In the four previous presentations in this series on chains, rounds and globes, we have studied the field of evolution from a location point of view. We have outlined planes of matter where such activities take place. Think of our solar system as a vast educational establishment, that caters to all students starting at kindergarten and going all the way to post-doctoral research. We will start to look at the lifestreams that pour into and through the solar system, starting with the main river and going into tributaries and creeks in due course. We are of course mainly concerned with the evolution of Humanity, from its earliest beginnings all the way to superhuman achievements.
In modern Theosophical literature the term ”life-waves” has been employed in three distinct senses:
First: To represent the three great Outpourings, as they are more usually and perhaps more appropriately called, of Divine Life, from the three logoi of the Trinity, through which the solar system came into existence, and by which it is nourished and sustained.
Second: To describe the successive streams of life, of which the Second Outpouring is formed. It is these with which we are dealing in this presentation, and which we will denote, for the sake of clarity, as streams of life, or lifestreams.
Third: To signify the transference of life from one planet of a chain to another planet, in the course of the various ”rounds.” This we shall deal with in a later presentation when it will be seen that this kind of life wave differs considerably from what we have called a lifestream up to this point.
Focusing on the human line of evolution, ignoring for the moment the deva line of evolution, and other lines which may exist, but of which we know very little – we note that there are seven main kingdoms of life evolving side by side through our earth’s Scheme. Whether the same method is followed in the other nine Schemes or not, we do not at present know for certain, though life seems to follow patterns from higher to lower, so why not from side to side?
The seven kingdoms we do know about are:
The First Elemental Kingdom.
The Second Elemental Kingdom.
The Third Elemental Kingdom.
The Mineral Kingdom.
The Vegetable Kingdom.
The Animal Kingdom.
The Human Kingdom.
All seven of these kingdoms are expressions of the same life, the one life of the Logos, manifesting in that Second great Outpouring, which comes from the Second Aspect of the Trinity after the “primary” matter has been prepared for its reception by the action of the First Outpouring, which comes from the Third Aspect of the Trinity. We have already covered this process.
The Second Outpouring comes forth in a series of successive waves, following one another like waves of the sea. It is the history of the progress of these waves of life – which has historically been called Life-streams. The first three of the seven kingdoms are on the downward arc of evolution, i.e., the life in them is plunging deeper and deeper into matter. The First Elemental Kingdom does not descend below the causal plane; the Second Elemental Kingdom does not descend below the mental plane; and the Third Elemental Kingdom comes down only as far as the emotional plane.
The Mineral Kingdom represents the turning point, where the life reaches the lowest point of its descent into matter, and commences to ascend again through the planes. This phenomenon of descent into materiality and re-ascent into spirituality is one which constantly recurs in many ways, and will be dealt with more fully in due course. The Vegetable, Animal and Human Kingdoms are occupied in rising steadily through the planes.
In the general scheme of things, excuse the pun, each lifestream animates a kingdom for a whole chain period. It passes on to the next kingdom in the next chain period, taking a whole chain period to be ready to ascend to the next evolutionary level. This is the general theory. There are exceptions to this general rule, which will be elucidated later.
If the First Elemental Kingdom passes to the Second, what happens to the void it leaves behind? It is filled with an entirely fresh life-stream, generously donated to the scheme by the Logos, thus making a new First Elemental Kingdom. As this process repeats itself in all seven chains, we can deduce that there are 13 life-streams in our scheme. This can be represented thus:
From the flow indicated in the diagram, it is seen that the life that is now being expressed in our present humanity came up through the Animal Kingdom in the third (Moon) chain, through the Vegetable Kingdom in the second chain, and through the Mineral Kingdom in the first chain. Now, as each kingdom must pass through all the kingdoms that precede it, it is clear that the lifestream, out of which our present humanity has emerged, must have passed through the three Elemental Kingdoms in some previous chains and some previous Schemes. This applies to all but the lowest life stream for the reasons already stated. It should be noted that there are seven radiating lines above the Human Kingdom. These are the seven potential paths a monad can follow once it enters the 5th Kingdom of Nature. This will be discussed further in a later presentation.
Looking again at the diagram, we can see that the only life stream which runs through the whole seven kingdoms in our Scheme of seven chains is that which entered the first chain as the First Elemental Kingdom. Climbing steadily, one kingdom in each chain, this life-stream eventually reaches the Human Kingdom, and passes out of it, in the seventh and last chain of our Scheme.
The other six kingdoms of the first chain, as already stated, must have commenced their evolution in earlier chains, whilst the six life streams that emerge from the Logos and enter the six chains after the first, will have to continue and complete their evolution in chains after the seventh and last chain of our Scheme.
Whilst our Scheme of Evolution is complete and more or less self-contained within its field of evolution, having a definite beginning and a definite ending, it forms one in a larger series of successive Schemes. From this, we may deduce that even the solar system as a whole follows the general principle, which we find operating elsewhere in so many other directions, and is but one incarnation in some gigantic series. Anything like ultimate finality seems utterly beyond the furthest horizon to which we can stretch our imaginations.
Lifestreams evolve through the various chains, passing through the whole of the seven globes in each round. It is very difficult for us to grasp with our physical consciousness what can be the condition of the life of the lower kingdoms on the higher planes; the idea of the evolution of a mineral, for example, on the mental plane, suggests nothing readily comprehensible to the ordinary mind. It would correspond to our thought of a mineral. Yet we should not assume that such a thought form as we could make of a mineral would be its only representation on that level. The thought form which exists there is that of the Manu, moulded by a power altogether beyond comparison with that of our mentality. What exactly is a Manu? More on that later.
Every mineral has its emotional and mental counterparts. The monad of the mineral is lodged in a permanent 43:1 atom. However, its focus, such that it is capable of focusing within these higher envelopes, is undergoing some sort of evolutionary experience.
Mind energies flow from the logos, on cosmic plane 35, all the way down to our mental plane 47 and from there to the etheric plane (49:1-4). It is the logos’ perception of a mineral that we finally come to know. Remember, we are talking about the group soul of the mineral monad. It has a long way to go before it individualises in the Human Kingdom. The take-home message here is that the life streams are evolving in some way during the periods spent on all the globes, with useful progress being made in every part of the chain.
We are just one of seven lines of life, co-evolving on this planetary scheme. We are neither the most important nor are we the most numerous. The table shows that life begins to differentiate at the mineral level and reunite again at the Solar Spirit’s level. It should be noted that this is just a rough sketch and there are many variations. It is also possible to swap from one line of evolution to another.
In the next presentation, we go on to look at the goals of our seven chains. What is the whole scheme trying to achieve?