In the last presentation, we started to look at the process of individualisation. This included the mechanism by which it occurred, focusing on the activation of the atomic structure of the triad that forms the matrix of all quaternary matter operating in the Cosmic Physical Kingdom. Let us start off now by looking at it from a strategic perspective.
During the evolution from the animal to the human kingdom, there was a continuous influx of monads, resulting in the emergence of humans. This process continued until the middle of the Fourth Race (the Atlantean period), during which fresh individuals were constantly added to the human population. This midpoint marked a significant stage in the evolutionary process of our planetary chain, after which only a few animals achieved individualisation. An animal that does manage to achieve individualisation during this period is significantly more advanced than its peers, similar to a human who attains Adeptship ahead of the average person. Both accomplish feats during the middle of evolution that are expected to be achieved only at the end of it. Those who attain their goals at the normal time, by the end of the Seventh round, will progress gradually without much struggle. The Secret Doctrine refers to this matter when it states that after the “central turning point” of the cycle of evolution, “no more Monads can enter the Human kingdom.” The door is closed for this cycle.
The student will observe that the Third Outpouring differs from others in another important respect. While the First and Second Outpourings affect thousands or millions simultaneously, the Third Outpouring comes to each individual only when they are ready to receive it.
The Third Outpouring, as we have seen, has already descended as far as the Buddhic or Unity World (46) but comes no farther until the upward leap is made by the soul of the animal from below. Then, the two flash together and form the soul as a permanent individuality in the manner described. The soul here is the causal envelope, which itself is provided by the solar devas.
As we talk about the permanence of human individuality, it’s important to understand that this permanence is only relative. At a much later stage of evolution, humans transcend their individuality and return to the divine unity from which they originated. This topic will be discussed in a later presentation and represents the next major step in our evolution back to the stars. When we talk about somehow going back to unity, we do not lose our individuality. Never forget that.
In summary, the Logos sends out three powerful waves of His Life through His three Aspects in sequence: the first wave shapes and imbues matter with life; the second imparts qualities and constructs forms; the third carries the human Monad down to unite with the forms prepared by the second wave. Before individualisation, a fragment of the Group Soul acted as the force that gave soul to the individual. However, after individualisation, the Group Soul becomes the causal envelope, serving as the vehicle for the Divine Spark that descends from the higher world to ensoul it.
The previous driving force of life becomes the recipient of that life force, building itself into a form. This is symbolised in ancient mythology by the Greek concept of the Krater or Cup and in medieval tales of the Holy Grail. The Grail or Cup represents the perfected outcome of all previous evolution, into which the divine life is poured so that the human soul can be born. In the case of humanity, the previous animal soul becomes the causal envelope with the caveats already stated, which is then occupied by the human soul. All the knowledge gained during its evolution is transferred to this new centre of life.
Once the causal envelope is formed, the Higher or Spiritual Triad has a permanent vehicle for further evolution. As consciousness becomes able to function freely in this vehicle, the Higher Triad can more effectively control and direct the evolution of the lower vehicles. The initial attempts at control are not very intelligent, just like the first movements of an infant are not intelligent, even though we understand that there is an intelligence associated with them. The Monad is now literally born on the physical plane but must be seen as a baby there, a true individuality but an infant soul. It will take an immense period of time before its power over the physical body becomes anything but infantile.
The Soul, or Spirit, can be seen as the individualising force of the Universal Spirit. It focuses the Universal Light into a single point, acting as a receptacle into which the Spirit is poured. This pouring of the universal into the individual makes it appear separate, even though, in essence, it remains the same. The purpose of this separation, as we have seen, is to allow for individual development and growth. The individual we refer to is the monad, of course. Think back to the Ante-Verse; you had an undifferentiated mass of primordial matter that was unconscious, yet that mass comprised countless individual monads. The individual is important, but it belongs to the fellowship of other individuals that collectively make up the metaverse. What is the Metaverse? It is all the existing universes, trillions of them and the Ante-Verse in which they reside. Involution and evolution enable an individualised monad to be potent on every plane of the Universe, allowing knowledge and consciousness to be acquired across all dimensions. The goal is for the individual to create vehicles for acquiring consciousness beyond their own plane and to gradually purify them until they become pure and translucent media through which knowledge from every plane can be accessed.
The process of individualisation should not be seen as simply creating a container and then pouring something into it so that the poured substance immediately takes the shape of the vessel. The real phenomenon is more like the formation of a solar system from a nebula. From the original space matter, a slight mist appears, almost too delicate to be called a mist. The mist gradually becomes denser as the particles come closer together. Eventually, shapes form within the mist, which over time become more defined until a system is formed, with a central sun and planets around it.
The arrival of the Spirit into individual existence can be compared to a faint shadow appearing in an empty space. This shadow turns into a mist, which becomes clearer and more defined until an individual comes into being. The Soul, or individual, is not fully formed from the start but rather slowly takes shape and develops until it emerges as an individual from the Universal. As it evolves, the individual continues to grow. A similar process can be seen in the early globes of every round, especially at the beginning of a chain in the first round. Time was spent in the series on Chains, Rounds and Globes detailing what, on the surface, was a very nebulous process. What was there to talk about in the early chains, or rounds and even the globes? Well, as it turns out, understanding what was going on then links directly to what is going on now in the individualisation of the monad.
So, the Third Outpouring creates within each person a distinct “spirit of the man which ascends upward”, as opposed to “the spirit of the beast which descends downward”. This means that when an animal dies, its soul returns to the Group-Soul it belongs to, while the divine spirit in humans cannot fall back and instead continues to rise towards the Divinity from which it originated.
As previously mentioned, the divine life represented by the Third Life Wave seems unable, by itself, to descend below the Unity plane (46). There, it hovers like a mighty cloud, awaiting an opportunity to unite with the life of the Second Outpouring, which is rising to meet it. Even though this cloud appears to constantly attract the substance below it, the effort to make the union possible must come from below. We will discuss the nature of this effort in a subsequent presentation.
The convergence of the Third, First and Second Outpourings marks the start of intellectual development as the soul takes possession of its physical body and connects it with the spirit that has been shaping and moulding it through its subtle influence. H.P. Blavatsky explains that there is a triple evolutionary scheme in nature for the formation of three periodical stages, or rather three distinct schemes of evolution, which are intricately intertwined in our system at every juncture.
I. The Monadic aspect is focused on the growth and development of the Monads into higher phases of activity in conjunction with:
II. The Intellectual aspect which is represented by the Manasa-Dhyanis (the Solar Devas or the Agnishvatta Pitris), who are responsible for providing intelligence and consciousness to humans and
III. The Physical aspect that is represented by the Chhayas or sheaths of the Lunar Pitris, around which Nature has formed the present physical body. It is the combination of these three aspects that makes humans the complex beings they are today.
That is a good place to stop today. In the next presentation, we will finish off by looking at the processes involved in the individualisation of the monad.