In the last presentation, we explored the structure of the mental envelope. Now, we will begin to discuss its function. The mental envelope is the means through which the Self manifests and expresses itself as the concrete intellect. The mind reflects the cognitional aspect of the Self, of the Self as Knower: it represents the Self, working in the mental envelope. Most people are unable to distinguish the individual from the mind; hence, to them, the Self they are searching for is synonymous with the mind. This inclination is more natural, if not unavoidable, because, at this stage of evolution, individuals of the Fifth Race are primarily focused on developing the mental envelope. If you identify yourself with an envelope that will dissolve at the end of your current incarnation, clearly, that can not be you.
Historically, consciousness has been channelled through the physical envelope as a vehicle of consciousness, and most individuals have also partly vivified the emotional envelope. Now, humanity should devote more effort to vivifying the mental envelope.
The development of the emotional envelope and its function of expressing kama, or emotion, was the specific task of the Fourth Root Race, the Atlanteans, as well as the Fourth SubRace of the Fifth Root Race, the Kelts. The emotional Italian or Greek family has become a stereotype, but in their interactions, emotions play a central, overactive role in family and cultural dynamics.
As mentioned earlier, the quality that the Fifth Race—applying to both the Fifth Root Race and the Fifth Sub-Race—is specifically intended to cultivate is manas or mind: the type of intellect that discerns and appreciates differences between things. It is by no accident that the major scientific breakthroughs have originated in Northern Europe, or descendants of Northern Europeans in North America, over the past two centuries.
At this stage of incomplete development, most people identify and resist differences from their own perspective rather than seeking to understand them. When this faculty is fully developed, differences will be observed calmly, solely for the purpose of understanding them and determining what is best. This will take some time to come to fruition based on the polarisation we are witnessing in society.
Furthermore, at this stage of the development of the Fifth Sub-Race, exploiting the weaknesses of others is seen as an opportunity, a means to subjugate, to trample upon, with the objective of self-elevation rather than aiding them to exist for themselves. Nevertheless, as unpleasant as it may be in its initial stages, this mental development is essential, as authentic critical thinking is vital for true progress. We learn through our mistakes. Eventually, we will know what is right because we will have experienced what was wrong, both as the instigator and the sufferer. This is how we achieve wisdom: by knowing something is wrong and doing the right thing instead.
The Sixth Root Race and the Sixth Sub-Race of the Fifth Root Race will primarily focus on developing spirituality, synthesis, compassion, and a strong desire to serve. This sub-race is slowly emerging and has its greatest focus in North America and Australia.
At the present evolutionary stage of humanity, it is pertinent to provide further explanation of the development of mind and emotion in the human race. The current Fourth Round is primarily intended for cultivating desire or emotion, while the Fifth Round is intended for unfolding intellect. However, due to the influence of the “Lords of the Flame,” the intellect has already progressed significantly, a whole Round ahead of what we might consider the normal program. Nevertheless, it should be understood that the intellect, which humanity takes pride in today, is minuscule in comparison to what the average person will possess at the peak of the next or Fifth Round. That is an awfully long time in the future; I am talking about billions of years, so let’s make the best of what we have now and not wait for some future salvation.
The “Lords of Flame” arrived on Earth, hailing from Venus during the Third Root Race, and immediately took charge of our evolution. Their leader, known in Indian texts as Sanat Kumara, was accompanied by three lieutenants, around twenty-five other Adepts as assistants, and about 100 ordinary human beings. The humans from Venus merged into the ordinary human population of Earth.
These Great Ones, referred to in The Secret Doctrine, are described as projecting a spark into mindless individuals, awakening the intellect within them. Their action was akin to a magnetic stimulus, drawing humanity closer to themselves and enabling people to develop the dormant spark of mind and become individualised.
It is essential to remember that while it is necessary, for the purpose of analysis and study, to separate individuals from the vehicles they use, the Self should be considered as a single unit despite the various forms in which it manifests. Consciousness is unified, and the divisions we make within it are either (1) created for the purpose of study or (2) illusory due to our limited perception caused by the organs through which it operates in the lower worlds.
The Self comprises three aspects: knowing, willing, and energising. From these aspects, thoughts, desires, and actions respectively arise. However, the entire Self has the capacity to know, will, and act. These functions are not entirely separate; when one knows, one also acts and wills; when one acts, one also knows and wills; and when one wills, one also acts and knows. One function may prevail, sometimes to the point of completely obscuring the others. Yet even in the most intensive focus on knowing—the most distinct of the three—latent energy and intent are always present, discernible through careful analysis.
A further explanation might help in understanding the concept of the Self. When the Self is still, the aspect of Knowledge is manifested, capable of taking on the likeness of any presented object. When the Self is concentrated and intent on a change of state, the aspect of Will appears. When the Self puts forth energy in the presence of any object to make contact, the aspect of Action is shown. These three aspects are not separate divisions of the Self but rather one indivisible whole manifesting in three ways.
From the standpoint of Eastern Yoga, the “mind” is simply the individualised consciousness, including all its activities. Yoga describes the process of consciousness as follows: the aspect of intelligence dominates the mental plane, the aspect of desire dominates the emotional plane, and the aspect of activity dominates the physical plane. Cognition as pure reason predominates on the Unity plane (46). Each of these aspects is present all the time, but one may predominate at a certain time.
Moving on to a detailed examination of the mind, we learn that abstract thinking is a function of the Self-expressing itself through the higher mental or causal envelope. In comparison, concrete thinking is performed by the Self-working in the lower mental envelope (47:4-7). The mechanism of concrete thinking will be considered in detail later on.
Memory and imagination begin in the mental envelope. The germ of memory lies in Tamas, the inertia of matter, which is a tendency to repeat vibrations once started when acted upon by energy.
The mental envelope is the vehicle of the monad, who is the real Thinker, who focuses through the causal have of the envelope on the Second Triad. While the mental envelope is intended to be the vehicle of consciousness on the lower mental plane, it also works on and through the emotional and physical bodies in all manifestations, usually called the “mind”, in ordinary waking consciousness.
The process is as follows: Concrete thinking sets in vibration the matter of the mental envelope, which is then transferred an “octave” lower to the thinker’s emotional envelope. From here, the thought is transferred to the etheric particles of the brain and finally to the grey matter of the dense envelope before it can be translated into active consciousness in the physical brain.
The sympathetic nervous system is mostly connected with the emotional envelope, while the cerebrospinal system is more under the influence of the monad working through the mental envelope. This is the way things should be, but as we have discussed in earlier presentations on the Emotional Envelope, the complex of kama-manas means that the mental envelope does not always occupy the commanding heights in the discussion-making process.
Every particle in the physical brain has its emotional counterpart, and this, in turn, has its mental counterpart. Visualise this as three metal foils of a capacitor stacked one above the other. Although the sheets of foil are separated, here and there there are conducting pipes that allow signals to flow from plate to plate. In most people, the number of conducting channels is limited, and some channels have not been formed yet. This means when a person wishes to send a thought down from the mental plane to the physical plane, the thought may have to go laterally over the foil, representing the mental matter until it can find a way down to the next level, passing eventually through a channel not ideally suited to the message it has to carry. Finally, the message is received by the foil representing the physical brain. This zigzagging means the message takes longer to arrive and may be distorted when it arrives.
In the case of an Adept, a 45-Self and therefore a perfected human, every particle has its own communication channel, and there is full communication in every part of the brain. Every thought has its own appropriate channel through which it can descend directly to the appropriate material in the physical brain. It is encouraging to know that our brains will function effectively one day.
We will complete our analysis of the functioning of the mental envelope in the next presentation.