Compilation Kundalini
(WM 391) Agni controls not only the fires of the earth
and rules the mental plane but he is definitely associated with [Page 391] the work
of arousing the sacred fire, the kundalini. Note how the correspondence
works out. A great part of the fifth
root-race, three-fifths perhaps, stand close to the Probationary Path, and with the coming in of the new age and
the advent of the Christ in due time and in His own place (note the care with
which I express this; dogmatic assertions in terms of men's concrete minds are
inadvisable) many will find it possible to make the adequate extra effort,
entailed in the taking of the first major Initiation.
They will begin to pass from the fifth to the fourth plane. The Lord of Fire will achieve his peculiar
work for this cycle by arousing the fire of kundalini
in the large numbers
of those who are ready. This will be begun
in this century, and
carried forward actively for the next one thousand years.
(CF 514) The mental unit, having a
position within the causal body analogous to the planet furthermost from
the sun, becomes
vibrant likewise, and the two other points (considered now as one) begin to
interact with the mental unit, and a similar process is set up and is pursued
until these two points—circulating around their positive
centre—also approach each other, blend, merge, and dissolve. The
centre of positive life gathers or synthesises the three points, and thus the three
fires of the personality
repeat on their tiny scale the microcosmic procedure as seen in the synthesis
of electric fire, solar fire, and fire by friction, and only a blazing unit is
left. This blazing unit, through the
combined heat of its being, burns up the causal body, and escapes back on to
the planes of abstraction. Thus man is
the Path itself, and also the pilgrim upon the Path; thus does he burn, but is
also the burning-ground.
(CF 134-139) DIVISION D - KUNDALINI
AND THE SPINE
KUNDALINI AND THE
SPINE
I. Kundalini and the three triangles.
1. In the head.
2. In the body.
3. At the base of the spine.
II. The arousing
of Kundalini.
Very briefly,
owing to the impossibility of revealing much on this necessarily dangerous
subject, we will consider the subject of kundalini
and the spine.
We must remember
here that we are dealing with the etheric counterpart of the spine, and not
with the bony structure which we call the spine or spinal column. This is a fact not sufficiently recognised by
those who treat of the matter. Too much
emphasis has been laid on the three spinal channels that compose the threefold
spinal cord.
These channels are
important in connection with the [Page 135] nervous system of the man, but in
relation to the matter in hand, they are not primarily so important as the
etheric channel, which is the unit enclosing these three. Therefore, we must strictly remember that we
are dealing with
a. The etheric
channel,
b. The fire that
passes up the channel,
c. The conjunction of this
fire with the radiatory energising fire of the physical body at the point
between the shoulder blades,
d. Their united
ascension into the head,
e. Their blending eventually
with the manasic fire
which energises the three head centres.
I. KUNDALINI AND
THE THREE TRIANGLES
The fire
energising the triangle in the head is the higher correspondence to the
triangle of prana, midway in the body, and its lower reflection at the base of
the spine. We have, therefore, in the
human unit three important triangles:
1. In the head: The
triangle of the three major centres,
a. The pineal
gland,
b. The pituitary
body,
c. The alta major centre.
2. In the body: The triangle
of prana,
a. Between the shoulders,
b. Above the diaphragm,
c. The spleen.
3. At the base of the spine:
The three lower centres,
a. A point at the
bottom of the spinal column.
b. and c. The two major sex organs in the
male and female.62
[Page 136]
The merging
of the fires of matter and the fires of mind results in the energising of the sumtotal
of the atoms of the matter of the body. This is the
secret of the immense staying power of the great thinkers and workers of the
race. It results also in a tremendous stimulation
of the three higher centres in the body, the head, the heart, the throat and in the electrification of this area of
the body. These higher centres then form
a field of attraction for the downflow of the third fire, that of Spirit.
The many-petalled head centre at the top of the head becomes exceedingly
active. It is the synthetic head centre,
and the sumtotal of all the other centres. The stimulation of the centres throughout the
body is paralleled or duplicated by the concurrent vivification of the
many-petalled lotus. It is the meeting
place of the three fires, those of the body, of the mind, and of the Spirit.
The at-one-ment with the Ego is completed when it is fully stimulated,
and combustion then ensues; this is duplicated in the subtler vehicles and
causes the final consummation and the liberation of Spirit.
The merging of the
fires of matter is the result of evolutionary growth, when left to the normal,
slow development that time alone can bring.
The junction of the two fires of matter is effected early in the history of man, and is the cause of the rude health that
the clean-living, high-thinking man should normally enjoy. When the fires of matter have passed (united) still further along
the etheric spinal channel they contact the fire of manas as it radiates from the throat
centre. Clarity of thought is here essential, and it
will be necessary to elucidate somewhat this rather abstruse subject.
1. The three major
head centres (from the physical standpoint) are the:
a. Alta centre,
b. Pineal gland,
c. Pituitary body.
[Page 137]
2. They form a manasic
triangle, after their
juncture with the two fires of the two lower triangles, i.e., when they become synthetic.
3. But the purely
manasic triangle prior
to this merging is,
a. The throat
centre,
b. The pineal
gland,
c. Pituitary body.
This is during the
period when the human unit consciously aspires and throws his will on the side
of evolution, thus making his life constructive.
The other
fire of matter (the dual fire) is attracted upward, and merges with the fire of mind through a junction effected
at the alta major centre. This centre
is situated at the base of the skull, and there is a slight gap between this centre and the
point at which the fires of matter issue from the spinal
channel. Part of the work the man who is developing
thought power has to do, is to build a temporary channel in etheric matter to
bridge the gap. This channel is the
reflection in physical matter of the antaskarana63 that the Ego has to build in
order to bridge the gap between the lower and higher mental, between the causal vehicle on the third
subplane of the mental plane, and the manasic permanent atom on the first
subplane. This is the work that all advanced thinkers
are unconsciously doing now. When the
gap is completely [Page 138] bridged, man's body becomes co-ordinated with the mental
body and the fires
of mind and of matter are blended. It completes
the perfecting of the personality life, and as earlier said, this perfecting
brings a man to the portal of initiation—initiation being the seal set upon
accomplished work; it marks the end of one lesser cycle of development, and the
beginning of the transference of the whole work to a still higher spiral.
We must always
bear in mind that the fires from the base of the spine and the
splenic triangle are fires of matter. We must not
lose this recollection nor get confused.
They have no spiritual effect, and concern themselves solely with the
matter in which the centres of force are located. These centres of force are always
directed by manas or mind, or by the conscious effort of the
indwelling entity; but that entity is held back in the effects he seeks to
achieve until the vehicles through which he is seeking expression, and their
directing, energising centres, make adequate response. Hence it is only in due course of evolution,
and when the matter of these vehicles is energised sufficiently by its own
latent fires that he can accomplish his long-held purpose. Hence again the need of the ascension of the
fire of matter to its own place, and its resurrection from its long burial and
seeming prostitution before it can be united with its Father in Heaven, the
third Logos, Who is the Intelligence of matter itself. The correspondence, again, holds good. Even the atom of the physical plane has its
goal, its initiations and its ultimate triumph.
Other angles of
this subject, such as the centres and their relationship to manas, the fire of
Spirit and manas, and the eventual blending of the three fires, will be dealt
with in our next two main divisions. In
this division we are confining ourselves to the study of matter and fire, and
must not digress, or confusion will ensue.
[Page 139]
II. THE AROUSING
OF KUNDALINI
How this fire at
the base of the spine can be aroused, the form its progression should take
(dependent upon the Ray), the blending of the fire with pranic fire and their subsequent united progression, are
things of the past with many, and fortunately for the race, the work was achieved without conscious
effort. The second blending with the
fire of manas has to be effected. Scarcely as yet have men succeeded in
directing the fire up more than one channel of the threefold column; hence two-thirds
of its effect in the
majority is yet confined to the stimulation of the organs of race
propagation. Only when the fire has circled unimpeded up
another channel is the complete merging with the fire of manas
effected, and only
when it progresses geometrically up all the three—with simultaneous action and
at uniform vibration—is the true kundalini
fire fully aroused, and therefore able to perform its work of cleansing
through the burning of the confining web and of the separating particles. When this is accomplished the threefold
channel becomes one channel. Hence the danger.
No more can be
imparted concerning this subject. He who
directs his efforts to the control of the fires of matter, is (with a dangerous
certainty) playing with a fire that may literally destroy him. He
should not cast his eyes backwards, but should lift them to the plane where
dwells his immortal Spirit, and then by self-discipline, mind-control and a
definite refining of his material bodies, whether subtle or physical, fit
himself to be a vehicle for the divine birth, and participate in the first
Initiation. When the Christ-child (as
the Christian so beautifully expresses it) has been born in the cave of the
heart, then that divine guest can consciously control the lower material bodies
by means of consecrated mind. Only when
buddhi has assumed an ever-increasing control [Page 140] of the personality,
via the mental plane (hence the need of building the antaskarana), will the
personality respond to that which is above, and the lower fires mount and
blend with the two higher. Only when Spirit, by the power
of thought, controls the material vehicles, does the subjective life assume its
rightful place, does the God within shine and blaze forth till the form is lost
from sight, and "The path of the just shine ever more and more until the
day be with us."
(CF 167) Three of these centres are called major
centres, as they embody the three aspects of the threefold Monad—Will, Love and
Intelligence:
1. The Head
centre....The Monad. Will or Power.
2. The Heart
centre...The Ego. Love
and Wisdom.
3. The Throat
centre..The Personality. Activity or Intelligence.
The other
two centres have to do primarily with the etheric body and with the astral
plane. The throat centre synthesises the entire
personality life, and is definitely connected with the mental
plane,—the three
planes, and the two higher planes, and the three centres with the two
other centres, the heart and head. Yet, we must
not forget that the centre at the base of the spine is also a synthesiser, as would normally be expected, if it is
recognised that the lowest plane of all manifestation is the point of deepest
reflection. This lowest centre, by synthesising
the fire of kundalini and the pranic fires, eventually blends and merges with the
fire of mind, and
later with the fire of Spirit, producing thus consummation.
We must disabuse
our minds of the idea that these centres are physical things. They are whirlpools of force that swirl
etheric, astral and mental matter into activity of some kind. Because the action is rotary, the result
produced in matter is a circular effect that can be seen by the clairvoyant as
fiery wheels situated:
1. In the region of the spine, the lowest part.
2. Between the ribs, just below the diaphragm.
[Page 168]
3. In the region of the left breast.
4. In the centre of the throat.
5. Just above the
top of the head.
(CF 864) It should
also be stated here that the centre between the shoulder blades is not a
sacred centre, but is
of a temporary nature, and is created by the aspirant himself during the
process of transference.
(CF 886) Suffice it to point out that the fires at the
lower centres, those below the diaphragm-have by the time
of the second initiation
usually mounted to the centre between the shoulder blades; at the second initiation they
rise as far as the head,
and all the fires of the torso are then active.
(RI 600) During
the initiatory process between the second and the third initiations, the initiate has to battle with illusion
in exactly the same sense as he earlier had to battle with glamour. Illusion
is, in the last analysis, the control of the mental processes by great
and massive thoughtforms;
this conflict persists
from the moment that the disciple has achieved mental
polarisation (at a midway point between the second and third initiations) until he stands before the Initiator at
the Sixth initiation of Decision
(RI 349) I would point out also that even the black
magician possesses these qualities, for they are the sine qua non of all
magical art, both black and white; the black magician passes
through the door of initiation as it opens twice for the first two initiations. He
passes through on the strength of his will and his character
accomplishments and
because the group-conscious aspect of the soul is active in him as in his brother seeking
affiliation with the Great White Lodge.
The love aspect is, however, lacking in the black magician. Forget not that all is energy and there is
nothing else. The energy which [Page
349] is an aspect of the soul and which we call magnetic attraction (the
group-building quality) he shares with the spiritual aspirant. He is essentially group
conscious, and though his motives are separative, his methods are those of the
group, and these he can get only from the soul.
You see again
another reason why the first and second initiations are not
regarded by the Lodge of Masters as major initiations. Only the third is so regarded, because at that initiation the entire
personality life is flooded with energy coming from the
Spiritual Triad, via the "sacrifice petals" of the will and purpose aspect of the
soul. To this type of energy the
black magician is not responsive. He can and
does respond to the knowledge—most ancient and hardly won—stored up in the
"knowledge petals" of the souls he can appropriate and utilise the
energy of attraction (erroneously called love by some students) stored
up in the "love petals" of the soul, but he cannot respond to and use the energy of
divine love, working out in the divine Plan which controls all knowledge and
converts it into wisdom, and which actuates and clarifies the motive which
brings loving magnetic attraction into action and which we call true group
consciousness and group cohesion. It is
at this point that the two ways—of darkness and of light—become widely
divergent. Until the third initiation
is taken, glamour may condition the attitude of those seeking to understand the life of a man upon
the Path, and they may mistake the spurious for the real. The black magician leads a disciplined life, analogous to that of the spiritual
aspirant; he practices purity for his own safeguarding and not in order that he
may become a channel for the energy of light; he works with power (the power of
magnetic attraction) with and in groups, but he does this for his own
selfish ends and for
the fulfillment of his own ambitious purposes.
But at the third initiation there comes to the true
spiritual initiate the
revelation which is the reward of perseverance and purity rightly motivated—the
revelation of the divine purpose, as the soul records it in terms of the
hierarchical plan, though not yet in terms of the Monad. To this purpose and [Page 350] to the loving Will
of God (to use a trite Christian phrase) the black brother cannot
respond; his aims are
different. You have here the true
meaning of the oft-used and misunderstood phrase, "the parting of the
ways."
(CF 178) When we study, therefore, the sets of triangles
earlier referred to and the periods of ray dominance, we will find much room
for thought. Let me here point out,
however, that the six groups of triangles are in all but five
if we eliminate the pranic triangle which has to do with matter itself and is not counted
any more than the dense physical is counted a principle. Therefore we have:
a. Two triangles
brought to vivification by the personality ray.
b. Two triangles
brought to vivification by the egoic ray.
c. The
synthesising triangle of the Monad.
(CF 179) a. The Heavenly Men. The
Heavenly Men, in Themselves, embody centres just as
does a human being, and on Their Own plane these centres of force can be
found. Again we need to recollect that
these centres of force on cosmic levels, and in manifestation in the objective
system, demonstrate as the great force centres of which any particular group of
adepts and Their pupils are the exponents. Every group of Masters and all the human
beings incarnate or discarnate—who are held within the periphery of Their consciousness—are centres of force of some particular
kind or quality. This is a fact
generally recognised, but students should be urged to link up this fact with
the information imparted on the centres of the human being, and see if much is
not thereby learnt. These centres of
force will demonstrate on etheric levels and on the subtler planes just as they
do in a man, and they will be vivified as are the human centres by
planetary kundalini, progressing in the desired triangles.
Two hints can here
be given for thoughtful consideration.
In connection with one of the Heavenly Men (which one cannot at this
juncture be pointed out) we have one triangle of force to be seen in the
following three centres:
a. The force
centre of which the Manu, and His group, are the expression.
b. The centre of
which the Bodhisattva or the Christ and His adherents are the focal point.
c. The centre of
which the Mahachohan and his followers are the exponents.
These three
groups form the three centres in one great triangle—a triangle which is not yet in complete
vivification at this stage of evolutionary development.
[Page 181]
Another triangle
in connection with our own planetary Logos is that formed by the seven
Kumaras—the four exoteric Kumaras corresponding to the four
minor head centres,
and the three esoteric Kumaras corresponding to the three major head centres.
The second hint I
seek to give, lies in the triangle formed by the Earth, Mars and
Mercury. In connection with this triangle, the analogy
lies in the fact that Mercury and the centre at the base of the
spine in the human being
are closely allied. Mercury
demonstrates kundalini in intelligent activity, while Mars demonstrates kundalini
latent. The truth lies hid in their two astrological
symbols. In transmutation and planetary
geometrising, the secret may be revealed.
b. The Grand Man
of the Heavens. The seven Heavenly Men
are the seven centres in the body of the Logos, bearing to Him a relationship
identical with that borne by the Masters and Their affiliated groups, to some planetary Logos. Systemic kundalini goes forward to the vivification of these
centres, and at this stage of development certain centres are more closely
allied than others. Just as in
connection with our planetary Logos, the three etheric planets of
our chain—Earth, Mercury and Mars77—form a triangle of rare importance, so it may be
here said that at the present point in evolution of the logoic
centres, Venus, Earth and Saturn form one triangle of great interest. It is a triangle that is at this time
undergoing vivification [Page 182] through the action of kundalini; it is consequently increasing the
vibratory capacity of the centres, which are becoming slowly
fourth-dimensional. It is not yet
permissible to point out others of the great triangles, but as regards the
centres, we may here give two hints:
First. Venus
corresponds to the heart centre in the body logoic, and has an inter-relationship therefore
with all the other centres in the solar system wherein the heart aspect is the one of
greater prominence.
Second. Saturn corresponds to the throat centre, or to the creative activity of the third
aspect.
(CF 299) …..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 homes to these principles. Others persist
throughout the mahamanvantara. Of these Venus is one.
(CF 300) 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.
(CF 390) Earth,
Mars Mercury triangle
(CF 370) Venus
Jupiter Earth triangle
(CF 378) Saturn is
focal point for transmission of Cosmic manas to entire
seven schemes.
Sirius influences
whole system via Uranus, Neptune and Saturn
(CF 391) Mercurian
life will begin to synthesize, and to be transferred to its synthesizing
planet. In this case of Mercury this synthesizing planet is not
Saturn, but one of the
other two major centres. (Uranus?)
(EPII 99) Saturn-mental, Mars-astral, Earth-physical of
personality of Solar Logos
(CF 389) Which centre
in the solar system is called the Earth scheme.
(EA 25) It relates finally the lowest centre at the base
of the spine to the highest centre, the head centre. This is a correspondence to the relation of
the Earth to the Sun. Think this out.
(CF 323) ….coupled
to the fact during certain stages of the evolutionary process different centres
(such as the base of the spine) are
positive to all the others, not even exluding the head centre…. (Could be Saturn-this at the fifth
initiation)
(CF 280) a
negative planet will be attracted by a positive
(CF 182) The Cosmos. Our solar
system, with the Pleiades and one of the stars of the Great Bear, form a cosmic
triangle, or an aggregation of three centres in the Body of HIM OF WHOM NAUGHT
MAY BE SAID. The seven stars in the
constellation of the Great Bear are the correspondences to the seven head
centres in the body of that Being, greater than our Logos. Again, two other systems, when
allied with the solar system and the Pleiades, make a lower quaternary which are eventually synthesised into the
seven head centres in much the same way as in the human being after the fourth
initiation.
[Page 183]
1. The base of the
spine.
2. The solar
plexus.
3. The heart.
4. The throat.
(CF 184) 3. The Centres
and Kundalini.
As stated, it is
not possible to impart much about kundalini, or the serpent fire. It might be of value, however, briefly to
enumerate what has been said:
a. Kundalini lies
at the base of the spine, and, in the normal average man, its main function is
the vitalisation of the body.
b. Kundalini
makes three at-one-ments
during the period of evolution:
1. With the radiatory fires of
the body or prana at a
point between the shoulder blades.
2. With the fires of mind at a point at the very top of
the spine, in the centre
of the back part of the throat.
3. With the fire of Spirit at the point where these two
united fires of matter and of mind issue from the top of the head.
c. Each
of the three channels
within the spinal column have for specific purpose the
blending of these threefold fires. We
need to bear in mind that the [Page 184] fires circulate, and that, at the
moment of achievement, every triangle in the
body is vivified, every centre is fully
functioning, and a threefold path of fire can be seen extending the entire length of
the backbone.
d. When kundalini
has blended with the pranic fire, the centres become three-dimensional. When it blends with mind or solar
fire and the two fires are perfectly united, the centres become fourth-dimensional. When it blends with the electric
fire of pure Spirit after the third Initiation, they take on two more dimensions.
e. Kundalini, as
it is aroused, steadily increases the vibratory action, not only of the
centres, but of every atom of matter in all the bodies—etheric, astral and
mental. This quickening of activity has
a dual effect of great interest:
1. It causes the
elimination of all matter that is coarse and unsuitable, and casts it off in
exactly the same way as a rapidly rotating wheel casts off or rejects from its
surface.
2. It sweeps into
its sphere of influence matter that is keyed to its own vibration, and builds
it into its vibratory content. This is
but a reflection of the action of the Logos in sweeping into differentiation
the matter of the solar system.
Kundalini is likewise the fire or force of matter, and therefore the
life of the third Logos.
f. Kundalini has
two effects upon the etheric web, as it is called.
1. By its gradually increasing action it purifies that etheric
form and cleanses it from "dross," as the Christian expresses it.
2. Eventually, after
the two fires of matter and the fire of mind have begun to blend (a slow and gradual process), the web
itself is destroyed [Page 185] and by the time the third Initiation
is reached, the man should have continuity of consciousness.
This is so unless for certain work and for certain specific ends, the
man consciously and willingly foregoes the burning of the web, a thing which
can be brought about by the conscious action of the will.
(CF 209) Third. A burning away, through a gradual
arousing of kundalini, and its correct geometrical
progression through the etheric web.
This produces a resultant continuity of consciousness which enables the
initiate consciously to utilise time as a factor in the plans of evolution.
(CF 210) e. By the
application of the Rod, the fire of kundalini
is aroused, and its
upward progress directed. The
fire at the base of the spine, and the fire of mind are [Page 210] directed
along certain routes,
or triangles, by the action of the Rod as it moves in
a specified manner. There is a definite
occult reason, under the Laws of Electricity, behind the known fact that every
initiate, presented to the Initiator, is accompanied by two of the Masters, who
stand one on either side of him. The
three of them together form a triangle which makes the work possible.
(CF 296) 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 [Page 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.
(CF 1129) A second factor which works into the general
scheme here is the latent triple kundalini fire which is aroused
and mounts through the triple spinal channel just as soon as the three
major centres (the head, the heart and the throat) form an esoteric triangle, and can thus pass the fiery energy hidden
in each centre in circulatory fashion.
To summarise therefore: we have
perfected alignment just as soon as the following factors have been put in
touch with each other, or as soon as their motion or activity is synthesised;
this is a most important subject for students of meditation, and for those who
tread the Path of attainment to consider and practically realise.
1. The three tiers
of petals.
2. The three
sheaths.
3. The three
major centres.
4. The threefold
Kundalini fire.
5. The threefold
spinal channel.
6. The three head
centres, the pineal gland, the pituitary body, the alta
major centre.20
(CF 297) 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.
[Page
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, [Page 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 undertanding lies hid in the words: "Venus
is the Earth's primary."
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 [Page 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.
(CF 358) Be characterised by different stages of
activity according to the initiation towards which the Logos may be
working. Thus, at one period one centre
or Heavenly Man may be the subject of logoic attention, and of specialised
stimulation, and at another period a totally different scheme may be the object
of vitalisation. For
some time the Logos has turned His attention to the Earth Scheme and to Saturn,
whilst Uranus is receiving [Page 358] stimulation.
Much is therefore accentuated, and increased evolutionary development is
the consequence of this divine attention.
Third, one of the mysteries
revealed at initiation is that of the logoic centre which our scheme
represents, and the
type of electrical fire which is flowing through it. The "Seven Brothers," or the seven
types of fohatic force,
express Themselves through the seven centres, and the One
Who is animating our scheme stands revealed at the third Initiation. It
is by knowledge of the nature and quality of the electrical force of our
centre, and by realisation of the place our centre holds in the body logoic, that the Hierarchy achieves the aims of
evolution. It will be obvious that the Heavenly
Man Who stands for the kundalini centre, for instance, will work differently, and have a
different purpose and method, from His Brother Who stands for the heart centre
in the body logoic, or to the Heavenly Man Who embodies the logoic solar
plexus. From this it is apparent that:
(CF 362) Our
solar system, being considered
as of the fourth [Page 362] order, and our scheme being the fourth in order, there is consequently a moment of special
opportunity afforded our planetary Logos through the alignment brought
about. It eventuates in the turning of
the attention of the
logoic kundalini fire
towards this centre, our scheme, and the subsequent results are in process
of working out.
(CF 368) First, the Venus Scheme, viewed as a
logoic centre, is more
active than ours, and therefore its radiatory magnetism is far more widely
spread. Its radiation is such that on
the buddhic plane it swept within its magnetic radius that chain in our scheme which
is composed predominantly of buddhic matter.
Then, via that chain, it magnetised the corresponding globe in our
chain, and this resulted in a specific vitalisation in the dense planet itself.
Second, just as in
the case of man, certain triangles of force are found at different stages of
evolution, or (to word it otherwise) different centres become geometrically
linked, such as the
a. Base of the
spine,
b. Solar plexus,
c. Heart;
or again,
a. Solar Plexus,
b. Heart
c. Throat
so, in the case of a Heavenly Man, or of a
solar Logos, a similar event occurs.
Such an event transpires in this round in relation to the centre which our
planetary Logos (Base chakra) [Page 369] embodies. It became geometrically linked with
two other centres, of which Venus was one, and logoic Kundalini—circulating with tremendous
force through this adjusted Triangle—brought about that intensification of
vibration in the human family which resulted in individualisation. We might here enumerate the schemes as a basis for our
further work:
The seven planets,
centres, or schemes:
1. Vulcan (the
sun, exoterically considered).
2. Venus.
3. Mars.
4. Earth.
5. Mercury.
6. Jupiter.
7. Saturn.
The three
synthesising planets:
1. Uranus.
2.
3. Saturn.
The
One Resolver.
The
SUN.
I would caution
you here against attaching any importance to the sequence followed in numbering
these seven schemes, either in connection with their order of development or
importance, or their position in relation to the central planet, the sun, or to
each other. Only two are to be
considered numerically accurate at this stage and in this round, i.e., our
Earth, the fourth scheme, and Venus, the second.
Venus is either the second or the sixth scheme, according to whether the
schemes are counted mystically or occultly.
Inversely, Jupiter will be either the second or the
sixth, and it must be
remembered that:
[Page 370]
a. The planets
Venus and Jupiter are exceedingly closely connected with the Earth, and form eventually an esoteric triangle.
b. Saturn
is the synthesising scheme for the four planets which embody manas purely and simply, or is the major
resolution of the minor four, and eventually for all the seven.
c. Mercury, the star of the intuition, or of transmuted
manas, is, at this
stage, considered as the fifth scheme.
Therefore, the Heavenly
Men of Venus and Jupiter
are magnetically linked with the Heavenly
Man of our scheme. The relationship of the Logos of Jupiter and
His influence will not be realised nor felt until the sixth
[Page 371] round is in full force, though during the sixth root-race His vibration will
be acknowledged and sensed; in the middle of the fifth round the Logos of
Mercury will, with the Logos of the Venus scheme, and of our Earth, form a
temporary triangle of force. We have here information given
that has only been hinted at hitherto but for which, in this fifth subrace and
in this fourth round, the world is now ready; it holds the solution of the
mystery of this round.
The analogy holds
good, for a Heavenly Man at the end of the seventh round reaches full maturity,
but requires the final process of rounding out and perfecting which He attains
during the two final periods
a. Of synthesis into the major
three schemes. (Saturn, Uranus,Neptune)
b. Of resolution
into the final one; (this is Saturn-see
CF 370)
(CF 372) A clue to
the idea of the final Avatar is likewise to be seen here. Many temporary incarnations precede this
consummating one, which will be the incarnation wherein the Heavenly Man, in
the full beauty of His completed seven cycles, and prior to His merging into His
synthesising goal, will
demonstrate as the embodiment of that perfected quality, or logoic aspect, for
which He primarily stands. As
a centre in the body logoic, He will be fully vitalised, and the logoic kundalini will have
stimulated, and aroused to perfection His systemic Lotus. For
a brief period He will shine forth radiant as the Sun in His glory; then the kundalinic
fire will pass in higher progressive spirals, and He will gradually become centred in the corresponding
logoic head centre, the higher triangle or the major three schemes. To illustrate by means of a human being, the
microcosm: Man attains a period of high
development wherein his heart and throat centre are perfected and vitalised; they become radiant whorls
of fire, fourth dimensional in action, and allied with each other and with
some other centre;
they become likewise the object of the attention of human kundalini. This is a period of great activity and
magnetic usefulness. It is succeeded
by still another, wherein the three head centres are synthesising their seven
minor correspondences, and the force of kundalini passes
there. As above, so
below.
I have especially
mentioned these two centres (heart/throat)
in the microcosm as
they are closely concerned (on a larger scale) with the
particular cycles
through which our [Page 374] planetary Logos passes, and because they represent the third and
second aspects.
We need to bear in
mind that the stimulation of the centres is of three
kinds, and the
distinction between the three must be kept clear.
First,
the vitalisation of the logoic centres, or the pouring through the seven
schemes, during stupendous cycles, of logoic kundalini.
Next,
the vitalisation of the planetary centres, or the pouring through the seven
chains of a scheme, of planetary kundalini.
Finally,
the vitalisation of the centres of a planetary Logos during some particular
major incarnation, or the pouring through the seven globes of a chain,
of kundalini.
(CF 379) 4. Manas and the Earth Chain
We have brought
our consideration of our first point, the origin of cosmic and systemic manas, down to certain facts concerning our
chain, and have (with the utmost brevity) passed in review the larger aspect of
the question. We touched first of all
upon the subject of cosmic manas, as it concerned our Logos and the
Heavenly Men. Then we considered it more
specifically in its relation to the individual Heavenly Men, and finally
brought it down to that which more nearly concerns ourselves— [Page 379] manas
and the Heavenly Man of our scheme.
Having proceeded thus far, we considered the stimulation of manas
in our own chain, and
saw that, in connection with our Earth, it came:
Via
the Venus chain of our scheme.
As
the result of a stimulation, originating in the Venus scheme.
Because logoic
kundalini had vitalised one of the systemic
triangles of force, of
which (temporarily) Venus and the Earth formed two points of
the triangle.
This produced the individualisation of those, particularly in the human
Hierarchy, who form a particular centre in the body of the planetary Logos.
(CF 386) First, it should be borne in mind by the
occult student that:
a. This advent
signalised the taking of a physical vehicle by the planetary Logos, and was
literally the coming of the Avatar.
b. That this
advent was brought about by a definite systemic alignment which involved:
The
Venus scheme of the system.
The
Venus chain of the Earth scheme.
The
Venus globe of the Earth chain.
c. That the
planetary Logos did not come from the Venus scheme but from the Venus chain of His own scheme, the Earth scheme. Owing to systemic [Page 387]
alignment logoic kundalini could flow through a certain
triangle of which two points were Venus and the Earth.
This caused an acceleration of vibration, and enabled the Heavenly Man
of our scheme to take a minor initiation, and to set about His preparations for
a major initiation.
Next, it should
also be remembered that in considering this matter we must be careful to view
it not only as it affects our own globe and its present humanity, but from the
systemic and cosmic point of view, or from the angle of its importance to a planetary
Logos and a solar Logos. Hence it is a fact that this event was not
only the result of the taking of a minor initiation by our
Earth Logos, but in the Venus scheme it was signalised by the taking of a major
initiation by the Venusian planetary Logos on His fifth chain. In
connection with a solar Logos it followed upon the stimulation of one of His
centres and from the
geometrical progression of the fire through the earlier mentioned Triangle.
By middle 5th round Mercury,
Mars and Earth will have completed a systemic triangle within body of Solar
Logos
(CF 390) They depict only one cycle in logoic
evolution, and cover only the present greater period in the working out of which we are
engaged. They might be roughly described
as embracing that period in the system which began for us in the middle of the
third root-race of this round and continues until the period called "the Judgment"
[Page 390] in the coming fifth round. When that
time comes our planetary Logos will have attained the initiation
which is His present goal; the fifth round of the Venusian scheme will be
closing, and the Venus
scheme will begin to pass into obscuration, preparatory to transferring her
life to the synthesising planet with which she is connected; Mercury will be reaching the apotheosis of
achievement, and with Mars and the Earth, will form a
systemic triangle. We are speaking here of schemes and not of
chains.
We must recognise
another triangle within the Earth scheme, of the chains called "the Earth
chain," the Venus chain, and the Mercurian chain, but this triangle entirely concerns the
centres of the planetary Logos of our scheme.
A systemic formation of great importance in the next round should be
pointed out which will bring three schemes:
The Earth scheme,
Mars,
Mercury,
into such a position in relation to each other
that the following results will eventuate:
1. A systemic
triangle will be formed.
2. Logoic
kundalini will circulate freely between these three points.
3. A certain
great logoic centre will be vitalised and the attention of logoic kundalini will pass from the present triangle in
process of forming (the Earth, Venus, and a scheme whose name it is advisable
to withhold) to the other.
4. An entirely new
group of human beings will sweep into incarnation in our Earth scheme.
Three fifths of the present humanity, being on the Probationary Path, or
the Path of Initiation, at that time, will have their centre of
consciousness definitely on the mental plane [Page 391] whilst two fifths will remain
focussed on the astral. These two fifths will pass into
temporary pralaya,
preparatory to their transference to another scheme, as the Earth scheme will no longer
provide for them an adequate place of nurture.
5. Entities
will come in from Mars to the Earth scheme, and will there find their necessary field of
endeavour.
(CF 442) Third. The results to be looked
for during the coming centuries.
The type of force,
or the nature of the Heavenly Man of the seventh Ray, is fundamentally
constructive. It will be necessary here
to touch somewhat upon His character and His place in the logoic scheme, calling
attention to the need of refraining from personalisation and
externalisation. The Heavenly Man of the
scheme in which the Ray of Ceremonial Magic (Uranus?)
is embodied is one of the main transmitters of radiation from the Sun to the system and has
a close connection with logoic kundalini.
Herein lies a hint. The Raja-Lord of the etheric levels of the
physical plane works in close alliance with Him and this will be apparent if we
bear in mind that the Lord of a plane is its embodied activity. He is the energising force that expresses
itself as a unified Identity in the matter of a plane, and we might therefore
get some idea of the coherency of Their mutual work if
we bear in mind that……
(CF 520) On the second plane are found the seven
Heavenly Men, Who are His principal centres of force.
There are others, but we are not here concerned with Them. These latter have achieved a certain specific
goal, and are the [Page 520] embodiment of centres which are now quiescent or
out of manifestation, the logoic kundalini having turned its attention
elsewhere. Under another enumeration
they make the ten of the esoteric life, and can also be enumerated as twelve,
thus forming the twelve-petalled Lotus, or the heart centre in the Body of the
ONE ABOUT WHOM NOUGHT MAY BE SAID.
On the fourth
cosmic ether the buddhic plane, are found the etheric centres of the
Logos. There are to be found the esoteric
planets and the Sun,
viewed as the centre of the buddhic principles, and from thence the Logos
animates His dense physical manifestation.
(CF 530) Two and a half planes are concerned with the
evolution of man, per se, in the fourth kingdom, and he only begins to
transcend them as he nears the Path and treads it. From the standpoint of average man in
physical incarnation, the egoic consciousness, within the causal periphery, is
as abstract as is the Logos viewed as the Dweller within the system. These two and a half planes are of peculiar interest to the Logos, as
they embody:
That
which, for Him, lies below the threshold of consciousness.
Those centres from which logoic
kundalini is turning.
That which is not
considered a principle.
That
which is gradually passing into obscuration.
(CF 641) We have seen that the work of the lowest
group of Agnichaitans
is to build continents by fire, to purify by fire during alternate cycles, and
to construct the metals and the minerals.
It is also concerned with the tending of the fires of the hearth, or
those fires which warm, cheer and produce livable conditions in a planet, and
incidentally in a home. This is of very
vital import, for it means that they are connected with the central
basic fires in the bowels of the Earth, with the central basic fire that nourishes and warms
the physical forms of all the kingdoms of nature, and consequently with the kundalini
fire at the base of the spine in individual man.
(CF 647) Class 5. We have here a very important group of devas,
who are peculiarly active and esoterically dominant during this round; they are
the Agnichaitans who form the centre which vibrates to the measure of kundalini in its many forms and demonstrations; this is the centre
at the base of the spine. In this centre we have a very effective
display of the two polarities, for the petals of the centre which is the seat of kundalini, and the fire or vitality which animates them are negative
and positive to each other. This centre is to be found in
some form or other in all sentient beings and upon it largely depends:
[Page 647]
a. Consciousness
at one of its seven stages.
b. Continuity of
existence.
c. Perpetuation
of species or
reproduction on some or other of the planes.
It might be of
interest here to note that this centre is literally a fourfold radiation, and the "Cross of the Holy
Spirit," the equal armed Cross, is its symbol. This four-petalled lotus is the result of
evolution. In the first kingdom of
nature, the mineral, through which a specific Entity is manifesting, this
centre is a unity on etheric levels, for only one petal is to be seen. In the vegetable kingdom, viewing it as the
expression of a great Existence, two petals are becoming active. In the third kingdom, the animal, the centre
at the base of the spine will be found to have three petals, whereas in man,
the lotus is vibrating in a fourfold manner.
At each initiation of the great Being Who is
manifesting through our planet, one of these petals becomes unfolded on etheric
levels, so that at
individualisation, the four became active, and His selfconscious activity was
brought right down on to the physical plane.
The analogy can be seen typified at His great Initiation which
took place in the fourth round and the third rootrace; the correspondence between the third
kingdom and the fourth, and their production of the esoteric seven is one of the
lines of study for the occultist.
As each of the
petals of the etheric centres becomes vibrant, or an at-one-ment is brought
about in deva substance, a quickening takes place on allied levels in the
cosmic etheric body of the planetary Logos, and of the solar Logos. Certain correspondences in
the petals
of the egoic lotus of the different units of the human family,
and (on cosmic levels) in the solar and planetary egoic bodies become apparent. It should also be borne in mind that these basic
centres, wherein the [Page 648] kundalini fire
lies hidden, are found
in the following Existences, as They function in
physical bodies:
1. A solar Logos.
2. A planetary
Logos.
3. Those Entities
Who are the sumtotal of consciousness as it expresses itself through the
different kingdoms of nature—manifesting through them as a man manifests
through his body.
4. The Lord of a
chain.
5. The Lord of a
globe.
6. Certain Beings Who form the life of specific groups. They are esoteric, and Their
function is one of the secrets of initiation.
7.
8. Animals.
(CF 648) It should be here also remarked that in the logoic
manifestation one of the planetary schemes forms the centre in the logoic body which harbours kundalini. This scheme, whose name must not as yet be revealed,
is largely given over to deva control—the two groups of devas meeting there,
and performing their function of animating the dense
physical body of the Logos in the same way as the
kundalini in man at this stage animates his dense physical
vehicle. Later, as the third major
scheme assimilates the life-activity of the lower four, this kundalini
fire will be withdrawn, and will be transmuted into the activity
of the logoic Throat centre.
In planetary
manifestation, one of the chains performs a similar work in the evolutionary process of the
planetary Logos. Again the same can be
predicated of one of the globes in a chain. In this fourth round, therefore, it can be seen why
the fire at the base of the spine (viewing it in its esoteric significance,
and in connection with the Logos, and the Logoi, and not only in connection
with man) plays so dominant a part in the stimulation of [Page
649] the logoic Quaternary, or of His Lower Self.
Herein is found the mystery of present evil, the source of present
distress, and the basis of planetary experience. The kundalini fire
in the logoic body is at the height of its activity in
stimulating His physical body—our lower three systemic planes—and the four petals of that particular
centre are coming into full activity in this fourth round. It
must be remembered that He is the sum-total of all the centres in
manifestation, and the aggregate of all the fires of kundalini in every department of nature. The trouble in our planet, and likewise the
hope for our planet, lies in this very
fact.
The etheric centre of our planetary Logos being in matter of the fourth
cosmic ether (the buddhic plane) stimulates at present His lower quaternary,
our three worlds of
human endeavour. The direction of the
force lies here, and not until the next round (when three-fifths of the human kingdom will be developing
the buddhic vehicle), will the point of equilibrium for Him be reached, and the
direction of the serpent fire be directed higher.
This holds the
clue to much. A
further clue to the sad condition to be seen in the world (especially along sex
lines) lies in the fact that those units of the human family who contribute to
the constitution of this particular centre out of the seven,
are frequently at this stage over-vitalised, the physical vehicle vitality indicating to them the
line of least resistance. To word it
otherwise: The deva forces who form the
centre, and are likewise the activity of the centre, are as yet over-dominant,
and the power they acquired in the earlier solar system has not yet been transmuted into spiritual
power.
(CF 886) All this again is closely connected with the threefold
energy of the physical body, and produces effects within the spinal column which
arouses the kundalini fire at the base of the spine, causing it to
mount along the triple spinal channel, again according to ray and aspect
involved. More anent this may not here
be said, as the dangers of a premature knowledge along this line are far
greater than the dangers of ignorance.
Suffice it to point out that the fires at the lower centres,—those below
the diaphragm—have, by the time the second initiation is reached, usually mounted
to the centre between the shoulder blades; at the second initiation they rise as far as the
head, and all the
fires of the torso are then active. All
that remains then to do is to centralise them, to produce the necessary
geometrical interplay between the seven head centres, and then to focus them
all prior to the final liberation in the highest centre of all.
(EA 46) Hierarchy V. The
fifth Creative Hierarchy is, as we know from study of The Secret Doctrine, a
most mysterious one. This mystery is incident upon the relation
of the fifth Hierarchy to the five liberated groups. This relation, in connection with our
particular planet, which is not a sacred planet, can be somewhat understood if
the history of the Buddha, and His work is contemplated. This is hinted at in
the third volume of The Secret Doctrine.
The relation of
the fifth Hierarchy to a certain constellation has also a bearing upon this mystery. This
is hidden in the karma of the solar Logos, and concerns His relationship
to another solar Logos,
and the interplay of force between Them
in a great mahakalpa.
This is the true "secret of the Dragon," and it was the dragon-influence
or the "serpent energy" which caused the influx of manasic or mind energy into the solar
system. Entangled closely [Page 46] with the karma of these two cosmic
Entities, was that of the lesser cosmic Entity Who is
the Life of our planet, the planetary Logos. It was this triple karma which
brought in the "serpent religion" and the "Serpents or Dragons
of Wisdom," in Lemurian days. It had to do with solar and planetary
Kundalini, or Serpent fire. A hint lies in the fact that the constellation of
the Dragon has the same relation to the ONE greater than our Logos as the
centre at the base of the spine has to a human being. It concerns stimulation,
and vitalisation with a consequent co-ordination of the manifesting fires.
(CF 893) The secret of the reptile
kingdom is one of the
mysteries of the second round, and there is a profound significance connected
with the expression "the serpents of wisdom" which is applied to all
adepts of the good law. [Page 893] The reptile kingdom has an interesting place
in all mythologies, and all ancient forms of truth impartation, and this for no
arbitrary reason. It is not possible to
enlarge upon the underlying truth which is hidden in the karmic history of our
planetary Logos, and is revealed as part of the teaching given to
initiates of the second degree.
The second great
life impulse, or life wave, initiated by our planetary Logos, when brought in
conjunction with the first, was the basis of that activity which we call
evolutionary energy; it resulted in a gradual unrolling, or revelation, of the
divine form. The heavenly serpent
manifested, being produced out of the egg, and began its convolutions, gaining
in strength and majesty, and producing through its immense fecundity millions
of lesser "serpents." The reptile kingdom is the most important
part of the animal kingdom in certain aspects, if such an apparently
contradictory statement can be made. For
all animal life can be seen passing through it during the prenatal stage, or
returning to it when the form is in advanced decomposition. The connection is not purely a physical one,
but it is also psychic. When the real
nature and method of the kundalini,
or serpent fire, is known,
this relation will be better understood, and the history of the second round assume a new importance.
(CF 894) The secret of life lies hidden in the serpent
stage,—not the life of the Spirit, but the life of the soul, and this will be
revealed as the "serpent of the astral light" is truly approached,
and duly studied. One
of the four Lipika Lords,
Who stand nearest to our planetary Logos, is called "The Living
Serpent," and His
emblem is a serpent of blue with one eye, in the form
of a ruby, in its head. Students who care to carry the symbology a
little further can connect this idea with the "eye of Shiva" which
sees and knows all, and records all, as [Page 894] does the human
eye in lesser degree; all is photographed upon the astral light, as the human eye receives impressions
upon the retina. The same thought is
frequently conveyed in the Christian Bible, in the Hebrew and Christian
recognition of the all-seeing eye of God.
The application and value of the hints here given may be apparent if the
subject of the third eye is studied, and its relation
to the spine, and the
spinal currents investigated. This third
eye is one of the objects of kundalinic vivification, and in the spinal territory there is
first the centre at the base of the spine, the home of the sleeping fire. Next we have the triple channel along which
that fire will travel in due course of evolution, and finally we find at the
summit of the column, and surmounting all, that small organ called the pineal
gland, which when vivified causes the third eye to open, and the beauties of
the higher, subtler planes to stand revealed.
All this physico-psychical occurrence is
possible to man owing to certain events which happened to the Heavenly
Serpent in the second, or serpent, round. These
happenings necessitated the formation and evolution of that peculiar and
mysterious family we call the reptilian.
These forms of divine life are very intimately connected with the second
planetary scheme,
being responsive to energy emanating from that scheme, and reaching the earth
via the second globe in the second chain.
A group of special devas (connected with a particular open sound in the
planetary Word), work with the reptile evolution.
It should be noted
here that this evolution on the etheric planes has a closer effect upon man
than on the physical. If students will
apply themselves to the consideration of these facts, to the investigation of
the serpent lore in all lands, mythologies and scriptures, and if they will
link up all this knowledge with that concerning those heavenly
constellations which have a serpent appellation (such as, for instance, the Dragon), much [Page 895]
illumination may come. If the intuition suffices, knowledge may then be imparted which
will make clearer the connection between the physical bodies with their
centres, and the psychic nature.
(CF 1204) The relation of the fifth Hierarchy to a
certain constellation has also a bearing upon this mystery. This is hidden in the karma
of the solar Logos,
and concerns His relationship to another solar Logos, and the interplay
of force between them in a greater mahakalpa. This is the
true "secret of the Dragon," and it was the dragon-influence or the
"serpent energy" which caused the influx of manasic or mind
energy into the solar system. Entangled closely with the
karma of these two cosmic [Page 1204] Entities, was that of the lesser cosmic
Entity Who is the Life of our planet, the planetary
Logos. It was this triple karma which
brought in the "serpent religion" and the "Serpents or Dragons
of Wisdom" in Lemurian days. It had
to do with solar and planetary Kundalini,
or serpent fire. A hint lies in the fact that the constellation
of the Dragon has the same relation to the ONE greater than our Logos as the
centre at the base of the spine has to a human being. It
concerns stimulation, and vitalisation with a consequent co-ordination of the
manifesting fires.
(CF 908) The work of the Mahachohan can also be seen
in the [Page 908] effect that the devas
of the kundalini fire are producing upon
man. These are a peculiar group of Agnichaitans who have
reached a stage of evolution which permits of their being separated off from
their group into a group connected with a certain fire in man's bodies. This fire owing to its present activity, and
the direction of that activity, is responsible for the reaction against
physical marriage, and for the desire evinced by highly evolved men everywhere
to evade the marriage relation, and confine themselves to creation upon the
mental or astral planes. This is due to
the present inclination of the manipulatory devas of the lower generative
organs to seek the throat centre, and to function there, utilising the strength of the
kundalini fire to bring this about.
All this is under the law of evolution, but in the interim between cause
and justified effect much harm, evasion of the law, and consequent suffering
can be seen. Owing, therefore, to the
violent reaction at this time against the safeguarding laws of civilisation, it
has been decided that the nature and functions of the devas must be somewhat
revealed to man, and that their place in the scheme of things, and man's close
connection and dependence upon them, must be given out.83 At the same time, the means whereby
they can be contacted, and the words whereby they can be controlled, will be
withheld.
(CF 960) b. Physical brain
impression. The accurate realisation by
the physical brain of what the Ego is seeking to convey concerning the work to
be done only becomes possible when two things are realised:
Direct
alignment.
The transmission
of the egoic energy or
will to one or other of the three physical centres in the head:
The
pineal gland.
The
pituitary body.
The alta major centre, or that nerve centre at the top of the
spine, where the cranium and the spine make approximate contact. When
this congery of nerves is fully developed, it forms a centre of communication between the vital
energy of the spinal column (the kundalini fire) and the energy
of the two head centres
above enumerated. It is the physical
correspondence to the antaskarana on higher levels.
(CF 988) The white magician works through the force
centres, on the first and fourth subplanes of each plane. The black magician works
through the permanent atoms, and with the substance and forms concerned. The white magician utilises in this
connection the higher three centres. The
black magician uses the energy of the lower three
centres (the organs of
generation, the spleen, and the solar plexus) synthesising their energy by an
act of the will and directing it to the centre at the base of
the spine, so that the
fourfold energy is thence transmitted to the throat centre.
The white
magician uses the kundalini
force as it is transmitted via the central spinal channel.
The black magician uses the inferior channels, dividing the fourfold
energy in two units, which mount via the two channels, leaving
the central one dormant. Hence it will be apparent that one works with
duality and the other with unity. On the
planes of duality, therefore, it is apparent why the black magician has so much
power. The plane of unity for humanity
is the mental plane. The planes of
diversity are the astral and the physical.
Hence the black magician is of more apparent power than the white
brother on the two lower planes in the three worlds.
(CF 1127) These
three groups of forces in man, when synthesised, produce eventually that
perfect co-ordination and adaptation to all conditions, forms and circumstances
which eventuate in the escape of the liberated vital spark. This is technically accomplished when the
"bud" opens, and it becomes possible for the Hierophant at initiation
to liberate the energy of the Monad, and to direct that energy (through the
agency of the Rod) so that eventually it circulates free and untrammelled
through every part of the lower threefold manifestation. As it circulates, it destroys by burning, for
it arouses the kundalini aspect perfectly
by the time the fifth Initiation
is taken. The destroyer aspect becomes dominated, and
the form is "burnt upon the altar."
(CF 370) It is many thousands of years
since what are now
studied as the Cosmic Rays (discovered by Millikan) played definitely upon our
planet, and at that
time the fifth ray was not active as it now is.
Therefore scientific knowledge of their activity was not possible.
Other cosmic rays will play upon our earth as this
seventh ray activity
becomes increasingly active, and the result of their influence will be to
facilitate the emergence of the new racial types, and above all else, to
destroy the veil or web which separates the world of the seen and tangible
from the world of the unseen and the intangible, the astral world.
Just as there is a veil called "the etheric web" dividing off
the various force centres in the human body, and protecting the head centres
from the astral world, so there is a separating web between the world of
physical life and the astral world. This
will be destroyed, slowly and certainly, by the play of the cosmic rays upon
our planet. The etheric web which is
found between the centres in the spine, and which is found at the top of the head
(protecting the head centre) is destroyed in man's mechanism by the activity of
certain forces found in that mysterious fire which we call the
kundalini fire. The cosmic rays of which the modern scientist is
aware constitute aspects of the planetary kundalini, and their effect will be the same in the
body of the planetary Logos, the Earth, as it is in the human body; the etheric
web between the physical and astral planes is in process of destruction, and it
is of this event which the sensitives of the world and the spiritualists
prophesy as an imminent happening.
(EPII 64) 6. This
subjective and objective system governs the manifestation of the soul on the
physical plane. It indicates to those
who can see in truth, the grasp or hold that the soul has upon its instrument;
it can be seen whether that grasp is occasional and partial or whether it is
entire and whole. This is most
wonderfully indicated in a certain Masonic grip, which marks a climax in the
experience of the candidate to the mysteries.
I previously
referred to the main channel of communication between the soul and its
mechanism as being:—
a. The centre at
the base of the spine.
b. The centre at
the top of the head, where the most important centre in the body is situated, from
the standpoint of the soul. There is its
point of entry and exit; there is the great radio station of reception, and the
distributing centre for direction.
c. The
spleen. This is a subsidiary centre and organ in
connection with the heart centre.
It is through the spleen
that a linking up
takes place between the life principle (seated in the heart) and the consciousness system, interlinking
all the material organs and the atomic [Page 65] substance of the physical
body. This statement indicates that, in
the location in the human body where the spleen is found, along with its corresponding subjective
force centre, two great currents of energy cross: these are the current of physical vitality or
life and the current of the consciousness of the atoms which construct the form. It will be observed that we are here
discussing the group subconscious life and not the conscious life and the
self-consciousness. The spleen
is the organ in which planetary prana or vitality is received and passed. This enters in through "the open
gateway" of the splenic force centre, and passes to the heart.
There it merges with the individual life principle. Through the splenic centre also passes the conscious
life of the sum-total of the bodily cells, which are, in their turn, the recipients of the
energy of the consciousness aspect or principles of all atoms and forms within
the fourth kingdom of nature. This we
cannot be expected to comprehend as yet, but the truth will be appreciated
later on in the racial development. A
hint can here be found as to the excessive sensitivity of the solar plexus
centre to surrounding group impacts and impressions of an astral kind. There is a close rapport between the splenic
centre and the solar plexus, as well as with the heart.
7. These two
subjective and subconscious streams of energy cross each other in the region of the spleen and there form
a cross in the human body,
as they traverse each others lines of force.
This is the correspondence in the human body to the cross of matter, spoken
of in connection with Deity.
Consciousness and life form a cross. The downpouring stream
of life from the heart and the stream of life-giving energy from the spleen
pass on (after
crossing each other and producing a whirlpool of force) into the solar plexus
region; from thence [Page 66] they are very definitely drawn
together as one stream at a certain stage in the life of the advanced aspirant.
There they merge with the sum-total of energies, using
the three points referred to—the head, the base of the spine and the spleen—as a definite mode of communication, of
distribution and of control, and finally of ultimate withdrawal,
consciously or unconsciously, at the moment of death or in the technique of inducing that stage
of control known as Samadhi.
8. When the
directing Agent in the head, deliberately and by an act of the will, raises the accumulated energies at the
base of the spine, he draws them into the magnetic field of the centres up the
spine and blends them with the dual energy emanating from the
spleen. The spinal tract with its five centres then
awakens into activity, and finally all the forces are gathered together into
one fused and blended stream of energy.
Three things then happen:
a. The kundalini
fire is raised and
immediately burns away all the etheric webs which are the protective barriers,
separating the various centres.
b. The etheric
body intensifies its vitality, and the physical body is consequently powerfully vitalised,
galvanised, and energised.
c. The entire aura
is coordinated and illumined, and the soul can then, at will, withdraw
from its physical vehicle in full waking consciousness, or stay in it as an incarnated Son of God,
Whose consciousness is complete on the physical plane, the astral plane, and on
the mental levels, as well as in the three aspects of lower mind, causal
consciousness and nirvanic realisation.
This process finds its consummation at the third initiation.
(EH 147) 2. The Ajna Centre. This is the centre between the eyebrows and is found in the region of the head
just above [Page 147] the two eyes, where it "acts as a screen for the
radiant beauty and the glory of the spiritual man."
a. It corresponds
to the physical sun and is the expression of the personality, integrated
and functioning—first of all as the disciple, and finally as the initiate. This is the true persona or mask.
b. It achieves
this functioning activity fully by the time the third
initiation is taken. I would remind you that this initiation is
regarded by the Hierarchy as the first major initiation, a fact which I have
already communicated. It is the organ
for the distribution of the energy of the third aspect—the energy of active
intelligence.
e. It is related
to the personality by
the creative thread of life, and is therefore closely connected with the throat
centre (the centre of creative activity), just as the head
centre is related to the centre at the base of the spine. An
active interplay, once established between the ajna centre and the throat
centre, produces a creative life and a manifested expression of the divine idea on the
part of the initiate. In the same way,
the active interplay between the head centre and the centre at the base of
the spine produces the
manifestation of the divine will or purpose.
The forces of the ajna and the throat centres, when combined, produce
the highest manifestation of "fire by friction," just as the energies
of the head centre and the basic centre produce the individual "electric
fire" which, when
fully expressing itself, we call the kundalini
fire.
(EPII 302) It will also be apparent that, as the
relationships of the different aspects of a man's manifested life appear, his
seven centres are related to the seven aspects or qualities which [Page 302]
embody a man's essential divinity. The
following is therefore of interest:
1. The head centre Monad. Life. First aspect.
2. The heart
centre Soul. Consciousness. Second aspect.
3. The ajna centre Personality.
Substance.
Third aspect.
These are the
three major centres for the advanced man.
4. The throat
centre Mind. The mental aspect and
energy.
5. The solar
plexus centre Emotion. The astral aspect and energy centre.
6. The sacral
centre Physical.
7. The centre at
base of the spine Life itself. Monadic centre.
The latter
centre is only awakened in its true and final sense at the third initiation. At
that time the circle is completed. As
was earlier stated, the etheric body is related to the monad and is the exteriorisation of the life
aspect. It is the etheric body, with all
its seven centres, which is swept into activity when the basic centre
is awakened, and the kundalini
fire is aroused. It might be of value to students to point out
that frequently when a student is under the impression or belief that the
kundalini fire has been aroused in him, all that has really happened is that
the energy of the sacral centre (i.e. the sex centre) is being
transmuted and raised to the throat, or that the energy of the solar plexus centre is
being raised to the heart. Aspirants do,
however, love to play with the idea that they have succeeded in arousing the
kundalini fire. Many advanced occultists
have mistaken the raising of the sacral fire or of the solar plexus force to a
position above the diaphragm for the "lifting of the kundalini" and
have therefore regarded themselves or others as initiates. Their sincerity has been very real and their
mistake an easy one to make. [Page 303] C. W. Leadbeater frequently made this
mistake, yet of his sincerity and of his point of attainment there is no
question.
(EPII 340) 5. The awakening of the head centre, with the
consequent arousing of the kundalini fire at the base of the spine. This leads to the final integration of soul
and body, and the appearance of a perfected humanity upon earth. This will express the nature of the final
race.
(EPII 387) 3. This illumination, coming from the highest
aspect which [Page 387] man can conceive follows a direct line of approach, or
pours down through a direct channel from
a. The level of
Atma, or that centre of spiritual will which is
dynamic and effective but seldom called into play, to the will petals of the
egoic lotus, upon which I touched in A Treatise on Cosmic Fire. These petals are the reflection in the soul
of this particular aspect of energy.
b. From this layer of petals to the mind
body.
c. From the mind body to the brain.
d. From the brain, in due and set time, to
the centre at the base of the spine, thus arousing the kundalini
fire.
It will interest
students to note how the first ray disciple, when employing this first ray
technique of fusion, ends by producing second ray characteristics of which illumination, producing
understanding love and sympathetic cooperation, is the predominant note. The second ray disciple, through rightly
applied technique, produces curiously enough, third ray results, of which the
use of the creative imagination is the outstanding characteristic.
(EPII 528) Then comes the third and final stage with
which we need not concern ourselves wherein there is a complete
blending of the bodily forces (focussed through the ajna centre) with the Soul forces, (focussed through
the head centre). It is at this time
that there comes the final evocation of the personality will (purified and consecrated) which has been
"sleeping, coiled like the serpent of wisdom" at
the base of the spine;
this surges upward on the impulse of devotion, aspiration and enlightened will
and thus fuses itself in the head with the spiritual will. This is the final raising, by an act
of discriminating determination, of the
kundalini fire. This raising takes place in three stages, or impulses:
1. The stage
wherein the lower energies are carried to the solar plexus centre.
2. The stage
wherein these energies, pouring through to the heart, are blended with it and
carried to the throat.
3. The stage
wherein all the five lower forms of energy are focussed in the ajna
centre in the head.
Students might
here ask: Are there any other energies below the diaphragm, except those of the sacral
centre and those focussed in the centre at the base of the spine which are
carried up to the ajna centre via the solar plexus centre?
There are quite a large number of lesser centres and their energies, but
I am not specifying them in detail for the sake of clarity; we shall deal here
only with the major centres and their effects and inter-relations. The subject is abstruse and difficult in any
case without our complicating it unduly.
There are energies, for instance, pouring into the
spleen from planetary sources as well as into two small centres situated close to the kidneys, one on
either side, besides several others and these forces must all be understood,
transmuted, transformed and transferred.
It is interesting to note that the two little centres close to the kidneys
are related to the lower levels of the astral plane and let loose into the
system much of the fear, etc., which is the distinguishing factor in those
subplanes. They are, therefore, found
close to the centre which can control them because even the modern
endocrinologist knows that the adrenal glands, when stimulated, produce (as a
psychological result of a physical happening) an access of courage and a form
of directed will which enables achievements to be carried out that are, at
other time, well-nigh impossible.
I would like here
to point out that the statement so frequently made in occult books that
"kundalini sleeps" is only partially true. The centre at the base of the spine is
subject to [Page 539] the same rhythmic life as are the other centres. The specific period wherein
"kundalini awakes" refers to that period
wherein the "point at the centre" becomes vibrant, potent and active: its forces can then penetrate throughout the
entire spinal area until the highest head centre is reached. This, however, would not
be possible had there not been three earlier "uprisings of the latent force of will". These uprisings serve to clear the passage up
the spine, penetrating and destroying the etheric web which separates each
centre and the area it controls from the next above.
(EA 297) As you have been told, the Sun veils certain
hidden planets, and in the case of Leo, the two planets through which the Sun
focusses its energy or influences (like a lens) are Neptune and Uranus. The
"heart of the Sun" employs
1. Upon the Mutable
Cross, it is the physical Sun and its influences which affect the man,
stimulate the bodily cells and sustain the form nature, affecting the centres
below the diaphragm.
2. Upon the Fixed
Cross, it is the "heart of the Sun" which is called into activity and which pours
its energies through
3. Upon the Cardinal
Cross, it is the central, spiritual Sun which is called into play, and Uranus
is then the distributing agency and the head centre becomes the centre in the initiate's body
through which direction and control come.
In connection with
the Mutable Cross, the rays of the Sun in a threefold form (combining the lowest energies of the
threefold Sun) pour into and through the man, via Jupiter. Jupiter is the agent of the second ray
which the Sun expresses—cosmically and systemically.
Hence the triple
relation of the Sun to Leo which is unique in our solar system, and hence the
importance of the triangle which controls the man born under Leo—the Sun,
Uranus and
(EA 301) It will be apparent to you (given a little
thought) that the Sun, as it veils Neptune, produces a potent effect upon the personality,
symbolised for us here by the astral body, whilst Uranus (which is also veiled by the Sun) symbolises the effect of the soul upon
the personality. Hence the activity of the seventh ray, which
is—from one angle—the lowest aspect of the first ray. Hence you have
also the underlying idea of:
[Page 301]
1. The awakening
of the personality to soul control and contact, with a true expression
eventually, in the three worlds, of soul-will, desire and intent.
2. The awakening
of the seventh centre, the centre at the base of the spine, by the soul working through the first or
highest head centre and producing (as a consequence) the surging upwards of the
kundalini fire. This, in its turn, produces fusion with the higher
forces. When this takes place the three major centres in the body are
The Head The
Heart The
base of Spine
Central spiritual
Sun The heart of the Sun The
physical Sun.
Sirius Mercury Saturn.
The
Sun Uranus
As the above
alignment corresponds to a very high stage of initiation, it will not be
possible to grasp all the implications, but enough may be apparent to reveal
the underlying theme and purpose of the great work.
(CF 181) "The second hint I seek to give lies in
the triangle formed by the Earth, Mars and Mercury. In connection with this triangle, the
analogy lies in the fact that Mercury and the centre at the base of the spine
in the human being are closely allied. Mercury demonstrates kundalini
in intelligent activity
whilst Mars demonstrates kundalini latent."
(EA 681) That the planetary Logos did not come from
the Venus scheme but from the Venus chain of His own
scheme, the Earth scheme. Owing to systemic alignment logoic
kundalini could flow through a certain triangle of
which two points were Venus and the Earth. This caused an acceleration of
vibration, and enabled the Heavenly Man of our scheme to take a minor
initiation, and to set about His preparations for a major initiation.
(EPII 539) The awakening
of the centre at the base of the spine during the final stages of the higher mystical
experience carries with it its own dangers.
These definitely affect the spine and consequently all the nerves which
branch out in all directions from the spinal column. [Page 539] The raising of the kundalini force—if brought about ignorantly and
prematurely—may produce the rapid burning through of the
protective web of etheric matter which separates the various areas of the body
(controlled by the seven centres) from each other. This causes serious nervous trouble,
inflammation of the tissues, spinal disease, and brain trouble.
(EH 122) Those which are specifically due to the receptivity or the
non-receptivity, to the functioning or the non-functioning, [Page 122] and to
the influence of the centre.
Necessarily, these fall into seven groups, affecting seven major areas
of the body. For the average disciple,
before there is complete soul control and monadic direction, the major
directing agent, via the brain, is the vagus nerve, along which the energies
(entering via the head centre) are distributed to the rest of the body. A definite science of the centres and their
relation to kundalini has been built up by a certain powerful esoteric school
in the orient. It has in it much truth, but also
much error.
(CF 38) I. FIRE IN THE MACROCOSM
In its essential
nature Fire is threefold, but when in manifestation it can be seen as a
fivefold demonstration, and be defined as follows:
[Page 38]
1. Fire by
friction, or internal vitalising fire.
These fires animate and vitalise the objective solar system. They are the sumtotal of logoic kundalini, when in full systemic activity.
2. Solar Fire, or cosmic mental fire.
This is that portion of the cosmic mental plane which goes to the
animation of the mental body of the Logos.
This fire may be regarded as the sumtotal of the sparks of mind, the
fires of the mental bodies and the animating principle of the evolving units of
the human race in the three worlds.
3.
Electric Fire, or the logoic Flame Divine. This flame is
the distinguishing mark of our Logos, and it is that which differentiates Him
from all other Logoi; it is His dominant characteristic,
and the sign of His place in cosmic evolution.
(CF 45) II. FIRE
IN THE MICROCOSM
Let us briefly
consider therefore the correspondence between the greater whole and the unit
man and then block out our subject in detail and consider the sections into
which it will be wise to divide it.
Fire in the
Microcosm is likewise threefold in essence and fivefold in manifestation.
1. There is Internal
Vitalising Fire, which
is the correspondence to fire by friction.
This is the sumtotal of individual kundalini; it animates the corporeal frame and
demonstrates also in the twofold manner:
First,
as latent heat which is the basis of life of the
spheroidal cell, or atom,
and of its rotary adjustment to all other cells.
Second, as active heat or prana; this animates all, and is the driving
force of the evolving form. It shows
itself in the four ethers and in the gaseous state, and a correspondence is
here found on the physical plane in connection with man to the Akasha and its
fivefold manifestation
on the plane of the solar system.
(CF 103) Hence,
when the pranic vehicle is working perfectly in all three groups, human,
planetary and solar, the union with latent fire will be accomplished.
Here lies [Page 103] the reason for the emphasis laid on the necessity
for building pure, refined physical vehicles.
The more refined and rarefied the form, the better a receiver of prana
will it be, and the less will be the resistance found to the uprising of kundalini at the appointed time. Coarse
matter and crude immature physical bodies are a menace to the occultist, and no
true seer will be found with a body of a gross quality. The dangers of disruption are too great, and
the menace of disintegration by fire too awful.
Once in the history of the race (in Lemurian days) this was seen in the
destruction of the race and the continents by means of fire.45 The Guides of the race at that time
availed Themselves of just this very thing to bring about the finish of an
inadequate form. The latent
fire of matter (as
seen in volcanic display, for instance) and the radiatory fire of the
system were combined. Planetary kundalini and solar
emanation rushed into conjunction, and the work of destruction was accomplished. The same thing may again be seen, only in
matter of the second ether, and the effects therefore will be less severe owing
to the rarity of this ether and the comparatively greater refinement of the
vehicles.
(CF 122) 3. The Protective Purpose of
the Etheric Body.
Now let us, after
this somewhat lengthy digression, leave things cosmic and incomprehensible, and
come down to practical evolution, and to the study of the matter of man's
etheric body, and of the harm that may ensue to him should that body (through
the breaking of the law) no longer perform its protective
function. Let us see first of all what those
protective functions are:
First. The
etheric web acts as a separator or a dividing web between the astral and the
dense physical body.
Second. It circulates the inflowing
vitality or pranic fluid
and carries on its work in three stages.
The first stage is
that wherein the pranic fluid and [Page 123] solar radiations are received, and
circulated three times around the triangle, thence being distributed to the periphery
of the body, animating and vitalising all the physical organs and conducing to
the automatic subconscious workings of the body of dense matter. When perfectly accomplishing its object it
protects from disease, and the ills of the flesh are unknown to the man who
absorbs and distributes prana with accuracy.
This hint is recommended to all physicians, and when properly
comprehended, will result in a basic change in medicine, from a curative to a
preventive foundation.
The second
stage is that in which the pranic fluids begin to blend with the fire at the
base of the spine and
to drive that fire slowly upwards, transferring its heat from the centres below
the solar plexus to the three higher centres—that of the heart, the throat and
the head. This is a long and slow
process when left to the unaided force of nature, but it is just here that (in
a few cases) a quickening of the process is permitted in order to equip workers
in the field of human service. This is
the object of all occult training. This
angle of the matter we will take up in still greater detail when we handle our
next point of "Kundalini and the Spine."
The third
stage is that in which active radiatory matter or prana is blended ever more perfectly with the fire
latent in matter; this
results (as will be brought out later) in certain effects.
It produces a
quickening of the normal vibration of the physical body so that it responds
with more readiness to the higher note of the Ego, and causes a steady rising
of the blending fires through the threefold channel in the spinal column. In
the second stage this vitalising blended fire reaches a centre
between the lower part of the shoulder blades, which is the point of conjunction, and of complete
merging, of the fire
from the base of the [Page 124] spine and the fire circulating
along the pranic triangle. It will be remembered how one point of this
triangle originates there. When the threefold
basic fire and the threefold pranic fire meet and merge, then evolution proceeds with greatly
increased velocity. This is effected definitely at the first Initiation when the polarisation becomes fixed in one
or other of the three higher centres,—which centre being dependent upon
a man's ray.
The result of this
merging leads to a change in the action of the centres. They become "wheels turning upon themselves," and from a purely rotary movement become
fourth dimensional in action, and manifest as radiant whirling centres of
living fire.
The three major
head centres (the sequence varying according to ray) become active and a
similar process is effected between them as was
effected in the pranic triangle. From
being three centres that react faintly to each other's vibratory movement
(feeling the warmth and rhythm of each other, yet separated), the fire leaps
from centre to centre, and each whirling wheel becomes linked by a chain of
fire till there is a triangle of fire through which the kundalini and pranic
fires radiate back and forth.
Circulation is also carried on. The
fire of kundalini produces
the heat of the centre,
and its intense radiance and brilliance, while the pranic emanatory fire
produces ever increasing activity and rotation.
As time elapses
between the first and fourth Initiation, the threefold channel in
the spine, and the
entire etheric body is gradually cleansed and purified by the action of the
fire till all "dross" (as the Christian expresses it) is burnt away,
and naught remains to impede the progress of this flame.
As the fire
of kundalini and prana
proceed with their work, and the channel becomes more and more cleared, the
centres more active, and the body purer, the flame [Page 125] of spirit, or the
fire from the Ego, comes more actively downwards till a flame of real
brilliance issues from the top of the head.
This flame surges upwards through the bodies towards its source, the
causal body.
Simultaneously
with the activity of these fires of matter and of Spirit, the fires of mind, or
manas, burn with greater intensity.
These are the fires given at individualisation. They are fed continuously by the fire of
matter, and their heat is augmented by solar emanatory fire, which originates
on the cosmic levels of mind. It is this
aspect of the manasic fire that develops under the forms of instinct, animal
memory, and functional recollection which are so apparent in the little evolved
man. As time progresses the fire
of mind burns more brightly and thus reaches a point where it begins to burn
through the etheric web—that
portion of the web that can be found guarding the centre at the very top of
the head, and
admitting entrance to the downflow from the Spirit. By its means certain things are brought
about:
The kundalini
fire is consciously directed and
controlled by the mind or will aspect from the mental plane.
The two fires of matter by the power of the mind of man are blended first with each other,
and, secondly, with the fire of mind.
The united result
of this blending is the destruction (under rule and order), of the etheric web,
and the consequent production of continuity of consciousness and the admission into the personal life
of man of "Life more abundant," or the third fire of Spirit.
The downrush of Spirit, and the uprising of the inner fires of matter
(controlled and directed by the conscious action of the fire of mind) produce
corresponding results on the same levels on the astral and mental planes, so
that a paralleling contact is brought about, and the great work of liberation
proceeds in an ordered manner.
The three
first initiations see these results perfected, [Page 126] and lead to the fourth, where the
intensity of the united fires results in the complete burning away of all
barriers, and the liberation of the Spirit by conscious directed effort from
out its threefold lower sheath. Man has
consciously to bring about his own liberation.
These results are self-induced by the man himself, as he is emancipated
from the three worlds, and has broken the wheel of rebirth himself instead of being broken upon it.
It will be
apparent from this elucidation that the exceeding importance of the etheric
vehicle as the separator of the fires has been brought forward, and consequently we have
brought to our notice the dangers that must ensue should man tamper
injudiciously, ignorantly or wilfully with these fires.
Should a man, by
the power of will or through an over-development of the mental side of his character, acquire the power
to blend these fires of matter and to drive them forward, he stands in danger
of obsession, insanity, physical death, or of dire disease in some part of his body, and he
also runs the risk of an over-development of the sex impulse through the driving of the force in an
uneven manner upwards, or in forcing its radiation to undesirable centres. The reason of this is that the matter
of his body is not pure enough to stand the uniting of the flames, that the channel up the spine is still
clogged and blocked, and therefore acts as a barrier, turning
the flame backwards and downwards, and that the flame (being united by the power of
mind and not being accompanied by a simultaneous downflow from the plane of
spirit), permits the entrance, through the burning etheric, of undesirable
and extraneous forces, currents, and even entities. These wreck and tear and ruin what is left of the
etheric vehicle, of the brain tissue and even of the dense physical body
itself.
The unwary man,
being unaware of his Ray and therefore of the proper
geometrical form of triangle that is [Page 127] the correct method of circulation from centre to
centre, will drive the fire in unlawful progression and thus burn up tissue;
this will result then (if in nothing worse), in a setting back for several
lives of the clock of his progress, for he will have to spend much time in rebuilding
where he destroyed, and with recapitulating on right lines all the work to be
done.
If a man persists
from life to life in this line of action, if he neglects his spiritual
development and concentrates on intellectual effort turned
to the manipulation of matter for selfish ends, if he continues this in spite of the promptings of
his inner self, and in spite of the warnings that may reach him from Those who
watch, and if this is carried on for a long period he may bring upon himself a destruction
that is final for this manvantara or cycle. He may, by
the uniting of the two fires of matter and the dual
expression of mental fire, succeed in the complete destruction of the physical permanent atom,
and thereby sever his connection with the higher self for aeons of
time. H. P. B. has somewhat touched on this when
speaking of "lost souls"; we must here emphasise the reality of this
dire disaster and sound a warning note to those who approach this subject of
the fires of matter with all its latent dangers. The blending of these fires must be the
result of spiritualised knowledge, and must be directed solely by the Light of
the Spirit, who works through love and is love, and who seeks this unification
and this utter merging not from the point of view of sense or of material gratification,
but because liberation and purification is desired in order that the higher
union with the Logos may be effected; this union must be desired, not for
selfish ends, but because group perfection is the goal and scope for greater
service to the race must be achieved.
(HIS 128) All Rods of Initiation cause certain
effects:—
a. Stimulation of
the latent fires till they blaze.
b. Synthesis of
the fires through an occult activity that brings them within the radius of each
other.
c. Increase of the
vibratory activity of some centre, whether in man, a Heavenly Man, or a solar
Logos.
d. Expansion of
all the bodies, but primarily of the causal body.
e. The arousing
of the kundalini fire
(or the fire at the base of the spine), and the direction of its upward progression. This fire, and the fire of manas, are
directed [Page 128] along certain routes—or triangles—by the following of the Rod as it moves in
a specified manner. There is a definite
occult reason, under the laws of electricity, behind the known fact that every
initiate presented to the Initiator is accompanied by two of the Masters, Who
stand one on either side of the initiate.
The three of Them together form a triangle
which makes the work possible.
The force of the
Rod is twofold, and its power terrific.
Apart and alone the initiate could not receive the voltage from the Rod
without serious hurt, but in triangular transmission comes safety. We need to remember here that two Masters
sponsor all applicants for initiation, and represent two polarities of the
electric All. Part of Their function is
to stand with applicants for initiation when they come before the Great Lord.
(HIS 140) The centres, at initiation, receive a fresh
access of vibratory capacity and of power, and this results
in the exoteric life as:—
3. A burning away
of the etheric web, through the gradual arousing of kundalini
and its correct geometrical progression, and a resultant continuity of
consciousness that enables the initiate consciously to utilise time as a factor
on the planes of evolution.
(HIS 171) At the third
initiation "the secret of fohat" is given to him, and then the mystery of the threefold
body of the triple Logos is his, and the why of the phenomena of the dense liquid and
gaseous bodies of the Supreme Being is enfolded before his amazed vision. The two secrets previously imparted, and the
knowledge which they gave having been utilised, the initiate is now in a
position to profit by this greater revelation, and to understand somewhat the
following facts:—
1. The creative
process of thought form building.
2. The
transmission of energy from the Ego to the physical body via the force centres
on the various planes.
[Page 171]
3. The uprising
of kundalini, its geometrical
progression, and its
vivification of all the centres.
(
Before initiation,
all the centres will be rotating in fourth dimensional order, but after
initiation they become flaming wheels, and—seen clairvoyantly—are of rare
beauty, The fire of Kundalini
is then awakened and is progressing in the necessary
spirals. At the second initiation the emotional
centres are similarly awakened, and at the third initiation those on
the mental plane are
touched. The initiate can then stand in
the Presence of the Great King, the One Initiator.
I seek to point
out that the student must ever remember that here generalisations only are
given. The complexity in the development
of the microcosm is as great as in the macrocosm. The awakening of the centres and their
particular order is dependent on several factors, such as:
a—The Ray of the Spirit or Monad.
b—The Ray of the Ego, Higher Self, or Son, or the sub-ray.
(
a—It focuses the
light or the consciousness of the Higher Self into the three lower vehicles,
drawing it downward into fuller expression and widening its contact on all the
three planes in the three worlds.
b—It draws down from the threefold Spirit
more and more of the fire of the Spirit, doing for the causal body what the Ego
is doing for the three lower vehicles.
c—It forces the unification of the higher and
lower, and it attracts the spiritual life itself. When this is done, when each successive life
sees an increase of vitality in the centres, and when kundalini
in its seven-fold capacity touches each centre, then even the causal body proves inadequate for the
influx of life from above. If I might so
express it, the two fires meet, and eventually the egoic body disappears; the
fire burns up entirely the
(
(
(
(
Here you have fire
as it may be seen in the greater and the lesser systems. I would here sum up for you the purpose of
fire in the microcosm, and what must be aimed at. You have the three fires:
l—The vital divine spark.
2—The spark of mind.
3—Kundalini,
the twofold blending of the internal heat and of the
pranic current. The
home of this [Page 186] force is the centre at the base of the spine and the spleen
as a feeder of that
heat.
When these three
fires—that of the quaternary, of the triad and of the fifth principle—meet and blend in proper geometrical
manner, each centre is adequately vitalised, every power is sufficiently
expressing itself, all impurity and dross is burnt away, and the goal is
reached. The spark has become a flame,
and the flame is part of the great egoic blaze which animates all of the objective universe.
Therefore, we are
brought logically to the position that there will be for these three types of
mantrams another mantram which will bring about their union and merging. You have in fact:—
Mantrams that affect kundalini,
and arouse it in the right manner. By the power of the vibration they send it
circulating through the centres according to their natural, geometrical
progression. A secondary branch of these
mantrams deals with the spleen,
and the control of the pranic fluids for the purpose of health, for
vitalisation, and for affecting the fire at the base of the spine.
(
These are the four
most important mantrams
as regards individual evolution and development, and are well-known
to all those who train pupils for initiation. But by
themselves, even if discovered by the unready, they could
accomplish little, for
their use must be accompanied by the power that comes from the application of
the Rod of Initiation. This Rod, through
its surmounting diamond, focuses the three fires in the same way that a burning glass reacts
to the sun, and causes a conflagration.
(LOS 83) 4. Each centre corresponds to a sacred
planet, the body of
manifestation of one of the seven Heavenly Men.
5. Every centre
has to be developed through the use of the Word. This word is AUM and it must appear in
the vibrant centre eventually. When it shines
forth perfectly within
the wheel then that centre has perfectly awakened.
6. Certain of the
qualities of the sun are the qualities of the centres.
a. Quality of the
solar plexus warmth.
b. Quality
of centre at base of spine kundalini
fire.
c. Quality of the
ajna centre between the eyebrows illuminating
light.
d. Quality of the
head centre cold light.
e. Quality of the
sacral centre moisture.
f. Quality of the
throat centre red light.
g. Quality of the
heart centre radiant or
magnetic light.
(LOS 209) The secondary meaning has of course direct
reference to the work of the kundalini
or serpent fire at the base of the spine as it responds to the soul vibration (felt
in the head, in the region of the pineal gland, and called "the light in
the head"). Mounting upward, it burns out all
obstructions in the spinal etheric channel and vitalizes or electrifies the
five centres up the spine and the two in the head. The vital airs within the ventricles of the
head are also swept into activity and produce a cleansing, or rather
eliminating effect therein. With this
the student has as yet nothing to do, beyond seeing to it that as far as in him
lies, the aspiration of his heart is of the needed "fiery" character,
and that the steady purification of his physical, emotional and mental [Page
210] nature, proceeds as desired. When this is the case, the response of the
soul will be effective and the consequent reactions within the etheric centres
will take place safely, under law, and normally.
(LOS 221) I. The external, internal or motionless
control [Page 221] of the life currents of the body (dense and etheric). This concerns:
1. The breathing
apparatus and the use of the breath.
2. The vital airs
and their radiation.
3.
The centres, and their awakening.
4. The kundalini
fire and its right
progression up the spine.
(LOS 222) It will be obvious that much of the teaching
conveyed in this sutra can only safely be given directly by the teacher to the
pupil, after a proper study of the bodily conditions of that pupil. It is not possible nor right to give in a
book intended for the general public those rules, practices and methods which
enable the trained disciple to bring his dense physical vehicle into
instantaneous synchronization with his etheric body, to densify and irradiate
his aura so as to produce certain magnetic results in his environment, and to
awaken his centres so that certain psychic powers are displayed. The methods for arousing the kundalini
[Page 222] fire and blending it with the downpouring egoic
force must also be left for direct teaching by a master in this science to his
pupil. There is extreme danger attendant upon the
premature awakening of the fire, and the consequent
destruction of certain protective structures in the etheric body and the
breaking down of the barriers between this world and the astral world, before
the pupil is properly "balanced between the pairs of opposites.
There is a menace in the premature growth of the lower psychic powers
before the higher nature is awakened, and the effect upon the brain can be seen
as insanity in some form or other, mild or the reverse. A few explanatory words can, however, be
given which will enable the true occult student to gain that information which,
if correctly used, acts as a key to the possession of more. This is ever the occult method. Let us, therefore, deal briefly with our
three points.
(SAIM 100) The physical body is the expression in its
component parts or atoms of the third type of energy, and the sum-total
of that atomic energy is called Kundalini:
"The centre
where all residual sensations are, as it were, stored up is called Mul-adhara chakra, and the
coiled up energy of action is Kundalini,
`the coiled up'."
"It is the
individual bodily representative of the great cosmic power (Shakti) which
created and sustains the universe."9
The physical body
itself is often regarded as an atom in the body of the human kingdom, and in
this case the Kundalini energy, localised as it is supposed to be in a centre
at the base of the spine, would be a positive nucleus, with the other atoms of the body regarded
as electronic in nature.
The vital body, or
body of ether, is the medium [Page 101] for the expression of the life soul,
that sentient vivifying duality which we call prana. This
dual energy has two positive centres in the vital body and consequently in the physical—one
in the heart, where
feeling and sentiency are claimed to be centred, and another
in the head where the
mind and the spiritual consciousness find expression.
(SAIM 107) The
object, therefore, of all methods and practices is to bring about conscious
union with the soul, and produce the subordination of the two lower energies,
those of matter and those of the sentient mental nature, to the highest of the
three energies, the spiritual life. When this is accomplished, the spiritual
life principle animates a soul which knows no barriers and limitations because
it has brought its mechanism to the highest state of perfection. Matter has
been raised into heaven, and hence the Hindu teaching that the
Kundalini fire, the energy of matter (sometimes called the mother) has
eventually to be raised from its position at the base of the spine up into the
head. This is a correspondence to the Roman Catholic teaching as to the
Assumption of the Virgin-Mother into Heaven to take her place by the side of
her Son, the Christ, the Soul. This has to be brought
about [Page 107] consciously by the soul or self, seated in the mind and brain
consciousness, and from there assuming control of the energies of the entire
natural man. This is Yoga or union, which is not only a mystical experience,
but a vital or physical one also. This is the at-one-ment of the Christian. It
is an integration of the entire man, physical, sentient, and mental, and then a
conscious unification with the universal soul. Dr. Rele says:
(EOH 170) In the esoteric teaching, this takes place in
the life of the individual when—by an act of the will—the centre
at the base of the spine is aroused and the fire and the light of the personal threefold
life (one aspect of which is often called the kundalini fire) is carried
upwards and merged with the power and the light of the soul. The major approach of the two basic
energies of form and soul (as an expression of spirit)
are thereby related within the human being; the "marriage in the
heavens" takes place and the task of the creative process of incarnation
or individual manifestation is on the way to completion. Within the planetary
life, the same process goes on. The life of humanity as a whole (which is
intelligent form life) and the life of the Hierarchy (which is the life of the
soul), under impulse from the Spirit or will aspect as symbolised in Shamballa,
are fused and blended and then a new departure in the evolutionary process
becomes possible. The
(EOH 19) When this is done with detachment and is
paralleled by a life of loving service, the awakening of the centres and the raising of the
sleeping fire of kundalini
will go forward with safety and sanity and the whole system will be brought to [Page 19] the
requisite stage of "aliveness." I cannot too strongly advise students
against the following of intensive meditation processes for hours at a time, or
against practices which have for their objective the arousing of the fires of
the body, the awakening of a particular centre and the moving of the serpent
fire. The general world stimulation is so great at this time and the average
aspirant is so sensitive and finely organised that excessive meditation, a
fanatical diet, the curtailing of the hours of sleep or undue interest in and
emphasis upon psychic experience will upset the mental balance and often do
irretrievable harm.
(EH 182) 7. The Centre at the Base of the Spine. This centre is, above everything else,
controlled and governed by the Law of Being, above referred to, and is
established where spirit and matter meet and where matter, the Virgin
Mary—under the influence of the Holy Spirit, time energy of the etheric
vehicle—is translated "into Heaven," there (as the Christian
phraseology puts it) "to be seated beside her Son in the house of the
Father."
This centre is
found at the very base of the spine, and supports all the other centres. It is relatively quiescent at this time, for
it is only roused into full activity by an act of the will, directed and controlled by the
initiate. It is responsive only to the
will aspect, and the will-to-be in incarnation is the factor which at present
controls its life and produces its effects as it feeds and directs the life
principle in matter and form. Just as we
are told that the life principle is "seated in the heart," so the will-to-be
is seated in the base of the spine. There has
been much idle and dangerous talk anent this centre,
and the whole subject of the
"kundalini fire" has proved an exciting and enticing
tale by the pseudo-occultists of the world.
The true occultist in training has naught to do with the kundalini fire—as usually [Page 182] understood. It is not possible for me to do more than
make certain facts somewhat clearer to you, and yet at the same time I must
refrain from indicating modes and methods of arousing the activity of this
centre, on account of the extreme danger involved in any premature work on the
basic centre. The best I can do is to
make a series of statements which will be comprehended in the right way by
those who know (and these are as yet few and far between), which will aid the
thinking of those who are in training and give them a somewhat more complete
picture, but which will protect the ignorant from disaster. I shall make these statements as clearly and
briefly as possible, but shall give practically no explanatory matter with
them.
1. This basic
centre is the point where, under the evolutionary law, spirit and matter meet,
and life is related to form.
2. It is therefore
the centre where the essential dualism of the manifested divinity—man or
planetary Logos—meet and produce form.
3. The nature of
this divinity is only revealed when the second aspect has accomplished its
work, through the medium of the third aspect, but under the directing will of
the first aspect.
4. It is the
centre where the "serpent of God" undergoes two transformations:
a. The serpent of
matter lies coiled.
b. This serpent is
transformed into the serpent of wisdom.
c. The serpent of
wisdom is translated and becomes the "dragon of living light."
5. These three
stages are nurtured by the life and energy pouring down through the entire
length of the spinal [Page 183] column, via the etheric correspondence of the
spinal cord, and—in time and space—this downpouring (plus the simultaneously
uprising life) produces:
a. The awakening
in a gradual and orderly manner of the centres, according to ray types.
b. The reversal of
the centres so that the consciousness of the indwelling man is adequate to his
environment.
c. The synthesis
of the life energies of all the centres, and adequacy to the demands of the
initiate and the service of the Hierarchy and of Humanity.
6. The spinal
column (from the angle of the esoteric sciences) houses a threefold
thread. This is the externalisation of
the antahkarana, composed of the antahkarana proper, the sutratma or life
thread, and the creative thread. This
threefold thread within the spinal column is therefore composed of three
threads of energy which have channeled for themselves in the substance of the interior
of the column a "threefold way of approach and of withdrawal." These are called in the Hindu
terminology: the ida,
the pingala and the sushumna paths, and they together form the path of life for
the individual man and are awakened into activity sequentially and according to
ray type and the point of evolution. The
sushumna path is not used correctly and safely until the antahkarana has been
built and the Monad and Personality are thereby related, even if it is only by
the most tenuous thread. Then the Monad,
the Father, the will aspect, can reach the personality in a direct manner, and
can arouse the basic centre, and with it blend, unify
and raise the three fires.
[Page 184]
7. One of these paths is the one along which the energy which
feeds matter is poured. Another is
related to the path of consciousness and of sensitive psychic unfoldment. The third is the path of pure spirit. Thus in every living form the work of the
Father, of the Mother and of the Son is carried on. Life-consciousness-form and
life-quality-appearance are blended, and the response apparatus of the divine
man is perfected, enabling him to contact and recognise the major divine
aspects in the kingdoms in nature, in the planet and in the solar
system—eventually.
Be not betrayed
into placing these interlaced spheres of living energy on the right or the left
of the spinal cord. Constantly a
movement, an interplay and a reversal is going
on. I can but portray the nature of a
symbol which will indicate the special path of the three energies of the divine
Trinity. I indicate not a fact in
location or place, for it is this materialising and localising of the main
concept which has produced so much danger.
The initiate-student seeks to grasp the relation of the three basic energies,
the three paths of living fire, their relation and inter-relation and their
sequential polarisation. He seeks not to
narrow the teaching down to points and lines and place until such [Page 185]
time when these terms mean little to him and he knows more.
8. These three
paths of life are the channels for electric fire, solar fire and fire by
friction, and are related in their usage to the three stages of the path of
evolution: the path of evolution in the
material, earlier stages; the Path of Probation, and the early stages of the
Path of Discipleship until the third initiation; and the Path of Initiation
itself.
9. The Kundalini Fire, about which so much is taught and written
in the East, and increasingly in the West, is in reality the union of these
three fires, which are focussed by an act of the enlightened will, under the
impulse of love, in the basic centre.
This unified fire is then raised by the use of a Word of Power (sent
forth by the will of the Monad) and by the united authority of the soul and
personality, integrated and alive. The
human being who can do this in full consciousness is therefore an initiate who
has left the third initiation behind him.
He, and he alone, can safely raise this triple
fire from the base of the spine to the head centre.
10. As usually
interpreted by the ignorant esotericist in the various occult groups, the kundalini fire is something which must be
"raised," and when it is raised all the centres will then come into
functioning activity and the channels up and down the spine will be cleared of
all obstruction. This is a dangerous
generalisation and a reversal of the facts.
The kundalini
fire will be raised
and carried up into heaven when all the centres are awakened and the channels
up the spine are unimpeded. This removal
of all obstruction is the result of the livingness of the individual centres
which, [Page 186] through the potency of their life,
themselves are effective in destroying all hindrances and obstructions. They can "burn up" all that hinders
their radiation. What usually happens in
those accidental cases (which do so much harm) is that the aspirant, through
his ignorant curiosity and by an effort of the mind (not of the spiritual will,
but purely as an expression of personality will), succeeds in arousing the
lowest of the three fires, the fire of matter, fire by friction; this produces
a premature burning and destroys the etheric web in the etheric body. These circular disks or webs are to be found
between each pair of the centres up the spine and also in the head. They are normally dissipated as purity of
life, the iscipline of the emotions, and the development of the spiritual will
are carried forward.
There are four of
these webs. When the fourfold
personality is highly developed and the ajna centre is awakening, then these
webs slowly and gradually, normally and automatically disappear. The webs in the head are of much higher
quality and bisect the skull horizontally and vertically. Thus they symbolise the Cross upon which a
Son of God is crucified.
11. The three
channels up the spine are responsive in their totality to the three major
centres:
a. To the solar
plexus centre, providing thus the impulse of desire and feeding the physical
life and the creative urge.
b. To the heart
centre, providing the impulse to love and to conscious contact with ever
widening areas of divine expression.
c. To the head
centre, providing the dynamic impulse of the will to live.
I do not indicate
which channel is responsive to which centre, except in the case of the sushumna
channel which is responsive only to the energy of the head centre and the
directing will, centred in the 1000-petalled lotus. This can be safely stated, as the spiritual
will is as yet undeveloped in those who seek to arouse kundalini. When it is
aroused, they will know what they can safely do.
12. The three
centres in the head are also related to this triple channel:
a. The medulla
oblongata area (the alta major centre) and the carotid
gland.
b. The ajna centre
and the pituitary body.
c. The
1000-petalled lotus and the pineal gland.
Students will find
it interesting to relate all these triplicities to the three major rays:
[Page 188]
a. The first ray
of will or power,
b. The second ray
of love-wisdom,
c. The third ray
of active intelligence,
and also to the three human races which are
endowed with the power to unfold the seed of these divine aspects: Lemuria, Atlantis and the Aryan race. These can be linked, as seed, to the two
final races which will fuse and synthesise all the above powers, qualities,
achievements and goals into one perfected planetary life.
Another synthesis
is also possible and of importance:
a. Path of
Evolution centres below the
diaphragm.
b. Path of
Discipleship centres above the
diaphragm.
c. Path of Initiation centres in the head.
These groups and
triplicities are all related in time and space to the triple spinal cord.
13. There is
also—again in relation to all the above points of synthesis in the body—one
consummating point of complete fusion. I
give each of these in the sequence of their work of fusion:
a. The solar
plexus centre, fusing the centres below the diaphragm.
b. The ajna
centre, fusing centres both above and below the diaphragm.
c. The base
of the spine, fusing all six centres.
d. The
thousand-petalled lotus of the head, fusing all the seven energies.
(CF 323) during
certain stages of the evolutionary process different centres (such as the base
of the spine) are positive to all the others,
(Mercury at 5th initiation) not even excluding the head centre….
Likewise certain of the planetary schemes are positive and others negative; three
of the schemes are dual, both negative and positive….Venus is negatively polarised….
(CF 391) Mercurian
life will begin to synthesise, and to be transferred to its synthesising
planet. In the case of Mercury this synthesising planet is not
Saturn,
(Uranus/Head-Mercury/Base) but one of the other two higher major centres.
(CF 280) a
negative planet will be attracted by a positive
(CF 292) ….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 or monadic sheath as the
synthesiser of the seven principles, making the three, the seven, and the ten.
Probably after 3rd Mercury rules
base centre, Saturn rules ajna
(EH 151) The throat centre is ruled by
Saturn just as the two
head centres are ruled respectively by Uranus (ruling the head centre) and
Mercury (ruling the ajna centre). This is only
where the disciple is concerned; the rulership changes after the third
initiation or before
the first. These three planets
constitute a most interesting triangle of forces and in the following
triplicities and their inevitable inter-relations you have—again only in the
case of disciples—a most amazing picture story or symbol of the ninefold of
initiation:
(EH 336) On the Vagus Nerve.
There are two
powerful centres connected with the vagus nerve: the heart
centre and the centre at the base of the spine. These two,
when brought under the control of the soul, functioning through the head centre
(the [Page 336] brahmarandra), produce the raising
of the kundalini fire. This, when taking place, swings the entire
nervous system into a special form of rhythmic activity and responsiveness, and
it is through the stimulation and the control of the vagus nerve that this is
accomplished. It is not the vagus nerve
which is instrumental in raising the kundalini fire, but the reverse situation. When the head, the heart and the
centre at the base of the spine are in magnetic and dynamic rapport, producing a radiatory effect, then they
affect the vagus nerve and the fires of the body are unified and raised,
producing purification and the "opening of all doors."
(WM 80) b. The wisdom of
the Triad exists for the use of the personality, but is barred by the disquisitions of the
lower mind. When the fire of mind burns
too fiercely, it forms a current which counteracts the higher
downflow, and forces the lower fire back into seclusion.
Only when the three fires meet, through the regulation of the middle fire
of mind, can a full light be achieved, and the whole body be full of light, the
fire from above—the triadal light—the fire of the lower self,—kundalini—and the fire of mind,—cosmic
manas—must meet upon
the altar. In their union comes the
burning away of all that hinders and the completed emancipation.
(WM 572) c. The capacity,
therefore, to work at will through the medium of any particular center. This is only possible when the soul can dwell
as the Ruler on the "throne between the eyebrows" and when the Kundalini
fire has been what is occultly called raised. This fire has
to pass up through the spinal column and burn its way through the web which
separates center from center on the "Golden Rod of Power."
(WM 591) The underlying objective in all laya yoga
work (or [Page 591] work with the centres) is based upon the fact that the
energy of the cells which compose the body or the matter aspect (called in The
Secret Doctrine, and in A Treatise on Cosmic Fire,
"fire by friction") must be blended with the fire
of consciousness. This latter is the energy, present in matter
yet different from the fire of matter itself, which underlies the entire
nervous system and because it so underlies it produces sensitivity and
awareness. It is the cause of response
to contact and confers the ability to register and record impression, as you
well know. This fire is technically
called "solar fire", and when it blends with the fire of
matter and with the "electric fire" of the highest divine aspect, then man's being
comes into its fullest manifestation and the great work is completed. But it is a most dangerous undertaking, when
induced before the mechanism is ready to deal with it.
This triple blending can only be safely undertaken by the highly organised
and rounded-out person, and by one who has achieved the capacity
to focus his attention in the head and from that
Each centre in the
spine is separated from the one above it and the one below it by an interlaced
protective [Page 592] web which is composed of a curious blend of etheric and
gaseous substance. This has to be burnt
away and dissipated before there can be the free play of the fires of the
body. A complete network of nadis and
centres underlies and is the subtle counterpart of the nervous and endocrine
systems. A little clear thinking
therefore will demonstrate the need for excessive care, for there will
obviously lie a direct effect upon the external
apparatus and this in its turn will definitely affect what the psychologists
call "behaviour". There
are four of these interlaced circular "webs" lying between the five centres found
on the rod of the spinal column, such as follows: 0/0/0/0/0, and three are to
be found in the head. These three bisect
the head, and form a series of crosses, as follows:
This is much like
the cross upon the Union Jack, which has always had an esoteric significance
for the student, and indicates a point in racial evolution.
This cross in the head separates the ajna centre (the
centre between the eyebrows) from the head centre, for it lies
behind that centre in the forehead, and at the same time forms a protective
shield between the ajna and throat centres.
These etheric webs
are in reality disks, rotating or revolving at specific rates, which differ for
the different centres, and according to the point in evolution of the system of
centres concerned. Only when these webs
are burnt away by the ascending and descending fires can the true centres
really be seen. Many clairvoyants
confuse the centres and their protective counterparts, for the latter have a
radiance and light of their own.
As the life
achieves an increasingly high vibration through purification and discipline,
the fire of the soul, which is literally the fire of mind, causes the centres also to increase their
vibration, and this increased activity sets up a contact with the protective
"webs", or disks of pranic energy found on either side of them. Thus, [Page 593] through the interplay,
they are gradually worn away, so that in the course of time they become perforated, if I might use
such an inadequate term.
Many aspirants
feel convinced that they have raised the kundalini fire at the base of
the spine and are consequently
making rapid progress, whereas all that they have accomplished is to burn or
"rub through" the web at some point or other up the spine. A sensation of burning or of pain in any part
of the spine, when not due to physiological causes, is, in the majority of cases,
due to the piercing of one or other of the webs, through the activity of the
centres allied to them. This happens
very frequently in the case of women in connection with the solar plexus
centre, and with men in connection with the sacral centre. Both these centres—as a result of
evolutionary development—are exceedingly active and highly organised, for they
are the expression of the physical creative nature and of the emotional
body. A sense therefore of
burning and of pain in the back indicates usually undue activity in a centre, which
produces destructive results upon the protective apparatus, and is no true
indication of spiritual unfoldment and superiority. It may indicate the latter, but it should be
remembered that, where there is true spiritual growth, pain
and danger are in this connection practically eliminated.
There has been
much loose talk about the raising of the kundalini fire and much misapprehension in the
matter. Let me assure you that it is
most difficult to raise, and can only be done by a
definite act of the will and through the intense mental focussing
and concentrated attention of the man, seated on the throne of consciousness in the head. The Masonic tradition has the teaching
clearly held in its beautiful ritual of the raising of the great
Master-Mason. Only when there is united
effort of a fivefold kind, and only after repeated failure, does the [Page 594] vivifying life course
through the entire body and bring to life the true man.
(WM 596) It will be apparent therefore from the above
that I cannot give specific instructions as to the awakening of the centres and
the burning of the etheric web which will result in the release of energy. Such information is too
dangerous and too intriguing to be put in the hands of the general public, who are driven by desire for some new thing,
and lack right poise and the needed mental development. The time has come however when the fact that
there is an energy body underlying the nervous system must be recognized by the
world at large, and when the nature of the seven centres, their structure and
location should be grasped technically, and when the laws of their unfoldment
should be widely known. But more than
this cannot yet be safely given. The
intricate nature of this science of the centres is too great for general
usefulness. The teaching
to be given in any particular case and the methods to be applied are
dependent upon too many factors for a general rule and instruction to be
given. The ray and type, the sex and
point in [Page 596] evolution must be considered and also the balance of the
centres. By this I mean the
consideration as to their over-development in one case and under development in
another and as to whether there is a preponderance of the force below or above
the diaphragm, or whether the main energy is concentrated in
that central clearing house, the solar plexus. The quality
and the brilliance of the light in the head has to be studied, for it indicates
the measure of soul control and the relative purity of the vehicles, and the
various etheric "webs" have to be carefully dealt with, and also the
rate of vibration of the web and the centre.
A synchronisation has to be set up and this is most difficult to bring
about. These are only a few of the
points that the teacher has to note, and it is apparent therefore that only
a teacher who has achieved synthetic vision and can see a man "whole," or as he really
is, can give those instructions which will reverse the
ancient rhythm of the centres, destroy without pain and danger the protective
sheaths, and raise the kundalini fire
from the base of the spine
to the exit in the head.