Chapter 11

In this description the first triple group--viz., the bones (or the gross matter), the vital force which keeps them together, and the ethereal body, are included in one and called Existence, Life. The second part stands for the fourth principle of the septenary man, as denoting the configuration of his knowledge or desires.* Then the three, consciousness (or animal soul), (spiritual) soul, and the pure Spirit are the same as in the first quoted passage. Why are these four mentioned as distinct from each other and not consolidated like the first part? The sacred writings explain this by saying that on death the first of these five parts disappears and perishes sooner or later in the earth's atmosphere. The gross elementary matter (the shell) has to run within the earth's attraction; so the ahum separates from the higher portions and is lost.

* Modern science also teaches that certain characteristics of features indicate the possession of certain qualities in a man. The whole science of physiognomy is founded on it. One can predict the disposition of a man from his features,--i.e., the features develop in accordance with the idiosyncrasies, qualities and vices, knowledge or the ignorance of man. ---------

The second (i.e., the fourth of the septenary group) remains, but not with the spiritual soul. It continues to hold its place in the vast storehouse of the universe. And it is this second daenam which stands before the (spiritual) soul in the form of a beautiful maiden or an ugly hag. That which brings this daenam within the sight of the (spiritual) soul is the third part (i.e., the fifth of the septenary group), the baodhas. Or in other words, the (spiritual) soul has with it, or in it, the true consciousness by which it can view the experiences of its physical career. So this consciousness, this power or faculty which brings the recollection, is always with, in other words, is a part and parcel of, the soul itself; hence, its not mixing with any other part, and hence its existence after the physical death of man.*

--A Parsi F.T.S.

* Our Brother has but to look into the oldest sacred hooks of China-- namely, the YI KING. or Book of Changes (translated by James Legge) written 1,200 B.C., to find that same Septenary division of man mentioned in that system of Divination. Zhing, which is translated correctly enough "essence," is the more subtle and pure part of matter-- the grosser form of the elementary ether; Khi, or "spirit," is the breath, still material but purer than the zhing, and is made of the finer and more active form of ether. In the hwun, or soul (animus) the Khi predominates and the zhing (or zing) in the pho or animal soul. At death the hwun (Or spiritual soul) wanders away, ascending, and the pho (the root of the Tibetan word Pho-hat) descends and is changed into a ghostly shade (the shell). Dr. Medhurst thinks that "the Kwei Shans" (see "Theology of the Chinese," pp. 10-12) are "the expanding and contracting principles of human life!" "The Kwei Shans" are brought about by the dissolution of the human frame--and consist of the expanding and ascending Shan which rambles about in space, and of the contracted and shrivelled Kwei, which reverts to earth and nonentity. Therefore, the Kwei is the physical body; the Shan is the vital principle the Kwei Shan the linga-sariram, or the vital soul; Zhing the fourth principle or Kama Rupa, the essence of will; pho, the animal soul; Khi, the spiritual soul; and Hwun the pure spirit--the seven principles of our occult doctrine!--Ed. Theos. ---------

Brahmanism on the Sevenfold Principle in Man

It is now very difficult to say what was the real ancient Aryan doctrine. If an inquirer were to attempt to answer it by an analysis and comparison of all the various systems of esotericism prevailing in India, he will soon be lost in a maze of obscurity and uncertainty. No comparison between our real Brahmanical and the Tibetan esoteric doctrines will be possible unless one ascertains the teachings of that so-called "Aryan doctrine," and fully comprehends the whole range of the ancient Aryan philosophy. Kapila's "Sankhya," Patanjali's "Yog philosophy," the different systems of "Saktaya" philosophy, the various Agamas and Tantras are but branches of it. There is a doctrine, though, which is their real foundation, and which is sufficient to explain the secrets of these various systems of philosophy and harmonize their teachings. It probably existed long before the Vedas were compiled, and it was studied by our ancient Rishis in connection with the Hindu scriptures. It is attributed to one mysterious personage called Maha.*.....

* The very title of the present chief of the esoteric Himalayan Brotherhood.--Ed. Theos. ----------

The Upanishads and such portions of the Vedas as are not chiefly devoted to the public ceremonials of the ancient Aryans are hardly intelligible without some knowledge of that doctrine. Even the real significance of the grand ceremonials referred to in the Vedas will not be perfectly apprehended without its light being throw upon them. The Vedas were perhaps compiled mainly for the use of the priests assisting at public ceremonies, but the grandest conclusions of our real secret doctrine are therein mentioned. I am informed by persons competent to judge of the matter, that the Vedas have a distinct dual meaning--one expressed by the literal sense of the words, the other indicated by the metre and the swara (intonation), which are, as it were the life of the Vedas. Learned Pundits and philologists of course deny that swara has anything to do with philosophy or ancient esoteric doctrines; but the mysterious connection between swara and light is one of its most profound secrets.

Now, it is extremely difficult to show whether the Tibetans derived their doctrine from the ancient Rishis of India, or the ancient Brahrnans learned their occult science from the adepts of Tibet; or, again, whether the adepts of both countries professed originally the same doctrine and derived it from a common source.* If you were to go to the Sramana Balagula, and question some of the Jain Pundits there about the authorship of the Vedas and the origin of the Brahmanical esoteric doctrine, they would probably tell you that the Vedas were composed by Rakshasas** or Daityas, and that the Brahmans had derived their secret knowledge from them.***

* See Appendix, Note I.

** A kind of demons-devil.

*** And so would the Christian padris. But they would never admit that their "fallen angels" were borrowed from the Rakshasas; that their "devil" is the illegitimate son of Dewel, the Sinhalese female demon; or that the "war in heaven" of the Apocalypse--the foundation of the Christian dogma of the "Fallen Angels" was copied from the Hindu story about Siva hurling the Tarakasura who rebelled against the gods into Andhahkara, the abode of Darkness, according to Brahmanical Shastras. ---------

Do these assertions mean that the Vedas and the Brahmanical esoteric teachings had their origin in the lost Atlantis--the continent that once occupied a considerable portion of the expanse of the Southern and the Pacific oceans? The assertion in "Isis Unveiled," that Sanskrit was the language of the inhabitants of the said continent, may induce one to suppose that the Vedas had probably their origin there, wherever else might be the birthplace of the Aryan esotericism.* But the real esoteric doctrine, as well as the mystic allegorical philosophy of the Vedas, were derived from another source again, whatever that may be-- perchance from the divine inhabitants (gods) of the sacred island which once existed in the sea that covered in days of old the sandy tract now called Gobi Desert. However that may be, the knowledge of the occult powers of Nature possessed by the inhabitants of the lost Atlantis was learnt by the ancient adepts of India, and was appended by them to the esoteric doctrine taught by the residents of the sacred island.** The Tibetan adepts, however, have not accepted this addition to their esoteric doctrine; and it is in this respect that one should expect to find a difference between the two doctrines.***

* Not necessarily. (See Appendix, Note II.) It is generally held by Occultists that Sanskrit has been spoken in Java and adjacent islands from remote antiquity.--Ed. Theos.

** A locality which is spoken of to this day by the Tibetans, and called by them "Scham-bha-la," the Happy Land. (See Appendix, Note III.)

*** To comprehend this passage fully, the reader must turn to vol. I. pp. 589-594 of "Isis Unveiled." --------

The Brahmanical occult doctrine probably contains everything that was taught about the powers of Nature and their laws, either in the mysterious island of the North or in the equally mysterious continent of the South. And if you mean to compare the Aryan and the Tibetan doctrines as regards their teachings about the occult powers of Nature, you must beforehand examine all the classifications of these powers, their laws and manifestations, and the real connotations of the various names assigned to them in the Aryan doctrine. Here are some of the classifications contained in the Brahmanical system:

I. As appertaining to Parabrahmam and existing in the MACROCOSM.

II. As appertaining to man and existing in the MICROCOSM.

III. For the purposes of d Taraka Yog or Pranava Yog.

IV. For the purposes of Sankhya Yog (where they are, as it were, the inherent attributes of Prakriti).

V. For the purposes of Hata Yog.

VI. For the purposes of Koula Agama.

VII. For the purposes of Sakta Agama.

VIII. For the purposes of Siva Aqama.

IX. For the purposes of Sreechakram (the Sreechakram referred to in "Isis Unveiled" is not the real esoteric Sreechakram of the ancient adepts of Aryavarta).*

* Very true. But who would be allowed to give out the "real" esoteric one?--Ed. Theos. --------

X. In Atharvena Veda, &c.

In all these classifications subdivisions have been multiplied indefinitely by conceiving new combinations of the Primary Powers in different proportions. But I must now drop this subject, and proceed to consider the "Fragments of Occult Truth" (since embodied in "Esoteric Buddhism").

I have carefully examined it, and find that the results arrived at (in the Buddhist doctrine) do not differ much from the conclusions of our Aryan philosophy, though our mode of stating the arguments may differ in form. I shall now discuss the question from my own standpoint, though, following, for facility of comparison and convenience of discussion, the sequence of classification of the sevenfold entities or principles constituting man which is adopted in the "Fragments." The questions raised for discussion are (1) whether the disembodied spirits of human beings (as they are called by Spiritualists) appear in the seance-rooms and elsewhere; and (2) whether the manifestations taking place are produced wholly or partly through their agency.

It is hardly possible to answer these two questions satisfactorily unless the meaning intended to be conveyed by the expression "disembodied spirits of human beings" be accurately defined. The words spiritualism and spirit are very misleading. Unless English writers in general, and Spiritualists in particular, first ascertain clearly the connotation they mean to assign to the word spirit, there will be no end of confusion, and the real nature of these so-called spiritualistic phenomena and their modus occurrendi can never be clearly defined. Christian writers generally speak of only two entities in man--the body, and the soul or spirit (both seeming to mean the same thing to them). European philosophers generally speak of body and mind, and argue that soul or spirit cannot be anything else than mind. They are of opinion that any belief in lingasariram* is entirely unphilosophical. These views are certainly incorrect, and are based on unwarranted assumptions as to the possibilities of Nature, and on an imperfect understanding of its laws. I shall now examine (from the standpoint of the Brahmanical esoteric doctrine) the spiritual constitution of man, the various entities or principles existing in him, and ascertain whether either of those entities entering into his composition can appear on earth after his death, and if so, what it is that so appears.

* The astral body, so called. --------

Professor Tyndall in his excellent papers on what he calls the "Germ Theory," comes to the following conclusions as the result of a series of well-planned experiments:--Even in a very small volume of space there are myriads of protoplasmic germs floating in ether. If, for instance, say water (clear water) is exposed to them, and if they fall into it, some form of life or other will be evolved out of them. Now, what are the agencies for the bringing of this life into existence? Evidently--

I. The water, which is the field, so to say, for the growth of life.

II. The protoplasmic germ, out of which life or a living organism is to be evolved or developed. And lastly--

III. The power, energy, force, or tendency which springs into activity at the touch or combination of the protoplasmic germ and the water, and which evolves or develops life and its natural attributes.

Similarly, there are three primary causes which bring the human being into existence. I shall call them, for the purpose of discussion, by the following names

(1) Parabrahmam, the Universal Spirit.

(2) Sakti, the crown of the astral light, combining in itself all the powers of Nature.

(3) Prakriti, which in its original or primary shape is represented by Akasa. (Really every form of matter is finally reducible to Akasa.)*

It is ordinarily stated that Prakriti or Akasa is the Kshetram, or the basis which corresponds to water in the example we have taken Brahmam the germ, and Sakti, the power or energy that comes into existence at their union or contact.**

* The Tibetan esoteric Buddhist doctrine teaches that Prakriti is cosmic matter, out of which all visible forms are produced; and Akasa, that same cosmic matter, but still more subjective--its spirit, as it were. Prakriti being the body or substance, and Akasa Sakti its soul or energy.

** Or, in other words, "Prakriti, Swabhavat, or Akasa, is SPACE, as the Tibetans have it; Space filled with whatsoever substance or no substance at all--i.e., with substance so imperceptible as to be only metaphysically conceivable. Brahman, then, would be the germ thrown into the soil of that field, and Sakti, that mysterious energy or force which develops it, and which is called by the Buddhist Arahat of Tibet, FOHAT. That which we call form (rupa) is not different from that which we call space (sunyata).... Space is not different from form. Form is the same as space; space is the same as form. And so with the other skandhas, whether vedana, or sanjna, or sanskara, or vijnana, they are each the same as their opposite." .... (Book of Sin-king, or the "Heart Sutra." Chinese translation of the "Maha-Prajna-Paramita-Hridaya-Sutra," chapter on the "Avalokiteshwara," or the manifested Buddha.) So that the Aryan and Tibetan or Arhat doctrines agree perfectly in substance, differing but in names given and the way of putting it. ---------

But this is not the view which the Upanishads take of the question. According to them, Brahamam* is the Kshetram or basis, Akasa or Prakriti, the germ or seed, and Sakti, the power evolved by their union or contact. And this is the real scientific, philosophical mode of stating the case.

* See Appendix, Note IV. --------

Now, according to the adepts of ancient Aryavarta, seven principles are evolved out of these three primary entities. Algebra teaches us that the number of combinations of n things, taken one at a time, two at a time, three at a time, and so forth = 2(n)-1.

Applying this formula to the present case, the number of entities evolved from different combinations of these three primary causes amounts to 2(3)-1 = 8-1 = 7.

As a general rule, whenever seven entities are mentioned in the ancient occult science of India, in any connection whatsoever, you must suppose that those seven entities came into existence from three primary entities; and that these three entities, again, are evolved out of a single entity or MONAD. To take a familiar example, the seven coloured rays in the solar ray are evolved out of three primary coloured rays; and the three primary colours coexist with the four secondary colours in the solar rays. Similarly, the three primary entities which brought man into existence co-exist in him with the four secondary entities which arose from different combinations of the three primary entities.

Now these seven entities, which in their totality constitute man, are as follows. I shall enumerate them in the order adopted in the "Fragments," as far as the two orders (the Brahmanical and the Tibetan) coincide:--

Corresponding names in Esoteric Buddhism.

I. Prakriti. Sthulasariram (Physical Body).

II. The entity evolved out of the combination Sukshmasariram or Lingasariram of Prakriti and Sakti. (Astral Body).

III. Sakti. Kamarupa (the Perispirit).

IV. The entity evolved out of the combination of Jiva (Life-Soul). Brahmam, Sakti and Prakriti.

V. The entity evolved out of the combination of Physical Intelligence (or Brahmam and Prakriti. animal soul).

VI. The entity evolved out of the combination of Spiritual Intelligence (or Soul). Brahmam and Sakti.

VII. Brahmam. The emanation from the ABSOLUTE, &c. (or pure spirit.)

Before proceeding to examine these nature of these seven entities, a few general explanations are indispensably necessary.

I. The secondary principles arising out of the combination of primary principles are quite different in their nature from the entities out of whose combination they came into existence. The combinations in question are not of the nature of mere mechanical juxtapositions, as it were. They do not even correspond to chemical combinations. Consequently no valid inferences as regards the nature of the combinations in question can be drawn by analogy from the nature [variety?] of these combinations.

II. The general proposition, that when once a cause is removed its effect vanishes, is not universally applicable. Take, for instance, the following example:--If you once communicate a certain amount of momentum to a ball, velocity of a particular degree in a particular direction is the result. Now, the cause of this motion ceases to exist when the instantaneous sudden impact or blow which conveyed the momentum is completed; but according to Newton's first law of motion, the ball will continue to move on for ever and ever, with undiminished velocity in the same direction, unless the said motion is altered, diminished, neutralized, or counteracted by extraneous causes. Thus, if the ball stop, it will not be on account of the absence of the cause of its motion, but in consequence of the existence of extraneous causes which produce the said result.

Again, take the instance of subjective phenomena.

Now the presence of this ink-bottle before me is producing in me, or in my mind, a mental representation of its form, volume, colour and so forth.

The bottle in question may be removed, but still its mental picture may continue to exist. Here, again, you see, the effect survives the cause. Moreover, the effect may at any subsequent time be called into conscious existence, whether the original cause be present or not.

Now, in the ease of the filth principle above mentioned-the entity that came into existence by the combination of Brahmam and Prakriti--if the general proposition (in the "Fragments of Occult Truth") is correct, this principle, which corresponds to the physical intelligence, must cease to exist whenever the Brahmam or the seventh Principle should cease to exist for the particular individual; but the fact is certainly otherwise. The general proposition under consideration is adduced in the "Fragments" in support of the assertion that whenever the seventh principle ceases to exist for any particular individual, the sixth principle also ceases to exist for him. The assertion is undoubtedly true, though the mode of stating it and the reasons assigned for it, are to my mind objectionable.

It is said that in cases where tendencies of a man's mind are entirely material, and all spiritual aspirations and thoughts were altogether absent from his mind, the seventh principle leaves him either before or at the time of death, and the sixth principle disappears with it. Here, the very proposition that the tendencies of the particular individual's mind are entirely material, involves the assertion that there is no spiritual intelligence or spiritual Ego in him, it should then have been said that, whenever spiritual intelligence ceases to exist in any particular individual, the seventh principle ceases to exist for that particular individual for all purposes. Of course, it does not fly off anywhere. There can never be any thing like a change of position in the case of Brahmam.* The assertion merely means that when there is no recognition whatever of Brahmam, or spirit, or spiritual life, or spiritual consciousness, the seventh principle has ceased to exercise any influence or control over the individual's destinies.

* True--from the standpoint of Aryan Exotericism and the Upanishads, not quite so in the case of the Arahat or Tibetan esoteric doctrine; and it is only on this one solitary point that the two teachings disagree, as far as we know. The difference is very trifling, though, resting as it does solely upon the two various methods of viewing the one and the same thing from two different aspects. (See Appendix, Note IV.) --------

I shall now state what is meant (in the Aryan doctrine) by the seven principles above enumerated.

I. Prakriti. This is the basis of Sthulasariram, and represents it in the above-mentioned classification.

II. Prakriti and Sakti. This is the Lingasariram, or astral body.

III. Sukti. This principle corresponds to your Kamarupa. This power or force is placed by ancient occultists in the Nabhichakram. This power can gather akasa or prakriti, and mould it into any desired shape. It has very great sympathy with the fifth principle, and can be made to act by its influence or control.

IV. Brahmam and Sakti, and Prakriti. This again corresponds to your second principle, Jiva.

This power represents the universal life-principle which exists in Nature. Its seat is the Anahatachakram (heart). It is a force or power which constitutes what is called Jiva, or life. It is, as you say, indestructible, and its activity is merely transferred at the time of death to another set of atoms, to form another organism.

V. Brahma and Prakriti. This, in our Aryan philosophy, corresponds to your fifth principle, called the physical intelligence. According to our philosophers, this is the entity in which what is called mind has its seat or basis. This is the most difficult principle of all to explain, and the present discussion entirely turns upon the view we take of it.