Today, we will start to look at the attachment of the monad to the tertiary atomic structure that allows it to focus itself in the Cosmic Physical Kingdom. We will start with the third or higher triad. The Second Outpouring not only streams forth into the five planes, bringing into existence the elemental and other kingdoms of life, but it also activates the Monads, which have been waiting on the Adi (43) plane until the matter of the planes were prepared for them.
Rather than saying that the Monads “go forth,” it is more accurate to say that they shine forth, sending out their rays of life. They themselves remain ever “in the bosom of the Father” while their life rays stream out into the ocean of matter, appropriating the materials necessary for their evolution in the lower planes. This is a poetic way of saying that the monad remains on the 43:1 plane and focuses its attention into successive atomic structures prepared for it. Remember, they are not doing all this building; the devas are. The way Theosophy pitches the story, you would think that the monad was an omniscient being. It is not, at least not yet.
The shining forth of the Monads has been graphically described by H.P. Blavatsky: “The primordial triangle (the three-faced Monad of Will, Wisdom, and Activity), as soon as it has reflected itself in the ‘Heavenly Man’ (the Atma, Buddhi, Manas, the highest of the lower seven), disappears, returning into ‘Silence and Darkness’.” How this could all be happening within the triad structure rather than outside it on the Higher Monadic plane (43:1-3), I do not know. But the Theosophists placed the monad on plane 44, the Anupadaka. As you will see from my diagrams, I do not place the monad here.
Before I get into describing the seven rays the monads function through, I wish to take you back to this diagram. As you can see, there is a line of seven chohans. Pythagoras, the father of Hylozoics, is the Chohan of the 2nd Ray at present. This level of consciousness exists on the Anupadaka (44) plane. This is where the mixup is happening. The Theosophists said that this was the sphere of activity of the monad. It would be better to say that these seven chohans preside over seven ashrams through which all the human monads evolve. The monads themselves, as has already been mentioned, do not come forth but preside in what is termed a formless world. There is no such thing as formless. No matter where you are in the universe, you have form, as everywhere in the Universe is composed of matter, so how could you ever be formless? Anyway, the term form and formless is an abstract way to tell the student that there are some fundamental differences between the activities going on on different panes of matter. An example of this would be the difference between the causal and mental planes. Each of the seven chohans focuses one of the rays, which the monad works through to embed itself in the lower five planes of matter, 45 to 49. Theosophy separates out the Adi (43) and the Anupadaka (44) planes as though they are somehow cosmic emanations. They are not. They are firmly in our solar systemic world. You only go cosmic when you enter plane 42, as the Lord Buddha did at the end of his last incarnation. Let us continue the story according to the Theosophists.
The Monads themselves remain beyond the fivefold solar systemic worlds (45-49), acting as spectators. They exist beyond the five planes of matter as the Self, self-conscious and self-determined. They exist in unchanging peace and live in eternity. However, they interact with matter by appropriating atoms from various planes.
There are seven types or “rays” of Monads, just as matter also exists in seven types or rays. The process by which the seven types arise is as follows: The three aspects of consciousness of the Logos or Universal Self are Will, Wisdom, and Activity. The three corresponding qualities in matter are Inertia (Tamas), Mobility (Rajas), and Rhythm (Sattva).
They are related as follows: The Aspect of Will imposes on matter the quality of Inertia or Tamas, representing the power of resistance, stability, and quietude. The Aspect of Activity gives matter its responsiveness to action, Mobility, or Rajas. The Aspect of Wisdom gives matter Rhythm or Sattva, harmony. Every Monad has these three aspects of consciousness, which vary in different Monads in seven ways. The seventh variety is the one in which the three aspects are equal.
The seven types of matter are formed based on the varying proportions of the three qualities: Tamas, Rajas, and Sattva. The Second Outpouring, which is a stream of life, consists of seven channels, each of which contains one of the seven types of matter combinations. The diagram attempts to show the seven types of monads with the corresponding types of matter.
A different way to express the same idea is to say that each Monad is associated with one of the seven Rays and originated from one of the Seven Planetary Logoi. These Planetary Logoi are considered as channels through which the energy of the Solar Logos is distributed. In esoteric literature, the concept of the seven rays is associated with various star systems and spiritual traditions. According to H. P. Blavatsky, the seven rays are linked to the seven large stars of the Egyptian “Great Bear” constellation, as well as the Hindu “seven Rishis” and the Vedic sun deity Vishnu. These rays are seen as elemental powers and spiritual emanations that are recognised across different religions and esoteric systems.
Although each Monad primarily belongs to one Ray, it contains some elements of all the Rays. Every particle of force or matter within the Monad is a part of one of the Seven Planetary Logoi. Even though one Ray predominates, the Monad is essentially composed of the substance of all Seven Planetary Logoi. As a result, any movement of these powerful celestial beings affects every Monad since they are intimately connected. This forms the basis of astrology. We have discussed the process by which the rays are distributed through the planetary logoi. Saying each logos focuses one ray is misleading. As many as three rays can bounce through a single planet. However, it can be said that each planetary logos has its own ray configuration, and this colours all the other rays that pass through it.
Additionally, the Monads that originally emanated through a specific Planetary Logos will continue to have more of the particles of that Logos than of any other throughout their evolution. This distinction allows individuals to primarily associate with one of the seven Rays or Logoi. Generally, a Monad remains on the same Ray throughout its entire evolution, returning through the same Planetary Angel from which it originally emerged. However, rare exceptions exist, and a Monad may change its Ray, leading to a return through a different Planetary Angel than the one through which it first emerged. Such transfers typically occur with the First and Second Rays, as there are relatively few individuals on these two Rays at the lower levels of evolution. Before explaining how atoms are attached to the Monads, we need to address another factor.
The Second Outpouring, in addition to creating the Elemental and other Kingdoms, also brings evolving beings at various stages of development. These beings are the regular inhabitants of the Three Elemental Kingdoms. They have been brought from a previous evolution by the Logos and are now sent to inhabit the plane that matches their development. They work with the Logos and later with humans in the overall scheme of evolution. Humans derive their perishable bodies from them.
In some religions, these guiding monads are called Angels, and in Hinduism, they are called Devas, which literally means Shining Ones. Plato refers to them as “Minor Gods”. The term “Gods” has caused misunderstanding in Eastern thought. The “thirty-three crores [330 million] of Gods” are not Gods in the Western sense but are Devas or Shining Ones. My grandmother always denigrated the Hindus for having millions of Gods. Little did she know. This is the confounded arrogance of the monotheistic religions. Christianity has one god but then divides it into three but insists it is one. It then goes on to populate the heavens with angels and demons in countless forms and numbers. How does this differ from devas?
There are many grades of these beings, including representatives on each of the five lower planes: Atma (45), Buddhi (46), Manas (47), Kama (48), and the etheric part of the physical plane (49).
The devas’ bodies are formed of the Elemental Essence of the Kingdom to which they belong, and they are flashing and many-hued, changing form at the will of the deva. They form a vast host, ever actively at work, labouring at the Elemental Essence to improve its quality, taking it to form their own bodies, throwing it off again and taking other portions to render it more sensitive. This is how evolution occurs. More conscious monads absorb less conscious monads into their envelopes, using them to perform tasks and, at the same time, irradiating them with their consciousness field, which slowly wakes them up to higher levels. In this manner, we, as humans, are in the envelope of our solar devas and the envelope of our planetary logos.
In the following presentation, we will go on to finish our look at the attachment of the monad to what we have termed the higher triad of atma-buddhi-manas.