We now start a series of presentations which will look at the relationship between the soul and the monad. In a previous presentation, we examined the emergence of the Monads and briefly discussed their general nature. In the series on Initiation, we explored the impact of Initiation on the relationship between the Monad and the soul. Now, it’s appropriate to delve into further information available about the connection between the soul and the Monad and to more fully explore the nature of the Monad and its attitude toward its manifestations in the lower worlds.
When considering the nature of the Monad itself, we encounter the challenge that direct observation of the Monad on its own plane, the Monadic plane (43:1), is currently beyond the reach of our clairvoyant investigators. The highest level that investigators can directly observe of humanity is the manifestation of the Monad as the Triple Spirit on the plane of Atma. Even at this stage, the Monad is incomprehensible, as its three aspects are distinct and apparently separate, yet fundamentally one and the same. While no one below the rank of the Adept (45) can see the Monad, the Arhat (46) can acknowledge its existence. On the plane of Atma, the triple manifestation can be perceived, and the converging rays that make up that triple manifestation indicate that they must become one. However, the actual unity is beyond sight.
We have already mentioned the potential to focus consciousness at the highest level of the causal envelope, looking along the line that connects the soul and the Monad, and, through that vision, realising the identity with the Deity.
Perhaps the least misleading way to imagine the Monad’s true nature is to think of it as part of God—a part of That which cannot be divided. Although this paradox is a conundrum to the finite intellect, it embodies an eternal truth that is far beyond our comprehension. Theosophists would leave it there, but a Hylozoician would need to clarify that the unity with God that is being discussed is one of consciousness, not a corporeal one. Every monad is an independent entity that shares in a collective conscious unity.
The Theosophist’s view is that each Monad is literally a part of God, apparently temporarily separated from Him while enclosed in the veils of matter, though in truth, never for one moment really separated. It can never be apart from God, for the very matter in which it veils itself is also a manifestation of the Divine. Although matter seems to us evil because it weighs us down, clogs our faculties, and holds us back upon the road, this is only because, as yet, we have not learned to control it, because we have not realised that it also is divine in its essence, because there is nothing but God. The question we then need to ask is, what is God? This question has been discussed from the very start of the Adventures of the Monad. Why not just accept the traditional view about the oneness of God and leave it at that? The reason is that every monad, unconscious, semi-conscious or fully conscious, will one day birth its own universe. What is then the relationship between that monad and all the other gods building out their own universes? What about the source of the monads, the Ante-Verse? Is that God? The Ante-verse is not conscious to the best of our knowledge. You see, we don’t just fall down a rabbit hole but find ourselves hovering over an abyss. This brings us back neatly to the imagery painted in the bible of God hovering over the waters.
It is a mistake to think of the Monad as something very far away. For the Monad is very near to us, is our SELF, the very root of our being, the one and only reality. Hidden, unmanifest, wrapped in silence and darkness though it be, our consciousness is the limited manifestation of that SELF, the manifested God in our bodies, which are its garments.
The Monad has been variously described as the Eternal Man: a fragment of the Life of God: a Son of God, made in His image, a spark in the Divine Fire: the “hidden God” as he was known to the Egyptians: he is the God within us, our personal God: our true Self: a fragment of the Eternal: the real and only permanent “I” in humanity. The Monads have also been described as centres of force in the Logos.
Instead of speaking of human Monads, it might perhaps be more accurate to speak of “the Monad manifesting in the human kingdom,” though such pedantic accuracy might still be more puzzling. H.P. Blavatsky wrote: “The Spiritual Monad is one, universal, boundless, and impartite, whose rays, nevertheless, form what we, in our ignorance, call the ‘individual Monads’ of men”. I take issue with this statement. You should not be surprised by this. She uses the term impartite, which means indivisible. This is correct. Pythagoras defined the monad as the smallest indivisible unit of matter. Yet Blavatsky seems to think this is not important. From a conscious point of view, she is right, but we need to be aware that when Blavatsky wrote the Secret Doctrine, she was not allowed by the Hierarchy to talk about the Holy Trinity of Matter, Motion and Consciousness. Laurency was the first one that was. So, everything focused on consciousness, and this has led to a distorted picture of reality, at least from a Hylozoic perspective.
An Occult Catechism expresses it as:
“I sense one Flame, O Gurudeva; I see countless undetached sparks burning in it.”
“You say it well. Now, look around and into yourself. Do you feel the light burning inside you is different in any way from the light that shines in your fellow human beings? “It is in no way different, though the prisoner is held in bondage by Karma, and though its garments delude the ignorant into saying, ‘your soul’ and ‘my soul’.” [The Secret Doctrine]
A Theosophist would use a physical plane analogy, where we recognise that electricity is one all over the world, and though it may be active in this machine or that, the owner of no machine can claim it as distinctly their electricity. Similarly, the Monad is one everywhere, though manifesting in different directions through apparently separate and different human beings. From a conscious perspective, yes, from a matter perspective, no.
But, despite having the same source and the same fundamental nature, each Monad possesses a very distinct individuality of its own: in its manifestation on the plane of Atma, as a triple light of blinding glory, even at that stage, each Monad possesses certain qualities which make it distinct from every other Monad.
The Monad’s consciousness on its own plane is complete. It shares divine knowledge in its own world. However, in the lower world, it is essentially unconscious. It cannot touch the lower planes of life because the matter there is not receptive to its influences. If it were plunged into denser matter, it would find itself in complete isolation, unconscious of all impacts and contacts of matter.
Nevertheless, everything is within it due to the One Life that it shares. Bringing out this knowledge is referred to as awakening the latent consciousness into life. The Monad contains all divine knowledge, but bringing it out to be conscious on any plane of matter is the entire purpose of evolution.
Therefore, its evolutionary journey, descending and ascending, is for the purpose of acquiring consciousness and completely mastering matter as a vehicle. This enables it to resonate with similar matter outside and bring out moods of consciousness that correspond to those outside impressions, making it possible for it to be conscious of them.
Geo. S. Arundale provides an interesting account of the appearance and evolution of the Monads. He describes each Monad as a sun in miniature, with the Sun Divine giving rise to these sparking suns, each charged with all His attributes. Every atom of light is an atom of unconscious Divinity, gradually fulfilling the will of the Sun to become self-conscious Divinity.
When manifestation begins, the Monad is “thrown downwards into matter” to propel and force evolution. It serves as the driving force behind all evolution, the impelling force at the root of all things.
This explains the mysterious pressure that puzzles orthodox science – why things move forward, what force drives evolution, and what causes the variety and the constant tendency for change in the world. The Monad understands its purpose in evolution from the beginning and grasps its overall direction. However, until the part of the Monad that expresses itself in the soul reaches a fairly advanced stage, it is barely aware of the details down here, or at least shows little interest in them. At that stage, it seems not to be aware of other Monads but instead rests in indescribable bliss without actively being conscious of its surroundings. There is a good reason for this. It is unconscious where it is at present. It is only objectively conscious where you are sitting at present watching this presentation.
See you next time.