DIVISION D - THOUGHT ELEMENTALS AND FIRE ELEMENTALS
II. THOUGHT ELEMENTALS AND DEVAS.
2. THE FIRE DEVAS THE GREATER BUILDERS. - Part 2
II. THOUGHT ELEMENTALS AND DEVAS.
2. THE FIRE DEVAS THE GREATER BUILDERS. - Part 2
We have here a subdivision of the seventh subplane of the cosmic physical plane making the lowest manifestation one that is divided into forty-nine subplanes or states of activity. For purposes of active work, the devas of the system are divided into forty-nine groups—the forty-nine fires. The Agnichaitans in turn are also divided into forty-nine groups, thus reflecting the whole.
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1. The Raja-Lord. Kshiti. The life of the physical plane.
2. Three groups of Agnichaitans concerned with:
A. The force or energy of physical substance. That electrical aspect which produces activity.
B. The construction of forms. They produce the union of negative and positive substance, and thus bring into being all that can be seen, and touched in the exoteric and ordinary connotation.
C. The internal heat of substance which nourishes and causes reproduction. They form the purely mother aspect.
These three groups are subdivided again into seven groups which form the matter of each subplane, viewing that matter as the body of manifestation of one of the seven devas through whom the Raja-Lord of the plane is manifesting.
These seven groups are again divided into seven, making forty-nine.
The three groups function as follows:
Group A. on the first subplane. They are the sumtotal of the atomic matter of the physical plane.
Group B. on the second, third and fourth etheric subplanes. They are the substance of those planes, the transmitters of prana, through which prana flows to the most concrete aspects of the logoic dense vahan, or vehicle.
Group C. the lowest three subplanes; they are the devas who are the essences of all that is tangible, visible and objective.
A very real distinction must be made by students between the centres and the remainder of the body, as they investigate the construction of the body of the solar Logos or of a planetary Logos.
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The centres are allied or connected with consciousness, and are composed of self-conscious units—the human Monads. The remainder of the body is composed of deva substance, yet the two together form a unity. The deva units therefore far outnumber the human, and deva substance is also feminine and negative, the human Hierarchy being masculine. Through the positive activity of the centres, the negative deva substance is influenced, built and energized. This is true of a solar Logos, a planetary Logos and a human being.
Three types of force, therefore, play upon or through these devas:
a. That energizing the devas of the first subplane, the atomic. This emanates directly from the first aspect of Brahma, or Agni, considering Him as a self-conscious Identity, the third Person of the logoic Trinity, and therefore Spirit, Soul and Body Himself in His separated essential nature.
b. That energizing the devas of construction, or the form building groups; this comes from the second aspect of Brahma, and is prana, issuing from the physical Sun, and working under the Law of Attraction.
c. That energizing the devas of the lowest three orders, emanating from Brahma in His third aspect. Thus in the dual force, or the aspects of matter itself, interacting the one upon the other, densest forms of all are produced. Yet these three function as one.
Group C. Agnichaitans. In considering these groups of Agnichaitans, we must remember that we are dealing with that manifestation of the Logos with which exoteric science is dealing, and that as regards Group C, science is already making fair progress in the accumulation of knowledge; it remains yet for science to [638] acknowledge the "entified" nature of substance, and thus account for the life that energizes the substance of the three lower subplanes. This recognition by science that all forms are built of intelligent lives will come about when the science of magic begins again to come to the fore, and when the laws of being are better understood. Magic concerns itself with the manipulation of the lesser lives by a greater life; when the scientist begins to work with the consciousness that animates substance (atomic or electronic), and when he brings under his conscious control the forms built of this substance, he will gradually become cognizant of the fact that all entities of all grades and of varying constitutions go to the construction of that which is seen. This will not be until science has definitely admitted the existence of etheric matter as understood by the occultist, and until it has developed the hypothesis that this ether is in differing vibrations. When the etheric counterpart of all that exists is allocated to its rightful place, and known to be of more importance in the scale of being than the dense vehicle, being essentially the body of the [639] life, or vitality, then the role of the scientist and the occultist will merge.
H. P. B. has said that the dense physical is not a principle, and this point is frequently overlooked in connection with man and the Logos. Its importance cannot be too strongly realised for it has the effect of transferring the point of centralisation, or of polarisation in the case of man into his etheric body, composed of matter of the four higher subplanes of the systemic physical plane, and in the case of the Logos, of the four higher subplanes of the cosmic physical plane. The point is one of a very real complexity, for it involves the realisation that, from the standpoint of the occultist, the lowest vibration with which he may concern himself is that of the systemic etheric in its four lesser allied vibrations; similarly macrocosmically the lowest logoic vibration with which the greater Adepts are concerned is the cosmic etheric. The three lowest systemic and cosmic vibrations are the result of:
Reflex action on the part of negative substance for the lower three are negative to the higher four.
Synchronous vibration, inherent in negative substance, the residue of an earlier system, and embodying thereforepast karma for the Logos and for man.
Vibrations that are gradually being superseded by the imposition of a higher note; therefore for both man and the Logos, they occultly form the "body of death."
This brings us to the point which we are seeking to make anent this third group of the lowest devas. They are very destructive where man is concerned, for they embody the final and therefore powerful vibration of the past system, the conscious activity of dense matter. Hence there is consequently a profound truth in the [640] statement that man is at the "mercy of the elements." Man can physically be burned and destroyed by fire; he is helpless before volcanic action, and cannot protect himself from the ravages of fire, unless in the initial stages of such deva endeavour. The occult importance of the war man wages on the fire devas for instance is very real in connection with the fire department in any city. The time lies far ahead as yet, but it will surely come, when the personnel of these departments will be chosen for their ability to control the agnichaitans when manifesting destructively, and their methods will no longer be that of water (or the calling in of the water devas to neutralise the fire devas), but that of incantation, and a knowledge of the sounds that will swing into action forces which will control the fiery destructive elements.
The third group of these devas is very definitely connected with the control of the Manu's department, and of the great devas associated with that department on this planet. Through their activity during certain cycles the entire surface of the Earth is changed through the medium of volcanic action; continents are raised and submerged; volcanoes are active or quiescent, and thus the world is purified by fire. In their own department these Agnichaitans are kept busy building the mineral forms through the agency of fire; they are the alchemists of the lower regions, and through contact with them, and through the knowledge of "the words" by which they are controlled, the future scientific alchemists (I use this expression in contradistinction to the idealistic alchemists of the past) will work with minerals and with the lives embodied in all mineral forms.
The secret of the transmutation of the baser metals into gold will be revealed when world conditions are such that gold is no longer the standard and hence the free manufacture of gold will not lead to disaster, and [641] when scientists work with the life aspect, or with positive electrical life, and not with the substance or form aspect.
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.
It is not advisable for us further to enlarge upon their functions. It should be noted that in connection with the matter aspect there is less to be said than on consciousness, and on the hylozoistic aspect of manifestation. The reason lies in the fact that exoteric science is slowly, yet steadily, finding out the nature of phenomena, and discovering for itself the character of electrical manifestation. In their slowness of discovery lies safety. It is not wise nor right yet for the true nature of these different forces and powers to be fully known; therefore, it is not possible for us to do more than indicate certain broad general lines. In due course of time, as the human family becomes centred in the higher, and not in the lower nature, and as the force from the higher planes can more easily impose itself on the lower, the facts concerning these Lives and Builders, their methods of work, and the laws of their being will be known. Knowledge at this time would be productive of two results. It would first of all bring the human family into the power (as yet blind and destructive) of [642] certain elementals, who are of a nature analogous to that of the physical body. Hence destruction of the form would ensue, or paralysis and insanity on a large scale would eventuate. Secondly, it would put power into the hands of certain of the Brothers of the Left Hand Path and of a number of unconscious magicians (of whom there are quite a number) who would use it only for selfish, evil and material ends. Hence no more can be said anent dense physical substance and its embodiers. The Agnichaitans of the third group are as yet a menace to man, and are only handled in group formation, and on a large scale by the head of the Manu's department through their own rulers-certain devas of a development equal to that of the sixth Initiation.
The occult Hierarchy of our planet is primarily concerned with the development of self-consciousness in man, and with the intelligent interpretation of the happenings of Nature; it is concerned with a wise co-operation with the building Forces of nature; and the object of its main endeavour is the vitalisation and activity of the centres in the Heavenly Man of our planet, and in the individual units of the human family.
The occult Hierarchy is a great force centre, the heart, head, and throat of the Heavenly Man as these three centres function in a triple co-ordination. Paralleling their activities along the line of consciousness (and primarily consciousness or intelligence as it demonstrates through the third and fourth kingdoms) is to be found a great hierarchy of devas who concern themselves with the development of that portion of the body of a Heavenly Man which is not included in the active centres. Perhaps some idea of what I seek to convey [643] may be gathered from an illustration. The occult Hierarchy is concerned with the unfoldment of the nine-petalled Lotus in the Heavenly Man, and in man (the former through reflex action between the cosmic physical and the cosmic mental), while the great deva Hierarchy is concerned with the permanent atoms, with the egoic body, and with the development of the spirillae. Thus the function of the Agnichaitans of the lowest furnaces—macrocosmically and microcosmically—will be seen and comprehended by the wise student.
Group B. Agnichaitans. In taking up the matter of the second group of Agnichaitans—Group B—we are dealing with that important group of devas who are designated in some works as the "devas of the shadows." Their function is primarily a fourfold one, and they are the basis of motion or of activity on all planes, which activity is produced by the interplay of the negative and positive aspects of Brahma, the manifested God.
First, they are the builders of the etheric bodies of all sentient existences, and primarily of all the etheric bodies of men.
Second, they are the transmitters of prana.
Third, they perform a very definite function in the evolutionary process of linking up the four kingdoms of nature, being essentially the transmuters and transmitters of the lower into the higher. They build between each kingdom—mineral, vegetable, animal and human—that which in each case corresponds to the antaskarana, or the bridge linking higher and lower manas, and which therefore is the channel for the transmission of the life from out of the lower human kingdom into the higher spiritual one. It will be found that between each of the different stages of consciousness (from the subconscious through the self-conscious to the superconscious) there is a period of linking, of building, and of bridging, and this is carried out by the agency of [644] certain groups of devas on all the planes. These three groups on the physical plane find their counterparts and their work paralleled on higher levels. The point to be remembered is that this work of bridging from one stage or from one kingdom to another has to be performed under the following conditions:
a. As the result of an impulse emanating from the lower, or originating in the active desire of the lower to embrace or contact the higher. This is of paramount importance, for all progress must be self-induced, self-initiated, and be the result of an inner activity.
b. As the result of reflex action from the higher stage or kingdom; it is brought about by the activity of the lower which calls forth a response from the higher. All vibration, it must be remembered, travels along waves of living substance.
c. As the result of extraneous stimulation produced by the activity of certain conscious powers, interested in the process of evolutionary development.
All these conditions can be seen in the process of the initiation of man, and of his transference from the fourth kingdom into the spiritual. His efforts must be self-induced, or the effect of his own self-conscious endeavour; they will meet with a response from his superconsciousness, the atmic aspect or Spirit and this dual interplay will be further aided by the Guardians of the Rites of Initiation. Yet all three effects are felt in spirit-matter; all proceed under the law of vibration, and this law is literally the response of deva substance to force emanating from some conscious or unconscious source.
Fourth, these "devas of the shadows," perform certain activities of an interesting and varied kind, but [645] of such diversity as to make enumeration wellnigh impossible. We might attempt with brevity to state a few of these functions, remembering ever that what can be predicated of them on the physical plane can also be predicated of their correspondences on all the planes. This we can leave to the student to work out for himself, begging him again to bear in mind that we are dealing with the devas on the evolutionary arc, which may be divided into the following classes, amongst many others.
Class 1. The special agents of magic. They are peculiarly susceptible to the building vibrations of the seven rays.
Class 2. A group of Agnichaitans who manifest as physical plane electricity. They are a group who are coming somewhat under the control of man, and will be more and more dominated by him.
Class 3. A group who form the health auras of all the three middle kingdoms of nature (vegetable, animal and human) either collectively or individually. Man is coming into contact with them along medical lines and beginning somewhat to recognise them. One of the great errors into which the human family has fallen has been the endeavour to administer mineral drugs to man for medicinal purposes. It has resulted in a combination of deva substances which was never intended. The relation of man to the lower kingdoms, and particularly to the animal and mineral, has brought about a peculiar condition in the deva world and has tended to complicate deva evolution. The use of animal food (and the use of minerals as medicine in a lesser degree) has produced a commingling of deva substance, and of vibrations which are not attuned to each other. The vegetable kingdom is in a totally different situation, and part of its karma has lain in the providing of food for man; this has resulted in a needed transmutation of the life [646] of that kingdom into the higher stage (the animal) which is its goal. The transmutation of vegetable life takes place necessarily on the physical plane. Hence its availability as food. The transmutation of the life of the animal into the human kingdom takes place on kamamanasic levels. Hence the non-availability, esoterically understood, of the animal as food for man. This is an argument for vegetarian living which needs due consideration.
Class 4. A very important class of etheric devas (as far as man is concerned) who are definitely the constituent substance of his centres. They occupy this position for karmic reasons, and are, from many angles, some of the most highly evolved of the devas of the shadows. They are distinguished by their ability to respond to a particular set of planetary vibrations in a peculiar manner, and in their essential essence, and in their own peculiar sphere enable man to react to Ray stimulation. Each centre is under the influence of one or other of the planets. In this fact lies the ability of man eventually—through the agency of his centres—to put himself en rapport with the sevenfold soul of the world.
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:
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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 [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. Man.
8. Animals.
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 [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.
We have above considered a few of the devas of the ethers but have of necessity left many untouched. The vastness of our subject will be apparent when it is remembered that in dealing with the devas we are dealing [650]with that which is the basic substance of manifestation, or Spirit-matter; with the negative or the mother aspect, in the divine duality, and with the sum total of all that is. We are concerned with the tangible form, using the word "tangible" as that which can be apprehended by consciousness in one or other of its many states. The utter impossibility of cataloguing the forms and aspects of deva substance, or of tabulating the myriad groups and classes will be borne in on our comprehension. On all the planes these three groups will be found, and all are recipients of force. An analogy likewise exists between these three groups of devas on the systemic physical plane, and their correspondences on the cosmic physical plane. Briefly it might be pointed out that we have:
Group A........The plane Adi...........................Divine evolution.
Systemic atomic.
Group B........The three worlds of the Triad.....Spiritual evolution.
Logoic etheric.
Group C........The three worlds.......................Human evolution.
Logoic dense physical.
In this lies much of interest for the student as it makes clear the correspondence between the evolution of substance and the evolution of spirit.
As regards the devas of Group B, little more can be said. Only a few more generalities are advisable.
These devas, especially those of the fourth ether, are so closely connected with man that one of the immediate developments ahead will be his awakening to a realisation of their existence, and his consequent gradual domination of them. This domination will be the result of several things but will only be complete when he can function on the fourth cosmic ether, the buddhic plane. One of the things the Hierarchy at this stage is seeking to do, is to retard this awakening of the mass of mankind to this realisation, for that event will necessitate [651] many adjustments, and, at the beginning, may produce many apparently evil effects. The development of the physical eye is a thing which is proceeding under the Law, and inevitably the whole race of men will at length attain that dual focus which will enable man to see both the dense and the etheric forms. At this stage his inability to do so is largely due to a lack of pranic vitality. This is mainly the result of wrong conditions of living, and the misuse of food. The present general trend towards juster and purer conditions of life, the return of man to simpler and saner ways, the widespread feeling for bathing, fresh air, and sunlight, and the greater desire for vegetable, and nut foods, will result inevitably in a more ready assimilation of the pranic fluids. This will produce certain changes, and improvements, in the physical organs, and in the vitality of the etheric body.
Therefore, those of us who see somewhat of the Plan are urged to spread the knowledge of the Wisdom Religion, and above all to break loose from the preconceived dogmas of pre-war days. It should be pointed out here that the war was a great occult event, and caused a vital change in many of the plans and arrangements of the Hierarchy. Modifications have been necessitated, and some events will have to be delayed whilst others will be hastened. One of the profoundest effects of the war was felt among the devas of the shadows, and primarily among those of the fourth order. The etheric web which protected certain groups in the human and animal kingdoms was rent in various places, and the results of that disaster have to be offset. Another effect upon the devas resulting from the war, as it worked, can be seen among the devas of Group A, or those devas who are (in an occult sense) the physical permanent atoms of all self-conscious beings. The fourth spirilla was tremendously stimulated, and its evolution hastened [652] to an extraordinary degree, so that some of the lesser evolved men, through the stress of danger and experience, had this fourth spirilla brought up to, and beyond, that of normal humanity. Through this stimulation of the fourth spirilla of the units of the fourth Creative Hierarchy in this fourth round on the fourth globe in this fourth scheme, a tremendous push onward along the evolutionary path has been effected, and hence one of the great objects of the war has been achieved. A still more terrific stimulation was given in the fourth rootrace during the war of that period, and the result was the passing on to the Path of Initiation of many who normally would not even now be treading it. A similar effect can be looked for at this time, and the Hierarchy is preparing itself for the taking over of much of an extra-planetary nature owing to the almost immediate availability of comparatively large numbers of the sons of man. We must not forget that this stimulation of the spirillae affects the matter aspect, or deva substance. Man is literally deva substance, and a God, thus being a true reflection of the solar Logos.
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Group A. Agnichaitans. We have seen that on all planes the groups of devas can be divided into three [654] main groups, even though usually studied in their dual capacity of involutionary and evolutionary force units. Broadly speaking, these groups can be viewed as:
a. Those which embody the positive aspect, or positive electrical phenomena.
b. Those which embody the negative aspect.
c. That group which—in time and space—is the union of the two aspects and which—during evolution—demonstrates the third type of electrical phenomena.
Another grouping of this triplicity can be made which brings them into line with the order of manifestation as laid down in the ancient cosmogony, and this we followed when we enumerated the groups of Agnichaitans.
Group A—Corresponds to the manifestations of existence as seen on the highest plane, or that aspect which is understood by the term Agni.
Group B—Corresponds to the Vishnu-Surya aspect.
Group C—Corresponds to the Brahma or the creative Logos aspect.
We have recapitulated thus, as it is desirable to have the thought clearly defined.
We have touched upon the two lower groups of devas. Now, we might take up the consideration of Group A, the most important group on the physical plane from the standpoint of creation, and of objectivity, for they are the life of matter itself and the intelligence animating the forms of all that exists on the systemic physical [655] plane; they are not self-conscious intelligence, but consciousness as understood by the occultist.
Each of the atomic subplanes in the solar system is closely interrelated with the others, and the seven atomic subplanes of all the planes form a unity, and are essentially the cosmic physical plane as the term is occultly understood. The subplanes of which they are the originating source bear the same relationship to them as the six principles do to the seventh. Therefore, the devas of Group A are the concentrated creative force of the subplanes, the origin of the objective side of physical manifestation, and the source of the seven Breaths of the creative Logos on the physical plane. But it must be remembered that in each scheme the creative impulse or will is the planetary Logos of the scheme, Who as truly creates His body of Manifestation under the Law (His dense physical planet) as man—under the same Law—creates his physical body, or as the solar Logos (at the other end of the scale) creates His body, a solar system.
This has a definite and esoteric bearing upon the subject under discussion, and the essential differences between the Heavenly Men seeking manifestation will be seen in Their schemes, and therefore in the types of devas through whom They function, and out of whose essence Their form is made.
It might be expressed thus: Just as each man has a body which, in its main characteristics and form, resembles other bodies, yet in its quality and personal distinctive features is unique, so each of the Heavenly Men builds for Himself a body out of deva substance or spirit-matter which is of the same nature as that of His brothers, and yet which is distinctive, coloured by His own peculiar colouring, vibrant to His own particular key, and able to demonstrate His own unique quality. This is produced through the peculiar type of deva [656] essence He chooses, or (to word it perhaps more occultly) it has involved the response of certain peculiar groups of devas to His note. They embody in themselves just those constituents which He requires to build His body or scheme. It will, therefore, be recognised that the devas of Group A, being what we might call the key-devas, are of prime importance, and, from our present standpoint, must remain abstract and esoteric. If we consider this under the Law of Analogy, and study the essentially esoteric nature of the plane of the Logos (the first plane, called Adi) the reason for this will be apparent. If the devas of Group A could be recognised, or even contacted by advanced men, the study of their nature, colouring and tone would reveal to unprepared humanity the colouring and tone of our particular planetary Logos. For this knowledge the race is not ready. It would reveal also, through the study of the Law of Action and Reaction, which of the incarnating Egos were on the ray of this Logos; the deductions from this would lead men into dangerous realms, and put power into hands as yet unprepared to wield it wisely.
Therefore, Group A of Agnichaitans must remain profoundly esoteric, and their true nature can only be revealed to the Adept of the great Law.
Thus only a few hints are permissible, and these deal simply with the relationship of man to these entities. He is related to them primarily because his physical permanent atom is directly energised by them, being a part of their essential nature, and having a place in their form. It will be apparent to any student that if the permanent atoms of the lower man are within the causal periphery the devas of the three worlds on the atomic subplanes must work in the closest co-operation; there must be unity of purpose and of plan.
The devas of the atomic levels of all the planes in our scheme work in close affiliation:
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a. With each other, thus making seven groups who are the sumtotal of the Brahma aspect of our planetary Logos.
b. With the seven groups who constitute the atomic matter of that scheme which is the polar opposite of ours.
c. With that particular group in that scheme which is one of the points in a systemic triangle of which our scheme and our opposite scheme are the other two.
d. With corresponding groups in lesser degree in all the systemic schemes.
e. With the scheme which corresponds to the first aspect, or the plane of Adi.
f. With those devas who form the spirit-substance of the manifestation of that particular Rishi of the Great Bear Who is the prototype of our particular planetary Logos.
g. With those devas who form the substance of that one of those esoteric existences who are spoken of in the Secret Doctrine as "The wives of the seven Rishis," or the seven sisters, the Pleiades. One of these seven sisters has a close connection with our Heavenly Man, and therefore we have an interesting cosmic interplay as follows:
1. One of the seven Rishis of the Great Bear.
2. One of the seven Sisters, or a Pleiad.
3. The Heavenly Man of our scheme.
This interplay will be threefold and as far as we are concerned just now will involve a transmission of life force through the atomic matter of our planes, circulating in deva substance. This will materially affect certain types of humanity more than others, according to their ray and nature, and this effect will demonstrate in [658] a vivification of the spirillae of the permanent atoms and of the centres.
Agnisuryans—Astral Plane Devas.
We start here upon a consideration of those groups of devas who are the substance of the astral plane, the Agnisuryans. They may be considered in the following manner, and by the employment of synonymous terms, some general idea of their function may be arrived at before we begin to differentiate them into groups and study their relation to:
1. The various entities who are the soul of the differing kingdoms, or groups, such as the animal kingdom, the human kingdom, and higher in the scale of consciousness than men—the planetary Logos.
2. Man himself.
3. The plane as a totality.
We might consider these devas:
First, as the substance of the astral plane in its seven grades.
Second, as that aspect of logoic manifestation which corresponds to the liquid subplane in the systemic physical plane.
Third, as the vehicle of the deva lord Varuna.
Fourth, as the animating lives of that involutionary matter of the astral plane which we call the elemental essence, and as the vitality energising the desire elementals of all that is sentient. Viewed in this aspect in connection especially with man, they are the correspondence on the astral plane to the "devas of the shadows," for the desire bodies of all human beings are composed of matter of the second, third and fourth subplanes of the astral plane. This is a point which should be closely considered, and the analogy between the etheric body, the vehicle of prana vitalising the dense physical, and [659] man's astral body, and the method of its vitalisation will be found illuminating.
Fifth, from the standpoint of the physical plane, as the sumtotal of material activity (even though subjective) which produces that which is tangible and objective. Just as the solar system is a "Son of Necessity," or of desire, so the physical bodies of all that exist are the product of the desire of some greater or lesser entity within the system.
It might be apposite here to point out the lines along which energy—whether manasic, pranic, or astral—enters the system and reaches a particular plane, thus finding its way to all units of consciousness, from an atom to a solar Logos.
The dense physical plane itself is energised via:
a. The planetary etheric body.
b. The mental plane, or the cosmic gaseous subplane.
c. The atmic plane, or the third cosmic ether.
d. The plane of adi, or the first cosmic ether.
and inferentially (by means of the logoic permanent atom) a similar flow of force enters from cosmic levels.
The astral plane is energised via:
a. The buddhic plane, the fourth cosmic ether.
b. The monadic plane, the second cosmic ether.
c. The cosmic astral plane, and thus to the Heart of all Being.
The mental plane is energised via:
a. The atmic plane, the third cosmic ether.
b. The plane adi, the first cosmic ether.
c. The cosmic mental plane, beyond which it is unnecessary for us to go.
It will be noted by the careful student that these planes might be looked at in connection with the three worlds[660] as demonstrating two types of force,—first, a force which tends to differentiation such as on the mental plane (the plane of inherent separation) and on the physical plane (the plane of actual separation); secondly, a force which tends to unity, such as on the astral plane, and on the plane of essential harmony, the buddhic plane. It must be remembered that we are considering force as it flows through, or permeates, deva substance. A hint as to the truth lies in the fact that at present the astral body of man is positive to the physical plane, negative to the mental, and positive to the buddhic plane. As evolution proceeds, the astral body should become positive to the mental, and thus prove incapable of being swayed by thought currents, and the separative processes of that plane, and negative to the buddhic plane, or receptive to the forces from that plane. When it has attained equilibrium, and the forces are evenly balanced, the astral body should become the transmitter from the buddhic plane, the fourth cosmic ether, via the gaseous, to the dense physical plane. This thought should be studied in connection with the burning of the etheric web of the planet, thus illumination may come. Literally, there is no such division on the astral plane as we find on the mental or on the physical planes. On both those planes, we have a division into two: the mental plane being divided into higher and lower, rupa and arupa, concrete and abstract, and the physical plane into the etheric levels and the dense subplanes.
There is, therefore, a correspondence between these two. The reason for this apparent division (considering the question apart from the states of consciousness of a human being) is due to the stage of development of the great devas who embody the plane, who ensoul it, and who manifest through it as a man manifests through his body. Varuna, the Lord of the astral plane, has achieved a more unified conscious control than His brothers of [661] the mental and physical planes. He comes into manifestation in connection with one of the Heavenly Men, Who is the Lord of a major Ray. The other two are linked up with the Lords of a minor Ray. There is a suggestive hint for students in this information. We may justly ask why, if this is so, it should apparently manifest so disastrously in connection with man? There are several reasons for this, one being that the force flowing through the vehicle of the great deva, the plane, is consequently stronger than in the other two cases, and this is owing to His more advanced stage of development and also to the fact that the Logos Himself is polarised in His astral body. Another reason is that he has a peculiar link with the Ruler of the animal kingdom, and as the human being has not yet dissociated himself from, nor learnt to control, his animal nature, he too comes under the influence of this tremendous force. There are other reasons hidden in the karma of our Heavenly Man, but the above reasons suffice.
1. The Function of the Agnisuryans. The devas of the astral plane are those with whom man is very specially connected at this time owing to his astral polarisation, and to the place desire and feeling play in his development. Consciousness expands through contact, through intelligent appreciation of that which is contacted, and through realisation of that which is to be gained through a specific contact. That which is contacted depends upon reciprocal vibration, and the place therefore of desire (which is the going out after sensation) and of feeling (which is the reflex of that desire) is of real importance; they put man constantly in touch—even though he realises it not—with deva substance of some kind or another. Even when man has reached a relatively high stage of evolution, the demonstration of that point of attainment is seen in the type of not-self which he contacts; it is only when he is an initiate that [662] he begins to approximate, and to know the meaning of the essential unity which lies at the heart of Being, and to comprehend the oneness of the Universal Soul, and the Unity of that subjective Life which secretes itself behind form of every kind. It should never be forgotten that the matter aspect is found on all planes; also that forms are ever to be found, until the solar ring-pass-not is transcended and the Logos escapes from His present limitation. Owing to this the devas of the astral plane assume a very important place in the three worlds.
Previously, we considered them in a fivefold aspect, dividing them into five groups. At this point we will limit our consideration to the relationship of self-conscious units such as Man and the planetary Logos to this deva substance. A great distinction exists between man and his prototype, a Heavenly Man.
The astral plane plays a very real part in the evolution of man, having a close connection with one of his principles. Astral matter and vibration is one of the controlling factors in the lives of the great majority of people. To the Heavenly Man, astral matter corresponds to the liquid portion in the physical body of man, and is for Him therefore no principle.
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