This presentation is going to be slightly longer than most and heavy in its content, but hang in there. If you understand what I am about to talk about in the first listening, you must glow in the dark. In the introductory presentation in this series, we mentioned that rather than just jumping to the causal envelope and starting to describe its structure and function, we would look at the larger environment surrounding the whole process of the evolution of humanity. We will start by looking at the Field of Evolution. By the “field of evolution”, we mean the material universe in which Evolution is to take place. Strictly speaking, life or Spirit, and matter are not in reality, separate and distinct existences, but rather are opposite poles of one existence; but for purposes of intellectual analysis and study, it is convenient to consider these two aspects or poles almost as though they were separate and distinct, much in the same way that a builder, for example, considers, more or less separately, plans and sections of their buildings, although these plans and sections are merely abstractions, from the one entity – the building itself.
The field of evolution in our solar system, using the Theosophical model, consists of seven planes or worlds; these may be regarded as making up three groups: (1) the Field of Logoic manifestation only; (2) the field of supernormal evolution (3) the field of normal human, animal, vegetable mineral and elemental evolution. This relationship is tabulated for your reference.
The Adi (43) and Anupadaka (44) planes may be conceived as existing before the solar system is formed. The Adi plane may be imagined as consisting of a certain portion of the matter of space, symbolised by points, as the Logos marks out to form the material basis of the system He is about to produce.
The Anupadaka plane, symbolised by lines, we may imagine as consisting of this same matter, modified or coloured by His individual life, His all ensouling consciousness, thus differing in some way from the corresponding plane in another solar system. These ideas may be roughly symbolised as presented here.
This preparatory work may be illustrated in another way by two sets of symbols, one showing the threefold manifestation of the consciousness of the Logos, the other the threefold change in matter corresponding to the threefold change in consciousness.
Taking first the manifestation of consciousness, the site of the universe having been marked out: [1 ] the Logos Himself appears as a point within the sphere; [2] the Logos goes forth from that point in three directions to the circumference of that sphere or circle of matter; [ 3 ] the consciousness, of the Logos returns on Itself, manifesting at each point of contact with the circle one of the three fundamental aspects of consciousness, known as Will, Wisdom and Activity. You can think of other sets of terms that would describe the same Trinity. The joining of the three aspects, or phases of manifestation, at their outer points of contact with the circle gives the basic triangle of contact with matter. This triangle, together with the three triangles formed by the lines traced by the point, yields the”divine tetractys”, sometimes called the Cosmic Quaternary. This sounds like heavy going, but nothing in the Theosophical canon is “low in sugars, salt and saturated fats”.
Taking now the changes set up in Universal matter, corresponding to the manifestations of consciousness, we have, in the sphere of primordial substance, the virgin matter of space: the Logos [1] appearing as a point irradiating the sphere of matter; [2] the point vibrating between centre and circumference, thus making the line which marks the drawing apart from spirit and matter; [ 3 ] the point, with the line revolving with it, vibrating at right angles to the former vibration, and forming the primordial Cross within the Circle.
The Cross is thus said to “proceed” from the Father (Shiva) [the point] and the Son (Vishnu) [the diameter] and represents the third Logos (Brahma), the creative mind, the Divine activity ready to manifest as Creator. Before we dive further into the weeds, I wish to say that the Theosophical view of Life, the Universe and Everything revolved around Spirit and Matter. Yet, if you are observant, there is mention of the “son”, and this pole is linked to the creative mind. What does that mean for us Hylozoicians? It means consciousness. There, we have the Trinity hiding in plain sight. Spirit, in this context, refers to motion, will or energy. They are one and the same thing. However, in my opinion, where Theosophy gets misunderstood is that many students talk as though spirit can exist by itself. It can not, and ultimately, they know that, but the way they describe it, it seems as though it can. That is why earlier on, we stated that energy and matter are the same coin, just pulled apart but still connected. By now, you may be using the will to live, but hang in there. Hopefully, things will get clearer as we progress.
Next, we move on to the coming forth of the monad. Before considering the creative activity of the Third Logos and the detailed preparation of the field of evolution, we must note the origins of the Monads or units of consciousness, for whose evolution, in matter, the field of a universe is prepared. We shall return to their fuller consideration in a later presentation.
The Myriads of these units, which are to be developed in the coming universe, are generated within the divine life before the field for their evolution is formed. Of this going forth, it has been written: “That willed: I shall multiply and be born” [Chhando Upanishat]: thus the Many arise in the One by that act of will. The act of will is that of the First Logos, the undivided Lord, the Father.
The Monads are described as sparks of the Supreme Fire, as “Divine fragments”.The Occult Catechism, quoted in the Secret Doctrine, says: “Lift thy head, O Lanoo; dost thou see one, or countless, lights above thee, burning in the midnight sky?’ ‘I sense One Flame, O Gurudeva; I see countless, undetached sparks shining in it’.”
The Flame is Ishvara, in His manifestation, as the First Logos; the undetached sparks are the Monads, humans and others. The word “undetached” should be especially noted as signifying that the Monads are the Logos Himself. This is the Theosophical point of view. Hylozoics would disagree.
A Monad may thus be defined as a fragment of the divine life, separated off as an individual entity by the rarest film of matter, matter so rare that, while it gives a separate form to each, it offers no obstacle to the free intercommunication, of life, thus encased, with the surrounding similar lives.
A Monad is thus not pure consciousness, pure Self, samvit. That is an abstraction. In the concrete universe, there are always the Self and his sheaths, however tenuous the sheaths may be, so that a unit of consciousness is inseparable from matter. Hence, a Monad is consciousness in matter.
Let us pause here because I wish to clarify something. OK, so we are all divine sparks, a chip off the old block, surrounded by a thin film. You and I call this an envelope. However, the way this is read by many is that Supreme Fire, the hot tamale himself, creates us from Himself. He does not. We always existed in the Ante-Verse. What the Absolute does is transfer us from the Ante-Verse into his thought bubble, and it is the consciousness of this bubble, His consciousness, that we all share. We do not share of his matter, as we are all the same size and individual monads in our own right. Re-read what I have just said in the script posted on the website and understand that what Hylozoics has done is clarify the link and equality between Matter, Motion and Consciousness as it exists on the 1st Plane of matter. At present, we are talking about the Cosmic Physical Kingdom, where this process is repeated with the Solar Logos in charge of the building out of the Solar System.
OK, let’s continue; the Monad of Theosophy is the Jivatma of Indian Philosophy, the Purusha of the Samkhya (which is a dualistic philosophy in Hinduism), and the particularised Self of the Vedanta (another Hindu philosophy, this time monistic).
The life of the Monads being thus of the First Logos, they may be described as Sons of the Father, just as the Second Logos Himself is the Son of the Father; but the Monads are younger Sons, with none of their divine powers, capable of acting in matter denser than that of their own plane. The Second Logos, with ages of evolution behind Him, stands ready to exercise His divine powers, “the first-born ” among many brethren. Note that the Protogonos are also called the “First Born” and represent the devic stream in our solar system.
Whilst the roots of their life are in the Adi (43) plane, the Monads themselves, according to Theosophical cosmology, dwell on the Anupadaka Plane (44), as yet without vehicles in which they can express themselves, awaiting the day of “manifestation” of the Sons of God”. There, they remain while the Third Logos begins the external work of manifestation, shaping the matter of the objective universe or, in our case, the Solar System. This work will be described in the next Presentation.
This is where Hylozoics and Theosophy diverge. Theosophists have called Plane 44 the monadic plane. Laurency called it sub-manifestal, which chimes with what the Theosophists are saying, and Bladon calls this the Divine Plane. In my diagrams, I stick with the Bladon nomenclature. The monad is not waiting to enter the seven lowest planes of matter, the Cosmic Physical. They can not enter it. What they are waiting for is the triad structure to be built out so that they can enmesh their consciousness in the tertiary matter of the permanent atoms and molecules of this matrix. On with the story.
This diagram indicates the Monads waiting on their own plane whilst the world in which they are to develop is being fashioned. If we jump back to the macro-cosmic view, this process is going on on the highest planes of matter, 1, 2 and 3. It is also reoccurring in the Cosmic Kingdoms 1, 2 & 3. We are particularly interested in how it plays out in the Cosmic Physical Kingdom and its seven subplanes.
The units of Consciousness, kno wn as Monads, are described as the Sons, abiding from the beginning of a creative age, in the “bosom of the Father”, who have not yet been –”made perfect through suffering”. Each of them is truly “equal to the Father as touching his Godhead but inferior to the Father as touching his manhood”, in the words of the Athanasian Creed. Each of them is to go forth into matter in order ” to render all things subject to himself” [ 1 Corinthians xv. 28]. He is to be “sown in weakness” that he may be “raised in power”. From a static condition unfolding all divine potentialities, he is to become dynamic, unfolding all divine powers. By eluding to monadic consciousness going forward, with no matter attached, it means that this matter is residing somewhere else. That somewhere is Plane 43:1.
Whilst omniscient, omnipresent, on his own plane –the Anupadaka (44), wrong it is 43:1 –the monad is unconscious- “senseless”-on all others; he is to veil his glory in matter that blinds him, in order that he may become omniscient, omnipresent, on all planes able to answer to all divine vibrations in the universe, instead of only those of the highest levels.
As the Monads derive their being from the First Logos, as Theosophy eludes, His will to manifest is also their will. Hence, the whole process of the evolution of the individual “I” is an activity chosen by the Monads themselves. We are here in the worlds of matter because we, as Monads, willed to live: we are Self-moved, Self-determined. We have to take being self-moved with a pinch of salt as we start off as conscious as a rock, but we have potential. This is where the Law of Self-Development has its foundation.
This divine impulse, striving ever after fuller manifestation of life, is seen everywhere in nature and has often been spoken of as the will to live. It appears in the seed, which pushes its growing point up towards the light, in the bud, bursting its prison and expanding in the sunshine. It is the creative genius in the painter, the sculptor, the poet, the musician, and the craftsman. The subtlest pleasure, the keenest savour of exquisite delight, derives from this urge, from within, to create. All things feel most alive when multiplying themselves by creation. To expand to increase results from the Will-to-live: the fruition is the Bliss of living, the joy of being alive.
You can go and lie down for a while now. This is the end of this presentation.
Thank you