A Treatise on Cosmic Fire

by Alice A Bailey

  d. On the building of the Causal Body.

  We enter now upon one of the most vitally practical parts of our Treatise on Fire, that which deals with the building of the causal body, or body of manifestation of the Ego. It concerns the work of the solar Angels, or the true self-conscious Identity, man. If the student has in any way apprehended the general trend of the earlier pages, he will now be in a condition of mind which will enable him to interpret all that is said in terms of energy, or of that vibratory activity which is produced by the three major phases of electrical phenomena, the union which produces that divine manifestation called Man, or, when the aggregated units are considered, the human kingdom.

  (a) Introductory remarks. We have studied somewhat the constitution of the Triangles, or Pitris, Who, through self-sacrifice, endow man with self-consciousness, building his egoic vehicle out of Their own essence. We [808] have touched briefly upon the lunar Pitris, who endow man with his lower sheaths and principles through which the energy of the solar Lords may make itself felt, and we shall now proceed to study three things:

  First, the effect of the higher energy upon the lower bodies, as it gradually makes itself felt during the evolutionary process, and thus simultaneously “redeems” man in an occult sense, and also “elevates” the lunar Pitris.

  Second, the effect of this energy on the mental plane in the development and unfoldment of the egoic lotus.

  Third, the awakening to activity of the central Life within the lotus. This activity demonstrates in a twofold manner:

  a. As the realisation by the man on the physical plane within the physical brain of his divine nature, resulting in a consequent demonstration of divinity upon earth, prior to liberation.

  b. As the conscious activity of the individual Ego on the mental plane in co-operation with its group or groups.

  In the first case, we have the effect of the egoic life upon its sheaths, and their subsequent control, and in the second case we have the self-awakening of the egoic unit on its own plane; in the third case, we have a group realisation, or the entrance by the unit into the consciousness of the Heavenly Man.

  It will not be possible to do more than indicate broad general lines of development. The subject of egoic evolution cannot be fully comprehended until after initiation, but it is felt now by the Teachers on the inner side that the main principles had better be given out at once in view of the unexpected development (since the opening of this century) of two great sciences:

  The Science of Electricity. The investigations of scientists [809] have been greatly stimulated by the discovery of radium, which is an electrical phenomenon of a certain kind, and by the knowledge this discovery brought of the radioactive substances; the development of the many methods of utilising electricity has also greatly aided. This science has brought man to the threshold of a discovery which will revolutionise world thought on these matters, and which will eventually solve a great part of the economic problem, thus leaving many more persons free for mental growth and work. This expansion of knowledge can be looked for before one hundred and fifty years have transpired.

  The Science of Psychology. The psycho-analytic theories which (though indicative of progress) are yet tending in a wrong direction, may prove disastrous to the higher development of the race unless the true nature of the “psyche” is elucidated. When the public mind has apprehended, even cursorily, the following briefly stated facts, the trend of popular education, the object of political science, and the goal of economic and social endeavour will take a new and better direction. These facts might be summed up in the following postulates:

  I. Man is in essence divine. (259) This has ever been enunciated throughout the ages, but remains as yet a beautiful theory or belief, and not a proven scientific fact, nor is it universally held. [810]

  II. Man is in fact a fragment of the Universal Mind, or world soul, (S. D., I, Proem., pp. 42-44.) and as a fragment is thus partaker of the instincts and quality of that soul, as it manifests through the human family. Therefore, unity is only possible upon the plane of mind. This, if true, must lead to the tendency to develop within the physical brain a conscious realisation of group affiliations on the mental plane, a conscious recognition of group relationships, ideals and goal, and a conscious manifestation of that continuity of consciousness which is the object of evolution at this time. It will further produce the transference of the race consciousness from the physical plane to the mental, and a consequent solving through “knowledge, love, and sacrifice” of all present problems. This will bring about emancipation from the present physical plane disorder. It must lead to the education of the public as to the nature of man, and the development of the powers latent within him—powers which will set him free from his present limitations, and which will produce in the human family a collective repudiation of the present conditions. When men everywhere recognise themselves and each other, as divine self-conscious units, functioning primarily in the causal body but utilising the three lower vehicles only as a means of contact with the three lower planes, we will have government, politics, economics and the social order readjusted upon sound, sane and divine lines.

  III. Man in his lower nature, and in his three vehicles, is an aggregate of lesser lives, dependent upon him for their group nature, for their type of activity, and collective response, and who— [811] through the energy or activity of the solar Lord—will themselves later be raised, and developed to the human stage.

  When these three facts are understood, then and only then will we have a right and just comprehension of the nature of man.

  Again, this realisation will bring about three changes in the thought of the age:

  (1) A readjustment of the medical knowledge of man, resulting in a truer understanding of the physical body, of its treatment, and of its protection, and thus producing a juster apprehension of the laws of health. The aim of the physician will then be to find out what it is in a man’s life which is preventing egoic energy from flooding every part of his being; to find out what lines of thought are being indulged in which are causing that inertia of the will aspect which is so conducive to wrongdoing; to ascertain what it is in the emotional body which is affecting the nervous system, and thus obstructing the flow of energy from the love petals of the egoic lotus (via the astral permanent atom) to the astral body, and from thence to the nervous system; to discover what is the hindrance in the etheric body which is preventing the right flow of prana, or of solar vitality to every part of the body.

  It is essential that in days to come medical men should realise that disease in the physical body is incidental to wrong internal conditions. This is already being somewhat considered but the whole question will remain but a beautiful theory (even though an incontrovertible one in view of the achievements of mental scientists and of the various faith healers) until the true nature of the ego, its constitution, its powers, and its field of influence are duly apprehended.

  This revelation will come when medical men accept this [812] teaching as a working hypothesis, and then begin to note, for instance, the powers of endurance shown by the great souls of the earth, and their capacity to work at high pressure, and to remain practically immune from disease until (at the close of a long life of usefulness) the Ego deliberately chooses to “die-out” of physical existence. It will come when the medical profession concentrates upon preventative action, substituting sunshine, a vegetarian diet, and the application of the laws of magnetic vibration and vitality for the present regimen of drugs and surgical operations. Then will come the time when finer and better human beings will manifest on earth. When also physicians learn the nature of the etheric body, and the work of the spleen as a focal point for pranic emanations, then sound principles and methods will be introduced which will do away with such diseases as tuberculosis, debility, malnutrition and the diseases of the blood and of the kidneys. When doctors comprehend the effect of the emotions upon the nervous system, they will turn their attention to the amelioration of envi
ronal conditions, and will study the effects of the emotional currents upon the fluids of the body, and primarily upon the great nerve centres, and the spinal column. When the connection between the dense physical and the subtler bodies is a fact established in medical circles, then will the right treatment of lunacy, of obsessions, and of wrong mental conditions be better comprehended, and the results more successful; finally, when the nature of egoic force, or of energy is studied, and the function of the physical brain as the transmitter of egoic intent is better comprehended, then the coordination of man’s entire being will be studied, and illness, debility and disease, will be traced to their just cause, and will be treated through the cause and not just through the effect.

  (2) The entire social world of thought will apply itself to the understanding of the emotional nature of [813] humanity, to the group relationships involved, and to the interaction between individuals and other individuals, between groups and other groups. These relationships will be interpreted wisely and broadly and a man will be taught his responsibility to the lesser lives which he ensouls. This will produce a just direction of individual force, and its utilisation for the stabilisation, the development, and the refining of the substance of the different vehicles. Men will also be taught their definite responsibility under law to their own individual families. This will bring about the protection of the family unit, and its scientific development; it will cause the elimination of marital troubles, and the abolition of abuses of different kinds, so prevalent now in many family circles.

  Responsibility to the community in which a man is placed will likewise be emphasised. Men will be taught the true esoteric meaning of citizenship—a citizenship based upon egoic group relations, the law of rebirth, and the real meaning of the law of karma. They will be taught national responsibility, and the place of the community within the nation, and of the nation within the comity of nations. Men will finally be taught their responsibility to the animal kingdom. This will be brought about in three ways:

  1. Man’s truer understanding of his own animal nature.

  2. A comprehension of the laws of individualisation, and the effect of the influence of the fourth, or human, kingdom upon the third, or animal, kingdom.

  3. The work of an Avatar of a lesser order Who will come in the beginning of the next century to reveal to man his relationship to the third kingdom. His way is being prepared by the many who in these days are developing public interest through the [814] various societies for the benefit and protection of animals, and through the many stories to be found in books and current periodicals.

  We are told by H. P. B. (S. D., III, 580.) that the sense of responsibility is one of the first indications of egoic control, and as more and more of the human family come under egoic influence, conditions will be bettered slowly and steadily in every department of life.

  (3) In the educational world an apprehension of man’s true nature will bring about a fundamental change in the methods of teaching. The emphasis will be laid upon teaching people the fact of the Ego on its own plane, the nature of the lunar bodies, and the methods of aligning the lower bodies so that the Ego can communicate direct with the physical brain, and thus control the lower nature and work out its purposes. Men will be taught how, through concentration and meditation, they can ascertain knowledge for themselves, can develop the intuition, and thus draw upon the resources of the Ego. Then will men be taught to think, to assume control of the mental body, and thus develop their latent powers.

  In the above few remarks are indicated very briefly and inadequately the results which may be looked for from a true understanding of the essential nature of man. It has been written in view of the necessity these days of a statement as to the real or inner man, and as to the laws of the kingdom of God. That inner man has ever been known to be there, and the “kingdom within” has ever been proclaimed until H. P. B. came and gave out the same old truths from a new angle, giving an occult turn to mystic thought. Now comes the opportunity for man to realise the laws of his own being, and in that realisation those who stand on the verge of intuitional apprehension of knowledge and those of scientific bent who are willing to accept these truths as a working [815] hypothesis to be utilised as a basis for experiment until proven false, will have the chance to solve the world problems from within. Thus will the Christ principle be manifested upon earth, and thus will the Christ nature be demonstrated to be a fact in nature itself.

  The value to the public thought of a true explanation of the evolution of the Ego, and its gradually developing power on earth is very great. There are two ways in which man may view this matter, both of which provide food for meditation, and well merit serious consideration. Both of them have been somewhat dealt with by thinkers of many schools of thought, and hence do not require any lengthy elucidation. The problem may be regarded as one calling for the elevation of the inner consciousness of the human unit (functioning in the physical body) to the higher levels of the mental plane, and therefore involves a raising or expansion of his waking consciousness till it becomes aware of this higher life. This is the way of mystical approach, and many instances of its successful accomplishment can be studied in the lives of the mystics of all ages. By sheer devotion and strenuous application, and by a severe disciplining of the physical body, the mystic effects his entrance into the heart centre of his little system, and his life becomes irradiated by the beams of his own central sun—the egoic light divine. The problem may again be regarded as one in which the effort of the man is concentrated in an attempt to bring down into the physical brain consciousness, and thus on to the physical plane, the life and power and energy of the inner centre, the Ego. This involves necessarily a scientific apprehension of the laws of being, and a recognition of the dual nature of the Self. It involves a devotion to the work of bringing about a domination of the lunar lords through the radiant control of the solar Lord. This is the occult method. It is the method of studying the constitution of those entities who form the [816] fourfold lower nature, the personality, and a close investigation of those divine Essences Who build the body of the Ego or higher self. To this must be added a severe application of the laws of nature to the individual problem.

  What is proposed in this Treatise is to follow the latter method, as the aim is to make clear the rationale of the process.

  (b) The evolution of the petals. The building of the causal body is the result of dual energy, that of the lower self with its reflex action upon the higher unit, and that of the natural energy of the self as it makes its direct impress upon the substance of the egoic lotus. It should here be remembered that, subtle though the material may be, the egoic lotus is as truly substance of a particular vibration as is the physical body, only (owing to its rarity) physical plane man regards it practically as nonsubstantial. It is in fact, as earlier pointed out, the result of the dual vibration of the fivefold Dhyanis or Gods in conjunction with the fourfold Quaternary, or the Pitris of the lower vehicles. Through a conscious effort of the planetary Logoi, these Dhyanis and lower Pitris are brought into a close relationship. This produces (upon the third subplane of the mental plane) a ninefold vibration or whorl in the gaseous matter of the plane—for this is the cosmic gaseous subplane—which, after a certain period of persistence, assumes the form of a nine-petalled lotus. This lotus is folded over in bud shape upon the central point, or heart of the lotus—that spark of electric fire which by its action or innate vitality working upon the substance of the lotus, attracts to itself sufficient of that substance to form three inner petals, which closely shield the central spark; these are nevertheless of the same substance or essence as the nine other petals. The student must be careful not to materialise his concept too much and it might therefore be wise for him to view

  CHART VIII - THE EGOIC LOTUS AND THE CENTRES - COSMIC PHYSICAL PLANE

  [818] this manifestation from other angles and employ other terms to express the same idea. For instance, the body of the Ego may be viewed in the following four w
ays:

  As nine vibrations, emanating from a central point, which, in its pulsation or radiations produces three major vibrations of great force pursuing a circular activity around the centre; the nine vibrations pursue a diagonal path until they reach the periphery of the egoic sphere of influence. At this point they swing around, thus forming the well-known spheroidal form of the causal body.

  As nine petals of a lotus, radiating from a common centre, and hiding within themselves three central petals, which conceal a central point of fire. The radiations from the tip of each petal are those which cause the illusion of a spheroidal shape.

  As nine spokes of a wheel, converging towards a central hub, which is in itself threefold, and which hides the central energy or dynamo of force—the generator of all the activity.

  As nine types of energy which produce definite emanations from a threefold unit, again itself an outgoing from a central unit of force.

  For all purposes, the second definition will be the one of the most use to us in our attempt to picture the constitution, nature, method of development and true evolution of the Ego, functioning in the causal body.

  In terms of fire, the same truths may be expressed as follows, and this should be carefully pondered upon by the student of this Treatise: