A Treatise on Cosmic Fire

by Alice A Bailey

  a. Lack of sustained will or concentration,

  b. Lack of alignment with the Ego,

  c. A weakness of co-ordination between the two parts of the physical vehicle.

  The logoic Phrase - The gaseous body. Fifth plane The plane of the logoic mantram of 35 stanzas.

  The gaseous form of the solar system now appears, and the energy centres become veiled and hidden. Accretion and concretion rapidly proceeds. The three groups of builders co-ordinate their efforts afresh and a new influx of energy—bearing devas from the logoic head centre—pours in. The lesser builders respond to the logoic mantram chanted anew at each manvantara, and the seven streams of energy from the seven logoic centres are directed downwards.

  The logoic Song of Love or Desire - The logoic liquid body. The Sixth plane A poem in forty-two verses.

  This song or vibration causes the bringing in of a body of devas from the logoic heart centre to swell the efforts of those already active. The liquid body of the solar Logos appears, and the form exists in its six differentiations. Concretion is very rapid, and activity is considerably more violent owing to the greater density of the accruing substance.

  The logoic Book of Life Seventh plane Exists in forty-nine chapters.

  The entire form stands revealed. During evolution it must manifest its purpose and its nature. A third group [929] of devas from the logoic throat centre appear, and cooperate with their brothers. All the fires are burning, all the centres are active, and every petal, forty-nine in number, on the fourth plane of Buddhi is producing a reflex activity upon the dense physical plane.

  Men, when occupied in creation of any kind, and in the process of producing forms on earth which embody an idea, work along similar lines. The analogy is perfect.

  In connection with those human beings who create nothing, but who are only swept into activity under the urge of circumstance—and they are the bulk of the human race—it should be pointed out that they are a part of the creative activity of some greater, and more advanced, entity. As self-conscious evolution proceeds, more and more of the human family will become creators and intelligent workers in connection with deva substance. In the initial stages, therefore, of their dissociation from a passive attitude, there will be found a revolt against law and order, a refusal to be governed, and an ability evidenced to follow out an individual concept at the expense of the group, great or small. This apparent defect, evolution itself and experience will remedy, and as the consciousness becomes alive to higher vibrations the man will become aware of the purpose and plan of the Intelligence of his group. He will awaken to the beauty of that plan and will begin to submerge his own interests in the greater, and to co-operate intelligently. The creative power which had before been of a separative nature will be offered as a willing sacrifice to the greater energy, and his small plans and ideas will be merged in the greater ones. He will no longer, however, be a passive unit, swept hither and thither by the energy of his group, but will become a positive, active potent force, self-immolated through intelligent recognition of the greater plan.

  He will become alive to the fact that there are living [930] forces in nature. As the greater energy thrills through him, his own latent powers are awakened. He sees and knows the deva forces and can consequently work with them intelligently. Some he will control and manipulate, with others he will co-operate, and others still he will obey.

  It is in the realisation of these facts anent deva substance, the power of sound, the law of vibration, and the ability to produce forms in conformity with law, that the true magician can be seen. Herein too lies one of the distinctions to be found between magicians of the Good Law, and those of the Left-hand Path. A white magician can control and manipulate deva substance, and he proceeds to do it through an intelligent co-operation with the greater builders. Owing to the purity and holiness of his life, and the height of his own vibration, he can contact them in some one or other of their grades. The magician of the shadows controls and manipulates deva substance on the astral and physical plane and on the lower levels of the mental plane through the force of his own vibration and knowledge, but not through co-operation with the directing builders. He cannot contact them, as his character is impure through selfishness, and his vibration is too low; his power therefore is limited and destructive, yet immense within certain restrictions.

  The devas of the etheric doubles fall into two groups. They are those who are the lesser builders, and who, under direction from the greater builders, form the etheric doubles of all that can be seen and all that is tangible on the dense physical plane. They exist in vast hosts and are omnipresent; they gather and build the material needed to form the etheric double of everything, and they do this under certain laws and work under certain restrictions. They are called in occult phraseology “the listening devas,” for they are the ones who pick up that particular note and tone from the transmitters of [931] the physical plane sound which is needed to gather the substance for any intended material form. Again, they are spoken of as “having ears but seeing not.” They work in close co-operation with the elementals of the dense physical body. This second group are spoken of as the “seeing elementals,” for they exist in matter of the three lower subplanes and can therefore see on the objective plane in the occult sense which always implies an analogy between sight and knowledge. The “listening builders” gather the material; the “seeing elementals” take that gathered material, and build it into any specific form. They exist in many groups according to their point in evolution, and some of them might be tabulated as follows:

  1. The builders of the human vehicle.

  This is the highest group of lesser builders, who are highly specialised. These will be dealt with somewhat in detail later.

  2. The builders of the forms in the three kingdoms of nature in their two divisions.

  First. The builders of the mineral kingdom. These are the workers occultly called “the elemental alchemists.” They are in many groups connected with the differing elements, metals, chemicals, and minerals, and with what are called active and radioactive substances. They are the custodians of two secrets, that of the immetalisation of the Monad, and the secret of the transmutation of metals.

  Second. The builders of the vegetable kingdom. They exist in many groups and are termed “the surface alchemists” and “the bridging units.” They build the doubles of every form of vegetable life, and just as the “alchemists” of the mineral kingdom are mostly concerned with the action of fire, these other alchemical workers are concerned with the liquid action of divine [932] manifestation. They work, therefore, in co-operation with the devas of the waters, or liquid substance, whilst the earlier mentioned group work with the gaseous devas. A hint is here conveyed, but greater expansion of the statement is not possible, owing to the danger of the knowledge to be reached. With them is hidden three secrets: One is concerned with the earlier solar system, or the green solar system; another deals with the laws of bridging, or the interaction between the kingdoms of nature, and the third is connected with the history of the second round; this secret when revealed will make clear why man (under the law) should be a vegetarian and not carnivorous. Scientists are learning already certain things connected with the second secret, and they may hope, as the knowledge of the significance of colour is extended, to glean hints as to the first. The third secret will not be indicated more clearly till the sixth race is living upon earth.

  Third. The builders of all animal etheric forms. These are a group closely allied with those who build the human form. They came in force from a reservoir of energy which was kept in a quiescent condition until the physical condition of any particular scheme warranted their activity. With them came in much that accounts for the present sad condition, for much of the fear, hatred, and destructive condition to be found among the animals is caused by their bodies being built, and the work of evolution carried on by the “imperfect gods” (as H. P. B. expresses it) working in imperfect matter as yet imperfectly mani
pulated. The secret of fear is hidden in the etheric body, and the particular type of substance out of which it may be built.

  3. The builders of the planetary etheric web.

  Their work is exceedingly obscure and exists in three divisions: [933]

  a. The materialisation of the web. This is only perfected by the fourth round, and was purposely hurried in connection with our planet owing to karmic conditions, and under the law of spiritual necessity. A correspondence to this can be seen in the case of man himself. The etheric web was very loosely co-ordinated in man at the beginning of the fourth rootrace. Spiritual necessity forced its rapid consolidation, and it is now so constituted that it forms a barrier between the physical and the astral plane.

  b. The preservation of the planetary web. This will be continued until the sixth round. During this period spiritual evolution proceeds with a certain degree of planetary safety, for the web protects from certain solar influences, and acts largely as a sifter and a distributor of solar forces.

  c. The destruction of the web. This takes place towards the end of planetary evolution, thus permitting the escape of the imprisoned planetary life and the absorption of the life essence into its synthesiser. The process of destruction can only be described in the words perforation and disintegration.

  4. The builders of the etheric body of the planetary Entity.

  This great involutionary life must remain for many aeons a mystery. His etheric body is now in process of building, and only in another solar system will he assume definite physical form. Sufficient energy has not yet been generated to permit of his manifestation objectively. He remains as yet subjective. He has his solar correspondence. [934]

  5. The builders of the planetary body.

  This proceeds under the same law as that of the solar system and of man, but, as in the solar system, it proceeds upon the higher planes. Students are here recommended to trace the relation between the solar and cosmic planes in this specific connection.

  6. The etheric doubles of all that man creates.

  These are a special group of etheric builders who, under karma, are forced to act in conjunction with human beings.

  These are but a few out of the many groups possible to touch upon; it is needless further to enlarge, as no substantial profit will eventuate from the impartation of further information. Only the briefest indications can be given and touched upon. It is neither safe nor advisable as yet to impart to men knowledge anent the workers in etheric matter, which would enable them to contact them, nor is it wise as yet to link up coherently the scattered facts already given in different occult books. Science is treading on the borderland of discovery, and trespassing already into the domain of the building devas. Caution is needed. Yet if the hints given above are studied, if the various secrets of the builders are pondered upon, and if the esoteric side of Masonry is carefully and persistently meditated upon, the work of the Great Architect and His many assistants will stand forth in a clearer and a fuller light. One hint may here be given, forgetting not that the work is twofold:

  The construction of the tabernacle, or the building of the temporary forms is the work of the Divine Carpenter, whilst the building of the Temple of Solomon, or the construction of the more permanent structure is the work of the Supervising Architect. One concerns operative, and the other speculative Masonry in the true esoteric significance of the word.

  [935] The devas who form the etheric doubles of all objects out of their own substance must also be considered. These builders are the sumtotal of all physical plane substance, and constitute the matter of the etheric levels of the physical plane. They exist, therefore, in four groups, and each group has a curious karmic relation to one of the four kingdoms in nature:

  Group. Plane. Kingdom.

  First One Human

  Second Two Animal

  Third Three Vegetable

  Fourth Four. Mineral

  The substance of the highest physical form of a human being is therefore atomic. The Master’s physical body is made of atomic matter, and when He wishes to materialise it on the dense physical plane, He forms a sheath of gaseous substance upon that atomic matter, perfect in its delineation of all the known physical traits. The substance of the highest form of animal body is that of the second ether, and herein is to be found a clue as to the relation between all sea and watery forms to the animal. The highest form of body possible for the vegetable form of life is that of the third ether. These facts will be demonstrated in the seventh round when the present three kingdoms of nature—the human, the animal, and the vegetable will objectively exist in etheric matter; that will be for them their densest manifestation. The mineral kingdom will find its highest manifestation in matter of the fourth ether, and this transmutation is already taking place, for all the radioactive substances now being discovered are literally becoming matter of the fourth ether. The mineral kingdom is relatively nearing its possible manvantaric perfection, and by the time the seventh round is reached all mineral lives (not forms) [936] will have been transferred to another planet. This will not be so with the other three kingdoms.

  The etheric deva substance is acted upon in two ways:

  It is awakened into a specific activity by the sounding of the physical plane word, and it is built into forms by the lesser builders.

  It will, therefore, be apparent that it comes under the influence of two types of force or energy.

  We will now briefly take up the subject of the work of the devas who build man’s etheric and dense physical body. By dividing our thoughts into two sections, we may be able to cover the ground somewhat more easily, dealing first with the building devas and the microcosm and then with the lesser builders of the etheric levels.

  d. The Elementals and the Microcosm.

  Man and the building devas. Man, in the process of evolution, as he pursues the method of reincarnation, works with four types of builders and three major grades of building essence or deva substance.

  He connects with the transmitting devas who are found in connection with the microcosm on the fourth subplane of the mental plane, and on the atomic subplanes of the astral and physical plane. He connects next with the devas concerned with:

  1. The mental unit.

  2. The astral permanent atom.

  3. The physical permanent atom.

  He co-operates with the work of the building devas who form the etheric body, and influences the building devas of the dense physical substances, so that the necessary physical vehicle for his objective manifestation becomes an actuality.

  These are the four main groups of devas which come under the influence of any particular Ego. They unitedly [937] produce the lower man, and bring into manifestation the Personality, that reflection of the Ego and shadow of the Monad. The three grades of building essence which are built into forms through the activity of the above four groups are here briefly recognised as the mental substance, built into the mental body, the astral substance, built into the astral vehicle and the matter of the physical body. These seven groups form, in their totality, what we might call the Brahma aspect of the microcosm.

  From another point of view, we may be considered as studying the action of the solar Angel, or Lord, upon the lunar angels, and the process whereby the solar Lord imposes a certain rhythm and vibration upon different aspects of lower manifestation. Esoterically, this is all hidden in the words of a very ancient writing, which says:

  “As the moon revolves, she reflects. As she reflects, she causes response in that which failed to radiate. These three, the Sun, the Moon, and the Mother, produce that which pursues a tiny cycle, and burns.”

  The first step of the Ego towards producing a “shadow” is expressed in the words “The Ego sounds his note.” He utters his voice, and (as in the logoic process) the lesser “army of the voice” responds immediately to it. According to the tone and quality of the voice, so is the nature of the responsive agents. According to the depth or height of the note, and according to its volu
me, so is the status or grade of building deva which replies to the call. This egoic note produces, therefore, certain effects:

  It sweeps into activity devas who proceed to transmit the sound. They utter a word.

  It reaches the listening devas of the second grade who take up the word and proceed to elaborate it into what might be called a mantric phrase. The building process definitely begins in a sequential threefold manner. The [938] mental body begins to co-ordinate in three stages. All the building stages overlap. When, for instance, the co-ordination of the mental body is in its second stage, the first stage of astral concretion begins. This is carried on for seven stages (three major and four minor) which overlap in an intricate fashion. Again, when the second stage is reached, a vibration is produced which awakens response in etheric matter on the physical plane, and the builders of the etheric double commence their activity. Again the process is repeated. When the second stage of the work of these etheric devas is begun, conception takes place upon the physical plane. This is a very important point to be remembered, for it brings the entire process of human birth definitely into line with established karmic law. It shows the close connection between that which is subjective and that which is tangible and seen. The building of the physical body proceeds like that of the three stages during the prenatal period:

  a. The work of the building devas during the three and a half months prior to the realisation of life. This period sees the third stage of the building of the etheric body entered upon.

  b. The building work of the next three and a half months of the gestation period.

  c. The final process of concretion carried on through the remaining two months.

  Students will here find it interesting to trace out the correspondence in this method of producing evolutionary manifestation in a planetary scheme with its rounds and races, and in a solar system with its manvantaras and greater cycles.