I thought it would be a good use of time to go through all of the concepts Madame Blavatsky uses, when she tries to describe the meanings in the Stanzas of Dzyan.

Madame Blavatsky's book The Secret Doctrine is the most important book in Theosophical literature.

H.P. Blavatsky, The Secret Doctrine (online)
http://www.theosociety.org/pasadena/sd/sd-hp.htm

H.P. Blavatsky, The Secret Doctrine (hardcopy)
http://www.theosociety.org/pasadena/ts/sd.htm

H.P. Blavatsky, The Secret Doctrine (1.6 mb ASCII text file)
http://www.theosociety.org/pasadena/sd-ascii/sdcor.zip

It is basically an explanation of a poem called the Stanzas of Dzyan.

http://www.blavatsky.net/blavatsky/secret_...anzas_vol_I.htm

http://www.blavatsky.net/blavatsky/secret_...nzas_vol_II.htm

The Stanzas of Dzyan are very difficult to read -- as is all of The Secret Doctrine. It is hoped that this discussion of the conepts within will encourage all Theosophists to take a closer look at this most important book.

The Stanzas are the story of the origin of the univers, the planet Earth, and the human race. The full story -- especially the details of the origin of the human race -- will surprise most people.

I will now begin to list explanations of the various concepts. All of these tidbits of descriptions are taken from my book, Lessons in Theosophy.

~~~

The Absolute

The Absolute is the one constant, unchanging from universe to universe. The Absolute is the one life, the one Reality, with all other aspects of the universe merely being an illusion.

[The Absolute is] “ ... the ONE LIFE, eternal, invisible, yet Omnipresent, without beginning or end, yet periodical in its regular manifestations, between which periods reigns the dark mystery of non-Being; unconscious, yet absolute Consciousness; unrealisable, yet the one self-existing reality; truly, ‘a chaos to the sense, a Kosmos to the reason.’ Its one absolute attribute, which is ITSELF, eternal, ceaseless Motion, is called in esoteric parlance the ‘Great Breath,’ which is the perpetual motion of the universe, in the sense of limitless, ever-present SPACE.” (SD vol I p. 1)

The one thing about the Absolute is that there is no way to describe it -- no attributes that can be listed. This writer has sat through more than one Theosophical study-group that has tried to describe the Absolute -- only to have such discussions end in failure. We cannot list attributes for something that has no attributes.

More on the Absolute

Here are different names used by H.P.Blavatsky to name the Absolute.

Absolute, SD I p. 15

The Boundless (SD Vol. I pg. 56)

Brahma (as opposed to Brahmâ) -- “The student must distinguish between Brahma the neuter, and Brahmâ, the male creator of the Indian Pantheon. The former, Brahma or Brahman, is the impersonal, supreme and uncognizable Principle of the Universe from the essence of which all emanates, and into which all returns, which is incorporeal, immaterial, unborn, eternal, beginningless and endless. It is all-pervading, animating the highest god as well as the smallest mineral atom. Brahmâ on the other hand, the male and the alleged Creator, exists periodically in his manifestation only, and then again goes into pralaya, i.e., disappears and is annihilated.” (H.P.Blavatsky, Theosophical Glossary, p. 62)

Causeless Cause, Causeless First Cause, Causeless One Cause (SD Vol. I pg. 15) -- Please note that “First Cause” is not another name for the Absolute. It should only be used when referring to the Logos. (SD Vol. I pg. 15)

Cosmic Ideation (SD I p. 328)
Darkness, Stanza i-3-3, MMT p. 62
Darkness (being impenetrable to human perception) (SD I p. 56)
Divine Essence (SD I pg. 56)
Divine Thought (SD I p. 327)
Ever-Darkness, Stanza i-4-3, MMT p. 60
Heavenly Man (SD I p. 215)
Infinite Unity (SD I p. 356)
(Ever) Invisible Robes, Stanza i-1-1, MMT p. 48
No-Number, Stanza i-4-1, SD I p. 88, MMT p. 48
Non-Being (SD I p. 88)
Oeaohoo, Stanza 3-5, Stanza i-4-5, MMT p. 60. See also Oi-ha-hou.
One Form of Existence, Stanza i-1-8
The One (SD I pg. 113)
one absolute Reality (SD I p. 14)
One Reality, SD I p. 15, p. 327
One Self-existing Reality, SD I p. 2
Parabrahm, SD I p. 6
Parabrahman, SD I p. 451, MMT p. 48
Paranishpanna (Parinishpanna), Stanza i-1-6, MMT p. 66
Root of Consciousness, MMT p. 48
Rootless Root (SD I p. 88)
Source, MMT p. 48
That, SD I p. 7
Universal Space, Stanza i-1-8, MMT p. 72
Unknown (and Unknowable) (SD I pg. 56)
Unknown Darkness (SD I p. 425)

~~~

SD refers to The Secret Doctrine.

MMT refers to Man the Measure of All Things by Presh and Ashish

i-1-8 refers to Book I, Stanza 1-8, of the Stanzas of Dzyan

Manvantara and Pralaya

Universes come and go, in an endless cycle of activity and rest. A manvantara is a period of activity, and a Pralaya is a period of rest. To begin the story of the origin of our universe, the story must begin with the universe in total rest, in universal Pralaya.

During the last universal Pralaya, nothing existed. It has been said that we were inside the Pralaya, resting, even though we did not exist. This is one of the paradoxes of Theosophy.

Another paradox is that time itself did not exist in the Pralaya. However, a period of "seven eternities" somehow elapsed during this Pralaya. How can an eternity be measured when even time has stopped? It can only be considered from the standpoint of being a paradox.

The first Stanza of Dzyan is nothing more than a list of negations: Time was not. The seven ways to bliss were not. The causes of existence had been done away with. It is easier to describe what a universal Pralya is not, than what it is.

It is fun to draw an analogy between the idea of universal Pralaya and the scientific theory of the time before the Big Bang. Both are attempts to imagine conditions that are beyond our scope of understanding. Such conditions can only be said to be unfathomable.

Take a look at time before the Big Bang theory, and see if it fits your idea of a Pralaya:

http://www.big-bang-theory.com/

http://www.physlink.com/Education/AskExperts/ae649.cfm

http://www.astronomycafe.net/qadir/ask/a11717.html

http://www.astronomycafe.net/qadir/acosmbb.html

http://www.astro.ucla.edu/~wright/cosmology_faq.html

http://www.infidels.org/library/modern/que.../cosmology.html

http://www.upscale.utoronto.ca/GeneralInte...gBangModel.html

http://ssscott.tripod.com/BigBang.html

"The Big Bang did not happen":

http://www.whatreallyhappened.com/bang.html

~~~

Such questions of the origin of the universe are the very bread and butter of Theosophy. Take a look at all the different theories, and see which one works for you. Enjoy the ride!

Periodicity

Periodicity is the idea of cycles, which is essentially the same concept as Manvantaras and Pralayas, cycling throughout the ages. It is this cycling which is the basis for the Second Fundamental of Theosophy:

“The Eternity of the Universe in toto [is] a boundless plane; periodically ‘the playground of numberless Universes incessantly manifesting and disappearing,’ called ‘the manifesting stars,’ and the ‘sparks of Eternity.’ ‘The Eternity of the Pilgrim’ is like a wink of the Eye of Self-Existence (Book of Dzyan.) ‘The appearance and disappearance of Worlds is like a regular tidal ebb of flux and reflux.’ (See Part II., ‘Days and Nights of Brahma.’)

“This second [Fundamental] of the Secret Doctrine is the absolute universality of that law of periodicity, of flux and reflux, ebb and flow, which physical science has observed and recorded in all departments of nature.” (SD I 16-17)

This constant and periodic cycling (of everything in the universe) is a basic concept in Theosophy. It is within this constant and periodic cycling that all growth occurs. It is this growth which is the very focus of the teachings called Theosophy.

“The Secret Doctrine teaches the progressive development of everything, worlds as well as atoms; and this stupendous development has neither conceivable beginning nor imaginable end. Our ‘Universe" is only one of an infinite number of Universes, all of them ‘Sons of Necessity,’ because links in the great Cosmic chain of Universes, each one standing in the relation of an effect as regards its predecessor, and being a cause as regards its successor.” (SD I 43)

It is now time to take a look at the beginning of the cycle that is most interesting to us -- the origin of our present universe.

Spirit (also called Light, Purusha, The Father, etc.)

From out of the Darkness comes Light. From out of the Absolute comes Spirit. The emerging of Spirit from the Absolute is the first step in the new universe.

It is surprising that this important step receives so little description in the Stanzas of Dzyan. Other events are covered in great detail, yet the emergence of Spirit merely receives only part of one sentence, “Darkness radiates Light....” (Stanza i-3-3)

The emerging of Light from the Darkness is well-covered in the Christian Bible. Darkness is described as Darkness because it is impenetrable to human perception. (SD I p. 56) In contrast, this sudden flashing of Light is something we can attempt to understand.

Names for Spirit

As already stated, the Bible uses the name Light. Purusha is a Sanskrit name that HPB uses often. The Father is a name well-known to Christians, especially as it refers to the Triple nature of the universe, which is a key Christian (and Theosophical) concept.

Avalokiteshvara is a well-known Buddhist name used for Spirit. Avalokiteshvara also refers to the Universal Mind, another concept that will be covered later. It is often difficult to tell if HPB is refering to Spirit or Universal Mind in the literature when she uses the term Avalokiteshvara. It is perhaps less confusing to use the term Higher Avalokiteshvara to refer to Spirit, and Lower Avalokiteshvara to refer to the Unversal Mind. “ ... Avalokiteshvara is both the unmanifested Father and the manifested Son, the latter proceding from, and identical with the other....” ( A. Trevor Barker, The Mahatma Letters, p. 344)

Here are more names and page references.

Father, Stanza i-3-6, SD I p. 450, MMT p. 60
Father-Light, MMT p. 60
Fire, SD I p. 83
First Logos
First of the Two Poles, MMT p. 58
Invisible Light, MMT p. 60
Light-pole, MMT p. 66
Purusha, SD I p. 16, MMT p. 60
Root of Self (as opposed to Root of Matter), MMT p. 94
Shanta Atman, MMT p. 60
Silence (as opposed to Sound), Stanza i-2-2, MMT p. 90
Spirit, Stanza i-3-10, SD I p. 35, MMT p. 92
Subjective aspect of the One Reality, MMT p. 48
That which impregnates or illuminates the dark Mother, MMT p. 64
That which says, "I am.", MMT p. 90
Transcendent Self, MMT p. 92

SD refers to The Secret Doctrine by H.P.Blavatsky.
MMT refers to Man the Measure of All Things by Presh and Ashish.
Stanza i refers to the Stanzas in volume I of The Secret Doctrine.

Matter (also called root-matter, pre-cosmic matter, Mulaprakriti, and The Mother)

From the Absolute comes Matter. Matter is the compliment to Spirit. All things in the universe are a product of the interaction between Spirit and Matter.

When the word “Matter” is used, it does not refer to physical matter, but refers to the basic substance of the universe, from which all physical matter is made. Geoffrey Barborka uses the term pre-cosmic root-substance (DP p. 488) to indicate that the physical matter of today's cosmos comes from this pre-cosmic Mulaprakriti. (This writer prefers the term pre-cosmic pre-matter to describe Mulaprakriti.)

The term “root-matter” is confusing to some readers. It refers not to physical matter, but that which is the root of physical matter, which is Mulaprakriti.

Root-matter is said to be “undifferentiated” during a universal Pralaya. It then differentiates into what eventually becomes physical matter at the beginning of a Manvantara. “Mulaprakriti [is] undifferentiated Cosmic Substance....” (SD I p. 75)

One of the most common symbols used for Mulaprakriti is water. The Stanzas of Dzyan contain the sentence, “The Darkness that breathes over the slumbering waters of life....” This means that cosmic pre-matter had been slumbering for an entire Pralaya, and began the process of becoming differentiated into what finally became the physical universe.

The Absolute is totally unrestricted. Mulaprakriti is a limitation that is then put up, in order that experience can be gained by existence in the physical world. It is this placing of a limitation that is called the Veil of Mulaprakriti. “Parabrahmam [The Absolute] is an unconditioned and absolute reality, and Mulaprakriti is a sort of veil thrown over it.” (SD I p. 10)

Mother is a name familiar to all Christians. It refers to this pre-cosmic matter. In the Book of Genesis we read, “The earth was without form and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep; and the Spirit of God was moving over the face of the waters.” This, too, refers to the initial differentiation of Mulaprakriti into what would eventually become a physical universe.

It is important to note that, when Madame Blavatsky uses the word “matter” in the Secret Doctrine to refer to Mulaprakriti, she means pre-cosmic matter, not physical matter.

Names for pre-cosmic matter

Aditi, MMT p. 142
Avidya, MMT p. 46
Devamatri, Stanza i-2-1, MMT p. 90
Eternal Parent, Stanza i-1-1, MMT p. 46
great dark Waters, Stanza i-3-7, MMT p. 46
Matri-padma (“Mother Lotus”), Stanza i-2-3, SD I p. 57, MMT p. 46
Matrix, MMT p. 46
Matter, “the basic matter of the universe” (SD I p. 83).
Mother, Stanza i-3-6, MMT p. 46
Mulaprakriti, MMT p. 46
Necessity, from which is born the Universe (Son) Stanza i-1-6, MMT p. 66
objective aspect of the One Reality, MMT p. 48
Pradhana “... synonymous with Mulaprakriti....” SD I p. 256
Primordial Matter, SD I p. 64
Root of Matter, SD I p. 83, MMT p. 92
second of the Two Poles, MMT p. 58
Source of Akasa, SD I p. 36
Sound (as opposed to Silence), Stanza i-2-2, MMT p. 90
That out of which physical matter will emerge, MMT p. 46
Undifferentiated Cosmic matter, SD I p. 35
Universal Nature, MMT p. 46
Waters (of Chaos, of Life), Stanza i-3-2, Stanza i-3-6, Stanza i-3-7, Stanza i-3-9, SD I p. 64, MMT p. 46

DP refers to The Divine Plan by Geoffrey Barborka.

Naming Conventions

One of the biggest problems in studying Theosophy is that different authors use different names to refer to the same concept. Even the same author will sometimes use different names to refer to the same concept. Let's compare the common naming conventions for the concepts covered so far.

Below is one naming convention preferred by this author:



Below are the names most often used in the Stanzas of Dzyan.



Below are the names commonly used in The Secret Doctrines.




This will hopefully remove confusion when studying the Stanzas, and references that accompany the Stanzas.

The Ray --> Eggs --> The Universal Mind

A ray emerges from the Father, enters the Mother, and fertilizes the Egg inside the Mother.



“The Ray had not yet flashed into the Germ....” (Stanza i-2-3)

“Light [Father] drops one solitary Ray into the Mother-Deep. The Ray shoots through the Virgin Egg, the Ray causes the Eternal Egg to thrill....” (Stanza i-3-3)

“The Ray causes the Eternal Egg to thrill, the breath of life ripples the undifferentiated waters of the Mother, and the surface is covered with a myriad facets in each of which the Sun of consciousness is reflected.” (Man, the Measure of All Things, by Prem & Ashish, pages 106-114)

“The one ray multiplies the smaller rays.” (Stanza i-7-2)

~~~

A series of events occur involving eggs, which culminates in the appearance of the Universal Mind.



The series of events:

1. From the Eternal Egg appears the Germ.

“The Ray had not yet flashed into the Germ....” (Stanza i-2-3)

“The ray of the ‘Ever Darkness’ becomes ... a ray of effulgent light or life, and flashes into the ‘Germ.’ ” (SD vol I 57)

2. The World Egg appears.

“The Ray causes the Eternal Egg to thrill, and drop the Non-Eternal Germ, which condenses into the World-Egg.” (Stanza i-3-3)

[The] “ ... non-eternal germ of manifest consciousness spreads throughout the waters of life and they ‘curdle’. The singleness of the Ray, uniting with the multiplicity of the Waters, gives rise neither to a single lump, nor to an infmitely extended homogeneous continuum, but to a fimite though ‘countless’ multitude of conscious individuals, or rather the rooted seeds or nuclei of what will become individuals, from atoms to stars, from amoebae to men. These are the milk-white ‘Curds’ which spread throughout the depths of the now delimited ocean of Life. And this is the ‘condensation’ of the eternal Egg into the World-Egg.” (Man, the Measure of All Things, by Prem & Ashish, p. 128)

3. The Universal Mind appears.

The Universal Mind (also called The Son, Brahmâ, Avalokiteshvara in its lower aspect, Kwan-Yin as the female aspect)

~~~

The Universal Mind appears.

“Behold, oh Lanoo [Disciple]! The radiant child of the two [Father and Mother] ... He shines forth as the Son....” (Stanza i-3-7)

The Universal Mind is the first “manifestation” of the universe.

“... we come to the most dramatic point of the whole creation, namely the flashing forth into full and conscious manifestation of the Universal Mind....” (Man, the Measure of All Things, by Prem & Ashish, page 138)

It is important to note that this Universal Mind, this Son, is the God which is worshipped by many of the world's religions.

“From the Unknown One, the Infinite TOTALITY, the manifested ONE, or the periodical, Manvantaric Deity, emanates; and this is the Universal Mind....” (SD I p. 110)

“... the manifested Logos [is] also called the ‘Son’ in all cosmogonies.” (Transactions of the Blavatsy Lodge vol. I p. 4)

“This is the birth of that which the Greeks called the Cosmos, or the adorned one, and worshipped as God.... Blazing with unimaginable Light, a Light that does not dazzle; vibrant with power, yet calmly peaceful as the eyes of Buddha; strong with the male, life-giving splendor of the sun; yet soft with the cool magic of the moon; the strength of man yet the grace of woman; such is this Universal Mind....” (Man, the Measure of All Things, by Prem & Ashish, p. 141)

Here is a list of the various names used for Universal Mind, along with Stanza numbers, referring page numbers in The Secret Doctrine (SD) by H.P. Blavatsky, and Man, the Measure of All Things (MMT), by Prem & Ashish.

Adi-Sanat; the same as Brahmâ the Creator, Stanza i-4-5, SD Volume I page 98.
Anima Mundi, MMT p. 122
Avalokiteshvara (Lower Aspect)
Brahmâ, MMT p. 56 (Be careful to distinguish Brahma (no accented final-a) with Brahmâ (accented final-a). Brahma is the Unmanifested, while Brahmâ is the Manifested, the Creator, the Third Logos.)
Bright Space, Son of Dark Space, Stanza i-3-7, MMT p. 142
Dragon of Wisdom, Stanza 3-7, Stanza i-5-1, MMT p. 146
Great Self, MMT p. 60
Ishvara, MMT p. 126
Kwan-Shai-Yin (Stanza i-6-1), also spelled Kwan-Shi-Yin (SD I p. 472), which is the male aspect of the Universal Mind
Kwan-Yin (Stanza i-6-1), which is the female aspect of the Universal Mind
Mahat Atman, MMT p. 60
Manifested Universe (Transactions of the Blavatsy Lodge vol. I p. 4)
Oeaohoo the Younger, Stanza i-3-7, MMT p. 60
Son, Stanza i-1-5, Stanza i-3-8, MMT p. 60
Soul of the World, MMT p. 122
Universal Mind, SD I p. 110, MMT p. 60
Varuna, the vedic god, MMT p. 56
The Universe, Stanza i-1-6, SD I p. 41, MMT p. 66

Kwan-Yin, the female aspect of the Universal Mind. Kwan-Yin is mentioned in Stanza i-6-1.

“Kwan-Shi-Yin and Kwan-Yin are the two aspects (male and female) of the same principle in Kosmos, Nature and Man, of divine wisdom and intelligence.” (SD vol I p. 473)

Kwan-Yin (called The Goddess of Mercy in English and Kannon in Japanese) is an important diety in Buddhism. She is commonly depicted as a statue of a woman with a piled-high hairdo, wearing a hooded white robe, and pouring water from a vase.

Thousands of temples have been built in her honor, and hundreds of thousands of people pray to Kwan-Yin everyday.

Here are links to information on Kwan-Yin and some of her temples.

Kuan Yin Avalokiteshvara
http://circle-of-light.com/Mantras/KuanYin.html

Webshots - Images of Richmond Buddhist Temple
http://community.webshots.com/album/169275872XvDqZD

Kwan Yin Temple — Portland, Oregon
http://www.geocities.com/kwanyin_pdx/

Li Ka Shing Foundation
http://www.lksf.org/eng/other/eventall/cn/...le/page01.shtml

Kannon Bosatsu - Goddess of Mercy - Photo Dictionary
http://www.onmarkproductions.com/html/kannon.shtml

Sensoji (Asakusa Kannon Temple)
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3001.html

A Guide to Buddhist Statues
http://www.sotozen-net.or.jp/kokusai/frien...4_1/statues.htm

Kannon - Goddess of Mercy -- Nationwide Pilgrimage in Japan
http://www.onmarkproductions.com/html/kannon-pilgrim.shtml

God

We have reached the topic of The Son – the fully manifested Deity. We need to take a look at the complicated Theosophical view of God.

The Stanzas of Dzyan describe the appearance of The Son.

“Behold, oh Lanoo [Disciple]! The radiant child of the two, the unparalleled refulgent Glory; bright space Son of Dark, which emerges from the depths of the Great Dark Waters…. He shines forth as The Son; He is the blazing Divine Dragon of Wisdom.” (Stanza i-3-7)

The question is sometimes asked: Do theosophists believe in God? The answer is: Yes, but He only appears periodically. The Son has emerged from out of the Darkness, and He will merge back into it at the end of this Maha Pralaya.

“When the period of Pralaya comes, the process of differentiation stops and Cosmic ideation ceases to exist….” (Five Years of Theosophy, p. 208)

The idea of a personal God, who is ultimate source of everything, places limitations on the Absolute.

“A personal [God] is a finite God.” (SD II p. 543)

A personal God brings up the idea of God as being “over there” while we are “over here”. This makes God the subject (viewer) and us the object (thing viewed). The Absolute cannot be only one side of a subject-object relationship.

“Even if there were to be a personal God with anything like a material upadhi (physical ... form) ... there will be as much reason to doubt his noumenal existence, as there would be in the case of any other object. ... a conscious God cannot be the origin of the Universe, as his Ego would be the effect of a previous cause... There is only one permanent condition in the Universe, which is the state of perfect unconsciousness....” (quoted in SD II p. 598)

Christianity accepts a manifested God, one that is triplicate in nature. Theosophy agrees with this idea, as far as it goes, but, unfortunately, it does not go far enough. The first part of the story has been left out – The Unmanifest.

“...in the Biblical and Christian theology there does not exist a "higher celestial personality, after the Trinity....’ ” (quoted in SD II p. 479)

Theosophy rejects the idea of a personal God.

“The personal God of orthodox Theism perceives, thinks, and is affected by emotion; he repents and feels ‘fierce anger.’ But the notion of such mental states clearly involves the unthinkable postulate of the externality of the exciting stimuli, to say nothing of the impossibility of ascribing changelessness to a Being whose emotions fluctuate with events in the worlds he presides over. The conceptions of a Personal God as changeless and infinite are thus unpsychological and, what is worse, unphilosophical.” (SD I p. 3)

Theosophy rejects the idea of an anthropomorphic God.

“...anthropomorphic God [is] a jealous and exclusive God who rejoices and feels wrathful, is pleased with sacrifice, and is more despotic in his vanity than any finite foolish man. Man … being a compound of the essences of all those…” (SD I p. 276)

The universe is ruled by the One Law, which is immutable (unchangeable). An Almighty God would have the power to change the nature of the universe whenever He saw fit. Such power does not exist.

“Plato having been initiated, could not believe in a personal God — a gigantic Shadow of Man. His epithets of ‘monarch’ and ‘Law-giver of the Universe’ bear an abstract meaning well understood by every Occultist, who, no less than any Christian, believes in the One Law that governs the Universe, recognizing it at the same time as immutable…” (SD II p. 554)

“The ONE LIFE is closely related to the one law which governs the World of Being — KARMA.... ‘Divine Providence tempers His blessings to secure [the believers] better effects....’ Indeed ‘He’ tempers them, which Karma ... does not.” (SD I p. 634)

Buddhism rejects the idea of an anthropomorphic God.

“…the Buddhists extended their Cosmogony without introducing a personal God…” (quoted in SD I p. 440)

Hinduism rejects the idea of an Almighty God.

“In Hinduism — the ‘Holy of Holies’ is a universal abstraction, whose dramatic personae are Infinite Spirit and Nature….” (SD II p. 473)

The idea of Satan was invented, to balance the imperfections of an anthropomorphic God.

“Satan never assumed an anthropomorphic, individualized shape, until the creation by man, of a ‘one living personal god,’ had been accomplished; and then merely as a matter of prime necessity. A screen was needed; a scape-goat to explain the cruelty, blunders, and but too-evident injustice, perpetrated by him for whom absolute perfection, mercy, and goodness were claimed.” (SD I p. 412)

“The Church enforces belief in a personal god and a personal devil, while Occultism shows the fallacy of such a belief.” (SD II p. 475)

Jehovah is seen as being one of the group of “Gods” that created humanity (as the Bible clearly states), not The Infinite.

“If we are taken to task for believing in operating ‘Gods’ and ‘Spirits’ while rejecting a personal God, we answer to the Theists and Monotheists: ‘Admit that your Jehovah is one of the Elohim, and we are ready to recognize him. Make of him, as you do, the Infinite, the ONE and the Eternal God, and we will never accept him in this character.’ ” (SD I p. 492 note)

Rupa, Arupa, Manifesting, and Differentiating

These four words can be confusing, and it is good to take a look at their meanings.

-- Rupa --

Rupa means having form, having a body. (SD vol I p. 89)

“These are the essences ... the Arupa, the Rupa....” (Stanza i-4-3)

“Thus were formed the Rupa and Arupa....” (Stanza i-5-6)

Everything in the physical world (plants, animals, humans, etc.) is said to be in the World of Form. Humans occupy bodies of definite form, which are physical, astral, and mental bodies. These worlds of form are said to be Rupa (“form”) worlds.

-- Arupa --

In the higher Planes of Existence, beings are said to not have specific forms or shapes. These beings are said to exist in the Arupa (“formless”) worlds.

Where is the exact division between Arupa and Rupa levels? A chart on vol I p. 200 of The Secret Doctrine shows the three highest Planes of Existence to be Arupa, and the four lower Planes to be Rupa.

-- Manifested --

The Universal Mind is the first object of the universe to manifest.
“... the manifested Logos [is] also called the ‘Son’ in all cosmogonies.” (Transactions of the Blavatsy Lodge vol. I p. 4)

[The] “...First Logos does not come forth into manifestation, hence it is often referred to as the Unmanifested Logos.” (Transactions of the Blavatsy Lodge vol. I p. 33)

Everything at the level of the Universal Mind and below are part of the manifested universe. The two objects above the Universal Mind (Father and Mother) are said to be unmanifest.

~~~

Editor's note: References to the concept of Differentiation were in error, and have been removed. Here is a quote from Transactions of the Blavatsky Lodge which helps clarify the concept of Differentiation:

“There is no differentiation with the First Logos; differentiation only begins in latent World-Thought, with the Second Logos, and receives its full expression, i.e., becomes the ‘Word’ made flesh — with the Third.”

An important Theosophical concept is the seven Planes of Existence or Planes of Consciousness.

Theosophy divides the manifested universe into seven Planes of Existence. For example, in the sentence quoted below, only the top two Planes of Existence have been created up to that point in the story, and the lower five Planes (strides) are then created.

“Fohat takes five strides (having already taken the first three)....” (Stanza i-5-5, with the phrase in parenthesis on SD vol I p. 122)

“From a Cosmic point of view, Fohat taking ‘five strides’ refers here to the five upper planes of Consciousness and Being, the sixth and the seventh (counting downwards) being the astral and the terrestrial, or the two lower planes.” (SD vol I p. 122)

The (total) seven strides are the seven planes of existence. The first two planes of existence have already been created, and Fohat now continues on, creating the remaining five planes of existence, from the Atma plane down to the physical plane

The “Twice Seven” of Stanza i-4-3 and the “Seven Regions Above and Seven Below” of Stanza i-5-2 are the Seven Planes Of Existence.

“This is the sum total [of Cosmic levels]: the seven unmanifest or inner levels and their manifest counterparts.” (Prem & Ashish, Man, the Meaning of all Things, p. 199)

The names of the seven Planes seem to be an issue in Theosophy. Blavatsky mentions them, but never names all seven. She has a couple of graphics that depict them, naming the bottom four Planes, leaving the top three Planes unnamed.




From SD I p. 200
http://www.theosociety.org/pasadena/sd/sd1-1-10.htm




From SD II p. 300
http://www.theosociety.org/pasadena/sd/sd2-1-17.htm



Gottfried de Purucker uses a similar graphic in his book, Fundamentals of the Esoteric Philosophy.

http://www.theosociety.org/pasadena/fund/fund-35.htm



He names the four lower Planes in the graphic as HPB did. At another place in the book he also names one of the three upper Planes as the Atmic Plane.

In the Adyar tradition of Theosophy, the seven Planes are named

Adi Plane
Anupadaka Plane
Atma Plane
Buddhic Plane
Mental Plane
Astral Plane
Physical Plane

as listed in the book, The First Principles of Theosophy, by Curuppumullage Jinarajadasa.

The seven Planes are a key concept in Theosophy. Theosophy teaches we have an astral body which actually exists on the Astral Plane, a mental body on the Mental Plane, and other objects on other Planes.

Another key Theosophical concept is that we have descended down to the very bottom Plane (the Physical Plane), and we are now trying to climb back up through all seven Planes.

Fohat

Fohat is the dynamic energy-bridge that links spirit and matter. It is the energy that energizes every piece of matter (physical and higher) of the universe. Its best-known attribute is electricity.

“Fohat is ... that aspect of the One Darkness which appears as Power or Energy.... it is the Divine and Fiery creative power....” (Man, the Measure of All Things, by Prem & Ashish pp. 161-162)

[Fohat is that] “... which links spirit to matter, subject to object.... It is the ‘bridge’ by which the ‘Ideas’ existing in the ‘Divine Thought’ are impressed on Cosmic substance as the ‘laws of Nature.’ Fohat is thus the dynamic energy of Cosmic Ideation; or, regarded from the other side, it is the intelligent medium, the guiding power of all manifestation ... Fohat, in its various manifestations, is the mysterious link between Mind and Matter, the animating principle electrifying every atom into life.” (SD vol I p. 16)

“Fohat ... is Cosmic Electricity.” (SD vol I p. 76)

[Fohat is the] “ ... electric, vital power, which, under the Will of the Creative Logos, unites and brings together all forms.... When the "Divine Son" breaks forth, then Fohat becomes the propelling force, the active Power which causes the ONE to become TWO and THREE — on the Cosmic plane of manifestation. The triple One differentiates into the many, and then Fohat is transformed into that force which brings together the elemental atoms and makes them aggregate and combine...

“Fohat, then, is the personified electric vital power, the transcendental binding Unity of all Cosmic Energies, on the unseen as on the manifested planes, the action of which resembles — on an immense scale — that of a living Force.... On the earthly plane his influence is felt in the magnetic and active force generated by the strong desire of the magnetizer. On the Cosmic, it is present in the constructive power that carries out, in the formation of things — from the planetary system down to the glow-worm and simple daisy....” (SD vol I pp. 109-110)

Sound, Silence, Voice, Word: These four symbolic words are used often in The Secret Doctrine.

Spirit (“Sound”) emerges from Darkness (“Silence”). Spirit causes differentiation within the Waters. These Waters are the Voice. From the Waters (“Voice”) emerges the Universal Mind (“Word”).

“Q. What is the difference between Spirit, Voice and Word?

“A. The same as between Atma, Buddhi and Manas, in one sense. Spirit emanates from the unknown Darkness, the mystery into which none of us can penetrate. That Spirit — call it the ‘Spirit of God’ or Primordial Substance — mirrors itself in the Waters of Space — or the still undifferentiated matter of the future Universe — and produces thereby the first flutter of differentiation in the homogeneity of primordial matter. This is the Voice, pioneer of the ‘Word’ or the first manifestation; and from that Voice emanates the Word or Logos, that is to say, the definite and objective expression of that which has hitherto remained in the depths of the Concealed Thought. That which mirrors itself in Space is the Third Logos. We may express this Trinity also by the terms Color, Sound, and Numbers.” (Transactions of the Blavatsy Lodge vol. I p. 47)

Here are the four words.

Silence (Father)

“... there was neither Silence [Father] nor Sound.” (Stanza i-2-2)

Sound (Father-Mother)

“... there was neither Silence nor Sound [Mother].” (Stanza i-2-2)

“Kwan-Yin-Tien [a place-name in Stanza i-6-1] means the ‘melodious heaven of Sound,’ ” (the abode of Kwan-Yin, or the ‘Divine Voice’). (SD vol I p. 137)

“ ‘Sound’ is synonymous with Logos (Verbum, or the Son).” (SD vol I p. 537)

“the second logos, or ‘Sound’ ” (SD vol II p. 563)

It is important to note the connection between Sound and the Buddhist concept of Avalokiteshvara.

“ ... some eastern sholars maintain that the original term was Avalokita-svara, literally the looked-at-sound.... [There is no way] the past participle Avalokita (+ Iswara or + svara) [can] mean he who looks down or the down-looking: it has to be looked, seen, viewed, or observed. (Prem and Ashish, Man, the Measure of All Things , p. 204)

Voice (Mother)

“Thought ... lifts his voice, and call the innumerable Sparks (atoms) and joins them together.” (Stanza i-5-2

“ ‘Voice, Spirit, and Word, this is the Holy Spirit.’ (Sepher Jezireh, chap. 1, Mishna IX.)” (SD vol I p. 448)

“The ... Mother [Svabhavat] ... is called the Voice because it is her power which gives the Father’s silent Word (logos) expression as Sound....” (Prem and Ashish, Man, the Measure of All Things , p. 212)

“In the Kabala, Bath-Kol is the daughter of the Divine Voice, or primordial light, Shekinah. In the Puranas and Hindu exotericism, Vach (the Voice) is the female Logos of Brahma — a permutation of Aditi, primordial light. And if Bath-Kol, in Jewish mysticism, is an articulate praeternatural voice from heaven, revealing to the ‘chosen people’ the sacred traditions and laws, it is only because Vach was called, before Judaism, the ‘Mother of the Vedas....’ ” (SD vol II p. 107)

Word (Logos, Universal Mind)

“the Verbum, the Word or the Logos” (SD vol I p. 256)

Monads: From the Waters appear an uncountable number of “Monads”, which are also called

sons (Stanzas i-3-11, i-4-5, i-6-5)
atoms (Stanza i-3-12)
sparks (Stanzas i-4-3, i-4-4, i-5-2, i-5-3, i-7-4, i-7-5, i-7-7)
countless rays (Stanzas i-7-2),
“... the spiritual Monad ... whose rays ... form what we ... call the ‘Individual Monads’ of men....” (SD I p. 177)

The Stanzas use symbolism to describe the process by which Monads appear: The Mother is the Waters. The Father shines his light on the Waters of the Mother, and an uncountable number of reflections on the waves appear. These reflections (“points of light”) are the Monads.







“The Ray causes the Eternal Egg to thrill, the breath of life ripples the undifferentiated waters of the Mother, and the surface is covered with a myriad [of] facets in each of which the Sun of consciousness is reflected.” (Man, the Measure of All Things, by Prem & Ashish p. 111)

“Every [Monad] feels itself to be separated because the divine self-affirmation of the Logos is forcing it to look outwards into the vortices of form; thus it ceases to pay attention to the inner unity. ... under the influence of the third Logos, the points in Mind rush out into separateness.” (Man, the Measure of All Things, by Prem & Ashish pp. 324 & 192)

“The sons [Monads] dissociate and scatter, to return into their Mother's bosom at the end of the Great Day.” (Stanza i-3-11)

“Svabhavat sends Fohat to harden the atoms [Monads]. Each is a part of the web. Reflecting the ‘Self-Existent Lord’ like a mirror, each in turn becomes a world.” (Stanza i-3-12)

“Just as milliards of bright sparks dance on the waters of an ocean above which one and the same moon is shining, so our evanescent personalities — the illusive envelopes of the immortal MONAD-EGO — twinkle and dance on the waves of Maya. They last and appear, as the thousands of sparks produced by the moon-beams, only so long as the Queen of the Night radiates her lustre on the running waters of life: the period of a Manvantara; and then they disappear, the beams — symbols of our eternal Spiritual Egos — alone surviving, re-merged in, and being, as they were before, one with the Mother-Source.” (SD I page 237).

These Monads are the basic building blocks from which physical atoms and human “souls” are built.

Monads --> physical atoms. Monads --> human “souls”

There is some confusion over the relationship of Monads to the physical universe. On the one hand, Monads are portrayed in the Stanzas as pre-mineral building-blocks from which physical atoms are built. On the other hand, Monads are portrayed as something like “guardian-angels”, a higher-self from which human “souls” have emerged, and will eventually merge back into. The answer is both; Monads are the basic building blocks from which both physical atoms as well as human “souls” are built.

From Monads to physical atoms:

-- Monads are formed into points --

“ ... the whirling action of Fohat results in the organization of experience content in vortices around central points or ‘sparks.’ ” (Man, the Measure of All Things, by Prem & Ashish p. 237)

-- Monads are grouped into clouds --

“The uniting power of Fohat, the divine Eros, joins the Sparks together to form the Germs or prototypes of Wheels. These Wheels are the first swirling organisations in the clouds of Sparks which will gradually settle out into galactic systems. ... the Clouds ... split up into numerous revolving systems of a flattened or wheel-like structure, placed throughout the whole volume of Space.... [This is the] ... first organzation of the clouds of Sparks in dimensioned space....” (Man, the Measure of All Things, by Prem & Ashish pp. 242 & 245)

“The ‘Light’ ... has entered and now fecundated the Divine Egg, and calls cosmic matter to begin its long series of differentiations. The curds are the first differentiation, and probably refer also to that cosmic matter which is supposed to be the origin of the ‘Milky Way’ — the matter we know. This ‘matter,’ ... radical and cool, becomes, at the first reawakening of cosmic motion, scattered through Space; appearing, when seen from the Earth, in clusters and lumps, like curds in thin milk. These are the seeds of the future worlds, the ‘Star-stuff.’ ” (SD I p. 69)

-- Monads experience separateness and are veiled in matter --

“The fiery clouds of [Stanza i-5-4] become the fiery dust of [Stanza i-5-5], and the now separated orphans of existence, the Anupapadaka, are clothed in their first garment of ‘material’ form.” (Man, the Measure of All Things, by Prem & Ashish p. 247)

-- Monads travel the full cycle --

“This is the journey of the Spark: into form, through form, and finally beyond form. It travels through Time and Space, descending from Spirit into Matter and ascending again to Spirit in its long pilgrimage of self discovery.” (Man, the Measure of All Things, by Prem & Ashish p. 328)

“Monads ... may be separated into three distinct Hosts, which, counted from the highest planes, are, firstly, ‘gods,’ or conscious, spiritual Egos; the intelligent architects, who work after the plan in the Divine Mind. Then come the Elementals, or Monads, who form collectively and unconsciously the grand Universal Mirrors of everything connected with their respective realms. Lastly, the atoms, or material molecules, which are informed in their turn by their apperceptive monads, just as every cell in a human body is so informed. (See the closing pages of Book I.)” (SD I p. 632)

From Monads to human “souls”: A human being is a combination of two things — a human body and a “soul”. (The term “soul” is used as defined in The Secret Doctrine, vol. I, p. 17. “ ... the Secret Doctrine teaches ... The fundamental identity of all Souls with the Universal Over-Soul, the latter being itself an aspect of the Unknown Root; and the obligatory pilgrimage for every Soul — a spark of the former — through the Cycle of Incarnation (or "Necessity") in accordance with Cyclic and Karmic law, during the whole term. In other words, no purely spiritual Buddhi (divine Soul) can have an independent (conscious) existence before the spark which issued from the pure Essence of the Universal Sixth principle, — or the Over-Soul, — has a. passed through every elemental form of the phenomenal world of that Manvantara, and b. acquired individuality, first by natural impulse, and then by self-induced and self-devised efforts (checked by its Karma), thus ascending through all the degrees of intelligence, from the lowest to the highest Manas, from mineral and plant, up to the holiest archangel (Dhyani-Buddha). The pivotal doctrine of the Esoteric philosophy admits no privileges or special gifts in man, save those won by his own Ego through personal effort and merit throughout a long series of metempsychoses and reincarnations.”)

Each human is:

1) A human body is made up of organs, which are made up of molecules, which are made up of atoms.

2) Each atom results from a Monadic spark, and each atom is “overseen” by its respective Monad.

Each human “soul” is also the result of a Monadic spark.

“The Souls (Monads) are pre-existent.... They descend from the pure air to be chained to bodies....” (quoted in SD II p. 111)

“That which is man's very self, that by which he is man and not animal, is the divine spark flickering in the core of his being.” (Man, the Measure of All Things, by Prem & Ashish p. 200)

“The Spark, the so-called husband of the soul, is none other than a spark of the divine nature, a divine light, a ray, an imprint of divinity. Our essential being is that Spark, given, as it were, a lease of separate existence for the period of manifestation. We cannot refuse participation in the growth and decay of the physical body, for there there is very little freedom, but in our higher being the presence of that Spark which makes us men enables us to choose whether we will give ourselves to the realisation of the divine effort or whether we will preserve our separate egotism with a hard shell of selfishness.” (Man, the Measure of All Things, by Prem & Ashish p. 296)

“We are motes of dust dancing within [the Universal Mind's] Light which surrounds us everywhere. More, it pervades us through and through. We are but moments of that Light: it is our very Self. Inside and outside we are nothing but that Light; even our outer structure is the impress of its thought, and it is for this reason that, in actual truth, man is the measure of all things and contains within himself — even within his physical body — all the wonders of the universe.... The Father-Light shines in the Son, Universal Mind, it shines in the minds of men, and it shines in every particle of matter.... If we look at the world in one way, we see the varied forms of being dancing in its Light, and if we look at it the other way, we see the divine Light standing in the forms. It is this paradox which makes it so difficult for us to understand ourselves....” (Man, the Measure of All Things, by Prem & Ashish pp. 171 & 178)

Our task is to reunite with the Mond that supplied our spark.

Logos

We are familiar with the terms Spirit (Father), Matter (Mother), and Universal Mind (Son) to describe the beginning of our universe. There is another term with the same general idea — Logos. Here are the equivalents in meaning.

First Logos = Father
Second Logos = Mother
Third Logos = Son

It may seem strange that we have this extra set of terms, but Blavatsky uses these terms often. Therefore, a student of Theosophy needs to be familiar with these terms.

Let's look at the origin of the word Logos.

[Logos refers to] “... the coming into being of a cosmos, or a system ... there must be a reason for the coming into being of a [cosmos], hence divine thought is instrumental in the process. With the formulation of the idea there must also be a means of expressing it, that is, carrying out of the idea. The same thing is present in the utterance of a word. Before the word may be produced as sound, there must be the ideation or thought of it; there must also be the desire of sufficient potency to produce the sound of it. When the idea is transmitted by means of the sound, the resultant effect is the word — the Logos.” (Transactions of the Blavatsy Lodge, vol. II p. 9)

Let's take a look at equivalent terms for First, Second, and Third Logoi in the Stanzas of Dzyan and The Secret Doctrine.

-- First Logos --

First Cause: “The first ... unmanifested Logos, ... is the ‘First Cause’ .... ” (SD vol I p. 16)

Ray from the Absolute: “... the One unknown [the Absolute], without beginning or end, identical with Parabrahm [Hindu] and Ain-Soph [Jewish], emits a bright ray from its darkness. This is the Logos (the first), or Vajradhara, the Supreme Buddha (also called Dorjechang).” (SD vol I p. 571)

The First Aspect: “The First Logos represents the first aspect which leads to the awakening of a system and its consequent manifestation: it is that which causes the system to come into being as well as the focus for the energizing of the cosmos.” (Transactions of the Blavatsy Lodge vol. I p. 33)

Unimanifest Logos: [The] “... First Point or First Logos does not come forth into manifestation, hence it is often referred to as the Unmanifested Logos.” (Transactions of the Blavatsy Lodge vol. I p. 33)

“The first ... unmanifested Logos, the precursor of the ‘manifested.’ ” (SD vol I p. 16)

-- Second Logos --

Unmanifest-Manifest Logos: [The energy from which all in the cosmos evolves and develops] “ ... is transmitted from the unmanifest center [the First Logos] to the manifest [the Third Logos] by means of an intermediary — which is partially unmanifest and partially manifest: this is termed the Second Logos.” (Transactions of the Blavatsy Lodge vol. I p. 33)

-- Third Logos --

Brahmâ: “... the three Logoi [are] the unmanifested "Father," the semi-manifested "Mother" and the Universe, which is the third Logos of our philosophy or Brahmâ .” (Transactions of the Blavatsy Lodge vol. I p. 31) Please note that Brahmâ refers to the Third logos, while Brahma refers to the Absolute — see (Theosophical Glossary, p. 62).

Manifested Logos: “...the Third or manifested Logos....” (Transactions of the Blavatsy Lodge vol. II p. 4)

Son: “...the manifested Logos, [which is] called the ‘Son’ in all cosmogonies.” (Transactions of the Blavatsy Lodge vol. II p. 4)

Universe: “...the Universe or the ‘Son’....” (SD vol I p. 61)



-- The Logos is one? The Logos is Three? --



There is only one Logos, yet there are three separate aspects of the one Logos.

[The one Logos] “... works in three fundamental modes, which are symbolized in the great religions as those of the Creator, the Preserver, and the Destroyer [in Hinduism]; or the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost [in Christianity]. In modern Theosophical. nomenclature, this triple activity is described as that of the First Logos (Father), the Second Logos (Son), and the Third Logos (Holy Ghost). The First Logos, the Second Logos and the Third Logos are but three Aspects of the one Solar Logos; while three in manifestation, [The Logos] is yet ever the one indivisible ...” (C. Jinarajadasa, First Principles of Theosophy, page 197-198)

Sometimes the Logos is referred to as being one, and sometimes the Logos referred to as being three. Both terminologies are correct.

“... the Logos of our system reveals Himself in three-fold aspect. ... in every great religion the Trimurti, or the Trinity, is the representation of the manifested God; and you know also, at least the more thoughtful and philosophic among you know, that the Three are but a three-fold manifestation of the One; the three aspects of the one — unmanifested Existence, that can be known only as it is manifested in the Universe.” (Annie Besant, Path of Discipleship, paragraph 95 online)



-- The Three Logoi in The World’s Major Religions --



It needs to be emphasized that the concept of a triple-aspect diety is common in some of the world’s major religions, for example, Hinduism and Christianity, as described in the above quotation. As in the quotation above, the three Logoi correspond to the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit of the Christian Bible. As such, the “Father” of the Christian Trinity corresponds to the First Logos.

Christians have been debating for centuries over the nature of God. Is God three entities — the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit? Or is God a single entity? Theosophy offers them an answer.

There is also one interesting story in Theosophical literature, whereby the Schism between the Roman Catholic Church and Eastern Orthodox Church was caused by a disagreement over the relationship of the three Logoi.

The Fall of the Three into the Four

We are now at the part of the story where the Four emerge from the Three. There is a problem with this part of the story, in that Blavatsky never really describes the series of events which lead to their appearance, or how their appearance is a Fall. All we know is that the Four “just appeared.”

The Three: The three are the Father, Mother, and Son (SD vol I p. 58).

From Three to Four:

“Then the Three fall into the Four.” (Stanza i-3-4)

[Mother’s] “ ... heart had not yet opened for the Ray to enter, thence to fall, as three into four....” (Stanza i-2-4)

“The Primordial Substance ... differentiates, and the Three (Father, Mother, Son) are transformed into four.” (SD vol I p. 58).

“The union of these three principles depends upon a fourth — the Life which radiates from the summits of the Unreachable....” (SD vol I p. 59)

The Four appear, and are called the Sacred (Holy) Four: (Stanzas i-2-4, i-3-4, i-3-7, i-4-3, i-4-5, i-5-5, & i-7-1)

“The ‘Four Holy Ones’ are the four Angels of Regents who rule over the Cosmic Forces. They are given the names North, East, West, and South, each force having a distinct occult property.” (SD vol I p. 122).

[Tetraktys, Tetrad, The sacred Four] “... is Unity, or the ‘One’ under four different aspects; then it is the fundamental number Four, the Tetrad containing the Decad, or Ten, the number of perfection; finally it signifies the primeval Triad (or Triangle) merged in the divine Monad.... The One is the impersonal principle ‘God’; the Two, matter; the Three, combining Monad and Duad and partaking of the nature of both, is the phenomenal world; the Tetrad, or form of perfection, expresses the emptiness of all; and the Decad, or sum of all, involves the entire Kosmos.” (H.P.Blavatsky, Theosophical Glossary, p. 326)

“Tetragrammaton. The four-lettered name of God, its Greek title: the four letters are in Hebrew ‘yod, hé vau, hé’,or in English capitals, IHVH. The true ancient pronunciation is now unknown; the sincere Hebrew considered this name too sacred for speech, and in reading the sacred writings he substituted the title ‘Adonai’, meaning Lord. In the Kabbalah, I is associated with Chokmah, H with Binah, V with Tiphereth, and H final with Malkuth. Christians in general call IHVH Jehovah, and many modern Biblical scholars write it Yahveh. In the Secret Doctrine, the name Jehovah is assigned to Sephira Binah alone....” (H.P.Blavatsky, Theosophical Glossary, p. 325)

“These four are the major modes in which what is ‘inner’ and unmanifest can be projected as ‘outer’ and manifest.... They are the modes of the four-faced Brahmâ, the Creator.” (Man, the Measure of All Things, by Prem & Ashish p. 120)

“They are the Tetraktys of Pythagoreans, the four-faced Brahma of the Hindus, the four-square Heavenly Jerusalem of the Christians, and the four-lettered Tetragrammaton of the Kabbala.”(Man, the Measure of All Things, by Prem & Ashish p. 144)

Here are some other names for the Sacred Four:

Avengers (karmic balancers); “They are the protectors of mankind and also the Agents of Karma on Earth....” (SD vol I p. 126)

Cherubim and Seraphim; “... the four Maharajahs ... are the four living creatures ... called by the translators of the Bible, ‘Cherubim,’ ‘Seraphim,, etc....” (SD vol I p. 126)

Angels or Devils; “Belief in the ‘Four Maharajahs’ — the Regents of the Four cardinal points — was universal and is now that of Christians, who call them, after St. Augustine, ‘Angelic Virtues,’ and ‘Spirits’ when enumerated by themselves, and ‘Devils’ when named by Pagans.” (SD vol I p. 123)

Biblical Messengers bringing evil; “There is occult philosophy in that Roman Catholic doctrine which traces the various public calamities, such as epidemics of disease, and wars, and so on, to the invisible ‘Messengers’ from North and West. ‘The glory of God comes from the way of the East’ says Ezekiel; while Jeremiah, Isaiah, and the Psalmist assure their readers that all the evil under the Sun comes from the North and the West — which proposition, when applied to the Jewish nation, sounds like an undeniable prophecy for themselves. And this accounts also for St. Ambrose (On Amos, ch. iv.) declaring that it is precisely for that reason that ‘we curse the North-Wind, and that during the ceremony of baptism we begin by turning towards the West (Sidereal), to renounce the better him who inhabits it; after which we turn to the East.’ ” (SD vol I p. 123)

Four Holy Ones (Stanza i-5-5)

Four Maharajahs (SD vol I pp. 122-123); “Each leads an army of spiritual beings to protect mankind and Buddhism. With the exception of favouritism towards Buddhism, the four celestial beings are precisely this.” (SD vol I p. 126)

Regents of the Four cardinal points (SD vol I pp. 122-123)

Serpents of Heaven (SD vol I p. 126)

Winged Wheels (Stanza i-5-5); “... the four Maharajahs ... are called the Avengers, and the ‘Winged Wheels.’ ” (SD vol I p. 126)

Wheels; “The Wheels watch the Ring.” (Stanza i-5-6)

The Seven: the Dhyani-Chohan

From the Three and the Four come the Seven. Again, the process by which they appear is not explained, they just “appear”.

“The union of the Four and the Three constitutes the Sapta or Seven.” (Man, the Measure of All Things, by Prem & Ashish p. 145)

“ ‘The Primordial Seven’ are the Archangels of Christianity, the Dhyan Chohan.” (SD vol I p. 88).

The Seven Dhyani Chohan are the Builders on the Universe.

“Where were the Builders, the luminous Sons of Manvantaric Dawn?” (Stanza i-2-1) “The ‘Builders,’ the ‘Sons of Manvantaric Dawn,’ are the real creators of the Universe....” (SD vol I p. 53)

“... the Shining Seven.” (Stanza i-7-1)

“The seven archetypes [are] the Primordial Seven of [Stanza 4-2.] and the Seven Inside of [Stanza 3-4.].” (Man, the Measure of All Things, by Prem & Ashish p. 205)

~~~

Here is a list of the various names used for the Seven Dhyani-Chohan.

Ah-Hi; “... for there was no Ah-Hi to contain it.” (Stanza i-1-3) “... in their Ah-Hi Paranishpanna....” (Stanza i-2-1) “ ... in their Ah-Hi (Chohanic, Dhyani-Buddhic) Paranishpanna....” (SD vol I p. 53)

Archangels, St. Michael, St. Gabriel, etc., in Christianity; “... the Dhyan Chohans, the Architects of the visible World.... Called by Christian theology: Archangels, Seraphs, etc....” (SD vol I p. 16) “... the Dhyan-Chohans ... [are] the same hierarchy of Archangels to which St. Michael, St. Gabriel, and others belong, in the Christian theogony.” (SD vol I p. 42)

Architects; “... the ‘Architect’ is the generic name for the Sephiroth, the Builders of the Universe....” (SD vol I p. 579)

Army; “An army stands at each angle.....” (Stanza i-5-4) “The ‘Army’ [in Stanza i-5-4] is the Host of angelic Beings (Dhyan-Chohans)....” (SD vol I p. 119)

Builders; “Where were the Builders...?” (Stanza i-2-1) “And these are the Essences, the Flames, the Elements, the Builders....” (Stanza i-4-3) “The ‘Builders,’ the ‘Sons of Manvantaric Dawn,’ are the real creators of the Universe....” (SD vol I p. 53) “The ‘Builders’ are the representatives of the first ‘Mind-Born’ Entities.... They build or rather rebuild every ‘System’ after the ‘Night.’ ” (SD vol I p. 31) “...there are centres of creative power for every ROOT or parent species of the host of forms of vegetable and animal life.... In the creation of new species, departing sometimes very widely from the Parent stock, as in the great variety of the genus Felis — like the lynx, the tiger, the cat, etc. — it is the ‘designers’ who direct the new evolution by adding to, or depriving the species of certain appendages, either needed or becoming useless in the new environments. Thus, when we say that Nature provides for every animal and plant, whether large or small, we speak correctly.” (SD vol II p. 732) “...as the work of each Round is said to be apportioned to a different group of so-called ‘Creators’ or ‘Architects,’ so is that of every globe; i.e., it is under the supervision and guidance of special ‘Builders’ and ‘Watchers’ — the various Dhyan-Chohans.” (SD vol I p. 233)

Creators; “There were battles fought between the Creators and the Destroyers....” (Stanza i-6-6) [The Creators] “ ... are the framers, shapers, and ultimately the creators of all the manifested Universe, in the only sense in which the name ‘Creator’ is intelligible; they inform and guide it; they are the intelligent Beings who adjust and control evolution, embodying in themselves those manifestations of the ONE LAW, which we know as ‘The Laws of Nature.... Generically, they are known as the Dhyan Chohans, though each of the various groups has its own designation in the Secret Doctrine.” (SD vol I p. 22)

Dhyani-Chohan; “The AH-HI (Dhyan-Chohans) are the collective hosts of spiritual beings — the Angelic Hosts of Christianity, the Elohim and ‘Messengers’ of the Jews — who are the vehicle for the manifestation of the divine or universal thought and will. They are the Intelligent Forces that give to and enact in Nature her ‘laws,’ while themselves acting according to laws imposed upon them in a similar manner by still higher Powers....” (SD vol I p. 38)

Divine Serpents; “We also learn from the phrase Ah-hi Parinishpanna that the Builders are identical with the Ah-hi [Stanza i-1-3] or Divine Serpents....” (Man, the Measure of All Things, by Prem & Ashish, p. 88).

Elohim; “The seven sublime lords are the Seven Creative Spirits, the Dhyan-Chohans, who correspond to the Hebrew Elohim.” (SD vol I p. 42) “In the beginning of Time, after the Elohim ... or the ‘Builders’ ... had shaped out of the eternal Essence the Heavens and the Earth, they formed the worlds....” (SD vol I p. 239)

Primordial Seven; “Learn what we who descend from the Primordial Seven....” (Stanza i-4-2) “The Primordial Seven ... produce ... the Fiery Whirlwind.” (Stanza i-5-1)

Seven Inside; “The seven archetypes [are] the Primordial Seven of [Stanza i-4-2.] and the Seven Inside of [Stanza i-3-4.].” (Man, the Measure of All Things, by Prem & Ashish, p. 205)

Seven Sons; “The Seven Sons were not yet born from the Web of Light. Darkness alone was Father-Mother.” (Stanza i-2-5)

Sons of Manvantaric Dawn; “Where were the Builders, the luminous Sons of Manvantaric Dawn?” (Stanza i-2-1) “ ‘The Luminous Sons of Manvantaric Dawn’ are the primordial seven rays from which will emanate in their turn all the other luminous and non-luminous lives, whether Archangels, Devils, men or apes.” (Transactions of the Blavatsy Lodge vol. I pp 45-46)

(Seven) Sublime Lords; “The seven Sublime Lords and the seven Truths had ceased to be.” (Stanza i-1-6) “The seven sublime lords are the Seven Creative Spirits, the Dhyan-Chohans, who correspond to the Hebrew Elohim. It is the same hierarchy of Archangels to which St. Michael, St. Gabriel, and others belong, in the Christian theogony. Only while St. Michael, for instance, is allowed in dogmatic Latin theology to watch over all the promontories and gulfs, in the Esoteric System, the Dhyanis watch successively over one of the Rounds and the great Root-races of our planetary chain. They are, moreover, said to send their Bhodisatvas, the human correspondents of the Dhyani-Buddhas (of whom vide infra) during every Round and Race.” (SD vol I p. 42)

Teachers; [The] “...Builders ... are the Teachers....” (Man, the Measure of All Things, by Prem & Ashish, p. 89)

Elohim

We are now to the part of the story that may surprise Christians and Jews. Theosophy teaches that humanity was created by a group of gods, not a single God — which is exactly what the Bible says.

The word “God” in Genesis 1.26 was originally “Gods” (plural) and was mistranslated into English. The Book of Genesis says:

“Then God said: Let us make man in our image, after our likeness...” (Genesis 1.26)

When the Bible was translated into English, the word “God” was translated from the word “Elohim”. The word Elohim is plural, not singular:

“The form of the word Elohim, with the ending -im, is plural and masculine....” (www.answers.com/topic/elohim)

Therefore, the sentence from Genesis should read:

“Then the Gods said: Let us make man in our image, after our likeness...” (Genesis 1.26)

... which is what Theosophy teaches. Let’s take another look at the original line from Genesis:

“Then God said: Let us make man in our image, after our likeness...” (underlines added.)

Here, the Bible clearly categorizes the speaker(s) as plural, which again agrees with the Theosophical teachings. Elohim is another name for the Dhyani-Chohan.

Jehovah

The Abrahamic faiths use the name Jehovah for Almighty God. Theosophy teaches differently, saying Jehovah is actually one of the Elohim.

“...Jehovah, is simply one of the Elohim, the seven creative Spirits, and one of the lower Sephiroth. He produces from himself seven other Gods, ‘Stellar Spirits’ (or the lunar ancestors)....” (SD vol I pp. 198-199)

“...Jehovah is one of the Elohim, as proved by his own words in Genesis iii. 22, when ‘the Lord God said: Behold the Man has become as one of us,’ etc.” (SD vol I p. 493)

Over the centuries, the multiple Elohim were merged into a singular Jehovah.

“…in the beginning the Elohim (Elhim) were called Echod, ‘one,’ or the ‘Deity is one in many,’ a very simple idea in a pantheistic conception (in its philosophical sense, of course). Then came the change, ‘Jehovah is Elohim,’ thus unifying the multiplicity and taking the first step towards Monotheism.” (SD vol I p. 112)

“...the Septenary Elohim and their hosts [were] transformed by the materialistic religionists into one Jehovah.” (SD vol I p. 548)

Jehovah was originally a minor deity, later elevated to the Almighty for convenience.

“Jehovah [was] pre-eminently a lunar god.....” (SD vol I p. 388)

Jehovah was intentionally mislabeled as the Almighty by ancient Jewish Rabbis, who wanted to disguise the real meaning of the scriptures.

“There is at present no need to touch upon the mystic and manifold meaning of the name Jehovah in its abstract sense, one independent of the Deity falsely called by that name. It was a blind created purposely by the Rabbins, a secret preserved by them with ten-fold care.....” (SD vol I p. 388)

“To the Jewish Kabalists, and even the Christian Alchemists and Rosicrucians, Jehovah was a convenient screen, unified by the folding of its many flaps, and adopted as a substitute: one name of an individual Sephiroth being [a good screen], for those who had the secret.” (SD vol I p. 438)

Jehovah actually is only the “patron saint” of Israel. This explains the idea that the Jews are His chosen people – which is correct.

“The statement that Jehovah was the tribal god of the Jews and no higher, will be denied like many other things…. The Lord's (Jehovah's) portion is his people; Jacob is the lot of his inheritance. ’ This settles the question. …: the ‘Lord's (‘Jehovah's’) portion"’ is his ‘chosen people’ and none else, for, Jacob alone is the lot of his inheritance.” (SD vol II pp. 537-538)

The Second (“Outer”) Seven

“The radiant essence becomes seven inside, seven outside.” (Stanza i-3-4)

[The Inner Seven precede] “ ... the outer seven or worlds of form.” (Man, the Measure of All Things, by Prem & Ashish, p. 119)

“The ‘Builders’ ... as the architects of [our Planetary System], are also called the ‘Watchers’ of the Seven Spheres, which exoterically are the Seven planets, and esoterically the seven earths or spheres (planets) of our chain also.” (SD vol I p. 53)

“The Second group of the Builders is the Architect of our planetary chain exclusively....” (SD vol I p. 128).

Here is a list of the various names used for the Second Seven in the Stanzas of Dzyan.

Lipika; “Then the Second Seven, who are the Lipika, produced by the Three.” (Stanza i-4-6) “... Fohat [is] the swift son of the Divine Sons, whose sons are the Lipika.” (Stanza i-5-2) “An army of the Sons of Light stands at each angle, and the Lipika in the middle wheel.” (Stanza i-5-4) “The Lipika, a word deriving from the Sanskrit word of that form, are here the Second or outer Seven, the written characters (lipi) or impressions of the archetypal patterns in the outer though still invisible worlds.” (Prem & Ashish, Man, the Meaning of all Things, p. 220) “Lipikas — The celestial recorders, the ‘Scribes’, those who record every word and deed, said or done by man while on this earth. As Occultism teaches, they are the agents of KARMA — the retributive Law.” (H.P.Blavatsky, Theosophical Glossary, p. 190) The Lipika are the keepers of the Akashic Record. (SD vol I p. 104) “The Lipika separate the world (or plane) of pure spirit from that of Matter.” (SD vol I p. 130) “As it is the Lipika who project into objectivity from the passive Universal Mind the ideal plan of the universe, upon which the "Builders" reconstruct the Kosmos after every Pralaya, it is they who stand parallel to the Seven Angels of the Presence....” (SD vol I p. 53) “The Lipi-ka, from the word lipi, ‘writing,’ means literally the ‘Scribes.’ Mystically, these Divine Beings are connected with Karma, the Law of Retribution, for they are the Recorders or Annalists who impress on the (to us) invisible tablets of the Astral Light, ‘the great picture-gallery of eternity’ — a faithful record of every act, and even thought, of man, of all that was, is, or ever will be, in the phenomenal Universe. As said in ‘Isis,’ this divine and unseen canvas is the BOOK OF LIFE. As it is the Lipika who project into objectivity from the passive Universal Mind the ideal plan of the universe, upon which the ‘Builders’ reconstruct the Kosmos after every Pralaya, it is they who stand parallel to the Seven Angels of the Presence, whom the Christians recognise in the Seven ‘Planetary Spirits’ or the ‘Spirits of the Stars;’ ” (SD vol I p. 104)

Second Seven; “Then the second Seven, who are the Lipika....” (Stanza i-4-6) “The Lipika, a word deriving from the Sanskrit word of that form, are here the Second or outer Seven....” (Prem & Ashish, Man, the Meaning of all Things, p. 220)

Seven Outside; “The radiant essence becomes seven inside, seven outside.” (Stanza i-3-4)

~~~

From the Universal Mind appear the Seven Builders (Dhyani Chohan). The Second Seven then appear, creating levels all the way down to the physical level.

It is important to distinguish Architects from Builders. Architects set the plan, while Builders actually do the work. The Lipika are both Architects and Builders, in that they build the universe from plans made by the Dhyani-Chohan, then act as Architects for our planetary system. The actual building of our planetary system is done by beings further down the Hierarchy.

Pitris

Lunar Pitris (“Pitris” is the plural of “Pitri”.)

There are two kinds of Pitris, Lunar Pitris and Solar Pitris. (The Solar Pitris are higher in the Hierarchy than The Lunar Pitris.) The Lunar Pitris were an integral part of the original creation of Mankind. The Solar Pitris enter our story during the Third Root-Race, providing unplanned assistance. (The Solar Pitris were undoubtedly also part of the original plan at a level above the Lunar Pitris, but that part of the story has been left out of the Stanzas of Dzyan.)

Lunar Pitris

The Lunar Pitris set forth the beginning of mankind.

“... the initial impetus given to human evolution on this globe in this Fourth Round was due to the assistance provided by the Lunar Pitris.— or again Solar Gods.” (Barborka, Geoffry, The Divine Plan, p. 133)

“ ‘It is from the material Worlds that descend they, who fashion physical man at the new Manvantaras. They are inferior Lha (Spirits), possessed of a dual body (an astral within an ethereal form). They are the fashioners and creators of our body of illusion.’ . . . . ” (SD vol II p. 57)

The Lunar Pitris appear in Theosophical literature under many names, as appearing in this list of names adapted from Barborka's The Divine Plan, p. 118:

Ancestors

Barhishads

Barhishad-Pitris; “... Angels who, in the exoteric legends, obeyed the law ... must be identical with the Barhishad Pitris, or the Pitar-Devata, i.e., those possessed of the physical creative fire. They could only create, or rather clothe, the human Monads with their own astral Selves....” (SD vol II p. 94)

Celestial Ancestors

Celestial Men

Divine Progenitors

Fathers ; “... the Holy Fathers, the ancestors of the Arhats.” (Stanza 2-27)

Four Lower Classes of Pitris

Dhyanis

Inferior Lha; “ ‘It is from the material Worlds that descend they, who fashion physical man at the new Manvantaras. They are inferior Lha (Spirits), possessed of a dual body (an astral within an ethereal form). They are the fashioners and creators of our body of illusion.’ . . . . ” (SD vol II p. 57)

Lords of the Moon; “The Geat Chohans (Lords): called the Lords of the Moon....” (Stanza 2-12) “Who are the Lords of the Moon? In India they are called Pitris or ‘lunar ancestors’....” (SD vol II p. 75)

Lunar Ancestors; “ ‘The Pitris are not the ancestors of the present living men, but those of the first human kind or Adamic race; the spirits of human races, which, on the great scale of descending evolution, preceded our races of men, and were physically as well as spiritually, far superior to our modern pigmies. In Manava-Dharma-Sastra they are called the Lunar ancestors.’ ” (SD vol II p. 91 note)

Lunar Fathers

Lunar Gods

Lunar Monads; “The ‘Lunar Monads’ or Pitris ... [were] the ‘Monads’ who [entered our] cycle of evolution on Globe A.... (SD vol I p. 180)

Lunar Pitris

Lunar Progenitors

Lunar Sons

Lunar Spirits

Mind-born Sons; “The Seven Hosts, the ‘Will (or Mind)-Born Lords....’ ” (Stanza ii-2-14) (Note: The name “Mind-Born Sons” refers to both Solar Pitris in Stanza i-7-1 and Lunar Pitris in Stanza i-2-14.)

Moon-Gods

Pitaras

Pitar-devitas

Pitris; “... the Pitris are lunar deities and our ancestors, because they created the physical man.” (SD vol I p. 86)

Progenitors; “The Secret teachings show the divine Progenitors creating men on seven portions of the globe ‘each on his lot’ — i.e., each a different race of men externally and internally, and on different zones.” (SD vol II p. 77) “The Progenitors of Man, called in India ‘Fathers,’ Pitara or Pitris, are the creators of our bodies and lower principles.” (SD vol II p. 88)

Sons of Soma (the Moon)

Sons of the Moon

Solar Pitris

Things were not going well in the middle of the Third Root-race on Earth. The human race was behind schedule, so the Solar Pitris took an active role to help speed up the process.

(The Solar Pitris) “... were able to awaken the dormant faculty of Manas [in humans] during the Third Race, so that man was able to function intellectually....” (Barborka, Geoffry, The Divine Plan, p. 133)

“... the initial impetus given to human evolution on this globe in this Fourth Round was due to the assistance provided by the Lunar Pitris.... Nevertheless, in spite of the aid given by the Lunar Fathers, the progress of human evolution during the First and Second Root-Races continued very slowly.... Something was lacking. As the words of the Stanza graphically descibed the situation:

“Man remained an empty senseless Bhuta.” (Anthropogenesis Stanza IV, Sloka 17)

“This state of existence as a senseless bhuta — meaning as a phantom — due to the non-functioning of the Manas-principle, would have continued for cycle upon cycle but for the assistance provided by exalted Beings on the hierarchial Ladder of Life, still more lofty than the Moon-Gods. Because of having themselves developed the faculty of Mind in previous Manvantaras, as well as the ability to use it with full consciousness, they were able to awaken the dormant faculty of Manas during the Third Race, so that man was able to function intellectually in his turn. These lofty Beings are therefore termed the Lords of the Flame, or Sons of Mind — Manasaputras — or again Solar Gods.” (Barborka, Geoffry, The Divine Plan, p. 133)

The Solar Pitris appear in Theosophical literature under many names, as appearing in this list of names adapted from Barborka's The Divine Plan, p. 134:

3 Higher Classes of Pitris

Agnishwatta, Agnishwatha, Agnishvattas, Agnishvatta Pitris; “The Agnishwatha ... are solar dieties ... and these are the ‘fashioners of the Inner Man.’ ” (SD vol I p. 87) “the Agnishwatta [Solar] Pitris are devoid of fire (i.e., of creative passion), because too divine and pure (vide supra, Sloka 11th); whereas the Barhishad, being the lunar spirits more closely connected with Earth, became the creative Elohim of form, or the Adam of dust.” (SD vol II p. 78)

Dhyanis

Fire Dhyanis; “That class of the ‘Fire Dhyanis,’ which we identify on undeniable grounds with the Agnishwattas, is called in our school the ‘Heart’ of the Dhyan-Chohanic Body; and it is said to have incarnated in the third race of men and made them perfect.” (SD vol II p. 91)

Fivefold Lha; “Who completes him? The five-fold Lha.” (Stanza i-7-5)

Holy Sons

Holy Yogis

Holy Ascetics

Holy Virgin-born

Incorporated Pitris

Kumaras; “... the Kumara (the seven mystic sages) ... are ... ‘The Sons of Fire’....” (SD vol I p. 87)

Lhas; “Lha is the ancient word in trans-Himalayan regions for "Spirit," any celestial or superhuman Being, and it covers the whole series of heavenly hierarchies, from Archangel, or Dhyani, down to an angel of darkness, or terrestrial Spirit.” (SD vol II p. 22) [Stanza i-7-5 asks] “ ‘Who completes him?’ [and] the answer is given ‘The fivefold Lha.’ A short and direct response, truly, but involving a mystery. Lha is the Tibetan word equivalent in meaning to Dhyanis, hence, referring to the Solar Pitris. Why fivefold? One suggestion may be offered: Because the Solar Lhas awaken the fifth principle of man.” (Barborka, Geoffry, The Divine Plan, p. 140) “The Lha which turns the fourth (Globe, or our Earth) is subservient to the Lha of the Seven....” (Stanza 2-1)

Lords of the Flame; “Lords of the Flame....” (Stanza 2-12) “The Lords of the Flame remain behind.” (Stanza 2-13) “ ‘In these we shall dwell,’ said the Lords of the Flame.” (Stanza 2-24) “These lofty Beings are ... termed the Lords of the Flame, or Sons of Mind — Manasaputras — or again Solar Gods.” (Barborka, Geoffry, The Divine Plan, p. 133)

Lords of Wisdom

Manasa

Manasa Dhyanis

Manasaputras

Manasas

Manasvin

Mind-born Sons (of the First Lord, of Brahmâ); “These are the Three-fold, the four-fold downward, the ‘Mind-Born’ Sons of the First Lord....” (Stanza i-7-1) (Note: The name “Sons” refers to both Solar Pitris in Stanzai-7-1 and Lunar Pitris in Stanza 2-14.)

Minds; “ ‘The Sons of Fire’ ... are called ‘Minds’....” (SD vol I p. 87)

Solar Ancestors

Solar Angels

Solar Devas

Solar Fathers

Solar Lhas

Solar Pitris

Sons of the Fire; “...Listen, Ye Sons of the Earth, to your instructors - The Sons of the Fire.” (Stanza i-4-1) “ ... the ‘Sons of the Fire,’ the ‘Sons of the Fire-Mist,’ and the like, require explanation.... Now these names, ‘Fire,’ ‘Flame,’ ‘Day,’ the ‘bright fortnight,’ etc., as ‘Smoke,’ ‘Night," and so on, leading only to the end of the lunar path are incomprehensible without a knowledge of Esotericism. These are all names of various deities which preside over the Cosmo-psychic Powers. We often speak of the Hierarchy of ‘Flames’ (see Book II.) of the ‘Sons of Fire,’ etc. Sankaracharya the greatest of the Esoteric masters of India, says that fire means a deity which presides over Time (kala)....” (SD vol I p. 86)

Sons of the Fire-Mist

Sons of Mahat

Sons of Manas

Sons of Mind

Sons of Wisdom; “ ‘Sons of Wisdom’ ... or angels from higher spheres....” (SD vol II p. 236) “The ‘Sons of Wisdom’ ... spurned the early Third Race, i.e., the non-developed, and are shown incarnating in, and thereby endowing with intellect, the later Third Race.” (SD vol II p. 185)

Spiritual Dhyanis

Vairajas

Virgin Ascetics

Great Breath

The Great Breath is the pulsation of the Absolute, even during a universal Pralaya.
“Life pulsated unconscious in universal space.” (Stanza i-1-8)

“The ‘Breath’ ... is ... matter ... [in] perpetual motion.... This Breath ... can never cease, not even during [a Pralaya]” (SD vol I p. 55)

“ ... the ‘pulsation’ ... continues even in pralaya. ... the verbal description is not to be taken as a philosophical statement and dismissed as nonsense because it is illogical to say that pulsation, which involves time and differentiation, could not exist in the timeless and undifferentiated state of pralaya. We repeat that the words are symbolic and refer to something that cannot be expressed in any other way....

“The one Reality ... and the pulsation of its life continues ceaselessly even in, what might seem to us to be, the frozen sterility of the Cosmic Night.” (Prem & Ashish, Man, the Meaning of all Things, pp. 72-73)

The Flame

“The Flame” or “Flames” (Stanza i-4-3), or the “Primordial Flame” (Stanza i-4-2), are part of the Hierarchy that is not clearly explained in the Secret Doctrine.

“The ... ‘Primordial’... are the Ray and direct emanation of the first ‘Sacred Four,’ the Tetraktis....” (SD vol I p. 88)

“Now these names, ‘Fire,’ ‘Flame,’ ‘Day,’ the ‘bright fortnight,’ etc., as ‘Smoke,’ ‘Night,’and so on, leading only to the end of the lunar path are incomprehensible without a knowledge of Esotericism. These are all names of various deities which preside over the Cosmo-psychic Powers. We often speak of the Hierarchy of ‘Flames’ (see Book II.) of the ‘Sons of Fire,’etc.....” (SD vol I p. 86)

“The highest group [of Creative Powers] is composed of the divine Flames, so-called, also spoken of as the ‘Fiery Lions’ and the ‘Lions of Life,’ whose esotericism is securely hidden.... It is the nucleole of the superior divine World.... They are the formless Fiery Breaths, identical in one aspect with the upper Sephirothal TRIAD....” (SD vol I p. 213)

“The ‘Flames’ are a Hierarchy of Spirits parallel to, if not identical with, the ‘burning’ fiery Saraph (Seraphim) mentioned by Isaiah (vi. 2-6), those who attend, according to Hebrew Theogony, ‘the Throne of the Almighty.’ Melha is the Lord of the ‘Flames.’ When he appears on Earth, he assumes the personality of a Buddha, says a popular legend. He is one of the most ancient and revered Lhas, a Buddhist St. Michael.” (SD vol II p. 63)

Chain

Planets are grouped into groups of seven planets. Such a group of planets is called a Chain.



A Chain always has planets on different Planes of Existence. Our earth is the only planet in our Chain that is on the Physical Plane. The other six planets are on higher Planes.



“Out of these seven [planets] only one, the lowest and the most material of those globes, is within our plane or means of perception, the six others lying outside of it and being therefore invisible to the terrestrial eye.” (SD vol I p. 152).

“The older wheels [Rounds] rotated downwards and upwards.... [manifesting on the various Planes of Existence one by one]” (Stanza i-6-6)

“It is a Vedic teaching that ‘there are three Earths corresponding to three Heavens, and our Earth (the fourth) is called Bhumi.’ ... it refers to our planetary chain, three ‘Earths’ on the descending arc, and three ‘heavens’ which are the three Earths or globes also, only far more ethereal, on the ascending or spiritual arc: by the first three we descend into matter, by the other three we ascend into Spirit; the lower one, Bhumi, our Earth, forming the turning point....” (SD vol I p. 250 note).

Our Earth is called Bhumi in The Secret Doctrine. (Stanza i-7-1)

There are two graphics in The Secret Doctrine that portray our Chain.



The above graphic portrays the seven globes of our Chain as compared to the Kabala. Note the names of the Planes of Existence that are used in this graphic.

"Archetypal World" = Buddic Plane
"Intellectual or Creative World" = Mental Plane
"Substantive or Formative World" = Astral Plane
"Physical Material World" = Physical Plane

The next graphic shows both the Earth Chain and the Moon Chain.



Note the corresponding planets on each Plane of Existence for both Chains.

Round

A Round is the amount of time a life-wave (human, animal, etc.) spends on each of the seven planets in a Chain.



Our human life-wave was previously on Globe A, then moved to Globe B, to Gobe C, and is presently on Earth (Globe D).



“At the fourth [Round], the sons are told to create their own images...” (Stanza i-6-5)

“Make Thy calculations, Lanoo [disciple], if Thou wouldest learn the correct age of Thy small wheel [Round]. Its fourth spoke [planet] is our Mother Earth.” (Stanza i-6-7)

When our alloted time on Earth has ended, our life-wave will move onto the fifth planet of the Round (the next planet of our Chain, which is on the Astral Plane).

Other chains exist, as indicated by the graphic above, and these quotes.
“...besides our own septenary chain of world-planets, there are many more in the solar system.” (SD vol I p. 654)

“... of ... chains there are seven in our system....” (SD vol II p. 311)
The total length of time of our present Round will be 617.1 million years. (C W XIII p. 303)

Manvantara

A life-wave (human, animal, etc.) spends time on each of the seven planets in a Chain, in a time-period called a Round. After finishing its time on the seventh planet of the initial Round, it then returns to the first planet, starting the process all over again, and beginning a new Round. This process repeats itself for a total of seven Rounds.



A Manvantara: seven cycles around seven planets, or 49 “stops”


Our life-wave travels through each of the seven planets (globes) of our Chain, evolving through the elemental, mineral, plant, animal, and human levels of existence.

“... during the First, Second, and Third Rounds, ... MAN was, in turn, ‘a stone, a plant, and an animal...’ ” (SD vol I p. 185)

This process repeats itself for a total of seven Rounds, or 49 “World-Periods”. This period of 49 “World-Periods” is called a Manvantara.



World-Periods in a Manvantara


Our present-day Earth is the fourth planet of the fourth Round of our Manvantara. This is exactly mid-way through the Manvantara, and mid-way through the fourth Round of that Manvantara.



Present-day Earth, in the middle of the Fourth Round


This is the lowest possible level of physical manifestation in the universe.

Our present Manvantara will last 4.3 billion years (SD vol II p. 70). Please note that the word “Chain” is sometimes used to refer to the same 4.3 billion-year time period.


-- Omitted Information on Rounds and Chains in our Manvantara --


More information on Rounds and Chains was left out of The Secret Doctrine due to space limitations.

“Among the eleven Stanzas omitted there is one which gives a full description of the formation of the planetary chains one after another....” (SD vol I p. 152)

Our present Manvantara is in its 25th globe, yet The Secret Doctrine only discusses conditions on the fourth globe of the First Round (the 4th world-period), the fourth globe of the Third Round (the 18th world-period), and our present-day fourth globe of the Fourth Round (present-day Earth, the 25th world-period). Descriptions of conditions on the other previous 22 world-periods have been omitted.

“We are not concerned with the other Globes in this work except incidentally.” (SD vol I p. 160 note)

~~~

Solar Manvantara: A Solar Manvantara is the total active life of our solar system. This corresponds to 311 trillion years (SD vol II p. 70).

The Seven Rounds of our Present-Day Manvantara

Our presently-human life-wave has traveled through three and a half Rounds, evolving through the first (mineral), second (vegetable), third (animal), and fourth (human) Rounds.

“... during the First, Second, and Third Rounds, ... MAN was, in turn, ‘a stone, a plant, and an animal...’ ” (SD vol I p. 185)

Let's take a look at each Round.

First Round

“...in the first Round, the globe, having been built by the primitive fire-lives, i.e., formed into a sphere — had no solidity, nor qualifications, save a cold brightness, nor form nor color....” (SD vol I p. 259)

“Man in the First Round and First Race on Globe D, our Earth, was an ethereal being (a Lunar Dhyani, as man), non-intelligent but superspiritual; and correspondingly, on the law of analogy, in the First Race of the Fourth Round. In each of the subsequent races and sub-races . . . he grows more and more into an encased or incarnate being, but still preponderatingly ethereal....” (SD vol I p. 188)

Second Round

[Man] “...has now a perfectly concrete or compacted body, at first the form of a giant-ape, and now more intelligent, or rather cunning, than spiritual. For, on the downward arc, he has now reached a point where his primordial spirituality is eclipsed and overshadowed by nascent mentality....” (SD vol I p. 188)

Third Round: We were the animals.

“... the ancestors of man ... [created] ‘ape-like’ forms ... in Round III.” (SD vol II p. 188)

“In the last half of the Third Round his gigantic stature decreases, and his body improves in texture, and he becomes a more rational being, though still more an ape than a Deva. . . . (All this is almost exactly repeated in the third Root-Race of the Fourth Round.)” (SD vol II pp. 188-189)

“It is not denied that in the [Third] Round man was a gigantic apelike creature; and when we say "man" we ought perhaps to say, the rough mould that was developing for the use of man in [the fourth] Round only....” (SD vol II p. 261)

“Let us remember … the esoteric teaching which tells us of Man having had in the Third Round a GIGANTIC APE-LIKE FORM on the astral plane. And similarly at the close of the Third Race in this Round.” (SD vol II p. 688)

Fourth Round: We are the humans on Globe D (present-day Earth).
“Up to the Fourth Round... Man — if the ever-changing forms that clothed the Monads during the first three Rounds and the first two and a half races of the present one can be given that misleading name — is, so far, only an animal intellectually. It is only in the actual midway [fourth] Round that he develops in himself entirely the fourth principle [intelligence] as a fit vehicle for the fifth.” (SD vol II p. 161)

“Intellect has an enormous development in this Round. The (hitherto) dumb races acquire our (present) human speech on this globe, on which, from the Fourth Race, language is perfected and knowledge increases. At this half-way point of the Fourth Round (as of the Fourth Root, or Atlantean, race) humanity passes the axial point of the minor Manvantara cycle . . . . the world teeming with the results of intellectual activity and spiritual decrease . . . .” (SD vol II p. 189)

Fifth Round

“... Manas will be relatively fully developed only in the [Fifth] Round, when it will have an opportunity of becoming entirely divine until the end of the Rounds. As Christian Schoettgen says in Horae Hebraic, etc., the first terrestrial Adam ‘had only the breath of life,’ Nephesh, but not the living Soul.” (SD vol II p. 162)

Sixth Round

No information is given on this Round.

Seventh Round

“On [our presently] ascending arc [from materialism to spirituality], Spirit is slowly re-asserting itself at the expense of the physical, or matter, so that, at the close of the seventh Race of the Seventh Round, the Monad will find itself as free from matter and all its qualities as it was in the beginning; having gained in addition the experience and wisdom, the fruition of all its personal lives, without their evil and temptations.” (SD vol II pp. 180-181)

Seven Divine Elements

(one new Element per Round) (“Seven Truths” in Stanza i-1-6) (Stanza i-4-3)

Fire
Air
Water
Earth
Ether
Mind
Understanding

The characteristics of matter change as evolution takes matter on its journey through the Rounds, and there is a corresponding and simultaneous change to the perceptive faculty or sense of man.

“The succession of primary aspects of Nature with which the succession of Rounds is concerned, has to do ... with the development of the ‘Elements’ (in the Occult sense) — Fire, Air, Water, Earth.” (SD vol I p. 252).

“Universe evolves, when its primary substance is transformed from the state of fire into that of air, then into water, etc.” (SD vol I p. 77).

There is one new element for each Round.

“... every new Round develops one of the Compound Elements....” (from a Commentary in SD vol I p. 250).

Four elements

Four elements have evolved in the four Rounds that have appeared so far — Fire, Air, Water, and Earth.

“Of the seven (elements) ... four produced, three hidden....” (Stanza i-6-3)

“‘From the ONE LIFE formless and Uncreate, proceeds the Universe of lives. First was manifested from the Deep (Chaos) cold luminous fire (gaseous light?) which formed the curds in Space.’ (Irresolvable nebulae, perhaps?). . . . . . . ‘ . . . These fought, and a great heat was developed by the encountering and collision, which produced rotation. Then came the first manifested MATERIAL, Fire, the hot flames, the wanderers in heaven (comets); heat generates moist vapor; that forms solid water (?); then dry mist, then liquid mist, watery, that puts out the luminous brightness of the pilgrims (comets?) and forms solid watery wheels (MATTER globes). Bhumi (the Earth) appears with six sisters. These produce by their continuous motion the inferior fire, heat, and an aqueous mist, which yields the third World-Element — WATER; and from the breath of all (atmospheric) AIR is born. These four are the four lives of the first four periods (Rounds) of Manvantara. The three last will follow.’ ” (SD vol I p. 250).

“It is a Vedic teaching that ‘there are three Earths corresponding to three Heavens, and our Earth (the fourth) is called Bhumi.’ ... it refers to our planetary chain, three ‘Earths’ on the descending arc, and three ‘heavens’ which are the three Earths or globes also, only far more ethereal, on the ascending or spiritual arc: by the first three we descend into matter, by the other three we ascend into Spirit; the lower one, Bhumi, our Earth, forming the turning point.... ” (SD vol I p. 250 note).

“... in the first Round, the [newly-formed Earth], having been built by the primitive fire-lives, i.e., formed into a sphere — had no solidity, nor qualifications, save a cold brightness, nor form nor color; it is only towards the end of the First Round that it developed one Element which from its inorganic, so to say, or simple Essence became now in our Round the fire we know throughout the system.... The Second Round brings into manifestation the second element AIR, that element, the purity of which would ensure continuous life to him who would use it.... The Third Round developed the third Principle — WATER; while the Fourth transformed the gaseous fluids and plastic form of our globe into the hard, crusted, grossly material sphere we are living on. ‘Bhumi’ [Earth] has reached her fourth principle.” (SD vol I pp. 259-260).

The fifth aspect is being developed now (in the fourth Round).

[This is the order] “ ... in which things created appear — namely, Fire (light), Air, Water, and MAN (or the Earth).” (SD vol I p. 254).

“The succession of primary aspects of Nature with which the succession of Rounds is concerned, has to do, as already indicated, with the development of the ‘Elements’ (in the Occult sense) — Fire, Air, Water, Earth. We are only in the fourth Round, and our catalogue so far stops short. The centers of consciousness (destined to develop into humanity as we know it) of the third Round arrived at a perception of the third Element Water. Those of the fourth Round have added earth as a state of matter to their stock as well as the three other elements in their present transformation.” (SD vol I pp. 252-253).

“... the Earth, such as we know it now, had no existence before the 4th Round, hundreds of million years ago, the commencement of our geological Earth. The globe was ‘fiery, cool and radiant as its ethereal men and animals during the first Round,’ says the Commentary ... ‘luminous and more dense and heavy during the second Round; watery during the Third!’ ” (SD vol I p. 252 note).

The fifth aspect is Aether (Ether) or Astral Light.

“... man is composed of all the Great Elements: Fire, Air, Water, Earth and Ether — the ELEMENTALS.” (SD vol I p. 294 note).

“The elements are the five tanmatras of earth, water, fire, air and ether....” (SD vol I p. 536 note).

“It will only be in the next, or fifth, Round that the fifth Element, Ether -- the gross body of Akasa, if it can be called even that -- will, by becoming a familiar fact of Nature to all men, as air is familiar to us now, cease to be as at present hypothetical, and also an "agent" for so many things. And only during that Round will those higher senses, the growth and development of which Akasa subserves, be susceptible of a complete expansion. As already indicated, a partial familiarity with the characteristic of matter -- permeability -- which should be developed concurrently with the sixth sense, may be expected to develop at the proper period in this Round. But with the next element added to our resources in the next Round, permeability will become so manifest a characteristic of matter, that the densest forms of this will seem to man's perceptions as obstructive to him as a thick fog, and no more.” (SD vol I pp. 257-258).

After the fifth element is developed, two more elements will apppear, for a total of seven elements.

“The Golden Egg was surrounded by seven natural elements (ether, fire, air, water), ‘four ready, three secret.’ ” (SD vol I p. 65).

“‘Bhumi’ [Earth] has reached her fourth principle. Earth will reach her true ultimate form ... — her body shell — only toward the end of the manvantara after the Seventh Round....” (SD vol I pp. 259-260).

The two missing Elements are Mind and Understanding.

[The seven elements are] ... “the five elements plus mind (Manas) and Self-Consciousness (Ahamkara),.... when saying of these (five elements, or ‘five portions of form’) (rupa, plus Manas and Self-Consciousness) that they constitute the ‘seven purusha,’ or principles, called in the Puranas the ‘Seven Prakritis.’ ” (SD vol I p. 335).

“... the principles [of] the Cosmic Self... ‘The six appear rather to be the manas plus the five principles of Ether, air, fire, water, earth....’ ” (Dr. Burnell quoted in SD vol I p. 334).

Geoffrey Barborka lists the last two Elements as Spirit and The Original Principle. (Barborka, Geoffry, The Divine Plan, p. 142)

Here, then, are the seven Elements as described by Blavatsky and Barborka.

1 Fire — Fire
2 Air — Air
3 Water — Water
4 Earth — Earth
5 Ether — Ether
6 Mind — Spirit
7 Understanding — Original Principle

“Only some know me truly. Earth, Water, Fire, Air, Space (or Akasa, Aether), Mind, Understanding and Egoism (or the perception of all the former on the illusive plane)....” (the Deity in the Bhagavadgita quoted in SD vol I p. 535).

In summary, seven divine Elements (symbolizing seven divine attributes) are being developed in this Chain. The first four have already been developed, we are in the process of developing the fifth, and two more will appear later, for a total of seven Elements (perceptive faculties in man.)

Seven Principles in Man


The Seven Principles of Man


There are seven principles in Man, three higher, and four lower.

“Man needs four flames and three fires to become one on Earth....” (SD vol II p. 57)

“Give [human beings] their [3] forms within. [Mother Earth] will build them [4] coverings without.” (Stanza 2-11)

“The ‘Three-tongued flame’ that never dies (Stanza i-7-4) is the immortal spiritual triad — the Atma-Buddhi and Manas .... The ‘four wicks’ that go out and are extinguished (Stanza i-7-4), are the four lower principles, including the body.” (SD vol I p. 237)

It is the initial attaching of the three higher principles to the lower four principles that constitute the first Individualization of a human being.

Here are the seven principles, from highest to lowest.

--- The Three Higher Principles ---

7th: Atma

“the Seventh — the Crown” Stanza i-5-4

[The Seventh (principle in Man) is] “... Atma ... Spirit....” (SD vol I p. 119)

6th: Buddhi, in Stanza i-5-4

“The Sixth [principle in Man] [is] Buddhi, the Divine Soul....” (SD vol I p. 119)

5th: Manas

“In Egypt, the defunct man ... is the ‘Dragon of Wisdom’ or Manas, the ‘Human Soul,’ Mind, the Intelligent principle, called in our esoteric philosophy the ‘Fifth" principle.’ ” (SD vol I p. 219)

--- The Four Lower Principles ---

4th: Passions and Animal Desires (“Kama”)

“The astral through Kama (desire) is ever drawing Manas down into the sphere of material passions and desires. ” (SD vol I p. 244)

3rd: The Life-Principle (“Prana”)

“Prana [is] LIFE, the active power producing all vital phenomena.” (SD vol II p. 593)

2nd: Astral Body (“Linga Sarira”)

1st: Physical Body (“Sthula-Sarira”)

-- One Principle is Developed per Round --

“One Element-Principle is developed during each Round.” (Barborka, Geoffry, The Divine Plan, p. 142)

“Nature is never stationary during manvantara, as it is ever becoming, not simply being; and mineral, vegetable, and human life are always adapting their organisms to the then reigning Elements, and therefore those Elements were then fitted for them, as they are now for the life of present humanity. It will only be in the next, or fifth, Round that the fifth Element, Ether — the gross body of Akasa, if it can be called even that will, by becoming a familiar fact of Nature to all men, as air is familiar to us now, cease to be as at present hypothetical, and also an ‘agent’ for so many things. And only during that Round will those higher senses, the growth and development of which Akasa subserves, be susceptible of a complete expansion. As already indicated, a partial familiarity with the characteristic of matter - permeability - which should be developed concurrently with the sixth sense, may be expected to develop at the proper period in this Round. But with the next element added to our resources in the next Round, permeability will become so manifest a characteristic of matter, that the densest forms of this will seem to man's perceptions as obstructive to him as a thick fog, and no more.” (SD vol I p. 257)

Here are the seven Elements and the corresponding seven Principles.

1 - Fire - Physical Body
2 - Air - Astral Body
3 - Water - The Life-Principle (“Prana”)
4 - Earth - Passions and Animal Desires (“Kama”)
5 - Ether - Manas (“Mind”)
6 - Mind (Spirit) - Buddhi
7 - Understanding (Original Principle) - Atma

For further reading on The Seven Principles in Man:

Wright, Leoline L., The Seven Principles of Man
http://www.theosociety.org/pasadena/gdpman...inc/seven-1.htm

The Theosophical constitution of man (and woman)
http://www.katinkahesselink.net/faq/ex_prin.htm

The Secret Doctrine, vol I p. 157
http://www.theosociety.org/pasadena/sd/sd1-1-08.htm

Pratt, David, Sevenfold Constitution of Nature and Man
http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/DP5/princs.htm

Various names

One of the most difficult things about studying Theosophy is keeping track of all the different names. Here is a list of some of the names covered so far.

Hierarchies

Our universe is one long line of seemingly unending Hierarchies.

“The whole Kosmos is guided, controlled, and animated by almost endless series of Hierarchies of sentient Beings, each having a mission to perform, and who — whether we give to them one name or another, and call them Dhyan-Chohans or Angels — are ‘messengers’ in the sense only that they are the agents of Karmic and Cosmic Laws.... Having sprung into being under the quickening influence of the uncreated beam, the reflection of the great Central Sun that radiates on the shores of the river of Life, it is the inner principle in them which belongs to the waters of immortality....” (SD vol II pp. 275-276)

Members of Hierarchies are dynamic, in that members of each Hierarchy are constantly preparing to ‘move up the ladder’ to a position in a higher Hierarchy.

“...as the doctrine teaches, there are no such privileged beings in the universe, whether in our or in other systems, in the outer or the inner worlds, as the angels of the Western Religion and the Judean. A Dhyan Chohan has to become one; he cannot be born or appear suddenly on the plane of life as a full-blown angel. The Celestial Hierarchy of the present Manvantara will find itself transferred in the next cycle of life into higher, superior worlds, and will make room for a new hierarchy, composed of the elect ones of our mankind. Being is an endless cycle within the one absolute eternity, wherein move numberless inner cycles finite and conditioned.” (SD vol I p. 221)

“The Mind-born Sons, the Rishis, the Builders, etc., were all men — of whatever forms and shapes — in other worlds and the preceding Manvantaras.” (SD vol I p. 107)

“...the Watchers descended on Earth and reigned over men — ‘who are themselves.’ The reigning kings had finished their cycle on Earth and other worlds, in the preceding Rounds. In the future manvantaras they will have risen to higher systems than our planetary world; and it is the Elect of our Humanity, the Pioneers on the hard and difficult path of Progress, who will take the places of their predecessors. The next great Manvantara will witness the men of our own life-cycle becoming the instructors and guides of a mankind whose Monads may now yet be imprisoned — semi-conscious — in the most intellectual of the animal kingdom, while their lower principles will be animating, perhaps, the highest specimens of the Vegetable world.” (SD vol I p. 267)

Let's take a look at a few of the Hierarchies mentioned in The Secret Doctrine. (No doubt countless other Hierarchies in the universe remain unmentioned.)







Each Hierarchy emanates from a single member of the Hierarchy above it, and each member of that Hierarchy puts down its own lower Hierarchy.

-- Central Sun of our Universe --

The Central Sun of our Universe is mentioned in The Secret Doctrine.

“The soul animating this purely spiritual universe is the central sun, the highest deity itself.” (SD vol I p. 340)

“It was the highest Deity itself which, according to Plato, built the Universe in the geometrical form of the Dodecahedron; and its ‘first begotten’ was born of Chaos and Primordial Light (the Central Sun). This ‘First-Born,’ however, was only the aggregate of the Host of the ‘Builders,’ the first constructive Forces, who are called in ancient Cosmogonies the Ancients (born of the Deep, or Chaos) and the ‘First Point.’ He is the Tetragrammaton, so-called, at the head of the Seven lower Sephiroth.” (SD vol I p. 344)

“... the Universe evolving from the central Sun, the POINT, the ever-concealed germ.” (SD vol I p. 379)

“... it is the sun, and all the suns that are from [Ether], which emanate at the Manvantaric dawn from the Central Sun.” (SD vol I p. 527)

“Outside the boundaries of the solar system, it is other Suns, and especially the mysterious ‘central Sun’ (the ‘Abode of the invisible deity’ as some reverend gentlemen have called it) that determines the motion of bodies and their direction.” (SD vol I p. 673)

[In the Stanzas of Dzyan,] “ ‘His breath gave life to the seven,’ refers as much to the sun, who gives life to the Planets, as to the ‘High One,’ the Spiritual Sun, who gives life to the whole Kosmos.” (SD vol II p. 23)

“The reader has to bear in mind that the Stanzas given treat only of the Cosmogony of our own planetary System and what is visible around it, after a Solar Pralaya. The secret teachings with regard to the Evolution of the Universal Kosmos cannot be given, since they could not be understood by the highest minds in this age, and there seem to be very few Initiates, even among the greatest, who are allowed to speculate upon this subject. Moreover the Teachers say openly that not even the highest Dhyani-Chohans have ever penetrated the mysteries beyond those boundaries that separate the milliards of Solar systems from the ‘Central Sun,’ as it is called.” (SD vol I p. 13)

-- Guardian-Spirit of the Milky Way --

Madame Blavatsky was reticent to mention anything about our Milky Way's Guardian Spirit, or our Galaxy-level Logos. She felt that The Secret Doctrine should only refer to the creation of our Chain, Round, and Planet (Earth). Here is one of the few references she made to the Milky Way's Logos.

“Science ... cannot deny the presence in Sidereal Space of a central body in the milky way, a point unseen and mysterious, the ever-hidden center of attraction of our Sun and system....” (SD vol II p. 240)

-- Our Sun --

The star which is our Sun is our Solar Logos.

“The Sun is the giver of life to the whole planetary system....” (SD vol I p. 386)

“... for [our Sun] is only the reflection and material shadow of the Central Sun of truth, which illuminates the intellectual (invisible) world of Spirit and which itself is but a gleam borrowed from the ABSOLUTE.” (quoted in SD vol I p. 255)

“It is the sun who preserves and nourishes all creatures; and even as the Ideal World which environs the sensible world fills this last with the plenitude and universal variety of forms, so also the Sun, enfolding all in his light, accomplishes everywhere the birth and development of creatures.” (quoted in SD vol I p. 294)

“...the true Occultist believes in "Lords of Light;" that he believes in a Sun, which, far from being simply "a lamp of day" moving in accordance with physical law, and far from being merely one of those Suns, which according to Richter -- ". . . . are Sun-flowers of a higher light" -- is, like milliards of other Suns, the dwelling or the vehicle of a god, and a host of gods.” (SD vol I p. 479)

“...the Sun [is] the great Life-Giver of the physical world, as the hidden Concealed Spiritual Sun is the Light- and Life-Giver of the Spiritual and Psychic Realms.” (SD vol I p. 481)

“The Sun is the heart of the Solar World (System) and its brain is hidden behind the (visible) Sun. From thence, sensation is radiated into every nerve-centre of the great body, and the waves of the life-essence flow into each artery and vein. . . . The planets are its limbs and pulses....” (quoted in SD vol I p. 541)

“... the Sun is ... a world, a glowing sphere, the real Sun being hidden behind, ... the visible Sun only a window cut into the real Solar palace and presence, which reflects, however, faithfully the interior work.” (SD vol I p. 541)

“In ancient Symbolism it was always the SUN (though the Spiritual, not the visible, Sun was meant), that was supposed to send forth the chief Saviours and Avatars. Hence the connecting link