It has taken us eleven presentations to lay the groundwork for the causal envelope’s existence in our lives. We have now reached a stage where a significant change in evolving life is about to occur: the individualisation of the animal, the formation of the causal envelope, and the entry into the human kingdom.
To fully understand the whole concept and grasp its significance, let’s quickly summarise the stages we’ve already covered. We first observed that the Monads, originating from the First Logos, emerge and reside on the Adi Plane (43) throughout the ages we’ve examined. With the assistance of Devas, each Monad has acquired the three permanent atoms that represent it as a Jivatma on the planes of Atma, Buddhi, and Manas, forming the Higher Triad. Additionally, a Lower Triad, consisting of a Mental Unit, an Emotional Permanent Atom, and a Physical Permanent Atom, has been attached to each Higher Triad.
The Lower Triad has gradually descended into the earlier kingdoms of life, protected and nurtured by its Group Soul. Through repeated divisions caused by different experiences, each Lower Triad has developed its own individual covering or sac, inherited from the original Group-Soul. After a series of experiences in various animal forms, the Lower Triad is eventually awakened enough to justify taking the next step in the evolutionary plan. This will bring it a further portion if we can use that term, or aspect, of the Divine Life.
Just as a human foetus is nurtured by the mother in her womb until the child is strong enough to live independently in the outside world, so is the Triad shielded and nourished by the Group Soul, which is the medium through which the Second Logos protects and nurtures His young children. This continues until the Triad is strong enough to be launched into the outside world as a self-contained unit of life, pursuing its independent evolution.
The time has come for the Jivatma (comprised of Atma, Buddhi, and Manas) to complete its ante-natal existence and be born into the lower world. The Second Logos, representing the mother life, has constructed bodies for the Jivatma to inhabit as a distinct entity in the realm of forms. It is now the Jivatma’s responsibility to take direct ownership of these bodies and embark on their human evolution.
We use the term jivatma frequently. Let us quickly recap what we discuss when we use the term. The jivatma refers to the individual soul or self-inhabiting living beings. It is considered a spark or portion of the Divine/Supreme Self (Paramatma). It is also eternal and immortal and the essence of an individual’s existence. The jivatma is a reflection or individualised expression of the universal Atman (the Self). While the jivatma is the individual soul, Paramatma refers to the Supreme Soul or God. In manifestation, the jivatma becomes associated with Prakriti (material nature) and takes on various forms and personalities. The jivatma provides a sense of individual identity and consciousness to living beings. It transmigrates from one body to another through birth and death and evolves through various life forms and experiences, gradually developing higher consciousness. It possesses the capacity for choice and self-determination. The ultimate aim of the jivatma is to realise its true divine nature, to overcome identification with temporary material forms and to reunite or harmonise with the Supreme Self (Paramatma). Understanding and realising the nature of the jivatma is a crucial aspect of spiritual awakening and self-realisation. In essence, jivatma is the Monad.
The Monad has been communicating with the lower planes through the Sutratma or thread-self, consisting of permanent atoms strung together as the diagram represents. However, now is the time for a more complete form of communication than what the delicate thread in its original form can provide. The Sutratma expands and widens out, as shown in diagram (B), as the Ray from the Monad grows and intensifies, taking on more of a funnel shape. This causes “the thread between the Silent Watcher and his shadow (to) become stronger and more radiant”, as Blavatsky states in The Secret Doctrine.
The downward movement of monadic life is accompanied by an increased flow between the Buddhic and manasic permanent atoms presented in (C). The manasic permanent atom becomes active, sending out energy in all directions. Other manasic atoms and molecules gather around it, as shown in (D), creating a swirling vortex on the three upper sub-planes of the mental plane. As we have discussed, a similar swirling motion occurs in the cloudy mass surrounding the mental unit which the Group Soul surrounds.
The barrier of the Group Soul is torn apart and drawn into the vortex above. In this process, it disintegrates into matter of the third mental subplane. As the vortex subsides, the disintegrated matter is formed into a delicate, filmy envelope known as the causal envelope. When describing this process, the illustration commonly used in the East is that of a waterspout. In this scenario, a large cloud is hanging above the sea, with waves constantly forming and moving on the surface. At some point, an inverted cone of violently whirling vapour resembling a large finger extends from the cloud. Underneath this, a vortex rapidly forms in the ocean. Still, instead of being a depression on its surface, as in an ordinary whirlpool, it is a whirling cone rising above the surface. Steadily, the two bodies of water draw closer and closer together until they are so near that the power of attraction is strong enough to overcome the intervening space. Suddenly, a great column of mingled water and vapour is formed where nothing of the kind existed.
The animal Group-Souls constantly send parts of themselves into incarnation, like temporary waves on the sea’s surface. Eventually, when the differentiation process reaches its maximum, a time comes when a particular wave rises high enough for the hovering cloud to connect with it. At this point, the wave is drawn up into a new existence – not in the cloud nor in the sea, but between the two, embodying the nature of both. As a result, it becomes separated from the Group Soul to which it previously belonged, and it does not return to the sea. From a technical perspective, the life of the animal, operating in lower mental matter, is drawn up to meet the incoming life of the Monad, which is expressed through higher mental or causal matter.
We can picture the Monad as waiting on its own plane while the lower bodies form around the attached atoms. The Monad broods over these atoms through long ages of slow evolution. When the bodies have sufficiently evolved, the Monad takes possession of them and uses them for its own evolution. As the Monad encounters the upward-growing, unfolding mind-stuff, it comes into union with it, fertilising it. At the point of union, the causal envelope, the individual’s vehicle, is formed.
The downward flow of life, which leads to the creation of the causal envelope, is called the Third Life Wave or Third Outpouring. This flow originates from the First Logos, the eternally loving Father, from whom the Monads originated, metaphorically speaking. We all know where they really originated from, but esoteric theology likes to be poetic.
The process of the three Outpourings in creating an individual human being is visually depicted by Charles Leadbeater in “Man Visible and Invisible,” Powell made a slight modification to this diagram based on additional information provided in the publications”The Chakras” and “The Masters and The Path.
The explanation of this diagram is as follows:–
The First Life Wave or Outpouring, from the Third Logos or Aspect, plunges straight down into matter. The line in the drawing grows heavier and darker as it descends, indicating how the Holy Spirit vivifies the matter of the various planes. First, it builds the atoms and then aggregates the atoms into elements as has already been described in a previous presentation.
The vitalising energy, known as the Second Life Wave or Outpouring, flows from the Second Logos or Aspect, God the Son, down through the First, Second, and Third Elemental Kingdoms to the mineral kingdom. It then ascends through the vegetable and animal kingdoms to the human kingdom, intersecting with the downward extending power of the First Logos—the Third Outpouring from the First Logos or Aspect.
The force of the Third Logos, the First Outpouring from the Third Aspect, descends to its lowest point and then rises again on its path of return or ascent. During this process, known as Kundalini, it interacts with the Life-Force in evolving creatures’ bodies, working together to bring the creature to a state where it can receive the Outpouring of the First Logos and become a human being with a soul. Even after this transformation, the creature continues to inhabit its physical form. In this way, we draw power from both the earth and the heavens and are connected to both. These two forces meet within us and work together for our evolution. Without one, the other cannot exist, but if one force becomes significantly predominant, there are serious dangers. Therefore, a risk is associated with developing the deeper layers of Kundalini before a person’s life is pure and refined.
The three Outpourings represent God’s actual Life. However, there is a crucial distinction between the First and Second Outpourings and the Third Outpouring. The First and Second Outpourings have descended gradually through all the sub-planes, incorporating the matter of each layer, making it difficult to recognise them as Divine Life. But the Third Outpouring descends directly from its source without involving itself in any intermediate matter. It is the pure white light, uncontaminated by anything it has passed through.
In the original diagram, the Third Outpouring was depicted as coming directly from the Logos. However, as we have stated in an earlier presentation, it actually originated from the Logos long ago and is currently located at an intermediate point known as the first or Adi plane (43), where it exists as the Monad. Therefore, we have updated the original diagram by adding a triangle to represent the Monad at its appropriate place in the flow of the Third Outpouring.
Well, now you know how you got here. Let’s carry on the story next time.