This is an extract of the soon to be published Volume 6 in the Treatise on Mind Series, Meditation and the Initiation Process – Chapter 6.

 

The manifestation of karma, utilising substance from a past evolutionary space, when manifested by a Logos is considered as the first Outpouring of the Creative impulse of Deity. The base substance emanates from the plane ātma, and is eventually resolved therein. This third plane of perception therefore is the plane of emanation and resolution of karma. This is an important consideration. It is organised by means of rotary activity. causing the formation of the planes of perception incorporated into the globes of activity whereon Life must find scope for evolution. This substance is Fiery in nature, and concerns the evolution of the way of mind by means of the consolidation into the forms that the various streams of life come to occupy. It is an aspect of the work of the third Logos, the Great Mother, and has as its basis the unfoldment of the five instincts and senses. The third Logos externalises Herself upon the ātmic plane (the fifth from below upwards). From ātma thus manifests the primordial karma that instigates all conditioning activity of the lives manifesting upon these planes. Karma governs by way of the evolution of all attributes of mind/Mind, which is the fifth principle counting from above down. It is also considered `the fifth’ when counting from below up, when the major subdivisions of the planes of saṃsāra are taken into account. We thus have the concrete dense, the etheric subdivision, the astral and the two subdivisions of the mind.

The second Outpouring represents the emanation of the streams of conscious Lives that are to undergo evolutionary attainment by utilising the substance built into the maṇḍala of a Logoic Body of manifestation. This emanates via the plane anupādaka, and it also incorporates the Monadic Life governing the evolution of each human unit. These streams of differentiated consciousness are the lighted Lives, the expansive unfoldment of the Son in incarnation. This outpouring of the myriad Lives constitutes the various kingdoms of Nature, thus the emanation of the Creative Hierarchies.

[1] These Hierarchies en-Soul all forms. They thus activate the petals of the chakras in the body Logoic. Their  activity is controlled at first by the Solar Plexus centre, and later, by the twelve petals of the Logoic Heart centre, of which the Hierarchies are emanations. This thus concerns the awakening of consciousness, the spiral-cyclic motion that governs the work of the Son or Second Logos, externalised upon the plane anupādaka.

The third Outpouring emanates from the first aspect of the Body Logoic—the Father or Will aspect, externalising Himself upon the first plane, ādi. This Will, or Fiery Life, is the abstracting impulse of the Father. At first it helps produce the Individualisation process of an animal kingdom into the human by means of the formation of the kingdom of the Sambhogakāya Flower upon the higher mental plane. Consequently we have the evolution of the fourth kingdom in Nature along the path that leads to Initiation. This outpouring then involves the nature of the descent of Logoic Mind into manifestation at the appropriate cycle to assist in the liberation of the Lives undergoing evolutionary progress. For the third and subsequent Initiations of humans such energy manifests via the Rod of Initiation held in the hand of the One Initiator (Sanat Kumāra), the Lord governing Shambhala. This is part of the ceremony of Initiation which fully awakens Initiates to the Mysteries concerning the level of attainment (loka) that they have mastered. In this manner humans eventually become embodied Deity.

There is obviously a vast philosophy hidden here, much of which remains the secrets of Initiation, but a significant amount has been revealed in the books by A.A Bailey[2] and somewhat previously by Helena Blavatsky. More shall be provided in my later books. It is important in this era of revelation for prospective Initiates to consider that for which they aspire, and which is veiled under the rubric of the terms `enlightenment’ and ‘liberation’.

Each Initiation signifies the mastery of one of the planes of perception. Thus the first Initiation accedes the Initiate comprehension of the mysteries of physical plane activity, and the nature of its etheric substratum. The second Initiation produces revelation as to the nature of the Watery astral domain, the qualities of the lesser siddhis, the nature of life in the heaven and hell states of the various religions, and the way that Love governs the evolution of the all. The third Initiation produces mastery of the domain of mind/Mind, including the mysteries associated with the Sambhogakāya Flower and the ālayavijñāna environment it resides in. The fourth Initiation produces mastery of the qualities of the fourth cosmic ether, thus comprehension of the mysteries of the chakra system embodies by a Logos. The naḍīs purveying this system convey various cosmic energies that the fourth degree Initiate becomes cogniscent in this śūnyatā environment.

By mastering the qualities of the ātmic plane a Master of Wisdom has consequently gained revelation of the sum of the processes concerning evolutionary Life. The full access to the nature of the Logoic Mind that brought to fruition the first Outpouring and all consequent events to the resolution of the karma of manifestation is the Master’s. This then is the basis of the nature of the dharmakāya experience at this (the lowest) level of its expression.

The following figure summarises the information concerning the planes of perception. They can best be visualised as a series of concentric spheres of increasing rarefied substance around a globe such as our earth. At first glance, we see that this figure posits three outpourings of the Creative Essence from the Triune Deity.

 


[1] Of which there are twelve to this solar system. Five have passed into obscuration, and seven find space for evolutionary attainment via these planes of perception. They are explained in Esoteric Astrology by A. A. Bailey. Humanity represents the fourth of these counting from below up and the ninth from above down.

[2] See for instance Initiation, Human and Solar, and The Rays and the Initiations, both published by Lucis Press. A wealth of information is provided therein, for which this exposé is but an introduction.

Figure 1.  The Three Outpourings

The figure, showing a linear representation of the chakras, simply depicts the chakras that are the foci for the respective planes of perception, rather than where they actually exist. Like in a human body, their places of locality are the (cosmic) ethers. With respect to the constitution of Shambhala (the planetary Head centre), we see that the ātmic plane controls the potency of the planetary Throat centre, but the respective prāṇas are absorbed in the outer tier of petals of the Logoic Head centre, termed `the Solar Plexus in the Head’. The plane anupādaka governs the activity of the planetary Heart centre and the associated prāṇas are absorbed in the middle tier of petals of the Logoic Head centre called the `Heart in the Head’. The Ājña centre upon this plane is simply the organ of vision of the Logos that is focussed via the Heart or Throat centres in order to govern the sum of planetary manifestation. The liberated lives that occupy these two centres then govern the evolutionary streams of the lives of the chakras situated `below the diaphragm’. The plane ādi supports the `Throat in the Head’, which integrates all of the energies in the Body of manifestation of the Logos and coordinates them with cosmic Purpose.

Notes to the Figure:

1.  The cosmic astral plane, which is the sixth of seven cosmic planes.

2.  The seven systemic planes, whereon humanity finds scope for evolution in this solar system. These planes are subplanes of the cosmic dense physical plane. The seven are divided into four etheric (ādi, anupādaka, ātma and buddhi) and three concrete (mental/Fiery, astral/Watery, and the Earthy etheric/dense) subplanes. Each manifest as septenaries. The five planes from ātma down are termed the five planes of Brahmā (the Mother). Here the five sense-consciousnesses are developed and the Mind is evolved. The qualities of the five instincts are also developed.

3.  Plane 1: Ādi. The plane of the Father, from which the Third Outpouring proceeds. Here the full Head lotus (Shambhala) of the planetary Logos is found. It is integrated with the Ājña centre upon the second plane. This Eye becomes the main organ of expression to empower and organise those evolving in the Body of manifestation of the Logos. The Head lotus provides access to the various Logoi the planetary Logos has connection with in the solar system and in cosmos. The lowest level of expression of Shambhala is found upon the ātmic plane, from whence emanates the Creative Word of the Logos.

4.  Plane 2:Anupādaka. Here resides the Monadic aspect of the human or fourth Creative Hierarchy. The Monad is the Spirit or Father attribute to the human life-stream. Each is a Buddha that gains its omniscience as the human unit that is its vehicle (the Sambhogakāya Flower) undertakes its evolutionary journey and undergoes the Initiation process. This plane is the domain where the Lords of Shambhala are primarily accessed.

5.  Plane 3: Ātma. Here the maṇḍala of the Logoic Thought Form first takes shape. It is objectivised by utilising past karma, and is expressed by means of mantra to which the devas that embody the substance of all forms automatically respond. Thus are the reverberations in the fabric of space set in motion that condition the appearance of all forms. The fifth degree Initiate masters all mantras associated with the Ray line that such a one is the custodian. The appearance of a Master of Wisdom is the objective of human evolution. Such a one directs the evolution of manas in systemic space by cooperatively working with the governing deva lives, and by comprehension of mantras that are the basis of the higher siddhis. The next step, Buddhahood, generally necessitates leaving the familiar world of the planetary sphere far behind, as a path is chosen to follow that leads to far distant cosmic shores.

6.  Plane 4: Buddhi. This plane represents the middle between extremes, the place of integration of all the energies that sustain saṃsāra. It is the fourth cosmic ether, whereon can be found the naḍīs and the chakras that govern life in saṃsāra. The energy fields conditioning this plane are the basis to the experience of śūnyatā by the fourth degree Initiate. This is also the plane of actualisation of the planetary Heart centre, the Hierarchy of Love. They are the mechanism whereby Logoic Love can direct the planetary manifestation via the ability of the human (or fourth) kingdom in Nature to develop Bodhisattvic attributes. They are the dynamic driving impetus behind all group participation. Compassion, the shedding of the heart’s blood for the welfare of others, rules all on this plane. The members of this Hierarchy also embody the all-embracive radiance of Mind. These two attributes, compassion and manasic radiance are the basis to the expression of bodhicitta.

7.  Plane 5: The mental. This plane is divided into an abstract portion, consisting of three subplanes, and a concreted portion, consisting of four subplanes. The Sambhogakāya Flower upon the higher mental plane, and its link to the three fold Monadic Form upon the plane anupādaka are depicted.

The third degree Initiate gains full revelation of the nature of the Fiery intent of manas upon this plane. The Logoic Solar Plexus centre functions here to govern the evolutionary development of all the streams of life in Nature’s kingdoms.

8.Plane 6: The astral. This plane is effectively the organising field for all of the energies that drive the factors of saṃsāric life to its fruition. It is therefore practically synonymous with the etheric substratum of the dense physical. Here the Logic Sacral centre functions to appropriate the forces of Logoic desire to see the evolution of all lesser lives through to their evolutionary goals. With the advent of human desire bodies these energies come to be incorporated into the saṃskāras of their attachments to attributes of saṃsāra. Thus the Bardo realms, the heavens and hells that humans reincarnate through, are formed. When the Watery saṃskāras that produce such realms are consciously controlled then the second Initiation is possible.

9.  Plane 7: The physical. This plane is also dual, with four etheric subplanes containing the naḍīs and chakras directing the forces underlying all physical plane evolution. There are also three dense subplanes, (the gaseous, liquid and concrete). Attachment to the illusional forms constructed via their agency is what must be mastered to pass the first Initiation. Desire for the allurements of material plane living must therefore be overcome. The chakra in the Body of the Logos governing this plane is that of the Base of the Spine. The awakening of the potencies of its four main petals then conditions the evolution of the four kingdoms that evolve by means of dense forms: the mineral, plant, animal, and human.