324. A Treatise on Cosmic Fire - 42. DIVISION D - II. THOUGHT ELEMENTALS AND DEVAS. 3. THE SOLAR ANGELS, THE AGNISHVATTAS. - Part 1 - A. BAILEY

DIVISION D - THOUGHT ELEMENTALS AND FIRE ELEMENTALS

II. THOUGHT ELEMENTALS AND DEVAS.

3. THE SOLAR ANGELS, THE AGNISHVATTAS. - Part 1

Introductory Remarks.

We start here upon the consideration of the Agnishvattas, or the Fire devas of the mental plane, and are thus launched upon the most stupendous subject in connection with our planetary evolution; it is the one having the most occult significance for man, for these solar Angels concern his own essential nature, and are also the creative power by which he works.  For all practical purposes, and for the elucidation of the spiritual evolution of man, this immediate section is of the greatest interest and importance; it should be one of the most widely studied sections of this treatise.  Man is ever profoundly interested in himself, and before he can duly develop must comprehend scientifically the laws of his own nature, and the constitution of his own "mode of expression."  He must realise likewise somewhat of the inter-relation of the three fires in order that he may himself at some future date "blaze forth."

The question of these Fire Dhyanis and their relation to man is a most profound mystery, and the entire matter is so clothed in intricate legends that students are apt to despair of ever arriving at the desired, and necessary clarity of thought.  Not yet will it be possible entirely to dispel the clouds which veil the central mystery, but perhaps, by due tabulation and synthesis, and by a cautious amplification of the data already imparted, the thoughts of the wise student may become somewhat less confused.

There are two statements in the Secret Doctrine which are often overlooked by the casual reader but which, if [681]duly pondered upon, convey much information.  Let us make note of these two statements:

1. Two connecting principles are needed.  This requires a living spiritual Fire of the middle principle from the Fifth and third states of Pleroma.  This fire is the possession of the Triangles.

2. These Beings are Nirvanis from a preceding Mahamanvantara.

We have been considering somewhat the devas of evolutionary tendency who are grouped roughly together as the lunar Pitris. These lunar Pitris are divided into four groups and are concerned with the building of man's dual physical body, with his astral body and with his lower mental body; these sheaths are energised by their force through the medium of the permanent atoms.  But for the purposes of the subjective nature of man, they are to be considered in their three groups—etheric, astral and lower mental.  The work of the Agnishvattas (the self-conscious principles, the Builders or constructors of the egoic body on the higher mental levels) is to unite the higher three principles—atma, buddhi, manas—and the lower three, and thus become in very truth the middle principle in man.  They themselves originate from the logoic middle principle. Thus the esoteric seven is completed.  The physical body in its denser manifestation is, as we know, not esoterically considered a principle.

The devas of the lower mental levels in relation to [682] man work through the mental unit, and are, roughly speaking, divided into four groups, being in fact the first condensation of the threefold lower body of man.  They form part of his lunar body.  They are directly linked with the highest spiritual essences, and represent the lowest manifestation of force emanating from the cosmic mental plane, and finding its link with the human Hierarchy through the mental units.  They are the gaseous devas of the logoic physical body.  We will not deal with them in greater detail at this moment for as we study the subject of the fifth principle certain points will become clearer; their work in connection with man can be enlarged upon as we proceed.  More detail at this moment would but serve to complicate.

Let us be quite clear in our minds just what we are in process of considering.  We are dealing with:

1. That fifth state of consciousness called the mental plane,

2. The substance of that plane as it exists in its dual aspect, rupa and arupa,

3. The lives who ensoul that matter, especially in their relation to man,

4. The Egos or the self-conscious units who form the middle point in manifestation,

5. The building of the causal body, the opening of the egoic Lotus, and the construction of those groups we call egoic groups,

6. The individuality of those Existences whom we call:

a. Agnishvattas.

b. Manasa devas.

c. Fire dhyanis.

d. Solar angels, or solar Pitris.

e. The Asuras.

and many other names mentioned in the occult books.

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Much confusion exists in the minds of students as to the distinction between the Agnishvattas who incarnated in man, and those who simply were responsible for the implanting of the manasic or mental spark in animal man.  This opens up for us the entire question of individualisation itself, and the incarnation of certain spiritual existences who—when in bodily form—are spoken of as Avatars, as Buddhas of Activity, or as direct manifestations of the Logos.  The entire mystery is hidden in the relationship of the individual Monads who form the various centres in the body of a planetary Logos and the self-conscious Identity of that planetary Logos Himself.  The student must here bear in mind the fact that the mental plane is the first aspect of the dense physical body of the planetary Logos, the buddhic plane being a cosmic etheric plane, and the one whereon are to be found the etheric centres of a Heavenly Man.

From the buddhic plane (in a planetary or solar sense) comes the vitality and impulse which galvanises the dense physical vehicle into purposeful and coherent action; it is on the mental plane, therefore, that this impulse is first felt and the contact between the two realised.  Herein lies a hint which will serve a purpose if pondered upon.  The student should study the place and purpose of the mental plane, and its relation to the planetary Logos and a solar Logos.  As he investigates more closely the nature of his own etheric body, he must extend that knowledge to higher levels, and must endeavour to comprehend the constitution of the greater sphere of which he is but a part.  As the nature of his own centres, and their effective action upon his own dense physical body, is better understood, he will pass to a fuller comprehension of the corresponding effect in the body of the Logos.

It is on the mental plane (the reflection in the three worlds of the third and fifth states of Pleroma), that the full force of etheric vitality is felt.  A hint as to the [684] significance of this may be found in the fact that the etheric body of man receives, and transmits prana directly to the physical body, and that the vitality of the physical frame is to be gauged largely by the condition and action of the heart.  The heart circulates vitality to the myriads of cells that constitute the dense physical sheath; something analogous is seen in the fact that these fire devas are "the Heart of the Dhyan chohanic body," for their energy comes from the spiritual sun, in the same sense that the energy of the pranic devas of the etheric body comes from the physical sun.  This energy of the Agnishvattas manifests on the mental plane, the gaseous subplane of the cosmic physical just as the energy of the etheric centres on the fourth etheric subplane manifests first and potently on the gaseous matter of the physical body.  This is why the Sons of Wisdom, embodying the buddhic principle, the life force, or love aspect, are nevertheless known on the fifth plane as the self-conscious principles; buddhi uses manas as a vehicle, and occult writers often speak in terms of the vehicle.  The Ego, or the self-conscious Identity is in essence and in truth Love-Wisdom, but manifests primarily as intelligent consciousness.

We should endeavor to study carefully the following statement which is concerned with kama-manas, and which deals with the conditions which produce individualisation, or which call forth into self-conscious Being the Monads seeking full self-expression.  It is as follows:

Only as the heart centre of a Heavenly Man (each in His cycle and each differing cyclically) becomes vitalised and attains a certain vibratory capacity does the individualisation of the Monads become possible under the Law.

Again, it is only as the threefold dense physical body of a planetary Logos (as expressed by our three worlds, the mental, astral and dense physical planes) has reached [685] a corresponding vibration and retraced the cyclic development of the previous mahamanvantara, that there is produced that vibratory contact which causes the shining out upon the mental plane of the egoic groups.  It brings forth a manifestation of the heart impulses of the Heavenly Man, and thus swings into objectivity those Monads (energised by the life of the Heart) who form various centres.  The old Commentary says:

"When the Heart of the Body throbs with spiritual energy, when its sevenfold content thrills under the spiritual impulse, then the currents spread and circulate and divine manifestation becomes a Reality; the divine Man incarnates."

The physical plane analogy is seen at the life stimulation which is felt between the third and fourth month during the prenatal period, when the heart of the child thrills with life and individual existence becomes a possibility.

This life vibration emanates from the soul of the mother (the correspondence to the Pleroma or universal soul) and is coincident with the awakening of the third spirilla in the permanent physical atom of the infant.  It must be borne in mind that just as in each round all the preceding stages are rapidly recapitulated, and just as in the prenatal period the foetus recapitulates during the formative process the history of the preceding kingdoms, so in the solar system a similar procedure can be seen.  When a certain point is reached and the lower three planes are vibrating, or energised, then cosmic incarnation becomes a possibility; the "Heart" occultly awakens, and the "Son of God," the expression of the desire and love of the Logos, is born. The cosmic incarnation of certain exalted Beings is consummated, and one of the indications of this is the appearance of the egoic groups [686] on mental levels, and the resultant individualisation.  Method and time may vary according to the nature of any particular planetary Logos, but for each and all the "Heart of the Body" has to thrill with awakening life before the response comes from the lower.  The lunar Pitris have to carry on their work in our scheme and system before the solar angels, thrilling with expectancy, take possession of the forms prepared through their endeavour, and stimulate them into self-conscious life and separated existence.  Thus the four great schemes in the solar system, which are the vehicles for four of the planetary Logoi (Who constitute the logoic Quaternary), have to reach a certain stage of vibratory capacity, and of consciousness before a similar happening occurs in its fullness in the solar system, and the lower four and higher three are synthesised.  The logoic heart is thrilling, and response comes already from all the schemes, as three spirillae are vibrating in all of them, but the Son of God is not yet fully and cosmically self-conscious.  As response comes the centres awaken.  One logoic centre is responding fully to the heart stimulation, and that is Venus, who is passing through the final round.

If the student endeavours to dissociate our solar system from that which preceded it, and if he considers the pralaya at the close of this mahamanvantara to be a final one, and the utter consummation of all things, he errs.  In the preceding system the cosmic physical plane attained a certain vibratory capacity, and the devas of the internal furnaces became (relatively speaking) highly evolved, the "fires of matter" then blazing forth.  Certain Existences attained self-consciousness in that earlier system, and are the "nirvanis" spoken of by H. P. B.  As might be expected, they are characterised by active intelligence, achieved and developed by means of material evolution during a previous mahamanvantara. They [687] are the Manasa devas and in their totality are the vehicles of theDivine mind, the dhyan-chohanic forces, the aggregate of the Ah-hi.  In this solar system the vibration of the cosmic astral plane is becoming dominant, and through that vibration, travelling via the fourth cosmic ether (whereon as earlier stated are the etheric centres of the planetary Logoi) and our systemic astral plane, certain eventualities become possible.  The "Sons of desire," logoic or human, can learn certain lessons, undergo certain experiences, and add the faculty of love-wisdom to the intelligence earlier gained.

Our solar Logos, and the Heavenly Men, are polarised on the cosmic astral plane, and the effect of Their life energy as it flows through the systemic "Heart" can be seen in the activity of the astral plane, and in the part sex and passion play in the development of man.  At the close of this mahamanvantara there will be ready for manifestation in the coming third system nirvanis who will be, in very essence, "active intelligent love"; they will have to wait until the five lower planes of the system have reached a stage of vibratory development which will permit them to enter, as the nirvanis in this system waited until the three lower planes became adequate in vibratory response.  We are here speaking in terms of the Heavenly Men.  In the Earth scheme, the analogy is hidden in the advent of the Egos in the third round, in the third root race and in the third chain.  Individualisation, as we understand it, was not possible until the "third state of pleroma" was reached, either universally where a Heavenly Man is concerned, or relatively in connection with a human unit.

Considering the same subject from below upwards it is the animal in the third kingdom which individualises.  Viewing it from above downwards it is the fifth kingdom, the spiritual, which ensouls the third and produces the fourth, or self-conscious human kingdom.  These figures [688] should be studied for they hold the mystery hid, and though the true occult meaning will not be revealed until the third major Initiation, nor fully comprehended until the fifth, yet light may stream in on a difficult point.  Equally so in the next solar system, individualisation (if such an inadequate term may be applied to a state of consciousness inconceivable even to an initiate of the third Initiation) will not be possible until the second or sixth stage of Pleroma.  Consciousness will blaze forth then on the Monadic plane, and it will be the plane of individualisation.  All states of consciousness below that high level will be to the Logos what the consciousness of the three worlds is to Him now.  Just as the physical body of man is not a principle, so all planes at this time below the fourth cosmic ether are not considered by the Logos to be a principle.

Our present solar Angels or fire devas will then have a position analogous to that of the lunar Pitris now, for all will form a part of the divine consciousness, and yet, will be esoterically considered as "below the threshold" of consciousness.  Man has to learn to control, guide and use the deva substances of which his lower sheaths are made; this goal involves the development of full self-consciousness, which is brought about through the agency of the solar Angels or builders and vitalisers of the egoic body; they are those through whom self-consciousness becomes a fact.  In the next solar system they too will no longer embody the type of consciousness towards which man aspires; he will have to rise to still greater realisations, and again by occultly "putting his foot upon" them these higher realisations will become possible.  In this solar system he has to mount by the putting his foot upon the serpent of matter.  He rises by domination of matter and becomes himself a serpent of wisdom.  In the next solar system he will mount upward by means of the "serpent of wisdom," and by the domination [689] and control of the Agnishvattas, achieve something of which even the illuminated mind of the highest Dhyan-chohan can not yet conceive.

a. The Fifth Principle.

The solar Angels are the Pitris, the builders of the body of the Ego, and the producers of individualisation or the realised consciousness, the Agnishvattas, the great devas of Mind.

Certain broad and general affirmations have been laid down with the purpose in view of opening up this stupendous and practical subject, and in an endeavour to link up this solar system in its fundamental manasic aspect with the past and the future.

The section we are now approaching concerns the development of the divine Manasaputras, viewing them as a collective whole, containing the Divine Mind, and considering the individual Monad, who responds to Their life as a part of the body of these Dhyani Buddhas.

(a.) Cosmically considered.  An occult sentence has its place here.  It holds the key to the mystery of the fivefold Dhyanis:

"The higher Three in cyclic unison sought to know and to be known.  The lower Three (for we count not here the eighth) knew not nor saw; they only heard and touched.  The fourth had not a place.  The Fifth (which also is the fourth) formed at the middle point a cosmic TAU, which was reflected on the cosmic Seventh."

H. P. B. states that the individualised Monad has more spiritual consciousness than the monad itself on its own plane, the second.  It must be remembered here that the planetary Logoi are only in physical incarnation in our system, their bodies of individualisation being on the cosmic mental plane, therefore full expression for them [690] is impossible during manifestation.  Relatively therefore, during manifestation, man is able to express himself fully when he attains the "consciousness of the high places."  It should, therefore, be pointed out at the very beginning of our study of this fifth principle that the divine Manasaputras on their own plane must be considered from the standpoint of physical incarnation, whereas man can be considered from what is, for him, a spiritual aspect. 

Human individualisation, or the emergence of the self-conscious units on the mental plane, is involved in a larger development, for it synchronizes with the appropriation of a dense physical body by the Planetary Logos; this body is composed of matter of our three lower planes.  As the etheric centres of the Manasaputras on the fourth cosmic etheric plane become vitalised, they produce increased activity on the systemic mental plane, the cosmic gaseous, and the consciousness of the Heavenly Man and His life energy begins to make itself felt.  Simultaneously, under the Law, mind force or manasic energy pours in from the fifth cosmic plane, the cosmic mental.  This dual energy, contacting that which is inherent in the dense physical body of the Logos itself, produces correspondences to the centres upon that plane and the egoic groups appear.  They blend in latency the three types of electricity, and are themselves electrical phenomena.  They are composed of those atoms, or types of lives, which are a part of the fourth [691] Creative Hierarchy, the aggregate of purely human Monads.  Similarly, this triple force, produced by this conscious appropriation by the Heavenly Man, animates deva substance and the dense physical body of the planetary Logos is manifested objectively.  This is what is meant by the statements that devas are found only in the three worlds.  It is a statement analogous to the one that humanity is only found in the three worlds; nevertheless, the human Monads in their seven types are found on the plane of spirit—as it is the plane of duality—the deva monads are likewise found there.

Students should ever bear in mind that these occult subjects can be expressed in a twofold manner:

In terms of the three worlds, or from the standpoint of the logoic dense physical body.

In terms of force or energy, or from the standpoint of the logoic body of prana or vitality, the four cosmic ethers.

What we understand by the fifth principle is but the expression on the causal plane of that force or energy which emanates from the logoic causal body on the fifth cosmic plane, via the logoic correspondence to the mental unit.  (These correspondences involve a concept far in advance of what is possible even to an initiate at this time).  In the fifth round, the inner significance may become more apparent to the disciple.  As the logoic will is gradually transmuted into desire and thus the physical incarnation is produced, a tremendous downflow of vitalising force from the fifth cosmic plane takes place, until it arrives at our fifth plane, the mental.  This force it is which—at the correct cyclic moment—causes certain eventualities in time and space and in the three worlds, His dense physical body.  The first of these events is the appropriation by the Logos of that dense physical vehicle, and the flashing into manifestation [692] of the physical Sun and the physical planets.  Though this, from our standpoint, covers an inconceivably vast period of time, to the Logos it is but the brief period of gestation which all bodies undergo.  A second momentous occurrence is the appropriation by the various Prajapatis, or Heavenly Men of their physical bodies—again at varying times and according to their evolutionary stage.  This is of later date for the seven than for the three.  An idea of the meaning of this distinction can be gleaned by the student, as he studies the process of the incarnating ego.

What do we consequently find?  First of all, impulse, or the will-to-be, emanating from the mental plane; then desire, emanating from the astral plane, producing manifestation on the dense physical.

This idea must be extended to the three Logoi or logoic Aspects and we then have the key to the mystery of the nine Sephiroth, the triple Trimurti.

The other event might be noted,—the appropriation at a still later period in time and space by the individual Monads of their bodies of manifestation.

The pouring in of this force of energy, emanating from the fifth logoic Principle, brings about two things:

The appropriation by the sevenfold Logos of His dense physical body.

The appearance on the fifth systemic plane of the causal bodies of the human Monads.

or

For the greater Life it was incarnation.

For the lesser lives it was individualisation.

This needs pondering upon.

[693]

It will, therefore, be apparent to all thinkers why this fifth principle stirred the third aspect into self-conscious activity.

(b.) Hylozoistically considered.  In continuing our consideration of the fifth logoic Principle, we will now view it in its hylozoistic aspect.  We have seen that it can be regarded as the force, the energy or the quality which emanates from the logoic mental unit on the cosmic mental plane; this necessarily has a definite effect on the fifth systemic plane, and on the fifth subplane of the physical plane, the gaseous.  Before taking up the subject of the Agnishvattas in detail, there are three points which should be borne in mind.

First, it should be remembered that all the planes of our system, viewing them as deva substance, form the spirillae in the physical permanent atom of the solar Logos.  This has earlier been pointed out, but needs re-emphasising here.  All consciousness, all memory, all faculty is stored up in the permanent atoms, and we are consequently dealing here with that consciousness; the student should nevertheless bear in mind that it is on the atomic subplanes that the logoic consciousness (remote as even that may be from the Reality) centres itself.  This permanent atom of the solar system, which holds the same relation to the logoic physical body as the human permanent atom does to that of a man, is a recipient of force, and is, therefore, receptive to force emanations from another extra-systemic source.  Some idea of the illusory character of manifestation, both human and logoic, may be gathered from the relation of the permanent atoms to the rest of the structure.  Apart [694] from the permanent atom, the human physical body does not exist.

Again, forms differ as do kingdoms according to the nature of the force flowing through them.  In the animal kingdom that which corresponds to the permanent atom responds to force of an involutionary character, emanating from a particular group.  The human permanent atom responds to force emanating from a group on the evolutionary arc and the Ray of a particular planetary Logos in Whose body a human Monad has a definite place.

Secondly, it must be noted that in view of the above it will be apparent that we are, at this period of manasic inflow and development, concerned with the coming into full vitality and activity of the fifth logoic spirilla; this vitalisation shows itself in the intense activity of the mental plane, and the threefold nature of the electrical phenomena to be witnessed upon it.

a. The atomic subplane...manasic permanent atoms...Positive

b. The fourth subplane....mental units........................Negative

c. The egoic groups........causal bodies......................Equilibrium or neutral

This is in process of demonstration during the course of evolution.  We are dealing here with the substance aspect and considering energy in its various manifestations.  The response of deva substance to the inflow of force on the mental plane has a threefold effect in connection with the Logos or the Septenate:

1. It produces a greatly increased vitality in the logoic centres on the fourth cosmic ether, due to reflex action, which is felt both above and below the plane of activity.

2. It stimulates the efforts of the highest specimens of the third kingdom, and a dual effect is produced [695]through this, for the fourth kingdom in nature makes its appearance on the physical plane and the Triads are reflected on the mental plane in the causal bodies to be found thereon.

3. As earlier said, the dense physical is linked and co-ordinated with the etheric bodies of the solar logos and of the planetary Logos.  Therefore, the lower three planes are synthesised with the higher four, and the devas of an earlier mahamanvantara or solar cycle are brought into conjunction with those of a newer order who were awaiting just conditions.  The physical incarnation of the Logos is completed.  The lower three kingdoms, being negative to the higher force, the mutual attraction of these two and their interaction bring into being the fourth or human kingdom.  The three fires of mind, Spirit and matter are brought together and the work of full self-consciousness begun.

Finally, the student should very carefully study here the significance of the numbers three, four and five in the evolution of consciousness.  Numerology has hitherto been studied primarily, and rightly, from the substance aspect, but not so much from the standpoint of conscious energy.  The Triad, for instance, is usually looked upon by our students as the triangle formed by the manasic-buddhic and atmic permanent atoms; the cube stands for the lower material man, and the five-pointed star has frequently a very material interpretation.  All these angles of vision are necessary, and must precede the study of the subjective aspect, but they lay the emphasis upon the material rather than upon the subjective; the subject nevertheless should be studied psychologically.  In this solar system, the above numbers are the most important from the angle of the evolution of consciousness. [696] In the earlier system, the numbers six and seven held the mystery hid.  In the next system, it will be two and one.  This refers only to the psychical development.  Let me illustrate:  The five-pointed star on the mental plane signifies (among other things) the evolution, by means of the five senses in the three worlds (which are also capable of a fivefold differentiation) of the fifth principle, the attainment of self-consciousness, and the development of the fifth spirilla.

On the buddhic plane, when flashing forth at initiation, this number signifies the full development of the fifth principle or quality, the completed cycle of the Ego upon the five Rays under the Mahachohan, and the assimilation of all that is to be learned upon them, and the attainment—not only of full self-consciousness, but also of the consciousness of the group wherein a man is found.  It infers the full unfoldment of five of the egoic petals, leaving four to open before the final initiation.

The five-pointed star at the initiations on the mental plane flashes out above the head of the initiate.  This concerns the first three initiations which are undergone in the causal vehicle.  It has been said that the first two initiations take place upon the astral plane and this is correct, but has given rise to a misunderstanding.  They are felt profoundly in connection with the astral and physical bodies and with the lower mental, and effect their control.  The chief effect being felt in those bodies, the initiate may interpret them as having taken place on the planes concerned, for the vividness of the effect, and the stimulation works out largely in the astral body.  But it must ever be remembered that the major initiations are taken in the causal body or—dissociated from that body—on the buddhic plane.  At the final two initiations, which set a man free from the three worlds and enable him to function in the logoic body of vitality and to wield the force which animates that logoic [697] vehicle, the initiate becomes the five-pointed star, and it descends upon him, merges in him, and he is seen at its very centre.  This descent is brought about through the action of the Initiator, wielding the Rod of Power, and puts a man in touch with the centre in the Body of the planetary Logos of which he is a part; this is consciously effected.  The two initiations, called the sixth and seventh, take place on the atmic plane; the five-pointed star "blazes forth from within itself" as the esoteric phrase has it, and becomes the seven-pointed star; it descends upon the man and he enters into the Flame.

Initiation and the mystery of numbers primarily concern consciousness, and not fundamentally "ability to function on a plane," nor the energy of matter, as might be gathered from so many occult books.  They deal with the subjective life, life as part of the consciousness and self-realization of a planetary Logos, or Lord of a Ray, and notlife in matter as we understand it.  A Heavenly Man functions in His pranic vehicle, and there His consciousness is to be found as far as we are concerned in this system; He works consciously through His centres.

To sum up:  There is a stage in the evolution of consciousness where the three, the four and the five blend and merge perfectly.  Confusion on this point arises from two causes which are the point of individual achievement of the student.  We interpret and colour statements according to the state of our own inner consciousness.  H. P. B. hints at this  when dealing with the principles; also the interpretation of these figures varies according to the key employed.  The fifth or spiritual kingdom is entered when the units of the fourth kingdom have succeeded in vitalizing the fifth spirilla in all the atoms of the threefold lower man; when they [698] have unfolded three of the egoic petals and are in process of unfolding the fourth and fifth and when they are becoming conscious of the pranic force of the Heavenly Man.

(c.) The Solar Angels and the Fifth Principle.  We can now study the Entities concerned with this fifth principle and their effect upon the evolution of consciousness.

Where man is concerned these solar Angels, the Agnishvattas, produce the union of the spiritual Triad, or divine Self, and the Quaternary, or lower self.  Where the Logos is concerned, whether solar or planetary, they produce conditions whereby the etheric, and the dense physical become a unit.

They represent a peculiar type of electrical force; their work is to blend and fuse, and above all else they are the "transmuting fires" of the system, and are those agents who pass the life of God through their bodies of flame as it descends from the higher into the lower, and again as it ascends from the lower into the higher.  They are connected in their highest groups with that portion of the logoic head centre which corresponds to the heart, and here is the clue to the mystery of kama-manas.  The kamic angels are vitalised from the "heart" centre and the manasic angels from the logoic head centre, via the point within that centre connected with the heart.  These two dominating groups are the sumtotal of kama-manas in all its manifestations.  The solar angels exist in three groups, all of which are concerned with the self-consciousness aspect, all of which are energised and connected with the fifth spirilla of the logoic permanent atom, and all of which work as a unit.

One group, the highest, is connected with the logoic head centre, whether solar or planetary.  They work with the manasic permanent atoms and embody the will-to-be in dense physical incarnation.  Their power is felt on the atomic subplane and on the second; they are the [699] substance and the life of those planes.  Another group is connected definitely with the causal bodies of all Egos and are of prime importance in this solar system.  They come from the heart centre, and express that force.  The third group, corresponding to the throat centre, show forth their power on the fourth subplane through the mental units.  They are the sumtotal of the power of the Ego to see, to hear and to speak (or sound) in the strictly occult sense.

A hint may here be given to those who have power to see.  Three constellations are connected with the fifth logoic principle in its threefold manifestation:  Sirius, two of the Pleiades, and a small constellation whose name must be ascertained by the intuition of the student.  These three govern the appropriation by the Logos of His dense body.  When the last pralaya ended, and the etheric body had been co-ordinated, a triangle in the Heavens was formed under law which permitted a flow of force, producing vibration on the fifth systemic plane.  That triangle still persists, and is the cause of the continued inflow of manasic force; it is connected with the spirillae in the logoic mental unit and as long as His will-to-be persists, the energy will continue to flow through.  In the fifth round, it will be felt at its height.

In considering the Entities who gave the manasic principle to man, we must remember that they are the beings who, in earlier manvantaras have achieved, and who—in this round—waited for a specific moment at [700]which to enter, and so continue their work.  A parallel case can be seen at the entry—in Atlantean days—of Egos from the moon-chain.  The parallel is not exact, as a peculiar condition prevailed on the moon, and a peculiar karmic purpose brought them all in at that time.

It should here be remembered that in the moon the fifth principle of manas incubated normally, and instinct gradually developed until it imperceptibly merged into manas, being of a similar nature; in this round a peculiar condition necessitated extra-planetary stimulation, and this special group of Pitris effected a transition of the lower into the higher through a downflow of energy via the Earth's Primary from an extra-systemic centre.

The central three rounds, as in the planes and principles, are the most important for the evolution of the self-conscious units in this system, and this working towards perfection of the three, the four, and the five, mark, for the planetary Logos, as for man, the cycle of maturity.  The earlier and later cycles mark that of growth towards maturity, and the garnering of the fruits of earlier experience.  The three Halls again can be here considered from this aspect, and the central period allocated to the Hall of Learning.

On all the planets these manasadevas are found working, ever in their three groups but varying the methods employed according to the stage of the evolution of the planet concerned, and the karma of its planetary Lord.  Their method of work on the Earth can be studied in the Secret Doctrine and has a most significant interest for men at this time. The three groups should be carefully considered from the standpoint of their occult work, which is hinted at under the terms of:

a. Those who refused to incarnate.

b. Those who implanted the spark of manas.

c. Those who took bodies and moulded the type.

[701]

The second group, the intermediate, can be subdivided into two lesser groups:

a. Those who implant the spark of manas,

b. Those who fan and feed the latent flame in the best types of animal man,

thus again making five.  These statements have been accepted at their face value, but little attention is paid to the real meaning.  Much profit would come if the student would study the subject from the standpoint of energy, and of magnetic interaction.  Those who refused to incarnate or to energise with their life the prepared forms, were acting under Law, and their opposition to incarnation in these forms was based on magnetic repulsion.  They could not energise the forms provided, for it involved the opposition of that which is occultly the same.  The lesser was not negative to the greater Life.  Where the Spark was implanted we have the receptivity of the negative aspect to the positive force and therefore the progress of the work.  In every case we have deva substance of one polarity energised by another polarity with the goal in view of producing—through their mutual interaction—a balancing of forces, and the attainment of a third type of electrical phenomena.

The question of the coming of the Lords of Flame is discussed hereafter under the heading "Individualisation."  At this point we are only dealing with the work of these chohanic forces in a systemic and cosmic sense.  These solar entities, being liberated intelligent Essences were in pralaya of a secondary nature when the time came for their reappearance in manifestation.  When the WORD sounded forth which produced desire in the Triad for self-expression, and when the sound of the lower manifestation had blended with it, and had risen up into the Heavens, as the occult books express it, [702] an effect was produced which caused a response in certain allied constellations; this set loose energy which swept into the solar system, carrying with it those solar angels who "rested in the Heart of God until the hour was come."  Their appearance upon the mental plane brought about the union of Spirit and matter, and from this union was born a self-conscious Identity, the Ego.  On cosmic levels, an analogous process occurs in connection with such stupendous Identities as a solar Logos, and the septenary Lives.

As the energy of a human being, seeking incarnation, passes down from the plane of intensive purpose, the mental plane, into the physical vehicle on the gaseous or fifth subplane, so a somewhat analogous stimulation takes place in the body logoic.  A somewhat similar process can also be seen in connection with this energy in a human body as it stimulates the life of the individual cell, and brings about relatively its intelligent co-operation in group work, and its ability to take its place in the body corporate.  It is so with the human Monads, the cells in the body logoic.  When science recognizes this fact (which will scarcely be yet awhile) attention will be turned to the volatile essences of the body, to the heart centre particularly, and its relation to these gaseous elements.  The heart will be found to be not only the engine which circulates the life fluids, but also the generator of a certain type of intelligent essence which is the positive factor in the life of the cell.

Some idea can be gathered from this as to the microcosmic process, for the individualization of the units is brought about through a macrocosmic happening which produces effects in the microcosm.

A final point here needs emphasising.  Occultly understood, the five Kumaras or the five Mind-born Sons of Brahma are the embodiers of this manasic force on [703] our planet; but They only reflect (in the Hierarchy of our planet) the function of the five Kumaras or Rishis who are the Lords of the five Rays manifesting through the four lesser planets and the synthesising planet.

These five Kumaras are the channels for this force and one of Them, the Lord of the planet Venus, embodies in Himself the function of the fifth Hierarchy.  This accounts for the activity of Venus at the moment of individualisation in this round.  In the next round, this fifth Hierarchy will be utilising our Earth scheme in this way, and we shall then see manas in full fruition working out in the human family.  This fifth Hierarchy of Agnishvattas in their many grades embody the "I principle" and are the producers of self-consciousness, and the builders of man's body of realisation.  In time and space, and on the mental plane, they are Man himself in essential essence; they enable him to build his own body of causes, to unfold his own egoic lotus, and gradually to free himself from the limitations of the form which he has constructed, and thus to put himself—in due course of time—into the line of another type of energy, that of buddhi.  To word it otherwise, through Their work man can become conscious without the manasic vehicle, for manas is but the form through which a higher principle is making itself known.  The life of God comes cyclically under the influence of the different Hierarchies or forces, all of which temporarily build for it a vehicle, pass it through their substance, give to it in this way a certain quality or colouring, and increase thereby its vibratory capacity until eventually the life is set free from hierarchical limitation.  It then returns to its eternal Source plus the gain of its experiences and with the increased energy which is the result of its various transitions.

Let us bear carefully in mind, that the Rays are the positive aspect in manifestation and pass down into [704]negative matter, deva or hierarchical substance, thus causing certain evidences of activity.  The Hierarchies are the negative aspect as far as the Rays are concerned and are responsive to Ray impulse.  But within each Ray and each Hierarchy in this system a dual force again will be found.  The Sons of God are bisexual.  The deva substance is also dual, for the evolutionary devas are the positive energy of the atom, cell or subhuman form, for instance, while the electrons or lesser lives within the form are negative.

The mystery of the Manasaputras is hidden in this, and in the function of the fifth Hierarchy, and it is not possible to reveal more of it.  The secret of Buddhi, the sixth or Christ principle, which concerns these Sons of God, and the secret of the fifth Hierarchy which is the vehicle or recipient of buddhi, cannot be mentioned outside initiated circles.  It holds hid the possibility of egoic unfoldment, and keeps secret the karma of the Heavenly Men, the five Kumaras.

The fifth principle of manas is embodied in the five Kumaras, and if the student studies the significance of the first five petals which are unfolded in the egoic lotus, he may touch upon the fringe of the mystery.  The fifth Ray, which is the Ray of the fifth Kumara, is potently responsive to the energy flowing through the fifth Hierarchy.  As the student of occultism knows, the Lord of the fifth Ray holds that place in the Septenary enumeration, but under the fivefold classification, he holds the third or middle place.

1. The cosmic Lord of Will or Power.

2. The cosmic Lord of Love-Wisdom.

3. The cosmic Lord of Active Intelligence..........1.

4. The cosmic Lord of Harmony........................2.

5. The cosmic Lord of Concrete Knowledge.....3.

6. The cosmic Lord of Abstract Idealism...........4.

7. The cosmic Lord of Ceremonial Magic..........5.

[705]

This should be pondered on, and His close connection therefore, as a transmitter of force within the Moon chain, the third chain, in connection with the third kingdom, the animal, and with the third round, must be borne in mind.  One symbol that may be found in the archaic records in lieu of His Name or description is an inverted five-pointed star, with the luminous Triangle at the centre.  It will be noted that the points involved in this symbol number eight—a picture of that peculiar state of consciousness brought about when the mind is seen to be the slayer of the Real.  The secret of planetary avitchi  is hidden here, just as the third major scheme can be viewed as systemic avitchi, and the moon at one time held an analogous position in connection with our scheme.  This must be interpreted in terms of consciousness, and not of locality.

In the fifth round, at its middle point, certain things will eventuate.

The fifth Hierarchy will rise to its full power.  This will precede the Judgment Day, and will mark a point of tremendous struggle, for the manasic vehicle "manas" (which they embody) will rebel against the translation of the life within (the buddhi).  There will, therefore, be seen on a racial scale and involving millions simultaneously, a repetition of the self-same struggle which embroils the man who seeks to transcend mind and to live the life of Spirit.  This will be the final Armageddon, the planetary kurukshetra, and will be succeeded by the Judgment Day when the Sons of Manas will be cast out and the Dragons of Wisdom rule.  This only means that those in whom the manasic principle is over-potent or under-developed will be considered as failures and will [706] have to wait for a more suitable period for development, while those who are living the buddhic life, and in whom it is waxing stronger—spiritual men, aspirants, disciples of various degrees, initiates and adepts—will be left to pursue the natural course of evolution on this scheme.