point out the inadvisability of the method whereby the names of the globes in a chain, just as the names of a chain in a scheme, follow the planetary nomenclature. This has led to confusion.

  A clue tending towards the correct understanding lies hid in the words: “Venus is the Earth’s primary.” (S.D., II, 33. I, 323)

  It is not permissible to say much about this mystery, that “Venus is the Earth’s alter ego,” nor is it advisable, but certain ideas may be suggested which—if brooded on—may result in a wider grasp of the beauty of nature’s synthesis, and of the wonderful correlation of all that is in process of evolution.

  Perhaps some idea may be gained if we remember that, in an occult sense, Venus is to the Earth what the higher Self is to man.

  The coming of the Lords of Flame to the Earth was all under law and not just an accidental and fortunate happening; it was a planetary matter which finds its correspondence in the connection between the mental unit and the manasic permanent atom. Again, as the antaskarana is built by individual man between these two points, so—again in a planetary sense—is a channel being built by collective man on this planet to its primary, Venus.

  In connection with these two planets, it must be remembered that Venus is a sacred planet and the Earth is not. This means that certain of the planets are to the Logos what the permanent atoms are to man. They embody principles. Certain planets afford only temporary [299] homes to these principles. Others persist throughout the mahamanvantara. Of these Venus is one.

  Three of the sacred planets, it should be remembered, are the home of the three major Rays, of the embodied forms of the three logoic aspects or principles. Other planets are embodiments of the four minor rays. We might consider—from the standpoint of the present—that Venus, Jupiter and Saturn might be considered as the vehicles of the three super-principles at this time. Mercury, the Earth and Mars are closely allied to these three, but a hidden mystery lies here. The evolution of the inner round has a close connection with this problem. Perhaps some light may be thrown upon the obscurity of the matter by the realisation that just as the Logos has (in the non-sacred planets) the correspondence to the permanent atoms in the human being, so the middle evolution between these two (God and man) is the Heavenly Man, whose body is made up of human and deva monads, and Who has likewise His permanent atoms. Always the three higher principles can be distinguished in importance from the four lower.

  The key is hidden in the fact that between the number of a globe in a chain and its corresponding chain lies a method of communication. The same is true likewise of the correspondence between a chain of globes and a scheme of analogous number. The connection between Venus and the Earth lies hid in number, and it took a moment of mysterious alignment between a globe, its corresponding chain and the scheme of allied number to effect the momentous occurrence known as the coming of the Lords of Flame. It occurred in the third rootrace in the fourth round. Here we have an analogy between the quaternary and the Triad, carrying the interpretation up to a Heavenly Man. The chain was the fourth chain and the globe, the fourth. The fourth [300] chain in the Venus scheme and the fourth globe in that chain were closely involved in the transaction.

  h. The progress of development of the Heavenly Men is by no means uniform. One point has not been emphasised hitherto, and that is, that the problem before each of Them is dissimilar, and, therefore, it is not possible for man correctly to gauge the work done by Them and Their relative point of attainment. It has been said that as Venus is in the fifth round, the Venusian Lord is further progressed than His brothers. This is not altogether so. Just as in the development of humanity three main lines may be seen with four lesser lines merging into one of the three main lines, so in connection with the Heavenly Men, there are three main lines of which the Venusian is not one. The Lord of Venus holds place in the logoic quaternary, as does the Lord of Earth.

  The main idea underlying the question we have been endeavoring to answer has to do with the relationship between the schemes, chains, rounds, and races, and it should be borne in mind that these manifestations bear the same relationship to a Heavenly Man as incarnations do to a human being. This gives the opportunity here to bring out perhaps a little more clearly the place of cycles in the evolution of all these Entities from a man up to a cosmic Logos, via a Heavenly Man and a solar Logos. (S.D., I, 258) Just as it is pointed out in the Secret Doctrine that there are greater and lesser cycles in the evolution of a solar system, so it can be predicated equally of a Heavenly Man, of a human being, and of an atom. This brings us, therefore, to another statement:

  i. The cycles in the evolutionary process of all these Entities may be divided mainly into three groups, though necessarily these groups can be extended into septennates and into an infinity of multiples of seven. [301]

  In connection with a solar Logos the cycles might be called:

  1. One hundred years of Brahma.

  2. A year of Brahma.

  3. A day of Brahma.

  These periods have been computed by the Hindu students and are the sumtotal of time as we understand it or the duration of a solar system.

  In connection with a Heavenly Man we have the corresponding cycles to those of the Logos:

  1. The period of a planetary scheme.

  2. The period of a planetary chain.

  3. The period of a planetary round.

  Within these three divisions, which are the differentiations of the three great cycles of incarnation of a planetary Logos, are numerous lesser cycles or incarnations but they all fall within one or other of the three main divisions. Such lesser cycles might be easily comprehended if it were pointed out that they mark such periods as:

  a. The period of manifestation on a globe.

  b. The period of a root-race.

  c. The period of a sub-race.

  d. The period of a branch race.

  In order to apprehend even cursorily the identity of manifestation of a planetary Logos in a root-race, for instance, it must be remembered that the sumtotal of human and deva units upon a planet make the body vital of a planetary Logos, whilst the sumtotal of lesser lives upon a planet (from the material bodies
of men or devas down to the other kingdoms of nature) form His body corporeal, and are divisible into two types of such lives:

  a. Those on the evolutionary arc, such as in the animal kingdom.[302]

  b. Those on the involutionary arc, such as the totality of all elemental material forms within His sphere of influence. All the involutionary lives, as earlier pointed out, form the vehicles for the spirit of the planet, or the planetary entity, who is the sumtotal of the elemental essences in process of involution. He holds a position (in relation to a Heavenly Man) analogous to that held by the different elementals that go to the make-up of man’s three bodies, physical, astral and mental, and he is—like all manifesting beings—threefold in his nature, but involutionary. Therefore, man and devas (differentiating the devas from the lesser Builders) form the SOUL of a Heavenly Man. Other lives form his BODY, and it is with body and soul that we are concerned in these two divisions of our thesis on FIRE. One group manifests the fire of matter, the other group the fire of mind, for the devas are the personification of the active universal mind, even though man is considered manasic in a different sense. Man bridges in essence; the devas bridge in matter.

  In connection with Man the cycles are equally threefold:

  1. The Monadic cycle, which corresponds in man to the 100 years of Brahma, and to a planetary scheme.

  2. The Egoic cycle.

  3. The Personality cycle.

  In these thoughts on cycles we have opened up a vast range of thought, especially if we link the idea of egoic and personality cycles to the vaster periods in connection with a planetary Logos. The idea is capable of vast expansion, and is governed by certain fundamental ideas that must be carefully considered and contemplated.

  [303] The cycles in a man’s personality manifestation demonstrate in groups of fours and sevens, and follow the usual evolutionary sequence, as: