This new series of presentations marks the conclusion of a set of compilations that focus on the human envelope. The same approach has been consistently used throughout the series. Approximately forty volumes, mostly written by Dr. Annie Besant and Bishop Charles Leadbeater, were researched by Arthur Powell before he condensed the knowledge into four volumes. The contents of the presentations, gleaned from these authors and others, have been organised and categorised to provide a comprehensive and sequential overview of the subtle bodies of humans for students of modern esoterics.
Given the potential for significant advancements in our understanding of non-physical planes in the near future, it is important to compile the knowledge we already have into a format that is easy to understand for the students to be able to build up a framework that shows how the structures found on successive planes of matter, integrate seamlessly into a cohesive unit that allows a monad to experience an existence in the lowest of three triads (47:4 to 49:7)
Why focus so much time and effort on outlining the structure and function of our four principle envelopes of incarnation? Ultimately, because this is who we are at present, note the word “present”. There is one constant that is immortal, the monad, but to get to know who we really are, we need to don a series of envelopes and go through four principal stages of consciousness development, those being potentially conscious, passively conscious, actively conscious and finally self-conscious. By organising the information provided by these pioneering researchers and sublimating what Hylozoics has revealed to us, we can create a framework that allows for the incorporation of new information as it becomes accessible.
One key feature of these presentations is that we have used Laurency’s numbering scheme to clarify a plane or subplane of matter. Where Leadbeater or Powell have used the term “astral”, we use the word “emotional”. The reason for this discrepancy has already been elucidated on numerous occasions. Where the terminology used by the Theosophical writers and the terms by Lee Bladon differ, we often use both or use the Theosophical nomenclature suffixed by Laurency’s numbering system.
In the three previous series on the human envelopes—The Etheric Envelope, The Emotional Envelope, and The Mental Envelope—the life history of each of the three lower vehicles of humanity has been studied. In those studies, we have focused on understanding each of the three vehicles as they exist in humans, examining their methods of functioning, the laws of their growth and death, and observing the formation of new vehicles of the same kind. This ensures that humanity’s evolution on the three lower planes can continue, using the nucleus provided by the permanent atoms and mental unit. These three nuclear units can be considered as attractors of matter from the plane they belong to. They repopulate each newly formed envelope at the beginning of an incarnation with secondary matter that resonates with resolved and unresolved issues that the monad wishes to address in the forthcoming incarnation. These three envelopes are the business end of an incarnation, and it is through these envelopes that a monad proceeds to evolve through the 4th Kingdom of Nature. However, this is not the whole story.
When we turn our attention and begin to study the causal envelope of humans, we embark on a new phase of our work and must broaden our perspective on human evolution. Unlike the etheric, emotional, and mental bodies, which exist for only one human incarnation and are mortal, the causal envelope persists throughout the entirety of a monad’s evolution across many incarnations, making it relatively immortal. However, it’s important to note that there comes a point in a person’s evolution where, after completing normal human evolution, the monad begins its supernormal human evolution and actually loses the causal envelope in which the monad has lived and evolved during the past ages of its growth. This is a traumatic event and will be dealt with in a later presentation.
Hence, when dealing with a person’s causal envelope, we are no longer standing within the personality and looking at any vehicle of that personality. Instead, we must take our stand beside the person themself, looking from above at the vehicles of the personality and regarding them as temporary instruments fashioned for the use of the monad. They are discarded, like a broken tool, when they have served their purpose. This may sound heartless, but let’s face it: botox and plastic surgery can take you only so far. Eventually, you need to make a downpayment for a new vehicle. That downpayment is called karma.
In order to comprehensively understand our study and conclude it in a satisfying manner, it’s important to explore and examine the origin and development of the causal envelope. We need to understand how it initially formed. Upon discovering that it had a beginning, we realise that it not only has an end but there must also be another form of consciousness that utilises the causal envelope, similar to how the soul in the causal envelope uses the personality’s vehicles. This other form of consciousness is the human Monad. Therefore, to fully grasp the role of the causal envelope in the significant narrative of human evolution, we must also research the human Monad. We need to clarify something here: Theosophists considered a 44-Self to be where the monad resided and functioned. Laurency has corrected this inaccurate view by telling us that the monad is embedded in the 43:1 permanent atom. The significance of making this clarification will become apparent when we dive into the weeds of the higher structures that make up our three triad levels.
To fully understand the Causal Body, we need to briefly describe the formation of the field of evolution, the entry of the great streams of life into that field, the emergence of the Monads, the creation of the various kingdoms of life, and the descent of the Monads, aided by the permanent atoms, into the material universe. We will also cover the gradual development of life in Group Souls until, after a long period of existence, Individualisation is achieved, marking the first appearance of the causal body. We discussed this right at the beginning of this whole series of presentations when we talked about the group soul of the Mineral, Vegetable and Animal kingdoms. What we now wish to do is integrate these evolutionary schemes into one coherent narrative.
In the following study, we will proceed in a similar manner to the previous presentations in this series. We will need to address the functions of the Causal Envelope, its composition and structure, the nature of causal thought, the development and abilities of the causal envelope, and the time spent in the causal envelope in the higher heaven worlds after death.
We need to take a closer look at the entity, or the soul, that resides within and utilises the causal envelope. This entity consistently projects different personalities into the cycle of reincarnation. We must also explore Trishna, which is the “thirst” that drives reincarnation, as well as the permanent atoms and the mechanism of reincarnation. Additionally, we will examine the soul’s attitude towards the entire process of reincarnation and the personalities it projects into the lower worlds.
The entire relationship between the soul and the personality, including their connection and how the soul utilises the personality, needs to be thoroughly examined. A specific presentation will be dedicated to sacramental aids that help strengthen and improve the connection between the soul and the personality, and another presentation will explore the justification for remembering past lives.
Next, we will attempt to describe the life of the soul on its own plane as best as possible. This will lead us to initiation into the Great White Brotherhood, during which the causal envelope disappears temporarily. We will also try to provide some description of the Buddhic consciousness, as Theosophists call it. We call it Unity consciousness (46) and summarise the known facts about the Second and Higher Initiations.
Finally, we conclude our long history with the relationship of the soul to its “Father in Heaven,” the Monad (43:1).
The subject matter of this series of presentations is much broader than that covered in the three previous series. It is hoped that this series will help students of esoterics to gain a comprehensive understanding of the incredible journey of human evolution and to clearly appreciate the role of each of the four subtle bodies of humanity – the etheric, the emotional, the mental, and the causal. Wish me luck.