T 6 HEOSO PH I CAI . MANU ALS . No .

T HE DEVAC HANIC PLANE

THE HEAVEN W ORLD

I TS CHARACTERI STI CS AND I NHABITANTS

W. C. LEADBEATER

S ECOND EDlTION

REVIS ED AND ENLARGED

TH E THEOSOP HI CAL PU BLISH ING SOCI ET!

LO ND O N AND BE NAR E S

’ NO E AU T HO R S T .

enquiry itas slzow n tltat tlze word D evaclza n is etymol ogicaily inaccurate and mis l ead n tlze au lzor would r er to omit it al to et/ie r i g, t p ef g , a nd to issue tlzis manual under t/ze simpl er and more ! descri ti e titl e o T ental P l ane Tb e ub p v f lte M . p l is/zers in orm bim lzowever t/zat tlzis alteration o f , , f titl e would cause d cul ties in t/ze matter o co r t ifi f py n , a nd roduce con usion in various wa s so be de ers p f y , f

to tlzeir wislzes . C NT E NT O S .

PA G E

n —The ac o f the m tal lane v ut I ntroductio . pl e en p in e ol ion Difiic ul tie s o fexpression

risti A b aut ful sc r t G e ne ral Characte cs . e i de ip ion The -W r —I ts t n v a — b liss o f the Heav en o ld in e se it lity A ne w method — — — o f c ognition Surroundings The se a o f light The c olour — — language o f the angels The great waves The lo wer and the — — higher heaven -worlds The ac tion o f thought The form ation — — - - — o f artificial elementals Thought forms The sub planes The records o fthe past

i nts I nhab ta .

H u man —The mb —A ts and th r I . . e odied dep ei pupils Those in sleep o r tranc e — — The disemb odied Their c onsc iousness The qual ities — nec essary fo r the heav en - life Ho w a m an first gains

The w r h av s w th xam s fr m ach lo e e en , i e ple o e The reality o fthe heav en-life The renunc iation o fheav en The higher heavens -H u m an —T m ta — Non . he s W ele en l es enc e hat it is — The veiling o f the Spirit The elemental kingdoms Ho w the essenc e evolv es The a m a k m ni l—ingdo The Devas Thei r c lasse s

n l sion —The s l h h r a s Co c u . til ig e pl ne

T HE D EVAC HANIC PLANE .

I NT RO DU C T IO N .

I N the p e ious manual an attempt was made to desc ibe r v — r to some extent the astral plane the lower part o f the vast u nseen world in the midst o f which we live and move u the nheeding. In this little book must be undertaken still harder task of trying to give some idea o f the stage — n - next above that the me tal plane or the heaven world, often spoken of in our Theosophical literature as that of ukhavati Devachan or S . a - we ~ Although , in calling this pl ne the heaven world, dis tinctly intend to imply that it contains the reality which underlies all the best and most spiritual ideas o f heaven ha n which ve been propou ded in various religions, yet it must by no means be considered from that point o f vie w i a m of n only . It s real ofnature which is exceedi g import — ance to us a vast and splendid world o fvivid life in which we are living now as well as in the periods intervening a o f between physic l incarnations . It is only our lack n developme t, only the limitation imposed upon us by this o f f f z robe flesh, that prevents us rom ully reali ing that o f e all the glory the highest h aven is about us here and now, k 2 and that influences flowing from that wo rld are ever playing if and Im upon us we will only understand receive them . possible as this may seem to the man of the world , it is the plainest o frealities to the occultist and to those who have not yet grasped this fundamental truth we can but repeat the advice given by the Buddhist teacher Do not com s plain and cry and pray, but open your eye and see . The if a light is all about you, you would only cast the band ge fr f l f om your eyes and look . I t is so wonder u , so beauti ul , far o f r fo r so beyond what any man has dreamt or p ayed , ! fo r . T/ze Soul a P eo le and it for ever and ever ! of p , 1 6 p. 3 . )is It is absolutely necessary fo r the student o f Theosophy re z s a s in a to ali e thi gre t truth , that there exi t n ture various i e a o f r planes or div sions, ach with its own m tter an app o riate c h a p degree of density , which in ea c se interpenetrates the matter of the plane next below it . It should also be clearly understood that the use o f the words higher and ! ! lower with reference to th e se planes does not refer in any

way to their position !since they all occupy the same space) , but only to the degree o frarity o fthe matter o f which they v t are respecti ely composed , or !in—other words) the ex ent to which their matter is subdivided for all matter ofwhich we e l m iff know anything is ess ntial y the sa e, and d ers only in the t n o f and o f ex e t its subdivision the rapidity its vibration . f a of as i It ollows, therefore, th t to speak a man pass ng from one o f these pl anes to another does not in the least i i s gn fy any kind of movement in space, but simply a change r has i f a of consciousness . For eve y man with n himsel m tter i o f a belong ng to every one these planes , vehicle corre s o ndin h can f p g to each , in w ich he unction upon it when he a s f learns how this may be done . So th t to pa s rom one plane to another is to change the focus o fthe consciousness fo r im th e form one of the vehicles to another, to use the t e 3

a a astral or the mental body inste d of the physic l . For naturally each of these bodies responds only to the vibrations ’ o fits own plane ; and so whil e the man s consciousness is f his a i a ocussed in stral body, he will perce ve the stral c u n world only, just as while our onscio sness is using o ly the physical sens es we perceive nothing but this physical wo ld — r though both these worlds !and many others) are in exist and a ence full ctivity all round us all the while. Indeed , all these planes together co nstitute in reality one mighty i as fe a o f liv ng whole, though yet our eble powers are c pable a o f s at a i observing only very small part thi t me. When considering this question o f locality and inter penetration we must be on our guard against possible mis It o f the conceptions . should be understood that none three lower planes of the solar system is coe xtensive with it except as regards a particular condition of the highest or o f e a i atomic subdivision ach . E ch phys cal globe has its h sieal p y plane !including its atmosphere), its astral plane, and its mental plane, all interpenetrating one another, and f all there ore occupying the same position in space, but quite apart from and not communicating with the corresponding o f to planes any other globe. I t is only when we rise the lofty levels o f the buddhic plane that we find a condition f o . common to, at any rate, all the planets our chain

Notwithstanding this, there is, as stated above, a con dition o f the atomic m atter o feach o fthese planes which is cosmic in its extent ; so that the seven atomic sub plane s m of our system , taken apart fro the rest, may be said to con stitute a — e one cosmic pl ne the lowest, sometim s called the

m - f r . The o cos ic prakritic interplanetary ether, —example, which appe ars to extend through the whole o fspace indeed a fa must do so, at le st to the rthest visible —star, otherwise our physical eyes could not perceive that star is composed o fphysical ultimate atoms in their normal and uncom pre sse d 4

f condition . But all the lower and more complex orms of ether exist only !so far as is at present known) in connection o with the various heavenly b dies, aggregated round them o r h just as their atm sphe e is , thoug probably extending con f f f siderably urther rom their sur ace .

Precisely the same is true o fthe astral and mental planes . The astral pl ane o four own earth interpenetrates it and its m at osphere, but also extends for some distance beyond the r atmosphe e. It may be remembered that this plane was called by the Greeks the sublunar world . The mental plane s a f in its turn interpenetrates the a tral, but lso extends urther s the into space than doe latter. a o f n Only the atomic matter of e ch these pla es , and even r c o- n that only m an entirely f ee condition , is exte sive with l a the interplanetary ether, and consequent y person can no more pass from planet to ) l anet even o f our own chain in d- his astral body or his min body, than he can in his physi a i cal body . In the c usal body, when very h ghly developed, 15 this achievement possible, though even then by no means with the eas e and rapidity with which it can be done upon the buddhic plane by those who have succeeded in raising

their consciousness to that level . A clear comprehension o f these facts will prevent the confusion th at has sometimes been made by studen ts be tween the mental plane o f our earth and those other globes o fo ur n chai which exist on the mental plane. It must be unde rstood that the seven globes o f our chain are real f globes, occupying de inite and separate positions in space, notwithstanding the fact that some o fthem are not upon the f a . G physic l plane Globes A, B , F, and are separate rom us and from one another just in the same way as are Mars the iff e and the earth , only d erence is that wher as the o f r latter have physical , astral and mental planes thei own , l F a A g obes B and have nothing below the astr l plane, and S

G e r l and nothing b low the mental . The ast a plane dealt with in Manual V and the mental plane which we are about are o e o f e r to consider th s this a th only, and have nothing to r a t do with these othe pl ne s at all . n a - f The me tal pl ne upon which the heaven li e takes place, is the third of the five great planes with which humanity is e at pr sent concerned , having below it the astral and the physical, and above it the buddhic and the nirvanic. I t is the plane upon which man , unless at an exceedingly early s far o f his stage of his progre s, spends by the greater part u i o f v for time d r ng the process e olution ; , except in the case o f d o f the entirely un eveloped , the proportion the physical f li e to the celestial is rarely much greater than one in twenty , and m the e ase of fairly good people it would sometimes fall in i in r a as low as one th rty . It is . fact, the true and pe m nent of re inearnatin e o of man home the g g or soul , each descent into incarnation being merely a short though important e pi re f sode in his career . It is the ore well worth our while to devote to its study such time and care as may be n ecessary to acquire as thorough a comprehension o fit as is possible for us while encased in the physical body. U nfortunately there are practically insuperable difficulties in the way o fanyattempt to pu t the facts of this third plane of — f nature into language and not unnaturally, for we o ten find wo rds insuflic ie nt to express our ideas and feelings r o f Tire l la n even on this lowes t plane . Reade s Astra P e wil l remem ber what was there stated as to the impossibility o f conveying any adequate conception of the marvels o f that region to those whose experience had not as yet transcended the physical world ; one can but say that eve ry observation there made to that effect applies with tenfold force to the effort which is before us in this sequel to that treatise . Not only is the matter which we must endeavour to describe much further removed than is astral 6

t r i mat er f om that to wh ch we are accustomed, but the consciousness o f th at plane is so immensely wider than anything we can imagine down here, and its very conditions ff a so entirely di erent, that when called upon to transl te it all into mere ordinary words the explorer feel s himself o o f utterly at a l ss, and can only trust that the intuition his readers will S upplement the inevitable imperfections of his description . To take one only out o f many possible examples o f our ffi l di culties, it would seem as though on this mental p ane r - space and time we e non existent, for events which down - here take place in succession and at widely separated places , appear there to be occurring simultaneously and at the ‘ same point. That at least is the e fl ec t produced on the c n e onscious ess of the ego, though th re are circumstances which favour the supposition that absolute simul taneity is o f a the attribute a still higher plane, and th t the sensation o fit in the heaven -world is simply the result of a succession so rapid that the in finite simally minute spaces o f time are i i - i ndist nguishable, just as in the well known opt cal ex pe rime nt o f whirling round a stick the end of which is red o f o f hot, the eye receives the impression a continuous ring fire if the stick be whirled more than ten times a second ; n n not because a conti uous ri g really exists, but because the average human eye is incapable o fdistin guishing as separate any similar impres sions WhJCh follow one another at intervals t o f c of less than the enth part a se ond.

However that may be, the reader will readily comprehend that in the endeavour to describe a condition of existence so totally unlike that o f physical life as is the one which we have to consider , it will be im possible to avoid saying many things that wil l be partly unintelligible and may eve n seem wholly incredible to those who have not personally ex erie nce d i f i I p that h gher li e . That th s should be so is, as e a find a e hav s id, inevitable, so readers who themselves un bl to accept the report o f our investigators must simply wait fo r a more satisfactory account o f the heaven - world until they are able to examine it fo r themselves : I c an only repeat the assurance previously given in me Astral P l a ne that all reasonable precautions have been taken to ensure a a h fa ccur cy. In this case as in t at, we may say that no ct, n i has old or new , has bee admitted to th s treatise unless it been confirmed by the testimony o fat least two indepe ndent a a and a e tr ined investigators mong ourselves, has lso b en passed as correct by older students whose knowledge on h a a t ese points is necess rily much gre ter than ours . It is h f a oped, there ore, that this ccount, though it cannot be con side re d ma f far as as complete, y yet be ound reliable as it ! goes . The general arrangement o f the previous manual will as far as f at possible be ollowed in this one also, so th those who wish to do so will be able to compare the two planes ! s e w e e b e tage by stage . The heading Sc nery ould, how v r, a a a a as a we in ppropri te to the ment l pl ne, will be seen l ter ; will therefore substitute fo r it the title which follows. G E NE RA L C HA RACT E RI S T ICS .

Perhaps the least unsatisfactory method o f approaching this exceedingly difficult subject will be to plunge in medias res and make the attempt !foredoomed to failure though it be) to depict what a pupil or trained student sees when - I first the heaven world O pens before him . use the word a fo r man pupil dvisedly, unless a stand in that relation to o f o f one the Masters Wisdom , there is but little likelihood o f his being able to pass in full consciousness into that o f and h glorious land bliss, return to earth wit clear m f h reme brance o that w ich he has seen there. Thence no ! accommodating spirit ever comes to utter cheap plati tudes through the mouth o f the professional medium ; i v i thither no ord nary clairvoyant e er rises, though somet mes the best and purest have entered it when in dee pest t—rance they slipped from the control o f their mesmeri z ers yet even then they have rarely brought back more than a faint o f s recollection an intense but indescribable bli s, generally

deeply coloured by their personal religions convictions . f When once the departed soul , withdrawing into himsel f a ea e a ter what we c ll death, has r ch d that plane, neither the yearning thoughts o f his sorrowing friends nor the all urements o f the spiritualistic circle can ever draw him back in to communion with the physical earth until all the spiritual forces which he has set in motion in his recent if f l l e have worked themselves out to the u l, and he once o o f h m re stands ready to take upon himself new robes fles . Nor if t o f , even he could so re urn , would his account his ex e rte nc e s a fo r p give any true idea o f the pl ne, , as will pre 9

se ntl can f a y be seen , it is only those who enter it in ull w king consciousne ss who are able to move abo ut fre ely and drink in all the wondrous glory and beauty which the heaven - world has l w m f a . al to show But this ill be ore ully expl ined later, when we come to deal with the inhabitants o fthis celestial realm .

A BEAU TI FU L DESCR I PTI ON.

In an early letter from an e minent occultist the following beautiful passage was given as a quotation from memory . I a a e s was a h ve never been bl to di cover whence it t ken , though a a e n o f a a wh t seems to be nother v rsio it, consider bly exp nded, ’ u /l ist i ur s 8 a Catena o B dd Scr t e . . appe rs in Beal s f p , p 3 7 ! Our Lord BU D D HA says : Many thousand myriads o f systems o f worlds beyond this is a region o f bliss h ti called Suk ava . This region is encircled within seven o f a o f a rows r ilings, seven rows v st curtains, seven rows o f a a e o f r w ving trees . This holy bod the Arhats is gove ned a a the by the Tathag t s and is possessed by Bodhisattvas . has v the o f fl o w It se en precious lakes , in midst which crystalline waters having seven and yet o ne distinctive n Sfiri utr a d . 0 a properties qualities This, p , is the b r Devachan . Its divine udam a a flower casts a root in a o f a h and fo r all h the sh dow eve y e t , blossoms t ose r r — who reach it. Those born in this blessed region who h a e c ossed the go den bridge and eached the se en v r — l r v golden mountains they are truly felicitous there is no e f in ha fo r mor grie or sorrow t t cycle them . Veile d though they be under the gorgeous imagery o f e m a the Ori nt, we y easily trace in this passage some o f the leading characteristics which have appeared most prominently in the accounts o f our own modern inve sti ! ! a n c a th g tors . The seve golden mountains n be but e of a e a a f m seven subdivisions the mental pl ne, s p r ted ro I O

ff t one another by barriers impalpable, yet real and e ec ive ! e o f il o f there as sev n rows ra ings, seven rows vast : curtains, seven rows of waving trees might be here the a i seven kinds of cryst ll ne water, having each its distinctive i s s f properties and qualit e , repre ent the dif erent . powers o f and conditions mind belonging to them respectively , while the one quality which they all have in common is that o f ensuring to those residing upon them the utmos t o f c o f x intensity bliss whi h they are capable e periencing . Its flower indeed ! casts a root in the shadow of every ! e arth, for from every world man enters the corresponding e heaven, and happin ss such as no tongue may tell is the blossom which burgeons forth fo r all who so live a n as to fit themselves to ttai it. For they have crossed ! the golden bridge over th e stream which divides this re alm from the world of desire ; for them the struggle fo r between the higher and the lower is over, and them , ! ! re f f the ore , is no more grie or sorrow in that cycle, until once more the man puts himself forth into incar nation , and the celestial world is again left for a time behind .

r V - THE B u ss o THE HEA EN WORLD.

This intensity o f bliss is the first great idea which must form a backgroun d to all our conceptions o f the - heaven life . It is not only that we are dealing with a v i world in which, by its ery constitut on , evil and sorrow are imposs ible ; it is not only a world in which every creature is happy ; the facts o f the e ase go far beyond

. fr all that It is a world in which every being must, om the f very act of his presence there, be enjo—ying the bliss o f which he is capable a world response to his aspirations is limited l t y by his capaci y to aspire .

l 2

ye t even such a simil—e falls mise rably short of that which lies beyond all words the tremendous spiritual vitality of

this celestial world . One way in which this intense vitality manifests itself is the extreme rapidity of vibration of all particles and atoms o f this mental matter. As a theoretical proposition we are all aware that even here on the physical plane no particle o f f o f o f matter, though orming part the densest solid fo r bodies, is ever a moment at rest ; nevertheless when by the opening of astral vision this becomes for us no e i longer a m re theory of the scient sts, but an actual and - e z ever pr sent fact, we reali e the universality of life in a manner and to an extent that was quite impossible before z l our mental hori on widens out, and we begin even a ready to have glimpses o f possibilities in nature which to those o f who cannot yet see must appear the wildest dreams . If f a this be the e fect of cquiring the mere astral vision , and applying it to dense physical matter, try to imagine o f the result produced on the mind the observer when , having left this physical plane behind and thoroughly studied the far more vivid life and infinitely more rapid o f a fi e vibrations the stral , he nds a new and transcend nt his e sense opening within him , which unfolds to enraptur d z a ga e yet another and higher world, whose vibrations are f as much quicker than tho se o our ph—ysical plane as vibrations o f light are than those o f sound a world where the omnipresent life which pulsates ceaselessly around and o f a ff within him is di erent order altogether, is as it were raised to an enormously higher power .

' A Ne w METHOD o r Co c m rto N.

elf z The very sense its , by which he is enabled to cogni e all this, is not the least of the marvels of this cele stial I S

world ; no longer does he hear and see and feel by separate l and imited organs, as he does down here, nor has he even the immensely extended capacity o f sight and hearing which he possessed on the astral plane ; instead of these he feels within him a strange new power which is not any o f —a them , and yet includes them all and much more power which enables him the moment any person or thing f him f a comes be ore not only to see it and eel it and he—r it, but to know all about it instantly inside and out its ff far causes, its e ects, and its possibilities , so at least fi as that plane and all below 1t are concerned . He nds that for him to think is to realiz e ; there is never any a o f doubt, hesitation , or delay bout this direct action the h i f if f a . If o o igher sense he th nks a place, he is there ; f f f r mis unde r riend, that riend is be o e him . No longer can n s m sta dings ari e, no longer can he be deceived or isled by an a fo r and f o f y outward appe rances, every thought eeling

his friend lies open as a book before him on that plane . And if he is fortunate enough to have among his friends i another whose higher sense is opened, the r in tercourse is perfect beyond al l earthly conception . For them distance and separation do not exist ; their feelings are no longer hid den or at best but halfexpressed by clumsy words ques tion fo r - r are and answer are unnecessary, the thought pictu es o f is as they are formed , and the interchange ideas as rapid as 15 their flashing into e xiste nce in the mind . All n i fo r i —all a k owledge is the rs the search ng , th t is, which does not tran scend even this lofty plane ; the past o f the world is as open to them as the pre sent ; the indelible records of the memory o f nature are ever at i r the r disposal , and history, whethe ancient or modern , 0 unfolds itself before their eyes at their will . N longer at ma are they the mercy of the historian , who y be ill - and us t or a informed, m be more less p rtial ; they can 1 4 study fo r themselve s any incident in which they are ! h o f s ei interested , wit the absolute certainty e ng the truth , ! h . If the whole trut , and nothing but the truth they l are able to stand upon the higher leve s of the plane, the long line of their past lives unrolls itself before them like a scroll ; they see the karmic causes which have made them what they are ; they see what karma still lies in front to be worked out before the long sad e z count is closed, and thus they r ali e with unerring certainty their exact place in evolution . If it be as ked whether they can see the future clearly as s the pa t, the answer must be in the negative, for that faculty a n in belongs to still higher pla e , and though this mental r a plane p evision is to a gre t extent possible to them , yet it v o f is not perfect, because where er in the web destiny the o fthe f hand developed man comes in , his power ul will may a introduce new threads, and change the p ttern of the life to

. o f a come The course the ordin ry undeveloped man , who i o f a o f has practically no w ll his own worth spe king , may f f s o ten be ore een clearly enough , but when the ego boldly a s t kes his future into his own hands, exact prevision become s impos ible.

R DmGS S U ROU N .

o f The first impressions, then, the pupil who enters this mental plane in full consciousness will probably be those o f s a intense blis , indescribable vitality , enormously incre sed w f po er, and the per ect confidence which flows from these ; and when he makes use o f his new sense to examine his s r i ! ur ound ngs, what does he see He finds himself in the midst o fwhat seems to him a whole universe o f ever-chang t n ing ligh and colour and sou d , such as it has never entered i s t n to hi lofiest dreams to imagine . Verily it is true that w e a i do n h re eye h th not seen , nor ear path heard , ne ther I S

! hath it entered into the he art of man to conceive the glories o f the heaven -world : an d the man who has once experienced them in full consciousne ss will regard the world ff for f with widely di erent eyes ever a ter. Yet this experience is so utterly unlike anything we know on the physica l plane that in trying to put it into words one is troubled by a o f —o f curious sense helplessness absolute incapacity, not fo r o f tlzat f only to do it justice, one resigns all hope rom an at all o f the very outset, but even to give yidea it to those a s who h ve not themselve seen it . f f Let a man imagine himsel , with the eelings of intense r bliss and enormously inc eased power already described, i a of n h float ng in sea livi g lig t, sur ounded by every con r — c eivable variety o floveliness in colour and form the whole changing with every wave o fthought that he sends out from i his m nd, and being indeed, as he presently discovers, only the expression o f his thought in the matter o fthe plane and a a in its element l essence . For that m tter is of the very same as a o f i h the - f order th t wh c mind body is itsel composed , and therefore when that vibration o f the particle s o f the in - h m d body w ich we call a thought occurs, it immediately n f exte ds itsel to this surrounding mental matter, and sets up a corresponding vibr tions in it, while in the elemental essence f abm l e it images itsel with ut exactitude . Concrete thought o f naturally takes the shape its objects, while abstract ideas usually represent them selves by all kinds of perfect and most beautiful geometrical forms ; though in this connection it should be remembered that many thoughts which are little more than the merest abstractions to us down here become f fi concrete acts on this lo t er plane. It will thus be seen that in this higher world anyone who f fo r a an d wishes to devote himsel time to quiet thought, to i f f un l in abstract h msel rom his surro dings , may actua ly live a wo rld o f l t his own without possibi ity of in erruption, and 16 with the additional advantage of seeing all his ideas !and ssi a o f their consequences, fully worked out) pa ng in sort e I f t panorama b fore his eyes . , however, he wishes ins ead to n i i f observe the pla e upon wh ch he finds h msel , it will be necessary fo r him very carefully to suspend his thought for the time, so that its creations may not influence the readily an impressible matter around him, d thus alter the entire far conditions so as he is concerned . This holding of the mind in suspense must not be con founded with the blankness o f mind towards the attainment o fwhich so many of the Hatha Yoga practices are directed in the latter case the mind is dulled down into absolute passivity in order that it may not by any thought o f its own offer resista ce to the entry of any exte nal influence that n — r may happen to approach it a condition closely approxi mating to mediumship ; while in the former the mind is as as keenly alert and positive it can be, holding its thought in suspense for the moment merely to prevent the intrusion of a personal equation into the observation which it wishes to make. When the visitor to the mental plane succeeds in putting himself in this position he finds that although he is no longer himself a centre of radiation of all th at marvellous o f f and I wealth light and colour, orm sound, which have so has f vainly endeavoured to picture, it not there ore ceased to exist ; on the contrary, its harmonies and its coruscations r f a fo r are but g ander and uller than ever. Casting bout an l o f z ex a ation this phenomenon , he begins to reali e that all p n — th is magnificence is not a mere idle or fortuitous display a kind of de—vachanic aurora borealis ; he finds that it all has a meaning a meaning which he himself can understand ; and presently he grasps the fact that what he is watching h e of l with suc cstasy d—e ight is simply the glorious colour language of the Devas the expression o fthe thought or the I 7

co n versation o f beings far higher than himse lf in the sc ale o f n an d t evolution . By experime t prac ice he discovers that h a t o f i he also can use t is new and be u iful mode express on , and by this very discovery he enters into possession o f another great tract o f his heritage in this celestial realm — and f the power to hold converse with , to learn rom , its fi r - a n e lo t e non hum n inhabita ts, with whom we shall d al more o ft a a o fo ur fully when we come to treat h t p rt subject. By this time it will have become apparent why it was impossible to devote a section o f this paper to the scenery as the of of the mental plane, was done in case the astral ; fo r in poin t o ffact the mental world has no sce nery except such as —each individual chooses to make fo r himself by his thought un less indeed we take into account the fact that the vast numbers of entities who are continually passing before hi m are themselves objects in many cases o f the iff most transcendent beauty . Yet so d icult is it to express in words the conditions o f this higher life that it would be a sti ll better statem—ent o f the facts to say that all possible scenery exis ts there that there is nothing conceivable o f lovelin ess in earth or sky or se a which is not there with a ful ness and intensity beyond all power o f imagin ation ; but that out of all this splendour o f living reality each man se es only that which he has within himself the power to see that to which his development during the earth - life and the - f astral li e enables him to respond .

EA a e T HE G R T W v s .

I fthe visitor wishes to carry his analysis o f the plane still f h u ~ urther, and discover what it would be w en entirely ndis turbe d by the thought or conversation o f any o f its inhabi s f u f s tant , he can do so by orming ro nd himsel a huge hell u t thro gh which none o f these influences can penetra e, and a 1 8

then !o fcourse holding his own mind perfectly still as be r fo e) examining the conditions which exist inside his shell . f m suflicie nt If he per orms this experi ent with care, he will o — i ar find that the sea flight has become not st ll , for its p tic les — continue their intense and rapid vibrations, but as it were homogeneo us ; th at those wonderful coruscations o f colour and constant changes of form are no longer taking an d place, but that he is now able to perceive another ' entirely diflere nt series o fregular pulsations which the other a more artificial phenomen had previously obscured . These u l i are evidently niversa , and no shell wh ch human power Wi can make ll check them or turn them aside. They cause o f s o f i no change colour, no a sumption form , but flow w th o f a resistless regularity through all the matter the pl ne, out h o f wards and in again , like the exhalations and in alations some great breath beyond our ken .

There are several sets of these, clearly distinguishable f o f i rom one another by volume, by period vibrat on , and by o f and a the tone the harmony which they bring, gr nder than them all sweeps one great wave which seems the very heart —a l f beat of the system wave which, wel ing up rom unknown far if centres on higher planes , pours out its l e through all our a a world, and then dr ws b ck in its tremendous tide to That f a rom which it came . In one long undul ting curve it comes , and the sound o fit is like the murmur o f the sea and yet in it and through it all the while there echoes a mighty o f — s o f ringing chant triumph the very mu ic the spheres . The man who once has heard that glorious song o f nature never quite loses it again even here on this dreary physical o f o f e plane illusion he hears it always as a kind und rtone, keeping ever before his mind the strength and light and f splendour of the real li e above . I f and and e the visitor be pure in heart mind , has reach d i o f i u fo r a certa n degree sp rit al development, it is possible

20

rl a — the tp and the arupa is very marked ; indeed, it even extends so far as to necessitate the use of different vehicles s of consciousne s . The vehicle appropriate to the lower heaven- world is the - - mind body, while that of the higher heaven world is the — o f n i causal body the vehicle the reincar ating ego, in wh ch he passes from life to life throughout the whole evolutio nary period . Another enormous distinction is that on those four lower subdivisions some degree of ill usion is still possible not indeed fo r the entity who stands upon them in full v r consciousness during life, but for the unde eloped pe son a who p sses there after the change which men call death . The higher thoughts and aspirations which he has poured f - f a orth during earth li e then—cluster round him, and m ke a sort o f shell about him a kind of subjective world o f h -l i his own ; and in t at he lives his heaven ife, perceiv ng but very faintly or not at all the real glories of the plane l which lie outside, and, indeed , usua ly supposing that what he sees is all there is to see . Yet we should be wrong in thinking of that thought-cloud as a limitat ion . I ts functio—n is to enable the man to respond to certain vibrations not to shut him o ff from the

. a others The truth is , th t these thoughts which surround the man are the powers by which he draws upon the o f - lf a wealth the heaven world. Th—is mental plane i tse is reflection o f the Divine Mind a storehouse o f infinite extent from which the person enjoying heaven is able to draw just according to the power o f his own thoughts and f aspirations generated during the physical and astral li e . But in the higher heaven- world this limitation no longer exists ; it is true that even there many egos are only slightly o f n and dreamily conscious their surroundi gs, but in so far h l for m as they see , t ey see tru y, thought no longer assu es the l f o r same imite d forms which it took upon itsel l we down . 2 !

T HE Ac n o u o w THOU G HT .

The exact condition o f mind o f the human inhabitants o f these various sub- planes will naturally be much more fully dealt with under its own appropriate heading but a . comprehension o fthe manner in which thought acts in the 15 lower and higher levels respectively, so necessary to an accurate understanding of these great divisions that it will perhaps be worth while to reco unt in detail some o f the experiments made by our explorers in the endeavour to

throw light upon this subject . At an early period of the investigation it became evident that on the mental as on the as tral plane t here was prese nt an e lem e ntal essence quite distinct from the mere matter o f t if in the plane, and hat it was, possible, even more stantaneo usly sen sitive to the action of thought here

than it had been m that lower world . But here in the e - all - f h aven world was thought substance, and there ore not s o f only the elemental es ence, but the very matter the plane was directly affe cted by the action o f the mind ; and hence it became necessary to make an atte mpt to discriminate w ff bet een these two e ects . After various less conclusive experiments a method was adopted which gave a fairly clear idea o f the different n results produced, one investigator remai ing on the lowest - e s subdivision to send out the thought forms, while oth r i so rose to the next h gher level, as to be able to observe f v what took place rom above, and thus a oid many possi ili e s o f f U r a b ti con usion . nder these ci cumst nces the experimen t was tried o f sending an affectionate and helpful far- thought to an absent friend in a distant country . o f a l The result was very remarkable a sort vibr ting shel ,

f d o f in all i tio n s. orme in the matter the plane, issued d rec 2 2

round the operator, corresponding exactly to the circle which spreads out in still water from the spot where a stone n r o f has been thrown i to it, except that this was a sphe e vibration extending itself in many dimensions instead o f r f o merely ove a flat sur ace . These vibrations, like th se on u h the physical plane, tho gh very muc more gradually, lost fu f i in intensity as they passed rther away rom the r source, till st at last at an enormous distance they seemed to be exhau ed, or at least became so faint as to be imperceptible . Thus every one on the mental plane 13 a centre of radiant all thought , and yet the rays thrown out cross in all directions without interfering with one another in the

i a o f . sl ghtest degree, just as r ys light do down here This expanding sphere o f vibrations was many coloured and its f opalescent, but colours also grew gradually ainter and f ainter as it spread away . f o f The e fect on the elemental essence the plane was, w l f i f . i ho ever, ent re y di erent In th s the thought imme diately called into existence a distinct form resembling the m hu an , of one colour only, though exhibiting many shades of i that colour. This form flashed nstantaneously across the ocean to the friend to whom the good wish had n s f l l bee directed, and there took to it el e ementa essence of the astral plane, and thus became an ordinary artificial n eleme tal of that plane, waiting, as explained in Manual r No . V, for an opportunity to pour out upon him its sto e o f f helpful influence . In taking on that astral orm the c o f i mental elemental lost mu h its br lliancy, though its glowing rose-colour was still plainly visible inside the shell o f s lower matter which it had a sumed , showing that just as the original thought ensouled the elemental essence o f u f its own plane, so that same tho ght, plus its orm as a e m ntal elemental , acted as soul to the astral elemental thus following closely the method in which the ultimate 2 3 spirit itse lf takes on sheath after sheath in its descent l - o f through the various p anes and sub planes matter. Further experiments al ong similar lines revealed the fact that the colour of the projected elemental varied f t t o he . with the character thought As above sta ed, the thought o f strong affection produced a creature o f s - n o f li ~ glowing ro e colour ; an inte se wish hea ng, pro ec te d e t j towards a sick friend , called into xis ence a most lovely silvery- white elemental ; while an earnest mental effort to steady and strengthen the mind o f a depresse d and despairing person resulted in the production of a if - beaut ul flashing golden yellow messenger. al l i In these cases it w ll be perceived that, besides the effect o f radiating colours and vibrations produced in the o f f an matter the plane, a definite orce in the shape of elemen tal was sent forth towards the person to whom the thought was directed ; and this invariably happened, with a i one not ble exception . One of the operators, wh le on o f o f the lower division the plane, directed a thought intense love and devotion towards the Adept who is his spiritual at i a teacher, and it was once not ced by the observers bove that the result was in some sense a reversal o f what had happened in the previous cases . It should be premised that a pupil o fany one o fthe gre at Adepts is always connected with his Master by a constant u o f h e h c rrent thoug t and influ nce, whic expresses itself on o f z z l of the mental—plane as a great ray or stream da ling ight al l colours violet and gold and blue and it might perhaps ' e n have be n expected that the pupil s ear est, loving thought o f would send a special vibration along this line . Instead u was t ifi o f this, however , the res lt a sudden in ens cation the o f o f a n o f colours this bar light, and very disti ct flow i W ards tire u il v spiritual nfluence, p p so that it is e ident his that when a student turns his thought to Master, what he 24

e o v f h s r ally d es is to vi i y his connection with t at Ma ter, and thus to open a way for an additional outpouring of strength f m and help to himsel from higher planes. It would see the is that Adept , as it were, so highly charged with the and influences which sustain strengthen , that any thought which brings into increased activity a channel o f communi i cation w th him sends no current towards him , as it ordin aril i r y would , but s mply gives a wider opening th ough which the great ocean o fhis love finds vent. ' On the arttpa levels th e difle ren ce in the effect o fthought

is very marked, especially as regards the elemental essence . The disturbance set up in the mere matter of the plane i fi is s milar, though greatly intensi ed in this much more refined form o fmatter ; but in the essence no form at all is d and o f i now create , the method action is ent rely changed . In all the experiments on lower planes it was found that h o f the elemental hovered about the person t ought , and awaited a favourable opportunity of expending his energy - his v either upon his mind body, astral , or e en his physical body ; here the re sult is a kind o f lightning-flash o f the e ssence from the causal body o f the thi nker direct to the causal body o fthe object o f his thought ; so that while the thought on those lower divisions is always directed to the n mere personality, here we influe ce the reincarnating ego , e f if the r al man himsel , and our message has any reference l f to the personality it wi l reach it only rom above, through s t o f the in trumentali y his causal vehicle.

OU G - O MS TH HT F R . Natural ly the thoughts to be see n on this plane are not all definitely directed at some other person ; many are si o ff mply thrown to float vaguely about, and the diversity off t s 1s ra a fi i orm and colour shown among he e p ctic lly in n te, 2 5

a u o f a s f so th t the st dy them is cience in itsel , and a very f a one h n ascin ting . Anyt i g like a detailed description even o f the main classes among them would occupy far more space than we have to spare ; but an idea o fthe principles upon which such classes might be formed may be gained from the foll owing extract fro m a most illumin ative paper on Luci er the the subject written by Mrs. Besant in f ! earlier o f The Th oro lzi ml R eview for 1 8 6 form p ) September 9 . She there enunciates the three great principles underlying the production o fthe thought-fo ms whic h are thrown o fl by — r the action o f the mind that !a ) the quality o f a thought t r i ur b o f de e m nes its colo , ! ) the nature a thought determines f f de fimte ness o f t its orm , ! ) the a thought de ermines the o f t o f wa clearness its ou line . Giving instances the y in ' u afle c ted which the colo r is , she continues ! Ifthe astral and mental bodies are vibrating un der the ' fl o f a a sufl use d in uence devotion , the ur will be with blue, n more or less intense, beautiful and pure accordi g to the and u o f f depth, elevation , p rity the eeling . In a church

thou ht’ fo rms fo r such g may be seen rising , the most part b ut l i a o f not very definitely outlined , ro l ng m sses blue ft r i clouds . Too o en the colour is dulled by the inte m xture o f f selfish eelings, when the blue is mixed with browns and thus loses its pure brilliancy . But the devotional thought a of an unselfish he rt is very lovely in colour, like the deep o f of blue a summer sky . Through such clouds blue will f i o f ll a i o ten sh ne out golden stars great bri i ncy, start ng ar a o f upw ds like shower sparks . ! o f all f - Anger gives rise to red , shades rom brick red to brilliant scarlet ; brutal anger will show as flashes o f lurid f dull red rom dark brown clouds, while the anger of noble ’ i a f indignat on is a vivid scarlet , by no me ns unbeauti ul to at l a look , though it gives an unp eas nt thrill . ! ff o f r A ection sends out clouds rosy hue, varying f om 2 6

l r a r - du l crimson , whe e the love is nimal in its nature, ose red r r mingled with b own when selfish , or with dull g een when o f a jealous, to the most exquisite shades delic te rose like the o f early flushes the dawning , as the love becomes purified fi l r from all sel sh e ements , and flows out in wide and wider circles o f generous impersonal tenderness and compassion to all who are in need . t l -f In el ect produces yellow thought orms, the pure reason t directed to spiritual ends giving rise to a very delica e , i fo r n d yellow, wh le used more selfish ends or mi gle with ambition it yields deeper shades of orange, clear and !

. Luc er xix intense ! if , vol . . p . It must of course be borne in mi nd that astral as well as

- mental thought forms are described in the above quotation , some o fthe feelings mentioned needing matter o fthe lower plane as well as o f the higher before they can find expre s are of e if sion . Some examples then given the b aut ul flower like and shell like forms sometimes taken by our nobler thoughts ; and especial reference is made to the not infre f quent case in which the thought, taking human orm , is liable to be confounded with an apparition A thoughto fo rm may assume the shape o fits projector; i r a if a person w lls strongly to be p esent at a particular pl ce, i an d to v sit a particular person , be seen , such a thought f his and a orm may take own shape, clairvoyant present at the desired spot would see what he would probably mistake f f a a f or his riend in the astr l body. Such thought orm if f o f1ts might convey a message, that ormed part content, setting up in the astral body ofthe person reached vibrations e a a like its own , and th se being p ssed on by th t astral body a to the br in , where they would be translated into a thought -f . a or a sentence Such thought orm , again, might convey to t the m its projec or, by agnetic relation between them , vibra f! tions impressed on itsel . !p . 73 )

2 8

- i second sub plane. In the same way, in the third divis on we shall find that the original energy has twice veil ed itself in the matter of these first and second sub-planes through which it has passed : so that by the time we get to our seventh sub ~d1vision we shall have our original energy six f times enclosed or veiled, and there ore by so much the s weaker and less active. This proces is exactly analogous l o f A r to the vei ing tma, the primordial Spi it, in its descent as monadic essence in order to energiz e the matter of the a f pl nes of the cosmos, and as it is one which requently takes l if place in nature, it wi l save the student much trouble he ’ will try to familiari z e himselfwith the idea !see Mrs . Besant s Am en! Wisdom and , p . 54, footnote) .

S T11 11: Rac o ans o r THE PA T .

In speaking o f the general characteristics o f the plane we mus t not omit to mention the ev er-present background o f — formed by the records the past the memory of nature, f the only really reliable history o the world . While what we have on this plane is not yet the absolute record itself, but h n h i merely a reflection of somet i g igher st ll, it is at any rate ' i d1fle rin i clear, accurate, and cont nuous, g there n from the disco nnected and spasmodic manifestation which is all that f s . represent it in the astral world It is, there ore, only when a clairvoyant posse sses the vision o f this mental plane that his pictures of the past can be relied upon and even then , unless he has the power o f passing in full consciousness f for rom that plane to the physical , we have to allow the possibility o ferrors in bringing back the recollection of what he has seen . But the student who has succ eeded in developing the powers latent within himselfso far as to enable him to use the sense b e longing to this mental plane while he is still in 29

f fi the physical body, has be ore him a eld of historical rese arch o f most entrancing interest . Not only can he u i h review at his leis re all h story wit which we are acquainted, correcting as he e xamines it the many e rrors and miscon ce ptio ns which have crept into the accounts handed down to us ; he can also range at will over the whole story of the f i i world rom its very beg nn ing , watch ng the slow develop o f n o f o f ment intellect in man , the desce t the Lords the t o f i z Flame, and the grow h the m ghty civili ations which f they ounded . Nor is his study confined to the progress o f humanity has f r alone ; he be o e him , as in a museum , all the strange animal and vegetable forms which occupied the stage in days when the world was young ; he can follow all the ful wonder geological changes which have taken place, and watch the course o f the great cataclysms which have altered the whole face ofthe earth again and again . Many and varie d are the po ssibihties opened up by — access to these records so m any and so varied indeed that even ifthis were the only advantage o f the mental plane it would still transcend in interest all the lower worlds. But when to this we add the remarkable increase in the o ppo r t i i s fo r o f un t e the ac—quisition knowledge given by its new and wider faculty the privilege o f direct untrammelled r i intercourse not only with the g eat Deva—k ngdom, but with the very Masters o f Wis dom themselves the rest and relief from the we ary strain o fphysical life that is brought by the o f h enjoyment its deep unc anging bliss , and above all , the enormously enhanced capabili ty o f the developed student — fo r the service o f his fellow- men then we shall begin to have some fain t conception o f what a pupil gains when he wins the right to enter at will and in perfect consciousne ss n h a aven ' world upo his eritage in this bright re lm of the he . 30

INHABITANTS .

In our endeavour to describe the inhabitants o f the mental plane it will perhaps be well for us to divide them into the same thr—ee great classes chosen in the manual on a - the astral pl ne the human, the non human , and the — - artific ial though the sub divisions will naturally be less n o f numerous in this case tha in that, since the products ’ v fin man s e il passions, which bulked so largely there, can d

no place here .

I . H U MAN . Exactly as was the case when dealing with the lower inhabi world , it will be desirable to subdivide the—human tants o f the mental plane in to two classes tho se who are to still attached a physical body, and those who are not as the living and the dead, they are commonly but most

erroneously called . Very little experience o f these higher ’ planes is needed to alter fundamentally the student s conception o f the change which takes place at death ; he realiz es immediately on the opening o f his consciousness a and n even in the astr l , still more in this me tal world, that the fulness o f true life is something which can never be known down here, and that when we leave this physical into f earth we are passing that true life, not out o it. We have not at presen t in the English language any convenient and at the same time accurate words to express these conditions perba s to call them respectively embodied and on in disembodied will e, the whole, the least mislead g of 3 1

f the various possible phrases . Let us there ore proceed to consider those inhabitants of the mental plane who come under the head of

THE EMBODIED.

i s Those human be ng who, while still attached to a f f s physical body, are ound moving in ull con ciousness and

activity upon this plane, are invariably either Adepts or a fo r their initi ted pupils , until a student has been taught by his Master how to use his mental body he will be unable to f f move with reedom upon even its lower levels . To unction consciously durin g physical life upon the higher levels fo r a un ifica denotes still greater advancement, it me ns the

tion of the man , so that down here he is no longer a mere

personality, more or less influenced by the individuality u — above, but is himself that individ ality trammelled and n h s co fined by a body , certainly , but nevert eles having within him the power and knowledge o f a highly developed

ego . d Very magn ificent objects are these A—depts an initiates to the vision which has learnt to see them sple ndid globes o f all light and colour, driving away evil influence wherever a o they go, cting upon all who c me near them as the a sunshine acts upon the flowers , and shedding around them feeling ofrestfulness and happiness of which even those who o ar do n t see them e often conscious . It is in this celestial world that much o f their most important work is done r more especially upon its higher levels, whe e the individu c an f i ality be acted upon directly . It is rom th s plane that they shower the grandest spiritu al influences upon the world of thought ; from it also they impel great and be ne ficen t o f movements of all kinds . Here much the - Q R spiritual force poured out by the glorious selfs m kficx. 32

Nirmanaka as d i e the y is istributed , here also d rect t aching is given to those pupils who are sufic iently advanced to receive i t in this way, since it can be imparted far more o readily and c mpletely here than on the astral plane . In addition to all these activities they have a great field of work in connection with those whom we call the dead , but this tl will be more fi y explained under a later heading . It is a pleas ure to find that a class o f inhabitants which obtruded itself painfully on our notice on the astral plane e is almost entirely absent h re. In a world whose charac teristic s are unse lfishness and spirituality the black magician his c and pupils can obviously find no pla e, since selfishness o fall of is of the essence the proceedings the darker schools , f r and their study o foccult forces is entirely o personal ends . Not but that in many of them the in tellect is very highly n n a o f - developed, and co seque tly the m tter the mind body extremely active and sensitive along certain lines ; but in every case those lines are connected with personal desire of and t r f s some sort , they can he e ore find expre sion only through that lower part o fthe mind - body which has become l e a t a most in xtricably entangled with s ral matter. As a necessary consequence o fthis limitation it follows that their activities are practically confined to the astral and physical A o f f planes . man , the trend whose whole li e is evil and selfish , may indeed have periods of purely abstract thought during which he may utilize the mind -body if he has learnt how to do so but the moment that the personal element ff r comes in , and the e o t to produce some evil result is made, t him the hought is no longer abstract, and the man finds self working in connection with the familiar astral matter a a once more. One might almost say that bl ck magician could function on the mental plane only while he forgot that he was a black magician . But even while he forgot it he could be visible on the 33 me nta—l plane only to men functioning conscious ly on that plane never by a ny possibility to those who are enjoying the f o f heavenly rest in this region a ter death , since each them is so entirely secluded wi thin the world o f his own ' u a of afl e c t tho ght th t nothing outside that can him , and he n l a f is conseque t y bsolutely sa e. Thus is justi fied the grand old desc ription o fthe heaven-world as the place whe re the f ! wicked cease rom troubling, and the weary are at rest.

I N SLEEP o p. N TRA CE.

In thin ki ng o f the embodied inhabitants o f the mental a a f pl ne, the question n turally suggests itsel whether either l ~ ordinary people during sleep, or psychically deve oped per

t . sons in a trance condition , can ever penetra e to this plane In both cases the answer must be that the occurrence is possible, though extremely rare. Purity of life and pur an - pose would be absolute pre requisite, and even when the plane was reached there would be nothing that could be v called real consciousness, but simply a capacity for recei ing certain impressions . As exemplifying the possibil ity o f entering the men tal u an i plane d ring sleep, ncident may be mentioned which occurred in connection with the experiments made by the London Lodge o fthe Theosophical Society on dream con sci n an of i ous ess, account of some which was given in my l ttle a s e book on D re m . It may be remember d by those who have read that treatise that a thought-picture of a lovely tropical landscape was presented to the minds o f various classes o f s of sleeper , with a view testing the extent to which it was f h a terwards recollected on awaking . One case w ich was f o not re erred to in the acc unt previously published, as it had n o f a no special con ection with the phenomena dre ms, will r se ve as a useful illustration here . 34

It was that o f a person o f pure mind and considerable ' though untrain ed psychic capacity ; and the e flec t o f the presentation o f the thought-picture to her mind was o f a l f o f somewhat start ing character. So intense was the eeling oft i reverent joy, so l y and so sp ritual were the thoughts i t the evoked by the contem lat on of this glorious scene , hat consciousness of the s ceper passed entirely into the mind a a body or, to put the s me ide into other words, rose on to s the mental plane. It mu t not, however, be supposed from this that she became cogniz ant ofher surroundings upon that o fits real plane or , conditions she was simply in the state of the ordi nary person who has reached that level after f death , floating in the sea o light and colour indeed , but nevertheless entirely absorbed—in her own thought, and con scious o f nothing beyond it resting in ecstatic contem platio n o fthe landscape and of all that it had suggested to he r— yet contemplating it, be it understood , with the i i e n keener insight, the more perfect apprec at on , and the li hanced vigour of thought pecu ar to the mental plane, and enjoying all the while the intensity o f bliss which has so fe of o t n been spoken before. The sleeper remained in that fo r i condition several hours, though apparently ent rely o f of unconscious the passage time, and at last awoke with

a sense of deep peace and inward joy for which, since she i o f had had brought back no recollect on what happened, she i a . v was qu te unable to ccount There is no doubt, howe er, as that such an experience this, whether remembered in the

physical body or not, would act as a distinct impulse to the S o f piritual evolution the ego concerned . Though in the absence o fa suflic ient number o f e xpe ri o ments one hesitates to speak too p sitively, it seems almost certain that such a result as this just described would be possible only in the case o f a person having already some amount o f psychic development : and the same condition

36 them as yet that they might more truly be said to dream s un through them . Nevertheless , whether consciou ly or r consciously, every human being must touch the highe levels of the mental plane before reincarnation can take place ; and as his evolution proceeds this touch becomes r fi and him mo e and more de nite real to . Not only is he more conscious there as he progresses, but the period he passes in that world o f reality becomes longer ; fo r the fact is that his consciousness is slowly but steadily rising ff through the di erent planes of the system . m t Pri itive man , for example, has comparatively lit le con i sness a i i sc ou on any pl ne but the physical dur ng l fe , and the lower astral after death ; and indeed the same may be said n in A o f the quite u developed man even our own day. perso n a little more advanced begins to have a short period - f the o f of heaven li e !on lower levels , course), but still spends by far the greater part of his time, between incarnations, on f the astral plane . As he progresses the astral li e grows

- shorter and the heaven life lo er, until when he becomes an intellectual and spiritually -min ed person he passes th rough l the astral plane with hard y any delay at all, and enjoys a long and happy sojourn on the more refine d o f the lower

. in mental levels By this time, however, the consciousness the true ego on its higher level is awakened to a very con iderable f s extent, and thus his consc—ious li e on the mental plane divides itse lf into two parts the later and shorter portion being spent on the higher sub-planes in the causal bod The s f process previously de cribed then repeats itsel , the a life on the lower levels gradu lly shortening, while the and f at higher life becomes steadily longer uller, till last — the time comes when the consciousness is unifie d when e n n the higher and lower selv s are i dissolubly u ited , and the man is no longer capable o f wrapping himself up in his own 37

i cloud of thought, and mistak ng the little that he can see through that for the whole o f the great heaven -world around — z o f f him when he reali es the true possibilities his li e, and for i tm l e i so the first t me y b g ns to live . But by the time th at he attains these heights he will already have entered f o s upon the Path , and taken his uture pr gre s definitely into his own hands .

' ri s urtu rms NEC ES AR! FOR - F T Q S THE HEAVEN LI E . The greate r reality o f the heaven -life as compared with that on e arth shines forth clearly when we consider what conditions are re quisite for the attainment of this higher a o f s n a st te exi te ce. For the very qu lities which a man f if n must develope during li e, he is to have any existe ce in - ft the heaven world a er death , are just those which all the best and noblest o f our race have agreed in considering as i r really and permanently des rable . In orde that an aspiration or a thought-force should result in existence t a n a a un lfish on h t plane, its domi ant ch r cteristic must be se ness . Affection fo r family or friends takes many a man in to the - f a i heaven li e, and so lso does rel gious devotion ; yet it would be a mistake to suppose that all affection or all devotion must therefore necessarily find its post-maria ! fo r o f e o f i s r are expression there, ach these qualit e the e fi unse lfish— u obviously two varieties, the sel sh and the tho gh it might perhaps reasonably be argued that it is only the latter kind in each case which is really worthy of the a n me. l There is the love which pours itse f out upon its object, i for — o f s f seek ng nothing in return never even thinking it el , but only o f what it can do fo r the loved one ; and such a feeling as this generates a spiritual force which cannot work 38

l r s itse f out except upon the mental plane. But the—e is al o another emotion which is someti mes called love ah ex acting—selfish kind of passion which desires mainly to be lo ve d which is thinking all the time of what it receives h o f i rather t an what it gives , and is quite l kely to degenerate into the horrible vice o f jealousy upon !or even ff h without) the smallest provocation . Such a ection as t is has in it no seed o f the mental development ; the forces which it sets in motion will never rise above the astral plane . The same is true of the feeling of a certain very large h class of religious devotees , whose one t ought is, not the glory of their deity, but how they may save their own — miserable souls a position which forcibly suggests that they have not yet developed anything that really deserves the name o f a soul at all . d On the other hand there is the real religious evotion , o f f o f which thinks never sel , but only love and gratitude l towards the deity or leader, and is fi led with ardent desire to do something for him or in his name ; and such a feeling often leads to a prolonged heaven-life of a comparatively

exalted type . This would of course be the case whoever the deity or d f K s lea er might be, and ollowers of Buddha, ri hna , i Ormuzd, Allah, an—d Christ would all equally attain the r meed o f celestial bliss its length and quality de pe ndin upon f the intensity and purity of the eeling , and not in t e least r upon its object, though this latter conside ation would undoubtedly affect the possibility o f receiving instruction n if duri g that higher l e . u i i Most h man devot on , however, l ke most human love , is neither wholly pure nor wholly selfish . That love must be low indeed into which no unselfish thought or impulse ' has entered ; and on the other hand an aflec tio n which is 39 usually and chiefly quite pure and noble may yet sometimes be clouded by a spasm o f j ealous feeling or a passing f f f o . o thought sel In both these cases , as in all , the law eternal justice discrimin ates unerringly ; and just as the momentary flash of nobler feeling in the less developed i u - heart w ll s rely receive its meed in the hea ven world, even though there be naught else in the life to raise the soul a al above the str plane. so the baser thought which erstwhile dimmed the holy radiance o f a real love will work out its f r n o ce in the astral world, interferi g not at all with the magnificent celestial life which flows infallibly from years o f aff i deep ect on here below .

MAN F RS c am - F How A I T s THE HEAVEN LI E.

o f It will be seen , therefore, that in the earlier stages their evolution many o f the backward egos never con

sc iousl t i - o yat a n the heaven w rld at all , whilst a still larger number obta in only a comparatively slight touch o f some o f a o f its lower pl nes . Every soul must course withdraw into its true self upon the higher levels before reincarna tion but it does not at all follow th at in that condition it will experience anything th at we should call conscious w f ness. This subject will be dealt ith more ully when we come to treat o f the ar pa planes ; it seems better to u ‘ of rtt a begin with the lowest the p levels, and work steadily U fo r d pwards, so we may the moment leave on one si e that portion of humanity whose conscious existence after death a a e is practic lly confined to the stral plane , and proce d to consider the case of an entity who has jus t isen out of that — r position who for the first time has a slight and fleeting consciousness in the lowest subdivision o f the heaven

world . l Th ere are evidently various methods b y w 40

rtant step in the early development of the soul may be ffi rought about, but it will be su cient for our present pur pose ifwe take as an illustration o fone of them a somewhat pathetic little story from real life which came under the observation of our studen ts when they were investigating f e vo l u this question . In this case the agent o the great tionar r r o f y fo ces was a poor seamst ess, living in one —the dreariest and most squalid of our terrible London slums a fetid court in the East End into which light and air could scarcely struggle. i i had Naturally she was not h ghly educated , for her l fe been one long round o f the hardest work under the least favourable o fconditions ; but neverthel ess she was a good i hearted, benevolent creature, overflow ng with love and t kindness towards all with whom she came in o contact . He r as in rooms were as poor, perhaps, any the court, but at least they were cle aner and neater than the others . She had no money to ive when sickness brought n e ed even usufi o f more dire than to some her neighbours, yet on such an occasion she was always at hand as often as she could ' t m f o flerin sna ch a few mo ents rom her work, g with ready h was wit in her power. n a providence to the rough , ignora t they gradually came to look

of help and mercy, always at f n al l . a t illness O ten , f er toili g ’ t e f intermission, she sat up hal at nursing some o f the many urro undings so fatal n slum and in her unremitting the only higher 41

The conditions o fexistence in that court being such as he e h o f t y were, there is littl wonder t at some her patients a e a a e for e died , and then it bec m cle r th t she had don th m much more than she knew she had give n them not only a s a e e little kindly as ist nc in th ir temporal trouble, but a very f important impul se on the cou se o spi itual evolution . For r— r these we e unde e loped souls e ntities o f a e y backward — r v v r class who had ne ve r yet in any ofthe ir births se t in motion the spiritual forces which alone could give them conscious exis tence on the mental plane ; but now fo r the first time not only had an ideal towards which they could strive be e n f had put be ore them , but also really unselfish love been he f o f evoked in t m by her action , and the very act having so strong a fe e ling as this had raised them and given them e afe the mor individuality, and so t r their stay in astral plane was ende d they gained their first experience o f the lowest

- o f the . e e subdivision heaven world A short xp rience, a o f n e of prob bly, and by no means an adva ced typ , but still far greater importance than appears at first sight ; fo r whe n once the great spiritual energy o f unse lfishne ss has bee n e the - o f awaken d, very working out its results in the heaven e the f a world giv s it tendency to repeat itsel , and sm ll in ri b e e t amount though this first outpou ng may , it y builds into the soul a faint tinge o f a quality which will certainly f h f e xpress itse l again in t e ne xt li e . So the gentle benevolence o fa poor seamstress has give n to seve ral less develope d souls the ir introduction to a con scious spiritual life which incarnation after incarnation will a and e the grow ste dily stronger, and react more mor upon earth - lives o f the future This little incident pe rhaps suggests an explanation o f the fact that in the various religions so much importance is attached to the personal — ele m e nt in charity the direct association be tween donor e c and r ipient . 42

Ssvm a So n- u i c re s Lo wxsr He a e n P n ; v .

we t s s o of the heaven ~wo rld to This lo s ubdivi i n , which the action of our poor se amstre ss raise d the obje cts of he r car has for its r al a t s affe c kindly e, p incip char c eri tic that of on fm' f l o r fi n s—unse lfis h u s but s a ti ami y r e d , of co r e, u u lly

m a . r w t ou so ewh t narrow He e, ho ever . we mus guard r c sel va against the possibility of mm onception. When it is said that family afle ctio n takes a man to the se venth cele sfial sub h n and re li ious dcvo tio n to the sixth p e g ,

two subdivisions first spending a long perio d of happine ss i of 1l then ss n d to in the m dst his fam y, arid pa i g upwar the next le ve l er t i f es en r , th e to exhaus the sp ritual orc gende ed

u a happens, for in s ch a c se as we have supposed the man would awaken to cons cious ne ss si h r u find en~ in the xth subdivision, w e e he wo ld himself a e t e v g g d, together with hos whom he had lo ed so much in h h the ig a t form of devotion which he was able to re aliz e. And we t i s a e the when h nk of it thi is re sonable nough, for man who is eapab le of rel igious devotion as wel l as mere family affection is naturally likely to be e ndowed with a developmen t of the latter virtue than susce ptible to infl uence in one direction rule holds good all the way up ; the lways include the qualities o f the lower wh e so to itself, and en it do s its inhabitan ts almost invariabl y have the se qualities in fulle r measure than the souls on a lower plane. ' When it is said that family aflectio n is the characteristic as inte nMy happy as he m a pab k d bd ng and sinc e he was all the time thinking ofhis family rathe r than ofhimself was o te l d v unse lfish r s i s he und ub d y e elo ping characte i t c . wo l be uil i to his sou as e r ane n u l fie s which u d b t n l p m t q a i , re a e a all f u es on a t and so would pp r in his ut re liv r h. Another typica l case was that of a man who had die d t n in a e while his only daugh er was still you g , here the h v n had him world he her always with and always at her be st, and he was c ontinually occupying himself in we aving all o f ea i u o was sorts b ut ful pictures of her f ture. Yet an ther that of a young girl who was always absorbed in c ontem m of her f n lating the anifold perfections ather, and plan ing pttle surprises and fresh pleasure s fo r him . Another was a Greek woman who was spending a marvellously happy time r n— of e with her three child e one them a b autiful boy , whom she delighted in imagining as the victor in the Olympic s game . A striking characteris tic of this sub-plane for the last few e o f centuries has b en the very large number Romans , C i ia s — n arthag n ns, and Engli hmen to be found there this bei g of these nations the princi

usually enters more consequently takes

was u l i finit , of co rse, an a most n e variety among the erved d ff of , their i erent degrees advancement being var in de ree s o f s by y g g lumino ity, while is of colour indicated tively the qualities 1 persons in question had eloped . Some were 0 had e the s ff di d in full trength of their a ection, 45 and so were always occupied with the one perso n they loved to the entire exclusion o fall others others there were who had m been al ost savages, one example being a Malay, a very undeveloped man !at the stage which we should technically describe as that o f a low third- class pitri) who obtained a slight experie nce of the heaven -life in connection with a daughter whom he had loved . In all these cases it was the touch of unselfis h affection f which gave them their heaven ; indeed, apart rom that, there was nothing in the activity o ftheir personal lives which f a could have expressed itsel on that pl ne. In most instances observed on this level the images of the loved ones are very far f f o f rom per ect, and consequently the true egos or souls the friends who are loved can express themselves but poorly through them though even at the worst that expression is much fuller and more satisfying than it ever was in physical if - f l e. In earth li e we see our friends so partially we know o f h ia only those parts them w ich are congen l to us , and the other sides o ftheir characters are practically non -existe nt fo r us ur . O communion with them and our knowledge o fthem are f to down here mean very much to us , and o ten us among the greatest things in life yet in reality this communion and a i f for this knowledge must alw ys be exceed ngly de ective, even in the very rare cases where we can think that we l all know a man thorough y and through , body and soul , it is stil l only the part o f him which is in manifestation on s n these lower plane while in i carnation that we can know, and there is far more behind in the real ego which we can fo r not reach at all . Indeed, if it were possible us, with the f f fo r direct and per ect vision o the mental plane, to see the first time the mkol e o f our friend when we met him after a a unrec o de th, the prob bility is that he would be quite g niz abl e certainly he would not he at all the dear one we f whom thought we had known be ore . 46

It must be understood that the keen affection which alone i - f br ngs one man into the heaven li e of a—nother is a very powerful force upo n these higher planes a force which o f the reaches up to the soul man who is loved, and evokes f a response rom it. Naturally the vividness of that response, the amount of life and energy in it, depends on the develop

ment of the soul of the loved one, but there is no case in which the response is not a perfectly real one as far as it

goes . Of course t—he soul or ego can be fi lly reac hed only upon his own level one of the arfipa subdivisions of this mental plane but at least we are very much nearer to that in any - r f stage of the heaven world than we are here, and the e ore under favourable conditions we could there know enor mo usl o f f y more our riend than would ever be possible here, while even under the most unfavourable o fconditions we are at any rate far closer to the reality there than we have ever

Two factors have to be—taken into account in our con sideration of this subject the degree of development o f of each the persons concerned. If the man in the heaven life has strong affection and some development in spirituality he will fo rm a clear and—fairly perfect thought-image o f his friend as he knew him ah image through which at that level the soul of the friend could express himself to a very f considerable extent. But in order to take ull advantage of that oppo rt unity it is necessary that that soul should him self h f e very airly advanced in evolution . W f r e see, there ore, that the e are two reasons for which nanife statio n ini e rfe i may be p ct. The mage made by lead man m ay be so vague and inefficient that the I ll - , even though we evolved, may be able to make very use o fit and v ; on the other hand, e en when a good e e r ma ffi is mad , th e y not be su cient development 47

’ on the friend s part to enable him to take due advantage o f it. But in any and every case the soul o f the friend is reached f l o f ff and h o f by the ee ing a ection , w atever may be its stage development it at once responds by pouring its elf forth into i the mage which has been made . The extent to which the true man can express himsel—f through it depends on the two factors above- mentioned the kind of image which is c is made in the first place, and how mu h soul there to ex press ih the second ; but even the feeblest image that can at an a an f be made is y r te on the mental pl e, and, there ore, far easier fo r the ego to reach than is a physical body two a whole pl nes lower down . I fthe friend who is loved is still alive he will o fcourse be entirely unaware down here on the physical plane that his f i a f h true sel is enjoying th s addi tion l mani estation , but t is ' in no way afl ects the fact that that manifestation is a more

’ real one and contains a neare r approximation to his true self h all o f than t is lower one, which is that most us can as yet see. An interesting point is that since a man may well enter e - o f e f into the h aven life several of his depart d riends at once , he may thus be simultaneously manifesting himself in all f as these various orms , as well , perhaps , managing a physical body down here. That conception , however , presents no difficulty to anyone who understands the relation o f the different plan es to one another it is just as easy fo r him to f f r o f mani est himsel in seve al these celestial images at once, as it is for us to be simultaneously conscious o f the pressure o f several different articles against different parts o f our ibod The relation o fone pl ane to another is like that o f oneydimension to another no number o funits o f the lower a o f h s dimension can ever equ l one the igher, and in .ju t the same way no number o f these mani fes tations could exhaust o f the e o e the a the power response in g abov . On contr ry, such manifestations afford him an appreciable additional opportunity for de velopme nt on the mental plane ' opportunity which is the dire ct re sult and re ward unde r the operation o f the law of divine justice of the actions or qualities which evoke d such an outpouring of affection . f the man e o or It is clear rom all this that as volves, his pp tunitie s e h in all directions b com e greate r. Not only is e more likely as he advances to attract the love and reverence o f a an tr n - a es m ny, and so to have m y s o g thought im g at his disposal on the mental plane ; but al so his power of mani fe statio n through e ach of these and his re ce ptivity in it a o es rapidly incre se with his pr gr s . This was very we ll illustrate d by a simple case which rece ntly came under the notice of our investigators . It was o f die a a o that a mother who had d perhaps twenty ye rs g , l eaving be hind her two boys to whom she was deeply e e e attached . Naturally th y w r the most prominent figures a e she in her he ven , and quit naturally, too, thought of them had f of fif ea of as she le t them , as boys teen or sixteen y rs she e e e age. The love which thus c asel ssly pour d out upon these mental images was really acting as a be ne fic e nt force showered down upon the grown - up men in this physical affe e the a n world, but it did not ct th m both to s me exte t e was for not that her lov stronger one than the other, but because there was a great difference in the vitality o f the

e . Not ffe a imag s themselves a di rence, be it understood, th t the mother could se e ; to her both appeared e qually with a she s the her and equally all th t could po sibly desire . yet to eyes ofthe investigators it was very evident that one o fthese images was very much more instinct with living force than e e n the other . On tracing this very int r sting phe omenon to e f its sourc , it was ound that in one case the son had grown 49 — up into an ordinary man o f business not specially evil in i l - — any way, but by no means sp ritual y minded while the o f fi and other had become a man high unsel sh aspiration , of a u f had consider ble refinement and cult re . His li e been such as to develope a much greater amount of consciousness ’ o h and in the s ul t an his brother s, consequently this higher self was able to vitalize much more fully that im age o f his youthful days which his mother had formed in her heaven

i . and the l fe There was more soul to put in , so image was l vivid and iving . v o f m Further research re ealed numbers si ilar instances, and it was very clearly seen that the more highly a soul is d i f evolve in sp rituality, the more ully he can express ’ himself in such manifestations as his friends love has

provided fo r him . And by such fuller expression he is also enabled to derive more and more benefit from the living force o fthat love as it pours itself upon him through these

- thought images . As the soul grows these images become f o f of uller expressions him , till when he gains the level a Maste r he con sciously employs them as a means o f helping l and instructing his pupi s . Along these lines only is conscious communication possible between those still imprisoned in the physical body and those who have passe d into this celestial realm . As h has been said , a soul may be s ining out gloriously through ’ f n e e - f and his image in a rie d s h av n li e, yet in his manifesta tion through the physical body on this plane that soul may r u iou all h be enti ely nconsc s of t is, and so may suppose h imself unable to communicate with his departed friend . But if that soul has evolved his consciousnes s to the point o f un f f ification , and can there ore use his ull powers while i in s z n st ll the phy ical body, he can then reali e, even duri g i i a s fa fa w his th s dull earthly l —fe, th t he still stand ce to ce ith friend as o f yore that death has not removed the man he ! ) so

loved, but has only opened his eyes to the grander, wider life which ever lies around us all . In appearance the friend would seem much as he did in - n earth life yet somehow strangely glorified. In the mi d . body as in the astral body there is a reproduction o f the physical form within the outer ovoid whose shape is deter i m ned by that of the causal body , so that it has somewhat the appearance of a form of denser mist surrounded by a All e - f a lighter mist . through the h aven li e the person lity i d of the last physical l fe is distinctly preserve , and it is only when the consciousness is fi nally withdrawn into the causal body that this feeling of personality is merged 1n the d d fi s in ivi uality, and the man for the rst time since thi descent into incarnation realiz es himself as the true and i comparat vely permanent ego . Men sometimes ask wheth—er on this mental plane there is any consciousness of time any alternation of night and

e ki . day , of sl eping and wa ng The only waking in the heaven world is the slow dawning o f its wonderful bliss upon the - mind sense as the man enters upon his life on that plane, and the only sleeping is the equally gradual sinking into happy unconsciousness when the long term o f that life at length comes to an end . It was once described to us in the beginning as a sort o f prolongation of al l the h appiest hours ’ i fi f in a man s l fe magni ed a hundred old in bliss , and thou that definition leaves much to be desired !as indeed h - fi s far r all p ysical plane de nitions must) , it still come nea er

o f . 1s the truth than this idea day and night There , indeed , what seems an infinity o f variety in the happiness of the heaven -world ; but the changes ofsleeping and waking form no part o fits plan . On the final separation o f the mind body from the astral a period o f bla k unconscious ness usually supervenes n — rving in length between very wide limits analogous

52

t f i i f h s dei y, must be care ully d st nguished rom t o e still higher forms which find their expression in performing ’ f r A some definite work o the deity s sake. few examples of the cases observed on this sub-plane will perhaps show these distinctions more clearly than any mere description can do . A fairly large number of entities whose mental activities work themselves out on this level are drawn from the oriental religions ; but only those are included who have the characteristic o f pure but comparatively unreasoning o f and unintelligent devotion . Worshippers Vishnu , both K a few in his avatar of rishna and otherwise, as well as l fol owers of Shiva, are to be found here, each wrapped up in the selfwoven cocoon of his own thoughts alone with o f i his own god , and oblivious the rest of mank nd, except in so far as his affections may associate with him in his

t . A Vaishnavite adoration those whom he loved on ear h , for in example, was noticed wholly absorbed the ecstatic wo rship of the very same image of Vishnu to which he ff i had made o erings during l fe. Some of the most characteristic e xammes of this plane to f f are be ound among women , who indeed orm a very r A large majo ity of its inhabitants . mong others there was a Hindu woman who had glorified her husband into a K divine being, and also thought of the child rishna as a l pl ying with her own children , but whi e these latter were K was o b viousl thoroughly human and real , the child rishna nothing but the semblance o fa blue wooden image galvaniz into lif K e. rishna also appeared in her heaven under another ' form that of an e fle minate young man playing on a flute ; but she was not in the least confused or troubled by this

f . A double mani estation nother woman , who was a worshipper of Shiva, had confounded the god with her a husband , looking upon the latter as a m nifestation of the 53 f ormer, so that the one seemed to be constantly changing d f into the other. Some Bud hists also are ound upon this i ar x subdivis on , but app ently e clusively those less instructed ones who regard the Buddha rather as an object o fadoration than as a great teacher . The Christian religion also contributes many of the f l u inhabitants o this plane . The uninte lect al devotion which is exemplified on the one hand by the illiterate a Roman Catholic pe sant, and on the other by the earnest ! ! o f and sincere soldier the Salvation Army, seems to l fo r produce results very simi ar to those already described , these people also are found wrapped up in con templation f f o their ideas o Christ or his mother respectively . For instance an Irish e , peasant was s en absorbed in the deepest i n adoration of the Virg n Mary , whom he imaged as sta ding ’ ! af f s i o f a on the moon ter the a h on Titi n s Assumption , but holding out her hands and speaking to him . A mediaeval monk was foun d in ecstatic contemplation o f and of his n Christ crucified, the intensity yearni g love and pity was such that as he watched the blood dropping from the wounds o f the figure of his Christ the stigmata re o wn - produced themselves upon his mind body . Anoth e r man seemed to have forgotten the sad story o f u o f r the crucifixion , and tho ght his Christ only as glo ified all on his throne, with the crystal sea before him , and n s o f arou d a va t multitude worshippers, among whom he f f His ff f r himself stood with his wi e and amily . a ection o s these relatives was very deep, yet his thought were more i o f occup ed in adoration the Christ, though his conception of his deity was so material that he imaged him as constan tly changing kaleidoscopically backwards and forwards between the fom i of a man and that of the lamb be aring the flag f n in which we o te see represented church windows . A more interesting case was that of a Spanish m m ! h e 54 had died at about the e o f nineteen or twenty. In her ’ heaven she carried herse f back to the date of Chris t s life U i acc o m an in pon earth , and imag ned herself as p y t through the chain of events recoun ed in the gos s, and after his crucifixion taking care o f his mother the Virgin

. u s Mary Not unnat rally, perhaps, her picture of the i r scenery and costumes of Palest ne we e entirely inaccurate, f o r the Saviour and his disciples wore the dress o f Spanish e p asants , while the hills round Jerusalem were mighty n o d r the i mou tains cl the with vineya ds, and ol ve trees were i l as hung with grey Span sh moss . She thought of herse f n eventually martyred for her faith , and ascending into heave , but yet only to live over and over again this life in which she so delighted. A quaint and pretty little example of the heaven - life o f a child may conclude our list of in stances from this sub lane f . He o e p had died at the age s ven , and was occupied in re -enacting in the heaven -world the religious stories which his Irish nurse had told him down here ; and best of all he loved to think of himself as playing wi th ak the infant Jesus, and helping him to m e those clay sparrows which the power of the Christ-child is fabled to have brought to life and caused to fly. It will be seen that the blind unreasoning devotion of which we have been speaking does not at any time raise its votaries to any gre at spiritual heights ; but it must be remembere d that in all cases they are entirely happy and fi satis ed , for what they receive is always the ich they are capable of appreciating . Nor is it very good effect on their future ca reer ; for mere devotion such as this will eve r produce an increased capacity and in most cases it leads also SS and a heaven a i enjoys such as we h ve been describ ng, though he is not likely to make rapid progress on the path of spiritual at r n development, is least gua ded from many da gers , fo r it is very improbable that in his next birth he should f o f f his all into any the grosser sins, or be drawn away rom i f devot onal aspirations into a mere worldly li e of avarice,

. o f ambition , or dissipation Nevertheless, a survey this sub -plane distinctly emphasizes the necessity o f foll owing ’ . Add fa St Peter s advice, to your ith virtue, and to virtue ! knowled e g . Sin ce such strange results seem to follow from crude f o ff a ff orms aith , one looks with interest to see wh t e ect is produced by the still cruder materialism which not long ago was so painfully common in Europe . Madame Blavatsky has stated in TIt: Key to M osopity that in some a - cases a m terialist has no conscious life in the heaven world, since he did not while on earth believe in such a port martem . a a condition It seems prob ble, however, th t our ! ! great founder was employing the word materialist in a much more res tricted sense than that in which it is generally in fo r used, since the same volume she also asserts that u i t al l them no conscio s l fe after dea h is possible at , whereas it is a matter of common knowledge among those whose nightly work lies upon the astral plane that many of those m who we usually call materialists are to be met with there, and are certainly not unconscious . a mate ralist i a For ex mple, a prominent int m tely known to one of our members was not long ago discovered by his f hi — of riend upon the ghest sub plane the astral, where had i e f W he surrounded h ms l ith his books, and was contin uing his studie s al most as he might have done on n e earth . On bei g qu stioned by his friend he readily admitted that the theories which he had held while upon earth were confuted by the irresis tible logic d out of the higher forew in him in the

he has lost m uch by his disbelief No t hu l he to understand ea o f doub . been able the b uty v r the re ligious iou l, it would ha e ca lled fo th in him mi ht ene r f i ffe of i ld a g y gy o devot on, the e ct wh ch he wou

e re n now. All i have b en api g that, which m ght have

his ss . , is mi ing But his ffe e s a ction, his arne t and ti reless ls e r s of t a o were gr at outpou ing energy, which mus r s l can r produce thei re u t, and p oduce it nowhere but f upon the mental plane. The absence o one kind of force cannot prevent the action of the others. Another instance still more recently observed was that of a materialist who on awakening upon the as tral l e r h p ane aft death supposed imself to be still alive, and c lo mere ly en g an unpleasant dream. Fortunately for him was among the band of those able to func tion upon the as tral plane a son of an old friend of his was for him , who commissioned to search and

. l me assistance Natura ly enough , oung man to be merely a figure receipt of a message from his tte rs which had occurred before was convinced o f the i l he found h mse f, and 57

became at once exceedingly e age r to acquire all possible information about it . The instruction which is being given to him under these conditions will undoubtedly have a a ff and f very gre t e ect upon him , will largely modi y not only the heaven - life which lies before him but also his next incarnation upon earth . What is shown to us by these two and by m any other e f all for xamples need not a ter surprise us, it is only what we might expect from our expe rie nce upon the n a physical plane. We co stantly find down here th t nature a a a for a o f a if m kes no llow nce our ignor nce her l ws , e d a und r an impression that fire oes not burn, man m of puts his hand into a fla e, he is speedily convinced ’ h a a n f a his mistake . In t e same w y ma s disbelie in future e xistence does not affect the facts o f nature ; and in some cases at least he simply fi nds out after death that he was mistaken . The kind o f materialism referred to by Madame Blavatsky in the remarks above mentioned was the re fore p obabl some thing much coa se and mo e agg essi e r y — r r r r v than ordinary agnosticism something which would render it exceedingly unlikely that a man who held it would have any qualities requiring a life on the mental plane in which to work themselves out .

- FIFTH SU B PLANE ; THE THIRD HEAVEN . The chief characteristic o f this subdivision may b e define d as devotion expre ssing itself in active work . The a for a of e Christi n on this plane, example, inste d mer ly a r his of e f do ing Saviour, would think hims l as going out into the world to work for him . It is espe cially th a f f e pl ne or the workin—g out o great schemes and de sig ns unrealiz ed on earth ofgreat organiz ations inspired 58

n by religious devotion , and usually havi g for their object hilanthrO ic in i some p p purpose . It must be borne m nd, x however, that ever as we rise higher greater comple ity and variety is introduced, so that though we may still be able to give a definite characteristic as on the whole dominating the plane, we shall yet be more and more liable to find variations and exceptions that do not so readily range themselves under the general heading . A a as typic l c e, although somewhat above the average , was that of a man who was found carrying out a gran d scheme for the amelioration of the condition of the lf . d s lower classes While a eeply religious man him e , he had felt that the first step necessary in dealing with the poor was to improve their physical condition ; and the plan which he was now working out in his heaven -life with triumphant success and lo vmg attention to every detail was one which had often crossed his mind while had t on earth , though he been quite unable there to ake

any steps towards its reali z ation . His idea had been that, if possessed of enormous wealth , he would buy up and get in—to his own hands the whole of one of the smaller trades o ne in which perhaps thre e or four large firms only were now engaged ; and he thought tha t by so doing he could effect very large savings by doing away with competitive advertising and other wasteful forms of trade rivalry, and thus be able, while supplying a goods to the public at the same price as now, to p y a o f much better wages to his workmen . It was p rt his ! heme to buy a plot o f land and erect upon it cottages his rk a u n a wo men , e ch s rrou ded by its little g rden ; ’ te r ce n u e n a rtai n mber of years service, ach workma acquire a share in the profits o f the business which ! i stific ien t to provide for him in his old age . g out this system our philanthropist had hoped

60 iiiine nt fi a o f i gure in the he ven the other, the cripple be ng e l and i w l strong, while each thinks of the other as jo ning he r in carrying out the unrealiz e d wishes of her earth -life This was a very fine example of the calm continuity oflife in the case o f people of unselfish aims for the only differ enc e that death had made was to eliminate disease and ’ sufle rn ig, and to render easy the work which had heretofore been impossible . On this plane also the higher type of sincere and devoted v missionary acti ity finds expression . Of course the ordinary i v fe w o f gnorant fanatic never reaches this le el, but a the e noblest cases, such as Livingstone, might be found her c aged in the congenial occupation of converting mul ti 1ges of people to the particular religion which they f n f happened to advocate . One o the most striki g o such o f cases which came under notice was that a Mohammedan , who imagined himself as working most zealously at the con v o f i ersion the world , and its government accord ng to the of of most approved principles the faith Islam . It appears that under certain conditions artistic capacity sub ~ lane may also bring its votaries to this p . But here a u i s caref l dist nction mu t be drawn . The artist or musician o is of r f m whose nly object the selfish one pe sonal a e, or who h imself to be influenced by feelings o f naturally generates no forces which mental plane at all . On the other art whose disciples regard it as a wet entrusted to them for the spiritual elevation expre ss itself in even higher regions than these two extremes those devotees ofart 6 1

As an example of this may be m entioned a musician o f very religious temperament who regarded all his labour of ff n i love simply as an o eri g to the Christ, and knew noth ng of the magnificent arrangement o f sound and colour which his soul - inspiring compositions were producing in the matte r al l all of the men t p ane. Nor would his enthusiasm be e fo r was wasted and fruitl ss, without his knowledge it bring l ing joy and he p to many, and its results would certainly be to give him increased devotion and increased musical capacity in his next birth : but without the still wider aspira tion to help hum anity this kind o f heaven-life might repeat s f it el almost indefinitely . Indeed, glancing back at the i e ma three planes with wh ch we have just be n dealing , we y notice that they are in all cases concerned with the working — ’ out o fdevoti n to personalities either to one s family and o — friends or to a personal deity rather than the wider devo~ tion to humanity fo r its own sake which finds its expression - on the next sub plane .

OU SU B- OU E F RTH PLANE ; THE F RTH H AVEN .

i o f i So var ed are the activities th s , the highest of the rupa ffi levels, that it is di cult to group them under a single i n characterist c . Perhaps they might best be arra ged into f —unse lfish o f i our main divisions pursuit sp ritual knowledge, s l high philo ophic or scientific thought, iterary or artistic i fo r l fo r ab lity exercised unse fish purposes, and service the f of f sake o se rvice. The exact definition each o these classes will be more readily comprehended when some examples of each have been given . Naturally it is from those religions in which the necessity o f obtaining spiritual knowledge is recogn iz ed that most o f l - l the popu ation of this sub plane is drawn . It wi l be remembered that on the sixth sub-plane we found many 62

Buddhists whose religion had chiefly taken the form of a as devotion to their great le der a person ; here, on the con f a es l r ry, we have th e more intelligent fol ow—ers whose supreme aspiration was to sit at his feet and learn who looked upon him in the light of a teac her rather than as a being to be d a ored . No w in their heaven-life this highest wish is fulfilled ; the fi h m t r nd t e selves in Very ruth learning f om the Buddha, an the im e which they have thus made of him is no m ut s assure dl o i e pty form . mo t ythr ugh it sh nes out the d m wonderful wisdom , power, an love of that ightiest of ’ s f r c i n earth teachers. They are there o e a qu ri g fresh know lodge and wider Views and the effect upon their next life b m cannot ut be of the most arked character. They will not perhaps remember any individual facts that they may have learnt !though when such facts are pre sented to their minds in a subsequent life they wil l grasp them wi th avidity e t e u the and intuitiv ly recognize heir truth) , but the r s lt of tene hing will be to build into the ego a strong tendency to take broade r and more philosophical views on all suc h 11 will at once be see n how very definitely and unmismk ably suc h a heaven-life as this has tens the evolution of the and once more our attention is drawn to the: enormous

bi w es in

ha ve ndife and by virt ue ofhis o wn

ofhimse lf, illuminate 63

his n of the the teachings in own books, bri ging out them i more hidden mean ngs . Many o fthe followers o f the path o f wisdom among the find i e — if Hindus the r h aven upon this plane that is, their A teachers have been men possessing any real knowledge. fe w o f the more advanced among the Sfifls and Parsis are o f also here, and we still find some the early Gnostics whose spiritual development was such as to earn for them a pro longed stay in this celestial region . But except for this a o f tift i compar tively small number S s and Gnost cs , neither Mohammedanism nor Christianity seems to raise its followers a to this level, though some who nomin lly belong to these religions may be carried on to this sub plane by the presence in their character o fqualities which do not depend upon the teachings peculiar to their religion . In this region we also find earnest and devoted students of Occultis m who are not yet so far advanced as to have earned the right and the power to forego their heaven -life for the good of the world Among these was one who in f o f —li e had been personally known to some the investigators a Buddhist monk who had been an earnest studen t o f of Theosophy , and had long cherished the hope being one day privileged to receive instruction directly from its Adept his - i teachers . In heaven life the Buddha was the dom nant fi i gure, wh le the two Masters who have been most closely concerned with the Theosophical Society appeared also as his his lieutenants, expounding and illustrating teaching . All three o f these images were very full of the power and of n and wisdom the great bei gs whom they represented, the monk was therefore definitely receiving re al teaching upon l ff of ai occu t subjects, the e ect which would almost cert nly be to bring him actually on to the Path o f Initiation in his i next b rth . Another instance from our ranks which was encountered 64 on this level illustrate s the terrible effect of harbouring f n o f un ounded and u charitable suspicions . It was the case a devoted and self-sac rificing student who towards the end of her life had unfortunately fallen into an attitude o f quite unworthy and unjustifiable distrust of the motives o fher old friend and teacher Madame Blavatsky and it was sad to notice how this feeling had shut out to a considerable extent the higher influence and teaching which she might h - f infl u ave enjoyed in her heaven li e. It was not that the fo r ence and teaching were in any way withheld from her, that can never be but that her own mental attitude ren o f dered her to some exten t unreceptive of them . She was o f f course quite unconscious this, and seemed to hersel to be enjoying the fullest and most perfect comm union with Ma the sters , yet it was obvious to the investigators that but fo r this unfortunate se lf~ limitatio n she would have reaped A far greater advantage from her stay on this level . wealth o flove and strength and knowledge almost infinite lay there u at her hand , but her own ingratit de had sadly crippled her

power to accept it . It will be understood that since there are other Masters o f m n wisdo besides those connected with our own moveme t , and other schools o f occultism working along the same t general lines as that to which we belong , students at ached to some of these are also frequently met with upon this sub

plane.

Passing now to the next class , that of high philosophic u o f and scienti fic tho ght, we find here many those nobler and more unselfish thinkers who seek insight and know ledge only for the purpos e o fenlightening and helping their o f fellows. We are not including as students philosophy

Ea , as those men , either in the st or the West wh—o w te their time in mere verbal a ume nt and hair- splitting fo r that is a form o fdiscussion w ich has its roots in selfishness and 65

and f d conceit, can there ore never help towards a real un er standing of the facts of the universe : for naturally such foolish supe rfic iality as this produces no results that can th a a work themselves out on e ment l pl ne. As an instance of a true student noticed on this sub plane we may mention one ofthe later followers of the neo a f a s v platonic system , whose n me has ortun tely been pre er ed to us in the surv iving records o f that period . He had striven all through his earth - life really to master the teach n of a h and his a fe was i gs th t sc ool , now he ven li occupied in unravelling its mysteries and m endeavouring to understand f its bearing upon human li e and de velopment . h a e was a o f an a Anot er c s th t stronomer, who seemed to f h had a a the have begun li e as ort odox, but gr du lly under influence ofhis studies widened out into Pantheism in his heaven - life he was still pursuing the se studies with a min d f of e and was n a a ull reverenc , u doubtedly g ining re l know f of the a m ledge rom those great orders Dev s, through who on this plane the m ajestic cyclic movement of the mighty ste llar influences seems to express itself 1n ever changing coruscations ofall penetrating living light He was lost in contemplation of a vast panorama of whirling nebulae and a - f and a a gradu lly orming systems worlds, and he ppe red to b e groping after some dim idea as to the shape of the h h b a a a e a . universe, w ic im gined as some v st nim l His thoughts surrounded him as elemental forms shaped as s a and a of t rs, one especi l source joy to him consisted in listening to the stately rhythm of the music that pealed out in mighty chorales from the moving orbs . The third type of activity on this plane is that highest kind o f artistic and literary effort which is chiefly inspired z w by a desire to elevate and spirituali e the race . Here e all a s a sub - e M z find our gre te t musici ns ; on this plan o art, e h a and h are in the B et oven , B ch , Wagner ot ers still flood g

a . 66 heaven -world with harmony far more glorious even than the grandest which they were able to produce when on earth . It se ems as if a great stre am o f divine music poured into f m i was as z them ro h gher regions, and , it were, speciali ed r f thro l by them and made thei own , to be then sent orth all the plane in a great tide of melody which adds to tg; f i n fu l bliss of all around . Those who are unct oni g in l consciousness on the mental plane will clearly hear and fi thoroughly appreciate this magni cent outpouring, but of even the disembodied entities this level , each of whom - are is wrapped up in his own thought cloud, also deeply affected by the elevating and ennobling influence o f its resonant melody . a n u if e f w The p i ter and the sc lptor also, they hav ollo ed their respective arts always with a grand, unselfish aim , are here constantly making and sending forth all kinds of lovely —forms for the delight and encouragement of their fellow men the forms being simply artificral elementals created by ma a f co nc e their thought. And not only y these be uti ul p tions give dee pest pleasu re to those living entirely on the mental plane ; they may also in m any—cases be grasped by the minds of artists still in the fl e sh may act as inspira tions to them , and so be reproduced down here for the elevating and ennoblin g of that portion of humanity which is struggling amid the turmoil o fphysical li fe . One touching and beautiful figure seen upon this plane of a and had i was that a boy who had been chorister, d ed f at the age of fourteen . His whole soul was full o music o f v n and boyish de otio to his art , deeply coloured with the thought that by it he was expressing the religious l ongings u a s of the multit de who crowded va t cathedral , and yet was at the same time pouring out to them celestial encourage n i t e f me t and inspiration . He had known l t le nough save o r f o f n this one great gi t so g , but he had used that gift

68

surged back on him and made his solitude a heaven . When he is born again on earth he will surely return l with power to achieve as wel as to plan , and this celestial vision will be partially bodied forth in happier terrene

lives . Many were found on this plane who during their earth stay had de oted themsel es to helping men because they v v — felt the tie of brotherhood who rendered service for the sake o fservice rather than becaus e they desired to pleas e any in particular dei ty . They were engaged working out with full knowledge and calm wisdom vast schemes o f bene fi s cence, magnificent plan of world improvement, and at the same time they were maturing powers with which to carry f f them out herea ter on the lo wer plane of physical li e.

H v r T e a - r T E Rm u r o HE H v e n Li a.

Critics who have very imperfectly apprehended the h r Theosophical teaching on the subject of the ereafte , have sometimes urged that the life o fthe ordinary person in the l—ower heaven -world is nothing but a dream and an illusion that when he imagines himself happy amidst his family and f s o f friends , or carrying out his plans with such ulne s a d 18 i o f a e joy n success , he really only the vict m cru l delusion : and this is sometimes unfavourably contrasted ! ! with what is called the solid objectivity of the heaven n promised by orthodoxy . The reply to such an objectio is f : a u n o f two old first, th t when we are st dyi g the problems the future life we are not concerned to know which o f two f n hypotheses put be ore us would be the pleasanter !that bei g , f all a o f 15 a ter , matter of opinion) , but rather which them and the true one ; secondly, that when we enquire more fully into the facts of the case we shall see that those who maintain the illusion theo ry are looking at the matter from 69

r of and e e quite a w ong point view, hav utt rly misunderstood f the acts . the a a of ffa As to first point, the ctual st te a irs is quite easily discove rable by those who have developed the power to pass consciously on to the mental plane during life and when so investigated it is found to agree perfectly with the account given to us by the Maste rs ofWisdom thro ugh our M great founder and teacher adame Blavatsky . This at once of e e disposes the solid objectivity th ory m ntioned above, and transfers the onus of proof to the shoulders of our o r h if th thodo x f . t e e riends As to second point, contention be that on the lower levels of the he aven - world truth in its f m an and a ulness is not yet known to , th t consequently e f a a illusion still exists ther , we must rankly admit th t th t is so . But that is not what is usually meant by those who bring forward this objection ; they are ge nerally oppressed by a feeling that the heaven - life will be mo e illuso and useless — r ry than the physical ao idea than which nothing could b e h more entirely opposed to t e fact . Is it contended that on that plan e we make our own d and for a a a surroun ings, th t re son see only very small part ofthe plane ! Surely down here also the world of which : a the w/zol e ofthe person is sensible is never outer world, but so o f as e e only much it his s nses, his intellect, his ducation ,

- enable him to take in . It is obvious that during earth life ’ the average person s conception o feverything around him is a r — f a really quite w ong one empty, imper ect, inaccur te in a doz en ways for what doe s he know of the great forces h a a — h e he e et eric, stral, ment l w ich lie behind ev rything se s , and in fact form by far the most important part of it P a n e of the e Wh t does he k ow, as a rul , even more recondit physical facts which surround him and m e et him at every e a he a P The his ea st p th t t kes truth is that here, as in h ven fe o f li , he lives in a world which is very largely his own 7 0

n iz r creatio . He does not real e it, eith—er there o here, but that is only because of his own ignorance because he knows no better. Is it said that in the he aven-world a man takes his thoughts fo r real things ! He is quite right ; they are

- real things, and on this, the thought plane, nothing but am r z f thought be real . The e we recogni e that great act n here we do not ; on which plane, then , is the delusio P of his e greater Those thoughts are indeed realiti s , and are capable of producing the mos t striking results upon livi ng

- men results which can never be otherwise than beneficial, because upon that high plane there can be none but loving thought. Thus it will be seen that the theory that the heaven- life is an illusion is merely the result of a mis i f n concept on , and shows imper ect acquai tance with its con ditions and possibilities ; the truth is that the higher we rise the nearer we draw to the one reality . It will perhaps as sist the beginner to comprehend how real and how entirely na tural is the higher portion of a ’ man s life ifhe regards it simply as the result of the earlier portion spent upon the two lower planes. We all know wel l r z a that our highest ideals are neve reali ed, th t our highest i u f aspirat ons never bear f ll ruit down here . So that it wo uld seem as though in this way some efforts were frui t

f . less , some orce was lost But we know that cannot be, for the law o fthe conservation ofenergy holds good on the M higher planes just as on the lower . uch of that higher spiritual energy which man pours forth cannot react upon hfe i e are him while in earth , for unt l his higher principl s f f of n reed rom the incubus the flesh, they are u able to far respond to these finer and more subtle vibrations . But in the heaven-life for the first time all this hindrance is

removed , and the accumulated energy immediately pours itse l f forth in the inevitable reaction which the law of 7 1

a h s h etern l justice demands . As Browning a grandly p rased it

The e shal ne e b e one o oo d ! Wha was sha e r l v r l st g t , ll liv as be fo re The e v is n u is nou h is s e n e n so nd il ll, g t, il c implyi g u Wha was o o d sha b e ood h for e so uc h o od t g ll g , wit , vil , m g m o re On the e arth the brok e n arcs : in the he ave n a pe rfe ct ound r .

Al l we have wille d o r ho pe d o r dream e d o f good shall e x1st ; Not in its se m anc e b u t e f: no eau no r o o d bl , its l b ty, g , no r po we r ho se o c e has o ne fo h b ut e a h u v e fo r the W v i g rt , c s r iv s m e lo dist he n e n affi ms th o n n of an ho W e t r ity r e c c e ptio ur.

The h h hat o e d too h h the he o for e a h too ha d ig t pr v ig , r ic rt r , The passio n that le ft the ground to lose itse lf in the sk y. Are m usic se nt up to Go d b y the l ove r and the bard ; E nough that He he ard it o nce we shall hear it by- and by .

Another point worth bearing in mind is that this system upon which nature has arranged the life after death is the only im aginable o ne which could fulfil its object of making every one happy to the fullest extent of his capacity for I f o f a e of a e happiness . the joy he ven wer one p rticular typ as a only, it is ccording to the orthodox theory , there must a a a of b e lw ys be some who would we ry it, some who would i a e of a a n e f a o f a ncap bl p rticip ti g in it, ither rom w nt t ste in a a f a of th t p rticular direction, or rom l ck the necessary a i — sa of a f if educ t on to y nothing th t other obvious act, that of affa this condition irs were eternal, the grossest injustice 7 2 must be perpetrated by giving practically the same reward m d to all who enter, no atter what their respective eserts

might be. a n e men t e a Again , what other rra with r g rd to relatives and friends could possibly equally satisfactory ! If the departed were able to follow the fluctuating fortunes of their f h riends on earth , appiness would be impossible for them ; if a , without knowing wh t was happening to them, they had f to wait until the death of those riends before meeting them , t d nful of f here would be a p period suspense, o ten extending a over m ny years , while the friend would in many cases a rrive so much changed as to be no longer sympathetic . On the system so wisely provided fo r us by nature every one of these difficulties is avoided ; a man decides fo r himse lf both the length and the character o f his heaven life by the causes which he himself generates during his earth -life ; therefore he cannot but have exactly the amount w i a of h ch he has deserved , and exactly th t quality joy o which is best suited to his idiosyncrasies . Those wh m he r him s loves most he has eve with , and always at their noble t and best ; while no shadow o f discord or change can ever i i r come between them , s nce he rece ves f om them all the f a e . o a e time exactly wh t he wish s In point fact, the arr ng ment really made is infinitely superior to anything which the imagination of man has been able to offer us in its place fo r i as indeed we might have expected, all those speculat ons ’ ’ were man s idea of what is best ; but the truth is God s idea. T E U o r H REN N CI ATION H EAVEN .

I t has long been understood among students o f oc cultism that among the possibilities of more rapid progress " which come to a man as he advances is that of re ! of l pouncing the reward Devachan , as it has been cal ed 7 3

— of the fe of e that is, giving up li bliss in the h aven world between two incarnations in order to return more a rapidly to carry on work on the physical plane . The phr se fo r ha e quoted is not a very good one, we s ll be much mor likely to arrive at a correct understanding o f the heaven - life if a resul t of the a - fe we look upon it as the necess ry e rth li , a the e of rather th n as its reward . In cours his physical e xistence a m an sets in motion by his higher thoughts and aspirations what may be described as a certain amount of f a a spiritual orce, which will re ct upon him when he re ches h I f h f h f t e a a . o ment l pl ne t ere be but little t is orce, it will a a ha and the a - f be comp r tively soon ex usted, he ven li e will a h if the a a a a be s ort one ; , on contr ry. gre t de l has been a a of 1 b e fo r gener ted, corresponding space t me will needed f n and the a a its ull worki g, he ven will be very gre tly prolonged . m an a f As a developes in spiritu lity, there ore, his lives in - e no t the heaven world will becom longer, but it must be supposed that his progress is thereby delayed or his oppor tum tie s of f all use ulness le ssened . For but very highly a e a - f a a as adv nc d persons the he ven li e is bsolutely necess ry, it is only under its conditions that their aspirations c an b e fa h and developed into culty, t eir experiences into wisdom ; the progress which is thus made by the soul is far greater than would be possible if by some miracle he was enabled t I to remain in physical incarnation for he entire period . f v the law of n it were otherwise, ob iously whole ature would f f for a a e a a o f stulti y itsel , the ne rer it c m to the tt inment its a e and f a g e t object, the mo dete mined o mid ble would be r r — r r its efforts to defeat itself hardly a reasonable vie w to take o f a law which we know to be an expre ssion of the most exalted Wl SdOm i The possibility ofthe renunciation o fthis heaven - life is by no an i n the e of e one The e Law me s w thi r ach very . Gr at 7 4 permits no man to renounce blindly that o f which he is r of i ignorant, nor to depa t from the ordinary course evolut on unless and until it is certain that such departu re will be for i fi his ult mate bene t. The general rule is that no one is in a position to renounce s o f i the—blis heaven unt l he has experienced it during earth life until he is sufficiently developed to be able to raise his n to a conscious ess that plane, and bring b ck with him a clear and full memory o f that glory which so far transcends terrestrial conception . A little thought will make obvious the reason and th s a justi ce ofthis . It might be aid th t since it is the progress o f in ffi n the soul which is really question , it would be su cie t for him to understand on his own plane the desirability of o f making the sacrifice celestial bliss , and then to compel his l a lower se f to act in ccordance with his decision . Yet for of that would hardly be strict justice, the enjoyment rO a e n heavenly bliss on the p l vels, though it belo gs to the l to f ego, be ongs him only as mani ested through his person l o f w all f a ity it is the life that personality , ith its amiliar per - surroundin s that e l . sonal g , iscarri d on in the lower heaven wor d f i And so be ore the renunc ation of all this can take place, that perso nality must realiz e clearly what it is that is being given up the lower mind must be in accord with the higher on this subject . Now such realiz ation obviously involves the posse ssion during earth - life o f a consciousness on the m e ntal plane equivalent to that which the person in question would have f a m ha v a ter de th . But it must be re embered t t the e olution of o s s e f c nsciou nes takes plac rom below upward , as it were, and that the comparatively undeveloped majority of man kind are effectively conscious as yet only in the physical e t e body . Th ir astral bo—dies are for the most part s ill shap less and unorganized bridges of communication indeed

7 6

but Such cases are very rare, they certainly do exist, and in them we see at once the possibility of an exception to i ffi our rule . A personality of th s type might be su ciently developed to taste the indescribable bliss of heaven and so a acquire the right to renounce it, while he was ble to bring e of f f th memory it no arther down than into his astral li e . But sinc e by the hypothesis that astral life would be one of f fo r n full and per ect consciousness the perso ality, such recollection would be amply sufficient to fulfil the re uire me nts o f q of justice, even though no shadow all this l s ever came through into the physica waking consciou ness . The great point to bear in mind is that since it is the a s a person lity that must re ign, it is also the person lity that must experience, and it must bring back the recollection to some plane on which it functions normally and in full con sc io usness but that plane need not be the physical ifthese f fil l conditions are ul led upon the astral . Such a case wou d be unlikely to occur except among those who were already at of of least probationary pupils one the Masters of Wisdom . The man who wishes to perform this great feat must therefore work with the most intense earnestness to make ! Ifa w—orthy instrument in the hands of those who help the world must throw himself with the most devoted for o f fervour into labour the spiritual good others , not arrogantly assuming that he is already fit fo r so great an f f honour, but rather humbly hoping that perhaps a ter a li e or two o f strenuous effort his Master may tell him that the him time has come when to also this may be a possibility .

HI ER - TH E GH H EAVEN WORLD . We now turn from the four lower or ropa levels of the e m ntal plane, on which man functions in his temporary i s i h r personal ty, to the con iderat on of the t ree highe or arupa 7 7

e and a . e levels, his tru relatively perm nent home Her , so far at he for he has e as he sees all, sees clearly, risen abov the illusions o fpersonality and the refracting medium ofthe f and lower sel , though his consciousness may be dim , v ar a a dreamily unobser ant and sc cely w ke, yet his vision is o f at least true, however limited . The conditions conscious ness are so far away from all with which we are familiar down here that all terms known to psychology are u seless and has ea o f th misleading . This been called the r lm e a a o f f noumen l in contrast with the phenomen l , the ormless in contrast with the formed b ut it is still a world of mani fe statio n a a o f , however re l when opposed to the unre lities a and has f w a e lower st tes, it still orms, ho ever r r in their a and e materi ls subtle in their essenc . After the period o fwhat we usually call the heaven-life is e a e o f e for ov r, there is still nother phas existenc the soul f is re - e h e of be ore it born on art , and though in the cas most a a e we people this stage is comp rativ ly short one, must not ’ ignore it ifwe wish to have a complete conception of man s superphysical life . We are perpetually misunderstanding the life o f man are of a a a of and because we in the habit t king p rtial view it, entirely disregarding its real nature and object . We a fa f o f w of gener lly look at it, in ct, rom the point vie the a and e f a o f physic l body , not in the l ast rom th t the soul ; and we therefore get the whole thing utterly out o fpropor f tion . Each movement o the ego towards these lower planes and back is in reality a vast circular sweep we take a littl e fragment o f the lower arc o f this circle and regard it as a a a a e a str ight line, tt ching quite undu import nce to its and e n - of the beginning ndi g, while the real turning point a circle n turally entirely escapes us . Think o fthe matter for a moment as it must seem to the man e b e at true on his own plan , as soon as he begins to all 7 8

f clearly conscious there. In obedience to the desire o r f i e mani estation which he finds within him , wh ch is impr ssed upon him by that law of evolution which is the will o f the o o f L gos, he copies the action that Logos by pouring himself forth into lower planes . In the course o f this process he clothes himself with t o f t e — mat er the various planes in o which he pass s mental , i d s astral , and phys cal in turn , all the while stea ily pres ing w o f o f out ard . Through the earlier part that little fragment i his f ex stence on the physical plane which we call li e, the o f outward force is still strong , but at about the middle it, in a f c t t ordinary cases , th t or e becomes exhaus ed, and the grea inward sweep begins . e h Not that there is any sudden or viol nt change, for t is is i o f not an angle, but st ll part the curve of the same circle exactly corresponding to the moment of aphelio n in a ’ planet s course round its orbit. Yet it is the real turning i o f u 1 po nt of that little cycle evolution , tho gh with us it 8 usually not marked in any way . In the old Indian scheme ’ o flife it was marked as the end o f the gn lza rtlia or house ’ o f holder period the man s earthly existence. From this point there should be nothing but a steady o f drawing inward of the whole force the man , and his attention ought to be more and more withdrawn from m e re i e—arthly things, and concentrated on those of h gher planes from which we at once see how exceedingly ill -adapte d to real progress are the modern conditions o f Europe an f li e. The poin t at which the man drops his physical —body is not a specially important one in this arc o fevolution by no s i mean so important as the next change, which we m ght call his death on the astral plane and his birth in the heaven l i f o f the wor d, although really it is s mply the trans er con sciousness from as tral matte r to mental matter in the course 7 9

o f the same ste ady withdrawal of which we have already

spoken . The final result of the life is known only when in that process of withdrawal the consciousness is once more centred 1n the ego in his home 1n the higher heaven - world ; then it is seen what new qualities he has acquired in the f a f course o that p rticular little cycle o his evolution . At that time also a glimpse o fthe life as a whole is obtained fo r o f a the soul has a moment a flash cle rer consciousness, e o f f and in which he s es the results the li e just completed, h o fw a f f somet ing h t will ollow rom it in his next birth . This glimpse can hardly be said to involve a knowledge of the a of a a and n ture the next inc rnation, except in the v guest most general sense no doubt the main object o fthe coming f u the h li e wo ld be seen , but vision would be c iefly valuable to the soul as a lesson in the karmic result o f his action in a ff an of the p st. It o ers him opportunity, which he takes more or le ss advantage according to the stage of develop h a a ment to which he as alre dy ttained . a e o f At first he m kes littl it, since he is but very dimly conscious and very poorly fitte d to apprehend facts and their varied inter- relations but gradually his power to appreciate a la t what he sees incre ses, and ter the abili y comes to as at e nd of and remember such fl hes the previous lives, to a a w comp re them, and so to estim te the progress hich he is a he has m king along the road which to traverse .

D SU B- F THIR PLANE ; THE FI TH HEAVEN .

the of arfi a e 1s This lowest the p sub plan s, also by far the . most populous o f all the regions with which we are ac uainte d for e are all a q , her present almost the sixty thous nd millions o fsouls who are said to be engaged in the prese nt —all f m m human evolution , in act, except the co paratively s all 80 number who are capable o f functioning on the second and

- first sub planes . Each soul is represented by an ovoid form —at u o first a mere film, colo rless and alm st invisible, of the most tenuous consistency , but, as ego developes, this body begins to show a shimmering iridescence like a soap f i bubble, colours playing over its sur ace like the chang ng hues made by sunlight on the spray of a waterfall . o f Composed matter inconceivably fine, delicate and l s n etherea , inten ely alive and pulsating with livi g fire, it becomes as its evolution proceeds a radiant globe of flashing of n colours , its high vibrations sending ripples changi g hues over its surface - hues o f which earth knows nothing i f br lliant, so t and luminous beyond the power of language to add describe . Take the colours of an Egyptian sunset and —to them the wonderful softness o fan English sky at even tide raise these as high above themselves in light and trans lucency and splendour as they are above the colours given ’ — by the cakes of a child s paint- box and even then none who have not seen can image the be auty of these radiant orbs which flash into the field o f clairvoyant vision as it is lifted to the level of this supernal world All these causal bodies are filled with living fire drawn f a to rom higher plane, with which the globe appears be connected by a quivering thread of intense light, vividly o f z o f Dz fin recalling to the mind the words the stan as y , the Spark hangs from the Flame by the finest thread of Fohat and as the soul grows and is able to receive more and more from the inexhaustible ocean of the Divine Spirit t which pours down through the thread as a channel , the lat er s as fl expands and give wider p sage to the ood, till on the next sub-plane it might be imaged as a waters pout con n tin a ec g earth and sky, and higher still as itself great glo be n through which rushes the living spri g, until the causal body seems to melt into the inpouring light. Once more the 8 1

Stanz a says it for us : The thread between the Watcher and his shadow becomes more strong and radiant with every has h - change. The morning sunlight c anged into noon day

. e a the a e glory This is thy present wh el , s id Fl m to the f a . art m a w. Sp rk Thou ysel , my image and my sh do I m f art a have clothed ysel in thee, and thou my vah n to the ’ da Be - w - us a t e - f and y, ith , when thou sh lt become mysel f ! others, thysel and me . The souls who are connected with a physical body are distinguishable from those enjoying the disembodied state by a difference in the types o f vibrations set up on the sur f ofthe and f e ace globes, it is there ore easy on this plan to see at a gl ance whe ther an indiv1dua1 is or is not in incarna at e tion the tim . The immense majority, whether in or out of are - fe w are the body, but dreamily semi conscious, though now in the condition of m e re colourless films ; those who f a a are a e are ully w ke marked and brilli nt xceptions, standing out amid the less radiant crowds like stars of the first a and - m gnitude, between these and the least de eloped are —v ranged every variety o fsiz e and beauty o fcolour each thus representing the exact stage o f evolution at which he has arrived . The are ffi majority not yet su ciently definite, even in such as n the e consciousness they possess, to understa d purpos or the laws o f the evolution in which they are engaged ; they seek incarnation in obedience to the impulse o f the Cosmic Tan/zd n for an f f Will , and also to , the bli d thirst m i ested li e - a desire to find some region in which they can feel and be f e a conscious o living . For in their earli r st ges these unde ve lope d souls cannot feel the intense ly rapid and piercing vibrations o f the high ly- re fine d matter of their o wn plane ; the strong and coarse but comparatively slow movements of the heavier matter o f the physical plane are the only ones can f o that evoke any response rom them . So it is only up n a 82 the physical plane that they feel themselves to be alive at a e all , and this explains their strong cr ving for r birth into

' - f f i r earth li e . Thus or a time their des re ag ees exactly with n the law of their evolution . They can develope o ly by e o f m ans these impacts from without, to which they are gradually roused to respond, and in this early stage they can - f r receive them only in earth li e . By slow deg ees their power o f i as a response ncre es, and is wakened first to the higher and o f al i finer the physic vibrat ons, and still more slowl to s o f a y. tho e the astral pl ne . Then their astral bodies , w ich until now have been merely bridges to convey sensations to o the s ul , gradually become definite vehicles which they can o use, and their consci usness begins to be centred rather in a n their emotions than in mere physic l se sations . At l t o f e a ater s age, but always by the same process l arn f ing to respond to impacts rom without, the so—uls learn to centre their consciousness in the mental body to live in and according to the mental images which they have formed fo r r i in themselves , and so to gove n their emot ons by the m d . f Yet further on the long, long road the centre shi ts to the a z f h caus l body , and the souls reali e their true li e . W en that time comes they will be found upon a higher sub-plane than is and w t e th , the lo er earthly exis enc will be no longer necessary fo r them ; but fo r the present we are thinking o f f r the less evolved majority , who still put orth as g oping, waving ten tacles into the oce an of existence the perso nalities are a o f l which themselves on the lower pl nes ife, though they are as yet in no sense aware that these personalities are and the means whereby they are to be nourished to grow . o f i s f r n They see nothing the r pa t or their utu e, not bei g yet t conscious on their own plane . S ill , as they are slowly r in d aw g in experience and assimilating it, there grows up a i had sense that certain th ngs are good to do and others , and this expresses itself imperfectly in the connected personality

84

i l which he is connected is seen by him as part of h mse f, and to his he endeavours guide it, using knowledge of the past as a store o fexperience from which he formulates principle s i of of conduct , clear and mmutable convictions right and r i r wrong . These he sends down into his lowe m nd, supe i intending and directing its activities . While he cont nually fails in the earlier part of his life on this sub-plane to make the lower mind unders ta nd logically the foundations of the on c principles he impresses it, he yet very definitely suc eeds e h in making the impression , and such abstract id as as trut , j ustice and honour become un challenged and ruling concep in l f tions the lower mental i e . e o f n There are rul s conduct e forced by social , national, o f and religious sancti ns, by which a man guides himsel in f be daily li e, which may yet swept away by some rush o f of temptation , some overmastering surge passion and desire ; but there are some things an evolved man ca nnot do — n lie things which are against his very nature ; he can ot ,

r s . or bet ay , or do a di honourable action Into the inmost to fibres of his being certain principles are wrought, and act t against them is an impossibili y , no matter what may be the strain of circ umstance or the torrent of temptation ; fo r f f f h v n o o . these thi gs are the li e the soul W ile, howe er, he thus su cceeds in guiding his lower vehicle; his knowledge o f f it and its doings is o ten far from precise and clear . He s i i sees the lower plane but dimly, understand ng the r prin c i l es ar p rather than their details , and p t of his evolution on this plane consists of coming more and more con sciously in to direct touch with the personality whic h so imperfectly him represents below . It will be understood from this that only such souls as i are deliberately aiming at spiritual growth l ve on this plane, and they have in conseq uence become largely re ceptive of influences from the planes above the m . The channel of 85

a a e and a f communic tion grows and enl rg s, uller flood pours e a through . The thought under this influenc t kes on a e a and t e singularly cl r piercing quali y, even in the l ss and ffe of n developed, the e ct this in the lower mi d shows f itsel as a tendency to philosophic and abstract thinking . In the more highly evolved the vision is far- re aching : it a e e the z the r ng s with cl ar insight over past, recogni ing e and a a il un caus s set up, their working out, wh t rem ins st l f ff e xhausted o their e e cts . The souls living on this plane have wide opportunitie s for t f e f a for h grow h when r ed rom the physic l body, here t ey r f e a a may receive inst uctions rom mor dv nced entities, e t t N e coming into dir ct ouch with their eachers . 0 long r - e a hin im os by thought pictur s, but by flas g luminousness p to the e of a sible describe, very essenc the ide flies like a a f e a x r st r rom one soul to the oth r, its correl tions e p essing themselves as light waves pouring out from the central a and a a a st r, needing no sep r te enunci tion . A thought is a all like light placed in a room it shows things round it, but requires no words to describe them .

S SU B- FIR T PLANE ; THE SEVENTH HEAVEN .

of This, the most glorious level the mental world, has but fe w z e f a for deni ns as yet rom our hum nity, on its heights the M of m dwell none but asters Wisdom and Co passion , Of the a of f and and the ir initiated pupils . be uty orm and can e for t colour sound here no words sp ak , mor al language has no terms in which those radiant splendours ma e are and y find expr ssion . Enough that they , that e of the a of som our race are wearing them , e rnest what h f of the w others s all be, the ruition which seed was so n on a the a e volu lowlier planes . These have ccomplished ment l e e h the tion, so that in th m the high r shines out ever t rough 86 lower ; from their eyes the ill usion -veil of personality has f z been li ted, and they know and reali e that they are not the f a o c . lower n ture, but only use it as a vehicle experien e I t may still have power in the less evolved of them to shackle f o f and to hamper, but they can never all into the blunder f f con using the vehicle with the sel behind it . From this they are saved by carrying their consciousness through un r b ut f i if b oken , not only from day to day rom l fe to l e, so that past lives are not so much looked back upon as always n present in the consciousness , the man feeli g them as on e life rather than as many . At this height the soul is conscious of the lower heaven l has f i world as we l as of his own , and if he any mani estat ons - his he there as a thought form in the heaven life of friends , h f f - t e o h . n can make ullest use t em On the third sub pla e, o f s s and even in the lower part the second, his consciou ne s - of the sub planes below him was still dim , and his action in -f a i o as the thought orm l rgely inst nctive and aut matic . But soon as he got well into the second sub- plane his vision am z the rapidly bec e clearer, and he recogni ed thought forms with pleasure as vehicles through which he was able to express more of himself in certain ways than he could through his personality . Now that he is functioning in the causal body amidst the i o f magnificent l ght and splendour the highest heaven , his consciousness is instantaneously and perfectly active at any n c poi t in the lower divisions to which he wills to dire t it, f and he, there ore, can intentionally project additional energy in to such a thought-form whe n he wishes to use it for the o f purpose teaching . From this highest level o f the mental world come down most of the in fluences poured out by the Masters o fWisdom for o of m i as they work the ev lution the hu an race, act ng l h r directly on the sou s of men , shedding on t em the inspi ing 87 e h ht n nergies which stimulate spiritual growth , w ich enlig e n e an f e re the i t llect d puri y the emotions . Henc genius c e ive s its illumination here all upward efforts find their - . fa f guidance As the sun rays ll everywhere rom one centre, a e e m f and e ch body that rec iv s the uses them a ter its nature, so from the Elder Brothers of the race fall on all souls the light and life which it is their function to dispense ; and c an a and each uses as much as it ssimilate, thereby grows and as e h evolves . Thus , everywh re else, the hig est glory of a f the of and the he venly world is ound in glory service, they who have accomplished the mental evolution are the fountains from which flows strength for those who still are climbing .

- M U . I I . NON H AN

When we attempt to describe the non- human inhabi a of the a a e e t nts ment l pl ne, we at onc find ourselv s face to face with difficulties o f the most insuperable in w character . For touching the seventh heaven e come into contact for the first time with a plane which is m —on ef ma cos ic in its extent which , ther ore, y be met many an entity which me re human language has no a th of e words to portr y . For e purposes our pres nt paper it will probably be best to put aside altoge ther those a o f n a c and fine v st hosts bei gs whose r nge is cosmi , con our remarks strictly to the inhabitants peculiar to the f b e mental plane of our own chain o worlds . It may remembered that m the manual on T/ze Astra l P l a ne the a was a a a e s me course dopted, no ttempt being m d to describe Visitors from other planets and systems ; and although such visitors as were there only occasional e f would her be very much more requent, it seems best fe w in this case also to adhere to the same rule . A 88

words, therefore, upon the elemental essence of the plane and the sections of the great Deva kingdom wh1ch are especially connected with it will be as much as 1t W111 f be useful to give here ; and the extreme difficulty o ll presenting e ven these comparatively simple ideas wr conclusively show how impossible it would be to deal with others which could not but be far more complicate d .

THE ELEMENTAL E SS ENCE.

It may be remembered that m one of the earlier letters received from an Adept teacher the remark was made that to comprehend the condition of the first and second of the elemental kingdoms was impossible except to an ini tiate an observation which shows how partial must be the success which can attend any effort to describe them a down here upon the physic l plane . It will be well first o f all that we should endeavour to form as clear an idea in our minds as possible of what elemental essen ce r i s eally is, s nce this is a point upon which much confu ion a often seems to exist, even amongst those who have m de t o f u considerable s udy Theosophical literat re .

WHAT 1T 15 .

es Elemental sence, then, is merely a name applied during certain early stages of its evolution to the monadic s es ence, which in its turn may be defined as the out pouring of the Divine Life from the Second Logos in to f matter . We are all familiar with the fact that be ore this outpouring arrives at the stage of individualization at i f s a o f man s wh ch it orm the c usal body a , it has pa sed th—rough and ensouled in turn six lower phases of evolution h e the animal , vegetable, mineral and t re elemental 89

e e z h e kingdoms . When n rgi ing t rough those resp ctive it e a e a e stages has sometimes be n called the anim l, get bl — v or min eral monad though this te rm is distinctly mis e f e it a an of l ading, since long be or rrives at y these in one man k gdoms it has become not but y monads . The e was e e the e nam , how ver, adopted to conv y id a that, though differe ntiation in the monadic essence had already n se t had e t e the lo g ago in , it not y b en carried to e o f z a xtent individuali tion . Now when this monadic essence is energiz ing through the three great elemen tal e a kingdoms which pr cede the miner l , it is called by the ! ! e of e a nam lement l essence .

THE G o r P VEILIN THE S IRIT .

f e e the n e of the a e Be or , how ver, atur mon dic essenc and the manner in which it manife sts itself on the various ane pl s can be understood, the method in which spirit e f f a z n olds itsel in its descent into matter must be re li ed . We are not now dealing with the original formation of the of e matter the planes, but simply with the d scent of ne w f a wave o evolution into matter already existing . f the of we are a n Be ore period which spe ki g, this e of f e a wav li e has spent countless ages volving, in manner of we can a which h ve very little comprehension , through of e the successive encasements atoms, molecules and c lls ; but we will leave all that e arlier part of its stupe ndous of n for the and history out accou t moment, consider only its descent into the matter of planes some what more the of a n e far within grasp hum n i t llect, though still above a the merely physic l leve l . Be e e n an it understood, th n, that when spirit r sti g on y a e not pl ne !it matt rs which), on its path downward into e d the le f of evo lu matt r, is riven by resist ss orce its own 90 non to pass onward to the plane next below, it must, f lf f f e s in order to mani est itse there, en old itsel in at l a t the atomic matter o f that lower plane- draw round itse lf as o f l a body a veil that matter, to which it wi l act as soul z f e or energi ing orce . Similarly, when it continu s its de r scent to a thi d plane, it must draw round itself some of it: l matter, and we shal have then an entity whose body O outer covering consists of the atomic matter of that third n pla e . r z i n — But—the force ene gi ing this entity its soul, so to spe ak will not be spirit in the condition in which it was upon the higher plane on which we first found it ; it will be that spirit pl us the veil of the atomic matter of the second plane through which it has passed . When a f still urther descent is made to a fourth plane, the entity i n becomes st ll more complex, for it will the have a body of o f f u i the matter that ourth plane, enso led by sp rit l i t o f n a ready twice veiled, in the atom c mat er the seco d n and third planes . It will be se e that since this process for a of repeats itself e ch plane the solar system , by the time the original force reaches our physical level it is so thoroughly veiled that it is small wonder that men ofte n f z ail to recogni e it as spirit at all . i For example, let us sup se the ordinary untra ned po — clairvoyant trying to investigate the mineral monad to

. examine the life force behind the mineral kin gdom . The sight o fsuch an one would be practically certain to be limited a i to the astral plane, and would quite prob bly be exceed ngly f f r r imper ect even there , so to him that o ce would appea

. i i i simply astral But a tra ned student, examin ng it w th ad higher power, would see that what the clairvoyant h taken fo r astral force was merely astral atomic matter set in motion by a force coming thither from the atomic part of the mental plane. The more advanced student would be abl e

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- l of — h sub p ane —the mental that is to say, the ighest of the rtipa levels and draws to itself as a body some of the matter of that subdivision . It is then the elemental essence of the second kingdom in its simplest condition ; r e a but as befo e, in the course of its evolution it tak s on g rbs of i many and various , composed all possible comb nations of e - the matt r of the lower sub planes . It might naturally be supposed that these eleme ntal kingdoms which exis t and function upon the mental plane i must certainly, be ng so much higher, be further advanced n s in evolution than the third ki gdom , which belong i exclusively to the astral plane . Th s , however, is not so , for it must be remem bered that in speaking of this phase of ! ! e volution the word higher means not, as usual , more less e a t advanced, but advanc d, since here we are de ling wi h e the monadic essence on the downward sw ep of its arc, and progress for the elemental essence therefore means descent i r h nto matter instead of, as with us, ascent towa ds hig er planes . U nless the student bears this fact constantly and find l t clearly in mind, he will again and again himse f bese a i o f s by perplexing nomal es, and his View this ide of e volution will be lacking in grasp and comprehensive ness . The general characteristics of elemental essence were indicated at considerable length in the manual on The Astral P lane o f , and all that is there said as to the number subdivisions in the kingdoms and their marvellous impressi b ility by human thought is equally true of these cele stial f w l varieties . A e words shou d perhaps be said to explain how the seven horiz ontal subdivisions o f each kingdom arrange themselves in connection with the various parts of a e fi the mental plane . In the c s of the rst kingdom, its i fi - h ghest subdivision corresponds with the rst sub plane, while the second and third suh plane s are each divided into of i three parts, each wh ch is the habitat of one of the 93

e e a e el m nt l subdivisions . The second kingdom distribut s f e - itsel over the lower h aven world, its highest subdivision es n f - n f corr po ding to the ourth sub pla e, while the fi th , sixth and seventh sub-plan es are each divided into two to m d a accom o ate the rem inder .

How E SENCE EVOLVE THE S S .

So much was writte n in the earlier part ofthis m anual as to the effect of thought upon the mental ele mental essence that it will be unnecessary to return to that branch o f the a if subject now ; but it must be borne in mind th t it is, e n a n e possible, even mor i st nta eously s nsitive to thought a a f action here th n it is on the stral plane, the wonder ul de licacy with which it responds to the faintest action of the mind be ing constantly and promine ntly bro ught before our a f investigators . We shall grasp this cap bility the more ully if f we—realiz e that it is in such response that its very li e con sists that its progress is greatly helped by the use made of it in the process of thought by the more advanced entities e e whos evolution it shar s . I fit could be imagined as entirely free fo r a moment from of ea f the action thought, it would app as a ormless con r — glomeration of dancing infinitesimal atoms instinct indeed a of f a with a m rvellous intensity li e, yet prob bly making but little progress on the downward path of its involution into a e z and m tt r . But when thought sei es upon it stirs it into t al l of activi y, throwing it on the rupa levels into kinds f and arfi a i a a lovely orms, on the p levels nto fl shing stre ms, it a n a f receives disti ct addition l impulse which , o ten repeated, e f e is h lps it orward on its way . For wh never a thought d e f ff of e ar ir cted rom those higher levels to the a airs th , it naturally sweeps downward and takes upon itselfthe m atter ofthe an I n n a lower pl es . doing so it bri gs into cont ct with 94 that matter the elemental essence of which its first veil was o f rmed , and so by degrees habituates that essence to answer ing to lower vibrati ons ; and this g‘eatly assists its down ward evolution into matter . — Very noticeably also is it affected by music by the splendid floods of glorious sound o f which we have previ o usly spoken as poured forth upon these lofty planes by the great masters o f melody who are carrying on there in far fuller measure the work which down here on this dull earth they had only commenced . Another point which should be remembered is the vast difference between the grandeur and power o f thought on this plane and the comparative feebleness o f the efforts that f n m r we digni y with that a e down here . Our o dinary thought begins in the mind body on the lower mental levels and clothes itself as it descends with the appropriate astral elemental essence but when a man has advanced so far as to have his consciousness active in the true selfin the higher - n h heaven world , his thought comme ces there and clot es itselffirst in the elemental essen ce of the lower level s o fthe fi e mental plane, and is consequently in nitely finer, mor a n and wa ff I f o penetr ti g, in every ymore e ective . the th ught he i hi i d rected exclusively to gher objects , its vibrat ons may be of too fine a character to find expression on the astral plane at all ; but when they do affect this lower matter they will do so with much more far-reaching effect than those ar a which e gener ted so much nearer to its own level . Following this idea a stage further we see the thought of a a a the the initi te t king its rise upon the buddhic pl ne, above a a i ment l world ltogether, and cloth ng itself with the ele o f e fo r whi mental essence the highest heav ns garment, le h f lf the thoug t of the Adept pours down rom Nirvana itse , i the n the a wield ng treme dous , wholly incalcul ble powers of f r i regions beyond the ken o me e ord nary humanity . Thus

96

i i ve him the opportunity of a primitive human incarnat on, g n s in s e seems to lose almost all co sciousnes of outer th g , and to spend the tim e in a sort o f delightful tranc e of the a deepest pe ce and contentment . Even then interior develop is i e ment of some sort surely tak ng place, though its natur f u for to is di fic lt us comprehend . But at least it is certain n that for every entity which comes into co nection with it, whether he be only just entering upon human evolution or n - r the prepari g to pass beyond it, the heaven wo ld means l highest bliss of which that entity is at its level capab e .

THE D A OR ANGELS . EV S , But little can be expressed in human language about f t a these wonder ul and exal ed beings, and most of wh t we know of them has alre ady been written in Tire Astral lane For f o f t no t t t P . the in ormation hose who have ha manual at hand I will repeat here somewhat of the general f to s explanation there given with re erence the se enti tie . The highest system o f evolution specially connected with t w of this ear h , so far as we kno , is that the beings whom H D indus call the evas, and who have elsewhere been in spoken of as angels, sons of God, etc . They may, e i fact, be r garded as a kingdom lying next above human ty in the same way as humanity in turn lies next abov e ' i but o difierenc e the an mal kingdom , with this imp rtant , that while fo r an animal there is no possibility of evol ution h e i s t rough any kingdom but the human, man, wh n he atta n of Ase kha f l s a s the level the , or ul Adept, find various p th of i him o f a advancement open ng before , which this gre t I n i ibl e H el er D l is v s s . eva evo ution only one !see p , p ! ! I n Orien tal literature this word Deva is fre quently vaguely to me an alm ost any kind o f non -human it would ofte n include the highe st of the 97

a and a - spiritual powers on the one h nd, n ture spirits and a a artifici l element ls on the other . Here, however, its use will be restricted to the magnificent evolution which we are now considering . h h a h h e are T ough connected with t is e rt , t es angels fi fo r of by no means con ned to it, the whole our present a as h ch in of seven worlds is one world to them , t eir f ha n evolution being through a grand system o seven c i s . Their hosts have hitherto been recruited chiefly from h a the a and ot er hum nities in sol r system, some lower h a a a some hig er th n ours, since but very sm ll portion of our own has as yet reached the level at which fo r us it is possible to join them ; but it seems certain that some o f their very numerous classes have not passed in their upward progress through any humanity at all a h comp rable wit ours . It is not possible for us at prese nt to understand very a a m a much about them , but it is cle r th t what y be de scribed as the aim oftheir evolution is considerably higher a 5 ! ha sa the o f th n our t t is to y, while object our human evolution 18 to raise the successful portion o f humanity to the position o f the Ase kha Adept by the end o f the seventh u o f a a ro nd, the object the Dev evolution is to r ise their foremost rank to a very much higher leve l in the corre s ondin h for p g period . For t em , as us, a steeper but shorter path to still more sublime heights lies open to e ar nest endeavour ; b ut what those heights may b e in their can case we only conjecture .

DI VI SI ONS THEIR .

a n f the Their three lower gre t divisions, beginni g rom a Kamadevas Rfi ade vas and bottom , are generally c lled , p , Arfi ade vas ma as an of ra p , which y be translated gels the ast l 98

- r i - world , the lower heaven wo ld, and the h gher heaven world — we respectively . Just as our ordinary body here the lo st for us—is l i body possible the physica , so the ord nary body of a Kamadeva is the astral ; so that he stands in somewhat the same position as humanity will do when it reaches s planet F, and he, living ordinarily in an a tral body, would go out o fit to higher spheres in a men tal body j ust as we ra t might in an ast l body, while to en er the causal body would be to him !when sufficiently developed) no greater ffo to In e rt than use the mental body might be to us . the same way the R0 deva’s ordinary body would be the ha a f rfi a of mental, since his it t is the our p levels the mental plane ; while the ArOpadeva belongs to the three higher f l o a . leve s that plane, and owns no denser body th n the causal Above the Arfipade vas there are four other great classes of i f this kingdom , inhabit ng respectively the our higher planes a a a D of our solar system and g in , bove and beyond the eva kin gdom altogether stand the great hosts o f the planetary spirits but the consideration o fsuch glorified beings would o f a be out pl ce here . Each o f the two great divisions o f this kingdom which have been mentioned as inhabiting the mental plane contains within itself many different classes ; b ut their life is in every way so far removed from our own that it is use less to endeavour to give anything but the most general o f I a I im idea it . do not know th t can better indicate the pression produced upon the m inds o f our investigators on the subject than by reproducing the very words used by one ' o f f I e fle c t o f an them at the time o the enqui—ry : get the intensely exalted consciousness a c onsciousness glor—ious beyond al l words ; yet so very strange ; so di fferent so ff f I f f entirely di erent rom anything have ever elt be ore, so o f unlike any possible kind human experience, that it is ! absolutely hopeless to try to put it into words .

100 more than satisfied by the b e ne fic e n t arrangeme nts which nature has made for him .

ART F . I I I AL II I C .

Very fe w words need b e said upon this branch of our The a a f subject . ment l pl ne is eve n more ully peopled than the astral by the artificial elementals called into te mporary existence by the thoughts ofits inhabitants an d when it is reme mbered how much grande r and more powerful thought a e and a f are e is upon this pl n , th t its orces being wi lded not the a e e only by hum n inhabitants , embodied and dis mbodi d , the a and f a but by Dev s by visitors rom higher pl nes, it will at once be seen that the importance and influence of such a an a b not artifici l entities c h rdly e exaggerated . It is necessary here to go over again the ground traversed in the ’ previous man ual as to the effect o f m e n s thoughts and the necessity o fguarding them carefully ; and enough was said in desc ibing the difference between the actio n o f thought r ‘ on the rtipa and arfipa levels to show how the arti ficial ele a of m a an a e and ment l the ent l pl e is c lled into existenc , to give some idea o f the infinite variety of temporary e ntities h are e e of w ich so produced, and the immens importanc the w a a a ork th t is const ntly done by their me ns . Great use ma of m a is de the by Adepts and their initi ted pupils, and it is needless to say that the artificial ele mental formed by such powerful minds as these is a be ing of infinitely longer existence and proportionately greater power than any o f those described in dealing with the as a a tr l pl ne . I O I

O NC L IO N C U S .

I n has e glancing over what be n written , the prominent idea is not unnaturally a hu miliating sens—e of the utter inadequacy ofall the attempts at description of the hope ' lessness o fany effort to put into human words the ine fl ab le f - a f o . e glories the heaven world Still , l mentably imper ct as h as suc an essay this must be, it is yet better than nothing, and it m ay serve to put into the mind of the reader som e faint conception ofwhat awaits him on the other side ofthe grave ; and though when he reaches this bright realm o f bliss he will certainly find infinitely more than he has be en le d he n to expect, will not, it is hoped, have to unlear any f has a o fthe in ormation that he here cquired . Man i him in , as at present constituted, has with n pr c i l e s a a p belonging to two pl nes even higher than the ment l , for his Buddhi represents him upon what from that very f we a e act call the buddhic pl n , and his Atma !the divine spark within him) upon that third plane of the solar system o f as I n the which has usual ly been spoken the nirvanic . average man these highest principle s are as yet almost and an to entirely undeveloped, in y case the planes which they belong are still more beyond the reach ofall description ffi a than is the mental . It must su ce to say th t on the a f a and the buddhic plan e all limit tions begin to all aw y, ofman a z r in consciousness exp nds until he reali es, no longe a theory only, but by bsolute experience, that the con sc io usne ss of f and his ellows is included within his own , he feels and knows and experiences with an absolute perfection of e a a a sympathy all that is in th m, because it is in re lity p rt 1 02 o fhimself; while on the nirvanic plane he moves a step f e z a h are urther, and r ali es th t his consciousness and t eirs o ne a e a in yet higher sense, becaus they are all in re lity fa e o f e o f Lo c os c ts the infinitely great r consciousness the , in Whom the y all live and move and have their being so that when ! the dewdrop slips into the shining sea the e ffect produced is rath e r as though the process had been e the a r versed and oce n poured into the drop, which now — for the first time realiz es that it is the ocean not a part of

e . a a e it, but the whol P radoxic l , utterly incomprehensibl ,

appa ently impossible ; yet absolutely true . r — But this much at least we may grasp that the blessed a ofN as n st te irvana is not, some have ignora tly supposed, a c o f o ffar ondition blank nothingness, but more intense and b e ne fic e nt activity ; and that ever as we rise higher in the s o f a e e a e fo r cale n tur our possibilities becom gre t r, our work o h and far- a and ha n e t ers ever grander more re ching, t t infi it wisdom and infinite power means only infinite capacity fo r fi se a are e . rvice, bec use they directed by in nite lov

' P RI NTED B! NE I LL AND CO L I D ED I NBU RG H.