In our previous discussion on The Mental Envelope, we looked at the connection between personality and the soul from the perspective of the personality. Now, it is important for us to delve deeper into the relationship between the soul and the personality, this time from the perspective of the soul.
Let’s review the key points about the makeup of a person as Monad, Soul, and Personality.
The Divine Life, represented as the Monad, appears on the Atma plane as the triple spirit [The Monad & its Atoms diagram]. Out of these three aspects, the spirit itself remains on the Atma plane (45). The second aspect, intuition or pure reason, descends one stage and expresses itself through the matter of the Buddhi/Unity plane (46). The third aspect, intelligence, descends two planes and expresses itself through the matter of the higher mental plane (47:1-3). This expression of the Monad on the Atma, Buddhi, and Manas planes is what the Theosophists refer to as the soul or individuality. From a Hylozoic perspective, the soul is regarded as the causal envelope (47:1-3). Why the difference? Because Hylozoics links every aspect of evolution to matter. The soul is a material object, not a diffuse concept spread across two permanent atoms, 46:1 and 47:1, and a permanent lower spiritual molecule (45:4). What is thus termed Atma is divided between the Second and Third triads. The individuality or soul is the final product of the Human Kingdom once the monad centres itself in the 47:1 permanent atom. However, when the monad becomes a conscious 2nd Self it becomes part of a collective again in Unity Consciousness (46). The monad is still an individual and always will be, but it no longer is a soul. It is part of something greater.
The soul is expressed on the 1st triad as a personality, which also has a triple manifestation and accurately reflects the arrangement of the soul. However, like other reflections, it reverses itself. Intelligence, or higher manas (47:1-3), reflects itself in lower manas (47:4-7). Pure reason, or Buddhi (46), reflects itself in the emotional envelope (48). In a more difficult-to-comprehend way, the spirit of Atma reflects itself upon the physical plane.
There is always a link or line of communication between the higher self, or soul, and the lower self, or personality. This link is known as antahkarana, a Sanskrit word meaning “the inner organ” or “inner instrument.” H.P. Blavatsky spoke of it as the link, channel, or bridge between higher manas and kama-manas during incarnation. She also spoke of lower manas, when pure and free from kama, as the antahkarana.
The antahkarana can be seen as the arm stretched out between the part of the soul that is awakened and the part put down, the hand. We used this analogy in previous presentations on the causal envelope. When the two are perfectly joined, i.e., when the soul and the personality are perfectly in tune and united, then the attenuated thread of the antahkarana ceases to exist. Its destruction implies that the soul no longer needs an instrument but works directly on the personality. When one operates the soul and the personality, there is no longer any need for antahkarana.
The term “antahkarana”, or internal agency, is also used to describe the entire triple higher self or soul, as it serves as the channel between the Monad and the lower self. In the early stages of evolution, the focus is on opening this antahkarana, or line of communication, so that the soul can increasingly assert itself through it and ultimately dominate the personality. The ultimate goal is for the personality to become an expression of the soul on the lower planes within the limitations of those planes. The connection between the lower and higher self is often symbolised as a thread of silver, representing purity. In the series on the Antahkarana, it was also highlighted that there is a group Antahkarana for Humanity. If you are interested in refreshing your memories, refer back to those presentations.
The heart is the centre for the higher triad (Atma, buddhi, manas) in the physical envelope (49). When consciousness is centred in the heart during meditation, it is most receptive to the influence of the higher self or soul. The head, on the other hand, is the centre for the psycho-intellectual person, housing various functions within seven cavities, including the pituitary envelope and the pineal gland. Through concentration, shifting consciousness from the brain to the heart allows for the union of kama-manas with the higher manas through the purified lower manas, which is the antahkarana. This union puts one in a position to receive guidance from the higher triad.
The person who is completely untrained has very little communication with the soul, while the Initiate has full communication. This means people are at all stages between these two extremes, as expected.
By now, the student should understand the immense importance of realising the connection between the higher and lower self and do everything possible to strengthen that link so that the soul and the personality can function as one entity. This series of four presentations explains humanity’s constitution and the various bodies through which it functions, with the primary goal of helping the student in this task.
While trying to understand the vast difference between the viewpoints of the personality and the soul, we must always remember that there is only one consciousness, even though, at times, we may feel two and wonder if the soul is wholly separated from the physical envelope. We must realise that there is only one consciousness, and the limitations of the various vehicles cause the apparent difference. There is not a separate lower self within a person. The soul places a small part of itself into the personality to experience the vibrations of the lower planes.
It’s essential to always keep in mind the fundamental identity between the higher and lower aspects of manas. Although we distinguish between them for convenience, they are not different in nature but in functioning activity. Lower manas is essentially one with higher manas, like a ray is one with the sun.
The small fragment of the soul placed into the personality is the point of consciousness that clairvoyants can observe moving within a person. Some may see it as “the golden person the size of a thumb,” residing in the heart, while others view it more like a brilliant light star. The location of a person’s Star of Consciousness can vary, typically found in one of the seven principal chakras or centres of the envelope. The most natural location depends on the individual’s type or “ray,” as well as their race and sub-race.
Individuals of the Fifth Root Race often keep their consciousness in the brain, specifically within the centre associated with the pituitary envelope. However, people of other races may naturally keep it in the heart, throat, or solar plexus. The Star of Consciousness represents the soul in the lower planes, and when it manifests through the lower vehicles, we call it the personality – the individual as known to others. The soul is a fragment of the Monad, complete in its causal envelope even when its powers are undeveloped, while the personality only reflects a small part of its life.
In the ordinary person, the soul’s consciousness on its own plane is limited and vague, yet when active, it always leans toward good, seeking what is favourable for its spiritual evolution. The soul’s unchanging desire is for progress, the unfolding of the higher self, and aligning the lower vehicles as its instruments.
Evil thoughts are impossible for the soul; any developed quality within it is pure. For instance, if affection is present, it is free from jealousy, envy, or selfishness. It mirrors divine love to the extent it can at its level. Furthermore, the soul is never likely to be wrong. It is apparently not deceived about anything, but it is clear that it is ignorant of certain matters. The very purpose of incarnation is to remove that ignorance.
As we have seen, the fragment of the soul that has been placed into lower matter becomes so keenly and vividly conscious in that matter that it thinks and acts as though it were a separate being. It forgets that it belongs to the less developed but far wider consciousness of the soul and sets up in the business of life on its own account, trying to function as it wants rather than as the soul wishes. Ponder the statement that the soul is less developed. What is meant by this? Surely the soul is this “all-powerful” reality of who you truly are? Isn’t that what has been stated in presentation after presentation? Not quite. If you can think back to the previous series, it has always been stated that you are only as conscious as you are now. There is no higher self that is wiser than you. So, what have we been talking about when we talk about the awesome power of the soul? That power currently resides with your guardian angel. The soul’s contents are talents you have to draw on, but your consciousness is what you are expressing at present. If you consider things this way, then you begin to realise the real effect of attaching your Antahkarana to both ends of your mental envelope. Once you achieve that, your consciousness is able to draw on its wide experience over tens of thousands of incarnations, and this is when you really begin to shine.
So, to repeat, the soul, with all its mighty powers, is much less accurate than the lower mind. The personality, valuing above all the discriminating powers of the lower mind that it is intended to develop, often comes to despise the far higher but vaguer self and acquires a habit of thinking of itself as an independent being. It is important to note that throughout the course of our evolution, there is always a danger that a person should identify themself with that point at which, or that vehicle in which, they are most fully conscious.
Hence, as we have witnessed, sometimes it seems as though the fragment worked against the whole, but the person who is instructed declines to be deluded and reaches back through the keen, alert consciousness of the fragment, to the true consciousness behind, which is as yet so little developed. That is what Mr. Sinnett of Theosophical fame called “giving allegiance to the higher self”.
The narrative still had long legs. See you next time.